"Illumination"

"They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed." (Psalms 34:5) Does it not seem the least bit strange that the cause of worry in our lives is somehow associated with darkness? Really, if you think back to the very first day you accepted Christ into you heart, knowing that all of you sins were gone, and you were made whiter than the snow in that single instant; how much did you fear or worry about anything at that time? I can remember only one thing that I was concerned about, and that was how I could get my wife and others to accept Jesus into their hearts, and how soon could I make it happen. It took me two weeks to lead my wife to the Lord over the phone; although I had tried to the very same hour that accepted Jesus into my heart; but it took a little more than just me telling her what Jesus did in me, I needed to show her what He did!!! Fortunately for me, it only took two weeks of multiple phone calls and two visits that consisted of looking at each other through glass while speaking on phones. I remember that my grandfather came with her that second Sunday, maybe to get a second opinion of what she was seeing; because after the first Sunday, she walked away bewildered, not knowing what to think. My grandfather had always said that he believed in God, but never really went to church or put forth any true sign of being a Christian; although he did like to brag about the open Bible that was on display within his Masonic Lodge, where he once was a high ranking leader. Some twenty years prior to that time, he had swooped up his wife, and taken everything he had, bought a ranch in east Texas, and even purchased grave sites at the local cemetery; apparently not planning to come back to California ever again; although grandma tried to fit in, but you could tell she missed her family. I can remember speaking to my wife that night on the phone and sensing her acknowledgement of my sincere transformation; therefore, I assumed that they spoke about me as they drove home after our visit, and together had reach some sort of conclusion; at which time I expressed my joy and comfort comes from knowing where I am going to spend eternity, and my only fear is not knowing if she would be there with me; after which she acknowledged her need for Jesus, and I had the privilege of leading her to the Lord, over the phone, and right from that jail! It actually goes beyond being forgiven of our sins, it goes to acceptance, as in, I know and am assured that I am now accepted by God... "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Romans 8:32-35)

"Light-Seeker" -2

" I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalms 34:4) As I ponder the fact that "all" means ALL, I can't help but wonder if all my fears have been dealt with. I know that might seem like something you hardly ever think about, but what it is that might cause us to fear and tremble in this life? Is it the thought of being stricken with some sort of illness? or maybe the thought of a random drive-by shooting? If you look at David's situation after God delivered him from his enemies, he still had something that drove him into a cave, however his fear was no longer of himself, but for his family and those that he cared about. That is the thing that I fear for also; and as I was thinking about this, I could not help but think of all those in my life that depend upon me for help and support, my wife being the most important one of all. As for me, I have really nothing that causes me to fear for myself, except when I sin and need God's forgiveness; it's really important to me to make sure I don't have any sins that have not been confessed, especially when I might be doing something that could result in death; but really, death could come any time and any where; it's all comes down to our time to go, and if it's not your time to go, then don't worry about it! But if it is your time to go, you had better be prepared! Regardless; here is the thing that God has placed upon my heart, and something that I have decided I need to share this Sunday in my message: Whatever your situation might be, or whatever it is that you might be going through; whether it's cancer, or financial ruin, or even a devastating divorce; God will get you through to the other side! I don't care what it is that is devastating your life, if you are his child, you are going to be alright!!! Do you believe that? Do You??? If you do, then stop your whining and seek the Light; as much of His Light as you can get, and then some... "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought of your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" (Matthew 6:22 & 25)

"Light-Seeker"

"I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalms 34:4) I might not get the full meaning of a lot of different things, but one thing I know for sure, the closer you draw towards God, the further away your trouble becomes! I know how sometimes I can get a little carried away on a topic; maybe even going beyond the boundaries of 'sound doctrine'; but on the other hand, who is it that is among us that has all the answers: nobody, that's who. And, if you meet someone that thinks they know all the answers, don't listen to them, because they will deceive you with man-made philosophies. The question might come up about David's reaction to the fear that he felt when he realized they were speaking of his fame of killing their people; which would be, "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands"; however, there was another statement made of him just before they spoke of this, which was, "Is not this David the king of the land?" (1 Samuel 21:11) David may have been anointed by Samuel already, but he had not yet been given the throne; the closest he was to the throne was his friendship with Jonathan and his marriage to Michal, the king's children. As much as it might have been his destiny, in this time of his life, nothing could have been further from the way he saw things: he was running from Saul, hiding in the city of his enemies, and without a plan or a clue of what to do next. So, my question would be, Did David get instruction from God to act like a crazy man? One thing was for sure, is that he needed to remove the appearance of a king, and what is the furthest thing from a king, but a crazy fool? Regardless of what motivated David to do what he did, God's hand was upon that situation, because God's hand was upon David; so, if all of the sudden they were distracted by his craziness, forgetting about his fame, and in fact, wishing he would go away; how is that not God's doing? If God can make a jackass speak, don't you think he can make David be as crazy as it gets? because he was full-on crazy: drooling from the mouth, hanging on the gate, and scrambling around as if whatever he had wrong with him, it was uncontrollable. Would God do something crazy like that? I don't know, but I think our God really does have a sense of humor; and when He wants to, He can do some pretty funny stuff... "And these three men, Shadrach, Mescach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the King was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." (Daniel 3:23-25)

"Light-Unite" -3

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together." (Psalms 34:3) There are two ways to look at this word "together" that David is speaking of; one is a noun, and the other is an adverb; and if you don't know the difference between the two, a noun is a person , place or thing, whereas an adverb can modify a verb, adjective, another adverb, another phrase or a clause; and adverb indicates manner, time, place or degree and answers questions. How this works in a manner that is important for us to know, is that the word "together" is speaking of unity that we have in God, as in, a fixed place where we are taken in Him; meaning, as we magnify the Lord, we are lessened and He is exalted, thereby making us united in Him because He is lifted up; at the same time, we are united together in a group as those that are focused upon the Lord. Why does this really matters all that much, is really determined by what we are actually trying to accomplish when we come together to magnify the Lord; and based upon the previous verses, the actual reason is to praise God by continually giving Him the glory, and thereby boasting of His greatness and how greatly He is our all in all. That might not be what you see in this; but that's okay, because as long as you are praising God, your on the right track; the main thing that needs to be accomplished is to lessen ourselves, as in, we are less important and He is exalted. If we can get to a place where we care less about ourselves and more about pleasing Him, we can actually start to achieve something when it comes to being delivered from whatever it is that has us bound. Looking at Paul's use of this word "together", as in, "all things work together for good", it is a verb, speaking of an action that is taking place, as if to say, to partner in labor, or to assist, or put forth power. The reason this completes Paul thought in the previous verses that speak of the Spirit making intercession for us with groanings, is because we are assured that "all things" will work "together for good", although we might not see how that plays out, or understand the process in getting to the good from a bad looking situation, we know that the Spirit knows what it is that is needed; and although we might not know what to pray for, because there are no answers available on the horizon, the Spirit knows because the Spirit and the will of God are united as one; Jesus also making intercession for His saints according to the will of God the Father. This kind of goes back to that "falling backwards" thing I was speaking of before, in that we must just trust God is in control, and just let go... "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who (or what) can be against us?" (Romans 8:29-31)

"Light-Unite" -2

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together." (Psalms 34:3) Do not think that God is mocked, because He has the last word, and His will is going to be done; those that do mock God in this life are in for a very rude awakening, one they will never forget! On a positive note, we are called to be of one accord; which to some, the meaning of 'one accord' makes them a little uneasy, as if they are an open book to everyone else that is around them; however, it takes away from the true meaning when we focus upon ourselves, because we are called to come together and focus upon the Lord. The meaning of Paul's statement with regards to the "whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together" is not so much that they are all on the same page, but more that they are all in the same boat; a boat that is sinking and where all is ruled by death and destruction; and within that same boat, there are those that are looking towards death, and then there are those that look towards life; it is the life looking ones that groan waiting for redemption from this death into eternal life, while the death looking ones groan because they are dying and so is all that they have. To be in 'one accord' is to be looking towards life together; which means, this world has nothing to offer us because it is dead and dying, therefore we are united in looking towards heaven and to be with Jesus. All other differences aside, this is the one thing that should bring us together as one, because this is not our home! What is it that causes brother to come against brother? It surely isn't looking towards eternal life together; but when there is focus on the things of this world, that's when they strive against each other. Somewhere along the way, someone has been looking towards death, and now they are groaning because of loss, and not focused upon that which they shall gain; no longer in 'one accord', they do not see eye to eye as they should, and value has been placed in the wrong direction. James puts it like this: "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:1-3) It is this looking towards that which is dead and dying, and wanting to hold onto something that you cannot keep because it is fleeing always from you, that is what James is speaking of when he says, "ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain". That said, see if there is any new light shined upon Paul's next statement... "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that seacheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:26-28)

"Light-Unite"

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together." (Psalms 34:3) Actually, when you look up the word 'Bounder', it seems to have kind of a negative light, as if to say, a man of objectionable social behavior, or an obtrusive, ill-breed man. Interesting as it might appear, it's like comparing apples to oranges; for our purpose is to be a Light unto the world, which might offend some that live in darkness; but by no means are we ill-breed, because we have the Spirit of God within us. That said, I am sure that those in the world consider us ill-breed; in fact I know they do. We are those that depend upon a God which we cannot see; those who have not accepted the good social behavior, because society as a whole is not good and is corrupted by sin; those that oppose lifestyles that blatantly promote sinful behavior, and regard such that do so as being in opposition to our God. So yes, we are obtrusive in that regard; but by no means are we ill-breed; quite the contrary, we are Light-Breed, if anything, because we are sons of God; children that have been reborn into a kingdom that is not of this world, nor are we any longer of it, but merely pilgrims awaiting our new home. They say 'Christians' with disdain and opposition because we are a thorn in their side when it comes to living a guilt free life; therefore, we are regarded as underclass citizens, so therefore, who really should care what we say or think; at least in their minds, that's what they think. And with regard to how long and how loud they can protest, this is their world, and they will fight for it with all of their might. We bring peace, not chaos; love, not hatred: sharing the gospel message to a world that is condemned and dying, we are like missionaries to a tribe that cannot feed or care for themselves, but they do not realize it is so, because that's all that they know. Oh, we can get loud, but our loud is praiseworthy loudness, and is giving glory to God; but put along side the roars of a mob, we prefer to let God speak the loudest! Otherwise, we tend to be the loudest when we are united together and we are assembled as a body of believers; not when we are opposed by a crowd, because that is not how the Spirit of God reacts to the world... "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Romans 8:22-25)

"Flash-Light"

"My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad." (Psalms 34:2) Moving on with the knowledge and the child-like relationship with a God that not only loves us, but that also has the power to make all things new, we can boast in that with confidence. If you ever participated in that schoolyard boasting match, the one where you boast about who's dad is better than who's, then you might get a little better understanding of what I am talking about; because the one that usually is boasting the most, and with the most enthusiasm, is the one who gets the attention of those that are listening on. Your dad could have the crappiest job of all, but if you sell it right, and if you make it exciting, you were most likely going to win the argument. Now imagine how much more spectacular our boasting should be about our Heavenly Father, and take that level of acknowledgement and work it into what is being said in the context of this verse. The first thing I thought of as I was meditating on this verse was that of a "Bounder", as in one that bounds about; if you have ever seen the little five minute cartoon, then you might understand that; if not, it's really not that important. As I was looking into the meaning of a few particular words, I was then drawn to title this post "Flash-Light", as in to flash the Light of God before others. When David is speaking about his "soul", he is using a word that describes his breath of life, meaning that which moves him, that gives life to all that he is, and all that he wants to be; this includes his passion, his appetite, his emotions; the life of the creature that he is, based upon all that he knows; hence the reason for the female gender, because it is that which causes birth of new emotions, new passions, and a new appetite for living. With this breath of life, the excitement of what is being said can be understood, and the power behind "boast" can be known, because it is a word that means to shine, to be clear, and to be brilliant; as if to say, With all that I am, I will illuminate the Lord as my breath of life, and as the one that makes me move. The real "Flash-Light" part of what is being said, is that which is described in the second part of the verse, as in, "the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad". Back to the schoolyard boasting match, there are those that can see the enthusiasm in our praise for what our dad might do, taking that same enthusiasm and transferring into their own lives, taking that which their own dad does in a new light. This works pretty much the same when it comes to sharing about our Heavenly Father; whereas, those that are "humble", meaning that they are in need of encouragement, will receive it with gladness... "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Romans 8:18-21)

"Perpetual Praise" -3

"I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalms 34:1) Now the thing that makes this a perpetual conversation, if you care to call it that, is the concept of the "mouth", this hole that is placed between our nose and our chin. Odd as that might sound, within the area of "praise", it has more significant meaning than you might tend to think. First of all, God has created us to worship Him; which is in and of itself a form of divine fellowship; we are created to give God glory, and because He created us in His image, He set the design to be glorified. And, just because we can't see what God has done, does not mean that it is not so; for as He has said, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways"; but in the end, all will be as God created it to be. I wonder how we can seem to forget that as often as we do; it's almost as if we think with our eyes more than with our hearts; you think? When we look at the meaning of the word "mouth" we see a whole variety of applications; some pertain to animate objects, and some are fixed; but the one that really touched my heart was the functional application, which included "To speak, mouth to mouth, without any one between". The reason that this application has so much impact upon our hearts, is because this is the application represented in Romans 8:15, where Paul says, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." The point of what that represents, is that we know we are His child, therefore, we speak to Him as His child; mouth to mouth, without any one between Him and us, His children. Now we can see the perpetual conversation a little more clearly; because it is not necessarily about the quantity of time that we spend praising God, but more about who it is that we are praising, and who we are in Him; and because that is what it is, it therefore becomes eternal and forever..."For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for and everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:12 & 13)

"Perpetual Praise" -2

"I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalms 34:1) It's not as if we can't continually bless the Lord or praise Him all the time, because we can, and we will one day surely do just that; but as many of us have clearly discovered, this is not a perfect world, and we have not yet reached that state of perfection; but one day we surely will! James puts it like this: "For every kind of beast, and of birds, and of serpents, and of all things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." (James 3:7-10) I tend to understand and agree, these things ought not to be, but neither should sinful thoughts enter into our minds, and yet, I just can't seem to get a handle on that either. So where are we, and in what condition are we to be, if these things are the way that they are? First and foremost, I am saved, that much I am sure of; my soul is forever to be with the Lord from that day forward, and I have His promise in that; however, I have this thing; a thing that craves the things of this world, primarily because it is of this world; which is the flesh. Now I know that I am born again, and this flesh is to be counted dead in Christ; but wouldn't you know it, it just seems to still be hanging around! "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24) The word "perpetual" is meant to mean forever and unending; it goes and goes forever without an intermission; obviously not something that we are capable of in this lifetime; however, it is something that we can proclaim to do, and it is something that we should make our banner and our goal. In other words; it is what we should set out in our hearts to become a reality in our lives; and when we do not have it going on, we need to make it so; and when we can't make it so, then we need to ask God to make it so. One way or another it has got to happen; and when it does not, it is because you know who has shown up, and is trying to have his way... "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 7:25-8:4)

"Perpetual Praise"

""I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalms 34:1) What a wonderful way to start out any morning, or any journey that one might endeavor to begin; don't you think? I don't know about you, but any time I prepare a message, or begin something like a retreat or a conference, I always try and prepare my heart for what God is going to show me; making the journey that is before me, not about learning something new, but about God doing something new in my life. "Change my heart, Oh God; make it ever new. Change my heart, Oh God; may I be like You." That is what I pray! Now if you think that praising the Lord continually is something of a stretch, you are not far off; however, when it comes to preparing your heart for something big that God is going to do in you, you had better be prepared to give Him praise, especially when things start to get uncomfortable. Typically, when most men start getting that feeling of being uncomfortable with a message, they cross their arms, as if to guard their heart; mostly, they really may not realize what they are doing, but it's a natural reaction to feeling that they are being led where they really do not want to go. Women on the other hand, when they cross their arms, it's more like, "Get out of my kitchen", kind of a thing; but when they feel threatened by a message, they just turn it off, as in, will not listen, usually by replacing the words with some 50's song in their head. Actually, I really don't know what they do; but when it comes to preparing our hearts before the Lord, we must prepare to put down our defenses and let God work upon our hearts. Whatever it is that is your defense against having God change your heart, you must prepare yourself to turn it off; and one sure way to get your self prepared for that, is to make this verse your prayer and your mission. The word "bless" has a very submissive meaning, as in, I will prepare myself to kneel down before my God; especially when I may not feel like kneeling! It's the "at all times" part that we usually have a problem with, because we never intentionally set out to not kneel down, but let there be something usual in an unusual moment, and see if our intentions remain. As for our hearts, they must remain as this: "You are the Potter; I am the clay. Make me, and mold me; this is what I pray"... "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:8-11)

"Praising God for Deliverance"

Psalms 34: Introduction: "A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed." Sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don't! And then, there are those times when you just get nutty! Now if you were following what I said at the beginning of Psalms 33, as to who it might have been that inserted that Psalm between 32 and 34, whether or not he wrote it, it is believed that Ezra arranged the Psalms in the order that they are today; and seeing that his name means 'help', isn't more than a coincidence that between forgiveness and deliverance we need assurance. Again, this might just be me, reading way too much into something that really does not exist; but I just find it very odd how that actually is the case; and if you don't know what the heck it is that I am talking about, then stick around, because I believe God might have deliverance waiting for someone; maybe it will be me, because there is always something I need to be delivered from! Anyhow; Psalms 32 was about "Confession and Forgiveness", which is where we begin when it comes to being made right before God; and Psalms 33 was about "Praising God", for He is our righteousness, and as in most cases, the final verse of the Psalm is the punchline if you will; making "Let Thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee" be the power of the praise, as in, How Much Do You Want His Mercy? or, for those of us that are a little more thickheaded or hardhearted, which ever the case may be, How Much Do You Hope In God? It really is all about "Blessed Assurance"; and when it comes to deliverance from almost anything, sometimes you really just need to let go of yourself and let God take over! That might get a little scary, because you really don't know what the outcome might be; but if you have assurance in God, nothing else really matters. The story of the introduction is found in 1 Samuel 21:10-15, and was when David fled into Gath when he was running away from Saul; Gath being the region from which Goliath was from, in the land of the Philistines. After the servants of Achish (or Abimelech which means father king), knew who David was, and rehearsed the song about him, saying, "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands", David feared for his life, and began to act as if he was insane; "scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard". (1 Samuel 21:13) Not exactly a well thought out plan, but one that seemed to work; because the king drove David away from him for fear that his craziness might disrupt his house, and David was able to depart from a threatening situation, with his life. This is what assurance in God can do to you, or for you, depending what you situation might be: You let yourself go, and let God deliver you..."Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6 & 7)

"...For More!"

"Let Thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee." (Psalms 33:22) As I was typing this address just now, I realized as I was typing that it was 33:22; and I was instantly aware of something: God will always have more mercy than I need! He has abundant mercy! It is me that lacks the hope in Him! God forgets all my sins, I seem to always remember them; therefore, it's not an even scale by which we are measured; and according to this address, we are, at our best, only two thirds there! Incredible, don't you think? Either God has always a third more mercy than we actually will ever need, or we lack the third of the hope we need in Him to have perfect hope; maybe that's where grace comes in? I could just be reading way too much into something that does not even exist; but, on the other hand, don't you think that it is true? When it comes to anything, whether that be giving, or sacrifice, or love, we can never out-give God; He will always have more resources than we will ever need; He provided the greatest sacrifice of all; and His love, well we won't even go there, because His love is beyond measure! Hope, as many of you should have realized, is based upon our faith. Now then; as solid and as sure as trust might be, faith can go farther!!! Remember what I said, how trust is predicated upon that which we are sure of, therefore, we can be assured that it is so, and we trust it to be so; faith on the other hand goes further than that, because it hopes in what it cannot see. For example; had Peter depended upon his faith in Jesus instead of that which he saw happening, then maybe he could have been stronger; but chances are he wouldn't, because Jesus is never wrong. Truth be told, who is it that is among us, that has not at one time or another denied our Lord; whether that be from our actions or our words, depending upon our situation and the circumstances that surround us, do we ever not portray Jesus in all that we do and everywhere we go? I think we absolutely need more mercy! And yet, God has what we need and more, all we need to do is ask... "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." (Psalms 34:8)

"Making It Count..." -3

"For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His Holy Name." (Psalms 33:21) They say, Seeing is believing, which may be true in the area of trusting what is truth. Faith, although extremely important in our walk with the Lord, is the determined will to follow that which you believe is the truth; and depending on what you put your faith in, is the overall value of your faith. Trust is based upon what we know is sure, as in, I know that there is a God, because I see His fingerprints over all of creation, and no one will ever convince me otherwise! Now, when it comes to how that God, whom I know exists, and my relationship with Him, that is based upon my faith; at the same time, I trust in Him to be all that He says He will be, is based upon His Holy Name, which is observed and witnessed. The word for "holy" is the word 'qodesh' which means apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness; the general idea behind the word is that which is hallowed when used as an adjective; however, when added to another noun, it too becomes a noun, which goes beyond the descriptive qualities and becomes the thing, as in His Holy Name means He is called Holy because He is holy, period. The "Name" part of that in which we trust is the word 'shem', which is a word that we have looked at before, and it means fame, glory, reputation; all of which depict knowledge that He is based upon that which He has done: He created the heavens and the earth; He created all life and is the Life; He has delivered His people from bondage; He was, is, and always will be; and He is coming back, just as He said He would!!! I just had to throw that in there; with all the craziness going on in the world, it only a matter of days; years are no longer a consideration, I believe; and based upon the condition of this world, it's only going to get more crazy, not better. Anyhow; the point that I am trying to make is how important it is that we trust in God, which again, is not based upon any ability of ours whatsoever, but is solely based upon who He is and what He is capable of doing, because He is God! In this fact, we must rejoice; it's really not an elective thing in our hearts, it's what our heart has got to do, based upon the fact of who God is and what He has done for us. When it comes to praising God, our praise is for Him, and is not about whatever we might be feeling inside, or whatever we might be going through; because, truth be told, every day is not a perfect day; but every day, God is worthy of our praise... "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:14-17)

"Making It Count..." -2

"For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name." (Psalms 33:21) Now just in case you were thinking about a "leap of faith" and confused that with my illustration of falling backwards, you are highly mistaken; a leap of faith is something hoped for, as in, I will leap out because I believe God will catch me, or I will leap because I believe God will protect me. My illustration of falling backwards was all about trust, meaning that I know God has me, therefore I am safe! Two very different things! Okay, maybe you can't see that quite clearly enough yet; so let's discover the difference for a moment. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"; which clearly says that our faith is predicated on that which we have not realized yet, but hope will be. Now, look at 1 John 1:1-4, by which we can see what trust looks like, as he says, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life; for the Life was manifested, and we have seen IT, and bear witness, and show unto you that Eternal Life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us; that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." Besides all that, the verse we are looking at today clearly says, "because we have trusted", which is predicated upon the past events, meaning we know that God does what He says He will do, because we have witnessed it ourselves. And furthermore, as I said yesterday, we can read His word and see how much He loves us, putting our faith in that which He says; but God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son; and Jesus surely came, died on that cross, and rose again on the third day! If you look again at John 6:68, Peter used both faith and trust in the same sentence, by saying, "And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". He trusted that Jesus was who He said He was, at least until it looked like He wasn't, and it looked as though His kingdom was being taken from Him; at which point, Peter was dependent upon just his faith, and his faith was obscured by the events that were taking place before his eyes. As a matter of fact; if you look at the three times Jesus asked Peter, "Peter do you love me", the third time Jesus asked Peter that He used the word 'phileo', which means more of the love of a friend; the first two times were the word 'agapao', which is more likened unto "Beloved", and is unconditional; but the third one incorporates something else, something that comes with friendship, which is trust...so go ahead and fall... "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:2-4)

"Making It Count..."

"For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name." (Psalms 33:21) One thing for sure, God has more available for me than I could ever ask for; He has more mercy than I need, and far more grace than I deserve; not to mention, that His love is never ending! Why does God love us so much? Have you ever wondered that? Well, if you have, it's a question that requires only one thing to answer, and that is to trust in His holy name! Sounds pretty easy, don't you think? Ask Peter why don't you; he can tell you what is easy or not. The meaning of this word "trusted", which is to 'trust', is not quite the same as faith; faith is all God, as in, it is in Him that our faith is placed, and in no other; whereas with trust, trust must apply you into the equation, as in, "I will throw myself upon His mercy!" The difference between the two, faith and trust, is based upon our actions and our reactions; faith is what I believe in, while trust is what I do with it! For example, Peter had faith in Jesus, and was sure that He was the Christ; He stated so with much boldness and authority; but when it came to trust, he did not quite have that mastered, and when it really mattered, he denied his Master three times. Trust is something secure, and it does not falter or back down, because it is based upon something that is unmovable and everlasting; in other words, if you believe in your heart that something is so, than your action or reaction in any given moment will confirm your faith by your trust in that which you believe. When it comes to believing that God loves you, we really don't have to rely solely upon His word, which clearly expresses His love for us, because He has proven His love for us by His actions! Okay, here's one for you to ponder: Have you ever envisioned yourself free-falling backwards? If you will; try to imagine that you are standing at the edge of a cliff, with your back to the edge, and then you just fall backwards. That is trust... "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:14-17)    

"Tying The Knot" -3

"Our soul waiteth for the LORD: He is our help and our shield." (Psalms 33:20) I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something I am missing; something mysterious is not unraveling, and I can't quite get my mind wrapped around it. "To Whom Shall We Go?" is speaking to my heart right now; which is from John 6:68, as many had quit following Jesus because they could not hear what He was saying when He spoke of eating His body and drinking His blood, Jesus asked His disciples, "Will ye also go away?"; after which Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Yes, I see, said the blind man! We are tied up in Him! Or a better, more secure way to look at it, He has tied us up in Himself! After Peter had said this, Jesus added something rather odd, but I think it had significant value for another time and place, in that He said, "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He was speaking of Judas Iscariot, the one that should betray Him; and the reason that He brought this issue up, was because He had chosen the twelve of them, and seeing that it was Him that choose them, they were secure in Him; all but one, that being Judas. It's a little like "Kung Fu Panda", the movie, whereas there really was not a secret ingredient in the noodle, just that the knowledge of there being one made the noodle taste yummy; or that there really was not a great power in the dragon scroll, but only a reflection of Po, as he looked to read the secret to becoming the Dragon Warrior. If you do not understand what I just said, that's okay, because what is really important is that we keep our eyes on Jesus; however, the secret power that we have been given in Him, is the mere fact that He has chosen us; the power is in Him, and if He has chosen us, then we are empowered by Him! Anywho; that's the long-short version of the meaning of "our shield", as in, "He is our help and our shield". It is kind of a smaller shield, by which we get to hold onto, but it is actually God that holds it for us, and we are protected by it; because truth be known, the shield not only belongs to God in the first place, but the shield is God, by Whom all power flows...Talk about being tied up in knots; no body can untie His knot!!!
Start Praising God, For He Is Oh So Worthy To Be Praised!

"Tying The Knot" -2

"Our soul waiteth for the LORD: He is our help and our shield." (Psalms 33:20) Let me tell you where this title generated from, because I am sure some of you might be wondering; however, you must realize that the marriage between the Lamb and His church has already begun! As a matter of fact, I believe that Jesus has been preparing for, and making ready His glorious bride since the beginning of time; we are just fast approaching the celebration day to celebrate all that He has accomplished. Anyway, it was the word "waiteth"; a word that speaks of "to tie a knot", as in to bind yourself to God full of confidence, waiting for Him, because He is waiting for you, and He will arise; therefore, we are bound in that confidence, much as a bride to be is bound with confidence to the bridegroom. The way I see it, the knot has already been tied, it's just waiting to be cinched down tightly! Much the same as a virgin being betrothed to her husband to be, in her eyes and heart, the knot is already tied, and that cinching down part will be that day when they become one by the confirmation of their marriage. It's really pretty interesting how some weddings are planned way in advance; sometimes before the bride and groom even know who each other are; however, in this case, the Bridegroom knows and has known the bride before the foundations of the earth! On a very similar note; the word "help", as in "He is our help", has a very interesting twist to it, if you dare to think about it; which goes all the way back to creation, as God was considering a "help meet" for Adam, as in a 'female helper'. Whatever the deal is with sexual intercourse, when we do get to heaven, it will be a thing of the past, as in, they will not be having marriages in heaven; there is only one wedding that takes place there, and that is between the Lamb of God and the Church; so try and figure that one out! It is pretty obvious to me that God knew from the very beginning who man's help meet would actually turn out to be, which is most likely why He created woman from the man, as to not confuse the situation; because man's help meet would ultimately turn out to be Him... "And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the Tree of Life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations. And there shall be no more curse (not even the curse of that other tree): but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants will serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them Light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelations 22:1-5)

"Tying The Knot"

"Our soul waiteth for the LORD: He is our help and our shield." (Psalms 33:20) More than just your average celebration, don't you know! Continuing that thought of everlasting life, I could not help but imagine how much the Lord waits for us, as I thought about waiting for Him, I was thinking of Him preparing a place for us, making ready the wonderful new place where we will be spending eternity together. Yes, I can see that this verse is clearly speaking of "Our soul" that waits for Him, but it is actually a mutual thing that is being spoken of, if you get right down to it. Take Peter's statement about the Lord's promise to return, found in 2 Peter 3:9, as Peter says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." The general idea that I believe Peter is trying to make, is that the Lord sees His bride in a certain fashion, and not only is He preparing a place for His bride, but He is also preparing His bride for her new home; and when she is ready, boom, the time will have come! Now, if you really want to get technical about this, whether it was David writing this, Ezra, Solomon, or any of the other contributor's to the Psalms, they would all have one thing in common, and that is that they would all be waiting for the Lord Jesus to show up with "the keys of hell and of death", (Revelation 1:18); and that side of hell is no longer occupied! So if you really want to talk about waiting, there was a wait that really must have been awesome; especially because all of their doubts of life after death were answered, and now they just waited for Jesus to show up with the keys to their holding place. It's not that way now, our only waiting is for Jesus to return or for our time to go be with Him; unless your waiting for that new Cadillac, and if that's the case, you had better get to work... "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless." (2 Peter 3:10-14)

"Our Great Reward"

"To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine." (Psalms 33:19) Do not doubt God's Word! Ever!!! I know that might sound a little strange, but there are certain portions of His Word that can make the strongest of His children wonder if it's actually really something that happens, or if it's more about principle and illustration; God's Word is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; therefore, we must hold it in such fashion, as such! Let's take death for example, and say, What happens to us that believe upon Jesus when we die? Do we lay there in the ground until Jesus returns? or do we instantly transport into His presence? In other words, Is there a period when we taste death between dying and glory? If we are to take God at His Word, then the answer is pretty clear, there is no period of death, nor does death have any power over us. When Jesus rose from the grave, and when He ascended up into heaven after, all of our death was no more, because He had victory over death and He was glorified in heaven; therefore, when we die, we instantly have victory over death, and we too will be glorified; instantly! You can believe what you want, but I take God at His Word, and looking at the most well known verse in the Bible, John 3:16, it clearly says, "and whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". What part don't you accept, the "should not perish" part, or the "everlasting life" part? Because it seems pretty cut and dry to me! First off, this verse is a continuation of verse eighteen, which I used to give reference to "Our Great Hope"; which is hope that is really not for today in this life, but is our hope for the next: What happens to me when I die? When does God's great mercy on our soul kick in; at the time of my death or what? The way I see it, it happened the moment I asked Jesus to come into my heart; from that moment on I was delivered from death and I inherited eternal life; no ifs, ands, or buts; because it is all about Jesus Christ and what He did, all that I needed to do was to believe in Him! Now as far as this part of the verse which speaks of famine, as in, "and to keep them alive in famine", it clearly means that God will provide whatever we need to sustain life, even if there is nothing available. Yes, that could mean food such as grain and meat, which is what we need for our flesh to continue to live on this earth; but it can also mean our life giving nutrients are dried up, such as our breath and our blood are no longer supplying what the body needs to continue to survive in this life. This is only a tent: a temporary house for my soul to dwell in; and when this tent is destroyed, I will immediately a new and permanent dwelling place...Believe it with all your heart!
"I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John 11:25 & 26)

"Our Great Hope"

"Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy;" (Psalms 33:18) You know, there's something else we fall short of, and it's a little thing called forgiveness! We can't forgive the way God can; I don't care how hard you try, your not going to forgive like God forgives, because when He forgives our sins, they are forgotten; so try doing that to those that sin against you; heck, try doing that with your own sins! When I think about how much God loves me, it breaks my heart constantly; over and over, I remember how I have sinned against Him; over and over, I see Jesus hanging on that cross, paying a price for my sins, and then thinking of the sins that I have committed, even after having received Him into my heart. Talk about hoping for something; if it were not for God's unchanging Word, I would have given up hoping long ago. But God, He does not store up those things and use them against His children! Not like we are so very capable of doing; not the way we use the trespasses of other like stones in the building of a fortress; a fortress not of honor, but of despair. And I know the whole concept of His love verses our love is really hard to understand, but it is based upon an unconditional love; something we can hardly understand, let alone put into practice with each other, because we always establish conditions when it comes to relationships, even though we don't even realize that we are doing it. If you think that I an wrong, then see how much you still love someone that you think has wronged you; let alone, still love someone that has drastically wronged you. The whole idea behind our fear of God, is not because He is capable of crushing us like a bug, but because He sees us; we know He sees us, and yet He has mercy upon us! And, as far as our "hope in His mercy" goes, we actually tend to expect it; a little too much sometimes, but we expect it, nonetheless. In Luke 17:3-4, Jesus is sharing about forgiveness, saying, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." Then, in Matthew 18:21, which was about that same time, Peter approached Jesus with this question, asking, "Lord, how often shall my bother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" In other words, Peter was using what Jesus had said about a brother trespassing seven times, and was trying to get Jesus to verify how many times in a day we should let a brother trespass against us. Jesus answered Peter by saying: "I say unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." That is seventy times seven in a single day, which is 490 times in a day; meaning, in a twenty four hour period, less than every three minutes. Yet, that is how God forgives those that repent of their sins: that is our great hope... "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)  

"Our Deceptions" -2

"An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength." (Psalms 33:17) So, I was thinking about yesterday's post and wondered if anyone out there understood what I was saying, because I hardly understood it myself. When it comes to our deceptions, we tend to put our faith in things that really don't get us all the way to glory; they might bring us glory for a season, but seasons come and go so quickly. When it comes to love; well, let's just say that love is not our greatest strength; as a matter of fact, it is the thing we understand least of all, especially when we are pressed against! Okay, this is far more harder than I thought; let me try another angle, because this has my head spinning. What the Lord is showing me with this verse, is that the horse is compared to our love; our love is a vain thing for safety; safety meaning salvation, deliverance, or victory. The reason that our love is 'a vain thing' is because it will betray us; it is a fraud, a falsehood, and will constantly disappoint us: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) We do have the ability to love, that's not the issue; it's the fact that our ability does not match God's love, nor the level of love required for us to have victory in that area of our hearts; it just does not quite go the distance! And seeing that this Psalm is about "Praising God", then this verse must follow that form of expression; which it does, especially if we understand how God has placed His love within our hearts! Don't tell me you did not know that, because He did, and He does! His love has no bounds; our love does. Just a the horse has great strength, that strength is not enough to deliver anyone, and to depend upon that strength is a deception of our heart, because our own heart will let us down. But God; God has placed His love within us, and it is by His love that we will have victory, not our own! Does that mean that our love can become an idol? You better believe that it can! How do I know the difference between His love and mine? Good question; because an idol is anything that is placed between you and God; so how far does your love go, and if it stops short of God's, it's not His... "No man hath see God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:12-17)

"Our Deceptions"

"An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength." (Psalms 33:17) You can replace "horse" with any number of things that we depend on for safety, be that for protection, or even for financial dependency; anything that we place in our lives that we look to for deliverance, aside from God, is what is commonly referred to as an idol. Idols do not necessarily need to be gods, although many of them are; but anything that we place between us and our Creator is something that has the properties of an idol. If you are like me, you can sometimes get distracted by things of value or pleasure; placing a little too much value in pleasure is usually my biggest downfall, because I like to have fun; whether that be with friends and family, or just heading out on my own and doing something like snowboarding, golfing, or biking; if it's something that gives me pleasure doing, I place value upon it as something that I must do. Can that be an idol in my life? If I let it be, I am pretty sure that it could; but in what regard does it become an idol? The Apostle John was very instructive in his epistles about the love of God, and how we know that we are His children if we love one another; and the concept of loving can become an idol also, if placed in the wrong position. This is something that can become very hard to recognize, let alone try and explain; but a person can love someone for the wrong reasons; and love, just for the sake of loving, may not be love, if it does not consider the person that is being loved. (What does that even mean???) You have no doubt heard the phrase, "Putting the cart before the horse"; a phrase that speaks about placing things in the wrong order; something that we have continually done, and continually do, almost without even knowing that it is happening. When it comes to love, real love has something that it is fixed upon, as in, I love my wife, or I love Jesus; there must be an object to which love has a destination, for love to actually mean anything at all. For example; you cannot say that you love God, if you do not know God; as John says in 1 John 4:19, "We love Him, because He first loved us"; with the general point being, that God has demonstrated His love for us, therefore we know His love for us, and now we are able to love Him back based upon His love, not ours. In that same light, when it comes to loving others, a generic love will not work; in other words, the love we have for others must be the same love we have received from God, whereby He has loved us, and now we can love Him is transferred to our brothers and sisters; as in, I can love them, because God has loved me... "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God loveth his brother also. (Not an option!) Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him." (1 John 4:20-5:1)

"Our Weakness"

"There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength." (Psalms 33:16) What a strange little verse; and yet, if we consider the fall, it was all about physical appearances: "saw that it was good, pleasing to the eyes, to be desired" (Genesis 3:6); all three based upon a perception of the eye, and the idea that what was being looked at was more important than truth and righteousness. It has been said that the eyes are the window to the soul, but I don't think that is necessarily speaking about looking into the eyes, but rather the soul is looking out; I could be wrong, however, our whole lives are we taking in visions of soul altering substances, some to the good, and some to the bad. If I had a subtitle for this blog today, it would be, "Getting Physical", because that is the basic weakness of what we are: we tend to believe our eyes more than our hearts! As a matter of fact, it generally is what we see with our eyes that causes us to believe what we believe, which is just the opposite of what faith is based upon; because "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". (Hebrews 11:1) These last few verses of the 'us side' of this Psalm, although dealing with the issue of what we perceive with our eyes to be real, they also proclaim God's strength in the process. For example; I truly believe that I am here until God is done with me, and then it's time to go home; therefore, I do not care all that much about what might happen to this body, as in sickness or such; if it's my time to go, then it's my time to go, so why prolong things. If God wants me to continue on this earth, then guess what? there is no way I am going anywhere! On the flip side of that, we have the meaning of this verse, and the reason our perception is really not relevant to the overall picture. You can surround a king with a multitude of soldiers, tanks, or any other form of protection, but if God wants to remove that king from where He has placed him, then he is out of there, and there is nothing he can do to prevent it. That same concept is true for those that think they are indestructible, as in really strong; no matter how strong you might think that you are, your strength is not going to save you if God does not want you delivered. Taken at face value, everything we might think looks strong, is nothing compared with the strength of God; I don't care if it looks too impossible to overtake, or too impossible to overcome; if God wants it to happen, then it will happen... "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)    

"Our Persuasion" -2

"He fashioned their hearts alike; He considereth all their works." (Psalms 33:15) Just in case you were wondering how far back God's mercy goes, it plainly says in those few verses of Romans, a book as complex as we are, that God has known all along, what we are, what we capable of, and how it was that He was going to make us right; we just need to get on board with His plan, know that He loves us more than we can ever realize, and we need to love Him back! People that do not think that God loves them any more, for what ever reason that might be, are the ones that give up; they just quit caring, or trying, and sometimes, they will actually try to quit living. The whole point of this title, "Our Persuasion", is that fact that God has fashioned our hearts to receive His love; we are not capable of generating the kind of love that God gives out, but we are capable of receiving it; thereby, once we have received it into our hearts, we are then able to express that same love in our selves, because we then know His love. English walnuts can grow in California, they just require a little grafting to the black walnut stump, and then you have healthy English walnuts that can survive and produce great tasting walnuts in an area that they are not meant to grow. That might sound like a weird assimilation with how God's love works in us, but the basic principle is the same; and if we are not rooted in the love of God, then we are not capable of loving God or each other; at least not the way God has intended us to love. I do not care how hard a person might appear to be on the outside, God can change a man's heart; once that happens, what becomes of someone that was once hard to the core, is now some one that loves to the core, and they become someone hard to persuade otherwise! You have no doubt heard the term, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall"; well this might be true in the physical world, but in the spiritual world, it's more like, "The harder they fall, the bigger they become!" That is how God changes things! Two things that must be considered when reading the second part of this verse above, the first of which is the word "considereth", because it tends to mean understands, as in, God understands us; however, the second thing can blow your mind, because the meaning of "all their works", with "works" combined to the "all their", it takes into consideration from the start to the finish, taking also into consideration the "First Adam and the Second Adam", the Second Adam being Jesus Christ; thereby making "all their works" to ultimately mean, "WORK OF JEHOVAH"... "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39)

"Our Persuasion"

"He fashioned their hearts alike; He considereth all their works." (Psalms 33:15) Remember, this is a Psalm about "Praising God"; therefore, it needs to continue in that area of expression, even if it might appear to get a little distracted by what we are, it's still all about Him and His glory! To get wrapped up in this verse too long, is likely going to be hard to avoid, because, though it is short, it packs a powerful punch into the heart of what God has made us to be, and into His heart; both of which are designed for greatness and glory. I have always been drawn to the way God stimulated Adam's mind by having him name all the animals; if you really take some time and think about it, it must have been quite a challenge for him to come up with some of those names, like elephant, aardvark, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, lion, serpent (aka: snake); the list goes on and on, and takes up hours of wondering how these animals were matched with the names that they were given. After having named all of those animals, when it came time to give a name for woman, then Woman it was, for she was taken out of man; but when it came to give her a name, that being Eve, I have to wonder what he was thinking; because he called his wife Eve after the fall, but he called her that because she was the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20) Think about this for just a moment, because prior to that, Adam had blamed the woman God had given him of being the cause of his sinning against God; a sin that brought with it the curse of death, for God had said, "For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die". (Genesis 2:17) And then, after Adam had called his wife Eve, then God had made coats of skins, and He clothed them. (Genesis 3:21) What did Adam know of God's mercy, if he knew anything at all? Did he not know that God still loved him? I am certain that Adam knew God loved him, and that Adam loved God; the very fact that he put the fault on the woman tells us that, because he could not bare the truth of having sinned against his God, especially knowing how much God loved him. Now, just for the sake of time, imagine for a moment that Adam, knowing how much God loved him, also knew that God would have mercy upon him; all things considered, he could live with the curses that God handed to him, but he could not live with the thought of God no longer loving him; nor did he, because he knew in his heart that he was still loved by God. Therefore, even though he had technically charged the woman with the fault, thereby making her out to be 'the mother of death' in the process; because of God's great mercy, he could call her Eve, because she was still the mother of all living...( The Truth never changes!)... "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)   

"Our Appearance" -2

"From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth." (Psalms 33:14) Lights we are: brilliant shinning lights reflecting the radiance of the Glory of Jesus Christ unto the Father, for His gaze to look upon. An interesting word, this word "looketh"; it only appears three times in the whole Hebrew Old Testament writings: here in this Psalms, in Song of Solomon 2:9, and in Isaiah 14:16. The actual word is 'shagach', which is to look, or to see; but as a verb, it is kindred to other verbs which see, such as would be to look at something, followed by any thing, such as Isaiah 14:16; followed by any place, such as the verse we have before us; but in Song of Solomon 2:9, it is more to provide, or providence; which is the care, guardianship, and control that is exercised by the God that loves us so! I don't think we get that most of the time; instead, we tend to see God gazing upon us as our judge, holding us accountable for all of our failures and ignorant childish sins that we commit in our boredom. But God is not so! I know this might come across a little strange, but the "look" from Isaiah 14:16 is speaking about how we will look upon Lucifer in the end, and says, "They that see thee shall 'narrowly look' upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake the kingdoms". I tried to think of a way to explain this, and I really don't know if I can give it the full meaning or not, but let me try; say that there is a ferocious lion on the loose in your town, and it has been killing people left and right; and then, one morning that same lion appears dead in the street, having been hit by a car on the road the night before: that look the lion will get from those that see it, is the look being spoken of here about Lucifer; as the terror that was previously demonstrated is no longer apparent in his current state; never mind that we shall be glorified, and he shall be condemned, just as with the lion, it shall be dead, but those that look upon it shall be alive; the contrast changes drastically. Then, as we look upon Song of Solomon, as it shows us a picture where He that loves us, is as it where, looking in at the windows, as One that cares for our condition, and that has altered our appearance by His love; and it's time to praise our Glorious God... "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth fourth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." (THE SONG OF SOLOMON 2:8-13)

"Our Appearance"

"From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth." (Psalms 33:14) Looky-here, things don't always appear as they really are! Just one more little thing on the road to recovery, is the way you look; because if you really want to convince anyone, including yourself, that you are recovering, then you need to start appearing as though you are recovering! What a strange thing to talk about; Right? You might think so at first, but God "looketh" at us a little differently than we looks upon our selves: Praise God for that!!! To understand what I am trying to say, imagine you were standing far away from something that you can barely see, and then gazing upon it with a stare, trying to focus upon what you think you are looking at; that is the kind of "look" we are talking about here; which might seem rather odd, considering Who is doing the looking, until you understand all the dynamics of His habitation verse ours; let alone, the real appearance that we have, once we are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ His Son! The Bible says that He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9); which basically means, that as far as He is concerned, we are all worthy of His love, and we are all capable of receiving His mercy; in His eyes, we are all His precious creation, and we are all in the same condition. That said, we must try to understand that His dwelling place and ours are really really far apart; we are talking light verses darkness far apart, which makes for a pretty far gap between the two areas, if you try and imagine the contrast. But God! (You know I love saying those two words!) But God stepped into the darkness to bring us into the Light! Praise Jesus! The Light of the world, literally means that Jesus is the Light in this darkened place that we inhabit! Oh yes! And it gets even better; because, once we have received Jesus Christ into our hearts, then we too are Lights in Him! Do use see the appearance that you have yet?
"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversations received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for YOU." (1 Peter 1:13-20) 

"Our Condition" -2

"The LORD looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men." (Psalms 33:13) I know it got a little weird yesterday, but the point had to be made; now that it has been said, my next question is about the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil', and why was it there in the first place? I really still think that it was a setup from the start; especially seeing how it was placed smack-dab in the middle of the garden to begin with. Don't you think that God knew beforehand that they would eat of it? Before the fall, everything was provided for man; everything he needed, God saw the need, and He made it happen; and there was really nothing that man needed to do, but enjoy everything that God had made for him; however, after the fall, what was the first thing that man did, but take it upon himself to cover his nakedness. God did however later make then cloths from animal skins, because even their aprons made of leaves did not hide their naked, nor could they, without there first being the shedding of blood; which makes me think again, that God knew all along that He would be sending His Son to die for our sins, and everything that was played out, was played out for us to see our need of forgiveness. The whole purpose of the Ten Commandments, is that they would lead us to Christ; showing us how impossible it is to keep all of God's commands, just as it would have been impossible for man to have lived through countless generations, without someone having eaten of that tree. Besides, as I have said before, things were not perfect as long as there was that tree there, and as long as there was the "Thou Shalt Not" hanging over everyone's head. It's like telling someone, Don't think of a pink elephant; what's the first thing they do, they think of a pink elephant. Regardless, God knows everything; and just because He might ask a few questions, doesn't mean He did not know the answer before He asked; which is the primary meaning of this verse. The word "looketh" is not the same as "beholdeth", and there is good reason; because God, although He did walk in the garden from time to time, is bigger than this earth; so how then could He be contained on it? So, when it says "The LORD looketh from heaven", the meaning is that He looks from heaven, for Jehovah God is the God of Heaven; and on the flip side of that, if we were to look to God, then we would look to the heavens; same meaning, and with the intent to consider added, it would be like, to show regard for, or pay attention to; just as we would do if we were looking up to the heavens, as we would be acknowledging God's is there. "Beholdeth" is something all together different, because it speaks more to study, as in to inspect and distinguish what is happening; or in the case of an All-Knowing God, to see what is going to play out... "For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doeth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:15-24) 

"Our Condition"

"The LORD looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men." (Psalms 33:13) You have no doubt heard the term "A Road to Recovery"; primarily, it is a term use for people that have been devastated by something, whether physical, financial, or anything else that can greatly alter the function of a persons life. When it comes to our condition in our relationship with God, things are not quite the same, because we can not see our devastation! Although our spiritual condition far out ways any other devastation that we could encounter in this life, we do not realize how devastating our condition is; and when we are told about it, many times, most could hardly care. Comparatively speaking, our condition without Jesus, is like night and day; the life that God has for us, and that which we have without Christ, are worlds apart; light years really, and beyond anything we could have ever imagined. But you see, there's the thing: God sees; God sees the condition, which is the first step on the road to recovery! Just as God saw Adam's condition, so He made him all sorts of animals, and then had him name them; and yet; after giving names to all those animals, there was still no "help meet" found for him. (Genesis 2:20) So God made him woman; bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, he named her "woman" because she was taken out of man. (Genesis 2:23) If you talk to many sociologist, they are of the opinion that we are naturally sexual creatures; pretty much straight out of the womb, is the thought of many of them; and they might be right; which is why parental instruction is so important when it comes to self gratification, as in, "Don't play with that!"; but that many times just causes them to only do it in secret, and keeps them from walking around with their hand down their pants. (Am I being too straight forward?) The "help meet" that Adam needed was that of the female persuasion; God saw his condition, and God fixed it! Although this was technically a physical condition, it really went much further than that; the real extent of which, we may never really know; but as far as man's spiritual condition, in the initial arrangement, they were both naked, and neither one of them were ashamed. (Genesis 2:25) It was not until after the fall, that they both realized their nakedness, became ashamed, and covered their bodies with leaves; a reaction that was brought on by gaining the knowledge of good and evil; something that God did not want them to be aware of; yet for some reason, He made it available in the form of a tree; go figure! The same kind of affect takes place in a child: as soon as you say, "Bad, don't do that!"; then from that point on, they become ashamed by it... "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man: and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a Flaming Sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." (Genesis 3:22-24)

"Our Calling"

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people He hath chosen for His inheritance." (Psalms 33:12) Now regarding the writer, whom ever that might have been; this verse takes us on a little bit of a new journey into the us side, at least for the next seven verses, and breaks down the many fascinating reason that we absolutely must praise God for what He has done. Interesting how this verse happens to fall on the twelfth number in order of verses, and how the these seven verses complete a perfect picture of man's completeness in Christ; for in Jesus Christ we are made complete; even so, the Jewish man is not complete without Jesus, and once they have accepted Him as their Lord and Saviour, then, and only then, are they considered to be a 'Complete Jew'. Say for a moment that Ezra was the writer, and being that his name meant 'help', the whole message of the Gospel is how God helps man to be rescued from the bondage of sin and death; and without God's help, we are condemned, doomed, and already dead. As Peter put it, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous Light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9 & 10) When it comes to man, the number twelve is a very significant number; whether or not that really means anything by this numbering sequence, is beside the point; but there were twelve tribes of Israel, born of twelve sons, twelve Apostles, the twelve gates to the 'New Jerusalem, and the twelve fruits on the 'Tree of Life'; all of which depict the completeness of man in God, and a completeness that is not possible without God's choosing and His help. On a "side" note, Jesus said that in heaven there would not be the same type of union between man and woman that there is now (Matthew 22:30), and if you notice, that at the time of God's creation, there was one thing that was not good, and that was that Adam was made incomplete (Genesis 2:18); so God created the woman from the man, so as, when the two were joined together, then they were made complete: the two became one flesh (Genesis 2:24). So how exactly did that work, that man was originally made incomplete, but now we are made complete in Jesus?
 "For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Ephesians 5:30-33)

"God Rules!" -3

"The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations." (Psalms 33:11) You know I can't just leave it without complete interpretation; at least not after having first discussed the reason "God Rules" as the title is the perfect fit for this verse; besides those last two days were kind of dancing around the real issue: the first day being the fact that God is still on the throne, so there is no need to worry; while yesterday, well let's just say that yesterday meant that God is big enough to have to listen to! But as far as the "counsel of the LORD", it is a little different than His commands, in that it is more like His advice, as in, "You should do this My way, because I am God!" For example, let's say you were a person the choose to be upset for days at a time, maybe even for weeks, or months, or even longer; God may not condemn you for being weak and messed up; but what kind of a testimony is that pertaining to a God that can do all things? Besides your testimony, what benefit have you accomplished to yourself? If anything, you have made yourself sick with ulcers, cancer, or anxiety, that are beyond normal repair; if you don't think that is true, then look it up for yourself, because stress, worry and sadness lead to many devastating illnesses; don't even get me started on what I think of women who hold stress filled jobs where they are dependent upon being the bread-winners, because that was man's curse, not theirs! The most important ingredient in praising God, besides our love for Him, is that He is God; He is God that rules the heavens, the earth, our destiny, our souls, and even the next breath we get to take, all the way to the very last one that we breath out; and being that He is the Ruler of everything that matters, why shouldn't we take His advice? Yes, it's true that there are no grey areas when it comes to God's commands, but His advice is for our benefit in living life to the fullest; not so much about His judgement, but more about ours in our relationship with a God who can do all things, knows all things, and is always watching over us! To take this to the next level, we should examine the second part of this verse, as we see "the thoughts of His heart", and try and understand how His thoughts are His intentions, plans, and purpose for our lives, the lives of our children, and even our children's children; all of which are predicated upon the way that we praise God, in not only the good times, but especially in the bad times!!! Okay; so maybe I need to clarify something Jesus said to Martha, besides the fact the He is the Resurrection and the Life; because our greatest benefit in believing in Jesus, is eternal life; it's definitely not that we won't have pain or sorrow in this life, because we will! But God; the God that made every fiber of being; that same God knows, every hair upon our heads, every tear that we have shed, every moment that we take a breath; all of which are His imaginations of us to bring Him glory; we just need to take the time that we have been given, to give Him all the praise that He deserves... "We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation I have succoured thee: Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Giving no offense in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." (2 Corinthians 6:1-10)