Day 17 | Verse 17

Remember to read the whole chapter of Psalm 33 before continuing on your verse by verse reading. 

Psalm 33:17 NLT

Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—for all its strength, it cannot save you.

Read Also: Proverbs 21:31

Human strength and the weapons of man are false hopes for victory; they may seem mighty, but they will always disappoint.

In King Davids’s time, a warhorse was a formidable fighting machine. Even though these horses were trained and prepared for the day of battle and certainly had a huge impact, the victory of those chosen by God and those who chose Him would always be the Lord’s. Victory in our own strength can be obtained when we are only battling for the mundane. We can be successful in our finances on our own, we can be successful through our own wisdom BUT in the battles that really matter, there is no victory in our own strength. In the battle over fear, death, condemnation, and addictions, or even in the battle for our own salvation we quickly exhaust using our own efforts and are certainly never completely victorious, but we are always victorious when we fight WITH God. God needs you to put your mind and focus into the battle but know that it is only with Him that you will be COMPLETELY victorious.

Naturally Supernatural 3 – God With Us

Life in the Word is life in the presence of God. The Word is the manifest presence of God. But the manifest presence of God is a supernatural and not a natural event. It affects the natural, but it is spoken in the supernatural.

The Word is the expressed and living intention of the Father.

Let There Be Light

Genesis 1:1-3

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.

God spoke (supernatural), and all things natural were created.

Jesus is the complete revelation of God(all three) to man.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning the Living Expression was already there.And the Living Expression was with God, yet fully God.They were together—face-to-face, in the very beginning.And through his creative inspiration this Living Expression made all things, for nothing has existence apart from him!A fountain of life was in him, for his life is light for all humanity.And this Light never fails to shine through darkness—Light that darkness could not overcome!God appeared in the natural, and all things supernatural were activated.

Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendor, the exact expression of God’s true nature—his mirror image! He holds the universe together and expands it by the mighty power of his spoken word. He accomplished for us the complete cleansing of sins, and then took his seat on the highest throne at the right hand of the majestic One. 

Colossians 1:16a

For in him was created the universe of things, both in the heavenly realm and on the earth, all that is seen and all that is unseen.

God spoke (supernatural), and all things natural were created.God appeared in the natural, and all things supernatural were activated.

God exposes his supernatural presence to a natural world through his Word!

Everything expressed by God is supernatural to the world.God spoke (supernatural), and all things natural were created. (creation)God manifest (supernatural), and your new man was created (new creation)

The Word is the complete manifestation of God’s intentions.

Life in the Word is the presence of God in your world!

His Word in us… The Word in you is the Father’s expressed intentions for your life. 

John 17:26

I have revealed to them who you are and I will continue to make you even more real to them, so that they may experience the same endless love that you have for me, for your love will now live in them, even as I live in them!”

The manifest Word of God bears fruit in us for others…

Colossians 1:6

This is the wonderful message that is being spread everywhere, powerfully changing hearts throughout the earth, just like it has changed you! Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God’s grace.

Holy Spirit Promised

John 14:16-17 Jesus promises the Holy Spirit

Day 16 | Verse 16

Remember to read the whole chapter of Psalm 33 before continuing on your verse by verse reading. 

Psalm 33:16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.

There are many people today who have great power but very little character. Just because someone seemingly has everything, or has great wealth, or has many friends, or is the most popular, they can not stand against even the weakest who presents the character of God. Selfishness and greed can not stand against love and kindness. Fleeting happiness can not stand against divine joy. Salvation and a life of true abundance come only from the Lord.

Just like Goliath, with his great strength, could not deliver himself out of the hands of David, might is not found in the quantity of what we can amass in life, but in the quality of our relationship with the Lord. Reflect His character and watch your God-honoring influence and impact in this life become truly mighty.

Day 15 | Verse 15

Remember to read the whole chapter of Psalm 33 before continuing on your verse by verse reading. 

Psalm 33:15 He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.

Also Read: Hebrews 12:10 and Zechariah 12:1

The Lord is the former and fashioner of the heart, spirit, or soul of man, even of all hearts and spirits.

The very center of every human being is the same because it was constructed and put together by God – in His image.

