Jennifer A

Today’s devotion picks up from where Pastor Mary’s devotion left off on Friday in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which we know as believers is a letter for each one of us. The Apostle Paul wants us to understand that we are all a part of God’s eternal plan to bring all things together in Christ Jesus. His letter aligns with yesterday’s sermon from Pastor Mary, that our lives’ purpose is to have the ability to make the presence of God known to the entire world (or all of His creation), and we do this as one united Body in Christ Jesus.

As the Body of Christ, we need to remember that our differences are an intentional part of God’s perfect design, and Paul tells us that our diversity as a Church (or Body) is for a purpose. God’s purpose is for ALL of us, as a united Church, to be “mature in the Lord” (v. 13). This means that individually and collectively we must reflect the glory of Jesus, so that we make Him and His Name visible to the world. This can only happen when “we will no longer be immature like children” (v. 14) rather when, “we will speak the Truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the Head of His Body, the Church”. (v. 15). As one united Body, the Holy Spirit “makes the whole Body fit together perfectly” (v. 16). Within this place of divine unity, each one of us can effectively live out our part for the Kingdom, we can help others live out their part, and together we can grow and live in the fullness of Christ’s love.

Yesterday, Pastor Mary preached that our salvation is Christ Jesus is a miracle. Sharing this miracle with someone today is the most special gift that you can give to them. Let Jesus’s love be known!

Ephesians 4:7-16 (NLT)

Unity in the Body

7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”

9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Prayer: Jesus, we thank You for being the Head of our Body, the Church. Holy Spirit, we need Your help so that we can work together as we grow in our individual and collective faith. As Your Church, we want to continue to mature in Your Word so our unique gifts flourish as one in You, Jesus. Equip us to do Your work, to share Your love so that more hearts may come to You in salvation. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Yesterday was Pentecost and Pastor Mary shared Luke’s account from Acts 2 of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which was the fulfillment of Jesus’s promise to empower and equip His disciples for ministry. Pastor Mary reminded us about Peter’s sermon, which was the first Christian sermon ever preached on that Pentecost day. In verses 17-21 of Acts 2, we see a direct connection with our passage today from the Old Testament prophet Joel. As Pastor Mary mentioned, Peter quoted what Joel had said as he knew it from the Torah. Keep in mind there was approximately 790 years between Joel 2 and Acts 2, as Joel wrote his book around 820 BC and the events that Luke wrote about in Acts 2 most likely took place around 60 AD. Nevertheless, Peter preached about what the servants of the Lord had just experienced, and it was exactly what Joel had prophesied. Peter’s sermon serves as a reminder to us that the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives should directly connect with the work of the Word in our lives, and as Pastor Mary said yesterday, it’s a oneness that we have with Jesus.

Friends, the same Holy Spirit that the believers in Acts received, is the same Holy Spirit that you and I received when we welcomed Jesus into our hearts, through salvation, so He could change our lives for all eternity. By this commitment, the Holy Spirit desperately wants to guide our daily lives to grow in our relationship with Jesus, and to become more powerful within us so that He can use us to grow God’s Kingdom. It is by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that you and I are guided in the ways of God, rather than by the ways of this world, and the choice of this oneness is up to each one of us.

As you read today’s passage, keep in mind that many theologians believe that Peter’s use of this prophecy, in Acts 2, was to point to a portion of fulfillment, but also as a sign that the last days have begun and that we need to be prepared for Jesus’s return. Frist, we must rejoice that the Holy Spirit of the living God resides in us. Next, we must allow the Holy Spirit room to move in and through us as we are one with Him and one with His Word (so be in His Word every single day). Finally, we must repent, turn from our sins, and live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God is restoring you and me all of the time, and we want to be ready for the Day of the Lord.  

Joel 2:28-32 (NLT)

The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit

²⁸ “Then, after doing all those things,

    I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

    Your old men will dream dreams,

    and your young men will see visions.

²⁹ In those days I will pour out my Spirit

    even on servants—men and women alike.

³⁰ And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—

    blood and fire and columns of smoke.

³¹ The sun will become dark,

    and the moon will turn blood red

    before that great and terrible^[f] day of the Lord arrives.

³² But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

    will be saved,

for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,

    just as the Lord has said.

