"To Witness Change"

"Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously." (Psalms 119:29)

  If you have ever actually been involved with some sort of accident where two or more people are involved, then you will probably know how there will be two or more stories to the turn of events. I can recall a teacher lining our class in a line, having the first student whisper in the second students ear a certain illustrated event, and then one by one, each student would share what they were told to the next. By the time it reached the end of the line, it was hard to tell that it was the same event. Call it selective hearing, or the lack of attention to detail; whatever you want to call it, it is the result of a natural intention we have to lie. Maybe that might seem like a pretty harsh assumption, but if you stop and think about it, nobody needs to teach a small child to lie, they just naturally do it on their own. So, how does lying actually change the passing down of a story? That's easy: it's a little thing called 'embellishment.' It is to take something you have been told and add your own twist on it to make it more attractive or entertaining. This is something that can be quite costly within the church, because a simple mistake that is made by a brother or sister can quickly become something that it never really was; especially on a system commonly referred to as a prayer-chain. But I will not touch on that; it is a good thing to have handy, but it needs to be well monitored. It is no secret that David had an issue with lying, some people just like how it allows them to manipulate certain situations. But when it comes to making a change, lying is a lot like making ripples in water: they spread out in different directions, and they are bound to come back in your direction. Hence, the reason for this very important request: "And grant me they law graciously." Just in case you might have forgotten, we are witnessing "The Law of the Lord." Each and every portion of these 22 sections, based upon the Hebrew Alphabet, all 176 verses, are dealing with the Law of the Lord. We truly need pity when it comes to lying, because most of the time, lies when come back to bite us. The greatest part of this law regarding God's graciousness, is that He is our final judge. It is kind of like, let the chips fall where they may, because I will no longer lie to cover up another lie...

"Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God -truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body." (Ephesians 4:21-25) NLT

"To Wit"

"My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according to thy word." (Psalms 119:28)

  It might not seem very humorous to some, but there are times when I truly do believe God is actually laughing at my foolishness. His humor is not that of making fun of the stupid things that I do; His humor is more towards my disregard to what I know is right, yet I still don't do it. I think I remember my mom having the same kind of humor when I told her I did what she said, and she knew full well that I didn't really do it; she would say, "Don't make me laugh, I know more than you think I know." Heaviness of heart is something that is closely related to unconfessed sin. This is not the kind problem we can correct on our own, although we repeatedly try to correct it, over and over again. We think, 'If I just don't do that anymore, then the heaviness will go away.' Unfortunately, the heart is not very responsive to inaction; which means, not doing something you are not wanting to do does not do anything to relieve the discomfort you feel towards doing it. If that makes any sense at all, it is only because it is true! If you are looking for a true remedy to the heaviness, it is called replacement! That's right! You want to find a cure for that heavy heart, for first step is confession, but the real cure is found in filling our hearts with the word of God! Jesus shared a little story, maybe it was a parable, but I seriously doubt it. He spoke about a man that had been cleansed of a demonic spirit, and after he had been cleansed, the demon returned finding the house all 'swept and garnished,' so he gets seven more spirits and returns; the state of the man is worst than before. (Luke 11:24 & Matthew 12:43) He could have been speaking just about unclean spirits, but I truly believe He was speaking about filling up the emptiness with the things of God, primarily, His word. There are many other things that count also, but in reference to the verses above, it is that word of God that will strengthen us and take away the heaviness. I guess if we wanted to make this something easy to relate to, it would be like our need to replace our sinful desire with a desire for God's word. In all honesty, not doing what you want to do does not bring much happiness; so the best thing to do, is to replace that something bad with something good and better; and this is where asking God for help is so vitally important...

""O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."" (Isaiah 40:27-31) NLT

"Point-Blank"

"Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works." (Psalms 119:27)

 In order to truly understand the message that God is speaking, clearing the air is pretty much the first step in the line of communication. To put it in a way that is easy to understand, if we are holding on to things that God is telling us to let go of, our chances of hearing the message clearly are seriously hindered. I truly believe that we already know what God wants, deep down in our hearts, the truth is and always has been there; is it just a matter of our desire to let Him deal with it, or lack thereof. Here is the point of what I believe God is trying to get across: The more we give over to the will of God in our lives, the more we will understand and be able to communicate His redeeming love over our lives. It needs to be personal in order to be effective! Yes, it is true, we are not the one that we be able to win people over, the Holy Spirit is the one that needs to do the work; but we are the ones that are the instruments God uses to deliver the message. "Roman's Road" clearly makes that point: We are the "Sent" mentioned, whether it be a large gathering, or a one on one meeting with a friend, coworker, or stranger on the street; it is the message that God places upon our hearts that the Holy Spirit uses to close the deal, but it our mouths that must be willing to open up and declare the reality of what we know and believe is true in our own lives. I guess if I needed to point to one particular issue, it would be the lack of experiencing the victory Jesus won on that cross; If we are not living the victory out in our lives, it is hard to express how important a victory was won. In other words, the message we are delivering is here-say and not based upon our own experience or proof. The message lacks the power of being delivered because there really has been no deliverance experienced in the messengers life. Listen carefully to what the Lord is saying, because it is important that His message is made personal and not general. That is what I believe David is trying to express, that in order to express the message properly, we must understand it, and in order to understand it, we must have actually experienced it on our own...

"As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced." Jew and Gentile are the same in this regard. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For "Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!"" (Romans 10:11-15) NLT

"Clearing the Air"

"I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes." (Psalms 119:26)

 Of all the ways that there are to make our lives a little easier, the way to God's heart is really quite simple: we acknowledge that we cannot do this on our own, and understand that He has our attention, and then we prepare our hearts to hear from Him! It is not our voice that needs to be heard, but His; He only needs us to admit our ways don't work, and that we desperately need Him. I was listening to Pastor Jon yesterday sharing about when God called out to Adam in the garden, "Where art thou?" It is not that hard to think that God was judging Adam, at least for those that think God is just about judging and ordering and commanding; but as Jon was sharing, it was not what God said that matters, but it was the tone in which He said it. God had no need to know where Adam was; He didn't even need to know what Adam had done, because He knows everything about us, even the intentions of our hearts. What that means, in case you might have misplaced your understanding, is that God knows the plans we make in our hearts before we actually act them out. So you see, with God, our actions never come as a surprise to Him, even the stuff we do that might surprise ourselves. We might not know all that is in our hearts, but He surely does. All God was doing to Adam was asking him to check his condition, as if to say, 'Where are you in your relationship with me?' Obviously he was not in a very good place; he was hiding in the bushes and feeling very very dirty. In that, he did declare to God the way that he felt, he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." And God listened! Adam might not have confessed it, but God reminded him of what his condition was caused by: Not listening to what He said! It really does not matter how we sin; whether it is intentional or by accident, we are still guilty of the sin. Our greatest need is to be forgiven; fortunately for us, our God is more than willing to forgive, if we just confess that we are wrong and He is right...

"People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy." (Proverbs 28:13) NLT

"DALETH"

"My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word." (Psalms 119:25)

 Having wisdom can sometimes get in the way of our childlike surrender that is required for us to listen to what God is saying. If we don't listen well enough, then we end up being stuck in the lesson God is trying to teach us, never moving forward to the next lesson. If I was going to assign a law or principle to this, it would be the law of dull hearing; which is where we have hearing that is dulled by several different things, like pride, worldliness, hardheartedness, and too much head knowledge. Just as the last law was about our vertical relationship with God, always looking up to Him, this is about what is happening here, as we find ourselves cleaving to this world, in some form or fashion. I guess you could say that it is about fence sitting; but I would dare to say, it is more about holding onto the things God would have us give over to Him. I really do want to be ready when Jesus comes to take His bride from this earth. I am one of the pre-tribulation believers, that believe His children will be taken out of the wrath that will poured out upon a non-believing world. I also believe that there are some, a whole lot of some, that are half-hearted believers that are going to be left. These are those that are the dull of hearing, only hearing what they want to hear and shutting out the rest. Selective hearing, is what some might call it. I do not want to be that, and if I am, I pray that God would quicken me according to His word! That word "quicken" means to revive, or to bring back to life. If we are not moving forward it is because we have too much of a grip on something we need to let go of. If there is a lesson to be learned in all of this, it is that we cannot do this on our own. It is like that big giant rock that God has asked us to push; we try and we try, but we just can't push it. Then we finally give up trying, because we run out of faith; crying out to God, we say, "Why would you ask me to do something that I cannot do?" All along, God was waiting for us to ask for His help...

"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." (2 Corinthians 12:8-9) NLT

"The One I Love"

"Thy testimonies also are my delight, and my counsellors." (Psalms 119:24)

  As much as I would like to say that it is so, there is always a much needed room for improvement. I could only wish that I could love God with all that is within me; as soon as I make that my passion, there is something in the road that catches my eye, and my passion changes. What I know most of all, is the God loves me! There is no way that I can't change that, it is just so. Now by knowing that, it is my delight to try and love Him back; try as I may, it is going to take every last ounce of me to do it. Maybe that is why Jesus said that we need to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, because it's going to take everything that we got to love Him as we should! By the way, I remember when John Chau was getting ready to go on his missionary journey, Pastor Bryan had him come up on the stage and the whole church prayed for him. He was very sure that God was calling him to go; and after seeing what happened to him, I somehow felt the confirmation in my heart. We don't know what the Lord is getting ready to do, but we do know what He said, He said, "Watch and be ready!" I have no desire to be left behind, but if it might happen, I would only pray that something breaks in my thinking and my will to love God; because if what they say is true, then I am going to have one heck of a battle loving God during what happens next. I hear it said quite often, "If you can't love Him without the threat of dying, what makes you think you will love Him, if you are threatened with death?" Something to really think about, that's for sure. John was very passionate about his calling, and all it is going to take is for that last lost soul to hear the Gospel. By the way, again; I heard something said on the radio the other day, a pastor said, "Jesus was not in the business of saving so souls; He was in the business of saving whole bodies." At first I thought he might have made a mistake, but if you stop and think about it, we will be getting a new body. Anywho, the whole point of this vertical law, is to keep looking up...

"Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." (Colossians 3:14-17) NLT

"The One I Answer To"

"Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes." (Psalms 119:23)

 And then there are those that accuse and speak against you, as if anyone else but God has the authority to point a finger at one of His own. This is another law in the vertical life, one that we should strictly adhere to, that we answer to God! If there is anything I have learned in all these years of walking with Jesus, my desire should be pleasing the Lord, not so much about pleasing people. Don't get me wrong, we should be about loving others and being a servant to those that God places in our lives; but when it come to who it is we answer to, there is only One that matters. Here is one of those verses where a single little word can make a very big difference in how we see how it works in our own lives, the word "in". He could have said 'on,' and most people would accept it as so, and then they would move on. But instead, he chose "in," which makes it more about his relationship with God and less about God's statutes. God's statutes are the things that are established or definite; the things that we can place ourselves into, things like His promises that are written about those He has called and chosen. There are actually bad forces at work in this world, besides bad people. There are actually so called princes in the unseen world around us, those that sit, as if they are in authority. We are not to fear what they say, or what might be said by their instigations. They too are of this world, and there is nothing here that can actually come against us; not in what matters most that is...

