NO OTHER ROCK! There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. —I Samuel 2:2 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. —Psalm 78:4             Our Lord alone is wholly holy.  There is none like Him and “there is no Rock like our God.”  We are to “tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.”  Oh, Lord God Almighty, may we do so by the power of Your Holy…

REDEEMED BY AND GIVEN GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS “May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” —Ruth 2:12 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.” —Ruth 3:9             All who have called on Jesus are “under His wings.”  You, no doubt, heard about the hen that was caught in a barn fire and died.  In the aftermath, as the farmer was walking through the smoldering debris, he saw…

ARE YOU READY? It is you alone who are to be feared.  Who can stand before you when you are angry? —Psalm 76:7             Do you fear God?  That is, do you have a proper perspective on Who He is and your attitude toward Him is one of respect and admiration?  Do you understand that after death you will appear before Him like every other person who has lived on this planet?  Those who are followers of Jesus will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account as to how they lived for Jesus (II Corinthians 5:10).  Those who are not followers of Jesus will appear before…

PRAY! In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. —Judges 17:6 It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. —Psalm 75:7             When there is no leadership, things can get chaotic with everyone doing as they see fit or what is right in one’s own eyes.  Imagine a society like that where people decide what is right and wrong.  Here in the U.S. we can see how that happens even when there is leadership in place.  Godly leadership would be the answer, but that seems rare among governmental circles.  Praise our Lord for followers of Jesus, brothers and sisters in governmental…

JESUS— CREATOR AND SUSTAINER OF ALL The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon.  It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. —Psalm 74:16-17 “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” —Genesis 8:22             Who will you believe?  Will you believe the fear-mongers who purport that climate change will destroy the planet?  Or will you believe the planet will be around until God destroys it? “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the…

THE SOVEREIGN LORD IS MY REFUGE They say, “How would God know?  Does the Most High know anything?” —Psalm 73:11 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have…

TRUST AND OBEY OR THE NEED FOR SIGNS When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” —Judges 6:12 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?…  I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” —Judges 6:14-16 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord…

WITNESS TO THE NEXT GENERATION Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. —Psalm 71:18             Well Lord, if I am not old yet, I am getting there with the perceived age of 75 as being old today, generally speaking.  Either way, it is my desire that “when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”  Yes, this is my desire and may I honor You…

GENERATIONAL IMPACT The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.  Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.  After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. —Joshua 2:7-11             Disciple-making is teaching others to…

REJOICE IN HIS RELATIONSHIP! Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. —Joshua 23:14 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” —Joshua 23:15 Lord, the LORD Almighty, may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me. —Psalm 69:6 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous. —Psalm 69:28             All of us will “go the way of…