PSALM 91

 PSALM 91

1) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2) I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:  my God; in Him will I trust.

3) Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4) He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust:  His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5) Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day;

6) Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8) Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9) Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11) For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13) Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:  the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14) Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My Name.

15) He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him:  I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.

16) With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him My salvation.

COMMENTARY

Verse 1) The closer you walk with God, the more His shadow falls upon you.  When you are that close to Him, no evil can touch you for fear of God's power.

Verse 2) When we declare that God is my refuge and my fortress, rather than just believe it, we honor Him and others see our confidence and are led to Him.  It is our duty to Him to proclaim His greatness.

Verse 3) Faith gives Believers a cheerful heart; a cheerful heart does not fear.  Fear kills more people than pestilence, especially if they fear dying.  Salvation makes the Believer immortal.  Don't you want this kind of peace of mind?  You can have it with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Click here for more information:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

Verse 4) God gives us an example of how He protects us:  like being covered with His feathers and tucked securely under His wing, much like a chicken protecting her young. 

Verse 5) We are shown as being impervious to "midnight frights and horrors born of darkness."  All evil things that lurk in the dark.  No weapon formed against us shall prosper. Isaiah 54:17

Verse 6) The Believer who is protected of God has no fear of virus nor bacteria.  

Verse 7) We have seen thousands die recently after man designed a virus.   Some may have been in the inner circle of Believers who seek God constantly, I don't know.  I will say this:  to live is Christ; to die is gain.  We don't fear death:  O death, where is your sting?  O grave, where is your victory?  1 Corinthians 15: 55

Verse 8) God is a Holy God.  He cannot look upon the sin of the wicked.  They will be punished.  This is self evident.

Verse 9) When you make God your habitation, He is your Father.  He protects like no earthly father possibly can.

Verse 10) Consider the plagues with which God tormented Egypt before they let the Israelites go.  God still protects His own.

Verse 11) We have angels in close proximity to us.  Not just one angel, but we have many.  Angels are powerful creatures.

Verse 12) Our angels are charged with our safety.  They are like unto a garrison protecting our body, soul, and spirit. 

Verse 13) No matter where we go, He prepares our way.

Verse 14) When you set your love on God, He loves you all the more.

Verse 15) Our prayers are answered, and we recognize the answer, even when it is not the answer we asked for.  Amen?  Furthermore, we praise Him for the answer.

Verse 16) Whether we die young or old, our days will be filled and then, we get to see God!

I sincerely pray that this ministry is a blessing to you.  We have experienced heartache and we have experienced attack from Satan.  This chapter of Psalms reminds us that God is on His throne and Satan with all of his legion of fallen angels are no match for God.  If this post is a blessing to you, please pray for us that God uses us to promote His kingdom.  You are encouraged to leave us a comment and to share this post on your favorite social media.  Thank you.

 

a sermon from Pastor Chris Hodges entitled Dream.

 DREAM--A SERMON FROM PASTOR CHRIS HODGES

image courtesy of  Nikola Johnny Mirkovic on Unsplash.com

Posted by Angie Senchal, a bondswoman of Jesus Christ, on July 30, 2018,  on social media while she had been focused on battling breast cancer.  I find this post may be helpful in this season of Corona Virus and our election upheaval.  Leave us a comment if this post is a blessing to you.

"I realized that I had stopped dreaming. We had been so busy this last year just trying to survive, that our dreams were on pause. His message encouraged me to dream again. I would like to share some of his points with you in case you find yourself needing to dream again.

Sometimes all we can do in life is just hang-on during the survival mode but you need to realize, there will come a time where you need to dream again. Don’t dream small but DREAM BIG.

He talked about five different people and their dreams.

1. People with No dream –In Jeremiah 33:3 it says, “call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” If this is you, draw close to God and let him give you a dream.

2. People with a wrong dream – It may be a good dream but one that doesn’t matter eternally. A career is great but you need a calling to live for. If you are pursuing a career, money, and family . . .these are all wonderful, but be sure you have something that is driving you to make an eternal difference.

3. People with a stale dream – They have the right dream it’s just grown cold. It may have gotten delayed and now it’s stale. We will go through seasons of being stale. Find your dream again and breathe life back into it`

4. People with a vague dream – Their dream is not specific enough. Habakkuk 2:2 “Write down what I reveal to you so that he may run who reads it.” Dream big and write it down.

5. People with a God honoring dream – A dream that is a culture defying dream, a Heaven impacting dream, and a seemingly impossible dream.

