Tag Archives: Psalm 61:1-8

Daily Bible Study

March 18, 2015 Bible Study — The Voice of One Crying In the Wilderness

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 11:16-17

    Those who are kind and gracious gain honour, respect and other rewards. Those who are cruel and ruthless gain only wealth, and, ultimately, ruin.

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Psalm 61:1-8

O God, listen to my cry!
Hear my prayer!

This struck me this morning as something I need to pray. It is strange because this psalm is about facing difficult times and persecution. Yet, this morning this psalm struck me as my prayer in my struggle with sin. Despite this, I think this psalm represents my prayer asking God to help me in my struggle against temptation.

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Luke 3:1-22

    John was a voice shouting in the wilderness that people should prepare the way for the Lord’s coming. Jesus has come, but we are still called to prepare the way for Him. Proclaiming the Gospel can still feel like shouting in the wilderness.
    It is not enough to be a voice shouting in the wilderness, John did not just shout, “Prepare the way!” He told people how to prepare the way. He told them that it is not enough to say that you have repented of your sins. You need to prove by how you live that you have repented and turned to God. When the crowds asked John to be more specific, he gave an answer that is still good today. “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” There is the message we need to be preaching to those around us.
    Just as John’s message comes at the start of the Gospel of Luke, so this message is merely the start to preaching the Gospel. However, it is the start. You cannot preach the Gospel of Jesus unless you start here (and by starting here I mean doing this as well as preaching this).

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Numbers 26:52-28:15

    Once the census had been taken of the warriors, the men over the age of 20 in each of the tribes except the Levites, Moses took a census of the Levites. The census of the Levites was of every male one month and older. None of the people on the earlier census which Moses had taken just after the Israelites left Egypt were on either of these lists (except for Joshua and Caleb. The Israelites had spent an entire generation in the wilderness.

Daily Bible Study

September 17, 2014 Bible Study — Trust In the Lord Always

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I added a “Ministry Links” tab to my blog. On it I am going to link to the websites of various Christian Ministries which I support to one degree or another. Currently, it has a link to the congregation I attend and of which I am a member and a link to a ministry which does wonderful work in Honduras and elsewhere: MAMA Project

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Proverbs 23:17-18

    The proverb writer tells us not to envy sinners. He is not talking about envying someone who sins for their big house or fancy car. He is talking about envying people because of the sins they enjoy committing. I remember envying men who were womanizers. I was wrong to do so. Rather than envy sinners, let us fear and obey the Lord.

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Psalm 61:1-8

    God will listen to our cry, He will hear our prayer. When our heart is overwhelmed He will lead us to safety. We may not be able to see the path, but God will guide us to a fortress where our enemies cannot reach us. Let us sing His praises forever.

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Galatians 3:10-22

    If we want to be made right with God by following the law, we must never break any of the law. Any failure to live up to the law will doom us. No one is capable of living such a life. We cannot make up for our sins by doing good. It does not work that way. Doing good is what the law requires of us. We cannot hope to be made right with God by doing good. We can only be made right with God by placing our trust in Him and accepting the righteousness He offers us through Jesus’ death. I will do good because God has made me righteous, not in order to be made righteous.

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Isaiah 25-28:13

    God does many wonderful things, things which He planned long ago. He will destroy cities, turning them into rubble. He will bring nations down into the dust. But He will be a refuge to the poor and needy. He will provide shelter for all who fear Him. For those who are righteous (see above) life never becomes too difficult. God will smooth out the path in front of them. The righteous desire to bring glory to God’s name. The wicked, on the other hand, practice their wickedness despite God’s kindness to them. They continue to do wrong, even as the signs point to trouble coming. They will be struck down because of their wickedness.
    Isaiah tells us that even those who seek God will suffer, but nothing will come of their suffering. Instead, those who die in the Lord will live, their bodies will rise again. The suffering we experience will be to call us to account and will be nothing like that of those who refuse to call on God. God will use our suffering to turn us from our sins. As we turn to serving God, He will gather us together. When we do not listen to His word spoken gently, God will then speak it with force. Let us turn from our sins and serve the Lord.

Daily Bible Study

March 18, 2014 Bible Study — Change The World For Someone

    I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Proverbs 11:16-17

    The key to gaining long-term respect and reward is kindness and graciousness. Those who are cruel and ruthless will gain only wealth and in the long-run their cruelty will cause their downfall.

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Psalm 61:1-8

    This psalm resonates with me now. I am calling out to God for help. I am confident that He will lead me through this time of trouble to His strong fortress. I will sing His praises each day, even now as trouble surrounds me.

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Luke 3:1-22

    According to Luke, John the Baptist called the crowds who came to hear him preach a brood of vipers and asked them who warned them to seek an escape from God’s coming wrath. Different groups asked John what they should do. John gave them answers that applied to their specific places (tax collectors, soldiers, general populace). His answer to all of them can be easily summed up, “Do what you can to help those in need.” A fiction author whom I like, Lois McMaster Bujold, put words into the mouth of one of her characters which I think applies to what John was telling these people. I am going to paraphrase what she wrote here. When the character was told that his effort would not make any difference in the long run, that the bad guys would just pick up the pieces and go back to doing what they had been doing, he replied that it made a difference for those few he helped. People make the excuse that they can’t help everybody in need, so they don’t help anyone. John’s message here is to help those you can. We may not be able to change the world for everyone, but we can change the world for someone.

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Numbers 26:52-28:15

    When God told Moses that his day had come and the he would die soon, Moses’ response was to ask God to appoint his successor. Moses had led the people of Israel for 40 some years and as he faced death his concern was that they should have a good strong leader after he was gone. Joshua had been Moses’ assistant for most of the last 40 years, yet Moses was concerned that he was not the man for the job. Therefore Moses gave Eleazar, Aaron’s son, a greater role in leading the people of Israel beside Joshua than either he or Aaron had held while Moses was alive. Moses had groomed a leader to replace himself. Joshua did not follow his lead on this and the people of Israel suffered for it.

Daily Bible Study

September 17, 2013 Bible Study — The Righteous Will Live By Faith

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Isaiah 25-28:13

     Isaiah praises God for all His wonderful acts. God will destroy mighty cities, turning them into rubble. As a result, nations of ruthless people will learn to fear Him. In contrast to the destruction which God has and will bring upon the powerful and ruthless God has and will be a refuge for the poor and needy. God is spreading a feast out for all the peoples of the earth. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Those who declare that this is their God will partake of the feast and He will wipe away all tears.
     God will bring down the cities of the arrogant so that the poor and needy, the oppressed, will be able to walk over them. He will smooth the path for the righteous so that it is not steep or rough. I will show my trust, my faith, in God by obeying His laws. I know that doing His will is the only path to lasting happiness and fulfillment. I strive to live like this

All night long I search for you;
in the morning I earnestly seek for God.

The wicked do not respond to God’s kindness. God will give them opportunity to repent, but they will continue to do evil until God brings judgment against them. The time is coming when God will punish the people of the earth for their sins. But when that day arrives He will also defend those who are faithful to Him. He will treat those who are faithful to Him as a vineyard, tearing out the briers and thorns to throw on the fire. However, even in that day, those who turn to Him in their distress will be welcomed into His arms.
     We as people on this earth complain because God treats us as little children, spelling out His will a line at a time, a little here and a little there. However, God has tried showing us the big picture, offering us a place of rest, but we do not listen. Therefore, God will continue to show us His will a line at a time, a little here and a little there.

***

     I, for one, am grateful for God’s patience in spelling out His will for my life a line at a time. I know sometimes I complain because I do not see where He is leading me, but I, also, know that when He has shown me I get distracted from what comes next and try to jump ahead to the “good” parts before the time is ripe. I just ask that God show me where to put my foot next.

