"Roots"

"The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies." (Psalms 59:10) I was wondering how it was that we get so far outside of His will, and why it is that His word takes second place to our choices in matters of right and wrong; basically, it is not that much different than what the children of Israel did while Moses was up on that mountain for forty days, they made themselves another god to worship! That's really all it is, in a nutshell; we have created other gods that do not follow the pattern and the ways of Thee God; gods that best suit the desires of our worldly passions and the truth we want to believe. It really is quite simple, if you get right down to it; otherwise, why would so many large denominations be going the way of the world? If you think that you get what David is saying, then you should know that mercy has roots that come with it; in other words, mercy is deeper than something that is just put out there for us to accept or reject, it is well thought out and carries out far beyond it's point of beginning. The God that we serve, with all the power and majesty that He has, has an abundance of love and mercy, more than we will ever need! And if we are truly tapped into that great mercy, then we know how mercy works, and that it has life because it is rooted in love; not just any love, but the love of the God that shows us mercy; mercy that we do not deserve, yet He gives us mercy because He loves us! Now, what kind of god can we create that will do that? The first commandment is to love God, which requires that we listen and obey what He says; we cannot say that we love God if we do not keep His commandments, because that love we have for Him will make us want to keep them (1 John 5:2-3). We may not be able to keep them, and none of us can, but we want to keep them; which means that we do not rewrite His law to suit our own desires! But I guess we could just say, I threw a bunch of stuff in the fire, and out came this new god, that just so happens to represent everything that I want to do in my flesh...
"So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears." (Hebrews 12:12-17)

"Seriously!"

"Because of his strength will I wait upon Thee: for God is my defense." (Psalms 59:9) Don't ever think that God does not have a handle on this; doing so will just confuse you and everyone around you, and will cause you take your eyes off of the Truth. That is what happens, don't you know? We see what is happening as something that God is not in control of, and then we doubt He will defend us and protect us. But in all seriousness, it is those things which overwhelm us that are needed for us to wait upon God; otherwise, we try to figure out a way to work things out on our own. If we think we can handle something, then we usually will not call out to God for His help; what a mess we end up making for ourselves! We really need to learn how subtle the enemy is, and how he works to distract us from keeping our eyes on Jesus. It's not that we cannot do anything on our own, because I am sure that there are things that God wants us to without His guidance or permission; things like loving on your kids or your spouse, or rushing over to help someone that is about to get seriously hurt; but when it comes to a fork in the road, or something that might alter your relationship with Him, then you had better wait on Him. Besides, if you wait on the Lord, and if He is in control of the situation, then you don't get the blame for what happens, it's all on God! Don't you think that works out better for you? God's going to get the glory anyways, so why not give Him the blame right off the bat? Take a few minutes and think about what is being said, and consider who it is that you are dealing with. Yes, "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4), but He is in you to guide you! If we would only listen; but that is the whole point of being His children; because the first part of that famous verse says that we are, "little children"; and just like little children always do, we sometimes don't listen...
"And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His children? He said, My child, don't make light of the LORD'S discipline, and don't give up when He corrects you. For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child. As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you a His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn't discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all." (Hebrews 12:5-8)  

"It's Hysterical"

"But Thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; Thou shalt have all the heathen in derision." (Psalms 59:8) I can't help it, I'm sorry; but you really have got to know that God does have a sense of humor. This is actually a pretty interesting verse, because it causes us to stop and consider something that is totally true and without a doubt going to happen: God wins! I mean really; how else can you possibly sum things up, because in the end, God always wins, He never loses! We cannot see the whole picture, so of course, we think that there is some kind of a struggle going on behind the scenes, and that somehow God is having to fight for the strings to pull, and that He needs our help to get things done. What God does with our participation, He does for our benefit, not for His, because He will always be glorified in the end. I think it is rather funny, but do you actually think that God is somehow losing the battle? I mean, I know things are getting way out of control; more and more churches are accepting gay leadership as okay, blessing gay marriage, and are somehow using love to justify their decisions; while at the same time, the life of an unborn child is being discarded, but the Spotted Owl is being protected. It is really not His plan, but He will use whatever we do, and He will reshape it into something that fits into His overall plan: God is the Master Designer of the universe, and you don't think He can fix something as screwed up as this tiny little planet? Now that, my dear friend, is hysterical! After those two guys schooled Jesus on "what things" had happened, Jesus schooled them on the truth, saying, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to entry into His glory?"; and then He went on to tell them all the Scriptures that spoke of Him and what He was to do (Luke 24:25-27). We see only a small portion of what is happening, a very small portion; and sometimes what we see does not appear to be all that good and pleasant, especially when it's something that we are living through; but if we only knew; if we could only see what God sees; maybe then we could learn to rejoice in our suffering, and stop complaining...
 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin." (Hebrews 12:1-4) NLT

"Say What?"

"Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?" (Psalms 59:7) Don't ask me why, but any verse that lands on seven, I usually have a feeling that God is going to be brought forth completely, or that there will at least be a complete something going on; this verse sets out to prove that we sometimes really do not know what we are talking about. I know that might some funny to some, but in all seriousness, if it's not based on truth, then it is something that falls short, and should not be repeated. How do we know what is the truth, if we really don't know much at all? Let me see...I like what Jesus answered to two men, as He walked with them, and said, "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?"; and one answered, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?; to which Jesus asked, "What things?" (Luke 24:13-18). After which they proceeded to school Jesus on those things which had taken place over those last few days, and what a tragedy had befallen upon such a wonderful mighty prophet of God. The truth of the matter was not obviously apparent in their conversations, nor in their sadness, which should have been gladness, having just came from the empty tomb, where Jesus was no more! "What Things" indeed, is what we should all be asking; because if what we are accepting as the truth, is not truth, then it needs to be rejected, and should not be spread any further. So how do we know the truth? I have one Word to give you that is the answer, but you might not believe me, not unless you have God's Spirit within you. That's right! The Bible is 100% truth! For those of us that believe, it is the only truth! If it does not agree with the Bible, then it is not the truth! How many ways can I say it? If it did not come from God's Word, then it has no truth connected to it, and it should not be mixed with the truth of God! I am guilty of doing just that; which is to take something that is catchy, and somehow blend it with the truth; as much as I hate to admit it, I find some humor in it, without even thinking of the seriousness behind the truth. But our words do matter! As we are to be spokesmen for our Risen King, we should mind our words, because He is listening; more importantly, we should be listening to Him...
"Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the earth, but now He makes another promise: Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also. This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe. For God is a devouring fire." (Hebrews 12:25-29)

"Beg To Differ"

