Shalom,


Psalm 104:1-4:


1 BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, You are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty -- 2 [You are the One] Who covers Yourself with a light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent, 3 Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind. 4 Who makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His ministers.


Psalm 104 is a great hymn of praise to the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible, celebrating His greatness and the greatness of all of His creation! Our God is so great that He clothes Himself with LIGHT! His creation is so great, and intricate and enduring! If anyone or anything ever causes you to doubt that our God IS God, then get out Psalm 104 and go over it and over it until you are overwhelmed with the awesome greatness of HIM! THEN He can send YOU out as a flaming missile into the world so that you can minister His LIFE to the lost! Now be a DOER of verses 33-34:


33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have any being. 34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; as for me, I will rejoice in the LORD.


James 1:1-5 (Amplified Bible):


1 James, A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad [among the Gentiles in the dispersion]: Greetings (rejoice)! 2 Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. 3 be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. 4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.


God is not the one Who brings the tests, trials and temptations, but He IS the One Who has the answers we need to get OUT of the situation victoriously! We don't thank God FOR the problem, but we DO rejoice (COUNTING it as JOYFUL!) when situations arise! In fact, the Amplified Bible says "wholly joyful"! That means nothing LESS than joyful! Let's look at a different translation! The Wuest Bible says this:


1 James, a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes, those in dispersion. Be constantly rejoicing. Consider it a matter of unadulterated joy [without any mixture of sorrow] whenever you fall into the midst of variegated trials which surround you, knowing experientially that the approving of your faith, that faith having been put to the test for the purpose of being approved, and having met the test, has been approved, produces a patience which bears up and does not lose heart or courage under trials. But be allowing the aforementioned patience to be having its complete work in order that you may be spiritually mature and complete in every detail, lacking nothing. And if, as is the case, anyone of you [when undergoing these trials] is deficient in wisdom, let him keep on presenting his request in the presence of the giving God who gives to all with simplicity and without reserve [a pure, simple giving of good without admixture of evil or bitterness], and Who does not [with the giving of the gift] reproach [the recipient with any manifestation of displeasure or regret], and it shall be given him.


It is OUR responsibility to maintain the right attitude and to control our thought life whenever we face trials and tests of any kind! This passage reveals what God expects our mind-set to be! So what do we do? We keep our joy operating at a high lever EVERY DAY! That way, nothing can take us by surprise that the enemy tries to do! AFTER stirring up the joy, then ask God for the wisdom you need to come out victorious!  Then we need to DO verse 22:


22 But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].


Don't argue with the Word! Just DO THE WORD! The understanding will come as we walk in faith being doers of the Word! This is all part of our growing up IN HIM, and He LOVES IT WHEN WE DO THAT! AMEN!


Jeremiah 16-17 continues with the LORD revealing to Jeremiah what will happen to the people if they refuse to turn back to Him. He gives instructions to Jeremiah about his own life that have everything to do with the message that He wants to get across to the people. There is so much that seems so negative in this book, because the people have so turned away from God. But in the midst of all of this, God promises THIS in Jeremiah 16:13-15:


13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land [of Judah] into the land [of the Babylonians] neither you nor your father's have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor there. 14 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when it shall no more be said, As the LORD lives, Who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, 15 But, As the LORD lives, Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries to which He had driven them. And I will bring them again to their land which I gave to their fathers.


Did you catch that last promise? God will BRING THEM AGAIN to their land that HE gave them in the first place! That is the time that we are living in right now! God Himself has brought His people back to the land He gave their fathers! The entire world is trying to take their land from them, but they WILL NOT succeed this time! God alone will be their protector and provider! Don't be caught unaware of the times that we are living in! We are just "moments" from the Rapture of the Church of Jesus of Nazareth! Make sure you are buying up EVERY opportunity to share the Good News so those who have never received Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour can do so and NOT miss the flight! AMEN!


COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS! But use us mightily until the time!


Shalom in Him!