Tag Archives: mercy

Faith Practice, the Exercise

Bible Meditation

torah_500The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.
Lamentations 3:22

A secular thinker who hears you testify to God’s love will ask if you can prove that God exists. This verse was written by someone who has experienced the presence and goodness of the Lord. Can you use your own experience with God to prove his existence?

How do you respond to people who reject your testimony that God is present with you?

Can you think of any person in the Bible who doubted the existence of God? What happened to the person or persons?

Can you think of any person in the Bible who doubted that God was speaking to him? What happened to the person or persons?

Why does the author of this verse cherish God’s steadfast love? What has God done in your life that is evidence of God’s steadfast love?

By Katherine Harms, author of Oceans of Love available for Kindle at Amazon.com.

Image: Torah Scroll
Source:  http://library.duke.edu/exhibits/hebrewbible/torah.html
License:  Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0

Religion in the Culture

Bible Meditation

1     The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2         He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3         He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

  • The psalmist did not turn to a government or a relative or a rich friend to provide for him. To whom did he turn?
  • Experience teaches us that walking “in paths of righteousness” is not always the easiest way to go. Why does the psalmist celebrate God’s leadership?
  • What does the psalmist “get” when he “gives” his submission to God’s leadership?

4     Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

  • The psalmist is walking on righteous pathways. Why doesn’t he escape “the shadow of death?”
  • What political and cultural evils do you observe every day? How do they affect your life?
  • Secular thinkers believe that the things that make them happy must be considered good, even if they are made happy by things the Bible considers evil. How does calling good evil and evil good affect the society we live in?
  • How did the psalmist respond to evil that surrounded him?
  • Whom do you trust when you confront evil?

5     You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6     Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

  • You are invited to a “table” overflowing and abundant every time you worship. Do you have the sense that enemies surround that table? Who are they?
  • In what way are you “anointed” when you visit that table?
  • How can it be said that you “dwell in the house of the Lord forever”?
  • How do you explain to secular thinkers what you mean about “dwelling in the house of the Lord forever”?
Faith Practice, the Exercise

A Verse for Meditation

Torah ScrollSurely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

Most people would agree that the Lord is good. You might want to look at Psalm 34:8 for another verse that celebrates his goodness. If someone challenged you by saying, “I don’t think that God is so good,” how would you respond?

Mercy is a word with a rich spectrum of meanings. A pastor in my childhood called it “God’s unmerited favor toward ungrateful humnaity.” How would you define it?

This psalm is attributed to David who wrote it thousands of years ago. What do you think he meant when he referred to “all the days of my life?” What do you mean when you say those words?

How is it that anyone might dwell in the house of the Lord forever? Read 1 Corinthians 3:16 and think about what it tells you about Psalm 23:6