Daily Bible Study for Friday September
23, 2016
By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N
Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying
God’s Word Around The Globe”
Chapter Reading
for Today: Please read in
your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered
paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate
translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful
for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their
wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version,
that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I
will keep it with the New King James Version.
One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my
own writing. I am adding red to the letters when
it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.
Bible
Gateway Verse of the Day
Romans 5:3-4
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character;
and character, hope.
Psalm
100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless
His name.
Song: Better Than Life By: Lakewood Live (You Tube)
Psalm 63
God Satisfies Us Abundantly
All of the Psalms are so rich
and wonderful. Each one carries its own unique style and meaning for the
Christian soul. This one brings some real comfort to a person who may be in a
very desolate place in life right now. Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for being the God
who comforts us. Your lovingkindness is better than life itself – this is
certain! Because of Who You are we give You glory! We rejoice in God our
Savior. You have helped us in more ways than we can ever know in this life. We bless
You Lord! You are so good and worthy of all our praise! Father, I ask You to
give me the anointing and the utterance to speak the message You want to give
us all today. Cause this to go out across the globe to reach millions of hungry
souls Lord. You alone can satisfy them who are weary. Use me as Your vessel to
bring a message of hope, comfort and great joy to hurting people. Father, I
know that my Daddy in heaven, You, are a loving, giving and healing God and Father.
I want to bring a bunch of hurting “kids” home to my house where I live – in Your
presence where there is fullness of joy. Lord I live to bring as many with me to
Your courts with praise as You will allow. There is no limit with You. Help me
to tell them that my Daddy is a good Daddy, a giving Daddy. Help them see that
in the place where You dwell there is abundance and there is healing. Father,
make this message reach the ends of the earth unhindered and unchecked by any
outside force or my flesh. As we study, we will make it our goal to please You
by being doers of Your word and not just forgetful hearers. Thank You for
always watching over Your word to perform it in our lives when we obey what You
say. Thank You in advance for the comfort You are bringing us in this Psalm. We
delight ourselves in Your holy anointed word and praise You and rejoice in You -
in the precious, loving and kind name of Jesus! Amen.
Just reading this Psalm
through a couple of times will bring any weary soul up from a place of
desolation. My heart lifted the more I studied. Just this morning as I cried
through some things, the Lord was showing me how important it is to allow something
that is eating at us to come up and out. Aside from actually vomiting (Yes, I
know, gross!) we have been given a way to release the stress and pressures of
our souls through crying. Jesus actually uses out tears to heal us. He is all
about healing and comforting His people. Let’s look at a verse He showed me as
I prepared to start this work…
Matthew 9:35-36
Then Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But
when He saw the multitudes, He
was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and
scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Jesus is very compassionate.
Why do you think people are that way – at least most of them? Because the
Master is, and we were made in His likeness and image – that’s why. He is so
loving. In the Psalm today it is written that the Lord’s lovingkindness is
better than life! Can I get an amen on that saints?! In the New King James
version there are 32 verses that tell of His lovingkindness! To experience His
kind of love and His kindness is like nothing this world could ever offer. As
one who has needed tremendous amounts of comfort, I can testify to this about Him
from real experience. We can only try to imagine what it must have been like to
lay one’s head up against His breast at the table when He ate the final meal
with His disciples. No doubt there were other meals where they could be close
to Him like that, but in that particular scene, we can see the tenderness of
our Savior.
As I was working around the
house this morning I thought about a girl named Gloria. I had known her when I
was about 13 years old. Her father was beating her regularly. I believe that he
was an alcoholic, and he took out his pain on this precious daughter of his. I
wanted her to come and stay at our house. Truth be known, things weren’t much
better at my house. With all the neglect and dysfunctional living we had going
on, it was certainly no place of refuge I can assure you. But my heart went out
to people who were hurting. I wanted to help but really had no way to do
anything tangible at the time. As I thought about her today, some 47 years
later, I lifted her before the Lord in prayer. I have no idea where she is or
if she is even alive - but He knows. He knows where all the hurting people are.
The Lord is known as the God
of all comfort. Anyone who has taken the time to get into His presence when
they were hurting can attest to this. Though we can’t physically see Him yet,
His love and His comfort comes through to us in a powerful way. Oh how I adore
Him! He is the Lover of our souls. The Psalmist understood the importance of
seeking God early. What does this really mean.? It is not just in the morning,
though that is necessary for seeking the Lord on a daily basis. He is always
the best and right place to start any day.
