Inside Out Living

Before the invention of modern fire suppression systems it was required for a hotel of significant size to employ a watchman during the night hours to alert guests in the case of fire. One such hotel in Omaha, Nebraska had a fire on January 23, 1911 and the watchmen failed to notify the guests of the fire. Therefore, a guest who was forced to use a rope fire escape sued the hotel because of injuries resulting from his escape. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court where the court upheld the decision to hold the hotel responsible for its negligence in alerting the guests to the fire.

Ezekiel was given a similar charge by God, a responsibility to warn people of God’s judgment. It is important to note that Ezekiel wasn’t responsible for the peoples response to his warning, he was merely responsible, as the watchmen, for sounding the warning itself.

The same is true for our sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are not responsible for the consequences one faces for rejecting the gospel, but we are responsible for delivering the message.

“The tongue is mightier than the blade” – Euripides, Greek poet ca. 5th century B.C.

The power of the spoken word is often underappreciated. The tongue, or our speech, can do much damage, oftentimes without our planning it or even our awareness of it at the time. James compares the potential for damage by the tongue to a small spark in a forest (James 3:5). We are all familiar with cases where someone’s reputation is damaged or their career is ruined because they said the wrong thing. There is a tremendous power in the spoken word. This is also true of God, who spoke creation into existence (Psalm 104:7). We also see this in Jesus, who was able to speak healing directly into people’s lives (Luke 7:1-10).

So why do we struggle so mightily with taming our tongues? Why do we so often hurt people with our words? It is because speech is permanent and conversation is often spontaneous. Unlike the written word which can be edited, the spoken word is raw and cannot be taken back.

May your speech be filled with grace (Colossians 4:6)

“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” – John Henry Jowett

Yesterday we thought about boasting and pride. One way to approach reducing our tendency towards boasting is to respond with gratitude. As Pastor Jowett so aptly noted, gratitude is good medicine especially towards pride which leads to boastfulness.

We have all seen this difference in the professional athletes of the 21st century. Those who are truly thankful for their opportunity and God-given talent do not boast of their personal exploits.

Thankfulness should be a constant theme of our lives. The Apostle Paul wrote, “no matter what happens, always be thankful” (1 Thess. 5:18). The psalmist in our readings today has declared that it is “good to give thanks to the Lord” (92:1), and that we are to “come before Him with thanksgiving” (95:2). Clearly, thanksgiving should be a significant component of our relationship with the Lord.

How else are we to respond and approach the One who has done so much for us?

“As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead.” – Galatians 6:14

In making the above statement, the Apostle Paul sets the standard regarding boasting quite high. This stands in stark contrast to the words of the psalmist in Psalm 10:3 about how the wicked people brag about their evil desires.

What is it about boasting or bragging that creates a problem in our lives? Could it be that it isn’t so much the boasting itself, but rather that boasting is a symptom of a deeper issue, pride? When you look at the surrounding verses in Psalm 10, you will notice that the psalmist indeed connects boasting and pride. Paul also connects these two traits in two separate lists of vices or sinful tendencies of mankind (Rom. 1:30; 2 Tim. 3:2).

Are you struggling with boasting? Let me first encourage you to examine your heart for pride. Second, allow me to remind you that every good and perfect thing in your life is from God so, really, your boasting is pointless (James 1:17).

“My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19)

A while back, I watched a TV program about how children learn the grammatical structures of language by listening to the people speaking around them. This got me thinking because, before we can ever learn to speak, we can already listen. In fact, we can listen and distinguish voices while still in the womb.

So, if listening is such a natural and easy thing to do, except for the hearing impaired, why is it that once we start speaking we listen so poorly? Why else would James feel led to write the verse above if in actuality we didn’t practice the opposite? So many times I find myself rushing to judgments or giving my input or trying to offer solutions when all I really need to do is just listen.

Is it out of pure laziness that we don’t listen, or is it a deeper spiritual reason that we don’t listen, like pride or rebelliousness? The reasons for not listening may be as many as the times that we fail to do so.

“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

Why was Jesus able to be silent in the midst of the mistreatment and accusations He faced? Confidence. Jesus was confident in the fact that His Father was working out His perfect plan of redemption. He did not feel compelled to fight back or argue with His accusers because he knew his Father was in control.

Silence is a sign of assurance and confidence and strength. As it says in Psalm 46:10, “Be silent, and know that I am God.” What does it mean to know that He is God? It means to know who God truly is, the sovereign almighty, all-knowing God whose plans are never frustrated and whose will is always accomplished. Silence demonstrates a genuine trust in God. God does not need a multiplicity of words to defend Himself or to reveal Himself in this world.

May you learn that sometimes the very best response to God is in the form of silence.

The theme this week is communication. The wisdom literature of the Proverbs and the poetry of the Psalms have much to say about how we communicate. Sometimes this communication happens internally, sometimes it happens with other people, and sometimes it happens between us and God. So much of life involves communication, so I hope that you are able to glean much from the devotionals this week.

Todays Devotional:

I don’t know if you have heard of the TV show American Idol. Basically the show is a singing competition. My favorite part of the show is the audition segment in the first few weeks. It never fails that a few people will audition who are poor singers, but think they are good because all their friends say they are good. Either these friends are terrible judges of musical talent, or they were saying flattering words to boost this person’s self-esteem.

This is the danger of flattery. It is terribly misleading, if not entirely wrong. Proverbs tells us that flattery causes ruin (26:28), that it is a trap for people (29:5), and that it is less appreciated than frankness (28:23).

Flattery can be as subtle as it is destructive. It can be easy to justify the use of flattery as well. How bad can something we say be if it results in someone feeling better about themselves. Even though you love and care for the person that you are speaking with, the Bible tells us to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), not speak a half-truth or choose to omit the truth.

Flattery may sound nice, but in the end someone will get hurt.

“Do not test the Lord your God” (Matt. 4:7).

While in the wilderness, Jesus quoted the above verse from Deuteronomy 6:16. His purpose in quoting it was to fend off the temptation from Satan. Satan wanted Jesus to test God’s promise of protection (Psalm 91:11-12).

In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz is in a similar situation. God has promised him protection from his enemies (Isa. 7:3-9) and then invites Ahaz to ask for the most difficult sign possible (Isa.7:10-11). Now we know from the historical narratives in Kings and Chronicles that Ahaz was not righteous. So I am surprised by his response of refusing to ask for a sign. He actually demonstrates a proper fear of the Lord in this instance.

If you were in Ahaz’ shoes, what would you have done?

Someone who fears the Lord also knows what it means to trust in the Lord. When we ask God for a sign to confirm His word, we reveal a lack of faith and trust in that word.

May you learn to trust God at His word each and every day.

Solomon was a prolific writer. 1 Kings 4:32 tells us that he wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. What a legacy, right? Well, yes, that is until much of that was lost.

What we have remaining of Solomon’s writings is that which was inspired by God and was incorporated into the word of God. So ultimately Solomon’s legacy was dependent upon the eternal Word of God.

I think that this is instructive to us as we consider the legacy we will leave behind. Much of what we will accomplish or produce will either end up lost or forgotten. I am not trying to depress you; I just want to give you a reality check. As with Solomon, only that which we do that involves eternal things will truly last. Awards, accolades, stuff, money, these things will all pass away. It is what we do in and for people that will truly build our legacy.

Will the legacy of your life be sold in a garage sale, or lost in a fire some day? How sad that would be if it were true?

Follow the example of Jesus and pour your time and energy into the people around you. If you do, you will not be disappointed and the impact of your life will not be forgotten.

In reading Psalm 69 today you probably made many direct connections to the life of Jesus. Verse 9 was quoted by the apostle John (John 2:17) and verse 21 was fulfilled with Jesus on the cross (John 19:29).

