"The Stilling of the Storm (Mark 6:45-56)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2012 8:22:27 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: The stilling of the storm

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Mark 6:45-56

            Message of the verses:  In the SD that was done yesterday we looked at the last main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Mark and covered the first sub-point under it.  He calls this last main point “The Unbelief of His Disciples” and we looked at “The feeding of the 5,000” yesterday.  Today we move on to the last twelve verses in the sixth chapter of Mark.

            The stilling of the storm (vv. 45-56):  “45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. 47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, "Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid." 51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52 for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. 53 When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. 54 When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. 56 Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.”  (NASB 95)

            When we look at this section of Scripture along with companion passages from Matthew and John we see some very powerful miracles done.  Jesus walking on the water is seen in this section, while Peter walking on the water is seen in the other gospels.  We also see the calming of the storm by Jesus and in John’s Gospel, we see a miracle that is not seen in any of the other Gospels, and that is that as soon as Jesus got into the boat they immediately got to shore.  I have often wondered if it was because Peter had influence in Mark’s Gospel that the incident of Peter walking on the water and then losing faith and was about to drown before Jesus saved him, was not covered by Mark.  When I think of that part of the story I think that there were twelve men in the boat, but only Peter had enough faith to get out of the boat and walk on the water.  Just think that there are only two men who have walked on water, Jesus and Peter.

            Why Jesus sent His disciple away is a question that we do not have an answer to, but we know that it was in the will of Jesus to send them out into the storm.  Perhaps it was because the crowds were trying to take Jesus and make Him their king for reasons stated in yesterday’s SD, or perhaps it was a lesson in faith because of the spiritual high that they were on after being sent out to do miracles and preach and also to be a part of the feeding of the 5000.  Jesus had His reasons and they are always perfect.  Jesus spent much time praying for them before He came to them.

            This is a good time to write how much this passage means to me.  I once heard a missionary friend of mine preach a sermon on this passage along with the companion passages found in the other Gospels.  He entitled his message “Blessings in the Storms of Life,” and the message to me was like the Lord preaching it to me.  There was a great crisis in my life, a crisis that still affects me some nine years later, but God has plans for me in that crisis to bring about blessings and it was from that message that I knew that God was at work in this crisis.  My friend had six points to his message that day and although I don’t remember all of them, though I have a copy of the message on tape, I do remember that Jesus sent His disciple out into the storm and then He prayed for them while they were in the storm.  Jesus then came to them in the storm and calmed the storm, and then Jesus got them to the place where He had told them to go, but they were not able to get there on their own.  As I went through the first part of this crisis the Lord saw fit for me to tell some of my neighbors how they could gain eternal life and I saw 18 people accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  One of them is now with the Lord in heaven.  That blessing is still going on as there have been others who have gotten saved since that time.  What a blessing the Lord gave to me in a great crisis.  I took some time to disciple these people that the Lord saved and I believe that most of them are walking with the Lord at this time.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes on spiritual highs, which is what the disciples of Jesus were on before He sent them out into the storm.  “They were on a ‘spiritual high’ and this in itself was dangerous.  It is good to be on the mountaintop if you don’t get careless and step off a cliff. Spiritual blessings must be balanced with burdens and battles; otherwise, we may become pampered children instead of mature sons and daughters.”  Dr. Wiersbe also points out of another storm found in Mark 4:35-41 that Jesus saw His disciples through.  He then points out something interesting and that is when we look at the book of Acts we do not find persecution begin until after 5000 people had been saved.  Perhaps the disciples remembered and were encouraged as they thought about this incident and how the Lord saw them through this storm.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Each new experience of testing demands of us more faith and courage.  In that first storm experience, the disciples had Jesus in the boat with them; but this time, He was on the mountain praying for them.  He was teaching them to live by faith.  (For that matter, even when He was in the ship with them, they were still afraid!)  The scene illustrates the situation of God’s people today:  We are in the midst of this stormy world, toiling and seemingly ready to sink, but He is in glory interceding for us.  When the hour seems the darkest, He will come to us—and we will reach shore!”  After reading and then the writing these words from Dr. Wiersbe I can assure you that they are true because of the crisis I was in and in some degree am still in.

