"Real Supplication"

 "And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:" (Hebrews 12:19 KJV)

  "Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the beginning. This old commandment - to love one another - is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, the true light is already shining." (1 John 2:7-8 NLT)

 Something to see, if you are still not convinced! There is a very special reason that God's had a plan for man to fail; it was not that He wanted man to fail; but because He already knew that it would happen. So, He prepared for mankind's redemption and eternal salvation. The Bible clearly shows us that the plan for Christ to pay the price for our sins, was planned for, even before the very beginning of creation. Therefore, we must also assume that God knew in advance that man would fail, making a way for real supplication! 

 If you don't know what that means, it is the action of asking or begging for something earnestly and humbly! With that, it was not the way things seemed during the fall, meaning once the sin of eating the fruit had happened. Adam and Eve were ashamed, as the Bible says, and they felt ashamed of their nakedness, because their sin caused death to something they had with God, something very special!

 The story does not reveal everything that went on after the fall, but there was real supplication from Adam and Eve; even though they refused to take the blame in the beginning. As I said before, Eve ate the fruit because she was deceived; but Adam ate the fruit knowing full well what he was doing. When he saw that Eve didn't die, he fulfilled his desire and ate the fruit with her; and everything changed! 

 The Bible says that they hid from God; supposably because they were naked; but truth be told, they lost something more important, which was fellowship and the Spirit of God...

"There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life; but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.' "" (John 3:1-7 NLT)  

"More Than a Feeling" - Too

 "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest," (Hebrews 12:18 KJV)

  "This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:6-7 NLT)

 Keeping up with the message from yesterday, it doesn't really matter how we feel, whether it is some kind of tingling sensation, burning of the bosom, or as some might call it, 'a check in my spirit'; feelings come and go, like the wind, they are caused by passion, desire, fear and rejection; among many other things that might change the heart. There really is a reason that the heart is so critical and hard to understand; the heart is pretty much the main character of the soul! 

 If there is anything I have discovered over this last couple of decades, it is that the heart is stronger than the brain; you can stay alive with a heart that still works, even though your brain doesn't work; but if the heart stops working, your dead! Trust me, I know what that looks like!

 Anywho, the thing about Adam and Eve, and the situation that caused the fall. We must know that there were real feelings involved in everything that went wrong in that garden; starting with Adam, even before God made Eve; who, by the way, was God's final creation; that is, until Jesus was born! 

 I have shared on this before, and it is something some don't agree with, but it is still something I believe was part of God's plan. Two things that took place before Eve was created: the first being was God telling Adam not to eat of a certain tree, the second was to name all the animals. Seems pretty simple; don't do this, and then, do this; something that causes want, which means, a passion or desire for something that he did not have.

 In other words, Adam saw something in all those animals he was naming, that he did not have, a female mate; something all of those animals had, a mate! Adam had to have thought, "Where is the mate for me?" If you don't understand what I am saying, don't worry about it, because many have not been able to get what I am trying to say. Want is something that we learn, based upon something that we do not have; and we don't know that we even need it, unless we discover that it's there. 

 There was something that Eve said to the serpent, while he was tempting her to eat that fruit, she said, "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat of it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'" (Genesis 3:3 NLT) It is not what God said, but something either Adam told Eve, or something that she added unto want God said; maybe because she saw Adam touching and admiring the forbidden fruit. 

 No matter what, it was Eve who was deceived, but Adam knew exactly what he was doing! It felt good to do, until it was done...

"When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he declared, "for I have betrayed an innocent man." "What do we care?" they retorted. "That's your problem." Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself." (Matthew 27:3-5 NLT)  

"More Than a Feeling"

 "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest," (Hebrews 12:18 KJV) 

  ""Go out and stand before me on the mountain," the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"" (1 Kings 19:11-13 NLT)

 Have you ever been ministered to by Morman Mistionary's? They have this certain thing that they do, as they share something with you, and then speak about the 'burning in the bosom,' as if that is a means of confirmation that what they are telling you is true. That might work for some, but those of us that know how God works, feelings are physical, meaning they are of the flesh, not of the Holy Spirit! 

