For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. ESV

-        There was no question on where David was looking for help. Are you looking for help from God alone or are you looking to people, money, or things to be your fortress?

-        1 Chron 5:20. Where you look for help determines what help you get. Are you looking to God or to your own strength, money (Ps 62:10), or to other people (Prov 29:25)? God, you alone are the rock that isn’t shaken. Help me to always place my trust in you.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. NIV

-        Rev 3:15; Prov 30:12;

-        God checks fruit. There are many fruitless lives that expect to be rewarded. Lord, help me to be fruitful.

Matt 7:23

23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ NKJV

-        This is not the answer they expect. Help me first to be fruitful. Matt 7:16; I want every area of my life to glorify God. Secondly, help me to raise a generation that understands and follows you. I want no more hypocrisy. I am sick of the two faces, which are so common. We may for a while be able to have two faces, but I believe you will only produce fruit from what grows out of your heart. There will not be two kinds of fruit on one tree. Let them be known by their fruit. Let them see the fruit of their own lives. We don’t want to wait until we die to see what fruit we produce. God, reveal it to this generation. I ask that their hearts would be turned back to you and their lives would produce much fruit.

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

-        This is a straight-forward concept. Granted, it’s work to carry it out, but it is an easy one to understand. This is the challenge to myself and everyone who reads this.  During this week, we should ask ourselves, “How would I want this situation handled if I was in their shoes?” Show the love and forgiveness that was shown to you. To all the students, your parents are real people. Many times, I have heard students complain and tell about the attitude they gave their parents. They admitted they would have done the same thing in their parents place. If you were the parent, how would you want the kid to respond? Respond that way all week. Lets see what happens as we apply the word to our lives and become the Christians of character that we were made to be.

9 Then my enemies will turn back  in the day when I call. This I know, that  God is for me. ESV

-         Rom 8:31. This is a life changer; God is for me. Have I really thought about that much, that the All Powerful God that created the universe is for me? What is it there to worry about? Sometimes, I just need my perspective refreshed.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation   6 and my God.

-          I love that David addresses himself when he finds an attitude that shouldn’t be there.

v.6 My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. (ESV)

-          He reveals his answer to depression. He was down cast, and he gave himself these instructions. He hoped in God, changed his focus, looked to God, and remembered what God had done.  His salvation was in and from God. Vs 11

-          If we can put our trust in God, change our focus, look to the answer, and remember God’s blessings, instead of our problems, I believe it will relieve us of depression too.

I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” ESV

-        I think I to need to guard my mouth. If I don’t guard it, it will lead me and get me into trouble. Ps 34:13; 50:19; 141;3;  Prov 18:21; Matt 12:36; James 1:19;

The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and need, to slay those whose way is upright;

-         As the Bible talks about the righteous and upright in contrast to the evil or wicked, one of the things that comes up is how they see the poor, defenseless, and weak. The righteous and the wicked notice them. One sees an opportunity to take advantage of them; the other sees someone that needs help. How do you see the weak? Are you there to help them and defend them? Do you take advantage of them and mock them?

-         Prov 14:31 God’s view is clear. He says that those that oppress the poor insult God, but those that lookout for the poor honor him. In Matt18:6 and Mark 9:42-44, we are told that someone is better off being thrown in the sea with a large stone around his neck, then causing one of the little ones to stumble. God says he is their defender.

-         The Bible is very clear on its stance. The question remains. Have we believed or used our strength to take from the weak or to defend them? God, I am sorry for all the ways that I mistreated the weak.  I am sorry for all the times I should have been at their defense and did nothing. God, I long for my life to make you smile. Help me to always see strength as an opportunity to stand for the weak.

-         Funny that a hero is one that uses their strength to look out for those who can’t look out for themselves. We see and admire a hero.  We make movies out of it . God put the heroic nature in us. We know that we are supposed to live a life of a hero . However, villains are more common then heroes. I guess it’s the selfishness of human nature. Regardless of its cause, I don’t want to be a villain taking from those who can’t stop me. I want to be a hero, standing up for those who can’t stand up on their own.

8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” NKJV

-        God gave you that same command to seek his face Jer 29:13. How have you responded? David decided to seek God’s face, not only for the moment, but for the days to come.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. ESV

-        What is your number one desire? If you could make one request of the Lord, what would it be? Lord, make me who you want me to be. Take me to the place, where you have been waiting for me. I want to meet with you face to face. I want to see you for who you are. I want you to change me more and more into your likeness.

-         Moses glowed after meeting with you. I want to glow with your presence and love. I want a changed life that will reflect you. I want every part of you to be seen through me. My request is that my life would make You smile. Have your way in every part of me.

-        As I read across this note from my last time through Psalms, I am stirred up again by this request. Then, I am reminded that my one wish can’t be granted by a genie or any one else.  This is the result of making everyday choices to seek God first and honor him in all I do.

9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. NKJV

-         God will teach those who will listen. Am I humble enough to listen, to receive correction? God, I want to be humble. I want to receive your instruction, not defend myself and the reasons I made wrong choices.

-         Ps 141:5(correction is a blessing) Prov 1:5 (the wise hear and increase in learning) Prov 16:18 (pride comes before destruction). Those who think they are always right don’t receive correction. They choose to face the consequences of their mistakes before learning, and they often refuse to change. Those who refuse correction are foolish (Prov 9:7-9; 12:1), & their own folly will destroy their lives. God, help me to always receive and learn from correction.