Category: Psalms

You are my Lord

Numbers 5-6
Psalm 16
Matthew 28

– Devotion by Andy Cisneros (SC)

This morning, I would encourage you to read Psalm 16:1-4. When you are done reading those verses focus on this question. Do you think of the consequences of your choices? Psalm 16:4: “The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.” What happens if we choose another god besides the true God? Another ultimate good, another Lord, another delight, another treasure? What happens is multiplied sorrows. “The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.” David has already found his good; he’s already found his delight; he’s already found his treasure. He’s not on a search anymore. Are you? David’s quest is over. Is yours? It’s over. I have found him. I have found my Good. I have found my Lord. I have found my delight. I have found my treasure. It’s over. I’m not running anymore after anything else. There’s nothing but trouble there. “I have no good apart from you.” The Lord is my good. I’m not shopping around. My quest is over.

What happens when you make your choice to follow God but the temptation to return to old gods is there. “Here’s another god; here’s another good; here’s another delight; here’s another treasure.” David’s response is, “I won’t even drink it. I won’t even take their name on my lips.” “Their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out. I will not even take their names on my lips.” These alternative gods, these alternative delights, these alternative toys. I’m not going to touch them. I’m not even going to get close or talk about them. I have found the all-satisfying treasure. Why would I choose multiplied sorrows?

I think verse 4 is what David was asking to be preserved from in verse 1. When he said, “Preserve me, O God,” what’s he asking to be preserved from? And the answer is verse 4. “Preserve me, O God.” I take refuge in you. I’m running to you as my good. I’m running to you as my treasure. I’m running to you as my delight. I am running to you. Preserve me from being drawn away to these other gods. Preserve me from failing to be satisfied in you this morning.

“This is the battle of the believer’s life: to have God as our good, to have God as our delight.”

I wonder if you pray like that. I wonder if you fight like that. That is just about all I do. This is the battle of real and satisfying life: to have God as our good, to have God as our delight, to have God as our treasure. And the world is saying, “No, I’m better!” So what else is there to do but fight? Verse 4 is what he’s pleading. “Preserve me, O God.” Don’t let me be drawn away to these other gods.

Psalm 90:14 is on my lips just about every morning. “Satisfy me in the morning with your steadfast love!” Is that your steady prayer? “Your steadfast love is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). Oh, don’t let me be more satisfied with anything else than with you. That’s the battle. Verse 1 calls out to persevere; verse 4 states the danger. You make the call on which road you will live. Be blessed today.

Reflection Questions

  1. What other goods, lords, treasures, delights have you found yourself running after? How is God better than each of these?
  2. What multiplied sorrows result in following after any of these others?
  3. What has God already preserved you from?
  4. Today, what do you specifically ask God to preserve you from?

Prayer

Dear God Almighty, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Help me to say it, believe it and live it every day. Thank you for preserving me from _______. Save me, Lord, from the sorrows and dangers of following after anything else the world dangles in front of my eyes and heart. Help me see clearly You, Your wisdom and truth and what You desire for my life. Make me strong in You against the temptation of _____________.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

Despising and Loving the Vile

Numbers 1-2

*Psalm 15

Matthew 27

-Devotion by Andy Cisneros (SC)

This morning’s devotion will be taken from Psalms 15 verses 1-5. Psalm 15:4 says, speaking of a blameless man, that ‘in their eyes a vile person is despised.’ How can we both despise the vile, and yet also love our enemies?” David says in Psalm 15:1–2, 4, ‘O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right . . . in whose eyes a vile person is despised.’ But Jesus says in Matthew 5:44, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ These categories of  vile people and enemies and persecutors are not entirely overlapping, but I think it’s safe to say that there’s at least some overlap between them. I imagine David had his enemies in mind in Psalm 15 when he was talking about vile people. How are we to “despise and love the sinfully vile?”

The short answer is that it is possible to love someone you despise. It is not just possible but necessary, because the psalm says that one of the principles of the person who dwells with God, who enjoys God’s fellowship, is that “in [his] eyes a vile person is despised.” That’s a mark of being welcomed into God favor. In fact, we don’t even need to jump from the psalm to Jesus in order to see what love requires toward a vile person.

Grab your Bible and read Psalm 15:1–5. I’ll just pause and share the key parts as we go along. “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?” That’s the question. Who gets to enjoy fellowship with God? “Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1). In other words, what are the marks of a person who can enjoy the presence and the fellowship of God? And here comes the answer: “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right” (Psalm 15:2). So he’s not free. This person who qualifies to be with God is not free to call just anything right. He does what is right — namely, what God calls right.

Keep going, “And speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor” (Psalm 15:2–3). Now that’s very important, because it comes just before the word about despising. Paul said in Romans 13:10, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” So, when the psalmist says, “does no evil to his neighbor,” he is saying, “I must love my neighbor. I may not wrong him.”

And then it continues, “nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psalm 15:3–4). That means he keeps his promises even when it hurts him. “Who does not put out his money at interest”  which means he doesn’t take advantage of anyone financially  “and does not take a bribe against the innocent” (Psalm 15:5). So he won’t let himself be lured by money to treat anyone unjustly. And then, “He who does these things shall never be moved.” End of psalm. Set your Bible down for a second. What do we make of this? Here’s David (a psalm of David), the man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). And he says that the person who can dwell with God and enjoy God’s fellowship 1. does what is right, 2. does not slander anyone, 3. does no evil to his neighbor, 4. doesn’t charge interest to gouge anyone, and 5. doesn’t let bribery pervert justice in his hands. This is not a careless moment for David, in which he’s on some kind of hate tirade against evildoers. This is a careful listing of traits of the person God delights to have near him. And right after saying, “does no evil to his neighbor,” one phrase later, he says that in this godly man’s eyes a vile person is despised and one who fears the Lord is honored (Psalm 15:3–4).

