Saint Lucas Lutheran

July 12-18 2010
Moments in the Psalms

Monday, July 12

Psalm 6:9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

ACCEPTED

People now recognize Jimmy Stewart as one of the greatest, most-beloved actors in American movie history. It was not always that way, however.

Early in his days as an actor, many in filmmaking dismissed Stewart as simply a tall, skinny, awkward kid who, at most, could do some funny bit parts as a minor character. For Jimmy Stewart, acceptance came later.

Not all of us have the life of a Jimmy Stewart, however. For many of us, feeling dismissed and rejected is part of grappling our way through this sinful world.

One truth, however, profoundly sets us apart from everyone else: The truth that God accepts us. And he doesn’t accept us in some generic, quasi-spiritual way. He accepts us personally. He accepts us because he has embraced us through faith in Jesus Christ.

And so when you pray to him, know that he accepts your prayer. And he accepts your prayer because, in Christ, he accepts you.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in this world I face much rejection. But not before you. Before you I am accepted through faith in Jesus. Hear now my prayers. Amen.

Tuesday, July 13

Psalm 7:15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made.

STOP DIGGING

Cliches are clichés because they are true. Here is a cliché you’ve perhaps heard: “If you’re digging yourself into a hole, stop digging.” The meaning is plain: If you’re doing something in your life that is clearly pulling you down further and further, the first order of business is for you to stop doing it.

Easier said than done, though, isn’t it. Our lives can be so fast-paced, so confusing, so distracting. Sometimes it takes someone to tell us to stop and take a look around. Sometimes it takes someone to point out the shovel in our hands and the hole in which we stand.

And so stop. Take a look around. Are you standing in a hole? If you are, there’s probably some kind of shovel in your hand – some pattern of sinful thinking that’s now a comfortable habit.

But just because it’s comfortable doesn’t mean it’s right

Stop digging. Come to repentance. Confess your sinful thinking to God. Be washed clean in Jesus’ blood. Be empowered by his Spirit to throw down your shovel and walk out of that hole.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I see the hole in which I stand. I come to you in repentance. Cleanse me of my sin. Empower me by your forgiveness to throw down my shovel and to walk with you. Amen.
Wednesday, July 14

Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?

LOOK UP AND THINK

You and I are not very good at looking up. In our day-to-day lives we spend nearly all our time looking down or side-to-side. After all, that is what consumes most of our day.

During the recent Independence Day weekend, however, as you were waiting for the fireworks to start, perhaps you had a chance to look up for a change.

If you did, maybe you took a little time to consider what you were seeing. You saw a moon. You saw planets. You saw stars. And you saw them knowing that the distances that lay between you and these marvelous creations were so vast that you cannot even comprehend them.

King David did the same thing. And when he did, he asked God, “What is man that you are mindful of him?”

How right you are, David. Here is God, a Creator so incomprehensible that we cannot even begin to grasp him. And yet, he chooses to be mindful each one of us. So much so that he sent his Son to rescue us from the curse of our sin.

When your problems seem big, look up and think. The God who calls you his own is greater than any of them. So is his love for you in Jesus.

Prayer: My God, you are greater than all my problems put together. Fill me with peace in Christ through your Holy Spirit. Move me to trust in you alone. Amen.