Old Testament

God’s Awesome Deeds

February 16, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

Consider if you would for a moment what the word Awesome means. Originally the word awesome was associated with terror. Nowadays it’s more associated with wonder. Like something is so fantastic or great. It’s been watered down. Something that is awesome should also be somewhat terrifying. So God’s awesome deeds are deeds that we can’t quite get, they have an aspect that is a bit scary when we really think about them. Let’s look into this more yes?

Psalm 65:5-8
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
7 who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

God’s Awesome Deeds

In this passage the author tells us that God’s awesome deeds are an answer to us. He tells us “by awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness”. We see throughout the Old Testament how often we turn away from God, seeking after our own solutions. And yet God’s answer to that… righteousness.

Can you make sense of that? Would that be your response? God is so much greater then we are. More caring, more loving, more capable of wrath, and just so much MORE. When you stop to think about that, aren’t you just a wee bit terrified?

If not consider this

God is the one who established the mountains by his own strength.

He is the one that is the hope of the ends of the earth.

Stiller of roaring seas, and waves, the the noise of people.

The Tumult of the Peoples

When I read the words the tumult of the peoples in my mind I picture a mighty throng of people milling about in a noisy confusion. Not a happy throng by any means, but one that’s just “too peopley” for lack of a better term. Sometimes we are just too much even for ourselves. And God, God himself, can still all the angry muttering, and confused words, and milling about. He settles us.

THAT blows my mind when I stop and think about it. Thinking of people as a wild rushing uncontrolled wave of a ocean or lake… and God saying, hey, settle down. It’s all good now, settle settle. God can do that so quickly.

I can well understand now the disciples amazement at Jesus calming the storms. They were rightfully in awe of him, holding a terrified wonder of his abilities.

Be Joyful!

If God can build mountains, and settle wild waves, and calm the tumult of people….. it’s no small wonder that in our awe of him we are joyful. Am I wrong? The very fact that we have morning and evening should make us shout for joy too! Consider what all it takes for the world to turn in it’s orbit smoothly. God, who established the mountain and calms seas and people, you think he doesn’t rule the skies and the rotation of the earth?

Think about all he does.

Does it not just fill you with joy at how he works? How he keeps everything operating smoothly? I know, I know. I often don’t even give a thought to it. My life has it’s routines of I go to bed, the sun comes up, I rise and go about my life. The moon does it’s thing and I simply pay it no mind. But if I stopped to think it… and these verses are making me think about it… God built mountains! He quiets the noisy and restless! He keeps everything going that is going. Without him…. the world, that I so much take for granted, would fall apart! So will I make more of an effort to be joyful! Join me won’t you?

Let us covenant together to remember the awesome deeds of God!

Keep The Commands

January 31, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

Seems like a pretty easy injunction doesn’t it… Keep the Commands of the Lord God. So why then does Moses have to add this: Do not add it to it, do not take away from it. The reason? So that we can keep the commands of God.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2
“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

keep the commands, devotional on Deuteronomy 4

What’s involved to keep the commands?

Moses is clear. To keep the commands of God the first thing we need to do is LISTEN. Moses has presented the commands of God to the Israelites.

All they need to do in this first part is listen while he TEACHES them. So to be taught by someone speaking to you, a person needs to be ACTIVELY listening. Otherwise how will you retain the information being presented?

So that of course begs the question: When reading or listening to God’s word do I really focus on what I am hearing or reading? How can I do a better job? I know that for me taking notes helps me a whole ton when it comes to focus and attention. What do you find helps you?

So let’s say we’ve listened well to the teaching given to us… now we have to DO them. To put into practice what we have learned. So we’re not to be hearers only, but doers of the word. Putting things into practice is the best way to cement new teaching into our lives isn’t it?

The reason we are to do this? Moses told the Israelites that obedience to God’s commands meant they may live and take possession of the land God is giving to them. I’m not an Israelite, so I have to wonder, how does this correlate to me? Obedience to God does help me to live. It does. It gives me a better life even when things are tough. Doesn’t mean everything is always sunshine and roses because stuff… it happens you know? But God, he helps make it doable. But I just realized something, the text says, “MAY live”. Not that living is guaranteed.

But what land? I dunno about that. Part of me wants to say heaven waits, but I don’t know that the text suggests it. But I don’t know if it’s so much about the land, as more so that God has a plan in place for his people. Do his will, make his commands something to live by, and God’s plans will come to pass.

Rules to follow

Moses follows up his reasoning with some additional rules to keep.

1. do not add to the word

2. do not take anything from it.

Just leave God’s word to stand to it’s own merit.

The Lord is an Everlasting God

January 24, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

What do you think when you hear the phrase the Lord is an Everlasting God. In today’s passage we’ll see what Isaiah had to say about it.

Isaiah 40:27-31

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

The Lord is an Everlasting God

I don’t know what you think of when you hear the phrase The Lord is an everlasting God, but my thoughts immediately go to God being the God of forever and a day. I don’t generally think of the minutiae of what that means, I just look at the big picture. God is simply there always. Could I paint you a broader picture of that if push came to shove? For sure. But Isaiah’s words…they help you know?

