Shalom,

Psalm 77 is another one where the psalmist is tempted to despair over what is happening to the nation and the people, but he chooses to remember past victories and times of deliverance from God. Verses 11-12:

¹¹I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.

¹²I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.

That causes faith to rise and enables him to say this in verses 13-14:

¹³Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God?

¹⁴You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples.

Remember that HIS way is in the "sanctuary", the Hebrew word, qodesh", which means: holiness, separateness, set-apartness. That means that the way of God's deliverance is usually not going to be the way the world thinks it will be! That doesn't mean he won't use natural means, it simply means that God has a higher and better way of escape than the way that man can come up with. And God's ways ALWAYS point people to Jesus!

Romans 5:1-2 in the Amplified Bible is so powerful:

¹THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

²Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

I love that we are "justified", given the right to stand in the presence of God as though we had never done anything wrong, BECAUSE of our faith in what Jesus accomplished FOR US through His death, burial and resurrection! We CAN'T work for it, it is the free gift of God! (We'll see that tomorrow in Romans 6!) We ARE now in God's favor because of Jesus! Thank You, Jesus! Then we are told what our attitude "IN", not "for" tests, trials and tribulations should be in verses 3-8:

³Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

⁴And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

⁵Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

⁶While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly.

⁷Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die.

⁸But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

We can rejoice in the midst of trials because we know that the God Who loves us so much that He gave His life for us "while we were still sinners" will He be even more inclined to deliver us now that we are His own. Of course He will! Count on it! Keep reading the rest of this chapter in different translations and you will begin to get a very clear picture of just what is involved in our salvation!

In Leviticus 24 we see more instructions from the Lord to Moses for the Israelites to observe. A key verse for why He had them do so many things in such an exact and continual way is verse 8:

⁸Every Sabbath day Aaron shall set the showbread in order before the Lord continually; it is on behalf of the Israelites, an everlasting covenant.

It was to remind them continually of the covenant that they had with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! If they would have reminded themselves DAILY of the covenant they had, they would not have turned on Moses and Aaron as often as they did. They also wouldn't have doubted that God would deliver them out of any and every situation! They didn't do it and continually fell! The same is true for us. Stay in the Word of God every day and remind yourself continually of all that He has provided for you in this Better Covenant, based on Better Promises! (Hebrews 8:6)

Leviticus 25 is very interesting! Do you think that if God's people under the New Covenant would have taken such care of their land and of other people the way He lays it out here, we might have seen more prosperity and blessings in THIS land? I think so! God's way and God's Word ALWAYS works!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We can break Psalm 76 into 4 parts to better understand it. In part 1 God wants us to KNOW Him! Verses 1-3:

¹IN JUDAH God is known and renowned; His name is highly praised and is great in Israel.

²In [Jeru]Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place is in Zion.

³There He broke the bow's flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

The word "known" here is the Hebrew word, "yada`", which means: to know, to learn to know, to perceive, to know by experience, to recognize. Get to know him through His Word!

In part 2 He wants us to TRUST Him. Verses 4-6:

⁴Glorious and excellent are You from the mountains of prey [splendid and majestic, more than the everlasting mountains].

⁵The stouthearted are stripped of their spoil, they have slept the sleep [of death]; and none of the men of might could raise their hands.

⁶At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both chariot [rider] and horse are cast into a dead sleep [of death].

He wants us to have the confidence that if He ever delivered anyone, He WILL deliver US! AMEN!

In part 3 He wants us to FEAR Him. Verses 7-9:

⁷You, even You, are to be feared [with awe and reverence]! Who may stand in Your presence when once Your anger is roused?

⁸You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still--

⁹When God arose to [establish] judgment, to save all the meek and oppressed of the earth. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

This doesn't mean being afraid of Him, but rather respecting Him and revering Him for WHO He is! The word "fear" here is the Hebrew word, "yare`", which means: to revere, to show reverence and honor, to respect, to be in awe of.

Then in part 4 He wants us to OBEY Him. Verses 10-12:

¹⁰Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; the remainder of wrath shall You restrain and gird and arm Yourself with it.

¹¹Vow and pay to the Lord your God; let all who are round about Him bring presents to Him Who ought to be [reverently] feared.

¹²He will cut off the spirit [of pride and fury] of princes; He is terrible to the [ungodly] kings of the earth.

Remember that 1 Samuel 15:22 says:

²²Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Find out what God wants you to do, then DO IT!

