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Date: March 25, 2021
Subject: It's March 25; Good Morning Union
“Cast all your cares on the Lord and He WILL sustain you.” Psalm 55:11
Psalm 25- one of 4 (that I know of) acrostic psalms, meaning they are poetry/songs where each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet! Now, aren’t you glad you read this today so you could maybe learn something new!? 22 verses; 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet! It’s really a very positive psalm worth reading as David literally prays through his challenges in life from “A to Z” or in this case from “aleph to tav!”
“To you O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God…. I take refuge in You… my trust is in You.” And with that level of confidence and focus he could ask God:
The focus was all on God and HIS ways. What a great reminder of a focus in prayer.
Psalm 55- It’s also ok to struggle in prayer, trying to find direction, perspective, and focus. This psalm starts, “Listen to my prayer O God, do not ignore my plea,” and continues with a blow-by-blow description of some of the tough things he was going through at that point in his life. And about half-way through David again stops looking back or even looking present, as he looks forward in confidence that God is still in control and He is still leading. “But I call to God and the Lord saves me… He hears my voice and He ransoms me unharmed.” And then he challenges me with a text that I have fixed in my memory as a resource for troubled times. “Cast all your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” Peter pretty much quotes this verse in 1 Peter 5:7 for a New Testament version, “Cast all your cares and anxieties on the Lord, for He cares for you.” A good reminder of some great assurance through life.
Psalm 85- “I will listen to what God the Lord will say.” Now there’s a commitment of faith I can focus on!
Psalm 115- I wrote in the margin of my Bible, beside this psalm, “Who gets the credit?” My praise in life cannot be about me (or about you); it needs to be about Him. “Not to us O Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.” Focus, focus, focus.
Psalm 145- another of the acrostic psalms. 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet; 22 verses of praise and specific things I can do to help keep my focus on Him:
Have a great day focusing from “A to Z” or from “Aleph to Tav,”
Pastor Rich
Quote for the day: “I told my friend that I’m emotionally ‘hitting a wall’ and she said, ‘Sometimes walls are there so we can lean on them and rest.’ I can’t even begin to express how much I needed to hear that.” Brandon Kyle Goodman
PS uGather- 10:30am in the church. Join us each week as we come together as a Union College family to build community and fellowship with God and His word. This week Pastor Deneil Clarke, former worship pastor at CVC and current pastor at the Northside Church, will be sharing with us. Please join us as we pray together for the pain of loss many members of our school family hve felt recently especially with COVID, Atlanta, and Boulder, just to name a few. Come show your support to those who are hurting right now.
PPS Have you seen the purple ribbons around campus? Join our free event raising awareness about Intimate Partner Violence @ 6:30 PM to learn more about the ribbons. We will be having a panel of professionals including a coordinator at Voices of Hope, a social worker, and Title IX coordinators.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91533738531?pwd=SGFhMXNEbzBNYmw0NEdFdDI5T2lTZz09