The Changing Circumstances of Life (Ps. 102:1-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/4/2012 7:23:18 AM

My Worship Time                                                  Focus:  The Changing Circumstances of Life

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Psalm 102 PT-1



Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 102:1-11



            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 102 by looking at several introductions to the psalm by different Bible commentators and then begin to look at the psalm.



            “SUBJECT. This is a patriot’s lament over his country’s distress. He arrays himself in the griefs of his nation as in a garment of sackcloth, and casts her dust and ashes upon his head as the ensigns and causes of his sorrow. He has his own private woes and personal enemies, he is moreover sore afflicted in body by sickness, but the miseries of his people cause him a far more bitter anguish, and this he pours out in an earnest, pathetic lamentation.  Not, however, without hope does the patriot mourn; he has faith in God, and looks for the resurrection of the nation through the omnipotent favour of the Lord; this causes him to walk among the ruins of Jerusalem, and to say with hopeful spirit, "No, Zion, thou shalt never perish. Thy sun is not set for ever; brighter days are in store for thee." It is in vain to enquire into the precise point of Israel’s history which thus stirred a patriot’s soul, for many a time was the land oppressed, and at any of her sad seasons this song and prayer would have been a most natural and appropriate utterance.



            “TITLE. A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord. This Psalm is a prayer far more in spirit than in words.  The formal petitions are few, but a strong stream of supplication runs from beginning to end, and like an under-current, finds its way heavenward through the moanings of grief and confessions of faith which make up the major part of the Psalm. It is a prayer of the afflicted, or of "a sufferer," and it bears the marks of its parent age; as it is recorded of Jabez that "his mother bore him with sorrow," so may we say of this Psalm; yet as Rachel’s Benoni, or child of sorrow, was also her Benjamin, or son of her right hand, so is this Psalm as eminently expressive of consolation as of desolation. It is scarcely correct to call it a penitential Psalm, for the sorrow of it is rather of one suffering than sinning. It has its own bitterness, and it is not the same as that of the Fifty-first. The sufferer is afflicted more for others than for himself, more for Zion and the house of the Lord, than for his own house. When he is overwhelmed, or sorely troubled, and depressed. The best of men are not always able to stem the torrent of sorrow. Even when Jesus is on board, the vessel may fill with water and begin to sink. And poureth out his complaint before the LORD. When a cup is overwhelmed or turned bottom over, all that is in it is naturally poured out; great trouble removes the heart from all reserve and causes the soul to flow out without restraint; it is well when that which is in the soul is such as may be poured out in the presence of God, and this is only the case where the heart has been renewed by divine grace. The word rendered "complaint" has in it none of the idea of fault-finding or repining, but should rather be rendered "moaning," — the expression of pain, not of rebellion. To help the memory we will call this Psalm THE PATRIOT’S PLAINT.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)



            “The non-specific superscription is unique to this psalm which highlights the thoughts of one who is afflicted (cf. Pss 22, 69, 79, 102, 130, 142), perhaps expressing exilic lament (cf. Pss 42, 43, 74, 79, 137).  Like Job, whose troubles were not the result of God’s judgment for personal sin, the psalmist cries out in pain.  His only relief comes from refocusing on sovereign God and His eternal purposes.  Messianic over are present as Heb. 1:10-12 quotes Ps 102:25-26.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)



            “This is both a penitential psalm (see 6) and a Messianic psalm (vv. 25-27 = Heb. 1:10-12).  The anonymous author probably wrote it long after the destruction of Jerusalem (vv. 8, 14, 16), about the time he thought Jeremiah’s prophecy of the seventy-year captivity was about to be fulfilled (v. 13; Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10 see Dan. 9:2).  According to the title the psalmist was afflicted and faint (61:2; 77:3; 142:3; 143:4) and burdened to present his complaint (‘Lament,’ (NIV) to the Lord.  He was groaning in distress (vv. 2, 5) and weeping over the ruins of Jerusalem (v. 9).  His opening prayer in verses 1-2 draws from a number of other psalms, giving us an example of what it means to pray the Word of God. (See 18:16; 27:9; 31:2; 37:20; 59:16; 69:17: 88:2.)  As believers face and deal with painful crises that come to us, if we are to overcome and glorify God, we must keep three assurances before us.”  (Warren Wiersbe)



            The Changing Circumstances of Life (vv. 1-11):  “1 A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to You. 2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly. 3 For my days have been consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth. 4 My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away; Indeed, I forget to eat my bread. 5 Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh. 6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places. 7 I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop. 8 My enemies have reproached me all day long; Those who deride me have used my name as a curse. 9  For I have eaten ashes like bread And mingled my drink with weeping 10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away. 11 My days are like a lengthened shadow, And I wither away like grass.”

            As one of the commentators said this psalm reminds me a bit of the book of Job in that there is much distress and suffering by the psalmist just as there was by Job.