In Romans 4 we read about the faith of Abraham. One of my favorite verses is verse 3:

³For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Abraham believed God and he (Abraham) was counted as righteous in the eyes of God! Do YOU believe God? You can't unless you know what He says! You need to find out what the Word of God has to say about every area of your life and then believe Him, no matter how things look! That's FAITH! My next favorite verse in this chapter is verse 17:

¹⁷(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

We are also to "call those things that be not as though they were"! Speak to those things that need to be changed in your life and then call them as you WANT them to be! Jesus did and we are to do the works that He did! (John 14:12). Then I want to clarify verse 19:

¹⁹He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah's [deadened] womb.

The KJV says that Abraham considered NOT his own body... but "not" is NOT really there. It was added by the translators because they thought it would make things clearer. It didn't! It makes much more sense to see that Abraham looked at his body, too old to naturally have children, and then CHOSE to believe God instead and call those things that be not as though they were. How do we know that he did that? Because he changed his name to Abraham, which means "Father of a multitude"! He refused to be moved by natural "facts", choosing to believe the TRUTH of God's Word over anything his senses or any other person told him. That's how you walk in faith! That's how WE are to operate in every area of our lives, too!

In Leviticus we read more instructions from the Lord to Moses. Then the Lord instructs Moses about the Feasts that they are expected to keep. By keeping these Feasts, the people would have continual reminders of all that God had done for them. Every believer in Jesus of Nazareth should find a good teaching on the Feasts of Israel from a new Covenant perspective. It is fascinating to read these and see Jesus in every one!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I love how Psalm 75 begins!

¹WE GIVE praise and thanks to You, O God, we praise and give thanks; Your wondrous works declare that Your Name is near and they who invoke Your Name rehearse Your wonders.

This is from the Amplified Bible and is very close to the literal meaning. The phrase "give thanks" is the Hebrew word "yadah" that we have looked at before. Remember that it means to laud, to praise and to worship with extended hands! The word "declare" is one we recently looked at that means to recount or rehearse. The "wondrous works" is the Hebrew word, "pala`", which means: to be marvellous, to be wonderful, to be surpassing, to be extraordinary, to separate by distinguishing action, to make miracles. Then let's look at verse 9:

⁹But I will declare and rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

The word "declare" here is a different Hebrew word than the one used in verse 1. This one is "nagad", which means: to stand boldly out opposite, to be conspicuous, to announce, to expound, to publish. That sounds a little more "out there" than the first verse, doesn't it? Then we will also sing praises! That sounds like a lot of good and Godly action from US towards God! Guess what? He LOVES it when we do that! And, when we do, He inhabits those praises! (Psalm 22:3)

In Romans 3 Paul begins talking about whether there is is any advantage to being a Jew by birth. But the verses we want to look at are 9-18:

⁹What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.

¹⁰As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

¹¹There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

¹²They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

¹³Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

¹⁴Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

¹⁵Their feet are swift to shed blood:

¹⁶Destruction and misery are in their ways:

¹⁷And the way of peace have they not known:

¹⁸There is no fear of God before their eyes

That is a pretty good picture of personal sinners that NEED a personal Saviour! It is also a pretty good picture of the world in which we now live. So can't we just obey the commandments and be pleasing to God? Let's look:

¹⁹Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

²⁰Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

That means that the Law was given for the purpose of showing mankind that we could NEVER keep it! The law shows us what is sin (a selfish decision to do something MY way instead of God's way!) so that we could all realize the sin in our lives. So what hope IS there? Let's look at that, too:

²¹But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

²²Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

²⁴Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

²⁵Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

²⁶To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

What is "true faith" in Jesus? It is believing that He died on the cross for YOUR sin. That He was raised from the dead and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father. It is accepting and receiving Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour and having faith, trust and confidence in the fact that He was MADE sin with YOUR sin, when He had NONE of His own. It is also believing that YOU have been MADE righteous with HIS righteousness in that same way and at that same time! THAT is the TRUTH of the Gospel! God isn't holding anything against anyone! The only sin that is NOT taken care of by the Blood of Jesus is the sin of rejecting Him. That is the ONLY thing that will keep people out of Heaven when they leave this earth! If you haven't already, is there any reason you can't receive Jesus of Nazareth as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour? Then pray this prayer, believing:

Almighty God, I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on the cross for me, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at Your right hand. I accept and receive Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I invite Him to come into my heart and become Lord over my life. I thank You now Father, for welcoming me into Your family. You are my Father. I am Your child. Jesus is my Lord! Amen.

Amen! Welcome to the family of God! Now you need to get into a good, Scriptural, local church where the Word of God is taught and you can grow up in the Word surrounded by like-minded believers who love you! Go to the Spoken Word Church website through the link to the left of this blog and let us know where you live. We will try to locate a church in your area so you can get started. In the meantime you can listen to the sermons and read the article to get a head start!

