Love One Another

03/22/2021

03/20/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/Wvrqf7yvhAk

Psalm 139 verses 17 to 18 How precious are Your thoughts

Psalm 139:17-18; How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

The psalmist is not alarmed at the fact that God knows all about him; on the contrary, he is comforted by the greatness of God keeping an intimate watch over him.

How great is the sum of them!

We should be filled with reverence, astonished at the extent of God’s infinite love that he would even bother to turn his thoughts toward such, irrelevant and insignificant critters as we are in comparison to His vast domain and magnificent creations. His love for each of us, when compared to the self-elevating arrogance that is so willfully exhibited against Him as doubters and deniers misapply the purpose of their God-given life.

If we actually think about the daily interventions of God in our lives, many of which are rendered almost unacknowledgeable since they are drowned out by the turmoil of daily living. The diversity and repetitiveness often allow them to be overlooked, unless we acknowledge them in a unit. But when we separate them into momentary components and thank God for each individual, we will see that they are but a grain of sand amongst the many daily blessings that God’s Love provides. A marvelous habit of life that is smart to develop is to learn to count each one as they occur. There is a hymn that truly expresses this thought, listen to the lyrics to the well-known folk song by Johnson Oatman (1897); “Count your blessings.”

When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

2 Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, ev'ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

Francis Traylor illustrates with a timely metaphor in 1654 stating, “When men love that they should not, there is more need of a bridle to keep them from thinking of it, than of spurs to keep them to it. Try thy love of God by this. If thou thinkest not often of God, thou lovest him not. If thou canst not satisfy thyself with profits, pleasures, friends, and otherworldly objects, but thou must turn other businesses aside, that thou mayest daily think of God, then thou lovest him.”

On occasion, my wife has had to remind me at times when my patience is tried, correctly quipping with an annoying reminder that perhaps the Lord has placed a slowpoke in front of me for a purpose? When trials come our way, we should develop a habit of asking the Lord what He is trying to teach us, God is the author and authority of Outcomes-Based Education. When we think about it, there is no time in our lives when our God is not overseeing our situation and working together with all things for our good. I am consigned to focus on the good things that God is doing, knowing full well that all things are in His hands. Counting your blessing is a great way to start your day, get in the habit when you get out of bed in the morning, to immediately, thank God for a good night's sleep? Therefore, the apostle Paul told us to “pray without ceasing” for in this manner. We can focus on our Creator and count our blessings one by one and then we will not forget what the Lord has done.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/
where you will find indexed volumes of previous Breakfast Bible Bytes

03/19/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/kVwfx2Hf-RU

Psalm 139 verses 17 to 18 How precious are Your thoughts

Psalm 139:17-18; How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

The psalmist is not alarmed at the fact that God knows all about him; on the contrary, he is comforted by the greatness of God keeping an intimate watch over him.

How great is the sum of them!

We should be filled with reverence, astonished at the extent of God’s infinite love that he would even bother to turn his thoughts toward such, irrelevant and insignificant critters as we are in comparison to His vast domain and magnificent creations. His love for each of us, when compared to the self-elevating arrogance that is so willfully exhibited against Him as doubters and deniers misapply the purpose of their God-given life.

If we actually think about the daily interventions of God in our lives, many of which are rendered almost unacknowledgeable since they are drowned out by the turmoil of daily living. The diversity and repetitiveness often allow them to be overlooked, unless we acknowledge them in a unit. But when we separate them into momentary components and thank God for each individual, we will see that they are but a grain of sand amongst the many daily blessings that God’s Love provides. A marvelous habit of life that is smart to develop is to learn to count each one as they occur. There is a hymn that truly expresses this thought, listen to the lyrics to the well-known folk song by Johnson Oatman (1897); “Count your blessings.”

When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

2 Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, ev'ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

Francis Traylor illustrates with a timely metaphor in 1654 stating, “When men love that they should not, there is more need of a bridle to keep them from thinking of it, than of spurs to keep them to it. Try thy love of God by this. If thou thinkest not often of God, thou lovest him not. If thou canst not satisfy thyself with profits, pleasures, friends, and otherworldly objects, but thou must turn other businesses aside, that thou mayest daily think of God, then thou lovest him.”

