I live in a summer place that I inherited from my parents, filled with memories of them. I have Mother’s piano, a gift from my father on which is a plaque: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
I keep a piece of music on it that I often heard her sing in her lilting soprano voice: The Lord is My Light and My Salvation.
It reminds me of the truth that calmed her soul, and which can calm mine. I can almost hear her singing when I pass by her piano.
She sang and sang and sang — all through the day. Often it was the hymns, hymns that calmed her soul, the way David’s psalms, played on his harp, calmed the troubled soul of Saul.
You see your parents differently when you become an adult — as people who had real sorrows and fears. My mother had suppressed abuse she had experienced as a girl, and yet it tormented her, those childhood demons, and made her fearful, even paranoid. When she was hurt by people, those fears magnified their unkind behavior and careless comments. She was, genuinely, I now realize, the object of jealousy.
Women saw her beauty, talent, and position as the wife of a successful man — rather than her pain and childhood demons. She was delightful, and yet she could be so sad, afraid, and lonely. She did have the love of my father and the love of the Lord, though she didn’t fully grasp the latter until the end of her life. But she tasted His mercy through music.
MY FATHER, SISTER SALLY, AND MOTHER
I remember times she would come home in tears. I was just a little girl but I remember seeing her walk straight to her piano, her coat still on, sit down, play, and sing with all her heart:
The Lord is my light
and my salvation
whom then shall I fear
whom then shall I fear
The Lord is the strength of my life
The Lord is the strength of my life
Of whom then shall I be afraid?
She was gazing on the beauty of the Lord and it helped her rise above the rumble and terror of life.
I prefer the classic rendition of this song, for that is what she sang, and what my daughter Sally sang at Mother’s funeral.
You can Wintley Phipps sing it on the free app Spotify: LINK
This week we will cover three consecutive psalms that all contain the theme of gazing on the Lord in the rumble and terror of life, though we will focus on Psalm 27. You may not at first see how each contain the theme of gazing on the Lord, but you will see how each contain the theme of the “temple,” and our study will reveal the deeper meaning of the temple.
This life is hard, as Jesus said it would be, but there is an answer which we must constantly apply. Then He will “hide us in the secret place of His tabernacle.” (Psalm 27:5 KJV)
Sunday Icebreaker
1. What stands out to you from the above and why?
2. Is there a particular hymn or song that you often turn to when your soul is troubled? If so, what is it and why does it calm your soul?
Monday – Wednesday Bible Study
3. Read through Psalm 26 and see if you can find the theme of the temple or house of the Lord and why it calms the psalmist in his trouble.
Prepare your heart for Psalm 27 with this song from the Psalm Project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LicMlPlGxPU
4. Listen to the above psalm sung and if something quickens you, stay there, meditate, and see if you can discern what the Lord is saying to you.
Our own Ellie Marie (Ellen Dykas who is speaking on sexual abuse at the Women’s Gospel Coalition this year) wrote me and said she was inspired by a devotional that used this Lewis quote in reference to Psalm 27:
5. According to Psalm 27:1-3, why is David confident in the face of adversity? How does he describe the LORD. Contemplate these descriptions.
6. Let’s slow down on the above verses 4-7.
A. What is David’s request and desire?
B. What did he do in the temple, according to verse 6, and how was sacrifice related to the presence of God?
C. Describe the interaction in John 2:18-22. How might this help you understand verse 6 today?
D. Take a problem you are facing and consider how gazing on the death and resurrection of Christ can help you.
PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR THIS NEXT SECTION WITH KEITH GREEN’S SONG:
7. Read Psalm 27:7-10
A. What does the Lord command of us in verse 8?
B. Read this one page article by John Piper and comment: LINK
C. What promise is there in verse 10? How does this reassure you?
8. Pray Psalm 27:1-10 as His Spirit leads you.
9. Read Psalm 27:11-14
A. What does he pray and why according to verses 11-12?
B. Derek Kidner says this psalm closes without the psalmist seeing deliverance from the Lord, yet faithfully clinging to His promises in the storm. A good rendering, Kidner says, of verse 13 is “Unless I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord, I could not survive!” He is clinging to God and waiting. Think about where and how this applies to you.
