Versions

When I read these verses, I was not impressed with it.  I read it out of the New American Standard and then the King James version.  It didn't speak to me.  I didn't like the tone.  It's seemed like this guy was tooting his own horn.  Okay, so whoever it is, may be bragging.  But then I read it from The Message.  What an eye opener.  I love the the last six verses.  Do you always read from the same Bible?  Do you have other versions that you read, so that if you need to say something another way, or get on a different level to talk to someone about God, you can?  I do.  We have at least four different versions.  The one I take to church is from Max Lucado, I've used the New American Standard for years, and I have the Bible I gave my Grandma my first Christmas, which is a King James Version. 

So this devotion today isn't so much about Psalms 26, as it is about using the right version to get the message across.  Some people think you should use this version only, or that version.  If they all have the same message, about God loving you so much he sacrificed his Son for you and if you accept his gift and live in his ways and are obedient, then what does it matter which Bible you read?  God doesn't speak to us all the same.  He goes about it differently.  Some people hear him in creation.  Some people, in a song.  Some in a devotion, or message.  Some, by the lives they see led by Christians.  What is your favorite version?  How does God speak to you?

Psalm 26
 ¹ Clear my name, God; I've kept an honest shop.
   I've thrown in my lot with you, God, and
      I'm not budging.

 ² Examine me, God, from head to foot,
      order your battery of tests.
   Make sure I'm fit
      inside and out

 ³ So I never lose
      sight of your love,
   But keep in step with you,
      never missing a beat.

 ^4-5 I don't hang out with tricksters,
      I don't pal around with thugs;
   I hate that pack of gangsters,
      I don't deal with double-dealers.

 ^6-7 I scrub my hands with purest soap,
      then join hands with the others in the great circle,
      dancing around your altar, God,
   Singing God-songs at the top of my lungs,
      telling God-stories.

 ^8-10 God, I love living with you;
      your house glows with your glory.
   When it's time for spring cleaning,
      don't sweep me out with the quacks and crooks,
   Men with bags of dirty tricks,
      women with purses stuffed with bribe-money.

 ^11-12 You know I've been aboveboard with you;
      now be aboveboard with me.
   I'm on the level with you, God;
      I bless you every chance I get. --The Message

Psalm 25 15 - 22

We have all felt the pressure.  It could be friends mad, guilt, sympathy for others in distress or just sadness over a tragedy.  We feel the hurt in our hearts.  The pain that we see in people's faces.  These verses tell of that pain.  The anguish, the emotions that we can not always put into words.  But, it also tells us of a God who will save us; for only he will release my feet from the snare, ...take away all my sins, ...Guard my life and rescue me;, ...because my hope is in you.  What more perfect words to say to God in our prayers?

¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the LORD,
       for only he will release my feet from the snare.

 ¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
       for I am lonely and afflicted.

 ¹⁷ The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
       free me from my anguish.

 ¹⁸ Look upon my affliction and my distress
       and take away all my sins.

 ¹⁹ See how my enemies have increased
       and how fiercely they hate me!

 ²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me;
       let me not be put to shame,
       for I take refuge in you.

 ²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me,
       because my hope is in you.

 ²² Redeem Israel, O God,
       from all their troubles!

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Listen in confidence

Psalm 25:10-14

¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
       for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

 ¹¹ For the sake of your name, O LORD,
       forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

 ¹² Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
       He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

 ¹³ He will spend his days in prosperity,
       and his descendants will inherit the land.

 ¹⁴ The LORD confides in those who fear him;
       he makes his covenant known to them.

I really like verse 14.  The Lord will tell you what he wants from you if you fear him.  Fearing him may be a problem for us.  I get complacent at times and do not realize what it is like to fear him.  I think that when we fear God, it should mean that we are in awe of him.  We should treat God and his name with the reverence that he deserves and demands.  If we keep his commands, he will love us and protect us for all.  We just need to ask for forgiveness for our sins. 

The Lord does confide in us.  He tells us everything we need to know in the Bible.  We just have to be open to his word.  We also need to have confidence in those we elect to lead his church, and those that help with every aspect of teaching.  God will instruct those who love him and want to be faithful.  Just be open to hearing what the Lord has to say through the many channels he gives us.  Everyday there are opportunities for us to listen.  That is my goal today.  I want to listen to God with confidence that he is speaking directly to me. 