 There is more to this than I can explain in a way that might make sense; but if we go back to the beginning, to Adam and Eve, and the fruit that they were told not eat, feelings were a big part of what caused them to do it anyway! You know that simple phrase: "If it feels good, do it!" This is more or less just something the devil uses to distract us from listening to God's voice...

"Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in the sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace." (Romans 6:12-14 NLT) 

"Contrast of Sinai and Zion"

  "You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God's command: "If even an animal touches the mountain. it must be stoned to death." Moses himself was so frightened at the sight, he said, "I am terrified and trembling."

 "No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God's firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel." (Hebrews 12:18-24 NLT)

"Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." (Isaiah 35:3-5 KJV) 

 So, last night I was reading to my wife about Hezikiah's sickness; which reminded me of the beginning of this blog, having used that to illustrate God will, verses, God's perfect will. Having discovered several different points of view on that subject, I had reached the determination that God's will is always perfect; He never makes mistakes, and He is always working out His perfect plan, whether or not we even know what it is that He is doing.

 The thing about Hezikiah's sickness, which was a question of whether or not God changed His mind: it has been made abundantly clear to me that He worked everything out as planned. If you know the whole story, the 15 years that He gave Hezikiah were meant for something totally different; as the children of Israel were not keeping the command that God gave them for resting the land.

 It was Hezikiah's actions after being healed that put everything in motion; as it was, he had some Ambassadors from Babylon visit him, and he was showing off all the treasure; which set up the reason that Babylon would one day take all the treasure and exile his sons.

 With that, I was reminded yesterday about a certain thing the mother of John and James asked Jesus, that her two sons could sit, one on His left and one on His right, in His Kingdom. She was one of the women that were at the foot of the cross, when Jesus was crucified between two other men. In that moment, she felt glad that Jesus didn't grant her wish...

"But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able." (Matthew 20:22 KJV) 

 

"The Narrow Door"

"For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." (Hebrews 12:17 KJV)

  "Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" He replied, "Work hard to enter the narrow door to God's Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Lord, open the door for us!' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you will say, 'But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' And he will reply, 'I tell you, I don't know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.'"" (Luke 13:22-27 NLT)

 There are some things that are hard to understand, when it comes to repentance and forgiveness; the most important thing we sometimes neglect, is the part where we must for forgive, or else we cannot receive the forgiveness we think that we have! If you know the story of Jacob and Esau's birthright and blessing, then you should know how Esau pled for the blessing that Jacob had taken; yet he also had in his heart the desire to kill his brother Jacob, as soon as his father had died.  

 That might not seem like it was the same thing, as most of us really aren't planning to kill; but the real important thing we must understand, is hate, is pretty much the same...

""You have heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment,' But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell."" (Matthew 5:21-22 NLT)  

"Don't Go There!"

 "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." (Hebrews 12:16 KJV)

  "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21 NLT)

 There are only so many things we can fall into that might cause us to turn and throw away this wonderful gift that we have been given; following the desires of our sinful nature is by far the biggest of them all! Sometimes there are some that fall away due to being hurt or disappointed with outcome or crushed by certain tragedy. Most of which, is curable, and there is always light at the end of that tunnel.

 But following the desires of our sinful nature, is the thing that causes certain disasters, the kind that make even the strongest of us, whither and fall away. I have witnessed this happen to several well-known people; it almost seems like the stronger they are, the harder they can fall. 

 Not that I have anything to boast about, because there have been times when the desires of my sinful nature caused me to go online, searching for things I thought would satisfy my craving. Just so you know, it doesn't work! We can never satisfy the cravings of our sinful nature! They only get stronger and want more and more, never are they satisfied; not until to turn away and beg for God's help! 

 Anywho, that's my confession; as most pretend to do, they make it seem as though they are not really hurting anyone; but truth be told, love is cheapened and hearts are broken; making it really hard to put the pieces back together again. But God...

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another." (Galatians 5:22-26 NLT)  

"Looking Diligently" - 2

 "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled;" (Hebrews 12:15 KJV)

  "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself, you are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct." (Galatians 6:1-5 NLT)

 Did you get a chance to watch the celebration in Washington D.C. Saturday night? If you missed it, there was something special that took place, where everyone had to leave due to weather. Some mingled on the streets, some went into the U.S. Agriculture Building, and some went into a double-wide trailer. The trailer was where many of the old soldiers were; the oldest was 107 and the youngest was 98. 

 Just something I thought was special to take part in, as there were several people who sang songs and spoke about the Lord; many of which were part of the entertainment for the event. To be perfectly honest, I felt as though each and every one of them were fellowshipping together; everyone enjoying the chance to be stuck in a room, having the opportunity to see each other in a new light. 

 Anywho; these are very interesting times we are currently in, as we celebrate the freedom we have as a Nation; that we have been somehow able hold together; but I feel we are being tested! If you don't know what I mean, it is the pride that makes us different; and the pride is also what will tear us down...

""Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."" (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT) 

"Looking Diligently"

 "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;" (Hebrews 12:15 KJV)

  "If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but I didn't love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I had to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I don't love others, I would have gained nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT)

 No matter what place you have in your walk with the Lord, you are responsible for everything that you do, or do not do; unfortunately, I believe that the latter is more important than the first! There is something we should know about that parable of the three servants; although they each had different amounts of money, they all three had the same amount of ability to share and increase what they had been given. 

 This might not be easy to share, but there many things we can do to serve the Lord; but if we are doing them to for self-esteem or popularity or worth, then we are messing the mark, and it is all worthless; it be tossed in the fire! Something we need to do, is to look at ourselves as servants, which takes away the thought of self, making every effort to love others, more than self; which is simple, but sometimes hard to do...

"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever." (1 John 2:15-17 NLT) 

"Without Which" - Too

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" (Hebrews 12:14 KJV)

  "Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body and spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God." (2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT)

 There is another illustration the Jesus made, regarding the last days and what it might look like to be left behind, "The Parable of The Ten Virgins." If you know that story, then you should know that there was five that had oil in their lamps, and five that did not have enough. Whatever that oil was meant to be, it was enough to make a difference in who goes and who stays! 

 I know this day of celebration is important to many people; there is really a good reason we can feel the need to celebrate the freedom we have to worship and share about Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! We need to make it count, before that door is closed; because these are the last days, and we have only so much time to fill up our lamps! 

 I say this because there was another parable Jesus shared between the parable of the Ten Virgins and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats; that would be The Parable of the Three Servants...

""Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last - dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

 "The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with the two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money."" (Matthew 25:14-18 NLT) 

"Without Which"

 "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" (Hebrews 12:14 KJV)

  "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely. Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NLT)

 There are so many things being said in this verse we are looking at today, I tried to count all of the verses that are listed as cross-references, they are just too many to look up and explain the connection. These verses from 1 Corinthians 13 are the ones I already knew would be easy to compare; yet they are also complicated to put into action. 

 There was something that Jesus publicly said, regarding the sheep and the goats; which a parable that spoke about those who serve the Lord, and those who serve for themselves. That might seem like a quick and easy illustration of what this parable meant; but for the sake of time, it pretty much sums up why they were separated, those on the right, and those that were on the left...

""But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'

 "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 

 "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these brothers or sisters, you were doing it to me!'"" (Matthew 25:31-40 NLT)  

"The Body" - Too

 "And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." (Hebrews 12:13 KJV)

  "But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God's love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives." (Jude 20-23 NLT) 

 Having a little experience in the way things can get out of hand in churches that have major breakups and serious judgment against leadership, I know that it is really hard to change people's mind, let alone, to get them to change their heart's. If you have been part of a church split, then you might not like what I have to say, because there really isn't any compassion or love that comes from those who take part in something that tears apart a fellowship; especially if it is all about nonsense and misunderstandings. 

 More than anything, I wish that people could just get along, no matter what differences they might have with one another; we all have different opinions on certain things; especially the things that might be about what we do or do not do; following the law, or whether your salvation can be taken away, if you might fall or get your name stricken from the Book of Life. 

 Much of what we fight over, has very little to do about loving one another; no one really feels like loving when they feel as though they have been offended or judged. What makes matters worse, is the spiritual warfare that takes place, without even knowing it! That is by far the biggest issue that is ignored, mostly because of cold, hard hearts. 

 This much is certain: We are all the body of Christ! If we fail to love one another as we should, then the body becomes sick and falls apart...

"Yes, the body has many parts, not just one part. If the foot says, "I am not part of the body because I am not the hand," that does not make it less a part of the body. And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am not the eye," would that make it any less part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were and ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can never say to the feet, "I don't need you."" (1 Corinthians 12:14-21 NLT)

"The Body"

 "And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." (Hebrews 12:13 KJV)

  "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we share the same Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NLT)

 Shining a little different light on the weak and strong, this morning I felt that fellowship was most meant to be the topic of this verse. As it is, we are all part of the same body of believers, each and everyone us are filled with the same Spirit, serve the same God, and share with the same love, for one another; at least that is what it should be!  

 The point I feel that needs to be made, is all about those that are of the body which might be lame, that doesn't necessarily mean those that are crippled, but those that are not fitting in, or don't really know how to truly associate and fellowship with their brothers and sisters. They might be referred to as the weaker parts of the body, which are actually those that should get a little more attention. 

 Almost every church has certain groups that all hang out together and keep each other in fellowship; but it should be the way we treat everyone! Especially those who might seem timid or weak in their faith, as they might be turned out of the way, feeling as though they don't fit...

"In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary." (1 Corinthians 12:22 NLT)  

"Uncertain Affinity"

"Wherefore life up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;" (Hebrews 12:12 KJV)

  "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, but not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies," (2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NLT)

 Very interesting affirmation of our condition, living in this world, yet not of this world! The title is not meant to be derogative or negative, in any sense. It is more about things which might seem unclear, yet still important. Really thinking what that looks like, is much like comparing the thought about being strong in the Lord; yet at the same time, we are meant to be weak. 

 It is a lot like that illustration of God telling us to move a rock that cannot be moved. We are too weak to move it, but we somehow get stronger by trying. And in the end, it is only when we ask God to help, that the rock gets moved...

"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT) 

"A Call to Listen to God"

  "Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears." (Hebrews 12:12-17 NLT) 

  "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly." (Psalms 119:1-8 KJV)

 There comes a time when we must evaluate our ability to listen to God; not as if we don't listen to Him, but that when we hear Him speak into our hearts, we actually do what He says! Looking at the things, we know God wants us to do, but not doing what He wants, not only causes us to feel ashamed, but we lose out on God's blessings and the peace of knowing we at least try to obey. 

 Maybe this sounds a little legalistic, almost as if we are meant to follow the law, making the law the thing that is giving us the righteousness that God wants to see? I wish that could be the case; because I know full well that the law saves no one; the law is there to show us how sinful we really are, so that we can know how desperately we need Jesus! 

 This is not about the law, as in following a rigorous set of rules; it is about being a servant and paying attention to what the Master says and doing it! Happy is the one who walks in His instructions...

 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget your word." (Psalms 119:9-16 KJV) 

"Nevertheless!" - Too

 "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." (Hebrews 12:11 KJV)

  "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (Galatians 5:23-24 NLT)

 Thinking of this in a simple way, we also have a Helper that gives us help when we go through the fire, whatever that might be; as it goes, "it is simple, but it isn't easy." If that doesn't make sense to you, it isn't really that complicated to figure it out. God doesn't give us complex issues or things we can't figure out; His commands, laws, and principles are very simple to understand; they are just not easy to always obey, especially when we don't want to! 

 The whole reason that He needs to chasten us, is always to get us going in the right direction! I can recall something a loved to do as a kid, with these rectangle magnets I had; which was to put them on my desk and push one around the table with the other. But when I flipped the one in my hand in the other direction it would pull the other magnet and lock together, and they would both be one. 

 Using that illustration might not make sense, but when you are really going through a very serious trial or circumstance, you really feel as though your being pushed further away from God, until all you have left is to turn around and surrender to His open arms...

"This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Isreal, says: "Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, 'No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.' But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop." So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help." (Isaiah 30:15-18 NLT)