Ps. 146 [The Message]

In my neighborhood growing up, we chose up sides when we played football, baseball,or basketball at the park. The best players were chosen first, and the undesirables went last. Gym class dodge ball was another venue where this happened. If your were a captain, you needed to get some good, early picks to have a chance to win.

Guess what!? God is ALWAYS on your side. When you enter battle, You have the Winner with you. As long as you put Him first in your life, He will put you first. You can have a tremendous confidence from day to day, regardless of what confronts you.

When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. [Pr. 16:7]

Ps. 140-145 [The Message]

Love is God’s trademark. It’s branded into every thing He does. Nothing He does is without it.

Love is giving. Love is kind. Love has manners. Love can put up with anything. Love sees what you can become and doesn’t hold your past against you. Love understands how you really feel. Love will overcome all adversity to yield a positive outcome. Love is so much more than a positive feeling – it always does the RIGHT THING regardless of how it feels. Love is so much more than a mere emotion.

Ps. 138, 139 [The Message]

We don’t really understand it … we just have to take the Word for what it says … God sees the future.

The past and the present, we can get a grip. But to know that God already sees and knows the future is out of our wheelhouse. Yet, this Psalm gives insight into God amazing ability to see and know the future.

How He does it and how it works can’t be explained by ANYTHING but scripture. Hence, we gain some understanding by reading this Psalm.

God loves books. He especially loves the Lamb’s Book of Life. God can turn the pages back, look at today, and then flip to a time in the future by merely looking ahead. (This is my personal take on it. it helps me grasp the phenomena)

Ps. 137 [The Message]

Imagine how the Hebrews must have felt to see their homeland burned and pillaged by the Babylonians. This was The Promised Land that God had given to them. He empowered them to force out the heathen inhabitants. Now, a whole new set of heathen were burning their Holy City, displacing them and hauling the choicest off into captivity. The Babylonians mocked them, sarcastically encouraging them to sing one of the famous Songs of Zion. Why all this? Because they forgot God and worshiped other Gods and forsook His Commandments. Interesting.

Is this not the moral climate of OUR NATION. We wonder why the U.S. is quickly adopting laws and patterns of depravity (LGBTQ, abortion, racism, rioting in the streets, rampant open theft etc.)

God had solutions available, but there was some suffering to be endured.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. [2 Chron. 7:14]

Ps 136 [The Message]

This Psalm lines up with 1 Cor. 13. Love NEVER FAILS.

Of all the character qualities and characteristics of God, this is the primary flavor of His nature.

Full of God? Full of relentless, unconditional love. That’s our benchmark.

Ps. 133-135 [The Message]

I’ve heard it preached that Satan controls the weather. Not so according to Ps. 135:5-7.

Satan is referred to as the “prince of the power of the air.” Consistently in Bible translations and paraphrases, it refers to the unseen realm of spiritual reality. Eph. 3:10 and 6:12 speak of evil spiritual powers in heavenly places, over which Christ is “far above.” [Eph. 1:21]

When talking about the weather and Who controls it, pray to God.

Years ago, I remember farmers in our church who testified that critical rains for harvest growth fell on their property and avoided their ungodly neighbor. Just sayin’.

Ps. 131,132 [The Message]

David had made a vow of praise which his son, Solomon, knew about, hence Ps. 132. It is also referred to in Ps. 61:8. It was a constitutional component in his daily devotional life.

The key point is making a place for God in your day. He inhabits our lives in our praise. He takes His place on the throne of your life when you praise Him. Bad attitudes, a critical spirit, cursing etc. These are all resistant to God’s presence.

In His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His Right Hand are pleasures forevermore. [Ps. 16:11]

Ps. 129, 130 [The Message]

What a critical word … “Help.” We use this word when we can’t do it ourselves.

My granddaughter Summer recently married Eli Smith. They just returned from their honeymoon in Europe. They are having a great start.

Her big sis told a funny story about Summer as a young child. She had a baby talk expression, “I do my woof.” She was trying to say, “I do it MYSELF!” While you like to see some independence in children, it can be taken too far. Truth is, we ALL need some help at some point. Summer has learned that lesson. God gave her a help-mate.

Ps. 128 [The Message]

I know how I feel when I want to show my love to my grandchildren. I am totally FOR them. I want to buy things for them. I want to be with them. I want to make them smile and have a good day. I will defend and protect them from ANYTHING. It’s an amazing feeling.

Now, think about how much God loves you and wants to be good to you. We really don’t fully know how much He does for us on a continual basis.

I can’t follow my grandchildren around 24/7 … but God does it for us. We live a life of blessing when we fear and serve Him.

Ps. 120-128 [The Message]

The Psalms of Ascent, numbers120 throuigh134, were Psalms the Hebrews would sing as they traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts of Israel. They also could be sung by the priests as they ascended the steps of the Temple.

In #128, the Psalmist identifies children as God’s best gift to mankind. I would personally add that Grandchildren, in my opinion, fall in that category. The longer I live, the more I appreciate and love my family. By the same token, they are our wisest investment. I so respect parents and grandparents who provide a Christian education for their offspring. Your car, your home, your bank account … nothing can love you back like your family!