"Put in Place"

"Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:" (Psalms 83:17) I thought about having these two last verses together, since the King James has them linked together by a colon; but there is just so much to say separately of each one, that I could not bring myself to do it. Those that choose to ignore that God is real and that He is going to judge them for their sins one day, need to know the choice they are making. I mean, it's pretty obvious that they already know that He is real, otherwise, why would they get so upset when you bring Him up? Our desire for those who are lost should always be that they would repent and be saved, first and foremost! We should never hope that anyone should perish, because God does not desire that anyone should perish, and our hearts should be inline with God's heart. Jesus told us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those that hate us, and pray for those that spitefully use us and persecute us; all of those things are pretty much the opposite of what we naturally would want to do. Take the pray for those part of that equation, and consider what that might consist of; would it be a prayer such as the verse we have before us today? If it were you, how would you like to be prayed for? Jesus also told us to do onto others as we would have them do onto us; so how is that any different? The word "perish" is pretty much what it represents, be destroyed and put to death. That's a pretty harsh reality for someone to come to terms with, but it just might work. People usually would like to know that they have left something behind for others. That is why people write a Will or establish some kind of Trust, that when they die, their Estate might be properly dealt with. But to be destroyed, that's something more than most people could come to terms with; it's like being blotted out of existence, or forgotten evermore. Now, with that in mind, imagine the opposite condition that we might find for ourselves; a condition of leaving behind a growing legacy that will never perish...
"Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who followed the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share in their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what I should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:19-27) NLT