10. Psalm 28: Deliverance! The third psalm is this trio again has the psalmist looking toward the temple, but by the close, we see deliverance. See if you can find both.
Thursday-Friday: Tim Keller Sermon
This sermon is not free, but has so many wonderful truths and pictures to penetrate your heart. Some of you who have been with us a long time may have already purchased it.
Redeemer’s new website has any sermons you’ve purchased in the last three years. (LINK)
11. Share your notes and comments from the above.
Saturday
12. What is your take-a-way and why?
269 comments
Listen to the above psalm sung and if something quickens you, stay there, meditate, and see if you can discern what the Lord is saying to you.
One thing I ask, one thing that I desire; to live within Your house my entire life. The ‘one thing’ stays with me, and links back to a sermon from Philippians 3 a few weeks back regarding Paul’s single minded focus on Christ. “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
I desire many things… not necessarily bad things, but even good things – family, friends, work – become idols in my life when they take away from being with the Lord. I do desire to be in his presence, but I often desire more as well. Whereas Paul and David are both saying that if they in the Lord’s presence, that is enough. They don’t need anything else.
Kerryn–much wisdom in your 2nd paragraph. How easy it is to have our good desires become idols…when truly the Lord’s presence is all we need.
This speaks to me, Kerryn. I so relate. If I am honest, I can say it is hard to discipline myself to be solely with Him and not let other input and thoughts take away that time.
According to Psalm 27:1-3, why is David confident in the face of adversity? How does he describe the LORD. Contemplate these descriptions.
David is confident because he knows God is greater than his adversity. He describes the Lord as my light, my salvation, the stronghold of my life.
My light – reminds me of Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Everything about God brings light to my life and dispels darkness. In the light, the way forward is clear and obstacles can be avoided.
My salvation – victory over adversity is assured, because the battle is not against me, but against the Lord. I’m currently reading Michal – a novel based on the life of David’s wife that I grabbed from Amazon when it was free 🙂 (gotta luv free ebooks!). It is a novel, and light reading, but it highlights David’s dependence on God, and I’m enjoying reading it.
My stronghold – the place I go when the world seems to be against me. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
11. Share your notes and comments from the above.
This is what stood out to me:
In this Psalm David is talking about the gammit of trouble-of any trouble I am going through. It doesn’t have to be traumatic kind, but the point is recognizing that underneath everything in life is the rumble and panic and evil and terror. So we must be honest about that. “Whatever it is that David is experiencing gazing at the beauty of God is enabling him to keep his head up admist his circumstances. Not only to cope with the difficulties of life but triumph over them. It is a way of triumphing over them. It enables you to face the rumble of panic under everything and to live with your head up.”
Jesus became disfigured so that we spiritually could become beautiful. Mainly you see the beauty of God in redemption and you see Jesus losing his beauty so you could have beauty. That is the beauty that will deal with the rumble of panic in your heart. It is satisfying-you don’t have to prove yourself anymore. As you get older-You put on weight, you lose the beauty you have-you strive for excellence. Lay your deadly doing down at Jesus feet. Stand in him and him alone-gloriously complete. The beauty of the lord is put on you. The more you see the beauty of the Lord on you-the more calm you are and the more at peace you are. The things you strive for aren’t as important anymore because you are at peace in Him.
To gaze on the beauty of God-it is time in adoration, meditation, confession petition and thanksgiving. To seek him in his temple. Inquiring is like bible study.
SO, how can the beauty of God change our lives? quenching myself in Bible study, obedience and prayer. Give up my small ambitions. When Elijah built an altar and put the sacrifices up there and God sent down the fire to consume it. You have to build an altar (Bible Study)-and only then can God ignite it. This is what you do with Bible Study-you ask God to send down His fire as you are studying. If you do you will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.
What a beautiful comment, Rebecca.
I am on the fringes as I am preparing for my move, but enjoy bits and pieces of the blog daily. God’s Word is refreshing.
