Psalm 67 Deliverance To

So often we think of God’s saving grace as something that lifts us out from things that we consider undesirable. I think this is because so many of us only turn to God when things get bad and we feel we cannot handle it ourselves. But this is only half the story. These verses remind us that the from implies a to. Being saved is not only deliverance from “bad things,” it must be also understood as delivered to an abundance of good.

Psalm 25 Grace

One of the most profoundly liberating aspects of the divine/human relationship is the nature of the grace of God. We do not have to be perfect before we receive grace. It does not require us to make amends for our past mistakes (do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions). There is no scorecard. We merely have to change our minds and make God the center of our lives.

Psalm 4 Change Your Thinking

Despite the fact that we know what Truth is intellectually, we have thoughts within the subconscious and unconscious (people) that surface and create confusion in our minds (love vain words, seek after lies). We become distracted by negative thoughts and feelings, but know that God hears us. When we become mired in negative thinking, it is critical to stop and reconnect with our faith and knowledge that God is with us at all times. Spirit is our anchor in our search for Truth and the process of regenerating attitudes (Answer me when I call, O God of my right; Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer). Faithfulness creates order in our lives because rather than fighting the flow of Spirit we surrender our will to It.

Psalm 25 Grace

One of the most profoundly liberating aspects of the divine/human relationship is the nature of the grace of God. We do not have to be perfect before we receive grace. It does not require us to make amends for our past mistakes (do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions). There is no scorecard. We merely have to change our minds and make God the center of our lives.

Psalm 147 Giving Praise

Praise is the act of recognizing the good (God) in any and every situation. When we understand that God is with us always, our reaction to challenges in our life is transformed from attempting to escape into profound appreciation. Each and every situation brings with it an important life lesson, if we choose to investigate it. When we are spiritually blind we spend our lives trying to avoid tests and end up in a lot of pain because of it. If instead we give thanks for every circumstance no matter how small or how difficult it may appear, it will refine our hearts and minds.

Psalm 62 There is Only God

The spiritually awake person knows that through all of the experiences in life and no matter how real the physical world may seem, there is only God. When we understand this, we view the world through a different light. Many of the situations in the world believed to be evil or wrong take on a new context if we know that God is present in every situation. We can bless each and every person and situation, as a lesson to bring us closer to our true spiritual nature.

Psalm 29 Renewal and Glorification

In order to glorify the Lord, we must understand God. This is a difficult concept to convey in words because typically when we think of understanding, it implies some intellectual or analytical exercise. Spiritual understanding does not have this connotation.

Psalm 99 Mystery and the Sacred Life

What does it mean to live a sacred life? At its heart is a single principle:  to engage the world from the the Christ presence within us. We are created in God’s image and likeness, and as such our thought life (peoples) and physical life (earth) were created for the purpose of serving God. Spirit protects that divine spark within each an every one of us (he sits enthroned upon the cherubim). We only have to ask to be shown its magnitude, but that spark is always lit, no matter how dim the light appears to us.

Psalm 119:105-112 God in the Center

It is not through intellectual understanding that we follow God. It is through surrendering to the Divine that we attain wisdom and understanding. Knowing God is not an overnight process but a lifelong one. Age does not necessarily bring wisdom, for we can be obstinate and live many years, but not learn the true lessons of life. We can only hope that each day, in fact every minute and second, that our mind is open and receptive enough to learn all of the new lessons before us. When we follow the law it is a sweet thing because we can rest in the comfort of God’s protection and in the Truth.

Psalm 66 God's Grace

Most of us are blessed with grace filled moments in which we recognize that all of the blessings of our lives are not because of anything that we have done to deserve them (who has kept us among the living and has not let our feet slip). All of the marvelous works in our life and in the world are because of the nature of God (his name). When we realize that God has taken care of every detail—from our conception, to the beating of our hearts, to the way the brain processes information—we cannot help but give praise. There is so much around us that we cannot explain or replicate with human understanding. All of these gifts give us clues to the character of God.

