Join us as we explore Psalm 18 and discover how God guards, rewards, and strengthens His people. Through life's challenges, God shapes us into instruments for His purpose, just as a blacksmith forges a sword. Dive into the powerful imagery of refuge and deliverance, and find strength in the Almighty's faithful promises.

So I've mentioned in the past that I don't really remember dreams. That's not something that I do, where I have a dream and I can come to you and give you every detail about what the color of the bird was flying through the air and which street I was on, but it really wasn't that street. You know how dreams go. I don't have that happen when I dream. What happens to me is that often I wake up from what must have been a very vivid dream, and I can't separate what I experienced while sleeping from the reality of life.

Maybe my memory isn't very good. I would freely admit such things. But I think this is the greenest that the grass has been at this point in the summer in quite a few years. And I'm really enjoying all the different colors of summer this year because, first off, we haven't really had them in this way for what seems like quite a long time. And also because while the weather was unseasonably warm this spring, it never really got warm enough for the trees to pop early and give us those colors that we love very early. It took a while for us to get that view of the world. Well, a few nights ago, I was at a baseball game and I happened to notice that the infield grass was basically perfect, luscious and green and manicured, like you would expect to be with all the rain that we have had so far this year.

As you can imagine, I often receive a wide range of questions as a pastor. From practical concerns about ethics or the Christian life to deep theological inquiries. I get these types of questions on a somewhat regular basis. Among these, the most pivotal questions I receive often revolve around salvation. And more importantly, probably the better way to describe it would be assurance. How can I know that I'm saved? And, such questions echo a profound biblical inquiry, such as we find in Psalm 15 this morning, where David asks, who can sojourn in the Lord's tent, and who shall dwell on his holy hill?

Explore Psalm 14 as we navigate through themes of human depravity, the distinct lives of the righteous, and the profound promise of God's deliverance. Discover how these ancient truths can guide us in today's complex world. Tune in to find wisdom and encouragement for your spiritual journey.

Consider these questions as you listen:

1. How does recognizing our own depravity help us appreciate God's grace more deeply?

2. In what ways can you see the difference between the lives of the righteous and the ungodly in your own community?

3. What practical steps can you take this week to live out the truth that God is your refuge and deliverance in times of trouble?

We've all been in situations where we feel that we can't just say how we feel. Maybe it's a meeting at work or a discussion you're having with a friend, a spouse, or a parent. But we just feel that we can't say what we really feel in that moment. We have something that we feel deeply. We want to express it. But as it approaches our tongues, we stop. And we think it might be a better idea not to let it get past our lips. It probably isn't beneficial for us to put out there what we are thinking and feeling. Now, I'm not talking about a... quick, hot burst of emotion here. I'm talking about something that has been on our mind for quite a while. We've considered it.

In our time, there are many things that we take for granted. I've used an example before, but I think about it regularly. We walk into a room, and we flip a switch, and we expect a light to come on. We just expect this. This is what we do. We reach into our pocket, and we can get information from all over the world, and we can communicate with pretty much anyone, anywhere. We just take this for granted. Technology has made our lives pretty simple compared to the way things were in times past. And really, I think we would all agree, it's truly a blessing that we don't have to labor over things at all that once were of a great concern for those who came before us. And arguably, one of the things that we maybe take for granted the most is clean water. In times past, finding good, drinkable water was the most important thing for us. It was difficult.

A few weeks back, I mentioned the importance of finding a good shelter in a storm. And how, when we experience a storm, we find ourselves running to the most secure location that we can find. And regardless of how strong a storm is, we are going to always choose something substantial over, say, a pup tent. When we see the storm clouds form, we look for something to get under. We look for refuge. Now, I recently learned that this is not something that eagles do. They don't look for something to get under. Under, as we would, instead of seeking shelter, like many birds and like we would, eagles actually use the winds of the approaching storm to gain higher altitude. So they position their wings in such a way that the wind moves them above the storm.

A theme that regularly comes through in the Psalms is the idea that it's one thing to intellectually ascend to the idea of God, and it's an entirely different thing to live consistently with that idea. Now last year when we looked at several different Psalms during the summer months, we saw the statement, the fool has sin in his heart, there is no God. And we'll see that statement again this summer. But we saw when we looked at that, that the idea that came through as we worked through that statement, was that a denial of the existence of a deity was not really what David was talking about there. There weren't a bunch of materialistic atheists running around in David's time.