Micah 6:1-8

  "Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."

{Numbers 22:6}  (NIV1984)

Balak the king of Moab was terrified of the people of God. When he and his people looked out upon the encampment of Israel they saw a group of people who were going to be victorious over everyone else, and so Balak summoned Balaam to place a curse on the people of God, so that they might be weakened and destroyed. The record shows that God would not allow Balaam to curse His people, and caused blessings to fall on them instead. Surely God is a God who turns curses into blessings! (Ne 13:2) 

How do we feel about ourselves this morning? A little draggy? A little discouraged? Perhaps even defeated? Dear brother and sister in Christ, know this truth! Our enemy, the devil and all of his horde, look at us and tremble. They are terrified of us, the people of God. Our God is a great God and His people are a great people! Not because we are extra smart or strong - no! But because we are His and He is ours. Because the Holy Spirit has made us into the children of the Most High God. We are guaranteed the victory, so how about grabbing a hold of what we have in Christ. Let us live in victory this day!

O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.

{Victory in Jesus, Author: Eugene Bartlett, 1939}

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John 15:1-17

  "You are my friends if you do what I command."

{John 15:14}  (NIV1984)

We call Him Lord. His title is actually Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is the great I AM. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the Beginning and the End. He is the Son of God, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Blessed One, the Holy One. From Him and through Him come all things.

He sustains everything there is through His powerful Word. He is the Eternal Word. We are His servants. We are called humans, men and women, but we also are called the grass of the field, the mist that disappears. We are called rebels, evil, wicked, foolish, weak. We are the dust of the earth. 

Through the great love the Father lavished on us, we are called children of God. That is amazing all by itself and should inspire praise in all of us, that we would be called children of God! Yet in this passage, our Lord goes even further; He calls us friend. Friendship is a wonderful thing. If you have been fortunate enough to have a true friend, you are fortunate indeed. But to be friends with God Himself is a treasure to be sought. How could it be that we could be friends with this great God? By obeying His commands and by remaining in His love, attached to Him through the unity of the Spirit. 

O Lord Jesus, may I be your true friend today!

 {Click here to listen to "Friend of God"}

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Matthew 15:18,19

 "With their mouths they bless,

    but in their hearts they curse. Selah"

{Psalm 62:4b}  (NIV1984) 

Wherever David inserts the pause SELAH, we would do well to stop and think about what was said. It is troubling that humans bless with their mouths, but in their hearts they curse. Little children are not like that. What they are inside is what comes out their mouths. No guile whatsoever. It doesn’t take long though, maybe grade 4 or 5, for children to learn to bless with their mouths even while they curse in their heart, and then we live the rest of our lives hiding our bad attitude with nice words, congratulating ourselves that we managed to be polite. 

Our Lord taught us that the issue is always in our heart. Our issue is our heart. Do we have hatred in our heart? Contempt in our heart? Indifference? Friend, the glorious message of the Gospel is that Jesus is alive and will enter our hearts through faith and change us from the inside out. May we this day, surrender our hearts to the Lord, and ask Him to change our hearts. It is good and right to control our tongue, it is godly to control our tongue, but we are called to change our hearts. We are called to love from our heart. We are called to forgive from our heart. We are called to bless from our heart.

Change my heart, oh God

Make it ever true

Change my heart, oh God

May I be like You

{Change My Heart, Oh God, written by Eddie Espinosa, 1982}

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Psalm 62

 Trust in him at all times, O people;

    pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

{Psalm 62:8}  (NIV1984) 

David tells us why we should trust God: God is strong, God is loving and God will reward each person according to what we have done. We can’t depend on people; we can’t trust them, for they bless us with their lips, but curse us in their hearts. It is impossible for us to really know how another person views us. More than that, even if they want to help us, they are but a breath. 

David warns us not to trust money, not to set our hearts on riches. Trust God! Trust in Him at all times! We may ask what does trusting God look like? How do I actually do it? How do I run to the Rock? How do I take refuge in Him, and enter under His wings? David tells us, pour out your hearts to Him. What issue is on my mind, even deeper than that, what is wrong with me this morning? Why am I tense, irritable? Why do I not have that spring on my step, that joy in my heart? Friend, there is something bugging you. Dig it out; lay it before God this morning, pour out your heart to Him. 

God is loving and God is strong; God is my rock and my salvation, my soul finds rest in Him. As the old chorus goes, "He will take care of you, though every day oer all the way- God will take care of you, He will take care of you." 

{God Will Take Care of You, Civilla D. Martin, 1869-1948 }

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Psalm 62

 "He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

{Psalm 62:2}  (NIV1984) 

 

This psalm was written specifically for the people’s spiritual benefit for it is addressed to Jeduthun (1 Chron 2:3). As we consider the issues before each of us this day, in whom do we find rest? In whom or in what do we hope for salvation? 

A worshiper of God takes their issues to Him and finds rest at His feet. He alone is my Rock! How can we trust in our own strength when humans are but a breath? We say well- the person who is going to help me with this issue is a special person; born, raised and educated, and quite capable to help. David tells us that these people are but a lie! A lie is harmful, a lie is malicious, and if we trust in anyone, no matter how qualified or special they are, we are going to come to harm. He alone is my rock! My soul finds rest in Him alone! 

Friend, there is great wisdom in seeking help from skilled people, but there is great danger in trusting in them, and believing that they are able to keep us safe. It is God who is strong, it is God who is loving, it is God whom my soul will find rest in this day! Run to the Rock that is higher than I; trust Him with your issues this morning and find rest for your soul!

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