The Righteous and the Wicked - Psalm 37

Righteous	Wicked
Will be given the desires of their heart	Wither quickly like the grass
God will do what they trust Him to	Fade like the green herb
They will inherit the land	Will be cut off
They will inherit the land	He will be no more
They will delight in abundant prosperity	Plots against the righteous
They are better though they don’t have much	God laughs when he sees his day coming
They are sustained by God	Have drawn the sword and bent the bow
God knows their days	Cast down and slay the upright, needy, etc.
Their inheritance will be forever	Their sword will enter their own heart
They will not be ashamed in times of evil	Their bows will be broken
They will have abundance in famine	Their arms will be broken
They are gracious and give	Will perish and vanish
They will inherit the land	Borrows and does not pay back
His steps are established by God	Their descendants will be cut off
God delights in his way	Spies upon the righteous and seeks to kill him
God holds his hand so he will not be hurled	Spreads himself like a luxuriant tree
They are not forsaken	He passed away and was no more
They do not need to beg for bread	Will be altogether destroyed
He is gracious and lends	Their posterity will be cut off
His descendants are a blessing
They will abide forever
They are not forsaken by God
They are preserved forever
They will inherit the land and dwell in it forever
He utters wisdom and speaks justice
The law of God is in his heart
His steps do not slip
God will not leave him in the hand of the wicked
God will not let him be condemned
God will exalt them to inherit the land
They will see the wicked cut off
He will have a posterity
Their salvation is from God
God is their strength in time of trouble
God helps and delivers them from the wicked

Psalm 133 - What is Unity Like?

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing--life forever (Psalm 133).

Unity is like...

…a spring day, when the sun is shining upon the upturned face, when the birds are returning with cheerful songs, when the grass is fresh and green and the first tulips are blooming.

…a summer day, when the trees cast their shade during the warm afternoon, when the children are wading barefoot in the stream, when the white clouds drift lazily along in the blue sky and the fresh smell of sweet hay is in the air.

…a fall day, when the air is crisp and makes me lively, when the brilliant leaves are falling slowly to the ground, when the quiet sounds of the waterfall lull me to sleep and the Canada Geese come to rest in the cornfield.

…a winter day, when the pure white snowflakes are falling gently on the deep green pine trees outside, when everything looks majestic and all is still, when the fire is going in the livingroom and my family and I sit around, reading the Bible and singing hymns to God.

An Explanation of Psalm 109

Psalm 109, with verses like: Appoint a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come forth guilty, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; let another take his office (Psalm 109:6-8), seems to be a very strange chapter. Let me see if I can explain it a little bit. We can divide this Psalm into four parts. The first one is verses 1-5. In these five verses, David is telling God what is going on. The wicked have repaid evil for good and spoken badly of David. The next section is split up throughout the chapter. It is in verses 6-15, 19 and 20, and 27-29. Here, David is asking God to curse and destroy his enemies, these wicked people who are doing bad things to him. In verses 16-18, David is telling God why he wants these things to happen to the wicked. And finally, in verses 21-26, 30 and 31, David is telling God what has happened to him because of the wicked and praising God for His help.

Four Verses of Interest in Psalm 55

His speech was smoother than butter, but his heart was war; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords (Psalm 55:21). I found this verse very interesting because it compares speech and words to butter and oil! The person talked about in this verse was a hypocrite. How? Well, a hypocrite is one who says one thing but does another. In this verse, the person is saying smooth or kind words, but in his heart, he really had hate and war. What he was saying sounded soft, but it was really meant to hurt.

For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; we who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng (Psalm 55:12-14). When we first read this verse, it made me think of Jesus and Judas. Judas was one of the twelve, one of Jesus friends who walked and talked and had fellowship with him, but then he reproached and hated Jesus instead.

I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness (Psalm 55:6 and 7). This verse made me think of Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31: Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. The person who wrote this Psalm wishing he had wings to fly away and rest. God says in Isaiah that those who wait on him will have wings and will not become weary, thus being at rest.

But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. (Psalm 55:23). This verse is interesting because it says that men of bloodshed and deceit will not live for half of their lifetime! Although this is sometimes literally true, we don’t find that all the time. I think it is not talking literally, but spiritually.

Winter is Here!

Well, we can finally say winter is here! We have had a number of small snow showers since October 22, but each one melts before the next one comes, and they are only an inch or less at a time. Last night, though we had a blizzard. Driving home was a difficult task as the visibility was so low. We got at least 3 or 4 inches (maybe more!). This morning the temperature was -4 degrees Fahrenheit! The sun has come out, but it is still cold, only 10 degrees Fahrenheit. We are especially excited this winter because we are living at our grandparents house, and they have a pond which is perfect for skating!

