"Good Means Your Glad"

"That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Thy wondrous works." (Psalms 26:7) Can you imagine what heaven will be like? It's really not that far away! I do Termite Inspections on homes most every day of the week, and over this past week I have visited three homes where I have seen customers that I have seen at least once a year for the past ten years, and I think I might have seen them for the last time. If there is one thing I hate about visiting people on a yearly basis, it's that every year is closer to the end. One thing is for sure, you can really tell those that are ready to go, and those that are not; it's really obvious in the joy that they have in being so close to heaven; knowing that it is just a matter of a few more days, they are really looking forward to departing. I see open Bibles in the house, and I know they have been reading the promises of what is coming next; seeing that, gives me so much encouragement and hope for what is ahead. The most striking thing that I remember about the day I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, was the gladness that I felt in my life; even though I was locked up inside of a jail facility at the time, I was full of joy and gladness. It's not that I could not be happy before, because I was the kind of person that liked to make friends, and usually tried to be a happy friend to be around; but the gladness that I felt was something entirely different; it was as though I had been set free from prison, even though I was still behind bars! What this gladness is from, is that we are no longer condemned, and have been set free from the chains of hell; no longer bound by the darkness that once held us captive, we have been given Light that illuminates the eternity  awaiting us. The verse today is actually a continuation of yesterday's, with the focus being upon the alter of the Lord; the point of which, is that because we can leave our sins and the alter, we have the blessing to walk away cleansed; which then provides for a heart of thanksgiving, and the gladness to cause us to want our thanksgiving to be known! Once we enter into a right relationship with God, we actually begin to absorb all of His greatness; meaning, we can now actually understand how wonderful He really is. Before accepting Jesus into my heart, God was always so distant; somewhere out there in the heavens, and way far away. Now, I feel God in my life; I can fellowship with Him, just as I would sit and talk with a friend; only better, because the friendship that I have in God is based on 100% truth, and I never need to worry what He thinks of me, because He knows me better than I even know myself..."Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice! Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand! Be careful for nothing: but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

"Good Means Pure of Heart"

"I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass Thine alter, O LORD:" (Psalms 26:6) If there was one thing that keeps me from destroying myself, it's God's great love and mercy. I don't know how many times I have looked back and wondered how I ever made it through one particular mess or another; but God was there to bring me through to the other side. Although I may not have intentionally sought out to destroy my life, I was surely not innocent of any wrong doing; as a matter of fact, you could probably say I was the only one responsible for each and every wreck that was created in my life. Call it a lack of prayer, or a desire that was not in line with God's will; be it what it may, if my life went off track, it was because I was not on God's track, but my own. That said; I do believe that God's grace can surpass anything that we could ever do or not do in our lives; meaning, that He can make lemonade out of lemons, even if the lemons have been destroyed! Sometimes we must live out certain trials in our lives, for whatever reason they might be, we must know that God is always keeping us within reach. As I have said over and over again, God's great love for us as His children is far greater than anything we could ever understand in this life; there is really nothing that can compare it to, neither will we really comprehend the fullness of the measure, or the greatness by which He has loved each and everyone of us; even before we were formed in our mother's womb! I just cannot comprehend the majesty and the power of a love like that; it's is positively more than this simple mind can explore; the best I can do, is to think about what I know, and then consider His love to be millions of times stronger. This is what I believe it means to be "Pure of Heart"; because we are really not that special compared to one another; neither is one of us more important that the other; but God's love for us is what is special, and because He loves us, individually, that makes us special as a person, and as a single soul that is the apple of His eye. As with Paul's word of encouragement from yesterday's closing verses, we are not yet perfect, but we are made perfect in Christ Jesus; and although we have not yet obtained perfection, His perfection is more than enough to complete us, as long as we are pressing towards that mark... "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." (Philippians 3:20 & 21)

"Good Means Resolute"

"I have hated the congregation of evildoers; and will not sit with the wicked." (Psalms 26:5) If I could simply try to live by one specific rule for keeping out of trouble, this one could be a good one to adhere to. I really do not have any sin in my life that I do not like; although, sin does have a way of winning you over to the other sins which are hated. It is really important that we keep a "good eye" out for sin that is allowed to hang around in our lives. I say "good eye", because we can sometimes have two-sided vision when it comes to the sin that is present in our own lives; the other side we could call a "blind eye", and it would be one that simply cannot see the sin because it chooses not to! To put this into a little better perspective, we should use the modern day term known as the Internet; something that David did not need to deal with, and something that is a plague on society more than it is a benefit. Don't get me wrong, I love looking stuff up, checking out the Drudge, and how emails work; but the "congregation of evildoers" is so accessible and subtle, if you are not careful, you will find yourself "sitting with the wicked"!!! It does not just mean that you must stay away from porn sites, although that is pretty much a given; but it can include all sorts of social networks, places that are meant to congregate and share conversations and pictures with one another, can become places that spark lust and appetite for the things which can cause that "good eye" to turn away. Hating the congregation of evildoers is a good practice to put in place, because it keeps your guard up and you can tell when you are entering into, or have stumbled into some place you do not want to be. The meaning of the word "resolute" is that of firmly resolved or determined; to be set in purpose or opinion; unwavering. We know what the Lord requires of us, and we should be firmly resolved to maintain or exceed His requirements for our lives; to not set out to do so, when we know it is so, is something that is hard to ask forgiveness for; although, He is more than willing to forgive us, it is something we have a hard time accepting His forgiveness over. That is why sin must be rooted up and allowed to be removed from our lives; because any sin, no matter how small it might appear to us, can become a growth within us that blocks out our good vision, and increases the "blind-eye" within us. Sin is sin; simple enough to understand how missing the mark is called sin, and how having a mark set before you is that which you resolve to hit..."Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." (Philippians 3:12-15)

"Good Does Mean Good"