Seeking Him early also means
going to Him right away when things go awry. The longer we wait the worse
things can get. Friends, there are a lot of hurting, dry, longing souls out
there. There are millions who have been hurt by the curse in this life. Abuse
is rampant. The devil is out there doing his very best to steal, kill and
destroy. And so far, he has done too good of a job. He is after God’s people
and also those who do not yet know Him. The devil wants everyone to go to hell
right along with him. And until he gets them there he will wreak havoc in their
lives as long as they keep the door open for him to do so.
Regardless of the reasons we
may be hurting deep down in our souls, be it our own sins or the sins of others
inflicted upon us, Jesus wants to come in and heal up those wounds. He can bind
them up and make them as though they never existed. In the text above, we see
that He went around healing every sickness. He wants that for everyone – even today.
He had compassion on them who were weary. There’s a lot of weary people out
there. It doesn’t take us long to see one in our daily lives, does it. They’re
everywhere. When I look into the faces of the majority of people I see when I
am out and about town, I see pain, darkness, and emptiness in their eyes – the windows
to their souls. It hurts my heart because it hurts the Lord’s heart.
How many are out there right
now who have no shepherd? Jesus is our Shepherd. He wants to go find even the
one who is missing from the fold and bring them is. Is that you today? If so,
you can drop what you are doing right now and call on Jesus. That’s all you
have to do. Just call on His mighty name. Ask Him to come to you. Ask Him to
live in your heart and be your Lord and Savior. Tell Him anything and
everything that is on your heart – He is right there ready to listen. He wants
to take you into His arms and comfort you. He wants to dry your tears. And if
you already know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, know that whatever you have
been going through you can take it to Him in prayer right now. He will heal
you, if you will let Him. Oh He is so precious! Praise His name forever! Look at this…
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon
you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden
is light.”
He is calling you now – can you hear Him?
His lovingkindness is drawing you…
Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an
everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
I don’t know what to say at this moment. Selah. Stop and say these words
out loud right now. Do you know that the more you say God’s words out loud from
your mouth and hear them in your ears, the more blessed you will be from them? Yes,
it is true. God’s word is powerful. It is effective. It penetrates to the
deepest part of the human heart. When we place our faith in His word by believing
it in our hearts, and then saying it, looking at it with our eyes, we are
transformed. The entrance of His words bring light…
Psalm 119:130
The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding
to the simple.
When a soul is weary there is
darkness. But meditating on His words will shine light into that darkness.
David said in the Psalm for today that as he lay in his bed to sleep at night
he would meditate on the Lord’s words. That means he would spend time thinking
about them. He would think about how the Lord had helped him in the past. And what
was the result? It caused him to worship the Lord and bless Him. He would raise
his hands toward heaven and he sang praises with joy upon his lips –
hallelujah! That’s what thinking about the Lord and His words can do for
anyone! It’s true. A lot of Christians have become dull to this. They go to church
and may see a verse or two on Sunday, but go home and fail to meditate on God
and His words. It renders them powerless in their lives.
David rejoiced in the Lord’s
shelter – His protective covering over him. Friends, this is a shelter that is
available for anyone who will seek it. God will never turn anyone away – never,
never, never! Many of us have been turned away by people and have been terribly
hurt. But not Jesus. No, He will never deny granting someone a healing or
comfort. His compassions are new…
Lamentations 3:22-23
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not. They
are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
A lot of very foolish people
have given God a bad reputation. But they are all lies. Anyone who doesn’t see
the tender mercies and compassion of our God and speaks otherwise is a liar.
And today’s Psalm makes it clear about what happens to liars – they will be
silenced! The Lord is good at all times. David knew this. That’s why so much
praise came pouring out of his mouth. His words were a reflection of what he
spent his time meditating on – the Lord! What we think about the most is what
will come out of our mouths. We can tell a lot (not that we are judging anyone)
about a person by the things they talk about, can’t we?
Look at what Jesus said here…
Luke 6:20-21
Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples,
and said:
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the
kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Humble, weary, and poor people can come by
the droves to Jesus and not one will leave disappointed. Anyone who puts their
hope in Him will come out on the winning side. I think of the times I have
struggled when I didn’t need to. Oh what a terrible waste of good time that
was! When something hurts it must be dealt with. There is only one Doctor we
can go to for spiritual surgery and that is Jesus! He is everything we need
when we need it! He is right on time every time. I have a song that I exercise
to that says this, “He might not come when you want Him to but He will be right
on time.” I have to disagree with those words. And why? Because here is what
God says about that…
James 4:8a
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
If I want to be close to God – if I need Him for something, He is no
further than my breath. Religion makes it sound like we have to wait around and
maybe sometime He will decide to show up! Nonsense! He is with every born again
believer all the time. He doesn’t give us His Spirit when we get born again and
then take off on us and leave us hanging! He is our forever Savior – God and
Father – hallelujah! He will…
Hebrews 13:5
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
And look at what He does according to this verse when we go to Him
longingly…
Psalm 107:8-9
Oh, that men would give thanks
to the Lord for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with
goodness.
