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1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— 3 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. 12 He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall. 14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.15 He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; 16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers. (Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 The Message)
Happy Thursday, dear Friend! I pray God's rich blessings on you and yours on this special day. I pray you've made a commitment in your life to grow and learn as much as you can; the things of God are always new, and we should strive to bless ourselves by reading and reading our Bibles, books about the Bible, worshiping in person or online, singing, etc. All these things can bless us with new insights and new strategies to better live life. I once heard a preacher ask, "Do you want to grow in your Bible readings? Read the stuff you haven't underlined yet!" And he was right; we underline John 3:16 (and we should!) but what does the verse before it say? The one after? How does that chapter begin at 3:1? May God bless our time together in ways that will amaze us not only today, but a week from now or even a year from now.
Reading the opening verses to this passage, the psalmist was foretelling of the way Jesus would teach and preach. Jesus shared parables, and Jesus revealed what had previously been hidden, and He was also very familiar with the things of old, things that others had already shared, and even things our parents and grandparents shared. Oh, how I wish I had at least one more chance to ask my grandparents more questions about our family, or my mom and my dad. The things that really mattered they tried to pass down, and as this writer is saying, we must commit to sharing precious things with our precious ones; our children and grandchildren. The things of God count as the most precious things we have, and those need to be passed down to them.
The psalmist then shares the history of liberation from bondage in Egypt; the dividing of the sea, and their walk through dry land with two walls of solid sea on both sides of them. The way God guided them through the wilderness with a cloud by day and a fire by night. God even, from yesterday's lesson, split the rock so that it would flow abundant water for them to drink; all precious reminders that our God is a powerful God who holds nothing back to bless those who love Him.
PRAYER: Awesome Father, bless our minds with newness and strength so that we can always recall that which has been precious to You and in turn, to us. May our lips share that on our minds in ways that bless our little ones and our not-so-little ones; Your story is worth repeating. May Your story bring us life and that in abundance. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Share a memory with someone today to bless them.
Receive my blessings of peace and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
