Shalom,

Psalm 100:1:

¹MAKE A joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!

Even though the nation of Israel was God's chosen vessel for the Messiah to come through, He has ALWAYS intended for ALL of His creation to have the opportunity to know Him and be blessed! We are ALL to "make a joyful noise"! That is the Hebrew word, "ruwa". Remember the meaning of that word is to split the ear with sound, cry aloud, shout! Verse 2:

²Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!

We are to serve the Lord (as voluntary Bond slaves!) "with gladness", the Hebrew word, "simchah", which means: joy, mirth, gladness, pleasure, great glee, and come into His presence singing! He LOVES to hear us sing! He also loves to sing over us! Zephaniah 3:17:

¹⁷The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

Verse 3:

³Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

We BELONG to Him! He created us, saved us and has had a unique plan for each one of us from before we were ever born! Verse 4:

⁴Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!

Maintaining a grateful, thankful heart is the most important attitude you can ever develop in your walk with the Lord! That "attitude of gratitude" will keep you focused on the most important things in your life! God can use more people like that! Verse 5:

⁵For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.

The Lord is ALWAYS Good! That means that everything and anything truly GOOD in your life came from Him. That also means that ALL of His plans for you are ALWAYS GOOD! He is the only ONE you can truly trust with EVERYTHING and ALL THE TIME! He will NEVER fail you! COUNT ON IT!

That's all we're going to cover for today! Keep meditating and let the Holy Spirit give you some new thoughts from Luke and Deuteronomy! It's great fun to spend time in the Word. That's time with Jesus! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 99:1 tells us this:

¹THE LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble [with reverential fear]! He sits [enthroned] above the cherubim, let the earth quake!

The Lord is Yahweh or Jehovah! The Eternal Self-existing One! And He "reigns", the Hebrew word, "malak", which means: to fill the functions of ruler over someone. In THIS case, it means EVERYONE! He is the Head of the Army of Heaven, the Chief Executive of all of God the Father's business, the Head of His people (that's US!) and the final authority! No wonder the people tremble [with reverential fear]! Hallelujah! When we meditate on that, it's certainly NOT hard to obey verse 9!

⁹Extol the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy!

To extol means to praise highly! I can't think of ANYONE more worthy of that kind of praise! AMEN!

Luke 11 has the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. Do you think that it might be because they were continually seeing Jesus get HIS prayers answered? What Jesus gave them was NOT meant to be a prayer, but rather a format for praying! Whenever we approach the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible, we need to come with thanksgiving, praise and worship! Commit your work, your desires, your plans and purposes to Him, trusting Him with them! Forgive others and pray for them and expect God to lead your steps! AMEN!

In Deuteronomy 5-6, Moses is reminding the people of the Law and the 10 commandments. Then he tells them some of the most important and powerful things he has said up to this point. Deuteronomy 6:1-9:

¹NOW THIS is the instruction, the laws, and the precepts which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land to which you go to possess it,²That you may [reverently] fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, and keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.³Hear therefore, O Israel, and be watchful to do them, that it may be well with you and that you may increase exceedingly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.⁴Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord].⁵And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.⁶And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]⁷You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.⁸And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes.⁹And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Then He reminds them again with verses 10-15:

¹⁰And when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you, with great and goodly cities which you did not build,¹¹And houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and cisterns hewn out which you did not hew, and vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and when you eat and are full,¹²Then beware lest you forget the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.¹³You shall [reverently] fear the Lord your God and serve Him and swear by His name [and presence].¹⁴You shall not go after other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are round about you;¹⁵For the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and He destroy you from the face of the earth.

THAT is the reason that Israel continually landed in sin and apart from fellowship with God. They FORGOT Who God was, what He had done for them, what He had promised them and what He had commanded them. They would go in to exile, finally repent of their actions, call on God and He would deliver them again! Don't YOU forget Who it is that has blessed you! That is one of the quickest ways to fall out of fellowship with Him! If you find yourself in that condition, REPENT! It only takes a moment to realize that God is right and you were wrong, ask for His forgiveness, pick yourself up and MOVE ON in obedience to His Word! Remember, His mercies are NEW every morning! (Lamentations 2:22-23)

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 98:1 is not just a "good idea", it is a command to us!

