Daily Bible Study for Wednesday
November 9, 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
Isaiah 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Psalm 96
Sing a New Song
What does it really mean to sing a new song anyway? Well,
today I have a new song. It is a song of triumph in the name of Jesus –
hallelujah! I have reached a physical and spiritual goal in my life that looked
completely impossible to me in days gone by. I was singing the blues over the
struggle in my flesh. It was like a broken record and just about as exciting. Oh,
but now, thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has caused me to
overcome. Now I am no longer singing those old blues. Now I am singing a new
song of praise – just like today’s Psalm is telling us. I have marked it on my
calendar and now I can make new goals and aspire to new heights in my life -
glory to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! How about you? What song are
you singing these days? Is it the same old tune of defeat and struggle, or do
you have a song of praise upon your lips? Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
You are worthy of all our praise! Thank You for all You are
and all You do for the sons of men. Thank You for Your great power that works
effectively in our lives when we place our trust in You. Thank You for giving
us a new song to sing as we get the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let
everything that has breath praise You Lord! You alone are worthy! Father, I ask
You to give me the anointing and utterance to bring Your message to Your church
with boldness, accuracy and excellence. I ask You to give glory to Yourself as
You speak to the hearts of anyone who will ever read this message. I ask You to
bring forth a new song in their hearts Lord as they come up to a higher place
in their walk with You by the power of Holy Spirit. Cause this message to go
out unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. Lord, as we
receive what You have for us today, we will purpose in our hearts to be doers
of Your word and not hearers only. Thank You for always watching over Your word
to perform it in our lives when we place our trust in You by doing what You
tell us to do. Thank You in advance for changing us through the study of Your
word and for answering this prayer. We believe we receive it in the mighty name
of Jesus. Amen.
In all the space of time and history, how amazing it is that
today of all the days in my life, this is the day we are studying this Psalm
about singing a new song! I do not know how the Lord does what He does, but He
is amazing, we know that. I could have been anywhere else doing anything else
but this, but by His power, by His direction of my footsteps, here I am today,
singing a new song. And you have to hear this.
I just got up and checked the
mail. In it, there was something from a ministry we support. Enclosed therein
was a stand-up card for Thanksgiving that had a verse from today’s Psalm on it!
How amazing is that! Praise the Lord. As a former (yes, FORMER!) sugar addict,
I stand before you a changed woman! Glory to God! I have reached a spiritual
and physical goal such as I have never before seen in my entire (almost) 61
years on this earth. I am truly singing a new song of praise to Him today.
What looked like a complete impossibility to me has become
not only a possibility in my life, but as of today, a reality. Hallelujah! I
was prompted to step on the scale this morning. I do not weigh myself every
day. I don’t need to. I know what I am eating and how I am exercising. I no
longer depend on a scale to note my progress. That said, it is a valuable tool
to help me to track my progress as I am prompted to. Today, I was prompted to
look. I saw a number on the scale that not only reached the goal the Lord had
set for me, but I have surpassed it. Glory to God! I have not seen numbers like
this since I was a young teenager, probably around 15 years old.
He has restored my youth like the eagle – praise His name
forever! Why am I sharing this with you? Because you need to hear what God has
done in my life so they can know that what He has done for me, He will do for
you. The thing is, we all have to do our part. We all have flesh and we all
have a choice. We have to take up our cross and follow Jesus every single day
by denying our flesh and following after the way that He lived. That’s what I had to do. It is what we will
always have to do to be His disciple.
Even though we have a choice, a free will that the Lord has
given us, we also have Him living inside of us when we are born again. It is He
who lives in us to will and to act according to His good pleasure. If we will
pay attention to His word…
2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
And if we will follow the leading of Holy Spirit - His
leading and prompting; if we will get back up and keep going every time we stumble;
we will reach the goals He is asking us to achieve. We will get there because His
power is perfect in our weakness. I wrote about this yesterday in the addiction
devotional. It really is true. I am living proof. Nobody can deny what the Lord
has done for me. I have seen it, lived it, experienced it fully in the Spirit and
in my flesh. I live to tell you and everyone who will listen about the love,
the mercy and the power of God in our lives when we really do place our trust
in Him…
Matthew 28:19-20
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world. Amen.
Trust is really the key. Being steadfast is key. Prayer is
vital. Repentance is vital. Patience, hope and perseverance are all keys to our
success. The name of Jesus is above the name of addiction. The power of God is
stronger than the power of the devil or our flesh. Reaching new goals in our
lives pleases the Father. He wants to see progress and growth in His children. He
wants to hear us singing a new song of praise to Him. He is not interested in
whining, complaining and grumbling. Exasperation/frustration will get us
nowhere.
