Psalm 139

"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace." 

Luke 2:29 (NIV)

This verse should help clarify that Simeon believed that he had one foot in the grave. It clearly reveals a man who believed in a Sovereign God; not Sovereign like the Queen of England (who sits on a throne a long ways away from Canada and who has nothing to do with the personal lives of her "subjects"), but a God who is personally and intimately involved in the lives of each of His subjects. 

This God instructs us to call Him, Father, and He, Himself, not another, decides when to "dismiss" us. An older friend of mine, while talking with me about the death of a Christian brother, remarked, "God let him out of class early." That is "dismissal"; being released from the school of life on this broken earth. Who decides when you or I will be "dismissed"? The Sovereign Lord does! 

This children of older people struggle to answer the question of their parents as they ask, "Why am I still here?" Simeon knew that he was alive so that God's personal promise through His Spirit to Simeon, could be fulfilled. To be "dismissed in peace" is to be blessed. There will be grieving, for there is separation from loved ones, but to die in peace with God should be on ever human's bucket list! 

It is worth noting that Simeon's peace came after and through seeing the Messiah who is Jesus of Nazareth. I think of Stephen crying out: "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). Oh to see Him. To gaze upon His beauty. To see Him in His holiness! Simeon was dismissed in peace. Stephen was dismissed in peace. May each of us leave this world in peace; the peace that passes understanding. The peace that comes to us from God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

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Luke 2:22-39

"It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah." 

Luke 2:26 (NIV)

Not only was Simeon waiting for the consolation of Israel, he was also waiting to die. We have a saying: "that so and so has one foot in the grave", which we mean that they are close to death. It is a little silly, for none of us have any idea how close we are to death, yet Simeon was waiting to die. Just as he provided a good model for us in terms of waiting on the Lord, so he also provides a good model for those who have one foot in the grave. 

The first thing we notice, is Simeon's close relationship to the Spirit of God: "the Spirit was upon him, revealed to him by the Spirit, and moved by the Spirit."

He was righteous and devout. He continued strong, not only in his personal faith, but in the exercise of his religious practices in his larger faith community. 

His interest was to the nation. He was waiting for the nation's Messiah; instead of becoming completely self-focused on his own departure, he was interested in his nation's future. 

He was hopeful. Instead of bemoaning the terrible state of his country, he was actively waiting for his God to deliver them, and he was sure of what he hoped for. 

He recognized the value of the next generations. Not only did he recognize that a small boy child was the Messiah, but he took time to bless the father and the mother, and encourage their hearts. 

Oh to be in that close of a relationship to the Spirit of God; having His power at work within us, hearing His still small voice, recognizing His direction in our lives, having a hope that fills our souls and actively blessing and encouraging the generations that follow. May we emulate Simeon's behaviour this Christmas as we interact with family and friends. 

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Jeremiah 8

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him." 

Luke 2:25 (NIV)

Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He was waiting for the answer to Jeremiah's question: "Is there no balm in Gilead?" (Jer. 8:22) Here in this verse in Luke, is the biblical definition of waiting on the Sovereign Lord, for Simeon was righteous and devout; that is, Simeon was living his life by the Spirit. Waiting on the Lord is trusting Him to answer our prayers and to fulfill His promises in His time and then showing our trust by living according to His Spirit and His Word. 

We first see this balm from Gilead in Genesis 37:25, where it records that the caravan that Joseph was sold to, carried balm from Gilead. We see it again in Jeremiah 8, where Jeremiah is crying over the state of His people and is asking for a physician and for the healing balm from Gilead. 

Gilead is the area on the east side of the Jordan and it apparently produced medicine or salve of some kind that brought about healing. Healing is what Israel desperately needed; not a healing that comes from a salve, but the healing that comes from their great Healer, the Great I AM. 

Friend, do you need consoling today? Do you need comfort today? Do you need healing today? 

Give me Jesus, for He is my balm! Give me Jesus for He is my consolation! 

"Give Me Jesus", Fernando Ortega, via YouTube 

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2 Kings 11

 

"The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who "will rule all the nations with an iron scepter." And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne." 

Revelation 12:14b, 15 (NIV) 

God creates humans. He started with Adam, then Eve, and ever since then, in each mother, He works in their womb and forms the child to be born (Ps. 139:13). The devil is a murderer and a liar (Jn 8:44), and he does all he can to bring death to every child that God forms. Yet these verses in Revelation are speaking of a special child; a Son who will rule all the nations. Clearly this is the Lord Jesus Christ. What this text teaches us is that the devil is actively involved in trying to destroy the King of kings, before he has a chance to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. 

2 Kings 11 tells the story of how close the devil came to destroying the line of David. It came down to a royal aunt and a nurse to hide little Joash and protect him from his grandmother, the murderess Athaliah. Isaiah declared, "the zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this" and our text says the same thing, "the child was snatched up to God." 

When you consider history and the amount of "royal" families who ended and disappeared, you start to understand how powerful God is and how powerful His promise to David was! He, by His own right arm, protected the royal blood line of David until the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ who is Jesus of Nazareth, was born to Mary 2,000 years ago. 

I look forward to meeting Eve, Sarah, Bathsheba, Jehosheba and the unnamed nurse, and thanking them for their role in bringing the Saviour of the world into Bethlehem so many years ago. I wonder if they knew the eternal consequences of what they were doing? 

 "Mary Did You Know", Reba McEntire, via YouTube

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2 Samuel 7

"Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." 

Isaiah 9:7 (NIV)

The great prophet Isaiah, saw through the Spirit the promise of God to David being fulfilled. We make promises without knowing the future, BUT the LORD makes promises and establishes covenants, knowing the end from the beginning. As you read through the sins of David, of Solomon, of Rehoboam and of all the other kings that followed, you realize why the LORD told Isaiah that His zeal would accomplish this! David couldn't make this happen; no person could make this happen, but God can and God will and the descendant of David, who is the Son of God, the King of kinds and Lord of lords, and He sits on a throne that will never be removed. His kingdom is a great kingdom. A kingdom of peace, of justice and righteousness; a kingdom that will never pass away. 

As we think about a King and a kingdom, let us not forget that all this came about because the LORD, the Jehovah God made a promise to a human being named David. Friend, God is a Lover of persons. It is truth that He keeps His covenant of love to thousands and millions of people in His kingdom, but He loves individuals and works all things to the good of each individual in His kingdom. 

Friend, are you in His kingdom? Is this Lord the King of your life? Give Him your life today. Surrender every last part of who you are, what you have and what you want, to Him. 

"That's My King", Dr. S.M. Lockridge, via YouTube

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2 Samuel 12

"Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah (loved by the LORD). "

2 Samuel 12:24, 25 (NIV)

Solomon's parents did what parents have doing since the beginning of families: they named their child. No doubt they discussed it and the reason behind the name, but the LORD sent a prophet to tell them that He wanted a different name; a name that reflected how the LORD viewed their baby son. The LORD loved him! If  there is any passage in the Bible that reveals the grace of God, it is these two verses. 

Grace is unmerited favour. David and Bathsheba deserved death. They received mercy through forgiveness and punishment. In any court of justice, David, who was a murderer and an adulterer, would be dead. Even if he was shown mercy by the courts because of his position as king, surely God would not bless his union with Bathsheba. It was only right and just that their first son died; what were they thinking of, making another child? Do they have no shame? Do they have no conscience? Do they really think that God would bless such an action? But God is a God of grace; a God who not only forgives, but gives you good things on top. God not only allowed them to conceive, but He brought forth a healthy son, and then He loved the little boy. 

Make no mistake, this birth of Solomon, over 3,000 years ago, has eternal consequences, for a descendant of Solomon came up out of the water of the Jordon 1,000 years later and everyone present, heard God say: "You are my Son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased." (Lk. 3:22) The grace of God, only the grace of God! Passages like this give me hope in the midst of my broken world.

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Genesis 17

"Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him." 

Genesis 17:9 (NIV)

"YES, BUT". Only the God of all gods, can make "YES, BUT" happen. It must encourage your heart to realize that God's promise recorded in Genesis 15 was to the wife as well to the man. Abraham and Sarah didn't think so, for they contrived a means for Abraham to have a son through Hagar, BUT God was not willing to go along with their plan. "Yes Abraham, Ishmael will be a great nation", BUT the child of the promise, the child of the covenant, will come from Sarah. 

"YES, BUT"! YES, God is concerned with the world and will create His people, a nation under covenant, BUT these great covenant promises were made to an individual. They are personal promises from a Great God to a lowly human being, AND according to this passage, to his wife. 

How important was this lady named Sarah? Very important in God's eyes! God not only is concerned with Abraham being the father of this child, BUT He is also concerned that Sarah be the mother of this child. Sarah is the free woman (Gal. 4:23). Sarah is the one through whom the Messiah will come. 

Make no mistake, this birth of Isaac, over 4,000 years ago, has eternal consequences. YES, all of us are sinners, BUT all who believe that Jesus is the Christ, are forgiven and receive eternal life! 

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Genesis 3

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." 

Hebrews 2:14,15 (NIV)

The Creator speaks to the created about the consequences of their sin and rebellion. He speaks with authority. He speaks as the One who knows the end from the beginning and all His creatures would do well to listen! 

He starts the serpent, one of God's magnificent creatures, who instigated this dark day of sin and death. His punishment includes a humbling and a promise of further punishment to come; a final defeat at the hands of the child of the woman Satan so easily deceived. 

He moves then to Eve, who so foolishly believed Satan's lies about God's intentions for her. Her punishment is one of pain, but not purposeless pain, but pain associated with the defeat of Satan, for her pain has to do with child-birth; out of her pain will come the victor. 

Then finally, the Creator God addresses Adam, the man who is responsible for his wife, for himself and for the entire earth. His punishment affects the entire earth and involves his relationship to the earth. It will no longer cooperate with him; it will resist him, making his life hard and then swallowing him up in death. 

Many people scoff at the truth of the Son of God who is the son of Mary. What about you? Do you see the truth of the Son of God and son of woman, spoken by God in the garden of Eden? 