I feel like God has clearly given me a new perspective on life and now it’s time I dream big! I want to make sure people know that God will carry you through every storm of life!

Sometimes life is NOT fair, but we get to choose our responses! If you will turn to the Lord in every situation, you will be blessed and encouraged by His Spirit.

I don’t know how people survive without knowing who Jesus is and what He can do in your life. You can’t just know about him, you must have a relationship with Him for it to be meaningful! You have to fall in love with Jesus."  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

 "I leave you with these song lyrics by Jonathan Butler.

Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Was the best thing I've ever
Ever done, oh, yes, oh, yes, oh, yes
Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Was the best thing I've ever, ever done
In His arms, I feel protected
In His arms, never disconnected, no, no
In His arms, I feel protected
There's no place I'd rather, rather be"

https://www.youtube.com/watch…

You are encouraged to share this post on your favorite social media if this has blessed you and please pray for us as we share The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Thank you.

THE CREATION PART 1 of MANY

 THE CREATION

GENESIS 1:1

photo courtesy of  U.S. Army - White Sands Missile Range/Applied Physics Laboratory [1]https://chaoglobal.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/nasa-15/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12004314

Verse 1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

  King James Version (KJV) Public Domain

COMMENTARY

reference The Genesis Record by Henry Morris

1) In the beginning - this denotes the creation of time.  Before the beginning was God.  He created time and is not bound by time.

2) The word for God here is Elohim.  Click here for a detailed description of His Name: https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-names-of-god-elohim.html

3) He created the tangible (liquid, solid, gas) and the intangible (time, energy).  He did not just make our world with that which already was, but He spoke and all things came into being.  Now, that's powerful!  Do you know that your tongue is powerful, also?  That is a topic for another time.

4) Heaven here is actually understood as meaning the heavens:  the atmosphere, space, outer space, inner space, atmospheric space, etc.  Surely if you are going to work on a project, you should allow for ample space.  If you were going to create the universe, you would need enough space for everything to fit it in, right?  So, here He created "space".

5) The word for earth here can be translated matter, like the components of dirt.  You know how farmers dig up the earth for planting?  That doesn't mean they dig up all of this planet, but a small portion of ground.  So, Elohim was gathering His material to create the planets and stars i.e., space, energy, time, and earth.  The fact is that the planet earth was not created on the first day, but the fourth.

6) We understand that time, space, and matter are a continuum.  Not one of them have substantial meaning without the other two.

7) Since our world has a beginning, how old is it?  Well, if you listen to modern scientists, you may believe that it is millions of years old.  These are the same people who tell you that a baby is just a glob of cells in the womb.  Calculating the date using the timeline of births and generations in the Holy Bible, scholars conclude that the planet Earth was created at some point between 3760 B.C. and 5555 B.C.  The Earth cannot be older than 10,000 years and is probably closer to 6,000 years old.

The Creator of All Things yearns for a relationship with you.  Won't you say yes to Him?  Please learn more by clicking here:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html. 

   If this ministry is a blessing to you, please pray that God will use us for His glory as we spread The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Also, you are invited to share this post on your favorite social media.

We would love to hear from you, so leave us your thoughts, questions, or suggestions in a comment on this site.  Indicate if you do NOT want your comment published for all of the www to see.  Thank you.

PSALM 33

PSALM 33

1) Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous:  for praise is comely for the upright.

2) Praise the Lord with harp:  sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

3) Sing unto Him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.

4) For the Word of the Lord is right; and all His works are done in truth.

5) He loveth righteousness and judgment:  the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6) By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

7) He gathers the waters of the sea together as an heap:  He lays up the depth in storehouses.

8) Let all the earth fear the Lord:  let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9) For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

10) The Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nought:  He makes the devices of the people of none effect.

11) The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.

12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.

In God We Trust

 

13) The Lord looks from heaven; He beholds all the sons of men.

14) From the place of His habitation He looks upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

15) He fashions their hearts alike; He considers all their works.

16) There is no king saved by the multitude of an host:  a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

17) An horse is a vain thing for safety:  neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 

18) Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy;

19) To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

20) Our soul waits for the Lord:  He is our help and our shield.

21) For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His Holy Name.

22) Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.  

King James Version  (KJV)  Public Domain  (modified to modern language)

COMMENTARY

1) "Praise is not comely in unpardoned professional singers."  This is how Charles Spurgeon states it in his commentary, "The Treasury of David", where I am studying The Psalms.  It is uncomely for the Unsaved to sing praises to God.

2) All notes of music belong to God.  He deserves all of them to be played in worship of Him, holding nothing back.

