Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
23 [a]For I received from the Lord Himself that [instruction] which I passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is (represents) My body, which is [offered as a sacrifice] for you. Do this in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] the Lord’s death until He comes [again].
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.
A Time for Silent Recall, for Proclaiming the Sacrifice
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Disciples’ Literal New Testament
The Lord’s Supper Is a Remembrance of What He Did For Us
23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed-over[a] to you— that the Lord Jesus, in the night on which He was being handed-over, took bread. 24 And having given-thanks, He broke it and said “This is My body, the one being given[b] for you. Be doing this for My remembrance”. 25 Similarly also the cup after the dining[c], saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Be doing this, as-often-as you drink it, for My remembrance”. 26 For as-often-as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord, until which time He comes.
Today is Sunday, and if you attend a worship service today, you might celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion. Many churches around the world will gather and focus on the simple loaf of bread and cup and hear these powerful words: “This is my body, given for you. . . . This is my blood, shed for you.”
In a way, the tangible elements of bread and grape juice (or wine) bear witness to the limitless love of Jesus shown in his sacrifice on the cross. We are invited to take and eat so that we may remember and believe that in Jesus’ death and resurrection we find forgiveness and new life. We are also reminded that when we participate in communion, we “recall and proclaim the Lord’s death” until he returns. Communion itself is a witness unto Jesus and all he has done for us.
I remember an enormously powerful experience of communion many years ago.
It was on the day of my wife’s and mine wedding.
As the Clergy proceeded through the liturgy of Marriage, in the background was the Bread and the Cup of Communion waiting for the moment of consecration.
In the modest sized Methodist Church where we were Married, the wife and I were both excited for each other, profoundly humbled before the Lord our God.
For the Wife and I what mattered the most was not just the moment of joining but the above and beyond all other things, celebrating, recalling Jesus’ place in our lives, in this holy moment of marriage – God #1 Jesus #1 Holy Spirit #1.
Love and sacrifice and service unto God first and foremost, then our neighbors and then each other. (Mark 12:28-34 Complete Jewish Bible)
28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the most important mitzvah of them all?” 29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is,
‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one],30 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.’[a]
There is no other mitzvah greater than these.” 32 The Torah-teacher said to him, “Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him; 33 and that loving him with all one’s heart, understanding and strength, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared put to him another sh’eilah.
*sh’eilah* The word in Hebrew means simply “question,” but among Jews speaking English it means “a question about Torah or halakhah” …
Halakhah, in Judaism, the totality of laws and ordinances that have evolved since biblical times to regulate religious observances and the daily life and conduct of the Jewish people.
As my Wife and I held those symbols of Jesus’ death in our hands, we saw with fresh eyes how his sacrifice brings life. We had both brought our “baggage,” and we placed them upon His Altar, sacrificing them as Christ sacrificed for us.
As we served the Elements, as we first served God, as we served the assembled wedding guests and officiants, we prayed that we set an example for the guests of the absolute primacy of God, the Father and God the Son and God Holy Spirit in our wedded lives and by divine extension into wedded lives of the assembled.
We decided God alone brought us together. God had decided that our purpose here wasn’t finished. In life in the primacy of service to God, our neighbors and ourselves, and in death, we all belong to him—the one who gave his all for us.
As you each proceed to receive holy Communion, recall first and foremost, in and echelons above all that we our ever so flawed and finite selves hold being primary, having all or nothing primacy in our day to day lives, Jesus, you are the bread of life. As we worship you, may we experience close communion with you and our brothers and sisters in faith. Thank you for the gift of your life. Alleluia! Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
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.
Tehillim 23 Orthodox Jewish Bible
23 (Mizmor of Dovid). Hashem is my Ro’eh (Shepherd); I shall not lack.
2 He maketh me to lie down in greenpastures; He leadeth me beside the mei menuchot (tranquil waters).
3 He restoreth my nefesh; He guideth me in the paths of tzedek l’ma’an Shmo (righteousness for the sake of His Name).
4 Yea, though I walk through the Gey Tzalmavet (Valley of the Shadow of Death), I will fear no rah (evil); for Thou art with me; Thy shevet (rod) and Thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a shulchan before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with shemen (olive oil); my kos runneth over.
6 Surely tov and chesed shall follow me kol y’mei chaiyyai (all the days of my life): and I will dwell in the Bais Hashem l’orech yamim (for length of days, whole life.
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.
10 Why, Adonai, do you stand at a distance? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 The wicked in their arrogance hunt down the poor, who get caught in the schemes they think up.
3 For the wicked boasts about his lusts; he blesses greed and despises Adonai. 4 Every scheme of the wicked in his arrogance [says], “There is no God, [so] it won’t be held against me.” 5 His ways prosper at all times. Your judgments are way up there, so he takes no notice. His adversaries? He scoffs at them all. 6 In his heart he thinks, “I will never be shaken; I won’t meet trouble, not now or ever.” 7 His mouth is full of curses, deceit, oppression; under his tongue, mischief and injustice. 8 He waits near settlements in ambush and kills an innocent man in secret; his eyes are on the hunt for the helpless. 9 Lurking unseen like a lion in his lair, he lies in wait to pounce on the poor, then seizes the poor and drags him off in his net. 10 Yes, he stoops, crouches down low; and the helpless wretch falls into his clutches. 11 He says in his heart, “God forgets, he hides his face, he will never see.”
12 Arise, Adonai! God, raise your hand! Don’t forget the humble! 13 Why does the wicked despise God and say in his heart, “It won’t be held against me”? 14 You have seen; for you look at mischief and grief, so that you can take the matter in hand. The helpless commits himself to you; you help the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked! As for the evil man, search out his wickedness until there is none left.
16 Adonai is king forever and ever! The nations have vanished from his land. 17 Adonai, you have heard what the humble want; you encourage them and listen to them, 18 to give justice to the fatherless and oppressed, so that no one on earth will strike terror again.
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.
Having consistent and transformational encounters with God while on earth is meant to be foundational to the Christian life. Our God has not left us. Our God has not changed, cannot be changed, will not change, will never be changed. He is, was and forever be the same God – today, yesterday and every last tomorrow.
Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we’ve been filled with the very Spirit of God who longs to reveal to us daily the nearness and love of our heavenly Father. We are never left alone. There is nowhere we can flee from the presence of our God. It is likewise true God can always be found-sometimes in the most common places.
However, as much the Hebrews 13:8 remains forever true and unchangeable, it is more than well established through the Word of God that while things will always proceed according to God’s plan, humankind’s plan always, inevitably, falls apart and humanity struggles to regain the degree and measure of control they falsely believe they exercise over divine providence, and God ‘vanishes.’
Humankind inevitably will become all kind of flustered, frustrated and frayed.
10 Why do You stand far away, O Lord? Why do You hide [Yourself, veiling Your eyes] in times of trouble?Psalm 10:1
The pitiful cries that are recorded in this Psalm 10 could be the words of many believers today.
Times of deepest troubles and severe persecution are touching every member of the Body of Christ in one way or another, many are repeatedly crying out: “Lord, why do you stand far off? Why do you (always) hide yourself in times of trouble?”
What the Psalmist recorded 3000 years ago, mirrors the happenings of today, as many continue to ask, “Why does the Lord our God seem to remain silent while the innocents suffer? Why are those arrogant, evil men permitted to go unchallenged?”
We may not or never understand the full plans and purposes of God, but He has already appointed a time, a time known only to Him, to judge evil, the wicked.
We may be grieved by the wars, the atrocities, the incredible measures and degrees and divisiveness that are taking place today, but God has appointed a day to finish transgression, put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to set His King upon His holy Hill in Jerusalem.
For two thousand years, God has been pouring out grace upon grace, upon grace not willing that any should perish. But the day is coming when wicked and evil man will be called to a final account of their sins, day of wrath is surely coming when nations will be judged, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Jesus taught us in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Your heavenly Father is seeking your worship. He longs for it. He so places highest values on your love, adoration that he would send his Son to die that the path to encountering him would be made available.
You, me, we, were first and foremost created to worship. You, me, we were all created to receive the love of your Creator and in response give him your heart.
You, me, we, will never feel as whole as when our hearts is connected to our Heavenly Father’s heart and you, me, we are giving, receiving love in worship.
Psalm 29 Complete Jewish Bible
29 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Give Adonai his due, you who are godly; give Adonai his due of glory and strength; 2 give Adonai the glory due his name; worship Adonai in holy splendor.
3 The voice of Adonai is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, Adonai over rushing waters, 4 the voice of Adonai in power, the voice of Adonai in splendor.
5 The voice of Adonai cracks the cedars; Adonai splinters the cedars of the L’vanon 6 and makes the L’vanon skip like a calf, Siryon like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames; 8 the voice of Adonai rocks the desert, Adonai convulses the Kadesh Desert. 9 The voice of Adonai causes deer to give birth and strips the forests bare — while in his temple, all cry, “Glory!” 10 Adonai sits enthroned above the flood! Adonai sits enthroned as king forever! 11 May Adonai give strength to his people! May Adonai bless his people with shalom!
The Christian life is to be marked by disciplined heartfelt, genuine worship: worship filled with God’s presence and intimate nearness and nearness to the heartbeat of God that responds to a true encounter with the heart of God.
If that type of worship is new to you, that’s okay!
If the idea of encountering God in worship is new to you, there is joy and grace at the place of new beginnings.
Don’t allow your past to dictate the possibilities of your future.
Don’t allow past experiences where worship might not have been filled with encountering Jesus make you believe our future times of our worship won’t be marked by the power and intimacy and God’s presence. (Isaiah 6:1-10)
Where else Do We See the Gospel in the Psalms?
Asking how we see the gospel in the book of Psalms feels a little like asking, “How do we see the gospel in The Methodist Hymnal.”
Isn’t it there in every single song (hopefully)?
Of course, the Old Testament is different. But this is a book of music which Old Testament believers would have used to express their faith in the living God.
In order to see the gospel in Psalms do we need to analyze every single chapter?
