Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Foundry Publishing House of Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Sunday, 10 December 2017 "Repentance Without Regret by Jesse C. Middendorf - Psalm 42:1-11

Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Foundry Publishing House of Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Sunday, 10 December 2017 "Repentance Without Regret by Jesse C. Middendorf - Psalm 42:1-11
Psalm 42:1(0) For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:
2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?
4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.
6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”
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Difficult times are hard. Difficult times as we approach the celebration of Christmas seem to magnify in their impact on us. Many people find the Christmas holiday to be a time of anxiety, even of depression. Our expectations are heightened, and yet the realities of our lives sometimes leave us groping for hope and relief.
We do not know what the “sons of Korah” were experiencing when they gave voice to this psalm. It is possible these psalms were written in the face of impending exile, and are giving expression to uncertainty and fear. Somehow those who gathered the psalms into the book of Psalms as we know it found this to be a valuable expression of hope in the face of despair. Sometimes we must sing to ourselves!
Following Christ does not promise us freedom from stress, from opposition, from loss and grief. But from the midst of it all is the undergirding, lilting melody of hope, "Put your hope in God, for I shall yet Praise Him, my Savior and my God."
Sometimes we must be willing to remind ourselves, even as we sing in the darkness, that God is still God, and the promises are still good!---
Hymn for Today: "The Solid Rock" by Edward Mote
1. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
in ev'ry high and stormy gale
my anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
3. His oath, His covenant, His blood
support me in the 'whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in Him be found,
dressed in His righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

all other ground is sinking sand.
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Thought for Today: Around midnight, Sha’ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively.(Acts 16:25)
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Please pray: That many people in Cyprus will come to know Yeshua as their Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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Saturday, 9 December 2017 "Midnight Songs" by Jesse C. Middendorf- Acts 16:22-32
Acts 16:22 The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. 23 After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in prison, charging the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Upon receiving such an order, he threw them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood.
25 Around midnight, Sha’ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. 26 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Sha’ul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”
29 Calling for lights, the jailer ran in, began to tremble and fell down in front of Sha’ul and Sila. 30 Then, leading them outside, he said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Trust in the Lord Yeshua, and you will be saved — you and your household!” 32 Whereupon they told him and everyone in his household the message about the Lord.
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It is not unusual for the midnight hour to be described as “deep darkness.” That is the time when daylight is long gone, and not to occur again for hours. It is often thought of as the time of despair, fear, and hopelessness. Midnight in jail is not normally a time for singing.
My youngest son was incarcerated for several years. It was during those years that he came into a dynamic and overwhelming sense of God’s grace and mercy. His life turned around, and his witness became a means of grace to others. More than a year after his release, he received a Happy Birthday text message from a former inmate, telling him that he was at that moment in a men’s prayer breakfast. “Thank you,” he said. “Because of your being a great example of a Christian, you helped me change my life.”
Whatever our circumstances, when we point others to Christ, songs break out! Lives are changed! Futures are rearranged! All because of Messiah Jesus. No wonder we sing!---
Hymn for Today: "Joy to the World" by Isaac Watts
1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,
and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing.
2. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
3. No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.
4. He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of His righteousness
and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,

