Wednesday, July 31, 2013
"God Rules!" -2
"The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations." (Psalms 33:11) Being that today is our thirty first wedding anniversary, I thought I would continue a dialog on holding out for God; because I do still expect that God can heal my wife, even after almost ten years, there is nothing that is too great for God to do! You have no doubt heard the question, Can God make a rock so big that He Himself cannot move it? I love the story of Lazarus dying in John chapter eleven, because it takes this question and puts it to the test. Jesus knew Lazarus was going to die, yet He told those that came to Him with the news of his sickness, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." (John 11:4) Then after speaking this, and known that Lazarus was going to die, and may have already have died at the point, Jesus continued where He was for two more days; kind of like saying, "Let's see how big we can make this rock!" After those two days, Jesus told His disciples that they were going back to Judea; which prompted the disciples to worn Him about the Jews that were wanting to stone Him; yet He says something a little peculiar, saying, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the Light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no Light in him." (John 11:9 & 10) To understand this saying, we look to the next several Scriptures, and the full impact of the meaning is revealed, as Jesus continues by saying, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I might awake him out of his sleep". (John 11:11) To which, his disciples said, thinking that if he was sick and he was sleeping, then it was good for him to get some sleep, said, "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well". (John 11:12) After which, Jesus said unto them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him". (John 11:14 & 15) You see; the whole meaning of the "walk in the day" verses "walk in the night" thing that Jesus spoke of, is that, to walk in the day is a reference to walking in the will of God, by trusting God by adhering to His word, His commands, and by what His Spirit tells us to do; in doing so, we will be walking in the Light. The flip side of that, which is walking in the night, is to walk by what the world believes, in our own will, or by what our own heart and mind tells us we should be doing; he who walks in such a way, the Light is not in him. Jesus was the Light, therefore, He walked accordingly, and He was always in the Father's will. He knew what He was about to do, and why it was He needed to go unto Judea; regardless of what others might think, or what dangers awaited Him. Secondly, He also knew that by waiting those two days, by the time they would arrive, that Lazarus would have already began to decay, seeing that he would have been dead for four days; totally contrary to what a normal healer would have done, because anyone else would have set out to get there as quick as they could, in order to avoid too much down time for the corpse to begin to break down. However; not only did Jesus raise Lazarus by calling him forth from the tomb, but they all sat and had dinner together, just a few hours later! Don't tell me God can't do something, because He can never make a rock so big, that even He Himself can't move it!!!! "I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believeth thou this?" (John 11:25 & 26)
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
"God Rules!"
"The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations." (Psalms 33:11) In our times of adversity, or despair, or even in times of feeling like giving up, God is still on the throne; we must never forget that fact! Although we may falter or despair, God is always there, just as He has always been: and as He has promised, He will never leave us, nor forsake us; we just need to praise Him anyways, and trust Him through whatever it is that we are going through, no matter how long it might last! And that includes times of great discouragement! Oh yes, I know, discouragement is a tool of the devil, and he uses it very well to take down the greatest of God's servants, if they let him; but it is also very real in our lives, and can be brought on by the strangest of circumstances or events. I know that I have shared this before, but I feel that it is something very important to share, seeing the life that God is allowing me to partake in, and most times I truly count it a blessing; but for those that will listen, and for those that might need to be encouraged, I truly believe it is a lesson learned that must be shared; but sometimes I get so discouraged, that I literally weep with all of my heart, and with all my strength, I ball like a little baby, as I lament over the condition of my wife. However, I always place a time limit over the time of my lamentation; making a pact within my heart and with God that I will only weep for thirty minutes at the most, and then I will rejoice. Interesting enough, I don't think I hardly ever reach the thirty minute time to stop; but I certainly try not to weep over my wife, because when I do, she always gets a worried look on her face, and I only want to make her smile. But let me tell you something, when I break down, I break down hard, and I quiver to my very core. But God, as my loving Father that He is, He is there comforting me, and I can feel His comforting arms surrounding me, but only to a certain degree; much like any father would comfort a child that is crying, there comes a point when it's time to stop, where, just as any father, God will say, Enough is enough, I am here, your okay, so get over it already! You can question my reasoning if you like, but the fact remains that God is totally in charge; and no matter what you might be going through, if you are His child, then He is on your side; and if God is on your side, then you really have nothing to worry or be discouraged over! We really need to come to terms with that fact, and we need to take it to heart, locking it up into our hearts and never letting go of that fact! Whether you can accept it or not, it is the truth... "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39)
Monday, July 29, 2013
"Regardless!" -3
"The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: He maketh the devices of the people of none effect." (Psalms 33:10) When we are talking about praising God, especially when it comes to praise that really matters towards God, if we do not have love, we are not praising God! I know that might sound a little harsh and judgmental, but it's true, and I can prove it by a multitude of Scriptures; but for time sake, let's just pretend I know what I'm talking about, and let's move on with why this verse moves us in that direction (or is moving me?); besides, "the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the [unrighteous]". (1 Timothy 1:9) In that, if we actually consider what this Psalm is attributed towards, that being "Praising God", and we look at it in that context, then both of those meanings will apply simultaneously; as in, God makes His ways to trump over the ways of man, and He fixes the things that we seem to keep messing up, primarily loving Him and one another! The word "heathen", although typically referring to anyone that is not one of God's chosen people, also refers to anyone that opposes God, as in to take "counsel" against God or His people. This opposition that I believe the writer of this Psalm is referring to, is regarding praise, and in light of what has already been brought to Light, the praise is based upon the change that God has made in us; because whether you might realize it or not, we are not able to even come close to loving as God would have us to love, without Him putting that love within our hearts; it is God that makes us to love, by giving us His Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit rising up and out of our lives, we have no chance of really loving God or each other the way that God has intended us to love. To further hit this point home, the second part of this verse is a continuation of the same thought, just expounded further; and in this continuation, the writer uses the word "people", referring to people in general or as a whole; thus also making the word "heathen" to be all inclusive, and to include even His own people, if they fall into that category of being in opposition to Him; or in this case, opposing His love, and unable to praise Him properly. It is the meaning of the word "devices" that actually got me thinking of this, because one of it's meanings is the term 'thought'; which in and or itself may not raise many eyebrows, but taken in the context of what we are capable of, and in the way we think towards one another, it has huge implications towards the damage that can be done by thinking something wrong about someone, and then letting our imaginations literally carry us to the brink of crucifying someone over nothing at all! Therefore; true love of God, which is not based upon what we might think or perceive about someone, is based upon an unconditional love, regardless of what we might imagine in our hearts, or even what might be real and true; God's love for us is based upon the fact that He loved us, even while we yet sinners and were opposed to Him, He loved us all just the same, sin and all; therefore, we are to love one another, just as He has loved us... "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (love), I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing. Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (love) envieth not; charity (love) vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily prevoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity (love) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (1 Corinthians 13:1-10)
Sunday, July 28, 2013
"Regardless!" -2
"The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: He maketh the devices of the people of none effect." (Psalms 33:10) Besides, there are actually two ways to look at this verse; where some might look at the negative meaning, as in how God makes His ways to trump over the ways of man, as if that is really all that negative; or, we could examine the positive manner in which God fixes things that man seems to keep messing up, especially our love for Him and for one another! There were two commands that Jesus spoke of, by which doing them, and all the other commands would be fulfilled, including the writing of the prophets; this is found in three of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke; however, John breaks it down in his epistles, making the writing of the prophets come to life in the way that we view our salvation. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus is tempted by a Pharisee / lawyer, who asked, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"; hoping to get some kind of answer pertaining to the customs of law, such as observing the Sabbath, or paying a tithe, or having no idols, this lawyer of the law was looking to trip Jesus up over something that was debated among many of the religious leaders, but was something of little importance with God, because to break any portion of the law is sin, and with God, sin is sin, period. Within the answer that Jesus gave were two very important principles when it came to love: that love must be directional, and it must be sacrificial. The sacrificial part of love is not all that hard to comprehend, that just requires denying ourselves for the sake of God and others; but the directional part of love, that's a little more complicated, and tends to get muddled up by ourselves getting in the way of the direction we are to be loving. Okay; let's look at what Jesus said in response to the question: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40) The directional part of our love for God requires fulfilling the "thy" part of "the Lord thy God"; making God thy God, thy Master, thy Owner, thy Lord; in other words, He is not just God, but He is my God! Some people can spend their whole life serving God, but they never have that personal relationship with Him in their life, and never really have that directional contact with their Lord and Master; it's all based upon their sacrifice and nothing else; and in the process, it becomes a self serving love, which they count as their own righteousness; a righteousness that is counted as filthy rags unto God. Secondly, there is the point of what constitutes our "neighbor"; because our neighbor is more than just the person that lives next door to our house, but constitutes anyone by which we are forced to have a relationship with, whether that might be through family, work, or any other form of social contact; including those that might be considered to be our enemies, or those in which we have conflict or disagreement with. (Boy, is God really speaking to my heart right now!) "We love Him, because He first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother (or sister) whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 4:19-21)
Saturday, July 27, 2013
"Regardless!"
