Shalom,
Psalm 39:4-6:
4 LORD, make me to know my end and [to appreciate] the measure of my days -- what it is; let me know and realize how frail I am [how transient is my stay here]. 5 Behold, You have made my days as [short as] handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight. Truly every man at his best is merely a breath! Selah [pause, and think calmly of that]! 6 Surely every man walks to and fro -- like a shadow in a pantomime; surely for futility and emptiness he is in turmoil; each one heaps up riches, not knowing who will gather them.
David is making the point here that our life on earth is so very short compared with all of eternity! People strive so hard here for riches and possessions that will eventually pass into the hands of someone they may not even know! We are to focus our attention on "things above"! That means making God's #1 priority our own! What we do in this life determines the amount of responsibility and the rewards of the next, which lasts for all eternity! Focus on eternity and you won't get trapped into the mindset that THIS is all there is and you might miss out on something if you do things God's way. The absolute opposite is true! This world has really nothing to offer that can even compare to the Heaven of the God of the Bible! AMEN! Here is a new song from Hillsong that reflects what God desires to see happening NOW! "The Lost Are Found":
1 Timothy 3:1 says this:
1 THE SAYING if true and irrefutable: If any man [eagerly] seeks the office of bishop (superintendent, overseer), he desires an excellent task (work).
This is going to shock some of you, but the words "man" and "he" are not even actually in this verse! It actually says "If any" desire the office of bishop, or one who oversees, the one desiring is desiring a good thing! Whether that one be a man or a woman! Likewise, the next verse does NOT say that this bishop must be the "husband of one wife". It literally says that the bishop must be the husband/wife of one! They are not to have two marriage partners. When you know the character of God you will know some TRUTHS that may not seem apparent without further study! THAT is why we are to meditate the Word day and night! We won't even begin to see all that is in the Word of God before the Rapture of the Church! BUT, we CAN make a great start at it, and be way better off for it! AMEN!
Amos 9:14-15 describe the days we are living in right now!
14 And I will bring back the exiles of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be torn up out of their land which I gave them, says the LORD your God.
Israel has returned! Since 1948 the "people of the Book" have again been living in the land that GOD GAVE THEM! The dessert is blooming again, just as God said! It doesn't make any difference WHAT the UN or any other group on the face of the earth "decides" they are going to do, it will FAIL! They will never again be forced from the land! HALLELUJAH! This also means that we are living in the last days of the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth! Let's buy up EVERY opportunity to share the Good News of the Gospel so that our Father may be delighted by all those who flow into the Kingdom by that time!
Shalom in Him!