and wonders, wonders of His love.
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Thought for Today: So don’t be ashamed of bearing testimony to our Lord or to me, his prisoner. On the contrary, accept your share in suffering disgrace for the sake of the Good News. God will give you the strength for it,(2 Timothy 1:8)
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Please pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Croatia.
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Friday, 8 December 2017 "Contagious Grace" by Jesse C. Middendorf - Acts 3:45-52
Acts 3:42 As they left, the people invited Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba to tell them more about these matters the following Shabbat. 43 When the synagogue meeting broke up, many of the born Jews and devout proselytes followed Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba, who spoke with them and urged them to keep holding fast to the love and kindness of God.
44 The next Shabbat, nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the message about the Lord; 45 but when the Jews who had not believed saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and spoke up against what Sha’ul was saying and insulted him. 46 However, Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba answered boldly: “It was necessary that God’s word be spoken first to you. But since you are rejecting it and are judging yourselves unworthy of eternal life — why, we’re turning to the Goyim! 47 For that is what Adonai has ordered us to do:
‘I have set you as a light for the Goyim,
to be for deliverance to the ends of the earth.’ ”[Acts 13:47 Isaiah 49:6]
48 The Gentiles were very happy to hear this. They honored the message about the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life came to trust. 49 And the message about the Lord was carried throughout the whole region.
50 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the women ‘God-fearers’ of high social standing and the leading men of the city, and they organized persecution against Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba and expelled them from their district. 51 However, Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba shook off the dust of their feet against them and went on to Iconium; 52 and the talmidim were filled with joy and with the Ruach HaKodesh.
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Over the last several years, I have come to a deep appreciation for the remarkable movements of the Holy Spirit that seem to spring up spontaneously in various places across the globe. In my travels, I was privileged to see several places where the grace of God broke through cultural and religious barriers, bringing people into the kingdom of God where no one could have imagined that to be possible.
When God finds a willing and open people, and obedient servants who do not care who gets credit for what God has done, miraculous things can happen. I watched it in Ethiopia, in Bangladesh, in Brazil, and other places. Whenever it happened, it was stunning, unexpected, and spontaneous.
The reality was that God was at work. When the hope that comes through the story of Jesus Christ reaches into a culture, no one can predict what will happen. What we must do is watch with wide-eyed wonder and do our best to preserve the fruit of what the Spirit of God is doing.
That must be why the disciples were “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Oh, may it happen where we live!---
Hymn for Today: "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" by Edward Perronet, alternative by John Rippon
1. All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
2. Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
3. Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.
4. Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
5. Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
6. Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.
7. Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
8. Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
[John Rippon add­ed this verse in 1787]
9. O that, with yonder sacred throng, we at His feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all,

Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all!
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Thought for Today: Let the heavens rejoice; let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, “Adonai is king!”(1 Chronicles 16:31)
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Please pray: That many people in Croatia will come to know Yeshua as their Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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Thursday, 7 December 2017 "What Will We Get?" by Jesse C. Middendorf - Acts 3:14-26
Acts 3:14 You denied the holy and innocent one, and instead asked for the reprieve of a murderer! 15 You killed the author of life!
“But God has raised him from the dead! Of this we are witnesses. 16 And it is through putting trust in his name that his name has given strength to this man whom you see and know. Yes, it is the trust that comes through Yeshua which has given him this perfect healing in the presence of you all.
17 “Now, brothers, I know that you did not understand the significance of what you were doing; neither did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had announced in advance, when he spoke through all the prophets, namely, that his Messiah was to die.
19 “Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased; 20 so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord’s presence; and he may send the Messiah appointed in advance for you, that is, Yeshua. 21 He has to remain in heaven until the time comes for restoring everything, as God said long ago, when he spoke through the holy prophets. 22 For Moshe himself said, ‘Adonai will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You are to listen to everything he tells you. 23 Everyone who fails to listen to that prophet will be removed from the people and destroyed.’[Acts 3:23 Deuteronomy 18:15–16] 24 Indeed, all the prophets announced these days, starting with Sh’mu’el and continuing through all who followed.
25 “You are the sons of the prophets; and you are included in the covenant which God made with our fathers when he said to Avraham, ‘By your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.’[Acts 3:25 Genesis 22:18; 26:4] 26 So it is to you first that God has sent his servant whom he has raised up, so that he might bless you by turning each one of you from your evil ways.”
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Christmas brings great anticipation to the hearts of children. They are sometimes quick to ask, “What will you get me for Christmas?”
We all love to receive gifts that we had hoped to receive. It is for that reason that many of us as parents will ask our children what they would like to receive for Christmas. Getting what we wanted is often the cause of much celebration on that Christmas morning.
In Acts 3:14-26, the author speaks of promises fulfilled, of gifts given. “Times of refreshing may come from the Lord,” he says. Yet, the passage closes with a remarkable statement. God raised up “his servant” to bless Israel, not by what they would get, but by what they would not get. The blessing comes because He “turns each of you away from your wickedness.” What they, and we, deserve, we do not get: justice for the wickedness we have done. What we get is redemption, mercy, and grace! Now that is a gift worth celebrating!---
Hymn for Today: "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" by Robert Robinson
1. Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
2. Here I’ll raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
3. Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my feeble heart to Thee.
“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,”
Long I cried to be made pure;
“Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Work in me Thy double cure.”
4. Hallelujah! I have found it,
The full cleansing I had craved,
And to all the world I’ll sound it:
They too may be wholly saved.
I am sealed by Thy sweet Spirit,
Prone no longer now to roam;
And Thy voice, I’ll humbly hear it,

