Feast – Praying Pint

44.m. “Wilderness” – 8.s. “Make us gods who shall go before us”

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

While Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, the people made a tumultuous address to Aaron. This giddy multitude were weary of waiting for the return of Moses. Weariness in waiting betrays to many temptations. The Lord must be waited for till he comes, and waited for though he tarry. Let their readiness to part with their ear-rings to make an idol, shame our stubbornness in the service of the true God. They did not draw back on account of the cost of their idolatry; and shall we grudge the expenses of religion? Aaron produced the shape of an ox or calf, giving it some finish with a graving tool. They offered sacrifice to this idol. Having set up an image before them, and so changed the truth of God into a lie, their sacrifices were abomination. Had they not, only a few days before, in this very place, heard the voice of the Lord God speaking to them out of the midst of the fire, Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image? Had they not themselves solemnly entered into covenant with God, that they would do all he had said to them, and would be obedient? ch. 24:7. Yet before they stirred from the place where this covenant had been solemnly made, they brake an express command, in defiance of an express threatening. It plainly shows, that the law was no more able to make holy, than it was to justify; by it is the knowledge of sin, but not the cure of sin. (Henry)

The delay of Moses’ return was a test for Israel, in which it was to prove its faith and confidence in Jehovah and His servant Moses, but in which it gave way to the temptation of flesh and blood. (Keil)

40 days from the time they heard God speak His commandments and their covenant with Him in obedience is all it took to shatter their faith in God and their commitment to His commands. The shallowness or depth of our belief and commitment will always become evident when there is pressure put against it.

42.b. “Let My People Go” – 10.a. Death and Passover Preparation

Exodus 12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Clearly, the first purpose was that the blood might be sprinkled on the door-posts and lintels, and so the house be safe when the destroying angel passed through the land. Such is the explanation given in Exodus 12:13, which is the divine declaration of its meaning. This is the centre of the rite; from it the name was derived. Whether readers accept the doctrines of substitution and expiation or not, it ought to be impossible for an honest reader of these verses to deny that these doctrines or thoughts are there. They may be only the barbarous notions of a half-savage age and people. But, whatever they are, there they are. The lamb without blemish carefully chosen and kept for four days, till it had become as it were part of the household, and then solemnly slain by the head of the family, was their representative. When they sprinkled its blood on the posts, they confessed that they stood in peril of the destroying angel by reason of their impurity, and they presented the blood as their expiation. In so far, their act was an act of confession, deprecation, and faith. It accepted the divinely appointed means of safety. But clearly their obedience to the command implied a measure of belief in the divine voice; and the command embodied, though in application to a transient judgment, the broad principles of sacrificial substitution, of expiation by blood, and of safety by the individual application of that shed blood. In other words, the Passover is a Gospel before the Gospel. Is its chief purpose to prophesy of Christ, His atoning death, His kingdom and church, or is it not? John the Baptist’s rapturous exclamation, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ blends allusions to the Passover, the daily sacrifice, and Isaiah’s great prophecy.

The manner of preparing the feast and the manner of partaking of it are both significant. The former provided that the lamb should be roasted, not boiled, apparently in order to secure its being kept whole; and the same purpose suggested the other prescriptions that it was to be served up entire, and with bones unbroken. The reason for this seems to be that thus the unity of the partakers was more plainly shown. All ate of one undivided whole, and were thus, in a real sense, one.

The Passover as a feast is a prophecy of the great Sacrifice, by virtue of whose sprinkled blood we all may be sheltered from the sweep of the divine judgment, and on which we all have to feed if there is to be any life in us. Our propitiation is our food. ‘Christ for us’ must become ‘Christ in us,’ received and appropriated by our faith as the strength of our lives. The Christian life is meant to be a joyful feast on the Sacrifice, and communion with God based upon it. We feast on Christ when the mind feeds on Him as truth, when the heart is filled and satisfied with His love, when the conscience clings to Him as its peace, when the will esteems the ‘words of His mouth more than’ its ‘necessary food,’ when all desires, hopes, and inward powers draw their supplies from Him, and find their object in His sweet sufficiency. (MacLaren)

