today's meditation (Hos.13) Giving Credit and Thanks

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Hosea 13:1-16)
1   When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling.
     He exalted himself in Israel,
     But through Baal he incurred guilt and died.
2   And now they sin more and more,
     And make for themselves cast metal images,
     Idols skillfully made from their silver,
     All of them the work of craftsmen.
     They say of them, “Let the people who sacrifice kiss the calves!”
3   Therefore they will be like the morning cloud 
     And like dew which soon disappears,
     Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
     And like smoke from a chimney.

4   Yet I have been the Lord your God 
     Since the land of Egypt;
     And you were not to know any god except Me,
     For there is no savior besides Me.
5   I cared for you in the wilderness,
     In the land of drought.
6   As they had their pasture, they became satisfied,
     And as they became satisfied, their heart became proud;
     Therefore they forgot Me.
7   So I will be like a lion to them;
     Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside.
8   I will confront them like a bear deprived of her cubs,
     And I will tear open their chests;
     I will also devour them there like a lioness,
     As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.

9   It is to your own destruction, Israel,
     That you are against Me, against your help.
10 Where then is your king,
     That he might save you in all your cities;
     And your judges, to whom you said,
     “Give me a king and princes”?
11 I gave you a king in My anger,
     And took him away in My wrath.

12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
     His sin is stored up.
13 The pains of childbirth come on him;
     He is not a wise son,
     For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
     Shall I redeem them from death?
     Death, where are your thorns?
     Sheol, where is your sting?
     Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

15 Though he flourishes among the reeds,
     An east wind will come,
     The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
     And his fountain will become dry 
     And his spring will dry up;
     It will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 Samaria will pay the penalty for her guilt,
     Because she has rebelled against her God.
     They will fall by the sword,
     Their children will be slaughtered,
     And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

There is a danger of becoming proud when we - stop giving thanks to the Lord every time we eat, or - stop going to church to corporately worship and give thanks and praise to the Lord, or - stop having personal daily devotions with a desire to know Him more...  If and when we stop doing these things, we will begin to think that we have everything as a result of our own efforts.  As verse 6 says, it is so very easy to forget about God.

To not recognize where our help comes from, and to not give credit where credit is due, is to deny the Lord and all that He has done for us, all that He is doing for us, and all that He will do for us.  It is not about some religious rituals to be done just to check off some spiritual box.  As our Lord and Savior, we should desire to give thanks to Him, praise Him, worship Him and honor Him, through our time, energy, resources, and even in how we live our lives - in His will - all to His glory!

today's meditation (Dan.5) Seeing Our Need

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Daniel 5:1-31) Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines could drink out of them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank out of them. 4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. 6 Then the king’s face became pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints loosened and his knees began knocking together. 7 The king called aloud to bring in the sorcerers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king began speaking and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Anyone who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were perplexed.

10 The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen began to speak and said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—appointed him chief of the soothsayer priests, sorcerers, Chaldeans, and diviners. 12 This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of riddles, and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.”

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king began speaking and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the exiles from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? 14 Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. 15 Just now the wise men and the sorcerers were brought in before me to read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not declare the interpretation of the message. 16 But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel replied and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. 18 O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, greatness, honor, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. 19 Now because of the greatness which He granted him, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages trembled and feared in his presence; whomever he wished, he killed, and whomever he wished, he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated, and whomever he wished he humbled. 20 But when his heart was arrogant and his spirit became so overbearing that he behaved presumptuously, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his dignity was taken away from him. 21 He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of animals, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind, and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. 22 Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, 23 but you have risen up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.

25 “Now this is the inscription that was written:

     ‘Menē, Menē, Tekēl, Upharsin.’

26 This is the interpretation of the message: ‘Menē’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. 27 ‘Tekēl’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. 28 ‘Perēs’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Here is a cautionary tale about not heeding a cautionary tale!!!  Pride is so very deceptive; it can have people thinking they are invincible and indestructible.  Pride keeps us from seeing our need to be saved and having the Lord in our lives, every step of the way.  Because He is all-powerful and all-knowing, we can know that salvation and our constant help can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ!