Psalm 7

Thoughts On Psalm No. 7

Consider the following  proverb attributed to the Chinese.

If there is righteousness in the heart,

There will be beauty in the soul.

If there is beauty in the soul,

There will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home,

There will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation,

There will be peace in the world.

If we use the biblical definition of righteousness (Romans 1:16,17), we find the right way to create the peace that God wants....people living as God's children, Christians!

Now an assignment.......Slowly read Psalm 112. Note the word righteousness and in vss. 4,6 the word righteous, and traits assigned to the righteous person. In vs. 7 note the word heart and its description. What we have is a description of the way of life of one who is righteous. Do you think it fits the proverb?????

The New Testament gives us the information we need to become Christians, thus becoming righteous. Study hard, commit firmly, serve willingly, be beautiful!

God bless     Bob A. 

 

A vacation sermon

 

1)    SLIDE

2)    Man can follow one of two paths in life.

3)    Each one gets to choose; our choice about heaven or hell is not predetermined – SLIDE

4)    Ezek. 18:20 says the “soul that sins, it shall die.”

5)    Jesus said (Mt. 19:14) the “kingdom of heaven” belongs to “little children.”

6)    A time comes when the things of childhood are put away; become accountable.

7)    Accountable people become guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23). SLIDE

8)    We enter into this world without sin, but eventually we choose some form of sin.

9)    We need a solution.  We need a perfect helper.

a)     God offers a solution and His method of salvation is a “one size fit all” plan.

b)    God has only “1 faith” (Eph. 4:5), “1 church” (Mt. 16:18), and 1 gospel (Gal. 1:8-9).

c)     There is a “common faith” (Jude 3) which all must obey.  Only 1 plan of salvation.

d)    Deity has only one authorized helper; salvation is in “no other name” (Acts 4:12).

10) God’s way of salvation is described as “narrow” – Mt. 7:13 – SLIDE

11) SLIDE

12) SLIDE

a)     More than 600 families gave up their homes so a space center could be constructed.

b)    Acts 8:1 - Christians left the city of Jerusalem because of persecution.

13) SLIDE

a)     What kind of minds did men have to create this level of technology?

b)    The creativity and accomplishments were astounding.

 

“ELEPHANT ROCK.”

 

a)     This parks’ name reflects the fact that several GIANT ROCKS are in it.

b)    Many of these rocks were granite and this area has been heavily mined – SLIDE

 

2)    They were given the right to engrave their names or other information on the granite.

3)    SLIDE

4)    We do not need our names etched in granite to be remembered. 2 Cor. 5:10

5)    For the Christian, the bad is wiped away and the good is kept.

6)    SLIDE
In watching this family I could not help but think about the great gulf in Lk. 16.

7)    The saved are separated from the lost from the very moment of death.

8)    SLIDE

9)    One of the saddest things in life is to have a family member who is not right with God.

10) We know each person gets to decide which road they want to take –There are only two paths - SLIDE –

11) Which path are we walking on?

 

 

 

1) DIAPOSITIVA
2) El hombre puede seguir uno de los dos caminos de la vida.
3) Cada uno consigue elegir; nuestra elección sobre el cielo o el infierno no está predeterminada - SLIDE
4) Ez. 18:20 dice que "el alma que peca, morirá".
5) Jesús dijo (Mt. 19:14) que el "reino de los cielos" pertenece a "niños pequeños".
6) Llega el tiempo en que las cosas de la infancia se guardan; rendir cuentas.
7) Las personas responsables se vuelven culpables de pecado (Romanos 3:23). DIAPOSITIVA
8) Entramos en este mundo sin pecado, pero finalmente elegimos alguna forma de pecado.
9) Necesitamos una solución. Necesitamos un ayudante perfecto.
a) Dios ofrece una solución y Su método de salvación es un plan de "un solo tamaño para todos".
b) Dios sólo tiene "1 fe" (Efesios 4: 5), "1 iglesia" (Mateo 16:18) y 1 evangelio (Gálatas 1: 8-9).
c) Hay una "fe común" (Judas 3) que todos deben obedecer. Sólo un plan de salvación.
d) La Deidad tiene un solo ayudante autorizado; la salvación no tiene "otro nombre" (Hechos 4:12).
10) El camino de Dios para la salvación es descrito como "estrecho" - Mt. 7:13 - DIAPOSITIVA
11) DIAPOSITIVA
12) DIAPOSITIVA
a) Más de 600 familias abandonaron sus hogares para construir un centro espacial.
b) Hechos 8: 1 - Los cristianos abandonaron la ciudad de Jerusalén debido a la persecución.
13) DIAPOSITIVA
a) ¿Qué tipo de mentes tenían los hombres para crear este nivel de tecnología?
b) La creatividad y los logros fueron asombrosos.

 ELEFANTE ROCA.

a) El nombre de este parque refleja el hecho de que hay varias ROCAS GIGANTES en él.
b) Muchas de estas rocas eran de granito y esta zona ha sido muy minada - SLIDE

2) Se les dio el derecho de grabar sus nombres u otra información sobre el granito.
3) DIAPOSITIVA
4) No necesitamos que nuestros nombres grabados en granito sean recordados. 2 Cor. 5:10
5) Para el cristiano, lo malo es borrado y el bien es guardado.
6) DIAPOSITIVA
Al observar a esta familia no pude evitar pensar en el gran abismo en Lk. dieciséis.
7) Los salvos están separados de los perdidos desde el mismo momento de la muerte.
8) DIAPOSITIVA
9) Una de las cosas más tristes de la vida es tener un miembro de la familia que no está bien con Dios.
10) Sabemos que cada persona llega a decidir qué camino quieren tomar -Hay sólo dos caminos - DIAPOSITIVA -

11) ¿En qué camino estamos caminando?

 

Tweeting

Most of the younger generation believes that the idea Tweeting came into being with them, those of us who have been around awhile know differently. Tweeting is the idea of conveying a message with very few letters or words. Our generation has been doing that for years and years.

 

It seems that we naturally have a thing for writing encrypted (sometimes shortened) messages in the things we write. When I was in grade school, my friends and I would make up "secret codes" and spend hours writing (on paper) private messages to each other.

 

As we matured we outgrew simple codes and became more sophisticated in the method and message… we discovered "Vanity License Plates" or "Personalized License Plates" for our cars, trucks and motorcycles. These vary in the United States from state to state, but normally state a message using 5 – 7.5 letters. Other countries follow the same practice, in the United Kingdom they are called, "prestige plate, private number plate, cherished plateor personalized registration". These license plates sometimes carry special messages designed by the purchaser, sometimes easy and sometimes difficult to decipher.

 

My wife and I keep an eye out for these plates and try to discover or understand the message they contain. For example we saw a bright lime green car this week on which the plated said, "I NO RIT" or "I know, right!" We supposed it was referring to the uniqueness of the color of the car. Then there was, "MY1VET," "IMAJEDI," "DOES185," "PDOFF," "H20 WELL, and on of my favorites "AFORDY7," seen on a 1947 Ford.

 

I think you can get the idea that we are a pretty clever bunch of beings, but did you realize that God beat us too it in this area. Way back in Exodus 3:13-14 we read, "But Moses replied, "When I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors sent me to you,' they will ask me, 'What is his name?' So what can I tell them? God said, "I am who I am. You must tell them: 'The one who is called I AM has sent me to you.'"

 

There has been much speculation regarding the meaning of this message. What does, "I AM" mean, is it a name or a description? I believe it is a description trying to convey the power of the creator of the universe. I like how Matthew Henry's commentary puts it. He says the message of "I AM" is: "1. That he is self-existent: he has his being of himself. 2. That he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, to-day, and forever." I like that description of the message, it may not be exactly what God had in mind when he gave us the three letter message, but then if we live according to his instructions in the rest of His Book, we can find out in person someday, can't we?

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Singing and Praying With Understanding

Paul wrote to the Corinthians regarding their worship assemblies, “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15, NKJV). What point was he making?
 
The Context

This entire chapter is about the use of miraculous gifts in assemblies. The Corinthians’ assemblies were evidently a mass of confusion: numerous brethren were speaking in tongues, yet sometimes there was no interpreter; multiple brethren were speaking out at the same time, either prophesying or speaking in tongues, thereby making it practically impossible to understand what anyone was saying. Paul feared that visitors would think they were mad! (v. 23).

Paul reminded them that all things must be done for edification (v. 26). That requires orderliness (v. 40), and toward that end the Apostle laid down explicit rules governing who could exercise what gift and when (vv. 27-36). Edification also requires clear communication. In the first half of the chapter, Paul emphasized that as an inherent advantage of the gift of prophecy over the gift of speaking in tongues. Everyone could understand the prophet and thus benefit from his message, but no one could learn from someone speaking in tongues unless someone was present who could interpret the language being spoken. Five words understood were far better than ten thousand spoken in a tongue (v. 19).
 
The Point

Many translations render v. 15 as praying and singing with the spirit and the mind (NASB, ESV, NIV, etc.).  The point would then be worshiping in spirit (or as directed by the Spirit) and comprehending what one is saying. The problem is, that does not fit the next verse or the overall context very well. I prefer the NKJV rendering, spirit and understanding. Paul’s word can refer, not just to my understanding what I am doing, but also to doing it in such a way that others understand it; and that is exactly his point! If others do not understand what I say when I am praying, how can they add their “Amen”? (v. 16). How are they edified? (v. 17). Singing, too, is to teach and admonish (Colossians 3:16).
 
The Application

We do not have miraculous gifts today. They belonged to the foundational days of the gospel (1 Corinthians 13). Nevertheless, the principles in this chapter are quite relevant to our worship.

Singing with the understanding obviously requires that we understand the words we are singing. More to the point here, however, it is singing so that others can understand them.