In Leviticus 20-21 we see another very accurate picture of our world today! Many of the things we see that God detests in these two chapters are being forced on believers in Jesus of Nazareth as "normal" now. It is NOT true! There is no such thing in God's eyes as an "alternate lifestyle". What God loves then, He loves now. What God hated then, He hates now. Why? Because all of those things will steal, kill and destroy people, families and lives. Jesus of Nazareth is STILL the answer for sin! God does not hate the people who do these things. On the contrary, He so greatly loved and dearly prized every person IN the world that He sent Jesus to pay the price for all of that sin! Read John 3 in the Amplified Bible. Take a look at Leviticus again and pray for all of the people that you know who may be caught up in these things. Then pray for their salvation and deliverance from that sin. Pray, asking the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into their lives who will be able to reach them with the Gospel of God's great, everlasting LOVE! JESUS! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 74 is another Psalm that begins with crying out to God because of problems and troubles, then remembers Who God is. The psalmist recounts all of the things the enemy has done and then, in verses 12-17, he suddenly begins reminding himself Who God is and what He has already done:

¹²Yet God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.13

You did divide the [Red] Sea by Your might; You broke the heads of the [Egyptian] dragons in the waters.

¹⁴You crushed the heads of Leviathan (Egypt); You did give him as food for the creatures inhabiting the wilderness.

¹⁵You did cleave open [the rock bringing forth] fountains and streams; You dried up mighty, ever-flowing rivers (the Jordan).

¹⁶The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have established the [starry] light and the sun.

¹⁷You have fixed all the borders of the earth [the divisions of land and sea and of the nations]; You have made summer and winter.

This passage starts with "God", the Hebrew "`Elohiym", which is a plural form of a word for Deity or God and refers to the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. "Is" is a filler word, put in by the translators to try to make it more readable. What he is actually doing is addressing God: "God, my King of 'old'", Hebrew "qedem", which means: ancient, from of old, before time, "working "salvation", the Hebrew "yeshuw`ah", which means: salvation, deliverance, welfare, prosperity, victory, "in the midst of the earth, You did......" and then proceeds to list many things that God had done previously to benefit His people. We should learn from the psalmist to come to God FIRST when tests, trials and tribulations come. We need to get into His presence right away and begin to rehearse all the good things He has already done in our lives, including all of the past victories over the enemy! That will give the Holy Spirit something to work with in us! He can then bring the Word we have heard back to our remembrance so we can proceed in faith and in the promises of the Word with confidence that the God Who did it before, will surely deliver us again! AMEN!

In Romans 2 there are two verses I want to look at today. The first is verse 11:

¹¹For there is no respect of persons with God.

This is the King James Version. The Amplified Bible is even clearer:

¹¹For God shows no partiality [undue favor or unfairness; with Him one man is not different from another].

I love that verse! It tells me that God honors His Word and all Who are doers of that Word. There is no bribing God! He favors none but His own over those who reject Him and His Word. Of His own, God does not play favorites, but makes His Word available for all to obey. Those who do will reap the results of doing things God's way and those who don't will have to be satisfied with the results of their choices. What a GOOD God we have!

The next verse I want to look at is verse 29:

²⁹But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal [matter]. His praise is not from men but from God.

A true Jew is one who operates in faith in God and His Word. Circumcision was an outward sign of an inward commitment to serve God. Abraham became a true spiritual Jew when he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Romans 4:3). That is what our Heavenly Father is looking for today! True spiritual "Jews" who will love His Word, trust his Word, live His Word and obey His Word. Obedience to the Word is the ultimate statement that God is our first priority! Obey God and BE a "True Jew"!

In Leviticus 18-19 we see more of God's instructions to Moses for the people. Remember, as you read these, that everything that God told the people NOT to do was to keep them in a place of protection, provision and safety. In the same way, everything He told them TO DO was to get them in position to receive all the good that He planned for them. He is still doing the same for us today! We have it so much better than they did, though, because we have the Spirit of God living IN us to teach us the Word and give us the strength and ability to obey the Word! Hallelujah for a better covenant!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 73 is a Psalm of Asaph. If you remember, Asaph was one of a group of Levites who served as musicians and worship leaders. In this Psalm he looks at the fact that sometimes it seems as though the righteous suffer while the ungodly prosper. One of the things I have noticed about a lot of the Psalms is that they may present a problem at the start, but USUALLY the writer ends up encouraging themselves in the Lord and speaking Truth in the end! Let's look at the last verse of Psalm 73:

