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Sing Glory To God

Psalm 65-67, 69-70

I truly get excited when I read Psalms that bring praise and glory to God.  That is why today’s reading was so uplifting to me.  These Psalms remind us of our need to praise God and your wretchedness before Him.  You know, we cannot know good without bad, joy without sorrow.  It is the contrast between these extremes that give these conditions meaning.  God’s greatness comes into sharp focus when compared against our sinfulness.  As I consider my self-centered, sinful ways, God’s perfection becomes that much more sublime.  It is this contrast that makes me want to do as the following Psalm calls for us to do.

Psalm 66:1-2

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!”

Did you know that you were created to glorify God?  Our great, high calling is to glorify God.  You want to be happy – praise God!  You want to be joyful – praise God!  You want peace – praise God!  Glorify His Holy Name and reap the reward of gaining sustenance through Him!

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31 – 32

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

My translation has the publisher title of this section of the Bible as “The New Covenant”.  Is there anything more to say?  Yes there is.  Praise God!!!!  Hallelujah!!! Unto Him is all honor, and power, and glory, and praise for ever and ever and ever!!!  Amen!

Have a day filled with glorifying God!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

He Calls You By Name

Isaiah 44-47

In today’s reading we hear a prophecy foretelling the ascent of Cyrus II, who will conquer Babylon and issue a decree allowing exiled Jews to return to their homeland.  I did a little research to try and better understand the timing of things.

Based on scriptural references we understand Isaiah to have lived during the reigns of Uzziah (768-740 B.C.), Jotham (740-731 B.C.), Ahaz (731-725 B.C.),  and Hezekiah (725-696 B.C.).  There is a later tradition that suggests that Isaiah was martyred during the reign of Manasseh (696-641 B.C.).  So he lived sometime between 768 and 641 B.C.  The closest window in which we can place Isaiah then is a 127 year period; not an exact date but close enough for looking at the timing of his prophecies.

As we read earlier, the Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded Judah sometime around 701 B.C. and was subsequently defeated by God when 85,000 of his troops surrounding Jerusalem mysteriously died over night.  Eventually Judah was completely conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C.  Nebuchadnezzar placed a puppet king named Zedekiah on the thrown and took a number of Judah’s citizens into exile.  In 589 B.C. Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon.  Finally, in 586 B.C., Judah was once again conquered by Babylon and yet another wave of citizens was taken into captivity.   The Davidic line of kings came to an end at that time.

So, where did Cyrus come into the picture?  Cyrus, or more precisely Cyrus II, ruled between 559-530 B.C.  Cyrus conquered and unified the Persian peoples and then conquered the Medes.  In 539 B.C. he invaded Babylon.  Within his first year as ruler of Babylon he issued a decree allowing, and even encouraging the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild their temple.  In his decree allowing the Jews to return Cyrus said:

Ezra 1:2

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”

How did Cyrus know that Jehovah God had given him all the kingdoms of the earth?  Remember that Jewish exiles had risen to rather high levels of responsibility within the Babylonian court.  Is it possible they shared the prophecies of Isaiah with him?  Look at this:

Isaiah 45:1-4

“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.”

Over 100 to 150 years before he was born, God, through Isaiah, named the man who would conquer Babylon and restore His people.  He said Cyrus will be my servant even though he does not know me.  How amazing is that?  Can you imagine reading in the Bible today and seeing your name and a description of what you have just recently done?  What if I read something like this in the Bible?

“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Bill Hood, whose right hand I have grasped, to write a blog glorifying My Name.”

After I was revived, there is no doubt that I would acknowledge God’s sovereignty!  If I had doubts before, they would forever be banished.  Is it not amazing how God works?  If you doubt that He knows what He is doing, if you doubt that he will accomplish His purpose, then you don’t know God; you don’t know His Word.

Brothers, God has had a plan from day one and everything has proceeded, and is proceeding, according to His plan.  He does not make you do anything you don’t choose to do, but He knows what you will choose and your choices are figured into His plan.  He may not have placed your name in the Bible but He has placed it in His Book of Life.  He has chosen you and He calls you by name.  He has a plan for you.  What an awesome God we serve!

Have a day filled with the praises of your God and King!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

God Loves You – Do You Love Him?

