Shalom,

In Psalm 51:1-4 we see David confessing his sin to the Lord and asking for mercy and forgiveness:

¹HAVE MERCY upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin!

³For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment.

I especially like that verse 4 says that his sin was against God. When we sin, we need to be concerned with what God thinks and says about it before we ever consider what other people think. Too many times believers worry about how they will be perceived by people when the most important thing is to get back in fellowship with God. He may instruct you to do something to make things right with the people involved, but that is secondary to our one-on-one with Him. David goes on to pray this in verses 10-13:

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³Then will I teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.

Notice that David's reason for praying this, found in verse 13, is that he may be effective in bringing people to the Lord! In accordance with our New Covenant, based on better promises (Hebrew 8:6), when WE sin, we use THIS Scripture found in 1 John 1:9:

⁹If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

I love the fact that He will continually cleanse me from all that I may be doing (in ignorance) that is contrary to His Word when I confess the sin I am aware of! That sounds like David's desire to be restored and back in fellowship, only much, much better! Then WE will be in position to be effective ministers of Life again! Thank You, Jesus!

In Acts 23 we see Paul operating in great wisdom again by pitting Pharisees against Sadducees and turning the attention off of himself! I have been noticing that there is more Godly wisdom and Godly protection for Paul as he is maturing and growing in the Word! We see the plot of some of the Jews, to trick the commandant into calling for Paul so they could murder him on the way, being exposed! He is taken away to safety before anyone can touch him here! Meditate on Psalm 91 daily so that you, too, can walk in daily protection, provision and safety from all that the enemy may try to do to you or your family!

In Exodus 11-12 we see God continuing to use the hardened heart of Pharaoh to show Himself strong and powerful to all of the people watching! I am very confident that many of the Egyptians, the wise ones anyway, left with the Israelites! God's people were protected in the land of Goshen as the Egyptians suffered each new thing that happened. Then God gave them very specific instructions for His protection from the last one, which was the death of the firstborn of man and beast in all the land of Egypt. If God's people obeyed, they were protected! God always warns His people and gives them the way of protection! (Again, see Psalm 91!) Something very interesting is found in Exodus 11:2-3:

²Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man solicit and ask of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.

³And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was exceedingly great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and of the people.

and Exodus 12:35-36:

³⁵The Israelites did according to the word of Moses; and they [urgently] asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver and of gold, and clothing.

³⁶The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And they stripped the Egyptians [of those things].

If you're wondering why the Lord would have them do this, you will find out when we get to the chapters where they build the tabernacle in the wilderness! They need to come up with gold, silver and bronze, and blue, purple and scarlet cloth! Our God truly does supply ALL of our needs when we count on Him to do it! Hallelujah!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I was out of town today and have a very important service at The Spoken Word Church tonight, so I am only posting briefly and will post more later.

Psalm 50:1-3:

¹THE MIGHTY One, God, the Lord, speaks and calls the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

³Our God comes and does not keep silence; a fire devours before Him, and round about Him a mighty tempest rages.

THAT is our God! Mighty always and in all ways! He always speaks and you KNOW when He's around! Hallelujah! I love that it is the "mighty God" - "Elohiym" : the Godhead, the "LORD" - Yahweh or Yehovah: the eternal self-existing ONE Who is speaking! I want to hear what He has to say, don't you? One of the powerful things He says is this in verses 10-12:

¹⁰For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are.

¹¹I know and am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains, and the wild animals of the field are Mine and are with Me, in My mind.

¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine.

EVERYTHING belongs to HIM! What can we possibly give to Him? This in verses 14-15:

¹⁴Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High,

¹⁵And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.

and verse 23:

²³He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God.

He wants our whole heart and when we give that to Him what does He give back? EVERYTHING we will ever need and even the desires of our hearts! What a marvelously GOOD God we have! Glory to His Name! AMEN!

In Acts 22 we get to hear Paul give the testimony of his experience on the road to Damascus where he was born again! My favorite verses here are 14-15:

¹⁴And he said, The God of our forefathers has destined and appointed you to come progressively to know His will [to perceive, to recognize more strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with His will], and to see the Righteous One (Jesus Christ, the Messiah), and to hear a voice from His [own] mouth and a message from His [own] lips;

¹⁵For you will be His witness unto all men of everything that you have seen and heard.

We know that Paul received this Word and took it very seriously because we have this witness of it in Philippians 3:10-11:

¹⁰[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

¹¹That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

I LOVE that prayer and make it MY own! I hope you do, too! We then see Paul bound and about to be scourged when he lets it be known that he is a Roman citizen. That saves his life and his body! Remember to be at least as wise as the world! It may save YOU sometime!

In Exodus we have seen where Pharaoh continued to harden his heart toward the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible. Once he had totally hardened his heart, then God Himself continued to harden Pharaoh's heart even more, so that he could use Pharaoh to show forth to ALL of the people, Hebrew and Egyptian alike, His might and His power! We'll continue to see even more miraculous things as we continue on with our daily reading!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 49 may seem a little hard to understand, but the psalmist is talking to all people, believers and unbelievers. The message is simply that, though we are eternal beings (we will all live forever SOMEWHERE!), our bodies are not. Our bodies will one day give out and our spirit/soul combination will go somewhere. Believers will go to Heaven and unbelievers will not! The message is that there is nothing in this world that we will take with us! I would like to share this Psalm from the Message Bible:

^1-2 Listen, everyone, listen— earth-dwellers, don't miss this.
All you haves
and have-nots,
All together now: listen.

^3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.

^5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
hemmed in by enemy malice,
Shoved around by bullies,
demeaned by the arrogant rich?

^7-9 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue,
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
and even then it doesn't guarantee
Life forever, or insurance
against the Black Hole.

^10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
They leave all their prowess behind,
move into their new home, The Coffin,
The cemetery their permanent address.
And to think they named counties after themselves!

¹² We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

^13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
who only look out for themselves:
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing—
nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
he reaches down and grabs me.

^16-19 So don't be impressed with those who get rich
and pile up fame and fortune.
They can't take it with them;
fame and fortune all get left behind.
Just when they think they've arrived
and folks praise them because they've made good,
They enter the family burial plot
where they'll never see sunshine again.

²⁰ We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

That's just a little clearer and in plain language! Don't get caught up in the things of THIS world! Our future is eternity with our Lord if we have received Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour! Our time here is to be spent as a living witness to the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth! If you have never received Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour, please go to the link at the left of this blog for the Spoken Word Church website and find out more about this! You WILL live for all of eternity in the place of YOUR choice! Please choose LIFE!

Acts 21 has Paul and others continuing on their journeys and sharing with the other believers about all that God was doing through the ministry. We again see Paul attacked and beaten, then arrested. Do you like a good suspense story? Well God must, too, because just as Paul is about to speak we see this:

⁴⁰And when the man had granted him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, gestured with his hand to the people; and there was a great hush. Then he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying:

I bet you can't wait until tomorrow to find out what he said! Did you look ahead? You SHOULD! The Word is fascinating like that! Enjoy it and develop a real hunger for it! The Word of God IS our vital necessity!

We see pharaoh continuing to harden his heart in Exodus 7-8. I always find it hilarious that when pharaoh is given the choice as to when he wants to be delivered from the frogs, he says "tomorrow"! Why not right now? Amazing! The frogs are followed by lice and then by what the Amplified Bible calls "blood sucking gadflies". I don't know about you, but I would have let those people go a long time before this! THAT'S how a hardened heart responds to God! No sense at all! I think we have seen some pretty hard hearts in our world today! Let's keep praying for the Holy Spirit to soften those hearts so they can receive the Gospel! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 48 starts out this way:

¹GREAT IS the Lord, and highly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,