How can we, though, connect verse 5 to Jesus since it indicates that the Messiah was guilty of sin; and yet Scripture is clear that Jesus never sinned. Paul explains this mystery in 2 Cor. 5:21; “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us.” Jesus became sin for the entire world, experiencing the guilt and shame of all those sins. This psalm reveals what it was like for Jesus to take on these sins?

He cries out for salvation (vs. 1-4)
He feels shame and humiliation (5-8)
He is scoffed at, mocked and gossiped about (9-12)
He expresses faith in God’s ability to deliver (13-18)
He recognizes that comfort is not available from men (19-21)
He calls for judgment on the unrighteous (22-28)
He pleads for salvation (29)
He expresses faith in God and praises His name (30-36)

How do you respond to the guilt and shame of sin?

Have you ever struggled to do God’s will? You know what I am talking about, those situations where what you should do is very apparent and yet you still rebel and choose to sin.

Jesus never had that kind of experience, for He always followed God’s will.

Psalm 40:6-8 declares that Jesus delights to do the Father’s will. These verses are also quoted in Hebrews in reference to Jesus coming to do the will of the Father. Also in Jesus’ own declaration of His purpose in John 6:38 he said, “I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want.”

Everything that Jesus did in His earthly ministry was to carry out the will of the Father in His life. Jesus spent time with His Father in prayer and solitude, He submitted to his Father, He exercised compassion on people, He knew the Scriptures and taught them to others, and He resisted temptation. Much of what Jesus did is also God’s will for us, so if you desire to know God’s will for your life, you need not look farther that how Jesus lived His life.

Have you ever considered the treatment that Jesus received from those he came to save? I think Psalm 35:11-14 provides insight into how He felt and increases our understanding of the mistreatment He received. The ones He has prayed for, fasted for, and grieved over are now rejoicing because of the trouble He is now in.

A striking example of this is in Luke 19:41 when Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. He wept, not just because He knew the city would be destroyed, but also because of their sin and rebelliousness. Later the same crowd that Jesus wept for was yelling, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21).

His mistreatment was obvious, but He did not retaliate. Rather, we see in this psalm and the gospels that He trusted His fate and the fate of those mistreating Him to a holy and righteous God.

How do you respond to mistreatment? Remember what Paul wrote, “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ‘I will take vengeance, I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

Psalm 28 is what Bible scholars call an imprecatory psalm. This is because the psalmist asks God to judge the wicked and the enemies of the righteous. Some have been troubled by the presence of such psalms. They wonder how a God of love and grace could receive such a request. Will God really act in response to this request?

Today I am challenging you to think differently about this psalm and others like it. If these psalms are prophetically the words or prayers of the Messiah, then it changes their message, the reason being that Jesus came for the purpose of taking the punishment for the sins of mankind. Thus Jesus, in praying these imprecatory psalms, actually prayed for God’s judgment and wrath to come and then willingly became the object of that judgment and wrath on our behalf.

Because of Jesus, these imprecatory psalms are no longer messages of condemnation and judgment, but rather of grace and love, for “He personally carried away our sins in His own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds.” – 1 Peter 2:24

Psalm 22 is another psalm of David or the beloved one and, once again, it is prophetically speaking of the Messiah. This psalm is so interconnected in the life of the Messiah that the first line was spoken by Jesus as He hung on the cross.

The four gospel accounts give us information on the details of Jesus’ crucifixion, but Psalm 22 allows us to enter into His emotions as He hung on the cross. And as we look, we see an overwhelming trust in the Father’s will and a dependence upon Him for deliverance.

You may be wondering, how does this relate to me? Remember that Jesus possessed full humanity, including emotions and free will. The crucifixion was when Jesus was at His lowest point. He was physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually drained. He was dying a criminal’s death having done nothing wrong, and yet we see Him continuing to praise the Father and trust in Him. How do you respond when you are at your lowest? Will you still trust and praise God when all hope seems lost?