So, we take Paul’s definition of love from Romans 13:10 (“Love does no wrong to a neighbor”), and then David who is saying, “The man whom God welcomes loves his neighbor and despises him if he’s vile.” Notice the two halves of Psalm 15:4. The two halves express opposites. Here’s what he says in verse 4: “In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors (which is the opposite of despised) those who fear the Lord (which is the opposite of vile).” What David says in the godly person’s heart is not how they act, not how they treat people. That’s not the point of verse 4. That’s the point of verse 3: you do no wrong to a neighbor. But the point of verse 4 is what they feel about the character of a person. What they admire in their hearts or don’t admire, what they praise, glorify, honor. The godly person does not glorify the vile person. He glorifies the one who fears the Lord. The godly person does not admire, or venerate, or want to be like the vile person. He admires; he wants to be near and be like the person who fears the Lord. In other words, to despise in Psalm 15 does not mean you desire to destroy a person, or to see a person come to ruin. To despise means you regard the person’s character as ugly, dishonorable, shameful, disgraceful, unworthy of praise. There are people like that, and it would be ungodly not to despise them. David is saying, “If you have the kind of heart that enjoys being around vile people who don’t fear God, if you admire and esteem vile people, you’re not fit for the presence of God.” That’s what he’s saying. Sit with those words and act on them.

Reflection Questions

  1. What would make a person a vile person? What makes a person one who fears God?
  2. Why would a God of love want “the one who is blameless” to despise a vile person?
  3. Have you ever experienced loving someone you despised? If not, do you at least see how it is possible? What might it look like in your own life? Why might God be asking you to do this?

Prayer

Dear Lord God, help me be righteous before You. Show me how you want me to honor those who fear You, and despise the vile. Give me Your eyes, mind and heart to see clearly, think correctly, and love completely.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

Never Alone

Leviticus 24-25

Psalm 13

Matthew 26

–Devotion by Emilee Christian (MO)

I love the Psalms, especially those by David. David didn’t shy away from sharing his conflicting emotions with the Creator. Psalms 13, while short, is an excellent example. He begins the Psalms questioning God, feeling abandoned by Him. David pleads with the LORD for deliverance. Yet, David ends with a submission of praise. Personally, I don’t think anything happened to change David’s circumstances in between verses 4 and 5. Rather, I think David resolved himself to continue to trust in God’s unfailing word, even when he could not see its immediate fulfillment. The sort of dedication David has towards the LORD at the end of this Psalm very much reminds me of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane.

Jesus, like David, knows what it feels like to be alone. We see this in our reading from Matthew 26. Jesus understands how it feels to feel forsaken or forgotten by God. Jesus knows anguish, a sorrow that rests heavy in one’s heart. The words of David in Psalms 13 echo the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus’ accusers had the upper hand as they beat him, gloating and rejoicing in his suffering. Knowing all he was about to endure, Jesus still submitted to God’s plan. He went away with his accusers willingly. His submission was an act of praise and worship, just as David’s words are in the conclusion of Psalms 13. 

We will face struggles in our life as well. Though many of us will not be facing death by crucifixion or a life on the run from an angry king, we will face trials that leave us feeling desolate and hopeless. It is then we can take refuge in knowing our Savior, our High Priest, has felt the same. 

There is strength in numbers. Even the most introverted value and thrive upon community. It’s how our Creator designed us. When our soul feels crushed, we can run to the Savior who understands us. May we not forget that we have a powerful best friend in our corner. Jesus knows pain. Jesus knows loss. We are not alone. 

Reflection Questions:

  1. Why do you think there is so much detail about Christ’s suffering? Is it simply for the fulfillment of scripture or do you think there could be another purpose for the narrative?
  2. What does the knowledge of having a savior who can personally relate to your pain mean for you? If you are currently going through a trial, how does the knowledge your Savior can relate affect you? 
  3. How can you rededicate yourself to God during your own trials?

PRAYER:

Dear LORD,

Thank you for your Word. Thank you for reminding us that we are not alone. Thank you for giving us a Jesus who knows what it is to cry tears of anguish late into the night. Even when things feel hopeless, may I turn to You. Strengthen my resolve to do Your will. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

His Eyelids Test the Sons of Men

Leviticus 14-15

*Psalm 11

Matthew 24

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today, as you are reading this devotional, it’s my birthday which is a little ironic because as I am writing this particular devotion a week before it is released, it’s on the anniversary of my death day (2/14, see my devotional on 2/5/26 for details).  It’s an interesting contrast when you consider it.  I am alive by the grace of God.  Today when I woke up, my wife asked me (as she normally does when she wakes up) “How are you today?”  My response was, as it normally is, “I am alive!  I’m wonderful, I should be dead but I’m alive.  God is good.”. 

            If you think about it, we should all share that same sentiment: God is good, we exist at all because of His goodness and mercy, we are alive simply because He wills it.  There are things you don’t even know about that God probably did to ensure that you woke up today, opened your eyes, and breathed.  There are times in your life that you might have died, whether you are aware of them or not, when God saved you and let you live up until right now, today.  What a blessing! Sometimes we take that for granted, please take my advice: don’t.  Life is precious, and if you are reading this, it’s a gift that God gave you directly because He wanted to.  Be grateful.  This too shall pass, enjoy it now.

            Today we’re going to discuss something weird.  It might even be considered controversial and a little disturbing by some, but we’ll draw our conclusions from scripture.  We’re going in for a deep dive today, are you ready?  Listen: I know that it’s a lot more time consuming, but it will really help your understanding if you look up all of the verses listed today, as we’ll be going to quite a few other scriptures to get a “holistic” understanding.  They’ll all be in bold font.  Our focus today will be Ps 11, read that in it’s entirety, and then let’s consider Ps 11:4 specifically, which says “Yahweh is in His holy temply; Yahweh’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.” (LSB). 

