What are they which are but seven?
Seven liberal arts hath God sent down
With divine skill man’s soul to crown:
Category: Uncategorized
What Are They Which Are But Five?
What are they which are but five?
Five senses, like five kings, maintain
In every man a several reign:
Bullies, Pharisees and the Baby Jesus
Four days of anger, frustration, rants and hand ringing. I accept a certain amount of bullying exists whenever the wrong mix of teen girls come together. Teens and drama go hand in hand. What set me off this week were adult women bullying a teen girl.
The first day, I shook my head, but did little. The bullies not satisfied to have made a direct attack on the child started whipping others up in their little drama. I thought people would be horrified that grown women would treat a young defenseless teen in such a despicable manner. I was wrong. They allowed themselves to get sucked into the witch-hunt, repeating the gossip and picking up the stones to throw.
Tonight at a candle light service out by the creek, I stood with loving caring Christians singing Christmas Carols and listening to the story of the angels and the shepherds. As I listened a thought came to me.
The babe in the manger grew up to be the man who loved the tax collector, the women caught in adultery, the woman at the well who had been married multiple times. He gave extra time and attention to those who were broken and weak. He would tell them to go and sin no more, but he never treated them as if they were less than the most special people he had ever met.
But Jesus, love incarnate, had ugly words for those who bullied these helpless ones. As you read through the bible, the one group Jesus seems to have no patience for is the Pharisees. Those who proclaimed themselves the great religious leaders of their time but had no compassion for the sinner, for the broken, for those who could not defend themselves.
We claim the reason for the season is Jesus. We say we love Christ. I think the greatest gift a Christian could give Jesus on His birthday is to love and defend those who cannot defend themselves.
Level 4 Thanksgiving Sacrifice
An overview of Giving to God in response to all He has done for you.
David’s instructions in regard to giving to God.
1 Chronicles 16
28 Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
29 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The Israelites were provided with specific instructions regarding a thanksgiving sacrifice. God gave them a list of the hows and whats if they wanted to show him their gratitude.
Leviticus 7
11 “‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering anyone may present to the Lord:
12 “‘If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in. 13 Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast. 14 They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. 15 The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning.
16 “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day. 17 Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up. 18 If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted. It will not be reckoned to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.
Today it’s different
We do not offer sacrifices on a physical alter. We do not leave bread and animals on the alter. But the concept remains the same. We have money, time, and talents which we can lay on the alter for our Lord out of gratitude for what he has done for us.
Exercise
List in your journal what you have that could be given to God as a gift. I think God appreciates our time as much as He does anything. I run around busy all the time. I struggle with making time just to spend with God in prayer and meditation and yet we are told this is really important. Could you offer a few moments a day to just spend talking and listening to God. Or do you have some money, maybe you give up a coffee a day for a month, to make a donation to God above what you normally give.
Think about what you have, what God has given you, that you could give back to the Lord as a gift.
Playlist
This Christmas song for kids has a great message for us as we think about what we can do for God.
The Little Drummer Boy Burl Ives Have A Holly Jolly Christmas Holiday 8
Closing verse on giving to God.
Mark 12
41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
God’s Works…..Everything in the Universe
We’ve learned to remembered those things God has done in our personal life.
Now
David reminds us to be thankful for all God has done from
the beginning of the Universe down through the ages.
So let’s start with the sun in the morning and the stars at night
The shepherd boy David spent his nights and days in the fields watching the beauty of nature. He wrote Psalms 19 in gratitude and praise of God’s work in the creation of the heavens and earth. Most of us spend way to much time in our office, homes and cars shielded from the beauty of nature. And in many ways, I think those walls separate us from realizing the glory of God.
Davids Word’s
The heaven are recounting the honour of God, And the work of His hands The expanse is declaring
The beauty of the night sky with stars sprinkled across the expanse far beyond what we can imagine reminds us of the mightiness of our God. His power and strength are mightier than any force we know; because all forces that we know were created by Him.
Exercise 1
Find time to sit outside one night. Study the heavens and thank God for creating the Heavens and Earth. Write down in your journal what the vastness of the night makes you thank about God.
Exercise 2
During the day, walk where you can see grass, trees and flowers. Notice the beauty of the plants and the diversity of life. Inside all life is a code with specific instructions regarding the design of that specific blade of grass, flower, bug, animal or even person.
