PSALM 4

3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and given distinction to] him who is godly [the man of loving-kindness]. The Lord listens and heeds when I call to Him.

GOD’S SPECIAL ONES

Aren’t the psalms so lovely..

I love them and hope you do too.

There is a football manager who calls himself, THE SPECIAL ONE.

Well, we are God’s special ones…Amen.

God loves everyone, but he loves the believer deeply and passionately and sets Him or Her apart as special.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that not only are we His special ones, but that He hears and answers our prayers?

What a privilege to know that we can bring all of our cares to our Heavenly Father.

Now I can say something and you can hear me…
but to listen means you give your personal and particular attention to what that person is saying to you.

At church, everyone prays at the same time,

and around the world, there must be millions praying at the same time.

but the Father is listening to and giving each prayer, His personal attention

Truly we are blessed beyond measure…

next time you fell discouraged, remember that God has chosen you to be His child.

He will never leave you or forsake you.

YOU ARE GOD’SPECIAL ONE

God bless you

Keith

PSALM 40

You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them,yet they are more than can be told. ESV

NONE CAN COMPARE WITH YOU

Right in the middle of this verse, is this amazing statement, indeed nothing can even come close to the God of the universe,He alone is the one true God, he is the one creator God, he alone can flood the earth, he alone is the one who can open the red sea and provide daily manna for up to two million people every day.

Are there any so called gods, who can do this?

Not on your life, Elijah tested these so called gods on mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18, he laughed them to scorn, and so should we.

Our God is one who doesn’t just do things, he is our father, this God is not some distant deity, he is personal, he is our father, saviour, friend and redeemer.

When God shows his care and his love in such a way, it is our joy to tell people, what he has done for us. Yet if would take thousands of years to tell of what God has done for us, we have only a short time to tell people, what God means to us and what God has done for us.

Time is very short.

Have you taken time to proclaim, what God has done for you.

Take time to tell someone today.

God bless you

KK 

PSALM 115

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say,  “Where is their God?”

3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.

6 They have ears, but do not hear;

    noses, but do not smell.

7 They have hands, but do not feel;

    feet, but do not walk;and they do not make a sound in their throat.

8 Those who make them become like them;so do all who trust in them.

WORTHLESS IDOLS

Man seeks to make fun of God, he says where are you? He is truly depraved and needs a change of heart, that only God can do through Christ.

His heart is truly turned against his creator, his whole mindset, is to blame God and to say ” where are you”?

What he doesn’t realise is that it is God, who is in charge, he does exactly, what pleases him.

In verse 1, the church is to  give glory to our Lord, where the world seeks to put God down, the church must seek to uplift him.

The idols of the world are useless, they bring no comfort in times of trouble, they cannot comfort the bereaved, transform a marriage, only the true and living God can and does do that.

Psalm 2 comes to mind, we have to kiss the son, we have to come to trust him, these nations instead of cursing Christ, must confess Christ.

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;the Lord holds them in derision.

5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;today I have begotten you.

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You shall break[b] them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Paul in Acts 17, saw many idols in Athens, one to the unknown God, when we see these idols, we must uplift the name of Our God, the one true and living Saviour, because all other so called gods, have ears but they do not hear, they cant and wont help anyone.

A needy world, needs to hear that Christ is the answer, and not some worthless idol.

God bless you

KK

PSALM 30

11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

DANCING WITH DELIGHT

Don’t you just love Psalms? I know that I do!

Each psalm speaks of the psalmist’s deep personal experience of every emotion known to man.. from depression to joy. You can find a psalm for every situation.

I just love what David says in this wonderful ending to his psalm. You remember that David danced with all his might, before the ark, wearing just an Ephod in 2 Samuel 6:14.

 Aren’t these verses the most wonderful picture of Salvation? This is what God has done for us.

God has turned our mourning into dancing, He has put off our sackcloth and now we are clothed with gladness. You see when we come to Christ in repentance and faith, we are turned upside down and inside out. We are clothed in the pure white righteousness of Christ, we have on his robe of righteousness, all our righteousness is dirty rags and we exchange those for a pure white robe.

We have to share this privilege with others, let us make sure that we are never silent about sharing this wonderful truth. Lets also give thanks to God at all times for doing these great things in our lives.

We can dance with delight only because of the great sacrifice of Christ on the cross.. let’s sing hallelujah and let the world know what he has done for us.

Are you dancing with delight because of what Christ has done for you?

God bless you

Keith

PSALM 119 VERSE 37

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
    and give me life in your ways.

GO AND GET DIGGING

I love the psalms, especially Psalm 119, it is just amazing. Many times, I have read this psalm right through at once, yes, all 176 verses of it.

Every verse is a nugget of gold, its great theme is the word of God, the glory of the bible is something to behold.

