Sept 1; Day 50; Psalm 50; ASAPH SPEAKS

Key Verse: “Our God approaches, and He is not silent, fire devours everything in His way, and a great storm rages around Him.” (v. 3)

Key Theme: God as supreme and the righteous judge of the earth.

Key Descriptives of God: Mighty God; Righteous Judge

This feels like a very significant day. We begin a new month, it is day 50 and we are 17 days from Psalm 67 and Rosh Hashanah. This chapter aligns with our actual realities in so many ways. Of note, this is the first Psalm that is listed as authored by Asaph, the most renowned of David’s musicians. He is mentioned in some detail in 1st and 2nd Chronicles and was a skilled singer, poet and seer as well. This is his only Psalm among the first 67.

SUMMONING ALL HUMANITY

“He has summoned all humanity” is the key line of the first verse. What we are about to hear is God calling everyone into account. He will further identify them as MY PEOPLE in verse 4, and then reclassify them as “My faithful people” in verse 5 and “the wicked” in verse 16. It all ends with a powerful truth for all in the final verse 23, “But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me. If you keep to My path, I will reveal the SALVATION of God.” What revelation in the last line. As you may by now recognize that word “salvation” is in Hebrew YESHUA which was Jesus' Hebrew name. Essentially, to all humanity He was and is saying, “When you honor Me by thanking and acknowledging Me in your words, you are on the very path that will lead you to Jesus— who is your Salvation."

OUT OF ZION

"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.” (v.2) What a mouthful is said by Asaph, who spoke with great prophetic insight. Zion is another descriptive for Jerusalem. Here Jesus gave His life for all of humanity, here He rose from the dead, and here the long-awaited and promised Holy Spirit made His entry into our world. “God will shine forth” is truly the understatement of the ages.

A GREAT STORM RAGES AROUND HIM

Now our key verse for today. “Our God approaches, and He is not silent, fire devours everything in His way, and a great storm rages around Him.” This is a huge 2020 reality. “Our God approaches”, is always when the Lord chooses to “make His face shine" UPON some and AGAINST others. God approaching is like the literal sun approaching. It atmospherically changes everything. “Fire devours everything IN HIS WAY.” This is not a time to be “in His way” whether in society or in the church. “A GREAT STORM rages around Him”. We heard so much about how God was coming in 5780 (Hebraic calendar) and in 2020. Well He is. A special visitation means a special “great storm”. He does not command a storm to happen it just “rages” around Him. When “God approaches” He comes not into a vacuum but He displaces IN HIS WAY stuff. The King and His Kingdom are disruptive. A “raging storm” does not evidence more of Satan’s control, it evidences more of God’s control. As Nahum 1:3 says “He will have His way in the storm”. I released a word last night on my Facebook that in September He is calling US to be the storm of this month. Be the storm or Face the storm.

HE IS NOT SILENT

“He is not silent”. In the year of the masked mouths (PEY in Hebrew) and the virus that attacks breath (also PEY in Hebrew), our God is decidedly NOT SILENT. He is the One individual who has not put a mask on in 2020. He approaches. He is speaking. He is roaring. Perhaps there has been a measure of appropriate “let the earth be silent” in 2020, so we could all come under His gaze, His mouth, His face and thus properly RESET. But of course a “reset" that goes on too long implies a fatal crash in the hard drive. It is time to be done with that.

LET THE HEAVENS PROCLAIM HIS JUSTICE

“Then let the heavens proclaim His JUSTICE; for God Himself will be the judge.” (v.6) This is a huge verse for us today. There is a proclaiming of JUSTICE that is in this “our God approaches”. And in this time where we wonder if our own justice system will work as it should against the exposed evildoers, “GOD HIMSELF will be the judge.” This is not just “one day” God will judge, but as He approaches us in 2020 The Summer of His Love, God WILL be the judge.

ALL THE WORLD IS MINE

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you for ALL THE WORLD IS MINE AND EVERYTHING IN IT” (v.12) This could have easily been “the key verse” as well. Again for those who say God doesn’t really have this kind of sovereignty because Satan is “the prince of the air” and man has been given authority— put this in your pipe and smoke it . (Sorry, I picked up from God’s own feistiness in this verse) Notice this was all even BEFORE JESUS reclaimed anything lost through His blood on the cross. ALL is His and EVERYTHING IN IT is His. Creator’s rights. Is that clear?

MAKE THANKFULNESS YOUR SACRIFICE

“Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God” (v.14). This focus on “thankfulness” is a prevailing theme of Psalm 50. I already read the last verse that emphasized that as being the pathway to YESHUA. When this verse later says “keep your vows” it is still speaking of this. Vows of thanksgiving. Ultimately all of our firstfruits and other giving is to be with that focus. As He just made “attitudinally” clear, HE doesn’t need OUR charity. It is verse 10 here that has the very famous, “I own the cattle on a thousand hills”. That was said not in the context of “and I want to share with you” but in the context of “I don’t need what you have to give Me.” He just wants acknowledgement that you can see Him. That is what thanksgiving and thankfulness is all about. Absence of gratitude simply implies absence of seeing Him. How can one’s Creator be out of one’s purview?

THE WICKED?

As we close today, it is worth noting what is addressed as “wicked”. They didn’t have “saved” versus “unsaved” categories in Psalms. #1, “You hate instruction”— an unteachable spirit. #2, “You approve of thieves and endorse adulterers”,— thieves and adulterers of the highest order are being exposed. It made the news only a few days ago that 350 faith leaders just came out endorsing Biden citing “need of moral leadership”!!! A man tied into the thievery of billions of dollars and of moral inappropriateness of the highest level. I think that qualifies as “wicked”. #3, “Your tongue frames deceit”, the evil of fake, distorted and suppressive “news” qualifies as part of this “wickedness”. Verse 23, “These things you have done AND I KEPT SILENT;” Past tense. Now in the 80’s decade of the Hebraic calendar HIS mouth (PEY) will no longer keep silent. “YOU THOUGHT I WAS ALTOGETHER LIKE YOU” (v.21). What a massive deception that is and one all of us need not to fall in. We don’t make a God in our image. That is a catastrophic distortion that can not be made. Let us be sure we are the ones always upgrading (being transformed into HIS image) and not Him the One being downgraded into ours.

Aug 31, Day 49; Psalm 49; REDEMPTION

Key Verse: “But as for me, God will redeem my life, He will snatch me from the power of the grave (HELL).” (v.15)

Key Theme: Death, Wealth, Hell and Redemption

Key Descriptive of God: Redeemer (v.15)

Today we have a very horizontal chapter. By this I mean there is not the normal talking to or about God. The Psalmist begins with, “Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world!” (v.1). He will then go on to speak of DEATH (14 times), WEALTH (10 times), HELL (5 times) and REDEMPTION (5 times). The depth of theme makes me believe it is David even if Psalm 49 is presented as being of the sons of Korah. As I said before I believe there might be some virtual ghostwriting taking place in the book of Psalms. There is a way ahead-of-time revelation that is foundational to basic Christianity.