"The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: He maketh the devices of the people of none effect." (Psalms 33:10) You know, there once was a time when it was alright to pray in our public schools; as a matter of fact, it was Christian principles and teaching of the Bible that actually started many schools in the first place, especially those schools of higher learning. I have to wonder what God will do in the case of all this 'politically correctness' that is being thwarted around in our public schools today; children are taught and encouraged in the ways of Islam, but the Bible is banded from academic bookshelves, and Jesus is made to look as someone that really didn't matter all that much; God forbid that any teacher wear a cross or make mention of the name of Jesus Christ, especially in the context of forgiveness of sins. But here's the thing that I think is going on, whether or not you believe it, that's up to you; but the Bible tells us that in the last days there will be times like this: where even our churches are turned away from sound doctrine; caring more that the message makes them feel good about themselves, then that it aids them in correction of the way they live their lives. Some people just don't understand how much God loves them, even in their sin, He is willing to love them and lift them up out of the damnation of their broken lives, if they would only repent and turn to Him. There is really nothing left to be fulfilled for Jesus to come back for His church; just a few more souls is all that God is waiting for, and then we all go home in a twinkling of an eye! It's at that moment when the whole earth will be in shock, especially those that thought they would be taken, and those that scoffed at the mention of His soon return. But, as we wait, there is work to do for His kingdom; regardless of what might be said, or what regulations are placed in the way of the gospel message, His people must be diligent to spread the Good News; all the way up to that day, and that very hour of His return..."But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Peter 3:8-13)
Friday, July 26, 2013
"He Must Be Praised!" -2
"For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalms 33:9) As Christ is the Word, and the Spirit is Breath, all things exist in God; absolutely nothing is not His doing, with the exception of sin! I use to think that sin was originally part of God, but it was a part that God choose to put away from Himself, as if to say, This is not of Me, therefore, I will destroy this thing called sin, one way or another! But then I realized that God's perfect nature could never have created such a thing to begin with, but that He did know of it's existence, and that it was something that man needed to avoid; thus, the reason for the command given to Adam, saying, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in that day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:16 & 17) Just because God knows something, does not mean that it came from Him; nor does it mean that the thought of such a thing originated with His thinking, but rather that He can see what sin will do; thus, the whole "thou shalt surely die" thing was not just words, but something that would actually happen. Yet, the devil, who being the father of lies, convinced Eve, saying, "Ye shalt not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4 &5) There are some things that are better off not being known, and evil is one of them! It's the evil part of the equation that God has expelled from His existence; because God is Light and evil is darkness, and there is no darkness that can dwell in the Light of God; none pretty much means none, but that does not mean there is no knowledge of it, it just means that there is no place for it within the character of who God is. That said; God knew that He needed to destroy all that was associated with evil, therefore, "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast"; long story short, God made it happen with His Word! It is the Word of God that is more powerful than any other thing in existence, including the darkness! It is actually pretty easy to understand why God needed to come and die for our sins, if a person is willing to except the fact that they are dead already, as in spiritually dead and separated from God because of sin; just as sin in the form of evil is separated from God, so too is all that is associated with evil, included fallen man. BUT GOD! Who stepped into the darkness and created the LIGHT to bring us out of the darkness and give us LIFE: HE MUST BE PRAISED!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
"He Must Be Praised!"
"For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalms 33:9) I am always so fascinated by those that doubt that God can fix something in their life; never mind that they don't see how, because that is to be expected; but to not think that He can, is pretty much a sin to think in such a way; if He can create something from nothing, then He surely can fix something from something! This verse is one of those that really do not need much explaining or exploration; it pretty much says what it means and means what it says: God does what God does, because God is God; so there! And then again, we could examine the life of Jesus, say, like looking at some of the things He did while He walked among us; for there were many cases where this verse fits quite perfectly in the way He commanded the sea and the wind to calm the storm, or spoke against the fig tree, and it withered up and died; not to mention the spectacular ways that He healed the lame, the blind, and those that were possessed by demons; there was really nothing that was not subject to His commands. Believe it or not, but I have had very interesting discussions with people who questioned how Jesus could be God, stating, Why would God need to come and die for our sins? and, If God wanted to remove our sins from us, couldn't He have just commanded that it be so? It is true that God can do whatever God wants to do, because He is God; but when it comes to loving us, God did what He needed to do in order to prove His love for us. The greatest promise of all time, is found in John 3:16, where it says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This was God's way of proving to the world how much that He loved us; to give of Himself that we might have everlasting life with Him. And regarding the question of why He needed to come Himself, it's really a matter of having a perfect sacrifice; because, only God is perfect, therefore, only God Himself could have been the one to pay the price for all of our sins! It is really not a question of why, or even how, but the real question that must be raised and answered in every doubting heart, is, Did He really die for me? Then Know THIS: "That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:9-13)
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
"Greatly To Be Feared"
"Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." (Psalms 33:8) Now this is something that a lot of people just don't get, and for the most part, a lot of Christians do not take as seriously as they should; but every person that ever walked the earth is going to bend their knee and call Jesus LORD! The word "fear" that is used in the first portion of this verse literally means 'to stand in awe', with a slight little twist, in that it brings with it a fear of dreadful astonishment for what He has done, and that dreadful astonishment actually causes or inspires reverence; the difference between those that are His children and those that are not, is those that are not will be caused to fall down, and those that are will be inspired to do so! Under no circumstance will anyone be able to resist bowing down to the KING OF KINGS and the LORD OF LORDS; for under His authority, even those that refuse to surrender, their souls are subject unto Him, and He has purchased the rights to not only own them, but to condemn them also. So, what that means, whether you choose to accept it or not, is that every single person that ever has lived will bare the stamp, "Property of Jesus Christ"; it's just that some will be cherished property, and some will be property that will be discarded and will face what is called "The Second Death"; ouch! If there is anyone that is reading this blog, and you have not yet surrendered your life over to Jesus Christ, then here is the thing that you need to understand: you will not have the excuse when you stand before Him, "I did not understand!" You might say that, but it will not be counted as an excuse for your rejection of the countless opportunities that you had in this lifetime to make Him LORD of your life; you will however understand in that moment, and it will be that understanding that takes place, right there and then, that will cause you to fall to your knees and claim that "JESUS IS LORD!" For those of us that know Him and that are known by Him, our's will be a different motivation, one of great inspiration and reverence; as we shall see Him just as He is, and in the process, we will see ourselves as being One in Him. To those that don't know Him, that might not seem like such a big deal, especially not one to inspire such a great reverence and astonishment; but it will, and it must, because the greatest mystery of all will be revealed in what see on that glorious day, when we see Him face to face! Again, don't put off today that which will bring you understanding for today; because tomorrow you will not be able to say that you had no understanding: understanding comes with acceptance of Jesus Christ as the LORD of your life; either do it now, or you will do it later...."Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by Myself, the Word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to Him shall men come; and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed." (Isaiah 45:22-24)
