Psalm 86:5 Is a very good and accurate description of our God!
5For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our trespasses, sending them away, letting them go completely and forever]; and You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness to all those who call upon You.
He IS "good", the Hebrew word, towb", that we have looked at several times and means: good, pleasant, excellent, rich, valuable in estimation, better, prosperous, of good understanding, bountiful! That IS our God! Then verses 11-13 should be OUR attitude towards HIM!
11Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite my heart [solely, reverently] to fear and honor Your name.
12I will confess and praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole (united) heart; and I will glorify Your name forevermore.
We should be single-minded in our all-out worship of Him and pursuit of His presence! Our lives will be glorious to others when we do!
Romans 14 is all about caring for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Those who haven't grown in the Word yet may not, and probably cannot, at this time, understand all of the promises that you and I have come to realize and enjoy. The message of the chapter is to be a blessing and not a stumbling block to those people. It doesn't take away from our freedom in Him to be aware of what may offend some when we are in their presence. Just remember that all of the rest of your time is your own! The whole of this chapter is summed up in verse 19:
19So let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another.
When we pursue that, God is well pleased and we won't lack for opportunities to enjoy our freedom in Him! AMEN!
In Numbers 15-16 we see yet another example of the people forgetting what they have heard and seen of God's protection, provision and safety from the time they left Egypt. To challenge Moses and Aaron after all that they have seen is idiotic, to say the least! It would be almost impossible to believe that people could actually think like this if we weren't seeing the exact behavior right now in this nation! What's to be learned here? Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, ,mind and strength, love your fellow believer as you do yourself, love the world enough to get the Good News to them at all cost, and don't EVER forget all that God has done for YOU! That will keep you in continual fellowship with Him and keep you from making a fool of YOURSELF like they did! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