"They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and they go round about the city." (Psalms 59:6) You like that? Besides the fact that I find it rather catchy, it does provide a certain suggestive meaning towards the theme of being set apart, which is what God has called us into, whether we want to believe it or not. I don't quite know what David was thinking here, but I tend to believe he was trying to paint a picture of how "wicked transgressors", like dogs out on the town, are driven by a sense of doing all that they can while they are free to do it, because come morning, they will be restrained again. In case you need a reminder, a transgression is not just an infraction, it is intent to disobey, as in "to defraud", which requires planning. Not that dogs actually plan to get out and run the streets; then again, now that I think of it, a dog I once had always seemed to like to sleep late in the afternoon, and as soon as it looked like we were in bed, he was out of there. On the other side of this illustration, there is something of a restraining factor in all of this, one which we almost always seem to forget: God is watching you! Which brings to the fact to why transgressions are always looked upon as "wicked", because they do not take into account that God is right there, watching and observing your every plot and intention of your heart. As I was driving back from the mountains yesterday, I had the radio tuned to another station because CSN is not available in those areas, and all of the sudden, I felt the need to change it back; wouldn't you know it, there was Dr. Young talking about Joseph and Potiphar's wife, and how Joseph remained "vertical", meaning, that the relationship he had with God mattered more to him than what was going on in his life here; even the things that seemed to go against what he thought should be happening to him, based upon what he thought God had called him for, did not really matter towards the "vertical" relationship that he had with God. I think that really matters when it comes to real deliverance, because the way things might appear can tend to take our focus off of God and put the focus on our situations or circumstances; things that really do not matter in the realm of eternity and God's plan for our lives. There is another little piece to this understanding, one that "beg to differ" fits right into; and that is the fact, that just because it might be okay with others, does not mean that it is okay for you. In other words, you are directly accountable to God, and your relationship with God should demonstrate that you live your life as though you are; no matter what the rest might say, yours is a "vertical" relationship! If you don't think that it's really all that much of a big deal, then consider the prophets of old, like Isaiah or Jeremiah, and think about how their messages were received by those that were supposedly in a relationship with God...
"Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. So we can say with confidence, The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?" (Hebrews 13:1-6) NLT   

"Spot On!"

"Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah." (Psalms 59:5) Sometimes what is required for real delivery is some good old fashion intervention. Let's just cut to the chase, and admit it: we are all pretty much just one little push shy of a fall; all that it takes is the right person, in the right time, and in the right place, and we are totally going to fall right into the trap. There is really only one sure way to be ready for it, and that is to be on your guard, always! I was thinking about Joseph this morning, and how he was able to avoid the temptations of Potiphar's wife; he obviously did not totally avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he did avoid making her the right person. He was still punished for the possibility of what might have taken place; which is why it is so very important that you don't let yourself be put in that situation; but none the less, he had predetermined in his heart that she was not the right person. Now just in case you might be wondering how that connects to anything closely related to what this verse has to say, let me tell you a little seldom considered fact about God's way of dealing with sin, He will punish sin! We may not be harmed in the fire, but we will be subject to some sort of repercussion; in other words, it's going to cost us something, because it did cost Him something to set us free from our sins. What I am trying to say, in not so many words, is that we need to count the cost before we even consider partaking in satisfying our flesh; because there will be a price to pay for the sin that we commit. In other words; having your guard ready for temptations is made ready by knowing that God will punish the sin! Yes, we have been forgiven for our sins, even those sins we might commit tomorrow, but that does not give us liberty to sin; and I am sorry if I popped your bubble, but we don't get the privilege to do whatever we want. Basically, it all comes down to a certain amount of fear; not that we are afraid of God, because even my worst sin that I could commit would not cause me to fear God's retribution, His mercy is always greater than anything we could possibly do; but it's more about breaking God's heart, and the fear I have in abusing His great love for me... "Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover our sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us. For we know the One who said, I will take revenge. I will pay them back. He also said, The LORD will judge His own people." (Hebrews 10:26-30) 

"Not So Far Off"

"They run and prepare themselves without my fault. Awake to help me, and behold." (Psalms 59:4) Let me start by saying that God is not trying to force you into something that you do not want to do; although we might assume that He is, His intentions for us are always good and based upon the perfect plan for our lives. Just in case you wondered what a perfect plan might look like, don't except me to show you one, or anyone else for that matter; God's perfect plan comes with abundant peace and joy, and it takes on a life of it's own, because it is yielded to and guided by the Holy Spirit. You know already how I feel about the book of Hebrews; at least you should know if you have been following my blog at all. I believe that Hebrews was the work of several authors, Paul and Luke for sure, but I am not counting out Mark also. I just envision them all together, making sense of everything that they know and have experienced from their journey in Christ, and then putting it down on paper, as the Holy Spirit directed them to do. But that's just my opinion, and I might ought to keep it to myself! I really think that we need to come to some solid understanding about God's love for us, because based upon our own understanding of what we see happening in our own lives, we might not understand God's point of view on our lives. I know, that seemed rather awkward to read, but it does make sense; it makes sense because we have this stupid tendency to look for power within ourselves, as if by the life that we have been given, now we have the strength to accomplish everything; and because we really can't, we somehow think that we really have not been given the life we have been promised. Pure nonsense does not even come close; more like, the deceitful lie of the devil, is more like it! And then we add to that some weird notion that God is angry at us for failing; when all He really wants us to do is to cry out for help! I could not help but think of that guy hanging off the cliff, holding onto a root which looks like it's about to break, and God says, You want my help? then let go of the root! Because He can help us, and He will help us; but first, we need to let go of that root...
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near." (Hebrews 10:19-25) NLT

"Disinclination" -2

"For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD." (Psalms 59:3) The last part of this verse is rather interesting, because it constitutes a reason for the need to be delivered is not based upon a fault, but that it is based upon association with God, or that of being chosen by God. Oddly enough, I can see this happening more and more, especially in those that have security in this life. Let's just say, if you are God's then you really do not own anything here, and nothing here owns you; therefore, there is nothing to loose or gain here, because anything that you have is only borrowed to begin with, so why try to gain or hold onto something that is not yours? Another way we can look at this, is that of persecution that comes from being God's chosen, and being delivered; something that should give us a sense of honor or at least thankfulness, yet reading the account of Israel's wilderness journey, you can see how far we can get off from feeling honor and thankfulness towards God's deliverance. But there is something about being delivered that we seem to always overlook, in that deliverance requires us to let go of those things that had us bound! Obviously we cannot be delivered unless there is a voluntary move on our part to surrender to God's will for our life. We may not be able to see how God is going to do something, but we can sure trust that He can make something happen, if it is His will; and if it is not His will to make something happen, then what He has prepared for us will be better than what we think that we need; on that we can be assured, because He has told us so in His Word. Then there are those that may have followed Jesus for the wrong reasons, thinking that it was all about having peace, joy and happiness; till they get in a trial, or suffer some persecution, then they say, I did not agree to this! But God does not lie, nor does He not warn us ahead of time what is going to happen; that is the beauty of His Word; He tells us everything that we need to know in order to move forward, and all that we need to do is to trust Him at His Word. So which is it? Do you not trust Him? or, Do you have hold of those things you have been delivered from? What is holding you back from the experience of being delivered? Basically, that is what the writer of Hebrews was asking, more like stating: You have been given something, now use it or lose it...
 "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And My righteous ones will live by faith. But I take no pleasure in anyone who turns away. But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we see did not come from anything that can be seen." (Hebrews 10:37-11:3) NLT

"Disinclination"

"For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD." (Psalms 59:3) Obviously the whole camouflaged thing did not get thoroughly picked apart; but we must come to realize that we are set apart, and the only thing that really matters in the whole complex world of us verses them, or even life and death, is that we are covered by the blood of Jesus, and that is all that we need for a right standing with God!!! Now what the heck is this all about? The word God had originally gave me this morning was about being reluctant to move; a word that I received yesterday in church may have planted it there, but God reminded me of it this morning. The portion of Scripture being taught yesterday was on Numbers 32, and how that there were some tribes of Israel that settled to settle on the east side of the Jordan; in other words, they choose not to experience all that God had to offer them; they saw that the land on that side of the river was good for their livestock, and they settled for what they saw available to them now, instead of taking a chance in God providing something better. Is anybody out there? Anywho; what sparked this line of thinking, besides the message at church, was the words "the mighty", as in "the mighty are gathered against me"; which is lacking the certain acknowledgment of something that we tend to forget: that no matter how mighty our enemies might appear, God is Mightier than they are! I watched a movie last night, for about the fourth time; the movie is called 'Miss Meadows'; and there is one particular point in the beginning of the movie, where she is reading a book to her classroom, and says, "What the author of this book is getting across, is that the two most important things that matter are kindness and courage." We might not get it right away, but I believe those were the two most important things that Jesus displayed in His ministry while here on earth; something that He desired for His followers to display, and something that is required of each and every one of us today. Looking at the first part of this verse, I really don't quite know how to put my finger on it, but it just seems to lack the certain reality in comparison to David facing off with Goliath; I mean really, what we have that cannot be taken from us is our soul, so what gives? On the other hand, one of the most prevalent things that cause us to be reluctant to move is the fear of what might happen; even though we know and have seen the mighty hand of God, we are still reluctant to move forward, and to experience all that God has to offer. Therefore, it is my opinion that the "soul" that David is referring to has more to do with passion and desire, than it does for eternal existence...
"It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all that you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that He has promised." (Hebrews 10:31-36)      

"Camouflaged" -2

Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men." (Psalms 59:2) I get that this is about David's despair over his being hunted down by Saul, but today, and for the sake of needing to be delivered, this is about Jesus Christ and the blood that He shed for our sins! Can we step out from under God's grace? I have heard it said, and I might have even said it myself, that God's grace is like an umbrella, it keeps you dry when you are under it, but step out from it's protection, and you are going to get wet. Obviously, such a condition makes God's grace dependent upon our position, whether or not we are seated in Christ or not; but now that I think of it, can we voluntarily unseat ourselves from being seated in Christ? I am not sure that is possible, that is, if you are truly His to begin with! Judas Iscariot was really never one of Jesus', even though Jesus choose Him to be one of His disciples, his heart was never won to Christ, because he was still considered to be the property of the devil (John 17:12), and he was never one that belonged to Christ. As I was praying about what God is showing me here, I had to think about something that Paul said in regards to the "justification of life" in the King James version of Romans 5:18, yet the NLT says, "a right relationship with God and new life for everyone". Just a little point about "a right relationship", in that relationship actually requires that two parties have fellowship with one another, and that they share something in common. If we could remove ourselves from under the protection of God's grace, then how is it that we cannot work our way into His grace? It seems to me, that we cannot have one without the other; wouldn't you agree? Looking at Hebrews 6:6, which is always used in such matters, we see something of a paradox when it comes to the security of our salvation, since there is the word "impossible" used in verse 4, a word that pretty much makes things certain, or certainly not possible. In the sake of time, let's just get to the point, and say, we should not be wasting our time worrying about whether or not we can lose our salvation; our salvation is a gift from heaven, and you cannot return it, even if you tried; and you surely cannot have Jesus come back and die again for your sins; so the point is not about the salvation being real or not, it's about moving on from the basics and getting into the new life that you have been given in Christ. I don't think that we can step outside of God's grace, not if we have been covered by the blood of Christ; but what we can do, is to shame the work that He did, by not walking in the complete security of the price that He paid. Moving on, if you can accept that phrase, actually means that you have settled the whole salvation thing, "It's won and done!"; if you have received it, it cannot be given back... "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sue that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be no benefit to you. I'll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace. But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love." (Galatians 5:1-6) NLT    

"Camouflaged"

"Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men." (Psalms 59:2) It's not what you think it is; although, it could be disguised by that word "bloody", as in bloody men who enjoy the taking of innocent life. Actually, it is rather hard to imagine myself as I was living in Texas in my teens, because I had done some things that I can't believe I could do, and feel good doing them; things like hunting innocent little animals for fun; like it was just some kind of a sport, like catch and release fishing, except those poor little creatures were not shown any mercy. Today I will go out of my way to avoid hitting a little chipmunk that is running across the road, even though it does not appear to know which way it is going; I literally will stop sometimes just so I can give it a chance to think about what it wants to do; which must really confuse them, because they will sometimes stop, stand up on their back legs, and look at me like I am weird or something. Towards the end of Leviticus, God gives warnings to His look on life and about how serious His is, and there just so happens to be an example presented in the form of a person that blasphemed the Name of the LORD (Lev. 24:10-23). The Lord uses this example to express how life is important, yet in the process, He has the children of Israel take this man's life by stoning him to death. How iteresting that God would use the taking of a life to show how much we need to respect life. Then again, all throughout the Bible it is the shedding of inocent blood that covers sin; from the very first sin, God made new clothes for Adam and Eve, as He replaced their fig leaves with animal skins. Don't you think that it is interesting how life is the blood, and yet the blood of Jesus Christ gave us life? I mean, not that it is a secret or anything, but it does make you kind of wonder how important our blood is to God; even the account of Abel's blood is enough to make you wonder... "And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground." (Genesis 4:9-10)

"Servitude" -2

"Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from then that rise up against me." (Psalms 59:1) If you really stop and think about it, God serves us more than we could ever serve Him. Take all of this that we take for granted; life itself, the sun, the stars, the very air that we breath; all of it God has made for us to enjoy and to thrive in; and He continues to hold everything in it's proper place. We really do take a lot for granted; just the thought of what would happen if God stepped away, that should be enough for us to pay attention to all that He has done and is doing for us; most of which we can't even see. I was thinking this morning about the title over this Psalm in my Bible, "A Prayer for Deliverance", and how this 'prayer', although it is not much different from many of the others that ask for protection, or for relief, or for help, it does add a little different angle to the perspective of accountability; that is if you consider that this Psalm is a continuation of the last. I do not believe that there is anything random within God's Holy Word; we might randomly select from His Word what we want when we need it, but His Word is definitely not random. Which leads me to another point about God's servant nature, in that He would go through so much effort to give us His Word to study; not for us to just read it, as if it were one big story; but that we could study it, never being satisfied by what we know, but always diving deeper and deeper into the heart of our God; the God that loves us, and came down here, and died upon that cross for us. As I finished the book of Leviticus yesterday, I had to ask myself why it was not one of my favorite Books to read; actually, before this last week, it was my least favorite Book in the Bible; but it shows us the seriousness of sin, and how God deals with the sin in the lives of His people; His people includes all those that believe upon His Name, which includes me. It all pretty much goes back to the simple question that God asked Cain, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." (Genesis 4:7) Or, if you will, the NLT puts it like this: "You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." Pretty interesting, don't you think... "Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:18-21) NLT    