            Dr. Wiersbe quotes the Greek philosopher Heraclitus in his commentary on this psalm, and he is credited with saying “There is nothing permanent except change.”  Sometimes changes are good and sometime changes are bad, but change is something that takes place in our lives from the time we are born until the time that we die.  It is good to serve a God who does not change, who is always the same.  We read in the 7^th chapter of Jeremiah that the people of Judah did not believe that God would have Jerusalem destroyed, would not allow His people to be taken into captivity, would not allow His temple to be destroyed, and yet it happened, all of it happened.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following about change:  “There are the normal changes of life, from birth to maturity to death, but there are also providential changes that God sends for our good and His glory.”  As already stated God does not change, but it is good for us to change and to have the providential changes that God brings into our lives for without them we would all end up in the place that was prepared for the fallen angles.  Paul writes that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and yet God can bring about a change in our hearts and in our eternal destination because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross.

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to write “The psalmist recorded his personal plight in a series of vivid pictures.  With his days as flimsy and temporary as drifting smoke, and his frame burning with fever (31:10; 32:3; 42:10), he was like a man in a furnace.  His heart was like the cut and withered grass (vv. 4, 0; 90:4-5;Job 19:20; Lam. 3:16), paining him so much that he forgot to eat.  When he did eat, the food tasted like ashes and his drink like tears.  Therefore, he became a living skeleton that could only groan because of his wretched situation (v.5).  He compared himself to the unclean birds that lived solitary lives amid the ruins of the city.  He was awake all night, a lonely man, like a sparrow bereft of his mate and chirping his lament on the roof.  It was as if God’s hand picked him up and threw him on the trash heap, like a piece of discarded junk.  Like the evening shadows as the sun goes down his life kept changing, but his days had no substance.  Then the darkness fell and the long hard night lay before him.”  This is not a pretty picture that is painted here for the psalmist.    7/4/2012 8:26:41 AM



7/4/2012 1:16:19 PM



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I know that many people do not like change, but I think that we all need to change, and what I am talking about is good change.  Let’s look at the kind of change that, as believers in Jesus Christ we need to go after.  Here is our ultimate goal:  “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)  Here is where we started from “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)  How do we get from the place where we started to the place where we need to get to?  “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2Peter 3:18); “Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  (2Tim. 2:16)  Heb 10:25  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  “2 Co 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  I am sure that there are many more verses that I could look at, but I hope that this will stimulate others to dig for more.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to stay close to the vine so that I can learn more about my Lord and Savior and to learn what He desires me to accomplish for the cause of Christ.



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-4

1.     Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of

Our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3. seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and righteousness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.



7/4/2012 1:37:24 PM


stances of Life


Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 102:1-11



            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 102 by looking at several introductions to the psalm by different Bible commentators and then begin to look at the psalm.



            “SUBJECT. This is a patriot’s lament over his country’s distress. He arrays himself in the griefs of his nation as in a garment of sackcloth, and casts her dust and ashes upon his head as the ensigns and causes of his sorrow. He has his own private woes and personal enemies, he is moreover sore afflicted in body by sickness, but the miseries of his people cause him a far more bitter anguish, and this he pours out in an earnest, pathetic lamentation.  Not, however, without hope does the patriot mourn; he has faith in God, and looks for the resurrection of the nation through the omnipotent favour of the Lord; this causes him to walk among the ruins of Jerusalem, and to say with hopeful spirit, "No, Zion, thou shalt never perish. Thy sun is not set for ever; brighter days are in store for thee." It is in vain to enquire into the precise point of Israel’s history which thus stirred a patriot’s soul, for many a time was the land oppressed, and at any of her sad seasons this song and prayer would have been a most natural and appropriate utterance.



            “TITLE. A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord. This Psalm is a prayer far more in spirit than in words.  The formal petitions are few, but a strong stream of supplication runs from beginning to end, and like an under-current, finds its way heavenward through the moanings of grief and confessions of faith which make up the major part of the Psalm. It is a prayer of the afflicted, or of "a sufferer," and it bears the marks of its parent age; as it is recorded of Jabez that "his mother bore him with sorrow," so may we say of this Psalm; yet as Rachel’s Benoni, or child of sorrow, was also her Benjamin, or son of her right hand, so is this Psalm as eminently expressive of consolation as of desolation. It is scarcely correct to call it a penitential Psalm, for the sorrow of it is rather of one suffering than sinning. It has its own bitterness, and it is not the same as that of the Fifty-first. The sufferer is afflicted more for others than for himself, more for Zion and the house of the Lord, than for his own house. When he is overwhelmed, or sorely troubled, and depressed. The best of men are not always able to stem the torrent of sorrow. Even when Jesus is on board, the vessel may fill with water and begin to sink. And poureth out his complaint before the LORD. When a cup is overwhelmed or turned bottom over, all that is in it is naturally poured out; great trouble removes the heart from all reserve and causes the soul to flow out without restraint; it is well when that which is in the soul is such as may be poured out in the presence of God, and this is only the case where the heart has been renewed by divine grace. The word rendered "complaint" has in it none of the idea of fault-finding or repining, but should rather be rendered "moaning," — the expression of pain, not of rebellion. To help the memory we will call this Psalm THE PATRIOT’S PLAINT.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)



