Cheni

(Psalm 32:2-5) How does self-deceit operate with sin to enslave us? We often try to rationalize what we've done and sometimes even switch the focus and blame someone else for the consequences. This is self-destructive because we truly can't justify our actions or sins, we are only justified through Christ. This creates a physical and emotional drain upon our lives. We can never be satisfied when operating at this level. How does confession enable us to get free from sin? We become healed and thus forgiven. We no longer have to hide from ourselves or others. Repentance brings God's forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration. Why do we sometimes resist the truth about ourselves? Shame. Defeat. Worthlessness. Battered, beaten, scorned. What does it take to get us to see truth sometimes? An emotional or spiritual breakdown - a God encounter! Burning bush, vision, etc.

(Psalm 126). In this psalm, the nation is going through some kind of crisis. How does the memory of God's deliverance in verses 1-3 prepare them for the prayer of verse 4? The prayer is that God has done and is further able, to deliver them again in this great time of oppression. How do you understand the two metaphors of deliverance: (1) a wadi or dry gully and (2) sowing and reaping? Circumstances can change in a moment or they can change over time - both are delivereance, however we must know and believe that God's hand is in all things and in His time, our circumstances will change. How do these metaphors help you in your situation? Waiting upon the Lord is probably one of the most difficult things a person of faith can do. If we though, review our past trials and tribulations and the associated triumphs and victories, we can be assured that God is working things out for His greater glory. Sometimes we think or may get stuck in the rut that it's all about us - when in this delusion we must be humbled to return to our first love, God and that this is really all about Him, His plan for redemption and world salvation and the return of His son.

Q5. After you've studied the psalms in this chapter, what do you think it means to "rest" in God? Resting in God is allowng Him to be who He is and accepting who we are in Christ. We must let God be God and trust that everything is totally within his control. How do you seek God's peace when you have a dozen things coming against you? Prayer, meditation, I pray in the spirit and ask God to to help me give all things to Him and to help me get out of way and let Him be God, in the name of Jesus!

(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? Water is the refreshment of the Holy Spirit and is found in the Word, it brings us peace and sustains us, His word is our provision to carry us through while all crumbles around us. Verse 10 tells us: "Be still and know that I am God." How does knowledge of who He is affect our peace? He is totally in charge and trusting in him wholly brings us peace and satisfaction, He is ALL we need. Knowing that He is God is grace in action, it happens when you move the knowledge of grace into your heart and then live it. How should it affect our words? Why does He command us to "be still" as a result of this knowledge? Sometimes we get in God's way because we think we know what should be happening, but truly sometimes we just get in God's way and so He tells us to "be still" - get out of His way, stop trying to control who God is and trying to conform Him into the image of what you want him to be. Let God be God and you be you - God knows.

(Psalm 31) What does it mean to say to the Lord, "Into your hands I commit my spirit" (31:5)? Whatever the circumstances, whatever the outcome, let His will be done for in whatever happens, I will always be find - the Lord my God is with me and it matters not for I am right with Him. How does that statement bring peace to a person? I say this even when I'm taking off in a plane or if the car in front of me loses control, etc. To me it is total surrender to the will of God. How does the statement, "My times are in your hands" (31:15), bring peace to the troubled soul? Five statements of faith: God is who He says He is; God does what He says He does; I am who God says I am; Through Christ I can do ALL things; and His word is alive and active in me.

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 orders our steps; He new our spirit; He heals our iniquities; He leads us in humility and meekness; He delivers us; He never abandons or forsakes us; His discipline and power is our comfort and trust; He annoints us; We abide in Him forever.

According to Psalm 131, just how does David quiet his inner person before the Lord? David is humble and he does not seek things of this world - he doesn't seek the Babylon mentality of selfishness and excess so he is not concerned with such matters. He has quieted himself, he has been weaned from demanding and selfish pursuits and places his hope in the Lord. What are the elements mentioned in this psalm? Humility Surrender Peace Trust

Since Christians don't seem immune to accident, persecution, and death, how are we to understand these psalms of protection? Our protection is of our spirit when we walk by faith, not by sight. He either delivers us from peril, remains by our side through peril, or allows peril to consume us as we are taken up into his lovely awaiting arms - we are taken home and are finally with Jesus. Why don't some believers seem to be protected? Some believers fail to be able to see the protection - as is prayed, "open their eyes" so that they might see the heavenly army of angels surrounding them. Also some believers think that by protection, nothing will ever happen to them - this is false doctrine - we are to count it a reward to suffer with Christ. Does God really protect us? How? God protects us through all things when we call upon Him, trust in Him, believe on Him, and give thanks for all things. We are to praise him and thank him for all things - and this is loving protection. Today I learned what it really means, as one door closes another door opens: open doors are learning to see where God is working in your life or in the life of someone else and joining in with God according to His purpose and His will (not our own which is too often the case); and also seeing God in others! This is truly a blessing of protection!

(Psalm 121). What reassurance is it to you that God keeps you and watches over you? God even saves me from myself! How does Psalm 121 make you feel? Secure, content, loved, cared for, cared about, safe.

