Category: Psalms

Posted in Hebrews, Mark, Psalms, Romans

Speaking from what God has Spoken

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:5b-6

God wants you to know that He will never desert you or forsake you. People will come and go, even those who love us the most can’t be there all the time, but God is always with us. One of His covenant names is Jehovah Shammah, which means, “The Lord who is present.” Psalm 46:1 says: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Do you believe this? If you do then take the second step of faith and speak it with confidence. It is important that we speak what we believe.  To overcome our fears, we need to believe in our hearts God is with us, and confidently say with our mouths that He is our helper.

Romans 10:10 gives the importance of believing first in our hearts, but then also speaking with our mouths. “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Jesus gives the same principle of faith in Mark 11:23: “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.”

Some have used this verse to teach “name it and claim it,” which has led to many abuses and caused many to throw out the baby (the importance of confession) with the bath water. But look closer at this verse and you will see that it’s not about confession first, but about believing in the heart first, and then speaking from the place of faith.

The only way you can ever believe with your heart is if God Himself has spoken to you first. Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (rhema) of Christ.” A rhema (the Greek for “word” used in this verse) is a specific word from God for a specific situation. After God has spoken into our hearts (about a specific mountain we are facing), we complete our faith by speaking with our mouths what God has said about our circumstances. That’s when mountains move!

Posted in John, Matthew, Psalms

A Mission for Meekness

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Come to me you are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble (meek and lowly) in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I read a devotional book that used this scripture immediately after I had read Psalm 37:11: “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” I started to get excited and have been on a mission to learn meekness ever since. Here are a few insights I have gleaned in my meditations and study:

  1.  Meekness is not weakness. The Greek word translated, “gentle,” or in some versions, “meek,” was also used to describe horses that they trained for war. When they became “meek,” they were able to be ridden effectively and safely. Power under control.
  2. The differences between a proud heart and a meek heart: 
    1. Pride takes now (or tries to) while the meek allow God to give in His time. The meek inherit
    2. Pride seeks to control while the meek yield to God’s control.
    3. Pride lives under the anxious, heavy burden of being its own savior while the meek enjoy peace because they aren’t trying to do God’s part.
  3.  Jesus promises an experience of rest for all who will come to Him at any time for anything. However, His promise for a life of rest is tied to us taking His yoke upon us and learning from Him how to become meek of heart. When He washed the disciples’ feet He was teaching them about meekness.  He said that they would be blessed if they actually put into practice what He was modeling for them. “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)

We live in a culture that often celebrates selfish ambition, self promotion, and pride. If you embrace the mission of Jesus to teach your heart meekness, you will be going against the culture, but you will also find rest for your soul.

Posted in Matthew, Psalms

Faith Inspired by Joy

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

How’s your joy? Strong faith is inspired by joy which is why Nehemiah said “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (8:10) According to this passage in Matthew our joy is related to how much of the hidden treasure we have seen. I did a youth retreat a few years ago and heard a 16 year old girl testify about an experience she had with the Lord during one of the altar times. It was revealed to her that she was in rebellion against her mom, so she repented before the Lord and asked for His forgiveness. Then she said a joy came into her heart that she hadn’t felt in a long time. This young lady beamed not just that night, but the rest of the weekend. She had a glimpse of the treasure of forgiveness and intimacy with Christ and was now filled with the joy of His presence.

Sometimes we’re in this field called church going through the motions and we assume that that’s all there is. Wrong! There is a hidden treasure that requires a heart that will truly seek God and not just do the duty of religion. One young man who was radically touched by the Lord at the retreat told us the next evening that he had led someone to the Lord that afternoon. He just couldn’t contain what God had done, so he found someone to share it with and they wanted Jesus too. No wonder David said, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation; then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will be converted to You.” (Psalm 51:12)

Has your faith become tired?  Why not take a moment right now and ask God to restore your joy?

Posted in 1Peter, Exodus, Psalms

Trusting God in the Storm

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14

The Israelites were being squeezed between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea and there didn’t seem to be any way out. In their humanness they began to speak out of their fear instead of their faith. “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11) They had seen God’s power in the past, but they hadn’t really learned to trust His heart so when the storm came they operated in fear instead of faith. Have you been there? Are you tempted to go there right now? Moses gives them three instructions of how to trust God in the storm that are as applicable today as they were back then.

  1. “Do not be afraid.” You and I don’t have to be afraid. God knows what’s going on and He has everything under control. He loves us and He won’t abandon us when we need Him the most.
  2. “Stand firm.” This is the time to hold on to God. Peter says the devil goes about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour so Christians need to “resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1Peter 5:8-9) Our enemy makes a lot of noise and preys on our fears.  It’s time to recognize who is behind the voice of fear and stand against him in Jesus Name.
  3. “Be still.” When you’re afraid it is easy to speak wrong things and do wrong things that only make the situation worse. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations.” (Psalm 46:10) Stop the train of anxious thoughts; quiet your heart, and let Him fill you with a fresh sense of His Presence. He is exalted in our storms when we trust Him.

