Thursday, May 19, 2011
Psalm 49
Psalm 49 (New International Version)
Psalm 49
Psalm 49[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. 1 Hear this, all you peoples;listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses[b] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had[c] named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,
who will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 49:1 In Hebrew texts 49:1-20 is numbered 49:2-21.
- Psalm 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
- Psalm 49:11 Or generations, / for they have
- Psalm 49:13 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Psalm 48
Psalm 48 (New International Version)
Psalm 48
Psalm 48[a]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise,in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon[b] is Mount Zion,
the city of the Great King.
3 God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress.
4 When the kings joined forces,
when they advanced together,
5 they saw her and were astounded;
they fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
shattered by an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
so we have seen
in the city of the LORD Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
forever.[c]
9 Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.
10 Like your name, O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices,
the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
count her towers,
13 consider well her ramparts,
view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 48:1 In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15.
- Psalm 48:2 Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
- Psalm 48:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Glory Ride Alabama 150 Years After the Civil War
Written by Gary Miller
What a Surprisingly Humbling experience watching this story unfold. It all started for me when a person in our Local church told me about the Glory Ride. The Glory ride 2011 can be found on the inter net at http://www.thegloryride.com/ look on the right hand side under the list of topics for the Alabama Ride. He went on and explained the purpose of this intervention was to break the back of prejudice that was still lingering, 150 years after the War Between the States.
So “The Glory Ride 2011 Alabama” began on Passover from the 4 opposing corners of Alabama and will meet up in Birmingham, with local black Pastors at a 24 hour prayer service that was to be going on in Birmingham. Then all four teams and the Birmingham group would go together to the Alabama State Capital in Montgomery to join in with the State Wide Day of Prayer.
As the Glory Ride was going on the opposition was incredible. Even the State of Alabama itself experienced over 64 tornados in one day and the city to Tuscaloosa was most likely the hardest hit with a tornado on the ground for over 100 miles, causing President Obama to state on National TV that He has never seen anything this devastating.
Harvest, Alabama, was hit with an EF-5 tornado with winds over 230 miles per hour flattening stores and wiping buildings off the face of the earth.
As I was in the ER that night looking for Medical Shelter, unharmed by the storm, I heard a man calling on a land line phone tell his friends the story of what had happened. He went on and explained how the furry of the storm tour the house apart from around him and his family and how he had grabbed different members of his family to keep them from flying away in the sheer force of the winds and even had to put his dad in a scissor lock between his legs. Then, the men broke down in tears-- and asked his friend for prayer.
Alabama is the apple of God's Eye in America and God cleans house at home first. So wake up America and see what’s coming. If you do not humble yourself and pray then you could be looking at the same devastation that has come upon Alabama. Take this time and reflect and make things right with the Lord while He can still be found.
I tell you all this to say one Final thought.
Are you ready to meet JESUS?
He is coming.
It does not matter if you believe it or not.
He is still coming!
The Good News is there is Hope found in God’s Word.
Check out John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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