             What does this mean:  “and He intended to pass by them.”  Jesus wanted them to recognize Him, and He wanted them to invite Him into the boat, and He wanted them to trust Him so that their faith would be increased.

            Verse 52 states:  “for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.”  I mentioned yesterday that this verse sticks out to me like no other verse in this entire chapter.  What is it all about?  “The miracle of the loaves and fishes had made no lasting impression on them.  After all if Jesus could multiply food and feed thousands of people, then surely He could protect them in the storm.  Even a disciple of Jesus Christ can develop a hard heart if he fails to respond to the spiritual lessons that must be learned in the course of life and ministry.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

            Let’s look at these miracles in view of Psalm 23 verses one and four:  “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”  These two verses show us that Jesus brings protection and provision to those who are His own and these two miracles that Jesus did in the last part of Mark 6 show us this.

            In the last few verses we see that Mark ends this chapter on a positive note as he writes about what Jesus did for the people that were at Gennesaret, as He healed their sick, all of their sick. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I mentioned the fond memories that I have from this section of Scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ has given provision and protection to me through the crisis.  Protection from the crisis does not mean that it was life threatening to me in a physical sense.  God is faithful!

My Steps of Faith for Today:  My desire is to remain (abide) in the Vine so that I can be used of the Lord.

5/30/2012 9:35:44 AM

           

Be Humble

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2012 8:51:02 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Be Humble

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Peter 5:5-7

            Message of the verses:  My Spiritual Diaries have taken a new course for a little bit as I study some passages in the NT.  My desire is to finish studying the book of 1Peter which I began sometime in 2003, but did not finish my study.  I seemed to need a break from the book of Psalms as I have been studying it since December of 2011. 

            In Dr. Warren Wiersbe commentary on First Peter, which he entitles “Be Hopeful” he writes the following from the twelfth chapter of his commentary, which he entitles “From Grace to Glory, “ Peter knew that a ‘fiery trial’ was about to occur, and he wanted the entire church family to be prepared. As he closed his letter, Peter gave the church three important admonitions to obey if they were to glorify God in this difficult experience.”

            Be Humble (1Peter 5:5-7):  “5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

“5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  (ESV)

I wrote in yesterday’s SD about a crisis that I was and to some degree am still facing, and for reasons only known to the Lord, and I suppose that His providence has a lot to do with it, this portion of Scripture seems to follow well with what I wrote about in yesterday’s SD.  I can say that I am thankful for the Lord guiding me to this passage on this day.  I have been mentioning in my “Steps of Faith for Today” that my desire is to remain or abide in the Vine, and when I do this the Lord has promised to bring into my life what He desires that will help me grow and bring glory to the Lord.

When we look back at earlier verses in 1Peter we will see that Peter writes about submission, being submissive to government authorities in 1Peter 2:13-17, and then he writes about slaves being submissive to their masters in 1Peter 2:18-25.  Since we live in a world where there are not a lot of slaves this passage can surely apply to workers being submissive to their bosses.  Peter writes about wives being submissive to their husbands in 1Peter 3:1-7, and now he writes about younger people being submissive to their elders and actually writes about all believers be submissive to God and to each other.  I know that this can be scary stuff to be submissive to others, but I believe that there is a wonderful example in the trinity.  Was not the Lord Jesus Christ submissive to His Father in coming to earth to purchase those who would believe by paying for their sins?  Was not the Holy Spirit submissive to the Lord Jesus Christ in being such a wonderful part of all who believe in Jesus Christ by bringing them into the Church?  When we study the trinity we realize that it is a difficult subject to wrap our arms around, for we worship One God in three persons.  It is something we have to take by faith.  However we know that the Three Persons who make up the trinity are all God and One is not more God than the other even though there is submission involved in the trinity.

Now just because a believer is older in age does not mean that he is more mature in the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Too often there is a generation war in the church, with the older people resisting change, and the younger people resisting the older people!”  I know that this statement is true for I found it necessary to leave a church after being there for over 32 years and the reason that I felt it necessary to leave was for reasons that Dr. Wiersbe stated. 

What is the solution to this difference of opinions between the younger believers and the older generation?  The solution is twofold and begins with having all believers both young and old being submissive to each other and the second thing is that all should be submissive to God.  Humility is the answer and when we look at the example of Jesus Christ laying aside His outer garments to wash the feet of His disciples we get a picture of what true humility is.  When we read Philippians 2:5-11 we see what true humility is:  “5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (ESV)  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves.  It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all!” I have also heard that a good definition of humility is “power under control.” When we look at the humility of Jesus Christ from the passage in Philippians we can surely see that.

How can we truly be submissive to other?  First we have to be submissive to God.  Peter along with James in James 4:6 quotes Proverbs 3:34 in order to defend his point.  God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to those who are humble.  We don’t see the word “grace” in the OT too often.  In the NASB95 version the word “grace” is found only eight times, and in the AV it is found 37 times.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “It takes grace to submit to another believer, but God can give that grace if we humble ourselves before Him.”

What is the antidote to pride? It is grace, and we receive that grace when we yield ourselves to the Lord.  We will see an evidence of that grace in us when we yield to others, something in and of ourselves is a difficult thing to do. 

I want to go to a verse that helps me in circumstances like we are discussing from this passage and that is Colossians 2:6, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,.”  Now let us look at Ephesians 2:8-9 which tells us how we were saved and then we can apply those verses to Colossians 2:6 to see how were to walk:  “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”   Paul is saying that our salvation is a gift of God given to us by God so that we have nothing to boast about.  God gives us the faith in order for us to believe that the grace is a gift from God.  How then are we to live the Christian life?  We live it by grace through faith.  Grace is God giving us something we can never earn and we don’t deserve, but God gives it to us.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “submission is an act of faith.  We are trusting God to direct in our lives and to work out His purposes in His time.”  We see a connection with submission, grace and faith.  Humanly speaking it is a great risk to be submissive to others, but this is where it takes faith to obey the Lord.  We have examples other than Jesus that are found in the Scriptures to give us encouragement.  Moses is a good example for God led him into the wilderness and he was submissive to the Lord for 40 years before He used Moses to led Israel out of Egypt.  Joseph was submissive to the Lord for over 13 years as He taught Joseph how to rule in Egypt.  David ran from Saul for ten years, hiding in caves and writing many psalms before the Lord placed him on the throne of Israel.  They all were submissive to the Lord as the Lord humbled them before lifting them up.  “6Ttherefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”  (1Peter 5:6)

Dr. Wiersbe writes “One of the benefits of this kind of relationship with God is the privilege of letting Him take care of our burdens unless we meet the conditions laid down in 1Peter 5:5-6, we cannot claim the wonderful promise of 1Peter 5:7.  The word translated ‘care’ (AV) means anxiety, the state of being pulled apart.’  When circumstances are difficult, it is easy for us to be anxious and worried; but if we are, we will miss God’s blessing and become a poor witness to the lost.  We need His inward peace if we are going to triumph in the fiery trial and being glory to His name.”

This next statement from Dr. Wiersbe is very important to remember:  “According to 1Peter 5:7, we must once and for all give all of our cares—past, present, and future—to the Lord.  We must not hand them to Him piecemeal, keeping those cares that we think we can handle ourselves.  If we keep ‘the little cares’ for ourselves, they will become big problems!  Each time a new burden arises, we must by faith remind the Lord (and ourselves) that we have already turned it over to Him.” 

At the end of his commentary on this section Dr. Wiersbe explains how God shows His love and care for us when we give our cares to Him.  “(1) He gives us the courage to face our cares honestly and not run away (Isa. 41:10. (2) He gives us the wisdom to understand the situation (James 1:5). (3) He gives us the strength to do what we must do (Phil. 4:13). And (4) He gives us the faith to trust Him to do the rest (Psalm 37:5).  Some people give God their burdens and expect Him to do everything!  It is important that we let Him work in us as well as work for us so that we will be prepared when the answer comes, ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee’ Psalm s55:22).”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I wish once and for all to give all of my burdens, past, present, and future to the Lord, and pray that the Spirit of God will remind me when I want to take care of them by myself.  I believe that if I remember that Jesus is the Vine and I am the branch and I submit to Him in order for Him to produce fruit through me then I will remember to cast my cares on Him.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

5/31/2012 11:01:47 AM

(Break from Psalms) Feeding the 5,000 (Mark 6:30-44)

The following SD's that I will be posting will be from the gospel of Mark and then 2 Peter before we go back to once again look at the book of Psalms.  I am doing this because they follow what I was writing on in May and June of 2012.

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2012 10:20:10 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The feeding of the 5000

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Mark 6:30-44

            Message of the verses:  In his commentary on Mark 6:30-56 Dr. Wiersbe entitles his main point “The Unbelief of His Disciples.”  This entire chapter focuses in on unbelief and we have mentioned in earlier SD’s how powerful unbelief can be.  When a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ they receive Him by grace through faith, accepting Him as their Savior and Lord.  When people reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord they are called unbelievers and we pointed out that there are only two types of people on planet earth, those who believe and those who do not believe and so both belief and unbelief are very powerful entities.  John the Baptist has this to say about those who believe and those who don’t:  “"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

            “30 The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) 32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”  (Mark 6:30-32)

            In the last SD from Mark 6 we remarked that Mark has a favorite way of writing and we called it a sandwich method because he begins a story and then in the middle of it brings another story in and then goes back to finish the first story.  After Jesus visited Nazareth for the second time and was amazed again at the unbelief of those whom He grew up with Mark begins the story of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples to go into the surrounding towns and villages to teach about the kingdom of God. This was kind of like a trial run for when Jesus would go back to His Father the disciples would be going out to preach and teach all around the known world.  Of course the apostle Paul would be a part of this group who would turn the world upside down by their teaching about the way of salvation through the resurrected Lord. 

            When His disciples came back to Him, Jesus wanted them to get away for a little R & R or rest and relaxation.  This is needed for people who have had a difficult task to perform or else they can become burned out.  I remember at my work that I was in charge of a job that was new and I worked a lot of overtime to accomplish the job.  When the job was accomplished I was very tired from all of the stress of accomplishing the job and so I took my family on a vacation for a couple of weeks in order to get away and rest.  Jesus wanted to do a similar thing for His disciples because the work of the ministry is difficult and they needed a rest, but it did not happen.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Having experienced interruptions many times in my own life and ministry, I marvel at His patience and grace!  What an example for us to follow.”

            “33 The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36  send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." 37 But He answered them, "You give them something to eat!" And they said to Him, "Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?" 38 And He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And when they found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." 39 And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. 44 There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.”  (Mark 6:33-45)

            I want to remark on the word “eat” for it is found in verse 32 showing that the disciples along with Jesus did not have time to eat because they were so busy, and then we also see this word in verses 36 and two times in verse 37 when the subject was on the crowd not having anything to eat and also on Jesus telling them to give them something to eat.

            At the beginning of this story we saw that Jesus sent His disciples out to the towns and villages in order to show compassion on them because His disciples were to teach them about the kingdom of God and now in this section we see the crowds coming to Jesus and Jesus saw them as “sheep without a shepherd,” but His disciples saw them as a problem or even a nuisance and thus they wanted Him to send them away so that they could get something to eat.  There was a lesson here for Jesus disciples and according to verse 52 they did not learn that lesson, “for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.”  I have read or listened to this chapter many times in the past month or so and verse 52 stands out to me like none of the other verses.  Jesus sends His disciples out to teach and to tell others about the kingdom of God, but He also empowers them to do miracles, even to raise the dead.  I think that it is in Luke’s Gospel that we learn from those Jesus had sent out that they tell Him that even the demons obeyed their commands.  They were doing powerful miracles, but when it came to this crowd they wanted Jesus to send them away.  I have thought about this section of Scripture many times and what I came up with is that Jesus wanted His disciples to step out in faith and do something that they were empowered to do when He sent them out, but none of them believed that they could do anything like that.  I wonder if there is something in my life that the Lord wants me to do for the cause of Christ that because of unbelief I am not doing.