"I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers." (Psalms 26:4) Yes, I know we are not perfect, but we are to strive towards perfection; and one of the ways for us to make that happen, is to not hang out with those that oppose godliness. Now I know that there are plenty of reasons to associate with some nonbelievers; one in particular would be so that we can minister to them about Jesus Christ, because before we can get them to care what we have to say, we need them to know that we care. But this is something different; this is entering into fellowship with those things that they love to do which are against what you stand for. Take strip clubs for example; since I was saved in 1981, I have entered one strip club, and it was to look for my crew after work; which was probably within the first two years after I accepted the Lord into my heart. I think I have shared this before, but I was definitely in a place where I did not belong. I knew that they were in there somewhere, but I could not stand to stick around long enough to look for them; it was as if I have entered Babylon during one of the Pagan feast days; it was beyond dark, it was demonic. I realized right then and there that I was not suited for that kind of an environment, and have not been in one of those places since then. But, what David is talking about in this verse, is something a little different than where you hang out with nonbelievers, or even where you hang out with believers; this is about keeping secrets and lying about or to others, something that requires entering into an agreement with someone else to purposely deceive someone else. When it comes to keeping the Ten Commandments, we all know how that is not something possible to accomplish, but that does not mean we can just set out to break anyone of them that we want to. We that are to be representing Jesus, are to be under a New Commandment, which is the commandment of love; and love does not plot out against another! Having said that, I know that there are plenty of situations where you don't tell something to someone for their own good; but it is better to say nothing at all, then to enter into a lie. Once you have been exposed as a liar, it is hard to convince others with the truth; who is going to believe your testimony? As with any one of the Commandments of God, His ways are always good; they produce good character, and they bring good results with raising our families, or any other endeavor that we set out to accomplish. When we do break one of them, it is usually the result of neglect or letting down our guard, resulting in sin and "missing the mark"; but that's because the mark is keeping His commands. When we plot out something wrong, the mark we have now made for ourselves is not the mark we should be aiming for..."Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:7-10)

"Seeing Is Believing"

"For Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth." (Psalms 26:3) The apostle John states in John 1:18, that, "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him". There is no other way to put this, than to say, if you don't think that God sending His Son to die on the cross for you is not a strong enough demonstration of His love for you, then I hope you have a great time in hell, because you are going to need all the hope you can get! Not that I too once could not see His great love for me, because I was once as lost as the you could get. You know what I am talking about? The AC/DC song ringing in my ear, as I was speeding down that "Highway To Hell"; not really caring if that was where I would end up; besides, most of my friends would be there also. It was not until I could see God's great love for me, and what He had sacrificed for my soul; not till then did I actually understand what I was doing was wrong; and when I say wrong, I mean it was wrong for me! You see, that's the whole point of how He reached down and touched my heart; I had no desire to be holy, quite the opposite was my intention; but when God touched my heart, and when His great love was revealed to me, then there was only reaction I could express, and that was to ask Him for His forgiveness! To heck with what everyone else might have thought, I needed to get right with God! That is how is love takes hold of our hearts; making us truly see His great love for us, and the urgency of the response, we must surrender right away; there may not be a second chance! Making a point of how much God's word is truth, and how His promises are sure, requires one to first surrender their life to Him first, and then they are able to realize all the benefits. such as peace, joy, and love; things that you cannot truly understand until you take that step of surrendering your life to Him. But; (and I have had discussions with other believers about this); before we surrender, we must see our great need for His forgiveness and the great sacrifice that He has provided for that great need to be meet. Some are under the opinion that you really can't see who Jesus truly is until you actually accept Him into your heart; but I tend to disagree, because how do we know the love we are responding to, without first understanding how that love was poured out for us? It just does not make any sense at all, that someone would assume God loves them, and then surrender their whole life to Him, without first seeing a measure of that love which He has for them; if you wanted an example of "Blind Faith", then that could be a good one. But I do not believe that faith is blind; faith has truth attached to it, and it has power; both of which are connected to tangible assets, that are only available once you have tasted the love that you have seen..."But as many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:12-14)

"Living Wholeness, Too"

"Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart." (Psalms 26:2) This is no ordinary love that we have been given; I really hope and pray that we all come to understand that with all of our heart; because, I know that I need some work in the area of realizing how much God loves me. Not to say that I do not understand that God loves me, because I am well aware of that; but I think we relate His love to that of our love, more often than we might think. Last night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I was thinking about how much God loves to make us whole; it's not that He just loves to making us whole, but rather, He loves the process that He produces in our lives that will eventually bring us to the place of completion. The way that I see it, is that God's way of making a pot to His liking, does not take trial and error, but rather it takes splendid detail as the Master Potter etches in a special design into each and every pot that He has formed. To look at that in another way, my first point to focus on would be our willingness to allow Him to detail us; not that He will not do it anyways, because He will; but to become all that God has intended us to be, we must first become willing vessels; and by willing vessels, I mean that we are not fighting God's every move in our lives. Okay, maybe you can't yet see what it is that I am talking about; but the most critical danger to our normal lives is change; it's just something that we naturally tend to avoid, because it is something that involves unknown and uncharted territories. We cannot be changed, if we avoid change; at least not without some serious drama taking place in our lives that gets our attention off of wanting to keep things the way that they are, and making us eager for something to change; that's sadly what it takes most of the time for us to allow God to change us. This is where love comes into focus, because we must be convinced that God loves us; it cannot just be something that we think we know, and therefore we accept it as so; but rather, it must be something that we believe with all of our heart. When we can see God's love for us, that's when we can feel it in our soul; that's when our desire for loving Him swells up within us, and we can feel our need for more and more of His love. The "reins" and "heart" that David is speaking of are seats of appetites and passions; those things that we are affectionate towards, and what it is that moves us and makes us desire living out each and every day. With that; now that we understand how much God loves us, and how much He loves to make us whole, our desire needs to be living out the wholeness that He has intended for us. It is really not that complicated to understand how to allow God to work His perfect will within your life; not once you truly see how much He loves you... "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)

"Living Wholeness"

[A Psalm of David] "Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide." (Psalms 26:1) I have put a lot of thought into the title for today, as it is not just a matter of being made whole, but it is also a matter of living wholeness after we have been made that way. We are not made perfect, at least not as of yet; but the real point of being made whole, is that we have been cured of a great and terrible disease; one that was going to have us spending eternity in hell, forever separated from God and His love. The first thing that David is asking, is for God to judge him; not that God would cast judgement upon him, but that God judge his situation, and vindicate him from the false charges that have been brought against him. It is believed that David wrote this Psalm while running from Saul, who had not only set out to take David's life, but had also spread false charges of treason and other high crimes against him, as to justify his rage against an otherwise innocent man. Adding to his request for God to judge his situation, David makes mention of the integrity that he was walked in; not just for justification from those that have falsely accused him, but because a large measure of his integrity is based upon God's great mercy upon his life. Having been around the block more than once, I can attest to the need that we have for God's great mercy and forgiveness; it's not that we are unable to withstand temptation, because I believe that we can, if we yield ourselves completely over to the Holy Spirit; but it's the situations and encounters that we have in this life, the life of the flesh, that are our nemesis. It's a lot like driving, something I do a lot of; you can practice safety and good driving all you want to, but it's the other guy on the road that you need to watch out for, because they can come out of nowhere. Unless you are living as a Monk in a Monastery, and every one around you has a vow of silence, you are going to be offended by someone, and you are going to end up thinking bad thoughts towards another person; maybe not intentionally, but out of self defense, you are going to react in a way that requires asking for forgiveness from God. It was not David's intention to harm Saul, as he had proven several times; but rather, that God would make everything happening against him become a reflection of the integrity of his heart; because he was not a criminal, and he had not done anything that would justify the rage Saul had against him. We really cannot control what other people do; all that we can hope to do, is to react in a way that provides for the least amount of damage..."The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe." (Proverbs 29:25)      

"A Good Man's Prayer"

"And when He was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Master, what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto Him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy cross, and follow me." (Mark 10:17-21) As you may have remembered from our previous discussion about this "Rich Young Ruler", it is believed by many that the one who came running and kneeling to Jesus was none other than Mark himself. The other accounts of this same encounter are vague as far as the feelings involved; however, they do specify that he was a rich young ruler, whereas this one does not. The title above Psalms 126 in my Bible, as you may have guessed, is, "A Good Man's Prayer"; and as Jesus stated above, "there is none good but one, that is God"; therefore, I have pondered this morning about what it is that makes this "A Good Man's Prayer". One of the parallels between this Psalm and that of the previous one, is that of being willing to surrender all; and in so doing, we are able to stand upright before God. It is not our righteousness before God that makes us good, but rather, our willingness to surrender all that is unrighteous before Him. Just as the example that is given with the saying, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24), we must be willing to understand and confess our weaknesses before the Lord, and come to the place where we know how much we need Him to strengthen us and complete us; because without His power influencing our lives, we are going to fail. It is an assurance that is given unto us, over and over, and as many times as we need to reach out for it, that if we humble ourselves, confess our sins before Him, and turn from that sin, then He will make us "Good"; that we can be assured of... "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

"Never Give Up"

"Unto Thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul."---"Redeem Israel, O God, out of his troubles." (Psalms 25:1 & 22) It starts with an act of humility, and then it finishes with an act of intersession. We are made for love, it is part what we are as creatures that were made in the image of a Loving God; and because it is part of what we are, it is only natural that when we find true love, we desire desperately to hold onto it. There is no truer love that can be found than that which is found in God! He will never leave you; He will never cast you aside: He has promised by His Word, and His Word is the manifestation of His Love! When we feel as though God has quit loving us, we must realize that feeling is coming from within us and it is manifested by our actions, not His: His love never changes, and is always there for us to come running back to; it is we that have hearts which change, and it is we that cast Him aside and leave Him. As we begin to move into Psalms Twenty Six, there are a few parallels between these two Psalms that must be addressed. In total, this Psalm is a prayer for redemption to come through Jesus Christ, and the happiness to be brought from our future state; which is to be with our Lord in heaven, for ever. Ultimately, it is only in heaven that we will find total happiness, completely free from pain and suffering; but in the meantime, we are assured joy in knowing that God loves us, and in knowing that He has promised to never let us go. It is up to us to believe Him! We must never give up believing Him at His Word, for His Word is and always will be Truth! Having said all of that, I am reminded how we are meant to love, and that love is an act of sacrifice and care for one another; in other words, love cannot be complete without loving others; it's like a circle, that in order to be a circle, it must be joined to where it began. Therefore, if you are feeling unloved, then stop praying for yourself so much, and focus on praying for others..."Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountain of spices." (The Song of Songs 8:11-14) "Lord Jesus; it is pleasant dwelling here in the gardens, but to depart, and be with Thee, is far better; that therefore is what I wish, and wait, and long for. Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!"

"Man Up!"

"Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles." (Psalms 25:22) Sorry gals, if the title might offend you; but something needs to happen in our churches to make the men take responsibility for being a soldier of God, and to fight for their families. Now I hope you don't think less of me for doing this, but I went and watched "Warm Bodies" with my niece last night; and yes, it is a zombie under cover, but it's main message is that "Love Conquers All". With that, and as in the movie, love must still be fought for!!! In other words, we can't just sit idly by and expect everything we care about to just fall into place because love is found and alive, because there are apposing forces that would like to stop love from spreading. I will not say any more about the movie, only that it is good enough to recommend it to watch; but one thing that is sure, is that without Christ in our hearts, we are the walking dead! Remembering that this Psalm is actually a prayer, and that it may have been penned by David when he was placing the ark in it's resting place within the City of David, we can visualize what that might have portrayed to the people, and how it was that the ark represented more than just a symbol of God's presence, but it represented Jesus Christ and the power of God's great redemption for not only His people, but for the entire world. And yet; even in God's great redemption, there is still a need to fight for what you believe; even though the price has been paid for us to be saved, there is still a battle that must be fought within that salvation. In other words; name it and claim it, is a nice slogan for what we believe, but it must still be proven on the battlefield, because the devil is not giving up that easily. Let me try to offend you gals one more time, as I take a closer look at the meaning of "troubles" in the verse we have listed above. The primary meaning is that of distress, but it has a secondary meaning, which is that of adversary; which when taken a step further, can actually mean a vexer or a rival wife. Now I know that none of you women that are following this blog could be classified as a rival wife, so don't take much of this to be about you; but there is nothing more trying to a man's commitment to be a soldier of God, than that of a wife who wants her man all to her self. One of the meanings for "Israel" is that of "contender" or "soldier of God", and the basic idea is that of "to fight"; and in that chance you don't know what "to fight" might mean, it means that you take a stand, which is the opposite of backing down... "We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour." (The Song of Solomon 8:8-10)    

"Contentment"

"Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on Thee." (Psalms 25:21) Something has to be said for waiting on the Lord; which means a little more than waiting as one would sit and wait to see a doctor in an emergency room. Just as "keep" from the previous verse had the properties of 'to watch for or wait for', and even the word "preserve" in the verse today has properties of 'to watch or to keep', to "wait" on the Lord is to expect on God or to look eagerly for; not exactly the same feeling you get waiting to see a doctor. The main difference in these two petitions, is that "O keep my soul and delivery me" is asking God's grace to keep us; while "let integrity and uprightness preserve me" is asking for our obedience to His word to keep us. To some, that might sound like our condition of standing with the Lord is based upon works and not by faith; which could not be further from the truth. It is our faith that brings us to a life saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and then the knowledge we are given produces a work in us; which means that our faith produces the work, not the other way around. We do not become pure by striving to be holy; we become pure by the washing of the blood of Jesus Christ; and then we continue to walk in holiness, as He is holy. It is in that frame of mind that we "wait" on the Lord; as a product of His doing, we look to Him completing His work in us; knowing that He will, we are eagerly looking for and expecting His perfect work to be complete in our lives. His perfect work in us is completed by our obedience and our willingness to walk as He would have us to walk; something that requires us to be guided by His word and by His Spirit, and not by our own wants and desires; which is what "contentment" is all about: it's the ability to wait upon the Lord, because all that we need is in Him... "The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." (Proverbs 27:7)

