Markham County Park, Sunrise, Florida
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. ~ Galatians 1: 10
HAPPY BIRTYDAY TO BLAINE’S BABY BROTHER, BRUCE!! It’s his home where we’ve spent the past two Thanksgiving Days. And he and Donna are the ones who showed up at our campsite in a pontoon boat a while back and whisked us away for an afternoon of fun and relaxation on the water.
Three weeks in a row! We were able to visit the same church three weeks in a row, as we visited The First Baptist Church of Weston again. That’s unheard of these days. Unfortunately, the Pastor was off this week, and the sub wasn’t quite as good a teacher. His message was on Psalm 67, and while he presented a good message, we felt he was really stretching the meaning of this particular Psalm. Plus the music was more somber today. Not sure if that’s the Pastor’s choice, or the Music Director.
This is what I have for you today:
Psalm 67 ~ For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise You, O God, may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.
Psalms were prayers, many of which were meant to be sung within the assembly of the Tabernacle/Synagogue.
This particular Psalm begins with God’s people asking for God’s mercy and blessing. (be gracious…and bless us…make His face shine upon us) Besides showing compassion, sympathy and deep caring, mercy also means forgiving. It means giving or receiving care when it isn’t deserved, or withholding an expected punishment. Asking God to bless us and make His face shine upon us, is asking for his help, favors, or to make us happy. On the other hand, when we bless God, it’s with praise, worship and thankfulness. Today’s Pastor said true blessing for us is to know God. To have a relationship with Him.
Once we’ve established a relationship with God, others will see that and they will see God through us, which in turn opens doors for us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ so they can know salvation. In other words, our blessings are not to be hoarded to ourselves. They’re to be shared with the world.
God’s blessings for the nations come through those who believe. How did the nations learn? They learned through the sacred writings of the Israelites. In other words, the Old Testament, and also what they saw and heard about the nation of Israel. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. ~ I Timothy 4:16
God’s blessings begin when we praise Him. Once people begin to praise the Lord, even the land will yield its increase. Even the earth is cursed because of sin. God told Adam this when Adam and Eve sinned. Cursed is the ground because of you. . . ~ Genesis 3:17b and We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ~ Romans 8:22 and How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. ~ Jeremiah 12:4
People are also under the curse of Adam, but Jesus took on that curse for us. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles (Everyone who is not an Israelite) through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
This is true blessing. Knowing Jesus. If you’ve never been forgiven of your sins, then you’ve never experienced true blessing. It is part of God’s plan to bless His children by knowing Him in a greater way. How do we do that? You can’t know Him if you don’t spend time with Him or learn about Him and what He desires from and for us. The best possible way to do that is to read His Word – the Bible.
While you’re working on that, the next question is – – are you allowing the blessings of God to open the door for you to talk to unbelievers in order that God can share His blessing with them?
And so, I was glad when they said to me; “Let us go to into the house of the Lord.” ~ Psalm 122:1
Worshipping in His house in the company of other believers is the perfect way to begin a Sunday, and a new week!
We started packing up for our next move as soon as we got back home. Our drive began uneventful, but that changed after five minutes, when suddenly and without warning – – – we hit some kind of bug swarm! They hit our windshield – the ENTIRE windshield – like a burst of hail! It was insane! Blaine quickly made the decision not to try and swipe them off the glass because it just might have made it even worse.
So we drove the rest of the way trying to peer around bug juice. It wasn’t pretty, but as you’ll see in the few pictures I took (because it was so bad), it’s the ugly – – and gross – – truth.
The speed limit on the expressway was 65mph, and that’s what Blaine was driving, but people were blowing past us like we were standing still. And then there was the motorcycle who just barely managed to squeeze between our right front corner and the left rear bumper of a car in the other lane. And when I say squeeze, I mean squeeze! It was so close, I yelled, covered my mouth and closed my eyes. I was that sure we were going to hit him. Praise God we didn’t! You know, it’s bad enough they take their own lives into their hands, but what about the people who have to live the rest of their lives knowing they killed someone?
Driving in east central Florida maybe nuts, but the drivers are still better than those in Alabama.
Jonathan Dickenson State Park, Hobe Sound, Florida (Jupiter)
Arrival at our new digs took 96 miles and two hours.
Another hour to set up and we were on our way to Blaine’s sister’s house! Sandy and Eric live just 10 minutes from us for the next two weeks! Too bad they have jobs. But – – Sandy actually has a week off beginning this Friday, and is leaving work a little early this Wednesday. Can’t wait to see what kind of trouble we get into this time!
So, we arrived at their home and their son and his family were also there – Adam, Jessica and toddler Eliana. They’re expecting a boy in just a few months.
We had a great visit! So great, we didn’t even think to take pictures, but I promise to have some at some point in the next two weeks. Or you can just go back to last Valentine’s Day. All the people (with the exception of Blaine’s parents) are the same. 😊