Top Ten of 2023: Joy Bombs in the Psalms – #8

Was that your doorbell? While you’re opening those packages from Amazon, don’t break a nail, enjoy the 8th most downloaded episode in 2023… a special edition of our favorite weekly tradition – Joy Bombs in the Psalms!

Special thanks to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, for bringing us the Bible For Busy People this Christmas season!

Show Notes:

• Who Is Jesus? Let us introduce you!
• Have a prayer request? Leave it here.
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Transcription:

Was that your doorbell? While you’re opening those packages from Amazon, don’t break a nail by the way, enjoy the eighth most downloaded episode of 2023, a special edition of our favorite weekly tradition, Joy Bombs in the Psalms.

On my nightstand, there’s a stack of books, my phone charger, and usually half a bottle of sparkling ice water. It’s my go-to drink. The strawberry watermelon flavor is my favorite because it tastes just like a liquid Jolly Rancher honestly. There was just one problem with this little arrangement. I kept knocking the bottle over on my nightstand, so my husband took a sturdy pencil cup and screwed it into this small wooden board to keep my sparkling ice secure. That bottle does not move, let me tell you, and that’s a good thing. Now, my books and my phone are no longer in danger of getting splashed and the wood on my nightstand will not be further damaged.

Security is a good thing. It’s good for our souls too. Welcome to our first edition of Joy Bombs in the Psalms on the Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica and I’m looking forward to exploring the idea of feeling secure in Psalm 125 with you today. So let’s dive right in because our takeaway verse is actually verse one.

Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever. 2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever. 3 The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong. 4 O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you. 5 But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O Lord. Take them away with those who do evil.

Boy, I don’t know about you, but I want a heart that is in tune with the Lord. Alright, I want to go right back to our takeaway verse today, verse one.

Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion. They will not be defeated but will endure forever.

This Psalm was written before Christ came thousands of years ago, but let me give you a more modern context. There’s a Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion where Oscar Schindler is buried. You might’ve seen the movie Schindler’s List. He was the man who saved 1200 lives during the Holocaust. He’s one of my heroes. The mountain is still there. It endures, and you and I can too. How can we be secure like this mountain? By trusting in the Lord.

When something upsets you, isn’t it so easy to jump to conclusions? I can tell you it is for me. Somebody I respect a lot has taught me to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. Assume good before you accuse someone, even in your own mind and heart. I believe that one way you and I can trust the Lord is to give him the benefit of the doubt. Assume he’s up to something good and deep down that he always is. He’s for us, not against us, and God is cool with us asking why when things go wrong. He made us so he understands us, but my friend, Mary Lou likes to say, instead of asking why God, ask What for? How are you going to use this hard thing in my life? Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, when the angel Gabriel came to tell her she would carry the son of God, she said, how can this be? She gave God the benefit of the doubt, and we can too.

When our trust in God grows, it becomes a solid foundation we can build our lives on. You and I can be secure in that relationship no matter what. We are secure and we are surrounded. How about that verse two? The Lord surrounds his people. Just as the mountain surround Jerusalem, you are surrounded by his love and care and protection and you are loved.

Thank you for making space to study the Bible with me today. If you feel something stirring in your soul, that’s the God who made you, saying, I love you and I want to know you. It’s what Christmas is all about. Jesus came for you so that your soul would know its worth. He came to bring joy to the world, and to your world. It’s the most beautiful love story ever written, and it’s true. It’s the greatest rescue mission in history, and it was for you. If you want to respond to that stirring in your soul, to know Jesus a little better, please take a moment and check out our show notes, where you’ll find lots of hope and encouragement for your journey.

The Bible for Busy people is brought to you this Christmas season by Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. Every day and every night, their team is on a mission to share the good news with our neighbors who are homeless. Like the angels who came on the night, Jesus was born. They make sure that every person who walks through the doors of the Mission knows that there is hope because Jesus came, and how much He loves them. Every person they meet on the street encounters the love of Christ through a friendly smile, a warm blanket, a cup of cocoa, and an invitation to take that next step toward healing from addiction or mental illness. If you want to be part of making sure every soul knows its worth in Seattle this Christmas, volunteer or donate at ugm.org. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

This podcast is one branch of a Christmas tree called Purposely, a network designed to connect you with life-giving conversations, and to inspire you to find and live out God’s purpose for your life. If you’ve got a pulse, you’ve got a purpose.