DUTY

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples" (Psalm 105:1 NKJV).

There are three items of duty given in this verse. They include appreciation, supplication, and proclamation.

Appreciation - “Oh give thanks to the Lord.” How often we fail to thank God for our blessings. We are so busy asking for things that we forget to thank God for what He has done for us in the past. Yes, the Lord has blessed us so much, but we fail to thank Him. If we want future blessings, we need to start thanking Him for previous blessings.

Supplication - “Call upon His name.” We are exhorted and encouraged throughout the Scriptures to come to God in prayer. Yes, it is our duty to pray. Yet we often go to others for help before we go to God. And there are some folks who even pray to dead saints rather than to God. But Scripture exhorts us to pray to God, never to anyone else. How is your prayer life? Prayer is a privilege and provides for much blessing. We neglect prayer to our own loss.

Proclamation - “Make known His deeds among the peoples.” We do not praise well or proclaim well. The proclamation of God’s deeds to the world is a form of praising God. The world dishonors God by cursing (profanity) and criticism (blaming God for our troubles). As the people of Let God, we need to play a different tune by proclaiming His wonderful deeds. It is our duty to do so.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“A heart of praise and love shows others just what Jesus can do in the lives of men!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Disturbance

In Acts 19:23 we read, “About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way!” (NASB).

Disturbance is the Greek word tarachos (τάραχος = tar'-akh-os). It means confusion, consternation, commotion. It refers to a state of acute distress and great anxiety, with the additional possible implications of dismay and confusion.

In Classical Greek as well as the Septuagint, tarachos means disturbance, agitation. The word occurs twice in the New Testament, both times here in the Book of Acts. In Acts 12:18, tarachos is used of the anxiety and acute distress of the soldiers when Peter was not found in prison. They knew, as verse 19 states, that this would result in their execution. Then in Acts 19:22ff, tarachos is used in relation to the results of Paul’s missionary activity and its effect on the business of the silversmiths. The silversmiths made silver shrines of the goddess Artemis (Diana). Thus they instigated a serious commotion (tarachos) hoping to arouse public opinion against Paul.

There is always a ripple effect as the message of Christ is preached - hearts are touched, and lives and attitudes are changed. The preaching of the gospel does result in lifestyle changes.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah will be delighted to do Father’s will (Psalm 40:6-8)

New Testament Fulfillment – John 4:34; Heb. 10:5-10

Did You Know…

Jacob fooled his blind father Isaac into getting Esau’s blessing, by wearing hairy skins; Esau was hairy (Genesis 27). In return, Jacob’s future father-in-law fooled Jacob into marrying his older daughter Leah, by hiding her face with veils (Genesis 29).

Bible Quiz

In the Book of Romans, Paul compares the Jews to branches of a tree. To what does he compare the Gentiles?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: Why were the Pharisees upset to see Jesus eating at Levi’s house? Jesus was eating with “sinners” (Mark 2:16).

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Can’t see for the tears”

“My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled; my bile is poured on the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the infants faint in the streets of the city” (Lam. 2:11 NKJV).

“Can’t see for the tears” - The expression “can’t see for the tears” carries the idea of crying extensively. God’s judgment on Jerusalem was because of her sin. In response to their loss of leadership, the people mourned. The mourning extended from the elders to the young women. This verse is a sobering reminder that innocent children are often the victims who suffer the most as a result of their elders’ sins.

Did You Know – Christian History

David Brainerd was born on April 20, 1718 in Haddam, Connecticut. He was an American missionary to the Native Americans and had a particularly fruitful ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey.

At the age of seven David began to seek the Lord. His journal shows that he struggled greatly in coming to Christ. Yet Brainerd eventually found peace. It began with an utter sense of lost-ness and his subsequent conversion on July 12, 1739.

For his ministerial training, Brainerd enrolled at Yale, but was not allowed to receive the degree he earned, having commented that one teacher ‘had no more grace than a chair.’ He later apologized, but his apology was refused and he was subsequently expelled.

After his expulsion from Yale, Brainerd was commissioned by the Scotland Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge as a missionary to the Indians. After a brief period serving a church on Long Island, Brainerd began working as a missionary to Native Americans. His first missionary task was working at Kaunameek, a Housatonic Indian settlement near present-day Nassau, New York. During this period he started a school for Native American children and began a translation of the Psalms.

Brainerd also played a role in the establishment of Princeton College and Dartmouth College. And, despite Brainerd’s expulsion from Yale, the University later named a building after him (Brainerd Hall at Yale Divinity School), the only building on the campus to be named after a student who was expelled. David Brainerd Christian School was also named after him.

Much of Brainerd’s influence on future generations can be attributed to the biography compiled by Jonathan Edwards and first published in 1749 under the title of An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend Mr. David Brainerd. The most reprinted of Edwards’s books, it has never been out of print and has thus influenced subsequent generations, mainly because of Brainerd’s single-minded perseverance in his work in the face of significant suffering

Brainerd had labored among several tribes for about three years until ill-health forced him to leave. He died October 9, 1747. Although Brainerd only lived for 29 years, the account of those years have inspired many, including William Carey and Henry Martyn, to follow in his footsteps onto the mission field.

A Little Humor

The Ten Commandments were the subject of Miss Dixie’s Sunday school lesson for five and six year-olds. After explaining “Honor thy father and thy mother,” Miss Dixie asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat, little Cindy answered, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Are you on the rocks or on the Rock?”