MY HOPE IS IN YOU

Tuesday 30th,
august, 2016



1) The silence of David.

  
In Psalm 38, the reason for David's silence was his guilt and abandonment of others. In
Psalm 39, he speaks about another reason, which James also speaks about, who
said that the man who does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man,
able also to bridle his whole body. Faced with enemies, David is mute in
obedience to the word of God.

2) Mankind is defenseless 

Meanwhile, the Psalmist thinks about the vanity of life. First, man is a breath, because of
the shortness of human life, like a vapor that appears for a little while and
then disappears. He is a sojourner on the earth, and no one will own property
for the afterlife. How will we be able to arm ourselves against death? Man is
dually helpless. He is defensesless for the vanity of his life and because of
the overwhelming judgment of God on the sinner. But, there is hope.

3) My hope is in you 

David finds hope in the forgiveness of God. David was oppressed, but he raised his eyes to
heaven, because God is the one who forgives. David also finds hope in
justification in front his enemies' mockery. It's the release from crimes and
also from enemies. Finally, David finds hope in the divine plan. Even if there
are sentences on the earth, after, there is salvation. 

When David understood all this, he is mute because he accepted God's sovereignty. He
meditated on the goodness of God, his steadfast love and was delighted.




  
Then, David
prayed in tears, "Hear my prayer, O Lord", "look away from
me". He prayed that God would expiate past sins and illuminate his path.

DO NOT FORSAKE ME, O LORD

Monday, August 29^th 2016

Psalm 38

This is a psalm for a memorial offering. It was written by David while he was in despair.

1. Verses 1-9

King David had many burdens, troubles within and without. Moreover, he was weighted down with guilt for his sin. He realized that against God alone he had sinned. This occured just after his meeting with Bathsheba. Afterward, many ennemies rose up against him. He felt abandonned by those closest to him.

2. verses 10-14

Davis says that he is deaf and mute. This could be due to old age ; on the other hand, it could be due to his numerous ennemies and the weight of his own sins.

3. verses 15-22

In verse 15, David declares that he will wait for the Lord. He no longer has strength to take any action. In his prayer, he asks that his ennemies would not triumph, that his own sin would be forgiven and that the Lord would not abandon him (v22).

Key verse : 15 : « But for you, O Lord, do I wait ; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer ».

COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD

Saturday, August 27^th 2016

Psalm 37

1. The righteous and the wrongdoers

Wrongdoers will fade like grass, since they are ennemies of God and do not accept His soverainty. Why will wrongdoers be cut off ? To satisfy the anger of God. However, the righteous accept the will of God.

2. Commandments

Instead of seeking vengeance when we've suffered wrong, we must trust in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

3. Deliverance

The meek will inherit the land.

4. How then should we live ?

We must let go of our anger towards God and commit our ways to the Lord. Because our heritage will last forever, we must not be restricted by the ways of the world.

Psalm 36 (with intoduction of Psalm)

Friday 26^th, august, 2016

1) Who is the wiched ?
The wicked is he who measures himself, he flatters himself in his own eyes. Apparently, he is i

ntelligent and erudite, but he is stupid before God. He is self-satisfied and doesn't see the need to 

believe in God. He is compromising: man who does not totally reject evil.

2) God's steadfast love. God's love, long and large, is priceless. Sometimes God hides his face, but his

steadfast love extends to the heavens. His salvation is large, covers not only men but also beasts. God 

is the founatain of life, he is light. The psalmist is greatly inspired by the immense love of God that c

overs all the wickedness of men. David was overwhelmed but he saw beyond, he saw the immense love 

of God who always remains the same. David doesn't defend himself with a sense of revenge, he makes 

a plea so that God's name is not reduced, but exalted by the manifestation of his righteousness.

John Calvin cites Psalm 36 in his book Institutes of the Christian Religion. He speaks about the 

wickedness of men who deny the existence of God. For to know the Lord, we must know mankind. 

We must know the two in parallel. The knowledge of God is naturally rooted in the mind of mankind. 

Religion is a universal fact, all men recognize that there is an absolute. Calvin said that unbelief is 

impossible. But this knowledge is stifled, corrupted by ignorance and by human wickedness. It takes 

four forms: 1) superstition : it is a seed of religion in the heart, but 1 out of 100 germinates but no one 

fructifies, because there is no piety on earth. 2) The deliberate denial: men strive to reject God's even 

if their instinct revives these thoughts incessantly. They have a false peace. 3) God is not shaped 

according to our ideas : here he speaks about idolatry. 4) Hypocrisy.

When we read Psalms, we have the feeling of wandering in a forest, because Psalms seem like a lake 

that reflects changing human feelings, but it's not like that. Psalms go with us as a friend, which revives 

us, consoles us, strengthens us. Each psalm contains a great truth.
We can divide the Psalms into five parts. 
Part I: Psalm 1 to 41, writted by David. Like Genesis, they deal with the reality of man. What is man? 

How man is evil, and who is the righteous man. 
Part II: 42-72. Like Exodus, they deal with the delivrance. 
Part III: 73-89. Like Leviticus, they talk about the temple, the sanctuary. They are written by Asaph. 
Part IV: 90-106. Like the prayer of Moses, they speak of a time without wickedness, the kingdom of 

God. 
Part V: 107-150. Like Deuteronomy, they talk about thanksgiving for the faithfulness of God, the Word 

of God repeated (119). They are written by an anonymous author, but perhaps Ezra and Nehemiah r

eturned from Babylon. 
To conclude, various authors have written the psalms, each book corresponds to the Pentateuch. 

DIVINE JUSTICE

Psalm 35

What are David's feelings while being relentlessly pursued ? He was very troubled about Saul's unsteady nature and asked himself why mankind is so ungrateful, hateful and cruel. He knew the good that should be done, but he was troubled by the seeming incomprehensibility of God's will. Even when given the opportunity, David realized that God didn't want him to kill his enemy Saul.

Even though he didn't understand God's will, he decided to obey.

At that moment, David prayed that his deliverance would be perfect and that divine right would establish justice. He prayed that enemies would not be lifted up, since it was contrary to divine justice. He didn't pray with a bitter heart, but rather, he prayed that divine justice would be revealed so that the name of God would be glorified.

Evil would not be punished by his hand, but by God's justice, so that the name of the Lord would be exalted. In this way, the whole earth would be filled with divine justice. God would surely grant justice to the unjustly persecuted. His justice would fill the whole earth ; with this conviction, David had true joy.

FINAL SALUTATION

Wednesday 24^th, august, 2016

James 5

1. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth
   James identifies the rich as these who reject God's kingdom. This was the thinking trend of that time where many poor are exploited.
2. Patience.
   Patience is firmness. James speaks about Job, he was the richest man, but despite all calamities, he kept faith in God, firm and patient to the end. God blessed him.
3. Prayer has great power
   Jacques speaks about importance of repentance as a condition of healing confessing sins to each other The prayer can also change the current situation, like Elijah.

The book of James speaks often about prayer. Jmes said that if anyone lacks wisdom, he shall ask, and God will give him . He also said that we must examine ourselves to pray without lust in the heart. We must bring our problems to God to be heard.

HOW TO PRAY

James 4:13-17

Parallel between James' and Paul's theology : Paul states that faith alone is needed for salvation, while James writes that works also accompany this. These two thoughts are not contradictory, but rather complementary. James also seems to share Paul's point of view in that he writes of using time wisely. On the other hand, Paul, who was writing to foreign Christians, said that faith alone sufficed and that there was no need for traditional practices to achieve salvation.

Those to whom James was writing (Jews) had a tendancy for self-glory, so he addressed two points :

1.      Decision according to God

James criticized the fact that these believers did not include God in their plans. They wanted to control their futures. However, tomorrow is hidden from our eyes. We must be humble and pray the following : « If the Lord wills it ».

2.      Sin of omission

This concerns not doing what we know we ought to do. If businessmen and women know what services they owe to their clients and partners, yet neglect to render these services, it becomes sin for them. This is also an answer that a Christian can give to a non-believing client who claims to have done nothing wrong. In sum, we must realize what God wants for us.

Daily prayer : Lord, how do you want me to live today ?

YOU ASK WRONGLY, THAT'S WHY

Msn Marc, good morning.

Here is the daily bread.

Monday, 22^th august, 2016

James 4:1-12

YOU ASK WRONGLY, THAT'S WHY

1)The sterile prayer. The sterile prayer is correlated with the proud heart. The prayer without answer has a cause : we ask wrongly , that is to say, with our own passions or with a selfish purpose. God opposes the proud, God finds no need to respond.

Satan's objective is to make our heart proud so that our prayers are not heard by God. James shows what we must do to be humbled enough:

1) submission to God and the church

2) sincere approach

3) repentance

4) humiliation

2)Do not speak ill of one another. Gossiping is also an important reason to not be heard. Gossiping is to be judge. Who is the judge ? There is only one judge and legislator, God, who can save and destroy. So it's a great sin, like a competition with God, and prayer can not be heard.

