The Joy of Forgiveness

Psalm 32 is a Psalm of wisdom and a great penitential one as well.  There is so much happening within its eleven verses.  It is believed that David wrote the Psalm following his infamous affair with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11). The psalm starts off with a description of blessings:

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered (atoned)*. 

Blessed is the man to whom 

the Lord does not impute iniquity, 

And in whose spirit there is no deceit. vv 1-2

Then David shifts gears a bit and talks about how he has kept silent about a sin he has committed.  This is not to say that the Lord doesn't know about the sin, but that he has failed to confess the sin to the Lord.  We all know that the Lord doesn't need us to tell him what we did wrong, He knows exactly what we did wrong, but he wants us to confess our sin-acknowledge our wrong doing and repent. 

When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. vv 3-4

Now David realizes the consequences of the failure to confess...so he finally confesses in verses 5-6:

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity (immoral behavior)* I have not hidden.

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,"

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

He is feeling much, much better now that he confessed and is forgiven.  He knew, like we do, that when we don't confess our sin, we are separating ourselves from the Lord.   Then, overjoyed because the load of "hidden sin" was taken from him through his confession/repentance, he decides to warn people to do the same and then quickly changes to address the Lord and acknowledges His protection:

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

You are my hiding place;

You shall preserve me from trouble;

You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. vv 6-7

Then the speaker (David) changes and the Lord "comes in" the psalm to also instruct the people.  

I will instruct you and teach you 

in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

Do not be like a horse or like the mule,

Which have no understanding 

Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,

Else they will not come near you. vv 8-9

The Lord is asking us to trust Him and let Him teach us the way which we should go.  He is mentioning "mules" and "horses" (which are both stubborn animals) and tell us not to be like them.  He wants us to respond to Him quickly and on our own accord-not being dragged or forced.  Lastly, David ends the hymn by contrasting the many sorrows of the wicked with the joy of the believer and instructing the believer to praise the Lord:

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;

But he who trusts in the Lord,

mercy shall surround him.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;

And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!  vv 10-11

Like I said, this psalm has it all: Praise, Acknowledgment of sin and the consequences of hiding it; Confession and repentance; Warning to the righteous; More praise; The Lord's warning; Comparison of wicked and righteous; And finally, instruction to praise the Lord.  I just LOVE this psalm.

We've all tried ,at some point or another, to hide our transgressions from the Lord (as if we could) and have paid dearly for it-mostly in the fact that we are "not right" with Him.  When we confess our sin, the "earthly" consequences of our actions don't necessarily disappear, but our relationship with the Lord is restored and we must rejoice and praise the Lord for that!

  

* definition added~ word in parenthesis are not part of the the Psalm.

Where to Find Comfort & Encouragement in the Psalms

When you feel abandoned--------------------------------------------->Psalm 10
When your world seems to be falling apart---------------------->Psalm 46
When you are afraid------------------------------------------------------>Psalm 23;91
When you feel guilty------------------------------------------------------>Psalm 51
When your family gets on your nerves----------------------------->Psalm 127;128
When you are facing a daunting challenge----------------------->Psalm 27
When you are discouraged by the apparent prosperity
of the wicked---------------------------------------------------------------->Psalm 37;73
When you do not feel very thankful--------------------------------->Psalm 107
When you feel as if God has forgotten you---------------------->Psalm 139
When you are tempted to lose faith in God--------------------->Psalm 62
When you have lost your eternal perspective------------------->Psalm 90
When you feel like you are barely hanging on------------------>Psalm 86
When you are wondering what God expects-------------------->Psalm 15
When you want to know God better-------------------------------->Psalm 42;63
When you need to be reminded of the goodness of God--->Psalm 103
When you need to recommit yourself to serving God-------->Psalm 116
When you need wisdom------------------------------------------------>Psalm 119
When you need a reminder of God's mercy--------------------->Psalm 136
When you feel like celebrating--------------------------------------->Psalm 95-100

I copied this from my new bible (which I love). 

Distressed? David's Approach (Psalm 25)

Five Step Approach When You're Distressed

1. Turn to the Lord, lift up your soul to Him and trust him (v. 1)
2. Ask Him to show you/teach you/guide you in His truth & put your hope in him (vv. 4-5)
3. Repent & humbly ask for forgiveness although the iniquities (immoral behavior) of your youth and now may be great (vv. 7,11)
4. Stay focused on the Lord-Your eyes are ever on the Lord (v. 15)
5. Take refuge in the Lord! (v. 20)

This Psalm is all about humbling ourselves before the Lord, acknowledging His greatness and His forgiveness. Asking for forgiveness for our past (and present) transgressions, and seeking Him to teach us, guide us, and show us the way to the Truth. Taking refuge when we feel lonely, afflicted and distressed. We must keep our hope in Him.

No Fretting-Yikes!

I've been reading through the bible and a couple of weeks ago I was reading about the Israelites and their 40 years of roaming around-waiting to get to the promised land. It's almost comical how they seemed to be going around and around aimlessly-complaining, fretting, always dissatisfied. Miracles are being performed in front of their eyes, and yet they are blind to it. In the kid's LIFEPAC bible books it actually shows a map of their "roaming" days and you gotta wonder, what were they thinking? Then I was talking to a very good friend of mine, a devoted believer who shared with me something that she was feeling while reading through the same passages. She told me how she was so grateful that the Lord had taken her out of her "version" of Egypt. That she was in a state of "slavery"-as all non believers are-and she was grateful for His mercies-His forgiveness. We went on to talk some more about that and then it happened....my eyes were open to my "version" of roaming around in the wilderness, let me explain...

If you don't know my story then here's the short version of it. My husband has been building our house, literally, building the house for the last 10 years. It sits on 25 acres of sheer wilderness. He had to start from zero-even the driveway (of dirt) had to be cleared out. It is beautiful here, just breath taking but I have to tell you it is hard to build a house when you are not a contractor or have never worked in construction (my husband is a cardio-respiratory therapist). When we started this project, we moved in with my mother who lives in the property next door to where we are building. We lived there for about 3 1/2 years. Then we moved to our old house (which we had sold to my twin sister and was vacant-it was her vacation house) about 4 blocks away from my mother's house. We lived there for about 3 1/2 more years and then we bought our travel trailer and moved to our property (where we are now). During our "roaming" years we were sometimes fretting, sometimes envious of other people having what we wanted, and more times than not, disappointing because of the slow progress-sounds familiar?? We moved 3 times within a 1 mile radius all along fretting and dissatisfied.

As I mentioned earlier in my posts, I have been studying the psalms. Psalm 37 is totally devoted to teaching the believer that fretting is not for us. It talks about the believer's attitude toward the apparent success of the wicked and the hardships of the righteous. It talks about how the ungodly will eventually lose all they acquire on earth, whereas the righteous (who remain loyal to God) will have his presence, help and guidance on earth and will inherit salvation and the promised land. It tells us that we are to trust in the Lord and commit our ways to Him. We are to refrain from anger and turn from wrath. Most importantly, it tells us "do not fret-it leads only to evil." Since thoroughly studying this Psalm, I have made it a point to stop my fretting, and when talking to my dear friend, I realized that my past "complaining" nature may have been the snare that was keeping us from completing our house. Our trailer is parked right next to the house-just a foot or two away, just like the Israelites where steps away from the land of milk and honey. It takes a changed-repentant heart, a devoted believer and a trusting "no fretting" soul to realize the greatness of our Lord-I aim to be all that and more! I love the way the Lord is using my learning of the Psalms along with the blessings of the knowledge of other believers to open my eyes and see the miracles that He has performed on my behalf. During our "roaming" years, I have been blessed to have given birth to 2 adorable boys (Ramzey and Maverick) and in addition, to have been able to raise and homeschool my two daughters (Andrea and Bethanie) and Will Jr (my oldest son). My husband and I have had surgeries during those years, and came out of them healthier than before. Our Lord never forgot us, He never put us aside although my devotion and praise for His blessings was less than desirable. No! instead He continued to bless me with a wonderful family, great friends, and all that I needed. He has patiently waited for me to "get it" and thanks to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and my friend..I think I do get it. Thank you Lord!!

Delighting in the Lord

Psalm 1

I love the way this Psalm starts, it's direct and to the point:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night.
(verse 1-2 ~I added the emphasis)

Psalm 37

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(verse 4~I added the emphasis)

What does it mean to delight?

To "delight" in something means to get pleasure out of it or to enjoy. However, when applied to the Lord, the word "delight" takes on a bigger, deeper meaning. It means to love, obey, seek, quote, think about, praise and yes-to enjoy! Psalm 1 states that we should delight in Him and on his law~ and meditate (reflect) on it day and night. We can't just read the Word and put it aside, we are being told to reflect on it all day and all night. When we meditate on the law then we can truly start to understand it. Once we understand it, we can act on it. It should be apparent to anyone you come across that you are a child of the Most High. Your actions, your deeds, your words should be a reflection of Him. So, delight in Him and his law~you will be blessed by it (like it says in the beginning of the Psalm).

