Shalom,
Psalm 91 is the Protection Psalm! The condition for walking in God's protection is found in verse 1 and we discussed that previously. Today I want to look at verse 2:
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
This is Yahweh, or Jehovah, again that we are speaking of! The psalmist is declaring that Jehovah is his refuge (shelter) and fortress (stronghold) and that he can put his complete trust in HIM! The word "say" is the Hebrew word, "`amar", which means: to say, to boast, to promise, to command. I say declare! Make YOUR bold, confident statement of faith concerning God's protection, provision and safety, as promised in His Word! We cannot possess the promises of God unless we speak them out! Remember Romans 10:10:
10 For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trust in and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.
The word "salvation" is the Hebrew word, "soteria", which means: rescue, safety, health, prosperity, deliverance, preservation and welfare. We HAVE the protection, provision and safety of Almighty God, WHEN we declare it and proclaim it as our own! take possession of all that God has provided for you by finding it out in the Word of God and then speaking it out of your own mouth, boldly, confidently, uncompromisingly, and you WILL have it manifest in your life for all to see! Then HE gets all the glory! AMEN!
Luke 12:8-9:
8 And I tell you, Whoever declares openly [speaking out freely] and confesses that he is My worshiper and acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will declare and confess and acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns and denies and rejects and refuses to acknowledge Me before men will be disowned and denied and rejected and refused acknowledgement in the presence of the angels of God.
There is that idea of boldly speaking out loud and declaring, proclaiming and decreeing something to be so, according to the Word of God! What are we to declare here? We are to declare that we belong to the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! Then, and ONLY then, will HE be bold in declaring the same thing!Get to know HIM in the Word of God! You will find yourself having more and more confidence in the Word to proclaim and decree and declare it to be so! AMEN!
2 Chronicles 33 tells of Manasseh again. We know from yesterday that he did evil in the sight of the Lord. he was a wicked king! I saw this stated in The Biblical Illustrator - New Testament:
"There are two great mistakes prevalent amongst men, one is over-estimation of the secular, the other a depreciation of the spiritual."
This is SO true of our nation today! We have never been a perfect nation, but we have always known Who is our REAL source of supply! Up until the last 40 years or so, that is! We have become a nation of "MEs" and have (as a nation) turned our back on God! But I still believe THIS promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14:
14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear form Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Now THAT'S a promise! AMEN! Someone MUST have been praying this when Manasseh was king, because he was succeeded by his son, Josiah, who did RIGHT in the sight of the Lord! A righteous ruler is indeed a blessing to any nation! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 90:12:
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom.
The word "number" here is the Hebrew word, "manah", which means: to weigh out, to allot, to enumerate, to prepare. We, as believers, are to be accountable for each day! We have full control over what we allow into our schedules. We should treat each day as a gift from God and find out, first of all, what He wants to accomplish THROUGH us! Prepare yourself to succeed, each day, in everything you put your hand to! When we do this, this verse tells us that we will have a heart of wisdom!
In Luke 11:1:
1 THEN HE was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.
Do you know why His disciples wanted to learn how to pray? They had walked with Jesus long enough to know that He was a Man of prayer! They saw that His prayers were always answered. If you want to learn something, you should always go to the person who knows the most about it! They did that! Jesus responded with what we now call the Lord's Prayer, but it wasn't really His prayer. Jesus never prayed this prayer because He never needed forgiveness! He was without sin! Jesus did NOT give this as a prayer to be remembered and prayed. He gave this as a pattern for all prayer! Here is the pattern:
We start out addressing the Father and giving praise and thanksgiving to Him! Then we make sure that we have an attitude that is wholly committed and surrendered to Him. We ask for our needs to be met, with confidence that He knows those needs and desires to meet them! We make sure that we walk in forgiveness with everyone, for that WILL affect our prayers! Remember that our offerings are not even acceptable to God when we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts toward ANYONE! (Mark 11:25) Then we are to pray for His leading, guiding and directing in the right way that does not lead to sin! He will NEVER lead us into sin, but He WILL lead us through it to victory! There is nothing especially wrong about saying what we know as The Lord's Prayer, but it is not how a child of the Living God, who has a Covenant with Almighty God through the precious Blood of Jesus, should pray! We need to be specific in our prayers, remembering 1 John 5:14-15:
14 And 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. 15 And 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.
Get that Word inside of you and you will never pray another unanswered, unproductive prayer again! There is great power in believing prayer - USE IT!
2 Kings 20-21 tell us of Hezekiah and his successor, his son Manasseh. Hezekiah was one of 4 kings, (including Asa, Jehoshaphat and Josiah) who followed the example of King David and did right in the sight of the Lord. Hezekiah's name means: the Lord strengthens. He counted on that many times during his 29 year reign as king of Judah. He DID make some mistakes, though, and verses 12-13 was a big mistake! The results are listed in verses 16-18. When Hezekiah died, his wicked son, Manasseh reigned. You can add to the list of Hezekiah's mistakes the fact that he didn't raise his son in the way he should go! When it was Manasseh's time to reign, he did evil in the sight of the Lord! parents, training up your children IS a full time ministry, and it is your most important one! God will make up for our shortcomings and mistakes, but we have to point them in the right direction, at the very least! Let's not settle for the least! Let's do all in our power to set a good and Godly example for them of how to be a person of praise, prayer, worship, authority, love, boldness, compassion and one who delights in the things of God above and before all else! That is the most important memory to leave them with! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Psalm 90:12:
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom.
The word "number" here is the Hebrew word, "manah", which means: to weigh out, to allot, to enumerate, to prepare. We, as believers, are to be accountable for each day! We have full control over what we allow into our schedules. We should treat each day as a gift from God and find out, first of all, what He wants to accomplish THROUGH us! Prepare yourself to succeed, each day, in everything you put your hand to! When we do this, this verse tells us that we will have a heart of wisdom!
In Luke 11:1:
1 THEN HE was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.
Do you know why His disciples wanted to learn how to pray? They had walked with Jesus long enough to know that He was a Man of prayer! They saw that His prayers were always answered. If you want to learn something, you should always go to the person who knows the most about it! They did that! Jesus responded with what we now call the Lord's Prayer, but it wasn't really His prayer. Jesus never prayed this prayer because He never needed forgiveness! He was without sin! Jesus did NOT give this as a prayer to be remembered and prayed. He gave this as a pattern for all prayer! Here is the pattern:
We start out addressing the Father and giving praise and thanksgiving to Him! Then we make sure that we have an attitude that is wholly committed and surrendered to Him. We ask for our needs to be met, with confidence that He knows those needs and desires to meet them! We make sure that we walk in forgiveness with everyone, for that WILL affect our prayers! Remember that our offerings are not even acceptable to God when we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts toward ANYONE! (Mark 11:25) Then we are to pray for His leading, guiding and directing in the right way that does not lead to sin! He will NEVER lead us into sin, but He WILL lead us through it to victory! There is nothing especially wrong about saying what we know as The Lord's Prayer, but it is not how a child of the Living God, who has a Covenant with Almighty God through the precious Blood of Jesus, should pray! We need to be specific in our prayers, remembering 1 John 5:14-15:
14 And 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. 15 And 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.
Get that Word inside of you and you will never pray another unanswered, unproductive prayer again! There is great power in believing prayer - USE IT!
2 Kings 20-21 tell us of Hezekiah and his successor, his son Manasseh. Hezekiah was one of 4 kings, (including Asa, Jehoshaphat and Josiah) who followed the example of King David and did right in the sight of the Lord. Hezekiah's name means: the Lord strengthens. He counted on that many times during his 29 year reign as king of Judah. He DID make some mistakes, though, and verses 12-13 was a big mistake! The results are listed in verses 16-18. When Hezekiah died, his wicked son, Manasseh reigned. You can add to the list of Hezekiah's mistakes the fact that he didn't raise his son in the way he should go! When it was Manasseh's time to reign, he did evil in the sight of the Lord! parents, training up your children IS a full time ministry, and it is your most important one! God will make up for our shortcomings and mistakes, but we have to point them in the right direction, at the very least! Let's not settle for the least! Let's do all in our power to set a good and Godly example for them of how to be a person of praise, prayer, worship, authority, love, boldness, compassion and one who delights in the things of God above and before all else! That is the most important memory to leave them with! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 89:1-2:
1 I WILL sing of the mercy and loving-kindness of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation. 2 For I have said, mercy and loving-kindness shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness will You establish in the very heavens [unchangeable and perpetual].
Here is the Name Yahweh or Jehovah again! Remember that this is His Name concerning the Covenant we have with Him! "Mercy and loving-kindness" are translated from the Hebrew word, "checed", which means: strength, steadfastness, love, mercy, faithfulness, loving-kindness, goodness, favor. These are all coming FROM God TO us! We are the beneficiaries of the CHECED of Almighty God! He ALWAYS looks at us, His children, with CHECED! Psalm 89:2 tells us that this CHECED is established FOREVER! It is unchangeable and perpetual! As a born again believer in Jesus of Nazareth, you will never NOT have the CHECED of God available to you! Stay in fellowship with Him so you can maintain the confidence that HE will never change toward you! When we don't stay in fellowship, then it is easy for the enemy to convince us of something less than the Truth of God's Word! If anyone moves away, it will be YOU and never God! GET BACK WHERE YOU BELONG and refuse to let satan steal from you any longer! AMEN!
