10 And:



“ You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”[h]

I find this chapter fascinating. This chapter is God telling Jesus how awesome he is. It paints a clear picture of the power that Jesus possesses. What I really like about this chapter is the mention of Jesus never changing.
We live in a world that is so fast paced it is hard to keep up because things are always changing. Not too long ago the Spice Girls were the biggest band around and now kids grow up not even knowing they existed. Fashion is always changing its mind as to what is cool. Acid wash jeans were in and now if someone wore them they would be laughed at. TV, movies, cars those are always items that are constantly changing in our world.
The only thing we can count on to never change is Jesus. Jesus will always love us and be ready to help when asked. Jesus will always fight us when we are at our weakest. Everything will end but Jesus will always remain.

Well it has taken 7 months but we finally reached the end of Psalms. The next book we will study is Hebrews.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD!

One thing that sucks about being a kid is restriction. For example going into a candy store and being told you only have 2 dollars to spend even though you want so much more. How did it feel as a kid only being able to pick out 2 flavors of ice cream when 20 looked so good?
The cool thing about praising God is that there are no restrictions. That is why this Psalm is so awesome. You can praise God in any place, with any language or any style. Some people go for hikes while others prefer to drive and praise God. I know people who dance while praising God and others who kneel. There are people that sing and others that just listen. God created everything therefore; everything can be used to praise him.
Feel free to express your appreciation of God anyway you see fit. There is no right or wrong way to worship God. That is the beauty of no restrictions.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,

I made a habit as a kid to read the Bible every day. One reason I read it everyday was because my Sunday school teacher would give me candy for every day I read the Bible. It was that habit I established as a little guy that has carried over into my adult life. I often underestimate the power the Bible has on my life.
I really like the analogy of the Bible being a sword. I feel that is a very accurate picture of what the Bible is capable of. I can think of many times as a kid or in my adult life when I was about to do something stupid and then a Bible verse popped into my head. As a kid when I wanted to steal from the candy store I always had “thou shall not steal” running through my head. When I want to punch someone in the face for being stupid the good old “love your neighbour as yourself’ verse conveniently enters my mind.
I strongly believe the Bible is powerful. I know the Bible has the ability to pierce through temptation when we are at our weakest. The Bible guarantees that anyone who reads the Bible will be changed for the better. It is easy to think of reading the Bible as a chore. I try to look at reading the Bible as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to learn and to prepare myself for whatever the day has for me.

12 young men and maidens,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

This Sunday we did baby dedications at church. I was privileged enough to do my first baby dedication as well.
I know for myself I too often underestimate the intelligence of children. I also tend to think of them as second class citizens because a lot of the times they are out of control. What I have realized though is kids are smarter than most people give them credit for. Kids also can pick up pretty quick what we think of them by how we treat them.
The Bible speaks very highly of children. Jesus said we need to have childlike faith in order to enter heaven. I think he meant that a child depends fully on its parent and doesn’t worry about food, money etc. A child lets the parent worry about those details. It should be the same with our relationship with God. We all need to learn total dependence on him and let him worry about the things that are out of our control.
I find it funny how kids know these lessons and practice them better than some adults. We are called to love children and show them what it is like to live for God. It will be our example that they follow. Whether that example is good or bad depends on you.

4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
15 He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
18 He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
I have a poster of Michael Jordan in my office. I remember watching him play for the Chicago Bulls when I was a kid. He made play after play. At times he was unstoppable. I watching Jordan win all of his 6 NBA championships. Jordan could dunk, shoot and play defence. I remember thinking to myself as a kid “is there anything this guy can’t do?’. It almost seemed like he was a super hero when played on the court.
As awesome, gifted and talented that Michael Jordan was he pales in comparison to our God. All the verses listed above clearly demonstrate how powerful our God is. Do I fully understand how capable God is? I don’t think so.
How different would my life be if I understood how unlimited God’s power is?
What would my prayer life look like if I expected God to come through every time? What would happen to people if the believed their lives would be changed every time they read the Bible? What would our world look like if people came to church every Sunday waiting for God to transform them?
I think too often we limit God. It is hard for our human minds to comprehend an all powerful being such as God.
I pray that we would all realize how powerful God is. I also pray that our spiritual lives would be lived in a way that expands God not hinders him.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.

Today I have spent some time reading on a church website. The church split off from another church a few years ago. This new church believes that since Jesus died for all of our sins we are no longer obligated to obey what the Bible says is right. This church also doesn’t believe in using prayer to correct or teach someone. Prayer is only used to build people up. This church is also concerned with ethics more than morality. That means that as long as a person is loving, and accepting of others it doesn’t matter if they lack the moral life the Bible calls us to live.
Does this at all sound like the church that Jesus died for? Unfortunately there are many churches like this today. There are churches that have perverted the Bible to make it say what they want to hear.
The bottom is line Jesus calls us to live perfectly as he did. We are called to correct those who go wrong for their own benefit as perfection is our goal. In regards to living ethically or morally, we are what we do. Ideas are nice but they are also worthless if they are not lived out. We can’t say we love God and do the opposite of what his word says.
There are many false teachers out there. This church I am talking about is one, Oprah is another. We can’t put all of our trust in people. We have to trust God and what his Bible says. Many people will twist the words of the Bible to make it say what they want it to. We must stay strong in God’s word and preach truth at the risk of being politically incorrect.