DEATH

The inevitability of death is almost morbidly expounded on. “They die just like animals” (v.12), “death will be their shepherd” (v.14), “their bodies will rot in the grave” (v.15), “they will die just like animals”(v.20). If this is David speaking, he is being the typical crusade evangelist for one chapter. “Where will you go if you die today?” We already know the urgency of tone from his first verse, “Listen!”, “Pay Attention!” In verse 13, after speaking of “dying like animals” he says “This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise.” He is having an intentionally jolting conversation and especially with the wealthy.

WEALTH

“They trust in their wealth and boast in great riches, Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.” (v. 6,7) Over and over the Psalmist will explore this theme. In verse 10, he reminds them that they leave their wealth behind when they die and that NONE of it goes with them. In verse 11, they can even name their estates after themselves but it is staying behind as well. Verse 17, when you die NOTHING goes with you. As I said, this chapter seemed to be specifically targeting the rich and comfortable who might be lulled into deception by that wealth.

HELL

It is the word “grave” that is used 5 times, but in Hebrew that is the word SHEOL which is the word for HELL (though it can mean “grave” or “the pit”). Verses 8 and 9, the Psalmist communicates that you can’t pay enough to not end up in hell. No amount of money can cover that price. Over and over he reminds, “death is coming, wealth can’t buy you eternal life, and hell is waiting for you.” Amazing how the Psalmist will know the appeal to sinners message 1000 years before the Redeemer of the world will show up. But as we have seen, David was seemingly ahead in everything.

REDEMPTION

This is where we get to the key verse. “But as for me, God will REDEEM my life, He will snatch me from the power of SHEOL/HELL” (v.15). Truly remarkable, the Psalmist insight from his Old Testament vantage point. He will use the words REDEEM, RANSOM, PRICE, REDEMPTION and never be mentioning sacrifices or offerings. He does not say “but my sheep will redeem my life.” He had received the New Testament revelation that everything to do with sacrifices and burnt offerings was ultimately speaking into a much higher truth. The word “redeem” in the Hebrew word here is PADAH and it means “to redeem by paying a price; to let go; to set free from servitude; to deliver life from danger;”. How did the Psalmist/David know about all the nuances of Redemption? As he said in verse 8, “ for no one can ever pay enough”. See, even the sacrifices and burnt offering model suggested one could pay enough— but the Psalmist knew that only God Himself could pay this price, “GOD will REDEEM my life.” Somehow, in some way he had seen God in the future making the provision for sin that would “snatch” him out of the grasp of hell. Truly, the book of Psalms seems to cover all aspects of life and doctrine— and especially so when viewing it in hindsight in the light of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Today we relive the joy of our salvation. May that aspect of His face shine upon you today.

Aug 30; Day 48; Psalm 48; JERUSALEM!

Key Verse: “ Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King!” (v.2)

Key Theme: A chapter praising Jerusalem

Key Descriptive of God: Great; Defender of Jerusalem

Today a truly fascinating Psalm with an unbelievable treasure of a message. Read the 14 verses of this chapter and there is one theme— Jerusalem. Sometimes called Mt.Zion (and depending on your translation), Zion, or City of God, it is a Psalm where the Psalmist highlights the close relationship God has with Jerusalem. As it says in verse 3, “God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.” Verse 8, calls it, “the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. It is the city of our God, He will make it safe forever.” Wow, has that last line been under contradiction.

JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH?

In our key verse 2, Jerusalem is called “The joy of the whole earth”. What a prophetic passage yet to be fulfilled! Today, perhaps 3000 years after this declaration, Jerusalem seems more like “The consternation of the whole earth.” Nor is this something recent. Jerusalem has a history of at least 5500 years. In known “modern history” it has been attacked 52 times, captured or recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and completely destroyed 2 times. It has had many partial destructions mixed in all that history. It has been ruled by Romans, Persians, Arabs, Crusaders, Turks, Egyptians and Islamists. 3 major world religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam view it as a holy city and a spiritual headquarters of some sorts. That is over half the population of the world. The whole world went into uproar when President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s official and “forever” capital. While not yet “the joy of the whole earth” the city is definitely "the center of attention" of the whole earth. No city on earth carries the attention this ancient Jebusite stronghold does. Why?

WHY IS JERUSALEM SPECIAL?

This was an amazing discovery I made years ago and in it there is such a lesson for us today. What made Jerusalem so special? How did it become this “city of God”? Prior to David there was no instruction on or spotlighting of Jerusalem. In fact it did not become Jerusalem by name until David gave it that name about 1000 years BC. When David as King conquered the Jebusites, their stronghold city was Jebus where they got their name from. Jebus (meaning “downtrodden or depressed”) was renamed Jerusalem by David. It was nothing special before David nor do we ever here of an original utopian “Garden of Eden” moment for it. Depressed and downtrodden people had it as their capital and identity and David took it and declared it a “City of God” and “joy of the whole earth.” In fact we know Isaiah also said that we are to give God no rest “until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in all the earth” (Is. 62:7). Even seemingly the most undiscerning person on the planet can see there is something totally otherworldly about Jerusalem. But the question remains WHY?

BECAUSE DAVID WAS SPECIAL

So, I just gave the answer. Jerusalem was special because David was special. What an earthquake of a revelation is in that statement. David, who himself was most likely illegitimate (see my book “Becoming a Superhero”) and for sure from Moabite blood (through Ruth), so touched God’s heart that when He saw that David loved Jerusalem, He essentially said to him, “OK, David, you love Jerusalem so much, I love Jerusalem so much.” David in effect grew up a “city of Jebus” downtrodden, depressed and rejected and who knows if that moved him to want to change the name and nature of this freshly conquered city. The bottom line is that if you use the Bible alone as source you will find no other reason that Jerusalem became special. There is a reason that it is also known as “City of David” and if you visit today you will see reference to that throughout the city.

THE VALUE OF BEING A FRIEND OF GOD

This is the huge message regarding Jerusalem and we are invited to apply it today to ourselves. Our God who is Majestic, Mighty, Holy, Glorious, Omnipotent, King and a hundred more descriptives can be profoundly touched by our human friendship with Him. It is why it is so worth going "tooth and comb" through the Psalms and seeing into this relationship and friendship. Nor is David the only example. Abraham, called “friend of God”, was made unilateral and unconditional promises from God that still affect everything on planet earth until this day. Promises to Abraham made “to you and your descendants” STILL are a compass point for the nations of the world and not to be trifled with. Neither David nor Abraham aced their behavioral report cards— which is a message all on its’ own. God looked at heart and intention over a lifetime and was deeply touched. He didn’t allow the couple of F’s to drag down their report cards and in fact proved He doesn’t use our report card system. Only He knows how much you did with what He gave you, and how much you insisted on prioritizing your dependance on Him. There is a reason that the most dependent on God man in history is the most honored man in history. The choice to trust God at all times, in every test, adds a fragrance to one’s life that can only be detected by God. He picks it up a million miles away and He will honor such a person and what THEY care for in profound almost unbelievable ways. He will make YOUR city HIS city. YOUR descendants HIS descendants (in some beyond normal way). YOUR wants and wishes HIS wants and wishes. He will find a way to thank you for your extravagant love and care for HIS heart.

CITY OF THE GREAT KING

The Jerusalem story continues to speak. It is almost unimaginable the favor David found with God’s heart. God chose to love beyond measure the city that David loved. The reason we know Jerusalem will one day be “the joy of the whole earth” is because the blood of the God of the universe was spilt and shed there. How could it not redeem the city itself? If we have faith that the blood of Jesus can redeem every sinful person, we also must apply that to the geographical location of that sacrifice of the ages. Salvation came to the world in Jerusalem. As heaven planned redemptions’ story they had to pick a geographical location. There was no favored place above Jerusalem— the former Jebusite stronghold. Wow! David had made it special to heaven. Satan has besieged it, attacked it and tried to obliterate it but he can’t because “it is the city of our God; He will make it safe forever” (v.8). Satan knows God’s story-telling is over if he obliterates Jerusalem. Good luck Satan! It is also “the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (v.8). Jerusalem will always be the most heavily targeted city by Satan but the most heavily defended by God as well. And clearly since 1948 (I am sure the 48 is coincidental :)) an end-game restoration of Israel and Jerusalem is in play.

YOU CAN MAKE YOUR CITY SPECIAL!

You can make your city or your nation special to heaven. Read that again. YOU CAN MAKE YOUR CITY OR NATION SPECIAL TO HEAVEN! It doesn’t require advanced networking, it doesn’t require a lot of Likes or Shares on social media. It requires no money, no following, no endorsement by famous believers, no applause of man, no approval by family or friends— in effect almost nothing cherished here on earth. We study David and his words to learn more about what really moves Him. Jesus, died and rose again in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit first showed up in Jerusalem, as “the upper room” has a direct location connection with David’s tomb (Acts 2:39). God wanted us to make the connection. Seek Me and My kingdom first. Move MY heart— and I will empty heaven on your behalf. Oh, that we would get that for this key, critical summer of 2020. His face is shining on us!

Aug 29; Day 47; Psalm 47; PRAISE HIM

Key Verse: “God has gone up with a shout, The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.” (v.5)

Key Theme: God is King so praise Him as such.

Key Descriptives of God: Lord Most High; King of all the Earth;

In our reading today, it is all made simple again. God is seen in His sovereignty, He is magnified and praised— and all is well. In this short Psalm, 8 times the word GOD will be used, 4 times HE will be used, 3 times KING, and 1 time LORD MOST HIGH. The Psalmist doesn’t speak of himself nor does He speak of the enemy— this is a chapter to just look at God and praise Him. He is specifically being looked at and praised for His sovereignty over earth and the nations. In verse 2 He is “Lord Most High” and “King over all the earth”. In verse 7, He is again “King of all the earth”, in verse 8, “God reigns over the nations” and then finally in verse 9, “all the kings of the earth belong to God.” “Most High” always means absolute sovereignty. King “over” all the earth and King “of” all the earth is also a thorough rulership. Then he reestablishes that God is “over the nations” and that even all the nations “kings” (Presidents, Prime Ministers etc.etc.) BELONG to Him. This is a thorough and total Lordship.

ORPHAN-MINDED PRAYERS?

At times our particular stream in the Body of Christ has extracted way too much from Ps. 115:16 (“The heavens belong to the earth but the earth He has given to the sons of men”) and in doing so diminished HIS absolute authority and power on earth. That verse has been so improperly stretched as to make us virtual Deists with a God way up there in His sphere of authority and us down here with our sphere of authority. The “given to the sons of men” was not about giving us absolute authority but about giving us inheritance. In that is a level of delegated authority but He is still the on-the-job Sovereign. Reading Psalm 47 alone should reset us on whose realm of authority the earth and its nations are. If we are going to be seeing things rightly in 2020 we had better get this part of the equation right. Orphan-minded (“I need to rescue myself”) panic follows if we don’t. A prayer movement can be generated and sustained through orphan-mindedness but it will always be less effective than the confident prayers of those who see Him in His “King of the earth” reality. It is “the prayer of faith” and not “the prayer of panic or fear” that is powerful to change things. In the first, your focus is on Him, in the second your focus is on you. Again, “What you think about God is the most important thing about YOU.”

MORE PRAISE LESS PRAYER?

Following this line of thinking, once you have a better God-view on who He is on earth and among the nations, the more you will PRAISE Him. I firmly believe we have way too much emphasis on praying versus praising. Notice that David “the man after God’s heart” is a praiser. His prayers are usually praise and if they don’t start there it is always where he ends. What powerful intercession really is, is bringing praise to God on a specific “battlefield”. I don’t think that the 2 Chron. 20 story of the praisers leading the way to a battlefield victory for Jehoshaphat was an anomaly. Rather it was THE KEY for all battles. When God is not big enough in the equation we spend more time “casting down” itemized darkness rather than praising Him.

SECOND HEAVEN VS. THIRD HEAVEN

We can get too sophisticated with darkness. You can put 50 “high level" intercessors into a dark room each having a nuanced assignment of what specific darkness to rebuke or you can have a 7-year old child enter that room and flip the lights on. Praise flips the lights on. Focusing on the darkness accesses the “second heaven” (essentially the enemies’ camp) and focusing on HIM accesses the “third heaven” (God’s camp). Our overabundance of scary dreams and revelations comes from too much “second heaven” attention and interaction. Knowing what the enemy is planning to do is best discovered from the “third heaven” which gives the objective eagle’s-eye view of a scenario. “Third heaven” purview also always sees what God is already doing about the enemies’ agenda and in its’ declaration is the great “power of prayer”. The ten spies were “second heaven” experts. Caleb from the tribe of Judah (“praise”) was a “third heaven” expert. THEY found the sons of Anak, HE found the oversized grapes and the milk and honey. Their “revelations” on the enemy scared the people to death to the point Caleb’s “third heaven” perspective couldn’t even be heard. That is tragically happening over and over in our day and it has been costing us greatly. It is why I have an assignment to cast down “ten spies” reports. It is not just a “lets agree to disagree” matter, it literally is a matter of life and death. ALL the prophets do not need to be listened to— only the ones that can see God in the equation. Are the present and upcoming challenges, going into the election, “sons of Anak giants” or are they “bread for us”? 10 unanointed seer prophets and 1 anointed seer prophet looked at the same thing and saw two different realities. Who was right? Were they giants or were they bread? Were they impossible, impassable obstacles or alimentary incidentals? The 10 spies were more factually correct. Caleb was more spiritually correct. Caleb knew and maintained the God-narrative, the ten spies totally lost it. It did not matter that eventually the people discovered that there were in fact “sons of Anak”- thus "validating" the 10 spies revelation. They were now long dead, and actually an 85-year old Caleb took care of them by himself. Are masks, riots, a plandemic and even bigger potential enemy threats really the story of 2020? Does it really matter if more trouble is enemy-planned for later in 2020? What is the God-narrative? Read my new book, “The End of the World As We Know it” for a lot of that. Listen to scary dreams to grow your expertise on the “sons of Anak”. One will make you praise more, one will make you “pray” more. You choose.