Let us examine ourselves so as to not be subjugated by such things, so that our hearts are humble and so that our prayers are heard by God.

WISDOM

James 3:13-18 

According to the Bible, wisdom can be defined by works, which are expressed by the tongue or
pen. James said to show by his good conduct his works full of gentleness and
wisdom. When you have the right wisdom, you can do good works. According to
Titus, good works are teaching. The old people should strive to teach younger
conduct according to God. 

The greatest evil that prevents this work is jealousy and rivalry. Jealousy is the disguised
wisdom, in fact jealousy glorifies himself. It is a lie against the truth.
Human wisdom often takes this form. There is a big gap with divine wisdom, true
wisdom. Divine wisdom is given to everyone. If only someone asks wisdom to God,
God gives it to him. Human wisdom is earthly, sensual, demoniac, it is the
basis of all evil, mess. God's wisdom is pure, gentle, peaceful, full of mercy.
In a word, it is the work of the Holy Spirit.

THE TONGUE

August 19th 2016

James 3:1-12

1) The importance of the tongue in life. How does this member become bad? Through bad actions it behaves sinfully. 

-3 tools: bit (3), rudder, fire

2) James explains the origin of this member. The tongue was in God's image, created to praise God. With the tongue, man dominated over the animals.

However, after the fall, the tongue accused and made man doubt. Man cannot dominate the tongue. But there is an exception: those to whom God gives wisdom.

3) The spring. Two types of water cannot come from the same spring. The spring is our heart. If the heart is first natural, then salty, it becomes unclean. 

Thursday 18th, august, 2016
PSALM 34
It is a continuation of Psalm 33. The context of this psalm is that David was drove out by Saul. We feel the threat of the enemy. The psalmist hadn't peace in his heart. But what was his attitude in the midst of this misfortune ? He might have the feeling of failure and loss, but he looks the situation and the future differently, and the praise implodes in his heart. First, David kept the fear of the Lord. There is an episode where David, in a cave, had the opportunity to kill his enemy Saul. But David had the fear of the Lord and he only cut the fringe of the clothing of Saul, as testimony. He never lost that fear, and he had the assurance in Whom he believed. God is the one who gets the side of the righteous. Who is right?
1) The one who keeps his tongue
2) Despite the prejudices of others, he continues to do good
3) The one who has the broken and repenting heart  before the holy God.
In conclusion:
 -The villain is reprehensible
 -The misfortune is probable
 -The rightous is always helpful

PRAISE TO OUR GOD

Wednesday, August 17^th 2016

Psalm 33

Throughout Psalm 33, we learn a lot about the attributes of the Lord.

1. God is just and wise.

The psalmist exhorts his audience to exalt the Lord because praise and joy belong to his people. Even as shouts of joy in honnor of the Lord, praise suits righteous men. Being joyful and full of praise is a great privilege for the people who honor the just Lord. The Lord God has made his people righteous. This doesn't mean they have no faults, simply that God has justified them. Later, the psalmist explains that the people of God are joyful and happy since God has given them his hertiage. Happiness is to belong to God.

2. God is powerful and wise.

Yesterday, after studying what James wrote about Abraham's faith, we learned that God is omniscient. When Abraham believed in the Lord God—in spite of the absence of his child—and believed that he would have descendants, it was counted to him as righteousness. Fifteen years later, he would offer Isaac as a sacrifice. God watches over the whole earth and is omniscient. He watches the peoples. As though looking at a world map on the wall, God knows all the peoples, all those who live on the earth, since he is our creator. He opens his mouth and his will is accomplished (6-9). He is also wise and brings the counsel of nations to nothing. A king depends on great armies which will be destroyed. This all-powerful God gives counsel to his people so that they can walk in the world. The psalmist exhorts us to watch and listen to the Lord God who is full of love and compassion, worthy of our trust, since he saves us even from death so that we can live on earth.  

Tuesday 16^th, august, 2016

James 2:14-26

FAITH VERSUS WORKS

James speaks of works for salvation. Would that contradict what Paul wrote in his letters ? Actually James wrote his letter after the Council of Jerusalem, where he met Paul. Both doctrines are not contradictory but complementary. The purpose and the interlocutors differ. Paul addresses the pagans, James speaks to Jews, Jewish Christians, for those who bear fruit, it is a big problem. Paul emphasizes salvation, James accentuates fruits. In fact, infertility is also the object of God's judgment. Mercy, which James spoke about earlier, is one of the main fruits. It is a fruit that also participates in salvation, and on the contrary, those who do not practice mercy violate the law.

