Category: Devotions

Psalm 94
Day 94: Be blessed

George Alexander Louis – His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
I wonder what kind of leader this cute and innocent baby will become.
These are the kind of thoughts that the Psalmist has. Most probably he was looking back on the 55 year reign of the worst king ever to come out of Judah, Manasseh. He didn’t intend to become corrupt, he wanted to do good but found that good could come from evil actions. Yet God never did honour him like he had hoped. A corrupt throne will never fellowship with God, v20.
The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:20 quoted from this Psalm, it spoke into his generation as it does ours. Maybe you can remember personal examples or know of the corrupt throne who led for a season.
You know of that leader who truly believed that they were above the law, or the policy and procedures or just plain goodness because they were the leader. They managed to delude themselves into thinking they’re wrong behaviour was for the greater good. Power can intoxicate.
So what are the differences between the corrupt and the good leader?
Corrupt leaders:
1. Appear happy and build an atmosphere of joy and celebrating success, v3.
2. Are arrogant and boast of how good they are and brag at the good they have done, v4.
3. Leave behind them a trail of broken people, v5.
4. Get rid of people that cannot be used for their own gain, v6.
5. Begin to believe that what they do is acceptable, even to God, v7.
6. Are foolish, v8-10.
7. Will be judged and repaid, v23.
Good leaders:
1. Are blessed through submitting to correction, training, self-control and accountability, v12.
2. Are blessed through growing in the knowledge of God from studying the Bible, v12.
3. Are blessed with an inner calm in the days of outer storms, v13.
4. Are blessed with an ever-present God, v14.
5. Are blessed with a no-compromising heart, v15.
6. Are blessed not by being perfect but by being supported by the Perfect, v17-20.
7. Are blessed because all their security is in God alone, v22.

Psalm 93
Day 93: Be blessed

“Thousands take to the streets to celebrate birth”
“It’s a boy”
“There are now three heirs in waiting while the sovereign is fit and well, and that’s a first.”
Outside the palace: “Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm today. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”
At this moment as I write this devotion we are in a special moment of history as the above quotes and many more reveal.
His name will be revealed shortly.
He is third in line to the throne.
He will one day be head of state of 16 countries.
But today join with me to shout aloud Psalm 93!
His name has been revealed, “I am The Lord!”
He is already on the throne!
He reigns over all the earth and is from all eternity!

Make Him your King now and let Him rule your life, v1.
Let Him come to you with strength, v1.
Acknowledge His might which is above your biggest challenge, v3-4.
Comfort in the understanding that to the very end God will be here, v5.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote this:
The stars shine over the mountains,
the stars shine over the sea,
The stars look up to the mighty God,
the stars look down on me;
The stars shall last for a million years,
a million years and a day,
But God and I will live and love,
when the stars have passed away.

Forever, endless, eternal.
Ruler, stronger, mightier.
A King!
And this is why you are blessed!

Psalm 92
Day 92: Be blessed

V14 Are you, will you still bear fruit in old age? Fresh? Green? Flourishing? Still proclaiming?

How will you grow old? Will you be renewed and sustained so that you cross the finishing line as a faithful servant of Christ? Every day is another day spent of your life. The finishing line is drawing near. The time of your life is right now, the opportunity to become all that you can become is now. This is not a rehearsal for something else. No one can run the race for you. You are not racing against any other runners. Your greatest opponent is yourself. The race is against yourself to be all that your Creator designed for you to be.

In August of 2006, Newsweek magazine interviewed Billy Graham. Amazed by Billy’s attitude in spite of deteriorating health, the author of the article wrote, “He seems congenitally incapable of surrendering completely to the weakness of the body.”
One of Dr. Graham’s daughters, Anne Graham-Lotz, recounted a conversation with her father on the subject of aging. “All my life, I’ve been taught how to die,” Billy told her, “but no one ever taught me how to grow old.” She replied, “Well, Daddy, you are now teaching all of us.”
Lotz also noted that she had learned an important lesson about aging after observing her father: “When you get older, secondary things, like politics, begin to fall away, and the primary things become primary again. And for Daddy, the primary thing is, as Jesus said, to try to love God totally and to love our neighbor as ourselves.”

It doesn’t matter how you start. It only matters how you finish.
You’re never too old to make choices, even limited that they may have become.
You can choose to praise God v1; to speak of God’s love every morning and God’s faithfulness every night v2; to be happy v4; to focus on the defeat of your enemy, v11; to flourish and grow, v12; to make Him your Rock, v15.
All of the above are choices you make. Make one today and though you grow old you will stay young! Staying young, you will be blessed!

Psalm 91
Day 91: Be blessed

It was a crime.
Incredibly risky.
Highly illegal.
Definitely crazy.
These are the headlines of a 2008 documentary, Man on Wire.
It examines the most amazing exploit of tight-rope walker Philippe Petit. In 1974, Petit had a secret plan to extend a steel wire between the two towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. At the time, the towers were still under construction.

