Collected or prepared by Pastor Wilfred Chung

June 27 - July 3, 2010

June 27, 2010 - How To Praise The Lord

Meditation on Psalm 135

In answer to the request from the previous psalm, Psalm 135 showed us how the priest praised the LORD. Since all Christians are priests and servants of God in the New Testaments, we can all learn from this psalm the way of praising God. Let us follow the progression of this psalm to highlight the content as follows:

At the beginning, one should praise the name of the LORD. And we should stand in the court of the Lord when we praise Him.

We praise the goodness of the LORD and sing to Him because He has chosen us to belong to Him.

We praise Him because He is great and we know Him. He is above all and is absolutely sovereign.

He controls the weather. He has destroyed and defeated His enemies. He gave inheritance to His people.

He is eternal and will be glorified by His people continuously.

Men's idols are but made by men to be like men.

Yet our LORD is to be praised in succession by those who have been chosen by Him to revere Him in His church.

June 28, 2010 - Worship With Confidence

Meditation on Psalm 138

King David gave us a great model of worship and praise in Psalm 138.

True worship must involve our whole heart. (v. 1) Our worship is done even before the angels. (Ancient Hebrew scholars translate the word "gods" in Hebrews to Greek as "angels".) They watch our worship. ("Praise Him above ye heavenly host" in Doxology)

The holy temple David talked about is referring to the place of worship in the Tabernacle. (v. 2) We should worship God in His sanctuary.

Why do we worship? It is because of His lovingkindness and His truth in His word.

We worship Him also because He answers our prayers and strengthen our souls. (v. 3)

King David called upon all the kings of the earth to praise the LORD. He prophesied that this will happen. (v. 4)

In worship we will hear the words of the LORD and sing of His ways and glory. (v. 5)

The LORD deserves our worship because He regards the lowly and is distant from the proud. (v. 6)

We can have confidence in worshipping all the time because He would revive us when we are in trouble and punish our enemies. (v. 7)

Most of all we can praise Him because He will perfect that which concerns us. He will not forsake His work in us and through us. (v. 8)

Therefore we can worship with great confidence!

June 29, 2010 - When No One Cares For You

Meditation on Psalm 142

God uses the experience of David to teach us how to face loneliness and helplessness under the attack of enemy. David was pursued by King Saul and his mighty soldiers relentlessly for a long time in the wilderness. He was hiding in a cave when he composed this psalm.

Notice that he cried to God desperately. But he cried confidently also. There was no one who would help him or could care for him at those tragic hours. He felt like he was in a prison. Yet he knew that God could deliver him alive. "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of living." he prayed. (v. 5 NKJV)

He had come to realize he was weak compared to the persecutor. He was overwhelmed in his soul. He was trapped definitely. In such a condition, David still trusted in His God to get him out of the deep trouble he was in and look forward to His praise for God's bountiful dealing with him with other righteous people around him!

Faith is the victory even when no one cares.

June 30, 2010 - Praise The King Everyday

Meditation on Psalm 145

The psalmist commits himself to praise God and His name everyday and forever. (v. 1-2) This should be the decision for all God's children.

God wants us to praise His mighty work from generation to generation. Men ought to remember His great goodness and full compassion.

God rules throughout the world and through all eternity. He raises up all who are bowed down. He gives food to those who look to Him. He satisfies the desires of every living thing. He is near to us. He is righteous. He hears our cry. We who love Him shall certainly praise Him all the time.

Have you praised Him today from your heart? His kingdom shall come! A life of praise will prepare us to usher in His rule.

July 1, 2010 - How To Make Wise Choices In Life

Meditation on Proverbs 2

The book of Proverbs was written under the supervision of the wisest person ever lived on earth: Solomon. His word is gold.

In the passages of Proverbs, we are instructed to seek wisdom in life. True wisdom can only come from God's Word.

What are the characteristics of God's Word?

How does wisdom from God protect you?

What kind of persons you should avoid?

What would guarantee you to live successfully?

Following the advices in this proverbs are utmost important in our lives. We need to remind ourselves daily those principles.

July 2, 2010 - The Contrast Between Wisdom And Folly

Meditation on Proverbs 9

This chapter brings out the contrast between godly wisdom (v. 1-6) and the way of folly (v. 13-18). In between, we can learn the practical way to deal with the wise and the fool. (v. 7-9) Also we learn about the benefits of wisdom. (v. 10-12)

Verse 10 is often quoted by many. It says that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." (ESV) The first step of learning true wisdom is to have a reverencing awe of God by submitting to Him. I like the Chinese translation of the later part of this verse: To know the most Holy One is smart.

One scholar has pointed out that "to fear the LORD" is similar to receiving Christ Jesus as one's Lord and Savor in the New Testament.

It is the most important and wisest thing in our lives. For Jesus is the only true Lord due to the fact that He was raised from the dead. By submitting totally your life to Him you will be saved from sin and eternal separation from God. (Romans 10:9)

When you have Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savor, you enter into the wise way of life.

July 3, 2010 - The Discipline For A Careless Heart

Meditation on Proverbs 10

Beginning from this chapter, King Solomon seemed to give words of wisdom in a way that does not seem to be in any order generally speaking. But they are just as important as the other Words. Each verse deserves our thorough meditation and application in our lives.

Today let us just think over verse 13: "On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks understanding."  (NASB) It is easy to understand the first part of the verse. But the word, "rod" in the second part of the verse needs further examination. Some of us apply this sentence to the discipline of children at home and link this verse with Proverbs 13:24, "He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently." The Hebrew word of "rod" for these two verses is "shebet". It can mean a scepter. It denotes authority. It is also the same word used in Psalm 23:4, "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Therefore when a parent disciplines a child, he or she needs to do it authoritatively. And the rod can rather be a mean for comfort to the child because it offers correction and security in knowing that the parent cares. If the rod is used simply to create a strong pain for the child, it May not convey the sense of comforting and caring at all. The word for understanding at the end of verse 13 literally means "heart" in Hebrew. He who lacks the heart needs discipline. A normal child who is always careless and thoughtless deserves strong rebuke and a firm pat on the back that he must correct his attitude before it is too late.

Sometimes God does this for His children too. We May sense it.