MARVELLOUS THINGS
Suggested Reading: Micah 7
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Once inside The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, you can look to the right and see the entrance to the adjoining building, which is an Armenian monastery. The present leader of the Armenian Church was once the atheist leader of the Young Communists of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. He testifies to an amazing conversion to Christ.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Micah 7:19
He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
Most of Micah’s words tell of the troubles that will come on the world because of sin, personal and collective. The cumulative result of rejecting God is stated in Micah 7:13, “The land shall be desolate because of those who dwell in it, and for the fruit of their deeds.” Man’s efforts at creating a utopian society have ended up in “desolation.” Consider the end results of the world’s mass murderers in the 20th century. The communism of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot, (perhaps 100,000,000 murders) and the national socialists of Hitler (perhaps 20,000,000). The first four were atheists, and Hitler and the leaders around him, who tried to introduce the ancient pagan gods, despised Jesus and the writers of the Bible because they were Jews. Surely these abysmal failures of mere man are cause for despair. But don’t give up! The future is bright because God is not finished with the world yet. Read the last seven verses of Micah again!!! God has done, and will do, “marvellous things!!!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, who is a God like You…pardoning iniquity, delighting in mercy, and having compassion on us? Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! I’m overwhelmed by You, Lord. I give You my life again for this new day! I pray that I will not dredge up from the depths of the sea my past sins or the sins of others. May I think, speak and act in the truth of Your Word and in mercy which You have sworn to give us “from days of old!” (last four words of Micah). In the Name of the One Whose mercy and truth took Him to the Cross and from the empty tomb, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I was 17 years old when I sang a solo in the Baptist Church of Renfrew, Ontario. I was very nervous, but as I got into it, the truth of which I sang gripped my heart and the fear left. The song’s words were “Down, down, down, down (I sang the words with my voice going lower and lower), down in the depths of the sea. The sins of the past are all gone at last; down in the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19b). I had given my life to Christ just over a year before, and I realized that when I expressed the Word of God with my voice, I grew in confidence that those Words were true! (I’ve Googled that song and here’s what I found…click here)
Gossips, backbiters, and judgmental people go fishing down there in the “depths of the sea.” Then they put what they find in their “net” on the aptly named “inter-net.” Please, please, don’t even go there into the sludge of these bottom feeders. I’m sure that there are many lies there. Besides, when sin is confessed and forgiven by God, He puts up a sign that says, “No fishing!”
Yours with thankfulness for sins forgiven,
David
What a wonderful performance for ‘down to the depths of the sea’, thank you David. Have a wonderful day IN JESUS’ NAME.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You every day David. Be Blessed today.
What wonderful and meaningful words and performance. His mercy endures forever toward a repentant soul. As you have pointed out David, it is amazing how today’s reading scans a millennium of time and reaches to and end of reconciliation and forgiveness. Reynold’s picture inside the Church of the Nativity is captivating of the worn old stone, light and window. There ought to be a small stand alone gallery in the Crossroads Centre with such framed works of art and sculpture. I’ll volunteer to staff it! His strength and blessings, to all!
Agreed, David! Amen!
Amen!
I love that, David Mainse–no fishing!!! Excellent photo, today, Reynold–thank you!!
Here is another great Charles Weigele song, ‘I Love to Walk with Jesus’:
O I love to walk with Jesus
Like the publicans of old,
When He gathered them about Him
And the blessèd tidings told;
How He came to bring deliverance
To the captives in distress,
Take away our ev’ry burden,
Giving perfect peace and rest.
Refrain
I will follow where He leadeth;
I will pasture where He feedeth.
I will follow all the way, Lord.
I will follow Jesus ev’ry day.
O I love to walk with Jesus
Like the man of long ago
Who had tarried by the wayside
Near the gates of Jericho,
Jesus heard his cry for mercy,
Gave him back his sight that day,
And immediately he followed
Jesus all along the way.
Refrain
O I love to walk with Jesus
All the way to Calv’ry’s brow,
Gaze upon that scene of suffering
While my tears of sorrow flow.
There He tells me how He loves me—
Takes my ev’ry sin away;
So I follow Him so gladly,
Lead me anywhere He may.
Refrain
O sometime I’ll walk with Jesus
In that land of endless day,
When our journey here is over
And we’ve reached our home to stay.
Then I’ll walk with him forever,
Sing His praises o’er and o’er,
And with all the saints in glory
Love, and worship, and adore.
Refrain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QZD66zg8g
Blessings, fellow saints.
‘Follow Me.’ John 1:43
I did not expect to hear that with a banjo picking blue grass melody…
Thanks Beverlee… beautiful words to live by… Amen!
🙂
That was a wonderful performance and I am sure David you did very well.
I am glad our sins are down in the sea
Lianne Hogg
God’s love for us is so obvious. It far surpasses the love any man could show us. Amazing how anyone could pass it by.
I love your explanation of undesireables on the Net. The devil isn’t just on the Net so I pray people will enjoy this marvellous technology God has brought into our lives.
Wonderful photo today. The lighting is beguiling.
The Indian Ocean seems like a good place for God to put our sins! The submercible had to return to the ship because it was beyond the debth range for it! We saw the moon before midnight last night with the begining of a redish colour. We had to watch later views via NASA’S cameras do to a cloudy sky here. A lovely snowfall this am. Trees all coated in white.
“do” should be “due”!
Thanks David and Beverlee for those songs to start the day. Good place for our past sins in the depths of the sea. The bare fields are showing here and farmers are gearing up to cut potato seed for sowing. There’s a new song in the air. Blessings Friends in our Lord!
🙂 Bless you, Ger, dear friend in the Lord!
Love the songs this morning!! Thanks Pastor David and Beverlee.
I love the phrase “No Fishing” Sometimes we forget that once we ask Christ to forgive us of our sins, “He remembers them no more”. PTL
We are having a raining day here in Eastern Ontario. April Showers bring May Flowers!!! Yeah!!!! My first crocuses were out in bloom yesterday!!!
I am asking you today for prayer for my son. He is a Christian, spent 3 months on the streets of Toronto with Campus crusade, he was one of the leaders. He is married with 3 wonderful children, 5 and under, which makes him busy. His wife works nights, so he is alone a lot in the evening as she is sleeping before going to work.
David M, you are so right, the things he promotes on Facebook, have been bothering me for quite some time, but yesterday was the worst! I have been praying and others also, but I fear for his wife, a lovely girl and my only grandchildren. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. He has a very good voice and even wanted to go to Heritage for voice, but God did not open the door at that time, he was in Worship team, now he has the children, it’s not possible. I am telling you this so you understand how he has changed. Thank you. Mary
Dear Mare, I just pored my heart out, to our Lord, on your behalf and I want you to know your family is in my prayers. Father God take care of this dear family, in Jesus name. AMEN!
David, – thank you for the meaningful/inspiring blog today. Thank you- thank-you, that is all I can say in the ‘Name of Jesus’!
Dear Rev. David M.
Love the song Deep down in the sea, that I will be sharing and singing with my bible study gang tomorrow night at church .
Thank you Beverlee for your beautiful song .
Heavenly Father , I bring to you the concerns and prayers of my sister in Christ , Mary. If one has shown us that nothing is impossible or unattainable when we give it all to Him. Through the power of the Living Christ is the HOLY SPIRIT in each of us , that I pray and give you praise Our Lord Of Lords , Our King Of Kings , Our MESSIAH, JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.
Blessings to all my fellow saints.
xxxx Carole.
,
AMEN
Thank you for your prayers. Mary