12. What is your take-a-way and why?
I think Keller’s sermon really convicted me. I have a gammit of small troubles it seems lately: my aging body and my ever expanding waist-I will be 50 on Tuesday. ;/ I believe I am officially going through menopause, my boys and their issues, going to a new church- building relationships there and feeling kind of awkward as I try to extend myself in getting to know others.
So what Keller said helped me: Mainly you see the beauty of God in redemption and you see Jesus losing his beauty so you could have beauty. That is the beauty that will deal with the rumble of panic in your heart. It is satisfying-you don’t have to prove yourself anymore. As you get older-You put on weight, you lose the beauty you have-you strive for excellence. Lay your deadly doing down at Jesus feet. Stand in him and him alone-gloriously complete. The beauty of the lord is put on you. The more you see the beauty of the Lord on you-the more calm you are and the more at peace you are. The things you strive for aren’t as important anymore because you are at peace in Him.
And this: SO, how can the beauty of God change our lives? quenching myself in Bible study, obedience and prayer. You have to build an altar (Bible Study)-and only then can God ignite it. This is what you do with Bible Study-you ask God to send down His fire as you are studying. If you do you will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.
…and a beautiful-inside-and-out 50 🙂 Happy early birthday my dear sister–praying ahead for a sweet day~
I love all of your 2nd paragraph–so rich
Rebecca, I can’t believe this…I was looking at myself in the mirror yesterday and wondering “How did this happen?!” I always used to complain about my “straight” body-no curves…wondering when I’d ever look like a “woman”…well, I’m also approaching 50 and yesterday I noticed the big changes in the shape of my body…especially in the lower half. I like how you apply Keller’s message to that!
Have a happy 50th, Rebecca! (In retrospect, I liked my body a lot more at 50 than I do at almost 57. There ARE things I like about my age, but my body isn’t generally one of them! I think I need to listen to this sermon!)
Oh and if I could ask a question about that for you or whoever can answer it…..I finally set up an account with Gospel In Life to purchase sermons, but I’m stuck on the first question. I don’t know what it means to choose either CD or MP3. ? I don’t have an MP3 player and would listen to them on my laptop. I was just expecting a ‘link’ to appear. I’m not very knowledgeable about electronics and tech stuff.
Wanda –
Choosing CD will mean that they mail you a physical CD to plan in your computer or other CD player.
MP3 will give you on-line access to the sermon to either download it (to your hard drive or iTunes or whatever) or stream it by clicking on the link. Once you buy the MP3 it shows up in your orders as a link and you just click it and it starts playing. =)
Jill….all I have right now is my android smart.. phone….will the MP3…work on it….I dont
have a ipod.. either.
Hi Wanda, if you choose CD, then they will mail you a CD. If you choose MP3, you can download it onto an ipod (that’s what I do), but if you don’t have an ipod, you can download it onto your computer and listen.
Okay…..thanks, Jill and Susan! Maybe I should start thinking about getting an ipod. Didn’t think I had a need for one, but this could qualify as a very good reason! I appreciate the help 🙂
Yes! A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA!!!!
Wanda, you don’t need an ipod to download an MP3. Any computer will download it. I myself don’t have an ipod and listen to it on my computer. After you have gone through the process of getting the sermon, if you hold your mouse over the download button and right click on the mouse, you can save the download to a file on your computer where you can find it at a later date. I myself have a “sermons” file in the “download” section of my files so I can find it later. Of course, usually I listen to it right away, but just thought this information might be helpful to you.
Happy sermon listening!
Thanks, Diane. I mentioned an ipod because I was wondering if putting a lot of downloads on my laptop is a good idea…..for memory overload or something…..but I appreciate the advice as I know I won’t be getting an ipod any time soon anyway. Thanks for the info!
Happy birthday, Rebecca! Have a great one! Growing older is not for the faint of heart! I guess I need Keller’s sermon as well!
Rebecca! welcome to the 50 club! I just turned 50 in January. There are many of us on this blog 🙂 happy birthday
A very young 50, Rebecca — and a very wise one.