²⁸But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Asaph is saying here that it is "good", the Hebrew word "towb", which means: good, pleasant, agreeable, excellent, rich, appropriate, valuable in estimation, happy, prosperous, a good thing, to draw near to God. We have a promise for that! It's found in James 4:8a:

⁸Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

So it really IS a good thing to draw close to God! Then the rest of Psalm 73:28 says that Asaph has put his trust in the Lord and made the Lord his refuge, his hiding place, his shelter. Why? So "that I may declare", the Hebrew word, "caphar", which means: to count, recount, to relate, to take account of, to rehearse, to number, to reckon, to declare, all Thy works! We should also be telling all of His works! It reminds US and encourages others to continue to put faith, trust and confidence in HIM!

We begin Romans today. In the first verses Paul is explaining his position and calling. He speaks about wanting to come to see the saints in Rome. He speaks of people rejecting the Lord and His Word and the results of it that are clearly seen in the way the people of the world act. You can see a very clear picture of OUR world and what has happened in the last half of the chapter. I want to concentrate today on verse 16:

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek,

Paul says that he is NOT ashamed of the Gospel (the Good News) for it IS the "power", the Greek word "dunamis", which means: force, miraculous power, strength, the power of performing miracles, the inherent ability to perform anything (it's where we get our word "dynamite" from) unto, or resulting in, "salvation", the Greek word, "soteria", which means: deliverance, safety, preservation, health, rescue. The Word of God contains the Power of God to set you (and others!) free from every work and worker of darkness that has ever and will ever, try to come against you! Get into the Word and get the Word into YOU! The Word of God contains "all the power you need"! AMEN!

In Leviticus we see that only the high priest, Aaron at this particular time, could ever enter into the Holy of Holies, and only in some very specific ways! I can't ever read these verses without thinking of Hebrews 10:19-24:

¹⁹Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus,

²⁰By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh,

²¹And since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,

²²Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.

²³So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.

²⁴And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,

THAT is our promise as believers in Jesus of Nazareth! So let's take FULL advantage of our rights and privileges as children of God and joint, equal heirs with Jesus of Nazareth! Let's go boldly into His presence continually so that we are always in a position to hear and obey and receive from Him! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

This time through Psalm 72 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan we will look at verses 18-19:

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone does wondrous things!

¹⁹Blessed be His glorious name forever; let the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen!

"Blessed" is the Hebrew word, "barak", which means: to bless God as an act of adoration, to congratulate, to kneel, to praise, to salute. Who is to be blessed? The Lord (Yahweh, Jehovah) God (`Elohiym), of Israel! The One Who alone "does", the Hebrew word, "`asah",, which means: to make, to produce, to prepare, to fashion, to accomplish, "wondrous things", the Hebrew word, "pala`", which means: to be wonderful, to be marvellous, to be surpassing, to be extraordinary, to separate by distinguishing action! Verse 19 says Blessed (the same word) be "His glorious", the Hebrew word, "kabowd", which means: abundance, riches, honor, splendor, dignity, Name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory (kabowd again)! What a powerful prayer and proclamation! Keep Him first place, in reverence and Godly fear (awe and respect) and you will be, of all people, Most Blessed! AMEN!

In Mark we will concentrate on verses 15-18:

¹⁵And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole human race].

¹⁶He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned

¹⁷And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;

¹⁸They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well.

These verses are a continuing part of the "Great Commission". Every believer in Jesus of Nazareth is expected to share the Good News of the Gospel with everyone they have opportunity to share it with! We are to go forth without fear that anything the enemy tries can hurt us! Go BOLDLY, knowing that verse 20 is also true for YOU:

²⁰And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it).

Let's DO IT!

In Leviticus we see more of what the Old Testament saints were required to do to walk pleasing to the Lord. I encourage you to read every word! Attention to detail was vital for them under the Old Covenant. It is ALSO vital for US under the New Covenant that is based on better promises than they had! KNOW all the details of the blessings of the New Covenant, or you will not be able to walk in them the way God intends for you to do! Paying attention is one of the most important things you, as a believer in Jesus of Nazareth can do. Remember that He has hidden the Truth in His Word FOR us to find it out!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 71 is not attributed to anyone. You could say it was written by "Anonymous"! It could have been one of the temple musicians or any other believer of that day. A psalm like this CAN be written by YOU! One definition of the word translated psalm here is: a poem set to notes. This particular psalm has 4 parts. First he talks of trusting the Lord NOW, then he tells of the Lord helping him in the PAST, then he says that the Lord will help him in the FUTURE, then he talks of PRAISING the Lord! We'll look at these last verses today:

²²I will also praise You with the harp, even Your truth and faithfulness, O my God; unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

²³My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my inner being, which You have redeemed.

