Author: Thomas E Meyer Jr

Formerly Homeless Sinner Now, Child of God, Saved by Grace.

Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinners, just come home! Job 8:5-7

Job 8:5-7 Complete Jewish Bible

5 “If you will earnestly seek God
and plead for Shaddai’s favor,
6 if you are pure and upright;
then he will rouse himself for you
and fulfill your needs.
7 Then, although your beginnings were small,
your future will be very great indeed.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Job 8:5-7 Christian Standard Bible

5 But if you earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,
6 if you are pure and upright,
then he will move even now on your behalf
and restore the home where your righteousness dwells.
7 Then, even if your beginnings were modest,
your final days will be full of prosperity.

What great, unsearchable, marvelous things has God earnestly done in your life? What great, unsearchable, marvelous things might God have done in your life, or would have been more aware of as having already been accomplished if…

5 “If you will earnestly seek God
and plead for Shaddai’s favor,
6 if you are pure and upright;
then he will rouse himself for you
and fulfill your needs.

The verses emphasizes the importance of earnestly seeking God and pleading with Him, which is a call to earnestly approach God with sincerity and humility.

Earnestly seeking involves a deep, genuine desire to connect with God, fully acknowledging our complete total dependence on His wisdom and strength.

Pleading with the Almighty suggests a heartfelt, persistent prayer, reflecting a deep trust in God’s power and compassion.

This act of seeking and pleading is not just about asking for help, but too about building a connectional relationship with God, recognizing Him alone, as the only source of all wisdom and strength.

In the context of the Book of Job, this verse is part of Bildad’s response to Job, encouraging him to turn to God in his time of suffering.

It serves as a reminder that, regardless of our circumstances, God is always ready to listen and respond to those who approach Him with a sincere heart.

This message is universal, admonishing, encouraging believers to maintain a posture of humility and trust in their relationship with God, knowing that He is always present, will always be present, and willing to guide and support them.

Job 8:5 In today’s context – in a far more complex time, with more people tech savvy than God savvy.

I believe that untold tens, if not hundreds of millions of Christians, all over the world, would give anything to have the religious freedoms we have in America.

Not only to hold the Living Word in their hands, but to read and share it freely, would be like winning the greatest single lottery jackpot of all time to them.

Here, in our westernized culture, with Bibles gathering dust on bookshelves, and Bible apps stored away on our phones, and Bibles gathering mounds and pounds of dust long hidden away from us sinners somewhere in a church pew.

I’m so very afraid we’ve lost our fervor for the precious and holy Word of God.

John 1:29-34 English Standard Version

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son[a] of God.”

Let me now introduce to you our new Senior Rabbi Dr. Earnest Lamb of God.

Meet your new Senior Rabbi Earnest—the Lamb of God who is so well known for his eagerness and wholeheartedness to reveal God, to share God too—that seemingly long forgotten, so seldom acknowledged virtue of the Christian faith.

Do we possess the earnestness (once a week for an hour or too) to get up each day, meet with God in worship thereby replacing our to-do lists and agendas?

An earnestness to share not just the neighborhood gossip or sports, the Gospel within our circle of influence now badly hindered by tolerance, complacency?

Ergo, I am now writing these things to myself as well, sadly realizing how much earnestness has escaped my busy, daily life; how the zeal I once had for Christ has been severely overshadowed by worldly desires and restless temptations.

But now, more than ever before, we have an amazing opportunity to rekindle an earnestness for the Word of God; to read and to study, to share and uphold, and earnestly pray to shine the light of God’s truths in dark places. For the Word of God truly is living and active, able to penetrate the deepest intents of the heart.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Meet Earnest—the attribute that ushers in an excitement for the things of God—rekindling our tiny smoldering flame of faith into a raging fire of conviction and motivation – to run in every which direction of the compass to declare God?

Luke 24:28-35 English Standard Version

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. [and sharing of the Word!]

My prayer for Christians everywhere, dust off their Bibles, that we will awaken anew to the life-giving truths of the Bible and yearn for them as for daily bread.

I ask, in the precious name of Jesus, that we will pick up that Bible, dust it off, and open it as often as we can. I ask for the Holy Spirit to continue His work in us to reach a hurting and confused world, with the only absolute truth there is.

And, lastly, I pray for an earnestness, to once again declare God’s Word—a lamp for our feet and light for our path. (Psalm 119:105)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40 English Standard Version

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ear.[a]
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance[b]
    in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
    beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
    O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Never underestimate the high impact of one single life lived to God’s glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

In Summary, Do All For God’s Glory. Be Blameless To All And Seek Their Benefit

31 Therefore, whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything, be doing all for the glory of God. 32 Be blameless[a] both to Jews and Greeks, and to the church of God— 33 just as I also am pleasing all people as to all things, not seeking the benefit of myself, but the benefit of the many, in order that they might be saved.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

In his discussion on Christian freedom, the apostle Paul touches on some important principles for following Jesus.

While emphasizing our personal freedom in Christ, he urges that we respect where others are in their spiritual maturity.

Embedded in this discussion is the most important principle for Christian living: that in everything we do, we are to live for God’s glory.

The Westminster Shorter Cate­chism lays out this lasting principle using the question “What is the chief end of man?”

And it decisively succinctly answers with a timeless, bedrock declaration: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

In these days, though we have all been created to glorify God, because of our sin and rebellion against him we live only to glorify, enjoy ourselves. And the ­high tyranny of self-glorification brings us no enjoyment, just unending misery.

But, praise God, when we’ve been saved by grace through faith, the Holy Spirit begins to reorient our lives, elbowing us in our ribcages, nudging, prompting, stirring us to live not for ourselves but for God. And as we grow in glorifying our Lord and Savior, we discover our true, lasting joy and purpose in God alone.

Therefore, whether we are eating or drinking, whatever we are going to be doing today—from the most mundane of daily chores to making the most weightiest of decisions—let this be your Mantra “do it all for God’s glory.”

“If then you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. For a canal spreads abroad water as it receives it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, and thus communicates, without loss to itself, its superabundant water. In the Church at the present day, we have many canals, too few reservoirs.”

Bernard of Clairvaux

What does 1 Corinthians 10-31 teach us?

Paul is specifically teaching each and every one of us that each and every moment of our day, including those moments that seem too insignificant, presents an opportunity to be glorifying God.

Our actions to glorify God are NOT confined to the grandiose. Instead, even in the teeny little “tasks” each day, like eating and drinking, we can glorify God!

What does it mean to eat and drink to the glory of God?

We should strive to do everything in our lives for the greater glory of God–and this absolutely includes eating and drinking! Eating and drinking for the glory of God involves eating wisely, drinking temperately rather than immoderately. We need to take reasonable care of our health by exercising, eating healthfully.

So, give all the honor to God, eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you – you’re eating to God’s glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God’s glory.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

115 Not to us, Adonai, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your grace and truth.

2 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
4 Their idols are mere silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they can’t speak;
they have eyes, but they can’t see;
6 they have ears, but they can’t hear;
they have noses, but they can’t smell;
7 they have hands, but they can’t feel;
they have feet, but they can’t walk;
with their throats they can’t make a sound.
8 The people who make them will become like them,
along with everyone who trusts in them.

9 Isra’el, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
10 House of Aharon, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear Adonai, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
12 Adonai has kept us in mind,
and he will bless.
He will bless the house of Isra’el;
he will bless the house of Aharon;
13 he will bless those who fear Adonai,
great and small alike.

14 May Adonai increase your numbers,
both yours and those of your children.
15 May you be blessed by Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to Adonai,
but the earth he has given to humankind.

17 The dead can’t praise Adonai,
not those who sink down into silence.
18 But we will bless Adonai
from now on and forever.

Halleluyah!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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God’s Final Word on all Matters: his Son, whom he himself appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-4

Hebrews 1:1-4 Amplified

God’s Final Word in His Son

1 God, having spoken to the fathers long ago in [the voices and writings of] the prophets in many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the truth], and in many ways, 2 has in these last days spoken [with finality] to us in [the person of One who is by His character and nature] His Son [namely Jesus], whom He appointed heir and lawful owner of all things, through whom also He created the universe [that is, the universe as a space-time-matter continuum]. 3 The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s [a]Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority], 4 having become as much superior to angels, since He has inherited a more excellent and glorious [b]name than they [that is, Son—the name above all names].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Hebrews begins by making some big statements in its first three verses. Each day we are reminded, that we will focus on one of those primary statements and we refresh ourselves, refresh our spirits, what “supremacy of Christ” means for us.

Christ is the “heir of all things.”

Prophets were sent to speak to God’s people.

They ancient people brought important news and teachings from God, but they were merely His messengers. Now God has come into the works of man, and has spoken, to his people, directly through his Son, who is the “heir of all things.”

This reference points back to Psalm 2:7-8, which says,

“He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.’”

In Jesus, God fulfills this amazing promise.

Jesus is the heir who receives all that the Father has.

Peter says that this inheritance “can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).

So what does this mean for us in these 21st century times of disastrous, divisive, upheaval, people openly mocking God with their positions on ‘living for Jesus.’

God is a fairy tale, a fable, made up by those abusing some mind altering drugs.

The bible is a book of wild delusions, hallucinations penned by the drug addled.

There is “no such thing as God,” “no such a thing as a Resurrection, no such a thing as salvation,” “no such thing as sin.” “such a thing as salvation from sin.

As followers of Christ, we are graciously adopted into God’s family as his own children, and we are “co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).

As co-heirs with Christ, we are set to inherit all that Christ inherits—namely, salvation from sin and eternal life with him.

The Writings to the Hebrews starts out by laying the unshakeable foundation to debunk those who chose to spread erroneous teachings, man’s erroneous use of words like “sovereignty, supremacy” that they held man had an ironclad grip.

The Word which now comes to us in Jesus Christ, both by what he said and what he was, is a significantly stronger, more comprehensive, far more intimate and inclusive word than God ever originally spoke through those ancient prophets .

When you are studying the Old Testament, you are studying the Word of God.

The voice of God is heard through various forms and circumstances. (Psalm 19)

All of it is of God, but all of it is incomplete.

It never brings us to ultimate’s and absolutes.

But when you open the pages of the New Testament, read and study the fourfold picture of Jesus Christ, you find all the Old Testament writings merges into one voice, life, ministry, mission, works, His Passion, by the true voice of His Son.

The words by which God spoke in the Old Testament are merged into one complete discourse in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, God’s word to man has been fully, finally, uttered in the Son.

There is nothing more to be said. Jesus Christ is God’s own final Word to man.

Therefore, the word through the Son is greater than that through the prophets because it includes and surpasses theirs.

It is also greater because the Son created, established, the boundaries of history.

The writer says Jesus has been appointed the heir of all things, and through him God made the universe.

Further, his Word has greater power than the prophets’ because he sustains the matter of the universe.

He reflects the Shekinah glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.

In the hills behind Stanford University there is a linear accelerator, some two miles long, a gigantic instrument.

Scientists built it to be a great lever by which they can pry the lid off the secrets that lie behind matter.

They are trying to find what makes the universe tick, what holds it together.

And as man probes deeper into the secrets of the universe around him, he discovers more and more that he is confronting the mystery of an untouchable, unfathomable force; that he Himself stands face to face with His pure force.

What is that force?

Scientists never name it, in fact they cannot name it, but the Scripture does. (Psalm 29)

The Scripture says that force is Jesus Christ, that he holds everything in place, whether it be large or small.

The reason we can sit or stand, though our earth is whirling at a furious rate, and not being randomly, sporadically, hurled off into space, is simply because he sustains the universe. Jesus Himself is the ultimate, the final spoken secret behind everything that exists. (John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-23, 1John 1:1-9)

The book of Hebrews is a part of the New Testament and is filled with rich theological teachings and insights.

The authorship of the book is not definitively known, but it is traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul.

The specific audience and historical context of Hebrews are also somewhat uncertain, but it was likely written to a group of Jewish Christians who were facing persecution and considering reverting back to the ways of Judaism.

We live in a culture which is always force feeding, pitching us all manner of stuff which is better, greater, more superior than anything that’s come before. It turns out that “far better” is one of the Book of Hebrews’ favorite words.

Right from the start, the author is trying to convince us that Jesus is better.

Overall, this passage from Hebrews serves to exalt Jesus Christ as the supreme revelation of God to humanity.

By emphasizing His role in creation, His divine nature, and His redemptive work, the author establishes the unmatched significance and authority of Jesus.

The theological themes of Christ’s divinity, His role as Savior, and His infinite superiority over all other beings are central to the passage, and they continue to be foundational to Christian beliefs.

Ultimately, this passage serves to deepen our understanding, appreciation, of the person and work of Jesus Christ, inviting us to respond in faith and worship.

What is our response …

How can our response be more impactful, magnified, beyond God’s Kingdom?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 24

A psalm by David.

1 The earth and everything it contains are Yahweh’s.
    The world and all who live in it are his.
2 He laid its foundation on the seas
    and set it firmly on the rivers.

3 Who may go up Yahweh’s mountain?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart
    and does not long for what is false[a]
        or lie when he is under oath.
5 This person will receive a blessing from Yahweh
    and righteousness from Elohim, his savior.
6 This is the person who seeks him,
    who searches for the face of the El of Jacob.[b] Selah

7 Lift your heads, you gates.
    Be lifted, you ancient doors,
    so that the Melek of glory may come in.

8 Who is this Melek of glory?
    Yahweh, strong and mighty!
    Yahweh, heroic in battle!

9 Lift your heads, you gates.
    Be lifted, you ancient doors,
    so that the Melek of glory may come in.

10 Who, then, is this Melek of glory?
    Yahweh Tsebaoth is the Melek of glory! Selah

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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We have a Future in God’s Kingdom: Preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded. 1 Peter 1:13-16

1 Peter 1:13-16 The Message

A Future in God

13-16 So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

The Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Training to become a pilot involves hours and hours of intense preparation.

Some of this training takes place in flight simulators where the intensity is high enough to induce sweating and stress. Why are pilots subjected to such rigorous training? So they can learn to make the right decisions when it really matters!

When it comes to our Christian purity, it is too often the case that people will fall into sin because they try to make vital decisions in the heat of the moment.

That, under no circumstances, just won’t cut it. If we are going to maintain purity, we need to pray for choices in advance and on the basis of God’s word.

This is why Peter tells us to prepare our “minds for action … being sober-minded.”

The King James Version translates this verse, “Gird up the loins of your mind.”

In other words, we are to prepare ourselves to keep control of our minds—to get a grip of our thought processes—figure out what Paul calls – Self Control so that we’re able to run wisely after what is good and flee, far from what is evil.