            The disciples looked at the problem in two different ways; first they suggested sending them away to buy food for themselves, and second to raise the money to buy the food.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “With that kind of approach, they would have made ideal committee members!  Someone has defined a committee as a group of people who individually can do nothing and collectively decide that nothing can be done.”  Jesus looked at this as an opportunity to seek help from His Father so that His Father would be glorified.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “An effective leader is someone who sees potential in problems and is willing to act by faith.  Acting on the basis of human wisdom, His disciples saw the problem but not the potential.  How many times God’s people have complained, ‘If we only had enough money, we could do something!’  Two hundred pence (denarii) would be the equivalent of a year’s wages for the average laborer!  The first step is not to measure our resources, but to determine God’s will and trust Him to meet the need.”

            In John’s Gospel we learn that it was Andrew who found the young man with the food and brought it to Jesus and then Jesus multiplied the fish and the loaves in order to feed 5000 men along with women and children.  How thoughtful it was for the young man to bring his lunch and how generous it was of him to give it to Jesus.  Jesus is the creator of all the universe and so it would have been not problem for Him to multiply the fish and the loaves through the power of the Holy Spirit who was also part of the creation. 

            We also find out from John’s Gospel that the people did appreciate the miracle, and even wanted to make Him king at this point, but they missed the spiritual message.  They must have thought that to have a King who could provide food for an army and raise the dead when someone gets killed that they could surely defeat the Romans.  His enemies must have thought about this too.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Lord please don’t let my faith waver and allow me to bring something small to You that You can use for the cause of Christ and the Glory of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remain or abide in the Vine so that I can be used by the Lord to glorify the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.

5/29/2012 11:19:41 AM

           

A Flourishing People (Ps. 92:12-15)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2012 9:46:25 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: A Flourishing people

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:   Psalm 92:12-15

            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will be looking at the last main point from the 92^nd Psalm.  Dr. Wiersbe writes at the end of his introductory commentary these words:  “The psalm describes the characteristics of believers who trust a sovereign God.”

            A Flourishing People (vv. 12-15):  “12 The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, 15 To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

            “12 But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. 13 For they are transplanted to the LORD’s own house.  They flourish in the courts of our God. 14 Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. 15 They will declare, “The LORD is just!  He is my rock!  There is no evil in him!’’”

            I think that these verse describe a person who has come to know the Lord, realizing that they were born into sin as all people are, and realizing that they sin as all people do, and realizing that they can do nothing on their own to take care of the sin problem and so they fall on their face before God and confess their sinfulness to Him asking for His great mercy.  People in the OT times who were believers looked forward to the Messiah coming to take away their sins, while people in the NT era look back to what Jesus Christ has done for them on the cross to take care of their sin problem.  In both eras the sinner had to confess his sin before the Lord asking Him to save them and then just as a person is saved, by grace through faith, they are to walk.  “6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”  (Col. 2:6-7)  These two verses go along with the verse in Psalm 92, for they are both speaking about spiritual growth in the believer as they picture trees with the right food and sunshine to make them grow, which is what we need as believers to grow up in the Lord.  We need the right food which is the Lord of God, and we need the sunshine which is the Son of God.  At times the “sap” mentioned here can represent the Holy Spirit which will produce fruit in the life of the believer (see John 15).  It is so important for the believer to grow once they have been born again into the kingdom of God and that is one of the purposes for my Spiritual Diaries that I may grow in the Lord as I study His Word each day.

            Dr. Wiersbe compares the people from verse seven with the people from verses 12-13 when he writes:  “The word ‘flourish’ in verse 7 means ‘to be conspicuous, to shine,’ while the word in verses 12-13 means ‘to be vigorous, to flourish richly.’  The stately date palm and cedar were highly valued by people in the Near East, the psalm for its fruit and the cedar for its wood.  Both were appreciated for their beauty, and both trees can survive for many years.  Not all godly people live long; some, like Robert Murray M’Cheyne and David Brainerd, die very young.  But generally speaking, those who obey God avoid a great deal of danger and disease that can cause an early death.”

            One of the things that I often think about is to finish strong in my walk with the Lord, not to ever be satisfied with not continuing to grow in the Lord, but to continue to study the Word of God as long as I am able to.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to remember that the spiritual walk with the Lord is a marathon and not a short 100 meter race, and I also need to remember what an old Scottish preacher said many years who Dr. Wiersbe quotes many times in the different books that he has written, and that is “The secret to the Christian life is a series of new beginnings.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To abide (remain) in the Vine.