One thing that stood out to me from Keller was that the beauty of The Lord is all of Him – it is perceiving all His attributes. this concept of gazing on something for the mere pleasure. Gazing on His beauty just because He is beauty. Loving God for God, not for what He can give us. I love that….and am convicted by it as I pray through my ‘panic rumble.’
So much of my panic is just hoping He will give me what I perceive is best. Waiting in anxious anticipation for the short term to be solved. And then the everyday, not going away, challenges that I see no end to and so there is no ‘solution’ and so it ends up being a burden that I become unaware of spiritually … It eventually becomes a spiritually dulling activity, not because of the situation but because of my approach – nothing. Not realizing that even in these small challenges I can call on Him, trust in Him…I must! Or I will not survive. There is not a quotient to meet in doing things on my own before going to the Lord. It all needs, yes NEEDS, to be brought into His presence, to see it by Christ. When I see it by, through, in Christ then I am transcended (?) above the short term to Him, the eternal, the solid ….sometimes the solution comes, sometimes the strength comes, and sometimes I just keep holding tight to the rock.
In a nutshell my take-a-way is that the battle is in the small things just as much, if not more, than the big things. The little things, the little foxes (song of songs 2:15), if not tended to will overwhelm, ruin, distract. Catching foxes is offensive, not defensive. I must be at the ready, aware. I am, again, convicted to memorize more and more scripture for this is the truth, the sword.
The enemy would have me not gaze at the beauty of the Lord and sometimes I do not even realize I am being distracted until I feel that panic rumble. And even then I sometimes fail to see the battle and instead feel helpless!
O God, you are my strength and my song, Your beauty transforms me, my thoughts, my mind, my heart. I will trust in Thee! Forgive me for being distracted by me and my worries. Please keep my eyes open to see the distractions and turn to Your beauty instead. Help me, Lord, may I dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on Your beauty and seeking You and Your presence. Amen.
7. Read Psalm 27:7-10
A. What does the Lord command of us in verse 8?
To seek His face.
B. Read this one page article by John Piper and comment.
First, I liked Piper’s explanation of the Hebrew saying “seek His face”, that “presence” is how “face” is translated. So I am to seek His presence.
God is always present with us, yet we must seek his “manifest presence”. This hit home to me, “There are seasons when we (I) become neglectful of the Lord and give him no thought and do not put trust in him and we (I) find him unmanifested – that is, unperceived as great and beautiful and valuable by the eyes of our (my) hearts.” That would be when I have turned the eyes of my heart onto other things-idols; longing for other comforts besides Him. Or, in the busyness of everyday life, His presence goes unnoticed. I am not mindfully seeking His presence.
The pressures and demands of life cause my mind to be divided, my attention to wander, my thoughts to be distracted or – just “task oriented”.
Piper says that continual seeking is “the conscious fixing or focusing of our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on God.” Oh, how easily I give away my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection to other people and things-even selfishly to my own desires and comfort.
This also was helpful, “There is always something through which or around which we must go to meet him consciously.” Piper compared this to going around obstacles and going through mediators. Mediators include nature (the heavens declare God’s glory), His Word, other people. I liked Piper’s warning to pay attention to what “dulls us and blinds us and makes us not even want to seek Him”. Often, that is my own flesh…wanting what I want, my own way, my own comfort, my own lack of discipline or plain old laziness. It can be sin I refuse to deal with that makes me avoid Him.
C. What promise is there in verse 10? How does this reassure you?
Though I may be forsaken by others-even my own father and mother; the Lord will receive me. This is reassuring because so often we receive the message that we don’t “measure-up” to the expectations of others, or we don’t perform, or if we’re not doing this or that, then we are unimportant or not valued in the world’s eyes. I have felt the painful emotion of rejection, of feeling like I don’t fit in. God says that He will never reject me. It is so painful to feel like you are not wanted or that someone you’d like to spend time with isn’t interested in spending time with you. If I call out to the Lord, wanting to spend time with Him, He won’t turn away.
Susan – thank you for highlighting the Piper quote in your first B. paragraph. I don’t remember reading that but it is enlightening to me this morning. And your continued musings on it in the second and third B. paragraph mirror my own struggle. I am so “task oriented” that I forget to let His beauty seep through to all.
9A. What does he pray and why according to v. 11-12?
David prays that the Lord doesn’t turn away from him, doesn’t abandon him. The line from the Jesus Culture “Song of Solomon”…”do not hide me from Your presence”…is playing in my head right now…:) The Lord is the Lord of salvation…without the Lord, David and we are nothing.
B. Think about where and how this applies to you.
The application is the the need to remain confident in the Lord’s provision…continually reminding myself that the Lord provides all that is needed and what is in my best interest…no more and no less, but that is best.
I really like v. 14…”wait patiently for the Lord, be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” The Lord knows our impatience, our “want it now” mindset, our doubtful nature and reiterates my need to wait patiently for Him…all in God’s good and perfect timing. Even when things look bleak and discouraging, I must “wait patiently for the Lord” in a brave and courageous manner with full confidence and assurance in my heart that the Lord, the One that loves me with continuous affection, who provided for my salvation, will provide what is best for me.
10. Psalm 28: … See if you can find both.
In v. 1-2 David is praying for the Lord to be present, in his mind and heart he is lacking the Lord’s presence. He is crying out to the Lord for help, lifting his “hands toward your (God’s) holy sanctuary.” By v. 6 David senses the Lord’s presence and extols the Lord with words of confidence, trust and thanksgiving. In v. 9, David requests that the Lord lead His people “like a shepherd and carry them in Your (God’s) arms forever”…I have to say that I just have such a warm feeling in my heart thinking of the Lord as my Shepherd…the care, provision, love, attentiveness…it just endears the Lord to me. (Dee, again so thankful for your recommendation of Keller’s book. I really think that A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 made such a difference in my view of the Lord as my Shepherd in a positive, loving way. I am reading A Gardener Looks at the Fruits of the Spirit. The first four chapters address the different types of soil…oh so good, and oh so convicting…I can see a bit of myself in each. I am just beginning the fruits of the Spirit chapters. I really enjoy Keller’s style of writing…really like how he puts it into a context I can so easily relate to and understand.)
Off to a family gathering out-of-town (nephew’s grad party)…Keller’s sermon and reading comments when I return home. Happy Saturday, all!
thanks for the recommendation of Keller’s other book
10. Psalm 28: Deliverance! The third psalm is this trio again has the psalmist looking toward the temple, but by the close, we see deliverance. See if you can find both.
“Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.” (Psalm 28:2 NIV)
“Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy.” (Psalm 28:6 NIV)
Rebecca,
Love the truth of your words:
Mainly you see the beauty of God in redemption and you see Jesus losing his beauty so you could have beauty. That is the beauty that will deal with the rumble of panic in your heart
Thank you.
Sermon notes
Why do we need the Beauty of God?
The gazing on the beauty of God happens in the day of trouble. This isn’t escapist mysticism. This gazing on God’s beauty enables David to lift his head while surrounded by enemies. Not escape, but empowers you to face; not just to cope, but to triumph.
What is the Beauty of God?
The Hebrew word “face” means presence. To seek the face of God is to have an experience, a sense of the presence of God on your heart and soul. David wants to experience His presence and gaze upon His beauty—the beauty is to have pleasure in the perception. Ordinarily perception only gives us an awareness of something that we might find useful. But to perceive something beautiful, you experience pleasure in the perception of it. (Keller’s example—the course he took on Classical music, at the time it was only to get the grade, ultimately it was useful to him in his career. He sought it out of duty. Today, Keller finds Classical music beautiful, so he finds pleasure in it. He seeks it for its beauty. )
If we haven’t experienced pleasure when we gaze on Him, we haven’t really perceived Him.
Beauty-Isaiah 33:17-the King in His beauty. Here the beauty means excellence.
Psalm 50:2-from Zion, perfect in beauty God shines forth. Beauty means desirability.
To find anything beautiful, we must see it as excellent..”the most…”, and this excellence is attractive, captivating, and as we perceive it, it brings pleasure and satisfaction.