But fully trusting Him and praising Him right on through the storm,
along with an undying persistence will please Him greatly.
Our Psalm today tells us to bless His name. What do you think
blesses the name of the Lord? A new song blesses His name. What if I was
writing to you today and telling you that I just keep giving in to my flesh and
that I am as far from my goal today as I was 10 years ago? Would that bring a
blessing to the name of the Lord in the world around us? Absolutely not! However,
when His children triumph in His name, it blesses His name – among the heathen
and the church – hallelujah! It shows forth His glory and His salvation in our
lives.
And, along with this, let’s not misunderstand the word
salvation either. Yes, it means to be saved and on our way to heaven, washed in
the blood of the Lamb. In addition to that however, it means salvation from
trials, difficult situations, obstacles; troubles from without and within.
Salvation for our souls is in His name. Healing, comfort, strength and power
are all manifestations of the salvation of the Lord. As we experience these
things in our lives, our duty is to show forth His glory and wonders among
those who are perishing and those who are saved – the church. All of creation
is groaning for the manifestations of the sons of God…
Romans 8:19
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
People in this world, both those who do not know Jesus and
those who are part of the church need to see the real church in victorious
people like you and me. This shows forth His praise. This blesses His holy
name. A broken down, busted and disgusted Christian is no shining light in this
dark world, we can be certain! Our lives should be filled with a new song of
worship as people look at us and see His power and strength revealed in us. We
should shine so brightly to others that they are drawn to our light, and
ultimately, to Him.
To know the fear of the Lord - the holy and reverent fear of
the Lord is to understand who He is, really. It is to know that He alone is God
above all gods. We were made to be gods, but He alone is God above all gods. We
are kings and priests; a royal priesthood, but He is the King of kings and the
Lord of Lords in all existence. Since honor and majesty go before Him, and
strength and beauty are the place where He dwells, His children must reflect the
things that show the world that He is actively working in our lives. They need
to see something different.
Why would people be drawn to a Christian who is driving a broken-down
car, living in an old beat up house, wearing rags for clothes with no money in
the bank and barely enough food on the table? They have plenty of that on their
own. Why would they listen to someone who is mumbling and complaining about their
troubles in their lives? Why would they want anything we have when we look exactly
like they do? How can we be a blessing to others if we have nothing to give them?
They know their lives are a mess – some more than others. They are looking for
the manifestation of something different. Something real – tangible. They need
to see something in the physical realm that convinces them that they too can
tap into the spiritual realm with faith if they will apply themselves. They
need to see God through us. They need to see Jesus with skin on – that’s you
and me saints.
They don’t need to hear the blues coming from the lips of the
church. They need to hear the new songs. When they do, their heads will turn,
make no mistake. Their “gears” will start turning. They may not show it on the
outside at first. They may watch us for a while to see if what they are seeing is
really real. But in time, oh, in time, they will start to stand up and take
notice.
Take me for example. I was born as a common girl. Nothing
pretty, nothing special. I didn’t have a quick wit or anything that was
outstanding to the world around me. I thought I was just about as plain as one
could get. I certainly was not anyone that people would notice. But the Lord
had a plan – hallelujah! He planned to buy us back from the enemy and make what
looked as foolishness to the world to be something supernaturally wonderful by
His mighty power…
1 Corinthians 1:25-31
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than
men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not
many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which
are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to
nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Only God could take a simpleton like me and raise me up to a
place of victory in Christ so I could sing a new song of praise to Him and
bring glory and honor to bless His holy name in the presence of all people.
Only He could take a poor girl like me and make me rich. He is worthy to be
praised! We are called to give the Lord the glory due His name. Doing what He tells
us to do in His word gives Him glory. Rebellion is showing forth the
characteristics of the devil. Obedience brings Him glory. Giving God strength
in our lives is a way to express His praise. We all know we can’t get to the
place of holiness that we need to arrive at without His strength. So, if we give
Him strength in our lives rather than giving place to the devil, He will be
honored, and greatly so. We are called to give Him an offering of praise as we
enter into His courts…
Psalm 100:4
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
The only way we can go into His presence is with thanks and
praise. Groaning and complaining will keep the door shut. He doesn’t want to
hear about our problems. He wants to hear about our faith in His word. He wants
to hear us thank Him no matter what we are facing. He is never the problem – He
is always the solution. Will we focus on the solution, our strong God, or the problem?
