16.3.17

Heed the Warnings of Others


March 16, 2017

Opening Hymns:
We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations: http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh569.sht

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 95
95:1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

95:2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

95:4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.

95:5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

95:7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!

95:8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

95:9 when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

95:10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways."

95:11 Therefore in my anger I swore, "They shall not enter my rest."


Message:
There is a website called “despair.com” which has demotivating posters. My favorite one had a picture of a ship sinking, and the caption read “Sometimes your purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.” I used to cling to the thought that, even if I mess everything up I still could be doing some good in showing others what not to do. Since then I’ve decided it’s far better to do good and get things right than to do wrong and be used as an example of failure.

This quote seems to hold true with biblical lessons. In today’s scripture we read about a Psalmist using the Israelites who were saved from Egypt as an example. “Do not harden your hearts,” the psalmist pleads. The really awesome thing about the bible is we are shown time and time again what God sees as straying or being righteous. We already have so many examples of what not to do! We don’t have to create any more.


Time of Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for giving us lessons on how we should or shouldn’t behave. Thank you for all the teachers in the scripture that show us how to love and serve You. Thank you for giving us Your son Jesus Christ, that even though we stray, we can still be saved. Amen.


The Lord’s Prayer


Closing Hymn
Whom Shall I Send: http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh582.sht


May the Lord bless you and keep you: May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Amen.
Go in peace, serve the Lord
Thanks be to God

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