gladitudes

I read one of my favorite Psalms again today. God’s so good to always make it fresh and wonderful again each time.

Here are some reflections:

Psalm 32:1-2

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

In verse 1, notice this isn’t a prescriptive statement (“things should be such”), but rather a descriptive statement (“this is how it is”). The reality is that anyone whose transgression has been forgiven, if they understand it, they can’t help but be blessed (literal translation could also be “happy”).

It’s good for me to read things like this regularly to remind myself that I have no excuse not to be happy. Regardless of my specific circumstances, if I have been forgiven my God, I ought to be happy. What else is so significant to detract from that? And, by the way, I’m not talking about joy, which some people say is an attitude you choose, I’m talking about pure, unadulterated happiness—like where you get giddy and goofy. We ought to be happy!

See, if we’ve been forgiven by God, we can face eternity with confidence because we know that it’s going to be good (we’ll be in heaven with God). If our eternity is secure, what temporary, earthly circumstance should bring us down? None should.

The second thought I had about this passage, is how in verse 2 it says, blessed are they “in whose spirit there is no deceit.” I was thinking about what this means. I think it refers to how we can now be totally honest with God. We don’t have to hide our sin, our crooked motivations, our wishy-washy hearts, etc from him. He already knows and he’s already forgiven us! What a beautiful reality! We don’t have to have any ingenuineness or any fakeness in our relationship with God. We can give him the real us and he wants the real us.

This is so different from our other relationships. I can’t even be totally real with my closest friends, at times. To know I can be totally real with God is a freeing truth and I love it.

The rest of the chapter is really good, too, but I’ll just share one more section. As I was reading, I was recognizing that this is God speaking to me. I’ve changed some wording to make it more personal in the end. I’ve noted it so you can tell where. I think this is beautiful when I recognize it is coming from my loving Father:

Psalm 32:8-11

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in [Me].
11 Be glad [Me], and rejoice, O righteous [my son],
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

God loves us so much. He wants the best for us. He is the best for us, his children! The more we yield to him, follow him, love him, rejoice in him, rest in him, and find our value and identity in him—well, the happier and more fulfilled we become. We were designed for him.

If you know Christ today, you are blessed! Experience it!

I read this verse this morning and was really blessed by it. Check it out.

John 15:1-5

¹I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ²Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

A few brief reflections:

• vv. 1-2: God is the vinedresser, not us. In a garden (or vinyard) the plant’s job is to just grow; the gardener is responsible to feed, water, and ensure the plants get light and nutrients. Plants have some ability to seek their own needs (put a plant by a window and watch it grow toward the light…), but ultimately they are at the mercy of the gardener. So it is with us. We have some ability to seek out good light, food, etc.—and we should be doing it—but ultimately God’s the one who will cause us to grow. We will grow most quickly if we just yield to Him, trust Him, and love Him. He is the True Gardener.
• vv. 4-5: This is sort of the same idea as before, but with a slight twist. If we want to accomplish anything as Christians, that too comes by God and yielding to Him. We don’t get saved by God’s grace and mercy then by our own strength and fortitude serve Him. No, we get saved by grace and by grace we live for God. To experience this we abide in God. To abide all we must do is believe God is near, trust Him, obey Him, think about Him, dwell on His word, and do our best to love Him. It seems (to me at times) to be sort of esoteric to abide, but it’s not really—you just do your best to be near God in your heart, mind, and actions.

That’s all for today.

Yesterday was a tough day for me. I am struggling to really hand my burdens over to the Lord. I have heavy things on my heart, but I am striving to trust that God is able to help people understand and see the love He has for them even when I am unable to communicate it. These verses comfort me that God is totally able to accomplish what He needs to because He is the True Gardener.

Walk in blessing and love today!

Here’s my verse of the day, ya’ll.

Psalm 91:14-16

¹⁴Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
   I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵When he calls to me, I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble;
   I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.

All I have to say is I am really amazed that this is what God says to us. He is persistently waiting for us to turn to Him, call on Him, and trust in His provision. He doesn’t put weighty requirements on us, but rather just desires to be our God, to love us, and provide for our needs.

I’m thankful for this today.

Read this today and really love it:

Luke 11:13

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

God is so good! If we who are sinner can be good to each other, how much more good is a perfect God? Infinitely…

I’m going to make a bold statement that’s true: The key to your having a good life, is found below. Put in other words, if you don’t believe this and live your life accordingly, you will ultimately have a bad life. I’m not saying you won’t enjoy it, but you will be sorry in the end.

Psalm 19:7-11

⁷The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
⁸the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
⁹the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

God in His love for us, told us straight out in plain language what we have to do to have the best life that is possible. His commands to us are not burdensome, but rather they protect us and guide us to good.