The Lord makes all things new to those whom he delivers from the bondage of Satan, and takes to himself to be his people. The time when he does this is to them the beginning of a new life. The blood of Christ is the believer’s protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell. We must feed upon Christ with sorrow and brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin. Christ will be sweet to us, if sin be bitter. (Henry)

To be warned of impending death and disregard it is foolish. To be warned of impending death and given instructions of salvation from it and to not follow the instructions is foolish. Trying to make other provisions for safety from the impending death other than the instructions given is foolish. No one knows the time death will be at their doorstep and open the door and take them into eternity. What would you do right now if today you heard and believed it to be true; “Tomorrow death will take you from this world into eternity?” Would there be any urgency to be made right with God? Would you repent and seek forgiveness and salvation through faith, trust, belief, and reliance in/on Jesus Christ? If one could agree that being warned of death and being found lacking in the eyes of God and disregarding this warning is foolish, why would you pass up this opportunity to be saved? You know not the day, hour, or minute when death will take you into eternity. Imagine that someone knows you will die and face judgment resulting in eternal Hell and tells you that they love you so much that they have provided a way for your eternal life and that all the things you have done in the past that resulted in your judgment into eternal Hell could be forgiven resulting in eternal life. Would you listen? Would you follow their instruction? Would you believe, trust, rely on, and obey what they told you? Would you laugh it off, disregard it, deny you heard it, or try to find another way? The day of salvation is Now. There is no other way to be saved than through Jesus Christ.

Read this provision, instruction, and warning carefully:

John 3:16-21 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

Rev. 22:7 And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Rev. 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves.”
Rev. 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus

14.u. “Do whatever he tells you.”

John 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Shortly after Jesus told Nathanael that he would see greater things they are at a wedding in the small town Cana. Cana was the home town of Nathanael. This first sign of Jesus was in an insignificant place. He did not go to a big flashy wedding but to a small village. We should note Jesus comes to the lowly not arrogant. His birth was proclaimed too lowly shepherds. His disciples were from lowly occupations. His mother was a virgin engaged to be married to Joseph a carpenter. Jesus was rejected by the teachers, rabbis, and rollers but was worshipped by the lowly.

It is hard to imagine what Mary was thinking when she told Him “They have no wine”. Did she expect Jesus and His disciples to go buy some from somewhere? Did she think He would do a miracle? Even after Jesus says “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”, Mary tells the servants to do whatever He says. Whatever Mary was thinking one thing is for sure, she trusted Jesus and did not lay any expectation out on what Jesus should do other than leaving it into His hands to accomplish. There must have been some worry in Mary for the family of the bride and groom. I have read where running out of wine at the wedding feast would have been demeaning to the family. Mary could have been helping the bride’s family at this wedding and this could have been the reason for Jesus and His disciples being invited. This is nothing more than speculation and adds nothing to Mary’s trust and faith and Jesus’s power over creation. I am not sure why John laid out in detail the volume of the jars or to the fact they were filled to the brim with water. Possibly to point out there was no way to add anything to the jars. Mary’s trust and faith should be an example to us. When we have a problem give it to Jesus without trying to tell Jesus how to handle it. This reminds me of; “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” They trusted in God without laying out the expectations of what God should do. They had faith God could save them if He chose to and they were content if He chose not to.

We do well to grow our faith and trust in Jesus to the level of being willing to allow what He deems best in our lives. He alone is able to do more than we think and much more than we can imagine. Why do we presume we know what is best and for that matter, how to do it?

6.m. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;

Revelation 4:1  After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Isaiah 55:1-3    “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

John 6:37     All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 7:37     On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Revelation 22:17    The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Matthew 7:13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.

“a door standing open in heaven!” Do you ever give thought to what it means to have the door open and an invitation to come? The invitation is to come through the door. The one giving the invitation is Jesus Christ. The Son of God opens the door to forgiveness of sin, faith, hope, joy, healing, peace, rest, love, heaven, and eternity. He may reach out and get your attention, tap you on your shoulder, whisper into your conscience, or with the sound of a trumpet, but He will not pull you through the door. He gives the invitation to come and He is holding the door open for you to come in. When He says come, it is with the same open invitation like follow Me, listen to Me, obey Me, trust in Me, love Me, have faith in Me. None of these will be forced upon anyone. These invitations are offers from Jesus Christ the Son of God and require a willing humble desire. Do you ever wonder if we take His invitations serious? Imagine getting an invitation from a celebrity and know they are waiting at the door, with it open and waiting for you. Would you go? Would you tell others? Would you be excited? Would you be happy to see this celebrity waiting at the door for you? What value does this celebrity offer should you willing to accept their offer to come?

