planted everywhere

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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planted everywhere

James 1:1 (JDV)

James 1:1 James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes planted everywhere. Greetings.

planted everywhere

Penny and I have a place where we put garden vegetables in containers near our parsonage. We also have another place about a mile from our home where we plant most of our garden. It has more room and can be tilled and tended more easily, and the soil is better. Both places are special to us because we get to see how God is providing, and we get to be part of the process.

When James addressed his listeners, he told them that they were planted everywhere. That was no mistake. God’s plan is to reach his entire world, and he uses his twelve tribes to do the reaching. We are a diverse lot, but that also helps, because some plants thrive better in some soils than others. He calls some Christians to other places sometimes, but each of us can seek to bloom where we are planted right now.

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here’s how we did it

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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here’s how we did it

Psalm 150:1-6 (JDV)

Psalm 150:1 Praise Yah! Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him in his strong expanse.
Psalm 150:2 Praise him for his powerful acts; praise him for his abundant greatness.
Psalm 150:3 Praise him with trumpet blast; praise him with harp and lyre.
Psalm 150:4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and flute.
Psalm 150:5 Praise him with resounding cymbals; praise him with clanging cymbals.
Psalm 150:6 Let everything that breathes praise Yah. Praise Yah!

here’s how we did it

The psalms are concluded in such a way as to say to the world: “OK, here’s how we did it, now it’s your turn.” The praise to the LORD and for his wonderful works does not end at Psalm 150. It begins there. Now, it is time for everything and everyone else to give it a try.

LORD, accept our praises.

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whatever we do

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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whatever we do

Psalm 149:1-9 (JDV)

Psalm 149:1 Praise Yah! Sing to Yahveh a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Psalm 149:2 Let Israel celebrate its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Psalm 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.
Psalm 149:4 You see, Yahveh takes pleasure in his people; he decorates the humble with deliverance.
Psalm 149:5 Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory; let them shout for joy on their beds.
Psalm 149:6 Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,
Psalm 149:7 inflicting vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
Psalm 149:8 binding their kings with chains and their dignitaries with iron shackles,
Psalm 149:9 carrying out the judgment decreed against them. This honor is for all his faithful people. Praise Yah!

whatever we do

God’s people have him on their minds, and it results in joyful songs about him. It also results in doing his will, even if that means punishing those who reject him. Even the leadership tasks which are difficult to accomplish are to be motivated not out of anger or resentment, but out of our relationship with God.

LORD, whatever we do, may is spring from our relationship with you.

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symphony

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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symphony

Psalm 148:1-14 (JDV)

Psalm 148:1 Praise Yah! Praise Yahveh from the sky; praise him in the heights.
Psalm 148:2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly armies.
Psalm 148:3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
Psalm 148:4 Praise him, highest heavens, and you waters above the sky.
Psalm 148:5 Let them praise the name of Yahveh, for he commanded, and they were created.
Psalm 148:6 He set them in position forever and beyond; he gave an order that will never pass away.
Psalm 148:7 Praise Yahveh from the land, all sea monsters and ocean depths,
Psalm 148:8 lightning and hail, snow and cloud, stormy wind that does his word,
Psalm 148:9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
Psalm 148:10 wild animals and all cattle, creatures that crawl and flying birds,
Psalm 148:11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth,
Psalm 148:12 young men as well as young women, old and young together.
Psalm 148:13 Let them praise the name of Yahveh, because his name alone is exalted. His majesty covers the sky and the land.
Psalm 148:14 He has raised up a horn for his people, resulting in praise to all his faithful ones, to the Israelites, the people close to him. Praise Yah!

symphony

The wonderful diversity of the universe around us should naturally draw us to praise and worship its one creator. He is the one author of the symphony that consists of many instruments. The harmony we see should drive us to the reality of his existence. The discord we hear should remind us of our need for his intervention. Either way, what is should make us seek him.

LORD, come again, and restore complete harmony to your creation.

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the gift of the Jews

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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the gift of the Jews

Psalm 147:12-20 (JDV)

Psalm 147:12 Exalt Yahveh, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion!
Psalm 147:13 You see, he strengthens the bars of your city gates and blesses your children within you.
Psalm 147:14 He endows your territory with wholeness; he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
Psalm 147:15 He sends his command throughout the earth; his word runs swiftly.
Psalm 147:16 He spreads snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes;
Psalm 147:17 he throws his hailstones like crumbs. Who can withstand his cold?
Psalm 147:18 He sends his word and melts them; he unleashes his winds, and the water flows.
Psalm 147:19 He declares his word to Jacob, his prescriptions and judgments to Israel.
Psalm 147:20 He has not done this for every nation; they do not know his judgments. Praise Yah!

the gift of the Jews

There are some gifts that God hads given to every nation, but his word came through the nation of Israel — the word which is now reaching all the nations through them. That is the gift that we have all received from the Jews. Now is the season for all nations to learn his word and seek his kingdom.

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It only makes sense

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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It only makes sense

Psalm 147:1-11 (JDV)

Psalm 147:1 Praise Yah! How good it is to sing to our God, because praise is nice and fitting.
Psalm 147:2 Yahveh rebuilds Jerusalem; he gathers Israel’s exiled people.
Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
Psalm 147:4 He counts the number of the stars; he calls them all by name.
Psalm 147:5 Our Lord is great, vast in power; his understanding has no number.
Psalm 147:6 Yahveh helps the marginalized but brings the wicked to the ground.
Psalm 147:7 Sing to Yahveh with thanksgiving; play the lyre to our God,
Psalm 147:8 who covers the sky with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, and causes grass to grow on the hills.
Psalm 147:9 He provides the animals with their food, and the young ravens, what they cry for.
Psalm 147:10 He is not impressed by the strength of a horse; he does not value the power of a warrior.
Psalm 147:11 Yahveh values those who fear him, those who put their hope in his covenant faithfulness.

It only makes sense

The LORD, who has all the power in the universe, has invested himself in the restoration, healing and preservation of those who fear him. It only makes sense to praise his name, and to cooperate with his plan for our rescue. He has sent his words to guide us just as he sends the white snow to cover the countryside, then melts it to water the new growth. He has a plan. It only makes sense to follow his plan. Most of the world seems content to reject his plan and follow their own nonsense. That does not mean that we should.

LORD, give us wisdom to do the sensible thing.

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the logic of trusting God

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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the logic of trusting God

Psalm 146:1-10 (JDV)

Psalm 146:1 Praise Yah! My soul, praise Yahveh.
Psalm 146:2 I will praise Yahveh all my life; I will sing to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 146:3 Do not trust in those who want to help, in a son of Adam, who cannot deliver.
Psalm 146:4 When his breath leaves him, he returns to the ground; on that day his plans die.
Psalm 146:5 fortunate is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in Yahveh his God,
Psalm 146:6 the Maker of the sky and the land, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever,
Psalm 146:7 executing justice for the marginalized and giving food to the hungry. Yahveh frees prisoners.
Psalm 146:8 Yahveh opens the eyes of the blind. Yahveh raises up those who are marginalized. Yahveh loves the righteous.
Psalm 146:9 Yahveh protects resident aliens and helps the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the roads of the wicked.
Psalm 146:10 Yahveh reigns permanently; Zion, your God reigns for all generations. Praise Yah!

the logic of trusting God

The LORD is the creator, the One who brings justice, setting prisoners free, healing the blind, lifting up those who are bowed down, loving the righteous, watching over the sojourners, upholding the widow and the fatherless, reigning forever. It is only logical to put our trust in a GOD like that. It is not logical to put faith in a mere human leader, because he is mortal. When mortal man’s breath departs, he returns to the ground from which he was formed, and his plans to save others die with him (4).

LORD, help us to see the logic of trusting in you alone. Only you have life to give because only you forever live.

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his open hand

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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his open hand

Psalm 145:13-21 (JDV)

Psalm 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your rule is for all generations. Yahveh is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions.
Psalm 145:14 Yahveh helps all who fall; he raises up all who are marginalized.
Psalm 145:15 All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
Psalm 145:16 You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Psalm 145:17 Yahveh is righteous in all his roads and faithful in all his acts.
Psalm 145:18 Yahveh is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity.
Psalm 145:19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
Psalm 145:20 Yahveh guards all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.
Psalm 145:21 My mouth will declare Yahveh’s praise; let every living thing bless his holy name forever and beyond.

his open hand

As a kid growing up on a farm, I knew the responsibility of feeding the animals. They depended on me to open my hand and pass their daily rations on to them. If I had not been faithful, the animals would have starved.

Now, regularly I go for walks in the woods, and I find animals who are healthy and living well. He opens his hand and feeds them, satisfying their desires. That is just one more evidence of his faithfulness to all his creatures.

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good to us all

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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good to us all

Psalm 145:8-12 (JDV)

Psalm 145:8 Yahveh is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and great in covenant faithfulness.
Psalm 145:9 Yahveh is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made.
Psalm 145:10 All you have made will thank you, Yahveh; the faithful will bless you.
Psalm 145:11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom and will declare your might,
Psalm 145:12 informing all people of your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

good to us all

There will come a day when everyone will acknowledge that God has been good to them. For many, that day is not today. They are hung up on an incomplete understanding and hold a grudge against their creator. They ignore all the evidence of God’s compassion that rests upon them.

But what about me? It is so easy for me to let bitterness ruin my outlook. I retreat to my own regrets and selfish thoughts. That is just as wrong. God has been gracious and compassionate to me. He deserves my praise and witness.

Forgive me, LORD. You are good to us all.

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the legacy we leave

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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the legacy we leave

Psalm 145:1-7 (JDV)

Psalm 145:1 [A praise song of David.] I exalt you, my God the King, and bless your name forever and beyond.
Psalm 145:2 I will bless you every day; I will praise your name forever and beyond.
Psalm 145:3 Yahveh is great and is highly praised; his greatness is unsearchable.
Psalm 145:4 One generation will declare your works to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts.
Psalm 145:5 I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty and your miraculous works.
Psalm 145:6 They will proclaim the power of your terrifying acts, and I will declare your greatness.
Psalm 145:7 They will give a testimony of your great goodness and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.

the legacy we leave

This last psalm attributed to David is all about the greatness of the LORD and why he deserves our constant praise, and the constant praise of those who follow us. It is not about us. It’s about him. The legacy we should leave this world is not a record of our accomplishments or wisdom, but a clear picture of the greatness of God.

LORD, when we pass away, may it be that the world remembers how great you are!

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