PSALM 46
Deliverance from all troubles available verse 1- 3
God is our refuge and strength
a very present help in trouble
THEREFORE we will not fear
though the earth be removed
though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea
though the waters thereof roar and be troubled
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof
SELAH
Presence of the LORD available verse 4- 6
There is a river – the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved – God shall help her and that right early The heathen raged – the kingdoms were moved HE uttered HIS voice – the earth melted
Chorus verse 7
The LORD of hosts is with us
the God of Jacob is our refuge SELAH
Omnipotent LORD available verse 8- 9
Come – BEHOLD the works of the LORD what desolations HE has made in the earth
HE makes wars to cease to the end of the earth HE breaks the bow – and cuts the spear in sunder HE burns the chariot in the fire Honor the LORD verse 10
Be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the heathen
I will be exalted in the earth Chorus The LORD of hosts is with us
the God of Jacob is our refuge SELAH
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (4268 “refuge” [machaceh] means someone turned to for assistance or security, shelter from danger, the person to whom one flees, or place free from danger.
DEVOTION: Once we become a believer we continue to need help in our growth in the LORD. The Bible tells us that we need to go moment by moment to HIM for help to grow in the LORD.
We need to ask HIM to come alongside us as we make decisions. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom as we walk in this world. It is not easy for us to give up our decision making to the LORD. We like our independence. We want to do things ourselves. This is a hinderance to our growth in the LORD.
The Psalmist is say that he knows that the only assistance we need is supposed to come from the LORD. We are fighting a battle against the world, the flesh and the devil. Each of them can defeat our growth in the LORD.
Our mental strength needs to come from our time in the Word of God and prayer. IF we keep these practices faithfully then we can see HIM being a very present help in times of trouble or temptation.
God wants us to depend on HIM for strength. Too often we think we can do it on our own and we fail and wonder why. This is because on our own we are really weak in the area of resistance. With HIS help we are really strong.
CHALLENGE: PLEASE understand that we can’t do it alone. HE is our strength. HE provides our power to resist temptation and be the servant we are supposed to be.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
:2 “Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). Fear – 3372 יָרֵא, יָרֵא [yareʾ /yaw·ray/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 907, 908; GK 3707 and 3708; 314 occurrences; AV translates as “fear” 188 times, “afraid” 78 times, “terrible” 23 times, “terrible thing” six times, “dreadful” five times, “reverence” three times, “fearful” twice, “terrible acts” once, and translated miscellaneously eight times. 1 to fear, revere, be afraid. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to fear, be afraid. 1A2 to stand in awe of, be awed. 1A3 to fear, reverence, honour, respect. 1B (Niphal). 1B1 to be fearful, be dreadful, be feared. 1B2 to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe. 1B3 to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe. 1C (Piel) to make afraid, terrify. 2 (TWOT) to shoot, pour. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: Fear can be an awful experience. Often it is unfounded and the thing we fear is not real but it still affects us and causes us to become paralyzed and uncertain. The psalmist reminds the believer that the Lord is the opposite of fear and will provide for us in every situation. In verse one, God is “our refuge and strength” may be rephrased as “our impenetrable defense.” He is our wall of security! In verses two and three, whether the war is celestial or involved even the shaking of mountains and causing the seas to roar, it makes no difference. God is a refuge for His people against everything actual or imagined.
As you face the fears that are in your life today remember what the psalmist is saying and apply it to your situation. God does not allow anything to come upon His children that do not pass through His analysis and approval!
CHALLENGE: Only trust Him, who holds you in His hands! (John 10:28) (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved” God shall help her, and that right early. (5826 “help” [‘azar] means assist, to give help or assistance, be of service, come to the aid of, support, or succor.)
DEVOTION: The presence of the LORD was in the midst of Jerusalem because the Temple was there. The priests were active in offering sacrifices to the LORD. The people were bring the sacrifices to the Temple to show the LORD their dependence on HIM. The king encouraged the worship of the LORD.
So the nation was in tune with the LORD because of their worship from the king on down to the poorest of people. If this was happening then the LORD can bless the people. When it wasn’t happening the people were depending on their own strength to get them through.
God wants us to realize that HE is a very present help in our time of need today. HE wants us to trust HIM to help us defeat the world, the flesh and the devil. We can’t do it alone.
In the Old Testament times the people of God were always going the wrong way by not depending on the LORD alone. They thought that they could worship the LORD and other gods. Or they thought that they could worship other gods and not even worship the LORD.
