1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping. 7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
REFLECTION:
David described his feeling of weakness as he had no strength left to face life’s challenges. His bones were in agony, his soul in anguish, he was worn out from groaning. His bed was flooded with weeping and his couch drenched with tears. His eyes grew weak with sorrow.
Praying along with David’s psalm helps us face our own challenges. He was realistic about his weaknesses and honest about his fears. Dishonesty—an attempt to maintain a “perfect” image—keeps us from acknowledging our weaknesses and keeps us from full dependence on the Lord.
Read through this psalm for a couple more times. Pay attention to the words David used to describe his emotions and attitudes. Use this psalm as your plea to God for your own situations.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God, for to you do I pray. 3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. 8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.
REFLECTION:
The psalmist begins the day first pleading his case to God and then watching God at work. This is faith—praying and expecting God to answer.
Begin each day with prayer. Practice the 6 breath prayers anytime to experience God’s presence throughout the day.
God, I belong to you.
Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.
Lord, save me.
Father, I thank you.
Lord, I love you.
Come, Lord Jesus.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah 3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah 5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” 7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
REFLECTION:
David’s followers looked at surrounding troubles and despaired. David, however, looked up and found a source of joy in the knowledge that God’s face was turned toward him. The image of God’s face “shining on” a person means to look with favour; to look with the intent to do good for them.
Read this psalm a couple more times, asking: What is my biggest source of stress? Where lies my confidence?
Memorize verses 7-8. Tonight and every night before going to bed, recite this passage as a thanksgiving to God. Learn to let go of all your worries and burdens joyfully at the end of the day and rest in God’s abundant and protective care.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
REFLECTION:
David was faced with the fact that many who rebelled against him seemed to think that God had abandoned him. When everything seems to be going wrong, it’s easy for us to wonder if God is still with us or not. Such experiences cause stress, rob us of sleep, and frequently make us so anxious that we become ineffective.
Yet, David chose to focus his thoughts on God, and to remember who God is. David had known God as a shield (protector), and his glory (greatest value), as one who lifted up his head (source of strength). David remembered who God had proved Himself to be in his life, and he was able to pray to God with confidence, even in the face of opposition and stress.
When faced with frustration, accidents, troubles, try not to go on the path of despair and gloom. Instead, recall the things God has done in your life, count them out one by one. What different results do these two ways bring out?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
REFLECTION:
This psalm continues the theme of two ways that we can choose to journey in life and invites us to make a wise choice: the righteous think about how to follow God’s ways while the others think about how to rebel against God’s authority and purposes.
We often laugh at the absurd, and what could be more absurd than waving our fists and plotting against God, whose purposes are wonderful and whose authority is unrivaled? How silly can we get?
In what specific ways do I face the decision to choose between serving the Lord and resisting God to the end and be destroyed in His wrath? What’s my choice? Ask God to help me choose to serve Him and follow Him to the end.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
The Book of Psalms is a collection of various smaller groupings of psalms that were used in Israel’s worship over the centuries. Some psalms were associated with certain feasts (Ps. 130 Yom Kippur; Ps. 135, Passover), others with the Sabbath (Ps. 92-100), and others for confession (Ps. 32, 51) or praises (Ps. 111-118; 146-150).
Outline of Psalms
Book 1: Ps. 1—41 (The Book of Personal Experience)
Book 2: Ps. 42—72 (The Book of Elohim)
Book 3: Ps. 73—89 (The Dark Book)
Book 4: Ps. 90—106 (The Book of the King)
Book 5: Ps. 107—150 (The Book of Praise)
Psalms Book 1 – The Book of Personal Experience
Psalms 1 (ESV)
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
REFLECTION:
This psalm challenges us to make a choice between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. What are the differences between these two in this psalm?
How is the person who delights in God’s Word like the tree planted by streams of water? What would my life look like if it were “bearing fruit” in season?
Today, go outside and find a healthy-looking tree. Spend a few moments to look at the tree, its trunk, the leaves, and the roots. Ask God to guide me in a way that I will always be in blossom and bearing fruits. Pray that my roots will go down deep and be rooted in the healthy soil of God’s Word.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
REFLECTION:
Chapter at a Glance: In this last chapter, Paul shows that witnessing involves prayer, living and speaking. His closing greetings illustrate many ways Christians help and encourage each other.
Expressing Christ in our lives is vital to an effective witness. But it is not enough. The Gospel is a message delivered in words and authenticated by life. Both word and life must be shared and accompanied by fervent prayers before the Lord.
How well are you in sharing the Gospel? Which do you need to improve (in word or life) to become more effective in advancing the Gospel?
Use verses 3-4 to pray for yourself, your church leaders and missionaries. Ask God to make you aware of every opportunity to encourage nonbelievers to consider Jesus.
PRAYER:
Dear God! I pray that You help me maintain a vigilant and grateful heart. I also pray for pastors, co-workers, and missionaries. May You open doors for them to proclaim the Gospel. Grant them the ability to speak clearly about the mystery of Christ, sharing the Gospel in a way that brings understanding.
