PRAISE FOR GOD

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 136:1 NKJV).

In this verse, the Psalmist exhorts us to praise God. Thanksgiving is giving praise to God. And we should praise God because He is most worthy of our praise. Thus we want to note – the gratitude for God, goodness of God, and grace of God.

Gratitude for God – “Oh, give thanks unto the Lord.” Very often in the Psalms we are exhorted to give thanks to God, to let our prayers be filled with thanksgiving rather than with requests. When we fail to give thanks to God for what He has done for us, we cut short our blessings; an ungrateful heart will not get much from God. A spirit of ungratefulness is frowned upon by the Lord

Goodness of God - “He is good.” One reason to give thanks is that God is good! Of course, there many folks today who thinks that He is bad. Whenever something goes wrong in their life, they blame God and dishonor His name. God is blamed for allowing wars and sickness and tragedies. Folks will often say, ‘If God is so good and loved us, He would not allow such bad things to happen.’ However, in spite of all the blame, God is a good God, not giving us what we deserve and giving us what we don’t deserve. Everything about God is good, and there is no one as good as God.

Grace of God - “His mercy endures forever.” Another reason to praise God is because of His mercy. Notice how the phrase, “His mercy endures forever,” is repeated in every verse in Psalm 136 – it gives hope and help. If there is one thing that we need above all other needs, it is Divine mercy. Without God’s mercy, none could be redeemed, none would have any hope of heaven. We have no merit for Divine blessing, but we have His mercy which is far better.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God gives blessings to us so we can give glory to Him!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Do my best

In Acts 24:16 we read, “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men!” (NASB).

Do my best is the Greek word askeō (ἀσκέω = as-keh'-o). It is means to exercise oneself, to exert all one’s diligence, study and industry, to endeavor, strive. The idea is to do one’s best.

In Classical Greek askeō originally meant to work raw materials, as would a craftsman fashioning a work of art. Later the usage broadened to mean dress, adorn. In the mental and ethical sphere, askeō was used of thoughts and passions. We get our English word ascetic from this word. Finally, the word developed in the more general sense to mean practice, endeavor, and exert oneself to do something.

In the Septuagint askeō is used only once in reference to keeping the Sabbath. In the New Testament askeō is used only once – here in Acts 24 where the apostle Paul is testifying before Felix. Like the physical self-control of an athlete, the idea being borne out here is the spiritual self-discipline necessary to continue, to do the will of God.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would be hated without a cause (Psalm 69:4)

New Testament Fulfillment – John 15:25

Did You Know…

In Exodus 12, the Jews celebrate the first Passover by killing a spotless lamb, and then they smear its blood over their door with a hyssop branch. They also had to eat bitter herbs. This saved their first born from the angel of death. In John 19, Jesus Himself is sacrificed as the new spotless Passover lamb. Pilate said "I find no fault in Him" (John 18:38) and His blood now saves us from death. In John 10:7, Jesus says that He is the door for His sheep. The Roman soldier used a hyssop branch to give him bitter vinegar to drink.

Bible Quiz

Who fed Elijah while he was camped by the Brook of Cherith?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: At what age did Jesus begin his ministry? Age 30 (Luke 3:23)

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Do your own thing”

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes!” (Judges 17:6 NKJV).

“Do your own thing” - The expression “do your own thing” carries the idea of following your own dictates. In context, we notice that the Israelites did not do what was wrong in their own eyes. They were convinced they were doing what was right. Their society was filled with violence, idolatry, gross immorality, pagan beliefs, yet, they thought they were right. Their value system, moral standards, religious doctrines and practices had lost touch with reality and absolute truth. And so it is with our society today; nothing much has changed because truth is still rejected as we have removed prayer and Scripture from the public square. God has given us His Word to guide us in right and wrong. We are to live according to His Word, not according to our own thinking.

Did You Know – Christian History

Miles (Myles) Coverdale was born in 1488 in Yorkshire, England. He was an English ecclesiastical reformer, Bible translator, preacher and Bishop of Exeter.

Coverdale studied philosophy and theology at Cambridge University. He was ordained into the priesthood in 1519. He later came under the influence of Protestant Robert Barnes. Coverdale then left the convent and committed himself entirely to the ministry of preaching and the study of Reformation theology. His extensive Bible knowledge and skillful proclamation of its truths compelled him to publicly oppose many of the religious practices of the Roman Catholic Church. However, persecution and the threat of imprisonment forced him to flee to Europe.

During his exile, Coverdale worked with William Tyndale and a few others on Tyndale’s translation of the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek into English. Tyndale’s first edition of the New Testament in English was completed in 1526, and by the time Coverdale joined him, over 50,000 copies had been printed and distributed despite the condemnation of Henry VIII. Much of the Old Testament had already been translated by Tyndale from the Hebrew, but after he was martyred in 1536, Coverdale, aided by John Rogers accelerated the work of completing the whole Bible.

From 1528 to 1535, Coverdale labored to finish his compilation of the Old Testament. In the same year, the Coverdale Bible, the first complete English Bible, was printed. In 1535, Coverdale also published the first English hymnbook. Many of Coverdale’s translations were also used in the 1537 publication of the Matthew’s Bible. In 1538, Coverdale moved to Paris, where he supervised the printing of the Great Bible, a dual-language Bible in which he compared the Latin Vulgate with his English translation. Coverdale’s English New Testament was published in London and Paris.

Miles Coverdale was one of the most effective preachers of his day, helping to lead the progress of the Reformation. His excellent knowledge of German and Latin, as well as his understanding of Greek, Hebrew, and French, greatly aided in his translation work. As a result, Coverdale had a part in the publication of more editions of English Bibles in the 1500s than any other man. Coverdale died on January 20, 1569.

A Little Humor

The oldest computer can be traced back to Adam and Eve. It was an apple but with extremely limited memory. Just 1 byte, and then everything crashed.

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Making sin legal does not make it harmless!”