We get to choose. When I was writing a book about my life, (the draft – still in
progress), I wrote about how the Lord had taught me early on after I had
surrendered to Him back in 2005 that I could praise Him while I was still in
the midst of the worst of times in my life.
So much happened to me back then as I learned to do that. For
one thing, it pleased the Lord. Another thing is that it took my focus off of
what was going on around me and placed it on Him. It brought my faith up. It
gave my soul something that I could use to magnify the Lord, not the problem.
It brought me up out of the pit I was in, one step at a time. And it helped to
make those steps bigger rather than smaller - hallelujah!
What can a poor girl (or boy) offer to so great a King? An
offering of praise. It is precious to Him saints. Everything is birthed in an
attitude of praise. With that we can be sure our God is well pleased and highly
honored. And what does it mean to worship Him in the beauty of holiness? First,
let’s look at what holiness is – then we will find our answer. Here are some
descriptions from the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary…
The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral
character; freedom from sin; sanctity. Applied to the Supreme Being, holiness denotes
perfect purity or integrity of moral character, one of his essential
attributes.
Who is like thee, glorious in holiness?
Applied to human beings, holiness is purity
of heart or dispositions; sanctified affections; piety; moral goodness, but not
perfect.
Sacredness; the state of anything hallowed, or consecrated
to God or to his worship; applied to churches or temples.
That which is separated to the service of God.
How
can a man or woman go before the Lord with blood on their hands (sin) and
worship Him? He will not accept such a praise. We have to keep a clean heart.
He wants a spotless sacrifice. He always did, and He always will. That’s why He
accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. Just because we take a sacrifice
to Him does not mean He accepts it. We must go before Him in the beauty of holiness.
This is why it is so amazing that today’s Bible Gateway verse is applicable
here. It is no coincidence, amen. We have got to get sin out of our life. We
have to make the right choices. When we ask Him to show us anything unclean in
our lives and He does, then we need to repent and stop doing it. Then and only
then can we go before Him to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.
All
of the earth is called to fear (greatly reverence the Lord). Is that happening
right now? No, it isn’t. This is why we as His born-again children need to be
out there singing a new song of praise to His holy name.
All
of the earth needs to hear a new song in these troubled days and times. The
Bible tells us that in the last days (happening now) there would be perilous
times and great distress in the earth. But God is raising us up to be leaders
and people with a vision for hope and a future in spite of the troubled world
we now live in. He wants us to be leaders, offering solutions. A follower only
turns to someone else to solve the problem. But God wants to raise us up to be
leaders as we follow Jesus. To have a vision, by faith is to see something that
He is putting on our hearts as reality, long before it ever comes to pass in
the natural. That’s a new song worth singing about. It’s a song of faith. This
is also a song of praise to our God and King. Faith pleases the Lord.
We
are to say of the Lord that He reigns. People need to hear this. Our lives
should show others that He is the One reigning in our lives – not the devil or
our flesh. All the earth is established by Him. Our lives as Christians are
established by Him. He is the righteous Judge and He will come to judge the
living and the dead. The end is coming quickly. We may be going about our daily
business as if that time will never get here, but it will, oh it will - like a
thief in the night. It will come swiftly. In the meantime, everything in the
earth is called to rejoice in the Lord. His presence in His people and in this
earth by Holy Spirit can cause anyone to sing and rejoice – hallelujah!
How
about you? What kind of song are you singing these days? Is it a new one, or is
it the same ole’ song and dance of defeat and sorrow? We get to choose the song
we sing friend. It’s all about choice. Which tune will your lips be singing?
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
God can put a new song in any mouth
Believers are called to bless His name
and show forth His glory by living a victorious life in Him
Holiness is the only way we can
approach Him and worship Him
Questions:
What kind of song have you been singing lately?
What did you find the most helpful in this study?
What will you do differently as a result of this lesson?
Who can you share this study with?
What
kind of song will you be singing after today?
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
You alone are worthy of praise! Thank You for
putting a new song in my mouth – a hymn of praise to You Lord in the beauty of
holiness. Father, I ask You to open my spiritual eyes wider to new things so
that I can come up higher in my life of praise to You. Show me how I can shine
brighter in this dark world. Show me how to change my tune from that of sorrow
to joy in You. Thank You for helping me. I believe I receive it and purpose to
do what You tell me in Jesus name. Amen.
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Psalm 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard
my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,
out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even
praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
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