Monday, Ordinary 26, Proper 21, Sep 29
ChapLynne
Posts: 31 Member
Meditation
Monday, Ordinary 26, Proper 21 presented the original bad news good news moments. The Psalmist began with “as the deer panteth for the water, so my soul thirsts for the living God…” and then proceeded to share the misery of being exiled and suffering under the hand of those not following God. (bad news) At the very end, he wrote of trusting and placing hope in God because that would solve things. (good news).
The Old Testament lesson in Exodus brought Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, and Moses’ wife and sons to meet them. Moses shared the fears and hardships of being in Egypt (bad news) and the escape from Egypt (good news) and the troubles along the way (bad news) and the miracles that God had done for them (good news) so that they were saved. Jethro praised God and declared him to be the true God.
The Apostle Paul in the letter to the church at Philippi started with thanksgiving at the very thought of them (good news) and then he proceeded to reveal his own imprisonment (bad news) but that his being in prison had spurred the church to walk with God more fearlessly (good news).
God is still at work today in our lives. On my walk, a man stopped to ask me about why God allowed the devil to do his bad stuff for so long.
As much as we might like all of life to be good news, it is in knowing the bad that we appreciate and recognize just how good things are. More importantly, if God made everything easy and there were no choices for us to make, we would be robots without a soul. God created humans to have a relationship with them. God gave us choice.
If I play with a toy doll and make the doll say, “I love you.” It has no meaning. That is not love. It is not a choice. God didn’t make us robots. God gave us choice. With choice there must be something to choose between. God allowed the devil his way for a time, so that our choice of salvation was genuine and authentic—not robotic.
However, God didn’t leave the Hebrews, the Philippian church or Paul with only bad news. He gave them good news, drawing them out of the depths to the heights of Mt. Sinai. In the same way, God will give us good news to save us from the bad news, too.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 26, Proper 21
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 42;Exodus 18:1-12;Philippians 1:3-14&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Monday, Ordinary 26, Proper 21
Psalm 42
Exodus 18:1-12
Philippians 1:3-14
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Philippians 1:21
King James Version (KJV)
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 18:1-12
King James Version (KJV)
18 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, thank you for the good news which follows bad news in our lives. We are not always aware how you work things for our benefit, but the stories of old teach us that you have consistently turned bad news into good news. Help us to have souls hungering for you like the deer panting after water. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, Ordinary 26, Proper 21 was story after story of God at work in the lives of believers. No matter how bad things appeared to the Psalmist, he ended with trusting God for salvation—good news. Jethro listened to the stories of Moses and saw that which Moses had feared became something of beauty and an opportunity for God to work in miraculous ways (good news).
Paul wrote to the church in Philippi of his incarceration, but he showed how the bad news had emboldened the people to spread the good news. God at work in our lives promised salvation and continues to offer the good news. It may be bad at the moment, but good news is right around the corner.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Monday, Ordinary 26, Proper 21 presented the original bad news good news moments. The Psalmist began with “as the deer panteth for the water, so my soul thirsts for the living God…” and then proceeded to share the misery of being exiled and suffering under the hand of those not following God. (bad news) At the very end, he wrote of trusting and placing hope in God because that would solve things. (good news).
The Old Testament lesson in Exodus brought Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, and Moses’ wife and sons to meet them. Moses shared the fears and hardships of being in Egypt (bad news) and the escape from Egypt (good news) and the troubles along the way (bad news) and the miracles that God had done for them (good news) so that they were saved. Jethro praised God and declared him to be the true God.
The Apostle Paul in the letter to the church at Philippi started with thanksgiving at the very thought of them (good news) and then he proceeded to reveal his own imprisonment (bad news) but that his being in prison had spurred the church to walk with God more fearlessly (good news).
God is still at work today in our lives. On my walk, a man stopped to ask me about why God allowed the devil to do his bad stuff for so long.
As much as we might like all of life to be good news, it is in knowing the bad that we appreciate and recognize just how good things are. More importantly, if God made everything easy and there were no choices for us to make, we would be robots without a soul. God created humans to have a relationship with them. God gave us choice.
If I play with a toy doll and make the doll say, “I love you.” It has no meaning. That is not love. It is not a choice. God didn’t make us robots. God gave us choice. With choice there must be something to choose between. God allowed the devil his way for a time, so that our choice of salvation was genuine and authentic—not robotic.
However, God didn’t leave the Hebrews, the Philippian church or Paul with only bad news. He gave them good news, drawing them out of the depths to the heights of Mt. Sinai. In the same way, God will give us good news to save us from the bad news, too.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 26, Proper 21
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 42;Exodus 18:1-12;Philippians 1:3-14&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Monday, Ordinary 26, Proper 21
Psalm 42
Exodus 18:1-12
Philippians 1:3-14
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Philippians 1:21
King James Version (KJV)
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 18:1-12
King James Version (KJV)
18 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, thank you for the good news which follows bad news in our lives. We are not always aware how you work things for our benefit, but the stories of old teach us that you have consistently turned bad news into good news. Help us to have souls hungering for you like the deer panting after water. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, Ordinary 26, Proper 21 was story after story of God at work in the lives of believers. No matter how bad things appeared to the Psalmist, he ended with trusting God for salvation—good news. Jethro listened to the stories of Moses and saw that which Moses had feared became something of beauty and an opportunity for God to work in miraculous ways (good news).
Paul wrote to the church in Philippi of his incarceration, but he showed how the bad news had emboldened the people to spread the good news. God at work in our lives promised salvation and continues to offer the good news. It may be bad at the moment, but good news is right around the corner.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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