Skip to main content

Friday... Over and over they write.


Psalm 117:2 (NLT) says, "For his unfailing love is powerful; the Lord's faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord." 

Friday... Over and over they write.

I have read the Psalms for nearly 50 years and these two descriptions are written about our Lord, our God over and over. Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Psalms and even in the whole Bible and these two descriptions are highlighted here in this chapter. It must mean that God wants us to be reinforced in these two characteristics, these descriptions, these facts about him. And we are to praise the Lord. They are so important.


They are unfailing love and faithfulness. Now they really do go together, unfailing love and faithfulness go together. If I really love my spouse then I will be faithful. God has shown us by living out those facts.

Now the description is that unfailing love is powerful. Everything that happens to those who follow him must go through that unfailing love and it is so powerful that no matter what it is we are going through we have the power to make it through.

The Amplified Bible says it a little differently. It says, "For His lovingkindness prevails over us [and we triumph and overcome through Him and the truth of the Lord endures forever." And forever is a long time. And whatever you are going through right now is a part of forever.

This fact is what all other facts about God are built upon. He created us out of deep love. His Son, Jesus came to earth and died for us to show how much God loves us. 

We sometime think that in our marriage love is a romantic emotion but in reality, love is a commitment. Margaret and I will be celebrating 50 years of marriage. It has not happened because of an emotion, though I have such deep emotion for my wife, it has happened because of commitment. The difficult days are not taken care of by emotion. In fact there are emotions that can break us apart because neither one of us is perfect and that is where the love is a commitment comes in.

Yes, I do believe that God has an emotion about us but his love is more than that. His love is a deep unfailing commitment to us. Now reaping the benefit of his love toward us also must have a commitment from us so those two characteristics of God are important for us to be. We need God living in and through us so we will have his love and faithfulness living in and through us. 

Now the whole chapter of Psalm 117 says, "Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the Lord's faithfulness endures forever, Praise the Lord!" Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

 


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together! They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2. Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you." Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed i f you call  out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." And verses 9-11, " Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives. So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort. Verses 5-6 in the Ampli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless.

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless.  It really can. I have found that unless I give the correct email of my wife then I can't get what I wanted. I put an extra i in her email and I have been working for 5 days to get it changed. Unless has been useless. The writer of Psalm 94 uses this word and shows how important it is. Verses 17-19 (NLT) says, "Unless the Lord had helped me, I would have soon settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, 'I'm slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." "Unless the Lord had helped me." So many people go on and on and on striving to live their life on their own but they keep slipping and doubting and living without hope and cheer. Yes the Lord has such unfailing love for us, he really does but unless we have a relationship with him and we turn to him and ask him for help then the unless turns in to useless because h...
Post a Comment
Read more