"Anguish and Praise"

"In the beginning God..." At first reading of the Bible, these first four words should be the catalyst that make a heart believe and take notice of God's unending power and awesomeness; that is if you believe that it is so. The Twenty-Second Psalm is a song that also requires this same measure of belief, and is set to the melody of "New Life" (paraphrased). In order for New Life to take place something must happen first, and that something is called "DEATH". Reading Romans 6, you will discover that death is part of the process for new life to begin; we must "Reckon the old man dead in Christ", and we must live a new life that we have in Christ with that old man dead and buried with Christ. Romans 6:5 & 6 says, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Many people like to make New Years Resolutions, and make vows of change; leaving the old in the past, and starting the New Year out fresh without something that they had just one day prior. This may be well and good, but to really truly change your life, you must become a New Creation in Christ! Only then will all things become new! But in order for that to happen, there must first be a death that takes place; that person of a sin nature must be nailed to that cross with Christ. Yes, I know, some of you are wondering how the heck that is meant to happen, since His death occurred over two thousand years ago; but nonetheless, that death of the old sinful man must take place! I am under the belief that before you can truly repent of your sins, you must first have remorse for those sins; in other words, there must first be an anguish in your heart because of your sin. It is this anguish that takes place in our hearts that truly makes us sorrowful for having trespassed against our God. Once we have anguish in our hearts, then we can take that broken and sorrowful man and place him on that cross with Christ; letting the anguish that Christ suffered for our sinful man be also the anguish that we feel in our hearts for those sins that He died for. This is our way of nailing that old man on that cross with Christ; because without that anguish and death of the old man, the sin that is turned from does not have much value or cost; there must be anguish involved on our part! After that death of the old man, there is a resurrection that takes place of the New Man in Christ; the old man has been crucified in Christ, and all things have become NEW... "For he that is dead is freed from sin." (Romans 6:7)  

"Our All in All"

"They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this." (Psalms 22:31) As with many of the Psalms, the final verse is one that summarizes the message that was meant to be put forth; here we have the last verse, but where is that summary? Not seeing it? or can you see the power of what is being said within these few words? First of all; as we reconsider the introduction to this Psalm, of which David prescribed that this be played to the melody of "Aijeleth Shahar"; which we determined was a "new dawn" played out in a melody; such as would be "in calamity there is hope, for the end of a dark night is the dawn". The general idea of what David is saying, is one of Truth that produces Hope; that in knowing the Truth of what He has done for us, we have Hope in every generation and in every new day; in every cycle of life, there is Hope that what He has done for us is enough to wipe away all the darkness. This is really what it is all about! I am a sinner that has been saved by grace; and no matter how hard that I might try to change my own condition, I have no power over my sinful nature; I am a sinner that has been pardoned, and has been given righteousness that is based upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ, not of my own, for in me there is no righteousness; and any righteousness that I possess is not my own, but His that dwells within me. All the generations of the earth need to know this Truth! It must be told to them what the LORD has done, and how there is Hope for their broken state and for their sinful life. When it comes to our approach to God, we should feel dirty; but when it comes to what Jesus has done for us, we have the ability to stand in God's presence and to not be ashamed, because Jesus has made us pure before the Father. There is no other way to look upon that which we have been given, because whether you are the most vile sinner or the closet thing to a saint, we all have the same broken condition that is in need of a Saviour; we all have fallen short, and require salvation from sin; and we all must declare that it is His doing that makes us right, and that it is nothing of our own. This is our message to every generation; this is our story that must be told; that in the Name of Jesus there is hope unto every generation and in every life that is born upon the face of this earth; there is none that can outdo His grace, or can sin more than His grace will repair; His grace is sufficient for ALL... Oh, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." (Ephesians 1:17-23)

"We Are The LORD'S"

"A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation." (Psalms 22:30) Continuing on in what we have been shown, and passing down what we have received, is not only the responsibility of the church, but it is the thing which the Lord shall accomplish until that day that He no longer needs it to happen. Until that time, the Lord will ensure that there is always a remnant of His children here to continue that which He has begun. Although, seeing this next generation that is rising up, I sometimes worry about how many will still be here; and then again, He looks at the heart, of which, He can see more clearly those that are truly His, and those that simply play church and really are not. As we draw closer and closer to His coming, I really believe that there will be a "last call" to enter into His family; it may not be something that will be highly noticeable, or even something that will be detected by those that are watching for a sign of it to happen; but something of a stirring among those that have wondered and been hoping for a sign of something real that they might believe in. I think we seem to forget that He calls us, and then we are required to answer; this is one of those great mysteries of the ages, and one that is very hard to think about; but He is the one who has chosen us, and as His chosen people, we are those that He has called His children. With that in mind, and without getting lost in to much predestination, let's just say that some of His children are not listening or seeing yet what He is saying; therefore, they are outside of the fold, and have yet to open the door of their hearts. I believe that the main reason for this to happen is because they have not yet witnessed a true life that is changed, and those that they have witnessed who are said to be His, have been something of a disappointment when it comes to showing forth the life of a child of God. That does not mean that all is lost for that next generation of believers, because the Lord is faithful in getting those that are His to turn; He will just make it something personal in them, not based upon the life of another. Anyhow; we that currently know that we are His children must be kept ready for His return; something that requires that we stay in constant fellowship with Him, and do not be caught without oil in our lamps. He is returning very soon; whether you care to believe it or not! And, when Jesus spoke about "two would be walking, and one taken, and one would be left", I do believe He was talking about those that were meant to be both His children; whereas, one of His children was ready, and the other was not. I know that might sound a little strange to some, and they might think He would not leave any behind; but the 'Five Foolish Virgins' were virgins, they just were caught not ready to enter in... "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:33-36)

"LORD of All"

"All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him: and none can keep alive his own soul." (Psalms 22:29) There are a lot of strange beliefs out there; some of which have tried to incorporate the notion that we must save ourselves; as if somehow what Jesus did on the cross was not enough to cleanse away all of our sin, but was only enough to make way for us to be cleansed by our own righteousness. There is life in none other than Jesus Christ; which basically means, that your eternal life is only given by your belief in Jesus and His finished work; not some halfhearted acceptance of what God has done for us, and how we are still the one's who need to finish the job. The job was done! Jesus came and He accomplished all that He needed to do for us to be forgiven, raised up, and glorified in heaven; just as He was raised up and glorified, so shall we be also; and it is only because He is glorified!!! If you read Isaiah 55, especially the first few verses, then you will see that "The Waters" which are made available to all, are not something that can be purchased or labored for, but are given freely, without money and without a cost. The point of what this is making, is that there is nothing left for us to do, other than to believe upon Jesus and turn towards Him; after that, it is all about Him and nothing more of us! That "new creature" spoken of by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17, is a new creation that is in Christ Jesus and everything about this new creature is now based upon it's life in Christ. There is really no other way to see what has taken place; nor will there be any other way that it shall be revealed to us later; as a matter of fact, we will be so blown away by all that He has done, that even anything that we may have thought we did, we will be surrendering to Him. Therefore; seeing that there is nothing that we can do to add to or take away from our salvation, why don't we just surrender all to Him now? That is what He is waiting for; that is what He has finished the work for; that we can rest in His finished work, and that which has burdened our souls should be no more! There are none who shall be able to stand before Him on their own accord; for all will bow before Him as LORD, and all will know that there is life in none other; both the rich and prosperous, as well as the poor and destitute; all will stand before Him as the same, for none of that which they had before, or did not have, will matter...

"King Jesus"

"For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and He is the Governor among nations." (Psalms 22:28) If you had any doubt that this verse was about Jesus, then you will be surprised to know that there is no other person or entity that this can apply to. There are many references in the Bible to the fact that Jesus will establish His kingdom here upon this earth, and in Revelation it is referred to "The Thousand Year Reign", or "The Millennium", and it takes place just after He returns with all of His church on white horses. However, to truly see the power that is established by His rule, I prefer to quote Isaiah 9:6 & 7 as a reference to His authority and power, for it says, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." There are many very strong points within these two verses as to the absolute magnitude of His kingdom reign, some of which have no greater authority that can be placed upon Him then that which He shall govern with. If you do not know what that means, it means that there is no greater One that will be answered to then Jesus! When looking at the meaning of just a few of these points given, a couple of my favorite are found in verse six; the main one that I love to show those that doubt His being God, is the term "The Mighty God"; for it speaks of 'The One True God', that being 'Jehovah' and the 'One God'. Some people really cannot understand the concept of there being One God, yet within that One God there are Three: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. As some would have you believe, they are all three there, they just do not have the same level of authority; however, as we look a little further into verse seven, it says that He not only "orders it", but that He also will "establish it". The reason that this is important to consider when it comes to understanding who Jesus is and whether or not He is God, is that of His authority. The term "The Everlasting Father" is one that throws a lot of people, because it makes Jesus and the Father out to be one of the same; however, in the grand picture of what Jesus has done, this is also a reference to His authority over creation, and Him being the Producer or Generator of everything that is in existence. It is also His having founded or established a new household that should also be considered; because without what Jesus had done, there would have been no one that could be saved and justified before the Father. It is the 'zeal of God' which has brought all of this about, because of His love and passion for us, He is jealous for us as His precious children and His tender creation...

"Joy To The World"

"The ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee." (Psalms 22:27) If you stop and think about what was declared by the angel to both Mary before Jesus was conceived, and to those shepherds after His birth, the proclamations that were made was for the whole world; as was the promise made to Abraham regarding "in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed" (Genesis 22:18). No longer was it that the Jews would be the only chosen people of God, but all that "remember and turn unto the LORD" will be His people. It is easy enough to understand what it means to turn unto the Lord, but the "remember" part of the equation is the part that many times we do not fully understand. Why do we turn to the Lord? Do we turn to Him for happiness and a way that our life will be safe and secure? Or maybe we turn to Him because we want healing from something, or because of financial problems we think that He will deliver us from? Maybe it is your life that is all screwed up, and you have come to the Lord for Him to fix it, and to make you a better person? All of these things are all well and good to be prayed for, and even to be expected as things which will happen or become non issues; but they are not the reason that we are to turn to the Lord. Our number one problem is sin: we are sinners that are in need of a Redeemer, which can deliver us from our sins and reconcile us with God. This is what Jesus came for, and the reason that we are to "remember" what our condition is and what it is that we need to fix it. Otherwise, if we do not realize what we need, we really cannot get the proper fix; just as if we took an aspirin because we thought it would make us better, when we really needed a doctor, because our problem was cancer or some other internal decease. Jesus will give us peace and joy, and our life will be better because of the relationship we have with Him and His love that dwells in our hearts; but these things are not totally realized or longlasting if we do not have eternal life, and eternal life only comes from "The Bread of Life", and we can only truly partake of the Bread of Life if we know why it is that we need to! We must realize our need for a Saviour, and that we need to be saved from our sinful state and death; because it is not about joining a church or being a part of a movement, it is about our eternal life and our relationship with God; a relationship that is only made possible by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Through His blood He has provided enough cleansing for the entire world; all the kindreds of nations shall worship Him, because He has made a way for every nation to be His people, and every person to experience the real joy that comes from having eternal life with Him... "Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth." (John 4:21-24)    

"To Eat of The Bread of Life"

"The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek Him: your heart shall live forever." (Psalms 22:26) Merry Christmas one and all! Seeing that this is the morning that we celebrate the birth of our Lord, I thought this message should contain some sort of message about Christmas; after all, it is Jesus that is the Reason For The Season, not Santa Claus; although, I do enjoy watching Santa movies. If you know the Gospels pretty well, then you should remember one particular time when many of Jesus' followers had turned away from following Him; so many had turned away, that Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, "Will ye also go away?" (John 6:67) This took place after Jesus had described Himself as the Bread of Life which had come down from heaven that they might eat His flesh and drink His blood. It was a message of God giving Manna from heaven that gives life, not just for feeding the flesh, but is to satisfy the soul, forever. That is the reason that we celebrate His birth, and is what makes His birth so important to this very special day; because He was born The Bread of Life, from His very existence, which is always, He has satisfied those that eat of His flesh and drink of His blood. These that have eaten are referred to as the "meek", which are those that are needy, humble and afflicted in spirit; and because they are meek, they know that they are in need of The Manna from God: The Bread of Life. Looking at the message of His birth and His saying in John 6:32-33, as He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the True Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world", it is plain to see that Jesus is that Bread of Life, and that it is He alone that gives life, because without Him there is no life, but only separation from God, which is the lifesource of our souls. Which is what the angels declared to those shepherds in the field, as they said, "Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus Christ was born Lord; and He was born Saviour of the world, and to all people; to all that are meek and in need of the True Breed from Heaven to give life to their souls and to satisfy their thirst and hunger for life eternal with God. And again, we see this verse brought to life as the shepherds leave their fields to go see this thing revealed to them by the angel; and after seeing Jesus, they proclaimed to all those present what they had been told by the angel; and then, as they returned to their fields, it says they did so "glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as was told unto them" (Luke 2:15-20). They that seek the Lord will praise Him, because they will have tasted and seen that He is "Good", which good is meant as 'that which satisfies all of our need'; yet, before you can know, you must partake of His flesh and drink of His blood, because that is the only way that our soul will receive satisfaction and shall know eternal life... "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am that Bread of Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever: and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I give for the life of the world." (John 6:47-51)  REMEMBER WHAT THIS DAY IS ALL ABOUT!!!

"To Stand Accepted"

"My praise shall be of Thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear Him." (Psalms 22:25) The ago old story of Jesus and His love for His sheep, that not one single sheep will be lost from His fold. The vows that Jesus paid for our sins, He paid gladly, and with great wiliness to see the finished result of all that He suffered and died through. There are a couple "great congregations" that this could be speaking of; one in particular is that of Shoel, when Jesus spends time there declaring to all the saints of old what He had just completed, and where they are headed next. However, there is another "great congregation" that this could be speaking of; one in which we all will stand before the throne in heaven, arrayed in white linen, and as white as snow. Revelation 19:6 & 7 says, "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." If you can imagine the bride which is about to be married and how she has prepared herself to walk down that isle; the moment of great anticipation and longing, as she approaches the groom, who is standing there with acceptance and joy with every step she takes closer to him. The other thing that takes place in a marriage ceremony is that of exchanging vows, if you can try and imagine what that might be like; and one thing is for sure, Jesus will not be displayed as a wounded Lamb at His wedding, even though it might be called "The Marriage of The Lamb"; He only had to be a Lamb to redeem us, not to accept us... "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew, but He himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called THE WORD OF GOD. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (Revelation 19:11-16)

"To Be Accepted"

"For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from him; but when he cried unto Him, He heard." (Psalms 22:24) Oh, how we are loved by our Heavenly Father! If we could only grasp how much His love is for us, it would be more than are hearts could handle, and we would suffer and die from heart failure. Seeing what the Father had allowed to be perpetrated His Son, and that it was for one such as me, I am broken in my spirit just thinking about the many times that I have rejected that great love the Father has for me, and the affliction that Jesus took for my sins. Is it not enough that He should have come to save me from my sins, but He continues making intercession for me before the Father; as the one who not only took my place upon that cross, but also pleads my case before His Father. This was the Father's doing all along; do you see what that means? "For God so loved the world" is that which He has declared, and that which He has accomplished, because it was that which He had longed to do for us, that we would be accepted in His sight! And it was all accomplished by His Son, who not only bore our iniquities, but then has forgiven us Himself for having nailed Him to that cross! We might not really know how to forgive someone like He forgave us, because it takes a certain love that we really do not have the capacity to comprehend; but what we can do, is to accepted His love for us, and then to believe that He has accepted us based upon His love for us; not based upon our merit, but His great love. As I read this verse, I can't help but think how Jesus must have felt in His spirit, as He gazed about as people stood around Him looking upon His broken body upon that cross. How it must have brought Him so much anguish to look upon those who would reject His act of love for them, knowing the hearts of those who gazed upon Him, and seeing the disdain they held in their hearts against Him. Yet, He pleaded for the Father to forgive them, and pleaded it as a case of ignorance, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". The Father despised not the affliction of His Son, because it was His will that His Son should suffer on our behalf; nor did He abhor what was done to Him, because His punishment was being taken in our place. That is what it means when Jesus is call "The Lamb of God", because He is as innocent of the punishment that He received as a lamb that is slaughter for a sacrifice, and He was the Sacrificial Offering of God; provided by God, approved by God, and accepted by God... "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the World!" (John 1:29) 

"To Stand in Awe"

"Ye that fear the LORD, praise Him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all ye seed of Israel." (Psalms 22:23) As many of you should well know, Jacob and Israel are the one in the same, more or less; yet they are two different identities of people. Jacob is "the heel holder" or "supplanter", while Israel is a word the means "God Prevails", and when used of those that are His people, it speaks of "contender", or "Soldier of God". If you could have chosen which of these identities was yours, which one would you pick? In the grand scheme of things, we really do not have a choice, because when it all comes down to it, we are all both on one level or another; but when it comes to our inheritance, we are all "heel holders" of sorts to the greatest victory ever won. What are you talking about Rich? (I know that is what you are asking.) Think about this for a minute, and ask yourself how sin was defeated, and your answer will be, From Jesus' death upon the cross; now ask yourself how we have been granted eternal life, and your answer will be, Because Jesus rose from the grave; and then, ask yourself how we have been glorified, and your answer will be, Because Jesus is Glorified and sets at the right hand of the Father. Whether or not you are Jewish descendants of Abraham, or have been grafted into the tree of Abraham by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, each and every single one of us have been placed in Glory by what Jesus Christ has done, and it is nothing of our doing. To be perfectly honest, there was nothing we could have contributed to what Jesus has done, because everything required Him to do it; each and every thing that Jesus has accomplished for us to inherit eternal life in the presence of the Father, was only possible by His life, death, and Resurrection. Now then; let's look at His relationship to "Jacob" and "Israel", and see what that means towards us; because the word "supplanter", which is a given translation for "Jacob", means "one who takes the place or moves into the position of another", "to take the place of another, as through force"; and in relation to what Jesus Christ has done for us, He has taken our place when it comes to the penalty of sin; He paid the price for each and every one us, that we could stand free from sin before the Father; and yes, He did it by force! As the greatest 'Contenter' ever, Jesus defeated sin and death, thereby proving once and for all that 'God truly does prevail'...

"Preached With Power"

"I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee." (Psalms 22:22) Oh, how I wish I could have seen the faces on all those multitudes of people; thousands and thousands of weary souls that have been waiting for His arrival into Sheol to proclaim what He has done, and how they will soon be joining Him after He is glorified and has taken His seat at the right hand of the Father. We are at the verse where it speaks of Jesus declaring His victory to the multitudes of those who had waited for His coming upon the earth, and those that had looked forward to a place that He would set up as His kingdom forever and ever. People like Abraham, Jacob, king David, and untold millions that had believed upon His coming and look forward to see Him arrive; this may not have been the place that many thought He would show Himself to them, but nonetheless, He arrived in their midst, and He had great news for them all to hear. As we have seen before, the word "name" that is used in this verse is a word that means fame, reputation, glory, and is that which is being declared to those that have been held captive waiting for this day to arrive. If you can imagine the excitement that was experienced in that place as Jesus shows up among them; and the greater excitement still, as He declares what He had just done, and what He was going to do still. I can only imagine that this was the greatest sermon ever delivered, as Jesus proclaims all His power and fame to those who had no doubt whether or not heaven and hell were real!!! Talk about a captive audience, this was surely those who were eager to hear what He had to say. When it comes to what we have to say to them who need hope, this message delivered is one for the books; because that which Jesus declared to them who were waiting was a message of victory and truth like they had never heard or seen before...Seriously, this was a powerful message...

"Delivered in Power"

"Save me from the lion's mouth: for Thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorn." (Psalms 22:21) Just as we might need to be delivered from something horrific and terrible, yet God allows us to go through it; He does so to bring us to the other side of that ordeal with a greater and closer walk in Him; in doing so, He is demonstrating the power available in Him that is far more important than the outcome had there been nothing suffered. In other words; sometimes the trial and tribulation is what is needed to gain strength and courage in God's ability, even though He might not have demonstrated that ability in saving us from that trial. Take what happened to Jesus, and how He was put to death upon the cross; He suffered more than anyone should have suffered, yet the Father spared not anything from being done to Him for the sake of what was being accomplished upon that cross. The way I see the what and the why that was being displayed in the horrific death that Jesus suffered, is just an illustration of the hideousness of our sin, and the sins that we are capable of carrying out against one another. The "lion's mouth" that is being spoken of is that which represents the devil and the fierce powers of evil, including death and destruction, and everything that is associated with sin, or has it's origin in sin. Not only did Jesus bare my sins upon that cross, but He also took the beating and suffered the death that I should have, and in my place He suffered and died, that I would be delivered from the punishment of sin, because there must be a punishment for sin; for God is just and holy, and He does not allow sin to go unpunished. That said; in His suffering, Jesus took on all of the evil and powers of darkness, that He might be declared the victor in all and through all; even in that of the grave and death, He was deemed the victor over Hell and all the power that it had to hold Him down, that nothing was left undone. We can take great courage in this, because there is nothing, absolutely nothing that we can go through or suffer in that Jesus is not the victor over; especially death and the power of the grave! The power that was demonstrated in His resurrection from the grave was much more powerful than that which would have been demonstrated had the Father delivered Him from the cross; not to mention all that He suffered and died for, and the great power of the cross upon which He died. What that cross represented was my death that I should have died, and my sins that were being judged and punished upon the Creator of the world; that His creation should be set free from the bondage and the judgement of sin, for ever and ever... "And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him on His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." (Ephesians 1:19-23)

"To Hell and Back"

"Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog." (Psalms 22:20) There are not to many ways that you can interpret this passage once you have understood it's meaning, because I believe that these verses that we are in right now are all speaking about those three days in which Jesus visited Hell, and ministered to those that had been waiting, some for thousands of years. Looking at the word "Sword", it is a word that means a cutting tool, whether that be an axe, a knife, or a sword; the general idea is that there is something which is cut, as in a life is cut off or ended. His soul is then referred to as "my darling", which means 'only one', as in 'only begotten son'; that which is most dear and cannot be replaced. And the "power of the dog" is speaking of that which has strength or power in and of the lowest place imaginable to go into, and to hope to come out of. Dogs were considered despised and unclean animals, so by way of reproach, so is anyone that is called a dog, or a dead dog. The general point that is made here, is that of being taken beyond the grave; having died and become as a dog, or dead dog if you will, the power of that dog goes beyond the actual burial place or resting place, and the soul is delivered into Hell, or in this case Jesus would be taken into Paradise, where a multitude of those that looked for His coming would be waiting. As far as our hope is concerned, this is our prayer and our belief for ourselves; that we should be delivered from the sting of death, and that which was to hold us will have no power over us any longer because we have been given eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is why I said that this compartment which was once there for thousands of years does no longer exist in that place called Hell; which is not that actual Hell which was spoken as the eternal place of torment. When I die, I do not expect to be waiting to be with the Lord; my waiting time is happening right now, because I expect to be in His presence as soon as I this earthly temple is dissolved. It might actually be some time before that will happen, but I will not be realizing the time that passes, because I have passed into God's time soon, where time does not exist. Anyways, that is how I see it happening, and you may believe it differently, but that is alright; it is really not a subject that determines if you are a true believer or not; kind of like "pre-tribulation" verses "post-tribulation" beliefs, we might differ on the way we see it, but in the end, we will all know the real truth and be together for ever in eternity; in the mean time, I don't believe we shall be going through the hell of the tribulation, because Christ has delivered the church from that. Now that Christ Jesus is glorified and has taken His place in heaven, there is nothing left for His church to be taken through, or to be subject to have to be judged through, such as the Great Tribulation. Sure, there shall be suffering and trials, persecutions and death; but these are delivered to the believers by the evil powers of the world; that which is to be poured out upon the earth during the Great Tribulation is brought on by Jesus, and will be His judgement that is poured out upon those that have rejected His testimony; but you can stick around if you want to, I guess... "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelations 6:15-17) 

"Staying Focused"

"But be not Thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste Thee to help me." (Psalms 22:19) So is there more than one way to get into heaven? Not according to the Bible, because as I see the Scriptures saying, Jesus Christ is the only way that man's sins can be forgiven, and without forgiveness of sin there will be a judgement before God for those sins, resulting in eternal death and damnation. It is called "the second death", and in Revelation 20:11-15 there is the description of the judgement which shall take place, and the multitudes of those who shall be judged according to their "works", with works meaning a persons business or his conduct, and is applied those things that were done devoid of the life that has its source in God; works so to speak 'unwrought', which at the last judgement will fail of the approval of God and of all reward. In the final verse of that chapter, verse fifteen, it says, "And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. If I understand this wording that is written, and if I take this to mean what it says, as if it is the truth, then there are only two places that are mentioned where one might end up; either you are written in "The Lamb's Book of Life" or you are cast into HELL!!! Howbeit; the Hell that Jesus was to go to was not that place spoken of in Revelation 20:14, but it was a place He spoke of where there would be suffering for some and paradise for others; either party separated by a large gulf of division, where neither could cross to the other side, yet they could see one another. I do not believe that this place is still in existence; at least not for those that are saved and have given their hearts to the Lord; but it is still reserved for those that are to be judged for their sins, and those that will be judged will know right away where they will be going. In the account given by Jesus of this place (Luke 10:19-31), He tells us that there will be torment for those who are waiting for judgement; a constant thirst will be the result of the flames that surround them. Yet, this is not their final resting place; nor is that torment the torment that will follow "the second death" spoken of in Revelation 20:14. Do you get a sense of some kind of responsibility towards those that need to hear the truth? All that it takes to keep them from the pit of Hell is for someone who knows the truth to share that truth with them, and for them to believe! Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32); however, you cannot know the truth until you come to Jesus; therefore, those that are lost in a belief that is false, will not see their blindness until they are given sight, and only Jesus can give them sight to see the truth. Romans 10:17, which is part of "The Romans Road", says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". We that have God's truth in us have a responsibility to share that which we have been given, and not to turn away from those that need the truth out of a fear of offending them, or even to respect their beliefs; because if they do not have Jesus and we bid them on their way, which way are they headed???

"To Each His Own?"

"They parted my garments among them, and casts lots upon my vesture." (Psalms 22:18) We know what this verse is about, for we have heard it and seen it played out over and over again; but regarding the post from yesterday, there is something that we have settled for in our churches, and that is for the truth to not be told. Don't get me wrong, because there are many churches out there that speak the truth, and they do so with great authority; but the church as a whole has come to some kind of an agreement with the enemy, and they have somehow agreed to not push back against the lies and the misguidance that other people have bought into. After giving the message a church yesterday, I was speaking to a visitor about this weeks upcoming services, and he began to criticise my message because I had spoken out against a false religion that I had been raised in. I was teaching on Acts 9:20-31, and I was relating Paul's conversation to that of my own, and how Paul had a heart for those that were deceived as he was, as he witnessed to the religious leaders and the Grecians. I too had a heart for those that were trapped in false religions, especially the one that I was raised in as a child. What this brother said to me really made me think, because he believes that we should not speak out against false doctrine; nor should we confront them with the truth, but just leave them alone because what they believe is what they believe. I do not believe that this is biblical, nor is it what Jesus practiced while He was among His people. The truth is what sets people free, and people need to be shown the truth, especially when they are on the "wide path to destruction"! Believe what you will about things like baptism, or how often to take communion, or which feasts to celebrate; but when it comes to who Jesus is, what He came here for, and what He has accomplished, to these there are no acceptable variations to their truth. Today, what I see this verse saying, is the essence of what I am feeling in my heart. "They parted my garments among them" is something that speaks to the parting of the truth of who Jesus was, is, and always will be; some part of Jesus is okay, as long as you are using the name, or as long as you have some good place for Him in what you believe. His garments were His covering, with which anything is wrapped up in; speaking to that which was revealed to the world, His covering was who He was. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; there is not a whole lot of room left there to argue whether or not the Word was God! A little later in the same chapter, John says in verse fourteen, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". Make no mistake about this portion of Scripture, and whether of not John was talking about a lesser God, or some other form of a god; because the LORD is ONE GOD, and there is none other that we shall answer to!!! PERIOD! "They cast lots upon my vesture" speaks to me about those that gamble with half truths and not receiving the full content of God's testimony. These are those among us who only take the portions of His Word that they agree with, and disregard the portions that they don't. I truly believe that we are living in the last days; much of what is happening in the world today is bringing us towards a one world system; and it is just a matter of when He comes back, not if He comes back! If we truly are to love our brother, then how can we let a brother be dragged into hell by believing a lie; and who is our brother?

"Portrait of God's Love" -2

"I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me." (Psalms 22:17) They say that seeing is believing, but do we always see with eyes of understanding? If you have ever visited an art gallery and just hung out and listened to comments that people share about particular paintings or sculptures, then you would see how many people interpret things based upon what they believe, not necessarily upon what the artist might have wanted to get across in their work. Sure; today's verse is one of a simplistic message about Jesus stretched out on that cross with all his rib bones protruding out as if they were almost without skin; and every bone in His body was aching and screaming with pain; while the crowds below, gazed upon Him, each with there own interpretation of that day's event. Good, then I guess I am done... Not so fast! Because I do believe that there is a message here hidden between those 'bones'; something that we need to consider about what we are to look upon, and how we are to see with eyes of understanding. Many artist, especially those that perform art in the abstract, create something that is made for us to make up our own interpretation as we gaze upon it; something that will meet us where we are coming from, and then a piece of their work will build upon an emotion with the viewer. In a way, that is what God has done; but not the way you might think. What God has done, is to portray His love in one certain prissiest way, by which there is no variance of interpretation, because there is only one way that we are to be saved from our sins; which is to believe in His Son that was nailed upon that cross, and to receive His free offer of Salvation! Now, how we get there, that is a different story all in it's self. Because some of us get there through going almost to the gates of hell, while others may have been raised proper, in a Christian home where they kept clear of the darkness of this world. But, no matter who you are, or what you might have been through, we all are in need of a Saviour; we all have fallen short and are in need of God's gift of Salvation. Looking at the word "bones", it is the Hebrew word 'estem, which is a word that means bone, essence, or substance; body, or bodily form; same, selfsame; life, strength. An example of 'same' would be, "in that very day"; and selfsame would be, "as the heaven itself". The word "tell" is a word that means to account, reckon; to count accurately; to be recounted, be rehearsed, be related. An accountant would be someone that would practice such things, as they would account for what has transpired, or what has taken place; much like a scribe, who has charge of keeping the account of the king's business. The basic message that I am getting at, is that Jesus Christ did come from heaven, He was born of a virgin, He did live among us in the flesh, He was God in the flesh, He did lay His own life down for the sins of this world, He did die upon that cross, He was buried in a borrowed tomb for three days, He did go to hell and set the captives free, He rose from the grave on the third day (just as He said He would), He did walk among them and was counted by at least five hundred souls, He did ascend up into the clouds, He does sit at the right hand of the Father, and He is coming back really really soon for His bride (the church). No if you have a problem with anything that I just said, then you are not seeing the true Portrait of God's Love; that which He gave for us to "look and stare upon", that we would see our need to be saved from sin, and that we might understand the price that was paid for that forgiveness...

"Portrait of God's Love"

"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet." (Psalms 22:16) He was raised up and put on display for all to see; nailed upon the cross at Calvary, as one would hang their favorite painting upon that most special wall in the house, where all who go in and out are sure to gaze upon it. This is the portrait of John 3:16 displayed if the form of a real life action that is showing God's love for the world; just as the serpent was raised up in the wilderness, so too was Jesus raised up, that all that should look upon Him might be saved. The intent of a portrait is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. Portraits will usually portray the person looking directing at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer. The account of Jesus upon the cross shows that He was placed so that all who went in or out of Jerusalem could see Him, and He was close enough that they could actually read the inscription 'Jesus of Nazareth - King of the Jews'. What we have here today is the appointed meeting of a wicked generation and the Sacrifice of God spoken of by Abraham when he said, "God will provide Himself a lamb for a sacrifice" (Genesis 22:8), spoken of over 1,800 years prior to this event, and speaking of the Lamb of God, given for the forgiveness of sin. As with most any portrait, they do not change or alter from the position that they were portrayed in; neither do they take on different expressions or gaze within their eyes; but they remain perfectly still, so as to help the viewer engage deeper and deeper into the mood or personality of the subject. Here too, we have forgiveness being put upon display; not just the act of forgiveness, but the very root of how much God wants to forgive us, and place us in a perfect relationship with Him. Before we can truly experience the fullness of God's forgiveness towards us, we must first accept it; making it our own and believing that it was for me that Jesus suffered and died upon that cross; because it is something that must be personal, it is also something that must be cherished as our own. What that means to us as an individual in Christ, is that because He so freely gave for me, now I must freely give for Him: because it is personal, I have an obligation to forgive others as I have been forgiven. Jesus demonstrated this powerful virtue as He hung upon that cross; surrounded with "dogs" and exceedingly "wicked" men, as He hung there for all to gaze upon and ridicule, He answered back with an act of forgiveness: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

"I THIRST"

"My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death." (Psalms 22:15) Knowing what we know about the way Jesus was crucified, we can begin to see how these Scriptures portray the anguish that He suffered for our sins. This was a full day's event; one that started the evening before, with Him being beaten and ridiculed, and then early in the morning He was making His way to the place He would be crucified, dragging His own cross. It was during His journey with the cross that Jesus began to become exceedingly fatigued, almost to the point of death, and they had someone else carry His cross. Whether it was at this point, or a little later during the beginning of His crucifixion, they offered Jesus sweet wine mixed with gall, which was meant to deaden the pain of dying. Jesus refused this first drink that was offered, because He was unwilling to dull the pain, but faithfully and fully suffered through each and every moment of His death. It is kind of like a mother giving birth who refuses an epidural during her labor, so as to not endanger her child with any source of narcotics or poisons. Jesus did not want dull the pain and take away from anything that was being delivered by His suffering; not taking a chance to damage what was going to be accomplished by His death, He took all the pain so that we would be made whole and complete in Him. (Matthew 27:33-35) After hanging upon the cross for around six hours, Jesus asked for a drink; yet He asked not to satisfy His thirst, even though He was thirsty, but that the Scriptures should be fulfilled. John 19:28 gives this account, and says, "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst". The vinegar that was given to Jesus was a sour wine mixed with water which the Roman soldiers drank because the local water alone made them sick. The amount of it that Jesus drank was only to dampen His mouth, and was no way enough to satisfy a thirst; yet the thirst that Jesus was referring to was surely one that needed to be quenched. His thirst was for that which would refresh His soul, as He had taken on all of our sin, He was now feeling the full affects of sin upon His soul and the separation from the Father for the very first time. This is a thirst that we all experience when we are away from God; it's a weary soul that is dry and thirsty for God's Spirit to fill it and bring it to life. That is the description that we are witnessing today; a description of a vessel that has been dried out and is just the dust of the ground from which it came. That is the cost of sin, and the price which was paid for our's..."Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; He hath put him to grief: when Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:10-12) ...BE STRONG!

"Stretched Out and Crushed"

"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." (Psalms 22:14) Looking at these next four verses, there is something that you should know as we study the crucifixion of our Lord, and that is the fact, that at the time of this writing the punishment of crucifying someone to a cross had not been practiced yet. The graphic detail of this kind of an execution is amazing, considering this was written about one thousand years before this event took place. Remember, the title that I mentioned was written over this Psalm in my Bible is "Anguish and Praise", to which we read today of the Lord's great anguish upon the cross; suffering a brutal death where not only did He have those huge nails through His flesh, but the weight of His own body caused Him great pain and suffering. "Poured out like water" is a term that expresses several different things in relation with what was taking place upon that cross. The first and foremost meaning is that of His blood sacrifice; the shedding of His blood for the sins of the world. There are some who speculate that Jesus did not die of a ruptured or broken heart, but that He bleed to death because of the scourging that He had received, and the fact that His body was so badly torn, that you could not recognize Him. The second meaning that we can gain from this, is the washing of His blood upon the earth; as if the Father is pouring out His Son upon the earth, thereby cleansing it with the Water from heaven. Another meaning that is a little more complicated to explain, is that of His life being poured out by His own people; as the promise that has filled the cup, being spilt out and rejected as if the people did not accept the contents of the cup. The simpler meaning, and one that describes His condition, is that of total exhaustion and thirst from the massive punishment that He was suffering. His bones were all out of joint, because of His hanging there for hours; besides of the jolting His body received as they dropped the cross into the ground as He was nailed upon it; His body was being stretched like salt water taffy is pulled so the aeration makes it soft and enjoyable (if you can understand that concept). And then, His 'heart of wax'; wax being always figurative of melting, Jesus' heart did melt within Himself, for several obvious reasons; the most obvious being His condition of despair and anguish as He hung there on the cross, and the massive pressure that was placed upon His heart and lungs as His chest was being pressed against them. But, His heart melted also for you and me, and for the many souls that would be rejecting His offering of love and sacrifice. Gazing down upon the crowd that had gathered, hearing all the cursing and ridicule that was being thrown at Him, and knowing how that they really had no clue what a terrible thing that they were doing, Jesus was heart-broken for His people; for all those that only hours before had been singing praises to His entrance as the Messiah, who now, were all disgusted by His torn body, as He hung before them on that cross. His heart was 'melted in the midst of His bowels', which is that place of emotions, distress, or love. No greater love could be expressed for you and I, and no greater love could the Father have offered the world than that of giving us His Son!!! The anguish that the Father must have felt, and the crushing that He must have felt within His heart! Do we really understand just how much He loves us? "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee." (THE SONG OF SONGS 1:2-4)

"Wickedness Roars"

"They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion." (Psalms 22:13) As we imagine what this scene must have looked like, I am reminded of the scene that I saw upon the news last night, and how otherwise peaceful people can become extremely violent when the right buttons are pushed and when they are part of a raging mob. There really is no other way to describe what happens in the inner man, other than the title of today's post; a title that is addressing the evil that is embedded deep within the heart of man, and when released, it is just "as a ravening and roaring lion". At the point when this happens to anyone, there is really no telling what they are capable of doing to their fellow man, or even their own; much like the anger that is stirred up in the heat of a domestic argument that has gotten way out of control. Every little ounce of wickedness that is trapped inside is brought out to be used, just as a loin will with all of it's strength tear at the prey it is trying to take down. All of these religious leaders were men of God and were usually men that held themselves together, not given over to burst of rage or anger; yet, as they were also men separated from God because of sin, they were unable to have any control of that sin which dwelt within themselves. It is really kind of scary what we are capable of, if given over to the wickedness that dwells within our hearts. If you think that you don't have any wickedness within you, think again; because within this heart of flesh is still the ability to be given over to sin and outbursts of anger; I have many times had such moments that I wish I could take back, having stupidly roared like a lion at someone that I cared about and otherwise would have never intended to hurt. Can you see what I am trying to say, and how angry and ugly these men of God were acting towards Jesus as they were having Him crucified? It is more than just their anger that is being demonstrated, it is evil being released from deep within and the provoking of the devil himself; it is something that is almost beyond their ability to control. Have you ever been so angry that you have questioned your salvation? Well I have, and it is scary! It is something that wants to come out, and it is something that we must not let happen; because when we do, we are actually giving into the flesh, and not yielding to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help us to not be angry, but we really need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and not yielding to those things of the flesh, and we must avoid being tempted by the devil. I have been taught and believe that we are what we eat: when we feed the flesh, we tend to live in the flesh; if we feed the Spirit, then we will live in the Spirit. When we give into sin, then we give the devil something to hold up against us as our weakness; thereby making us ashamed and vulnerable to sin the more. That chance for wickedness that is inside everyone of us is only made strong when it is given nourishment, therefore we must avoid feeding the flesh, because that lion, when it comes out, is going to do some damage... "From whence come wars and fighting 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. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." (James 4:1-10)

"Only God Can Help" -2

"Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me." (Psalms 22:12) I know you might think that was a whole bunch of gibberish yesterday, but there was a whole lot of stuff swirling around in this crazy mind of mine; primarily, I was just writing whatever I felt the Lord was speaking into my heart, but the basic message I was hearing is one of complete surrender unto God. Within these eight verses we have the proof of the cross of Christ; and starting with that from yesterday, we see Jesus as placed upon that cross and lifted up above the crowd of people, far out of reach for help. If you read verses eleven to eighteen in entirety, and then envision the seen of the cross, and then go back and read them again individually, then you should be able to see contrast given within each of these verses. Today's and tomorrow's verses speak about all of those in authority among the Jews who stood around gazing and mocking Jesus as He hung upon that cross; but I have something else that I believe God has spoken to me, and it has to do with what I was getting at yesterday and what I believe He is speaking through this verse. First of all; we must be totally aware of something, and we must continually guard our hearts from being pulled into practices that cause us to drift away from this foundational truth: WE CAN NOT SAVE OURSELVES!!! No matter how hard we might try to be righteous and holy, we are still sinners that have been saved by Grace! All of these "bulls" that are be spoken of in the first portion of this verse are young and feisty bulls, compared to the older bulls that only will react when intimidated. This is something that God has shown me about my early life as a new believer, and how I was so energetic in my service to God; yet, having matured, I have become likened unto that old bull out in the pasture, who seldom fights unless provoked into something. The problem with what I have become, is that I have used that as some kind of gauge for my life in Christ. In other words; I have taken my lack of enthusiasm which was once there, and then considered myself to be less on fire for God that I once was; which may or may not be true; but I should not be looking upon my actions of service as the sole indicator of my salvation. God wants us to come to Him just as we are, so He can do a work in us, not so we can do a work in Him; it is His work in us that makes the difference in us and in those that surround us. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus is speaking about some religious people that will be lost, and He says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of the Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." The general idea of what just happen, is that those who were serving in His name, were doing so for their own personal gain and sacrifice of works, not out of a response to God working in them, but rather they were performing a work in God. The most important thing for us is our relationship with the Lord, and that He is doing a work in us; from that, His work in us then produces a work that bears fruit, because it is not our work that is being accomplished, but His work that is being spread abroad for many. Those 'bulls of Bashan" are another issue of judgement that we have a tendency to gauge our relationship with the Lord on, and that is our prosperity; as if how well off we are in our finances is some form of a way of judging our right standing with God. The main reason that Jesus instructs us not to be concerned about what we should wear, or what we should eat, or how we might provide for our livelihood, is because these things are traps which the enemy will use to have us place our attention on the material pattern of things instead of the spiritual. We will seldom realize that it is happening, because we always become what we eat the most of; but when it happens, we find ourselves more concerned about our material security than that of our eternal security. The easiest way to put this, is to consider your typical wedding vows, and then base your relationship with the Lord upon those: To have and to hold, from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, 'till death brings me into your presence...

"Only God Can Help"

"Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help." (Psalms22:11) Some people trust in money, and some trust in idols; but only God can change where you will spend eternity! As I was thinking on this verse this morning, I thought about all the stupid things that I have done in the past that I thought would change outcome. Maybe you know what I am talking about; because I know we all do them, and some of us do them almost every day. I am talking about stupid bad luck and good luck practices, such as not walking under ladders, or opening an umbrella in the house, or breaking a mirror; things that are said to be something that we should or should not do because they will bring about certain things. These things that I have listed are only obvious ones that really stand out, but there are others we do that are not so obvious, some of which we may not even realize that we do. When it comes to placing all of our trust in God, there is nothing else that we can put our trust in that can compare to the power of God; nothing will ever come close to His great
ability to save us from ourselves. How many times I have done something a certain way, thinking that if I fail to do it that way, then my universe will be disrupted. Would you call that an idol of sorts? I would. Sometimes an idol can be anything that we place in front of God's ability to do anything; which can be the way we approach Him, or the direction that we face when we pray to Him, or whether or not bow our heads when we pray. These might seem like silly things to be talking about, but to some, they are like walking under ladders or breaking mirrors; if it is not done a certain way, then a curse will result instead of a blessing. I do not know of anything I could be faced with that God could not take care of, and that He cannot handle; yet I can sure think of a lot of things that I have not asked Him to help me through. Do you understand what I am getting at? There are some things that I might think God will not fix the way I want, so therefore I might not ask Him for His help in that particular matter or circumstance; instead, I will do it my own foolish way, and rely on previous incantations of experience. These too are idols, and are things that make God far removed from our trust in Him; although He is never far from helping us, in our minds we have made it so... He wants us to trust Him with all of our heart, because only He is God...

"The Providential King"

"I was cast upon Thee from the womb: Thou art my God from my mother's belly." (Psalms 22:10) Whether you might believe it or not, if you are alive today, and if you are reading this blog, then God has brought you to this place. I know that might sound a little strange to some, but God has His hand upon each and every one of us that are His children; and each and every one of us alive today have a chance to become one of His children! It is His will that everyone turns towards Him for His free offer of salvation; an offer that He has extended to every man, woman and child that has ever lived. Looking back upon my life, I can see how God's hand was upon me; guiding out of some very dangerous places, steering dangers away from me; causing me to stop supernaturally from being hit by a car, as if my feet were stuck to the ground for just a brief second. So many times I should have been killed or badly injured, yet God's great hand of protection was upon my life. I was reminded yesterday of the "Footprints In The Sand" and how much that speaks to the way that God carries us through those most difficult times in our lives. We might not notice that He is there, and that He has us firmly in His arms; mostly because our most difficult times are so overwhelming, it is all we can do to keep our breath; but despite all the pain and suffering, He is there, and He is helping us with the pain that we are not meant to endure. This verse today is one that we can take upon ourselves and call our own, for it is true for each and everyone of those that have been called of God: He has had His hand upon your life since you were within your mother's belly! Looking at the word "cast", I was at first not that thrilled with the definitions that I saw; until I began looking closer, and taking the time to meditate upon what some of them meant. Just the word cast is enough to make one think, because just as we 'cast all of our cares upon Him, He cares for us', because we were cast upon Him from our mother's womb; which means that we were no His mind, in His thoughts, and within His divine plan for eternity. A couple things that I received from these definitions, were things like, 'adventured', 'to cast forth', 'to pluck'; with 'to pluck' being one that really made me think, for it speaks of "from his teeth I plucked the prey", which is what God has done in my life over and over again, as He has delivered me from the mouth of the enemy, who has wanted to devour me and destroy me all of my life. We can see the Father's hand upon the life of His Son, as He brought Him through childhood and to the place called Calvary; all along the way protecting Him from anything that would prevent Him from reaching that for which He was called to do. And we know that many who stood around Him were weary, wondering how someone could be destroyed at such a time as He was, having only been doing His ministry for three and a half years," He could have done so much more", they all most have thought. But that was what He came for, that He should be nailed upon that cross for each and every sin of this entire world; that none should have to be lost, and that everyone who so chooses, can have eternal life in Him... If you have not made that choice, won't you do so today...

"The Confident King"

"But Thou art He that took me out of the womb: Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts." (Psalms 22:9) If you have a calling upon your life, then you were called from birth! Yes, it's true; God has had a plan for your life since before you were even born, and He is the one that formed you in your mother's womb. Although we were conceived by the help of our father's seed, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and a miracle of God creating within Mary a child without the help of a man; otherwise known as the 'virgin birth'. You would be totally amazed at the number of Christians that do not believe in the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; they cannot see how it could have happened, therefore they don't believe that it did; at least not the way that it is portrayed in the Bible. The Mormon church believes that God manifested in the flesh and had intercourse with Mary; thereby creating His Son by His seed; yet the Bible clearly says that Jesus was born from a virgin, and in my opinion, that should mean that she had not known a man, nor should she have had the experience of anything closely associated with knowing any man. In other words, she was a virgin! Okay; moving past that, the word "took", as in "took me out of the womb", means to draw out, or to bring forth; to burst forth, which is really something that has deep character of meaning, for it speaks of not only a child bursting forth from his mother's womb, but it speaks of a river breaking out from it's source, as would be the case when a new river is formed from a broken bank of a lake; or as a soldier rushing forth to battle, as he advances onto the battlefield with all his might against an enemy. I continually am amazed at the total disregard for the miracle behind the human life that is formed within the womb; not just the body of the child that is formed there, but the life that will come forth, and the impact that life will have upon the world, or could have, if only given the chance. The argument as to when life begins is one that has forgotten what life is meant to be, and the potential that is within each and every one of us to be used for the glory of God. The word "hope", as in "Thou didst make me hope", is a word that means confident, or to have confidence; to be secure, to feel safe or be carefree, or to cause to trust. The account in the Bible of when Jesus began to be aware of His calling was when He was twelve, but I have to wonder if He knew what His calling was much earlier than that... "And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. And when they saw Him, they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:42-49)

"The Humiliated King"

"All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that He would deliver him: let Him deliver him, seeing He delighted in him." (Psalms 22:7 & 8) I do not think that David had any time in his life that reflected this; although he had come close, yet the people did not say "Let's see if God saves him"; instead, they said, "There is no help for him in God"; Jesus on the other hand lived this out in every detail. What is most amazing to me about the case of Jesus being nailed to that cross, is that He had the power to deliver Himself, and yet, He humbled Himself to hang there, with all of the humiliation and the people judging Him as if He were a common criminal. If you might notice, I have taken the liberty to capitalise the "He" and "Him" in the two verses today, and have the "He" in the last part of the statement representing the Father. The reason that this is the way it may appear, is because Jesus was Him whom the Father delighted in!!! Looking at the account of this in Matthews gospel, we can see a key phrase in what was said by the chief priests, scribes and the elders, as they said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver him now, if He will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God." (Matthew 27:41-43) In other words; they realized the importance of him being the Son of God, and how that would reflect in whether or not God should show up and save him. But God, who delighted in His Son, was the one who willed Him to hang upon that cross; it was the Father's will, and that which He delighted in; not because His Son was humiliated and shamed among His own people, but because through His shame and humiliation was the world being won! If we look at John's account of what I am talking about, which is in Revelation 5, and shows how the Lamb of God was the only one found worthy to open "the book written within, and on the backside, and sealed with seven seals"; which was the Deed to the entire earth and everything associated with it, including every single soul that ever lived. Within this account, Jesus is also referred to as "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah" and "The Root of David"; both of which portray His strength as a brave and mighty hero, as well as His inherited right to the throne of David. This right He had to be King of Israel is what made the chief priests say what they did, and to assume that if He was, then He would have the power to bring Himself down from that cross. The blindness of a man's heart is so overwhelming to the truth that is right in front of their face; because, had these who knew the writings of the prophets and knew the law, only seen what was hanging before them, they would have not seen the King of the Jews, but what John saw standing in the midst of the throne... "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings, and priests: and we shall reign on earth." (Revelation 5:6-10)

"Anguish Visited"

"But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people." (Psalms 22:6) As I said at the beginning of this Psalm, this is all about "Anguish and Praise"; a battle for the hearts and minds of men and women that are called to be a specific people requires tearing down and building up, one stone at a time, and brick by brick; sometimes, a brick must be crushed to make the mortar, but part of the building, all the same. What we have before us today is a verse that is one which is about our Lord Jesus Christ; although there might have been a short period of time when David could attest to this within his own life, it is one inscribed for the Son of man; the one to come in the humility of a lamb to be slaughtered, and to lay His life down for a people to be lifted up. I wish to share a quote regarding the 'Scarlet Worm', which is a beautiful picture of what we are speaking of by saying, "But I am a worm". "When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding His precious blood that He might 'bring many sons unto glory' (Hebrews 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through Him! Psalms 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (Isaiah 1:18)" (Henry Morris) The two Scriptures that Henry references are one that we have heard over and over, and are specific to mighty life giving power of our Redeemer's death. Hebrews 2:10 is one that I remember from when I was first saved, for it grabbed me by heart and made me see Jesus as I had never seen Him before; it says, "For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." There is no other way to describe what a complete surrender looks like; because it is not just the laying down of a life, it is the mighty work that was accomplished by His death! Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." The mighty washing of His blood, what a glorious sacrifice was made! And in so doing, He became disgraced and humiliated among His own people, including those that loved Him. Jesus, speaking about the temple of His body, said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up". (John 2:19) Unlike that scarlet worm, Jesus rose from the grave; not only defeating sin upon the cross, but defeating death from the grave; a mighty demonstration of anguish visited: visited meaning that He did not stay...

"God Always Prevails"

"They cried unto Thee, and were delivered: they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded." (Psalms 22:5) Who am I, that I should question God's plan for my life? I am instructed in His word to trust and obey, yet I still question His doing, and whether or not He has the desires of my heart anywhere within His plan. Am I the only one who does this, or is it just a part of our frail nature? I wish that I were the only one, but sadly, this is something that is deep within each and every one of us. So, how do we overcome being disappointed or suffering from the anxiety of waiting for our situation to change? We are told to have faith; right? So that is my problem; my faith is lacking, and I have not put all of my trust in God; therefore, I question His reasoning in my certain situation? Is that it? No, I don't think that is what makes me question what God is doing. What makes me question what God is doing is my questions of what He is doing; that's what I think! I what to know what is going to happen, and when it is going to happen; otherwise, I am stuck feeling God might not be doing anything at all. Jesus always knew what was coming, and He always knew when it was going to happen; that is something that comes with being God in the flesh. We, on the other hand, are not God; nor do we possess the power to see all that He sees; that is something we just need to get right in our heads! As soon as I start questioning what God is doing, I begin to feel so alone in my situation, and I feel depressed because there is no answer in sight; the word for that would be "confounded". Confounded is a word that means to be ashamed; to be disconcerted; or to be disappointed. Disappointment is easy to understand, because we have all experienced an ample amount of that throughout our lives; but ashamed and disconcerted might require a little looking at, because they have much in common. If you look up the meaning of 'disconcerted', you will find words like disturbed, bewildered; such as would be the case of being overwhelmed with unexpected calamity. And if you look up the definition of 'ashamed', then you will see meanings like embarrassed; inadequate; feeling inferior; foolishness or disgrace. The thing that both of these definitions have in common is the absence of joy; you cannot experience joy if you are feeling inadequate, or disturbed, or disgraced; or even being bewildered can cause our joy to faint. The Lord's brother, James, had a real simple solution for the issue of being bewildered by anything, and he called it "counting it all joy". If you have an issue with not trusting what God is doing in your life, then resolve to count it all joy; making a point of taking every situation that you are blessed to experience, and turning it into an occasion to celebrate joy in the Lord's grace and mercy. I do not think James would have mentioned it right off the bat, if it was not an issue. And, you may take notice, that he did not say that we should ask for joy, or seek out joy; but he says, "count it", which means to command it to be so!!! "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)

"God Has Prevailed"

"Our fathers trusted in Thee: they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them." (Psalms 22:4) Since I was a child, I can remember the first time I watched the movie "The Ten Commandments", and I remember how my brothers, sister and I sat on the floor of the theater, just below the screen and watched as the sea parted, and the children of Israel walked through as if on dry land. I knew that this was a movie, but I also knew that the story was true; deep down in my heart, I believed everything that was written in those pages of the Bible; even from a very young age, it was a book that I held sacred and believed was God's inspired written words. Believing in the Bible as God's Holy words will not save anyone, sad to say; because unless you have God's Holy Spirit dwelling within you, that's all they are to you, just words! I found that out when I accepted Jesus into my heart in September 1981; as I began to read the Bible for the first time as a new creation in Christ, all the old stories, and all the old familiar Scriptures all had new meaning, and took on a personal character, as if those very words I was reading had life. For the very first time, the passages that I had previously just glanced over, were grabbing my attention and causing me to pause to consider what was being said. Prior to that day, I had read the pocket Testament I carried with me every day, almost all day long, and the stories that I read, although I believed them to be true, they did not pertain to me, but were just stories of things that happened a long time ago and things that will happen after Jesus returns; but they were never about me! That is what changed for me that day; now, as I read God's Holy words, they mean much more than just stories and prophecy of things to come, they involve me and my relationship with a great God that loves me. What this verse speaks to my heart about, is that God has demonstrated over and over how He will deliver; no matter what your situation might be, or how totally impossible things might appear, God is able and exceedingly capable of getting you through any storm! I think that sometimes we figure that God is not working those great miracles that He once did, like parting the sea, or causing the earth to stand still; but we must never doubt what God could or could not do in any situation, because He can do whatever He wants to do, when ever He wants to do it; it is just a matter of whether or not it is His will. As far as those old stories go, I read them now and love to just marvel at how great a God we serve; knowing that He is more than able to do anything, anytime, in any one's life that He chooses. I still believe that He can heal my wife, even though it has been over nine years, I still pray over her several times a day; but I also know that it is God's will that I must submit to, and as I wait, I must praise Him for the hope that remains, and believe that He is still capable of performing great things; because He definitely is, and has proven that He can; He saved me, and that tells me He is still in the wonder working business...

"God Prevails"

"But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhaditest the praises of Israel." (Psalms 22:3) Though we may not receive an answer right away, we must never forget to keep on praising Him, for He is our God. Just because we might not think He is listening to us, does not mean that He is not there, and that He has removed Himself from being concerned for our welfare; because He has promised to always be with us, even to the very end! So; the question that is always asked, Why do bad things happen to good people? It is the question that seems to come up the most from people young and old, and one that causes people to wonder if God really does exist, or if He is really the one who is calling all the shots. However; there is something about this world that we inhabit that we must never forget, that it is fallen and broken, and is cursed by sin and the result of sin; but even though sin and death abounds, so does the beauty of God's love and the wonders of His creation. In this verse above, we have a word which is a name that was given to Jacob; it is the word 'Israel', and it was given to Jacob the night he wrestled with God all night, while his brother was coming to him with an army of men. If you know the story, then you know how Jacob had tricked his brother out of their fathers blessing, and he was fearful that his brother was coming for revenge. The word 'Israel' means "God Prevails", and God had given it to Jacob that night with a message of hope and deliverance, which was based upon the fact that Jacob had prevailed against God that night as they wrestled, and had said he would not stop until He blessed him. The name Jacob means 'heel holder' or 'supplanter', a layer of snares; and within this name change that was given, we have the illustration of God's ability to direct His will, even when it looks like the enemy has prevailed, God will always prevail; even when things look as horrible as they could possibly be, God can take the worst circumstances you could think of and turn them to good. Imagine what was going through the minds of Jesus' mother and brothers, or even his followers, as He hung on that cross. They must have been saying with all of their hearts, How can this happen to someone as good as this man was? All He ever did was bring blessings; healing the lame, the blind, the sick; bring those dead to life; feeding thousands with nothing more than a few fish and a loaf of bread. Why would God let this happen to someone such as this? Yet it pleased God to have Him suffer, for it was the only way that He could bring us to Himself. The word "praises" that is used in the verse above means more than just a song or singing, it also means 'renown', 'fame', 'glory'; the object of praise. Israel is God's renown; from the calling of Abraham out of the land of his fathers, to the birth of a nation; God's chosen people were His choice, and His purpose was to bless the world with the chosen people, and He did: God always prevails! Another word to look at in this verse is the word "holy", because it is a word that means 'free from defilement of crimes' and 'The Holy One of Israel'. One thing is for certain: when we all get up into heaven, no one will be asking, "Why did that have to happen?" Just keep praising God...

"Determination"

"O my God, I cry in the daytime, but Thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent." (Psalms 22:2) The general premise of the verse is that of determination to make sure God hears your prayer. If you really and truly believe that He is there, then you will not give up until you have received a response! The actual word being used here for "daytime" means day and night, or continually asking or crying out. In Luke 11:9, Jesus is speaking about how much more our Heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask, and He speaks about persistent prayer, by saying, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you". In the original writings, it speaks more about "Keep on asking; Keep on seeking; Keep on knocking." If we really want God to fill us with His Spirit, then He will! The question that comes to my mind, is do we really want Him to do it? That might sound like a silly question; but if a person does not want to get serious about changing their life, then they are not really going to want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. However; the odd part of that is, the only way that you are truly going to want to change your life, is if you are filled with the Spirit!!! Interesting how that works; it's not our power that make us right, it is God's power that changes us and makes our will conform with His; we just have to want Him to make it happen. When we are filled with the Spirit of God, our desire to walk in the flesh is no longer what controls us, but it is now the Spirit of God that not only guides us, but also directs our passions; we become passionate about the things of God, and less concerned about the things of this world. But we must be determined to have God take complete control of our life! It really does not get much similar than that. Do you want to have victory over that sin in your life? If so, then get determined to be filled with the Holy Spirit; and if you still feel weak, then ask Him for more and more of Him. God is always willing to give us that which we need to be victorious, because He is a giver of good gifts, and if you are His child, then He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can handle; nor will He let you be persecuted beyond that which you can stand; but He will stretch us, and make us more determined for Him and for His Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and guide us, and comfort us, and give us the power to be over comers; it does take something called determination...

"Beyond Measure"

[To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.] "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? why art Thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" (Psalms 22:1)  Not a single soul shall not come to understand and see the power of God's love! That is something everyone needs to know now, because later on, they who do not receive His love now will see what they rejected, and they will suffer with that truth as they are tormented internally forever in Hell. As we move from Psalms Twenty One and begin now into 'The Twenty-Second Psalm', I would like to recall why the victory that was established by Jesus Christ is something that we must not only hold unto with all of our might, but we must establish it within our hearts as our victory also. God loves us so very much! And because of His great love for us, He has created a way for us to have victory over each and every sin that could possibly enter into the heart of man, or woman; a real victory, that is not based upon our ability to overcome that sinfulness within us, because that is something we must understand as the flesh, which was crucified on that cross with Christ along with our sins. Therefore when the flesh rises up, it must not be fed, but must be counted as dead in Christ! That might sound as though we are still responsible to overcome something on our own, but it really involves our ability to rely on Jesus Christ and the victory that He won over the power of sin; which included not only the punishment of sin and the death associated with it, but it also included the sinfulness of man, which is that which causes us to fall into a state of sinfulness and condemnation before the Father. In other words; the victory we have over sin is only found in Jesus Christ, who not only paid the price for our sins, but also became the Victor over our weaknesses; all that we need to do, is to walk in Him, and we are guaranteed to be victorious! The title of Psalms 23 that is printed in my Bible, is "Anguish and Praise", and it represents the cost of our sinfulness to be removed forever and ever. Much of this Psalm can only be attributed to Jesus Christ and His suffering, humility and anguish that was demonstrated by His coming here in the form of a man and taking our place upon the cross. The introduction to this Psalm is one that requires some looking at, because here David again makes reference to something that this song is to be played upon; which here is described as "Aijeleth Shahar", which basically means, "Hind of the Morning". This is not an instument to which this is to be played upon, but is rather the melody to which it is to be played. It's discription is one of the morning sun shedding it's first beams, and represents the joy that will dawn after misery; quote: "In calamity there is hope, for the end of a dark night is the dawn." (Enwari Soheil) The amount of suffering that Jesus experienced upon the cross is something that we could never know, nor can it be measured; because at the center of His suffering was the separation from His Father because of the sins He took upon Himself as He hung upon the cross. This is real anguish that we see spoken in this first verse of this beautiful Psalm; a Psalm the not only portrays the anguish of what Jesus suffered, but turns that anguish to praise because of what the Lord has done. In this we must always remember, that we can never ever suffer anything more than Jesus suffered upon that cross; and yet too, His suffering was in our place, that the separation we had from the Father could be eliminated by the separation that He suffered for us. On the flip side of all of that, we have what Hell shall represent; which will be eternal separation from God and His love; even after getting a glimpse of what should have been, and seeing the great love which was rejected, every moment spent in that eternity will be the torment of separation. I find it rather interesting how that works out; because just as God's great love for us is beyond measuse, so shall the missery suffered from those who become eternally separated from that love... "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? why art Thou so far from helping me, and from hearing the words of my roaring?"