PSALM 31
David depends on the LORD verse 1- 5
In YOU – O LORD – do I put my trust
let me never be ashamed – deliver me in YOUR righteousness
bow down YOUR ear to me – deliver me speedily
be YOU my strong rock
for a house of defense to save me
FOR YOU are my rock and my fortress
THEREFORE for YOUR name’s sake lead me
and guide me
Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me
for YOU are my strength
into YOUR hand I commit my spirit
YOU have REDEEMED me
O LORD God of truth
David realizes the love of the LORD verse 6- 8
I have hated them that regard lying vanities
but I trust in the LORD
I will be glad and rejoice in YOUR mercy
for YOU have considered my trouble
YOU have known my soul in adversities
and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy
YOU have set my feet in a large room
David looks for mercy from the LORD verse 9- 13
Have mercy on me – O LORD – for I am in TROUBLE
mine eye is consumed with grief – yea – my soul and my belly
for my life is spent with grief – and my years with sighing
my strength fails because of mine iniquity
and my bones are consumed
I was a reproach among all mine enemies
BUT especially among my neighbors
and a fear to mine acquaintance
they that did see me without fled from me
I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind – I am like a broken vessel
FOR I have heard the slander of many
fear was on every side
while they took counsel together against me
they devised to take away my life
David wants lying lips to be sealed verse 14- 18
BUT I trusted in YOU– O LORD
I said
YOU are my God – my times are in YOUR hand
deliver me from the hand of mine enemies
and from them that persecute me
Make YOUR face to shine upon YOUR servant
save me for YOUR mercies’ sake
Let me not be ashamed – O LORD – for I have called upon YOU
let the wicked be ashamed – let them be silent in the grave
let the lying lips be put to silence
which speak grievous things proudly
and contemptuously against the righteous
David believes the LORD protects verse 19- 20
Oh how great is YOUR goodness
which YOU have laid up for them that fear YOU
which YOU have wrought for them that trust in YOU
before the sons of men
YOU shall hide them in the secret of YOUR presence
from the pride of man
YOU shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
from the strife of tongues
David praises LORD for answered prayer verse 21- 22
BLESSED be the LORD
for HE has shown me HIS marvelous kindness in a strong city
For I said in my haste
I am cut off from before YOUR eyes
nevertheless YOU heard the voice of my supplications
when I cried to YOU
David wants all to love the LORD verse 23- 24
O love the LORD – all you HIS saints
for the LORD preserves the faithful
and plentifully reward the proud doer
Be of good courage – and HE shall strengthen your heart
all you that hope in the LORD
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 In YOU, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver
me in YOUR righteousness. (6403 “deliver” [palat] means to escape, to be free, to bring out, to save, to free form harm or evil, or in some cases from imprisonment)
DEVOTION: Many of God’s servants have been put into prison for one reason or another. Most of the time it was not for them doing something against God but against those who were in authority that were not representing the God of the bible.
So hear is David asking the LORD to not allow him to serve time in captivity of any sort. He was running at times from his enemies but he was always trying to trust the LORD for deliverance. We have to do the same. Sometimes HE delivers from imprisonment but at other times HE allows HIS servants to be in prison for a reason.
Many have been saved by those who were believers that were in prison and then were released later. Some gave a testimony to those around them but didn’t see results at that time. God knows that HE can use imprisonment to cause Christians to grow and others to be saved.
We have to trust the LORD in every situation HE allows us to be in as we try to serve HIM to the best of our ability. No matter the situation we need to trust the LORD and realize that HE is doing what is best for us and for those around us.
We can all pray for deliverance from bad situations. HE knows what is best for us and for our witness for HIM.
