Verse of the Day 7/30

1 Thessalonians 5:14  And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 

English Standard Version (ESV)

In reading today's verse in the ESV, the word admonish caught my attention.  Other translations use the words exhort or  warn which are good, but the word admonish as defined as "warn or reprimand someone firmly" adds reprimand to better set the tone.  It is calling someone to change course, calls for corrective action, to get back in line.

In this verse, the "idle" are warned and encouraged to get back in line, in line with the truth.  The fainthearted need encouragement from their fears and doubts and the weak need strength, moral, physical and spiritual.

Read the short passage from The Message (below) for another perspective.  It refers to freeloaders, stragglers and the exhausted.  Freeloaders aren't pulling their weight, they are not helping the body, they are along for the ride. The stragglers are lagging behind, and as in nature, it is the stragglers that fall prey to all kinds of temptations and are most easily "picked off" by the evil one.  The exhausted are simply worn out, from life's struggles, the daily grind or perhaps from long term battles.

The thought of Cat Stevens song "It's a Wild World" came  to mind, especially the line "ooh baby, baby it's a wild, world, it's hard to get by just upon a smile".  We aren't going to get through the challenges and trials in life with a "grin and bare it" attitude.  We will need faith in God with the help of others around us that will urge, exhort and  admonish us to keep the faith, to hold onto it with patience.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 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 Thessalonians 5:14-15The Message (MSG)

^13-15 Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

Verse of the Day 7/28

Verse of the Day 7/28

Psalm 81:2-3 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,

    the sweet lyre with the harp.
³ Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our feast day.  English Standard Version (ESV)

  Last week I read the following quote from one of my favorite Pastors and author A.W.Tozer.  I have been thinking about it since I read it and related it to several passages that I have read since then.  Tozer writes, "It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God's professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments."    In reading his statement, written over 50 years ago, it could be easily seen, played out in many churches across the country and beyond every week.  Some would point to modern, contemporary Christian music as a prominent component of this and see it as a big part of the problem.  Reading today's verses should help us use caution in trying to apply that. These verses mention the tambourine, the trumpet, and the lyre and harp, stringed instruments, which would be similar to our guitars.  The psalmist calls for a song to be raised.  I've yet to hear a quiet trumpet.    The key to this is how it relates to the service as a whole and especially the message.  Does it bring glory and honor to God? Does it give an application of the Word?  Is it about encouraging us, challenging us to believe, does it seek to bring about life change, does it carry a call to action?    I don't disagree with Tozer, at the same time I appreciate modern Christian music right alongside the old hymns, I also enjoy when they are intertwined.    A couple of times over the past month, as the message, the service was coming to a close a modern hymn came to mind that I thought would be the perfect application of what had just been preached, serious instruction from the word.  Most recently it was "The Voice of Truth".   The music may be loud but it can still speak to us as a "whisper from God" which calls us to "listen and believe" the voice of truth, God's word.  

I hear this most gentle whisper from One
I never guessed would speak to me  (v.5 The Message)

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 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 81:2-5The Message (MSG)

An Asaph Psalm

81 ^1-5 A song to our strong God!
    a shout to the God of Jacob!
Anthems from the choir, music from the band,
    sweet sounds from lute and harp,
Trumpets and trombones and horns:
    it's festival day, a feast to God!
A day decreed by God,
    solemnly ordered by the God of Jacob.
He commanded Joseph to keep this day
    so we'd never forget what he did in Egypt.

I hear this most gentle whisper from One
I never guessed would speak to me:

Verse of the Day 7/27

Psalm 146:3Do not put your trust in princes,

Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.  New King James Version (NKJV)

If you watch the news or read papers, blogs or even social media, it  would be almost impossible not to realize that we are in the middle of  an "election season".  The political adds will be coming out in earnest (if they haven't already) asking us, more often telling us to trust in their candidates.  People are looking for  change, they want to see things turned around in our country.  Some will be depending on a new president, others hope  for a change in congress or perhaps even in state and local governments for lasting change.   Unfortunately they are looking in  the wrong place.

The Message (below) begins the passage by saying "don't place your life in the hands of experts".  It seems that everyone  you see on TV is an expert and that you should listen to them, until you hear from the other side.  Quite often, "the experts" don't give the full story, they don't give you the full perspective.

While it is important to vote and it can make a difference in what candidates we choose, but we are not to be putting our hopes, our trust for  change on any of the candidates.  They are no help for our souls.  Instead of turning to the government and governmental leaders, we are to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, He is the only one that can truly save us.

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

1 I know of a name, 
A beautiful name,
That angels bro't down to earth;
They whispered it low 
One night long ago,
To a maiden of lowly birth.

