Mind Meld of A Different Kind

PSALM 20
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
Interlude

May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the LORD answer all your prayers.

Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven
and rescue him by his great power.
Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.
Those nations will fall down and collapse,
but we will rise up and stand firm.

Give victory to our king, O LORD!
Answer our cry for help.

God bless you!
It is an automatic response for many of us. You hear someone sneeze and you immediately respond with “God bless you” or “Bless you.” In our society we say this to be polite. We really are not thinking about what we are saying, we just automatically respond with the words of blessing.

Praying for God’s blessing or voicing words of blessing over another person is not something trivial. For believers there should be an expectancy of blessing in our lives when we are living centered in Christ. It is not that our lives are worthy of God’s blessing, it is that God desires to bless His people.

Scripture teaches that God desires to give us good things and even the desires of our hearts. When our lives are centered on God it is God who creates the desires in our hearts. Granting those desires is therefore a fulfillment of God’s will for our lives as He created the desire to begin with. Our prayer of blessing for others is to pray in line with God’s will for their lives.

Instead of shying away from the blessings of God we should revel in them giving God glory for his greatness and sharing those blessings with others. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Gracious God I pray for a blessing on my brother and friend Mike Leamon this morning. May he see the desires of his heart come to fruition as you bless him and supply all of his needs today. Grant him success in all his endeavors and fill his heart with joy and celebration of your greatness. We praise you today for your demonstrations of grace in our lives. - Dan Jones

Trusting power
In power I trust. It takes power to accomplish important objectives, to bless the down and out, and to give me the desires of my heart. Everything rises and falls on power.

Trouble is, I too often lapse into the human default mode of trusting human power. My nation prints all over the place that it trusts in God but acts more like it trusts in our modern versions of chariots and horses. Unfortunately I often act no differently.

I trust my ability to provide for my family, and worry about being several weeks without income between jobs. The economic power of the housing market is weakened and I need to sell my home. I trust my physical power to make it sellable and the realtor’s professional power to market it, but worry that it’ll set unsold after I move.

Having done my best to be responsible, I still struggle to place my complete trust in God to accomplish the good I hope for. The mood of this Psalm finds David completely trusting God’s power to accomplish every good thing in life. This is the trust I seek to develop.

All powerful God, there are always forces at work that affect my life. With your help and David’s perspective, I will never fear them. I will act as responsible as I know how and trust your divine power to work through all things to accomplish your good plans in my life. - Mike Leamon