20070531

quit you like men

1 Corinthians 16
v1-4
how to collect the money
v5-9
struggles don't mean the Lord isn't doing great things (v9.)
v10&11
work the work of the Lord
v12
Sometimes a thing we greatly desire isn't what other people want at that time.
v13-24
Love the Lord and one another

Key v13

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
When we have work to do, we should do it faithfully, even when it's hard.

When we have a hard time, we should still resist temptation to sin.

mp3 file

20070530

bitter words

Psalm 64

v3

Who whet their tongue like a sword, [and] bend [their bows to shoot] their arrows, [even] bitter words:
It might be tempting for me to speak bitter words today. I should remember this Psalm and not speak bitter words. mp3 file

20070529

early will I seek thee

Psalm 63

v4

Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
It's good to remember that the Bible really does teach for men to lift up their hands when they pray.

v6

When I remember thee upon my bed, [and] meditate on thee in the [night] watches.
It's an awesome thing, when you think of something at night, to roll out of bed, and kneel down, and pray before you go back to sleep.

20070528

as a bowing wall

Psalm 62

v3

How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall [shall ye be, and as] a tottering fence.
If we don't want to be like a wall that's about to fall down, we shouldn't imagine mischief.

20070527

lead me to the rock

Psalm 61

v2

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock [that] is higher than I.
Sometimes things are really hard for us, and we can feel hopeless.

We can cry to the Lord. We should tell Him the truth about the way we think and feel.

20070526

we shall do valiantly

Psalm 60

v12

Through God we shall do valiantly: for he [it is that] shall tread down our enemies.
We can do things valiantly through God, not with human help. This is an encouraging promise.

20070525

my defense and refuge

Psalm 59

v16

But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
This is an encouraging promise that the Lord is going to be our defense and refuge.

20070524

a reward for the righteous

Psalm 58

v11

So that a man shall say, Verily [there is] a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Here's a promise that there's truly a reward for righteous people. We should work on being righteous.

No mp3 file: I'm sorry, the microphone isn't working this morning.

20070523

my heart is fixed

Psalm 57

v7

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
(This is like Psalm 108.)

We should be determined to praise the Lord no matter how we feel.

mp3 file

20070522

what time I am afraid

Psalm 56

v3

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
We could be afraid of how things will work out in our lives in the future. Instead, we should praise the Lord's Word and cry to Him.

Part of verse 8 talks about the Lord putting our tears into His bottle.

mp3 file

20070521

He will sustain you

Psalm 55

v22

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
We can talk to the Lord out loud about the things that really bother us, and we can tell Him how we feel.

We should do that, and He'll take care of all the problems, and He'll take care of us.

mp3 file

20070520

I will praise your name

Psalm 54, part of v6,7

...I will praise thy name, O LORD; for [it is] good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble...
Even when it seems like we have many troubles, we should pay attention to praising the Lord's name today. mp3 file

20070519

call upon God

Psalm 53

v4

Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people [as] they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
If we're not going to be workers of iniquity, we need to call on the Lord. mp3 file

20070518

use your testimony

Galatians 1

Observations

  1. God vs. Man
    v1
    not of or by men
    v10
    not to persuade or please men
    v11
    not after man
    v16
    conferred not with flesh and blood
  2. Glory to God

    Verses 5 and 24 are like Romans 16:27.

  3. Preach Him

    Verses 15 and 16 show that it pleases God for us to preach Him.

Key

v13-15 are like 1 Corinthians 15:8-10. Like me, Paul sinned, but there was grace.

v16-23, especially v23:

But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
The testimony is about "once, in times past..., but now...". I once destroyed and persecuted in times past, but now preach the faith.

v24 God gets glory in me by this kind of testimony.

