One Year Bible - November 5

EZEKIEL 12:1 - 14:11                                                                                                 
WHEN YOUR LIFE IS FALLING APART: It is a sign to you that you need to repent and call on the Lord for deliverance.  Those people who "pet" you and say that God wouldn't tear your life up, will be judged for prophesying out of their own heads.  But these idolaters have their pants on backwards. They didn't believe anything Ezekiel told them!  Of course, they hadn't believed Jeremiah either.  And obviously, they didn't believe God because judgment was delayed until they didn't believe judgment was coming anymore!  They actually supposed that they were getting away with something.  But, read what the Holy Spirit is saying, (Eze 12:23-28 and Heb 3:7-15)   It is the enemy's bait to tell you that judgment is a long way off!  The flesh does not like God's interference, and sees God's commands as intolerance. And because sin is deceptive, we believe that stuff!

PRETENDERS, FAKES AND HYPOCRITES: These are claiming to have wisdom and knowledge and the ability to lead, but they are just saying what you want to hear.  Not only are they condemned by God, but they are taking you with them!  It says that they (13:2) "follow their own spirits and have seen nothing!"  They have the unmitigated gall to say, "The Lord said...." They don't want God to keep you from them, because they want you to serve THEM instead! They are overbearing, condescending, flattering, and phony.  They are seducers and manipulators.  They refuse to "go up into the gaps" or to "make up the hedge" or to "stand in the battle".  They could get hurt!  No!  They expect YOU to do it, though!  These false leaders expect you to sacrifice yourself for them.  Real leadership is a living sacrifice, and they go first, modeling and leading the way.  Imagine being so twisted that God declares you to be His enemy!!!  They were undermining God's Name and God's glory, and had to be flushed out and flushed down.  Their names were blotted out of the registry and they lost any claim on the Kingdom of God.

When manipulation and seduction didn't work, the women used MAGIC to seduce people to think they could prolong their lives. That they would be spared by their arch-enemy if they stayed faithful to their charms. These women were pandering for food!  God said He would neutralize their power in order to rescue some from their clutches.  RESULT? 1 Tim 4:1-2 says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"  Those trapped in this deception are made bold in their opposition to God.  Their lifestyle appears easier than being righteous.  It was the softer, more acceptable route to take.  Going against the flow brings rejection, humiliation, persecution, isolation.  But if you are on the easy road, you will die of starvation and drought, or in battle.  Spiritual food and drink can ONLY come from the Lord.

The pretenders, fakes and hypocrites have one more trick up their sleeves: (chap14) "Let's pretend to ask God what to do, even tho we have no intension of obeying Him."  But God isn't stupid.  God is street-smart and savvy.  They thought they could insult God by worshipping "idols of the heart" and shamelessly lead others astray - - - and then expect God to give them "a word".   God wants to recapture their hearts and the hearts of their followers.

REPENT: (14:6-11) Repentance is necessary because of estrangement.  It is defined as "turning away your faces from all your abominations" (14:6).  The OT word is "turn" or "return".  Re-connect with God in dependency.  He must be the center of your life - going to Him about EVERYTHING.  An "idol of the heart" is secret - it causes the estrangement because it takes God's place.  It is a counterfeit or a substitute.  A "broken cistern".  Without repentance, God will set His face against you. (14:8)  James 4:4 puts it this way: "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?"  And again in James 4:6-7, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  When we refuse to repent, judgment is inevitable. 

RESPONSE:  This really tears me up.  I WANT to repent for the people I love.  I want them to "get it".   I don't want to see them suffer, but know that it is inevitable because of their hardness of heart.  Hardness of heart makes them blind and deaf to the truth.  They can't understand it anymore.  That is how people get deceived and way "out there".  Trying to deceive God leads to self-deception.  So, if that's you - "TURN".

HEBREWS 7:1-17                                                                                                        
This is a continuation of the 3rd warning about refusing to "grow up", but instead allowing our flesh to be sacrificed to obedience, and taking responsibility as a Christian.  Part of that responsibility is to become a priest of the Lord.  God's original purpose (Gen 1:26-28; Gen 19:6; 1 Pet 2:5; Rev 1:5-6; 5:10) was for a "nation of priests" - that's us!  But this is a "better priesthood" (Heb 7:7) than anything that pre-existed because it is able to get results.  The great point in this chapter is that with no more sacrifices and a better covenant, this new system has the power to perfect and mature the sons of God.

WHO IS MELCHIZEDEK?  Jesus is our forerunner - meaning He expects us to follow His example and be priestly like He is.  Melchizedek was given as a living example of what is expected and what grace is given to us to fulfill our purpose.   The first useage of the word "priest" in the Bible is associated with Melchizedek (Gen 14:18), which makes the Melchizedek priesthood much more ancient than that priesthood of Aaron.  Melchizedek, like true believers, has no past and has an endless (eternal) future.  The fact that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek signifies that the Melchizedek priesthood is superior to that of Aaron. The tithe is hereby lifted into the spiritual realm and is a spiritual matter, no longer under the law.  It is for the mature believer.  

RESPONSE:  Being a "liberated" 21-Century person, I used to think of MY money as "mine"! But in Hebrews 7 we learn that the tithe was around BEFORE the law, and even AFTER JESUS!  The tithe is an acknowledgement of our dependence on God, and not on Mammon (any substitute for God that sustains our lives). It also documents our gratitude to God, Who gives us "all things" (1Tim 6:17; Heb 1:2; 1 Co 6:12; 10:23; 2 Co 6:10; Phil 3:8).  ALL our money actually belongs to God, but He is willing to accept the tithe as representative of the WHOLE.

PSALM 105:37-45                                                                                                             
THE WORLD IS GLAD TO GET RID OF US!  That's what Psa 105:38 says!  This is not talking about a "rapture", but an escape from the enemies of our soul.  When we leave the world system and their claims behind us (getting born again), the enemy is chasing us, breathing threats.  It is when we usher in the Presence of God - go into His Presence as we walk thru Wal-Mart, then the enemy is AFRAID of us!  Now he's running from us!  We don't work to overcome the enemy.  We work to stay connected to God - denying our flesh, denying our own agenda, our own rights, our own arguments - because being with God is "better" (see Hebews).  "Praise ye the Lord!"

PROVERBS 17:3                                                                                                
God is being compared to a "melting pot" and a "fiery furnace".  We can come easy, or we can come hard.  The fire (distress, pressure, hindrances) will reveal what's in us.  My mom used to say, "What you are when you are offended, is what you are."  Ouch!

RESPONSE:   My first reaction to being "in the fire" is usually, "Get me out!"  I didn't believe that God could get me THRU the fire.  He actually doesn't exactly get us thru the fire INTACT!  The parts that are not God get incinerated.  He wants to get rid of the arrogance, the independence, the rudeness, the selfishness, the lying, the fear, and anything else that will hinder God from being manifest in us.  We cover Him up with our flesh!  Isn't this interesting:  GOD is the heat - not Satan!  So stop rebuking the pressure!  Succumb to it and let the junk burn.  We do that by focusing on the goodness and greatness of God - by speaking to Him, singing to Him, shouting to Him how great He is!  How faithful He is!  How fabulous He is!  We can get thru anything if God is with us!  Let the flesh be humiliated and burn. 

One Year Bible - November 4

EZEKIEL 10:1 - 11:25                                                                                               

ICHABOD: (1Sam 4:19) The glory departed. It is gradual, and before we know it, He's gone. This is how people backslide - in increments.  But God is in control of all the forces of judgment that He uses. God's judgment comes from the midst of His revealed character in the Wheels. The LINEN-ROBED Person will then scatter fire from the chariot-throne and burn the City.

THOSE CHERUBIM: Remember, the elders believed that God had already left the country and wouldn't see their abominations. And here the cherubim are, COVERED WITH EYES. God's Presence sees everything.  The face of the OX, the burden-bearer, is missing and is now a cherub! The ox was sacrificed and now God's Presence (cherubim) covers the earth.

Two cherubim covered the Mercy Seat of the Ark of Covenant. (See Psa 80:1; 99:1; 2 Sam 6:2).  They were ONE (in union) with the Mercy Seat.  They were in the Holy of Holies, the Throneroom of God.  They had fire that went up and down among them.  The Spirit was in the wheels.  They were full of eyes and had hands and wings and straight feet, as well as wheels. As Ezekiel watched, the glory of God departed the threshold and stood over the cherubims. Then the cherubims carried Him away.

