(Romans 11:33-36)
How great are God's riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways? As the scripture says,
Who knows the mind of the Lord?
Who is able to give him advice?
Who has ever given him anything,
so that he had to pay it back?"
For all things were created by him, and all things exist through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Friday, September 6, 2013
Ezra's Praise Of God
(Nehemiah 9:5-15)
The following Levites gave a call to worship:
Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah,
Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said:
"Stand up and praise the Lord your God;
praise him forever and ever!
Let everyone praise his glorious name,
although no human praise is great enough."
And then the people of Israel prayed this prayer;
'You Lord, you alone are Lord;
you made the heavens and the stars of the sky.
You made land and sea and everything in them;
you gave life to all.
The heavenly powers bow down and worship you.
You, Lord God, chose Abram
and led him out of Ur in Babylonia;
you changed his name to Abraham.
You found that he was faithful to you,
and you made a covenant with him.
You promised to give him the land of Canaanites,
the land of Hittites and Amorites,
the land of Perizzites, Jebusites, Girgashites,
to be a land where his descendants would live.
You kept your promise, because you are faithful.
"You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt;
you heard their call for help at the Red Sea.
You worked amazing miracles against the king,
against his officials and the people of his land,
because you knew how they oppressed your people.
You won then the fame you still have today.
Through the sea you made a path for your people
and led them through on dry ground.
Those who pursued them drowned in deep water,
as a stone sinks in the raging sea.
With a cloud you led them in daytime,
and at night you lighted their way with fire.
At Mount Sinai you came down from heaven;
you spoke to your people and gave them good laws
and sound teachings.
You taught them to keep your Sabbath holy,
and through your servant Moses you gave them your laws.
"When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven,
and water from a rock when they were thirsty.
You told them to take control of the land
which you had promised to give them."
The following Levites gave a call to worship:
Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah,
Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said:
"Stand up and praise the Lord your God;
praise him forever and ever!
Let everyone praise his glorious name,
although no human praise is great enough."
And then the people of Israel prayed this prayer;
'You Lord, you alone are Lord;
you made the heavens and the stars of the sky.
You made land and sea and everything in them;
you gave life to all.
The heavenly powers bow down and worship you.
You, Lord God, chose Abram
and led him out of Ur in Babylonia;
you changed his name to Abraham.
You found that he was faithful to you,
and you made a covenant with him.
You promised to give him the land of Canaanites,
the land of Hittites and Amorites,
the land of Perizzites, Jebusites, Girgashites,
to be a land where his descendants would live.
You kept your promise, because you are faithful.
"You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt;
you heard their call for help at the Red Sea.
You worked amazing miracles against the king,
against his officials and the people of his land,
because you knew how they oppressed your people.
You won then the fame you still have today.
Through the sea you made a path for your people
and led them through on dry ground.
Those who pursued them drowned in deep water,
as a stone sinks in the raging sea.
With a cloud you led them in daytime,
and at night you lighted their way with fire.
At Mount Sinai you came down from heaven;
you spoke to your people and gave them good laws
and sound teachings.
You taught them to keep your Sabbath holy,
and through your servant Moses you gave them your laws.
"When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven,
and water from a rock when they were thirsty.
You told them to take control of the land
which you had promised to give them."
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Solomon's Praise Of God
(2 Chronicles 7:1-5)
When King Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and burned up the sacrifices that had been offered, and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence filled the Temple. Because the Temple was full of the dazzling light, the priests could not enter it. When the people of Israel saw the fire fall down from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love. Then Solomon and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. He sacrificed 22,000 heads of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so he and all the people dedicated the Temple.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
73.4 Prayer For Justice
(Psalm 10)
Why are you so far away, O Lord?
Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?
The wicked are proud and persecute the poor;
catch them in the traps they have made.
The wicked man is proud of his evil desires;
the greedy man curses and rejects the Lord.
A wicked does not care about the Lord;
in his pride he thinks that God doesn't matter.
A wicked man succeeds in everything.
He cannot understand God's judgments;
he sneers at his enemies.
He says to himself, " I will never fail;
I will never be in trouble."
His speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats;
he is quick to speak hateful, evil words.
He hides himself in the villages,
waiting to murder innocent people,
He spies on his helpless victims;
he waits in his hiding place like a lion.
He lies in wait for the poor;
he catches them in his trap and drags them away.
The helpless victims lie crushed;
brute strength has defeated them.
The wicked man says to himself, "God doesn't care!
He has closed his eyes and will never see me!"
O Lord, punish those wicked men!
Remember those who are suffering!
How can a wicked man despise God
and say to himself, "He will not punish me"?
But you do see; you take notice of trouble
and suffering and are always ready to help.
The helpless man commits himself to you;
you have always helped the needy.
Break the power of wicked and evil men;
punish them for the wrong they have done
until they do it no more.
The Lord is king forever and ever.
Those who worship other gods
will vanish from his land.
You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly;
you will give them courage.
You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans;
you will judge in their favor
so that mortal men may cause terror no more.
Why are you so far away, O Lord?
Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?
The wicked are proud and persecute the poor;
catch them in the traps they have made.
The wicked man is proud of his evil desires;
the greedy man curses and rejects the Lord.
A wicked does not care about the Lord;
in his pride he thinks that God doesn't matter.
A wicked man succeeds in everything.
He cannot understand God's judgments;
he sneers at his enemies.
He says to himself, " I will never fail;
I will never be in trouble."
His speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats;
he is quick to speak hateful, evil words.
He hides himself in the villages,
waiting to murder innocent people,
He spies on his helpless victims;
he waits in his hiding place like a lion.
He lies in wait for the poor;
he catches them in his trap and drags them away.
The helpless victims lie crushed;
brute strength has defeated them.
The wicked man says to himself, "God doesn't care!
He has closed his eyes and will never see me!"
O Lord, punish those wicked men!
Remember those who are suffering!
How can a wicked man despise God
and say to himself, "He will not punish me"?
But you do see; you take notice of trouble
and suffering and are always ready to help.
The helpless man commits himself to you;
you have always helped the needy.
Break the power of wicked and evil men;
punish them for the wrong they have done
until they do it no more.
The Lord is king forever and ever.
Those who worship other gods
will vanish from his land.
You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly;
you will give them courage.
You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans;
you will judge in their favor
so that mortal men may cause terror no more.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
73.3 Social Evils
(Micah 2:1-10)
How terrible it will be for those who lie awake and plan evil! When morning comes, as soon as they have the chance, they do the evil they planned. When they want fields, they seize them; when they want houses, they take them. No man's family or property is safe.
And so the Lord says,"Iam planning to bring disaster on you, and you will not be able to escape it. You are going to find yourselves in trouble, and then you will not walk so proudly any more. When that time comes, people will use the story about you as an example of disaster, and they will sing this song of despair about your experience:
We are completely ruined!
The Lord has taken our land away
And given it to those who took us captive."
So then, when the time comes for the land to be given back to the Lord's people, there will be no share for any of you.
The people preach at me and say, "Don't preach at us. Don't preach about all that. God is not going to disgrace us. Do you think the people of Israel are under a curse? Has the Lord lost his patience? Would he really do such things? Doesn't he speak kindly to those who do right?"
The Lord replies, "You attack my people like enemies. Men return from battle, thinking they are safe at home, but there you are, waiting to steal the coats off their backs. You drive the women of my people out of the homes they love, and you have robbed their children of my blessings forever. Get up and go; there is no safety any more. Your sins have doomed this place to destruction."
How terrible it will be for those who lie awake and plan evil! When morning comes, as soon as they have the chance, they do the evil they planned. When they want fields, they seize them; when they want houses, they take them. No man's family or property is safe.
And so the Lord says,"Iam planning to bring disaster on you, and you will not be able to escape it. You are going to find yourselves in trouble, and then you will not walk so proudly any more. When that time comes, people will use the story about you as an example of disaster, and they will sing this song of despair about your experience:
We are completely ruined!
The Lord has taken our land away
And given it to those who took us captive."
So then, when the time comes for the land to be given back to the Lord's people, there will be no share for any of you.
The people preach at me and say, "Don't preach at us. Don't preach about all that. God is not going to disgrace us. Do you think the people of Israel are under a curse? Has the Lord lost his patience? Would he really do such things? Doesn't he speak kindly to those who do right?"
The Lord replies, "You attack my people like enemies. Men return from battle, thinking they are safe at home, but there you are, waiting to steal the coats off their backs. You drive the women of my people out of the homes they love, and you have robbed their children of my blessings forever. Get up and go; there is no safety any more. Your sins have doomed this place to destruction."
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