Psalm 82

Psalm 82 
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  Darkness.
  I sometimes wander into the kitchen late at night, and I rarely turn on the lights.  Instead, I count on my memory of the living room to navigate my way.  What I don't count on, however, is the presence of toys left behind randomly on the floor.  My foot almost always finds one, no matter how slowly I walk or how confidant I am.
  We do this in other areas of life.  Sometimes it is on accident, or in moments of pride or when we forget that we are fallible.
  Some people spend their entire lives this way, refusing to believe they are in darkness, convincing themselves (and perhaps others) that they can see just fine, thank you very much.
  God alone is the source of our light.  Without him, we remain in darkness, stubbornly holding on to the lie that we are not in the darkness.  God can and will and wants to save us, to illumine us to the true state of our condition and the depths of his grace and willingness to forgive.
  We just have to open our hearts and lives to the reality of our condition, and let God draw us into the light.

May you be in awe of God's desire to forgive

Psalm 81

Psalm 81
 New Life Version (NLV) 

  God wants to be in constant relationship with us.  God wants to fill us with riches and wonder.  God wants to rain down blessings upon us.  God reminds us of those times he has done so in the past, and he has a hope for the future that we might continue to position ourselves to receive his mercy in the future.  God doesn't want to see sin derail your life and your relationship with him and others.
  But we listen to other voices.  We listen to the demanding voices around us, telling us to hurry up and to keep up.  We listen to the insistent voice within us, telling us that we can't possibly be good enough, that we're fraudulent and will soon be revealed.  We quake in fear at the thought of people seeing us as we really are.
  If only we would listen to God.  If only we would tune our ears to hear the still small voice that reminds us that we are beloved children of the covenant, blessed by God and claimed by him through the waters of baptism.  If only we would remember that we have no need to fear, though the mountains tumble into the sea, for he is ours and we are his and he loves,

May you remember that God is love

Psalm 80:8-19

Psalm 80:8-19
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

  Reach out, God.
  Reach out.
  We pray for God to reach out, to reach down from the heavens, and intervene for us.  We pray for God to lead us and guide us and protect us.
  May we also remember to reach out to God.  May we remember to offer our prayers, our thoughts, our actions and our lives to God, making it a two way conversation.  While I believe that God reaches down to save, I also believe that our faith needs to be lifting our hearts and minds up to God, offering ourselves, reaching to God as God reaches to us.

May your mind be reaching to God today

Psalm 80:1-7

Psalm 80:1-7
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

  We ask for blessing, and it seems as though God forgets.  We end up with tears, with pain, with struggle.  We wonder why.
  In the short-term, I often do the same.  I wonder why some things are so hard, why some relationships fall apart, why I must endure certain things.  I wonder where God is in the midst.
  But there God is, our Shepherd, leading us.  There is God, leading us like sheep, caring for us in the midst of our lives, leading us forward and watching over us.  Our pain is temporary.  It shall not endure, but the grace of Almighty God shall, and we shall be led through pain and suffering into triumph.

May you trust in God's future