THE PRINCE AND THE PROPHET:  A group of 25 men still in Jerusalem, led by the princes, are plotting revolt against Babylon, saying they must free Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is now a boiling pot doomed to destruction. They think that because they are still in the Land and not in captivity yet, that they have God's favor.  God told them, however, that those in exile are the "sanctuary of God's Presence" - for it is God's Presence that make the Sanctuary, not the other way around.  Filled with the Spirit, the prophet, Ezekiel, tells them they will be destroyed if they continue in their rebellion.   While he is still prophesying, his prince falls dead at his feet. Heartbroken, Ezekiel falls down and cries out to God wondering if God will destroy even the righteous REMNANT!

A FUTURE HOPE: There will be a re-gathering through the Cross.   We will have an "undivided heart" and a "new spirit", a "soft heart".  But the idolaters will be destroyed.  Then the cherubim went out of the city and rested on the Mount of Olives, foretelling the day when Jesus would leave the Temple courts, pronouncing judgment on them, and make His way across the Kidron to the Mount of Olives from which, after His crucifixion, He would ascend to the Father.

RESPONSE: I used to think my mother was covered with eyes, too. She seemed to see everything we did!  Even if she didn't actually see it, she knew about it.  God's Presence is even more invasive.  He knows our thoughts before we express them.  There is no such thing as secret idolatry from God.   If there is anything that we use as a substitute for God to satisfy the hunger in our soul, God knows about it.   The glory of God is hesitating at the threshold, waiting for us to repent.   God considers our substitute an "image of jealousy".  Don't wait for the fire.  Repent now.

HEBREWS 6:1-20                                                                                                       
BACKGROUND: This is a continuation from chapter 5, and contains the third warning. Keep in mind that the books of Hebrews thru Revelation are ALL ABOUT FAITH.  Hebrews teaches us the purpose of faith - to push us thru self-sacrifice and into spiritual maturity.  The motive given here is that everything on the "other side" is "better" than what we've known in our spiritual IMmaturity.  There are two opposite results given here: The five (5) warnings of NOT going on to maturity OR having access to five (5) "eternals" that are discussed in Hebrews.

FIRST WARNING: Heb 2:3 warns us of apathy, carelessness, and indifference on our part. Our flesh wants nothing to do with "God's Rest" - which is entered thru self-sacrifice.  It is a condition of being "in faith" - resting in God's promises.  It is "natural" to be self-centered, self-serving, and selfish. It goes against our flesh-nature to be self-sacrificial and God-centered. We have to re-program ourselves by forming new righteous habits (the process of "sanctification").  EXHORTATION: Stay aggressive and purposeful about your pursuit of God and His Presence.  Consciously go after God, constantly remind yourself to stay God-centered.

SECOND WARNING: Heb 3:7-4:1 warns us of "an evil heart of unbelief".  Whenever we refuse to obey God (those promptings) because of fear or self-preservation, our hearts "harden" and over time, we become "dull of hearing"- and deceived.  There is no rest in that condition, and we are in danger of dying "in the wilderness" - without ever achieving our purpose or our spiritual goal of Christlikeness.  EXHORTATION:  Hold fast to what you know. Exhort one another. Continually instruct your own heart with Truth about God's goodness and greatness.

THIRD WARNING: Heb 6:4-6 warns of the impossibility of continually "starting over" as Christians.  We can't keep "getting saved" so we can start over.   INSTEAD, once we are born again, if we "fall",  we must truly repent and then show the fruit of repentance - an EXchanged life (His for mine, letting my SELF die thru obedience).   When we sin, we have an Advocate (1Jo 2:1-2) and we go to Him, Jesus, for forgiveness, and then "go on unto perfection".   Don't get tangled up in that cycle of sin -> repent -> sin the same sin -> repent again -> repeat -> repeat.   Instead, consider the wasted years, wasted efforts, wasted life burned up ("thorns and thistles") and begin producing "better things...that accompany salvation."  "go on" in the original language means "endure; bring forth fruit; be driven by the wind".  It is aggressive, pushing forward; leaning into it.  You are overcoming spiritual inertia.  It will require ALL your "rocket boosters" to get you back into orbit, so to speak. YOU MUST GROW UP, AND IT WILL COST YOU EVERYTHING.  You are not "starting over" - you are going on from here - you can't go back to the beginning - you MUST go on and grow up and show "the same diligence ... to the end."   If we don't "go on" and gain maturity, we are in danger of God's discipline, and a failure to "inherit".   We WILL suffer losses in eternity for sure, and forfeitures here. 

