Podcasts about o lord

Psalm 36 invites us to draw our strength from the Lord, the fountain of our lives.  (Lectionary #398) July 23, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com  

SCRIPTURE- Proverbs 3:7"Do not be wise in your own eyes fear the LORD and turn away from evil;"REFLECTION- Fr. JimMUSIC- "Da Pacem Domine" from The Best of Gregorian Chant- "Rising Cumulus" by Jeff GreinkeNOTES- English Translation of "Da Pacem Domine"Give peace, O Lord, in our days, for there is no one elsewho fights for us except You, our God.Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  May those who love you prosper.Give peace, O Lord, in our days...May there be peace within your strength and security within your towers.Give peace, O Lord, in our days...For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will speak of peace concerning you.Give peace, O Lord, in our days...PRAYER OF LETTING GOTo You do I belong, O God, into Your hands I surrender my life. Pour out Your Spirit upon me that I may love You perfectly, and serve You faithfully until my soul rests in You.

Read OnlineA Model of Holy Love and DesireOn the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him.” John 20:1–2When Jesus first encountered Mary Magdalene, she was afflicted by seven demons. Many Church Fathers interpret this number as symbolizing a complete domination by evil spirits. Though later traditions identified Mary Magdalene with the repentant prostitute or the woman caught in adultery, the Gospels themselves do not explicitly make that identification. What is certain is that she had been grievously afflicted by demons (cf. Luke 8:2).To fall into such spiritual bondage suggests a life marked by serious sin. However, diabolical possession is not always the direct result of mortal sin; at times, God may permit such affliction for reasons known only to His providence, allowing a greater good to emerge from it. Whatever the cause of Mary Magdalene's prior affliction, it is clear that God, in His infinite mercy, transformed her into a radiant model of holy love and desire. From her profound healing flowed a singular devotion to Christ.Today's Gospel beautifully portrays the emotion, desire, sorrow, and love flowing from Mary's heart. She was one of the few faithful disciples who remained with Jesus during His Passion and death. She stood by the Cross alongside Jesus' mother, the Apostle John, and a few other holy women. Her strength and devotion likely sprang from her heartfelt gratitude toward Jesus for delivering her from diabolical affliction. The freedom she experienced through Him enkindled in her an unwavering faith, recognizing Him as the Messiah and the Son of God.On Easter Sunday morning, before the sun had even risen, Mary made her way to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body. Since Jesus had died shortly before the Sabbath began—sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday—Mary and the other women had been unable to properly anoint His sacred Body. We can imagine that from the moment the Sabbath began, her heart was fixed on one desire: to return to the tomb and perform this final act of love. Her devotion could not wait. Love compelled her to act as soon as it was permitted, and in doing so, she became the first to behold the empty tomb—and soon after, the Risen Lord.We see Mary's holy love and desire also in her determination to remain at the empty tomb. After seeing the stone rolled away, she ran to tell the Apostles, and then returned with Peter and John. But after they departed, Mary remained. She stayed, weeping, loving, and longing. She was so consumed with desire for her Lord that, when she saw two angels seated in the tomb, she was neither startled nor impressed—not even when they spoke to her: “Woman, why are you weeping?” Her only thought was for Jesus: “They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him.”Even when Jesus appeared, His identity veiled from her eyes, she still sought only His body. Yet it was His voice—tender, familiar, unmistakable—that pierced the veil and opened her eyes of faith: “Mary!” She responded with that beautiful, personal cry of recognition, “Rabbouni!”Reflect today on the transformed soul of Saint Mary Magdalene. She went from diabolical affliction to a heart overflowing with holy love and desire for our Lord. She is a model for each of us. We must allow ourselves to be filled with the same gratitude for His grace and reconciliation, cultivate the same unwavering devotion, and burn with the same longing to find Him. When our hearts mirror Mary's, we too will hear the Lord call us by name. Be grateful. Desire Him. Listen for Him. And like Mary, you will find that He is already standing before you.Rabbouni! With Saint Mary Magdalene, I give thanks to You with all my heart for the freedom You have mercifully bestowed upon me. You have forgiven my sins, restored me to grace, and kept me safe from the snares of the enemy. With Mary, I pray that my passions and every movement of my soul may be caught up in love of You, driving me to seek You with all my being. Speak my name, O Lord, call me lovingly, and open my eyes to see You always before me. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: St Mary Magdalene, by Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Source: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:  2 Kings 18–19; 2 Chronicles 3; James 5 Click HERE to give! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible for July 22nd, day 202 in our year-long journey through the Scriptures. In today's episode, Hunter guides us through some powerful passages: we'll hear the story of King Hezekiah's faith and courage in Second Kings, the intricate details of Solomon building the temple in Second Chronicles, and words of encouragement from James chapter five. As we reflect on what truly sets God's people apart, we'll see how trust in God makes all the difference, empowering us to face challenges with hope and confidence. Join us for a time of Scripture, prayer, and encouragement, as we are reminded to place our trust in the one who is the ultimate difference maker. TODAY'S DEVOTION: The ominous question Hezekiah hears from King Sennacherib was, why should you be any different? In other words, why should you expect any other outcome than the one everyone else gets? Sennacherib had a track record, and if you're looking for a track record to prove your own impending doom, you'll have no trouble finding it. Your own Sennacherib will surely show up to tell you that you're no different either. But King Sennacherib had a problem because King Hezekiah was different. In 2 Kings 18:5, we see that Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after his time. The difference was that God had anointed him. God's presence was with him. Instead of rolling over and defeated, as some might, Hezekiah rolled with his anointing and into the presence of the Lord. Second Kings 19:14 says, after Hezekiah received the letter from the messenger and read it, he went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord, and Hezekiah prayed. He asked his God, the only God, the God of Israel, to listen, to bend down, to deliver. He asked God to show Sennacherib and Israel that God's people are not like everyone else, and that he is a God like no other. In verse 19, it says, "Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power. Then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone are God." God did that very thing. He proved to Hezekiah and King Sennacherib and all the kings of the earth that he alone is God. He answered the question that was crashing in on Hezekiah's heart. The question was, what makes you think you are any different? The difference was God. Our God is the difference maker, and he's come to make a difference in your life. He's come to live and abide in us as we live in him. It makes all the difference in the world. We are able to face those accusations of our own personal Sennacherib and all those that come to terrify us. We can roll with our anointing and into the presence of God, drawing close to the one who is the difference maker, the one who gives us victory. So draw near to the one who makes the difference. Find your strength in him. When you hear the words, "what makes you any different?" respond like Hezekiah and roll into the presence of the Lord. Place those accusations at his feet. Ask him to show you what the difference is once again so that you might stand up, stand strong and see the victory that he alone can bring. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

My first reaction: "No way." Then, "It's true...and it's awful." A man asleep in the middle of the night. Suddenly, what has been determined to be an approximately 60-foot sinkhole opens up beneath the house and literally sucks the man, the bed, and the bedroom in with it. The home has since been demolished, and the next door neighbors were given 30 minutes to grab what they could and evacuate. There was even speculation that the owners of the other two homes would never return. Sinkholes seem to be a lot more common than we realize. I mean, certain soil-rock-and-moisture combinations apparently can erode over time and then suddenly collapse beneath you. There's ground that looks like it's safe to build on, but one day it just caves in under you. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Building on Ground That's Going Down." There's a feeling too many of us know all too well. "Hey, I thought this would support me. It just collapsed." Beginning in the fall of 2008, so many friends of mine saw their financial security suddenly disappear into a sinkhole as the ground just shifted overnight. A Wall Street veteran told me, "You know, if you had asked any of us Christian guys here what we were trusting in, we would have said, 'Well, we're trusting In the Lord, of course.' Until we suddenly lost what we were really trusting in." As they say on the news, sinkholes are all over the place. The person who once said, "Til death do us part" is suddenly gone. The children you lived for left the nest empty. The church or organization you did so much for let you down. The company you served for so long doesn't need you anymore. The friends you gave so much for moved on without you. The plans you made vanished with one visit to a doctor's office. The people you lived to please turned their backs on you. So many sinkholes! Ground you build on that you can't depend on. Yesterday's dream; now today's nightmare. The family who lost their home and their loved one in that sinkhole did find one consolation – the family Bible the demolition crew managed to retrieve. One family member stood in front of the rubble, just hugging that Bible for all she was worth. Well, I'll tell you, that's the only ground I know that will never cave in beneath you. It's what Martin Luther was counting on when he stood against the mightiest religious forces of his day and insisted knowing God was by faith alone. As all other ground around him was collapsing, he stood firm on a Biblical bedrock that is our word for today from the Word of God. Listen, "Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89). Firm in the heavens. Truth you can stake your life on; a foundation that can never be shaken. It's where Paul told Timothy to plant his feet when it seems as if everyone - including God's people - are adrift. "But as for you," he said, "continue in what you have learned...you have known the Holy Scriptures...All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:14-16). Sometimes, it means standing with a holy defiance of the culture, the crowd, the consensus, both feet firmly planted on God's Word. "God has spoken. That settles it." Jesus told about two men - one whose house "collapsed" when the torrent came, and one whose house "could not be shaken." The first one, he says, built on "ground without a foundation." The other "dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock." He said the sinkable man "hears My words and does not put them into practice." The unsinkable man, he said, "hears My words and puts them into practice" (Luke 6:47-49). So sitting in church just soaking up Christian beliefs is not enough to sustain you when your world's collapsing. Compartmentalized faith is collapsible faith. You have to do God's Word, not just know God's Word. King David posed this question for a sinkhole moment: "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" That's a good question. Here's the answer: "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne" (Psalm 11:3-4). When your world caves in, God's Throne hasn't moved. His Word is unchanged, and your God still reigns.

Pray Vespers, Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office, for Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary TimePsalm 137Psalm 138Canticle: Revelation 4Reading: Colossians 3Intercessions: Hear us, O Lord, and we shall praise you for ever.St. Helena Ministries is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your donations may be tax-deductibleSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Pray Lauds, Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office, for Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary TimePsalm 101Canticle: Daniel 3Psalm 144Reading: Isaiah 44Intercessions: Hear us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.St. Helena Ministries is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your donations may be tax-deductibleSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Experience Psalm 12 from the King James Version with calming ocean waves in this peaceful Psalms and Tides episode for prayer, reflection, trust, rest, and sleep.Psalm 12 begins with an urgent prayer: “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth.” It speaks honestly of a world where truth can seem rare, flattering words can wound, and the faithful may feel alone. Yet in the middle of that concern, this Psalm turns our hearts toward the purity, strength, and preservation of God's Word.In this episode of Psalms and Tides, the steady rhythm of the sea creates a peaceful space for Scripture, prayer, reflection, and rest. As you listen, may Psalm 12 remind you that the words of the Lord are pure words, refined and trustworthy, and that God is able to preserve His people even when the world feels uncertain.Whether you are settling down for sleep, seeking comfort in a troubled time, or resting your heart in the truth of Scripture, may this gentle reading bring quiet confidence and peace.Psalm 12, King James Version.Highlighted versesPsalm 12:1 — “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.”Psalm 12:5 — “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD…”Psalm 12:6 — “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”Psalm 12:7 — “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

God loves to make us work for it by Autumn Dickson Asa is one of the kings we read about this week. He was a king of Judah, the southern kingdom. He starts out his reign really strong, tearing down idol worship and deposing his own grandmother who worshipped idols. He encouraged people to seek the Lord. Unfortunately, he also took a turn for the worse and started trusting in human solutions over God, and he died. There is one verse in the midst of his story that I want to share. 2 Chronicles 14:6-7 6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. 7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. Asa had a time of peace during his reign, and in the midst of this peace, he built fortified cities in Judah. Asa goes on to face an Ethiopian army, and he is vastly outnumbered. As he faces his enemy, he cries out to God. 2 Chronicles 14:11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. The Lord proceeds to smite the Ethiopians, and they are driven back. So here is my question…why did they fortify their cities? Over and over and over again in the Old Testament we read about this same pattern. The Israelites (or in this case, Judah specifically), do all of the things only to have the Lord completely fight their battles. The Lord parted the Red Sea. He made the walls of Jericho come down. He struck down 185,000 Assyrians outside Jerusalem's walls during Hezekiah's reign. This is a consistent pattern throughout scripture. The Lord fights the battles. Entire armies are defeated or become confused or simply flee. So why bother even fortifying the cities? Even in this specific story where the Lord defeats an army of a million Ethiopians, it doesn't say that the fortified cities made a difference in the slightest. So why? Why fortify the city when the Lord defeats the enemy? The only way I can think to explain it is this: chores. Every Monday, our house gets totally cleaned. Bathrooms, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, all of it. Then, throughout the week, my three oldest kids are assigned one chore a day. It is usually the same list of chores that is done on Monday. I remember watching my four year old wipe down the mirrors in the bathroom on Tuesday. That mirror went from clean to streaked in no time flat. My soul kinda died a little bit watching her make the mirror dirtier, and then it died a little more when I had to sneak back in to clean it a third time in two days. But. I have to remind myself that it's not about a clean mirror. It's about a healthy, growing child. She doesn't clean the mirror so that I can have a clean mirror (obviously). She cleans the mirror so that she learns how to clean a mirror (eventually). The Lord paid for our sins. He paid for the sin you committed years ago, the sin you committed yesterday, the sin you're going to commit today, and the sin you're going to commit years into the future. The mirror is already clean. But He still asks us to learn how to clean a mirror. Even when we're actually just making the mirror dirtier again or when we're cleaning an already clean mirror. Being saved means you're clean again, and to some extent, all of us will be saved in some degree of glory. Being saved means you're clean, but being exalted means you grew up. And that's important because it determines our level of happiness. There is inherent worth in knowing how to clean a mirror. There is inherent worth in learning how to fortify your city and do labor. There is inherent worth in growth even if it's not actually contributing to anything yet. There is inherent worth in work even when it's not paying for our salvation. The Lord saves us. He cleaned the mirror. He protected His people throughout the scriptures. But He asks us to learn how to clean the mirror because we won't find happiness unless we know how. Some of the most miserable people I know are the ones who don't appreciate the value of working hard. It won't do you much good for the Lord to save you if you're still miserable, and He's not going to hook you up to constant happy drugs in heaven. Where do you think happiness comes from? It doesn't really come from the mirror simply being clean. It comes from growing, and the clean mirror enables you to live with God again. So we follow the Lord and His commandments so we learn how to be happy, and then He pays for the whole experience. He cleanses us so we can return to live with Him, and we return with the knowledge and experience required to find deep and lasting joy. I'm grateful for the scriptures that teach true doctrine. I'm grateful that I get to watch these patterns over and over and over throughout the Old Testament. The Lord does the work, but then He asks us to grow. I see it everywhere. I'm grateful He paid the price for me to get messy and come home with the knowledge and experience I need. I'm grateful that I get to learn, through my own experience, the good from the evil. I testify that the Lord saves, and I also testify that He gives commandments for our good. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR's 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Chronicles 14–20; 26; 30 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Psalm 41To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. As for me, I said, O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you! My enemies say of me in malice, When will he die, and his name perish? And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. They say, A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies. Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them! By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.Psalm 1:1Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;Psalm 2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.Romans 5:14Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.Romans 5:6,8For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.John 13:18-19I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.2 Corinthians 8:9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Rev. Doug Floyd Pentecost +8 2026Rev. Doug FloydPsalm 86 “Bow down your ear, O Lord, and hear me; for I am poor and in misery.” Our Psalm begins by crying out to God. “Bow down and hear me!” There are times when the soul is so grieved that these words take shape in a groan, a cry. God does hear. He hears…

