Category: Good Life Journal

Scripture:

Psalm 67:3-4. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

Observation:

In this Psalm, we read that the Psalmist praises God. He encourages the nations to praise God as well. Hs states that God judges the nations and the people. His judgment is fair and true. But God doesn’t just judge. He provides guidance as well. He is light and His light can guide our path and journey through this life.

No one is good enough but through God’s grace we can have a relationship with Him. For that, I should praise Him. For that reason, nations should and will praise Him.

God’s judgement is just and true. His wisdom and truth is sufficient. It provides guidance and wisdom for people and nations to act.

Application:

Praise is the correct response to God’s grace. I should praise God for who He is and what He has done. Even during difficult times in my life, I should praise God.

There really isn’t more to apply. God’s grace is sufficient. Just like the Psalmist said in Psalm 66, I need to praise God for hearing me when He has every right not to listen. I am not worthy of God’s grace or forgiveness. He has given it to me as a gift. I should praise God everyday just because of that!

Prayer:

Thank you for the gift you have given me. Let me never forget who you are and what you have done for me. Let me praise you every day!

Scripture:

Psalm 60:1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us.

Observation:

The psalmist assumes the state of the people of God is in direct connection to God’s punishment or chastisement.

Application:

It isn’t bad theology to believe that God removes His hand of favor and that he allows his own people to be put to shame because of our disobedience. The realistic and accurate view is that God sometimes allows his people to experience difficulties. We can’t assume that everything bad is from the devil. Sometimes our bad is a consequence from executed by the hand of God. The good news is the same God that brings us pain is the same God that brings us deliverance.

⁃ Don’t assume bad means the devil.
⁃ Call on Him in our distress

Prayer:

Father I need you. Even when you are disciplining me I will still call on you to deliver me.

Scripture:

Vs. 1 Praise is due to you, O God,

Vs. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!

Vs 5 … O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
7 who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.

Observation:

God created everything, and is sovereign over everything.
Even more than that, He is good!
He protects us and provides for us.
This is Grace!
And what’s really amazing? … He chooses me.
“Blessed is the one You choose and bring near”.
This is Grace!
And it’s available to all … even those “at the end of the earth”.

Application:

It seems much of life is about improving the circumstances of it. … bigger … better … best.
There are a lot of “if only’s” …
If only I had a little more money … If only I could take some time off … If only my kids would … or If only I could …
Lots of pleading or wishing for a change of situation or circumstances …
It seems this is the wrong plea, though.
My plea .. my desire … should not be for better life’s circumstances.
My plea should be for the presence of God in whatever my circumstances happen to be.
The presence of God was in the temple.
And David said, “We shall be satisfied … to dwell in your courts … the holiness of your temple.”
It is the presence of God that satisfies.
But it’s so easy to go done the path of just wanting … “bigger, better, best” …
A change in my circumstances will satisfy me!
No! … I can be impressed … for a time.
We live in an amazing world. There will always be something to impress me wherever I go.
I can seek and find “awes”. Everyone can.
We live in a world of people seeking the next thrill, exhilaration … the next “awe”. And we will be “awed”.
“those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs”.
So I can be “awed”, but the better question is, “Am I satisfied?”
I can be “awed” by a little better circumstance.
But it doesn’t last.
I can ultimately only be satisfied by the presence of God, Himself, and dwelling in it.
I am the temple now. He is with me … always.
i can live in ultimate satisfaction because God is always with me.
I happen to be writing his from one of the nicest hotels in the world in one of the best cities in the world.
There is much to be “awed” by.
But only the presence of God will ultimately satisfy.

Prayer:

Thank you Father for your presence.
Holy Spirit lead me in your truth.
Help me share with others the satisfaction of living with You.
In Jesus name, Amen.

Scripture:

“But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning. For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge I the day of my distress. O my Strength: I will sing praises to You; for You O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.” Ps 59:16-17.

“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.” Ps 57:7-10

Observation:

I see two polar conflicts in these four chapters of Psalms: 1) Oppression and affliction, and, 2) Alignment in trust and faith in God’s steadfast faithfulness. All four of these Psalms were authored by David. All four of these Psalms are from different points of David’s life. All four of these Psalms are essentially about the same principle issue: I am being oppressed and afflicted by others and God is (must be!!) my only refuge.

Application:

How do I deal with the same stuff David writes about? I guarantee that these things happen to me just like it did with David—People talk about me. They gossip. They don’t keep confidences when I need someone to talk with. I thought they were my friend but they turned out to be not so much. These folks can be cruel, mean and mean spirited. They plot against my life (it seems). They ignore me and my plight. They don’t care for my soul!! Others are outright looking for my harm: Physically, financially and otherwise.

And what does David do? He turns to God? Yes and no. Yes, he emphatically does-but on the “no” side is it possible David is forcing, being determined, warring against his own emotions and downcast heart? Is David figuratively pulling his heart out of his chest and talking directly to it: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” Ps 42:11

How tough is that? It is tough because our soul rebels against this kind of attitude. It is not definitive enough. It feels weak. I want deliverance and I want it right now! I want what I think brings everything back in balance, reconciled. But the tough road is the right road. It is the road of righteousness. It is the road of Jesus who “set His face like flint” looking toward the Cross and seeing beyond. This road is the “sacrifice of praise” and thanksgiving spoke of in various scripture (re. Ps 40:6; 50:14; and esp. Heb 13:15). It is the road certainly less traveled because it is the harder road to navigate. So when troubles, oppression, and affliction come will I be as the wicked and rail against God or will I be as David was—maybe gritting his teeth the whole way but determined to make my heart say “You and only You O God; In everything that happens You are the only One worthy of Praise; You are the only One worthy of all my attention…You and only You are my rescue…And I know this because I know Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness to generations past and generations to come and to me right now.”

Prayer:

Father: It seems like I have to strain to see the reality of You behind the smoke of what I am going . There are times where I have to imagine pulling my heart out of my chest and say: “Look!! See!! God is there, Jesus will not abandon me!! Get your head on straight, o heart, and hope again in God!! Don’t get weak on me, be strong in the Lord and in the knowledge of the Most High who has redeemed you and will not abandon you!!” Help me set my jaw and my face like flint, unflinching in the surrounding of my troubles and rest in the Hope of You, the redeeming God. AMEN.

Scripture:

James 5:13 – Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

Observation:

No matter what our situation is at any given point in time, we need to communicate with God. Paul tell us this in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything: instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.” There is power in prayer when we call out to Jesus to deliver us from whatever we are facing. Also, God is deserving of our praise for all the blessings he has placed in our lives.

Application:

Everyone is going to have times of trouble when we cry out to God and we all should have something to be joyful of and give God praise. These two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive and James is reminding us that we need to talk to God on a consistent basis to have a relationship with Him. We absolutely need to reach out to God when we are experiencing hardships, but that should not be the only time we pray nor should it be a last resort. Similarly, when things are going well and we feel like we are sitting on top of the world we must not think this is of our own doing. We have to give God the praise and glory for all the he has done in our life beginning with our salvation.

Prayer:

Father,
Thank you for sending Jesus so that we can have a relationship with you. Help me be someone who talks with you openly about everything and gives you the praise for all you have done.

Scripture:

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself but as it is written: “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:1-4

Observation:

Strength, obligation, bearing with failures of others, avoid self-pleasing: Why and how? What is the reason for the “why” and what is the application of the “how?” To do the first directive what is needed to do it? What do I need? What is the relationship between “Obligation”, “Reproach”, and the Scriptures? It looks like the first part is definitely about caring for others. Ok, got that. The next statement of pleasing our neighbor is being compared to Christ being reproached. So I could say that “bearing with the failings of the weak” has the potential of getting a bit of reproach accompanying with it-a potential downside of caring? Then at the end of this section reminds me that the “instruction” of the Scriptures brings encouragement, endurance, and hope.

Application:

I think I need to read this backwards a bit: Instruction of the Scriptures brings encouragement (literally “put courage into”) and endurance because I get to learn about and compound the “long view” (patience with the view of the certain future in Christ) in my heart through the Scriptures. With that I understand that reproach is definitely possible leaning to certainty-if only because of the principle that the follower is no better than his Master-but reproach is easier to endure because of the encouragement of the Scriptures, and that results in Hope. So now I, under obligation with a certain strength, bear with the failings of the weak-avoiding pleasing ourselves. Huh? Did I make any sense here?

I think I understand at least this from looking at the guy in the mirror: I like helping folks but from a position of authority and personal strength; I like to advise one time (maybe two) with the Holy Spirit bulb going off with instant understanding so I don’t have to deal with this again-therefore under this illustration I get to “bear with the failings of the weak” and I get to “please myself.” But maybe I am not supposed to get instant gratification from teaching/counseling-maybe I have to stay on top of this and like a wise builder keep tapping the same nail over and over again. Would I get frustrated? Probably…but that is why I have to learn endurance. And how to learn endurance? Study and immersing myself in the Scriptures is certainly one very obvious way. And the last extrapolation: I need to realize that I am or at one time “the weak” and not “the strong.” My faith wavers every so often. I need others in my life to grow in Christ. We learn and practice stuff like this in intentional fellowship, study, and community.

Prayer:

Father: Here is a section of Scripture where I am inclined to raise my arms and flex my bicep like I am a muscle man. Candidly, nothing could be further from the truth. My weakness abounds. The more I grow, the more I am aware of my needy and dependent heart. To be of service I need to be a humble servant. Make me in your image, Lord. Hear this prayer. AMEN.

Scripture:

Romans 14:7-9 – For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose – to be Lord of both the living and the dead.

Observation:

When we receive Christ as our Lord and savior, we are given a new life that is not about our own desires or wants. We are to live and die for Christ in a way that is honoring to Him. Jesus’ death and resurrection was for us so that we may live for Him.

Application:

Am I living a life to honor God or myself? When Jesus looks down and examines my attitude, actions, work and choices will it be pleasing to Him? Everything I do should be centered on the cross to point the glory to God. I must be mindful not to get caught up in the systems of the world and pursue my own selfish desires. Whatever I accomplish is not on my own but through Christ and should reflect back to Him.

Prayer:

Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to overcome death so that we can have a new life to honor you. Help me to not to live for self but to submit to your will and live a life pleasing to you.

Scripture:

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Observation:

Paul pleads with believers to offer their bodies as a sacrifice. Not to die for the sake of Christ but rather to live for the name of Christ.

Application:

The most important sacrifice I can make is living my life for the sake of the name of Jesus. This is not unreasonable since Christ laid his life down for me. My life is acceptable to the Father because of Christ’s work on my behalf.

I don’t need to think about how I might die for the name of Christ one day. I should rather seek to live my life for the sake of His name everyday.

Prayer:

Father may my life honor you and bring you glory!

Scripture:

Romans 3:14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Observation:

Paul is making clear the extent of the law and the fulfillment of the law is not the keeping of tons of commandments individually, it’s the keeping of the most important. Realistically if you keep loving your neighbor as you love yourself you keep the others as they follow. Paul covered submission to authority trusting the sovereignty and hand hand of God in leadership as well. Verse 14 got me because it is such a personal decision.

Application:

The decision to follow Jesus happened for me a long time ago. It was a discussion I made through the power of the spirit, and now I’m done with those types of decisions right? No!!!
Paul says, “PUT ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
It is my responsibility to put him on like a covering for my body daily. To put him on and make NO plans at all to appease my flesh. This verse is hitting me in the face this morning because so many times I don’t stop in the morning and ask Jesus to cover me, strengthen me, and empower me to love people. I feel like I got that figured out. I don’t put him on every day because I feel like what he has given me I can do, and if I need him I will go to him. I’m being brutally honest to the reality that I talk about God more than I talk with him to my confidence in myself (sin).
Jesus this morning is saying, everyday I give you breath, put me on. Every afternoon I give you breath, put me on. Every night you pull into your driveway, put me on and then go love and serve your family. At night as I lay to sleep, put me on.
If I am constantly at every moment putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, I won’t make provisions to the flesh and Christ will shine and get Glory.