²⁴My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; for they are put to shame, for they are confounded, who seek and demand my hurt.

First he says he will "praise", the Hebrew word, "yadah", which means: to give thanks, to laud, to praise, to revere or worship with extended hands. Then he says he will sing! Then he says his lips will "shout for joy", the KJV says "greatly rejoice", which is the Hebrew word, ranan", which means: to give out a ringing cry of exaltation, to shout aloud, to emit a stridulous (shrill, piercing cry) sound. Then he says he "shall talk", the Hebrew word, "hagah", which means: to utter, to mutter, to meditate, to ponder, to study, to murmur in pleasure. You and I can do all of those things! Let's present our own personal psalm to Him. I KNOW He will be well pleased!

In Mark 15 we see the illegal trial and interrogation of Jesus of Nazareth. I used to be amazed at and question how so many people who had seen and heard all that Jesus did and said could possibly speak out against Him! After seeing how human beings operate and what amazingly stupid things they believe these days, just because the media or someone in "power" says it, I now have a greater understanding of just how brainwashed people can become! It is continually amazing to me that Jesus still went through with all that He did, knowing that at any moment He could have called for angels to assist and completely obliterated everyone involved! He could have! See Matthew 26:53-54:

⁵³Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than twelve legions [more than 80,000] of angels?

⁵⁴But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must come about this way?

But what did He say instead? See Luke 23:34:

³⁴And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your death, burial and resurrection that give ME New Life! Hallelujah! AMEN!

In Leviticus today we find out all about child birth, uncleanness and the disease of leprosy! I don't claim to even begin to understand all of the laws in the Old Testament! But one thing I do know. The One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible ALWAYS plans to bless His people and is only EVER motivated by His great love for them. He showed them how to live in health, wealth, peace and prosperity. As now, some listened and some did not, and BOTH got the results promised for their actions! You can learn a lot about walking in Divine Health by paying attention to some of the dietary laws of the Old Testament. Then add the knowledge of the Word of God to believers found in the New Testament, and you and I can and should walk in daily health, wealth and prosperity in every area of our lives! Our God is a GOOD God! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 70 is pretty short after the Psalms we've just gone through! I want to look particularly at verse 4:

⁴May all those who seek, inquire of and for You, and require You [as their vital need] rejoice and be glad in You; and may those who love Your salvation say continually, Let God be magnified!

Are YOU seeking and inquiring of and for the Lord? Do you require Him as your vital necessity? If so, then rejoice and be glad! Do YOU love His "salvation", "Yeshuw`ah" (welfare, prosperity, deliverance, and victory)? Then be continually saying "Let the God be magnified"! AMEN!

In Mark 14 we see Jesus and His Apostles preparing for the Passover. As they are eating the woman with the alabaster jar of ointment comes and begins to anoint Jesus with it. Immediately the disciples started playing the "religious" game! See what they said:

⁴But there were some who were moved with indignation and said to themselves, To what purpose was the ointment (perfume) thus wasted?

⁵For it was possible to have sold this [perfume] for more than 300 denarii [a laboring man's wages for a year] and to have given [the money] to the poor. And they censured and reproved her.

Do you REALLY think that they were that concerned for the poor? I love the answer that Jesus gives:

⁶But Jesus said, Let her alone; why are you troubling her? She has done a good and beautiful thing to Me [praiseworthy and noble].

⁷For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you will not always have Me.

⁸She has done what she could; she came beforehand to anoint My body for the burial.

⁹And surely I tell you, wherever the good news (the Gospel) is proclaimed in the entire world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

We see all of the disciples claim that they would never deny knowing Jesus. Then Judas betrays Jesus and we see the events play out that lead to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth! As they took Him away, we see the fulfillment of what Jesus had told them they would do:

²⁷And Jesus said to them, You will all fall away this night [that is, you will be caused to stumble and will begin to distrust and desert Me], for it stands written, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.

They all DID leave Him for a time! They will hide out in fear, until Jesus shows Himself to them!

In Leviticus 10-11 we see Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, having JUST HEARD the instructions from Moses, burning strange incense before the Lord and paying for it, with their lives! Then the Lord instructs Moses on what the people could and could not eat. What a long list of things to remember! Thank You, Jesus, again, for the New Covenant, based on better promises! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!