When we are restless, tired…we usually seek to expose ourselves to beauty, to calm ourselves. I too love to watch horses running at full force-beautiful. I can honestly gaze at my children asleep for longer than I can any other beauty. God offers us fullness of joy-satiation of joy. St. Augustine-what we’re looking for in beauty is something to settle us, satisfy us—but only God’s beauty will fully satisfy. Any beauty or brilliance, short of God, cannot fully satisfy—we will always find something wrong with it. If we have His beauty, if we gaze on Him–then with enemies surrounding, with the worst things happening around us, we are calmed, satisfied, in Him. Christians serve God, just to be close to Him—if we have seen His beauty, then He is our ultimate and we can face anything.
How does the Beauty of God change our lives? How do we find it?
Go to the Temple. Yes, nature reflects God’s beauty, but for its ultimate expression, we must go to the Temple. At the altar we find the pleasures of His house. **This didn’t make sense to me until Keller said “His beauty is not as evident in creation as it is in redemption”. Jesus came, giving up His glory, His beauty, all attractiveness. He appalled many by his appearance. He lost His beauty for me. We’re beautiful for a while, like flowers, and then it is gone. The curse is that we are subject to decay. Jesus took the curse that we deserve, paying for our sin, so that in the eyes of God, I receive what He deserves. I am legally perfect, and beautiful. And someday, all will be washed away, restored to all beauty. His sacrificial love is more beautiful than any creation. When I look at the Gospel, and see what He has done for me, that is the beauty that sustains me through every trial. When I look at the Cross, I find rest. I used to long for beauty in this world. I struggled as a teen. But the more I find satisfaction in His love for me, the less insecurity I feel—though it can still be a weakness.
To gaze on the beauty of the Lord and seek Him in His temple means time in prayer, adoration, meditation. To seek Him in His temple is to ask for His will regarding decisions, studying His Word. This is building an altar—not duty, but a desire to seek His beauty, staying with it until it happens. And then I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. I praise Him for all the ways I do see His goodness. And even my weak spots, those areas of sometimes painful insecurity—I can thank You for using them to grow in me humility, shaping me, molding me to some day (somehow!) be more like You. Thank You.
12. What is your take-a-way and why?
“The Lord is my light and my salvation whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, Of whom then shall I be afraid?”
When I think about what struggles I am currently facing, the real “problem” seems to be my response to them. With some things, I can find myself fearing the worst, which I know is sin. Other things have left me weary and my sinful response can leave me heavy with guilt. I know the problems themselves are not too big for God. But it seems when I go to face them, my resources are low, like a blinking red gasoline light in the car. I cannot survive if I do no first seek His face, His presence. Piper said “humility is essential to seeking the Lord.” My pride keeps me from seeking Him, trusting Him with the results. Ties in with Keller saying Christ’s beauty is most evident in His redemption. In humility, I repent, I find redemption, I find His beauty. I want to change. I want to release all fear, and even more, I long to respond to hard relationships with gentleness, patience. What spoke to me in Keller’s sermon, was how practically he spoke of seeking the Lord—prayer and study of the Word. The more I seek Him, rest in Him, the more I see Him, and by His gracious gift, the more I am made like Him. 2 Cor. 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
You put it so well, Elizabeth. I loved the ending when he said, “Prayer and Bible study — that’s it?” No. Yes. 🙂
Love your takeaway, Elizabeth. I can so relate to your struggles. I haven’t had a chance to listen to Keller yet. Good recommendation to persist and find the time.
Saturday take-away: What amazes me as I do these studies every week is how much the topic and the questions stay in my mind throughout the day. I’ve done some other pretty well written studies but with the daily interaction and reading of each other’s thoughts, answers and questions, it stays with me more than when I did a study individually all week and then met with a group to discuss at the end of the week.
I’m also finding myself a bit more melancholy. I think this has been happening steadily as I have gotten older and have other friends who say the same. Thinking about things so much more reflectively, realizing the future seems less certain that it once did, taking more time to process things than I did when I was so extremely busy with my family and my job. And within that more reflective framework, I’m learning to speak the truth to my soul; a concept that, when I first ‘heard’ you friends talking about, sounded strange to me. Then as I realized how very biblical even the phrase is, it began to make perfect sense. “Why are you so downcast, oh my soul?” “Find rest, O my soul in God alone” “Praise the Lord, O my soul”. I never saw those statements in the first person before…..or not as significantly as I do now. I was telling this to my husband, who is a counselor, and we were talking about ‘self-talk’ and how many best practices in therapy and restoration even in secular counseling, stem from scriptural principles. So….that is a really good take away that became more ingrained in me this week.
