Shalom,

Psalm 150 is the best possible way to end the Psalms! The Word "praise" is used 13 times in this Psalm and 10 of those times we are commanded to "Praise him"! The word "praise" here is the Hebrew word that we have looked at several times, "halal", which means: to shine, to flash forth light, to praise, to boast, to glory, to act like a madman, to be clamorously foolish! To me that says that praise can be heard and seen and it is a loud and boisterous testimony to the greatness of our wonderful God! In verse 1 we are told to:

¹PRAISE THE Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!

His "sanctuary" is the Hebrew word, "qodesh", which we have also talked about before. It means: sacred place or thing, holiness, set-apartness. It is the same word translated "holy" and "holiness" many, many times throughout the Old Testament! That's not talking about praising God in church, although that can be included. It's really talking about giving Him the praise that is due Him because of, and in light of, His extreme holiness! His total set-apartness from the world and the world's ways of thinking, speaking and acting!

Verse 2 says that we should praise Him for what He has done AND for Who He is! Verses 3-5 tell us HOW to praise - with singing, dancing and instruments! Verse 6 says:

⁶Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

That includes EVERYONE! If you are breathing, then you are commanded to be praising the Lord! DO IT!

John 10:9-10 says:

⁹I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture.¹⁰The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

First of all Jesus is telling everyone who will listen that He is the only "door", Hebrew "thura", which means: door, gate, entrance, to be "saved", the Hebrew word, "sozo", which means: to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, make whole, do well. It includes being born again, but SO MUCH MORE!!! Verse 10 tells us more! He came to give us 'life", Hebrew "zoe", which means: the absolute fullness of life which belongs to God! He came for the very purpose of giving everyone who WILL receive the very same life that is IN HIM! That is: life, in abundance, to the full, till it overflows! I think we should praise Him all over again for THIS! AMEN! GLORY TO GOD! HALLELUJAH! Then we have verses 15-16:

¹⁵Even as [truly as] the Father knows Me and I also know the Father--and I am giving My [very own] life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep.¹⁶And I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring and impel those also; and they will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be [they will become] one flock under one Shepherd.

WE are the "other sheep"! We are the ones "grafted in"! (Romans 11:17-24) But He has NOT given up on the original flock! God has imminent plans for the nation of Israel and the world will watch and see that God IS God over Israel! AMEN!

In 1 Samuel 26:8-11 we see that David has another opportunity to kill Saul, but chooses not to touch "God's anointed". (Check out 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15) David is honoring God's Word and putting his trust in the Lord to vindicate and protect him. But all of this running for his life has taken a toll on David and in 1 Samuel 27 we see him begin to lose heart and enter into doubt and unbelief, relying on underhanded tactics to try and protect himself from Saul. Some of the more desperate sounding of the Psalms came from this particular time. David always repents, though, and gets himself back in right fellowship with the Lord, trusting in Him again! Stay tuned!

Shalom in him!

Shalom,

You could use Psalm 149 as a manual on praise and worship! We are told to praise the Lord, to sing "a new song" (in other tongues OR your known language), to rejoice, to praise Him by dancing before Him, to praise Him with musical instruments, and any other way the Holy Spirit leads you to offer your own personal worship to him! I especially like verses 5-6:

⁵Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds. ⁶Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands,

We are to be filled with joy in His presence! We are told to "sing for joy" upon our beds! Do you do that? The first thing I do when I wake up, after shutting off the alarm clock, is to sing my own personal song to Him! Start you day off right with praise and worship and your days will become so much more full and rewarding!

John 9 records Jesus healing again! He heals the man born blind! I LOVE the way this man answered the critics of Jesus after he was healed by Him! Verses 24-34:

²⁴So the second time they summoned the man who had been born blind, and said to him, Now give God the glory (praise). This Fellow we know is only a sinner (a wicked person).

²⁵Then he answered, I do not know whether He is a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see.

²⁶So they said to him, What did He [actually] do to you? How did He open your eyes?

²⁷He answered, I already told you and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Can it be that you wish to become His disciples also?