Are these not individual songs?
Or is there a unified theme to the Psalms which also points to the gospel?
I will argue that the Psalms not only point us to Jesus individually, the Book of Psalms as a compilation which will also point us to the finished work of Christ.
How Do You Find the Gospel in the Old Testament?
I suppose before understanding how to find the gospel in the OT, it’d be helpful for us to define the gospel.
The simplest definition is one given by JI Packer: God saves sinners.
If you’d like to put a bit more meat on your gospel presentation, I use two different frameworks with four points each.
The first is God—Man—Christ—Response.
The second is more of a story: Creation—Fall—Redemption—Glory.
The first presentation centers upon God’s character and how humanity fails to meet God’s holy standard, as such the judgment of God is upon us.
But the good news is that Jesus Christ fixes this by fulfilling what is required through his life, death and resurrection.
Our only fitting response, then, is to respond to Him in repentance and faith.
When this happens, we are united to Christ and his record becomes our record.
The second presentation centers upon the overarching story of the Bible.
God lovingly created us to love Him and enjoy Him forever.
We were made for rest, rule, and relationship.
But we made shipwreck of this, and so rather than having the blessings of obedience we are under the curse of disobedience.
Rather than having peace (rest), purpose (ruling), and healthy relationship we often experience the opposite.
Ultimately, we are alienated from God. But thankfully God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear our curse and to fulfill what God intended for humanity.
As such we now experience the blessings of Jesus’ obedience in our place.
He restores the rest, rule, and relationship we were created to enjoy.
Someday everything will be ultimately restored and we will live in a new heaven and a new earth.
We could write entire books focusing on these various themes of the gospel.
But every gospel story follows this basic skeleton.
No matter where you find yourself in the Old Testament (or New Testament) you can find one of these various threads.
Every place in Scripture is either telling you something about God, something about our rebellion, something about His rescue, or something about our future restoration.
If you can spot this, then you can fill out the rest of the story.
The Gospel in Psalms
For my studies, I have often compared the book of Psalms to a hymnbook.
That’s not entirely true.
It was a collection of poems throughout the history of Israel, many of which were set to music.
Most believe the 150 Psalms were compiled at some point after the Babylonian exile. How were they compiled? Did an ancient exiled editor just randomly pick a few poems, stick them together willy dilly, and then give them numbers?
Or was there an intentional structure?
The first clue that there is an intentional structure is that many have headings.
In fact, we notice that there are five Books of the Psalms. This is likely intentional and connected to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). We also see that each of these books ends with a doxology.
This structure can help us understand the overall theme of the book of Psalms.
Taking the first two books as a bit of a thesis, I appreciate the summary given by The Bible Project.
They say, it is “the prayer book of God’s people as they strive to be faithful to the Torah as they wait for the Messianic Kingdom.”
How do these five books of Psalms support that theme?
And more importantly how does the story of the Psalms point to Christ?
Book I
Almost all of the psalms of Book I are attributed to David.
They carry a strong theme of fidelity to the Torah and the nature of the Davidic King and kingdom.
But they are often set in the middle of distressing situations.
Saul’s pursuit of David plays a prominent role throughout these.
And yet through this distress, we see a settled disposition to trust in the Lord.
The theme here is that of confrontation with the results of the fall.
The seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent.
We see this theme played out through the conflict of Book I.
Book II
In Book II we are introduced to the Sons of Korah (Ps. 42-49), one psalm of Asaph (50), and then another group of psalms attributed to David (51-71).
It closes with a psalm of Solomon (72).
In this book, the posture towards the world is a bit different. Rather than a confrontation we see more of an invitation. Here the Abrahamic blessing is extended through the reign of the Messiah’s kingdom. But it is still set within a background of lament and longing and an underlying desire for repentance.
Book III
In Book III it is as if all the wheels come off of the locomotive.
The psalms further darken until they reach their climax in Psalm 88.
That is the psalm of lament where there is no positive turn.
It is only darkness.
But the book ends with a bit of a higher note in Psalm 89 as it points toward the promise of a messianic kingdom, but now it does so in light of the exile and the collapse of the Davidic Kingdom. How can the Messiah come through this?
How can a king sit on David’s throne when the people are divided, scattered?
Book IV
Book IV, opening with Psalm 90, seems like a response to the questions and the problems which the fall of the Davidic kingdom brings.
Psalm 90 goes back to Moses and his call of repentance after the incident of the golden calf.
This is likely where the people are during the time when these psalms are compiled. There is an obvious theme here of the truth that “the Lord reigns.”
That is the answer to the exile. God is still able to bring that which He promised.
Book V
Book V has within it two sub-books: the Hallel and the Songs of Ascent.
These point to the promise of a new Exodus. Positioned within the middle of these sub-books is Psalm 119 — that really long psalm all about delight in the Torah. Once again, we see the original theme of the book of the Psalms.
The whole thing concludes with five Hallelu-Yah’s (Praise the Lord) — pointing to God’s coming rule and reign.
The Psalms are a recasting of the history of Israel (really of all of humanity).
It tells the story of the gospel. God has decisively crushed the head of the serpent, but we are not yet there. We do not yet fully live in this redemption.
Therefore, we have some of the same struggles as the psalmist did. We have seasons of lament, where we are honest with God about our grief.
And we also have times of praise, prayer and worship — when the kingdom appears to be vividly breaking into our here and now.
The gospel is in the structure of the Psalms through pointing to the coming Rescuer. Each of the Psalms point to Jesus. He is the long awaited for King.
He is the hope of the nations.
The Gospel in Psalm 88
Psalm 88 Complete Jewish Bible
88 (0) A song. A psalm of the sons of Korach. For the leader. Set to “Sickness that Causes Suffering.” A maskil of Heiman the Ezrachi.
2 (1) Adonai, God of my salvation, when I cry out to you in the night, 3 (2) let my prayer come before you, turn your ear to my cry for help! 4 (3) For I am oversupplied with troubles, which have brought me to the brink of Sh’ol. 5 (4) I am counted among those going down to the pit, like a man who is beyond help, 6 (5) left by myself among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave — you no longer remember them; they are cut off from your care.
7 (6) You plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into dark places, into the depths. 8 (7) Your wrath lies heavily on me; your waves crashing over me keep me down. (Selah) 9 (8) You separated me from my close friends, made me repulsive to them; I am caged in, with no escape; 10 (9) my eyes grow dim from suffering.
I call on you, Adonai, every day; I spread out my hands to you. 11 (10) Will you perform wonders for the dead? Can the ghosts of the dead rise up and praise you? (Selah) 12 (11) Will your grace be declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 13 (12) Will your wonders be known in the dark, or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
14 (13) But I cry out to you, Adonai; my prayer comes before you in the morning. 15 (14) So why, Adonai, do you reject me? Why do you hide your face from me?
16 (15) Since my youth I have been miserable, close to death; I am numb from bearing these terrors of yours. 17 (16) Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me, your terrors have shriveled me up. 18 (17) They surge around me all day like a flood, from all sides they close in on me. 19 (18) You have made friends and companions shun me; the people I know are hidden from me.
Psalm 88 is horribly depressing.
Unlike the other psalms of lament, there is not a glimmer of hope here.
I believe this is an expression of what happens when the curses of Deuteronomy 28 fall upon a people.
It is precisely the situation which the exilic community is facing.
And with all of this pain comes deep questions.
There are two questions which are crying out during an exile.
If the curse of the Law has fallen upon them, has their sin cut them off from God forever? How can an unholy people ever expect to return to a right relationship with God? Could they ever come back to the land? (That’s all one question, but trauma tends to ask the same question in multiple says).
But these questions are cast against the background of God’s promises.
How can this be?
Has God cut them off forever?
Will they ever again be recipients of these great promises?
What does this mean for God’s name throughout the world?
Does this now mean that Babylon is more powerful?
Are they the victors? Did the serpent win?
Ever feel this way yourself?
I know I’ve had very dark nights of the soul.
I have felt in my bones the pain of Psalm 88. On one particularly low occasion I found myself praying Psalm 88. I felt like the psalm was written for me.
This is my situation.
This embodies my hurt.
But then I started to think of Christ.
Wait…Psalm 88 isn’t my psalm, it’s His.
If anyone can pray Psalm 88 it is Christ who drank of the curse on our behalf.
Jesus truly did bear in His body the full weight of the Deuteronomic curse.
Even though I’ve felt Psalm 88, and even though I may go through seasons where I can pray this and identify with it, I haven’t experienced it as deeply as Christ. He has gone several echelons deeper into the pit than I will ever go.
This is good news because the story doesn’t end with Psalm 88. We’re meant to read it with Psalm 89. And Psalm 89 invites us to hope in the coming Messiah.
That coming Messiah is Jesus — the resurrected One. As He shares in the death of Psalm 88, which our sin has brought about, He ultimately conquered death.
He did not stay in the grave. And through our union with Him, we won’t either!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 89 Complete Jewish Bible
89 (0) A maskil of Eitan the Ezrachi:
2 (1) I will sing about Adonai’s acts of grace forever, with my mouth proclaim your faithfulness to all generations; 3 (2) because I said, “Grace is built to last forever; in the heavens themselves you established your faithfulness.”
4 (3) You said, “I made a covenant with the one I chose, I swore to my servant David, 5 (4) ‘I will establish your dynasty forever, build up your throne through all generations.’” (Selah)
6 (5) Let the heavens praise your wonders, Adonai, your faithfulness in the assembly of the angels. 7 (6) For who in the skies can be compared with Adonai? Which of these gods can rival Adonai, 8 (7) a God dreaded in the great assembly of the holy ones and feared by all around him?
9 (8) Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot! Who is as mighty as you, Yah? Your faithfulness surrounds you. 10 (9) You control the raging of the sea; when its waves rear up, you calm them. 11 (10) You crushed Rahav like a carcass; with your strong arm you scattered your foes. 12 (11) The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; you founded the world and everything in it. 13 (12) You created north and south; Tavor and Hermon take joy in your name.