"The Jewish leaders replied, "By our laws he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God." When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. "Why didn't you talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?" Then Jesus said, "You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin."" (John 19:7-11) NLT

"God, The Great Keeper"

"Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies." (Psalms 119:22)

 Just in case you did not know it, I forgot to mention that "rebuked" is not something we should be afraid or ashamed of; it is God's hand upon us as His children; those that are His, He will reprove! As with the children of Israel being delivered from Egypt, God delivered them out of Egypt in a day, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of them. It really does not matter what happens to us in the horizontal life here on this earth, what matters most to us is what happens in the vertical life. There are some things more important than health, wealth, and pleasures. That great day when we will stand before God, in that day we must put all of our trust and hope! That is the day when the "Whosoever's" will be revealed: "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:15) Which "Whosoever" do you want to be? The whosoever that believes in the "Only Begotten Son," or those not written in the "Lamb's Book of Life?" It would be nice to be removed from reproach and contempt, but even still, it is better to be kept in the might hand of God. Here is where it gets serious, when we start thinking that the reproach and contempt that man might put upon us is somehow related to how God feels about us; because nothing could be further from the truth. We must keep our focus upon the Lord! Abiding in Christ is our number one priority; and as far as Christ Jesus is concerned for us, it is His promise to never leave us nor forsake us...

"So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking for a home yet to come." (Hebrews 13:13-14) NLT

"God The Great Giver!"

"Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments." (Psalms 119:21)

 Since we are still talking about the vertical law, here are some facts that we need to know about how this really works. For one, as nice and as pleasant as it is to think about, there is only one way for us to get into heaven, through Jesus Christ! The second law, which much the same as the first, is that there is nothing we can possibly do on our own to remove the curse of sin; that is what we were born with, and unless the blood of Jesus washes those sins away, we will die with the same curse! This verse is me, over and over! Oh, I know I was saved from my sins back in September of 1981; but there are still sins that I commit, some little, and some that I care not to even think about. But, here is the thing about what we have that is different from the ones who refuse to accept God's free give of Salvation, we are no longer under the curse! I might get a little pride in me for a season or so, but thankfully, it is God that called me out of the darkness and into His marvelous Light; which means, for those that might need a little help, that God will finish what He started! You know that phrase that everyone loves to quote when talking about giving money; well the phrase, "You can't out give God," takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to our eternal Salvation! There is nothing we can do to earn it, and there is no way that we can buy it; it is the only thing, worth more than anything, that we are all equally able to receive; each and everyone of us qualify to be a "Whosoever!" Talk about a thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving! The Great Giver of all good gifts has given His Greatest...

"So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law." So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." This way of faith is very different from the way of the law. which says, "It is through obeying the law that a person has life." But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessings he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3:9-14) NLT

"Given Over to God"

"My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times." (Psalms 119:20)

 Whether we agree with this or not, there is something to be said for having God on our side and not against us. At some point, we all need to come to terms with this reality: You are not going to win by doing it your own way! Here we go again with the basic law of resistance, that it is going to hurt! When Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you," it was not so that we could try and do anything on our own. Just as oxen are yoked together in order to not go separate ways, so are we to be yoked together with Christ. Without Him leading and guiding us, we are surely going to get off track. That said, even if we do get off track, we are never are able to get too far away that the Lord can't grab us back. It is the law of grace! I heard someone say the other day, grace always comes before mercy. I had to think about that long and hard, because I have always thought it was the other way around, that first we receive mercy, and then He gives us grace. But if you stop and think about what has taken place, God gives us what we do not deserve, before He takes away what we deserve. I did not deserve for Jesus to die for my sins; as a matter of fact, before I even knew any better, I did even want or ask for His mercy. God had to give me something I did not deserve before I could ask Him for mercy: He had to give me knowledge and grace. Only then could I even realize my need for mercy! In that line of thinking, I can actually realize that it was God, not I, that changed my heart in the first place. My heart would have never changed on its own; my heart needed God to show me what I could not see on my own. This is the hunger David is trying to get across here, that hunger we must have to be enlightened to the "judgments" of God. Simply put, it was God that chose us, not us that chose Him; so why on earth would I ever want my own judgments to be in control any time or any place! Here his why his soul breaks, because it hurts every single time it goes against God's judgments...

"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 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

"Heaven is My Home"

"I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me." (Psalms 119:19)

 As to the vertical living, this is one of those verses that speaks powerfully into that direction. In this, we are merely here for a very short season; regardless of what your circumstances might be, you are not going through them for a very long time. It might seem like it is forever, but as time will tell, your life is like a vapor: "It appears for a little time, and then vanishes away." (James 4:14) Even still, this life can be overwhelming at times. The simple life we might have hoped for, it is not as simple as we thought. Between family matters and the struggle to pay the bills, things can distract us from the way we should be living and make us focus more on the horizontal living than on the vertical life we should be focused on. Storing out treasure up in heaven is not the same as putting money into a retirement account; we must be passionate about our home! This is not our home, this is only a temporary place where we can be used of God and be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. I really do not have much authority here to talk, because my life is surely not one to model after if you are looking for a witness of being focused upon heaven. As a matter of fact, my life is pretty busy with just keeping up; between working on my business about at 64 hours a week, taking care of Marianne for at least 120 hours, and spending at least 17 hours a week doing this blog, 168 hours a week gets stretched to at least 200; so who has time focus upon heaven? I'm just glad the radio station has been restored, so that I can listen to CSN while driving from appointment to appointment. By the way, I heard Dr. Chuck speaking about Mark yesterday, and he was saying exactly the same thing I said a few years back; that Mark was most likely the Rich Young Ruler, and that he was also the young man wrapped in the sheet from Mark 14:51-52. So, even though I might be a stranger in the earth, God's word is not a stranger in me; even if I might sometimes seem strange...

