Month: August 2012

Viewing Psalms 100

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Purpose of the Psalm:  To call the whole earth to worship Jehovah.

” Barnes writes,” The idea of praise does not pertain to one nation only; that it was not appropriate for one people merely; that it should not be confined to the Hebrew people; but there was proper ground of praise for all, there was that in which all nations, of all languages and conditions could unite. The ground of that was that was they had one creator”.  [ verse three ]

In the five short verses of this Psalm we are told that worship is simple. This Psalm is one of thanksgiving and praise, one with a pattern.

Call to worship.  Verses 1,2.

Why God should be worshiped.  Verse 3.

Call to worship.  Verse 4.

Why God should be worshiped.  Verse 5.

In this short psalm, we find 7 elements of worship suggested:

Verse one.   Using our voices to make a joyful noise.

Verse 2a.  Serve the Lord with gladness.

Verse 2b. Come before Him with singing.

Verse 4a.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving.

Verse 4b.  Enter His courts with praise.

Verse 4c. Have a thankful heart.

Verse 4d.  Bless His name.

This Psalm tells us why we should praise Him for who He is:

Verse 3a.  He is God.

3b.  He is creator.

3c.  He is owner.

3d. He is Shepherd.

We are to praise Him because of His attributes:

Verse 5. He is good; His mercy endures forever; His truth endures forever.

All people on earth do dwell,

Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;

Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell!

Come before Him and rejoice,

Know that the Lord is God indeed.

Without our aid, He us did make;

We are His flock, He doth we feed,

And for His sheep, He doth us take.

Oh, enter His gates with praise

approach with joy His courts unto;

Praise, loud, and bless His name always

for it is seemly to do so.

For why? The Lord our God is good,

His mercy is forever sure;

His truth at all times firmly stood,

and shall from age to age endure.

~Scottish Psalter

[ blog prepared by Winston Staples ]

The Ride

Today I was looking out my window,

what a beautiful sunny day.

I saw my son’s four wheeler,

just sitting there,

inviting me to go the old woods road,

to where those red pine trees grow.

I crabbed my trusty old cane,

wobbled a long few steps,

to that old machine,

and away I did go,

to that beautiful place,

where the red pine trees grow.

The weather has been dry,

and there are no mud holes,

to go through.

The going was slow, over a log or two.

On the way back,

my front wheel got stuck,

and after a moment of rocking to and fro,

the wheel broke free,

and away I did go.

This reminds me of life,

and the trials we face,

as we get stuck in a rut,

as through life we race. When we calm down,

and seek help from above,

and thank God for His blessings,

that are given with love.

We find direction and peace,

and get unstuck,

O, what a wonderful release!

Following Our Leader

As Christians [ followers of Jesus ] we must walk the way He walked while here on earth. We are going to look at a few Scripture verses that tell us how we should follow the footsteps of Jesus.

Col. 1:3.3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

1/ verse 1– seek spiritual things from above.

2/ verse 2– set your affection on spiritual things from above, not worldly things. When we love worldly things, they may become idols.

3/ verse 3 — we are dead to earthly things; we have new life in Christ!

4/ verse 4 — one day we will appear with Christ in Glory!

5/ verses 5-9  we have a list of the worldly, sinful things we must avoid and not be a part of.

6/ verses 10-13 we have a list of things that are to become our nature as the new man. Things like love, mercy, joy, peace, meekness, humility all the fruit of the spirit. We are to forgive and forget and live in peace with mankind!

Favorite Quotes

Esther Kerr Rusthoi wrote about our journey to heaven in her hymn “When We See Christ”:
It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus;
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase;
So bravely run the race, till we see Christ!

Today, whether life is ordinary or difficult, keep pressing on. At the end of the journey, you will see the amazing place God has prepared for us. And it will be well worth it!

[ taken from Our Daily Bread  August 14/ 2012 issue ]

Favorite Psalms

Wint68

Today I am sharing two of my favorite Psalms which I believe go hand in hand with each other. These are Psalm 121 and 23.
Psalm 121
King James Version (KJV)
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm…

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Following Our Leader

I was sitting in the car the other day and noticed a dad and his son walking through the parking lot, it had been raining hard and there were water puddles everywhere. I noticed the boy was watching his father and following him as he walked around those water puddles. The other day as I was sitting in the back yard, I saw a mother and father robin teaching the young ones to fly. The young robins watched very closely how their parents taught them to use their wings. We too must walk so if others follow our steps we will not lead them into trouble. The best example for us to follow is that of Christ. In the next two blogs we are going to see some things about Christ’s example.

VIRTUES  SHOWN  BY CHRIST  AS  HE  WALKED:

Matt.11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.   Christ walked his journey in meekness!

Matt.16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.   Jesus taught self- denial as He walked!

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  Jesus taught that we should love one another!

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.   Jesus walked in obedience to His Father!

Phil.2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Phil.2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:   Jesus walked with humility!

[ to be continued ]

An Old Daily Bread

letter_writing
You have heard people mention something as being a blast from the past; Here is a writing from the past found in an old Daily Bread issue of August 1998. I trust you will enjoy it like I do!

Pray—And Plan!

August 31, 1998 — by Herbert Vander Lu
O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant. —Nehemiah 1:11

A recently widowed woman wants to remain in the house where she and her husband raised their children. Because she lives alone, she purchased a home alarm system. Now she feels hypocritical when she prays for protection. But she need not feel guilty. In the Bible, wise planning and humble dependence on God go hand-in-hand.

Nehemiah provides us with a biblical illustration of how to combine planning with prayer. He was a Jew far from home, working as cupbearer to the king of Persia. After the nation of Israel had been in captivity for 70 years, Cyrus, the first Persian king, allowed a number of Jews to go back home. Later, Ezra took more Jews back to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple. In the first chapter of Nehemiah, though, we read that the returned captives were having a terrible time, and the walls of the once great city of Jerusalem lay in ruins (v.3).

Nehemiah wept, fasted, and prayed when he heard about the distress of the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from exile. But he also acted, making careful plans and taking a great risk in asking the king for permission to help the Jews.

So too, if we maintain a humble dependence on God, it’s wise to do what we can. So pray—and plan!

Faith does not rule out common sense
In facing life each day,
But takes it by the hand and says,
“We’ll trust, we’ll plan, we’ll pray!” —DJD

The best plans begin and end with God.

Favorite Psalms

Today I am sharing two of my favorite Psalms which I believe go hand in hand with each other. These are Psalm 121 and 23.
Psalm 121
King James Version (KJV)
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm 23
King James Version (KJV)
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.