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The Life God Blesses

Pull Out All The Stops If You've Lost It

PREVIEW: The tides of an increasingly nasty culture and the natural drift of our own fallenness will make living out life of true integrity extremely difficult. We will have to fight opposite currents every day, if not every moment of our lives. But such a well-lived life will be worth it along the way and at the end of our journey. A life of true integrity is the only way to live! As the psalmist said, “He who does these things will never be shaken.” (Psalm 15:5)

The Life God Blesses

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 15:1

LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?”

What is the life God blesses? David couldn’t have spelled it out any clearer than in Psalm 15: It is the life of integrity!

The person of complete integrity, which I realize, in the truest sense is redundant — spiritual, relational, financial, moral, intellectual, physical integrity — is the one upon whom God’s favor, power and provision will rest.

Now integrity is a word that gets thrown around a great deal these days — and that’s part of the problem: It gets thrown around instead of lived out.

So, just what is integrity? I think the simplest and best definition I know is this: The congruence of what you believe with how you behave. For the Christian, it is the marriage of Biblical values, principles, and world-view with our moment-by-moment attitudes and actions. In short, it is to practice what we preach at all times and under every circumstance.

David provides some very specific areas of integrity that are absolutely critical to living under the blessing of God:

  • Moral Purity—Verse 2: “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous.”
  • Compassionate Honesty—Verse 2: “who speaks the truth from his heart.”
  • Rejection of Destructive Opinion—Verse 3: “and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman.”
  • Revulsion of Evil People—Verse 4: “who despises a vile man.”
  • Promotion of Good People—Verse 4: “but honors those who fear the LORD.”
  • Ruthless Trustworthiness—Verse 4: “who keeps his oath when it hurts.”
  • Risky Generosity—Verse 5: “who lends his money without usury.”
  • Rigid Honor—Verse 5: “and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.”

Any person who lives organically, unbendingly, and consistently this way will themselves live, as verse 5 concludes, in the stability and security of the palm of the Heavenly Father’s hand:

He who does these things will never be shaken. (Psalm 15:5)

The tides of an increasingly nasty culture and the natural drift of our own fallenness will make living out this kind integrity extremely difficult. We will have to fight opposite currents every day, if not every moment, of our lives. But such a well-lived life will be worth it along the way and at the end of our journey.

A life of true integrity is the only way to live!

My Offering of Worship: A life of integrity, from beginning to end, is no small matter. You cannot achieve it apart from God’s daily help. So, ask God today, and ask him every day, to equip and empower you to live a life of complete integrity.

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Nobody’s Fool

Refuse to Live as if God Doesn't Exist

PREVIEW: As Israel’s king, David was concerned with the steady stream of people who were bright enough to work themselves into positions of influence within his government yet lived and acted without regard for the laws of God. He knew that powerful leaders who acknowledged God with their lips but dishonored him by their actions were the ingredients to a recipe that would produce great damage in Israel. You know people like that, too. They’re quite smart, very successful, and uber-magnetic in their personalities, but they live with no thought for God. They act without regard for his moral law, with no consideration of his right to rule their lives, and oblivious to his eternal purposes in this world. They are practical atheists. At times, we, too, are that foolish. We think, plan, and do without giving God the highest consideration. We don’t mean to live that way, yet we neglect to give God his rightful place as Lord and Ruler over all the details of our lives, both big and small. What say we do what Jesus called the early Christians to do who had fallen into that same trap of practical atheism: “Remember the heights from which you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first.” Let’s get back to the practice of putting God first in every waking thought we have.

"Let’s get back to the practice of Putting God First in every waking thought we have."—Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 14:1

Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!.”

David is not referring here to the atheist who flat-out denies the existence of God — although we could easily argue the foolishness of such a position. Nor is he speaking of someone who is intellectually challenged. Rather, he is speaking of the person who is morally lacking. That one may even be very bright and believe in God, but for all intents and purposes, live as if God doesn’t exist. That kind of person, in effect, is a practical atheist.

You might find it interesting to know that David referred to such a person more than once in the Psalms. He uses identical language in Psalm 10:4, and in Psalm 53:1, where he actually gives us a clear definition of how the fool lives: “In all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

As king of Israel, David was concerned with the steady stream of people who were bright enough to work themselves into positions of influence within his government yet lived and acted without regard for the laws of God. He knew that powerful leaders who acknowledged God with their lips but dishonored him by their actions were the ingredients to a recipe that would produce great damage in Israel.

You know people like that, and so do I. They are very smart, extremely successful, and perhaps even quite magnetic in their personalities, but they live with no thought for God. They act without regard for his moral law, with no consideration of his right to rule their lives, and oblivious to his eternal purposes in this world. They are practical atheists. In fact, some of these “fools” might even be sitting next to you in church.

You know, I must confess that, at times, I am a fool. I think, plan, and do without giving God the highest consideration. I have a feeling you do too. I don’t mean to live that way; neither do you. I just neglect to give God his rightful place as Lord and Ruler over all the details of my life — both big and small. In that sense, you and I are no different from the type of person David calls the fool. Yet, at some level, we must accept those stinging words as a rebuke to the way we have lived.

So, what say we do what Jesus called some of the early Christians to do who had fallen into that same trap of practical atheism: “Remember the heights from which you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Rev 2:5) In other words, let’s get back to the practice of putting God first in every waking thought we have. Or, as Paul taught in Romans 12:1,

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.

That’s what you might call practicing the presence of God. And it is the best antidote to practical atheism.

My Offering of Worship: Read, memorize, and most importantly, do what Revelation 2:5 enjoins you to do: 1) remember, 2) repent, 3) redo the things you did when you first accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life.

Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God.

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Don’t Lose Your Sparkle

And How to Get It Back If You Have

PREVIEW: Do you ever wonder why there are some people whose eyes just always seem to sparkle? Is it because they have such a naturally sunny disposition? Is it because things are continually going their way? Is it because they are just so much better at life that they outshine the average person? What is it about these sparkly people? Well, it could be any or all of the above factors contribute to their winsome approach to the world. But I would venture to guess that these folks have also developed the ability to practice hopefulness in the midst of all the negative stuff that might send a less hopeful person into the tank. My friend, put your hope in the promises of God.

“The #1 contributing factor that leads people to quit in life—in relationships, in vocation, in spiritual matters—is the failure to practice hope. Friend, choose daily to put hope in God’s promises.” —Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 13:3

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

Do you ever wonder why there are some people whose eyes just always seem to sparkle? Is it because they have such a naturally sunny disposition? Is it because things are continually going their way? Is it because they are just so much better at life that they outshine the average person? What is it about these sparkly people?

Well, it could be any or all of the above factors contribute to their winsome approach to the world. But I would venture to guess that these folks have also developed the ability to practice hopefulness in the midst of all the negative stuff that might send a less hopeful person into the tank.

Aaron Beck, a leading marriage researcher, found the number one belief that kills marriages is that a spouse will never change. Once that belief set in, there was the loss of motivation, surrender of perseverance, and simply giving up. Here’s the thing: Underneath the failure to endure and quitting on the relationship, there was a loss of hope.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 13:12 that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.” But when hope is practiced, whether in marriage specifically or life in general, there is tremendous motivation not only for growth and change but for that winsome radiance to dominate our personality in a way that both elevates our moods and is consistently visible to those we are around.

That is why we must choose daily to put our hope in the promises of God.

That’s what David did. He practiced hope. In the first two verses of this six-verse psalm, David focused on the overwhelmingly bad things in his life that were dragging him down. But in the last two verses, his focus has shifted to the overwhelming mercy and grace of God — and it changed everything. What did David do to pull off that turnaround?

  1. He prayed. David went to God, pouring out his complaint: “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (vv. 1-2)
  2. He made a bold request: “Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.” (vv. 3-4)
  3. He put on hope. He went back into the memory banks of his experience with God and recalled that God had never failed him — not even once — and since God had been faithful in David’s past, it only made sense to trust him in the present: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” (v. 5)
  4. He praised. David began to sing of God’s constant goodness and never-ending love: “I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” (v. 6)

David practiced hope — and before knew it, the sparkle had returned to his eyes.

Hebrews 6:19 says of the practice of hope: “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.”

And when we practice, too, hope — praying, reflecting, singing — we can expect the sparkle to return to our eyes. As Romans 5:5 says, “hope does not disappoint us.”

My Offering of Worship: If at the moment worrisome circumstances have you feeling down, David’s psalm has provided a recipe for doing the most powerful thing you can do to turn any situation around for your good. He prayed, he asked boldly, he praised, and he put on hope. Try that if you are going through a rough patch, and see if the sparkle doesn’t return to your eyes.

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Do You Feel All Alone in the Universe

God Is Listening

PREVIEW: In Psalm 12, David complains to God that he’s the only one faithful anymore. Of course, he’s exaggerating. He isn’t literally the only godly person left on the planet, but it certainly felt like it. Perhaps nasty people and impossible circumstances were closing in on David and in this moment, he just needed to talk to somebody about how alone he felt. And God was the only one listening. Which, of course, is the obvious point of this psalm. At times, there is no one with whom you can share the depth of your despair except God, who is always there and is always the best person with whom to share those things that are on your heart anyway! Even if you are exaggerating, God graciously invites you to pour out your worries to him, the one who truly cares and can do something about it. And in the process of telling God, if you listen, you will find that he is in the process of giving you his perspective.