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Galatians 3:10-22

     Paul points out that if we try to live by the law then we can never make a mistake, we must keep every aspect of the law every day for all of our lives. If we have ever made a mistake and committed even the most minor of sins then we cannot hold ourselves up as righteous. On the other hand if we live by faith, we recognize that we cannot possibly measure up to God’s standard and we rely on God to redeem us. It is through faith that we can have life. It is not by keeping the law that we are justified before God, because, sooner or later, we will fail to keep every element of the law. It is only by faith that Christ will provide us with righteousness that we can be justified before God. The law was given to show us that none of us are more righteous than others of us. All of us have sinned, have done things that cause harm to ourselves and others.

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Psalm 61:1-8

     This psalm shall be my prayer whenever I face troubles. I will cry to Lord and beg Him to hear my prayer. I will seek the safety of sheltering under His wings. He will hear me and answer my prayer. He reserves a place for those who fear Him. When my heart is overwhelmed I will cry to God for help.

***

     Why does the psalmist cry out to God when his heart is overwhelmed? He does not say it here, but I know from my experience what the answer is. I cry out to God when my heart is overwhelmed because I know from experience that God will deliver me. I am striving to turn to Him sooner so that I can find and follow His path before I am overwhelmed.

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Proverbs 23:17-18

     I will not envy sinners, even when they appear to live a life I want for myself. I will continue to fear the Lord and strive to please Him, because nothing I desire compares with accomplishing that. I have never been disappointed by the rewards I have received for doing that which pleased the Lord.

Daily Bible Study

September 17, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Tabitha, Gandalf and Magrat

Isaiah 25-28:13

     Isaiah declares that he will praise the Lord because God will make strong nations declare His victory and ruthless nations fear Him. God will provide a fortress to protect the poor and weak from the storms of this world. God has laid out a feast for those who turn to Him. Isaiah tells us that God will remove the shadow of death which hangs over the earth. With Jesus’ resurrection, He has indeed done this. God will wipe away all tears. The way is not steep and rough for those who trust in God for their righteousness. God will smooth out the path before them. Isaiah makes a claim that I aim to make my own. He says that he seeks God earnestly in the morning. I am striving to do this. I have found that doing so makes it easier to do what is right all day long.
     In this passage, Isaiah tells us that God’s kindness to the wicked does not cause them to do good. Instead they continue to do wrong, even when God gives them good things. It is only by God punishing the wicked that some of them will turn from their wicked ways to following God. God spells out his plans for us line by line, but do we listen? All too often we do not follow God’s plans for us and complain because He does not show us the big picture. Yet when He does show us the big picture we respond, “How can I get from here to there?” I need to be satisfied by following God’s plans for me one step at a time.

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Galatians 3:10-22

     Paul points out that if we depend upon following the law for our righteousness, we must never break even one point of the law. But, as he has shown elsewhere, everyone has failed to keep the law to one degree or another. Paul further shows that salvation cannot come from the Law because God made the promise to Abraham long before He gave the Law to Moses. The Law, being given many years later, cannot be the prerequisite for the promise. Rather than receiving righteousness through the Law, we receive God’s promised freedom through belief in Jesus. Ultimately, none of us can boast of our righteousness because what righteousness we have is a gift from God. So, even to the extent that I live a good life, this is no credit to me since it is a result of the power of the Holy Spirit within me. When I do good things this is not because I am better than others, it is merely the result of God’s gift to me. A gift that others can receive in equal measure.

Tabitha the mighty hunter

Psalm 61:1-8

     I, like the psalmist, will cry to the Lord for help. He will hear me and provide me a safe refuge. God will watch over me with His unfailing love and faithfulness. I will sing God’s praise as I shelter under His wings.

Barony Wars, fencers engage

Proverbs 23:17-18

     Today’s proverb tells us not to envy sinners. They may have things that we would like and they may appear to be living a wonderful life. But we should continue to fear the Lord and remember that things are not always as they appear. If we continue to live our lives in fear of the Lord, we will not be disappointed. Every so often I will observe people who seem to be living a life that is to be desired without following God. Yet, in every case where I have gotten to know those people well I have discovered that either they are struggling with problems I never face or there is an emptiness to it all that I am unwilling to accept.