Your Word is a Lamp....

 Malachi 2:4–6 ESV 4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. (Referring to the whole tribe of Levi - the ministers and keepers of God’s House) Proverbs 9:10 Father, is this not also our commission?…Is this not also how we should appear to the world…how you desire us to be. That we would walk before you in holiness Lord…bringing the Gospel of Salvation in truth, love and the fear of the Lord…that the world would see and know that you are holy. For how will they know unless we are telling them…how will they see unless we are showing them. Romans 10:15-15 #2chronicles714

 #biblestudy #psalmsofdavid Psalm 143  Hear my prayer, O Lord;     give ear to my pleas for mercy!     In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! vs.2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,     for no one living is righteous before you. ***Question:  What does David have in common with a rebel hanging on a cross? (Luke 23:39-43) Answer: ~Both are aware of their own sin (both are rebels against God…as are all of us, before the Cross); ~Both are asking God for something they absolutely do not deserve and by no means could ever earn - Mercy. This is the foundation of true Salvation.  It is from this place that true gratitude is birthed and selflessness begins to arise.*** vs.3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;     he has crushed my life to the ground;     he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. vs.4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;     my heart within me is appalled. ***These are the wages of sin - for all humanity;  And yet…Psalm 16:8-11*** vs.5 I remem

 Acts 19:8–12 8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.  10 This continued for two years, so that… All the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. 11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. When we lay ahold of the great commission, will God not surely watch over His Word to perform it? (Jeremiah 1:12) For His Word (John 1:1,14; Revelation 19:13) has a Name - that which is above all others: In Hebrew it is Yeshua ; In Greek it is Jesus; It’s meaning:   “The Lord is Salvation” These signs are n

 #biblestudy #psalmsofdavid A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. Psalm 142 With my voice I cry out to the Lord;     with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. vs.2 I pour out my complaint before him;     I tell my trouble before him. **It is so important that in times of hardship, we trust the Lord enough to let him in. Just like Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:9-20) David will not hide his anguish, but will spread his complaint out right in front of the Lord (Psalm 139:7-12)*** vs.3 When my spirit faints within me,     you know my way! (Psalm 139:1-6) In the path where I walk     they have hidden a trap for me. ***See Psalm 23:4-6 ….years later David will more fully comprehend the goodness and faithfulness of God: Not just that He was able to save him from Saul…but that HE IS ABLE to Save completely!… And David will acknowledge this, in writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in one of the most famous Psalms of them all - Psalm 23.*** But for now… vs.4 Look to the ri

 #psalmsofdavid Psalm 141 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!     Give ear to my voice when I call to you! ***An urgent cry for deliverance, from a perverse and corrupt generation (Acts2:40; Revelation 18). David knows only too well the seductive power of sin.*** vs.2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,     and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! ***The evening Sacrifice (Luke 23:44-46): A beautiful picture of Jesus Christ on the cross…and the incense that arose from his offering (Ephesians 5:2).*** vs.3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;     keep watch over the door of my lips! ***“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.” In James ch. 3 we are given some very accurate and effective examples of the power of the tongue…to either open a door to sin…or close it. (Read James 3:1-11)*** vs.4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,     to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity,     and let me

 #biblestudy #psalmsofdavid To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Psalm 140 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;     preserve me from violent men, 2 who plan evil things in their heart     and stir up wars continually. 3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,     and under their lips is the venom of asps.  ***David recognizes: i) God’s pending judgment of the wicked; ii) His provision, through his Sacrifice✝️  (Genesis 3:15; 22:14) iii) The need to hide in Him (Revelation 18:1-4)  Because the evil has become so great.*** Selah 4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;     preserve me from violent men,     who have planned to trip up my feet. (Matthew 6:13) 5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,     and with cords they have spread a net;     beside the way they have set snares for me.  ***It will be this way in the tribulation for the Elect - (predominately referring to the Jew, but also for any believer on the earth at this time) until the Lord Himself rides out from

 #biblestudy Psalm 139 Part 3 of 3 Continued from previous post…David also sees himself as a part of this…👇 19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!     O men of blood, depart from me! 20 They speak against you with malicious intent;     your enemies take your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?     And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with complete hatred;     I count them my enemies. (Is David hateful. Biblical evidence tells us no. David’s zeal for  ONLY God, is as yet incomplete, without the perfect Law of Love that will come through the Cross. I believe he is looking more at the source…the antichrist system that these people represent- See Revelation 9:20-21) ***This can be hard to read, but shows us exactly why The Lord has chosen David to rule over the City of God, in Ezekiel 37:24-25.  See also  Ezekiel 34:23-24; Revelation 20:1-6  At the renewal of all things (Matt19:28) following the defeat of Antichrist, this dwelling

 #biblestudy Part 2 of 3 Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Genesis 1:26-27;  Psalm 100:3  Wonderful are your works;     my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,     intricately woven in the depths of the earth. (Another term used for a mother’s womb) 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,     the days that were formed for me,     when as yet there was none of them. ***David, in his true prophetic style, is seeing himself - and humanity - not as the helpless sinner he describes in his 51st Psalm (vs5), but through the eyes of Redemption…born again through the Spirit of God - A New Creation in Christ Jesus*** 1Peter 1:23 2Corinthians 5:17 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!     How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the san

