Daily Encouragement

OCTOBER 12, 2008 - Is God On Your Side?

Meditation on Psalm 124

These two psalms of ascent, Psalm 123 and 124, go together as a pair. Psalm 123 is a prayerful psalm to plead for God's help and Psalm 124 is grateful for God's answer.

The psalmist affirmed the fact that he and Israel would be swallowed up by enemies and overwhelmed by all the problems in their journey to worship God unless God was on their side. (v. 1-5)

Then the psalmist testified that God had protected them and set them free from their predators. Their help came from name of the Creator. (v. 6-8)

How do we have God on our side? Trust and revere the name of the LORD. Jesus is the Yahweh (Jehovah) who will answer our prayers. Let us wait on Him who loves His people. In these times, the world may be full of trouble and bad news. Our lives are being hurt by the circumstances. But look to Jesus who is the author and finisher our faith. (Hebrews 12:2) We will experience the help from God like the psalmist did.

OCTOBER 13, 2008 - Surrounded By God

Meditation on Psalm 125

Psalm 125:2 says, "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever." (NKJV)

When we pray and see as the servant of Elisha saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha, we would know that God is protecting us. (2 King 6:17) We are satisfied that God has promised His presence with us forever here in the word of God. Moreover, "those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever." (v. 1) I believe that this has implication for the church today.

Verse three is very interesting. God will not even allow the wicked to rule over the righteous for long in the land that belongs to the righteous so they may not be influenced to do evil. How we praise God for that!

We should continuously pray for God to do good for the upright. (v. 4)

God will protect His church to the extent that He will lead away those who turn aside to their crooked ways. (v. 5) What a guarantee and comfort!

We pray for the peace of Israel as a nation (v. 5b) and for the spiritual Israel confirmed by the apostle Paul. (Romans 2:28-29, Romans 9:6, and Galatians 3:29)

OCTOBER 14, 2008 - Dream Comes True

Meditation on Psalm 126

The Jewish captives in ancient Babylon had their dream finally realized starting in 538 B.C., they were able to return to their homeland of Zion. The psalmist said that the LORD brought them back. (v. 1)

They were so happy and even became a testimony to other nations also. (v. 2-3)

The streams in the South in Palestine can turn into great torrents in the right season. The psalmist prays that many more captives can return home like a flood. (v. 4)

Verse five and six are probably the most quoted psalm for evangelical believers. The soil of the homeland was dry and hard due to the lack of cares for a long time. The returned farmers had to labor by sowing with sweat and prayed with tears to expect growing crops. They would weep with repentance for former sins as they sow so that God will grant them good harvest.

Applying this psalm to our Christian lives, we are like captives of sins who have been brought back by the Lord and begin to live in our homeland, the church. We should pray for many more captives to come back to church like ourselves. At the same time we can accomplish that by sowing seeds of His word. (Matthew 13:18-23) When we sow with the attitude and condition mentioned above, we will doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us. (v. 6)

Our dream has come true for ourselves. What about the same dreams for our relatives and friends?

OCTOBER 15, 2008 - Build Your Life With God

Meditation on Psalm 127

Solomon told us here that God is the builder of our lives. Without Him, all our labor is in vain no matter how hard we work. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon summarized all his experiments and examination of life with one word, "vanities" or emptiness or grasping for the wind.

In our civic, vocational and domestic life, the LORD is the keeper, the refresher, and blesser. Our children are a heritage from the LORD, Solomon said. When we commit our family unto God and raise them as He is the head, we will be strong and mighty against the enemies as a secured home and nation.

Let God be sovereign in your life. Allow Him to build you and your family.

OCTOBER 16, 2008 - Home Sweet Home

Meditation on Psalm 128

As the worshipers were going up to Zion (the church), they sang about their faith and blessings. Most of all they sang about one's family and home.

To fear the LORD (v. 1 & 4) is the key to blessings for one's life and home. As I mentioned before, to fear the LORD in the Old Testament is same as to believe in Jesus in the New Testament. Only a person who has committed his heart to obey Jesus and His rule can he experiences the full blessings from God. That is fearing the LORD.

The blessings of God upon the worshiper's own wife and children are bountiful. (v. 3-4) Indeed, the blessings upon one's home shall last to future generations. (v. 6)

We should understand that God's blessings upon His people are usually through a corporate form in the Old Testament. God blessed His children usually through the parents. God blessed their homes usually through Zion and Jerusalem because the blessings came through the priest's benediction. That was why the psalmist said, "The LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life." (v. 5 NKJV)

Even though today in the Western culture, it emphasizes the importance of personal effort and decision. We should still realize that the channel of blessings is the church. (The New Jerusalem) When the assembly of God’s people worships together and prays together, God’s blessings will flow through us and work through us also. Then we will all have homes sweet homes.

OCTOBER 17, 2008 - Grace Or Wrath

Meditation on Psalm 129

From this psalm, we can see the grace of God that set His people free and the wrath of God upon those hate His people continuously.

This song was sung by the Israel worshipers who had been freed from their captivity. They lamented the fact that their history had been full of enduring pain and sufferings. (v. 1-4) And in the following half of the song, they sang about the curse of God upon their enemies who hate Zion. The haters of Zion would not deserve to be blessed by God. These wicked ones would turn back in battle and would not prosperous and fruitful. (v. 5-8)

We should learn that we are either under Jesus' grace or under His wrath. There is no in between. Today, which position are you in? (John 3:36) I trust that you are still in His grace of acceptance and turn to Him while there is still a chance. If one has decided to turn against Him and hate His people, he is in condemnation.

OCTOBER 18, 2008 - Dealing With Sin And Guilt

Meditation on Psalm 130

Once a while we would hear or read story about people voluntarily confessing how they had wronged others or had committed a crime many years ago. I ran into this kind of confession several times too. One American missionary to Chinese wrote a letter to a former classmate who was a Chinese to ask for his forgiveness for making some seemed to be discriminating remark long time ago during college days. All these show us that guilt is a powerful feeling in human life no matter it is great or small matter.

Psalm 130 is one of the songs of ascent. This traveler to Zion was bothered deeply by his own sin and guilt. His song which was sung by the Israelite shows us that it is a common problem we must deal with.

"Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;".(v. 1 NKJV) The psalmist cried and pleaded for God's redemption and forgiveness realizing that no one can stand under God's judgment. (v. 2-3) But there is forgiveness with God so that man may be awe for His mercy. (v. 4)

He waited for God's removal of his guilt like a guard who watched for the morning. (v. 5-6)

This psalm can be applied to a person and to a nation. It can speak to the redemption of God to cover our guilt at all time even to the future. (v. 7-8)

We can rest assure of God's removal of our sins and guilt as we wait upon Jesus who had died for our sins on the cross. Trust in Him to cleanse our conscience and give us peace as we confess our sins before him. (Hebrews 10:19-23 and 1 John 1:9)