Short Thoughts: Week 31 – Days 211-217

Day 211   –   A Lovely place to Live

Day 211 Lovely Place

The house I was born in – as it now looks

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! 2                                                      My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;                                                         my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.  Psalm 84:1-2

What makes a place a lovely one in which to live? I live in a rural area of southern Canada, about two hours southwest of Toronto. My nearest village has a population of 1,700 and the wider township has 6,700 people. The nearest city of size, 30-40 minutes drive, has a metropolitan population of about 500,000. When I check ‘homes for sale’ listings for my area, I see terms like’ quiet street, next to a park, near downtown + community centre with sports facilities like ballpark and arena’ (i.e., for ice hockey – I live in Canada after all) + schools. One place I see, just built, has the latest features and design; another, built in 1890 and much less expensive, is a small bungalow with several parts of the house re-finished. What are you looking for in an ideal home?

The writer of the psalm we’re considering today was looking for his eternal home in heaven. He uses a variety of terms to describe this place: a lovely dwelling place, a home, a house, Zion, the house of God, a place with altars, and a place with courts. Consider these words – the psalmist desires:

(a) a place where one would feel comfortable

 This is conveyed by these words: lovely dwelling…a home…Your house…house of my God (84:1,3,4,10). The psalmist longs for God’s home. The house pictured above is the one in which I was born and raised to age four. Like the other places I’ve lived in over the years, both this one and the others that followed, are remembered for family, people who loved me and cared for me (or, later, children whom my wife and I cared for as they grew), a safe place. None of my houses was particularly special for its construction and furnishings, or its market value. But these places were home. For the believer, home is where God is.

            (b) a place of worship

The writer is seeking the place to worship God: “tabernacles” (v. 1), “courts” (v. 2),“at Your altars” (v.3), “Zion” (v. 7). The word “Zion” is used primarily as a name for a hill upon which Jerusalem is built. King David captured it and called it the City of David. When he brought the Ark of the Covenant there, it became a sacred place – a place of worship. Some translations of “dwelling places” (v. 1) say “tabernacles”. The tabernacle was the tent of Moses’ day, with its separate spaces or “courts” such as the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. It was beautiful for its golden vessels and priestly garments, but mainly because God was there.

Names of God

In this psalm we also have several names or titles for God. He is “Lord of hosts” (1, 3, 8, 12), “the LORD (2, 11), “the living God” (2), “my King and my God” (3), “LORD God” (11), “God of Jacob” (8). If the writer wanted to emphasize that God is over many heavenly hosts. he used these words. If he wanted to focus on the life God gives or the rule of God, he used other terms. The many names for God help us to appreciate Him in many ways.

The words “Lord” and “God”, often with another term, come from the Hebrew “Adonai” (Master) “El” (God). Thus when you add a term you have meanings as follows: “Elohim” (Mighty or Strong God), “El Shaddai” (Almighty God), and “El Elyon” (Most High God). And when “LORD” is spelled in capitals, it is a translation of “Jehovah” or “Yahweh”. When other terms are added, you have “Yahweh Jireh” (The Lord Provides), or Yahweh Sabboah” (The Lord of Hosts), and others.

 The Intensity of the Psalmist

It is worthwhile to take note of the intensity with which the writer seeks God.  He “longs” for God, “sings” of the “Living God”, has a heartfelt desire to follow Zion’s highways to the place God dwells, would be happy to be a doorkeeper of the House of God just to be near Him, and feels favoured and blessed when God acknowledges him. Why would someone desire God and His home so intently? It is the place you find the “good thing(s)” of God (v. 11), a place worthy of trust (v. 12).

Your Turn:

  1. Read Psalm 84.

  2. How is your own desire for God expressed in your life?

  3. Think of a few of the many ways God blesses your life. What name would you give to God to reflect the greatness and goodness of God?

  4. In the New Testament, the apostle John has a wonderful description of God and heaven in Revelation 20:19:11-16, chapter 21, and 22:1-5. The place where God is, is truly a wonderful place to live.

Day 212             The Days of Our Lives

Day 212 Days of Lives

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.Psalm 90:1-2

Many times, when I have conducted a funeral service, I’ve included the reading of this  verse (Psalm 90:12), “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.” The words come after a reminder of the brevity of life and the value of living it rightly. Such is the theme of this Psalm.

Psalm 90 is considered the oldest of the Psalms, written not by David but by Moses, who lived almost 500 years before David. The truths of the psalm, however, are timeless. Psalm 90 speaks to the eternal nature and excellence of God, and of the shortness and sinfulness of an individual’s life.

The Excellence and Eternality of God

Moses reflects on the eternal nature of God – “our dwelling place in all generations” (v. 1); “before the mountains” (v.2a); “from everlasting to everlasting” (v. 2b). For God, it makes no matter whether we’re talking about yesterday or a thousand years (v. 4).

The Shortness and Sinfulness of a Man’s Life

Humankind, on the other hand, lives for a limited time, beginning and returning to dust (v. 3). Our lives can be washed away in a moment and can flourish and fade as quickly as grass (vv. 5-6). We are sinners and deserve God’s judgment (vv. 7-9). God is eternal but we are far from it. We live 70 or 80 years, on average, facing toil and trouble all along the way (v. 10). These numbers must have been the norm in Moses’ day – even though he, himself, lived to 120! Note: in our day, the years of our lives in wealthy countries like Canada are remarkedly similar (Canada = 82.96 years), though much shorter in poor countries (Central African Republic = 54.36 years).

So, whatever country, men and women have relatively short and sinful lives and must reckon with God.

Necessary Steps

With this in mind, we must “number our days” (v. 12a), which would be the wise thing to do if we want to “get a heart of wisdom” (v.12b). And how do we make the best use of the short time given us? We rest in God’s “pity”, meaning we repent, seeking the “mercy” (v. 14) or favour of God. We also discover His love and supply of whatever strength we need to follow Him and do what work He calls us to (vv.15-17).

Your Turn:

  1. Read Psalm 90.

  2. The appeal of the psalmist is that we make good use of our lives. Deal with the sin as it comes and seek God’s love, mercy, and power to live differently.

  3. I like the contrasts in this chapter: God is eternal; we are finite. God is excellent; we are sinful. God is satisfying and full of forgiveness and joy; without Him, we have darkness.

  4. Moses is identified in the title as “the man of God”. He shares the wisdom he, as a man of God, has learned and which we should seek (v. 12).

Day 213             How to Worship

O come, let us worship and bow down;                                                               let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker. Psalm 95:6

Day 213 Worship

Wherever you attend church, you will be asked to participate in worship. As this psalm says, the worship will probably include singing and praying.

In the psalmist’s day it was common for people to sing as they walked up to the Temple in Jerusalem. The songs were known as songs of ascent. Examples of such songs are Psalms 93-100.

Psalm 95 can be viewed as having three parts:                                                                                  Part 1 (verses 1-5) An invitation to Sing                                                                                Part 2 (verses 6-7a) An invitation to Pray                                                                                Part 3 (verses 7b-11) An invitation to Listen

Part 1 – Sing

Notice that Parts 1 and 2 both begin with an invitation: “Oh come let us…” In the first place it is “Let us sing to the Lord.” This is one way we worship. The singing is characterized as “joyful noise” (i.e., enthusiasm) and “songs of praise”. The object of the praise is the Lord, the rock of our salvation (a source of strength and the provider of salvation), the great God, supreme, and the creator of the highest lands and the deepest seas.

Part 2 – Pray

The second ingredient of worship is prayer. We worship by bowing down and kneeling. Such posture suggests humble submission to Him – going to Him in our need and yielding to His will. Prayer shows that a relationship exists between God the supplier and ourselves as petitioners. We are like a Shepherd with His sheep. The relationship is highlighted by the word “our” – our Maker and our God.

Part 3 – Listen

As well as worship, we gather for instruction and exhortation. We are to hear or listen; there is to be preaching or teaching. God speaks to us through the scriptures that are read and explained and applied. This is not a formality of religious repetitions, but rather serious communication between God (the object of worship and sender of the words we need to understand life and our responsibility toward Him) and ourselves (singing and praying praise). Thus, for us actually to take in the message – to “hear His voice” – is most important. So, the Lord warns us, “Do not harden your hearts.” The psalmist is thinking of the incident that took place in the wilderness when the people complained about a lack of water. This took place at “Meribah” (quarreling) and “Massah” (testing), where they quarreled with Moses and tested God, questioning whether He was really with them or not (Exodus 17:1-7). God saw this as evidence of a “hardened heart” – a heart of unresponsiveness and unbelief toward God.

This same thought is also found in Hebrews 4:1-13 where New Testament era believers were similarly warned of the danger of growing cold and disobedient, and thus missing out on the “rest” of realizing and enjoying God’s presence today. To fail to rest in God is to show that we have also failed to understand and accept His ways. Hard hearts toward God in Moses’ time led to a ban from the promised land and means great loss in our day, too. We should always earnestly seek God’s approval and fellowship.