The truth is they can offer worldly things but nothing that will last for eternity. They can offer no forgiveness of sin, faith, hope, joy, healing, peace, rest, love, heaven, and eternity. And yet, we seem to think this is a very big deal should we receive their invitation, when in fact, we should be willingly, excitedly, humbly, and with reverence accepting the invitations from the Son of God.

3.b. Who sets his heart to seek God?

2 Chronicles 30:1 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord. And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

When the men Hezekiah sent out to invite people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover there were those who mocked and laughed at them and then there were others who humbled themselves and came. This is much like the invitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our responsibility to proclaim it and the responsibility of our hearers to humbly take hold of it or reject it. We never know what the condition of the person’s heart is we are talking to. We never know the working of God in their heart. We never know. However, we do know we are to proclaim the light of Jesus Christ to a dark and lost world. We are to reflect the light of Jesus Christ, to His honor and glory, to every person we come into contact with throughout every moment of every day. We know what we say and the actions of our life should be a testimony to the gospel and Jesus Christ. In this “living out our faith” others hear and see how we humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, follow, trust and obey Jesus Christ. Our heart and mind are desiring to practice our faith and service to our Lord and Savior. His word is a lamp unto our feet and light to our soul.

Spend time in His word and proclaim the wondrous glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

146. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

1 Kings 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.

Psalms 14:1    The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good

Mark 2:6  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

2 Corinthians 10:5    We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

1 Peter 1:14-15    As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

Jeroboam had a thought and it was heart deep. Since this happened, then this will happen, and because of that, I must do this. All of these thoughts took place in his heart. They took root and he acted upon them. He replaced God with two golden calves and set times of feasting and sacrificing and placed priests who were not of the tribe of Levites. He started down a path because of a thought in his heart and then continually took action in-line with that original errant thought.

Nothing has really changed in man over the years. Thoughts still come into our heart and mind. Many of these thoughts have a sin origin and unless we take them captive they will lead us on paths to make decisions that capture our heart, mind, and soul and not in line with honoring or following or obeying or trusting God.

We believe the lie or deception or illusion because the word of God is not in our heart and mind. Our desire for His word has been replaced. It is not as though we were given a black and white choice in this matter. It is just not that clear cut. What happens is we allow the busyness of life and cares of this world to seep into our heart. It starts with a little neglect of His word and this soon becomes a habit that changes how we see things, how we make decisions, how we think, and what we allow ourselves to think about and dwell on.

Paul gave us “Take every thought captive to obey Christ”. To understand our thoughts in light of His word we must have His word in our heart with a desire to have it expose wrong thoughts and keep our feet on the path that humbly serves, honors, follows, obeys, and trusts in Jesus Christ.

114. Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray.

1 Samuel 25:36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.”

2 Samuel 3:28-29    Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner the son of Ner.  May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!”

1 Kings 2:44    The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the LORD will bring back your harm on your own head.

Psalms 7:16   His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

Psalms 37:12-13   but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Isaiah 47:10 You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”  But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.

Psalms 52:7    “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

Ecclesiastes 8:8    No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death.

W. Alderman – When a person puts his confidence in that which he has, including money, he is doomed to failure./riches trust in their riches only. Unless the word of God speaks into their life there is no hope for them.n is now. The day of commitment is now. The day of forgiveness is now. The day of bringing to live for Jesus is now. Anything that causes us to take our eyes off of Jesus will get us out of focus spiritually. The love of money can certainly do this. When they trust their money and their job for their provisions they are out of focus spiritually and no longer know where they were going. The trusting in riches lays a snare that will trap you suddenly and it will hinder your faith. a snare that will trap you suddenly and it will hinder your faith. The love of money traps many a good person. It happens so suddenly. There are many lusts that will consume the person who follows after riches. Money has a way of causing displaced trust. Instead of trusting God for the needed provisions, those who trust in wealth/riches trust in their riches only.

