by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 107-109
Have you ever noticed that trouble can prompt someone to turn to the Lord? Psalm 107 really addresses that.
There were those who dwelt in sorrow because of rebellion against the Lord. As they were in trouble, they cried out to Him and received his mercy.
Then there were those who were just fools. They weren’t trying to rebel, they just thought they knew what they were doing. But the path of fools inevitably leads to sorrow, so they cried out to the Lord.
Then there were those who arrogantly pursued their goals of money and fame. They found themselves in despair and turned to the Lord.
In every case, God heard their cries for help and He delivered them from their sorrow. God was faithful even when they weren’t.
Trouble does often make a person turn to God, but there’s a better way. The better way is not to be rebellious or a fool or someone just pursuing materialistic goals. The better way is to seek God from the time of your youth – and to never let up on seeking Him.
If you and I are wise, we learn from the mistakes of others and spend our lives basking in the lovingkindness of the Lord.
There are those who are hungry for Him, and He makes them to lie down in green pastures. He blesses them and they multiply greatly, and He does not let their cattle decrease.
“Who is wise, let Him give heed to these things.”(107:43).
I think I will!
I Corinthians 4
Paul has a few obstacles which come up over and over. There are always those who are trying to edge into the fellowship of believers and upset the apple cart. That’s what we have here.
Sometimes the ones who bring trouble are the Judaizers who want to being the Jewish law to the people. This time the trouble-makers are those who are trying to promote themselves as great teachers. They bring false doctrine and then they try to hold themselves in high esteem before the congregation. Usually these come against Paul’s teaching and try to usurp his authority as apostle.
Pride is the problem. These men think that they know more than Paul – even when they don’t. More than likely they are smoother talking and smoother in their demeanor. People can easily get swayed by smooth people.
Today that problem still exists. New believers and foolish people can get carried off into strange doctrine by such prideful people. When this happens, almost always the foolish ones are idolizing the teachers. And almost always the teachers are loving it.
Those who are truly representing God realize that He gets the glory. They are not trying to get people to follow them. They want people to follow God Himself.
All of us need to be mindful of these things. If we are being taught, we need to be sure that the message is true to the Word. If we are teachers we need to be checking our hearts so that we don’t get into pride. (Remember that’s the sin of Satan: pride).
Pure hearts make for a pure message – and only God gets the glory. After all, it’s all a gift from Him.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 105-106
When we recite our own history with the Lord, we can always see that He is faithful to us even when we blow it. That’s the nature of our wonderful God. Faithfulness.
In these two psalms David recounts the history of God’s faithfulness even when the Israelites were not. He had promised that His hand would be lifted from them if they rebelled too much, so even those promises were fulfilled. God’s Word will not fail.
Which brings me to a special verse hidden in the middle of Psalm 105. In verses 16 and following, the psalmist speaks of Joseph – and how he was sent before his people to Egypt so that he could eventually save his nation from the famine which would come. (If you remember, the way he got there was not too pleasant: he was sold into slavery by his brothers).
Just recapping a little, Joseph had a couple of dreams when he was young. In one, he saw himself with his brothers binding sheaves of wheat in the field. Suddenly his sheaf arose and stood upright and all of the others bowed before him. (Genesis 37:5-7). Then he had another dream in which the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to him.( Genesis 37:9).
Needless to say, these dreams angered the brothers and his Dad. However, these dreams were God’s Word to him. God was making a promise to Joseph that this scenario would eventually happen. And it did. When Joseph became second in command in Egypt, his brothers came to him and bowed down to receive their provision.
However, in the meantime, Joseph went through horrible circumstances. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, lied upon by Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into prison. It took many years for all of these events to transpire. The dreams that Joseph had seemed to be impossible.
Yet they came to pass just as God had said. When the time came, Joseph was given the interpretation to Pharoah’s dream, and within a matter of days, Pharoah promoted him to second in command in all of Egypt.
That’s what we call a “suddenly.” It seems that things are going along in a negative vein, and “suddenly” God moves and turns things around.
Now for Joseph this had to be surreal, but I’m sure that looking back he could see how God had prepared him for this assignment. Joseph had learned skills as he was head steward in Potiphar’s house and as he was promoted to leadership in the prison. “In whatever he did, God was with him and made him prosper” (Genesis 39:43)
Why are we talking about this now? There is a key in Psalm 105:19: a principle which we need to know.
“Until the time that his word came to pass, the Word of the Lord tested him.” The Word itself tested him.
Have you ever had a promise from God, and then everything seemed to turn in the opposite direction? That’s the word testing you. Satan comes to steal the word, so he will try his best to make the opposite happen for you.
But stand firm. Just as with Joseph – if you stay strong, with a good attitude, and continue to believe what God has promised, you will see what He has promised coming to pass.
God is faithful.
I Corinthians 3
God gets the glory for everything. Not man.
Paul makes it very clear that divisions and strife people have are nothing more than carnality. Spiritual men aren’t divisive.
The Corinthians were saying, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos.” They were holding up this minister or that, but Paul rebukes them. “We are just ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who gave the increase.” (V. 5-6)
What a difference there would be in the world today if we could understand this. God is the One who makes the seed to grow – not man. Every minister exercises what has been given him by God, but the Lord is the only One who can make a person grow. It’s an individual relationship – and not someone else’s gift. Each person receives his ability to grow from God himself.
In our spectator world, there are those who think they have achieved great things for God just by listening to “some great preacher.” They are wrong. When we hear the Word – from a great preacher or from an ordinary man who loves the Lord – it’s what we “do” with it that counts.
The world is full of Christians who sit in the stands watching their favorite preachers perform. That’s not what our Father has in mind for us.
Let’s be those who take what we know and run with it. We must do what we know to do – with vigor – giving all the glory to God.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 103-104
Talk to yourself like David did. That technique works wonders in overcoming the doldrums.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.” That’s a major “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps,” if you ask me. David is telling himself that he has no choice about it. His spirit man is in charge, and the rest of him has to do the right thing: praise the Lord.
Furthermore, David reminds himself that he is not to forget any of his benefits. His sins are forgiven and his body is healed. And God will continue to satisfy his life with good things so that his youth will be renewed like the eagle. There are tons of blessings which are afforded to those who trust God and follow in His ways, and David enumerates many of them.
There are times in every life when obstacles arise, and if we follow our flesh, we will whine, cry, and complain. It’s hard to do sometimes, but if we will follow David’s example, we won’t allow ourselves to wallow in pity. We will say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul…” And as we do that, we will see a tremendous blessing coming our way. When our minds get focused on our great God and His blessings, our hope will return and along with it, our faith and joy.
One more benefit which comes from proclaiming God’s goodness and His Word, is seen in verse 20. The angels, who are mighty in strength, are sent to perform God’s Word. They obey the “voice” of God’s Word. And where does that voice come from? It comes from His Word being spoken by His believers. You and I are the voice.
We speak (give voice to) God’s Word and the angels obey it. What a responsibility we have!
It makes me want to speak it more. What about you?
I Corinthians 2
Powerful teaching in this chapter! We need to get this down and not forget it.
There are two kinds of wisdom – “natural wisdom” and “spiritual wisdom.” Natural wisdom cannot possibly understand God or his ways. Natural wisdom is guided by the senses and by the mind of man – reasoning. This wisdom doesn’t approach the realm of God, who is above natural man. So this wisdom will never get someone to God or allow someone to understand God’s ways. In fact, because they don’t understand His realm, they think that it is all foolishness.
But they are wrong. They just aren’t capable of understanding Him.
If we are “spiritual,” we have God’s spirit living within us, and He teaches us all things. He allows us to understand the mysteries of God and to communicate with our Father. It is indeed miraculous, and outside the realm of reasoning.
“He who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.” (V. 15). He has the “mind of Christ.” (V. 16).
It’s an awesome privilege to have the Spirit of God residing within us and to walk with Him on a daily basis. He is guiding us into the truth which we can walk in every day. The truth which will establish us and make our lives successful. The truth which will bless our families and bring us the abundant life promised by Jesus. The truth which will help us to lead others to our Lord.
Don’t ever allow yourself to feel belittled by unbelievers who mock your faith. They are the ones who don’t know what you know. Forgive them and pray for them, but don’t allow their attitude to make you feel small. The natural man “cannot understand the things of God.” (V. 14)
Hold your head up high and walk proudly with your God. Let your light shine, and others will see the truth.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 100-102
How do you start your day? Do you drag out of bed and head for the coffee pot with a grumpy look on your face? Or do you jump out of bed and start praising your God for the glorious opportunities which are set before you?