For Thy presence is my home.
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Thought for Today: For what one earns from sin is death; but eternal life is what one receives as a free gift from God, in union with the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.(Romans 6:23)
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Please pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Bulgaria.
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Wednesday, 6 December 2017 "This Is God’s Work" by Jesse C. Middendorf - Acts 3:1-13
Acts 3:1 One afternoon at three o’clock, the hour of minchah prayers, as Kefa and Yochanan were going up to the Temple, 2 a man crippled since birth was being carried in. Every day people used to put him at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, so that he could beg from those going into the Temple court. 3 When he saw Kefa and Yochanan about to enter, he asked them for some money. 4 But they stared straight at him; and Kefa said, “Look at us!” 5 The crippled man fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Kefa said, “I don’t have silver, and I don’t have gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of the Messiah, Yeshua of Natzeret, walk!” 7 And taking hold of him by his right hand, Kefa pulled him up. Instantly his feet and ankles became strong; 8 so that he sprang up, stood a moment, and began walking. Then he entered the Temple court with them, walking and leaping and praising God! 9 Everyone saw him walking and praising God. 10 They recognized him as the same man who had formerly sat begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were utterly amazed and confounded at what had happened to him. 11 While he clung to Kefa and Yochanan, all the people came running in astonishment toward them in Shlomo’s Colonnade.
12 Seeing this, Kefa addressed the people: “Men of Isra’el! Why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk through some power or godliness of our own? 13 The God of Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, the God of our fathers,[Acts 3:13 Exodus 3:6, 15] has glorified his servant Yeshua — the same Yeshua you handed over and disowned before Pilate, even after he had decided to release him.
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God often works with and through the servants of God. When a sermon “works.” When a pastor’s prayer is answered, beyond anyone’s expectations. When a believer leads a friend or colleague to Christ. Those are “divine” moments. But it is also a time when the attention given to the one through whom God has done a great work can become a distraction from the true source of the moment.
Peter and John were the centers of attention following the healing of the man lame from birth. People gathered around them, staring at them, attributing to them the great work of healing that had just occurred. But those two would have none of it! “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk,” they exclaimed. “This is God’s work! God has glorified Jesus, and we are only vessels through whom God has poured this miracle of healing.”
How often we are tempted to bask in the glow of what God has done through us. Be grateful that God has used you, but don’t forget to reflect the glory back to God.---
Hymn for Today: "Rise up, O Church of God" by Norman O. Forness
1. Rise up, O Church of God!
Have done with lesser things.
give heart and mind and soul and strength
to serve the King of kings.
2. Rise up, O Church of God!
His kingdom tarries long.
bring in the day of Christians all,
and end the night of wrong.
3. Rise up, children of God!
The church for you doth wait,
her strength unequal to her task;
rise up, and make her great.
4. Lift high the cross of Christ;
tread where His feet have trod;
As followers of the Lord of all,