²⁸And they stormed at him [they jeered, they sneered, they reviled him] and retorted, You are His disciple yourself, but we are the disciples of Moses.²⁹We know for certain that God spoke with Moses, but as for this Fellow, we know nothing about where He hails from.

³⁰The man replied, Well, this is astonishing! Here a Man has opened my eyes, and yet you do not know where He comes from. [That is amazing!]³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and a worshiper of Him and does His will, He listens to him.³²Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.³³If this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything like this.

A man born blind had been healed for the first time and all they could think about was what day of the week He had done this amazing miracle! Now THAT'S a few hard hearts!

In 1 Samuel 24-25 we find that David had passed up another opportunity to kill Saul! He would not so much as touch the anointed of God! Then in chapter 25 we read about Samuel's death and a very dumb Nabal! He spurns David and his men. BIG MISTAKE! David ends up with the food supplies he had asked for AND a new wife! AMEN! It PAYS to do things God's way. Thank You, Lord Jesus!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

If every command to praise the Lord found in Psalm 148 was actually obeyed, the entire Earth would be filled with the sound! Wouldn't that be a glorious thing to hear?! Every created being and thing is commanded to praise Him, even the weather! (Verse 8) But the most important to US is found in verses 11-13:

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers and judges of the earth!¹²Both young men and maidens, old men and children!¹³Let them praise and exalt the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted and supreme! His glory and majesty are above earth and heaven!

So let's DO IT!

John 8:3-4 says :

³When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle of the court and put the case before Him.⁴Teacher, they said, This woman has been caught in the very act of adultery.

Most people want to know what Jesus was writing on the ground. I want to know, since this woman was caught in the very act of adultery, where was the man she was with? Their only motive in all of this was to try to trip up Jesus! I always love it when Jesus leaves His attackers speechless! Count on the Holy Spirit within you to give YOU that kind of response when people come out against you!

Verse 31-32:

³¹So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.³²And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.

You will "know", the Greek word "ginooskoo", which means: to learn to know, to come to know, to perceive, to understand. The Truth , the Word (John 17:17), that you know will set you free and then, IF you continue in the Word with the same tenacity, it will KEEP you free! Get to know the Word!

Then Jesus' declaration of who He IS is found in verse 58:

⁵⁸Jesus replied, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM.

AMEN!

In 1 Samuel 22 we see the results of Doeg observing David's interaction with the priest. Saul was so insane with jealousy over David that he couldn't think straight! Don't allow yourself to hold grudges against anyone! Catch those thoughts and feelings BEFORE they become an issue for you! Acting on some of these things can cost YOU your life! Practice praise instead!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 147 is a great Psalm, especially for the people of Israel! Verse 2 says:

²The Lord is building up Jerusalem; He is gathering together the exiles of Israel.

He has indeed been doing that! Jewish people from areas all over the world have been returning to Israel since they became a nation again in 1948! God is SO faithful! Then verses 12-14:

¹²Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!¹³For He has strengthened and made hard the bars of your gates, and He has blessed your children within you.¹⁴He makes peace in your borders; He fills you with the finest of the wheat.

What great promises! And then in verse 20:

²⁰He has not dealt so with any [other] nation; they have not known (understood, appreciated, given heed to, and cherished) His ordinances. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Don't ever let anyone tell you that God is done with Israel! He has only just begun to fulfill all that He has promised to do for them in these last days! What a glorious song/psalm! AMEN!

John 7:5 says:

⁵For [even] His brothers did not believe in or adhere to or trust in or rely on Him either.

How could the brothers of Jesus not believe in Him? They grew up with Him and you would think when you lived with someone who never sinned, you would begin to see that there was something different about Him! When He began His ministry with the miracles and healings what did they think? There is probably a key to that in verse 17:

¹⁷If any man desires to do His will (God's pleasure), he will know (have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself) whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My own accord and on My own authority.

The Wuest Translation says:

17 If anyone is desiring to be doing His will, he shall know experientially concerning the teaching, whether it is out of God as a source or whether I am speaking from myself as a source.

That tells me that if someone is genuinely seeking God and wanting to serve Him, they will KNOW the Truth about Jesus when they hear it!