Unless the word of God speaks into their life there is no hope for them. They become self-centered and consciously or unconsciously make decisions that affect and harm others. Their money/wealth has gone to their head and heart and they trust in this alone. Psalms 52:7 “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!” They did not obey God. They did not honor God. They do not have reverence for God. In protecting their riches they make decisions that cause harm to others. They are boastful, arrogant, prideful, seekers of pleasure, and give no thought to the day of judgment or their day of death. In their foolish wisdom and knowledge, they have cast God aside. How many people have died thinking they have time to make things right with God? How many have died and not given any thought to the judgment they will face?

The day of salvation is now. The day of forgiveness is now. The day of commitment is now. The day of beginning to live for Jesus is now.

Who satisfies you with good

Psalms 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalms 36:7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

Psalms 63:3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Psalms 103:3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Zechariah 9:17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!

Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalms 85:6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?

Psalms 86:4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

Psalms 149:2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Psalms 145:7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

2 Peter 1:4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

What are we looking for to satisfy us? Where are we looking for this satisfaction to come from? How do we know what true satisfaction is? The world continually throws lies to us in what will satisfy us. These lies come in the form of how much better our life will be, how much higher others will think of us, and how much better we will think of ourselves. Are we satisfied with the precious promises of God? Are we satisfied with His purposes and plans for our life? Are we satisfied with His grace, mercy, and love? Or, are we looking for more in the wrong places? Trying to find satisfaction outside of the presence, purpose and plans of God is like chasing wind. It is always elusive. When was the last time you went to buy something and had such high hopes of it giving you satisfaction – in the end it was just another thing that did not fully satisfy. It was temporary. The only lasting satisfaction is found in and through Jesus Christ, with a desire to humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey Him.

You will receive power

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

“Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him”

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you

Proverbs 1:23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

This is the verse that has me thinking; “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” If we turn at His reproof – How do we know of His reproof? How do we understand that we have done something wrong, or are doing something we shouldn’t, or not doing something we should, or thinking something we shouldn’t?????? How do we know we are on the path and in the purpose God has for our life? First we must have a heart, soul and mind deep desire to know, humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him. Second, we must understand to know Him we must have a mind that trusts in , clings to, and rely on Him. Third, we must stay in His word. Fourth, we must want to hear His leading in our life on paths which are in line with His word. Fifth, we must talk to Him in prayer. Sixth, we must believe He is able to guide, direct, lead, instruct, protect, and be our refuge, hope, joy, and power. We do not get His leading through complacent neglect of His word. It takes faith and commitment and time in His word each day to overcome the dilution affect this culture we live in has on our life.

Consecrate

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

“It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.”

Joe 2:16
gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

Job 1:5
And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Genesis 6:5
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Jeremiah 4:14
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?

Acts 8:22
Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

Mark 7:21-23
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

I copied some comments on consecration from a commentary which brings to light why Joel said to gather all the people from infant to bride groom. To “consecrate” yourself essentially means to wholly dedicate yourself to something of greatest important. When spoken plainly, however, “consecration” refers to the act of setting yourself aside and dedicating yourself to a deity, and that deity almost always refers to the God of Christianity. On one hand, we all need to consecrate ourselves once and for all to God. But after our initial consecration, we should live a life of consecration all our days. We can do this by actively practicing to daily give ourselves to the Lord. Each morning when we wake up, we can simply tell the Lord, “Lord, thank You for this new day. I offer myself to You today.” In this way, we maintain a fresh, daily consecration. We can also give ourselves to the Lord afresh at particular points in our lives. For instance, if we’re students, we can give ourselves to the Lord at the beginning of each new school term. Or, if we get a new job or a promotion, we can pray, “Lord, I give this new job to You. It’s not mine but Yours. I belong to You.” It is one thing to dedicate your life in all you do to God and another to spend no time getting to know and understand Him through His word. There is no stopping to this learning and growth. Spend time each day with His word seeking to know Him so that in all you think, say and do honor and glorifies Him.