"While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing." (2 Corinthians 5:4-7) NLT

"Oh How Wonderful"

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." (Psalms 119:18)

  Of all the articles that God instructed Moses to make for the Tabernacle, everything had been given measurement and size except one article, the ceremonial water basin. There is absolutely no limit to God's Word; we can read His word over and over again, and there will still be things reveled that have never been reveled before. I heard a message the other day about dealing with verses that you simply do not understand; it was more about instruction to allow God to show you something that was right there in front of you all along. The message was really quite simple: If you come across a portion of Scripture that you don't understand, write it down in a journal or on a piece of paper; write the verse or verses, and the reason you are having difficulty, place it aside, and then pray for God to show you what it means. As if God has removed blinders from your eyes, when you come back to it, it will appear so obvious you will wonder why you couldn't see it before. Sometimes it is just one simple word, a "and" or a "then"; something you would have never even imagined, it will just appear as if it is a revelation. This can work both ways, as strange as that might sound. I have been so moved by Scriptures, and so overwhelmed, I have needed to show off what God has revealed in my heart; but nobody quite gets the same impact from the verses that I have; and on top of that, if I go back later to revisit the exact same Scripture, the message I received before has lost the movement it had on me previously. I could relate it to Moses and the veil: his wearing of the veil was not to hide the glory that was on his face from the people, it was so the people wouldn't notice when it faded away. This is something I believe we should all be interested in, whether we are reading our Bible everyday, or reading it only on Sunday, we should always be ready for God to speak into our hearts. Any time I am going to listen to a message, either during a Bible Study or during a Sunday Service, I always have a pen and paper in hand, waiting to take notes. I don't care how many times you have read the Bible, it should never get old or boring. We can never run out of things to learn about God...

"Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people's minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:12-17) NLT

"GIMEL"

"Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word." (Psalms 119:17)

  Given the likelihood of the church growing stronger, those that keep the word of God first and foremost in their hearts, they need to become bolder and more dedicated to His word. I know the time is at hand, because Jesus has told us what it would be like, but most of all, He told us to watch! The closer we get to His coming, the more distractions will be at hand to keep us from watching. Not that anyone knows the day or the hour, but it only stands to reason the season is upon us. In this section of,  "The Law of the Lord," I believe we get to witness what it means to actually live for Jesus. Not that I have anything special about my life to contribute; besides the circumstances I have been forced to live in, my life is no different than anyone else. This is more about laws of gravity in relation to our bodies being gravitated towards the grave; we all are dying, last days or not, these are the facts of life here on this earth. What I believe this is speaking about is a life that is committed to keeping God's word as not only a compass, but as a barometer. We don't just keep God's word for the direction of our lives in the horizontal living, but in the vertical side of life and death also. A easy way to understand this line of thinking is to take a little glimpse at Paul statement in Philippians 1:21, where he says, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The way Paul was looking at this life, was his ability to share the gospel; as long as he was living here, he was committed to being a servant of the Lord. If the Lord were to choose to take him home, he considered that to be a bonus; but even then, he greatest wish was for those he leaves behind to draw closer in his absence. I think it comes down to the perspective of the closer we get to the end, the closer we must adhere to the Word...

"For the grace of God has been revealed, bring salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." (Titus 2:11-14) NLT

"Light of Life"

"I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word." (Psalms 119:16)

  I wish to say I am sorry to anyone that might have felt I was off base these last few days, but I have been wrestling with an issue, and needed to share something that I felt God was showing me through the process. For anyone who might be listening that is dealing with the same thing, let me assure you that God will honor your commitment to do the right thing. Even though there might be some who will try to convince you that there is an easier way, if God has given you the ability and the means to do what is right, do what is right! Even if He hasn't shown you a way, His ways will never seem easy, they just turn out to be in the long run. Isn't that the point that David is putting across here? When we get right down to it, there are two basic principles that make for a happy life: To delight ourselves in the statutes of the Lord, and along the way, never forget His word; especially those words that speak of the benefits of walking in His ways! Anything else is like walking in darkness; not knowing how or why anything works, and not feeling any purpose in your life. I feel that might life has purpose; even if it requires I suffer through some discomfort, the joy in my heart will be evident and there will be light that gets revealed. Statutes are not just a law, they are customs or the manner in which we live. John puts it into another light, as he says: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3) God loves me more than I love myself! The things that He tells me not to do, are not because He wants to hinder me from doing what I feel like doing, He does so because He loves me and knows what is best for my life; not just the life that I think I have, but the life that He has for me...

"My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying." (Proverbs 3:1-2) NLT

"Abundant Life"

"I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways." (Psalms 119:15)

 O how I long for heaven! In the meantime, this life is meant to be used to proclaim God's great love and mercy, in any way that God allows me to proclaim it. When it comes to living an abundant life, it must be a life that is determined to walk in the ways the God would have us to walk. What that means for those of us that are blessed with abilities to contribute, is that we do so freely and joyfully, without asking for anything in return. After all, it is all God's resources, not our own; He allows us to be a conduit for all that comes into our lives. This is what the Lord has put upon my heart this morning, that I push that notion of shutting down out of my mind, and I press on by doing everything He leads me to do. There are some things that require us to stay in the game; let's just say that my life is not well suited for pulling out at this particular moment. I still have some things to do; some of which require some serious resources, like about $200K plus in debt I need to settle. Those of you who might know my situation, know what I have been doing for the last eight and half years; now it is time for phase two of the process; and with God's help, this debt will be settled also. I refuse to try and get out of paying what I owe; I do not believe that is what God wants us to do, because if we commit our way to Him, He will allow us the ability to do what is right. Here is the thing about having respect for God's ways: His ways are aways right; they might not appear easy, but they are always right! That was the message from last Sunday, the difference between during the good thing and the right thing; just because it might seem good, does not mean that it is the right thing to do. I actually heard another message along the same lines last night, it was about making promises to God. That might not seem to resemble the good and right topic, but when it comes to promising God with a vow, we had better be careful what we say; saying the thing that seems good, could cause us some serious issues. The right thing to do is to admit how miserably we failed, ask His forgiveness, and then commit to allowing Him to help us from failing again. If we do fail again, it is not because God allowed us to fail, but that we stopped allowing Him to help us. The worst thing we can do is to try and make God a promise that we will never do it again; because in doing so, we make it about some kind of ability we might have within us. We have no such power in this body to do any such thing on our own; as soon as we think we might, we are sitting ourselves up for a very big fall. If you need any proof of that, Peter is a really good example. Peter was so sure of himself, saying, "Lord, I would die for you!" Jesus, knowing the human heart, said, "Will you lay down your life for me? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till you have denied me three times." When we make that vow to God, I believe He knows right then and there that we will fail; but it is not God that will take us down over our failure, it will be our own failure to keep the vow that will cause us to fall. That is where meditating on God's precepts comes into play; the law of God shows us what we are and how much we need a Savior. We are unable to do anything on our own...