 #biblestudy Part 1 of 3 Psalm 139 (of David) O Lord, you have searched me and known me! (“You know how far fallen into sin we are, Lord”) 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;     you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down     and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue     behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Wait up…! He sees my thoughts from afar? See: Genesis 6:5;  Psalm 51:5;  Matthew 5:21-22;  Romans 3:10-12 ***This is why David is looking to God for Salvation ✝️ We cannot hide our fallen state from You Lord… And yet… 5 You hem me in, behind and before,     and lay your hand upon me.  ***Read Psalm 23…Behold, the Goodness & Mercy of the Lord*** 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;     it is high; I cannot attain it.        ***Because it is distant…it is the Cross*** (Hebrews 11:13-16) 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?     Or where shall I flee from your presence? Genesis 3:7-10 (Jeremiah 23:

 Apologetics 101  Part 2 The Trinity- This word is not in the Bible but it is a word we use to describe God, based on the evidence of the Scripture itself. From Latin ‘Trinus’ meaning ‘threefold’. (Three entwined together as One) NOT three separate gods in one god! But… “Within the one being, there exists co-equally 3 persons.” (James White)  They are united and they are equal. If they were not equal, how could they be one? Look at the diagram: The Father is not the Spirit; The Spirit is not The Son; The Son is not The Father ALL ARE GOD                                 ~~~~~~~~~~ To understand Him as three, we must first know Him as one So we go to the evidence of Scripture… Isaiah ch. 43:10; ch. 44:6; ch. 45:21 Deuteronomy  6:4 - Here God declares to Israel...(his own people...a special nation dedicated to Him) that He is not like the gods of other nations - He is One God!                                 ~~~~~~~~~~ So who are these persons?... I) The Father 1Peter1:2 Matthew 6:3-4    

 #FastForFamily A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Psalm 127 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Jeremiah 22:13 Zechariah 4:1-7   Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. ***”The Jew would ask, why is the house being built, if not for family?  …And why are the watchmen protecting the city, if not for the families in it?” (Boice) I believe this is also how the Body of Christ is meant to look*** vs2  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Matthew 6:19-34 ***Because, to the Jew there was (and is) no greater heritage given by God, to a man, than his family. Everything else was supposed to take lower priority.*** 3  Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. ***A warning to Israel not to offer their children (a gift from The LORD) up to moloch…as was the custom of surrounding nations (Lev18:21). And for us tod

 Apologetics 101 Part 1 This is to clarify…against some of the cultish and new age heresy that is trying to enter the Church:  This is what the Bible says.  Some of the issues posed here are common beliefs among cults. I have included some - but not all - relevant scriptures (there are so many). If anyone has any other appropriate scriptures please put them in the comments and I will add them to the post.  Is God - The Lord, the Only God? Yes:  Isaiah ch. 43:10; 44:6;  45:21 Did God have a beginning? No:  Genesis 1:1-4 tells us that God is outside of time and is the Creator of time. Also Psalm 90:2; Job 38:4-7; Isaiah 40:28; Hebrews 7:3 Was God a man before he was God? No: Psalm 90:2; Revelation 1:8  ***God created man (Genesis 1:26-27). He created all life (Acts17:26); No man can create life…nor can any man  progress to becoming God (See Revelation ch 21)*** Is man a god? No  Genesis 2:7 (Made in His image and His likeness…yet we are humanity…not deity…nor can we progress to such) Did

Acts14:8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. Romans 10: 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. As “he listened to Paul teaching the Word of God”…the result was FAITH - in the Name and person of Jesus Christ… which resulted in healing. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, The Same God who gave Paul the Faith to preach the Word, also gave this man the Faith to receive it: All the Glory comes from Him…and all goes back to Him.  Ephesians 2:9-10 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Je

Context: Nehemiah ch 8…Coming home from exile! Nehemiah 8:1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before  the Water Gate. And they told  Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the  Lord  had commanded Israel.  (Deut.11-18-21; Joshua1:8) ***True & False Unity The only Place of true and Godly unity, is under the only source of truth- the Word of God: Just as in the Protestant Reformation of 1517, it must be God’s Holy Word (and nothing else) that unites us; otherwise our unity is founded upon a deception, and will bring about destruction (See Genesis 11:1-9) ***   2  So Ezra the priest  brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard,  on the first day of the seventh month.  3  And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Bo

Stepping into Gethsemane: -  Where Messiah’s greatest moment of temptation will become the most crucial moment of history…where the first drops of sacrificial blood for the sins of the entire world, will be spilled: Luke 22:                                                                             40  And when he came to  the place, he said to them,  “ Pray  that   you   may   not   enter   into   temptation .”        41  And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and  knelt down and prayed,                            42  saying,  “ Father ,  if   you   are   willing ,  remove   this   cup   from   me .  Nevertheless ,  not   my   will ,  but   yours ,  be   done .”                                                                              43  And there appeared to him  an angel from heaven, strengthening him.                                           44  And  being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.