Something we learn from the people of the Wilderness is that bitterness causes unbelief, and hardness of heart comes from complaining against God for how He deals with us.  Our choice is to surrender or to rebel.  This THIRD WARNING is about using our spiritual knowledge in life situations - making our faith practical - and growing up. There is more to the Christian life than just being saved from hell. We must also LIVE saved.  Because we can't be saved more than once, everything we do after we are born again, will be examined, judged, and either burned or blessed (see also 1Co 3:13-15).   It is not that our good works done along our way are not noted and appreciated, but that God expects us to live up to our full potential, finish our course in faith, in pursuit of Him.  Faith is manifested in obedience and in patient endurance.  Unbelief is manifested in loss and forfeiture.

GOD'S IMMUTABLE (UNCHANGEABLE) PURPOSE": God's purpose is so good, so holy, so powerful, that it is impossible to pervert it.  God's "unchangeable purpose" is also our "anchor of the soul" and it is this:  that we become a family of sons in God's image, who minister in His Name and in His place (Gen 1:26-28; Psa 8; Rom 8:17-18,30; Heb 2:6-10). God's "Divine nature" being produced in us keeps us stable (anchored).   That "HOPE" (our hope is that we will be like Him 1 Jo 3:2-3)  is "within the veil" - and to access it, will COST US EVERYTHING because the veil represents the "rending of our flesh".  Jesus preceded us thru the veil of His own flesh as our "forerunner" - meaning that it is His intent that we follow Him AND follow His example.   EXHORTATION: Press forward. Don't keep repeating the same cycle - repent and go forward from here.  It is better to let it all burn than to forfeit everything. (Mat 5:29-30)  Submit and obey, conquering your pride and letting it die the humiliating death of crucifixion.  We are not victims; we are sacrifices.  It only FEELS like being a victim because our flesh isn't used to being denied yet. 

"BETTER": Heb 1:4 says we will obtain a "better Name" of "son" that speaks of responsibility, obligations, and relationship to the Father. Now Heb 6:9 speaks of "better things...that are fruit of salvation" which is talking about access to and fulfillment of the promises of God in our lives (because of our new maturity (see Gal. 4).

"ETERNALS": Heb 5:9, "eternal salvation" , refers to the Life (Jo 3:16) that is set on a foundation of unchangeable absoluteness.  It is a quality of practical life that we inherit when we "obey Him".  It is accessed thru "crucifixion of the flesh" (Gal 5:24*), which are opportunities for self-sacrifice in everyday life.  The "eternal salvation" that takes place is the salvation of our LIFE - not just our spiritual parts. Heb 6:2 "eternal judgment" refers to judgment that is past, present and future.  It is what tells us that we "messed up" and must repent. That is a good thing!  Repent and go on.  Don't dwell on it.  The thing judged will then be burned or blessed. That is also a good thing!  I don't want to drag "thorns and thistles" around with me!  The "eternals" are about a saved LIFE, not just going to heaven some day. 

RESPONSE:   I get "hung up" on Heb 6:15 and obtaining the promise thru "patient endurance".  It means to "not lose heart".  It is the word "loooooong-suffering".   It is faith that is not relaxed by waiting!   Faith must continue to be lively, aggressive in believing and in speaking in order to obtain the promise of spiritual maturity.  Faith is always tested by delay.  ***That interval of "patient endurance" must be accompanied by blameless, obedient walking, because one of the purposes of delay is to DEVELOP OBEDIENCE!!!!***

PSALM 105:16-36                                                                                                     

This Psalm, one of the "Numbers" Psalms, was originally written to celebrate the coming of the Presence of God into our midst.  It instructs our hearts of the faithfulness and the power of God. Vs. 16-45 trace the history from Joseph to the Exodus (Gen 37-50).  Some interesting information is gleaned here that must have been passed down by oral tradition:  Joseph was kept in stocks that were painful, while in Egypt's prisons (13 years), and it caused "iron to come into his soul" - it made Joseph more determined than ever to glorify God with his life.  The "word of the Lord" (God's promises) "tried him" (destroyed his SELF-life with fire).  We also learn that it was God who caused Pharaoh to deal with the Israelite slaves deceptively. V.30 tells us that God put frogs in the kings' toilet!  The important point made here is that God is in complete control, even tho it APPEARS as tho His people are being victimized. Appearances can be deceiving; God does what He says He will do, despite appearances.