"Liberation"

"O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in Thee." (Psalms 25:20) To put this in a little better perspective, we could consider what God requires of us is more like basic requirements that we have to maintain our physical lives; such as breathing, eating, not jumping in front of trains, or any other stupid stuff that we know our mortal bodies cannot sustain. If we have the resources to maintain our sustenance and good common sense, then our chances of living a good long life are pretty good; but if we are cut off from any of the basic needs of our bodies, or if we jeopardize our physical bodies by acts of pure stupidity, then we are surely going to depart this earth sooner that we would otherwise. Oddly enough, the requirements that we have for our soul to be secure in God, are also beneficial to the health of our flesh; although we are denying the flesh it's lustful and sinful nature, we are providing for it a stress free condition and the ability to fully heal it's self, as God has intended it to do. The amount of cancers in the world today are really staggering; I personally know and am surrounded by people who are dealing with some sort of cancer, some minor, and some are beyond a cure; at least a medical cure. Is it our diets? or is it stress? Depending on what kind of junk that you eat, it could be related to your diet; but chances are, it is the stress that stops your natural healing process from working fully, and it lets something malignant grow inside of you. Now about this thing called "liberation", which is something that is available to each and everyone who puts their trust in the Lord; it simply requires that we obey God! Really, it's as simple as that! Obey God, and be free from stress; disobey God and you will be a wreck, spiritually, and then eventually physically. The question we must ask ourselves in asking God to keep our souls and to deliver us from anything that would come against us, is whether or not we are keeping His words as the guide for our lives. Just as food and water are required to maintain this flesh, so to, His Word and His Spirit are required to maintain our soul, and to ensure that it is never ashamed before Him, or anyone else. If there is nothing that we are trying to hold onto, such as sin, unforgiveness, or pride, then there will be nothing that we need to feel shame over; which means that as far as anything which could cause us oppression, we have been liberated... "All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of the spirit." (Ecclesiastes 6:7-9)

"Oppression"

"Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred." (Psalms 25:19) Having seen the cost of stress, we should consider what alternative condition we have available; it's really just common sense that we are talking about here, not some kind of secret code, or some other mystical way of finding the cure for the stress in our lives. God would say to us, "Come now, and let us reason together" (Isaiah 1:18), because He has the answers to every problem we could ever come up against, it's just a matter of us being willing to approach Him, and do so on His terms, not ours! This is what the term 'oppression' means, to be weighed down; which is what we become when we try and carry our own burdens; those burdens just get bigger and bigger, until ultimately, we are crushed below the weight of something that might have started as a pebble of sand in comparison. Primarily, the root to every problem in our lives is sin; it just goes without saying, that all of the worlds problems are the result of sin and the fall of man. Sure, the devil has a lot to do with man being tempted; but Jesus came and straightened him out on that issue; taking that power away from him by living a life that was free of sin in the form of the flesh. We are not meant to take on the devil; Jesus has already done that, so that we would not have to; but we are required to give all of our cares and burdens to the Lord; that is our responsibility as a believer in the power of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! That said; I must go back to the 'root issue' of our problem; because if we are suffering with some kind of burden, then there must be a reason that we are holding onto something that we are not meant to bear; and that reason could have it's root in sin! No; I am sorry; let me correct that statement by saying, That Reason Does have it's Root in Sin! There are some who believe that each and every illness we have is the result of some kind of sin in our life; which I believe does have some truth in it, it just needs to be approached with reason and balanced by the Word of God. Here is the way I see this issued being played out in our lives: we hold unto burdens that are associated with sin that we are not willing to let go of; therefore, the sin that we are not willing to let go of, is the root of our burden... "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." (Proverbs 27:12)

"Stress Kills!"

"Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins." (Psalms 25:18) Anyone that thinks God is not listening should think again, because He has given us His full attention. Yesterday I had a very interesting conversation with a brother who was sharing with me about how our bodies can heal themselves, and how stress hinders that healing process; after which I had told him about the title of my blog for yesterday was "Stress Not". And I think that I was more excited about the fact that I shared on the Holy Spirit speaking to several people the same message, as He moves about as the wind; knowing that is what the "Shape Of Air" looks like, as we cannot see His shape, but we can sure see His effects as He moves in and through us. We may not be able to control our situation or our circumstance, but we can sure control our peace that we have with God!!! That is what I see God speaking into my heart today. There is really only one thing that can make us feel unprotected by God, and that is for us to have sin in our lives. Sin that goes on in our lives without being confessed can be like a cancer to our soul, taking on a form of destruction that can only be stopped by God's cleansing power; which is only available to us when we confess all of our sins! But what about the sins we have which may not be revealed to us? What if there is sin in me that I may not realize is sin? Could that even be possible? Have you ever come across anyone that proclaimed to have no sins? Because they are out there, and they really do believe that they do not sin; even though the Bible says that there are none who do not sin, they believe they don't; don't they realize that calling God a liar is a sin? (1 John 1:8 & 10)  The way that I understand it, we are only responsible for confessing the sins that God reveals to us. As we are shown sin that dwells within our heart, we must confess it, and God is faithful to forgive us of it  (1 John 1:9) ; sin which is not confessed, will take root in us and make us sick, because the peace of God is not within us and our joy is robbed by sin (1 John 1:4 & 2:1). As far as affliction and pain are concerned, they can be comforted and dealt with by keeping our eyes on Jesus; but sin can make us ashamed, and keep us from putting our eyes fully upon Jesus, so that He can ease our affliction and our pain. This is where I think our stress comes from; not from our situation or our circumstance; but from our inability to stand before the Lord totally unashamed... "I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." (Ecclesiastes 1:16-18)

"Stress Not!"

"The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring Thou me out of my distresses." (Psalms 25:17) Although, I do pray every morning that these postings will speak to someone, somewhere, besides just myself; and I get so amazed how it is that the things that God puts upon my heart are not just spoken to me, but that several others that I know are being spoken to in the same way; it's as if the Holy Spirit has the same message on His lips for certain people, as He blows through this area and that. I learned something a long time ago that has stuck with me every since, and that is, that when our troubles are enlarged, we need to take our eyes off of our troubles and place them on Jesus! Our God is so much bigger than any trouble that we might face! And it's not really a matter of our unbelief, because I think we all have the same capacity to believe; but it is more about Who we put our belief in, as in, do we believe how powerful and mighty our God really is? That's the thing about "wisdom", is that it brings with it understanding of Who God Is, and the awesome power that He brings to the table, each and every time that He lifts His mighty hand. After we understand that, and our belief is in a God that has no limitation to His power, then it's God's turn to show up and bring us out of our distresses! Which may or may not bring the solution that we are looking for, but at least our stress will be gone, and we can see more visually how tiny our little problems are compared to the Mighty God that we have put out faith in. Don't get me wrong; I totally understand disappointment and misery in suffering, because even though I might put forth a good effort to rejoice in my sufferings, I still have those days when I just want to go home and quit living this torturous life. It's really not easy seeing the love of your life confined to a bed, and most of the time being totally disconnected from the world; the anguish I feel in my heart is sometimes to much to bear. However; it is not up to me, it is up to God when she is either healed or taken home; and what is my responsibility in all of this, is to trust Him that He knows what He is doing, and rejoice in what I have; as sometimes painful as that might be. When it comes to gaining wisdom, we do not need to know every detail of our situation, only enough to give us the right perspective...Happy Valentine's Day!!! Share some love with someone today, and tell someone how much God loves them... "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth; there she brought thee forth and bare thee. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned (Utterly Misunderstood!!!). (The Song of Solomon 8:5-7)

"For Mercy's Sake"

"Turn Thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted." (Psalms 25:16) Now I know there are some who wonder why I would close with Ecclesiastes 11:1-5 to sum up our responsibility to "count it all joy", especially since that portion of Scripture is speaking about charitable giving; but the point I was trying to make had more to do with what those around perceive by our mood and our character, and that it is a lot like spreading wealth: we can either share the hope, or we can take part in the misery; it is totally up to us and the way we choose to walk out the hope that we have been given! And by the way; if you were looking for me to stick to the meaning of the text, you have mistaken what this journey is about; because this is my "Living Journal", which is about whatever the Lord puts upon my heart, and that is what I share; sometimes it makes sense, and sometimes it's just me thinking on what God is speaking; either way, it is about the stuff going on inside of my head and heart after I read a portion of God's Living Word! That said; as we look at what David is speaking here today, we could easily assume that he is reaching out to God  in an act of desperation, especially when we read ahead through the next four verses; it is as though he has totally switched gears and has taken his eyes off the Lord and has placed them on his circumstance. However, it is not the case; for what we must realize in every situation that we find ourselves in, whether or not we take time to do that, is that God must pour out His Spirit upon us; we cannot expect to be a living testimony of God's power and love, without first being filled and guided by the Holy Spirit! Which is precisely why James, after speaking about why we should count it all joy, says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and unbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). It is like that saying from the man with the possessed child, "Lord, I believe;  help Thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24); whereas, we are to carry ourselves in a certain manner, showing forth the hope that we have in God's power, love, and His abundant mercy and grace; and if we lack the ability to walk as we should be walking, then we need to cry out to God for the ability to do so!!! We should not settle for being weak in our faith; nor should we be content not having the ability to rejoice in our suffering! If we can't find what it takes to be able to count it all joy, then we very well better ask for God to help us find it..."Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." (Proverbs 4:7-9)

"For Our Protection"

"Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net." (Psalms 25:15) How do I put this, without offending someone; because I know that there is a whole lot of people out there that say they believe in His protection over them, yet they walk around as if He does not care what they are going through. I am totally amazed by the number of 'Bible Believing' saints, that for whatever reason, as soon as they enter into a trial, they are having a pity-party for the whole church to witness. This is not how we are to respond when we are hit with a trial! Am I trying to say that I don't react in the same way? I honestly try not to, because I believe the Bible tells us not to; but we are to "Count It All Joy" when we suffer any form of trial or tribulation (James 1:2). Let me tell you what that word "count" actually means, because I think we think sometimes it means that we look for joy, or try to find something to be happy and joyful over; not exactly what James is talking about, because it actually means to be a leader or to have rule over, as in to have authority over that and say that it is so! In other words, it is a choice that we make, as to whether or not we are going to count it all joy, or if we are going to put on the long face and try to seek comfort from others. The main point to what James is saying, is that we are to judge any type of trial or tribulation as something we can rejoice in, because we know that God is working endurance into our lives and giving us more reliance upon Him. As for the verse we are looking at today, it is my understanding from the many years of walking with the Lord, that where we put our focus has much to do with where our joy actually comes from; and in this case, David says, "Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD", which means that he has his focus upon God and not upon the things which he might be suffer in. This is vitally important to how we view any trial, tribulation, or persecution, because the second part of this verse makes reference to a "net", which means a trap; precisely what happens to us when we are not a leader when it comes to making joy the choice for any affliction; the devil gets to rejoice, and the body of Christ is stricken. Someone needs to tell a whole lot of people that they need to rejoice, because there are way to many whiners in the body of Christ... "Cast your bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all." (Ecclesiastes 11:1-5)

"For Our Love"

"The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." (Psalms 25:14) The second part of this verse has really spoken to me this morning, because it speaks about God's "covenant", which is more than just a contract or a pledge, it is a alliance of friendship that comes with a divine ordinance containing signs and pledges. The number one commandment is one that comes with promise: that if we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, then our life will be filled with peace and joy that surpasses all understanding. With that, I am thinking of what it means to "fear Him", and how that relates to how we love Him with all of our might. On a smaller scale, we could try and compare our love towards God as we love our spouse, and think of all your thoughts you have in your mind throughout the day; comparing those thoughts you have for your spouse, and those that you have which you know your spouse would be offended by; now imagine if your spouse knew your every thought. Day in and day out, every waking and dreaming thought that goes through your mind, your spouse has access to each and every one of them; do you think that they would feel loved? Would they know how much you loved them, and only them, with all of your heart? God sees each and every thought that we entertain in our minds, and He knows our heart, and what it is that we really love, whether that is Him or something else. That in mind, we look at the "fear Him" to mean that we are afraid of offending Him, because we are commanded to love Him with all of our might, and He knows when we fall short of that commandment! It's really amazing how this works, because the more we love the Lord, the more of His love we feel in our hearts; it's more than just a commandment that we love Him; it is more than for our benefit; it is for our love, that we would know what real love is, and how the most powerful force in the universe can take you beyond anywhere else known to mankind..."Because of the savour of Thy good ointments Thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love Thee." (Song of Solomon 1:3) (I know it is repetitive, but it is so much worth repeating!)

"For Our Benefit" -2

"The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." (Psalms 25:14) I am constantly amazed by the way God continues to reveal His love to us; even through our trials, as hard as many of them might seem, His love comes forth as the loving Father that He is. Take the situation with my wife, as much as it hurts my heart to see her the way that see is, I know that God is still working in us and that His love is being echoed in our relationship. The whole reason that we have trials in our life is to be taught how much He loves us; and I know that might sound strange to some, but fundamentally the only time we really pay attention is when we are facing some sort of trial in our life. The meaning of the word "secret" that David is speaking about is that of a familiar conversation; which might be hard to understand what that is communicating, especially when it comes to secrets, but it is kind of like that old saying, "Just among friends"; in other words, there is a special way that we communicated among our friends, that is remarkably different then the way we speak among strangers. The whole point is that of intimacy with God, and how we feel as though we can speak freely with Him; telling Him our every secret, primarily because He knows already, but also because the more we open up to Him, the more He opens up to us and reveals Himself within His marvelous Light. Now that we somewhat understand that, let's put those two thoughts together and see how our trials cause us to pause long enough to be able to have a "familiar conversation" with God. Given that we are all pretty much prone to the same sinful nature; after all, we are all sinners from the womb to the tomb; but the sinfulness that I am talking about is that of slipping out of fellowship with God; not because you had planned it or anything like that, but because you just had gotten caught up in your own busy life, and somewhere along the way you lost communication with your Father in heaven. Solomon attributed that to vanity, and how we get so wrapped up in ourselves, that we forget about God's plans and requirements He   has for our lives. Trials are to make us stop what we are doing and to focus upon Him; to see what He has to say for the situation that we have found ourselves in, and to ask Him for help in our time of need and trouble. It is in such times that we are reminded how much He loves us, and that He causes us to listen when He has our full attention... "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:1-3)

"For Our Benefit"

"His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth." (Psalms 25:13) I really have nothing new to present to those of you who know God's peace, because once you have His peace you have something to judge what real peace feels like. Besides, if you have been following this blog for any length of time, then you know that my situation is one that takes what could be considered the odd way of looking at things, and is one that portrays our response to God in a lot of different arenas. Let me remind you about something special with this Psalm, that it is "A Prayer for Guidance And Protection"; and being that it is a prayer, it portrays communication towards God. That should be fairly simple to understand: Right? I Hope so! If I could just transfer my thoughts onto this page, things would be so much simpler; but, unfortunately, I am required to type out the words, most of which are only a portion of what is swirling around in my head. Now then; as I thought about this verse this morning, I was reminded what prayer does in our lives, and how it gives us a way to communicate our heart and our emotions to God. As with any relationship, if there is no communication within that relationship, then there really is not much of a relationship taking place. We know that God does listen, and when we pray to Him, we express our heart in a manner that portrays Him to be a God that cares what we are saying; it's really just a matter of common understanding of who God is, and that He loves us; that we have already established. But, how often do we come to God in prayer as if all He is there for is to answer our request for this or for that? Come on; don't pretend you don't know what I am talking about; because we pray for our meals to be blessed, our travels to be safe, and our day to be free from temptation; that is our primary prayer day in and day out. My point is, that for a prayer about asking for guidance and protection, there sure isn't a whole lot of asking God to do this and do that for me; it's more like, do this to me, so that I might learn to trust and obey. Our guidance and protection by God is determined by our response to Him and His great mercy: if we accept Him at His word, then we know His mercy is great, and if we know His mercy is great, then we will respond according to the magnitude of His forgiveness: the bigger you are, the harder you fall kind of experience; only in this instance, the fall means to fall on your knees and thank Him for His great mercy! Beyond that, we are subject to God's direction upon our lives, and we should get over the notion of being the one who is in control; because if we think that we are the ones driving our lives, and we are just asking God for directions on our journey and protection along the way, then we are missing the point of giving God the wheel..."Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it." (Ecclesiastes 8:5-8)

"It's God's Choice"

"What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose." (Psalms 25:12)
Had I paid close enough attention to what my duties were as a father, my son might have turned out more the way that I wanted him to; but like most fathers, I was busy building a business instead of raising a child, and devoting time to his needs for becoming a man. God, on the other hand does not get preoccupied and distracted by other things when it comes to raising His children. As a matter of fact, God not only devotes His time to our growth, but He molds us into the ministry that He wants us to be involved in. Even those things that we could consider as damaging to our growing up, such as in my case, I was lost in drugs and had a very strange way of looking at the world; but God took that experience and made it into a tool that could be used for His kingdom. After committing my life to the Lord, there were still things that were part of my life which God needed to deal with, as there are still today; but God uses each and every one of those things as testimonies of His great mercy, as He sifts the dirt off and produces what He wants revealed. I never was one for wanting to be someone else, but I was always wanting to be a better me. I don't know if you get what I mean, but I would always dream of myself more fit, or talented in other areas; never really thinking about being another person, but thinking more of myself as a bigger or better me; if that makes any sense? We are all different in our own special way, and there really is no such thing as two people who are exactly alike; even identical twins are different in some way or another. That's just the way God has made us, to be special in our own way, each and every one of us are unique in His eye, and each and every one of us have a special purpose for our lives; one that God has designed specifically for us, and one that makes us complete when we have let Him accomplish it in us. It is God that accomplishes the work in us, and it is God that decides what work He will have us to accomplish; it is not up to us, as much as we would like to think or hope that it would be. God is the Potter, we are the clay; I know we think we understand that, but do we actually live it? When it comes to fearing God, our number one priority needs to be our position in reference to His hands; just as a lump of clay in the hands of the potter, we are such in the hands of our Heavenly Father. He is molding us and shaping us into the vessel that He wants us to be, and as the clay within His mighty hands, we must remain workable and willing to be molded..."The rich and the poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all." (Proverbs 22:2)  

"God's Monument"

"For Thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." (Psalms 25:11) Now as for that sin that you think is beyond God's power to forgive, as Solomon did say, "And God requireth that which is past". In other words; there is nothing that a man can do for which God's mercy cannot erase, and that which is past is to be given unto Him, every bit of it! But you might think that your repeated sins are far beyond God's pardoning, because they have been placed before the alter time and time again; yet, don't you know how powerful God's monument of forgiveness actually is? There is only one thing that will ever prevent God from forgiving you of your sin, and that is for you not to ask for His forgiveness! The price that was paid for our sin was enough to include all the sins of the entire world, so what sin can we sin that could possibly surpass that! John writes about this in 1 John, as he explains how we are to view our sinful condition, receive God's forgiveness, and then respond to the transformation of Light. It is God's will for us to be washed and made clean before Him, and compared to our ability to surpass His will, which happens to be nonexistent, His power to make us clean is greater than anything that we will ever need! I think that people who cannot come to understand that, either have a problem forgiving others, or they compare how others have not really forgiven them with God's ability to forgive. Either way, they have not received God's forgiveness! That might seem judgemental, and as though I am casting accusations upon certain people; but the truth of the matter is, if you have truly received God's forgiveness, then you have no problem forgiving others, nor do you compared His unconditional forgiveness with anyone else; there is nothing else to compare God's great love to, and nothing that even comes close to outdoing what He has done. It is David's manner of requesting God's forgiveness that is not quite saying "God forgive me, for the sake of Your name", but is rather saying, "Because of the sake of Your name, forgive me"; which is not as though God's name sake is in jeopardy, because it is not; but that David's view of God's monumental love might be obscured by his iniquity. In other words; it is not because God's mercy is not made available to us, that we can't receive it; but it is because it is obscured by our sin. Give it to God!!! "Because of the savour of Thy good ointments Thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love Thee." (Song of Solomon 1:3)

"God's Alliance"

"All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." (Psalms 25:10) If only I had done this, or had gone that way instead of this. How many times we think of things like that? We have had this discussion before, and it turns out that God's will is ultimately going to be done, regardless of what we plan to do or fail to do. The great key however, is that we be found somewhere in the midst of His will, and on the path that leads to everlasting life! There is only one path that leads to eternal life, but there are many paths that the Lord will use to bring us to that one; some of which come very close to total destruction. If you have lived one of those highly destructive paths, then you know what I am talking about. But what we are talking about within this verse is something that has a little different meaning, and has to do more with how we live out our Christian life, not how we got there. We are constantly faced with choices in our daily walk; some are easy, and some require much prayer and even some fasting; but the choices that we make, whether good or bad, will all work out to those that "keep His covenant and His testimonies"; to that you can be assured of, because He will make it so! Do you not know that He calls you friend? And because He calls you friend, He has promised to look after you and always be there when you call out to Him for help and forgiveness; no matter how big of a mistake you have made in your life, our God is big enough to make it turn out for the good. And who exactly are those who keep His covenant and testimonies? Those that take His truth and make that their truth; those that believe on His great love and know that He loves them; those that live their lives as people that are governed by a desire to please Him and treat Him as their friend and their God. That is what is meant by "God's Alliance", because it is more than just a covenant that we make, it is a covenant that God makes, and His count; our's, well just say that we disappoint ourselves a whole lot more than we disappoint God. God already knows what we will do and how well we will keep a promise made to Him; but that is why His great love and forgiveness is so far, deep, and wide; there is no end of His mercy to those that keep His truth in their hearts..."I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past." (Ecclesiastes 3:10-15)

"Splitting Adams" -3

"Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will He teach sinners in the way. The meek will He guide in judgement: and the meek will He teach His way." (Psalms 25:8 & 9) First off, I usually do not like to backtrack over Scripture, unless I feel God wanting me to stop for something important that was overlooked. Just encase you missed it, Adam was the where our sin originated; and from Adam have we been separated from God. Now I know that there are some who view what happened differently, and believe that it was Eve who was the cause of man's fall; but Adam was the one in charge of keeping the garden in order, Eve was his helper. Yes, his helper; although they were one, she was the weaker of the two, and that is precisely why the devil came to her instead of Adam. Adam on the other hand, he was also about making his wife happy; therefore his judgement was not being guided by good common sense, but by his desire for unity with his wife. I could get into a whole different discussion about Adam's desire, but I feel the Lord showing me something more in the way of our desire for Him. From the time of my youth, and for as long as I can remember, sexual desire was always something that needed to be suppressed, and was always part of something that was forbidden or secretly kept. Maybe it was from my mother saying to me, "Don't play with that!", as I lay there in between diaper changes; or maybe it was just because I am weird and I am the only one who feels like that; no pun intended. But seriously; we were created for greater things than that! Our Heavenly Father has created us for fellowship with Him; to be able to experience that kind of fellowship, we must be taught or trained to replace the desire we have for the flesh, with the desire we must have for His Spirit; that is just plain and simple! Right now, I am sure that there may be some that are thinking to themselves, "Hey, I got that handled, I do not have a problem in the area"; well, maybe you do; and then again, maybe the right person has not entered into your heart yet; because that is pretty much all it takes! There was only one man who was sinless, and His name is Jesus! Remember that sin starts in the heart, and it is sometimes completed just in our minds, and does not need to go any further than that to actually be called sin. The words for "teach" that are spoken of in both of these verses are different in meaning; as for the first, which was more about God molding us in a specific direction, the second use of the word is more about  basic training by instruction; whereby we are persuaded by what not to do, verses that which we should be doing. It basically means to chastise; to strike or beat with a rod; hence, to discipline. Now, why would the meek need discipline? Maybe the question needs to be turned around a little, and made into a statement, which is: It is the meek who need and receive discipline..."The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; to know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgement, and equity; to give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: to understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:1-7)

"Splitting Adams" -2

"The meek will He guide in judgement: and the meek will He teach His way." (Psalms 25:9) Just when you think you have heard everything, God has something new He wants to tell you about; isn't that the way it goes? A diamond in the rough; just a dirty piece of coal I is; that is, until God gets done with me! If there was a word to best describe the opposite meaning of pride, or someone who is proud of himself, it would be the word "meek", as in poor, weak, humble, lowly, and afflicted; commonly with the added notion of a lowly, pious, and modest mind, which prefers to bear injuries rather than return them. You see, before God can begin to refine you, you must first realize your need to be refurbished! That's right; refurbished means to take something that is old and broken, and to make it like new again. We are a fallen people, and we live in a fallen world, just as Satan too is a fallen angel, and he has made this fallen world his playground for a while; that is until he will be judged and condemned to hell forever. In the meantime, God reaches down and takes one of His treasures out of the hands of the devil, and He refurbishes it! Did you ever take something that was a prize possession of your parents, and go play with it in the mud? Depending on what kind of a parent you had, you may not have enjoyed the circumstances of your actions. I was fortunate to have a mother who was understanding and wise; who, after finding me playing with something valuable, took it away and gave me something less important to play with instead. The devil is not content with playing with the less valuable of God's possessions, because he thinks what is God's should be his; therefore, after God says, No, you cannot have that, it is mine, and of great value!, the devil will look for a way to get hold of it, and try to make it something of less value to God. We must realize our great need for God's restoration; we must count ourselves as afflicted and needy of God's great mercy and grace; and then will God lift us up... "A man's pride shall bring him down: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit." (Proverbs 29:23)  

"Splitting Adams"

"Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will He teach sinners in the way." (Psalms 25:8) Odd, I know; but do you truly understand what God is doing in your life? Have you ever wondered why Satan even is, and what made him turn against God in the first place? The answer is really quite simple: he was full of pride! Pride is the thing that brings nothing but humility and destruction; which we will soon discover as we witness the result of pride before the throne of God. The word "teach", as in "teach sinners in the way", is a pretty interesting word; it is the Hebrew word 'yarah', and it is a verb that primarily means to throw, shoot, cast or pour. To put it another way, the primary meaning makes the Instructor teach sinners by process or technique; such as was the case in the "hang up your jacket" routine in Karate Kid. We truly may not understand all that God is doing in are lives, but what He does, He does to refine and shape us into His image. If you have ever watched someone do a sculpture, they take away everything that does not fit the image that they are trying to make; thereby, making what they envision appear by removing everything that is in it's way. God sees us as He is, perfect, good and upright; therefore He must remove everything that is in the way of how He sees us. The "way" the David is speaking of is a journey, distance, or a course of life. The best way I think to describe the action of teaching sinners in the way, would be how streams with water running over rocks causes the water to become pure, by the sediments being captured in the rocks. However, the thing that spoils the purity of the water is pride! Pride does not allow God to shape us; it's like placing a dam in the stream, which prevents the water from running freely, and thereby causing it to remain unclean and dirty. That is one of the main points about "sinners", as those who God teaches, that they are reckoned as offenders, and therefore in need of purification. If you know that you are a sinner, then you are less likely to be puffed up with pride. If you know that you are a sinner, then you are more likely to be taught... "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether." (Song of Solomon 2:15-17)

"Total Recall"

"Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness' sake, O LORD." (Psalms 25:7) Unlike us, God's forgiveness is sure; in other words, when God says that He forgives you of your sins, you can believe that your sins have been forgiven, and will not be used against you forever more. How many times do you ask God's forgiveness, and bring up stuff that He has already forgiven you of? You know what I mean; Lord, please forgive me again for having repeated this same stupid sin again; I know I said I would not do it again, but I ask you to please forgive me! When God forgives you of your sin, we should be able to remove that cloud from over our head, because He has; however, it is good for us to remember how lame we are, and how much we rely upon His great mercy! Besides; when we commit that same old stupid sin, again and again, it really is not that same sin we are committing, but it now is a question of something else going on in our hearts; besides just fulfilling a lust, it now is a question of our love for God, and how we are placing our desire for something else over our desire for Him. When it comes to "sins of my youth", what David is speaking of, are sins that were done in adolescence, meaning the transitional stage of learning; which may or may not be childhood, but could represent any time that you have learned a lesson and have moved past it. After we have learned a lesson, and we have been taken past that point of stupidity, our repeat of that sinfulness is now considered to be rebellion; or as David puts it, "transgressions", which is a little stronger word than sin, because sin is falling short, but transgression is to trespass, which is done willfully and unlawfully in rebellion. It is in this line of thinking that David is asking God to "according to His mercy" recall him to mind, not based upon those sins which he committed in ignorance, or those willfully done in rebellion, but for His goodness' sake, which is the sake of His great mercy, that has no boarders or ending!!! There is nothing that we can do that is beyond His great mercy! No matter how hard you fall, God's mercy can absorb your fall; because His mercy is not based upon you and your strength or weakness, but is based upon His great love; which is enough, when recalled, to totally make us new..."O my dove, that are in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance,(!) let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." (Song of Solomon 2:14)

"It's Rhetorical"

"Remember, O LORD, Thy tender mercies and Thy lovingkindness; for they have been ever of old." (Psalms 25:6) In the question of how God's mercy works, it is not a question of will He remember, but will we; just as David finishes this statement by saying, "for they have been ever of old", which is to express that God's mercy is forever and always has been there, God has no blackout days on His love for us! If anything, we are in need of a constant reminder of His great love for us, and we need to convince ourselves that it is so. That might sound odd to some, but with all of attacks and all of the sickness around us, we are surrounded by doubt on a continuous basis. Day in and day out, people all around this world doubt that God is there; and if He is there, where is the mercy and love towards us? Oh my goodness; what a broken world we live in! The shortest verse in the Bible, may have the most powerful example of God's heart towards our hurt; we can find that verse in John 11:35, and it simply says, "Jesus wept". If you don't know the story, or have somehow forgotten why Jesus wept, it was because of the hurt in our hearts over sickness and death. He surely was not weeping for Lazarus, because He had known for over four days that He would be calling him from that tomb; but "He groaned in His spirit, and was troubled"; after seeing Mary and the Jews with her weeping, He was reminded of the brokenness of the world that He came to redeem. The other night at our Men's Meeting, we got into a discussion about suicide, and why a Christian might enter into the act of doing such a thing; and if so, were they really a Christian to begin with? I came up with a theory, that it must be because of one or two things: either they do not really believe in the power of God's redemption through His mercy and grace, or they do not think that they are worthy of it. I tend to lean towards the do not think that they are worthy of God's mercy and grace, because I personally know several people that are currently under that impression, and have even told me so. Looking at Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, we see both of these options as a possible reason that he took his own life; as he either did not understand who Jesus really was, and believed that He should have been delivering this worldly kingdom; or, he did not believe that he himself was worthy of forgiveness. For those that truly believe in God's mercy and grace for them, there really is no justified reason to consider taking their own life; because God can take the worse situation we can possibly find ourselves in, and He can turn it into something wonderful for us to experience. If you don't think so, then look at the case of Lazarus; dead four days and stinky in the morning, yet alive and sitting at the super table eating and rejoicing with everyone in the afternoon; talk about "persuasive effect" of what God can do in any situation, now that's rhetorical..."The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping through the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." (Song of Solomon 2:8-13)