Delivered by Vici from the Parish of St. John the Baptist in the Archdiocese of Jakarta, Indonesia. Micah 7: 14-15.18-20; Rs psalm 85: 2-4.5-6.7-8; Matthew 12: 46-50.THE STAFF OF GOD'S POWER Our meditation today has the theme: The Staff of God'sPower. In many political traditions a staff or stick is used as a symbol ofpower. We remember Moses who used a staff to show that the power of God was atwork in him, when he was in his mission to lead the people of God to where theLord led them. Kings and presidents of various countries also use staff whichis the symbol of the power they hold. In the Church, the Pope and Bishops havealso staff with the similar meaning. The staff that is made of wood or metal refers to thepower or authority of the person who uses it. Even a stick of wood which isused by father or mother at home is enough to give us understanding that ifchildren violate the rules, they will be subjected to punishment be beaten withthe stick. Seeing what this staff or stick signifies, now we can furtherunderstand why  in the scriptures Godalways reveals His power through the symbolic staff being used by His chosenfigures who had so important duty to do. Today we listen to the Lord who says through theprophecy of Micah in the first reading, that He Himself shepherded His peoplewith His staff. Jesus the good shepherd also carried out the pastoral works byusing the high priest's staff, which until now has been symbolized by the Popeand Bishops. With that staff, the duty as leader and shepherd have itslegitimacy and strength to demand obedience and reliance from people who aresubjected to it. The staff of God has its powerful function in thepurification and deliverance of men and women believers from the power ofdarkness and sin. Satan, the ruler of darkness, when confronted with the powerof God that is symbolized by the staff, he will fall trembling and fear. Thatwas evident in every action of Jesus who was always present through words anddeeds, which instantly frightened the Satan who asked not to be tortured. Thisis the role of to the staff of God, that is to cast all our sins and to bethrown into the sea, says the prophet Micah. So we must look at the staff when it is shown to us insuch manner being held by the person in power, it is made as a support when westand, or when it is used to emphasize on something so important. Jesus referredto all the power that existed in Him, when He spoke that His true disciples andapostles were indeed His mother and His brothers. This statement of Jesussurely contains the teaching that is full with authority. This teaching isabout to carry out God's will which is to be the main task of every follower ofChrist. The staff of Jesus until now is in the hands of the Pope and the Bishopsof the Church. We must listen and follow our Holy Father and our Bishop.Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord, may our fidelity and obedience tothe Church always be strong and lasting especially through our obedience to theHoly Father and Bishop. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the HolySpirit ... In the name of the Father …

She was sought as a bride by many because of her exceptional beauty and wisdom as well as her noble birth. She was betrothed at a young age, and when her betrothed died, she refused to consider any more suitors, saying that since her betrothed was alive in Christ, it was not right for her to turn to another. Instead she turned to a life of virginity, ascetic struggle and prayer. She greatly influenced her younger brothers, turning them from worldly things to monastic life. She established a monastery and, with her mother Emilia, became a nun. She reposed in peace in 379.   Her brother St Gregory of Nyssa held her in special honor. He was present at her death and gave a moving oration at her funeral. He describes how, in her last moments, she prayed thus to God: 'Thou, O Lord, givest rest to our bodies in the sleep of death for a little time, then Thou wilt waken them again with the Last Trumpet. Forgive me, and grant that, when my soul is parted from my body, it may be presented before Thee stainless and without sin, and that it may be as incense before Thee.' Then she made the sign of the Cross on her brow, eyes, face and heart, and died. St Gregory's work on the resurrection of the dead (available in English as On the Soul and Resurrection) is cast in the form of a dialogue between himself and his sister Macrina in which he is the earnest but ignorant student and she the wise and patient teacher. So do the Saints honor the Saints.

How Long, O Lord? | Psalm 13

This is part two in our series on the topic of church security. Today's topic: access points and how to police them to prevent unauthorized access to your sanctuary. Support the Show  Armed Lutheran Radio is a listener-supported podcast. If you value the information and entertainment we provide, consider supporting the show by joining our membership site, The Reformation Gun Club! http://www.ReformationGunClub.com  Links of Interest  Buy Duty to Defend, Volume 2 on Amazon – https://amzn.to/3D3frE5 Prayer of the Week Grant, O Lord, we implore You, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Your governance, that Your Church may joyfully serve You in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen. Get in Touch Visit our Feedback Page - https://armedlutheranradio.libsyn.com/contact Please tell your friends about us, leave an iTunes review, and like us on Facebook Join our Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/fansofarmedlutheranradio Subscribe to us and follow us on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/armedlutheran Check Out More at our Website- http://www.armedlutheran.us Original Music by Reformer  https://www.youtube.com/ReformerBand

The Consummation of Praise Ryan Griffith Download I don't know about you, but I have always struggled with poetry. And by struggle I mean that I haven't particularly liked it. Most of the stuff I was introduced to in high school was the open-verse kind – no meter, no rhyme scheme. I'm sure if I was smarter or worked on it longer, I might find Whitman or Dickenson or Hughes illuminating. Perhaps I'm too simple, but for my lights good poetry is not mainly a puzzle to unlock. Let's try a relevant example for our sesquicentennial year. Maybe you know it.Listen my children, and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. On the eighteenth of April in seventy-five hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year.Poetry is designed to be memorable and meaningful and to produce a certain kind of response.I love the ending:And so through the night went his cry of alarmTo every Middlesex village and farm,—A cry of defiance, and not of fear,A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,And a word that shall echo forevermore!For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,Through all our history, to the last,In the hour of darkness and peril and need,The people will waken and listen to hearThe hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,And the midnight message of Paul Revere.In April of 1860, Longfellow wrote Paul Revere's Ride as our nation stood on the precipice of Civil War. He wanted to remind a very divided country of an important story of courage and sacrifice from America's founding generation. And he longed to impact their affections — encouraging fellow abolitionists to take heart and to act with urgency and end the injustice of chattel slavery. That's what great poetry does: it captures a narrative in a memorable way — a way that communicates truth beautifully and awakens the reader's affections and actions. This is how Psalm 104 works. It is different than Psalm 8 (“you have set your glory above the heavens”) or Psalm 19 (“the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork), because not only is Psalm 104 a poem with vivid, worship-evoking imagery, it is a poetic retelling of an important story: Genesis 1-3. It's literally a song—the Psalmist's cover of Moses's narrative account. And like Paul Revere's Ride, the retelling of God's work in Creation (vv2-30) communicates truth beautifully and awakens our affections and actions. It calls us (v1) to bless the Lord and (v31-35) fuels the consummation of that praise. Let's take this poem in those three steps. The call to praise (v1)The cause for praise (vv2-30)The consummation of praise (vv31-35)1. The Call to PraiseWhile the Hebrew text doesn't ascribe this Psalm to David, both the Greek translation of the Old Testament and the Dead Sea scrolls label this a Davidic Psalm. Especially because the Psalmist begins, as David did in 103, by calling on his soul: “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”David is telling himself, “slow down, shut off the music, put away the phone, and look – I mean really look.” This isn't just a looking with the eyes. As we heard, vv2-30 are full of vivid imagery – things that David certainly would have seen: lightning, storm clouds, the sea, the mountains; streams, birds, donkeys, and so on. But David is doing more than observing – he is lovingly turning over in his mind what he sees; pondering it; examining it in light of the story of creation. In verse 34 David calls this way of looking “meditation.”Verse 34, May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.We'll come back to this, but for the moment notice that the call to bless the Lord is grounded not only in what David sees but in who he sees by it. His meditation on God's work in Genesis 1-3 produces a delight that bubbles up at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the Psalm. 2. The CauseLet's turn to examine the cause for this delight. David goes back to Genesis 1 and 2 to give six reasons creation is a cause for blessing the Lord.Reason #1: God is great in the heavens (1b-4).Look at verses 1-4. Can you hear Genesis 1? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God of was hovering over the waters. And God said “let there be light.” And there was light (Gen 1.1-3).And so David proclaims, God is clothed with splendor and majesty, robed in light. He hangs the stars and the planets. He establishes the atmosphere. He stores up the rain and builds his throne above the earth. He is swift and mighty as the wind and he bridles the great thunderclouds. The greatest forces of the universe are under his sovereign control: “he lays, he makes, he rides.” Reason #1 for praise, God is great in the heavens.But not only is God great in the heavens, he is also…Reason #2 supreme over the earth (5-9).Look at vv. 5-9 while I read Genesis 1. Can you hear the creation account? And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.We tend to call the world around us “nature” as though it is self-existing. But David attributes supremacy over the planet to God alone. It is a supernatural creation. You covered the earth with the waters. You spoke and they fled. The mountains and valleys took the places you assigned. You drew a line for the waters and said: “they shall not pass.” Reason #2, God is supreme over the earth.God is also…Reason #3, the giver of life-sustaining waters (10-18).Here David's song does variation on a theme. In an arid land like Israel, water was scarce. But God took care of that. You make the water appear out of nowhere. Springs to sustain your birds and animals. Even the mountaintops you provide for – bringing rain to water them. You cause the grass to grow. You made good plants for man to cultivate – grain for bread, grapes for wine. You provide for the animals and you gladden the heart of man. Just as Genesis 2 says, God is the giver of life-sustaining waters.Reason #4 God is maker of time (19-23).“Night and day,” David says, “they were your idea” On the fourth day, you made the sun and the moon to govern them. You even appointed that the beasts stalk their prey (which you provide) at night so that man can labor by day. What didn't you think of? You are the maker of time.David can't even get through his meditation on creation without erupting into praise. Look at verse 24:“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”The poet Gerard Manly Hopkins wrote, “the world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out like shining from shook foil.” Everywhere David looks, he sees God's beauty and excellence. It is as though he is saying, “Look at that! Isn't he amazing? Look at that! Isn't he majestic? Look at that! Isn't he wise! So David like a good songwriter, even puts in verse 24 as a bridge — pointing back at God's works in vv1-23 and pointing forward to God's creatures in vv25-30!Because…Reason #5 God is maker of the sea and its creatures (25-26).Even the Leviathan, which makes Job shiver in his boots, you made on Day Five so it could play in the sea. Since the waters are under your sovereign control, what once was a barrier is now a route for travel and trade. Isn't he something? God is the maker of the sea and its creatures.The whole account crescendos in the final reason David gives…Reason #6, God is creator and sustainer of all creatures (27-30).All these — the beasts and the birds, the plants and the trees, the whales and the wombat — they all look to you. You, God, are at the center of it all. When you give, when you open, when you hide, when you take away…all creation waits on you. You care for them. None escape your notice. Because you are the creator and sustainer of all things.So, David with Genesis in mind and the Spirit's poetic inspiration gives us six reasons creation should cause us to bless the Lord. God is great in the heavens, he is supreme over the earth, he is the giver of life-sustaining waters, he made and governs time, he oversees the oceans and its amazing creatures, and he is the creator and sustainer of all things. Creation displays his handiwork. All of it testifies to his power and divine nature. If we have eyes to see it, every blade of grass, every multi-colored sunset, every microscopic organism, every mighty beast, every mathematical equation shouts the glory of God. We inhabit a world “set on fire with praise.”No wonder David begins in v 1 by exclaiming: O YHWH, my God you are very great! In fact, the Hebrew might be better rendered – “you have become magnificent. You have clothed yourself with splendor and majesty.” Your works redound to your glory! Everything in the created order is a mirror reflecting back to God the wisdom and beauty and goodness that he is, himself. Lord, give us the eyes to see!So we've seen the call to praise (v1), David's six-fold cause for praise (vv1-30); now, thirdly, (vv31-35) the consummation of praise.3. The Consummation of Praise (31-35)All that David has considered now fuels his final refrain in verses 31-35:“May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!” (vv31-32)Notice two striking things about this verse. First, it is a plea. “May the glory of the Lord endure forever. May the Lord rejoice in his works.” David feels God's greatness so deeply that his prayers line up with God's design. “Yes, God. You are glorious, and so may your glory be seen! May your people delight in you and all that you are.”But notice that second prayer in verse 31. “May the Lord rejoice in his works.” Not “May your people, rejoice in your works,” but “may the Lord rejoice.” God delights in his works. We know this, because that's God's refrain in Genesis: “And God saw that it was good.” The earth and seas. Good! The plants and the trees. Good! The moon, sun, and stars. Good! The creepy crawlies and the fish and the birds and the sea creatures and the great beasts and the livestock. Yes, Good! Man and woman, in my own image. Very good! God rejoices in his work because it reflects him. It shows off his manifold excellencies. All of creation simultaneously every moment of every day since God spoke the universe into existence declares what is true — that God is the most admirable, beautiful, wise, good, generous, glorious being in the universe. And we were created to share in his joy.This God-centeredness of God might throw us off balance. Is it off-putting that God, through David in Psalm 104, commands his own praise? C.S. Lewis at first thought that it seemed no different than a vain woman craving compliments. But listen to what he concluded: “…the most obvious fact about praise – whether of God or anything – [had] strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise…The world rings with praise – lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game – praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors [and so on]….I had not noticed…that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: ‘isn't she lovely? Wasn't it glorious? Don't you think that magnificent?' The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole more general difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us as regards the supremely valuable what we delight to do – what indeed we can't help doing – about everything else we value.”David praises what is supremely valuable. He does what we are made and delight to do. He rejoices in God being God. And sings about it!“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.” (vv33-34) But the singing must not stop with him. Look how he ends his song. “Bless the Lord O my soul. Praise the Lord!” (35b)David moves beyond calling his soul to bless the Lord to summoning all people to do the same. “Praise the Lord” is the first use of “hallelujah” in the Psalter. It is a you-plural not a you-singular. Northern English speakers don't have a category for this, but my eastern Kentucky relatives would say it right, “Praise the Lord, y'all. All y'all.” And that's because, as Lewis continues, calling others to praise God “doesn't merely express the enjoyment, it is its appointed consummation” — it brings praise to its fullest completion. David's joy is made complete by calling us to praise the Lord by us joining in that praise. That is what this Psalm is for. Like Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride, Psalm 104 captures an important story in a memorable way. It reminds us of something that really matters. But ultimately, it does something to us.Don Paterson says that when a poet writes a poem he's creating a little machine that when operated by a reader, recreates in them the experience the poem is trying to preserve. When we operate Psalm 104, it evokes our joy in God. It summons us to express that joy in praise and blessing. And it calls us to consummate that joy by sharing it with others. But neither David nor us can know this joy without addressing the most serious problem.Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more! (v 35a)At first, I found this an odd thing for David to say in his great crescendo of praise. But he is reminding us that Genesis 3 comes after Genesis 1 and 2. Human beings were made to receive creation as a gift and enjoy and rejoice in what it tells us about the one for whom we were made. But we turned the gold into idols halfway to Canaan. We worship created things rather than the Creator. While creation shouts that we were made for joy in God, so often we say “that's nice” and go back to scrolling on our devices. David longs for a day when this outrage will finally be addressed. That sin that he sees traces of in verse 29. Paul tells us that even creation has been subjected to futility because of our rebellion. Things are not the way that they should be. The Lord's SupperAnd that is what brings us to the table. Because in the fullness of time, God himself came to address that rebellion. He entered into his own creation to free us from enslavement to inferior joys. To save us from the penalty our idolatry justly deserves. In mercy and kindness, to restore to us the fullness of his joy; His life for ours; our sin for his righteousness that we might be to praise of his glory. That is what we celebrate here. Maybe in this moment you can't bless the Lord because you haven't given up your idols; you haven't put all your hope in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. Friend there is no better time than now. Jesus says to you, I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst (Jn 6.35). Go to him.

