Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
A note from our friend Pat
In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
The fear of the LORD is the Beginning of knowledge but Fools despise Wisdom and Instruction ........!
Psalm 21
Psalm 21 (New International Version, ©2011)
Psalm 21
Psalm 21[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 The king rejoices in your strength, LORD.How great is his joy in the victories you give!
2 You have granted him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.[b]
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.
9 When you appear for battle,
you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
and his fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.
13 Be exalted in your strength, LORD;
we will sing and praise your might.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 21:1 In Hebrew texts 21:1-13 is numbered 21:2-14.
- Psalm 21:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Psalm 10
Psalm 10 (New International Version, ©2011)
Psalm 10
Psalm 10[a]
1 Why, LORD, do you stand far off?Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
- Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from
Monday, April 4, 2011
To the Believer
FROM THE DESK OF: Monica B. Tebis
ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Company
Global Asset Management - Fairfax Campus
"You must get along with each other." 1 Corinthians 1:10
Getting Along with Each Other
Here are two things you must do in order to mend a broken
relationship:
1) Attack the problem, not the person. You can't fix the problem if you're obsessed with fixing the blame. The Bible says: "A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire" (Pr 15:1). In resolving any conflict, how you say it is as important as what you say. If you say it offensively, you'll be received defensively.
"A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is" (Pr 16:21). Nagging doesn't work.
You're never persuasive when you're abrasive! Don't use words that are condemning, belittling, comparing, labeling, insulting, condescending or sarcastic. "Use... only helpful words... so that what you say will do good to those who hear you" (Eph 4:29).
2) Focus on your relationship, not your differences. It's unrealistic to expect every- body to agree about everything. But when we focus on the relationship, the problem often loses its significance, diminishes, or becomes irrelevant. Often we can re-establish the relationship even though we're unable to resolve our differences. We'll always have honest disagreements, but surely, by God's grace, we can disagree without being disagreeable.
We can walk arm-in-arm without seeing eye-to-eye. This doesn't mean giving up on finding a solution nor on the relationship. You may need to continue discussing it - but now you agree to do it in the spirit of love.
Reconciliation means burying the hatchet, not necessarily the issue.
So who do you need to contact? With whom do you need to restore fellowship?
Pick up the phone and begin the process.
"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God." James 4:1-2
"Make a Difference Today ... Encourage Someone!"
A note from our friend Pat
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
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