CHALLENGE: Our trust in the LORD has to be one that it doesn’t matter where HE sends us we are willing to serve in that place.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
:3 “For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.” (The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982) (Rock 5553 סֶלַע [celaʿ /seh·lah/] n m. From an unused root meaning to be lofty; TWOT 1508a; GK 6152; 60 occurrences; AV translates as “rock” 57 times, “strong hold” once, “stones” once, and “stony” once. 1 crag, cliff, rock. 1A crag, cliff. 1B as stronghold of Jehovah, of security (fig.). James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: It is a great thing to know that the Lord is directing you and assisting you in the path that He has instructed you to go. Even when that path is difficult to walk in, it is comforting to know that you were directed there by the Holy Spirit and he will lead you each step of the way!
David was confident even when the enemy was all around him and defeat seemed imminent. The same confident resting in God during the onslaught of the wicked was expressed by the Savior (Luke 23:46). A sufferer who has faith in God may pray to Him and leave the problem in His hands (1 Peter 4:19). Are you facing a difficult decision this week? Are you looking at the enemy’s assault on your faith? Face it like the psalmist did from the security of the rock and fortress that surrounded him and kept him.
CHALLENGE: Take a moment to recognize the walls of security that the Lord has placed around you in the preparation for the battle this week! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. (8104 “regard” [shamar] means to keep, watch over, guard, to conform one’s action or practice to, be careful about, retain, observe, or be careful about)
DEVOTION: There are people that we know that seem to enjoy lying about things. Sometimes they might not even realize that they are lying but they keep talking anyway. It is hard to be friends with people that don’t have a problem with lying about other people.
We need to be people that tell the truth or not say anything at all when we are asked about certain things. Too often those that lie are trying to make themselves look better than other people, so they say things that are not true about them to help others think better of themselves.
David met people who would lie to get ahead and we have met them as well. We have to make sure that we are not one of those people who has to lie to get ahead in our world.
The LORD wants us to be truthful in our relationship with others. Sometimes it is not as easy with some as it is with others but it is something that we have to work on if we are going to keep a good testimony with the LORD.
We will run into people that have a problem with this and if they are believers we need to teach them what David is trying to teach here that they need to learn not to lie about what they know or say things that they know are not true to make themselves look better to others.
God is listening to our conversations as believers. HE is also listening to the conversations of those who are not followers of HIM and what they say about believers. HE is the best defender that we have in our world. Trust HIM to take care of those who lie about you.
CHALLENGE: Don’t make those who enjoy lying about others your friends. Also, wait on the LORD to deal with those who lie about you. HE is your best defender.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:22 “For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before YOUR eyes:
Nevertheless you heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to YOU.” (“Haste,” 2648 חָפַז [chaphaz], 1 to hurry, flee, hasten, fear, be terrified. 1a to be in a hurry, be alarmed. 1b to be in a hurry. [Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software]
DEVOTION: David admits that he made a hasty statement about his relationship before God. It looked as though everything was against him, and he concluded that his life was going to come to an end. Yet he admits he did so without consulting God or asking God for His help. Finally, he realized that it wasn’t his own lack of strength that would decide what would happen to him. That was when he turned to God for His divine intervention.
It is often in our times of weakness that we are forced to admit that we do not have the resources necessary to carry on. We would like God to take away our weaknesses (or better yet, not give us any weaknesses). We may even have a health problem that threatens to end our life. Yet Paul discovered that God works through our weaknesses in order to give Himself glory (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). He wants us to call out to Him in these times, and intervenes in His time and way.
Being in a hurry can blur our vision. Our culture is bent on scurrying from one thing to the next, without taking time to reflect. We rush from one activity to another, and then wonder why we fall exhausted in our beds at night. David’s warning is that in these times of haste and exhaustion we should not make any difficult or life-changing decisions, precisely because we have not sought God and His wisdom.
So there are seasons in our lives when we must slow down and not hurry God to finish the work He has started in our lives. Patience is the antidote to haste, and we should be asking God to help us patiently see life from His perspective.
CHALLENGE: Have you made a rash statement that is not honoring to God? Humble yourself and take it back. Are you spending your life hurrying from one thing to the next? Slow down! Are you in a rush for God to do something in your life? Remember that He takes His time in order to give Himself the glory! (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
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: 23 O love the LORD, all you his saints: for the LORD preserves the faithful, and plentifully rewards the proud doer. (1346 “proud” [ga’avah] means arrogance, pride, conceit, haughtiness, highness, or swelling.)