14 (13) Your arm is mighty, your hand is strong, your right hand is lifted high. 15 (14) Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; grace and truth attend you.
16 (15) How happy are the people who know the joyful shout! They walk in the light of your presence, Adonai. 17 (16) They rejoice in your name all day and are lifted up by your righteousness, 18 (17) for you yourself are the strength in which they glory. Our power grows by pleasing you, 19 (18) for our shield comes from Adonai — our king is from the Holy One of Isra’el.
20 (19) There was a time when you spoke in a vision; you declared to your loyal [prophets], “I have given help to a warrior, I have raised up someone chosen from the people. 21 (20) I have found David my servant and anointed him with my holy oil. 22 (21) My hand will always be with him, and my arm will give him strength. 23 (22) No enemy will outwit him, no wicked man overcome him. 24 (23) I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. 25 (24) My faithfulness and grace will be with him; through my name his power will grow. 26 (25) I will put his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers. 27 (26) He will call to me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’ 28 (27) I will give him the position of firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 29 (28) I will keep my grace for him forever, and in my covenant be faithful with him. 30 (29) I will establish his dynasty forever, and his throne as long as the heavens last.
31 (30) “If his descendants abandon my Torah and fail to live by my rulings, 32 (31) if they profane my regulations and don’t obey my mitzvot, 33 (32) I will punish their disobedience with the rod and their guilt with lashes. 34 (33) But I won’t withdraw my grace from him or be false to my faithfulness. 35 (34) I will not profane my covenant or change what my lips have spoken. 36 (35) I have sworn by my holiness once and for all; I will not lie to David — 37 (36) his dynasty will last forever, his throne like the sun before me. 38 (37) It will be established forever, like the moon, which remains a faithful witness in the sky.” (Selah)
39 (38) But you spurned your anointed one, rejected and vented your rage on him. 40 (39) You renounced the covenant with your servant and defiled his crown in the dust. 41 (40) You broke through all his defenses and left his strongholds in ruins. 42 (41) All who pass by plunder him; he is an object of scorn to his neighbors. 43 (42) You raised up the right hand of his foes and made all his enemies rejoice. 44 (43) You drive back his drawn sword and fail to support him in battle. 45 (44) You brought an end to his splendor and hurled his throne to the ground. 46 (45) You cut short the days of his youth and covered him with shame. (Selah)
47 (46) How long, Adonai? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your fury burn like fire? 48 (47) Remember how little time I have! Was it for no purpose that you created all humanity? 49 (48) Who can live and not see death? Who can save himself from the power of the grave? (Selah) 50 (49) Where, Adonai, are the acts of grace you once did, those which, in your faithfulness, you swore to David? 51 (50) Remember, Adonai, the taunts hurled at your servants, which I carry in my heart [from] so many peoples! 52 (51) Your enemies, Adonai, have flung their taunts, flung them in the footsteps of your anointed one.
53 (52) Blessed be Adonai forever. Amen. Amen.
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.
21-22 They said, “Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it.”
23 They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him.
24-27 Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: “I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet:
Go to this people and tell them this: “You’re going to listen with your ears, but you won’t hear a word; You’re going to stare with your eyes, but you won’t see a thing. These people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.”
28 “You’ve had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they’re going to receive it with open arms!”
30-31 Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.
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.
GOD Will Take Care of Me? I Just Got Bit by a Poisonous Snake!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? I Doubt it! Not Worth Believing! Not Worth One Single Moment of My Time! You’ll Stop Talking and Just Keep Walking on By! Not on Any Day of the Week Which has a ‘Y’ at the End of it! Tell it to the Hand!
In moments of despair, depression, and disillusionment, we all need to take a cue from our brother Paul and shake it off. Literally, Paul shook the snake off him and didn’t suffer any effects from what should have been a lethal bite.
Friend, I’m gonna tell on myself and keep it real here: I am hardcore horrible at shaking things off and choosing to believe the best. But so I want to emphasize shaking off disillusionment is key to getting back up when life knocks us down.
And when we shake all of that slithering snake bit envenomated trash off us, we need not make ourselves, obligate ourselves, suffer any ill effects from it either.
Meaning, when you start spiraling into disillusionment, you have to first stop obsessing over the lie that you have been abandoned by God and shake it off.
But we have to be assertive, we have to be God seeking, ready to take things a step further, make sure the venom of catastrophizing isn’t lingering inside us.
Paul learned the hardcore way what we have to learn, too: when you make it through the storm and all hell breaks loose on the shore— when you’ve been through all and it still keeps coming— we’ve got to pick up our Bibles, read the Word of God, Pray and Pray some more. God will hear us and we shake! it! off!
Bad memories? Bad Experiences? Bad Judgement? Bad Choices? Bad Decisions? Bad Results! Catastrophic Results! Lingering Results! My Sin is ever before Me!
Who of humanity can actually, genuinely, truthfully claim they have not been there, done that, have one or two or 10 mega tons of hardcore hardened regret?
I Suggest Raise Up! Pray Up! Pound your chest right now and say, “Get off me!”
Nah, you didn’t do it.
By my own confession, personal experience; You didn’t say it out loud. You said it in our head, and that doesn’t count. Say it out loud so the whole of your soul is shaken, is stirred, you can hear yourself, feel yourself, making that declaration.
Say it again so you feel it in your soul.
Say it a third time so the devil and his demons start shaking!
The Bible gives no record of Paul screaming, running around, or freaking out.
Why?
I think it’s because he didn’t do any of that.
Paul knew he wasn’t going to die on Malta.
Paul didn’t make a scene because he knew Rome was waiting, Rome was where Paul would proclaim the gospel of the risen Messiah before Caesar himself.
Well, friend, I’m with Paul.
I’m not going to inflict more suffering upon myself die on my Malta, because my arrest, prison in Rome is waiting too. Paul told his crew in the middle of a storm, “This has to happen.” And I’m telling myself, “This has to happen” too.
If you are shipwrecked and gasping, grasping for life, you’ve been on “Malta” trying to figure out why you’re there, I want to point you back to the who.
Who is in control of your life?
Who cares? Who loves you? Who gave you the vision or dream for your life?
I pray that you answered “God” to all of those questions, stand firm in the faith that has brought you this far. It’s time to shake off the disillusionment.
This action isn’t just for you.
It’s for everyone who is watching you too!
See, when Paul got bit by the snake, no one came around him to help.
Everyone stood there, watched to see what he would do or what would happen.
Child of God, people are watching you.
People are always going to be watching you and for you, to start that fatal walk.
People are waiting for you to lose it, to walk away, or to curl up and die. But look at you! You are still here, still surviving and steadfastly refusing to ever give up.
I’m standing up! I am putting my running shoes on and tying them tight. and giving God some praise because God is still here, you are going to shake it off.
Speed Dial God Pick, Pray, yourself up and get ready because Rome is waiting.
Do we know what to do in our own Malta?
If we find ourselves there, how should we live?
Remember, dear friend, Paul didn’t want to go to Malta either.
Visiting Malta was not at all in his plan.
And yet . . .
When a viper attacks Paul, the local islanders think he will die. But Paul shakes the snake off, and no harm comes to him. When Paul does not die, the people think he is a god. But no, Paul is not a god. He does represent God, however.
Paul is almost all the way to Rome, but the witness of God through him continues every step of the way. Paul is on Malta because of a storm and a shipwreck. Paul gathers kindling for bringing warmth. And God continues to take care of him in different ways. God also takes care of the people of Malta.
The chief official of the island opens his home to welcome the shipwrecked visitors. During this time, God heals the official’s sick father through Paul.
A single moment of recognizing opportunity, sharing hospitality, becomes the momentous setting to see God’s healing power, many others are healed also.
At first glance, we see Paul shipwrecked on an island, delayed for three months on his journey to Rome. But soon we can see that God has brought Paul and the others there to bring presence, assurance, healing and the good news of Jesus.
In addition, we see God taking care of Paul and the others by bringing them to Malta. But then we also see that God takes care of Malta by bringing Paul and the others there and we witness the testimony of the healed being sent forth!
And as they travel on to Rome, they meet other people and are welcomed and encouraged. Doors are kept open! God, the Disciples are visible, welcoming!
May we too take heart and learn from God this day.
May we the Body of Christ, His Church in the world, be people who look again and again to see our God who is always at work taking care of us and others.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 46 The Message
46 1-3 God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
4-6 River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city, this sacred haunt of the Most High. God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn. Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten, but Earth does anything he says.
7 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”
11 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
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.
5 Trust in Adonai with all your heart; do not rely on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him; then he will level your paths.
7 Don’t be conceited about your own wisdom; but fear Adonai, and turn from evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and give strength to your bones.
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.
Those Hidden Conversations – God with My Sins
Trust in Adonai with all of your heart …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
Do not rely on your own understanding …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
In all your ways acknowledge Adonai …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
Then Adonai will level your Paths …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
Don’t be wide eyed and conceited about your own wisdom …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
But fear Adonai, and turn from evil …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
This will bring health to your body …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
And give strength to your Bones …!
Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? Doubtful! Do Not Get Your Hopes Up! Forget It! Not On Any Day of the Week With a Y in It!
Do we seriously want to learn how to say yes to God? Many of us do. But saying yes to what God asks may include saying no to what you want and to what others think is best…how do we simply say yeswhen it’s hard to do?
This is when things get hopelessly complicated right? It is so easy to go along with God’s program when we are on board, but what about when God’s “ask” requires us to risk too much, leave our comfort zones, or walk by blind faith?
Saying yes to God is a bold declaration. In our ‘wise’ finite minds, we have to be certain we know just what we are getting into before we claim we are “all in.”
What Does It Look Like to Say YES to GOD?
Since I am a person who constantly needs concrete, real-life examples, I have been praying, seeking God, and going back and forth into the Bible for some answers. I wanted to see what saying yes looks like. Does that make sense?
So I opened my link to Biblegateway.com, started by making a list of all the ordinary, flawed, messed up, scared, and insecure people in the Bible who said yes to God not knowing, suspecting, what it would mean for their lives.
