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December 8, 2021 8:05 pm
Psalms For Christmas: a podcast miniseries from FamilyLife.
It’s the most isolated time of the year. What does God tell us in a lonely Christmas? Author Dane Ortlund looks at Psalm 68’s quiet, hopeful comfort.
From now until the end of 2021, with your gift of any amount to FamilyLife, as our thanks we’ll send you a copy of Dane’s devotional book, In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions through the Psalms. And because of generous donors, any gift given before the end of the year will be doubled up to $1.5.
You can give today at FamilyLifeToday.com
Hi, I'm Shelby adding and this is Psalms for Christmas time, a podcast miniseries from family life with pastor and author Dana Portland Dane is written a book in the Lord. I take refuge, hundred and 50 daily devotions through the Psalms and all this month with the gift of any amount. Not only will your donation be matched will send you a copy of the book to dive deeper into the Psalms. Stir your affections for Jesus Christ. To learn more about how to give visit family life today.com Dane thanks so much for being here with us tell me to start before we get rolling into our first episode of this mini podcast was your heart behind this book in the first place. Why did you decide to sit down and write this great to talk with you to Shelby. Thank you brother and the heart behind it really was to take the Psalms in one hand and dollar fallen, struggling, discouraged, sinful, fickle, up-and-down human hearts. On the other camp and conduct the to build some bridges between the two, so that we are actually drawing in the refreshing life-giving oxygen of the Psalms for our actual lives not airbrushed Facebook large, but our actual lives. Where were at all the time right in the Psalms really in so many ways. Give us permission to act the way that you just described.
Because we see it splashed across the pages of the Psalms.
Everywhere I exactly there's no human condition that is not covered by the Psalms assault is not just for us when we are happy. It's not just for us when we are depressed is not just when we need a friend they cover the whole range of human experience and human futility of human suffering and so we can find a place in the Psalms that we can parachute into at any point in our lives and be given God and be given grace and help in life. So the Psalms are very unique in the Bible and that way in. As I read through this book. It not just lives in the Old Testament in the Psalms, you're continually pointing us toward the good news found in Jesus Christ. I love how you've connected that over and over and over again. Yeah, I'm just trying to follow the direction of the Lord Jesus himself, who, after he had been risen in Luke 24 had little Bible study with his disciples and he said hey guys did you know all the Old Testament, and even mentions the Psalms to cover the whole poetry section of the Old Testament is about me, not just a Psalm here or there that happens to be quoted at length in the New Testament the whole hundred and 50 poem Psalter finds its fulfillment and ultimate meaning of the Lord Jesus, I wanted to reckon with that phone by Saul yeah it's really important reminder to help us remember that when we're reading the Bible were reading it through the lens of Jesus Christ himself.
That's good. So okay so this is our first episode. I want to hop into specific topic with each episode that we do so today were to talk about loneliness as I thought about loneliness in this season.
They were in right now with Christmas. Most people in the thing about Chris and think about family.
They think about get together as they think about being in the context of community, but there is a significant amount of us who don't have those things and not only do we not have those things we can even be amongst people and still feel very alone and it's helpful to know that there is good word for that in the Scriptures, specifically one talk about Psalm 68 Psalm 60 father and the fatherless and protector of widows is God holy habitation, God settled solitary home leave out the prisoners to prosperity about the parts can you just unpack that a little bit for his help us understand what the Lord has to say to us in the Psalms. If we are experiencing loneliness right now. Loneliness is pervasive. It's real is profound. I think really every one of us could say to some degree we all experience loneliness is not just a little peripheral slice of the body of Christ. Loneliness is real and there in Psalm 68 where we read about God being the father of the fatherless and protector of widows that's profound consolation for us during this holiday time because while we do desire and it's a healthy desire to have human friends, real friends who know us who are in the foxhole of life with us.
We all deeply desire that when we find ourselves without that.
We don't have to be torpedoed emotionally because we have the father of the fatherless, and the protector of widows. The text goes on to say God settles the solitary in a home. He leaves out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious 12 in a parched land. So yes we as believers shall be we will battle loneliness that is true, that's real okay but we will never do so alone we have a father who has given us his son and actually God is within us by his Holy Spirit testifying and are causing us to call out Abba father so we can take fresh refuge in the friendship of God himself. And the reason we know we can do that is the holiday season.
We are in God sent his own son to prove in the incarnation in the birth of Christ to prove to us this is how far I will go to ensure you are never finally alone such a great reminder again gospel comes back to that recently ran across a person was talking sitting at a lunch table with and she revealed to me that she is a widow and her husband died 11 years ago and she said to me from her perspective. I know now why the Scriptures talk so much specifically about orphans and widows. It's become real to me in a new way, and I found comfort in Christ. In a way that I never had before. When my husband was still here I thought man that is sad celebration she's experiencing loneliness and therefore she's experiencing more of the gospel because of her loneliness. I love that MS were believers here in this holiday season. Shelby yes we want to draw strength from our friends in the local church, fellow believers, brothers and sisters in Christ. We need that we who are not as that widow you spoke with alone and that weight need to be moving towards widows and orphans and so on and we need to keep speaking to one another, the truth and ourselves drinking down the wondrous truth that God is with us, Emmanuel, God with us is the whole point of what we are celebrating right now God has proven his solidarity with us. It's not only that he sent his son to die and rise again on our behalf. It is also that he is deeply relationally with us and we can draw strength from his love, moment by moment.
And again thank you so much for pulling our attention toward the good news that God is with us in this season were to continue this conversation with many more episodes coming up talking to the Psalms with pastor Dane Portland hey that was a great conversation with Dan. I really enjoyed that. If you want to go deeper. Dane is written a book called in the Lord. I take refuge in 150 daily devotions through the Psalms.
All this month during the month of December with a donation of any amount you give to family life, we will send you a copy of this book. Dane has written to learn more about how to give visit family life today this podcast is been a production of family life crew ministry helping you pursue the relationships that matter most