Category: God

Knowing Jesus

Philippians 3 New International Version

No Confidence in the Flesh

3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. ²Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. ³For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— ⁴though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

⁷But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

There are at least two sets of words to the tune’ I Surrender All’, the one below connects with verses 7-8 in the above reading. You may know the more common lyrics ‘ All to Jesus I surrender’ sung here by The International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army.

1.
Lord, I pray that I may know thee,
Risen One, enthroned on high;
Empty hands I’m stretching to thee,
Show thyself to me, I cry.
Chorus
Show thyself to me, show thyself to me,
That I may reveal thy beauty;
Show thyself to me.

2.
All that once I thought most worthy,
All of which I once did boast,
In thy light seems poor and passing,
‘Tis thyself I covet most.

Give thyself to me, give thyself to me,
That I may show forth thy power;
Give thyself to me.

3.
Only as I truly know thee
Can I make thee truly known;
Only bring the power to others
Which in my own life is shown.

Show thy power in me, show thy power in me,
That I may be used for others;
Show thy power in me.

The Weak and Needy

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
²May he judge your people in righteousness,
your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴May he defend the afflicted among the people
    and save the children of the needy;
    may he crush the oppressor.
⁵May he endure^[a] as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.
⁶May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷In his days may the righteous flourish
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b] to the ends of the earth.
⁹May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores Image result for The weak and Needy
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
    present him gifts.
¹¹May all kings bow down to him
    and all nations serve him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³He will take pity on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
    for precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.
¹⁶May grain abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops flourish like Lebanon
    and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.
¹⁷May his name endure forever;
    may it continue as long as the sun.

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
and they will call him blessed.

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvellous

deeds.
¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

A Gracious God

2 Chronicles 30 New International Version

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

30 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel.²The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month. ³They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.⁴The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly.⁵They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written. Image result for Gracious and compassionate God

⁶At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:

“People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. ⁷Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelite’s, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. ⁸Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. ⁹If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelite’s and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

Here in verse nine we are being told that God is a compassionate and gracious God and he will not turn away from us as long as we believe in him.

God is there

Open your eyes and see

God is there where the farmers is tilling the hard ground

and where the labourer is breaking stones

He is with them in the sun and the rain

and his garment is covered with dust.

Put off your holy cloak and like him come down onto the dusty soil

Redemption

Psalm 49 New International Version

¹²People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
    and of their followers, who approve their sayings.^[d]
¹⁴They are like sheep and are destined to die;
    death will be their shepherd
    (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
    far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
    he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
    when the splendour of their houses increases;
¹⁷for they will take nothing with them when they die,
    their splendour will not descend with them.
¹⁸Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
    and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹they will join those who have gone before them,
    who will never again see the light of life.

²⁰People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.

Wickedness

Psalm 5 New International Version

Psalm 5^[a]

For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.

¹Listen to my words, Lord,
    consider my lament.
²Hear my cry for help,
    my King and my God,
    for to you I pray.

³In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.
⁴For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
    with you, evil people are not welcome.
⁵The arrogant cannot stand
    in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
⁶    you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
    you, Lord, detest.
⁷But I, by your great love,
    can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
    toward your holy temple.

⁸Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies—
    make your way straight before me.
⁹Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
    their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;
    with their tongues they tell lies.
¹⁰Declare them guilty, O God!
    Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
    for they have rebelled against you.
¹¹But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
    let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

¹²Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favour as with a shield.

Time to Rest

Matthew 11

The Father Revealed in the Son

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. See the source image
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Every now and then we need a break from our daily routine, ‘A holiday’ time to get away from things and rest. It does our bodies good to have physical and our brains mental rest.

I the scripture above Jesus tells us If we have any worries or burdens to come to him and rest our souls and he will lighten our burdens.

Trust God

Darkness to Light

Genesis 1 New International Version (NIV)

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Thou, whose almighty word
chaos and darkness heard,
and took their flight;
hear us, we humbly pray,
and, where the Gospel day
sheds not its glorious ray,
let there be light!

Thou who didst come to bring
on thy redeeming wing
healing and sight,
heal to the sick in mind,
sight to the in-ly blind,
now to all humankind,
let there be light!

Spirit of truth and love,
life-giving holy Dove,
speed forth thy flight!
Move on the waters’ face
bearing the gifts of grace,
and, in earth’s darkest place,
let there be light!

Holy and blessèd Three,
glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, Love, Might;
boundless as ocean’s tide,
rolling in fullest pride,
through the world far and wide,
let there be light!

That Rock

Psalm 61
1
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
4
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.[b]
5
For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6
Increase the days of the king’s life,
his years for many generations.
7
May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;
appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.
8
Then I will ever sing in praise of your name
and fulfil my vows day after day.

There has and will be times that we need God to protect us from the devil because we are only human and from time to time things are sent to tempt us, sinful things. It’s at times like these we need the Lord the most and we should come to him in prayer and sing his praises once again

Why don’t you lead me to that Rock that is higher than I
Oh lead me, yes Lord lead me
Why don’t you lead me to that Rock that is higher than I
Thou hast been a shelter for me
Well if you go down in yonder fold and search among the sheep
My brother thou hast been a shelter for me
Well you’ll find Him there so I am told with those He loves to keep
My brother thou hast been a shelter for me
If you’ll go in to the wilderness where dying ones are lost
My brother thou hast been a shelter for me
Well you’ll find Him there to heal and bless no matter what the cost
My brother thou hast been a shelter for me