Shalom,


Psalm 78:1-8:


1 GIVE EAR, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable (in instruction by numerous examples); I will utter dark sayings of old [that hide important truth]  3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 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. 8 And might not be as their fathers -- a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their hearts aright nor prepared their hearts to know God, and whose spirits were not steadfast and faithful to God.


This Psalm relates over and over what we have come to see from our reading through the Old Testament. God did many mighty, wonderful and spectacular works to deliver His people. They would  be grateful and thankful for a while, then they would forget and turn away form Him to serve other "gods". They would get out of His protection and then things would begin to go wrong. They would repent (change their thinking to agree with God), call out to God for mercy, He would deliver them, and they would be grateful and thankful - for a time! God gave us His Word so that we could remember HIM, get to know and understand HIM, rely on HIM, and get HIS deliverance in every situation! Make sure that YOU are remembering to maintain a grateful, thankful heart every day! You need never find yourself in a position where you don't know what to do or where to turn! SEEK HIM! Amen!


We read Hebrews 12 today and I found this very interesting commentary on this chapter in the Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament:

    

Hebrews 12:

                   STAY IN THE RUNNING!

  

If the Apostle Paul were alive today, he would probably read the sports pages of the newspaper and follow the progress of various teams and athletes. Why? Because several athletic references in his letters indicate his interest in sports. Of course, both the Greeks and the Romans were keenly interested in athletic contests, not only for their physical well-being, but also for the honor of their towns and countries. It was a patriotic thing to be a good athlete and to bring glory to your country.

The writer of Hebrews combined these two themes of athletics and citizenship in this important twelfth chapter. The atmosphere is that of the footraces in the arena. We can see the runners laying aside their training weights and striving to run their races successfully. Some get weary and faint, while others endure to the end and win the prize. First the writer pictures the race (Heb 12:1-13), and then emphasizes citizenship in the heavenly city (Heb 12:14-29). In the minds of his readers, these two themes would go together, for no one could take part in the official games unless he was a citizen of the nation.

The one theme that runs through this chapter is endurance (Heb 12:1 ["patience"], 2-3,7; also see 10:32,36 ["patience"]). The Jewish believers who received this letter were getting weary and wanted to give up; but the writer encouraged them to keep moving forward in their Christian lives, like runners on a track (see Phil 3:12-14).



I really like that! And then verse 28:


28 Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe.


What is pleasing service and acceptable worship to God? Being exactly where He wants you to be, doing exactly what HE wants you to do! Then worship Him in Spirit (by the Holy Spirit Who lives in you) and in Truth (according to His Word) (John 4:24)!


2 Kings 18-19 begins with king Hezekiah. 2 Kings 18:1-6:


1 IN THE third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of ISrael, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began his twenty-nine -ear reign in jerusalem. His mother was Abit daughter of Zechariah. 3 Hezekiah did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his [forefather] had done. 4 He removed the high places, broke the images, cut down the Asherim, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until then the Israelites had burned incense to it; but he called it Nehushtan [ a bronze trifle]. 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.

Did you catch that? Not even David obeyed the commandments of the LORD as well as Hezekiah did!  If you simply continue consistently in the Word of God, you will discover many such things that will adjust your thinking and cause you to be even more open to what the Word of God has to say! I LOVE the Word of God! I hope you do, too! Here is Hillsong with Lord Of Lords, true worship for the King of kings and the Lord of lords!:

Shalom in  Him!