God Still Reigns in Power: Psalm 2
Every day the news media reports frightening stories about the “powers” in society, telling us obedience to God will bind and limit our freedom. Yet the truth is freedom can only come through service to the One who created us. God still reigns in power; in him, we find refuge from all fears.
Song of Salvation for the Humble: Psalm 113
This group of songs were probably the last psalms sung by the Lord Jesus before his suffering. This reminds us that the fulfillment of the story of the Exodus from Egypt is based on God’s nature, a nature which stoops down to and delivers the lowly.
Song of Zion: Psalm 48
God’s people believe in the presence of the Creator of heaven and earth because of the things they have heard and seen. Throughout the ages, God’s people again and again witness the proof of his presence.
How I Prayed for the Workplace
When I look at my own culture and world, I am struck how we face the same work problems as Chinese, and how our societal response mirrors that of China. At the same time, in the U.S. our population is smaller and there are more potential paths to success, so it seems we are a few years behind China in openly embracing attitudes like tang ping or bai lan.
Life is Short: Psalm 90
Christians today need a correct understanding of faith and life in order to know how to spend their time on earth and not waste their precious years of life. We need not fear the inevitability of death, nor lament life’s shortness. We know we are in the hands of the living God.
Whom Have I?: Psalm 73
Christianity is the only belief system that allows, even respects, human doubt. The core of Christian faith is based on Jesus giving himself to the human race as a gift.
True Rest: Psalm 127:1-2
If your work makes you feel more prideful than ever; if your work causes you to feel overwhelming anxiety; if you are unceasingly busy, day and night, and have no time to rest – heed the wisdom of Scripture. Stop immediately, shift your focus, and look to the One who truly builds and maintains. He “gives to his beloved sleep.” In the Lord, you will find true rest.
Praise That Survives Tears: Psalm 8
Only after experiencing the Lord can one truly believe that all creation will eventually submit to and serve him. Only after experiencing God can one have faith in what Psalm 8 promises at the end: that this world will ultimately bow at his feet, and utter from the heart: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Humanity Has Forgotten Who We Are: Psalm 104
As humans desire to exercise control over everything that God made and which he ought to control, our work becomes labor, burden, and pressure. We lose the original joy the Lord gave us: the opportunity to work in concert with him.
How I Prayed for Relationships
When Chinese Christians meditated on relationships through the prism of the Psalms, they did not just pray for relationships in their families or with people they knew. Instead, many of our Chinese writers this May specifically applied the magnifying glass of the Psalms to their more public relationships.