Prayer:

Thank you Father for your spirit whom convicts. Thank you for loving me enough to confront me and I pray I allow you to change Me. I choose to put the Lord Jesus on this morning. Have your way God. Forgive me for not allowing your to lead.

Scripture:

Romans 10

Vs. 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

Vs. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Vs. 15 … “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Vs. 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel.

Vs. 21 But of Israel He (God) says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Observation:

The good news of Jesus is for everyone!
Paul wants everyone to hear this good news.
Paul has the desire for everyone to be saved.
God is there waiting with his arms out for all people.
But not everyone will respond to the good news of the gospel of Christ.

Application:

So Paul’s desire is matched up and in alignment with God’s desire … for everyone to have a saving faith.
Is this where my desire is? That others would have a saving faith?
They need to hear the good news of Jesus… Well I bring it to them?
Certainly they may not respond well to the news of Jesus.
But that is not my responsibility.
My responsibility is to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus.
And it is beautiful feet that bring good news!
Why would I ever be hesitant to do this?
I am bringing them to a God who “all day long holds his and out”.

Prayer:

Thank you God for good news!
Thank you for my saving faith.
Help my desire to match your desire.
Give me courage to bring your good news to everyone you would have me to.
Thank you that your arms are wide open.
In Jesus name, amen.

Scripture:

Romans 11

v6 But if is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

v18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

Observation:

Paul is discussing a number of things in this Chapter but primarily how God hardened the hearts of Jews so the gospel could be spread to the Gentiles. He also discusses how grace was extended by God to those He chooses. And although God has extended grace to us, we should not become arrogant or self-righteous about being saved while others are not saved. Using the example of a branch, Paul reminds us that a branch is only kept alive by the root of the tree. Christ is our root and we are His branch. Without the root, the branch dies.

Application:

It is only through God’s grace and not by works that I am saved. There are no works that I can do can save me. There are no works that you can do to save you. There are no works we can do together to save us. There are no works a nation or a government can do to save us. Nothing but the grace given to us by God can save us. It is a gift He gives and we have to receive.

Often once a person has been given a gift, they forget how they came to get the gift and who gave them the gift. I need to be grateful every day and remember everyday of God’s grace. It is not something to be taken lightly or to be taken for granted. I am reminded of this when I see a new Christian get baptized. I am reminded of this when I speak with others and see the work they are doing for God. He has given us a gift. It is up to us to accept the gift and use the gift for His glory.

Prayer:

Thank you for the gift you have given me. Let me never forget who you are and what you have done for me.

Scripture:

Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

Observation:

Paul communicates a love for his brothers that is so deep that he would trade his own salvation for theirs.

Application:

I want to see people saved, but at what expense to myself. I want to see people found, but at what cost to my own life. The type of commitment that Paul discusses is a commitment much deeper than my own. Obviously salvation doesn’t work like this. Jesus is the only one who needed to trade his life for the life of mankind and for that I am grateful. But what is the great commission costing me? What parts of my life am I willing to lay down and lose for the the sake of others hearing and believing?

A couple things…
-Do I care about others enough to sacrifice? Whether it is time, energy, convenience?

-Do I embrace my own salvation and cherish it enough to wish others had what I have? Or do I take it for granted?

Prayer:

Father I need an adjustment in my heart. Thank you for challenging me.

Scripture:

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:18-21

Observation:

In the beginning of Romans 8, Paul starts to summarize conclusions about the process of and effects about the Gospel starting with “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (v1) And then Paul starts writing points of implication: look to each sentence that begins with or has the word “For” in it. As this is done v18-21 pops up and gives a look into the Gospel concerning a direction that isn’t normally thought about…

Application:

This scripture reference Romans 8:18-21 has been a consistent meditation with me from my youth. How has Sin affected all of Creation? I marvel at the fact that Jesus became the Atonement for Sin for the whole World. I marvel at the fact that I can accept the Propitiation through faith for myself. I marvel that I am accepted as a son before God. And lastly, I marvel that this was done for someone like me.

