Daily Archives: January 4, 2015

Study in Psalms for 2015

The Book of Psalms – 1st Psalm

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This Study in the Book of Psalms is my look into how The Psalms helps me deal with the news and events of the day (Local, State, National and World wide) How it gives me perspective and understanding in this complex and confusing world.

I am not a Bible Scholar giving a commentary on the scriptures. There are many of those and I encourage you to look up and study any scriptures God lays on your heart. My purpose is to develop perspective and help with discerning the world’s wisdom and how it compares and contrasts against God’s.

Please read through Psalm 1 a few times and really think about what it is saying…

 

Psalm 1 NLT version

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.

2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.

5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.

6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm 1 AMP version

1 Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

2 But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

4 Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor [b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

6 For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to naught).

 

This first Psalm gives us an Intro into the book of Psalms.  It sets the stage clearly on which path we should follow. Who we should believe has the truth and what will happen to you because of your choices.

It is so easy today to listen to the “wise” people in government and on TV. The information from the internet and from all the experts; like doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists, counselors etc. Someone will always know better and will be only too happy to tell you about it.

Sometimes they may even have good advice but; I think, most times not so much.

This will be one of my big areas of concern, what the Experts have to say and how it compares to God’s Words here in the Psalms.

So to start things off in the Book of Psalms, let’s be clear. There are two paths to choose, one is God’s way and the other is not God’s way. Today in this world everything is upside down and backwards. Good is bad and evil is good. Many of the rich, wealthy and successful famous people use the wisdom of the world to succeed, and they will have their rewards here in this world. I also feel that almost all of them are not really happy, true happiness eludes them. A very sad example would be Robin Williams suicide.

There is no guaranty of wealth, success and fame under God’s way, as a matter of fact; I think God’s way will be harder and more difficult; but in the end well worth it. Looking closely at vs. 3 we can see what can happen for us.

This analogy of the fruitful tree in due season will come up many times in these studies.

It takes time, we must be patience as we learn and grow to becoming more “Christ like”. In this way we become well grounded, like the tree by the river. Deep roots into the Living Water will help us produce the fruit God desires for us at the right time. It all takes time.

We need to have a LONG range view, we are collecting rewards in Heaven, where there will be no wicked who are worthless. Please check your salvation, make sure you know Jesus as your personal savior and like it says in vs.2 Desire/delight in the Word, Study and Ponder/meditating on it daily…

This is a very good start – Bro Bo

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson, Uncategorized

Happily Ever After? – Night Light

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“Are you married? Do not seek a divorce.” 1 Corinthians 7:27

What you have observed by looking around your social circles is born out by the numbers: According to nearly every relevant statistic, the institution of marriage is in serious trouble. The Council on Families in America reports that half of first marriages are likely to end in divorce. The National Center for Health Statistics tells us that the number of Americans choosing to marry is declining. And Brent Barlow, professor of family sciences at Brigham Young University, says that if cohabitation and divorce trends continue, “married” could become a minority status within ten years.

Obviously, millions of couples who were once deeply in love and believed they were wonderfully suited for each other are seeing their marriages fall apart. If you and your spouse are going to beat the odds, you will need to bring dedication and hard work to your relationship.

Does this challenge seem more like a threat than a promise? We have good news. First, couples who are willing to invest in their relationship will find the greatest fulfillment and meaning that life has to offer. That is the promise of a godly marriage. Statistics bear this fact out too! Second, you need not try to beat the odds alone. In fact, you were never meant to. But more on that tomorrow…

Just between us…

  • What, specifically, does having a “happy marriage” mean to you?
  • Are you happy? Why or why not?
  • What can I do to bring more happiness to your life?

Heavenly Father, You designed the covenant of marriage from the beginning, and our marriage belongs to You. So bless our union with Your best! Draw us together, and draw us to You. Amen.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Let Go of Anxiety

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From small challenges like getting stuck in traffic to losing a job or defaulting on a mortgage, it’s normal to feel anxious at times. Anxiety is a natural emotional response to a thought or circumstance that we perceive as negative.