If the Israelites hadn’t been squeezed they never would have seen the miracle of the Red Sea opening. I believe God has a miracle for whatever seemingly impossible situation you’re facing right now. Don’t be afraid; stand firm, and be still. You are not alone. God is fighting for you!

Posted in 2Samuel, Psalms, Song of Songs

Honest to God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” Song of Songs 2:14

God wants to hear your voice. Not an echo of somebody else, not a voice that has been lost in religious tradition, He wants to hear the real you. David said in Psalm 51:6, “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being.” God values honesty above all else. He wants to see your face, not a religious mask that you may think He wants to see. With God honesty is where the action is. When sin is real to us, then confession is real, forgiveness is real, His Presence is real, and the hope He alone gives is real. If something is wrong ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is going on in your heart.

When we are less than honest as Christians, we may still appear religious, but our hearts go lukewarm. I think the reason why “the hiding places,” are mentioned is that we can easily play Christian when we are around others, but it’s not as easy when we’re alone. Psalm 51 records David’s prayer of repentance after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. No doubt David had played the part of “man of God” all the way through and no one would have known if God hadn’t spoken to Nathan the prophet about what David had done. When Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” (2Samuel 12:7), David’s heart was pierced and he once again became honest in his innermost being.

When we are being real with God He delights in our fellowship, our worship, our work and even in our fun. It may be painful up front, but honesty always brings us closer to God. You don’t have to put your best foot forward because He knows what the other one looks like anyway. And guess what? He still loves and likes you.

Posted in Job, Psalms

The Song in the Night 

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“At night His song is with me… I say to God my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’” Psalm 42:8-9

It is one thing to love and praise God when everything is going good; it is another thing to love and praise Him when it feels like darkness is crushing you.

In this dark night of the soul, we can’t see God’s purpose or understand His goodness, yet it is most important that we learn to sing at this time – I’m calling it the song in the night. Why is this song so important?

  1.  It forces us to focus on who God is instead of what He does for us. Satan’s accusation against Job was that he was using God and didn’t really love him. (See Job 1:9-11) Do we really love God or are we only using Him because we love ourselves? The song in the night purifies our worship.
  2.  It forces us to either go deeper in our faith. “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls, all Your waves and breakers have swept over me.” (Psalm 42:7) Trees planted by water have shallow roots. Trees in a hostile environment either have roots that go very deep, or the tree dies before maturity. Listen to how deep the roots of the Psalmist have gone in this time of difficulty: “As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1-2) Instead of turning away from God, His pain brought him to a new place of thirst for God Himself.
  3. We are no longer dependent on the faith of others. Darkness isolates us and raises questions about God’s goodness. Do I really believe or have I only been part of a social group who wants to believe in a personal God so they can be protected from life’s hard realities? God allows this time so that we can experience Him ourselves instead of on the coattails of others.

Does it feel like darkness is suffocating you? This could be your faith’s greatest hour. It’s time for you to take up the song in the night.

Posted in 1Peter, 2Corinthians, Exodus, Psalms

Diamonds in the Rough

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“As for the saints of the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.” Psalm 16:3

David didn’t just forgive God’s people, and he didn’t just tolerate the saints; he delighted in them. How can we do the same? I think the key is seeing them the way God sees them: Diamonds in the rough.

In Exodus 28:17 God commanded Moses to make an ephod with four rows of three precious stones each. The stones represented the twelve tribes of Israel and the priest was to remember that this was how God felt about His people by wearing this ephod over his heart whenever he came into God’s presence. Four rows – three in each row – ruby, topaz, emerald; turquoise, sapphire, diamond; jacinth, agate, amethyst; beryl, onyx, jasper – the saints are God’s jewels.

A frequent accusation against believers and an argument against the truth of Christianity is hypocrisy. When an unbeliever sees a so-called Christian fall short of their expectation, they say out loud or think to themselves, “I thought you were supposed to be a Christian! Hypocrite!”

But the authentic Christian doesn’t claim to be a perfect diamond, but a diamond in the rough. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels,” says the apostle Paul, “so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” (2Corinthians 4:7) We have a sin nature; we have a struggle going on inside of us, but we also have a new nature and are part of a new creation.

Our responsibility toward one another is to look past the rough and start seeing and speaking to the diamond. Christians often focus on the wrong thing and get paralyzed by sin and shame, their own, and that of their brothers and sisters. Can we look past the rough? Peter exhorts us, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1Peter 4:8) Don’t you want others to love you like that? We can’t excuse sin but after confession, we dare not dwell on it, or we will miss what God is seeing.  

His delight is in the saints; let’s learn to delight in them too.

Posted in Matthew, Philippians, Psalms

Gentle Warriors

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand upholds me; and Your gentleness makes me great.” Psalm 18:34-35

To become great in heaven’s eyes requires us to receive God’s gentleness before anything else. His mercy toward us in forgiveness, and His gentle dealings to draw us to Himself win our hearts so that we will do anything for Him. We live in a harsh world and frequently treat ourselves with great harshness. The devil’s work  is often easy as he only has to put the hammer in our hands, and we will beat ourselves up with shame and regret. On top of this our form of religion can also be harsh, demanding, and judgmental, but none of this is from Jesus.

“Come to Me, you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  Jesus invites us to come and find how tender His love is and how great His ability is to remove our heavy burdens. Have you experienced His gentleness? Paul says that our gentleness toward others should be a result of us living in God’s presence. He writes in Philippians: “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:5)

God wants us to develop a gentle spirit toward people, but a warrior’s spirit toward the spiritual darkness around us. Jesus was tender toward the weak and broken, and tough toward the Pharisees and demons. David was a worshiper who danced before God but also a warrior who cut off Goliath’s head. The same God who gently deals with David also trains his hands for war; He wants to do the same in us.

The church is called to be a healthy family and an obedient army. Knowing the love of God makes us healthy, and knowing the fear of God produces in us a spirit of instant obedience. Those whom God uses in the days to come will be growing in both revelations and will be known by both the church and the world as His gentle warriors.

Posted in Psalms

Stilling Your Soul

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“My heart is not proud, oh Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. Oh Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.” Psalm 131

David learned how to talk to himself. When his soul was apathetic he would command his soul: “Bless the Lord oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” (Psalm 103:1) When he was slipping into depression he would tell himself to remember God and God’s future for him: “Why are you downcast, oh my soul; why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 43:5) In today’s reading he is being tempted to slip into confusion and anxiety over questions that are outside of his control. His response? “I have stilled and quieted my soul…”

Notice that he didn’t ask God to still and quiet his soul, he said, “I have stilled and quieted my soul”. Christianity becomes very difficult when we try to control God’s part, or when we expect Him to do our part. You and I have control over our souls. We can let them run free, wherever they take us, or we can exercise our wills, like David did, and tell our souls what to do. Sometimes we simply need to preach the gospel to ourselves.

How do you do that? Your heart is full of worry and anxiety over all of life’s troubles and circumstances, so you decide to have a talk with your soul. “Stop worrying, Soul, and start trusting God. Jesus loves you and died for you. He’s not going to let you down if you turn to Him. He has come through in the past, and He is going to get you through this time, so stop your whining and start praising God.” It is amazing how our emotions will follow when we decide to trust God instead of giving in to all of our doubts and fears.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted…” (Psalm 46:10) Do you need to take a moment right now to be still, to cease striving, to stop manipulating, and just remember that He is God?

Posted in Matthew, Psalms

Resting in Christ

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures…” Psalm 23:1-2

Before our good Shepherd leads us in paths of righteousness, or feeds us in the presence of our enemies, or anoints our heads to do great things for Him, He makes us rest our identity in Him.

Phillip Keller, in his book A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23 writes: “In every animal society there is established an order of dominance or status within the group. In a pen full of chickens it is referred to as the ‘pecking order;’ with cattle it is called the ‘horning order;’ and among sheep we speak of the ‘butting order.’

“Generally an arrogant, cunning and domineering old ewe will be boss of any bunch of sheep. She maintains her position of prestige by butting and driving other ewes or lambs away from the best grazing or favorite bed grounds. Succeeding her in precise order the other sheep all establish and maintain their exact position in the flock by using the same tactics of butting and thrusting at those below and around them…. Because of this rivalry, tension, competition for status, and self-assertion, there is friction in a flock. The sheep cannot lie down and rest in contentment.  They must always stand up and defend their rights and contest the challenge of the intruder.”

The only time they can rest, Keller goes on to tell us, is when they are in the presence of the shepherd. When he is nearby there is no butting order. Each sheep is special, not because of a place it holds in relation to other sheep, but because the shepherd knows its name. Each sheep has the place the shepherd gives her, not the one she has earned for herself.

Have you noticed that human beings, left to themselves, create a butting order? No one can rest or they might lose their place. Someone said that we “spend money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.” It’s all part of the butting order.

The Lord wants you and I to come out of the butting order and learn to live in His Presence. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)