PROVERBS 27:1-2                                                                                                  
Preparing is okay; presuming is not.

One Year Bible - November 3

EZEKIEL 7:1 - 9:11                                                                                                        
"THE END HAS COME": Disaster is here. (7:5-6) Doomsday is here (7:7, 10). Gold and silver will not buy your way out.  The "Day of the Lord" refers to when God Sovereignly intervenes in history.  God is shown as "coming" in judgment, on the clouds, out of heaven, melting the mountains, setting fire to the earth.  In Isa 64:1-3 Isaiah prayed for God to come down and destroy creation.  What he meant was for God to manifest Himself. The "judgment-comings" of God in the OT were His interventions in human events with His wrath. What accompanies "that Day"?  Idols (counterfeits and substitutes) will be dealt with and those things that we depended on will "burn up" in judgment. And  "They shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth." (7:9)  Everything is so overwhelming that the people are paralyzed from action.

PICKED UP BY THE HAIR:  It is still five years before Jerusalem is destroyed, and the Holy Spirit translated (by the hair) Ezekiel "home" to see what was going on.  In contrast to "the glory of the Lord" Ezekiel sees "the image of jealousy" in the Temple.  It greatly provoked our jealous God.  Idolatry and orgies inside the Temple drove God out of His own sanctuary!  There were dirty pictures on the walls of the Holy Place and an antichristian deity enthroned in the Holy of Holies! Some priests were actually worshipping the sun in secret. Their attitude was despising of the House of the Lord.  And these were the leaders!  They "ministered" under the influence of evil spirits!  Keep in mind that in order to internalize this Scripture, that our soul is the Holy Place, our spirit is the Holy of Holies.  We ARE the Temple, and the Sanctuary of God Almighty. Are we hiding secrets? Do we allow wild thoughts to come in and stay?  Or have we asked God to so fill us that the thought of sin is abhorrent?  Are we sensitive to the approach of evil?

"GOD HAS LEFT THE BUILDING":  Here we have the slaughter of the idolaters. The ones with the marks on their foreheads were preserved. The righteous intercessors, "who sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done", were "sealed".  THE MAN IN WHITE LINEN: is Jesus in the midst of the Candlestick with six additional branches (the human Church). Jesus marked the remnant while the other six carried out the executions. In this massacre of the idolaters, the "glory of the Lord" has moved out to the threshold, on its way out.  But it lingers - - - waiting for a change of heart in the people. There is still a remnant and the "the Lord knows those that are His" (2 Tim 2:19).  God's judgment on the rest was because of: (9:9) "iniquity, perverseness, ... bloodshed."

RESPONSE:   God said, "Begin at My Sanctuary".  Orgies in the Temple:  What would idolatry in the church look like?  Counterfeit worship?  Substituting knowledge for experience? Misplaced values?  Leadership with secrets?  Do we "sigh and cry" over abominations, or do we look the other way?

We are the Temple and God no longer dwells in a building "made with hands".  So contemplate "orgies in the Temple" from that standpoint:  Indulging in a secret thought-life. Living to gratify SELF.  Pride and arrogance.  Bigotry, hatred, unforgiveness, hardness of heart.  In Ezekiel we saw judgment "begin in the House of the Lord" (1 Pet 4:17).

HEBREWS 5:1-14                                                                                                     
THIRD WARNING: Fortunately for us, God "has compassion on the ignorant".  There are TWO Greek words for "ignorant". This one is "agneo" which just means "I don't know." The other word is "idiotes" which means "I don't want to know."  The warning is actually over in chapter 6, but the discussion begins here:  Some people "miss it" because they just don't realize what they are forfeiting every time they give in to their flesh. You see, it says here that "eternal salvation" is for those who "obey Him".  They have been tamed to submission - not weak, not doormats, not passive, but obedient to God.  In fact, that obedience is some of the most dangerous, courageous, outlandish things you will ever do!   It caused Jesus to "suffer". When we don't obey God, we become CALLOUSED.  Soon, we grow "dull of hearing" - we lose our edge and become sluggish.  We don't enjoy pleasing God like we used to.