If we do not prepare our minds for action, then we will be easily seducible and prone to highly questionable impulse control, poor decision making, tragedy.

We will tend to make difficult, life-altering decisions in the heat of the moment when our emotions are engaged, our lustful worldly desires are shouting at us.

But a life of purity does not happen by accident; it is a conscious act of absolute determination prompted by God’s Spirit, guided by His word, prayed for over and over again, being patient with the Holy Spirit, then enabled by His power.

We need to make a commitment to purity, as the psalmist did when he said,

“I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules” (Psalm 119:106).

Psalm 119:105-112 The Message

105-112 By your words I can see where I’m going;
    they throw a beam of light on my dark path.
I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back
    from living by your righteous order.
Everything’s falling apart on me, God;
    put me together again with your Word.
Adorn me with your finest sayings, God;
    teach me your holy rules.
My life is as close as my own hands,
    but I don’t forget what you have revealed.
The wicked do their best to throw me off track,
    but I don’t swerve an inch from your course.
I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever—
    what a gift! And how happy it makes me!
I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—
    I always have and always will.

I sincerely pray that you will make your commitment before it’s too late.

And here’s a suggestion for the kind of commitment to make: determine to live in the center of the narrow way, not on the edge.

The young man in Proverbs 7 who fell prey to the temptation of a “forbidden woman” was living on the edge; he was “passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight” (Proverbs 7:5, 8-9).

Proverbs 7:5-12 The Message

Dressed to Seduce

7 1-5 Dear friend, do what I tell you;
    treasure my careful instructions.
Do what I say and you’ll live well.
    My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!
Write it out on the back of your hands;
    etch it on the chambers of your heart.
Talk to Wisdom as to a sister.
    Treat Insight as your companion.
They’ll be with you to fend off the Temptress—
    that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.

6-12 As I stood at the window of my house
    looking out through the shutters,
Watching the mindless crowd stroll by,
    I spotted a young man without any sense
Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived,
    then turning up the path to her house.
It was dusk, the evening coming on,
    the darkness thickening into night.
Just then, a woman met him—
    she’d been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.
Brazen and brash she was,
    restless and roaming, never at home,
Walking the streets, loitering in the mall,
    hanging out at every corner in town.

The Bible’s lesson is clear:

yield not to the obvious temptation

don’t get yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There is nothing to be gained from living on the edge when it comes to purity.

Make your commitment before the temptation confronts you, so that when the evil day comes, you will be ready to say, “No, I already made that decision.”

Keep your life in the center of the narrow way and determine to stay there.

On the day when Christ Jesus returns and by grace His people stand around His throne, none of us will say that the pursuit of holiness was not worth the effort.

Transformation Takes Our Effort and Perseverance

Romans 5:4-5 The Message

3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

We often prize the wonders of ability.

The decathlon, marathon and triathlon athlete have amazing physical abilities.

The Ivy League scholars have phenomenal capacities, learning, mental abilities.

But if they don’t stick to it, put abilities to work, they won’t accomplish much.

If we want change, we have to be willing to work hard, harder, hardest hardcore for it. If we don’t put in enough effort, we won’t bring any truly positive change.

Authors who have written a stack of books will tell you that the very top secret ingredient was the effort it took for them to get up earlier each day to write.

Great inventors will boast of, relate to, the failed efforts it took to bring an idea to its finished product. Sports figures will tell you to practice, practice, practice.

The Christian life is 100 percent God’s work. The resurrection of Savior Christ runs through our veins. But the Christian life is also 100 percent human effort.

Peter urges us to first gird ourselves, prepare our minds for action. The Greek expression here literally means to pull up one’s robe and get ready for action.

Then Peter instructs us to persevere all the way to the end through self-control.

We have to set aside very strongest of armor that does not, and never will fit us, set our prayers upon Jesus, continue to be obedient through responsible effort.

The Christian life is absolute hard work from beginning to end.

Transformation takes our disciplined mental powers, willpower, and our steadfast and authentic and genuine commitment 100 octane to our bibles.

Galatians 5:22-24 The Message

22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

But thankfully even our best finite, temporary, human efforts, are a gift of God.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 1 The Message

1 How well God must like you—
    you don’t walk in the ruts of those blind-as-bats,
    you don’t stand with the good-for-nothings,
    you don’t take your seat among the know-it-alls.

2-3 Instead you thrill to God’s Word,
    you chew on Scripture day and night.
You’re a tree replanted in Eden,
    bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
    always in blossom.

4-5 You’re not at all like the wicked,
    who are mere windblown dust—
Without defense in court,
    unfit company for innocent people.

6 God charts the road you take.
The road they take leads to nowhere.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Since ‘Bible’ ought to be a Christians “middle” name, are we making any kingdom impact living, teaching and chained unto the Living Word of God? 2 Timothy 2:8-15

2 Timothy 2:8-15 New American Standard Bible 1995

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, 9 [a]for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. 10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. 11 It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we [b]deny Him, He also will deny us;
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

An Unashamed Workman

14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Way back, just before I graduated from Senior High School, I remember an old saying from my final meeting with my guidance counselor about mentoring and being mentored, then mentoring and apprenticeships goes something like this:

“first we meet, then I do, you watch; I do, you help; You do, I help; You do, I watch.”

Rabbi Jesus called, trained his disciples in much the same way as this, and they passed along to others what they learned from him. An apprentice commits to learning from a master and then becomes experienced and able to teach others.

In our Scripture reading for today, Apostle Paul urges Timothy to remember his training and to teach it, pass it along, to reliable people who can teach others.

By his grace, God wants to be in relationship with us in Christ, to fill us with his Holy Spirit, and to show us how to live fully, lie impactfully, edifyingly, so that we share all this with generations of others. God wants us to be his apprentices.

A powerful image in The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis illustrates this well.

This un­usual book is written from the perspective of a demon (or devil) who is attempting to explain God’s great plan for humankind:

“One must face the fact that all the talk about [God’s] love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would just gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. [God] really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself—creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own . . . because their wills freely conform to His.”

What does 2 Timothy 2:9 mean?

8 Remember Jesus Christ [the ever-living Lord who has] risen from the dead, [as the prophesied King] descended from David [king of Israel], according to my gospel [the good news that I preach], 9 for that [gospel] I am suffering even to [the point of] wearing chains like a criminal; but the word of God is not chained or neither is it imprisoned! [Amplified Version]

Verse 9 continues Paul’s sentence from verse 8, noting that it is the gospel “for which I am suffering.” He had done nothing illegal except to proclaim Christ. Yet he was “bound with chains as a criminal.”

Paul has already mentioned his chains (2 Timothy 1:16).

In this particular case, this likely means literal chains on his hands and/or feet, similar to Peter in Acts 12:6.

Unlike Paul’s 1st Roman imprisonment, in which he lived in his own apartment for two years under house arrest, this imprisonment was much more serious.

Paul expected he would not live much longer, that at any time Emperor Nero will summarily remove his head, but rather would suffer till the end for Christ.

In contrast to Paul’s situation, he expresses his joy in knowing that the truth of the gospel, under no circumstances could not be restrained! Even from his cell and in heavy chains, Paul communicated God’s truth that influenced Timothy, his congregation, other early churches, and became part of the New Testament.

Today, If we were the one’s bound by the heaviest chains, being imprisoned in the most inescapable of prisons, would we be able to say Paul’s message here is a continued cycle-“that Great Cloud of Witnesses leading generations forward?

