Day 14 - Psalm 39

I'm too tired to write this. I had a lousy day...nothing went right! I can't write anything worthwhile. I can't control my tongue when I need to, can't stop from saying hurtful things. My life is so short, I feel like it's hardly worth the effort.

Not really. But I've had...we've all had...tough times. I know, I know. David was a man after God's own heart, right? Yes. He was a man. Prone to feeling everything we do. And that's what makes David such a tremendous example of God's strength and provision.

At the point where David was feeling he was somewhere just south of worthless, he calls out to God. Acknowledging God's sovereignty, David prays for His deliverance...for His sustaining. David prayed not to be a mockery before fools, knowing he was a servant of the one true God. At his lowest, David knew where to go for help. He knew his Father would be there and be strong enough to pick him up (again).

And though David knew the power of God, the real distance between creature and creator, he called out. David didn't let his condition prevent him from calling out to the One who created the universe, every blade of grass and every star in the sky (who He knows by name!!). How unworthy must David have been feeling?

Hitting close to home? Knowing how frail, fleeting, and sadly, vain, we are, how dare we open our mouths to God...to the King of Kings? How dare you! But He wants us to. He created this life and caused us to be born in this exact time and place. He knew what needed to happen inside and around us to refine us, to allow us to live in his service, and to see our absolute need of Him. He gave us choice and wants us to exercise it...even when we feel so unworthy, so entirely inadequate.

But watch out, 'cause those are the folks He uses most powerfully.

So David asks the Lord to strengthen him so that he may continue in His service. David saw nothing else of real worth.

Pray to the Lord. He is - yesterday, today, and forever - interested in our lives, in bringing us back to him. When you're down, look up. Open your heart and your mouth to God. He created you, has set great value on you, and will work through you to bring glory to his name.

And that's all I got to say about that.

- submitted by Norm and Melissa Wilson

Day 13 - Psalm 36

These are the words of Matthew Henry in Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:

The bad state of the wicked

From this psalm our hearts should be duly affected with hatred of sin, and seek satisfaction in God's loving-kindness. Here is the root of bitterness, from which all the wickedness of wicked men comes. It takes rise from contempt of God, and the want of due regard to him. Also from the deceit they put upon their own souls. Let us daily beg of God to preserve us from self-flattery. Sin is very hurtful to the sinner himself, and therefore ought to be hateful; but it is not so. It is no marvel, if those that deceive themselves, seek to deceive all mankind; to whom will they be true, who are false to their own souls? It is bad to do mischief, but worse to devise it, to do it with plot and management. If we willingly banish holy meditations in our solitary hours, Satan will soon occupy our minds with sinful imaginations. Hardened sinners stand to what they have done, as though they could justify it before God himself. (Psalm 36:5-12)

The goodness of God

Men may shut up their compassion, yet, with God we shall find mercy. This is great comfort to all believers, plainly to be seen, and not to be taken away. God does all wisely and well; but what he does we know not now, it is time enough to know hereafter. God's loving-kindness is precious to the saints. They put themselves under his protection, and then are safe and easy. Gracious souls, though still desiring more of God, never desire more than God. The gifts of Providence so far satisfy them, that they are content with such things as they have. The benefit of holy ordinances is sweet to a sanctified soul, and strengthening to the spiritual and Divine life. But full satisfaction is reserved for the future state. Their joys shall be constant. God not only works in them a gracious desire for these pleasures, but by his Spirit fills their souls with joy and peace in believing. He quickens whom he will; and whoever will, may come, and take from him of the waters of life freely. May we know, and love, and uprightly serve the Lord; then no proud enemy, on earth or from hell, shall separate us from his love. Faith calleth things that are not, as though they were. It carries us forward to the end of time; it shows us the Lord, on his throne of judgment; the empire of sin fallen to rise no more.

- submitted by Bob Diamond

Day 12 - Psalm 33

I think that if I was to be 100% honest about what I thought when reading Psalm 33, I would have to say that I feel afraid. While I realize this is not the normal reaction to a psalm that praises the greatness of the Lord, to me it really brings home the power of the God that we serve. So often today it seems our faith has become apathetic to who God really is...that he did come in the form of a man and do things that were and are beyond the scope of science and technology. Think about it. Jesus simply healed people. God is simple too, in a way.

God simply does. That is what Psalm 33 is all about.

The first part of the psalm is about how God created everything with the simple sound of his voice, and about how we should worship, praise, and fear him because of this and because of his greatness.  The second part is the part that brings the fear to my heart. God is everywhere and he not only can see every physical action we do, but he knows every thought that we have too.

While I think there are a few members of PR who would volunteer to be in a Truman Show-type world, most of us would shy away from such scrutiny. We like our privacy. This is why we have fences, blinds, shades, hedges, and of course doors, all around us: to keep our private lives private. We have made our world one that is based on selective knowledge and experience. We share some things with others and some things we don't share with anyone. God however doesn't work like this. With better x-ray vision than Superman, God sees over our hedges, through our doors, and even into our hearts no matter how closed off we try to make ourselves.

For many, the greatest fear we have is the idea that, "If someone really knew me, they wouldn't like me." Sound familiar? I think this is what makes this passage so scary. The thought that God knows what we are really thinking. God knows what we really desire. God knows who we really are. This is truly frightening because we are all flawed. We are all sinners. We are all near constant disappointments and screw-ups...and then comes the amazing part:

God loves us anyway.

This staggering truth causes us to honestly stand in awe, wonder, and praise of our creator. As the psalm goes on, we find out that nations and people alike who trust in God are rewarded. But for those who don't trust him, no army is large enough, no warrior strong enough, no technology great enough to save. For over 200 years the United States of America has openly and collectively said, "In God We Trust." Now as such trust begins to fall away for some, the truth always remains the same. God is God and we are only as great as our faith in him. Be it as a nation or a neophyte, we must believe and respect God for who he simply is.

- submitted by Nolan Davis

Day 11 - Psalm 31

It is believed that Psalm 31 was written while David was on the run from Saul, who was trying to kill him. It is a conflicted Psalm. One the one hand, the Psalmist talks about utter despair while on the other, he talks about his utter confidence that God will be his refuge.

What do you do when you find yourself in crisis? David reminds us in verses 1-8 and again in verses 9-17 that he has been in similar trials before and God is trustworthy. Out of trust and prayer come confidence and a true vision of our identity and significance; not just our significance right now, but a significance that lasts through eternity. We are actually immortal beings!  Notice that David said, “I commend my spirit to you.” He understands that his body is temporary. We were placed here for a reason, and God’s plan will be victorious! I don’t know about you, but when a crisis comes my way, I start trying to fix it myself instead of looking at it with a vision of eternity. I am terribly nearsighted. I need to cultivate an imagination for the eternal.

This Psalm is quoted twice in the New Testament, both times during death scenes.  Luke 23:46 says, "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, 'Father, into they hands I comment my spirit.'"

Again when Stephen was being stoned he said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59).  

David’s prayer to God, in the Psalm is a desperate plea for rescue from death’s dark spirit.

Also in this passage, David is being slandered and maligned by those he described as "neighbors". Being rejected by people you know and love is crushing. David experienced a lot of rejection in his life from those he loved, people in whom he had invested his life’s energies. Is that where you find yourself today? We all are afraid of rejection and will create many masks to try and keep rejection at bay. The only thing that works, however, is to know that God, through Jesus’ work on the cross, will not reject us. 

David understood where to turn for refuge. He understood that God’s unfailing love would always be available. Had I been in his circumstances, I would have been reaching for Chocolate. Oh Lord, help me to turn to you first and to trust you to provide what I need.

- submitted by Sandy Welfare

Day 10 - Psalm 28

So this is one of those "more questions than answers" moments.  David opens up by acknowledging his absolute reliance on God.  He says, "If you don't answer, if you're not there, then I'm lost.  And oh, by the way, cut down those folks that don't follow you."

What?  Didn't Jesus say to love your enemies?  "Do good to them which hate you" (Luke 6:27).  But David was a man after God's own heart...he wouldn't say something so directly in conflict with what His Son taught, right?

It's almost laughable that with our finite minds and bloated sense of self, we feel like we even have the capability to fully understand and appreciate what God has given us through His word. Why would David pray for God to cut down anyone? Didn't anyone ever tell him "be careful what you ask for"?  No one has earned or deserves the grace that God extends.

But David was being open and honest with the Lord.  David knew...I mean with down deep, behavior changing conviction...KNEW that God could see into every corner of his heart.  The Lord knew the good, the bad, and the ugly (even before the film, how cool is that?).  So David saw no value in hiding anything from the Lord.  David's zeal for the Lord was the source of that prayer.  David wanted to see God's justice poured out upon those that were flippant with His holy name...who knew but failed to repent and follow.

So why do we have such a hard time peeling off all the trappings of this temporal place to have an honest discussion in prayer with our Father?  I mean, do you think you're pulling one over on Him if you only say the "good things"?  He knows your heart...He knows mine.  David's example is not in contradiction.  It's the honest prayer of a man who realized the omnipresence and omniscience of God.

Beyond the holy Q&A, we can't miss that regardless of how God chooses to answer David's prayer, David keeps his bearings.  He doesn't lose focus on what's most important...recognizing God's involvement in his life.  David says the Lord is his "strength, his shield", that "my heart trusted in him and I am helped." That was it and that was enough.  David's heart trusted in the Lord and he was helped.

May it be so with you and with me for all the days the Lord has chosen to bless us with...that our hearts may trust (I mean really trust) in the Lord and be helped.

- submitted by Norm and Melissa Wilson

Day 9 - Psalm 25

Do It God's Way

Psalm 25 could be cut right out of today's headlines.  Christians and the nation of Israel are being tormented by people who either don't care or who don't want to understand their motives.  Either way, the answer is the same:  if you do it God's way, you will have confidence that when you pray God will hear you, that he will forgive your sins and that he will help you through troubled times.

Have confidence that God answers prayer

In worshipping God, we must lift up our souls to him.  It is certain that none who, by a believing attendance wait on God and by a believing hope wait for him, shall be ashamed of it.  The most advanced believer both needs and desires to be taught of God.  If we sincerely desire to know our duty, with resolution to do it, we may be sure that God will direct us in it.

King David is earnest for the pardon of his sins.  When God pardons sin, he is said to remember it no more, which denotes full remission.  It is God's goodness and not ours, his mercy and not our merit, that must be our plea for the pardon of sin, and all the good we need.

This plea we must rely upon, feeling our own unworthiness, and satisfied of the riches of God's mercy and grace.

How boundless is that mercy which covers forever the sins and follies of a youth spent without God and without hope!

Blessed be the Lord, the blood of the great Sacrifice can wash away every stain. (Psalm 25:1-7)

Pray for remission of your sins

We are all sinners; and Christ came into the world to save sinners, to teach sinners, to call sinners to repentance. We value a promise by the character of him that makes it; we therefore depend upon God's promises.  All the paths of the Lord, that is all his promises and all his providences, are mercy and truth.

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth; and so it will appear when they come to their journey's end.  Those that are humble, that distrust themselves, and desire to be taught and to follow Divine guidance, these he will guide in judgment, that is by the rule of the written word, to find rest for their souls in the Savior. Even when the body is sick and in pain, the soul may be at ease in God.  (Psalm 25:8-14)

Pray for help in troubled times

David concludes, as he began, with expressing dependence upon God and desire toward him. It is good thus to hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.  And God turns to us, no matter who turns from us.  He pleads his own integrity.

Though guilty before God, yet as to his enemies, he had the testimony of conscience that he had done them no wrong.  God would at length give Israel rest from all their enemies round about.  In heaven, God's Israel will be perfectly redeemed from all troubles.

Blessed Savior, thou has graciously taught us that without thee we can do nothing.  Do thou teach us how to pray, how to appear before thee in the way which thou shalt choose, and how to lift up our whole hearts and desires after thee, for thou art the Lord our righteousness.  (Psalm 25:15-22)

- submitted by Bob Diamond

Day 8 - Psalm 22

Have you ever prayed for something so many times that you thought God just had to be tired of hearing from you?  I have...and often thought He must be thinking, "Oh no!  Here comes Holly again with that same, tired, old prayer!  What am I gonna do with that girl?"

Thankfully, God doesn't respond that way and has been known to answer when we are the most persistent (ask Hannah or Hezekiah).

There is a prayer I've prayed for so many years that I've often joked that I could have written one of David's "How long, O Lord?" Psalms.  Isn't it just like God to give me Psalm 22 to blog about today when David asks the question that has probably been on the tip of many of our tongues many times, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  We recognize this too as quoted by Jesus on the cross but also because when we are really honest and really get past our church-y responses, deep down, we all know we have asked this question before.

And for me, when I felt the most forsaken and decided to take matters into my own hands, certain that I could answer my own prayer, that's when I fell flat on my face in the cycle of addiction.  I looked up one day and realized that in my misguided attempt to be my own god, I had been "poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.  My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death" (verses 14-15).

Maybe you have been there.  Maybe you are headed there today.  Maybe you have already arrived and are wondering just how to get out of the mess you have made.  David goes on to remind us that the Lord is our strength (v. 19), that he can deliver and rescue us (v. 20-21), that he does not despise the afflicted or hidden his face from them but that he has listened to our cries for help (v. 24).

It is only when we are willing to humble ourselves and reach out to him that we will find that he has not walked away.  He gladly reaches out his arm and pulls us out of the pit of our own making.

And maybe, just his presence is the real answer to all our prayers anyway.

- submitted by Holly Barrett

Day 7 - Psalm 19

My Soul Inspiration

I can do many things in this life; drawing is not one of them. In fact, it was the only class that I failed in college, and I took it as an elective! So much for my dreams of being the next Leonardo or being on the hit TV show this fall, “So You Think You Can Draw?” 

For those who do have such talent I am always amazed at their work. Often when I admire a piece of art I wonder where the artist got their inspiration. I wonder where and when they figured out that the next line they drew would be the last line and that the work was now “finished”. Psalm 19 turned out to be pretty inspiring to me. For whatever reason (or maybe for ones that I can’t explain), I was moved to write this. I hope that my reflection on David’s words inspires you to greatness today. 

Be it word, in deed, or even in drawing.

WHO AM I? I AM HIS.

It was the perfect time of day. The time where the sun finally catches the horizon in its fiery grasp. The brightness fades and the colors grey as we stand: watching, waiting, praising. 

A friend reminds me that the Earth remains in silence so that the Father can hear man's feeble praise. So that God can hear my feeble "Please..." There seems little that I can fathom or understand beyond "my needs", "my wants", and "my life". However, I have been afforded a life a little lower then the angels as a creation of the Most High. 

I stand with my eyes to the hills as the sky mellows further into what seems like forever as day gives way to night. I hear the sirens in the distance. They call my name with their seductive song of wealth and glory, and yet my friend says, "Do it for My glory not yours." I turn towards his face of love that reflects all the light of goodness I have ever known. 

"I have so many questions my Lord. Who am I that I should be used by you to reach these people? What if they don't believe me? What if I am not good enough or what they need? What if I stumble? What if I fail?" He gently takes my hand and says, "Then I will love you as I love them: just as you are. For I have placed you where I need you. I equipped you for this task before you were born. I have led you all the way, even when you didn't want to follow; and I shall lead you home. Do not worry if the World does not accept you or understand, for they did not accept or understand me first. You are my beloved child, and I will be with you always. Even until the end of this Earth." With that I found myself alone. I wondered if it was all just a dream or did it really mean that I am who He is making me to be. 

And just as the thought crossed my brain the wind kissed my face and I knew: I am His.

- submitted by Nolan Davis

Day 6 - Psalm 16

When I read Psalm 16, I see a psalmist who is totally secure in his faith.  He knows where to turn for refuge.

As I write this post, I need refuge.  I found out this morning that I was suckered in one of those Craig's List scams that you hear so much about.  It was one of those things where I did all the right things to check before I jumped, but I still jumped.  As a result, we lost some money and I'm sitting here thinking about how foolish I feel and how angry I am.  I kept my word; they used me and stole  from me. 

So the question arises: who can I trust and where is my security?

"I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 16:8)

I have to admit, I feel pretty shaken right now.  I can tell myself that it's only  money, which it is.  I think the hard thing for me is that I generally trust people and my trust has been shaken.  I have to remind myself that this disappointment in another human being will seem meaningless when I am in His presence, standing at His right hand.

In the meantime, Lord, help me to rejoice in you as my refuge.  I pray that my security and confidence rest in you and you alone.

- submitted by Sandy Welfare

Day 5 - Psalm 13

Man...have you ever felt like no one was listening...like God turned the channel and you just couldn't get an answer?  Two thousand years later and we still struggle with where we want God to be, when we want him to be there, and how he should answer.

In the 13th Psalm, David is in a spot where he's calling out to God, but God is silent.  Many times in our lives we feel like God's not returning our email, listening to our voice messages, or even reading our texts.  He's not answering...but why do we struggle with that?  Why is it bad that God doesn't cater to the whims of his children?  He knows what's best for us, even when we firmly believe that we know...maybe even think we know better (due caution here, kids).

