Verse of the Day 10/13

Verse of the Day 10/13

Psalm 55:6-7   I said, "If only I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and find rest.
⁷ How far away I would flee;
I would stay in the wilderness.Selah   Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Today's verses came up in my daily reading in the Psalms, today in Psalm 55.  As I read them, I was reminded of Southwest Airlines commercials and advertising campaign "Wanna Get Away".  I think that is how David felt when he wrote this psalm, he just wanted to get away from it all and stay in the wilderness.  David couldn't hop on a jet so he used the image of a dove.  We think of it as a symbol of peace, but a dove is fast and agile.  There prowess is known by hunters who have a hard time following their elusive flight.  A secular reference could be something "like a bat out of..." , you know what.  Summing it up you want to get out of there as fast as you can.

Many people, including myself; like to get away to the wilderness (in the form of a national park) for some hiking, camping and "turning it off",  leaving the cell phone and the constant interruptions of our modern world.  But if you're truly in the wilderness, you quickly find that it is no picnic, especially if you are to come up with your own food, boil the water and all else that is involved in wilderness survival.  If you doubt what I'm saying you might check out the series "Alone" on the History channel.  The goal there is to outlast 9 other contestants to win a large sum of money.  At least one contestant that I saw dropped out within hours.  He wasn't ready to truly be away from it all, especially with bears in the area.

David also realized that this flight, this escape to the wilderness was not a long-term solution.  At the end of the psalm he gives us some better advice, summing it up with "I will put my trust in you."  May we do so today instead of trying to get away.

Psalm 55:22-23Cast your burden on the Lord,

    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.

²³ But you, O God, will cast them down
    into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
    shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.  English Standard Version (ESV)

--   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 55:1-8 English Standard Version (ESV)

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil^[a] of David.

55 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
² Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
³ because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

⁴ My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵ Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.
⁶ And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
⁷ yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸ I would hurry to find a shelter
    from the raging wind and tempest."

Verse of the Day 10/12

Verse of the Day 10/12

2 Timothy 4:2-3 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,   English Standard Version (ESV)

I was preparing a study for our men's Bible study group in 2 Peter 2 where Peter warned of false prophets bringing in destructive teachings, heresies.  2 Timothy 4:3 above, was the first cross reference listed for the verse.  It gives the remedy for overcoming those false teachers.  Preach the Word, in season and out of season, which means continually; all the time; week by week and day by day without fail.

In a time where people look for instant gratification and satisfaction to meet whatever their heart desires; including feeling "good " about what they believe it, it is easy to see how people can easily be led astray by seeking things from preachers that will tickle their ears, give them what they want to hear not what they need.

J. C. Ryle writes:

Beware of manufacturing a God of your own . . .    a God who is all mercy--but not just;    a God who is all love--but not holy;    a God who has a Heaven for everybody--but a Hell for none;    a God who will make no distinction between godly and ungodly in eternity.  Such a God is an idol of your own--as truly an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple! The hands of your own imagination and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible--and beside the God of the Bible, there is no God at all. 

We are called to preach the Word; teach the Word as it comes from the Bible.  We should not be seeking to hear words "manufactured" by men to make us feel good.  God's Word alone is what points to Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith and where we can find hope, peace and the grace to live according to God's Word.  

--   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 Timothy 4:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)

Preach the Word

4 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead ^[b]at His appearing and His kingdom: ² Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Verse of the Day 10/9

Verse of the Day 10/9

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

I shared the other day how my son Jeff has said " I have the peace that passes understanding".  Another one of my favorite quotes of his is "hope is my favorite thing to have".  The two go together.  To have peace you have to have hope and to have hope comes from having a peace that God has this and will see you through.

While his quote "hope is my favorite thing to have" is not linked directly to any particular verse, as I read today's verse this morning, I believe that it fits as well as any other verse when considering the subject.  Our hope comes from the God of hope.  He is the one who can bring us peace along with that hope during the challenges and the trials of our lives.  The other thing is that this kind of hope overflows or as some translations say abounds.  If flows from us and has an impact on others.

John Piper writes, "The people who enjoy the peace of God that surpasses all understanding are those who in everything by prayer and supplication let their requests be made known to God....  The key that unlocks the treasure chest of God's peace is faith in the promises of God.  So Paul prays "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing."  And when we do trust the promises of God and have joy and peace and love, then God is glorified."

The last point I'll make goes back to the first word of the verse, "now".  This hope with all joy and peace is available to us now, today and every day.  Seek Him for it.

--   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

Romans 15:12-14 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

¹² And again, Isaiah says:

The root of Jesse will appear,
the One who rises to rule the Gentiles;
the Gentiles will hope in Him.^[a]

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

From Jerusalem to Illyricum

¹⁴ My brothers, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

Verse of the Day 10/7

Verse of the Day 10/7                   

 

Philippians 4:6-7  Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. ⁷ Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.  Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

 

Yesterday marked 21 years from the date of the accident which left our son Jeff with a traumatic brain injury and permanently disabled.  His recovery was and is a slow process but through it all he has been an inspiration to us and those that know and love him.  Today's verses came from Philippians 4 in the read through the Bible plan that I am following and are a couple of Jeff's favorite verses.

 

I've pondered coming out with some tee shirts with a logo "Jeff Quote" which would have some of his famous (to us) sayings.  One of them is from verse 8.  When asked how he can have the joy and peace that he shows every day of his life he joyfully says, "I have the peace that passes understanding".  I'm reading the Contemporary English Version this year and I like the way it ends verse 7 "and this peace will control the way you think and feel."  That is definitely what it has done for Jeff and I believe that it "rubs off" on others that have come to know him and provide for him.

 

The verses begin with "pray about everything".  That is the basis for having this peace.  A.W. Tozer writes, "Pray on, fight on, sing on.  Do not underestimate anything God may have done heretofore.  Thank God for everything up to this point, but do not stop here. Press on to the deep things of God.  Insist upon tasting the profounder mysteries of redemption.  Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will.  Refuse to be average or surrender to the chill of your spiritual environment.  If you thus "follow after", heaven will surely be opened to you and you will, with Ezekiel, see the visions of God."

 

Start today with prayers to God with thankful hearts.  Seek His will, seek to know  Him more deeply in His Word; seek that peace that passes understanding and keep it in your heart and let it shine forth in your life that others may ask why you have such joy and peace.

--   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

Philippians 4:2-9 New King James Version (NKJV)

Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer

² I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ^3 [a]And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵ Let your ^[b]gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

--   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