Jim Gallagher

Psalm 124:8

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”
I have always been somewhat puzzled by the marketing slogan “one size fits all.” It seems that really means it might fit, but it won’t fit well. It is much like the all-in-one tools that don’t seem to do any jobs quite right.
Life is like that, the circumstances we face often determine our greatest need. If we are lost, we need a map. If we are locked out, we need a key. If we are hungry, we need a meal. It seems counterintuitive that one answer could solve every problem. Yet, that is exactly what the Psalmist is suggesting.
“Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”
No matter what struggle I might be facing, the Lord not only has a solution, but He is the solution.

Psalm 123:1-2

“Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us.”

The Psalmist compares the way he looks to the Lord, to the way a servant looks to a master. If we are going to understand the comparison, we need to consider how a servant would look to a master. It seems to me, one word would describe it best. A servant looks to his master obediently. The role of the servant is to do the will of the master, and in order to do that, he must look to the master for instruction and respond with obedience. The servant does not have the right…

1 Chronicles 24:4

“There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers’ houses, and eight heads of their fathers’ houses among the sons of Ithamar.”

Webster’s dictionary defines a chronicle as “a historical account of events arranged in order of time without analysis or interpretation.” The main purpose of 1Chronicles is to give an historical record of the nation of Judah. This chapter focusses on the descendants of Aaron, the priest. While it may seem less than devotional to read a list of names, I think it is worth noting, that a system based on heritage would require a huge emphasis upon raising the next generation to follow the Lord. If Israel was going to remain as the people of God, then the priests would have to…

Psalm 122:1

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’”

The writer of Hebrews exhorts us not to forsake the gathering together of the brethren (Hebrews 10:25). In other words; get to church! That is the heart of what David is singing about in this Psalm. He begins by declaring what a blessing it is to have someone invite him to the house of the Lord. Even as the king of a nation, David was still a man, and as a man, it would be wonderful to receive an invitation from someone to attend worship.

Recently, I met a woman at our church who began attending because of an invitation from someone she met at a park. While they were chatting about the kids and the weather, her new acquaintance began to talk with her about the Lord, and invited her…

Psalms 121:1-2​

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help? 

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.”

Life is filled with trying experiences. We are often faced with difficulties we would not wish on our enemies, or with circumstances we would love to change. These experiences can shake us at the core of who we are and cause us to look outside of ourselves for assistance. We can learn a vital lesson from the Psalmist, who, in the midst of his difficulty, chose not to look out to his friends, or back to his old ways, or around at what others might be doing, but instead, he chose to look up to the only One who could truly assist him in his time of need.

When life throws things at us that we cannot handle, we need to remember…

1 Chronicles 23:30

“. . . to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening; . . .”

The Levites were the tribe appointed to serve around the Tabernacle and later, the Temple. Here, we are reminded of their duties. Webster defines duty as “assigned service, obligation or required activity.” Their duty included beginning and ending each day with worship. They were to stand before the Lord, and the people, and offer thankful praise to God.

We understand the covenant has changed. We no long offer goats and bulls at an altar erected to God. The cross has completed the need for sacrifice. Although the covenant has changed, God hasn’t. He is still deserving of thankful praise. It would do us well to begin and end each day expressing worship to the Lord. Sometimes praise is difficult because we are facing a particularly trying time. What…

1 Chronicles 21:24

“Then King David said to Ornan, ‘No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.'”

When it comes to worship, we can learn much from King David. The longest book in the Bible is a book of praise songs, and David was its largest contributor. In addition to being a king and a prophet, he was also called the Sweet Psalmist of Israel. In our text, we find David bringing an offering to the Lord. Because of his position as king, Ornan offered him the field and the animals free of charge. Instead of accepting the gift, David made a statement that should become a foundational principle in our worship, “I will not offer that which cost me nothing.”

Worship is one of the…

1 Chronicles 19:4

“Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.”

David sent a handful of his men, as goodwill ambassadors, to Ammon. They went with a gift, as a way to offer condolences to the king for the death of his father. When they arrived, instead of being welcomed, they were brutally mistreated and embarrassed; their beards were shaved and their clothing cut to reveal their nakedness. These poor men were forced to turn around and make the long journey back to Jerusalem in shame. What should have been a time of celebrating the great opportunity they were given to further the kingdom, became a time of shame and embarrassment.

While we have probably never been sent to a palace with gifts from our president, we have had an experience where we attempted to serve…