We are a fickle people even today. We think that we can go to church on Sunday and do what we please the rest of the week and God would be satisfied. If we think that way we will soon learn that HE wants us to worship HIM in spirit and in truth every moment of every day.
We don’t live in Jerusalem today. We don’t look to Jerusalem today for help. We go to the LORD regularly for help through prayer and fasting. We know when we need extra strength to fight temptation. The devil is just as real today as he was in the Old Testament.
CHALLENGE: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and HE will help you with every need and HE can do it quickly.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:7 “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”(“Hosts,” 6635 צָבָא [tsaba’], 1 that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host. 1a army, host. 1a1 host (of organized army). 1a2 host (of angels). 1a3 of sun, moon, and stars. 1a4 of whole creation. 1b war, warfare, service, go out to war. 1c service. [Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software]).
DEVOTION: Throughout the Old Testament God is referred to as a God of hosts or armies. It is an acknowledgement that He leads an army that is vast in number. In ancient armies, the one with the largest number of warriors often won, since wars were decided on the basis of numerical superiority rather than today’s technology or military strategy. Kings would align their nations with whoever they thought had the largest and most well-equipped army, and so become vassal states of the largest nation or alliance of nations.
Who are the hosts mentioned in this verse (and repeated in verse 11)? This identification of God is first mentioned in Joshua 5:14-15, where there is a theophany (a pre-incarnate appearance of God to man) to Joshua prior to his conquering Jericho. There the army of God is compared to the army of Israel. In the New Testament, this idea is picked up by Jude, who mentions that there were thousands of His “holy ones” prophesied by Enoch who are ready to execute judgment on the ungodly (Jude 15). The best interpretation of “hosts” is angelic beings who are arrayed in battle against demonic forces. God does not want us to know too much about angels, but lets us know about them so that we will realize that they are servants of an Almighty God.
We may be oblivious to the spiritual warfare going on around us all the time, but God sends angels to minister and help us in our spiritual battles. Right now it may appear as though the forces of evil are winning, but God is demonstrating His grace and His longsuffering in order to allow people to come to faith in Him. He promised to come again in triumph over the forces of evil, and those who are on His side will be on the winning side!
CHALLENGE: In whom are you trusting? How big is your God? Remember that He is the one with multiple thousands of angels on His side! This means His victory in battle is sure. (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
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: 10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (7311 “exalted” [ruwm] means to rise, to rise up, be lofty, be uplifted or to be set on high.)
DEVOTION: How many of us know how to relax? How many take a day off a week? Should we ever take time off and go to a cabin alone and do nothing? In our present culture this seems impossible. There seems to be no down time. Every minute seems to be full of something. We don’t have any time to relax. Here the LORD is speaking through the psalmist and telling those who are followers of the LORD to relax in HIM. They are being told to realize that God is working in HIS time and in HIS way in our lives.
This psalm informs the children of Israel that the LORD is over nature. HE is over the enemies of Israel. HE is over the whole world. This verse informed the world that HE is in control.
The words “be still” mean that the world has no force against HIM that can stop HIS plans. When Christ told the storm to stop and it did that scared the disciples. HE was saying the same thing as what is found in this verse. HE was in control.
In the end HE is going to be lifted up. In the end HE is going to be worshiped. In the end HE is going to judge the world. They are all going to know that HE is God.
Martin Luther wrote the song “A mighty fortress is our God” based on this psalm. Our God is a refuge in times of trouble. HE is our refuge. Do we understand how great a God we serve? Too often we think too little of HIM. HE can calm any storm in our lives. HE can accompany us through the storm. Have we asked for HIS help in the right way at the right time? Do we lift HIM up when HE answers our prayers?
CHALLENGE: In our times of trouble, we should be singing the song: Be exalted O LORD above the Heavens. We need to sing in the storms of life. It will show absolute trust in the LORD!!! Are we relaxed???
