Saturday, July 16, 2011
Psalm 106
Psalm 106
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 106
1 Praise the LORD.[a] Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;his love endures forever.
2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD
or fully declare his praise?
3 Blessed are those who act justly,
who always do what is right.
4 Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people,
come to my aid when you save them,
5 that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may share in the joy of your nation
and join your inheritance in giving praise.
6 We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,
they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.[b]
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
to make his mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand of the foe;
from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his plan to unfold.
14 In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wilderness they put God to the test.
15 So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 In the camp they grew envious of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the LORD.
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it buried the company of Abiram.
18 Fire blazed among their followers;
a flame consumed the wicked.
19 At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20 They exchanged their glorious God
for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the LORD.
26 So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.
28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29 they aroused the LORD’s anger by their wicked deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was checked.
31 This was credited to him as righteousness
for endless generations to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses’ lips.[c]
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the LORD had commanded them,
35 but they mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to false gods.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.
39 They defiled themselves by what they did;
by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
40 Therefore the LORD was angry with his people
and abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them into the hands of the nations,
and their foes ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them
and subjected them to their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.
44 Yet he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.
46 He caused all who held them captive
to show them mercy.
47 Save us, LORD our God,
and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
48 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the LORD.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 106:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 48
- Psalm 106:7 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verses 9 and 22
- Psalm 106:33 Or against his spirit, / and rash words came from his lips
Friday, July 15, 2011
Mark 16:15 New International Version
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
To The Believer
FROM THE DESK OF: Monica B. Tebis
ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Company
Global Asset Management - Fairfax Campus
"I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue." Psalm 39:1
Don't Jump to Conclusions
We all fall from time to time, even the best of us. When John D Rockefeller ran the Standard Oil Company one of his senior executives made a mistake that cost the company over two million dollars. The other executives thought Rockefeller would come down heavy on him and probably fire him. But he didn't.
Before he called the man in, he sat down, took a notepad and wrote across the top of it "Points" in favor of this man." Then he listed the man's strengths, including how he'd once helped the company make the right decision and earn them millions of dollars. One of the senior executive who witnessed it later said, "Whenever I am tempted to rip into someone, I force myself to sit down and compile a list of the good qualities they have. By the time I have finished, I have the right perspective. And best of all, my anger is under control. I can't tell you how many times this habit has prevented me from committing one of life's costliest mistakes - losing my temper. I recommend it to anyone who must deal with people."
So before you jump to conclusions about someone, stop and ask God for wisdom, then sit down and make a list of their best qualities. If you do you'll often come to a different conclusion.
One thing is for sure, you'll approach them with the right attitude and you won't say things you'll regret later. Obviously the Psalmist had learned that
lesson: "I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue."
"The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness." Psalm 121: 1-2
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