Verse of the Day 5/30

Verse of the Day 5/30

 

Psalm 93:4-5 Greater than the roar of many waters—

the mighty breakers of the sea—

the Lord on high is majestic.

5 Lord, Your testimonies are completely reliable;

holiness is the beauty of Your house

for all the days to come. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

 

As I was walking along the cliffs overlooking Manly Bay yesterday I came across a plaque that had been placed on a rail overlooking the ocean as it moved into the bay.  Below me the surf was crashing against the rocks as it has for thousands of years.  The higher the waves the mightier the sounds.  But regardless of all of the crashing and the force of those waves, the rocks hold firm.

 

I was able to do some swimming in the surf this week and the waves were higher than we normally would see in North Carolina.  The waves can definitely pound you and roll you around if you are trying to body surf as I was.  With strong waves, a man can easily be overpowered and overcome.

 

Yesterday we considered from Isaiah 40:8 how "the word of God stands forever" no matter what waves of and commotion are stirred by those who are trying to declare victory over the Bible.  In the end, His Word will stand. 

 

Sometimes the events in our lives will make us feel like we are being pounded, tossed and sucked under the waves of anxiety.  In these situations also the Lord is mightier than anything we face.  May we trust, hold onto, and hope in the One who is mightier than all of the waves, physical, emotional or metaphorical.  He will rule until the "very end of time". (MSG)

 

In Christ,

Mike

 

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Psalm 93:3-5

The Message (MSG)

^3-4 Sea storms are up, God,
Sea storms wild and roaring,
Sea storms with thunderous breakers.

Stronger than wild sea storms,
Mightier than sea-storm breakers,
Mighty God rules from High Heaven.

⁵ What you say goes—it always has.
"Beauty" and "Holy" mark your palace rule,
God, to the very end of time.

 

 

Verse of the Day 5/29

    

Isaiah 40:8  The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever."  New King James Version (NKJV)

 

I read the following statement in yesterday's "Grace Gems" and it made me think of today's verse.

 

"Never was there a time like the present, when Atheism and Infidelity appeared so determined, if possible, to annihilate the Christian religion! Behold their attempts. In schools and books, there is an incessant attempt to instill into the minds of the young, principles inimical to Christianity, as well as to draw professors from their steadfastness. Some have already split upon the rocks of Atheism--some have stranded on the quicksands of Infidelity. " 

 

Sounds like it could have been written today by a pastor or perhaps the parent of a college student who has run into a professor whose main goal appears to be tearing down belief in God and His Word.  Trying to make it seem irrelevant.

 

The statement was written by William Nicholson in 1862, wow!  It should remind us that having those around us who are trying to tear down Christianity is nothing new.  Names of those who have stood against God in this way have come and gone.  God has been pronounced as dead by some through the past couple of centuries but more Bibles are being printed and more are believing worldwide that at the time when this was written.

 

Professors and others who try to take a stand against the Kingdom of God and His Word will come and go, but you can be sure of this,  the Word of God will stand forever.

 

David felt like William Nicholson when in Psalm 12:1  he cried "Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men!" God answered his prayers and he will answer those who call out to Him today.

 

In Christ,

Mike

 

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Isaiah 40:6-8

The Message (MSG)

^6-8 A voice says, "Shout!"
    I said, "What shall I shout?"

"These people are nothing but grass,
    their love fragile as wildflowers.
The grass withers, the wildflowers fade,
    if God so much as puffs on them.
    Aren't these people just so much grass?
True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade,
    but our God's Word stands firm and forever."

 

Verse of the Day 5/27

Verse of the Day 5/27

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." English Standard Version (ESV)

We've recently considered what it means to be filled with the Spirit, how we can be filled as we want to be. Today's verses are an important aspect of being filled with the Spirit, it involves having love for one another.

 

I read the following quote from Ray Ortland's blog recently. It was one of those that catches you off guard. "Sanctify one another, humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, judge one another, run one another's lives, confess one another's sins, intensify one another's sufferings, point out one another's failings . . . "

 

When you first read this you may not think too much about the first two "one another's". But then you realize that humbling and sanctifying is something that we should be doing to and within ourselves. When we branch off into trying to do so unto others, we may end up in a sprial into the other points mentioned. In reality we ar looking at elevating ourselves at the expense, and often the hurt of others.

 

Reading that second list of "one another's", do you see some that need attention in your life? No pressures, I need to look inside myself first. If we truly love one another as Christ commanded, the others will be eliminated in the process.

 

Blessings,
Mike
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John 13:33-35
The Message (MSG)

33 "Children, I am with you for only a short time longer. You are going to look high and low for me. But just as I told the Jews, I'm telling you: 'Where I go, you are not able to come.'

34-35 "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

Verse of the Day 5/28

Verse of the Day 5/28

 

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. English Standard Version (ESV)

As you've probably noticed recently I've been quoting A.W. Tozer a lot.  I have been reading a couple of pages a day from "The Best of Tozer" as put together by Warren Wiersbe.  Today's reading made me think of today's verse, especially the "thoughts and intentions of the heart".

Tozer writes, "The Bible has a great deal to say about our thoughts; current evangelicalism has practically nothing to say about them.  The reason the Bible says so much is that our thoughts are vitally important to us….. Our voluntary thoughts not only reveal what we are, they predict what we will become…. Thinking stirs feeling and feeling triggers action.  That is the way we are made and we may as well accept it…. Anyone who wishes to check on his true spiritual condition may do so by noting what his voluntary thoughts have been over the last few hours and days."

Sobering words, literally we are what we think, which begs the question what do we find ourselves thinking about?  Spending time in God's Word and in prayer about it will reveal the condition of our heart.  If we are shying away from or neglecting it, we may be just trying to hide from being convicted; sifted and analyzed (AMP) by what the "two edged sword reveals".

Isaiah 26:3  You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. Amplified Bible (AMP)

In Christ,

Mike

 

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Hebrews 4:12-14

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹² For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the ^[a]breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

¹³ And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.

¹⁴ Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him].

 

 

 

 

Verse of the Day 5/23

 

Philippians 4:13   I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  English Standard Version (ESV)

Yesterday we considered how we can be as filled with the Spirit as we want to be, as we allow ourselves to be.

 

When you read the first four verses of today's verse, they may be said by many people in today's society.  The secular society is concerned most with "me, myself and I" and many "successful" people have that attitude that "I can do all things".  They have that opinion of themselves and it may serve them well for a time, for a season, but not for a lifetime much less an eternity.

 

The Christian can say those same things in faith and in hope, because it is not in an of themselves it is in God who created all that there is.  Jesus at the beginning of the beatitudes stated "blessed are the meek".  The world looks at meekness as weakness.  But the one who trusts

in Christ for all things has what true meekness is, the power of God working in him.

 

Once again, Tozer writes, "The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority.  Rather he may be in his own moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself.  He has accepted God's estimate of his own life.  He knows the is as weak and helpless as God declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows that at the very same time he is in the sight of God of more importance than the angels."

 

What is your attitude against the things you face today?  The toddlers attitude of "I do myself" or will you trust in Christ to provide what you need to do and make it through (The Message) face the all things that you may face today?

 

Blessings,
Mike
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Philippians 4:10-14

The Message (MSG)

Content Whatever the Circumstances

^10-14 I'm glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you're again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don't mean that your help didn't mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

 

Verse of the Day 5/22

 

Acts 13:52  And the disciples were continually filled [throughout their souls] with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

I read this verse this morning and then reread it in the Amplified Bible, which has some wisdom for us to take with us in our day.  Are you being continually filled "throughout your soul"?  Sounds like a tall order but it is possible if we draw upon and seek that filing.

 

In "Born After Midnight", A.W. Tozer writes, "It may be said without qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wants to be.  He may not be as full as he wishes he were, but he is most certainly as full as he wants to be. ....The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so.  The average Christian is so cold and so contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness."

 

That is a sobering statement.  Are we as full of the Spirit as we want to be?  Do you feel like you are filled "throughout your soul"?  To be filled is to have joy.  May we experience the joy of being filled, the joy of serving as the old hymn goes:

 

There is joy in serving Jesus,
As I journey on my way,
Joy that fills the heart with praises,
Ev'ry hour and ev'ry day.

 

There is joy, joy,
Joy in serving Jesus,
Joy that throbs within my heart;
Ev'ry moment, ev'ry hour,
As I draw upon His pow'r
There is joy, joy,
Joy that never shall depart

Blessings,
Mike
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Acts 13:51-52

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁵¹ So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. ⁵² And the believers^[a] were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Verse of the Day 5/17

 

Philippians 2:13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.   English Standard Version (ESV)

 

Over the past few days I've heard the song "Oceans" on the radio a couple of times.  What caught my attention was the call for the Spirit to lead "where my faith is without borders."  Following God, following through thick and thin, requires that His Spirit be leading us.  I read this morning's verse from Philippians 2 and what caught my attention here were the words "to will and to work".  His Sprit working in us changes our will, away from our natural desires to live godly lives for Him.

 

These are not just "whimsical emotions" or spur of the moment actions but are rooted in what John MacArthur calls "a studied intent to fulfill a planned purpose", His purpose for our life.  We aren't wandering aimlessly, we are living according to a plan and a purpose.

 

Pastor James MacDonald writes, "We can't duplicate what Jesus did, but we can imitate Him. Authentic Christians don't drift in His steps, or wander in roughly the same direction—we follow Him. We love like He did, serve like He did, and live sacrificial lives like He did. The world sits up and takes notice when people who call themselves Christians actually behave like Jesus."

 

All of these thoughts together brought me to the old hymn "May the Mind of Christ Dwell Richly"

 

1. May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
   Live in me from day to day,
   By His love and pow'r controlling
   All I do and say.
2. May the Word of God dwell richly
   In my heart from hour to hour,
   So that all may see I triumph
   Only through His pow'r.
3. May I run the race before me,
   Strong and brave to face the foe,
   Looking only unto Jesus
   As I onward go.

 

The hymn was based on a verse from a little earlier in the chapter:

 

Philippians 2:5   Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,    English Standard Version (ESV)  May we have this mind among us today "to will and to work" for Him.

 

In Christ,

Mike

 

Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Philippians 2:12-16

The Message (MSG)

Rejoicing Together

^12-13 What I'm getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you've done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

^14-16 Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing.

Verse of the Day 5/16

 

Philippians 4:8-9  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

Today's verses are a benediction for the book of Philippians, a great letter written by Paul which encourages, challenged and comforted it's readers then and in the world today.  In chapter 1 we are reminded in verse 6 that "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."  In chapter two were are challenged to "work out your salvation", in chapter 3 we are challenged to imitate Paul and to "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Christ" and at the end of this chapter we are to have the mind of Paul when he states that "I can do all things through him who strengthens me".

 

We find these words, these sayings, these teachings echoed throughout scripture.  The question is are we "mining" it from God's Word?  Are we allowing God's Word to speak to us?  Are we listening as He speaks through it?

 

Returning once again to A. W. Tozer in "The Pursuit of God", he writes, "I think that a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach the Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking....Do  not come with a notion that that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience.  It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God."

 

There are plenty of "voices" out there calling for our attention.  The following line from the Casting Crowns song "Voice of Truth" comes to mind: "out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth".

Will we take the time to read, to listen, to believe, to put into practice what we hear from His Word what is true, honorable, pure, just and commendable.  Will we let the Word of God speak?

 

Word of God Speak - (Casting Crowns)

 

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

 

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness

Word of God speak

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Philippians 4:8-9

The Message (MSG)

^8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Verse of the Day 5/14

 

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

Yesterday on the way to work I was listening to Pastor Greg Laurie as he said that we all either are born twice and die once or are born once and die twice.  The believer is born, will die, but then be raised again to eternal life.  The unbeliever, the one who "won't hear" is born, then dies and dies a second time, an eternal death.

 

Today's verse from John chapter 5 was the New Testament portion of the read through the Bible plan that I'm following.  The verse reminded me of what I had heard yesterday.  We live in a busy society, full of all kinds of noise to distract us and lead us astray or to try to prevent us from hearing God's Word and believing.  The challenge is for all of us to be willing to "be still" as we considered yesterday, to hear, to believe, and to know that He is God.

 

I've been reading portions of A.W. Tozer's "Pursuit of God" devotionally.  In this mornings reading I read the following quote which brings it together.  "Whoever will listen will hear the speaking heaven.  This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for listening is not a part of popular religion.  Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God.  But we may take heart.  To a people caught in the tempest of the last great conflict God says, "be still, and know that I am God" and still He says it, as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence." 

 

We need to listen and hear.  Those who do have "taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living" (The Message John 5:24), and really live.  May we listen and have life today and for eternity.

 

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

John 5:23-27

The Message (MSG)

^20-23 "But you haven't seen the half of it yet, for in the same way that the Father raises the dead and creates life, so does the Son. The Son gives life to anyone he chooses. Neither he nor the Father shuts anyone out. The Father handed all authority to judge over to the Son so that the Son will be honored equally with the Father. Anyone who dishonors the Son, dishonors the Father, for it was the Father's decision to put the Son in the place of honor.

²⁴ "It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

^25-27 "It's urgent that you get this right: The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive. Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. And he has given him the authority, simply because he is the Son of Man, to decide and carry out matters of Judgment.

Verse of the Day 5/13

Verse of the Day 5/13

 

Psalm 46:10-11   "Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!"
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah    English Standard Version (ESV)

 

I mentioned that the Mother's Day verses from Numbers were often used as a benediction.  On Mother's Day, in his closing remarks to his sermon in the series "Joe", which traces the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis, our Pastor Bob finished Genesis 37 with the word "meanwhile" found in verse 37:36.  He asked us to consider how we would live our lives differently if we knew that God was sitting beside us right now.  What would it mean to us, no matter what the situation was to know that "meanwhile" God is with us.

 

Genesis 37:36  Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.  English Standard Version (ESV)  Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers and they headed back home thinking that they had gotten rid of their brother.  Meanwhile, God had other plans for him.

 

I just happened to read today's verses from Psalm 36 in my devotions this morning.  I  know that I've referenced this verse many times before in these devotionals, but Bob's message and the thoughts of Joseph, the son of Jacob, caused me to look at it somewhat differently.  The "meanwhile, God is with me attitude" shows up in the verses, they reveal the attitude of Joseph's heart.  Going through the various chapters in  Joseph's life you can picture him knowing that the LORD was with him.  He heard God's voice, if not audibly, he heard it in his heart saying "be still, know that He is God" in the midst of all of the various trials and challenges he faced.

 

His father's God, would prove Himself time and time again, not only to Joseph and his family but to the nation of Egypt, and to the other nations, as they came to Egypt for food during the famine.  So may it be with us, may we know that God is with us in the meanwhile, between and through the various chapters of challenge in our lives.

 

The LORD of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob, the God of Joseph is our fortress.  The word "selah" appropriately means, to stop and think calmly about that.

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Psalm 46:9-11

Amplified Bible (AMP)

⁹ He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire.

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

¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Verse of the Day 5/11

Verse of the Day 5/11

 

Numbers 6:24-26  The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

 

Happy Mothers Day!  Today's verses are in honor of all of the mom's out there on this day that is set aside for them.

 

The verses are familiar ones, they are from Aaron's blessing on the people.  They are often repeated at the benediction of church services as the people prepare to go out.  Today, many mom's will be in church and they will be heading out to brunch or to family homes to celebrate.  As they go out may they be reminded that the God who heals, the God who leads, the God who restores and alone has the power to give them true peace is with them.

 

A Mothers Day Prayer for You

 

May you have all the joy your heart can hold...

All the smiles a day can bring...

All the blessings a life can unfold....

may you have God's best in everything!

Have a wonderful day!

 

Thank you moms for all you do!

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Numbers 6:22-27

Aaron's Blessing

²² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

²⁴ The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

²⁷ "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

Verse of the Day 5/9

 

Psalm 63:1  O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.   English Standard Version (ESV)

 

In yesterday's verse we considered how God looked at the heart, not on the externals, He is not impressed by a "show'.  David was known to be a man "after God's own heart" and it showed in the way he lived his life.  He "followed hard" after God.  Today's verse is a reminder of that.  How many of us could say before God that we earnestly seek Him, follow hard after Him, and literally "thirst for Him"?

 

The setting for this psalm is when David was in the desert.  He is praising God, "drinking in His glory and strength" while he himself was in a dry and dreary land, yet he realized that as long as He was close to God, he was really living.

In today's society the Christian may feel  at times that he is in a spiritual desert that surrounds him.  A. W. Tozer speaks to what our approach should be in seeking God, "If we would find God amid all the religious externals we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.  Now, as always, God reveals Himself to "babes" and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent.  We must simplify our approach to Him.  We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to  be blessedly few).  We must put away all effort to impress, and come with guileless candor of childhood.  If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond."  (The Pursuit of God)

 

The way we seek Him earnestly in simplicity is in His Word, prayerfully reading and considering it.  That's not to say that we don't listen to sermons, participate in Bible studies and listen to Christian music.  But these cannot replace that personal time spent alone with God.

 

May it be said by us today, "earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you"

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Psalm 63:1-4

The Message (MSG)

A David Psalm, When He Was out in the Judean Wilderness

God—you're my God!
    I can't get enough of you!
I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
    traveling across dry and weary deserts.

^2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
    drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
    My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
    My arms wave like banners of praise to you.

Verse of the Day 5/8

 

1 Samuel 16:7  But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible,^[ but the Lord sees the heart."  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

 

If you are following a read through the Bible plan you may have read this verse yesterday.  Reading the verse I couldn't help but think of my son Jeff.  He loves the Lord and the Lord sees and knows his heart.  He suffers from a TBI and is disabled, but he loves Jesus and isn't afraid to proclaim it, to shout it.  Some might look at his life as a simple one but in some  ways it reveals something about how our faith should be.  We tend to make things too complicated, including our "religion".

 

I read the following quote this morning in "The Pursuit of God" by A. W. Tozer.  "Every age has its own characteristics.  Right now we are in an age of religious complexity.  The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us.  In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy our time and attention but can never satisfy the longing heart.  The shallowness of our experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all."

 

I, we, can learn a lot from Jeff and many others with special needs who demonstrate that heart that loves God in childlike faith.  Written over 50 years ago Tozer's thoughts still ring true today in a world that is religiously more complex.  Perhaps we need to put aside the "religious complexity" and turn or return to God with a simple prayer and a "simple" faith, knowing that He is still listening.  May He bring His peace to us.

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

1 Samuel 16:6-8

The Message (MSG)

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Here he is! God's anointed!"

⁷ But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart."

⁸ Jesse then called up Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. Samuel said, "This man isn't God's choice either."