In Luke 9 Jesus sent the 12 who were closest to Him to preach the Gospel and minster to the people. Most naturally presume that THEY would be anointed! But now Jesus is sending 70 of His Disciples out to do the same! What does that say? The work of the ministry is for the Body of Christ to carry out! The Ministry Gifts listed in Ephesians 4 were given to help every believer get in position to carry out their part in the Work! In verse 2 we see this:
2 And He said to them, The harvest indeed is abundant [there is much ripe grain], but the farmhands are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers in to His harvest.
You and I have the same Spirit living IN us that Jesus was anointed with! We have received that Anointing for the purpose of fulfilling God's plan on this earth. Pray Psalm 2:8, asking for the heathen to come into the Kingdom of God:
8 Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Then, pray Luke 10:2, asking for laborers to be sent into the fields that are RIPE for the Harvest! But WHEN you pray, also say: "Here I am Lord, SEND ME"! Then be obedient to follow the leading of the Spirit of God as He brings people across your path for YOU to minister to! THAT is the work of the ministry and God's #1 priority!
In Micah 6-7 we see more of the the prophets message to the people. After warning them of what rebellion and disobedience would bring, then telling them of the promise for obedience, he now tells them to trust only in the Lord. I particularly love Micah 7:18-20:
18 Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy and loving-kindness. 19 he will again have compassion on us; he will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show your faithfulness and perform the sure promise to Jacob and loving-kindness and mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
There is that word, CHECED, again! Our God delights in showing loving-kindness and favor to His people! EXPECT to walk in the FAVOR of God everyday! Then love HIM enough to share the Good News of the Gospel with everyone you come in contact with, knowing that THAT is what brings joy to HIS heart! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Psalm 89:1-2:
1 I WILL sing of the mercy and loving-kindness of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation. 2 For I have said, mercy and loving-kindness shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness will You establish in the very heavens [unchangeable and perpetual].
Here is the Name Yahweh or Jehovah again! Remember that this is His Name concerning the Covenant we have with Him! "Mercy and loving-kindness" are translated from the Hebrew word, "checed", which means: strength, steadfastness, love, mercy, faithfulness, loving-kindness, goodness, favor. These are all coming FROM God TO us! We are the beneficiaries of the CHECED of Almighty God! He ALWAYS looks at us, His children, with CHECED! Psalm 89:2 tells us that this CHECED is established FOREVER! It is unchangeable and perpetual! As a born again believer in Jesus of Nazareth, you will never NOT have the CHECED of God available to you! Stay in fellowship with Him so you can maintain the confidence that HE will never change toward you! When we don't stay in fellowship, then it is easy for the enemy to convince us of something less than the Truth of God's Word! If anyone moves away, it will be YOU and never God! GET BACK WHERE YOU BELONG and refuse to let satan steal from you any longer! AMEN!
In Luke 9 Jesus sent the 12 who were closest to Him to preach the Gospel and minster to the people. Most naturally presume that THEY would be anointed! But now Jesus is sending 70 of His Disciples out to do the same! What does that say? The work of the ministry is for the Body of Christ to carry out! The Ministry Gifts listed in Ephesians 4 were given to help every believer get in position to carry out their part in the Work! In verse 2 we see this:
2 And He said to them, The harvest indeed is abundant [there is much ripe grain], but the farmhands are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers in to His harvest.
You and I have the same Spirit living IN us that Jesus was anointed with! We have received that Anointing for the purpose of fulfilling God's plan on this earth. Pray Psalm 2:8, asking for the heathen to come into the Kingdom of God:
8 Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Then, pray Luke 10:2, asking for laborers to be sent into the fields that are RIPE for the Harvest! But WHEN you pray, also say: "Here I am Lord, SEND ME"! Then be obedient to follow the leading of the Spirit of God as He brings people across your path for YOU to minister to! THAT is the work of the ministry and God's #1 priority!
In Micah 6-7 we see more of the the prophets message to the people. After warning them of what rebellion and disobedience would bring, then telling them of the promise for obedience, he now tells them to trust only in the Lord. I particularly love Micah 7:18-20:
18 Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy and loving-kindness. 19 he will again have compassion on us; he will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show your faithfulness and perform the sure promise to Jacob and loving-kindness and mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
There is that word, CHECED, again! Our God delights in showing loving-kindness and favor to His people! EXPECT to walk in the FAVOR of God everyday! Then love HIM enough to share the Good News of the Gospel with everyone you come in contact with, knowing that THAT is what brings joy to HIS heart! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Shalom,
When we looked at Psalm 88 before we mentioned that this Psalm is the only Psalm that is completely a "downer" without the psalmist encouraging himself in the Lord and becoming positive about things again. There IS a hidden clue, though, that this psalmist WAS encouraging himself in the Lord! Look at verse 1:
1 O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried to You for help by day; at night I am in Your presence.
In the KJV, whenever the Name LORD appears with all capital letters, it is referring to Yahweh, or Jehovah, which means: The Eternal, Self-existing One! This is His Covenant Name! This IS the great I AM! When the psalmist referred to Him by that Name, he was reminding himself AND God of the Covenant they had together. The word "salvation" is the Hebrew word, "yeshuw`ah", which means: deliverance, aid, victory, prosperity, health, welfare. You may feel at times that everything is going against you, BUT, if you will remind yourself of the Covenant you have with Almighty God through the Blood of Jesus Christ, then you will be "equal to anything" as Philippians 4:13 says:
13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
If you have received Jesus of Nazareth as your Lord and personal Saviour, then you have the right AND the responsibility to stand on THIS promise and all of the others in the Word of God! Make sure that you are finding out every day what belongs to you so that you can be blessed in order to BE a blessing to others!
What we are going to look at in Luke 9 today may seem a little strange, but I believe it is important to have the right mind-set when it comes to the promises of God! Verse 5:
5 And wherever they do not receive and accept and welcome you, when you leave that town shake the dust off [even] the dust from your feet, as a testimony against them.
The "testimony" that they were giving by doing this was that they would have no fellowship with these people because they had rejected the message of God. Did that mean that no one should ever preach the Gospel to them again? NO! It simply showed the separation between the believers and the unbelievers! Whether people like to hear it or not, God DOES play favorites! He favors HIS children over the children of the enemy! You become a child of God by receiving Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour. God loves the entire world (believers AND unbelievers) so much that He sent His Son! There is nothing more that God can do for those who refuse that gift UNTIL they change their thinking to agree with God and receive the Gift of Salvation! Until then, He concentrates on blessing HIS OWN!
In Micah 3-5 we see the that the prophet was again warning the people what was to come in their future IF they did not get right with God! It is exciting to see that he also spoke about the coming future for the believers! At the time of the second coming of Jesus as Messiah we see this promise in Micah 4:1-2:
1 BUT IN the latter days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains; and it shall be exalted above the hills, and the peoples shall flow to it. 2 And many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways, and we may walk in His paths. For the law shall go forth out of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
A lot is going to happen of this earth BEFORE these things come to pass, but here is NOTHING that would prevent them from beginning AT ANY MOMENT! Be ready, not for yourself, but for others, so you can be free to be led by the Holy Spirit in taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to YOUR world! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
When we looked at Psalm 88 before we mentioned that this Psalm is the only Psalm that is completely a "downer" without the psalmist encouraging himself in the Lord and becoming positive about things again. There IS a hidden clue, though, that this psalmist WAS encouraging himself in the Lord! Look at verse 1:
1 O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried to You for help by day; at night I am in Your presence.
In the KJV, whenever the Name LORD appears with all capital letters, it is referring to Yahweh, or Jehovah, which means: The Eternal, Self-existing One! This is His Covenant Name! This IS the great I AM! When the psalmist referred to Him by that Name, he was reminding himself AND God of the Covenant they had together. The word "salvation" is the Hebrew word, "yeshuw`ah", which means: deliverance, aid, victory, prosperity, health, welfare. You may feel at times that everything is going against you, BUT, if you will remind yourself of the Covenant you have with Almighty God through the Blood of Jesus Christ, then you will be "equal to anything" as Philippians 4:13 says:
13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
If you have received Jesus of Nazareth as your Lord and personal Saviour, then you have the right AND the responsibility to stand on THIS promise and all of the others in the Word of God! Make sure that you are finding out every day what belongs to you so that you can be blessed in order to BE a blessing to others!
What we are going to look at in Luke 9 today may seem a little strange, but I believe it is important to have the right mind-set when it comes to the promises of God! Verse 5:
5 And wherever they do not receive and accept and welcome you, when you leave that town shake the dust off [even] the dust from your feet, as a testimony against them.
The "testimony" that they were giving by doing this was that they would have no fellowship with these people because they had rejected the message of God. Did that mean that no one should ever preach the Gospel to them again? NO! It simply showed the separation between the believers and the unbelievers! Whether people like to hear it or not, God DOES play favorites! He favors HIS children over the children of the enemy! You become a child of God by receiving Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour. God loves the entire world (believers AND unbelievers) so much that He sent His Son! There is nothing more that God can do for those who refuse that gift UNTIL they change their thinking to agree with God and receive the Gift of Salvation! Until then, He concentrates on blessing HIS OWN!
In Micah 3-5 we see the that the prophet was again warning the people what was to come in their future IF they did not get right with God! It is exciting to see that he also spoke about the coming future for the believers! At the time of the second coming of Jesus as Messiah we see this promise in Micah 4:1-2:
1 BUT IN the latter days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains; and it shall be exalted above the hills, and the peoples shall flow to it. 2 And many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways, and we may walk in His paths. For the law shall go forth out of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
A lot is going to happen of this earth BEFORE these things come to pass, but here is NOTHING that would prevent them from beginning AT ANY MOMENT! Be ready, not for yourself, but for others, so you can be free to be led by the Holy Spirit in taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to YOUR world! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 87:1-3:
1 ON THE holy hills stands the city [of Jerusalem and the temple] God founded. 2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion [through which the crowds of pilgrims enter from all nations] more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Israel). 3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah [pause and calmly realize what that means]!
When we visited Israel we were able to go through some of the current gates. There were fewer gates in the time that Jesus was ministering on the earth. The most important gate is the one that is sealed right now! The Eastern Gate or Golden Gate is the one that Jesus will walk through into Jerusalem when He returns to the Earth and sets His feet on the Mount of Olives! The gate was sealed by the Muslims to try and prevent Messiah from returning! Do YOU think that a sealed gate is any problem for the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible Who has already conquered Death and Hell when He defeated satan? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I believe that the glorious things spoken of the city of God are the prophecies of Messiah's return in triumph! I read an interesting note that said that Abraham was promised a vast natural family: as the sands of the sea (Israel) and also a spiritual family: as the stars of the sky (all believers - the Church)! The Heavenly Jerusalem will hold all who have believed! Hallelujah!
In Luke 8:1 we see the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth summed up in one verse!
1 SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God.
That is what Jesus did! He went everywhere teaching, preaching and healing! He set people free from the works and workers of darkness and introduced them to the Kingdom of Light and Life and Love! When the people HEARD THE WORD that Jesus brought to them, FAITH rose up in them to be saved (by faith), healed (by faith) and delivered (by faith)! I have heard some people say that if they could only have lived at THAT time when Jesus ministered on earth and walked and talked with Him then, they would have less problem with walking by faith. NO, they would have had MORE problems! We so take for granted the Truth that none of the disciples were born again at this time. They DID NOT have the Holy Spirit living inside of them! That is why they forgot the things that Jesus taught them until later when they WERE saved and filled! We are SO BLESSED to be living at this most exciting time in history, or HIS STORY! There is no excuse for us not to spend every day in the Word of God and in prayer, praise and fellowship with like-minded believers! What distracts YOU form doing so? I'm getting on MINE right now! Let's get busy! AMEN!
In Micah 1-2 we see another prophet that God has sent to warn His people to return to Him or they will take themselves out from His protection! It gives me great confidence when i see this everlasting mercy of the Lord! BUT there will come a time when He has to step aside IF WE CHOOSE disobedience over and over again! He ALWAYS had a promise for them IF they would repent (change their thinking to agree with Him) and turn back to His ways! OURS is 1 John 1:9:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thank You, Jesus!
Shalom in Him!
Psalm 87:1-3:
1 ON THE holy hills stands the city [of Jerusalem and the temple] God founded. 2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion [through which the crowds of pilgrims enter from all nations] more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Israel). 3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah [pause and calmly realize what that means]!
When we visited Israel we were able to go through some of the current gates. There were fewer gates in the time that Jesus was ministering on the earth. The most important gate is the one that is sealed right now! The Eastern Gate or Golden Gate is the one that Jesus will walk through into Jerusalem when He returns to the Earth and sets His feet on the Mount of Olives! The gate was sealed by the Muslims to try and prevent Messiah from returning! Do YOU think that a sealed gate is any problem for the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible Who has already conquered Death and Hell when He defeated satan? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I believe that the glorious things spoken of the city of God are the prophecies of Messiah's return in triumph! I read an interesting note that said that Abraham was promised a vast natural family: as the sands of the sea (Israel) and also a spiritual family: as the stars of the sky (all believers - the Church)! The Heavenly Jerusalem will hold all who have believed! Hallelujah!
In Luke 8:1 we see the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth summed up in one verse!
1 SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God.
That is what Jesus did! He went everywhere teaching, preaching and healing! He set people free from the works and workers of darkness and introduced them to the Kingdom of Light and Life and Love! When the people HEARD THE WORD that Jesus brought to them, FAITH rose up in them to be saved (by faith), healed (by faith) and delivered (by faith)! I have heard some people say that if they could only have lived at THAT time when Jesus ministered on earth and walked and talked with Him then, they would have less problem with walking by faith. NO, they would have had MORE problems! We so take for granted the Truth that none of the disciples were born again at this time. They DID NOT have the Holy Spirit living inside of them! That is why they forgot the things that Jesus taught them until later when they WERE saved and filled! We are SO BLESSED to be living at this most exciting time in history, or HIS STORY! There is no excuse for us not to spend every day in the Word of God and in prayer, praise and fellowship with like-minded believers! What distracts YOU form doing so? I'm getting on MINE right now! Let's get busy! AMEN!
In Micah 1-2 we see another prophet that God has sent to warn His people to return to Him or they will take themselves out from His protection! It gives me great confidence when i see this everlasting mercy of the Lord! BUT there will come a time when He has to step aside IF WE CHOOSE disobedience over and over again! He ALWAYS had a promise for them IF they would repent (change their thinking to agree with Him) and turn back to His ways! OURS is 1 John 1:9:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thank You, Jesus!
Shalom in Him!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 86:2 says this in the NKJV:
2 Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You!
The word translated "holy" here is the Hebrew word, "chaciyd", which means: godly, faithful, and is a Covenant word. What David was saying here is that he is holy BECAUSE of his Covenant relationship with Almighty God! To "preserve" is the Hebrew word, "shamar", which means: to keep, to guard, to protect, to have charge of. David also said this to God in verses 10-11:
10 For You are great and work wonders! You alone are God. 11 Teach 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.
That covenant relationship with God and knowing Him is what gave David the great faith and trust and confidence in God that he had! He continually praised God and thanked God for the good things in his life! Since we have a BETTER COVENANT - GO THOU AND DO LIKEWISE!
In Luke 7 we see the story of the faith-filled centurion, the woman with the special ointment and the widow who had her son raised up fro the dead! All in a day's work for our Jesus! Be thinking about how YOU would respond if you were presented with these needs by someone you come in contact with! Remember that Jesus said, in John 14:12:
12 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things because I go to My Father.
THAT is how the Father sees us! He is just waiting for us to MOVE so He can confirm the Word we speak and the things we do in obedience to His Word! AMEN!
In Hosea 13-14 finishes the Book of Hosea. The nation of Israel has been warned and warned and warned to turn from their wickedness and to turn back to God! Do they do it? Well, the people of Israel had been dispersed from their homeland because of their disobedience and did not return until the 1948, when Israel became a nation AGAIN and FOREVER! Always make sure to pray for the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Psalm 86:2 says this in the NKJV:
2 Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You!
The word translated "holy" here is the Hebrew word, "chaciyd", which means: godly, faithful, and is a Covenant word. What David was saying here is that he is holy BECAUSE of his Covenant relationship with Almighty God! To "preserve" is the Hebrew word, "shamar", which means: to keep, to guard, to protect, to have charge of. David also said this to God in verses 10-11:
10 For You are great and work wonders! You alone are God. 11 Teach 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.
That covenant relationship with God and knowing Him is what gave David the great faith and trust and confidence in God that he had! He continually praised God and thanked God for the good things in his life! Since we have a BETTER COVENANT - GO THOU AND DO LIKEWISE!
In Luke 7 we see the story of the faith-filled centurion, the woman with the special ointment and the widow who had her son raised up fro the dead! All in a day's work for our Jesus! Be thinking about how YOU would respond if you were presented with these needs by someone you come in contact with! Remember that Jesus said, in John 14:12:
12 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things because I go to My Father.
THAT is how the Father sees us! He is just waiting for us to MOVE so He can confirm the Word we speak and the things we do in obedience to His Word! AMEN!
In Hosea 13-14 finishes the Book of Hosea. The nation of Israel has been warned and warned and warned to turn from their wickedness and to turn back to God! Do they do it? Well, the people of Israel had been dispersed from their homeland because of their disobedience and did not return until the 1948, when Israel became a nation AGAIN and FOREVER! Always make sure to pray for the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Shalom in Him!
Psalm 85 was written at a time when the captives had returned from Babylon. The psalmist is calling on God to restore them to their there previous state of "salvation", the Hebrew word, "yesha`", where the Name "Yeshua' comes from! It means: liberty, deliverance, prosperity, safety, welfare, victory. Verse 8-9:
8 I will listen [with expectancy] to what God the Lord will say, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints (those who are in right standing with Him)--but let them not turn again to [self-confident ] folly. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, [and is ready to be appropriated] that the manifested presence of God, His] glory may tabernacle and abide in our land.
As born again believers, He doesn't just "abide in our land", but He lives and dwells WITHIN US! We MUST keep in daily fellowship with Him so that we don't get caught up, again, in the way the world looks at situations and circumstances. As believers, we can go into "captivity" in our minds by not controlling our thought life. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to protect our hearts (the spirit/soul combination) because that is where the source of the life we now live is found! WE ARE the Temple of the Living God, but He will only operate in our life THROUGH us! Spend time listening to the Spirit of God every day to get to know Him. Then you will have faith, trust and confidence in Him as He leads you moment by moment and day by day! AMEN!
