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Here is the recipe. It is no secret. In fact it has to be close to 3000 years old. Take a look. 1 Praise the LORD ! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD , who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed . 3 Wealth and riches are in his house , and his righteousness endures forever . 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious , merciful , and righteous . 5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. 6 For the righteous will never be moved ; he will be remembered forever . 7 He is not afraid of bad new s; his heart is firm , trusting in the LORD . 8 His heart is steady ; he will not be afraid , until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. 9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever ; his horn is exalted in honor . 10 The wicked man se...

God’s Definition of Proper Praise To continue the psalmist’s thought on proper praise from Psalm 111, observe the direction of his divinely inspired lyrics. Just after he briefs us on who to praise and tells us who is doing the praising we see the path of praise. That path is marked with several one word signs. That word is, Works . God’s works represent who he is. The word appears five times in verses 2 - 7. His works are great (2), splendid and majestic (3), wonderous and unforgettable (4), visible and powerful (6) and faithful and just (7). Verse five, the one not mentioning his works tells about two very important ones; it speaks of his provision of food and his perfect memory. Praising God for his precepts (7)? Yes. They are trustworthy . How many things are trustworthy these days? You hear promises, pledges and plans only to be disappointed. Trust is a rare commodity. It is virtually invisible or nonexistent. Yet every one of God’s precepts are worthy of our trust! Every single o...

One hundred eleven is a cool number. Very simple. Though it doesn't make a good age. Its too old. It does, however, make a great song. What? The “One One One” song? You've never heard of it? Then you been lookin in the wrong song book. You need to look in the heavenly hymnal. You can find it when you open your Bible right down the middle. If you don't have one of those big study Bibles that is. A regular Bible with no notes and no dictionary or encyclopedia, split right down the middle will land you near the “One One One” song. It is a beauty. This song starts and ends like all praise songs should, with praise. Praise these days seem all about some fancy dancy “praise team” swinging and swaying to bass guitar, drums and mic-swallowing lead singers who look more like Madonna or Willie Nelson than someone who should be offering praise to Holy God. Not that the aforementioned won't offer praise someday. They will but it will be a forced praise. The One One One song starts...

An d the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of  whoredoms  and children of  whoredoms   Hosea 1.2   Talk about dysfunctional family, Hosea had one. God's prophet did not  have an easy life. In Hosea's case his soon to be family would be used to illustrate God's broken heart and broken relationship with Israel and Judah.   These days broken families are common. Even the word “family” needs an explanatory footnote.   The word  originally meant one man and one woman who united to become the base unit of the family. That unit, protected and directed by God, produced offspring who in turn married to produce God given offspring. And so it was.   Today the nuclear family is a threaten ed species. Attacks from various fronts and many opinions advance against it daily. The God intended purpose for the family is blurred or obscured because God is not the focus nor objective anymore.   ...

The end of the world I am typing this note on December 21, 2012; the date that fire is supposed to rain down from the heavens. I’m typing fast; so if you see any mistakes please forgive me. Yesterday I found myself just eight hours from the end of earthly journey. The weird thing is that I didn’t know that I was that close to death. I hadn’t been looking forward to death and destruction like so many others have been with this 12-21-12 foolishness. There I was sitting in my beat up old van on one of the main arteries entering downtown Sorocaba. Dawn and I were heading in to do some last minute, actually first minute, Christmas shopping. The street we were on is a narrow one. It stretches up from a bridge into the main flow of city traffic. It is heavily used daily; it is one-way and usually crammed with Buses, Motorcycles, cars and pedestrian. I always use the left lane because it is relatively faster. Yesterday I found myself in the right lane for whatever reason. The right lane i...

In Brazil buses are everywhere. They are punctual, fairly cheap and always careful. If it weren't for buses most of Brazil would come to a standstill. Buses are like the country’s Internet. You can walk a few paces from your front door, catch a bus and literally traverse the country from North to South or East to West. It might take a few days to make such a monumental trip but it is possible. All because of buses. Of course buses don't move by themselves. Each has its own driver. Sometimes there is a co-pilot when a prolonged trip is the goal. My worst experience on a bus was an overnighter where the driver kept slapping himself in the face to stay awake. It was a nightmare. However, this article is not about nightmare bus rides. That will be for another time. This is a bus driver commendation. And a special tribute to the bus drives in our city, Sorocaba, São Paulo. This 600,000 plus metropolis is a virtual knot of roads, avenues and highways. The city just celebrated its 3...

I graduated from high school in 1971. I'm old I know! However, that number still holds fond memories for me. I think its because I waited so long to celebrate my graduation. From September of 68 to June of 71 the anticipation did nothing but grow. The big day came and went and then I realized that there was more to life than my high school graduation. My life focus was rather narrow back then. Thinking of that lovely old number 71, however, I was reading in Psalm 71 this evening. It is one of the untitled psalms. We don't know the author. However, he reveals a lot about how he felt about his God.  If you read this short psalm and meditate on it you learn a lot about the person who wrote it. He says that before he was born he was leaning on God (6). Now that is incredible. He also speaks of his relationship with God during his youth (17). He tells God to not forsake him in his old age so that he can tell the next generation about His great God (18). Is he talking about some...

Are you up to your neck in trouble? David was. He was sinking fast. He was drowning yet parched (v.3). He was stuck in slippery goo and going down. Why? It looks like that it might have been a “religious” thing. Look at verse 9: For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Could religion cause so much trouble in one’s life? Of course it could. It does everyday. The world is full of religious trouble. The media makes a living broadcasting terrible not good news. “Terrorists, murder, horror, horrendous, gruesome, tragic, death are all bywords used to draw us into stories of harm, evil, sadness and sorrow. Much of which is directly related to religion. One would think that religion might be a safe haven from such evil. God should be protection and comfort. He should be our salvation. Have you ever nearly drowned. Thrashing in deep water until total exhaustion consumes you. With no near help and your body cramping you scream ...

Early this morning I sat under a huge mango tree with three dogs and read Psalms on my kindle. Talk about mixing my metaphors. It was an overcast and cool muggy start to a new day. One passage caught my attention. I found it in Psalm 66 verses 8 through 12. I realize that psalms are songs and that lifting a passage from a song might not convey the original author's complete intent. Let’s just say that this is poetic license. I might ask the author if he minded my extraction but he can’t be reached. This psalms setting is ... well we don't know. Its title gives no clue and an author is unmentioned. It is, as one commentator notes, a call to national and personal praise. Or as another mentions it is a call to thanksgiving. Verses 8 - 12 intrigued me. Look at them 8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, 9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. Meditate with me on this. We bless our God because he ...

Jesus left perfect surroundings, relationships and glory to be born into squalor. He was homeless before birth. His father was a carpenter in a culture where carpentry was a despised trade. His, mother though young and giving birth to her firstborn, had no attendant nurses, helpers or friends. Rather than a pristine hospital, birth was given in the filthy stench of a stable. Romantic? Hardly. This sacrifice brought a life of hardship. Why? Why this odd story? Obedience. God's gift to humanity was His son. Jesus' gift was obedience to the Father. He paid the greatest price. Not because we are special but because he loves His Father. His gift was the perfect gift. Our Father wants obedience for Christmas and every other day for that matter. In Brazil Christmas is becoming commercialized. A phenomenon familiar for years in the United States tickles a growing economy. There is little time for meditation on God's Gift. There are no chestnuts roasting or Jack Frost nippin...