Shalom,


Psalm 71 is filled with affirmation of the goodness and character of the One, True God! Verses 5-8:


5 For You are my hope; O LORD God, You are my trust from my youth and the source of my confidence. 6 Upon You have I leaned and relied from birth; You are He Who took me from my mother's womb and You have been my benefactor from that day. My praise is continually of You. 7 I am as a wonder and surprise to many, but You are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth shall be filled with Your praise and with Your honor all the day. 


Verses 14-17 are more of the same!


14 But I will hope continually, and I will praise You yet more and more. 15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteous acts and of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is more than I know. 16 I will come in the strength and with the mighty acts of the LORD God; I will mention and praise Your righteousness, even Yours alone. 17 O God, you have taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared Your wondrous works.


Verses 22-24a is a commitment to praise and worship with all we are, which includes all of the gifts and talents! 


22 I will praise You with the harp, even Your Truth and faithfulness, O my God; unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my inner being, which You have redeemed. 24a My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;


If YOU can't play a harp or lyre (or any other musical instrument), you can still clap your hands and move your feet! Put all of you into what you present to HIM! He LOVES that! Here is Hillsong United singing "Take All Of Me":

Hebrews 5:11-12:


11 Concerning this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull in your [spiritual] hearing and sluggish [even slothful in achieving spiritual insight]. 12 For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God's Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food.


Have you ever envied someone so knowledgeable of the Word of God that it seemed a part of them? That is exactly what God intends for His people! We are told to study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15) so that we can "rightly divide the Word of Truth"! Memorizing Scripture will NOT do this for us! We need to obtain "knowledge", the Greek word "epignosis" which means: precise and correct knowledge, full discernment; and is a compound word. The second part is "ginosko", which means: to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of, understand. The first part is "epi", which is a primary preposition meaning: superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.). Superimposition means to lay (or layer) something over something else so that both can be seen together. In pertaining to knowledge of God's Word, this means adding (daily) one layer of knowledge on top of a previous layer of knowledge. The result will be a daily growing understanding of the Word of God. It cannot be done overnight and there is no such thing as a knowledge "drive-through"! It takes time and diligence to get to know the Word of God so that we can act on it and have the same results that Jesus did! That must be our goal! Verses 13-14:


13 For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness, for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! 14 But solid food is for full-grown men (male men and female men!), for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.


I like to call this a "working knowledge" of the Word of God! We are able to do the "work" He has called us to because we understand His Word! Make it YOUR priority to know Him AND His Word by spending time daily in His presence and in His Word! 


Isaiah 55-56 reveal that the Messiah was sent not only for Israel, but for all who will!  Isaiah 55:1:


1 WAIT and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].


Verse 6-7:


6 Seek, inquire for, and require the LORD while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for he will multiply to him His abundant pardon. 


If YOU have never received Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour, please click on The Spoken Word Church link to the left of this blog and find out how! Then let us know about you! We would love to welcome YOU in tot he family! 


Shalom in Him!