Mathew James

Psalm 97 and 98 both describe what praise and worship are supposed to look and sound like, and whom and where it should come from. The entire earth and everything in it are encouraged to shout and sing about the great deeds that God has done.

The Psalms is a big book of songs and poetry. What follows are my thoughts on parts of Psalms 91-96. Psalm 91 is a wonderful picture of the protection that comes to everyone who lives in God's house.

Esther:

• Prayer warrior
• Community organizer
• Beauty pageant winner
• Ambassador
• Babylonian queen
• Teenager

Esther is the only book in the Bible besides Song of Solomon that never mentions God by name. Instead, it uses the life and choices of its major characters to show how the God of Israel loves and cares for both the nation of Israel and a young woman and her family.

Did you ever analyze your growth?

• Charts
• Tape measure
• Calendars

When we were younger, getting bigger was a big deal, even if it was only a couple of inches. It seemed that as we grew, we were better off.

In chapter 43, Ezekiel saw “the glory of the God of Israel.” God’s glory is the visible manifestation of the invisible nature of God. Whenever the Lord reveals himself to someone, it comes in a package of goodness: it could be mercy, compassion, forgiveness, loving kindness, or justice. Just like Moses, we can’t look directly at the face of God, but we can hear and see the Lord declare how good he is.