IN THE PSALMS

Today is Sunday!  I'm excited to go to Church and be with God's people.  I'm excited about a special guest we have today as well.  In less than an hour, I will be going to pick up Josh McDowell from his hotel room to bring him to our Church to speak this morning, twice!  I am looking forward to meeting him and seeing what God does with the day.  We will have either a very, very good day, or a great day... it is all in God's hands now.  I am reading in Psalms today again, and will be for about two weeks in all.  It is a blessing!  Here are just a few thoughts as I don't have as much time to type as normal.  I will let you know all about the day at Church tomorrow. 1) SEEK HIS FACE- Psalms 27 is one of my very favorite Psalms, and in verse 8 it reads: "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek."  God is speaking and saying "Seek ye my face".  When the Creator of the Universe, the Sovereign God of all asks for something, we should deliver it.  The LORD of all, simple asks us to seek His face.  Not His gifts, not His hand, but His Face! God is wanting us to get to know Him!  Oh how we ought to long to know Him and spend time with Him.  To walk and talk with the LORD each and every day.  Wake up with Him on your mind, and go to sleep with Him on your mind, and go throughout the day with Him on your mind.  This is our goal, our privilege.  Let us say like David did:  "Thy face, LORD, will I seek."  2) PROPHECY- As chapter 22 had at least six prophetic statements concerning the death of Christ, chapter 31 and verse 5 has one.  "Into thine hand I commit my spirit:"  This was the last statement of Christ on the cross.  Then he gave up the ghost.  Just another reminder of the power and proof of prophecy. 3) CONFESSION- It has been said, that confession is good for the soul.  Well, Psalms 32:5 shows us that David thought so, and that we too should think that way.  "I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.  I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah."  There are a few who contend that since Christ died for all of our sins, it is a mockery to mention them to Him when they happen to occur.  To this I would say:  foolishness!  Because you are loved of your Mother, should you not apologize if you break her heart?  God's Word is full of passages about confession.  It is not for Salvation, and it is not to keep us Saved; but, it is for keeping our relationship with the Savior strong.  It keeps us conscious of our need for His strength, not ours!  It keeps us humble, realizing we are nothing without Christ and that we fail when we trust our own strength.  We know that Christ will forgive us, and already has by virtue of the cross, but He wants to know, that we know, that we needed redemption, and that we still need His ever abundant mercy.  Keep on confessing, not to man, but to God!  Well, that is all I have time for now.  May God bless and pray for our services today.  Pastor Mike Mutchler