May 1

Today’s Reading - Psalm 61 -63

(Psa 63:1 KJV) O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

As we begin this most beautiful month of May, we read a verse which shows a little about the character of David. This psalm was written while David was in the wilderness of Judah and even though David is in less than perfect circumstances, he has no wavering faith in his relationship to God. He claims God as his very own! David also sought God early, it may be that David arose very early in the morning, maybe a habit he maintained from when he was a shepherd in his youth. But I don’t think it is always a matter of getting up earlier, even though the early morning hours is when you still have the day ahead of you with all its temptations and pitfalls just waiting for the unsuspecting Christian. I remember Dr. Robert A. Cook, speaking about a member of one of the churches he pastored. He said a fellow he knew got up at 4 AM every morning to pray. Dr. Cook thought he was a very spiritual man, until sometime later he found out the man went back to bed at 5.

I want to offer a variation on seeking God early. Some times when we are in a situation, we may tend to bring God into it after we have exhausted all our resources. Whenever we face a situation, we must always ask the Lord to intervene. When we seek the Lord early in any situation, it may avert a personal disaster. Asking for the wisdom and guidance of God in the early stages of anything, is the wisest thing any Christian can do. We also see that David’s soul thirsts for God. The soul of man which is departed from God does not realize that spiritual thirst cannot be quenched by anything save the Lord. The world will try to satisfy the flesh which tries to supplant the feeding of the soul. This is why so many Christians, get thrown off track. The soul can never be fed via the flesh.

Here David is also saying that his flesh longs for the Lord. When our souls are in a peaceful state with God, then even our flesh is in peace. We seem to lose that nervousness which the world instills in us. As David sought the Lord, his entire being was at peace knowing that God was his God. God hasn’t changed and we can have that same intimate relationship that David experienced. I think all we need to do is slow down and reassess our relationship to the Lord. Today would be a good day to do it. Everything should have bloomed by now, the weather should be warm, and it would be a nice time to enjoy the Lord’s creation. Then we can realize the re-creation the Lord did in us through salvation. After all, we dwell in that same dry and thirsty land that David did. The world hasn’t changed, even though we have more toys to throw us off course, yet we have the same unchangeable God who desires for us to claim Him as “My God.” Have you filed your claim today? Today I turn 49 and am on my way to file mine.

May 2

Today’s Reading - Psalm 64-66

(Psa 64:5 KJV) They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?

In today’s reading we come across this verse which should make those who think they can hide from God shiver. This psalm speaks about the covert ways of the wicked. They are so estranged from God that they think their evil ways nor their plans will ever be discovered. If there is one place this attitude is prevalent, it is in the work place where many in upper management or even middle management have their little secret meetings about other employees or they make secret deals and then believe their plans will never be discovered. If there is one thing we can learn from the Scriptures, is that whether we are saved or unsaved, we can never hide from God. (Eccl 12:14 KJV) For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Many times Christians are the objects of discussion and vilification at secret meetings resulting in no promotion. Another thing these secret meetings normally result in is cheap or no raises for the employees. I think it is so hypocritical that when the folks making a small salary seek an increase just to make ends meet, upper management always claims that the company isn’t making enough money and can’t afford it. Yet, when the CEO gets a raise from 25 million to 30 million, there is always enough money. God will bring all these secret lies and hypocrisy out in the open on judgment day.

What about us? As Christians, do we try to hide things from God? Oh I don’t mean we are trying to hide our actions, I mean that sometimes we neglect the right actions and then don’t go back to correct what we have done. Sometimes we may have small prejudices against people, not necessarily hatred, but maybe we favor one over the other. Sometimes that favor may work against us by simply overlooking the qualifications of others in favor of those in our own little circle. In this verse, it says that the wicked encourage themselves in evil matters. Do we do that? Do we encourage each other in things we basically know is wrong or is it a so called “gray area?” In the Bible there are no gray areas, either you are sinning or you are not. Gray areas are usually something that are invented by someone who wants to partake in something sinful, but since they don’t want to sin against God, they extend the circle of obedience and claim extenuations in the widening of that obedience circle. There is nothing wrong with having a group of tight knit friends, but obedience to God must take preference over loyalty to the group. Cliques can be a dangerous or a good thing. We must always check our motives to make sure that we are never encouraging each other in evil. As Christians we are in the flesh and are still subject to the same temptations as the world has but we have an advantage, we can spot it before we commit it or it takes root.

