Psalm 116

Scripture: 

Psalm 116: 5-7

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

Observation-What does it say?

This whole Psalm is awesome, but I decided to choose the part about God’s character. 

Understanding-What does it mean?

When we meditate on the perfect character of God as revealed in His perfect Word, it brings us peace and comfort.

Life Application

Katie Thompson did a great job speaking on “Overcoming Anxiety” last Sunday night. Please check it out! You can watch it on YouTube at this link:  https://youtu.be/JIjuniF2eB8

On the physical level, anxiety is basically a build up of adrenaline in the brain and body that has no place to go. That’s why mental health professionals say that exercise is important for very anxious people. However, on the spiritual/soul level, it is a lack of peace and rest. A few of the ways to counteract that lack of peace and rest is by going to Jesus, through Prayer, His Word, and Worship, which Katie so eloquently spoke about. 

As we meditate on the Word of God and His amazing character of saving grace, righteousness, compassion, protection, and goodness (as this Psalm talks about), our soul comes to a place of rest. Let’s thank Him today for all of His amazing qualities, that we as His children, filled with the Holy Spirit, have direct access to. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, WITH thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

-Michelle Gaddi

Ezekiel_35

Scripture

 

Ezekiel 35:6b

Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

Observation - What does it say?

Israel has no more implacable enemy than Edom. As the descendants of Esau, whose brother Jacob stole his birthright and his father’s blessing, the Edomites view the Israelites as illegitimate rulers and thieves. So shortly after Nebuchadnezzar razes Jerusalem in 586 b.c., Edom seizes its opportunity for revenge and swoops in to fill the political vacuum that results. The Edomites are not operating as God’s instruments. They attack Israel out of their own greed, thinking no one is left to oppose them. They are wrong. The land of Israel never belongs to the people themselves; it belongs to God. When the Edomites sneak in to pillage the land of Israel, they find the stewards of the land gone or severely weakened, but the true Owner is at home and is ready to prosecute them for their actions. (From The Voice Bible)

Understanding - What does it mean?

The language God uses in his judgement against Edom is interesting. He doesn’t say, “Since you shed blood…” but “Since you did not hate bloodshed.” There is something about not just doing the right thing but actually loving what is right; not just avoiding sin because God hates it but truly hating it ourselves. In other words, it’s about our heart condition.

This makes more sense when you consider what Jesus said in Matthew 12:35, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” 

He also said in Matthew 7:18, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” Our actions, good or bad, flow from within; the outward actions are a reflection of the heart.  C.S. Lewis said something to the effect of, “God isn’t so concerned with the specific actions you take but with the kind of person you are becoming.”

Life Application

Ask God for more of His heart.

God, please change our hearts! May we not just try to do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing. Instead, may we truly love you! Please also give us your heart toward sin. May our primary motive in avoiding sin not be fear of punishment, but a hatred for it as we live in awareness of it's destructive consequences and the suffering you endured to do away with it. Give us more of your heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Go to this link for an overview of Ezekiel 34-48: https://youtu.be/SDeCWW_Bnyw

- Levi Thompson

Revelation_10

ScriptureRevelation 10:10 

I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Observation-What does it say?   In this part of his revelation, John sees an angel carrying a “little scroll.”  The little scroll is representative of the prophecy John must give to the people.  On one hand, John knows the sweetness of God’s good news.  However, included in the good news is the reality of the future of those who refuse to accept God’s free gift of grace.  In the Matthew Henry commentary, he writes, “Most men feel pleasure in looking into future events, and all good men like to receive a word from God. But when this book of prophecy was thoroughly digested by the apostle, the contents would be bitter; there were things so awful and terrible, such grievous persecutions of the people of God, such desolations in the earth, that the foresight and foreknowledge of them would be painful to his mind.”  When we draw our focus to the sweetness of the teaching of Jesus, it helps us to have a perspective on the bitterness we experience in this life.   Understanding-What does it mean?  As a police officer, I’m sort of in the business of bad news.  I tell people they are getting tickets, that they are going to jail, or that they accidentally gave away their life savings to a very tricky person and they probably won’t get it back.  My least favorite bad news to give is when I have to let someone know their family member won’t be coming back home.  For whatever reason, it’s never gotten easier for me and always takes me a few hours to get back to normal.  The sense of permanent loss is always hard to take, even though I usually don’t know the people involved.  The sense of permanent loss is what seems to scare everyone.  Very rarely have I come in contact with a family who have their hope set in the next life.  It’s also this fear of the permanent that scares us away from sharing the gospel with others.  We fear how they will react to the news that their life is sinful and results in the permanent separation from God.  It gives us the same sourness in our stomach that John experienced.  We don’t need to have fear like the rest of the world though.  “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” (1 Thesalonians 4:13-14)  This also reason for us to heed the call of the great commission.  To go despite our fear.  Throughout scripture, God gives us assurance he will be there for us.  “But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!  “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.  “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.” (Isaiah 43:1-2&4)

Life Application 

 

Jesus, help me to be bold.  Help me to hold so dear to the assurance of my faith that I fear nothing.  Set me on a path to encounter people who need to hear the goodness of your love, even though it means they will also hear of the permanency of their sin.  I love you and want to honor you with my whole life. 

 

 

-Tyler Galloway