Verse of the Day 6/29

Verse of the Day 6/29

Psalm 146:1-2 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.   English Standard Version (ESV)

We've considered how God's Word is eternal and we know that God is unchanging.  He is our Rock and our fortress in troubled times.  His redemption, healing and deliverance are all reasons to praise Him.  Each and every breath that we take is a gift of God and worthy of praise.  As I read today's verses I couldn't help but think that they should reflect the attitude of my heart, day by day, every day - "I will praise the Lord as long as I live".  Notice it is not simply praising God, but, I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.  That should carry over for all of our days here and into eternity.

The songs and hymns  that we sing in church should be taken seriously and with consideration.  We should think of the words and the intent of the person who wrote them and put them to music.  Quite often in the churches that I've attended over the years we would sing "the first and third stanzas" or another combination and omit some of the stanzas.  This was done for the sake of time, to fit the song into the schedule, not to "run late" with the service.   I have done the same thing in these posts, often copying and pasting portions of hymns.

I read the following quote by A.W. Tozer. and it dealt with this subject matter and opened my eyes to an important matter.  He writes, "I suppose it is not of vast importance that the third stanza is so often omitted in the singing of a hymn, but just for the record let it be said that the worshipers are deprived of the blessing of the hymn by that omission if, as is often true, the hymn develops a great Christian truth in sermonic outline. To omit a stanza is to lose one link in a golden chain and greatly to reduce the value of the whole hymn."

We don't need to fall into legalism considering the stanzas of songs, but we should consider carefully what the writers intent was, and not to miss some important point in our (or my) editing.  I'll close with an old hymn about praise.  As you go through it, see if there is a particular stanza that draws your attention and perhaps makes you want to sing out loud.  What would have happened if I had "edited" it out?

1	Praise the Savior, ye who know Him! Who can tell how much we owe Him? Gladly let us render to Him   All we are and have.
2	Jesus is the name that charms us; He for conflicts fits and arms us; Nothing moves and nothing harms us   When we trust in Him.
3	Trust in Him, ye saints, forever; He is faithful, changing never; Neither force nor guile can sever   Those He loves from Him.
4	Keep us, Lord, oh, keep us cleaving To Thyself and still believing, Till the hour of Thy receiving   The victorious Bride.
5	Then we shall be where we would be; Then we shall be what we should be; Things which are not now, nor could be,   Then shall be our own.

 

As we worship this weekend, may we do so with a heart of praise; "put your hope in God and know real blessing!"  (from Psalm 146 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 146 The Message (MSG)

146 ^1-2 Hallelujah!
    O my soul, praise God!
All my life long I'll praise God,
    singing songs to my God as long as I live.

^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.

¹⁰ God's in charge—always.
    Zion's God is God for good!
    Hallelujah!

Verse of the Day 6/28

Verse of the Day 6/28

Psalm 119:89-90   Your word, Lord, is eternal;

    it stands firm in the heavens.
⁹⁰ Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
    you established the earth, and it endures.    New International Version (NIV)

In yesterday's post from 1 Timothy 6 we considered how we are to "take hold" of eternal life.  Take hold of God's Word, His principles, take them to heart and apply them in our lives.  Today's verses from Psalm 119 give us and indication of why we can take hold of them, how we can hold onto God, it is because He is eternal, His Word is eternal, it has stood the test of time and will continue to stand for eternity.

We live in unsettled times.  There is turmoil all around us, conflicts around the world, conflicts between political parties with rhetoric on both sides which is deplorable and won't win anyone over.  David lived in troubled times as well.  A king in those days always had opposition, those would would seek to destroy or overtake his kingdom.  David held onto God and His Word and found them to be a "mighty fortress" (Psalm 46) in his troubled times.

Charles Spurgeon writes, "After tossing about on a sea of trouble, the psalmist here leaps to shore and stands upon a rock.  God's Word is not fickle nor uncertain.  It is settled, determined, fixed, sure and immovable.  Mans teachings change so often that there is never time for them to be settled; but the Lord's word is from of old the same, and will remain unchanged eternally."

How many times have politicians flip flopped?  How many times have we changed our minds, changed our teaching on things?  (We are all teachers of someone.)  God and His Word do not change, they are not "affected by the lapse of ages; He is not only faithful to one man throughout his lifetime, but to his children's children after him" (Spurgeon) and down through the ages.

Read the passage below from the Amplified Bible.  May we continually take hold and hold onto God and His Word.

