Psalms 147:9-10 (KJV)
He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.

Is it our honest desire to be the delight and pleasure of our God? Do we truly want to please Him in our lives? This passage may cause some a fair deal of concern. God is not excited and pleased with strength. He has little joy in the works of men – what we may or may not accomplish. These may have their place, but not in relation to our relationship with God.

• He delights not in the strength of the horse
• He takes no pleasure in the legs of men

The Bible is quite specific.

• God takes pleasure in them that fear Him
• God takes pleasure in those that hope in His mercy

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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Psalms 147:9-10 (KJV) God’s Pleasure

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Psalms 145:18 (KJV)
The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

What an encouraging passage. “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him…”

He is nigh unto all
No doubt there is no one so far from God that He cannot hear and help. No one so far He cannot save. No one so terrible He does not love.

He is nigh unto all that call upon Him
This limits then the “all.” He is nigh unto all but He is especially nigh unto them that call upon Him. When my sons were small we might have been physically near most of the time but we were near emotionally, attentively and etc. when they called out to us. There is a difference between being close at hand and being at hand.

He is nigh to all that call upon Him in truth
This limits the promise still further. God is not far from anyone but He is closer to those who call upon Him and closer still to those who call upon Him in truth.

It is important then that we not only know that we know the Lord but that we rightfully divide His Word so we know the truth.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Psalms 145:18 (KJV) Near God

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Psalms 143:2 (KJV)

And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

The fear of every man, and that one that leads to real wisdom, is that God would judge us. The Psalmist knows well that there is no man that can be justified by his own merits in the sight of God. 

• The enemy oppresses us[1]
• Our own sins condemn us[2]
• Other enemies afflict us[3]

And so all we can ask is that God hide us[4]and to quicken us.[5]

---

[1]vs 3; I consider this an allusion to Satan

[2]vs 4

[3]vs 9,12; people who press us into sinful circumstances

[4]vs 9

[5]vs 11; another term for salvation. At the moment we are saved we become hidden in Christ and our justification is in the Cross and not in ourselves.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Psalms 143:2 (KJV) God Hide Us

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Psalms 141:5 (KJV)

Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

Psalm 141 is an Old Testament passage teaching how to survive in the New Testament world. It is a microcosm of all that is the Christian life. 

The Christian life begins in dependence 

Vs 1-2

Evening and morning we ought to be in prayer. Our hearts as well as our hands lifted toward heaven in earnest request for God’s help. 

Our words become a key to this Christian life

Vs 3

The Psalmist‘ sprayer is for his mouth. How he knows he needs God to help him in this especially. Most of what follows has to do with our words. 

That thou wouldest keep me from evil

Vs 4

The propensity of the fallen nature is toward wrong. It is our default mode. Without purposeful choices we will naturally lean toward evil. 

The Christian rejoices in reproof

Vs 5-6

Thank God for those who help us see our sin and turn from it. Far from being angry, we ought rather speak kindly to those whom God has placed into our life to help us and correct us. 

Life is difficult but we trust in God

Vs 7-8

The curse upon the earth is God’s means of reminding us that this world is not our home. 

The unsaved make it more difficult 

Vs 9

As if the thorns and thistles were not hard enough, the unsaved set traps to hinder the believer that much more. 

We know the end of the book

Vs 10

The wicked end up in destruction and the believer escapes to heaven.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Psalms 141:5 (KJV) How To Survive the New Testament World

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Psalms 139:17-18 (KJV)

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

I note the transition from thoughts to presence. 

The Psalmist begins with the thoughts God has toward him. 

Imagine all the things God concerns Himself with concerning each one of us:

• He hears our prayers 
• He knows our truest needs
• He counts the hairs on our head
• He knows the number of our days 

Truly we could never imagine everything God thinks concerning us. 

Then the Psalmist moves from God’s thoughts about him to his own thoughts about God.

He attempts to number God’s thoughts, to list out the many parts of his life known by and directed under the hand of God. He goes deep into the night in his exercise. This he does until bedtime. 

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When he awakes God is still with him. His thoughts on the thoughts of God had placed him into the presence of God. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Psalms 139:17-18 (KJV) How To Be In The Presence of God

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Psalms 138:2 (KJV)
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

I see three of the key components of worship within this verse:

• A place to worship
• A Person to worship and
• A plan for worship 

Worship always involves a place of God’s choosing.
Rebellious man has decided that God can be worshipped anywhere he pleases. While this might seem truthful, it places the wrong one in control of worship and thereby nullifies that worship. If we are not submissive to God we are not in worship. The place of worship in the New Testament era is in a local (I believe, Baptist) church.

The mention of God’s name is here found twice.
It is an obvious reference to Jesus and reminds us that we worship God by Christ. He is the High Priest Who opened the way that we may come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Finally is the reference to God’s Word.
He has magnified His Word even above His name. To worship God without Christ is heresy. To come to Christ without the Word is impossible.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Psalms 138:2 (KJV) A Place, Person and Plan for Worship

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Ephesians 2:4 (KJV)
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

It happens that I read today both Ephesians 3 and Psalms 136. The literary style of the Psalm is poetic as it drives home, in 26 verses, that, “His mercy endureth forever.” Now this verse in Ephesians gives us the reason for His mercy; “His great love wherewithal He loves us.”

As enduring as is His mercy, His love for us is that great. It is unending, inexhaustible and eternal. God’s love extends to:

• The Jew and the Gentile
• The saved and the lost
• The child and the adult
• The male and the female
• The faithful and the unfaithful 
• The obedient and the disobedient 

No doubt, the desire of God, and the purpose for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the saving of souls and the sanctification of the saved. But God’s love is greater than our relationship with Him and therefore His mercy endures our sin to give us, over and again, opportunities to make right our walk with Him.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Ephesians 2:4 (KJV) Inexhaustible Mercy

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Psalms 132:11 (KJV)
The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.

That this passage reaches past David’s immediate line: Solomon, Rehoboam and etc., is clear from Acts 2:30 (KJV)
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

Clearly his family has reference as is obvious from Psalms 132: 12, but the promise is greater than royalty. The promise is eternal.

I want the very best for my children. I want to see them successful and happy. But what I long to see much more than that is to see them, their children, and their children’s children saved, serving the Lord and secure for all of eternity.

This is the promise of Psalms 132:11. It is not a promise of a lengthy monarchy. It is the promise of an eternity based upon One, Jesus Christ.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Psalms 132:11 (KJV) The Promise of Eternity

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Psalms 131:1-3 (KJV)
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

The happiest people before the Lord are the most humble. This Psalm, ascribed to David, is powerful in that it seeks no power. It is simply a declaration of humility:

• He had no ambitions in his heart 
• He sought no positions of elevation 
• He attempted no great deed

And yet, we know God used him in great ways.

He had quieted and contented himself. He had separated himself from dependence upon others.

His only hope, and that hope he sought for Israel, was the Lord.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Psalms 131:1-3 (KJV) Humility Equals Happiness

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Galatians 5:13-15 (KJV)
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

The book to the churches of Galatia is written almost entirely to dispel the errors of Judaizers who, in Paul’s day, had confused the purpose of Old Testament law. In these three verses we find:
Liberty vs Law
We are set free from the law so far as salvation is concerned. We are, however, to be careful not to allow our liberty to be license. I am afraid we have far too much license in modern Christianity.

The fulfillment of the Law
In one Old Testament law, love our neighbor as ourselves. Genuine love will, it seems to me, compel us to embrace those lessons of the Old Testament (and New) that make for neighborly action.

A warning concerning disobedience
To live by the Law means to be judged by the Law rather than having already been judged in Christ. But to reject this commandment “Love thy neighbor as thyself” sets one at risk of being consumed in the judgment of others.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

Galatians 5:13-15 (KJV) Liberty vs Law

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Galatians 4:20 (KJV)
I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

In a previous verse to the believers in the churches in Galatia Paul wrote,
Galatians 4:16 (KJV)
Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

It was not his desire to alienate anyone. His only concern was the truth and imparting it to them. He was their friend. He wanted their best. He wanted their affection and their companionship in the Lord. But his primary concern had to be with the truth. Were they really willing to spoil that over the doctrines of those Paul knew to be false teachers?

Now here is the truth that so risked his friendship, New Testament Christianity and Old Testament law cannot co-exist. We do not mean that no truths of the Old Testament have application today. Those things were written for our example. But they are the shadow of the truth. All truth is to be discovered in the New Testament. The Old Testament serves to give illustration and life to those truths. Never should the Old Testament be taken in exclusion of the New Testament. The concept that righteousness in any manner may be obtained by obedience to Old Testament law must be:

• Cast out
• Abandoned
• Forsaken 

Galatians 2:21 (KJV)
I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4300 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

Galatians 4:20 (KJV) The Concern Is Truth

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