Who would have thought that God would become man and dwell among us? God thought it! God spoke it! God made it happen! Blessed be the Name of our Lord.

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Luke 8:1-15

"Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you."

Hosea 10:12 (NIV) 

Our Lord Jesus taught us that the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by preserving, produce a crop. How is our heart today? 

First of all, do we hear the Word? Have we read it today? Have we listened to it? Have we sung it? 

Secondly, have we retained what we heard? Can we remember the meaning of the Word we read or heard? What did it mean? What is the Lord saying to me about my life today? 

Thirdly, have I implemented it in my life? This will take perseverance. Implementation of God's Word in my life will take work and pain and stick to-it-ness. 

Good soil is soil that has been turned. It has had the hard plow break into it and turn it upside down. So Hosea tells the people of God to get busy and plow those areas of our lives that we have left untouched. A good way of beginning to break up the un-plowed soil in our hearts is to read the Sermon on the Mount. Just read it through and note where the Words hurt. Turn the soil upside down by confessing your revealed sin and asking God to do His work in your heart. Then go back to those verses that hurt; memorize them, cross reference them, study them - sink God's Word deep into your plowed life and wait for the fruit of unfailing love to spring forth! 

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2 Chronicles 34

"Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD." 

2 Chronicles 34:27 (NIV)

Our heart controls our actions; our heart is our will! Josiah heard the Word of God in its entirety, and his heart was responsive, which caused him to humble himself before God and tear his robes and weep over his own sin and the people's sin. Our Lord Jesus taught us that "blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted" and so this young king whose heart responded in humility to the Word of God was comforted by God Himself. 

This is our responsibility before God; when we hear the Word of God, will our hearts be responsive and cause us to weep and seek God's face? Or will we ignore the Word, harden our hearts and be ruined? Some of us weep and say the words of repentance, but when it comes time for us to act, we will not obey. Our hearts control our actions; our heart is our will. 

Josiah not only wept and humbled himself before God, but he got up from prayer and set about the very painful task of bringing his life and the life of his nation into line with the Word of God. Let us note that this revival started by the reading of God's Word. Not until they found the Scriptures, opened the Scriptures, then read the Scriptures, and not until their hearts responded to the Scriptures did revival occur.  May we be people of the Word this day!

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1 Kings 18

"Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God and that you are turning their hearts back again." 

1 Kings 18:37 (NIV) 

How many times have I longed to be like Elijah and see my prayers answered? "...A human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." (James 5:17) Yet I would not want to be Elijah in 1 Kings 18. Standing in front of a hostile crowd; the prophets of Baal who wanted to kill him and an indifferent, even hostile, group of Israelites who had suffered under famine for three years because of his prayer. Standing in front of a soaking wet stone alter, with wood, a dead bull and water in a trench, with his life and ministry completely dependent upon God answering his prayer to light the sacrifice at that moment, this is the most important prayer he will ever utter. 

The stakes are huge and a wise person pays attention to the words of this prayer. What does Elijah say that prevails with God, that causes the God of heaven and earth to respond with fire? It seems as if he is testing God in his prayer, but that can't be true for he is obeying God in this "test". Elijah prays not only that they would know that YHWH is God, but they would also know that the mission of this God is turn the hearts of the people back to Him. The root cause of their divided kingdom, their lack of water and food, their external enemies that threaten, and their social issues is there hearts. God wants to bless them and cause them to prosper, but their hearts must be turned first. This is an effectual prayer of a righteous person. 

Change my heart, O God. Make it ever true.

Change my heart, O God. May I be like you. 

You are the Potter, I am the clay. 

Mold me and make me

This is what I pray

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Deuteronomy 10:12 thru 11:32

"Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer."

Deuteronomy 10:16 (NIV) 

If normal circumcision is painful (if you doubt that, watch this clip from The Nativity Story from 3:46 and on...) then circumcision of the heart must be really painful! You may say, "This is figurative John. Moses isn't talking about your organ that pumps blood." And you are correct. God wasn't talking about the organ we call the heart in Genesis 8, nor in Deuteronomy 10, but there will be real pain. Even the people of Israel had a problem with the evil inclination of their hearts and they were commanded to cut the evil out of their hearts. 

This passage gives us the clearest definition of the spiritual meaning of the word, "heart". Our heart controls our actions, our heart is our will. We always find a way to do evil, for where there is a will, there is a way. To love God is to keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and commands forever. It isn't just a warm feeling of adoration towards a God who loved us and chose us to be His! Love requires us to make the painful choice to bring justice for those who can't defend themselves and to give money and food to foreigners who live among us. Love requires us to cut away and kill the part of our heart that wants to fit in with the godless people who live all around us. It requires us to dare to worship and to wait for God to act on our behalf, instead of following the crowds and their belief and behaviour systems. 

What a gift God has given us in our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ! "In HIM you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands." (Col. 2:11) May we submit to the Spirit today as He cuts away at our heart, removing those evil inclinations. 

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Genesis 8

"The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done." 

Genesis 8:21 (NIV) 

This verse spells out the problem of every human that has ever been born on the face of the earth. This problem is common to all humans, no matter of our gender, or our skin colour or language, our size or intelligence; no matter whether we were born 4,000 years ago or 1 day ago. "...Every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood." 

Every parent knows this truth, well every parent that isn't in a state of denial knows it. We don't have to teach our children how to do wrong (that comes naturaly); we have to spend considerable effort to teach our children how to do good. Why do children have to be taught to share and to speak truth and to think of others? Because every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood! So called "child rearing experts" have fought this tooth and nail, seeking to persuade us that children are born morally neutral, and yet the evidence against this lie, is in every home, every playground, every classroom, and under every Christmas tree. 

I love to see a rainbow. It brings delight to my heart as I remember the promise of God that was sealed by the sign of the rainbow; a sign of His mercy and forbearance, a promise never to wipe us all out again. But I also love to see the cross, for it was on the cross that God dealt with the root cause of the flood; it was on the cross that the evil human heart was dealt a death blow, by a pure human heart dying in our place, so that all who believe, all who call on the Lord Jesus Christ's Name, would have their evil heart replaced with a heart of pure love - the heart of our Saviour! 

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Luke 1:39-55

"He has been mindful...the Mighty One has done great things for me...He has performed mighty deeds...He has brought down rulers...He has filled the hungry...He has helped his servant Israel." 

Luke 1:39-55 (NIV)

Mary's song is all past tense! It is true that she is already pregnant with our Lord (past tense), and yet  bringing down rulers and filling the hungry are deeds that still have not been completed on this earth in this time. This is the song of a faith-filled woman! 

A person with faith believes that God has heard them and the request has been granted. A person of faith knows that very Presence of our Lord Jesus makes everything right - although everything seems wrong. A person of faith takes God at His Word, believing that He has the power and will to make His promises come true. Every promise, every little Word, every jot of the pen is the proclamation of the Almighty God, who cannot lie, and who makes His promises come true! A person of faith realizes that if God has said it, it is as if it has already happened. A person of faith leaves the details, like timing, to their God. 

Mary will soon hear Simeon's words of warning and in too short of a time after that, will watch her son, who is God's Son also, be tortured and executed. Yet this young Jewish girl, inspired by the Spirit of God, utters words of faith. Absolute and utter conviction that the conception of this child means that every wrong will be righted and every promise come true. This conviction causes her to praise God as if these things yet to come, have already happened. 

I wonder if we will have the faith of this young Jewish girl and praise God for answered prayer, as we face what we will face today? 

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Luke 1:39-55

"He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors." 

Luke 1:54-55 (NIV) 

Promises! Promises! Promises! God remembers and keeps His promises! I have forgotten and/or broken so many promises to Wanda over the last 27 years, that I try really hard not to make any promises. I wonder if you would accept my reason/excuse that most of those broken promises weren't my fault, for events out of my control caused me to be unable to fulfill my promises. 

Praise God that He is not like me or any other human! What He says, He will do and He does. What He says will happen; He makes it happen. He promised Abraham. He promised Israel (Jacob). He promised David. Mary praises His Great Name for remembering His promises and bringing them to pass through this child who is in her womb. 

Here in these words we hear echoes of Isaiah 44:21-23: "Remember these things, Jacob, for you Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel." And we realize that Mary knows that her pregnancy is beginning of the fulfillment of this ancient prophecy, as she raises her voice in praise and joy over what God will do through Jesus. 

May we know the truth of this precious salvation. Join Mary in praising our Great God today. 

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Luke 1:39-55

"He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts." 

Luke 1:51 (NIV) 

One of the most refreshing things about young children is the way they verbalize whatever they are thinking. They say the most amazing things and it always blesses us, for a while, but then we teach them to cover their thoughts up. We call it politeness and it is true that we couldn't survive very long as adults without learning the skill of politeness, but it is also true that politeness leads to falseness, deception and even guile. 

Being proud in our innermost thoughts is the state of every human. It is especially easy to identify in our society where everything is about us and our personal satisfaction and fulfillment. Mary, could see it in her society where her life was worth nothing to her Roman rulers. This young lady had a spiritual maturity beyond her years and a depth of inside into her human nature and the nature of God comparable to the great prophets. Read our Lord's instructions to us in Luke 17:10: "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'' Do these words not echo the words and heart of His mother, Mary, as she responds to Gabriel's announcement? "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled."  (Luke 1:38) 

Oh friend, how are we with our innermost thoughts? If we find ourselves thinking thoughts like, "Why me?", "How dare he" or "I deserve better" we are on the way to being scattered by God. 

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Luke 1:39-55

"...For he had been mindful of the humble state of his servant." 

Luke 1:46

 I find it astounding that in this age of "so-called" gender equality, that so much ridicule is heaped upon this young Jewish lady. It could be a reaction to the false deification of Mary by the Roman Catholic Church, but I suspect it has more to do with the attempt of Satan and humans who will do anything to try to destroy our faith in the truth that Jesus of Nazareth was born of Mary but conceived through the Holy Spirit. 

There is much talk in these days of the "fable" of Mary's virginity. Although it is presented by these agents of Satan as a twisting of facts by "the church", they are actually attacking the young lady herself. They are attacking her morality and her verity. An offshoot of this attack is the claim that this beautiful psalm of praise could not have been written by a young Jewish girl, but must have been placed in her mouth by the writer of the gospel. I don't think Mary would have paid them much find, for she knew that the Eternal God, the Great I Am, was mindful of her and her humble state. When Elisabeth announces to Mary that Mary's baby is the Lord, this beautiful song of praise comes from her lips and no one else's! 

It is fitting that at the dawning of the age of grace where men and women and children are equal in Christ, through the Presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, that the Holy Spirit chooses a girl whom the world treats with contempt, to not only bear the Saviour of the world, but to utter one of the most beautiful songs of praise ever written to our Great God. 

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2 Chronicles 7:11-22

"...These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." 

Isaiah 56:7 (NIV) 

God's design, God's purpose for the temple is clear: PRAYER. Why did He command that a sanctuary be built? Why did He give His Spirit to the craftsmen? Why did He make His people go to the efforts of building and maintaining and then attending the temple? Why would He want humans to build a shadow of the true temple in heaven? Why would He even have a temple in heaven? God desires PRAYER. 

God makes it clear to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7, that the temple is the place where He will watch and listen and be ready to act when His people repent and pray. Isaiah saw an even clearer picture of God's intent, for Isaiah realized that the temple was a house of prayer for all nations, not just Israel. What about us in this age of grace? Do we understand that we are the temple of the Holy God (1 Cor 3:16)? Do we understand that we are to be His house of prayer? It is an amazing truth that as soon as the sun starts to rise, prayers from God's people rise towards Him. In this age of grace, with Christians all over the world, in every time zone, there is 24/7 prayer. Will we join this concert of prayer today? Will we fulfill God's purposes for His earthly temple? 

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2 Samuel 22

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears." 

2 Samuel 22:7 (NIV)

David desired to build a temple in Jerusalem, yet this verse shows us that he knew that the true temple of God is not on this earth. He wasn't allowed to build the temple, and yet the LORD heard him from His temple and He moved heaven and earth to rescue David and give him victory. 

David already knew what Hebrews 8 teaches us, that the tabernacle/template was only a shadow of the real temple in heaven. David danced when the Ark of the Covenant entered the City of David. He made plans for the temple. He stored up materials for its construction. He wrote songs and organized musicians. David poured energy, time and money into the earthly structure that the LORD had promised to consecrate by His Holy Presence, and yet David knew that the true dwelling place of God is in His temple in heaven. 

Friend, we don't worship a God made by our imaginations, contained in an earthly building that rots away. Our God is above everything and everybody else. He sits enthroned in the heavens far above all gods. Yet He sits in His heavenly temple, in the place where mere mortals can access Him; a place of meeting, a place of worship, a place where His grace meets our needs as we call out to Him. How can it be that a human voice can reach the ear of God who is higher than the heavens? GRACE my friend. GRACE! 

"He is Everything to Me", The Imperials, via YouTube

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Psalm 84

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage." 

Psalm 84:5 (NIV)

The ancient Israelites were commanded (Dt. 16:16) to appear three times a year before the LORD at the tabernacle/temple. This required great effort on their part as they traveled with their family with food, clothing, and animals for sacrifices. They traveled by foot over land that was the opposite of flat and they would be away from their homes for a week or more. It is easy to understand why some of they just didn't bother. In our day, many of us find loading the kids into a minivan and going to a church for 3 hours too much to handle. If we lived in their day, would any of us ever go to the temple? This seems to be the point of the verse after all; the blessing is for those whose hearts are set on the sacred journey. If you didn't really want to do it, after you a while you wouldn't. You wouldn't expend the energy; you wouldn't give up the time.  You wouldn't spend your money and you would come up with a myriad of excuses - sorry, I mean reasons. 

In this age of grace, our Lord told us that we don't have to worship on Mt Zion, but that we must worship in spirit and in truth (Jn 4). But our hearts still must be set on this sacred journey or we will not put the energy, time, money and sacrifice into seeking God, His kingdom, and His Presence in our lives in 2013. 

So friend, the question before us today is the question of heart: is my heart set on the pilgrimage, on the sacred journey towards my God? Change my heart this day my Lord. Draw me to Yourself. Lead me from strength to strength. 

"Road to Zion", Petra, via YouTube

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Acts 7:44-60

 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)

The temple was lovely and beautiful (Psalm 84:1) because a lovely and beautiful God dwelt inside it. So it is with us in this age of grace; it is not our physical characteristics that make us lovely, it is the Presence of a beautiful God within us. God does not dwell in a temple made by human hands, but He does dwell in bodies created by Himself inside mother's wombs and recreated by Himself by the washing and rebirth of the Spirit (Titus 3:5). 

We are jars of clay; we come from the dust of the earth and we return to the dust of the earth. We are changeable and molded easily by outside pressure. We are used for several purposes throughout our short lives, some noble purposes are some not. Yet God, in His grace and wisdom chose to put the Treasure that is Himself inside these jars of clay. 