"Servitude"

"Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me." (Psalms 59:1) As I was listening to a message yesterday, there was mention of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, and the main point I heard from what little I caught, was that none on the disciples offered to wash His feet; Peter objected to Him washing his feet, but did not offer to wash his Master's feet. I thought that was a pretty interesting observation; and I wondered this morning how that applies to this verse, seeing that it came to my mind as I was praying over this post and what God would speak to me about. And then this happens! Four or five titles twirling around in my head, and out from behind all the them, this just comes out of nowhere: Servitude, the state of a person who is subjected, voluntarily or involuntarily, to another person as a servant. As we look to God for deliverance, it might be wise to consider on what grounds we are awarded such a request to begin with; I mean, I know that He is God, so that takes care of the need part; but what about the part that makes it His obligation to answer? Oh, yea, I forgot, because He is our Father that loves us, and will do everything that we ask, right? As I was thinking about the Prodigal Son, there was something that came to mind about a little thing that happened in his heart, in that he changed from the spoiled son into a willing servant (Luke 15:19). Am I God's servant? or am I like His hired worker? In other words, do I clock in and clock out whenever I want to, or whenever I have completed a particular task? That might work for an earthly employer, but I am not quite sure that it meets the qualifications of a servant of God! If God is my Master, and I His faithful servant, then yes, He will be obligated to deliver and defend me from anything that might come against me, because that is what a good master does for his servant; and our God is not just any good master, He is Thee Good Master! The other thing that I noticed about the Prodigal Son, is that he did not get the chance to say, Let me be as one of your servants, because his father stopped him right after he said, "I am no more worthy to be called thy son"; because the Father never loses the right of ownership. When the son or servant is reclaimed, it is not God that becomes the Father or their rightful owner, it is they that become His again... "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:10-13)

"A Prayer for Deliverance"

Psalm 59: [To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David: when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.] Thirty three and one half years ago God saved me; today, He is still saving me! No, He is not causing me to be born again, that was a one time thing; but He is purifying me, and bringing me into a closer relationship, day by day. I think the thing I got out of that last Psalm, more than anything else, is that fact that we are all inherently wicked, and we need to see our need, personally and sincerely, to be punished for our wickedness; and then, we need to completely understand how that Jesus took that punishment for us, and how much we are indebted to Him for what He has done; although we can never repay Him, we are forever grateful and faithful to listen and obey whatever He tells us to do. What that requires is brokenness and humility on our part, which is something we don't naturally do, so He helps us to accomplish it. This is the third "Destroy Not" Psalm, and it completes a small cycle of what I believe is part and parcel of how we must surrender everything to God. It starts with a plea, "Pleading for God's Help"; then it moves into the act of surrender by the request, "Punish the Wicked!"; and is followed by His saving grace, "A Prayer for Deliverance". If you have any idea what I am talking about, then you should know, the second part is the deepest and most profound, because that's the part where we say, "Whatever you need to do, do it!" After that, everything is summed up in the title of yesterday's post: "If You Say So!" Or if you wish, as in the movie The Princess Bride, as Wesley would say, "As You Wish!" I know that some days are dark and dreary, and I might not make much sense; but this is a journey, and as with any journey, there are bound to be things that are encountered that just don't make sense; at least not to someone outside of the journey! One thing I know for sure, I have seen and heard so much along the way, it's hard to keep up; it's almost as though I need a journal to keep up with my living journal. The introduction for this Psalm is based upon the portion of Scripture from 1 Samuel 19:11; it was a very brief moment, but it was the beginning of David's awareness that Saul wanted to kill him. Which brings me to another point, that is, when we do begin to surrender more of our lives over to God, the enemy becomes upset; as long as you are living a life of compromise, he will leave you alone, but as soon as you become a threat, you had better start watching your back... "And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slain." (1 Samuel 19:8-11)  

"If You Say So!"

"So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth." (Psalms 58:11) I am bothered by that statement, We don't owe God anything; I mean, I totally get how it's a free gift and all, and how we could never ever repay Him for what He has done, but I owe Him my life! Every single one of us owe Him our lives, for He has bought us and paid for us with a heavy cost. Besides all that, any rewards that we receive, we will gladly surrender once we see the complete picture; because, truth be told, there really is no difference between the us and them, only that we have been washed and they have not; we have accepted the free gift of salvation, and they have rejected and declined the offer. I can remember myself rejecting His offer, and I really thought I was better than all those that approached me with the gospel message; as if what I had was good enough, and yet I had nothing. I am so glad God did not give up on me! As I was thinking about how it happened, I realized something very important that preceded my surrender to God, I was searching for Him; I may not have realized it at the time, but I realized this morning. For three months I constantly was reading that little Gideons Bible, and all the while my heart was longing to be with my God; the more I read it, the more I was being drawn towards that day, and the more I was being prepared to receive that special message of deliverance. And, I was also reminded of something else this morning, God already knew me! He already knows who you are, even if you don't know Him yet, He knows you, and He's calling you to come home! I don't care what you might think about Calvinism and that whole predestination thing, but when you are one of God's children, you have always been God's child; so yes, I owe Him dearly, because He is my Father and He loves me; He always has and always will. I may not always know what I need, but He does; and I may not even know what to ask for, but He knows, and He knew then; He knew that I needed His Spirit to call me home, and His Spirit tugged upon my heart to go down to that church service, and His Spirit softened my heart, preparing me to receive that message with gladness and thankfulness. I realize now how vital His Word was in that whole encounter, because His Word is alive; His Word breathes life into this weary body. Please don't stop reading His Word; He wrote it to you! There is another difference between us and them: We hear His voice, and we know He hears us, and He's the best Dad ever...
 "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" (Luke 11:11-13)

"There Will Be Glory" -2

"The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked." (Psalms 58:10) It just so happens that there are two very contrasting worlds; and I know that this is going to sound a little odd, but please excuse my state of mind for a moment; but just imagine what it was like to be the High Priest in Israel in the time of offering and giving of sacrifices; I mean, that must have been one bloody mess of a job! There was a reason that the fire of the alter never went out, because there was always the need for a sacrifice to be offered, always! And as I was praying for God to speak to my heart, I saw a very vivid picture of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples; a very contrasting view of what is being said in this verse, but does it have any significant meaning? And then I thought of a word, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). Besides the fact that Jesus humbled Himself when He came to die for us, and when He returns He will be a Conquering King;  His vengeance will be sweet, but it will be His vengeance, not ours; what we receive is all about reward! I heard a message the other day, it is one that I never really thought of before, but it involved the return of Jesus as described in Revelation 19; the main point I took away, was that none of His army that came with Him had swords, only He had a sword, and it was His word (v.21). Now that I think of it, I have seen pictures that show it either way; but according to the Bible's description, we that are riding with Him do not fight, nor do we need to; His word that proceeds out of His mouth will slay the remnant that oppose Him. Just a thought, but do you think Jesus might have had this thought in His mind as He washed His disciples feet? I mean, do you really think that Jesus was looking forward to the cross? or was it that He was looking beyond the cross, to what He would accomplish? Of Course He was not looking forward to being torn apart, or nailed to a cross, or looked upon and despised by those that were His own. Who in their right mind would look forward to that? I heard another message, and I am not sure how I can explain it without getting into a really long discussion on what it means that our debt has been paid; but the message was about the fact that we do not owe God anything, but who we do owe, are those that we can reach with the gospel message. When you think about the parable of the unfaithful servant that was forgiven, he owed the king nothing when he departed out of his presence, because the king had forgiven his entire dealt; but what he did owe, he owed to those to whom he could show forth the same compassion that was shown to him (Matthew 18:21-35). It is really not about me owing God anything, except that I might be His faithful servant; because the king's servant in the parable, although his debt was paid in full, he still remained under the lordship of the king, but under a new standard of living; a standard that represented the forgiveness that he had been forgiven... "Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help understand all of this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:19-23)    

"There Will Be Glory"

"The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked." (Psalms 58:10) Yes, God's wrath will be served; you can't even imagine the heat of anger that will be as an everlasting fire, burning forever. I know that might seem to have less than an awesome love ring to it, but it's not God's choice for anyone, it is our choice; we get to choose where we will be, just as we get to choose who we will serve. Looking back to that verse from yesterday, the word "pots" kind of throws you off a little, because in the definition of its meaning, it has the idea of boiling, or bubbling up, like a boiling pot, or even the redundant and luxuriant growth of plants; while the word "thorns" actually speaks more about roots, roots that are firm, such as buckthorn or bramble. Basically, there is a point that compares glory to glory, as in, we can glory in the flesh, which is pointless because this flesh is so temporary, or we can glory in God, which is unending and eternal; and besides that, He will be glorified anyways, so we might as well take part in it now while we can, and while we have a choice; you really don't want to end up on the wrong side of God's glory, if you get the point. Besides that, if you take anything away from what Paul was speaking about in Romans 6:1-11, is should be the fact that our old nature was crucified with Christ on that cross; which actually means, in case you have not figured it out, that it is done; I mean, like Jesus was crucified on that cross two thousand years ago, so it is pointless to try and crucify your old sin nature now, because it was done long before you were even born; therefore, we must 'reckon' it is done, as the King James puts it, or we 'should consider' it is done, as to the New Living Translation. Either way you might want to look at it, we are blessed beyond compare by what Christ has done for us; for He has not only died for our sins, but He has given us new life in Himself; a glorious new life, that will last forever and ever... "Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace. Well then, since God's grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living." (Romans 6:12-18) NLT

"A Time To Die"

"Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath." (Psalms 58:9) Just so you know, I saw that there were two types of people being described in that last verse: those that do not see that their life has been changed, and those that don't think that they need to change any more; both of which refuse to come to the understanding that God is Love. We have got to see our need for God, if we are ever going to really hunger and thirst for righteousness, then we have got to see our need for God's love. Psalms 73 begins Book 3 of the Psalms, and I look forward to getting there one day, Lord willing; but it has the title above it in my Bible, "The Fate of the Wicked"; something I find rather interesting, seeing that the title above this Psalm is, "Punish the Wicked!" No matter what you might think, God is in control, and He does not change; and just in case you do not know what that might imply, it takes all of our excuses for not seeing our need for Him, and it crushes them to powder, and they are blown away; just like that, they are nothing, no how! The old Hammer tune just popped into my head, "Can't touch this!", because we can't even begin to imagine being close to where God is in loving us, because His love is that amazing! Would you die for someone that you love? How about for a friend? Maybe? But would you be willing to die for someone that hates you? Not only just die, but be brutally beaten and tormented to death, for those that despise and spit upon you? And somehow we don't think that we need to be changed? Jesus did not just die for our sins, He was punished for our sins; He was punished for the wicked! Wow, do you see how powerful that is? and do you understand why any excuse that you have does not stand a chance? If you have not already done so, you need to die right away! Paul puts it as this: "Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with Him in His death, we will also be raised to life as He was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and He will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. When He died, He died once to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ." (Romans 6:1-11) NLT 

"Direct Responsibility" -2

"As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun." (Psalms 58:8) If you have seen "Ragamuffin", then you might have heard the pastor in the movie say, "I think the only thing that the Lord is going to ask us when we see Him in heaven, is, Did you believe that I loved you?" Which, when you really think about it, it is the one question He should not have to ask us; that is, if we have actually realized and come to know all that He has done for us. Yesterday was a pretty powerful day in the radio listening world of mine; it seemed as if almost every message that I listened to was speaking directly into my heart; and as busy as my thoughts were yesterday morning, God was answering each and every one of them throughout my busy day. One that comes to mind was about communion, and how Jesus said, "This do in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19), and how we must remember what He did for us, and how He gave His body to be broken so that we might have life; what more proof do you need that Jesus loved you? Now look at it personally, and then try and tell me you are not broken! This is a personal thing between me and my God; that is what this verse is putting forth, and the message that is being delivered; in a very discrete way, and without outright condemnation, David is calling out those that pretend that they know God, but they do not know just how much He loves them. Talk about direct responsibility, we have got to believe that He loves us, and it must be personal!!! Forget about everything else that you think that you know, this is the point of God's Word, this Book that was written, and that we hold in our hands; if this Book is not meant for you, then let it be so; no pun intended, again...
"Yet I still belong to You, You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever. Those who desert Him will perish, for You destroy those who abandon You. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do." (Psalms 73:23-28) NLT

"Direct Responsibility"

"As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun." (Psalms 58:8) When is comes to God's punishment, although we have limited liability for our sins because of what Christ has done, we are still very much responsible to ask for His forgiveness; so much so, that the final judgment is not based upon what we did or did not do, but it is based upon whether or not we have accepted His free gift of salvation and we are seated in Christ. Oh, I know, something tells me that we are getting ready for something very big to happen, so we had better fasten our seat belts, and we had better stay in our Seat! I just can't put my finger on it, but there is more to this verse than meets the eye; no pun intended. The biggest part of trusting God is holding on; and when I say, holding on, I mean that we hold on tighter the more bumpy the ride gets. There was something I heard at church last night, and I had to write it down, which was, "We cannot have any victory without the battle"; as simple as that might sound, it also goes for the stretching of our faith; we really cannot experience the strength of what we believe without our faith being stretched; sometimes, even to the point of breaking. Do you think you know how strong you faith really is? I don't know if I actually do, because I have not yet experienced what it is like to be stretched to the point where my faith has been broken; and maybe I need to explain what I think it means to have our faith broken, because it might not seem clear enough just to say 'broken', without the definition of what that actually means. The way I see it, our relationship with God is meant to be personal; and because it is meant to be personal, we need to go through something that might cause us to give up everything else, just so that we can hold more tightly to our personal God. It's like your faith is stretched beyond the capacity of what you are capable of on your own, and so your faith is broken; which is not a bad thing, because once your faith is broken, you are holding directly unto God; there is no more doubt in what you think that you know, because now you are securely fastened to the One you know. It really comes down to knowing that the One you are holding onto is really holding you... "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:35)

"Limited Liability"

"Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces." (Psalms 58:7) As I was praying about this verse, and asking God what it was He wanted to say to me this morning, I could not get the thought of running waters out of my mind; just sitting here I got the sense of being like a stone in the bottom of a creek, as odd as that might sound; and then this title pops into my mind, and I wonder, Where are we going today Lord? Then I began to get the sense that God wanted me to understand how much He cares, not just about my struggles with sin, but about my struggles with the guilt associated with my sin. I know that I am a sinner, no one needs to keep reminding me of that fact, because I am well aware of my weaknesses and my struggles to be holy as God is holy; something that I find the more I try, the harder it is to accomplish; but the one thing that I do not need is to have the enemy of my soul trying to convince me that I am not God's child because of my struggle with sin. We truly need to understand that God cares about these struggles; He does not just throw His hands up, as if to say, I am done dealing with you; He would not do that, especially after all that He has done to make us right with Him. This cleansing is not finished with our first confession, as some might try and tell you; it's true that Jesus paid the price for every sin we will ever commit, but that does not mean we are done with our confessing; as long as we keep sinning, we need to keep confessing, because it is not for God's benefit that we confess our sins, it is for our own freedom from the guilt and the shame. If the enemy tries to shut that condemnation arrow at me, I have something that cuts those arrows to pieces, and it's called the Word of God! God's word is sure; and when I confess my sins, then I am assured by His word that my sins have been forgiven; and if my sins have been forgiven, then there is no condemnation, because there is no longer any sin that is attributed towards me. Do you see how that works? God wants us to continue with our confessing because we need to continually be washed; not that the blood that Jesus shed on the cross did not wash away all of my sins, because He accomplished the washing of all of our sins on the cross; He even forgave us for every sin on the cross also, but that does not mean we do not need to ask Him for His forgiveness, because we do! We are still the guilty ones, and we need to confess that we are, and we need to be continually washed, each and every one of us; just like those stones in that creek, we need His water washing over us, because He cares about our guilt and our shame as much as He cares about our struggles... "And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full....If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 1:4; 1:8-2:2)

"Removing The Big Bite" -2

"Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD." (Psalms 58:6) I think that before we can totally understand and even begin to consider how important that our words are, is that we need God's Spirit to show us what it means to be a peace maker. Obviously we are not the ones to administer peace; we are not even capable of holding our peace when it comes relationships and being the perfect example of God's redeemed; but God is more than willing and able to work in us to make the changes needed, if we would just submit to allow Him to change us. It's going to hurt a little, sorry to say, but He never said that we would not feel any pain, only that it would be easy; easy meaning that we are not the ones that do the work, He is; but change is always painful in some degree, and for some, the pain is like getting your teeth pulled from the dentist; it might hurt a ton while it's being done, but man, is your mouth going to feel better later on, like about a month or so later! It is only by God's Spirit that we are going to be able to represent Him; I truly hope that you understand that; and if you do, then you need to know that it is a continual filling that must take place in us, not a one time event. That is the whole point of being meek, in that we are well aware of our condition, and that we need God's Spirit to even begin to be a peace maker; and after we begin, then we need His Spirit to continue working in us, continually, each and every day. As I was praying about this, I realized how much I mess up this process by attempting to take over, instead of letting God work through me; as if God has given me the ability to do things on my own, and now I can pretend that I got this; when in fact, I have nothing at all, but maybe a big head. We cannot do anything without Him working through us; and as soon as we try, we are misrepresenting Him and what His love really looks like. When you look up the definition of the "peace" that James is speaking of, it's the Messiah's peace, it's not our own peace that we are representing; we get to share in that peace, and we get to experience that peace, but it's not our own, and it is only available through Jesus Christ; and yet, somehow we think that we are the middleman in this process of making peace, when we are to be the representative not the broker... "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)

"Removing The Big Bite"

"Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD." (Psalms 58: 6) This might not make any sense whatsoever, but there are certain things that require taming, and the mouth is one of them. As with other functions of the body, such as going to the restroom, we do not just release whenever and where ever we might feel like, we need to hold it until we are actually in a place that it is allowable to release; so too is the controlling of our mouth, because it makes a bigger mess, and it causes much more embarrassment than voiding where ever you feel like. Surprisingly enough, most of our stupid things that we say, although we might not think much about them, they are carried way beyond the bounds of where we expected them to be carried; you really have no idea how far a simple word of gossip or speaking bad about others can be taken; or how exaggerated the story can become. As I was praying about this post last night, I was reminded of my own stupidity of speaking bad of others, when it usually turns out to be something that I wish I had just kept to myself, or better yet, I should have destroyed it from my thinking! That is more about what this verse speaks into my heart, not so much that we speak what we should not speak, but that we even consider forming the words within our minds; just the mere thought of making the sentence is enough to take us to the place of saying it; if not then, then somewhere else, just as soon as we are reminded of the sentence that we formed. To be perfectly honest, it becomes something of a secret in our minds; at least it does in my mind; if I have something I want to say, it is hard to contain it, and I will look for someone, somewhere, that I might say it to. Paul gives us some pretty good advice about this in Philippians 4:8, how that "if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things", otherwise, do not even think about them! The point being, that we should not even entertain the thoughts within our minds, because once you have entertained the thought, you have created an action or a response to that thought; you may or may not act upon it, but it has already been established and filed away within your mind. The whole thought about "the young lions" is what did it for me, as I thought about how they sometimes kill, just for the shear enjoyment of the kill; not that they need to do it, but that they are learning what it feels like to dig there "great teeth" into the side of an animal. It becomes something of a release; kind of a gnawing to do something that has some kind of power, even if that power is being used for the wrong purpose...
"Who is a wise man endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." (James 3:13-18)

"Bent On Destruction" -2

"Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." (Psalms 58:4-5) As you might have noticed, Paul used a little of these illustrations in his description of how everyone has sinned; and we are included in those, whether we care to except it or not; if it had not been for God's intervention into our lives, we would still be going down that highway to hell. There is something else to this portion of Scripture; which by the way, I reference to as Scripture, because this is the very word of God; God is speaking through one of His prophets; just so happens it is David that He is speaking through, but nonetheless, it is God speaking; but have you noticed the "charmers", those little voices that whisper into our ears. I need to stop and listen! Talk about being bent on destruction, not listening to God is the surest way to destroy our lives and to find ourselves outside of His will for our lives. So how do I know when it is God speaking to me, and not the devil, or even myself? I know when He speaks, because my heart melts every time that I hear His voice! But do I always listen? no, unfortunately I do not; as a matter of fact, if I don't want to listen, I will drown out His voice with something else, something more like a hiss inside of my mind, if that makes any sense to anyone that might be listening. I know when God is speaking, because He always uses the same soft and tender voice; a voice that cuts right into my heart, especially when I am doing something that I should not be doing. He never yells, or speaks in a way that is judgmental; although I know when He is speaking, my heart is being judged; His voice is always kind and compassionate, even when I am totally unruly and will not listen to what He is speaking into my heart. Here is a simple test, if you are into things like that: when you hear that still small voice speaking to you, stop what you are doing, and listen; and then speak back, and see where the conversation takes you. If it is God, He will not judge you, but your heart will; if it is not God, you will know by the lack of love, especially the love for His Word...
"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by the grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26) Old School...  

"Bent on Destruction"

"Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." (Psalms 58:4-5) You know what my take is on "The Rich Young Ruler", so he does pretty good in the end; but had he believed at the time of his asking, he would not have had to ask "How do I inherit eternal life?" It is one thing to believe in Jesus as a Good Master, or even as the Lord, but do you believe in all that He has done for you? More than that, can you accept it and make it your own? When I think about this first part of the verse, I can not help but think of the curse that was given to the devil in the garden, because the word "poison" speaks more about anger than it does of actual poison; and you know the devil was angry with the curse that he received; so much so, he spent the next four thousand years trying to reverse the curse; and he still works on doing so, even until today. If only he would learn that he cannot win against God, but isn't that something that we need to take into consideration for our own lives also? I mean, what do we think when we discard the word of God? as if His word is not meant for me, or as if it is intended for someone else? The wicked can be listed in many different categories, from the simple liar, to the most ruthless killer, with one very important thing that they have in common, they are ungodly and unrighteous. The whole point of this portion of Scripture has to do with not listening to instruction; not because you will not listen, but because you cannot listen; you cannot listen because you are deaf and angry; angry because you cannot have it your way, and deaf because you do not like instruction. God is not trying to ruin your life with rules and restrictions, He is trying to protect you and guide your life in the way that is best for you; but like an unruly child, we want to have it our way, and we test the hand of God upon our lives. I am beginning to wonder if this Psalm has some sort of self-inflecting twist, as if, David is asking to be punished himself; after all, how do we know whether or not God actually cares what we do? How does our child know when we are watching out for their well being? Is it not by the way that we discipline them when they do wrong? If we do not discipline our children, then it shows we really do not care how they grow up, and that instruction can be taken or left as just someone's opinion, but not as something that must be listened to...
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are inder the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:10-20)  

"Right From the Start"

"The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." (Psalms 58:3) Obviously, these few verses have some powerful statements about the wickedness within our hearts, but these are not things that any of us needed to learn; no one needed to teach me how to lie, it was pretty much natural to my common instinct of survival. This word "estranged" has some pretty interesting points of view to consider; one that jumps out at me, is the one that speaks of being "an alien by birth"; which is the whole point of why Jesus had to take our place upon that cross, because we could never ever be sinless enough to stand the test, having been born in sin and separated from God at birth; only He who came from God and knew no sin could have the power to break the curse, that curse of being separated from God, our Creator and our Father. As I was thinking about something this morning, it just so happens that "The Young Rich Ruler" still needed to believe in Jesus in inherit eternal life; even if he had sold all that he had and had given it to the poor, he still would have needed to believe in, and follow Jesus. As a matter of fact, had he just believed that Jesus was his Lord and Saviour, just that in and of itself would have been enough on it's own to get into heaven. We do not get cleaned up in order to come to God, we come to God and then He cleans us up! It requires a new birth; one that restores a right standing with God, but is not based upon any thing that we do for Him, but what He has done for us! Okay, so you need proof, then stop believing the lie, and start believing in Christ alone; start believing that He has done it all, and that there is nothing left that you can do; talk about being set free, there is nothing better than knowing your debt is totally paid; yet how often do you hear someone say, I hope I will make it into heaven? You either are sure of it, or you are not; that's the whole point of belief! Do you know Jesus? Does Jesus know you? Then it's settled; your born again and a child of God; and because you are a child of God, guess what you inherit "Right From the Start", eternal life with Christ in heaven; which is not based upon what you do or don't do, but is based upon what Jesus has done for you; not based upon anything but a new position: I was once of the world, but now I am in Christ, and no one or anything can take me out of His hand, that He has assured me, right from the start...
"In that day you will sing: "I will praise you, O LORD! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now You comfort me. See, God has come to save me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; He has given me victory." With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: "Thank you LORD! Praise His name! Tell the nations what He has done. Let them know how mighty He is! Sing to the LORD, for He has done wonderful things. Make known His praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem (Zion) shout His praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you." (Isaiah 12) NLT

"Man is Not!"

"Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth." (Psalms 58:2) Talk about cutting to the chase, I think David had a really special relationship with God, one that allowed him the opportunity to not only see God's grace, but to live it out. I could not help but think of David's wrath for the man the took his neighbor's little lamb and fed it to his house guest, not knowing that the illustration Nathan had given him, was none other than himself (2 Samuel 12:1-14). It's not just the act of the sin committed, it's the plotting and the planning; the way the heart can resort to total wickedness without even giving it a second thought; and before you know it, the sin is covered up by our own intuition and creativity; so much so, that we forget how bad the plan was, because it seemed so good. Whether or not you can receive it for what it is, the bad that we do does not just end at the finish of the action or at the time the sin is completed; it is always carried over to other parts of our lives and into the lives of others around us. After David's confession, Nathan told David what his sin would result in, saying, "The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die" (v.13-14). It's almost as if there was some sort of a trade-off, or a comparison of off-springs; the child verses the enemies of the LORD given occasion to blaspheme, both of which were the result of the sin. But typically, don't we always try and weigh out these things in our hearts? Looking at just the sin, and then comparing the little sin against the other wickedness of the world, we really don't come out looking so bad; but it does not take into consideration all the destruction left behind, or the lack of glory given to God. If you really want to look at a plot and a plan, then we should focus in on the plan and the plot of God to redeem man from his sin; talk about something spectacular and complex... "And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look therein. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirit's of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:4-10)  

"God is The Judge!"

"Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?" (Psalms 58:1) I thought of using the NLT version for that closing Scripture yesterday, but the King James was really better; some old habits are just hard to break; speaking of which, do you realize how many times a day that you judge people? I mean really, I tried to count the number of times that I judged people yesterday, and I lost count! How do we even think that we are capable of judging others, when we can't even rightly judge ourselves? It's like Rocket in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy; when he first appears in the movie, he is judging everyone he looks at, as if he knows everything about them; even the small child, he judges as if it were a grown man. We look at the exterior of the person, but God judges the heart (1 Samuel 16:7); which is something that only He can do, because we can't even fully understand our own hearts, let alone try and see the heart of another (Jeremiah 17:9). Obviously this verse is speaking to believers, which we can see by the address to the "congregation"; which should cause us to pay particular attention, based upon the fact that the definition of this word is "silent", as odd as that might come across. But if you get right down to it, when it comes to judging others, that is what you should hear coming from the congregation of believers; don't you think? Like, what ever happen to, "Judge not, that ye be not judged"? (Matthew 7:1) The word is simply asking a question, one that is based upon those who should otherwise understand their own need for God's grace and mercy, saying, "Do ye indeed speak out the silence of justice?" or "Do ye indeed use justice which seems to be silent and mute in your decrees?" You can get the sense of a big setup coming to remind us of who we really are, because without Jesus Christ, each and every one of us are nothing more that just plain wicked. Now that I think of it, we are still all pretty wicked, or can be, at least towards one another; but isn't that why we should not judge? I mean, if you have something that you can be judged for, then you should remain silent when it comes to judging others; and if you think that you can judge because you have nothing to be judged for, then your judgment is silent and meaningless. Only God can judge rightly, because only God is perfect...  "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." (Isaiah 11:1-5)

"Punish the Wicked!"

Psalms 58: [To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David.] Yes, that's the title above this Psalm in my Bible; it's a little scary, but I think I might have heard something yesterday that helped me to get over some of the worry I had in getting started; because believe you me, I thought about it quite a lot as I was driving around between appointments. As with the previous Psalm, and the next, David has these same two words, Altaschith and Michtam, which if you remember, Altaschith possibly means "destroy not", as I have it written in my Bible, or "do not destroy", as it is shown in the Lexicon. Michtam is commonly considered to simply mean "something written, specially a poem"; however, there is something mentioned at the beginning of the translation that caught my eye, which is, "a very bold conjecture". Not quite sure if that relates to the interpretation of the word, or if it relates to the interpretation given of the word; but regardless, it is something that drew my attention, and with that, I think that I am going to go with it. A 'conjecture', for those that may not know, is opinion or judgement based on inconclusive or incomplete evidence; an opinion or conclusion based on guesswork. If you know anything about how that we are not to judge others, then you might want to consider how important this word is when it comes to making our case against others for their sins. And to consider something that might be deemed "a very bold conjecture", I would presume it involves more than just a brief summary, but it contains all sorts of vivid detail, expressing not only how they sinned, but why they sin, and how incapable they are to stop sinning. This really could get quite interesting; but before I go any further, I must try and tell you what I heard yesterday, which was about Abraham's questions to God when He had told Abraham the He was going to destroy Sodom; more than that, it was more about Abraham's statement about God's righteous judgment: "Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are there? That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:23-25) There are some very wicked people in this world, the worst of which do not really see their actions as being wicked, but truly believe that they are doing good towards the betterment of mankind, even at the expense of innocent life... "Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and His word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house be not so with God; yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although He made it not to grow. But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: but the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place." (2 Samuel 23:1-7)

"In A Mighty God"

"Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let Thy glory be above all the earth." (Psalms 57:11) When you get right down to it, "Pleading for God's Help" is not even possible if you cannot get past simply believing that He can do anything, and that He loves you. Forget about trying to figure out how God does anything, because it's not a magic trick or some kind of illusion, as some might think; our God has put so much detail into His creation, it should make each and every one of us understand how much He cares for every little bit of our lives, even the parts that might seem painful and ugly, even the moments of death. That's the part that we can't quite get settled in our hearts, and the biggest excuse that people have for not believing in God, and to deny that He loves us, is the part about suffering and death, as if God designed it all to be this way! This is a fallen world in which we live, one that has been altered from the original creation because of sin; that ought to tell you how important that we are to God and His creation, that the sin of one man could cause such a devastating mess, and change, not only position of all mankind, but the condition of the earth. The bottom line in all of this, is to keep looking up, because the glory of God is still to come; yes, there is still glory to be found, even within the fallen state, this earth and all of it's spender gives testimony to God's majesty and His love for detail. Right now, take just a moment of you busy life, and ask yourself something very important, Do I believe that God really cares about my life? Not asking, Do I really believe that He cares? in the sense of do I believe, but does He really care what I am going through, or how my day is going to turn out? I think we tend to shrug our shoulders at that thought, as if it really does not matter that much in the big picture; but don't you know, can't you see how meticulous that God is to every little detail; shouldn't that give us a clue about how much He is actually involved in our daily lives? By the way, the closing verses from yesterday were taken from the New Living Translation, which I have been reading in lately. I have always loved the King James, and I will still continue to study in it, but the NLT is fun to read; as a matter of fact, I just bought a Giant Print Edition without all the study motes and guides, just the Scriptures only, and a few simple footnotes. I have probably gone through the King James version at least fifteen to twenty times, so this is almost a fresh read, as I go from Genesis to Revelation once again. I was reminded again this morning about the "Washbasin" that God had given Moses instructions to build (Exodus 30:17-18), which was to filled with water for washing, and which signifies the Word of God; and how everything else that was built was given measurements to be built by, except for this "Washbasin"... "I saw before me what seemed like a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing  his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them. And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed." (Revelation 15:2-4 NLT)

"Simple Faith..."

"For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds." (Psalms 57:10) I don't know why we need to make it so complicated, when it is meant to be so simple; just believe, it really does not get much more simple than that! I am one of those guys that likes to know how things work; I can remember that I destroyed on of the first windup toys that I got when I was a kid, because I needed to know how it worked; and then after I found out, it never worked right again. There are some things that must remain a mystery in order to remain faith; we do not need to know all of the answers in order to believe, because the biggest part of believing is knowing that God knows a heck of a lot more than you, and that should give you comfort; so much so, that you can just rest in the fact that He knows everything that there is to know, and if He cares to share something with you, then He will, sooner or later. Personally, I kind of like not knowing everything there is to know about God, because there is kind of a certain magnificence and awesomeness in how mysterious God is, and how it is beyond our ability to take in His completeness, which is something we may never ever get to do. Oh, we will be in His presence, and we will live in His Light, but have you actually thought about the size of "New Jerusalem"? it's 1,400 miles long, wide, and high, with walls that are 216 feet thick, and it just floats down from heaven (Revelation 21:10-17); I mean really, I live in Redding, and I can drive to San Diego and back and still be under 1,400 miles of distance traveled; it would be 1,350 miles, to be exact. Now imagine walking that distance, to the left and right about 24,000 times, and you would have skipped about every 16th of a mile, or about 330 feet, or a little more than a football field length , which is about what I figured it would take just to take everything in that is around you; but wait, there is still the height to take into consideration, which is also 1,400 miles high, and there could be floors or levels that need to be explored also. Now how can I even begin to consider knowing everything about a God that can create something like that; let alone try and figure out how that is the church, "The Bride of Christ" (Revelation 21:9). The complexity of God is more than we can even begin to understand; and I know I shared this before, but have you ever considered how a single brain cell can compare to the universe? just imagine if our known universe was just as big as one of God's brain cells; how big do you think that would make God to be? Even if it were the size of His brain, that would still be a really really big God. If you have ever listened to Chuck Missler, who comes on at 2:00pm in the Pacific area, he can get pretty deep into some pretty far-out stuff; and the other day he said something like, "The only thing that is real is time, yet God is not constrained by time", or something to that effect; talk about something to try and figure out, that is one that goes to the ends of the universe and back...  "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" ---- "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have answers?" (Job 38:4-7 & 40:2)