"So There!"

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." (Psalms 56:3) Short and sweet, that's what this is all about; it's not about rhyme or reason, it's just about doing what seems best because He is God! Obviously we all have some kind of fear of something; whether it's a fear of dying, or a fear of spiders; there is always something that just hits the fear spot; and for some, there are many somethings. I have been trying to think all morning of what it is that I am afraid of, and I can't really put a finger on it. Maybe the fear of dogs that bite; that's something I don't want to have happen, and when I see a dog loose that I think will bite, I take cover. If you really think about it, and if you put things into the right perspective, then there is really only one thing that we truly need to be fearful of, and that is not pleasing God. Everything else really does not matter, because if we please God, then we are good to go! So, what pleases God? Oh, how I wish there was some sort of a map or a instruction manual for pleasing God; at least some kind of sign that points the way. Listening to Pastor Jon yesterday, I was laughing so hard that I almost needed to pull over; but he was teaching on the portion of Scripture from Numbers 22, which is about Balaam and his donkey. What makes this story so funny, is that when the donkey speaks, Balaam answers it as if he was talking to a person, like, as if it was no big deal that his donkey was speaking to him. But in the next chapter, things get a little more interesting, because Balaam is taken up to a high place where he is able to look down upon God's people, and from that vantage point, he could see the cross; once he saw the cross, he could do nothing else but please God... "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and make another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He saith in Hosea, I will call them My people, which were not My people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people; there shall they be called the children of the Living God. Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the seas, a remnant shall be saved: for He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrah. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the Stumblingstone; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumblingstone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed." (Romans 9:21-33)

"Because He Cares"

"Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they bring many that fight against me, O Thou Most High." (Psalms 56:2) Sometimes you just need to release a little pressure, and sometimes you can't even open your mouth to make your request known; it's pretty much all about knowing what you really need, because in most cases, we do not know what we really need, but God does; He always knows what we need, and He cares about what we need. That's something I think we tend to overlook in the busyness of our life; not because we don't think about it, because we think about it a lot; but because we don't see it happening. If we could only see the real battle that is going on all around, the spiritual battle that is happening everywhere, then just maybe we might make some different choices in our lives; and we would surely have a whole new set of needs to be asking God to give us. David really did not know what to do, and it would appear that he did not spend any time seeking God's advise; he just picked the one place where Saul would not follow after him, and he made that his choice. The last time he was there, he was alone and acted crazy; this time he had 600 men, their families, and two of his wives; this time, he was an army, and would require more than just a room and a bed. If you could imagine what this might have looked like, a little awkward might be kind of an understatement; but nonetheless, king Achtish received them into his royal city; and when David asked him, the king gave David the city of Ziklag to dwell in. I don't know why, but I find it kind of interesting that David and his men were allowed to find favor with king of the Philistines, seeing how many of them he had been praised for killing; the last time he was there, he overheard them speaking about how we was praised by his people for "killing his ten thousands", so it was no secret that David was a Philistine slayer; as it was, Goliath was from Gath, so David surely had to have a reputation. Beyond what might appear to be something that looks like it could be a bad idea, if God is with you, then you can trust that He will get you through whatever you might step into, even if you have done something that you maybe should not have done; after all, He knows all things, and if He knows everything, we should be very thankful that He cares for us... "Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prisons, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the LORD; that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." (Isaiah 42:5-9)

"Never Give Up"

"Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me." (Psalms 56:1) It is really pointless to try and put your trust in anyone else but God, yet we are constantly told to do just that. How many times I have heard someone say, You need a backup plan, just in case God is not going to do things the way you think He is; or, I think you should get some advise from someone that has some experience in that, because it does not sound as though it really works that way. How about we just forget about what people think they know, and leave everything to God? When you think about what David is trying to say, it takes some sort of imagination to put this kind of stuff into writing; it actually kind of reminds me of a bumper sticker, the one that shows several fish swimming one way and one fish swimming the other, and it says, "Go against the flow"; yet in this instance, all the opposing fish are not so kind and do not just swim by without noticing your direction of travel. If you really think about it, most people will not say what they really think about you to your face, so you really have no idea how many people think that your crazy or stupid for doing what you are doing, because they will not say anything directly to you; that does not mean that they will not say anything, because they most likely will, they just won't say it to you. You can't imagine what it might have been for to be David at this moment in his life, having been anointed to be the next king, yet hiding in a place that was not only opposite of his soon to be kingdom, but was against all that David knew was right. The story is really not that different from anything that you and I might be going through, it just is magnified a hundred times or more; but it is really just about trusting God, even if you are not sure what you are meant to be doing, just trust Him to get you through whatever it is that you are going through, and whatever it is that you are doing; even if it might appear wrong that you are going in the direction away from the direction you should be going, because God has your back... "And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand today, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed. And behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand." (1 Samuel 26:22-27:1)

"A Prayer of Trust"

PSALMS 56 [To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.] O, I sure hope you know by now where this title comes from; and isn't rather interesting that this Psalm is about Trust? And here is a word that is only found here, the word Jonath-elem-recho-kim, which equals, "the silent dove of far-off places", whatever that might mean? In the Strong's, it simply says, Meaning Uncertain, probably name of melody; but gathering that it was attributed to an event that took some real courage, I am thinking that it was a pretty heavy melody, maybe even some real hard rock, like say, "We Will Rock You" type of a melody? The word Michtam simply means "something written", which was in the heading of Psalms 16, and appears in the headings of these next five Psalms; and it might render a meaning that says, "a golden or most precious poem"; although there is some disagreement to that meaning. On the other hand, this title might give us a little clue, because it does not say, A Prayer for Trust, but "of Trust"; in other words, it renders a fact, not a desire, which means that trust is something that we must just do because God is Trustworthy, not based upon any ability that we might have, or not have, to trust Him. Here is a really good example, if you need one; it would be when Abraham was going to sacrifice his son, just because God asked him to do it (Genesis 22:1-19). There was no sense to be made of what God said for him to do, none whatsoever; even Isaac was bewildered, asking his father, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Talk about trusting in God; Abraham's answer was the proof enough that he trusted in God to work everything out: "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:8). Oddly enough, they say that the place where Abraham was going to sacrifice his son, is the same location where God did sacrifice His Son for our sins; put that together with the statement Abraham made in answering his son, and you have some pretty heavy duty prophecy regarding something that God would be doing in the very same place, 1900 years later... "And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." (Genesis 22:11-14)

"Doubt Him, If You Dare"

"But Thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in Thee." (Psalms 55:23) Obviously, there is something else to betrayal besides doubt or mistrust; maybe it could be loyalty or commitment, if those are the traits of a faithful servant to his Master; after all, we all serve somebody. I think it is really amazing that God gives us the challenge in the first place, because I doubt anyone else would be up for it; most of the cults that I am familiar with, they will kick you out, or worse, if you doubt what they teach; but God, He expects us to check things out for ourselves, and He has provided the source of the proof so that we can. Having said that, I need to go back to something I said about trust being the most important power that we have when it comes to being loyal to God; because, truth be told, trust is pretty much the only power that we have at all to begin with; any other power, is given to us by God, whether that be love, or joy, or even faith and hope; trust is the only thing that just requires us to surrender to His will, and to just believe; everything else He provides to us after we trust in Him. Listening to Pastor Jon yesterday, he was teaching of the "Sabbath Years", and how God had instructed His children about what they were to do with the land that He had given them, that they were to farm and grow upon it for six years, and on the seventh year, let it rest. But they did not listen to God's instruction, because they feared that they seventh year would yield two years of famine; yet God had clearly told them, that if they practiced what He said, then the sixth year would yield enough for three years (Leviticus 25:20-22). Unfortunately, they did not trust God, or listen to His instructions; therefore, God caused them to be held captive in Babylon for payment of all the years that they skipped over. It's little things like that, not just the big and obvious things, but little things, like not trusting God at His word because you just can't see how it is possible, or how much you look at what you will suffer if it does not work... "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false prophets among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." (2 Peter 2:1-3)  

"There Is No Equator"

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalms 55:22) You know this right? I hope you do, because not every one of us that confess to be Christians do, nor do they even want to try; it's as if, in their minds, putting full and complete trust in the Bible is some sort of blind faith; when in actual reality, the Bible is the proof of all that we believe in! As I sat in church yesterday, Pastor Damion spoke of these same truths, and I was brought to tears; not because of any sort of conviction, but because I was blown away at how the Holy Spirit works to give us all the same message at the same time. Pastor Damion was sharing from Isaiah 41:21-29, and the message was about God's challenge to His people and their idols; first asking them if their idols could predict things which will happen, or if they knew how things have come to pass, or into existence (v.22 & 23); or how about just let them do something, anything at all (v.24). God has provided for us the proof and the reason to believe and trust in Him in sixty six chapters, all contained in one book called 'The Holy Bible', and it is reason enough to believe! Yet there are those among us that want to pick and choose what they want to believe; and worse than that, they want to pick and choose what is truth and what is not; and believe me, there is a difference between choosing to believe and choosing the truth, because the truth will speak for itself in our times of unbelief!!! That is the greatest thing about the Bible, it does not lie! And even though we might doubt something that is written, the truth erases all doubt; and in such a circumstance of doubt, we can just accept the truth, which is where some get the idea of "Blind Faith"; which in and of itself is total foolishness, because if God has said it, and we trust in God, then there is nothing blind about it! As a matter of fact, everything else is blind compared to the truth of the Bible... "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power of and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice from the excellent glory, This is Me Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:16-21)

"Nothing Else Can Compare"

"The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords." (Psalms 55:21) If you get the picture, it really does explain how the contrast of betrayal and loyalty are so far apart; it does not take a degree in the knowledge of the human heart to see that words and the condition of the heart do not always agree with one another. Heck, I don't think we know half the time how opposite our words are from our heart's real feelings; we think we know, and we step out as if we know, but given the right set of circumstances, and the real truth will come out. And yet, the real example to be looked upon, is not Judas, not even Ahithophel, but none other than the devil himself. The father of lies, has not only earned the reputation, but has established the connection to be directed right back to him. Matthew Henry puts in the the simplest terms, saying, Satan is such an enemy; he flatters men into their ruin. It's true, he does use flattery to get us to overlook his trap he has set before us; things like, You deserve this, and You can handle this, are nothing more than ploys to get us off guard, and to put our focus upon ourselves instead of what really matters. The simple truth of the matter really comes down to where we put all of our trust; more than any other source of power that we have, trust is by far the most important one when it comes to our loyalty to the Lord. God's Word is just the opposite of what we are shown in this illustration; what God says, He says from His heart, and when He says anything, He means what He says. How important it is for us to believe that with all of our hearts; it is actually the most important part of our faith; not performing any type of work, or keeping any sort of law; but simply trusting God at His word, and believing that the Bible is His Word. You would be surprised to know how many people that say that they are Christians do not believe that the Bible is all true. How can we say that we trust God, yet do not trust that His Word is truth? There is nothing else that can compare with the Word of God; absolutely nothing is more imortant than His WORD.... "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." (Isaiah 66:1-2) 

"Nothing But A Traitor"

"He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant." (Psalms 55:20) There are so many things racing through my head this morning; yes, even more than yesterday! Like for instance, when Judas asked Jesus, "Master, is it I?" (Matthew 26:25), knowing full well that it was, as he had already made the deal to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). And as we have the account in all four of the Gospels, best put by Luke, "But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table", is the fact that He was being betrayed by not only a friend, but a friend that broke bread with Him; and not only was it bread, but it was bread that represented His body being delivered up for them. The other part of these "Swirling Eddy's", is the part about Abraham not signing the covenant with God (Genesis 15), as it was only God that passed through the animals which were laid out on the ground; as Abraham just look, God signed the contact for both He and Abraham. And as I have said before, if Abraham would have signed it, then the contract would have been flawed; only God is able to uphold His part of the contract, because He does not change, nor does He lie. So what does that say for our ability to keep any kind of a "covenant" with God? if Abraham could not do it, then where do you and I stand? Here is what I see, not that it matters much, but it is my opinion: we are not able to keep any sort of contract with God, just as we are unable to be righteous before God; only God can keep the contract between Him and us, and only God can 'account' us to be righteous... "Even as David described the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised." (Romans 4:6-12)

"Other Than A Mesh"

"God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God." (Psalms 55:18) It really could happen, those valley of bones coming to life; God is more than able to do it, so why do we doubt that He can change us from something bad into something good? Maybe if we want to talk about betrayal, we should look into what we think we know first, then maybe we might discover we really don't know anything at all. I am totally convinced that we do not experience all that we are meant to be, because we focus too much upon ourselves, and do not keep our eyes on Jesus. Not that I have any sort of answers to that problem, because I am guilty and have no clue as to why I keep on looking back; it's almost as if the world really does matter more than I care to want it to. I heard a message from Pastor John yesterday regarding the Year Of Jubilee, and it reminded me of why our physical death is so important, because the closer we get to heaven, the less this stuff here is worth to us. Taking a look at what David is saying here, it would appear as though he is focused upon a certain type of individual, like someone that is pretending to be something that they are not. If you really think about it, Judas was not just any Apostle, he was the won that was in charge of the money; he was the one trusted with the financial affairs of the group, and yet in reality, he was the one that couldn't be trusted. It would appear that something had prevented Judas from looking beyond this world; almost as if the cares of this world were a web, wound so tight, and so thick, that he could not see past anything other than what he already knew. What we really fail to understand, is that we are like those bones; we are dead dried up bones, laying in a pile of other dead and dried up bones; and it is not anything we can do that will give life back to us, but what God has already done. To make matters worse, if we are not careful about what we believe God can do, then we might not have the right kind of respect for Him and the power He has over our lives. Now we are talking about a betrayal of a whole different kind; one that involves the betrayal of our own mind...
"Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off from our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD." (Ezekiel 37:11-14)

"It Is Actually Fate"

"He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me." (Psalms 55:18) So what do you think, is anything impossible with God? The real answer is, Yes! God does not lie, therefore He cannot lie! And what does that mean in our little world of grief and whatever else happens to be coming against us on a daily basis? it means that He keeps His promises, and we are going to be just fine! So stop your worrying already, and just start praising Him; because if He has promised it, then you had better consider it won and done! Sure, I have a lot of excitement coming through these keys, but it helps to get excited when you know your on the winning team; especially if your still playing the game! Some people hear the word "fate", and immediately they think of something bad, as if "fate" means that you have gotten what you had coming to you, or something like that; when in reality, it means 'destiny', as in a set of predetermined events, or a predetermined future. With that; there is a other little thing that John could have been speaking about, and it has to do with praying against God's will; because, if we know that a brother or sister has committed "a sin unto death", then we surely do not want to pray that God would not do what He said that He would do; otherwise, we would asking God to ignore a promise; even though that promise might be deadly, it is still a promise to follow through with; and if God cannot lie, then He does what He said He will do; at least we need to believe that is true, otherwise, we can start doubting He keeps His word...
"So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breath upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army." (Ezekiel 37:7-10)    

"It Is Always Fresh"

"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry out aloud: and He shall hear my voice." (Psalms 55:17) Now unless you have nerve enough to worship other gods in the holiest place that you know, then I don't think you need to worry; then again, I think someone was viewing porn on the churches computer when I at one time was the one who did the books; and worse than that, they might have blamed me after I had discovered that it might have happened, because right after it happened I was replaced. Now I might have some issues, but the house of worship is not a place where I would ever even think about exploring them, let alone take something that belongs to God and make it my own. Then again, what is our body? is it not the temple of God? Anywho; notice the order of these prayers, because they are based upon the times of "evening", "morning", and "noon", which just so happens to be the way that they viewed a day; as a day actually began at sundown, and then would go to the end of the next afternoon. It might not seem like such a big deal, but then again, what takes place between evening and morning? Well, for most of us, it is sleep; and if sleep is what you do between evening and morning, what do you usually do in your sleep? Dream! Yes, I am so fascinated by the dreams I have, especially when I am sleeping next to my wife and holding her hand. I for one believe that God speaks to us in our dreams; I have time and time again gone to sleep meditating upon His word, and had the most vivid dreams of things which I cannot describe; and when I do try and describe them, they really do not make even the slightest impact that they did as a dream. Back to what John was saying about "a sin unto death"; I do not believe that his focus was intended to be upon that subject, but since he brought it up, he had to clarify what he meant; the real focus of what he was talking about, was the God listens to our prayers; which then moved into the fact that "we have the petitions that we desire of Him"; which then moved into praying for a brother that you "see sin a sin that is not unto death"; which I believe opened up a whole can of worms, because all sin is connected with death, in one way or another. But the general point to the matter of life and death, is what really matters is what is eternal; and everything that is eternal is so very hard to explain, but it is always fresh... "And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, Thou knowest. Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 37:3-6)  

"It's Never Too Late"

"As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me." (Psalms 55:16) If there was any verse that might give you hope in times of some serious trouble, then this one of those verses to write upon your sleeve, or burn into your memory. I don't care what you have done, or where you are currently at, it is never too late to call out to God for salvation; that is unless you have been suddenly stuck down and are already in hell, like those we saw in yesterday's post, with the exception of Achan, who had time to repent. Yesterday on To Every Man An Answer, I believe that there was a repeat of a previous show, but I needed to hear it again, because someone called in to ask about 1 John 5:16, and the answer given was a little complicated; not that I am any kind of expert, but I can determine what it might mean based upon what I know about God. Above all else, God is Love; as straightforward as that might sound, it is beyond our comprehension to try and figure out all of the particulars, and why it is that He has any kind of wrath at all, except for the fact that He is Holy; and because He is Holy, He cannot tolerate evil; but more than that, He cannot tolerate evil that causes His children to stumble, and when I say stumble, I mean to be knocked off their feet. Achan is a very good example; not because he was killed by stoning, but because he had to be killed for the sake of the others; after all, he was warned (Joshua 6:18), and yet he choose to do it anyways. If I had to point to anything that "a sin onto death" might represent, then that would be the one to point to; not because he was killed, but because he had to be killed in order to break the curse that was upon his people. A good modern day example of what this might mean, is if someone kills anyone for no reason at all, but just for the fun of killing them; if someone commits that sort of crime, then they deserve to be put to death; although they might repent of there sins and gain forgiveness from God, they still need to pay the consequences for their actions; otherwise, what they did remains a curse upon not only their life, but upon any offspring they might have. If that person has truly been born again, then death is not destruction, but it is complete salvation, meaning that you have been washed and you are delivered into the arms of the Lord. Sometimes it might take the thought of being put to death, or even death itself, before a person will get serious about the Lord; and because God is Love, God will always listen; well, at least most of the time He does... "And He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the alter, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then He said to me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." (Ezekiel 8:16-18)

"It's Not The Flesh"

"Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them." (Psalms 55:15) Alrighty then, that sounds kind of permanent; it's not like they did not have it coming to them, but it sure sounds a little drastic. However, if you stop for a moment and think about this, it is not unlike God to show some sort of drastic measures here and there, just to remind us that He is really serious about us thinking that He does not know what we are up to. There are three instances that come to mind: Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2), Achan (Joshua 7), and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5;1-11); all of which involved doing something that they thought no one would know about, and also at critical times of Spiritual leading. I think the Spiritual leading part is more important that the part about thinking God is not watching, not because God does not care so much if we pretend that He cannot see us, but because in times of God leading His people into something new, the moving of His Spirit must not be hindered. All three of these examples involved times of God moving His people into something new, something that involved His people surrendering to His will. In the case of Nadab and Abihu, God had just established the tabernacle that would represent His mercy upon His people; in the case of Achan, God had just demonstrated what He can do, despite how ridiculous things might appear, as He dropped the walls of Jericho; and in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, God's Spirit had moved upon the church to share all of their belongings. All three were instances of surrender; surrendering of our sins, surrendering of our understanding, and surrendering of our possessions; and all were times of Spiritual transformation among God's people; times where they must give over to God's way of doing things, regardless of how we feel it does not matter, or how we don't see how it will work, or how much it might seem that it will cost; when it comes to the Spirit verses the flesh, only the Spirit is what counts, the flesh just gets in the way of what God is doing. Talk about betrayal...
"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any manner: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit." (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)    

"Something To Relate"

"We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company." (Psalms 55:14) Under a spell is probably not the correct term to use, but it sure matches the description of their motives; because in all reality, they had no reason to come against Jesus as they did, He never did anything but help people. Then again, I have seen some really weird things happen in our church; people that you would never expect of being hateful towards another brother or sister, can become so uncontrollable in their rage to be right; even though their actions to prove themselves right are obviously wrong, they cannot see how wrong they are in the darkness of their heart. Darkness might seem like a strong word to describe what is happening within their heart, but pride loves to conceal itself in darkness, deep in the darkest places where the Light can never reach it; and when it comes out, it brings the darkness with it. James had something to say about this, and he related it to loving this world (James 4:1-10); making the motivation behind our fighting one another that of pride and envy, as if we are pulled into an attitude of the devil if we do not submit to God. That might sound a little hard to believe, if you are the one that is offended by another brother or sister; but it only takes a little pride to pull us over to the other side, and on that side there is only darkness... "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he will answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." (Zechariah 13:6)  

"Something Beyond The Norm"

"For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: but it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance." (Psalms 55:12-13) I know, I am all over the place with this chapter; then again, this chapter is all over the place with 'betrayal', meaning all the different ways to be "Betrayed". Just a little side note on what Jesus was saying in Mark 13:34, in that the porter was commanded to watch, but it is really everyone that needs to be watching, because the porter may not be doing his job. Another little hint for those that might think we can somehow blame someone else for not telling us the truth, or for not preparing us for His return; because we are all responsible for our own salvation, and we will all have to answer for our work done while the Master was gone. Today, what we have before us, is nothing but pure betrayal of a friend; and not just any friend, but a friend that was close enough to have trusted in as a 'guide', and to have considered your 'equal'. This is not an easy thing to try and understand, because it is not something that we deal with on a regular basis, and some of us never have; because it deals with betrayal on a completely different level than most of us would ever have the misfortune to deal with. If I had to point to something that comes close, then I would give the example of divorce; and not just any divorce, but one that has one side totally bent on the destruction of the other; not just wanting to get even, or to cause some pain, but wanting to totally destroy the other, the one in whom they once had so much in common; and to make matters even worse, the one that is being destroyed still has feelings for the other. Imagine what that might feel like to the defending party, and you can get just a little taste of what David might have been feeling. Then again, imagine what Jesus must have been feeling with regards to Judas; not as though He did not know that it was going to happen, because He did; but that someone to whom He had shared His heart, and His passion for saving those that are lost, that he could not only betray Him, but betray Him with a kiss; that is "the power of darkness"... "And while He yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? When they which were about Him saw what would follow, they said unto Him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And He touched his ear, and healed him. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to Him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against Me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." (Luke 22:47-53)  

"It Gets To Somehow Last"

"Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets." (Psalms 55:11) Other than the fact that we are here, it would appear that most of the world is going to hell; just try and imagine what it will look like one the church is taken up; it is surely not going to be an easy place to get saved, yet the Bible says that there will be a multitude of people that will. If you truly understand the times, then you probably have packed your bags and are just waiting for that trumpet to be blown; but if you have not yet prepared yourself to go, then maybe you should start thinking about what you are waiting for, because you might just be waiting for proof of His return; and if that is what you are waiting for, then that is what you will see; you won't be taken, therefore you will get to see it happen. Every day I see things that just keep on happening, almost as if God is just dragging it out as long as He can; it's not like He does not care about what is happening here, because He does; besides, all those that are believers, as soon as they are killed, they are in His presence; it's the rest of us that need to keep ourselves ready for His return. If there was one thing that Jesus tried to make clear, it was how much we need to be ready. And it's not because we would not know whether or not it was time, because He told us that we would; but it is because He knew that we would keep putting off getting ready, thinking that He delays His coming. If you think about it, Jesus is waiting also: He is the one who is making intersessions for us, so He does not say the hour, but the Father is the one that chooses when He shall return; it makes perfect sense, because Jesus keeps pleading for us, but sooner or later, the Father makes the call, and the door is shut... "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." (Mark 13:32-37)

"Evil Takes On Form"

"Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it."  (Psalms 55:10) Now about that cast; something needs to be said about knowing who is really the Master, because when you are following the real Master, you can't go wrong, no matter what you think might be right. What we have before us today is nothing more than pure evil gone out of control. There is really no other way to describe what can be seen taking place in this illustration, except maybe the sceen that was taking place when the Jews were yelling "Crucify Him!", as Jesus was standing there before them, beaten and wearing a crown of thornes. Can you imagine what that must have looked like to those that were not willing that He be crucified; like Pilate, who was amazed by the reaction of the people, having chosen to have a convicted murderer released instead of releasing an inoccent, beaten, King of the Jews. That is what real evil looks like, because it cannot be reasoned with, no matter how hard you try; just as those angry Jews could not be reasoned with, and just as those that call themselves; well, you know who I mean. What we are witnessing today are senseless killings of those that have no defense; meaning, that if they are defenseless, then all the more their killers are driven to killing them. I once had a heart that was kind of like that, and looking back at some of the things which I did, I wonder how I could have had so much evil inside of me. Although, I never killed any other human being in such a manner, but I did kill many helpless animals; for no reason at all, but just to watch them die. What kind of a person can do such a thing? Obviously, we all are capable of such acts of evil, if our hearts are not in the right place; it is not too hard to see how it can happen; afterall, our hearts are naturally evil... "Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night: and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only: and I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel." (2 Samuel 17:1-4)

"Destruction of The Cast"

"Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city." (Psalms 55:9) Just in case you wanted to know, this title was one that took me almost twenty minutes to become familiar with; I knew that "cast" was the word I was to use, but I did not know how to use it; at least not until God gave me a vision of the right "cast". I was stuck on a Cast of people, like actors and such in a play or movie; but God showed me another cast, as in one which is formed in a mold. I can't remember what it is from, but I seem to recall a movie where everyone in a certain town was made to be silent, like as if their lips were stuck together or something; then again, maybe it was a dream or something in a book. David is pretty much asking the Lord to silence those in the city that are stirring things up; not because he is afraid of what they might be saying about him, or because they are even stirring things up; but because they are stripping people of the hope and the security of being a people that are led by God. People can only take so much before they become void of hope, and before begin to panic in the thought of without leadership. I don't know if you knew this or not, but our general need is to be led by someone, or something; we all need a master; we may not be able to serve two masters, but we all need to have at least one. This is the "cast" that God has shown me, that of a person formed by the lack of hope, not only in God, but in the idea that God is the one leading the Leaders; the hope of being led by someone chosen of God, verses someone that has taken over the leadership without God's permission or anointing. Then it almost becomes an every man for himself kind of nature that people begin to take on; without proper leadership, the people will perish from the inside out. We see this happening in our churches today; not because we do not have good leaders, because we do; but because those that are the leaders in the church are the actual leaders, not the Real Master, Jesus Christ...
"Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered Him, No. And He said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked), and did cast himself into the sea." (John 21:3-7)

"Shelter From The Storm"

"I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." (Psalms 55:8) Sometimes the wilderness, no matter how familiar it might be, can become a vary stormy place; you go from dealing with circumstance and people that hate you, to dealing with nature and bad weather; at least when you have a home, you have a place to take shelter and rest. That is one thing that Jesus did not have, a home where He could take time to rest and find shelter, as you and I would in our comfortable homes. His home was not of this earth, so having a place of comfort here was not something that He even considered. Maybe that explains His ability to sleep so well in the boat, while His disciples feared for their lives (Mark 4:38), He was dreaming of being home, and the storm was nothing compared to what was up ahead at the cross. The cross would be the real storm, not some waves upon the water, which He could control with just a word; but the real storm He must face ahead provided no shelter, only death would be His relief from what was ahead. I am sure that David was remembering his days out there in the wilderness, when the storms would come, he would 'hasten' his escape into a nearby cave which he had already prepared for such an event; it was not like he did not know what to do when the weather got nasty, because preparation for such an event makes the cave so much more comfortable and inviting. If you though yesterday's post was weird, I am sorry, but I have always wanted to be able to just live free from all of this stuff; from this comfortable stuff that takes all of my energy to keep, and consumes most of my time just to preserve it; and for what? just to have it left behind for someone else to be stuck with, for someone else to be burdened with? And then again, it might all be temporary, but it sure does make me comfortable...
"There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" (Ecclesiastes 5:13-16)

"Memories of The Past"

"Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah." (Psalms 55:7) Just so you know, pumping gas was the happiest job that I ever had; it was great to serve others by filling their tanks, washing their window, checking their oil and tires, and then sending them safely on their way. There was no pressure of all the in's and out's, and the high's and low's of what it is like to be in the Pest Control Industry; and the Termite side of, which is my specialty, is far worse; there is no budget making here, it's all feast and famine. This is David thinking about the "wilderness", which is not the wilderness, as in the desert or a barren place, but a place which he was familiar with from his youth; a place where the only inhabitants were him and his sheep, and getting alone to fellowship with God was easy. There was no longer any place like that for him, and he realized that kind of a place was just a memory from the past. Imagine what it might have felt like to be able to remain out there for days, or weeks, or even months at a time, and not have anyone wondering where you were, or having anyone looking for you; good luck trying to do that now, because it's not easy to not be missed, not when you are the king of Israel. Once upon a time, my goal in life was to just wander around aimlessly, backpacking from place to place, and never being tied down by anything; but then I meet my wife, and I had to put on shoes and give up the freedom of the road. Where I live, here in Redding, there are hundreds of what we call "Street People", and I am always looking to see someone who is happy and at peace in that capacity, which is not very easy to find, at least not in the city. I still wonder what it would be like to just wander from place to place, not really having anything but what I could carry on my back, and just surviving on generosity. What a weird post this has become; I need to get back to real life, because I have bills that need to get paid...
 "If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent perverting of judgment and justice in the province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods are increased, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." Ecclesiastes 5:8-12)

"The Itch To Be Faint"

"And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away, and be at rest." (Psalms 55:6) An interesting verse we have before us today; I wanted to use the word longing instead of itch, but it's not the right word for such a 'flighty feeling' that this verse describes. The idea is one of being able to become inconspicuous, thus the choice of a "dove" compared to that of an eagle or a another bird of strong flight; weak and gentle best describe the words meaning, like a feeble and gentle bird. Therefore, longing is more about something that is felt over a period of time, like a deep desire; while an itch, although it brings on a desire, it comes on and passes quickly, and it is easily satisfied. If you have ever had any kind of an itch like I am talking about, then you could relate to what I am saying. When my business was larger (something like sixteen employees and twelve trucks,) I would always keep a small red mechanic rag in my desk draw, and on those days when I was feeling fed up with everything, I would walk around with that rag in my back pocket. My wife always knew what it meant, and she would usually try and encourage to be patient; however, every once in awhile, she would say, Just fire everyone and do everything yourself! Wow, such wisdom; if only I had listened fifteen years ago, or even twenty; maybe I would have had more time to dedicate towards caring for her then, instead of the way things are today; today I am her Care Provider. What that little red rag stood for, was me saying that I would rather be pumping gas, than doing what I am doing now; and it was just an itch, not a longing; because truth be told, I really do like what I do, and God has blessed it, and keeps on blessing it, each and every day. That's why it's just an itch; that's why David is using this description the way that he is, because it's just an itch; because he really does enjoy being king, and he knows that God has placed him in the position; but right now, at this moment, and in these circumstances, he really just has "the itch to be faint"...
"And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and He said to His disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And He taketh with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from Me: nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt." (Mark 14:32-36)      

"The Fear To Die"

"Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me." (Psalms 55:5) Maybe if I had started with verse 23, it would had made a better impact; but then again, Jesus being glorified by dying on a cross seems so wrong, that God would use something so ugly to display something so beautiful. Maybe it was the thought of taking on all the sins of the world; I can't even begin to imagine the pain involved with that, let alone the horror of imagining all of your sins being placed upon someone so perfect and humble. I have always figured that the hardest part of His death, was not the pain and the suffering, but the separation that He experience from the Father, having become sin; but I suddenly realized something else that might have had a greater impact upon His heart, that He would take our punishment, meaning that God's wrath for our sins would be placed upon Him. When you look at it that way, Jesus being glorified really does not seem it fit the picture, unless the picture describes God's love for us; then He is not only glorified, He is the glory of God's love being displayed for all to see, again and again! Every time we hear the story, every time we see the image of that cross displayed, the glory of God's love for us is presented; and for some, it is the only thing that will soften a hardened heart. What do you think that Saul, later called Paul, saw in his mind on that road to Damascus; was it the resurrected Jesus who had been lifted up in glory? or was it the image of Jesus that he and his fellow Jews had placed on that cross? Bam! Right in the heart! Like a dart of lightening had just brought a dead corpse to life! Now then, imagine that power required to generate the life giving jolt was like a slingshot; where it that slingshot being retracted towards? Yea, I know, I am weird like that; but I blame it on all the acid I took when I was a kid. Why do you think that David would be fearful of death? unless he had emptied himself of all of his strength? We are talking about a giant slayer; a mighty man of war; a man that had stared down death hundreds of time, and had done so without fear of anything but backing down; now all of the sudden he is overwhelmed by the terrors of death. When you empty yourself of all that you are, you are not the man that you were...
"Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not hide in darkness. And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak." (John 12:44-50)

"The Great Restraint"

"My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me." (Psalms 55:4) Don't you think that David had days when fear was more than an illusion? It might be hard for some of us to comprehend what this might have felt like; first one of your favorite sons, and then a close personal friend, both of which have turned and are now trying to take your life; and the furthest thing from your mind is to kill them first. If there was one verse that could describe what Jesus was feeling those last hours of His life, then this would be the one. All the power that He had at His disposal, yet no thought or desire to even consider using any of it for relief. I don't know about you, but the first thing that I would is to have called down those ten thousand angels, especially when I was being torn apart by that scourging; but our Lord did not, neither did He raise His voice against those that were beating Him. Talk about restraint! I don't know what is harder, to not sin because I have the ability to sin, or to not defend myself even though I have the ability to do it. David could have stood up against Absalom, and because he did not, that might be why Ahithophel betrayed him; just a Judas was motivated to betray Jesus for pretty much the same reason. Jesus did not come as a conquering King, but as a Lamb to be slaughtered; something that Judas just could not understand; just as the devil cannot stand the thought of God's redemption towards man, so too Judas could not comprehend why the Messiah would come and lay down His life; opposing views are all the same, it really does not matter they are out of malice or ignorance. Maybe you can't see what it is that I am talking about; and if so, then let me try to enlighten you with this thought, which is the thought of becoming weak. I really don't know how else to describe it, except to try and illustrate what it might look like, or better yet, feel like, to deflate yourself of all power and might that you might have, and to become weak...
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth 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 both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:24-28)

"The Reason Why"

"Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me." (Psalms 55:3) It's a work in progress, don't laugh. But seriously, grievous sins are hard to make go away; although God will forgive us, and in His sight we are made white as snow, we still have to answer to others, ourselves, and the accuser. At some point in the process of consequences, there needs to be a point of rescue; we need to know that there is, and we need to find it, and hold onto it with dear life. In the first place, we have the "voice of the enemy", which for the sake of argument, is the voice of them which keep bringing up charges against us; whatever those charges may be, whether they are our past grievous sins, or whether they are made up gossip, these are those that spread the news and love to speak out against those that they envy or hate. The devil falls into that category, because his fate is sealed, and he hates the fact that God has provided us a way to be saved from our sins; he hates it so much, that he will go out of his way to remind us of our past sins; and then when we sin again, he is right there to tell us how wicked we are, and to discourage us in our salvation. That is the meaning that I see in "the oppression of the wicked", because it is those that do not understand the salvation that God so freely gives us, they are the ones that are considered the wicked; they are the ones that will refuse to accept that God can forgive, and they are those that refuse God's forgiveness for themselves. We really need to be careful that we do not fall into that category, because there is a danger of thinking that we have been forgiven, and all the while not even knowing what forgiveness feels like, or how it applies to our lives. Forgiveness is kind of a two way street; if we are freely forgiven, then we can freely forgive others, including ourselves; although sometimes it is hard to do, it is no excuse to not try and make it happen; God does not tell us to do anything that we are not able to do, with His help. Therein is the key to everything! God's help! It does not matter how far that you have fallen, or how deep your wounds have been cut, with God's help all things are possible; there is forgiveness that you can feel, it's not just an empty faith that we believe in, but one that gives life, and then keeps on giving life... "And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: he is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it; for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." (Mark 6:46-49)

"The Sad Complaint"

"Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;" (Psalms 55:2) Almost anything that is caused by our own foolish actions can cause us to mourn; I typically find myself mourning over the stupid things that I say almost every other day, saying to myself, I really wish that I had not said that. But the mourning David is speaking about here has a little deeper meaning; yet at the same time, it has no meaning whatsoever. I know you think that sounds kind of stupid, and maybe should be added to the list of things I wish I had not said; but the point of the matter is, that it is just a "noise", noise meaning that it is some kind of sound that is meant to be heard by a particular object: you slam on your brakes, and your tires screech; or in this case, you step on a mouse, and it makes a squealing sound. I know that might sound a little drastic, but David is really feeling down; not just because of what is happening to him, but more than that, because he has caused this to happen upon himself. Maybe you have not ever messed up enough to experience what I am trying to describe; because if you have, then you know what I am talking about. It is the kind of a mourn where you so desperately wish you could rejoice, but you can't, because you know your only getting what you deserve; therefore, the mourning that you are experiencing is more like feeling sorry for yourself, but at the same time, just wishing you were dead and that it would all be over; which, in that case, everything that your feeling is just a complaint to God for the punishment that you rightfully deserve, which is pretty sad. Looking back to what Peter was saying about "partakers of Christ's sufferings", being able to rejoice over such things is due to the fact that you are being wrongfully persecuted. It would be kind of like a Christian who breaks the law, ends up in jail, and then says, Praise the Lord, God has me here for a reason; yes, He does, it's called the consequences of your actions. Peter, on the other hand, was making the point, that if you do suffer for doing something wrong, then you should be grieved over it; but if you have not, then you should rejoice in your sufferings. Actually, the word "mourn" is more like a wandering about; you really don't know what you want, but you know that you want something; like oxen that have broken their yoke, and wonder freely, not knowing what to do next. In that case, the "complaint" is just a form of babbling; meaningless meditation is a good example given, just as Elijah said of Baal, He is so taken up with meditation that he cannot hear you (1 Kings 18:27); as if a god would need to be meditating to himself. That is the kind of complaint that has got to be the saddest noise that we can make; thus the squealing mouse example...
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." (1 Peter 4:17-19)

"The Wounded Cry"

"Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not Thyself from my supplication." (Psalms 55:1) If you know how David must have felt, then you can realize his hesitation here; after all, he is the one that has been wronged, you would think his approach to God for help would be a little more direct. However, there are several factors to be considered in this very complicated mess that David has found himself tangled up in, the most important factor being the consequences of his sin. Next time you think about committing sin, especially sin that involves other people, just remember that there are consequences that will result from that sin; not just brief little guilt trips, but long lasting consequences that you will take with you for the rest of your life. David was a really good king, he was a really good preacher, and he was a great fighter, but he was a terrible father; he lacked what it took to bring order and discipline into his home, mostly because his sin that he committed with Bathsheba, but also because he had done something God did not approve of, which was that he had multiple wives. Pretty much all the kings of the world did it, so what was the big deal? Well, let's see; how about because God said not to? (Deuteronomy 17:17) Besides that, it can really cause some tension between the siblings, especially when it comes to the one to inherit the throne. We can sometimes make certain compromises in our walk with God that will maybe not hurt our relationship with God, but they sure can mess up our structure in the home, or our relationship with other people; all those people that look to us for some type of spiritual leadership are let down by the compromises that we make, and they end up most of the time making compromises in their own lives because of it. I think that it is pretty interesting that Peter would word his statement the way that he did, because he must have known that David fell into almost every one of those sins, with the exception of a "busybody"; good thing for him, because that is the sin that God hates more than them all (Proverbs 6:12-19). And if you don't think "thief" is a sin that David fell into, then think again, because what Nathan described was the worst kind of thief, one that took from those that had little, even thou he had more than he needed... "And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; and I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised Me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." (2 Samuel 12:7-12)    

"Betrayed"

PSALMS 55: [To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Masehil, A Psalm of David.]
Not so long ago, I might have quit this thing, and just chocked it up to having nothing left to say; after all, four years is a long time to keep doing something every single day, but I do have my reasons. This Psalm might be one of those testing points for my resolve, not because it is difficult to follow, because it is pretty much self explanatory; but because it hits pretty close to home in the area of being faithful to God, and how easy it is to see ourselves betraying Jesus, over and over again. Matthew Henry puts this Psalms in association with the occasion of Absalom's rebellion, and how David's friend and cabinet member Ahithophel, who also was Bathsheba's grandfather, turned against him and joined up with Absalom's revolt. Additionally, there is some familiarity between the death of Ahithophel and the death of Judas Iscariot, because they both hung themselves for what they had done (2 Samuel 17:23 & Matthew 27:5). Within the introduction of this Psalm, we have the same two characters from the previous Psalm, "Neginoth" and "Masehil", where the first means to taunt and the second means to contemplate; although they both have musical meanings, such as 'stringed instruments' and 'poem', I think it is fitting to consider the applications of the possible spiritual meanings, and how we can relate this to our own spiritual lives. Betrayal comes in all shapes and sizes, and it is only a matter of perspective as to whether or not someone has been betrayed or not; after all, Jesus picked Judas knowing full well what he would one day do, so that's something which is debatable, as to whether or not he was just doing his part, or if he actually betrayed Jesus' friendship. Additionally, there is somewhat of the matter of who you believe that a person is or is not; after all, Judas was looking for someone to take Israel back to the position of power, and that is not what Jesus had came here for; and Ahithophel may have known some things, and in that, he saw what looked like a change of power. I don't know about you, but I can relate this to so many areas of my life; it is kind of like we are more controlled by our desires than we are by integrity and faithfulness to what we think we believe... "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on there part He is evil spoken of but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. (1 Peter 4:12-16)    

"With Gratitude"

"For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies." (Psalms 54:7) No, I did not say attitude; although it seems that we have a lot of it sometimes. What we really need, is to add a little gratitude in with our thankfulness. There are two different ways that we can view the second portion of this verse: one that has God's desire being one of wrath, the other has God's desire being one of love; depending on your point of view of yourself, you will are more likely to pick the first, than you are the second. David was called by God, who said of him, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, which shall fulfill all of My will" (Acts 13:22). The verse in Acts is taken from Paul's first public sermon, and took place in Antioch, which was a place that many Greek Jews lived, and was the place that the believers in Christ Jesus were first called Christians. It does not take a whole lot of thought to put two and two together, not when it comes to the love that God has for the lost; which is why Jesus told us to love our enemies, because we all at one time were the enemies of God! If you remember the story, after Paul had finished his first sermon, he was asked to come back and preach again the next sabbath day, and when that day came, the Jews saw the multitudes that were assembled, and they became filled with envy (Acts 13:45). That envy which they had in their heart was the opposite of gratitude, because they were now filled with indignation against those that were not children of Abraham who might receive the promise; not that they had actually bought into what Paul had previously said, but just the thought of Gentiles being justified under the law of Moses was more than they could stomach. On the other hand, if we do come to realize the fate of those that die in their sins, then the Christian thing to do would be to have compassion in our hearts for them. It is like that old saying given by John Bradford, as he would say every day that another was put to death, "There but for the grace of God go I"; because it just might happen, depending upon the attitude of your heart... "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, not if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more." (2 Corinthians 5:11-16)  

"Just Be Thankful"

"I will freely sacrifice unto Thee: I will praise Thy name, O LORD; for it is good." (Psalms 54:6) Even though it is hard, doing what is right is what we must set our hearts upon; besides just setting our hearts upon that which is to come, we must continue to strive towards perfection; which is something else that many will try and disagree about, saying, We can't be perfect, so why should we even try? Two reasons that come to mind are listed within this verse, the first of which is to "freely sacrifice" unto God; something that requires giving of a 'sacrifice' without expectation of anything in return, not even a reward for your effort. Maybe the fault in Cain's sacrifice was not just that it was lacking of substance, but maybe his heart was also not in the right place, and he was giving sacrifice as if it would increase his harvest, or bless his labor. One thing that really strikes me about 2 Corinthians 10:6, and something that I have never really thought of before, is that we don't let up by doing what is right, as if doing something that is right allows us some sort of relief; but we are to be "having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience", which means that we 'stand' prepared to do it again and again, not setting down, as if it's now time to take a break. That is the whole reason that works do not count towards righteousness; not that works do not count, because they are the demonstration of our love and affection towards what God has already done; but our righteousness, is not of ourselves, but is completely of Jesus Christ; therefore, we are not striving for perfection because we think that we can be perfect, we are striving for perfection because He was perfect, and we should try to be like Him. The actual meaning of "freely" is that of free-will, which means, readiness of mind to give; it is a voluntary offering which is given willingly and spontaneously. The example giving for 'willingness' is that of "very prompt for military service", which is a heart that is willing to sacrifice all for the sake of something they believe in. Which brings me to the second reason, that being, "I will praise Thy name, O LORD; for it is good". There is nothing that we can do to pay God back for what He has done for us, so that is not even considered; but being thankful is not considered payment either, it is our response to God's abundant grace... "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (as it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; He hath given to the poor: His righteousness remaineth for ever. Now He that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:7-11)

"More Than Relief"

"He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in Thy truth." (Psalms 54:5) If you really take the time to stop and think about it, God is more than willing to give us relief, He is our relief; and because He is our relief, the willingness is dependent upon us, as in, how much relief do I really want? This is a very interesting verse, because it might appear to be two separate statements, where one speaks of reward and the other speaks of cutting off; but if you compare this verse to 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, there is something to be said for standing in the Truth. In other words, we have been shown the Truth, therefore we know the Truth; and if we know the Truth, then we have access to the Truth; and if we have access to the Truth, then we own the Truth; more importantly, the Truth owns us! Remember who is fighting our battles; it's not by our might or by our own strength that the battles are won, but by the Spirit of God; and because His Spirit is the one that is fighting the battle, there really isn't a battle, because nothing can challenge God and win; besides that, He has already won! Therefore, if we consider what that means to getting relief, then it's really not a question of if God will provide relief or not, but it is a question of whether or not we will embrace it. God has provided everything that we need; not only has He given us relief already, but He has already established a home for us beyond this temporary place, one that is far greater and one that will last forever and ever. That is what we need to embrace; with all of our hearts, we need to embrace that which shall be, and let go of that which binds us, the things of this world. There is really no limit to the relief we have in God, because God has not put any limit upon His relief; we are the ones that put limits upon how much we surrender to God; the more we surrender to God, the more relief we will experience... "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war against the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

"A Whole New Day"

"Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul." (Psalms 54:4) What do you think would happen if everyone that was a Christian did everything just the way Jesus would do things? It might just turn the world upside down in no time at all; or at least it would sure stir things up a little; one thing for sure, it would sure set apart those that are His and those that are not. This is where this Psalm takes a turn towards heaven, which is exactly what each and every one of God's children need to do; we all need to look up and prepare to meet our KING! Yes, that's right, the KING is coming, we don't know when, but He is coming; which is why we need to be looking up in our hearts and minds; or as Paul put it, "For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven." This tabernacle that we are currently in is temporary, and it is fading away quickly, some more quickly than others; but God has prepared for us a new tabernacle which will not fade away, ever; one that will cloth us with His eternal light, which I believe that Adam and Eve were clothed with before the fall, which is why they did not know that they were naked until they ate of the fruit. Talk about a game changer, we have the best one of all! As quick as this Psalm changed from that of complaining and seeking, to that of praising and acknowledgement, so to is God's comfort and relief available to each and every one of His children; all it requires for us to do, is to take our eyes off our circumstance or issue, and to place them on the Lord. It really is that simple; it may not be easy, because every single thing around us will be pressing in, and every one that we know will be trying to convince us that it is not the way. Remember, David is writing this Psalm much later than this circumstance had taken place; maybe even twenty or thirty years later; but he had been given the chance to see God's protection upon his life, and to relate that to the fact that he was a child of promise; which is what each and every one of us that believe in Jesus are, we are children of promise... "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, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believe, and therefore I have spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through thanksgiving of many rebound to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 4:8-15)