Then James speaks of the faith of Abraham. Paul speaks of justification by faith alone. James completes, it is also by works. God justifies Abraham according to the theory of predestination: God knows all of the dispositions and actions of man in advance. God justified in advance Abraham because of his acts of offerings, including the sacrifice of Isaac.

PARTIALITY

August 15^th, 2016

PARTIALITY

James 2:1-13

James talks about partiality. It's a very important subject, since we often tend to use it. During the Reform and the reign of King Charles IX, there was great persecution (Saint Bartholomew). After this event, the king fell gravely ill. He suffered greatly. His royal physician was a protestant, Ambroise Paré. King Charles asked him if it would be fair to treat the king better than one treats poor people. But Paré always treated rich and poor in the same way. He always acted according to the word of God.

God chose the poor to become rich. It's an unusual moral, as the poor are considered as the elect, rather than the rich. The poor seek a new status, that of citizen in the kingdom of God, while the rich are satisfied with the wealth of this world. Jesus Christ said, « Blessed are the poor in spirit ». These kinds of people are humble enough to search for what has heavenly worth. James called the poor rich in the kingdom of God. It does not mean that they must stay poor, but that they must seek spiritual wealth.

James was unusual because he transformed the sense of value in presenting the subject of partiality as a law, the law of liberty (theologians). We have to look at it from a believer's point of view. Through this text, we catch a glimpse of who God is. In him, there is no partiality. We must imitate him, otherwise, we will offend him.

James also lists mercy as another attribute of God (7). Mercy triumphs over judgement. We must also show mercy. In God, there is no partiality, and in him there is mercy. We must abandon our tendancy to show partiality and become conformed to the image of Christ.

Conference and Pilgrim in Spain (from 3 to 13 Aug)

3-day conference followed by a walk to Saint Jacques de Compostela (> 100 km) on 03 Aug 2016 to 13 Aug 2016 
Location: field pignada Langlet

Good holyday!

MAKE AN EFFORT TO RETURN TO THE LORD YOUR GOD

Tuesday, August 2^nd

Deut. 30:11-20

Historically, there has never been a time when people trembled so much from attachment to material wealth like the people of today do. The neighbor behind me bought a television while working as a garbage collector. Everywhere, we see that people who claim to live by faith serve matierals more than God. Big brother Moses said (17:18) to the believers who loved materials more than God that they had to make an effort to come back to God. This passage teaches us the commandment and the attitude of the heart that we must have before God, who is the master of life, death, evil and blessing.

1. The commandments are not difficult (11-14)

In Deuteronomy, the words « You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul » (6:5) are repeated. But the last part of Deuteronomy says to come back to God with all your heart and soul. It says that those who love God but who turn away from Him more and more must truly come back to God with all their heart. Those who have a twisted heart ask, « How is it possible to keep God's commandments ? » They think His commandments are difficult and far above in heaven. But the commandments are not difficult and they are in our hearts (14).

2. Come back to the Lord with all your heart (15-20)

If you turn away from temptation and come back with all your heart to serve God, He who is the master of life, death, evil and blessing will take care of you without failure (19, 20 ; Jer. 17:13). Only a life lived with the Lord has meaning. When we come back to God with all our heart, we grow without ceasing (Col. 2:10).

Prayer : Lord, I say I love You, but help me to come back with all my heart, though I easily turn away from you. I pray with all my heart !

Bottom line : Always come back !

ALL BLESSING WHICH COMES THROUGH YOU

Dt 28:1-10

A lot of people think « Me, I am useless ! What's the difference if I make an error ? ». Thoughts like that become the seeds of a lot of curses. On the other hand, in this text, God gives us a lesson that if you live according to God's will (1), blessing comes as a result, and not only for you but on top of that blessing comes until material wealth of your country, your society and the faith of your country.

1. Blessing which comes to the family through you (3-6)

Observe blessing which comes if me, a single person, obeys God. You receive blessing wherever you go (3). Your descendants, your land and even your animals receive blessing, also food (4) and dangerous routes (5) will be blessed. So, Do you love God wherever you go and consider his commandments precious ?

2. Blessing which comes in the country through you (7-8)

God looks at one person who has faith in the country and saves the country (Gn 19:29). Do you believe that ?

3. Blessing of faith (9-10)

God blesses with faith a country where there are people who serve God, in the time of war and in the time of peace. God etablishes them to become a holy people, according to his promise.

How large is blessing which comes on a person, a country and a society by a person who has faith ? (Eph 1:3)

Prayer : Lord, help me to be a person who obeys your will to become a holy people. So that the current of water of your blessing doesn't dry up on this earth.

Bottom line : You and me are sources of blessing