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PREPARATION

"And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.  And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever toward Israel.  And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.  But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off." (Ezra 3:10-13).   The children of the ...
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JESUS - THE BREAD OF LIFE

The sixth chapter of St. John holds some amazing insights into Christ’s ministry and character.   As we unpack what the Apostle has recorded there, may God give us a little more revelation in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.   The beginning of this chapter in John is a narrative about how Jesus fed over 5,000 people with just two small fish and five barley loaves of bread.  If you are unfamiliar with the story, you can read it in John 6:1-14.  Notice in verse 14 that it says the people who had experienced this miracle first-hand didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah or the Son of God but, instead, said, “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.”  Jesus was forced to depart from them at this point and retreat to a mountain by Himself lest they take Him forcefully to make Him king (verse 15).  Jesus hadn’t come to be made a conquering king; Jesus had come to be the Lamb of God that would be slain for the sins of the world....
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BE STILL AND KNOW

It is impossible to determine for certain the occasion for which the 46 th Psalm was written.  Some commentators believe that it was written after God delivered King Jehoshaphat from a great army of Moabites and Ammonites.  Others believe that it was written during King Hezekiah’s reign when the Assyrians under King Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem.  This we do know: this Psalm was written to encourage Israel to trust in the LORD Jehovah during difficult and frightening times, and Israel certainly had an abundance of those!    It is said that Psalms 46 gave Martin Luther much comfort and encouragement during the times that he faced fierce opposition to his preaching and ministry.  It is said that it was one of the portions of scripture that inspired the words to his hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God .      The psalm opens with these words of comfort and encouragement: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (...
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