The Pleasure of God

Posted on 2014/01/20 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 147:10-11 says: “He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness.” In :10 we find two examples of things that we as human beings find excitement and pleasure in:
— “the strength of a horse” – many people enjoy horse racing, rodeos, and other kinds of equine competition.
— “the legs of a man” – footraces and other athletic events been a source of entertainment for mankind throughout the ages.
These are things that men LOVE to do in their free time, what they talk about and find pleasure in. But the scripture tells us there that GOD does NOT find pleasure in these things. Where does it say He finds His pleasure?

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Be Glad In Your Maker

Posted on 2014/01/19 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 149:2 exhorts us as believers: “Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.” The great truth of this verse is that GOD is to be the source of gladness and joy for His people. We are not to find our great joy in that our team won (how our step is little lighter, and our back a little straighter the day after our team wins!) or that the market went up, or because we had a successful week at work or school, or got to spend time with that girl/guy) but in God Himself! The verse says: “IN his Maker”; “IN their King …” — our gladness and joy are to be in God Himself. Continue reading →

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Who Made Heaven and Earth

Posted on 2014/01/17 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 146:5-6 says, “How blessed is he whose help in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them …”. A key phrase here is “Who made heaven and earth.” Repeatedly the scriptures refer back to God’s work in creation as a basis for our confidence in our current situations. Continue reading →

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When It’s Too Late For Repentance

Posted on 2014/01/16 by Shawn Thomas

Hebrews 12:17 says of Esau, “For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” This verse is speaking in the context of :16, where it refers to how Esau “sold his own birthright for a single meal.” Once that had been done, it could not be reversed. :17 says that though “he sought for it with tears”, there was “no place for repentance.”

This verse is a sobering reminder that there are times when it is too late to reverse the damage done by our decisions.

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Pursue Peace

Posted on 2014/01/15 by Shawn Thomas

Hebrews 12:14 commands: “Pursue peace, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” It is of note that the imperative here is to “PURSUE” peace. It is not just that it would be “nice”, and that we are to receive peace if it happens to come, but as God’s people we are to PURSUE it! That means we are to work towards it; do what it takes to get it; make sacrifices for it. It means that we will refrain from doing things which we know might hinder it.

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Wonder Lost

Posted on 2014/01/14 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 144:3, David exclaims: “O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of Him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?” Here he exhibits the humble attitude that should characterize each of our lives: WONDER that the infinite, holy God who created the universe would take thought of us! Yet I am afraid that many of us today do not see the “wonder” in this assertion, but rather take it for granted.

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A Martial Mindset

Posted on 2014/01/13 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 144 opens “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” (:1) This is another good reminder (see the devotion on “No Beds of Ease” here) that life is not about comfort, but is inevitably full of conflict. This Psalm instructs us that God is not training us for “retirement” but rather “trains my hands for WAR and my fingers for BATTLE.” J.I. Packer tells us in his lectures on the Puritans that those saints of old saw life as a spiritual battle — and we should too. Too often we seem taken by surprise when we encounter opposition, or find ourselves in spiritual conflict — but this is what the Christian life truly IS!

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Seeking God: A Different Direction

Posted on 2014/01/10 by Shawn Thomas

II Samuel 5:23 says: “When David inquired of the Lord, He said, ‘You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees.” This is in the context of war. :22 says the Philistines had once again come out and spread themselves for battle in the valley of Rephaim. It should be instructive to us that :23 then says “WHEN David inquired of the Lord” — because that is what he was in the habit of doing! We see repeatedly in Samuel that David habitually inquired of Yahweh before he made any move. He didn’t seem to do anything without asking God for direction first — which is what WE should do too!

But it is of note that THIS time, when David inquired of the Lord, He told him to do something DIFFERENT.

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God WILL Give You More Than You Can Handle!

Posted on 2014/01/09 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 142:6 David makes his request to God: “Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.” Here David asks God for help, on the basis that He was his refuge and portion (:5). And in his request he indicates how deep his trouble was. He says: “I am brought very low” and asks the Lord to deliver him from his persecutors, “for they are too strong for me.” The introduction to the Psalm gives us a little more information. It says that the occasion of this Psalm was when David was “in the cave.” I Samuel 22:1 and 24:3 each describe such occasions, when David hid in a cave because Saul and his much larger army was hunting him. This is significant. David admits here that the enemies that he faces are too much for him to handle — that is why he so desperately needs God to act on his behalf, and thus the occasion for his prayer.

We surely know that we face similar situations in life —

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The Blessed Wounds of Godly Criticism

Posted on 2014/01/08 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 141:5 David prays: “Let a righteous man strike me – it is a kindness; let him rebuke me – it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” Psalm 141 is evidently an evening prayer of confession for David. It seems that he is looking back on the day and praying about areas in his life in which he has fallen short: for example, in :3 he prays “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth.” Like many of us, he had probably said some things he shouldn’t have that day! It is instructive to us that one of the things he prays about is what is found here in :5 — that the righteous would rebuke him, and that he would not refuse it when they did.

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