June 26, 2020, Psalms 106 Revelation 8

Psalms 106

Praise the Lord. 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; 

his love endures forever. 
Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord

or fully declare his praise. 

Blessed are those who are just, 

who always do what is right. 

Remember, me, Lord when you show

favor to your people, 

come to my aid when you saved them. 

That I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones. 

that I may share in the joy of your nation

and join your inheritance in giving praise. 

We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; 

we have done wrong and acted wickedly. 

When our ancestors were in Egypt, 

They gave no thought to your miracles; 

they did not remember your many kindnesses, 

and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

Yet he saved them for his name's sake, 

to make his mighty power known. 

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; 

he led them from the hand of the foe; 

from the hand of the enemy he 

redeemed them. 
The waters covered their adversaries; 

no one of them survived. 
Then they believed his promises

and sang his praise. 

But they soon forgot what he had done 

and did not wait for his plan to unfold.

In the desert they gave in to their cravings; 

in the wilderness they put God to the test. 
So he gave them what they asked for, but he 

sent a wasting disease among them. 

In the camp they grew envious of Moses. 

and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord, 
the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, 

it buried the company of Abiram. 
Fire blazed among their followers; 

a flame consumed the wicked. 

At Horeb they made a calf

and worshiped an idol cast from metal. 

When they built the golden calf it was an idol and it was also offensive. What do I mean? For example, Revelation says Gods lower body resemble fine jasper and sardis. The calf they worshiped was built with metal melted in the fire. We talk a lot about relationships in 2020; and if we think of God as it relates to a relationship it was rude to act like that.  Sometimes it is good to walk in a persons shoes to understand their thoughts and feelings. For example have you ever had someone make fun of you in a indirect way.  The devil likes to mock God and Christians. Another example of mocking God is the movie Alpha and Omega (no offense to the movie makers; I am not sure of their intentions) but the movie was about a dog and he was called the Alpha and Omega. Makes you think what person in their right mind would call God a dog? God's names are holy however someone who does not believe in God may find the things we value as funny. I sometimes hear people mock preachers or their members. It also makes me think of the cross when the Roman guards put above Jesus head; the King of the Jews, it was meant to be funny; because in their minds if he was the king why was he suffering. They mocked him and cast lots for his clothes. When someone mocks you it is their intentions to offend you. An offended person becomes angry and that is the ultimate goal of the devil. I had a man call me a dog; and I reached deep in my soul and let it go. But I thought to myself if he thinks I am a dog he must be rat. But the point is people like that want to offend you and it is a bad spirit in the person. It is better to ignore them. If I called that man a rat he would be offended at me. As a Christian we are always overlooking the devils dirty jokes. They mocked Jesus they will mock us. 

They exchanged their glorious God

for an image of a bull, which eats grass. 

They forgot the God who saved them, 

who had done great things in Egypt, 

miracles in the land of Ham

and awesome deed by the Red Sea. 
So he said he would destroy them-

had not Moses, his chosen one, 

stood in the breach before him 

to keep his wrath from destroying them. 

They they despised the pleasant land; 

they grumbled in their tents 

and did not obey the Lord. 

So he swore to then with uplifted hand

that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 

make their descendants fall among the nations

and scatter them throughout the lands.

They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor

and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; 

they aroused the Lord's anger by their 

wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them. 

But Phinehas stood up and intervened; and 

the plague was checked. 

This was credited to him as righteousness

for endless generations to come. 
By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, 

and trouble came to Moses because of them; 

for they rebelled against the spirit of God, 

and rash words came from Moses lips. 

(Making the idol was serious and it changed their relationship with God. What type of relationship did they expect to have with God. A good relationship is built on trust, respect, and love. Before you can love something you have to respect it. 

They did not destroy the peoples as the 

Lord commanded them, 

but they mingled with the nations

and adopted their customs. 

They worshiped their idols, 

which became a snare to them. 

They sacrificed their sons and daughters to false gods. 

Kids are innocent they enjoy truth. 

They shed innocent blood, 

the blood of their sons and daughters, 

whom they scarified to the idols of Canaan, 

and the land was desecrated by their blood. 

They defiled themselves by what they did; 

by their deeds they prostituted themselves. 

Therefore the Lord was angry with his people

and abhorred his inheritance. 
He gave them into the hands of the nations. 

and their foes ruled over them. 

Their enemies oppressed them

and subjected them to their power, 

Many times he delivered them, 

but they were bent on rebellion

and they wasted away in their sin. 

Yet he took note of their distress. 

when he heard their cry, 

for their sake he remembered his covenant

and great out of his great love he relented. 

He caused all who held them captive show

them mercy. 
Save us, Lord our God, 

and gather us from the nations, 

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise. 
Praised be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from 

everlasting to everlasting, 

Let all the people say Amen! 

Praise the Lord. 

Revelation 8

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and the seven trumpets were given to them. Another Angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes, of lightening and an earthquake. 

The Trumpets

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water--the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. 

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. As I watched,  I head an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice, Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!

Have a great day!