Refrain:
That beautiful name, 
That beautiful name,
From sin has power to free us!
That beautiful name, 
That wonderful name,
That matchless name is Jesus!

The One of that name, 
My Savior became,
My Savior of Calvary;
My sins nailed Him there, 
My burdens He bare.
He suffered all this for me. [Refrain]

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 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 146:3-9The Message (MSG)

^3-9 Don't put your life in the hands of experts
    who know nothing of life, of salvation life.
Mere humans don't have what it takes;
    when they die, their projects die with them.
Instead, get help from the God of Jacob,
    put your hope in God and know real blessing!
God made sky and soil,
    sea and all the fish in it.
He always does what he says—
    he defends the wronged,
    he feeds the hungry.
God frees prisoners—
    he gives sight to the blind,
    he lifts up the fallen.
God loves good people, protects strangers,
    takes the side of orphans and widows,
    but makes short work of the wicked.

Verse of the Day 7/26

2 Chronicles 7:14  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.   English Standard Version (ESV)

I received an email yesterday from Franklin Graham with the Billy Graham ministries urging us to pray over the Democratic convention which began yesterday.  He asked the same thing of the Republican convention the  week before.  When you see all that is happening in our world, everything that is happening in politics, it is quite evident that we are in need healing,  in need of prayer.

There are many things that we can pray for including wisdom for professing Christians who are involved in our government, pray for leadership, leaders that would be willing to take a stand for what Jesus believes in.  Pray for His meekness, not weakness, but a power under control in stressful trying situations.

But as we pray, it should not be a prayer followed by going about our day, our business, with the attitude that we have done our part by simply praying.  Pastor Greg Laurie writes, "Notice God said, "Pray and seek My face." We should not only pray, but we also should seek His face. There is a difference. We can pray like this: "Lord, send revival. Amen." Now let's get lunch. Or, we can pray, "Lord, we are seeking You. . . . Lord, we are calling out to You. . . . Lord, we are desperate for You. . . . Lord, we need You. Send an awakening to America." It is effectively a prayer that doesn't take no for an answer.  "   It is from a heart that won't say no to His promptings.

Many important  decisions lie ahead, may our prayers have a "desperation" about them, may our prayers be for an awakening in the hearts of His people knowing that if our country is going to be healed, it is not our government, either party, that will do it.  It will be God working in the hearts of His people to bring about the change  that we need.

"As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I've set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I'll back your kingly rule over Israel—make it a sure thing on a sure foundation"  The Message 

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

2 Chronicles 7:14-18The Message (MSG)

^12-18 God appeared to Solomon that very night and said, "I accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I'll be there ready for you: I'll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I'm alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. Believe me, I've chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I've set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I'll back your kingly rule over Israel—make it a sure thing on a sure foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave to David your father I'm giving to you, namely, 'You can count on always having a descendant on Israel's throne.'

Verse of the Day 7/22

Verse of the Day 7/22

1 Timothy 2:8  I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;   English Standard Version (ESV)

As I read today's verse it brought to mind the lack of emphasis on prayer in many churches today.  It seems that it has been crowded out by other things.  When it becomes so in the church it will likely cross over to our individual lives as well.

In today's verse, Paul indicates that he wants men to pray with raised hands.  Before we focus on the "raised hands" we should consider his advice to Timothy that men should pray.  The posture involved is not the most important thing, it is the attitude, the condition of the heart that it comes from that is most important.

The verse also reminds me of a passage in Isaiah where men were lifting their hands in prayer but they were hands with "blood on them".  They weren't pure, they weren't right before God.  The term "holy" here means unpolluted or unstained by evil,  prayers offered "not with shaking fists" (The Message) but with "holy hands with a pure heart" would be another way to describe it.

Whether corporately or individually the prayers should be offered because God is still listening.

I will never understand how the words of mortal man
Can reach the ears of One so pure
And touch His heart, but they do I'm sure
For God is great, and God is good and He is love

God, our Father, once again I bow my head to pray
You are my Father and my Friend, and You hear every word I say
A pray for forgiveness, a desperate cry for help
Or praise flowing from a thankful heart
Like each time before, I come knowing You're still listening
Still listening  (Still Listening - Steven Curtis Chapman)

 Let us "lift holy hands" in prayer today and this Sunday in church.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 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 Timothy 2:8-10The Message (MSG)

^8-10 Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

Verse of the Day 7/21

Psalm 31:2-3Incline your ear to me;

    rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
    a strong fortress to save me!

³ For you are my rock and my fortress;
    and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;   English Standard Version (ESV)

I work for a textile manufacturer and spend quite a bit of time at the plant.  The manufacturing process can be quite noisy and hearing protection is required in many areas of the plant.  You cannot hear normal conversations due to the noise and the ear plugs.  If you do have to talk to someone you must raise your voice and the other person has to be paying attention.  Last week I was there when someone was having a conversation with a co-worker.  The one who was listening leaned in with his ear close to the persons mouth to make sure that he could best hear what was being said.

That's pretty much how it is with us, in the din of our busy lives, God will lean in, draw near to us when we call on Him, when we have something important to tell Him. I like the way The Message puts it below, "get down on my level and listen".  How many times have you been on the listening end with a toddler.  Quite often, especially if they are shy, they will not speak loudly, not enough to easily be heard over the commotion going on around them.  In order to hear them you will automatically bend down to get down to their level, often leaning in to hear what they say.  It is a picture of what is going on hear between David and God the Father.

He came down to my level
When I couldn't get up to His
With a strong arm He lifted me up
To show me what livin' is

He'll come down to your level
If you'll open up the door
He wants to make your life worth livin'
That's what He came down for   (He'll Come Down to Your Level - Gaither Vocal Band)

 

Think about that in the context of the verse.  Our rock, our fortress, our deliverer is ready to stoop down and lean into us to hear what is in our hearts and on our minds.   He'll come down to your level.  "He wants to make your life worth livin', that's what He came down for.  Will you open up that door to your heart and have a conversation with Him?

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 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 31:2-5The Message (MSG)

A David Psalm

31 ^1-2 I run to you, God; I run for dear life.
    Don't let me down!
    Take me seriously this time!
Get down on my level and listen,
    and please—no procrastination!
Your granite cave a hiding place,
    your high cliff aerie a place of safety.

^3-5 You're my cave to hide in,
    my cliff to climb.
Be my safe leader,
    be my true mountain guide.
Free me from hidden traps;
    I want to hide in you.
I've put my life in your hands.
    You won't drop me,
    you'll never let me down.

Verse of the Day 7/20

Psalm 20:7-8  Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
⁸ They collapse and fall,
    but we rise and stand upright.  English Standard Version (ESV)

Our men's Bible study group recently completed a video series study on the exodus.  The memories of this were still fresh in my mind as I read these verses.  In the book of Exodus the Israelite's had left Egypt after the plagues but they hadn't gotten too far when Pharaoh realized what the ramifications of his letting them go would be.  He gathered his troops, his horses and chariots and took off after them.

The Israelite's, on the other hand, had left in haste, the whole society men,women, children, and the elderly.  They did not have the manpower or the tools of war to battle  the army that was pursuing them.  As the army approached the had to hear the rumble and sounds of the troops, horses and  chariots.   They were boxed in, the army behind them and the sea in front  of them.  Now was the time to see where their trust, where there hope resided.

Pharaoh, as with other kings and emperors through the Bible and history have boasted on the size and strength of their armies.  They have trusted in their technology, not only offensively but also defensively.  They liked to feel that they couldn't be stopped and if the tables were turned, they liked to think that they could not be defeated.  But ultimately, their trust was misplaced.

In our society we may be tempted to trust in many things.  Our bank accounts, insurance policies, our network of friends or perhaps influential people.  They may all be helpful at certain times but ultimately our trust, our boasting, and praise are placed in the wrong objects if placed in anything or anyone but God Himself.

The battle is the Lord's, it is in Him that we need to place our trust.

We trust in the name of the Lord our God
His love never fails
His name will always prevail
We trust in the name of the Lord our God

Some trust in the works they do
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
'Cause by His grace all the work is through
We trust in the name of the Lord our God

Oh glory to the name
The name of our salvation
Oh glory to the name above all names
The name of the Lord our God

Some trust in the wealth of things
We trust in the name of the Lord our God
The name worth more than anything
We trust in the name of the Lord our God   (We Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God"  - Steve Green)

I'll conclude by quoting Psalm 20:6 from the Message, perhaps it's what you need to hear today if you're feeling hemmed in.

That clinches it—help's coming,
    an answer's on the way,
    everything's going to work out.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 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 20:5-9The Message (MSG)

⁵ When you win, we plan to raise the roof
    and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!

⁶ That clinches it—help's coming,
    an answer's on the way,
    everything's going to work out.

^7-8 See those people polishing their chariots,
    and those others grooming their horses?
    But we're making garlands for God our God.
The chariots will rust,
    those horses pull up lame—
    and we'll be on our feet, standing tall.

⁹ Make the king a winner, God;
    the day we call, give us your answer.