Your Turn:

  1. Read Psalm 95 and Hebrews 4:1-13.

  2. If you can identify some act of disobedience in your own life, how is that impacting your walk with God today?

  3. Notice how different the tone is from Parts 1 & 2 on the one hand and Part 3 on the other hand. Praising and honouring God through song and prayer draws us closer to Him, while distrusting Him earns God’s loathing and our loss.

  4. The Hebrew 4 application of this event ends with a call to listen/hear/pay attention to and obey God’s Word: “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12).”

    Day 214   –   Restoration

    Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Psalm 107:1-3

    Have you ever asked yourself, ‘How did I get myself into this mess?’ You find yourself in some kind of trouble and wonder why you were so careless as to let this happen and how you will ever get out of it. The Psalmist expresses this dilemma in Psalm 107. Four times he observes “Some wandered in desert wastes” – “Some sat in darkness” – “Some were fools” – and “Some went down…” But he also sees people coming to realize they were in trouble: “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble” (repeated in verses 6, 13, 19, and 28). And having been delivered by God, he shows gratitude to  God: “Let them thank the LORD for His steadfast love” (found in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31).

    Four times these words are repeated:     Some got into trouble / Then they cried  to the LORD / Let them thank the LORD.

    The theme of gratitude to God for His lovingkindness that led to rescue or redemption is stated n the introduction (verses 1-3) and the conclusion (verses 42-43).

    Sources of our Troubles

    The source of our troubles varies. The first source is unsettledness and restlessness that grows out of a life without purpose. It’s like wandering in a desert, hungry, thirsty and faint (vv. 4-5). We might ask ourselves what we’re supposed to be doing next in life. We might feel unfulfilled. This might be our own fault or perhaps not. I know a man who suffered a stroke in his fifties and as unable to work in his satisfying job. He asked me, “Why did this happen? What am I to do now?”

    The second source of trouble is rebellion against God and what He teaches about how to live (v. 11). Rebellion leads to darkness and affliction, and to being bound by certain vices (v. 10). If you reject God, you have no one to help (v. 12).

    The third source of our trouble is foolishly getting involved in sinful practices (v. 17).  Sinful ways, like the rebellion of the previous section, bring affliction upon us. Perhaps the affliction is bad treatment by the wrong company we’re keeping, or maybe it is ill health, physical and/or mental. We may feel like life’s not worth living (“the gates of death”, v. 18).

    The fourth source of our troubles is less obvious. Verse 23 mentions going out to sea and doing business. I think the idea is that this person has gotten caught up in work and the business of making money, only to find that even ‘success’ in such ventures may come, there is an emptiness to life. Busy efforts to rise increase in social importance or money and things it buys, are not enough. This person eventually sinks down to the depths and staggers, coming to their wit’s end (vv. 26-27).

    Then they cried to the LORD

    The sad results of the troubles we get into do not need to be the end of the story. In each case, individuals came to their senses and “cried to the LORD in their trouble” (vv. 6, 13, 19, 28). They confessed to the Lord the error of their ways. They realized He was their only way out. They sought the Lord. Weather our trouble is caused by purposelessness, rebellion, sinful lifestyle, or succumbing to a worldly definition of success- whatever the cause, the Lord has an answer. He can rescue us from our trouble. Thus, in all four cases, when they cried for His help, “He delivered them from their distress” (vv. 6b, 13b, 19b, 28b). In the first case, God gave them a purpose to live and “led them in a straight way” (v. 7) and satisfied them (v. 9). He freed them from bondage (v.14). “He sent out His word and healed them” (v. 20a), delivering them from their destructive lifestyle (v. 20b). He calmed the storms they were feeling inside (vv. 29-30).

    Thankfulness

    Now, they are encouraged to thank God for His love and work on their behalf (vv. 9, 15, 21, 31). If any of us is wise, “attend to these things” and “consider the steadfast love of the LORD” (v. 43). Pay attention and give thought to why there is trouble, what we should do about it, and how God is ready and willing to deliver us.

    Your Turn:

    1. Read Psalm 107.

    2. Isn’t this a delightful psalm?! It goes from trouble to prayer, to release and restoration.

    3. What trouble is holding onto you now? Some people see that they are in trouble and even see what got them there, but still refuse to seek God’ s forgiveness and rescue. How sad!

    4. Have you come to a point where you see no other way out than God and His way? Will you seek and submit to Him and enjoy His restoration?

