Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever....So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

Psalm 23 and Genesis 22:9-14

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever....So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." Psalm 23:6, Genesis 22:14

I continue my pause of my study of Jude to use Tony Evan's The Power of God's Names sermon outline series - maintaining focusing on Message Four: Jehovah Rohi and Jehovah Jireh.  Today I begin to unpack the sermon notes.  First, we level set on the names of God: 

• Jehovah Rohi: The Lord is my Shepherd; while many places in the Bible point us to attributes of a shepherd and how is our Shepherd, few are as explicit as Psalm 23 in describing how God is our Shepherd.
  
• Jehovah Jireh: God provides. God provides not just physical needs, but also emotional and spiritual needs.  Also, when we look at both names of God together we must acknowledge that there may be periods of our lives when God is caring for us, leading us through something, and providing something that we may not be able to see, perhaps not even during our natural live.  Issac needed to survive, because Jacob and Judah follow him, and ultimately - many generations later, Jesus follows this line (see genealogy in Matthew 1).  Abraham was not able to see this far into the future, nor are we.  But Abraham was able to have faith that God would provide for all of his needs and be faithful to fulfill the covenant God made with Abraham that from his line would be a great people.  Abraham is not the only one from scripture who was able to rest in how God provides - Joseph, Daniel, etc.   We should understand Isaiah 55:8 where it says God's thoughts and ways are not like ours.  
  

Although we are not able to think, see and do as God can, we can rest in how God cares for us as our Shepherd.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You are my Shepherd and how You provide for all of my needs.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my neighborhood and the world.  Help me understand, apply, and be obedient to Your word for me today and every day.   

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Job 1-42

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). This morning, I continue with the story of "Job: God's Presence in the Storm*".

*Title of lesson two from the Max Lucado study.

The commentary* of day three of my study of Job starts with Lucado pointing to Job 38-41 and wanting me to understand how God questions Job and Job's arrogance and pride in his righteousness. Lucado believes that Job lost sight of who God is, and through a study of Job we are encouraged to maintain a proper sense of awe of God in his life through worship prayer and other spiritual disciplines. Lucado then shares how he believes God's "torrent" of questions for Job is not intended to teach but to stun and to re-align Job to a more proper sense of God. We are encouraged as well to develop a strong foundation and relationship with God during the God times such that when the difficult times arrive (and they will), we are more prepared.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has helped me in all times - good and bad.  Thank You Jesus for never leaving or forsaking me.  I am not deserving for how much You love me. I worry and I have other sins.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Please help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

Hosea 10-14, 2 Kings 14-15 and 2 Chronicles 25-26 

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2

  

Day 169 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) wraps up my study of Hosea, as Hosea predicts both Israel's captivity and her ultimate deliverance from bondage to Assyria as Israel will repent and God will forgive her. Meanwhile, my commentary* indicates that Judah, "though affected less than Israel, has problems of its own".  Judah's king Amaziah is assassinated (2 Kings 14, 2 Chronicles 25) and Uzziah is made king.  Like Amaziah, although Uzziah "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 26), "[t]he high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there".

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

A few highlights from Hosea's closing words from God to Israel:

Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated[.] Hosea 10:13-14

Ephraim [Israel] boasts, “I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.” Hosea 12:8

"When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me". Hosea 13:6

“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them". Hosea 14:4

Today, I am reminded that we must remain close to God and call upon Him not just in bad times when we feel our needs are more desperate, but that we need God ALL of the time - good and bad times.  God is our Creator and Sustainer, and without Him we have no good things.  

My Prayer: Jesus, You are my All in All, My Everything, everything that I am and everything that I have is from You.  I am blessed that You adopted me into Your family.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love.  I worry and my sin continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.

Exodus 17

Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. v15

In life, we don't know what lies ahead - only God knows.  There may be good times, there may be bad times - regardless of whether the times are good or bad, God is with us (Matthew 28:20).  God knows all the days of our lives (Psalm 139) and he makes a number of promises to us (and God ALWAYS keeps His promises), including that He has a good and perfect plan for our life (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28), and that He is preparing a place for us in Heaven (John 14:2).

The Lord is MY Banner - he leads me and I can trust in Him.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:2

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Psalm 23

My Prayer: Lord You are a GREAT God, who is always with me, who is perfect and good and who goes before me always and has a place for me in Heaven!  Thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love.  I am harsh with my words.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.