Author: Jimmy Gunn

 Re:Verse passage – Psalm 46:1-11 (day three)

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

³ Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. (vv. 1-3)

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Even in the Old Testament, it was clear to God’s people that things would not always be easy. Evil and calamity are ever present (until the Lord makes all things new again) because sin broke what God made. But, right alongside the evil and calamity is the ever-present reassurance that evil, fear, calamity, shame, hopelessness, guilt, grave, and pain do not win. The Psalmists point this out with the first lines of the Psalm. God is always there even when things around us take a turn for the worse.

Jesus then reminds us of the same thing in the New Testament. His words bring a heaviness that reminds us of the fallen nature of this world, but He doesn’t leave it there. “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” What a good reminder from our Savior! He lifts us from the depths of despair to the knowledge that He has won.

Today, as the world reminds you of how calamitous and fallen it is, may you take refuge in the Lord, trusting that He has overcome. Though everything should change and the world should shake to its core, may you trust in the Solid Rock of God today. He has overcome!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 77:1-20 (day three)

¹² I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds. (ESV)

One of my favorite things that we do with our kids, almost daily, is a game called “High/Low.” It is a time we set aside during dinner or a car ride to talk about the highs and the lows of each of our days. Each family member is given the spotlight to talk about his or her day. There are times that the highs flow freely and we have trouble coming up with lows. That is allowed (and welcomed!). But there are also days where highs are hard to come by, but lows abound. It is on these “low” days that we take a moment to help our kids find the highs of the day by reminding them to look for how they saw God that day. It may be as simple or easy as saying, “My high today is that I am alive.” Or, “My high today is that we are all sitting here at dinner eating together.”

The point of this time is for us to praise God with our kids for His goodness in our days. It is also a time for us to praise God in the lows and to remind them that God is there with us during both the highs and the lows. Often, we just do not look for Him or see His work right away. The reminder is for them (and me!) to not dwell in the lows but to lift our eyes up to see how God is moving even in the low times. This verse in Psalm 77:12 reminds us to do just that. Remember what God has done and what He continues to do. When we do that, even our lowest days may be seen in a new light.

What are your highs and lows for today?

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 113:1-9  (day three)

⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
⁶ who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth? (vv. 5-6, ESV)

This Psalm reminds us that the Lord our God takes a vested interest in the happenings of this world. While He is seated on His heavenly throne, He is not sitting back simply ignoring the things He has created. He is taking part in and watching over that which He made. His involvement is much more than just watching. He lifts up the poor and needy, brings comfort, provides, protects, guards, blesses, makes new ways where there are not ways, performs miracles, maintains His Creation, and so much more. This list could be exhaustive, and we will have all of eternity to praise and thank Him for these things and so much more!

Our God is a hands-on, caring God and there is no other like Him. I hope that brings you joy this week. How have you seen Him taking an active role or part in your life? He is there! Take time today to take note of God being active in your life and praise Him all the more for it!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 96:1-13 (day three)

² Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day. (ESV)

When we read this Psalm as a directive for all nations to sing and worship the Lord, we understand the significance of verse two a little more. Here, David is reminding all peoples to sing of the salvation that comes from the Lord (not just Israel). Our praise and worship should start with a thankful expression of the salvation that God has given to all people. David is highlighting the Gospel here in the Old Testament!

I’ve heard Pastor Byron remind us all many times before that the best way for us to share the good news of Jesus is to tell of the difference that Jesus has made in our lives. How are you different because of Jesus? What muck and junk has Jesus saved you from? What has salvation meant to you as a follower of Christ? These answers are what we praise Him for! We worship and praise God because He gave His Son for us so we could be with Him, even though we do not deserve it.

There is somebody out there today that needs to hear your salvation story. They need to hear how God has rescued you from the pit of destruction and has given you new life. Bless the Lord’s name today and every day because of the salvation you have been given, and tell of His salvation as often as you can!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 119:1–16 (day three)

⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. (ESV) 

What is your response to the Lord when you read His Word? It is easy to read the Word of God, if we are not careful, and not really “read” it. We might read the words on the page, but we might be preoccupied with other thoughts and feelings that cloud our understanding. I know I have struggled with this at times. On the other hand, we may miss all that God has in His Word because we simply do not spend the time in it that we should. Our understanding of His truth and Word is stunted with lack of time with Him in it.

Whatever the reasons that may get in the way of your reading and understanding, let me encourage you today. The good news is that God promises to help us understand His Word when we spend time with Him in reading it (Psalm 119:18, 130; James 1:5). Then, when we understand His Word, it gives us reason to praise! The more we understand about God through His Word, the more it causes us to praise Him. Worship is a byproduct of understanding God’s grace, love, mercy, and compassion, and we grow in that understanding by spending time in His Word. If you are struggling in your praise of the Lord, dive into His Word and ask Him to remind you of who He is!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 62:1-12 (day three)

¹ I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.

What do you do when trouble comes your way?

