Maranatha Grace Church

Brothers and Sisters,

Most people equate the word discipline with the word punishment. They are not the same. Let me give you an example. When my mother-in-law was still alive, she lived with us, and took care of our youngest daughter, a toddler at the time. Every morning, she has her make her bed; they really made it together. Eventually, my daughter learned to make her bed by herself without any prompting from anyone. In discipline, the teacher and the follower work together at a task.. To read the Bible daily is discipline not punishment. 

¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not resent his rebuke,
¹² because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
    as a father the son he delights in. ( Proverbs 3:11-12)

Proverbs 3 - 7.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

There is an open secret in praising God. The more we praise God, the more God gives us opportunities to praise.  Praise him without ceasing, the psalmist seems to say in Psalm 150. We can praise our way to success, health, and victory. 

¹ Praise the Lord.^[a]

Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 150 - Proverbs 2.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Can you tell how many times the word praise is found in the three chapters that we have just read? Give it a try, I will tell you tomorrow. Repetition of the word of God takes it from our head to bring it to our heart.  That is why the psalmist is never tired of reminding himself to praise God. Praise is the best antidote against the venin of pride. 

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God,
    how pleasant and fitting to praise him! (Psalm 147:1)

Psalm 147 - 149.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

³ Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.(Psalm 146:3-5)

Psalm 144 - 146.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters, 

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,
    for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers. (Psalm 141:5)

Psalm 141 -143.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

One of the best psalms for teenagers to memorize is Psalm 139. The teen years can be years of turmoil, when the young person starts to question his own purpose in life. By internalizing the truth found in the Bible in Psalm 139, the youth will understand his true purpose in life and his true place in this world. 

Psalm 138 - 140. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

The majority of Haitians would sympathize with the psalmist who wrote, "If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill" (Psalm 137:5). The psalmist could not forget Jerusalem, Haitians cannot forget Haiti, It shows clearly by the amount of remittance money that they sent back to Haiti year after year. If you catch two Haitians talking to each other, there is a very high probability that they are talking about Haiti. 

Haiti is one of the most Christian nations of the world, and Haitians are one of the most generous people of the world.  Yet the country is one of the poorest countries of the world. Why? 

I believe it is time for the message of God's grace and of God's love to be relentlessly preached in the country. We should  tell our brothers and sisters again and again of God's love for them, just like the psalmist did in Psalm 136, "God's love endures forever". 

                                                   Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
                                                           His love endures forever.

Psalm 135 - 137.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

"How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. (Psalm 133:1, 3b)". Unity brings great blessings to the church. 

But what happens when God's people don't live together in unity? Apostle Paul speaking to one dysfunctional, unloving church said, "That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died" (1 Corinthians 11:30). It is hard stuff to think that Christian disunity can cause weakness, sickness, and death in the church. But the great Apostle said it.

Do you have a lot of weak, sick, and  dying people in your church? More funerals than weddings? Maybe it is time for you to be a peacemaker. 

Psalm 130 - 134. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹ Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,the guards stand watch in vain. (Psalm 127:1)

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. (Psalm 128:1)

“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,” let Israel say; (Psalm 129:1)

Which psalm do you prefer? Which one speaks to your present situation? All three psalms talk about the goodness of the Lord toward his people. I am convince that God's grace is on our lives.

 “The blessing of the Lord be on you;  we bless you in the name of the Lord.”

Psalm 127 - 129.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

A friend sent me this morning a very interesting chart about learning that I would like to share with you. Please look at the picture included. Basically, we have to teach the Bible in order to learn. Keep reading.

Psalm 124 - 126.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Psalm 121 - 123.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

There are more to Psalm 119, the longest Psalm in the Bible, than verses 9, 11, 105. The psalm shows clearly the benefit of being passionate about God's word. Please read the whole psalm, you will be blessed. 

Psalm 118 - 120.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

'For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)"'

Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:2)

Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”  (Psalm 116:4)

What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (Psalm 116:12-13)

 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. (Psalm 116:17)

Psalm 115 - 117.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. (Psalm 112:1). Many times in the Bible we see Jesus telling his disciples not to be afraid. Fear should not be part of the Christian mindset. But there is a place in the Bible where Jesus tells his disciples to have fear, they should fear God. "But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). The fear of the Lord is a treasure. 

Psalm 110 - 114. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

There are more to healing than what we are led to believe by modern medicine. Psalms 107 tells us that the word of God can heal people, this is a truth that we must incorporate in our thinking and share with those around us. "Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. (Psalm 107 19-20)

Psalm 107 - 109.

May the Lord richly bless you!