Looking out over the pasture

The stream, surrounded by snow

Snow-covered bird berry trees

Psalm 7, II Samuel 16, and I Kings 2

For my personal Bible reading in the morning, I read 2 Samuel chapter 16. Then later as a family, we read Psalm 7. I thought that Psalm 7 went very well with what I read about David in 2 Samuel, and also what happened later in 1 Kings chapter 2. While David was fleeing from his son Absalom, a Benjamite named Shimei came out and began to throw rocks at David and curse him. David probably felt like this right at that time: O Lord my God, in You I have taken refuge; save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me, or he will tear my soul like a lion, dragging me away, while there is none to deliver (Psalm 7:1 and 2). Abishai, one of David’s mighty men, offered to go over and kill Shimei. David replied that not only would he never do such a thing, but he would not have his men do it either. After that, his thoughts may have been like this: O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands, if I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary… (Psalm 7:3 and 4), but David had done right, so he did not need the second part: Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in the dust (Psalm 7:5). As David continued on with his men, and with Shimei throwing rocks at him, David said, "Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction and return good to me instead of his cursing this day." That same thought is in Psalm 7: Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me. O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; for the righteous God tries the hearts and minds. My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart (Psalm 7:8b-10). Because he did the right thing and was content to leave it to God, he could then say, I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High (Psalm 7:17). It was not until David’s son became king that the Lord actually answered his prayer. “[Solomon] also said to Shimei, ‘You know all the evil which you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore the Lord shall return your evil on your own head’” (1 Kings 2:44), Solomon then killed Shimei because Shimei had went against a promise he had made to Solomon. The Psalm also refers to this by saying: He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, and has fallen into the hole which he made. His mischief will return upon his own head, and his violence will descend upon his own pate (Psalm 7:15 and 16).

Family Favorite

I made this recipe for the first time a few days ago, and since it quickly became a family favorite, I thought I would share it with you! Note: When I made the recipe, I doubled it (in a family my size I almost never do a single batch :) but I only had one can of sweetened condensed milk, so that is all I put in. I did not put in anything to substitute. I also did not have milk chocolate chips so I used only semisweet for both kinds. I don't know how the real recipe tastes, but my family says to make it the way I did again, because it is good that way! So if you don't have something (besides some kind of chocolate and mint which are necessary), just experiment! You can even make your own other variations. By the way, these are very sweet!

Bavarian Mint Fudge (Not the best picture)

Bavarian Mint Fudge

1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon butter, divided
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 package (11-1/2 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 11-in. x 7-in. pan with foil and grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a heavy saucepan (I found that using a double-boiler to melt the butter and chocolate worked better than just melting it in a saucepan), melt the chocolate chips and remaining butter over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in the milk and extracts until well blended. Spread into the prepared pan (I found that it is much easier to do this step if the chocolate is fairly runny, which you can do by heating it up again, but you can also just spread it with a rubber spatula). Refrigerate until set. Using the foil, lift fudge out of the pan. Discard the foil; cut fudge into 1-inch squares. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: About 2-1/2 pounds.

O Come Thou Wounded Lamb of God

By Count Zinzendorf, Johann Nitschmann, and Anna Nitschmann
Composite Arranged by John Wesely
Altered by George Whitfield
Altered by Compiler of the Hymnal (John Overholt)

O come, Thou wounded Lamb of God!
Come, wash us in Thy cleansing blood;
That we may fellowship with Thee
In life and immortality.

Take our poor hearts, and let them be
Forever closed to all but Thee:
Seal Thou our being, let us wear
Thy pledge of love forever there.

How can it be, Thou Heavenly King,
That Thou shouldst man to glory bring,
To fellowship within Thy throne,
Decked with a never-fading crown.

Ah Lord! enlarge our mortal thought,
To know the wonders thou hast wrought;
Unloose our stammering tongue to tell
Thy love immense, unsearchable.

This is one of my favorite hymns. It shows the glory of God and the mortality of man and yet how God is willing to stoop and bring us to Himself. What a beautiful thought!

Another Perspective on Psalm 89

We all know that in the Old Testament, prophets prophesied about Jesus, while prophesying about present day cities and people. But did you know that that was also the case in Psalms? Psalm 89 is one of those. In Psalm 89, God is talking to and about David, and yet when we look closer, it seems that he very well could be talking about Jesus! Here are 4 examples of verses from Psalm 89 and then a verse from the New Testament that is talking about Jesus.

Psalm 89:25 – I shall also set his hand on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers.
Hebrews 2:8 – “YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him.

Psalm 89:32 – Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
Revelation 2:27 – “AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES,” as I also have received authority from My Father…

Psalm 89:36 - His descendants shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me.
Hebrews 1:8 - But of the Son He says, "YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.”

Psalm 89:27 - I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.Revelation 17:14 - These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings…
Hebrews 1:5 - For to which of the angels did He ever say, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again, "I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"?

5: Count Zinzendorf 's Affect on the World

One day while Count Zinzendorf was eating dinner at the coronation of King Christian VI of Denmark, he noticed a certain servant. After investigating and talking to the servant, Count Zinzendorf learned that he was from the island of St. Thomas and that he had become a Christian recently. He had a brother and sister back on the island that he desperately wanted to hear about Christ, but he could not go, for you see, he was a servant. Count Zinzendorf then decided that his community needed to be active. His community sent two young men as missionaries to the island of St. Thomas. Other people followed as missionaries to Greenland, the Guinea coast of Africa, St. Croix, Russia, Holland, South Africa, the United States, and many other places. I appreciated these quotes by some men who went as missionaries:

"If it was good enough for the Lord Jesus to become a servant so that we might be saved, it is a worthy calling for us also. I leave it to the good judgment of the congregation, and have not other ground than this thought: that on the island there are still souls who cannot believe because they have not heard."
- Leonard Dober, missionary to the island of St. Thomas

"Never forget that we have come here resting upon Christ our Savior, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, not on the principle of sight, but of faith."
- The covenant of three missionaries to Greenland

Count Zinzendorf was banned from the Saxony because many people thought that he had gone too far - a person of his class should not stoop to become a Lutheran pastor! Many, many years later, his banishment was lifted, though, as they began to see the good impact his community was having on the lives of people. Count Zinzendorf himself went as a missionary to St. Thomas and the United States, although he was in charge of keeping order at the two original communities in Germany. Count Zinzendorf accomplished a lot during the nearly 60 years he lived. At his death he said (speaking to his son-in-law), "Now, my dear friend, I am going to the Savior. I am ready. I bow at His will. He is satisfied with me. If He does not want me here anymore, I am ready to go to Him. There is nothing to hinder me now." Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf died Friday, May 9, 1760 at 10:00 p.m. The headstone for his grave read: Here lie the remains of that unforgettable man of God, Nicolaus Ludwig Count and Lord of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf. Through God's grace and his own faithful and untiring service he became the honored Ordinary of the Brethren's Unity, renewed in this eighteenth century. He was born at Dresden on May 26, 1700, and entered into the joy of his Lord on May 9, 1760. He was destined to bring forth fruit, fruit that should remain.

This is the final post on Count Zinzendorf. My prayer is that his life will touch you the way it touched me and I hope you have enjoyed learning about him as much as I have sharing about him!

4: Count Zinzendorf's Family

Count Zinzendorf's wife Erdmuth bore him 12 children in all, although many died young.
Christian Ernst, August 7, 1724 - November 1724
Benigna, July 1726 - (don't know the exact date she died, but she was alive at her father's death in 1760 with a husband and daughter of her own)
Christina Renatus, September 19, 1727 - May 28, 1752

Christian Friedrich, September 18, 1729 - October 1729
Theodore, October 1730 - March 1733
Johann, March 19, 1732 - May 19, 1732
Christian Ludwig, March 20, 1733 - August 31, 1737
Anna, August 7, 1734 - December 1738Maria, November 6, 1736 - (don't know the exact date she died, but she was alive at her father's death in 1760)Johanna, August 4, 1737 - 1743David, October 22, 1738 - 1742Elizabeth, April 1740 - (don't know the exact date she died, but she was alive at her father's death in 1760)

When his wife, Erdmuth, died on June 18, 1756, Count Zinzendorf grew lonely and sought comfort in prayer. Erdmuth had been his helper and manager these 24 years and now he did not have her. His son-in-law and some others advised him to marry again, and he did. He married Anna Nitschmann, leader of the single women's group, who was now 42.

(to be continued)

3: Count Zinzendorf's Life in Dresden

During the next few months of his life, Count Zinzendorf spent much of his time in the royal court at Dresden. These days were dreary ones for him. The only thing that kept him going was his new wife and his Sunday afternoon fellowship meetings with other believers. During this time, he wrote many hymns, in which he also found solace.

I learned this hymn on the violin and we sing it as a family. It really has some beautiful words!

Jesus Still Lead On

Jesus still lead on,
Till our rest be won,
And, although the way be cheerless,
We will follow, calm and fearless;
Guide us by Thy hand
To our fatherland.

If the way be drear,
If the foe be near,
Let not faithless fears o'er take us,
Let not faith and hope forsake us;
For, through many a woe,
To our home we go.

When we seek relief
From a long-felt grief,
When oppressed by new temptations,
Lord, increase and perfect patience;
Show us that bright shore
Where we weep no more.

Jesus, still lead on,
Till our rest be won;
Heav'nly leader still direct us,
Still support, console, protect us,
Till we safely stand
In our fatherland.

As the Moravian community developed on Count Zinzendorf's estate, many different people came to find religious freedom. He soon realized the need to bring some order. He solved this by setting up different groups of men and women and groups to minister to the needy. The leader of the women's group was an 18 year old girl named Anna. They also started a 24-hour prayer chain that lasted over 100 years!

(to be continued)

2: Count Zinzendorf Hears God's Call

When Count Zinzendorf got out of school at age 18, he traveled around Europe for one year just a every son of nobility did in his time. He was not particularly interested because he felt God had a special call on his life, but he went anyway. While he was touring, he visited a gallery of paintings. One that caught his attention was called "Behold, the Man". It was a painting of Jesus with a crown of thorns on his head, and on the bottom the painter had painted the words, This I have done for you, What have you done for me? After seeing that, Count Zinzendorf was more determined that God had a special call for him. He went home and took up his jobs in the royal court, wrote hymns, and attended meetings on Sunday. At last the answer came. He inherited his father's money, and with it bought his grandmother's castle. One day, a man named Christian David came to him and told him about a group of persecuted Christians in Moravia, just south of Saxony, and asked Count Zinzendorf if he would be willing to make his estate a community where these Christians could flee to. He agreed, and plans were made. Just before the first family came to settle there, Count Zinzendorf married a daughter of nobility named Erdmuth.

(To be continued)

1: Count Zinzendorf's Early Years

I recently finished reading a biography on Count Zinzendorf. I was greatly inspired by his life, so I thought I would share a bit about him with you.

For all of you who do not know Count Zinzendorf (I will try to be brief), Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (known as Count Zinzendorf) was born in Germany on May 26, 1700. When he was young, his father died and his mother went to marry another man, so he was raised by his grandmother, aunt and uncle. One of my favorite stories about Count Zinzendorf is one from when he was 6 years old. He was reading the Bible and praying one day when Swedish soldiers stormed in to raid the castle. They stopped, looked at him, and then at each other. Then they quickly turned and left. They said they could not raid a place that God watched over. When he was 10 years old, he went to a school where he first saw and talked with a missionary from India who was visiting the school. From that point, he decided he did not want to follow his noble birth and become Count of the Saxony, but he wanted to dedicate his life totally to God.

(To be continued)

Those Are Some Leaves!

Our grandpa and brother found these leaves while up in the woods. They are by far the biggest we have seen!

On the right is the big maple leaf, and on the right is the big oak leaf.
The smaller maple leaf on top is an normal sized one!

There Is Much To Do

by M. W. Spencer

There is much to do, there's work on ev'ry hand,Hark! the cry for help comes ringing thru the land;
Jesus calls for reapers, I must active be,
What wilt thou, O Master? here am I, send me.

Refrain
Here am I, Lord send me,
Here am I, Ready at thy bidding, Lord, send me.There's the plaintive cry of mourning souls distressed,
And the sigh of hearts that seek but find no rest;
These should have my love and tender sympathy,
Ready at thy bidding, Lord, send me.

Refrain

There are hung'ring souls who cry aloud for bread,
With the bread of life they're longing to be fed;
Shall they starve and famish while a feast is free?
I must be more faithful, here am I, send me.

Refrain

There are souls who linger on the brink of woe,
Lord, I must not, cannot bear to let them go;
Let me go and tell them, brother, turn and flee,
Master, I would save them, here am I, send me.

Refrain

This morning we sang this hymn as a family. As we thought about and discussed the hymn together, we all agreed that for our station in life the harvest or work that God is calling us to is in the home. The thing that God keeps bringing before us is “Christianity begins in the home”. These things in the hymn start in the home – serving and loving each other and teaching the members of our family about Christ.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" – Isaiah 6:8

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” - John 4:34-36

Meekness

Our family has been learning about meekness for the past couple months, focusing on the verse in Matthew 5:5. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth". I never really knew what meekness what until we started studying it, but God has been working it in my heart and it is a beautiful thing when one can become meek like our Heavenly Father!

Meekness - yielding my personal rights and expectations to God.

The outflow of meekness in a person's life is when a situation comes that would cause us to be angry, upset, or frustrated, but we choose to be calm and Christlike instead. Meekness is our power under God's control.

"Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30

Chickadees

When I snapped this picture, I was only a yard or two away...

See the three chickadees? One on top of the feeder, one eating from it, and one on the suet feeder.

Excel Still More

1 Thessalonians 4:1 and 10
Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more...for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more...

Paul used the phrase "excel still more" two times here. That caught my attention this morning while I was reading this passage with my family. We are to "excel still more" and be perfect like our Heavenly Father (Matthew 5:48). Press on to perfection!