Friday Feb. 17th-Psalm 95- Rock of our Salvation!

 

Friday Feb. 17th

Rock of our Salvation!

Read Psalm 95-Psalm 145

We have so much to praise the Lord for.  Have you ever just stopped and reflected on your life and what the Lord has done for you?  Right from the moment He knit you together in your mother’s womb, He has known you.  Even when you were a small child and did not know Him, He has known you.  When did you get to know Him?

In this psalm we have much to sing for joy over, but, it also comes with a warning!

He is our Rock of Salvation! 

There is no salvation in anyone or anything but Jesus and it is secure, nothing can take it away from you.

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation  through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13

And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.     Philippians 4:7-Amp.Bible

 He is above all gods!

In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are His also. 

⁵  The sea is His, for it was He who made it,

And His hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Psalms 95:4-6

As you go about your day I encourage you to stop and look around you.  See what He has made!  From the rising of the sun to its setting we can see His handiwork all around us.  We just had a snow storm here and when I look out I think of how my sins are washed as white as snow! Is.1:18

For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the LORD made the heavens.

⁶  Splendor and majesty are before Him,

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Psalms 96:4-6

For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth;

You are exalted far above all gods. Psalms 97:9

 We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand!

I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:14-15

So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture

Will give thanks to You forever;

To all generations we will tell of Your praise. Psalms 79:13

Know that the LORD Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalms 100:3

Warning: Do not harden your hearts! Vs.8

Meribah and Massah- He named the place  Massah and  Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?” Exodus 17:7

Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ²³  shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. Numbers 14:22-23

How do we harden our hearts?  Unbelief!  Disobedience!  It can be so easy to get discouraged and start grumbling and complaining as the Israelites did.

 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice,

⁸ Do not harden your hearts, as [happened] in the rebellion [of Israel] and their provocation and embitterment [of Me] in the day of testing in the wilderness,

⁹ Where your fathers tried [My patience] and tested [My forbearance] and found I stood their test, and they saw My works for forty years.

¹⁰ And so I was provoked (displeased and sorely grieved) with that generation, and said, They always err and are led astray in their hearts, and they have not perceived or recognized My ways and become progressively better and more experimentally and intimately acquainted with them.

¹¹ Accordingly, I swore in My wrath and indignation, They shall not enter into My rest.

¹² [Therefore beware] brethren, take care, lest there be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to cleave to, trust in, and rely on Him], leading you to turn away and desert or stand aloof from the living God. Hebrews 3:7-12 Amp Bible

I love this psalm because it starts out singing joyfully to the God of our salvation!  When we are focusing on Him it brings much joy to our hearts.  He is the One who created all things.  Let’s make sure our focus is in the right place and heed the warning not to harden our hearts and then we can encourage one another.  Take some time to just spend it with Him in His word. 

Father, there is no one like You, the God of Israel who rides on the heavens to help us and on the clouds in Your majesty.  You are our refuge and underneath us are Your everlasting arms, You drive out the enemy before us saying Destroy!  Deut. 33:26-27.  I ask You to put a song of joyful praise in our hearts and on our lips today!  May we always rejoice in You our creator.  May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and Redeemer.Ps. 9:14  May we take time in our day to be in Your presence where there is fullness of joy.  May we encourage one another with psalms and hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to You Lord; Ephesians 5:19  We ask in Jesus name, Amen

Lyn