I think of Gideon and the torches his men carried with clay jars over the torch (Judg. 7). At the right time, they broke their jars and blew their trumpets and the LORD brought about a great victory. This is the method we are to use today. We are to break our jar of clay, for we are to die to ourselves and the more we break ourselves and reduce ourselves, the greater the light of the Treasure within us will shine. The light shone the brightest in Stephen as his clay jar was destroyed by his enemies. May we decrease and God increase in our lives this day. 

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1 Kings 6

"How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!" 

Psalm 84:1 (NIV)

This temple was beautiful. We have no picture, only descriptions, but the descriptions of the stonework, the cedar work, the gold laid over all the cedar, the doors with their gold hinges and the bronze work, all speak of a wonderful building. Unlike our present day method of bringing leftovers for the church to use, only the best of materials were used. This was not a church building - no it was the temple of the Living God, the place where God would put His presence; where He would live among His people, so only the best materials and the best craftsmen would do! But when you gaze around at the beauty of all creation, you realize that the temple was just a shack to God. You begin to realize the depth of the love that the God who created the universe, the Master Builder, the Craftsman had for His people, that He would live in a shack built by human hands. When you think about the audacity of building a structure out of materials that waste away for the Eternal, Invisible, Immortal God, you begin to understand the sense of blessing that David and Solomon had and you then to understand Psalm 84:1. It was not the physical properties of the temple that made it lovely, rather it was the Presence of a beautiful God. 

"Better is One Day", Matt Redman, via YouTube

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Luke 4:1-13

"...But Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day." 

2 Samuel 23:10a (NIV) 

We want to take new ground. We want to add to the kingdom of God. We want to see God's kingdom advance in a mighty way that is obvious to all. Yet, we should never underestimate the importance of a DEFENSIVE STAND! The kingdom of God has come to our lives; will we take a stand and defend the border of the Lord's kingdom on this earth? 

Our Lord was on the defensive in the wilderness. He deprived Himself of food and water. He withdrew from all other people, creating an opportune time for the devil to temp Him. When the spiritual attack came, He stood His ground, resisted the devil with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and the devil left Him. 

In David's day, the enemy swarmed the border of the kingdom of God on this earth, and all the men retreated, except ONE. He stood his ground with his sword in his hand and the text tells us that the LORD won a great victory that day. 

Friend, do not underestimate the importance of the STAND in your life. Protecting your righteousness in Christ, standing strong against the enemy as he tempts us and tries to overthrow the kingdom of God in our lives; using the Bible to resist the devil. Great victories would be won for our Lord if each of us would only take a STAND! 

"The Stand", Hillsong United, via YouTube

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Hebrews 11:32 - 12:4

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." 

Matthew 10:28, 29 (NIV)

 Many people serve Satan; they torture, rape and murder other people. This is what Satan loves. He was a murderer from the beginning (Jn. 8:44). Our Lord is instructing his disciples not to be afraid of people like this who will threaten them and eventually kill all of them, except John. 

I have trouble envisioning not being afraid when faced with a murderer, but the Lord is not telling them not to be afraid. Rather, He is telling them to be afraid of God rather than Satan and his servants. There is a difference between our bodies and our souls. We know a lot about our bodies, less about our souls, yet our Lord knows about both. He knows that having your soul destroyed is way worse than anything that will happen to your body. Out of this instruction comes one of the most precious truths ever uttered by our Lord. 

May we be encouraged this day by the precious truth that nothing physical dies outside of the will and care of our heavenly Father.

"His Eye is on the Sparrow", Big Mama, via YouTube

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Revelation 12

"So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." 

1 Corinthians 5:4,5 (NIV) 

How could an under shepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ hand a child of God over to the dragon described in Revelation 12? You say, "Well, he tells you how; come together in an assembly before the Lord and hand him over." That is the actual practical method, but my question is: "how could this possible be an act of love carried out by brothers and sisters who love this man in Christ?" The devil is our enemy; he deceives us and brings ruin and destruction into our lives and yet he does it in a sly and devious way, in such a way that we don't even realize what is going on. You may know brothers and sisters like this. They are deceived. Their actions are those of followers of Satan and this world, and yet their lips tell you they love God and follow Jesus. How can this be? Deception. The angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) has deceived them. What they need more than anything else is to come to their senses. Just like the prodigal where it had to take the bottom, disaster before he realized that he was wrong and that he needed to be with his father. Paul is not concerned that Satan can destroy this man. Paul knows that those who are the Lords will always be the Lords. Paul desires that this man be brought to his senses and withdrawing spiritual protection from a person is the last act of love that brothers and sisters can give to someone who is deceived by the angel of light (this would be very hard to do). May we always listen to that still small voice. May we keep short accounts with our Lord. May the grace of God be powerful in our lives this day. 