Gut Reactions

People complain that they don't know what to do.  They don't know what is the right thing to do.  Certain situations are very clear in what is right and wrong.  Others are not.  God gave us the instruction manual to life.  The problem is we are human.  We don't seek the right advice or maybe we seek none at all.  We read the Bible, but sometimes make it harder than it really is.  We seek the advice of other people.  Some of that is good, some of that is bad.  Then we have too much information and it confuses us.  

These verses from Psalm 25 tells us that if we ask, God will teach us right from wrong.  He loves us and forgets about the sins of yester-year if we ask him too.  He will send us the right way, instruct us and send us help.  When Mike is trying to decide something, like who to put in for his fantasy football team, he will talk about it.  I usually tell him to trust his gut.  To me, your first reaction or thought is normally the right one.  If Mike goes a different way, he usually comes back later and says, "I should have listened to you.  I should have went with my first pick."  It's not an I-told-you-so moment.  It is something I have always tried to do for myself. I always think of my first gut reaction to be the Holy Spirit guiding me.  If I start worrying and second guessing myself, then everything is off.  I don't feel right.  I think God gives us the choices of right and wrong almost every second of the day.  Some are easy.  Others are not.  But it's God who we need to talk to the most.  Prayer is the best way to talk.  Sometimes I talk to my parents or my friends and answer my own dilemma. In the end, we don't always no we made the right decision until much later.  So we pray that it was the right one and just watch and wait.


 ⁴ Show me your ways, O LORD,
       teach me your paths;
 ⁵ guide me in your truth and teach me,
       for you are God my Savior,
       and my hope is in you all day long.
 ⁶ Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
       for they are from of old.
 ⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth
       and my rebellious ways;
       according to your love remember me,
       for you are good, O LORD.
 ⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;
       therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
 ⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
       and teaches them his way.

I Trust In the Lord

Psalm 25 is a chapter that we can go on about for a while.  I loved every verse I read.  There is something about being reminded that there is someone that needs your help.  Even though each of us go through things and feel the heavy burden of the situation we are in, we are always reminded that someone else may be going through something worse.

These first three verses, David is making a personal statement:  "...in you I trust, O my God."  He asks that God keep him from embarrassing himself or let his enemies beat him.  David says that if you put your hope in God you will be protected from shame, but those who don't will be shamed.  

¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
 ² in you I trust, O my God.
       Do not let me be put to shame,
       nor let my enemies triumph over me.
 ³ No one whose hope is in you
       will ever be put to shame,
       but they will be put to shame
       who are treacherous without excuse.

A few weeks ago, while my family was going through the surgeries and felt overwhelmed, I started to feel down.  Another family who has been going through medical tests and such for quite a while longer was talked about at church.  We love this family and pray for all their health and well being.  I was talking to my husband about this last night and Timm was there.  He said, "Wow, that's a lot of stuff."  I agreed with him and told both of them that what we have been going through isn't anything compared to what they have going on.  Sometimes the reminders like that give us a new perspective.  We've been praying for the other family and will continue to do so.  

So I just want to say to God, "Lord I trust in you and pray for those who are in need of your comfort and calmness.  I lift up all who read this devotion in prayer just now.  Thank you for all you do and are, and will be.  In Your Son's name, Amen."

King of Glory

Psalm 24 is an overlooked chapter because of Psalm 23.  But when I read it this morning, I realized it answered a wonderful question...Who is this King of Glory?  He is the Lord who is strong, mighty, mighty in battle.  He is the Lord Almighty! 

Verses seven and nine are like a chorus, telling us to open up and let God in.  We should open the doors of our hearts, the gates of our being and be ready to do whatever he wants of us.  The battle is long and we sometimes get tired, but we need to stand guard and let the King of Glory in!


⁷ Lift up your heads, O you gates;
       be lifted up, you ancient doors,
       that the King of glory may come in.
 ⁸ Who is this King of glory?
       The LORD strong and mighty,
       the LORD mighty in battle.
 ⁹ Lift up your heads, O you gates;
       lift them up, you ancient doors,
       that the King of glory may come in.
 ¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
       The LORD Almighty—
       he is the King of glory.
       Selah