Gazing on his beauty and desiring that meditative time alone with him for no other reason than to adore him, will continue to challenge me. I have so much time alone these days. I often think I need to ‘fix that’ and get out and be with other people more…..but I also see how much I need to spend more uncluttered time gazing and adoring Him.
Another thing that hit home several times was the discussion around the ‘endless struggles’ that several of you talked about. They are different for all of us, but the more I get to know people, the more I see that we all have some never ending battles. I feel like I’ve spent too much time describing some of my personal battles. Some of it, I never intended to touch on and yet, every week, it seems something is uncovered that I realize fits exactly with what is weighing on me. I’m quite sure I’ve revealed all the ‘drama’ in my personal life now though and there aren’t any more topics to break out! I did not think I would re-play some of the childhood and ongoing trauma from my husband’s past, but actually, that helped me see some scriptures in a new light again.
In a nutshell: God’s Word speaks volumes. His love is unconditional. Both meet me where I am as He peels back layers and teaches me to trust Him. (Maybe NEXT week, I will manage to be concise and to the point in my comments……)
Dear Nila…I never got to welcome you! I’m so thankful you found us!
I wanted to thank you for sharing…Elise Fitzpatrick…on the gospel coalition…called “Council from the Cross.”
Thank you for that and WELCOME!!
Joyce – It should work on your smart phone.
Just go to gospelinlife.com in your phone browser.
Click “Account” (in the top right of the screen).
Log in with your email and password.
Then click “My Downloadable Products” in the left side bar.
Then it should have a little “download” link next to the sermons that you have bought
Click download for the one you want to listen to and it should open another tab in your browser and then click play.
I just tried it on my iPhone and it worked fine. =) Let me know if you have problems, I will try to help – you can message me on facebook, too, if you have difficulty.
My take away…..
the CS Lewis quote:
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” C.S. Lewis
I’m worried about Joyce and the weather…….praying for your safety.
praying for Joyce too…and those in her area.
Let’s slow down on the above verses 4-7. What is David’s request and desire?
To be in God’s presence always… to dwell, remain… that’s what Jesus was talking about in the passage about the vine in John 15 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you”, but now rather than coming to the temple to be in God’s presence, God’s Holy Spirit is indwelling. It’s the complete fulfillment of all David desired, more completely than he could have ever imagined.
What did he do in the temple, according to verse 6, and how was sacrifice related to the presence of God?
David brought sacrifices, he sang and made music. In the OT, the presence of God is closely linked to a place – the tabernacle, the temple. God gave Moses very specific instructions about how the people were to worship, and David is following those instructions by bringing sacrifices and praising God.
Deuteronomy 12:11-14 “You are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the LORD. And there rejoice before the LORD your God… Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. Offer them only at the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.”
Describe the interaction in John 2:18-22. How might this help you understand verse 6 today?
The Jews questioned Jesus’ authority to drive merchants from the temple. In his answer, Jesus referred to ‘this temple’, which the Jews assumed referred to the physical building. Jesus was actually referring to his body. The Jews knew that God’s presence was in the temple… Jesus is saying that God is present in him, that he is God. The reference to rebuilding the temple in 3 days refers to his death and resurrection.
Today, we do not need a particular building because the Holy Spirit dwells with us. We come into God’s presence with confidence on the basis of Jesus one true sacrifice, rather than needing to bring a sacrifice.
I googled to find out the weather issues Joyce may be facing, as your weather does not often make the news in Australia! (As I’m sure ours doesn’t in other parts of the world either.) I read of tornados in Nebraska and Kansas, so I’m guessing that may be the concern. Praying that Joyce may know God’s presence and peace in the midst of the storm, that He will bring her and her family safely through.