Psalm 16 Divine Protection

One of the most important aspects of a relationship with the Divine is that it improves the believer’s everyday life. This is commonly referred to as the protection of God. For the faithful there is a perspective on every situation that is beyond the worldly appearance. Without faith in God and the spiritual perspective, the world seems to be an evil place. This prayer of thanksgiving to God is a strong affirmation of faith that there is no good apart from the Divine. The spiritual life offers us the ability to see any circumstance from the divine point of view (holy ones in the land).

Psalm 31 Cycles of Growth

As we walk along our spiritual path, our lives and experiences move in cycles. Initially, there is a time of rapid advancement in which we have a lot of activity going on and our progress feels very real and measurable. These times can be experienced as a high because we are in the flow and we can feel it with every fiber of our being. We feel the Presence and Power of God in a tangible way. These are the times in which we are acutely aware of Divine activity in our lives.

Psalm 121 The Lord Waits On Us

As we reach a deeper level of spiritual understanding, many things become clearer to us. Christ said, as you give so shall you receive. Most of us relate to this to in a very limited way. We think that if we give money or love, we will receive them in kind. But perhaps the most important application of this principle is in our relationship with God. When we serve God joyously and wholeheartedly, we will find that Spirit will serve us everyday in every way. Turning our lives over to God opens the floodgates so that God’s Presence and Power may guide us.

Psalm 2 Overcoming Ego

The human ego is an interesting gift. It allows us to become incarnate and move through the world. Through the ego the personality is formed which enables us to become a unique manifestation of God. But it is also the source of much stress and strife in our lives. Our egos cause us to perceive ourselves as separate from God and each other. The ego is a powerful force that fights to maintain control of the consciousness.

Psalm 112 Wealth

We can be truly happy only when we fear God and love the law. What does this mean? Most of us view fear and laws as negative incentives to do something against our will. In the spiritual realm nothing could be further from the truth. Fearing God and loving the law are states of mind in which we direct our full attention Godward. And instead of being binding, it is this that sets us free.

Psalm 40 Obedience

We, as Truth seekers, know that in order to achieve full realization of our potential in Christ, the only thing that is required of us is obedience. It sounds very simple, but for us to get to a state of mind in which we are fully compliant to Spirit is an arduous process. In many respects those who are considered to be on the fringes of society have a much easier time with this demand. 

Psalm 104 Divine Creativity

We have the opportunity to participate in the field of Divine creativity each and every day. God is constantly reaching towards us (laying the beams of his chambers). We need only be receptive. This current of life imparts divine ideas (messengers) and the cleansing and purifying activity of the Holy Spirit (fire and flames your ministers).

Psalm 63 Hunger and Thirst

When making a commitment to the spiritual journey and actively seeking God, we literally tap into the strong human craving to reconnect with Spirit (my soul clings to you). This basic need is frequently described as hunger and thirst. For all human beings this desire is present, and it is a basic compulsion in us all. Unfortunately, most of us do not understand that this underlying discontent that we all feel is a spiritual need. So we set off to placate the urge with things physical, emotional and mental. But these cannot quench the thirst; only the spiritual journey can do that. So we see many people in orgiastic relationships with sex, falling in love, money and intellectual theories. But at their core they remain discontented because they have not reached towards the heart of the problem. In all of us there is a core yearning that can only be satiated by spiritual enlightenment and a relationship with God.

Psalm 91 Protection

To live in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty, means to turn our life over to God and turn our thoughts to Spiritual Truth. When we dwell in the consciousness of the Christ, we dwell in the house of the Lord. By turning our thoughts to Truth, we establish the seeds of faith (v. 2). Once we have faith there is no fear, for in the spiritual realm the opposite of fear is faith, not courage. But it is our choice to “make our home in God.”

Psalm 99 Mystery and the Sacred Life

What does it mean to live a sacred life? At its heart is a single principle:  to engage the world from the the Christ presence within us. We are created in God’s image and likeness, and as such our thought life (peoples) and physical life (earth) were created for the purpose of serving God. Spirit protects that divine spark within each an every one of us (he sits enthroned upon the cherubim). We only have to ask to be shown its magnitude, but that spark is always lit, no matter how dim the light appears to us.