20120131

go among us

Exodus 34

v9

And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it [is] a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

We should intercede for the Lord's people, like Moses did here.

20120130

Psalm 2 - Outline

v1-3
people try in vain to escape from acknowledging the reality of God
v4-5
that's a joke to God, and He will be very angry with them
v6-9
Christ has great power over all
v10-12
if we think that we're great and high, then we better be humble before the Lord, and put trust our in Him

20120129

as a man speaks to his friend

Exodus 33

v17

And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

We should pray to the Lord, according to what is right, and that can make a huge difference. We know that the Lord hears and answers prayers, but it is mind-boggling to think of how He cares so much about us and how we feel, that our prayers can make such a difference to Him.

20120128

they rose up early

Exodus 32

v6

And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

The people of Israel got up early in the morning, to serve idols, at that time. Can't we get up early in the morning, to spend time with the Lord?

20120127

Psalm 1 - Meaning & Application

Meaning
v2

But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Our delight is supposed to be in the law of the Lord. We should look forward to spending personal time with the Lord, and delight in His Word.

Application

Having started my new job recently, I have been having difficulty getting up and spending time with the Lord early enough in the morning, before work. I'll go to bed earlier, and get up earlier, to make sure not to neglect my morning time.

20120126

Psalm 1 - Outline

v1
Blessed if you don't do certain things
v2
Blessed if you do certain things
v3
What it means to be blessed
v4-5
...the ungodly shall not stand...
v6
Whether your way is known of the Lord

Key
v2

But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

20120124

Matthew 26:47-75 - Key

v50

And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

Jesus asked Judas, Friend, wherefore art thou come? What if He asked us the same question? Why have we believed in Him?

As believers, we can consider ourselves to be the Lord's close friends. What is our real motivation in coming to Him, as His friends?

Application

Judas came to the Lord, to betray Him, for thirty pieces of silver. Do we have some ulterior motive, to pretend to befriend the Lord, when we come to spend time with Him? I'll consider my motives for coming to the Lord, when I spend time with Him.

20120123

Mark 7 - Key

v3

For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash [their] hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

From the way that this verse explains these traditions, this book obviously must have been written to tell to people from other nations, or people at a later time. We should know that the Bible isn't just a message for certain people, back then. Let's be telling the message of the Bible, to all kinds of other people, today.

20120122

I have put wisdom

Exodus 31

v6

And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;

When people have wisdom, that is because God has made them wise, so that they can do what He commands them to do. We should work on what we have to do, with all our hearts, as if we are working for the Lord, Himself. And, let's be accepting the wisdom and ability we have, as gifts from Him.

20120121

Matthew 26:47-75 - Outline

v47-50
Friend, wherefore art thou come?
v51-54
Put up again thy sword into his place
v55-58
All the disciples forsook Him, and fled
v59-61
Many false witnesses came
v62-68
The high priest accused Jesus of blasphemy
v69-75
Peter denied the Lord

20120120

Psalm 7-10

9:1

I will praise [thee], O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

He said that he would show all of the Lord's marvelous works. There are many answers to prayer and great things that the Lord has done. We should take our opportunities to praise and thank Him for more of those things.

20120119

Psalms 1-6 - Key

Psalm 1:2

But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Application

I'll adjust my schedule to get up a little earlier, so I can spend more time with the Lord in the morning.

20120118

every morning

Exodus 30

v7

And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

Just like the perpetual offering of incense, we should spend time with the Lord every day.

20120116

morning and evening

Exodus 29

v39

The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:

We should spend time with the Lord, just like they sacrificed the lambs: every day.

20120115

Matthew 26:26-46 - Outline

v26-30
this is my body, this is my blood
v31-35
the Lord told them about things before they happened, and they should have listened to Him
v36-39
exceedingly sorrowful, but determined for the will of God
v40-46
be not weary in well doing

20120114

for glory and for beauty

Exodus 28

v2

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

Like the priestly clothes in this chapter, we should be clothed in the Lord's glorious righteousness.

Revelation 19:8
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

20120112

Mark 5 - Key #2

v31

And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

The lady might have wanted to avoid Christ having to stop and take His time to deal with her. However, Jesus still took the time to stop and talk to her.

The Lord wants us to spend time with Him. If we are faithful to do that, then He has a way of working out the other important things to deal with, just fine.

20120109

1 Corinthians 15 - Outline

v1-2
The importance of the gospel
v3-4
The definition of the gospel
v5-7
The witnesses of Christ's resurrection
v8-10
The apostleship of Paul
v11-19
If there is no resurrection from the dead, then our faith is is vain
v20-23
Christ is like Adam, and the firstfruits of them that slept
v24-28
Then comes the end...
v29-34
Don't live for the moment
v35-43
Differences in glory
v43-53
The natural body and the spiritual body
v54-57
Death is swallowed up in victory.
v58
...your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

20120107

the lamp to burn always

Exodus 27

v20

And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

It says, ...the lamp to burn always. (I added the emphasis.) While planning and preparing special ways (times, places, etc.) to reach out to people, we should also always keep in mind to be ready to preach the gospel.

20120106

Mark 5 - Key

v15

And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

They saw him healed, and they were afraid? Sometimes, I think that people can get afraid of the wrong thing. At that time, the Lord had done something amazing and great, but they begged Him to leave. If we are receiving Christ's love for us, then we won't have anything to fear.

20120105

Mark 4 - Key

v20

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

The seeds that were planted didn't just grow into a flat amount of fruit, like 30, 60, or 100 "fruits." They grew into thirtyfold, etc. which means, thirty times as much. When the Lord's Word is spread, it doesn't just accumulate; it multiplies.

It is encouraging to think that it is possible for us to grow in the Lord and "produce fruit", by 100 times as much (to 10,000%).

20120103

Matthew 25:31-46 - Key

v40

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.

The phrase, the least of these, makes me think of certain people who don't seem very great, and are not, naturally, very easy to love. God doesn't just call us to love great people who are naturally lovable; He specifically notices how we act toward the least of these.

Application

I'll work on how I think about and act towards certain people who do not seem very great or easy to love.

20120102

Matthew 25:31-46 - Outline

v31-33
a definite differentiation
v34-36
you reap what you sow
v37-39
surprising rewards
v40
the importance of people who seem unimportant
v41-45
surprising punishments
v46
radically different everlasting results

20120101

the tabernacle today

Exodus 26

v1

Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle [with] ten curtains [of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: [with] cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.

The Lord's people are the place where He desires to dwell, today. Just like they were supposed to make all these things for the tabernacle, we should work hard to build up the Lord's people.

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