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…he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. —1 John 4:4  As a follower of Jesus Christ, God Himself takes up residence in you. You have nothing to fear; the One who is all powerful, all wise, and knowing is with you and in you. Let’s look for a moment at what John says before and after verse we're memorizing this week: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:1-6) There are many spirits in this world. They speak through people, books, and media; they expose us to ideas, thoughts, and beliefs that cause us to think things or even believe things that are not the Truth. Just because a spirit speaks to us, should we believe what it says? We are to test the spirits to see where they're from. According to this text, there is one test that must be asked to see if the words are from God: “What do they say about Jesus?" Should we fear spirits that bring deception and lies? No! If you have confessed Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead on the third day and that He is seated in the heavenly place at the right hand of God the Father, then you have overcome the spirits of the world. He, the Spirit of the Living God, has taken up residence in you— He is greater than he who is in the world. Because of Jesus’ work on the cross and in us, we can confidently say that we are from God and we have fellowship with others who are from God. This verse, however, is not primarily about us. It is about God. He who is in us is the One who is greater. The focus is not on us but on Him, the truly “Greater One.”  There is no substitute for our God. He is the awesome One, there is no one who compares to Him. He is God and there is no other. He is the One that has all power over the one who takes up residence in this world. We have nothing to fear when we remember who God is and that He is in us. This world can be very confusing. But this world is temporary; we are only passing through it. The One who is in us is the Eternal One and He will win the final battle. Even when people won’t listen to us, someday they will know that what we have said about Jesus is true and He is greater than the one they chose to follow. Our prayer is that they, our friends and our enemies, will come to realize that there are opposing spirits in the world trying to get their attention, but there is One greater who is from God and secures our victory. May they come to know the Greater One that can live in them; He is the Spirit of Truth. For Reflection If the One who is in us is truly greater than he that is in this world, what do we have to fear? Name some of the great characteristics of our God. Write them down on a piece of paper or a card and post it on your refrigerator, or carry it with you today. Who can you pray for this week to come to know the Lord Jesus in faith?

...he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. —1 John 4:4 This verse reads like an inequality problem in math: A is greater than B; Jesus is greater than Satan. But this simple, elegant sentence is much more than an inequality. It’s a stunning reality packed with infinite encouragement.  How great is the one Jesus is greater than? Consider that since the garden of Eden, Satan has had the power to deceive the children of Adam and Eve. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “ The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.” He has blinded not just some of the people, but all of them. 1 John 5:19 says, “ The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” That’s not insignificant power, but neither is it ultimate. Christ is greater.  Colossians 2:13-15 says,  And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. When Jesus died on the cross, He died in our place. He paid the penalty we owed to God for our sins. In one victorious blow, Jesus took away Satan’s power. As John Piper says, “He disarmed [him] by nailing our record of debt to the cross, because Satan’s power is that he’s a great accuser.” ( How Much authority Does Satan Have in the World? ) If our sins are forgiven, his accusations, though true, are powerless.  If that wasn’t enough, John encourages us further: the greater One is in  those who belong to Him by faith. Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). Not only are we invited to abide in Christ, but He has promised to abide in us. After Jesus died and the curtain of the temple was torn in two (Mark 15:38), the Holy Spirit made each believer His dwelling place. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).  What does this mean? As Piper says , “Now in every battle with the devil, we can have total confidence of final victory.” Romans 8:38–39 says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers [satanic power included], nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This, Piper says, means Satan “has been decisively defeated.”   Whatever temptations we’re facing, whatever guilt we feel over past sins, no matter our suffering or trials, we can have courage knowing that He who is in us is greater than our enemy the devil. The one who rages against us with the power of accusation is no match for our Savior.  Take heart. Not only is Jesus greater than Satan, Jesus is in you . For Reflection What accusations does Satan hurl at you? How should this verse change your response to them? What aspect of Jesus' greatness is most precious to you? Ask the Father to encourage you this week with the Son's sacrificial love poured out for you. Candice Watters  is the editor of Fighter Verses and contributor to Truth78's webinars . She and her husband, Steve, teach My Purpose Will Stand   for 5th grade Sunday school at their church in Louisville, KY. The Watterses are the parents of two grown children and two nearly so.