When I was in seminary, one of my professors challenged us with this question: how can the ancient prayers written in the psalms to God, be God’s Word to us today? The answer, I propose to you, is that the psalms are prophetically the prayers of Jesus, the Messiah Himself. I know this may be a different way of understanding the psalms for you, but I believe that there is sufficient biblical evidence to support this.

So, as you read through the psalms this week, I hope you enjoy some insights into the life of the Messiah by reading through the prayers of the Messiah.

Today's Devotional:

Psalm 16 is a fitting start to our study in the Psalms this week. If you read Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, you will discover that Peter quotes verse 8-11 of this psalm in Acts 2:25-28. Peter then goes on to declare that David was not writing of himself, but rather of the coming Messiah. However, we recognize that the whole psalm is in the first person, so logically we conclude all of it to prophetically be the words of the Messiah Himself.

As I read through the rest of this psalm, I am encouraged by verse three, “The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!” Have you ever considered that living a godly life is a source of joy for Jesus?

Not that living a godly life is possible on our own, but rather because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we are then able to live godly lives. No wonder it brings Him joy to see us living a godly life. It is one of the reasons He died. His joy is in seeing our lives reflect the benefit of His sacrifice. May you bring joy to God by living a godly life through the power of Christ who is in you.

“If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong” (1 John 1:9).

King David sinned. It wasn’t just a simple sin, but a messy one of lust, sexual immorality, deception and murder. It was the kind of thing that anyone would look at and agree was wrong. How is it that a man who did all of this can still be referred to as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) in the New Testament?

Confession.

David was not perfect and neither was Saul. However, the way that each responded to being confronted for their sins was markedly different. Saul was defensive and blaming others, but David responded with a soft heart and quickly confessed.

Practicing regular confession is a key element to a healthy relationship with Christ. How do you respond to the realization that you have erred in some way? Remember David’s words in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.”

“For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12).

In writing Psalm 60, David is crying out to the Lord for help against the enemies that he is battling with. David makes the statement in verse 11 that “all human help is useless.”

This statement is especially true for the battle we face as Christians, for as Eph. 6:12 so clearly states, our battle is a spiritual one. In the spiritual battle that all people face, human help is indeed useless because of the turtle syndrome. Turtles are incapable of helping themselves if they are placed on their backs and, without outside help, they will die. We people are the same. Without outside help or someone to intervene, we will die. Fortunately, Jesus intervened and “died once to defeat sin, and now He lives for the glory of God” (Rom. 6:10).

Jonathan and David had a special friendship. Chapter 20 gives us a little insight into how close the two were. Unlike his father, Jonathan was not jealous for the throne of Israel, but recognized that the Lord was with David. Thus, as part of their covenant of friendship, Jonathan asked David to continue to show “faithful love” to his descendants even if Jonathan died. David accepted this responsibility as part of their covenant.

Have you ever made a promise without thinking the consequences through? I think all of us as parents have done this at some point. So, how many of our promises are we to keep? If the Lord is the standard for righteousness, then we are to keep them all, for “the LORD is faithful to all His promises” (Psalm 145:13 NIV).
What did David do about the promise he made to Jonathan? 2 Samuel 9 tells us that David, in fact, kept his promise to Jonathan by showing kindness to his son, Mephibosheth.

Are you willing to keep your promises like David did? What about when no one is watching? Do you still keep your promises then?

David never did wrong against Saul, but he was constantly the object of Saul’s jealousy. Saul made multiple attempts to kill David or to have him killed by others. However, we recognize that David was innocent in all of this and never lost his integrity. So why the constant attacks? Why did David have to call out to the Lord for help and protection when he was innocent?

The reality is that innocence and integrity don’t always protect us from personal attacks and accusations from people. Our innocence and personal integrity will eventually come under attack as no result of our own.

How are we to respond to such attacks? David did not take the opportunity to exact his revenge against Saul (1 Samuel 24:1-7), but rather allowed the Lord to take care of His enemies. He called out to the One who judges rightly to deliver him out of the situation.

May you, like David, seek God first when your innocence and integrity come under attack.