August 11, 2006
Psalms 106:29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
The writer of this psalm uses the events in the children of Israel’s desert journey as a platform of precedents. He reiterates parts of it to form spiritual lessons, to teach us the character of the Lord, His likes and dislikes.
This story refers to a time when the children of Israel camped by a Moabite city. King Balak hired Balaam the prophet to curse them, but Balaam, under the threat of the angel of the Lord blessed them instead (Numbers 22,23,24). As the story continues; it tells us that the children of Israel committed idolatry and brought upon themselves the curse (Numbers 25). The Lord must get very frustrated with us sometimes.
As individuals, when the Lord gives us His Word to lead and guide us, when He foils the enemy’s plans against us, the question to ask ourselves is, how many of our problems, sicknesses, financial difficulties, family breakdowns are self-inflicted? As a corporate group such as a company, a city, a church, a country, when the Lord has so beautifully given us His rules of conduct as a society, how much of our social and political breakdown is due to our going after the ‘forbidden fruit’?
It has been said that the only thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history. Can we break this vicious cycle?
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
'Be strong, be strong and be strengthened!'
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 10, 2006
Psalms 106:28b . . . and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Idolatrous worship often included necromantic activities; they would use the organs of dead animals sacrificed to their dead god to divine the future.
We humans seem to never learn, we always return to the same thing. Eve was not satisfied in the spiritually perfect realm of the Garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit. The children of Israel despised being owned by the living God of the universe and made a golden calf--they returned to Egyptian witchcraft.
It is easy to understand the plight and have compassion on those who have never known the living God. They roam in an esoteric junkyard realm, desperately groping, trying to find spiritual substance to feed their poor shriveled soul. But how saddening it must be for the living God who gives us the pure living waters of life when we, who know the wholesome light of His spirit, return to the works of darkness. Why should we trust the works of the flesh, the wisdom of man, or dark sciences (Matthew 7:15), to find purpose and life.
Let us, with holy repulsion, lay aside the filthy elements of the world and with godly appreciation, let us wholly feed on the kosher meat of His Word (John 6:55), and drink the fresh living waters of His Spirit. Let us not only be full, only satisfying ourselves, but let it fill us to the point of overflowing to the people that daily cross our path.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:28b . . . and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Idolatrous worship often included necromantic activities; they would use the organs of dead animals sacrificed to their dead god to divine the future.
We humans seem to never learn, we always return to the same thing. Eve was not satisfied in the spiritually perfect realm of the Garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit. The children of Israel despised being owned by the living God of the universe and made a golden calf--they returned to Egyptian witchcraft.
It is easy to understand the plight and have compassion on those who have never known the living God. They roam in an esoteric junkyard realm, desperately groping, trying to find spiritual substance to feed their poor shriveled soul. But how saddening it must be for the living God who gives us the pure living waters of life when we, who know the wholesome light of His spirit, return to the works of darkness. Why should we trust the works of the flesh, the wisdom of man, or dark sciences (Matthew 7:15), to find purpose and life.
Let us, with holy repulsion, lay aside the filthy elements of the world and with godly appreciation, let us wholly feed on the kosher meat of His Word (John 6:55), and drink the fresh living waters of His Spirit. Let us not only be full, only satisfying ourselves, but let it fill us to the point of overflowing to the people that daily cross our path.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 9, 2006
Psalms 106:28a They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, . . .
We know that when we feed on junk food instead of good healthy food, we injure our physical health. Our body becomes deformed and we feel uncomfortable as we reap the fruit of an improper diet. The same goes with our spirit. It is the holy of holies of our humanity. Only the kosher dedicated food of God should be consumed in it, and we cannot indulge in the philosophical ‘sweet’ doctrines of man without injuring and confusing it.
Once we reject the living oracles of a living faith by a living God, we are only one step away from legalism, ritualism and eventually, mysticism. Once we separate ourselves from the truth that God pleads for us to receive, we are left dependant on the errors of man’s wisdom, listening to the rhetoric of wise religious philosophers and therefore doomed to their spiritual confusion; and from this seed of spiritual confusion grows idolatry.
May God help us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) of the material we feed our mind, heart and spirit; and not only to ours, but also to be diligent to feed the hearts of our children with the kosher food of His Word coming from His spirit.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:28a They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, . . .
We know that when we feed on junk food instead of good healthy food, we injure our physical health. Our body becomes deformed and we feel uncomfortable as we reap the fruit of an improper diet. The same goes with our spirit. It is the holy of holies of our humanity. Only the kosher dedicated food of God should be consumed in it, and we cannot indulge in the philosophical ‘sweet’ doctrines of man without injuring and confusing it.
Once we reject the living oracles of a living faith by a living God, we are only one step away from legalism, ritualism and eventually, mysticism. Once we separate ourselves from the truth that God pleads for us to receive, we are left dependant on the errors of man’s wisdom, listening to the rhetoric of wise religious philosophers and therefore doomed to their spiritual confusion; and from this seed of spiritual confusion grows idolatry.
May God help us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) of the material we feed our mind, heart and spirit; and not only to ours, but also to be diligent to feed the hearts of our children with the kosher food of His Word coming from His spirit.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 8, 2006
Psalms 106:26-27 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
The Bible tells of countless nations, kingdoms, empires and individuals whom God promised to destroy because they incurred His wrath. This stands to prove the Word and is the earmark of divine authorship, as a study of history teaches us that whom God said should be destroyed, has been destroyed. In the ancient world, one of the most threatening forms of destructions, as a person or as a nation, was the termination of the family or tribal name and therefore the descendance.
In the case of the children of Israel, the Bible tells us that God made a promise of perpetual descendance to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. This promise was to be fulfilled through someone from the tribe of Judah, the son of Israel (Jacob) (Genesis 32:28), to be born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2). The Bible also tells us that the land of Canaan was given to the children of Israel under conditions of obedience to God’s laws; that if they did not obey Him, He would scatter them throughout the nations (Leviticus 36:13-42), and give the land to a more worthy one (Matthew 21:33-36).
The children of Israel disobeyed, and disobedience cannot go unpunished (Romans 6:23). The Assyrian empire conquered the ten northern tribes which dispersed into the world, but God preserved Judea until such a time when Jesus was born to fulfill the promises He made. Forty years after Jesus crucifixion, Judea was also scattered into the nations.
Such is the fruit of sin in the world. Attachment to the land no longer bears the importance that it did in the past. Mankind has now become a wanderer and is no longer ‘grounded’—he has lost his connection and attachment to the land. His descendance is scattered all over the world. Thank God that as in the case of the Jewish nation, the promise of a return home, of a gathering of our seed is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. We will all meet in New Jerusalem, the kingdom that he has prepared for all of us who long to go home after a long journey through the wilderness (John 14:2-3; Revelations 21:2-3).
Revelation 22:2-3 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:26-27 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
The Bible tells of countless nations, kingdoms, empires and individuals whom God promised to destroy because they incurred His wrath. This stands to prove the Word and is the earmark of divine authorship, as a study of history teaches us that whom God said should be destroyed, has been destroyed. In the ancient world, one of the most threatening forms of destructions, as a person or as a nation, was the termination of the family or tribal name and therefore the descendance.
In the case of the children of Israel, the Bible tells us that God made a promise of perpetual descendance to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. This promise was to be fulfilled through someone from the tribe of Judah, the son of Israel (Jacob) (Genesis 32:28), to be born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2). The Bible also tells us that the land of Canaan was given to the children of Israel under conditions of obedience to God’s laws; that if they did not obey Him, He would scatter them throughout the nations (Leviticus 36:13-42), and give the land to a more worthy one (Matthew 21:33-36).