            “The non-specific superscription is unique to this psalm which highlights the thoughts of one who is afflicted (cf. Pss 22, 69, 79, 102, 130, 142), perhaps expressing exilic lament (cf. Pss 42, 43, 74, 79, 137).  Like Job, whose troubles were not the result of God’s judgment for personal sin, the psalmist cries out in pain.  His only relief comes from refocusing on sovereign God and His eternal purposes.  Messianic over are present as Heb. 1:10-12 quotes Ps 102:25-26.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)



            “This is both a penitential psalm (see 6) and a Messianic psalm (vv. 25-27 = Heb. 1:10-12).  The anonymous author probably wrote it long after the destruction of Jerusalem (vv. 8, 14, 16), about the time he thought Jeremiah’s prophecy of the seventy-year captivity was about to be fulfilled (v. 13; Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10 see Dan. 9:2).  According to the title the psalmist was afflicted and faint (61:2; 77:3; 142:3; 143:4) and burdened to present his complaint (‘Lament,’ (NIV) to the Lord.  He was groaning in distress (vv. 2, 5) and weeping over the ruins of Jerusalem (v. 9).  His opening prayer in verses 1-2 draws from a number of other psalms, giving us an example of what it means to pray the Word of God. (See 18:16; 27:9; 31:2; 37:20; 59:16; 69:17: 88:2.)  As believers face and deal with painful crises that come to us, if we are to overcome and glorify God, we must keep three assurances before us.”  (Warren Wiersbe)



            The Changing Circumstances of Life (vv. 1-11):  “1 A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to You. 2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly. 3 For my days have been consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth. 4 My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away; Indeed, I forget to eat my bread. 5 Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh. 6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places. 7 I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop. 8 My enemies have reproached me all day long; Those who deride me have used my name as a curse. 9  For I have eaten ashes like bread And mingled my drink with weeping 10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away. 11 My days are like a lengthened shadow, And I wither away like grass.”

            As one of the commentators said this psalm reminds me a bit of the book of Job in that there is much distress and suffering by the psalmist just as there was by Job.

            Dr. Wiersbe quotes the Greek philosopher Heraclitus in his commentary on this psalm, and he is credited with saying “There is nothing permanent except change.”  Sometimes changes are good and sometime changes are bad, but change is something that takes place in our lives from the time we are born until the time that we die.  It is good to serve a God who does not change, who is always the same.  We read in the 7^th chapter of Jeremiah that the people of Judah did not believe that God would have Jerusalem destroyed, would not allow His people to be taken into captivity, would not allow His temple to be destroyed, and yet it happened, all of it happened.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following about change:  “There are the normal changes of life, from birth to maturity to death, but there are also providential changes that God sends for our good and His glory.”  As already stated God does not change, but it is good for us to change and to have the providential changes that God brings into our lives for without them we would all end up in the place that was prepared for the fallen angles.  Paul writes that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and yet God can bring about a change in our hearts and in our eternal destination because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross.

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to write “The psalmist recorded his personal plight in a series of vivid pictures.  With his days as flimsy and temporary as drifting smoke, and his frame burning with fever (31:10; 32:3; 42:10), he was like a man in a furnace.  His heart was like the cut and withered grass (vv. 4, 0; 90:4-5;Job 19:20; Lam. 3:16), paining him so much that he forgot to eat.  When he did eat, the food tasted like ashes and his drink like tears.  Therefore, he became a living skeleton that could only groan because of his wretched situation (v.5).  He compared himself to the unclean birds that lived solitary lives amid the ruins of the city.  He was awake all night, a lonely man, like a sparrow bereft of his mate and chirping his lament on the roof.  It was as if God’s hand picked him up and threw him on the trash heap, like a piece of discarded junk.  Like the evening shadows as the sun goes down his life kept changing, but his days had no substance.  Then the darkness fell and the long hard night lay before him.”  This is not a pretty picture that is painted here for the psalmist.    7/4/2012 8:26:41 AM



7/4/2012 1:16:19 PM



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I know that many people do not like change, but I think that we all need to change, and what I am talking about is good change.  Let’s look at the kind of change that, as believers in Jesus Christ we need to go after.  Here is our ultimate goal:  “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)  Here is where we started from “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)  How do we get from the place where we started to the place where we need to get to?  “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2Peter 3:18); “Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  (2Tim. 2:16)  Heb 10:25  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  “2 Co 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  I am sure that there are many more verses that I could look at, but I hope that this will stimulate others to dig for more.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to stay close to the vine so that I can learn more about my Lord and Savior and to learn what He desires me to accomplish for the cause of Christ.



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-4

1.     Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of

Our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3. seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and righteousness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  4. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.