These will be among the survivors

    whom the Lord has called.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for connecting Your Word for us. Holy Spirit, we need Your guidance all of the time. Help us to be quick to repent, to be in Your Word each and every day, and to share Jesus’s message of eternal love through salvation with others. We want our hearts to be prepared for Your return. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

During yesterday’s sermon, Pastor Mary provided us with some Biblical context about what was transpiring in Acts 16 where we see that the Apostle Paul is out ministering with Silas and they come across a demon possessed slave girl; and Paul says to the demon, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her” (v.18) and the demon instantly left the slave girl. This did not go over very well with the girl’s owner who demanded that the missionaries be arrested. Since the magistrates (officers or judges of the religious law) did not like troublemakers, they had Paul and Silas beaten and put in jail. Around midnight, Paul and Silas began to pray and sing in jail. God responded by shaking the prison with an earthquake that opened the doors and freed the prisoners. (v.25-26) As Pastor Mary reminded us, not one prisoner left, but the jailer didn’t know that and so as he was about to commit suicide because of the mess at the jail, Paul stopped him and led him to Christ. The jailer took Paul and Silas home with him for a meal, and there he cared for their wounds from the beating. The men baptized the jailer’s entire household, and they all believed in Christ (v.31-34).

That brings us to the next morning which is found within today’s passage. The city officials sent word to the jailer to let Paul and Silas go. However, Paul was not willing to sneak out of town because he did not want the new Church to be left under a cloud of suspicion. He told them that he was a Roman citizen, and he demanded a public apology for their unlawful acts. According to Roman law, Roman citizens, as both Paul and Silas were, could not be beaten and put in prison without a fair trial. We don’t know why Paul waited until this moment to mention this fact, but God certainly knew, and He used it for good.

The magistrates respectfully came to Paul and Silas, and although they did not offer a public apology, they did escort them out of prison and politely asked them to leave town. This satisfied Paul, as he was not looking for revenge, rather he wanted protection and respect for the for Church, the believers of Christ that would be left in that town.

What Paul did took Biblical and spiritual strength, power, and integrity. Paul did not campaign for societal change in an unbelieving world. Rather, he allowed the Holy Spirit to provide him with spiritual strength, power by His wisdom and guidance, and Biblical integrity to change the hearts of the people that Jesus brought within his path. Notice that not “all” of the people’s hearts were changed (like the magistrates), and Paul and Silas knew that would be the case, so rather than organize a public demonstration to prove their point, they quietly left town. You and I have the opportunity today to share the Good News about the saving love of Jesus Christ. We must not focus on all of the darkness of this world because the enemy is busy and not everyone will except the message of love that Jesus wants to offer through us. So, we need to be focused on how we are going to allow the Lord to work in and through us, by His strength, power, and integrity, to change one heart at a time, and not be shaken when some do not respond, rather pray for those hearts, and rejoice for the ones that will be forever changed. Never underestimate where, when, and with whom God will use you.

Acts 16:35-40 NLT

35 The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” 36 So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”

37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”

38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. 40 When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for saving each one of us. We want to be willing vessels for You to move in and through so that more hearts can be saved. Holy Spirit, we need Your strength, Your power, and Your integrity as we walk out today, again tomorrow, and every single day that follows. Use us today to help hearts see Your love, Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

On this Memorial Day, let us pause and thank Jesus for the many men and women who have paid the ultimate price for defending our county with the loss of their lives. We must trust that Jesus is holding the hearts of their families and friends.

Today’s passage about the New Jerusalem, as seen through John’s divine vision in Revelation, fits well with it being Memorial Day. At some point in each one of our lives, we have asked the question “why” when faced with trials, sorrow, pain, and death. God reveals through this vision that “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow, or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (v. 4) This will be the nature of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city that will descend onto earth after the final triumph over sin and evil, and once Satan has been cast into hell, along with all who rejected Jesus. This Truth should fill each one of us great hope and cause us to cling closer to Jesus during our times of trials, sorrow, pain, and death.

Regardless of how God chooses to conclude this sinful earth, today’s passage reveals that everyone of us has a choice between choosing Jesus or choosing Satan. We clearly see in verses 6 and 7 who will fill up heaven, and verse 8 tells us who will fill up hell. Our Creator, Who is the Alpha and Omega, wants each one of us to choose Him, so we spend eternity with Him.