The children of Israel disobeyed, and disobedience cannot go unpunished (Romans 6:23). The Assyrian empire conquered the ten northern tribes which dispersed into the world, but God preserved Judea until such a time when Jesus was born to fulfill the promises He made. Forty years after Jesus crucifixion, Judea was also scattered into the nations.
Such is the fruit of sin in the world. Attachment to the land no longer bears the importance that it did in the past. Mankind has now become a wanderer and is no longer ‘grounded’—he has lost his connection and attachment to the land. His descendance is scattered all over the world. Thank God that as in the case of the Jewish nation, the promise of a return home, of a gathering of our seed is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. We will all meet in New Jerusalem, the kingdom that he has prepared for all of us who long to go home after a long journey through the wilderness (John 14:2-3; Revelations 21:2-3).
Revelation 22:2-3 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 07, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 7, 2006
Psalms 106:24-25 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.
God promised the children of Israel a land that flowed with milk and honey--a rich land, the glory of all lands (Ezekiel 20:6), a land of their own. He proved his power to them by delivering them from Egypt, their land of bondage, with his mighty hand. He took them by that same hand and led them every step of the way; supplied them with water from a rock and with food from heaven. Yet, in spite of all the support God gave them, they despised the land of promise. They despised the future heaven God had prepared for them; to them, it was not worth the trouble, it was not worth crossing the harsh desert, it was not worth fighting for. “Let us go back to the bread of Egypt, to its flesh pots (Exodus 16:3),” they cried.
Our future dwelling in heaven is still earmarked with the notion of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46): that to acquire it, we must leave this world behind. We are not going there with our I-pods, favorite music, jewelry, houses, lands, nor any of our worldly trinkets. Should we complain? Does that give us a sense of loss? Paul said that compared to knowing Jesus, he counted all things on earth as dung (Philippians 3:8).
It is a bad sign when the child of God despises his God-given heritage and future blessings, to dwell among the flesh pots of the world. It is a bad sign when we value the things of the world more than the land of promise Jesus has gone to prepare for us (John 14:2-3). It is a bad sign when the physical realm has such a grip on us that we do not appreciate the beauty and blessings of the spiritual realm. It is a bad sign when we murmur against he Lord because His blessings may cost a little. Complaining against the blessings of the Lord comes from doubt, and doubts come from not believing his Word.
Do we look at the children of Israel in a critical way because of these things? Let us conjure in our minds our own picture of the millennium to come--how do we see it? Is it a picture where we are surrounded with all the things of this world that are important to us, or is it a picture of deliverance from the bondage of the madness of the materialism that has brought the world to the brink of destruction? Oh, the freedom that surrounds us when we have truly surrendered all to Him and are liberated from the flesh pots of “Egypt”; oh the beauty that appears when our spiritual vision is cleared from material obstructions. No more murmuring, only thankfulness; no more complaints, only gratefulness.
1 Timothy 6:5-6 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:24-25 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.
God promised the children of Israel a land that flowed with milk and honey--a rich land, the glory of all lands (Ezekiel 20:6), a land of their own. He proved his power to them by delivering them from Egypt, their land of bondage, with his mighty hand. He took them by that same hand and led them every step of the way; supplied them with water from a rock and with food from heaven. Yet, in spite of all the support God gave them, they despised the land of promise. They despised the future heaven God had prepared for them; to them, it was not worth the trouble, it was not worth crossing the harsh desert, it was not worth fighting for. “Let us go back to the bread of Egypt, to its flesh pots (Exodus 16:3),” they cried.
Our future dwelling in heaven is still earmarked with the notion of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46): that to acquire it, we must leave this world behind. We are not going there with our I-pods, favorite music, jewelry, houses, lands, nor any of our worldly trinkets. Should we complain? Does that give us a sense of loss? Paul said that compared to knowing Jesus, he counted all things on earth as dung (Philippians 3:8).
It is a bad sign when the child of God despises his God-given heritage and future blessings, to dwell among the flesh pots of the world. It is a bad sign when we value the things of the world more than the land of promise Jesus has gone to prepare for us (John 14:2-3). It is a bad sign when the physical realm has such a grip on us that we do not appreciate the beauty and blessings of the spiritual realm. It is a bad sign when we murmur against he Lord because His blessings may cost a little. Complaining against the blessings of the Lord comes from doubt, and doubts come from not believing his Word.
Do we look at the children of Israel in a critical way because of these things? Let us conjure in our minds our own picture of the millennium to come--how do we see it? Is it a picture where we are surrounded with all the things of this world that are important to us, or is it a picture of deliverance from the bondage of the madness of the materialism that has brought the world to the brink of destruction? Oh, the freedom that surrounds us when we have truly surrendered all to Him and are liberated from the flesh pots of “Egypt”; oh the beauty that appears when our spiritual vision is cleared from material obstructions. No more murmuring, only thankfulness; no more complaints, only gratefulness.
1 Timothy 6:5-6 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 6, 2006
Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
From his conception, Moses is a primary earthly figure directing us to the understanding of what the Messiah’s role on earth would be. The edict in Egypt sought Moses’ life even as Herod would seek the life of the young Jesus. Just like Jesus after his flight to Egypt as a child, Moses was called out of Egypt to be with his people. Moses left his people as criminal but returned to deliver them even as Jesus suffered the crucifixion as a criminal but gave everlasting life to those who trust in Him.
Moses provided water from a rock; Jesus is the water and the rock. Moses prayed for bread from heaven; Jesus is the bread from heaven. Moses brought the Word of God’s instructions engraved in stone; Jesus is the Word of instruction made flesh engraved in our heart. Moses acted a mediator when people could not hear from God themselves, Jesus is the mediator between God and Man. Moses interceded for the people against the wrath of God; Jesus takes the punishment for us. Moses prayed to divert the wrath of God from us; he ordered Aaron the high priest to prepare a sacrifice of atonement (Numbers 16:46-48). Jesus prayed for us and became the sacrifice of atonement; He is the lamb, the altar and the shed blood.
Jesus told us that we, like Moses, should also pray and not faint (Luke 18:1); Paul advised us to pray for presidents and kings (! Timothy 2:1-2), and James pleaded that we’d pray one for another that we may be healed (James 5:16).
God is still in the business of answering prayers. Let us therefore join the rank of the great men and women of God, and with the sacrifice of intercessory tears for our husbands, wives, children, friends, soldiers, and politicians, tap more fervently from this all too often ignored primary resource. If prayer changes things, if things are not changed, it could lie with our lack of intercessory prayer.
James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
From his conception, Moses is a primary earthly figure directing us to the understanding of what the Messiah’s role on earth would be. The edict in Egypt sought Moses’ life even as Herod would seek the life of the young Jesus. Just like Jesus after his flight to Egypt as a child, Moses was called out of Egypt to be with his people. Moses left his people as criminal but returned to deliver them even as Jesus suffered the crucifixion as a criminal but gave everlasting life to those who trust in Him.
Moses provided water from a rock; Jesus is the water and the rock. Moses prayed for bread from heaven; Jesus is the bread from heaven. Moses brought the Word of God’s instructions engraved in stone; Jesus is the Word of instruction made flesh engraved in our heart. Moses acted a mediator when people could not hear from God themselves, Jesus is the mediator between God and Man. Moses interceded for the people against the wrath of God; Jesus takes the punishment for us. Moses prayed to divert the wrath of God from us; he ordered Aaron the high priest to prepare a sacrifice of atonement (Numbers 16:46-48). Jesus prayed for us and became the sacrifice of atonement; He is the lamb, the altar and the shed blood.
Jesus told us that we, like Moses, should also pray and not faint (Luke 18:1); Paul advised us to pray for presidents and kings (! Timothy 2:1-2), and James pleaded that we’d pray one for another that we may be healed (James 5:16).
God is still in the business of answering prayers. Let us therefore join the rank of the great men and women of God, and with the sacrifice of intercessory tears for our husbands, wives, children, friends, soldiers, and politicians, tap more fervently from this all too often ignored primary resource. If prayer changes things, if things are not changed, it could lie with our lack of intercessory prayer.
