Daily Bible Study for Tuesday November
15, 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 trust this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another
version, that is fine. I am studying from the KJV.
***Please
note a change! We will look at everything for our basic study from the King
James Version going forward. It is helpful to stay with one solid version as we
study so as not to cause confusion. I may add other translations for specific
scriptures as the Lord directs.
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
Psalm 119:143
Trouble and anguish have taken
hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.
Psalm 100
This Is Why We Praise Him
The Bible is nothing short of glorious – like the One who
authored it! Today’s lesson is a perfect continuation to yesterday’s lesson. He
is a holy, awesome God. We should come before Him with great reverence. We
should worship Him for who He is and recognize His mighty power. Today, we look
at why we praise Him. Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
The heavens and earth declare Your glory! You are awesome,
You are holy, You are righteous and You are just. You are worthy of all our
praise at all times. Father, I ask You for the anointing and utterance to speak
Your word with boldness, clarity, accuracy and excellence. According to Matthew
18:19, we agree as touching Your holy anointed word today, and as we do, we
believe that we will receive from You the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the
hearts to receive all that You have for us. Father, we ask for the wisdom,
revelation, understanding and answers that we need through Your word in this
chapter. Show us how to reverence You more and praise You correctly. Show us
any error in our thinking and how we can overcome it by meditating on Your word
day and night. Cause this message to go out unhindered and unchecked by any
outside force or my flesh. Thank You for always watching over Your word to
perform it in our lives when we obey You. We purpose to be doers of Your word
and not forgetful hearers. Thank You in advance for the answers to this prayer
as we place our trust in You Lord – in Jesus name. Amen.
Isn’t the Lord amazing in the way He ties His word together
so beautifully, like a finely woven garment? Amen! What we studied yesterday
was such a wonderful way to learn how to reverence God more. And here we are
today, learning about the reasons we have to praise Him – and there are
certainly many. The Psalm starts out with what we are called to do as His blood
bought, born again children. We are called to praise the Lord; making a joyful
noise. How many know that worship should be a joyful thing? God is joy, and
worshiping Him can be done in a spirit of joy. This is very pleasing to Him.
That is why He calls us to do it. Joy is a fruit of His Spirit…
Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith,
Look at what David called the
people to do…
1 Chronicles 15:16
And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to
be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals,
sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.
The next thing we are called to do is to serve the Lord with gladness.
We are called to serve Him with a glad heart. Have you ever been in a church
and heard people that were volunteering complaining about having to be there
and complaining that they always had to do all this work while others did nothing?
I know I have. This does not honor the Lord, nor does He accept the work as an
acceptable sacrifice to Him because of the heart that it was done with. When we
serve Him in the body – however we are called to do it, we should be eager to
do it, and do it with joy, gratitude.
Serving the Most High God is a privilege
and an honor, and we should do it with excellence. Anything less, He will not accept.
I have seen a new thing at the church we attend now. Here, the pastors will not
tolerate any grumbling or complaining. They expect the people who choose to
serve as they are led by Holy Spirit, to serve with honor, respect and joy.
For the first time in my life, I have seen what church should
look like in the way things are done there. It is awesome to see. Every church
could function the same way. It is a matter of the heart. God is so good. He
has done so much for us. Serving Him should never be considered “drudgery.” He
certainly did not consider it drudgery to go to the cross to pay the priceless
cost for the salvation of our souls. Why would we complain about serving Him?
And what does it matter to us what someone else is doing anyway? That is
between them and the Lord. It is not our business. Look at this…
Colossians 3:23
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
This leads us to the next command in this chapter – to come
before Him with singing, not grumbling or complaining. This pleases the Lord.
The attitude that we have in our heart, way down deep, is what the Lord is
looking at. He isn’t looking at the surface. He can dig down to the core of us
and know if our hearts are really in the things we do as we approach Him in church
or at home, etc.
We are called to know these three things about the Lord:
His person – that the Lord is God
His power – He is the One who made us – it was not flesh that
did it
His purpose – To make us His people; the sheep of His
pasture, hallelujah!
So, when we come to a meeting in the church building, or we
go to Him in our private time of prayer and worship, we should always enter
into His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Giving God thanks
at all times and in everything is very important. Look at this…
1 Thessalonians 5:18
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
A grateful heart pleases God and opens the windows of heaven
upon us – hallelujah. Did you know that after we have done the will of God, (by
giving thanks) that we receive the promise? Paul and Silas were not complaining
about being in prison, nor were they begging for a way out. What did they do?
