Shalom,


Psalm 138:1-2:


1 I WILL confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praises to You. 


The Hebrew word translated "confess" and "praise" here is "Yadah", which means: to cast, to give thanks, to laud, to praise. The Dictionary definition of "laud" is: to praise highly, especially in a public context. The reason the psalmist is praising the Lord in public, particularly in the face of the so-called gods, is so that HIS works may be  known by the world so that they can turn and follow HIM: the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! Verse 4-5 say this:


4 All the kings of the land shall give You credit and praise You, O LORD, for they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled]. 5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD and joyfully celebrate His mighty acts, for great is the glory of the LORD.


WE are to tell of His wondrous works (Psalm 105:2) so that the world will see and know that HE IS, and that HE IS GOD! Go ahead, glorify Him in public! He is worthy and THEY deserve to hear about it! Here is "For Your Name" by Hillsong. A great song to give glory to God!

As you read and meditate 2 Corinthians 11 today, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart concerning the Pastor of your local church. I believe that Paul was writing this so that the church that he was responsible for in Corinth would understand where he was coming from in his care and concern for their well-being. Look at verses 2-3:


2 For I am zealous for you with a godly eagerness and a divine jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one Husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But [now] I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ.


Paul was concerned about protecting them from false teachers and false teaching. There are  many other concerns that a Pastor has for the people and families that they are responsible for. Good and Godly Pastors give of their time, energy and resources to make sure that their people are being fed the Word of God and given an environment in which to continually grow up in the things of God. Electronic churches and teaching ministries are a valuable tool and gift from God for our growth, but they will NEVER replace the local church and your own personal Pastor! Remember that YOUR Pastor was given to YOU as a gift from God (Ephesians 4). Appreciate your Pastor and contribute to their support, in every way that you have opportunity! That greatly pleases your Heavenly Father! AMEN!


I learned something new in my study of 1 Samuel 1-2 today! I LOVE when that happens! First of all, here is something that I found interesting from the Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament:

During the period of the judges, the Israelites were in dire straits because they lacked godly leadership. The priesthood was defiled, there was no sustained prophetic message from the Lord (3:1), and the Law of Moses was being ignored throughout the land. As He often did in Israel's history, God began to solve the problem by sending a baby. Babies are God's announcement that He knows the need, cares about His people, and is at work on their behalf. The arrival of a baby ushers in new life and a new beginning; babies are signposts to the future, and their conception and birth is a miracle that only God can do (Gen 30:1-2). To make the event seem even greater, God sometimes selects barren women to be the mothers, as when He sent Isaac to Sarah, Jacob and Esau to Rebekah, and Joseph to Rachel. 

As I was reading further, I noticed that Elkanah was a Levite who had responsibility to minster at the Tabernacle. He had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Remember that Jesus said in Matthew 19 what God's plan for marriage was. What is suspected here is that because Hannah appeared to be barren, Elkanah had taken another wife so he could have children and heirs. That sounds a lot like Abraham and Haggar, doesn't it? He didn't have faith to believe for his wife to have children! Whose child was used by God? Hannah's! It PAYS to do things God's Way! We'll see more of Samuel and how God used him as we continue in this book! 


Shalom in Him!