"Association" -2

"The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." (Psalms 37:12) Just is a pretty important characteristic, because it pretty much means righteous, which takes a little doing to fit that kind of character. Lot, although he was not perfect, was considered righteous, and was escorted out of Sodom before the Lord destroyed it; however, he suffered great loss along the way, mainly the loss of his wife, who's heart actually belonged to Sodom anyways. These are the things which we must be careful for, because those things that we associate with may take our hearts captive unaware; whereby, we might not even realize that they have such a strong hold on us, that is until they are being taken away. The point I believe that Jesus was making by "cares of this life", are the things which we will put before our cares for God's redemption; much as Lot's wife, who should have been grateful to have escaped destruction, instead looked back as if part of her was being destroyed along with that city. There are certain things that we must do in order to avoid being snagged by the cares of this life, the first of which, is complete surrender to God, and to His will for our life; in doing so, we avoid the number one thing that will cause us to fall, and that is our will over God's will. I know that might sound a little over simplified, but it is really that simple; if we seek His will in everything we do, then we nothing to be ashamed of, and no one else to blame, but God; and in that case, He gets all the glory! You see, there is a plot that has been designed to make us fall; designed by the devil, who wants nothing more than to destroy those that call upon the name of Jesus, this plot will cause people to be condemned to hell; it may not be those that say that they are Christians, but it will be those of whom those destroyed Christians were to have ministered to, including their families and friends... "There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun. When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it, yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it." (Ecclesiastes 8:14-17)

"Association"

"The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." (Psalms 37:12) Just in case you are unaware, you do have an enemy of your soul; although this verse speaks of "the wicked" being those that set out to destroy any that are associated with the True Living God, the root of their jealousy comes from the devil and his plot to take as many of us to hell with him as he can. I have just learned that there is a huge movement going on, not just here in the United States, but other places, where there are Atheist churches starting up in several large cities. These are churches where they mimic all those things that we do in our Christian churches, with one exception, they do not mention or worship God; they sing songs, hear sermons about self and earth and such, and have coffee and donuts as they gather after service, they even practice some form of meditation; but they come together to celebrate that there is no God, or so they think. Now you tell me, are we living in the last days or what? Maybe it has something to do with fellowship; for the sake of coming together and having some kind of fellowship, they gather together and unite as a body of nonbelievers; yet the funny thing is, they are actually believing in something by saying that they believe that God does not exist. This is really getting pretty interesting to watch, because everyone that has an opinion that is set against God is allowed to express it, but we that want to express our hope and faith in Jesus, we are told that we cannot because it is offensive to those that don't believe; why should we think it would be otherwise? They hated and scoffed at Jesus, so why would it be any different for us that confess His name? I think the biggest problem is that of association; whereas, we that are associated with Christ, we do not fight very hard for rights in this world, because this is not our world; however, those that are associated with the devil, they are of this world, so they fight with all their might to do whatever it is that they think is right... "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:34-36)  

"And Gain Direction"

"But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (Psalms 37:11) If we know which way we are going, life just seems to roll on by, even the stuff that hurts a little bit. There is a reason for this to happen, which is caused by our perspective being in the right direction, because real peace is brought by having the right relationship with God; and an abundance of peace, well that my friend is brought by the fact that our right relationship is not dependent upon our own righteousness, but is granted to us by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Why can't some people grab hold of this and never let go? What is it that causes some churches to go from grace to works as the way to salvation? I was raised in such a church, although they do not call it a church, and I can tell you with all honesty, there really was not any real peace I felt from that organization; let alone, an abundance of peace; if anything, I had suffered through some terrible nightmares of being judged unworthy; some that I can remember vividly to this day. This is really not anything new, because the early church dealt with this constantly, and Paul had to either visit some churches or write letters to them instructing them in the right way, after they had been led into the wrong direction. Do I believe that it is a sin to try and work our way into the kingdom of God? You bet I do; not only is it sin, but it will be punished as mocking God; or more critical, mocking God's Son Jesus Christ, who came to pay a price that none of us could ever pay on our own, no matter how hard we might try, it is not in us to accomplish the kind of holiness required by a Holy God. Those that think that they can, do not understand how holy God actually is, and they make Him appear as though He lacks perfection; therefore they believe that what they lack will allow their works to satisfy the payment for their sins. But God, although His word might be taken out of context, never says, Oops; oops is not in His vocabulary, nor does He ever make mistakes; which includes you and I, who are the apple of His eye! That is what "the meek shall inherit the earth" represents to me, not that I inherit anything that is in this place, but that God blesses me here in any form or fashion that might present itself, because of how lowly and needy I am of His love; and because I know how much that He loves me, the abundance of peace I get from that cannot be taken by anything that this earth might produce against me... "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers." (John 10:1-5)

"Gain Perspective"

"For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be."  (Psalms 37:10) Maybe it's something that requires some intervention, say, like Scrooge had with being visited by three ghosts from Christmas past, present and future; I hope that's not what is required, but God does work in mysterious ways sometimes. I mean really; if you watch some of ways by which Christians hold up their faith in Jesus, you would think that they trust Jesus about as much as the world puts their trust in Santa Clause; something is definitely lacking in their lack of understanding of the peace that Jesus gives them. Our peace is with God, not necessarily with this world, nor in this world; as a matter of fact, Jesus clearly told us that in this world we would have tribulation; yet, at the same time He said that we would have peace; and not just any peace, but peace that passes all understanding; obviously He was not referring to the kind of peace that the world looks for, nor what the world has to offer. To gain the proper perspective as to what peace that we need to have, our best tool in that regard is to consider what we have been saved from. I know that is not something we like to hear, especially coming from the pulpit; but Jesus spoke about hell because it is a real place, that sadly enough, many people will end up in. As a matter of fact, Jesus said, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat". (Matthew 7:13) The real peace that we seek, is the peace that comes from knowing we have entered into that strait gate, which is Jesus Christ; for only by having a personal relationship with Jesus can we enter in, and only by making Him Lord of our lives, can we even consider Him Lord, let alone have a real personal relationship with Him... "For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay before Me." (Luke 19:26 & 27)  

"And Worry Not"

"For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth." (Psalms 37:9) There really is such a thing as logic when it comes to understanding God's economy; in other words, His ways really do make sense, if we would just take the time to contemplate how they work. This whole thing about "inherit the earth", although not really what I have in mind for my future; however, in this present time it might be nice if things would work out well enough to keep my comfortable lifestyle; after all, who wants to be homeless and live on the streets? I actually had a really good chance to put this into practice yesterday, as I had overextended my two of my five checking accounts, and I really wanted to get them in the black before five o'clock; around four, I had totally given up, and had just got ready to log onto my bank and try to figure out what the damage would be, when the phone rang; it was a Title Company letting me know that an Escrow had recorded, and that they had two checks waiting for me to pick up. I really hadn't prayed for the money, although I did pray for God to handle the situation, and that the damage would not be to costly. It's times like those when I can really understand what it means not to worry, because worry only takes hair away, it surely will not add any! When it comes to things that sustain our lives, it is okay to pray for them, but I don't think we need to petition God for them as we might for victory over sin, or for spiritual matters; those things really do not add up to the same area of importance, so we just pray for God's provision, and then don't worry about being provided for. To me, that is what is meant by inheriting the earth, because I really am looking forward to another inheritance that is far more important than this earth; besides, I believe the word means more about "to occupy" than it does "inherit"; which is what the Lord has told us to do... "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And as they heard these things, He added and spake a parable, because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said, Occupy till I come." (Luke 19:10-13)

"Relax..."

"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil." (Psalms 37:8) If I could make a New Year's resolution, and actually keep it, I think this would be what I would want to do; besides maybe eating less and riding my bike more, relaxing is vital for more than just our health, it is vital for our testimony of being a child of God. If words could kill, then I have murdered several people this last year; if not in their face, I have done it out loud to myself; and the sad thing is, most of the time it was totally uncalled for, it was just me getting overly excited about something that was absolutely a misunderstanding, or was not even there to begin with. I have tried the count to ten thing, and it really does not work, especially if while you are counting you are focused on whatever it is that has upset you. Personally, I like Paul's suggestion from his letter to Philippi, where he says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely; whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8) My mom always use to tell me, If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, then don't say anything. There was something to what she said, as well as what Paul says regarding the things that we press into our hearts from the bad thoughts in our minds; it is kind of like when we think upon the things we are not going to do, as if thinking of not doing them strengthens are ability to not do them; when the opposite happens, because just thinking about those things are like planting seeds of desire in our hearts. The best thing to do, is to think about the things of God, to meditate upon the Word, or to just pray and praise Him for having pulled you from the grip of the devil; but for goodness sake, don't think about things that are unworthy of virtue and praise. As for this verse in Psalms, it has moved from resting to relaxing, because most of us have a tendency to think on the things which we should not, even while we are resting in the Lord; and the things that I am talking about are things like, Why do they seem to have it so good? or, Why can't I have some of that? There is a command of God that speaks against that, which is, "Thou shalt not covet"; but how often do we do it anyways? Anger and wrath are things that are built up in our own hearts, and are sometimes hidden there where we cannot see them, usually because of resentment, until they just burst out; at which point we wonder, Where did that come from?
"Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

"Learning To Rest" -3

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." (Psalms 37:7) If we really want to talk about resting and waiting patiently, the children of Israel had not heard a single word from God for over four hundred years; and yet, when God did speak again, He spoke as a Baby in a manger; the Word of God had shown up in person! As this is Christmas morning, I thought it would be a good thing to share what the real meaning of Christ-Mas is all about; "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given". (Isaiah 9:6) When we read the account of Malachi 4:1-3, which speaks of the coming of the Christ Child, we can see that there is power that is given to those the believe in His name; not just healing, but power over the wicked. Actually, it says, "But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts." The reason that this has been made possible, is because Jesus Christ defeated the wicked; even the fact that He just had shown up in the flesh, that alone was a dreadful day for Satan and his followers, because God had come in the form of the flesh to defeat all that Satan had done; just as He said it would be, as He pronounced his curse in the garden over four thousand years prior, saying, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15) The seed of the devil is all that are wicked, and all that are separated from God because of sin, which included all of us at one time; but the seed of the woman is Jesus Christ, who not only crushed the head of the devil, but put wickedness into a whole new category, one that could be delivered from, and one that could be overcome by His righteousness and His death on the cross; a death that was painful, but very very temporary; being the heel that was bruised as He stomped on the head of the devil... Merry Christmas!!!

"Learning To Rest" -2

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." (Psalms 37:7) Sometimes, before we can be of any good for the Lord's doing, we must first learn how to drown; as odd as you might think that might sound, it is more true than you might otherwise think. The basic response of someone who is drowning is that of panic; throwing their arms in all directions, grasping for something to hold onto; basically wasting their energy on worthless motions that only harm their chances of keeping their head above water; let alone, having an experienced lifeguard try and get close to them. What God requires of us is trust, which more times than not, requires that we wait on Him, but waiting seems to be the hardest part of trust; especially for those of us that live in this present day of fast cars, and even faster web browsing; if we can't drive somewhere for help, we will look for it online. The problem in thinking that we can help God help us, is that we might settle for some thing that God did not intend for us; or worse, we might be led into something that will draw us away from God, instead of drawing us closer. The word "fret" that is used in the verse above, does not mean to worry, which might be what many will think that it means; it means to be angry, or kindled, as in to burn inside with anger towards anyone. This kind of anger is something that can rage out of control, not that we might do anything against anyone, but rather, that we might be like that person who is about to drown, and our anger does not allow God to save us; rather, He will wait until our anger has subdued, and we have humbled our self, and then He will lift us up. (1 Peter 5:6) When it comes to the things of this world, God's desire for our fellowship trumps His desire for our provisions; although God will supply all of our needs, our need for Him is more important that anything that this world has to offer, including food and clothing. Which makes me wonder about what the people of Israel might have been thinking, as they waited for "The Day of the LORD"; for over four hundred years, after hearing the last words of the prophets, they heard nothing from God. Having had to watch their prosperity being subdued by other empires, and having no word from God regarding His promise, only those words from decades past. Did they wonder if God was angry? or did they wonder if they were still His chosen people? Did they fret over them which prospered from their lands, as they came under the heavy hand of Roman rule? or did they rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for their Messiah to come and rescue them?
"Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not." (Malachi 3:14-18)  

"Learning To Rest"

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." (Psalms 37:7) I was praying about this verse, wondering how it is that we take our eyes off Jesus when we grow impatient; especially when we see other people being blessed, if though they are do not care about the things of God. Having been a Christian for the last 32 years, I have had my share of finding it hard to rest in the Lord; when you have a company and a payroll, you tend to want the money in the bank when you are going to need it; not knowing if you are going to make payroll or not is something that can really try your patience. Resting in the Lord is something that you must learn to do; you don't just start out as a new believer with the ability to rest, and you surely don't have some gift of patience; something that is a virtue is worked towards and built up to, as if you were running a race requires training and endurance. Jesus, in describing the parable of the sower, said of the seed that fell upon good ground, that they are which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke 8:15); as if to say, that the word had actually taken root in their heart, thereby bringing forth fruit; fruit that is produced from a seed requires growing, as we grow in the Lord through trials and various tribulations. The test of the fruit is when an actual trial comes into our lives; do we freak out, or do we rest in the Lord? I would say that at least 75% of us freak out when we are going through a trial or tribulation; which makes the other 25% of us those that need to teach and instruct those that are freaking out. Paul had a little experience in the area of waiting on the Lord; having been stranded and on his own several times, he learned some things about waiting patiently for God to make things happen. He writes in Romans 15:4, saying, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." The key to that verse is the word "learning", because it requires that we actually put into practice; and those that have experience are equip to help those that still lack the patience, just as we can gain knowledge by reading the accounts written, and taking them to heart. I remember when I first got saved, that I carried a little book around with me that had all these promises of God for every situation that we might be going through. I used it not only for myself, but for anyone that I ran across that was dealing with an issue. If they were suffering from discouragement, then I would give them verses about not being discouraged; or if they were suffering with hopelessness, then I would give them verses about having hope. The funny thing was, the more I shared these promises of God with others, the more I was building up my own endurance for the race... "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is before us, 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." (Hebrews 12:1 & 2)  

"Lighting the Way" -3

"And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." (Psalms 37:6) And, by putting together all that was spoken in the previous three verses, there is a pattern of a circle that is given, almost as if it is a perpetual motion of our lives, and how we are to Trust, Delight, Commit, and Trust. Not that we can not find other descriptive words to show how we are to move, but these are pretty much the mandatory components of our faith in Jesus Christ; and in doing so, the verse above shall be true in our lives, no matter how it is looked upon; whether we are a light onto others, or unto ourselves, or even unto our Father in heaven; we will not fail if we Trust in Jesus, Delight in Jesus, Commit our life to Jesus, and Trust in Jesus. To be a light unto others, we begin by trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour; if we are truly saved, then the next step is rather easy, because it pretty much comes with New Life in Christ, for He lives in us and the Holy Spirit gives us the ability and the desire to delight in Jesus; not only because He has saved us, but because of all that He is, and all that He has done; much as John says at the end of his epistle, saying, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (John 21:25) The following step, although also part of the first, is pertaining to persecution, trials, and tribulation; those things which cause us to doubt, and require us to commit and recommit, not letting doubt take hold in our hearts; and therefore our new commitment moves into trust, and on and on it goes. That is how we are to be a light unto others; because, as they read our lives, they will see Jesus is real in us, and they might see the hope that is available for their own life, by watching that hope lived out in us. As far as being a light unto ourselves, we have this confirmed in us by the Holy Spirit which dwells within us; as He is pleased and not grieved by the way that we live; making the Spirit more prominent in our daily lives, so as to be well aware of His presence within us; His presence being the Light of God. And for our Father which art in heaven, as He looks upon us abiding in His Son, He delights in us as His children; not actually based upon the ability that we have in keeping His commands, but based upon our dwelling in His Son, because it is the Light of His Son that He will see displayed in our lives... "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved: in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him." (Ephesians 1:3-10)

"Lighting the Way" -2

"And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." (Psalms 37:6) It's all about obedience, as hard as that might be to pull off, it's what we rise up trying to do, and what we lay down asking forgiveness for not doing. Yet here is the thing about that fault of ours, something we always seem to misunderstand: God does not expect us to be perfect, because we are not going to be able to do that until we have our glorified bodies and are in His presence. However; He does expect us to want it, and to strive for doing those things that are pleasing in His sight; which brings me to the "judgment", and why it matters so very much that we have the right judgment. Jesus took all the commandments of God and He hung them upon two commands: to love God with all that we got, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). Not that it matters all that much whether there are two commands or fifty, because keeping those commands are impossible either way you look at them. How many of us, if we are being absolutely truthful, can say that we love God with all of heart, mind, soul and strength? Yet, if we could just fulfill that one command in our life, then we could also carryout the second one as well; and we could do it without even giving it a thought. However, because we are not capable of achieving perfection in even the first command, God looks at our judgment based upon that which we do have the capacity to perform, like our love for one another; even though we lack perfection in that command also, we have been given the Spirit to help us achieve a pretty close second; providing we are being obedient to the Holy Spirit. This whole thing with Phil Robertson, and his anti-gay remarks, has me wondering about the definition of love; what is a more loving thing to do for your neighbor that is going to go down in a plane crash, give them a parachute, or give them a backpack? Giving them a backpack is like sugar coating the message, as to not make them offended by telling them they are living in sin; you have given them nothing that will save their life, and them accepting it will only assure that they are going to hell. But the parachute, that requires that they not only wear it, but that they know why it is that they must; which requires that they know they are going to be judged for their sins; whether they are gay, straight, or indifferent, it really does not matter, because we all have sinned and fall short; the big difference might be in the way that you present yourself, as in, do you live for the sin that you are trapped in; and if you do, then that plane you are on is going down, and your soul will not be very tolerant of the result... "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)  

"Lighting the Way"

"And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." (Psalms 37:6) We might not be there yet, but when we commit our way unto the Lord, we are headed in the right direction. To better get understanding of God's way for our life, our number one tool for instruction is the Word of God; besides being filled with the Holy Spirit, God's Word agrees with the Spirit that dwells within us, thereby confirming and discerning various aspects of our daily lives. In other words, we do not just commit our lives to God and then move freely about the planet; we must continue to abide in Him, seek instruction from Him, and continually trust Him in all things; making trust more about being secure in Him, rather than our ability to trust, because our ability to trust is so faulty. It is God's Word that never changes, nor is there any other thing that God has placed above His Word; therefore our greatest security comes from the Word of God. In this verse, there are a couple of different lights that are presented; one might be the light reflected in our lives which is observed by others; in that case, our righteousness and our judgement will be visible to those that observe our lives, because our lives are committed unto God. On the other hand, because we live in a world that is filled with things which pull us away from God, the righteousness that we seek is the confirmation of our life in Jesus Christ, or better yet, of Jesus Christ in our life. This is better explained by Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, as he shows us that there is great power in the confirmation of the power of Christ in our lives, because our obedience is the manifestation of that power; our disobedience is the manifestation of our weakness and our flesh. When we are "casting down imaginations", we are taking those thoughts of our defeat and our weakness being the sign of God's weakness in our life, and we cast those thoughts down, because there is no weakness in God; any weakness that exist in us, is our own doing, and is because we are not allowing God to have full control of our life; plain and simple... "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 6:17 & 7:1)  

"The Glory Road" -2

"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalms 37:5) To begin with, we are committed; whether we like it or not, once we have accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts and we have in truth been born again, we are on that glory road. As simple as this might sound, it is just like when the disciples got into that boat with Jesus, and Jesus said, "Let us go unto the other side of the lake." (Luke 8:22-25) There is the commitment of the disciples of entering into the boat with Jesus, and the promise of Jesus that they would be going to the other side together; just as there is our commitment to surrender our lives unto Jesus, and then His promise to us in the eternal life that waits on the other side. And then there are the storms; just as with the disciples, we too panic and freak out in the storms, yet Jesus, He is resting; resting because He has already defeated sin and death for us, and He is waiting for us to rest in Him; just as Jesus, who was trying to get some rest, hearing His disciples crying about that silly storm, He was just wishing that they would shut up and get some rest themselves; until finally, He rose up from His rest, rebuked the storm, asked them, "Where is your faith?"; kind of like saying, Now get some rest! This word for "commit" is used more in a negative way than in a positive all throughout the Old Testament; the general idea is like saying commit sin, or commit a trespass; which, if you really think about it, committing sin or trespass against God is the opposite of committing to God; which means, that there is a good way to commit, and there is a bad way to commit, as simple as that might sound. The word is most associated with 'roll', as in TO ROLL; something that requires effort, and transfers from one spot to another. Now, as if it couldn't be more simple; it's like rolling everything over to God, just as if you would make a big ball of all your life, your concerns, your sins, whatever it is that is attached to this life on this world; and you push that big ball over to God, and say, Here Lord, it's all Yours! And after you do that, then you trust Him with it all; no longer is it your concern, because you have given everything over to Him. Your only concern is that of getting to the other side; but you no longer worry about getting there, it's all about the ride, because He has promised to get you to the other side; which means that we just trust in Him, and that means, that we have confidence in Him... "For God, who commanded the light to shine in the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." (2 Corinthians 4:6-10)

"The Glory Road"

"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalms 37:5) There are a couple different ways that we can view this portion of Scripture; most will take it to mean that we are to do whatever we set out to do as unto the Lord, trust Him, and then He will prosper us in our endeavor. I know that is how I viewed it when I began in business; as a matter of fact, it was displayed on a poster I once kept beside my desk. It's kind of like the previous verse, whereby we take a Scripture that sounds like God will give us everything we want, if we just delight ourselves in Him; when really, what God wants for us is the primary reason that we seek Him and commit our way to Him. I heard an interesting story yesterday, of a man that had fallen over a cliff, to begin a 1,500 foot fall; and on the way down he grabbed a root, which stopped the fall; but the root was rotten and was failing; so he began to cry out for help; and after a few desperate cries, someone answered from up above, saying, I am here. The man answered, Who are you? and voice answered, I am God. So the man asked, Can you help me? and God answered, Yes I can. So the man asked again, Will you help me? and God answered, Yes I will. And then the man asked, What am I suppose to do? and God answered, Let go of the root; to which the man replied, Is there anyone else up there! That might sound like a funny story, but in all seriousness, that is what it means to "Commit" unto God! We are dangling off the side of a cliff, in which there is no hope of survival; we cannot pull ourselves up, and when that root gives out, we are going to fall to our death; but God, who is rich in grace and mercy, not only can save us, but is more than willing to save us, if we just let go and trust Him. And this is not just a once in a lifetime event; this is ongoing all the way to glory. As we go down this road, we are repeatedly finding these cliffs that we are hanging there from, and each time, it's a new commitment and another way to trust in God for another part of our journey; all the way down the glory road... "Into Thine hand I commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth." (Psalms 31:5)

"Our Real Delight" -Too

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Psalms 37:4) It just so happens, that when we delight in the Lord, then the desires of our hearts are more in line with His will then they would otherwise be. How that works out in the grand scheme of things really depends on our walk in the Spirit of God; because if we are walking in the Spirit, then those things that we desire are the things that will enhance our spiritual walk; if we are not walking in the Spirit, then we are hindered already, and our delight is obviously not in the Lord. Isn't interesting how that works? Do you want more of God in your life? then delight in the things of God! JUST DO IT!!! In other words, stop filling your head with garbage, and stop wasting your time doing the things that deprive you of fellowship with God, and start reading your Bible, meditating upon His word, committing yourself onto prayer, and letting God speak into your life. Really, it is all about you and how much you want God to rule and rein in your life; He wants all of you, and ultimately He will get what He wants; but in the meantime, why would we want to settle for anything less? Just like the fact that Romans 8:28 is taken by many to mean that all things work out in our lives, maybe because they associate Joseph and his statement to his brothers in Genesis 50:20, saying, "ye thought it evil against me; but God meant it unto good"; when in God's economy, our good is to be more like Jesus; meaning that our good might require a little suffering in this world in order to get there. After all, if we look at the life of Jesus Christ, He was deprived of the things of this world every day; yet He lived to do the will of His Father by living in humility and suffering, even to the point of death upon the cross; in some eyes, that didn't really work out so good for someone that really loved God. The bottom line, is that if we are delighting ourselves in the Lord, then those things that He gives us will be the desires of our heart, because He loves giving us the things that draw us closer and closer to Him, which really should be the real delight that we seek... "For I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:18-23)

"Our Real Delight"

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Psalms 37:4) What are the desires of thine heart? Well, how about world peace? Okay, maybe just peace in your world would be nice, right? But here's the thing: Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace; and not only does He bear the name, but He can give you the same; in other words, you can not only know peace, but you can live it out also, as an ambassador of His peace unto others; that is, if you could just slow your life down a little and take the time to care about others. That might not sound like something much to consider, but it has been placed upon my heart as one on my biggest problems; I am always in a hurry to be somewhere else! It's kind of like I have something else to do where ever I go, and I am always running behind to get there; therefore, I never seem to have the time to care what is going on in somebody else's life; maybe because I can barely keep up with my own. Maybe taking the time to pray with someone that you know might be hurting; as simple of a thing as that might sound, it can maybe add a little peace into their life, if not just for a few hours or so. But here is the ticket to get onto that ride: "Delight thyself also in the LORD"! These four verses, from verse three to verse six, are pretty much our establishment verses; we start off with an introduction of what not to do, then we receive instruction on the things we aught to be doing, and then we will again see the difference this will make in our lives. The word "also" is kind of like saying, in addition to trusting in the Lord and doing good, delight in Him also. However, this word "Delight", it has something of a twist to the root of it's meaning, because the word is used 10 times in the original Scriptures, and it's root meaning is to live softly and delicately, and then it is to delight oneself, or to be glad in any thing. It's kind of like that phrase, Taking the time to smell the roses; whereas, you really can't delight in something, if you cannot send any time in something... 'Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isaiah 55:2)  

"Our Dwelling Place" -2

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shall thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." (Psalms 37:3) When it comes to being fed, I am sure that it means more than food; although, Jesus told us not to worry about food or clothing, I am pretty sure He meant anything that had to do with sustaining our natural bodies, including those things like houses, cars, or all the other things we think we are to have. That said, there are things that we need to be fed, and they are things that we need to have some concern over; as in, Praying that God would fill us with His Holy Spirit, and filling our minds with the Word of God so that we should not sin against Him; and in a most interesting way of thinking, we must feed upon our Lord Jesus Christ! One of the benefits that comes with dwelling in Christ, is that He dwells in us; literally, He takes residence within our hearts, comforting us, sharing His ways with us; pouring His heart out into our hearts, that not only we can have the strength to overcome, but we have the greatest desire to be as He is, which is Holy. In Paul's letter to Philippi, he opens his letter exhorting them and speaking of his prayer for them, of which he says, "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (1:11). These "fruits of righteousness" are not of our own, but are of Christ who dwells in us; just as Jesus spoke of water that would satisfy forever, in John 4:13, the water is not only Jesus, but it is the Righteousness of God, of which Jesus spoke of in John 6:26-40, as He referred to Himself as the "True Bread from Heaven"; telling those that sought Him for more filling from food, "not to labor for those things which perish, but for the meat that endures unto everlasting life". Much as God has spoken through Isaiah 55, how we must not toil after righteousness, but rather seek Him, and let Him be our righteousness, as He pours His righteousness into us. Much also, as John writes, as he explains the "Love of God", and how God's love dwelling within us causes us to "keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous". (1 John 5:3) So for us that are His children, the land in which we dwell is Christ Jesus, in whom we trust and believe; and because we do trust and believe in Him, therefore He dwells in us; so really, that only real good that we need to do, is to believe in Him, and let Him do the rest... "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are One. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5:4-12)

"Our Dwelling Place"

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shall thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." (Psalms 37:3) What exactly does it mean to "do good"? If you get right to it, trusting in the Lord is the key ingredient of doing good; as a mater of fact, without trusting in the Lord, our life is really very bad, and in most cases, it's just down right miserable. But, as far as doing good, I believe David has not left off from his opening statement regarding envy and discontent; and in that case, doing good would be much like living as if you are being cared for and watched over by the Lord. The word "good" is easy enough to put into our understanding, it really speaks of things pleasant and agreeable; therefore, if we are truly trusting in the Lord, then those things that we "do" will be displayed in the actions of our hearts; actions which shall be good unto the Lord, and will be pleasant in His sight. Much like the whole point made in Galatians 5:18 through 5:25, because if we are abiding in Christ, then there is no work required for those things of the Spirit to be manifested, there is only the fruit of the Spirit; much like those "lilies of the field" that Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 6:28, they neither toil nor spin, but look how they grow. When we are abiding in Christ, then as a branch attached to the vine, we bear fruit; not from doing anything at all, but just because we are in Christ, He does the work in us. When I think about the first public miracle that Jesus did, where He changed the water into wine; this miracle reminds me of the Nile River being turned to blood; the whole concept of God performing a complete transformation really doesn't need to be explained, because we cannot explain it, but it must instead be lived in order to understand it; period! If someone says, I just can't understand how to put all of my trust in the Lord; then it's not more understanding that they need, it's more of Jesus that is required and less of them! Complete transformation requires complete surrender; much like those molecules of H2O in those water pots required complete surrender to be transformed into wine; wine that was not only grape like, but that was really good wine which was pleasant and agreeable; not from anything but Jesus changing the contents of those water pots, so too, we are to be changed inside, not of our own doing, but of God's... "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it adideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour. Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:24-28)

"Discontentment"

[A Psalm of David]"Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." (Psalms 37:1 & 2) Yes, the title above this Psalm in my Bible is, "The Good and the Bad"; just in case you were wondering. Here is the thing about discontentment, it really has a tendency to wear you down, and can actually take years off of your life, thinking about all the things you should be having, and not enjoying the things that you have. Think about it; if you spend all your time being envious of what others might have, then when do you actually get to spend time appreciating what you have been given? The real question that needs to be answered has more to do with who gets to have the most fun, those that live rightly, or those that don't? Now that you mention it, what is the definition of fun? What's fun for me, may not be fun to someone else. As a kid, I remember the hours upon hours I spent in my room playing with my collection of small Army figures; hundreds of green and brown soldiers, that I would line up in formation, and then plow them down; or some such thing. How I saw any fun in that, I can not tell you; but it is not the activity that we do that gives us pleasure, it's more the frame of mind we have while we are doing it. Take for instance doing work; something that for most of us, isn't really all that fun; however, if your frame of mind is that which makes it a challenge, say, like doing something extraordinary with your work, then it can be fun doing it; that is if you have fun achieving things. The older I get, the more I see how seriously true this portion of Scripture is, and how miserable people are that do not know the Lord, especially when their life has been spent; they might have enjoyed what they had, but it did not last very long at all. Only those things that the Lord brings into our lives give real contentment; things like joy, peace, love, and hope for tomorrow; all of which we have in the good times as well as the bad, because they are not determined by worldly goods or standards, but by our relationship with Jesus Christ; and in Christ, we can rejoice even in the worst possible condition; and to me, that is the meaning of real fun... "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought of raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew 6:27-30)

"The Good and the Bad"

PSALMS 37 - We go from looking at the contrast between the wickedness of man and the goodness of God, to now observe the good and the bad of mankind. This Psalm is more about teaching than it is about praise or prayer; teaching those of us that care to listen, about the real need to keep our focus on what really matters, and not to care about how well off those that are of the world seem to live. I kind of find it a little interesting that we are here at this time of the year; a time that is festive for some because it is Christmas time, and also a very miserable time for others, because it is again that time of the year. Depending on how you celebrate Christmas, this might be the time of year you really like the best; for me, it's needs to be less about Santa and more about Jesus; especially this year, and I really don't know why. Usually by now I have put up the tree and decorated the living room with all the Christmas decorations, but for some very strange reason, I am just not into doing that this year; as a matter of fact, I think I am just going to put out a baby Jesus, and call that what this Christmas is all about. This morning I woke up thinking about giving away a bunch of my junk this year; just packing up something that is just laying around, and appointing it a new location. I can not believe all of this stuff that I have; most of which I will never use; like that revolving tie hanger that is still in it's original box; or that picture framed monitor for my desk, that rotates showing pictures loaded into it's memory, also still in it's original box! As much as I like to give presents to my family members, I really never like receiving anything, and usually it just sits in a box on the living room floor until around the middle of January, or until I get tired of seeing it sit there. Anywho; I am sure that there are more important things that we can talk about, like how much Christ that there really is in Christmas; because for many in this world, this is not a time to celebrate the Gift of God, but is instead a time to celebrate giving gifts to one another; while the most important gift that we can give to anyone, is to share Jesus Christ... "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:10-14)   

"The Way of the Wicked" -2

"There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise." (Psalms 36:12) Don't ever think that God hates you, because it is not within His nature to hate anyone; God is jealous for you, as a loving Father that only wants to very best for His children. However, because He created us with free will, He will only do so much; the rest He leaves up to us. In other words, He has given us every thing that we need to be obedient and return our love towards Him, we on the other hand need to use all that He has given us. Looking at all the examples of asking God for something, there are some pretty good ones that demonstrate how we are to seek after the things from God that help us to please Him, not to please our selves. When Jesus spoke about asking God for anything, and that He would give it, I don't think that the material things of the world were included; yet, time and time again, I see someone speaking about John 15:16 as if it were a ticket to naming your life style, or asking God for the new house or car. Don't get me wrong, I pray that God will bless me by providing for the things that I need, but I don't hold out my hand and wait for it to show up, as if I have it coming to me. Jesus also said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) Our most important things to ask for are things like His Spirit, His love, and the ability to follow Jesus in all that we do; all those other things, as needful as they might be to provide for our families, do not account for anything at all if we are not living after Jesus. Sure, you will provide a good home for your family, but if Jesus is not the focus of your household, the your home is only good for shelter; something far less important that a relationship with God. I want God to heal my wife; more than anything else in this world, I want her to be able to speak, and to walk, and to hold and kiss me back; yet, if God does not heal her, I do not think that God hates me; nor do I think He does not care about how I feel, or that I hurt terribly sometimes because of the condition of her life. However, God continues to use our lives to bless others; He continues to give me strength to get through the times of depression; and God allows me to continually experience the richness of His love through my love for my wife. What do you think I am trying to say? and what has this to do with "The Way of the Wicked"? I know, it's sometimes hard to figure out what God is doing, or how much of a contrast that there is between our hearts and His; but God is only goodness and righteousness, we are full of wickedness; so if there is something that we don't understand, or that is keeping us back from doing what is right, it's not God! More importantly, when we actually do have to stand and be judged, there will be nothing that can be blamed on God, everything will be our own faults and our own actions; everything that the wicked receive for their wickedness will be because they held onto their own wickedness, and did not humble themselves before the mighty hand of God... "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 4:17-20) 

"The Way of the Wicked"

"There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise." (Psalms 36:12) If ever you need to be picked up out of the ditch, there is only one way that you can rise up, and that is if God picks you up! It is only God that can restore a broken vessel; and the way of the wicked is to refuse God's restoration. That my friend is where the workers of iniquity have fallen, by not accepting God's perfect plan of salvation, and refusing to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. God has provided everything we need to be holy and to demonstrate our love for Him; we actually have it easier than those that lived before Christ ascended up into heaven, because before then, Jesus had not sent the Holy Spirit to help us. But, as with every stubborn bit of pride we have within us, we fail to ask for the help that we need; or when we do ask for the help, we fail to do our part in making it work. For example: How do we walk in the Spirit? If we are walking in the Spirit, then we mind the things of the Spirit; when we mind the things of the Spirit, then we have the things of the Spirit on our minds; which actually means that we do not think upon those things that cause us to be workers of iniquity, because they are contrary to the working of the Holy Spirit. Paul uses a little question in Romans 6:1 to describe what this means, as he says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" If we have been crucified in Christ, we too have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life; a newness that requires us to walk in the power of His glory, and to be filled with His Spirit; therefore, not only do we not sin any longer, but we don't think upon sin either, because it no longer has a place in our life. Matt Fox shared something of other day that made me look at Galatians 5 in a whole new light; as he said something to the effect, that 5:18 speaks about the fact that we are delivered from the law, therefore we do not any longer live under the law, nor the threat of it's judgments, therefore we do not any longer need to focus on the law as far as touching anything that falls under the law; but instead, we are to focus of the fruits of the Spirit. In that light, those things listed by Paul as the "works of the flesh", they are things that are contrary to the fruits of the Spirit, which are not only avoided, but they are not dwelt upon, considered, or even worried about, because they are not part of the Spirit. It is God's desire for us to walk in the meekness of knowing that we can do nothing outside of Christ; absolutely no way that we can walk in the Spirit, or stand against the hand of the wicked. Therefore, those that are the workers of iniquity, are those that try and do it some other way then God's way, because only God's way removes the law, by which the flesh is judged; and if we try and do anything in our own flesh, then we are judged by the law...Ouch!!!
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:6-8)

"The Way of Life"

"Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me." (Psalms 36:11) If we are abiding in Jesus, then we are going to bear fruit, there is no other thing that can take place in us. What happens to cause us not to bear fruit is either the result of pride, or the result of sin, and both are the result of not abiding in Christ. David uses the foot to describe the way pride works, and the hand of the wicked is how we are captured by sin; it really comes down to humility and protection, if we want to adhere to "The Vine". Pride is not something that you fall into, it is the way that you walk; if you are not walking in humility, then you are bound to step into pride; and pride will lead to a fall. The hand of the wicked is how sin just reaches out at us; it's really not something that we need to look for, because it is really all around us; besides that, it has tentacles that grab you when you are enticed. Sin cannot abide on "The Vine"; a branch that has sin within it is like a branch that is infected with a sickness, that will eventually be removed and wither. But here is the thing that many forget, it's not the sin that will be the result of this removal, it's the pride that will not repent of the sin; asking forgiveness and turning away from the sin is what abiding in Christ is all about. It is totally ridiculous to think that we can live in sin and still abide in Christ; those that try to do that will end up finding out that they dead, just as a withered branch that is good for nothing but fuel for a fire. There is another thing about pride that can be hard to overcome, is that pride will hold it's ground; that means, it digs in it's heals, resisting the opportunities that come for repentance. There must be repentance from sin, and complete repentance from sin requires complete humility before God; even a withered branch can be used again... "Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your cares upon Him; for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 5:6-11)

"The Right of Life" -4

"O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart." (Psalms 36:10) Most assuredly rectitude is part of the problem that we deal with, day in and day out, because it is hard to live a righteous life; but to be "upright in heart", that is a whole other thing, in and of it's self. Righteousness with God is pure and perfect; God is Holy and totally without sin, or any of the darkness that is associated with it; we on the other hand are not; man's righteousness can only strive towards holiness, thus the meaning of rectitude for us is moral integrity, or making the right judgments; but it in no way comes close to the righteousness of God. Contrast the way that is right with the way that is wrong, and then choose the right way that leads to eternal life, that's what is meant by the "upright in heart". That does not mean that we are going to be righteous in the process, because righteousness is not within our ability to achieve; but we are purposely taking the position that leads to the right of life, not the wrong direction that leads to sin and death. To perfectly read the second part of this verse, we need to insert "O continue" before "Thy righteousness to the upright in heart"; that way we can better understand that without God's righteousness being poured out, our righteousness does not stand on it's own. A simple way to look at that, might be, to consider your breathing is not possible on your own; sure you can breath, but you only breath because God continues to allow you to breath; He holds everything in His perfect righteousness, even our very lives; there is nothing that is outside of God's control, or that His righteous nature does not hold in a balance. When it comes to God's righteousness, He does not make mistakes; unlike us, God never says "Oops", nor does He make wrong judgments; His ways are perfect in every way. That said; His creation does not always follow that same rule; whether we are talking about angels, man, the elements of the earth, or the heavens above; everything falls short of God's perfection, and there is nothing that even comes close. The very best that we can do, is to love God within all that is within us; which is all that He is expecting from us, and all that He is asking us to do. The upright in heart do those things that are pleasing to God, because they want to please the One that loves them, by showing Him that they love Him back; without that, there really is no Right of Life... "I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that breareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the words which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love." (John 15:1-9)  

"The Right of Life" -3

"O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart." (Psalms 36:10) Now, when it comes to God's "lovingkindness" that He has "unto" us, what we might determine to be a curse of some sort, could actually be our blessing, as odd as that might sound. If you ever get a chance to sit down and talk with someone that might have a serious handicap, yet they are always filled with joy, you might see that one persons devastation is another persons blessing; it really depends on how that person accepts the hand that they have been dealt. People that do not know any better just cannot understand how someone that is seriously handicap can experience such peace and joy in their life, let alone have the courage and strength to make a difference in the lives of others; but God's Spirit does not look at the things that are of the flesh, but He looks at the things that are of the Spirit; and if we have God's Spirit dwelling within us, then we too can focus on the things that are of the Spirit, not the things of the flesh. Many people that think they know God's heart when it comes to human suffering, forget about how Christ suffered and died for our sins, and how devastating that it was for those that watched it, especially for His mother; if anyone standing there was glad to see Him finally breath His last breath, it was probably His mother, as she looked at the way He was tortured and nailed to that cross. To be displayed upon a cross such as that, was not only extremely painful, it was also considered to be a curse to one's reputation, family, and soul; never mind the public humiliation that Jesus received, and the people that spat towards Him as they looked "unto" Him, hung on the cross, as a cursed Jewish man. The word "unto" is a word unto it's self, which pretty much means that it shows that the action that comes forth towards some one or some thing is based upon the place from which it came, not the place to which it went; in other words, Jesus did not deserve to be spat upon, because in reality He was removing a curse from those that spat upon Him, yet they that spat upon Him determined Him to be cursed, therefore it was proper in their one hearts to spit at Him. Likewise, God's "lovingkindness" is not warranted by the wickedness of our hearts, yet He loves us still; therefore, the love that is demonstrated upon us is not based upon us that receive it, but is based upon Him that loves us; we get to experience His love for us regardless of what we have done, or how cursed that we might be, He loves us all the same; the big question that we must ask ourselves is, Do we know Him? Because if we know Him, then we know how much that He loves us; if we don't really know Him, then we don't really know His love for us; in which case, we cannot really experience the joy that comes from knowing how much we are loved... "As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:9-14)

"The Right of Life" -2

"O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart." (Psalms 36:10) Nothing could be more important to God than the assurance of our eternal happiness; He has gone through great pains and given His all to assure that we can have eternal life without all this pain and suffering which we are currently faced with. That said, Jesus never assured us that we would be happy in this place of suffering; what He did say, is that we could have joy; joy and happiness are not the same things. If you were to be perfectly honest with yourself, dragging yourself out of bed in the morning is not the prime example of a happy life; who wants to jump up in the morning and dance, when they know that there are going to be battles to fight somewhere alone the day. But when it comes to joy, joy is inspired by knowing how much we are loved by God; it's not based upon the life we are currently living, but upon the life that is waiting on the other side of this one. As a matter of fact, Jesus told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." There is something here to see about the way Jesus looks upon His situation, and how He views the suffering that is being experienced in this world: if this were His world, then those that were following Him would usher Him into His rightful position and would fight for Him; however, it is not His world, therefore there is no need to fight for His rightful position, because His rightful position is at the right hand of the Father. In that same arena, the Father need not fight for Him here, because the suffering He is to suffer here is but for a moment; likewise, the suffering that we will suffer here is also just for a moment; although it might seem like forever when we are going through something devastating, it really is nothing compared to what is waiting on the other side of this world. Therefore, God really does not need to fight for us here, as some would like Him to fight, such as those that might be dealing with an illness that might be terminal; the way God sees things, that terminal illness is bringing you through this hell faster than you would otherwise; and as far as the suffering goes, He is more than able to help us with that, by allowing Him to fill us with His Spirit, we can withstand insurmountable trials that come with illness, whether they involve physical pain, or whether they involved the cares for those you love that are suffering. Jesus never said that we would be free from suffering in this world; but He has promised to get us through to the other side... "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

"The Right of Life"

"O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart." (Psalms 36:10) If God is a God of love, then why do so many good people have to suffer so much pain? I am sure you have heard something like that before; but have you ever tried to answer it? or do you shrug your shoulders and just say, I don't really understand it myself? The shortest verse in the Bible can help us to understand God's heart in this matter; and in case you are unaware what verse that is, it is found at John 11:35, and it simply says, "JESUS WEPT." In the context of the portion of Scripture that this verse is found, there were people gathered around Mary, the sister of Lazarus who was dead, while she was kneeling at the feet of Jesus and crying, they too were crying with her, and it says, "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled." After this Jesus asked them where they had laid Lazarus, and as they were showing Him where he was, it was then that Jesus wept. Many that were there, when they saw Jesus heading towards where Lazarus was, and weeping, said, "Behold how he loved him!", as if to say that Jesus was weeping because Lazarus was dead; this could not be further from the truth, because Jesus was about to raise him from the dead. In contrast with our fallen state and that which will be in glory, this is hell; although it does not have the flames of torment, and the eternal groaning of remorse, this place we call home for a short while is filled with sickness and death all around us; everyone is counting days, and watching loved ones passing one by one. This is not what God wanted, nor is it what shall be; but what it is, is the result of sin, and it is death; and death is always associated with darkness. Jesus was not weeping for the death of Lazarus, He was weeping for the condition of this fallen world, and for all the pain and suffering associated with it. This really is a big deal to God, and He has made it known to us how He will have it to be in heaven. With that, there is something else that could have caused Jesus to weep, and it could have been what shall be compared to what is; and in that case, it was tears of joy that He wept; as a matter of fact, there is another verse that some speculate to be the smallest verse in the Bible, depending on whether you read the original Greek wording or the translated text, and that other verse is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16... "REJOICE EVERMORE."

"The Light of Life" -3

"For in Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light." (Psalms 36:9) If you were wondering about the Proverb used at the close of yesterday's post, it might help to know that God's light also connects the dots between us and our neighbors; in other words, we that are in the Light are meant to see our neighbors as we see ourselves, and in that case, there is no 'sport' between us and them, just as God has intended it to be, we are not to covet or try and harm our neighbor, but treat them as we would like to be treated. This is the effect that is meant to be in us as we are in the Light of God, not only do we see Light, but we see Love; Love as God intended it to be between one another, where there is no strife from being offended, because there is no offence taken between one another. When Jesus told Peter that he should forgive his brother seventy times seven times in one day, He was basically telling Peter that he should not take offence of anything that his brother might do or say to offend him. If we truly want to be like Jesus, then we need to forgive our brothers and sisters before they even offend us; which is what Christ has done for us, in that He has forgive us our sins, before we have even committed them; let alone, before we have asked Him to forgive us. If we can forgive those that might offend us before they might offend us, then we are already prepared to forgive them when we are offended; call it being meek and lowly at heart, if you will; but the main point of not talking any offence by what someone might do or say to you, is that you want to have your heart prepared to forgive, and if you end up being offended by someone, then the first place for forgiveness to take place is in your own heart; and in the case, you are asking God to forgive you for taking offence to what was said or done to you. After all, there is always a nice way to show someone that you are offended by what they have done, just as Jesus demonstrated by the way He folded His face napkin up, and He sat it next to His undisturbed burial cloth in the tomb; which was a Jewish custom of showing your dissatisfaction with the meal or the treatment of your host at a dinner table: if you were happy with the meal or the way you were treated, then you would simply lay your napkin to the side of your plate when done; if you were not happy with the meal or the way you were treated, then you fold your napkin up and set it down neatly, as if to say, "I don't think I liked the way I was treated, and I will not be doing this again". Now, if you think that you have a right to demonstrate that to your next host that might offend you, let me remind you of the treatment that Jesus received of His host, which were His own people, the Jews... "And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyeth the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver him now, if He will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God." (Matthew 27:39-43)

"The Light of Life" -2

"For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light." (Psalms 36:9) Light of prosperity takes on several different meanings, but when it come to the prosperity of being a child of the King, the meaning goes to heights that are beyond compare. When we take the time to meditate upon the goodness of God, one thing that remains constant in all that appears, is His love; God's love for us appears through all that He does, even that which might appear as wrath, it is only because He loves us that He does what He does. Take the case of forcing Adam and Eve out of the Garden; He did that so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever in their fallen state; just as He told Adam as part of his curse, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, til thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:19) Man was not made to be a fallen creature, he was man in the image of God; yet sin separated man from being that of Light, and made him to be a creature of darkness; something of which has no place in the image of God. Not only are we creatures of the darkness, but as Jesus told Nicodemus, we prefer the darkness because our deeds are evil. Darkness is something associated with death, and in darkness, nothing can be seen or understood for what it is, especially the wickedness of our hearts. As I think back to some of the things I did before I was a Christian, they disgust me now, and they make me ashamed for doing them; things like killing defenseless animals for the fun of it, something that was so utterly evil, yet at the time, because of the evil of my heart, seemed almost normal and not such a big deal. When you look at some of the senseless beating and killings that are taking place in our world today, those that portray such acts do not realize the wickedness of their actions, but it is more of a sport, or some form of entertainment. If you can imagine what it must have been like for those that came to watch Christians being eaten by lions, or those at Nero's party, as Christians burned on stacks to light up the festivities; to most that observed such things, they were almost normal and not such a big deal, only because those Christians had become something of a threat to the darkness that they preferred... "He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am not I in sport?" (Proverbs 26:17-19)

"The Light of Life"

"For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light." (Psalms 36:9) Yes, I am still on verse 9, and yet today we have a different title; that's because David uses the first part of this verse to lead into this second part, that says, "in Thy light shall we see light". This is not just any light that David is speaking about, although it could be, because this word for "light" is the same word used in both uses; however, he uses "Thy" before the first usage, thereby specifying that it is God's light that he is speaking of, which really doesn't take much to figure out; but the second "light", since it gets it's property from the first one, is also speaking of God's light, but in this case, it's the Light of Life, primarily the Light of abundant eternal life; which just so happens to be Jesus Christ. This could easily be called "The Light of Prosperity", or "The Light of Instruction", in the sense that both prosperity and instruction go hand in hand with the Light of Life. A good example of what I am talking about is what happens when we receive Jesus into our hearts and we are Born Again: before receiving new life in Jesus Christ we were alienated from God, not able to see or understand the things of God, nor the to see the things that pertain to His eternal kingdom. I can remember how before I was Born Again, I had studied the Scriptures many times, over and over again, reading the Bible, and thinking that I was being given instruction; while all the time, what I was reading had no effect on me beyond what was needed to deal with this world here in the flesh. It's kind of like living by the Ten Commandments, and to study the meaning for each, and then to apply that to our lives; each and every one of those commands deals with our relationship from a worldly perspective; even the command, "Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me", takes the form of instruction as to the things of this world being placed before God. However, when we are Born Again, our perspective changes; being no longer alienated from God and His eternal kingdom, we can now understand  all the eternal things that are being said, not just what is being said that pertain to this life. This was made clear by Jesus when speaking to Nicodemus, as He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". (John 3:3) I we want to see the Light of God, then we must be in His Light... "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. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light hath come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God" (John 3:16-21)

"The Fountain of Life" -Really!

"For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light." (Psalms 36:9) Okay, don't know exactly how I messed up "Fountain" with foundation, but it might have worked out somehow; it's just not the right word for this particular verse. People have longed for and sought the so called Fountain of Youth; there have even been some that have tried to sell bottled up water, as if it were somehow taken from such a place; but Jesus wasn't trying to sell anything that would perform miracles to enhance our living conditions upon this earth; although, having peace, joy and love do make for a better living condition. In the reality of living out our lives in Christ, we are going to be faced with suffering loss and hardships as much as anyone else will face; the only difference between us and those that don't know Jesus, is we can look forward to a perfect tomorrow, no matter what this life might throw at us. I don't understand why some Christians walk around complaining about all the things wrong in their life; you ask them how they are doing, and they just start unloading all of their problems on you, as if God has placed a dark cloud over them. We have abundant life in Christ, not abundant hardships! Sure, we are bound to have some hardships, it's all about living in a fallen world; but that doesn't mean we are to lose our peace, joy and love that we have been given; just the opposite is true, because our peace, joy and love what counters the effects of living in this fallen world. If you want to experience the joy that knowing Christ has to offer, then start focusing upon your life in Christ, not the life that surrounds you in this world. As with any water that is flowing, it flows because it is not restricted by anything, such as a dam or a valve that shuts it off. That is something true of this "Fountain of Life" that is within us also; we are receiving a flow and we must be a conduit that allows the flow to continue..."For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the foundation of Living Waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:13)