Psalm 103: 1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Early in my Christian life I found this Psalm, and it impressed me so that I set these first five verses to music, repeating the first line at the end. Then, shortly before my Daddy died I sang it to him. I'm so glad I could share this wonderful song with the one who sired and raised me.
I forgave him for the mistakes he made in my childhood, and was able to let him know that God had rescued me out of the sinful lifestyle I had been living. And God also had saved him when he married his second wife.
God has been so good to me, preserving my life from death, knowing that He would draw me to Himself. And He has always met my every need, even before I knew I needed it. And in His generosity, He has also blessed me in so many ways beyond my bare needs, to grant me so many of my wants, also.
He is good, and my soul blesses His holy Name! I thank Him for all the wonderful blessings He has lavished on me in His love for me. He has graced me with good physical health, a loving husband for 30 years, for three beautiful and intelligent children, for brothers and sisters in Christ for me to love and be loved by; for always having a roof over my head and good food for nourishment, and beautiful clothing to cover my nakedness.
He has led me into following His ways in my living my life day by day, and has seen fit to allow me a higher education in learning how to study His Word, and to record my studies over the years, to be able to share with the World how wonderful He is to us all.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, March 9, 2018
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Thinking As One
Romans 15: 5-6
Now may the God Who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we all get together in full agreement to do anything, nothing is impossible for us to accomplish (see Genesis 11:6).
Jesus prayed that we would be one with Him as He is one with the Father (John 17:21). Imagine the result when we all will be of one mind and purpose in bringing honor and glory to God!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Now may the God Who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we all get together in full agreement to do anything, nothing is impossible for us to accomplish (see Genesis 11:6).
Jesus prayed that we would be one with Him as He is one with the Father (John 17:21). Imagine the result when we all will be of one mind and purpose in bringing honor and glory to God!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
The Purpose Of It All
Psalm 119: 127-128
Because I love Your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all Your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it uses numerous terms:
-Law
-Testimonies
-Judgments
-Path
-Way(s)
-Precepts
-Ordinances
-Word(s)
-Statutes
-Commandments
-Decrees
-Word of Truth
-Wonders
All these describe the ways God gives us to understand His instructions, to teach us how to think, how to order our lives to be in tune with how He designed this World to function.
The writer of this Psalm got this concept, so he valued this instruction over all the wealth this Earth can provide.
This Earth and the World of Mankind upon it will all be destroyed one Day, but God and His Ways will endure forever.
So what will your profit be if you can gain this whole World, but miss out on the purpose of it all, and lose your Eternity?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Because I love Your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all Your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it uses numerous terms:
-Law
-Testimonies
-Judgments
-Path
-Way(s)
-Precepts
-Ordinances
-Word(s)
-Statutes
-Commandments
-Decrees
-Word of Truth
-Wonders
All these describe the ways God gives us to understand His instructions, to teach us how to think, how to order our lives to be in tune with how He designed this World to function.
The writer of this Psalm got this concept, so he valued this instruction over all the wealth this Earth can provide.
This Earth and the World of Mankind upon it will all be destroyed one Day, but God and His Ways will endure forever.
So what will your profit be if you can gain this whole World, but miss out on the purpose of it all, and lose your Eternity?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Understanding God's Ways
Psalm 119: 27, 34
Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders.
Give me understanding, that I may observe Your Law, and keep it with all my heart.
As I read and study God's Word, He gives me understanding of His ways, the ways He designed His creation to work and operate. Then the deeper I meditate on it, muse on it, think about it, the more dots I can connect of how everything works with everything else, working together. Then I can order my own life to cooperate with how He designed it all to work, trusting Him with all my heart.
And when things in my life don't seem to be working out like I thought they would, then I remember that this life is my school, I've not graduated yet. God still tests me, to strengthen my faith in Him, my trusting of Him. I know He loves me more than I can imagine, and He will cause everything to work out to my eventual benefit, even as He receives all the glory. Patience and perseverance are not exactly what I ask for, but God knows I need to grow in these qualities.
So I'll wait on Him, doing what I can to prepare, but without taking matters into my own hands. I don't want to force matters, but wait on Him to cause everything to fall into place in His way, and in His time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders.
Give me understanding, that I may observe Your Law, and keep it with all my heart.
As I read and study God's Word, He gives me understanding of His ways, the ways He designed His creation to work and operate. Then the deeper I meditate on it, muse on it, think about it, the more dots I can connect of how everything works with everything else, working together. Then I can order my own life to cooperate with how He designed it all to work, trusting Him with all my heart.
And when things in my life don't seem to be working out like I thought they would, then I remember that this life is my school, I've not graduated yet. God still tests me, to strengthen my faith in Him, my trusting of Him. I know He loves me more than I can imagine, and He will cause everything to work out to my eventual benefit, even as He receives all the glory. Patience and perseverance are not exactly what I ask for, but God knows I need to grow in these qualities.
So I'll wait on Him, doing what I can to prepare, but without taking matters into my own hands. I don't want to force matters, but wait on Him to cause everything to fall into place in His way, and in His time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, March 5, 2018
Genuine Or Imitation?
Psalm 1: 1
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.
This is a progression: Walk, stand, sit.
When I am walking in, listening to, the advice of those who don't know God; then I will find myself standing, pausing, in the path of the ways of this World as opposed to the ways of God; which will lead to sitting, not moving, in a rut, of scoffing and ridiculing God's ways as foolish (I Corinthians 1:18).
God's ways seem to be foolish, reckless and foolhardy to those who are deceived by all the glitter of the World. It doesn't make sense to them for Someone Who holds all power to not lord it over His inferiors.
God's ways are not our ways, nor are our thought processes God's thought processes (Isaiah 55:8-9). His thoughts for us are compassionate, affectionate, true, and perfect. He wants the very best for us, even costing Him His most precious.
But His justice is also perfect, and must be satisfied. That's why He sent His Son to be one of us, to satisfy His just wrath that we deserve on our behalf. Now that God has put our sinfulness on Jesus' side of the Ledger, He can balance the books by putting Jesus' righteousness on our side of the Ledger (II Corinthians 5:21). (Didn't know that God was a Bookkeeper, did you?)
Now each person who recognizes Who Jesus is, and has realized that they deserve to die, and that Jesus took their death for them on His Cross, as though they were the only one, and rose again from the dead to Life; then God places their sins on Jesus and Jesus' righteousness on them.
This is the experience I had when God showed me Jesus on the Cross. I knew He didn't deserve it, because I did, all of it. I knew He took my place there in that suffering and death, and it broke my heart that God loved me that much! That's when everything changed for me, and my life gained dimensions it never had before; because His Holy Spirit came into my spirit, giving me a whole new Life, in addition to the human life I was born with. I had been born again, spiritually.
Now I am able to do things in the power of His Spirit that He can accept and reward, not polluted with that "original sin," the sin-nature we all inherit from Adam (Isaiah 64:6).
I want to be careful to not be duped by any of this World's theories that are in conflict with God's ways, so I need to know His ways. To recognize a counterfeit, one needs to study the genuine article, as Treasury officials study the Dollar so they can recognize any counterfeit. Anything that deviates from the Real shows it to be Artificial. So I study God's Word, the Genuine Article, so I can recognize whatever is not True. Our enemy is very devious, and often wraps his deceptions in a veneer of Truth.
Dear reader, be careful to not be fooled by what looks good. Our enemy is out there, courting us, sweet-talking us away from God's Truth.
You must know the real so you can recognize the imitation. Don't be suckered into accepting any of his deceptions. Our enemy only wants to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus came to give us Life, and that Abundantly.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.
This is a progression: Walk, stand, sit.
When I am walking in, listening to, the advice of those who don't know God; then I will find myself standing, pausing, in the path of the ways of this World as opposed to the ways of God; which will lead to sitting, not moving, in a rut, of scoffing and ridiculing God's ways as foolish (I Corinthians 1:18).
God's ways seem to be foolish, reckless and foolhardy to those who are deceived by all the glitter of the World. It doesn't make sense to them for Someone Who holds all power to not lord it over His inferiors.
God's ways are not our ways, nor are our thought processes God's thought processes (Isaiah 55:8-9). His thoughts for us are compassionate, affectionate, true, and perfect. He wants the very best for us, even costing Him His most precious.
But His justice is also perfect, and must be satisfied. That's why He sent His Son to be one of us, to satisfy His just wrath that we deserve on our behalf. Now that God has put our sinfulness on Jesus' side of the Ledger, He can balance the books by putting Jesus' righteousness on our side of the Ledger (II Corinthians 5:21). (Didn't know that God was a Bookkeeper, did you?)
Now each person who recognizes Who Jesus is, and has realized that they deserve to die, and that Jesus took their death for them on His Cross, as though they were the only one, and rose again from the dead to Life; then God places their sins on Jesus and Jesus' righteousness on them.
This is the experience I had when God showed me Jesus on the Cross. I knew He didn't deserve it, because I did, all of it. I knew He took my place there in that suffering and death, and it broke my heart that God loved me that much! That's when everything changed for me, and my life gained dimensions it never had before; because His Holy Spirit came into my spirit, giving me a whole new Life, in addition to the human life I was born with. I had been born again, spiritually.
Now I am able to do things in the power of His Spirit that He can accept and reward, not polluted with that "original sin," the sin-nature we all inherit from Adam (Isaiah 64:6).
I want to be careful to not be duped by any of this World's theories that are in conflict with God's ways, so I need to know His ways. To recognize a counterfeit, one needs to study the genuine article, as Treasury officials study the Dollar so they can recognize any counterfeit. Anything that deviates from the Real shows it to be Artificial. So I study God's Word, the Genuine Article, so I can recognize whatever is not True. Our enemy is very devious, and often wraps his deceptions in a veneer of Truth.
Dear reader, be careful to not be fooled by what looks good. Our enemy is out there, courting us, sweet-talking us away from God's Truth.
You must know the real so you can recognize the imitation. Don't be suckered into accepting any of his deceptions. Our enemy only wants to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus came to give us Life, and that Abundantly.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 4, 2018
David's Psalm 19
Psalm 19
Verses 1-6 say, The Heavens are telling of the Glory of God...
Verses 7-11 goes on to, The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul...
Then verse 12 comes to, Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults...
And sums up with verse 14, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
David's meditation on God's beautiful Creation led him into thinking about how it all operates: God's rules. God told us how to cooperate with the World's Operating System--the Law and the Prophets.
And David realizes that he's not perfect, and that there are traits in his being that are not right, faults--sins hidden from himself.
I appreciate that God sent Jesus, and had His disciples and followers record their personal experiences with Him, and even wrote letters that explain how the whole Old Testament lays out God's Plan.
David knew God, not just knew of God. He understood so much Who God is and how His ways are, he was able to follow the progression from the Natural World; to how it works, all the rules and precepts and regulations; to how he doesn't measure up to the perfection God built into what He has made. Then ends with asking God's blessing on this whole meditation, to verify that this is a truthful and accurate teaching of God's ways. And God did put this song into His Word, honoring David for his accurate assessment.
Thank You so much, Father, for giving us this Psalm. Thank You for showing us everything we need to know, to get to know Who You are, and what You have done in what You have made, and how it all works together. Thank You, Father for even showing us how when Your people stray from Your ways and succumb to their own weaknesses, how they suffer through the consequences of their failures, as examples for us; and how when they humble themselves before You and follow Your ways, how You bless them.
You have used them in furthering Your Plan for Time in this Earth to progress, and how the World of Mankind on this Earth can be a paradise, but instead has become a tangled, evil mess. But even in this fallen environment, You have called to Yourself those who call on You in repentance and faith, and they are blessed. They are called to be in the World but not of it, and to be Your Light in the darkness that has pervaded this World.
Father, You have put Your purposes in every detail of what You have made; and when evil people who rebel against You make their misguided choices, You use even them in leading Mankind toward its final culmination.
You have given us a "free will," that is free within the parameters You have set for creatures in this Universe. So that there is nothing we are capable of choosing that can do anything to foil Your will, to prevent You from accomplishing everything You want to do. You will use the greatest evil (the murder of the Lord God Himself) to affect the greatest good for us (the Salvation from sin and Redemption of this World and Universe).
You are great, and Your wisdom and knowledge and goodness are so enormous, all coming from Your Love, which is Your very Nature. What You are provides the rule, the measure of everything You have made. When we love one another, we will be obeying all Your laws. When we love You, we will not give our affections or loyalty or prayers to any other. Thank You, Father, for teaching me this.
May the words of my mouth and the mediations of my heart also be pleasing to You, My good, good Father, my Rock, my Redeemer.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Verses 1-6 say, The Heavens are telling of the Glory of God...
Verses 7-11 goes on to, The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul...
Then verse 12 comes to, Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults...
And sums up with verse 14, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
David's meditation on God's beautiful Creation led him into thinking about how it all operates: God's rules. God told us how to cooperate with the World's Operating System--the Law and the Prophets.
And David realizes that he's not perfect, and that there are traits in his being that are not right, faults--sins hidden from himself.
I appreciate that God sent Jesus, and had His disciples and followers record their personal experiences with Him, and even wrote letters that explain how the whole Old Testament lays out God's Plan.