3)  All of God's children should loudly and skillfully sing His praises.  No mumbling or discords.

4) The works of God are done as an outflow of His Word, which is truth.

5) If God sees no righteousness in us (if we are not washed in the blood of Jesus Christ and His righteousness be imputed to us), then He will judge us righteously.  It's that simple.  Have you been washed in the blood of Jesus?  click here to learn more:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

6) Another Name for Jesus is The Word but also note that the "Breath" is also credited for creation.  "Breath" is elsewhere rendered "Spirit".  So the entire Godhead is involved in creation.

7) The masses of water are not only where they can be seen by mankind, but some are hidden away in storehouses in the bowels of the earth.  Some feed springs.  Some release pressure as geysers.  God's creation reveals Truths about Him.

8) Even the involuntary trembling of fear is a form of worship.  One day, there will be universal worshipping of the One True God.

9) Even as He created all that is, He also sustains His works by His great power.

10) God thwarts the lots of the heathen.  Though they might slander and persecute Him, they have no ultimate effect.  

11) No device of His foes can thwart His will.  His is the ultimate word on all things.  He is the same God for all time and His will carries from generation to generation seamlessly, "producing ordained results with unerring certainty"

12) Everyone, each person, whose confidence is in the Lord is blessed in the largest and deepest sense, and no one and nothing can reverse the blessing.  Jehovah first calls us to be His people then we take Him to be our God.  We are the delight of the Lord, so we should display our calling for all to see.

13) God never takes His eyes off of His children no matter where you are on the globe.  He is constantly caring for those who put our trust in Him.

14) It is worth repeating that God sees us all day and all night.  He never sleeps and never gets distracted.

15) All hearts are created by God:  hearts of kings and of beggars; and He gives all of us free will.  So, what God sees in our hearts is up to us.

16) There is no power in this world that can protect you when God turns His face from you.  Likewise, there is no power in this world that can harm you when God protects you.  period.  end of story.  Lean on Him for everything and give Him praise for EVERY LITTLE blessing.  By the way, if you want this kind of peace of mind, click here for more information:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

17) The horse is a mighty animal which has been used by armies for centuries. Even a strong, fast horse cannot be trusted to keep you safe, because he can fall on you, kick you, become lame, etc.  Likewise, even the most feared marksman or karate fighter cannot deliver himself from harm.  The Believer, in contrast, has a banquet set up for him in the face of his foes (Psalms 23: 5)  

18) The commentary here states, "They who fear God need not fear anything else; let them fix their eyes of faith on Him and His eye of love will always rest upon them."  Have you not read, "Fear not"?  This is written in the Holy Bible repeatedly.

19) The Apostle Paul said it all:  "To live is Christ; to die is gain."  God will rescue if it is His will; if not, He will bring you home.

20) Daniel prayed to God and was answered.  However, it took three weeks for the answer to be delivered.  Daniel kept praying and waiting, not loosing hope.  The Lord provides for our labor and He alone protects us.

21) I watched my sister battle the spirit of disease for over a decade.  During that time, she was totally devoted to sharing The Gospel.  She may not have been perfect, but her root of faith yielded a crop of rejoicing, even in her death.  Can I take a moment to say this:  if you have ANYONE who loves you, please accept the gift of salvation.  Your funeral will be a celebration of your life for those you leave behind rather than a tormenting pain that never stops.

22) This one line should be the prayer of all Believers.

If this post is a blessing to you, please pray for us as we humbly spread The Gospel that God may be glorified.  You are encouraged to leave your thoughts in the comment section on this site and share this post on your favorite social media.  Thank you all so much.  May you be in good health and prosper, even as your soul prospers.  3 John 2

TWO NATIONS ARE IN THY WOMB

Genesis 25: 19 - 25

TWO NATIONS ARE IN THY WOMB

photo courtesy of BabyCenter.com

19) And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son:  Abraham begat Isaac:

20) And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21) And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren:  and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22) And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 

23) And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

24) And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25) And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

26) And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:  and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.  King James Version   Public Domain

JESUS, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HATRED?

I. The Setting of the statement:

   A. Their Birth  (Genesis 25: 19-26) 

        Jacob and Esau's birth represented the beginning of two nations.  Esau was the firstborn and thereby legal heir to the family birthright which included, among other things, being a recipient to the covenant between God and Abraham.  God foretold, prior to their birth, that the birthright would be Jacob's.  For this birthright was to be the link in the line of descent through which the Promised Messiah would be born.  (Numbers 24: 17-19)

   B. Their Character (Genesis 25: 26, 27)

        Esau was a skillful hunter.  He was an outdoorsman in every sense of the word.  Jacob was said to be plain and dwelled in tents.  In other words, Jacob's life was boring!  Nothing exciting to write about.  No great adventures to tell.  The word "plain" describes Jacob's character to come - as a person who would become a man of God. (Psalm 135:4)  Remember, a person's character is an overflow of the state of their heart. 

