Psalm 21 | Wednesday Bible Study

School is officially out for the summer here and the weather did not get the memo. I am not complaining because it is still spring for another month and I do not particularly care for heat and humidity. It has been in the 60's and very rainy! The bad part about so much rain is that I have heard many of the farmers have not planted crops yet!!! It has been too wet. What is the weather like where you are?

I hope you are ready for another Wednesday Bible study session. We are jumping right in to the twenty-first psalm today. There are only 13 verses in this psalm of David. As usual, if you have not read the text, please do so. Remember to take some time in prayer to ask Holy Spirit for insight, wisdom, and understanding. If you want to take notes, grab a notebook and something to write with. I encourage you to keep your Bible open during our study. Feel free to leave me a comment below sharing your thoughts on today's lesson!

Verses 1-2

This is a psalm of rejoicing. David is taking great joy and pleasure in God's strength and salvation. He is happy that God has given him the desires of his heart and not withheld anything from him that he spoke. 

Psalm 34:10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.

To fully understand the joy that he feels, we must turn back a few books in 2 Samuel chapter seven. David wants to build God a house of cedar and God said, "Shalt thou build Me an house for Me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, Why build ye not Me an house of cedar?"

David is in a good place. His enemies are at peace with him and he is in a place of rest. God tells David He took him from shepherding sheep to ruling His people. He says, "I was with you wherever you went, destroyed your enemies, and made you a great name, like other great men known in the earth." He gives David a vision of what He will do for His people, the children of Israel, and even a promise of what is to come after David dies. God said this of David's son, Solomon, "He shall build an house for My name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever." That's a lot to shout about! 

2 Samuel 7:26-29 And let Thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of Thy servant David be established before Thee. For Thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to Thy servant, saying, I will build Thee an house: therefore hath Thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto Thee. And now, O Lord GOD, Thou art that God, and Thy words be true, and Thou hast promised this goodness unto Thy servant: Therefore now let it please Thee to bless the house of Thy servant, that it may continue for ever before Thee: for Thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with Thy blessing let the house of Thy servant be blessed for ever.

Verses 3-7

David is elated and in these next few verses he is honoring God with his praise. He says God met him with the goodness of His blessings and put a gold crown on his head. He asked for life and it was granted him. God established the kingdom of David forever! In verse seven he says, "For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved." My Bible says the word MOVED means SHAKEN. So, David is saying through God Almighty's mercy nothing will shake David! He is immovable! Can we say that today? Yes!! We can say the world can come against us, surround us and make us feel afraid, but we have a strong and high tower to run into and we are saved. Jesus is our refuge and through His mercy and grace we are unshakable!

Verses 8-12

These verses leading up to the chapter wrap-up is all about God's ability to find, destroy, and annihilate David's enemies. We have an enemy, too. His name is Satan and God is much stronger. He knows where the enemy is and when we call upon God we are helped, saved, and victorious over our foes!

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

These verses are encouraging to us, because like David, we are fighting an enemy of God, and we know God will bring us the victory! 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, Who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (Amplified Bible) Isn't that a beautiful picture of what God does for us?

Verse 12

David ends this psalm magnifying God like he does so often in this book. "Be Thou exalted, LORD, in Thine own strength; so will we sing and praise Thy power." Yes, let's exalt the name of Jesus. Let's magnify Him and lift Him up. Let's end this Bible study in praise and worship adoring our King Jesus and all His goodness and love.

I am sure this song pleased God so much. What are we singing to God? Are we lifting our voice in praise and adoration? Will we remember the blessings God has given us and rejoice with David today? We have so much to be thankful for. It's not Thankful Thursday, but we should be counting our blessings every single day. God's mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-24), and He has daily loaded us with benefits (Psalm 68:9), so His praise needs to be continually in our mouths (Psalm 34:1) (Luke 1:64)!

I hope you enjoyed today's Bible study. I enjoy sharing what I have learned and each week I am gleaning new hope, new inspiration, new joy, and new strength as we study together. I hope something you learned today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Psalm 13 | Bible Study Wednesday

We are in the book of Psalms all year. We have studied 12 psalms so far. Today we turn our attention to chapter 13. If you have not done so, I encourage you to take a few moments to pray and ask Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes and ears to what He would have you to know. Read through the text and then with your Bible remaining open, come back to this post and we will study it together.

David has written many of the psalms, and this is yet another one that he penned. In six short verses he goes from being distraught and sorrowful to trusting and singing to God. What happens in verses three and four that change David's song? Let's find out.

Verses 1-2

David spends both verses asking God questions. "How long will You forget me, O LORD? Forever? How long will you hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?" Those are some big questions. David is desperate for answers. Have you ever been there? Are you there now?

David feels a distance between himself and God. He feels like God has forgotten about him. We read later in Psalm 27:8 David says, "When You said, Seek My face; my heart said unto You, Your face, LORD, I will seek." We see this happening here in verse one, David is seeking God's face and he feels like there is something in the way where he cannot press in like he wants to. The fellowship he has with God feels strained and he just wants to know how long this will last. 

In the margin of my Bible I wrote this on October 3, 2021, "I relate to 'how long'? waiting on our house." You see, Thanksgiving Day, November 2020 God told my husband and me to move back to Indiana and that He had a beautiful home for us there. We were living in Alabama at the time. We received further instruction to move before the end of the year and everything fell into place so quickly and smooth that we knew it was God's provision. We left our wonderful home in the Gulf of Mexico on my daughter's birthday, December 27, 2020. So when I wrote that statement it had been almost one full year since God made us that promise and each time we tried to rent or purchase a home of our own, the doors were slammed in our face month after month. I was weary of waiting. April 27 will be 16 months since we moved back. We were in Alabama for 16 months so I am hoping that something breaks for us soon because it is a challenge to live with other people for so long when you have your own family and you just want your own life back. I have more determination now but the waiting is hard. I try to remind myself we are much closer now than when we moved back. God never promised the home would be available as soon as we got back to Indiana, but we certainly hoped it would be that way. What are you waiting for God to do that feels so long?

David is saying in these first two verses that he is seeking God's face. He is not necessarily asking for God to do something for him, but he longs to be in fellowship with God. He wants that connection he felt before. As we went from month to month, we were seeking God's hands for a home, and now we are seeking God's will and His fellowship. We know He has not forgotten us, like He had not forgotten David. Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. What a beautiful promise!

Verse 3-4

David says, "Consider and hear me O LORD my God." This is personal. He wants God to think about him. In other words, he is asking God to concern Himself with David; to give careful thought to him and his situation. Is that not our prayer as well? Lord God remember me. He asks God to allow him to see His face again. He is asking for life from the Life Giver. Life is not worth living if we do not have close communion with God.

In verse four he says he wants God to vindicate him and protect him so his enemies will not be able to mock him and taunt him while he is down. He does not want them to celebrate his failures. None of us want the world to see us fail. None of us want to lose face to our friends and loved ones. David is asking for God's grace and mercy.

Verses 5-6

David starts to get his strength back. He remembers something. He says, "But I have trusted in Your mercy, or loving kindness." What are we trusting in? Are we trusting in God's mercy to sustain us? Are we truly remembering that His mercies are new every morning? (Lamentations 3:22-23) Are we drawing strength from knowing God is fighting for us? David said his heart rejoices in knowing God has saved him. Do we rejoice in knowing we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? Are we rejoicing in what God has already done for us?

The last verse in this chapter, David says, "I will sing unto the LORD, because He hath dealt bountifully with me." David sees how God has generously given him all things. The Message Bible translates this to say, "I've thrown myself headlong into Your arms --- I'm celebrating Your rescue. I'm singing at the top of my lungs, I'm so full of answered prayers." How full are we of answered prayers?

Last Sunday I went to the altar to ask God yet again, to open the door for us to get our own home. I told Him I was coming to Him with all the faith I had and if it was not enough, I asked Him to give me more. I was so broken because I really want our own home again and I know that is not a selfish desire. It is a basic need and He said in His Word that He would provide for us. Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I memorized that one long ago. I love that He promised to meet our needs according to His riches and not mine; and He does it through Jesus Christ, not through me. I could not pray for a house anymore, and I just fell to my knees at the altar and poured out my heart in tears. I uttered no word, just wept and wept and wept. I felt as though God was pouring something out of me.

A woman was singing in her heavenly language softly in my left ear. My face and ear grew so hot that I felt it might catch fire. It was a beautiful song, a sweet expression that melted my heart and so much was poured out. Another lady was summoned to pray over me and God began to heal my broken heart. It took some time and they were patient with me. They allowed Holy Spirit to complete the work. I got up from that altar, lighter and happier than I have been in a very long time. I thought I was going to pray about a specific need but God saw the greater need and met that one instead.

I know that God has promised us a beautiful home. I do not ask for anything fancy or elaborate. I want a home with my husband and our two children. I want to clean my own home, cook our meals, have a place for everything, see all our clothing, important papers, and possessions anytime I want instead of having to drive to the storage unit to try to locate something. It is a challenge, but we do have a roof over our heads and God has supplied many needs we have had. He continues to provide. I do not know when He will choose to free us from this situation and allow us to enjoy our own home again, but it is so hard on this mama's heart to see her kids live a life I never wanted them to experience. I do trust God and I know He knows best. His ways are not mine and I certainly do not understand all the steps we are taking right now, but maybe one day I will. For now I choose to keep my hand in God's hand and trust Him with every twist and turn this life might throw at us.

I hope you have been encouraged today with what I have shared. I know it has encouraged me. I hope it has done the same for you. Do you have a need I can pray for? Please reach out to me and I will pray for every request I am given. I hope that something you have read on the blog today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Compassion | Wednesday Bible Study

Merriam-Webster defines compassion as, "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it." Have you ever watched a commercial featuring starving children in a third-world country with flies swarming their bony bodies and bloated bellies? Or have you watched a commercial showing animals who have been abused and tortured, missing limbs or eyes? It's heart-breaking. If you thought it was awful and went on about your day, you were not moved by compassion. It doesn't mean you aren't a caring person. But for those who scribbled down the phone number and grabbed their debit card to make a donation to help save the children or the animals, they were moved by compassion. They saw the distress of others and it motivated them to fix the problem, or meet the need. It's a great trait to have.

My grandmother taught me to pray for compassion. I have done so since I was a young girl, long before I fully understood the concept. Throughout my life I have felt bad about situations for others, but when I was an adult I was moved with compassion. I wanted to fix the problems or meet the needs in whatever way I could. 

Starvation, poverty, abuse, neglect, addiction don't go away regardless of the prayers that go up, the money raised, or the things we do. Some say why even bother, but we might make a difference in at least one person's life. We must have compassion! In Mark 14:7, Jesus said, "For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but Me ye have not always." He said this to Judas that later betrayed Him. Judas was angry the expensive perfume was used for Jesus. Judas said it should have been sold and the money given to the poor. He was actually greedy and held the purse, so he was thinking of all the money that could have made him wealthy. Jesus said there will always be those in need and we can help them whenever we have the means to do so, but this was a special anointing for His upcoming death.

We can read the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament and find many passages on compassion. The Psalmist wrote many times of the compassion and mercy of God. He had made mistakes in his life, committed adultery, had her husband killed, numbered the people out of pride, and yet he would repent to God and was always pardoned. That compassion and mercy God showed David was so appreciated David proclaimed it over and over throughout the Psalms.

PSALMS 86:15 But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

In  Lamentations we are reminded that we are not consumed in our wickedness because of God's mercy. His compassion does not fail. He looks at us in this sinful state and moved with compassion He sent His Son Jesus to come to this old, cruel world and die for our sins. He wanted us to be in His family that much!

LAMENTATIONS 3:32 It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

Jesus healed a lot of people while He walked the earth. He saw people in great need and He didn't think, "Gosh, that's too bad. I hate that for them." He was moved with compassion to feed them, heal them, restore their sight, and to save them!

MATTHEW 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Peter speaks of compassion in his letter. He tells everyone to get into agreement, have compassion for each other, love as brothers, be pitiful and courteous. What kind of world would it be if all did that? What if each person on the planet came together in agreement, having the mind of Christ, feeling compassion for their brothers and sisters, and were courteous? Wow! I can only imagine it would be a wonderful place to live! 

1 PETER 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

We are supposed to have compassion. The question John asks in this passage is how can we say we have God in our hearts but we do nothing about the needs around us even though we have the ability to help. Can you mail a card to someone in the nursing home? What about getting groceries for your elderly loved one? Would you be able to make a donation to the homeless shelter or humane society? What needs are there in your home, your neighborhood, your family, your community that you can meet or help with? Show how much love of God you have by giving.

1 JOHN 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

We just left one of the busiest giving seasons of the year, but as a Christian we are called to have compassion every single day of the year. Beyond the physical, mental, and emotional needs of others we are called to have compassion who are in spiritual need as well. The tiny book in the Bible just before the grand finale of Revelation is Jude. It instructs us to build ourselves up on our most Holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. We are told to not only have the love of God but to keep ourselves in that love. We are to look for the mercy of Jesus unto eternal life and as we see those who stumble along the way, walking in the darkness, unaware of the saving grace of Jesus, we are to have compassion, making a difference in their eternal future. And others we have to save with fear by telling them hell is real and there's a real devil who hates them and wants them to burn forever because he wants to deceive the world. When we tell them, the Bible says we are pulling them out of the fire because we hate even the evidence of sin.

JUDE 1:20-23 (20)But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most Holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (21)Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (22)And of some have compassion, making a difference: (23)And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Do you have compassion? If not, pray and ask God to give you compassion. If we open our hearts to others and meet their needs or offer some help along the way, we are doing the same to Jesus. What are some ways you can have compassion in 2021? Make a list of things to help others. Give someone a compliment. Let someone go ahead of you in line. Hold the door for someone. Do the nice things, but don't forget the spiritual needs. Who can you share a scripture with? Did you read a Bible study or devotional lately that touched you? Why not share it with someone else? My friends and I have a weekly Zoom Bible study and it's such a blessing. Do all you can where you can when you can and watch God bless it and make it grow!

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens