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Rancho Tehama Community Church, 17207 Stagecoach Road, Corning, CA (2026)

09/11/2023

2 Timothy 2:15 – “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

Hello Friends – Our daily devotions will be concluding today. Thank you to all our faithful readers. We pray that our comments on the rich gold-mine of Scripture have been a blessing to you. May we all continue on in God’s Word – seeking his wisdom and understanding. God bless you all!

Pastor Bill

09/08/2023

September 8, 2023

Psalm 51:18-19
“Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.”

This has been a powerful psalm, a song, even a prayer, for King David. As we have seen, his main theme is confession and repentance, as well as asking a merciful God for more mercy. God delights in those who come to him in humility, no matter what the circumstances. Another psalmist wrote in Psalm 138:6 – “For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.” David has humbled himself; by the end of this psalm his thoughts seem to be turning from brokenness of spirit to hope for the future.

‘Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem.’ Having felt the return of the Lord’s blessings even after his sin, David’s heart turns to intercession for his beloved country. We know from the history of Israel that David started a ‘building program’ for the temple in Jerusalem, which for him consisted of putting the materials together for Solomon to finish the project. Perhaps David is looking forward to the completion of that glorious temple, and for sacrifices and burnt offerings to begin on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. His final thoughts in this stirring psalm are for his nation and God’s glory.

History shows that Solomon’s temple was magnificent, that God blessed it with his presence, but in later years when the heart of the nation turned to idols, Israel was eventually defeated and scattered by their enemies as part of God’s judgment. Yet just as God forgave David his sin and will fulfill his covenant to always have an ancestor of David’s on the throne of Israel, so God will restore that nation to greater than the glory of the days of Solomon. David’s ancestor, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of God – will reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years. Christians today can echo David’s prayer for that time to come: ‘Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem!’

Pastor Bill

Today’s picture is a modern photo of the ancient city of Jerusalem.

09/07/2023

September 10, 2023

Psalm 51:16-17
“For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

These two verses are so important concerning a relationship with the Lord. Through the ages, many people have concluded that the more religious things they do, the closer to God they are. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were this way. They followed every law as closely as they could. They even made more laws to follow. They judged others harshly who didn’t measure up to their ‘holy’ standards. But in this psalm David has come to the heart of the matter – the heart of a man!

‘You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it. You will not be pleased with a burnt offering.’ If sacrifices and offerings could take away sin, what would keep any of us with deceitful hearts (and that is all of us) from sinning all we wanted to, then upping our sacrifices to cover? What an easy religious system that would be! And through history many religions gravitate toward this false theology. The simple truth is that only the blood of Jesus can take away sins; the old sacrificial system merely covered them, and pointed forward to the day when a great prophet would come to sacrifice himself once-for-all to take away sins. That prophet is the Son of God – Jesus.

‘A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.’ Jesus told his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) that a person who mourns over their sin will be blessed. Our hearts should break at our transgressions, for God will heal a broken heart that turns to him in repentance and the seeking of forgiveness. David rightly realizes that keeping the heart right with God means so much more than keeping a set of rules and regulations. Jesus kept all the rules, the laws, and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We can only bow in humility and thankfulness for the mighty work that was done at the Cross.

Pastor Bill

Today’s picture is the Sea of Galilee

09/06/2023

September 6, 2023

Psalm 51:15
“O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.”

This verse confesses that God is the Creator. He made eyes, ears, nose, lips, and so on. He is the one who gives us speech and language. His Spirit is the one who inspires us to speak forth words of praise. The Lord Jesus is the one who holds all things together, and in him all things consist. Everything we do; every movement we make, every word we speak – is because of God’s incredible gift of life.

Yet we’ve seen in this psalm that David’s heart had strayed for a short while, away from the God of his salvation. His heart turned to a sinful act, followed by another sinful act to cover up the first one, then to lying lips to cover the other sins up. It was a downward degradation, but God in his mercy called David back to his faith, forgave his sins, and set his feet on the right path again. Now David is asking the Lord to help him get back to praising the one who created him, sustained him, and forgave him.

Whatever our situation, let us be like David – not, of course, in any area of sin – but by relying on the Lord to open our lips. Give us the strength to speak! Then let us draw from the depths of a grateful heart: words of praise and thanksgiving to our gracious Lord.
Isaiah 12:3-4 – “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD!”
Pastor Bill

09/05/2023

September 5, 2023

Psalm 51:14
“Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.”

David continues with his heartfelt pleas to a gracious God for mercy and forgiveness. ‘Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God.’ If this were being written today, the words would probably be, ‘Forgive me for murder.’ After committing adultery with Bathsheba, David essentially had her husband Uriah killed by commanding him to be placed in the forefront of a dangerous battle. We have to appreciate David’s honesty with the Lord. He doesn’t deny his transgression or give reasons and excuses why he did such a thing; he simply asks – even begs – for forgiveness. We have noted before that confessing our sins before God leads to immediate forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Naturally, a believer will always pray that the Lord will help them never to do anything against His holy commandments again.

‘O God of my salvation.’ Once again, David declares his faith in God – a genuine faith – which brings righteousness to him, as it does to everyone who trusts the Lord for salvation. He has no other plea! He doesn’t promise to ‘do better,’ or to ‘make amends,’ or to do penance or sacrifice to cover his sin. He wholeheartedly confesses, and we know from the rest of his life that he repented and never committed such things again. How kind is our God to forgive us, and kinder still to forget that we have sinned against him.

‘My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.’ David, the Sweet Psalmist of Israel,’ continued to pen songs of praise and worship to his loving God. He was not a perfect man, but his sincerity, faith, and honesty led God to declare him, ‘a man after my own heart,’ (Acts 13:22).

Pastor Bill

09/04/2023

From all of us at Rancho Tehama Community Church:

We hope you have a relaxing and refreshing Labor Day.

May the Lord bless all of our friends and neighbors out here on the Ranch!

09/01/2023

September 1, 2023

Psalm 51:12-13
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.”

David is seeking the Lord for one of the precious fruits of the Holy Spirit – joy. When we come to Christ, realizing who he is and what he has done by redeeming us from sin, we cannot help but have overwhelming joy. The newness of having our sins washed away is liberating and exciting! Who has more zeal for the Lord than a new believer? David’s great transgression has caused him to let the joy of the Lord slip away from his heart. Such is the nature of sin: when we fall into sin, our conscience convicts us and he have to make things right or become hardened in heart. ‘Uphold me with a willing spirit.’ David knows that only the Lord can bring the relationship back to where it should be – human efforts are vain when sin has overwhelmed us. But God is faithful! He forgives and restores a willful heart.

‘Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.’ David has realized that his testimony and reputation as a believer have dimmed if others look carefully at his actions. But God can bring things back in balance, though it is a process of time. David wants to go back to witnessing the greatness of God to others, but his sin has weighed him down so much that he no longer feels that his words are valid. He longs for the Lord to bring him back to a right relationship, so he can continue to lead others to the Lord. Praise God that he will do so! Many of us can truthfully say, “God has forgiven me of so much. He can forgive you as well!”

We don’t sin so that we can experience more of God’s grace, but we are reminded time and again that his steadfast love is always working in our sinful hearts, drawing us closer to himself and further away from our worldly natures. Lord help us!

Pastor Bill

08/31/2023

August 31, 2023

Psalm 51:11
“Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”

I think this verse gives insight into David’s greatest fear: that God would forsake him. ‘Cast me not away from your presence.’ This is a natural emotion. David himself forsook the Lord for a brief time, as he committed a planned, premeditated sin with Bathsheba. This wasn’t an impulsive thing to do on the spur of the moment. He saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof, he thought about things for a while, then he sent a messenger to bring her to the king’s palace. There were many opportunities in that time to stop and change his mind. It was as if he took a ‘time-out’ from being a faithful believer while he aggressively pursued sin and rebellion.

The good thing for David, and for everyone of us, is that while we are capable of forsaking God, he will never forsake us. Once we respond to him in faith, trust, and belief, we belong to him. No one can pluck us from his hands, not even ourselves! No one can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus! Some sins demand the chastening of the Lord, just like some transgressions deserve being ‘turned over a knee’ from a loving parent. God is faithful to correct us, chasten us, and bring us back to a right relationship with him. It would be a terribly fearful thing if the Lord were to give up on us, then declare: ‘they are not worth the effort.’

But he won’t! He loves his children and will always put forth the loving effort to help us grow and mature. When David prays: ‘take not your Holy Spirit from me,’ he is saying: ‘do not withdraw my salvation. Do not give me over to my sin!’ And we know from Scripture that God will never do that. We belong to him, and he will never let us go. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that believers are "sealed for the day of redemption." Praise God that, despite any fears our weak natures may have, God will never cast us away from his presence, or take his Holy Spirit from us. Praise God!

Pastor Bill

08/30/2023

August 30, 2023

Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.”

We see that David has increased his supplications to the Lord. He has confessed his sin, and God is faithful to forgive. But what David’s heart greatly desired is that he would change; he doesn’t want to fall into terrible sin again. His prayer here is not reliant upon his own efforts to ‘improve,’ but on God’s ability to change a person. ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God.’ I take this to be one of the most powerful prayers in Scripture. ‘Lord, change my heart! If you don’t do it, it won’t happen!’ I appreciate his reliance on the Lord and him only; I pray we can all have the same attitude. ‘Help me, O Lord!’