Exodus 13:20-22 Easy-to-Read Version

The Lord Leads His People

20 The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham. Etham was near the desert. 21  The Lord led the way. During the day, he used a tall cloud to lead the people. And during the night, he used a tall column of fire to lead the way. This fire gave them light so that they could also travel at night. 22 The cloud was always with them during the day, and the column of fire was always with them at night.

As millions of Jews were led forward out of bondage in Egypt by a continuous line of clouds to the Mountain of God where they would receive their teachings?

“first we meet, then I do, you watch; I do, you help; You do, I help; You do, I watch.”

Still today, the Word of God given through Paul impacts lives around the world.

Hebrews 4:11-13 Amplified Bible

11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness]. 12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b] soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.

Hebrews 4:12 clearly teaches, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Kingdom Transformation Through Excellence

We are highly motivated when reaching toward a goal. Our adrenaline flows, our creative juices churn, and our mind works overtime at solving the problems that stand higher than sky high in the way of achieving God’s vision for our life.

In our biblical text today, Paul sternly instructs his apprentice Timothy,

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed.”

Paul was not content, nor satisfied, with anything but the best. He highly valued repetition, instructing Pastor Timothy to “just keep reminding” his listeners.

Repetition really works for me.

There are certain messages I must hear over and over again.

The saying “the early bird gets the worm” nudges me out of bed each morning to feast on God’s manna.

A worn out, torn card in my wallet said, “Prayer changes things,” reminds me to pray before I attempt to fix a problem in my own strength. A sign on my wall, “God is forever, Hallelujah!” calls me to put God first before projects no matter how inconvenient it may seem at times. God + Repetition produces excellence.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 18:31-32 Complete Jewish Bible

31 (30) “As for God, his way is perfect,
the word of Adonai has been tested by fire;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

32 (31) “For who is God but Adonai?
Who is a Rock but our God?

Psalm 119:1-16 Complete Jewish Bible

א (Alef)

119 How happy are those whose way of life is blameless,
who live by the Torah of Adonai!
2 How happy are those who observe his instruction,
who seek him wholeheartedly!
3 They do nothing wrong
but live by his ways.
4 You laid down your precepts
for us to observe with care.
5 May my ways be steady
in observing your laws.
6 Then I will not be put to shame,
since I will have fixed my sight on all your mitzvot.
7 I thank you with a sincere heart
as I learn your righteous rulings.
8 I will observe your laws;
don’t completely abandon me!

ב (Bet)

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.

Psalm 139:23-24 Complete Jewish Bible

23 Examine me, God, and know my heart;
test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is in me any hurtful way,
and lead me along the eternal way.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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“Abba, Father” How well are we truly seeing God as Our Father; This life as marked by one single choice: who or what will we center our lives around?  1 Corinthians 8:4-6

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

4 Therefore concerning the eating of the foods–sacrificed-to-idols— we know that an idol is nothing[a] in the world, and that there is no God except one. 5 For even if-indeed there are ones being called gods, whether in heaven or on earth— as-indeed there are many[b] gods and many lords— 6 yet for us there is One God the Father, from Whom are all things, and we are[c] for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things, and we are through Him.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

This life we live, this life we have been gifted by God with is marked by a single defining choice: who or what will we choose to center our whole lives around?

This singular choice takes each and everyone of us down a wide or narrow path of decisions that will shape who we are, what we feel, who or what we value, and what we will, by that choice, have accomplished at the end of all our days.

To center our lives around ourselves or the things of this world leads only to destruction. But, to center our lives around meeting with God fills each moment with the glorious abundance of God’s love, provision, and transcendent peace. 

1 Corinthians 8:5-6 Amplified Bible

5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, [a]who is the source of all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things [that have been created], and we [believers exist and have life and have been redeemed] through Him.

 

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Weekly Overview:

This life is marked by a single choice: who or what will we center our lives around? This choice takes each of us down a path of decisions that shape who we are, what we feel, who or what we value, and what we will have accomplished at the end of our days. To center our lives around ourselves or the things of this world leads only to destruction. But, to center our lives around meeting with God fills each moment with the glorious abundance of God’s love, provision, and transcendent peace. May your life be marked by union with your Creator as we explore what it means to center our lives around meeting with God this week.

Scripture: “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:6

Devotional:           

If there’s one name for God that has the power to dramatically transform the lives of believers, it’s that we can call God “Abba” or “Father.” To see God as our Father changes everything. To know God, experience God, to live our lives with the assurance God is our “Abba” Father is an absolute true game changer.

“If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who have lived in the course of human history, all of their goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength, and love and united all those qualities in a single person, that person’s love would only be a faint shadow of the furious love and mercy in the heart of God the Father addressed to you and me at this moment.”
― Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

Even while we were in sin and separation from God, he loved us enough to pay the highest price to have us. (Romans 5:8-10)

John 15:13-17 Amplified Bible

13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father. 16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you. 17 This [is what] I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.

So great was his depth of love for us that Jesus laid down his own life as the atonement for all our mistakes, faults, failures, weaknesses, and frailties.

If God loved us then unconditionally, he loves us now unconditionally.

If God would choose us then, he chooses us now.

If God desired us then, he desires us now. (Hebrews 13:8)

If in the beginning God created us in His Image, In the Image of God He created them (Genesis 1:26-28)

Genesis 1:26-28 Amplified Bible

26 Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps  and crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

And that Creation process has continued completely unabated ever since then, with God in absolute creative control from the first moment of our conception.

Psalm 139:13-18 Amplified Bible

13 
For You formed my innermost parts;
You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
14 
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
16 
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

17 
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 
If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

Under God’s full observation and protection – without a single moment of sleep.

Psalm 121 Complete Jewish Bible

121 (0) A song of ascents:

(1) If I raise my eyes to the hills,
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip —
your guardian is not asleep.
4 No, the guardian of Isra’el
never slumbers or sleeps.

5 Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand
Adonai provides you with shade —
6 the sun can’t strike you during the day
or even the moon at night.

7 Adonai will guard you against all harm;
he will guard your life.
8 Adonai will guard your coming and going
from now on and forever.

If we’re going to center our lives around meeting with God, we must understand the nature of his love for us.

Psalm 23 Complete Jewish Bible

23 (0) A psalm of David:

(1) Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures,
he leads me by quiet water,
3 he restores my inner person.
He guides me in right paths
for the sake of his own name.
4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.

5 You prepare a table for me,
even as my enemies watch;
you anoint my head with oil
from an overflowing cup.

6 Goodness and grace will pursue me
every day of my life;
and I will live in the house of Adonai
for years and years to come.

We must begin to relate to him as our good and loving Father above all else.

We must cast aside any notion that he is angry with us, far from us, or void of affection or desire for us.

We will only be drawn to our heavenly Father to the degree that we take him at his word and trust in his love for us.

Take time today to receive the overwhelming, unconditional love of God for you. Allow his love to reorient your perspectives and beliefs.

Respond to his great love by opening your heart, having fellowship with your Creator, Sustainer, and all-loving Abba, our everlasting heavenly Father.

In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the goodness of God being your perfect Father. What does it mean for your relationship with him if you would truly see him this way? How are you to reorient your perspectives in light of his word?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” Matthew 23:9

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17

2. In what ways have you viewed God other than a loving Father? In what ways have you seen him as a taskmaster, distant Creator, or angry or passive Father?