5/28/2012 10:26:05 AM

An Overcoming People (Ps. 92:5-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2012 7:41:00 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  An Overcoming People

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 92:5-11

            Message of the verses:  We began our journey through Psalm 92 in yesterday’s SD by looking at several introductions and then looking at the first five verses.  We will continue looking at the psalm in today’s SD.

            An Overcoming People (vv. 6-11):  “6 A senseless man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid man understand this: 7 That when the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did iniquity flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore. 8 But You, O LORD, are on high forever. 9 For, behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For, behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do iniquity will be scattered. 10 But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. 11 And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.”

            “6 Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would not understand this: 7 Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. 8 But you, O LORD, will be exalted forever. 9 Your enemies, LORD, will surely perish; all evildoers will be scattered. 10 But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.  You have anointed me with the finest oil. 11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.” (NTL)

            We see a shift in the writing of the psalmist for he now speaks of the enemies of the Lord, which are also enemies of God’s people.  We see the word “senseless” and “simpleton” used in verse six from the two translations that I have used.  In the Hebrew English dictionary the word means stupid or brutish and the opposite of this would mean refined.  In verse seven we see that this person does not live too long for he is described as grass and weeds while when we look ahead to verse 12 we see “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” 

            Next the psalmist speaks of the Lord being on high forever, certainly not like the senseless man who is like a weed.  Then the psalmist speaks of the enemies of the Lord perishing, and one day this will be the case of all of God’s enemies who are the believer’s enemies as well. 

            In verse ten the psalmist uses the word “horn” and that word symbols power and God will give his people power to overcome their foes.  (Luke 1:69; 1Sam. 2:1, 10; Psalms 75:4-5, 10; 89:17.)

            We also see the psalmist writing about oil, fresh oil in verse ten.  Dr. Wiersbe points out:  “Oil was used to anoint special people—kings, priests, and prophets—but the anonymous psalmist rejoiced because the Lord had anointed him with fresh oil. He may also have been speaking for all Israel and praising God for a special victory He had given them.  God wants his people to be overcomers and this comes when first we are worshipers.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It will be a wonderful day when the Lord gets rid of all of His enemies, but in the mean time I must become a better worshiper so that I can also be a better overcomer.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to be a better prayer warrior. 

5/27/2012 8:17:11 AM

           

"Worshiping the Lord" (Ps. 92:1-5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/26/2012 10:36:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Worshiping the Lord

Bible Reading &Meditation                                                  Reference:  Psalm 92:1-5

            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 92 by looking at several introductions from various Bible Commentators to help us in the understanding of this psalm.

“TITLE — A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day. This admirable composition is both a Psalm and a Song, full of equal measures of solemnity and joy; and it was intended to be sung upon the day of rest. The subject is the praise of God; praise is Sabbatic work, the joyful occupation of resting hearts. Since a true Sabbath can only be found in God, it is wise to meditate upon him on the Sabbath day. The style is worthy of the theme and of the day, its inspiration is from the "fount of every blessing"; David spake as the Spirit gave him utterance. In the church of Christ, at this hour, no Psalm is more frequently sung upon the Lord ’s Day than the present. The delightful version of Dr. Watts is familiar to us all —

"Sweet is the work, my God, my King,

To praise thy name, give thanks, and sing;

To shew thy love by morning light,

And talk of all thy truth at night."

“The Sabbath was set apart for adoring the Lord in his finished work of creation, hence the suitableness of this Psalm; Christians may take even a higher flight, for they celebrate complete redemption. No one acquainted with David’s style will hesitate to ascribe to him the authorship of this divine hymn; the ravings of the Rabbis who speak of its being composed by Adam, only need to be mentioned to be dismissed. Adam in Paradise had neither harps to play upon, nor wicked men to contend with.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)

            “This psalm expresses the exuberance of the psalmist as he recognizes that God is merciful in salvation, great in His works of creation, just in His dealings with the wicked, and faithful in prospering His children.”  (John MacArthur Study Bible)

            “The major theme is the sovereign rule of God, as stated in verse 8, which is the central verse of the psalm.  It proclaims that God is most high (KJV), He is high (NASB), and He is exalted forever (NIV).  The covenant name Jehovah (LORD) is used seven times; Elyon (Most High) is found in verse 1 and Elohim in verse 13.  The inscription relates the psalm to the Sabbath Day worship at the sanctuary.  During the week, a lamb was sacrificed each morning and another in the evening, but on the Sabbath Day, those sacrifices were doubled (Ex. 29:38-46; Num. 28:1-10).  Because our God reigns supremely and always will, we can be the people of God that He wants us to be.  The psalm describes the characteristics of believers who trust a sovereign God.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

A Worshiping People (vv. 1-5):  “1 A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2  To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, 3  With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre. 4 For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. 5 How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.”