Revelation 21:5-14 NLT

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

9 Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

10 So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. 12 The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. 13 There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the brave men and women who have, are, and will stand to protect our county. Please bless the family members and friends who have lost someone in service. May they see Your love and comfort even within their great loss. Help all of us to see how You are moving for our good even in the midst of our trials, sorrow, pain, and death. Keep us rooted in You, Jesus, and growing in Your Word. Holy Spirit, protect our souls from the enemy of this world, we call on Your holy wisdom and guidance for today and each day as we long to spend eternity with our Creator. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Friends, you and I, as believers, should be living a life that seeks to expand the Kingdom of God. No matter what season we find ourselves in, the Holy Spirit wants to lovingly move through each one of us so that Jesus’s love can be seen, heard, and felt by others. We are commissioned as the Church to love others and to spread Jesus’s message of eternal love all of the time no matter where we are, how we are feeling, or what we are doing. In today’s passage we see how the Gentiles were being welcomed into the Church and how no matter the circumstances that Barnabas, Saul (Paul), or any of the other Apostles or believers found themselves in were going to stop them from sharing the message of Jesus’s eternal love in an effort to grow God’s Kingdom. This is exactly how we need to continue to be as the Church.

In our passage today, the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem heard that more and more Gentiles were coming to faith. So, they sent Barnabas to Antioch, and Barnabas traveled to Tarsus to get Saul who had been in Tarsus for the last seven to ten years. If you recall, prior to Saul’s conversion to Christianity, on the road to Damascus where he encountered the Lord, Saul had persecuted Christians. It has been many years since Saul’s transformation and since Barnabas vouched for him with the Apostles, who had sent him home to Tarsus to grow in his relationship with the Lord. This is the season where Saul’s work among the Gentiles truly begins. From this point on, the Book of Acts turns to Saul, and within chapter 13 we see the Greek variation of his name, Paul, being used and his evangelic work explodes for the Kingdom of God. Only Jesus could transform Paul’s heart and in return Paul is going to tell the world about this transforming love, and that is what we need to be doing.

The Lord gave Paul and Barnabas this command, “I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.” (Acts 13:47). You and I have the same command to bring the message of salvation to everyone we encounter. We need to hold firm to Paul’s example and to his teaching that “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So, I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” This Truth needs to be our daily motivator to share the love of Christ with others. (Galatians 2:20)

Acts 11:19-26 NLT
The Church in Antioch of Syria

19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for transforming our hearts which has completely changed each one of our lives. Holy Spirit, please continue to do what only You can do in and through each one of us to help share the message of Christ’s love to as many hearts as possible. Use us in ways that we did not even know were possible to help grow the Kingdom of God. We want to lovingly share You and Your Word with the world. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Lately, I have found myself needing to press deeply into my relationship with the Lord, trusting Him to not only hold my heart, but to bring spiritual revelation so His Truth can overshadow great pain. I know that God is my Shepherd, and even though I have tremendous grief, I am confident that He wants to spiritually transform me and to use even these places of unexplained hurt for good.

In Friday’s devotion, Pastor Mary reminded us that King David did not rely on his feelings for guidance, rather he relied on and trusted in God to lead, direct, and guide his life, so that he would never be lost. Like David, I have needed to cry out to the Lord for His goodness and unfailing love to be my guiding light in a dark valley (Psalm 23).

Today we continue with King David, and we will meditate in prayer and allow our hearts to sing Psalm 100. David wrote this psalm of thanksgiving because he knew that no matter our circumstances, the Lord is our Shepherd, and that His goodness and unfailing love will never stop pursuing us, because God wants each one of us to reside in His House for all eternity.

I know that the enemy wants me to get stuck in my feelings and hand over my joy of the Lord to him, but that is a choice that I will never make. We must remember, Jesus is our Shepherd, Who became our joy when each one of us chose salvation in Him. Even though the enemy is always around, he has NO power to take our joy, unless we give it to him; because Jesus, Who is divine and holy, lives in you and me, and He is our joy even in our dark valleys.

May Psalm 100 encourage your heart today.