James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 5, 2006
Psalms 106:21-22 They forgat God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt; Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
This is an image of the decadence of man’s spirituality, a tragic picture of the conditioning of the human spirit; a satire to the pride of mankind mixed with a warning to future generations.
When we are given a chance at betterment in our lives, we all too often complain that it comes through those who seem to know more about things than we do: through people like us, our peers, who have gone through and graduated from something we are still gripped by. This challenges our sensitive pride and leaves us with the humbling feeling that we are not valued at our true worth. Our complaints are then transformed into a cynical vilifying of the personality of our wise counselors, which in our own eyes brings them down to our low level, and excuses us from listening to their wise counsel. Sad to say, we also do that with God. We don’t like his wise control over our lives; his obvious superiority gives us an inferiority complex which is really a ‘superiority complex’ born of pride.
While at the Mount of God, the children of Israel were asked to agree to God’s laws before they even heard them (Exodus 19:3-8); they were to wait on Moses’ return not knowing if he would even return (Exodus 32:1); they were in a total state of dependency to God, and faced with the most basic of all elements of faith: the fact that none of us as nations, societies, communities or individuals are self-sufficient.
We obviously are unable to govern ourselves and, except by the grace and mercy of God, we make an absolute mess of our personal lives. In spite of empiric historical evidence to these facts, we insist on wanting to know “better” than God. We certainly do not want a God who will lead us, poor dumb sheep, in the pastures of His great wisdom (Psalms 23:10.) We want a God in the similitude of an ox that we can lead about to serve us in our own pleasures; a god that we yoke to go our ways, one whose love for us is proven by his answering our way our every whim of prayer. How parallel to the picture of the “loving god” many of us are tempted to imagine, what a blatant picture of man’s pride.
Let us now, humanity even in the person of each one of us, kneel in our prayer closet and affirm to him who created all things our utter dependence on his wisdom as nations and individuals. Let us yield to His yoke and let our soul receive the rest it desperately needs.
Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
P.Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:21-22 They forgat God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt; Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
This is an image of the decadence of man’s spirituality, a tragic picture of the conditioning of the human spirit; a satire to the pride of mankind mixed with a warning to future generations.
When we are given a chance at betterment in our lives, we all too often complain that it comes through those who seem to know more about things than we do: through people like us, our peers, who have gone through and graduated from something we are still gripped by. This challenges our sensitive pride and leaves us with the humbling feeling that we are not valued at our true worth. Our complaints are then transformed into a cynical vilifying of the personality of our wise counselors, which in our own eyes brings them down to our low level, and excuses us from listening to their wise counsel. Sad to say, we also do that with God. We don’t like his wise control over our lives; his obvious superiority gives us an inferiority complex which is really a ‘superiority complex’ born of pride.
While at the Mount of God, the children of Israel were asked to agree to God’s laws before they even heard them (Exodus 19:3-8); they were to wait on Moses’ return not knowing if he would even return (Exodus 32:1); they were in a total state of dependency to God, and faced with the most basic of all elements of faith: the fact that none of us as nations, societies, communities or individuals are self-sufficient.
We obviously are unable to govern ourselves and, except by the grace and mercy of God, we make an absolute mess of our personal lives. In spite of empiric historical evidence to these facts, we insist on wanting to know “better” than God. We certainly do not want a God who will lead us, poor dumb sheep, in the pastures of His great wisdom (Psalms 23:10.) We want a God in the similitude of an ox that we can lead about to serve us in our own pleasures; a god that we yoke to go our ways, one whose love for us is proven by his answering our way our every whim of prayer. How parallel to the picture of the “loving god” many of us are tempted to imagine, what a blatant picture of man’s pride.
Let us now, humanity even in the person of each one of us, kneel in our prayer closet and affirm to him who created all things our utter dependence on his wisdom as nations and individuals. Let us yield to His yoke and let our soul receive the rest it desperately needs.
Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
P.Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
August 4, 2006
Psalms 106:19-20 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. (20) Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
In the very place where the children of Israel committed themselves to obey God without reservation, in that very place, when their brand new walk of faith was tested, they retuned to their old ways.
We are creatures of habit. Not only do we form habits in the physical, but also our minds create grooves and methods with which we subconsciously process the problems we face. Just like when driving to a new place we easily make a wrong turn by taking the habitual road, habit easily takes us down the old way of thinking, even after regeneration. The religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was a world away from the children of Israel; their concept of God was corrupted by Egyptian idolatry and there was a long road ahead of them dedicated to training and rewiring.
We can look amused at the children of Israel who carved the golden calf (Exodus 32:4). We can easily think, “After witnessing such mighty miracles from the Lord, how could they? They had with them the God of the universe who saved them with a mighty hand, how could they so easily return to a dead idol carved by the hands of man?” But let us not be so harsh on them, don’t we condemn our selves with such reasoning? If the books were to be opened right now, if the measure of faith in our life was to be evaluated, how much evidence would God find in our heart that after we have been so mightily saved in the miraculous resurrection of His Son, after having been delivered from the emptiness of the world, we still rely on the deaf, dumb and blind empty gods of man for our economic, educational, emotional, psychological and even spiritual welfare?
Let us now honestly gauge our faith; let us not grade it on the curve of man’s weakness, but let us measure it with the standard of the Words pronounced in Horeb, I am the Lord thy God,. . .. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:2-3). Let us make sure that regardless of outward appearances, our heart relies of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:19-20 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. (20) Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
In the very place where the children of Israel committed themselves to obey God without reservation, in that very place, when their brand new walk of faith was tested, they retuned to their old ways.
We are creatures of habit. Not only do we form habits in the physical, but also our minds create grooves and methods with which we subconsciously process the problems we face. Just like when driving to a new place we easily make a wrong turn by taking the habitual road, habit easily takes us down the old way of thinking, even after regeneration. The religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was a world away from the children of Israel; their concept of God was corrupted by Egyptian idolatry and there was a long road ahead of them dedicated to training and rewiring.
We can look amused at the children of Israel who carved the golden calf (Exodus 32:4). We can easily think, “After witnessing such mighty miracles from the Lord, how could they? They had with them the God of the universe who saved them with a mighty hand, how could they so easily return to a dead idol carved by the hands of man?” But let us not be so harsh on them, don’t we condemn our selves with such reasoning? If the books were to be opened right now, if the measure of faith in our life was to be evaluated, how much evidence would God find in our heart that after we have been so mightily saved in the miraculous resurrection of His Son, after having been delivered from the emptiness of the world, we still rely on the deaf, dumb and blind empty gods of man for our economic, educational, emotional, psychological and even spiritual welfare?
Let us now honestly gauge our faith; let us not grade it on the curve of man’s weakness, but let us measure it with the standard of the Words pronounced in Horeb, I am the Lord thy God,. . .. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:2-3). Let us make sure that regardless of outward appearances, our heart relies of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 3, 2006
Psalms 106:17-18 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. (18) And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
Two hundred fifty princes of the children of Israel had gathered together to challenge Moses and Aaron’s authority (Numbers 16). The people didn’t just challenged their authority, but also their claim to leadership. Accusations of pride and self-elevation were leveled and a full-scale mutiny was on its way. Moses used no uncertain means to make his point. Korah, a Levite, led the rebellion with two other people from the tribe of Reuben. These people were not just complaining, they had already built an alternative leadership structure with their own religious service. Their argument was that since everyone is holy, it doesn’t really matter who’s in charge; they had lost respect for God’ s election of Moses and of Aaron (Numbers 16:1).
Moses, a very pragmatic man, did not care to justify himself in front of these men; he took his case to the God who had instructed him. The levitical law expressedly forbade any non ordained religious services. Under sentence of death, services had to be ordained by God, conducted in His way, by the person of His choice (Leviticus 10:1-2). This law was an exercise to the concept of respecting the one and only atonement made for our sins in the form and manner of Jesus Christ. All Moses had to do was to tell them, “Alright, you most likely remember what happened to those who offer unauthorized sacrifices. If God ordained you, bring your censers close to the tabernacle and let’s see what happens” (Numbers 16:5-7). They did as Moses said, and they were consumed in the fiery judgment of the Lord.
God may work with us about certain things like He did with Lot (Genesis 19:20-21). But His role in our lives, as well as the atoning role of Jesus is not up to a vote, nor even for discussion. Moses and Aaron were types and images of the future role Jesus and the Holy Sprit would play in our lives. They therefore could not be upstaged. Jesus said, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Matthew 12:31). The people who came to Moses attributed themselves a religious position of leadership that God had not ordained, which is blasphemy. A time is coming, and its shadow is already upon us, when the people of the world will replace Yehovah with a god carved according to their own value system (Revelations 13). Those guilty of this great transgression will suffer the same fate as those of the rebellion on Mt. Sinai (Revelations 19:20).
Let us make sure that Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah ordained of God, is the only atoning sacrifice in our heart. Let us rely solely on His saving blood without any adulteration from our own works and concepts. Let us serve Him with His ordained will, without the confusion of our own. Let us humbly yield our heart to God who knows best.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:17-18 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. (18) And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
Two hundred fifty princes of the children of Israel had gathered together to challenge Moses and Aaron’s authority (Numbers 16). The people didn’t just challenged their authority, but also their claim to leadership. Accusations of pride and self-elevation were leveled and a full-scale mutiny was on its way. Moses used no uncertain means to make his point. Korah, a Levite, led the rebellion with two other people from the tribe of Reuben. These people were not just complaining, they had already built an alternative leadership structure with their own religious service. Their argument was that since everyone is holy, it doesn’t really matter who’s in charge; they had lost respect for God’ s election of Moses and of Aaron (Numbers 16:1).
Moses, a very pragmatic man, did not care to justify himself in front of these men; he took his case to the God who had instructed him. The levitical law expressedly forbade any non ordained religious services. Under sentence of death, services had to be ordained by God, conducted in His way, by the person of His choice (Leviticus 10:1-2). This law was an exercise to the concept of respecting the one and only atonement made for our sins in the form and manner of Jesus Christ. All Moses had to do was to tell them, “Alright, you most likely remember what happened to those who offer unauthorized sacrifices. If God ordained you, bring your censers close to the tabernacle and let’s see what happens” (Numbers 16:5-7). They did as Moses said, and they were consumed in the fiery judgment of the Lord.
God may work with us about certain things like He did with Lot (Genesis 19:20-21). But His role in our lives, as well as the atoning role of Jesus is not up to a vote, nor even for discussion. Moses and Aaron were types and images of the future role Jesus and the Holy Sprit would play in our lives. They therefore could not be upstaged. Jesus said, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Matthew 12:31). The people who came to Moses attributed themselves a religious position of leadership that God had not ordained, which is blasphemy. A time is coming, and its shadow is already upon us, when the people of the world will replace Yehovah with a god carved according to their own value system (Revelations 13). Those guilty of this great transgression will suffer the same fate as those of the rebellion on Mt. Sinai (Revelations 19:20).
Let us make sure that Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah ordained of God, is the only atoning sacrifice in our heart. Let us rely solely on His saving blood without any adulteration from our own works and concepts. Let us serve Him with His ordained will, without the confusion of our own. Let us humbly yield our heart to God who knows best.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Daily Devotion
August 1st, 2006
Psalms 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
Indulgence is so often equated with being loved. We think that we show love to a child when we pamper him with things. In the same way, we equate God’s love for us in the measure of answered prayers.
Answered prayer is no proof of God’s favor. When traveling in the Sinai desert, God provided the children of Israel with a food correspondent to their lifestyle. Due to the heat, meat would have been unhealthy. But the people were unthankful for this health diet coming from the heart of the great dietitian, and they sniffed at angels’ food (Psalms 78:25). They desired meat and God gave them so much that it made them sick (Numbers 11:32.).
It is the reality of our nature that we do not appreciate the good that God does in spite of ourselves, until He’s allowed us a taste of the bad we so much want. When we retrace our lives with the wisdom afforded by the years, we sometimes realize how we have pushed for certain things and frustrated ourselves in our own efforts to make them happen, only to be left with ashes between our teeth and bitterness in our hearts. When we are so stubborn, God may allow us to learn our lesson by letting us have our own way and then reap the results.
Let us therefore make sure that we are yielded to God in all things. That we pray intelligently, importunately if need be, but that when all is said and done, we also leave things in his hands in the complete trust that he knows best.
Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
Indulgence is so often equated with being loved. We think that we show love to a child when we pamper him with things. In the same way, we equate God’s love for us in the measure of answered prayers.
Answered prayer is no proof of God’s favor. When traveling in the Sinai desert, God provided the children of Israel with a food correspondent to their lifestyle. Due to the heat, meat would have been unhealthy. But the people were unthankful for this health diet coming from the heart of the great dietitian, and they sniffed at angels’ food (Psalms 78:25). They desired meat and God gave them so much that it made them sick (Numbers 11:32.).
It is the reality of our nature that we do not appreciate the good that God does in spite of ourselves, until He’s allowed us a taste of the bad we so much want. When we retrace our lives with the wisdom afforded by the years, we sometimes realize how we have pushed for certain things and frustrated ourselves in our own efforts to make them happen, only to be left with ashes between our teeth and bitterness in our hearts. When we are so stubborn, God may allow us to learn our lesson by letting us have our own way and then reap the results.
Let us therefore make sure that we are yielded to God in all things. That we pray intelligently, importunately if need be, but that when all is said and done, we also leave things in his hands in the complete trust that he knows best.
Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
July 31, 2006
Psalms 106:13-14 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
When Moses was on the mount getting the instructions that would become the code of ethics for Israel and eventually the whole world, the children of Israel became impatient. Even though life was hard in Egypt, they were used to its dainties and security (Numbers 11:5). When things got hard and life required more faith on their part as individuals, they quickly went back and carved the golden calf of the security of corporate pagan faith, which allowed them more of what they wanted and required less personal sacrifice.
It is easy to criticize the Children of Israel for these doubts and rebellion against God after they witnessing such strong miracles of his power, but how do we fare today?
Everyday we are sustained by the strength of the manna of God’s grace and forgiveness; we drink freely of the abundant waters of His life empowering Living Words; we enjoy the benefits of answered prayers; we are blessed with the fellowship of like-spirited people, with whom we are able to fellowship in trust and confidence. Yet in spite of all these things, especially when things get difficult, don’t we sometimes want to give up this life of faith as we hanker and lust after the seeming ease in the ungodly lifestyle of the world of mammon (Luke 16:13)?
Waiting on God can be so difficult for many of us; we quickly forget his works. It seems so much easier to rest our faith on the ‘golden calf’ of our own efforts and carnal wisdom. Let us not do so, but learning from the mistakes of the past, let us, at the times that god appoints in our lives, patiently sit at the foot of the mount waiting for his instruction.
Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:13-14 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
When Moses was on the mount getting the instructions that would become the code of ethics for Israel and eventually the whole world, the children of Israel became impatient. Even though life was hard in Egypt, they were used to its dainties and security (Numbers 11:5). When things got hard and life required more faith on their part as individuals, they quickly went back and carved the golden calf of the security of corporate pagan faith, which allowed them more of what they wanted and required less personal sacrifice.
It is easy to criticize the Children of Israel for these doubts and rebellion against God after they witnessing such strong miracles of his power, but how do we fare today?
