My Daily Pause

As I read Psalm 66 I can’t help but think about all of the beautiful weather and scenery pictures I see from my friends all around the world. Just today my Facebook stream was full of snowy mountains from Virginia.

God’s deeds are awesome – both in the way the world works with finely tuned precision, to the great miracles recorded for us in the Bible to prove his word. (Mark 16:20)

Even more awesome, is how he answers prayers for those that depend on him. (Psalm 66:13-20)

Even Jesus said we have access directly to the Father (Mark 16:23)

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Isn’t it hard to believe that the Pharaoh’s heart was so hard that he could say no to Moses after so many plagues? If you remember from Exodus 4:21, God told Moses that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart. It worked so well that the Pharaoh allowed the plague of frogs to stay an extra night when he could have ended it immediately. (Exodus 8:9-10)

God delivered “Shock and Awe” to the world with power and control like none alive at the time had ever seen. This is a good place to start when trying to figure out how to apply it, but it goes so much deeper. I hope you noticed it:

God can do his work through evil men just as easily as he can work through his followers!

Romans 13:1-7 authorizes governments without defining what model they use – It could be a democracy or a dictatorship. It also reminds us that that power is God-given. Sooo … What does that mean for us?

We don’t have to despair when we are governed by sinners. Keep God in view and focus on doing his will and he will deal with the rest.

Bonus: David addresses a similar theme in Psalm 64

When King Saul was pursuing David to kill him, David prayed only to be delivered – He did not seek the death of Saul, God’s anointed king. Psalm 59:5-15.

How do we handle our enemies?

• We shouldn’t seek vengeance
• We shouldn’t curse God
• We can’t ignore their error, else we’ll no longer blush (Jeremiah 6:15)

We can take the opportunity to be like Christ and love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48)

Enemies seem powerful because they have no fear of God. Rebuke or warnings do no good because they have no belief. We just trust that God will take care of it. (Romans 12:17-21)

David reacted by singing. No matter how much talent you have, singing to God from the heart is an excellent strength building exercise. (Psalm 59:16-17) Peter and Silas made it famous while in jail one night. (Acts 16:25) Worship God and wait for Him.

In our New Testament world we take the “loving” approach to sinners and our enemies. (Matthew 5:43-48) This worldview makes David’s request for God’s swift judgment in Psalm 58 sound a little harsh.

In Psalm 58:6-7 the request from the psalmist is to make the enemy powerless. Let’s think about Jesus in the wilderness countering the temptations of Satan. (Matthew 4:1-11) He turned every attack into harmless chatter with no substance. To follow this example is to teach the scriptures, discredit false interpretation of the Bible and try to make sinners see the way.

In the end, when we pray for others (especially those we care about) that are sinners, we cannot pray for God’s to make an unrighteous judgment. We need to pray for their conversion because God is a righteous judge.

Paul never missed an opportunity to do a Bible study. (Granted, his Bible was in his head, put there by the Holy Spirit) In fact, even when he was in jail he converted the jailer  (Acts 16:31-34) During his travels Paul made sure he was somewhere to worship with the saints on the first day of the week. (References throughout Acts) Paul knew this was how to build churches and Christians (Acts 20:32)

As you prepare to attend Bible study (Sunday school, Wednesday evening service) at the next opportunity, (especially if you are deciding whether to go) think about these reasons you should be there, ready to participate:

1. It is a rewarding privilege
   
2. If we don’t, we cast our vote to stop scheduling it.
   
3. Our influence and contributions to the Lord’s work is dependent on attending.
   
4. It helps lead the lost to Christ.
   
5. Jesus would attend if He were here.
   
6. It’s not optional.
   
7. It stabilizes our homes.
   
8. It part of the example we set.