Pastor's Thoughts to Ponder

Finally, notice the expectation of the Psalmist: the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Without the involvement of God, no nation could biblically be called “blessed”. The nation of Israel began with the calling out of Abraham. Through his obedience to God, a nation was born, and through that nation, one night a Savior came into this world to die for our sin.

Today, we have been privileged to live in a nation that was established on godly principles, and religious freedom has stood for 250 years. We, too, today have so many people who care not to seek the things of God, but to live for the here and now. But down through the years, multitudes have taken advantage of our national privileges and have come to trust and live by faith in our one true God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This Flag Day, let us praise God for our past victories, and be thankful that the “Red, White and Blue” is still flying over the land of the free and the home of the brave. May we be reminded that the prayers of the American people have been heard in our past wars, and that we must continue to be the nation of “In God We Trust”.

The blessed person is one who is different from the world’s people, (vs 1). The blessed person is one who delights in God’s Word (vs 2). And the blessed person is one who is dedicated to God’s work, (vs 3). This is the foundation on which the blessed start with, stay with, are satisfied with, and are never sorry for.

Twice in this Psalm is the question, “Where is thy God?”. Those who were asking the question were not interested in helping the Psalmist in his spiritual walk, but were mocking him for his faith. The unbeliever likes it when God seems to be doing nothing for those who trust in Him. They were hoping the Psalmist would lose all faith, and in his doubting God, he would become like them.

Tomorrow, may we as Americans be thankful for all those men and women who, from the forming of this great nation, and throughout all the great wars, went to the battlefield to preserve our freedoms, and give us a wonderful heritage. We owe a great debt to those great men and women who counted it a great honor to lay down their lives if necessary so that our nation could be “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”.

Remember the old saying, “If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it probably is a duck”? When I read these three verses, I am reminded of that saying. In a spiritual sense, I believe it is fitting in these verses in Romans. A person who is truly a believer should act like a believer, and be known as a believer to those who are around him or her.

You can ’t help but see in this verse the two people who were so influential in Timothy’s life: a grandmother, Lois, and mother, Eunice. While it is evident that Timothy was brought to faith through the ministry of the Apostle Paul, the foundation was truly laid by these two important women in his life. Two generations, grandmother and mother, poured into Timothy vital and eternal truths which they themselves had come to believe.

What could he do? He could have shaken his head and said that it was a terrible report and went on about his business. But instead, he chose to pray and to put his faith in the promise that God made, written down by Moses one thousand years earlier!

When Paul says, “I was alive”, and then says, “and I died”, I’m sure that seems like a pretty strange statement for some readers. It’s easy to think of Paul as being alive, but how can you die and be alive at the same time? I think of our Savior telling Nicodemus in John 3, “You must be born again”.

I believe in our day it seems like the things concerning our Lord have come under great attack. Morality seems to be at an all time low in many places, and it seems that it is impossible that God can or will do something amazing. Maybe the most amazing thing we could do today is to ask God to stir up our spirits that we might be willing and able to be builders of His glorious church! It’s hard to stop what God stirs up!

Twice in this ninth verse, the little word, “if”, comes before us in our reading. It is a word meaning there is a condition or expectation set, but only on the principle that one party is willing to do what the other party says. Judah has had some pretty bad kings, and because of that, they have experienced some very tragic things. They have been overtaken by the Syrians, fought a civil war, some of their own people were taken in captivity, and the house of God was boarded sh

As a believer in Christ, is there any remembrance in the past when you were not sure what to do? There are times in our personal lives that important decisions have to be made. It may be a medical, financial, spiritual, marriage or career, etc. decision. The list could go on, but we know the decision will be life-changing in either a positive or negative way. The old saying, “Hind sight is 20/20”, holds a lot of truth, but the Bible gives believers other options.

Asa had a great problem, therefore, he “cried unto the Lord”. When we place our problems into the hands of God, we are setting the stage for a great testimony! God can handle our problems. Also, I notice three times he refers to a personal connection to God in this prayer. He prays “unto the Lord his God”, then, “O Lord our God”, and, “O Lord, thou art our God”. Before the problem ever came up, he knew who God was, who was Lord of his life, and on Whom he could depend. He ack

God reminded those who came through the judgment of Numbers 16 that He had chosen whom He called, and they were to reverence His chosen one. They were instructed to take twelve rods and write the names of the princes of the twelve tribes on each rod. Aaron’s name was to be written on the rod for the tribe of Levi. These rods were to be laid up before the Lord, and the one rod that God chose to be the spiritual leader for Israel would bloom with flowers.

Genesis 18:1-7 - In vs 8 - 15, because of Him, I, who had been unfruitful in spiritual things, can now bring forth fruit unto eternal life by sowing the gospel seed.

II Kings 22:8 - I too have found this Book to be a special Book. Through this Book, I was convicted of sin, had a great concern to be delivered, and found that I was under condemnation. But when I confessed my sin and believed on God’s Son for my justification, this Book became a comforting Book. I too will one day die, but like Josiah, I will be gathered with other believers, go to the grave in peace, and not see the evil that will come to this world (vs 20).

Again, the Psalmist said, “Thou wilt revive me”. Only you can stop revival in your personal walk with God. Don’t let troubles or enemies become an excuse for not experiencing revival. God is willing and wanting to revive His people. I believe God is waiting for His people to cry out for revival. Verse seven ends with the words, “and thy right hand shall save me”. Revival in a church will be the survival of a church. Choose revival!

I believe that Hannah prayed often. I believe she prayed when her needs were great, and when her needs were met. Through praying, Hannah saw God working outside on her circumstances, and on the inside on her character and faith.

What about “you”? Are “you” too terrible of a person whom the Redeemer cannot or will not forgive “you”? I believe that He has forgiven much worse! The only ones who weren’t forgiven were the ones who didn’t want to be forgiven (vs 46). What about “you”?