7/4/2012 1:37:24 PM

Feeding the 4000 (Mark 8:1-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/3/2012 10:00:30 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Feeding the 4000



Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Mark 8:1-9



            Message of the verses:  In Today’s SD we will look at a miracle that Jesus performed that is recorded in the first nine verses of Mark chapter 8. 



            Feeding the 4,000(vv. 1-9):  “1 In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, 2  "I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 “If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance." 4 And His disciples answered Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?" 5 And He was asking them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven." 6 And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. 7 They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. 8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. 9 About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.”



            As we begin this section on Mark chapter eight I want to compare the feeding of the 5,000 with this feeding of the 4,000 so that we do not get the two mixed up.  The feeding of the 4,000 is only mentioned in Matthew and Mark, while the feeding of the 5,000 is mentioned in all four gospel writings.  The feeding of the 5,000 took place in Galilee, while the feeding of the 4,000 took place near Decapolis, and in this feeding Jesus feed mostly Gentiles while the feeding of the 5,000 was all Jews who were feed.  There is also a difference in what Jesus started with as far as the loaves of bread and the fish.  We read in John’s gospel that there was a boy in the crowd who had five small loaves and two fish with him for lunch and Jesus multiplied that in order to feed all who were there.  There could have been as many as 10,000 or more because in the 5,000 figure it only counts the men.  There were twelve basket of fragments left over in the feeding of the 5,000 while in the feeding of the 4,000 Jesus started with seven loaves and a few fish and there were seven large hampers left over, while in the feeding of the 5,000 the baskets were smaller.  In the feeding of the 5,000 the people were only there for one day, while in the feeding of the 4,000 the people were there for three days.  I want to go back to the size of the baskets that were used after the feeding of the 4,000 and look at it from Acts 9:24:  “but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.”  The basket was big enough to have the apostle Paul inside of it.



            I want to focus in on the word “compassion” that is found in verse two where for the only time in all of the Gospels Jesus states that He has compassion.  Compassion is one of the attributes of God and as we read through the NT we will see many cases in which Jesus shows compassion to those around Him.  He even shows compassion to those who will never come to Him in repentance for we read in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world,” and we know that not all of the people in the world will accept the forgiveness that God has provided through Jesus Christ.  How does God love the world?  Well we know that by sending His Son to die on the cross for the sins of those who would accept Him is one way.  How about how the Lord runs this planet, giving rain on crops in order for us to have food, and giving the sun to shine on both the righteous and unrighteous, and what these are called is “common grace,” grace that is common to all on the earth, and it is by the compassion of Almighty God that He gives them.

            Shortly after I became a believer I purchased a “Thompson’s Chain Reference Bible,” and from time to time I use it in my study of God’s Word.  Studying a chain of things in the Bible is a good way to study, and so I went to Mark 8:2 and sure enough on the side there was a reference to the chain of “Christ’s Compassion,’ and so I want to use that in order to help us better understand the compassion of Jesus Christ:  “For the Multitude, Mark 9:36; 14:14; 15:32;  For the Unfortunate, Matthew 20:34;  For Jerusalem, Matthew 23:37; For the Leper, Mark 1:41; For the Bereaved, Luke 7:13; John 11:35.”  Now let us look at what the word compassion means in the original Greek language:  “1) to be moved as to one’s bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity).”  I know that this may sound strange to most of us but the word splagchnizomai splangkh-nid’-zom-ahee as it is in the Greek means bowels.  We sometimes use the word heart in order to describe the seat of emotions, but the word is used as “bowels” or “guts” most of the time.  I believe that this is a more accurate way of understanding where a person’s emotions come from.



            John MacArthur writes this about the word compassion:  “In all those other places, it’s a human observation, that He felt compassion, only because it’s manifested that He did compassionate things. You can determine that He felt compassion because He acted compassionately. So it’s an assumption that He had compassion by behavior. This is a first-person declaration, “I feel compassion.” Three words in English, one word in Greek, splanchnizomai, it’s a long word, splanchnizomai. Splanchna is the root and the word means “bowels, inner organs, heart, some would say gut,” where you feel things emotionally. Sometimes you get caught in something that’s either producing fear or producing terror or producing anxiety and your stomach begins to churn and your heart begins to beat and you feel those emotions in your...in your midsection. That’s exactly what this word came to mean. The word splanchna means inner organs. But it is used to express feelings of emotion, affection, sympathy, pity, kindness and compassion.”



            As I study the book of Mark in a more intensive way I notice that Jesus has spent more time with Gentiles than I realized before in reading through the Gospels.  I suppose that this pictures the fact that the Church is mostly made up of Gentiles and since Jesus left the ministry to the Apostles who would then eventually take it to the Gentiles they would have remembered Jesus actions with Gentiles.



