20070228

God saves the upright in heart

Psalm 7

v10

My defence [is] of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
I need to make sure I'm repenting from any sin I have. Then I don't have to worry.

I can be encouraged, because the Lord will take care of me as long as I'm upright in heart.

20070227

a matter against another

1 Corinthians 6

v1

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
We shouldn't go to law against each other in front of unbelievers.

20070226

"split second" gospel chances

candle Exodus 25

v37

And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof:
and they shall light the lamps thereof,
that they may give light over against it.
This past weekend, some people encouraged me to preach the gospel.

They gave me the idea that we shouldn't "wimp out" when we have split second opportunities to preach the gospel.


20070225

they said they'd do it

Exodus 24

v7

And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
We shouldn't just say that we're going to obey everything that the Lord has said for us to do.

We should also actually do it.

20070224

break down their images

Exodus 23

v24

Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
This made me think of specific sins that have been a problem for me. What are your idols?

This uses words like "utterly" and "quite" to describe how we should get rid of those things.

20070223

use just judgment

Exodus 22

v9

For all manner of trespass, [whether it be] for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, [or] for any manner of lost thing, which [another] challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; [and] whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
We should use just judgment.

20070222

help thou mine unbelief

Romans 9

v32

Wherefore?
Because [they sought it] not by faith,
but as it were by the works of the law.
For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Righteousness is obtained by faith, not by doing things to keep the law.

We should pray and ask the Lord to help us believe Him more.

20070221

leaven like wickedness

1 Corinthians 5

v8

Therefore let us keep the feast,
not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness;
but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.
I studied the passover feast lately. Having no leaven was a big deal. The leaven made me think of having sin.

It reminded me of the Lord's supper to remember Jesus. We should examine ourselves when we take the Lord's supper.

20070220

honor your parents

Exodus 21

v17

And he that curseth his father,
or his mother,
shall surely be put to death.
This part of the old law was kind of scary. Basically, if you curse your mom or dad, the law was to put you to death.

Hopefully we don't run around cursing people, anyway. Obviously, we don't hand out death sentences for things like that any more.

This should still make us think about how we do talk to our parents. Next time you're tempted to say something to your parents that doesn't honor them, remember this old law.

20070219

no other "gods"

Exodus 20

v3

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
An idol is anything that we worship and serve besides the Lord.

We need to make sure we don't have any idols.

20070218

the mount we haven't come to

Exodus 19

v5

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed,
and keep my covenant,
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:
for all the earth [is] mine:
One of my friends was talking about this the other day.

Israel had come to a scary, smoking mountain. They couldn't get near the Lord without being killed.

We're not in the same kind of situation now. We can be bold and come to the Lord. We should "lay aside" our sin, and come to Jesus boldly.

20070217

how the LORD delivered them

Exodus 18

v8

And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake,
[and] all the travail that had come upon them by the way,
and [how] the LORD delivered them.
When we have a hard time, we should pay attention to what the Lord is doing. Later, we can tell people about the great things the Lord has done for us.

Having a hard time can turn into an opportunity for a testimony of how the Lord delivers.

20070216

give God your complaint

Exodus 17

v3

And the people thirsted there for water;
and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore [is] this [that] thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
We shouldn't "murmur." We should pour out our heart to the Lord instead of complaining to other people.

20070215

give to those in need

Exodus 16

Part of v1(b)

...on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
I'm sure calendars were different back then, but this happens to be "the fifteenth day of the second month" of 2007.

v18

And when they did mete [it] with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
The Lord gave me part of 2 Corinthians 8 last night, that goes with this, and is about giving. We should be sure to be giving.

20070214

sing for a reason

Exodus 15

v1

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying,
I will sing unto the LORD,
for he hath triumphed gloriously:
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Moses and the children of Israel realized that they had a reason to sing.

There are ways I've seen the Lord gloriously triumph for me. When I sing to the Lord, I'll think about how I'm praising Him.

20070213

fear and believe Jesus

Exodus 14

v31

And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians:
and the people feared the LORD,
and believed the LORD,
and his servant Moses.
When we see the Lord do a great work, we should fear and believe Him. The great thing the Lord did was that He saved people. I should fear and believe the Lord more, since I've been seeing Him save people lately.

Moses was a picture of Jesus. We should believe Jesus.

20070212

to go by day and night

Exodus 13

v21

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud,
to lead them the way;
and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light;
to go by day and night:
Sometimes planning for the future is hard.

When we're not sure what to do in the future, we should make sure to follow the Lord today.

20070211

teach everywhere

1 Corinthians 4

v17

For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
One of my friends once pointed out that people don't need just the good news of how to be saved.

Especially right after we bring somebody to Jesus, we should also give them teaching and instruction in righteousness.

20070210

to them that love God

Romans 8:19-39

I know people use this verse a lot, but it's still really good.

v28

And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God,
to them who are the called
according to [his] purpose.
We just need to make sure that we Love God.

20070208

give God the credit

1 Corinthians 3

v7

So then neither is he that planteth any thing,
neither he that watereth;
but God that giveth the increase.
This goes with something 1 of my friends taught last night.

Some people talk like we deserve some credit for good things the Lord does. We shouldn't take any credit for the Lord's work.

20070207

remember and thank the Lord

Psalm 6

v5

For in death [there is] no remembrance of thee:
in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
We should remember the Lord and give Him thanks.

20070206

consider my meditation

Psalm 5

v1

Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my meditation.
Would you want the Lord to consider the things you're thinking about?

The way we think and talk should be to trust in the Lord, pray to Him and worship Him. We should rejoice in the Lord and ask Him to lead us. We shouldn't think about or speak wickedness.

20070205

pray when in distress

Psalm 4

v1

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness:
thou hast enlarged me [when I was] in distress;
have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
We should pray when we're "in distress".

20070204

cry to the Lord with your voice

Psalm 3

v4

I cried unto the LORD with my voice,
and he heard me out of his holy hill.
Selah.
I've found this true in my life: Praying makes a difference.

We should cry to the Lord with our voice. He will hear us.

20070203

don't imagine a vain thing

Psalm 2

v1

Why do the heathen rage,
and the people imagine a vain thing?
It's vain to imagine getting out from under the Lord's authority.
Instead, we should fear the Lord enough to go away from sinning.

We'll be blessed if we put our trust in the Lord instead of imagining vain things.

20070202

meditate in the law of the LORD

Psalm 1

v2

But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
There's a special key to help us.

Along with praying, we should read and think about the Bible.
We should do that all the time, like at hard times when we need the Lord's help.

20070201

don't talk proudly

Job 42

v3

Who [is] he that hideth counsel without knowledge?
therefore have I uttered that I understood not;
things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
We shouldn't talk proudly about things to high for us to know or understand.
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