Patience! God comes. He Is our Shalom.

Friday, March 28, 2014 Devotions: Ps 88, 91, 92, 95; Gen 47:1-26; 1 Cor 9:16-27; Mk 6:47-56 YHWH God, I cry to You for help every day; hear, my King, and answer my petitions, I pray. I'm troubled, weak, like a corpse on the battlefield, slain by the wrath of mortals and of God. My companions avoid me, and I am confined to the point of nausea. You Are the God of the living, Lord, so with the life force I have, I cry out to You this morning. Bring me out of this present darkness, beloved Lord. You Are my refuge and strength; with Your blessing, no evil thing can befoul me; no scourge can overrun my shelter. I know You desire me to live by faith and not by sight, but I pray for Your sign of favor. He will protect me because I cleave to Him in love; God will be with me in trouble; He will rescue and honor me and satisfy me with long life; God will show me His salvation. How good it is to sing God's praises, to declare God's steadfast love in the morning, His faithfulness by night. God has made me glad by the work of His hands. Father, Your deeds are almighty, Your wisdom is unsearchable; and all Your enemies are utterly cast down. The righteous flourish like palms in an oasis, like the cedars of Lebanon. They bring forth fruit, even in old age; YHWH is upright; He Is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. So, brothers and sisters, come and let make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! God, we come into Your presence with thanksgiving; we sing Your praises. YHWH is the great God, Sovereign over all spiritual beings, Maker of heaven and earth. He holds the depths of the earth; the seas are His, for He made them; and His hands formed the dry land. Let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before YHWH our Maker. For He Is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock of His tending. Trust Him, obey Him, worship Him and do not harden your hearts toward God. Love, serve and obey Him, and enter His rest! Joseph announced to Pharaoh that Joseph's family had arrived, and were lodged in the land of Goshen. Pharaoh interviewed them; the king invited them to live in Goshen, and to tend his own flocks as well as theirs. Then Pharaoh met Joseph's father, Jacob. Jacob blessed the pharaoh, and they had conversation about Jacob's long life. And Joseph settled his clan in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. The terrible famine continued; Joseph collected all the money, all the livestock, all the land, and eventually, all the people as Pharaoh's own possessions. Only the land and persons of the priests of Egypt remained outside Pharaoh's possessions. Joseph provided food and seed grain to the people, and they gave a fifth of their produce to Pharaoh in exchange; and so it remained long thereafter. Paul wrote, concerning his own rights and responsibilities: 'I would rather die than give up my grounds for boasting. I am constrained to preach the gospel; it is my commission from God. The one reward I can claim is that I preach free of charge, foregoing my right to being supported by those to whom I preach. I made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more to God. I became as a Jew to win Jews; to those under Torah law, I became as an observant law-keeper; to those outside the law, I became like one outside the Torah—mine is the law of Christ—so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak, I became weak, to win them. I have become all things to all people so that I might by all means win some to God. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I also may share in its blessings. Think: in a race all run, but only one wins the laurel. Athletes exert self-control, competing for a perishable prize. Well, I don't run aimlessly either: I don't shadow-box; rather, I discipline my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified.' Jesus completed His time of solitary prayer on the mountain, and as He looked out over the Sea of Galilee, He could see His disciples fighting to make headway against strong winds and heavy seas. About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus approached them, walking on the sea itself. Those in the boats thought they saw a ghost, and they cried out in fright. But immediately Jesus spoke to them: 'Take heart; it is I; have no fear.' He got into the boat with them, and the winds ceased. The disciples were utterly astounded; their hearts were hardened, and their understanding failed. When they had crossed the waters, they landed at Gennesaret. The people recognized Jesus, and the crowd scurried around; they brought all their sick to Jesus. And wherever He came—in villages, cities or the countryside—people brought the sick out nearby and besought Jesus, seeking even to touch the hem of His garment; and all who touched it were made well. He Is our Shalom.