AKSquires

Q4. (Psalm 34:18-22) What encouragement does David give to the brokenhearted? What does it mean that God "redeems" you? How can we avoid condemnation according to Psalm 34:22? God is near to the broken hearted, He is close by and is listening to us. He redeems us and delivers us. He has saved us, paid the ultimate price for our sin through His only Son so that we might have a relationship with Him. Trust in God. He is your sufficiency, and when you give your life to Him trust Him! So that you know that you are saved!

Q3. (Psalm 34:1-3) Why should we praise God continually? What are barriers to continual praise? What does continual praise do to our spirit? How are you training yourself to praise continually? Purely because He is God. Then think about what He has done for you, and then others, and praise Him for what He will do. Ourselves is the main barrier to continual praise. We don't find time or we aren't in the mood. Our friends and those we spend time can be too, if they are not doing things or saying things that are acceptable to God and bringing us along for the ride. Continual praise lifts our spirit, it pulls it out of the everyday mundane kind of feeling and shows us the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. It allows us to see what He is doing in our lives too. I try to remember to praise Him when I pray but I need to remember to pray first ! When I sing I like to praise Him, i find that easier than praying but I need to balance it out more.

Q2. (Psalm 118) What does "the stone the builders rejected" (verses 22-23) have to do with the Messiah? What do verses 25-27 have to do with the Messiah? I guess you can class Pharisees etc as 'builders' of the church and God's kingdom, they did try. Jesus is the main component to the church, the cornerstone and the builders rejected Him. The words "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" were used as on Palm sunday when Jesus rode in on a Donkey. "Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horn of the alter" is very similar to what happened to Jesus, he was the sacrifice for us on an alter, some images of Him on the cross show rope around his arms. But he was fastened to the cross so that he couldn't move easily.

Q1. (Psalm 100) What is the predominant emotion in Psalm 100? How does this psalm make you feel emotionally about God? What are the reasons for praise given in verses 3 and 5? What are the commands in this psalm? The predominant emotion is joy. It makes me feel happy about Him, but of course a much deeper happiness than the one we feel for earthly possessions. We know that He is so much more greater and he is worth so much more than we can ever imagine. Praise because we are His people-even though we have sinned He still wants us to belong to Him and He loves us. He is truthful to all the nations, and has mercy towards us-he is good to us even though we don't deserve it. --Make a joyful shout -serve Him with gladness -come before Him with singing -know that He is good -enter into His gates with thanksgiving -be thankful to Him -bless His name

Q4. (Psalm 51:17) How does one achieve a "broken and contrite heart"? What are the earmarks of this condition? How does this differ from "being sorry" for a sin? How does humility relate to this condition? To achieve a broken and contrite heart, one must have a relationship with God, one where their desire to please Him is so great that even the utterance of foul word can upset the person and their conscience tells them not to do it again. We need to be so connected with God that our heart beats in time with His, that the thought of something wrong clicks in our feeling of guilt and remorse. You must be willing to follow the ways of the Father. A sincere heart is a mark of a broken heart. One that can be honest with others and that knows how to work in tune with God. A closer relationship with Him is another earmark because you are getting more in touch with His desires and you are putting away your own pride and admitting to failure over something. Also an earmark could be a heart that accepts correction better from others around it. This differs as it is a deeper level. Sorry is a felling that usually comes from a person not wanting to do something again because of the reaction to their action. Having a broken heart is saying "Jesus, I stuffed up. It makes me sad that I let you down again because I did not want to be responsible for the death of a man." HUMILITY= a modest or low view of one's own importance. It relates because you see yourself as not as important to God, unworthy of this attention or even thoughts about you. Humility lets God in to do a work in your heart because your own pride does not block Him out.

Q3. (Psalm 51:10-12) How is it possible to have a "pure heart" after great sin? What does a "pure heart" consist of? What is the relationship between a "pure heart" (Psalm 51:10) and a "united" or "undivided heart" (Psalm 86:11)? Who purifies the heart? What is the process? It is possible to have a pure heart after sin if you ask for forgiveness from the Father. Tell Him your mistake, tell Him you love Him and that you still want to know Him and walk in His paths and He will forgive you. Acknowledge that He is Lord over your life and that He was raised from death so He now has the power over death. A pure heart consists of no sin. It is filled with God and has His desires and plans in it. The relationship between a pure heart and a united heart, is one that only has one God in it. My NKJV says in the side notes that instead of unite you can put 'singleness of heart.' This tells me my heart needs to be set on one thing and when purity is brought in, if you desire to be pure you need to have a united heart on the matter of your relationship with God. So to compare purity with a divided heart, you can't have a pure divided heart because there is something else there that still has a hold over you. Is is God alone who purifies the heart. The process is admitting you are wrong, acknowledging that Jesus was put to death for our sin and that He then rose having the power over death and then asking God to wash us clean by putting His innocent Son's blood on our hearts. And when this forgiveness is asked for, (as KimC said), accept it! Don't dwell on the sin, think of what you learnt, not what you did

Q2. (Psalm 51:3-6) When David says, "Against you only I have sinned" (4a) is he minimizing his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah? What does he mean by this? When he mentions his sinfulness from before birth is he excusing himself or blaming Original Sin? What does he mean by this? No, He is acknowledging that his offense is higher towards God, given that God created Him and that God is the one who sets in place laws like 'do not commit adultery.' Bathsheba and Uriah are human and yes he did sin against them, but his true forgiveness is only found in Christ. Again, he is acknowledging that he is a sinner, not blaming himself or original sin. Things get passed down generations, and sin does too. He means to repent and ask for forgiveness because you cannot escape original sin.You need to realize it is there and ask for forgiveness

Q1. (Psalm 32:2-5) How does self-deceit operate with sin to enslave us? How does confession enable us to get free from sin? Why do we sometimes resist the truth about ourselves? What does it take to get us to see truth sometimes? Self deceit is lying to yourself. You will end up in a circle, going round and round and eventually down as you create lies to cover up and to try and hide the truth. It messes with your mind as you begin to reason with yourself on how to justify your actions. This then can bring in others, and it enslaves us as we usually don't know what to do. Confession helps us to know that we are forgiven, we can feel free to tell others of our failures and if you tell the right person they can hold you accountable and help you to see where you went wrong and how to fix it so it won't happen again. Sometimes truth scares us, I know it has done for me. truth can hurt us as we just want to stay in our happy or safe place. Other times we can also be so out of touch with God that we think our sin is unforgivable. Holy Spirit and his conviction. Sometimes it takes an outsider looking in to help you to see the truth, but at the end of the day it is up to God because it is Him that reveals all that is hidden. If you cannot see it, God will intervene.

Q4. (Psalm 22) What similarities do you see between the words of Psalm 22 and the events of Jesus' crucifixion? Do you think Jesus understood Psalm 22 as referring to himself? Why do you think the Spirit inspired David to pen these words? "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me" "In the night season I am not quiet (Jesus sought God in the night). "ridicule me" Jesus was before he was hung on the cross. "poured out like water" Jesus was thirsty. "they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots" Jesus understands all things. I think so, but am not completely certain on this. We do not always know the reasons for things Holy Spirit 'makes' us do, we are told simply to put our faith in Him and if we need to God will make sense of things for us. God may have used this Psalm for the first preparations of mans' heart for Jesus' death. Who really knows! "For my ways are not your ways"

Q3. (Psalm 22:1) Why do you think Jesus spoke the words of Psalm 22:1? What was he seeking to express? What was he feeling? How did God answer his plea? When Jesus took on our sins, God could not look at Him anymore because He was not pure. It would have been a disgusting site to see all of the worlds sins on one man. God forsook Jesus, but still Jesus chose to cry out to Him as the only person that could save Him was God. What Jesus would have been feeling would have been indescribable. To be with God for his 'whole life' and then to be separated from Him with such an awful situation is hard for us to comprehend. GOd answered His plea when Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus got the keys from Satan himself and has the power over death!

Q2. (Psalm 110) Why do you think that Jesus asked the Pharisees about verse 1, "If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" What point was Jesus making? How does Jesus combine the roles of Warrior-King and Priest in his ministry to us and to this world? How do you reconcile the violence suggested in verses 5-6 with Jesus as "Prince of Peace"? Jesus wanted the pharisees to see their error on calculation about who the messiah was. He wanted to challenge their thinking on this topic and make them think rather than telling them. The point He made was that yes, physically He is a descendant of David, but if you look at His spiritual being He is something far greater than we can imagine. He is a warrior, fighting for us and with us in the battle against satan. He is the King, whilst being a warrior, as He rules over all things. He also is the head over the church. Even though these things are different, He is all in one, making Him ultimate and amazing. We need to understand that if we choose Him, we have life and peace found in Him-even though things may be hard because He is our rock, our fortress. At the same time this peaceful God has a 'violent punishment for all those who do not choose Him because when we choose God, Jesus' perfect blood covers our hearts so God does not see our sin. Whereas those that do not have Jesus, God sees their sin and cannot be near them. hell is the only place where God's presence isn't.