But there are some secondary implications that Scripture reveals. Creation awaits “That Day” when Jesus returns and sets Creation aright. Until then, Creation groans. Corruption affects Creation every day. Little by little all of creation degrades, becomes decrepit, spoils. And in all of this Creation hopes for “That Day” when “…in hope that [itself] will be set free from bondage and obtain freedom…” in the Glory of the children of God.

There are times where I sit on the back porch and look at the trees softly swaying back and forth with the breeze; sometimes they are rock still. Nevertheless according to the Scriptures they are groaning, speaking, have a voice. Remember when Jesus said “I tell you, if these folks didn’t offer praise the very rocks would cry out?” (Luke 19:40) The writer of Hebrews refers to a “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1-2); perhaps I should be aware that Creation itself is a witness to my “walking worthy of the Gospel” (Ro 16:2; Ep 4:1; Phil 1:27) that “I might bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God.” (Col 1:10)

Prayer:

Lord God: Early in Romans I am reminded that the whole of Creation bears witness to the Glory of God. It is right and fitting to remember that Creation has a stake in the Gospel. As the Gospel is preached, presented, and exhibited I can imagine that there is a reaction of Hope. CS Lewis imagined this in his writings. It is cool to think about and imagine the Breath of God in every breeze, every sway of branches, that the birds and animals all over the earth depend on You for their daily bread. I should and must remember I am no less dependent on Your daily Grace. Glory to Your Name, O God; May all the earth resound with praise forevermore to Your Goodness and Majesty! AMEN.

Scripture:

Romans 7:4 – So my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.

Observation:

Paul is explaining to the Roman believers, who were both Jew and Gentile, that they are no longer bound by the law. The law represents God’s old covenant. While God’s law is holy, it is powerless to change the heart and leads to spiritual death. Through faith, when we accept Jesus as a Lord and savior, He is in us and we are in Him. Jesus rose from the dead to defeat sin that couldn’t be overcome by the law. Through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, we are empowered to do good works to bring glory to God.

Application:

When we are united with Christ though our belief in His death and resurrection for our sin we are set free from the bondage of the law. God’s law can provide guidelines for us as we are new creations in Christ though the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only thing with the power to change the human heart. I need to sensitive to the prompting of the Spirit and allow the Spirit guide me in thoughts, words and actions. When we are led by Spirit we bear fruit including love, kindness, patience, goodness and self-control that is not bound by the law. Walking in the Spirit allows us to follow Jesus example of sacrificial servitude to ultimately bring glory to God.

Prayer:

Father,
Thank you for sending Jesus to set me free from the bondage of the law. Please allow your Spirit to guide me to submit to your will to serve you and bring you praise.

Scripture:

Romans 4:3-5 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Observation:

Paul continues his discussion around the principle of faith versus works. He uses Abraham as an example which proves this is not a new principle but one that has been around for a long time. It is one that we still struggle with today. People think they can get to Heaven by works. Or that by being “a good person” they can achieve the same goal as a believer in Christ.

Paul describes why we have laws. Laws serve a purpose but just by obeying laws does not mean we will go to Heaven. Alternatively, even if we do not obey the laws, we can still go to Heaven by God’s grace.

Application:

No matter how much time has passed, no matter how crazy the world gets, no matter how advanced technology becomes the simple truths of the Bible have not changed. We serve the living God. He brings life into this world. He can give life to the dead. Although we obey his laws and serve Him, it is not our obedience or our service that will get us anywhere. It is our faith and belief in the fact that He sent His son, Jesus, into this world to save us. He was crucified and died and rose from the dead three days later. We just celebrated this fact last Sunday.

God promises to save us but He also promises to judge us. He will judge our actions and judge our heart. Our service gains us nothing. Our belief gains us everything. Should I stop serving since it my belief that saves me? No. We serve because of our belief and faith. While I serve, I should remember why I am serving and WHO I am serving. I should also not be concerned when others don’t serve. I must remember why I serve, serve with a glad heart and let me service be an avenue to lead others to a closer relationship with Jesus.

Prayer:

Open and soften my heart. Let me remember who I serve and why I serve. Let me not think that there is anything too small to matter. If it is for your kingdom, let it all be big.