rise up, O Church of God.
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Thought for Today: Besides all this, you know at what point of history we stand; so it is high time for you to rouse yourselves from sleep; for the final deliverance is nearer than when we first came to trust.(Romans 13:11)
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Please pray: That many people in Bulgaria will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh
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Tuesday, 5 December 2017 "Never Forgotten" by Jesse C. Middendorf - Isaiah 49:14-26
Isaiah 49:14 “But Tziyon says, ‘Adonai has abandoned me,
Adonai has forgotten me.’
15 Can a woman forget her child at the breast,
not show pity on the child from her womb?
Even if these were to forget,
I would not forget you.
16 I have engraved you on the palms of my hands,
your walls are always before me.”
17 Your children are coming quickly,
your destroyers and plunderers are leaving and going.
18 Raise your eyes, and look around:
they are all gathering and coming to you.
Adonai swears: “As surely as I am alive,
you will wear them all like jewels,
adorn yourself with them like a bride.”
19 For your desolate places and ruins
and your devastated land
will be too cramped for those living in it;
your devourers will be far away.
20 The day will come when the children born
when you were mourning will say to you,
“This place is too cramped for me!
Give me room, so I can live!”
21 Then you will ask yourself,
“Who fathered these for me?
I’ve been mourning my children, alone,
as an exile, wandering to and fro;
so who has raised these?
I was left alone, so where have these come from?”
22 Adonai Elohim answers:
“I am beckoning to the nations,
raising my banner for the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your foster-fathers,
their princesses your nurses.
They will bow to you, face toward the earth,
and lick the dust on your feet.
Then you will know that I am Adonai —
those who wait for me will not be sorry.”
24 But can booty be wrested from a warrior?
Can a victor’s captives be freed?
25 Here is Adonai’s answer:
“Even a warrior’s captives will be snatched away,
and the booty of the fearful will be freed.
I will fight those who fight you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will feed those oppressing you with their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood as with wine.
Then everyone will know that I, Adonai, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Ya‘akov.”
---
Israel in exile, was sure that God had abandoned them. Exile does that to you. Your best hopes are dashed, and your future looks and feels grim. Many of us go through those experiences at times, and it is no use trying to pretend we do not. Or we see good people suffer because of the evil of others, and we grieve, but we are unable to do anything to meaningfully change the situation.
Yet there is One who never forgets, never forsakes. In this passage, God reminds Israel that, even though exile has devastated them, God is still aware of them, loves them, has begun the plan for their return and restoration. They are "engraved on the palms" of God's hands.
The scares on the hands of Jesus must be a frequent reminder that, with the coming of the Messiah,  God has already begun the restoration that will ultimately bring to pass all the promises of God for our future redemption. "I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
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Hymn for Today: "Now Thank We Our God" by Martin Rinkart; translated by Catherine Winkworth
1. Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands voices
Who wondrous things have done,
In whom His world rejoices.
Who, from our mothers' arm,
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.
2. O may this bounteous God
Thro' all our life be near us,
Who wondrous things hath done,
And blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.
3. All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son and Him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The One thing Eternal God,
Whom earth and heav'n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.
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Thought for Today: But you, Adonai,
are a merciful, compassionate God,
slow to anger
and rich in grace and truth.(Psalm 86:15)
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Please pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Bangladesh.
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Monday, 4 December 2017 "An Open Invitation" by Jesse C. Middendorf - Isaiah 49:1-13
Isaiah 49:1 Coastlands, listen to me;
listen, you peoples far away:
Adonai called me from the womb;
before I was born, he had spoken my name.
2 He has made my mouth like a sharp sword
while hiding me in the shadow of his hand;
he has made me like a sharpened arrow
while concealing me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Isra’el, through whom I will show my glory.”
4 But I said, “I have toiled in vain,
spent my strength for nothing, futility.”
Yet my cause is with Adonai,
my reward is with my God.
5 So now Adonai says —
he formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Ya‘akov back to him,
to have Isra’el gathered to him,
so that I will be honored in the sight of Adonai,
my God having become my strength —
6 he has said, “It is not enough
that you are merely my servant
to raise up the tribes of Ya‘akov
and restore the offspring of Isra’el.
I will also make you a light to the nations,
so my salvation can spread to the ends of the earth.”
7 Here is what Adonai,
the Redeemer of Isra’el,
his Holy One, says to the one despised,
whom the nations detest, to the servant of tyrants:
“When kings see you, they will stand up;
princes too will prostrate themselves,
because of Adonai, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Isra’el, who has chosen you.”
8 Here is what Adonai says:
“At the time when I choose, I will answer you;
on the day of salvation, I will help you.
I have preserved you, and I have appointed you
to be the covenant for a people,
to restore the land and distribute again
its ruined inheritances to their owners,
9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out!’
to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’
They will feed along the paths,
and all the high hills will be their pastures.
10 They will be neither hungry nor thirsty;
neither scorching wind nor sun will strike them;
for he who has mercy on them will lead them
and guide them to springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into a road,
my highways will be raised up.
12 There they come, some from far away,
some from the north, some from the west,
and some from the land of Sinim.”
13 Sing, heaven! Rejoice, earth!
Break out in song, you mountains!
For Adonai is comforting his people,
having mercy on his own who have suffered.
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I love being invited to a meal. The invitation is normally quite specific, and a date, time, and location are specified. I recently received one of the most unusual invitations I have ever received. “Come join us for a meal, along with several people from another faith tradition. Please join us, and bring anyone you can find to come along with you.”
It may have been the most grace-filled invitation I have ever received. And the evening was a spectacular success. People who tended to fear or distrust one another, people who had little in common, joined together for an evening of delicious food, beautiful demonstrations of cultural identity, and relaxed and open conversation. The evening ended with tears of joy, promises of repeating the event, and a new appreciation for what simple conversation could accomplish. One godly couple had a vision of what might be and took a risk!
This is just a foretaste of the gracious invitation given through Isaiah to the people of Israel. We dare not narrow the invitation God has issued, nor overlook the responsibility we are given in Isaiah 49:6. We followers of Messiah Jesus are given an incredible invitation, and one that we are to pass along!
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Hymn for Today: "Whosoever Will" by Philip P. Bliss
1. “Whosoever heareth,” shout, shout the sound!
Spread the blessed tidings all the world around;
Spread the joyful news wherever man is found:
“Whosoever will may come.”
Refrain: “Whosoever will, whosoever will,”
Send the proclamation over vale and hill;
’Tis a loving Father calls the wand’rer home:
“Whosoever will may come.”
2. Whosoever cometh need not delay,
Now the door is open, enter while you may;
Jesus is the true, the only Living Way:
“Whosoever will may come.”
Refrain: “Whosoever will, whosoever will,”
Send the proclamation over vale and hill;
’Tis a loving Father calls the wand’rer home:
“Whosoever will may come.”
3. “Whosoever will,” the promise secure,
“Whosoever will,” forever must endure;
“Whosoever will,” ’tis life forevermore:

“Whosoever will may come.”
Refrain: “Whosoever will, whosoever will,”
Send the proclamation over vale and hill;
’Tis a loving Father calls the wand’rer home:
“Whosoever will may come.”
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Thought for Today: The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let anyone who is thirsty come — let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge.”(Revelation 22:17)
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Please pray: That many people in Bangladesh will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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Sunday, 3 December 2017 "Hallelujah Chorus" by Duane Brush - Psalm 146:1-10
Psalm 146:1 Halleluyah!
Praise Adonai, my soul!
2 I will praise Adonai as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God all my life.
3 Don’t put your trust in princes
or in mortals, who cannot help.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust;
on that very day all their plans are gone.
5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.
Halleluyah!
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Over the last 25 years, the late Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” has become a standard performed when a somber tone is needed in a “spiritual, but not religious” sort of way. The words convey the dust of a fractured and forlorn faith swept up with shards of scattered Scripture and wrapped in a plaintive hopeless refrain. How different it is from George F. Handel’s powerful “Hallelujah Chorus” from The Messiah (1741). Yet both draw inspiration from the Hebrew exclamation of praise most often translated, “Praise the LORD!”
Psalm 146 is filled with hallelujahs. “I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” (v. 2). Such praise draws on a deep understanding of God, “the maker of heaven and earth.” He is faithful, upholds the oppressed, feeds the hungry, sets prisoners free, gives sight to the blind, watches over the foreigner, sustains the fatherless and the widow, and frustrates the ways of the wicked; His reign is everlasting (vv. 4-10).

Reflecting on these truths, can there be any more appropriate response than "Hallelujah?"
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Hymn for Today: "Hallelujah! What a Savior!" by Philip P. Bliss
1. “Man of Sorrows!” what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
2. Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
3. Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
4. Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
5. When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:

Hallelujah! What a Savior!
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Thought for Today: Then I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd, like the sound of rushing waters, like loud peals of thunder, saying,

“Halleluyah!
Adonai, God of heaven’s armies,[a]
has begun his reign!

Footnotes:
Revelation 19:6 Amos 3:13; 4:13(Revelation 19:6)
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Please pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Azores.
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Saturday, 2 December 2017 "Repentance Without Regret" by Duane Brush - 2 Corinthians 7:5-16
2 Corinthians 7:5 For indeed when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. On the contrary, we faced all kinds of troubles — altercations without, apprehensions within. 6 But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us with the arrival of Titus! 7 However, it was not only his arrival which encouraged us, but also how encouraged he was about you, as he told us how you long to see me, how distressed you are over my situation, how zealous you are in my defense — this news made me even happier!
8 If I caused you pain by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did regret it before — for I do see that that letter did distress you, though only for a short time — 9 now I rejoice not because you were pained, but because the pain led you to turn back to God. For you handled the pain in God’s way, so that you were not harmed by us at all. 10 Pain handled in God’s way produces a turning from sin to God which leads to salvation, and there is nothing to regret in that! But pain handled in the world’s way produces only death. 11 For just look at what handling the pain God’s way produced in you! What earnest diligence, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what readiness to put things right! In everything you have proved yourselves blameless in the matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of either the one who did the wrong or the one wronged, but so that before God you could see for yourselves how deep is your devotion to us. 13 This is the reason we have been encouraged.
Besides our own encouragement, we had the even greater joy of seeing how happy Titus was, because all of you set his mind at rest. 14 For I had boasted somewhat about you to him, and now I have not been made to look foolish. On the contrary, just as everything we have said to you is true, so too our boasting in front of Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection for you is all the greater as he remembers how ready you were to obey and how you received him with reverence and respect. 16 I am glad that I can have such complete confidence in you.
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The apostle Paul had a rocky relationship with the church in Corinth. He helped found the church while on his second missionary journey (see Acts 18). The New Testament contains two letters Paul wrote to them after his departure. The first letter contains Paul’s response to problems in the fellowship: divisions over leadership and authority, an unwillingness to administer spiritual discipline, legal disputes between church members, sexual immorality, issues of marriage and divorce, lifestyle issues, concern about gender roles, difference about worship, spiritual pride regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and conflicting teachings about eternal life. It would be nice to say that all of these problems disappeared from the church after Paul’s letter; unfortunately they did not.
Worldly sorrow has no transformative power. It is an emotional and spiritual dead end. The first step in dealing with any problem is godly sorrow leading to repentance. Repentance is more than feeling sorry or confession of wrongdoing; it includes a willingness to change and, by God’s grace, the power to take a different direction. Nothing will meaningfully change until there is repentance; then a new direction is possible. Such godly sorrow leads to life and salvation.---
Hymn for Today: "Jesus, I Come!" by William T. Sleeper
1. Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
2. Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
3. Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair, into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
4. Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
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Thought for Today: I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” says Adonai Elohim, “so turn yourselves around, and live!(Ezekiel 18:32)
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Please pray: That many people in Azores will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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Friday, 1 December 2017 "The Universal Message" by Duane Brush - Acts 13:26-41
Acts 13:26 “Brothers! — sons of Avraham and those among you who are ‘God-fearers’! It is to us that the message of this deliverance has been sent! 27 For the people living in Yerushalayim and their leaders did not recognize who Yeshua was or understand the message of the Prophets read every Shabbat, so they fulfilled that message by condemning him. 28 They could not find any legitimate ground for a death sentence; nevertheless they asked Pilate to have him executed; 29 and when they had carried out all the things written about him, he was taken down from the stake[Acts 13:29 Deuteronomy 21:23] and placed in a tomb.
30 “But God raised him from the dead! 31 He appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from the Galil to Yerushalayim; and they are now his witnesses to the people.
32 “As for us, we are bringing you the Good News that what God promised to the fathers, 33 he has fulfilled for us the children in raising up Yeshua, as indeed it is written in the second Psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.’[Acts 13:33 Psalm 2:7]
34 And as for his raising him up from the dead, to return to decay no more, he said,
‘I will give the holy and trustworthy things of David to you.’[Acts 13:34 Isaiah 55:3]
35 This is explained elsewhere:
‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’[Acts 13:35 Psalm 16:10]
36 For David did indeed serve God’s purposes in his own generation; but after that, he died, was buried with his fathers and did see decay. 37 However, the one God raised up did not see decay.
38 “Therefore, brothers, let it be known to you that through this man is proclaimed forgiveness of sins! 39 That is, God clears everyone who puts his trust in this man, even in regard to all the things concerning which you could not be cleared by the Torah of Moshe.
40 “Watch out, then, so that this word found in the Prophets may not happen to you:
41 ‘You mockers! Look, and marvel, and die!
For in your own time, I am doing a work
that you simply will not believe,
even if someone explains it to you!’ ”[Acts 13:41 Habakkuk 1:5]
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Science fiction authors come up with clever ways to get around the alien language problem. Douglas Adams’ satirical The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy had the Babel fish, a small fish that, when inserted in the ear canal, translated alien languages into understandable speech. He noted that this amazing symbiosis was totally inexplicable by science and hence was seen as a remarkable proof for the existence of God!
There are no Babel fish, of course, but there is a merciful God who commits to us a universal message understandable by all people in all ages. Our languages may differ, but our common need is the same: We are all sinners who need God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ (see Romans 3:22-24). Paul’s message in Pisidian Antioch touched both Jews and Gentiles: “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39).

Some may conclude that our common need of forgiveness is in itself a proof of God's existence!
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Hymn for Today: "Wonderful Words of Life" by Philip P. Bliss
1. Sing them over again to me,
wonderful words of life;
let me more of their beauty see,
wonderful words of life;
words of life and beauty
teach me faith and duty.
Refrain: Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
2. Christ, the blessed one, gives to all
wonderful words of life;
sinner, list to the loving call,
wonderful words of life;
all so freely given,
wooing us to heaven. 
Refrain: Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
3. Sweetly echo the gospel call,
wonderful words of life;
offer pardon and peace to all,
wonderful words of life;
Jesus, only Savior,
sanctify forever. 
Refrain: Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
wonderful words of life.
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Thought for Today: As for me, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”(John 12:32)
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Please pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Armenia.
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