"Retributive Justice" -2

"Let his days be few; and let another take his office." (Psalms 109:8)

 Please forgive me if I get off track now and again, but there are good days and bad; besides, this is not so much me trying to teach, it is me sharing what God reveals in my heart, day after day, each and every morning. Now, let me share this from another perspective; one that might shine a little light on why this is speaking of new beginnings; besides the fact that Judas was replaced by Matthias. In God's economy of give and take, there is not a set of scales, but there is retributive justice. It takes rehabilitation off the table and places punishment as the goal, that all crimes are dealt with a penalty of punishment. Case in point, is that Jesus was without sin, yet He took our sins upon Himself and He was punished, horrifically punished for our sins. I have marked in my Bible after this verse, "Acts Chapter 2," which is the chapter in Acts where there are three things which took place that day which were orchestrated by the Holy Spirit; the first was cloven tongues that caused everyone to speak in different dialects "the wonderful works of God," the second was Peter preaching under the power of the Holy Spirit, and the third was that 3,000 repented and were baptized, causing a great revival; all of which was the work of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Bryan mentioned something yesterday in his message about what happens when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, that we don't just get part of the Spirit, we get all of Him, all at once. This is in and of itself another form of retributive justice, that our old man has been crucified with Christ, and has been replaced with a new Spirit filled man; there is no rehabilitation offered to the old man, he is to be reckoned dead with Christ. This is why Paul can declare with all certainty, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1) Was there a penalty paid for our sin? You bet there was, it was paid for by Jesus Christ upon that cross; rehabilitation is out of the question and unnecessary because the old man is dead and has been crucified with Christ. The new man has been raised up out of the grave with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, all the Spirit we will need, all at once. If anything, we just need to experience all that the Holy Spirit will do in and through us; each and everything is available based upon our own desire and interest in His gifts and works...

"'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants -men and women alike -and they will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below -blood and fire an clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the LORD arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.'"
(Acts 2:17-21) NLT

"Retributive Justice"

"Let his days be few; and let another take his office." (Psalms 109:8)

 As I was saying, there is most surely no way that anyone can deny who Christ really is, and still make it into heaven. As some point out, this verse fits the likeness of what took place with Judas, the one the betrayed Jesus with a kiss. I think that is a little ironic, that Judas would use a kiss as a way to show those that were going to arrest Jesus who He was; you would think that He would have used the action of bowing down at His feet, but that would not have suited his belief. To Judas, Jesus was a man, and nothing more; if He were Lord and truly the Son of God to him, then I can't see how he would have betrayed Him the way that he did. He just didn't get it, like so many others that just cannot see the power and majesty that was put on display for all to see. Most of all the others that walked with Jesus did not get it either, not until He revealed Himself after His resurrection. That was most surely a game-changer in all of their hearts and minds, that He would rise, exactly as He said that He would. "Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up again." Such a bold statement, and one that caused many to be offended at His by what they thought was arrogance; if they only knew! Had Judas believed who Jesus truly was, he might not have done what he had done to end his own life. All those things Jesus spoke about forgiveness and mercy, none of those were even part of his consideration; not for him, not after what he did. Do you know anyone like that? I do, and it is totally sad to see them refuse to believe that they can be forgiven; as if what they have done to turn their back on Jesus is more than God will forgive them for. This is something that is in their own heart, it is not the heart of God! We do not get to make the rules, we are only allowed to break the rules; but even after we break them, God's rules still stand. Is anyone beyond the point of receiving God's gift of salvation? Only after they are dead; until then, it is always freely offered and Jesus has His arms wide open waiting and wanting us to play by the rules. God's rules rule...

"Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it is known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called, in the proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and, his bishopric let another take."
(Acts 1:16-20) KJV

"It Could Happen" -Too

"When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin." (Psalms 109:7)

 If you have been following this blog for any length of time, then you might have noticed that I like to make a play on the numbers of the chapters and verses; the number six is the number of man, the number seven is of God, and the number eight is new beginnings, and so on. In that line of thinking, I was wondering how this might somehow fall into that playbook. Anywho, this verses is one that speaks of something certain, as in, there is a finality to judgement and communication has been cut off. The word "sin" used in the verse is that of an offense, as in, 'How could you bring this sin against me?' or 'How could you make them sin such a great sin?' There is no way that we can ask forgiveness from the grave, David himself wrote about that in a previous Psalm; and once we are dead, all chances of repentance for sin is over. But this could also be speaking of something altogether different; something along the lines of condemnation before death, where prayer is not received because it is offensive to God. That is the part about us knowing what God wants, that we do not make the way to God, it is God's way or nothing! And God's way is through His Son, Christ Jesus. If someone is offended by that command, then they are condemned and their prayers are offensive to God, period! I am not speaking about those that don't know or have not been told; and even if they have been told but not yet received Him, they still can get through to God in prayer. That is not something that everyone believes, because there are some that don't think God listens to anyone that is not already one of His children. Which, if you stop and think about that, it is absurd, because His children have already been chosen before the foundations of the world! So how do we know who is and who is not one of God's children? Oh, that's easy. If you know what God wants and you agree to do it His way, then you are one of His children; if you are offended by that, then maybe you are not; and in that case, you are already condemned and your prayers are offensive to God. I wouldn't want to die in your condition...

""For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."" (John 3:16-18) KJV

"It Could Happen"

"When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin." (Psalms 109:7)

 I have this opinion about what might be spoken of here, that it could come a time when it is too late for a person to repent and ask God for forgiveness; like when might it be that the prayers of a sinner might become sin? To be perfectly honest, I sometimes feel as though my guilt and shame get the better part of my testimony of God's goodness and grace. Do you think David might have also felt the same? I think his guilt and shame prevented him from being the kind of father that kept his house in order; the kind of father that knew how and when to discipline his own children; but that might just be my own opinion, so take it for what its worth. That said, David was and still is considered a man after God's own heart, because he knew what God wanted and he knew that God loved him. Those are the two things that matter most in our relationship with God, to know that He loves us and to know what He wants from us. Does He want us to be perfect? You might think that if you did not know what He really wants, because He already knows that we are not, but He loves us anyway. No, He does not want us to be perfect. What He wants from us is to be dependent upon Him for perfection! How is that even possible? I can be made as clean as I want to be, by simply asking God to cleanse me of my sin. Every spot and every wrinkle, it is all up to me; and all that I need to do is ask Him. So when might that time come when asking is no longer an option? I know you all know the answer to that...

""The rich man shouted, 'Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.' "But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.'"
(Luke 16:24-26) NLT

"By Any Means"

"Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand." (Psalms 109:6)

  Before we go and think David was just speaking of his own situation, remember that God uses any and all situations to speak to us; not matter how awful or painful our situation might be, God makes every terrible thing that can ever happen in our lives into something useful and good. I know that there are some who don't believe it, but God does not lie; if He says that all things work towards the good, then even that thing that hurt you the most, it too is counted towards the good. Might this be speaking of a scare or more of an awakening? Some think it might. Or could it be David calling out for someone to overcome an adversary? Much could be made of that, however, if we are talking about Saul, then I don't think this would apply; and if it be Absalom, I seriously doubt he would go there; after all, he brought that upon himself. Sometimes we might need to just see the real battle that is going on around us, because it is not flesh and blood we are fighting against, it is a spiritual fight going on all over the world. It is usually hard to see the wickedness that is all around us without it being defined and made noticeable, but that does not mean it is not there, if we don't see it. Peter talked quite a lot about it, because I believe he realized it was so in his own life. That night he denied Jesus, he had no control whatsoever over that situation; it was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not. To that point, it could be that this is David speaking of himself, as if to say, 'Let the wickedness be revealed in me, and let me see where that wickedness comes from.' David had experience with this, in the way that Natan showed David that he was the man, speaking of the rich man that took his neighbor's pet lamb and fed it to his friend. When we get the right perspective, we see exactly who it is that we are dealing with and who it is that we sin against...

"When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he declared, "for I have betrayed an innocent man." "What do we care?" they retorted. "That's your problem." Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hung himself. The leading priests picked up the coins. "It wouldn't be right to put this money in the Temple treasury," they said, "since it was payment for murder." After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter's field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners. That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood. This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says, "They took the thirty pieces of silver -the price at which was valued by the people of Israel, and purchased the potter's field as the LORD directed."" (Matthew 27:3-10) NLT

"Inconceivable"

"And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love." (Psalms 109:5)

 Yes, I am being facetious. Not that we have ever experienced this kind of treatment as bad as Jesus did, because if we did, well, let's just say we wouldn't be here to talk about it. I can't imagine what it could have been like to be in that crowd. Would I have participated in the insults against Him? What did He do to deserve such hatred from an angry mob of people? If only they could have known in that instance that He was being sacrificed for their sins, would it have made a difference? Would it? I am not sure that people would accept it as a gift; for most it would have seemed as though they were being judged, just to need to be forgiven of their sins. If someone were to ask you, "Why did God need to come down from heaven and pay for our sins," would you have the right answer? Where would you start? It is really important to always start at the beginning! We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners! I was going to get a tattoo on my shoulder, once upon a time, that simply said, 'Born to be Bad.' It was not because I thought I was born to mess up, but I truly believed I was born messed up; and I was not that far off from the truth. Each and everyone of us were born into this world as sinners; each and everyone of us had the same sinful nature that was passed down from our ancestor Adam. His seed is what made each and every one of us possible. When God spoke His judgment upon the serpent, He said, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Obviously the devil does not have the power to stop the Word of God, because that actually did happen...

"Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One." The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" A sign was fastened above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself -and us, too, while you're at it."" (Luke 23:34-39) NLT

"LOOK; PRAY!"

"For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer." (Psalms 109:4)

 I wish that I could put exactly what I have written in my Bible for the title, but it is illustrated and I don't quite know how to type the illustration; I can only tell you that "LOOK" is made into a character that is looking and smiling at the word "PRAY." Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those that spitefully use us and persecute us; which is not normal for us to do, because we are not so incline to do so without first giving up some of our rights. Yes, it is true, we still have rights; even though this is not our rightful place anymore, we still have rights and a say in the way that we are treated. But, and it is a pretty big one, we answer primarily to our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus; who, is case you might not remember, said for us to follow Him! "My Lord and my God," were the words of Thomas after he put his finger into His hand, and his hand into His side. It was not just about learning of Him and listening to teachings, it just got real! It is now about suffering and being persecuted for love, the kind of love that makes people hate you and spitefully use you. That word "spitefully," it takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to the Light being cast upon the darkness. In the economic and business work, it might look like someone using someone else to increase their gain, because you are so easy to take advantage of or because you might let them; but in the matters of the heart, you are a threat to the comfort they feel in their sins; therefore they will do whatever it is in their power to make you appear unworthy or unimportant, just to make themselves feel more comfortable and free in their sin. This is what Jesus had to deal with, on so many different levels. The religious leaders of His day hated Him because they felt uncomfortable by His words and His teachings. Not only did they hate Him for what He taught, they hated Him for acting as they should have been acting themselves. If they truly followed the law, then they would have known that love was the center of each and every command from God. Love might not always be pretty, but it is always beautiful...

"I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me." (2 Corinthians 12:15) NLT

"Detectable"

"They compass me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause."
(Psalms 109:3)

  Don't you detect a little bit of the pattern? If there is one thing that makes sense in all of this, it is that David feels a little like what Jesus must have felt, having been rejected and hated by His own people. Pastor Bryan was trying to make this point yesterday, how Jesus knew the hearts of those all around Him. He knew what really made people follow Him, and He knew what drove those that hated Him. John 2:24 & 25 says, "But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man." Man's desire is to gain something, whether stature or possessions; those that looked for a sign did so for the sake of being satisfied by what they saw; but seeing is really not believing, because it will always require more to be seen. I know I shared this before, at least I should have; but I heard someone say how the devil will always speak to our sight, but God always speaks to our hearing. That might be why Jesus kept saying to the churches, "He who has an ear, let him hear." There is a lot of noise out there to fill our heads, but God's word works on our hearts, the center of our existence and all that we are. If we could just listen with intention, maybe we could begin to start putting some of what we hear to good use. To listen just for the sake of having knowledge does not do anyone any good. (I am preaching to myself here, of that I am pretty sure.) The point I was trying to make about Jesus having been treated unfairly His whole life, it pretty much started before He was even born; and even at His birth, He was born in a stable. Is that any way to treat a King? How about the Lord? He gave it all away to gain the whole world; fame and fortune, dignity and reputation, stature and position; all for the sake of you and me. You won't find that quality in the hearts of man; that is what He saw...

""They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: 'They hated me without cause.'" (John 15:22-25) NLT

"Conspicuous"

"For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue." (Psalms 109:2)

 This is pretty obvious, that is what I am trying to say; just in case you are asking. But seriously, don't you see the pattern and the flow from one point to the next? or is it just me? I have got to know, I'm I off my rocker or what? Yesterday's verse was going to be visited again, but I felt God was saying that I said enough. There are some things that are better left unsaid, to let people figure them out on their own; that way it makes more sense to them and they don't try to unwind and humanize what the Spirit might reveal in their hearts. But I will say one thing extra: We truly don't have a clue when it comes to how God works and thinks; "Like the blind leading the blind," is what my mother would always say. The most important thing we need to remember is that it is about God's promises! What He says is what matters the most, regardless of our unfaithfulness and stumbling around in the dark, He has chosen those that are His, because of His goodness towards us, not because we are good people. That said, we most surely have an enemy that is jealous and sick with hatred for us; so sick, that he can't see the writing on the wall or the end that is in sight. Sad to say, he has blinded the hearts and minds of many around us to the same truth; which makes it become something spiritual, not analytical; it is beyond human reasoning! There is such a measurable difference between those that are children of God and those that are not. The two types of people David speaks of here, are those that refuse to accept God and those that pretend to accept God; both of which are bent on making their own ways to be right, even though they are obviously not. There is just no other way to see it played out; if a person wants to be right, even though they are wrong, then the only thing that they can do is lie and make stuff up. If it is not something they have made up themselves, then they are just repeating what someone else has made up; even still, it is just the same lie; but the more it is repeated, the more it is believed to be truth, no matter how stupid it might appear...

"Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest's courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end. Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus so they could put him to death. But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone's testimony. Finally, two men came forward who declared, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'" Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Well, aren't you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?" But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, "I demand in the name of the living God -tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus replied, "You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God's right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothing to show horror and said, "Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?" "Guilty!" they shouted. "He deserves to die!"" (Matthew 26:58-66) NLT

"Momentous"

"Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;" (Psalms 109:1)

 This might be one of those Psalms where God can show us the what if's of our spiritual journey; those people and places that could have and should have been either part of our story or not. However, I have been convinced, over and over, that there are no mistakes in this journey, only lessons and momentous times of changing, either for better or worse. Matthew Henry says that this cannot be prescribed to any one portion of David's life; whether it be when he was hunted by Saul, or when he was rebelled against by Absalom. One thing is certain, there are some serious issues being put forth, some of which we could never find ourselves on the other end of, not as a child of the King! The retribution that is being sought is meant to be just rewards; an eye for an eye, is pretty much the thought. With that in mind, I cannot help but think of all the punishment that Jesus went through, not just in those last hours before He was crucified, but pretty much throughout His whole life. There are many of the curses mentioned here that could be easily ascribed to His life. When you stop and think about who He really was and what He gave up just to walk among us, the prince and the pauper story just is not deep enough. Have you ever had one of the situations where you really don't know how or what to pray for? You know that you want retribution for something that has happened, but you don't really know how or even why God should answer. Nothing that happened to David was outside of God's direction or protection; yet there were plenty of things that could have serious questions: Why did this happen? What is God trying to show me? How is this doing me any good? There are surely plenty of things in my own life that have unanswered questions, but none of them can be removed without also removing an answer...

"Sing a new song to the LORD! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth! Sing, all you who sail the seas, all you who live in distant coastlands. Join in the chorus, you desert towns; let the villages of Kedar rejoice! Let the people of Sela sing for joy; shout praises from the mountaintops! Let the whole world glorify the LORD; let it sing his praise. The LORD will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies. He will say, "I have long been silent' yes, I have restrained myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant. I will level the mountains and hills and blight all their greenery. I will turn the rivers into dry land and will dry up all the pools. I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them. But those who trust in idols, who say, 'You are our gods,' will be turned away in shame."" (Isaiah 42:10-17) NLT

"A Cry for Retribution"

PSALMS 109 [To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.]

 Okay, so it is a little complicated, sometimes we just can't know all of the answers, nor could we. Who are we that we should be able to figure out the plan of God? He just shows us a little glimpse of who He is and what is mighty hand is doing; this is why we must always trust Him, because He always knows best and is always going to do what He has promised. My next question is one that came to me yesterday while driving, believe it or not, when someone cut me off. As they did so, I thought about all of the times that I cut people off and what that must have made them think. It was probably a good thing I don't have a bumper sticker, that is what I was thinking. The question that came to mind had to do with "God's commands." Simple enough question, but, Is it a command of God to accept His Son as our personal Savior? When Solomon said, "Fear God and obey his commands," does our believing in Jesus Christ fall into that category of a command? Easy answer: Yes! Yes, it most surely is a command; as a matter of fact, it is the ultimate command! The way Jesus explained it Himself, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17) The stop lights and street signs are commands, they are not suggestions on how we should drive. When the light says stop, it is telling us to obey what the light is saying; it is a command. When God sent the Light into the world, He was telling us that the Light was the way to Salvation; it was not a suggestion, it was a command: 'Do this or perish!' It was not that He was judging us, as if to say, 'Here is my ultimatum!' He was saving us, saying, 'Here is the way to Salvation!' We were condemned already, God did not need to send His Son to condemn us! He sent His Son to save us, just like a big giant sign on the road that says, "The Bridge is Out!" There is no way you are going to make your own bridge, as if you have super powers or live in a cartoon. God's command of Salvation is love, not judgement; it is God saying that we are going to perish if we do not do what He says; not because He is going to make us perish if we do not, but because that is where we are headed, and He has provided for us another way...

"O LORD, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!" (Jeremiah 17:14) NLT

"Through God" - Too

"Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies." (Psalms 108:13)

 Just in case you might have missed it, the majority of all of those issues we have are associated with the flesh; and by my understanding of what Paul was trying to say in Romans, pretty much throughout the whole letter, is that the flesh is to be considered crucified with Christ. So, that little issue you might have with insecurity or arrogance or even something that keeps knocking you down, it is no longer an issue, it no longer needs to be an issue; it needs to be considered dead in Christ. If anything, we need to be focused upon those things that are associated with our new life in Christ and quit trying to fix the stuff that does not pertain anymore to who we are in Christ. We are children of the King! Is it really that easy? I guess it depends on your frame of mind; or, if you are so incline, the condition of your heart. As far as that scale to measure our virtues goes, one Godly virtue pretty much tips the scale. If you don't think that is true, then look at Samson's life; where would his scale end up percentage wise? Or even Solomon, who did everything a king was not to do; he had a few wives, horses, chariots; he even dabbled in pagan religions. I am not saying that any of those things did not cost him something, because they always do; but what really matters the most is where it all is settled in the end; or as Solomon might say, "The end of the matter!" If this Psalm is about a cry for aid, aid is something required because we cannot do it alone, ever! There is a spiritual side to life and the physical side; everything that is associated with the physical side is temporary and dying. There is nothing we get to hold onto in this life, nothing that goes with us into the next. The aid that we truly need is all about the spiritual things, those things that truly matter when this life is all said and done. It is only those things which are done through Christ that last; this is a very good thing...

""Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "completely meaningless." Keep this is mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly. The words of the wise are like cattle prods -painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep. But, my child, let me give you some further advise: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. That's the whole story. Here is now my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad." (Ecclesiastes 12:8-14) NLT

"Through God"

"Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies." (Psalms 108:13)

  The Lord has really put something on my heart this morning, that we need to prepare ourselves and be ready. That is all I will say about that, because it is only through God that we stand a chance, any sort of chance, to make it into heaven. We sometimes take a lot of things for granted when it comes to this salvation, as we probably should; but to pretend that we don't have to say or do anything about this wonderful gift we have been given, that is an assumption I do not want to be found guilty of. The Lord put that parable of the ten virgins in my heart this morning, the five that were ready and five that were not. My heart grew rather sad thinking about the implication of the five and five; coupled with what He said about, "One shall be taken, and the other one left," I began to get the expression that there was only 50% of those who think they are ready, but will not be ready upon His return. It is pretty sobering when you think about that in that way, because 50% is a pretty big number, but on the other hand, it is not. I am pretty sure that the word "valiantly" has a lot to do with what makes the difference in the life of a believer. It is a word that speaks of many different virtues and abilities, the majority of which go hand in hand with what it might look like to be a son of the King. Would you consider yourself to be someone that has the virtue and wealth of a son of the King? It is not that hard to consider or figure out; we just need to be honest. A 'Ben Franklin Scale' might come in handy; you could list all the virtues on one side, and all the non-virtues on the other; maybe you stand a fifty-fifty chance. Just so you know, I am under the opinion that any virtue is enough, as long as that virtue is through God and not of our own. Looking through the list of all that word represents, the end of the list sums it up: "The strength of a tree, spoken poetically of its fruits"...

"I pass on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me -and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace."
(1 Corinthians 15:3-10) NLT

"A Cry That Counts"

"Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man." (Psalms 108:12)

 Remember when you were a child and you thought wishes could come true? Whether it was wishing upon a star, or it was blowing out your birthday candles, that wish meant something in your heart, and you anticipated what might become of it. Not quite sure why I brought that up, except that there is something about hope and faith that makes even the worst day of our lives a little better. I can't say that I remember a single thing that I had ever wished for; maybe because what I wished for was a thing, and things hardly count for anything worth holding onto. Every since I was about ten or so, I can remember crying out to God for help. It was about that time in my life when my parents were always having drunken fights; it got to a point when home was not that safe of a place anymore. I did believe in God, that much I can remember; but I had no idea who God really was or if He even cared about my cry for help. Regardless, it felt good to get it out and have someone worth crying to, if you know what I am talking about. Now when I cry out to God for help, it always means something more; if I have an issue with God answering my cry, it is only if He agrees with my request or not, not if He is listening or whether or not He cares. These days crying is not something that happens because of suffering or situations; not like when I was younger, when I seemed like the world was bigger than God. God is so much bigger to me now; more so than I ever imagined He could be. Now when I cry out, it is only because my heart hurts and I know that He can make it all better. I know I shared on this before, but God does soothe our aching hearts, if we let Him. I remember crying so hard and feeling God touch my shoulder, almost as if to say, "It is okay, go ahead and get it out." But then, after about ten or fifteen minutes of crying, it felt as though He had taken His hand off, and was saying, "Okay, that's enough of that; now rejoice in Me." And the funny thing was, I actually could...

"This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. "But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve."" (Jeremiah 17:5-10) NLT

"Most Assuredly"

"Will not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? And wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?"
(Psalms 108:11)

 Maybe we don't get the message as often as we think, because there is no power in us, and there is surely no power in any other thing that we think can protect us, other than God! No matter what! Even if God has cast us off, where else will we turn to for help? I can't help but think of Saul, who could not get any answer from God, so he chose to seek help from a woman who was a Medium. If we are having problems communicating with God, then maybe we need to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking; but there is never any other place to go for help, ever! Saul's biggest problem was with his ability to admit he was wrong and repent before God. Sad to say, that is what keeps us from coming into the Throne Room of God, unconfessed sin and a hard heart. To see the significance of what it means to be right with God, we need to go back to the beginning, where David says, "My heart is fixed." Only God can fix our heart, but it requires us giving Him our heart to be fixed! If we can't or won't surrender it all to Him, then we are always going to have trouble getting through and having the answers that we seek. The closer we draw to God, the more sinful we appear; as crazy as that might sound, it is true. We are seriously flawed, with issues in our lives, the likes of which we hardly know of ourselves. But the closer we draw to the Light, the more the sin in our lives becomes apparent, and more pressing it is to need to do something about it. I think of Isaiah, who while spiritually standing in the Temple of God, said, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5) There was seriously nothing that he could do about his unclean lips, nothing! It is only by God's holiness that we are made holy! The righteousness of His Son makes us righteous! When will we ever learn that...

"I have discovered this principle of life -that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is a war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin." (Romans 7:21-25) NLT

"God Is Willing"

"Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom? (Psalms 108:10)

 Obviously, someone forgot what "through" means, because God is more than able, our God is always willing to do what is best for us. Isn't that what we ultimately want, for God to do what is best? Not my will, but your will, O God, isn't that what we say and preach? That might be something we want, but getting there is not always the way that we expect things to happen. As crazy as it might get, we are always secure in the Lord! And just in case that might not be good enough, Jesus said, "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:29) Whatever condition we might find ourselves in, whether insecure, weak, headstrong, or totally conceited, God can take us as we are and make us whole, if we just let Him! I will never forget Pastor Gary's sermon on learning how to drown. He illustrated what it was like by becoming totally limp at the pulpit, so much so, that I looked for the wires or ropes that might have been holding him up. I did not see any, so I had to assume that it was something God had done, because it was pretty freaky to watch him go limp and still stay upright, the way that he did. But it is a fact that God will not attempt to help us if we are struggling to help ourselves. We flail our arms and kick our feet, doing everything that we can to keep ourselves from drowning; and all the while, God waits, patiently waits for us to give up, and let Him do what needs to be done to deliver us from a watery grave. Just in case you don't know what that is like, it is pretty frightening. I was taught how to swim by my stepfather trying to drown me; thinking all the while, why is he trying to kill me, what did I do to deserve this kind of treatment. He did not let me drown, but it sure seemed that he was trying to see if I would. I kept reaching for the edge of the pool, but he kept pushing me back, trying to get me to hold myself up in the water. Do you know how hard it is to hold yourself up in water when you don't know how? Once I learned how, I could do it all day if I wanted to; but it takes me relaxing, which is not something you do when you think you are going to drown. It might seem sometimes as though God is trying to drown us; or at least that He is allowing to drown ourselves; but it is all about surrender, complete surrender...

"The LORD says to Edom, "I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised. You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home in the mountains. 'Who can ever reach us way up here?' you ask boastfully. But even if you soar as high as the eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down," says the LORD." (Obadiah 1:2-4)

"Through Our Arrogance"

"Moab is my washout; over Edom I will cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph."
(Psalms 108:9)

  Okay, so maybe this is not the way things are actually made to be; but it is the way I see it being played out, and it is what I believe God wants me to see. As I mentioned before, there are so many things, most of them so little we can't even tell they are there, but all of them things that effect our ability to seriously cry out to God for aid; not because we do not have faith, so much as our faith is not in the right place. Whether it is our own stupidity, or if it is our weakness to sin; either way, our trust and security in God for who He is and what He is all about, it just does not reach to the level that we need to overcome and to be victorious. So we have some battles won here and there, as we grin and think we have accomplished something important. The biggest battle there is to be fought is the one inside, the one that we continually keep putting off or think we can correct our own direction, one day, some way. That is what "arrogance" represents! It is when we know that it is not going to work that way, but we somehow think we are different, that we have it all figured out, and that what the Bible might say regarding surrender only applies to real hardened sinners, not to me and my pitiful little sins. You might be right, this is the completely wrong observation and I am reading more into it than there actually is. Then again...

"When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You don't understand now what I am doing, but someday you will." "No," Peter protested, "you will never ever wash my feet!" Jesus replied, "Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me."
(John 13:6-8) NLT

"Through Our Independence"

"Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver;"
(Psalms 108:8)

 It is pretty obvious to me that we must be completely dependent upon God, but it is also pretty apparent to me that we tend to try and take the wheel from time to time. Call it confidence or a false security; but what ever it is, and how ever we end up in that frame of mine, it is a dangerous place to be. We seriously lack what it takes to control our own lives, yet we find ourselves being taken to the place of trying to do just that, without even knowing it is happening. Within these next few verses are testimonies of God's promises to David; a point is being made about those victories and triumphs over certain obstacles and hindrances of life and living in a fallen world. If we could just remain focused upon the fact that we are completely dependent upon God for our strength and our ability to remain standing in His grace, then maybe we could avoid falling as often as we do. Is it really that easy? No it is not! It might be simple, but it is far from easy. There are just too many distractions and things that cause us to not stay focused upon the Lord. Maybe that is why God allows us to suffer from time to time, to understand our great need for Him to be in control. It is a very peculiar place we must be in; one that we control by our choices we make, but one that is controlled by God...

""Can you catch Leviathan with a hook or put a noose around its jaw? Can you tie it with a rope through the nose or pierce its jaw with a spike? Will it beg you for mercy or implore you for pity? Will it agree to work for you, to be your slave for life? Can you make it a pet like a bird, or give it to your little girls to play with? Will merchants try to buy it to sell in their shops? Will its hide be hurt by spears or its head by a harpoon? If you lay a hand on it, you will certainly remember the battle that follows. You won't try that again! No, it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down. And since no one dares to disturb it, who then can stand up to me? Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine."" (Job 41:1-11) NLT

"Through Our Impermanence"

"God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth." (Psalms 108:7)

 Such a lofty word, impermanence; not! It actually means temporary and not permanent; something that we are in this world, something we can also say for our word and our promises. However, we can never prescribe this word to God and His word or promises; what He says and what He does are the same, always. Simply put, we cannot compare the way we do things or the way we might know things to be done to how God works. This is why David can rejoice! God has spoken, and so it shall be done, no questions asked! God will never lie or mislead us, ever! Interesting way to prove a point, but it must be done, none the less. The point I am seeing here is that of our ability to perform on any promise that we make to God. Oh, I see myself performing promises all the time, but they are on my terms and conditions, not God's. God does not change His mind; God does not learn by making mistakes, because He never makes them, ever! Some people like to point to Genesis 6:6, saying, 'See, God does make mistakes!' This is man's point of view when it comes to repenting, but with God, it does not mean wishing to take something back, it means grieving to go forward. This is the one thing about knowing what comes next, it hurts to know! This is why Jesus wept so bitterly in the garden before He was arrested; in a way, you could say that He repented having to go forward; but that did not stop Him from doing it; Thank God! If there is one thing that I have learned over the years, it is that we are never a strong as we think that we are; ever...

"By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins." (2 Peter 1:3-9) NLT

"Through Our Insecurity" -3

"That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me." (Psalms 108:6)

 The way Matthew Henry puts it, the 'beloved' is the church, therefore, it is what we are all about; more than that, it is what we care for, more than we care about our own individual concerns. That is not something you see happening much anymore, at least not in the wider sense. This is about 'A Cry for Help;' so if we are attempting to ask God for help, then shouldn't we at least try and be on the same page with Him? Please don't get me wrong, this is an issue that I continue to deal with myself, so it is something I think I know little of what I am talking about. We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord, and as such, we are all members of the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head. When we tear down another member of our body, how can we possibly feel good about ourself? Of all the things we can do in our spiritual walk to tear ourselves down, this is by far the worst. I don't care what kind of sin you deal with on a personal level, it is somewhat contained to yourself; as such, it is dealt with, for the most part, between you and the Lord. But when you start sinning against your brothers and sisters, you are entering into a public arena of guilt and shame; one that requires asking one another for forgiveness, as well as asking for the Lord to forgive you for what you have done. Maybe you don't think that it is such a big deal, as if it something that everyone else is doing, so why make a big fuss over it. Just because it is what is done, does not make it right! And just because you might not feel bad over it, does not mean that you shouldn't be doing it. Remember the point about the calluses of our hearts? This is exactly the kind of friction I believe God was speaking to my heart about. This is about causing friction in the Body of Christ! We are all to love one another, just as much, if not more than we love ourselves. We are secure in Christ, when we are secure in Christ! I really don't know how else to put it. When we are secure in Christ, then what hurts my brother or sister hurts me also; there is absolutely no way that it can't, because we are of the same body. If you don't feel pain as you should, then you are in need of some serious reconnection to the Body. Talk about being insecure...

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to the good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him." (Ephesians 1:3-10) KJV

"Through Our Insecurity" -2

"That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me." (Psalms 108:6)

 So, if you were thinking that I was done with that, we are just getting started. There are so many areas of trust and complaining that still need to be addressed. If you did not catch the point of what Paul was trying to say, I will try and be gentle, because I feel it is the number one killer of the perfect harmony that we are to have within our fellowship with one another; which is backbiting! None of us are perfect, so why do we spend so much energy on one another's imperfections? 'Did you hear what so and so did?' 'Did you see what she wore?' 'How could they?' It is not really our place to magnify the wrong people might do; and it is surely not our place to spread stories and talk about people behind their backs. Please don't feel offended by what I am saying, because I am as guilty as the next person. I think we are so insecure in our own relationship with the Lord, that we need to try and make others appear more messed up then we are; when all it really does is mess us up more in the eyes of others. Don't get me wrong, there are some people that love to gossip and hear gossip; but if we only knew what the Lord felt about such things, we would try very hard to take it all back. In case you might have missed the punchline, Jesus told Peter, in no simpler terms, 'If you love me, feed those that I love.' We are all in this together; some of us more than others, but there is none of us that do not matter to God. We surely do not have a right to tear each other down and to hold any level of charge against a brother or sister. Maybe you don't see it, but I am more than certain the ill we hold against one of our own is enough to cause us to feel ashamed deep down in our hearts. We are all the same body! Which basically means that we need one another, and we need to create harmony within the body...

""Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance -all who seek the LORD! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined. Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation." The LORD will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air." (Isaiah 51:1-3) NLT

"Through Our Insecurity"

"That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me." (Psalms 108:6)

 Someone once told me, "If you ever feel as though God does not love you, think of Jesus' arms stretched out on that cross, and then ask Him, 'How much do you love me?'" How much more proof do we need? The big difference between us that know the Lord and those that do not, is a little something called hope; as bad as it might get in this world, there is hope beyond the grave. I know that it is pointless to argue that fact with those who do not believe, but it is more about reaffirming what we know deep down in our hearts; to express what we believe is a way of strengthening that belief within us; the more we repeat it, the more we believe it, or something like that. Anywho, the reason for this title, if you were wondering, is the issues I spoke of yesterday, the specific questions in our heart, those things that make us feel unlovely and unloved. Not that I want to get into every little detail of what causes those insecurities, but there comes a point when we need to just keep our eyes on Jesus and stop feeling like such a failure. Couple this verse together with the last, and you can see that there is a huge difference between where we are and where the Lord is; we are stuck here in these temporal bodies, the Lord is exalted high above the heavens and earth. We could feel as though we have so much distance between us, if it were not for the Holy Spirit's comfort and assurance of where we belong. The word "beloved," although it speaks of being loved, it is also speaking of being a friend. Do you feel as though you are a friend of God? Do you constantly treat Him as a friend? If you have a best friend here, right now in this life, would you talk behind their back? If you did, what would that do to your relationship while you were with them? What if you depended on their help, I mean really needed them? Maybe it does not make much sense right now, but it will, you will see. I can't help but think about when Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him; the first love Jesus spoke about was a social love, something that Peter had miserably failed at when he denied Him three times. Jesus asked him, "lovest thou me more than these?", which was referring to the others, implying that what man thought might interfere with his love towards Him; which it had, the night of his denial. Jesus repeated the second question by asking him again with the same manor of love, but without comparing it with a social issue. This might have stung more than the first, because now it was just between the two of them. Jesus was asking, "All other issues aside, when it comes right down to it, do you love me dearly." These two times, the love spoken of was the kind of love by which God loves us, "agape love," which is a love based upon nothing else but the way we are loved. It is the kind of love that does not set a bar, but regardless of what, keeps loving. The more you fight, the more He loves; the more complain, the more He loves; He just keeps on loving, because He is love. The third time Jesus asked Peter, "lovest thou me?", He asked him using the love of a friend, "phileo" a word that means brotherly love, to love someone as your friend...

"In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony." (Colossians 3:11-14) NLT

"God Is Able"

"Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;" (Psalms 108:5)

 Here is where things start getting specific and the questions start getting a little more in touch with the way we see God's ability to aid us in our times of trouble. I am under the strong belief that God is only able to do as much as you believe that He is capable of doing; if you don't believe that He has the power that He says that He has, then your life will lack the power that is available from Him. It is not a question of what He can do, but a question of how much you believe He can do. One statement Jesus made several time to His disciples, was, "Where is your faith?" And I do not think He was asking them where their faith is, like they had no faith, but rather, where had they put their faith, as in, in whom do you believe? If we believe the God is able to do all things and cares for us, then we can hold on, knowing that He is able and cares for us, because He is God; "For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37) It is hard to forget all that we have learned over the years, but if we are truly going to experience God doing the impossible, then it is going to take us putting all of our faith in Him. It is funny how we try and justify God's power and wonders. I have heard so many stupid things said by people who claim to be Christians; things concerning the flood, or the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea on dry land; or the virgin birth of Jesus and even His resurrection from the dead.  How do we pretend to believe that God can come to our aid, if we cannot get past our unbelief in His power to do everything or anything? Again, if we are having issues with God creating the earth and the heavens in 6 days, then why would believe anything else? I am not going to argue with what the Bible says, but it does clearly say, repeatedly, 'And the evening and the morning were the day,' not the thousand years, or the millennium. Who knocked down the walls of Jericho? Who parted the Red Sea? Who knows every star by name? He is God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and He knows your name! He knows everything about you, and He loves you more than you can imagine. If God was willing and able to save you, He most surely is able to keep you...

"My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing you praises! Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For you unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth." (Psalms 57:7-11) NLT

"On Solid Ground" -Too

"For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds." (Psalms 108:4)

 As far as our ability to reach, it is only by our lips that it is possible; through praise and prayer; by our sharing and ministering God's word; every word spoken of or about God's great mercy and love, is not only received in heaven, but it is recorded. Doesn't that make you feel like sharing the treasure that is in your heart? I know that the blood of Jesus has washed away all of our sins, but there is just something special about sharing the awesome gift we have been given; it is not for our salvation that we do this, it is to glorify the name of Jesus. Which reminds me, the solid ground that we are on, it is our Rock; He is the manifestation of the Word of God. John was so taken by this revelation that he spent the first 18 verses of his Gospel to try and get us to understand it. Isaiah 55:9 says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." There are a couple of different ways that we can receive that statement: one is that of God being so far superior and holy that we could never ever come close to understanding Him and how He works; the second, much like like the first, but with compassion, is that His ways and His thoughts for us are secured high above, out of our reach and beyond our ability to destroy them. No matter what we might think, God thinks differently; no matter which way we might turn, God will always turn us around. Philippians 1:6 says, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." God always finishes what He starts! We might not get that or understand how He works it all out, but isn't why we do what we do! Here is another quote from C.S. Lewis: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." If it is true, and I firmly believe that it is, then our very lives depend upon not only knowing it, but that we share it to those we love and meet; it is that important, because without them believing also, they are going to hell. That is the meaning of that quote; that is what drove Paul to keep praying for and ministering to his fellow Jews. Even though he was called to minister to the Gentiles, Paul still had a heart and a concern for those who he saw as being trapped under the law, unable to realize their own need for God's gift of salvation, because they were so consumed with following the law and doing it on their own. If ever you wanted an illustration of sinking sand, that was what it looks like...

""Yes," says the LORD, "I will do mighty miracles for you, like those I did when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt." All the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the LORD will do for you. They will be embarrassed at their feeble power. They will cover their mouths in silent awe, deaf to everything around them. Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the LORD our God. They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence. Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago." (Micah 7:15-20) NLT

"On Solid Ground"

"For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds." (Psalms 108:4)

 You might be wondering how on earth this title has anything to do with heavens and clouds; frankly, I am not quite there yet, I only know that God whispered that into my ear the second time I read it and thought about what it meant. Do you ever remember laying on your back outside and looking up at the clouds in the sky? It might have been quite some time ago; for me is was maybe 40 years or so. I remember a time when I looked for patterns in the clouds; I even remember drawing pictures that would try and illustrate some of the images that I remember seeing. There is absolutely no way that anyone can honestly deny that there is a Creator. If anyone tries, they are using nothing but lies and made up statistics to try and convince themselves that there is no God. When you look at the odds of anything they believe happening, oddly enough, they closely resemble the odds of the prophecies of the Bible being fulfilled; especially the odds of those prophecies concerning Jesus. The amazing difference between the two, is that one is truth and the other is a lie! Go figure! Can we not see why those that deny God are called fools? Yet, in the eyes of the wicked, anyone that holds onto the truth is considered a fool. Do you see the kind of stuff that we are up against? Smoke and mirrors, that's all it really is; there is nothing there to base any kind of argument on, so there is no reason to debate the truth of what they believe. C.S. Lewis was someone that it is told went from not believing to believing absolutely. A famous quote of his, is: "I believe in Christianity as I believe in the rising sun; not because I see it, but by it I can see all else." Does that sound familiar? In John 3:3, Jesus speaking to Nicodemus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Another famous quote from C.S. Lewis, is one that speaks to what I have been sharing about for the last several weeks, maybe even off and on over the last fourteen plus years. If ever there was something that we could count on, it is that God's love and mercy is always there for us to grab hold of, even though we might not feel worthy or acceptable. "Though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not." Aren't you glad you can't reach that...

"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7) NLT

"Making Memories" -2

"I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations."
(Psalms 108:3)

 Okay, so maybe everyone is not called to preach; but each and every one of God's children are called to be lights in the darkness. His light shines in us for a reason, even if it is helping out in Sunday School or monitoring the parking lot, we all have a role and a function in the army of the Lord; even if it is just supplying food and water to those that are on the front lines. God has been putting this on my heart lately, and I feel as though the profession I have worked at for all of this years is getting more and more stressful, almost as if it is not where I am meant to be. I have felt God calling me into an RV ministry, one that focuses on being committed in marriage and bonding together with our spouse in the twilight years of our lives. You can bet the Gospel Message would be woven into all of that, but in this day and age, the conversation needs to be one that grabs the attention of the listener. Paul used the statues and idols on Mars Hill to grab the attention of those that worshipped them, making the one proclaimed to the unknown god as his focal point to introduce the Creator, and God they did not know. That is pretty much what we do, we find out what people are interested in, and then gain their attention to introduce them to the Lord. Paul said, "Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ." (1 Corinthians 9:19 NLT) It really is about making ourselves available. Just showing up sometimes is the most important first step in any ministry. Besides, we really need to start putting notches on our belts, if you will. There are so many wrong things we remember doing and things that cause us to be discouraged, we need to over shadow those things with the good and right things, those things that not only please the Lord, but make us feel worthy to be called His servants. Yes, it is about the memories; those things that we look back on and can point to as proof God is, has and will work in and through our lives. Isn't that what fruit is all about? Where is the fruit? James says, "How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless?" (James 2:20 NLT) It is not about works, it is about The Work! It is about us being open for the Holy Spirit to do His work in our lives; even if it might take us somewhere we never thought we would go. Real memories are born in adventure and uncharted experience; as faith is only really realized when it is tested and used...

"Don't be misled -you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone -especially to those in the family of faith." (Galatians 6:7-10) NLT

"Making Memories"

"I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations."
(Psalms 108:3)

 Don't you think it is interesting how God records all the times that you share Him with others? You do know that He does, right? He does not record our transgressions, but He does record our encounters with others on His behalf. Malachi 3:16 makes mention of this, that there is a record kept in heaven of our conversations and testimonies of Him. Our sins are buried at the bottom of the ocean, but our conversations of Him are written down forever in heaven. When I spoke of our need to be offensive, it was the meaning of being actively aggressive and attacking; pushing forward in our campaign against the darkness and all things that want to take us and those we love off the path which God has placed us upon. The opposite of that action would be for a person to be passive; passive people are those that allow or accept what happens to them and what others do, without active response or action. Okay, so maybe a passive person still prays and intercedes, but there is a time to pray and a time to take action; our most common response is that of defense, trying to hold back the powers of darkness, instead of tearing down strongholds and lifting up the name of Jesus. Is that even something we are called to participate in? First of all, the battle is always the Lord's; He is the Captain of Heaven's Armies, but we are His soldiers and He expects us to fight, not for our rights, but for His Kingdom. Our rights in this world are hardly the question; as a matter of fact, if Jesus had been concerned about His rights, then He would not have allowed them to nail Him to the cross. If we are going to be concerned with rights, then let us speak of what is right and overshadow the lies, not just remain quite and not share the truth that we hold in our hearts. These are the things that please God: a heart that wants to share who He is and all that He has done, a love for Him that is willing to speak of how much He loves us, and the ability to make ourselves available for Him to speak through. All of these things and more are the treasures we hold in these earthen vessels; but they are hardly of any use if they remain locked up inside of us...

"If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves." (2 Corinthians 4:3-7) NLT

"With All My Soul"

"Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early." (Psalms 108:2)

 Just to be perfectly clear, sin is not only the things that we do, but sin is also the things that we do not do. As a matter of fact, I am under the opinion that it maters more that we do what God wants us to do, more than it does for us to do the things God does not want us to do; as if there really is any difference between the two, in the eyes of the religious. Listen carefully to what the Lord said, because most of all He instructed us in was to be servants unto others and to love one another. We must replace the bad with the good; we cannot just stop doing evil, the evil must be replaced with doing good. I see this verses as something of a wake-up call for our soul; it is more about a readiness and availability to be used by God, and it makes us rise up out of bed early with anticipation for what God will do with us today. You know that old saying, "the heart is willing, but the flesh is weak," well this speaks of the soul, our inner most desires and ambitions, the things that keep us from falling fast asleep and wake us up early with excitement and anticipation. I really enjoyed watching the playoff yesterday morning between Pernilla and Inbee; I looked forward through the night to see who would have what it took to win the to championship. When I watched Pernilla go for the green on the 18th hole, I knew that she was the one; whether she won or lost, she proved that she wanted it the most. It is very much like that in our walk with the Lord: How much do we want to be used by God? How much do we want to please Him in everything that we do? Does it move us, or are we just along for the ride? God looks at the heart, and if our hearts are not right, then that should concern us and make us want to get our hearts fixed. But more than that, we need to be constructive in doing those things God wants us to do; we can't just get a new heart and then not put it to use, it must be put to use and be busy doing those things that please the Father. This is one of Paul's main points within the book of Romans: "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." (Romans 8:5) In a way, doing the things of the Spirit is more important to our walk than not doing the things of the flesh, even though we should not be doing those things which cause us to stumble. But if we do not do the things of the Spirit, then those old things that once moved us will creep back into our lives. Something must be manifested within us that makes us become offensive and stop just trying to live defensively...

"The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore,   dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heir's of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering." (Romans 8:11-17) NLT

"With All My Heart"

"O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory." (Psalms 108:1)

 Maybe it might take some time, but God has all the time that He needs to get us right where He wants us to be. I think that might be part of our problem, we seldom feel like we are where God wants us, so we are continually waiting for that right place to appear; for that place God has established for us to blossom into the perfect man or woman He has called us to be. Interesting enough, the place we are looking for is inside us, it's our heart! No, I am not trying to say that we have anything within our self that matters; except for the power of the Holy Spirit, everything in us has no power at all. I am talking about the place where God wants to do His perfect work in our lives, that it is not an actual place where He will bring you or place you, it is the place of our heart. Our heart is where He makes things blossom and where things are made perfect. If we allow Him, He will change our heart; and if God changes our heart, we can start loving Him as we should! The Lord gave me a little illustration of something very interesting, it involves the calluses that form on our hearts. Being in construction I know a little something about calluses, that they are created in areas where friction repeatedly occurs. When it comes to matters of the heart, our heart also can become callused by repeating the same sins over and over again. There is friction within our hearts every time we commit sin, especially that sin which we might constantly struggle against. That kind of sin is one that we debate over inside; should I or shouldn't I; can I get away with it, or is it too risky. These little debates are not only wrong, they cause friction! Friction is what causes calluses! There is no need for debate! We have been delivered from the body of sin, so why do we keep wanting to debate with it? You see that word "glory," as in, "even with my glory"; what that word means is exactly what it says, glory, honor, splendor, reputation, reverence and dignity. All of these qualities and more are the makings of a new heart; when God created a new life in us, He gave us a new heart also; a heart that was born of His Spirit. All these calluses that have formed over the years have made our hearts hardened to the voice of His Spirit; whether it be realized or not, they are what keep us from being ready to listen and keep us from wanting to obey. Something that I noticed in the movie "Risen," was when Jesus healed the man with leprosy towards the end of the movie; one of His disciples told the Roman, "this is why we followed Him; watch and see Him heal that man." If you need your heart fixed, I think I know someone that can fix it...

"Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give is light.""
(Matthew 11:28-30) NLT

"A Cry for Aid"

PSALMS 108 [A Song or Psalm of David.]

 If ever there was a reason for us to feel empowered by death, it is the resurrection of Christ that makes it a reality. Of all the other reasons we might have to make a claim to the victory of the cross, it is the fact that Jesus lives that makes His death on that cross meaningful and overwhelming. Who of all the false gods can claim victory over death? There is none! And yet, those that worship such false objects and persons put their faith and hope in them, as if there is something to be offered for their service and dedication. It just so happens that the title over the Psalm in my Bible is my title for today. There are also two other of the Psalms that are made reference to within the lines of this Psalm; the first of which is Psalms 57:7-11 at the beginning, and the second is all of Psalm 60 starting at verse six. There is absolutely nothing more important to the faith which we hold than the fact that Jesus rose again from the grave, just as He promised that He would. Him rising from that tomb is a game-changer for everything that He did, all the punishment that He endured on the cross for you and I, it is all meaningless and for nothing without Him defeating and overcoming the grave. And because He lives, we live also! That my friend is something we can can take to the grave and rejoice about! And there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to take that claim away. If there is aid we are looking for, there is no greater aid we could receive that to have victory over death...

"Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which have fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and became the firstfruits of them that slept." (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)