Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life with Pastor Dave Cover

It’s a conspiracy that increases my faith in the gospel. I’m amazed at how often we see the Bible’s one story threaded all throughout Scripture, but written centuries apart. This one story of the Bible, written over a period of 1,500 years by more than 40 different authors, most of whom never even knew each other, is a conspiracy indeed, but not of humans. It’s a conspiracy of the Holy Spirit. Telling ultimately one amazing story of God becoming the perfect human King in order to restore https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201%3A26-28&version=NIV (his plan for his humanity) to rule and care for and continue his work of creation. A world exploding with the beauty and glory and wonder of God, that rejoices in and reflects his glory and love and beauty and goodness and wisdom and faithfulness. I want to be in THAT story! And to be in that story we must learn to worship God in the Spirit and truth (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%204%3A23-24&version=NIV (John 4:23-24)). And a great place to worship in the Spirit and truth of this incredible story is in Isaiah 11, written centuries before Jesus was born. Let’s talk about it and worship together in this episode! Isaiah 11:1–9 ESV 1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

Don’t let yourself get hijacked away from the incredible bigger and better story this world is in and you could be in. Your trust and faithfulness will be so worth it! But we must worship the I AM to keep our affections focused on the right story. Learning to worship is the most important action in your entire life. And Psalm 96 helps us worship the I AM in the context of his bigger and better story for this world and for you. God’s name, Yahweh (Hebrew for HE IS), is mentioned eleven times in the thirteen verses of this psalm. When we learn to “ascribe” the truths of all that the I AM is and is for us, it elevates our imagination and emotions and attitudes so that we can be empowered to run our race of faith. Try it now with this episode. Psalm 96 ESV 1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! 2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! 10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

Do you find it hard or even awkward to worship God? The truth is it’s easier than you think. You just have to choose to do it. Worship is a choice. In fact, it must always be a choice. God never coerces our worship. Jesus said in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%204%3A23-24&version=NIV (John 4:23-24) that God seeks true worshipers. In other words, God wants you to choose to worship him by your own free will. C.S. Lewis wrote that https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/799916-i-think-we-delight-to-praise-what-we-enjoy-because (in commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him). Worshiping the true God is the most important ingredient to experiencing and enjoying God. You’ll never be happy if you don’t learn to worship God. And Psalm 95 is a great place in the Bible to learn how. Psalm 95 ESV 1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.” Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

Worshiping God means worshiping him for who he really is. Our lives become more anchored horizontally when we anchor them vertically to the true God. Worshiping God in Spirit and truth, as Jesus puts it in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%204%3A23-24&version=NIV (John 4:23-24). But if you read through the Psalms, you’ll soon run into Psalms like Psalm 94 that talk about God being a “God of vengeance.” We relatively comfortable moderns have a particularly hard time with this view of God. How could God be loving and be a God of vengeance? But most Christians in the world throughout history would have the opposite problem: “How could God be loving and not judge all this evil?” In her excellent book, https://www.amazon.com/Confronting-Christianity-audiobook/dp/B081S7C287/ref=sr_1_2?crid=CEEKTDPODASX&dchild=1&keywords=confronting+christianity+by+rebecca+mclaughlin&qid=1619019028&sprefix=confronting+Christianity%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-2 (Confronting Christianity), https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/rebecca-mclaughlin/ (Rebecca McLaughlin) writes: “The idea of the wrath of God seems alien to us—a psychologically damaging relic from a bygone era. But just as we cannot absolve people of moral accountability without also erasing their ability to love, so God’s love and God’s judgment cannot be pulled apart. Think of the anger you feel when you see school children shot, women raped, or people beaten because of the color of their skin. Think of your anger at the slave trade, the Holocaust, and global sex trafficking. When you analyze that anger, its root is love. ...And the more we love, the more easily our anger is kindled. We rush to defend our children from the least attack because we love them: anyone who harms them inspires our fury. ...Imagine that this kind of love-motivated anger is so deeply entrenched in the heart of God that your own commitment to justice is like a drop in the ocean.” But this Psalm turns it back on ourselves and helps us see God’s grace in our lives to transform us out of evil into his blessing. Psalm 94 ESV 1 O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! 2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! 3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? 4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. 5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage. 6 They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; 7 and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” 8 Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? 9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? 10 He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— 11 the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. 12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, 13 to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; 15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. 16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? 17 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 18 When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. 19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. 20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? 21 They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe...

We all get into a funk. We’re disappointed. Frustrated. Experiencing the pains of life’s fragile realities. Some of us bend that direction more than others, but we all bend under that weight at times. And in those times it’s all too easy to start sinking in the quicksand of complaining, grumbling, blaming. We start living in the fog cloud of living for ourselves. And we become even more miserable. The way out is to worship the Forever God. That’s why this only Psalm in the Bible ascribed to Moses is so helpful. Moses was a glass-half-empty guy. And this is a glass-half-empty Psalm that’s so helpful in filling our cup and getting us out of our own funk if we understand it. Let’s talk about it and pray it together here. Psalm 90 ESV A PRAYER OF MOSES, THE MAN OF GOD. 1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. 5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: 6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. 7 For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. 10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

Question: When you think of the word prayer, what image comes to your mind? When you think to yourself, “Should I pray right now?” or “I’m going to pray,” what do you imagine doing? What do you imagine when you imagine praying? Too often my image is negative, like somebody boring doing something boring. But then when I read descriptions in the Gospels of Jesus praying, I get intrigued. Because Jesus obviously saw prayer as the best part of his day! Something worth sneaking in. Why? Let’s look into it in this episode. Mark 1:35–37 NIV Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Luke 5:15–16 NIV Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Matthew 6:6 NIV But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

How do you know when it’s OK to pray for something? What kind of prayers are out of bounds? Do you sometimes not pray for something because you figure you should err on the side of not offending God with your request? I think that’s a mistake. Here’s why. Luke 22:39–44 NIV Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he…withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Philippians 4:5-7 NIV The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Hebrews 1:14 NIV Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Matthew 18:10 NIV “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

Psalm 89 shows us that the drama of our lives takes place in the bigger story of God’s redemption and restoration of this world through the perfect Son of David, Jesus the Christ. But that story is even bigger yet, because there’s an even bigger drama taking place in the spiritual realm that parallels the human drama. And Psalm 89 shows us that as well. Let’s talk about it in this episode. Psalm 89 ESV 1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” 3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” 5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! 6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, 7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? 8 O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you? 9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. 10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

Centuries before Jesus was born, the Psalm of the Old Testament told of him. Jesus told his disciples that everything would be fulfilled that was written about him in the Psalms (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A44&version=NIV (Luke 24:44)). So whenever we read the Psalms we should look for Jesus. And we clearly find him in Psalm 89. When you praise the Jesus seen in Psalm 89, your life will become larger, filled with the promise of all that God is for you in Christ. Psalm 89 ESV 1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” 3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” 5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. 15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, 16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. 26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ 27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. 29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens. 33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. 35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. 36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. 37 Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies. 52 Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.

The word “forever” has always intrigued me. Most of the time it’s used in songs or poetry it’s a lie. The Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever? Or “Love you forever and forever”? But when the Psalms in the Bible use that word it’s actually a promise that can be kept. God’s covenant promise. And suddenly we’re invited into a much bigger story. “Forever” is repeated a lot in Psalm 89. It’s summoning you into a life-filling promise of God’s forever steadfast love and faithfulness and righteousness and justice. Psalm 89 ESV 1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. 15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, 16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. 52 Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.