I'm in Awe!

Let me start out by asking you a few questions.

(Q) Have you ever heard the phrase, the natural consequences of your actions?
(Q) Have you ever done something you shouldn’t have and gotten away with it but still feel badly or experience some other negative consequence because of it?

Asking yourselves questions like these will lead you to one place, growth. Growth in the area of wisdom. One one of the greatest places to find a huge amount of wisdom is found in the Psalms.

Many of the psalms make use of proverbs, numerical series, acrostics, and comparisons. These psalms also use direct instruction to teach and often do so by declaring the importance of godliness in speech, work, use of wealth, etc.. This is were we will find and grow the wisdom that we need.

Psalm 1 is a good example of gaining wisdom.

Psalm 1 (NIV)
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

This psalm serves as a prologue for the entire Psalter and vividly portrays the type of person who will pray the spasm and be instructed by them. This person is a person of faith who is a believer in and a follower of the one true God. This person finds his joy in God’s Law. The word translated as blessed comes from the Hebrew word רשׁאָ is the Hebrew verb that means to go straight, go forward, or advance. When it takes the form of a noun(only in the plural construct form) אשרי it means happiness or blessedness.

In verse three we find that righteousness is described by way of a comparison to trees planted by streams of water. By reminding us that trees flourish when they are planted next to the source of their greatest need (water) the psalmist teaches us that the state of happiness or blessedness is not a reward but just the result, or natural consequence, of being close to our greatest need (God). Verses five and six describe the wicked and the result of their lifestyles. The final verse sums up the psalmist’s lesson: there are basically two types of people, those who follow God, are fed by his instruction and are happy (blessed) and those who are wicked and doomed, not as a punishment but as a natural consequence of their behavior.

Grow in Wisdom today.

David

I'm in Awe!

Last night while attending a home group, the facilitator (one or your assisting pastor’s) read from Isaiah 66:1-2)

Isaiah 66:1-2 reads, “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word.”

We spend a long time talking about what it means to tremble at His Word.

Reading this morning, I came across another interesting verse found in Psalms 119. It says, “Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of Thy Word.

Weather we use the word tremble, or standing in awe, it would be a waste of words if it doesn’t move us. May I suggest a few thoughts of were we could move?

First, we are to tremble at the conviction of God’s holy Word. This we see in the example of the godly remnant in Ezra’s time. Concerning this godly remnant Ezra stated in Ezra 9:4, “Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.” They trembled at God’s Word because of the transgression of the people. They trembled at the conviction of God’s holy Word.

Second, we are to tremble for the counsel of God’s holy Word. This we see in the example of the Philippian jailor. Concerning him Acts 16:29-30 reads, “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” First, the piercing of God’s holy Word brought to his heart the conviction of sin and of his need of salvation. Then this jailor came to Paul and Silas trembling and seeking to know what the Lord would have him to do that he might be saved. He came trembling for the counsel of God’s holy Word. In like manner, when the Lord Jesus Christ spoke from heaven and confronted Saul on the road to Damascus, Acts 9:6 states concerning Saul, “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” After receiving the conviction of God’s holy Word, He then trembled for the counsel of God’s holy Word.

Third, we are to tremble in obeying the commands of God’s holy Word. This we again see in the example of the godly remnant in Ezra’s time. In Ezra 10:3 they expressed their commitment unto the Lord, saying, “Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the Law.” They trembled at the commandments of God. Yea, they trembled unto commitment and obedience.

So, how are you looking and responding at the Word’s of God. Does it move you? I hope so.

David

Have a great week.

What is the Will of God . . .Really!

I really like talking to my friends on Sunday Morning . . .It's a blast. This last Sunday we talked about the "Will of God". Looking back at y church history, I would have to say that my life was filled with a myopic view of the Will of God. Not that His will is small, but it seemed like we, his kids, spent a lot of time trying to figure out every jot and titel of it. You can spend a lot of soul energy this one thing, so much that you don't have a lot of time left for doing His Will.

Isn't that the important part? Doing His will. I think so! We are told clearly in Romans 12 that God's will is that we would change, and in the changing, we would discover what His will is. But it's up to us to decided to change. So getting changing and find the will of God for you.

Have a great week.

What do you write on a Bio?

So last week, I was asked to write a biographical about my time in ministry. Now I know the drill, but nothing really of importance goes on the standard form. There are no names of people that helped you grow, there is no mention of the tough times that you went through that molded you into the person you are today, there is not laughter or love.

But I must write the standard bla bla bla. I’m encourage to think that God will not use the standard Biographical form with it comes to my life.

Have a great week.

David

Can you hear me Now?

Isn't it amazing that we know more about cell phones then we know about prayer?

Most everyone that carries a phone knows knows more about when and where the connections of there local area will send a great signal or a bad signal. How many times have you been talking to someone who is talking on a cell phone and they say to you "hey, I might loose you, I'm heading into a bad cell, I might loose you". You been there, haven't you.

Like I said, we know more about cell phone interference then we know about prayer interference.
And let me tell you, we all have a lot of prayer interference, don't we. Why don't you pause a moment and think about this a moment. What things do interfere with the your prayer signal?

Have a great day!

David