            Let us make one more observation from this section and that is the reaction of Jesus’ disciples, and how they acted in unbelief.  We have mentioned how Jesus feed the 5,000 in this SD, and I guess that I can’t figure out why the disciples did not remember how Jesus did this and suggest that He do it here too.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Let’s not be too hard on them.  How many times have we forgotten the mercies of the Lord? We need to remind ourselves that Jesus Christ is still the same and has the solution to every problem.  All we need do is trust Him, give Him our all, and obey.”



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Would it be a good opposite for the word “compassion” to use the word “selfish?”  My thesaurus uses the word “coldness” for the opposite of compassion.  The reason that I think that selfish is a good opposite is that when a person is selfish he will not look at the needs of others.  We see in the NT word for love “agape” the meaning is that we do something for someone in order to help them looking for nothing in return.  I think that compassion is like that.  My prayer is that I would have less selfishness and more compassion.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  Be a more compassionate person to others.



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-4



            1.Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

            To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 3. seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by own His glory and excellence. 4. For by these he has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”



7/3/2012 11:30:29 AM

Leadership must have good "Discernment, and Decisions" (Ps. 101:3-8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/2/2012 7:39:47 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Psalm 101 PT-2



Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 101:3-8



            Message of the verses:  In the last SD we looked at several introductions to Psalm 101 and then looked at the first two verses of the psalm, and in today’s SD we will continue looking at Psalm 101.  Dr. Wiersbe wrote the following at the end of his introductory comments on Psalm 101 “We could accurately call this psalm ‘Leadership 101’ because in it David spells out the essentials for successful leadership in the work of God.”



            Discernment (vv. 3-5):  3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil. 5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.”

            The first part of verse three is a good verse to remember and to put on your TV, for we see many worthless things on our TV’s.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The heart and the eyes work together, for what the heart loves; the eyes will seek and find (Ecc. 2:10; Jer. 22:17).”  Looking at worthless things means more than just seeing them with our eyes, but with our hearts also, so when one looks at this in the realm of leadership we would not want a leader whom we are under to think about doing things that are against what the Bible teaches.  A leader who has an unbiblical vision is not the kind we desire to follow.

            The things that David is writing about in these verses are not the qualities that one wants in a leader, and are not the qualities that we see in David.  Although we know the sins that David committed, for they are right there in the Word of God for all to see, we also know that his heart was right before the Lord, for he was a man after God’s own heart.  Who would want a leader with a perverse heart, or one who desires to do evil?  Who would want a leader who desires to slander his neighbor?  Who wants a leader with a haughty or arrogant heart?  When we look at the life of Jesus we know that He was a humble man, and people came to Him for this very reason.  The Pharisees were proud and haughty people, just the opposite of Jesus.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “faithless people are apostates, people who have abandoned God’s way for their own way and the world’s way.”  I have heard the statement that a good leader always has to realize that they are second in command, and by knowing that they are second in command, means that they know that God is in command.



            Decision (vv. 6-8):  “6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me. 7 He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me. 8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, So as to cut off from the city of the LORD all those who do iniquity.”

            “We have moved from the leader’s heart to the leaders eyes, and now we look at the leader’s will.  The repeated ‘I will’ statements in the psalm give evidence of David’s determination to serve God and God’s people successfully and be a man of decision.  He would not make excuse and he would not delay making decisions.” (Warren Wiersbe)

            A leader has to make tough decisions and in order to make these decisions a good leader must have people around him to aid in making a good decision, and they must be people of good integrity, those who follow the Lord.  I suppose that when we look at the leadership that surrounded David we could question the integrity of Joab, but even Joab did not want David to number the fighting men in Israel.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Deception is the devil’s tool, and Satan goes to work whenever a lie moves in (2Cor. 11:1-3).”  “1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

            In the Eastern nations the kings would often give out justice in the mornings and so David promised to hear the cases in the morning and do justice after hearing the cases.  What a far cry from what is going on in our country today when we look at the way it takes so long to hear cases and to execute justice. 



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Was David successful in doing all that was right to do?  The answer is surely no, but David was a man who when confronted with the truth that he had done something wrong would not run from that truth, but would confess his sins and seek the Lord for forgiveness and that is a wonderful example to follow.



My Steps of Faith For today:  I desire to continue to learn the memory verses that I have determined will be helpful in my walk with the Lord.  I want to memorize them so that then I can meditate on them.



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-4:



            1. Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

            To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3.seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakes of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.



7/2/2012 8:51:45 AM

           



           

Devotion to God (Ps. 101:(1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/1/2012 8:22:50 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Psalm 101 PT-1



Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 101:1-2



            Message of the verses:  We will begin to look at Psalm 101 this morning by looking at several introductions to the psalm from several different commentators in order to better understand what the psalm is all about and how it can help us to better know the Lord.