The last time through Luke we looked at the response of the people and of the religious leaders when Jesus healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. Verse 11 sums up the response of the religious leaders, who SHOULD have known both Jesus AND the Truth, but they did not:
11 But they were filled with lack of understanding and senseless rage and discussed (consulted) with one another what they might do to Jesus.
This is the Amplified Bible and it is a VERY accurate description of their mindset and attitude! Why? Because they felt that He threatened their positions. Never be moved by the response of other people to the Word of God! Remember John 17:17:
17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.
Stick to the Truth of God's Word and you will ALWAYS be right!
Hosea 11-12 shows us more of Israel and how the people refused to listen to the prophets that god sent to try to get them to return to Him. Hosea 11:7:
7 My people are bent on backsliding from me; though, [the prophets] call them to Him Who is on high, none at all will exalt Him or lift himself up [to come to Him].
And Hosea 12:6:
6 Therefore return to your God! Hold fast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait [expectantly] for your God continually!
Did they listen and obey? More tomorrow!
Shalom in Him!
Psalm 85 was written at a time when the captives had returned from Babylon. The psalmist is calling on God to restore them to their there previous state of "salvation", the Hebrew word, "yesha`", where the Name "Yeshua' comes from! It means: liberty, deliverance, prosperity, safety, welfare, victory. Verse 8-9:
8 I will listen [with expectancy] to what God the Lord will say, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints (those who are in right standing with Him)--but let them not turn again to [self-confident ] folly. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, [and is ready to be appropriated] that the manifested presence of God, His] glory may tabernacle and abide in our land.
As born again believers, He doesn't just "abide in our land", but He lives and dwells WITHIN US! We MUST keep in daily fellowship with Him so that we don't get caught up, again, in the way the world looks at situations and circumstances. As believers, we can go into "captivity" in our minds by not controlling our thought life. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to protect our hearts (the spirit/soul combination) because that is where the source of the life we now live is found! WE ARE the Temple of the Living God, but He will only operate in our life THROUGH us! Spend time listening to the Spirit of God every day to get to know Him. Then you will have faith, trust and confidence in Him as He leads you moment by moment and day by day! AMEN!
The last time through Luke we looked at the response of the people and of the religious leaders when Jesus healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. Verse 11 sums up the response of the religious leaders, who SHOULD have known both Jesus AND the Truth, but they did not:
11 But they were filled with lack of understanding and senseless rage and discussed (consulted) with one another what they might do to Jesus.
This is the Amplified Bible and it is a VERY accurate description of their mindset and attitude! Why? Because they felt that He threatened their positions. Never be moved by the response of other people to the Word of God! Remember John 17:17:
17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.
Stick to the Truth of God's Word and you will ALWAYS be right!
Hosea 11-12 shows us more of Israel and how the people refused to listen to the prophets that god sent to try to get them to return to Him. Hosea 11:7:
7 My people are bent on backsliding from me; though, [the prophets] call them to Him Who is on high, none at all will exalt Him or lift himself up [to come to Him].
And Hosea 12:6:
6 Therefore return to your God! Hold fast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait [expectantly] for your God continually!
Did they listen and obey? More tomorrow!
Shalom in Him!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Shalom,
In Psalm 84 the psalmist is speaking about his longing for the Temple in Jerusalem. He says this in verse 4:
4 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; they will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
If the person who traveled to the "house of the Lord" in those days was blessed, happy, fortunate and too be envied, HOW MUCH MORE blessed is it to BE the "house of the Lord"? As born again believers in Jesus of Nazareth, we are ALWAYS in His presence! In fact, He said this in Hebrews 13:5b:
5b For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Let's make sure we NEVER take this blessing for granted! Stay aware of His presence IN you every day! Then we can say, with the psalmist, in verse 10:
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather be a doorkeeper and stand at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell [at ease] in the tents of wickedness.
Spending time in His presence is the very best thing you can ever do! You will begin to know Him better and, when you do, you will begin to think, speak and act JUST LIKE JESUS! Do you think the world will take notice then?
In Luke 5 we see this happening in verses 12:
12 While he was in one of the towns, there came a man full of (covered with) leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, IF YOU ARE WILLING, You are able to cure me and make me clean.
That is a question that many believers think they have to ask or attach to every prayer that they pray: "if it be Thy will". We will see that it is not necessary for a born again believer to EVER ask that question of the Lord again! His response in verse 13 forever answered that one!
13 And [Jesus] reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I AM WILLING; be cleansed! And immediately the leprosy left him.
It was good that the leper asked that question of Jesus, so that it could be FOREVER answered for us! We say it this way at The Spoken Word Church: God is more willing than He is able. He is 100% able, so He is AT LEAST 100% willing! Don't ever tack that question on a prayer to God again! All that it accomplishes is to give a place of doubt, fear and worry for the enemy to enter in and steal your faith! If you need to find some direction for what He wants you to do in your life, then ask Him for that wisdom, but never ask that about something He has already promised in His Word! That tells Him that you don't believe Him and I'm sure He's not very pleased with THAT!
Hosea 8-10 speaks all the way through about the rebellion of God's people, Israel, and what the results of their rebellion and disobedience will be! All three chapters are filled with this. But our merciful God has always given the way back for His people, if they would only listen and obey Him! We can see that even here in Hosea 10:12:
12 Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.
Did they listen? No! Will you? We still, in our New and better Covenant, have daily choices to make concerning doing things God's way or not! Doing things His way brings blessings. Not doing things His way gives the enemy an entrance into our lives! Make RIGHT choices and be blessed!
Shalom in Him!
In Psalm 84 the psalmist is speaking about his longing for the Temple in Jerusalem. He says this in verse 4:
4 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; they will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
If the person who traveled to the "house of the Lord" in those days was blessed, happy, fortunate and too be envied, HOW MUCH MORE blessed is it to BE the "house of the Lord"? As born again believers in Jesus of Nazareth, we are ALWAYS in His presence! In fact, He said this in Hebrews 13:5b:
5b For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Let's make sure we NEVER take this blessing for granted! Stay aware of His presence IN you every day! Then we can say, with the psalmist, in verse 10:
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather be a doorkeeper and stand at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell [at ease] in the tents of wickedness.
Spending time in His presence is the very best thing you can ever do! You will begin to know Him better and, when you do, you will begin to think, speak and act JUST LIKE JESUS! Do you think the world will take notice then?
In Luke 5 we see this happening in verses 12:
12 While he was in one of the towns, there came a man full of (covered with) leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, IF YOU ARE WILLING, You are able to cure me and make me clean.
That is a question that many believers think they have to ask or attach to every prayer that they pray: "if it be Thy will". We will see that it is not necessary for a born again believer to EVER ask that question of the Lord again! His response in verse 13 forever answered that one!
13 And [Jesus] reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I AM WILLING; be cleansed! And immediately the leprosy left him.
It was good that the leper asked that question of Jesus, so that it could be FOREVER answered for us! We say it this way at The Spoken Word Church: God is more willing than He is able. He is 100% able, so He is AT LEAST 100% willing! Don't ever tack that question on a prayer to God again! All that it accomplishes is to give a place of doubt, fear and worry for the enemy to enter in and steal your faith! If you need to find some direction for what He wants you to do in your life, then ask Him for that wisdom, but never ask that about something He has already promised in His Word! That tells Him that you don't believe Him and I'm sure He's not very pleased with THAT!
Hosea 8-10 speaks all the way through about the rebellion of God's people, Israel, and what the results of their rebellion and disobedience will be! All three chapters are filled with this. But our merciful God has always given the way back for His people, if they would only listen and obey Him! We can see that even here in Hosea 10:12:
12 Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.
Did they listen? No! Will you? We still, in our New and better Covenant, have daily choices to make concerning doing things God's way or not! Doing things His way brings blessings. Not doing things His way gives the enemy an entrance into our lives! Make RIGHT choices and be blessed!
Shalom in Him!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 83:1-4 reads like today's headlines!
1 KEEP NOT silence, O God; hold not Your peace or be still, O God. 2 For, behold, Your enemies are in tumult, and those who hate You have raised their heads. 3 They lay crafty schemes against Your people and consult together against your hidden and precious ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be in remembrance no more.
In the next few verses you can see that almost the entire Middle Eastern world has ALWAYS been against Israel and her friends! Nothing has changed! Evil is STILL evil, and still trying to overthrow God and His people! The psalmist is calling on God to deal with them. Verse 16:
16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek, inquire for, and insistently require Your Name, O Lord.
And verse 18:
18 That they may know that You, Whose Name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.
Those two verses are OUR prayer, too! AMEN!
In Luke 4 we see Jesus being tempted for 40 days in the wilderness. He passed the temptation test! Do you remember that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man, but while alive on the earth, He only ever operated as a man? How did He resist the enemy's temptations as a man? Verse 1 is the key:
1 THEN JESUS, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit.
Then, after the temptation in the wilderness, we see this in verse 14:
14 Then Jesus went back full of and under the power of the [Holy] Spirit into Galilee, and the fame of Him spread through the whole region round about.
The key to the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth was that He was filled with the Holy Spirit, He KNEW the Word of God, and He spent much time in intimate fellowship with God the Father!. That is also the key to OUR earthly ministries! Remember that we are all called to the full time Ministry of Reconciliation! (2 Corinthians 5:18) We, too, need to spend time in daily fellowship with our Heavenly Father. We need to "be being" filled, that is, to stay in a position of continually staying full of the Holy Spirit and power! Then we need to spend time daily in the Word of God. Doing the things that Jesus did to be successful in His earthly ministry will cause US to be successful in ours! THAT will bring Glory to HIS Name, and doing so is our greatest desire! AMEN!