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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 to believer’s refuge verse 1- 11
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Holy place verse 4
Tabernacles verse 4
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11
Refuge verse 1, 7
Strength verse 1
Present help in trouble verse 1
City of God verse 4
Most High verse 4
HE utters HIS voice = the earth melted verse 6
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 7, 8, 11
LORD of hosts verse 7, 11
God of Jacob verse 7, 11
Works of the LORD verse 8, 9
Desolations HE makes on the earth
Makes wars to cease
Breaks the bow
Cuts the spear in sunder
Burns the chariot in the fire
Wants us to be still before HIM because
HE is God verse 10
HE is exalted in the earth verse 10
HE is with us verse 11
HE is a refuge verse 11
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)
Heathen verse 6, 10
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Refuge verse 1, 7, 11
Strength verse 1
Help in trouble verse 1, 5
No fear verse 2
Presence of the LORD verse 7, 11
Be still verse 10
Know verse 10
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
City of God (Jerusalem) verse 4, 5
God is in the midst
She shall not be moved
Help comes from God
Help comes early
Holy place verse 4
Tabernacles verse 4
Jacob verse 7, 11
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
10, 11. So, too, the injunction Be still … is not in the first place comfort for the harassed but a rebuke to a restless and turbulent world: ‘Quiet!’—in fact, ‘Leave off!’ It resembles the command to another raging sea: ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the end in view is stated in terms not of man’s hopes but of God’s glory. His firm intention ‘I will be exalted’ (so av, rv, more accurately than rsv) is enough to arouse the resentment of the proud but the longing and resolve of the humble: ‘Be exalted, O God, above the heavens’ (57:11). But also their renewed confidence. The refrain comes back with added force, if such a God is ‘with us’, and if one so exalted is ‘our high stronghold’ (neb). (Kidner, D. (1973). Psalms 1–72: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, p. 194). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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46:8–11. The psalmist exhorted the saints to observe the saving mighty deeds of God. These deeds portray how God brings peace to His people, destroying weapons throughout the earth. God Himself calls for the people to trust in Him and know that He is God, for He will be exalted throughout the earth. Verses 8–10 no doubt greatly encouraged the people of Jerusalem, as the final verse (v. 11) reiterates (cf. v. 7). Also to saints of all ages, the call for a silent trust in God’s saving power, in anticipation of universal peace, has been a source of comfort and strength. (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. 829). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The third scene is on the fields surrounding Jerusalem where the Assyrian soldiers lay dead, their weapons and equipment scattered and broken. There had been no battle, but the angel of the Lord left this evidence behind to encourage the faith of the people. “Come and see the amazing things (desolations) the Lord has made!” The Lord defeated and disarmed His enemies and destroyed their weapons, and they could attack no more.
“Be still” literally means “Take your hands off! Relax!” We like to be “hands-on” people and manage our own lives, but God is God, and we are but His servants. Because Hezekiah and his leaders allowed God to be God, He delivered them from their enemies. That was the way King Hezekiah had prayed: “Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know You are the Lord God, You alone” (2 Kings 19:19, nkjv). The Lord calls Himself “the God of Jacob,” and we remember how often Jacob got into trouble because he got his hands on circumstances and tried to play God. There is a time to obey God and act, but until then, we had better take our hands off and allow Him to work in His own time and His own way. If we seize His promises by faith with both hands, we won’t be able to meddle!
God allows us to get into “tight places” so our faith will grow and He will be exalted. (See 22:27; 64:9; 86:9; 102:15.) The theme of the next psalm is the exaltation of God in all the earth (47:9), and it’s likely Hezekiah wrote it. People boast of the great things they have done and never give God credit for anything, not even the strength and breath He gives them freely. But that will change. “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isa. 2:11, nkjv). (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be worshipful (1st ed., pp. 174–175). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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Ver. 11. The Lord of hosts is with us, &c.] The Targum paraphrases it, the Word of the Lord of hosts, as in ver. 7 and the same words are here repeated, to comfort those that were fearful and unbelieving, with which the church then comforted herself. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 720). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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11. “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” It was meet to sing this twice over. It is a truth of which no believer wearies, it is a fact too often forgotten, it is a precious privilege which cannot be too often considered. Reader, is the Lord on thy side? Is Emmanuel, God with us, thy Redeemer? Is there a covenant between thee and God as between God and Jacob? If so, thrice happy art thou. Show thy joy in holy song, and in times of trouble play the man by still making music for thy God.
Selah. Here as before, lift up the heart. Rest in contemplation after praise. Still keep the soul in tune. It is easier to sing a hymn of praise than to continue in the spirit of praise, but let it be our aim to maintain the uprising devotion of our grateful hearts, and so end our song as if we intended it to be continued.
Selah bids the music rest,
Pause in silence soft and blest;
Selah bids uplift the strain,
Harps and voices tune again;
Selah ends the vocal praise,
Still your hearts to God upraise.
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 27-57 (Vol. 2, p. 343). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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SOME great deliverance, the details of which we do not know, had been wrought for Israel, and this psalmist comes forth, like Miriam with her choir of maidens, to hymn the victory. The psalm throbs with exultation, but no human victor’s name degrades the singer’s lips. There is only one Conqueror whom he celebrates. The deliverance has been ‘the work of the Lord’; the ‘desolations’ that have been made on the ‘earth’ ‘He has made.’ This great refrain of the song, which I have chosen for my text, takes the experience of deliverance as a proof in act of an astounding truth, and as a hope for the future. ‘The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge.’
There is in these words a significant duplication of idea, both in regard to the names which are given to God, and to that which He is conceived as being to us; and I desire now simply to try to bring out the force of the consolation and strength which lie in these two epithets of His, and in the double wonder of His relation to us men. (MacLaren, A. (2009). Expositions of Holy Scripture: Psalms 1–49 (p. 342). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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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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When Sennacherib attacks Jerusalem, Hezekiah calls upon the Lord.
INSIGHT
In spite of all the trouble that comes upon Israel and Judah, God wants to bless them. It is only as He is blessing them that His desire for the world is advanced. All that is needed is obedience. Hezekiah demonstrates just how quickly everything can turn around. He is looking into the jaws of an Assyrian military machine one minute, and the Assyrians are routed the next. God is not reluctant to bless us. But we must be sure we are eligible by being faithful to Him. (Quiet Walk)
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Earlier this year, a Gallup poll announced that “one in Six Gen Z-ers Identify as LGBT.” That was a significantly higher number than ever reported in any previous years. Then, last month, a new survey released by Arizona Christian University reported that about 39 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds claim the label.
Even granting that polling data should always be carefully studied and, often taken with a grain of salt, that’s a shockingly high number. And, in addition to challenging Christians about how much the culture around them has changed, these numbers also challenge the way people have been taught to think about sexuality and, specifically, cultural assumptions about sexuality.
For years, the main idea driving activism around sexual orientation was that gay and lesbian people were “born this way.” Since, went the argument, no one is attracted to someone of the same gender through any fault of their own, we must let them be who they truly are and love who they want to love. And we must, the argument continued, erase any notion that heterosexuality is “normal,” and homosexuality is not.
That idea proved quite persuasive, especially the more it was portrayed in song, film, and television. Millions of dollars went to research looking for the genetic causes of same-sex attraction. Though such causes were never found, professional activists were successful in conflating sexual decisions with already protected classes of race, sex, and disability. Even as it has become more and more obvious that sexual orientation is not fixed, the idea that it is is an innate, unchangeable component of identity has already served its purpose, shifting, the moral norms of society and establishing this new way of thinking about sexuality. So, today, most Americans either believe that sexual orientation is something not chosen or that it is something that should never be questioned.
However, polls like this one should make us question what many in our culture now take for granted about sexual orientation. Otherwise, how can the explosion in self-identified LGBTQ youth be explained?
The obvious answer is: it can’t. We either have to keep foolishly pretending that nearly 40 percent of young people have always been gay, lesbian, bisexual, or (especially now) transgender, or we must admit that our ideas about sexuality have consequences for others.
After all, it didn’t take long for the other letters in the ever-growing acronym to ride the success of this strategy. So today, anyone who defies traditional “sexual norms” is given elevated moral status, considered “courageous” and experts on all kinds of things, and basically given a free pass not afforded to anyone else. Given the new social climate, is it any wonder young people want to join those ranks, at least on a subconscious level?
(Break Point)
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Hebrews 4
As we labor to enter into God’s rest, we may call upon Christ for mercy and grace.
INSIGHT
The Word of God is energized by the Spirit of God. Whenever Scripture goes forth, it never returns without accomplishing the work it was intended to do. This is because the written Word of God is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (v. 12). As we minister to others, the Bible must be central to all that we say and do. We must always remember that it is the Word which is alive, not our own insights, clever arguments, or interesting stories (Quiet Walk)
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THE POWER AND GUILT OF SIN
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
1 John 4:14
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ clearly saves us, in the first instance, from the guilt and the penalty of sin. We are all guilty before God and before His holy law. We are guilty in His presence; so the first thing I need is to be saved from the guilt of my sin. I need a Savior in that respect apart from anything else. I have broken the law of God, and I am under the condemnation of that holy law; so before I can talk about salvation or about being saved, I must be perfectly clear that I am delivered from the guilt of my sin. That is the glorious message that the New Testament gospel brings to me.
