"The Rendering"

"Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion: and unto Thee shall the vow be performed." (Psalms 65:1) I could not help but think of those rocks that Jesus referred to, saying, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:40) To be perfectly honest, I sometimes wonder if we praise God more for show than out of pure devotion. I mean, I know that there are some who are sincere and really worship God with all of their hearts, but I also know that there are some who want to appear as though they worship, while in reality, they are more concerned about what they are doing than who they are worshiping. Forgive me this morning if I cut things short; it's was a little eventful last night, two Walmart parking lots in a row did not allow for overnight parking; but what else can you expect from Southern California! So we stayed in a Home Depot parking lot; but it was crazy busy there by 5:00 in the morning, so I drove off to find some peace. To be continued; as always... "Then Jesus shouted out again, and He released His spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus' resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, "This man truly was the Son of God!"" (Matthew 27:50-54)

"Thanking God for Nature"

PSALMS 65 [To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David.] I know, I did not know what to think at first, until I read it; it seems that there are some pretty good lessons to be learned by observing nature; Jesus used many examples in His parables. But this is the titles above this Psalm in my Bible, so that's what I am going with. Last night was not your typical good night, it was actually rather busy; Marianne needed to be suctioned almost every half-hour, and between that, the A/C cutting in and out kept me awake; so I really did not get soundly to sleep until around 2:30. That said, it was rather nice having her next to me, and I think she felt the same; usually I just slide her bed next to mine, so sleeping in the same bed seemed more like old times. Consistency is something that we naturally long for, it makes life seem more pleasant when we know what to expect, and when we expect something to be a certain way and it does not disappoint us. For the most part, that is what nature is, it is consistent; if you want to see a sunset, there is usually a sunset to be looked upon; if you want to smell the roses, when you find some, they will smell. These can be gentle and living reminders of God's consistency and promises, because He does not change. We on the other hand are very inconsistent, we change daily, almost momentarily! Sometimes when you are on a Carousel, it is always nice to have something that is never moving, like the animal you are on; the ride might be turning, the bars go up and down, but the animal never changes... "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make clothing, yet Solomon in all of his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" (Matthew 6:25-30) NLT  

"Give God The Glory"

"The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory." (Psalms 64:10) Yep, that pretty much sums up the last nine verses! Our God is so amazing, He has thought of everything, and He has left no stone unturned! I really think we spend too much time thinking about ourselves, and far too little time thinking about the Lord, because His plans for our lives are not things that we can write down in a planner and set out to achieve; they are birthed from adversity, circumstance, and trials, which are things that we would tend to avoid. I know it might be hard to comprehend in the moment, but if you have been called by God, then you are protected; even though it might not feel as though you are at times, God has a hold upon your life, and He is not letting go! I really don't think we get that, especially if we focus on ourselves more than we focus on the Lord. I sometimes feel so unworthy, as I should, I am a sinner who has been saved by the grace of God; but feeling unworthy should never rob me from the grace that I have been given; and when I let it, my hope and my joy seem to fade. That is why it is so important that we give God the glory for all that He has done to make it about Him not us; it is all for His glory; it is all for something so spectacular, we could never have imagined it in all of our wildest dreams. My plan over this next week is to take some time off from planning anything; even if it's only for a couple of days, I just need a rest from being stressed out; something that happens to me when I get seriously overloaded. I have planned this trip to coincide with the beginning of this next Psalm, which I expect God will minister into my life, not only throughout the week that I am gone, but also through at least the first week of my return. Not that I need a vacation or anything, I just need some alone time with God. I have found myself looking at my days as though I have been working sixteen hours a day, but two or three hours of my day is devoted to this blog. Do you see what I have done? I am not sure when, but somewhere along the way I have looked at this as some kind of work. I never want my time spent with God to seem like work! Maybe you don't understand what I am getting at, but it's more about how much I want to be in a relationship motivated by love, not something that is motivated by works... "Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes of powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, "If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD."" (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)  

"Work of Jehovah" -2

"And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of His doing." (Psalms 64:9) Basically, the number one person or thing that we need protection from is ourselves: "I am my own worst enemy" is not just a cliche, it's a fact; and if we don't think that we have to got to come to grips with that fact, we have another thing coming, and we are going to be greatly disappointed in the result. Taking these nine verses as a common thought or consideration, one would have to come to the conclusion that God not only knows everything there is to know about us, but He has designed a very intricate plan to make it all work out for the good; provided we see things His way and adhere to His instruction! Almost every one of the men of God throughout the Bible had issues, but God used them and counted them as righteous; He was able to do so because they knew Him personally, which is a very big deal; if you do not have a personal relationship with God, then you are not qualified for heaven. I know that might sound judgmental and rather harsh, but it pretty much sums up the matter. Our personal relationship with God should go far beyond our conversations, there needs to be a connection between God and us, one that is real and personal; one that makes us want to grab hold of our Father, and say, "Heavenly Father, I love you!" I really don't know how else to describe it, but it's real; it's more real than any other relationship that I have, and that is how it must be to every one of His children; no one else can compare! And yet, it is His doing! He has put this in my heart; He has made Himself accessible to me, by making me worthy to enter into a relationship with Him, and I can only enter in under His terms and conditions; terms and conditions that are marvelous and glorious...
"Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan. God's purpose was that the Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him." (Ephesians 1:11-14)  

"Work of Jehovah"