May 3

Today’s Reading - Psalm 67-69

(Psa 68:11 KJV) The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which is an encouragement to every Christian that they have a share in publishing the gospel. God gave us the Word of God and as we come to understand portions of it, we can begin to publish or evangelize with it. If you notice the words tell us that a great company has published it. That great company is being added to daily through people becoming saved. We know that great company as the body of believers. In this year, we have much material that has been handed down to us from years past which means Christians of years ago were evangelizing with the word of God in every generation. Today with the advent of computers and the Internet, we are now able to go into every land with the gospel and we don’t even have to leave home. With most Internet providers offering at least 2 MB of free space, you can place the gospel message on the Internet and you may never know where it is being used. One thing I like about having a web site on the Internet, is that anyone can download the studies and make copies and hand them out to others. This type of ripple effect is excellent. A missionary can go into a foreign land, set up a solar powered computer and have tons of Christian material at their beckoning call. Personally, this is one of the reasons I like to write so simply so if anything is taken from my site and needs to be translated, it would be easier for the missionaries to translate.

Publishing the gospel does not only have to be done by electronic means only. It is done in churches around the world and then it is carried to the populous by those Christians who hear. One of the greatest forms of gospel dispersion is by word of mouth. In many countries around the world, there has been missionary activity for many years and as a result, many nationals are now taking up the mantle of service and bringing the gospel to their own people. The missionary movement has and continues to bear fruit. When I was a wee Christian, I spoke with an evangelistic team member who came to our church and she gave me a great idea which I have been doing for over 20 years. Have you ever received a credit card offer or something else to buy by mail? In the envelope, was a business reply envelope. I pop a tract in there and just drop it in the mail. I don’t know how many times Capital One has been witnessed to. “Published it” actually means “the ones bearing good news.” Are you and I bearing good news? If we are giving people, both far and near the true gospel, then we are giving them good news. We are members of the greatest company on earth and with the Lord Jesus Christ as our CEO directing operations, we will be able to publish the true gospel worldwide without any true opposition. Praise God that He has entrusted the sending forth of the gospel to the true church corporate.

May 4

Today’s Reading - Psalms 70 -72

(Psa 71:1 KJV) In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

In today’s reading we come across this verse where David is committing his entire being to the Lord and then pleading with God that he may never be ashamed. One thing as believers, when we commit all to the Lord, there will never come a time when we can ever be ashamed. We may sometimes seem that we are in an inescapable situation. It is these times that we see how the Lord works things out in our life. Many times we are placed in a condition where we have absolutely no control over the situation or the outcome. It is also at these times when things are out of our control that Satan begins to cast doubts upon our faith. He will come along and coax us to take things into our own hands because God may be taking too long to come to our rescue. If we allow it, Satan will drop as many “doubt bombs” as he possibly can. He will use the unbelievers but most of all he will use Christians. Many times we tell our friends what may be happening in our life and with the limited information we give them, they try to make a full assessment of our situation, and by attempting to do that, can throw us off track. Once we begin to act on our doubts instead of our faith, we are heading for disaster. This is why so many of us seem to be in a spiritually weakened state. We are placing our faith in God and acting on our fears. It is almost like Israel of old who paid God lip service and then served the false gods.

If we say we trust the Lord, then we must trust Him. Even though He may work things out in a different manner than we would. This is how faith comes in. We trust God no matter what the emotions say. An excellent example of a person who was an emotional wreck, is Peter. On one hand he is saying he will never forsake Christ and the next thing we see he is denying Him. Then we look at Peter when the Spirit of God brought him to stability and we see a fierce warrior for the kingdom of God. Peter was confused and ashamed but when the Spirit of Assurance overshadowed the fickleness of emotions, then we saw stability in Peter‘s life. When we trust in the Lord for every situation in our life, we too will experience stability and there will be no shame or confusion. We may not understand how the Lord may work things out, but this does not mean that we are experiencing a lack of faith or runaway emotions. We must see God as our rock and fortress as David saw Him. Once we establish a correct view of God, there will be no setback in our Christian walk. Just because a situation may not turn out the way we want, if we trusted God for the outcome, then it was done perfectly. A good example of this is many times we think that we are going to marry a certain person and then the relationship falls apart. We are saddened and as time goes on we regain our perspective. Then 15 or 20 years later you meet that person and you come away praising God for His wisdom that you didn’t marry that person after all, for whatever reason. God Knows!!