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Luke 17:1-18

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) 

What are you facing today? What is wrong in your world? What are your circumstances? Rejoicing, praying and giving thanks are easy to do when the good times roll. But in those times we call 'bad times',  it is hard to do our heavenly Father's will. Praying seems like a no brainer - only God can help us, so most of us will pray, though sometimes we get so angry with God that we stop praying altogether. Rejoicing in those times seems a stretch and even a little contrary to Romans 12:15 and Ecclesiastes 3:4, though we know that there is no contradiction in Scripture, rather it is our sin nature affecting our ability to receive the Word of God. But giving thanks should be possible, in light on all that God ha done for us in Christ. I can't find any biblical example of people thanking God for the trouble that is upon them (even Job, who said we must accept good and bad from God's hand, didn't thank Him for the trouble). After the trouble was over though, some, like Joseph, were able to see the good in the bad. God is not asking us to thank Him for the bad and evil things that are happening - NO. He is asking us to thank Him for the good that He has done for us in Christ Jesus. We have every spiritual blessing in Christ! Let us fix our eyes on Him and turn our minds toward what we have in Christ by thanking Him in our circumstance today. Giving thanks is an action not an attitude. Act now! 

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Isaiah 59:16 - 60:3

 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." 

Isaiah 60:1 (NIV) 

Isaiah is looking forward to a future time of blessing. In the book of Ephesians, Paul is looking back on the point of our salvation and says: "For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." (Eph. 5:8). These two verses describe the purpose of our salvation, which is to bring glory to God through our lives and words on this earth during the short time we are alive. Darkness covers the earth, and yet the LORD has shone His light in our hearts; He has appeared and darkness has fled. ARISE and SHINE for the Lord is within you. ARISE and SHINE for you are a child of the LIGHT! 

We use to teach the children a song called, "Arky Arky" - sort of a silly song but the chorus is gold: "Rise and shine, and give God the glory glory...children of the Lord". Will we rise up and shine with the light of the glory of God today? Practically speaking, this is will only happen if we on purpose surrender to the Holy Spirit daily; walk in step with Him, agreeing with Him as He leads us and speaks with us. Isaiah has told us that the LORD has put His Spirit within us, and then He tells us to ARISE and SHINE. The decision is ours. What will we do? May we decide to keep the light on. May we trim our lamps. May we decide to live a Spirit filled life today. 

"I'll Leave a Light On", Matt Maher, via YouTube

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Isaiah 59

"He put on righteousness as his breastplate and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due." 

Isaiah 59:17 (NIV)

Isaiah 59 reveals that the real enemy of the penitent people of God is sin. Iniquities, sin, offenses, injustice, unrighteousness, deceit, and evil paths destroy us and our families. God has acted against human enemies; He has delivered Israel from Egypt, and will deliver them from Babylon, and yet the real issue is within those who seek to follow God, who seek to live in His ways of holiness and righteousness - the real issue is SIN! Only God can deal with this issue. He could destroy everyone and everything, but in His grace and compassion, the LORD becomes a might Warrior. He protects Himself with righteousness and salvation, as He strides unto the earth. He dresses Himself in vengeance and zeal for His glory and for righteousness. He will wipe out sin and all who align themselves with sin. He will redeem all who repent of their sin and turn to Him for healing cleansing. Then in the most amazing conclusion to this prophecy, God Himself will not depart from those whom He has entered. They will be His forever and their mouths and their lives will declare the glory and wonder of the LORD. 

Here we are in 2013, inheritors of this great prophecy, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, servants of the Divine Warrior, possessors of the Spirit of God. Friend, does your life and your mouth declare praise to His glorious grace? Or are we this day defeated by sin? Jesus came to set us free to live in righteousness and salvation. May we repent and turn to our Divine Warrior for freedom from sin this day! 

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Psalm 111

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." 

Psalm 111:10 (NIV) 

From the time I was 15 years old until I was 41, it was my practice to read a different chapter of Proverbs every morning as my starting point every day. One of the side effects of this exposure to Proverbs has been that I love to debate with my Christian friends on what the "fear" of the LORD is. In hindsight, that time would have been better spent discussing the evidences that we fear the LORD rather than trying to define an English word! This is how the wisdom literature approaches it. David, Solomon and others describe the actions of a person who fears the LORD and the fruit that they receive from their righteousness in their lives. They don't spend any time debating whether fear means respect or terror. This Psalm tells us that those who fear the LORD follow His precepts. They follow the spirit of the Law, not just the letter. They understand that what God tells us to do, the behaviours He instructs His children to follow, are for our good and will bring the fruit of righteousness in our lives. It is a matter of faith, really; the faith to believe in the character of God and the faith to trust Him and obey His instructions for our situation. A person who fears the LORD praises Him now for His instructions and will praise Him forever! For who is like our LORD who takes the time and expends the energy to make sure that His children receive the Words of life? He alone is to be praised. May we put the words of this blessed song into our hearts today: 

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way! 

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, 

And with all who will trust and obey. 

Trust and obey, for there's no other way 

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, 

But His smile quickly drives it away; 

Not a doubt for a fear, not a sigh nor a tear, 

Can abide while we trust and obey. 

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, 

But our toil He doth richly repay; 

Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, 

But is blessed if we trust and obey. 

But we never can prove the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay; 

For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows, 

Are for them who will trust and obey. 

