Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Psalm 16
Psalm 16 (Amplified Bible)
Psalm 16
A Poem of David; [probably] intended to record memorable thoughts.
1KEEP and protect me, O God, for in You I have found refuge, and in You do I put my trust and hide myself. 2I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; I have no good beside or beyond You.3As for the godly (the saints) who are in the land, they are the excellent, the noble, and the glorious, in whom is all my delight.
4Their sorrows shall be multiplied who choose another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer or take their names upon my lips.
5The Lord is my chosen and assigned portion, my cup; You hold and maintain my lot.
6The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage.
7I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.
8I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety,
10For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption.(A)
11You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.(B)
Cross references:
Proverb 21
Proverbs 21 (Amplified Bible)
Proverbs 21
1THE KING'S heart is in the hand of the Lord, as are the watercourses; He turns it whichever way He wills. 2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and tries the hearts.(A)3To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.(B)
4Haughtiness of eyes and a proud heart, even the tillage of the wicked or the lamp [of joy] to them [whatever it may be], are sin [in the eyes of God].
5The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want.
6Securing treasures by a lying tongue is a vapor driven to and fro; those who seek them seek death.
7The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away, because they refuse to do justice.
8The way of the guilty is exceedingly crooked, but as for the pure, his work is right and his conduct is straight.
9It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop [on the flat oriental roof, exposed to all kinds of weather] than in a house shared with a nagging, quarrelsome, and faultfinding woman.
10The soul or life of the wicked craves and seeks evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.(C)
11When the scoffer is punished, the fool gets a lesson in being wise; but men of [godly] Wisdom and good sense learn by being instructed.
12The [uncompromisingly] righteous man considers well the house of the wicked--how the wicked are cast down to ruin.
13Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor will cry out himself and not be heard.(D)
14A gift in secret pacifies and turns away anger, and a bribe in the lap, strong wrath.
15When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God), but to the evildoers it is dismay, calamity, and ruin.
16A man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall abide in the congregation of the spirits (of the dead).
17He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18The wicked become a ransom for the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and the treacherous for the upright [because the wicked themselves fall into the traps and pits they have dug for the good].
19It is better to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious woman and with vexation.
20There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it.
21He who earnestly seeks after and craves righteousness, mercy, and loving-kindness will find life in addition to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) and honor.(E)
22A wise man scales the city walls of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
23He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.(F)
24The proud and haughty man--Scoffer is his name--deals and acts with overbearing pride.
25The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.
26He covets greedily all the day long, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous gives and does not withhold.(G)
27The sacrifice of the wicked is exceedingly disgusting and abhorrent [to the Lord]--how much more when he brings it with evil intention?
28A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears attentively will endure and go unchallenged.
29A wicked man puts on the bold, unfeeling face [of guilt], but as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].
30There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.
31The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the Lord.
Cross references:
Monday, December 20, 2010
Psalm 128
Psalm 128 (Amplified Bible)
Psalm 128
A Song of Ascents.
1[a]BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, to be envied) is everyone who fears, reveres, and worships the Lord, who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments.(A) 2For you shall eat [the fruit] of the labor of your hands; happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) shall you be, and it shall be well with you.3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house; your children shall be like olive plants round about your table.
4Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord.
5May the Lord bless you out of Zion [His sanctuary], and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life;
6Yes, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!
Footnotes:
- Psalm 128:1 See Psalm 120 title footnote.
Cross references:
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Good Morning Friends today is Sunday 12.19.2010
My Dear friends,
It is impressed on me this morning that it is so important that we seek God.
He is all around us:
- He is in the new born baby's cry.
- He is in the Morning Sun.
- He is in the afternoon Rest.
- He is even in the child that is lost in the sin of this current world.
Oh how he loves us.
He loves us so much.
More love than we can understand.
He is reaching out his hand to you.
All you need to do is say is YES.
Yes, I accept your hand of peace and love.
Please read John 3:16 and then book of Romans. This will make things even clearer.
John 3
John 3 (Amplified Bible)
John 3
1NOW THERE was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews, 2Who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles--and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him.3Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
4Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb again and be born?
5Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [[a]even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.(A)
6What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7Marvel not [do not be surprised, astonished] at My telling you, You must all be born anew (from above).
8The wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
9Nicodemus answered by asking, How can all this be possible?
10Jesus replied, Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet do not know nor understand these things? [Are they strange to you?]
11I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, We speak only of what we know [we know absolutely what we are talking about]; we have actually seen what we are testifying to [we were eyewitnesses of it]. And still you do not receive our testimony [you reject and refuse our evidence--that of Myself and of all those who are born of the Spirit].
12If I have told you of things that happen right here on the earth and yet none of you believes Me, how can you believe (trust Me, adhere to Me, rely on Me) if I tell you of heavenly things?
13And yet no one has ever gone up to heaven, but there is One Who has come down from heaven--the Son of Man [Himself], [b]Who is (dwells, has His home) in heaven.
14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must [so it is necessary that] the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross],(B)
15In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may [c]not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever!
16For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([d]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
17For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
18He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]
19The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.(C)
20For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved.
21But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are--wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon Him].
22After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the land (the countryside) of Judea, where He remained with them, and baptized.
23But John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, for there was an abundance of water there, and the people kept coming and being baptized.
24For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25Therefore there arose a controversy between some of John's disciples and a Jew in regard to purification.
26So they came to John and reported to him, Rabbi, the Man Who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [[e]at the Jordan crossing]--and to Whom you yourself have borne testimony--notice, here He is baptizing too, and everybody is flocking to Him!
27John answered, A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing, he can [f]take unto himself nothing] except as it has been granted to him from heaven. [A man must be content to receive the gift which is given him from heaven; there is no other source.]
28You yourselves are my witnesses [you personally bear me out] that I stated, I am not the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), but I have [only] been sent before Him [in advance of Him, to be His appointed forerunner, His messenger, His announcer].(D)
29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the groomsman who stands by and listens to him rejoices greatly and heartily on account of the bridegroom's voice. This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete. [S. of Sol. 5:1.]
30He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.](E)
31He Who comes from above (heaven) is [far] above all [others]; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth [his words are from an earthly standpoint]. He Who comes from heaven is [far] above all others [far superior to all others in prominence and in excellence].
32It is to what He has [actually] seen and heard that He bears testimony, and yet no one accepts His testimony [no one receives His evidence as true].
33Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal of approval to this: God is true. [That man has definitely certified, acknowledged, declared once and for all, and is himself assured that it is divine truth that God cannot lie].
34For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God's own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!(F)
35The Father loves the Son and has given (entrusted, committed) everything into His hand.(G)
36And he who believes in (has faith in, clings to, relies on) the Son has (now possesses) eternal life. But whoever disobeys (is unbelieving toward, refuses to trust in, disregards, is not subject to) the Son will never see (experience) life, but [instead] the wrath of God abides on him. [God's displeasure remains on him; His indignation hangs over him continually.](H)
Footnotes:
- John 3:5 The Greek "kai" ("and") may be rendered "even."
- John 3:13 Some manuscripts add this phrase.
- John 3:15 Some manuscripts add this phrase.
- John 3:16 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
- John 3:26 George M. Lamsa, The New Testament.
- John 3:27 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
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