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Today: Psalms 63; John 10:22-42; 1 Samuel 1; 1 Samuel 2:1-26
Psalms 63
“My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and exhausted land where there is no water.” Psalms 63:1
We are living in that “dry and exhausted land where there is no water” right NOW. We are in a wasteland of wickedness, darkness, and the spiritually dead, right NOW.
But if we watch for God, He WILL sustain us. Our time with God is the “sanctuary” where we will see His “power and glory.” (v.2) Praise Him because His “favor is better than life”! (v.3) Lift up your hands in His name and offer praises to God and He will satisfy your soul. When He wakes you up in the middle of the night, meditate on Him and He will help and protect you. Cling to Him from the depths of your soul and He will give you joy and victory!
Do you want to hear God’s voice? Do you want to experience a richer spiritual life? Then YOU have to set aside time to spend with God. God isn’t going to just forcefully insert Himself into your life while you have your face glued to your phone or tv and blast you with a vision. YOU have to intentionally shut off all the noise, unplug from all the distractions, and consciously, purposefully seek God. If you will do that regularly, He WILL reveal Himself to you, somehow, some way. I promise you, He WILL.
John 10
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that Jesus was “just a good teacher,” that He didn’t claim to be God or to be the only way to salvation. That just isn’t true. People who say that, don’t know the Bible. Jesus most certainly did claim to be God and the only way to salvation, many times.
One of John’s main themes in his gospel is to define Jesus’ identity, to clear up any confusion about WHO Jesus was. John recorded many instances of Jesus claiming to be God and the only path to salvation. We see this again in John 10, when Jesus told the Jews:
“My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand — I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.” John 10:27-30
The people listening to Jesus completely understood that He was claiming to be God. To them it was blasphemy. That is why they “picked up stones again to stone Him.” (v.31)
When Jesus asked them for which of His good works were they stoning Him, they replied, “Because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (v.33)
Jesus didn’t respond by telling them that He wasn’t insinuating that He was God. He didn’t tell them they had misunderstood what He was trying to say. Nope. He said it again, “Know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” (v.38)
Again, don’t let His meaning get lost in translation. The Jews knew exactly what He meant, and it infuriated them. And they sought to arrest Him.
1 Samuel 1-2
Ever notice how many stories in the Bible begin with God miraculously opening the womb of a woman who cannot have children? GOD is in charge of life. Have no doubt, it is GOD who creates life in the womb. “The Lord puts to death and the Lord makes alive.” (v.2:6)