Music has evolved significantly over the last twenty centuries. Almost all of our hymns are in four-part harmony; still, we are singing the same words at the same time. Some hymns have an echoing effect, where one voice holds a word while other voices sing additional words. It is still all very discernable. But a few newer hymns are rounds, where each part is singing different words at the same time. They can be fun to sing musically, but I wonder: in terms of a listener’s ability to discern what is being said, is that significantly different than four prophets or four tongue-speakers talking at the same time? Granted, the modern listener can read all the words in the hymnal or on the projected song slide. But if you are like me, you are concentrating on getting your part right and somewhat blocking out the others’ words. How does that add to edification?

As to prayer, the application is obvious. Brethren who lead in prayer must use plain enough language that we can grasp what they are saying. Note the simple, straightforward wording in Jesus’ sample prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Also, leaders must speak loudly and clearly enough to be heard. Microphones help, but they can only do so much. It is just as difficult to understand a prayer leader who mumbles English as one who speaks boldly in a language we do not know!

“What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble . . . let all things be done for edification” (v. 26).

- by Frank Himmel

 

Was it an eclipse?

Eclipsed

 

“Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.”

 

Was it an eclipse?

 

There was tremendous excitement in the United States on Monday, August 21, 2017, due to the total solar eclipse that occurred on that day.  Thousands of people traveled varying distances to places along the 70-mile wide path of the shadow of the moon that gradually arced over the continental U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina.  The total solar eclipse on Monday was particularly rare because it was the first time since June 8, 1918, that the path of totality exclusively crossed the continental United States.  People in the path of totality were amazed as the moon blocked all of the light of the sun causing darkness to come at a time when it was normally broad daylight.

 

The passage above described another time that darkness covered the land.  Was it an eclipse?  Somehow, the sun was darkened or obstructed.  There was something much more important than an amazing astronomical event that was occurring on that day outside Jerusalem around 2,000 years ago.  Observe the text again:

 

“Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Mark 15:33-34).

 

What was happening?  Jesus, the sinless Son of God, was dying on the cross for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2).  Sin separates us from God and leads to our destruction (Isaiah 59:1-2; Matthew 7:13-14).  But God loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we might have the forgiveness of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).  “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

As the Son was suspended between heaven and earth, darkness came upon the land.  Shouldn’t it?  It was truly a dark day when Jesus paid the price for your sins and mine on the cruel cross of Calvary.

 

Yet because of His sacrificial death, you and I can enjoy the light of His mercy and grace!

 

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 17:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  The atoning blood that Jesus shed in His death will continue to cleanse those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

 

Somehow, miraculously, the sun was eclipsed as the Son of God hung on the cross for your sins and mine.  Don’t be amazed by the darkness during the day.  Be thankful for the loving grace that was extended to you and me… and accept it through your trusting obedience.

 

Won’t YOU?

 

-- David A. Sargent

 

The Crucified Life

 

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38

 

And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Mark 15:9-15

 

Jesus knew He was to be killed. Crucified. Killed by being fastened to a wooden  bit of tree – a stake, perhaps, with added cross-piece to enable arms as well as legs to be attached. He came to give sinners eternal life, and they cried: “Put him to death. Impale him on a stake. Get rid of him! He’s no earthly good to us.” It was a crying shame! Jesus also wanted his follower to “take up his cross.” This essentially means to be crucified with Jesus!! Christ’s followers sometimes receive the Jesus treatment, no matter their good deeds. Note John 15:18-19.

 

The Greek word for cross is stauros - a “stake,” as in a fence stake. “Torture stake” in The New World Translation. “Crucify” is simply the verbal form of cross, as in “Crucify Him” in Mark 15:13. The New World Translation has, “To the stake with him,” because a stake was what Jesus and criminals were nailed to for “crucifixion.” Crucifixion just means being fastened to a cross or stake. For how Jesus was attached to the tree/stake/cross (tree because the stake was cut from a tree), see Acts 2:23; 5:30; 10:39; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24. Acts 2:23 says literally, “…you fastened to and killed.” Cross is implied but not actually included in the original text. Acts 5:30, literally, “… whom you slew and hanged on a tree.” Acts 10:39, “… you killed by hanging on a tree.” Galatians 3:13, “… cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”   “Take up your cross” is really, “be crucified; be put on a torture stake.” The Greek isn’t “take up your burden”!

 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

 

“I have been crucified with Christ” again uses a form of the same word, stauros. When we commit to taking up our cross and following Jesus we are committing to being crucified with Christ – to dying with Christ, and to living for Him and others. Christ’s suffering and death on the cross also left us an example to emulate (especially His response to the mistreatment), since we have been crucified with Him. 1 Peter 2:21-25. Our life then is no longer our own, for Christ lives in us. We live the life Christ lived. We do the things Christ did. We cop the reviling and mocking Christ copped. We do not revile or threaten in response to vile treatment – in the same way Jesus did not revile or threaten. We have the faith Christ had. (Galatians 2:20, in Young’s Literal, has “And that which I now live in the flesh, in faith I live of the Son of God …”) We live with the love of Christ, the truth of Christ, the faithfulness of Christ, the courage of Christ, the holiness of Christ, the will of Christ, the meekness of Christ, the Spirit of Christ. We live “in faith of the Son of God” totally.

 

Colossians 3:1-17 explains it clearly in behavioural detail: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord

Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 

--David Carr