- araratchurch
- Jul 25
- 2 min read
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”
Psalms 8:3-4 NKJV
When I was a little girl, we used to sing the song, “Does Jesus Care?” In the verses, the song considers whether Jesus cares in different situations of hurt and/or loss: losing a loved one, personal failure, confusion and heartbreak. The chorus gives this jubilant answer:
“O yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long night dreary, I know my Savior cares.”
I loved when we (my brother, sister, and I) sang that song. Somehow, thinking about the Lord caring for me always brought me to tears.
My father apparently felt the same way. On more than one occasion, he would have us sing this song for nearly the whole service. I can remember how he would join in with our singing, lifting his large hand into the air and shaking it, as he sang the words, “O yes He cares; I know He cares.” You see, my father never lost the thrill of the fact that the Lord cared enough for him to call him out of sin, asking him that day on Seal Beach (when he was just a teenager), “Where will you stay in eternity?”
Another person who never lost the awe of God’s care was David.
In our opening selection from David’s psalms, we see David expressing awe and wonder that our mighty Creator, the Lord, would actually care for mankind.
Indeed, David would elsewhere rehearse his awe provoked by God’s attention to our seemingly insignificant lives.
“Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.”
Psalms 144:3-4 NKJV
In another psalm, David marvels at the ignorance of those who dismiss God’s ability to know and care about what they are doing.
““The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.” Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on? Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes?”
Psalms 94:7-9 NLT
Friend, if you have times (as many do) when you feel insignificant, take a few moments and consider the vastness and splendor of God‘s creation. And with that, consider the fact that He not only knows and cares about us, He proved it by taking on an envelope of flesh to dwell among us. Additionally, He willingly suffered, died, and rose again, making the way for our freedom from Sin and the ability to be reconnected to His own never-ending life!
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The Almighty God cares for us!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 26
100 “Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. He made a pit and dug it out, And has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.”
Psalms 7:14-16 NKJV
I don’t know if phrases about “getting a taste of your own medicine,” are still in common usage, but I heard it a lot growing up. When you heard it, you knew what it meant: something that someone had done to someone else, a way in which they had treated someone else, some deceit, and so on, had come back on that person; now they were having to eat what they had dished out (to use another idiom).
In the Bible, the most commonly known example of “getting a taste of your own medicine,” is that of Haman. You see, Haman built gallows on which Mordecai was to be hung. But it turned out being used for him and his household.
“And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen. Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.”
Esther 7:6-10 NKJV
Consider these two very short scriptures:
“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”
Luke 6:31 NKJV
“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Matthew 7:2 NKJV
In these two scriptures, both the words of Jesus, you pretty much can understand God‘s philosophy in terms of our dealings with others.
Sometimes it may seem that God doesn’t see what evil people are doing. But He does see and He does turn the plans of the wicked back on themselves.
“When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers. Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies. You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother’s son. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.”
Psalms 50:18-22 NLT
I take no pleasure when I see people “get what’s coming to them.” But I have seen it and it isn’t pretty.
Given, it’s hard to be patient when you are the one being done wrong or dealt with deceitfully. You may feel that retribution can’t come fast enough. But remember, God—being the perfect Judge—works in His own time to bring perfect justice. Our part is to not allow the plots of others to change our own heart to be as ugly as those who plot against us or despitefully use us.
In our opening scripture, we see that David—in the midst of discussing the evil plans others have made against him—attests to the fact that God has and will use the traps of the wicked against them.
David’s sentiment about those who planned against him “getting a dose of their own medicine,” turned out to be a common theme for him. For example, in reflecting on the time he had to run from Saul, he says this:
“They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They have dug a pit before me; Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah”
Psalms 57:6 NKJV
Child of God, remember, no matter what you see people “dosing” out to you, make no mistake, God sees it. Therefore, let’s know and understand what David knew:
God uses the plans of the wicked against themselves.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jul 23
- 2 min read
“I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.”
Psalms 6:6-9 NKJV
Considering the suffering of people all over the world can be overwhelming. There seems to be so much pain, so many tears, in a world brought close through modern technology.
Yes, across our devices, we see suffering souls navigating a variety of catastrophes, wars, crimes, etc., writ large. Increasingly, our neighborhood is the world, a world full of suffering and sorrow. And—with suffering so great—what or who can offer any meaningful relief?
Sometimes that suffering soul is the person looking back at us from the mirror. And in those times, we may wonder if anyone really sees our tears. Does anyone really care?
Someone once said, “Smile and the world smiles with you; cry and you cry alone.” Now, you may have at least one person who does care when you have sorrow. But suffering can make us feel very isolated, very alone.
There was a song we sang when I was growing up: “I Must Tell Jesus.” The message of the song is encapsulated in its chorus:
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.
Sometimes we may not only feel this sentiment, but often, it may actually be the truth.
Indeed, there is a level of sorrow, grief, and sadness, that can only be soothed by the Master’s touch.
In today’s portion of David’s psalms, we see that David is pouring out his very raw emotions to the Lord. He is not ashamed to “cry his eyes out” before his Shepherd, knowing that He sees, hears, and will answer.
In another place David expresses that the Lord stores up our tears in His bottle and writes about them in His book!
“You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.”
Psalms 56:8-9 NKJV
Our Lord is intensely personal with His own children. He cares when we are hurting. And, He is ready and willing to comfort the sorrowful soul.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
God sees our tears. And He cares.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!