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
"Our Great God" -2
"He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses." (Psalms 33:7) Interesting enough, Jesus refused to sin, not because He could not sin, because He, being the Son of man, and having the flesh of man, was very capable of fulfilling the lust associated with the flesh; the only difference between a normal man and Jesus, was Jesus aimed to please His Father more than He cared for satisfying His flesh. A very interesting concept, if you really take the time to think about it long enough: we continually fall and are given in my temptation because we like our sins more than pleasing God! I know what your thinking right about now, and how you are wondering what any of this has to do with Psalms 33:7; but here is the thing that God is showing me about this verse, that we are able to become more than victorious over the sin in our lives, if we only desire to do so! Easy for you to say, you might be saying; but the truth be known, it is very hard; it is probably the hardest thing to do, and it gets especially hard after you have already satisfied your flesh. But God!!! God has provided for us an escape from the difficult task of trying so hard to be perfect; besides the fact that we are not capable of pulling off perfection, He has provided His Spirit to strengthen and guide us into perfection; and all that is required to do so, is to yield to the power of His Spirit! Yes, I see the reason for the writer of this Psalm to include such a deep verse into a Psalm about "Praising God", but the concept of His Spirit being so freely available to those that seek to find it, it is really mind boggling why we fail to really ask Him for more. It is pretty much a cop-out to say that we are "sinners saved by grace", even though it is altogether true; but we are meant to move past the point of being sinners, and move towards the point of becoming a saint. God knows that we are flawed, and that we are going to fail; it's only a matter of time for temptation to spark a desire that trumps the desire for holiness; but Jesus had no such desire to fulfill any lust, nor do I believe that He lusted after anything other than fulfilling the desires of the Father: it was His number one objective for the entire time that He was here, to fulfill that which He had come to do; because even though He was fully man, in that He lived in the flesh and required those same things that we require to continue to live, He was also fully God, and in Him was no darkness at all. Now then; concerning this verse and it's relevancy to what I am talking about; it's not too much of a stretch to associate the "waters" with that of the Holy Spirit; especially considering how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of those that are His children: for God pours out His Spirit upon us, much as He gathered the waters together to separate the bodies of land, and to make there be a very distinct variation between what was what, and which Continent is what, so the Holy Spirit is given unto us that we might be separated from the world of non-believers, and that there is a clear distinction between us and them; and yet, He has also an abundance of His Spirit, that has been stored up for each and every one of us to tap into, if we so desire; more than we would require to overcome any temptation, or and weakness towards our fleshly desires; but it requires us asking for His Spirit to strengthen us; which means, we also must desire holiness more than we desire fulfilling our lust... "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. For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee. And again, I will put My trust in Him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given Me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:10-15)
Monday, July 22, 2013
"Our Great God"
"He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses." (Psalms 33:7) Along with all the wonders of God's great creation, He has bestowed upon us the power of His Holy Spirit to enable us, and has granted us the power given unto Jesus, our Captain and our Enabler, to have the victory over the sin in our lives. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Helper; and for us to understand how the Helper can assist us in our ability to live holy lives, we must first yield our lives over to Jesus as not only our Saviour and our Redeemer, but He must be Lord of our lives in every area; both areas that pertain to doing good works, and areas that pertain to normal living. Now I know that there are a lot of Christians that do not believe we are meant to live holy lives; the truth in that is displayed in the lives that many of them live, including myself; but Jesus absolutely lived out holiness in His life, and was tempted in all the same things that we are tempted in; even to a greater degree than most people can truly imagine. If you honestly think about it, Jesus had great authority to do things that would have blown the minds of the entire world; some of those things He displayed, all be it in ways that did not draw too much attention to Himself; but He could have done so much more than He did, including saving Himself from the cross, or not yielding Himself unto death, as to hang on that cross until someone were to take Him down and release Him. Do you understand the power that Jesus had to contain; let alone that He humbled Himself to be a servant unto death? Yes, this verse is speaking about God's great power to overcome and trump the laws of nature: making water gather together in heaps, and storing water away in hidden caverns and underground reservoirs for future use; but when it comes to the power of God's Spirit and the untapped power available to all those that might need it, we are not yet to a point of understanding how much power is available, nor shall we truly understand until we are with the Lord in heaven. It's really quite simple to understand how the Holy Spirit works, and there are many normal Christians that have tasted the power of the Spirit in the manner needed to overcome sin; unfortunately, tasting and making Him your full time meal are two very different things all together. The basic laws of human nature, and that which pertains to things that hold us captive, such as vices or bad habits, is that the craving for whatever binds you can only be satisfied by the actual consumption of whatever that might be; and it is only after you have partaken in that substance, that you have satisfied the craving, and then can experience the remorse and guilt that follows. It's just how we are, being born in sin, we gravitate towards what we know will satisfy the cravings we have in our flesh. But God, who has understood our basic laws that contradict His law, has provided for us a Captain; a Captain that not only has the authority to bring us through without a scratch, but who has experience in these charted waters, and can navigate us around every obstacle that might be hidden in these waters... "For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in all things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted." (Hebrews 2:16-18)
Sunday, July 21, 2013
"God's Greatness" -2
"By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." (Psalms 33:6) To totally understand what has taken place, assume that the Father is an incredible force, mightier than anything that can possibly be imagined; and as part of this incredible force, there belongs a Spirit which moves throughout all He has created, manipulating and holding things in order; and equally part of this incredible force, is the commands, that which come forth in word and breath to perform His spectacular works. Now what I just described is the faceless forms by which God exist; but the Bible says that these faceless forms are three very distinct persons; in other words, They are all God, made up by three very distinct individual qualities. This might be a highly inadequate way to describe how God is, but my point in doing so is to describe the Word by showing how important that He is in the mix; because the Word of God is that by which He gets things done. The word for "breath" is describing the Spirit of God, which is the third person in the triune God, coequal with the Father and the Son; that manipulating force by which God moves and makes things happen. But the Word of God is that by which He manifest any manner of who He is; whether that be by speech, utterance, thing, matter, or commandment; any form of God's expression is done by His Word, including that of His creations in both heaven and earth. Not exactly the complete picture, of that I am sure; but my point in this is to again display the importance of God's Word; because God manifested Himself in the flesh to command sin and death to be no more; His Word was manifested in the form of that which caused our state, that being the flesh of one man Adam, in order that He could command that sin to be removed from all those that believe upon His manifested Son. Incredible as that might sound, it was what He had to do in order to take possession of the sin; because God is Light and sin is darkness, and there is no darkness within God existence. You might see it some other way, and that is simply your right to do so; as long as you understand one basic principle that is undeniable, and that is who Jesus was, is and always will be: He was God, He was manifested by God, and He returned to God, that we might be One with both He and the Father for ever and ever and ever! So praise God for that command!!!
Saturday, July 20, 2013
"God's Greatness"
"By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." (Psalms 33:6) As some of you may already know, the message that was presented to me on that fine day was the one that God had prepared for my heart; whether or not it was meant for the other five or six guys that raised their hands, I really don't know; but as for me, mine was the first hand raised; and as I was waiting for the end of the alter call to happen, both hands went up! I can remember that morning just as if it happen a few months ago; as I heard with my heart the message about the Jesus who hung on the cross for my sins, who was the Word of God which created the heavens and the earth, and my heart broke! I can still remember seeing Him in my mind, as He hung there looking at me, and as I realized who He was for the very first time. He was not just some prophet, or teacher; nor was He some form of an incarnation of a spirit or angelic being; He was God in the flesh, who came down among those that He created, to save them from their sins, by giving that fleshly life He made for Himself, that we might be one with Him! Now, to some that don't quite believe how Jesus Christ and God could possibly be the same, it's really not that hard to put it in a comprehensible fashion; you just need to accept the fact that all things are made in the same manner as He is; being that all things consist of three, starting with the smallest molecule known to made, and including ourselves: as we are body, soul, and spirit. It's really as simple as basic mathematics, once you move past arithmetic and into multiplications: meaning, instead of 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, look at it as 1 x 1 x 1 = 1; for God is One, yet He consists in the form of Three: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. After considering these basic truths, making a logical and understandable conclusion that the Bible is 100% true about who Jesus was, is, and always will be, is not something that is beyond your ability to understand; you just need to believe it in your heart, and accept what the Bible says as truth... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3)
Friday, July 19, 2013
"God's Goodness" -3
"He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD." (Psalms 33:5) After you realize how much God actually loves you, it's hard not to imagine where you would be without His great mercy and patience; because I can tell you right now, I pretty much had no desire to listen to any other thing than that which I had designed for myself. You may or may not understand what I am talking about; but to be someone that was religious, yet not willing to accept religion in any sanctioned form, especially not one that was attached to an organization, I was pretty much on my own as far as the way I thought I believed. To those of you that lived it and have come to the Lord, praise God for His great mercy upon your life; because just the way I had spent living my life those last ten years before accepting Jesus, I was living as though I was dying any day; pushing the envelope as far as I could, and challenging all the limits. There were several instances that I can remember where I should have died, and probably a multitude of them where I could have died; but God's mercy was upon my life, and I believe that now more than ever before! To put in perspective the things I see that are being said within this verse, is not all that easy to do, because they pertain to God's goodness towards us; something that we only see the shadow of, and we only see in parts; those parts that are revealed in and to us, and in the way that we perceive what He has done in our lives. For example, the word "righteousness", a trace of the original meaning is found in the phrase, "What right have I any more?"; and it takes the form of a servant that realizes how blessed that he is to have such a Master that cares so much about his welfare, and loves him as if he was His son. That might not seem like such a big deal to someone that was raised in the church; but to a freak like me, it tells me how incredibly fortunate I am to have a loving Father, and that He is ultimately the one watching over my life! The other strong indication of God's great mercy that was upon my life, is the word "judgment"; which by itself, can pretty much mean judgment, as in, Dude, you have been judged! But taken in the context of this verse, and following the idea of what God loves, it takes on a whole new meaning; one that releases judgment, as in, Do Not Judge! Do you know why we are not to judge? That's pretty easy to answer, don't you think??? The meaning of the word "goodness" that is used in this verse is best described in the following verse by the word "mercy": "Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation." (Exodus 15:13)
Thursday, July 18, 2013
"God's Goodness" -2
"He loveth righteousness and judgement: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD." (Psalms 33:5) Actually, when it comes to God's goodness, I was really taken by the way He has so much mercy on me; thinking about all those years that I rejected Him, from the time I was about eleven, up to the time I was twenty three; for those twelve years, I must have received at least several dozen opportunities to accept Jesus into my heart, yet I refused Him each and every time. Talk about God's goodness: I don't think He kept on trying because I would not listen; I think He knew that I was going to do what I did, when I did it: it was my day, and He knew it, and so did I!!! Okay; we can argue whether or not God has an appointed time to be born again, such as the day when I gave my heart to the Lord was preordained or not; but don't you think it a little odd how I knew that I had to go down to that meeting on that day? It was as if there was something I needed to hear, and there was a urgency in my heart to be there to hear it. As I was thinking of this, and meditating on God's goodness, I could not deny the fact that He called me specifically on that day; for whatever reason that might be, it was the day of my new birth, and I believe, just as my live-birth was May 22nd, 1958, so was my new life birth on September 15th, 1981. If you think about the preparation that went into my live-birth, I believe there was something of the same involved in my new life birth, but only more along the spiritual preparation. I know it might sound weird, but God is the one who choose me, and called me on that day; it was not I that choose Him, that much I know for sure. As I was closing my message last Sunday, I promised God I would not neglect to give an alter call, and I kept my promise; unfortunately, the few individuals that I was praying would come forward remained in their seats, and there was really no response at all to the request; at least none that I could see. But, I did my part; and the message that Sunday was on Acts 18:1-6 where Paul first goes to Corinth; a message that I felt the need to title, Hell Is Real, which had to do with Paul's urgency to persuade the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, and then his response to them when they opposed him, and then blasphemed the Lord Jesus. I shared what it meant to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and how it was the Spirit of God that convicts a man's heart, thereby making them aware of their need for God's free gift of Salvation; and to mock that calling and turn away was pretty much the sin that could never be forgiven; at least if it was your last day. Lord knows, I had mocked and rejected the Holy Spirit's call upon my life over and over again; but on that day, it was not the same; and had I rejected Him that day; well, let's just be glad I did not! But, as I closed my prayer Sunday, I shared just that; as I mentioned God's goodness towards me, and how I had rejected Him all those years prior to the day that I actually gave Him my life; how merciful God was on me, and how He never gave up; praying that God would have the same mercy on anyone in that room that did not know Him, but refused to step forward and receive new life. And then, just in case, I ended with the Sinner's Prayer anyways; for anyone that might receive it, and then repeat it later as they felt a need... "Lord Jesus; I know that I am a sinner; and I believe that You came and You died for my sins. I repent of my sins; confessing to You, and asking for Your forgiveness: please come into my heart today and be my Lord. I give You my life; now do with me as You wish. In Your name. Amen" (Or anything such as that will work!)