What defines trouble for you? Is it big things that shake your spirit such as a cancer diagnosis or an international crisis? Is trouble for you small things like being overly critical of something or someone because you didn’t get enough sleep, or a disappointment in your day? No matter how we define trouble, trouble will come. The temptation to react and handle things on our own will be there constantly and consistently throughout each day. There is always an urge to handle troubles on our own, rather than letting God handle them.

Often, it is easier to go to God with our bigger troubles and let Him take care of those. But that is not how God wants us to operate. The Bible is full of examples and exhortations to let God have all our cares, worries, and troubles. But we struggle with this. We struggle with letting Him have control over the big and the small troubles. Here in Psalm 62, the Psalmist reminds us to find rest in the Lord. If God is strong enough and big enough to handle our biggest troubles, isn’t He more than strong enough and big enough to handle our small troubles, also?

So, when trouble comes your way today, what will you do? Will you trust God and give it to Him, or will you try to handle (name your small or big trouble here) when it arises? I pray you find rest in Him today with the big and the small things.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 37:1-40 (day three)

³⁴ Wait for the Lord and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

I love baseball. I love everything about it: The smells of grass and dirt, the sounds of a ball hitting a bat or mitt, the minutiae of stats, the stratagem of plays. I could go on and on and bore you with the history and stats that I know by heart. I also know that the game of baseball has a lot of waiting. I often hear that baseball is a boring sport, and I understand these feelings. But over my many years of playing and coaching, I have learned how to navigate the “waiting” during a baseball game. As a player, I learned to fill my time waiting by quizzing myself on what I would do if the ball came my way. I learned to watch the other players to see what they did well that I could learn from. As a coach, I have learned to engage with the kids to help them engage in the game. All this is to say that in the game of baseball, there is a lot of waiting. But there is much to do while you wait for your next opportunity. I often tell the kids I coach, that baseball is only boring if we don’t know what to do while we wait. Then, I try to coach them on what to do while they wait.

Waiting for God can feel like that sometimes. It can be hard to wait for His timing and to wait for what He has in store for us. Our timing is not His. In Psalm 37, David reminds us that there is much to do while we wait for the Lord’s timing. We are to keep God’s way. We are to follow Him and to stay steady on His path. We are to adhere to Him and His Word in all that we do.

If you find yourself having trouble waiting on the Lord today, ask Him to teach you to wait well. I know that He will.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 16:1-11 (day three)

¹¹ You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (ESV)

This verse reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 10:10 where He says,

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Jesus wasn’t talking about a good life here on earth. He wasn’t talking about living “your best life now.” It was quite the opposite. Jesus came to give life for us in the future. He gave His life so we could live our best life in the days ahead when we cross from life on this earth to our eternal home with the Lord, surrounded by the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in His presence. Because of Jesus, we have the path to abundant and joyful life!

Now, because we have the path to life, we must follow it. David reminds us of the choice we have to make in verse 4 of Psalm 16. It is a free gift, but it must be received to be enjoyed. We must choose the Lord and to follow Him only in order to receive the abundant life given through Jesus. This Sunday, we will celebrate the gift of salvation that our God has given to us while looking forward to eternal joy in His presence. May we live for Him well in the days ahead, choosing life in Him and to not lift our eyes to any other.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day three)

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (NLT)

David knew that at the heart of his sin, he ignored who God was. His confession after adultery, lying, deceit, murder, and more does not include any mention of those sins. His confession talks heavily, however, about sinning against the Lord and forgetting the joy of knowing and following Him.

I would say it is the same with us for any of our sin. No matter what sin we find ourselves in, it all comes back to us thinking we know better than what God has said and choosing our way instead of His way. That is, essentially, what sin is…choosing our way instead of God’s way. No matter what it is, when we sin, we are essentially telling God to take a back seat so we can do what we want. David recognized that and wrote this honest, heartfelt confession to the Lord, asking God to help him be more willing to obey in the future.

The weight of sin is heavy, but confession and repentance lift us up. Where in your life right now are you telling God that you want to do things your own way? Search your heart today and ask the Lord to reveal to you sins you need to confess so that you may be filled with His joy again. May we all be a people that are more willing to obey Him in all that we do today!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 19:1-14 (day three)

¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.

The Gunn kiddos are currently on spring break this week, and our week began with a favorite activity … a trip to the library. It is now Wednesday, and many books have already been read from cover to cover (even the long ones!). As I talked to one of my kids about the third 300+ page book they have read this week, the subject of how they could read that many long books so quickly came up. Put simply, these books were being read at every available moment of the day from waking to sleeping. The desire to read from a new book was so great a thing that it was the driving activity for the beginning of our break.

When was the last time you read the Bible like that? When was the last time you read the Word of God as if reading it for the first time, pouring over the words as if you could not get enough? Can you point to the last time you have desired His words more than the finest things, or thought them sweeter than anything you can imagine? I hope that your answer is that it was recently. For me, I was a little convicted today in reading these words again, understanding them anew. May we all desire the laws and words of the Lord as if tasting them for the first time!