Prayer – Lord, my heart overflows with praise and thanksgiving to You.
Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob. Sing! Beat the tambourine. Play the sweet lyre and the harp. Blow the ram's horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a festival! For this is required by the decrees of Israel; it is a regulation of the God of Jacob. He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say, "Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me! You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. For it was I, the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. But no, my people wouldn't listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes! Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever. But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock." Psalm 81:1-16
Meditate. Consider God’s word, His scripture, as He spoke
again to the Israelites. Sing praises to God.
I grew up going to Sunday School and church most Sundays
from the time I was a preschooler. Some of my earliest memories were of church
events, like Vacation Bible School, but it wasn’t until I was in college that I
actually accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I was a good kid—but like
everyone I was a sinner in God’s eyes. I was amazed when I prayed a prayer of
repentance that a huge load was lifted from my shoulders. What was that?! All
my sins were removed—the great burden of guilt taken away. I was saved. Saved
from my sin and now I have the eternal life that God promised. Who will come
with me into the eternal realm? Only those with pure hearts will see God, as
Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount.
God blesses those
whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8
Since God chose you
to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted
mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each
other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave
you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which
binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from
Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live
in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its
richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he
gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:12-17
And so, dear
brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of
the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way
through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High
Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God
with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been
sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed
with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hebrews 10:19-23
 |
| The Big Fish |
Verse of Salvation ~ But I will offer sacrifices to you
with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes
from the LORD alone. Jonah 2:9
Memory Verse of the Week ~ I am leaving you with a gift—peace
of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So
don't be troubled or afraid. John 14:27
© 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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