A Change in Perspective

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WalterandDebbie

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Friday 5-27-22 6th. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Iyar 25, 5782 69th. Spring Day

Day 40 – Iyar 25 – May 27 - Hod of Yesod: Humility in Bonding
Psalm 113; Col. 1:10-11

Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.

3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised.

4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,

6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

8 That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

Col. 1:10-11

10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

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Humility is crucial in healthy bonding. Arrogance divides people. Preoccupation with your own desires and needs separates you from others. Humility allows you to appreciate another person and bond with him.

Healthy bonding is the union of two distinct people, with independent personalities, who join for a higher purpose than
satisfying their own needs. True humility comes from recognizing and acknowledging God in your life.

Am I aware of the third partner -- God -- in bonding? And that this partner gives me the capacity to unite with another, despite our distinctions.

Exercise for the day: When praying acknowledge God specifically for helping you bond with others.

A Change in Perspective


Read: Psalm 73:12–28 | Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 14–15; Luke 22:21–46
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It troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God. Psalm 73:16–17
My hometown had experienced its heaviest winter in thirty years. My muscles ached from hours of shoveling the unrelenting snow. When I stepped inside after what felt like a fruitless effort, weary as I kicked off my boots, I was greeted by the warmth of a fire and my children gathered around it. As I gazed out the window from the shelter of my home, my perspective of the weather shifted completely. Instead of seeing more work to do, I savored the beauty of frosted tree branches and the way the snow blanketed the colorless landscape of winter.

I see a similar, but much more poignant, shift in Asaph when I read his words in Psalm 73. In the beginning, he laments the way the world seems to work, how wrongs seem to be rewarded. He doubts the value of being different than the crowd and living for the good of others (v. 13). But when he enters the sanctuary of God, his outlook changes (vv. 16–17): he remembers that God will deal with the world and its troubles perfectly and, more importantly, that it is good to be with God (v. 28).
When we’re chilled by the seemingly ceaseless problems in our world, we can enter God’s sanctuary in prayer and be warmed through by the life-altering, perspective-changing truth that His judgment is better than ours. Though our circumstances may not change, our perspective can.

Lord, I admit I quickly become frustrated with the way things appear. Help me to see the way You do.
God gives us the right perspective.
INSIGHT

In Psalm 37 David addresses the same perplexing issue Asaph writes about in Psalm 73—the wicked prosper while the godly suffer unjustly. David tells those who suffer unjustly not to fret or be envious, for God is just and will one day make all things right (Psalm 37:7–11, 35–38). Instead, those who fear the Lord are to rest fully in God and to continue to live holy lives (vv. 3–6). For the Lord “will not forsake his faithful ones” (v. 28).
Are you weighed down because of injustice? How can the hope expressed in these psalms encourage and strengthen you?
K. T. Sim

By Kirsten Holmberg|May 3rd, 2018

Repentance Nahum Two:1-10

He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily.

2 For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.

3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.

4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.

5 He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.

6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.

7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.

8 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.

9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.

10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

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Love, Walter and Debbie
 
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