Skip to main content

MMB - 13 March 2017

Today's GO TO Verses ...

In my time today with Jesus sipping my coffee I was impressed with the following Scriptures:
  • Psalm 119:25 "My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your Word"  and
  • Isaiah 44:6 "Thus says the Lord, 'I am the First and the Last; besides Me there is no God'"
Psalm 119 is the great chapter in the Bible that is centered around the Word of God. The Lord in His great wisdom utilized a myriad of words describing the Scriptures in these hundred plus verses found in chapter 119. Words like, testimonies, decrees, statutes, laws, commands, precepts are just a few that are used. They mean essentially the same thing in the context of this chapter, but the variety of terms used make the teaching come alive and more vibrant. In fact, teachers through the ages have used this method in getting across their message. Repetition without boredom, you might say. When I give a Bible teaching, I prepare by using a valuable tool on my word processor - the feature that finds synonyms ... interchangeable words that mean essentially the same thing in context. We communicate so much better when we use word explanations in this way. God the master communicator did this skillfully in Psalm 119. The verse above referred to (119:25), simply uses the term "Word". God could of used any other synonymous word but instead straight forwardly said the main thing with the use of "Word". The context is so impressive! Look at it. 'My soul (my very being ... who I really am) clings (sticks to, grips, adheres to) to the dust (context depicts desert or even death) ...' So the Psalmist uses "dust" as a contrast to LIFE because the next phrase begins with the word, "revive"! Only the dead need reviving. Whether physical, spiritual, emotional ... deadness is deadness! Revival is LIFE RENEWAL. The beauty of this verse is clear: "revive me (bring me back to life ... renew my dead spirit ... resuscitate life back in me) according to Your Word" -- any other synonym would not perfectly fit here. You want to see how powerful this terminology used in this way is? Look at John 11. This is the account of Jesus' friend, Lazarus who died and is buried in a tomb. He goes to the tomb and in verse 43 we see Jesus speak. It says, "He cried with a loud voice 'Lazarus, come forth'". Jesus' Word bring reviving to a dead man! And if Jesus didn't qualify "Lazarus" in His reviving words ... every tomb around the world would have burst forth with revived dead people! I want God's power in me. It comes by a consistent encounter with Almighty God by being in the Scriptures ... His Word!

With all that said, can you imagine my amazement when I began reading the other chapter of Scripture I've been meditating on in Isaiah? "There is no God besides Me" (44:6). I don't need to figure things out on my own. I don't need to take my problems or circumstances to anyone else but my Lord God ... Whose Word Speaks Life to my dust-ridden soul!  The deadness of my flesh manifests itself daily and it needs to be knocked down with Reviving Words by the All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Present God. Let's sweep off the dust of deadness with the might of God's Word. Reviving is that close. Open it up and read ... and LIVE! 

Comments

Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Popular posts from this blog

A Prayer for Christmas Eve

O God our Father, you have brought us again to the glad season .....when we celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant that his Spirit may be born anew in our hearts this day .....and that we may joyfully welcome him to reign over us. Open our ears that we may hear again the angelic chorus of old. Open our lips that we, too, may sing with uplifted hearts. Glory to God in the highest, .....and on earth, peace, goodwill toward all; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The United Methodist Book of Worship, no. 276.

MMB Monday Morning Blog 8-26-24 Seasons

There are four season in the year. In Florida, where I currently live, the season are here too but not like in New Hampshire where I'm from. Florida has HEAT. I remember visiting my parents back in the 90s at their winter home in Wachula around Thanksgiving. We already had snow before our drive south. As we hit Virginia and North Carolina it was apparent we were no longer in the frozen tundra. My parent's mobile home had two bedrooms. It wasn't big enough for us and our two sons. They did, however, have a pop-up trailer under the carport, so it was fine. To stay in a pop-up in Northern New England in late November mas near impossible. You would begin to shiver in about 5 minutes. Nights would reach a low of 0°-20°F. But not so in Florida. After a great Thanksgiving feast we went shopping at the local Walmart. They no longer stay open on Thanksgiving. As I walked into the store I was hit with culture shock. The store was in festive colors and lighting for Christmas but one t...

Reality ... REALLY?

Welcome to the new reality. It's everywhere in our world not just our country. It's been a path we've been on since before the turn of this decade.  Before 2000, it was called untruthfulness but today it has taken many forms. And it escapes from many mouths of people no matter what their stance in this life. News reporters, politicians, store owners, restaurant owners, etc have all adopted the terms. You may even have a co-worker who has adopted the new normal.  Another word beside untruthful has slowly taken center stage in the era we live and that word is "lie". It appears we tell people what they want hear rather than what is truthful. So we hear statements which may include untrue components and when called out about it we hear words like misinformation or disinformation . There's also unverified or unsubstantiated statements. I see there is more claims like these are made by those twisting words to make the subject they spin is true. Reality in 2024 is...