“God always invites you to pour out your heart to him, even if you spill out your frustrations from a wrong perspective. And if you’ll listen to him, he’ll give you his perspective.” —Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 12:1

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

Of course, David was using hyperbole here. He wasn’t literally the only godly person left on the planet, although at that moment, he certainly felt like it. We are not sure what the specific occasion was that led to this outburst, but it was likely that nasty people and impossible circumstances were closing in on David and in this moment, he just needed to talk to somebody about how alone he felt.

And God was the only one listening.

This, of course, is the obvious point of this and many of David’s psalms. At times, there is no one with whom you can share the depth of your despair except God, who is always there and is always the best person with whom to share those things that are on your heart anyway! Even if you are exaggerating the moment, God graciously invites you to pour out your worries to him, the one who truly cares and can actually do something about it.

David’s complaint reminds me of another saint who expressed his feelings similarly: Elijah. You can read the story in 1 Kings 19. He, too, like David, was often on the run from those who wanted to kill him. In this case, Ahab and Jezebel were out to get him, and Elijah was in hiding, depressed, and despairing even of life. So, he cries out to God, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:14)

What is so beautiful about this story is that several times God said to Elijah, “What are you doing here?” (1 Kings 19:9,13). That is kind of a curious question for the All-Knowing God to be asking, wouldn’t you say? But really, what God is doing is simply inviting Elijah to pour out his heart, even if the frustrations that spill out are from a wrong perspective.

That is one of the blessings of taking our hurts, frustrations, and worries to God. In the process of telling him how we feel, he gives us a fresh and truer perspective. For David, he prays himself into the conclusion that “O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever.” (Psalm 12:7) For Elijah, God reminded him that he was not the only one left: “I reserve seven thousand in Israel — all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)

That is one of the greatest gifts God gives us in prayer. As we honestly tell him about our problems, he infuses us with a higher perspective, reminding us that he is in control of our lives and has his eye on us at all times.

That sounds like a pretty lop-sided exchange: My problems for God’s perspective. I think I will take that any day!

My Offering of Worship: Do you have a really tough and defeating situation that you find yourself in these days? Have you poured out your complaint to God? If you haven’t, try it today. And while you are pouring out your heart, invite God to give you his perspective on the situation.

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Sometimes Shaken but Never Destroyed

God is Never Shaken

PREVIEW: California is known for its earthquakes. And everybody, in theory at least, knows the preferred place to go when one of those infamous quakes hits. So do the righteous! When big spiritual quakes or even little tremors hit, we know to go to the Unshakeable One. When the foundations are being destroyed, he is in the place where the foundations are eternal. Those foundations were here before the earth was even created, and they will be here long after this old earth fades from view. And we have this promise (Psalm 11:7) that is as sure as God himself: “The upright will see his face.”

Sometimes Shaken but Never Destroyed with Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 11:3,7

When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? … For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.

In some translations, you might find a footnote to verse 3 that suggests a possible alternative reading: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what is the Righteous One doing?” The ancient Hebrew manuscript is unclear as to which reading is exact, but the preferred choice of the modern editors of scripture was to choose the rendering I have used for this devotional.

Both possibilities are correct. Whichever way it reads, whether it is “the righteous” who are looking for guidance in times of trouble or it is “the Righteous One” we are wondering about, the question is answered in the rest of the psalm, especially the verse that follows, verse 4. When the foundation are being destroyed,

The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne.

That is the confidence we have in times of insecurity and instability: God is in the unshakeable place; He is the Unshakeable One. He is the One to whom we run when the foundations are being destroyed:

In the Lord I take refuge. (Psalm 11:1)

I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for several years, where fault lines run throughout the area like fingers branching off your hand. My home was literally just two or three blocks off the Calaveras Fault Line. During our time there, we endured a few minor shocks — enough to keep you reminded of the possibility of the “big one.” And if you live in California, everybody, in theory at least, knows the preferred place to go when one of those infamous California earthquakes hits.

So do the righteous! When big ones and little ones hit, we go to the Unshakeable One. When the foundations are being destroyed, he is in the place where the foundations are eternal. Those foundations were here before the earth was even created, and they will be here long after this old earth fades from view. And we have this promise (Psalm 11:7) that is as sure as God himself:

“For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.”

The next time you experience a tremor, go where you are supposed to go. Go to the Unshakeable One and claim your place of safety.

My Offering of Worship: Every family ought to have a plan in place, one that each person knows, for what to do when an emergency hits — an earthquake, a fire, a power outage. That is also true in the spiritual realm. If you are a parent or grandparent, talk to those in your care about what to do when spiritual hardship takes place. Make sure they know to run to the Eternal One.

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The Arc of the Moral Universe

Payday — Someday!