¹O SING to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have wrought salvation for Him.

Sing unto the Lord a new song! That is one of the things that being filled with the Holy Spirit will do for you! The Holy Spirit will give you new songs to sing in the Spirit and also new songs all your own to sing in your known language! The Holy Spirit is the One who will assist us in worshipping the Father in Spirit and in Truth! John 4:23-24:

²³But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.²⁴God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

You can start by singing the Psalms, like this one, to Him in your own tune! That's good practice! Then you'll find yourself singing your own praise and prayers to Him. He LOVES that! That is part of "waiting on the Lord", and you DO remember what happens when we do that, don't you? Isaiah 40:31:

³¹But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

There is a lot going on in Luke 10! We see Jesus send out the 70 to go and do the same thing He had sent the twelve to do earlier. That shows us that those called into the ministry are anointed by God to DO the work of the ministry (teaching, preaching and healing), referring to the Twelve, AND those who are not called to a specific ministry ("lay people") are anointed by God to DO the work of the ministry also! We have all been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18) and the call to preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:14-16)! Then we have the lawyer trying to trip Jesus up which resulted in the story of the Good Samaritan. But I have to say that my favorite part of Luke 10 is when Martha complains to Jesus about Mary just sitting and listening while she did all of the work. This was the reply that Jesus lovingly gave to her:

⁴¹But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;⁴²There is need of only one. Mary has chosen the good portion [that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her.

Yeah, that's where I'd be! The work will always be there to get done, but the Word won't always wait! Put the Word of God first place and you will do a better job with everything else you are responsible to do!

In Deuteronomy 3-4 Moses continues to give the new generation of the people of Israel a detailed review of their history. His reason for doing so can be found in Deuteronomy 4:1:

¹NOW LISTEN and give heed, O Israel, to the statutes and ordinances which I teach you, and do them, that you may live and go in and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you.

He wanted them to be able to do what their parents couldn't it, possess the promised land. Then Moses warns them not to add to or take away from the Word of the Lord:

²You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

He also tells them what will be the results of their obedience to the Word of God:

⁵Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to possess.⁶So keep them and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

When God's people obey His Word they will be respected by other nations, even nations that don't like them! That is one of the problems that we have seen in our nation in these days. We no longer have the respect of the rest of the world because we no longer honor the God of the Bible as a nation! But there are still rewards for those who do keep the Word:

⁴⁰Therefore you shall keep His statutes and His commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God gives you forever.

Be a consistent DOER of the Word of God and you will bring glory to His Name and walk in the favor of the Lord! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

The best news we could ever hear is found in Psalm 97:1:

¹THE LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles and coastlands be glad!

The Lord, our God, He REIGNS! It doesn't make any difference what ANYONE thinks about it, HE REIGNS! He IS the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible. He is the God of ALL creation, those who want Him and those who don't! AND HE IS the God of our Salvation! Nothing is impossible for Him and HE SAID, nothing is impossible for those who believe! Let the Word of the ONE WHO REIGNS be the final authority over every area of your life!

In Luke 9:1-2 we see Jesus doing this:

¹THEN JESUS called together the Twelve [apostles] and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases,²And He sent them out to announce and preach the kingdom of God and to bring healing.

He gave them "power", the Greek word, "dunamis", which means: strength, ability, power, inherent power, the power of performing miracles. He also gave them "authority", the Greek word, "exousia", which means: ability, privilege, force, capacity, competency, mastery, delegated influence, right, jurisdiction. This power and authority was over all demons and devils, and to cure diseases. Jesus also sent them to preach about the Kingdom of God that was present in their midst (verse 6 says they preached the Gospel - Good News!) and to heal and restore the sick! They did, God did and they came back with a Good Report! Jesus took them away to give them some privacy, but the crowds wanted more of Jesus! (He LOVES it when people want more of Him!) When it was getting late the Twelve, who had just returned from their miracle tour, wanted Jesus to send the people away so they could eat. This is what Jesus did:

¹³But He said to them, You [yourselves] give them [food] to eat. They said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish--unless we are to go and buy food for all this crowd,¹⁴For there were about 5,000 men. And [Jesus] said to His disciples, Have them [sit down] reclining in table groups (companies) of about fifty each.¹⁵And they did so, and made them all recline.¹⁶And taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and [praising God] gave thanks and asked Him to bless them [to their use]. Then He broke them and gave them to the disciples to place before the multitude.¹⁷And all the people ate and were satisfied. And they gathered up what remained over--twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Who do you think the TWELVE baskets left over may have been for? Remember, a laborer is worthy of his hire! Jesus proceeded to let them know what was ahead for Him and these were some of the things they would remember AFTER His Resurrection! Eight days later Peter, James and John see Jesus transfigured by the Glory! Do you know how SEEING something like that affects your faith? John wants to call fire from Heaven down on people by the end of this chapter and Peter denies Jesus three times during His trial. Seeing things like this are a wonderful blessing, but they do nothing for your faith! What does? Romans 10:17:

¹⁷So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Stick with the Word of God and develop your faith into a vital, productive, working faith! That's what we're called to do!

In Deuteronomy 1-2 we see Moses and the people are at Kadesh-Barnea. It has been 40 years since they left Egypt and Moses is getting ready to explain the Law in detail to the new generation to prepare them to enter the promised land. Moses himself would not enter, but he is still preparing the people for what is ahead of them. They SHOULD have entered the land 38 years before, but failed because of their unbelief and disobedience! God has given them a second chance and Moses doesn't want them to mess up again! Philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". Moses doesn't want that to happen so he is reviewing for the people who they are, where they came from, why there here and what they are to do next! Keep reading in Deuteronomy to see what happens next!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 96 is a fun one to meditate! Verses 1-3 we are told three times to sing to the Lord:

¹O SING to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!²Sing to the Lord, bless (affectionately praise) His name; show forth His salvation from day to day.³Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples.

At the Spoken Word Church we like to change some of our worship songs so that we are singing them directly TO the Lord! I believe that is what this psalm is saying to do! Sing "unto the Lord"! We are also told to sing a "new" song. This word means new in the sense of something recent and also new in the sense of something fresh! If we maintain a grateful, thankful heart, we won't have a problem having a "new" song to sing! You can even make your own "new" song by singing in the Spirit! Then we are told to declare His glory to the heathen (unbelievers) and His "wonders", the Hebrew word, "pala`", which means: to be marvellous, to be surpassing, to be extraordinary, to separate by distinguishing actions, to be beyond one's power and difficult to do, to all people. Those are the things that get the attention of the people around you.

Verses 4-6 tell us to praise Him:

⁴For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be reverently feared and worshiped above all [so-called] gods.⁵For all the gods of the nations are [lifeless] idols, but the Lord made the heavens. ⁶Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

The word "idols" here is the Hebrew word "`eliyl", which means: good for nothing, weak and worthless. That's RIGHT! There is NO GOD but OUR GOD! And there is only ONE way to Him, and that is through the Blood of Jesus of Nazareth! Continue to give HIM the praise, honor and glory due to His Name and people will begin to see the Truth!

Verses 7-9 tell us to worship Him:

⁷Ascribe to the Lord, O you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.⁸Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come [before Him] into His courts.⁹O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; tremble before and reverently fear Him, all the earth.

Where singing and rejoicing is manifested in homes or at services, the people are heard and seen and direct their attention up and out toward Him. Worship involves looking inward and expressing our awe and reverence at His presence. It also involves listening to the Holy Spirit speak back to YOU! TRUE worship is then being a DOER of what the Holy Spirit tells you to do!

Verses 10-13 talk all about rejoicing!

Rejoicing is simply being filled with joy in His presence and in awe of who He is! It also involves looking for His coming! That's where I am right now! Hallelujah!

One of the major themes of Luke 8 is getting and using faith in the every day situations of our lives. Remember that "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Luke 8 begins with this:

¹SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God.

Jesus went about PREACHING and BRINGING THE GOOD NEWS! The GOOD NEWS that Jesus preached was the Word of God! Then we see the parable of the sower who sowed THE WORD! It is very important that we heed HOW we hear and WHAT we hear! Notice how many times some form of the word "hear" is used in this section! So many believers, especially in "Word" churches, come with notebooks and take notes and say "AMEN", but never remember that it is the DOER of the Word that gets the results of the Word! We should be hearing the Word with the intention of putting it into action immediately! Otherwise we will experience the results of verse 18:

¹⁸Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and guesses and supposes that he has will be taken away.

Numbers 35 begins with the provision for the Levites. This provision was so that they could give themselves to the work of the ministry and not have to be working for a living! That is the reason for the tithes and offerings for the church today. The tithes brought into the church are for the running of the church. This involves the building, the resources for growing and the livelihood of the Pastor! Remember Luke 10:7, 1 Timothy 5:18 and Galatians 6:6! The #1 focus of the pastor should be to spend time in prayer, praise and worship and study of God's Word so that He has something to give the people when they come to be fed! He also must take the time to be filled with the Spirit so that he can operate in all of the gifts of the Spirit, as the Holy Spirit wills, in ministering to the people. His job is to perfect the congregation for THEIR work of the ministry! (Ephesians chapter 4). Don't forget that we also have the responsibility to pray for our pastors and other leaders! (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Let's do OUR PART and do it WELL! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 95 gives us three different instructions. The first, found in verses 1-5, is to come and praise the Lord, referring specifically to our "corporate" or public worship.

¹O COME, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation!²Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!³For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.⁴In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights and strength of the hills are His also.⁵The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.

We've covered all of these Hebrew words previously on this blog. We are to "sing" = "ranan" = to cry out for joy, to give a ringing cry in joy and exaltation, to be overcome, to sing. Then we are to "make a joyful noise" = "ruwa" = to blow an alarm, to shout a war cry, to split the ear with sound! We're to come before His presence "with thanksgiving" = "towdah" = praise, thanksgiving, adoration. Why? BECAUSE He IS Who He IS - the great I AM! He is worthy of ALL praise and honor and glory!

Then verses 6-7a:

⁶O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and supplication].⁷For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

These verses tell us to "worship" = "shachah" = to bow down, to prostrate ourselves, to do reverence. Then to "bow down" = "kara`" = to bend the knee, to bow down, to kneel. Then we're told "let us kneel" = "barak" = to kneel, to bless God as an act of adoration. Do you get the picture? It sounds like we are to be on our face in worship to the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! This is intimate time spent with Him and it also involves paying attention to what HE wants to say to YOU!

Then in verses 7b-11 we see something that isn't always included when people talk about worship, but it is vital to any complete worship of Him. That is to hear and obey His Word!

There are so many good stories in Luke 7! Which should we talk about and where should we begin? I have always enjoyed the story of the Roman centurion who sent for Jesus to heal his servant boy. First of all, you know that he was a good man because he was concerned about his servant boy to begin with. But not only was he a kind and considerate man, he was a man of great faith! In fact, he had more faith in the Lord Jesus than the people who had watched Him grow up in His own home town! Remember that He could do no mighty work there because of their unbelief! Not only did the centurion realize that Jesus had the power and authority to do this, he also knew that Jesus didn't have to be present to exercise that power! Understanding the authority YOU have because of Who lives IN you, will cause such great faith and boldness to rise up on the inside of you!

I also really enjoy reading again about what Jesus did for the widow who had just lost her son. Such care and compassion Jesus had to stop what He was doing and give that son back to his mother, who was now all alone! I have to ask myself if I operate in that kind of compassion that will cause me to stop in my tracks at the needs of another and see to it! It is sobering to think on the awesome responsibility that our awesome freedom and authority bring! YOU CAN DO IT! AMEN!

Numbers 33 is a review and summary of all of the places where the people of Israel had traveled from Egypt through the wilderness! Chapter 34 is addressing the division of the lands and the leaders of the tribes. If you don't get anything else out of Numbers, please realize the outstanding order and precision of our God! Nothing is left up in the air! He has continued to make known every minute detail of all that He required of His people. Knowing that he is FIRST OF ALL a God of ALL LOVE, we know that every commandment given here is for the benefit and blessing of His people! HE wants blessing and prosperity for you even more than you want it! Thank You, Jesus! AMEN!!!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 94:1 says:

¹O LORD God, You to Whom vengeance belongs, O God, You to Whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!