People In The Bible Who Said YES To GOD
Noah said YES when God asked him to build the ark.
Abraham said YES when God asked him to sacrifice his only son.
Joseph said YES when God asked him to forgive his brothers who beat and sold him into slavery.
Moses said YES when God told him to go to Pharaoh and ask him to let the Israelites go.
Rahab said yes when asked to hide the Israelite spies and risk her own life and the lives of her family.
David said YES when God asked him to fight the giant Goliath with only a slingshot and a few stones.
Esther said YES when Mordecai told her to go to the king to save her people.
Daniel said YES when God told him not to bow down and worship other idols.
Mary said YES when the angel told her she would carry God’s son, Jesus.
The disciples said YES when Jesus asked them to leave everything behind and follow him.
Paul said YES when God asked him to deliver the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles.
Ananias said YES when Jesus told him to touch Paul’s eyes, restore his sight, begin his apostleship to the Gentiles, plant churches, write letters which eventually became the bulk of the New Testament, by far, the greatest evangelist of the 1st century church.
How Do We Say Yes to God?
Proverbs 3:5-8 Amplified Bible
5 Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 [a]In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. 8 It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.
First, determine to say no in your mind.
“A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.” – Proverbs 25:28 MSG
I like how the New King James Version put it as well:
“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.”
That word “spirit” can also mean mind.
And isn’t that the truth.
If we can’t rule our minds, then we are defenseless against the enemy’s schemes. We are like a home with its doors and windows knocked in. Anyone can come in and steal and kill whatever they want. A person without the ability to control their thoughts is the exact same person that the enemy will go after.
Telling yourself no means confronting the thoughts that are not from God.
Thoughts of rejection, insecurity, doubt, self-doubt… these things are not from God. And if those thoughts are running amok, and rampant in our minds, we are actually telling God no! We cannot believe both the world’s lies and God’s truth at the same time. If we are accepting the lies, then we are rejecting God’s Truth.
Where in your thought-life do you believe lies?
Second, have faith in God’s promises.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.“ – Hebrews 11:1
Saying yes to God means stepping out into the unknown; moving forward in something that you believe God is asking you to do (it’s confirmed in His Word).
When those young people stood up before the whole church, they had no idea where God was going to lead them. I remember in fall 2005 confessing to my pastor that I was planning to be a great evangelist because I didn’t see any women in my future. He just laughed and told me no! I married my wife 2010.
If you read Hebrews 11, you’ll see all those ‘heroes of the faith’ who have gone before us with faith to see things that were unseen at the time.
Take the Patriarch Abraham for example; God asked him to leave his country and go somewhere else to establish a new covenant with Him. BY FAITH Abraham obeyed and went out even though he did not know where he was going(Hebrew 11:8-9and Romans Chapter 4)
Here are more verses for mediation.
Do we .01% believe God when he says these things? Do you trust that He is working all things for YOUR GOOD? That He does have a purpose in your life?
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”–Romans 8:28
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” –Isaiah 40:31
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”-Isaiah 43:2
Even our lack of faith cannot thwart God’s purposes.
All of the saints spoken of in Hebrews 11 were flawed humans just like us, and God still used them.
Why? Because they (some very reluctantly) continued to say yes to Him!
Exodus 3:1-12 Amplified Bible
The Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro (Reuel) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb (Sinai), the mountain of God. 2 The [a]Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing flame of fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was on fire, yet it was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I must turn away [from the flock] and see this great sight—why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned away [from the flock] to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then God said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet [out of respect], because the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have in fact seen the affliction (suffering, desolation) of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters (oppressors); for I know their pain and suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand (power) of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a land [that is] good and spacious, to a land [b]flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty]—to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.
The Mission of Moses
10 Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and then bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve and worship God at this mountain.”
They ultimately rejected the lies of the enemy and continued to trust despite their very obvious and severe shortcomings.
This word is for us too.
This day, if God is asking you to move forward on something – say YES!
How will you know if God is asking you to say yes to something?
He will confirm it through His word.
Do not be shy to ask for confirmation, either!
Ask God to confirm what He is asking. He will do it.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 Complete Jewish Bible
8 (0) For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Adonai! Our Lord! How glorious is your name throughout the earth! The fame of your majesty spreads even above the heavens!
3 (2) From the mouths of babies and infants at the breast you established strength because of your foes, in order that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
4 (3) When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place — 5 (4) what are mere mortals, that you concern yourself with them; humans, that you watch over them with such care?
6 (5) You made him but little lower than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honor, 7 (6) you had him rule what your hands made, you put everything under his feet — 8 (7) sheep and oxen, all of them, also the animals in the wilds, 9 (8) the birds in the air, the fish in the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
10 (9) Adonai! Our Lord! How glorious is your name throughout the earth!
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.
11 Then I looked, and I heard the sound of a vast number of angels — thousands and thousands, millions and millions! They were all around the throne, the living beings and the elders; 12 and they shouted out,
“Worthy is the slaughtered Lamb to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth and on the sea — yes, everything in them — saying,
“To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb belong praise, honor, glory and power forever and ever!”
14 The four living beings said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshipped.
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.
Bible scholars teach us that whenever a Roman emperor entered a city, the citizens shouted, “Worthy!” The apostle John, who had been exiled because he confessed Jesus as Lord, knew that only Jesus was worthy—not the emperor.
Today we are inspired, empowered, invited, welcomed, to see with spiritual eyes what John saw happening in heaven. We are summoned to join with the multitude of angels and other creatures in singing that the Lord is worthy.
God alone is worthy of all our praise and honor because he is the Creator and Savior. We owe every single breath to the One who has made us, and we have new life, purchased by the blood of Christ, because he was slain for our sake.
From the beginning, Our Lord Jesus, Our living Savior Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, He alone is worthy to open the scroll of history (explained in Rev. 6-9).
The One who died on the cross and who alone rose from the dead, giving us new life in order to serve and rule with him, is the One who now reigns. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to him, and his kingdom will never come to end.
Shall we lift up our voices and sing with all the creatures of our God and King?
“To him alone. . . to God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit be maximum praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! . . . Amen.”
Asking Ourselves; Why Our Worship Is Worth It
Psalm 78:1-8 Complete Jewish Bible
78 (0) A maskil of Asaf:
(1) Listen, my people, to my teaching; turn your ears to the words from my mouth. 2 I will speak to you in parables and explain mysteries from days of old.
3 The things which we have heard and known, and which our fathers told us 4 we will not hide from their descendants; we will tell the generation to come the praises of Adonai and his strength, the wonders that he has performed.
5 He raised up a testimony in Ya‘akov and established a Torah in Isra’el. He commanded our ancestors to make this known to their children, 6 so that the next generation would know it, the children not yet born, who would themselves arise and tell their own children, 7 who could then put their confidence in God, not forgetting God’s deeds, but obeying his mitzvot. 8 Then they would not be like their ancestors, a stubborn, rebellious generation, a generation with unprepared hearts, with spirits unfaithful to God.
The psalmist and music leader Asaph wrote Psalm 78 to give praise unto the Lord and offer a testimony of remembrance to future generations of God’s faithfulness. His testimony in word and song is as relevant today to remind our generation and those to come after us why “worship is worth it” regardless of whether we feel like it or the state of the times makes us doubt His presence.
1. We Must Keep the Chain Going
In Psalm 78:2-4, Asaph stated his purpose: “I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.”
By current generations keeping the testimony of God’s faithfulness alive, future generations are admonished, reminded and, are too, given blessed assurance that our living Lord is capable and willing to handle the circumstances of today.
We voluntarily stress ourselves by contemplating the impact of inflation, the ethical and moral state of our country, the war in Ukraine, In Israel, effects of the pandemic, tepid enthusiasm, lukewarm spiritual condition of our churches.
However, our grandparents can give a very different testimony of fighting, living through world wars, pandemics, depressions, and segregation.
They did not have the technology and means of communication of today, yet, our God was actively present, did mighty things in spite of the circumstances.
Rest assured our Savior is still seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father.
Paul, in his second letter to his fellow servant Timothy, gave special attention to the testimony passed down to him. He wrote, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”
2 Timothy 1:1-10 Complete Jewish Bible
1 From: Sha’ul, an emissary of the Messiah Yeshua by God’s will, which holds forth a promise of life through being united with Messiah Yeshua
2 To: Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and shalom from God the Father and the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.
3 I give thanks to God, whom, like my forbears, I worship with a clean conscience, as I regularly remember you in my prayers night and day. 4 I am reminded of your tears, and I long to see you, so that I might be filled with joy. 5 I recall your sincere trust, the same trust that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice had first; and I am convinced that you too now have this trust.
6 For this reason, I am reminding you to fan the flame of God’s gift, which you received through s’mikhah from me. 7 For God gave us a Spirit who produces not timidity, but power, love and self-discipline. 8 So don’t be ashamed of bearing testimony to our Lord or to me, his prisoner. On the contrary, accept your share in suffering disgrace for the sake of the Good News. God will give you the strength for it, 9 since he delivered us and called us to a life of holiness as his people. It was not because of our deeds, but because of his own purpose and the grace which he gave to us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. He did this before the beginning of time, 10 but made it public only now through the appearing of our Deliverer, the Messiah Yeshua, who abolished death and, through the Good News, revealed life and immortality.
Similarly, David wrote in Psalm 145:4, “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”
Our personal testimony of redemption is our greatest praise unto our Savior and serves as a witness to the world.
2. We have Been Fed
God “opened the doors of heaven, and had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them corn of heaven” to feed His people.
We in the church age have been fed bountifully as well.
In John 6:51, Jesus described himself as the “living bread that came down from heaven.”
We have 66 books from which to feed upon.
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus indicated such when he spoke, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
This fact is complemented by Jesus’s words in John 6:63: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life..”
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “we will even now feed on Thee as our spiritual meat, and will pray Thee to chase away all wicked unbelief from us.”
3. We have Been Clothed in His Provision
Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, clothed His chosen people with a cloud in the daytime and “all the night with a light of fire.”
