"Praise the LORD!--Praise God--Praise Him

"Praise the LORD!  Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!" (Psalm 150:1)

It is fitting that I finish the Book of Psalms today along with the Book of Revelation, the New Testament "Book of Psalms."  There was a, "Praise Him!," before the worlds were made, and there will be, "Praise Him!," when there is, "a new heaven and a new earth."  O, earth, "Praise Him!"

I still have my horn, and over the years I have noticed an interesting phenomenon.  After playing it for a short time, I always then begin to pray in tongues, praying in my spirit energized by the Holy Spirit.  When I first noticed that, it was quite curious.  Then I remember thinking, Why not?  After all the last psalm of the Great Book of Psalms exhorts, "Praise him with the sound of the trumpet, lute, harp, timbrel, dance, stringed instruments and flutes, loud cymbals, clashing cymbals."  It is as though the horn ignites praise, quite Biblical, I might add.  I do not play the horn very much any more, and you may not play an instrument, but no matter.  Just, "Praise Him!" 

The Book of Psalms ends with the word, "Praise," mentioned 13 times in 6 verses.  For the Follower of Jesus Christ, life will also end in, "praise."  Until then, when we enter, "the age to come," Father, I pray, in Jesus' Name,
     "Finish then thy new creation;
     pure and spotless let us be;
     let us see thy great salvation
     perfectly restored in thee:
     changed from glory into glory,
     till in heaven we take our place,
     till we cast our crowns before thee,
     lost in wonder, love, and 'praise.'"  Amen.
*************************
Prophetic News, Commentary:  www.apf327.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

The Great Biblical Declaration to Humanity

"Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom ('a kingdom of all ages'), and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations." (Psalm 145:13, KJV)

Thomas Edison was once asked "what inspired his inventions."  He replied, "I find out what the world needs...then I proceed to invent it."  Jesus Christ has never had to "invent" anything, because He has always been "one step ahead of" mankind--- his troubles, his arrogance, his needs. 

Many times when we pray, it is as though we think our life caught God off guard, as though our condition needs some new "invention" to help us.  Everything in the Bible, however, declares just the opposite.  The Blessed Trinity has a very wide range of "awareness."  He not only knows when the sparrow falls, He rules among men and nations.  Though it may not seem so to the unregenerate eye, neither our lives nor the world itself is ever out of control.  There may have been and still are various currents, backwashes and eddies of human history, but never has the "river" of history been without the "Banks" of God's purposes.

---- And neither have you nor I.  As Followers of Jesus Christ, we are citizens of the only kingdom of which it can be declared, "a kingdom of all ages."  No Lover of Jesus ever had reason to despair over his future, or about the government that had the rule over him, because over that future and that government has been always the great "Bank" of history, the, "Everlasting Kingdom," of Christ. 

It is sadly amusing that the most horrific, genocidal "kingdom" ever to rule on earth, boasted that it would last a thousand years.  It lasted twelve.  And though the great world kingdoms, from the Babylonian Kingdom to the "kingdom" of the United States of America today, have impressed man with their might and extensive power, the only trace of the one which historians say did last a thousand years, is broken, crumbled ruins.

Look around you today.  According to the "God-Breathed" Word, everything you now see is temporary, your body, clothes, your house, your country, even that suffering.  Yet we rejoice because, "We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."  Hence, today, the choice is really quite simple, isn't it?  Despair over the things of the decaying kingdoms which, "are seen," or rejoice over the things which are of the, "everlasting kingdom, which "are unseen."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for conversion of my choices today.  Amen. 
***********************
New Article at: www.apf327.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

"I...Will Manifest My Holiness in Them in the Sight of the Nations"

"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob.'" (Ezekiel 228:25, NASB)

Throughout history, religious people have limited holiness to an outward religious show, e.g., measured dress lengths, regular church attendance, abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, swearing, etc.  This is not, "manifest My holiness;" in most cases this is manifest their holiness.  Stated succinctly, holiness is total, uncompromising obedience to Jesus Christ, "The Word of God," revealed solely in, "the Words of God," the Bible. 

Our text reveals that, "My holiness," is manifested in God's will, His purposes, His economy of the Kingdom.  To paraphrase our text, "I...will manifest My holiness (when you see the Jews) in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob."  We can say that God's Holiness is manifested in the fulfillment of His Prophetic Word.  The whole of the Bible is a manifestation of this, "My holiness," and if the Church desires to manifest, "My holiness," Her life must manifest God's design and purpose for men and nations, politically, socially----- in all things. 

Two articles @: www.apf327.blogspot.com   will help illustrate our text.  And I encourage you today to join me in the pursuit of Biblical Holiness, not some kind of holiness which brings glory to our "spirituality," our, we-are-better-than-others, but rather, "the holiness, without which no one will see the Lord."  Watch, read, listen to the news, and each day you will see more and more of, "I will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray for grace and strength to, "manifest [Your] holiness."  Amen.
********************
New Articles at:  www.apf327.blogspot.com    

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2

The Gift Who Keeps On Giving

"It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep."
(Psalm 127:2, NASB)

Most translations say, "for so He gives His beloved sleep," for which I am deeply grateful.  But the NASB gives an interesting translation which is consistent with Biblical Theology, "For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep."  The, "Beloved," of our Lord Jesus Christ live in a constant state of union with and in Our Beloved Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to the "God-Breathed" Word says will never leave or forsake us.  He is the Ever-abiding One.

So as you go to bed tonight, remember, "He gives (and continues to give) to you, "His beloved[,] even in [your] sleep."

Father, in Jesus' Name, our text makes so much sense because it is just like You.  Amen.
******************************

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"

Hebrews 12:2