            “1 A psalm. A song to be sung on the Sabbath Day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High. 2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, 3 accompanied by the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre. 4 You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me!  I sing for joy because of what you have done. 5 O LORD, what great works you do!  And how deep are your thoughts.”  (NLT)

            Psalm 92 begins with worship, and part of my Spiritual Diaries is for the purpose of worship for it begins with “My Worship Time.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Worship ought to be the natural outflow of a heart that love the Lord and appreciates who He is and what He has done for His People.”  When I begin my prayers before looking into the Word of God to work on my Spiritual Diary I begin with confessing any sin to the Lord in order to have fellowship with the Lord, and then the next thing I do in my prayer is to worship and praise the Lord for His attributes.  To begin with, the Lord is holy, and no other person is holy like the Lord.  Next I think of His goodness, for no one is as good as the Lord.  Next comes wisdom, for God is all wise.  God is all powerful so that no one can overpower the Lord and because He is all powerful He can do the things that are part of His wisdom. God is in all places at all times so nothing can be done without the knowledge of the Lord.  God is love and God is just and for this I worship the Lord.  God turned His back on the Lord Jesus Christ while He was on the cross in order to have His justice satisfied (propitiation).  We also see His great love at the cross for it was His love for us that took the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. Michael Card in one of his songs that he wrote has a line in it that speaks of Christ’s love and in that song he writes that Christ would have not needed the nails to hold Him on the cross for His love would have held Him there.

            We see in this section of Psalm 92 that the psalmist is worshiping the Lord; he is giving thanks by singing praises in the morning and then thanking God in the evening for His faithfulness.  We can worship the Lord through our singing whether or not we have instruments to go along with are singing or not. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Whether we are stirred by the creation around us or the Scriptures before us, we have every reason to worship and praise God, for He is reigning above us!”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is a good thing to praise the Lord, to worship the Lord for who He is and what He has done for me.  May I never forget it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Worship the Lord.

5/26/2012 11:42:17 AM

           

Love for God-The Satisfied Life (Ps. 91:14-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/25/2012 10:15:15 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Love for God—the Satisfied Life

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 91:14-16

            Message of the verses:  We will continue with the last section of Psalm 91 in today’s SD by looking at the last three verses of the psalm.

            Love for God—the Satisfied Life (vv. 14-16):  “14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. 15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 16 “With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.’”

            “14 The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.’’” (NLT)

            We see in the NLT that God is the One who is speaking at this point of the psalm.  We also see the word loved in verse fourteen, and that it is not the usual word for love found in the OT.  “02836 ^קשׁח^ chashaq \@khaw-shak’\@

  a primitive root; v; {See TWOT on 773}

  AV-desire 3, set his love 2, filleted 3, log 1, delight 1, in love 1; 11

  1) (Qal) to love, be attached to, long for

 2) (Piel) fillet

 3) (Pual) fillet”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes of this word:  “The word translated ‘love’ is not the usual word but one that means ‘to cling to, to cleave, to be passionate.’  It is used in Deuteronomy 7:7 and 10:15 for the love Jehovah has for His people Israel.  (See John 14:21-24.): “21  "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?" 23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”  “7 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.”  “"Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day.”  (Deu. 7:7 & 10:15)

            We see blessings in this psalm that the Lord gives to His people as the Lord will deliver His people in times of trouble and set them on high.  This setting on high reminds me of Psalm 40:2 “He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”  I admit that the circumstances are not exactly the same, but in both verses we see that the psalmist is being blessed by the Lord by setting them on a higher place (spiritually).  We also see the blessing of companionship, for when we are a believer in Jesus Christ we always have someone to talk to, someone who loves us.  Dr. Wiersbe writes about the word “salvation” that we see in verse 16:  “The salvation mentioned at the end of the psalm may mean help and deliverance during life, as in 50:23 or the joy of beholding the glory of God after a long and satisfied life.  To the Jewish people living a long life and seeing one’s children grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, was the ultimate of blessing in this life.”  “It’s one thing for doctors to add years to our life, but God adds life to our years and makes that life worthwhile.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I like what Dr. Wiersbe compares at the end of his commentary, when he speaks about the difference of added years that doctors can provide with the years that the Lord provides.  The Lord gives us productive years, years filled with joy and the Holy Spirit knowing that as we yield to His will that we will be doing the things that are important which will make a difference in other people’s lives.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to remain in the Vine as the Lord Jesus spoke of in the 15^th chapter of John.  Abiding or remaining in the Vine will produce fruit in my life, fruit that the Lord planed for me to accomplish for His glory in eternity past.  (Eph. 2:10)

5/25/2012 10:54:28 AM

           

Peace from God-The Protected Life (Ps. 91:5-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/24/2012 8:53:24 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus: Peace from God—the Protected Life

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 91:5-13

            Message of the verses:  In yesterday’s SD we looked at the introduction and first main section of Psalm 91, we will continue to look at Psalm 91 in today’s SD.

            Peace from God—the Protected Life (vv. 5-:13):  “5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.  9 For you have made the LORD, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.”

            “5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!”  (NLT)

            Dr. Wiersbe writes on this section by saying “This paragraph emphasizes that we need not be afraid because the Lord and His angels watch over us.”  In yesterday’s SD we learned about the “hidden life,” and if in our hidden life we think about the Lord and His Word and desire for the Lord to work through us by the power of the Holy Spirit then when we come to dangers in our life we will be prepared.  Romans 12:1-2 gives insight into this by stating first of all that we are to give ourselves to the Lord as a “living sacrifice” which is holy and acceptable to the Lord.  Verse two states that we are not to be “conformed to this world,” but we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.”  The word transformed is the word “metamorphoo” and we get the English word “metamorphosis” from this word.  The meaning of this word in the Greek is as follows “1) to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure 1a) Christ appearance was changed and was resplendent with divine brightness on the mount of transfiguration.”  How does this work?  We give ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice and we study and memorize His Word, which is what the Holy Spirit uses to change our lives into a life like Jesus Christ:  “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”  (Romans 8:29)  We will then be empowered to do the works that God planed for us to do in eternity past:  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  (Ephesians 2:10)  In studying the book of Mark recently and looking at the baptism of Jesus Christ I learned that at the time of His baptism that the entire trinity was there and it was at this time that the Holy Spirit took over the life of Jesus so that He would be able to do the work that His Father had planned for Him to do.  As I look at this I see that believers today are to follow that pattern that is to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to do the work that the Father has planned for us to do that were planned from eternity past.  This is all a part of the “hidden life.”

            Verse six may refer to the burning rays of the sun:  “Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.” (NASB)  Verses seven and eight make us think of a battle scene, and when one looks at the covenant promises that are found in Lev. 26:8 and also Deut. 32:30 it is possible this is what the psalmist is thinking of when he wrote this.  Verse eight could refer to what the children of Israel saw in the eyes of the Egyptians who had just lost their firstborn who died on the night of the first Passover.  It could also refer to the dead bodies of the Egyptians who washed up on the shores of the Red Sea after they were drowned when the waters came crashing down on them.

            We know that verses 11-12 were quoted by Satan as he tempted Jesus.  Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness and the Lord responded with Deuteronomy 6:16.  If the Father had commanded Jesus to jump from the temple pinnacle, then the angels would have cared for Jesus, but to jump without the Father’s command would have been presumption, not faith, and that would be tempting the Father.  In Scripture, the lion and serpent (cobra) are images of Satan.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I need the power of the hidden life in my life each and every day.  This can only happen by constant study of God’s Word, giving myself to the Lord, and being filled with the Holy Spirit to do the work that the Lord has for me to do.  I am to “remain” in the Vine so that I can be empowered to do the work God has planned for me to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To remain in the Vine!

5/24/2012 9:38:24 AM