A Fence Around His Vineyard: Psalm 80
The law is like a fence God put around his vineyard, symbolizing his all-encompassing keeping and care. Jesus did not abandon the law….Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branches. How dare we branches try to leave the shelter of the fence, when the vine itself is still planted within its protection?
The Beauty of Presence: Psalm 24
God built all things on this foundation of the uncertain and the dangerous – and he is a good and loving God who is in charge of the unknown and the dark… For you and me, living today in Shanghai, God knows all about unemployment, struggles at work, and financial constraints.
The Peoples Will Praise Him: Psalm 67
Because Christ has overcome the world, we can call out in prayer and praise just as the psalmist did: may all the nations and all the peoples come to praise God. We can believe that, although external circumstances may become worse, God will accomplish his will…all the ends of the earth will indeed fear him.
How I Prayed for Church Ministry
How can we pray for the church and her ministry in China? How do we even know what to pray, when it seems things are murkier than they have been in many decades?
Written of Me in the Scroll: Psalm 40
Christ has already borne ugliness, misery, and the burden of sin in this life. He is the sin-bearing Lamb; he tasted death; he bore our burdens; he rose victoriously. Because of this, when we come to face the hardships of our circumstances and the evil of our own hearts, we are to cry out to him.
So We Might Know Love: Psalm 116
When I was interrogated, when I was stripped naked and humiliated, I was speechless, silently shrouded in fear. Then I deeply felt the humiliation and death Jesus suffered for my sins. While my heart was struck by his love, my flesh was weakened by fear. His word appeared in my heart: ‘I will be with you; I will prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies.’ Slowly, I regained my peace.
The Judgment of the Most High: Psalm 82
We often get caught up debating right and wrong…We justify our apathy toward the weak with a “sword of justice” formed by Bible verses, rules, personal experiences, and the testimonies of the saints. Although we think we walk in justice, we have no love.
The Night Watch: Psalm 134
The church today is the Night’s Watch of this generation, for her head is Christ. Only if Christ keeps watch for the church will the church be able to keep watch for this generation, lest it drift further and further away from God. No matter how corrupt this generation is, the prayers of the church are a clarion call through the night sky.
How I Prayed for Learning
When I pray for learning, I pray for my friend and the many thousands of families like hers seeking to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. May God protect these families, guide them, and give them wisdom as they make difficult decisions and painfully count the cost.
God Humbles the Proud: Psalm 107
Do you recognize the nature of the divine actor who stands behind all these wonders? Do you accept his sovereignty? Some people see that everything is in God’s control, and enjoy this truth. Others, however, see only the natural occurrences, or perpetually resist the hand of divine providence.