Reading 1 Samuel 20-21 again reminds me of watching a favorite movie that you wish would play out in a different way this time! Jonathan is such a loyal and trusted friend, you wish you didn't already know what would happen to him shortly! Then there is Ahimelech whom David goes to see. When you read that Doeg, the Edomite, is lurking around, you just KNOW that no good will come out of that! (stay tuned, it's coming up!) Can you just imagine this played out as a movie? Just remember that these things are ALL written for our benefit. We can learn by observing the mistakes of others (wisdom) or we can ignore the warning and have to learn things the hard way - experience! I LOVE the Word of God!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 146 is all about praising the Lord again! Use the Psalms to praise Him until you get comfortable with praise, then let the Holy Spirit give you new songs and ways to praise Him! Praise is GOOD for you and HE deserves it! AMEN!

In John 6, after Jesus fed the multitude by multiplying the loaves and fish, we see THIS happening:

¹⁵Then Jesus, knowing that they meant to come and seize Him that they might make Him king, withdrew again to the hillside by Himself alone.¹⁶When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,¹⁷And they took a boat and were going across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and still Jesus had not [yet] come back to them.¹⁸Meanwhile, the sea was getting rough and rising high because of a great and violent wind that was blowing.¹⁹[However] when they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat. And they were afraid (terrified).²⁰But Jesus said to them, It is I; be not afraid! [I AM; stop being frightened!]²¹Then they were quite willing and glad for Him to come into the boat. And now the boat went at once to the land they had steered toward.

Jesus came to the disciples walking on the water. The disciples were terrified until they heard Jesus identify Himself to them. Many people miss the next amazing thing that happened! Look again at verse 21 (I left out the last part above):

²¹Then they were quite willing and glad for Him to come into the boat. And now the boat went at once to the land they had steered toward. [And immediately they reached the shore toward which they had been slowly making their way.]

They went "at once" to the other side! The KJV says this:

²¹Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. To go "immediately" across from wherever they were is another sign and wonder! Wouldn't you LOVE to have a vehicle that could get you somewhere "immediately"? I know I would! I've heard that in Heaven we will move at the speed of thought. Now I can get excited about that!

Then we see Jesus explaining some things about Himself that the people have a hard time accepting. Even some of His disciples began murmuring about Him and the things He was teaching. Then we see this in verse 66:

⁶⁶After this, many of His disciples drew back (returned to their old associations) and no longer accompanied Him.

Remember that Jesus said He had not come to bring peace, but a sword! (Matthew 10:34) We have found that the WORD divides and separates! Those who want to go on with God and choose to get into His Word will see that Word come alive to them, while unbelievers and unbelieving believers will have a harder and harder time understanding anything from the Word! Don't give up, don't give in! The understanding WILL come if you stick with it!

We said that it was not going to be easy for King David! He excels in everything he does! The more successful David becomes, the more Saul tries to take him out! There was so much jealousy in Saul over David! But God gave David a very special friend in Jonathan! 1 Samuel 18:1:

¹WHEN DAVID had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own life.

Are you "knit together" with other believers? You should allow the Holy Spirit to bring godly people into your life that you can trust. They are truly priceless! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 145 is a perfect psalm for reminding us that the our God is worthy of all praise and honor and glory! Verses 1-2:

¹I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.²Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Are YOU praising Him every day and all day long? I find that the days I have the most pressure are usually days when I have been too hurried to take the time right away to praise Him and be grateful and thankful for Who He is and who I am because of Him! Check yourself daily and I'm sure you will find yourself more joyful and an easier person for others to be around! Verses 3-6:

³Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.⁴One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.⁵I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.⁶And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

His greatness being unsearchable doesn't mean we shouldn't seek daily to know Him more, it simply means that our limited human souls can't take in the magnitude of His greatness! Remember that He created everything that IS and the universe that He created is ever expanding! That is only one part of all that He has done! It sure is fun getting to know Him! The we need to speak of Him, first of all, to our families and those that we are responsible for. then we are told to make known His greatness to everyone! In fact, verse 7 says:

⁷They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

To "abundantly utter" is the Hebrew word, "naba`", which means: to to flow, to pour forth, to spring, to bubble up, to gush forth! Our praise of Him should be like a gusher flowing out to those who need to hear! AMEN! Then verse 8-9:

⁸The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.⁹The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

He is a GOOD God and all that He commands us to do in His Word is to get us in position to be blessed so that we can continue to BE a blessing to others!

In John 5 we see Jesus healing the man who had been waiting by the Pool of Bethesda for someone to help him into the pool to be healed. Jesus healed Him with a Word! No one had ever before seen the healings and miracles that Jesus performed. Wouldn't you expect them to be excited and appreciate Him? Many were not! It isn't any different now! People may hear of miraculous things happening by the hands of God's people and SOME will come to be a part of it. Others will try with all their might to discredit what is happening. Why? Only God knows what goes on in a person's heart, but expect it to happen and don't be discouraged when it does. You're in GOOD company!

In 1 Samuel 16-17 we see Samuel instructed of the Lord to anoint a new king. Even Samuel was surprised that God picked David! Notice 1 Samuel 16:6-7:

⁶And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.⁷But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

God will ALWAYS surprise us if we try to put Him in our limited, natural boxes! I am SO glad that He is bigger than that! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 144:1 says:

¹BLESSED BE the Lord, my Rock and my keen and firm Strength, Who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight--

Remember that the God "Who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight" is teaching US to fight the GOOD fight of faith! (1 Timothy 6:12) And that we don't fight PEOPLE but Ephesians 6:12:

¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

OUR fight is with our adversary who is trying to steal, kill and destroy in our lives! (John 10:10) He has NO authority. Jesus stripped him of his authority and all he has left is deception. If he can deceive you into quitting and giving up, then he will be able to take from you what God has already said is yours! Learn from the Word of God just what belongs to you and fight the faith fight to keep it from the enemy! We're talking about all of those great and precious promises that we mentioned yesterday! I also like Psalm 144:15:

¹⁵Happy and blessed are the people who are in such a case; yes, happy (blessed, fortunate, prosperous, to be envied) are the people whose God is the Lord!

OUR God is THAT God! The One and only! AMEN! So we are BLESSED! Hallelujah!

John 4:23-24 says this:

²³A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.²⁴God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).

Are YOU a TRUE worshiper? Do you worship (reverence and adore) Him in spirit (by the Holy Spirit in you) and in truth (according to His Word - John 17:17)? Your relationship with God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) SHOULD be THE most important relationship in your life! When we make HIM our #1 priority, everything and everyone else in our lives will lack nothing! In fact, our other relationships will be better than we ever thought possible as we learn from the Master how to properly relate to each one!

I also love how Jesus continues to break free from the traditions of men! He had no problem talking to a Samaritan AND a woman! Remember Galatians 3:28:

²⁸There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Don't let ANYONE talk you out of being ALL that God has called you to be!

In 1 Samuel 14-15 we see such a contrast between Saul and his son Jonathan! How did Saul, who can't seem to follow instructions and obey God, raise a son of such integrity and character as Jonathan? It's fascinating to me to realize that these aren't made up stories! These are real accounts of the lives of very real people! We can learn so much just by observing their mistakes and avoiding them. That's wisdom! We can get a LOT of wisdom reading about Saul! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 143 is another example of how David handled himself in times of testing and trial. He would cry out to the Lord about his situation. Then he would remind himself of times of deliverance by the Lord in the past. Then he would present his petition before the Lord. We should pray different prayers than David prayed because we now have a better Covenant, based on better promises than the one that David operated under! 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.

and 2 Peter 1:4:

⁴Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Find out what belongs to you as a born again child of God! Remind yourself of past victories, speak the Word of God over your situation and then begin to thank and praise Him for it! That's how we encourage ourselves in the Lord now! DO IT! Remember, "if satan can't steal your joy, he can't keep your goods"! AMEN!