When we look at certain psalms, we see David acting out the second example. In fact, there were times when he would be considered raucous in his praise. Yet this king knew the heart of God and he knew the power of exuberant praise.
When I read Psalm 100, I think of Smith Wigglesworth, a legendary man of God who lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Smith would start every day by dancing in praise to God for at least 10 minutes. He said that he often started in the flesh, but would always wind up in the spirit. He would force his flesh to worship God, and in so doing would reap the benefits.
Psalm 100 begins by telling us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Shout unto Him. Think ball game, and you’ll get the picture. The psalmist is telling us to shout and cheer for our God – as we would our favorite team.
If you are accustomed to a quiet, reserved service of worship, this admonition might seem strange. But if that’s so, why don’t you try it? Try it all by yourself, when no one is looking or listening. Shout, clap, and cheer your God. Be exuberant in your praise of your mighty God.
Angels gather around to hear the praises of God’s people. And your heart will be remarkably energized.
I Corinthians 1
We are about to hear many great lessons as we read the two letters to the Corinthians.
The city of Corinth was where Aphrodite (the love goddess) was worshiped. Thousands of prostitutes thronged her temple, so needless to say, liscentiousness was rampant. As Paul approached the city overwhelmed by the unruliness of its inhabitants, he had to be dismayed. Yet he stayed there for a year and a half, teaching and discipling all of those who would listen. And many did.
In this first letter, as we read through the lines, we can see the problems arising for such a bold city. First, Paul has to rebuke the believers for their strife and contentions over doctrine. “I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, of I am of Cephas.” (V. 12).
Already, before the New Testament was even complete, the believers were arguing over who was the better preacher, and which message was the best. Wow! Human nature!
Then we can see another problem which had arisen. The “wise ” people were trying to say that believing in Jesus was foolish. The believers were being mocked and ridiculed.
Paul quickly addresses that attitude. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (V. 18) In the following verses, Paul shows the uselessness of worldly wisdom in establishing a relationship with God. People may think that they are wise in this world – and they may be in worldly matters, but without God, they are not wise. Only God gives true wisdom to His people. And you have to believe to receive.
This wise versus foolish argument is one which still hangs around today. There are those who don’t believe, who have an arrogant approach to those who do. That’s just one of the bits of persecution which true believers have to endure.
Yet we should never let that attitude sway us as believers. Worldly wisdom doesn’t lead to God. Only godly wisdom does that. So we continue in the faith, convinced in our hearts of our beliefs. Our God will remain faithful to us as we remain faithful to Him.
In the meantime, we will pray for those who don’t believe. Perhaps they will find the truth.
Hold up the light, and don’t stop believing. Today let your light shine for all to see.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Psalm 94-99
“Today if you hear His voice; do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Him.” (Psalm 95:7-8).
God is speaking to us all the time. Sometimes He speaks through that quiet gentle nudging we know so well. Other times His voice can be stronger – even on rare occasions audible. Yet most of His speaking is through His Word. Day in and day out, as we read the Bible, we know that God is speaking to us.
I like to ask Him to open my eyes to anything He wants me to hear or see as I read my daily passages. Then I want to incorporate the new revelation into my life.
Let Him speak to you personally – right where you are. His Word will lead you little by little. One step at a time.
The main thing is not to ignore it. When the Lord speaks to you, take it seriously. If it’s correction, take it. If it’s a promise, believe it.
Life with the lord can be so exciting if we believe and receive His Word.
Romans 15-16
One of my favorite scriptures to pray over our family and our church is found in chapter 15. “Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus. That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (15:5).
He wants us to learn to appreciate each other – with our differences and our likenesses. When we are “like-minded” toward each other, we do just that. We realize that we need each other. There are many aspects of God’s plan – with multiple gifts and callings. As we honor the different gifts we become focused on God’s plan and not our own.
And we get along. Instead of bickering over the different gifts, we know that all the gifts are important to God and we salute them. Then we see the many workings of the Kingdom accomplished.
Paul shows his appreciation for those delivering his letter. As he introduces each one, he remarks on their special contribution to him and the gospel. Paul doesn’t see himself as the only important minister on the planet; he honors those who have worked with him.
Paul is a good role model. Let’s salute the many flavors of personalities and gifts which God has designed, and work together to get His plans achieved.