Everyday we are sustained by the strength of the manna of God’s grace and forgiveness; we drink freely of the abundant waters of His life empowering Living Words; we enjoy the benefits of answered prayers; we are blessed with the fellowship of like-spirited people, with whom we are able to fellowship in trust and confidence. Yet in spite of all these things, especially when things get difficult, don’t we sometimes want to give up this life of faith as we hanker and lust after the seeming ease in the ungodly lifestyle of the world of mammon (Luke 16:13)?
Waiting on God can be so difficult for many of us; we quickly forget his works. It seems so much easier to rest our faith on the ‘golden calf’ of our own efforts and carnal wisdom. Let us not do so, but learning from the mistakes of the past, let us, at the times that god appoints in our lives, patiently sit at the foot of the mount waiting for his instruction.
Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
July 30, 2006
Psalms 106:11-12 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
The Lord does nothing halfway. In the day that he delivers his children from their enemies, he executes a full deliverance and there is no doubt as to who gets the credit for it.
When God desired to take a people from among the many tribes living on the earth, a people through whom he would reveal the character of His beloved Son to the world, He chose the children of Israel. To win their trust and confidence, God first gave them a leader who was from among them, one who was familiar with the Egyptian culture in which they lived. God also performed many mighty miracles in their midst while He delivered them from their oppressors. When all was said and done, there was no doubt in the mind of the people that God was with the children of Israel, and that he performed mighty miracles for them (Exodus 14). There was no doubt either in the mind of the children of Israel as to whom to accredit their complete deliverance. It was after they witnessed all these things, that they believed His Words and sang His praises. These events were forever to be their testimony to the nations.
In the same manner, Jesus Christ lived among us in order to be subjected to everything we are subjected to (Hebrews 4:15). He became familiar with the lives we face. By performing the miracle of resurrection, Jesus delivers us from the enemy of our soul who would love to keep us in bondage. As the waters of the Red Sea closed in on the Egyptian army, it delivered Israel from its pursuing enemy, and created a separating gulf between the two. In the same way, the waters of baptism drown the enslaving power the enemy wants to exercise on our soul, and creates a separation between our old life and us.
Let us then, as the children of Israel did after their miraculous deliverance, believe his Words, sing his praises, and live lives that reflect the testimony of his power.
1 Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:11-12 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
The Lord does nothing halfway. In the day that he delivers his children from their enemies, he executes a full deliverance and there is no doubt as to who gets the credit for it.
When God desired to take a people from among the many tribes living on the earth, a people through whom he would reveal the character of His beloved Son to the world, He chose the children of Israel. To win their trust and confidence, God first gave them a leader who was from among them, one who was familiar with the Egyptian culture in which they lived. God also performed many mighty miracles in their midst while He delivered them from their oppressors. When all was said and done, there was no doubt in the mind of the people that God was with the children of Israel, and that he performed mighty miracles for them (Exodus 14). There was no doubt either in the mind of the children of Israel as to whom to accredit their complete deliverance. It was after they witnessed all these things, that they believed His Words and sang His praises. These events were forever to be their testimony to the nations.
In the same manner, Jesus Christ lived among us in order to be subjected to everything we are subjected to (Hebrews 4:15). He became familiar with the lives we face. By performing the miracle of resurrection, Jesus delivers us from the enemy of our soul who would love to keep us in bondage. As the waters of the Red Sea closed in on the Egyptian army, it delivered Israel from its pursuing enemy, and created a separating gulf between the two. In the same way, the waters of baptism drown the enslaving power the enemy wants to exercise on our soul, and creates a separation between our old life and us.
Let us then, as the children of Israel did after their miraculous deliverance, believe his Words, sing his praises, and live lives that reflect the testimony of his power.
1 Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
July 30, 2006
Psalms 106:11-12 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
The Lord does nothing halfway. In the day that he delivers his children from their enemies, he executes a full deliverance and there is no doubt as to who gets the credit for it.
When God desired to take a people from among the many tribes living on the earth, a people through whom he would reveal the character of His beloved Son to the world, He chose the children of Israel. To win their trust and confidence, God first gave them a leader who was from among them, one who was familiar with the Egyptian culture in which they lived. God also performed many mighty miracles in their midst while He delivered them from their oppressors. When all was said and done, there was no doubt in the mind of the people that God was with the children of Israel, and that he performed mighty miracles for them (Exodus 14). There was no doubt either in the mind of the children of Israel as to whom to accredit their complete deliverance. It was after they witnessed all these things, that they believed His Words and sang His praises. These events were forever to be their testimony to the nations.
In the same manner, Jesus Christ lived among us in order to be subjected to everything we are subjected to (Hebrews 4:15). He became familiar with the lives we face. By performing the miracle of resurrection, Jesus delivers us from the enemy of our soul who would love to keep us in bondage. As the waters of the Red Sea closed in on the Egyptian army, it delivered Israel from its pursuing enemy, and created a separating gulf between the two. In the same way, the waters of baptism drown the enslaving power the enemy wants to exercise on our soul, and creates a separation between our old life and us.
Let us then, as the children of Israel did after their miraculous deliverance, believe his Words, sing his praises, and live lives that reflect the testimony of his power.
1 Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:11-12 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
The Lord does nothing halfway. In the day that he delivers his children from their enemies, he executes a full deliverance and there is no doubt as to who gets the credit for it.
When God desired to take a people from among the many tribes living on the earth, a people through whom he would reveal the character of His beloved Son to the world, He chose the children of Israel. To win their trust and confidence, God first gave them a leader who was from among them, one who was familiar with the Egyptian culture in which they lived. God also performed many mighty miracles in their midst while He delivered them from their oppressors. When all was said and done, there was no doubt in the mind of the people that God was with the children of Israel, and that he performed mighty miracles for them (Exodus 14). There was no doubt either in the mind of the children of Israel as to whom to accredit their complete deliverance. It was after they witnessed all these things, that they believed His Words and sang His praises. These events were forever to be their testimony to the nations.
In the same manner, Jesus Christ lived among us in order to be subjected to everything we are subjected to (Hebrews 4:15). He became familiar with the lives we face. By performing the miracle of resurrection, Jesus delivers us from the enemy of our soul who would love to keep us in bondage. As the waters of the Red Sea closed in on the Egyptian army, it delivered Israel from its pursuing enemy, and created a separating gulf between the two. In the same way, the waters of baptism drown the enslaving power the enemy wants to exercise on our soul, and creates a separation between our old life and us.
Let us then, as the children of Israel did after their miraculous deliverance, believe his Words, sing his praises, and live lives that reflect the testimony of his power.
1 Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
July 29, 2006
Psalms 106:10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
There is the kind of hate that we receive from people because of their vindictive spirit. We have wronged them and they are hurt, because they do not know how to suffer themselves to be defrauded, they do not know how to take wrong (1 Corinthians 6:7).
There is also the hate of people who are just plain hateful. They are self-righteous, contentious, and they do not like anything that does not project their personal views and opinions. This is close to the hate of religious people who in their zealous efforts to obey the Lord’s injunction to hate evil (Psalms 97:10), look at people in a critical way, hating them for their weaknesses instead of hating the sin within them and loving them with the love of Jesus Christ who sees beyond our weaknesses.
There is also political and ethnic hatred where we are hated because we belong to a different race or culture; where people persecute and set us aside because we are not part of their cultural clique. We see this happen throughout world history, a history that is rich in religious and cultural wars, and even cases of ethnic cleansing. Christian kids are also targeted by the “cool cats” of this generation, put aside as “uncool” because they do not want to yield to evil peer pressure.
On the other hand, the child of God, regardless of his cultural or social background, from the moment he is saved, incurs the hate of the very enemy of God. From the moment we invite Jesus to live in us, we represent everything Satan hates. From birth control to abortion, war, car accidents, ethnic cleansing, bad company, the devil will use everything in his arsenal of evil to physically kill as many Christians as he can, or even more so, killing them spiritually by rendering them useless by leading them to live a life in compromise of their Christian values.