Jesus is the name that charms us; He for conflicts fits and arms us; Nothing moves and nothing harms us   When we trust in Him.
	Trust in Him, ye saints, forever; He is faithful, changing never; Neither force nor guile can sever   Those He loves from 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 119:89-94 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Lamedh.

⁸⁹ 
Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable].
⁹⁰ 
Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation;
You have established the earth, and it stands [securely].
⁹¹ 
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all things [all parts of the universe] are Your servants.
⁹² 
If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my time of trouble.
⁹³ 
I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me and given me life.
⁹⁴ 
I am Yours, save me [as Your own];
For I have [diligently] sought Your precepts and required them [as my greatest need].

Verse of the Day 6/27

Verse of the Day 6/27

1 Timothy 6:11-12  But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.    English Standard Version (ESV) 

The other day we looked at1 Timothy 6:10 where we read that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils".  Roots go down, anchor the plant in the ground.  If you've dug in the ground in your yard you'll often run into the roots of a tree that are quite far from where the actual plant or tree is located.  These roots grow, reach out and wrap themselves around all kinds of things including sprinkler system pipes.  These roots will lift up and crack sidewalks.  The love of money is the root of all kinds of evils, the root may lie beneath the surface in our lives, doing damage below the surface, as it were, but lead to major problems in our lives.

Today's verse call us to flee from the love of money and all of the associated roots that are present in our lives, roots that cause damage to our lives, our families and our faith.  These roots need to be torn up and replaced.  We are to turn from the love of money, flee from it and instead pursue a right standing with God, in our behavior (godliness), with the roots of these things producing faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness in our lives.

The phrase that caught my attention today in verse 12 was "take hold of the eternal life to which you were called".  This is taking what we know and applying it.  It is not grasping something with head knowledge, but holding it close to your heart, to the very core of your being.  John Piper writes, "What is at stake is fleeing covetousness and fighting for contentment by faith in future grace is eternal life."

Today as you head out into the world, be ready to "fight the good fight of faith", taking hold, taking to heart what we have learned, and instead of chasing after things that rust and fade away, pursue with steadfastness  the faith, love, and gentleness spoken of in today's verses.

"Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble."  1 Timothy 6:9-10 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    

1 Timothy 6:9-12 The Message (MSG)

^9-10 But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

Running Hard

^11-12 But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.

Verse of the Day 6/25

Verse of the Day 6/25

1 Timothy 6:9-10   But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.    English Standard Version (ESV)

After a week away on vacation with the kids and grand-kids, it is time to get back to the "regular schedule".  It was good to get away, spend some down time at the beach, turn off and tune out much of the world and what is going on and spend time enjoying the time together and enjoying part of God's creation, in our case the beach, which included crabs, minnows, sea gulls, the waves and many other things that are not in our every day life.  It was fun to see the wonder and hear the excitements in the grand-kids new experiences.

Reading today's verses helped me realize that yes, money is required to take a vacation, but the love of money can also keep us away from vacation or enjoying so many other things in life and in God's creation.  We can be so consumed in it that we feel that we cannot take the time off, as if the world would fall apart.  How do we find the balance?

John Piper writes, "What is money? I would answer that question like this: Money is simply a symbol that stands for human resources. Money stands for what you can get from man instead of God......God deals in the currency of grace, not money: "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!" (Isaiah 55:1). Money is the currency of human resources. So the heart that loves money is a heart that pins its hopes, and pursues its pleasures, and puts its trust in what human resources can offer....So the love of money is virtually the same as faith in money — belief (trust, confidence, assurance) that money will meet your needs and make you happy."

Don't be consumed by the love of money.  Use some of what God has blessed you with to spend time with family and friends, enjoy His creation, enjoy time together.  It doesn't have to cost a lot.  Read the short passage below from The Message a May we pursue a "life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith."

--   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 6:9-12 The Message (MSG)

^9-10 But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

Running Hard

^11-12 But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.

Verse of the Day 6/15

Verse of the Day 6/15

 

Genesis 1:27   So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

My wife Jean and I recently had the privilege of spending some time with our son Jason's family.  It was a joy to spend time with the grandkids and see how they are growing in stature, but also in their personalities.  I spent some time watching the Lion King with Jack who is three.  I believe that it is his favorite movie.  He loves the songs and especially Hakuna Matatah.  The way he says the words Hakunah Matata is etched in my mind "ma-tata" is said with inflection and intensity.

