Listen to “Created for God’s Purposes – Psalm 139” on Spreaker.
Key points:
Response/Application
Slides here – bit.ly/createdps139
Sitting in mandated quarantine back in Singapore this morning, returning with my family after 2 years in the States for my PhD studies, God has been reminding me of His sovereignty and protection, especially throughout the Covid pandemic (since early 2020).
Continue readingHe who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91.1-4 #psalm91
I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who delivers you from … the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield & bulwark.
Amidst the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) & news of Kobe Bryant’s death, stay safe everyone. Keep close to family & friends. May we have wisdom to live life well (Ps. 90.12).
I was never really a Kobe Bryant or LA Lakers fan, maybe in some parts due to my own affinity (growing up as a teen in the ’90s) towards the earlier Michael Jordan era and the Chicago Bulls. Like the rest of the world, I woke up last Sunday morning to the shocking news of the helicopter crash that took 9 lives, including Kobe and his 13 year old daughter, Gianna.
Looking back at Bryant’s basketball career and post-NBA life, of the many accolades and accomplishments, these are a few (amidst many) lessons that I have learnt from him.
1. He stayed and played for the same basketball team for 20 years.
2. He and his wife persevered (through many ups and downs) in their marriage of almost 19 years).
3. He had a tenacious fighting spirit and disciplined work ethic (aka Mamba mentality).
4. He continued in life with purpose (NBA, film, coaching, family)
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation’s revealing Your majesty
From the colours of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky & You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Continue reading
Psalm 63 NASB
Sermon audio
Sermon powerpoint
Psalm 102 begins, “Hear my prayer, Lord …” (v.1) How often have we uttered a cry for help to the Lord, perhaps in our times of trials, temptations or trouble? The spiritual discipline of prayer is sometimes an illusive concept – yes, generally, we are discipled and taught that prayer is essentially talking to God, but more often or not, prayer can seem like a one-sided monologue, or a crisis hotline, maybe even a habitual wishlist or to-do list of wants and complaints.
Preparing for a new sermon series on the book of James, I am reminded of a passage at the end which talks about the prayer of faith. It talks of elders praying for the sick, confessing our sins to one another, and the prayer of the righteous man, with the example of Elijah (Jam. 5:13-18). Jesus Himself taught us the Lord’s prayer, which we sing-pray at every Sunday service, yet for many, this often is the one thing that we most often struggle with, both individually and corporately as a church. Why is this so?
Firstly, prayer is a dialogue. It was never meant to be a one-way lifeline to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Rom. 8 tells us that “the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (v. 27) and even “Christ Jesus who died … is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (v. 34). Have you ever thought about it that way? Sometimes when we hear of a friend or loved one in need, we send them a message to say we are praying for them. How about the baffling notion that God Himself is praying, interceding for us? Are we often too quick to speak, rather than quick to listen to what God might be speaking to us through prayer?
Secondly, prayer is a dependence on God. Martin Luther put it this way,
I have so much to do today that I’m going to need to spend three hours in prayer in order to be able to get it all done.
He would wake early each day to commit his day and plans to the Lord. Contrast our frantic scrambling to get up, get ready and leave for school or work in the morning, with an occasional chance of squeezing in a rushed 10-15 minutes of quiet time. Do we believe and more importantly, live our lives with the conviction that we need and depend on God to work, to bless, to enable all that we are and do with our lives, families, work and ministry? Sometimes it feels like prayer is a paradox. It is one of those both-and concepts in the Bible, to which Augustine wrote,
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.
Perhaps this is the challenge we have, we feel that we need to work, as though everything depends on us, and not on God. Like salvation, we both need to depend on God for His grace and mercy, and yet “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12-13).
Lastly, prayer is a discipline. It is a commitment to the Lord, a spiritual discipline we have to spend our time and lives nurturing and cultivating. It is also a commitment to one another in the body of Christ. There is a special and valuable place for corporate prayer. The early church in Acts was birthed through prayer, as were several movements and revivals of God in church history. It has to start with ourselves, not the worshipper on your left or right. As we commit ourselves to prayer, I believe that we will hear God speak to us, see God work in and through us, and experience God moving and transforming our church community towards His good purposes and direction.
Will you pray?
I shared this devotion at our pastoral staff meeting today, reflecting on the miracle of birth, and God’s presence and power.
Psalm 139 is a familiar psalm that speaks of God’s omnipresence, omniscience, and perhaps even omnipotence.
v.1-12 God’s presence (Spirit)
v.3 familiar with all my ways, intimately acquainted
v.5 hem me in, enclosed, siege, protection, shut in, keep out; wrap around, Lord’s hand laid upon me
v.6 response
v.13-18 God’s creation
v.19-22 God’s vengeance, wrath, justice (holiness)
v.23-24 God’s sanctification (search, try, see, lead me)
Notes:
caesura (Latin cutting), between v.18, 19
God with me, God for me, God in me
This psalm is also recited during the Jewish week of Parshat Bereishit. Bereishit (בְּרֵאשִׁית — Hebrew for “in the beginning,” the first word in the parashah) is the first weekly Torah portion(פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah consists ofGenesis 1:1–6:8. The parashah is made up of 7,235 Hebrew letters, 1,931 Hebrew words, and 146 verses, and can occupy about 241 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah).
Jews read it on the first Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October or, rarely, in late September or early November. Jews also read the beginning part of the parashah,Genesis 1:1–2:3, as the second Torah reading for Simchat Torah, after reading the last parts of the Book of Deuteronomy, Parashah V’Zot HaBerachah, Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12.
Morning quiet time – Jer. 17.7-8; Ps. 1.3
http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/passage/?q=jeremiah+17:7-8;+psalm+1:3
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.
Skillful Shepherds 