[For] a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. ¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. [¹²O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!] —Psalm 84:10–12 We are surrounded by good things. Every day we hear and see goodness . We hear it in songs that are beautiful and true, feel it in a warm hug from a relative, and even taste it as we drink every last drop of a chocolate milkshake. We see and enjoy many good things in life. Without diminishing the goodness of the things we see and enjoy, however, Psalm 84 shows us that God’s goodness is even better. The best good in our life is inadequate to truly satisfy our hearts. There is a more glorious goodness that transcends every other good thing–God Himself.  The goodness of God surpasses anything we could ever want and supplies everything we will ever need.  God of Surpassing Goodness The psalmist starts with two comparisons that show us God’s goodness is infinitely better than anything else. First, God’s goodness surpasses even the good things in this life. Our verses declare that just one  day with God is better than a thousand  elsewhere (v. 10). The intentionally vague description of the “thousand days” helps us feel the weight of this truth. By not describing the nature of the thousand days, the text is telling us that even if those thousand days were the best days we could imagine, they wouldn’t be better than just one day in His heavenly court. Second, not only is one day in His presence better than a thousand good days in this world, the chance to catch a glimpse of His throne room is better than the temporary pleasures of sin. Sin promises us that if we would enter its tent  and settle in we would have all the comfort and joy we want. At best, it's a temporary home of counterfeit fleeting goodness . By contrast, in the house of the Lord we find true, lasting goodness. The psalmist declares it would be better to be on the outskirts of God’s house than to be in the inner rooms of sin’s tent. He wants us to see that God’s goodness is so glorious that if you can simply stand at the threshold of His house you will be filled with more joy than sin could ever provide. Charles Spurgeon said, “God’s worst is better than the devil’s best” ( Daily Treasure , 219).  God Who Supplies Goodness Amazingly, God doesn’t give His worst. He gives His best: “ No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (v. 11). What a marvelous thought! Our gloriously good God doesn’t hold back any good thing. The wonder of this reality, however, is qualified by the phrase “those who walk uprightly.” Does this mean God only gives good things to those who earn them? To answer this question, it’s important to read what the psalmist says immediately prior in verse 11. He says God “ bestows  favor and honor” which literally means He “ gives  grace and glory.” In giving grace, the Lord is giving an undeserved and unearned gift. This means that while we are called to walk uprightly, our obedience doesn’t earn  good things from Him–the good things are gifts  of grace. As Christians, we know this to be true because we have received the greatest gift of all–forgiveness in Jesus. Paul says, “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). The Lord Jesus is the proof that the promise of Psalm 84 is true: God will not withhold any good thing from His people! Not only is the Lord gloriously good, Christian, He has bestowed upon you the greatest gift of goodness you could ever want or need–the Lord Jesus Himself. When the goods of this world call to your heart or when the darkness of the world dims your view of God, remember that the Lord surpasses all goodness this world has to offer and supplies His people with all the good things they will ever need. Then, and only then, can we cry out with the psalmist, “Blessed is the one who trusts in you” (v.12).  For Reflection What good things in this world do you find yourself wanting more than you want God? How does knowing that God doesn’t withhold any good thing from his people encourage you in your walk with Jesus? When are you prone to think God is withholding good things from you? How do Psalm 84 and Romans 8:32 help you? Ben James is the Associate Pastor of Chapelwood Baptist Church in Indianapolis, IN. He has served Chapelwood since 2020, beginning as an elder and going on staff in 2022 following his graduation from Indianapolis Theological Seminary in 2022. He also serves on the Administrative Team of Plant Indy which works alongside churches in the central Indiana area to plant and revitalize churches. He is married to Brentyn, and they have three wonderful children.

[For] a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. ¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. [¹²O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!] —Psalm 84:10-12 Solomon’s Temple in David's city was the hub of spiritual life when Psalm 84 was written. It was a spectacular structure, but what transformed this man-made building into a supernatural powerhouse was the glory of God that filled it (2 Chronicles 7:1). As Psalm 84 opens, the sons of Korah are making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem with a song in their mouths: "My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God" (Psalm 84:2). The Temple was beautiful (Psalm 84:1), but experiencing that beauty was not the point of their journey or what caused them to sing. Their longing, their soul-thirsting desire for the presence of God, was what sustained and even fueled their strength as they made their journey through the arid Valley of Baca. Whatever difficulties plagued their journey were insignificant compared to knowing that "a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere" (Psalm 84:10a). One thousand— truly ? Was that hyperbole? I grabbed my pen and listed a few of my top days: the days my wife said “I do;” the day my first son was born, and four wonderful adoption days after that. Then there are the precious days I spent with those I love who are in the presence of Jesus right now; joyful days growing up on a small farm in southern Minnesota with incredible parents; awe-filled nights soaking in the beauty and wonder of the galaxies above; and many days enjoying the beauty of creation—the majestic Rocky mountains, Glacier National Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and an amazing drive from Red Lodge, Montana through the Beartooth Pass into the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park. I’ve had some great days and I'm thankful to God for them. Remarkably, this verse puts those days into perspective. All of my best days combined, and all of your best days combined, will not compare to one day in His presence. This "one day" is coming, followed by eternity where we will experience "…the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7). Consider the glorious past of God dwelling in Solomon’s Temple, and the mind-blowing future of God dwelling with His people forever (Revelation 21:3). Then marvel that we are the temple of God due to the all-sufficient work of Jesus Christ. Upon His death, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, giving us direct access to the Father through Jesus, so we can boldly approach the throne of grace. Oh believer, let us be among those of whom it can be said, “We trust in the Lord of hosts”! For Reflection Reflect on the goodness of the Lord in your best days . Is God any less good in your not-so-good, or bad days? Are you pursuing the throne of grace regularly? Can you fathom what's in store for those trusting in the sufficiency of Jesus? Read and consider Psalm 23:6, Psalm 27:4, and John 14:2-3.

[For] a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. ¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. [¹²O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!] —Psalm 84:10-12 We live in a society that has overrated the enjoyment of the perishable, and even true believers can easily forget what is the source of our greatest and only lasting pleasure. The reason God gives us legitimate temporal pleasures is to increase our appreciation for eternal pleasures. For our flesh cannot fully appreciate the benefits of the gifts our soul receives from God. Imagine that you are just a few feet away from the breathtaking view of Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon, and a chill comes over your entire body. What should happen is that you think something like this: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. If you have granted me these pleasures on this side of eternity, how much more I will be impressed by contemplating the beauty of your Son. But if we do not make that connection, we will soon be enjoying the perishable to the extreme, and seeking in God only “food for our souls.” Unknowingly, we shall reserve the word pleasure for those things that do not produce true or eternal pleasure. This will inevitably be disastrous; for let us remember that temporal pleasures are meant to increase our appreciation of heavenly pleasures. But there is another matter. Eternal pleasures are available in some measure in this life, and we enjoy them when we are intimate with God. Our flesh does not enjoy them, but our soul learns to enjoy them. Satisfying our soul should produce pleasure, just as when we partake of a succulent banquet. Not only do we mitigate hunger, but we experience a sense of pleasure that must be greater than the feeling of fullness. If we did not experience pleasure, eating would be a tiresome task. The same occurs with our soul. Only Christ is true food for our soul, and God has provided means to be filled with Him. If, however, these means are not a pleasant experience for our soul, we will soon keep them by mere tiresome practices; as the evangelist Mark rightly records Jesus’ words, “and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). God’s goal is not that you fulfill godly duties. He expects you to truly enjoy being with Him and with His people. Listen to these words: “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4a). And in our Psalm, “My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord” (Psalm 84:2a). Psalm 84 is the passionate sigh of a soul that truly enjoys the presence of God in the midst of His people. Child of God, may your desire to be in God’s house flow from the recognition that it is best for your soul. Once you are in that place, do not allow your soul not to enjoy it. When disaffection appears, do not ignore it. Ask God to give you back the joy of your salvation. Only when God is your greatest source of pleasure on this earth will you have the assurance that nothing will turn you away from Him. Let the memory of times of true delight draw you back to God when you are far from Him. When you go through periods of spiritual dryness, the Holy Spirit will whisper, “You need not remain so; there are greater delights for you.” This is what happened to the psalmist: These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. (Psalm 42:4) Child of God, do not allow yourself not to enjoy the house of God. Look back and remember. For Reflection Why do you go to church? What are the predominant feelings when you approach the house of God? What will you do from today on when you discover that you do not enjoy God as you should?

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake! —Psalm 79:9  Psalm 79 is a prayer uttered in the midst of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians. In verses 1-4 the psalmist laments how the invaders have defiled the temple, ruined the city, and left the slain bodies unburied on the ground. But they are not innocent victims. In verses 5-8, Asaph owns that the Lord’s anger is against His own people for their iniquities against Him.  God had rescued Israel out of slavery in Egypt and planted her like a fruitful vine in a land flowing with milk and honey (Ezekiel 19:10-11, 20:6). But the people rejected His rule and worshipped idols (Ezekiel 33:25-26). They repeatedly rebelled against God despite warnings that He would judge their unfaithfulness. Israel’s suffering was the result of them “choos[ing] their own ways” and “delight[ing] in their abominations” (Isaiah 66:3). They knew the consequences God had promised, yet they broke the covenant He made with them (Isaiah 66:4). In the midst of the devouring Babylonians, the psalmist repents for the nation’s iniquities and pleads with the Lord for compassion to “come speedily to meet us” (v. 8). He longs for the Lord to turn His anger away from His people and redirect it toward their enemies (v. 6). This is not a plea for retaliation, but for substitution. He knows their sin deserves punishment and he longs for God to put their sin on another: “deliver us, and atone for our sins.” Likely he’s thinking of the sacrifices routinely offered in the very temple being attacked by the Babylonians.   Asaph prayed with faith, believing God would do it. As Alec Motyer says in his Psalms by the Day , the Israelites' status hadn’t changed, nor had God’s saving mercies. Remarkably, after all of their rebellion and idolatry, the people of Israel were still “the sheep of His pasture” (v. 13).  Asaph based his petition not on anything good the people had done. They had no merit to motivate God to act on their behalf. This prayer was an appeal to God’s unchanging character. He had revealed Himself as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7).  The psalmist had faith that God would answer and fulfill His promises, but he could not have foreseen how he would do it. God said that atonement for sins came through blood (Leviticus 17:11). That’s why the people repeatedly offered animal sacrifices. But those sacrifices could not change the people’s nature. They needed a better sacrifice, One whose death would accomplish what bulls and goats never could. The death of Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, would be a sacrifice “once for all” (Hebrews 10:11-14). It was so unexpected that many missed the Savior when He came (John 1:10-11). Their only hope that someone would atone for their sin is our hope, too. Our biggest problem is not an invading army or anything external. It’s our own sin against the Holy God. Every person must appeal to God  for salvation from God —from His righteous wrath against sin. There is no hope apart from the mercy He offers through the death and resurrection of Christ. Like Israel, and the rest of mankind, we are undeserving sheep who have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6, Ephesians 2:3). We need God to atone for our sins. As the Old Testament reveals, Israel couldn’t obey the law in their own strength. Neither can we. Asaph asked God to save Israel for the sake of His Name. God, in mercy, sent Jesus, whose mission–to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21)–is the very meaning of His name.  Thanks be to God for His mercy and grace toward rebellious, undeserving sinners like Israel–and like us. In every circumstance, the hope of our salvation is Jesus. For Reflection Confess your sins to God and thank Him for His mercy and compassion.  If you are a Christian, ask God to help you live consistent with the new nature He has given you.  Read Ezekiel 36 and underline where God says He will act for the sake of His name, and all of the “I will” statements that He promises to do for His people. Candice Watters  is the editor of Fighter Verses and contributor to Truth78's webinars . She and her husband, Steve, teach My Purpose Will Stand   for 5th grade Sunday school at their church in Louisville, KY. The Watterses are the parents of two grown children and two nearly so.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! —Psalm 79:9 God’s glory is the sum of all His infinite perfections. God, being who He is and how He is, by necessity, does all that He does for the glory of His glory. Nothing exists that is more glorious than God’s glory, more precious than God’s glory, nor more deserving of love and praise than God in all His glory. So it makes sense that since God is perfect love, God must love perfectly with perfect love that which is perfectly worthy of perfect devotion—namely, God’s glory. It took me a while to understand the necessity of those conclusions and, admittedly, it took me even longer to grasp the application it requires: If God honors and loves and does all He does for the furtherance of His glory, then it is His glory, not me and my need, for which God primarily acts. God is not all about me. He is all about His glory. Take that, O proud ego of mine! But here’s the glory of it. God’s pursuit of His glory includes me; it includes my spiritual and temporal well-being; it includes my joy! God’s satisfaction in His glory expands to include us and make us pursuers of His glory with Him, so that we might share in His satisfaction in His glory. Which brings us to Psalm 79:9. Israel has been invaded and Jerusalem is in ruins. The invading army laid waste to the citizenry. Many are dead, their bodies left unburied, food for scavengers. Israel is the butt of international jokes. God’s anger has been poured out on His wayward, covenant-breaking, faithless people. It is at this point Asaph pours out his plea: “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!” The psalmist does not appeal to God’s love or to His mercy, but rather to God’s glory. He appeals to that which is most precious to God and most worthy of God’s attention. He does not base his appeal on himself, his need, his country, or the need of his people. He turns to God, rightly, and pleads for God’s glory. Help us for your glory. Deliver us for your glory. Atone for our sins, for your glory. Inherent in this faithful, desperate prayer is the desire for God to make Himself known as He truly is to those who observe Israel’s plight. It is right to pray — to intercede for ourselves and for others — but what is the best motive for our requests? God’s glory. It is good to seek the Lord and desire His presence and power in our lives, but to what end? God’s glory! We might be tempted to think that God should act on our behalf on account of His love for us. How much better for us when we arrive at the understanding that there is no greater, nobler, more perfect motive for God’s action than God’s glory. When we come to desire what God desires — the earth full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord — then we are ready to have our prayers for help, deliverance, and forgiveness answered. “Our Father, who art in heaven, . . . Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” for your glory. For Reflection The psalmist gives us an example of making God’s glory the focus of his prayer. How would you make God’s glory the focus of your prayers? Does the knowledge of God’s love for His glory change your motivation in loving others and doing good? How? Seeing in Scripture that God acts for the sake of the glory of His name, is your joy and trust in Him increased?

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! —Psalm 79:9 It’s helpful to take a few moments to read the first nine verses of Psalm 79—this passage gives us a description of the very distressful situation that precedes our Fighter Verse. It is as if we are standing beside Asaph, and with him survey the ravaged landscape for anything left intact. As far as our eyes can see there is complete destruction and waste of the once beautiful city of Jerusalem and its environs…torn apart and flattened. Did you feel like weeping as you read those verses? I did. John MacArthur labels this portion of Psalm 79, “A Dirge and a Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies.” It is a devastating loss for Israel. The center of their identity as a nation — their temple to the living God — has been desecrated and trampled by the enemy. The people’s hearts are broken. Added to their own grief and shame is the damning conviction that this invasion, and the enemy's victory, reflects unjustly on their God’s strength and power to protect them. God would be mocked by the uninformed onlookers and Israel’s unbelieving foes. No one has told the enemy that it was, in fact, Israel’s God who has allowed this brutal attack because of His people’s sins and unfaithfulness to Him. Now, in the midst of chaos, loss, destruction, death, and sin, what should they do? Who will right the irreparable mess surrounding the remaining Israelites? There is no one who can restore Israel and their relationship to God except God Almighty Himself. Does Asaph throw up his hands and pray to die? Never! This faithful servant of our God models for us the righteous response and enters into a spiritual battle that is as effective when employed today as it was then! He falls to his knees, and from his distressed heart he calls out to God— his God : The God who created the universe and everything in it The God who performed mighty miracles to release His beloved Israel from Egypt The God who parted the Red Sea so thousands of Israelites could escape Pharaoh, and then brought the powerful waves crashing down to the destruction of Egypt’s army The God who carved out a nation in which Israel could grow and prosper The God who taught them how to live, how to worship, how to deal with sin, and how to love their God To this God, Asaph abandons himself. He cries out to Him: “Help us, oh God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sin, for Your name’s sake!” It is sweetness to the soul to see the faith implied in these requests: He turns immediately to His God, knowing that in God’s answer and provision, the people are given their best and only hope. It also implies that he knows that God is the only One who can bring needed healing and restoration. He worships God, addressing Him as “the God of our salvation;” and then humbles himself and acknowledges that the glory of his God is of more importance than the immediate demands of a destroyed Israel. He also begs for deliverance—a request of gigantic proportions, followed by another equally impelling need: the forgiveness and atonement for his sins and the sins of Israel. On what basis does Asaph justify asking these things from God? That the great I AM will accomplish His will on earth, to the glory of His name. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not a prayer lost in antiquity, nor is it just a report of this episode in Asaph’s life. God included this prayer for our good. By it He has bared His heart of love and deep concern for His people. He has crafted a weapon, a priceless resource for every living soul that has received His salvation, that we might never be left without His help, solutions, and comfort in our terrors and agonies. Instead, He has offered us the privilege of prayer, of being heard by the Sovereign God. This isn’t theoretical. We have lived it out. It is true. In answer to prayers of the distressed and hurting, God has performed countless solutions and rescues to the many problems we have faced. And since He never will leave us or forsake us, we know He will continue to hear us and act until the day we die. The sweet love that God adds to His rescue is His promise to work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. What a marvelous gift of hope and confidence for us! Psalm 79 is God’s wisdom for you and for me today. Asaph would say to this generation that as soon as trouble comes to you, cry out to our Lord. Send your urgent petition to your faithful Savior! Then, watch for His solution, the help that He will send. And give Him glorious thanks and praise for His love and deliverance! For Reflection Memorize this prayer. Cry out to Jesus when you have insurmountable issues—He will come. He will help you. Give praise to God for His help every day. Won't it be amazing someday in glory to discover how many times and many ways the Lord Jesus saved us physically and spiritually while we lived out our lives?

[But] godliness with contentment is great gain, ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. —1 Timothy 6:6-7 Watching HGTV is trouble for my soul. I don’t know about you, but when I finish watching, my level of satisfaction with my own home has decreased,  not increased . I begin saying things like, “Wouldn’t an open floor plan really make this space more usable?” “What about some crown molding?” “We definitely need to increase the amount of shiplap in this place!” Paul gives us some wisdom that is helpful for us whether it’s HGTV, Instagram, or a trip to Target that has stirred up discontent in us. In 1 Timothy 6, Paul has just finished giving young Pastor Timothy instructions to guide the church at Ephesus, including how to deal with false teachers who are seeking personal material gain. Timothy’s mindset, and ours, ought to be different: But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. Paul’s core statement is “godliness with contentment is great gain.” This is supported by the reasoning “for   we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” Our material possessions will pass away. The place I call home is not my true home; it's not my “forever home,” no matter how beautiful, cozy, or shiplapped  it is. So where does contentment come from? Contentment is not about what you have, it is about Who you have. Godliness  is the sanctifying work of Christ. After encouraging Timothy to train himself in godliness, Paul says, “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God , who is the savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10, emphasis added). In this way, pursuing godliness means pursuing God Himself by putting our hope in Him as the center of all our ways and all our days. To pursue godliness “with contentment” is to find your joy, sufficiency, and satisfaction in Christ and not in earthly things. At the end of this letter Paul says, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). True contentment will never come through what  you have—no matter how much you get, there will always be more that you don't have. You will waste your life if you strive after material things in the pursuit of contentment—it can only come through Who  you have. Believer, the living God has given Himself to you. That  is great gain! For Reflection What pulls your heart toward material things? (HGTV, Target, Instagram, etc.) Do you see the gospel as a means for material gain, or do you see Jesus as the gift of the gospel? Ask God to awaken your joy in Jesus today through singing, reading the Word, and praying. Nate Miller  is the Associate Preaching Pastor at Revive Church in Brooklyn Park, MN. Nate and his wife, Angela, live in Brooklyn Park and have three children.

[But] godliness with contentment is great gain, ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. —1 Timothy 6:6-7 This verse refers to the love of money being the root of all kinds of evil. At the heart of wanting and loving money more than God is unbelief. There is no "godliness with contentment" in this world apart from the saving sacrifice of Christ and obedience to the teaching that accords with godliness. Matthew Henry wrote, Money of itself answers nothing; it will neither feed nor clothe; but, as it is the instrument of commerce, it answers all the occasions of this present life. What is to be had may be had for money. But it answers nothing to the soul; it will not procure the pardon of sin, the favor of God, the peace of conscience; the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained, with corruptible things as silver and gold. The Bible says, “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:2b-3). While our souls are regenerate, our flesh is not. Therefore, my desires are sin-tainted. Jesus alone accomplished a life of pure desire and motive: the will of His Father. Imagine what life would be like if we had absolute trust in the Lord for everything we need and all our heart's longing aligned with His perfect will and commands. Thankfully, one day, “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” will be everlasting and without fleshly struggle (Philippians 4:6). That promise gives hope and assurance of what will be when we are with our Lord face to face. For now, true godliness with contentment is only possible when we seek God with our whole heart, mind, and soul and love Him above all else. Let’s pray to flee from sin and the love of money, cling to Jesus and the Word, trust the Holy Spirit to counsel, and be content with our lot in life. Let’s encourage one another with grateful hearts to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12: 1). Let’s heed the wise words of Paul to his young charge, Timothy, and remember that “naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return” (Job 1:21). May we use and enjoy the spiritual and material gifts we have been given to further the Kingdom work of our Father who is the great provider of all things. For Reflection What is the “great gain” referred to in this text? What do you treasure and what attitudes need to change? Are you willing to memorize and burn this message into my heart?

Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. ⁶The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? ⁷The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. ⁸It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. —Psalm 118:5-8 What do you do when you are treated unfairly? Where do you run when you're faced with injustice? Do you fight or despair; get angry or afraid; maybe you sink into the slough of despond or valiantly resolve to never be a pushover again. The author of Psalm 118 shows us a better way: “Out of my distress, I called on the LORD and he answered me and set me free." There is a secret in Psalm 118 that conquers the temptation to respond sinfully to persecution—it is the Lord, our refuge. He conquered every temptation. Run to Him. He is sovereign. His steadfast, covenant love endures forever. We can’t fight this battle alone. He is the Savior and will help us. “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.” Man, by his very nature, breaks trust, but the Lord is trustworthy. He never breaks trust! The Lord is on our side. His name is “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11). He calls us to turn to Him and take refuge in Him. He will set us free from every destructive scheme of our enemies. Jesus said the world would hate us because we belong to Him. But He has disarmed our earthly enemies through the cross and has stripped them of any ultimate power over us. He Himself has become our refuge from the firestorm of hate in this world. “The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me?” With the courage He provides by going before us, He has told us what to do: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”(Matthew 5:44). The treasure trove of God’s love through Jesus Christ is infinitely deeper and more powerful than hate. He has set us free to respond to our enemies as He responded. We can engage our enemies, love our enemies, and pray for their blessing because our trust is in the Lord who has triumphed through the cross. I once read a story of a little boy who would go hungry at school because his lunch money was daily stolen by the class bully. The boy turned to God, prayed, and read his Bible, all the while looking for a way to win his enemy. One day, his eyes settled on “if your enemy is hungry, feed him” (Romans 12:20). He showed the Bible verse to his mother and the next day she baked chocolate chip cookies for her son to offer to the bully in the name of Jesus. The bully could not resist the cookies, grabbed a handful and ate them—but he still stole the lunch money. In the days that followed, the bully was given a variety of things to eat from the boy, always with acknowledgement of Jesus. He was eventually won over. He became a friend of the boy, a friend of Jesus, and never stole from anyone at school again. We also have supernatural enemies—rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, spiritual forces in heavenly places (Ephesians 6). The enemies of the Lord abound, but He intends us to rely on His help (John 14:16-17). We war not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers and authorities. Our help comes through God’s provision of the indwelling Holy Spirit who is working in us to equip us through God’s Word to win every battle, defeat every devious speculation raised up against Him, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. “The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.” Every Christian was an enemy of God, but now we have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11). We have been made friends through Christ’s victory at the cross. He triumphed over every enemy, including death. “This [the record of debt, the legal demands against us] he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:14-15). “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet” (Hebrews 10:12-13). Whether a person loves or hates the cross of Christ, everyone is ultimately conquered by it, though the culmination of that reality is yet to be revealed. He has told us in His Word about that day: “...at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Christ’s victory is for all those who will seek refuge in Him. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10). For believers, there is but one response: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” For Reflection What identifies a person as an enemy of God? Are you praying for your enemies? Make a list of those you are tempted to hate and start praying for them today. Ask God to give you tangible ways to bless someone who persecutes you for the sake of Christ.

Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. ⁶The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? ⁷The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. ⁸It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. — Psalm 118:5-8 Recently a friend was telling me about a political meeting he attended. When I asked him what he learned, he said, “that I’m on the right side.” It reminded me of bumper stickers that claim to know who Jesus would vote for or what political party He would join. What might the author of Psalm 118 make of us moderns? We’re tempted to use verses like these to affirm our views. But we must read more carefully. The Lord is on the psalmist’s side, but not in the way we often use that wording.  In the psalmist’s view, what mattered more than having God join him in his beliefs was knowing that “the Lord is on my side as my helper .” This is far from a slogan to justify a person’s perspective. Verse 7 isn’t about God choosing sides in a debate or election, but about Him being present beside  those He loves. Even more, it’s about the help he provides to those He saves. The support he describes receiving from the Lord in this psalm is remarkable: Yahweh’s unfailing love, His answer to cries for help, strength and protection from his enemies and, ultimately, salvation.  Martin Luther called Psalm 118 “the golden Psalm” and said it “often revived and comforted [him] in [his] temptations” (W. S. Plumer, Psalms Commentary , 1014). Psalm 118 was his favorite .  As I was thinking about what it means that the Lord is on our side, Luther’s hymn A Mighty Fortress is Our God  came to mind–a fitting song coming off of Reformation Day. Verse two includes the lyric, “our striving would be losing, were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing.” And in verse four we sing, “the Spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth.”  Though Luther’s hymn  was based on Psalm 46, his love for Psalm 118 could not have been far from his mind as he wrote about the Man on his side, and the God who “sideth” with him. Luther knew the fear of fleeing for his life and the prospect of death from the plague, as well as the agony of guilt over his own sin. He relished the comfort of God’s strong presence with him.  For all his troubles, he was no weakling. Luther exhorted his followers, in much the way the psalmist does, to cry out to God with vigor. He wrote,  Thou must learn to call and not to sit there by thyself, and lie on the bench, hang and shake the head, and bite and devour thyself with thy thoughts, but come on, thou indolent knave, down upon thy knees, up with thy hands and eyes to heaven, take a Psalm or a prayer, and set forth thy distress with tears before God. (Plumer, 1040) It’s a posture Luther knew well. Despite all of his enemies, and ours, there is no greater distress than being enslaved to sin. That enemy is closest to us and is what separates us from God. It is also the enemy God has promised to help us defeat. Our sin created a debt we could never repay, but God in mercy and love became  our salvation (verse 14). Peter quoted this psalm when he identified Jesus as the cornerstone (v. 22) saying, “there is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:11). Jesus bore our sin and the penalty we deserved on the cross. He was abandoned by God so that we might be with Him forever. This is why we can say with confidence, “He will never leave me nor forsake me” (see Hebrews 13:5-6).   The psalmist urges us to take refuge in the Lord (vv. 8, 9). This is only possible because God Himself has “become [our] salvation” (vv. 14, 21). We know from the gospels what that cost Him. Apart from Christ’s work on the cross, we would remain under God’s wrath. That would be the most fearsome thing of all. Thanks be to God that because of Christ, we can enter God’s presence with thanksgiving, not terror. In Christ, God is on our side to help us. This is why we are able to “not fear” (v. 6). Whatever you’re facing, this is the greatest comfort of all. For Reflection What tempts you to fear? What does it look like in your life to call on the Lord when you’re in distress? Ask God in prayer to help you put off fear and take refuge in Him. Candice Watters is the editor of Fighter Verses and contributor to Truth78's webinars . She and her husband, Steve, teach My Purpose Will Stand for 5th grade Sunday school at their church in Louisville, KY. The Watterses are the parents of four young adults.