God is a God of details. He counts the hairs on our head and knows when a sparrow falls. (Matthew 10) Praise God that he is not just some Spirit who put the world in motion and left it to spin on it’s own. Our God cares about the small things. Our God cares about even the small things in our lives.
Write down in your journal what thoughts occur to you as you realize that God cares about the details of your life.
Playlist Song
The Heavens Declare (Psalm 19:1-4, 7-9) Todd Fields Word of God Speak: The Worship Session
Because I Just feel Like I have to say this
I love you Lord Jesus–Because you first loved me. And because you make my good times wonderful and fill the sad days with hope. Thank you for walking with me through this life.
Sing, Sing a song
Be grateful you are no where near me. The lyrics to the Carpenter’s song Sing A Song are flooding my head and rolling out my mouth. The whole tone deaf (my voice teacher resigned) and lack of rhythm (kicked out of band) tend to limit my vocal talents. But if make a joyful noise serves as our instructions; I am following orders.
David said “Sing to Him; sing praise to HIm”
But I think you should take the advice of the Carpenters with one alteration–Sing praises to Him. Here are the lyrics to the song.
Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud, sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sadSing, sing a song
Make it simple to last your whole life long
Don’t worry that it’s not good enough
For anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song
I think David, the prolific song writer, might change the words in the first stanza to something like:
Sing of the good things He did
Sing praises to Him
Exercise
The reason for the daily playlist was to find songs praising and thanking God for who He is. For the most part, I tried to find a variety of songs with up beat tunes. Today chose a playlist for yourself. Find songs praising God that fill you with joy. Find songs you like to sing. Search for songs from your past with sweet memories of great times with God. (Sweet Sweet Spirit in this Place is a song that always reminds me of those Mountain Top Experiences from my teens.) This playlist is not for listening; the songs you select need to be for singing.
Now every day find time to sing to God. Not for yourself, not for others to hear, but sing to God. He loves to hear your voice even if others cringe.
Sing of the good things He did
Sing praises to Him
Playlist
Sing, Sing a Song The Carpenters
(A reminder to sing to our Lord -even if it is a secular song.)
Fourth Day Adventures–Learning About God using the calendar as a guide
Genesis 1
14. And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning
November–Thanksgiving right? We are in the mist of studying about Thanksgiving as a way of life from King David.
—the fourth day.
Drumroll Finally Our Text 1 Chronicles 16
7 Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.
8 Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.
10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.
12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;
16 Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;
17 And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
18 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;
19 When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.
20 And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;
21 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
22 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
23 Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.
24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
28 Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
29 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.
32 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.
33 Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.
34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.
Why Thanksgiving
Adjust your thinking to view Thanksgiving as a monument established to remind you of the great things your God has done. You see this in the Old Testament over and over. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all built alters to represent moments when God intervened in their lives. The purpose of these structures was Worship of God and a reminder of what God had done.
Let’s take a look at one example:
Joshua 4:4 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” English Standard Version (ESV)
By placing the stones in the water, the people who crossed the river and their children would remember the miracle God preformed at that place and at that time.
Thanksgiving represents a monument to God because he deserves our worship, but also because it our recognition of what God has done. It serves as an on going reminder that God intervenes in our life for our good. When you give honest thanks you acknowledge His acts. Your mind isn’t racing to come up with a wild explanation as to how things occurred. The river didn’t just coincidently dry up just as the people of Israel decided to walk across. It is easy to forget what God has done in our pasts when times get hard. Thanksgiving, which focuses on thanking God for the great things he has done, reminds us that God acted in the past and will act in our current situation.
Exercise:
I would like to make a suggestion that as we go through this study on thanksgiving that you set out a bowl on your kitchen table or in another place where you frequently pass. Using rocks, marbles or some similar object drop one item into the bowl every time you think of something for which you are grateful to God. The bowl becomes your monument to the goodness of God.
If you look at several of the Psalms you will note David would speak with God concerning his need for God’s help, his need for God to intervene. David in the same psalm typically recites when God has in the past acted on David’s behalf. He builds his faith towards the future by reciting what God has done in the past.
This is the pattern for growing into faith and for growing into a person who is able to do those things, which God requires of them.
Altar of God 3:34 Josh Bates Album: Glory Revealed
Fourth Day Adventures 