GOD…WITH THE SOUND OF THE (TRUMP)ET

“God has gone up WITH a shout, the Lord WITH the sound of a trumpet.” (v.5) Notice what God accompanies onto the battlefield. Add verse 1, “O clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with a voice of triumph!” God subdues our enemies (demonic-not flesh and blood) and gives inheritance (v.3 and 4) with a far less sophisticated “spiritual warfare” strategy than we are prone to embrace. Out loud, demonstrative, body-moving, hand-clapping, shouting, voices of triumph who know the God-narrative. Back on March 6, 2016 when I saw the (shocking for me) vision of Donald Trump winning the presidency of the USA he was on a TRIUMPH motorcycle and making a lot of noise with it. He also had a red, white and blue bandanna on. The Lord then spoke to me more from this Psalm 47 as He emphasized this verse. “I will go up with the sound of the TRUMP.” The trumpets of that day were of course ram’s horn shofars. A trumpet/Trump doesn’t self-actualize. A trumpet/Trump player does that. Nothing about today's God-narrative depends totally on President Trump. God is the Trump player. When you are a little too orphan-minded, praying for the Trump is the key. When you correctly see the battlefield praising the Trump Player becomes the greater focus. Yes, of course, the enemy wants to take out President Trump and has tried so multiple times. But I don’t think “He who began a good work…” now expects US to make sure it ultimately completed. Maybe instead of “praying”some things through, let’s praise some things through. That is why God is so on the Sean Feucht praise "on the battlefields" gatherings and what we all need to tap into more. God’s ready to show up and show off even more but is just looking for some accompaniment music/praise/worship to go WITH. This is my 2 Chron. 20:20 word to you

Aug 28; Day 46; Psalm 46; THERE IS A RIVER

Key Verses (3): 1, 4, 10. “ God is our Refuge…” (v.1); “There is a River…” (v.4) “Be still, and know…” (v.10)

Key Theme: God as Refuge to His people and Exalted over Nations.

Key Descriptives of God: Refuge; Strength; A Very Present Help; He who Ends Wars; Lord of Hosts

What a powerful Psalm we are privileged to look into today. It touched, moved and secured me in just reading it and soaking in who He is. I had to pick 3 key verses but literally not one of the 11 verses is “fluff”. I can’t imagine a more encouraging Psalm for us in the midst of the challenges of 2020. It is for His people in any situation and in every nation— no matter how strong their challenges might be.

GOD IS OUR REFUGE

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (v.1) “Refuge” is MACHACEH in Hebrew and means “a shelter from storms, dangers and lies.” We need Him for all of these— STORMS, DANGERS and LIES. It lets us know that the presence of these is not a sign that He is not being our Refuge and our Strength. You never know Him as Refuge without "storms, dangers and lies". You never know Him as Strength unless you feel too weak for what you face. He further announces Himself as, A VERY PRESENT HELP in all these troubles and what a description to pause a moment and fully soak in. He is still Emmanuel— “God WITH us”. We have over celebrated Him as A VERY FUTURE HELP and so have diminished Him as this not just PRESENT HELP, but VERY PRESENT HELP. You don’t get to know Him as such unless you experience VERY PRESENT DANGERS. God clearly did not put us on earth to ideally have no challenges. Christ being formed in us does not take place in a monastic environment of peace but right in the middle of war, challenges and contradictions.

THEREFORE WE SHALL NOT FEAR

This, the first line of verse two, is an anchor for our soul especially in 2020 where fear has raged and roared. Fear is the great pandemic of 2020. We are not promised ideal circumstances but we are promised being delivered from fear. That is the test. Being fearless is also something not developed monastically but on a battlefield.

EVEN THOUGH

Four times the Psalmist will say EVEN THOUGH, AND THOUGH or THOUGH. “Even though the earth be removed” (v.2), "And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the seas” (v.2), “Though its waters roar and be troubled” (v.3) “Though the mountains shake” (v.3). In other words, the presence of great earthquakes or huge hurricanes is not proof God isn’t VERY PRESENT. The “mountains” speaks of the realms of power and influence. They as well can be experiencing great instability and He is still available as REFUGE to His people.

THERE IS A RIVER

“There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God.” (v.4) “The River” is described in Ezekiel 47 and if you have the time, go be encouraged by that reading as well. He is His own River and everywhere He goes He brings life and healing to the nations. “Streams” means it is not just localized in one place but made available everywhere there is a “city of God”. There is a reason we use the term “live streaming” to describe the ability to connect with an original source as if you are there. “City” is IYR in Hebrew and it means “a place guarded by waking or a watch— in the widest sense (even a mere encampment or post)”. Any regular meeting place that you can hallow is eligible to be “a city of God” and to receive the streams that MAKE GLAD. Is that not amazing? Identify your “city of God” and make sure you get in those streams today.

HELP AT THE BREAK OF DAWN

“God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.” If there was any doubt we are confirmed that GOD IS IN THE MIDST of His River turning our “post” into His city, and that He is their as HELP. The last phrase JUST AT THE BREAK OF DAWN can be taken two ways. One is that He is there from the very earliest moments of a test or secondly that He waits to show up at the very last moment of night Sometimes it can feel like the second option is happening more than the first. As is frequently said, “He is never late, but He is also rarely early."

KINGDOMS CRUMBLE

“The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts!” (v.6 NLT) This is truly what is taking place in 2020. God’s voice is thundering and nations are being called into order. Many cities and regions experiencing very unusual thunder and lightning are getting a clear sign from heaven that He is on the scene with some accountability for those who do evil. “Kingdoms crumble” are “kingdoms” on the 7 Mountains that are being demolished. Financial “kingdoms”, Media “kingdoms”, government “kingdoms”, Harvard/Yale “kingdoms”, Hollywood “kingdoms”, Planned Parenthood “kingdoms”, and false church “kingdoms” are all being thundered upon and crumbling. It is an active volcanic zone.

HE MAKES WARS TO CEASE

“Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made DESOLATIONS in the earth. HE MAKES WARS TO CEASE to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two, He burns the chariot in the fire.” (v.8,9). In this amazing verse He lets us know that ENDING WARS is fully within His wheelhouse of capabilities. We worship, praise and adore Him as such today. The word “desolations” is unnerving but it has dual meanings— “waste, horror, astonishment, wonderful thing.” It all depends on whose side you are on whether it is a “horror” or “wonderful thing”. For ANTIFA and the like think “horror”. “The way of the transgressor is hard”. For peacemakers and ministers of reconciliation think “wonderful thing”.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (v.10) “ Be still” is RAPHAH meaning “relax, let go, slacken, abate”. Perhaps we could add RESET. “And know” is in Hebrew YADA which is a very deep, thorough “know”. That is the same word used in Genesis when it says “And Adam knew Eve” and she conceived. This verse should be ruminated on all day. Do not think He is coming to rapture/rescue us until He has been exalted among the nations and exalted in the earth. He does not come when being “ignored among the nations” and so know that He is not coming now. His fame and not His ignominy precedes His return. The good news is that 2020 will go down in history as a definitive game-changing year. It officially shifts and sifts us into a new kingdom era.

THE LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US

Twice, (verses 7 and 11) we are given the exact same message. God is VERY PRESENT and WITH HIS ANGEL ARMIES. This has never been more true. Never have we been under such sinister, heavily plotted, global danger and so never have we been so accompanied by heaven’s angel armies. God doesn’t NEED a one of them— but being the relational, inclusive person He is, He loves sub-delegating some of His tasks to angel armies. They are everywhere in mass— and so in your prayers and decrees make sure to acknowledge their presence and ask/instruct that they be released. That then becomes part of OUR task in cooperating with God. We pray, we vote, we love. We show up expanding the reach of His River. We stop listening to fear— even if it comes from “prophets” or religious leaders of influence. ANY warning that is not undergirded with hope is not Him. Eliminate that voice from your diet or you will go from GOD IS OUR REFUGE to GOD IS OUR EXASPERATED JUDGE and you will drown in dread. Of course, if you are the “deep state” this may be in fact how you experience God at this time, but He is available for better than that.

Aug 27; Day 45; Psalm 45; RIDE PROSPEROUSLY

Key Verse: “And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and justice; And Your right hand shall teach you awesome things.” (v.4)

Key Theme: A Love song of the King and His Bride.

Key Descriptives of God: Mighty Warrior; Glorious; Majestic; Fairest of All

What a task or privilege we have today as Psalm 45 is absolutely a treasure field of revelation. The Psalm is an otherworldly love song put together by the most skilled lyricists of the sons of Korah. As verse 1 suggests, “My heart is stirred by a noble theme”, this song is product of a very special occasion which I believe to be the coming wedding of the King and His Bride. The writing is romantic and extravagant. Though we assume it is about King David and a wedding at hand, it clearly goes into something much beyond that speaking of the Messiah, His glory, His majesty and His attributes— and His Bride.

YOU ARE FAIRER THAN THE SONS OF MEN (v.2)

Jesus, came to earth as the Son of Man, but He was and is “fairer” than what only has humanity as its source. The word “fairer” is YAPHAH and it means “to be bright; to shine; beautiful”. Our Lord’s awesome beauty is product of the light that shines from inside of Him. There has never been a beautifully lighted one that compares. This is the first thing the songwriter notes.

A SWORD, GLORY AND MAJESTY(v.3)

“Gird your SWORD upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your GLORY and MAJESTY.” (v.3) The next thing the skilled poet/songwriter notices is His SWORD. Our beautiful Lord comes ready for battle. He is a lover but He knows there are enemies and He is ready for them. The SWORD is noted even before His GLORY and His MAJESTY but it is all about the whole picture here. The SWORD does not distract but rather enhances the appearance of His GLORY and MAJESTY. The Hebrew words used here for GLORY and MAJESTY have a lot of overlap and also mean “magnificence, honor, splendor, grandeur, beauty, excellency”. This is who we serve.

RIDE PROSPEROUSLY(v.4)

“And in Your majesty RIDE PROSPEROUSLY”. I love that term. The Hebrew word for “prosperously” is TSALACH and it means “to push forward, break out, break through, go over, be good, be profitable, make to send prosperity, TO GO OVER OR THROUGH A RIVER.” When He rides among us we cross over into Promised Land realities that are all about the thorough meaning of prosperity. The fact that He rides with a sword tells us He is not doing so to just take us away, but rather to help us fight our enemies. The Promise Land was not “heaven” but a Land of Promise yet full of enemies. Today, I hear the steps of His horse and I feel Him riding prosperously among us.

TRUTH, HUMILITY AND JUSTICE (v.4)

“…Ride prosperously BECAUSE OF TRUTH, HUMILITY AND JUSTICE.” This is what makes His ride among us prosperous and we are to make way for it. The Hebrew words are again powerful. “Truth” is EMETH and it means “firmness, stability, trustworthiness, perpetuity, faithfulness”. Often when we hear the word “truth” we idealize finger-pointing of sin as something we must do but note how different this feels. “Humility” is ANVAH and it means “royal mildness, gentleness, meekness” and comes from a root word meaning “lowly and humble”. Remember in Mt. 21 when Jesus made His triumphal entry as King? What was the description? “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, LOWLY and sitting on a donkey” (Mt.21:3). Our King's FIRST description is “lowly”. God doesn’t “resist the proud” because He is a glory-hog. He resists the proud, must-have-all-the-attention/applause ones, because He is so unlike that. He is in the basement hanging with all the normal-folk while you are drawn to the high chambers of the elite, self-important ones. He is just not even there (symbolically speaking). “Justice” is TSEDEQ and it means “justice, rectitude, straight paths.” It is unfortunate that in most English translations it is usually written as “righteousness” which has an entirely different connotation, especially when coming from a Puritan inheritance of thought. I notice it because I speak and preach in Spanish as well, where the word is aways translated “justicia” or justice. See how different Mt. 6:33 comes out when you quote, “Seek you first the kingdom of God and His JUSTICE.” An inferior translation has caused us to be a bit luke-warm with a very foundation of who He is. “The kingdom of God is JUSTICE, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”(Rom. 14:17)

OIL OF GLADNESS (v.7)

For times sake we have to skip all kinds of exciting truth. In verse 7 we are told of “the oil of gladness” and this is so insightful. Oil was something that signified both an anointing and a joy. Our area of anointing is supposed to be an area of our joy. If we are not enjoying what we are doing we either are in the wrong assignment or we missed out on getting the “oil”. In this 2020 reset of all resets lets make that adjustment. It is time to serve the Lord with gladness. The intensity of the season has made some of us want to serve the Lord with madness— but that is not an actual anointing

THE KING WILL GREATLY DESIRE YOUR BEAUTY (v.11)

In verses 10-14 there is a shift from speaking of the King/Bridegroom to speaking of the Queen/Royal Bride. The use of the word “daughter” is just another way of saying “woman”. In verse 10,11 she/us is told “Forget your own people also, and your father’s house; So the KING will greatly desire your beauty.” The “forget” word used here is not about negligence but about being distracted. In other words be so distracted with the King that even your closest loved ones represent a lesser love. This is what makes the King “greatly desire you.”

