Psalm 107:23-34 - Miracles?

Psalm 107:23-32New International Version (NIV)

23 Some went out on the sea in ships;
    they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
    his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
    that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
    in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
    they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
    the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
    and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
    and praise him in the council of the elders.

The other day I was talking with my sisters about miracles. Do miracles happen today? Are people miraculously healed because they have prayed? Do people find their keys because they prayed to find them? Does God work that intricately in our lives? I think yes and no. I think miracles are for God's purposes, not mans. The passage above to me perfectly explains a miracle. The Israelites were rebellious and God was attempted many things to bring them back to him. He put them in a situation of peril and when they cried out to him, he rescued them. It was a miracle! He calmed the seas! They gave thanks to the Lord. So, do miracles happen today? I think yes, but God's not our miracle maker in the sky. Miracles are for his purposes.

Lord, thank you for showing us examples of miracles in the Bible. Please help us to rely on you for all things and trust in you always. Amen.

Psalm 107:14 - Chains

He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
     and broke away their chains.

We all have chains. Chains of addiction, sorrow, pain or trouble. But when we allow God to bring us out of the darkness and into his glorious light, he also helps us break our chains. Chains don't always break overnight and if you are like me, you have a tendency to go back and put the chains back on, but with the hope of heaven in our sight, we know that these chains are not our master and one day we will be made perfect and chain free when we are with God.

Lord, thank you for bringing us out of the slavery of sin, Please help us to continually rely on you to remove our chains. Amen.

Luke 2:11 - Merry Christmas and remember those who have to work today

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Merry Christmas to everyone!! I hope you have a wonderful day of celebration. Remember all of those who have to work on this holiday: health care workers, civil servants (police and fire), military personnel, hospitality (restaurants, hotels, entertainment) workers, retail workers, preachers (this year especially since Christmas is on Sunday) and any body else who has to work on the holiday.  I have worked every Christmas day for the last 6 years. For me Christmas has become a day of service in addition to a day of celebration.

Lord, thank you for special days, especially Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Please bless everyone, especially those who have to work today. Amen.

Psalm 106:13 - God's timing

But they soon forgot what he had done
     and did not wait for his plan to unfold.

Psalm 106 tells of the repeated forgetfulness of the Israelites. So many times God's people disobeyed him and broke their covenant with him. They repeated the cycle over and over of disobedience, struggle, and returning to God. We also quickly forget what God has done for us: how he has made a plan for the forgiveness of our sins, helped us and comforted us. Then we get impatient and forgetful and rebel again. God's plan is not something we always see. We have to focus on God regardless of our circumstances and wait on his timing.

Lord, thank you for your plan. Please help us to be patient and fully reliant on you. Amen.

Psalm 105:25 - Hate...for a purpose?

whose hearts he turned to hate his people,
     to conspire against his servants.

Psalm 105 is a brief history of the Jewish people from Joseph to Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Verse 25 explains that God turned the hearts of the Egyptians against his people. It is frustrating when someone doesn't like us. It may not be as extreme as and entire nation hating another, but either way it can make our lives miserable. We may question ourselves and allow it to destroy our lives. But we never know what God's plans are. In the case of the Israelites, God was actually causing the hate. It was a part of his plan to get his people out of Egypt. God can use any negative in our lives for good. Sometimes we see the final result and it all makes sense. Sometimes we don't, but the thing to remember is our job is to focus on God and glorifying his name.

Lord, thank you for your plan in our lives. Please help us to be patient and focus on you when life is difficult. Amen.

Psalm 104:14-15 - The glories of everyday life

He makes grass grow for the cattle,
     and plants for people to cultivate—
     bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens human hearts,
     oil to make their faces shine,
     and bread that sustains their hearts.

Meat, fruit & vegetables, wine, oil and bread. Psalm 104 expounds on the glories God in of every day life: light, weather, water, food, trees, birds, animals, work, the sea. How God has set these things in motion and keeps them moving forward. I have missed my study the last two days and was considering taking a break for Christmas, but if I stop, it may be hard to begin again. Motion begets motion.

Lord, thank you for the glories of every day life we often take for granted. Please help us to continually recognize and praise you. Amen.

Psalm 103:8 - The great example

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
     slow to anger, abounding in love.

The Lord is a great example for us. God loves us and is compassionate and gracious towards us. He is so patient and is slow to anger. The other day at Wal-mart my son and I were making a large purchase of Christmas gifts for a family in need. While we were patting ourselves on the back for helping others, the cashier was really not helpful regarding a few pricing issues. While I ran through the store to get another item with the correct bar code, I had to remind myself to be kind and not get angry. In our interactions with family, fellow Christians, co-workers, store clerks, waiters, and any others we come across as we go about our lives, lets remember to be compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love.

Lord, thank you for leading by example and treating us as we should treat others. Please help us to follow through treat others with the love you show us. Amen.

Psalm 102:25-26 - What is reality?

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
     and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
     they will all wear out like a garment.
 Like clothing you will change them
     and they will be discarded.

We place a lot of faith in this world, on this earth. We rely on what we see and know, what we can touch and feel. This is reality...for now. But this is not reality for God. God's reality is so much more than we can imagine. This world is just here today and gone tomorrow, like a garment that is worn a while, then thrown out. The questions from here get so big, my brain can hardly formulate them,

Lord, thank you for the mystery of you. Please help us to look beyond our daily reality and know that your reality is more than we can fathom. Amen.

Psalm 102:2 - Sending up an SOS

Do not hide your face from me
     when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
     when I call, answer me quickly.

There are times when there is nothing we can do but pray. We don't know how to solve the problem. We're not even sure what the solution is. But with faith in God, we know he hears, we know he sees us in our distress. We know he will take care of us.

Lord, thank you for the assurance of your help. Please be patient with us when we are crying out to you, feeling abandoned and hopeless. Amen.

Psalm 101:2 - Blameless

I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
     when will you come to me?
I will conduct the affairs of my house
     with a blameless heart.

Those who claim to be Christians are working toward this goal: we want to be blameless. We want to lead a blameless life and have a blameless heart. Perfection is a goal we won't achieve until we are with God in heaven, we are all sinners, but hopefully every day we are making progress in our obedience to God.

Lord, thank you for your promise of being with you in heaven. Until that time, please help me to live a blameless life. Amen.

Psalm 100:2 - Gladness

Worship the Lord with gladness;
     come before him with joyful songs.

In this holiday season, let us be ever joyful, glad while we are worshiping and as we are going about our daily lives.

Lord, thank you for being an awesome God so worthy of our joy and gladness. Help us to share that joy and gladness with others. Amen.

Psalm 99:3 - Awesome

Let them praise your great and awesome name—
     he is holy.

A few years ago the I heard a minister talk about the word "awesome" and how we use it so flippantly. "Wow, this pizza is totally awesome!" He suggested that this word should be reserved for things that truly are worthy of the expression. The Lord God Almighty is awesome!!

Lord, thank you for being so amazing we need words like awesome to describe you. Please help us to offer you the holy praise and reverence due to you. Amen.

Psalm 98:5-6 - Make music

make music to the Lord with the harp,
     with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
     shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Musical instruments in worship...some people are for it and some are against it. I know we don't have any New Testament examples of worship with instruments, but I think this Old Testament verse assures us that God is praised with this form of worship as well. Honestly, I am happy to worship without instruments (which is what we do at the church where I am a member). I love the four part harmony and I think God is greatly praised and pleased with our voice offering. I also believe a church with a band can make an offering of song equally acceptable to the Lord.

Lord, thank you for giving us the gift of music so that we can return that gift to you. Please help us to rightly present this offering to you. Amen.

Psalm 97:6 - God made it!

The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
     and all peoples see his glory.