"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." (James 1:22-25) NLT

"Abundant Riches"

"I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches." (Psalms 119:14)

 When it comes to weighing the difference between having God in my life and not, there is absolutely no comparison between the two. It's like that poem, "Let me count the ways," how can I even begin to compare the two, because the scale is instantly tilted, right off the bat. This is what I have received from this verse this morning, that there is no comparison, even if I consider all the riches this world has to offer, none of that holds a candle to the greatness of knowing and being loved by God. Does it not make sense? Trust me, nothing here is worth holding onto, because in a single moment it can all be swept away! I was listing to the list of structures that have been damaged or destroyed in the Camp Fire, as of yesterday there were hundreds that have been damaged, but there have been over 10,000 that have been destroyed! Besides that, there have been at least 60 people killed; and there are still over a hundred people still reported missing. This next week's celebration of Thanksgiving is going to be pretty tuff for a whole lot of people; and that's just talking about one fire, there has been so many fires this year, I have lost count. I have been weighing the notion of closing my business, selling the house, and just living in the RV. It is possible that I can make it happen, I just haven't heard the Lord speak loud enough yet as to whether I should try. We seriously don't need all of this stuff; most of this house goes unused and even my entertainment system gets used by other people more than it has by me. One thing is for sure, I really don't feel comfortable living here through another fire season. But, then again, where is my faith in that line of thinking? Much as it is with my health, I am trusting God to keep me around long enough to take care of my wife; but the worst thing that could happen is to get caught in a fire; not when there has been something placed on my heart to move. I live up a mountain, with trees all around, and one road up or down; so if a fire starts below me, it's either fight the fire or try and drive through it. After what I have witnessed this last year, I think it's best to just find another place to live; one that has more than one road in or out. Besides all of that, it is only Marianne that I am worried about. When we evacuated for the Carr Fire, it took me over an hour to load up all that was needed to take care of her on the road, and to get her loaded. Anywho, this is not meant to be about me. This verse speaks to the greatness of God's love for me, and how there is nothing, not even all the riches in this world, that can even compare to what I know about Him; and more importantly, what He knows about me...

"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts." (Jeremiah 15:16) KJV

"Abundance of the Heart"

"With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth." (Psalms 119:13)

 If we are speaking about laws, there is another law, if we are willing to accept it, that deals with what we put into our minds. The law, or principle, if that works better for you, is commonly know as, "Garbage in, garbage out." In other words, what comes out of our mouths is closely related to what we put into our minds. In the context of all that is being said, if we practice to hide His word in our hearts and continually seek after His guidance and direction, we are bound to be putting the right things into our minds. Paul gives us this instruction in Philippians 4:8, saying we should be dwelling on all the things that are good and pure and true and worthy. In other words, we don't even waste our time thinking about those things that are not going to edify and build up the body of Christ, we only focus upon the things that do. I know all too well what this is talking about, because this is one of my issues that cause me so much pain in my heart. Here is how I see it working in my own heart. If I dwell upon an issue that is negative about someone else, I am bound to speak out about that person to someone else. It is not my intention to do that, but because the issue becomes more and more powerful in my own mind, I can't let it go unmentioned. Even though the issue might not even be real, in my mind I make it so, and it is by only sharing it that I try to find confirmation. I know what you might be thinking, you might be thinking how I have some serious issues. I am just giving you me honest evaluation of what takes place in my own heart; it might be different for you. The point of what I am saying, is that we need to stop thinking negatively about others and only think good thoughts about them. Easy to say, not that easy to do. Another way we might look at this, is to consider how we might want God to judge us, and use that principle as the way we might judge others. Do I want God to focus upon all the bad things that I might do, or do I want Him to overlook the bad, and only see the good? What did God have to say about David? Did He ever declare him a murderer and a fornicator? What God declared about David, He said, "He was a man after His own heart." We have such a loving God, who not only cares for us and watches over us, but He also does not see our sin when He looks at us, He sees His Son...

"I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD. I will tell everyone that you alone are just. O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me." (Psalms 71:15-18) NLT

"Hungry Hearts"

"Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes." (Psalms 119:12)

 This verse is one that speaks to the wisdom of knowing what is best for our lives; not wisdom as the world believes, but the wisdom that comes from knowing God is for us and His ways are best for our eternity. I guess if I was going to challenge this notion, my objection would be the idea of life after death; if you don't believe in a life after death, then what is the point? Well, let me see: Do I want to feel any sense of hope in this current life? Currently, I would say my entire life is based on hope; so, you bet I am holding on with everything within me! Exactly what causes those to fall away? A lack of faith? Being overcome by sinful desires? Maybe it is the fear that they are wrong? If we stop and think about all that is good and pleasant in putting our faith in God, then anything else just does not compare; everything else is useless compared to the blessing of knowing God! You know that old song, "Take the world but give me Jesus," well that's the way I want my heart to feel, and that's the direction I want to be headed. The question of if, that is no longer something I need to ponder; and neither should anyone else! You take a look at this world, not the junk and the crime, but the whole creation; the very thought that this is something that developed from nothing on its own, is absolutely impossible! No one can ever convince me otherwise; I have never believed it, and I never will. So, if we have settled that in our hearts, then the next question is, Where do we go from here? That is what I am talking about. Face to face with our loving Creator, we have nothing else to say but what is being said in this verse...

"No pagan god is like you, O Lord. None can do what you do! All the nations you made will come and bow before you, Lord; they will praise your holy name. For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God. Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death." (Psalms 86:8-13) NLT

"Hidden Treasure"

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." (Psalms 119:11)

 To put this verse into practice, I believe it is something that can help us defend our minds from being tempted into sin; if, that is, we actually put it into practice. There is a really good example of this being put into practice, with Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) There is great power available to us, but that power must be used in order to be affective in overcoming temptation and sin. These are the subtle truths of how the battle is fought and won! But, like I said, it must be put to use in order to be affective! If we were to put to memory those Scriptures that help to overcome those temptation that keep causing us to sin, and then use those Scriptures when we are tempted, we might find that the Tempter, and even our own flesh, really does not yield all that much power against the word of God. We, on are own, not so much; but with the word of God stored up in our hearts, we have the weapon needed to overcome. You know, there is something I learned during a fight I had with Marianne; which I really kind of miss, the fighting and yelling; we just don't do that anymore. Anywho, my fault in the fight was that I did not want to loose the argument; when I should have surrendered my pride and given her my full attention. The things we say to each other in our heated moments, some of which are very hard to take back. I think we keep the wrong things stored up in our hearts. Instead of storing up the word of God, to be used in times of temptation, we store up bad thoughts and feelings; things that cause us to use our flesh any time we feel challenged or even tempted. A really good example of what this means, is our failures. The whole point that we failed, it lets us continue to be a failure. Instead of determining why we failed, we can't get past the fact that we failed, so it is too much to even think about, and we move on, thinking that it will all somehow work itself out. Peter had felt this after he denied Jesus, not one, but three times, just as Jesus said that he would. He tried to move on, but Jesus did not let it happen. Three times Jesus asked him, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" If we are going to hid something away, it needs to be hidden in love...

"One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?" The man answered, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!"" (Luke 10:25-28) NLT

"Firmness of Purpose"

"With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me wander from thy commandments." (Psalms 119:10)

 As with every one of us, especially those that feel a particular calling, there are times in our lives when we get distracted from what it is we have been called for, whether that be full on ministry, or just simply following Jesus, even if that might be from a distance. Here is a basic request David is making, that God not let him wander from the precepts that He has shown him. This is more about a personal relationship than it is about keeping the law or what the commandments of God might put forth; this is about what David was seeking after, that kind of relationship with God where he knows what is expected of himself and he knows what he can expect of God. I cannot imagine what my life would be if I were to stop seeking God for guidance and stopped looking to Him for help; not now that I know how much I depend upon Him for life, how could I stop? This is pretty much the heart of David in this verse, that he not wander away from all that he has been shown. We hear about people all the time that have left the ministry. Even those who seemed to be strong in their faith, out of the blue, they just pack up and go. Personally, I believe it has something to do with their purpose. If they no longer feel as though God is using them, or they no longer feel effective in their calling, they get discouraged and start looking for a way out. Not every day, week, month, or even year, can be what we expect it to be; our lives are subject to be disappointed now and again, especially by our own ability to disappoint. That was Paul's whole point in Romans 7:14-25, we really can be a huge disappointment to ourselves. But God, somehow, God is never disappointed by us! I find that the more I understand this, the more I feel the need to stay focused upon Him and not myself. If I have been chosen by God, and God already knows all that is in my heart, all that I have ever done, and all that I ever will do, yet He chose me still, why should I not seek after Him even more? He has all the answers to every question, especially that of purpose...

"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 a purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) NLT

"BETH"

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psalms 119:9)

 I was thinking about something that has to do with practice, that it is said that it takes 21 days to establish a habit; not sure how that thought measures up in all of this, because there are 22 letters of this alphabet. Anywho, this deals with the Word of God; a law within itself, in that His word does not change. There is a very strange movement going on here in this nation; it is raising up quickly, but it has taken over forty or fifty years to make it happen. When our country was founded, there was a set of laws that were established to ensure that the people would all have an equal voice, no matter where you lived or how many might live in your particular area. It seems that the previous couple of generations have been given a new way of looking at things. Not that it matters all that much, but we are becoming undone, and no longer giving much attention to the rule of law. If you haven't watched that recent movie called, "Small Foot," it is set up in a way the mocks laws, as if laws are man's way of protecting the next generation; each new kink in the armor creates a new law, which the movies refers to a stones. There was obviously a lot of thought put into what the writers were trying to get across, but when it comes to God's laws, they cannot be overturned by man, they cannot by taken away from or added to, because they are written by God. If I were going to put this verse into a simple illustration for practical use, I would take two very similar verses; one is from the old testament writings, and one from the new. Matthew Henry speaks about man needing to cleanse his way, because his way has been polluted; in other words, there is all kinds of junk in his way of thinking and in his view of God. No matter what we are told, how we are raised, or who teaches us, if we want to truth and nothing but the truth, we need to go to the Word of God...

""You must not have any other god but me."" (Exodus 20:3) NLT
"Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts." (1 John 5:21) NLT

"This Too Will Pass"

"I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly." (Psalms 119:8)

 What a utterly weird day yesterday was; talk about feeling forsaken, almost everything was not right about everything! To tell whether or not God was speaking through all of that, I harding felt anything else but confusion and apathy on almost every aspect of my life. And to make matters worse, my wife was have difficulty which congestion; no sooner did I suction her, and she would need to be suctioned again. I was really starting to feel as though that day would never end. As crazy as this might seem, it did! You know that old saying, "What goes up must come down," well here is a little different angle to that theory or law: nothing goes up, without first going down! It is all about humility and surrender! We must surrender to the mighty hand of God, in every single area of our lives. Thinking that we can do anything, in any area differently, is not going to work out very well for us. This verse is pretty much all about that. We can work towards turning everything over to the Lord, and yet, we still will need to dig deeper, discovering that the hidden things are more difficult than those that are out in the open. Jesus gave an illustration of this in a parable about of the kernel of wheat; how that new life is never experienced without death happening first. We cannot serve two masters, one will win out over the other, but one requires surrender...

"Jesus replied, "Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels -a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. "Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save me from this hour'? But this is the very reason I came! Father bring glory to your name." Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, "I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again."" (John 12:23-28) NLT

"Uprightness of Heart"

"I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I have learned thy righteous judgments." (Psalms 119:7)

 If you were wondering how being ashamed is such a big factor in the road to redemption, it has much to do about humility and surrender. It is not until I see my need to be helped, that I will actually ask for help. If people don't think that they need to be saved, they will not cry out for a Savior. Here is the other point about any sort of law, whether it is a law of nature or it is God's law: If tested, there is going to be a result. I know what you might be thinking, that is nothing new, everyone knows that. Yes, but do you know that it is both for good and the bad? When it comes to our relationship with God, there are things we need to be tested in, just as there are things God will want us to test Him in. In Psalms 34:8, David uses a challenge to express how trust is realized, saying, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." When we are learning how to trust God, there is absolutely nothing we can learn about trust unless we have a reason to trust Him. If I pray for patience, especially with dealing in matters of my heart, God will bring issues into my life that cause me to loose my patience. If I pray for the ability to love, God will give me an adversary to bring out my hate, so that I see more the love I lack in my life. I seriously believe that nothing comes easy; it might be simple, but nothing simple does not mean it isn't hard. God simply says, "Love your enemies," but it is hard to love those that hate you and want to despitefully use you. This word "uprightness" is a word that speaks of evenness and integrity; two words that require a conscious thought, where someone needs to think about what is the right thing to do. That is where we learn how to trust God, by learning what it is that He wants us to do! There was a little footnote in the NLT for John 3:21, it was regarding Jesus' statement, "But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants." The footnote said, "Or can see God at work in what he is doing." It is really all about Him, not us...

"But Jesus replied, "Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.) "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I offer so the world may live, is my flesh."" (John 6:43-51) NLT

"Not Ashamed"

"Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments." (Psalms 119:6)

 You do know we are going to be in this Psalm for a little while, don't you? I thought about taking on several verses at a time, but what's the fun in that? I have determined in my heart to continue this as long as Marianne is still with us; but even then, that might not be what causes me to stop. As Paul was speaking about there being no condemnation for those who belong to Christ, his point was based upon the fulfillment of the law; Jesus fulfilled the law and the condition we all were in for breaking it. Sin had been taken care of, including the penalty of sin, which was death! When we come to the cross, repenting for our sins, we are cleansed! This is something the lost cannot understand; they can't understand it, one because they cannot see the weight of sin in their lives, and two, because they don't know what it feels like to be free from it. You can try to explain it till you are blue in the face, but until they see their need and get free, they are totally unable to know what it is like. This is what that word, "respect," is talking about, that ability to consider; 'to look that ye may see!' How can we know anything without paying attention and considering what and why it is there? Paul uses the example of the law being a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, because it teaches how broken we really are and that we are in need to be fixed. We cannot fix ourselves! If we could, then Jesus would not have had to come and die on that cross for us. There is really such a shape contrast between the two ways for us to be; we are either in Christ and free from sin and death, or we are not in Christ and condemned! What is the thing stopping people from seeing that? Believe it or not, it is being ashamed...

""God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgement against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. All the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."" (John 3:17-21) NLT  

"Oh, Happy Day!"

"O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!" (Psalms 119:5)

 Yes, that's right, today I choose to be happy! No matter what, this is  glorious day, because I have peace in my heart and trust God is doing something amazing in me and everyone that I know. Looking at this verse, I must tell you how I came upon the title; because it was not based upon this verse, but based upon God's love and grace in my life. I know full well how miserable I fail at being all that God has made me to be; but God, He is still there, arms wide open, to express His love and to pour out His grace in my life. And yes, it is a little about today being election day here in the United States, because I know that God is still on the Throne and that He is ultimately in control. Sure the devil gets to create all kinds of mischief and plays a very big role in all that is wrong, not only here in this country, but everywhere around this world; but ultimately, God has the last word on all that goes on here, whether it seems right or wrong, nothing happens without His knowledge and mighty will to complete His work in His church. Isn't that really the bottom line in all of this, that His church be complete? That's all that we are waiting for; at least that is the way I have come to understand it. Jesus is the Bridegroom, who is waiting for that glorious day when the Father has prepared His glorious Bride, which is we the church; and on that day, however soon that might come, the door will close and the heavens will open! This is what we must be focused upon in our daily lives, to be ready! It is more than a way of living, it is a direction! It is having a focus in the direction of Heaven, knowing how important it is to keep His statutes, because that is where you are headed. If I were that rock, then this rock defies the laws of gravity, because there is nowhere else that I am going than up...

"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 at 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. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death." (Romans 7:21-8:2) NLT

"Believe It or Not"

"Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently." (Psalms 119:4)

 There is a question that must be answered in our hearts, one that requires us to make a choice: Do I truly believe what God says I must do? It is really not a question of if, because if takes everything to a level of debate. There is no debate when it comes to keeping God's precepts; we either do them and live, or don't do them and die. Back to the rock and the law of gravity. We all know full well that if we throw ourselves off a thirty story building, the results are not going to look very pretty when we hit the ground. It is only common sense that tells us that we won't hit the ground softly. To put it in a little different light, precepts are considered to be a general rule to regulate behavior or thoughts, for example: If you jump off that building, you are most likely going to die! This is pretty much the kind of question presented to Eve, as the serpent said, "Hath God said, Thou shalt not eat?" Better yet, if God says, "Thou shalt not," to pretty much anything, you can bet it stands to reason that we should not even consider it as a choice. So then, what possibly can make it appear that we are given a choice? Obviously we must not be afraid of death, because if we were, we wouldn't even get close to that edge of the building. So, in the case of a serious misunderstanding, somehow the devil is able to convince us that death is not the option; as if God really isn't all that serious about what He says we should and should not do. Notice that the verse above does not say, "Thou hast suggested," because if it did, then it would bring forth a varied result. I can recall my mom saying that one or twice, as I started to reach into that cookie jar, just as she told me not to, she would say, "I suggest you would not do that." You know, once upon at time I thought I could place a cardboard box in a tree, get inside that box, push the box out of that tree, with me in it, and that the box would protect my fall. Boy, was I mistaken; it really did not turn out the way I thought it would turn out. God's commands are not suggestions, they are the way things work: His precepts are laws of good and bad! Just as God told Cain, good leads to good, bad leads to bad; it's just the way things are: Believe it or not...

""But this one thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you."" (Jeremiah 7:23) KJV

"Heart to Heart"

"They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways." (Psalms 119:3)

 As I was saying, By any means possible; which is what we should be asking God to do in us, at all cost! When Jesus spoke of following Him, what kind of road was He talking about? I think it had more to do with sacrifice of our own lives, more than anything else. It was not so much about death, as in being crucified as He was; but it was about dying to ourselves and giving up all those things that cause us have iniquity in our hearts. There are three levels of sinning against God; there is plain old sin, which is missing the mark, there is trespass, which is crossing the line, and then there is iniquity, which is saying no to what God says, and intentionally, almost gleefully, doing what you want to do. If I say that I have not done iniquity, I would be lying! I might have committed iniquity every single day of my life, in one form or another. Iniquity is really not that hard to commit, but it sure is hard to admit. Nobody likes to admit when they have committed iniquity, because iniquity is by intention; everyone would rather have say they made a mistake or that they had no intention of doing what they did, it just happened. I recall reading a book back in the late eighties, "Counter Attack," where the author spoke about how we set ourselves up to do iniquity, by making it seem like it is a mistake or a coincidence; by saying in our heart, I know this is wrong, but if this happens or that door opens, then I will count it as right for me right now. To make matters worse, if that does not happen or the door does not open, then we will force the thing to happen or we will pick the lock on the door. That is what iniquity looks like; where we know God is giving us a way out, but we do it anyway, and by any means possible. There is another way to practice, By any means possible...

"We know that God's children do not make a practice of sinning, for God's Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts." (1 John 5:18-21)

"Happy Hearts"

"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart." (Psalms 119:2)

 To put it in another light, the way can also be explained by His "testimonies." Isn't that what we hold in our hands, turning from page to page, seeking instruction, guidance, and comfort from, His Testimonies? We might not have everything figured out, but if we trust in God, believe in His word, and pray earnestly, knowing that He cares, we will surely have a happy heart. This is what I would like to call, the law of happiness. For me, happiness is something that is generated within my own heart by how I might feel; happiness and joy are not the same, because joy is something that I get to have regardless of how I might feel; joy is based upon what I know, that no matter what, I am a child of God, a son of the King, and a member of the Body of Christ. What we are talking about here is a characteristic of someone that keeps believing and trusting God, they are just plain happy! How else can I say it; you are either happy or you're not! Like that silly Sunday School song, "If Your Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands!" What are His testimonies? By definition, they are something that testifies or gives witness to who God is and what He might think of us, His creation. At least that is what it means in the context of what I am talking about; because it also means His law, a law which does not change, because it is a law; meaning that it is what it is, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. My heart gets really really happy knowing how much He loves me; especially when I read the Testimony of why He loves me. That is what makes us seek Him with our whole hearts, to draw closer and closer to His love; a love that we all need so much more of in our lives. Can I love Him as I should? Can I love my brothers and sisters as I should? If He tells me I should, then there must be a way! By any means possible, Jesus is the way...

""I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me."" (John 15:1-4) NLT

"ALEPH"

"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD." (Psalms 119:1)

  As many of you should know by now, my life is not all that perfect; depending upon your point of view, it might appear to some to be downright pathetic. I understand why that might be assumed to be the case; but it could not be further from the truth. Although my life may not have the average relationship happening between my wife and myself, there is no lack of love felt in my heart for her; in fact, I have never felt love like this before. When you commit your life to loving someone, regardless of how they are capable of loving you back, you have tasted unconditional love. In this first section of this Psalm, David expresses the happiness experienced by those who walk in the law of the LORD. The law of the LORD might be something that none of us are capable of keeping; although there might be some who say that they have; it is the "way" by which we experience the love of God in our own hearts, no mater how incapable we are to keep it. The word above, "undefiled," is a word that means 'whole.' It also speaks of those who are without spot, without blemish; and best of all, those that are entirely in accord with truth and fact. As with the illustration I presented yesterday, according to the law of God, on my own, I can do nothing else but drop like a rock. That is the state I find myself to be without Jesus; there is simply no other way that I can explain it, because without Christ, I have no chance whatsoever! You want to talk about pathetic, that is our state without the blood of Jesus washing away our inabilities and inadequacies to walk in the 'law' of the LORD. Besides, the law also includes His mercy and grace. One thing is sure, the 'way' is more about direction than it is about manner; although manner might also mean the means...

"For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to the wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." (Titus 2:11-14) NLT

"The Law of the Lord"

PSALMS 119

 As with almost everything we see and know, there are laws associated with everything. Nothing that is made by God consist on its own and without His governance. Take gravity, which is something to easily test; there is a law associated with gravity known as "gravitational force." If I drop a rock and a feather from the same height, which one should I expect to hit the ground first? Yes, there is no doubt; the one with the greatest mass will be attracted to the ground much quicker. These basic laws are no different in our walk with the Lord; everything is in Him, and through Him, and for Him, so there is nothing that we can ever do without His knowledge or out of His sight. With that basic understanding, our next instruction we must give ourselves, is that of "gravitational force." Seriously, this is what it means to fear the Lord! Without Christ, I am the rock that is plunging to the ground, ready to hit the ground by the laws of attraction. In Christ, He is my Rock! He took the fall for me, and I get to glide effortlessly towards the ground, landing safely and without even causing a dent. It gets a little more interesting as we go on, but I think you get the general idea. Matthew Henry refers to this as a chest of golden rings, compared to that of golden chains; the similarity the verses have to one another are a little more random, but they all come from the same beautiful chest, and they all point towards the same beautiful Creator. More than that, they are all about "The Law of the Lord." My mother would always tell me that thing that would happen to if I played with fire, saying, "If you play with fire, you will get burnt." I learned quick enough, burnt did not always mean that the fire would burn me, it also meant that my butt would get burnt...

"So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect comes down from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession." (James 1:16-18) NLT