Calvary Chapel Pastor's Blog

Psalm 50:16–17 (ESV): "16  But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? 17  For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you." The difference between religious obligation and relational devotion is found in the lifestyle. Those who love evil reject the truth and those wh...

Psalm 46:10–11 (ESV): "10  "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" 11  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah" The art of "being still" before the Lord is learned by trusting God daily in the little things. Thus, don't despise the days of ...

Psalm 44:6–8 (ESV): "6  For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. 7  But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. 8  In God, we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah" What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Our salvation cannot co...

Psalm 43:5 (ESV): "5  Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Emotions are fickle and deceitful. When we find our joy being robbed by them we must be willing to speak the truth to ourselves and remind ourselves that there is always hope and a r...

Psalm 40:2–4 (ESV): "2  He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock,  making my steps secure. 3  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. 4  Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not tur...

Psalm 37:4 (ESV): "4  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." The will of the Lord is found in delighting in Him. The more we delight in Him, the more clarity we will gain for the Lord's desires for our lives become our desires. The key is delighting in Him. When David used the word "delight" he was descr...

Psalm 36:11–12 (ESV): "11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12  There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise." Pride is the number killer of Christian progress. The moment we think we've arrived is the moment we begin to fall. Guard your heart against the temptat...

Psalm 34:1–3 (ESV): "1  I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2  My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3  Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!" God is worthy of being blessed and praised at all times. Nothing on this earth can sepa...

Psalm 33:18–19 (ESV): "18  Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19  that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine." You ever wondered who God chooses to watch? Although He sees everyone all the time His eye is specifically on the one who fears Him and who ...

Psalm 33:1–3 (ESV): "Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts." Music was made not for our enjoyment but for our engagement. Music is our means of praise, ...

Psalm 32:8–9 (ESV): "8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9  Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you." Have you ever noticed God likens us to animals often? It's because they display the c...

Psalm 32:1–2 (ESV): "1  Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2  Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." Repentance is a wonderful gift God has given us. Without it, we would not be able to experience the blessing of true forgiveness. David u...

Psalm 30:11–12 (ESV): "11  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 12  that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!" More times than not the trials we face are self-inflicted. We say, do or act in the wrong way ca...

Psalm 29:1–2 (ESV): "1  Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2  Ascribe to the Lord the glory to his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." Giving glory to God isn't a response to what He is doing in your life but to who He is! Even if He did nothing on your behalf He would still be...

Psalm 27:14 (ESV): "14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" The hardest thing to do in the midst of a trial or while facing tribulation is to wait on the Lord for deliverance.God is in control and could take away your trial in an instant. If He is still allowing it, it is because He is still working thr...

Psalm 25:4–5 (ESV): "4  Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you, I wait all the day long." Lessons in life often don't come easy. We learn the best when we are in the midst of the fire. There is a far better way though, simply by asking God...

 Psalm 24:3–5 (ESV): "3  Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5  He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Can you imag...

Psalm 23:1 (ESV): "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." God is our all in all. In Him, we lack nothing good. The only requirement? He must be the Shepherd of our lives. This is perhaps the most famous section of Scripture in the Bible. Some believe David was at the end of his life when he wrote this, some say it was during the years of his s...

Psalm 22:14–15 (ESV): "14  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15  my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death." Suffering is a necessary part of life that God uses for His glory and our good. Thank...

Psalm 22:1–2 (ESV): "1  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2  O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest." Jesus was despised and rejected so we could be esteemed and accepted. He who knew no sin became sin that we might become th...