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet, 

Or we'll walk by His side in the way; 

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go; 

Never fear, only trust and obey. 

{Words: John Sammis, 1887. Music: Daniel Towner.}

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Matthew 7:21-29

"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." 

Psalm 61:2

Oh friend, how are you this day? Is your soul longing for the salvation of the LORD? Are you longing for God to miraculously move into your situation and bring relief to you? Do your heart grow faint within you? David was there and his prayer was that the LORD would lead him to the rock that is higher than him. We can explain this away physically, by talking about warfare in David's age and the importance of a firm place to stand to wield his weapons and the importance of high ground in hand to hand combat. But if we stop there and don't think of the SPIRITUAL significance of the ROCK, we will have missed the life giving message of the Holy Spirit. 

David refers to the LORD as his rock 19 different times in the Psalms; the rock that is higher than David is a SPIRITUAL rock! Our Lord Jesus taught us that the SPIRITUAL rock is the place of obedience. If we obey His Words, we build on the rock. David is pleading that God would lead him into obedience, into the place, that center place of being in God's good, pleasing and perfect will. Circumstances and situations are all beyond our control, even beyond our understanding; but there is a place of safety in the midst of all that is wrong around us. That place is the place of obedience. That place is the rock that is higher than I. 

Oh Father, take us to the rock. Bring us by your strong hand into that place of safety. 

"Back to the Rock", Petra, via YouTube

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James 3:13-18

"But wisdom is proved right by all her children." 

Luke 7:35 (NIV) 

How many choices have you faced already this day? How many decisions have you made? How many were wise and how many were foolish? Our Lord tells us that wisdom will become obvious over time. James gives us the components of the test for heavenly wisdom: 

Was the choice pure? 

Did the choice come from a desire for true peace? 

Did I consider the other person's needs as I chose? 

Am I being submissive to my Lord in this choice? 

Did mercy play the dominant part in my choice? 

Were any of the fruits of the Spirit evident in my decision? 

Would I have treated another person differently? 

Did my words or actions line up with my heart? 

All of our choices and decisions fall into two categories: foolish or wise. There are no neutral categories. All of our choices and decisions bear fruit and only those made in heavenly wisdom will bear the fruit of righteousness. 

Dear Heavenly Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, please give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know You better. May we live in step with Your Spirit this day. 

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Psalm 1

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." 

Exodus 20:12 (NIV)

Long life is universally desired. I wonder sometimes why we hold it up so high when our quality of life seems to diminish as we get older, but humans desire long life. It is presented in God's Word as a blessing from God bestowed upon those who live their lives in accordance with His Word, to the point that some of the Psalms wrestle with why God would allow wicked people to prosper and live long. Paul calls this 5th Commandment a promise; not a wise saying that "generally" comes true, BUT a PROMISE! That means that God Himself puts the full weight of His Name and His character behind it. 

Heathens teach karma; the Bible teaches that the One True God is not only the Creator of all things, but that He is the Sustainer of all things and is intimately involved with every detail of His creation. His plan for humans was that a man and a woman would join together in marriage; make love to each other and children would be born and fill the earth. How we treat our parents matters to God and He will bless those who honour their parents. May we choose to walk in the path of blessing today. 

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Matthew 15:1-13

"There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth..."

Proverbs 30:11, 12 (NIV)

Oh friend, may we not be included in "they"! There are people who curse their father and don't bless their mothers, but may the children of God not be in that group. We sometimes think that the 5th commandment is for children under the age of 18 and yet, we know that the 10 Commandments were given to adults, and that anyone under 20 years of age were held accountable by God in the rebellion in the wilderness.

Our Lord is speaking to adults in Matthew 15 and His Words ring true today. How do we as adults treat our parents? Do we play games with ourselves and pretend that we are pleasing before God, even as we neglect and shun our parents? It may be that there is a history of abuse and it may be that your parents are a destructive force in your life. The Lord will guide us and show us what to do, if we truly are serious in pleasing Him in this matter of honouring those whom He chose to give birth and life to us. May we please our Lord by blessing our moms and honouring our dads this day. 

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1 Peter 3:1-6

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." 

Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)

A wife has tremendous power! Solomon is not speaking here of a woman carpenter. No; he is describing two different types of wives and the power they have on the families are a part of. The wife builds or destroys the family. We immediately raise objection to this and insist that the man take the primary responsibility for all issues in a family. Okay, that is correct. The Bible actually teaches that the man has the primary responsibility. It is easy to see that in the story of Adam and Eve, Eve was deceived but Adam was held responsible, but what is also correct is the tremendous amount of power that the woman of the house has in her hands. How she acts, how she speaks, the attitude that she has, either builds her family or destroys it. Consider Sarah; we think of Abram's faith and Sarah's laughter. The Holy Spirit tells us in Hebrews 11:11 that it was her faith that brought about the birth of Isaac. The Holy Spirit also tells us in Genesis 21 that God acted towards Sarah and kept His promise to Sarah. Consider Hagar; the abandoned single mother who through faith, (she called out to God and He answered her) saved her son and raised him to be a great leader. May Parkdale be filled with wise women! 

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