Q2. (Psalm 110) Why do you think that Jesus asked the Pharisees about verse 1, "If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" What point was Jesus making? How does Jesus combine the roles of Warrior-King and Priest in his ministry to us and to this world? How do you reconcile the violence suggested in verses 5-6 with Jesus as "Prince of Peace"? Jesus wanted the pharisees to see their error on calculation about who the messiah was. He wanted to challenge their thinking on this topic and make them think rather than telling them. The point He made was that yes, physically He is a descendant of David, but if you look at His spiritual being He is something far greater than we can imagine. He is a warrior, fighting for us and with us in the battle against satan. He is the King, whilst being a warrior, as He rules over all things. He also is the head over the church. Even though these things are different, He is all in one, making Him ultimate and amazing. We need to understand that if we choose Him, we have life and peace found in Him-even though things may be hard because He is our rock, our fortress. At the same time this peaceful God has a 'violent punishment for all those who do not choose Him because when we choose God, Jesus' perfect blood covers our hearts so God does not see our sin. Whereas those that do not have Jesus, God sees their sin and cannot be near them. hell is the only place where God's presence isn't.

Q1. (Psalm 2) What does Psalm 2 teach us about Yahweh's "anointed" king? Why do you think the apostles saw this passage as referring to Jesus the Messiah? What does the passage teach about the importance of submission to Jesus the Christ before it is too late? He is above all others, above all rulers of the world, above all powers and a part of God. It was after David's time, and talks about the King as [His] Son. Submit to His ways and will. Fear Him, and rejoice in Him

Q3. (Psalm 117 and Lamentations 3:22-23). Why are love and trustworthiness so important as the bedrock of the Old Testament faith? What kinds of terms does the New Testament use to talk about these characteristics? Can you think of any New Testament verses that speak of these themes? Love and trustworthiness go hand in hand, they are what holds a relationship together. God wants us to love Him, we need to trust Him when we do love Him so that when He asks something of us we can step out in faith knowing that He will still love us. 1 Corinthians 13:13 1 Timothy 1:5 1 John 4:8 - He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Q2. (Psalm 145) Which aspects of God's character mentioned in Psalm 145 stand out to you in particular? Why is it important for "every creature," every human being, to praise him? What are you doing to help that happen? The main part to me which stands out is verse 18, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." I feel comforted by this because it reminds me that God is only a word a way. I know that if I find myself in a situation I can't handle, all I have to say is God and he will be with me, to uphold me when I fall. I will trust in you, because you Lord will keep me safe! God made us comfort Him, so He wasn't lonely. All living things need to praise God because He made us! He didn't have to but He chose to. We are blessed to be alive, that we might be able to even whisper or think His name! I am not doing enough. Lately I have been thinking more about myself than Him, and I am embarrassed to admit this. I need to praise Him more each day, by thanking Him for things, telling Him that something looks good or works well, and even praising Him for the people around me that help shape who I am.

Q1. (Psalm 103) Which one or two aspects of God's character mentioned in this Psalm stand out to you? Why do you think the Exodus was so foundational in Israel's understanding of God? According to Psalm 103:10-12, what are the limits to God's forgiveness? God is merciful. He takes pity on us even though we have sinned and fallen short of His glory, He is patient and kind with us even though we may mess up time after time. The Israelites had many failures, this showed them the saving power of God and His destruction as well. They learnt about just how God views promises and many other things that have stayed with them to this day. There are no limits to Hid forgiveness. He wants to and will forgive us if we ask! A patient Father waiting to hear His children speak to Him and tell Him exactly how their day was.

