Psalm 81
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.[Musical Term] Of Asaph.
Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule[just decree] of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree in Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known:
6 “I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
People hardly ever sit down and ask you - why are you a Christian. What makes you interested in intransigent Christianity?
abiding, age-long, ancient, constant,
continuing, durable, enduring, evergreen, hardy,
immutable, lasting, long-lived,
long-standing, long-term,
of long duration, of long standing, perdurable, perennial, permanent, perpetual, persistent,
persisting, steadfast, tough, unfading, vital
Christianity has not had a changing message since the day the Book of Acts was becoming part of this planet. Jesus Christ loves us that much.
What possible blessing is there really in believing in something you cannot see and taste?
When I was 16, I went from being slightly snide about my grandmother's rock solid faith and was asked if I believed all of the impossible claims about God, His Son Jesus and the promises of the Written Word in Scripture. I discovered when asked to really decide I could and did. I accepted an asked for promise to read His Word every day. And I have. A couple of times, sure, I've been stuck somewhere without a Bible, but I have repeated the Lord's Prayer.
So what is the benefit of being a Christian. Eventually the line between faith unseen and imperceptible begins to dim. And perception becomes part of the continual prayer language of everyday. People say they have a hard time praying, after years of thinking and praying I think prayer and thinking to hand in hand. Like having a thought and turning that thought towards the ONE who is always listening to us anyway. Prayer isn't so much about a form as it is sharing in a heartfelt way, our thoughts, the virtues, flaws and sins.
In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder
There have been times I've wondered why hard things happen to good people. Only to realize God weaves what isn't good into His plan. Surely one of the purposes of life - growing up to go Home to Him - is not giving Him so much to sweep up. We really should not treat Him as if He was a waiter or a servant of ours. And even if we aren't praying for the sterling aspects of our lives, its important to remember we do ask in the Lord's Prayer for His will. And one of our purposes is to bring His Kingdom to earth in our lives, actions and words.
1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.
Matthew 6:27
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This summer I was in Sam's with my son, Cal. It was a day I was trying to decide if I was upset enough to cry. Just about all of it all the time. And the clerk in the check out line said to me, Very Cheerfully, "Today is sufficient. God gives you JUST what you need today. Learn to be grateful and trust HIM." You know I was leaving the store, I had to go back and tell her - "God Bless YOU. You are just what I needed to hear." And being a person of faith - she smiled as bright as the sun at noontime.
You have to really appreciate the Light. Especially when He speaks to you so clearly. You know you have heard from Him. The words spoken to me have radically changed my life. Speak up even if your voice squeaks. Hold on - with gratitude - when you hear from HIM. Always look to HIM with awe and wonder.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Matthew 8:10
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith."
Mark 2:5
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Matthew 14:31
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
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