I saw this cartoon posted on Facebook earlier today, then I read my psalm for the day and the two went perfectly together. This psalm mentions the earth, shores, clouds, darkness, fire, lightning, mountains and the heavens rejoicing and proclaiming his name.

Lord, thank you for the gorgeous creation you have made. Please help all to see your hand in the majesty of this earth. Amen.

Psalm 96:2 - Day after day

Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
     proclaim his salvation day after day.

How often do we spend time singing to God and praising his name? How often do we proclaim his salvation? Sometimes we are content to focus on God only once or twice a week, or once or twice a month or even once or twice a year. God deserves our praise every day. We should be talking about salvation day after day.

Lord, thank you for being so worthy of our praise and for salvation. Please help us to daily praise you and share your salvation. Amen.

Ephesians 4:32 - Holiday stress

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

The holiday season can be a very stressful time of year. Let's all remember to be kind and compassionate to each other,

Lord, thank you for being the great example of kindness, compassion and forgiveness. Help us to offer these to our fellow humans. Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20 - Bible Study Challenge Day 7

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Question 1 - Where are the lost?

They are everywhere, all nations, including those who live near us.

Question 2 - How can we reach them?

We can reach them by teaching them to obey everything God commands. We have to seek out people in the world. Find people who are struggling and looking for answers. If we live as a Christian example, some people may come to us looking for the reason for our joy and faith.

Question 3 - Why do we not seek them out?

Fear. We are scared people will say no and think we are bugging them. They might think we are a hypocrite if we say we are a Christian, yet are not perfect. We might be sacred they will ask something we don't know the answer to. 

Lord, thank you for trusting us with this commission. Please help us to go out and make disciples. Amen. 

Matthew 5:13-16 - Bible Study Challenge Day 6

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

John liked The Message version of part of verse 13 "You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth."

Question 1 - Why was salt so important when this was written?
(This one is all John!) Because salt preserved food.  All through history the availability of salt has been pivotal to civilization. The word "salary" comes from the Latin word for salt because the Roman Legions were sometimes paid in salt, which was quite literally worth its weight in gold. In Britain, the suffix "-wich" in a placename means it was once a source of salt, as in Sandwich and Norwich.

Question 2 - How will you let your light shine this week?
John said he is giving platelets and sharing his good health with others. I enjoy writing this blog and posting only uplifting things on Facebook. Another way we both let our light shine is at work. He works with college students and I work with seniors with memory care issues and we both have co-workers. I think the people we work with know us better than most people because we go through so much together and reveal our true selves to them. Our reactions to situations are key in showing who we really are and letting our light shine or not.

Question 3 - How can someone's seeing your Christian example help them to glorify Christ?
When we are open about our Christianity, there are others around us who may also be Christians, but are not as open with their faith. We give them the OK to act like a Christian, that they are not going to be belittled or persecuted for their beliefs. They are comfortable talking to us about faith and this may encourage us both to grow stronger and more bold in glorifying Christ.

Lord, thank you for making us salt to season and light to shine. Please help us to use our saltiness and light to glorify you. Amen.

Matthew 6:19-24 - Bible Study Challenge Day 5

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Question 1 - What treasures do we lay up here on earth?
Out treasures can be stuff. We fill our lives and houses with stuff. In the last few day I have spent a bunch of money on a bunch of stuff. It is easy to find our value in the stuff we purchase. Our treasures may be the things/activities we give our time and effort to, especially if it is more time and effort than we give to God. Our treasure may be our savings or retirement account. It's good to think ahead, be prepared and plan to take care of ourselves when we retire, but investments can fail, big expenses can drain us financially and all can be lost. We must be careful we are putting our trust and value in God, not our savings.

Question 2 - How can we keep the light in us?
We are a vessel for light. The more broken we are, the more light gets out to share with the world. We must fill our vessel daily/hourly through prayer, study and meditation, by believing and trusting in God.

Question 3 - Who or what competes to be our master?
So many things!!! Anything we obey rather than God. This could be our job, spouse, children, presidents, food and other addictions, money, etc...