Matthew Week 145       Matthew 26:26b ESV   after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."       Matthew 26:27b-28 ESV   and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.       Matthew 26:29 ESV   29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."       1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV   26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.       Matthew 26:30 ESV   30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.       Psalm 115:1 ESV   Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,   for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!       Psalm 116:1, 8-9, 13, 15   I love the Lord, because he has heard   my voice and my pleas for mercy.       For you have delivered my soul from death,   my eyes from tears,   my feet from stumbling;   9 I will walk before the Lord   in the land of the living.       I will lift up the cup of salvation   and call on the name of the Lord,       15 Precious in the sight of the Lord   is the death of his saints.       Psalm 118:1, 5-6, 29 ESV   Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;   for his steadfast love endures forever!       Out of my distress I called on the Lord;   the Lord answered me and set me free.   6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.   What can man do to me?       Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;   for his steadfast love endures forever!           "But imagine now you're not singing these psalms in celebration of God's dramatic rescue, watching a rehydrated Red Sea still foaming before your disbelieving eyes. Imagine instead you're singing these psalms where Jesus likely was singing them—in the dim light of the upper room, mere moments from your violent capture and arrest, mere hours from trial, torture, and death.   To be able to sing a hymn of praise in that moment—that's serenity. That's "blessed assurance." That's realizing your Father is wise and good and that He can be implicitly trusted. It's refusing to factor your own feelings into your faith decisions. It's valuing His great redemptive plan above your own comfort and safety. And it's choosing to recognize traces of life, hope, glory, and joy in the same situations where most can see only fear, doubt, anxiety, and self-pity." -Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth Singing in the Shadow The quiet place : daily devotional readings Page 86       Matthew 26:39 ESV   39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."       Psalm 75:8 ESV   For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup   with foaming wine, well mixed,   and he pours out from it,   and all the wicked of the earth   shall drain it down to the dregs.       Matthew 26:31-35 ESV   31 Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." 33 Peter answered him, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away." 34 Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." 35 Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!" And all the disciples said the same.       Isaiah 53:10a NASB95   But the Lord was pleased   To crush Him, putting Him to grief;       Acts 2:23 ESV   23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.       Luke 22:31-34 ESV   31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." 33 Peter said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death." 34 Jesus said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me."       2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NIV   8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  

“Every man is stupid and without knowledge” we read today in Jeremiah ch, 10 v.14.  But man thinks he is the master of all kinds of knowledge!   But he is without knowledge of the true God, the Creator, “who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.” [v.12]           With the powerful telescopes, and special satellites and probes into space, scientists have in recent years learnt how much the universe has been immeasurably stretched out!     In awe of the awareness he had gained of God's creative powers – Jeremiah reflects on his own situation and writes, “I know, O LORD,  that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O LORD, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.” [v.23,24]           Surely Jeremiah's attitude and words should also be ours, and should be evident every day in our thoughts and prayers to and through our Saviour, leading us to become increasingly strong in faith to be able to cope with the situation when….!! …   when  the Almighty corrects this world in his anger!           Ponder as to why God told Jeremiah not to pray for the people around him!  We read this yesterday.  Remember!  “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede  for I will not hear you” [v.16]. God repeats this to Jeremiah, look at ch. 11 v.14   “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.”             Is the world going to get into a totally desperate situation? Is it not approaching that now!!  It is sometimes said you will never find an atheist on a life raft.  Will the whole world be in a life raft situation?  Most nations are totally entrenched in their minds that  there is no God so we cannot imagine much prayer will be offered when the world is at its wit's end – it will be a scene of mass panic!!  Will our faith be such that we will rise above this situation?  How often do we quote  Luke 21:26    “ …people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”  It is how we build up our faith now that will ensure we will not be shaken.  In the areas of our weaknesses let us pray, “Correct me O LORD, but in justice: not in your anger”

Daily Evening Prayer (7/19/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 98-101; 2 Samuel 24; 1 Timothy 4; Metrical Psalm 38:17-2219 But whilst I languish, my proud foes their strength and vigor boast; And they that hate me without cause are grown a dreadful host. 20 E'en they, whom I obliged, return my kindness with despite; And are my enemies, because I choose the path that's right. 21 Forsake me not, O Lord my God, nor far from me depart; 22 Make haste to my relief, O thou, who my salvation art. If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

Daily Evening Prayer (7/19/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 98-101; 2 Samuel 24; 1 Timothy 4; Metrical Psalm 38:17-2219 But whilst I languish, my proud foes their strength and vigor boast; And they that hate me without cause are grown a dreadful host. 20 E'en they, whom I obliged, return my kindness with despite; And are my enemies, because I choose the path that's right. 21 Forsake me not, O Lord my God, nor far from me depart; 22 Make haste to my relief, O thou, who my salvation art. If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

Last week we explored "waiting without answers." This week we're looking at a different kind of uncertainty: not knowing which way to go. Summer is often a season of transition. Decisions need to be made. Some of you are facing big questions: Should I take this job? Should I move? Should I change directions? Should I stay where I am? How do I care for my aging parents? How do I prepare for retirement? You're praying. You're seeking direction. You're hoping God will make the path clear. Unlike last week's message, this uncertainty involves choice. You're not just waiting for something to happen; you're trying to discern what you should do. And that's its own kind of burden. Every decision opens some doors and closes others, and you want to choose wisely. One of the greatest explorers in history understood what it was like to need direction. In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, became trapped and crushed by Antarctic ice, leaving his crew stranded in one of the harshest places on earth. Months later, Shackleton and five companions climbed into a 22-foot lifeboat and set out on an astonishing 800-mile voyage across the Southern Ocean to bring rescue to the rest of the crew. Their survival depended on the navigator, Frank Worsley. There was no GPS, no radar, no electronic navigation. Most days the sky was completely overcast. But whenever the clouds parted—even for a few seconds—Worsley would quickly take a reading of the sun and determine their course. Those brief glimpses of light kept them from drifting hundreds of miles off course. He didn't need sunlight all day. He just needed enough light for the next bearing. I think that's where many of us live. We wish God would hand us a detailed roadmap for the next ten years. Instead, He often gives us enough light for the next faithful step. That's exactly where David finds himself in Psalm 25. David wrote this psalm when he was lost—spiritually, emotionally, and practically. He needed direction, and he brought that need to God in prayer: "Show me Your ways, LORD, teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long." (Psalm 25:4–5) Notice what David asks for. He doesn't ask for a map. He asks for a Guide. And that's one of the great lessons of this psalm. Seeking God's direction is not primarily about getting an immediate answer. It's about becoming the kind of person who trusts God enough to follow Him, even when the whole path isn't yet visible. Today we'll discover that God's guidance is less about revealing every step ahead and more about walking closely with the Shepherd who already knows the way. THE PSALM: LISTEN TO DAVID'S PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE Psalm 25:1-5, “To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; do not let me be ashamed; do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed. Make known to me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.” Notice the movement. David starts by lifting his soul to God. He's not trying to figure this out alone. He's bringing his confusion to God. Then he makes a declaration: “I trust in You.” Not “I feel like I trust You.” But “I choose to trust You.” Then comes the request: “Make known to me Your ways. Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth.” He's asking for guidance. But notice—he's also asking to be taught. He's asking to understand, not just to know the right move. Then verse 8-10: “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth, to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.” David is reminding himself of something true: God is good. God wants to guide us. God leads the humble. THE CHALLENGE: THE PATH ISN'T ALWAYS CLEAR Here's the reality that no one talks about: Sometimes God makes the path crystal clear. A door opens. An opportunity presents itself. The answer is obvious. But sometimes—and maybe more often than not—God doesn't make the path completely clear. You're standing at a crossroads. Both directions seem possible. Both have merit. One has security but less meaning. One has meaning but more risk. You're praying. You're seeking. And the answer still isn't obvious. Both feel right and wrong at the same time. And that's when doubt creeps in. You find yourself thinking: If God really wanted to guide me, wouldn't He make it obvious? If He cared about this decision, wouldn't He remove all the uncertainty? But that's not how God usually works. Psalm 25 teaches something different. It teaches that God's guidance often comes through a process. Through seeking. Through prayer. Through wisdom from others. Through testing. Through small clarities that add up to a direction. Notice that David doesn't ask for a thunderbolt. He asks to be led and taught. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me.” He's asking for an ongoing process of being guided and learning, not a one-time answer that settles everything. And notice verse 9: “He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.” God leads the humble. Humility is the key. Humility means admitting you don't have all the answers. Humility means trusting God enough to take the next step even when you can't see the whole path. APPLICATION: SEEKING DIRECTION IN UNCERTAINTY Some of you are facing a decision right now. Maybe it's a big one. A job change. A relationship decision. A move. A calling you're sensing but can't quite name. Maybe it's smaller—how to spend your time, what to invest in, where to go next. You've prayed. You've sought counsel. You've searched the Scriptures. Yet the answer still isn't crystal clear. I think of a man who spent two years wrestling with whether to leave a secure career for work that better aligned with his faith and sense of calling. He kept waiting for God to send a lightning bolt of certainty—but it never came. Instead, clarity came gradually. Trusted people affirmed his gifts. An unexpected opportunity opened. The inner conviction grew stronger until he realized he couldn't ignore it any longer. He didn't have complete certainty before he stepped out in faith. But he had enough light for the next step. Looking back, he realized something important: the certainty came after the step of obedience, not before it. That's often how God guides us. He rarely hands us a detailed roadmap. Instead, He gives us enough light for the next faithful step. As we walk in obedience, He provides the light for the step after that. THE DISCIPLINE OF SEEKING Psalm 25 teaches us that seeking God's direction is itself a spiritual practice. It's not something you do once and move on from. It's something you return to whenever you're at a crossroads. It's also not passive. You're not sitting back hoping God will telegraph the answer. You're seeking. You're asking. You're praying. You're listening. You're seeking counsel from wise, godly people who know you well. You're exploring opportunities and paying attention to how God opens and closes doors. Dallas Willard once wrote, "The life of faith is not about having all the answers. It's about learning to trust the One who does." That's the heart of Psalm 25. You don't need to see the entire path. You need to trust God enough to take the next faithful step. And often, as you take that step, more clarity comes. Here's what's remarkable: the seeking itself strengthens your faith. As you pray, listen, and seek wise counsel, you're not merely looking for an answer—you're learning to know God. You're learning to recognize His voice, trust His character, and discern His guidance through Scripture, circumstances, godly counsel, and the quiet work of the Holy Spirit. Some people think of guidance as a transaction: "God, just tell me what to do." But Psalm 25 presents something much richer. Guidance is relational. In seeking God's will, you're drawing near to Him, and in the process, He is shaping you into the kind of person who can follow Him faithfully whether the path is clear or not. That's why David prays, "Teach me." He doesn't simply want directions—he wants to become the kind of disciple who knows the Shepherd's voice. THE PROMISE: GOD LEADS THE HUMBLE Here's the promise of Psalm 25: "He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble His way" (Psalm 25:9). God leads the humble—not those who have everything figured out, but those who admit they need His guidance. Those who are willing to be taught. Those who trust that God sees what they cannot. If you're facing uncertainty today, you're in exactly the right place to be led by God. Your confusion isn't necessarily a sign that God is silent. It may be His invitation to deeper humility and greater trust. And here's the beautiful part: the path God leads is always marked by "steadfast love and faithfulness" (Psalm 25:10). The destination may not be what you expected, and the journey may not be easy, but it will be good because it is guided by the loving heart of God. That's a promise worth trusting. HOW TO PRAY THIS PSALM First: Pray it when you're facing a decision. Use David's own words if they help: "Show me Your ways, Lord. Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me." Sometimes borrowing Scripture's prayers is easier than finding your own. Second: Don't rush the answer. Our culture tells us to decide quickly and move on. Psalm 25 invites us into a process: seek, pray, ask wise people, explore possibilities, and give God time to work. His guidance often comes gradually, not instantly. Third: Pay attention to how God opens and closes doors. Sometimes His guidance comes more through providence than through a dramatic feeling. An unexpected opportunity, wise counsel, or a door that quietly opens may be how He is leading. Fourth: Remember that God is good. "All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness." Even when His path is difficult or unexpected, it is marked by His goodness and loving care. Fifth: Be willing to take the next step without seeing the whole path. David prays, "Lead me...and teach me," describing an ongoing journey. As you walk in faith, God often provides the light for the step after that. Finally: Don't confuse waiting with passivity. Seek wise counsel. Search the Scriptures. Pray. Explore your options. Waiting on God isn't doing nothing—it's faithfully doing what you can while trusting God to do what only He can do. CONCLUSION Some of you will come out of your season of uncertainty soon. The decision will become clear. You'll see which way to go. And you'll step forward with confidence, knowing that God led you. Others of you may remain in uncertainty for longer. The answer might not come quickly. You might have to live with ambiguity while you continue seeking. And that's okay. God's timeline for clarity is not always our timeline. Either way, Psalm 25 teaches you this: God is not far away. God has not forgotten you. God is willing to guide the humble. And your seeking itself is a form of prayer that God honors. Your willingness to admit you don't know, to seek wisdom, to listen carefully—that's the kind of humble faith God loves to guide.

Most times, we end up fighting our own battles. But sometimes, the opposition is just – well, it's overwhelming. Then what? Well that's when we can discover that the battle, belongs to the Lord.   I Can Do Anything I Want In this day and age one of the things that they teach us is to be self reliant. To have confidence in our own abilities. You can do anything you set your mind to they tell us. You can make it, it's all up to you. That's ok to a point I guess. It's a good thing to have some confidence in who we are that God made us to be. But you can take this idea too far and it will bring you undone. The positive turns into a terrible negative. See what happens, when the situation we're in or the circumstances that we're facing are so far beyond our ability to deal with them, that any idea of self reliance is completely ridiculous. What happens when the problem confronting us requires skills and abilities that we don't have. What happens when the career we've chosen just doesn't fit who we are? What happens when the one we love, our wife or our husband or one of our children is going through some tough times. Something that as much as we love them, we can't seem to be able to help them through. An illness, a depression, a crisis. And nothing we can say or nothing we can do seems to make any difference. Well, then what? What happens when a tsunami hits our lives? What do we do when the enemy that gathers around us completely outnumbers and outguns us? Come on. Then what do we do? And this isn't some theoretical exercise. This is life. It's my life and it's your life. Because this happens. It's real. There are times in our lives when the enemy whoever or whatever that is, when the enemy is so much bigger than our ability to survive. It happens in families. It happens in work places. And it happens in our hearts. When sickness hits for no good reason. When a loved one is taken in their prime and the grief overwhelms us. When a marriage falls apart. It happens when retrenchment hits. When the economy takes a nose-dive. When their isn't enough food to feed the family. When people betray us. This is life. It's real life. Let me ask you something. When the enemy is so much bigger and so much stronger than anything that you or I could ever handle, what do we do? Some people panic and they run around in ever decreasing circles wasting their precious energy on panicking. You've seen it I've seen it. You know we've both probably been their too. Some people pull over and stop because they're immobilised by fear. That's what happens you know. But neither of those things cut the mustard. Neither of them help. Running around like a headless chook. It's exhausting. Wallowing in self pity is destructive. What do we do? See I'm a pretty self-reliant kind of guy. I like to think that I can handle most things. BUT – there are times when things happen that are completely and utterly beyond anything I can handle. And in those times to hang on to this notion of self-reliance, this delusion of "I can do anything", that will only make it worse. It's OK to believe in ourselves but the reality is that sometimes, maybe this time, we can't swim against this tsunami. It's too big. It's too scary. I was talking the other day with a young woman. She's extremely competent and confident in her field. Professionally she's a class act in every way that you can imagine. We got onto the fact that she had a couple of young kids. And her demeanour changed. See, as someone who's got kids and now they're all grown up, I'm well and truly past the stresses and the strains of bringing up young children. I love telling parents, "Don't worry it's the first 25 years that are the hardest. After that it's a piece of baklava!" It's my, I guess it's my gift of encouragement. Right?" But like any young mother, this motherhood thing was a struggle for this competent, professional woman. It's so tiring. There is so much that is new and is challenging. There's so much in bringing up kids. It's beyond our control. That's the key isn't it. When we're dealing with things that are under our control and we happen to have the skills and the ability and the inclination to control them, well, it's all good isn't it. But the further things are out of our control the more they look like that tsunami and that wave that we can't ride. Then, then it gets scary. I want to introduce you today to one of the kings in Israel's history. Actually he's the king of a couple of the tribes of Israel, Judah and Benjamin. His name was Jehoshaphat. Ok it's a long name. We don't use that kind of name these days. But he was definitely one of the good guys. And there was a time when he was confronted with an enemy that was way, way, way beyond his ability to fight and defeat. Let's pick up the story in 2nd Chronicles Chapter 20 verse 1. After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; already they are at Engedi. Jehoshaphat was afraid; See this was an army much bigger than his own. The odds were completely overwhelming and Jehoshaphat were facing absolutely certain defeat. To the king that meant death for his people it meant death or slavery or loss of all their possessions and land. Probably rape for the woman. The higher the stakes are the scarier it gets, doesn't it? And for Jehoshaphat the stakes couldn't have been higher. He was in that place well and truly that you and I find ourselves in for time to time. I just want to establish here that old king Jehoshaphat, well he was human like you and me. He's not some super-human king. There were armies coming in against him. He was completely outnumbered and outgunned. This was a life and death situation and it says Jehoshaphat was afraid. Jehoshaphat is just one of us. I remember as a young boy going to the dentist. I'd walk in the front door and there was this staircase leading up to the dentist. And the smell of the dental surgery the moment you walked in the door. And their was a knot in my stomach sitting in the waiting room. Fear is something that disables us. It's not good for anyone when we're disabled by fear. It's not good for ourselves, it's not good for God. It's not good for those who need our help. Jehoshaphat was afraid. But it's what he did in his fear that made all the difference and we're going to take a look at that in just a moment   What Happens When I Can't? Well let's get back into God's word and take a look at what happened king Jehoshaphat. What he was facing in this completely overwhelming odds. Have a listen. We're starting, if you have a bible grab it, in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 beginning at verse 3: Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the LORD. Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, "O LORD, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you. Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? They have lived in it, and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.' See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. See Jehoshaphat didn't let his fear immobilise him. He didn't get into a flap or into a panic in the face of overwhelming odds he turned to God. Sometimes that's the only way that God gets our attention. I'd like to be able to tell you that I first turned to God because I was wise and loving and understood that Jesus is the Son of God. But if I told you that I would be lying. I needed to be hit across the back of the head with a lump of four by two for God to get my attention. Overwhelming odds. That's what did it for me. I turned to God in the middle of fear. And for me it was the last resort but for Jehoshaphat God was his first port of call. Now a king is supposed to have all the answers. A King like Jehoshaphat should have a powerful army and contingency plans based on a comprehensive threat assessment. He should be self-reliant. A man for the people to respect and to follow and to trust for their safety and their future, but listen again to what Jehoshaphat says when he's praying to God in 2nd Chronicles Chapter 20 verse 12: O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. I relate to this. When I stepped out of the secure, well-paid job as a consultant into full time ministry, that was a step of faith. Leaving security behind to serve God and I can't begin to tell you how many times since then I have been in that place that Jehoshaphat and his people were in. See I started out with this naive notion that if I was going to be about God's work, well lit should be easy. And yet so many times people and circumstances have conspired to be against God's work. Every couple of years our board gets together to do some strategic planning. That's important and the strategic plan always looks good on paper. Gives us a sense of what direction we think that God wants us to head in. And then invariably all hell breaks loose because the enemy wants to overwhelm us. He doesn't want to see God's will done here on earth as it is in heaven. And that's what's going on with Jehoshaphat and Judah. Remember these are God's chosen people. The king honoured God and by all accounts and by all accounts he was wise and competent. But in the face of overwhelming odds he admitted to God, "We do know what to do." So was the solution How did he cope with this? And the same sentence, the same breath, he says "but our eyes are on You." I wonder sometimes when I see people who profess to believe in Jesus running around in panic wasting so much of their energy complaining and worrying and being afraid. See, it takes a lot of energy to be afraid, you realise. I wonder if they spent even half that amount of their energy having their eyes on God, how much better off they'd be. You and I, we can't help but be afraid. Jehoshaphat was afraid. It's a natural human, reaction. I'm not here to tell you somehow to pretend that you're not afraid when fear is rocking you to the very core. That's ridiculous. But it's what we do when fear strikes that makes all the difference. When we panic we burn energy, when we frozen and immobilised that's probably the end of us. That's what fear does. Stop's us dead in our tracks. We go nowhere. Had Jehoshaphat done that, he and all his people would have been dead literally. Or we can just turn and look at God. "You know something Lord, this is so huge, I just know what to do but my eyes, my eyes are on you. I'm just going to wait on you. I don't know what you are going to do, I don't even know if you are going to show up, but no matter what, my eyes are on you." And here's the bit that blows me away about this story. It's this. That God wasn't Jehoshaphat's last resort. God was his first port of call. He trusted in the sovereign grace of God. Jehoshaphat was afraid, but he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. I wonder how different if things would be amidst our fear, if instead of running around and spending all that energy on panic or instead of running to the phone to talk to a friend, if we first ran to God. If the very first thing we did was to take stock and in our hearts, deep inside somewhere – decided to set ourselves to seek the Lord? God, the first point of call, rather than the last resort!   A Powerful Outcome So how did it end? Was Jehoshaphat's trust misplaced or well placed? Let's take a look. 2 Chronicle 20 beginning at verse 14: Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. He said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you." Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God and you will be established; believe his prophets." When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the booty from them, they found livestock in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the booty, because of its abundance. Unbelievable I hear you say. How could this possibly happen?? I'll tell you how. Because Jehoshaphat decided that he would stand and wait on God - no matter what the outcome! That's the key. That's the faith that God was looking for. No matter what the outcome. Let's take another look. 2 Chronicles 20:9-12: If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save. See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy – they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. This is the do or die faith that God is looking for. When we place our faith in God in this way – for things that are completely out of our control – right when that tsunami hits His Spirit and His Word come along and witness His truth to us: This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17) Listen to me. Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ? Have you? Then those times of fear are times when we discover what a beautiful thing it is to trust in the Lord, no matter what is coming against us. No matter what the world throws at us. No matter how overwhelming the odds might be. Those times are the times that we get to stand still and discover in our very own experience that the battle isn't our it's not ours at all. But the battle belongs to the Lord. Can I encourage you that if you feel right now that you're on death row, as though there is no tomorrow, to listen to the words of apostle Paul from his dungeon as he writes in Philippians Chapter 4 beginning at verse 6: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. See that's the word of the Lord for us today. Jehoshaphat knew it and learned it again in his experience. The people of Judah learned it again under the leadership of Jehoshaphat. This overwhelming army came against them. They couldn't win. It was a no win situation. And they discovered afresh and anew the battle was not theirs but the battle belonged to the Lord. And they listened to God through His prophets when he said, "Stand still to see and to watch what the Lord would do for you." Can I encourage you today to remember the battle is not yours. The battle belongs to the Lord. Stand still and watch to see what the Lord will do for you.

Read OnlineThe Quiet Strength of MeeknessThe Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. Matthew 12:14–16To souls who love God and are united to Him, today's Gospel reveals a profound lesson about facing opposition. “The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.” Why? Because of their rigid interpretation of the Sabbath law of rest. But Jesus, as the Son of God, in union with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the origin of that law. The Sabbath was meant to call to mind God's rest after the six days of creation—a contemplative rest in which the people reflected upon God's goodness.The Pharisees had turned the Sabbath into a burdensome obligation, a scrupulous and empty duty. Jesus, the Author and Lord of the Sabbath, saw it very differently. Acts of charity are never to be refrained from—not even on the Sabbath. For the “offense” of healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, the Pharisees began plotting Jesus' murder.When Jesus realized this, He withdrew from that place. This retreat was not born of cowardice but of meekness—a virtue often misunderstood in our world. Biblical meekness is not weakness or timidity; it is power under perfect control. It is strength harnessed by wisdom and love. Jesus possessed all power yet chose restraint. He could have called down legions of angels to destroy His enemies, but instead, He quietly stepped away. His hour had not yet come.This divine meekness allowed Jesus to continue His mission with quiet determination. Many people followed Him, and He cured them all, bringing healing and restoration to broken lives. In this moment, we see Jesus' quiet strength perfectly expressed. He did not come to wage war against the leaders of the synagogue but to establish the Kingdom of grace and truth.In keeping with Isaiah's prophecy, Jesus draws hearts to Himself in silence and mercy. “A bruised reed”—fragile, bent, and seemingly worthless—He will not snap. “A smoldering wick”—flickering, nearly extinguished—He will not quench. Instead, He heals and rekindles, patiently leading justice to victory (cf. Matthew 12:18–21).Consider your own mission and the opposition you face. Do coworkers mock your Catholic practices—perhaps your fasting on Fridays or stepping away for daily prayer? Do family members dismiss your commitment to Church teaching on marriage, sexuality, or the sanctity of life? Do friends challenge your dedication to serving the poor as “wasted time” that could be spent advancing your career?Each of us is called to respond as Christ did—with meekness that reflects true strength. Prayerfully discern whether it is your “hour” to suffer rebuke, or if you are being called, like Christ in today's Gospel, to turn away from the hostility and focus on those whom God is drawing to Himself through your witness.Reflect today on any opposition you face as you strive to fulfill God's will. Not every battle must be fought today. Humility and meekness often call us to quietly retreat so we can build up the foundation of God's Kingdom in other hearts. Of course, the hour of the Cross will come for each of us. When it does, we must embrace it with love. But until that moment, we follow Jesus in discerning, listening, and loving—even in silence. Lord of perfect wisdom, though Your charity was met with hostility by the Pharisees, You did not always confront them. At times, You spoke out; at other times, You withdrew to continue Your mission in silence. Grant me, O Lord, a discerning heart, that I may know when I am called to stand firm in truth and when I must embrace humble silence. May I seek only to do Your will, that Your Kingdom of grace may be more fully established in and through my life. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: La Solitude du Christ, by Alphonse OsbertSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

When You Have Nothing but God by Autumn Dickson This week, we find a righteous but imperfect man surrounded by legitimate reasons to be afraid. How do you respond when you've been backed into a corner? Let's talk about how Hezekiah responded. Hezekiah was a righteous king especially when contrasted with his wicked father, Ahaz. When Hezekiah rose to the throne, he threw out all of the idolatry and tore down all of the false places and altars of worship. He was reforming Judah, and he was helping them repent and turn back to the Lord. Assyria was a superpower in the ancient world. They had just dominated the northern kingdom of Israel, and they set their sights on Judah next. I am a firm believer that the Lord protects the righteous. It's one of the main themes of The Book of Mormon, and yet, we see something interesting happen here. Judah is not completely protected. Assyria is able to take some of their fortified cities, and Hezekiah responds by offering to pay them a tribute to go away. In order to afford the tribute required by Assyrian, Hezekiah strips the temple. It doesn't work. Assyria sticks around. One of the Assyrian commanders comes to the walls of the city and starts speaking in Hebrew so that the people of Jerusalem can fully understand the danger they're in. It's psychological warfare, and the people respond with silence as instructed by Hezekiah. Hezekiah responds differently this time. He covers himself in sackcloth and ashes and goes to the temple to pray to the Lord. He prays and tells the Lord, “They're mocking Thee. Show them who You are.” The Lord does. He slays 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian army, and Sennacherib goes home to be assassinated by his sons. We get to see Judah change and repent at this particular period in time. There are many good details; let's cover a few. Detail one. The Lord allows Assyria to defeat some of the fortified cities in Judah. Judah was in the process of repenting. Hezekiah had torn down a lot of the idolatry, and this was incredible faith. Unfortunately, Judah had a long history of turning away from the Lord. Losing these cities was not an indication of the Lord being powerless. It was about discipline so that Judah could learn. I actually find it really poetic that the fortified cities were conquered, but Jerusalem remained. What was in Jerusalem? The temple. The kingdom of Judah was being stripped down to its center, specifically to that covenant relationship that it held with the Lord. I've seen this kind of repentance in my own life. I didn't actually recognize it until a couple of days ago as I sat in my car in a parking lot. There was once a time when the Lord dismantled huge parts of who I used to be in order to make way for more important things. Music used to be the most important thing in my life. I would drive down the highway, listen to some good country songs, and I always felt like I was on fire. It was such a strong feeling. So much of my identity revolved around music. There were a lot of reasons I was worried about getting married and starting a family, but I actually think music was a huge portion of those reasons. I didn't want to sacrifice music. Music was taken away from me. I stopped college to try and be a musician. I was working in the industry. I was entering competitions and playing small shows. I did it for months. Then it all collapsed a bit. I was surrounded by darkness, both within my own mind and in what I had surrounded myself with. After being separated from that dark period, I put up a barrier between me and music. It didn't touch me like it used to. I couldn't write anything anymore. It was too associated with darkness. As I sat in my car pondering this, I found myself bawling my eyes out that the Lord had taken it away. Only, I was bawling in gratitude not in despair. Music is powerful and wonderful and I don't think I'm done with it yet. However, it had become an idol to me. I needed it taken away because the Lord had something much more important in mind. If I had kept music, regardless of whether I was successful or not, I think it would have prevented me from fully stepping into more divine callings. I wouldn't have had room for these other things that the Lord wanted to give me. Would I have willingly chosen children or resented them? Would I have ever had time to bear my testimony in the capacity that I do now? Would I even have been able to enjoy my role as a wife as much as I do now if music hadn't been taken away from me? I can't totally be sure, but I think music would have robbed me of those things. I was that obsessed. It was an idol. I know that's not the case for other musicians, but it was for me. It would have kept me from some of the most important parts of my life. As I think about the beautiful life I've been given, it makes me sick to think that I could have missed it. The Lord stripped away all of these parts of me that felt so important, and He left just Himself and His covenant with me. With all of the problems I had accumulated combined with the music having been taken away, there wasn't much of me left. Just a covenant. And the Lord upheld that covenant. He somehow got me on a mission and gave me my family. He had to remove all of that other stuff so that He could build something better with nothing but the covenant protection He had given me. Detail two. Hezekiah goes from stripping the temple of riches to praying in it. Hezekiah originally tried to give money over to Assyria to get them to leave, and it didn't work. They camped outside of Jerusalem. He doesn't make the same mistake twice. Hezekiah receives a letter telling him, “Don't trust anyone who tells you that your God can save you. We've defeated so many other gods before you.” Hezekiah had overturned altars and torn down idolatrous images in Judah; he did all the things. Now he gets to prove how much he really trusts the God of his fathers. Hezekiah tells the Lord that the Assyrians have done all of these major feats of strength and power, but Hezekiah also acknowledges that it is only the power of mankind. He continues his beautiful prayer with this sentiment. 2 Kings 19:19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only. He implores the Lord to show the Assyrians who the true God is. This isn't about saving his own skin anymore. Hezekiah's heart has turned towards God's glory. That is the result he wants: God's glory. God shows up with a whole lot of glory, and He shows Judah and the rest of the world who holds the real power. Hezekiah repented. He spiritually up-levelled. He went from knocking down idols to facing fear with nothing but his trust in God's covenants with Judah. He went from fear of losing his life and kingdom to simply wanting the glory of God. He stood to lose a lot in facing off with Syria, but he chose trust and it saved him. I testify that a covenant relationship with Christ is a powerful foundation. I testify that sometimes the Lord strips away parts of us that feel so important so that He can uncover that foundation and start anew with something more powerful. I testify that spiritually maturing means stepping into trust, and I testify that trusting in God saves us. It's not enough to keep the commandments and do the things. Hezekiah did the things, and they were SO important and necessary, but even that was not enough. Hezekiah still had to trust, and that was what turned the tides of Judah. It can turn the tide for you. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR's 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 16–25 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