He used Moses and protected them with the “clave of rocks in the wilderness.”
Our inheritance and clothing today are solely given through the power and provision of Jesus Christ.
In Isaiah 61:10, the prophet wrote that the Lord, “has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness.”
Job had this understanding as well when he wrote in 29:14, “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me.”
The proven failings of our self-righteousness are described to be as “filthy rags,” cogitating not only uselessness but also their repugnant nature in the eyes of an all-holy, all-righteous God.
Ephesians 5:25-27 explains that He gave himself for the church “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
4. We have Been Cleansed
The long soul shaking, spirit quaking rollercoaster ride of disobedience to repentance to obedience and return to disobedience expounded in the journeys of the Israelites reveal God’s deliverance in terms of His mercy and grace.
Following a manifestation of judgment, “they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.”
The foundation of our covenant is the cleansing power of the blood of Christ.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 26:28 specified, “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many of the forgiveness of sins.”
Hebrews 9:14 asks us, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
Christ was our propitiation, or deflection, from the wrath suffered as punishment for our sins.
Unlike the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ was the perfect offering once and for all.
When we are connected through His cleansing and purifying blood shed on the cross, we are protected, granted the inheritance of Jesus Christ as a joint heir.
The Heavenly Father sees the imputed righteousness of His son upon the believer. This cleansing is an eternal sealing from sin’s dominion over our lives.
Thus, we are judgment proof for all of eternity.
5. He is Always Present
God “made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.”
Indeed, He is the good shepherd as extensively identified in Psalms 23.
David’s early life gave him a critical understanding of the importance of the shepherd being close to his flock. In Psalms 46:1, the psalmist declared the Lord to be “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
The safety and provision of His flock are of the utmost importance to the shepherd.
Similarly, our pastors are the shepherds of our churches by feeding them only the pure doctrine and theology from the Word of God for their guidance and growth.
He is given the charge in Acts 20:28 to, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”
6. He Fights Our Battles
In Psalm 78 verses 43-52, Asaph recalls how our mighty Lord ravaged Egypt precipitating the deliverance of His people.
He contaminated the rivers with blood, sent devouring flies and frogs, inundated the land with caterpillars and locusts, crops were decimated by hail and frost, and their cattle were slaughtered by hail and flocks by thunderbolts.
Further, the anger of the Lord sent the angel of death upon them. Despite the wrath and indignation, Asaph emphasized in verse 52 that our Lord, “made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.”
The children of God in the Old Testament fought many of their battles against physical forces in claiming their land inheritances through the blessing of God.
Our inheritance is in Jesus Christ, an ever-present Lord and Savior.
His blood fought and won our battle over the judgment and dominion of sin.
However, like the Israelites had to drive out occupiers from their inheritance, we must use the power of the Holy Spirit to drive out the contemplations of the flesh and besetting sins by claiming the blessings of our covenant in our very own personal wildernesses in a world beset, over run, overwhelmed, with sin.
Paul in Ephesians 6:12, tells us that our battles are not against “flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
These forces cannot be overcome with bullets or bombs, mines, hand grenades.
Our most effective arsenal needs only to consist of the power, the provision, protection, and guidance of the Holy Spirit as promised in the Word of God.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 145 Complete Jewish Bible
145 (0) Praise. By David:
(1) I will praise you to the heights, my God, the king; I will bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you; I will praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised; his greatness is beyond all searching out. 4 Each generation will praise your works to the next and proclaim your mighty acts. 5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of your majesty and on the story of your wonders. 6 People will speak of your awesome power, and I will tell of your great deeds. 7 They will gush forth the fame of your abounding goodness, and they will sing of your righteousness. 8 Adonai is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and great in grace. 9 Adonai is good to all; his compassion rests on all his creatures. 10 All your creatures will thank you, Adonai, and your faithful servants will bless you. 11 They will speak of the glory of your kingship, and they will tell about your might; 12 to let everyone know of your mighty acts and the glorious majesty of your kingship. 13 Your kingship is an everlasting kingship, your reign continues through all generations. 14 Adonai supports all who fall and lifts up all who are bent over. 15 The eyes of all are looking to you; you give them their food at the right time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 Adonai is righteous in all his ways, full of grace in all he does. 18 Adonai is close to all who call on him, to all who sincerely call on him. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. 20 Adonai protects all who love him, but all the wicked he destroys. 21 My mouth will proclaim the praise of Adonai; all people will bless his holy name forever and ever.
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.
5 When Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, he looked up and saw him in the tree. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today.”
6 Zacchaeus hurried and came down. He was happy to have Jesus in his house.
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.
The story of Zacchaeus always fascinates me.
Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming to town. Word had spread about Jesus, and Zacchaeus wanted to get a glimpse of him. The crowds were so thick that Zacchaeus had to climb a tree in order to see Jesus pass by. But then Jesus stopped right in front of the tree little Zacchaeus was in, looked up at him, and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
The crowd overhearing this exchange was surprised—and not in a good way!
Zacchaeus was a tax collector for the Romans, and the people saw tax collectors as greedy collaborators who took advantage of the hardworking local citizens.
But then the crowd heard Jesus look and call up to only Zacchaeus.
But then the crowd witnessed Zacchaeus come down from the tree, ignoring the crowd, and what they were saying, the complaints they were voicing about him.
Then the crowd witnessed Jesus giving his full attention to Zacchaeus and not to anyone of them. None of them were being called to open their homes to Him.
Then the crowds witnessed Jesus walking and talking with Zacchaeus, walking away from the crowds and straight into the Roman Collaborators lavish home.
And not surprisingly they began to grumble and complain, get agitated at the offense of not being noticed, not being acknowledged, not even being invited.
And then finally, perhaps the last straw, they saw the door to Zacchaeus’ home being closed, probably being locked a hundred ways to Sunday, left out by Jesus.
Then they witnessed Jesus and Zacchaeus opening the door, hearing the locks being released, watching the two of them smiling, and conversing together.
But then in the days and weeks which followed, the crowd watched Zacchaeus transform. He gave generously to the poor, showed up at his neighbors’ doors, knocked, apologized, paid back four times what he had cheated from people.
This whole scene was unlike so many of Jesus’ other interactions with people.
Jesus didn’t heal Zacchaeus from a physical illness. He didn’t give Zacchaeus food or water. In fact, Jesus asked Zacchaeus for something—a place to stay.
In fact, Jesus offered Zacchaeus something he had probably given up on, had never been invited by anyone to receive hospitably – invitation to have hope.
If you’re like me, in these divided days, these suspicious days, these days when people are afraid to speak with for fear of giving offense, using all of the wrong pronouns, you might tend to wait for an invitation from someone to spend time with them—speak about Jesus to them, especially when you are “busy.” But is there anyone whom God might be prompting you to connect with Jesus today?
Risking what Jesus Risked, Reaching out in Prayer
John 17:20-26 Easy-to-Read Version
20 “I pray not only for these followers but also for those who will believe in me because of their teaching. 21 Father, I pray that all who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me. I gave them this glory so that they can be one, just as you and I are one. 23 I will be in them, and you will be in me. So they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.
24 “Father, I want these people you have given me to be with me in every place I am. I want them to see my glory—the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. 25 Father, you are the one who always does what is right. The world does not know you, but I know you, and these followers of mine know that you sent me. 26 I showed them what you are like, and I will show them again. Then they will have the same love that you have for me, and I will live in them.”
With the indescribable exuberance of this new found faith, belief in Jesus, Zacchaeus had a new mission to fulfill, a new calling from God on his life.
Our own calling—our kingdom bound mission—starts with prayer. God works ever so powerfully through prayer, and we all can always go to God in prayer.
With deep faith in God, we can spend time with the Lord any time of the day.
In one of the best-known prayers in all the Bible, Jesus prays alone before His Father for you and me in John 17. What a comfort it is to read these words, see him reaching out to us. And what a role model he is for us in our life of prayer.
Many Christians and churches receive prayer requests regularly. Praying for neighbors or others (sometimes enemies?) in our life, whether for a specific request or general blessing, is a great way to participate in the work of the Lord.
We do not actually read of it happening in Luke’s Narrative, but I can envision both Zacchaeus and Jesus stopping before, in the midst of the angered crowd, to settle them down, bring peace into their lives and homes and community, and praying with and for and on behalf of those in the crowd who were stirred up.
And I can envision that the remaining life of Zacchaeus was spent leading in prayer, in community, in harmony, with his fellow villagers – in God’s name!
But I also want to encourage you to be a leader in prayer. Reaching out to others and asking “Come down from your sin and tell me How can I pray for you?” can be the exact moment of God, for God, words, exactly what people need to hear.
Joining God’s mission doesn’t necessarily mean moving to a different region or country; you can be in ministry, a missionary, right in your own neighborhood!
Many believers are often surprised that people who don’t seem to be religious will often welcome our invitation to be in prayer if they are actually being asked.
Being invited to come down from our Sycamore Trees to be a part of prayer with others reminds them that they matter, are seen not just by you, but also by God.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 84 Easy-to-Read Version
To the director: On the gittith. A song of praise from the Korah family.
84 Lord All-Powerful, the place where you live is so beautiful! 2 Lord, I cannot wait to enter your Temple. I am so excited! Every part of me cries out to be with the Living God. 3 Lord All-Powerful, my King, my God, even the birds have found a home in your Temple. They make their nests near your altar, and there they have their babies. 4 Great blessings belong to those who live at your Temple! They continue to praise you. Selah
5 Great blessings belong to those who depend on you for strength! Their heart’s desire is to make the trip to your Temple. 6 They travel through Baca Valley, which God has made into a place of springs. Autumn rains form pools of water there. 7 The people travel from town to town[a] on their way to Zion, where they will meet with God.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, listen to my prayer. God of Jacob, listen to me. Selah
9 God, watch over the king, our protector.[b] Be kind to him, the one you have chosen. 10 One day in your Temple is better than a thousand days anywhere else. Serving as a guard at the gate of my God’s house is better than living in the homes of the wicked. 11 The Lord God is our protector and glorious king.[c] He blesses us with kindness and honor. The Lord freely gives every good thing to those who do what is right. 12 Lord All-Powerful, great blessings belong to those who trust in you!
