Psalm 118 begins and ends the same way:
1 O GIVE thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
"O give thanks" is the Hebrew word, "yadah", which means to give thanks, laud, confess, to revere or worship with extended hands. "LORD", of course, is the Eternal, Self-existing One, or Jehovah! "Good" is the Hebrew word, "towb", which means: good, pleasant, happy, prosperous, beautiful, best, bountiful, gracious, precious, wealth, welfare. He IS every good thing we will ever have need of! And His "mercy", the Hebrew word, "checed", which means: goodness, kindness, faithfulness, favour, mercy, loving-kindness, devotion, steadfast love, is for eternity! I LOVE that we are in position to have these things operating in our lives because of all that HE has done! I love the song, "It Is Finished"! One line says, "It is finished, it is done. You have risen, I have won!" HE did all that needed to be done for OUR salvation! Thank You, Jesus! Now we can walk in all of the goodness of God that we CHOOSE to, by believing His Word! AMEN! Continue reading the rest of this Psalm and see how many little songs, Truths and phrases you find that you have heard so many times, but never realized where they came from! The Word of God is fascinating!
1 John 2:3-4 is a guide for knowing how well you are REALLY getting to know the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible.
3 And this is how we may discern [daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments). 4 Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [of the Gospel] is not in Him.
We can't fool God and we shouldn't try to fool anyone else! Anything good in your life, give GOD the credit and the thanksgiving. Anything bad? Don't blame God! He has put US in charge of making the decisions in our lives. Make the RIGHT one and constantly live in an attitude of gratitude! AMEN!
Ezekiel ministered during the captivity when some of the people were questioning whether their God really WAS God! This description here of the "living creature" coincides perfectly with what the four Gospels and their individual revelations of Jesus of Nazareth! They are as follows:
- Matthew presents Jesus as King (the lion).
- Mark presents Jesus as the suffering servant (the ox).
- Luke presents Jesus as 100% man.
- John presents Jesus as God (the eagle).
This should get interesting! More Ezekiel tomorrow!
Shalom in Him!