The first "great" is the same word we saw yesterday in Psalm 47:2. You can see that the meaning for the Hebrew word, "gadowl" is: great in any sense, mighty, exceedingly great in magnitude, in intensity and in sound (meaning LOUD!). The word "greatly" from the KJV or "highly" from the AMP Bible is the same word translated "very" from Psalm 46! If you recall it is the Hebrew word, "me`od", which means: vehemence or vehemently, wholly, speedily, diligently, exceedingly, greatly, mightily, utterly, abundantly and with "muchness"! We REALLY liked the fact that THAT is how our God "helps" us in our time of need! Are we as excited about the fact that THIS is how we are to praise Him! DAILY! That word translated "praise" is the Hebrew word, "halal". Remember that it means to boast, to celebrate, to rave, to make a show of and to be clamorously foolish about the Lord! Verse 10 says this:

¹⁰As is Your name, O God, so is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness (rightness and justice).

That word "praise" is the Hebrew word "tehillah" that we saw before, which means: laudation, admiration, praise and thanksgiving. Our praise to and of Him should equal the greatness of His Name in our lives! Now that may seem like an impossible thing to do, but remember that we have the Spirit of God living in us and ALL things are possible with God (Mark 10:27) and to the person who believes (Mark 9:23). Don't worry about "arriving" there. Just start and let the Holy Spirit flow through you!

In Acts 20 we see Paul continuing to preach the Gospel, teach the Word and minister the Life of God. Do you ever think YOUR Pastor goes on too long? How would you have liked to be in a Paul meeting? Verses 7-12:

⁷And on the first day of the week, when we were assembled together to break bread [the Lord's Supper], Paul discoursed with them, intending to leave the next morning; and he kept on with his message until midnight.

⁸Now there were numerous lights in the upper room where we were assembled,

⁹And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting in the window. He was borne down with deep sleep as Paul kept on talking still longer, and [finally] completely overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.

¹⁰But Paul went down and bent over him and embraced him, saying, Make no ado; his life is within him.

¹¹When Paul had gone back upstairs and had broken bread and eaten [with them], and after he had talked confidentially and communed with them for a considerable time--until daybreak [in fact]--he departed.

¹²They took the youth home alive, and were not a little comforted and cheered and refreshed and encouraged.

Don't put God in a 21st century box! Allow God to really BE God! Want to see signs and wonders and miracle like that? Be prepared to stay a little longer in church! Don't become bored with the Word of God. Remember that He confirms His WORD with signs following (Mark 16:20)! Get where the Word is being preached and taught boldly, confidently, uncompromisingly, precisely and accurately and fully EXPECT to see the God of the Bible confirm that Word! If you get bored, if you give up, if you quit too soon, you are going to miss what God is doing today!

In Exodus 5-6 we see that Pharaoh's response to Moses and Aaron is to increase the hardship on God's people. This is a good lesson to learn from. If God has promised something, He WILL do it! Don't be moved by what your senses tell you! If it APPEARS to look worse, that's the time to REALLY rejoice! You know that the enemy is riled up and his time is short! If we don't give up, we WILL see the deliverance of Almighty God just like the Israelites eventually did! Remember this in Galatians 6:9:

⁹And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.

Don't give up, don't quit and stop being so easily distracted! God is doing a GREAT work all over the world and we are supposed to be part of it! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I LOVE Psalm 47! Verse 1 says:

¹O CLAP your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph and songs of joy!

There has been so much erroneous teaching concerning clapping over the years that I just love it when the Word of God takes all the guess work out of it! We (ALL people!) are instructed here to "clap" the Hebrew word, taqa`, which means: to slap the hands together, to clang with an instrument, to strike. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with clapping while we sing in praise and worship services! We should only refrain from clapping when someone is speaking, so that they can be heard! No, clapping is NOT worship, but it IS using our human instruments to praise and rejoice in the presence of the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! Then we are told to "shout", the Hebrew Word ruwa`, which means: to split the ears with sound, to shout, to cry aloud, to shout a war-cry, to shout in triumph and to shout for joy! We've talked a lot about shouting at the Spoken Word Church lately! There is a time to be still and know that He IS God, and then there is a time to let your voice be heard! In fact, we are told to shout in the Word of God MANY more times than we are told to be still (only 2 that I could find)! Don't be timid! In fact, verse 2 says:

²For the Lord Most High excites terror, awe, and dread; He is a great King over all the earth.

The "great" here is the Hebrew word, gadowl, which means: great in any sense, mighty, exceedingly great in magnitude, in intensity and in sound (LOUD)! That's our God and we were recreated in HIS image! Look at 1 Peter 2:9:

⁹But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

That is who we are! let's act like it! AMEN!

In Acts 19 we see Paul continuing to minister to and teach the believers and to preach the Gospel to unbelievers. Notice verses 2-6:

²And he asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [on Jesus as the Christ]? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

³And he asked, Into what [baptism] then were you baptized? They said, Into John's baptism.

⁴And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, continually telling the people that they should believe in the One Who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus [having a conviction full of joyful trust that He is Christ, the Messiah, and being obedient to Him].

⁵On hearing this they were baptized [again, this time] in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And as Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke in [foreign, unknown] tongues (languages) and prophesied.

These people thought they were believers, but hadn't really been taught WHAT to believe! Once they heard the Gospel preached by Paul, they received Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour and also received the Holy Spirit baptism! How do we know? Because they were HEARD speaking in other tongues and prophesying. If you have never received Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour, or if have already received Jesus, but not been "endued with power form on high" (Luke 24:49), then please check the beginning posts of this blog to find out more. You can also click on the Spoken Word Church link on the left side of this blog to find teaching and instruction on how to do both!

Notice Acts 17:8-10:

⁸And he went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, persuading and arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became more and more stubborn (hardened and unbelieving), discrediting and reviling and speaking evil of the Way [of the Lord] before the congregation, he separated himself from them, taking the disciples with him, and went on holding daily discussions in the lecture room of Tyrannus from about ten o'clock till three.

¹⁰This continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of [the province of] Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the Word of the Lord [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God].

There may be times when you have to stop talking to certain people about the things of God. If people are not receptive, let them go! Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send laborers across their path who will be able to reach them in ways that you can't! The enemy will try to tie up your time with some people and keep you from reaching others! In ALL things, though, be led by the Spirit of God!

In Exodus we see the Angel of the Lord (pre-incarnate Jesus) appearing to Moses in the burning bush. We see God sending Moses to Pharaoh for the purpose of delivering His people from bondage. We also see Moses trying to get out of it! He even lies to God:

¹⁰And Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I am not eloquent or a man of words, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and have a heavy and awkward tongue.

We know this isn't true because we see this in Acts 7:22:

²²So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was mighty (powerful) in his speech and deeds.

But God will not be deterred from delivering His people! He says this to Moses:

¹¹And the Lord said to him, Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

¹²Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say.

When Moses STILL resists, then God gets angry with him:

¹⁴Then the anger of the Lord blazed against Moses; He said, Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know he can speak well. Also, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be overjoyed.

¹⁵You must speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do.

¹⁶He shall speak for you to the people, acting as a mouthpiece for you, and you shall be as God to him.

¹⁷And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall work the signs [that prove I sent you].

It is very encouraging to me that God had so much patience with Moses! He still used Moses in mighty ways, even when Moses let Him down at first! Don't ever give up on yourself! God hasn't and never will! Dare to believe what the Word of God reveals about who you are IN HIM and live like it's so, because it is! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today we have Psalm 46. Do you recognize that song found in the first 2 verses? :

¹GOD IS our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas,

I remember how excited I was when I discovered the meaning of the word "very" used here. It is the Hebrew word, me`od, which means: vehemence or vehemently, wholly, speedily, diligently, exceedingly, greatly, mightily, utterly, abundantly, with "muchness"! That's the type of help our God gives to us in times of "trouble", the Hebrew word, tsarah, which means: trouble, tightness, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation. He's not far off! He is PRESENT! Always there, always ready, always speaking, always leading, always guiding, always directing, always taking advantage of every time we allow Him to help! How exciting to know that! We should never operate in fear, doubt or worry again!

In Acts we see Paul, along with various others at different times, continuing to preach the Gospel everywhere he went! We see him here preaching in the synagogue, as he usually did, until they began harassing and opposing him. When this happened he stopped teaching in the synagogue and began to teach in the home of Titus Justus, who lived next to the synagogue. Paul may have been tempted to leave the city altogether until this happened:

⁹And one night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, Have no fear, but speak and do not keep silent;

¹⁰For I am with you, and no man shall assault you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.

Notice that the Lord told Paul that He had MANY people in that city! Only God Himself knows who are truly His in any given place! I am very sure that are many more that be with us than the very vocal ones that come against us. They just don't make as much noise! That's why I believe the Lord instructed Paul to speak and NOT keep silent!

Something else that I took note of is Paul's meeting Aquila and Priscilla. Verses 2-3:

²There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently arrived from Italy with Priscilla his wife, due to the fact that Claudius had issued an edict that all the Jews were to leave Rome. And [Paul] went to see them,

³And because he was of the same occupation, he stayed with them; and they worked [together], for they were tentmakers by trade.

Now notice verse 18:

¹⁸Afterward Paul remained many days longer, and then told the brethren farewell and sailed for Syria; and he was accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

And then verse 26:

²⁶He began to speak freely (fearlessly and boldly) in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him with them and expounded to him the way of God more definitely and accurately.

Notice that Priscilla is mentioned first in these verses. The mentioning of her name first denoted that she was at the forefront of their ministry at that time. She most likely had the more public role. So much for the erroneous teaching that women are not supposed to be minsters of the Gospel! Don't the people who believe that remember Deborah the Judge, or the fact the very first person to "preach" that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead was a woman! HER name was Mary! So let's encourage the ladies to be ALL that God has individually called each one of them to be! AMEN!

We begin Exodus today and I have always been amazed at how the Israelites, who are apparently very strong and many in number:

⁷But the descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, and the land was full of them.

&:

⁹He said to his people, Behold, the Israelites are too many and too mighty for us [and they outnumber us both in people and in strength].

...became anyone's slave! My idea about this is that they were so accustomed to the life they were living, that they didn't even consider that things might change. Sounds a little like the USA today! When new leadership took over, they proceeded to turn a very numerous, strong and hard working people into slaves. I would hope that the Israeli people of today would learn from their past and not be put under any nation's dominion again! We do know that eventually they WILL sign a peace treaty that ends up being the worst decision in the history of their nation! But THAT is for a different book of the Bible! Right now we see Moses protected by God right under Pharaoh's nose! Exodus 2:10:

¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. And she called him Moses, for she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

Isn't that SO like our God! We see here that there is a definite time frame between the "calling" and the "separation"! Moses was to be the deliverer of his people, but when he tried to help them in the natural, he failed miserably! Verse 11-15:

¹¹One day, after Moses was grown, it happened that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of [Moses'] brethren.

¹²He looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

¹³He went out the second day and saw two Hebrew men quarreling and fighting; and he said to the unjust aggressor, Why are you striking your comrade?

¹⁴And the man said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid and thought, Surely this thing is known.

¹⁵When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh's presence and took refuge in the land of Midian, where he sat down by a well.

Moses needed the time in Midian to grow up and the Israelites needed to get fed up and desperate! When they called out to God, He heard and WILL act! Tune in tomorrow!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 45 is one of the Messianic Psalms that Jesus refers to in Luke 24:44. Verse 1 says:

¹MY HEART overflows with a goodly theme; I address my psalm to a King. My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer.

I want it to be said of me that when I speak of Him MY tongue is like the pen of a ready writer! How does that happen? By falling SO in love with Him that He means more than anyone or anything! Spend time in the Word of God and time fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit and you WILL be able to speak of Him that way, too! I also like verse 8:

⁸Your garments are all fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia; stringed instruments make You glad.

When I did some study on these words I found that it actually means that he smelled so strongly of these scents that it was as though His clothing was woven in scent! The REALLY exciting part about this is that these were some of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil that was NOT to be used for any common purposes. It is the oil that was used to anoint the High Priest! It is only fitting that OUR High Priest should be SO anointed with this oil that it permeated his clothing and body until you couldn't separate the smells! Sounds like MY GOD to me! AMEN!!!

In Acts 17 we see Paul and Silas continuing to minister in the synagogues and to preach the Gospel. But as always THIS happened:

⁵But the unbelieving Jews were aroused to jealousy, and, getting hold of some wicked men (ruffians and rascals) and loungers in the marketplace, they gathered together a mob, set the town in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring [Paul and Silas] out to the people.

It's interesting to see that some of the very people that the "religious" Jews would have nothing whatsoever to do with in every day life, were just fine to use to do their "dirty work"! Paul and Silas left there when it became to dangerous and went on to Berea. I love what the Word of God says about the Bereans:

¹¹Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

¹²Many of them therefore became believers, together with not a few prominent Greeks, women as well as men.

Let's make sure that this can also be said of us! AMEN! Then, of course those jealous, unbelieving Jews got wind of this and didn't like it:

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the Word of God [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] was also preached by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, disturbing and inciting the masses.

Paul just kept moving on to where people DID want to hear the Truth! We can learn some very good lessons by following Paul's example in ministry! Don't dwell on those who DON'T want to hear the Truth! Keep moving on to find the ones who DO! We are not to be hounding people who don't want to hear. Simply pray for laborers to cross their paths that they can receive from, and then keep moving! Don't let the enemy discourage you - there are SO many people who really want to know the Truth, they just don't realize their need yet. Keep sharing and let GOD do the work! AMEN!

In Genesis we see Jacob giving his final blessing over his sons. It is interesting to note that the things that were done against God's plan were not forgotten. They were being dealt with right here! That is the Old Covenant, based on the old promises! Remember that WE have a New Covenant, based on BETTER promises (Hebrews 8:6):

⁶But as it now is, He [Christ] has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is as much superior and more excellent [than the old] as the covenant (the agreement) of which He is the Mediator (the Arbiter, Agent) is superior and more excellent, [because] it is enacted and rests upon more important (sublimer, higher, and nobler) promises.

I like those better promises! The more I get to know and understand just what these promises are, the more I can walk in the fullness of them! And so can you!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Notice this from Psalm 44:1:

¹WE HAVE heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us [what] work You did in their days, in the days of old.

It is vitally important that those of us who are parents and grandparents continually remind our children and families of all the wonderful things that God has done in our lives. Give thanks daily for God's protection, provision, safety, health, healing, wholeness, wellness, fitness, abundant supply and leading, guidance and direction! This WILL build faith in them about Who God is and what He can and will do. We also need to teach them who THEY are in Him! Then they will be able to say this:

⁸In God we have made our boast all the day long, and we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

But then we need to show them how to have a deep, intimate, personal fellowship with Him daily so that they can begin to build their faith in His deliverance based on their OWN experiences with trusting Him! That, also, is VITAL!!!

In Acts we continue to see the Holy Spirit working through the believers who dare to follow His lead and stand on His Word! The church is growing and God is getting the glory! We also see the believers being persecuted in every place. The enemy continually stirs up people to persecute those who will dare to preach God's Word boldly, confidently, uncompromisingly, precisely, accurately and in Love! But if you pay attention to what you've been reading, supernatural deliverance ALWAYS comes when you stand strong on God's Word and continue to have a grateful, thankful heart! Remember that He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).

In Genesis it is exciting to see that the same Isaac who had told pharaoh this in yesterday's reading in Genesis 47:9:

⁹Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and they have not attained to those of the life of my fathers in their pilgrimage.

..now has this to say about his life in Genesis 48:15-16:

¹⁵Then [Jacob] blessed Joseph and said, God [Himself ], before Whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac lived and walked habitually, God [Himself ], Who has [been my Shepherd and has led and] fed me from the time I came into being until this day,

¹⁶The redeeming Angel [that is, the Angel the Redeemer--not a created being but the Lord Himself] Who has redeemed me continually from every evil, bless the lads! And let my name be perpetuated in them [may they be worthy of having their names coupled with mine], and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them become a multitude in the midst of the earth.

He has a much more thankful heart at this point in time! Let's not wait until the end of our lives to recognize and be thankful for all that God has done for us! Live a life of daily praise and thanksgiving and your outlook on life will be filled with expectant hope and eager anticipation of all the GOOD that God has planned for you and your family! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I am away from home spending time with family so the blog will be a short one for today and tomorrow!

Remember to encourage YOURSELF in the Lord when situations and circumstances tempt you to be discouraged! Psalm 43:5:

⁵Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my [sad] countenance, and my God.

Praising God will ALWAYS lift a sad countenance and stir up the joy that is within you! Do it! You'll be glad you did!

In Acts 15 we see the beginning of legalism start to creep into the church. Anytime someone adds something to or tries to take something away from the Truth of the Word you have error! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you HAVE to do something ELSE to be saved! Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you are saved! That's it! No "works" involved except to believe and receive. Then keep learning more from the Word of God so you can live a more victorious life, but NOTHING will keep you from Heaven! Thank You, Jesus!

In Genesis 45-46 we see Joseph finally revealing himself to his brothers! The long ago dream was fulfilled when his brothers bowed down before him, but God was working His GOOD plan the whole time Joseph was imprisoned! HE worked ALL things for good after all of Joseph's trials. The harvest was well worth what he had to go through. YOURS is, too! Never give up, never give in, never quit! AMEN!!!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

In Psalm 42 today we see an example of how to encourage ourselves in the Lord, just like the Bible says David did in 1 Samuel 30:6. First we're told to hunger and thirst for the presence of God just like the deer hunts down water! Make spending time in His presence your #1 priority and EVERY DAY will be a good, God day! Will we still have tests and trials? Absolutely! Just read 2 Timothy 3:12! But look back at verse 11 and see that God WILL deliver you out of them all! In Psalm 42 we see the Psalmist speaking to himself and speaking to God. He mentions a worry or fearful thought, then reminds himself of what God has done and Who He is! The Psalm ends with this in verse 11:

¹¹Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Remind yourself of Who God is and who YOU are in Him whenever you are faced with tough situations! Encourage YOURSELF in the Lord and keep your joy stirred up! Remember that the joy of the Lord IS your strength! (Nehemiah 8:10)

In Acts we see Paul and Barnabas preaching the Gospel and ministering in the area of present day Turkey. The Holy Spirit is continuing to work through them, confirming the Word preached with signs, wonders and miracles! Verse 3:

³So [Paul and Barnabas] stayed on there for a long time, speaking freely and fearlessly and boldly in the Lord, Who continued to bear testimony to the Word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be performed by their hands.

They continued to preach and people were saved. The devil continued to harass them by working through people to come against them, but nothing can stop the Gospel from accomplishing what it is meant to accomplish when God's people are bold to preach it! Notice in verse 26-27 how they returned to the church that had sent them out with the glory report of all that God had done!

²⁶And from there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had [first] been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had [now] completed.

²⁷Arriving there, they gathered the church together and declared all that God had accomplished with them and how He had opened to the Gentiles a door of faith [in Jesus as the Messiah, through Whom we obtain salvation in the kingdom of God].

That's what we are supposed to be doing as believers! Sharing the Gospel when we're in the world, and then returning to Church to get built back up and share the Good News of all that God is doing to encourage your brothers and sisters in Jesus to do the same! I LOVE my church!

In Genesis Joseph is just getting ready to reveal who he is to his brothers! He has taken a lot of trouble to set things up, but still hasn't let on who he is! I don't know exactly why he's being so elaborate about it, but stay tuned tomorrow! The Word of God is SO interesting! I never get bored with it. I learn something new every day! I hope you do, too!

Shalom in Him!