Hi Brian!

This week I was greatly blessed by Charles Spurgeons morning devotional from my PC STUDY BIBLE!

The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power."— Nahum 1:3

Jehovah "is slow to anger." When mercy cometh into the world she driveth winged steeds; the axles of her chariot-wheels are red hot with speed; but when wrath goeth forth, it toileth on with tardy footsteps, for God taketh no pleasure in the sinner's death. God's rod of mercy is ever in His hands outstretched; His sword of justice is in its scabbard, held down by that pierced hand of love which bled for the sins of men. "The Lord is slow to anger," because He is GREAT IN POWER. He is truly great in power who hath power over himself. When God's power doth restrain Himself, then it is power indeed: the power that binds omnipotence is omnipotence surpassed. A man who has a strong mind can bear to be insulted long, and only resents the wrong when a sense of right demands his action. The weak mind is irritated at a little: the strong mind bears it like a rock which moveth not, though a thousand breakers dash upon it, and cast their pitiful malice in spray upon its summit. God marketh His enemies, and yet He bestirs not Himself, but holdeth in His anger. If He were less divine than He is, He would long ere this have sent forth the whole of His thunders, and emptied the magazines of heaven; He would long ere this have blasted the earth with the wondrous fires of its lower regions, and man would have been utterly destroyed; but the greatness of his power brings us mercy. Dear reader, what is your state this evening? Can you by humble faith look to Jesus, and say, "My substitute, Thou art my rock, my trust"? Then, beloved, be not afraid of God's power; for by faith you have fled to Christ for refuge, the power of God need no more terrify you, than the shield and sword of the warrior need terrify those whom he loves. Rather rejoice that He who is "great in power" is your Father and Friend.

I was so blessed by this because when I first received JESUS as Lord and Saviour, there was so much pressure put on us to bring people to JESUS. This was definitely my great desire, but I have never been a 'people person'! it has never been easy for me to talk to people I don't know. I would always feel like I wasn't doing enough. When I first read 2 Peter 3:9 I was encouraged!

The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.

I believe that this is what Charles Spurgeon is emphasizing above! When we show the goodness of God through our lives, HE causes people to see what they need personally to see! He is not in a hurry to judgew, but is patient for everyone to have the opportunity to SEE Him! I LOVE that about HIM! Among many, many other wonderful things! Here is  one of my faavorite oler songs by Hillsong called "God Is Able":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys! 

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "impute". It's found in the New Testament in Romans 4:8:

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. KJV

This is the Greek word "logizomai". Strong's Concordance says: to take an inventory. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: to reckon, count, compute, calculate, to take account. So this promise is that even though we do sometimes sin after receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour, God does not count it to our account, but to JESUS! 2 Corinthians 5:21 says this:

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. KJV

The Amplified Bible says it this way:

21 For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]. AMP

The moment that JESUS became sin with our sin, He accomplished what He came to do! The moment that WE received Him as Lord and Saviour, we BECAME the RIGHTEOUSNESS that belonged to JESUS! When we sin, and we have and will, it is NOT put to our account, but to the ONE Who already paid it all! 1 John 1:9 tells us this:

 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. KJV 

The Amplified Bible has a more accurate rendering as the word 'confess' means to acknowledge or admit! SO, when we acknowledge that we sinned, God acknowledges what JESUS did on our behalf! 

9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].  AMP

When we are with Him in Heaven, we will no longer have our flesh nature and will never sin, but while we are here, this wonderful, powerful PROMISE is that our mistakes are never credited to our account! We just recieve the forgiveness and continue to grow up in Him! HOW BLESSED WE ARE! Here is an older song from Hillsong Worship called "Across The Earth":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

 Hi Brian!

The word that I had for this week is not found directly in the Bible. The word is "anthem". The Webster Dictionary says this about the word: a song or hymn of praise or gladness, a psalm or hymn sung antiphonally or responsively, a sacred vocal composition with words usually from the Scriptures. When I looked up the word in regards to the Bible, this was one answer they gave me:

While the word "anthem" is not in the text of the Bible, several passages are frequently described as anthems by biblical scholars, theologians, and liturgical traditions. These are typically songs or declarations that celebrate God’s character or a major national deliverance. Here is one example:

 Psalm 136: Known as the "Great Hallel," its repetitive refrain—"for his steadfast love endures forever"—is treated as a liturgical anthem of praise. 

Here is that Psalm:

1 O GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.
2 O give thanks to the God of gods, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever —
4 To Him Who alone does great wonders, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
5 To Him Who by wisdom and understanding made the heavens, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
6 To Him Who stretched out the earth upon the waters, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
7 To Him Who made the great lights, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever —
8 The sun to rule over the day, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
10 To Him Who smote Egypt in their firstborn, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever; [Ex 12:29.]
11 And brought out Israel from among them, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever; [Ex 12:51; 13:3,17.]
12 With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
13 To Him Who divided the Red Sea into parts, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever; [Ex 14:21,22.]
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
15 But shook off and overthrew Pharaoh and his host into the Red Sea, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
16 To Him Who led His people through the wilderness, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
17 To Him Who smote great kings, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
18 And slew famous kings, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever — [Deut 29:7.]
19 Sihon king of the Amorites, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever; [Num 21:21-24.]
20 And Og king of Bashan, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever; [Num 21:33-35.]
21 And gave their land as a heritage, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
22 Even a heritage to Israel His servant, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever; [Josh 12:1.]
23 To Him Who [earnestly] remembered us in our low estate and imprinted us [on His heart], for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
24 And rescued us from our enemies, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
25 To Him Who gives food to all flesh, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;
26 O give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
AMP

This is a powerful declaration of GOD and Who He is! I LOVE this! Anthems can, and I believe SHOULD,  be powerful! Many people with wonderful voices have sung our National Anthem for diffferent events, but the one that I prefer was sung by Dave Bray and is a FIGHT SONG, which I believe it should be! (Here is a link to that one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RALmt2IeWmA ). 

My message for this week came about because of a song that Holy Spirit reminded me of from a few years ago by Hillsong Young and Free called "World Outside Your Window". This is a reminder that the GOSPEL is a POWERFUL weapon of SPIRITUAL WARFARE! And WE WIN! Here is that song:

Love Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The 'word' for this week is "truth". I was surprised that we hadn't used that one yet, but I guess it is for such a time as this! We'll be looking at two portions from John.

John 8:31 So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. 32 And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. AMP

John 16:12 I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. AMP

This is the Greek word "aletheia". Thayer's Greek Lexcion says: verity, truth. The dictionary definition of "verity" says this: In the Bible, verity means absolute, divine truth, reality, or a fundamental, steadfast principle, often translating the Hebrew "emeth" (truth, faithfulness) and Greek "aletheia" (truth, reality). It signifies more than just factual correctness; it's about God's eternal, unchanging truths, embodied in Jesus Christ, found in His Word, and experienced through faith, encompassing integrity and sincerity. 

I believe that the reason Holy Spirit wanted us to look at this now is partly because of all of the misinformation that is being spewed about the situations going on in America these days! There has been a LOT of gross misinformation. To our natural minds it has become so muddled that unless we have a better source of TRUTH, we will be misled into believing and then acting on lies! The key in all of this is found in those two portions of Scripture! Holy Spirit lives IN us to bear witness of the TRUTH that we need to know to operate correctly in this life. So as we seek HIM for the REAL TRUTH, He WILL lead us to it so that we can operate in obedience to HIS will and plan and purpose! Right now, GOD HIMSELF is causing to happen the things that He spoke through ministers and prophetic voices several years ago! So TRUST HIM and HE will give you PEACE concerning these times we live in! Here is Brandon Lake with a new song called "On The Truth":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!