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
REFLECTION:
Chapter at a Glance: True spiritual reality is experienced and expressed in rejection of evil and a transformed character. We recognize Christ in the Christian’s life by the love and mutual submission expressed in every relationship.
Read the passage and consider these segments included in the process of putting on the new life.
A new life is possible (vv3-4)
Get rid of the old life (v5)
Put on the new life (v12-14)
Inner thoughts and behaviour needed to put on new life (vv15-17)
Which part speaks to you most right now? Why? How does that idea relate to the other parts? How does it relate to love “which binds them all together in perfect harmony”?
Pray to God the part that speaks to you, personalizing it.
PRAYER:
Dear God! I pray that You help me put to death the earthly desires within me—such as immorality, impurity, evil passions, lust, and greed. These things provoke Your anger. I also ask that You cultivate in me a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. If I hold any grudges against others, Lord, help me extend forgiveness and grace. Just as You have forgiven me, enable me to forgive others in the same way.
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
REFLECTION:
Chapter at a Glance: Understanding life in Christ, and we won’t be taken in by substitutes for true spirituality.
In verses 8, Paul criticized the Colossian false teaching that was not based on God’s revelation in Christ but the “misleading philosophy and empty deception based on traditions fabricated by mere mortals. These are sourced in the elementary principles originating in this world and not in the Anointed One (so don’t let their talks capture you)”. (The Voice)
In this passage, it was clear that the “elemental spirits of this world” refer to the rituals and rules of the Old Testament (vv16-17). The legalistic false teachers were probably advocating obedience to the Law of Moses for justification and sanctification.
Silently reread verses 9-15, inserting your name every time Paul says you or us. How do these facts affect your view of yourself?
Consider the fact that we are made complete in Christ. Let your prayer and praise to God arise out of that fact.
PRAYER:
Dear God! Your fullness, in all its richness, dwells bodily in Christ. And in Christ, I also find abundance. He is the head over every ruler and authority. Through Him, I have received a circumcision not performed by human hands—a circumcision that removes the desires of the flesh. I was buried with Him in baptism and raised to new life. My past sins and uncircumcised nature have been forgiven, and the record of debt against me has been wiped out. You nailed it to the cross.
COLOSSIANS Introducing Colossians
While Paul was in prison in Rome, awaiting his upcoming trial before Caesar, one of the letters he wrote was to the gathering of believers in the city of Colossae. Paul had never met them, but they knew who he was and respected his leadership. Paul had worked with a man named Epaphras when he was in Ephesus. Epaphras was originally from Colossae, about 100 miles to the east. Paul sent him to bring the good news about Jesus to his city and to two other nearby cities, Laodicea and Hierapolis. Epaphras was later arrested and brought to Rome as a prisoner himself. Paul learned from him what was happening in those cities.
The Colossians were mostly Gentiles, but like the Galatians they were being pressured to follow the Jewish law and were adding extra rules and false teachings to the faith. Some of them were priding themselves on having visions and getting secret spiritual knowledge. So Paul wrote them a letter to say, “When you’ve got Jesus the Messiah, you’ve got it all!”
Paul emphasizes that all things in heaven and earth were created by the Son and were reconciled to God by the Son’s death on the cross. Christ possesses the fullness of God’s being. Since the Colossians have been brought into the new kingdom of light, they can live their faith to the fullest. They are to put on the new self, awaiting the time the Messiah will appear openly, revealing his glory.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
REFLECTION:
Chapter at a Glance: Without Christ, Christianity is nothing. Paul offered prayers for the Colossians (vv3-14) and made a profound affirmation of Christ’s supremacy (vv15-23) and his living presence in the believer (vv24-29).
We often hear: “All roads lead to Rome. Everyone is eventually going to the same place. How can Christians say Jesus is the only way to God?” What is your response?
In this passage, Paul adamantly declared Christ’s supremacy over every being and every idea. It is the central truth of Christian faith. Christ is Lord over all creation and is the reconciler between God and His creation. Our lives are built upon it, shaped in every way by it. Through Christ’s reconciliation, we may be given back to God holy, blameless, and irreproachable. God is the all-powerful ruler of heaven and earth. God expresses his supreme power in this world in the person of Jesus. God still expresses His supreme power in this world—through us!
Silently reread verses 21-23, inserting your name every time Paul says you. What emotion, phrases, or thoughts come to you? What insight do you have about Jesus Christ and your new life in Him? Talk to God. Wait and listen to Him speaking to you.
PRAYER:
Dear God! Christ is before all things, and all things hold together through Him. I was once alienated from You and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. But now, through Christ’s sacrificial death, You have reconciled me to Yourself. I am made holy, blameless, and without blemish, brought into Your presence. I pray that You keep me steadfast in the faith, with a firm and unshakable foundation, so that I won’t be swayed and lose hope in the Gospel.