More to come!
1 KEEP NOT silence, O God; hold not Your peace or be still, O God. 2 For, behold, Your enemies are in tumult, and those who hate You have raised their heads. 3 They lay crafty schemes against Your people and consult together against your hidden and precious ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be in remembrance no more.
In the next few verses you can see that almost the entire Middle Eastern world has ALWAYS been against Israel and her friends! Nothing has changed! Evil is STILL evil, and still trying to overthrow God and His people! The psalmist is calling on God to deal with them. Verse 16:
16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek, inquire for, and insistently require Your Name, O Lord.
And verse 18:
18 That they may know that You, Whose Name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.
Those two verses are OUR prayer, too! AMEN!
In Luke 4 we see Jesus being tempted for 40 days in the wilderness. He passed the temptation test! Do you remember that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man, but while alive on the earth, He only ever operated as a man? How did He resist the enemy's temptations as a man? Verse 1 is the key:
1 THEN JESUS, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit.
Then, after the temptation in the wilderness, we see this in verse 14:
14 Then Jesus went back full of and under the power of the [Holy] Spirit into Galilee, and the fame of Him spread through the whole region round about.
The key to the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth was that He was filled with the Holy Spirit, He KNEW the Word of God, and He spent much time in intimate fellowship with God the Father!. That is also the key to OUR earthly ministries! Remember that we are all called to the full time Ministry of Reconciliation! (2 Corinthians 5:18) We, too, need to spend time in daily fellowship with our Heavenly Father. We need to "be being" filled, that is, to stay in a position of continually staying full of the Holy Spirit and power! Then we need to spend time daily in the Word of God. Doing the things that Jesus did to be successful in His earthly ministry will cause US to be successful in ours! THAT will bring Glory to HIS Name, and doing so is our greatest desire! AMEN!
More to come!
Shalom in Him!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Shalom,
Since we already covered Psalm 82 in March, I wanted to share it with you from the Message Bible! I LOVE how clear-cut and "in your face" it is!
1 God calls the judges into His courtroom, He puts all the judges in the dock. 2-4 "Enough! You've corrupted justice long enough, you've let the wicked get away with murder. You're here to defend the defenseless, to make sure that underdogs get a fair break; your job is to stand up for the powerless, and prosecute all those who exploit them." 5 Ignorant judges! Head-in-the-sand judges! They haven't a clue to what's going on. And now everything's falling apart, the world's coming unglued. 6-7 "I commissioned you judges, each one of you, deputies of the High God, but you've betrayed your commission and now you're stripped of your rank, busted." 8 O God, give them their just deserts! You've got the whole world in Your hands!
This sounds SO MUCH like it was ripped right from the pages of our current history! This IS what is happening all over our nation, with corrupt and wicked judges ruling totally against God's Word AND against the U.S. Constitution! The good news from this Psalm is that God is ALWAYS watching and HE will, ultimately, judge the judges! If YOU are in a position of authority over others, heed this Psalm and then remember that God said THIS in Isaiah 58:6:
6 [Rather] is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every [enslaving] yoke?
God wants His people FREE and He has put those who are in authority in such a position that they can be a benefit to His people. If they aren't, then they answer to HIM! Pray, people, pray, when these things are happening! God is about to be the Judge of the judges and they (the wicked judges) need someone to intercede for them!
Luke 3 begins the ministry of John the Baptist in preparing the way for the coming Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. There had been 400 years without a prophet in the land presenting the Word of the Lord. Now comes this strange looking, acting and speaking man in the wilderness calling on people to get themselves right before God in preparation for One Who is soon to come! Who in the world would pay any attention to someone like that? Only those whose hearts were after the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! They came from all walks of life and all levels of influence! The same is true today! There is a great outpouring of God's Glory going on all over the world, even as you are reading this! It is happening in the lives of those who really WANT to know this God of the Bible! Be prepared! Soon they will be asking YOU about that hope that is within you! Are you ready to answer?
Hosea 4:1 says:
1 HEAR THE word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy (a pleading contention) with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, love, pity and mercy, or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.
The result of the people having no knowledge of God is found in the next verses, culminating in verse 6a:
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
They did not WANT to know God so He left them to their own devices! Our nation has publicly left the knowledge of God, but there has been, lately, a very vocal segment of the people who are fed up with these things! Hosea 5:15 says:
15 I will return to My place [on high] until they acknowledge their offense and feel their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction and distress they will seek, inquire for, and require me earnestly, saying,
And we will look at the rest tomorrow!
1 God calls the judges into His courtroom, He puts all the judges in the dock. 2-4 "Enough! You've corrupted justice long enough, you've let the wicked get away with murder. You're here to defend the defenseless, to make sure that underdogs get a fair break; your job is to stand up for the powerless, and prosecute all those who exploit them." 5 Ignorant judges! Head-in-the-sand judges! They haven't a clue to what's going on. And now everything's falling apart, the world's coming unglued. 6-7 "I commissioned you judges, each one of you, deputies of the High God, but you've betrayed your commission and now you're stripped of your rank, busted." 8 O God, give them their just deserts! You've got the whole world in Your hands!
This sounds SO MUCH like it was ripped right from the pages of our current history! This IS what is happening all over our nation, with corrupt and wicked judges ruling totally against God's Word AND against the U.S. Constitution! The good news from this Psalm is that God is ALWAYS watching and HE will, ultimately, judge the judges! If YOU are in a position of authority over others, heed this Psalm and then remember that God said THIS in Isaiah 58:6:
6 [Rather] is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every [enslaving] yoke?
God wants His people FREE and He has put those who are in authority in such a position that they can be a benefit to His people. If they aren't, then they answer to HIM! Pray, people, pray, when these things are happening! God is about to be the Judge of the judges and they (the wicked judges) need someone to intercede for them!
Luke 3 begins the ministry of John the Baptist in preparing the way for the coming Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. There had been 400 years without a prophet in the land presenting the Word of the Lord. Now comes this strange looking, acting and speaking man in the wilderness calling on people to get themselves right before God in preparation for One Who is soon to come! Who in the world would pay any attention to someone like that? Only those whose hearts were after the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! They came from all walks of life and all levels of influence! The same is true today! There is a great outpouring of God's Glory going on all over the world, even as you are reading this! It is happening in the lives of those who really WANT to know this God of the Bible! Be prepared! Soon they will be asking YOU about that hope that is within you! Are you ready to answer?
Hosea 4:1 says:
1 HEAR THE word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy (a pleading contention) with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, love, pity and mercy, or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.
The result of the people having no knowledge of God is found in the next verses, culminating in verse 6a:
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
They did not WANT to know God so He left them to their own devices! Our nation has publicly left the knowledge of God, but there has been, lately, a very vocal segment of the people who are fed up with these things! Hosea 5:15 says:
15 I will return to My place [on high] until they acknowledge their offense and feel their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction and distress they will seek, inquire for, and require me earnestly, saying,
And we will look at the rest tomorrow!
Shalom in Him!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 81 begins with a call for God's people to praise Him! As we found earlier, this was no quiet, subdued praise service! They were to sing, which actually means to give a ringing cry in joy and exaltation! Then they were told to shout for joy! Then they were blowing the shofar! That sounds to me like a whole lot of noise! Noise that God loves!!! If you are not comfortable in a praise service like this one, you will NOT be comfortable in Heaven! They praise so loud in Heaven that the doorposts shake! (Isaiah 6:4) How do you GET comfortable with this? You MUST practice praise at home first! A truly balanced praise life is one that begins in praise at first wake up and continues actively praising Him all day long. Then, when we are in a church service, we will step into the atmosphere of praise and worship that is familiar, yet many times more powerful because: "..wherever two or more are gathered (drawn together as My followers) in My Name, there I AM in the midst of them". (Matthew 18:20).
Another interesting thing to note about this Psalm is that it includes all of the elements of true worship:
In Luke 2 we see the story of the birth of Jesus. We looked at Luke for the first time back in March and April. This time I want to point out a few things. Each of the Gospels were written with a specific emphasis for a specific purpose! In Luke 2:39:
39 And when they had done everything according to the Law of the Lord, they went back into Galilee to their own town, Nazareth.
Then it jumps ahead to when Jesus was twelve years old with no mention of the fact that they spent some time in Egypt because of Herod's threat to kill Jesus. Back in verse 19, after the shepherds related their experiences and what the angel had said to them, we read this:
19 But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings), weighing and pondering them in her heart.
Mary was wondering what all of this meant! She knew what the angel had said to her about the child that she would have, but I don't think she comprehended it. She watched Him grow up as an obedient child, then was very surprised when they found Him in the Temple with the teachers when they had assumed He was with them. When Mary asked Him how He could do this to them, He replied:
49 And He said to them, How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not see and know that it is necessary [as a duty] for Me to be in My Father's house and [occupied] about My Father's business?
At first she didn't even notice that He was missing! Then she didn't look FIRST at the Temple, but looked for Him for three days in Jerusalem before even checking the Temple! Mary was not born again or Spirit-filled at this time. She was still living under the Old Covenant. She had no way of really comprehending the Word of God clearly at this time! That's why, in the early part of Jesus' ministry, she and her family were not yet following Him. Remember when they were on the outside wanting to see Him? But there did come a time when they understood and followed Him. If His own mother didn't really understand what He was about, how can we expect His disciples to get it? They didn't either, until AFTER the Resurrection! When you find yourself in discussions with unbelievers about the Word of God, remember that they have NO WAY of truly understanding! 1 Corinthians 2:14:
14 But the natural , nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
The only Word we should share with unbelievers is the simple Gospel of Salvation through Jesus of Nazareth! Once they receive Him as Lord and personal Saviour, they also receive the indwelling Spirit of God to teach them the rest of God's Word! Keep that in mind and you will save yourself endless discussions that go nowhere! Time is precious in this life, so use it wisely!
In Hosea 1-3 we see the great love of God for His people played out in all that He instructed Hosea to do. He used Hosea's life as a living witness to open the eyes of His people to the fact that they were far from Him. Having to marry a harlot and having his children bear the names they did (Not-pitied and Not-My-people) had to have been hard on the flesh for a man like Hosea, whose heart and mind were set on obeying God! By Hosea's faithfulness, God was able to get the message to the His people that even though they were far from Him at the moment, He would eventually bring them back! He says this in Hosea 1:10-11:
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and instead of it being said to them, You are not My people, it shall be said to them, Sons of the Living God! 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together and appoint themselves one head, and they shall go up out of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel [for the spiritually reborn Israel, a divine offspring, the people whom the Lord has blessed.]
Hosea 3:4-5 is similar:
4 For the children of Israel shall dwell and sit deprived many days, without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod [a garment worn by priests when seeking divine counsel] or teraphim (household gods). 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God, [inquiring of and requiring Him] and [from the line of] David, their King [of kings]; and they shall come in [anxious] fear to the Lord and to His goodness and His good things in the latter days.
God's plan to bless ALL of His people has never changed! We SEE the blessing WHEN we line ourselves up with His Word and His way of doing things! Don't give up and quit! God never will! AMEN!
Another interesting thing to note about this Psalm is that it includes all of the elements of true worship:
- Praising the Name of the Lord.
- Hearing God's Word (spoken, preached, taught, sung).
- Obedience to the Word of God.
In Luke 2 we see the story of the birth of Jesus. We looked at Luke for the first time back in March and April. This time I want to point out a few things. Each of the Gospels were written with a specific emphasis for a specific purpose! In Luke 2:39:
39 And when they had done everything according to the Law of the Lord, they went back into Galilee to their own town, Nazareth.
Then it jumps ahead to when Jesus was twelve years old with no mention of the fact that they spent some time in Egypt because of Herod's threat to kill Jesus. Back in verse 19, after the shepherds related their experiences and what the angel had said to them, we read this:
19 But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings), weighing and pondering them in her heart.
Mary was wondering what all of this meant! She knew what the angel had said to her about the child that she would have, but I don't think she comprehended it. She watched Him grow up as an obedient child, then was very surprised when they found Him in the Temple with the teachers when they had assumed He was with them. When Mary asked Him how He could do this to them, He replied:
49 And He said to them, How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not see and know that it is necessary [as a duty] for Me to be in My Father's house and [occupied] about My Father's business?
At first she didn't even notice that He was missing! Then she didn't look FIRST at the Temple, but looked for Him for three days in Jerusalem before even checking the Temple! Mary was not born again or Spirit-filled at this time. She was still living under the Old Covenant. She had no way of really comprehending the Word of God clearly at this time! That's why, in the early part of Jesus' ministry, she and her family were not yet following Him. Remember when they were on the outside wanting to see Him? But there did come a time when they understood and followed Him. If His own mother didn't really understand what He was about, how can we expect His disciples to get it? They didn't either, until AFTER the Resurrection! When you find yourself in discussions with unbelievers about the Word of God, remember that they have NO WAY of truly understanding! 1 Corinthians 2:14:
14 But the natural , nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
The only Word we should share with unbelievers is the simple Gospel of Salvation through Jesus of Nazareth! Once they receive Him as Lord and personal Saviour, they also receive the indwelling Spirit of God to teach them the rest of God's Word! Keep that in mind and you will save yourself endless discussions that go nowhere! Time is precious in this life, so use it wisely!
In Hosea 1-3 we see the great love of God for His people played out in all that He instructed Hosea to do. He used Hosea's life as a living witness to open the eyes of His people to the fact that they were far from Him. Having to marry a harlot and having his children bear the names they did (Not-pitied and Not-My-people) had to have been hard on the flesh for a man like Hosea, whose heart and mind were set on obeying God! By Hosea's faithfulness, God was able to get the message to the His people that even though they were far from Him at the moment, He would eventually bring them back! He says this in Hosea 1:10-11:
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and instead of it being said to them, You are not My people, it shall be said to them, Sons of the Living God! 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together and appoint themselves one head, and they shall go up out of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel [for the spiritually reborn Israel, a divine offspring, the people whom the Lord has blessed.]
Hosea 3:4-5 is similar:
4 For the children of Israel shall dwell and sit deprived many days, without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod [a garment worn by priests when seeking divine counsel] or teraphim (household gods). 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God, [inquiring of and requiring Him] and [from the line of] David, their King [of kings]; and they shall come in [anxious] fear to the Lord and to His goodness and His good things in the latter days.
God's plan to bless ALL of His people has never changed! We SEE the blessing WHEN we line ourselves up with His Word and His way of doing things! Don't give up and quit! God never will! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 79 ended with this declaration: "...we Thy people and sheep of Thy pasture..." Psalm 80:1 says:
1 GIVE EAR, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joesph like a flock; You Who sit enthroned upon the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth
The psalmist recognized the need, again, for Israel to repent and call out to God to save them. If we have learned anything at all from our studies in the Old Testament, it should be the fact that people ALWAYS fail, but God ALWAYS forgives and restores when the people return again to Him! Psalm 80:19:
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; cause Your face to shine [in pleasure, approval, and favor on us], and we shall be saved!
This is the Old Covenant equivalent of our 1 John 1:9 under the New Covenant!
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God WANTS to restore us even more than we want to BE restored! Never hesitate to activate 1 John 1:9 when you miss it! That promise was provided to keep us in a joyful and hopeful and confident attitude so that we can continue to go boldly before His throne, daily, in praise and worship, prayer and fellowship.
Luke 1 begins with the story of the birth of John the Baptist. We talked a little before about the difference in the way the angel's message was received by Zachariah and by Mary. Something interesting to note in Luke 1:6:
6 And they both were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
Both Zachariah and Elizabeth were "righteous", the Hebrew word, "dikaios", which means: one who is such as he ought to be, upright, acceptable to God, innocent. People living under the Old Covenant were saved the same way that they are under our New Covenant - by faith! THEY were saved by faith, trust and confidence in the COMING Messiah. WE are saved by faith,trust and confidence in the Messiah who HAS COME! Their faith was accounted unto them as righteousness and so is ours! We have been made the righteousness of God according to 2 Corinthians 5:21! We HAVE right-standing with God through the Blood of Jesus Christ! That means that we have the RIGHT to stand before our Awesome and Holy god as though we have never done anything wrong! THAT reveals the awesome power of the blood of Jesus that was shed for US! Thank You Lord Jesus! AMEN!
I have always liked the account of the people giving in obedience in 2 Chronicles 31:4-8:
4 He commanded the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites, that they might [be free to] give themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5 As soon as the command went abroad, the Israelites gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, vintage fruit, oil,, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. 6 The people of Israel and Judah who lived in Judah's cities also brought the tithe of cattle and sheep and of the dedicated things which were consecrated to the Lord their God, and they laid them in heaps. 7 In the third month [at the end of wheat harvest] they began to lay the foundation or the beginning of the heaps and finished them in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel.
When God's people set their hearts to obey the Word of God, things change! Not only for their own lives, but the lives of those witness the Blessing of God in their lives! Be a tither and a giver, because the Word of God says so, then look forward with expectant hope and eager anticipation to the manifested Blessing of God on your life, for your benefit and the benefit of others!
Shalom in Him!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Shalom,
We've mentioned before that in studying Scripture we need to be asking ourselves 2 questions concerning what is written:
- Who is doing the speaking?
- Who are they speaking to?
6 Pour out Your wrath on the Gentile nations who do not acknowledge You, and upon the kingdoms that do not call on Your Name.
Why do we say that this is not a New Covenant prayer? Because WE know that God has said this concerning the heathen in 2 Peter 3:9:
9 The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what he promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
There is a certain end waiting for people AND nations that reject the Truth. OUR responsibility is simply to continue to preach the Gospel so that every individual person we come in contact with has an opportunity to receive Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour! Remember when the Samaritans did not receive Jesus in Luke 9:53? James and John asked Jesus if they could call down fire from Heaven of them like Elijah had done. This is His response in verses 55-56:
55 But He turned and rebuked and severely censured them. He said, you do not know what sort of spirit you are, 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them [from the penalty of eternal death].
Keep a New Covenant mind-set as you continue in the Word and you will begin to see many things in a whole new light!
I love what Hebrews 13:5 says in the Amplified Bible:
5 Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not {I will] not [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]
And our response to that should be verse 6:
6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?
It doesn't make any difference what happens in the world system! We STILL have the promises of God's Word that have never changed! Jesus is our Lord and God is in control! Verse 8:
8 Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages). AMEN!
In the account in 2 Kings of Hezekiah we read what he did concerning the nation from a natural standpoint. In 2 Chronicles 29-30 we see what King Hezekiah, who "did right in the sight of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 29:2), did from a spiritual standpoint! He restored the priesthood, repaired and cleansed the Temple, reinstated the sacrificial offerings, revived the Levites with their instruments for praise and worship and celebrated the Passover again! The result of his obedience to the Word of God? Verse 30:27:
27 The the priests and Levites arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to [God's] holy habitation in Heaven.
Doing things God's way ALWAYS gets good and Godly results! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Shalom,
The first time we looked at Psalm 78, in March, we saw that it is a Psalm of history. We need to realize that history really IS "His story"! Our God knows the end from the beginning, but living out this life is what give US the opportunity to build up rewards in this life that we will realize in Heaven! Reading about the failures of God's people will help US to make wiser choices, IF we pay attention! George Santayana once said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". We see that happening all around us in this country. Things that were condemned when Hitler did them are being applauded by some of our political figures and others who are either ignorant of history or have a decidedly ungodly agenda! So where does that lead us? Know matter what is happening in whatever place on Earth we believers may live, we are, first and foremost, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven! (Ephesians 2:19) We are Ambassadors for that Kingdom sent to represent Heaven on Earth! (2 Corinthians 5:20) It is our responsibility to find out where God wants us to be and what He wants us to do! Those are the only things that our Heavenly rewards will be based on! Doing the good and Godly things that He wants us to do, and doing them for the right reasons or with the right motives! Everything else will be burnt up and yield nothing. Psalm 78:1:
1 GIVE EAR, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
Spend time daily in the Word of God and in Prayer in order to be in position to receive and hear His instruction! Be obedient to what He says. Then be doers of verses 4-7:
4 We will not hide them from their children, but we will tell to the generation to come the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonderful works that he has performed. 5 For He established a testimony (an express precept) in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, commanding our fathers that they should make [the great facts of god's dealings with Israel!] known to their children, 6 That the generation to come might know them, that the children still to be born might arise and recount them to their children, 7 That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but might keep His commandments.
Make spending time in the Word of God YOUR top priority and you will deal wisely in ALL areas! (Joshua 1:8)
Hebrews 12:1:
1 THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us
I have heard it taught that we have a Heavenly cheering section with all of these mighty men and women of faith in the grandstands cheering us on in our "race" here on Earth. That MAY be true, but that is NOT what THIS verse is saying! This verse is telling us that we are surrounded with the real life testimonies of all of these "witnesses", the Hebrew word, "martus", which means: one who can or does aver what he has seen or heard or knows. The word "aver" means to verify or prove to be true! We have the verification of all of those who have gone before us that the Word of God is true, that faith works and that we WILL win if don't quit! These were not perfect people by any means! What they DID have going for them was that they dared to believe God and not quit! Any time you are tempted to quit and give up, check back here in this "Hall of Faith" and let them be your example! Then look at verses 2-4:
2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. 4 You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood.
Nothing that we could ever face will be as hard as what Jesus was faced with, on our behalf! Stop looking at the problem and begin to REALLY believe that "with God, all things are possible"! (Mark 10:27)
2 Kings 18-19 is all about King Hezekiah! 18: 3 says this about him:
3 Hezekiah did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his [forefather] had done.
Verse 5-7a:
5 Hezekiah trusted in, leaned on, and was confident in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that neither after him nor before him was any one of all the kings of Judah like him. 6 For he clung and held fast to the Lord and ceased not to follow Him, but kept His commandments, as the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with Hezekiah; he prospered wherever he went.
Have you ever heard the saying, "It doesn't cost to serve God, it pays"? Well that IS true. When you look back, after having paid the price, you realize that it really didn't cost anything that you would rather have back in exchange for all that God has blessed you with! But at the start it WILL cost you something! You and I will have to set some things (good things) aside for a time in order to get ourselves in position to know and understand the promises in God's Word and our authority as believers under a new and better Covenant with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! Let's really be those that it will be said of in the future: "They did right in the sight of the Lord and He was able to prosper them wherever they went and work through them for His Glory"! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 77 is another instance of the psalmist crying out to God when in need. We can use this psalm as an example of things TO DO, and things NOT TO DO! He begins by speaking of his problems, cares, fears and concerns. It isn't until verses 11-12 that he begins to speak in a way that will bring him to a place of faith, trust and confidence in the God of the Bible!
11 I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old. 12 I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.
To "remember" is the Hebrew word, "zakar", which means: to call to mind, to bring to remembrance, to keep in remembrance, to make a memorial. To "meditate" is the Hebrew word, "hagah", which means: to murmur; to ponder; to imagine; to speak, talk or utter; to study; to talk. Words are powerful! Words produce! We are responsible for what our words produce in our lives! Proverbs 18:20-21 says this:
20 A man's self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil]. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that indulge it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].
We can only change our WORDS when our thoughts change, because what we think about is what we will speak! When the psalmist meditated on the Word of God his thinking changed and that changed his words! He began to praise the Lord. THAT put him in a position of power! Watch what goes in your eyes and ears, because those things will determine what comes out of your mouth and what you will have to be satisfied with! Not satisfied? CHECK YOURSELF!
Hebrews 11:1 from the Amplified Bible:
1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
This verse is a very accurate description of the word "faith", which is the Greek word, "pistis, meaning: persuasion, credence, conviction of truth, assurance, belief. Faith is necessary for pleasing God (verse 6):
6 But 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 a rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
Another function of faith is found in verse 3:
3 By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the Word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.
God DID operate in faith when He spoke the world into existence! But the function for faith revealed in this verse is so that we may "understand", which is the Greek word, "noeo", meaning: to exercise the mind, to comprehend, to perceive. I like this note that I found in the Jewish New Testament Commentary:
...this verse sets forth a basic function of trusting, namely, that by trusting we understand...Those who refuse to take the tiny step necessary to trust in God cannot understand the most basic truths...
Do you remember where faith for every area of life comes from? Romans 10:17:
17 So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Spend the time it takes in the Word of God for YOU to develop faith (trust and confidence) for every area of life! Then you WILL be pleasing to God, because of your faith! AMEN!
2 Kings 17:13-14 reveals the root cause behind the perpetual animosity for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people.
13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all the prophets and all the seers, saying, Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 14 Yet they would not hear, but hardened their necks as did their fathers who did not believe (trust in, rely on, and remain steadfast to) the Lord their God.
Yes, their disobedience to God's commandments caused them to go into captivity, but God also promised to bring them back, and He has done it! Make sure that you always bless Israel, so that you can walk in the Blessing and not the curse that comes with coming against God's people!
Shalom in Him!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 76:1-2:
1 IN JUDAH God is known and renowned; His name is highly praised and is great in Israel. 2 In [Jeru]Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place is in Zion.
Israel is such a tiny nation, but is THE center of the world! God chose to reveal Himself to and through the Jewish people. The One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible chose to make Israel His dwelling place on Earth! The Saviour of the world, in His Deity, is God the Son. In His humanity, He is a Jewish man! An Israelite! Israel is where He was born, where He died, where He was buried, where He rose again, where He ascended in to Heaven from, and where He will return to rule and to reign! I have got some news for all of those radical Muslims who will try to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth! IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!! Not EVER! Jesus Himself will rule and reign for 1000 years from that very spot! Hallelujah!
In Hebrews 10:1-4:
1 FOR SINCE the Law has merely a rude outline (foreshadowing) of the good things to come -- instead of fully expressing those things -- it can never by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year make perfect those who approach [its altars]. 2 For if it were otherwise, would [these sacrifices] not have stopped being offered? Since the worshipers had once for all been cleansed, they would no longer have any guilt or consciousness of sin. 3 But [as it is] these sacrifices annually bring a fresh remembrance of sins [to be atoned for], 4 Because the blood of bulls and goats is powerless to take sins away.
THIS was the purpose of the Law, to reveal sin to us, so that we would realize our need, as personal sinners, for a personal Saviour! Look at verses 5-6:
5 Hence, when He [Christ] entered into the world, he said, Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead you have made ready a body for Me [to offer]; 6 In burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no delight.
God did NOT love the smell of butchered animals and burnt flesh! The aroma that was pleasing to God was the obedience of His people to do his Word and their faith in His promise of the coming Messiah and Saviour! Verse 14:
14 For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy.
Sin is NOT the issue anymore! Not one person will miss Heaven because of sin! Jesus has already paid the price for every sin ever committed or to be committed EXCEPT for one. That one sin that is NOT covered by the blood of Jesus of Nazareth is the sin of rejecting HIM! If you have never received Jesus of Nazareth as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour, but you do now recognize your NEED for a Saviour and you believe that Jesus is THE ONE, then I invite you to 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 the 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!
Now you, too, are a child of the living God and His Word will come alive to you! You need to obey Hebrews 10:25:
25 Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.
You NEED to get into a good local church so that you can be taught the Word of God and fellowship with like-minded believers, in order to grow up in the things of God and learn to walk in the authority that is yours as a born again child of the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible!
Isaiah 66:8:
8 Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Or shall a nation brought forth in a moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she brought forth her children.
This was God's promise, beforehand, to His people! They mourned for the loss of their nation and longed to be in Jerusalem! It happened in one day! May 14, 1948 the nation of Israel was reborn! God KEEPS His promises! Find promises in the Word of God for YOU and your specific need, then choose to believe that the Word of God is true for YOU! AMEN!