We need to fall in love with the word of God, this is no mere book, it is like no other book. When we read it, we only make a pinprick on its surface, even if read it continuously for 50 years, we cannot plumb its depths.

The psalmist makes many great statements and here is one of them.

I admit that I have a problem, I can get addicted to worthless things, such as cell phone etc, I can say, I need to keep up with the news, I need to communicate with my friends.. WRONG, this is my confession, just being honest.

Basically, anything is worthless, if it hinders your walk with God and draws you away from your real mission, which is to grow in faith and share the gospel.

I know that I can sit there for hours, yes hours playing cell phone, going from one website to another, it is like a downhill spiral,  we should pray this prayer like the psalmist did.

How can we grow in our spiritual life and learn the ways of God? They aren’t learned by watching the tv and computer, they are gained by reading, studying and digging into the word of God.

In Ephesians 5;16, we are told to redeem the time, how are we to do this;

Soak ourselves in the word of God, it must be our focus, turn off the tv and tune in to God’s word, and then go and get digging.

God bless you

KK

SPIRITUAL GIFTS WITHOUT LOVE = NOTHING

1 Corinthians 13 (King James Version KJV)

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

Paul has talked about spiritual gifts in Chapter 12 and he will go on to talk about them more in Chapter 14.

Here though, He puts it all into perspective.

Paul says that our lives can and will be like a sounding brass/ tinkling cymbal without love. A tinkling cymbal is hardly loud enough to be heard in the world…  our works will have no effect without love.

Likewise, if we have not love, all our works are like sounding brass…  they are all show.  We do great things…  but without love they are useless…  Amen

So are believers who have not love.

So is a church that does not have love.

Both of these things mentioned in Verse 1, were part of pagan worship (cymbals and brass), so Paul is saying that if you as an individual believer, or your church have not True Agape Love controlling their lives, then they are just like the pagans.

The thing that makes Christians different is their love for not just for one another, but a dying world.  The special dynamic makes the church stand out.  In Verses 3-7, Paul shows us how love operates in practical ways.

Are you or your church easily offended?

Are you or your church full of pride?

Are you or your church seeking its own way?

Then you or your churches are not operating in True Agape Love.

These are not my words, but God’s words.  We need to examine our love walk in view of this chapter?

Have you ever heard an orchestra, tuning up?  You cannot make out a true sound, it is only when the conductor comes onto the platform and takes control that the orchestra plays in unison.  Your life Believer and that of your church must be under the Lordship of Christ.  Is your life under the Lordship of the divine conductor…?  Jesus?

When one’s love walk is not right, we are too loud or too quiet.  We need to repent and get our love walk right with our fellow believers.  How can we love the world, when we can’t even love other believers?  This Command to Love means everyone, even those we don’t fully agree with on every point of doctrine, and it means that we have to love believers in other denominations!

Goodness me…  just imagine if we all truly loved each other from the heart…  what an example that would be to the world.

And how the world would be changed by seeing believers love each other from the heart. We sing that song they will know we are Christian’s by our love.  Does the world around us, know we are Christians, by the love we show one for another?

Let us show our love in practical ways to our fellow believer’s.

God bless you

PSALM 53

1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

IGNORING THE OBVIOUS

These verses describe atheism and its ideology, and at face value, it is calling the atheist a fool.

But in the Hebrew, it means the fool has said in his heart, NO GOD. Every atheist knows there is a God, even the most basic of tribal people worship something, whether it is nature or some other inanimate object.

Why do people say No God:

This verse gives us several reasons:

Because they are corrupt, they are stubborn in their belief that there is no God, they wish there is no God, they hope there is no God, so they can continue in their sin and idolatry.

Their lifestyles are ones of iniquity, if there is a God, that would challenge their sick and twisted lifestyles.

They do nothing good, they think they do something good, in the eyes of the world and indeed in their own eyes, but all their righteousness is like dirty rags. Isaiah 64:6

In all their sin and iniquity and sin, do you think these people seek God? No they run away from God, people who live in this way are going to invent anything that shuts out God, they will deny the existence of God, because to admit his existence would be to disturb their lifestyle.

Remember all this, when next you share the gospel with an atheist, they know full well, there is a God, but to admit that, would mean they would have to confront their sinful lifestyle.

God bless you

kk

PSALM 4

3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and given distinction to] him who is godly [the man of loving-kindness]. The Lord listens and heeds when I call to Him.

GOD’S SPECIAL ONES

Aren’t the psalms so lovely..

I love them and hope you do too.

There is a football manager who calls himself, THE SPECIAL ONE.

Well, we are God’s special ones…Amen.

God loves everyone, but he loves the believer deeply and passionately and sets Him or Her apart as special.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that not only are we His special ones, but that He hears and answers our prayers?

What a privilege to know that we can bring all of our cares to our Heavenly Father.