God provides instruction and circumstance to "be still and know."  He's done it throughout scripture, and thankfully, is still in the practice today.  God knows that sometimes we need to struggle in order to know again the desire to return to the Father...to know the unconditional love and grace the Father gives to his children.  We have to feel the cold to appreciate the warmth...get caught in the rain to appreciate being dry...and experience loss to truly know life.

And beyond ourselves, God provides opportunity for growth to not only allow us to see our own faith galvanized, but to be built up such that we can turn around and help someone else up who's struggling with the same thing we've been through, only by the grace of God.

Back to David.  What he shows us not only the feeling of separation, but the reality of his faith.  He cries out to God and feels alone.  But David acknowledges the truth.  He tells us that despite what he feels, he knows God is there and that he can trust God's mercy and unfailing love...and rejoice in his salvation.  David ends with the most important part, and so will we.

Even when you feel alone, know that God is with you, that he cares for you because you are his child.  Take comfort that the One who created all things, knows the hairs on your head and was willing to watch his only Son die on a cross...for you.

- submitted by Norm and Melissa Wilson

Day 4 - Psalm 10

In Psalm 10 we read that David looked around and saw that the wicked were prospering at the same time that they were defying God and preying on the weak and defenseless. David’s own experience had taught him that God is in charge. David then prays for God to calm the unrest in Israel and for Him to even the score with the wicked.

We have learned in other Psalms and in the Biblical annals of his exploits that David was a man after God’s own heart.

In Acts Paul the Apostle pointed out that even with all of his faults that David was willing to do all that God would ask him to. We know that King David was a flawed individual and that he continually made bad decisions. What set David apart was that he totally trusted God and that he prayed about everything.

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” – Acts 13:22 (NIV)

Psalm 10 is just another example of David praying for God to intervene in his own and in others behalf.  David prayed about everything. He prayed before going into battle. He prayed when he was happy and he prayed when he was afraid.  That’s what set David apart and that’s what I think is the message for us today.

There is evil all around us. It is up to us to do our best not to become a victim of the evildoers and to pray without ceasing; but, that it is God’s job to settle the score. 

We know that since God is just that there will be justice.

- submitted by Bob Diamond

Day 3 - Psalm 7

The Fight for the Right

Have you ever been sure? No, not like the early '90's deodorant commercials, but sure that you had done something. Sure that you had turned off the stove. Sure that you had let the dog out before you left. Sure that you were in the right and the other person was clearly in the wrong. Would you bet your life on it?  David did in Psalm 7. He was that sure.

The whole Psalm starts out being described as a song that David sang to the Lord concerning a guy named Cush who is of the tribe of Benjamin. So straight off we are talking about an Israeli on Israeli crime here. Which I think, given what's to come, makes this Psalm all the stranger.  It's not like we are talking about taking out the Hittites or the Egyptians here. We are talking about going up against your next door neighbor.

Or to put it in today's terms: a fellow church member.

In the context of the Psalm, we aren't really sure what has happened, but it must not have been good. David starts off by calling the Lord his "refuge" and points out the obvious that without God, he will be torn to bits by his enemies. Nothing too revolutionary here. We need God in all that we do or else we are nothing. It's a theme that David will acknowledge over and over again in all of his writings in the hope that we may acknowledge the same in our lives. Next though, he gets into the meat of what this Psalm is really about:  Justice.

Amazingly, David goes on to ask the Lord to be just in his judgment of the situation, and that if David is in the wrong, "then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground; and make me sleep in the dust." Wow, strong words from a man who is King over all of Israel! He is sure that he has done no wrong that he asks God to let his enemy (Cush from the tribe of Benjamin) trample on him until he dies and sleeps in the dust. Now, I have been sure of some things in my life, but I have rarely been sure enough of my actions that I would call out to God and say that if I am wrong, may he take my life right now, and knowing that he would. That is the kind of confidence that doesn't come around every day. Then David flips to the other side of the coin:  what if David is right and Cush is wrong?

Now David calls upon God to become a righteous judge of both David and Cush. The funny thing is that for all the very heavy language that David uses, he never asks God to kill Cush. There are plenty of times in other Psalms where David uses the allegory of battle to ask the Lord to kill his enemies, but not here. Instead David stays true to hi first request that God will be just in his judgment. Read carefully the last half of the Psalm. For all the violent images of sharpening swords and flaming arrows, David never asks God to go to war against Cush. Check out verse 6: "Arise, O Lord, in your anger; rise up against he rage of of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice."