1 FOR SINCE the Law has merely a rude outline (foreshadowing) of the good things to come -- instead of fully expressing those things -- it can never by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year make perfect those who approach [its altars]. 2 For if it were otherwise, would [these sacrifices] not have stopped being offered? Since the worshipers had once for all been cleansed, they would no longer have any guilt or consciousness of sin. 3 But [as it is] these sacrifices annually bring a fresh remembrance of sins [to be atoned for], 4 Because the blood of bulls and goats is powerless to take sins away.
THIS was the purpose of the Law, to reveal sin to us, so that we would realize our need, as personal sinners, for a personal Saviour! Look at verses 5-6:
5 Hence, when He [Christ] entered into the world, he said, Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead you have made ready a body for Me [to offer]; 6 In burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no delight.
God did NOT love the smell of butchered animals and burnt flesh! The aroma that was pleasing to God was the obedience of His people to do his Word and their faith in His promise of the coming Messiah and Saviour! Verse 14:
14 For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy.
Sin is NOT the issue anymore! Not one person will miss Heaven because of sin! Jesus has already paid the price for every sin ever committed or to be committed EXCEPT for one. That one sin that is NOT covered by the blood of Jesus of Nazareth is the sin of rejecting HIM! If you have never received Jesus of Nazareth as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour, but you do now recognize your NEED for a Saviour and you believe that Jesus is THE ONE, then I invite you to 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 the 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!
Now you, too, are a child of the living God and His Word will come alive to you! You need to obey Hebrews 10:25:
25 Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.
You NEED to get into a good local church so that you can be taught the Word of God and fellowship with like-minded believers, in order to grow up in the things of God and learn to walk in the authority that is yours as a born again child of the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible!
Isaiah 66:8:
8 Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Or shall a nation brought forth in a moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she brought forth her children.
This was God's promise, beforehand, to His people! They mourned for the loss of their nation and longed to be in Jerusalem! It happened in one day! May 14, 1948 the nation of Israel was reborn! God KEEPS His promises! Find promises in the Word of God for YOU and your specific need, then choose to believe that the Word of God is true for YOU! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 75:1:
We all want to have the assurance that God is in control. When things look so chaotic, as they do in our world right now, we want to know that God sees and knows and that HE has the best plan to follow. HE DOES! His plan, though, involves us (as born again believers in Jesus of Nazareth) taking the responsibility for our own lives! He has set up this New Covenant so that we can walk in control in every situation in our lives by the Word of God and by the Spirit of God who lives inside of us. If we DON'T take that responsibility, it doesn't get done. The reason that so many believers seem to be "under the circumstances" is that they ARE! Instead of standing on the Word expecting God to perform it as He said He will do (Jeremiah 1:12), they run from meeting to meeting, and church to church, trying to get someone ELSE to believe for them! Jesus said, in Mark 9:23, that ALL things are possible to HIM who believes! We need to spend the time it takes in the Word of God to get to the point where we BELIEVE that He meant what He said and said what He meant! That the Word is TRUTH! Then we will think, talk and act like Jesus did when He walked the earth, and we WILL have the same results! (John 14:12)
Psalm 75:1:
1 We give praise and thanks to You, O God, we praise and give thanks; Your wondrous works declare that Your Name is near and they who invoke Your Name rehearse Your wonders.
This is the in obedience to Psalm 100:4:
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His Name! 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, his faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.
Then God answers the praisers in Psalm 75:2-3:
2 When the proper time has come [for executing My judgments], I will judge uprightly [says the Lord]. 3 When the earth totters, and all the inhabitants of it, it is I Who will poise and keep steady its pillars. Selah [pause and calmly think of that]!
We all want to have the assurance that God is in control. When things look so chaotic, as they do in our world right now, we want to know that God sees and knows and that HE has the best plan to follow. HE DOES! His plan, though, involves us (as born again believers in Jesus of Nazareth) taking the responsibility for our own lives! He has set up this New Covenant so that we can walk in control in every situation in our lives by the Word of God and by the Spirit of God who lives inside of us. If we DON'T take that responsibility, it doesn't get done. The reason that so many believers seem to be "under the circumstances" is that they ARE! Instead of standing on the Word expecting God to perform it as He said He will do (Jeremiah 1:12), they run from meeting to meeting, and church to church, trying to get someone ELSE to believe for them! Jesus said, in Mark 9:23, that ALL things are possible to HIM who believes! We need to spend the time it takes in the Word of God to get to the point where we BELIEVE that He meant what He said and said what He meant! That the Word is TRUTH! Then we will think, talk and act like Jesus did when He walked the earth, and we WILL have the same results! (John 14:12)
I found an interesting statement in the Bible Exposition Commentary- New Testament concerning Hebrews 9 that goes right along with this:
"The Christian is a citizen of two worlds, the earthly and the heavenly. He must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's (Matthew 22:21). because he is a citizen of two worlds, he must learn how to walk by faith in a world that is governed by sight. Like Moses, a believer must see the invisible if he is to overcome the pull of the world (Hebrews 11:24-27). Practical man says, "Seeing is believing!" But the man of faith says, "Believing is seeing!" I like that! Now on to Hebrews 9!
I have been so impressed lately with the fact that our God is a God of order! Even though he Himself is not bound by time, He has certain "set times" for things to take place! He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10)! Let's look at Hebrews 9:11-12:
11 But [that appointed time came when Christ (the Messiah) appeared as a High Priest of the better things that have come and are to come. [Then] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with [human] hands, that is, not a part of this material creation, 12 He went once for all into the [holy of] Holies [of heaven], not by virtue of the blood of goats and calves [by which to make reconciliation between God and man], but His own blood, having found and secured a complete redemption (an everlasting release for us).
People had been waiting and watching for the Messiah to come to deliver them, but most of them thought He would come as a Warrior and take control of the world. HE WILL! But THAT "set time" is for the future, at the end of the Tribulation. Instead, He came as the PERFECT sacrifice for sin so that we could be free from the kingdom of darkness and its authority, and be planted firmly into the Kingdom of God and HIS family! ONCE for ALL! That is what Hebrews 9 is talking about! And the church is looking forward to THIS "set time" that we see in verse 28:
28 Even so it is that Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are [eagerly, constantly, and patiently] waiting for and expecting Him.
That word "salvation" is the Hebrew word, "soteria", which means: rescue, safety, deliverance, health. We WILL BE rescued from this Earth and all that will take place on it in what is referred to as the Rapture of the church! COUNT ON IT!
Now Isaiah 63 gives us a picture of the conquering Warrior Who WILL COME at the end of the seven years of tribulation after the Church is removed. He will conquer, for Israel, all of the armies that will come against her in the Valley of Meggido. We had the opportunity to see this area when we visited Israel earlier this year. We stood on the top of Mount Carmel, where Elijah defeated the prophets of baal, and looked across that vast expanse of land where all of the armies of the world will gather against Israel. The Messiah, Jesus will defeat all of the armies and then set His feet on the Mount of Olives and walk right into Jerusalem through the Beautiful Gates. And WE will be coming back WITH HIM! I am looking forward to THOSE "set times"! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Shalom,
Psalm 74 is another "maschil" Psalm. That means that it is a psalm meant for teaching and reflection, or meditation. In the first part of this Psalm the psalmist is lamenting the fact that the enemies of God have destroyed the Temple. He is declaring this to God. Do you think God knew what was going on without being told? Of course! It had already been prophesied that this would happen! God "declares the end from the beginning"! (Isaiah 46:10) He begins to declare Who God is in verses 12-17. Then He calls on God to remember His Covenant in verse 20:
20 Have regard for the covenant [You made with Abraham], for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
That was referring to the Abrahamic Covenant, the Old Covenant. We KNOW that we now have a better Covenant based on better promises! We don't have to go someplace to find the "sanctuary" of His presence. Now the sanctuary of His presence is inside of us and it cannot be destroyed! He will NEVER leave us or forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5)
Hebrews 8:1:
Now the main point of what we have to say is this: We have such a High Priest, One Who is seated at the right hand of the majestic God in Heaven. Psalm 110:1:
1THE LORD (God) says to my Lord (the Messiah), Sit at My right hand, until I make Your adversaries Your footstool.
We know from our study yesterday that our High Priest, Jesus, is in Heaven making intercession for us! He is fulfilling His current ministry according to verse 6:
1 But 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.
As you go through your Bible studying each day, highlight everywhere you read in the New Testament that refers to "In Him", "In Whom", "In Christ" and begin to really get a grasp on what all is covered in this New Covenant that we have! Remember, everything YOU have belongs to GOD, and everything GOD has belongs to YOU as Blood Covenant partners together through the precious Blood of Jesus of Nazareth! Meditate on those Scriptures until you believe it! You will never walk in fear and doubt again if you practice this daily! AMEN!
Isaiah 61:1-2 is what Jesus read in the synagogue in Luke 4:18:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.
That is OUR calling in these last days! We are the Anointed of the Lord! We have been commissioned by God Himself to carry the Good News to all the world! That is our #1 job and should be our #1 priority! Everything else in our lives should revolve around that Godly calling to preach the Gospel! AMEN! Remember that the Spirit of the Lord is WITHIN YOU! You ARE the anointed! JUST DO IT!
Shalom in Him!
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