Anyone who knows me will tell you that Philippians chapter 3, especially verses 8-10 in the Amplified Bible, are some of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. Next to that you can add the entire Gospel of John! I love that "In the beginning WAS the WORD"! I also love chapter 3! Not only does Jesus say right here, as plain as He can make it, that you "must be born again", but then He explains that it is by the Spirit. He goes on to explain further in verses 14-18:

¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must [so it is necessary that] the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross],¹⁵In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever!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.¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.¹⁸He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]

God is NOT, I repeat, NOT passing judgement on the world for their sin! Jesus of Nazareth, aka Yeshua HaMashiach, has, ONCE FOR ALL, paid the price for every sin EVER committed, EXCEPT for one sin. That is the sin of rejecting Him! The only thing that people will be judged before God on when their spirit/soul combos leaves their bodies is: What have you done with Jesus? Have you received Jesus of Nazareth as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour? If the answer is YES, then they enter eternity in the presence of Almighty God and all the angels in Heaven. If the answer is anything BUT yes, they will enter into eternal darkness with a future in hell and the Lake of Fire. What is the message we should be bringing to the world? It is that God is not holding anything against them. That the price to be paid for missing it even once is eternal death (separation from God), BUT, Jesus already paid the price through His death, burial and resurrection! Is there any reason you can't receive Jesus of Nazareth as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour right now? Then pray with them, encourage them to get into the Word, bring them to church and help them to grow! Doesn't that sound like just THE most exciting thing you could EVER do with your time? WOW! You sound like God now! AMEN!

In 1 Samuel 12 we hear Samuel rehearsing for the people all that God had done for them. Then he told them what a sin it was that they had asked for an earthly king. But God would STILL bless them if both they and their king obeyed the Lord. Verses 12-15:

¹²But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, No! A king shall reign over us--when the Lord your God was your King!¹³Now see the king whom you have chosen and for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you.¹⁴If you will revere and fear the Lord and serve Him and hearken to His voice and not rebel against His commandment, and if both you and your king will follow the Lord your God, it will be good!¹⁵But if you will not hearken to the Lord's voice, but rebel against His commandment, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Then again in verses 24-25:

²⁴Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; for consider how great are the things He has done for you.²⁵But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king shall be swept away.

What happened? Chapter 13:9-14:

⁹So Saul said, Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering [which he was forbidden to do].¹⁰And just as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came! Saul went out to meet and greet him.¹¹Samuel said, What have you done? Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were assembled at Michmash,¹²I thought, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord. So I forced myself to offer a burnt offering.¹³And Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly! You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God which He commanded you; for the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever;¹⁴But now your kingdom shall not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince and ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.

David will come on the scene, but it will NOT be an easy thing for him! Keep reading!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 142:1 says:

¹I CRY to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord do I make supplication.

David is crying out to the Lord instead of trying to handle everything himself! Look at verse 3:

³When my spirit was overwhelmed and fainted [throwing all its weight] upon me, then You knew my path. In the way where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.

We all face times of tests, trials and temptations. The ONLY way out of those is to leave this Earth and go to Heaven! I'm not ready yet, my job here is not done! So what should we do when we feel overwhelmed? Do what David did! Cry out to the Lord with your problem. He doesn't need to hear it, YOU need to express it, release it to Him because He cares for you, and THEN remind yourself what the Word of God says about your situation. That's how David encouraged HIMSELF in the Lord! The result was his absolute confidence that God would (verse 7a):

for You will deal bountifully with me.

AMEN!

In John 2 we see the first recorded miracle that Jesus of Nazareth performed in turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. The key verse to remember here is verse 5:

⁵His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it.

As you spend time in HIS presence, write down what He tells you to do and then DO IT! Simple but profound "formula" for getting in position to receive God's richest and best!

Then remember verse 25:

²⁵And He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man [needed no evidence from anyone about men], for He Himself knew what was in human nature. [He could read men's hearts.]

He KNOWS everything! He KNOWS our very thoughts! We don't fellowship with Jesus in order to let Him in on something He doesn't know! WE fellowship with HIM in order to change OUR thinking to agree with HIS! AMEN!

In 1 Samuel 10-11 we see the people of Israel finally getting the earthly king that they had cried out for! They had the God of the Bible, the God of Creation, the God of the Universe as their true King! Still, they wanted a flesh and blood king. Well, they got him and their lives would never be the same! Keep reading!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 141:2 says:

²Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

The phrase "let be set forth" is the Hebrew word, "kuwn", which means: to be firmly established, to be directed aright, to be securely determined, to be enduring. "Before You" is the Hebrew word, "paniym", which means: in the face of, in front of, in the presence of. I believe that David, facing some very serious situations, wanted to make sure that he presented his urgent prayer in a way that was acceptable to the Lord (as incense) and based on the Word so as to have the desired and lasting results. I believe that we should treat prayer in this same way! Yes, prayer is simply communicating with the God of the Universe in many ways, BUT, there is a proper way to pray to be pleasing to the Lord AND to make sure we have those prayers answered! Hebrew 11:6 says:

⁶But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].

1 John 5:14-15 says:

¹⁴And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.¹⁵And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

These are all vital things to do in order to KNOW that you have your prayers answered! God WANTS to answer our prayers even more than we want the answers! We simply have to find out the proper way to pray and then stand in faith that our prayer-answering God is ALREADY sending the answer! AMEN! There are many other things we could cover about prayer, but doing these things we've talked about today will get you on the road to getting EVERY prayer answered!

I love the Gospel of John! Verses 1-5 says:

¹IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.²He was present originally with God.³All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.⁴In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.⁵And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].

In the beginning, the WORD (JESUS) already WAS! He WAS God, He IS God, He will always BE God! BUT, He is also, now and forever more, a MAN! He will stand forever as a resurrected man!, with a resurrection body, bearing the scars for eternity that PROVE BEYOND DOUBT that our God is an AWESOME, LOVING, PROVIDING, PROTECTING GOD! The One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! The God of Creation! The God of our Salvation! PRAISE HIM! HALLELUJAH!

Shalom in him!

Shalom,

Psalm 140:1 says:

¹DELIVER ME, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men;

"Deliver me" is the Hebrew word, "chalats", which means: to remove, to withdraw, to rescue, but can also mean: to equip, to make strong, to arm for war! David asks the Lord to deliver him from "evil", the Hebrew word, which means: bad, disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant, unkind and wicked, "men" referring to mankind. Then he says "preserve me", the Hebrew word, "natsar", which means: to guard, to watch over, to keep, from violent "men", the Hebrew word, "iysh", which refers to a male, a man (in contrast to a woman). So David was concerned about men and women who were evil, but only men who were violent! You can tell we live in different times now, with all of the very violent women we hear about in the news! Then in verse 13 he says:

¹³Surely the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence (before Your very face).

AMEN! The righteous are those who are in right standing with God through the precious blood of Jesus the Christ! We WILL give thanks to His Name and dwell (live and abide) in His presence (face to face with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible)! I wouldn't trade THAT place with anyone in the world! AMEN!

I LOVE the story in 1 Samuel 5 where the Philistines put the Ark of God and put it next to their dumb idol, dagon. It wasn't enough that the presence of the Lord knocked that dumb idol to the ground. When they put it back again, God made SURE that they knew that HE was God by knocking it over and breaking it's hands and head right off! Guess what? OUR God IS GOD! AMEN!

Then I will leave you with 2 Corinthians 13:14:

¹⁴The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

As a minister of the Gospel, one of the things I try to get across to people is the importance of being REAL with God. He IS the Omniscient God! The All-knowing One! He ALREADY knows everything there is to know about each of us! Check out these verses in Psalm 139:1-4:

¹O LORD, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.²You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thought afar off.³You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are acquainted with all my ways.⁴For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered], but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

Check these out in the Message Bible:

^1-4 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I'm an open book to you;even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence.

Have confidence that the God of the Bible KNOWS you and STILL eternally loves you! In fact, He loved you while you were still a sinner, (Romans 5:8) that's WHY Jesus came! How much more now that you have been recreated in His image, now that you've been born again! There is nothing you could tell God about yourself that He doesn't already know and already have a perfect plan ready to get you into a better place - IF! That "if" is completely your choice. Do you want to be in a better place in your life? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get in position to receive God's richest and best for you life and your family? THEN DO IT! Pray verses 23-24:

²³Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!²⁴And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Be honest before God, listen to what He instructs you to do, then DO IT!