We need to be aware of the devices of the evil one who as a roaring lion walks about seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8), but most of all we need to be aware of the One who from the beginning redeems us from the hands of him that hates us.
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
There is the kind of hate that we receive from people because of their vindictive spirit. We have wronged them and they are hurt, because they do not know how to suffer themselves to be defrauded, they do not know how to take wrong (1 Corinthians 6:7).
There is also the hate of people who are just plain hateful. They are self-righteous, contentious, and they do not like anything that does not project their personal views and opinions. This is close to the hate of religious people who in their zealous efforts to obey the Lord’s injunction to hate evil (Psalms 97:10), look at people in a critical way, hating them for their weaknesses instead of hating the sin within them and loving them with the love of Jesus Christ who sees beyond our weaknesses.
There is also political and ethnic hatred where we are hated because we belong to a different race or culture; where people persecute and set us aside because we are not part of their cultural clique. We see this happen throughout world history, a history that is rich in religious and cultural wars, and even cases of ethnic cleansing. Christian kids are also targeted by the “cool cats” of this generation, put aside as “uncool” because they do not want to yield to evil peer pressure.
On the other hand, the child of God, regardless of his cultural or social background, from the moment he is saved, incurs the hate of the very enemy of God. From the moment we invite Jesus to live in us, we represent everything Satan hates. From birth control to abortion, war, car accidents, ethnic cleansing, bad company, the devil will use everything in his arsenal of evil to physically kill as many Christians as he can, or even more so, killing them spiritually by rendering them useless by leading them to live a life in compromise of their Christian values.
We need to be aware of the devices of the evil one who as a roaring lion walks about seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8), but most of all we need to be aware of the One who from the beginning redeems us from the hands of him that hates us.
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotion
July 28, 2006
Psalms 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
When the children sat on the shore of Nuweibi beach on the Eastern arm of the red Sea, they were not going to the Promised Land. To go to Canaan from Goshen, they did not need to cross the sea. On their way to Sinai, in Arabia (Galatians 4:25), they were going to do what Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had to do before they could inherit the promises of God. The Children of Israel were coming out their familiar world and surroundings, to go to a place where they could hear God and God alone, in a position of total surrender and dependence. God does not take second place, nor even does He take His rank among the myriad of possibilities that surround us. When He wants to bless us, He eliminates all the other ‘competitors’; He wants to be the One and the only One. God led the Children of Israel on that path because he wanted them to cut their bridges behind them; to put the sea, the desert and the possibility of return between them and Egypt (Exodus 13:17-18). On their way to that Mountain in the land of Median, they were going to hear from God.
When we are on our way to hear from Him, God will hear the news from afar off that His child is coming to Him. He will anxiously wait on the top of the nearest hill expecting at any time to see the silhouette of His beloved child. God will send His armies to escort the returning prodigal. They will stand between His son and his pursuing enemy; they will be light to show him the way and blindness to his enemies (Exodus 14:19-20); they will make for him a pathway through the sea to show him the way; they will take off the wheels from the chariot of his pursuers and drown them into the sea (Exodus 14:25). God will also send His servants ahead in the wilderness to provide food and water for His beloved child (Exodus 16:15; 17:6).
There are times in our lives when God seems to let everything fail around us; times when we are back to square one, back to the drawing board of listening to Him and trying to find His will. Let us not fear these times. Let us not fear loosing control of our own destiny; let us not fear God getting into the ‘driver’s seat’ of our lives telling us to take a nap in the back of the car and let Him drive. Rather let us enjoy being carried on the wings of the wind of His will in utter dependence to Him. Patiently sit at the foot of the Mount, waiting for His Word (let us not, in our impatience carve the golden calf of our own will (Exodus 32:1-4)). If during these times we wait for Him, He will give us the Word that will change and redirect our lives in the way we should live to enjoy the Land of His Promises.
Heb 6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Psalms 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
When the children sat on the shore of Nuweibi beach on the Eastern arm of the red Sea, they were not going to the Promised Land. To go to Canaan from Goshen, they did not need to cross the sea. On their way to Sinai, in Arabia (Galatians 4:25), they were going to do what Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had to do before they could inherit the promises of God. The Children of Israel were coming out their familiar world and surroundings, to go to a place where they could hear God and God alone, in a position of total surrender and dependence. God does not take second place, nor even does He take His rank among the myriad of possibilities that surround us. When He wants to bless us, He eliminates all the other ‘competitors’; He wants to be the One and the only One. God led the Children of Israel on that path because he wanted them to cut their bridges behind them; to put the sea, the desert and the possibility of return between them and Egypt (Exodus 13:17-18). On their way to that Mountain in the land of Median, they were going to hear from God.
When we are on our way to hear from Him, God will hear the news from afar off that His child is coming to Him. He will anxiously wait on the top of the nearest hill expecting at any time to see the silhouette of His beloved child. God will send His armies to escort the returning prodigal. They will stand between His son and his pursuing enemy; they will be light to show him the way and blindness to his enemies (Exodus 14:19-20); they will make for him a pathway through the sea to show him the way; they will take off the wheels from the chariot of his pursuers and drown them into the sea (Exodus 14:25). God will also send His servants ahead in the wilderness to provide food and water for His beloved child (Exodus 16:15; 17:6).
There are times in our lives when God seems to let everything fail around us; times when we are back to square one, back to the drawing board of listening to Him and trying to find His will. Let us not fear these times. Let us not fear loosing control of our own destiny; let us not fear God getting into the ‘driver’s seat’ of our lives telling us to take a nap in the back of the car and let Him drive. Rather let us enjoy being carried on the wings of the wind of His will in utter dependence to Him. Patiently sit at the foot of the Mount, waiting for His Word (let us not, in our impatience carve the golden calf of our own will (Exodus 32:1-4)). If during these times we wait for Him, He will give us the Word that will change and redirect our lives in the way we should live to enjoy the Land of His Promises.
Heb 6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Daily Devotion
July 27, 2006
Psalms 106:7-8 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. (8) Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
It is not until children grow up and have a turn in the role of parenthood that they are able to truly appreciate what their parents have done for them. We, as parents, know the anguish, tears, desperate prayers and long night watches spent at the bedside of a sick child. We are accustomed with the worries and concerns that plague us as our dear one is suddenly faced with the brand new issues of teenage hood. We are familiar with the dilemma of not being able to afford to give a child something very important to them, and have been faced with the deep sacrifices required to secure their future. Most of all, when all is said and done, we also know the scorn, criticism and ungratefulness of the young ‘buck’ who like the proverbial prodigal son, proudly leaves the family den to show us ‘how it should be done’. He then squanders our love and care on what does not profit, only to come back years later with his tail between his legs’ begging for cash to get him out of a ‘pickle’ and to get a chance to a new start. Taking the issue down one more knot, only a parent, no matter what the child has done, will continue to love, care, show concern and mercy to a child, even through a microphone behind the glass of a prison’s visiting room, or during visits at a recovery center.
When the prodigal son returned home, his father told the older son, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine” (Luke 15:31). The older brother was now the sole inheritor of the father’s wealth. The younger brother had lost all except one thing: the love of his Father; he was still welcome at the father’s table, as a son. This story is the analogy that Jesus gave to describe God’s relationship with us, to show us the love He has for us, as a parent.
Not only He loves us, but also He seems to care about His sample to us as a parent. When a parent abandons his child just because he is bad, this parent is looked down upon. So God, that he might make his mighty power to be known (Psalms 106:8) saves us. That is the miracle of His loving grace and power that He saves us in spite of us!