I have read Psalm 37:4 many, many times and I have quoted it even more. But it was not until this year, while doing a deeper study in the Psalms that I really understood it, let me explain:

I've been reading how you should "delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" right? but my head registered something else (easier to accomplish too-how convenient of me). I understood it as "become a believer and He will give your the desires of your heart." Funny how we read the words but only register in our heads what we want to hear. It is way easier to just be a believer and "ta-da" you get the desires of your heart, rather than delighting in the Lord to get what you desire. Like I said earlier, you can't just read the Scriptures-you have to meditate on them-then you'll understand it's message. Now I know that I have to delight in Him-which like I mentioned above means: Read the bible, sing praises, meditate on the law, obey his commands, love the Lord, seek him day and night, act on what I've learned, quote Scripture in my speech, etc.

Honestly, I am enjoying my delighting in the Lord and hope you do too. Maybe the blessing I am receiving is the pure, honest joy of immersing myself in Him!

A 30 Day Walk With God in the Psalms

This is a funny story...God is funny! Every year I feel that the Lord is wanting me to learn something, to grow in the knowledge of the Scriptures. Last year, towards year's end, I felt that the Lord was leading me to look deeper into Revelations and the "elect" mentioned in the Bible (more on those two subjects later). Anyhow, I try to be obedient to what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do, where He is guiding me towards and so I was super excited to see what He had in store for me in 2011!
I didn't have to wait much to find out what my first "assignment" for the year was. My family and I were visiting friends and family for New Years in the Los Angeles area. We were ready to start heading back home for our long 12 hour drive north when (while saying my good-byes to my dear friend Tammy) I was surprised with a gift. Tammy went to her bookshelf and told me that she had a book for me. I glanced at it, thanked her (told her I would read it), hugged her and headed towards the car in a hurry. When we got settled and started driving I took a better look at the book and couldn't believe my eyes... It was a 30 day study of the Psalms. Here's where I have to give you some background history.... I am a Proverbs girl! I LOVE the Proverbs. They are quick, to the point and almost always a "one liner" you can remember. I had never really enjoyed the Psalms-didn't get them. If you look at my Bible you would see just about all of the Proverbs highlighted (my faves get highlighted) and Psalms...wellll not much highlights there. So there it was...January 1st and my first "assignment" was the Psalm (told you-God is funny). Without great enthusiasm (but obedient never the less) I started the devotional as soon as we got back home and settled.
Words can not express how I felt after finishing my first day in this book. I can truly tell you that I fell in love with the Psalms! The book starts with Psalm 1 and covers 29 other Psalms. It literary dissects each Psalm with a question/answer format that digs deep into your soul. Although the title states that it's a 30 day study, the author encourages the reader to take as long as they want to finish it. I am doing about 3-4 Psalms a week. I like reading them, answering the questions and pondering on what I've learned for the next few days before I start on a new Psalms. This book has definitely changed my mind and heart on the Psalms-so much so that I bought the Lisa Harper study of the Psalms to keep studying and learning the beautiful words that have been written. Truly, the negative misunderstanding of the Psalms was all on my head. They are beautiful, insightful praises filled with emotions, human circumstances, valiant displays of faith and some of the most inspirational words I have ever read. God, in his ultimate wisdom, knew that I needed to see the Psalms for what they were and not for what I had so wrongfully depicted them to be. He used a dear friend of mine, Tammy, to bless me. I am and always will be so grateful to the Lord for giving me what I need, when I need it despite of the fact that I didn't ask. He knew what was missing in my walk with Him while I had not a clue.
I will be posting what I am learning in this devotional and what the Lord has so graciously revealed to me through the Psalms.


**if you would like to read this book and can not afford to buy it for yourself, please e mail me at tazzari@juno.com with your shipping information and I will send one to you**

A Perfect Mess

While listening to a Christian radio station the other day, I came across a very funny, talented lady. Her name is Lisa Harper. She was talking about the ladies of the Bible. She definitely got my attention with her witty way of teaching the Scriptures. I was laughing and learning at the same time. She earned a Master of Theological Studies with honors from Covenant Seminary in St Louis. She is a speaker and an author.
I decided to buy one of her books called "A Perfect Mess: Why You Don't Have to Worry About Being Good Enough for God." It is a study of the Psalms with a humorous twist. She shares lots of funny stories from her life and applies them to some of the Psalms. Every chapter has questions at the end and there are lots of good facts about the Psalms, in general, throughout the book.


I will be posting what I am learning in this book. It is meant to be studied alone or with a lady's bible study group. I am doing it alone. Let's see what I learn....


**if you would like to read this book and can not afford to buy it for yourself, please e mail me at tazzari@juno.com with your shipping information and I will send one to you**