DEVOTION: The history of David is found in his writings. He wrote about most of the occasions in his life. He said many prayers to the LORD because of all the different trials he went through. He depended on the LORD. He depended on prayer. He saw the LORD work when he depended on HIM.
This is a prayer psalm. David is complimenting the LORD on HIS ability to deliver him. David is asking the LORD to deal with his enemies. David is asking the LORD for strength to face each day.
He is telling the LORD that he trusts HIM. He is telling the LORD that he fears or reverences HIM. He tells the rest of the children of Israel to trust the LORD.
He knows that many plot against him. Sometimes it is those who are outside the camp of Israel but many times it is those who are fellow Israelites that are trying to kill him.
He acknowledges that he is a sinner but has confessed his sin. There are many who think that they sin less than those who are in leadership. They are quick to judge them unworthy. They think that their sins are less offensive to God that others. The Bible makes it clear that all sin is offensive to God. HE informs us that gossip is just as sinful as murder.
All those who are true followers of the LORD are called saints. There are Old Testament saints or ones who are faithful to the LORD.
David wants this group to know that the LORD is going to preserve or protect HIS followers. He also warns that HE will deal with those who are arrogant or prideful.
We should want to be part of the group that is true followers of the LORD. This group knows that they are sinners but come into the LORD’S presence in prayer and humility and ask for forgiveness. Once we are a true follower, we need to daily depend on HIM. How dependent have we been today? How judgmental have we been today regarding those who are in leadership? Do we realize that our sin is just as bad as those around us?
Think about keeping a daily journal of your walk with the LORD. Record your prayers of thanksgiving for the times that the LORD delivers you from your trials. Each month look back to see how blessed you are of the LORD. Then when you attend a worship service sing praises to the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Express your love for the LORD with praise. Express your love for the LORD by helping others. Express your love for the LORD by acting like a forgiven saint!!! Humility is very important in the presence of the LORD)
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Prayer of David verse 1- 24
Wants the LORD to bow down HIS ear
Called upon the LORD
Knows LORD heard his supplications
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 5, 6, 9, 14,
17, 21, 23, 24
Righteousness verse 1
Deliverer verse 2, 4
Strong rock verse 2, 3
House of defense verse 2
Savior verse 2
Fortress verse 3
Leader verse 3
Guide verse 3
Strength verse 4
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 5, 14
LORD God of truth verse 5
Knows soul in adversities verse 7
Mercy verse 16
Goodness of the LORD verse 19
Preserves the faithful verse 23
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Enemy verse 8, 11, 15
Neighbors verse 11
Wicked verse 17
Sons of men verse 19
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Lying vanities verse 6
Iniquity verse 10
Slander verse 13
Enemies of believers verse 15
Persecute believers verse 15
Wicked verse 17
Lying lips verse 18, 20
Proud verse 18, 23
Contemptuous verse 18
Pride verse 20
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Trust verse 1, 6, 14, 19
Never be ashamed verse 1
Deliverance verse 1, 2, 15
Prayer verse 2, 22
Strength verse 2, 4, 10, 24
Lead verse 3
Guide verse 3
Redeemed verse 5
Glad verse 7
Rejoice verse 7
Mercy verse 9, 16
Times in God’s hands verse 15
Servant verse 16
Righteous verse 18
Fear of the LORD verse 19
Goodness verse 19
Presence verse 20
Kindness verse 21
Love verse 23
Saints verse 23
Faithful verse 23
Reward for proud doers verse 23
Good courage verse 24
Hope verse 24
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
David verse 1-
Trusts in the LORD
Wants LORD to deliver
Wants LORD to hear his prayer
Commits his spirit to the LORD
Hate those who lie
LORD considers the trouble around him
Life with grief and sighing
Has iniquity in his life
Feels forgotten as a dead man
Feels like a broken vessel
His times are in God’s hands
Wants face to shine
Servant of the LORD
Blesses the LORD
Kindness of the LORD
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Dead man verse 12
Take away life verse 13
Grave verse 17
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QUOTES regarding passage
24. Let your heart take courage could equally be translated ‘he shall strengthen your heart’, as in av. The latter seems the more meaningful: an assurance of help to those who dare to count on it, rather than a double exhortation. But in either case it does not promise an end to trouble: rather (cf. Luke 22:42, 43) the strength to meet it. (Kidner, D. (1973). Psalms 1–72: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, p. 150). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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Ver. 24.—Be of good courage (see the comment on Ps. 27:14). And he (i.e. God) shall strengthen your heart. “To those who have it shall be given.” If they did their best to “be of good courage” when danger and difficulty assailed them, then God would give them supernatural aid, strengthening their hearts with his gracious favour. All ye that hope in the Lord; literally, all ye that hope for the Lord; i.e. that hope for his help—that wait on him (see Job 14:14; and comp. Ps. 33:18, 22), and look to him as your Deliverer. (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 229). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company)
