Remember His Goodness

Show Notes

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 42

SHOW NOTES: The author of Psalm 42 cries out to the Lord, “I thirst for the living God.” In our thirst for God and our desire to know Him and to walk more closely with Him, we should sing for joy and give thanks to Him. Life brings about times of discouragement, sadness, and despair. The Psalmist says he feels like life is tossing him around, rushing over him, and pushing him down. “Yet, through the night I will sing His songs, I will pray to God who gives me life.” We choose to put our hope in God and to wait expectantly for Him. God will extend His faithful love to us in every situation we face in this life. He is my Help and my Savior.

VIEW: THE POWER OF GOD’S “LIVING WATER” – Banias Waterfall (Israel, 11 Seconds)

Show Notes

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 1–2 / Psalm 18:1-3 / Hebrews 11:23-25

SHOW NOTES: God had a specific plan and purpose for the life of Moses. In Psalm 106:23 Moses is called, “His chosen one.” Pharoah and the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied.

A beautiful baby boy was born to a Levite couple and his mother set him in a floating basket on the Nile River. In God’s timing and providence, Pharoah’s daughter came to the river and found the baby. She drew him “out of the water” and named him, Moses. We often forget the hardships and struggles the people of Israel faced in Egypt for over 80 years – we quickly read past the decades of affliction and burden.

But God … He protected the life of His chosen one and prepared him for the task ahead. The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue came up to God. Verses 24 and 25 in Exodus 2 offer great hope for us today. God heard, He remembered, He saw, He knew exactly what was happening in the lives of the people of Israel.

Show Notes

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 14 / Psalm 106:8-12

SHOW NOTES: At times, it may seem like the Lord does not hear our prayers, but we must cling to the Truth. He sees our affliction. He hears our cries. He knows our suffering. And He will deliver us. Moses was chosen by God for a specific mission. The people of Israel continued to serve Pharoah in the land of Egypt. He was a brutal task master and the people had suffered greatly. God had a Plan.

He had a Purpose. “But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.” The Lord looked at the heart of Pharoah and the Egyptians and said, “They will KNOW that I am the LORD.” God was also looking at the children of Israel. He led the people by the way of the wilderness because their faith and trust in the Lord needed to grow and be strengthened. The Lord saved them and delivered them from the power of the enemy. The children of Israel sang His praise!

Show Notes

SCRIPTURE: Joshua 3 & 4

SHOW NOTES: Joshua is God’s choice for their new leader. The people of Israel are camped on the east side of the Jordan River, waiting for God’s instructions. He promises to lead and guide their steps. Then, Joshua provides these instructions, “Consecrate yourselves.” The people are to prepare themselves and prepare their hearts because, “Tomorrow, the Lord will do wonders among you!” The priests walk before the people and, in faith step into the Jordan River as it is flowing swiftly at flood stage.

As they carry the ark of the covenant, they are told to, “Stand still. Stand firm.” The people cross the Jordan River on dry ground. Friends, we do not walk alone. We can trust God. The hand of our Lord is mighty. Even the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River obeyed His every command.

Show Notes

SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 2:1-19 / Hosea 14:9

SHOW NOTES: Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, was given a difficult assignment – share God’s message of judgment with the wayward people of Israel. Israel was chosen by God, set apart, and holy to the Lord. God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and He brought them “into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land.”

With privilege comes responsibility, God will discipline His children’s irresponsible behavior. God’s people have committed two evils – forsaken the One True God and created cisterns, broken cisterns. It is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God. You do not “fear Me” or “reverence me.” And that is why, Jeremiah is telling the Jewish people they will be taken into captivity by the Babylonians.

For the ways of the Lord are right, And the righteous will walk in them. (Hosea 14:9)

Show Notes

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 3:1-17

SHOW NOTES: John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness of Judea and people came from Jerusalem and all the region around the Jordan River to hear him. They confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the river. John’s message included, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” He called people to repentance and a life that would bear fruit.

As people came to the Jordan River, they identified with John’s message of repentance in preparation for the coming King and His Kingdom. Their water baptism was an outward sign of their inward desire to live a different life. At the heart of the matter, it’s always a matter of the heart. Am I willing to humble myself and ask the Lord to reveal those areas – what actions, what thoughts, what words are sin filled?