Praying for America--through the Psalms of David #4
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Dec 9, 2016 23:46:42 #
BearK wrote:
Our Lord and King shall reign forever, and unto Him we pledge our hearts and souls. Praise God from whom all mercies abound forever and ever. Amen.
Amen.
Dec 10, 2016 04:51:02 #
no propaganda please
Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun
Ranger7374 wrote:
Well, Hello Everyone. br br Its been a while. But... (show quote)
Congratulations, it certainly sounds as if you are doing well. Glad you are posting again, missed your wise words. God Bless you and yours.
Dec 10, 2016 08:17:50 #
no propaganda please
Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun
What Does God Love?
by Debbie Holloway, Crosswalk.com Contributor
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave (Psalms 86:12).
There is a very famous passage in Proverbs detailing what God hates. Indeed, throughout the Bible God never shows reluctance to speak against behaviors he finds detestable. This should come as no surprise to us, being that he is holy and man has amassed a large amount of sinful tendencies since he first came into the world.
But what does God love? While avoiding the “bad” list – is there a “good” list toward which we can be working? Let’s dissect Proverbs 6:16 to discern the things which God loves.
God hates “haughty eyes.”
Therefore, God loves eyes which gaze with humility. Not a false or broken humility of despising oneself, but a genuine, Christ-like choice to serve others, not draw undue attention to oneself, and treat others with great honor and respect.
God hates “a lying tongue.”
Therefore, God loves a tongue which speaks truth. Note that this does not say a brash tongue, or a loud tongue, or a tongue which speaks its opinion at any and every possible moment. Rather, he loves a tongue which, when it does speak, values honesty and artlessness.
God hates “hands that shed innocent blood.”
Therefore, God loves hands which protect the innocent. Throughout Scripture, God’s compassion for the defenseless and the innocent is clear. He commends his children (in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant) to protect the defenseless (Psalm 82:3-4), welcome the alien (Matthew 25:35), care for the widow (James 1:27), defend the orphan (Deut. 24:17), and mourn with those who are mourning (Romans 12:15). We are to be peaceful citizens, not bloodthirsty citizens, and our hands should therefore strive to protect innocence.
God hates “a heart that devises wicked plans.”
Therefore, God loves a heart which devises good and righteous plans. God loves our desires to serve, our desires to help, our desires to minister. When our hearts long to carry out God’s plans for goodness, righteousness, and peace, it delights him.
God hates “feet that run rapidly to evil.”
Therefore, God loves feet which run rapidly to goodness. Our feet carry enormous power. Where we choose to walk can truly define who we are as a person. Will we choose to walk away from a fruitless argument, or remain in an attempt to stubbornly prove a point? Will we choose to chase after those whom we have wronged, falling at their feet with love and humility? Will we let our feet wander to where the Spirit leads us, or will our feet guide us to our own selfish desires?
God hates “a false witness who utters lies.”
Therefore, God loves a trustworthy witness who speaks the truth. When we are beacons of integrity, truth, and honor, God rejoices. In any situation, a witness is charged to faithfully report what happened to the best of his ability. The greatest witness we can be is a faithful witness of God’s redeeming work in our lives. Will we stand boldly and speak the truth of God to the world? Are we living our lives as false witnesses, or trustworthy witnesses?
God hates “one who spreads strife among brothers.”
Therefore, God loves one who spreads peace among his brothers. It is really only possible to spread peace or strife. Every word we speak contributes one of those two attitudes to our relationships. And God loves those who value peace over 1) proving a point, 2) being heard, or 3) manipulating situations. With one word at a time, God wants us to change our attitude and sow seeds of peace in our relationships.
Intersecting Faith and Life
Pick one thing that God loves and work to implement more of it into your daily life.
Further Reading
Leviticus 19:18
Micah 6:8
by Debbie Holloway, Crosswalk.com Contributor
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave (Psalms 86:12).
There is a very famous passage in Proverbs detailing what God hates. Indeed, throughout the Bible God never shows reluctance to speak against behaviors he finds detestable. This should come as no surprise to us, being that he is holy and man has amassed a large amount of sinful tendencies since he first came into the world.
But what does God love? While avoiding the “bad” list – is there a “good” list toward which we can be working? Let’s dissect Proverbs 6:16 to discern the things which God loves.
God hates “haughty eyes.”
Therefore, God loves eyes which gaze with humility. Not a false or broken humility of despising oneself, but a genuine, Christ-like choice to serve others, not draw undue attention to oneself, and treat others with great honor and respect.
God hates “a lying tongue.”
Therefore, God loves a tongue which speaks truth. Note that this does not say a brash tongue, or a loud tongue, or a tongue which speaks its opinion at any and every possible moment. Rather, he loves a tongue which, when it does speak, values honesty and artlessness.
God hates “hands that shed innocent blood.”
Therefore, God loves hands which protect the innocent. Throughout Scripture, God’s compassion for the defenseless and the innocent is clear. He commends his children (in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant) to protect the defenseless (Psalm 82:3-4), welcome the alien (Matthew 25:35), care for the widow (James 1:27), defend the orphan (Deut. 24:17), and mourn with those who are mourning (Romans 12:15). We are to be peaceful citizens, not bloodthirsty citizens, and our hands should therefore strive to protect innocence.
God hates “a heart that devises wicked plans.”
Therefore, God loves a heart which devises good and righteous plans. God loves our desires to serve, our desires to help, our desires to minister. When our hearts long to carry out God’s plans for goodness, righteousness, and peace, it delights him.
God hates “feet that run rapidly to evil.”
Therefore, God loves feet which run rapidly to goodness. Our feet carry enormous power. Where we choose to walk can truly define who we are as a person. Will we choose to walk away from a fruitless argument, or remain in an attempt to stubbornly prove a point? Will we choose to chase after those whom we have wronged, falling at their feet with love and humility? Will we let our feet wander to where the Spirit leads us, or will our feet guide us to our own selfish desires?
God hates “a false witness who utters lies.”
Therefore, God loves a trustworthy witness who speaks the truth. When we are beacons of integrity, truth, and honor, God rejoices. In any situation, a witness is charged to faithfully report what happened to the best of his ability. The greatest witness we can be is a faithful witness of God’s redeeming work in our lives. Will we stand boldly and speak the truth of God to the world? Are we living our lives as false witnesses, or trustworthy witnesses?
God hates “one who spreads strife among brothers.”
Therefore, God loves one who spreads peace among his brothers. It is really only possible to spread peace or strife. Every word we speak contributes one of those two attitudes to our relationships. And God loves those who value peace over 1) proving a point, 2) being heard, or 3) manipulating situations. With one word at a time, God wants us to change our attitude and sow seeds of peace in our relationships.
Intersecting Faith and Life
Pick one thing that God loves and work to implement more of it into your daily life.
Further Reading
Leviticus 19:18
Micah 6:8
Dec 10, 2016 08:45:24 #
no propaganda please wrote:
What Does God Love? br by Debbie Holloway, Crosswa... (show quote)
Great thoughts here...I've chosen the last one for the moment...Peace is much needed world wide...If we could live it what a bit of Heaven we would have right here......
So glad to read your posts...Please give your lovely wife a special hug from me...
She really is a beautiful soul!!!
Dec 10, 2016 09:05:57 #
no propaganda please wrote:
What Does God Love? br by Debbie Holloway, Crosswa... (show quote)
Indeed a good reminder what is expected of us as well as what we need to avoid doing.
As well as a reminder that I'm still a work in progress.
Dec 10, 2016 09:07:21 #
no propaganda please
Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun
bdamage wrote:
Indeed a good reminder what is expected of us as well as what we need to avoid doing.
As well as a reminder that I'm still a work in progress.
As well as a reminder that I'm still a work in progress.
As re all of us.
Dec 10, 2016 10:01:37 #
no propaganda please wrote:
What Does God Love? br by Debbie Holloway, Crosswa... (show quote)
Amen and Amen and what a contrast to Islam is our Lord and Savior. You can see here that Islam and Muslims are 180 degrees out of phase with the Christian faith and all that we stand for.
Dec 20, 2016 09:04:01 #
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you. We won the election. The repentance of Americans to Jesus has begun, and the repairing of the American relationship with God is starting. We must destroy the seductive, antifreedom nut cases.
Now, to Israel, when Samson first rose to power, he was not a hero, neither was Moses, David, or Peter. But all of these men had one thing in common, they were sent by God, in the hope that a faithful change would reap the prosperity of a faithful people.
So may we, God fearing men and women of these united States, ban together in prayer, to stand not as maryters but as courageous Christian soldiers asking God for help and defending our Christian Brothers and sisters in syria and iraqi. Amen
Let us pray for America once again. Let it be known that Donald Trump is no saint,
Now, to Israel, when Samson first rose to power, he was not a hero, neither was Moses, David, or Peter. But all of these men had one thing in common, they were sent by God, in the hope that a faithful change would reap the prosperity of a faithful people.
So may we, God fearing men and women of these united States, ban together in prayer, to stand not as maryters but as courageous Christian soldiers asking God for help and defending our Christian Brothers and sisters in syria and iraqi. Amen
Let us pray for America once again. Let it be known that Donald Trump is no saint,
Dec 20, 2016 09:15:18 #
Ranger7374 wrote:
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you... (show quote)
In Jesus' name.....Amen
Dec 20, 2016 09:18:01 #
Ranger7374 wrote:
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you... (show quote)
Amen...Through the grace of God, all things are possible.....
Dec 20, 2016 11:20:51 #
Dec 20, 2016 14:20:52 #
God bless all of you! God granted me optimism that is never ending but there are times that the optimism is starved. But the saints here, all if you have kept and continue to fuel my optimism. I thank you all for that. God bless you and yours in this Christmas and Happy New Year as we embark on a new era, destined to bring back common sense and true faith. God bless you all.
Dec 21, 2016 09:09:20 #
Ranger7374 wrote:
God bless all of you! God granted me optimism that is never ending but there are times that the optimism is starved. But the saints here, all if you have kept and continue to fuel my optimism. I thank you all for that. God bless you and yours in this Christmas and Happy New Year as we embark on a new era, destined to bring back common sense and true faith. God bless you all.
And may the good, good Father Bless you and yours Ranger!
Feb 21, 2017 03:10:12 #
Hey guys we need a new commitment. We need to pray for Trump. The man is real and we need to defend him. On a personal note, God is using him as an instrument of God's peace.
Feb 21, 2017 09:03:12 #
Ranger7374 wrote:
Hey guys we need a new commitment. We need to pray for Trump. The man is real and we need to defend him. On a personal note, God is using him as an instrument of God's peace.
Yes indeed!
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