The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Psalms 81, 88, 92, 93
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Background Information: Psalms 81, 88, 92, 93
Psalm 81 is tied to the Feast of Tabernacles, where Israel remembered and celebrated God’s provision as they traveled through the wilderness living in temporary shelters. THE Tabernacle was a tent structure where God’s presence was manifest among them. They also lived in tabernacles (tents) themselves. The Feast of Tabernacles came five days after the Day of Atonement, the annual sacrifice for the sins of the people, where the high priest entered the Holy of Holies. Christians should read this Psalm with deep rejoicing for Christ, who took on flesh (Tabernacled among us), who is our faithful high priest, and who has entered the most holy place as the final sacrifice for sin. In today’s reading, we go from this psalm of lasting hope to the saddest psalm in the Bible. Psalm 88 teaches us that there are those, even among the faithful, whose lives are virtually uninterrupted sorrow. There are those who honestly say that “darkness is my closest friend.” But notice that, though the Psalm ends with this dark desperate cry, it begins with another kind of desperate cry: “Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out before you day and night.” The Psalmist is in a personal wilderness of darkness but is still looking to God for salvation. Psalm 92 is a Sabbath song of community worship. It ends with the author trusting God to protect the faithful all the way to the end of life. “They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green.” This is not eternal youth, but faithfulness leading to fruitfulness to the end of life. This is how Moses died: “Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him.” (Deut 34:7) Moses did not die “healthy”; death is the ultimate “unhealth.” Moses died faithful to the end, and God kept his physical body strong to lead the people all the way to physical death. What do these Psalms have in common? Perspective. In all stages of life, in all circumstances of life, our only hope of having true perspective is to be found in continually and honestly going to God in private and public worship. We leak perspective; we need a daily infusion from God and others to remain faithful.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for Rick and Amelia as they live among an unreached people group overseas. Pray for rich conversations centered around Jesus this week.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.