“Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness” (Psalm 145:6).

Psalm 145 

T o gaze into the eyes of a newborn child … to place a wedding band on the delicate left hand of the woman you love more than you could have ever imagined possible … to climb a 14,000-foot Colorado mountain peak and stare wondrously into the pristine nighttime sky and behold thousands of sparkling stars spanning the galaxy … to observe a gifted artist capturing a visual wonder with astute perfection in every stroke of her brush on the canvas … to marvel at the harmonious notes declared by an utterly synchronized orchestra of 100 stringed violins … to scuba dive a Caribbean coral reef and behold countless multicolored fish, plants, and living rocks that span the vast aquarium below–the efforts of the imagination are endless as a God-worshipper attempts to find a comparative sight, thought, or experience that parallels the exhilaration of pure, unadulterated worship.

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“He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:4-5).

Psalm 147

S omewhat amused as I write today, I am opening a fresh, conveniently packaged Truth or Dare spearmint chewing gum box as I travel to do a student event at the University of Nebraska. As I read this amazing Psalm 147, which is fully devoted to God’s infinite, overshadowing greatness and sovereignty, the sliding lid of the gum package reads in large, bold letters, “Your game, your rules.” Hmm … Pondering that for a minute: “My game, my rules.” The gum’s not bad … but the philosophy? Tonight (as it is every night), as we present “The Cross” to the exuberant crowd of students, we will, by God’s continually overflowing, amazing grace, see hundreds of students coming to the cross with small, white cards on which they have written “confessions to God.” As we build the 12-foot cross, we will nail those cards to it in symbolism of Jesus’ blood covering the countless sins that have been entrusted to His forgiving heart.

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“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes” (Psalm 118:9).

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Psalm 118

To a baby girl, it’s her mother’s arms.

To a mom, it’s being surrounded by a loving family.

To a musician, it’s a quiet, secluded room to write in.

To an artist, it’s a remote mountain waterfall.

To a lost lamb, it’s in the safekeeping of his shepherd.

To King David in his boyhood, it was the big, starry sky above. As a young man, it was an unknown, rocky cave hiding him safely from an angry King Saul. In his latter years, it was his walled city.

Refuge … it’s our safe place; it’s a Christian’s place of security, provision, and shelter.

Everybody needs a refuge. Without one, life can be a frightening experience.

In an ever deepening, intimate, abiding relationship with Jesus, a Christ-follower who stays in fellowship with “the Great Shepherd of the Sheep” is never without a refuge. Never!

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“How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5).

Psalm 146

I n his brilliant book The Anatomy of Hope, cancer specialist Dr. Jerome Groopman uncovers the overwhelming medicinal value of hope.
Dr. Groopman begins his study by providing his medical history. “For nearly three decades I have practiced hematology and oncology, caring for patients with cancer, blood diseases, HIV and Hepatitis C. During much of that time, at the bedside and at the laboratory bench, I failed to consider the impact of hope on any patient’s illness.”

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“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6).

 

Psalm 150

I f you ever walk through a cemetery and read the words on the tombstones, you’ll often find a short phrase that describes the life of that person. This phrase, which was labored over and pondered thoughtfully by the loved ones who placed it there, best describes and summarizes that person’s life, passion, personality, purpose for living, impact, and legacy. This short phrase encapsulates the fingerprint the deceased person placed on the lives of those he or she touched in his or her brief stay on this planet.

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“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1).

Psalm 133

On December 22, 1944, at approximately 11:30 A.M., four German soldiers waving two white peace flags approached General Anthony McAuliffe, senior commanding officer of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, who had just secured the town of Bastogne, Belgium, during the pivotal Battle of the Bulge in the closing days of World War II.

The following note was given to the American commander from German General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz as 54,000 soldiers from seven divisions of the German army surrounded the highly outnumbered 101st Airborne, with its 11,000 “nitty gritty” fighting soldiers, and only 11,000 other American fighters:

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“O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:3-4).

Psalm 144

From the vantage point of a space traveler orbiting our moon 235,000 miles from the earth, our planet is a beautiful sight to behold! But viewing our planetary home from our sun is a bit less impressive. From that vantage point, only 93 million miles away, planet earth is only a shiny, blue dot in a vast, starry sky. But if you travel only 4.2 light years to our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, the earth is invisible to the naked eye. From that point of view, the small, blue dot in the cosmos has completely vanished. In terms of cosmic vastness and architectural structure, our planet is less significant than a grain of sand on an endless ocean beach.

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“Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not promote his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah. As for the head of those who surround me, may the mischief of their lips cover them” (Psalm 140:8-9).

Psalm 140

“Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). In this most-well-known prayer from around the world, Jesus gives His followers the stark realization that only “the Great Shepherd of the Sheep” can protect His lambs from the snare of the enemy. Only “the Great Shepherd of the Sheep” can empower a follower to overcome sin. Only “the Great Shepherd of the Sheep” can build a heart that is blameless, without a spot or blemish; a mind that thinks pure thoughts; a mouth that utters consistent words of honor; and a soul that can be maintained respectfully.

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