flawless

"Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words,

or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar."

Proverbs 30:5

I really like the idea of the word of God being a shield.

We speak often about how helpful the word of God is,

how beautiful and truthful the word of God is.

We occasionally speak of the authority of God's word.

But every word is flawless, and HE is a shield to those who take refuge in HIM!

How? Try Ephesians 6:16.

He is our protector; that's what authority is for.

May the Lord bless you and be your shield today!

the Good Shepherd

"I am the good shepherd;
I know my sheep and my sheep know me..."
John 10:14
If we do just a little research on sheep we find that sheep are inadequate creatures when it comes to taking care of themselves. Most people consider them to be just plain dumb. But...here is some good news for us. Scripture compares us often to sheep, and often compares the Lord to our shepherd. Indeed, in John 10 Jesus refers to himself as our Shepherd. He also reminds us of something that can be easily missed when we consider the ways of the sheep: they know their shepherd.
The real question is:
Does Jesus know you as one of His sheep? If He does, then you know His voice.
You know when someone else is calling you.
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
The Lord bless you and may you hear His voice Today!

We know His voice!

Sharpen...

As iron sharpens iron,

so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

I know this is a well known Scripture, but it was in my reading today.

I can't help but remember a lesson I once read:

"iron doesn't sharpen iron"

Wait.

Iron sharpens iron with heat.

Man does not sharpen man.

Man sharpens man with the heat he has:

What gives us heat?

Fire...as in the Holy Spirit.

The fire of the Lord cleanses, refines, polishes.

I could give a host of Scripture verses for that, but you could find them yourself, I'm sure.

One of the best (imo) is 1Peter 1:3-9.

The Lord bless you today and use you to sharpen another!

Men of Honor

Had the boys and several of their fathers last night.

What we did:

pizza

Joshua & Caleb

learned how to sharpen knives

As we talked about the spies, these young men tried to imagine a single cluster of grapes so big it had to be carried by two men. (Numbers 13:23)

One great insight shared by one of the fathers:

We talked about how Joshua went right up to the man with a drawn sword (Joshua 5:13).

"This was an angel, commander of the army of the Lord. He didn't look like any of us."

Can you see the faith Joshua must have had that God would keep his promise?

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9

Being a disciple...

Great High School Class last night!

I came prepared with a lesson, as usual, but I didn't need it.

The Holy Spirit was moving in the young people.

Before I had a chance to tell them where in the Bible we would be starting, one of the teens asked me a question. I said, "That has nothing to do with the topic."

No, I didn't.

Actually, I said, "Let's look at that."

Then, it turned into a beautiful discussion about God's grace and holiness.

Friends, there are no bad questions about God.

There is no wrong time to seek His wisdom.

Would we have John 3:16 if Nicodemus didn't come to Jesus after hours?

Would we know that John the Baptist was the Elijah to come if John's disciples didn't ask Jesus if He was the one? (Matthew 11)

Would we have the "Lord's Prayer" if the disciples hadn't asked Jesus to teach them how to pray? (Luke 11)

May the Lord bless you and draw you to ask all your questions!

BTW-no, those aren't my teenagers. Notice there are 12...

Psalm 20

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;

May the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

I love to read Psalm 20!

This is a song of blessing...David might have written it to be sung to himself. (See verse 9).

Do you know someone who can bless you just by being present? Maybe YOU are a blessing to someone just walking into the room or situation. Why not add to that, make it a double blessing? David wrote many blessings into his poetry. Sometimes we need the extra help, don't we?

We will shout for joy when you are victorious

and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.

Will you?

Do you?

May he send you help from the sanctuary

and grant you support from Zion.

What if YOU are the help and support being sent?

Are you ready for that?

"Love and faithfulness keep a king safe."

May the Lord bless you and may others glorify God because of your good works.

Offended?

A man's wisdom gives him patience;

it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 19:11

Have you ever been offended?

I have often eondered after I calm down from another's offense how long it takes God to calm down after I offend Him. I know God hates sin. But if we add to our sins the sin of not forgiving another when he sins against us (Matthew 6:15) how long will it take God to forgive us?

Patience is, afterall, fruit of the Spirit...

"Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil."

That is Proverbs 16:6. It reminds me of the words
Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:43-45.
It has nothing to do with us. It is not about turning that enemy into a friend, although that may happen and would be a blessing. It is about being sons of our Father in heaven. Being faithful means loving your neighbor AND your enemy. Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for...I have sinned much. The forgiveness of my sins has taught me to love and to fear the Lord.
May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may you avoid evil.

Speaking of prayer...

I have started a new small group for young men ages 9-14. We had our first meeting a week ago: we ate together, had a Bible lesson, then one man shared some knowledge about trees. I also challenged the young guys to memorize a passage of Scripture. This will be a regular thing every other Thursday for the young men and their fathers. The plan is to train them to positively impact their families and communities. We need your prayers!

"My salvation and my honor depend on God;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge."

May the Lord bless you and give you refuge.

PRAYERS

I have been looking into some of the prayers of the Bible lately. They are fascinating! Of course, we should consider the book of Psalms. Then there is the ever-popular Solomon's prayer for wisdom.

Those are great prayers!

I have been looking at others:

Genesis 18:20-33. Did you ever hear you can't negotiate with God? Abraham didn't know that.

1Samuel 1:1-18. Pain, passion, perspective. Have you ever met someone named "Pininnah?"

Daniel 10. What if Daniel "only" prayed for 14 days?

Now, look at Luke 18:1-8.

Why did Jesus tell this parable?

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and teach us how to pray!