The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day seven)

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Psalm 96:5-6

Sometimes the English language doesn’t fully capture the richness found in Scripture. Especially as we read poetry. The word for idols (elilim) is a play on the word for gods (elohim). Elilim actually translates most closely to “nothing.” What people call “gods” are, in reality, nothing at all. You can try to compare them to God, but they pale in comparison to the splendor and majesty of the Creator of the Universe!

We might not think that we create idols because we don’t have graven images in our households, but the gods of the peoples of today are just as prevalent and dangerous. We worship with our time, energy, and money. If we were to follow the trail of those things in your life, would it lead us to God or would it lead us to something else? Work, family, hobbies, comfort, success, possessions? These are the idols of today. Wait, those can be good things, can’t they?

Strength and beauty are the characteristics of the things found in the presence of God. When God is the center of our worship, we find strength and beauty in those good things, but when those “good” things become the center of our worship, we become drained and burnt out because our energy has been spent doing nothing.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day five) Isn’t it interesting that the Psalmist directs the readers to sing?  Not write a poem. Not draw a picture. Not make a resolution or commitment. Not journal. (Let me pause and say these are all good and healthy ways to discover, process and apply, any revelation that God gives to us. God has used all these and many more means to help me grow closer and strengthen my relationship with Him.)  In this case, just sing. Singing is different. There is a recalibration, affection, and intensity found in singing. There is something about verbally hearing truths, praise, and feelings pour out of our mouths and bodies. There is an audible component found in our singing that is distinctive to us. Our voice. Our conviction. Our testimony. Our sound. Our experience. Our faith. Our memories. Our priorities. Our observations. Our personal expression. That’s why this kind of song is a “New Song”- it is unique to each one of us. Will you look, listen, read, and ponder God’s Glory?  Then with your own voice and from your own experience, will you sing?  Out loud?  Just for you and the Lord to hear.
It will echo the experience of Carl Boberg- his reaction and response to God’s glory and creation… “Then sings my soul,”

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day four)

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.”

Occasionally, I start to feel nervous or even panicked at the state of the world. There is so much injustice and uncertainty; the news alerts us to tragedies and the corrupt whims of politicians every day. It starts to feel overwhelming, but then I remember that the God I worship created the world and is sovereign over it. The God I talk to every day – the one who knows my fears and shame, the one who knows the number of hairs on my head, is the one who established the world and his church. What the Lord has firmly established, the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

This is one of the many things we have to celebrate – at the end of the day, the Lord reigns. No matter how bad things seem, the earth will not be moved because the Lord is sovereign over it. We serve a righteous judge who is coming again to set all things right. When we worship, we remember that it is our God who holds all the power in heaven and earth, and we celebrate his goodness and sovereignty.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day three)

² Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day. (ESV)

When we read this Psalm as a directive for all nations to sing and worship the Lord, we understand the significance of verse two a little more. Here, David is reminding all peoples to sing of the salvation that comes from the Lord (not just Israel). Our praise and worship should start with a thankful expression of the salvation that God has given to all people. David is highlighting the Gospel here in the Old Testament!

I’ve heard Pastor Byron remind us all many times before that the best way for us to share the good news of Jesus is to tell of the difference that Jesus has made in our lives. How are you different because of Jesus? What muck and junk has Jesus saved you from? What has salvation meant to you as a follower of Christ? These answers are what we praise Him for! We worship and praise God because He gave His Son for us so we could be with Him, even though we do not deserve it.

There is somebody out there today that needs to hear your salvation story. They need to hear how God has rescued you from the pit of destruction and has given you new life. Bless the Lord’s name today and every day because of the salvation you have been given, and tell of His salvation as often as you can!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day two) 

Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth. v. 1

Well, this may come as a shock to you, but I love this psalm! Notice the qualifications for singing listed in this first verse. College degree in music, in the choir, can read music, good soloist, can hit the high notes, has a good voice, knows the song

NOPE

All these reasons (read excuses) I hear on a regular basis. There is a cultural bias that continues in our churches that suggests some can sing and some cannot. Let’s face it, some people are better singers than others. That is a fact. There, however, is not a hierarchy in worship of who can and who cannot participate in praise. This psalm and others declare the only qualification necessary is breath in your lungs. You are alive, therefore you must sing. This isn’t a suggestion, it’s not a talent show, it is a mandate from the Lord. This is one of the ways we were created to glorify our creator. My hope and prayer is that we can continue to support an attitude of worship that encourages abandon. Just sing.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 119:1–16 (day seven)

Verse 1 & 3: Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! …who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!