6 years of planning.
110 storeys high.
“See every day as a true challenge and then you live your life on the tightrope,” said Petit.

Petit was on the wire for 45 minutes. Thousands gathered below to watch him. On each end of the wire, police waited for him to finish. Petit made eight passes before finally coming in. To this day he insists the stunt wasn’t for publicity or even to see if he could do it. “The path is as important as the result,” he told a reporter for Newsweek magazine.

Petit told the same Newsweek reporter that it “never occurred to him to use a safety net” when walking the wire.
He added: “I never fall. But yes, I have landed on the earth many, many times.”
Maybe that’s what the Psalmist was trying to say for the believer who faces trouble:
Read v9-12 again.
“I never fall. But, yes, I have landed on the earth many, many times.”
How blessed we are when we live our life knowing we may land awkwardly but we will never truly fall, because the Almighty Most High is watching over us.

Psalm 90
Day 90: Be blessed

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important”.
Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple and Pixar, at the Stanford University Commencement Address (June 2005)
Long before Steve Jobs, Moses prayed asking God to be taught how to number his days in order to have a heart of wisdom, v12.This is a sad Psalm as Moses looks back on 40 years and seeing 6,000 graves of people who did not make the proper use of their time, they did not live for God. What did Moses mean? Surely it was to live aright. To make each day count.
So today, live life!
Today is the day to be a voice calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ This is the day to remove the obstacles to our faith, to our walk, to become all that we can become. To straighten out the deviant paths and the bends within our life that have taken us away from our focused direction.
Today is the day of brokenness and worship, living lives of pure love and devotion, like breaking open and pouring expensive perfume onto Jesus’ feet and wiping them with our hair.
Today is the day of holding on to God even if it means it feels so painful that it’s like you’re wrestling with Him through the night, but you will not let Him go for when there’s nothing left to hold on to, He’s your only hope. The Bible says Jacob wrestled with God till “daybreak” (Genesis 32:24). Your “daybreak” will consist of a new name meaning a new purpose, a new walk and you might limp a bit because God has touched you. You cannot hang on a cross, look death in the face, feel the pain of sin and walk the same ever again.
Live Blessed!

Psalm 89
Day 89: Be blessed

As I write this the door is open and I am hearing only the birds singing and the sound of me typing this devotional, it is simply the best time of the day for me.
The birds have been singing since the sun rose today at 5.01am. The Bible calls us to sing regardless of whether the sun has risen. God always does something in you before around you.
Ethan, a musician of David’s temple knew this and begins his Psalm in such a way, I will sing, v1.
We must understand the power of the song.
Let the story of a Chinese leader teach us today:
I was attending a training course for my house church network’s council members and youth leaders. The Public Security Bureau (PSB) raided us the first day. All the leaders were arrested.
The prison authorities shaved our heads and interrogated us. We were warned that the hardened inmates would beat us. So with much trepidation, another brother and I entered our cell.
We were greeted by the sight of 16 other inmates, lined up in two rows and thumping their fists. My heart beat rapidly as I sent prayers up to God.
The leader of the gang asked, “Why are you here?”
“Because we are Christians,” I replied.
“You don’t beat people up?”
“No,” I assured him.
“Do you sing?”
“Yes,” I answered.
The leader ordered me to sing a song. I wept as I sang. The Holy Spirit moved in our midst, and by the time I finished singing, every prisoner was also in tears. To my shock, the gang leader then asked to hear the gospel.
After that, my cellmates hungered to hear the gospel every day. One Sunday, we held a worship service. The prison guard demanded to know who was behind it. He threatened to punish everyone if no one spoke up. I stood up and confessed.
I was forced to remove my clothes and stand at an inclined angle to the wall. The gang leader couldn’t bear it anymore. He asked to be punished with me. All the others volunteered to do the same. The infuriated guard stormed out. I was moved by my cellmates’ act. One of them, who had been there for three years, became a believer that day.
“China—Where God Is Behind Bars,” Today’s Christian (2004)

Psalm 88
Day 88: Be blessed

His name means Faithful. He was one of the chosen singers in David’s temple. He was known for his wisdom. Yet reminiscent of Job he often found himself in a dark and lonely place because of something he was suffering from, v8, v18. However, this was something he carried from when he was a young person, v15.
Heman has to be desired. For a man to suffer and serve God is surely to be admired: he is a suffering servant. Little did he realise that his words would be read and recited by the true Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ. Our Lord quoted from the Psalms many times. He clearly used them in prayer for himself just like every Jew did. Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed that the Psalms were actually the prayers of Christ.
Whatever it was Heman had to put up with, for him to be chosen as a Temple singer and known for his wisdom means he did not let suffering either label him or finish him. How did he do this? The answer is simply this Psalm, he prayed.
We must train ourselves to pray the way Heman prayed. I believe he leaves us some keys to prayer.
1. The focus of prayer:
He prayed to God, v1, v2. Faith rises when we know who we pray to.
He prayed with an expectation that God would be his salvation, v1.
2. The style of prayer:
He prayed unceasingly, v1.
He prayed with no formality. The word cry is acquainted with that of a child, they are not concerned with fancy words, v1.
3. The excuses of prayer:
He prayed when his trouble was at its worst, v3.
He prayed when he was giving up, v4.
He prayed when he had no strength left, v4.
He prayed when he felt forgotten, v5.
He prayed when he believed God was angry with him, v7, v16.
He prayed when it seemed pointless for God did not reply, v14.
4. The position of prayer:
He prayed with tears, v9.
He prayed with hands lifted upwards, v9.

