Psalm 66:6-12

He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot—come, let us rejoice in him.  He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against him. Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Strikingly, the psalmist praises God for letting so many bad things happen to him and the people of God. God is seen as present in every one of the sufferings that are listed in these verses. He "preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping" in the midst of affliction. He is the one behind the prison, the burdens, the oppression, all summed up as going "through fire and water." But God allows them in order to refine us into something precious, great, and beautiful. Just as Joseph seemed to be handling his brothers roughly - but only as a way of breaking the ice over their hearts and saving them (Genesis 42) - so God's seeming rough handling is always grace.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 66:1-5

Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.” Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!

Everyone is called to praise God. The content of this praise is God's name - all the things he is and has done. The character of this praise is to be glorious. What is glorious praise? "Glory" has connotations of weightiness, dignity, magnificence, and beauty. Glorious worship is exuberant, never half hearted.  It is attractive, not off-putting. It is awesome, never sentimental. It is brilliant, not careless. It points to God, not to the speakers. It fits its great object - it seeks to be as glorious as the one it praises. So worship should be "never trivial, never pretentious." There is nothing more evangelistic, nothing that will win the world more than glorious worship.
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Psalm 65:5-8 

 5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.

David is speaking prophetically about a time when "all people will come" and when all the "turmoil of the nations" - all the war, strife, oppression - will be ended. God is the Savior and hope of even those who live at the farthest ends of the earth. God's salvation began with Abraham's family, who then became the nation of Israel, and now has burst all boundaries of nations, race, language, ethnic origin, or geographical location. We must prepare our hearts for the rich diversity of heaven (Revelation 7:9) by showing love for all, and especially those of God's people on earth who are far from us socially, economically, racially, politically, or any other way.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 65:9-13

You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.[a]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing.

God himself cares for the world he has made. He waters it and fertilizes it - the cycles of growth and fertility are grounded in his own life-giving nature. He is the author of all life - from the life of a flower to the new birth that saves eternally (1 Timothy 6:13). Since God's Spirit both preaches to hearts and cultivates the soul, the work of both the preacher and the farmer have divine dignity. God's people should be at the forefront of those who care for creation. In the final verses we get a vision of a great Spring, when through Christ all the world shakes off not just winter cold but sin and death.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

True forgiveness loves with both action and attitude.

But how can you tell if you are not angry or resentful, either toward someone else or toward yourself? Here's an easy test....

Do you continue to point backward or do you strive to move forward? Anger and resentment always point backward, whereas true forgiveness strives forward.

A lot of people think God is angry with them. But if God is still angry with you, then why would He desire to move you forward?

Anger looks back and says, "I forget you." God looks forward and says, "I forgive you."
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Purpose is ultimately found in following Jesus. Fulfillment is found in turning your life over to Him. Some of us never get to experience "great" because we never leave good enough behind. Jesus said in Mark 8:36, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"

Just as Jesus stopped into Peter's boat, He steps into your boat today. He knows your story. He knows you won't live a perfect life. But He also knows full well who you will become one day, even if you don't know yet.

The invitation is the same for you as it was for Peter: "Follow Me."
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Some might argue that people are a lot of stuff. As we pile up our sin, all our failures and misfires, we"lose value." In the eyes of others, or even in your own eyes, maybe you feel like your past makes you unworthy of love, undeserving of calling, and unqualified to succeed.

But if we are valued at the price someone would pay, then Jesus refutes all of those feelings by what He did for us at the cross, The cross of Jesus declares loudly, "You are not valued by the mess that you made but by the price that was paide."

Jesus not only paid the highest cost for you, deeming you valuable, but He is also a master restorer. God is concerned with the restoration of the entire world. If Jesus is God in flesh who came to reveal who God is in this world, then of course He would give us beautiful glimpses of restoration that will one day highlight the full restoration of the world.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,