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
"God's Goodness"
"He loveth righteousness and judgement: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD." (Psalms 33:5) Yes, it's true, this world is going to pass away; nothing shall be what it was, nor left unchanged; but within the dying and domed earth God's wonders and splendor are still displayed, regardless of it's condition. Another aspect of His dying creation are those that give themselves for others; not just be giving of their time, but those that give their lives for the protection of their fellow man. In the normal circles of life, everyone is pretty much out for themselves; looking the other way when someone is being attacked; avoiding to get involved when someone is being threatened, mugged, or even murdered. But, there are those rare times; times that seldom get the recognition that they deserve, when someone will risk their own lives to protect someone else; even someone that they don't even know. We can shrug our shoulders, saying, Well, good for them; but you won't find me doing something stupid like that; I have too much to live for, too many people that are dependent upon my care, to be caring for somebody else's problem. However, here is the thing about giving of yourself for the sake of others, especially those that you don't know, or those that may not know you; is that it also mirrors God's love in an extraordinary way. I know this might sound a little odd to some, but I really miss the mark when it comes to understanding how far Jesus went to place Himself on that cross for my sins, and to make it possible that I should inherit eternal life through His sacrifice. No, I don't mean that I don't understand what He did, because I truly believe that I do; but I am talking about how far that He went, meaning, how much He sacrificed of Himself to do what He did; that is where I miss the mark, over and over again in the sacrifice of my own life, and in the way I live for Him. But then again, I seriously doubt that I am alone..."Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." (Hebrews 12:2-4)
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
"Mirror To God" -2
"For the word of the LORD is right; and all His works are done in truth." (Psalms 33:4) I know that many may not understand how this works, but sin actually saved us from sin; as strange as that might sound. Just as that serpent fashioned from brass, which was a snake, although not a real snake, it was made in the image of a snake to cure those that would look upon it from the fatal bites of real snakes. Do you see what I am talking about, and why it was that I began to weep during my message? Man brought the curse of sin upon us all by the sin of Adam, therefore, God fashioned His brilliancy in the form of a man to heal mankind from the bite of sin. Just as Moses was instructed by God to fashion a serpent, not to use a real serpent, God did not use a man born of man's seed, but made one born of His Spirit: His brilliancy, as in brazen. If you think about all those that died in the wilderness because they did not look upon that brazen serpent that was lifted up; having been made sick and dying by the bite of a snake, and not seeing the snake as the source of their healing, neither wanting to look upon it, they died instead. How much does that compare to Jesus on the cross? As we see countless people, who do not see how someone that hung upon a cross two thousand years ago can have any effect whatsoever on their current state, nor do they want to look upon Him for the Salvation that they need from an eternity in hell. Really, that's the significant thing that brings the serpent and Jesus to a spectacular union: how those that were bitten, were poisoned by the venom, and were destined to die because of the poisoning; all because of rebellion against God: and we, as those bitten by the poison of sin, are destined for hell, all because of the rebellion against God in the Garden. Yet, all that we need to do to be healed from the poison of sin, and to live, is to look upon the cross; the cross which bore the Son of God, fashioned in the image of the source of that poison, and taking on that poison upon Himself, that we might no longer be suffering from it's bite, and no longer destined for hell. I don't know about you, but I cry when I think about those that do not look, only because they mock His ability to heal them, because they do not see who He was, why He came, or understand their real need for Salvation; just as those that did not look, who could not see the significant reason that they were to look upon that serpent, nor did they care to try and understand; but continuing in that rebellious spirit, they held out for another cure, or the chance to feel better; only to find out that death was emanate and real without looking upon that serpent lifted up. Hell is real also, and it was to free us from the jaws of hell that Jesus came, because that is where we will go without looking up to the cross and believing on the only begotten Son of God... "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:11-15)
Monday, July 15, 2013
"Mirror To God"
"For the word of the LORD is right; and all His works are done in truth." (Psalms 33:4) The first word, "For", is very much the 'therefore' we are to be looking to; for in that, we are instructed first of all in verse one, that "praise is comely for the upright"; which is basically beautiful, as in praise is beautiful for the upright. Secondly, we are instructed what that praise should be like, as in the character of praise; starting with the overall velocity by which you are to enter into praise, by giving it your all; then the three dimensional aspects of what that praise should look like, as in new, beautiful, and loud. Interesting to see how this displays something of a mirror to God; don't you think? Okay; let me break that down to you; if I can! The velocity of God; how about we start with His love, as in, giving of His all! Never mind that He blows our minds by the wonders of His creations, but the simple fact that He gave everything He had to save us; having given of Himself, to suffer and die on the cross, that we might be righteous! Jesus was made sin for us! He that had no sin, was made sin, that we might be made righteous! Talk about making something new, that is what the 'Word of God' is all about: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and be beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) Talk about beauty; God turn ashes to beauty every day, as He changes broken lives into lives that mirror Him; lives that are holy before His eyes, have been made white as snow, by the blood us Jesus Christ. And talk about loud; oh my goodness! The battle cry of ages! The moment that Jesus died upon that cross, worlds realigned that we can never imagine! Besides all that happened which is documented in His word; we are talking about spiritual worlds restored by a three word proclamation: "It Is Finished!" A proclamation that was so loud, it shook the foundations of this earth, opened portals of heaven, rent the veil within the temple, and it opened graves, releasing dead saints to go and worship in the temple; it pretty much disrupted heaven and earth in that single moment; now that's loud! As I was giving the message yesterday at church, I was broken at one point of the message and began to weep; as I was sharing from John 3:14 & 15, which says, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life"; and having thought about today's posting, even the title, "Mirror To God", I was broken by the revelation of how much God planned His redemption for man, and how He works all things out in such intricate detail, beyond anything we can fully comprehend; yet, we are always so concerned about the little things in our lives; little insignificant issues that we have, such as our abilities to walk in a manner worthy of His calling. Yet, don't we realize that if God could plan something with such spectacular detail and authority, that He surely considered our little issues in the process!
"Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright."
"Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright."
Sunday, July 14, 2013
"Making It Beautiful"
"Sing unto the LORD a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise." (Psalms 33:3) The first thing people think when they hear that term, Balls to the Wall, they instantly think it has to do with the male genitalia, when it actually originated with pilots, as they accelerated quickly, the throttle is pushed all the way to the panel, and the throttle level (ball) actually touches the panel (wall); it basically means to push it to the limit, to go all out, or to go full speed; so there! When it comes to going all out in praise and worship, there is something to be considered in the process, and it has to do with three basic things: it's new, it's beautiful, and it's loud. The combination of all three of those basic things creates an energy towards God that brings a smile to His face, if you can imagine that happening. Okay, maybe you don't imagine that happening; but here is the deal regarding our worship towards God: He loves it!!! We were made to worship God! When we get to heaven, that will be our number one thing to do, is to worship God! And why wouldn't we worship Him? And as we shall see in the upcoming verses in the days ahead, our God is so, so awesomely, worthy to be praised! So, let me break it down for you, and see if we can get a better feel for what these three basic components to worship really represent. The first of these is really quite simple to understand, because it basically means to make it original; which really does not mean that it necessarily needs to be some new song that you just made up, but more of the way that you sing it, in that it is coming from your heart, and in the way that you would express yourself to God. It's basically the same as the way you would speak to someone you love over the phone, in that you would not disguise your voice, or speak like someone else, but speak as yourself and from your heart. And then again, it also means that you worship fresh, as in doing something for the very first time, and stretching out beyond what was done before; even if you had sang that song a hundred times before, your heart is prepared to sing it like never before. And then again; you can make up something original if you like; just make sure it's beautiful; which brings us to the next component, being that of "skilfully". This one is the hardest to describe of the three, because it has so much complexity, much like anything that is totally beautiful might possess. In a nutshell, this component has something that is pleasing behind it, as in, pleasing to His sight! The general idea is that of your personal desire to please God in your worship by making it something beautiful before Him; something acceptable in His sight, and something that you work at, to make it really really good. It also has an basic underlying gladness, such as would be the case in creating something skilfully that you put all of your heart into; which brings us to the next component, and that is to be "loud". This one is the easiest to comprehend, because it only requires shouting out, as in, not a whisper, but making it a shout for joy, as in sounding an alarm, or a battle cry. If you can imagine yourself rushing into battle, and making the sound of your voice drown out the fear in your heart; that is the general idea; it's a religious impulse... Lord, bless this mornings service, and give me the ability to speak from your heart; that my heart might be focused on You and not on me. Amen...
Saturday, July 13, 2013
"Balls To The Wall"
"Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument with ten strings." (Psalms 33:2) Having studied a little bit about the entertainment industry, especially that of live entertainment, there is something to be said about giving it all that you got, and then some; something commonly referred to as a "throw down" in some circles, meaning, we are going to show up and throw it all down, leaving nothing inside. The word "praise" literally means "to throw down", and in the art (if you will) of worship, it means to praise God with everything that have, giving Him everything you got, and then some! Great entertainers are those that go beyond just the basic act of entertaining people, they try to amaze with talent from deep within; stuff that even amazes themselves in the process of trying to amaze others. The greatest feeling that can be felt is that of loosing yourself in the art of worship before the God that formed you in your mother's womb! There is nothing that compares to free, unadulterated worship; worship that is not hindered by fear of what others might think, nor concerned with the environment or the people around you, but just focused on God, and Him alone! When I was first home from the Navy, I was living at my mom's house, and I stayed in a camper that was sitting on the ground in the back yard; and before leaving the Philippines, I bought and shipped the top of the line stereo system to my mother house, and had set that system up inside of that camper; it was basically me living inside of a speaker; some pretty awesome speakers with 16" woofers and able to take 600 amps of power without getting distorted. My favorite group at that time was Rush, and you can bet I played it loud; so loud; the camper sounded like it was busting at the seams, and the cymbals of Neil Peart's drums would make the shell of the camper tingle as if electrified. It was so loud, that my mother was outside banging on the camper for me to turn it down, and I never even heard her attempts until the song was over: we are talking about something intense, where you actually feel your temperature rise, and your tent becomes just that, an empty shell filled with nothing but pour adrenalin. Anywho, I wanted to share that, only because in my BC days, that was the closest thing that I can point to that even comes close to "throw down" before God, and what it means to worship God with everything that is within us. Another meaning for that same word, is that of giving thanks; to praise God with a heart of thanksgiving and to celebrate the benefits of the forgiveness of sin that comes through confession...
"Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words on the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice I arose from my heaviness; and having rent my garments and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand on the kings on the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage." (Ezra 9:4-8)
"Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words on the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice I arose from my heaviness; and having rent my garments and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand on the kings on the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage." (Ezra 9:4-8)
Friday, July 12, 2013
"Anonymity"
"Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright." (Psalms 33:1) Okay, so just so you know, this is the first Psalm of about 33 that does not have an introduction, or a reference as to who wrote it and why. Most likely this Psalm was penned by David; although, it could be anyone that sat under him as a pupil in his court, for David was known to have some pretty serious Bible studies back in the day. Although, I would not be surprised at all if it turns out that Ezra himself was the one who took the liberty to add a few words of his own, seeing that he was probably the one that put the Psalms into their order; kind of like his own contribution to the flow, or the glue between the veneers; after all, both the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah are considered to be one Book, and they tell of the reestablishment of God's temple and the worship of God, the God of Israel's people, the One who separated them unto Himself. Besides that, the name Ezra in and of itself is enough to give a clue to the glue, for his name means "Help", and he was the priest who led God's people home; the main message of his writings, was, God uses whomever suits His purpose, whether they be powerful leaders, or common farmers, God empowered His chosen people to overcome all opposition, even against impossible odds. Regardless of the author, God is the behind the etchings, and the One who directed the hands of him who wrote every word, whether upon tablet or scroll, each and every Book of the Bible is God's Love Letter to His people, whether they realize it or not! The key to the beginning of this Psalm is that of the word "upright", and to straighten is the most proper meaning in the context of what is being put forth; as if God is straightening the position of a branch in His garden, or making a tender tree stand upright, using whatever is at His disposal to help prop it up and to make it straight... "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, He is the God, which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-4)
Thursday, July 11, 2013
"Praising God"
Is it really any surprise that Psalms 33 takes off where Psalms 32 ends; I don't think so; and if it is true that Ezra is the one that arranged the Psalms in the order that they are in, then I can understand why he was so instrumental in the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and having the heart of restoration and a vision to see the power of God triumph over man's failures. And yes, the title above Psalms 33 in my Bible reads, "Praising God"; as simple of a concept as that might be, it's really at the heart of what we are, and what God has created us for in the first place. More than just mind-numbed robots, the free will that He has fashioned within us, is for the purpose of loving and praising Him; regardless of what you might think of predestination, it's all about God's greatness, and the fact that we get to participate in His greatness; and the more we realize how great God is, the more our free will to love and praise Him kicks in; and the more our free will to love Him and praise Him kicks in, the more our will to be holy is enhanced! It's really not rocket science, although it is truly a science; the science being the knowledge of God that can be rationally explained and reliably applied. Isn't that what God is asking us to do, to taste and see that He is good? You really cannot explain God's greatness in a way that compares to the way that you live God's greatness, it's something that needs to be lived to understand rationally; which means, that it is something that must first be applied to our lives, to even begin to comprehend how it works. After over thirty years of walking with the Lord, I am amazed at how much I am still learning about how much He loves me; it can not be measured, therefore, it can never be fully known; so why are we so surprised by new revelations of His great love? I love the analogy of God's love that is expressed by holding your arms outstretched side to side; it's the simplest way to demonstrate to someone how much God loves them: by simply stretching out your arms, and saying, God loves you this much!
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
"This Present Bliss"
"Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart." (Psalms 32:11) In case you were wondering about these verses from Jeremiah, and trying to figure out how they are connected to anything to do with this Psalm, it's really all about God's will over ours. You see, God has truly given man free will, and He will respect man's freedom of choice to a certain degree; but once you make that choice to surrender your life to Him, then all bets are off the table. In other words; your life is no longer your own to do what you want with, and He will get you through to the other side, one way or another! I am constantly amazed at the way God changes my heart, because this heart of mine gets so distracted by things, it requires to be guided back to God over and over again; that is the place where God's mercy and grace overlap, and His love for me takes precedence over my free will. Left to my own devices, I doubt that I would hardly stand a chance to make it through and hear that saying, "Well done, My good and faithful servant". But God, who created heaven and earth, He has not only placed me in His protection, but He has also assured me that His protection will always be there, even when I may not want it anymore; even when I falter, He has placed me in a protective bubble that only allows me to fall so far, and then sustains me from fatal impact from my fall. This is pretty much the just of what is being said here in the verse, which pretty much sums up the whole reason behind our "Confession and Forgiveness"; for when we trust in God's great mercy and His unending grace, we always have a reason to rejoice, no matter how far we slip away, and no matter how bad we screw things up, God is always able to make us righteous and upright in heart; it only requires our asking Him to forgive us. Can you actually count all those blessings?
"And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: and I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from Me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with My whole heart and with My whole soul." (Jeremiah 32:36-41)
"And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: and I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from Me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with My whole heart and with My whole soul." (Jeremiah 32:36-41)
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
"Let Me Think?"
"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about." (Psalms 32;10) For any one that might think that there are no absolutes, let's put that to rest right here; because when it comes to making the right choice on accepting forgiveness, you absolutely must make the right choice! The word "wicked" basically means guilty one, or criminal; one who is guilty of a crime, or he who is guilty of sin. It's really not about how much you have sinned, nor the type of sins you have committed; but have you asked forgiveness for your sin, or are you hostile to God's great offer of mercy. Really now, what are your choices? Let's see; do I keep going on feeling sorry for myself, and being condemned to a life of misery and misguided failures; or do I accept God's offer of complete healing, and actually live in the goodness, lovingkindness, and love of God? Gosh, I don't know; it seems that He hasn't made the choice clear enough for me to make up my mind; at least not today; maybe tomorrow, or the first new moon after the next solar eclipse; yes, that's it: I will take up God's offer completely, right after the next catastrophic event. But really, what makes a man put off changing his life completely? Could it actually be trust? That is a very interesting way to look at a very big problem; a problem that is basically our very own, and has nothing to do with the sins of our fathers, where we were raised, or any other social malfunction that could affect our ability to make the right choice; because it really comes down to trusting God, which means that we put our complete confidence in Him, and we take that step into that which we do not know, based upon that which we have been instructed in; complete surrender means to throw it all away, and to set your hope in Him... "Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go fourth over against it upon the hill of Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever." (Jeremiah 31:35-40)
Monday, July 8, 2013
"Giddy Up!"
"Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee." (Psalms 32:9) I am sure you have already made the title of this post out to be the command given to a horse, as if you are commanding the horse to go, or to go faster; and that is very understandable; however, this can also be an expression of agreement, as in, "You betcha!". To be perfectly honest, I tend to be more like the horse or the mule when it comes to doing what I am meant to be doing, more times than not. There are two ways in which we are governed by God, and for most of us, our lives are governed both ways, depending on the circumstances and the motivations of our hearts, and as it our agreement with what God is asking us to do. The way of the bit and bridle, although it is useful to lead a horse or a mule, the primary reason that it is needed, is because they cannot reason out the commands of their rider; which basically means, you can not tell your horse, We will be turning left up ahead at that next opening in the pathway. If you try telling your horse or mule what to do by verbal instruction such as that, more times than not, you going to go where the horse or mule wants to go, and not where you want them to take you. The other way is that of reason, whereas, you reason within yourself as to what the Lord is asking you to do, or you understand what it is that He expects of you, and then you agreeably do that which He is instructing you in. Otherwise, you are like the horse or the mule, and God will still get you where He wants you to go, you just might not enjoy the journey as much as you would by using reason; reason being, your fighting the Lord by wanting to go your own way, and having no understanding or reason as to what God's way is meant to do for your life, God must force you into obedience. Again, it's really not that hard to understand the whole concept of God's grace, especially if you are motivated by the desire to be smothered in His grace; whereas, you can't get enough, and every precept of His word becomes applications for our lives; knowing that His word is all about Him loving us, and instructing us in those things that will enrich our love for Him. Then, and only then, when asked by God, Would thou be made whole? your answer is in the affirmative: GIDDY UP!!!
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of the beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:27-34)
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of the beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:27-34)
Sunday, July 7, 2013
"Giving Out"
"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." (Psalms 32:8) You can bet your life on trying to find out the hard way, or you can take heed and listen to someone that has experience in matters of trusting God's mercy and grace will always be there; because this was after all, "a man after God's own heart". Being the oldest of all my siblings, I was pretty much the front runner on a whole host of matters which displayed rebellion, not only against my parents, but especially God; as a matter of fact, if you rebel against your parents, then you are automatically rebelling against God, even beforehand of the rebellion; because, it's your heart that brings forth the action, and your rebellion against God is what comes first, because God has said, Honor thy mother and thy father. This instruction by man is important, especially someone that is looked upon as one who follows God and walk in His ways; it is important for those that will listen, to listen, and to gather as much information as they can based upon the experience of a tried and true believer, rather than suffer needless misfortunes by learning some of the hard lessons on their own. Unfortunately, most lessons must be learned the hard way; which means, they require personal pain for there to be any real gain; but it's nice to know that we all suffer the same misfortunes, even those that seem to have it all together, are really just a man, the same as we are. If I could do anything over, I think it would be paying more attention to the lessons of my elders; listening to their personal testimonies with more of a interest in the lessons to be learned, and not as someone that felt I had some kind of superior knowledge. If you know what I am talking about, then you can understand how that works; it's pretty much the same attitude that causes a child to tell their parent, You don't understand what I am going through! Thinking that they have some sort of superior knowledge in their own situation, because after all, things are not the same as they were when their parent was growing up, so how could they even begin to understand? But in actuality, there is really nothing new under the sun; things may appear new in the technical world, but as far as the things that really matter, they all remain the same... "Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their morning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 31:10-14)
Saturday, July 6, 2013
"Giving Up and Giving In"
"Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah." (Psalms 32:7) Just when you think that you have it all figured out, God shows up with another reason that shows why He is God alone! If you were originally saved by grace and not your works, then what makes you think that works are now the keys to your success? This might be one of my biggest problems, and could very well have been planted years ago by being part of a cult, and having practiced the deception of working for my eternal life, instead of trusting in Jesus alone as the source of Life. It is not that we do not need works as proof of our salvation, because I firmly believe that faith without works is dead; but works are not the means of what saves us, and neither will they be the glue that keeps us on track; that is just preposterous to even think that they are; and yet, it happens to be the thing that we make it, time and time again! Let's break this down, and see what might present it's self; all the while, trying to keep the mental attitude of walking in the park with our Heavenly Father, getting instruction, giving in to what He reveals, and coming to an understanding of what He has in store for us; remembering also, that this is a Psalm which is about instruction in "Confession and Forgiveness", and the two go hand in hand. First and foremost, we must always remember that which we are: we are sinners that have been saved by grace! Remember those leopards spoken of earlier, how they can never change their spots? Well it may be possible that those spots can be removed after all, but it is only the blood of Jesus that covers them; hides them, if you will, by making them totally invisible onto the Father: under the blood of Jesus, our spots are hidden; outside the blood of Jesus, our spots are revealed: salvation 101! Secondly, we have this tilt meter build within us, as to describe sin in categories and then assign value to them, as if one sin out does another sin, and certain sin goes way too far; too far even for the blood of Jesus to hide. Utter nonsense!!! Sin is sin; and the only sin that can ever be considered to even come close to not being covered by the blood of Christ, is the sin that denies the power thereof, which is the Spirit of God; because there can be no change within the person that does not recognize and yield to the power of the Holy Spirit! (At least that's the way I interpret the meaning.) There is no sin that God cannot forgive us for, nor that He cannot preserve us from the destruction of; even that of the consequences of the sin which we committed, for which there may not be any relief; still, there is always hope in God's great mercy and grace, and assurance that "ALL THINGS ARE NEW"! Knowing this, and believing that God's words are true, we shalt be compassed about with songs of deliverance; songs that are not planted there by our own efforts to get our lives right with God, but are surrounding us by the Spirit in which we are walking; the Spirit of God, by which our victories are assured... "Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; and I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before Me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto Me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto Me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be My people, and I will be your God." (Jeremiah 30:18-22)
Friday, July 5, 2013
"POINT OF GRACE"
"For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him." (Psalms 32:6) So, what then is our undoing? What is it that causes a man to fall from grace? Ephesians 2:8-10 is a model of what saves us, not just what did save us, but what continues to save us; for in this portion of the Holy Scriptures, Paul declares these words: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." It's the simplistic act of asking God for forgiveness, and how eager He is willing to forgive us of our sins, our iniquities, our trespasses, our transgressions; every little thing that stands in the way of, and what stops us, from walking in our preordained workmanship; He is waiting for us to acknowledge everything to Him. And guess what that also includes? Yes sir; that little hidden beast! The monster which seems to creep up from the pit of hell where you thought it had been cast, yet it seems to find a way to continually crawl it's way out; causing us to sin, having it's way, and rebelling against the love of God! Oh, I am sorry; did I let the cat out of the bag? What else can it be, but to rebel against God's love for us? After all, it is His love that saves us, sustains, and keeps us in His grace; and when we are tempted, it is His love that reaches out to strengthen us, and to ask us not to turn away; yet, there is another love that draws us away: a lesser love; one which only brings temporary satisfaction, but in the moment, takes precedence over the greatest love of all. This is the point that Jesus was making, as He explained the Greatest Commandment of all; that being, "To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength!" We must love God more than we love anything else; and when we feel as though we do not, then we pray, God forgive me, and help me love you more!!! We have a model of His grace, which points to the source of all that saved us, saves us, and will continue to be the salvation which will see us through; and guess what? It is not in us!!! I don't care how strong that you think you are, you are not going to tame that beast on your own! But you might be thinking: I really don't want to think about it, let alone confess it out loud to God; can't I just consider it part of the bundle of sins in my life, and leave it at the cross? That is between you and God; I cannot tell you what sins you are in need of being cleansed of, you should know that on your own. However, I will say this: I do not have any sins I hold onto that I do not like; and I am sure the same works for you... "All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude on thine iniquities; because thy sins were increased. Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done those things unto thee. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after." (Jeremiah 30:14-17)
Thursday, July 4, 2013
"Reasons To Reason!"
"I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah." (Psalms 32:5) Here another stanza of that hymnal, which is sure to cause one to ponder, and it goes: "Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done." To be perfectly clear about something, iniquity and sin are really not the same thing: although both are at odds with God, and both require the same forgiveness, sin is the result of a fall, or falling short; it is missing the mark of holiness and righteousness: iniquity on the other hand is all together a different animal; for iniquity sets out to sin, and is the intent or desire for sin, or the guilt associated with the sin that was committed. It could be compared to a wound: whereas, sin is the scare tissue, but iniquity is that which caused the wound to happen, and it is the bacteria that is festering beneath it, hindering the wound to be healed. For example, we could look at Eve to demonstrate this process; whereas, Eve had iniquity within her heart prior to taking a bite of the fruit, then sin was the result of her eating it; afterwards, iniquity continued after the sin, in the form of guilt and shame for the sin which had been committed. There are actually two separate issues at play and that must be dealt with; besides the actual sin that was done, there is the iniquity that sought out to sin in the first place! Okay; let's say that your sin is that of pornography, and you know that after you partake in that vile act, that you have definitely committed sin; but what is it that brings you to committing the act in the first place? In other words; to just confess the sin, and to just leave it at that, is not going to prevent you from sinning again, unless you also deal with the things that caused you to sin in the first place! "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) It really comes down to the condition of our hearts, because that is where iniquity is hidden, and is engraved deep within; sometimes masked as guilt and shame, it is the hidden source of our secret desires; regurgitating into something of a rebellious spirit, that for the most part, is actually beyond our ability to control. I know that might sound like some kind of a cop-out to some degree, but it's really the nature of the beast, and it is a beast that must be reasoned with... "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of Living Waters. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise." (Jeremiah 17:10-14)
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
"See What God Hath Done!"
"For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into drought of summer. Selah." (Psalms 32:4) I am more than totally dependent upon God, I am filled with remorse every time I try and step out on my own! To begin with, God's mercy and grace, although freely given to all that ask, is something that is not contained in freedom; in other words, it comes with obligation and dedication to God! Precisely the reason that some people resist the calling upon their lives, because they are not yet ready for a commitment to God, or to have their lives changed, and disrupt the freedoms they feel they might loose if they were to surrender their lives to God. The bondage associated with sin and death just does not justify the chance taken by putting off forgiveness, yet, countless people get up each morning, and go to bed each night, doing just that: taking a chance on eternal damnation! They just don't realize the freedom that comes with forgiveness of sin, only because they don't want to loose their freedom to sin! It's the "moisture" part of this verse that I want us to pay particular attention to, because it's the vitality behind our zest for lively living, or, if you are willing to accept it, the juices that drive our sexual desires. You see, when we surrender to God, not only does He forgive us the sin, but He changes the desire that we have to sin; that is of course if we have surrendered all of our sins over to Him! Otherwise, this new life that we have in Christ might just appear as if it is bondage, as in something that has us oppressed by not letting us do those things that our hearts desire, even though those desires should no longer drive the passions of our hearts. All the more reason that we must reason with our Heavenly Father!!! Stop asking WHY NOT? and start asking WHY!!! Why do you want me this way or that? What purpose, O God, is there for You to conform my life this way? If I ever did have a walk in the park with my earthly father, that is what I hoped I would have asked my dad, Why? Because, when it comes to the benefits of living a life that is surrendered to God, there is really nothing else that can compare; Absolutely Nothing...
"When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
your reward in heaven, nor your home on high."
"When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
your reward in heaven, nor your home on high."
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
"The Walk In The Park"
Before I go any further, I felt I needed to straighten out what this "walk in the park" is all about; because, although things may appear to be getting heated, as in God's anger and such, it's really about a Father and son relationship at it's purest form. Quite honestly, I never had the chance to have a "walk in the park" experience with my earthly father, so maybe I am confused on the whole concept all together; but this whole idea of speaking openly and freely with God is based upon His desire for us to be conformed into His image and our desire to be conformed; and it's all about listening to His instruction! Those horrible sounding verses that end in exile and destruction are only warnings from a loving Father's heart, as odd as some of that might appear as so, they describe the workings of sin, and what results from a life that embraces evil over good. For example, the verses I ended with yesterday from Jeremiah 17:1-4, there is mention of God's anger, as in, "for thou hast kindled a fire in Mine anger, which shall burn for ever", which speaks more of sorrow then of the anger associated with madness; because God is love, yet when He is angry, His anger is a righteous anger that is against sin and all that results from the wake of sinful living; especially in the lives of His children!!! And why do you think that is the case? As if God should hold us to a higher standard than He does to the ones that are not His children; after all, aren't we all just the same broken vessels? Yes He does; and no, we are not the same! We are a child of THE KING; we are a chosen people that are just as sons and daughters of any king would be: Royalty; given an inheritance of status, power and riches beyond anything we could have ever afforded or purchased on our own, and far beyond our wildest imaginations! And yes, God does get angry; His anger is just and righteously towards the destruction which is cause by sin; our sins that we so selfishly hold onto, and which cause us to neglect the high calling upon our lives; suffering countless souls to be eternally lost by our neglect, and the fire which has been kindled will surely burn for ever! Now do you see? He is instructing us in things that are far reaching and involve a legacy of honor and praise; praise that is based upon "Confession and Forgiveness"; all of which is reasoned out between Him and us, as we consider our great need of forgiveness, and His great desire to forgive us..."Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be a tree planted by the waters, and that speadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when her heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:5-9)
Monday, July 1, 2013
"Name Them One By One"
"When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long." (Psalms 32:3) Right out of the gate? Odd little phrase to pop into my mind, but then again, so is this verse! I know the meaning very well, and I have studied this verse many times before over the last 32 years; however, it really never has had this appearance before; then again, maybe it has, and I just refused to see it; or better yet, I refused to speak it out! It's the word "silence" that has me stricken by oddity, in that it always has meant simply to remain quite, as in, not confessing my sin will cause my bones to wax old through the grieving that I hold inside; not really that difficult to understand how that works; however, when further examination is performed to the word, right at the top of the explanation is this little introduction to the meaning: "TO CUT INTO, TO INSCRIBE letters on a tablet; to fabricate, out of metal, wood, stone, etc; to device evil things, as in being a fabricator; to plow, or to plow in iniquity, as elsewhere to sow evil, to prepare it for time to come". Well, I can go on further if you would like, but how far do you want to go down this rabbit hole? But just to make it interesting, how about we look at the word "day", and see what makes this new idol come to life; because day, although it might appear to mean day, as in a 24 hour time period, it's primary signification appears to be that of the heat of the day; and then by adding it's secondary meaning to the primary one, we have the special day that is established by either birthday of someone special, or the festival days of idols; or, in a really bad sense, the day of one's destruction. The way that I see this, and with the "Right out of the gate" kind of mentality, when sin is revealed in us, either by occasion or by revelation, it must be confessed and put to rest; otherwise, what we have done, is to pretty much create an idol, and then buried it in the sand for another day; only to have to deal with it another day, which will be the day of destruction, whether the idols destruction or our own. The primary meaning of the title of this post, besides being part of the song I am singing, is that we need to 'Name' the sins that are revealed in our hearts; naming meaning that we bring them forth in confession unto God; otherwise, what becomes of them is something of the "TO CUT INTO, TO INSCRIBE letters on a tablet", which is much the same as a deaf and dumb man might right out what he has to say to someone, yet he never passes the note for the person to read..."The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your alters; whilst their children remember their alters and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in Mine anger, which shall burn for ever." (Jeremiah 17:1-4)
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