Enoch and Noah walked with God and also Abraham was commanded to walk in God’s ways. We as believers can choose to walk in darkness or walk in the light (see 1 Jn 1:5–7): 5 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Our “Christian walk” as it is called, has everything to do with a right-standing before a Holy God. Do you know anyone who walked with God so closely that “he was no more, for the Lord took Him” like it was with Enoch? It seems that we in these modern times are hardly walking. Rather, I think we are stumbling or crawling. The grace of God must be carrying us and we have not yet learned to walk with God at all! I often read about saints of old and missionaries that gave their lives and I want to emulate their faithfulness and devotion. It is easy to become discouraged instead of encouraged when we compare ourselves with the heroes of the faith. We misunderstand the finished work that Christ has accomplished and mistakenly believe that we still need to contribute something.

Earlier in my life, I became familiar with an author, Watchman Nee, who in one of his books entitled: “Sit, Walk, Stand”, examines the book of Ephesians and instructs the believer in the proper order of spiritual things. There is a comparison with natural things and he makes the logical connection that, one cannot walk before he first sits and learns how. In the Christian life we must learn to walk in God’s ways. To do that we must be made to sit at the feet of the Master. The book of Ephesians mentions “walking” 8 times. The verses in the beginning of the book instruct us that we are made to first “sit with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).” Here is a quote from the second chapter of his book,

“We have sought to make it clear that Christian experience does not begin with walking, but with sitting. Every time we reverse the divine order, the result is disaster. The Lord Jesus has done everything for us, and our need now is to rest confidently in Him. He is seated on the throne, so we are carried through in His strength. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that all true spiritual experience begins from rest.
But it does not end there. Though the Christian life begins with sitting, sitting is always followed by walking. When once we have been well and truly seated and have found our strength in sitting down, then we do in fact begin to walk. Sitting describes our position with Christ in the heavenlies. Walking is the practical outworking of that heavenly position here on earth.”

“Christ-in-us” is the message of the New Testament, but especially Ephesians and Colossians. Our relationship with the Lord is based on a New Covenant which isn’t based upon our ability to obey the Law. Thank you Jesus we can be made righteous, faithful, and blameless based upon the covenant-keeping Savior who finished the work of atonement on the cross and now sits at the right hand of the Most High “reminding” His Father of how He has perfectly “walked on our behalf.” Jesus walked blamelessly and now we who have trusted in Him can also be blameless before a Holy God. We have done no wrong in God’s eyes because Jesus Christ lives in us. Jesus perfectly obeyed the Law of the Lord and so have all those In-Christ who are children born of His Spirit.

Keep walking in His ways.

Byron Pitts, Minister of Missions and Evangelism

P.S. – if anyone wants to go witnessing downtown after church. Meet me in the Great Hall at 12:35.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 119:1–16 (day six)

Psalm 119 does not present Scripture as mere content to master, but as a life to be walked—“joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.” The psalmist binds knowing and doing, delight and obedience. Yet this life with the Word was never meant to be lived alone. Scripture is most deeply received, loved, and cherished when it is embodied among a people who walk in it together.

We learn its truth not only by reading, but by hearing it lived in one another. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us, “God has willed that we should seek and find his living Word in the witness of a brother.” The Word takes on flesh in community: spoken, practiced, and shared.

To store up God’s Word in our hearts is also to place ourselves among God’s people, where that Word is rehearsed, corrected, and lived. Scripture forms us most fully when it is not isolated in us, but embodied between us.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 119:1–16 (day five)

We are wrapping up our “Footsteps of Paul” Trip today. We have stood where Paul stood and preached. We have walked down ancient roads that were traveled by many of the Apostles. It has been an amazing time for discovery, growth, and reflection. I am reminded of Paul’s last written words to Timothy – I have fought the fight, ran the race, and KEPT the faith. It’s exactly the tone and intention of Psalm 119. “You have ordained Your precepts, That we should keep them diligently.”  There is determination, discipline, and devotion all required in the “keeping.” Doesn’t happen accidentally. One of the things we saw and learned about Paul was his focus and desire to be obedient. Same for us. May we have the same kind of devotion and regard for Your Word. May the Scriptures be the Lamp and Light they were given to be. May we trust and follow God’s Word for His glory and our good!  May we diligently KEEP Your statutes dear Lord!

Lastly from Paul- “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”