Tuesday Morning Scripture (Wk38/2021) – Psalm 52

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

1 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

2 Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.

3 You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah

4 You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

5 But God will break you down forever; He will snatch and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

6 The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying,

7 “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

8 But I am like a green olive tree in the House of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

9 I will thank You forever, because You have done it. I will wait for Your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.

Psalm 52 (ESV)

Monday Morning Scripture (W37/2021) – Matthew 5:1-12

The Sermon on the Mount

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:1-12 (ESV)

Sunday Morning Prayer (Wk37/2021)

Abba! Father! I awake giving You all glory, honour, praise and thanks for another day. I ask forgiveness of all sins whether they be of thoughts, words or deeds. Empty me and fill me up with righteousness to an overflow.

Today, I open myself to all You have placed in my path for me to receive. As You rested on the seventh day of creation, likewise we are told to do the same. Within different continents and individual countries, there are so many differing beliefs, ways of life, days and months to the year. However, I choose to rest and worship You on this day. As I rest, I ask You to prepare me for the week ahead. I do not know what it holds but You do. I thank You that You hold my life in Your Mighty Hand. Within this rest, I await the refreshing and rejuvenation of my mind, body and soul, and lean into You. Before I was born I was set apart, so I no longer need to fear. I am predestined for greatness, so only need to position myself, to hear Your voice clearly and concisely. I give thanks that You hear mine. I set myself ready to be directed by whomever and whatever crosses my path; as whomever and whatever it is, will be from You. My Father and my God, I trust in You.

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him.

Psalm 4:3 (ESV)

27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son [deliberately] wills to reveal Him.

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.

Matthew 11:27-29 (AMP)

20 Now may the Elohim of peace [Who is the Author and the Giver of peace], Who brought again from among the dead our Lord Yeshua, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood [that sealed, ratified] the everlasting agreement (covenant, testament),

21 Strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Yeshua HaMashiach (the Messiah); to Whom be the glory forever and ever (to the ages of the ages).

Amen (So be it)

Hebrews 13:20-21 (AMPC)

Sunday Morning Scripture (Wk37/2021) – Hebrews 9:11-28

The Old and the New

11 But when Christ appeared as a High Priest of the good things to come [that is, true spiritual worship], He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not a part of this [material] creation.

12 He went once for all into the Holy Place [the Holy of Holies of heaven, into the presence of God], and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having obtained and secured eternal redemption [that is, the salvation of all who personally believe in Him as Savior].

13 For if the sprinkling of [ceremonially] defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a [burnt] heifer is sufficient for the cleansing of the body,

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal [Holy] Spirit willingly offered Himself unblemished [that is, without moral or spiritual imperfection as a sacrifice] to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the ever living God?

15 For this reason He is the Mediator and Negotiator of a new covenant [that is, an entirely new agreement uniting God and man], so that those who have been called [by God] may receive [the fulfillment of] the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has taken place [as the payment] which redeems them from the sins committed under the obsolete first covenant.

16 For where there is a will and testament involved, the death of the one who made it must be established,

17 for a will and testament takes effect [only] at death, since it is never in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

18 So even the first covenant was not put in force without [the shedding of] blood.

19 For when every commandment in the Law had been read by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of the calves and goats [which had been sacrificed], together with water and scarlet wool and with a bunch of hyssop, and he sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people,

20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant [that seals and ratifies the agreement] which God ordained and commanded [me to deliver to] you.”

21 And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the containers and sacred utensils of worship with the blood.

22 In fact under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [neither release from sin and its guilt, nor cancellation of the merited punishment].

23 Therefore it was necessary for the [earthly] copies of the heavenly things to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves required far better sacrifices than these.

24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but [He entered] into heaven itself, now to appear in the very presence of God on our behalf;

25 nor did He [enter into the heavenly sanctuary to] offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer over and over since the foundation of the world; but now once for all at the consummation of the ages He has appeared and been publicly manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

27 And just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this [comes certain] judgment,

28 so Christ, having been offered once and once for all to bear [as a burden] the sins of many, will appear a second time [when he returns to earth], not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly and confidently waiting for Him.

Hebrews 9:11-28 (AMP)