A verse of praise of the Almighty Jehovah God by Moses and the Israelites. So, how did this verse come about? After 430 years in the land of Egypt, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob visited His people Israel, observing their distress at the hands of the Egyptians, and intervened on their behalf to make of them a people, a nation, and to bring them out from under the bondage of Egypt. Though Israel was a slave nation inside Egypt, God would bring them out to be a people for His own possession, a holy nation to proclaim His glory. God brought Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand, devastating Egypt with plagues, culminating in the death of every first-born in the land, of both man and beast. While Egypt was burying its dead, Israel began their exodus, heading east toward the Red Sea. Once the dead were buried, Egypt wondered why they had considered letting Israel go, so Egypt pursued Israel to the Red Sea, trapping Israel between the sea, the mountains, and the Egyptian army. Now what? God intervened. He prevented Egypt’s army from attacking Israel, and wonderfully made an escape route through the Red Sea … a roadway across the sea, of dry land for Israel to escape. Israel made it across, and Egypt pursued. God then closed down the roadway, bringing the Red Sea down upon Egyptian army, wiping them out, never to be seen alive again.

Have you ever experienced that moment of euphoria? Having escaped the sure clutches of death, and finding yourself still alive, by some miraculous, or seeming miraculous means? Israel had just experienced the adrenaline rush of just such a death. They knew they were dead, Egypt’s army was going to slaughter them. Then they march through the Red Sea, with walls of water on either side. As they climb out of the sea bed they see the Egyptian army in hot pursuit coming after them. And then … and then … God again intervenes … The wheels came off the chariots, and the army became confused. They began to flee back to Egypt, but before they could make it out the dry roadbed across the Red Sea disappeared. The waters of the sea collapsed on them, drowning the entire army in the Red Sea.

What would your response be? Moses led Israel in a song of praise. One of the phrases of that song is our verse: Who is like you among the gods, O LORD, who is like You, Majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, Working wonders. They were on the mountain top. They had been rescued from certain death. Their great God had saved them. Nothing could stop their God. He would take care of them. Always.

How long did Israel’s trust in God last? Less than three days. After traveling only three days they came to a pool of water that was bitter-tasting … and Israel complained, would not trust God, and was ready to walk back to Egypt and slavery.

So what about us? Do we trust God ALL the time, or only when He rescues us? In the difficult times, or just when things are going well?

Wow!! It has been 10 months since I last visited this blog.

We call it all kinds of names. Laziness, procrastination. Priorities are not right. There are all kinds of things we can say about it. The real problem … NO Discipline. I don’t do it because I don’t want to. I don’t do it because I don’t feel like it. Just because …

Through my adult life there have been a few people that bugged me. No, they did not do anything to me … but they just … kinda … got under my skin. There was something about them.  I sort of had an idea that they were special … they had brains, breaks, whatever … but really … I knew that was not it. Earlier this year something clicked. The answer was DISCIPLINE!!

They were disciplined. They knew what they knew because of discipline. They got to where they were because of discipline. I could keep going .. but I won’t.

Then I got mad. Not at them, but at me. I am who I am and where i am because I just won’t make myself do what I know I need to do.

Every good Christian I know think it is a good thing to read the Bible. To read the Bible completely through in one year is a good goal and accomplishment. I have started and tried numerous times … and never made it … even when I kept going after the year had elapsed. I always just gave up.

That really bothered me. So I started a project … that very day! It is only a 91 day project. Only takes a few minutes a day. So far, so good. I will keep you posted.

So far they project has been helpful, challenging, worthwhile.

How blessed is the man . . .

Blessed. Today we think in materialsitic terms of blessing. We think of money, houses, clothes, things, gadgets, cars, education, etc., etc., etc.  I would like for you to consider that this blessing is related to God.  What could be a blessing that has NOTHING to do with things, material, visible “blessings”, but comes directly from God?

The first “blessing” that comes to my mind is peace. Isaiah 26:3 says ” Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

What other “spiritual” blessings can you think of that come from God as we seek Him?