In Christ my guilt is removed. It is no use my facing the future and proposing to live a better life. I am confronted by my own past—I cannot avoid it, I cannot escape it. I have broken the law—I must deal with the problem of my guilt—and I cannot do so. I cannot undo my past; I cannot make atonement for my misdeeds and for everything I have done against God. I must be delivered from the guilt of my sin, and Christ—and Christ alone—can so deliver me.
But having thus had the assurance that the guilt of my sin has been dealt with, I am still confronted by the power of sin. I battle the world and the flesh and the devil; forces and factors outside me are trying to drag me down, and I am aware of their terrible power. The man or woman who has not realized the power of sin all around him or her is a novice in these matters. There is only One who has conquered Satan, there is only One who has defeated the world, and that is this Son whom the Father sent into the world to be our Savior. Jesus Christ can deliver me from the power of sin as well as from the guilt of sin.
A Thought to Ponder
Jesus Christ can deliver me from the power of sin as well as from the guilt of sin.
(From The Love of God, pp. 140-141, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Fullness of Blessing
“And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” (Romans 15:29)
One beautiful characteristic of life in Christ is its fullness. Jesus Christ is Himself “the fullness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23), and He does everything to the full! When He fed the multitude, there were 12 baskets left over (John 6:13); when He brought in the miraculous catch of fishes, the nets were so full that they broke, and the boats so full they began to sink (Luke 5:6-7).
First of all, He gives fullness of grace. “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). Then comes fullness of joy and peace: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13).
It is then possible—in fact, we are commanded—to be “filled with the Spirit…making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19). Not only does the Holy Spirit indwell us, but so do the Father and the Son, by the Spirit. Jesus said: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). In this way, the triune God indwells us, and thereby we “know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that [we] might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).
All the fullness of God! In Jesus Christ “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him” (Colossians 2:9-10), “for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell” (Colossians 1:19). With the resources of such fullness of blessing available to us, we should be constantly growing “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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A Thankful Heart
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2
Seneca, the great philosopher of ancient Rome (4 bc–ad 65), was once accused by the empress Messalina of adultery. After the Senate sentenced Seneca to death, the emperor Claudius instead exiled him to Corsica, perhaps because he suspected the charge was false. This reprieve may have shaped Seneca’s view of thankfulness when he wrote: “homicides, tyrants, thieves, adulterers, robbers, sacrilegious men, and traitors there always will be, but worse than all these is the crime of ingratitude.”
A contemporary of Seneca’s, the apostle Paul, may have agreed. In Romans 1:21, he wrote that one of the triggers for the downward collapse of humankind was that they refused to give thanks to God. Writing to the church at Colossae, three times Paul challenged his fellow believers in Christ to gratitude. He said we should be “overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:7 ). As we let God’s peace “rule in [our] hearts,” we’re to respond with thankfulness (3:15). In fact, gratitude ought to characterize our prayers (4:2).
God’s great kindnesses to us remind us of one of life’s great realities. He not only deserves our love and worship, He also deserves our thankful hearts. Everything that’s good in life comes from Him (James 1:17).
With all we’ve been given in Christ, gratitude should be as natural as breathing. May we respond to God’s gracious gifts by expressing our gratitude to Him.
By Bill Crowder (Our Daily Bread Ministries)
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THE REAL REASONS FOR REVIVAL: THE GLORY OF GOD
And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Exodus 32:9-11
You see Moses’ concern? He is concerned about the name “that is, the reputation and the glory” of God. And that is the point he is making here. “This nation, he says, is Thy people.” He is saying, in effect, that God’s honor and God’s glory is involved in this situation. They are, after all, His people; they have claimed that, He has given indications of that, and He has brought them out of Egypt in a marvelous and a miraculous manner. He has brought them through the Red Sea. Is He going to leave them here in the wilderness? What will the Egyptians say? What will the other nations say? Has He failed? He promised them great things. Can He not execute them? Can He not bring them to fulfillment?
Moses is suggesting to God that His own glory, His own honor, is involved in this whole situation. Now you will find this plea endlessly in the Psalms. You will find it constantly in the prophets. Their prayer to God is, “for Thine own name’s sake, “as if to say, We have no right to speak, but for the sake of Thine eternal honor.” Moses thus had a concern for and was jealous about the name and the glory of God. And here he is asking God, for His own sake, to do this extra, this special, thing.
A Thought to Ponder: Moses was concerned about the name and the glory of God.
(From Revival, pp. 188-189, by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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