In 2 Corinthians 12:7 we hear all about Paul's thorn:

⁷And to keep me from being puffed up and too much elated by the exceeding greatness (preeminence) of these revelations, there was given me a thorn (a splinter) in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to rack and buffet and harass me, to keep me from being excessively exalted.

That thorn has been talked about SO much and used by so many to try to persuade people that healing isn't for us today. In the first place, when "thorn in the side" or "thorn in your eyes" was used in other places in the Word of God, it ALWAYS referred to people! Check out these Scriptures. Numbers 33:5:

⁵⁵But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

Joshua 23:13:

¹³Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.

Judges 2:3:

³Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

These "thorns" were the ungoldy people of those lands who were not driven out as they were supposed to be and the Lord warned them that they would forever have trouble with them. Now let's look at 2 Corinthians 7 again:

⁷And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

Notice that this "thorn" was a messenger of satan! It was the devil who didn't want Paul to receive the revelation he was getting from God because he knew that if Paul understood the Word and he taught others to understand what belonged to them as a child of God and a Blood Covenant partner with Him, he would have a very hard time deceiving them into believing lies. Go through and read about Paul's adventures and see where the enemy used people to harass him and try to discourage him. When Paul asked the Lord to deliver him from this persecution, the Lord DID NOT say NO to Paul. He told Paul that the grace he had already received ( the Word, the Holy Spirit, the Anointing, the Name) was sufficient for Paul to deal with the problem himself! There was nothing more that Jesus needed to do! All authority had been given unto Jesus on the Earth, and He had given His authority to the Church to continue to carry out the work that He had begun! Paul just needed to stop whining about it and use his authority! When he did, he experienced deliverance! AMEN!

In 1 Samuel 3-4 we see the Lord beginning to use Samuel as a prophet, even as a very young boy. At first he didn't recognize the voice of the Lord. It takes practice on our part, also, to get to know the voice of the Lord in our lives. We like to say "practice" His presence. That means keep spending time in His presence, listening to that still small voice inside, until you become so familiar with His voice that you will no longer question it! Then KEEP "practicing" His presence every day. Stay in close, intimate fellowship with Him and nothing the enemy tries will ever take you by surprise again! Remember that one of the roles of the holy Spirit in your life as a believer in Jesus of Nazareth is to "show you things to come"! John 16:13:

¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He WILL and you can be prepared! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 138:1 says:

¹I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

David is saying here that with his entire being he will praise the Lord, and he will do it in the face of all other so-called gods! He wasn't afraid to say that there was One, True God of all! Some people today are afraid that they will offend someone if they say that there IS only One True God and that all the rest are idols. Jesus certainly wasn't afraid to say it! He also wasn't afraid to say that HE was the only Way TO the Father God. John 14:6:

⁶Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.

Don't try to be politically correct, be SCRIPTURALLY correct! Tell it like it is - people NEED to hear the Truth that will set them free!

One of my favorite verses in all of the Psalms is Psalm 138:2:

²I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!

God said that He would magnify His Word even above His Name! This verse makes very clear the importance that the Lord Himself gives to the Word of God! Why is that? Because He IS the Word! John 1:1 says:

¹IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

He IS the Word made flesh! The Word of God is what gives His Name the place of preeminence! He OBTAINED His Name by carrying out His Word! Read Hebrews 1:4:

⁴Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

We need to read the Word, study the Word, meditate on the Word, preach the Word, love the Word, obey the Word and treasure the Word! Be a DOER of the Word of God! Go back and re-read Psalm 119 if you doubt the importance of the Word of God! Every verse speaks of the Word! AMEN! Our Church is called The Spoken Word Church and our Pastor likes to say, "There's power in the spoken word"! John 17:17 says:

¹⁷Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

Romans 10:17 says:

¹⁷So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The Word of God is vitally important in the life of every believer! Get into the Word and find out for yourself just how priceless, precious and valuable it is! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!