Shalom,

Psalm 59 is:

Of David, a record of memorable thoughts when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

This is another Psalm where David speaks out what the enemy is trying to do to him, but then he encourages himself in the Lord by speaking out what God will do, Who He is and praising Him! We see this in verses 8-10:

⁸But You, O Lord, will laugh at them [in scorn]; You will hold all the nations in derision

⁹O my Strength, I will watch and give heed to You and sing praises; for God is my Defense (my Protector and High Tower). 10

My God in His mercy and steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look [triumphantly] on my enemies (those who lie in wait for me).

And then again in verses 16-17 David sings the praises of God:

¹⁶But I will sing of Your mighty strength and power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning; for You have been to me a defense (a fortress and a high tower) and a refuge in the day of my distress.

¹⁷Unto You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my Defense, my Fortress, and High Tower, the God Who shows me mercy and steadfast love.

We can definitely learn from David how to handle adversity, tests, trials and tribulations! Doing this will make US people "after God's own heart"!

In Mark 3 we see Jesus continuing to set people free and the Pharisees continuing to try to catch Him doing something unlawful. Can't you just picture these men in their long robes lurking around the edge of the crowd or hiding behind a corner of a the building looking for something they could say: "gotcha" about? It would be comical if it wasn't so sad! These are the very ones who should have been looking for the Messiah and should have recognized Him when He came because of what the Word said about Him! They should have been leading the people TO Jesus and learning from Him themselves! Instead, out of jealousy and embarrassment, they kept trying to trip Him up.

Next we see that His family members weren't convinced about Who He was yet, either! Here is verse 21:

²¹And when those who belonged to Him (His kinsmen) heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind (beside Himself, deranged)!

And in verses 31-35 we see what Jesus thought about all of this:

³¹Then His mother and His brothers came and, standing outside, they sent word to Him, calling [for] Him.

³²And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside asking for You.

³³And He replied, Who are My mother and My brothers?

³⁴And looking around on those who sat in a circle about Him, He said, See! Here are My mother and My brothers;

³⁵For whoever does the things God wills is My brother and sister and mother!

I want to make sure that I am doing the will of God daily so that I can have confidence of who I am in Him!

In Exodus 27-28 we see the extremely precise instructions that Moses received from God for the building of the Tabernacle, including every utensil they would need for carrying out the sacrifices and worship. Make sure that you read over every word! Then the next time you are even tempted to think God may be "hit or miss" in his dealing with you, think again! We serve a very precise, accurate, organized, generous, loving, mighty and powerful God Who has a very definite plan for our lives! The "hit and miss" stuff is our own doing when we are not diligent and consistent in the Word, in prayer, in praise and worship, in fellowship with like-minded believers, or even in the natural things in our lives. It is NEVER God! He even instructed them on the pans for the ashes from the burnt offerings! He made sure that the garments of the High Priests had bells on them that would give off sound when he moved around within the Holy of Holies. It is said that they had a rope tied around them so that if they died while in there, they could be pulled out, because no one else would be allowed in. Like I said, EVERY detail! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 58 is very interesting! It doesn't appear to be very positive at first glance! If you look at different translations, though, it will become more clear. Look at verses 1-2 from the Amplified Bible:

¹DO YOU indeed in silence speak righteousness, O you mighty ones? [Or is the righteousness, rightness, and justice you should speak quite dumb?] Do you judge fairly and uprightly, O you sons of men?

²No, in your heart you devise wickedness; you deal out in the land the violence of your hands.

Now let's look at the Complete Jewish Bible:

Ps 58:2-3

1 [Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice?

Are you judging people fairly?

2 [No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs,

your hands dispense violence in the land.

We can see here that David is talking to and about the rulers of the land! Doesn't that make a little more sense? Now for some real fun! Let's look at the same 2 verses from the Message Bible:

^1-2 Is this any way to run a country? Is there an honest politician in the house?
Behind the scenes you brew cauldrons of evil,
behind closed doors you make deals with demons.

Sounds a little like today, don't you think? Now let's look at verses 3-5 from the Amplified Bible:

³The ungodly are perverse and estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

⁴Their poison is like the venom of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder or asp that stops its ear,

⁵Which listens not to the voice of charmers or of the enchanter never casting spells so cunningly.

These are a little easier to understand, especially because we see more clearly what the first 2 verses are saying. Now let's look again at the Message Bible for verses 3-5:

^3-5 The wicked crawl from the wrong side of the cradle;
their first words out of the womb are lies.
Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison,
drips from their forked tongues—
Deaf to threats, deaf to charm,
decades of wax built up in their ears.

That certainly sounds like some politicians we know! Verses 6-8 result from the righteous anger that rose up in David over these unjust judges that were causing the innocent to suffer and helpless people to be abused. David's words may seem a little harsh here, but remember that he is calling on God to avenge the innocent. The precedence for this is found in Deuteronomy 32:35, Hebrews 10:30 and Romans 10:19. Romans 12:19 says:

¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God's] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.

We see the results of God vindicating the righteous in verse 11:

¹¹Men will say, Surely there is a reward for the [uncompromisingly] righteous; surely there is a God Who judges on the earth.

Then again from the Message Bible:

Everyone cheering, "It's worth it to play by the rules!
God's handing out trophies and tending the earth!"

Isn't it fun to really study the Word of God? I love the way the Word ALWAYS pertains to today! Sometimes it seems as though it was written just for our time! Thank You, Lord, for Your Word!

In Mark 2 we see that so many people had already heard of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and were coming to see and hear Him that you couldn't get close! The people had needs and wanted them met! One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is found here. The story is about the paralytic whose friends were so desperate to see him delivered that, when they couldn't even get close, went up on the roof, dug a whole in it and lowered their friend down in front of Jesus! Do YOU have such good and faithful friends that would risk their reputation and possibly their lives to see to it that you were ministered to? Are YOU such a friend? Would you risk everything to make sure that all of your family and friends know the Way to Salvation? We all need to BE that person! AMEN! What were the results of their love and persistence? Let's look at verses 5 & 11-12:

⁵And when Jesus saw their faith [their confidence in God through Him], He said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven [you] and put away [that is, the penalty is remitted, the sense of guilt removed, and you are made upright and in right standing with God].

¹¹I say to you, arise, pick up and carry your sleeping pad or mat, and be going on home.¹²And he arose at once and picked up the sleeping pad or mat and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and recognized and praised and thanked God, saying, We have never seen anything like this before!

And remember that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)

In Exodus 25 we see the Lord instructing Moses to take an offering of the people. Remember all of the spoils that the Israelites took from the Egyptians? We said that they would need some of these things for the building of the Tabernacle! Let's look at verses 1-8:

¹AND THE Lord said to Moses,

²Speak to the Israelites, that they take for Me an offering. From every man who gives it willingly and ungrudgingly with his heart you shall take My offering.

³This is the offering you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,

⁴Blue, purple, and scarlet [stuff] and fine twined linen and goats' hair,

⁵Rams' skins tanned red, goatskins, dolphin or porpoise skins, acacia wood,

⁶Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil and for sweet incense,

⁷Onyx stones, and stones for setting in the ephod and in the breastplate.

⁸Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.

I found out something very interesting in my study this time! The King James Bible says "badger skins" in verse 5. The Amplified Bible says "goatskins, dolphin or porpoise skins". When I did a little study on this from the "Theological Workbook of the Old Testament", I found this:

OT:8476

Since the badger is rarely if ever seen in Sinai, and since Arabic

tu-as

"dolphin, " seems to be cognate to Hebrew

taµaš

, most recent commentators translate the Hebrew word as "dolphin, porpoise, dugong" or the like (RSV "goat, " though not impossible, lacks cognate language support, as does KJV "badger"). The bottle-nosed dolphin (

Tursiops runcatus

) is found in the eastern Mediterranean, while the dugong (

Dugong dugong

) is plentiful in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba; the skin of the latter is still used by Bedouin to make sandals (see Fauna and Flora of the Bible, United Bible Societies, p. 22). If (as seems likely) the

taµaš

was the outermost protective covering of the tabernacle (see especially Num 4:25), the skin of a marine animal like the dolphin or dugong would have been eminently suitable, both for its toughness and for its waterproofing properties.

The dugong is similar to a manatee. Doesn't that make so much sense? Isn't it fun what a little study will dig up? I love it! The rest of Exodus 25-26 shows the instructions given to Moses for the precise building of the Tabernacle. It is very interesting to see how every detail is given. Our God is in the details! I am so glad He is! That gives me added confidence that He has thought of everything! AMEN! Keep reading with that in mind and it will be very hard to be bored!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today we read Psalm 57. This Psalm was a "record of memorable thoughts of David when he fled from Saul in the cave". We see here how David looked at adversity and how very much he depended on God to deliver him always! Verses 1-3 show his confidence:

¹BE MERCIFUL and gracious to me, O God, be merciful and gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed.

²I will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me [Who brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them]!

³He will send from heaven and save me from the slanders and reproaches of him who would trample me down or swallow me up, and He will put him to shame. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! God will send forth His mercy and loving-kindness and His truth and faithfulness.

Verse 4 & 6 tell of the works of the enemy, but verses 7 & 8 tell what David plans to do to thwart the attacks of the enemy:

⁷My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident! I will sing and make melody.

⁸Awake, my glory (my inner self); awake, harp and lyre! I will awake right early [I will awaken the dawn]!

He says here that his "heart", the Hebrew word, "leb", which means: the inner man, the combination of the spirit and the soul, which is the mind, emotions and will, is "fixed", the Hebrew word, "kuwn", which means: to be steadfast, to be directed aright, to be firmly established, to be securely determined. He says he will sing and make melody, which means to give praise. Then he says he will "awake", the Hebrew word, "`uwr", which means: to stir up, to incite, to arouse, to be excited, to be triumphant, early! The Bible Exposition Commentary (OT) says: "David praised the Lord all day long, but he opened the day with special praise and even anticipated the sunrise. Instead of the dawn awakening him, his voice awakened the dawn". That's what we should be doing! Starting the day early and in the right way, with praise and thanksgiving. Then put the enemy on notice that you're awake and aware and use your God-given authority over him from the start! Now go about your day as a warrior for Christ, an ambassador of Heaven, a living Epistle and a minister of Life! AMEN!

In Exodus we continue with the Law and Moses going up into the presence of God.

In the New Testament we begin the Gospel of Mark today. This Gospel emphasizes what Jesus did, rather than what He taught (it records 18 of the miracles of Jesus, but only 4 of His parables). This Gospel gives us a feeling of the action that was involved with Jesus' ministry. Allow the Holy Spirit to show you supernaturally how things would have looked and sounded. Meditate on being there and experiencing the things you read here. If you do that, you will get more out of your study of Mark than you ever have before! Look at verse 6:

⁶And John wore clothing woven of camel's hair and had a leather girdle around his loins and ate locusts and wild honey.

Can you picture John? Do you see the camel hair clothes with a leather belt? Can you imagine eating honey (sweet!) and locusts (yuck!). Notice the word "immediately" used many times. Can you picture this in verses 22 & 27:

²²And they were completely astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching as One Who possessed authority, and not as the scribes.

²⁷And they were all so amazed and almost terrified that they kept questioning and demanding one of another, saying, What is this? What new (fresh) teaching! With authority He gives orders even to the unclean spirits and they obey Him!

What would people look and sound like who were "astonished" and "amazed"? That kind of meditation will make the Word of God really come alive and be real to you! Try it! You'll LOVE it! Guaranteed!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 56 shows how David handled tests and trials. This Psalm is a record of his thoughts and feelings when he was seized by the Philistines. He faces the very real "facts" of his situation in verses 1-2 and 5-7:

¹BE MERCIFUL and gracious to me, O God, for man would trample me or devour me; all the day long the adversary oppresses me.

²They that lie in wait for me would swallow me up or trample me all day long, for they are many who fight against me, O Most High!

⁵All day long they twist my words and trouble my affairs; all their thoughts are against me for evil and my hurt.

⁶They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they watch my steps, even as they have [expectantly] waited for my life.

⁷They think to escape with iniquity, and shall they? In Your indignation bring down the peoples, O God.

But then he reminds himself of the "Truth" of God's Word and His promises and remembers the times that God has delivered him before in verses 8-13:

⁸You number and record my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle--are they not in Your book?

⁹Then shall my enemies turn back in the day that I cry out; this I know, for God is for me.

¹⁰In God, Whose word I praise, in the Lord, Whose word I praise,

¹¹In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

¹²Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render praise to You and give You thank offerings.

¹³For You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life and of the living.

Verses 3-4 show what our mind set should be:

³What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.

⁴By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?

This is what we should pray and believe and then stand strong in faith, trust and confidence that the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible WILL come through for us EVERY time we trust in Him! Remember that He is rarely early but NEVER late! AMEN!

I have really been blessed going daily through the Acts of the Holy Spirit this time. I have learned something new or in a new way every day! The "new thing" I learned or actually just realized today was that even though it was prophesied over Paul what would happen to him if he went to Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-14):

¹⁰While we were remaining there for some time, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹And coming to [see] us, he took Paul's belt and with it bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit: The Jews at Jerusalem shall bind like this the man who owns this belt, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles (heathen).

¹²When we heard this, both we and the residents of that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul replied, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart like this? For I hold myself in readiness not only to be arrested and bound and imprisoned at Jerusalem, but also [even] to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁴And when he would not yield to [our] persuading, we stopped [urging and imploring him], saying, The Lord's will be done!

....and these things DID happen. That IS how Paul happened to be on the ship headed for Rome. Then he was shipwrecked on the Island of Malta. He spent the three months here preaching the Gospel and healing the sick. When he finally gets to Rome he is able to stay with his guard and not in prison. He ministers the Gospel to the Jews in Rome where some believe and some do not. Then he declares that he will take the Gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 28:28:

²⁸So let it be understood by you then that [this message of] the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen [to it]!

And then we see this in verses 30-31:

³⁰After this Paul lived there for two entire years [at his own expense] in his own rented lodging, and he welcomed all who came to him,

³¹Preaching to them the kingdom of God and teaching them about the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and quite openly, and without being molested or hindered.

I was amazed to realize that even though Paul WAS put in chains and was in custody on his travels, he always had the opportunity to minister the Gospel. Then when he finally makes it to Rome, he spends 2 years in his own home preaching and teaching without interference! How many "prisoners" do you know that live in their own house and go about their business? I felt the same way about this that I felt when I realized that the entire book of Job took place over a 9 month period! How very much there is for us to learn in the Word of God if we just dig in!

In Exodus we see Moses receiving the Law from the Lord. Notice how orderly and very plain things are laid out here. If our court systems would get back to the basics of the Word of God and enforce the laws, we would most certainly see far less crime than we do now. Where the standards and boundaries are allowed to become "cloudy", the people lose restraint and respect for themselves and others. God's plan is and has always been the very best plan for mankind! Continue reading these things in Exodus with that in mind and you won't find it boring at all! You will have more insight in what to look for in an elected leader and also a greater appreciation for the fact that we are no longer under the Law, but under grace in our personal lives! What a blessing to have the Holy Spirit living IN us and the Word of God to instruct us! AMEN!!!

Shalom in in Him!

Shalom,

Many of David's Psalms were written in times of great trouble. They give us the example of what he did to encourage himself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6). Two key verses here are verse 16:

¹⁶As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me.

And verse 22:

²²Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).

Those are promises of God to believers in Jesus of Nazareth! Use them to encourage YOURSELF in the things of God when the going gets tougher for YOU!

In Acts 27:3 we see the centurion, Julius, treating Paul well:

³The following day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul in a loving way, with much consideration (kindness and care), permitting him to go to his friends [there] and be refreshed and be cared for.

I believe this good seed that he planted in walking in Love with Paul was what kept him safe later on! I also believe that if he would have listened to Paul in verses 9-11, they may never have had the weather problems they ended up having:

⁹But as [the season was well advanced, for] much time had been lost and navigation was already dangerous, for the time for the Fast [the Day of Atonement, about the beginning of October] had already gone by, Paul warned and advised them,

¹⁰Saying, Sirs, I perceive [after careful observation] that this voyage will be attended with disaster and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but of our lives also.

¹¹However, the centurion paid greater attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.

Again Paul hears from the Lord and relays a message for them from the Lord in verses 22-24:

²²But [even] now I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the ship.

²³For this [very] night there stood by my side an angel of the God to Whom I belong and Whom I serve and worship,

²⁴And he said, Do not be frightened, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you all those who are sailing with you.

Is that what happened? Let's look ate verse 44:

⁴⁴And the rest on heavy boards or pieces of the vessel. And so it was that all escaped safely to land.

He IS faithful Who has promised! AMEN!

I LOVE the promise to Israel found in Exodus 19:5-6:

⁵Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.

⁶And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites.

Remember, as you continue to read about the Israelites in Exodus, that everything the Lord requires them to do is so that He can continue to bless them! That has always been His plan and always will be! See this in 3John2:

²Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.

He is the SAME yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)! With Him is no shadow of turning! (James 1:17). The promises of God are ALL "YES" in Him and we say AMEN (2 Corinthians 1:20)!!!

Get to know the Word of God and you can have that awesome confidence that he WILL deliver you - ALWAYS!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

In Psalm 54 we see David crying out to God in a time of trouble, one of the many he had while Saul was after him to kill him. My favorite verse is verse 7:

⁷For He has delivered me out of every trouble, and my eye has looked [in triumph] on my enemies.

Remind yourself daily that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) and since He delivered David, He WILL deliver you out of every trial and test IF you stand on His Word and trust Him as David did!

In Acts 26 we see Paul giving his defense before King Agrippa. Have you noticed the way that Paul uses every opportunity to get the Gospel to the people? We are told to do this 1 Peter 3:15:

¹⁵But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully

And we are also promised this in Luke 12:11-12:

¹¹And when they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be anxious [beforehand] how you shall reply in defense or what you are to say.

¹²For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour and moment what [you] ought to say.

I LOVE how the Holy Spirit uses these situations to reach people in unique ways!

Exodus 17 shows the Israelites complaining again. This time it's for water. They rail on Moses, Moses goes before the Lord, the Lord tells Moses what to do, Moses obeys God and the people are blessed with water. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see the people go to Moses and ask "How will our God provide the water this time", instead of "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us"? Did they really think that God went through all that happened to this point just to let them die here? They aren't really thinking things through. They are just reacting. Let's remind ourselves daily of His past provision, so that we don't become forgetful complainers, but remain expectant praisers!

Then we see God delivering them from the Amalekites and Moses declaring this in verse 15:

¹⁵And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord is my Banner;

The Lord is my Banner is actually one of His Names: Jehovah Nissi! That means that He is flying His flag of ownership over us! We belong to Him and He WILL protect and provide! Thank You, Lord!

In Exodus 18 we see Moses receiving and acting on great, Godly advice from his father-in-law, Jethro. Wise counselors are a tremendous blessing! Use them!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I love Psalm 53:1!

¹THE [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt and evil are they, and doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

You just can't say it any clearer than that! Some people like to think that mankind is basically good. The Bible says otherwise! Look at Romans 3:23:

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

Then back to Psalm 53:6:

⁶Oh, that the salvation and deliverance of Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of His people, then will Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

And HE has! John 3:16:

¹⁶For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

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:

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.

In Acts 25 we see Paul being asked by Festus, as a favor to the religious Jewish leaders, to go back to Jerusalem to stand trial. Rather than go there to face bogus charges, Paul appeals to Caesar and will soon be on his way to Rome! In case you were under the impression that everyone at that time knew about Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, take a look at verse 19:

¹⁹Instead they had some points of controversy with him about their own religion or superstition and concerning one Jesus, Who had died but Whom Paul kept asserting [over and over] to be alive.

It's important to keep preaching the Good News of the Gospel! Some people, even though they've heard, have never really listened! Tell them again! AMEN!

In Exodus 15:1-2 we have Moses and the Israelites singing a victory song:

¹THEN MOSES and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider or its chariot has He thrown into the sea.

²The Lord is my Strength and my Song, and He has become my Salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him.

I LOVE that song! Then we see the beginning of a pattern that keeps repeating itself throughout their time in the wilderness. A problem will pop up, the people will complain to Moses, Moses will turn to God, God will deliver the people, the people will rejoice UNTIL the next problem! Over and over and over! How long does it take YOU to learn to trust the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible? Let's learn by their mistakes! God ALWAYS provides for His people! He provided manna in the wilderness! Remember this Scripture in Psalm 37:25:

²⁵I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.

God is GOOD - All the time! Give Him all the praise and honor and glory for every good thing in your life! He deserves it!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We'll have a short blog for now and I'll add more later. First we'll look at Psalm 52:8-9:

⁸But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in and confidently rely on the loving-kindness and the mercy of God forever and ever.

⁹I will thank You and confide in You forever, because You have done it [delivered me and kept me safe]. I will wait on, hope in and expect in Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your saints (Your kind and pious ones).

Do YOU see YOURSELF as a "green olive tree" in the house of God? You should! An olive tree is a valuable asset to the owner of it! And a "green" one, the Hebrew word, "ra`anan", which means: to grow fresh and luxuriant, to be prosperous and flourishing! We really do want to be growing every day in the things of God! And we certainly want to be flourishing and prosperous! I learned at the Spoken Word Church today that it is my responsibility to prosper so that I can help meet the needs of others and so that my life will reflect the abundant provision of my generous Lord! Then we see that the psalmist "trusted", the Hebrew word, "batah", which means: to have confidence in, to be secure and to be bold in the "mercy", the Hebrew word, "checed", which means: goodness, kindness, faithfulness and favour of our God! Verse 9 begins, in the KJV, with "I will praise Thee" the Hebrew word, "yadah", which means: to confess, to give thanks, to laud, to praise, Thee, "forever" the Hebrew word, `olam, which means: continuous existence, perpetual, everlasting, unending, eternity because you have done it! What has He done? What David needed Him to do - deliver him from those who came against him!

In Acts 24 we see Paul, who has been delivered from the murderous intent of those who had vowed to kill him, facing his accusers again. They argue against Paul, but, having no real evidence against him, things are postponed again. Paul will spend the next two years as a prisoner in chains. What a blessing that time was to us! Paul wrote many of his writings while imprisoned and those are Words we stand on in faith today! AMEN!

In Exodus 13-14 we see the Lord giving Moses instructions on how He wants them to remember His deliverance from Egypt. We see them protected by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. We also see that Moses has brought the bones of Joseph, as Joseph had instructed his brothers (Genesis 50:17). Then the Lord warns Moses that Pharaoh has STILL not had enough! The Egyptians will come after them , but God WILL deliver them! Then we see something that will continue to happen over and over again as Moses tries to lead the people according to God's instructions! Exodus 14:11-12:

¹¹And they said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way and brought us out of Egypt?

¹²Did we not tell you in Egypt, Let us alone; let us serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

These people have seen great miracles, and are about to see the greatest they have ever seen, but they will NOT remember these things when the going gets a little tough! How does God deliver them? As they approach the Red Sea, with God's pillar of cloud protecting them from Pharaoh's armies, Moses lifts his hands over the water and the Lord divides the sea! The water is like a wall on each side and the children of Israel move through on dry land. As soon as they are through Pharaoh's armies continue to pursue them! After the miracle they just witnessed they still did not turn their hearts toward God! When they entered the sea and Moses stretched his hands over the water, the Lord brought the water back down and over the entire Egyptian army! Verse 31 is a wonderful verse:

³¹And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people [reverently] feared the Lord and trusted in (relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord and to His servant Moses.

If only they could have remembered that, it would have saved them countless troubles later on! Keep reading!

Shalom in Him!