Psalm 112 Law And Gospel

Psalm 112:1-9 KJV; 5th Sunday after Epiphany - the Psalms are full of the law while at the same time they bring comfort and promise to those in times of trouble.

By Grace Through Faith Alone

Ephesians 2:8=10 KJV We do good works not because they will save us rather because by God's grace we have already been saved.

A New Covenant

Bless the Lord

Bless the Lord, O my soul! Psalm 103

 

The Light Of Christ

Psalm 112:4-5 (KJV)

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 

The light of Christ who is gracious, full of compassion, and righteous shines upon a world that can be very dark. The world can also be full of the light of Christ. But, many love the darkness because the darkness will hide their sins. There will be legislatures that will make what is wrong right so that their own sins may be hidden. There will be many who support this subversion of justice. 

But, those who know Jesus live in the light that the truth may be seen. They live bathed in the light of Christ that they might live in comfort and in peace. 

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 

                                                                         (John 3:17-21)

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

                                                                             (2 Cor 4:6)

Jesus the Christ is the light that was sent into the world. Live life! Live it in the light of Christ to the glory of God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Praise Ye The Lord

PSALM 111 KJV

Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.

He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.

The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.

They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

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The works of the Lord are glorious. When you consider all that He has done for you, you will praise Him with your whole heart!

Trust in the Lord for He has and will do marvelous things. He alone has power and wisdom and strength above all things. This God is your God. He has saved you. Give Him praise and thanks!

God's Peace - Pr. J

A New Year; A New Day, Is Dawning

Psalm 139:9-10

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jer 29:11 KJV)

I believe that God has a plan. Humankind also seems to have a plan and the powers that be don't always seem to have a very good plan for us. It does not really matter in the larger scheme of things. 

No matter what we think about the hand that we were dealt in 2020 we do not have to continue to live in the darkness nor the isolation that the past year so many people experienced. Go and stretch your wings. Every day in Christ is a new day. Every day in Christ is an opportunity to live life! 

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor 5:17)

Yesterday is gone. We cannot get it back. But, we can begin again this day and tomorrow and the day after. Step out of the darkness and live in his marvelous light.  Darkness is death and life is the light of Christ. As a new year dawns live life according to the good and gracious plan of God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Turn Us!

Psalm 80:7-18 KJV 

Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.

The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.

She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.

Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?

The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;

And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

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This country, this world, is in need of a lot of help. There is no president, no earthly ruler of any kind that can save us. We must turn back to God. Sadly, no matter how hard we try we cannot do that. Only God can change our hearts. We need him to turn us around. It is by his grace alone that we are saved. May he take away our hearts of stone and fill us with a new spirit. 

May we all be blessed with the same blessing that the Lord told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel. 

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

                                                                                      (Num 6:24-26)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

I Will Not Fear!

I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? (Psalm 118:5-6 KJV)

What, indeed, can man do to us that God cannot fix or heal or whatever needs to be done for our good!? There is nothing. We may be persecuted, hated, attacked; but, God has a plan for those who love Him. 

There have been times that my husband objected to me taking a public stand for what was right. He was afraid that I would be in danger for doing so. My response then was: what is the worst thing that can happen. Even if I am killed, God is with me. I have eternal life. If life in the eternal presence of God; in His Kingdom, sooner than I expect is the consequence for standing up for what is right, then I know that there is nothing to fear in doing His will.

We are saved by faith and not by the good that we do. Rather, we strive to do good because we have been saved by grace through faith in our most gracious God and Savior.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Repent and Seek the Lord

"Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you.

Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.." 

                                                   (Zephaniah 2:1-3 KJV)

The LORD has given His children of Judah many, many, opportunities to repent and seek Him and to do His will. They appear to be more than just a little slow in the repentance department. But, here's one more call to repent; for them to seek righteousness, humility; to seek the LORD before the day of the LORD's anger falls upon them.

We are all given more than enough opportunities to seek the LORD. How many chances do we really think we deserve? I guarantee you the LORD has already given us more than we deserve. If not for His Son, who suffered on the cross for us, we would all be destined to fall on the day of His anger.

Thanks be to God, for He has been gracious and merciful to us. Let us live lives seeking justice for all people.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Sincere Milk of the Word

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:2-3 KJV) 

As of the eighth of this month, I am a great-great aunt for the first time. Saylor will, as all newborns, desire the milk that will nourish her and help her to grow. Likewise, the first letter that is attributed to St. Peter encourages newborn Christians to desire the sincere milk of the word.

It is not just newborn Christians who need take to heart this admonition; but, all Christians. So often, once we have received the love of God, we think that alone will sustain us. But, we must consider that the world is feeding us a lot of garbage, as well. In order to be nourished and to grow in Christ we must continue to drink in the milk of the word.

Do not believe every word you hear from so called "spiritual" people on the radio or television or even in your neighborhood. If what you are hearing cannot be backed up by scripture then what you are hearing is not the word that will nourish you.  

Read the word daily. Drink it in. Every Sunday morning, somewhere, in some congregation, you can hear the word read aloud. Attend worship with the fellowship of believers and hear the promises of God for you. St. Paul wrote to the Romans:  "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom 10:17) 

Hear the Word of God speak to you; drink in the word; believe and know that the Lord is good.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Blessed Are They...

Praise the Lord.

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
  who find great delight in his commands.
Their children will be mighty in the land;
  the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
  and their righteousness endures forever.
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
  for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,

  who conduct their affairs with justice.

                                                Psalm 112:1-5 NIV

So often I hear people complain about how the younger generation does not worship the Lord; is selfish and greedy; and really does not care about anyone's well-being except for their own. How did the world get like this? 

I would surmise they have learned it from the generations before them; that would be us. Not just the non-Christians; but, Christians also are guilty of not teaching that God so loves the whole world and not just you or me. When we teach children to worry more about themselves than others than that is exactly what they will do and those children will teach their children to do the same with each generation being more and more self-centered willing to do whatever it is they need to do to get what they desire. Consequently, each generation sees less and less justice. Each generation will be less willing to be compassionate and generous.  When I was young, I knew a few narcissists. Today, I know multitudes who are the center of their universes and not only the center they are their whole universe. No one else matters to them.

May God teach us to teach our children to turn to him and to live compassionately and generously as he compassionately and generously has given to us through his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Gracious Speech

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Col 4:6

Each morning, I spend a few minutes reading the news online. I don't usually turn on the television because I do not like to start my day listening to commentators who do not know how to be gracious or to speak with integrity. I do not like to start my day listening to any politician or their supporters who season their speech with way too much salt and who have no clue what the words tact or graciousness mean. All of those accusations without an iota of evidence is really becoming wearisome. Many reporters forget that in this country we are innocent until proven guilty. According to scripture there needs to be witnesses in order to convict. There is so much bad news, both in content and in presentation, that I have find it needful to not read or listen to very much of it.

Each morning as I read the news, I stumble across at least a few errors in grammar, spelling, facts, etc.. Because of these errors false information is often given. I know and confess that I make an awful lot of grammatical and spelling errors in these daily blogs that I write. I am also not always the most tactful. I do not have an editor. I write like I speak and consequently mistakes are made. I am not a professional writer. I spend very little time in writing these blogs as they are a hobby. I do not make a living writing these blogs. However, I do believe that professional reporters and editors who are paid to communicate the news to us ought to actually edit what they are writing before they print it so that the news is communicated to us accurately and without attempts to get us to worship their gods as they try to shove their personal bias' down our throats.

Communicating properly is a gift that is greatly needed in our news media, indeed in the world. Yes, a little salt in the news is a good thing. But, a little more graciousness would help others to hear and understand more clearly.    

May God help us all to be a bit more gracious when we open our mouths or place our fingers on a keyboard in attempts to communicate ideas or facts.

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. Just wondering how many grammatical errors I just made..

His Blessings; His Peace

There are a lot of people hurting in this world. So much so that many are so lost in their own pain that they do not even consider that their neighbors; their loved ones might also be hurting.

What can we do to help? How do we reach out to others? How do we reach them? How do we get others to understand that the Lord desires that all people would receive his blessings and live in his peace? We cannot do a thing for anyone without the Lord's help. But, with him all things are possible.

Let us begin by asking God's blessings on others. Let us begin with prayer for and with others. Let us pray...

"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace." Num 6:24-26

God's Peace - Pr. J

Praise Ye The Lord!

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.

The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalm 67

Oh.... if only... if only His ways would be known upon the whole earth, the peoples would certainly be blessed and the whole world would live in peace.

Oh.... if only... if only humankind could away their self-centeredness; their false gods, and worship  the one true God; the land and all of the people would be blessed so greatly that we would hear joyful songs of praise unto the Lord.

May all the people praise the Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Glory To God Alone!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  (Eph 3:20-21 NIV)

All the glory, all the praise, all the thanks, all the credit goes to God.

One day, maybe, we will realize that we can truly do nothing good without God. It is His power alone that created the heavens and the earth. He can do all things for He is who He is. He is Almighty God. He is merciful and gracious to us even though we keep thinking that we can live without Him. He alone has saved us from our own stinking thinking by sending His only begotten Son to die for our sins.

All glory and honor belongs to God alone. Thanks be to God for He is our help and our salvation!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Storms Of Life

"God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’" Job 37:5-6 NIV

When storms break out and they do all of the time we often find ourselves angry or sad. Storms can do a lot of damage to what we perceive to be good. But, God has a better plan and sometimes the storms that are brought into our lives are God's way of cleansing our hearts and minds so that we are able to welcome the gracious gifts that He so desires to give us.

Do not fear the change that storms will bring. God's way is not our way. The great things that He does is beyond our understanding. Have patience and trust that He has good plan for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Keep Me In Your Way

Keep me from deceitful ways;
    be gracious to me and teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I have set my heart on your laws.
Psalm 119:29-30 NIV

St. Paul wrote to the Romans (7:15-20) "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."

Even when we desire to be faithful to God, without His help, we cannot do it. Without the abiding presence of Christ, we are lost.

St. Paul continued in his letter to the Romans (7:21-25) "So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

And, so we pray:  Keep me from deceitful ways, be gracious to me and help me to follow in your way. 

God's Peace - Pr. J