    5. Deliverance brings gladness: “The upright see it and are glad.” (v. 42)

Day 215             Falsely Accused

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise Him in the midst  of the throng. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one., to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. Psalm 109:30-31

In scripture, speaking falsely of someone is considered a serious matter. The ninth commandment states, “You shall not bear false witness against your brother.” (Exodus 20:16) Punishment was serious:

18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,  19then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge   the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such  evil among you.. Deuteronomy 19:18-19

In the Book of Esther, the wicked Haman spoke falsely to the King about the court official Mordecai, Queen Esther’s relative. Haman built a gallows and planned to hang Mordecai on it. But in the end it was Haman, not Mordecai, who suffered that fate. David also knew something about being falsely accused. In I Samuel 24:9, David meets Saul and says, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’?”

Psalm 109, penned by David, reflects on the pain of being falsely accused. “Wicked and deceitful mouths have opened up against me, seeking against me with lying tongues.” They attacked David “without cause”. While David had shown love and only good towards them, these people had given to him “evil for good and hatred for [his] love” (verses 2-5). Thus, David asked that God not be silent- he wanted God to act against these false accusers (v. 1).

In fact, David was extreme in his desire for vengeance, as verses 6-20 show. He wanted them to suffer such treatment themselves, that their families be destitute, their assets be seized, their names be unremembered in history, they be shamed, and receive no kindness, and that their curses be repaid – “let curses come upon them”. All of this sounds very severe, and it was. The best we can say is that David did ask God to do the avenging; he did not take it into his own hands. Notice verses 15 and 20: “”Let them be before the Lord continually… May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life!”

Such is the emphasis of the next section (vv. 21-31). “But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for Your name’s sake…” (v.21). We sense that David has taken a deep breath and calmed down. He sees that vengeance is to be left to God. He still expresses his need (vv. 22-25), and he still cries for help: “Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to Your steadfast love! Let them know that this is your hand; You, O Lord, have done it!” (vv. 26-27). He knows that God will handle the matter correctly and gives thanks, praising God, “for he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.” (v. 31)

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus calls on us to be merciful and to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:7, 9). We are not to be like our accusers! The Lord explains, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt. 5:11-12) Jesus adds in verses 38-42 that retaliation for the wrongs done to us is not what should characterize us, and the Apostle Paul continued this thought in Romans 12, telling us to bless and not curse those who persecute us, and to overcome evil with good (vv. 14, 21). He adds, “ 18 If possible,so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves,but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says_the Lord.’”

Your Turn:

  1. Read Psalm 109 and Romans 12.

  2. Think of a case where you were falsely accused. Now, think again, this time of whether or not you have forgiven that person. Have you? Have you given the matter to God? Have you done as Jesus said, namely blessed them in some way?

  3. Having known the hurt others have caused you in the past or present, look around you at others who may also be suffering bad treatment. Pray for God to comfort and strengthen them in the face of such difficulty.

  4. Notice that verse 21 asks that God deal with the false witness “for Your (God’s) sake”. When someone is wrongly treated it is an act against God, not just that person. And how the accuser is treated in return also should be so that God’s name be honoured. It’s not just about me; we should respond in a way that God is glorified.

  5. Thank God for His nearness and ability to discern the right way to handle the false accusations directed at you.

Day 216             Who Am I?

13  For you formed my inward parts; You_ knitted me together in my mother’s womb.14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.16 Your eyes saw my   unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.              Psalm 139:13-16

The picture was taken 70 years ago. My older brother is teaching me how to ride a bicycle. Both boys are smiling. Life is an adventure. Riding a bicycle is one of those forever moments when you transition from an earlier stage of life (tricycles) to a more mature stage (bicycles)! What other transitions await? – from bicycle to car, from grade one to high school to university to a job, to becoming a husband or wife, to becoming a father or mother, to becoming a grandparent, to retirement.

My brother’s days on earth ended some years ago. Our passage of scripture says God knew him when he was first formed in the womb. God knew then what he would be come as a person and in his occupation, etc. Seventy years after that photo, most of my story has been written and I prize the reflections on how God has guided me, but there is still the final section – what does God have in store for me? How will I respond to His leading?

Psalm 139 paints a lovely picture of God’s care of us throughout life. “In Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (v. 16).

  1. KNOWLEDGE – verses 1-12

David begins by saying that God knows him. What does God know about us? Answer:                                                                                             our routines (v. 2a)   – when I sit down, when I rise up                                          our thoughts (v. 2b) – He discerns our thoughts from afar                                                 our plans (v. 3)           – our paths                                                                               our words (v. 4)         – before a word is on my tongue

This thorough knowledge of us is amazing: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” (v. 6).  I, myself, know my routines well enough, but I’m not so sure that I really know my thoughts (why do some things completely irrelevant pop into my head?), my plans (what is the best thing to do now?), or my words (why do I come out with words that are inappropriate or out of place?). But God knows me thoroughly! I might also be defensive about my routines, thoughts, plans, and words, whereas God knows whether these things are honourable or not.

