Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “What God Cannot Do” – Tuesday, 10 June 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 78:34-55

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “What God Cannot Do” – Tuesday, 10 June 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 78:34 When he killed them, then they inquired after him.
    They returned and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
    the Most High God, their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouth,
    and lied to him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not right with him,
    neither were they faithful in his covenant.
38 But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them.
    Yes, many times he turned his anger away,
    and didn’t stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
    a wind that passes away, and doesn’t come again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
    and grieved him in the desert!
41 They turned again and tempted God,
    and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They didn’t remember his hand,
    nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
43 how he set his signs in Egypt,
    his wonders in the field of Zoan,
44 he turned their rivers into blood,
    and their streams, so that they could not drink.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them;
    and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their increase to the caterpillar,
    and their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
    their sycamore fig trees with frost.
48 He gave over their livestock also to the hail,
    and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
49 He threw on them the fierceness of his anger,
    wrath, indignation, and trouble,
    and a band of angels of evil.
50 He made a path for his anger.
    He didn’t spare their soul from death,
    but gave their life over to the pestilence,
51 and struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
    the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 But he led out his own people like sheep,
    and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 He led them safely, so that they weren’t afraid,
    but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of his sanctuary,
    to this mountain, which his right hand had taken.
55 He also drove out the nations before them,
    allotted them for an inheritance by line,
    and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. 
“What God Cannot Do” by Bill Manning
Psalm 78 tells the story of a people who walked with God. They experienced God’s provision and protection. He was their “Rock” and “Redeemer” (v. 35). But time passed and their passion for God cooled. They forgot God’s wonders and chose to turn their backs on Him. They tested God by their unbelief and lived in rebellion and sin.
The day came when hardship entered their lives because of sin. In the face of difficulties, they remembered their Redeemer. The Scripture says they began to “flatter [God] with their mouths . . . [but] their hearts were not loyal to him” (Psalm 78:36-37a). Even though God knew their hearts, He showed them mercy (v. 38). Although God left the way open for them to return to Him, the Almighty was limited in what He could do. It seems impossible, but it is true! Though God can move heaven and earth, He cannot forgive an unrepentant sinner.

• God refuses to force himself on anyone. Have you allowed God’s unfailing love to redeem you and make you His child?
• Take some time today to recall the mighty acts of God in your life.

Hymn for Today:

“I Know God’s Promise Is True” by Lelia N. Morris
1. For God so loved this sinful world,
His Son He freely gave,
That whosoever would believe
Eternal life should have. 
Refrain:
’Tis true, oh, yes, ’tis true,
God’s wonderful promise is true;
For I’ve trusted, and tested, and tried it,
And I know God’s promise is true. 
2. I was a wayward, wand’ring child,
A slave to sin and fear,
Until this blessed promise fell
Like music on my ear.
Refrain:
’Tis true, oh, yes, ’tis true,
God’s wonderful promise is true;
For I’ve trusted, and tested, and tried it,
And I know God’s promise is true. 
3. The “whosoever” of the Lord,
I trusted was for me,
I took Him at His gracious word;
From sin He set me free.
Refrain:
’Tis true, oh, yes, ’tis true,
God’s wonderful promise is true;
For I’ve trusted, and tested, and tried it,
And I know God’s promise is true. 
4. Eternal life, begun below,
Now fills my heart and soul;
I’ll sing His praise forevermore
Who has redeemed my soul.
Refrain:
’Tis true, oh, yes, ’tis true,
God’s wonderful promise is true;
For I’ve trusted, and tested, and tried it,
And I know God’s promise is true. 
Thought for Today:
“God expresses love for His enemies by mercifully providing the opportunity to repent” (Deuteronomy 7:9)
Prayer Needs:
Many people in the Congo Republic will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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