What does Isaiah say?

This Lord, the everlasting God

creator of the ends of the earth
does not faint
does not grow weary
his understanding is unsearchable
gives power to the faint
increases strength to those who have no might
those that wait for him find their strength renewed

Doesn’t that add some depth to your understanding of God as everlasting?

Can you fathom never running out of energy? Honestly, I can’t. BUT I do know how God can strengthen the weary. Do you? People calling upon the Lord when they are at their end and then finding the strength to carry on.

So we know God can give people strength, to the extent that

who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Mount up with Wings like eagles

Can you see it? That soaring like eagles? Eagles soar effortlessly when up on the wind currents, all they have to do is shift their feathers and wings and just let the wind carry them. This is the everlasting God at work. Can you see how he puts systems in place to help his people?

This shows how we will never really understand God. He understands his people and their needs in ways we can’t even fathom. Can you think of the forethought demanded for God to provide current for eagles? And he values us so much more than the birds around us. Let that sink in… I have to let that sink in.

This everlasting God provides the energy and support we need that we can do so much more than we can anticipate. This is what Isaiah is telling us about that Lord is an Everlasting God!

Puts his mindfulness of me in much greater light don’t you think?

How about you? Can you see God a bit more clearly like I just did?

Wisdom of Christ in Proverbs 6

January 22, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

Today’s Sermon in based on Proverbs 6. In the NIV they are written as follows. Today Pastor Andrew will be speaking of the Wisdom of Christ in Proverbs 6

Part One

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbo.r,
    if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
²you have been trapped by what you said,
    ensnared by the words of your mouth.
³So do this, my son, to free yourself,
    since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—^[a]
    and give your neighbor no rest!
⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes,
    no slumber to your eyelids.
⁵Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
    like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard;
    consider its ways and be wise!
⁷It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer
    and gathers its food at harvest.

⁹How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
    When will you get up from your sleep?
¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
¹¹and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

¹²A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
¹³    who winks maliciously with his eye,
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,
¹⁴    who plots evil with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.
¹⁵Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;
    he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

Part two

¹⁶There are six things the Lord hates,
    seven that are detestable to him:
¹⁷        haughty eyes,
        a lying tongue,
        hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸        a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,
¹⁹        a false witness who pours out lies
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Wisdom of Christ in proverbs 6, text with image of two men working

Avoid Laziness and Learn to work hard (vv 1-11)

Learn your finances skills. Do whatever you can to free yourself from the obligation of co-signing a loan.

a. Go—to the point of exhaustion— and give your neighbor no rest!
b. Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
c. be like a gazelle and bird fleeing entrapment!
Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
2. Learn the value of a good work ethic.
see the work of the ant, that works hard without being ordered to do so.
⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

3. Do not be lazy! Don’t just let the world pass you by. Learn the value of a dollar.

Avoid Division! Learn to love Unity Vv.12-19

Do not sow discord.
Don’t be a wicked person. Everything about them plans evil.
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
Those six things all point the the culminating factor…. one who sows discords in the community.
Why does God hate discord so much?

Both of these things point us to the wisdom of Christ.

John 17:3-5 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Jesus finished his work, his hard work among the people, bringing unity to them. This is how we see the Wisdom of Christ in Proverbs 6. Through hard work, Jesus showed how despite our differences, we can be one body by showcasing what brings us together. When we do the work of Christ we showcase that unity of spirit. That bond of peace granted to us as believers. This shows us putting the gospel first.

Nagged Him

January 19, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

It struck me this morning how evil corrupts good. Samson got involved with Delilah and she nagged him over and over again. He gave in. This man dedicated to God let his secret slip…. and disaster struck. This made me think back to Paul conversation with the Corinthians when he told them that bad company corrupts good.

Judges 16:15-19

¹⁵Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” ¹⁶With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

¹⁷So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. ¹⁹After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

Nagged Him

If you read the whole story of Samson and Delilah you would quickly see the Samson got involved with a lady he shouldn’t have. This woman did not have his best interest at heart, instead she was after ways to to defeat him in order to help her national people out.

She asked, then she asked again, and then she nagged him. Tell me the truth! How can you be defeated? And for some odd reason (perhaps a blind love) he told her! And then he was defeated and Israel’s champion was imprisoned.

Relationships are so hard aren’t they?

But gives me cause to say hey… take a take a close look at people you want to be involved with. Will they lift you up or cause you to betray the trust between you and God? Doesn’t mean to stay away from non-believers, but to make sure you have people in your life who will shore up your faith.

It doesn’t say in the text that Samson took the time to talk with other people of faith before he gave into Delilah’s nagging of him. If he had, perhaps things would have turned out differently eh? He needed more people in his life to remind him of the truths of God eh? Just like we all do as believers. Do we remember to talk to God before giving into the worldly pressures around us?

I know I don’t always, sometimes just making snap of the finger decisions. I need so much to be more cognizant of God in all aspects of my life. How about you?

Who are we trusting in?

January 17, 2023 By Annette1 2 Comments

Such a contrast presented in today’s today. We see one that is cursed and one that is blessed. It should cause us to take a hard look at ourselves. Who are we trusting in?

Jeremiah 17:5-8

5 This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

Who are we trusting in?

I suppose another question we could be asking is Who are we listening to? Cause if we aren’t listening to the Lord God nothing of what he says matters does it? He’s the one who is saying who is cursed and who is blessed.

I do hope that you, my readers, are in fact inclined to listen to the words of the Lord.

Let’s move on and listen to what he has to say eh?

He starts with those who are cursed. It’s starts off very simply. Those who are cursed are those that trust in mankind. Who think that themselves or others are the answers and they have hearts that turn away from the Lord.

Wow… I read that am I’m thinking to myself…how often do I trust in my own abilities and my own endeavors? Do we think through what we are doing when we are doing that? We are trusting in ourselves more than we are trusting in God. Now I’m not saying that it means we are cursed! Not at all. Because the text also says “who hearts turns away from the Lord”. But it is a warning isn’t it? A warning to be mindful of who we are trusting in, and gives us yet another reason to turn to the Lord to change our hearts. We need him to continually modify who we are to be more like him don’t we?

The Lord then paints a picture of a bush out in the desert. It’s going to have a hard time surviving isn’t it? All alone, in a place of desolation, with no hope of prosperity.

In Contrast, the Blessed

But then we have the blessed. A person who trusts in the Lord God, a person who is confident in God. Can you imagine what having confidence in the Lord does? Not being afraid, having no need to fret about things, because you know that God has it in hand.

The picture he paints for us is so different than the lonely bush growing in the desert, struggling to survive. Instead we see a tree planted by a stream of water.

You know what I imagine when I hear those words… a big willow tree growing next to a river, with it’s branches hanging out over the water, majestic, strong, welcoming for birds and insects, perhaps a squirrel or some other critter making a home in the shade of branches. That tree won’t have to fret about a hard, hot summer, it will have a stream and the bed it runs in to nourish it. It will continue, if it’s a fruit tree, to bear fruit year after year. Isn’t that a great word picture?

What does that say about the person who puts their trust in God? Can you see how it can make a person blossom? How it provides a confidence? If you confidently trust God you don’t have to fear the hard times in life. See yourself as that massive willow tree growing by a stream, confident that a hot summer isn’t going to be a problem.

Trust God is what it comes down to. Place your confidence in him.

We need to be asking ourselves: Who are we trusting in?

Words and Thoughts

January 12, 2023 By Annette1 1 Comment

This passage is all about our words and thoughts isn’t it? What do we think about and how do we say what we do?

Proverbs 16:20-24
Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,
and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
21 The wise of heart is called discerning,
and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Words and Thoughts from Proverbs 16

I had to think today about these first few words “whoever gives thought to the word will discover good“. Like… do I remember that when I look at scripture? Do I seek for the good that God promises I will find? Is reading scripture just another thing to add to my already busy day? Or do I see the good that it brings me? The quiet heart I feel after spending time ruminating on God’s word. That quiet heart is important you know? That time of letting God himself seep into my life. This is the good you know?

And then after that we hear “blessed is he who trust in the Lord”. Sometimes I think, bah.. I got that. I trust God and then something happens and suddenly I realize there is yet ANOTHER area of my life that I have to trust the Lord with. Frustrating sometimes, humbling others.

I guess this is how wisdom is built into my life you know? The learning to discern, the learning to trust God in places I haven’t considered the need for it.

But going back to that quietness of heart after spending time in the word Since God tells us his word never comes back empty right? So that word (that sharper than a two-edged sword word) changes us. Makes us consider things differently and that changes how we talk, how we think, and how we do.

So the more time we spend in his word, the more it influences what happens within us. And so the wisdom that we gain changes our speech. Because when one has wisdom, one is apt to share it yes?

And Proverbs here tells us that being wise is being discerning. The discerning are careful with their speech making us more persuasive and gracious and our speech more judicious.

Sometimes I wonder about that you know?

I wonder if I am becoming more gracious and persuasive with my speech. Seeing it is something I have a hard time with for I’m rather too blunt I think! Perhaps I need to be a bit older??? Or perhaps, I need to be more quiet and let God work in my heart before I open my mouth. That way, God’s graciousness and mercy will be more prevalent in the things I say.

HA… perhaps… just perhaps I’ve learned a bit of wisdom there??? 🙂 (I’m grinning to myself here).

If I can indeed be more quiet and let God work it would also prevent the urge to shoot oneself for words spoken that shouldn’t have been. Would DEFINITELY stop the need to apologize for stupidity. And most assuredly would give God the time to correct me before I speak.

Lest angst in my life would indeed me that “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Just maybe I’d stay healthier too?

Your thoughts?

Old Testament

God’s Awesome Deeds