"And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of His doing." (Psalms 64:9) I know it's not making much sense, but there are a lot of things that don't make sense; like why does it have to be like this! Why do people need to suffer, even if they are good? Why do bad things happen to the sweetest people? I heard another message yesterday, it was about the fact that bad things happen to both the just and the unjust, that's just the nature of this fallen world we live in; the main difference between the two, is that the just have hope! I just remembered to story of the rat who had hope; you know, the one that was saved once before it had drowned. The story makes the point of hope making the difference between giving up and not giving up; as multiple rats are placed in a pool of water, one rat was lifted out just prior to drowning, while the others all drowned; but when the rat was put back into the water, it did not drown, but just kept on swimming. I believe that has something to do with what Jesus was talking about: if we just have hope, at least there is some interest added to the Lord's work. Simply put, our greatest need for getting through any trial or circumstance is hope, and those that do not know the saving power of God, have no hope. I cannot imagine what Jesus might have been feeling when He said, "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but Thine, be done" (Luke 22:42) Talk about a travesty, imagine what was going through the minds of those that knew and loved Jesus; those that knew that He was a man who was close to God, and that had done so many good things for so many people; they had to be saying to one another, "This just doesn't make any sense! How could God let this happen!" Here is the thing that I think I am getting out of this Psalm, this Psalm which has the title, "A Prayer for Protection": there is such a huge difference between those that have hope and those that have no hope, there is really no comparison between the two; one looks beyond the circumstance, while the other just deals with the circumstance; one believes that there is something better, while the other believes that this is the end...
"O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from Me." Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, the righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall." (Hosea 14:8-9) NLT

"Redirection"

"So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away." (Psalms 64:8) If you caught that last sentence in that closing Scripture, there were two very important things Paul mentioned about being ready: "protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation." I heard an interesting message yesterday regarding the fig tree, and how the fig tree will bear fruit before it gets leaves; the leaves representing it's covering, or it's protection. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus has an encounter with the fig tree that has leaves but bears no fruit; after seeing the tree with leaves He went to it expecting fruit, but when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves. What that speaks about in the life of a believer, is someone who appears to have the covering and protection of God, but bears no fruit to prove what is being put forth. To understand how that matters, we must look at fruit as something which others can take away, or as something to grab onto and use; the leaves only provide shade, and are only good while under the shadow of them, but the fruit can be gathered and put to use. I know it might seem odd, but it "bears" some consideration. Looking at this verse, there is something there that can be connected with the "Fig Tree" incident, which is something of a mystery; the lack of fruit upon the tree caused Jesus to curse the tree, and the tree withered away; those that saw it afterward were astonished. The result of the tree being withered caused it's leaves to dry up and die, which took away the covering and protection; thereby making the tree appear totally worthless, even from a distance. It's a scary thought, but you can't fool around with pretending to be something that you are not, because it will not work out that well for you! The "armor of faith and love" is more than just a covering, it's impregnable! That means that nothing can penetrate it because it is totally and completely founded in God; our faith is in God and in the fact that He loves us, faith being our assurance in Him who we put all of our hope and trust. The "helmet" is the covering to protect our head from thoughts that take our confidence in our salvation away from us; which in turn, takes away our joy; which in turn, takes away from that which we can have others take away from us. The bottom line, that I think God is speaking to me about, is about the fact that joy is an important fruit, especially for those that are going through something. If you are a believer, and you are going through something, people will come to you for shade and comfort for their own fear and hurts; but if there is no joy present in your life, they will flee away... "But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, 'Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn't yours and harvesting crops you didn't plant.' 'You wicked servant!' the king roared. 'Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I'm a hard man who takes what isn't mine and harvested crops I didn't plant, why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.'" (Luke 19:20-23)  

"Quick and Easy"

"But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded." (Psalms 64:7) You know I love those two words, "But God"; they express the power of new beginnings, no matter what direction your life might be headed in, God can change it in an instant. As incredible as that might sound, there is nothing too difficult for God, but the difficulty is in us: Are we willing to trust Him in everything and always? Sometimes it's just a matter of a hard heart needed to be softened; while other times, it's about the destruction of a strong will. Either way, it's God desire for our life to be whole and complete, how difficult that might seem to happen is totally up to us. Again, this Psalm is about "A Prayer for Protection", and whether you agree with that synopsis or not, it is really all about the direction in which we are headed, both physically and spiritually. I had a friend tell it to me like this, "You need to get low, in order to be lifted"; which is pretty much the point that Peter makes in 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time"; or as in James 4:10, as James expresses the perfect direction that this body is meant to go, saying, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." Here is a quick and easy way to define these two opposite directions: this body is headed towards the grave, therefore it is gravitating downwards; but our spirit is headed towards heaven, therefore it is ascending upwards. Simply put, but hard sometimes to accept, the real protection that we need requires laying down our lives. That is not about dying, although it might involve death; it's more about giving up what we are holding onto that is keeping us from giving God our all. You may know what it is that I am talking about; it's like, "Two steps forward, three steps back"; we might think we are headed in the right direction, but that other one step back will sooner or later catch up to us...
"For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, "Everything is peaceful and secure," then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to the darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation." (1 Thessalonians 5:2-8) NLT

"Insurrection" -2

"They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep." (Psalms 64:6) The way I see it, some things only God can find, because not only do we not know how to look, but we generally don't want to in the first place. This word "deep" is a word that simply means "what cannot be sought out"; the reason that I believe this is so important in our relationship with God, is that God knows our hearts, far more than we could ever realize. Here is what I have come to understand, from a practical viewpoint: Before there was sin, sin did not exist in our hearts; and as soon as sin took place, then everything changed, and it all became about wrong verses right; good verses evil was now the battle within each and every heart, all because of one man's sin. It is probably more complicated than that, but I think you get the point. I base this point of view on the question God asked after Adam said that he hid because he was naked, God said, "Who told thee that thou wast naked?" God had already known that they were naked, because that is how He created them; but they were perfectly naked until sin was conceived in their hearts, and then their nakedness became naughty. You see, God already had the knowledge of what was in their hearts, way before they could ever find it themselves; He knows everything that there is to know about each and every one of us; way before we can even plan or think up something to do wrong, God already has the knowledge of what we will do. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" We might think we know what we are made of, but we most surely don't; only God knows the depths of our hearts, and only God can change us. But here's the thing that takes place in our change: there is a new heart that is created, one that is powered by the Spirit of God and not by sin; so we no longer need to search for something deeper, because it has no more power over our lives! Searching and digging into something that is no longer relevant is like looking for old sins, as if to say, "Where did I hid that?" We don't have to take part in that any longer; now we are meant to search out the things of God. The NLT version of Psalms 64:6 goes like this: "As they plot their crimes, they say, "We have devised the perfect plan!" Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning." God help us...
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds:) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) KJV

"Insurrection"

"They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep." (Psalms 64:6) Don't ask, because I have no idea. For all I know, God wants me to see something buried deep in my heart; but this is the title that I heard from somewhere, and I am hoping it was from Him. The meaning of the word, "insurrection", is that of revolt, uprising, rebellion, or rising; it's primary meaning is that of organized opposition to authority, or a conflict in which one fraction tries to wrest control from another. Now, I don't want to seem overly cautious, but do you think that there is connection between that definition and Romans 7? Because if that be the case, I think I just stepped on a landmine! If you stop and think about what is being suggested (maybe not within the context of this verse, but what is being suggested in my heart,) I have far more defeats in my memories than I do victories. Actually, if I were to line them up together, I don't think they would even come close; it would be considerably offset, and rather embarrassing. It really does not take being a Bible scholar to see how these comparisons can hinder our ability to completely trust in God, especially when it comes to His protection; not unless we surrender all of our understanding to the act of justification. But it's not all that easy to do; don't you know? He might not remember all the bad things that I have done, but I sure do, and they hurt! This Sunday I heard something in the message that need to repeat, which was the difference between joy and happiness: "Joy is chosen; happiness is caused." Looking back at all the terrible things I have done will not cause me any happiness whatsoever; but looking at what Jesus has done to remove all those terrible things from my life, that makes me choose joy! John uses this "joy" in the opening chapter of 1 John, as he makes the point of writing the things that he writes, "that your joy may be full." I guess the point that God is trying to make, is how, if we lack joy in our lives as a believer in Christ Jesus, then there is "insurrection" taking place in our hearts; meaning that we are letting our defeats take away from the victory that Christ has won, which is tantamount to a revolt against the authority of Jesus Christ and His finished work upon the cross...
"So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit." (Romans 7:4-6)  

"Tangled Up in Lies"

"They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?" (Psalms 64:5) Before you start doing victory laps, there are still some things we need to set right in our hearts and minds. It's as if something within us needs to be undone; besides our sin nature, which we are told to "reckon it crucified with Christ", there is something else which keeps us going down those same paths, over and over again. Just when you think you have overcome, wham, there you are again, smack dab in the that same stupid hole again! I have heard some teachings that Paul's "thorn in his side" might have been a weakness, not a physical condition, but something that he just struggled with that was sin; maybe it was anger, or something that caused him to be afraid or doubt his calling; but I dare not speculate anything. We all have some things that keep us humble; and if we don't think that we do, then we really need to be humbled! Not quite sure what "shot in the dark" actually meant, except that when I thought about it in the context of trusting God no matter what, I began to breakdown and weep uncontrollably. We have really got to understand something about the God that loves us: He is on your side! You don't think He knows your inward struggles? He knows every single thing that there is to know about you; and guess what: He loves you, and He and has given His very best to set you free from anything and everything, even death. Yes, I said death; as in dead, gone for good, non-existent; what happens to something that is vanished for ever. It all started with a lie, "You shall not surely die", but it has evolved into something all together different: "You shall surely die." That's what we have been told; at least in my generation, that's what the story is: 'you came from nothing and you will end up as nothing.' I don't know what you have been told, but anything that takes God out of the picture is a lie, straight from the pit of hell. Don't you ever wonder how the devil gets people to peddle his lies? I know I have. I have always wondered how people can be so deceived, that they become so motivated to try and cover the truth. Maybe it's just because they want to believe that there is no one out there to judge them, and to keep believing, they will do anything and everything to suppress the truth. Do we buy into that lie just a little? Maybe not all the time, but just when it is convenient to do so?
"Then He brought me to the door of the Temple courtyard, where I could see a hole in the wall. He said to me, "Now, son of man, dig into the wall." So I dug into the wall and found a hidden doorway. "Go in," He said, "and see the wicked and detestable sins they are committing in there!" So I went in and saw the walls engraved with all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel. Seventy leaders of Israel were standing there with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan in the center. Each of them held an incense burner, from which a cloud of incense rose above their heads. Then the LORD said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the leaders of Israel are doing with their idols in dark rooms? They are saying, The LORD doesn't see us; He has deserted our land!'" (Ezekiel 8:7-12) NLT    

"Shot in the Dark" -2

"That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not." (Psalms 64:4) I have a news flash for anyone who is searching for the truth, Solomon will be there, just as will be anyone else that put their hope in Jesus! Now as for that checkerboard document, I must tell you what God spoke into my heart yesterday, because it was amazing! God said, "My son, there will be no black outed sentences; there will be no evidence of any wrong doing at all: your sins have not been covered, they have been taken away!" I guess you could say that I won't be sticking with that line of reasoning after all; at least not the part about the black outed wrongs that I have done, because the power of the blood of Christ makes me justified before the Father; and in case you did not know, justified actually means, "Just As If I Had Never Sinned". So how do you like me now? In case you did not catch it, these last three verses were all one thought, they were just broken up in the translation. Will we ever get this right, is almost an understatement, because to be perfectly honest, I don't think we are done leaning how to trust God until we are standing right in front of Him! Until then, we keep learning the same lessons over and over; it's almost as if we can't believe it is true; How can God love me the way that He does? How is it even possible that He not only has forgiven me, but He remembers no wrong at all!!! The ruler of this world has designed quite an impressive scheme to help cover the truth; making us doubt, and worry, and feel as if we are less than qualified to represent the KING OF KING AND LORD OF LORDS. But here is the thing that we must always remember: IT IS NEVER ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT DO, IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT WHAT HE HAS DONE!!!
"All Praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance - an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see." (1 Peter 1:3-5)

"Shot in the Dark"

"That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not." (Psalms 64:4) As I was praying this morning, I could not help think about the ending two verses of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." I have heard it said by some, that they don't think they will see Solomon in heaven; I hope that they are wrong, because if he isn't there, I don't know what chance I might have! Here is the thing that I think matters the most; whether you agree with me or not, that really does not matter, because it's what I am going with, and I am sticking to it! God's judgment will be upon every single person, no matter who you are, or how righteous you may have lived your life, we are all judged based upon God's standard of Holy. Now, I don't know where you think you rate in that, but personally, if were not for the blood us Christ, my rating would be less than zero! If you are aware of the judgment that you are rated for, then you are more than thankful you will be counted as righteous, even though you personally lacked the qualities of living a righteous life; that goes for anyone and everyone that will be judged; and from what I have read through the Scriptures, that includes everyone! So, what might your crimes look like, as the books are opened? Mine will be missing, that's what I think! The page will look just like one of those confidential documents, where every other word or line is blotted out; it might look like a checkerboard, but all the same, the bad will be gone, and all that will be listed will be the good! That's what I think, and that's what I am sticking with; so there! As for my right to even ask God for His protection, it is my right as one of His children to not only ask Him for His protection, but to expect it as one of His children; this I have learned from studying His word. Where there is an issue of doubt as to the direction of His protection, is based totally and completely upon our life in this world, as in, where we consider life to be measured. In other words, if you measure your life based upon if God's blessing is upon your wealth, then your wealth will not be protected, because that is flammable and does not matter in God's kingdom. So where do we measure from? If it can even be measured?
"You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you - not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just a Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls." (1 Peter 2:18-25) NLT

"The Wrong Direction"

"Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:" (Psalms 64:3) So you are probably wondering where I am going with this, but it will hopefully make perfect sense once God has given me a little more of the direction; at least that is my prayer. Which reminds me, this is meant to be about "A Prayer for Protection", and since that is what David is asking for, what could possibly be the point of these very descriptive verses? Think about it. There are two different directions we could take when it comes to seeking God's protection, as I have previously mentioned; there is protection of our life here, such as our health, wealth, or families, and there is protection of our eternal soul; which one do you think matters the most? The whole point of yesterday's post was about seeing our need to change direction in the way we seek to lift ourselves up above others, which is by putting others down. In 1 Peter 2:1-3, Peter says, "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." In the second part of chapter one, his point was being taken from being holy, to loving one another, to the right perspective on life, and real glory; therefore the "wherefore", which continues his point about being holy; which is not as much the point of holiness, as in "BE YE HOLY", as it is the direction that we seek for our lives. In other words, "This is what I am asking you to do, but this is what you are doing!" What that was, was God saying, "Can you just put forth a little effort to go in the right direction?" I guess the point is made more understandable by giving a little more clarity to "the point": if you don't think bad thoughts, then you won't speak bad thoughts! So now you might wonder in your heart, What in the world does any of that have to do with asking God for protection? Funny you should ask... "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless." (James 1:19-26) NLT  

"Familiar Conversation"

"Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:" (Psalms 64:2) Just because something is openly spoken of does not mean that it is worth listening to; most of what we say probably should just be kept to ourselves. Proverbs 21:23 says, "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." Here is an interesting quote, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." (Abraham Lincoln) To be perfectly honest, more negative things come out of my mouth than good and positive things. Maybe it's just because of what I have witnessed in life, thinking that is the way things are meant to be, that we naturally just talk dirt about somebody else; as if doing so somehow makes us feel better about ourselves. Two things that my mother would say to me come to mind; she would say of me talking about others, "Your better than that"; which I really did not understand what that meant until this very moment; and then she would say, "If you don't have anything good to say about someone, don't say anything." To the first statement, it's not so much a matter of being better, as much as it is a matter of making yourself feel better by not participating in gossip and slander. I am pretty sure those two statements were almost always together; maybe reversed from time to time, but not hardly ever left without the other. Just because it is popular to do something destructive does not mean that it is looked good upon, because it's not something that you want to be remembered for; besides, it is easy to find fault in others, unfortunately, when we practice such, we tend to start seeing the fault in ourselves far more than we see any good. That is what I think she meant, saying, "Your better than that"; because when we look for the good in others, we feel better about ourselves, because we can better see the good in ourselves; God does not make junk... "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me - everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:4-9) NLT

"Talking To God" -2

"Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy." (Psalms 64:1) Now, I don't know what you thought of the closing Scripture yesterday, but it ministered to my heart all day long. Think about the implication of what was being said: Your thrown in a pit, covered with rocks, the water is rising, and your ability to breath in air is coming to an end; how much closer to death can you get? The water rises over you head, and you cry out, "This is the end!" But you still cry out for God, "Help!" And He hears your cry, and He says, "Do not fear." Do not fear! Try telling that to someone you know that is really going through something life-wrecking; you might get slapped in the face. But it sure is different hearing it come from God! My weird kind of question today, although it might seem silly to ask, is, Do you talk to God? I don't mean prayer, as in laying out petitions and speaking as though you are hoping for an answer; I mean talking to Him, just as you would your very best friend; even if it's just to say how much you love Him and can't wait to see Him. This might be a little off point, but it has more to do with communication than prayer; not that there is anything wrong with prayer, because we can't pray enough; but it's more about just taking our prayers to the next level, if you will, where we are not just praying as if God is there and we are here, but you are talking as though He is right next to you, right where you are. I don't know about you, but I always feel closer to God when I just start thanking Him for who He is and acknowledging how awesome He is. There is no better way to talk with God than there is to just praise Him! Like, do you know what I am talking about? Do you have someone in your life that never talks to you unless they need something? If you do, then you know what I mean; as soon as you get the call, the first thing that pops into your head, is, "Now what?" Your not thinking, "Oh, so-and-so wants to chat"; your thinking, "What happened now!" Which brings me to my next point; at what point do we cry out to God? Is it when we get thrown into the pit? Or when we get buried in rocks? Or when the pit starts filling with water? Or when it looks like it's the end?
"Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish. He said, "I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and He answered me. I called to You from the land of the dead, and LORD, You heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath Your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, 'O LORD, You have driven me from Your presence. Yet I look once more toward Your holy Temple.' I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But You, O LORD my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to You in Your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God's mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to You with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone." (Jonah 2:1-9) NLT

"Talking To God"

"Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy." (Psalms 64:1) To get right to the point, God does listen when we speak to Him, of that I am totally convinced, and nobody is going to tell me otherwise; but does it matter if we actually speak out loud to Him when we pray? Yes, I believe that it most certainly does! It might not effect His hearing what we say, but it does communicate our voice with clear words from our heart to His; if that makes any sense to anyone out there. When I silently pray, most of the time I don't even know what I am saying myself, and my mind has a tendency to wonder off the topic that I might be praying over; maybe it's just me, but most of the time I don't think I can keep up with my own thoughts, let alone put them into some sort of a sentence that actually makes sense. Besides all of that nonsense, God actually likes to hear our voice, because after all, we are His children! And to be perfectly honest, it feels more personal to actually speak out my prayers to God than it does to silently think them out. I can actually feel the difference in the power of my prayer; not that my prayer has any sort of power, but it does seem to be more sincere when I hear myself speak the words that I am directing to my God. That said, I believe that our prayers really matter to God, whether spoken or silent, they are us speaking to Him, and He loves to have His children call upon His name; I don't think texting will work, but you never know; I have written letters to God before, I am was pretty sure He read those when I wrote them. But in regards to this verse, David is expressing a sense of sincerity in his prayer by the fact that he is using his voice; it's a lot like "hear my cry" but without the crying part being mentioned. As for the second part of this verse, there is a simple yet complex formula to what is being said and the way that it is being spoken. It's like, 'God, I am talking to you with my voice because I know that you are listening, now please help me to trust that You are there for me'. Notice that David did not say "preserve my life" and leave it at that, he said, "preserve my life from fear"; there is a big difference in the request being about him and being about his trust in God... "My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird. They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me. The water rose over my head, and I cried out, "This is the end!" But I called on your name, LORD, from deep within the pit. You heard me when I cried, "Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!" Yes, You came when I called; You told me, "Do not fear." (Lamentations 3:52-57) NLT  

"A Prayer for Protection"

PSALMS 64 [To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.] Sorry for getting carried away, but it is kind of one of my passions, the whole mystery of the "tree of knowledge of good and evil", and why God placed it there in the first place. Yes, I know that it involved choice, and how we must chose to obey Him because we love Him, but God knew all along we were going to fall; it might have taken longer had He not provided Adam a "help meet" to help move things along. No, I am not being sexist, it's really not about that, it's about having someone else to blame; which didn't really work anyways, because Adam was still the one held accountable. And so here we are, completely dependent upon the God who made us, and well aware that we are, we cry out for protection. What else is there to do? I mean really! We consider His plan, we realize His hand was in everything, and we realize our position in all of that; so what else is there for a small child to do, but to ask for protection from such a powerful Father? Before we go any further, we must be clear about something that many tend to misrepresent; protection is not measured by what is seen, it is measured in the spiritual realm, where it matters the most. It's pretty easy to see how important it is to keep the right perspective, as putting our attention on the wrong type of protection can cause us to be seriously disappointed in the midst of a trial. Instead we must be focused upon the most important thing of all, which is our relationship with God. Nothing else matters more than the relationship that we have with God; how much we trust Him and believe that He has only good intentions for all that He allows us to journey through; even those things that hurt and might cause us some temporal pain. Therein lies the key to understanding: temporal... "That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) NLT    

"A Taste for Virtue" -Too

"But the King shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by Him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped." (Psalms 63:11) Fifthly, when it comes to "Yearning for God", there is no greater reason to be so in need of what God has to offer than the fact that we have no chance of obtaining it on our own. It is only because of what Jesus did on the cross that we can even consider having fellowship with God, which is what John explains in at least three different ways in 1 John; for God is Light, God is Righteous, and God is Love; and there is no other way for us to attain any of what God is without Jesus Christ having given us the way. What that means, just in case you weren't listening, is that we cannot fellowship with God if we are not of the Light, Righteous, and filled with His Love; all of these things are bestowed upon those that are children of God, and there is only one way that we can become children of God, and that is to be Born Again! Without getting overly persistent, let me repeat what the process requires: We were born once in the flesh, but spiritually dead; to be born again, requires a spiritual birth, while at the same time, the flesh is reckoned to be crucified with Christ; thus, the fleshly man is no longer, and the spiritual man is alive in Christ. Sixthly, 'a taste of virtue' is what we get, not because we are virtuous, but because Jesus allowed us to claim virtue in Him: Jesus not only paid the price for our sins, but He has given us a right standing with God; we can now have fellowship with a Holy God because we have been made holy! Seventh, I see this as being something that God presented at the very moment He said, "Let us make man in Our image; after Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26); because in order to be like God we must be holy and righteous, which was never even possible; especially, given the fact that temptation was always right there in the form of a forbidden fruit, smack-dab in the middle of the garden. It was only a matter of time, which God had already known, and He had already set out to provide the Way, long before the fall had ever even happened... "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan." (Ephesians 1:3-11) NLT

"A Taste for Virtue"

"But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped." (Psalms 63:11) Every once in a while I get something right; on a good day, I actually get more than one thing right! There are a couple of different ways to read this verse, and depending on where you stand with God, there is only one way that makes perfect sense. First of all, "king" is most likely speaking of the "Messiah", who we know has already came, and His name is Jesus! Secondly, to "sweareth by him" is to swear allegiance to Him, which is paramount to claiming that He is Lord of your life; in other words, if He is Lord of your life, then you have sworn your allegiance to Him by accepting who He is and all that He has done for you. Thirdly, Jesus came to do the will of the Father; He did not need to display who He was, which was 'God in the flesh', because He came in the form of a Servant, as in "The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) Fourthly, "glory" is to be made praiseworthy, or worthy of praise, but it also means to be made into a fool; which oddly enough is what we are in Christ, if you think about it. In Christ we are worthy of praise, yet in this world we are fools! Another way to look at that statement, is to consider what Paul says, and then consider it for yourself... "Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them." (2 Corinthians 5:11-15) NLT

"Self-Inflicted Ruin" -2

"They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes." (Psalms 63:10) I know it might sound harsh, but it is really God's way or the highway; and when I say 'highway', I mean the "wide road", which just so happens to be the road must traveled, even by those that think that they are serving God. How about this, if you are still listening, "Live by the law, be judged by the law." (Galatians 3:10) Talk about self-inflicted ruin, it really does not have to end that way! When you study the second part of this verse, it describes something of 'an allotment', which actually means, "by courtesy, law or providence". The NLT translates "foxes" as "jackals", which I find rather interesting, since the two are totally different in the way they live; foxes live in holes, while jackals primarily live in ruins. Either way, there is an interesting connection between the two, in that they are both often depicted as clever sorcerers in the myths and legends of their regions; which causes me to think again about Paul's comment to the Galatians, "Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" (Galatians 3:1) The NLT states it like this: "Oh, foolish Galatians! Who hast cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross." It is pretty obvious that we cannot keep the law, we should have figured that out by now; it is also pretty obvious that God knows we can't keep the law, otherwise He would not have sent His Son to die to set us free from the law; so what's seems to be the problem? Oh, it gets so twisted, just like a lie has so many twist and turns; it started with a lie, and it continues with a lie; the lie to make man feel he can make it without God's help, the lie to make man believe that he can somehow be like God, and the lie that causes man to die... "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure 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 of 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." (Galatians 5:1-4) NLT

"Self-Inflicted Ruin"

"They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes." (Psalms 63:10) My mom always had a little line of wisdom she would say any time I was in trouble, "You brought this upon yourself; nobody made you do anything." It's true you know, "You made your bed now lie in it", is not just a old saying for trying to teach your kids to pay attention to how they make things happen, it's about taking ownership for the mess you have made, and then doing something about it. There is also another old saying that comes to mind, "Live by the sword die by the sword", which was actually spoke by Jesus to Peter (Matthew 26:52), after Peter had sliced off the ear of the servant of high priest. If you remember what happened, it became a ministry moment, as Jesus picked up the ear and wonderfully reapplied it to the man's head. And since we are on old sayings, how about one that goes all the way back to the beginning: "It doesn't have to end this way", which is a paraphrase of what God told Cain in Genesis 4:7; but do you think that he would listen? obviously not! You know, we all make mistakes, we all have days that we wish would never had happened; but God is more than willing to forgive us, if we would just own up to what we have done, and turn our lives over to Him. That's not just the way that we make God happy, it's also the way that we find happiness of our own! For complete healing there is only one Healer that we can trust; anything else is going to fall short; any other way is going to be incomplete. Is it really that simple? just give it all over to God? Well, you can't undo what you have done, but, if you care to listen, and I hope you do, I know someone who can, and His name is Jesus... "But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking forward and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law." (Romans 3:21-28) NLT

"Making God Happy"

"But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go down into the lower parts of the earth." (Psalms 63:9) I know, weird title for such a strong verse; but you have got to see how much God actually loves you; He loves you more than you can possibly understand! I think what is so fascinating about God's love, besides that fact that it is unconditional and so unending, is that it is so personal!!! Do you realize that by your relationship with Him? I hope you do, because if you don't, then you need to get that right, and right away! God's love is for you, just as it is for me, just as it was for David; He loves us each and every one in our own individual way, and He knows my name! If you don't understand what that implies, then you should look it up, and then you need to own it, which means that you make it your own and believe it! Do you know how you make God happy? It's by doing exactly what I just described; it's by accepting the fact that He knows you inside and out, and He loves you, He cares for you, and He only wants the very best for your soul. This verse is not spouting some sort of condemnation to those that might come against us; this verse is the expression of confidence in God's hand of protection upon the one that He loves. Based upon the word "but" which starts off this verse, it is continuing that two part thought, "My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me", which speaks about God's grace and how much we need it; more and more, it seems, every day! The older I get, the more I seem to cherish His grace; 33 years ago I had such good intentions; now looking back, I see how important God's grace is to my eternal position; if you get my point... "Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: "Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right? Are you as strong as God? Can you thunder with a voice like His? All right, put on your glory and splendor, your honor and majesty. Give vent to your anger. Let it overflow against the proud. Humiliate the proud with a glance; walk on the wicked where they stand. Bury them in dust. Imprison them in the world of the dead. Then even I would praise you, for your own strength would save you." (Job 40:6-14)NLT
   

"Something Special"

"My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me." (Psalms 63:8) Just because I might be very serious about how important God's grace is to our salvation, does not mean that works do not matter, because they do matter when it comes to following Jesus; you cannot follow Jesus without actually living out His life, which is a life of love and sacrifice. It's really not about gaining God's favor, or trying to please God; it's about living a life that shows others how important God's love is to you and to them. Actually, it matters most when you are less important than others. How can we pretend to put others first? Seriously, is it even possible, you either put others first, or you don't; I don't think it's possible to pretend to live that way. That is the real difference in the way 'works' work; works that are performed for your own personal gain don't really count, they have already been rewarded. But what you do for others, without seeking personal gain, that is what is considered "treasure in heaven", where neither rust nor thieves can touch one little bit of it. It is pretty obvious that salvation can only come through the blood of Jesus, yet there are so many different religions that will try and persuade you that it is His blood and works that save you; as if somehow His blood was not quite enough, or that His sacrifice provided the way for us to earn our way into grace. Paul called that being "bewitched" in Galatians 3:1, which means to be charmed, or lead away into error by wicked arts, arts meaning a way of life. How I got on this, I have no idea; really, I just realized that I was stuck in a debate over 'works' and 'grace', as if this is something we all don't already know! You would think by now that we would all get the message, and have came to the same conclusion: We cannot earn our way into heaven; no way, no how...
"Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as He went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" He replied, "Work hard to enter the narrow door to God's Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Lord, open the door for us!' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then they will say, 'But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' And he will reply, 'I tell you, I don't know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. And people will come from all over the world - from east, west, north and south - to take their places in the Kingdom of God. And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are greatest now will be least important then." (Luke 13:22-30) NLT

'Living Through Grace"

"Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice." (Psalms 63:7) I don't know what it is, but every time I get to the verse seven, I always want to show God's completed work. Here we have something that I know you will get a kick out of: as I was thinking about this verse, and in the context of what God had already spoken to my heart about, this title popped into my mind; then after I did a search on the title (which I do quite often), I saw a web site with the exact words, which seemed to go nowhere, but it had Paul's famous quote from the Lord, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) I'm sorry, but I will always come back to the point of grace, no matter where I am taken, or how far I might go into 'the doctrine of works', there is absolutely no way I can be moved from 'the doctrine of grace'; not after all the evidence I have seen that shows how people are drawn towards 'the doctrine of works' in an effort to buy their way into heaven. I know that might sound somewhat cynical, and maybe a little judgmental of people's motives, but if you have seen what I have seen behind the curtain, then you would agree: some people are only in the ministry for themselves; like punching a time card, or like storing up brownie points, they count every minute of serving towards reward, and have really no commitment to the Body of Christ beyond that selfish motivation. But that's just my observation, and I tend to be wrong about things more than I am right, or so I'm told; is there even such a thing as 'the doctrine of works'? What does that even mean? To me, it means that we base the status of our salvation upon what we do or don't do, instead of what Christ has done for us; our salvation is in Jesus and His finished work on the cross, and in absolutely nothing else! There is nothing we can ever do that can add to or take away from what Christ has done to pay the penalty of our sins; it is a free gift from God, and it is free for the very reason that I specified above, so that no one else can take any credit or claim any part in it! I just had a vision of Jesus on the cross, but it was enormous; so much so, that His arms stretched out upon that cross was enough to cast a shadow upon the whole human race, every single person who ever lived, no one was exempt from the shadow of His "wings"; that is what God's grace looks like...
"No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him." (John 3:13-17) NLT  

"Living the Dream" -2

"When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches." (Psalms 63:6) It really does matter, I have no doubt about it; what we focus upon in our sleep, while we are resting, I believe sets up how we will experience the day ahead. Not that we will live out what we dream, that's only something that we see in movies, if there is even such a movie out there like that; but it's more about the 'yearning' part of really "Yearning for God", that's what we are talking about; that, and maybe a little joy that comes from feeling good about not needing anything else but Jesus! Having said all of that, I find it rather interesting that David expresses this after rather than before verse five; which would read something like this, "When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches, my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips." I think it contains a little of 'what I am missing' the other way, as it says, "I will do this, provided I do that", verses, "If I do this then I will do that; if that makes any sense to you. But regarding the previous question, I do believe that it really is as easy as just asking for His help! It really is! If you don't think that it is, then you should just try it and see. The next time you are dealing with a temptation, or wanting to experience a little sin, cry out for His help; ask Jesus to help you deal with this or that, not after you have done it, but before it gets done! It really does not help to ask Him after the fact; that only gives you an excuse to do it again, because then you will feel alright afterwards. In Matthew 11:30, Jesus says, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." I really do not believe that God will ask us to do anything that we cannot do; but you have got to understand, we are not going to do the things of the Spirit without Jesus giving us His help! Paul says, in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which stengtheneth me." Because it really is a matter of giving everything over to Jesus; even those things we want to hold onto in our dreams... "I slept, but my heart was awake, when I heard my lover knocking and calling: "Open to me, my treasure, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night." But I responded, "I have taken off my robe. Should I get dressed again? I have washed my feet. Should I get them soiled?" My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled within me. I jumped up to open the door for my love, and my hands dripped with perfume. My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh as I pulled back the bolt. I opened to my lover, but he was gone! My heart sank. I searched for him but could not find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply. The night watchmen found me as they made their rounds. They beat and bruised me and stripped off my veil, those watchmen on the walls. Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem - If you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love." (Song Of Songs 5:2-8) NLT

"Living the Dream"

"When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches." (Psalms 63:6) Yes, I know, this Psalm just took on something interesting and mysterious. What do you dream about at night? If I may be so bold, is it all about how wonderful the Lord is, and all the ways you can express your love to Him? or is it mostly other things, like physical fitness, worldly desires, and finding a pot of gold? How about a full set of hair? I know I might have shared this before, but it warrants mentioning again. Once I was laying there in bed, and the most filthy dream came into my head, I instantly cried out in my heart, "Help me Jesus!", and immediately a bright white flash swept across my mind, and the dream was vanished. It mostly felt as though there was an angel standing beside me, he had his sword drawn, and he was just waiting for me to say the words, "Help me Jesus!"; that's all it took, and good bye temptation! Is it really that easy? I don't know, you ask yourself: Do I ask Him for help when I sin? and if I am tempted, and ask Him for help, do I sin anyways? Yesterday I heard Pastor Matt speaking about this very thing, saying something along the lines of this: "The spiritual man cannot sin, but the fleshly man will always sin; thus we have a battle going on within us." Which is right out of Romans 7:24, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" JESUS!!! That's who! Just ask Him to help, if that is really what you want; the problem that we find with that, is that if it's something we like, we do not ask! But if we sincerely ask Him to help us, then it's won and done! This verse is actually a continuation from the thought in verse five, whereas the colon opens that verse to a deeper understanding of what was being said, which was about being satisfied and praising God with joyful lips and such. Interesting concept... "One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come. So I said to myself, "I will get up and roam the city, searching in all it's streets and squares. I will search for the one I love." So I searched everywhere but did not find him. The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, "Have you seen the one I love?" Then scarcely had I left them when I found my love! I caught and held him tightly, then I brought him to my mother's house, into my mother's bed, where I had been conceived. Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right." (Song Of Songs 3:1-5)

"Alive for God"

"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips:" (Psalms 63:5) I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable yesterday; God was really speaking to my heart about some issues, and I must admit, it felt pretty good to get some things cleared up. The point I think that James was making is much more than charity or compassion, although those are important components of the fruit of the Holy Spirit; it's really more about having the mind of Christ, where you are thinking about how Jesus would handle each and every situation. I think that this verse speaks of two very important traits that go with doing what Jesus would do; primarily, what can I do for others, and does it please the Father? It is really quite simple to figure out that Jesus never really did anything to gain anything for Himself, with maybe one small exception, which was the borrowed colt, and even that was done to fulfill prophecy; in other words, He never did anything to receive personal gain, it was always about bringing glory to His Father. I see the first part of this verses meaning something more than just being "satisfied", because the word speaks more about being filled, as in not needing more than you have been given. To see how this might work, you could consider two totally different questions that you could ask yourself when it comes to doing something for others: What can I get out of this? or What can I do with what I have been given? One considers how I might gain something from what I will do, while the other wants to do something with what I have gained. It all belongs to the Lord anyways, so doesn't it make the most sense to use it in that regard? But you also need to accompany your generosity with the proper attitude, one that gives the glory to God and does not take the glory upon yourself. "Oh, look how generous I am", is not what you want to come off looking like; it more about, "The Lord has blessed me with this, so that I might share it with you; isn't God so good!" I know, you probably don't go around looking for opportunities to say that, but if you did, you really would not have any trouble finding any. You know, I think when it comes to judgement, the Lord is going to judge us more for the things that we did not do right, then He will for the things we did that were wrong; in other words, what you do with what you have been given will be far more important to the Lord than if you sinned here or there; besides, He died for those sins, but He rose to make you alive for God...
"Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds." You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his action when he offered his son Isaac on the alter? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works." (James 2:18-26) NLT  

"Being Alive"

"Thus will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy name." (Psalms 63:4) What does it mean, To have everlasting life? John 3:16 states, "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life", so what does that mean? I am not being facetious, I am diving into something that I hope will kindle a fire within a cold heart, mainly mine! Yes, that's right; compared to what I was when I first accepted Christ into my heart, this heart seems rather cold; it needs to get fired up for Jesus again, and I am hoping for some kind of inspiration. I know it's not something that we think much about, because it's so certain; we look forward to that day, but it's not something we tend to sit around and dwell on as if it's a goal or something we hope to achieve. This verse has more to it than we might otherwise think; those three words, "while I live", have something to give us a reason to ponder, What is it that I am living for? It actually speaks of something fresh, as in something that is green or living, meaning that it is thriving and refreshed with new life of longevity. It reminds me of a verse from Song of Solomon, verse 1:16, where it says, "also our bed is green", which to me speaks about something that is always fresh and unexpected, as if it is always like the first time. Oh Jesus, what are you going to show me today? That's what I am talking about! I never want to be someone that is not expecting God to do something spectacular, just because I don't want to be moved! I want to be taken out of my comfort zone, so that God can actually use me, because I know how easy it is to get comfortable in just getting by. The second part of this verse is more about an expression of life, as in "I will lift up my hands" is a way to acknowledge the thankfulness you have in your heart for the life you have been given. It is actually more than just a gesture or moment of glee, it's more about an offering of service, as in, 'With these hands I will bless Thee'. Thus, in that regard, this verse speaks about something more of along the lines of what Paul was speaking of in Philippians 1:21, saying, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain", meaning, that as long as he is alive, he is doing the work of Christ, and making a difference in the lives of those whom the Lord has entrusted him to minister to. Isn't that really what it's all about? We are to be an example of Christ; ambassadors of His kingdom; separated from this world, and not just get by from day to day on God's grace, but those that earnestly seek the Lord to come alive in us, that we might make Him alive to others. Yearning for God, although it gives us a desire for Him to show up and do something in our lives, it is also a desire for Him to use us to do something in this life, because it does not count for anything if it does not produce fruit...
"What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say that you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" - but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless." (James 2:14-17) NLT    

"Better Than Life!" -2

"Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee." (Psalms 63:3) I know what you're thinking, He's just stalling, that's what it is. You might be right; but think of it as chewing on the word like a cow chews it's food; isn't that the way we are meant to read His word? It was the Gospel of John that I chewed on several days after I first accepted Christ into my heart. Actually, I think I might have spent over a week reading it over and over; dissecting it, verse by verse, line by line, especially those words that were written in red, because I knew that those were the word's of my Loving Savior. You have got to know how special John's gospel message was to me, because for most of my life, I was under the spell of the Antichrist, which had caused me to believe that Jesus was really less that who He really is; and then, after seeing who He really was, and how He placed Himself upon that cross for me, I was pretty much wrecked that whole week. One thing was for sure, I could not tell enough people who Jesus really was; I was overwhelmed by this revelation of such a powerful love: that the Creator of my soul should dare to go through such a horrible death, that my soul might be saved from the fires of hell! Wow, what an amazing God we serve! I have sometimes wondered what Paul was thinking for those three days that he was without sight, having so many Scriptures that he had memorized from his youth, suddenly appear before his eyes with new revelation of who Jesus really was; that same Jesus that he would have crucified again and again prior to meeting Him. One thing is for sure, Paul made no qualms over the fact that he would need to suffer for Christ; as a matter of fact, he considered it an honor to do so, especially after all that he had done to try and squash the Gospel movement, prior to have received the message himself. Mine was more of a personal matter, one that involved new respect for a God that I had previously not really understood or seen how much that He actually loved me; the kind of respect that would cause someone to want to obey Him...
"Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Him. Anyone who continues to live in Him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know Him or understand who He is." (1 John 3:4-6) NLT

"Better Than Life!"

"Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee." (Psalms 63:3) There is something else about the experience of being born again, that there is absolutely no way to experience any part of it without actually being truly born again. Any hope, or joy, or peace, anything that is experienced with new life, it is all so not of you, it is completely of God! In the opening verses of John, he gives a little testimony of who Jesus was, and what He came for, and in verses 12-13 he explains this born again experience as such: "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." In 2 Corinthians 6:17-18, Paul describes is as such: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation." It is really hard to describe to people that they are dead, spiritually dead; but man oh man, you sure wish you could somehow show them a little taste of what life in Christ is like, just a little taste of the truth. Paul felt this in his heart towards his unsaved countryman, as he explains in Romans 9:1-5, saying, "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; to whom pettaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." When you think about it, Abraham never really had a home to speak of, because this life was not the promise that he looked for, "for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God". (Hebrews 11:10) There is really no other way to describe it, other than to say that it is not of this world...
"See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know Him. Dear friends, we are already God's children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:1-3)