Today’s reading Psalm 33& 34; Acts 24 Psalm 33 The mood of - TopicsExpress



          

Today’s reading Psalm 33& 34; Acts 24 Psalm 33 The mood of this Psalm is set in praise. It is not written in distress, sorrow, or persecution, but of wanting to praise God everyday, no matter how, in prayer, song, or instrument. The Psalm tells why we should be praising God. Psalm 33: 4-5 “For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Our key to peace and security is belief and trust in the unchanging, merciful, gracious character God. The next seven verses tell of two major truths. 1) God is the creator. 2) God has a purpose for His people. Creation began from nothing… ex nihilo, blank, diddly, void, zip, zilch, nada, duck egg. And God made it, and it says by God’s breath or voice. This was God’s way of speaking to his people. The world was described by ancient people using only the five human senses. Heaven to them may have been a thin stretching veil above the ground with windows to let rain in. Let’s not forget that the Bible is not anti-scientific, but pre-scientific. The Bible must be Gods word to it’s day before it can be Gods word to our day. Psalm 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.” We are to fear the Lord, not nature. Why would you fear the created, but not the creator? Verses 13-17 focuses on God’s immanence. He knows everything that is happening in our lives. Faithful followers lives are not controlled by luck, chance, fate, but are directed by faith by God! Live boldly for Him! Psalm 34 Praise is what this Psalm starts with. It first is singular, David, and then plural, with David’s call for all to praise God. God is too great and wonderful in character and deed not to be praised. Take note of how the praise is offered. 1) “At all times” We must always be in contact with God. Good times and hard times. He doesn’t ever change. It is only our perspective that changes. 2) “Continually” Praise should not depend on personal circumstances but should be a normal activity of us, the recipients of His grace. 3) “From all people” All of us have so much to praise God for, regardless of our lot in life. 4) “Together” Unity and fellowship among faithful followers exhibit praise to God and witness to others. Psalm 34:3 “Glorify the Lord…” That sounds easy enough. But let’s take a look at that simple command. It’s not a suggestion, it is a command. We are to show God our hearts gratefulness with our praise. Before we get too bummed out on our life or succumb to the difficulties of current situations, we should remind ourselves of 1. who God is 2. what He has done 3. what He is doing Verses 8 and 9 tell us because God is good, we as faithful followers are to 1) Taste. 2) See. 3) Take refuge. 4) Fear. 5) And then listen. We are just about to learn the results of if we do these five things. There is “no” want, and “long” life. Psalm 13-14 “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Notice the balance between what God does for the faithful follower and what they must do for themselves. There are choices and consequences, both positive and negative. Psalm 15-18 “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Verses 15-18 Demonstrate the different results for Godly living vs. Godless living. Here’s our big word of the day, notice the anthropomorphisms (definition time: The conception or representation of a deity) used to describe God, as one having eyes, ears and face. Psalm 19-22 “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. Verses 19-20 continue with contrasting outcomes of Godly living vs. Godless. Two points about the end of this Psalm. 1) The righteous did/do/will suffer in this fallen world. It’s no free and easy ride once you join the God Squad. In fact at times it’s even harder. You have to stand for something spiritual in this material world. You are such a marked man just for the thought of being a Christian. You have a higher standard of moral or righteous living placed on you by non believers, or those that just need to prove that they are right in their choice, and you are wrong. 2) God is with us in and through these afflictions. Just His presence is our greatest need and promise. Acts 24 The make believe trail for Paul is under way. It involves a corrupt judge, Felix. A crooked Lawyer, Tertullus. A bunch of false witnesses, the high priest Ananias and his cronies. A defendant, Paul. Some trumped up charges… 1) A troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world 2) He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. 3) And he even tried to desecrate the temple. Some Top 10 Commandment breaking. Command #9 says You shall not bear false witness. They had no testimony from any eye witnesses, because it was themselves who lead the riots. Throw in some dirty money and bribes. Just to make this trial shorter than CNN made the Jodi Arias trial, Paul was found not guilty, but spent at least two years in jail in the palace. The corrupt judge, kept hoping for a bribe, but it never happened, and he was forced out of office a short time later, while Paul was kept in prison.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 04:25:10 +0000

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