Q4. (Psalm 24) How do verses 1-2 establish the Lord's right as King? What do verses 3-6 tell us about the requirements of the King? What do verses 7-10 tell us about the glory of the King? How does this psalm speak to you in your situation? It shows the reader what He owns, "the earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness." Then it goes on to say that God 'built' what we see in front of us. God is in charge of everything He has made! The King requires clean hearts (and in those days bodies) to be in the same place as people. God cannot truly be with us or near us if we do not purify our hearts constantly before Him. It also shows the differences between us and God, He is Holy and mighty, amazing and powerful, we are not. Even gates, what we see as inanimate objects need to prepare for the Lord! God's glory is so immense that every little detail needs to be perfect before Him, and even then our standards would not be able to match His holiness. This Psalm reminds me that I am always in the presence of THE King, and I feel embarrassed about the times I have let my tongue slip...or my actions. I find it humbling that a King who owns all the earth and all of 'space' wants to come through my gates to get to know me and help me with everything I do. It also reminds me that I need to constantly ask for forgiveness, and do it even if I think I haven't done something wrong-just incase! I thank the Lord for lowering HImself to my level, and then making it possible to raise up to His level so I can share eternity with Him!

Q3. (Psalm 126). In this psalm, the nation is going through some kind of crisis. How does memory of God's deliverance in verses 1-3 prepare them for the prayer of verse 4? How do you understand the two metaphors of deliverance: (1) a wadi or dry gully and (2) sowing and reaping? How do these metaphors help you in your situation? Verses 1-3 prepare them mentally and spiritually. They would be able to recall to mind what it was like, how good it felt to have such a miracle. It can be so helpful to have an idea in your mind of how a (for example) salvation might look. It helps to keep your mind on the prize, focused and un-willing to give up. It also prepares their hearts, they are thankful for what has already been done and they know God can do it again, they just have to pray and keep their minds and hearts in the right place. A wadi is a river that is dry almost all of the time until a flash floods that occur in minutes. After that the ground is nourished for a short time and the seeds that have been sitting dormant now have what they need to grow. In relation to deliverance, we are infertile ground, unable to give life or produce true beauty until the flash flood of God's salvation that within the words you say to ask for a clean heart, He has already forgiven you. It is our job to sow and reap. As we get delivered, God then requires us to help deliver people. We must remember that it is Him through us that does this. We need to keep sowing into others lives, even though it is tough and sometimes it will hurt because the reaping will always come, and this will be a time of rejoicing and praise. Also, we need to remember that what we sow we reap. If we are being positive influences and kind to others, we will get it back. It may not be straight away but it will come back.

Q2. (Psalm 96) What does it mean to "ascribe" to God attributes of glory and strength? What happens when we fail to ascribe such qualities to him? In what sense is praise to God "fitting" or "worthy"? To ascribe to God attributes of glory and strength is to give Him the praise and recognition for His glory and strength and all things that go with it. Forgetting to attribute these things or failing means that we can forget about God and His power to work miracles and wonders. It puts Him in a box for us where He can not work like He may want to. It is fitting and worthy as we remember our place that God gave to us. We are reminded of our tasks at hand because the praise we need to give Him is vital for us to understand Him. Also it helps us to connect on a deeper level with Him.

Q1. (Psalm 57) Why is praise difficult in the midst of trying circumstances? How does praise affect our faith? Our attitude? Our motivation? It is difficult because we usually find ourselves to 'not be in the mood.' We get down and depressed feeling glum and it is hard to get out of that cycle. Also, it is because we are thinking about ourselves more than God. Praise builds our faith because when we sing out to Him, or pray and use scripture names for Him like Mighty counselor, or our refuge, our Salvation, out hope, we begin to realize these things for ourself. Our attitude gets lifted, we get our 'bounce' back because our joy is found in God, I have found that many times He is the one who gives me something to smile about, and a smile is contagious. It motivates us by showing us that we need others to hear the praise, to agree with us. We are told to share the gospel with the nations, we can do this partly by just publicly praising Him like thanking Him verbally for the sunshine

Q4. (Psalm 46) How does the imagery of the river and streams in verse 4 function in Psalm 46 to speak peace to the harassed and harried person? Verse 10 tells us: "Be still and know that I am God." How does knowledge of who He is affect our peace? How should it affect our words? Why does He command us to "be still" as a result of this knowledge? Rivers are cleansing. Rivers are life giving. Rivers are refreshing. Rivers flow from a significant water source such as a spring and travel to the ocean, a much larger place where there is more life. We feel relaxed as the 'river' washes over us, calming us and revitalizing our senses. God's spirit and anointing can sometimes be compared to a river where we are washed clean and saturated with His presence. This is refreshing and calming as we know that God has given us the strength and anything else we need to face the situation on our hands. When we know God, we get a bit of an idea on how God works. It affects our peace in two ways, it can build it as we have faith in Him to be with us, or it can slightly disturb it, if we do not trust Him completely. We need to be still so we can just sit with Him and 'hang out.' Imagine trying to build a relationship with your best friend when you are so busy that you can't stand still and your mind is so occupied that you can't have a decent conversation.

Q3. (Psalm 31) What does it mean to say to the Lord, "Into your hands I commit my spirit" (31:5)? How does that statement bring peace to a person? How does the statement, "My times are in your hands" (31:15), bring peace to the troubled soul? It means fully trusting Him, in all areas of your life. We tend to make 'compartments' in our brain, for work, school family etc. If you look at it as a filing cabinet it is like taking it all, opening the drawers and emptying the contents saying to God, "this is it, everything. I love you and I know that you only want what is best for me so I am letting you run all this." It brings peace just by knowing that the maker of the universe has everything under control and knows what to do in each situation. SOmetimes it takes a while to remember this, but peace will come! Focus on God's promises. God has everything at His finger tips. It brings peace to the troubled soul because we know that He knows the time we are going through, whether it be good or bad. He knows how to deal with everything and give you just what you need at each moment. GOd knows when we rise and fall, sleep and wake. He knows our times. This mean all times, so our whole lives and even the life in heaven we will get if we follow Him and our teachings.

Q2. According to Psalm 23, how does the Lord our Shepherd quiet his sheep and give them confidence? How many ways can you find in this psalm? He gives us rest, 'He makes me lie down...' so God will make you rest and he knows when you need to whether you know yourself or not. He quenches our thirst, this can be literally or spiritually and emotionally. He restores our souls, this could be through times of rest with Him. As we get worn down throughout the week He meets us in the times we need it most and calms us with the promises from his word. He always leads us down the right path, whether or not we are following is another story, but He will go and find us when we get lost. He is always with us. He will praise us and encourage us in front of our enemies, we will be blessed. He anoints our head with oil, we need the daily anointing as back in those days even when the sheep got to the final destinations there were still flies that would get inside their noses and lay eggs that got into their brain. The shepherd had to daily mix up a type of oil to smear on the sheep's nose to stop the flies getting in. We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever if we follow him! That gives us reason to be confident

Q1. According to Psalm 131, just how does David quiet his inner person before the Lord? What are the elements mentioned in this psalm? David quietens his inner person by forgetting his pride. He needs to find peace within himself that will allow him to communicate with the Lord better. He may have also meditated on God's word and promises that God 'shall never leave you, nor forsake you.' He compares himself to a weaned child as He knows it is time to stand up now and begin to take on the next part of his life that God has planned for him.

Q4. Since Christians don't seem immune to accident, persecution, and death, how are we to understand these psalms of protection? Why don't some believers seem to be protected? Does God really protect us? How? We need to first understand that just because we are christian, doesn't mean we escape from things such as sickness or misfortune. God uses all situations for the benefits of ourselves, but it is up to how we decide how to deal with the situation as to which is 'easier' for us. These Psalms of protection are for our souls, and in some cases our bodies and minds. At the end of the day it is up to us to make sure we have such a relationship with God where He can step in and protect us in different ways. In a couple of parables in the gospels, I recall Jesus saying 'your faith has made you well.' Sometimes it is up to the amount of faith we have, and sometimes God needs the person to learn something ('character building'). God protects us, I find it hard to describe how he does it because I will never know what things he has protected me from in most cases. But I am oh so sure that God holds me and each one of His children in his hands, so we should only fear God himself. Going back to the how, I will try to share some examples. Things like travel as I have family that live elsewhere, on a few occasions I have meant to leave by a certain time but have been delayed and then when somewhere through the journey I have passed an accident. He has protected me from the destruction of parties as He has given me the wisdom to know that no good ever comes of them. He has given me a Mother who knows how to take care of me when I don't. He has protected me from the addiction of self harm, by giving me the friends and family to inform me of its destruction. And the list could go on. Thank You Jesus for knowing what is best for me when I do not. Thank you for protecting me 24/7 even when do not realize I need it. Thank you for holding me in your arms, and for never letting me go. Pull me closer to you each day Lord.