Psalm 95; Luke 17

Psalm 95
This is a call to sing and shout and praise the Lord! This is not just whipping up emotion but comes out of thinking about and meditating on what kind of God we have.
1. He is a great God.
2. He is a great King above all gods.
3. He holds the earth, the mountains, and the sea in His hands.
4. He is our God.
5. We are His people, the flock under His care.

What a feeling of security as we kneel before the Lord our Maker in praise and thanksgiving!

Then we are warned in vv. 8-11 not to be stubborn and hard like Israel was in the wilderness when God had to punish them.

Luke 17
v. 6 The Lord answered, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,' and it would obey you!"

Faith is like a seed. It starts small, weak, and insignificant. But like a seed, it contains life. If it is nurtured and "planted" and given care, it will grow strong.

This passage tells us some of the things that faith will produce.

1. Power to keep from offending "little ones." This probably means weaker believers, but I think it also means children and young people. v.1-2

2. Forgiveness. vv.34  Forgiveness is very hard and even seems impossible in some cases. In fact, it IS impossible without God's power.The same power that forgave us can help us forgive others.

3. Grace to serve. vv.5-10  It takes faith to do what we are supposed to do--our duty. We should not expect praise or thanks.

4. Prayer and thanksgiving. vv. 11-19   

5. Readiness when Jesus returns. vv. 20-37  Remember that faith leads to faithfulness. We should be "looking up" and trusting God. If we look around us too much at all the evil and violence and wickedness, we will be discouraged. If we look back (like Lot's wife did), we are in trouble. We should be looking ahead and watching for the Lord's return.

All this is easy to say but hard to translate into every day life. I realize this, and I don't know exactly how we can see this kind of faith in reality. I do know that one way, is to read and study and apply God's Word in the best way we can. After all, this is the message He left for us! "So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Romans 10:17