Daily Reflections

from the Book of Psalms

October 5, Little by Little

Yesterday we looked at your need to fight for the blessings God has in store for you. Today, we see the rest of the story, and that is that God gives you the victory in Christ. After the battle, God shares some of His glory with His servants who...

October 4, Fight for Victory

It is interesting that David was the focus and author for much of the book of Psalms, and while he was a king, poet, song writer and shepherd, he was also a warrior. Much of what he wrote had to do with war, and much of the book of Revelation also contains...

October 3, Keep Your Word

Psalm 15 gives a few behavioral tendencies that the Lord expects from His people. The psalm starts with two questions, and then goes on to answer them with specific practices. In verse four, the behavior to focus on today is...

October 2, Be Childlike

God often confounds the strong not through other strong people, but through those who are least likely. This theme ran through Jesus’ ministry as He taught that you must be like a child to enter into the things of God:

October 1, For the Lord

God has called you to a life of service during which you will direct your purpose and use your gifts to help other people in many ways. Yet no matter how often or how much you serve others, God must remain the focus of your service. What you do, you do for Him, so that when people are ungrateful, unresponsive, or...

September 30, Do Like Jesus

David described some of God’s activities and they should sound familiar, for this is similar to the list outlined in Isaiah and quoted by Jesus as recorded in Luke: “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the...

September 29, Your Diet

David often prayed for himself throughout the psalms. While you pray for others on your prayer list, it is a good idea to include yourself. If you don’t know what to pray, then pray the prayers the psalmists prayed for themselves. Today’s verse contains two “do not let me” prayers, both seeking...

September 28, Your Personality

Most people realize the truth of this verse where their physical makeup is concerned. How the body parts function together is truly amazing and is cause for awe-inspired worship. Yet many would not feel the same about their personality, believing they are seriously flawed and too marred for God to use them until...

September 27, Other Gods

The Bible is clear that there are no other gods besides Jehovah, but that doesn’t mean people don’t try to make them up or create them. Those so-called “gods” may seem to have some power, like the sun god or the moon god, but of course the only power they have is the purpose for which God created them. Yet the foolish...

September 26, Be a Blesser

Today’s verses are a good prayer you can offer for others, and they are also a blessing that the psalmist was bestowing on his fellow believers. You were meant to participate in God’s blessing-distribution business, giving those blessings freely and without bias or discrimination. In order to bless someone in...

September 25, Ongoing Salvation

I am sure God has saved you, your family, or your organization from something. Perhaps it was financial debt or lack, or a dysfunctional relationship, or a cruel supervisor, or some other dilemma that was inescapable, except by and through God’s power and help. The psalmist in these verses likened his escape to...

September 24, The Cost of Fear

This verse is a bold acclamation of fearlessness that is a worthy goal in life but one that can be difficult to obtain. Why is that? It is because we are Adam and Eve’s children, and we were born in fear. It clings to us like lint on a dark wool blanket. What’s more, we are so grooved with fear, and so accustomed to...

September 23, A Leadership Blessing

You get the idea from these verses that the Lord is in the “blessing” business, for the psalmist indicated that God was all about blessing every aspect of life in Israel. It is interesting that He singles out the house of Aaron, which is seldom mentioned as a house, since they were the priests of the priests...

September 22, Acting Out Envy

Envy is a sneaky disease, for you can look at someone’s success, goods, relationships. reputation, money, job, ministry or looks, and secretly want what they have. In fact, you can get downright angry and agitated that you don’t have what they have. That can lead to 1) bitterness; 2) an effort to get things similar to...

Your Life Matters

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For centuries, people have turned to the Book of Psalms to help make sense and to find comfort in times of trouble. They have also gone there to find words to express the praise in their hearts for the magnificence and glory of God. In Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms, John Stanko adds his own insight into the Psalms and how they relate to your life matters such as suffering, prayer, the poor, mercy, grace and leadership. For every day of the year, John assigns a reading from Psalms, picks a verse or passage, makes some devotional comments, asks some pointed questions and adds a cross reference to another portion of the Bible. Your Life Matters is practical, inspirational, and helpful, and is certain to become your daily favorite to help you reflect on your life and God’s role in it.