July 11 - Psalm 115 | Psalm 116 | Psalm 117 | Psalm 118

Good morning everyone, 

Psalms 113-118 are known as “hallel” psalms because they either begin with or end with the Hebrew word hallel known to us as praise and were traditionally sung at the Passover. Psalms 113 and 114 were sung before the meal and the remaining four were sung after.

Psalm 115 could break down into so many different devotionals, it is that rich. Verse 1 reminds us that in all that we do, that we have, or don’t have, to God be the glory. He is faithful to take care of us in every situation remembering that when we pray to Him His answer may not be a “yes.” It could be a “no” or you may even be asked to wait; but in good times as well as tougher times it is important to look for the blessings God has allowed you and give Him the praise. Right?

Verses 2 asks the question, “Why do the nations say, ’Where is their God?’” Does this sound familiar? We live in a world that repeatedly questions the existence of our God, spouting accusations such as “If there is a god, why does he allow suffering in the world?” or “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The only answer I have for you on this one is, “I do not know.” However, what I do know is that Jesus did not promise you, He did promise me, He did not promise anyone a rose garden. Oh no! In fact He totally gave us a heads up on the troubles we would face. In John 16:33 he flat out said, "You will have suffering in this world." He didn't say we might have suffering, or maybe you’ll have a hard time or two, nope, He said it IS going to happen, you, me, we will all see suffering. You have got to love that, in knowing this, He did not leave us hanging, He encourages us with Philippians 4:13, “I can (we can) do all this through him who gives us strength.” Right!? Then also James 1:12 tells us, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” Is that not totally awesome! God’s got our back, we just need to “cowboy up” and let Him handle it. Praise Him for the strength He allows you, the scripture He has provided for you, and all that you will learn to better equip you when you face challenges further down the road, or maybe you’ll need to pass on your experience to help someone else. Make sense?

Oh and one more thing in psalm 115 then I will move on. Don’t you love how God is always reminding us? Here in today’s scripture it is about how temporary and useless man made idols are. Verses 4-8 tell us that if you are not worshiping Yahweh then you have some idol that is taking His place and you will become like that idol. Again it begs the question, “what or who do you worship?” Time? Money? Sports? Work? Your “friends?” or some other little something of the world you have on a pedestal? There is no joy in that, your soul will continue to long for the one and only thing that will satisfy it and that is a relationship with Jesus. If Christ is not your main thing, then why not? Give Him a try, ask Jesus into your heart this very second, what have you got to loose? Just say,”Jesus I repent (choose to turn away from) my sinful behavior and ask You (Jesus) to forgive me. Please come, reside in my heart and let your ways be mine.” If you did  just pray that, and are sincere, the enemy will want to win you back so you will find yourself under heavy spiritual attack. You’ll want to find a Bible teaching church such as a Calvary Chapel and get connected with like minded people, and God bless you, I will be praying for you today.

Boy, that was so Holy Spirit led! Okay, real quick a couple of “fyi’s”. Psalm 117, is the shortest chapter in all of the Bible. Who knows the shortest verse? More to the point, who doesn’t? John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” Tomorrow we will read Psalm 119 the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in all the Bible and between these two is Psalm 118, which is the middle of King James Bible, verses 8-9 being THE very center and they read, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” Yes”!! And all God’s people said … Amen!

Have a super good day and to God be the glory!

God bless you all …