‘Renew a right spirit within me.’ Many new Christians are so excited about the things of God that they can’t get enough of Bible reading, prayer, and meeting with other believers. They’re not shy about sharing the gospel. But the newborn joy of being set free from sin must often adjust to the demands of life: working, raising a family, preferring others (such as a spouse and children) above one’s own desires and priorities. This is only natural. Like a baby, change will come, and we will grow as Christians with God’s help. As the writer told the Hebrews in his letter to them, ‘Let us go on to maturity,’ (Hebrews 6:1).

Yet we sometimes long for the simplicity of the faith of a child! When David prays, ‘renew a right spirit within me,’ he is asking for this. He is praying for a softening of his heart, as years of effort, work, and disappointments can sometimes toughen. May the Lord occasionally give us a glimpse into our spiritual past, when everything was brand new and our commitment to the Lord was utmost in our minds. We long for the day when Christ returns to take us home to be with him, and our sinful nature is changed into a perfect, Christlike, wholly sanctified heart. If we find ourselves praying, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O Lord,’ the long-term answer is: ‘that time is coming!’ Don’t lose heart!

Pastor Bill

08/29/2023

August 29, 2023

Psalm 51:9
“Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.”

This part of David’s psalm him pleading for forgiveness. ‘Hide your face from my sins.’ He knows that God sees everything, and nothing is hid from him. Yet David asks for the Lord to willing turn his face away from sin. In another psalm (103), David writes of his confidence in the mercy of the Lord: ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.’ Part of the wonder of God’s forgiveness is that is an act of his will. As New Testament believers, we know and embrace the fact that Jesus paid for all of our sins. What kindness and love of God to make a way for us to be set free from the transgressions that bound us!

‘Blot out all my iniquities.’ What a great joy for believers that instead of having a book with all of our sins recorded that we must pay for (Revelation 20:12), our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, because of the Lamb of God – Jesus Christ. He paid for our sins! As David progresses through the writing of this psalm, he becomes increasingly aware of God’s great love. Sin makes us forget the goodness of God; forgiveness reminds us that he loves us!

Pastor Bill

08/28/2023

August 28, 2023

Psalm 51:7-8
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.”

After David’s great sin with Bathsheba, and his attempt to cover it up by having her husband killed, he was confronted by the prophet Nathan, who was led by the Lord to courageously rebuke him for his transgressions. David knew his sin had been uncovered, and he confessed to Nathan (2 Samuel 12). The prophet graciously told him that his sin was forgiven, but that there would be a penalty for his actions. David’s repentance and acceptance of the Lord’s chastening is an encouragement to us all. God’s anger towards his children is but for a moment; forgiveness is forever!

Just as David knew that he had sinned against the Lord, he also knew that his only hope of forgiveness was in the Lord. What a great truth this is. Our tendency when we have sinned is to hide from the Lord (as Adam and Eve did), but the only recourse that brings forgiveness and peace is to turn wholeheartedly to the only one who can forgive sin – our God. Praise the Lord that through Christ we can be cleansed and made whole from our sin, and that he can bring back joy and gladness to our lives.

We all look forward to the day when our sinful natures will be permanently changed from even the thought of evil, but we need to remind ourselves that there is still a battle between flesh and spirit for all of us. That is why we turn to Christ daily – seeking forgiveness for all sin small & large, and for help as we pursue sanctification toward holiness. When the Lord purges us from sin and washes them away, we are clean indeed!

Pastor Bill

Today’s picture is a hyssop plant.

08/25/2023

August 25, 2023

Psalm 51:5-6
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”

Psalm 51 is David’s song of confession, repentance, and a plea for forgiveness. In this section he admits his sinfulness. He goes beyond his recent serious transgression (a terribly inappropriate relationship with Bathsheba) and confess to the Lord that, “I’ve been a sinner my whole life.” This is a great truth for all of us to understand. None of us are righteous before God. If we say we have not sinned, we make ourselves a liar. This goes against the world’s doctrine that ‘people are basically good, but something caused them to sin.’ Christians know (from God’s Word) that we are basically evil, and we don’t need anyone’s help to sin. It’s in our nature. But as this psalm moves forward, we can see and take hope that there is a solution!

The solution is to turn to the Lord. ‘Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being.’ David realizes this, and confesses the darkness and iniquities deep in his heart. ‘You teach me wisdom in the secret heart.’ This is encouraging! God wants us to mature past the point where we can’t keep ourselves from sinning, to the point where we resist our flesh, trust in the Lord to help us, and walk in the Spirit every day. For all of us this is a lifelong process. But praise be to God, for as David writes: ‘you teach me wisdom.’ Lord, continue to teach us wisdom, and help us to respond in faith and obedience!

Pastor Bill

Rancho Tehama Community Church

09/11/2023

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