On occasion, my wife has had to remind me at times when my patience is tried, correctly quipping with an annoying reminder that perhaps the Lord has placed a slowpoke in front of me for a purpose? When trials come our way, we should develop a habit of asking the Lord what He is trying to teach us, God is the author and authority of Outcomes-Based Education. When we think about it, there is no time in our lives when our God is not overseeing our situation and working together with all things for our good. I am consigned to focus on the good things that God is doing, knowing full well that all things are in His hands. Counting your blessing is a great way to start your day, get in the habit when you get out of bed in the morning, to immediately, thank God for a good night's sleep? Therefore, the apostle Paul told us to “pray without ceasing” for in this manner. We can focus on our Creator and count our blessings one by one and then we will not forget what the Lord has done.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/
where you will find indexed volumes of previous Breakfast Bible Bytes

03/17/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/Wvrqf7yvhAk

Psalm 139:15 I was not created in secret.


Psalm 139:15-16: My frame was not hidden from You When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

Our substance was not hidden from God when I was made in secret.

God, being one, the author of nature as of grace, works harmoniously throughout His kingdom. He carries on His work, skillfully yet Majestically and with love, patience, and precision. God brought life to humanity only once when He created Adam and it has been preserved through the egg and the s***m ever since, therefore a baby’s life does not begin at conception, only a unique life begins at conception. Just as an infant’s physique matures without a lot of forethought, so we eat, drink, sleep, and grow. We are nourished often un-conscientiously, day by day, and year by year, passing through the various stages of life; first as an infant, a toddler, from youth, to manhood, as we invariably mature in years. So, it is with our Christian re-creation being born anew through the baptism with the Holy Spirit who re-creates us in His image as He puts a germ of faith, spawning spiritual life within us so that we can grow and be nourished by the Word and bear fruit as our minds are renewed as the wants of our old nature fade into the recesses of our mind.

All the days of our lives are ordained and molded by God’s encircling providence guiding us through trials, both good and bad; all are at his command from the legions of angels to the restoration and redemption of willing humanity even utilizing the malicious pride of Satan as a tool to forge a vessel for the master’s use. Sculpting His adoptees into a cohesive family employing griefs, joys, terrors, fears, death, and life to accomplish His purpose for our lives." We read in Romans 8:28; “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” (HCSB)

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/
where you will find indexed volumes of previous Breakfast Bible Bytes

03/16/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/Wvrqf7yvhAk

Psalm 139:14; verse 14 I am fearfully and wonderfully made.


Psalm 139:14; I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

The elaborate and unique composition of humanity could not possibly be the effect of evolving chance. Everything about us indicates that we are the independent, infinite workmanship of an all-wise designer, and as such shouldn’t we be humbled, and tremble fearfully in the presence of such an entity as our Creator. With awe-inspiring respect shouldn’t we love and obey him for this is the whole duty of mankind.

Do you struggle to coalesce in your mind thoughts of praise; if that is you then you need to look no further than the wonders of your own physical makeup; its composition is made for sustenance and development, coupled with a wondrous progression of Christ’ propitiation by which we may attain a full measure of perfection through the addition of his indwelling Holy Spirit in the new birth. Rarely do we think about our own creation made possible by all of God’s skill and kindness that he has employed in the creation of our person, even in the act of creation he created reasons for our praising his name, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Humans are the only creature on earth able to perceive, overwhelming proofs of the power, the providence, the wisdom, and the goodness of God. God has given us this wonderful provision to look beyond the moment-by-moment endeavors, He has equipped us with the ability and skills to work our lives toward the formation and growth of becoming more like Christ through the power of his Holy Spirit, with special regard for God’s glory.

If we put any cognitive thought into our own anatomy, we can only be amazed at the symbiotic relationship of each cell, organ, and biological consistency of the functioning members of our body, marveling at the intricacies and trembling at its frailty. The science of the DNA in the synapse of our neurological system was unknown to the psalmist, but the sinews and blood vessels from a casual inspection were enough to produce awe, admiration, and reverence for its Creator/Designer. The psalmist has come to an understanding that the intricacies of his own body are a testimony to the miracles that form his own person, made in the image of his Creator, given the ability to know the amazing nature of God's handiwork, reliability, and accuracy.

If we are brilliantly constructed in the womb what more can we say in praise of the Lord's dealings with us after our physical birth, and new birth, where His spiritual guidance by the power of his indwelling Spirit steers us through our pilgrimage in the journey of life? I’m thinking of Revelation 4:11 “Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created. (HCSB) The love of God is exemplified through the forgiveness of Christ. From a human perspective. If I, or you, before we received Christ's Spirit, created the beauty and intricacies of this world and all that is within it, only to have our creation totally ignore us, would we be equipped to exhibit His type of majestic forgiveness? The Psalmist in Psalm 8 gives legs to this thought better than me. Psalm 8:3-8; “When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which You set in place, 4 what is a man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him? 5 You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him lord over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: 7 all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, 8 the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas.” (HCSB)

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/
where you will find indexed volumes of previous Breakfast Bible Bytes

03/14/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/S70npjMapKE

Psalm 139 verse 11 to 12 Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:11-12; If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

Even if I say, surely the darkness will engulf me and shield my vile deeds from your knowledge, it would prove to be a foolish thought. For darkness, regardless of how dense the cloak, even so, it subjugates me, it cannot remove me from Your site, or You from my site. You are with me regardless of the hour and since I am in Your presence, You are fully aware of all that I think, feel, and do. It astonishes me why vile men still attempt to hide their devious deeds behind the cover of darkness, be it the thief, a forger, an assassin, the robber, murderer, or adulterous all feel comparatively safe under the cover of darkness, because no human eye can observe their actions, but you, Lord, are omniscient, knowing all for it is impossible for anything to be hidden from You Lord. They may as well transgress Your will, in broad daylight.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/

03/14/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/S70npjMapKE

Psalm 139 verse 11 to 12 Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:11-12; If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

Even if I say, surely the darkness will engulf me and shield my vile deeds from your knowledge, it would prove to be a foolish thought. For darkness, regardless of how dense the cloak, even so, it subjugates me, it cannot remove me from Your site, or You from my site. You are with me regardless of the hour and since I am in Your presence, You are fully aware of all that I think, feel, and do. It astonishes me why vile men still attempt to hide their devious deeds behind the cover of darkness, be it the thief, a forger, an assassin, the robber, murderer, or adulterous all feel comparatively safe under the cover of darkness because no human eye can observe their actions, but you, Lord, are omniscient, knowing all for it is impossible for anything to be hidden from You Lord. They may as well transgress Your will, in broad daylight.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/S70npjMapKE

Psalm 139 verse 11 to 12 Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:11-12; If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

Even if I say, surely the darkness will engulf me and shield my vile deeds from your knowledge, it would prove to be a foolish thought. For darkness, regardless of how dense the cloak, even so, it subjugates me, it cannot remove me from Your site, or You from my site. You are with me regardless of the hour and since I am in Your presence, You are fully aware of all that I think, feel, and do. It astonishes me why vile men still attempt to hide their devious deeds behind the cover of darkness, be it the thief, a forger, an assassin, the robber, murderer, or adulterous all feel comparatively safe under the cover of darkness, because no human eye can observe their actions, but you, Lord, are omniscient, knowing all for it is impossible for anything to be hidden from You Lord. They may as well transgress Your will, in broad daylight.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/

03/12/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/txLJh_VlUN4

Psalm 139:6; Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

Psalm 139:6 ⌊This⌋ extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to ⌊reach⌋ it.

God’s limitless attributes are beyond the reach of man's mind; it is too high for the Psalmist or you and I to grasp it, it is beyond man's comprehension but even in my imagination, it seems to be always above me, and I must accept it as an article of faith. Our mind has no line with which to measure the Infinite; it is by faith alone that we believe and admire Him.

When we are about to look upon God's perfections, we should observe our own imperfections, and thereby learn to be the more modest in our searching of God's unsearchable perfection. Such knowledge not only surpasses my comprehension but even my imagination. Only then are we able to see the most of God, then is when we see him incomprehensible, and see ourselves swallowed up in the thoughts of his perfection? Then we are forced to fall into admiration of God. In a single view, He surveys the past, the present, and the future. No inattention prevents him from observing; no defect of memory or judgment obscures his comprehension. An eternity past and an eternity to come are, at the same moment, in his eye; and with that eternal eye, he surveys infinity. How amazing and how inconceivable? His presence has no dependence on space or matter. His attribute of essential presence was the same even if the universal matter was blotted out. There is a mystery about His Divine Omnipresence, which we are unable to solve.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/
where you will find indexed volumes of previous Breakfast Bible Bytes

03/11/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/3h3N08Z4Ld4

Psalm 139:5 God’s consciousness and His presence

God’s consciousness and His presence tend to act as a curb against an undue assertion of what unredeemed men will claim as their worldly rights.

Verse 5 of 139; You have enclosed me behind and before And laid Your hand upon me.
One who finds the way blocked up turns back; but David has found himself hedged in behind as well as in front, he is hemmed in, God was in every direction. There is a transition implied here from the Omniscience of God to that of His Omnipresence. The clear text appears to be an indifferent transition from God's omniscience to his omnipresence, out of which the Scriptures represent it as arising. "Behind and before", that is on all sides. The idea of above and below is suggested by the last clause.

The reality of God’s presence was so strong that David felt trapped by his thoughts, unable to escape in any direction. There was no way for him to escape from the Lord's surveillance, as he could sense the hand of the Lord upon him, holding him within the boundaries of God’s will, guarding him against an unbridled use of freedom. His consciousness of God’s presence tends to act as a curb against an undue assertion of what unredeemed men will claim as their worldly rights. This conviction causes David to cry out. Behind him, God is recording his sins, as well as God’s grace blotting out the remembrance of them. when we find ourselves in perceived bo***ge, we must remember that God is omniscient and foreknowing all our deeds providing for all our wants.

The prisoner marches along surrounded by a guard and gripped by an officer. God is very near; we are wholly in his power; from that power, there is no escape. It is not that God’s will overwhelms, but as a gigantic rock, His will is unmovable. Shall we not say that our heavenly Father has folded his arms around us and caressed us with his hand; It is just so with those who are in His faith. If we have received the propitiation of Christ and a new nature from His indwelling Spirit, we are the children of the Most-High.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/
where you will find indexed volumes of previous Breakfast Bible Bytes

03/10/2021

Breakfast Bible Bytes -- A moment with our Creator
Audio rendition of Breakfast Bible Bytes
https://youtu.be/taXp9q4vhmc

There is not a word from my tongue uttered, muttered, or unuttered, including the agenda behind my thought that God doesn’t know, Divine knowledge is perfect, there is not a word from my tongue including the agenda behind my thought that God doesn’t know

Psalm 139 verses 2-4 God is Omniscient
Psalm 139:2-3, You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

The Lord knows my sitting down in all of the various circumstances in our lives, the Lord knows us, He knows us when we sit to meditate, and He knows when we rise up to move our thoughts into action. And by the way, "Uprising" following "down sitting" is in the correct order of sequence; for action ought to follow meditation. The truth is that we can do nothing that our Lord does not take notice of. He observes us in every posture, occupation, or form of entertainment even before the desire is fully formed or an idea takes shape, the Lord proves it out; He weighs it even before it happens even while the action is going on. My conduct and yours are uncovered before the eyes of our God. He is with us even in self-imposed renunciation and when we dare to pridefully boast.

Psalm 139:4 Even before [lo!] there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

Before a word is ever uttered; all that I am disposed to say, the Lord knows exactly what is about to be said. Divine knowledge is perfect, there is not a word from my tongue uttered or unuttered, including the agenda behind my thought that God doesn’t know, He can sift the truth from the insincere, the false or hypocritical. The words admit a double meaning. John Calvin wrote, “Accordingly some understand them to imply that God knows what we are about to say before the words are formed on our tongue; others, that though we speak not a word, and try by silence to conceal our secret intentions, we cannot elude his notice. Either rendering amounts to the same thing, and it is of no consequence which we adopt. The idea meant to be conveyed is, that while the tongue is the index of thought to man, being the great medium of communication, God, who knows the heart, is independent of words. And use is made of the demonstrative particle lo! to indicate emphatically that the innermost recesses of our spirit stand present to his view.” Spurgeon sees the tongue as a seed in the soil, what it will become is evident only to God.

Breakfast Bible Bytes Posts Daily on Http://MeWe.com/i/Evg.GregDeans
Or on http://breakfastbiblebytes.org/
where you will find indexed volumes of previous Breakfast Bible Bytes