   C. Their Interest (Genesis 25: 26 - 34)

        Esau had no interest in spiritual things so he agreed to sell his birthright to Joseph.  His response revealed the value he placed on the birthright as he impulsively surrendered the spiritual, his birthright, to his younger brother for temporary satisfying the physical, his hunger.  I could make an entire sermon just from these verses alone!  We often do the same thing today as Esau, ignoring the eternal/spiritual for the temporal/physical.  Oh, how I cry unto my LORD regarding this.

II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STATEMENT!

   A. God did not hate Esau in the sense of cursing him or setting Himself against him.  After all, Esau was a blessed man.  (Genesis 33:9, 36: 1 - 43)  God loving Jacob and hating Esau had nothing to do with the human emotions of love and hate as we understand them.  It had everything to do with God choosing one man and his descendants and rejecting another and his descendants because of their character.  Romans 9 teaches us that God unconditionally elected Jacob to be the recipient of the Abrahamic Covenant:  Jacob would be blessed; his seed would be blessed and the world would be blessed through his seed.  But Jacob being elected to receive the blessing didn't determine Esau's cursing.  It was his character and behavioral choices in that he rejected God. 

  We all have free will.  At any time, we can choose God over all gods.  We can humble ourselves to the King of Kings and obey Him, fully complying with His will.  He chose each one of us.  We are the ones who chooses to have our names blotted out of The Lamb's Book of Life.  The choice is ours alone.  What is your choice?  click here for more information on eternal salvation:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

   B. God hating Esau and loving Jacob was more about rejection and acceptance of God Himself.  Remember, in the Holy Bible, the word hatred means to despise or love less but it also means rejection.  (Romans 9: 1 - 13) God loved Jacob and hated Esau because when he sold his birthright, he snubbed the privilege he had been given and thereby rejected God and in turn God rejected him.  It was according to acceptance that one, Jacob, would receive the Abrahamic covenant and one would reject it, Esau, by his very behavior and attitude regarding the birthright.  The whole significance of the statement is that when God declared Jacob and his descendants to be the recipients  of the Abrahamic Covenant through whom the Savior would come, He chose to love Israel like no other.  

   Here, can I say, that the last of the Ten Commandments is:  Thou shalt not covet.  Breaking this Commandment actually leads to breaking most if not all of the others.  Be content with your blessings.  Be happy for the blessings of others.  Lean on Jehovah Rohi for all of your needs and desires. Put His Kingdom first and He will adjust your attitude and desires.

III. The Seriousness Of The Statement!

   The seriousness of God loving Jacob and hating Esau is that salvation is based on God's sovereign choice.  This is important... in order for God's sovereign purposes in election to stand it must not be by works but of God Who calls us according to His grace.  (Titus 3:5).  It is God's choice because our salvation originated in His heart.  (Ephesians 1:4, Revelation 13, Romans 9: 16)

 ROMANS 9

1) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

2) That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

3) For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

4) Who are Israelites; to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

5) Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever.  Amen.

6) Not as though the word of God has taken no effect.  For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:  

7) Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:  but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

8) That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God:  but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

9) For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah (Abraham's wife) shall have a son.

10) And not only this; but when Rebecca (Isaac's wife) also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

11) (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calls;)

12) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

13) As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

14) What shall we say then?  Is there unrighteousness with God?  God forbid.

15) For He said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

16) So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. 

So, here are the points":

1) God has the sovereign right to reject anyone but He only does so, not because He hates them, but due to their rejection of Him like Esau did.

2) God's sovereign election involves a choosing prior to one's birth with a rejection of what a person will do in their life in response to His offer of salvation.

3) The idea taught here discards the belief that God ever appointed anyone to eternal life or death before they were born.

     So, let's be thankful for so great a salvation that we have been given.  Amen?

  This post if based on the sermon received from our Pastor at First Baptist Church of New Caney, Texas.  If this has been a blessing to you, please pray for our church and our blog ministry, that God will use us to reach those who are seeking His face.  You are encouraged to leave a message in the comment section with questions or your thoughts about this post.  We enjoy hearing from you.

   Also, please share this post on your favorite social media if this has been a blessing to you.