May 5

Today’s Reading - Psalm 73-75

(Psa 73:17 KJV) Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

In today’s reading we come across this watershed verse in Psalm 73. Asaph has been revealing to us his frustration with unbelievers and especially when they seem to be prospering. They have no fear of death and it seems no matter what they want to do, they do, and that without even considering the will of God in any matter. He was confused how people talked against God, when Asaph knew how awesome God was. It is like the unbeliever today who continually swears God’s name and take the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as a common swear word. Many times we wonder why God seems to allow them to get away with it. Asaph even complained that he was practicing righteousness in vain, because it seemed that the chastisement from God was coming on him, when he was not the one shaking his fist at heaven. I remember a similar time in my own life. I have a saved friend who is very cheap with his money. I have known him for over 20 years. Since I became a Christian, I have been plagued by shortage of funds, job losses, etc. Well, this cheap Christian would grudgingly give $2 in the collection plate when we used to go to Bible conferences together. His whole life was materialism and he was raking in the money and buying everything he wanted to. Many times I wondered how was I going to make the next phone payment and here he was buying new cars and all kinds of gadgets with no conscience.

I always believed in supporting ministries and missions, and he believed in supporting his materialism. Yet, I was the one always having financial problems. How many times I came to tears when a door opened on the mission field and I was broke and couldn’t contribute. This situation caused me to seek the Lord for I was confused. I was experiencing the same thing Asaph did. Why did the cheap and self-serving Christian get such monetary rewards? The question was not answered for me because it is the Lord’s business and I should not have had such an envious spirit. But the Lord does not leave us without encouragement. A few years later I stopped at my friends house and he told me he went bankrupt. He had taken out some loans to buy investment art and it went bad. His greed to the tune of $200,000 left him financially ruined. (Psa 73:18 KJV) Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. Greed is a slippery place. What God taught me in this situation that I was envying a bankrupt person who did not know how to handle money. I happily regained my perspective as I went on in the study of Scripture. Asaph was also comforted when he went into the house of God. Once we assess everything in this world through the eyes of Scripture, we will wipe out the envious spirit which so entraps us. I was not encouraged because my friend went bankrupt, I was encouraged because God gave me proper perspective on the entire situation. By the way, to the glory of God, I have never been late on one payment in my life. Let me share this with you on the humorous side. Because my credit is very good, I received a letter in the mail from Household Finance wanting to loan me $1,000 at 28% interest. I sent them a letter back telling them I will loan them $1,000 at 28% interest. I never heard from them again. Let us continue attending our faithful church where we can get uplifted as Asaph did and in the interim, let us study our Bible and get God’s perspective on everything. Our attitudes will definitely change.

May 6

Today’s Reading - Psalm 76 - 78

(Psa 78:68 KJV) But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which looks like a dividing line between the Law of God and the Grace of God. In the first 67 verses of Psalm 78, we read how gracious God was to Israel and how thankless and rebellious they were toward Him. God delivered them from the bondage of Egypt and gave them food and water throughout their journey, and yet they rebelled against God. We see the detailed manner in which God describes their disloyal attitudes toward Him. Not only were they rebellious but God sent judgments among the people as penalties for those seditious actions, yet as we continue to read the Psalm and see the rest of the history of Israel, they did not learn from those physical judgments which God sent their way. If you recall in our readings of Exodus, that the people of Israel had gone into covenant with God and stated that they would do all that the Lord commanded them. God warned them that if they failed to keep the covenant, then God was going to judge them. In Psalm 78, we see a compendium of the Law Vs. Grace battle. In the first 67 verses we see Israel under the law and unable to keep the covenant which they made with God at Sinai. When one goes back and reads Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, we find a lot more judgments than we do blessings. This is because our sinful natures prevent us from keeping the law perfectly.

This is why God eventually destroyed the nation of Israel as it gave us a great picture of someone trying to keep the law of God. No one can keep the law of God perfectly and as a result of trying to keep the law for salvation, the closest you can get to Heaven will be Hell. So we also see in the Scriptures that God would eventually destroy the Temple in 70 AD. (Mat 24:2 KJV) And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. This was because when the Lord Jesus Christ came on the scene, the sacrificial/ceremonial system was no longer needed, since all of it was only looking forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and His final sacrifice for sin. No longer would God give any credence to the sacrifices. We see in verse 68 of Psalm 78, that God chose Judah. The Lord Jesus Christ came through the tribe of Judah and he mentioned Mount Zion which He loved. Zion is another name for the body of believers. This is the whole corporate body of Christians in which God chose to place His name there forever. (Rev 3:12 KJV) Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. If you are a child of God, then God has written His new name upon you, and that new name is found through the Lord Jesus Christ. The covenant has been fully kept and you are secure in your Lord, never again to face any type of judgment. This truly is freedom!

May 7

Today’s Reading - Psalm 79 - 81

(Psa 81:10 KJV) I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which has been one of my favorites for many years. The Lord was reiterating to the nation of Israel that it was He who brought them out of bondage in Egypt. They witnessed His mighty hand in bringing them out especially the opening of the Red Sea and the death of all the firstborn of Egypt. They saw the mighty miracles and in this verse God is also telling them in parabolic fashion that the same power which was used against the Egyptians to defeat them, was available to them only if they would believe Him. Basically the principle is how much faith are you willing to exercise in following and believing God. Wide open mouth, much faith! Slightly open mouth, small faith! Closed mouth, no faith! Isn’t it amazing how we are so willing to open our mouths widely in defeat but never in faith? As we read the continuing story of Israel, we saw they exercised no faith and eventually went into captivity for their sins. Although there were exceptions among the people who exercised faith in God.

What about us? How willing are we to open our mouths wide? When was the last time you petitioned God for something which was beyond the scope of what you would be able to do? Sometimes we tend to ask God for things on the level which we can fulfill in case He doesn’t answer. If this is the level of praying you are engaging in, then your mouth is really closed and God cannot fill it. I remember some years back reading about an old country preacher who was trying to raise funds for the church. In his prayer, he said, “Lord, the cattle on a thousand hills are yours but would you mind selling a few head and granting us the funds we need.” Now that may sound silly to us sophisticated Christians but in essence he was opening his mouth wide because he was acknowledging that God was the owner of everything in this world and would He impart to them the things they need for the sake of the gospel. (Psalm 24:1) He was praying according to the Scriptures and according to the greatness of God. This is how we must pray, not according to our microscopic thinking, but according to the greatness of God. We also have to abolish the ridiculous notion which comes to the surface through the following statement, “Why would God answer my prayers?” If you are a true child of God, He answers your prayers because the Lord Jesus has bought you the right to enter the Throne Room not as a stranger but as a son or daughter of the living God. Even if you are in the depths of despair, it is never too late to open your mouth wide and let God fill it. Today, allow your prayers to be equal to the magnitude of God. Believe me, God is not intimidated by great prayer requests. Let me give an earthly illustration which falls short. Let us say you have a Father who is a multi-billionaire by owning 50 factories. He offers you the position of Executive Vice-President of the whole enterprise. The position pays $5 million a year but you refuse it and choose to work at minimum wage. Well, this is how we pray, at minimum wage, instead of recognizing what God has already done for us and what He is willing to do for us. Will the ushers please come forward!

May 8

Today’s Reading - Psalm 82 -84

(Psa 84:10 KJV) For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

In today’s reading we come across this popular verse which speaks of the contentment of the believer. Here the author of the Psalm would rather hold a subservient position in the house of God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. He is saying by this statement that the temporary pleasures of the world cannot compare to being in God’s Kingdom. The world may look good with all its allurements but it will only be a temporary period. (1 John 2:17 KJV) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. It is only true salvation that would cause a person to say they are not drawn to all the enchantments the world has to offer. When a person has their eyes focused on the Lord, the things of this world pale in comparison. We are no longer held spellbound by the methods and trinkets of the world. It seems the world loses its appeal. The Psalmist knows that the wicked ways of the world are going to be judged someday by God. The Psalmist tells us that God is not going to withhold anything good from His children. He gave us the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and then He indwells us with the Holy Spirit for all eternity. It would be foolish to say that God has withheld anything good from His children.

As Christians, if we are content in this world with the worldly goods that we possess, we would find a great peace in our life. It is the striving for material gain that causes us much anxiety in our lives. God gives us the grace to go through this life and upholds us with His strength. As He said to the Apostle Paul that His grace is sufficient for him, it will be more than sufficient for us. Contentment in the Christian life is not easy because it seems we go from one trial to another. Sometimes we have a respite in between but normally because of the way life is, it seems we are always in some type of situation. This is why God wants us to find contentment in Him because He takes care of us in every and any situation that we will find ourselves in. When we look at the fact that God has made us one of His children, we can rejoice and bear up under any pressure. Before I became a Christian, anxiety was a part of my life and it even affected my health. To this day I have to be careful that the flesh and its anxieties don’t creep up on me. This is why I seek the peace of the Lord. The peace of the world may only last for a while but the peace of the Lord is a continuum, like salvation, and all we have to do is realize it is there and cling to it. Once we do, contentment follows and brings stability into our Christian walk. Don’t let the world steal or chip away at your heavenly contentment.

May 9

Today’s Reading - Psalm 85 -87

(Psa 87:2 KJV) The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

In today’s reading we come across the verse which this commentary is named after. When this verse mentions the dwellings of Jacob, we are reminded instantly where Jacob traveled and dwelled. We look at the wanderings of Jacob when he escaped the hand of Esau. We look at the situations Jacob got into, especially with his Father in-law. The wanderings of Jacob in his life is a great picture of the believer who wanders in this life. (Heb 11:9 KJV) By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: This verse is speaking of Abraham but is applicable to the believer dwelling in a strange land. Isn’t it amazing how strange the world looks once you become saved? The Lord loves the dwellings of Jacob but not more than the gates of Zion. Some of the dwellings of Jacob are the home where believers live. There is also the church where believers gather to worship. But then the Lord says He loves the gates of Zion more than these dwellings. This is because the dwellings are all tied to this earth and God has something greater in view. Zion is the Heavenly or New Jerusalem which is the body of believers. It is typified by the completed temple which is given in Ezekiel 40-48.

The Gate of Zion is Christ Himself because the only way someone can come into the body of believers is through the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 10:9 KJV) I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. When we look at the verse in psalm 87, we see that God loves the gates of Zion more than the dwelling places. Each true believer is a gate of Zion. When the Christian brings the gospel to someone, they are giving them the way to become saved. Outside of the Lord Jesus Christ there is no way of salvation. (2 Cor 5:20 KJV) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Every true believer is an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven. Every true ambassador is a direct conduit from their government to the ones chosen to hear. One thing an ambassador does not do is make policy. They are representatives of their government that bring an unadulterated message without admixture of their own ideas. This is precisely what the Christian is to do. We are to bring the message of salvation to the world, one soul at a time. We do not bring our own ideas nor do we customize the gospel to make it fit someone’s life or culture. People are going to be offended by the gospel, because the gospel is an offense. (Gal 5:11 KJV) And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. Paul did not customize the gospel when he preached to the Jews and this is why he faced much persecution. We must never tailor the gospel to anyone’s taste. As God wrote it, that’s how we present it.

May 10

Today’s Reading - Psalm 88 -90

(Psa 90:12 KJV) So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which is a great admonition to every Christian. Today is May 10, the 130^th day of the year. It seems like the year just started and already it is more than 1/3 over. Can you look back over the last 130 days and name at least 5 spiritual accomplishments? The days go very fast as we can all attest to. This is why the verse admonishes us to number our days. In the same Psalm it talks about 70 years and 80 years by reason of strength. Let us break it down to days. 70 years contains 25567 days and 80 years contains 29220 days. Each day contains its own successes and failures. This is why God tells us to number our days, not our weeks, months, or years. (Lam 3:22-23 KJV) It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. {23} They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. God’s mercies are new every morning. Yesterday’s failures can become today’s triumphs. God wants us to treat each day individually and to approach each one expectantly through the eyes of Scripture. As Christians we are subject to the same time limitations on earth as the unbeliever is. I always wondered how two men at age 40, both smart, yet one is sweeping floors and another one runs a corporation. It is not “luck” like the world teaches but it is the will of God in the lives of these people. God guides the paths of the unbelievers as well as those of the believers. A good example is Microsoft. Bill Gates may be worth 90 Billion dollars but without that company how many of us would be on the Internet reaching the world for Christ? Their software has made website construction easy.

Some would call a guy like Gates a self-made man. My definition of a self-made man is “one who picks his mother before he is born.” Guess what, there was only one person who did that! The Lord Jesus Christ! Our verse wants us to number our days because time wasting is such a pandemic infection in our society. One of the biggest time wasters is Yahoo Groups. Now I am personally subscribed to about ten groups and I have found that many on these groups are there just to engender debates which would keep an otherwise fruitful Christian tied up and diverted. Last month I received my monthly receipt from Earthlink and my total on-line time in April was 209 hours. That is 7 hours per day. This is just one way we are diverted from applying our hearts unto wisdom. What about TV and other entertainments? Now I am definitely not saying that we should have no time for entertainment because we all need a refresher or a time of mental neutrality to break routine. God is telling us that because of time constraints on earth, that we must be doing the work the Lord Jesus commanded us too. In the last week, can you calculate how much time was wasted in your decreasing time allotted to you?