            We all know and understand the “His eyes behold” portion, and know that God sees mankind and gauges our actions (As proof texts read the following and don’t take my word for it:  Ps 33:13-15, Ps 14:2, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Prov 15:3, Zech 4:10, Hebrews 13:2, Mal 3:16) it’s a constant theme throughout scripture.  God Himself, or His agents, are observing our actions constantly.  How else could He rightly judge?  The whole earth is His, and everything in it (Ps 24:1).  But what does it mean to say “His eyelids test the sons of men”?

            Jesus explains in Matt 5:28 that if you sin in your heart, it’s still a sin.  James 1:14-15 explains that our hidden desires, when fed, lead to sin and then death.  Wrong thinking leads to wrong doing.  I can’t speak for you, but I can speak for myself personally and say that even when I have done no physical sin, I constantly struggle internally to be holy.  I sin in my heart constantly, and I’m really trying not to.  Whether pride, or lust, or envy, or greed.  YOU can’t see it, but it’s there, and I’m painfully aware it’s there because for the last couple years I’ve been trying to purify my heart and follow Jesus in every way.  Here’s the thing, though: God sees it (1 Sam 16:7), because His eyelids test the sons of men.

            Q: How, though?  A: In your sleep.  Have you ever been asleep and had a dream that you recalled briefly upon waking that involved a moral dilemma, or course of actions that you had to choose between?  That was what I call a “dream test”.  God tests your heart, almost constantly, many times in dreams or “visions in the night”.  Not only that though, but He instructs us as well.  You very seldom recall it, but once you start paying attention, you’ll notice more of it.  Sound crazy?  Check these scriptures out : Job 33: 14-18, Ps 7:9, Ps 16:7, Ps 17:3, Ps 139:1-4, Is 26:9, Jer 17:10, Matt 1:20, Acts 18:9-10, Rev 2:23.    My point is this: you can clearly see, through scripture (and scripture cannot be broken) that God not only tests us but instructs us in our sleep.  In dreams, in visions of the night.

**As a sidenote Job 33 is my favorite chapter in the bible because it is MY story, and the story of God’s grace and mercy: it was written for and about me.  It’s also where I discovered this concept.  See Job 33:14-30 if you’re interested.

            I think it’s important at this point to note that even if we have a revealing dream, we must always test the spirits to make sure they are from God (1 John 4:1).   Since we are engaged in a spiritual war (Eph 6:12) it is absolutely plausible and probable that your enemy may test you as well, or try to divert you.  For an example of this read Job 4:12-21 very carefully, consider the source, and recall that later Eliphaz is chastised by God because “you have not spoken of Me what is right” (Job 42:7).  This stuff is a little scary, but remember that Yahweh God is “Most High”, and protects us fiercely as a loving Father (Zech 2:8, 2 Thess 3:3).

            Your creator, He who formed your heart, knows your heart…better even than you yourself do.  This is why David asks God to reveal to him his hidden faults and cleanse them in Ps 19:12; David understands that God knows him better than he knows himself.  We are called to not just act right, but to be right.  Even in our hearts, where we think no one else can see, because GOD SEES.  This is the most challenging thing, for me, because I’ve found that if you’ve immersed yourself in the world you begin to think in worldly terms and it’s hard to change your perspective.  We have to be born again (John 3:3, keep your finger here), to repent (change course) and be born of the spirit (John 3:5).  THIS IS A REQUIREMENT TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD, not an optional career path as a Christian (John 3:7 ok, you can move your finger now).

            God is trying to teach us, He is testing us and helping us pass the future tests by giving us instruction and direction when we are sleeping.  Sometimes, if we listen closely, He will instruct us when we’re awake (Is 30:21, Ps 32:8).  He also speaks to us every time we read the scriptures.  The problem isn’t that God isn’t speaking to us, the problem is that (particularly among the distractions of this evil age) we’re not listening hard enough.  So what can we do to listen to God better?  Well, funny you should ask…

PRACTICAL STEPS TO ACTIVELY LISTEN TO GOD:

  1. Pray before you sleep, ask God to speak to you.
  2. Read scripture right before you go to sleep to prepare your heart and your head to listen
  3. Keep a journal by your bed to write down dreams or messages (Trust me.)
  4. Expect it: God has been and will continue trying to speak to you.  LISTEN.

Reflection Questions

  1. How many times a day do you hear the voice of God?
  2. How many times a day do you actively seek to hear the voice of God?
  3. Do you think there’s a correlation between those two, and how can you increase both?
  4. Have you ever had a dream and knew that it was from God immediately when you woke up?
  5. If answer to the question above is “yes”, did you journal it to remind yourself? (Please consider doing so, if you don’t already).

PRAYER

Father God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, please instruct me.  Teach me, Lord.  Open my ears that I might hear, and open my eyes that I might see.  Help me to do your will, to be humble before you, and place You in the rightful spot on the throne of my heart.  Grant me wisdom in equal portions to the mercy You grant me daily.  Be my shelter, Father, and protect me in this evil time.  Please forgive me when I fall short in my heart, and lead me along the path that enters Your kingdom.  I thank You and I praise You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

Praise Our God

Leviticus 6-7 

Psalm 9              

Matthew 22

Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

Psalms 9:1-2 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
2 I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

Praises should flow from our hearts all our lives because of the great God and Father that we have.  Yahweh is His name and it means our God who is in a relationship with us. 

One of the things that has taken me a long time to understand and also to help me let the Word interpret itself to us is the question of agency.  God is the ultimate power and creator of all the universe, but He delegates His power and authority to those that He chooses to give it to.  All created beings are given freedom of will to obey God, and are given various levels of authority to exercise on His behalf.

For example, God is the author of our salvation, but Jesus is the agent of our salvation.  God has decided to give us His grace, but it comes to us through His agent Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:4-7 (NLT) But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

God decided to save us, but the way that He does it is through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.   God also has judged His Son worthy of authority to judge the whole world in the future.  Only Jesus Christ has the qualifications to do the judging and giving of rewards to all the world’s present, past and future populations.  We see the results of this agency here in Psalm 9.

Psalms 9:7-8 But the LORD reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
8 He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.

Yahweh executes judgement from His throne, but the agency for that judgement will come from His Son.  God has ultimate authority over all the creation but gives Jesus the rulership over the nations.

Acts 17:30-31(NLT) God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

Revelation 19:15-16(NKJV) Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

As we read Psalm 9 there is so much that we could unpack from it.  It has declarations of praise, and proclamations of confidence in God’s care and instruction, and declarations of what the ultimate kingdom of God will be.

Psalms 9:7-10(NLT) But the LORD reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
8 He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.
9 The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.

The other thing that we should contemplate today is what authority and power has God delegated to you?

Ephesians 1:19-20(NLT) I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 3:20-21(NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

2 Timothy 1:7(NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Thanks be to our God for His great love and grace that we have received and that we need to accept and exercise our position and power that God has given us in Christ.

Psalms 9:15-18(NLT) The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others.
Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.
16 The LORD is known for his justice.
The wicked are trapped by their own deeds.
17 The wicked will go down to the grave.
This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.
18 But the needy will not be ignored forever;
the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

Reflection:

How does God ultimately judge the world and the nations?

Who is His agent of judgment?

Prayer: 

Our God and Father, creator and ruler of all the cosmos, we lift our hearts in praise to you today.  Thank you for the wonderful gift of Your Son who is the agent of our salvation and future.  We look to You Father for the power to do Your good in this life.  Thank you for the Christ in us which gives us this power.  In Jesus wonderful name we pray.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

My Shield is with God

Exodus 37-38

Psalm 7

Matthew 21

Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
    and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
    O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God,
    who saves the upright in heart. Psalm 7:9-10 ESV

Devotion by Jennifer Hall (IN)

David was known as a man after God’s own heart. David was also called by God into a position of leadership and service, in turn ending up with enemies, persecuted, misunderstood, and alone at times. If anyone knew enemies, David did. If anyone trusted God to deal with his enemies, David did. Sparing Saul’s life when Saul was trying to kill him, restraining retaliation even when provoked at times, and seeking God’s guidance in his actions and responses were all ways David demonstrated that trust.

When I read Psalm 7, I read it from my paradigm thousands of years after David wrote these words. Yet, I notice how much these words still ring loud and clear today. Sometimes it is hard to read about atrocities and not invest more energy devising how to destroy or define enemies than it is to invest in turning to God as our shield and righteous judge. There are undoubtedly huge atrocities going on around us globally, nationally, and locally. There are also hurts, mistakes, and sins going on in our families, churches, and personal relationships. We hear of the bad stuff and bad guys all day every day, because this is what the media and water coolers feed us, and perhaps what we keep ordering. David certainly was not immune to cruelty and unfairness, but Psalm 7 indicates he knew well that God was a righteous judge, that He tests the minds and hearts, and that He is worthy of our reliance and gratitude.

In a world of enemies, deception, artificial intelligence schemes, social media agendas, toxins, and distractions pulling us away from God, we have the choice to be of the world or of the kingdom. We can be a pot-stirrer and well-poisoner, or we can trust that those who dig a pit will eventually fall (verse 15), that God’s shield is for those who repent (verses 3 and 12),  that God knows intents of the hearts and minds that we may not (verse 9), and that He is a righteous judge.  While the world rages on with its deceptions, brutalities, and evil agendas until the return of Jesus and the establishment of his kingdom on earth, as Christians we can look and sound different, setting our attentions higher, and echoing Psalm 7:17, 

“I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.”

Reflection Questions:

How do David’s words speak to you today?

What can you thank the LORD for as righteous judge and loving father today?

Knowing God is our shield, even against wicked enemies, what can we turn over to Him today?

Prayer:

Our Dear Heavenly Father and Shield, I praise You for Your goodness and love, and also for your righteous judgments. You know all, You see all, You discern all. You are truth and light and You are the victor. When You look into my mind and my heart, God, I want to be pleasing to You. I confess the times my own words, thoughts, attitudes and actions have been less than righteous in Your sight. Please forgive me, too, for the times I have been more focused on the evil or the enemy around me instead of on You. Help me to trust You more and more, knowing I can work and rest secure behind Your shield when I am doing what You want me to do. I pray for Your wisdom and discernment to know what is truly my enemy and Yours, and what is not. Thank you for the gift of Your Son that You gave to a wicked world to show us the way to You. Help me follow him well so I will be ready when he returns to set up Your perfect Kingdom.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

Wet Couches

Exodus 33-34

Psalm 6

Matthew 20

Devotion by Jennifer Hall (IN)

In terms of emotions, today’s readings take us from one extreme to the other. In Exodus we see hope of a promised land, covenants renewed, broken things repaired, and the brightness of God’s glory radiating. I can almost feel the summer on my skin reading these chapters, and I hear the message of God’s mercy and hope.  In Matthew, we read of the coming kingdom available for everyone (regardless of when in life one joined the kingdom work!), we see miraculous healing, humility, and service to others.  And then there is Psalm 6.

I distinctly remember as a child on the way to church noticing a few verses of Psalm 6 while I was looking at my Bible in the back seat of the our family’s monstrous (and memorable!) Oldsmobile. I also remember that my seat was duct taped at the corner for practical reasons that only duct tape can fix, and because of this, sometimes tape got stuck to my tights on the way to church. Tights. Ick.  The thing that surprised me as a kid still catches me by surprise as an adult. David drenched his couch with crying! I’m not surprised David cried. Who doesn’t? I was actually more surprised he had a couch! But, it is clear reading Psalm 6, men-after-God’s-own-heart also sometimes feel troubled, anguished, full of grief, guilty, broken, sick, wasted, and all the rest.  Having a relationship with God does not mean we are protected from heartache and distress. But, it does mean that no matter where we are, who we are, what we’ve done, or what has happened to us, we have someone hearing our tears who sees the big picture, who knows His eternal tomorrow, and who is merciful and constant.

Psalm 6 is the first of what are considered the “psalms of penitence”, and we see David starting this psalm with reference to rebuke and discipline indicating he knew that some of his pain and sufferings were connected to sin. Guilt is a powerful emotion and many of our other emotional challenges can build upon it when we haven’t released it to God. David is a stellar example in so many ways, and I am grateful that one of those ways is demonstrating what to do after making mistakes. Big mistakes. I love that we know more of David’s thoughts and not just his historical story. The psalms are very relatable because of their expression of emotion, and there are reasons that words from them are swarming in worship songs, requested at funerals, hospital rooms, and times of emotional need. 

At work, I get to talk about emotions a lot with my patients. “Spot the Emotion” is a cute little guy I like for all ages, and he hangs out in various ways in our clinic in books, art work, worksheets, and my most recent favorite is a stuffed Spot!  “Emotional regulation” has become one of the most highly requested goals of parents who bring kids to see us in OT, and the pediatric world is buzzing with the reality that we are in  a “mental health crisis” in this country, youth for sure. The idea of emotional regulation is a bit of a buzzword and means different things to different people, but what stood out to me in this psalm is that David, through God, had emotional regulation skills. It doesn’t mean he was cool, calm, and collected all the time. He had meltdowns. It is okay and normal to have feelings that are troubled in this world.  But, in those moments David believed God was there. I loved that in verse eight he tells us that the LORD has heard the sound of his weeping. In verse nine he confidently tells us that he believes his crying was heard, his prayers were accepted, and the LORD was there.  Before we sob it out, while we are drenching the couch, and after we have taken a deep breath and are starting to get up again, the LORD is with us.  We are never alone. We are always understood by Him. And if there is one emotional regulation tool I would give to any person in this world, it would be what David had. A relationship with the one true God, a knowledge of His words, and the forgiveness and healing that brings.  If I could give a second thing to everyone in this world,  it would be a support system of those who love and know God. It is okay to ask for help, and it is okay to be a helper who asks for help.

There is a day coming where the need for emotional regulation tools will be as absent as  the sun. A day with no tears, no pain, no sin. Until then, the LORD hears us, knows us, and wants us to cry to Him, laugh with Him, and talk to Him.  

Reflection Questions:

How do you feel about being able to cry to God anywhere or anytime about anything?

How did you relate to David’s psalm?

As we wait for the kingdom to come, we need each other. Who can help hold you up in Godly wisdom as you deal with big emotions? Who in your life might need some encouragement and help right now?

Prayer:

Dear One True God – Thank you for being near, hearing prayers, and seeing tears. Thank you for David’s example and heart. Help me to seek You and find You, even in the midst of my toughest days, and also never forget You on the easier days when my couch is dry.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

Set Apart

Exodus 25-26

Psalm 4

Matthew 18

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

Ps 4: 3a “But know that Yahweh has set apart the holy one for Himself;…” (LSB)

In Hebrew, the word for “holy” is “qodesh”.  Like many of the words that we translate over into English, the original word in Hebrew has a number of meanings and we try to summarize it nicely to the word that most closely matches in our language, but in doing so we also sometimes lose a lot of the “flavor” that the original word encompasses.  We translate “qodesh” as “holy”, but it  also means “seperated”, “set aside”, and “set apart”.  When we read the above verse with that in mind, you can also read it as “Yahweh has set apart the set apart one for Himself” entirely accurately.  It’s a clever word play.

But what does that mean?  It’s simple, look around you at our society.  We live in a world that is rife with sin, carnal images, narcissistic encouragements, pride, immorality, etc.  It’s everywhere.  We are a people that has largely forgotten about our God, it’s painfully apparent in almost every aspect of our society.  God wants us to set ourselves apart from all of this, to remember and honor Him, and to obey His will.  In return, He promises that He will set apart for Himself those who set themselves apart.  But how are we to do that?

Ps 4:4-5 “Tremble, and do not sin.  Ponder in your heart upon your bed, and be still.  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in Yahweh.” (LSB)

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom (Pr 9:10).  Fear, and do not sin.  Think about God as you’re laying in your bed, and be still.  Another translation of “be still” is “quit kicking”, which I’m personally a fan of.  This is all about attitude and understanding your place.  Acknowledge God as not only your creator, but the creator and master of ALL THINGS, He’s in charge and you’re not.  A roommate of mine in college had a fantastic poster that read “2 Foundation Facts for Human Englightment: 1 There is a God, 2 You are not Him.”.  

Are you living a righteous life? That is the sacrifice that God requires, not the cattle on a thousand hills, not a specific percentage of your income, not writing the big checks you see on TV that take 2 people to even hold up, but righteousness.  It’s a sacrifice, you put aside some of the things you think you’d like to do to set yourself apart and obey God.  

Do you trust God?  Our society has taught us to trust in ourselves, to trust in the system, to trust authorities, and to trust in our abilities but has largely obscured this critical aspect of trusting in our creator.  There are a thousand and one things to distract us, to divert us, to capture our attention and take it away from this critical foundational concept of trusting the God that made us.  I will put forth for your consideration that anything you trust in more than God has become an idol to you.  Anything that you delight in more than God can become an idol to you, and cause you to focus on things aside from our heavenly Father.

God specifically and repeatedly tells us not to have idols, not to focus on things that are worthless, and remember Him.  We look back in history at some of the false gods that the Israelites worshipped and just shake our heads.  Then we go back to watching TV, getting on social media, watching movies, trying to get ahead at work, playing video games, reading books, getting a better car/house/mate…anything that diverts and distracts us from what our real job should be; setting ourselves apart and offering up to God the sacrifice of our righteousness and trust.  If any of those things is taking more of your focus than you are giving to God, it has become an idol to you.  I will tell you a painful reality: if you swim for too long in the sewer, you’re going to smell like poop.   Everything that takes your attention away from God is the sewer.

I do trust God, because do you remember the story of the prodigal son?  That was me.  My Father came running down the road to greet me when I started coming back to Him.  I am ashamed that I ever turned aside, and humbled that despite my vast unworthiness, my God came running to me the moment I started back towards Him.  I promise, if you have veered off the path, return to God.  He will come running to meet you. 

In our Matt 18 reading today, in 18:12-14 is the parable of that lost sheep.  That was me, too.  God came looking for me when I was lost, and found me.  Notably, He found me when I pointed my head back in His direction because I heard Him calling; if I would have kept wandering away, who knows what would have happened?  In Luke 15:7 it says that when that lost sheep is found, there is rejoicing in heaven.  I get a little choked up just thinking about it, God cares so much about me, about you, about all of us, that He is actively seeking us to find ways to bring us home.  There is rejoicing in heaven when we start heading back towards God.  This should melt your heart, when you realize the depth of love and compassion that our creator has towards us.

So what about you?  Are you trusting in the God that loves you and offering up the sacrifice of righteousness to Him?  Have the idols of this present evil age distracted you?  Are you playing on the field, and not spectating from the seats in the game of life?  Here are a few practical daily tips to help you focus on and trust God.

  1. Pray.  Not just at meals, but when you wake up, when you shower, before you go to bed, while you’re driving.  Let your heart be melted by the love God has shown to you, and reciprocate it back towards God.
  2. READ SCRIPTURE!  Daily.
  3. Fast occasionally.  It doesn’t even have to be food, take a break from some of the things that distract you from God and spend that time seeking God instead.  Man does not live by bread alone, but he also doesn’t live by TV, social media, or anything else that isn’t something that comes out of God’s mouth.
  4. Love others.  God doesn’t just want us to love Him, He says that one of the ways that we can show Him that love is to love the rest of His creation.  This includes jerks, hostile enemies, addicts, ugly people, people with different cultures and colors, that person who uses weird pronouns, that guy who took your parking spot, the lady who was gossiping about you at work…every other living being is a creation of God, and by loving them (whether we agree with them or not), we honor God.  
  5. Do you want to find Jesus?  He’s probably in the parking lot at Walmart, and he’s probably hungry.  Go buy him a sandwich. (Matt 25:40).  Or maybe he’s lonely, in a nursing home, and wants a visit. Or maybe he’s doing time in prison and needs to talk.  Or maybe, he’s a lonely widow who can’t mow their own lawn because they’re feeble.  Maybe he just needs a ride.  Go find him.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. What are your idols?
  2. How can you do better at “setting yourself apart”?
  3. What is your biggest obstacle to living a righteous life?  How can you change that?
  4. Do you trust God more than yourself?  Why, or why not?

PRAYER:

Father God, you have been faithful and kind to me throughout my entire life.  Thank you.  Please help me to focus on you, to remove the things that distract my focus, and to live a life that pleases you.  Help me to be a servant who pleases his master.  Lord, look deep in my heart and show me my flaws, and help me to remove them so that I can love you fully.  Thank you for sending us your son.  Please forgive me of my flaws, and lead me to You, in Jesus name, amen.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

God’s Mighty and Miraculous Hand

Exodus 21-22

Psalm 3

Matthew 17

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            I want you to know that my parents are amazing, wonderful, spirit-filled, and God-led people, who have strove their entire lives to live in a manner pleasing to God, and to instill in me that same holiness and humility.  That being said, I want you to know that I was a truly terrible person, rebellious and narcissistic, and largely ignoring everything they said until God grabbed me and my attention.  Today as a devotion, I am going to give you just a small portion of my personal testimony.  This will be the “highly edited” version and summarization, but please know that I was a truly terrible person, despite my awesome parents, and my awesome God.  As a spoiler alert, know also that God saved me with a mighty and miraculous hand.

Psalms 3:1-2 (LSB): “O Yahweh, how my adversaries have become many!  Many are rising up against me.  Many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.””

            When I was between the ages of 18-25 I was basically a career criminal, and that is far more a reflection of my own stupidity than my parents efforts.  I found that the easy way was…well…easier, so I took it.  Then I kept on taking it.  I was doing lots of drugs, and drinking too much, and doing things I shouldn’t.  Mom and Dad could see that I was drifting away and prayed for me constantly, which is likely why I am alive.  I became involved with bad people, doing bad things, for bad reasons.  Then as I moved deeper into those circles, I became privvy to  information that I shouldn’t have, and as a result I found myself in mortal peril.  Those people I’d thought of as my friends began to seek my life.  Things got dark and ugly.  People that I knew and loved died.  It was a hot mess, and in a moment of desperation I called Mom and Dad.

Psalms 3: 3-4 (LSB): “But You, O Yahweh, are a shield about me.  My glory, and the One who lifts my head.  I was calling to Yahweh with my voice, and He answered me from his holy mountain.”

            Miraculously quickly, my parents sent me a plane ticket in another young man’s name, who had just cancelled a trip but not the ticket yet.  This was before 9/11 so you could get away with those types of shenanigans.  I escaped and moved in with them in Atlanta, where dad was teaching at the Atlanta Bible College.  I was expecting to die at any moment, and so I threw myself wholeheartedly into scripture, looking for God to save me, which He did.  I was the only kid in history, to my knowledge, to go to the Atlanta Bible College with a mohawk (but nicely done up in a pony tail, usually).  I met some great people there, TRUE friends, who loved God and lived in a manner that was pleasing to Him.  I immediately stopped doing all of the bad things I’d been doing, and started to study up on scriptures.  I was really trying to seek God.

            When you’ve lived immersed in a sewer for a long time, though, it’s hard to keep yourself from stinking.  When I took up a professional (legitimate) career, I started to get puffed up with myself, and some of the bad habits I’d had started to look appealing to me again.  Does this sound familiar, from the stories in Exodus?  Even though I’d been miraculously saved, from overwhelming odds and contrary to all worldly sense, I soon began to do some of the things that I had before: namely drinking and smoking various things in my case.  The issue was not what I was doing, necessarily, but that in my heart I had determined that I could decide, not God but me.  I began to be what I call a CINO, a Christian in Name Only.  I was living for myself, seeking advantage for myself, taking care of myself…but I’d still check all the boxes to be considered a “Christian”.

            I’d still go to church (check), still pray before meals (check), sing when I was at church (check), and had a bible at the house (check)…but I forgot in my heart about the God who had saved me miraculously and without my deserving to be saved, and started trying to make my own decisions again, instead of listening to God.

Psalms 3:5 (LSB): “Then I lay down and slept: I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.” 

            Then, on Feb 14, 2022, I died.  I’m not saying this metaphorically, I am saying I died, for a bit over 5 minutes.  Specifically, I had a widowmaker heart attack with a 100% blockage (“Wot? I got better!”-Monty Python). In retrospect, this was God tapping me on the shoulder to remind me.  Any sane person would have recognized it for what it was, but me?  Nope: I got up, kept checking the boxes, and kept on being stupid.

Psalms 3:8 (LSB): “Salvation belongs to Yahweh…“

            About a year later, my dad went blind.  Now, I knew I wasn’t a good guy…but my dad, my dad was a righteous man, who had tried his entire life to live in a manner pleasing to God, with better succcess in this endeavor than most men.  Not perfect, by any means, but he REALLY TRIED.  It affected me in a way that my own death did not.  I got on my hands and knees and started praying and fasting, asking God to heal dad.  About 3 days into a hard fast, I realized through scripture that God would not listen to the prayers of an unrighteous man, so I began to systematically get rid of everything in my life that led to unrighteousness.  I burned the things keeping me from God in a fire, and said I was sorry.  Then I kept fasting, and praying.  I talked to God a lot.  A while later, He started talking back.

            So now it’s been almost 2 years since I’ve fully submitted myself to God’s will.  I’m almost 58 now, but some fools are just slow learners.  There have been hills and valleys in my walk, but God has taken me by the hand and leads me.  Why?  I don’t know, I absolutely don’t deserve it, probably because my parents never stopped praying for me.  I have seen miracles.  God has spoken to me.  Crazy things have happened, too many to detail to you without you thinking I was absolutely insane.  So many miracles that I started keeping a journal.  I’m not talking about “oh, it was a miracle that I got that job” miracles, I’m talking about “oh look, the Red Sea just parted so we could go through” miracles. 

Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will seek me and find me when you search with your whole heart.”  Let me just tell you this with absolute sincerity and conviction: God absolutely exists and He still intercedes miraculously for those who seek Him with their whole heart.  This is not a knowledge attained from books, this is an experiential knowledge that I am sharing with you, with 100% conviction.  My dad is still blind, but God is opening up other things for him (and me) that we wouldn’t have suspected or expected.  I live in a state of awe and wonder.  I am humbled and amazed that God would seek me out, of all the terrible sheep who have gone astray…but He did.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Have you ever made a conscious decision to do something different than you knew God wanted you to do?  If so, why, and how did that work out?
  2. Has God ever saved you?  Was it miraculously?  Are you sure?
  3. Have you ever tried completely submitting yourself to God, to praying and fasting intently, to speaking to Him almost every moment in awe and worship and love?  If you did, did you witness miracles too?  If you haven’t tried yet, why not?

PRAYER:

Lord God, Father, I have failed you more times than I can count, but you have been kind and faithful to me despite my foolishness.  Please God, forgive me!  Help me to be the servant who pleases you.  Teach me your ways, and circumcise my heart.  Whisper to me the way in which I should go, and lead me by the hand.  May the lips of all your creation offer you the praise you deserve, thank you God!  In Jesus name, Amen.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

The Anointed One: The Son of Man

Exodus 17-18

Psalm 2

Matthew 16

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

In our Exodus reading this morning, we see once again that after a string of miracles and rescues, the Israelites are grumbling; to the point that Moses tells God he’s worried about them stoning him (17:4).  God miraculously provides yet again for their provision, and then miraculously provides for their safety and security (17:11-13).  Then, some of the in-laws decide to stop by for a visit (18).