HER CLOTHING IS WOVEN WITH GOLD (v.13)

We as the “Bride of Christ” have a glorious clothing that allows us to approach the King. It is a “robe of His righteousness”. Jesus, on the cross, provided for the gold in our dress. We do not enter on our own merit. We are being clothed with whom we will marry. Jesus is both our righteousness and our Bridegroom.

ROBES OF MANY COLORS (v.14)

“She shall be brought to the the King in robes of many colors.” Oh, would so like to explore this deeper. My wife and I wrote a book called “Rainbow God: The Seven Colors of Love”. There is a color associated with each of the 7 Mountains of society where we are to display the nuanced beauty of our God. We are ready to be brought before the King when we are wearing these robes of carrying His influence (salt and light) into every area of society. We are beautified by fulfilling assignment ("Occupy") rather than by simply waiting (Speculate). We aren’t wearing the right robes when we only live in conjecture on when will Jesus return.

WITH GLADNESS AND REJOICING

Ah so much more from this chapter to still extract for those who love to treasure hunt the scriptures. For now, as we close lets just read verse 15. “With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; They shall enter the King’s palace.” Elsewhere, it will speak of “the joy of harvest”. Rejoicing and gladness are often mentioned in the context of harvest. “Entering the King’s palace” is not preceded by gloom and difficulty. It is preceded by “gladness and rejoicing.” We are entering a major harvest season and the joy of it all is to be our strength. Today join in in praying that in.

Aug 26; Day 44; Psalm 44 COMMANDED VICTORIES

Key Verse: “You are my King, O God, Command victories for Jacob.” (v.4)

Key Theme: Rehearsing who God was as a cry to what He needs to be again.

Key Descriptives of God: King; Commander;(v.4)

Today, we get into one of the most mysterious of all Psalms, when trying to understand context. Appropriately enough Bible commentators are all over the place with possible scenarios. Was this David or the sons of Korah who are again mentioned in the subheading? Was this Psalm inserted from a much later time period as some believe? It does not seem like it could be in David’s time because verses 9-16 tell of repeated battle losses and other nations scorning them. We never hear of this reality while David is king. Some think that this was speaking of the Babylonian exile period hundred of years later because verse 12 tells of Israel being “sold” as it were into bondage. The problem with that perspective is that verse 9 already complained “You do not go out with our armies” and Israel had no armies during the exile period. So, the bottom line is that context is going to be difficult to establish. Having said that, it is still a very interesting Psalm with valuable nuggets of gold for us.

REMEMBERING WHO HE WAS (v.1-3)

“We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, the deeds You DID in their days, in days of old.” (v.1) The next two verses seem to speak of when they were delivered from Egypt and led into the Promised Land. It is clearly pointed out that this was done not by their strength but “it was Your right hand, Your arm, AND THE LIGHT OF YOUR COUNTENANCE, because You favored them.” (v.3) This is, of course, what we have been learning to look at this entire 67-day journey in "The Summer of His Love” and “His face shining upon us”. We are in over our heads except the Lord intervene with His favor on us— but that is not a bad place to be when we know He IS turned towards us, as it is all that really matters. The Psalmist knew that as well and so he is remembering such a time.

DESIRING HIM NOW (v.4-8)

This is where our key verse comes in. “Command victories for Jacob.” (v.4) Whereas, in verses 1-3 he referred to “You DID” (v.1) he now refers to “You ARE.” “You ARE my King, O God.” As I have shared before the point of remembering and magnifying who God WAS is so that you can again see who He IS. This key verse is a 444 passage (Ps. 44:4) and for about 25 years the Lord has spoken to me through that 444 number sequence at very key times. For me it has also connected to Is. 44: 3,4 and Ezekiel 44:4. It has always been a confirmation He is with me on the particular matter I was involved in or that His glory would be poured out where I was going at that moment, or some unexpected favor. For those who get these unique number sequences it is always significant what you were thinking, or doing, or where you were going when you saw the number patterns. It is to be an encouragement and relational conversation piece with you and the Lord. For me I have often said, as I saw a 444 license tag on the way to an assignment, “Ah He has a commanded victory” for me. Yes, the “for Jacob” part refers to Israel, but it was clearly also substitutionary or inclusive for ME or US and so it is another way the passage can be applied for us. (In other words the Psalmist was including himself in the “for Jacob” petition).

COMMANDED VICTORIES

The word “Command” used here is TSAVAH in the Hebrew. It also means “ordered” or “appointed”. The word “victories” is that word YESHUA again! The word that besides being Jesus Hebrew name also meant “victory, deliverance, prosperity, salvation, health.” I like it when He has “commanded” that I experience Jesus in any of those definitions of who He is. He is not just the life insurance policy, but He is still Emmanuel (“God WITH us”) in all the needed areas of health, provision and general troubles. It will lead to do what verse 8 commends, “In God we boast all day long”. I love that and it is my favorite “boasting”. It is my favored assignment as well, leading some to believe I am not very realistic and a bit “Pollyannish”. I love that accusation as well

LAMENTING RECENT DEVASTATION (v.9-16)

The Psalmist now goes into almost unbelievable accusations/allegations against God, “But You have cast us off and put us to shame”, “You have given us up like sheep”, “scattered us”, “You sell Your people for next to nothing”, “you make us a reproach”, and on and on. What makes the timetable for all this particularly hard to discern is verse 17, “All this had come upon us; But we have NOT forgotten You.” Furthermore, through verse 21, he will tell the Lord over and over how this is unjust suffering because they didn’t reap it as a consequence of sin but were innocent of wrongdoing. This is another reason it does not seem like it was in the exile period as Israel clearly had major sins that caused that reality, and prophets warned for years of that consequence.

YET FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED

“Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” (v.23) This is a real keystone scripture for us. Paul quoted this very verse in Romans 8:36. Right after saying in verse 35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword.” Paul then says, “As it is written” and quotes this passage. His verse 37, resonates as well, “Yet in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Him who loved us.” He closes the chapter by telling us nothing can separate us from the love of Christ— and that of course is the consolation of all consolations. Not everything bad that happens to us is because we deserve it. There is “suffering for righteousness” and there is being targeted just for being one of His. There is the proving ground for being "more than conquerors". This is part of the valuable revelation of Psalm 44. Serving God doesn’t translate into magical absence of trials and of being wrongly treated. The Psalmist went off on a tangent of wrong theology accusing God of having “done” this to them, before finally getting it right with this verse. He vented until he self-corrected and we are allowed to see the process. The assurance that the apostle Paul wanted to make sure we make our “stake in the ground” — is that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” This is what we build our lives on rather than the perception of rejection that the Psalmist early on was feeling.

AWAKE! ARISE!

As the Psalmist closes out chapter 44, it is all a cry/demand for God to Awake and Arise from “hiding His face”. Nothing ever worse than God “hiding His face” and nothing better than when He “makes His face shine upon us”. In the midst of great challenges, He is doing just that with us in the summer of 2020. As the last verse says in the NLT, “Rise up! Help us! Ransom us because of Your unfailing love.” This is our cry today but also the natural progression of Psalm 44’s message for us. It all starts with “We have heard” and it all ends with “Your unfailing love.” It overrides momentary circumstances and ultimately secures the new realities. Today, Lord, Command victories for our president and for what you have anointed him to do in our nation. Through Your name we push down “the deep state” enemies and trample the demonic hosts that would rise up against Your justice. Kingdom come!

Aug 25; Day 43; Psalm 43 REVIVAL HELP FROM HIS COUNTENANCE

Key Verse: “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.” (v.4)

Key Theme: The Psalmist still disquieted for God.

Key Descriptive of God: My Exceeding Joy

As we shared yesterday, Psalms 42 and 43 are best understood together. Verse 5, here in Psalm 43, is also verses 5 and 11 in Psalms 42.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance”.

3 times he will ask himself why is he cast down and 3 times he will challenge himself to HOPE IN GOD, because his end goal is to be praising Him in at atmosphere of revival. That word HOPE is gaining increased attention and understanding the further we dig into the Psalms. It doesn’t come easily for us because for those who understand the brain, it is not a left-brain linear matter but rather a right-brain intuitive/experiential operation. Our present day less-than education system pushes us into a left-brain trap where "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" rules (the mind of reason masquerading as intelligence). HOPE comes from the Tree of Life accessed only by your right-brain processor. Worship and speaking in tongues will move you there and when you are there HOPE is apprehended. It is not wishful thinking, it is an assurance. Now let us bring in verse 7 from yesterday.

DEEP CALLS UNTO DEEP

“Deep calls unto deep in the ROAR of Your waterfalls”. (v.7) When put together with verse 6, it seems that the Psalmist is describing the phenomenon that takes place in Israel where the dew of Mt.Hermon gathers and pools together into the Jordan River and at least in antiquity caused it to have waterfalls and “roar”. Even if that were not exactly so, the bigger point is “deep calls unto deep”. The hungry for revival “disquieted” soul roars from a deep place and it is calling out for the deep places in Him. “Shallow” calls won’t get it done. “Deep” calls are required. Yes, it is an assignment for intercessors— but I haven’t figured out why anyone is exempt from being an intercessor Being an intercessor is more a maturity designation rather than a niche assignment. In other words becoming an intercessor is a sign you have matured. A true intercessor dies to self and lives for Him like no one else. They have agreed to override their own needs and stand in the gap inter-ceding. It is truly a Jesus-like posturing.

TRUE INTERCESSORS

They don’t need likes, shares, sales, a following and publicity as their sufficiency is found "in Him”. It is why they move things. It is the ultimate WWJD role. Of course, they are not perfect, and they are learning how to have practical assignments in the 7 Mountains as they intercede— that is the ideal, but they have volunteered for what looks like the grunge work in the kingdom, but is in effect what puts them in the honor roll of heaven. They sacrifice the applause of man here for the “well done” from the Father. There is no doubt the closest seats to the throne in heaven are being occupied and will be occupied by these. It is a relational distinction. As an FYI, the “subcontracting out” of intercession to “the professionals” is a ministry concept you will not see in the scriptures. It is good to have prayer accompaniment (Jesus wanted it in the garden) but the idea of substitutionary prayer is definitely not Biblical. It is why ministry projects go sideways. “Pray without ceasing” was for everyone. Everyone has a deep place to go seeking His deep response. My 2020 prophetic word of the year was titled “2020: A Year of Roaring Justice and Raging Hope”. The horrors of what we are seeing exposed is to help us access our end of it. In fact I feel quite certain that many who didn’t consider themselves “intercessors” have suddenly found themselves being one. We want to do and pray and pray and do. You may lean more towards praying or more towards doing but they are the two legs we all want to walk on— unless physically hindered from the doing part.

HELP OF HIS COUNTENANCE: HELP OF MY COUNTENANCE

Perhaps some of you have noticed a little detail. In Ps.42:5 it ends with “I shall yet praise Him for the help of HIS countenance/face.” In Ps. 42:11 and in Ps. 43:5 it has a change. “I shall yet praise Him for the help of MY countenance/face.” From HIS to MY. It is like Moses when he went up the mountain and saw God face to face and upon returning the people noted that Moses face now shone with the glory of His countenance. It was now Moses own shine. Here in the Summer of His Love where He has promised to show us His face, a great objective is that we, perhaps even unbeknownst to ourselves, become carriers of His countenance to the degree that others see Him as OUR countenance. As Isaiah 60:2 says “And His glory will be seen ON YOU.” I will be honest with you. That is my goal this summer. I want people, cities and nations to experience profound HELP simply because MY FACE CARRYING HIS FACE showed up. Now here is something beautiful. Do you know what the Hebrew word here in these 3 repeat verses is for HELP? What is the HELP from His countenance, from His face? Be amazed. Yep, it’s that word YESHUA. The word that means DELIVERANCE, SALVATION, VICTORY and JESUS! That is why we are looking at Him. That is why we want the God of Revival. We want our faces and countenances to shine with YESHUA. This broken world has never needed it more. Let’s keep beholding His face today. We are being transformed into His very image in the Summer of His Love.

Aug. 24; Day 42; Psalm 42: REVIVAL!

Key Verse: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” (v. 5)

Key Theme: The Psalmist desperation for a move of God.

Key Descriptive of God: Living God/God or Revival

A shift of some sort begins in Psalms 42. It begins what is called BOOK TWO of Psalms and suddenly we have the Sons of Korah introduced to us. They were important singers and musicians and this could be something one or more of them are writing— or one of them could be as it were a ghost writer for David. In my mind it is still David directly or indirectly, but it is arguable. No worries there will still be good messages from these chapters.

This 11 versed Psalm is a cry for a visitation from God. “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God” (v.1). A panting soul. The Psalmist is desperate to experience the living presence of God. “My soul thirsts for the living God.” (v.2) The second part of that verse is him essentially saying “When do I finally get to encounter God?” He will speak of crying day and night for God. Twice in the chapter he tells of whoever “they” are, saying continually to him, “Where is your God?”. They have perhaps heard Him say “revival is coming” and yet nothing and so are mocking him. It only adds to his misery. In verse 4, he is reminiscing of revival when everybody couldn’t wait to get to the house of God. Twice, an almost identical verse is repeated, as verse 5 and 11 both start with “Why are you cast down my soul?”. The Psalmist is almost despondent at the lack of breakthrough. “Why have you forgotten me?”, he tells God in verse 9. This is another real and raw Psalm that sounds like David, and there is a so-far unrequited hunger.

GOD OF REVIVAL

“My soul thirsts for God, for THE LIVING GOD.” (v.2) The Hebrew word for “living” is CHAY. It means “ALIVE; fresh; strong: appetite; LIVELY; vigorous; flourish; prosperous; REVIVING; REFRESHMENT; happiness.” Seems like a pretty good description for “revival”. I love that word "appetite" mixed in all the definitions. Appetite for God is such a key marker of "revival". As I am writing this, of course, the recent Bethel song of “God of Revival” sung by Brian Johnson comes to mind. I love it because it expands the understanding of Revival to include Reformation. God and His presence not just in church or special meetings settings but in every mountain/sphere of society. What does that look like? I am convinced we are beginning to encounter that “God of Revival” at this time and it will only be progressively building and reported on. But here in Psalm 42, it is still the desperate cry of the Psalmist. There is a groaning for God not yet met. God loves to know that we really want what He already desires to pour out. Ever try to give something to someone that YOU knew they needed but THEY didn’t really? Kind of feels like casting your pearls before swine.

A DISQUIETED SOUL

In our key verse of the chapter we read, “Why are you disquieted within me?” The word “disquieted” in Hebrew is HAMAH and its’ first definition is ROAR, followed up by “noise; sound; troubled; tumult; raged.” I mainly wanted you to see that a “disquieted” soul is not just depressed and disappointed and feeling sorry for itself. It is way beyond that. His soul was not quiet but DIS quieted. His soul is ROARING for the God of Revival. He is making noise, he is sounding out and his soul is in an aggressive posture. It all is about a soul deeply moved towards breakthrough presence of God. It is "deep calling unto deep."

HOPE IN GOD

Next in our key verse 5 is “Hope in God”. Over and over we are led into HOPE IN GOD throughout this 67-day journey of “His face shining upon us”. It is our continual refocus. With massive distractions all around— What you focus on you make room for— so HOPE IN GOD. HOPE— "the expectation of good from God in the present circumstance". His face shines on us and we expect good from Him.

THE HELP OF HIS COUNTENANCE

This is how verse 5 ends and it is worth giving attention to. “Countenance” is PANIYM in Hebrew and it means FACE. When we finally do get to Psalm 67:1 “may His FACE shine upon you” is the same word. In other words we prime the pump for the God of Revival by intentionally looking at His PANIYM as we have been doing for 42 consecutive days. May His face shine upon us and bless us, and on our families, and their children, and their children, and their children. Everything today in so many ways is all about the children.

Tomorrows’ Psalm 43 has great overlap with Psalm 42 and many believe that originally they were one Psalm. It is easy to see why as Psalm 43 has only 5 verses and the last verse is a third repeating of our key verse of the day. Because of this connection I am going to further expound upon DEEP CALLS UNTO DEEP from verse 7 in tomorrows reading. Meanwhile let your deep need of being revived begin to rumble for His deep capacity of fulfilling that need.

Aug 23; Day 41; Psalm 41 I'M STILL HERE

Key Verse: “By this I know You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me.” (v.11)

Key Theme: The blessings and trials of the godly.

Key Descriptives of God: Rescuer; Protector; Prosperity Giver; Healer (v.1-3)

Psalm 41 has two main themes. In verses 1-3, David lays out the blessings of those who “consider the poor” (NKJV) and then a lot more of David bemoaning his enemies— which now include former friends. David would definitely never be accused of “stuffing his problems” as he was always vividly processing them with God. He was more in the Old Testament “eye for an eye” mode of processing versus the New Testament standard Jesus taught of “blessing those who curse you.” We are permitted to see this tendency in David not to recommend it but to understand that life for King David was not just “a walk in the park.” Yes, he was king, but with it came king-size challenges. Big destiny almost without exception entails big challenges. Much of David’s Psalms seem meant for encouragement of people of big destiny. When I read David, I see someone like President Trump having much to identify with.

CONSIDERING THE POOR

“Blessed is he who considers the poor.” (v.1) What will follow is a whole string of blessings not to “the poor” but to those who “consider the poor”. This is a great promise not be taken likely. The word “consider” means much more than take a moment and say "hmm it must be terrible to be poor". In Hebrew SAKAL is the word and it means “give attention to; to cause to prosper; instruct; teach; guide” among other words. The Hebrew word for “poor” is DAL and it means “low, poor, weak, thin”. It adds the word “dangling” as in one who is doing so physically or emotionally. So to “consider the poor” is beyond taking sandwiches to the homeless— though that can be a way as well. If you touch the broken hearted it too qualifies. Those “dangling” in any way are “the poor". Touch them and 4 promised blessings are given.

“The Lord RESCUES them when they are in trouble. The Lord PROTECTS them and keeps them alive. He GIVES THEM PROSPERITY in the land (on earth) and RESCUES (twice) them from their enemies. The Lord nurses them when they are sick and RESTORES THEM TO HEALTH.” (v.1-3)

RESCUES, PROTECTS, PROSPERS, HEALS

In essence these are the 4 blessings promised to those who “consider the poor”. He is giving back to you what you have doled out. He is good and kind always anyways, but He has some internal notification system that tells him you have “considered the poor” which adds perhaps a “second mile” of His goodness to you. As it says in Proverbs 19:17, “He who lends (pities, tends) to the poor (needy, “dangling") lends to the Lord and He will surely repay/reward”. I believe that when we know we have been such a person that it is appropriate to remind the Lord in our own moment of need or in an opportunity to prosper. It is not “unspiritual”. He especially delights in us knowing what we are being rewarded for. Our eye for “the least of these” shows we are His.

ENEMIES AND TRIALS

Verses 4-8 is David again detailing how his enemies speak evil of him, wish death for him, hate him, whisper against him, devise his hurt, wish an evil disease on him— and oh yeah, related or not, David has more sins to confess to God (v.4). Riding the Psalms with David is like a good Six Flags ride, there are going to be highs and lows and loops but we are always going to be safe and end in a good place. In verse 9, “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me”. This seems to be someone like Joab his captain of the army, who was with him seemingly forever and from the beginning, but turned on him. In verse 10, David true to form says, “Lord have mercy on me. Make we well again, so I can pay them back!” Ah, yes, sweet pay back! David at times wanted more mercy than he wanted to give out, as the higher revelation had not yet made its way. It was then Jesus “the son of David” who came and raised the standard.

I’M STILL HERE

I made verse 11 the key verse. “By this I know You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me.” It is a great landing place. “God I know you are pleased with me because I am still here.” I love it. Sometimes that is where our personal testimony stands. We have done a lot of good things, we have made a lot of mistakes, we have encountered a lot of enemies— but we are still here. As it says in Revelation we have been found to be “overcomers”. Our salvation is in Jesus Christ and we get over things. “To him who overcomes (comes over)…many great promises including “I will give authority over the nations.” (Rev.2:26) There are the rewards of “enduring to the end”. Included in that is getting over your own failings. Do you see how David was especially good in that? It is a big key.

BLESSED BE THE LORD GOD

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.” (v.13) With this what is called BOOK ONE of the Psalms ends. Tomorrow BOOK TWO and a cry for the God of Revival is introduced to us.