Praise Him

Psalm 34.

“I will bless the Lord at all times;  his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul makes its boast in the Lord;  let the humble hear and be glad.  

O magnify the Lord with me,  and let us exalt his name together.  

I sought the Lord, and he answered me,  and delivered me from all my fears.  Look to him, and be radiant;  so your faces shall never be ashamed.  

This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,  and was saved from every trouble.  The angel of the Lord encamps  around those who fear him, and delivers them.  

O taste and see that the Lord is good;  happy are those who take refuge in him.  O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,  for those who fear him have no want.  

The young lions suffer want and hunger,  but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.  

Come, O children, listen to me;  I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  

Which of you desires life,  and covets many days to enjoy good?  Keep your tongue from evil,  and your lips from speaking deceit.  Depart from evil, and do good;  seek peace, and pursue it.  

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,  and his ears are open to their cry.  The face of the Lord is against evildoers,  to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.  

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,  and rescues them from all their troubles.  

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,  and saves the crushed in spirit.  

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,  but the Lord rescues them from them all.  

He keeps all their bones;  not one of them will be broken.  

Evil brings death to the wicked,  and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.  

The Lord redeems the life of his servants;  none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”

Hold on to this. Go back and sing this Psalm. Make your own tune. Get it in your spirit. Oh he’s good. He’s better than good. Praise him for his wonderful works. Praise him for his promises. Praise him for his favor. Praise him for his love. Praise him, he loves us that much. enough for now.

Be Still

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God!  I am exalted among the nations,  I am exalted in the earth.”

That’s who he is! Be still and watching amazement. Be still to hear from him, be still and trust what he is doing. Be still. enough for now 

Do This

Isaiah 58:6-12 NRSV

“Is not this the fast that I choose:  to loose the bonds of injustice,  to undo the thongs of the yoke,  to let the oppressed go free,  and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,  and bring the homeless poor into your house;  when you see the naked, to cover them,  and not to hide yourself from your own kin?  Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,  and your healing shall spring up quickly;  your vindicator shall go before you,  the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;  you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.””

The Israelites were too busy in their own ‘me’ issues and were complaint to God about him not answering. But he tells them what a true fast look like. And gives a series of if/then statements. Go back and reread Isaiah 58.

If you do these things you will have Divine License to call upon the Lord: (Verses 8&9.) 

If you feed the hungry, give shelter, clothe the naked, and take care of family. “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. 

Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will be your rear guard.

The righteousness from your obedience will go before you and God has your back. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer, you will cry for help, and he will say, “Here am I.””

As believers, we are to make a stand as one against unfit social conditions. We must be ready to fight against systemic oppression and support those marginalized by society.

But when you call God, he will answer. We have the divine license to call upon the Lord. Vs 9 haneh Predicator of Existence (10.3b in Hebrew book). We have no English word that this properly translates. So the best we can do in the English is say, “here am I” 

The NLT says, “Yes, I am here, he will quickly reply.” But the Hebrew translation of “Behold Me!” says it better. 

That ‘behold’ is to look upon or to listen to something amazing or unexpected, and in that context it is more of a command. So, for God to say, ‘Behold Me’, I got your back. Gaze upon something so absolutely amazing- Me. Watch me, don’t worry about that.What else could there be that is bigger? NOT A THING. That is something we can hold on to. enough for now.