            “David was certainly the penman of this psalm, and it has in it the genuine spirit of the man after God’s own heart; it is a solemn vow which he made to God when he took upon him the charge of a family and of the kingdom. Whether it was penned when he entered upon the government, immediately after the death of Saul (as some think), or when he began to reign over all Israel, and brought up the ark to the city of David (as others think), is not material; it is an excellent plan or model for the good government of a court, or the keeping up of virtue and piety, and, by that means, good order, in it: but it is applicable to private families; it is the householder’s psalm. It instructs all that are in any sphere of power, whether larger or narrower, to use their power so as to make it a terror to evil-doers, but a praise to those that do well.”  (Matthew Henry)



            “A Psalm of David. This is just such a psalm as the man after God’s own heart would compose when he was about to become king in Israel. It is David all over, straight forward, resolute, devout; there is no trace of policy or vacillation, the Lord has appointed him to be king, and he knows it, therefore he purposes in all things to behave as becomes a monarch whome the Lord himself has chosen. If we call this THE PSALM or PIOUS RESOLUTIONS, we shall perhaps remember it all the more readily. After songs of praise a psalm of practice not only makes variety, but comes in most fittingly. We never praise the Lord better than when we do those things which are pleasing in his sight.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon) 



            “This Davidic psalm expresses commitments of the mediatorial king (David) to his eternal king (the Lord) in regard to 10 his own personal life and 2) the lives of those who inhabit the kingdom.  Possibly, this psalm was used later at the coronations of future kings over Israel.  Ultimately, only King Jesus would perfectly fulfill these holy resolutions (cf. Is. 9:6, 7; 11:1-5).”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)



            “When David became king, first in Hebron and then at Jerusalem, he inherited a divided land and a discouraged people whose spiritual life was a low ebb.  Asaph described the situation in 78:56-72 and name David as God’s answer to Israel’s problems.  Everything rises and falls with leadership, but many of King Saul’s officers were fawning flattering ‘toadies’ who were unable to work with a man like David.  Once David was established on the throne in Jerusalem, he had a consuming desire to bring the ark of God back to the sanctuary so that God’s throne might be near his throne.  His question in verse 2, ‘When will you come to me?’ reflects this desire. The ark had been in the house of Abinidad for many years (1Sam. 6:1-7:2) and then in the house of Obed-Edom after David’s aborted attempt to relocate it (2Sam. 6:1-11).  This psalm of dedication was probably written early in his reign in Jerusalem.  We could accurately call this psalm ‘Leadership 101’ because in it David spells out the essentials for successful leadership in the work of God.”  (Warren Wiersbe) 



            Devotion to God (vv. 1-2):  “1 A Psalm of David: I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, To You, O LORD, I will sing praises. 2 I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”



            Verse one shows that this is a psalm that King David wrote, and he begins this psalm with something this is in my prayers most every day, and what he mentions here is surely seen at the cross of Jesus Christ as love and justice are two of God’s attributes.  When we look at the Ark of the Covenant we see two cherubim, one at each end and if we think of one being the righteousness or justice of God and the other the love of God, I believe we can understand the ark better.  When the High priest came in to put the blood on the ark once a year at the Day of Atonement we can picture what happened at the cross, for both the justice and love of God were satisfied when He saw the blood of the Sacrifice.  David says that he will sing both of the lovingkindness and justice of God.

            When David became King of Israel he knew that he was God’s representative on earth and in his rule he was expected to rule the way that God commanded which is spelled out in Deuteronomy 17:14-20, and can also be seen in 2Kings 23:1-3. We see in verse two that the heart is involved in the leadership of the king, or at least is suppose to be, and this is not just for kings, but for all leaders.  We see in the trinity that there is submission to each of the Members, for the Son of God submitted to the Father, and the Holy Spirit submitted to the Son and the Father.  When God set up the way humans should live He would use submission, for all people are to submit to the Lord and to the leaders that God has given to them.  In the marriage the wife is to submit to the husband’s leadership just as is seen in the trinity.  In order to have submission the leaders need to have a heart like the Lord, full of compassion, love and justice, justice in the way the Lord has justice, for God is never vindictive and a leader should never be that way either.

            David opened the psalm with the words “I will” and we will see those words eight times in this psalm eight I will’s meaning eight promises as his desire was to be a leader like God wanted him to be, a man after God’s own heart.  One may think that when we see the word “blameless” in verse two that David was perfect, but this word does not mean sinless, for we know that David was a sinner from reading about his life.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “blameless is another word for integrity, cultivation wholeness of heart and singleness of mind, instead of a double heart and a double mind.  Believers today should have integrity whether we are leaders or not (119:1; Matt. 5:8; Eph 1:4; Phil 1:10; w:15).  Faith is living without scheming and the way of faith is ‘the blameless way’ (v.2 NASB).  David vowed to live a godly life in his ‘house’ (palace) and have an administration characterized by mercy, justice and integrity.”