The problem that most believers have in accepting the fact that " vengeance is Mine saith the Lord, I will repay" (Romans 12:19) is that they have the wrong idea of vengeance. We tend to think of vengeance as a getting even type of thing. God's vengeance is really justice. It involves people reaping the results of their choices. The reason that it sometimes seems to us to take so long is because of the infinite patience of the Lord! Aren't you glad He was so patient with YOU? Remember that He wants that NONE should perish , but that ALL should come to repentance! (2 Peter 3:9).

Do you want to be blessed of the Lord? Then you need to pay attention to verse 12:

¹²Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law,

Blessed means to be happy and prosperous! If we want to be "blessed" then we MUST receive the "chastening", the Hebrew word, "yacar", which means: to admonish, instruct, discipline of the Lord. Then we also need the Lord to "teach" us, the Hebrew word, "lamad", which means: to teach, to goad (the rod being an Oriental incentive!) IF we want to grow up in the things of God, the Lord Himself will be faithful to TEACH us! He will instruct, correct and discipline us with His Word! If we don't want to grow up, He will not force it on us! But then we must be satisfied with the results, which WILL BE the opposite of being blessed! Not MY choice! How about you?

Look at Luke 6:6-7:

⁶And it occurred on another Sabbath that when He went into the synagogue and taught, a man was present whose right hand was withered.⁷And the scribes and the Pharisees kept watching Jesus to see whether He would [actually] heal on the Sabbath, in order that they might get [some ground for] accusation against Him.

What was the response of Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees? Verses 8-10:

⁸But He was aware all along of their thoughts, and He said to the man with the withered hand, Come and stand here in the midst. And he arose and stood there.⁹Then Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful and right on the Sabbath to do good [so that someone derives advantage from it] or to do evil, to save a life [and make a soul safe] or to destroy it?¹⁰Then He glanced around at them all and said to the man, Stretch out your hand! And he did so, and his hand was fully restored like the other one.

The response of the unbelieving religious leaders? Verse 11:

¹¹But they were filled with lack of understanding and senseless rage and discussed (consulted) with one another what they might do to Jesus.

It still amazes me that those who SHOULD have known and recognized Who Jesus was were the ones trying so very hard to discredit Him! Wouldn't you think that they would be overjoyed to see their own people set free from bondage and affliction? Wouldn't you think that they would be eagerly awaiting the Messiah and looking for any sign of the One Who was to come? I don't get it myself, except that what Jesus did showed their true nature and upset the public image they desired to have. The last thing I want to look at in Luke today is found in verses 47-49:

⁴⁷For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like:⁴⁸He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock.⁴⁹But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.

Notice the results for the person who hears the Word of God and "does" them, the Greek word, "poieo", which means: to make or to do, "to adopt a way of expressing, by act, the thoughts and feelings" (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words). It is an action word that means to put into practice the things we see and hear! I want those results! NOT the results of those who hear and DON'T do the Word. Notice that these people heard the same Word! That means that they had the same opportunity to choose to be doers of the Word, and chose NOT to! Unwise choice! DON'T make THAT choice! Choose to obey the Word of God and choose the Blessings! AMEN!!!

Numbers 31:1-3:

¹THE LORD said to Moses,²Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your [departed] people.³And Moses said to the people, Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian and execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel].

Notice the word avenge again! The Midianites were responsible for trying to entice Israel to sin (Numbers 25) and now they had to pay for this crime before God! They knew that Israel's God WAS the One True God! The Almighty God! They had heard all about the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. They had every opportunity to choose Him, but instead, they tried to lead His people away! NOT a good choice! The victory ALWAYS belongs to those who choose God's way of doing and being right! Make sure YOU choose God's way, everyday, and be blessed! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 93:1:

¹THE LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is robed, He has girded Himself with strength and power; the world also is established, that it cannot be moved.