And another wonderful promise in this same
Psalm…
Psalm 107:19-20
Then they cried
out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out
of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and
delivered them from their destructions.
My friends, I sincerely hope
you don’t just read these words. Say them out loud and think about them.
Pretend you are a sponge right now – soak them into your spirit. Drink them in.
Like taking a big gulp of refreshing, ice cold spring water. Jesus is known as
Living Water. When David cried out that he was thirsty, it wasn’t physical
water he needed. It was Jesus – Living Water that would refresh his soul. Did you know that God’s words are like water?
They can wash over us - cleanse us and refresh us like nothing else…
Ephesians 5:26
that He might sanctify and
cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
We can enter into His presence without reading a thing and He will
comfort us. And when we get into His Word He will refresh us and wash us clean.
How glorious is He! Let’s look at verse 5 in the King James Version…
Psalm 63:5
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and
fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
When we look up those words in the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, we see
that what the Lord is telling us here is that He will give us the best, and in
abundance! Hallelujah! How many of you could stand to be satisfied with God’s
best in abundance right now? Today I have been, over and over. If I could tell
you of all the great things He has done for my soul in just this one day it
would amaze you. But we don’t have the time or the room for it all! He is so
good! Like David said, because of all that the Lord had done for him, he was
going to rejoice right along with all the other saints. Is that your heart’s
theme? Are you overflowing with His love and goodness right now where you feel
as if you could burst at the seams? Or are you feeling dry, weary and parched
in a place of desolation?
My friends, whatever battle has come against you, Jesus can rescue you.
He can walk you through it to the other side. In the end of it all you will be
singing His praises and dancing – like David often did. No wonder David danced
wildly in the streets! He had experienced the goodness and the glory of God in
His presence after seeking Him. He went straight to the sanctuary of His
lovingkindness and found what his soul needed the most – God’s love and
compassion. No matter what you are going through, no matter you may have done
or what’s been done to you, the Lord is waiting to lavish His lovingkindness
all over you! Now that’s the gospel in a nutshell! It’s good news to him that
is weary. Whether you are weary or rejoicing, the sanctuary of our God is the
place to be. In His presence is fullness of joy. Look at what He does for us…
Psalm 55:18
He has redeemed my
soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
for there were many against me.
Oh He is a good God who longs to do great things for people. All we have
to do is reach up and take it – it’s ours for the taking. Talk about mercy!
Here’s another word that is encouraging when we are facing enemies. David
mentioned his enemies briefly in our chapter today and knew that the Lord would
cause his enemies to be consumed – glory to God…
Psalm 105:24
He increased His
people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies.
So whoever you are, I invite you to come to the
well of Living Water and take a great big drink! Let Jesus satisfy your weary,
longing soul. Let Him teach you what is good and take you out of that desolate
place into the very best that He has to offer – and lots of it! You will be so
glad you did! Praise His name forever!
Questions:
What does it mean to seek the Lord early?
What can you do if your soul is thirsty and weary?
What will you experience in God’s presence according to verse
2?
What is named as “better than life” in this chapter?
What does it mean to be satisfied as with “marrow and
fatness?”
What did David do while he laid in his bed at night?
What does Jesus want to do for you according to this chapter
and study?
In what way do you need to call on Him right now?
What will you do differently as a result of studying this
chapter?
Who can you share this study with and be a blessing to?
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
Jesus is calling all who are weary
Spending time thinking about the
Lord causes our hearts to rejoice
God’s lovingkindness is truly better
than anything this life holds
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for Your unfailing love! Your lovingkindness is
the best thing for me in this life and the next. Father, help me to see
anything in my soul that might need to come up and out right now. Show me the
path I should take as I follow You closely. Thank You that all Your ways are
right and they hold me up through all this life brings my way. I give You all
the glory, honor and praise for who You are and all You do Lord in Jesus
wonderful name. Amen!
Have
you called on Jesus to save and comfort you?
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Psalm 103:1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
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