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I like what Dr. Wiersbe says when he writes, “Faith is living without scheming.”  I suppose if I were honest with myself then I would have to confess that at times some of my prayers involved scheming, and I suppose that is true of most people.  Of course this is wrong, for as he writes having true faith does not involve scheming, but total trust in the Lord.  Before I became a believer I prayed to the Lord while just being inducted into the army that if God would get me out of the army then I would clean up my mouth.  This was surely scheming on my part, but God did answer my prayer and I was only in the army for 23 days, but I did not keep the bargain or the scheme that I made with the Lord.  After I became a believer in January of 1974 the Lord cleaned up my dirty mouth and I have not used that kind of language since.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  No Scheming. 



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-4 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:  2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3. seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”



7/1/2012 9:37:17 AM   

           

Submissive, Thankful (Ps. 100:3-5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/30/2012 8:53:13 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Psalm 100 PT-2



Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 100:3-5



            Message of the verses:  We will continue to look at the short 100^th psalm that we began to look at in yesterday’s SD.  We learned that the 100^th Psalm goes along nicely with Ephesians 5:18-20 and also Colossians 3:16-25. 

The Following is the Lyrics to the “Old Hundredth”

All people that on earth do dwell,

Sing out for peace 'tween heav'n and hell.

'Tween East and West and low and high,

Sing! peace on earth and sea and sky.

Old Hundred, you've served many years

To sing one people's hopes and fear,

But we've new verses for you now.

Sing peace between the earth and plow.

Sing peace between the grass and trees,

Between the continents and seas,

Between the lion and the lamb.

Between young Ivan and young Sam.

Between the white, black, red and brown,

Between the wilderness and town,

Sing peace between the near and far,

'Tween Allah and six-pointed star.

The fish that swim, the birds that fly,

The deepest seas, the stars on high,

Bear witness now that you and I

Sing peace on earth and sea and sky.

Old Hundred, please don't think us wrong

For adding verses to your song.

Sing peace between the old and young,

'Tween every faith and every tongue.

All people that on earth do dwell,

Sing out for peace 'tween heav'n and hell.

'Tween East and West and low and high,

Sing! peace on earth and sea and sky.

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/p/peteseegerlyrics/oldhundredlyrics.html

Submissive (vv. 3):  “3  Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

            Verse three begins with the word “Know” and this word means to know by experience, and it also carries the meaning of “acknowledge.”  In the book of 1Kings and chapter 18 we see the very famous story of Elijah’s conflict with the prophets of Baal.  In verse 39 we read the following “When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.’”  The people were acknowledging that the Lord is God after they saw the fire coming down from heaven to burn up the very wet sacrifice that Elijah had set out for the Lord.

            At the end of his commentary on this section Dr. Wiersbe writes, “This verse is a simple statement of faith:  Jehovah is God, Creator, Redeemer and Shepherd, and we are submitted to Him.  If the sheep do not submit to their shepherd, they will stray into danger.”  When speaking of the “sheep of His pasture,” the psalmist was speaking of the nation of Israel, which is seen many times in the Scriptures.  I believe that this can also mean the Church for Jesus spoke of this in John 10; and also in John 21:16-17 where He instructs Peter, “16  He *said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." 17  He *said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus *said to him, "Tend My sheep.”



            Thankful (vv. 4-5):  “4  Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5  For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”

            We can just picture many people coming in through the gates of Jerusalem and breaking out into praise to the Lord for the Lord is Good, which is one of His attributes and thus is deserving of our praise.  The Lord does not change, God will always be good, and God will always be faithful to all generations.  God will always show lovingkindness to those who are His, but God will show His justice to those who reject His offer of salvation.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes, “If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit of God and the holy Word of God, we will reveal it in the way we worship God.  Instead of imitating the world, we will be led by the Word and the Spirit to be joyful in the Lord, submissive to the Lord, and thankful to the Lord and the world will see the difference.  Finally, note that a spirit of thanksgiving helps us overcome some of the ‘sins in good standing’ that too often invade our lives:  complaining (v. 1), idolatry (v. 2), pride (v.3), and ingratitude (v. 4).  It was when our first parents became ‘unthankful’ that the human race began that terrible descent into sin and judgment (Rom. 1:18-32; not v.21).  Instead of being thankful for what they had, Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie that the Lord was holding out on them (Ge. 3:1—‘every tree’), and this led to their sin.  A thankful spirit is a triumphant spirit.”



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  (1Thes. 5:18)  The 100^th Psalm is a song of thanksgiving and teaches me that I am to be thankful and the verse in 1Thes teaches me to give thanks in everything for this is God’s will for me.  This is not easy to do.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember to give thanks in everything for the Lord loves me and will not do anything to harm me even though it may seem so at times.



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-3, “Simon Peter a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:  2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord; 3. seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.



6/30/2012 9:57:37 AM



PS  The song that I have quoted here is sung to the tune of the Doxology.

Joyful (Ps. 100:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/29/2012 6:58:34 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Psalm 100



Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 100:1-2



            Message of the verses:  In today’s Spiritual Diary we will begin to look at Psalm 100 by looking at several introductions from different Bible Commentators, and then we will begin to look at the psalm.