We turn to the Lord for the strength we need as we confront the life and death issues that are part of our human experience. (Lectionary #393) July 17, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com  

Welcome to Day 2907 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2907 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 144:1-8 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2907 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2907 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Cosmic Warrior's Sanctuary – Bowing the Heavens to Rescue Frail Mortals On our previous expedition, on Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Five, we bore witness to David's heavy, cumulative exhaustion in Psalm One Hundred Forty-Three. We stood alongside him in the dark, feeling the suffocating, numbing weight of a long-drawn-out wilderness campaign, as he pleaded for the morning light of God's unfailing love to rescue his failing spirit. Today, as we crest a magnificent new ridge along our multi-month journey through the psalter, we advance directly into Psalm One Hundred Forty-Four, verses one through eight. This text serves as an incredibly powerful, triumphant answer to the dark paralysis we analyzed in our last study. David is no longer sitting frozen in the dust, wondering if the darkness will permanently consume him. Instead, he bursts forth with a magnificent, high-energy anthem of praise, recognizing that the very hardships he endured were the training grounds for his ultimate destiny. As we explore these eight verses together, we will discover a dynamic mosaic of royal warfare, cosmic geography, and profound theological humility, viewing this entire battlefield through the brilliant, ancient worldview of Yahweh's sovereign heavenly host. The first segment is: The Divine Arsenal: Training for the Frontiers of Chaos Let us open our minds to the opening movements of this royal liturgy, as recorded in the New Living Translation, grouping together the deeply connected, contiguous thoughts found in verse one and verse two. Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He subdues the nations under me. David begins this segment with an unshakeable, rhythmic blast of absolute adoration, declaring, “Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He subdues the nations under me.” To fully appreciate the vast, panoramic scope of these opening lines, we must view David's military reality through the fascinating, complex lens of the Ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. In the ancient Near East, kingship was never viewed as a purely secular, administrative function. The king of Israel was understood to be the earthly representative, the unique viceroy, of Yahweh Himself. When David addresses God as Yahweh Sabaoth—the Lord of Heaven's Armies—he is recognizing that his earthly battles are intimately intertwined with a grand, unseen cosmic conflict. The hostile surrounding nations were not just political competitors; they were groups aligned with rebellious, territorial spiritual principalities who actively sought to subvert the cosmic order established by the Most High God. Notice that David does not boast in his own inherent athletic prowess, or his natural military genius, even though he was a legendary warrior who defeated giants. Instead, he attributes all of his kinetic capability to his Creator, shouting, "He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle." Yahweh is depicted here as the Master Commander, personally mentoring His earthly king, tuning his reflexes, and sharpening his tactical focus so that he can effectively push back the frontiers of chaos. David then layers title upon glorious title, describing God as his rock, his loving ally, his fortress, his tower of safety, his rescuer, and his shield. In the ancient world, a tower of safety or a fortress on a high crag was completely unassailable by infantry. By running into the character of Yahweh, David enters a fortress that sits completely above the reach of both earthly weapons and dark, cosmic forces. It is from this secure, celestial vantage point that the true King of the universe executes judgment, subduing rebellious human assemblies under the feet of His anointed servant. The second segment is: The Radical Contrast: Cosmic Majesty and Fleeting Shadows Right in the middle of this high-stakes military declaration, David pauses to display a stunning level of philosophical and theological humility, combining the logical thoughts found in verse three and verse four. O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? For we are like a breath of air; our days are like a passing shadow. David pivots his gaze away from the grand geopolitics of his kingdom to look directly into the mirror of human fragility, asking, “O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? For we are like a breath of air; our days are like a passing shadow.” This exquisite, highly poetic exclamation directly echoes the haunting cosmic questions raised in Psalm Eight. As a king who sat in council with the elders, and who regularly contemplated the vast tapestry of the night sky, David was acutely aware of the mind-boggling scale of reality. In the ancient cosmic geography, above the physical dome of the sky rested the glorious, burning palace of the divine council, populated by majestic, immortal spiritual beings who had witnessed the very foundations of the earth being laid. In comparison to these enduring celestial hosts, and in comparison to the eternal, uncreated majesty of Yahweh, what is a human being? David uses two incredibly vivid Hebrew metaphors to describe our mortal condition: hevel—which translates to a mere breath of warm air, a vapor that appears for a microsecond in the winter cold and then vanishes completely—and a passing shadow, like the silhouette of a bird flying over a field, gone before the eye can even track its movement. Yet, the profound mystery of biblical wisdom lies right here in this juxtaposition. The transcendent Sovereign Lord of the cosmos, who rules over billions of stars and commands legions of heavenly messengers, actively chooses to step down into history to notice, think about, and harbor deep affection for these fragile, breathing dust-creatures. He doesn't just tolerate humanity; He partners with mortals, inviting them to participate in the restoration of His cosmic order. The third segment is: Cosmic Theophany: Splitting the Fabric of the Sky Having established both the supreme majesty of God and the radical dependence of man, David now launches into a dramatic, high-impact prayer for an immediate, supernatural intervention, weaving together the cosmic warfare motifs found in verse five and verse six. Open the heavens and come down, Lord. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. Flash your lightning and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them! David calls down the ultimate cosmic cavalry, crying out with immense urgency, “Open the heavens and come down, Lord. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. Flash your lightning and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them!” This section contains some of the most concentrated, highly dramatic theophany imagery in the entire Old Testament. When David prays, “Open the heavens and come down,” the original language literally means to bow or to bend the heavens. In the ancient mindset, the sky was seen as a solid, physical separation between the celestial realm of God's throne room and the terrestrial realm of human history. David is asking Yahweh to grab the fabric of the cosmos, bend it downward, and rip open the boundary line, invading earthly geography with the raw, unfiltered glory of His heavenly presence. When the Most High steps down, the physical geography of the earth cannot sustain His weight. He touches the mountains—which in the ancient near eastern worldview were considered the pillars of the earth, the cosmic boundary stones where the gods met—and they instantly erupt, billowing smoke like volatile volcanoes, completely unmasked as fragile structures before their Creator. David then describes the weapons of this cosmic combat: lightning bolts functioning as divine spears, flashing across the dark sky to scatter the entrenched armies of the wicked, while supernatural arrows of thunder confuse and disorient the adversaries. 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The word “faces” in God's word is often used as a synonym for ‘minds,'  such as when ”the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face” [Exod.33 v.11] – and we see this today in Jeremiah.  The prophet is bitterly complaining to God about the attitudes of mind he sees all around him.“O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?”  [5 v.3] But he does not find truth!  God brings trouble on them,  “but they felt no anguish …  they refused to take correction.  They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.”  Jeremiah thinks there will be a different attitude among the rich, but there is not!  “they are all alike … they have no sense … they do not know the way of the LORD” [v.5,4]How parallel this is with the attitudes of mind that exist today!  The people “'have been utterly treacherous to me', declares the LORD. They have spoken falsely of the LORD and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us” [v.11,12]  Today, the mature educated people sense the world's future is going to be increasingly difficult, but they in no way sense that there is a Creator who is going to cause this – or make it worse.     Jeremiah is told to “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah … Do you not fear me? Declares the LORD … your sins have kept good from you … They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice … Shall I not punish them for these things? … shall I not avenge myself …” [v.20,22.28,29]   And God did avenge himself in the horrible destruction of the Temple and of all Jerusalem.  The chapter ends with a question we should ask ourselves.  After observing “my people love to have it so” the LORD asks the question, “but what will you do when the end comes?”   Do you know what you will do, for our world is so similar in so many ways to Jeremiah's!  God's word alone provides us with the answer – How “hard” is your “face”?  Only our daily reading will enable us to fully absorb that answer – and the more we join together to discuss and more fully understand God's word, the more that answer will become clear to us.

Daily Evening Prayer (7/16/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 82-85; Ecclesiastes 12; 2 Thessalonians 3; Metrical Psalm 38:15-1915 For, Lord, to thee I do appeal, my innocence to clear; assured that thou, the righteous God, my injured cause wilt hear. 16 "Hear me" said I "lest my proud foes a spiteful joy display, insulting if they see my foot but once to go astray." 17 And, with continual grief oppressed, to sink I now begin 18 To thee, O Lord, I will confess, to thee bewail my sin. 19 But whilst I languish, my proud foes their strength and vigor boast; And they that hate me without cause are grown a dreadful host. If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

Daily Evening Prayer (7/16/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 82-85; Ecclesiastes 12; 2 Thessalonians 3; Metrical Psalm 38:15-1915 For, Lord, to thee I do appeal, my innocence to clear; assured that thou, the righteous God, my injured cause wilt hear. 16 "Hear me" said I "lest my proud foes a spiteful joy display, insulting if they see my foot but once to go astray." 17 And, with continual grief oppressed, to sink I now begin 18 To thee, O Lord, I will confess, to thee bewail my sin. 19 But whilst I languish, my proud foes their strength and vigor boast; And they that hate me without cause are grown a dreadful host. If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

❖ Today's Bible reading is Psalm 13: www.ESV.org/Psalm13 ❖ To read along with the podcast, grab a print copy of the devotional: www.crossway.org/books/in-the-lord-i-take-refuge-hcj/ ❖ Browse other resources from Dane Ortlund: www.crossway.org/authors/dane-c-ortlund/

Welcome to Day 2905 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2905 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 143:1-12 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2905 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2905 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The Title for Today's Wisdom-Trek is: Out of the Dust, Into the Light – The Cry for Divine Direction and Vindication On our last expedition, on Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Three, we crawled deep into the dark, damp, suffocating isolation of the cave with David in Psalm One Hundred Forty-Two. We listened as he poured out his raw legal complaint before the Lord, feeling entirely abandoned by humanity, with hidden snares waiting for him in the shadows. Today, as we advance our base camp along this ancient trail, we step directly into Psalm One Hundred Forty-Three, verses one through twelve. This is the final of the seven traditional penitential psalms, and it serves as a profound, sequential continuation of David's journey through intense distress. If Psalm One Hundred Forty-Two was the sharp, acute panic of being trapped in a cave, Psalm One Hundred Forty-Three represents the heavy, cumulative exhaustion of a long-drawn-out warfare. David is not just running from a temporary threat anymore; his soul is utterly spent, his energy is depleted, and the darkness is threatening to swallow him whole. Yet, as we will see, instead of throwing in the towel, David uses his remaining strength to lift his hands into the cosmic throne room, appealing to the character of the Sovereign King of heaven. The first segment is: Entering the Supreme Court: Appealing to Covenant Faithfulness Let us open our ears and hearts to the opening lines of this intense prayer, grouping together the logical thoughts found in verse one and verse two. Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea! Answer me because you are faithful and righteous. Don't put your servant on trial, for no one is innocent before you. David begins this trek with an urgent, deeply humble legal appeal, crying out, “Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea! Answer me because you are faithful and righteous. Don't put your servant on trial, for no one is innocent before you.” To fully appreciate what is happening here, we must view this through the ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. When David enters into prayer, he knows he is stepping directly into the celestial courtroom where Yahweh sits enthroned as the Supreme Judge, surrounded by His assembly of holy ones. Notice that David does not swagger into this heavenly court demanding rights based on his own moral perfection. In fact, he does the exact opposite. He submits a preemptive plea, begging, “Don't put your servant on trial.” Why? Because David possesses the profound cosmic wisdom to realize that in the brilliant, unblemished light of the Creator's holiness, no human being—not even a chosen, anointed king—stands completely innocent on their own merit. Instead of pleading his own righteousness, David brilliantly shifts the entire legal basis of his case to the character of God Himself. He demands an answer based entirely on two things: God's faithfulness and God's righteousness. In the ancient near eastern covenant framework, a king was legally and morally obligated to defend and protect his loyal subjects. David is essentially saying, “Lord, I am your covenant servant. I am imperfect, yes, but I am yours. Therefore, I appeal to your own cosmic reputation, and your sworn oaths of loyalty, to step down“from the judge's bench and act as my divine defense attorney." The second segment is: The Crushing Darkness: Paralyzed in the Shadow of Death The narrative takes a very heavy, somber turn as David describes the terrifying operations of his adversary, combining the logical thoughts found in verse three and verse four. My enemy has chased me. He has knocked me to the ground and forces me to live in darkness like those who died long ago. I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear. David exposes his current reality, recounting, “My enemy has chased me. He has knocked me to the ground and forces me to live in darkness like those who died long ago. I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.” The language David utilizes here is intentionally cosmic, and deeply evocative of the underworld. When he says his enemy has knocked him to the ground, forcing him to live in deep darkness like those who died long ago, he is drawing a direct parallel between his current psychological state and Sheol—the dark, silent realm of the dead. In the ancient world, Sheol was seen as a place of absolute containment, ruled over by spiritual forces of chaos and decay. David feels as though his human persecutors, backed by the sinister principalities of darkness, have successfully driven him out of the vibrant land of the living and buried him alive in a spiritual tomb. Because of this prolonged, crushing environment, David experiences a profound internal collapse. He confesses, “I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.” In the original language, this means his spirit is completely overwhelmed, and his heart within him is numbed, desolated, and frozen. This is an incredibly important stop on our wisdom trek today. It reminds us that even the greatest spiritual giants can reach a point of complete emotional paralysis. The wilderness can get so dark, and the chase can last so long, that our internal resources completely run dry, leaving us numb to the world around us. The third segment is: The Pivot of Remembrance: Thirsting for Cosmic Intervention Right at the absolute nadir of his depression, when his heart is completely frozen, David makes a conscious, deliberate pivot in his mind, linking his thoughts together in verse five and verse six. I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done. I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Faced with a paralyzing present, David forces his mind to look backward, declaring, “I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done. I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.” When you are paralyzed with fear, and can no longer see a way forward, the wisest thing you can do is look backward at history. David engages three distinct mental faculties here: he remembers, he ponders, and he meditates. He actively recalls the “days of old”—the cosmic history of Israel, the miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea, and the dramatic overthrow of the rebellious Canaanite kings. By contemplating these great historical works, David reminds his trembling heart that the God he serves is the undisputed Master of storm, sea, and human empires. This mental shift completely re-energizes his physical body. He moves from a posture of frozen paralysis to a posture of active, urgent worship, lifting his empty hands into the air. He describes his soul's condition using a striking agricultural metaphor: “I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.” In the ancient Near East, a drought was not just an inconvenience; it was a terrifying threat of death and famine, often associated with the cosmic withdrawal of divine favor. David recognizes that he cannot fix his own drought. He stands before the Lord like cracked, dry, sun-baked desert soil, completely dependent on the sovereign windows of heaven opening up to pour out life-giving rain upon his parched soul. The fourth segment is: The Urgent S.O.S.: Pleading for the Morning Light The urgency of David's prayer reaches an absolute fever pitch as he strings together a rapid series of imperative petitions, grouping together the thoughts in verse Safen, verse eight, and verse nine. Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don't turn away from me, or I will die and go down to the grave. Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me. David sends out an urgent spiritual distress signal, crying, “Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don't turn away from me, or I will die and go down to the grave. Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide...

