THE REWARD OF CHILDREN

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BLESSING AND PROSPERITY

Read Psalms 127–128

      Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. Blessings and prosperity will be yours; Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house… children are a reward from him. Psalm 128:1-2b, 3a; Psalm 127:3b

* * *

     The Psalms portray children as a sign of blessing and prosperity. The Psalmist declares, “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.” (127:3-4) Along with this blessing, however, comes a warning: Unless the LORD builds the house its builders labor in vain. (127:1)

* * *

     God promises that if we put Him first in our lives we will eat the fruit of our labors–a blessed home. But when we focus on what the world expects of us, working long hours and doing too much, our lives become unbalanced. When this happens, the Psalmist says, "In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat–for he grants sleep to those he loves." (127:2)

* * *

     Dear Father, I pray for the peace and rest that comes from focusing on You, even when I am busy. Help me to order my priorities according to Your perfect will. Thank You for the blessings of children.

* * *

     May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life… and may you live to see your children's children.   Psalm 128:5–6 NIV

A HEART SET FREE

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A LIGHT FOR MY PATH

Read Psalm 119

     I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.  Psalm 119:104–105 NIV

* * *

     Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the book and the theme is heart rending – David has experienced it all. He agonizes over wicked men delighting in his troubles and the memories of sin in his own life. Sincerely repentant, he says, "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” (v.32)

* * *

     Now as he seeks the Lord with all of his heart he determines to continue to walk in freedom from sin. Hiding God's Word in his heart, he finds that he has more insight and understanding than all of his teachers. He has answers for those who taunt him, and comfort in his suffering. He says, “Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts.”  (Psalm 119:140–141)

* * *

     Lord, help us to faithfully teach our children from the Bible and help them to hide it in their hearts. Through the Psalmist You promised that Your faithfulness continues through all generations. Like David, I have put my hope in your word. (Psalm 119:90,114)

* * *

     How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:9–11 NIV

PRAISE THE LORD!

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FORGET NOT HIS BENEFITS

Read Psalm 102–103

      But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children. Psalm 103:17

* * *

      In Psalm 102 David pours out his heart in anguish, sick and fearful for his life–but in Psalm 103 David praises God for all of the benefits to his soul. He has been healed from his sickness, with his youth renewed. The LORD, he says, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. …He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. (103:8, 10)

      David would never forget the love and mercy extended to him by his compassionate Heavenly Father. He praises God that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (103:12)

* * *

      Dear Heavenly Father, I too, want to praise you for all Your benefits. You have satisfied my desire with good things and put a new song in my mouth. Like David I can say, Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (103:1) May I reflect, in my countenance and attitude this day, that I am a thankful woman in my inmost being.

* * *

      Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD: Psalm 102:18 NIV

AVOIDING EVIL INFLUENCES

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IN MY HOUSE

Read Psalm 101

     I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. Psalm 101:2b–3

* * *

     David determined in his heart that he would avoid the evil influences that were all around him. He could not control the perverse wickedness he saw as he walked through the land, but he could choose to focus on the deeds of godly faithful people. He could also set boundaries on what he allowed in his own house. If he did not set these limits, he knew that the evil would cling to his own mind and heart.

     Christians today have even more difficulty in setting boundaries. The unlimited evil coming into our lives every day by television and internet has the power to destroy us. It takes determined discipline to control those influences. Sometimes the lies are very subtle and our children may not be able to distinguish between truth and error. The Psalmist says, “No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.” (Psalm 101:7)

* * *

     Lord, convict us when we allow evil men and women to indoctrinate our children by way of television. Help us to avoid those images on the internet that would cling to our own minds and hearts, drawing us away from You. Help us to replace those evil influences by cultivating fellowship with faithful Christian friends.

* * *

     My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me. Psalm 101:6 NIV

NOT ALONE

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THIS SAME JESUS

Read: Acts 1:1–11

He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Acts 1:3 NKJV

* * *

After forty days of being with Jesus and rejoicing that He was truly alive, the disciples asked Him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts1:6 NIV) He told them that it was not for them to know the times and dates, "But," He said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (1:7-8 NIV) Then just as they must have wanted to ask Him many other things, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight!

* * *

Lord, I can't imagine how alone they must have felt at that moment. We know now, and they knew in just a few days, that they would not be alone. Lord, I praise You that You have given us Your Holy Spirit to guide us. Thank You that though we cannot see Him, He dwells within us and prays for us according to Your will.

