Prayer – Lord, when I look at Your creation…I am amazed
and awed. You created people and animals with such intricate and delicate parts
and functions…and such grandiose trees, like the enormous redwoods…and then there
are the magnificent stars and heavens which proclaim Your glory. How can anyone
not believe in Your…and Your creation? You’ve looked out for mankind since You
created Adam and Eve…and yet over and over people have rejected You. Not me. I
believe in You. You are my Lord and Savior. Show me more of Yourself through
this scripture today…and continue to guide me on a path that draws me closer to
You. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to
you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies
display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after
night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is
never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words
to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts
forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great
athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows
its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat. The instructions
of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are
trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the LORD are right,
bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight
for living. Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the
LORD are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the
finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them. How
can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden
faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. Then
I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my
redeemer. Psalm 19:1-14
Meditate. Consider God’s glory.
Earlier this summer I went to Cle Elem, Washington and
stayed at a in a lovely yurt at a friend’s cabin. In the middle of the night, I
got up and headed for the necessary room. But…I stopped and looked up. The sky
was ablaze with stars. It was awesome! When there is total darkness—no light pollution
from cities—the stars seem to shine brighter. If you ever have an opportunity
to view stars without light pollution—take it. You won’t be sorry as you gaze
that those amazing twinkling stary hosts. God created those stars…in the
beginning. The heavens definitely declare God’s glory. Evening and daytime—glory.
When the sun is shining bright…there is no room for darkness. The glory of God
fills the earth…and the sun warms us—even though it may seem to be too much
sometimes during these hot summer days.
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The Columbia River
Blue Bridge and Reflections
Kennewick, Washington
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My kayaking adventure have continued all week—and yesterday,
Day 6, brought me great sunshine as I paddled east on the River. Bright morning
light. No room for darkness. Just clear skies and smooth reflective water. That
shiny water reflects the sky, trees, and even the image of my kayak, just like
we reflect the image of Jesus…if the Holy Spirit is within us. Do you know that
if Jesus is your personal savior, then the Holy Spirit lives within you? Jesus
told His disciples that He had to go back to the Father, so that the Holy Spirit—the
Comforter, Advocate, Encourager, Teacher—could come to live within us.
But in fact, it is
best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate won't come. If I
do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the
world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. John
16:7-8
The Holy Spirit isn’t focused on the way Jesus and God the
Father are, but He is indeed part of the Triune God. David asks… How
can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? It is the Holy spirit that
convicts each person of their sin…and we all sin and fall short of the glory of
God (Romans 3:23). John explains a intriguing relationship between darkness and
sin and between light and forgiveness. It is our responsibility to confess our
sins to God. He won’t take them away unless we acknowledge that we are sinners
and have sinned.
This is the message
we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no
darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God
but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if
we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship
with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If
we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the
truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned,
we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
1 John 1:5-10
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Verses of Salvation ~ God saved you by his grace when
you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can
boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ
Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians
2:8-10
Memory Verse of the Week ~ For the LORD watches over
the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm
1:6
Friday’s
Feast at the King’s Table
Have you read Revelation recently…or ever? I was taught
years ago that when we go to heaven there will be a big feast with Jesus. He
may even be serving us the heavenly food. Yet, look closely at Revelation and
other books in the New Testament. It appears that the wedding feast to which we
are all looking forward doesn’t happen until after the Millennium. We’ve a long
time to wait for that feast!
And from the throne
came a voice that said, "Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear
him, from the least to the greatest." Then I heard again what sounded like
the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of
loud thunder: "Praise the LORD! For the Lord our God, the Almighty,
reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time
has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear." For the fine
linen represents the good deeds of God's holy people. And the angel said to me,
"Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the
Lamb." And he added, "These are true words that come from God." Revelation
19:5-9
A little confusion here—the bride is the church…those who
believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and have been
obedient to Him. Just being invited to the wedding feast is another
story. Those people are not necessarily part of the body of Christ…just those
who have at some time in their life believed in Jesus as the Son of God, but
not faithfully lived an obedient life. Their names are still in the Book of
Life, not having been blotted out. Revelation, and its relationship with other
end time passages, can be confusing. I’ve been watching Brenda Weltner on
YouTube and she has brought up some very interesting scripture evaluations in
her END TIME BIBLE STUDY. The teachings that you may have encountered in the
past, may not be true. We all need to dig deep into God’s Word, praying to Him
for wisdom, understanding, and discernment so that we can understand these end
times that we are facing and the eternity that is ahead us all. What is on that
“Banquet” table may seem important to us now…but we need to be sure we are
seated at the Bride’s table and not just a guest. Eat heartily of God’s Word
today.
© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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