Application

I'll use my testimony when I write to some people to preach the gospel to them. mp3 file

20070517

labor more abundantly

1 Corinthians 15

Outline

v1-4
The Gospel
v5-8
who saw Jesus after He rose again
v9,10
The grace of God
v11-23
Christ is risen, our preaching is not in vain, we aren't false witnesses, our faith isn't in vain, we're not still in our sins, those who've fallen asleep in Christ aren't lost, it's not only in this life that we have hope, we're not most miserable of all men, and this is all because of the resurrection.
v24-28
then comes the end
v29-32
protests that the dead rise
v33-36
don't be a fool: have the knowledge of God
v37-44
our glorious hope: spiritual incorruption and power
v45-53
a mystery: changed from earthly to heavenly
v54-57
thank God, who gives victory, even over death, through Jesus
v58
Don't move, stay strong, and always be filled full with serving the Lord. Our labor isn't in vain if it's in the Lord. We can know this because there's the resurrection.

Key

v10
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which [was bestowed] upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
This is like verse 58 and Romans 16:6: "Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us."

Application

This will be a lot of work, so I'll be laboring much. I'm doing a podcast. A podcast is a little bit like a radio program over the Internet. To hear me, click "Podcast" on the bottom left of findmercy.com. mp3 file

20070516

o you deceitful tongue

Psalm 52

v2

Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
I'll remember to watch out for temptation to speak wickedly today, and try to speak righteousness instead. mp3 file

20070515

shew forth Your praise

Psalm 51

v15

O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
While I'm out working, I should sing and praise the Lord.

20070514

I will deliver thee

Psalm 50

v15

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
This verse has an instruction, and a promise.

The Instruction:

"call upon me in the day of trouble"

The Promise:

"I will deliver thee".

When we have trouble, we should pray to the Lord about it during that time. I'm reminded of a song that says, "He is able to deliver thee."

20070513

don't boast in riches

Psalm 49

v7

None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
Being redeemed by God is much better than being rich.

We should understand, and not fear when somebody is made rich. We shouldn't trust in wealth.

20070512

greatly to be praised

Psalm 48

v1

Great [is] the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, [in] the mountain of his holiness.
We should praise the Lord greatly.

20070511

sing praises to God

Psalm 47

v6

Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
Obvious application... Sing praises to God, our King!

20070510

behold the works of the LORD

Psalm 46

v1

God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
We should "be still" and not fear.

20070509

Your throne, O God

Psalm 45

v6

Thy throne, O God, [is] for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom [is] a right sceptre.
This verse reminds us that Jesus is God.

20070508

He favored us

Psalm 44

v3

For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
This looks like a verse I can use to tell people about the gospel.

We can't save ourselves by being good enough, but Jesus saves whoever believes in Him, because He Loves us.

20070507

hope in God

Psalm 43

v5

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, [who is] the health of my countenance, and my God.
We should pray for the Lord to help us hope in Him.

20070506

I will remember you

Psalm 42

v6

O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
When we're depressed, we should remember the Lord. We should think back and thank Him for things He's done for us.

20070505

don't be a complainer

Jude

v16

These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling [words], having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
Murmurers and complainers are ungodly sinners. Even a little bit of complaining is really serious.

Application

This week, I'll work on remembering to not complaining, even a little.

20070504

consider the poor

Psalm 41

v1

Blessed [is] he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
This promise is an encouragement to think about how we can be kind to poor people.

We should consider the poor.

20070503

pray while you wait

Psalm 40

v1

I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Part of waiting for the Lord is crying to Him.

20070502

to edify the Church

1 Corinthians 14

v12

Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual [gifts], seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
A way I can try to not think selfishly is to seek to do good for the Lord's people.

20070501

my hope is in You

Psalm 39

v7

And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope [is] in thee.
I've been trying to learn to wait on the Lord lately. I've wondered, what am I waiting for? In the Lord, we have hope, and something to look forward to.

Instead of looking forward to other things we can't be sure about, like, "I can't wait to see my friends at the meeting tomorrow," we should hope in the Lord, like looking forward to Him being with us spiritually at meetings.

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