Month: April 2023

Psalm 16 (part three: The Right Hand)

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Praise and Worship, Prayer, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Psalm 16:8-11

I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:8 discusses how we should prioritize the Lord and set Him first in our lives. We ought to set the Lord always before us. He should be in the front of our lives at all times, and we must follow His lead. May it always be so!

The psalmist then mentions how the Lord is at his right hand. The right hand was thought of in ancient times as a place of prominence, blessing, honor, favor, and power. May the Lord forever occupy that position in our lives!

In verse 11, the psalmist speaks of how the Lord shows him the path of life and grants fullness of joy in His presence. However, I was particularly struck by the last line: “at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This indicates that not only is God at the right hand of our lives, but also so are we at His right hand! To think that we occupy a place of prominence, blessing, honor, and favor in God’s heart! And what an intimate relationship develops when we walk with God–He is at our right hand, Christ is at His, and we are at Christ’s! We prioritize Him, honor Him, and bless Him, and He in turn does the same for us.

No wonder the psalmist declares in verse 9, “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.” May we rejoice in knowing that God loves us with an incomprehensible love and He longs to have an intimate relationship with us! Praise the Lord!!

Psalm 16 (part two: Pleasant Places)

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Art, Scripture, The Christian Walk, Theology

Psalm 16:5-7

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

In Psalm 16:5b, 6a, we find a description of how the Lord intervenes in our lives. We are told that the Lord maintains/holds our lots. In Biblical times, people would cast lots to try to determine the Lord’s will. What an encouragement to know that instead of our lives wildly spinning and randomly falling into place, the Lord holds our lots, and He directs each and every step of the way.

But the truth that comforts us even more deeply is found in verse 6a: “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places”. The Lord graciously directs our lots in pleasant places. He leads us beside still waters and brings us to green pastures. And even when He allows us to walk through the valley of the shadow, He still tenderly leads us, and His ultimate plan is always for our benefit. He has good plans for us!

Verse 7 states that as the Lord directs our steps, He generously leads us in the right paths. He gives us counsel through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And although we cannot rely on our feelings, He graciously directs the desires of our hearts.

The Lord is our Shepherd. He determines the course of our lives, and He kindly makes wonderful plans for us. He then gently guides us in the right direction. The lines have truly fallen to us in pleasant places!

Life Out of Death

by Anastasia Irene, posted in Christian holidays, Holidays, Praise and Worship, Scripture, The Christian Walk

One crisp morning, as I was out for a walk, a barren tree caught my eye. Its branches looked dead, and it appeared lifeless, buried under winter’s gloom.

As I examined it more closely, however, I spotted three distinct species of colorful birds playing in it, one of which was a rare kind I had never seen before. Even as I glanced below, a bonus surprise awaited me: an adorable rabbit fed on the grass underneath.

The sight of this tree and the life hidden among its branches reminded me of Christ’s resurrection. He brings new life to the things that are dead in our lives. We might look at a painful or disastrous situation and only see dead, dry, barren sticks. But what encouragement to remember that God will cause new life to spring forth, and one day soon, we will see all the marvelous ways in which He will resurrect the things that have died.

Christ is risen! The grave could not keep our Savior. He arose in glory and power, and because He lives, we have hope in Him. Without His resurrection, our faith would be very empty indeed, as Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians 15.

As we celebrate Christ’s bodily resurrection, let us rejoice in the fact that He also brings resurrection to our everyday lives.

HE IS RISEN!!!