They were praising the Lord! And we know what happened next. The earth started
quaking and the walls started shaking, and the locks came off and they were
free.
This is how effective and powerful being thankful to God truly is. Praise
His name forever! In the worst of times, if we will focus on His goodness and
continue to give Him thanks and praise as His word instructs us to do, we are
doing the will of God. After that, victory is ours! No matter how it comes, God
always gives the victory to those who love Him and thankfully praise His name.
We are also called to bless His name. How do we do this? Look
at this…
Psalm 34:1
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall
continually be in my mouth.
God wants His people to bless Him just like He blesses us. He
deserves to be blessed after all He has done for us – hallelujah! Let’s look at
some definitions on the word “bless” from the Webster’s 1828 dictionary…
Bless
1. To
pronounce a wish of happiness to one; to express a wish or desire of happiness.
And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. Genesis 28:3.
2. To
make happy; to make successful; to prosper in temporal concerns; as, we are
blest with peace and plenty.
The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all
thou doest. Deuteronomy 15:4.
3. To
make happy in a future life.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Revelation 14:13.
4. To
set apart or consecrate to holy purposes; to make and pronounce holy.
And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Genesis 2:3
5. To
consecrate by prayer; to invoke a blessing upon.
And Jesus took the five loaves and the two fishes, and
looking up to heaven he blessed them. Luke 9:16.
6. To
praise; to glorify, for benefits received.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Psalms 103:1.
7. To
praise; to magnify; to extol, for excellencies. Psalms 104:1.
8. To
esteem or account happy; with the reciprocal pronoun.
The nations shall bless themselves in him. Jeremiah 4:2.
9. To
pronounce a solemn prophetical benediction upon. Genesis 2:37. Deuteronomy 33:11.
The Bible says it is right to give Him thanks and praise. There
is a whole lot in there about us blessing Him, starting in the book of Genesis
and going from there all the way through. It is our duty as His children – if we
truly love Him. We have talked about what we are called to do. Let’s take a few
moments to look at why we are to do these things toward our awesome God and
Savior. Verse 5 says it all…
Psalm 100:5
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.
We do it because God is good. He is always good and He always
does good. There is no one else in all existence besides the Lord who can claim
this attribute. Only God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – the one
true God, is good all the time. Can you even begin to name all the ways that He
has been good to you? We can rest assured that anything bad that has happened
to us in this life had nothing to do with God. He cannot do anything but that
which is good. Look at this…
Psalm 34:8
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
And the Lord is rich in mercy! Oh, is He ever! We can all
attest to that, can’t we saints? If it had not been for His mercy; not
requiring of us the payment due for our sins which is eternal death and separation
from Him. He has had mercy on His creation and made a way for us when there seemed
to be no way out of our sinful ways – thank You Jesus! When we look at the
Bible, that is all we see from beginning to end…
Psalm 107:1
O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
And the Lord is truth – all the time. How many know we need
truth? The world has been filled with satan’s lies, but we have the God of
truth who is faithful. He is on our side. If we seek Him in every situation we
face, we will always find out the truth. He is faithful…
John 8:31-32
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on
him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 and
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Friend,
if you are looking for truth in your life and circumstances, look no further
than Jesus. He is available to everyone and He will always bring truth to our
lives. He is indeed worthy of all our praise. This lesson is a shorter study
today, but only in number of words. Its importance is of the highest value.
Words cannot describe how good and awesome our great God is. After the past two
days, we can see a better way to approach Him and a much more excellent way to
worship Him.
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
We should approach the Lord with joy
at all times
Believers are to praise and bless
the Lord at all times
Giving thanks is a major way to
bless the Lord
Questions:
What spoke to your heart the most in this lesson?
How do you believe it will change your praise and worship of
the Lord in the future?
What can you do right now to praise Him?
What are some of the good things that God has done for you?
Who can you share this study with?
How
many ways can you praise the Lord?
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for the many ways You love and bless
Your people. Lord, You are worthy of all my praise, in every area of my life. I
want to bless You more and more. Father, help me see where I need to improve
and how to do it. I want to exalt You the way You deserve to be exalted in my
private worship time as well as my corporate worship. Thank You Lord for being
so good to me. I adore You and love You Lord! In Jesus name. Amen!
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For
this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That
he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in
love,
18 May
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height;
19 And
to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled
with all the fulness of God.
20 Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto
him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without
end. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment