'Restoration' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
Daily Devotions
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” vss. 2-3a Psalm 23:1-3 For some these words from Psalm 23 call to mind a tranquil day on the golf course, minus the traps and the out-of-bounds. For them, golf is exactly what the psalmist is describing–a restful day on beautifully contoured green fairways with calming water features always at hand. It’s a beautiful experience! Of course for most, these verses are…
Daily Devotions
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’” vss. 3-4 Psalm 116:1-4 The psalmist had a powerful story of deliverance that he believed would lift up and encourage the entire congregation of believers. He’d been close to death, perhaps with a dread illness, and had cried out to the Lord for help. And…
Daily Devotions
Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” vss. 18-19 Psalm 80: 17-19 As we look over the shoulder of the psalmist, we see the prayer that he put in the mouths of worshipers for a time of crisis. It’s not much different from the kind of prayer that many of us might use…
Daily Devotions
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” vss. 2-3 Psalm 23 We live in a grimy and confused world, and our souls are easily sapped by the continual pressures of daily living. Bit by bit anxieties and worries chip away at us and fear steps in to take center stage. Before long, joy is a distant memory and we…
Daily Devotions
Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb. May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.” vss. 4-5 Psalm 126 Many of us have learned through bitter experience that when our smart phone or computer is malfunctioning, the first step in recovery is to reboot, to shut it down completely and then start it up again. Occasionally that works! Service is restored and we are ecstatic! The psalmist seems to have been looking for…
Daily Devotions
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.” vs. 1 Isaiah 62:1-5 When the people returned to Jerusalem after their time in exile, it would have been easy for them to be discouraged. Their proud city lay in ruins and the temple had been destroyed. The protective walls were no more than piles of rubble. But the…
Daily Devotions
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” vss. 2-3 Psalm 23 Each of us has a soul–it’s what gives us our identity. That soul bears the stamp of God and is the part of us that craves meaning and purpose. When we’re at our best we feel the connection with the Divine and know in our hearts that we…
Daily Devotions
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.” vs. 10 Psalm 85:8-13 The psalmist knew that there was nothing but good ahead for the people of Israel. Even though they had rebelled against the Lord, there would be a restoration. They would not be forsaken–salvation was at hand. Ever since those days the people of God have lived in anticipation of that moment–Jesus called it the coming of the Kingdom of God. And while we…
Daily Devotions
You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,” vs. 11 Psalm 30:6-12 The psalmist had a strong sense of having lived in the Lord’s favor through his entire life. There had been times when things had not gone well for him but he didn’t doubt that the Lord had his back. He knew that ultimately God’s underlying love would lift him up, and that hope never abandoned him when times…
Daily Devotions
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress” vs. 19 Psalm 107:17-22 Again and again in the psalms and other portions of scripture we read about how God reaches out to those who are in distress or any kind of trouble and offers them healing and restoration. This psalmist has in mind the occasion in the wilderness when the Hebrews were being tormented by poisonous serpents and God provided for them. It…
Daily Devotions
Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” vs. 6 Psalm 25:1-10 The psalmist wanted more than anything to have a solid relationship with God. He wanted to walk in the way of truth and righteousness–but he was wondering if he was going to be undone by past transgressions. Would God ultimately remember the sins of his youth and hold them against him? He’d like God to forget about…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 80:7-15 … “Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” vs. 7 The psalmist didn’t understand why Israel had fallen on hard times. From his perspective the Lord had gone to a lot of work to insure its prosperity. Using the metaphor of a vine he describes how God brought the root out of Egypt and planted it deep in good ground so that it would grow and fill the land. But…