Now the fact that we all are unique in personality, responses, history, upbringing is not a denial of our Father having put us together in a way that globally reflects Him. He does not govern the flesh responses of our lives. He does not govern our unique presentation of who He made us to be, but our Spirit and thus our souls are equally bestowed with and fashioned after His qualities. 

Our souls are not made by us or the physical effects of our lives.  Souls are created, not generated; they are produced out of nothing, and not out of pre-existent matter, or circumstance. God forms the hearts of his own people anew for himself, for his own glory; he forms Christ in them, and every grace of his Spirit; he forms them into one, and knits and unites them together in love, and makes them be able to easily unite with one another. Our circumstances do not change our hearts; our hearts, focussed on their creator, change our lives.

Day 14 | Verse 14

Remember to read the whole chapter of Psalm 33 before continuing on your verse by verse reading. 

Psalm 33:14 From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.

This verse is very similar to verse 13. So my curiosity was peaked. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells me that there is a reason for EVERY word and verse in the scripture. So this is not just a copy and paste error. There is a very specific reason why verse 13 is in the Bible and similarly with verse 14.

Why did the Psalmist highlight the whole world in duplicate?

Firstly let’s look at where God is as He looks at the whole world. He is seated on His throne. The very seat of perfect holiness and righteousness. The same place He was at when He created everything, the same place He was when He burst into the world as Jesus, the same place He was when He made every promise of grace and wonder. The same place He was when He blessed you and the same place He was when you cried out to Him and He answered.

This throne is something we should love and honor. It is His perfect position or posture towards the Human race. 

The psalmist would have been trying to explain that He does not just posture himself in holiness towards the select few, He does not just put His divine grace on offer to the Israelites, but this perfect posture of love and grace is towards ALL. You too!

Religion tries to define Gods throne as oriented towards certain people who get things right and jump through the right hoops but under the Gospel dispensation of mercy; by sending his son to die for all, by spreading His Word among them, by calling them by His own, He is saying that there is no boundary, no rule or no action that can keep you away from the His position of love towards you!

Day 13 | Verse 13

Remember to read the whole chapter of Psalm 33 before continuing on your verse by verse reading. 

Psalm 33:13 NLT

The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.

We have become paranoid about who is watching or listening in on our lives. We convince ourselves that God is looking in to find fault and judge us.

This scripture gives me a sense that God looks upon the earth from a heavenly perspective. He sits on a throne of mercy, wisdom, power, love, and perfect justice. Added to that He has Jesus as humankind’s intercessor. And so through the lens of His perfection AND the added benefit of being advised by the Saviour and Word, it is through this perspective that the Father looks upon all. Including the wicked. Don’t for one moment believe that you are too insignificant to be seen by this incredible Father. Don’t think you can hide your talents or your sin. He wants to let you know that no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, He loves and knows you and wants to help you out of your sin so that you can have the kind of peace and life that He has planned for you.

Day 12 | Verse 12

Remember to read the whole chapter of Psalm 33 before continuing on your verse by verse reading. 

Psalm 33:12 NLT

Blessed and prosperous is that nation who has God as their Lord! They will be the people he has chosen for his own.

We could quickly turn this verse into a political blessing for a nation that keeps God as its focus, and whereas this is true, it is not the whole meaning of this verse. 

This verse would have first referred to the nation of Israel, which was both a political nation and the church at the time. But this really speaks to the Chosen ones, those who have both been chosen by God and have chosen God. 

Let’s break this verse down because it introduces a concept that is not evident in any other belief system. 

It has two decisions and has two blessings related to those choices. 

The first decision is taken by those who chose God as their Lord and the blessing is that they will be blessed and prosperous. That kind of blessing was the same as the one given to Adam and Eve. While they chose God (like us today) they would be empowered to fill the earth, grow their family, and live an abundant life. The blessing was to have not only have been created (given life) but also to be provided for through that life. Both creation and providence are our blessings. All who confide in the Lord are blessed in the largest and deepest sense, and none can reverse the blessing. Our choice is made by us allowing God to captivate our imaginations as a wonder-working God in this creation, providence, and particularly grace. Grace is at the center of the second decision.