Isaiah 41-43

I am just blown away by God’s Word!  How amazing is God?  While we deserve to be crushed for our self-centered, evil hearts, God calls us and loves us and saves us!  As I read today I started copying verses and pasting them in my word processor for the foundations of my comments.  I kept copying and pasting verses; one after another.  Oh what love God expresses to us; the ones He called and saved!  I can say nothing better than what He has already said.  Let me just share the verses that jumped out at me.  I wonder if they are the same ones that jumped out at you.

Isaiah 41:8-11

“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

You were chosen by God to be saved, to be his servant.  He will strengthen you and help you and uphold you with His righteous right hand!

Isaiah 42:6-7

“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

God has called you in righteousness and to righteousness.  He will take you by the hand to the righteousness He intends for you.  He has done this for you to fulfill His purpose; to open the eyes of the lost; to save those who sit in the prison that is their sin; that suffer under the chains of their own making.  He has saved you for a purpose!

Isaiah 43:1-2

“But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.”

Brothers, you are not alone!  He is your strength to be the men He created you to be through every trial and tribulation you face!

Isaiah 43:4-5a

“Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
Fear not, for I am with you;…”

Do you see how much God loves you?  You are precious in His site!  Can you believe you are honored?  Why has He done this?

Isaiah 43:7

“everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

You were created for His glory not your own!

Isaiah 43:10a

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,…”

He has done this for His own sake.  He has done this so you will be His servant; His witness to a lost and dying world.

Isaiah 43:21

“ the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.”

You were created and saved for His glory, to be His witness, to declare His praise!  How are you coming on that witnessing and praising thing by the way?  It doesn’t happen by accident.  You have a job to do.  God has just told you how much He loves you, and why He did all that He has done for you.  Do you love Him enough to be about the work He has for you to do?  I hope so!

Have a day filled with praise for your God and King!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Here Am I!  Send Me!

Isaiah 6-9

There is so much on which I would like to comment today but there just isn’t time.  I again found my heart soaring as I read passages about God’s Holiness, about Isaiah’s faithfulness, and about our coming Savior and King.  For example:

Isaiah 6:8

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

That one simple verse, composed of three simple sentences, is devastating to me.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are asking “who will go for us?”  Isaiah said “Here am I! Send me.”  You do know that God asks that question every day don’t you?  Do you know He is looking right at you and me when He asks it? Did you notice that Isaiah did not ask “to do what?”  He didn’t ask if he could do it after he finished something else.  He didn’t barter about the particulars.  He simply said “Here am I!  Send me.”

Isaiah reminds me of Abram when God told him to rise and go to a place He would show him.  In other words “get up and get going; I’ll show you where you are going after you show me your faithfulness”.  Ah, the words “trust and obey” come crashing into my brain.  That is at the heart of faith.  This is not to suggest that the brain is turned off, but at the end of the day, when things just don’t make sense, when we don’t have all the answers we would like, we must simply trust and obey.

Isaiah 7:14

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Here it is!  People get ready!  Jesus is coming!  Soon we’ll be going home!!!  Here, 700 years before it came to pass Isaiah tells us that God is coming to earth in human form.  Immanuel means “God with us.”  He was that then and He is still that today.  Christ resides within me.  He is still Immanuel.

Why do we need Him?  Because we walk in the darkness of our own sin.

Isaiah 9:2

“The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.”

I remember flipping channels the other day and I paused for a moment on one of the Harry Potter movies that have been playing a lot lately.  It was a scene where Harry and another fellow lay on the ground in a wood next to a small pond.  Dark, ghost like, shadows swirled overhead, coming closer and closer.  As they passed over the bodies they seem to suck the life from both individuals.  Just when it seemed like all was lost, a pinpoint of light from the other side of the pond burst forth.  It was an intense, brilliant light that quickly blossomed to the point of blotting out the screen.  The dark shadowy creatures were shattered in an instant.  Nothing could withstand the light.  That’s like us isn’t it?  Weren’t we being sucked dry of life by our sins?  Were not our sins draining us of life?  It was the light of Christ that broke through the darkness that surrounded us, obliterated our sins, and saved us from death; restoring our souls.

Isaiah 9:6-7

“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Praise God!  Praise God!! Praise God!!!  May glory, and power, and honor, and praise be forever His!!!  He saved you.  He cleansed you and now He is asking whom shall I send?  I hope he hears you say “Here am I!  Send me!”

May you have an obedient day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Worthy of Praise!

Psalms 145-150

Well, today we come to the end of the Psalms.  What a ride!  These last five Psalms finish this glorious hymnal with a crescendo of praise for the only on worthy of our praise.  You know, there is a great deal of angst in this world today.  People seem lost.  They are looking for purpose.  Some are depressed and hopeless because they don’t see any point to life.  Others dedicate their lives to helping the poor or saving the environment or fighting cancer and the like in order to give purpose and meaning to their lives.  These self-contrived pursuits of purpose are noble and may even provide some level of satisfaction but somewhere deep inside it is not enough.

You see, we are made, hard wired if you will, to praise God.  That, in fact, is our purpose.  We were made to have a loving relationship with our Creator in which we praise and glorify His name; non-stop.  We have to praise God if we want to have fulfillment.  Since some resent the necessity to praise God they fight it.  The problem is you can’t remove this need.  If you don’t praise or worship God you will worship something else.  Some praise and worship Humanism, Marxism, Capitalism, Sex, Money, Rock ‘n Roll, food; the list could go on and on.  Nothing on God’s green earth, however, can fill the God sized hole that exists when we forego praising and worshiping God.  That’s why people get more and more frantic in their obsessions; there is never enough to fill the hole.

We need to praise and worship God if we want a fulfilling life of purpose; a life with meaning.  Did you know that God takes pleasure in your praise?  Did you know that He is pleased when your hope resides in His love for you?

Psalm 147:11

“but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.”

I wish I were adequate in my efforts to express to you the incredible pleasure that God takes in you, His child through the shed blood of Christ.  I can’t even express to you the pleasure I take in my own daughter when I see her showing compassion toward someone who is hurting or when she treats others with generosity.  If I am exceedingly proud of my daughter when she does that which she should do, how proud do you think God is of you when you tell someone about Christ?  How proud of you is He when you help those who are hurting or in need?  What pleasure does He take when you live the victorious life Jesus died to give you?

As we learned yesterday, God knows everything about you.  He knows what you’ve done.  He knows what you are doing.  He knows what you will do.  He even knows what you are thinking.  He loves you anyway.  He wants you to be happy and for you to be happy you need to praise Him; not just on Sunday but every day, every moment.  Not for His sake but for yours.

As is typical I found J. Vernon McGee’s comments on these last few verses of great interest so I will leave you with his comments which begin with a discussion on Psalm 145.

McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

“This is the last psalm that mentions David as the author. He may have written some of the psalms that do not name an author, but we cannot be sure. This psalm is an acrostic, which means that each verse begins with one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Immediately we run into a problem which the critics have latched onto—there are twenty-two Hebrew letters and only twenty-one verses in this psalm. The psalm begins with Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, and ends with Tau, the final letter in the Hebrew alphabet; the missing letter is Nun. Some critics say that Nun was left out by some transcriber. I don’t think that is the case at all. I believe it was left out for a very definite reason. From Psalm 145 to 150 we find that every one of them is a hallelujah psalm. It is an increasing crescendo. Why would one verse be left out of Psalm 145? I think it speaks of the fact that our praise is imperfect. I like what F. W. Grant has written relative to the omission of this one letter: “I cannot but conclude that the gap is meant to remind us that in fact the fulness of praise is not complete without other voices, which are not found here, and that these missing voices are those of the Church and the heavenly saints in general.” You don’t get all of the hallelujahs until you get to the nineteenth chapter of Revelation: “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God …. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever …. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth (Rev. 19:1, 3, 6). There is the missing hallelujah. The praise in this Psalm 145 is not quite complete—nor is it in any of the psalms. At the occasion of the birth of Jesus, the angels said, “Glory to God in the highest …” (Luke 2:14). Why? Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem and there would be peace. But there hasn’t been peace. We have never been able to sing the Hallelujah chorus perfectly yet. But there is coming a day when Christ will return to this earth. The day that He comes forth will be a great day, and then the Hallelujah chorus will be sung correctly and completely.”

Brothers, fill that God sized hole inside you with hearty and heartfelt praise for the lover of your soul, your Creator, your King, your God for He is worthy to be praised!

Have a praise filled day!

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!