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.
4 Jesus[a] knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noon time.
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 in Bible Study, when we try to share a brief story of Jesus with others, we often focus on his birth, his death for our sake, and his resurrection. We might also mention some of those amazing things about his teachings and miracles.
But how often do we talk about or think of what Jesus’ day-to-day life was like?
Jesus was fully God and fully human, which means that he got thirsty, tired, and hungry. We are going to go on, presume being human, he had normal bodily functions, had to go to the bathroom to relieve himself sometime during the day, perhaps several times, one way or the other, every single day from birth.
Several passages in the Bible describe Jesus’ spending time with his followers and doing very human things: he feasts at a wedding, he walks, travels with his disciples, and in our reading today we observe that he also gets tired and gets weary and has to sit down by a well, where he asks a Samaritan woman for a drink of water—ends up in a friendly chat, telling her that he is the Messiah!
I wonder how many meals Jesus ate with his followers, how many walks he went on, and how many jokes he cracked over a campfire at night. I wonder if he ever took time out from the seriousness of his ministry and mission to just have some serious and prolonged efforts at just “cutting loose,” fun with the guys?
Did the infant Jesus burn his hand on a hot pot which was that day’s dinner? Did he as a growing and maturing youth and teenager, play neighborhood games?
I wonder how much the disciples learned by just seeing their Rabbi act just like one of the guys, smiling, crying, getting angry, chit chatting about who cares?
I wonder how much of Rabbi Jesus “rubbed off” on influencing his disciples just simply by his day to day actions, chit chats, calm moods, ‘in a crisis’ behaviors?
Mark 4:35-41 New Living Translation
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
I wonder if Jesus’ disciples experienced God’s glory as much through Jesus’ everyday conversations and the way he lived each day as they did through his teachings, his ministry and mission, parables and miracles among the people.
We read much in the Gospels of the profound impact Rabbi Jesus had in drawing great crowds of the curious, the followers, the healed, the fed, the enlightened.
John 6:22-24 English Standard Version
I Am the Bread of Life
22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
Maybe reading and studying and fellowshipping, we might come to see and to identify with Jesus and his disciples and come to the conclusion living a life like Jesus shared daily with his disciples is not nearly as intimidating as it sounds.
It should not be that difficult for us to see He did lots of ordinary things in his day-to-day living, just as we do. How can we help to bring the presence of Jesus in ordinary ways as we spend time with the people God has placed around us?
1 Corinthians 11:1 Amplified Bible
Christian Order
11 Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
Apostle Paul writes to the followers at Corinth
“imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.”
Was this meant that Paul had divine powers and the Corinthians should likewise display their divine powers as Paul did who was imitating Savior Jesus Christ?
Not by a long shot …
Paul knew he had no such divinity, did try to pass himself off as having them.
Neither were the Corinthians being led to believe that they had divine abilities.
Matthew 5:43-48 Amplified Bible
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, [a]love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]. 46 For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that? 48 You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Paul is here teaching them to be Imitator’s of Christ Like Behaviors … Love, Mercy, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, service, living Spiritual Gifts, actions towards towards God, one’s enemies, towards each other’s neighbor, getting your hands and feet and the rest of yourself into the work of ministry.
1 Corinthians 15:55-58 Amplified Bible
55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].
What Jesus Did for us everyday! ‘Became A Weary Savior!’
John 4:4-6 Amplified Bible
4 Now [a]He had to go through [b]Samaria. 5 So He arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the tract of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (noon).
Jesus took the “shortcut” between Judea in the south and Galilee in the north. He went through Samaria. He was weary and tired, thirsty and hungry from his long journey around his homeland – we can truly envision he was exhausted.
He rested by the historic site of Jacob’s well.
So much history and promise come together in this moment.
We expect something grand to happen. Jesus has come to the well dug by Father Israel. (Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. [1]) [1] Genesis 32:22-28.
What great word do we hear from Jesus?
What triumphant deed does he do?
None. At least, not at first.
Jesus’ primary initial action was simply to sit down.
He was a weary Savior.
He was an exhausted Savior!
He was thirsty, hungry and exhausted just as we would be on that journey.
Sounds almost bizarre as our hearts exalt, hold Jesus in the highest of places.
At the same time, something wondrous is once again revealed to us all: Jesus became flesh. Human flesh. Mortal flesh. Wearying flesh. He knows us not only because he is God, but also because he was one of us whose feet got dirty, whose arms and legs grew very tired, and whose stomach growled when it was empty.
Jesus is a Savior who knows us; he knows us not just because he is God, but also because has lived in our world, sharing our burdens, and feeling our weariness.
Can you begin to connect with, relate to Him who came to us to love, redeem us?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
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.
105 Your word is a lamp for my foot and light on my path. 106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, that I will observe your righteous rulings. 107 I am very much distressed; Adonai, give me life, in keeping with your word. 108 Please accept my mouth’s voluntary offerings, Adonai; and teach me your rulings. 109 I am continually taking my life in my hands, yet I haven’t forgotten your Torah. 110 The wicked have set a trap for me, yet I haven’t strayed from your precepts. 111 I take your instruction as a permanent heritage, because it is the joy of my heart. 112 I have resolved to obey your laws forever, at every step.
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.
To be called a Christian is to believe in Jesus Christ and the supporting text that talks of life before, during, and after His time walking amongst people.
That text is the Bible, God’s Holy Word.
Within Scripture itself, aside from the various stories and characters we read about, there are several verses that give us insight into why God has blessed us with His Word to begin. One such verse is written in the Book of Psalms.
“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” (119:105)
Verses such as this are rare areas where the Bible talks about itself.
These verses highlight the importance of not only hearing God’s Word but living accordingly.
In order to live life according to God’s will, we first have to know how He has called us to live.
In order to know that, we cannot rely first on our own thinking, but instead, must actively read, study, listen to and discipline to hear what the Bible says.
This verse from Psalms 119 embodies the wisdom we receive from reading the Bible. The verse also reveals an important truth – to live like a Christian is to live like Christ, sacrificed all He had, who lived out God’s teachings perfectly.
How Is God’s Word a Lamp Unto My Feet?
The phrase “God’s word is a lamp unto my feet” is a metaphorical statement meant to emphasize the wisdom that comes from following God’s instruction.
This particular chapter 119 in the Book of Psalms is authored by an unknown person. Over the course of this passage, the author writes in an acrostic pattern, including twenty-two stanzas with eight lines each.
Each stanza begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
This chapter lacks a cohesive narrative as each stanza is written with varying topics and tones.
One underlying theme that is present throughout is the idea of understanding God’s Word. The writer assures people who follow God’s Word are blameless (119:3). The speaker wants to do better in following God, and that only occurs when living by the Lord’s precepts. The phrase “God’s word is a lamp unto my feet” appears far into the writing, as the 105 verse.
“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
This verse furthers the idea that dependence, reliance, on God’s Word is the only way to successfully live as a Christian. Lamps are used in society to create a light for their movement and activity. The Hebrew word for lamp is niyr.
This description of a lamp is more equivalent to the subtle light of a candle.
The implication then is that there is limited visibility of the surrounding area, but just enough light to navigate.
With enough light to navigate through life, God gives us the narrowed direction that we need, not all at once, but as needed.
In this way, God’s Word operates for the speaker as a form of direction.
In the verses following 105, the writer continues on to ask God for teaching (Psalm 119:108). The speaker wants to learn from God. This illustrates God’s Word operating as a lamp in bringing wisdom into the mind of a believer.
When they compare God’s Word to being a light on a path, that pathway is life.
Within the details of Psalm 119, abiding by God’s word in every instance creates a more fulfilling life.
Walking in the light is very distinctive from walking in the ways of the wicked (Psalm 119:110). If God’s Word is a lamp, helping us to navigate the pathway of life, then we know God’s Word is intended to help us live prosperously.
God does not fully reveal the future with the lamp He gives us.
However, our prosperity in living by God’s Word is not contingent upon how much of the path ahead we can see. That prosperity is not contingent on any financial and occupational standards, but on a closeness with God. And He gives us just enough of the light of grace to be successful in life (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God is the speaker’s chief concern in Psalm 119 and according to Jesus is to be our chief concern too (Matthew 22:35-37).
If we can focus on loving God, obeying His Word, then we will have better lives.
This idea is not only present in Psalm 119 but also in other passages where God reveals similar commentary on His Word.
What Does God Say about His Word?
In addition to what we read in Psalm 119, there are other areas in the Bible where the Bible talks about itself and offers key insight into why reading God’s Word is vital for any Christian.
These other passages from Scripture complement the message from Psalm 119.
Upon reading, we can confirm that the Bible is intended to offer God’s wisdom alone to believers, and help us all to live according to God’s commandments, not other ideas that we sometimes confuse with God.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
The Bible when followed or when ignored, reveals certain truths and emotions that lay in our hearts.
If God’s word is meant to edify our behavior, how we respond to His teachings will reveal characteristics about our beliefs, personality, and more.
For example, the Bible says to forgive others just as we ask God for forgiveness (Matthew 6:15).
If we find that exercising forgiveness is difficult, then God’s Word has revealed truth to us.
“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
Reading, interpreting, and living by God’s Word is as essential as our daily food and drink. Jesus himself indicates the significance of applying God’s word to our lives. Just as we instinctively know to eat and drink to live and survive, and we make plans to do so, we should instinctively respond likewise to Scripture.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Certain translations indicate that Scripture is God “inspired” rather than breathed. Whatever the translation or word choice, the Bible makes full admission that God Himself did not physically write the Bible.
Neither is Jesus known to have written anything.
Nevertheless, the purpose of the Bible is consistent throughout each book. By reading, we learn how and why we should aim to be more Christ-like. In this way, God redeems us from our sinful nature.
