Jim Gallagher

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 2 Kings 25 & Psalms 101-102

Old Testament: 2 Kings 25- Besieged 

2 Kings 25:2
“So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.”

Imagine sitting on Mount Scopus, just a little northeast of Jerusalem, as the Babylonian forces surrounded the city. Before long, the walls were penetrated, and the city taken. First… Read More

Psalm 101- You Should Know Better

Psalm 100:3  
“Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you should have known better?”  We use it when we view evidence so compelling… Read More

Psalm 102- Window To The Soul

Psalm 101:3
“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.”

One of the saddest experiences in life is to see a close friend fall away from the Lord. From the outside, the process often looks the same. A person, who once… Read More

1 Chronicles 7:40
“All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders…”

What makes a person a “mighty man of valor?” Is it great strength? If that were the case Samson would be the most valiant man to have ever lived, instead of a man of wasted potential. Is it physical stature? King Saul was a head taller than anyone else in Israel yet he certainly lacked the ingredients that makes one valiant. Is it superior intellect? We know that Solomon was the most intelligent man of his day, yet with all that knowledge he did more to lead Israel away from the Lord than all who had gone before him. What then are the character qualities that make a person a man of valor?

Gideon is forever known as a mighty man of valor. Scripture tells us that this title was given to him while he was hiding from Midianite raiders. His title was given based upon who he would become not who he currently was. We find two key ingredients that turned Gideon from a coward to a man of valor.

The first is faith. Gideon chose to trust in the Word of God above his personal experience. When called by God to step into service Gideon did not allow his weakness to limit God. Instead He tested the promises of God and found them to be trustworthy.

Secondly Gideon lived in obedience to the Word. The Word of God was not something simply to read,highlight, underline, and Chart. For Gideon the Word was to be obeyed. When instructed to make changes in the home, cut the staff, or go to battle with all odds against him, Gideon got to work.

The world needs mighty men of valor today more than ever. Don’t let your limits get in the way of what God may want to do with your life. Instead of focussing on your weakness, look into His promises and put them into practice in your life.

Jim

 

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 2 Kings 23-24 & Psalms 99-100

Old Testament: 2 Kings 23- Covenant

2 Kings 23:3
“Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.”… Read

2 Kings 24- Survival 

2 Kings 24:3
“Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done.”

The final chapters of 2 Kings tell the story of the death of a nation. After having a glorious beginning, and being miraculously sustained for a thousand years, the nation of Judah is defeated, the Temple destroyed, and the people taken as prisoners … Read More

Psalm 99- God Who Forgives

Psalms 99:8
“You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds.”

The Psalmist writes regarding the forgiveness of God and the fact that He will mete out vengeance on certain… Read More

Psalm 100- You Should Know Better

Psalm 100:3  
“Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you should have known better?”  We use it when we view evidence so compelling… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 2 Kings 21-22 & Psalms 97-98

Old Testament: 2 Kings 21- Pay Attention

2 Kings 21:1-2
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.”

Manasseh, king of … Read More

2 Kings 22- You Know That’s Right

2 Kings 22:2
“And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”

Josiah was the youngest king to reign over the nation … Read More

Psalm 97- Love And Hate

Psalm 97:10
“You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.”

I find it striking that the Psalmist declares that hate is a necessary… Read More

Psalms 96:1
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.”

A few years ago, while visiting a church, this particular verse was shared during the praise and worship. The worship leader drew application from the verse by encouraging everyone to sing whatever came to their mind at the moment. The result was a vast array of voices singing, speaking and in some cases shouting out different things about the character of God. While I do not doubt the sincerity of the worship team, or the congregation for that matter, I wonder if that is the best application for this verse. The psalmist, a song writer himself is actually encouraging us to author our own song to the Lord.

Songs are often written out of experience. A person endures a difficulty in life and puts a poem to music that reflects the way they felt or the things they learned. The same is true when we have happy, sad or lonely experiences. Rarely are songs ever written without a story behind them. As a result, perhaps the Psalmist is encouraging us to experience more of the Lord so we have more to sing about. If you haven’t taken a step of faith lately, perhaps now would be a good time. The end will be that you have written a new song about the faithfulness of the Lord.

Take some time to pray about what new ways the Lord a wants you to serve Him.

Pastor Jim

Questions for Psalm 96

1. Note in this psalm the repetition of the following words: peoples, nations, world, earth, all.  Who is this Psalm directed at?
2. Man is made to worship God, and when he does not he will find something else to worship (give his time, love, and energy to).  According to verse 4 and 5, what are the gods of the people?
3. Go verse by verse through this Psalm and note all of the ways that we are told to worship God.
4. Read verse 11 and 12.  Is man the only one who will worship God?
5. At the end of this psalm in verse 13 we see one of the reasons for the rejoicing and worship called for in this Psalm.  What is that reason?  Does that cause you to rejoice?

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 2 Kings19-20 & Psalms 95-96

Old Testament: 2 Kings 20- Need More Time?

2 Kings 20:6
“And I will add to your days fifteen years”

Imagine what this promise meant for Hezekiah. First, he was ill, so it meant he would be healed. Second, it meant he would have more time. Third, it meant a clock started that night, giving him an expiration date. Fifteen years… Read More

Psalm 95- Let Us Worship

Psalm 95:6
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”

Paul declared, all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable. Every page of God’s Word has a purpose in the life of the believer. However, there are certain passages that … Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 2 Kings 17-18 & Psalms 93-94

Old Testament: 2 Kings 17- It’s A Secret

2 Kings 17:9
“Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city.”

Webster’s dictionary defines secret as, “kept from view or hidden.”mIt goes on to speak of something as “being covert or… Read More
2 Kings 18- Against The Odds

2 Kings 18:33
“Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?”

Assyria was on a campaign to conquer the world. Their armies were sent out to defeat any nation that showed the least resistance. Judah… Read More

Psalm 93- It Cannot Be Moved

Psalm 93:1
“The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.”

It seems to me, if one thing is certain in life, it is that things are constantly moving. We live on a moving … Read More

Psalm 94- Judge Of The Earth

Psalm 94:1-3
“O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs— O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth;render punishment to the proud.
Lord, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?”

There are certain … Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 2 Kings 15-16 & Psalms 91-92

Old Testament: 2 Kings 15- Still Here

2 Kings 15:4
“…the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

Over the years I have discovered something about myself, I am better at projects than I am at maintenance. My yard is a classic example. We worked hard to irrigate, lay sod, and plant trees, and our yard looked good for a little while. As time went on however, we discovered that neglect undid much of our labors, and before… Read More

Psalm 91- Falling

Psalm 91:7
“A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.”

The Psalmist is speaking of the benefits derived from living in an intimate, abiding relationship with God. Jesus also spoke on the same subject when He refered to Himself as the vine and us as the branches. He made it clear, the only way to bear fruit in our life was by remaining… Read More

Psalm 92- Planted In The House

Psalms 92:13
“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.”

It seems the devil and the Lord both understand the importance of the church. The Lord exhorts us regarding the need to be in fellowship, and the devil uses a wide array of tactics to keep us away. We have all heard phrases like,

“I am too busy.”

“No one was nice to me there.”… Read More

Psalms 89:1
“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.”

The words of this Psalm became the lyrics to a worship song we used to sing when I first began following Jesus. Whenever I read it my mind becomes flooded with memories. My early days of following Christ were filled with firsts. I can recall one of the first times I raised my hands in worship. I was in a room filled with teenagers who were singing and I simply reached up toward the ceiling as if I were attempting to get as much from God as He would possibly give. I recall another occasion when I knelt for one of the first times. We were at a retreat and I was standing near the back when lifting my hands did not seem like enough of an expression of praise, I slipped away into the far corner of the room and knelt before the Lord as if to say “I am all Yours, Jesus.”

These expressions came out of a recognition of the mercy of God. I was coming to realize that I did not deserve anything from God yet He was desiring to give me everything. The apostle Peter wrote that God will give us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Paul wrote that since God gave us His Son He would also freely give us all things.

As time passes I do not want my experiences of God to be distant memories. It is exciting to think back over the years and recall the amazing ways God has been faithful to me but the greatest joy is in knowing that He will continue to express His mercies in new ways each and every day that we choose to seek after Him.

Perhaps this morning is a good time to drop to your knees and lift your hands in praise to God for His mercy and His faithful love.