David knew God, not just knew of God. He understood so much Who God is and how His ways are, he was able to follow the progression from the Natural World; to how it works, all the rules and precepts and regulations; to how he doesn't measure up to the perfection God built into what He has made. Then ends with asking God's blessing on this whole meditation, to verify that this is a truthful and accurate teaching of God's ways. And God did put this song into His Word, honoring David for his accurate assessment.
Thank You so much, Father, for giving us this Psalm. Thank You for showing us everything we need to know, to get to know Who You are, and what You have done in what You have made, and how it all works together. Thank You, Father for even showing us how when Your people stray from Your ways and succumb to their own weaknesses, how they suffer through the consequences of their failures, as examples for us; and how when they humble themselves before You and follow Your ways, how You bless them.
You have used them in furthering Your Plan for Time in this Earth to progress, and how the World of Mankind on this Earth can be a paradise, but instead has become a tangled, evil mess. But even in this fallen environment, You have called to Yourself those who call on You in repentance and faith, and they are blessed. They are called to be in the World but not of it, and to be Your Light in the darkness that has pervaded this World.
Father, You have put Your purposes in every detail of what You have made; and when evil people who rebel against You make their misguided choices, You use even them in leading Mankind toward its final culmination.
You have given us a "free will," that is free within the parameters You have set for creatures in this Universe. So that there is nothing we are capable of choosing that can do anything to foil Your will, to prevent You from accomplishing everything You want to do. You will use the greatest evil (the murder of the Lord God Himself) to affect the greatest good for us (the Salvation from sin and Redemption of this World and Universe).
You are great, and Your wisdom and knowledge and goodness are so enormous, all coming from Your Love, which is Your very Nature. What You are provides the rule, the measure of everything You have made. When we love one another, we will be obeying all Your laws. When we love You, we will not give our affections or loyalty or prayers to any other. Thank You, Father, for teaching me this.
May the words of my mouth and the mediations of my heart also be pleasing to You, My good, good Father, my Rock, my Redeemer.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Saturday, March 3, 2018
What Will It Cost Me?
II Samuel 24: 24
But King David replied to Araunah,"No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.
The Lord had spoken to David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (v. 18). This is the same piece of property where the Temple of Solomon was built, the Temple Mount. This is significant.
What I noticed here, though, is that David would not sacrifice to the Lord what had not cost him anything. Is it really a sacrifice if I'm not giving up something that has worth to me? Is God worth my very best? What has cost me much?
In my selfishness I tend to want to keep what I have for myself. But if I grasp ahold of my life, it will squeeze through my fingers and I will lose it. But if I hold the things of my life with an open hand, even if it should fly away, then my hand will be ready to receive even more than what I had before. Do I trust God that much? Do I really believe that He loves me that much?
O my Father, help me to learn the lessons of this "school" of life You have given me on this Earth, in this World. Show me what You are doing for me and to me so that I will respond in deeper faith and greater trust in You. Even when things are not going as I wanted them to go, I know that You are sovereign, and are working in the hearts and wills of all who are here and interacting with one another, to further Your Plan, in Your way, in Your time.
Continue to mold me and make me into the very image of Your dear Son, my Lord Jesus. Let me feel Your Presence with me, and enjoy the intimacy with which You deal with me so gently. May Your joy be my strength through trials, and keep me firmly in Your hand.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But King David replied to Araunah,"No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.
The Lord had spoken to David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (v. 18). This is the same piece of property where the Temple of Solomon was built, the Temple Mount. This is significant.
What I noticed here, though, is that David would not sacrifice to the Lord what had not cost him anything. Is it really a sacrifice if I'm not giving up something that has worth to me? Is God worth my very best? What has cost me much?
In my selfishness I tend to want to keep what I have for myself. But if I grasp ahold of my life, it will squeeze through my fingers and I will lose it. But if I hold the things of my life with an open hand, even if it should fly away, then my hand will be ready to receive even more than what I had before. Do I trust God that much? Do I really believe that He loves me that much?
O my Father, help me to learn the lessons of this "school" of life You have given me on this Earth, in this World. Show me what You are doing for me and to me so that I will respond in deeper faith and greater trust in You. Even when things are not going as I wanted them to go, I know that You are sovereign, and are working in the hearts and wills of all who are here and interacting with one another, to further Your Plan, in Your way, in Your time.
Continue to mold me and make me into the very image of Your dear Son, my Lord Jesus. Let me feel Your Presence with me, and enjoy the intimacy with which You deal with me so gently. May Your joy be my strength through trials, and keep me firmly in Your hand.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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