There are things which it is our duty to cover in silence. We are told nowadays that everything ought to be expressed if we are truly "honest" and "open."
Proverbs 11:13 says, "He who goes abroad as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing hidden."
Jesus sometimes refused to reveal the truth about Himself, even when it would have seemed to us "an opportunity to witness." He did not always answer questions. He did not always say who He was. He told some of those He healed to tell no one about it.
"For every activity under heaven its time...a time for silence and a time for speech" (Eccl 3:1,7 NEB). "A man of understanding remains silent" (Prv 11:12 RSV).
Lord, deliver me from the urge to open my mouth when I should shut it. Give me the wisdom to keep silence where silence is wise. Remind me that not everything needs to be said, and that there are very few things that need to be said by me.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
"O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Selah
Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them.
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies."
psalm54.1-7esv
Who is Your Mainstay?
"Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who uphold my life". David wrote those words when he was hiding from King Saul. We can translate this verse, "The Lord is the mainstay of my life." Is God the mainstay, the main support, of your life today?
David went through several stages waiting for God to help him. He began with prayer. "Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth". That's a great way to pray. David was being attacked by the enemy, by those who did not believe in God. He needed help, so he cried out to Him.
We see a turning point at verse 4, where David's faith goes to work. "Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who uphold my life [the Lord is the mainstay of my life]. He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth". David now is trusting the Lord. It's one thing to cry out to God, but it's something else to believe that He is going to hear and answer.
David ends his psalm with praise. "I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good". Why? "For He has delivered me out of all trouble; and my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies". This is an interesting sequence of experiences: David had trouble. This led him to trust God, which resulted in triumph. He had a problem, so he turned to prayer, which brought about praise to the Lord.
When you're in trouble and forced to wait for help, where you place your faith is all-important. Is your sequence of experiences similar to David's? (Problem to prayer to praise? Trouble to trust to triumph?) Next time you must wait for help, let your faith go to work. God will hear you and answer your prayer.
~warren weirsbe~
O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Selah
Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them.
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies."
psalm54.1-7esv
Who is Your Mainstay?
"Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who uphold my life". David wrote those words when he was hiding from King Saul. We can translate this verse, "The Lord is the mainstay of my life." Is God the mainstay, the main support, of your life today?
David went through several stages waiting for God to help him. He began with prayer. "Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth". That's a great way to pray. David was being attacked by the enemy, by those who did not believe in God. He needed help, so he cried out to Him.
We see a turning point at verse 4, where David's faith goes to work. "Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who uphold my life [the Lord is the mainstay of my life]. He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth". David now is trusting the Lord. It's one thing to cry out to God, but it's something else to believe that He is going to hear and answer.
David ends his psalm with praise. "I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good". Why? "For He has delivered me out of all trouble; and my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies". This is an interesting sequence of experiences: David had trouble. This led him to trust God, which resulted in triumph. He had a problem, so he turned to prayer, which brought about praise to the Lord.
When you're in trouble and forced to wait for help, where you place your faith is all-important. Is your sequence of experiences similar to David's? (Problem to prayer to praise? Trouble to trust to triumph?) Next time you must wait for help, let your faith go to work. God will hear you and answer your prayer.
~warren weirsbe~
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
psalm 99.1-9esv
The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he! The King in his might loves justice.
You have established equity; you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool!
Holy is he! Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the LORD, and he answered them. In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.
O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!
One of the greatest joys in the Christian life is the joy of answered prayer--to be able to say to someone, "God answered my prayer today," or to hear someone say, "Thank you for praying--let me tell you what God did." The psalmist writes about this: "Moses and Aaron were among his priests, and Samuel was among those who called upon His name. They called upon the Lord, and He answered them" (v. 6). Moses called upon the Lord many times when he had the burdens of the people on his shoulders. Aaron, as the high priest, also called upon the Lord. Samuel had some disappointments in his life. His family was not all it ought to have been, and Israel was not all it ought to have been. So he cried out to the Lord as well.
If we call upon the Lord, will He answer us? Yes, if we have met the conditions that Moses, Aaron and Samuel met. First, they listened to God's Word. "He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar" (v. 7). "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7). We want to talk to God and tell Him about all of our problems. He wants to talk to us and tell us about all of His promises. We should listen to Him first, and then He will listen to us.
Second, they obeyed Him. They kept His testimonies and the ordinances. Obedience is important to answered prayer. If we're abiding in Christ, we will obey His Word, and then we will be able to call upon Him.
Third, they confessed their sin. God forgave their sins, and He enabled them to do what He wanted them to do. As a result, they wanted to exalt the Lord. The purpose of prayer is to glorify God. "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy" (v. 9).
How glad I am to know that my High Priest in heaven is interceding for me. I can come to Him any time for the grace that I need.
~WARREN WIERSBE
The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he! The King in his might loves justice.
You have established equity; you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool!
Holy is he! Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the LORD, and he answered them. In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.
O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!
One of the greatest joys in the Christian life is the joy of answered prayer--to be able to say to someone, "God answered my prayer today," or to hear someone say, "Thank you for praying--let me tell you what God did." The psalmist writes about this: "Moses and Aaron were among his priests, and Samuel was among those who called upon His name. They called upon the Lord, and He answered them" (v. 6). Moses called upon the Lord many times when he had the burdens of the people on his shoulders. Aaron, as the high priest, also called upon the Lord. Samuel had some disappointments in his life. His family was not all it ought to have been, and Israel was not all it ought to have been. So he cried out to the Lord as well.
If we call upon the Lord, will He answer us? Yes, if we have met the conditions that Moses, Aaron and Samuel met. First, they listened to God's Word. "He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar" (v. 7). "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7). We want to talk to God and tell Him about all of our problems. He wants to talk to us and tell us about all of His promises. We should listen to Him first, and then He will listen to us.
Second, they obeyed Him. They kept His testimonies and the ordinances. Obedience is important to answered prayer. If we're abiding in Christ, we will obey His Word, and then we will be able to call upon Him.
Third, they confessed their sin. God forgave their sins, and He enabled them to do what He wanted them to do. As a result, they wanted to exalt the Lord. The purpose of prayer is to glorify God. "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy" (v. 9).
How glad I am to know that my High Priest in heaven is interceding for me. I can come to Him any time for the grace that I need.
~WARREN WIERSBE
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope and be undismayed.
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head.
Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou His time; so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.
Far, far above thy thought,
His counsel shall appear,
When fully He the work hath wrought,
That caused thy needless fear.
Leave to His sovereign sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou, wondering, own that way,
How wise, how strong this hand.
~Paul Gerhardt
Hope and be undismayed.
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head.
Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou His time; so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.
Far, far above thy thought,
His counsel shall appear,
When fully He the work hath wrought,
That caused thy needless fear.
Leave to His sovereign sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou, wondering, own that way,
How wise, how strong this hand.
~Paul Gerhardt
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