Deuteronomy 6:1-7: Poison and Children

Presented to TSA Harvest Community, 20 Sept 26

By Major Michael Ramsay

 

Based on the 19 July 2081 devotion that can be read here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2018/07/devotion-350151-deuteronomy-61-7-poison.html 

 

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

The other week my daughters and I went to see Guns n Roses in Concert. I am blessed. We have seen Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Metallica, Live, Poison, Cheap Trick, Kiss, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Joan Jett and others in concert together. It is a lot of fun to be able to share these experiences with my daughters.

 

When we went to the Poison, Cheap Trick concert in Toronto years ago, it was a Father's Day present and this was a good way to celebrate Father's Day: listening to music from when I was a teenager with my (at that time) teenagers. My daughters actually like this old music! I don't know how they developed the same taste in music as I have. I think it was originally from a school (History?) assignment of Sarah-Grace's but I am not sure. I know that even though I don't listen to music a lot, they did have the chance to hear my old tapes. Some of my influence must have rubbed off on them. Rebecca even at one point had a cassette player and would play my old tapes! (They would also listen to my old music however people consumed music at that time). They must have picked up something from my influence! 

 

Deuteronomy speaks about the importance of teaching our children well. They can learn from us so easily. As much as I enjoy going to concerts and listening to music from the 80's with my teens; I even more enjoyed reading the Bible with them when they were at home and am thankful that today they read the Bible on their own and pray on their own and worship God on their own and in community. A few years ago, when all our kids still lived at home, Susan and I were unable to go to church for a few weeks in a row. My kids still went all on their own. It was a real blessing and a great encouragement to everyone at the church. 

 

Today, I encourage you to read the Bible with your kids and grandchildren when they are little. Talk to them about God and the Bible and pray as a family. That is indeed a great blessing that I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on.

 

What are other ways we can show children and grandchildren the importance of our relationship with God?

1 Peter 1:22- 2:10: Stepping on Lego

Presented to The Salvation Army Harvest Community, 09 September 2026 by Major Michael Ramsay

  

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, 

“All people are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

25     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you. 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

 

Peter tells us that as we obey God and the Truth, we will love one another truly and deeply. This is a result of being born again.  

 

Grass doesn't live very long – especially during water restrictions in the summer or when it is covered by snow in some parts of this country in the winter. (That is good because it means I don't have to cut it!) Grass is fragile and dies. This is us. We – people – don't live very long, maybe 100 or so years. And maybe much less.  But Peter says that the Word of the Lord endures forever and that those of us who have been born again will be imperishable through the seed of that enduring word. We will live forever.   

Because of this we need to purify ourselves. How can we do this? 

 

2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

    4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 

     7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” 

    They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

 

We were like grass. Now we are like stones. As we come to Jesus, the living stone, we are built into his spiritual house. Peter says that Jesus is the stone that is rejected; he caused people to fall but we will be built into a house around him that will stand forever. 

 

Anybody here ever play with Lego when they were young? Picture this: you build a building. There is one piece that is just too big, too small, too wide, or the wrong shape – it just doesn't fit; so when all the pieces are assembled there is one brick still lying on the floor. That brick is Jesus. Then, in comes your mom and she steps on it; or, more accurately, you step on it! You are the one who didn't use it and you step on it – screaming, crying, holding your foot, hopping up and down, using colourful language. Jesus is that brick that is rejected and the one who rejects him stumbles (or hops). But that isn't the end of the story. 

 

Imagine now that there is a stone block that someone has rejected and others have fallen over it. Someone (God) finds that stone block and builds it into this wonderful eternal home that will never topple. In this scenario, the builder adds you and I and all those born again, as stones, into the house built around the living stone. We are solid. 

 

Those who disobey Jesus will stumble over the stone; those of us who obey him, we will be built into his house and we will be a part of his people, declaring his praises forever. 

 

Once we were grass that would perish. Now we are stones built into a spiritual house on that same ground where the grass once was  – and that house, as much as anyone may huff and puff and try to blow it down, will never perish but will endure forever and you will be a part of it because you have received God's mercy 

  

 

What does it look like in your life when you have received God's mercy and are built into His house?

 

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1 Peter 1:3-9: Mercury, T-Bird, Pink Cadillac...

Presented to TSA Harvest Community, 30 August 2026, by Major Michael Ramsay

 Our Salvation, our inheritance is now in heaven but, in the end, it will come here. It reminds me of a 16-year-old whose dad promised her his fancy car, when she was old enough to drive. The daughter is very excited to turn 16. But even then she isn’t ready to drive. She has to learn: take lessons, pass tests, practice driving. Even after she has turned 16 her dad is still holding the car for her until she is ready to drive. This is what it is like for us. 

