"The earth is The Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;" Psalms 24:1 (NIV)
King David told the people that they belong to God. He said that the world, and everything in it, including the people, all belong to God.
God not only made each one of us, He also made the stuff that we are made of by speaking in it into existence. God said "Let there be ... " and it was, and it was good. (Genesis 1:1-31) The creation belongs to the creator. He knew us before we existed, even before we were formed in our mother's womb. (Psalms 139:13-16) He is the potter and we are the clay. (Isaiah 64:8) Woe be unto him who would argue with his maker. (Isaiah 45:9) We ought to thank Him for allowing us to exist, and each day we ought to thank Him for allowing us to exist for one more day.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
Praise Honor And Revere The Lord
“I will declare Your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise You. You who fear The Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him! Revere Him …” Psalms 22:22-23 (NIV)
This psalm begins with David lamenting his suffering and the suffering of our Lord, Jesus The Christ, and ends with exhortations to praise The Lord. The people were encouraged to praise, honor, and revere The Lord.
Given all that He has done for us, we ought to thank Him and praise Him, all day, every day. We ought to honor Him and revere Him by keeping His commandments and obeying His Word. Jesus said: "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Doing What Is Right
"All a man's ways seem right to him, but The Lord weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to The Lord than sacrifice." Proverbs 21:2-3 (NIV)
King Solomon said that everything that a man does seems right to him, but The Lord judges motives and intent as well as words and actions. Doing the right thing is only acceptable to The Lord when the heart of the person is sincere, not when one goes through the motions without believing.
Doing the right thing for the wrong reason does not impress God. Going through the motions of doing good, including going to church and worshipping, is not acceptable to God if one's heart is not right. If one does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and accept Him as their personal savior, then everything else that is done is a waste of time.
King Solomon said that everything that a man does seems right to him, but The Lord judges motives and intent as well as words and actions. Doing the right thing is only acceptable to The Lord when the heart of the person is sincere, not when one goes through the motions without believing.
Doing the right thing for the wrong reason does not impress God. Going through the motions of doing good, including going to church and worshipping, is not acceptable to God if one's heart is not right. If one does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and accept Him as their personal savior, then everything else that is done is a waste of time.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Give God Thanks
"Give thanks to The Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek The Lord rejoice. Look to The Lord and His strength; seek His face always." Psalms 105:1-4 (NIV)
In this psalm King David is encouraging Israel and us to give God thanks, to remember what He has done, to rejoice and praise Him for doing it, and to tell others about it as we continue to seek His face.
We are encouraged throughout the Bible to give thanks unto The Lord. Psalms 105, 106, 107, 118, and 136 all begin with the phrase, "O give thanks unto The Lord ..." and then they each go on to provide a reason for doing so. During this Thanksgiving holiday season, and every day into the future, we need to give God thanks. Express your joy and gratitude, and share them with others.
In this psalm King David is encouraging Israel and us to give God thanks, to remember what He has done, to rejoice and praise Him for doing it, and to tell others about it as we continue to seek His face.
We are encouraged throughout the Bible to give thanks unto The Lord. Psalms 105, 106, 107, 118, and 136 all begin with the phrase, "O give thanks unto The Lord ..." and then they each go on to provide a reason for doing so. During this Thanksgiving holiday season, and every day into the future, we need to give God thanks. Express your joy and gratitude, and share them with others.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
God Hears And Answers The Righteous
"The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. The Lord is far from the wicked but He hears the prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:28-29 (NIV)
King Solomon, the wisest man ever, said that a righteous man thinks before he speaks, and then he said that The Lord hears the prayers only of the righteous.
It is always a good thing for us to consider what we are about to say, before we say it. We should filter our thoughts, and not give utterance to all of them. The Lord does not fellowship with the wicked. However, The Lord is always near the righteous. He hears and answers their prayers. On our own, none of us are righteous. (Romans 3:10) If we are righteous, it is because we are part of the "many" that were made righteous by His death on the cross. (Romans 5:19) Just as righteousness was imputed to Abraham, it is also imputed to us, if we believe. (Romans 4:24) Because we believe, The Lord watches over us and hears our prayers. (1 Peter 3:12) Because we believe, that makes our prayers powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
King Solomon, the wisest man ever, said that a righteous man thinks before he speaks, and then he said that The Lord hears the prayers only of the righteous.
It is always a good thing for us to consider what we are about to say, before we say it. We should filter our thoughts, and not give utterance to all of them. The Lord does not fellowship with the wicked. However, The Lord is always near the righteous. He hears and answers their prayers. On our own, none of us are righteous. (Romans 3:10) If we are righteous, it is because we are part of the "many" that were made righteous by His death on the cross. (Romans 5:19) Just as righteousness was imputed to Abraham, it is also imputed to us, if we believe. (Romans 4:24) Because we believe, The Lord watches over us and hears our prayers. (1 Peter 3:12) Because we believe, that makes our prayers powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
Monday, November 19, 2012
Don't Care More For Things Than People
"But The Lord said, 'You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah 4:10-11 (NIV)
After God decided not to destroy the city of Nineveh after the people repented and turned from their evil ways, the prophet Jonah was angry because he did not want the people of Nineveh to be saved. So he left the city and found a place to sit down. God caused a vine to grow where he was and give him shade. Jonah was very happy about the vine, but the next day God caused a worm to chew on the vine and it withered and died. Because he had no protection from the sun and the wind, Jonah was angry about the loss of the vine, that was when God spoke to him.
Jonah was more concerned about the vine than he was about the people of Nineveh. Today some of us are more concerned about things than we are about some people, saints and lost sinners. Not only should we love our neighbors, but Jesus Christ said that we should love, bless, do good to, and pray for our enemies, those who curse us, hate us, and despitefully use us. (Matthew 5:44) When we pray for them, we should thank God for them, for the good that they do for others, and (if for nothing else) for helping us to grow spiritually. We should never care more for our things than we care for people, be they friends or not, saints or lost souls. Remember, we all have our sins and shortcomings, and we all need prayer and God's mercy. Every non-believer is a potential believer, only The Holy Spirit can convict, convince, and convert non-believers. Each of us was a not-believing lost soul at one time.
After God decided not to destroy the city of Nineveh after the people repented and turned from their evil ways, the prophet Jonah was angry because he did not want the people of Nineveh to be saved. So he left the city and found a place to sit down. God caused a vine to grow where he was and give him shade. Jonah was very happy about the vine, but the next day God caused a worm to chew on the vine and it withered and died. Because he had no protection from the sun and the wind, Jonah was angry about the loss of the vine, that was when God spoke to him.
Jonah was more concerned about the vine than he was about the people of Nineveh. Today some of us are more concerned about things than we are about some people, saints and lost sinners. Not only should we love our neighbors, but Jesus Christ said that we should love, bless, do good to, and pray for our enemies, those who curse us, hate us, and despitefully use us. (Matthew 5:44) When we pray for them, we should thank God for them, for the good that they do for others, and (if for nothing else) for helping us to grow spiritually. We should never care more for our things than we care for people, be they friends or not, saints or lost souls. Remember, we all have our sins and shortcomings, and we all need prayer and God's mercy. Every non-believer is a potential believer, only The Holy Spirit can convict, convince, and convert non-believers. Each of us was a not-believing lost soul at one time.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Salvation After Repentance
“ ‘But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from The Lord.’ And The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” (AND) “ ‘Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we will not perish.’ When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened.” Jonah 2:9-10 & 3:8-10 (NIV)
After the prophet Jonah prayed and repented in the belly of the great fish, God commanded the fish to vomit Jonah up on dry land. Jonah went to Nineveh and told them that God was going to destroy them in forty days because of their sinful ways. (Jonah 3:4) They believed, repented, and turned from their evil ways, and God spared them.
Because of God’s goodness and mercy, we do not always get the punishment that we deserve for our sins. This is especially true when we pray, ask for forgiveness, repent, turn from our sinful ways, and seek His face.
After the prophet Jonah prayed and repented in the belly of the great fish, God commanded the fish to vomit Jonah up on dry land. Jonah went to Nineveh and told them that God was going to destroy them in forty days because of their sinful ways. (Jonah 3:4) They believed, repented, and turned from their evil ways, and God spared them.
Because of God’s goodness and mercy, we do not always get the punishment that we deserve for our sins. This is especially true when we pray, ask for forgiveness, repent, turn from our sinful ways, and seek His face.
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