“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” (Mark 13:31)
The tangible things and people in our lives, and the ideas that they exclusively represent pass away with time. However, since the beginning of time, God’s Word has been true and has endured throughout the generations.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)
To live according to God’s Word is not as simplistic as rehearsing or reciting what Scripture says. Instead, to live by God’s Word means to narrowly design your life in a way that reflects, reveals, His teachings. God wants us to live so in tune with Scripture that we think about what He teaches throughout the day.
Why Reading Your Bible Is Important
The aforementioned verses from the Bible highlight God’s desire to improve our lives. By following His commandments we will live a life that is more mature, spiritually prosperous than what we would have outside of Him.
Recognizing that God’s Word is intended to redeem us by making us better people is important for any Christian to do early on in their faith journey.
If we call ourselves believers in Christianity, then we should understand what our religious text, the Bible, says about the high value of God’s truth, our faith.
The more disciplined, the more studious, the better versed we are in the Bible, the more we can learn what it means and looks like to become more like Jesus.
The more like Jesus we are, the more God can call us to His purpose, His service.
Not only will we be transformed, redeemed, but we can help God redeem others.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
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.
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.
9 Therefore God raised him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name;
10 that in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow — in heaven, on earth and under the earth — 11 and every tongue will acknowledge[a] that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai — to the glory of God the Father.
12 So, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey now when I am away from you: keep working out your deliverance with fear and trembling,[b]13 for God is the one working among you both the willing and the working for what pleases 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.
Do any of you love to work out?
Do any of you love to get on a treadmill and either walk or jog or run or sprint from what amounts to from the gym to the furthest, remotest place on earth?
What about lifting those weights – doing those bar bells in ever increasing weights, working those abdominal muscles to get those 6 or 12 pack of abs?
Anyone out there, male and female, who who are trying to become, or on their way to becoming a professional competitive body builder, weight lifter or the world’s strongest athlete, compete in an Olympic level Decathlon or Marathon?
If you are, I say … keep it up, get in shape, be competitive, follow your dreams, Exercise those heart muscles, lower your blood pressure, lower blood sugars.
God the Father Bless You! God the Son Bless You! God the Holy Spirit Bless You!
From my own personal experience from 18 1/2 years of military service, from my efforts to keep my own vital signs and sugar levels down, Triple Bypass Open Heart Surgery one year ago, from what I understand, it’s a fluid time ebbing and flowing from an acquired taste to an absolute medical necessity.
A person may begin a workout regimen and hate it right off the bat and quit, but then as they push themselves, keep at it week after week, they may begin to see positive results mentally, physically, or both. The hard work of working out almost becomes addicting and before they know it, they’ll do love to work out!
The bottom line is anything good for us requires hard work, whether it be monetarily, emotionally, physically, or even spiritually, and with that hard work, pain may come at the start. Seems to contradict the goal, doesn’t it?
However, I believe that humans, by nature, have a desire to work out things for themselves. We read it in the Bible and we will see it in certain religions, where doing hard works is more palatable than accepting God’s free gift of salvation.
So how do we reconcile Paul’s statement in Philippians 2:12b,
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling?”
Doesn’t that contradict the fact that we cannot work our way into heaven and too God has given us the free gift of His Son Jesus who finished the work on the cross?
Philippians 2:13 gives us the answer, “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
You might respond, “Okay, so… how do I work out my salvation?”
Let’s look at how together:
Recognize God’s Power Within You
As we discussed above, working out takes willpower, discipline, and a stick-to-it attitude. There needs to be a strong desire to start working out, discipline to continue, and a spirit hardened stick-to-it attitude for it to become a habit.
We can apply this same series of attitudes to our walk of obedience to the Lord by first recognizing God’s power within us to renew our minds to that end.
The Apostle Paul tells us in the verse mentioned earlier that it is GOD who works in us!
Jeremiah 32:17 expands upon that further:
“We believe that you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm. And that nothing is too hard for you, Lord God. So we pray boldly for things that are impossible apart from you.”
So how do we apply this to working out our salvation?
By recognizing God’s power within us “both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13b).
Obedience unto God is hard.
Yes, I said it.
In our sinful state, even as children of God, we can easily fall prey to our selfish hearts and choose what we want rather than what God has called us to do.
Sometimes it can feel impossible to stop sinning. Like Romans 7:18b-19 says,
“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
Step 1 = the hardest one = If we want to recognize God’s power within us …
When we recognize God’s power within us, we will pray boldly for things that are impossible apart from God.
We need to ask God to help us with any besetting sin we might have and seek Him with our whole heart for help to walk in obedience day after day.
In doing so, we will be working out our salvation through the power of God at work within us.
Obey the Spirit’s Leading
Like me, I’m sure we have all had that “little nudge” from the Holy Spirit prompting us to do something.
Too often, though, we might respond like Moses in Exodus 4:13:
Moses felt that he did not have the gift of speech even though God told Him He would give Him the words to speak!
That being said, did Moses really even want to go?
It would appear that he didn’t want to under any other caveats and conditions other than his own. We can be like that, right? We try to justify our reasons, but the reality is, for whatever reason, we just don’t want to do it. It could be fear, it could be selfishness, it could be any number of reasons, all of which have their root in our adversary Satan trying to hard stop us in our tracks in serving God.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
This is how we work out our salvation, by submitting, obeying the Holy Spirit’s leading, completing the works He prepared for us to do before the world began.
Repent of Anything Contrary to God’s Will
Even though we have received the free gift of salvation, it doesn’t mean that we have a free pass to sin or to live our lives independent from Christ.
I know I’m stating the obvious, but sometimes, we can and in truth, do, will act that way without even realizing we are doing it.
How do we act that way?
Through selfishness. And I’m sure you all would be nodding your heads in agreement. Selfishness is a real struggle for most people. It makes sense. Of course, we want to look out for ourselves, but we end up taking that too far.
I would say that a majority of the difficult stories (Jonah) in the Bible all had their root in selfishness and pride. Wanting what they wanted at any cost.
All acts of wars, all wars, will start in this manner. Most crimes are a result of complete hardened selfishness. Selfishness is wanting our will and not God’s.
Philippians 2:3-7, leads up to our passage on working out salvation, says,
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
Here, we see in context that this is a means of working out our salvation.
How do we put this into practice?
By repenting of our selfishness whenever a selfish thought comes to mind and repenting immediately. We would then find that a lot of the issues we deal with such as anger, frustration and anxiety would all disappear.
By becoming disciplined in this manner, immediately repenting of anything contrary to God’s will, we will indeed be working out our salvation through our accountability to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit with every selfish thought.
In that moment, He will renew our minds to seek after His will. (Romans 12:1-2)
Loving Your Neighbor as Yourself
The interesting revelation about our topic on working out your salvation is how the entire passage in Philippians 2 is basically giving us God’s instructions on how to obey the second commandment which is “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31).
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”(Philippians 2:12b) is literally bookended by those admonitions.
What does it mean to workout your own salvation with fear and trembling?
This biblical statement implies a need to live out—to practice, demonstrate, and exhibit—the salvation which believers have in Christ. The concept of “fear and trembling” addresses worshipful respect for God. This echoes back to the context of every knee bowing before the Lord mentioned in verse 11.
Let’s take a look at Philippians 2:14-16b which are Paul’s final exhortations regarding working out your salvation.
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.”
Now more than ever we need to work out our salvation by being lights in this fallen world through loving our neighbor as ourselves.
This past April, we had the privilege of being able to see total eclipse of the sun.
There are no words to describe the experience.
When the moon fully covered the sun and we could take our eclipse glasses off, to see the licks of fire shooting out all around and to watch the darkness fall and the stars come out, we felt like we had a special glimpse into God’s handiwork.
I was especially struck by the sight when there was just the slightest sliver of sun showing through before the total eclipse, yet there was still a dusk-like lighting outside.
It amazed me so little of the sun could be showing and still create that much light!
If you feel like you don’t have much to offer in the Kingdom of God, that you don’t have spiritual gifts that could do great things for God, I’m here to tell you that you do!
Even if you are not a great evangelist filling stadiums with thousands of people, your light has great impact.
You may feel your light is small, but like my experience with the eclipse, even though your perception of how you light up the world may seem small, I am now here telling you that your light is significantly impactful to those you come in contact with.
Don’t ever feel that your light doesn’t matter because it does!
Matthew 5:14-16 says,
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.
When we show, reveal, the love of Christ to others and let our light shine to all mankind, we are working out our salvation.
So, What does it mean to workout your own salvation with fear and trembling?
This biblical statement implies a need to live out—to practice, demonstrate, and exhibit—the salvation which believers have in Christ. The concept of “fear and trembling” addresses reverent, worshipful respect for God. This echoes back to the context of every knee bowing before the Lord mentioned in verse 11.
Have you ever wondered why a visit to the gym is called a “workout”?
Maybe it’s because somewhere deep inside you is a strong, svelte, and trained body ready for rigorous competition.
But that body is not present here and now—it needs to be worked out!
It’s similar with farming.
Through plowing, planting, seeding, irrigation, fertilization, and weed control a farmer works out the results of a potential crop. One can only work out results if something already has potential to work hard, harder, hardest hardcore at it.
In today’s text, Philippians 2:12-13 Paul is urging us to engage in a spiritual workout and to take it seriously.
By grace, God—through the work of Jesus Christ—has placed into our lives the most precious of gifts: salvation to new life!
We do not earn our salvation by our own efforts; rather, we are each called to cultivate and develop this gift of God, provided at the cost of his own Son’s life.
We are to work it out to its full potential.
The Holy Spirit is our personal trainer for this workout.
Pointing us to Jesus, he urges us to be
“like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
That’s a big challenge, and it reminds us all that we still have much to work out.
May we all work out our salvation not in our own strength but by truly allowing GOD’s strength to showcase His power and the free gift of salvation that lives within us by recognizing God’s power, obeying the Spirit’s leading, repenting of anything contrary to God’s will, and loving God, our neighbors, as ourselves.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 27 Complete Jewish Bible
27 (0) By David:
(1) Adonai is my light and salvation; whom do I need to fear? Adonai is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assailed me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and foes, they stumbled and fell. 3 If an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear; if war breaks out against me, even then I will keep trusting.