The Faithful One calls us to pray today, and so does Heman.
We will be blessed if we do.

Psalm 87
Day 87: Be blessed.
All my fountains are in you.
Oh that every Christian would say that today.
But the reason more do not is because this is not nice Christianity.
Despite following the One who gave all, they still have the source of life as their material possessions, the need to be popular and the importance of ease.
They have been duped by the temptation of performance, they are energised by how good they have become in the eyes of men, God and themselves.
They have given up. “Enough is enough” is the cry of their heart. They have forgotten their past cry of “all is all”.
But we today sing this lyric, this verse 7. We mean every word.
All my fountains: The places of drinking water, of refreshment, for washing and for the celebrating of what the builders have created. They are decorative places to honour individuals and events.
One of the cities I love the most is Rome. The reason is the combination of modern and old all within a very small geographical size. I will never forget the time I walked from a modern shopping building with much needed air-conditioning, turned the corner, only to be absolutely knocked sideways by the beauty of this ancient fountain standing before me!
Jesus is greater than all the fountains of Rome.
He is everything.
All.
Blessing comes when you know this.

Psalm 86
Day 86: Be blessed

Some popular prayers …
Hear me …
Answer me …
Look after me …
Save me …
Have mercy on me …
Give me happiness …
Forgive me …
Love me …
Listen to me …
Deliver me …
Be compassionate towards me …
Be gracious to me …
Turn to me …
Give me strength …
We know all these and have said all these prayers at some point.
So had David and he uses them all in this Psalm. But he also uses this prayer which isn’t as popular: Teach me, v11.
What is God teaching you at this moment of your life?
What are you reading that has caused growth to happen?
Where have you been corrected?
A few days ago, a friend said to me he was going to read a certain book in order to try and understand the Trinity. How fantastic!
We are never too young or old to learn.
In 1523, an English animal trainer named John Fitzherbert said, “The dog must be trained when he is a whelp, or else it will not be [trained]; for it is hard to make an old dog [find a new scent].” Today, we’ve summarized his insight into this well-known adage: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” It sounds good, but is it really true?
A show on the Discovery Channel called Mythbusters likes to take timeworn adages like this one and see if they’re true or false. So the presenters found a pair of aging Alaskan malamutes who didn’t know a single trick in the book. Malamutes are known for their stubbornness. As 7-year-old canines, siblings Bobo and Cece were equivalent to a couple of 50-year-olds in dog years, arguably qualifying them for the “old dog” category. After four days of training, Bobo and Cece proved Fitzherbert completely wrong. Each could heel, sit, lie down, stay, and shake upon command from Jamie and Adam.

Their conclusion: Myth busted. You can teach old dogs new tricks.

No matter where you are now or what is happening to you. The most exciting prayer that you could pray is: Teach me.
So go ahead … and be blessed.

Psalm 85
Day 85: Be blessed
Having recently resigned as Pastor of a church I deeply loved I have been reflecting on the people I came into contact with over the years. There have been many seasons of blessing, testimonies and I was indeed a blessed Pastor. To see people come into the church community and through the work of the Holy Spirit change to become Christ-like was the greatest privilege.
I think of a lady who came with such anger towards God, the church and I having never met any of the three! Today she is a beautiful, peaceful, gracious woman.
The man who came with such scepticism and a clear message that no one will invade his private space is today one of the key workers in the church.
The broken, bruised and battered have been healed.
Several weeks before I left I believe God led a certain man to the church.
He had become well-known in the town, having been kicked out of pubs, supermarkets and churches!
What he found in this church was something different. The community didn’t judge him. At first he couldn’t cope with their love and acceptance. He would be quite vocal at his disapproval at God and the church. But gradually I saw a work of the Holy Spirit in his life, a work of restoration.
The day he took communion for the first time, there was a tear in every one’s eye. His self-image was so low that on our final service when we had the church photograph he tried to leave because he didn’t think people would want him on the picture. I ran after him and brought him back and put him on the front row.
I think of him this morning as I read these words, “Restore us again, O God our Saviour” v4.
Every person has a story.
What happened for him to end up like this?
Why is he so angry?
Who was he years ago as a young man, a child?
What were his dreams and hopes back then?
Who did he love? Who loved him?
What were those decisions he made?
He has a story.
I know that within that church he has the wonderful opportunity to find a new beginning.
So I pray … restore him O God our Saviour!
Restored and blessed!