Ain'ta That Good News?!: Psalm 20

LENT--DAY 31

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 20 (NRSV)

Victory for God's anointed

The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion.
May he remember all your offerings,
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices.
Selah

May he grant you your heart's desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
They will collapse and fall,
but we shall rise and stand upright.

Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.

DEVOTION

Praise the Lord!

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know that God loves me and God is on my side!

Whenever I am sad, disappointed, anxious, worried, or fearful, I can rest in the blessed assurance that God will answer me in the day of trouble, sending help from God's sanctuary, support from Zion, and victory when I call!

GLORY!

I love that the psalmist says, "Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God."

For our contemporary vernacular one might say, "Some take pride in their bank accounts, some in their fancy cars, others in their six figure jobs, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God!

As we take pride only in God, God will grant us the desires of our hearts, because all of our desires, will be lost in God's will for our lives and the lives of others!

As God's will is done on Earth as it is in heaven, let us shout for joy over our victories,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!

God is good (all the time!) and God is always worthy of our praise!

Today, will you make up your mind to praise God for all of the victories you have had and will have in the future as you walk in obedience to God's will? If so, let us pray:

Holy One, you are wonderful! You fulfill all of the righteous and God given desires of my heart. Please help my desires to be lost in yours. Since I know that your greatest desire is for all of your children to know--and believe--that Jesus died and rose again to forgive us of our sin and gift us with eternal life, I commit to sharing this good news with others! Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I will be empowered and equipped to do your work on Earth until you come from Heaven. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaL

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 20 (NRSV)

The name of God

The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion.
May he remember all your offerings,
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices.
Selah

May he grant you your heart's desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
They will collapse and fall,
but we shall rise and stand upright.

Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.

DEVOTION

Oh hallelujah!

Isn't this a wonderful psalm of praise to our God! And isn't our God praise-worthy?

Today's psalm reminds us that in the time of trouble God will answer and protect us, sending help and support. This protection, help, and support ensures that our prayers are answered, desires met, and victory assured!

I don't know about you, but I love to pray in the Name of Jesus! I love to invoke the Name of God over my trials, tribulations, heartaches, and pains.

I am so glad that scripture teaches me that I can cast all of my cares on God, for God cares for me (1 Peter 5:7). I receive a blessed assurance in my heart when I read that whatsoever thing I ask, in the Name of Jesus and in accordance with God's will, God will hear and answer me. (1 John 5:14-15)

WOW! Scripture promises me that God will answer my prayers, granting me victory! Is it no wonder that when the psalmist meditated on this truth in his heart, he began to praise God with a loud shout of triumph?

In effect, the psalmist stated, God will help! God will answer! God will assure mighty victory! Therefore, will I take pride in the Name of God!

What a wonderful reminder, my friends. So often we take pride in our bank accounts, social status, cars, employment, educational attainment, and other transient things.

Today, we are reminded that the real source of our help, salvation and power comes from calling on The Name of the Lord!

It is essential to be in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is important to know how to call on God in the time of trouble, trusting that God will answer you.

As human beings, our greatest source of trouble is the sinfulness of our flesh. We are born with a congenital disease called sin-sickness. By ourselves, we are unable to be healed from this affliction.

The only One able to heal us is God. This healing comes about when we put all of our hope in Jesus, trusting that his blood is more than able to save us from all of our sin and gift us with eternal life.

That is why it is incumbent upon us to call upon the Name of God to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life. Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord, will be saved!”

Since God did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will God not with Jesus also give us everything else we need? (Romans 8:32)

Think about this scripture my dear friends. God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!

What an extravagant gift! What amazing grace! What generosity of spirit!

Isn't our God good?!

Since God was willing to give Jesus for us, we can rest assured that God will also give us everything else that we need to be healthy, happy, holy, and whole.

God is always ready and available to assist us with any aspect of our life experience. All we need to do is call!

Will you ask God for help today?

Dear God, thank you for loving me so much! Thank you for Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. Please heal my sin-sickness and fill me with the Holy Spirit. I am asking in The Name of Jesus! Thank you that there is power, healing, and help in that Name! I love you. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to the people who have recently put all of their hope in Jesus! We celebrate your re-birth-day and promise to hold you in our prayers!

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

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Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com