See that? David asks God to rise up against Cush's rage, not against Cush himself! David doesn't want harm to come to someone within his own house. Instead he calls on God to do battle against Cush's emotional reactions. To me this speaks to much of what we are called to do against others we fight against who are members of the body of Christ.

There is a big difference between praying for God to make Sister So-and-So's life miserable and praying that God will go to battle against the injustice between the two of you and the unhealthy anger that the situation is bringing about. David may have bet his life that he was right, but he did so not against Cush's life, but against Cush's heart. This the kind of sure, compassionate, and dramatic request that David often asked of God. Upon close examination of the Psalm, you can truly see the love behind the anger that David has for Cush, who is his spiritual brother.

In the end, David asks for two things. One is that above all, justice will be served on either himself or on Cush. And two, that the evil that is being caused by the person's actions be turned around on them. The last few lines of the Psalm talk about the person falling into a pit of their own digging, or that "the trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head." While it is not made clears as to who the Lord found to be right in this particular situation, the lesson of how to deal with intra-faith disagreements rings true. Ask not for the Lord to kick Brother Busy-Body from the Church, instead ask the Lord hat justice be served and that the wrong be righted. It takes a lot of faith to ask God to judge you honestly, but the reward can be just what is needed. As always we must remember that this life is not about our body, but about the Lord's Body, and he will do anything to protect it.

- submitted by Nolan Davis

Day 2 - Psalm 4

“God, do you hear me? Do you care?” This was David’s cry. If we live long enough, we will have painful dreams and desires that go unmet. Things will go wrong that God will not fix. Where is God in those times? In my opinion, he’s close during those times, but he chooses to remain silent. He’s stretching us to reach out in faith to him and not the idols of our hearts. He’s saying, “How much do you desire me, not just to fix your problems, but truly desire a relationship with me?” When is the last time I have cried out to God to know his presence and his love for me without asking him for something? David says that we lust after lies and illusions when we ought to be passionately pursuing a relationship with the God who created us; who chose us to be his beloved ones.

I read something recently that made me stop and think. It was written by Larry Crabb, and he always makes me think more deeply that I desire. He said that he thought the OT people who were chosen by God would be jealous of the relationship that we can have with God. Think about it, God promised that a day would come when there would be no need to physically go to the temple to be in his presence. There would be no need for sacrifices and the law would be useless. His presence would dwell within. To them, that was a radical idea that required considerable faith. The desire for a relationship with God would live within us! His spirit would live within us! I don’t know about you, but I find myself asking God to show me his presence by giving me blessings; make my life comfortable and then I’ll know he's there. He’s there all along, wanting us to stretch out and seek a relationship with him; not what he can do for us.

Try it today. Reach out to God in prayer, and don’t ask for anything. Just try to know him better. That may mean that instead of crying out for him, we remain silent and listen.

- submitted by Sandy Welfare

Day 1 - Psalm 1

Welcome to Summer in the Psalms! We will spend the next 50 days reading selected Psalms and engaging in a conversation about what God is speaking to us through His word. Click on the Reading Schedule tab at the top of the blog home page to find out which Psalms we are reading each day....and click on the Contributors tab to learn a little more about each blogger.

Finally, when you have read the Psalm for the day and the blog post for that day, click on Comment at the end of the blog post and tell us your thoughts. We'd love to have a conversation with you!

So, on the first day it seemed appropriate to start with the first Psalm. I love, love, love this Psalm in The Message. It starts with, "How well God must like you..." We hear a lot about how much God loves us and we know that He loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us. But deep down inside, I think that we sometimes think that God may love us, but He sure doesn't like us much.

And nothing could be further from the truth. God delights in our presence and longs for us to come to Him for the first time or the 15th time or the 71st time. He is looking for us every day (sound familiar?).

The Psalmist here indicates that God is especially pleased with us when we delight enough in Him to meditate on His word (or "chew on Scripture" as The Message puts it). When we are thrilled by God's word, it becomes a part of who we are. It directs our paths, bears fruit in us, and distinguishes us from the wicked who have no excuse for the way they live.

I am often convicted that we don't...I don't...take the very word of God seriously enough. Bibles are easy to get. I have plenty in my home and can access any version I choose on the Internet. But what would my life be like if I didn't have a Bible? Would I be more hungry for it? Would I get up early every day to read it? Would I cherish every moment spent in its pages?

I pray that this journey through the Psalms will help us all to become more hungry for God's word. Let us chew on scripture together for it is the living water for our thirsty souls.

- submitted by Holly Barrett