“Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 2:4). Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. All servants of the king were required not only to be good-looking but also to appear cheerful at all times. Up to this point, Nehemiah had been able to do so. But when he heard about the escaped Jews being in great distress and the city of Jerusalem in ruins, he wept and mourned for many days. (Read Nehemiah 1:3-4.) The next time Nehemiah appeared before the king, he could not hide his sorrow. He must…
“O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.” Psalm 139:1 David had a great relationship with the Lord. As we read His Psalms, it seems like He was able to talk plainly with the Lord admitting his weaknesses and asking for help to overcome them. He recognized God as Omniscient, knowing everything about Him. and Omnipresent, always with Him. Let us look at some of these verses that David wrote and how they can apply to our lives today. Verse 2 – “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.” In our times of weariness, failure, and shortcomings, when we fall short of our best, God knows, and He understands. When we are happy, feel strong, and are at our best, He does not change. Verse 3 – “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” He knows our past and our future and has a plan for each of us. Verse 4 – “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether” He hears every word that we speak and knows our very thoughts. How important it is…
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:10-11 A few months ago, my daughter and her husband gave me a book, “Putting Things in Order.” Life is uncertain, we do not know what tomorrow holds. We must have our financial records organized, our wills up to date, and computer passwords, and other information all in one place, so that if something happens to us, our loved ones will know exactly where everything is. This can save them extra time and worry. But there is something far more important to consider, whether we are young or old. Peter advises us in the verse we have chosen to “make our calling and election sure.” We need to be certain that we have repented of our sins and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord. Peter tells us in verse three that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness, but we must avail ourselves of it. He…
We received a phone call from my husband’s distant cousin. Someone he hadn’t seen in years and barely remembered. The only thing he could remember was that she was a little odd. She was in the area and wanted to stop in and say “Hello.” It was an unexpected visit from a near stranger, but we gave her our address, and later that evening, she arrived. We talked a little. Mostly, my husband and her caught up on recent family history. Where so and so was, what they were doing, and so forth. At the end of the conversation, she…
“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.” Leviticus 20:7-8 We used to sing a chorus in our church, and it came to my mind when I read this verse in Leviticus: A vessel of honor for God A vessel of honor for God Sanctified, holy, that I might be. A vessel of honor for God To sanctify something is to set it apart for God’s exclusive use and purpose. God had chosen Israel as His special people, to serve Him and eventually be the means of all nations knowing Him. In this passage in Leviticus, He instructed them to sanctify themselves and be holy. They were to keep His laws because He was the Lord who had sanctified them. As we read the Old Testament, we see that they gradually turned away from the path the Lord had for them, served other gods, and failed to live the way God had planned. But God’s plan for mankind had not changed, and when the time was right, He came to earth, took upon Himself the form of flesh, and…
“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 The word Praise means the expression of approval or admiration for someone or something. The Psalms that David wrote are filled with words of praise to the Lord, in appreciation for all His wonderful works and deeds. He found God worthy of all praise. Psalm 18:3 “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.” Sometimes our praise is a spontaneous overflow of joy in response to a blessing we have received, or when we consider how much God loves and cares for us. The words of a worship song may cause us to raise our hands and shout our praise to the One who has redeemed us. Often tears of joy will flow as we sense the presence of the Lord surrounding us. Other times, our praise is disciplined and measured. When we are going through a time of trial or difficulty, we do not feel like praising the Lord. But we do so, anyway, because we know that He has not changed, that He loves us and is still worthy of our praise. As we begin to…