 

The movie talks about the "circle of life" and pictures the of the Lion King, Mufasa standing on the rock overlooking creation is impressive as if the lion actually appreciated and understood the meaning of life.  The movie however, does not look to the Creator, the God of the universe, but rather,  points to the worship of life, God's creation.  Today's verses are to remind us that we are created in His image with capabilities far beyond the rest of creation.  This includes our ability to know Him, to worship Him and to live for Him, and bring glory to Him in acknowledging Him as the King of Creation and our Savior.

 

A.W. Tozer writes, "I believe that He created man out of no external necessity. I believe it was an internal necessity. God, being the God He was and is, and being infinitely perfect and infinitely beautiful and infinitely glorious and infinitely admirable and infinitely loving, out of His own inward necessity had to have some creature that was capable of admiring Him and loving Him and knowing Him. So God made man in His own image; in the image and likeness of God made He him; and He made him as near to being like Himself as it was possible for the creature to be like the Creator. The most godlike thing in the universe is the soul of man……The reason God made man in His image was that he might appreciate God and admire and adore and worship; so that God might not be a picture, so to speak, hanging in a gallery with nobody looking at Him. He might not be a flower that no one could smell; He might not be a star that no one could see. God made somebody to smell that flower, the lily of the valley. He wanted someone to see that glorious image. He wanted someone to see the star, so He made us and in making us He made us to worship Him. Worship: The Missing Jewel, 3."

 

Do you see God as glorious and being worthy of our worship, worthy of our praise, and worth living for?  We are created in His image for those purposes and also with a "responsibility" to manage, to respect all of His creation (The Message).  Read the passage below.  May we praise Him, worship Him and live for Him and reflect His nature.

 

Jean and I will have some time in the coming week with all of our grandchildren.  Perhaps, if there is a rainy day, we'll spend part of it watching the Lion King, may we have the opportunity to tell them about being created in the image of God.

 

 

Blessings,

 

Mike

 

Genesis 1:22-28 The Message (MSG)

^20-23 God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
        Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"
    God created the huge whales,
        all the swarm of life in the waters,
    And every kind and species of flying birds.
        God saw that it was good.
    God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
        Birds, reproduce on Earth!"
    It was evening, it was morning—
    Day Five.

^24-25 God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
        cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds."
    And there it was:
        wild animals of every kind,
    Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
        God saw that it was good.

^26-28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
        reflecting our nature
    So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
        the birds in the air, the cattle,
    And, yes, Earth itself,
        and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
    God created human beings;
        he created them godlike,
    Reflecting God's nature.
        He created them male and female.
    God blessed them:
        "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
    Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
        for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

 

 

 Follow the verse of the day at mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Verse of the Day 6/14

 

Verse of the Day 6/14

 

Philippians 2:14-15   Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

For years Nike has coined the phrase "Just Do It" and it has been at the center of their advertising and message.  It involves participation and "getting in the game".  All to often in today's society, rather than doing something, people tend to grumble and get into arguments over just about anything, from politics to matters of faith and the church.  Second guessing, being the back seat driver or Monday morning quarterback fit in well with the attitude.

 

We, as Christians are to be different.  We are to be "doers" of the word (James 1:22) not just "hearers" and in doing so we are to "shine" as lights to the world, the world of grumblers and complainers.  We all have things to do, it involves "working out our salvation" verse 12, because God is working in us and will work  through us.  We all have  a job to do, we've all been given gifts and participate in some kind  of ministry.

 

Pastor John Piper writes, "Each day there is a work to be done in our special ministry. Paul commands us to work at doing it. But he tells us how to do it in the power of future grace: believe the promise that in this day God will be at work in you to will and work for his good pleasure.  It is God himself, graciously arriving each moment, that brings the future into the present. It is not the gratitude for past grace that Paul focuses on when explaining how he "worked harder than any of them." It is fresh grace for every new conquest in his missionary labor. "

 

May we not be among the grumblers and complainers, but call on the Lord to give us "fresh grace" today in our particular ministry wherever it  may be and wherever it may lead us, "shining" for God's glory.

 

Philippians 2:16  holding out and offering to everyone the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to rejoice greatly because I did not run [my race] in vain nor labor without result.  Amplified Bible (AMP)

 

Spirit of God
Take me to a deeper place
Take me out of what is safe
And I will not be afraid
Spirit of God
Fill me with joy again
Springing up from within
It cannot be contained

 

'Cause You called me out from the grave
So I can live like I've been changed
There is a new song in my soul
And it begins when I breathe in
Your word of life    (Word of Life – Jeremy Camp)

 

 

 

Blessings,

 

Mike

 

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.

 

 Follow the verse of the day at mikesvotd.blogspot.com