(Psalm 91) What does this psalm teach us about God's protection when in danger? He delivers us not only from our enemies but from diseases - through the day and night, even as we walk among those who die on the left and right. He is our shield. What does it teach about our authority to vanquish our enemies? We have been given all authority to vanquish all of our enemies incuding the lion and serpent. What promises does Psalm 91 contain? I will rescue him (14a) I will protect him (14b) I will answer him (15a) I will be with him in trouble (15b) I will deliver him (15c) I will honor him (15c) I satisfy him with long life (16a) I will show him my salvation (16b) How does this psalm make you feel? Relieved that there is someone who cares, someone whom I can trust, someone who will never desert me or forsake me, but tends to my every need as I dwell with him.

(Psalm 61:1-4) What images does the psalmist evoke to communicate his trust in God's protection? Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings The extent of his trust (from the end of the earth), in his most humbled spirit (overwhelmed), meek (lead me to the rock), steadfast and persevere (...have been a shelter, strong tower), faith (trust in the shelter of Your wings). How do the first four verses of this psalm make you feel? My heart cries with this psalmist. I have been there, searching for God and trusting in Him as I've no other source or resource. He has always been there for me, a rock throughout all of my life and I've been sheltered in His wings and in His arms forever.

(Psalm 80) If you were to formulate a personal prayer for revival for your own life or for your congregation, how would you word it? "I know my God that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. We willing offer the uprightness of our heart with great joy. Keep this forever in the intent of the thought of the heart of Your people and fix our heart toward You. Give us a loyal heart to keep You commandment and your testimonies and Your statutes; to do all these things for which provision is made. Bless you O Lord. Thank you for great mercies and grace. (1 Chronicles 29:17-19). What elements should be present in a prayer for personal or congregational revival? Repentence, healing, acceptance, deliverance, forgiveness, salvation. What would this prayer have in common with 2 Chronicles 7:14? I pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 over areas, regions, countries, cities, etc., to bring down the strongholds of the enemy. How does this kind of prayer pave the way for revival and restoration to take place? Corporate praise and prayer must reach the gates of heaven in order to open them and allow the glory of the Lord to pour out into the heart of those whom God has chosen to receive.

(Psalm 40:17) In this verse David combines both humility and faith in his prayer to God. Why are both humility and faith necessary? Humility keeps us reminded that we can do nothing to redeem ourselves, that we are nothing without God, we are but mere dust - it is his breath that makes us anything and we are His. What happens when one of these qualities is missing? You cannot have faith and cannot therefore be faithful if you are not humble. The two conditions are joined in union - and what God brings together, no man can put under.

(Psalm 40:5b) When you realize that God's thoughts and plans are focused on you in particular, how does that make you respond? God sends me the following love letter to help me guard my thoughts and my heart to remain steadfast and focused on His love. "I know the plans I have for you Cheni, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer 29:11). Love God I keep this on my wall - and I read it every day.

(Psalm 69:30-32) Why does this lament (and nearly all laments in the Psalms) end with an upswing of hope and praise? When we have a true heart for God, we are never without hope for our hope is in Him. What does this teach us about our own laments and prayers? When we have a true heart heart and relationship with God, we know we can come before Him with praise and thanksgiving for all things - for only He can take what is meant for evil and make it good. God is our only hope. Why is praise, the language of faith, so important in our prayers, especially prayers of desperate pleas for help? We are told in scripture to come before God with praises and thanksgiving - "in all things give thanks" - He alone is the author and finisher of our faith and it is through these experiences that we come to know how powerless we are without Him which is exactly where he wants us. If we could save ourselves, we wouldn't need Him or relationship with Him, or faith, or mercy, or grace. But we cannot save ourselves. Jesus chose to die for our sins rather than to allow us to die in sin - no greater love is there than this that a man would lay down his life for another.

(Psalm 69:12-18) How could David dare to ask anything from God after the shameful things he had done with Bathsheba and Uriah? Our God is an awesome, he reigns from heaven above. Because of David's repented heart and God's lovingkindness toward His children, our God will lift us up in our times of trouble. How does God's grace and mercy function in the face of our sins? We are neither abandoned nor pardoned, we will be called to pass through the fire to be tested and refined as a result of our sins, but God remains with us through even the fire (see Daniel 3) as he was with the disobedient children in the desert for 40 years and with Jesus in the wilderness 40 days. Afterwards we restored and often rise above our former state - and this He does for His greatest glory!

(Psalm 98) What are the reasons given for praise in Psalm 98? His mercies are fresh and new daily; for salvation which includes the forgiveness of sins, deliverance from the power of sin, and the defeat of Satan. Why do you think praise is so exuberant in this psalm? Through Israel's deliverance from captivity to the Promised Land, God made known his plan for our salvation and He revealed His righteousness and awesome power to the unbelieving. He made it known that He is God and there is no other who can offer salvation! Justice will only be served in God's judgement - there is no other justice for men (humans) are failable! How exuberant is praise in your congregation, in your life? Very fervantly! I belong to a non-denominational church where our worship team has strings, horns, drums, etc., and there are cymbals and banners that worshippers carry to reflect their worship and praise to our King. Why or why not is it exuberant? We are a fervant church, eager to please and to praise God. And the members of the congregation reflect the heart of this church.

(Psalm 95) In Psalm 95 we are commanded to worship the Lord. What are the reasons why we should worship contained in this psalm? It is an expression of God's ownership to us and his promise and responsiblity to care for us. To me it also represents that God is sovereign. Why do you think the warning in verses 8-11 is included in this psalm? Worship is to include an inward submission of your heart - God knows your heart, and worship that includes than a surrendered hert and life is unbelief and apostasy - a rebellious spirit for which is there is no promise of inheritance. How does this fit with the earlier elements of the psalm? The way in which we live reflects how we worship and praise our God.

(Psalm 150) What does this psalm teach us about praise? Praise is of great joy, a celebration of the Most High God. Where should praise occur? Everywhere, but this psalm refers to the sanctuary - but to me, a sanctuary is with all your heart since our bodies are the temple of the Lord our most holy of holies is within us, in the deepest regions of our heart and with all of our heart. With what should praise be conducted? With instruments and with dancing, with their voice. Who should praise? Let everyone praise the Lord. What does this psalm make you feel like after reading it out loud? Joyful and peaceful that we have a God who loves and cares for us.

(Psalm 133) What about this short psalm seems to attract you? Life forevermore.... Why is "dwelling together in unity" so difficult? "Where do you think these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves" (James 4:1). What kinds of commitments does unity require of us? Trust and a common goal, integrity, faith, love, patience - the virtues. How do the principles of unity and purity seem to conflict with each other? You do not have to be pure to live in unity, you need grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love. You do have to have unity though to be pure - for there can be no unforgiveness in you if you are pure. Why are reconciliation and unity such high values in Jesus' teaching, do you think? Jesus died for our sins before he would allow us to die in sin. By his life we are reconciled unto the Father and brought blameless and holy before Him. Jesus is the only way.

Q2. (Psalm 15) The Wisdom Psalms are meant to instruct us. How would you use this psalm in your family to instruct your children? To this Psalm add that righteous and moral integrity can be taught using both virtues and their opposite vices instructing that leaning toward the "mean" creates a balanced and forgiving nature. Such as Pride as a vice has it's opposite virtue, humility. Seeing ourselves as we are (or as God's sees us) rather than comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. Avarice/Greed is the vice and opposite virtue is generosity. This is about more than money. Generosity means giving credit (praise) where it is due without having expetations. Greed wants its fair share or more, generosity has no expectation of return. Envy with its counterpart virtue as love; love actively seeks good in others for their sake. Envy seeks unrighteous reward. Wrath or anger with a virtue of kindness: kindness is a tender approach and anger is often emotionally based and reactionary couple with impatience with the faults of others. **** versus self control: in self discipline (control) one makes a disciple of of oneself, seeking to master that which drains oneself both emotionally and spiritually. It's counterpart is self-destructive seeking pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Gluttony versus Faith and Temperance. Temperance accepts natural limits preserving natural balance. Gluttony seeks to have all of what it can find and to consume without regard of others. Sloth versus zeal. Zeal is an energentic response to the heart of God's commands. Sloth implies complacency, deadened spiritual senses slow to respond to God and spiritually asleep. And to this add the Fruit of the Spirit: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal 5:22-23). What topics of right living does it cover? Truth, honor, steadfastness, integrity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

I made a mistake and can't delete this post so see my other post please. Sorry ;(

(Psalm 1). This short psalm seems to reaffirm what we already know: the righteous will succeed and the wicked will perish. Why do we need to be reminded of this? We need to be reminded that the wicked shall perish because there is a promise in this Psalm, the promise that we will succeed if we are righteous. This promise is our reward for living righteously and not conforming to the ways of this world, but to be transformed and renewed in our mind and thus, in spirit. From an emotional standpoint, what lines in this psalm stand out to you. Why do you think you like them? An emotional point for me is the strong ending of this Psalm "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish". I gain trust in the Lord which builds my faith in knowing that the way of righteousness is blessed by the Lord and it leads me to pray for those who are ungodly that they may be saved and enter into the favor of the Lord as well.

(Psalm 63) Why is recognition that God loves you the basis of all faith? Without knowing and recognizing God's love, you cannot have faith in him. Faith is established through trust and trust is established by consistency. We know from God that he is both our disciplinarian and our reward - because is consistently wise in his responses to our needs. With great trust and faith we know His love is everlasting as His love for us does not wax and wane - it is ever present and unconditional. What does this realization bring about in your life? I am working with God right now to recognize his love for me and to accept it as all I need. I've been single for over 26 years and was only married for five years separated for three of them. God has been the only constant in my life as my protector and provider. I'm just now finding love. I've known it with my head, but I have never placed it in my heart.

- Cheni