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31:19–24. David praised the Lord (How great is Your goodness) for His protection of the faithful in general (vv. 19–20), and for delivering him by His love (v. 21; cf. vv. 7, 16) in spite of David’s unbelief (v. 22). On the basis of what he had learned about the Lord’s deliverance of the faithful, he encouraged the saints to be strong in their faith and hope in the Lord (vv. 23–24). (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 818). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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However, at one point, David may have been ready to give up: “In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’ ” (v. 22, and see 30:6). It wasn’t the enemy that frightened him but the thought of being abandoned by the God he trusted and served. He did what all of us must do when we sense that God is no longer near: he cried out to the Lord for His mercy, and the Lord answered. When the terrible experience of the rebellion was over, David spoke to the people (vv. 23–24) and gave God the glory for delivering him. David had written about his faith in the Lord (vv. 1, 6, 14, 19), but now he encourages his people to love the Lord and put their hope in him. Faith, hope, and love always go together (1 Cor. 13:13). The courage and strength we need in the trials of life are available from the Lord if we will put our faith in Him. Let’s be sure that we give Him the glory. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be worshipful (1st ed., p. 122). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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31:24 Be strong … take courage. A sing. form of this pl. imperative was addressed to Joshua in 1:7. It is used nearly 20 times in the OT, particularly in anticipation of battle. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ps 31:24). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Psalm 31. Two-thirds of this poem could well be by Jeremiah (cf. vv. 7–18 with Jer. 20:7–13; vv. 6, 12, 13, 18 also echo Jeremiah). The psalmist affirms his devotion to God’s service fifteen times, making only passing reference to guilt. Yet affliction, enmity, physical distress, social rejection, slander, and conspiracy beset him. He had felt like a city besieged, a lost child, and dreaded becoming ensnared and ashamed.
Why this should be is not considered. How to react is more important. The psalmist holds fast to all he has known of God (vv. 5, 7, 8, 16, 19, 21–23). Second, he takes refuge from men in God; images of safety abound (vv. 1, 2, 3, 19, 20). Third, he commits to God his inmost self, his times, his trust. The consequence: he can recommend all to remain faithful and take heart. (White, R. E. O. (1995). Psalms. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 378). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
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Ver. 24. Be of good courage, and he shall strenghten your heart, &c.] See the note on Psal. 27:14. by this instance of God’s wonderful kindness to the psalmist, he would have the saints take heart, and be of good cheer, even in the greatest distresses, since their case cannot be worse than his was; and yet he had deliverance out of it. All ye that hope in the Lord; for the eye of the Lord is on such, and he takes delight in them, Psal. 33:18 and 147:11. The Targum is, who hope for, or trust in the word of the Lord; the essential Word, the promised Messiah. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 658). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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24. “Be of good courage.” Keep up your spirit, let no craven thoughts blanch your cheek. Fear weakens, courage strengthens. Victory waits upon the banners of the brave. “And he shall strengthen your heart.” Power from on high shall be given in the most effectual manner by administering force to the fountain of vitality. So far from leaving us, the Lord will draw very near to us in our adversity, and put his own power into us. “All ye that hope in the Lord.” Every one of you, lift up your heads and sing for joy of heart. God is faithful, and does not fail even his little children who do but hope, wherefore then should we be afraid? (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 27-57 (Vol. 2, p. 65). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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GOD IS LOVE
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:7-8
“God is love.” No one can answer against that; one trembles even to handle it; it cannot be analyzed. I simply want to point out that John does not say merely that God loves us or that God is loving. He goes beyond that. He says, “God is love.” God essentially is love; God’s nature is love; you cannot think of God without love.
Of course he has already told us that God is light in exactly the same way—that was the first pronouncement. “This then is the message…God is light” (1 John 1:5); and in exactly the same way “God is love” and God is spirit. This battles the imagination; it is something that is altogether beyond our comprehension, and yet we start with it.
Augustine and others deduce from this the doctrine of the Trinity. I think there may be a great deal in that; the very fact that God is love declares the Trinity—God the Father loves the Son, and the link is the person of the Holy Spirit. Ah! this high doctrine; it is beyond us. All I know is that God, in the very essence of His nature and being, is love, and you cannot think of God and must not think of Him except in terms of love. Everything that God is and does is colored by this; all God’s actions have this aspect of love in them and the aspect of light in the same way. That is how God always manifests Himself—light and love.
“Therefore, because that is the fundamental postulate, because that is so true of God,” John is saying, “that works itself out for us like this: Because God is love, we ought to love one another. For ‘love is of God.’” In other words, love is from God, love flows from God. It is as if John were turning to these people and saying, “God loves, and this love I am talking about is something that only comes from God—it is derived from Him.”
A Thought to Ponder
God, in the very essence of His nature and being, is love.
(From The Love of God, p. 43, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).
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Why God Allows Choice
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16)
It is absolutely clear that God is love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:19). Therefore, many have suggested that such a unilateral love as is cited in the above texts would require that God eliminate any judgment for disobedience to His commands, or that He create such a condition that all humanity would naturally love God as part of their basic personality.
The apparent conflict is often repeated in the false logic “If God loves the world and is all powerful, why would He allow evil?” Simply put, the answer is this: God is love; God loves mankind; love requires that a choice be made; choice allows for the possible rejection of God’s unilateral love. God, therefore, created humanity with the ability to positively respond to His love—or to consciously reject His offer of love.
The simple truth of the Scriptures is inescapable.
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
God allows for the possibility of evil so that human love may exist. The Lord reiterates His promise to bless Israel for faithfulness and to judge her for sin.
(The Institute for Creation Research HMM III)
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INSIGHT
Three things happen when Israel lives in a righteous relationship with the Lord. First, God is glorified. Second, Israel is blessed, receiving the fullness of life for which she longs. Third, the unsaved world is drawn to want to know God because of the magnificent picture they see of Him.
Because so much hinges on Israel’s standing before God, the Lord makes it clear to her how serious her position is. If she will trust and obey Him, He will bless Israel forever. However, if she lives in sin, He will utterly destroy her. (Quiet Walk)
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A REVIVAL’S OVERWHELMING CHARACTER
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. Joshua 4:24
A revival is something that, when it happens, leads people to say, as the townspeople said in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, “What is this? What is it?” It is something that comes like a tornado. It is almost like an overflowing tide; it is like a flood. Astounding things happen, and of such a magnitude that men are left amazed, astonished.
Let me give you an illustration that is one of the most lyrical and one of the most wonderful. There was a preacher in Scotland three hundred years ago by the name of John Livingstone of Kilsyth. John Livingstone and a number of others had been spending Sunday night after the services in prayer. Monday morning came, and John Livingstone had been asked to preach. He was out in the fields meditating, and suddenly he felt that he could not preach, that the thing was beyond him and that he was inadequate. And he felt like running away. But suddenly the voice of God seemed to speak to him, not in audible language, but in his spirit, telling him not to do that and that God did not work in that way, and it made him feel that he must go back. He preached, he tells us, on Ezekiel 36. And he said, “I preached for about an hour and a half.”
Then, “ he said, I began to apply my message,” and as he was beginning to apply it, suddenly the Spirit of God came upon him, and he went on for another hour in this application. And as he did so, people were literally falling to the ground, and in that one service five hundred people were converted.
That is the kind of thing that happens in a revival. And poor John Livingstone says that kind of thing only happened to him on one other occasion.
A Thought to Ponder: Revival is almost like an overflowing tide; it is like a flood. (From Revival, pp. 115-116, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Your New Expectations
“This I say . . . that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk.” (Ephesians 4:17)
This succinct command is quickly followed by a sweeping description of the impotent mind of the Gentiles in contrast to the utterly changed condition of the believer. The Gentiles have a darkened perceptive ability, rendering them alienated because of the “ignorance that is in them” and an overall “blindness of their heart” that is the root cause of their inability to function, even to feel, in the same way as the children of God (Ephesians 4:18-19; compare Romans 1:21-32 and 2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
However, the saint of God is told to discard the “old man” and to “put on the new man” (Ephesians 4:20-24)—as though that simple picture of a powerful reality is adequate instruction to fulfill the earlier command. No longer is the child of God to be “corrupt” by the “deceitful lusts” of their old condition, but having “learned Christ” and “been taught by him,” the saint is to “be renewed in the spirit of [their] mind.” A transformation is now possible through the new mental (intellectual, spiritual) abilities given to us by Christ (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:16).
We are responsible to wear the new man like a body-enveloping cloak, created for us by the omniscient Creator “in righteousness and true holiness.” Don’t miss this! We have been given a specially created new man to wear (externally visible) that will show (exhibit, demonstrate, make clear) the spiritual difference between the Gentiles and the saints of God.
The 17 commands that follow in Ephesians 4:25–5:7 address every aspect of the Christian walk, all relating to a lifestyle of truth, giving specific contrast between the Gentile and the saint. (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Totally Exposed by Barbara Rainey
With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. EPHESIANS 4:2
One weekend our two family photographers—daughter-in-law Stephanie and oldest daughter, Ashley—were together taking photos of Ashley’s little boys. My favorite is one of little James, who was about 18 months old at the time, in his birthday suit. The dark backdrop in the photo highlighted the purity of his new little body with its clear, soft skin. The pose they captured showed James innocently and playfully on his hands and knees, looking to the side with a precious grin on his face. It will be a treasured photo for years to come.
As photographers, Stephanie and Ashley had a choice. They could have placed little James in the backyard mud and then irritated him to make him mad so that they could capture his little sin nature on film forever (which would have been much easier to do)! Instead they chose to focus on his best qualities. And because he was naked, they carefully chose an angle that hid his male parts from view, knowing it would be distracting in the final photo and that James would likely be embarrassed by it someday.
Like little James, we are naked and exposed before each other in marriage. No one knows your wife’s or husband’s sin, shame and failures the way you do. But marriage was designed by God to be a place of comfort and safety, not condemnation and critique.
Each of us brings our own set of flaws with us when we marry, and unfortunately, we add new ones to them as time goes along. But marriage should be the best place for two imperfect people to find acceptance and ongoing forgiveness . . . as well as the courage to change and grow. (Moments with You Couples Devotional)
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1 Timothy 2
Public worship should include intercession for our nation’s leaders.
INSIGHT
Praying for our state, national, and world leaders is a biblical responsibility and should be a part of our regular public worship. The ultimate focus of our prayers for our country and its leaders is evangelism. Paul teaches that we are first to pray that “we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (v. 2). In a free and peaceful setting, our love for God should flow easily and, therefore, evangelism should be a natural result. God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (v. 4). Is this your greatest desire as well? (Quiet Walk)
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