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro comes to visit and sees an overwhelmed Moses, struggling from sunup to sundown daily taking care of the (very demanding) people he was leading.  Keep in mind, this was not a small group, this was likely millions of people (Ex 12:37-38 “600,000 men, not counting the little ones (or women), and a foreign multitude also”) all clamoring for his attention at once.  Can you even imagine the chaos? Jethro gives Moses some VERY good advice (18: 17-23) that applies to us today as well: organize and prioritize if you want to get results, delegate if you have to.  I think we too many times take on more than we can reasonably accomplish, and don’t have a good plan to do it, and just end up getting frustrated and upset.  Many times we just give up because we feel overwhelmed.  But couldn’t we take Jethro’s advice, and plan better?  If we organize ourselves, and approach our problems systematically, they become less overwhelming.  This applies to every aspect of our lives: work, social, spiritual.  We could actually have written the entire devotional on just this bit alone, but there are some other VERY important scriptures in today’s reading.

Moving on to our second portion of scripture today (Ps 2), we see some absolutely critical theological points that need to be highlighted (in your bible) and remembered .  Do you remember what “Christ” or “Messiah” means?  It ‘s a title, and means (literally) “The Anointed”.  It represented a man who was chosen and anointed by God (usually through his agent, or “shaliah”…see Jan 27 devotional) to be his king, it’s all throughout the Old Testament, check and see.  The  Hebrew “Messiah” (or “Christos” in greek) means simply “the anointed one” and the term came to be one of prophetic expectation waiting for God to send his king to rule the earth (See 2nd Samuel 7 for the details of the prophecy, we’ll get deeper into that one in a later devotional).    The New Testament continuously states that Jesus of Nazareth was this man anointed by God to be His king on earth by reiterating it over and over when describing him as “Jesus Christ”.  That’s not his last name ya’ll, that’s a title (I’m Southern, I’m allowed to say “ya’ll”, it’s culturally appropriate).  Most of the gospels directly state that the purpose for their writing was to show that Jesus was that Messiah, and that he had come, in their thesis statements.

In Psalm 2:2 it says “The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh and against his Anointed, saying…” (LSB Translation).  We see clearly here that there are 2 individuals that the kings and rulers are taking a stand against.  This does not match up with what some mainstream orthodoxy teachings relate, but this is stated explicitly and repeatedly in scripture and we know from Jesus that “scripture cannot be broken”.  This is one of the many reasons why it is so absolutely critical to study for yourself, and not rely on people to tell you what you should believe.  Men are just human, and can fail, but scripture cannot be broken(John 10:35), so read it for yourself (and show your work).  Be a good Berean, and test everything that you hear against the scriptures.  Our God is a God of truth and not deception, so if something you are hearing from men confuses you, study scriptures!  If you can read Deut 6:4 and Mark 12:29-34 and not be fiercely monotheistic, like the ancient Jews, then you have learned mental gymnastics worthy of an olympic level athlete…but why change it?  Man was made simple, his complex problems are of his own devising (Ecc 7:29).

Ps 2: 11-12 states “Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way…”(LSB), another clear delineation between our creator and our king.  It is terrible and sad that we have confused this simple message through the centuries, whenever possible I suggest we should with love, patience, and respect suggest the simpler reading to our brothers and sisters who have reached a different, more “complex”, understanding.  In instances that opportunities present themselves for you to do this, may I humbly suggest that “love” is far more important for you to convey than truth.  The truth will come in time, if presented deeply with love, according to God’s will.

To wrap this up in a nice tidy bow, we can then turn over to Matt 16, where one of the clearest statements of Jesus identity is made by his guy, Peter.  First let me pose you this question, what is a son of man?  I would respectfully answer this with the very common sensical answer of “a man”. What if you capitalized that, and said a Son of Man?  Well, I’d have to say, still a man: although this does have prophetic overtones (See Daniel 7, and note again the clear delineation between God and his anointed).  Did you know that in addition to God using his name (YHVH) almost 7000 times in the Old Testament, Jesus is referred to as the “son of man” (add capitilization however you like, the NT translators did…)  81 times, and 80 of those times were by Jesus himself in the gospels.  A “son of man” was how Jesus self-identified.  It’s pretty important to remember that.

In a conversation about identity, Jesus asks Peter who people were saying that he was (Matt 16: 13-14). To further clarify who he was, Jesus asked Peter “but who do you say that I am?”.  Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.”  Remember that Christ and Messiah mean the same thing, anointed one.  I would like to point out the obvious at this point and say that God has no need to anoint himself.  By his statement Peter is clearly stating “You are the one that was anointed by God, and the son of the Living God”.  This is in a direct fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Sam: 7 wherein the Messiah MUST BE: 1-the son of David (a human descendant of King David), 2-the son of God, 3-the king who will rule forever.  Note Jesus response to this answer in v17: “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (LSB).  If Peter was mistaken about Jesus’ identity as the Christ, this would have been an excellent opportunity for Jesus to correct him don’t you think?  Just some things to think about, may God bless you as you study his word.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. What can you change in your approach, like Jethro suggested to Moses, to more effectively govern your own life? Your own work? Your own spirituality?
  2. When Jesus says that scripture cannot be broken, he is referring to the scripture they had at the time, the Old Testament.  How often do you take time to “stand by the ancient ways” and read the Old Testament deeply? Why?
  3. Do you check everything the pastor tells you from the pulpit against scripture?  Why, or why not?  Now think of the same question, but instead of your pastor insert “anyone”, and instead of the pulpit insert “youtube”, “social media”, or “friends”.  Is your answer different?  Why, or why not?
  4. Who do you say that Jesus is?  Is it different than Peter, and if so, why?

PRAYER:

Lord God Most High, please open my eyes so that I can see clearly.  Please open my ears so that I can hear clearly.  Circumcise my heart, so that I can walk humbly before you.  Thank you for sending your son with your words to teach and redeem us all, please help us to listen and to obey.   Forgive us our pride, and grant us humility and understanding.  Thank you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload