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.

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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.

Eagles

July 24, 2026

Isaiah 40:30-31 (NKJV) 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew [their] strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Truth and Deception

 Truth and Deception

July 22, 2026

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (NKJV) 

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, givingheed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

How many families today are torn apart by lies and deception. One may be vaccinated and the other not, or one voted republican and the other democrat, or one hurt the other and the other can’t bring themselves to forgive. Both sides believe that they are right. “My truth”, and “your truth”. But they refuse to speak to each other because of the differences. It seems that forgiveness and reconciliation are impossible because neither party will acknowledge any fault of their own. So how do you manage these types of family conflicts when people can’t even agree on what is true? They are like Pilate who famously asked Jesus “What is truth?”, but who didn’t want to know the answer, standing in front of him.

John 18:38 (NKJV) 

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to theJews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.

Those who believe in Jesus know where to find truth. Jesus said, “I am the truth”.

John 14:6 (NKJV) 

Jesussaid to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

So how do we reach people who refuse to believe in objective truth? Logic fails to convince such a one as even mathematics and logic will not prevail unless one believes that they are based on truth. Being trained in physics, I find this hard to grasp as we were taught to test every hypothesis against experimental fact and objective reality. When a person has abandoned trust in reality it is very difficult to reach them.

It seems then that we need to rely on Jesus and the spirit of truth to war against the spirits of deception. It is a matter of spiritual warfare that cannot be won in the natural, but must be waged in the spiritual. Only when the deceiving spirits are silenced and driven out can a person see truth for what it is and receive Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. So if you have such a conflict in your family or circle of friends, pray to bind the spirits of deception and pray that the spirit of truth will touch their heart and change their mind. Jesus is the way to reach an unreachable person to heal and deliver them.