True Worship

 True Worship

August 2, 2026

John 4:23-24 (NKJV) 

23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship theFather in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 “God [is] Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Revelation 5:11-14 (NKJV) 

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power [Be] to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” 14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

Today is the day to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Light and Exposure

 Light and Exposure

August 1, 2026

John 3:14-21 (NKJV) 

14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Manbe lifted up, 15 “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

The scripture for today is John 3. Everyone knows John 3:16, but how many people read the whole context? It is true that God loves the world, but He is also the light that exposes the darkness. As a photographer, we study light and exposer in order to make a clear image. A good photograph requires adequate light and the proper exposure. But even a dim light and a long exposure can reveal thinks that were hidden from the naked eye. Thus it is with the Word of God; the light that exposes things hidden in darkness.

We see this principle at work in our day. There is much evil and darkness in the world, but when the truth comes out, and light exposes the darkness, the evil deeds of men are exposed. Jesus said that he did not come to condemn the world, but those who don’t believe in Him condemn themselves. Therefore, our prayer for this day is not that we condemn our fellow men, but that the light of truth will expose their evil deeds so that they condemn themselves. Each man has a choice. He can either believe in the light or dwell in the darkness. So we pray that all men will come into the light and be saved, but Lord have mercy on the souls of those who refuse the light and condemn themselves to darkness.

O Give Thanks

 O Give Thanks

July 31, 2026

Psalm 107:1-2 (NKJV) 

1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for [He is] good^h2896a! For His mercy^H2617a [endures] forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so,] Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

It is good to give thanks to the Lord. His goodness and mercy are far greater than the English words describe. He is goodness and mercy in a way that transcends all that we Think of as good. From the Strongs dictionary, we learn that this word includes concepts of grace, favor, delight and happiness. God is good in more ways than we can comprehend,

And mercy, checed, is likewise rich in meaning. It includes ideas of lovingkindness, mercy and beauty. He loves us far more than we appreciate. As John puts it, “God so loved the world that He gave His only son...” We give thanks to the Lord who loves us so. 

According to the psalmist, our response is to say so. If your heart is happy, let your face know it, and then tell someone of God’s mercy and grace. As the saying goes;

The Lord is good all the time,

And all the time, the Lord is good.

——————————

Strong's Definitions: 

H2617a חֶסֶד  cheçed, kheh'-sed; from H2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subjectively) beauty:—favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.

h2896a. טוֹב tob; from 2895; pleasant, agreeable, good:--

beautiful(11), beneficial(1), best(7), better(75), better a good(1), charming*(1), cheerful(3), choice(2), delightful(1), fair(1), favor(1), favorable(3), favorably(3), festive(1), fine(3), fine ones(1), fit(1), generous*(1), glad(1), good(196), good and to those who(1), good is better(1), good man(3), good men(1), good-looking*(1), gracious(1), handsome(3), handsome*(1), happy(1), holiday*(3), intelligent*(1), kind(1), like*(1), man(1), more*(2), one(1), one who(1), one who(1), one who...

The Year of the Lord

 The Year of the Lord

July 30, 2026

Isaiah 61:1-2 (NKJV) 

1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to [those who are] bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

This is one of the most remarkable prophecies from Isaiah, because it was this exact verse that Jesus read to proclaim the beginning of his earthly ministry. (Luke 4:16-19) of all the prophets, Isaiah saw most clearly the coming of Messiah Jesus. The accuracy of his vision is a proof that the Word of God is true and reliable. 

The other thing about this passage is that it not only outlines the ministry of Jesus, but also describes the ministry that we also have in the world. Jesus bids us to preach the gospel, heal the sick and set the captives free. The ministry of healing the brokenhearted is particularly relevant today as we are surrounded by people damaged by broken relationships and confused by the teaching of the world to the point that they don’t know who they are. Many are even confused about their gender. The world needs Jesus and the ministry of reconciliation. So if you are a Believer in Jesus, it is time to stand up, pick up the scroll, and proclaim “the Lord has anointed me…”

Old and New

 New and Old

July 29, 2026

Isaiah 11:5 (NKJV)

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Isaiah 59:17 (NKJV) 

For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.

Ephesians 6:13-17 (NKJV) 

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded yourwaist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

There is a strain of thinking among Christians that model themselves after the New Testament church, and minimize or ignore the Old Testament. Of course it is good to emulate the New Testament church, but we must not ignore the foundation teaching that formed the concepts taught by Jesus and his disciples. One example of this is the teaching on the armor of God found in Ephesians 6. This is normally taught in isolation without acknowledging that this imagery comes directly  from the prophet Isaiah. You can’t fully appreciate the New Testament teaching without putting it into the context of centuries of Jewish revelation and teaching. Jesus said that he is the fulfillment of the law, so in order to understand Him, you need to study the context of His culture and the times in which he lived. The parables in particular are set in the context of first century life and were understood by the people who were familiar with farming, fishing and building and whose moral framework was solidly anchored in the temple worship of that day. Therefore, it is Important to study all of the Bible to fully understand the teaching of Jesus in the proper context.

Singing Scripture- 2

 Singing Scripture- 2

July 28, 2026

Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV) 

But He [was] wounded for our transgressions, [He was] bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace [was] upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 55:12 (NKJV) 

“For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands.

Yesterday we were talking about singing scripture and there are two more verses in today’s reading that have been used in gospel songs. Pastor Joseph used to sing a wonderful gospel version of Isaiah 53. I couldn’t find anything like it on YouTube, though there are many other songs using this verse. I still prefer the Maranatha Gospel Tabernacle version! We could really rock the house in those days. In fact, we danced so much that the floor bounced and the beams threatened to give way. Those were the days!

The second scripture song could also cause dancing in the aisles. We sang that one in an Israeli folk dance style. That one is on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/M915v9r1T6M?is=6KN-GBy_seQaFvV1

At that time, I was living in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh, which was a Jewish neighborhood, so we had several Messianic Jews in our congregation and sang several songs in that style. One of my favorites was psalm 133 sung in Hebrew. That’s still the only passage I know by heart in Hebrew. And, of course, we danced to that as well. Maybe that’s one key to memorizing scripture. When you clap your hands and move your feet, you can’t help but to remember the words. So get your whole body involved and sing some scripture today.

P.S. If you are interested, many of the scriptures I use in my blog come from the daily reading plan in the Blue Letter Bible. I’m currently using the Life Journey 1 year plan.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/dailyreading/

Singing Scripture

 Singing Scripture 

July 27, 2026

Isaiah 51:11 (NKJV) 

So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 52:7 (NKJV) 

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace , Who brings glad tidings of good [things,] Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Psalm 92:1-2 (NKJV) 

1 A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.night, 

[It is] good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night,

In today’s scripture reading, I came across three verses that we used to sing. I miss the singing of scripture. It was a good way to memorize the scripture and to encourage yourself in the Word. Once you get one of these choruses in your head it can stick with you all day. That can be a good thing, helping you meditate on the Word in the midst of daily activities. If you are like me and grew up with these songs, you’re probably singing them in your head right now. But if not, look them up on YouTube and learn a new way to experience scripture today.