Now I can say something and you can hear me…
but to listen means you give your personal and particular attention to what that person is saying to you.

At church, everyone prays at the same time,

and around the world, there must be millions praying at any one time,

but the Father is listening to and giving each prayer, His personal attention

Truly we are blessed beyond measure…

next time you fell discouraged, remember that God has chosen you to be His child.

He will never leave you or forsake you.

YOU ARE GOD’SPECIAL ONE

God bless you

Keith

PROVOKING GODS ANGER

“Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies: But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.  For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images…Psalm 78:56-58.”

This psalm tells the whole story of the children of Israel from their escape from Egypt to the time of the exile’.    God reads the story of the children of Israel and it makes sorry reading.    These verses are some of the saddest in the whole psalm, after all that God has done for them, they provoked God to anger.

Could this be written across our lives?    I know that I provoke God to anger, by my sin and rebellion. Sometimes I/we act like spoiled brats, just like the children of Israel were acting here.

What are these high places, we so often hear about in the Old Testament? So often we hear about them getting rid of their idols, but the high places weren’t torn down.   Remember an idol is anything, we place above God. He is right to be angry and jealous; he deserves and demands first place in our lives.

So often we tear down the idols we want to tear down, but we cleave unto those precious idols we hold dear.  So, what graven images and high places have we got in our lives? Maybe it is our beloved TV or even our computer/mobile phone.

Do you spend more on the latest gadget than you give to the Lord’s work?    When the book of your/my life is written and read, I pray that it doesn’t say these words in the verses above about us.

God bless you

Keith

REMEMBERING THE PAST

“I consider the days of old, the years of bygone times [of prosperity].    I call to remembrance my song in the night; with my heart I meditate and my spirit searches diligently: Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favourable no more? Have His mercy and loving-kindness ceased forever? Have His promises ended for all time?  Has God [deliberately] abandoned or forgotten His graciousness? Has He in anger shut up His compassion? Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!   And I say, this [apparent desertion of Israel by God] is my appointed lot and trial, but I will recall the years of the right hand of the Most High [in loving-kindness extended toward us], for this is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High changes.   I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.  I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds…Psalm 77:5-12.”

To me the Psalms are an endless source of comfort. They describe every emotion known to man and in this psalm Asaph, the writer, is going through a whole stream of emotions and most of them not good. Do you ever feel like the psalmist did in the above verses?

Sometimes we wonder what has happened –  this terrible thing has happened to us and we wonder where God is in all this. The answer to this is pretty simple: We are to remember what God did in the past, how did God act in the past, how did He lead you in the past. Did he bless you in the past?

The psalmist meditates and earnestly remembers what God did for him, and in generations past. God doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Next time you get in the mood of the above verses, and we all do at times, remember the past and how God is faithful and how He has blessed you. Remembering the past sometimes is not a bad thing, especially when it focuses on how faithful and good God has been to you.

God bless!

  Keith

Be an “I Will” Christian

“With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word… Psalm 119:13-16.”

Of all the psalms, this one is one of the best because it talks about God’s precious word.

Why don’t we have the same attitude the psalmist had in this beautiful psalm? He says, “I will.” He makes a commitment to the Word of God. Someone has testified that only half of Christians read the bible every day. These things should not be.

We need to make a commitment to the reading of the Bible. Rest assured, the devil will put any obstacle in your way to stop you from reading and meditating on scripture; even Christian service.

The Bible is the greatest treasure trove in the world. It is our spiritual food. You shouldn’t just read the Bible but meditate on it throughout the day.

Let God’s truth drip into your spirit. Let it take up residence in your mind; let it encompass your whole being. You may have heard this writing before (I don’t know the author, but I sure agree with him):
:
The Bible contains . . .

the mind of God,
the state of man,
the way of salvation,
the doom of sinners, and
the happiness of believers.

Its doctrines are holy,
its precepts are binding,
its histories are true, and
its decisions are immutable.

Read it to be wise,
believe it to be safe,
and practice it to be holy.

The Bible contains . . .

light to direct you,
food to support you,
and comfort to cheer you.

It is . . .

the traveler’s map,
the pilgrim’s staff,
the pilot’s compass,
the soldier’s sword and
the Christian’s charter.

Here too, Heaven is opened — and the gates of Hell are disclosed.

Christ is its grand subject,
our good is its design, and
the glory of God is its end.

The Bible should . . .

fill the memory,
rule the heart
and guide the feet.

Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully.

The Scripture is . . .

a mine of wealth,
a paradise of glory,
and a river of pleasure!

It . . .

is given to you in life,
will be opened at the judgment,
and be remembered forever.

The Bible . . .

involves the highest responsibility,
rewards the greatest labor, and
will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents!

Let’s all be “I WILL” CHRISTIANS!

Make a daily appointment to dive into the word of God!

God bless you, Keith