            “-This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy, and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall know that the Lord he is God, and shall become his worshippers, and the sheep of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully. If, when we strayed like wandering sheep, he has brought us again to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to bless his name. The matter of praise, and the motives to it, are very important. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship. The covenant of grace set down in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, with so many rich promises, to strengthen the faith of every weak believer, makes the matter of God’s praise and of his people’s joys so sure, that how sad so ever our spirits may be when we look to ourselves, yet we shall have reason to praise the Lord when we look to his goodness and mercy, and to what he has said in his word for our comfort.”  (Matthew Henry)



            “TITLE. A Psalm of Praise; or rather of thanksgiving. This is the only psalm bearing this precise inscription. It is all ablaze with grateful adoration, and has for this reason been a great favourite with the people of God ever since it was written. "Let us sing the Old Hundredth" is one of the every-day expressions of the Christian church, and will be so while men, exist whose hearts are loyal to the Great King. Nothing can be more sublime this side heaven than the singing of this noble psalm by a vast congregation. Watts’ paraphrase, beginning "Before Jehovah’s awful throne," and the Scotch "All people that on earth do dwell," are both noble versions; and event Tare and Brady rise beyond themselves when they sing —



"With one consent let all the earth

To God their cheerful voices raise."



In this divine lyric we sing with gladness the creating power and goodness of the Lord, even as before with trembling we adored his holiness.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)



            “This well-known psalm, emphasizing the universal nature of God’s kingship, is a benediction to the series of psalm which are occupied with the Lord’s kingdom rule (Pss. 93, 95-100).  Most of it is a call to praise and thanksgiving while vv. 3 and 5 fi the reasons for that worship.”  (John MacArthur Study Bible)



            “For centuries, Christian congregations have sung William Kethe’s paraphrase of this psalm, wedded to the beloved tune ‘Old Hundredth.’ First published in 1561, the words summarize the message of the psalm and help the worshipers give thanks to the Lord.  Sometimes the traditional ‘Doxology’ (‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow’) by Thomas Ken is sung as the last verse.  The psalm is a fitting climax to the collection of ‘royal psalms’ (93, 95-100) and sums up their emphasis on God’s sovereign rule, His goodness to His people, the responsibility of all nations to acknowledge Him, and the importance of God people exalting and worshiping Him (See 95:1-2, 6-7.)

            “We admonished in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Spirit of God, and the evidence of this fullness is that we are joyful (5:19), thankful (5:20), and submissive (5:21-6:9).  In Colossians 3:16-25, we are instructed to be filled with the Word of God, and when we are, we will be joyful (3:16), thankful (3:17), and submissive (3:20-25).  These three characteristics of the believer controlled by God’s Spirit and God’s Word—and they go together—are presented in this wonderful psalm of thanksgiving.”  (Warren Wiersbe)



            Joyful (vv. 1-2):  “1 A Psalm for Thanksgiving.» Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.”

            We have been going over what Warren Wiersbe calls the “Royal Psalms” which as noted above in different places are Psalms 93, 95-100.  We worship God as King in these psalms and the psalms were not only written for the children of Israel, but for all of the nations, for indeed God is King over all the earth.  It was part of Israel’s job in knowing the One True God to tell other nations about Him, but the sad fact is that this did not get done very well, and not only did it not get done very well, but many of the Jews actually had a hatred for the Gentiles.  Of course this was not right, and when the Lord Jesus came to earth He spoke to different peoples like the woman at the well who was a Samaritan, and He also went to speak to a woman who had a child who was demon possessed in Mark 7 and then healed other Gentiles there too.  My point in all of this is that this psalm and the others mentioned is directed to all of the nations that they might worship the Lord and understand that He is King.  Today the Church has this responsibility to go and preach the Gospel to all the earth which is the “Great Commission,” that Jesus spoke of at the end of Matthews Gospel.

            As we look at the first two verses of this psalm we see that the psalm is a psalm of thanksgiving and that we are to shout joyfully to the Lord, all of the nations are to do this, and will do this in Christ’s kingdom one day.  We are to serve the Lord and be glad we can serve Him, for this is a great privilege.  Dr. Wiersbe writes about our shouting to the Lord, “our shouting ought to lead to serving Him, for He is the only true God (Deut. 6:13; 10:12; Josh. 24:15-24).  Worship leads to service, and true service is worship.  If we sing in the Spirit and with understanding, our songs are received in heaven as sacrifices to the Lord (Heb. 13:15).”  “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose that my worship of the Lord when it comes to shouting does not happen a lot because I am more of a laid back kind of person, and my worship of the Lord does come with singing, for I love the wonderful old hymns, and love to sing them because of their great meaning.  My worship of the Lord is also in doing my Spiritual Diaries as I love to study the Word of God.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to abide in the vine as Jesus spoke of in John 15.



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-3 

1.      Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a fait of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord; 3. Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.

6/29/2012 8:49:17 AM