1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:7-8 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. (8) Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
It is not until children grow up and have a turn in the role of parenthood that they are able to truly appreciate what their parents have done for them. We, as parents, know the anguish, tears, desperate prayers and long night watches spent at the bedside of a sick child. We are accustomed with the worries and concerns that plague us as our dear one is suddenly faced with the brand new issues of teenage hood. We are familiar with the dilemma of not being able to afford to give a child something very important to them, and have been faced with the deep sacrifices required to secure their future. Most of all, when all is said and done, we also know the scorn, criticism and ungratefulness of the young ‘buck’ who like the proverbial prodigal son, proudly leaves the family den to show us ‘how it should be done’. He then squanders our love and care on what does not profit, only to come back years later with his tail between his legs’ begging for cash to get him out of a ‘pickle’ and to get a chance to a new start. Taking the issue down one more knot, only a parent, no matter what the child has done, will continue to love, care, show concern and mercy to a child, even through a microphone behind the glass of a prison’s visiting room, or during visits at a recovery center.
When the prodigal son returned home, his father told the older son, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine” (Luke 15:31). The older brother was now the sole inheritor of the father’s wealth. The younger brother had lost all except one thing: the love of his Father; he was still welcome at the father’s table, as a son. This story is the analogy that Jesus gave to describe God’s relationship with us, to show us the love He has for us, as a parent.
Not only He loves us, but also He seems to care about His sample to us as a parent. When a parent abandons his child just because he is bad, this parent is looked down upon. So God, that he might make his mighty power to be known (Psalms 106:8) saves us. That is the miracle of His loving grace and power that He saves us in spite of us!
1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Daily Devotion
July 26, 2006
Psalms 106:6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
It is God who rules over the kingdoms of man, and He gives it to whomsoever He will (Daniel 4:25). It is God who ordains kings and rulers; He puts one up, takes down another, and He often gives people the type of government they deserve. Just like when we have a large family, we do not approach each of our children in the same manner. We may ‘rule’ over the one who is unruly, while being able to reason with the one who is reasonable. Unruly people need a strong type of government to keep them corralled, while a milder natured people can do with a softer rule (1 timothy 1:9).
A nation is blessed or punished according to the acts of its king. When a king is godly, makes wise choices according to God’s Spirit, God blesses the nation with increase, wisdom, the favor of its neighbors, internal peace, security and an overall sense of growth towards righteousness and virtue. This principle has often given rise to new empires from lessons found in the decadent ashes of their indulgent wicked predecessors; but when this new empire also backslides from the virtue that earned God’s blessing, in turn, it also becomes the prey of its more righteous neighbor.
This generation is proud and does not like to admit to faults and sins. It justifies itself to its own conscience with ‘conditions’, and ‘syndromes’, but healing and forgiveness can only come after full admission of error. David, a man of God not unaffected by human passions, knew how to eventually humble himself before God and endorse not just his own sins, but also the sins of his ancestors, and that of the nation. Like Moses, he was a true mediator of the people, and God blessed the country when under his rule.
Oh, that God may give us kings, rulers who refuse to pride themselves on the arm of the flesh; who know not only to seek God about their own sin, but to also acknowledge the sins of their fathers and of their nation; kings who have the spirit of atonement for their people, who seek God’s blessing for them even at their own hurt; then and only then, will we again draw God’s blessing upon our land.
When the world will have come to the end of its own unraveling, when its economy, politics and diplomacy will arrive at the impasse of all impasses, when it will have pushed itself into a corner, Jesus Christ, the King of Glory who atones for the sins of all nations, will make a triumphal entry on the world scene (Revelations 19:11). He will show of us how we have sinned in our pride show us the example of a true king.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
It is God who rules over the kingdoms of man, and He gives it to whomsoever He will (Daniel 4:25). It is God who ordains kings and rulers; He puts one up, takes down another, and He often gives people the type of government they deserve. Just like when we have a large family, we do not approach each of our children in the same manner. We may ‘rule’ over the one who is unruly, while being able to reason with the one who is reasonable. Unruly people need a strong type of government to keep them corralled, while a milder natured people can do with a softer rule (1 timothy 1:9).
A nation is blessed or punished according to the acts of its king. When a king is godly, makes wise choices according to God’s Spirit, God blesses the nation with increase, wisdom, the favor of its neighbors, internal peace, security and an overall sense of growth towards righteousness and virtue. This principle has often given rise to new empires from lessons found in the decadent ashes of their indulgent wicked predecessors; but when this new empire also backslides from the virtue that earned God’s blessing, in turn, it also becomes the prey of its more righteous neighbor.
This generation is proud and does not like to admit to faults and sins. It justifies itself to its own conscience with ‘conditions’, and ‘syndromes’, but healing and forgiveness can only come after full admission of error. David, a man of God not unaffected by human passions, knew how to eventually humble himself before God and endorse not just his own sins, but also the sins of his ancestors, and that of the nation. Like Moses, he was a true mediator of the people, and God blessed the country when under his rule.
Oh, that God may give us kings, rulers who refuse to pride themselves on the arm of the flesh; who know not only to seek God about their own sin, but to also acknowledge the sins of their fathers and of their nation; kings who have the spirit of atonement for their people, who seek God’s blessing for them even at their own hurt; then and only then, will we again draw God’s blessing upon our land.
When the world will have come to the end of its own unraveling, when its economy, politics and diplomacy will arrive at the impasse of all impasses, when it will have pushed itself into a corner, Jesus Christ, the King of Glory who atones for the sins of all nations, will make a triumphal entry on the world scene (Revelations 19:11). He will show of us how we have sinned in our pride show us the example of a true king.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Daily Devotion
July 25, 2006
Psalms 106:5 That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
This expression of longing is introduced to us by David’s supplication for salvation in the preceding verse: Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation. David calls salvation, the favour that God bears to His people.
Our lives are often complicated; it is sometimes hard to make sense of things. Many of us grope in such darkness that we do not even see even one full step ahead of us. We do not understand the injustices, the sicknesses, the sufferings, the conflicts between people and between countries where more often than not, innocent young soldiers and civilians pay the price of political debacle and confusion.
Let us now for an instant turn our eyes and look to the promises that David looked forward to. He was hungry for salvation because he wanted to see the good of God’s chosen; he wanted to rejoice in the gladness of the nation of God, be a partaker of the glory with God’s inheritance. David knew that God’s promises to His people would first be fulfilled through the coming Messiah; and that through salvation, he would see goodness and rejoicing with all of God’s people throughout the earth.
So no matter how dark the night for the child of God in this realm, we have the promise of a glorious dawn at the edge of eternity; a time when the promises made to the fathers will be fulfilled in the children; the time when Jesus Christ will reign supreme. He will then teach each of us His Words that tell us how the world should have been run and how to solve problems and differences maturely. He will also teach us that wealth is in the ability to give without expecting returns, that power is the ability to submit even to one’s own hurt, and that God’s love is the motivating principle by which all of creation was designed (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25).
In the meantime, God has given us an advance on these things: He gave us the earnest of the spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22); so even if today we have very little control in the way the world is being run, we can already look to the Spirit of God to bring peace to our lives and to that of those around us.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Jo 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:5 That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
This expression of longing is introduced to us by David’s supplication for salvation in the preceding verse: Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation. David calls salvation, the favour that God bears to His people.
Our lives are often complicated; it is sometimes hard to make sense of things. Many of us grope in such darkness that we do not even see even one full step ahead of us. We do not understand the injustices, the sicknesses, the sufferings, the conflicts between people and between countries where more often than not, innocent young soldiers and civilians pay the price of political debacle and confusion.
Let us now for an instant turn our eyes and look to the promises that David looked forward to. He was hungry for salvation because he wanted to see the good of God’s chosen; he wanted to rejoice in the gladness of the nation of God, be a partaker of the glory with God’s inheritance. David knew that God’s promises to His people would first be fulfilled through the coming Messiah; and that through salvation, he would see goodness and rejoicing with all of God’s people throughout the earth.