The second decision is God choosing us. He calls us a peculiar people, whom He has chosen out of the world to be his possession, and who are his jewels and peculiar treasure. Our very happiness is complete simply by knowing that we have been chosen by Him and we are His portion and the lot of his inheritance. God not only chooses us but He also chooses an inheritance for us. He makes his choice permanent by adopting us into His family and invites them to be partakers of all that is His. Upon that invitation, the first choice is initiated again. And round and round it goes.

This constant dance between God and His Chosen is at the center of our worship. The divine choice rules the day. None can take the Lord to be their God until He takes them to be His people. But He does not take them to be His people until they chose Him to be their God. What an ennobling choice this is! We are selected to no mean estate, and for no ignoble purpose: we are made the peculiar domain and delight of the Lord our God. Being so blessed, let us rejoice in our portion, and show the world by our lives that we serve a glorious Master.

Naturally Supernatural 1

In the Cool of the Evening

SERIES CONCEPT: LIVING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

PRESENCE OF GOD – THE PLACE WHERE THE NATURAL MEETS THE SUPERNATURAL

His presence unlocks His supernatural power into our natural lives.

Adam and Eve enjoyed the state of LIVING in God’s presence…

Genesis 3:8a 

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.

Corporate vs. Personal

When the moment of His presence becomes a life of walking in the cool of the evening and not seeking unique corporate moments that inspire, we find a rhythm of our relationship becoming our default and not only our desire.

The phrase “cool of the day” probably does not mean time of day but rather the reference of God revealing Himself to the people.

The phrase literally reads the wind of the day.

The Revealed Presence of God

Some do not see this as a reference to time, and there is nothing in the context to suggest the time of day. Instead, the phrase means God revealing His presence through the wind. 

The Bible gives other examples of this happening.

1 Kings 19:11

Then He said, Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.

Job 38:1

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said…

John 3:8

(Jesus compared the working of the Holy Spirit to the wind).

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8).

WALKING A LIFE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD MEANS ACCEPTING THE COMPLETE GOD – FATHER SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT – ALL THREE ALL THE TIME

Who Is This God?

He understands the power of the natural, grasping at and desiring the power of the supernatural presence of God!

God of Heaven and Earth

Joshua 2:11b

For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.

The Lord is “God in the heavens above (transcendent) and on the earth beneath (immanent)”

The Lord doesn’t relate to this world because he lacks something within himself. No, God draws near out of the abundance of who he is.

God does not come to us needy and wanting, but instead he comes to “revive the spirit of the lowly and the heart of the contrite” (Isa 57:15).

The God Who is Present

Psalm 139:5-12

You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

The story of Scripture begins and ends with the presence of God.

From Genesis 1 to Revelation 21, God presents a story of His dwelling amongst us. This story explodes in Revelation, where heaven collides with the earth and Eden has returned and expanded into a new heaven and new earth where all of God’s people enjoy his presence eternally.

Humanity’s mission and the presence of God are inseparable.

God gave man and woman purpose. (Genesis 1:28) They are to do this in Eden, the epicenter of God’s relational presence in creation. As the first couple’s family expands, so too will the garden’s borders and, with it, God’s presence. God’s presence was to spread to the rest of the earth through Adam and Eve’s exercising of the authority they received from walking in His prese

Day 11 | Verse 11

Remember to read the whole chapter of Psalm 33 before continuing on your verse by verse reading. 

Psalm 33:11 TPT

His destiny plan for the earth stands sure. His forever-plan remains in place and will never fail.

Also Read: Isaiah 14:24; Proverbs 19:21 Isaiah 46:10

I often wonder what it must have been like for Adam and Eve before they went their own way. To have that kind of access to the Father, The Word, and The Spirit. To not see this world through the eyes of the flesh but by default operate in their heavenly perspective. That was God’s plan and it still is God’s plan for us. 

We often speak about turning an organization around as a big ship. The bigger the organization, the bigger the ship, the longer it takes to turn. Turn too quickly and things don’t work out too well. God is busy turning the universe around. He has the right to turn it back to His Word at his pace, but rest assured it will be aligned to His will and His purpose again.

The purposes and decrees of God, which are wisely formed, are eternal and “unfrustratable”. The Lord does all things according to the counsel of His perfect will in the government of the world, and in the salvation of men. Our choice of everlasting life is according to God’s will and so is our redemption, calling, and our eternal, bound-together with God, walking in the cool of the evening future.