1  I said, “I will guard my ways,     that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,     so long as the wicked are in my presence.” 2 I was mute and silent;     I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. 3     My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned;     then I spoke with my tongue: 4 “O Lord, make me know my end     and what is the measure of my days;     let me know how fleeting I am! 5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,     and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah 6     Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing[a] they are in turmoil;     man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! 7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?     My hope is in you. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.     Do not make me the scorn of the fool! 9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth,     for it is you who have done it. 10 Remove your stroke from me;     I am spent by the hostility of your hand. 11 When you discipline a man     with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him;     surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,     and give ear to my cry;     hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you,     a guest, like all my fathers. 13 Look away from me, that I may smile again,     before I depart and am no more!”

Daily Morning Prayer and the Litany (7/15/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 75-77; Ecclesiastes 9; John 3; Metrical Psalm 38:1-41 Thy chast'ning wrath, O Lord, restrain, though I deserve it all; Nor let at once on me the storm of thy displeasure fall. 2 In ev'ry wretched part of me thy arrows deep remain; Thy heavy hand's afflicting weight I can no more sustain. 3 My flesh is one continued wound, thy wrath so fiercely glows, Betwixt my punishment and guilt my bones have no repose. 4 My sins, that to a deluge swell, my sinking head o'erflow, And for my feeble strength to bear too vast a burden grow.If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

Daily Morning Prayer and the Litany (7/15/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 75-77; Ecclesiastes 9; John 3; Metrical Psalm 38:1-41 Thy chast'ning wrath, O Lord, restrain, though I deserve it all; Nor let at once on me the storm of thy displeasure fall. 2 In ev'ry wretched part of me thy arrows deep remain; Thy heavy hand's afflicting weight I can no more sustain. 3 My flesh is one continued wound, thy wrath so fiercely glows, Betwixt my punishment and guilt my bones have no repose. 4 My sins, that to a deluge swell, my sinking head o'erflow, And for my feeble strength to bear too vast a burden grow.If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

“How do I live life to the fullest?” It's a question rooted in the heart of every human being. Companies rake in billions of dollars each year - in fields ranging from health & wellness to financial investing, travel & leisure to technology & innovation - promising to deliver us an answer - the answer - to our heart's deep longing for joy and fulfillment. Jesus himself spoke to this yearning when he claimed, “I have come that [you] may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). But a whole millennium before Jesus, King David illuminated the path to true meaning and happiness for us in Psalm 36: “With you [, O Lord,] is the fountain of life” (v9). Come discover life to the fullest in this sermon, and worship the “Fountain of Life” together with us!

Evening lessons: Psalms 38; Ezra 1; 1 Timothy 6.  Rebuke me not, O Lord, in your anger, neither chasten me in your weighty displeasure.

Welcome to Day 2903 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2903 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 142:1-7 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2903 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2903 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: Echoes From the Cave – Finding Our Sovereign Refuge in Utter Isolation On our last trek together, as we navigated through the profound protective boundaries of Psalm One Hundred Forty-One, we listened as David begged the Lord to set a vigilant watchman over his mouth and to guard the door of his lips. He was deeply concerned about his internal response to external pressures, praying that he would not be lured into testing the wicked delicacies of spiritual compromise. Today, we step directly onto a contiguous trail as we enter Psalm One Hundred Forty-Two, verses one through seven. This psalm serves as an incredibly raw, beautiful companion piece to our previous studies. As we look closely at the landscape of this new passage, we notice that David has been plunged into an even more acute, claustrophobic crisis. The historical background of this psalm describes it as a maskil—a psalm of deep instruction—written when David was hiding deep inside a cave. Whether it was the damp, pitch-black cavern of Adullam or the desolate crags of En-gedi, David was physically trapped, hunted like an animal by the relentless armies of King Saul. The internal walls of his soul were closing in, matching the cold, rocky boundaries of his physical hiding place. Yet, even in this profound state of darkness, abandonment, and severe isolation, David does not despair. Instead, he transforms his damp subterranean prison into a magnificent anteroom of the heavenly palace, casting his eyes upward toward the sovereign council of the Most High God. The first segment is: Pouring Out the Cosmic Complaint: The Heavenly Deposition Let us open our ears to the raw, uncut emotion of this prayer, as recorded in the New Living Translation, grouping together the urgent thoughts found in verse one and verse two. I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord's mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. In this opening movement, David wastes absolutely no time masking his desperation under a veneer of false stoicism. He cries out, “I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord's mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.” The vocabulary here is highly intense, painting a picture of an overflowing vessel that can no longer contain the pressure of its contents. To fully appreciate the structural depth of these verses, we must view them through the fascinating lens of the Ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. In the ancient Near East, when an individual suffered severe injustice, they did not merely vent their frustrations into the void. They brought a formal, legal petition before the king or the supreme assembly. The Hebrew word for “complaint” used here is siyach, which carries a strong legal connotation. It refers to filing an official lawsuit or a formal legal deposition. David is bypassing all localized, corrupt earthly courts—which have completely failed him and are actively hunting him down—and is taking his legal case directly to the ultimate Supreme Court of the universe. By pouring out his troubles directly before Yahweh, David is demonstrating an advanced level of spiritual intimacy. He knows that the Creator of the universe, sitting enthroned among His holy heavenly council, is not indifferent to human suffering. David does not sanitize his prayers; he brings his raw, unfiltered agony into the courtroom of the Sovereign King, completely confident that his voice is being heard by the highest authority in existence. The second segment is: Overwhelmed and Utterly Alone: Traps in the Dark The narrative of David's subterranean struggle deepens as he links his overwhelming internal state with the reality of his external traps, combining the logical thoughts found in verse three and verse four. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have hidden a trap for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one seems to know me! No one cares what happens to me. David completely uncovers his soul, admitting, “When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have hidden a trap for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one seems to know me! No one cares what happens to me.” This section beautifully illustrates the ultimate dark night of the soul. In the original language, the phrase “when I am overwhelmed” literally means that his spirit is fainting, wrapped in a suffocating shroud of profound weakness and anxiety. But notice the immediate, brilliant flash of cosmic confidence that pierces through the darkness: “You alone know the way I should turn.” This thought beautifully ties right back to the grand, transcendent themes of Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Nine, where we discovered that God completely maps out our paths and knows our sitting down and our rising up. Even when David cannot see two feet ahead of him in the pitch-black cave, the omniscient King of heaven already sees the entire exit path fully illuminated. David then reports the terrifying reality of his surroundings, explaining that everywhere he goes, his enemies have hidden a trap for him. This directly echoes the toxic, predatory environments we encountered in Psalm One Hundred Forty and One Hundred Forty-One. His human adversaries, acting under the corrupting influence of dark, rebellious spiritual principalities, have laid hidden nets to trip his steps. To make matters worse, David looks around for human support and finds absolutely nothing, crying out that no one knows him and no one cares what happens to him. He feels utterly abandoned, forgotten by his friends, Isolated from his community, and discarded by society. Every earthly refuge has completely vanished, leaving him entirely exposed in the dark. The third segment is: The Ultimate Inheritance: Aligning with the True Portion Finding himself completely stripped of human protection and earthly security, David makes a monumental, paradigm-shifting pivot in his spirit, anchoring his thoughts securely in the sovereign character of God as recorded in verse five and verse six. Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.” Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. When every earthly door is violently slammed shut, the vertical door to heaven remains wide open. David cries out, “Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, ‘You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.' Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.” Think deeply about the sheer theological weight of that statement. In the ancient Israelite worldview, the various nations of the world were assigned to lesser spiritual beings, but Israel was Yahweh's unique possession, and Yahweh was the unique “portion” or inheritance of His people. When David declares, “You are all I really want in life,” which can be translated as you are my portion in the land of the living, he is making a profound cosmic allegiance. He is stating that even if King Saul strips away his earthly inheritance, his royal status, his home, his reputation, and his family, he still possesses the ultimate, indestructible treasure because he has Yahweh. He then presents his urgent petition to the heavenly throne, pleading for rescue because he has been brought very low and his persecutors are far too strong for him. He openly confesses his human limitations. He recognizes that Saul's royal army, and the dark spiritual forces fueling their irrational hatred, are far too powerful for his small band of men to defeat on their own. He does not rely on human military tactics or political manipulation; he throws himself entirely upon the supernatural, intervening strength of the Sovereign King of the cosmos. The fourth segment is: From the Dungeon to the Congregation: The Final Verdict Let us now examine the final, climactic verse of this beautiful prayer, where David looks completely past his current imprisonment and envisions a glorious day of public vindication in verse seven. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The righteous will crowd around me because you are good to me. David closes his cosmic legal brief with a powerful plea for...

As Henry the 5th marched into battle at Agincourt, he went with a verse his father had given him: Not to us, O Lord, but to Yourself be the glory. Afterwards, in the glow of victory, his men knelt in the mud of the battlefield and sang a Psalm in gratitude for what the Lord had done. Join us next time on The Bible Study Hour with Dr. James Boice as he unpacks Psalm 115, a Psalm that honors a mighty God who's unlike any god created by men. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/81/29?v=20251111

Read OnlineThe Sword of Truth and PeaceJesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.” Matthew 10:34–36At first glance, this Gospel sounds like a mistake. Did Jesus really say this? He certainly did. Understanding this passage requires a deep and clear awareness of Christ's mission. He came to bring the true and lasting peace that comes only through adherence to the fullness of truth and cooperation with the fullness of grace.Note that this teaching was not delivered to the crowds but to the Twelve. Jesus often spoke to the crowds in parables, gently nourishing them with truths they could gradually grasp. But to the Twelve, He spoke with increasing clarity and depth. Today's Gospel is one such instance.This passage comes from what is sometimes referred to as the Missionary Discourse, in which Jesus prepares His Apostles for the upheaval their mission will bring—first as they go out two by two to the towns of Israel, and later, after the Ascension, when they are sent to the ends of the earth. At first, Jesus' words seem jarring, even paradoxical, coming from Him who is the Prince of Peace. But when we grasp their meaning, we discover the “tough love” this Gospel both encourages and demands.We all desire peace, especially within our families and communities, but peace is multifaceted and can have different meanings. On a superficial level, peace simply means the absence of conflict. While such tranquility has its place, Jesus came to offer a far greater and more enduring peace: the peace of shalom.Shalom, the Hebrew word for “peace,” signifies far more than the absence of strife. It encompasses the fullness of harmony, justice, and blessing that flow from a right relationship with God. It is a peace rooted in truth and communion with Him. Ironically, true peace can provoke division, especially when the Gospel confronts the sins and falsehoods people are unwilling to abandon.The “sword” our Lord brings is not for destruction, but for purification. It cuts away what is false so that the peace of shalom may take root. The sword Christ promises is the Truth: the living and active Word of God, “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). It cuts through deception, pierces the heart, and forces a choice—a decisive turning toward or away from Him. God directs that sword at each of us, and through us, toward others. Even familial bonds will be tested and purified by the Gospel. Sometimes that purification results in visible division. But often, such division is necessary to bring about a deeper and more lasting unity in God's truth.Which do you prefer? The mere absence of conflict at any cost—or a peace so deeply rooted in divine truth that it heals, unites, and strengthens bonds of love after purifying them? Certainly, the former is easier. Avoiding conflict is good when it means refraining from sinning against another—whether through anger, harsh judgment, or rudeness. But when conflict arises from purifying love, conveyed through the power of God's saving Word, then such conflict becomes an act of charity. It does not seek division for its own sake, but aims at the heart—at conversion and truth—rather than at preserving what is fleeting and passing.Reflect today on the kind of peace you seek in your own life. Are there areas in which you've settled for comfort rather than truth? Have you avoided necessary spiritual conflict for fear of tension, even when it might have led to growth or reconciliation? Pray for the courage to welcome the “sword” of God's Word—not to cause division, but to purify—so that the peace of shalom may take root more deeply in your heart, your relationships, and your mission. Prince of True Peace, You did not come to bring superficial peace to the world, but to bring the Sword of Truth—Your Word—that purifies and heals, so that true unity may be found. Pierce my heart with Your Word, O Lord. Cleanse me of all that separates me from You, and make me an instrument of Your purifying truth for those to whom I am sent. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: The Exhortation to the Apostles, by James TissotSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

We have built some real momentum in the readings for this first half of summer. Of course, you may have a congregation that is in a week, out a week — or, if you have lots of snowbirds, either your sanctuary feels more full or more empty. But the texts march on, and so do we!This is the second Sunday inside Matthew's parables chapter. Last week the Parable of the Sower opened the section; this week we get the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. Both parables share an image of a field, a sower, and a problem — but they ask different questions. The Sower asks what happens to the word once it has been scattered. The Wheat and the Weeds asks how to live in a field where good and bad are mixed and indistinguishable, and what to do when the impulse rises to sort it out ourselves.Image courtesy of Sickle of Truth: A Bible Student BlogThe Old Testament tracks both lead toward the Gospel in different ways. * Track One follows Jacob deeper into Genesis — to the famous dream at Bethel, where Jacob, fleeing his brother's anger, lays his head on a stone and sees a ladder reaching to heaven. Psalm 139 pairs with that scene by insisting there is no place where God's presence does not reach. * Track Two offers a choice between Wisdom of Solomon's meditation on the lenient sovereignty of God and Isaiah's short, sharp declaration of God's uniqueness; both are paired with Psalm 86, including its prayer for an undivided heart. * The Epistle continues the long climb through Romans 8 — today's portion includes some of Paul's most stirring language about being children of God, the groaning of creation, and the patience of hope.A note for preachers following a series: this Sunday continues the new arc of parables. The Sower (last week), the Wheat and the Weeds (today), and in coming weeks the Mustard Seed, the Yeast, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl, and the Net — these images are the way Jesus has chosen to talk about the kingdom of heaven. Our job as preachers, increasingly, is to slow down enough to let the images do their work.The ReadingsGenesis 28:10–19aFirst Reading (Track One) — Jacob's Dream at BethelSummaryJacob is on the run. He has just cheated his brother Esau out of their father's blessing, and Esau has vowed to kill him. Rebekah has sent him toward her brother's house in Haran, ostensibly to find a wife but really to keep him alive. The selected verses pick him up somewhere on the road, alone, in an unnamed place at sundown. He takes a stone, puts it under his head, and lies down. And he dreams: a ladder, or stairway, with its foot on the ground and its top reaching up into the heavens, and the angels of God going up and down on it. God stands beside him — or above the ladder — and renews the covenant once given to Abraham: this land, descendants beyond counting, blessing for all the families of the earth. And then the line on which the whole scene turns: I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. Jacob wakes, and the first words out of his mouth are: Surely the Lord is in this place — and I did not know it. He is afraid. He calls the place awesome. He sets up the stone as a pillar, pours oil on it, and names the place Bethel — house of God.Key Ideas for Preaching* Jacob is fleeing the consequences of his own deception. The grace God gives him in this dream is given to a manipulator on the run. Where in your congregation are people quietly assuming that God's presence is reserved for those who have their lives sorted out, and how might Jacob's story interrupt that?* “Surely the Lord is in this place — and I did not know it.” That is one of the most honest lines in Genesis. Jacob discovers that God has been somewhere he did not expect, and he himself was the last to notice. Where in your people's lives might God have been present in a place they did not credit, and what would it look like to wake up to it now?* The ladder is set up on the earth. The traffic on it is two-way — angels ascending and descending. Heaven and earth are connected, and the connection runs in both directions. How might this image steady a congregation that imagines God as remote, or imagines spiritual life as something we have to climb up to?* The promise God speaks to Jacob is mostly about presence: I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. Not just here at this holy site, but on the road. What might it mean for your people that the God of Bethel is the same God of every uncomfortable, unconsecrated place their lives will take them?Significant Cautions* Do not romanticize Jacob into a hero of the dream. He is, at this point in Genesis, a deceiver running from his consequences. The point of the scene is not Jacob's virtue but God's grace toward someone who has not earned it.* “House of God” language can be too quickly applied to a church building. The place Jacob names Bethel is a piece of open ground with a stone in it. The text is not really endorsing sacred architecture; it is naming places where God surprises us.* The promise that Jacob's offspring will inherit the land has had a long and painful history of being used to justify the taking of land from other people. If you touch this part of the text, handle it carefully and avoid reading the ancient promise as a blanket endorsement of any modern claim.Psalm 139:1–12, 23–24The Psalm (Track One) — You Have Searched Me and Known MeSummaryOne of the most intimate and personal psalms in the Bible. The opening verses celebrate God's deep knowledge of the psalmist — sitting down and rising up, the thoughts before they are spoken, the path before it is taken. The middle section asks the question Jacob might have asked: where can I go from your presence? The answer is: nowhere. Not heaven, not Sheol, not the wings of the morning, not the deepest sea, not the darkness. Even the darkness is not dark to God; the night is as bright as the day. The lectionary skips the harder middle verses and picks up at the closing: search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts; see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.Key Ideas for Preaching* This psalm reads like a meditation on Jacob's realization — surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. The psalm extends that to every place. Where in your congregation might people need to hear that there is no place outside God's attention, and what does that mean for the places they are quietly afraid to go?* “Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day.” That is one of the most beautiful sentences in the psalms. How might your sermon let your people feel the kindness of that line — not God's surveillance, but God's presence in the very darkness they have been hiding in?* The closing prayer asks God to search the psalmist — not to judge but to lead. That is a remarkable posture. Where in your people's lives might openness to being known by God be more freeing than the long work of self-management?Significant Cautions* God's constant knowing can feel like surveillance, especially to people who have lived under abusive or controlling authorities. Be gentle with this language. The God of Psalm 139 holds us, not watches us.* The omitted middle verses (19–22) contain harsh language about hating God's enemies. The lectionary leaves these out for good reason. If you reach for them, handle them with care.Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16–19First Reading (Track Two, primary option) — You Are Lord of AllSummaryFrom the book of Wisdom, part of the Apocrypha (or deuterocanonical books, depending on tradition). The selected verses celebrate God's universal sovereignty and patient mercy. There is no other God beside this one, the text says, and this God's strength is the source of righteousness. Because God is sovereign over all, God can afford to be lenient — to spare all, to be patient with all, to leave room for repentance. And then the closing line that may be why the lectionary pairs this with today's Gospel: through such acts, God teaches the people that the righteous must be kind.Key Ideas for Preaching* The connection the text makes between God's sovereignty and God's mercy is striking. Because God is in total command, God can be patient. Cruelty and impatience are the marks of weakness, not strength. Where in your congregation has impatience been mistaken for moral seriousness, and what would it look like to learn the patience of the strong?* “The righteous must be kind.” That is, in five words, the ethical conclusion the text draws from God's character. Where in your congregation has righteousness been imagined as something other than kindness, and what might shift if these two were not allowed to come apart?Significant Cautions* Some traditions (most Protestant ones) do not consider Wisdom canonical. If your congregation's tradition uses Isaiah 44 instead, the next section of this guide covers it.* “The strong are merciful” can sometimes shade into a paternalism that treats mercy as something dispensed from on high. The text is reaching for something different — a mercy that flows from confidence, not condescension.Isaiah 44:6–8First Reading (Track Two, alternative option) — I Am the First and I Am the LastSummaryA short, sharp declaration of God's uniqueness. The Lord, the King of Israel, the Lord of hosts, declares: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let them speak. Who can declare the things to come as I have done? Do not fear, do not be afraid. You are my witnesses. Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.Key Ideas for Preaching* “Do not fear, do not be afraid.” That phrase, echoing several Sundays back in Matthew 10, anchors this short text. The reason not to fear is the same: there is no rival power. What does it look like for your people to hear that the deepest threats they imagine have, in the end, no real competing authority?* “You are my witnesses.” That is a striking thing for God to say. It places God's people inside the testimony, not at the edge of it. Where in your congregation might the language of witness need to be recovered — not as performance, but as the kind of life that quietly testifies to what is true?Significant Cautions* “There is no other god” has sometimes been used in interreligious contexts in ways that flatten and demean other faiths. Isaiah is speaking inside a particular ancient struggle against idolatry, not handing the church a position paper on world religions.Psalm 86:11–17The Psalm (Track Two) — An Undivided HeartSummaryA continuation of the psalm we already heard a few weeks ago (Proper 7). The selected verses contain one of the most quoted lines from the psalms: teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. The psalmist gives thanks for God's steadfast love and deliverance, names the trouble he is in (the insolent and the ruthless are after his life), and pleads for help, for a sign of favor, for God's strength.Key Ideas for Preaching* “An undivided heart.” That is a request many of us would not dare to pray, because we know how divided our hearts are. The psalmist is honest about needing to be given a single-mindedness he does not yet have. Where in your congregation might the gift of an undivided heart be more needed than the discipline of trying to manufacture one?* The psalmist names that ruthless people are after his life — and then, in the same psalm, names God as merciful and gracious. Both things are true at the same time. The psalm does not pretend the threats are not real in order to praise God. How might your people learn to hold real danger and real praise in the same prayer?Significant Cautions* “Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may be put to shame” is honest prayer but easy to weaponize. Be careful preaching this verse in a way that gives moral cover to grudges your congregation is already nursing.Romans 8:12–25The Epistle — Children of God, Heirs with Christ, Creation GroaningSummaryPaul continues the unfolding of Romans 8. We are debtors not to the old way of living, he says, but to the Spirit. All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God — not slaves anymore, but adopted, with the right to call out, in the most intimate language Paul can find, Abba! Father! If we are children, we are heirs, joint heirs with Christ, sharing in his suffering and in his glory. The passage then opens out into one of the most cosmic visions in the New Testament. The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed. The creation itself waits, with eager longing, for the revealing of the children of God. The creation has been subjected to futility — not by its own choice — in hope. It groans. We groan with it. We who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait for adoption and the redemption of our bodies. We were saved in hope, and hope that is seen is not hope. We wait, with patience, for what we do not yet see.Key Ideas for Preaching* Paul calls God by the name Jesus called him — Abba. That is the Aramaic word a child would have used, intimate, not formal. The Spirit makes us able to use that word too. What might it shift in your people's prayer life to hear that the language of intimacy with God is not reserved for spiritual experts?* Paul includes the whole creation in the work of redemption. The trees, the soil, the seas, the suffering creatures — they are not background scenery to the human drama. They are part of it. They groan; they wait. How might this widen your congregation's sense of what salvation includes?* “Hope that is seen is not hope.” Christian hope, by definition, is hope in something we cannot yet point to. We do not have it in hand; we wait for it. Where in your congregation has hope been collapsed into optimism, and how might Paul's patience steady it?* The passage holds together suffering and glory in a way that does not minimize either. Paul does not say the suffering is not real; he says it is not the final word. What does it look like for your congregation to grieve honestly and hope honestly in the same breath?Significant Cautions* “If we suffer with him” has sometimes been used to bless suffering that should be opposed. Paul is talking about the cost of belonging to Christ, not about staying in abusive relationships or harmful situations. Be careful here.* The adoption language has been used in ways that exclude or shame those for whom adoption is a complicated family experience. The word is theological here — about being made part of God's family by grace — but it lands on a particular set of human stories. Handle it with awareness.* “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory” can be heard cruelly by someone in real, present suffering. Paul is not minimizing their pain. He is naming an even larger reality. Say so.* The cosmic creation imagery (the whole creation groaning) has sometimes been used to bless any sentimental view of nature. Paul has something more specific in mind — a creation broken, in hope of being remade. Do not flatten this into pantheism or sentimentality.Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43The Gospel — The Wheat and the WeedsSummaryJesus tells another parable. The kingdom of heaven, he says, is like someone who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds in among the wheat, and went away. When the plants came up and bore grain, the weeds appeared as well. The servants come to the master, alarmed: did you not sow good seed? Where did these weeds come from? An enemy has done this, he answers. They offer to go and pull them up. The master refuses. No, he says — in pulling up the weeds, you would uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time, the reapers will sort them out. The lectionary then jumps to Jesus' private interpretation with his disciples. The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one; the enemy is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. The weeds will be gathered and burned. The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen.Key Ideas for Preaching* The weed in this parable is almost certainly darnel — a real plant that looks identical to wheat in the early stages of growth. You cannot tell them apart until the grain heads form. The master's refusal to let the servants pull up the weeds is not a moral instruction about tolerance; it is a botanical fact. They literally cannot tell. How might your sermon take that fact seriously and let it reshape the whole feel of the parable?* The servants in the parable are confident. They are sure they know which plants are weeds. The master, gently, refuses their confidence. Where in your congregation has confidence about who is in and who is out crept in, and what would it look like to take the master's caution seriously?* Jesus tells the disciples that the field is the world — not the church. That is worth saying out loud. The parable is not giving the church permission to be lenient about who belongs inside its life. It is talking about the much larger field of the world, where good and evil grow together, and where we are not the reapers. What does it look like for your congregation to know the difference between the church's discernment and the final judgment of the world?* The history of Christian attempts to pull up the weeds in advance is, frankly, awful. The church has identified the wrong people as weeds in every generation. Where in your congregation's past, or in your congregation's present, has someone been pulled up who was, in fact, wheat? How might honest naming help your people walk more humbly into the future?* The parable is not a call to moral passivity. The wheat still has to be tended. Injustice still has to be opposed. What the parable forbids is the human attempt to do the final sorting now. How might your sermon hold together active love for what is good and patient restraint from premature judgment?Significant Cautions* This parable has been used in some of the most damaging ways imaginable — to identify whole groups of people as “weeds”. Every Christian generation has done it, and every Christian generation has been at least partly wrong. Be especially careful with any application of this parable to actual people.* “The field is the world” means just that. The parable is not a license for the church to be lax about its own internal life. Paul and other New Testament writers have plenty to say about that. But the parable is talking about the larger field, where the final sort is not ours.* The interpretation in verses 36–43 is fierce — furnace, weeping, gnashing of teeth. Be careful with this language. It is in the text, but it is not the central point. The central point is the master's caution to the servants in the first half: let both grow together. The judgment language is the backdrop, not the foreground.* “Let anyone with ears listen” has been preached as a kind of warning. It is better heard as an invitation. The parable is doing slow, careful work; the listening it asks for is patient.* The parable can be misused in the opposite direction — as a license to ignore evil because the harvest is coming. It does not say that. It restrains us from premature sorting; it does not absolve us from active love and justice in the meantime.Thematic ConnectionsThe Gospel is the natural center for the day. The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds is one of the most pastorally and politically important parables in Matthew, and the preacher who slows down with it will find that it has much to say to the moment in which most congregations are gathered — a moment in which the human impulse to sort people into wheat and weeds has rarely felt more intense.On Track One, Jacob's dream at Bethel pairs with the parable in a quiet but pointed way. Jacob is, by any honest measure, a weed in his family's field at this point in Genesis. He has cheated his brother and is running from the consequences. And God meets him with grace. The story is its own commentary on the parable: the people we would have written off as weeds turn out to be, in God's hands, wheat in the making. Psalm 139 widens the point: there is no place where God's knowing does not reach, no darkness God does not see clear through. The God who finds Jacob on the road is the same God who finds us in whatever country we have been hiding in.On Track Two, the connection runs through the question of who has the right to judge. Wisdom of Solomon names God as the sovereign whose strength expresses itself in patience. Isaiah names God as the one and only — with no real rivals to fear. Psalm 86 asks for the gift of an undivided heart. Together, these texts ease the listener into the Gospel's harder claim: the final word about wheat and weeds is not ours.Romans 8 sits inside the day as the cosmic frame. The whole creation groans. We groan with it. The hope we wait for is not yet visible. The patience Paul asks for is the same patience the master asks for in the parable — a willingness to let the field be the field, to let the harvest be the harvest, to trust that the One who set this all in motion has not lost track of any of it. The same Spirit who lets us cry Abba is the Spirit who teaches us to wait.For preachers continuing the series: the parables arc is now two weeks old. The Sower last week named God's lavish scattering. The Wheat and the Weeds this week names God's patient deferral of judgment. Together they form a particular picture of the kingdom — generous in its giving, patient in its sorting, and not finally in our hands. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Revelation 15The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues[1] Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.[2] And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. [3] And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,“Great and amazing are your deeds,O Lord God the Almighty!Just and true are your ways,O King of the nations![4] Who will not fear, O Lord,and glorify your name?For you alone are holy.All nations will comeand worship you,for your righteous acts have been revealed.”[5] After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, [6] and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. [7] And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, [8] and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. (ESV)

This week be begin a new series of episodes on the topic of church security. As a follow-up to our lengthy discussion in episode 488, we will discuss practical ways you can enhance the security of your place of worship today, with little or no cost. Today's topic: prioritizing threats. Support the Show  Armed Lutheran Radio is a listener-supported podcast. If you value the information and entertainment we provide, consider supporting the show by joining our membership site, The Reformation Gun Club! http://www.ReformationGunClub.com  Links of Interest  Buy Duty to Defend, Volume 2 on Amazon – https://amzn.to/3D3frE5 Grant Cunningham: Prepping for Life - https://www.amazon.com/Prepping-Life-balanced-approach-personal/dp/1947404008 Prayer of the Week Grant, O Lord, we implore You, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Your governance, that Your Church may joyfully serve You in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.   Get in Touch Visit our Feedback Page - https://armedlutheranradio.libsyn.com/contact Please tell your friends about us, leave an iTunes review, and like us on Facebook Join our Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/fansofarmedlutheranradio Subscribe to us and follow us on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/armedlutheran Check Out More at our Website- http://www.armedlutheran.us Original Music by Reformer  https://www.youtube.com/ReformerBand

What do we do when God's plan does not make sense, our prayers seem unanswered, and the circumstances around us begin to shake our faith? Pastor Timothy walks through the book of Habakkuk, one of the most honest and relatable prophets in Scripture. Habakkuk looked at the violence, injustice, and corruption surrounding him and cried out, “How long, O Lord?” God answered—but His answer was not what Habakkuk expected. Through this powerful conversation between the prophet and God, we learn that the Lord is not intimidated by our honest questions. When our faith feels unsteady, we are invited to stand our watch, seek God's perspective, and cling tightly to Him. Habakkuk's name means “to embrace,” “to cling,” or “one who wrestles.” His journey reminds us that wrestling with God can ultimately teach us to hold onto Him more firmly. Even when everything appears to be falling apart, the believer can confidently declare: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” —Habakkuk 3:18 The circumstances may not immediately change, but God can strengthen our feet like those of a deer, enabling us to stand securely and walk faithfully through difficult and uncertain places. Key Scriptures: • Habakkuk 1–3 • Habakkuk 2:4 — “The just shall live by faith.” • Habakkuk 3:17–19 • Psalm 73 • Romans 1:17 • Galatians 3:11 • Hebrews 10:38 No matter what burden, disappointment, loss, or unanswered question you are facing, steady yourself on Christ. Stand, watch, listen, and trust that God is still working—even when His ways are beyond what we can currently understand. Guest Speaker: Pastor Timothy Bachleitner Date:7/12/2026 ComeToFreedom.com

Evening lessons: Psalms 35 Esther 9 & 10; 1 Timothy 5.  Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me, and fight against those who fight against me.

There are seasons when prayer feels less like a song and more like a cry for help. “How long, O Lord?” is the sound of a weary soul that still believes God is there, even when He feels absent. Psalm 13 teaches us that biblical faith does not deny sorrow, suppress lament, or rush too quickly to easy answers. Instead, it brings the ache directly to God. Join us for Track 1 of Summer Psalms Mixtape Vol. 5, where we will learn that lament is not the opposite of faith; it is often the language faith uses in the dark.

Welcome to Day 2902 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2902 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 141:1-10 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2902 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2902 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Incense of the Heart – Standing Guard at the Gates of the Soul On our last trek together, as we climbed through the rugged terrain of Psalm One Hundred Forty, we witnessed David standing in the celestial courtroom of the Almighty, pleading for protection against violent adversaries. We felt the stinging spray of their serpentine words, and we saw the hidden nets they spread along his path. Today, we step directly onto a contiguous trail as we enter Psalm One Hundred Forty-One, verses one through ten. This psalm serves as a profound, beautiful companion piece to our previous study. But as we look closely at the landscape of this new passage, we notice a fascinating, highly critical shift in David's focus. In the previous psalm, he was primarily concerned with the external weapons of his enemies, but now, in Psalm One Hundred Forty-One, David turns his vision inward. He recognizes a sobering spiritual truth that every wise trekker must eventually master: the greatest danger we face in times of heavy crisis is not just what our enemies might do to us, but what the crisis itself might cause us to do, or say, in return. David realizes that under the pressure of hostility, his own heart, his own mouth, and his own appetites could easily betray him, causing him to blend into the very wickedness he is fighting against. The first segment is: The Cosmic Incense: Elevating Prayer to the Heavenly Throne Room Let us listen to the opening movements of this beautiful prayer, where David combines his urgent thoughts in verse one and verse two, establishing his focal point in the heavenly realm. O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen to me when I cry to you for help. Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering. David begins with an intense, breathless plea, crying out, “O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen to me when I cry to you for help.” But then, notice how he frames the spiritual mechanics of his communication, praying, “Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.” To fully grasp the magnitude of this imagery, we must look at it through the ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. When David lifts his hands and asks for his prayers to be received as incense, he is not just using pretty, poetic metaphors. He is operating with a deep understanding of the cosmic temple. In ancient Israel, the earthly tabernacle, and later the temple, were designed as physical copies of Yahweh's heavenly palace. In that heavenly throne room, the Sovereign King sits enthroned, surrounded by His holy council of angelic beings. The burning of holy incense on the earthly altar represented the sweet-smelling cloud of praise and intercession that continuously rises before the true, cosmic throne. David, quite possibly cut off from the physical tabernacle while fleeing for his life in the wilderness, realizes something spectacular. Even without an earthly altar, or a physical priesthood, his authentic, desperate cry for help can bypass earthly structures entirely. By the power of faith, his spoken words become spiritual incense, rising directly into the celestial assembly. When he lifts his hands, he is presenting his very body as the evening sacrifice. He is appealing directly to the ultimate Supreme Court of the universe, asking the Great Suzerain to pay immediate attention to his case, because the spiritual pressure around him has reached a critical, breaking point. The second segment is: Guarding the Gates: The Battle for Words and Appetites With his eyes firmly fixed on the heavenly King, David immediately launches into an incredible, defensive prayer for his own soul, grouping together the deep insights found in verse three and verse four. Take control of my mouth, O Lord, and guard my lips. Don't let me drift toward evil or take part in wicked deeds. Don't let me share in the delicacies of those who do evil. Here, David prays a prayer of profound humility, saying, “Take control of my mouth, O Lord, and guard my lips. Don't let me drift toward evil or take part in wicked deeds. Don't let me share in the delicacies of those who do evil.” This is a stunning moment of vulnerability for a warrior king. David looks at the wicked people who are surrounding him, and he does not just see a political or physical threat; he sees a highly contagious spiritual disease. He knows that when we are constantly surrounded by gaslighting, lying, and malicious slander, our natural, human instinct is to strike back using those exact same low-level tactics. We want to retaliate with bitter, venomous speech. Therefore, David asks Yahweh to place a divine sentinel, a heavenly guard, over his lips. He understands that if he loses control of his tongue, he opens the gates of his soul to the forces of chaos. Furthermore, David pleads, “Don't let me share in the delicacies of those who do evil.” In the ancient Near East, eating at someone's table was a profound act of covenant fellowship and alignment. The “delicacies” of the wicked represent the material wealth, the social status, and the temporary, luxurious benefits that come from participating in corrupt, systemic evil. In the divine-council context, partaking in these wicked feasts was often associated with honoring rival spiritual powers and bowing to the cultural idols of compromise. David is begging God for the spiritual discipline to refuse the attractive, comfortable bribes of the enemy, choosing instead the rugged path of righteousness, even if it means experiencing physical deprivation in the wilderness. The third segment is: The Healing Wound: Choosing Righteous Rebuke Over Wicked Fellowship The narrative of David's internal defense takes an extraordinary turn in verse five, as he contrasts the dangerous flattery of the wicked with the painful, yet life-giving correction of the righteous. Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness. If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don't let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked deeds of evil people. David makes a remarkable declaration, stating, “Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness. If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don't let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked deeds of evil people.” This verse contains a massive chunk of wisdom for our daily trek of life. David recognizes that if he is going to stay on the path of integrity, he desperately needs accountability. He would much rather receive a harsh, painful, face-to-face correction from a godly person who loves his soul, than to sit at a luxurious table receiving the smooth, deceptive flattery of the wicked. He calls godly rebuke “soothing medicine,” or anointing oil for the head. It might sting at first, but its ultimate purpose is to heal, restore, and protect. The proud adversaries who are trying to destroy David believe they are completely above accountability. They surround themselves only with yes-men who applaud their wickedness. But David, aligning himself with the wisdom of Yahweh's kingdom, opens his heart to correction. Even as he remains completely open to being corrected by the righteous, his stance against cosmic and human evil remains totally uncompromising. He concludes this thought by noting that his life is locked in continuous, unceasing prayer against the destructive, wicked deeds of those who have rejected the ways of the Most High. The fourth segment is: The Overthrow of Tyrants: Justice at the Mouth of Sheol The narrative now shifts outward once again, as David looks ahead to the ultimate, inescapable fate of those corrupt leaders who refuse to repent, blending his thoughts in verse six and verse seven. When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, they will listen to my words and find them true. Like rocks that are split and shattered, the bones of the wicked lie scattered at the mouth of the grave. David looks into the future of cosmic justice, declaring, “When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, they will listen to my words and find them true. Like rocks that are split and shattered, the bones of the wicked lie scattered at the mouth of the grave.”...

When the Prophet Elijah challenges 850 prophets of Baal to prove Who is the ONE TRUE GOD, the devil and his demons fail to bring the fire on the offering to the idol, Baal. But when Elijah pours water on the sacrifice offered to God, the wood, the altar and even the dirt, God sends fire from heaven! “‘O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that You have brought them back to Yourself.' Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—He is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” 1 Kings 18:37-39 NLT #Biblestoriesforkids, #Biblelessonsforkids, #storiesforchristiankids, #Bibletruthsforkids, #buildingachildsfaithinjesuschrist, #kids,

Welcome to Day 2900 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2900 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 140:1-13 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2900 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2900 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: Shielded from the Serpent's Venom – The Cosmic Courtroom of King Yahweh In our previous expeditions through the majestic heights of the Book of Psalms, we rested in the transcendent sanctuary of Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Nine. We marveled at the staggering, intimate reality of God's complete omniscience and omnipresence, celebrating how He meticulously knit us together in the secret places of the earth, and how His protective hand continuously hems us in from behind and before. But as we step onto a brand-new mountain pass today, moving directly into Psalm One Hundred Forty, verses one through thirteen, the spiritual scenery shifts with dramatic, jarring intensity. We are descending from the quiet, beautiful mountaintop of divine contemplation, straight into the muddy, dangerous trenches of earthly and cosmic warfare. David reminds us quite vividly that while we are perfectly known and perfectly secure in the eyes of our Creator, we still must navigate a deeply broken, highly hostile wilderness, populated by those who actively align themselves with the forces of chaos and destruction. The first segment is:The Venom of Deception: Verbal Warfare in the Cosmic Realm Let us open our ears to the opening movements of this desperate prayer, as recorded in the New Living Translation, grouping together the logical thoughts found in verse one, verse two, and verse three. O Lord, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent. Those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long. Their tongues sting like a snake; the venom of a viper drips from their lips. In this opening cry, David wastes absolutely no time exposing the terrifying nature of the adversaries who have surrounded his life. He pleads, “O Lord, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent.” But notice carefully how David defines this violence; he does not immediately point to unsheathed swords, or marching infantries. Instead, he unmasks the internal architecture of their malice, explaining that they plot evil in their hearts, stir up trouble all day long, and weaponize their words, making their tongues sting like a snake, while the venom of a viper drips from their lips. To fully appreciate the gravity of these verses, we must view them through the fascinating lens of the Ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. In the ancient Near East, words were never viewed as merely empty acoustic vibrations floating harmlessly through the air. Words were seen as potent, concrete extensions of spiritual reality, possessing the power to either bless and uphold cosmic order, or curse and unleash primordial chaos. When David describes his enemies as plotting evil in their hidden hearts, he is revealing that they are operating as human agents for the rebellious, unseen spiritual principalities who rule the dark corners of the globe. Furthermore, the striking imagery of the snake and the viper's venom carries a massive theological echo. It deliberately transports the ancient Israelite mind all the way back to the garden of Eden, back to the nachash—the deceptive, shining serpent who was a rebellious member of God's heavenly host. That original spiritual rebel did not overthrow humanity through physical violence; he overthrew humanity through the subtle, poisonous corruption of his words, whispering deceptive lies that fractured the cosmic order of Yahweh. David is declaring that the wicked people surrounding him are speaking the native, venomous language of the serpent, attempting to inject spiritual poison into the social, political, and spiritual life of God's covenant community. The second segment is: Hidden Snares Along the Trail: The Strategy of the Proud The narrative of David's struggle continues to unfold as he links his logical thoughts together in verse four and verse five, mapping out the covert operations of his predators. O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked. Protect me from those who are violent, for they are plotting against me. These proud people have set a trap to catch me. They have stretched out a net along the pathway and spread traps in my path. David intensifies his petition, crying out, “O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked. Protect me from those who are violent, for they are plotting against me.” He then uses the vivid vocabulary of an ancient wilderness hunter, describing how these proud people have set a trap, stretched out a massive net along the pathway, and spread hidden snares directly in his path. This section beautifully illustrates the treacherous nature of our spiritual and earthly journey. Our adversaries rarely launch their assaults out in the open where they can be easily anticipated. Instead, like a calculated hunter tracking prey through the brush, they rely on covert manipulation, gaslighting, and invisible entrapment. They wait until we are walking along our normal, daily pathway, and then they attempt to trip us into a compromise, or trap us in a web of false accusations. Notice that David specifically identifies these engineers of chaos as “proud people.” In the biblical worldview, pride is not just a psychological trait; it is a profound cosmic posture. To be proud means to actively refuse to submit to the sovereign rule of Yahweh, mimicking the original pride of the fallen cosmic rulers who erroneously believed they could usurp the authority of the Most High. These proud human adversaries set traps for David because they believe they can successfully operate outside of God's moral boundaries, tracking down and devouring the righteous without ever being held accountable by the cosmic court of heaven. The third segment is: Appealing to the Supreme Magistrate of Heaven Faced with venomous lips and hidden nets, David does not attempt to fight fire with fire, nor does he rely on his own military strategic brilliance. Instead, he enters the celestial courtroom, combining his urgent thoughts in verse six, verse seven, and verse eight. I said to the Lord, “You are my God!” Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy! O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me, you protected me on the day of battle. Lord, do not give in to their evil desires. Do not let their evil plots succeed, or they will become proud. David plants his feet firmly on covenant ground, declaring directly to the Almighty, “You are my God! Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!” He appeals to Him as the Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued him, and the one who served as a protective helmet over his head on the day of intense battle. He begs the King, “Lord, do not give in to their evil desires. Do not let their evil plots succeed, or they will become proud.” This is a breathtaking masterclass in spiritual legal procedure. In the ancient world, when a weaker vassal was attacked by a hostile, lawless force, his only hope was to appeal to his high suzerain—the great king who had sworn a covenant oath to protect him. David bypasses all localized earthly authorities and goes straight to the ultimate Judge of the divine council. He uses the specific, sacred names of God—Yahweh and Adonai—reminding the Creator of their unique, binding relationship. By calling God “the strong one who rescued me,” David is looking backward at his historical track record of deliverance, recalling how Yahweh previously protected his head from the physical and spiritual arrows of his enemies on the field of conflict. David knows that if the Sovereign Lord allows these deceptive, serpentine plots to succeed, it will cause these wicked people—and the rebel spiritual powers backing them—to boast that they have successfully outmaneuvered the cosmic King. Therefore, David's prayer is not merely a plea for personal survival; it is an appeal for the public vindication of God's supreme authority over the forces of lawlessness. The fourth segment is: The Law of Reciprocity: Chaos Devouring Itself The psalm now transitions into an incredibly intense, imprecatory phase, where David outlines the divine retribution he desires to see fall upon his tormentors. Let us listen to these heavy words in...

SCRIPTURE- Psalm 51"Lord, you will open my lips; and my mouth will proclaim your praise. For you do not desire sacrifice* or I would give it; a burnt offering you would not accept. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn."REFLECTION- Jen MUSIC- Music Momentary by Choir- Om So Hum Mantra by Malte MartinPRAYERTo You, do I belong O GodInto Your hands I surrender my life.Pour out Your Spirit upon methat I may love You perfectly,and serve You faithfullyuntil my soul rests in You.NOTES-