Monday, July 31, 2023

Verse of the Day 7/31

Verse of the Day 7/31


Exodus 20:3-4
English Standard Version




3 "You shall have no other gods before[a]


 me.

4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.



Today's verses came up in my daily Old Testament reading this morning.  Any time I read the ten commandments it causes me to pause, consider and reflect.  First four commandments have to do with our relationship to God and the last six have to do with our relationships to other human beings.  Both are extremely important for us to have in our hearts and our minds.  To be mindful of our place and our resposibilities before God and others.

We all know that God has said "You shall have no other gods before me" but the application of this is another matter.  It is an all encompassing statement and we should take it as having no other God before, after or alongside God; the maker of heaven and earth.

What these verses point to is a full surrender to God.  The old hymn I Surrender All comes to mind.

  1. All to Jesus I surrender,
    All to Him I freely give;
    I will ever love and trust Him,
    In His presence daily live.
    • Refrain:
      I surrender all,
      I surrender all;
      All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
      I surrender all.
  2. All to Jesus I surrender,
    Humbly at His feet I bow;
    Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
    Take me, Jesus, take me now.
  3. All to Jesus I surrender,
    Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
    Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
    Truly know that Thou art mine.
  4. All to Jesus I surrender,
    Lord, I give myself to Thee;
    Fill me with Thy love and power,
    Let Thy blessing fall on me.
  5. All to Jesus I surrender,
    Now I feel the sacred flame;
    Oh, the joy of full salvation!
    Glory, glory, to His Name!






Blessings,
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

Exodus 20:1-4
English Standard Version

The Ten Commandments

20 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.


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Thursday, July 27, 2023

Verse of the Day 7/27

Verse of the Day 7/27


saiah 66:2
English Standard Version



2 All these things my hand has made,
    and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
    he who is humble and contrite in spirit
    and trembles at my word.



The nature of man is to focus on external things.  We are impressed by beautiful homes, fast cars and crystal cathedrals, but what we find in the Bible that God is looking at the heart   Today's verse speaks to that.  He is looking for those who honor, respect and stand in awe of His Word and its power to shape hearts, lives and minds.

It is also this person who will have the attitude that Paul put on display in yesterday's verse from 2 Corinthians, realizing that "God's grace is sufficient" to meet our needs and that His power is put on display in meeting them.

The other thing that I'd like to point out is that to tremble at His word, requires that we be in His Word and have it in our minds, our hearts, and in our thoughts often.

Thomas Brooks writes, "Remember, it is not hasty reading--but serious meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that make them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee's touching of the flower, which gathers honey--but her abiding for a time upon the flower, which draws out the sweet. It is not he who reads most--but he who meditates most, who will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian."

John Piper writes, "The first thing that makes a prayer acceptable to God is the brokenness and humility of the one who prays. They tremble at his word."

Have you counted the stars in the heavens  Have you walked the circumference of the earth  Have you measured the boundaries of the universe  Do you tremble at the Word of God  Have you uncovered the souce of the thunder  Have you tamed the crashing mighty sea  Have you defied the force of gravity  Do you tremble at the Wod of God  CHORUS:  The wise will hear Him and obey His word  Long and blessed will be their days upon the earth  The fool will perish in the folly of his ways  Do you tremble at the Word of God.    (Wes King - Do You Tremble)
Have you considered the scope of eternity  In the light of unwavering truth  Have you regarded the works of a strong and mighty hand  Do you tremble at the Word of God































Blessings,
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

Isaiah 66:1-2
English Standard Version

The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

66 Thus says the Lord:
"Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
    and what is the place of my rest?
2 All these things my hand has made,
    and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
    he who is humble and contrite in spirit
    and trembles at my word.


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Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Verse of the Day 7/26

Verse of the Day 7/26



2 Corinthians 12:9
New International Version



9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Our Tuesday Men's Bible study reviewed 2 Corinthians 12 and today's verse is one of the key verses in the chapter.  We are probably familiar with many of the trials and challenges that Paul had faced in his life, beatiings with whips; being stoned and left for dead; shipwreck at sea; being falsely accused and standing trial on trumped up charges.  He prayed to God to have a "thorn in his side" taken away and God said no. The important thing here is that God's answer didn't end there, instead God told him, "my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."

What would Paul's life have been without those things?  Through faith, God made him stronger by them.  He is an example because of them and he was able to persevere because of what God did in, through and after those trials.  Looking back Paul could see how God was with him through it all.

Looking back at our own lives, as we age and go through trials we can step back and see our lives as a tapestry,

Grant Tuller writes,

My life is but a weaving between my God and me

I do not choose the colors; He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper-, and I the under-side.

Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly

Will God unroll the canvas and explain the reasons why

The dark threads are as needful in a skillful weaver's hand

As the threads of gold and silver, in the pattern he has planned.


If today is the best day of your life, it won't last. Tonight might be an inch short of hopeless; it won't last either. Whatever has brought you to this moment is only part of the story of your life and relationship. The rest is yet to come. Put all of it—dark thorns and shining threads—into God's hands, and he will sustain you.  —Wayne Brouwer


Our trials are threads in the tapestry.  One day we'll see how God was using it to complete His work in us.




Blessings,
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 Corinthians 12:7-10
English Standard Version

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,[a]




 a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.


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Thursday, July 20, 2023

Verse of the Day 7/20

Verse of the Day 7/20



1 John 1:7
New International Version



7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.


The church that I attended with my family when I was growing up sang mostly hymns.  On Sunday nights the evening service would begin with a time of singing favorites, several hymns each week.  Those hymns became ingrained in me and as I have read the Bible through the years the hymns from those days came back to my mind.  I know that I repeat some of them fairly often.  Today's verse brings back one of those hymns for me, "Trust and Obey".

It is a picture of walking "in lthe light" being guided and led by God's Word in our lives along with other Christians creating fellowship with each other and with Him and singing hymns or contemporary Christian songs that encourage us in our walk day by day.

  1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
    What a glory He sheds on our way!
    While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
    And with all who will trust and obey.
    • Refrain:
      Trust and obey, for there's no other way
      To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
  2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
    But His smile quickly drives it away;
    Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
    Can abide while we trust and obey.
  3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
    But our toil He doth richly repay;
    Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
    But is blessed if we trust and obey.
  4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
    Until all on the altar we lay;
    For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
    Are for them who will trust and obey.
  5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
    Or we'll walk by His side in the way;
    What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
    Never fear, only trust and obey.

Spend some time in His Word today.  Perhaps it will bring another song to mind.  Sing it, share it and be willing to do what He says and go where He will send us.


Blessings,
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 John 1:5-10
New International Version

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.





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