In the past I have copied and pasted texts that I have placed on this site. Today, I typed this from memory, so if there are some mis-spellings, or punctuation errors, sorry.

I have spent quite abit of time studying, thinking about, meditating on this passage. I would like to share my thoughts with you. This will take some time, as there is so much to cover.  You think this is jsut a short, simple Psalm, yet there is so much in it.

It is regualrly divided into 2 sections. Verses 1-3 about the righteous man, Verses 4-6 about the wicked. But there is more. There are several comparisons.

Verses 1-2 compares the actions of the righteous, versus what the righteous does not do. Verse three compares the righteous to a firmly planted tree. Verse four compares the wicked to chaff.  This is just the beginning. There is so much more in this Psalm.

Roman society needed slaves. Any respectable Roman had slaves. Why should he work when he could have someone else do it for him? The best thing to acheive, according to the Roman mind, was to be able to do nothing — because you have others to do it for you. You have your own lawyer ( a slave), your own doctor (a slave), etc. Yes, Luke, the doctor, author of two books in the New Testament (The Gospel according to Luke, and The Acts of the Apostles), probably was or had been a slave. How sad to be a Roman, and unable to own your own slave(s).

Also, most slaves’ names indicated who their owner was. When greeted in public, their identity and value was determined by who their owner was. Their importance was determined by who their master was.

So Paul, in addressing the Romans says “Paul, the slave of Jesus Christ…”.Peter says the same thing. So does James.  Why? They are identifying themselves with their master, Jesus Christ, their Lord, their Master.

You probably said no.  Everyone does, well, almsot everyone. If you are not versed (no pun intended) in the teachings of Jesus (in the Gospel of John), and the Apostle Paul (in Romans), you probably got this wrong.

I am a slave.  So are you.  I am not talking about visible, physical slavery.

Let’s look at what Jesus said about this type of slavery.

John 8:31-36 

31 ¶ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 ¶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

The truth, God’s truth, will set you free.  This freedom is freedom from the slavery of sin. I say that based on the jews response in verse 33 (and Jesus’ reply in verse 34).  They say they have not been enslaved (brought into bondage of, made a slave) to anyone.  Further, they claim they do not, therefore (because they are not slaves), need to be made free (no longer a slave, made to not be a slave).

Jesus contineus this thought.  We are slaves of sin.  The slave does not remain a part of the house forever,  but will eventually be released from service in the house.  But the son does remain in or a part of the house (God’s house, heaven) for all time.  This brings up another aspect of salvation.  When we are set free (made to no longer be a slave) of sin, we are also ADOPTED by God into His family, and become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.

Let’s think about these few thoughts for a bit.

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed throught he following sequence:

1. from bondage to spiritual faith;
2. from spiritual faith to great courage;
3. from great courage to liberty;
4. from liberty to abundance;
5. from abundance to complacency;
6. from complacency to apathy;
7. from apathy to dependence;
8. from dependence back into BONDAGE!!”

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University school of Law, St.Paul, Minnesota, point out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:

• Gore: 19
• Bush: 29

Square miles of land won by:

• Gore: 580,000
• Bush: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by:

• Gore: 127,000,000
• Bush: 143,000,000

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:

• Gore: 13.2
• Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: “In aggregate, the map of the territory that Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore’s territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare…”

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the “complacency and apathy” phase of Professor Tyler’s definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation’s population already having reached the “governmental dependency” phase.

If Congress grant amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called “illegals” and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

The above was copied, and is not my own assessment. My hope and prayer is that each who reads this, rather than reacting to this as a political piece will instead, personally look at this as a spiritual indictment for turning from faith in God to materialism and beyond. Will YOU consider your lack of spiritual relationship with Jehovah God, and turn again to Him in faith?

8 Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of my own offenses. 10 “Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. 11 “We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 12 “Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream. 13 “And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.”
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” 17 So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile; 18 and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass. 19 “Lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt; 20and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows. 21“Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke. 22“I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk; 23and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them; 24and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

    16When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; 17and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; 19within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
    20Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; 22but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

    1Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. 2And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass. 3Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. 5He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. 6Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. 7The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.