“Is your own personal prayer life characterized by the simplicity, childlike candor, boundless trust, easy familiarity of a baby crawling up in Daddy’s lap?

An assured knowing that the daddy doesn’t care if the child falls asleep, starts playing with toys, or even starts chatting with little friends, because the daddy knows the child has essentially chosen to be with him for that moment?

Is that the spirit of your interior prayer life?”

3. Ask God to help you encounter the depths of his love today. Now is as good a time as any to take all the time necessary to receive his presence and rest in his goodness. Open up any hidden parts of your life that aren’t bearing the fruit of his unconditional love and receive all the affection, affirmations he has to give.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:3

You are the child of a good, near, and loving Father.

Seeing God as your Father not only impacts your perception of him, but also of yourself and your neighbors. You are all loved. You are liked. You are enjoyed.

The God who only thinks, feels, and says truth values relationship with you enough to send his only Son to die for you.

Never let the world or the enemy shake the foundational love of your heavenly Father. No faults, failures, weakness, or sins could ever change the fact that you are loved, accepted, and valued. Through Abba Father, May you find peace today where there has been only hatred, and loneliness, pressure, and dissatisfaction.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Does anyone seriously believe we can guard our lips or tame our tongues or keep our mouths from starting a fire? James 3:1 – 6

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James 3:1-6 Amplified Bible

The Tongue Is a Fire

3 Not many [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who are teachers] will [a]be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly]. 2 For we all stumble and sin in many  ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says [never saying the wrong thing], he is a perfect man [fully developed in character, without serious flaws], able to bridle his whole body and rein in his entire nature [taming his human faults and weaknesses]. 3 Now if we put bits into the horses’ mouths to make them obey us, we guide their whole body as well. 4 And look at the ships. Even though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines. 5 In the same sense, the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

See [by comparison] how great a forest is set on fire by a small spark! 6 And the tongue is [in a sense] a fire, the very world of injustice and unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life [the cycle of man’s existence], and is itself set on fire by [b]hell (Gehenna).

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Doesn’t it seem at times, that modern life has become a three ring circus?

Sometimes we’re the clowns making people laugh, juggler, trying to manage all the family, career and life responsibilities, or the tightrope walker, trying to walk that line between living for Christ and the constant pull of the world.

Other times we are the strongman, muscled, wrestling with heavy burdens and temptations that are never-ending. And don’t forget the clowns that surround us everywhere with their colorful make-up, their clumsy, and too goofy antics!

Their insanity drains our time and energy, but we simply must deal with them.

Yet, against this backdrop, God is there as ring master, orchestrating the whole thing, making order out of all the chaos – to the extent we turn it over to Him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen and boys and girls, young and old Children of all ages”

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Amplified Bible

4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]! 5 You shall all love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being].6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heart and mind. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your [a]children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.

In the more contemporary sense we should add “drive your cars, trucks, busses, motorcycles, atv’s, recreational vehicles, 18 wheelers, fly your planes, private jets.

Let’s not forget those who make their livings and take their vacations upon the vast oceanic seas, rivers, and waterways, in their fishing boats and their yachts, the row boats and motor boats, our Navies, the Navy’s of the world, the gargantuan tankers and container ships, tug boats, cruise ships of all sizes and elegance and luxury.

The Lord God desires that all may come to know Him and share a relationship.

Psalm 46:10 Amplified Bible

10 
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 100:3 Amplified Bible

3 
Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, [a]not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 139:1-6 Amplified Bible

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
2 
You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.
3 
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 
Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.
6 
Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.

And one of the best ways we can experience victory with Him is to become a big cat tamer and take control of that most vicious of beasts – the human tongue!

We know how difficult it is to tame a real lion, even one raised from a cub.

Just remember the tragic account of Siegfried and Roy, the famous Las Vegas magic act featuring white tigers.

In 2003 one such tiger, Manticore, suddenly bit Roy in the neck and dragged him offstage, ending his career and nearly his life. Which makes us ask – can a lion, or tiger or the human tongue, really be tamed even by “trained experts?”

James 3:2-6 Disciples’ Literal New Testament

2 For we all stumble many[a] ways. If one does not stumble in speech, this one is a perfect man able to bridle[b] also the whole body. 3 Now if we put bridles into the mouths of horses so-that they obey us, we also guide their whole body. 4  Behold also ships being so large and being driven by hard winds— they are guided by a very small rudder where the impulse of the one steering wants. 5 So also the tongue is a  small body-part, and boastfully-declares great things.  Behold how-small a fire kindles how-great a forest!

An Untamed Tongue Stains And Burns And Poisons Life

6 And the tongue is a fire! The[c] tongue is made[d] the world of [e] unrighteousness among our body-parts— the thing staining the whole body and setting-on-fire the course of our existence, and being set-on-fire by Gehenna[f].

Lions and tigers are strong, magnificent creatures, but dangerous. They can turn on you suddenly, in a split-second, cause untold damage or kill you. Yet when they are under the control of the lion tamer, they are beautiful to behold.

Just like our tongues …

Proverbs 18:17-21 Easy-to-Read Version

17 The first person to speak always seems right until someone comes and asks the right questions.

18 The best way to settle an argument between two powerful people may be to use lots.

19 An insulted brother is harder to win back than a city with strong walls. Arguments separate people like the strong bars of a palace gate.

20 Your words can be as satisfying as fruit, as pleasing as the food that fills your stomach.

21 The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings.

Matthew 12:33-37 Easy-to-Read Version

What You Do(say) Shows What You Are

33 “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. 34 You snakes! You are so evil. How can you say anything good? What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts. 35 Those who are good have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. 36 I tell you that everyone will have to answer for all the careless things they have said. This will happen on the day of judgment. 37 Your words will be used to judge you. What you have said will show whether you are right or whether you are guilty.”

Our taming the tongue is vital so we don’t stumble, experience unnecessary relationship damage, or get pushed off the course that God set for our lives. 

Indeed, what comes out of our mouths in an absent-minded moment can cause severe, irreparable damage.

Our “oops” words can have unintended consequences: weakening our marriage relationship, creating division between friends and distrust among colleagues, and alienating our children. They can cost us our jobs, our reputations, and our families and our homes, untold opportunities to keep ourselves out of prison.

What comes out of our mouth can cause us to experience a lifetime of regret, especially if they are so severe, knock us off the course God has for our lives.

In other words, our lives follow the direction of our words.

If we are always saying things like: I’ll never…I can’t…my life is over…I won’t recover…I don’t get any breaks… 

Don’t be surprised if that is exactly how your life turns out!

Just as absent-minded words spoken to others can damage the course of that relationship, what we continuously, constantly say about ourselves and our lives has a profound effect on our own decision making minds. And these self-imposed limiting beliefs and crippling mindsets can completely alter the course that our lives take, far away from God’s intent. Which, by the way, is amazing.

But if the masters Siegfried and Roy ultimately failed in taming their lion, well-fed, well-treated, and raised from a cub, how can we hope to master, to take control of the wildest of all wildest of beasts we have called the human tongue?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 Easy-to-Read Version

To the director: A song of David.

19 The heavens tell about the glory of God.
    The skies announce what his hands have made.
2 Each new day tells more of the story,
    and each night reveals more and more about God’s power.[a]
3 You cannot hear them say anything.
    They don’t make any sound we can hear.
4 But their message goes throughout the world.
    Their teaching reaches the ends of the earth.

The sun’s tent is set up in the heavens.
5     It comes out like a happy bridegroom from his bedroom.
It begins its path across the sky
    like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 It starts at one end of the sky
    and runs all the way to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat.

7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect.
    They give strength to his people.
The Lord’s rules can be trusted.
    They help even the foolish become wise.
8 The Lord’s laws are right.
    They make people happy.
The Lord’s commands are good.
    They show people the right way to live.

9 Learning respect for the Lord is good.
    It will last forever.
The Lord’s judgments are right.
    They are completely fair.
10 His teachings are worth more than pure gold.
    They are sweeter than the best honey dripping from the honeycomb.
11 His teachings warn his servants,
    and good things come to those who obey them.

12 People cannot see their own mistakes,
    so don’t let me commit secret sins.
13 Don’t let me do what I know is wrong.
    Don’t let sin control me.
If you help me, I can be pure
    and free from sin.
14 May my words and thoughts please you.
    Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.

Psalm 139:23-24 Easy-to-Read Version

23 God, examine me and know my mind.
    Test me and know all my worries.
24 Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a]
    Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

But who would dare to discern their own errors? Forgive hidden faults? Who can discern unintentional sins, can satisfy their own Debts? Psalm 19

Psalm 19 Names of God Bible

Psalm 19

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of El,
    and the sky displays what his hands have made.
2 One day tells a story to the next.
    One night shares knowledge with the next
3 without talking,
    without words,
    without their voices being heard.
4 Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
    their message to the ends of the earth.
    He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
    Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
6         It rises from one end of the heavens.
            It circles around to the other.
                Nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The teachings of Yahweh are perfect.
    They renew the soul.
    The testimony of Yahweh is dependable.
    It makes gullible people wise.
8 The instructions of Yahweh are correct.
    They make the heart rejoice.
    The command of Yahweh is radiant.
    It makes the eyes shine.
9 The fear of Yahweh is pure.
    It endures forever.
    The decisions of Yahweh are true.
    They are completely fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
    They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 As your servant I am warned by them.
    There is a great reward in following them.

12 Who can notice every mistake?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep me from sinning.
    Do not let anyone gain control over me.
        Then I will be blameless,
            and I will be free from any great offense.

14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
    be acceptable to you, O Yahweh, my rock and my Go’el.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Psalm 19:7-14 Easy-to-Read Version

7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect.
    They give strength to his people.
The Lord’s rules can be trusted.
    They help even the foolish become wise.
8 The Lord’s laws are right.
    They make people happy.
The Lord’s commands are good.
    They show people the right way to live.

9 Learning respect for the Lord is good.
    It will last forever.
The Lord’s judgments are right.
    They are completely fair.
10 His teachings are worth more than pure gold.
    They are sweeter than the best honey dripping from the honeycomb.
11 His teachings warn his servants,
    and good things come to those who obey them.

12 People cannot see their own mistakes,
    so don’t let me commit secret sins.
13 Don’t let me do what I know is wrong.
    Don’t let sin control me.
If you help me, I can be pure
    and free from sin.
14 May my words and thoughts please you.
    Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.

David, summing up all that he said about the Word of God, declares that the only thing which can interfere with the Word having its full effect is us.

We are the problem.

If we cannot benefit from the Word, it is not because there is anything wrong with it. It is us who are the problem. Who can discern their own errors? 

We are all victims of hidden failure in our lives.

Psalm 139:23-24 Easy-to-Read Version

23 God, examine me and know my mind.
    Test me and know all my worries.
24 Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a]
    Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]

Contemplate for a time if these ancient words of scripture excluded “God”

23 ME, examine me and know my mind.
    ME Test me and know all my worries.
24  ME Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a]
    ME Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]

If we are the only one’s who are examining ourselves …

If we are the only one’s who are trying to know our own minds …

If we are the only one’s testing ourselves to get at the core of our worries?

If we are the only one’s who are investigating our own “wicked ways?”

Then making sure we where smart enough, wise enough, brutally honest enough, tough enough on ourselves, to hardcore “tough love” ourselves, to accept, heartfelt confess, the .0000001% chance we are going the wrong way?

“Knowing” exactly how much a PhD we are in knowing ourselves, caring for ourselves, instantly perfectly completely correcting, and directing ourselves?

What gets accomplished?

Who accomplishes what?

Who makes sure they get all of the credit for what was accomplished?

If we examine ourselves, we usually look fine – in our view of our facts, we are perfectly fine – no worries – no anxieties – as we set off to swim all the oceans?

Everybody, including themselves, thinks what he does is right. We cannot see, refuse to see, our own errors, we won’t acknowledge these errors, yet these hidden errors are constantly affecting us so we cannot see truth the way it is.

How big a 100% fool can we make of ourselves in the privacy of our homes?

Strutting around in public like some fluorescent tie dyed Peacock in full bloom, How big a 100% fool can we put on the world’s biggest most vivid movie screen?

If we aren’t ourselves becoming even .0000001% self conscious of these errors?

Therefore, we desperately need to be delivered from hidden errors by someone eternally, infinitely, more wise, more honest, more sacrificing of self than we are capable of being or would even entertain one thought we would want to be.

That is what severely hinders our desire for the Word — these hidden errors.

The Psalmist faces the fact that something is wrong with us, so he concludes this Psalm with a wonderful prayer: Forgive my hidden faults (Psalms 19:12b).

Are you so fully and completely contrite of heart to confess with all of your soul and all of your so called strength all of your alleged might that is your prayer?

We know what will happen to ourselves, by ourselves, by our indomitable self wills, dare ourselves to pray for that forgiveness, wait on ourselves to answer.

NOTHING OF ANY AUTHENTIC VALUE OR ANYTHING OF ETERNAL WORTH!

Do you know what will happen when you pray that way AND also include God?

One might allow themselves to fantasize that God will take a sponge and wipe around inside you so that you will not even know what those hidden faults were.

But God does not do that.

Isaiah 55:8-11 Easy-to-Read Version

People Cannot Understand God

8 The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours.
    Your ways are not like mine.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways,
    and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky
    and don’t return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow,
    and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat.
11 In the same way, my words leave my mouth,
    and they don’t come back without results.
My words make the things happen that I want to happen.
    They succeed in doing what I send them to do.

His way of dealing with hidden faults is either to send somebody to point them out to you – someone like Nathan who entered David’s throne unannounced.

To bring them out, shake them out through some circumstance in which they are suddenly confronted with what they have done or said, and suddenly realize that it is 1000% ugly and they have been caught not by man, but by God himself.

2 Samuel 12:1-14 Easy-to-Read Version

Nathan Speaks to David

12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men in a city. One man was rich, but the other man was poor. 2 The rich man had lots of sheep and cattle. 3 But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb that he bought. The poor man fed the lamb, and the lamb grew up with this poor man and his children. She ate from the poor man’s food and drank from his cup. The lamb slept on the poor man’s chest. The lamb was like a daughter to the poor man.

4 “Then a traveler stopped to visit the rich man. The rich man wanted to give food to the traveler, but he did not want to take any of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler. No, the rich man took the lamb from the poor man and cooked it for his visitor.”

5 David became very angry with the rich man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this should die! 6 He must pay four times the price of the lamb because he did this terrible thing and because he had no mercy.”

Nathan Tells David About His Sin

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that rich man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I chose[a] you to be the king of Israel. I saved you from Saul. 8 I let you take his family and his wives, and I made you king of Israel and Judah. As if that had not been enough, I would have given you more and more. 9  So why did you ignore my command? Why did you do what I say is wrong? You let the Ammonites kill Uriah the Hittite, and you took his wife. It is as if you yourself killed Uriah in war. 10 So your family will never have peace! When you took Uriah’s wife, you showed that you did not respect me.’

11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am bringing trouble against you. This trouble will come from your own family. I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you. He will have sexual relations with your wives, and everyone will know it![b] 12 You had sexual relations with Bathsheba in secret, but I will punish you so that all the people of Israel can see it.’”[c]

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan said to David, “The Lord will forgive you, even for this sin. You will not die. 14 But you did things that made the Lord’s enemies lose their respect for him, so your new baby son will die.”

That is the way God cleanses us from hidden faults.

He hardcore pries open the secret places.

Usually he does it through other people, because we cannot see ourselves but other people can see us.

These faults are hidden to us but not to others.

They see them very plainly.

And we can see their hidden faults better than they can.

You say, I don’t see how they can be so blind. 

Well, someone is thinking that very same way about you.

We do not see ourselves.

That is why it is always proper to say, Lord, forgive my hidden faults.

Help me to see myself through the eyes of a friend who loves me enough to tell me the truth.

David closes this psalm with these often quoted words which are so wonderfully penetrating that we should pray them often: 

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalms 19:14).

That is a wonderful prayer, is it not?

This is the attitude that will open the Word of God to us.

When you pray that kind of prayer before you read the Word, you will find that God will (gently in God’s way, hardcore our way) talk to us in a marvelous way.

Deliver Me From Evil

Psalm 19:12 Amplified Bible

12 
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.

When I was in grade school, there were many times that I thought a teacher or a parent had eyes in the back of their head.

I could not get away with anything I was not supposed to be doing.

Sometimes my hidden thoughts were identified by those who were not even looking at me. And to prevent me from even trying something out of line, they loudly whispered for all to hear, “Just remember, God sees everything you do.”

Having someone watching our every move can help to keep our secret actions in check, but what about our thoughts and the things we are tempted to say?

When we allow the bright light of God’s law to shine into our inner self, it truly illuminates our hidden faults and lights up a warning.

Without God’s law we are blind to what separates us from God.

The psalmist knows that he cannot see his faults by looking into a mirror.

He looks instead into God’s law and asks God to forgive not only his visible sins but also his hidden faults.

And the God of the Bible does forgive.

Knowing the fact of God’s forgiveness assures the psalmist that he will be blameless in God’s sight. Not completely perfect yet, but blameless now.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40 Amplified Bible

God Sustains His Servant.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

40 I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 
He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.
3 
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear [with great reverence]
And will trust confidently in the Lord.

4 
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies.
5 
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of your wonders,
They would be too many to count.

6 
Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them;
You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];
Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.
7 
Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne];
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 
“I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”

9 
I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],
As You know, O Lord.
10 
I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

11 
Do not withhold Your compassion and tender mercy from me, O Lord;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 
For innumerable evils have encompassed me;
My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

13 
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14 
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
15 
Let those be appalled and desolate because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!”
16 
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 
Even though I am afflicted and needy,
Still the Lord takes thought and is mindful of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
O my God, do not delay.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

I will not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the eyes of my heart are enlightened to see the surest, and truest hope we should all have in you. 2 Kings 6:17

2 Kings 6:14-20 Complete Jewish Bible

14 So he sent horses, chariots and a large army there; they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 The servant of the man of God got up early in the morning; on going outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. His servant said to him, “Oh, my master, this is terrible! What are we going to do?” 16 He answered, “Don’t be afraid — those who are with us outnumber those who are with them!” 17 Elisha prayed, “Adonai, I ask you to open his eyes, so that he can see.” Then Adonai opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw: there before him, all around Elisha, the mountain was covered with horses and fiery chariots. 18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Adonai, “Please strike these people blind”; and he struck them blind, as Elisha had asked. 19 Next, Elisha told them, “You’ve lost your way, and this isn’t even the right city. Follow me, and I’ll take you to the man you’re looking for.” Then he led them to Shomron. 20 On their arrival in Shomron, Elisha said, “Adonai, open the eyes of these men, so that they can see.” Adonai opened their eyes, and they saw: there they were, in the middle of Shomron.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Prophet Elisha’s servant was looking but not seeing. He saw only hopelessness. He saw the army of Aram surrounding their town, but he did not see the host of the angel Army protecting God’s people. He was walking in spiritual blindness.

We can be the same way.

We might see only disappointments, or discouragements, or hopelessness, our spiritual enemies descending with all their might, all around us, our dark souls.

We might fear the stranger, complain about the lazy, and point fingers at those who disagree. We might fear that the world is lost to the devil, and we are the ones who suffer. We might be baited, shackled to the idea of putting God aside so we all can earn our fortune and have fun, only to experience everlasting loss.

Elisha’s prayer is a great way to address our blindness to God’s sovereignty. We can pray, “Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see.” When our eyes are opened, we see our sin as the chief of sins and the lust of the flesh as rebellion against God.

And we finally see that Jesus has already won the victory. Christ already rules in heaven. This world is all in his hands. Have no fear, for we know that God wins.

When the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, “he looked up and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” All these angelic heavenly hosts were surrounding and protecting them. The servant’s fear melted away. If there is an Elisha warrior praying for us, God is on our side, who can stand against us?

Ephesians 1:15-21 Amplified Bible

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers; 17 [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. 18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the [a]hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the [b]saints (God’s people), 19 and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength 20 which He [c]produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come.

In order to go deeper in God, we must allow him to open the eyes of our hearts to see him as he truly is.

So often we settle in our relationship with him for that which can only be seen with our physical eyes.

We settle for community apart from unity in the Spirit, God’s word apart from revelation from the Spirit, and look to “open” or “closed” doors as our guide rather than making space to ask for the Holy Spirit’s leadership.

It’s time for us as the body of Christ to truly live in the fullness of relationship afforded to us by his sacrifice.

It’s for this reason, in Ephesians 1:16-19, Paul told the Church in Ephesus,

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.

We need the “eyes of our hearts” to be enlightened today.

We need the Holy Spirit to come and do a mighty work that we might no longer live only for that which is seen, but by faith pursue the unseen. 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” 

God longs for us to pursue the deeper things of him in faith. He longs for us to grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit and learn to live life with his presence, leadership, voice, and love as the foundation for everything we do.

To live only by the things we can physically see is to live only for that which is temporal and fleeting. 

Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” 

God has worthwhile work in store for us. He has a plan to bring heaven to earth through our lives every day. But in order to make an impact on eternity we must be able to see, know the heart of God. We must become, as Elisha, increasingly aware of exactly how God feels and what he wants to do moment-by-moment.

Growing in our relationship with the Holy Spirit is the foundation of seeking the deeper things of God.

Learning to live by and with him is the only way to advance his kingdom.

Take time in guided prayer today to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Ask him to lead, guide and direct you into a deeper, far more connected relationship with him. And choose Elisha’s prayer today, to pursue a life marked by deep connection with your heavenly Father and powerful works of his Spirit.

17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.

Guided Prayer:

1. Ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Meditate on Scripture and take time to rest in his presence.

“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1:18

“Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both.” Proverbs 20:12

2. Where have you been doing life apart from connectivity to the Spirit? Where have you been living temporally instead of for eternity?

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live connected to him today.

“Be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own” 1 Corinthians 6:19

Jesus promised us in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 

When we authentically seek all the blessings which God has to give such as being loved, being known, being provided for, and being filled with the Spirit, we can know that we will find what we seek.

The door to going deeper in God will always be opened whenever we come to it and knock.

God will never withhold himself from us when we purely desire more of him.

Have faith today in the perfect goodness of your heavenly Father and deeply pursue the deeper things of him that you might live in greater union with him.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Sprit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 42 Complete Jewish Bible

Book II: Psalms 42–72

42 (0) For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:

2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?

4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.

6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”

12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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When those Storms of Life are still Crashing, Raging: How well are we grounded, standing firm in the Lord? 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Amplified Bible

6 But now that Timothy has come back to us from [his visit with] you, and has brought us good news of your [steadfast] faith and [the warmth of your] love, and [reported] that you always think kindly of us and treasure your memories of us, longing to see us just as we long to see you, 7 for this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and suffering we have been comforted and  greatly encouraged about you because of your faith [your unwavering trust in God—placing yourselves completely in His loving hands]; 8 because now we  really live [in spite of everything], if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For what [adequate] thanks can we offer to God for you in return for all the joy and  delight we have before our God on your account? 10 We continue to pray night and day most earnestly that we may see you face to face, and may complete whatever may be imperfect and lacking in your faith.

11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and Jesus our Lord guide our steps to you [by removing the obstacles that stand in our way]. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and excel and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may strengthen and establish your hearts without blame in holiness in the sight of our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His [a]saints (God’s people).

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

When reading this chapter, the firmness of the joy Paul had stood out to me.

During his entire Apostleship, Paul faced challenge after challenge, obstacle after obstacle as he walked worked to spread the gospel, yet he’s still full of joy.

Paul starts the chapter by talking about how he feared that the Thessalonians would be led astray by the temptations and afflictions they would face. 

He says that for this reason, he asked someone to report on their faith, hoping that all his ministry and mission work there wouldn’t have been done in vain. 

But when Timothy returned with a report about the Thessalonians, it became clear they had stood firm in their faith through all the persecution they faced.

In verse 7, Paul writes that he and his companions were comforted by the news that Timothy brought. 

The good news about the Thessalonians was so great that it provided comfort in the midst of their bodily and spiritual afflictions! 

Paul states they now really live if the Thessalonians stand firm in their faith. 

The Thessalonians provided so much magnitude of joy to the lives of Paul and his companions that it feels like they had just started to really live in Christ! 

In verse 9, Paul asks what expressions of thanks they can extend to God for all the joy he has about the steadfast faith and perseverance of the Thessalonians. 

There is so much joy running through his heart and through their spirits that he a man of many words, doesn’t even know how to put it to words to thank God. 

This magnitude of joy is so overwhelming that he can’t even start to understand or comprehend completely just exactly how much thanks he needs to give God.

Are we filling others with as much joy as Paul is full of from the Thessalonians?

Are those who taught us the Bible filled with that self same magnitude of joy from the way it has changed their lives and id now firmly working your life?

Paul’s joy came from his spirit seeing that he was able to make this impact on the Thessalonian followers and that they were able to continue standing firm. 

We each need to be firm in God’s immutable truths like the Thessalonians, providing encouraging joy to our teachers, our neighbors, others like the non believing souls as we are encouraged continue to walk in the way of the Lord.

Are you filled with joy like Paul? 

God has provided each of us with much more than we ever deserved. 

None of us deserve salvation, but God offered it to each one of us. 

Our lives should be full of joy because of this great gift. 

I can’t even begin to thank God enough for everything that He has given me!

I have to stand up and firmly echo Paul’s response to this joy shown in verse 10. 

He says that he and his companions are earnestly praying that they may see the Thessalonians again and that they may yet continue to strengthen their faith.

He doesn’t claim that his job is now done, as the Thessalonians were able to stand up to opposition.  Instead, he says that he wants to visit to teach them even more, to make them even firmer, stronger, lacking nothing in their faith.

Paul thanked God for his Thessalonian friends, who, despite knowing they would suffer imprisonment, persecution and even a very painful death in the arena’s for their faith in Jesus, were sure of the security they would find in him.

What a witness they were to the Savior!

The Thessalonians were persecuted, they were arrested, tortured and killed but they remained steadfast in their faith to the end—and that is not always easy.

It can be difficult to remain faithful, especially when life presents unexpected challenges. When Paul sent Timothy to check on the Thessalonians, he was encouraged and filled with joy that their faith had remained strong. He said, “For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.”

Remaining firm in Christ is not always easy when you know you will be hurt—both physically and spiritually but God tells us about the peace, comfort, and redemption he provides when we stay near to him despite our challenges.

No matter what year it is, no matter the culture or society, life can bring grief, instant worry, fear, and a host of other difficult and uncomfortable emotions.

It can be hard to accept circumstances that are unpredictable and far outside of our own control, especially when our hearts, souls, yearn to make things better.

But when we draw near to God as He draws near to us, he promises to give us his peace that surpasses all understanding.

Psalm 73:28 Amplified Bible

28 
But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,
That I may tell of all Your works.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 Amplified Bible

Your Attitude Toward God

5 Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.

Hebrews 7:18-20 Amplified Bible

18 For, on the one hand, a former commandment is cancelled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God] 19 (for the Law never made anything perfect); while on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we now continually draw near to God. 20 And indeed it was not without the taking of an oath [that Christ was made priest]

James 4:1-10 Amplified Bible

Things to Avoid

4 What leads to [the unending] [a]quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]? 2 You are jealous and covet [what others have] and  [b] your lust goes unfulfilled; so you [c]murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God]. 3 You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask  [d]with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires. 4 You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose [e] that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy? 6 But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but  [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].” 7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. 9 Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].

Drawing nearer, and nearer still to God’s presence strengthens our weary storm battered hearts through our firmest perseverance through hardcore challenges, persecution, and unforeseen circumstances—and for that we must praise him!

What is our response to being filled with joy, with above beyond exuberant joy? 

We need to be constantly giving thanks for all that we have been given, night and day praising God. 

Are you asking God that we can continue to do the hard work of ministry and the hard work of mission which He has prepared for us or are you saying that we have reached or exceeded our definition of our limits, that our job is done? 

This Spirit ignited joy should cause us to want to do even more, spreading the good news to all those around you so that they too might experience this joy.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Spend an extra ten minutes in prayer today thanking God.

What is the biggest challenge you face in standing firm in the Lord?

How can you ask for help from your brothers and sisters in Christ? (If you don’t have a church family yet – make it your first priority to find one!)

Are there brothers and sisters or children in the faith that give you great joy when you see how they are standing firm in the faith even in the midst of trials?

Let them know.

Look to make friends with them as Christ made friends with you. John 15:15-16

John 14:11-14 Amplified Bible

11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe  [Me] because of the [very] works themselves [which you have witnessed]. 12 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name [[a]as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified  and celebrated in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.

Do you wishy washy, firmly, believe in Jesus Christ as you One and Only Savior?

Do you wishy washy, firmly, believe in Jesus’ words to His disciples of their firm ability of accomplishing “greater things?” What are those “greater things?”

There is much to pray about – how firm is our foundation in Savior Jesus Christ?

In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2 
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3 
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4 
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5 
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 
The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 
The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 
The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.
10 
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
13 
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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