* * *

This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Acts 1:11b NIV

DOUBT AND WORRY

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AN UNDIVIDED HEART
Read Psalm 86
      “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me… “ Psalm 86:11-13a NIV

* * *

      There are many things in life that can cause us to have a divided heart. David was referring to the absolute worship of the Lord as opposed to worthless idols. But in our lives, other things can enter in and become like idols. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…." (Matthew 6:24-25a)

* * *

      Lord, I am guilty of worry. Sometimes it is easier to trust for the big things in life than for the little nagging worries that creep in each day. James said that the opposite of faith is worry, for “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea; blown and tossed by the wind… he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." (James 1:6b, 8) Lord, You are my Provider, my Comforter, and my Almighty God. Increase my faith and give me an undivided heart of trust in Your perfect plan for our lives.

* * *

      You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalm 86:5

A NEW SONG IN MY HEART

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A TIME TO SPEAK

Read Psalm 40

     I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. Psalm 40:10

* * *

     King David fell into grievous sin with Bathsheba. (2 Samuel 11–12) He repented, and God forgave him, but with a long road of consequences ahead of him. Referring to his great sin he said, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” (40:2)

     David recognized God's gracious mercy and plan for his life when he said, "The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." (40:5b) God had given him a new song and for the rest of his life he would sing it to all who would listen.

* * *

     Dear Lord, I want tell others about Your love and mercy in my life. Forgive me for getting so busy that I sometimes go an entire day without mentioning your name. As David said, “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!” (Psalm 40:16 NKJV)

* * *

     He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:3 NIV

PROTECTED FOREVER

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Read Psalm 37

     For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, Psalm 37:28a NIV

* * *

     As David grew old, he looked around and saw wicked men growing stronger and more violent–lying "in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives." (37:32) Yet David writes confidently, “If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” (37:23–24)

     David looks to the past and says, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken.”(37:25) He looks to the future and reminds us that "The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever…their children will be blessed."(37:18, 26b)

* * *

     Dear Heavenly Father, I lean on Your faithful, everlasting love for us. You have promised that those who love You can look forward to a blessed future, saying, “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5 NKJV) I claim this promise for my family and for all of us who have received Your righteousness through the cross.

* * *

     Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.    Psalm 37:3-4 NIV

THE BLESSED NATION

Read Psalms 33–34

     The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Psalm 33:10-12a

* * *

     These Psalms of David reflect his joyful, trusting heart in the midst of extreme trial – running from King Saul who hated him, and escaping a pagan king who could have killed him. But in the midst of it, David sang joyfully of God’s faithfulness to the nations and individuals who honor Him. He said, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8)

     Those of us who listen to the news each evening can't help but be dismayed by the attempts to undermine our Christian heritage. America's founding documents still proclaim God as Lord, but that godly foundation is being chipped away with alarming speed.

     Our hope is not in the ability of men to come to our rescue. God is, after all, in charge of history. We need not fear the plans of our enemies, because God has the ability to foil their plans, if He so chooses. Our prayers should be for our leaders to turn back to the God of their fathers.

* * *

     Lord, help us to faithfully live the truth and teach it to our children. Help us to remind them of the godly heritage handed down from our nation's fathers, and to give testimony of the faithfulness of God in our own lives.

* * *

     Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.   Psalm 34:11

THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

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Read Psalm 27–28

      One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. Psalms 27:4

* * *

      King David had a heart for God's house, which in his day was the Tabernacle. He wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but God would not let him do it in his generation. David’s son, Solomon would be the one to carry out his plans, with materials his father had gathered together.   (1 Kings 8:19)

* * *

      Today, the Lord's house is the Church, the Body of Christ, made up of believers who are themselves, the Temple His Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:16–17) The places where the Church meets, places of fellowship and worship, can be anywhere–in a home, a school or an elaborate building. The author of Hebrews warns, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)

* * *

      Lord, thank You for the privilege of meeting freely with other believers. May our love for Your Church be so genuine and obvious that our children and grandchildren, like David, will desire to dwell in Your house all the days of their lives.

* * *

      At his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Psalm 27: 6b

THE ROOSTER CROWED

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PETER DENIES JESUS

Read Mark 14: 66–72

After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about." Mark 14:70-71 NIV

* * *

Just a short time before this, Peter had declared to Jesus, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." (Luke 22:33) Peter had stood up valiantly in the garden by starting a sword fight. But then Jesus healed the soldier's ear, and submitted himself to arrest. Jesus said to them, "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me." (John 18:8–9; quoting John 17:12)

Jesus knew all about what Peter would do. He knew that Satan wanted to "sift him like wheat", but Satan could not defeat Peter, because Jesus had said, "I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail." (Luke 22:32 NKJV)

* * *

Lord, The moment the rooster crowed had to be the darkest day of Peter's life, but the story told through the years has brought comfort and encouragement to all of us who, like Peter, have experienced failure.

* * *

…Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept. Mark 14:72 NIV