4 Just one thing have I asked of Adonai; only this will I seek: to live in the house of Adonai all the days of my life, to see the beauty of Adonai and visit in his temple. 5 For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of trouble, he will hide me in the folds of his tent, he will set me high on a rock. 6 Then my head will be lifted up above my surrounding foes, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, sing praises to Adonai.
7 Listen, Adonai, to my voice when I cry; show favor to me; and answer me. 8 “My heart said of you, ‘Seek my face.’” Your face, Adonai, I will seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me, don’t turn your servant away in anger. You are my help; don’t abandon me; don’t leave me, God my savior. 10 Even though my father and mother have left me, Adonai will care for me. 11 Teach me your way, Adonai; lead me on a level path because of my enemies — 12 don’t give me up to the whims of my foes; for false witnesses have risen against me, also those who are breathing violence.
13 If I hadn’t believed that I would see Adonai’s goodness in the land of the living, . . . 14 Put your hope in Adonai, be strong, and let your heart take courage! Yes, put your hope in Adonai!
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.
2 (1) The heavens declare the glory of God, the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands. 3 (2) Every day it utters speech, every night it reveals knowledge. 4 (3) Without speech, without a word, without their voices being heard, 5 (4) their line goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world.
In them he places a tent for the sun, 6 (5) which comes out like a bridegroom from the bridal chamber, with delight like an athlete to run his race. 7 (6) It rises at one side of the sky, circles around to the other side, and nothing escapes its heat.
8 (7) The Torah of Adonai is perfect, restoring the inner person. The instruction of Adonai is sure, making wise the thoughtless. 9 (8) The precepts of Adonai are right, rejoicing the heart. The mitzvah of Adonai is pure, enlightening the eyes. 10 (9) The fear of Adonai is clean, enduring forever. The rulings of Adonai are true, they are righteous altogether, 11 (10) more desirable than gold, than much fine gold, also sweeter than honey or drippings from the honeycomb. 12 (11) Through them your servant is warned; in obeying them there is great reward.
13 (12) Who can discern unintentional sins? Cleanse me from hidden faults. 14 (13) Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins, so that they won’t control me. Then I will be blameless and free of great offense.
15 (14) May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in your presence, Adonai, my Rock and 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.
There’s nothing quite like a triumphant hymn to truly make you feel closer to the Lord. When you sing out those lyrics, it’s almost like His power, strength and majesty and love just wash over us. And one of the most powerful hymns of all time is ‘How Great Thou Art.’ I just love hearing this amazing hymn and now that I know the story behind the song, it makes it that much more beautiful.
The hymn “How Great Thou Art” is a timeless worship song, cherished by generations of believers for its inspiring description of God’s greatness.
Its verses resonate deeply in our souls, leading us into genuine moments of awe as we contemplate the wonder of who God is and how God works in our world.
“How Great Thou Art” is a classic hymn that remains popular today because it invites us to marvel in fresh ways at our Creator’s beautifully designed creation, His majesty, His Power and his inspiring, wonderful presence in our lives.
Each verse of this song serves as one gateway after another to understanding God more deeply and celebrating our great God in worship. When we sing the beloved hymn “How Great Thou Art,” we can grow closer to our great God.
The hymn originated as a poem written by Swedish pastor Carl Boberg in 1885.
Boberg was inspired to write the poem after experiencing a wondrous sight in nature: a sudden thunderstorm followed by a clear, beautiful view over a bay.
The poem was set to music in Sweden, and the song later went through various translations. In the 20th century, British missionary Stuart Hine translated the hymn into English and expanded it with additional verses. Hine’s version of “How Great Thou Art” became popular around the world after George Beverly Shea sang it during Reverend Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusades in the 1950s.
Just as a subtle or most likely, not so subtle reminder, here are some truths for us to contemplate an awesome God, “How Great Thou Art,” reveals about God.
1. God’s indescribable glory in creation.
The opening lines of “How Great Thou Art” exclaim:
“O Lord my God,/when I in awesome wonder,/consider all the worlds thy hands have made./I see the stars/I hear the rolling thunder,/Thy power throughout the universe displayed.”
This echoes Psalm 19:1, which declares: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
It also evokes the imagery revealed in Psalm 29:3-4: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.”
As we enjoy God’s creation – from the sparkling stars to the powerful thunder, to the forest glades we each wander through – we can’t help but marvel at the wondrous beauty of its precise design and power.
Nature itself is evidence of God’s glory and creativity. Romans 1:20 points out:
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Psalm 104:24 celebrates God’s creative power: “How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”
Job 9:10 says about God: “He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.”
Throughout the entire song, “How Great Thou Art” emphasizes the importance ofnoticing the wonder of God’s work around us. Every single part of God’s creation shows us something valuable about God that can inspire us with awe. Singing “How Great Thou Art” can motivate us to spend time in nature as often as possible, experiencing environments that help us discover God’s greatness.
2. God’s holiness and righteousness.
Another profound truth “How Great Thou Art” reveals about God is his perfect holiness and righteousness.
The awe expressed in the hymn’s refrain, “Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,/How great Thou art, How great Thou art!” reminds us of the vision of God’s holiness the Bible describes in Isaiah 6:3, where the seraphim angels call to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
God’s holiness means that he is absolutely uncorrupted by sin and completely morally pure.
Psalm 145:17“The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.”
The hymn’s refrain captures the reverent awe we feel when we think about God’s great holiness and righteousness.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21, we see that God’s holiness and righteousness are accessible to us through relationships with Jesus: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
This profound truth should inspire us to praise God like the hymn’s refrain does. It aught also to motivate us all to live lives that reflect God’s character by growing to be more holy ourselves.
Ephesians 4:24 encourages us to: “… put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” The refrain of “How Great Thou Art” calls us to strive for a greater, deeper, reverence for God’s majesty. It highlights a grateful response to God’s perfect nature, inspires us to make that response our own.
3. God’s constant presence with us.
“How Great Thou Art” reflects on God’s constant presence with us as it describes experiencing the extraordinary presence of God during ordinary moments like walking in nature: “When through the woods and forest glades I wander,/and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees./ When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur/And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.”
In Psalm 23:4, King David also uses the imagery of walking to describe the power of God’s constant presence:
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Throughout the Bible, God promises us to be present with us.
In Exodus 33:14, God assures Moses, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
In Matthew 28:20, Jesus promises his disciples: “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
God’s presence is a tangible reality we each can experience regularly through reading, study, prayer, meditation, other spiritual disciplines and practices.
In fact, if we have saving relationships with Jesus, God’s Holy Spirit comes to live right inside our souls, as 1 Corinthians 3:16 points out: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
Psalm 139 beautifully describes God’s presence with us everywhere, pointing out in verses 7-10:
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
In its refrain, “How Great Thou Art” encourages us all to notice God’s loving presence with us wherever we go – even unto the furthest reaches of eternity.
4. God’s plan to save us.
One of the most moving verses in “How Great Thou Art” declares: “And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in./That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,/He bled and died to take away my sin.”
This verse reminds us of what is perhaps the most famous Bible verse of all, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:17 Complete Jewish Bible
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.
The timeless hymn’s reflection onGod’s profound love for us through Jesus’s coming and ultimate sacrifice invites each and every single one of us to feel a reverent awe at God’s wondrous plan to save our souls from sin and death.
Jesus’ death on the cross made it possible for humanity to connect with God again, as 2 Corinthians 5:17-18:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
In Ephesians 1:7-8, The Bible highlights the enormous generosity of God’s grace through his plan to save us:
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us…”.
Isaiah 53:5 prophesies about Jesus’ healing work for us on the cross:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Jesus offers forgiveness from sins to all who place their faith in him, fulfilling God’s plan to save us.
Singing “How Great Thou Art” can help us focus on the greatest gift of all that God has given us through Jesus, the world’s Savior. Just like the song says, we “scarce can take it in,” but it’s still important to remember it on a regular basis.
5. God’s Unchanging promise of eternal life.
“How Great Thou Art” concludes with a triumphant declaration of hope:
“When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation/And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart./ Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,/And then proclaim: ‘My God, how great Thou art!’”
This evokes the promise of Revelation 21:4, which envisions our future joy in heaven, saying about God:
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Jesus describes our eternal life with him when he says in John 14:2-3:
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Titus 1:2 assures us that we have “…the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.”
When we sing the song “How Great Thou Art,” we joyfully celebrate the reality of this unending hope. “How Great Thou Art” reminds us that our great God has prepared great joy for us to experience in heaven with him for eternity.
In conclusion, “How Great Thou Art” is an incredibly stirring powerful worship hymn that resoundingly declares and proclaims and celebrates God’s greatness.
It invites us to
explore the wonders of God’s glory displayed in creation,
explore God’s perfect holiness and righteousness,
explore God’s constant presence with us,
explore God’s loving plan to save us,
discover God’s promise of eternal life for all who choose relationships with him.
As we sing “How Great Thou Art,” we cannot help but to perceive, to receive so much more of God’s awe-inspiring greatness and worship him with gratitude.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 29 Complete Jewish Bible
29 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Give Adonai his due, you who are godly; give Adonai his due of glory and strength; 2 give Adonai the glory due his name; worship Adonai in holy splendor.
3 The voice of Adonai is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, Adonai over rushing waters, 4 the voice of Adonai in power, the voice of Adonai in splendor.
5 The voice of Adonai cracks the cedars; Adonai splinters the cedars of the L’vanon 6 and makes the L’vanon skip like a calf, Siryon like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames; 8 the voice of Adonai rocks the desert, Adonai convulses the Kadesh Desert. 9 The voice of Adonai causes deer to give birth and strips the forests bare — while in his temple, all cry, “Glory!” 10 Adonai sits enthroned above the flood! Adonai sits enthroned as king forever! 11 May Adonai give strength to his people! May Adonai bless his people with shalom!
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.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 