For many people, worry is a way of life. If that describes you, I suggest reading the words Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount. His command is clear:

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they (Matt. 6:25-26)?

You may say, “But I can’t help feeling anxious. I have always been a worrier!” Many people have given me the same excuse through the years. My response is always, “Oh yes, you can.”

Anxiety occurs because of the way we respond to a problem or troubling situation. You can choose what to think about, and you can decide how to respond to a circumstance. God grants every human being free will.

No circumstance automatically causes long-term anxiety. It isn’t the Father’s purpose for you to be controlled by worry. He may allow a situation in your life to help you grow stronger in faith and maturity, or to change bad habits and negative attitudes. But He does not intend for you to feel apprehensive. God is always at work to bring you to a place where you will increasingly trust and obey Him.

Concern differs from anxiety

We must be careful not to confuse concern with anxiety. It is normal for a Christian to care. Concern motivates us to intercede and take godly action toward meeting other people’s needs or our own.

We are to be concerned, for example, about our families, staying healthy, and doing a good job at work. Concern involves wanting to do everything as best we can so that God receives glory from our lives.

Simply put concern is positive, forward-looking, and constructive. Anxiety is the opposite—counterproductive, stuck in the past, and negative. One motivates us to take action, whereas the other is paralyzing.

Let me be clear—concern may be marked with tears, thoughtful reflection, and quiet time for meditation. But in the end, it leads us to make decisions, not linger in fear.

The choice is yours

In difficult circumstances, a believer can fall into a downward spiral of anxiety. Or he can pray something like this:

Heavenly Father, I bring this worry to you. It’s beyond my control and influence. While I feel helpless in this situation, I know You have the power to make it right. Show me how to respond to this situation, and I will obey.

Friend, this is the way of peace—the road out of anxiety and worry.

Adapted from “Finding Peace: God’s Promise of Life Free from Regret, Anxiety, and Fear” (2003).

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Beautiful Bride

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READ: Revelation 19:4-9

The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. —Revelation 19:7

I have officiated at a lot of weddings. Often planned according to the dreams of the bride, each of the weddings has been unique. But one thing is the same: adorned in their wedding dresses with hair beautifully done and faces aglow, brides steal the show.

I find it intriguing that God describes us as His bride. Speaking of the church, He says, “The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7 esv).

This is a great thought for those of us who have become discouraged about the condition of the church. I grew up as a pastor’s kid, pastored three churches, and have preached in churches all over the world. I’ve counseled both pastors and parishioners about deep and troubling problems in the church. And though the church often seems unlovable, my love for the church has not changed.

But my reason for loving the church has changed. I now love it most of all for whose it is. The church belongs to Christ; it is the bride of Christ. Since the church is precious to Him, it is precious to me as well. His love for His bride, as flawed as we may be, is nothing less than extraordinary! —Joe Stowell

Lord, we look forward to the day when we will be
robed in the fine linens of purity and join You at the
marriage supper of the Lamb. Until then, remind us
to love Your bride and to live beautifully for You.

Since Christ loves His bride, the church, so should we.

Bible in a year: Genesis 10-12; Matthew 4

Insight

The imagery of the church as the “bride of Christ” is found repeatedly in the New Testament. While seen several times in the book of Revelation (including today’s reading), this word-picture also appears in John’s gospel. In John 3:29, John the Baptist describes Christ as the bridegroom, then identifies himself as the “friend of the bridegroom”—a role that in ancient times paralleled the role of the “best man” in modern wedding ceremonies.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Grow in Grace & Knowledge

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Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

 

“Grow in grace”–not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fullness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow upward–having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate fellowship with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit enable you to “grow in . . . the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.”