So no matter how dark the night for the child of God in this realm, we have the promise of a glorious dawn at the edge of eternity; a time when the promises made to the fathers will be fulfilled in the children; the time when Jesus Christ will reign supreme. He will then teach each of us His Words that tell us how the world should have been run and how to solve problems and differences maturely. He will also teach us that wealth is in the ability to give without expecting returns, that power is the ability to submit even to one’s own hurt, and that God’s love is the motivating principle by which all of creation was designed (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25).
In the meantime, God has given us an advance on these things: He gave us the earnest of the spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22); so even if today we have very little control in the way the world is being run, we can already look to the Spirit of God to bring peace to our lives and to that of those around us.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Jo 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Daily Devotion
July 23, 2006
Psalms 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
What praise, what beatitude, what truth!
At the end of the long road of life, we take stock of our existence. If we are honest in our assessment, we see that whenever we followed God, kept His judgments and did righteousness we were blessed; and that whenever we stubbornly clung to our own ways pushing to fulfill our desires we created our own doom. We also realize that if we had done things God’s way all the time, we would have been blessed all the time; but we didn’t. We didn’t because our human nature is such that it fights against the ways of God (Romans 7:18-23).
What then? If the very nature of which I am made keeps me from the very blessedness God intended for me, what good is it for me? Is the above scripture the teasing of a God who satirically enjoys setting before His children ‘cookies’ that are impossible to reach? Maybe this statement is to blame for the present attitude of a world who decided to indulge in pleasures today because ‘tomorrow we die’. After all, what good is it to put forth the effort if it is impossible?
Yea, my friend, it is impossible; but the things which are impossible with men are possible with God (Luk 18:27); the end of man’s strength, is the beginning of God’s opportunity. In this prophetic statement, David saw the living Christ, the one who would take upon Himself the sin of the world, the embodiment of the perpetual levitical atonment blood of sacrifice, the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
How many of us whose hearts have been sprinkled (Exodus 12:7) by the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ still, subconsciously, define righteousness through our own ‘works’ and attitudes? A lifetime may not be enough for us to grasp the fullness of His mercy.
Don’t we remember what Jesus taught us, that it is the altar that sanctifies the gift, not the gift the altar (Matthew 23:19). Jesus is the altar, the lamb and the shed blood. Let us now lay ourselves on the altar of His person, to be healed by His broken body (Luke 22:19) and by His stripes of righteousness (Isaiah 53:5); to be forgiven by His shed blood of atonement (Matthew 26:28). Let us give up all personal attempts at righteousness, knowing that His blood, and His blood alone is able to make us walk in God’s judgment, doing His righteousness all the time.
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
What praise, what beatitude, what truth!
At the end of the long road of life, we take stock of our existence. If we are honest in our assessment, we see that whenever we followed God, kept His judgments and did righteousness we were blessed; and that whenever we stubbornly clung to our own ways pushing to fulfill our desires we created our own doom. We also realize that if we had done things God’s way all the time, we would have been blessed all the time; but we didn’t. We didn’t because our human nature is such that it fights against the ways of God (Romans 7:18-23).
What then? If the very nature of which I am made keeps me from the very blessedness God intended for me, what good is it for me? Is the above scripture the teasing of a God who satirically enjoys setting before His children ‘cookies’ that are impossible to reach? Maybe this statement is to blame for the present attitude of a world who decided to indulge in pleasures today because ‘tomorrow we die’. After all, what good is it to put forth the effort if it is impossible?
Yea, my friend, it is impossible; but the things which are impossible with men are possible with God (Luk 18:27); the end of man’s strength, is the beginning of God’s opportunity. In this prophetic statement, David saw the living Christ, the one who would take upon Himself the sin of the world, the embodiment of the perpetual levitical atonment blood of sacrifice, the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
How many of us whose hearts have been sprinkled (Exodus 12:7) by the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ still, subconsciously, define righteousness through our own ‘works’ and attitudes? A lifetime may not be enough for us to grasp the fullness of His mercy.
Don’t we remember what Jesus taught us, that it is the altar that sanctifies the gift, not the gift the altar (Matthew 23:19). Jesus is the altar, the lamb and the shed blood. Let us now lay ourselves on the altar of His person, to be healed by His broken body (Luke 22:19) and by His stripes of righteousness (Isaiah 53:5); to be forgiven by His shed blood of atonement (Matthew 26:28). Let us give up all personal attempts at righteousness, knowing that His blood, and His blood alone is able to make us walk in God’s judgment, doing His righteousness all the time.
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Daily Devotion
July 22, 2006
Psalms 106:1-2 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?
King David ordered the liturgy of the Temple worship; his songs were, and are still used for praise in Jewish worship. This sentence is written in the imperative. This is a command for the whole congregation to praise the Lord. It is not only the duty of the priests and choirs to praise the Lord but the whole congregation was probed to worship God and acknowledge the greatness of His mighty acts.
In any text, book, movie, story, documentary, it is easy to remain at the surface of the story line, and miss the essentials of the message. When talking about God’s mighty acts, we may imagine the creation of the universe in six days (Genesis 1); the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21); people strengthened, healed, resurrected (Hebrews 11), and the coming down of the final new Jerusalem (Revelations 21-22).; but what are these mighty acts that David conveys in his song of praise to the Lord?
The song starts and ends with Praise ye the Lord, the English translation for the Hebrew praise: Hallelujah. The space between the two praises is filled with the mournful accounts of Israel’s willful disobediences to God. This tells us of God’s mercy towards His flock, His people, His children, His wife, and His church even in spite of their rebellious defiance. This song reminds us that even though the fathers have sinned, the children inherit the promise. This song assures us that God’s promises are not conditional, that like the one made to Abraham (Genesis 15:4-6), they hold their weight in gold; that they will be fulfilled, no matter what you or I can do.
These are the unutterable mighty acts of God for who can equate with His patience, with the mercy He shows? We are so quick to go after revenge, justice and retaliation, but God, while never compromising righteousness, finds a way, even at His own cost, to fulfill His promises of mercy. May Jesus Christ, the Son of God through whom the promises are fulfilled be praised forever.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
Psalms 106:1-2 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?
King David ordered the liturgy of the Temple worship; his songs were, and are still used for praise in Jewish worship. This sentence is written in the imperative. This is a command for the whole congregation to praise the Lord. It is not only the duty of the priests and choirs to praise the Lord but the whole congregation was probed to worship God and acknowledge the greatness of His mighty acts.
In any text, book, movie, story, documentary, it is easy to remain at the surface of the story line, and miss the essentials of the message. When talking about God’s mighty acts, we may imagine the creation of the universe in six days (Genesis 1); the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21); people strengthened, healed, resurrected (Hebrews 11), and the coming down of the final new Jerusalem (Revelations 21-22).; but what are these mighty acts that David conveys in his song of praise to the Lord?
The song starts and ends with Praise ye the Lord, the English translation for the Hebrew praise: Hallelujah. The space between the two praises is filled with the mournful accounts of Israel’s willful disobediences to God. This tells us of God’s mercy towards His flock, His people, His children, His wife, and His church even in spite of their rebellious defiance. This song reminds us that even though the fathers have sinned, the children inherit the promise. This song assures us that God’s promises are not conditional, that like the one made to Abraham (Genesis 15:4-6), they hold their weight in gold; that they will be fulfilled, no matter what you or I can do.
These are the unutterable mighty acts of God for who can equate with His patience, with the mercy He shows? We are so quick to go after revenge, justice and retaliation, but God, while never compromising righteousness, finds a way, even at His own cost, to fulfill His promises of mercy. May Jesus Christ, the Son of God through whom the promises are fulfilled be praised forever.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
htt\p://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/
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