Maybe this is what David had in mind at the end of the Psalm when he submits to God’s probing – “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!” (vv. 23-24). Maybe, it is also what leads him to state the truth that God knows us because He is everywhere present – as described in verses 7-12. “Where shall I flee from Your presence?” (v. 7) to heaven or hell? to the uttermost parts of the sea? to the darkness of night? No, none of these would work.

And that fact is not a disturbing realization. When I was a young boy, seven or eight, I was playing baseball with friends. I was the catcher when one of the boys swung at the ball and threw his bat upon contact. The bat hit me between the eyes. My father contacted the doctor who told him to wake me every couple of hours through the night to see if I was fully conscious. I’m sure my parents slept little that night as they hovered over me. (I was OK except for two black eyes that probably impressed my school friends.) In a similar way, modern parents place a monitor in their baby’s room so they can hear any concerning sounds as they work or relax elsewhere in the house. Having their continual watchfulness is a good thing, a comforting presence. We can be confident of God’s presence, too.

  1. PRAISE – verses 13-18

The next section is one of praise to God for how amazingly He has made us. “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” We were not hidden from God even while we grew in the womb (v. 15). Even before we were born, God knew us, and He already knows how long our days will be (v. 16). “How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” (v. 17) God thinks of us constantly – When “I awake, I am still with You” (v.18).

  1. HATRED – verses 19-22

David moves from praise for all that we’ve seen till now in this Psalm to a request for God to deal with the wicked – those who speak against God maliciously, taking His name in vain. He counts such people as enemies. David is inequivalently on God’s side. These are harsh words, but note that David sees wickedness as being done against God Himself and is asking God (not David) to deal with the problem of evil in our world.

  1. SEARCH – verses 23-24

The writer asks God to search or try his heart. Even with regards to the wicked just mentioned, David would have God search out any wrong motives he may harbour. It should not disturb us to have God know us as He does and to search our heart.

Your Turn:

  1. Read Psalm 139.

  2. Are you comfortable with God’s knowledge of you? Does it act to reassure you of His care? If such searching reveals something unacceptable in God’s sight, are you ready to deal with that?

  3. Each of us is a unique creation of God’s, fearfully and wonderfully made. This no doubt refers to more than the wonders of the physical body. It also applies to the uniqueness of our character, interests, skills, etc. When we look at a newborn we see a world of possibilities and wonder about the mystery of personhood and how that will be seen in this little one as s/he grows. “Wonderful are Your work works, my soul knows it very well.” (v. 14)

Day 217      I AM

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”  Exodus 3:14

Robert Hampshire, “”What are all of the “I AM” statements of Jesus? (2020: Christianity.com). https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/what-are-all-of-the-i-am-statements-of-jesus.html

 

It is hard for us to come to grips with the idea of “eternity” or of something that is “eternal”. We usually think of an existence that carries on forever. And that is a correct understanding when applied to those of us who place their faith in Jesus. As Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) But when we apply the term “eternal” to God, it is not enough to look to the future, beyond time, but we also must think of God as being before time began. We see this illustrated in Exodus 3 and John 8. 

When God called Moses to the task of leading the enslaved people of Israel out of Egypt, Moses asked, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’, what shall I say to them?” We read that God replied, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13-14). The idea is that the God who has always existed had sent Moses to them.  

Then, in the New Testament, it is Jesus who uses this name of Himself. He is speaking to the religious leaders of His time and states that He has known God the Father and also that Abraham anticipated the day Jesus would come. They question that he could have known Abraham and the Lord answers, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) The Son, like God the Father, transcends time.

In the next seven devotionals, we will consider the seven “I AM” statements of Jesus, as found in the Gospel of John.

I am the Bread of Life – John 6                                                                                                                                                       I am the Light of the World. – John 8                                                                                                                                       I am the Door (Gate) of the Sheep. – John 10                                                                                                                               I am the Good Shepherd. – John10                                                                                                                                                I am the Resurrection and the Life. – John 11                                                                                                                         I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. – John14                                                                                                                   I am the True Vine. – John 15

That’s next, but for now we would benefit from meditating on the relationship of God the Father to God the Son (Jesus). Both are identified as the “I AM”. Both are eternal God. The “I AM” statement also assures us of Jesus’ presence with us, as it was in the disciples’ time. He protects and guides and enables us as He did for saints of previous times. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Your Turn:

  1. Read Exodus 3:13-15 and John 8:448-59.

  2. What does it mean to you to have the same God working for you as was with Abraham or Moses?