Are you in a scary time of life today? Do you feel you need someone to protect you? Some of the people who first sang this Song of Ascents may have felt that way. As they traveled through mountain passes on their way to Jerusalem, perhaps they looked up and…

What would you give someone to express your love for him or her? Candy and flowers? A big steak dinner? Sometimes, you see folks driving new cars with big bows on them around Christmastime. Nothing’s too good for your true love, right? Today’s passage reminds us that God spares no…

Why do we shout for joy to God? The first part of this psalm gives us the obvious reasons. We praise God for His great power (v. 3). We praise God for the way He has used that power in the salvation and protection of His people. In verse 4,…

Why do we need to build memorials? After all, in today’s passage, the people of Israel had finally come into the promised land after 40 years of wandering the desert. And what an entrance they had made! God stopped the flow of water of the Jordan River so that they…

How should we wait patiently for the Lord’s return? On this day when many Christians celebrate the martyrdom of St. Valentine, we naturally turn first to verses 10 and 11, remembering those throughout history for whom persecution was the price of faithfulness. James reminds us that sometimes suffering is just…

If Jesus is so powerful and if Jesus loves me so much, then why do I have to suffer what I’m going through today? This question is really nothing new. After all, Jesus promised that anyone who followed Him would face persecution at the hands of a sinful world (John…

To Jesus’ Jewish listeners, this teaching was simply outrageous. In those days, the Pharisees were the good guys, the straight-arrow types. They read the Bible and really tried to put it into practice in their lives. Indeed, the self-description of this Pharisee in verse 12 still puts most of us…

Are you afraid of something or someone today? Well, if it was okay for a mighty warrior like David to admit it, we can too. And just because we’re Christians doesn’t mean we have to minimize our problems or just wish them away. David’s problems were serious, and he didn’t…

The “worship wars” are raging within congregations throughout our country, separating Christians principally although not exclusively along generational lines. Some like robed choirs accompanied by organs. Some like praise bands featuring guitars and drums. And because each group not only prefers their own musical style but finds the other sort…

Lately, it seems that the Church has faced lots of opposition, but that is nothing new in the history of God’s people. Verse 4 mentions that many times, kings assembled themselves to fight against Jerusalem, but in verse 5 they fled in alarm. As we have seen so many times…