Today, Sunday January 01
“One Thing I Have Desired”
Psalm 27:1-6 A Psalm of David
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident.
One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.”
Happy New Year!!!!! Today is the first day of a new year, the first day of a new month, the first day of a new week, and most important, the first day of the rest of your life! Isn't it awesome how God gives us new beginnings all the time! The most important thing you can do each day is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and He promised that He will meet every need in your life (Matthew 6:33).
I want to challenge you to seek the Lord daily by reading through your Bible this year. I have prepared two Bible Reading schedules on my Pastor Mike Impact Ministries website. One plan helps you read though the Old Testament once, the New Testament twice, the Psalms twice and the Proverbs every month. This will take about 20 to 25 minutes a day. You can access it at this link and download it or print it: https://www.pmiministries.org/daily-bible-reading-calendar
The other schedule plan helps you to read through the Old and New Testament once, and the Psalms twice. This will only take about 10 to 15 minutes a day. You can access it at this link: https://www.pmiministries.org/bible-reading-calendar-plan-b Every month I will be posting the new schedule for that month.
I know I said this yesterday, but it bears saying again. In this great chapter, David was confident that if his heart and his worship was right, he could face whatever troubles might come his way. He could deal with the fear of circumstances (vv. 1-6), the fear of failure (vv. 7-10), and the fear of the future (vv. 11-14). Like David, we make the choice every day, to either live with confident faith or live in constant fear!
David had learned at an early age that it was a priority each day to seek communion and fellowship with the Lord. So even though he is fleeing from Saul and hiding in the mountains, he had one great desire! “One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek:” David’s heart was set on seeking the presence of the Lord in His Word and in prayer as he began each day!
The imagery in verses 4-6 is the Old Testament equivalent of "abiding in Christ" (John 15:1-8). In the ancient Near East, when a visitor entered his host's tent, the host was personally responsible for his protection and provision, and the flimsy tent became a fortress. Jesus made it very clear in this passage in John 15 that only as we abide in Him can we be fruit bearers. Remember the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, and so on!
Jesus said, this happens as we allow the Word of God to cleanse us (John 15:3). And also as we bear fruit the Father will also “prune” us so we can bear more fruit (v. 2). He does this through trials and difficult things in our lives that challenge us to totally rely on His strength, His grace, and His help for everything we face and do. Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (v. 5). I have the idea that “nothing” means “nothing”!
Please start this year praying for a heart to seek after the Lord every day in private communion and devotion.
God bless!
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