He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus, refuses to be blessed. To know Him is “life eternal,” and to advance in the knowledge of Him is to increase in happiness. He who does not long to know more of Christ, knows nothing of Him yet. Whoever has sipped this wine will thirst for more, for although Christ does satisfy, yet it is such a satisfaction that the appetite is not choked, but whetted. If you know the love of Jesus as the hart pants for the water-brooks, so will you pant after deeper draughts of His love. If you do not desire to know Him better, then you love Him not, for love always cries, “Nearer, nearer.” Absence from Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven.

Do not rest content without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus. Seek to know more of Him in His divine nature, in His human relationship, in His finished work, in His death, in His resurrection, in His present glorious intercession, and in His future royal advent. Live close to the Cross, and search the mystery of His wounds. An increase of love to Jesus and a more perfect apprehension of His love to us is one of the best tests of growth in grace.

 

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 4, 2015
* Ezra 4
* Acts 4

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon, John MacArthur

Charles Spurgeon – A mighty Saviour

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“Mighty to save.” Isaiah 63:1

Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28

Remember the case of John Newton, the great and mighty preacher of St. Mary, Woolnoth,—an instance of the power of God to change the heart, as well as to give peace when the heart is changed. Ah! dear hearers, I often think within myself, “This is the greatest proof of the Saviour’s power.” Let another doctrine be preached: will it do the same? If it will, why not let every man gather a crowd round him and preach it? Will it really do it? If it will, then the blood of men’s souls must rest upon the man who does not boldly proclaim it. If he believes his gospel does save souls, how does he account for it that he stands in his pulpit from the first of January till the last of December, and never hears of a harlot made honest, nor of a drunkard reclaimed? Why? For this reason, that it is a poor dilution of Christianity. It is something like it, but it is not the bold, broad Christianity of the Bible; it is not the full gospel of the blessed God, for that has power to save. But if they do believe that theirs is the gospel, let them come out to preach it, and let them strive with all their might to win souls from sin, which is rife enough, God knows. We say again, that we have proof positive in cases even here before us, that Christ is mighty to save even the worst of men—to turn them from follies in which they have too long indulged, and we believe that the same gospel preached elsewhere would produce the same results. The best proof you can ever have of God’s being mighty to save, dear hearers, is that he saved you.

For meditation: Does the church today lack the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ (Romans 15:29) because the church is ashamed of the fullness of the gospel, which is God’s power to save all who believe (Romans 1:16)?

Sermon no. 111
4 January (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Understand Your Spiritual Resources

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“God…has blessed us with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3, emphasis added).

As a Christian, you possess every spiritual resource you need to fulfill God’s will for your life.

The story is told of a wealthy London businessman who searched many years for his runaway son. One afternoon he was preparing to board a train to London when he spotted a man in ragged, dirty clothing begging money from passengers along the station platform. His first impulse was to avoid the beggar but there was something strangely familiar about him.

When the beggar approached and asked if he could spare a few shillings, the businessman realized he had found his long-lost son. With tears in his eyes and joy in his voice he embraced his son, crying, “A few shillings? You are my son—everything I have is yours!”

That pictures many Christians who are ignorant or negligent of their spiritual resources. They are children of the King, yet live like spiritual paupers.

Paul repeatedly emphasized our sufficiency as believers. In Colossians 2:10 he declares that in Christ “you have been made complete.” In Philippians 4:13 and 19 he says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” and “my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Peter added that God’s “divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3).

The word translated “spiritual” in Ephesians 1:3 speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit. Every blessing you receive, whether material or immaterial, has God as its source.

As a Christian, you possess every spiritual resource you need to fulfill God’s will for your life. You needn’t pray for more love, for example, because His love is already poured out in your heart through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). The same is true of joy (John 15:11), peace (John 14:27), strength (Phil. 4:13)—and every other resource you need. The key to spiritual progress and victory is learning to apply what you already have, not seeking more.

Suggestions for Prayer; Praise God for His abundant spiritual resources.

Ask Him to help you apply them with wisdom and consistency.

For Further Study; Read Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6-8.

What specific promises does God make in those passages?

What does He require of you?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Come as You Are

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It is through Him that we have received grace . . . And this includes you, called of Jesus Christ and invited [as you are] to belong to Him. —Romans 1:5, 6

Not long ago I read today’s scripture and thought about how marvel¬ous it is and what a message of acceptance it brings. It made me think of the fact that when we are invited to a party, one of the first questions we ask is, “How should I dress?” Most of us like it best when we feel we can go “as we are.” We like it when we can relax and be ourselves.

God will work in you by His Holy Spirit and help you become all you need to be, but you can come to Him just as you are. You don’t have to stand far off and only hear the music of the party; you are invited to attend.

You have joy and peace today. You are redeemed, accepted, and made right with God because of the way He sees you in Christ. You are already loved and accepted by Him. Not “you will be someday.”

You are destined to be molded into the image of Christ, and noth¬ing can stop that from happening if you will simply cooperate with the Holy Spirit and spend time with God. You don’t have to clean up your act first. You can come as you are, and God will make you what you ought to be.

There are stories all over the world of people who came to know God when they were in all kinds of bondage. Some were alcoholics; some were prostitutes; some couldn’t keep their anger under control; and some were deeply wounded because of the pain of their past. These people are now completely transformed because they were willing to go to God as they were.

When people will come as they are, God will work miracles.

Love Yourself Today: You don’t have to wait for anything; you can go to God just as you are.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Anything at All

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“Yes, ask anything, using my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:14).

“What is the most important thought your mind has ever entertained?” someone once asked Daniel Webster, one of the greatest intellects in American history.

“My accountability to God,” he replied.

In John 14:14 we find a marvelous promise, one that surely gives ample reason for our accountability to God!

Yet, in the face of those overwhelming words, most Christians do not live joyful and fruitful lives. Why? Because they have a limited view of God. Most of us sit at God’s banquet table of blessing and come away with crumbs – simply because of our lack of knowledge of God and faith to trust and obey Him.

Nothing is so important in the Christian life as understanding the attributes of God. No one can ever begin to live supernaturally and have the faith to believe God for “great and mighty” things if he does not know what God is like, or if he harbors misunderstandings about God and His character.

Would you like to live a joyful, abundant and fruitful life – every day filled with adventure? You can!

What is God like to you? Is He a divine Santa Claus, a cosmic policeman, a dictator or a big bully? Many people have distorted views of God and as a result are afraid of Him because they do not know what He is really like.

Our heavenly Father yearns for us to respond to His love. It is only as we respond to a scriptural view of God that we are able to come joyfully into His presence and experience the love and adventure and abundant life for which He created us and which He promised us.

Bible Reading: Mark 11:22-26

Today’s Action Point: I will meditate upon John 14:14 throughout the day, and I will claim His provision for a need I have or know that someone else has.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Avoid This List

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One of the ways you can be effective in 2015 is to embrace the use of lists. Want to accomplish your lifetime goals? List them. Complete your tasks for the day? Prepare a “To Do” list. Try to lose weight? It’s proven that when you list out everything you eat on a daily basis, you are more likely to slim down.

So it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Genesis 45:8

But there’s one list you should avoid at all costs: a list of enemies. Richard Nixon had a famed “enemies list,” and he pulled out all the stops to destroy each and every person on that list. But the enemies list destroyed only one person – Richard Nixon. The enemies made out just fine. Some of them even got book deals.

Consider Joseph in the Old Testament. Sold into slavery and sent to Egypt by his own brothers, he had every reason to live in bitterness and plot revenge. But when he had his opportunity to get even, he instead spoke the words of today’s verse to the very brothers who tried to destroy him. Begin this year by pledging, with God’s help, not to waste another moment fretting over the wrongs done to you…by personal friends or by politicians.

Recommended Reading: Romans 12:14-21