Author: Rick Henderson

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

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Psalm 96:5-6

Sometimes the English language doesn’t fully capture the richness found in Scripture. Especially as we read poetry. The word for idols (elilim) is a play on the word for gods (elohim). Elilim actually translates most closely to “nothing.” What people call “gods” are, in reality, nothing at all. You can try to compare them to God, but they pale in comparison to the splendor and majesty of the Creator of the Universe!

We might not think that we create idols because we don’t have graven images in our households, but the gods of the peoples of today are just as prevalent and dangerous. We worship with our time, energy, and money. If we were to follow the trail of those things in your life, would it lead us to God or would it lead us to something else? Work, family, hobbies, comfort, success, possessions? These are the idols of today. Wait, those can be good things, can’t they?

Strength and beauty are the characteristics of the things found in the presence of God. When God is the center of our worship, we find strength and beauty in those good things, but when those “good” things become the center of our worship, we become drained and burnt out because our energy has been spent doing nothing.

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

My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation. Psalm 62:1

We live in a loud world. It seems as if there is almost always some sort of noise happening in the background. People walk around with headphones on like it’s an accessory. We have TVs in every room of the house. Not to mention smart speakers that will play anything we tell them to. Our cars have turned into giant cell phones used to communicate on our commute. All of this means that we rarely find ourself in silence, but isn’t that what  your soul craves? We need silence.

That is obviously very difficult, because even when we get noises around us to be quieted, our mind struggles to be silent. We fill the void with our thoughts, our supplications, our plans that we are bringing before the Lord. Yet, this waiting that God asks from us is a state of complete trust. It is surrendered silence. A place where we are not only quieting the background noise, but even quieting our own mind so that we can wait and listen for the Lord in silence. It is in that silence that He begins to speak to us, to encourage us, to guide us, and even to fight for us.

The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. Exodus 14:14

When was the last time you sat with the Lord in surrendered silence?

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

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. vs 8b

Three times in the first eight verses we see the psalmist uses the phrase, “Do not fret.” Anytime repetition is found in scripture, it is an indicator of importance, so what was David trying to highlight? We often attribute fretting to anxiety and worry. However, the word used here for fret is more often translated as anger or burning (Strong’s H2734).

David is telling us not to become angry by the success of evildoers. It is frustrating when it appears like God allows immoral people to avoid punishment. It is frustrating when it seems like bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. It is frustrating when we do everything right, but others who don’t live for God get the reward. This is the feeling David is trying to invoke. Have you felt this before? If we are honest, we all have, and maybe even pretty recently.

David encourages us not to fret or get worked up by this because God is in control. When we take matters into our own hands, it leads to us becoming the evil we are trying to expose. We cause more harm than good when we get flustered by other’s success. Trust God’s plan and God’s timing. It will be better than anything this world can offer!

Bonus thought: Why does God allow the wicked to prosper? I would say he doesn’t. I’d argue the success of the wicked keeps them in a place where they believe they don’t need God. That’s what the enemy wants. Victory in Jesus is better than any victory the world can offer.

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

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Psalm 16:9-10

This Easter Sunday, I too echo the psalmist: my heart is glad! We have not been abandoned, though we deserved to have been. Our eternity is secure, though we did nothing to earn it. Our ransom has been paid, though we could never repay it. Yet, it was Jesus who was abandoned. It was Jesus who took on Hell. It was Jesus was crucified for my sin.

O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Hosea 13:14

My heart is glad because Jesus claimed the victory. My heart is glad because He won my soul for eternity. My heart is glad because the grave is empty. He is Risen! Say it with me: He is Risen Indeed!

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

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You. Psalm 51:13

Pastor Danny said yesterday, “Forgiveness is not transactional; it is relational. It flows from the heart of God.” Let’s expound on this relational aspect of forgiveness. Many of our brothers and sisters have a very individualized view of forgiveness and repentance. Under the guise of grace, they fall into a trap of repetition where they continue in sin because they “confessed” it. They return to the same sin and expect God to continue to forgive them. Very transactional. There may be guilt and conviction but not enough to turn away from the temptation the next time it appears.

Repentance is to literally “turn the other way.” When we repent, we are not supposed to return to that sin. Rather, we are to overcome it by putting it away and turning to God. Here is where it gets even more relational. As we overcome sin, God equips us to take that testimony to others. God will use your brokenness to heal the brokenness of others. How cool is that? True repentance leads us to restoration with God. Then God will lead us to others who need restoration too. Repentance is relational: Deepening Relationships with God and others.

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

Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;

Have you ever wondered what made David a “man after God’s own heart?” This man who committed heinous  crimes and found himself in questionable circumstances again and again. Yet, this is the man that was chosen by God over  everyone in Israel. This is the king that would point us to the King of Kings. Why? Why David? I believe it was moments like this.

Moments of confession show that he faithfully returned to the Lord after moments of heinousness. Here we see him asking for forgiveness from sins he may not have known he had committed as well as the ones that were presumptuous, where he simply knew better and continued in sin.

Repentance is essential to a right relationship with God. If we are honest with ourselves, we have moments of heinousness too. We have those presumptuous moments where we choose the world’s way over God’s way.  If we too want to be men and women after God’s own heart, it will begin in confession and repentance. Spend some time today using the Re:Verse as a model to pray for the forgiveness of your sins that have been both hidden and presumptuous.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 14:1-7 (day seven)

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1

Atheism masks itself as intellect when in reality it is ignorance.  Only a fool can look at the world and believe that this is all a coincidence. On the contrary, the existence of the universe means there must be a Creator. The existence of design in the universe means there must be a Designer. The unique nature and character of humanity means there must be a God who is relational. The existence of morality means there must be a God who provides moral law. Yet, a “Big Bang” is the reason to explain all of these things, right?

What might be even more foolish than atheism is the person who will sit in a pew today and live tomorrow in the same way they did yesterday. Moralistic Therapeutic Deism plagues our congregations. Is church simply a place for us to attend to make us feel better and help us to be good? No one is good, not even one. Church attendance cannot cover up the actions of the heart if those actions continue to say, “There is no God.”

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 30:1-12 (day seven)

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; Psalm 30:11a

As we have read this week, every time I get to verse 11 I find myself clapping and singing, “You are the Only One who can!”

Elevation Worship is not a musical group that we pull music from very often at FBCSA. However, they partnered with Brandon Lake to produce a song called “Graves into Gardens” that has a bridge that reads like this:

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 66:1-20 (day seven)

Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me. Psalm 66:20

God hears. He doesn’t turn us away. Even when our prayers are selfish and our theology is imperfect, He listens. As the God of the universe, He has so much more to deal with than our insignificant first world struggles. Look up into the sky at night and you will come to the realization that we are just a tiny blip in a universe that is bigger than we can ever imagine. Yet, God cares for you. He hears every prayer. He comforts every soul that cries out “ABBA, Father.” In the midst of our insignificance, God shows us His lovingkindness and says, “You are significant to Me!”