These verses in Psalms 46 always bring comfort to me.
1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea... vs.10 "Be still, and know that I am God..." Take a few minutes today to be still and experience His presence in silence. There is peace in His presence.
Then in chapter 47 we see we are to praise Him for His position of ruler over the earth as we picture Him seated at His holy throne. In chapter 48 He gives victory in our battles over nations. God is our security and our strength and He is worthy of our praise.
In acts 19 we see Paul retuning through Ephesus. Artemis the silversmith stirred people up because He was losing money making idols. The church had started growing and they had understood the false idols were not gods at all. Satan had lost ground in his deception and he didn't waste time rallying his troops. The city clerk wisely calmed the crowd and said the craftsmen could press charges in the courts. The crowd disbanded and returned home. When God is working Satan tries to stop Him. We are not to worry or fear as the Lord is faithful to see us through. Continue to praise Him and watch the promises of God become reality in your life. Every time He delivers it will encourage you and your life may be encouragement to others He becomes a reality in them.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Psalm 35-36; Acts 17:1-15
Psalms 36 gives a few words of encouragement today.
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find [d] refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
In Acts 17 Paul and Silas and Timothy go to Thessalonica where they are run out of town and to Berea where they they received them because of a more noble character. This was all in Macedonia and God started churches in each town regardless what happened to them. The price was great, but the work was of the Lord and it spread the word. They spoke to crowds of women in the previous chapter and Lydia and her family are the only women recorded accepting Christ. But the early church met in Her home for prayer. God has a plan to use each of us. That's why He saved us and He will use us as He sees fit. Live like you believe Him and He will use you in Mighty ways.
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find [d] refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
In Acts 17 Paul and Silas and Timothy go to Thessalonica where they are run out of town and to Berea where they they received them because of a more noble character. This was all in Macedonia and God started churches in each town regardless what happened to them. The price was great, but the work was of the Lord and it spread the word. They spoke to crowds of women in the previous chapter and Lydia and her family are the only women recorded accepting Christ. But the early church met in Her home for prayer. God has a plan to use each of us. That's why He saved us and He will use us as He sees fit. Live like you believe Him and He will use you in Mighty ways.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Psalm 33-34; Acts 16:22-40
Psalms 33 starts put praising the Lord.
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does. (NIV)
Let's rejoice in all the Lord has done in our lives. We are challenged to praise Him no matter what is going on. God has brought it and allowed it for His purposes and glory. It's not all about us, it's all about Him. We are to be in holy awe of God and have a healthy fear and respect for Him. As we trust Him we will see what He is doing. Being a servant means we are here to bring glory to the father. As we concentrate on that we will be blessed.
Psalm 34 says: 1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together. (NIV)
The Lord wants us to encourage each other praising His name together in corporate worship. He delivers the faithful.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing. (NIV)
In our circumstances we are to remain faithful and let God fight our battles.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all...22 The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. (NIV)
In Acts 16 we see Paul, Silas and Timothy responding to the vision the Lord had given Paul. They were to take the gospel to Macedonia. Lydia and Her family accepted Christ and then Paul Silas and Timothy were severely flogged and ended up in prison. They easily could have said "surely God must be punishing us or this is too much, I can't handle it. Instead 25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.
How we handle persecution will make a huge difference as we praise the Lord in all things and trust God for the outcome. Instead of being overwhelmed, praise Him.
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does. (NIV)
Let's rejoice in all the Lord has done in our lives. We are challenged to praise Him no matter what is going on. God has brought it and allowed it for His purposes and glory. It's not all about us, it's all about Him. We are to be in holy awe of God and have a healthy fear and respect for Him. As we trust Him we will see what He is doing. Being a servant means we are here to bring glory to the father. As we concentrate on that we will be blessed.
Psalm 34 says: 1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together. (NIV)
The Lord wants us to encourage each other praising His name together in corporate worship. He delivers the faithful.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing. (NIV)
In our circumstances we are to remain faithful and let God fight our battles.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all...22 The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. (NIV)
In Acts 16 we see Paul, Silas and Timothy responding to the vision the Lord had given Paul. They were to take the gospel to Macedonia. Lydia and Her family accepted Christ and then Paul Silas and Timothy were severely flogged and ended up in prison. They easily could have said "surely God must be punishing us or this is too much, I can't handle it. Instead 25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.
How we handle persecution will make a huge difference as we praise the Lord in all things and trust God for the outcome. Instead of being overwhelmed, praise Him.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Jeremiah 46-47; Matthew 28
Jeremiah tells Israel to be ready to be delivered. The Lord will come and bring them home. He will defeat their captors and take them home where they will be his children and He will be their God. Then He says He will discipline them but only with justice. Our God loves us and wants to bring us home. Aren't you ready to come home? The Lord is there with open arms ready to receive you into His loving, tender care. He says come home. He will be there and peace and comfort are in His house. Come and reside with the Lord your father. Bring Him your cares and burdens and come into His rest.
In Mathew 28 Christ has risen and that is our hope. We have seen His glory and we are to go and be witnesses of Jesus to our world. Are your co-workers troubled? They need Jesus. Does your family have thoughts that concern you? Jesus has the answer. He overcame the world. Is a loved one suffering? Christ is our hope and will be there in time of need. We are to bring them to Jesus He is the door to the path leading home. Bring them to Him where there is freedom from the trouble this world brings. Rejoice for He has risen. He has risen indeed and has overcome the world!
In Mathew 28 Christ has risen and that is our hope. We have seen His glory and we are to go and be witnesses of Jesus to our world. Are your co-workers troubled? They need Jesus. Does your family have thoughts that concern you? Jesus has the answer. He overcame the world. Is a loved one suffering? Christ is our hope and will be there in time of need. We are to bring them to Jesus He is the door to the path leading home. Bring them to Him where there is freedom from the trouble this world brings. Rejoice for He has risen. He has risen indeed and has overcome the world!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Jeremiah 12-14; Matthew 22:23-46
Jeremiah starts with a petition to the Lord. The people of God have wandered. Jeremiah says 2b "You are always on their lips but far from their hearts." We all have to be careful of this. They were fine in their own eyes, but God saw their real condition. God says: 7 "I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies." God waits as long as He can before He brings judgment on His people. He always is petitioning for us to return to Him and waiting for us to turn from our rebellion and come back home. Pride and stubbornness had kept God's people from walking in His ways. We are God's people and we are to respond to Him as our Lord. We belong to Him and He is the master of our life. When we get our hearts right, He then can truly reign and will start answering our prayers and talking to us personally. We will have that close intimate fellowship that He designed us to desire. 14:22b "Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this."
In Matthew Jesus fields some questions from religious leaders. Questions about the resurrection from the group that does not believe in the resurrection. Questions about the Greatest commandment from those who worshiped the law rather that our Lord. Then Jesus dazzles them with two questions. "Whose son is the Christ?" "The son of David," they replied. 43He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 44" 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. 45If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?"
Sometimes we will be faced with questions from those who doubt our Lord and our faith in Him. The more we know Him and His word the more they will understand as we bring them pure truth from God's word. Knowing Him is just as important as knowing His word so we can be a picture of Christ by being a living breathing witness of His power and love. That will change hearts as we fish for men.
In Matthew Jesus fields some questions from religious leaders. Questions about the resurrection from the group that does not believe in the resurrection. Questions about the Greatest commandment from those who worshiped the law rather that our Lord. Then Jesus dazzles them with two questions. "Whose son is the Christ?" "The son of David," they replied. 43He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 44" 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. 45If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?"
Sometimes we will be faced with questions from those who doubt our Lord and our faith in Him. The more we know Him and His word the more they will understand as we bring them pure truth from God's word. Knowing Him is just as important as knowing His word so we can be a picture of Christ by being a living breathing witness of His power and love. That will change hearts as we fish for men.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Jeremiah 9-11; Matthew 22:1-22
In Jeremiah the Lord is grieving over the spiritual condition of His people. They practice deception and are boasting about all the wrong things. He would like to see us boast about our relationship with Him and His children. It was not their living conditions as much as it was the condition of their heart that concerned God. They sought direction from wooden idols and feared a statue made of gold, not the God that created the universe. God then appeals to them to return to Him and His covenants and He will restore them. Gods first desire is always restoration. He will restore if we will return to Him. Israel waited too late and God had to demonstrate His power to get them to repent. There is always consequences when we reject the Lord's call to return. Let's be a people of God that does not repeat that cycle. God's plan will bring peace and healing into our lives. Open that door and He will come in and dwell in our hearts and lives.
In Matthew Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding banquet. The king invited guests for His son's wedding and they refused to come. They even killed those who brought the news. Their town was destroyed and the king sent the servants out to the highways and hedges. They were to bring those who the king did not know. There was an open invitation to the wedding feast. Then we see one man get thrown out because he did not wear wedding clothes. The clothes he had on showed he did not honor the things he had been included in. All are invited into the kingdom, and we should honor that gift and reside in the kingdom as God would require. We sometimes come to Christ and want to make our own rules and do things in our own understanding. It is His Kingdom and the Lord reigns here not us.
Then we see them trying to trap Jesus about paying tax to Caesar. "19Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
When that they understood they were created in God's image and belonged to Him. They should give their life back to their creator. God created us to have fellowship with Him. We will find happiness there.
In Matthew Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding banquet. The king invited guests for His son's wedding and they refused to come. They even killed those who brought the news. Their town was destroyed and the king sent the servants out to the highways and hedges. They were to bring those who the king did not know. There was an open invitation to the wedding feast. Then we see one man get thrown out because he did not wear wedding clothes. The clothes he had on showed he did not honor the things he had been included in. All are invited into the kingdom, and we should honor that gift and reside in the kingdom as God would require. We sometimes come to Christ and want to make our own rules and do things in our own understanding. It is His Kingdom and the Lord reigns here not us.
Then we see them trying to trap Jesus about paying tax to Caesar. "19Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
When that they understood they were created in God's image and belonged to Him. They should give their life back to their creator. God created us to have fellowship with Him. We will find happiness there.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Hosea 12-14; Matthew 20:1-16
Hosea 12 starts with an appeal for Israel to return to the Lord. They have relied on the things of this world (idols, riches, and human understanding.) 6 "But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always." Even though God sent prophets to deliver them with signs and wonder they still fell back to their evil ways and angered God. 13:4 "But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. 5 I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. 6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me."
Many times we become content with the wrong things and seek satisfaction in things that cannot bring happiness.
14:9 "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." God's plan is always best. Seek Him and He will bring and peace.
In Matthew 20 we see the Lord rewards those who serve Him. He gives His promised reward as He sees fit. It is His kingdom and He rules. The ones who serve longer may get the same reward as those who are called last. Our God reigns and He is always protecting and providing as we serve Him. When we truly develop a servants heart the joy will be in serving the Master, not the expected promise of something we view as important. The whole time they served they enjoyed fellowship with the owner of the vineyard. The relationship grows deeper and sweeter as we spend time with the father. The song comes to mind "The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows."
Many times we become content with the wrong things and seek satisfaction in things that cannot bring happiness.
14:9 "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." God's plan is always best. Seek Him and He will bring and peace.
In Matthew 20 we see the Lord rewards those who serve Him. He gives His promised reward as He sees fit. It is His kingdom and He rules. The ones who serve longer may get the same reward as those who are called last. Our God reigns and He is always protecting and providing as we serve Him. When we truly develop a servants heart the joy will be in serving the Master, not the expected promise of something we view as important. The whole time they served they enjoyed fellowship with the owner of the vineyard. The relationship grows deeper and sweeter as we spend time with the father. The song comes to mind "The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows."
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