Maybe the resurrection of Christ was the promise that God would give us the car of our inheritance, which He is keeping in perfect condition for us in heaven’s garage until we are finally ready to receive it, drive it, care for it, love it, share it, and look after it. 

From the time we are promised the car (and even from the time we turned 16) until we are able to drive it, we still need to walk; we still need to get rides from our parents and if we have older siblings or friends, our friends.  We still need to take the bus, other transit, or maybe ride a bike. Even after we are 16, we can’t drive our car until we have our license.  

Just like the written and driving tests give us experience and knowledge so that we can properly protect the car, others and ourselves; so too the tests in this life make us better able to care for and fully experience our salvation which is held for us in heaven. 

Maybe, extending this analogy further, Jesus is your dad, whom you’ve never seen in person because he had to go off to another country to get his PR or citizenship; you love him as you wait eagerly for your 16th birthday to receive your car from your dad and you long for the day when you will be united with him and can drive together forever in this gift that is your salvation. 

 

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How are you getting ready to receive the gift of the culmination of your salvation that is waiting for you in heaven’s garage?

1 Peter 2:11-17 : Tourists (2026 Version)

Presented to The Salvation Army Harvest Community, 09 August 2026

By Major Michael Ramsay

Read the scripture here: http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%202%3A11-17&version=NIV

Heather was at Teen Camp last week. Just before that Susan, Heather and I were on holiday for a couple of weeks. We traveled through Cashe Creek, Prince George, Smithers, Quesnel, Merit, and other places. It was a lot of fun exploring our province. I was struck by how nice Smithers is. I was also struck by all the smoke with the fires going on. It was a good trip. 

 

Our family has been on many good trips together. We went to The Salvation Army’s Boundless Celebrations in London years ago. We have visited Denmark, Susan and I have visited France, Susan and Sarah-Grace have been to Italy. We have been to Cuba as a family. We have been to the USA quite a bit – because it is so close. 

 

We have noticed when we are traveling that many things have been accomplished by many people in all these different places. We like to stop and read plaques by the side of the road, visit museums, and look at monuments. It always strikes me when we visit the USA though that some of the things celebrated by some of the monuments are things that offend my Canadian sensibilities. Their values and interpretation of history are still a little different from ours. 

 

But here is the thing I need to remember: when I am visiting, I am just a tourist. I can't vote in US elections. I can't change their laws or their culture. I don't have the rights of a US citizen and I shouldn't because I am not one. They are a foreign country. When I am there, I am a gracious guest; I am a tourist and I do not forget that I am no more than that. 

 

It is similar in our life here on earth for Christians. We need to stand up for Christ and we need to serve him. We can't, however, get drawn into things that have no relevance to his eternal kingdom.  We need to serve Christ here while still remembering that we are just tourists in this time and place. We need to be gracious guests but never forget that our real citizenship, our allegiance, our hope and our future life is in Heaven. 

   

Question: how can we act as Christians in an other than Christian world? 

 

Click here to read the original version published March 17, 2008: 

https://salvogesis.blogspot.com/2018/03/1-peter-211-25-philippians-315-21.html

Devotion 3.42/143: 1 Peter 2:1-2 Boxes

Presented to TSA Harvest Community, 19 July 2026 

by Major Michael Ramsay. 

 

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

We have been unpacking a lot of boxes lately as we have just moved to Burnaby after 8 years on the Island. Moving is a difficult time: saying goodbye to old friends even as you prepare to make new friends; trying to tie up loose ends at your current position and find out as much as you can about your new one; cleaning the house from top to bottom; and packing boxes. 

This year as we moved, we moved for the first time without 2 of our 3 daughters. They have grown up. Some of their stuff is still with us; as is all of our stuff. After 8 years in one place, you collect a lot of stuff. As we packed and picked up each item we had to decide: do we want to bring this with us into our new life in our new home, in our new city. That is the same as when we become a Christian or whenever we follow or move closer to our Lord. Do we want to bring whatever malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind with us that we have acquired thus far over a lifetime of living or do we want to leave it behind.  

Actually, every day for all of us it really is like we are packing to move to our new heavenly home so every day we do have to decide what to take with us to the Kingdom to Come and what to leave behind.  

So today, let us resolve not to fill our boxes with malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind but rather to leave those behind as we move closer to our Lord. 

What other things might you wish to live behind as you pack to move into your heavenly home? 

 

Originally published, Thursday, July 19, 2018 (https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2018/07/devotion-342143-1-peter-21-2-boxes.html)

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1 Peter 2:1-5: Grow Up Strong (January 08, 2018)

Presented to TSA Harvest Community in Burnaby, 05 July, 2026 by Major Michael Ramsay

When Sarah-Grace, one of my daughters, was five years old, she would ask us every night if we would read the Bible to her since at Sunday school the teacher sang with the children, “read your Bible, pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow …” She took this truth to heart her whole time growing up was faithful in reminding us to read her Bible. 

Reading the Bible has also been very important to me since I was in elementary school. I personally have tried to read my Bible every day since I was ten or nine. I can’t imagine not reading my Bible regularly. It is exciting. It is transformative. 

The very first doctrine of The Salvation Army states that “the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.” 

In Romans 1:16-17, Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” 

The gospel is contained in the Bible. The word ‘gospel’ (Gk: euangelion) itself means ‘good news’ or ‘good message’ (cf. Isa 40:9, 52:7). It is the whole Christian message. It is the information, from none other than God, that Jesus, God’s unique Son has become the spearhead of God’s ‘kingdom to come’ and the news that, in this new kingdom all that is bad, even sin and death themselves, have already been defeated. 

The Bible is exciting. It is given by the inspiration of God Himself and gives us examples and encouragements on how to live a life where we are truly free to serve God. It contains the good news that Jesus died, rose from the dead, and is coming back for us. The power of the gospel contained within can transform our lives completely as we accept the truth of Jesus’ gift of eternal life. 1 Peter 2:2 reads, 'As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow.' Why should we read our Bibles? We should read our Bible because as we do we will indeed grow, grow, grow. 

Do you read your Bible on a daily basis? What other ways can you grow and what can you do to encourage others to do the same? 

Presented to River Street Cafe in Toronto, 18 September 2015 and 20 January 2017 (https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2015/09/week-52-1-peter-22-grow-op.html)

 

Based on the article by Captain Michael Ramsay, Why Should I Read the Bible? Nipawin Journal (February 2008) On-line: http://sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#Bibl  

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Romans 10:3-13: Say it! Know it! Do it!

 Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 11 Sept. 2011; Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto, 14 Feb. 2016; The Warehouse Mission, Cabbagetown, 11 Feb, 2018; and TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, 11 May 2025 by Major (Captain) Michael Ramsay

 

Also included in Chapter 6 of SALVOGESIS Guidebook to Romans Road by Michael Ramsay (The Salvation Army: Vancouver Island, 2022)

 

THIS IS THE 11 MAY 2025 VERSION

 

Click to see the original version here:

https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/09/romans-109-say-it-know-it-do-it.html

 

Click to see the abbreviated 2018 version here:

http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2018/02/romans-109-say-it-know-it-do-it.html

 

Romans 10:9: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” These are some of the basics of the whole Christian faith.

 

As it is Mothers’ Day. I have one sort of Mother’s Day story that relates to this. This story is a piece of wisdom that was presented to us at a gathering of Salvation Army Officers by Major David Ivany, who at the time, was in charge of Spiritual Care for all of Canada and Bermuda. He shared this story with us about a kind elderly mother and grandmother who upon a public confession of faith is experiencing the pure joys of Christian love.

 

This lady, Emma, she goes into a local Christian bookstore and sees a ‘Honk if you love Jesus’ bumper sticker. Feeling particularly good that day because she has just come from a great choir practice and prayer meeting, she buys the bumper sticker, and she puts it on her car – professing her faith publicly. She recalls, “Boy, I’m glad I did! What an uplifting experience “It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus,” she said, “because if he hadn’t honked, I’d never have noticed that the light had changed!” She then noted that indeed, lots of people actually love Jesus because while she sat unmoving, blocking the lane of traffic, the guy behind her also honked like crazy before leaning out of his window and screaming, “For the love of God! Go! Go! Jesus Christ, Go!” She remembers thinking, “What an exuberant cheerleader he was for the Lord!”

 

Suddenly, it seemed as though she had started an epidemic and everyone started honking. Impressed by such a response, she leaned out of her window and started waving and smiling at all these loving people – while she was still parked in front of the intersection. “I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love!” she recited. Then she realized the mix of celebrants. “There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a “sunny beach… I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger in the air. I asked my teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant, and he suggested that it was probably an Hawaiian good luck sign or something…”

 

The woman admitted that she had never met anyone from Hawaii before and was unaware of their customs. “I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign right back,” she reminisced.

 

She also remembers that a few persons were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards her. “I’ll bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended but that was when I noticed that the light had changed. So, I waved to all my loving sisters and brothers in Christ, grinned joyously, and drove on through the intersection. I noticed that I was the only car that made it through the intersection before the light changed again and I felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared, so I slowed the car down, leaned out of the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time before I sped away.”

Key to our salvation, like with the bumper sticker, Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

I do have a bit of a teaching background and this pericope does lend itself to an older style of teaching from way back; so as well look at this, I will take us through a 3-point discourse complete with plenty of repetition – like we were taught to teach a million years ago. The three points we will address today are: Romans 10:9: One, “Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’; two, believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”; and, three, Romans 10:13: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” In other words:

 

1) Confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth: Say it.

2) Believe in your heart in His resurrection: Know it.

3) Call on the name of the Lord: Do it.

 

We must remember that God has offered the whole world a free gift of Salvation (Romans 6:23, John 3:16-17) and to fully take advantage of it we should say it! Know it! Do it!

 

1) Say it! Romans 10:9: Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord

This is important. Whenever I hear this verse, I immediately think of the Apostle Peter, the rock upon which Christ built His church (Matthew 16:13-16; cf. Mark 8:27-29, Luke 9:18-20). Jesus told Peter that He was going to use him to help build His church. This was at the time Jesus gave Simon the nickname ‘Peter’. Peter wasn’t his given name; Simon was his given name. Peter means ‘Rock’ or even ‘Rocky’. Simon ‘Rocky-Peter’ was one of Christ’s main ‘go to’ people after His resurrection and we remember the story about how Jesus told Rocky-Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before the cock crows twice, then shortly after Peter says ‘I don’t know what your talking about’; shortly after Peter’s third denial that he even knows Jesus; the rooster crows and Peter is devastated (Matthew 26:69-75; cf. Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:55-62, John 18:15-27).

 

Point #1 about Salvation today: Say it! (Cf. also Luke 21:12– 15; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11; 1 Peter 3:13–16, 21) Simon Peter had his chance to confess Jesus as Lord but he declined it. If the story ended there this would be very sad but John 21:15ff, records Simon Peter’s restoration, as Rocky, as Peter. The Resurrected Lord asked him three times to feed his sheep and Peter agreed to it. Near the conclusion of the book of John, Jesus then blows on Peter -and the other disciples- giving him the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). Luke picked up the story of Rocky-Peter in the book of Acts as Rocky-Peter was at Pentecost taking the lead as the Holy Spirit, like a starting pistol, sent the disciples and more out to proclaim salvation to the world. Acts 2, after they share the gospel in many different languages as the Spirit enabled them, the Lord added to their number daily those being saved. Point 1, Romans 10:9, say it!

 

Peter and the disciples said it and many were saved. And just to underscore the fact that Peter did fully recover from his earlier denial, church tradition states that Peter even earned his martyr’s crown. He was apparently crucified upside down as he left his life here for heaven to await the resurrection. Point 1: Say it! This brings us to Point 2.

 

2) Know it! Believe in your heart in His resurrection.

It is very important to proclaim the gospel but that is not the end of it. Speaking is one thing and believing is quite another. If you have any doubt about that, think about the general reputation (accurate or not) of our elected politicians – speaking is one thing, believing what you say is quite another. Paul in this section of scripture is really addressing the whole problem of Israel (Romans 9-11; cf. also Deuteronomy 30, Leviticus 18). He is addressing the problem of the Law and their relationship to the Law and their relationship to God. He is very concerned about people who are quite happy to say what needs to be said – the Pharisees, as a group, did believe in the resurrection and as a group were quite evangelistic (cf. Acts 23:7-8)! But believing in your heart in Jesus’ resurrection is quite a different matter (1 Corinthians 15:17; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:13-14). The Apostle Paul - who was a Pharisee - celebrated the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead but sadly many Israelites and even many Pharisees did not. It pained Paul that people who were zealous for God’s Law were indeed missing out on the benefits of the culmination of that Law: Jesus, the one to whom the Law points (cf. Romans 9:1-5; 10:1-4; Matthew 5:17,18; Luke 16:16; Acts 4:12; Galatians 3:19-24).

 

Salvation is about,

Point 1, Saying it, confessing that Jesus is Lord, and it is also about,

Point 2, Knowing it, really believing in your heart in the resurrection and in Jesus’ resurrection.

 

This, of course, is a central part of not only Paul’s message but of all of Christianity (Romans 6:9, 9:16; 1 Corinthians 15:17, 20; 2 Corinthians 4:13-14; Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:9-11; Colossians 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:9; Revelation 1:17-18; cf. Deuteronomy 30:14, Acts 4:12, Isaiah 28:16). N.T. Wright tells us, “Almost all early Christians known to us believed that their ultimate hope was the resurrection of the body. There is no spectrum such as in Judaism. Some in Corinth denied the future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15.12), but Paul put them straight; they were most likely reverting to pagan views, not opting for an over-realized Jewish eschatology” [1] Belief in the resurrection and the resurrection of Christ is central to Christianity. To review what we know so far about Romans 10’s three points of Salvation:

1) Say it! - Confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth.

2) Know it! - Believe in your heart in His resurrection.

3) Do it! - Call on the Name of the Lord.

 

3) Do it! Call on the Name of the Lord.

This is important. Saying it is good. Knowing it is better. Doing it is imperative. This fact is also implied in Verse 9. The scriptures speak about this quite a bit (cf. Leviticus 18:5 and Deuteronomy 30:11-16, cited in vv. 5-8; Luke in Acts 2:16-21 and Paul here are both quoting from Joel 2:32). I believe that Matthew actually paints this picture quite vividly. In Matthew 25:31ff is recorded the parable of the sheep and the goats. In this parable you have two groups of nations. Both groups – the sheep and the goats – 1) say it and 2) know it, that Jesus is Lord. But it is only the sheep that 3) do anything about it. As a result, only the sheep are saved. The goats who don’t do anything are sent to where there is a weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 7:21 is quite clear on this matter: it is recorded there that the Lord says “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven”: Say it! Know it! Do it!

 

We must actually call on the Name of the Lord. We have to call on Him. We have to trust Him. This is important. For example, it is one thing for me to confess that I know my wife; it is another thing to believe in my heart the many wonderful things that have been done by and through her: these are wonderful things but my relationship with Susan only grows when I actually call on her, when I actually spend time with her. I can say she is my wife all I want; I can believe she is my wife all I want; but we only actually have a marriage if I bother to see her, to call on her sometimes. This is important. Christianity isn’t some academic pursuit. Christianity isn’t some code. Christianity isn’t some rules and regulations. Christianity isn’t some club. Christianity isn’t some principles by which we should live our life. Christianity is a relationship with the risen Christ. Jesus Christ rose from the grave and we are promised that, Romans 10:13 “…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” He loves us and He wishes that none will perish. And Salvation in our text today is as easy as 1, 2, and 3. It is my prayer today that every one of us will:

 

1) Say it! - Confess Jesus as Lord with our mouths.

2) Know it! - Believe in our hearts in His resurrection.

3) Do it! – That we would call upon the Name of the Lord

 

Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Matthew 11:30: “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” And blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Psalm 118:26, Matthew 21:9, Matthew 23:39, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, Luke 19:38, John 12:13). Romans 10:9a, say it: confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Romans 10:9b, know it: believe in your heart in Jesus’ resurrection. And above all else, Romans 10:13, do it: Call upon the Name of the Lord and then even we shall be saved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 147:7-11: Does God Prohibit the Kilt?

Presented to Alberni Valley Salvation Army Men's Breakfast, 25 January 2025 by Major Michael Ramsay

 

7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;

make music to our God on the harp.

 

8 He covers the sky with clouds;

he supplies the earth with rain

and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle

and for the young ravens when they call.

 

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his delight in the legs of a man [or ‘the warrior’];

11 the Lord delights in those who fear him,

who put their hope in his unfailing love.

 

Psalm 147:10: “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man.” I thought this was an appropriate passage to look at on Robbie Burns Day. For Christmas one year Susan bought me some Bible Commentaries on Psalms. In one of these books the author, Peter C. Craigie, from Scotland, writes:

 

…. It was the custom in Scotland for boys to wear the kilt to church on Sunday; to this day I can recall singing the words of Psalm 147:10 ‘Neither delighteth he in any man’s legs’. I pondered at that time the question of whether scripture condemned the kilt.[1]

 

Now, of course, this poem/psalm isn’t speaking about the kilt. When it says God doesn’t delight in the legs of a man (many translations actually say ‘warrior)’ or the strength of horse, it is talking about infantry and calvary. That was something God has spoken about lots: we can’t put our faith in the military or in anything else but him – everything else will let us down.

 

Canada is really worked up right now. Canada, for decades, we mistakenly put our faith in free trade with the US. It didn’t ever work great but now that we are no longer economically self-sufficient the US looks like it is declaring a trade war on us, as was always inevitable from the time we signed the agreement. We can’t put our faith in foreign countries. We can’t put our faith in their militaries, their economies or ours.

 

Even more so in our own day to day life – not just countries and politicians, people let us down all the time. We believe someone when they tell us something. We trust someone when they say they are going to do something. We rely on someone when maybe we know better. The truth is we do need to work well with each other, support each other, trust and love one another but there is only one who will never let us down – and that one is God. And really if everyone and everything else in life does let us down, God promises that He will never leave us or forsake us.