PREVIEW: At the proper time, human sinfulness and institutional evil will be called to account before the righteous God who has watched over every square inch of the earth with penetrating moral clarity every split second since creation. That proper time may come sooner, or it may come later, but it will come for sure. In the meantime, this calls for patient endurance on both your part and on the part of God’s people, who prayerfully long for his “justice to roll down like waters in a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:24)

“It may not be this week, it may not happen this year, it may not take place in your lifetime, but there will be a divine payday someday for human sinfulness and institutional evil.” —Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 10:16

The LORD is King for ever and ever; nations will perish from his land.

It may not be this week, it may not happen this year, it may not take place in your lifetime, but there will be a divine payday — judgment — someday for the wicked! As Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us,

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

At the proper time, human sinfulness and institutional evil will be called to account before the righteous God who has watched over every square inch of the earth with penetrating moral clarity every split second since creation. That proper time may come sooner, or it may come later, but it will come for sure.

This calls for patient endurance on the part of God’s people, who prayerfully long for his “justice to roll down like waters in a mighty stream,” as the prophet Amos said. Like David in Psalm 10, we too, witness the perpetration of evil by those who have no regard for God and live as if there is no God (v.4), and we cry out, “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (v. 1)

But James 5:7-9 reminds us, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

Think about this: What wicked nation has remained in power for more than 500 years? None! What evil institution has stayed in business for more than 200 years? I challenge you to name one! What vile person has lived more than 120 years? The last I checked, the death rate for the wicked is hovering around 100%

My point is, they have all been brought low and have perished from the earth. But God remains! So rather than keeping my eyes on that which will fade before the eternal God, I am casting my lot with him.

The next time you are frustrated by some current evil in your world — an abusive boss, a bully at school, moral rot in academia, the increasing crime rate, corporate executives who rake in millions while laying off workers, poverty in Africa, pollution of God’s green earth — do what you can to address it. Don’t let evil overwhelm you, but overcome it with good, as Paul says in Romans 12:21,

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

And even though much of the evil in your world will still remain after you have done all that you can do, remember, this evil, too, will perish from the earth.

My Offering of Worship: If you are frustrated by some current and specific evil in this world, do these two things today: 1) Ask God for wisdom that will guide you to a specific action you can take that will allow you, in a practical way, to be his hand extended to those affected by the evil. 2) Pray Revelation 20:22, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”

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A Shelter in the Time of Storm

What Do People Do Without Jesus?

PREVIEW: Even though life doesn’t always turn out as you have planned, it is God’s plan that will prevail. Even when you can’t see him at work, even when you don’t feel his loving presence, he will never abandon you. He has a track record of faithfulness and goodness going all the way back to the beginning. So, my recommendation to you is to determine now to trust God at all times, and when the tough times come around, don’t abandon the only One who will never abandon you.

“Even though life doesn’t always turn out as we have planned, God’s plan prevails. You can take that to the bank!” —Dr. Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 9:9-10

The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

Do you ever wonder what people who don’t know the Lord do when they face overwhelming difficulty and indescribable pain in their lives? I have often thought of that when a young mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer or the sole breadwinner abandons his wife and kids or when parents stand over the grave of their teenage child who has just been killed in a car crash, or a variety of other tragic scenarios.

What do people do without Jesus?

I am so thankful that my trust is in the Lord. He is indeed a shelter and a refuge. Not that I have been kept from hardship and tragedy — neither have you. We have had our share and perhaps will experience more in the future. As Jesus said, the rain falls on the just and unjust alike. (Matt 5:45) The difference is, we know to whom we can run when it’s raining — our loving Shelter. We know where to go in times of trouble—our great Refuge.

That is one of the things I love most about the faith that I’ve placed in Jesus Christ as my Savior. No matter what, I win! When trouble hits, I win because God delivers me from all of my troubles. (Psalm 34:17, Psalm 41:1) Even when I or a loved one goes through the tragedy of terminal illness, relational heartbreak, economic disaster, or premature death, I belong to a God who

  • Holds my hand — “I will never will I leave you or forsake you.” (Heb 13:5)
  • Provides my daily bread — “My God will supply all my needs.” (Phil 4:19)
  • Turns my tragedy to triumph — “In all things he works for the good” (Rom 8:28)
  • Trumps death with eternal life — “He who believes in me, even though he dies, will live again.” (John 11:24-26)
  • And one day will permanently turn my tears to joy and make everything new — “He will wipe away every tear.” (Rev 21:4)

Even though life doesn’t always turn out as we have planned, God’s plan prevails. He will never abandon us. He has a track record of faithfulness and goodness going all the way back to the beginning. So, my recommendation to you is to determine now to trust God at all times, and when the tough times come around, don’t abandon the only one who will never abandon you.

My Offering of Worship: Are you going through a season of sorrow right now? I would encourage you to not only reflect on this psalm, and pray it back to God, but open a hymnal to “The Solid Rock” and remind yourself that your hope — a hope that scripture tells us will not disappoint — stands on Christ, the solid rock!