172rd Week, Psalm Chapters 52-56

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Click on Title for Video Introduction


Monday, Psalm Chapter 52
 Theme:  God will judge the evildoer.  Our anger must not block our confidence to God's ability to defeat evil.  
Author:  David
Verse 8
Jeanie Boldt

Verse 8:  But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the House of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. 

THOUGHT
This chapter reflects a situation with Doeg, an evil man who had favor with King Saul by spying on David.  When David had learned what Doeg had done, he turned to God for help, for God is the only one who can justly deal with our enemies.  This would be so good for us to remember.  When we are wronged, we want to take punishment into our own hands.  This is especially true when one who is very dear and close to us is hurt.  We need to remember that vengeance is the Lord's.  He will take care of those who hurt others and do not live by the truths God so desires us to.  We need to put our trust in the Lord.  He will make things right for us and bring punishment to those deserving.  

PRAYER
Father, God, may the desires of our hearts be in accordance with Your righteous living.  When we are wronged, may we be slow to speak and slow to become angry.  Help us not to take punishment into our own hands.  We know that you can take care of this far better than we ourselves.  Make our hearts understand to trust in your unfailing love.  You are always there for us no matter when or for what.  Help us not to be a fool and try to play God.  May we trust in Him forever. In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN


Tuesday, Psalm Chapter 53
Theme:  All have sinned.  Because of sin, no person can find God on his or her own.  Only God can save us.
Author:  David
Psalm 53
Verse 2
Jeanie Boldt 

Verse 2:  God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

THOUGHT
I often wonder if God ever gets down. How disappointed does He get when we errors, when we reject Him, when we do not stand firm, when we make bad choices, when we do not praise Him or when we just fail to do good to those who are less fortunate than we ourselves?  I am sure there are days that the Lord Himself has to do some pretty deep hunting to be really sure if there is anyone celebrating with Him about His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

After receiving Jesus as my Savior at an early age, the Holy Spirit really put a conviction on my heart not to disappoint my parents or the Lord. Later in life it was my husband and the Lord.  Later I added my children and the Lord.  And now I want to live right and not disappoint my husband, my children, my grandchildren, family and friends and the LORD!! I don’t want to do anything that would hurt any of these people or jeopardize any of the relationships. 

If we do our best, then the Lord can look down and see a group of people labeled The Salt Shakers who DO UNDERSTAND AND WHO DO SEE HIM. He will be dancing with JOY!!!

PRAYER
Our dear friend Jesus!! May the presence of the Holy Spirit be so heavy laden on our Soul that the desire to live for The Lord is strong and a ‘for-sure-thing’. I pray that when the Lord looks down on all of us, He will smile and say, “Good job, my loving and faithful servant.” May He never have to hunt for any person who is a believer and a cheerleader on His side. Keep us faithful.  You are one very awesome God, and we rejoice in knowing YOU.  AMEN


Wednesday, Psalm Chapter 54
Theme:  A call for God to overcome enemies.  God is our helper, even in times of hurt and betrayal.  
Author:  David
Psalm 54
Verse 7
Jeanie Boldt

Verse 7:  For He has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

THOUGHT
After you have been hurt so badly and caught up in the emotion of the pain, you experience feelings that you are not real proud of.  They can include disappointment, anger, revenge and just hurt and sadness.  The event seems insurmountable. It is even hard to focus on anything, praying, eating, resting, or just surviving on a day to day walk. 

But when we turn to the Lord as is written in verse 7, we find the God who sustains us and helps. Our pain is eased, sorrows and disappointments lightened, and healing begins. The Lord has once again delivered me from my troubles. It is then that we can feel a victory, a win and a success. 

When we have been touched by God, our look of triumph can appear on our face. With God’s grace and mercy we have been protected from the evil ones. It is a great feeling to be proud of our God and confident when we once again may have to see our enemies face to face. GOD IS OUR HELPER EVEN IN TIMES OF HURT AND BETRAYAL.

PRAYER
Father God, many of us hold memories of pain where we could recite situations that have hurt us and torn us apart.  Please give us confidence and direction at that moment to turn to You as our sustaining friend. May our eyes reflect a security of peacefulness with God our Father. Thank You for always being there for us.  AMEN


Thursday, Psalm Chapter 55
Theme:  Expressing deep dismay over the treachery of a close friend.  When friends hurt us, the burden is too difficult to carry alone.  
Author:  David
Psalm 55
Verses 16 & 17
Jane Jones

Verses 16 & 17:  “But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.”

THOUGHT
Family, there is never a time that the Lord does not hear you. No prayer is ever lost, or any prayer ever breathed in vain. There is no such thing as prayer unanswered or unnoticed by God, and some things we see as refusals or denials are simply delays.

Christ sometimes delays His help so He may test our faith and energize our prayers. Our boat may be tossed by the waves while He continues to sleep, but He will awake before it sinks.  He sleeps but He never oversleeps, for He is never too late.  He will hear our prayer. He will answer our prayer. We need to listen and be watchful.

PRAYER
Dearest Father, You are ever present in our lives.  I praise You for that!!  May we reach out to You in need, in prayer, in praise and in joy!!  Thank You for always hearing our cry.  AMEN


Friday, Psalm Chapter 56
Theme:  Trusting in God's care in the midst of fear.  When all seems dark, one truth still shines bright: when God is for us, those against us will never succeed.
Author:  David
Psalm 56
Verse 9
Jane Jones

Verse 9:  “...thís I will know that God is for me.”

THOUGHT
In June I took Micah, my one year old grandson, to one of Ellie’s (Tom’s granddaughter) T-Ball games. He loved being out and being there. There were kids all around all different ages. Next to us was a little girl standing by her stroller. Micah had acquired a rock on one of his many crawls around the area where we were standing. He crawled over to the little girl with his rock, pulled himself up to her stroller, and wanted to give it to her. The little girl proceeded to push him down and then push him away from her stroller so that he would not touch it again. Micah crawled back and gave me the rock that he cherished.

A simple example of rejection and how our friends can be at times...“but this I will know that God is for me.”  And tonight, Salt Shakers, we have that to hold on to NO MATTER WHO pushes us down, rejects our rock, or pushes us away.

PRAYER
Thank You, Dear Jesus, that we know You are always for us. What an awesome feeling to know and have when someone rejects our rock, pushes us down and away from the group. You are one awesome God. AMEN












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