Psalm 98

We may not have an author for this Psalm but what we do see is the writer pointing us to something even greater than victory over war, pestilence, and the enemy. this joy is what we see in Christ.

Let all Israel, the nations and even Creation Sing for Joy

This Psalm is only 9 verses which we can see the writer’s focus is on praising the Lord. He starts out with Israel, then moves to all the nations in the world, and finishes with even creation itself will sing to the Lord. If you read Psalm 148 we see an even greater list of creation praising God.

The whole focus of why we praise God is for his salvation and this writer was writing of something to come, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins. He was revealed his salvation through him. The whole world gets a chance to see his salvation.  When Jesus walked into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11, we see the triumphal entry that would take place for a hero or a king. We know now that Christ  entered in as victor over sin and death. He died and rose again for true salvation.

Worship the Lord

Do you ever think about worship and why you do it? I would recommend writing some things down of why. 1) God is worthy of all praise (Psalm 18:3). 2) He offers salvation through His Son Jesus Christ 3) He is God (Psalm 150). 4) He is in control of our lives. 5) He provides for his children (Matthew 6:25-34). 6) He loves us and nothing separates us from his love (Romans 8:37-39).

This is just a small list, I encourage you to spend a few moments and make your own, see what the Bible says about praising God and why we do it too.

Psalm 96

Here is Adah in the morning. She always is smiling when we come to get her. It is interesting how much God is teaching me through my child. I can not help but think, do we react with excitement towards God when we spend time with Him? Also I get a chance to put a picture of my Bible on the Jr. high site.

In Psalm 96, it says, sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. This praise of salvation should be from our lips every day. It should be evident that we have spent time with the Lord. May we be excited that we have spent time with God and also realize who God is when we do. He is holy.

Greeting at the Crusade

Jr. High was in charge of greeting this year at the Anaheim crusade. We had over 50 volunteers that greeted over 150,000 people. I was able to help at Gate 1 and we averaged around 1300 people through our gates every 1/2 hour. The Jr. highers were troopers and am happy that they get to share in the fruit of the Harvest.

Here is a video that Adam Eaton put together of the night.

Greeting at the crusade from CRUX JR. HIGH on Vimeo.

Fireworks in August

Yesterday we celebrated the last night of the Anaheim Crusade. It has been 20 years that Pastor Greg and Harvest has been doing the Southern California crusade. It was a blessing to be able to see and partake in the fruit of the ministry.

We see that the last night of the crusade was about heaven. It is fitting that today’s reading of Psalms focuses on being in God’s dwelling place.

Here is some footage that I took last night. I thought it was amazing that I could worship God, listening to Chris Tomlin and then watching fireworks. Even though the music and fireworks were loud, I could still hear people singing out loud to God.

Fireworks in August from CRUX JR. HIGH on Vimeo.

Psalm 84

The sons of Korah wrote this psalm. In verses 1 and 2 it says, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”  Last night was a glimpse of what it would be like with all the heavenly hosts singing praise to God. It was so awesome to hear the thousands of people singing out loud to God.

Our thoughts should be about heaven. Pastor Greg said, “Those that are heavenly minded will make the biggest impact on earth.” How true is that if we desire to be with the Lord, then the result would be living for the Lord and being a light to the world to show who God is. We have the hope of heaven, knowing that it is our destination to be with the Father, to see the Son.

The writer closes the psalm by saying, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Where are your thoughts? What are they on? If they are heavenly minded you will not want to do the things of the world.

There Will Be a Time

Psalm 82

This psalm was written by Asaph who not only was a poet but also was a prophet. This psalm is about the judgment on those who are in control or govern over nations. Their responsibilities include taking care of the poor and the fatherless.

In verses 2-5 God charges against the rulers to watch out for he will judge them according to what they have done on earth and with their power. Some scholars think this may have been written against Solomon when he started to get power for himself instead of serving the people like he was supposed to.

What we know Today:

As this psalm talks about God being the ultimate judge and we know all people will be judged it is important for us to realize that God is sovereign. He is in control even over rulers of nations. The last verse shares the heart of Asaph as he prays and says, “Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations.” God is over all nations. They are his, and allows certain men or women to be over them. But every action they do is not overlooked by God. It is a big responsibility and it reminds me ever so to trust the Lord and to pray for those who are in charge because it is not easy. I pray that they would seek the Lord and not their own wills. That they would care for those that can’t care for themselves. I ultimately know that God is in control!

Shout for the Lord!

Psalm 81

This Psalm was written by Asaph, who wrote this Psalm as a celebration or for a feast. Most likely this was sung at the beginning of the feast.  In the first three verses we see that it involves making noise as celebration unto the Lord. The ram’s horn was usually blown out of celebration and praise. This psalm was in relation to the grape harvest or giving thanks to God for his provision of the grapes. The psalmist wants to make noise and celebration to God for who he is and for his provision.

Make Noise:

Worship, is something that we can do silently in our hearts or our thoughts being of worship but we are also called to make noise unto the Lord. I think some of the best memories I have at camp is when the whole room is singing out loud unto the Lord. I think it is one of the best sounds to hear, even though it is a bunch of jr. highers who can or cannot sing that well, including myself. In verse 1-3 Asaph writes Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.

These verses talk about making noise whether it is through voices or instruments but the noise is praise to God for who he is. The rest of the chapter is about what God has done, and what he has promised to do if Israel is obedient to his Word.

As we are called to be worshipers of God, I challenge you to make noise unto the Lord. So many times the noise we make is a distraction from God in our lives. Try making a time where you are worshiping God through your voice or instrument. Do it in celebration of the fact that we went from death to life, from wretched to righteous. Worship with praise and thanksgiving for our saving grace.

Amen!