Category: Honour

The cries of the needy

Psalm 69 New Living Translation

²²Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare
    and their prosperity become a trap.^[b]
²³Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
    and make their bodies shake continually.^[c]
²⁴Pour out your fury on them;
    consume them with your burning anger.
²⁵Let their homes become desolate
    and their tents be deserted.
²⁶To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury;
    they add to the pain of those you have hurt.
²⁷Pile their sins up high,
    and don’t let them go free.
²⁸Erase their names from the Book of Life;
    don’t let them be counted among the righteous.

²⁹I am suffering and in pain.
Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.

³⁰Then I will praise God’s name with singing,
    and I will honour him with thanksgiving.
³¹For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle,
    more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.
³²The humble will see their God at work and be glad.
    Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.
³³For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;
    he does not despise his imprisoned people.

³⁴Praise him, O heaven and earth,
    the seas and all that move in them.
³⁵For God will save Jerusalem^[d]
    and rebuild the towns of Judah.
His people will live there
    and settle in their own land.
³⁶The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land,
    and those who love him will live there in safety.

Worthy is the Lamb

Revelation 5 The Message (MSG)

^11-14I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders—ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song:

The slain Lamb is worthy!
Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength!
Take the honor, the glory, the blessing!

Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing:

To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!
The blessing, the honour, the glory, the strength,
For age after age after age.

The Four Animals called out, “Oh, Yes!” The Elders fell to their knees and worshipped.

Heavenly Beauty

Psalm 8:3-6 –

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet.

They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
Both the rich and the poor,
the despised, the distressed,
They’ll sit down in the Kingdom of God.
And none will ask what they have been
Provided that their robes are clean;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God. See the source image
2.
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
To be met by their Father and welcomed and blessed,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.
The black, the white, the dark, the fair,
Your colour will not matter there;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.
3.
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
Out of great tribulation to triumph and rest
They’ll sit down in the Kingdom of God.
From every tribe and every race,
All men as brothers shall embrace;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west.
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.

I suppose you could say this is part 2 of yesterday’s blog “God’s Creation” .

The Bible and this video gives us this wonderful image of heaven. A place where there are no wars, no evil. Everything is peaceful. I think the words of the above song are very fitting.

Who is He?

1 Timothy 1:17New International Version

¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Author: B. R. Hanby

Benjamin Russell Hanby was born July 22, 1833, the oldest of eight children, to Bishop William Hanby in Rushville, OH. The family moved to Westerville, OH where Bishop Hanby was a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. In his short life Benjamin graduated from Otterbein, taught school, became a United Brethren minister, started a singing school, was editor for John Church publishers in Cincinnati and composed many songs and hymns before he died of tuberculosis March 15, 1867. His home in Westerville was Ohio’s first memorial to a composer. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves escaping to Canada and is a national historic site, a Methodist church Landmark and a Network to Freedom site for the National Park Service.

1 Who is he in yonder stall,
At whose feet the shepherds fall?

Refrain:
‘Tis the Lord! O wondrous story,
‘Tis the Lord, the King of Glory!
Ay his feel we humbly fall,
Crown him, crown him Lord of all!

2 Who is he in deep distress,
Fasting in the wilderness?

3 Who is he to whom they bring
All the sick and sorrowing?

4 Who iRuler

s he on yonder tree
Dies in grief and agony?

5 Who is he who from the grave
Comes to succour, help and save?

6 Who is he who from his throne
Rules through all the worlds alone?

Jesus is born!

Expect the Messiah

Matthew 13:53-58 New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

A prophet without honour

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. ⁵⁵‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?’ ⁵⁷And they took offence at him.

But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town and in his own home.’

⁵⁸And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

When God Says No

Isaiah 25:1-5 New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago.
²You have made the city a heap of rubble,
    the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
³Therefore strong peoples will honour you;
    cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
⁴You have been a refuge for the poor,
    a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
    is like a storm driving against a wall
⁵    and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

I’ve had many tears and sorrows,
I’ve had questions for tomorrow,
There’ve been times
I didn’t know right from wrong:
But in every situation
God gave blessed consolation
That my trials come
To only make me strong.

Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.

I’ve been to lots of places,
And I’ve seen a lot of faces,
There’ve been times I felt so all alone;
But in my lonely hours,
Yes, those precious lonely hours,
Jesus let me know that I was His own.

Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.

I thank God for the mountains,
And I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms
He brought me through;
For if I’d never had a problem
I wouldn’t know
That He could solve them,
I’d never know what faith
In God could do.

Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.

When God says no, He has a plan. Keep trusting Him!

God Saves Israel

The following blog has been posted before and I thought it appropriate to post it again considering what’s happening in the Middle East.

Isaiah 43 New International Version

Israel’s Only Saviour

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
    Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honoured in my sight,
    and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
⁵Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.
⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
⁷everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

⁸Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
    who have ears but are deaf.
⁹All the nations gather together
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.
¹¹I, even I, am the Lord,
    and apart from me there is no saviour.
¹²I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
¹³    Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”

Jesus disciplines those he loves

Proverbs 3 New International Version

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

3 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
²for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.

³Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
⁸This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
¹⁰then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹²because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

This seems to be a week for talking about Temptation & Discipline with a second reading on Temptation yesterday and today a second one on Discipline.

Hypocrisy

Matthew 23 New International Version

A Warning Against Hypocrisy

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Related image

⁵“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries^[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

⁸“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

The Rich and the Poor

Proverbs 22 New Living Translation

22 Choose a good reputation over great riches;
being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.

²The rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord made them both.

³A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

⁴True humility and fear of the Lord
lead to riches, honour, and long life.

⁵Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road;
whoever values life will avoid it.

⁶Direct your children onto the right path,
and when they are older, they will not leave it.

⁷Just as the rich rule the poor,
so the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster,
and their reign of terror will come to an end.^[a]

⁹Blessed are those who are generous,
because they feed the poor.

¹⁰Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too.
Quarrels and insults will disappear.

¹¹Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech
will have the king as a friend.

¹²The Lord preserves those with knowledge,
but he ruins the plans of the treacherous.

¹³The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there!
If I go outside, I might be killed!”

¹⁴The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap;
those who make the Lord angry will fall into it.

¹⁵A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness,
but physical discipline will drive it far away.

¹⁶A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor
or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.