The Lord (Yahweh or Jehovah) reigns! He is in control! He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords! (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16) His throne is in Heaven, He is clothed in Glory and Majesty. He is equipped with ALL power and strength in Heaven and earth! He created EVERYTHING for His purposes and set boundaries for the earth that cannot be moved! It doesn't make any difference what any ruler on earth THINKS that they will do! The One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible DOES HAVE the first and the last Word on it all! AMEN!!!

In Luke 5 Jesus gets into Peter's boat and has him move away from shore so He can preach to the people without being crowded. When He finished He said this:

⁴Now when he (Jesus) had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

Peter's reply was this:

⁵And Simon (Peter) answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

The result was this:

⁶And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

⁷And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

What do you think would have happened if Peter had actually done what Jesus said and put down his nets (PLURAL)? Peter's response was to fall down and worship Jesus! The response that Jesus had was this:

And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

That is, after all, God's PRIMARY PURPOSE! Let's go fishing!

In Numbers 29-30 we again have detailed accounts of how the Israelites were to carry out the sacrifices to the Lord and to fulfill their vows to Him. Very specific instructions were given and nothing was left to guesswork! Don't you think that the God of the Bible has such specific plans for YOU and for YOUR LIFE now? Of course He does! We simply have to make it our #1 priority to fellowship with Him and find out what it is He wants to accomplish in and through our lives. When Pastor Bill Novak, of the Spoken Word Church, encourages his congregation to do what they feel is right to do and expect the Lord to change it if we get it wrong, He IS expecting that we are all spending quality time in intimate fellowship with the Lord every day in order to be in position to hear Him! There is no short cut for time spent with the Lord in prayer, praise and worship and fellowship. Make that time YOUR #1 priority and you will be amazed at how clear His voice becomes! He really WANTS you to know Him! (Philippians 3:10)

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 92:1 says this:

¹IT IS a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises [with musical accompaniment] to Your name, O Most High,

We've sung this song a lot at the Spoken Word Church! How important IS it to give thanks? Let's look at the word "good" again. It is the Hebrew word, "towb", that we have looked at many times on this blog. It means:

• good
• pleasant
• agreeable
• excellent
• rich
• valuable in estimation
• appropriate
• becoming
• better
• glad
• happy
• prosperous
• kind
• right (ethical)

I think giving thanks looks like a GREAT idea for us, don't you? Read the rest of Psalm 92 in the Amplified Bible! It will give you a much richer and clearer idea of the whole Psalm!

Luke 4:1 says this:

¹THEN JESUS, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit

This verse give us the key to the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth! He was "full of AND controlled by" the Holy Spirit. Remember that Jesus never stopped BEING God, but He NEVER operated AS God in His earthly ministry. He operated as a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit, knew and loved the Word of God and fellowshipped continually with the Father! He said that we would be able to do the works that He did and even greater works than He did! See John 14:12. BUT, we won't be able to do even the works that He did, let alone the greater works, IF we don't do the same things He did daily! Stay filled with the Spirit daily, spend time meditating on the Word of God DAILY, and spend time in intimate, one-on-one fellowship with Him DAILY! Then watch out world and watch out devil! THAT is when we will be seen as more than conquerors! (Romans 8:37)

In Numbers 27-28 the Lord reminds Moses that he will not be able to enter the promised land because of his sin in striking the rock. Most people I know would have tried to justify themselves, begged for mercy, brought up all that they had done right or felt extremely sorry for themselves. What was Moses' reaction? He thought first of all about the people! He asked the Lord to appoint someone to take his place who would be able to lead THESE people! (You know, those always complaining and getting themselves in trouble people!) The Lord responded by having Moses lay hands on Joshua to ordain him as the new leader. Would the Lord have anointed Joshua Himself, if Moses hadn't asked? I don't know! But I do know that He HAS told us in His Word that we have not sometimes because we have failed to ask! (James 4:2) Don't assume that someone else has already prayed about important things! YOU PRAY! Ask, seek and knock! Decree and proclaim and declare God's Word and His promises over your life, your family, your body, your job, your church, your friends, your ministry and anything and everything that concerns you! Then allow Him to work the details out according to His perfect will and plan and purpose! Look forward to each new day with expectant hope and eager anticipation for what God is going to do TODAY! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We have Psalm 91 today! I LOVE Psalm 91 for protection, provision and safety! Verse 1:

¹HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

"He who dwells" is the Hebrew word, "yashab", which means: to remain, to stay, to have one's abode, to abide, to inhabit. That is a picture of someone who is spending a great deal of time in a particular place! "In the secret place" is the Hebrew word, "cether", which means: a covering, a hiding place, a shelter, a "secret place" - the dictionary definition of secret is: beyond ordinary understanding, known or shared only by the initiated! That is truly the place that this Psalm is talking about. I like to call it the place of being aware of His presence through, prayer, praise and worship, study and meditation of His Word and fellowship with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! As a believer, the Spirit of God lives IN YOU! THAT is the secret place! The place where you commune with him and no one else can go there! Not in YOUR secret place! We all have to find our own! All of these promises are for our protection and are found in that place! I especially like verses 7-8:

⁷A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

⁸Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.

Only a spectator! I like that! All of these promises of protection are available to those who will stay in continual fellowship with HIM! It takes diligence and consistency to stay in that kind of fellowship, but it is worth every moment! And verse 16 sums it all up:

¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

Long life is a GOOD thing and His "salvation" is the Hebrew word, "yeshuw`ah"! Do you recognize THAT Name? It means: salvation, deliverance, welfare , prosperity and victory! That sounds like God to me!

Luke 3 tells of John's preaching to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming Messiah. Jesus hadn't yet entered into His ministry, and, when He did, it was with the same Holy Spirit anointing that we operate in today!

In Numbers 25-26 we see the Israelites AGAIN turning away from God, after all that he had done for them! AGAIN they reaped the results of their disobedience! After all of this the Lord had Moses and Eleazar (Aaron's son) take a census of all the men 20 years old and older. The key verses here are 64-65:

⁶⁴But among these there was not a man of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai.

⁶⁵For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. There was not left a man of them except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

The Israelites never entered into the promised land as long as those who were adults at the time of the evil report by the 10 spies were still alive! You and I can take God at His Word! If He said it, it's DONE! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 90 is the oldest of all of the Psalms and was written by "Moses the man of God". Verses 1-2:

¹LORD, YOU have been our dwelling place and our refuge in all generations [says Moses].²Before the mountains were brought forth or ever You had formed and given birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

Moses is declaring that God alone is the place of refuge for believers. In verse 2 he declares that God IS God and has always BEEN God, from before the foundation of the world! He is not moved or controlled by time and He expects His people to obey His Word! Disobedience through unbelief was what kept the Israelites walking through the wilderness for forty years. Notice this in verse 10:

¹⁰The days of our years are threescore years and ten (seventy years)--or even, if by reason of strength, fourscore years (eighty years); yet is their pride [in additional years] only labor and sorrow, for it is soon gone, and we fly away.

Many people quote this verse as a guide to how long they expect to live on this earth. What Moses was referring to was the age of many of the Israelites when they died in the wilderness because of their unbelief! Moses himself was 120 when he died, Aaron was 123, Miriam was older, Joshua was 110 and Jacob was 130! Don't limit your life by thinking small! Go for 120 healthy, happy, fruitful years unless Jesus comes for us sooner than that! We have all of eternity to be in Heaven, but the people here only have so long to hear the Gospel and be saved!

Luke 2 is the official Christmas story, at least at our house! But there are a couple of interesting things I want to mention concerning this chapter. First of all, Caesar may have liked to take credit for his actions, but this one was ordained of God! This brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, where prophecy said the Messiah would be born! (Micah 5:2) Caesar unknowingly fulfilled the will of God by making this decree! A. T. Pierson was the person who said: "History is His Story"! President James A. Garfield called history "the unrolled scroll of prophecy". God Himself said this in Jeremiah 1:12:

¹²Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.

If God said it, bank on it! It WILL come to pass! AMEN!!!

Another point that I think is very important to realize is the virgin birth of Jesus. Mary and Joseph were married at this time, but it wasn't official because the marriage hadn't been consummated yet. That would not happen until after Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. After Jesus was born, Mary was no longer a virgin and went on to have at least six other children! (See Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3) The virgin birth is vitally important to us because it provided the way for Jesus to be born without the sin nature which was passed down from the fathers. He was born without sin, lived without sin and died without sin OF HIS OWN! He was MADE sin with my sin and your sin so that He could pay forever the price (wages) of sin for "whosoever" would believe! Thank You, Jesus!

In Numbers 23-24 we continue with the story of Balak and Balaam. You'd think the donkey story would have been enough to stop this nonsense! But we see Balak continue to ask Balaam to curse Israel. Balaam warns him that he can't but speak what God says about Israel. Three times Balak is looking for a curse and Balaam delivers a blessing instead! That sounds like God to me! God wanted Israel blessed and He definitely wants YOU blessed! Recognize the curse and deal with it according to the Word of God. Then begin to REALLY LIVE in the blessing of God!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

As I mentioned yesterday, some scholars believe that Psalm 88 and Psalm 89 were actually 2 parts of one Psalm. The title of Psalm 88 is:

Ps 88:1

Mas'-chil of He'-man the Ez'-ra-hite.

And the title of Psalm 89 is t his:

Ps 89:1

Mas'-chil of E'-than the Ez'-ra-hite.

Some believe that these were brothers or at least from the same family. Maschil means an instructive or didactic poem. In Psalm 88 we have Heman speaking doom, gloom and despair. Then in Psalm 89 we have Ethan answering him with some positive thoughts on the mercy, loving kindness, faithfulness of the Lord. My favorite verses are verses 5-7:

⁵Let heaven (the angels) praise Your wonders, O Lord, Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones (the holy angels).

⁶For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the mighty [heavenly beings] can be likened to the Lord,

⁷A God greatly feared and revered in the council of the holy (angelic) ones, and to be feared and worshipfully revered above all those who are round about Him?

And also verses 15-18:

¹⁵Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the people who know the joyful sound [who understand and appreciate the spiritual blessings symbolized by the feasts]; they walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!

¹⁶In Your name they rejoice all the day, and in Your righteousness they are exalted.

¹⁷For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment], and by Your favor our horn is exalted and we walk with uplifted faces!

Let's be rejoicing all day long, every day! What a great attitude we would develop and never be "down" again! AMEN!

There is a lot we could talk about in Luke 1 today, but I believe the most important thing we should look at today is the difference between the way Zachariah received the news from the angel Gabriel and the way Mary did. Verse 18 has Zachariah's question for Gabriel:

¹⁸And Zachariah said to the angel, By what shall I know and be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.

Notice that he asked how he could know that it was true. Note the result of his doubt:

¹⁹And the angel replied to him, I am Gabriel. I stand in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent to talk to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰Now behold, you will be and will continue to be silent and not able to speak till the day when these things take place, because you have not believed what I told you; but my words are of a kind which will be fulfilled in the appointed and proper time.

Now let's look at Mary's response in verse 34:

³⁴And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband?

Mary didn't doubt that it WOULD happen as the angel said, she wanted to know HOW it was going to happen! Quite a different question! And she received a different response in verses 35-37:

³⁵Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God.

³⁶And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren.

³⁷For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.

Mary's next response:

³⁸Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her.

That's how our Father wants US to respond to everything that He asks US to do! Surrender your will to His will, trusting completely that He ALWAYS has your best interests at heart! Our God is a GOOD and AMAZING God! AMEN!

There is also a lot we could talk about in Numbers 21-22, but the only thing I will mention today is this from verse 30:

³⁰And the donkey said to Balaam, Am not I your donkey, upon which you have ridden all your life long until this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you? And he said, No.

Notice who was doing the talking here! Balak wanted Balaam to curse the people of Israel because they were so powerful in their God. Balaam tried stubbornly to go ahead with it even to beating his donkey who would not proceed when he saw the Angel of the Lord. What I want you to see here is that God CAN and WILL use ANYONE or ANYTHING to bless and protect His people. EVEN a donkey! It always amazes me that Balaam doesn't seem to be to excited about the fact that his donkey talked! I hope YOU are a little more alert than that! Keep your sense of awe and wonder at all the wonderful things that God is doing and you WILL see more and more! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!