Lead Your Family

The Psalms are a collection of hymns and prayers that have been collected and passed down by God’s people from generation to generation. They span one thousand years from time of Babylonian captivity in 1490 BC to Days of Ezra in 444 BC. Many were written by David, but there were several authors including Moses, Solomon and Ezra. The Psalms have served to lead worship, express lament to God for difficult circumstances, to express thanksgiving to God for His provision and His character, to celebrate victory, to lift up God’s laws and celebrate His wisdom. These have encouraged and inspired God’s people for over 3500 years. As I was preparing to teach on Psalm 146 I reviewed many of the verses in Psalms that I had underlined over the last 20 years in one of my Bibles. As I read and reflected on each Psalm, many brought me back to the circumstances that the specific verse of a psalm ministered, encourage or inspired me at just the right time. As I am sure they have done for generations of people and are why they are so treasured, If I were to knit the verses that I underlined in my Bible for the past 20 years they would create a storyline of life experiences that make up who I am today.

Today, take a few moments to go through your Bible, review and reflect on your underlines and notes in the margin. Be reminded of the richness, wisdom, encouragement, love and perfect timing that God’s word has provided for you and your family.

I typed a few of the verses underlined in my Bibles and know they will provide encouragement to you today and will continue to be an encouragement to others for generations to come.

Praise the Lord!

Some of my favorite Psalms:

Psalm 1: 2-3 But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night and he will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does he prospers

Psalm 8:3 – 9 When I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained; what is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than God, and you crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the fires of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 19:1 the heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands

Psalm 19: 8-11 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgements of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my Hear be acceptable in thy sight O Lord

Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He “makes me lie down” in green pastures: He leads me beside quite waters. He restores my soul.

Psalm 25:2 O my God, in You I trust.

Psalm 25:4 Make me know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation, For You I wait all the day.

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life, whom shall I dread?

Psalm 27: 7-8 The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in Him and He helps me. My heart leaps for Joy, and with my song I will praise him.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage, yes wait for the Lord

Psalm 28:7 The lord is my strength and my shield My heart trusts in Him and I am helped Therefore my heart exults

Psalm 31:4 But as for me, I trust in you O Lord

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance

Psalm 34:8 – O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Verse 18: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, thought the earth should change and thought the mountains slip into the heart of the sea

Psalm 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue your and you will honor me.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.

Psalm 57:2 I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me aHe will send from heaven and save me.

Psalm 62:2 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly be shaken

Psalm 63:1-4 O God, Your are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water, Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory. Because your lovingkindness is better than life My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live I will lift up my hands in your name.

Psalm 78:4 But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and His strength and His wonderous works that He has done.

Psalm 78:6-7 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children. That they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God But keep His commandments.

Psalm 84:11 – 12 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; not good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You.

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 91:2 I will say to the Lord, My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust

Psalms 119:9 – 11. How can a young man keep his way pure? Thy word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against thee.

Psalm 94:19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me your consolations delight delight my soul

Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.

Psalm 119:90 Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

Psalm 119:114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for your word.

Psalm 119:33 Establish my footsteps in Your work, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.

**Display case for rock from Mount of Beatitudes**

In 1999 my mother went to Israel and asked me if she could bring anything back. I asked her to bring me back some stones from the ground because I had a plan for a specific occasion. Often in Scripture rocks are used as a symbol to mark and proclaim great things God has done in the lives of His people.

The nation of Israel had finished crossing the Jordan when the Lord spoke to Joshua: Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them saying, “Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight…” Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?” then you shall say to them, “Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord: when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So, these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever…” that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (Joshua 4:2, 3, 6, 7, 24)

At the beginning of our marriage I selected 1 Peter 2:5 – 9 to be the verse that we would use in leading our family. It says, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house…a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” As part of our Rites of Passage that we planned to teach our children and celebrate their progress, Living Stones was the last marker. It was the time to pass the torch of faith to declare God’s faithfulness to the next generation. So I had the great privilege to present this rock that my mother selected from the place where Jesus taught the Sermon of Beatitudes to give to Drew and Sydney.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in truth. 3 John 1:4. The Lord gave us the privilege to lead these lives for a very brief moment in time. We pray you will follow the truth of Jesus Christ to provide clear values that guide decisions and seek to live out these values in your marriage and in leading your family.