Psalm 100 (NLT)

A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Worship the LORD with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our Good Shepherd. Holy Spirit help us to hold firmly onto our joy. Bring healing to our places of pain as You reveal more of Your wisdom and Truth to us. We do not want to hand anything that is of You over to the enemy. Thank You for being Guide. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Yesterday was Transfiguration Sunday, the day when Jesus revealed His divinity to His disciples. We can read about this event in the Synoptic Gospels: Matt. 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-13, and Luke 9:28-36, as well as see it being referenced in 2 Peter 1:16-21. God orchestrated this unimaginably divine event that took place on Mount Tabor in Israel not just for Peter, James, and John as they were praying with Jesus; and not just so Moses and Elijah could appear in presence, but also so believers of every generation could have a divine encounter and experience Jesus’ in His holy brilliance through these passages of Truth.

On Friday, Pastor Mary’s devotion was about another divine encounter that began with Cornelius and an angel of the Lord. Today we continue with that story of transformation, and we see a continuation of divine encounters, all in an effort to grow individuals in their faith and trust in the Lord. If you recall, we left Friday’s devotion with Cornelius sending his messengers to go get Simon Peter, as requested by an angel of the Lord. This was so Jesus could work His grace, love, and salvation through Simon Peter for Cornelius, and I image many others who were firsthand witnesses of these divine encounters.

Today we pick up as Cornelius’ messengers were nearing Simon, the tanner’s home, and Simon Peter was up on the roof praying. During this time, Peter had a divine encounter, or vision, from the Lord. In the vision, the Lord commands Peter to eat all animals, some of which were considered unclean or forbidden creatures for Jewish people to eat. Peter initially tells the Lord that he will never eat anything that is impure or unclean. Then the Lord spoke to Peter three times saying, “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” (v. 15) The point the Lord was making with His vision to Peter is that only God determines what is clean (holy) and what is unclean (sinful), and this cleanliness would apply to the Gentiles messengers Peter was about to meet whom he would need to extend Jesus’ love and grace.

As the messengers arrived, the Holy Spirit instructed Peter what he had to do, and he followed the divine message with obedience, even though he was not sure what God had planned. Keep in mind, Joppa was a mixed town of Gentile and Jewish workers, and even if Simon the tanner had some less concerns with strict Jewish rules, he most likely would still have had concerns of impure table fellowship, and lodging of Gentiles overnight which would not have been acceptable. Yet, Peter invited the messengers to stay the night, and they would return to see Cornelius the next day.

Acts 10:9-23 (NLT)

Peter Visits Cornelius

9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”

15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

21 So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

22 They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.” 23 So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your transforming work in and through our lives. Holy Spirit, please stir within our hearts today and bring us revelation of your divine presence. We want You to guide us to share Your love, grace, and the saving work of Your salvation with someone, today! Be with us as we prepare our hearts to enter into Your Lenten season this week. Allow us to be fully transparent with You as we reflect on what needs change and more of You, help us to be quick to repent, and please restore us anew, Jesus. Thank You for all You have done for us, we ask this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Psalm 38 is one of several penitential or confessional psalms. Within this Psalm, David allows us to feel the very painful and dark places of his sinful guilt. We experience his physical, emotional, and spiritual pain which he openly expresses to God.

A few years ago, when I initially studied Psalm 38, I asked myself if my relationship with God was as intimate, as David’s was with God, to the point where was I actually grieving when I sinned against Him and others, and was I as honest with God when I sought for His forgiveness?

Friends, David most likely penned this psalm in response to his adultery with Bathsheba and his involvement in her husband, Uriah, being killed at battle so that David could marry her. I think we all can agree that David’s decisions were sinful and most certainly not guided by the Holy Spirit. I also think we can all experience his appeal for God’s forgiveness, and his understanding that he stepped into sinful places that resulted in excruciating pain. David’s plea for God’s forgiveness revealed his trust, faith, and hope that God would not forsake him, and that by remaining obedient to God, He would come and answer David.

The relationship that you and I have with Jesus should surpass all of our earthly relationships. Jesus should come before our biological family, before our spiritual family, and before our friends. Why? Well, when our hearts are in oneness with Jesus, we stand firmly by faith with Him, and thus our decisions are guided by the Holy Spirit and are not moved towards sin, rather our choices reveal the heart of Jesus. This intimate relationship with Jesus, then allows all of our other relationships to be guided by the His pure and holy love.

NOTE: please do not get misled by earthly “thoughts” of the word intimate. I encourage you to look up some synonyms and the Biblical definition. As Christ’s Family, we most certainly want a closeness, togetherness, affinity, rapport, attachment, familiarity, confidentiality, friendliness, comradeship, companionship, amity, affection, warmth, understanding, close relationship, close attachment, etc. with our Lord of Lords, our Kind of Kings, our Healer, and the One Who is forgave us of our sins and is coming back for you and me, JESUS!

Psalm 38

A psalm of David, asking God to remember him.

1 O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage!
2 Your arrows have struck deep,
and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick;
my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me—
it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink
because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain.
All day long I walk around filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me,
and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed.
My groans come from an anguished heart.

9 You know what I long for, Lord;
you hear my every sigh.
10 My heart beats wildly, my strength fails,
and I am going blind.
11 My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease.
Even my own family stands at a distance.
12 Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me.
Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me.
All day long they plan their treachery.

13 But I am deaf to all their threats.
I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
14 I choose to hear nothing,
and I make no reply.
15 For I am waiting for you, O Lord.
You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
16 I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me
or rejoice at my downfall.”

17 I am on the verge of collapse,
facing constant pain.
18 But I confess my sins;
I am deeply sorry for what I have done.
19 I have many aggressive enemies;
they hate me without reason.
20 They repay me evil for good
and oppose me for pursuing good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
Do not stand at a distance, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my savior.

Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for Your forgiveness. Help us to remain intimately close with You so that we are disgusted by sin. Holy Spirit, guide us to quickly recognize sin before it takes place and to rebuke it in the Name of Jesus. Quicken us, Lord, to seek Your forgiveness and to extend Your forgiveness to others. Thank You for never abandoning us, and for always being available. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

I have mentioned before that Psalms 120 – 134 are known as the Psalms of Ascent. These psalms were most likely sung by the Israelites as they traveled (or ascended) Mount Zion to enter Jerusalem’s Temple for worship at three appointed feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.

Today we are looking at Psalm 120. In verse 5 the psalmist mentions Meshech and Kedar. Meshech, is believed to be present day Turkey, and was far north of Israel, while Kedar was a powerful tribe of Arab nomads in the desert east of Israel. The psalmists’ metaphorical use of these two geographical locations would have put the psalmist as living in a barbaric foreign land that was at war, and where the psalmist did not belong.

Right away, within the first two prayerful verses, we see the psalmists’ trust and love for the Lord with a cry for His help. The help the psalmist is seeking is from evil: evil words, liars, deceitful people, and deceptive tongues. In verses 3 – 4 the psalmist shifts from prayer to warning. This warning is for those who stand in rebellion against God, His Word, and His people. God’s people are protected as long as they do as Paul instructs in Ephesians 6:10-20 and constantly wear The Whole Armor of God. The final pieces of the Armor align with verses 3 – 4, “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” We see in verses 6 – 7 that the psalmist is tired of evil and longs for rest in the Lord’s shalom, the peaceful wholeness of God where there is no evil.

Friends, we can endure the present world, even with the evil around us, because by our faith and salvation in Christ Jesus our eternal future is certain. So, we must trust, love, and rest in God and His divine plan, as we continue to grow even closer to Him today through His Word.

Psalm 120 (NLT)

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 I took my troubles to the Lord;
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.
2 Rescue me, O Lord, from liars
and from all deceitful people.
3 O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you?
How will he increase your punishment?
4 You will be pierced with sharp arrows
and burned with glowing coals.

5 How I suffer in far-off Meshech.
It pains me to live in distant Kedar.
6 I am tired of living
among people who hate peace.
7 I search for peace;
but when I speak of peace, they want war!

Prayer: Lord, thank You for being our shalom, the only True place of rest while evil surrounds us. Holy Spirit, please continue to stir within each of us to hate that which is evil and to cling to the One Who is Truth and Love, Jesus. Help us to remain clothed with every piece of Your armor, today. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.