For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted over the last few weeks to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.
There are some people who are constantly at the center of strife and trouble. They choose to spend their lives stirring up trouble and fomenting arguments. If you want a peaceful life, avoid spending time with such people.
It is satisfying to hear rumors. However, we need to be careful about them. They can easily become accepted as facts without confirmation and we, all too easily, judge people on the basis of things we believe to be true that isn’t. As soon as you hear a rumor work to confirm it, or dismiss it as untrue.
Let us emulate the psalmist when trouble comes upon us. Let us call out to the Lord and beg for His mercy. Let us acknowledge our fault in causing His anger and repent of our sins. Most importantly, let us recognize that it is only through God’s strength that we can accomplish His will. If we fail to do this, He will break our strength to show us our need for Him.
Jesus is the Son of God and one with God. The writer tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, laid the foundation of the earth. That is, He took part in the Creation of the Universe. We worship Jesus as God because He is God.
This passage contains another message that is important. It is one that I only realized the importance of in recent years. The author tells us that angels are only servants, that we should not worship them. Angels are spirits sent to serve and care for those who have accepted God’s salvation. This message is important because there are those in our society who place too much focus on angels. Angels are messengers of God and are only due the honour of a messenger.
Yes, we will suffer the consequences of our sins. Let us submit to the discipline the Lord lays on us for our sins. It is wrong to complain about the things we suffer. Instead let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Let us confess our sins and acknowledge that we deserve the suffering which we experience (and probably more than we experience).
I love verse 23:
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Things may have been bad yesterday, but each morning God offers us a fresh day to come before Him and do His will. We may cry in fear and despair, but if we call on the Lord, He will answer our cry. He will come when we call out to Him, we need not fear. He offers us salvation and tells us not to fear.