THE GOAL AND THE PRIZE - REST:  Salvation is the Remedy, not the Goal!  God's Presence is our goal, and it is there we find "Rest", which is the prize.  You've probably heard of the "Law of First Usage".  It states that the meaning of words in the Bible get their understanding from the first time it gets used.  The word henceforth is interpretated from that first setting. This word "rest" is first used in Genesis 5:29, and it is Noah's name. "Noah" actually means "Rest". His father named him that because Noah was consolation for all their hard work.  Then in Genesis 8:21, when Noah emerged from the Ark, the first thing he did was to build an altar and make a burnt offering to the Lord.  "And the Lord smelled a sweet savor..." The words "sweet savor" in the original language (Heb) is "the odor of rest" or "a restful smell". What is "the odor of rest"?  It is the smell of self-sacrifice.  The burnt offering that Noah made represented himself.  When Noah "entered in to rest", he acknowledged God as being sufficient and gave it all while he built the ark in faith and obedience (Heb 11:7).  When we are consumed in self-sacrifice, it gives off an "odor of rest" to God, that the Bible calls "a sweet savour".

"HABITS":  V. 14 Says we become skilled at living righteously by "use" - which is the word for "habits".  Rom 12:21 says we overcome evil habits (selfishness, self-centeredness, etc.) with "good" - or better habits.  When we are pressured, we rely on "muscle memory" - a habit we developed when there was NO pressure.  So, make it a righteous habit to force your mind to think about Jesus, about God's goodness and God's greatness. About God's faithfulness. Do it while you drive your car, while you fold the laundry, while you mow the lawn, while you make supper, etc.  That way, when pressure comes to fire a retort, to lose your temper, to manipulate someone, to speak unadvisedly - or to grab a candy bar - whatever your vice is - you will DEFAULT to your new habit in God.  Otherwise you will stay UNskilled, UNtried, UNproven, INexperienced.  This passage says that this is spiritual babyhood!  Jesus understands this - He had to "learn obedience through the things He suffered" also!  Our habit must be self-sacrificial, and this requires that we force our hearts to enter His Rest.

"ETERNAL SALVATION":  No - this doesn't mean that there is another salvation that isn't "eternal". What this means is that this particular salvation spoken of in Hebrews 5-6 comes from eternity and into our lives when we allow ourselves to mature through obedience.  It is the salvation spoken of in Phil 2:12 that we "work out", the salvation of our SOULS (1 Pet 1:9), the redeeming of our practical lives, not just a spiritual salvation.   But it only comes thru obedience.  This "eternal salvation" puts us in direct communication with eternity - or heaven and its resources.  Isa 57:1 5 says that God "inhabiteth eternity".  That eternity is a "high and lofty place".  It is the unseen, invisible realm (2Co 4:18), the LIFE (John 3:16; John 10:10) that is set on a foundation of unchangable absoluteness.  It is a quality of life that we inherit when we "obey Him".  This "eternal salvation" is for those "that obey Him". When we choose to opt out and submit to our own flesh, we forfeit all that, including the "Rest".  

RESPONSE: I have always had the mistaken idea that my growth-rate is my business.  I thought that I moved along at my own pace!  I didn't know about the consequences of all my big screw-ups (which we'll read in chapter 6).  So what if I stayed immature?  Well, there are consequences, the chief one of which is not being able to please God because I was always overwhelmed by circumstances.

PSALM 105:1-15                                                                                                                    
IMPORTANT: Please refer back to the background information of Psalm 90-106: the "Numbers" Psalms - "Labouring" to enter in to God's Rest."

This Psalm was originally written to accompany the Ark on its return to Jerusalem, from being at Obed Edom's house. It is a celebration of the coming of God's Presence and rejoicing in His faithfulness and power. Keep in mind that this is an outward expression. V. 4 uses two different words for "seek". One means to habitually draw near to look, expecting Him to come near. The other word means to diligently pursue Him with the expectation of apprehending Him. This means we must NEVER give up "making contact" with God when we worship. We keep at it until we know He is near. V. 8 says He remembers His word - James 4:8 says when we draw near to God, He DOES draw near to us. Exo 17:6 says He "stood before" - right in front of - Moses. Psa 16:8 says I can "set the Lord always before me" - immediately in front of me. That is cause for rejoicing! Usher Him in with singing!

PROVERBS 26:28                                                                                                       

Why is it that when we lie about someone, when they find out and are hurt by it, we get mad at them? We should be upset with ourselves!

A "flatterer" is someone who smiles while they put a knife in our backs.

RESPONSE: We should all resolve to be very careful about what we say.  My mother used to say, "if you can't say something nice about someone, then don't say anything at all."