"Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah." (Psalms 87:3)
Not that families can't have great relationships with the Lord together, because they need to; every family that is in Christ needs to come together daily for prayer and for reading God's word; if anything needs to be ordinary in the Christian home, it should be prayer and fellowship in the word. Yet how many families practice praying together and studying God's word together? If I were to guess, I would say less than 5%. To see a family come together for the purpose of studying the Word is not something you see happening much, not in this modern era of independence and self-awareness. If you might have noticed, I did not use the NLT to close yesterday; the interpretation they had for "green" was not the interpretation that I can agree with; it reads, "the soft grass is our bed." Okay, I guess if you are looking for the meaning of comfort and rest, then that could be your interpretation; but I tend to go in the way of 'fresh' or 'flourishing.' To put it in simpler terms, 'new' is the word I would be looking for; if the Lord were my lover, then nothing seems old or mundane; at least that's how I interpret what is being said. Besides, how can you express laying out on soft green grass, while looking up at your ceiling above the bed? Unless you are thinking of the 23rd Psalm, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." Have we come to the place in our relationship where God does not surprise us anymore? I never what to feel like that, where I am not expecting God to surprise me with something that I did not already know, or give me a new experience that I have not already felt. If you really wanted to, you could say that the "green pastures" are also new and fresh; not just a place where you are well feed, but a place where you don't want to wander off from, because it's just way more exciting than anywhere else. I can't help but think of that one article or fixture within the Temple of God that was not measured, it was the basin which held the water for ceremonial cleansing. Everything else was measured; when God instructed Moses how to build it, it had a measurement; all except the water basin, it did not. Interesting...
"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (John 1:1-5) NLT
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Monday, December 19, 2016
"Bigger Than Life"
"The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." (Psalms 87:2)
I was actually thinking of doing verse one again, but only because of the word "holy" in the description of the mountains; holy makes the mountains so much more untouchable, as in, you can't touch this! Moving on; it takes some serious thought to reconstruct all that God put into making that night happen in Bethlehem. Never mind that God was silent for over four hundred years, but the first words He would say would be the through the voice of an infant; and those would most likely be in the form of a cry. It's pretty amazing how much detail God puts into anything He orchestrates; the tiny little symbols, the flutes off in the distance; the deep sound of a drum that can hardly be heard, but nonetheless sets the tone of the melody. Yesterday we wrapped up Judges at church, and Pastor Bryan was making a pretty good point about how important it is to be zealous for God. We can't step into this lightly, it's either all or nothing. He used the example of Revelation 3:16: "Lukewarm." I am fascinated by 16th verses; there are so many16th verses in the Bible that stand out more than other verses; some for warnings and some for hope; Revelation 3:16 is one of the warning verses. However, due to the fact that God is so merciful, even those who are lukewarm can overcome; it's just a matter of getting right with God. Whether you get that or not, the real issue is that of submission! Crazy, is my middle name, so get use to it! The way that I see it, the dwellings of Jacob are settlements, what we settle for; living out our days in the way we think best suits us and our families. The gates of Zion are transformations, where people enter in and are transformed. Lukewarm is all about being settled in; thinking that you are in need of nothing else, and you have all that God has to offer. That is the perfect definition of the dead church, a church that is not looking for God to do something great in their lives, and a church that is settled in the past, living off past experiences. The gates of Zion are for entering into God's transforming power; where there is never anything that is old or boring, because He always makes all things new! It reminds me of a verse. You thought I was crazy then...
"Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green." (The Song of Songs 1:16) KJV
I was actually thinking of doing verse one again, but only because of the word "holy" in the description of the mountains; holy makes the mountains so much more untouchable, as in, you can't touch this! Moving on; it takes some serious thought to reconstruct all that God put into making that night happen in Bethlehem. Never mind that God was silent for over four hundred years, but the first words He would say would be the through the voice of an infant; and those would most likely be in the form of a cry. It's pretty amazing how much detail God puts into anything He orchestrates; the tiny little symbols, the flutes off in the distance; the deep sound of a drum that can hardly be heard, but nonetheless sets the tone of the melody. Yesterday we wrapped up Judges at church, and Pastor Bryan was making a pretty good point about how important it is to be zealous for God. We can't step into this lightly, it's either all or nothing. He used the example of Revelation 3:16: "Lukewarm." I am fascinated by 16th verses; there are so many16th verses in the Bible that stand out more than other verses; some for warnings and some for hope; Revelation 3:16 is one of the warning verses. However, due to the fact that God is so merciful, even those who are lukewarm can overcome; it's just a matter of getting right with God. Whether you get that or not, the real issue is that of submission! Crazy, is my middle name, so get use to it! The way that I see it, the dwellings of Jacob are settlements, what we settle for; living out our days in the way we think best suits us and our families. The gates of Zion are transformations, where people enter in and are transformed. Lukewarm is all about being settled in; thinking that you are in need of nothing else, and you have all that God has to offer. That is the perfect definition of the dead church, a church that is not looking for God to do something great in their lives, and a church that is settled in the past, living off past experiences. The gates of Zion are for entering into God's transforming power; where there is never anything that is old or boring, because He always makes all things new! It reminds me of a verse. You thought I was crazy then...
"Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green." (The Song of Songs 1:16) KJV
Sunday, December 18, 2016
"Zion"
PSALMS 87 [A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah.] "His foundation is in the holy mountains." (verse 1)
No, this is not a new habit, at least I don't think that it is; Matthew Henry just suggested that the first verse may have been part of the title, so I thought I would go in that general direction, at least for this introduction. For anyone that might not agree that the Psalms are in some sort of pattern, I will have to disagree, because if it's a sign you are looking for, then "Zion" is that sign. The title above this Psalm in my Bible simply says, "Zion." God can choose anything He wants to, and call it holy; He has that right, because He has created everything and everything is His. Just look at the example God gives in His vision to Peter, as Peter rejects the Lord's request to eat the common foods on display in the sheet, He says, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." (Acts 10:15) This Psalms is only seven verse long, put it packs a message that is eternal and established by God. And when God establishes something to last forever, you can bet that even "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18) I had a chance to hear a pretty interesting Bible lesson yesterday by Pastor Scott. In this message he spoke about the birth place of Jesus, that being Bethlehem in the region of Zion. It was a message packed with tons of information, and had I not been driving, I would have been taking notes. The main point I gathered was about Jesus being the Bread of Life, and how His place of birth, being that of a stable, as would a lamb be born, and the place where He lay, being that of a feeding trough, as food to be eaten. There was something else that I heard, which I don't remember ever hearing before, at least not with such clarity. He explained that swaddling clothes were the type of clothes used to wrap the dead before being placed in a tomb; strips of cloth used to wrap the body in order to keep it intact, as also a baby would be swaddled to keep it snuggled. Oddly enough, one of the gifts given by the Wise Men was myrrh, which was a spice used to help preserve the body before being wrapped for burial. Babies are usually swaddled for six to eight weeks after birth, so the time line and the gift would fall right into place. Besides that, the Shepherds that came to inspect the child, were shepherds of sheep; most likely sheep that would be used for sacrifices in the Temple, seeing how this area was close to Jerusalem, about 6 miles. I don't know about you, but if that's not a sign, I don't know what other kind of sign could be given...
"See my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about." (Isaiah 52:13-15) NLT
No, this is not a new habit, at least I don't think that it is; Matthew Henry just suggested that the first verse may have been part of the title, so I thought I would go in that general direction, at least for this introduction. For anyone that might not agree that the Psalms are in some sort of pattern, I will have to disagree, because if it's a sign you are looking for, then "Zion" is that sign. The title above this Psalm in my Bible simply says, "Zion." God can choose anything He wants to, and call it holy; He has that right, because He has created everything and everything is His. Just look at the example God gives in His vision to Peter, as Peter rejects the Lord's request to eat the common foods on display in the sheet, He says, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." (Acts 10:15) This Psalms is only seven verse long, put it packs a message that is eternal and established by God. And when God establishes something to last forever, you can bet that even "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18) I had a chance to hear a pretty interesting Bible lesson yesterday by Pastor Scott. In this message he spoke about the birth place of Jesus, that being Bethlehem in the region of Zion. It was a message packed with tons of information, and had I not been driving, I would have been taking notes. The main point I gathered was about Jesus being the Bread of Life, and how His place of birth, being that of a stable, as would a lamb be born, and the place where He lay, being that of a feeding trough, as food to be eaten. There was something else that I heard, which I don't remember ever hearing before, at least not with such clarity. He explained that swaddling clothes were the type of clothes used to wrap the dead before being placed in a tomb; strips of cloth used to wrap the body in order to keep it intact, as also a baby would be swaddled to keep it snuggled. Oddly enough, one of the gifts given by the Wise Men was myrrh, which was a spice used to help preserve the body before being wrapped for burial. Babies are usually swaddled for six to eight weeks after birth, so the time line and the gift would fall right into place. Besides that, the Shepherds that came to inspect the child, were shepherds of sheep; most likely sheep that would be used for sacrifices in the Temple, seeing how this area was close to Jerusalem, about 6 miles. I don't know about you, but if that's not a sign, I don't know what other kind of sign could be given...
"See my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about." (Isaiah 52:13-15) NLT
Saturday, December 17, 2016
"The Sign of Comfort"
"Show me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast helped me, and comforted me." (Psalms 86:17)
Whether it's the way that He loves us, or the way that He shows us mercy, our God has what it takes to take all of our shame away! People who don't have it, really don't know what it's like to feel forgiven of all their sins. I mean, it is totally impossible to see forgiveness bestowed upon a persons life; one can only assume by their joy and happiness that something has taken place. But here we have something pure and tangible; an undeniable sign of God's forgiveness being granted and His promises overriding even the most terrible sin we can carry out in this life. Here is the thing that we need to remember, with all of our hearts: God gives mercy to those who ask for His mercy! We have no right to judge anyone for anything; we are all guilty of sin, and we are all capable of carry out any sort of sin you could imagine. The thing that takes people to the next level, usually is trying to cover up something they might want to keep hidden. Nothing is hidden from God, so it's more about what man thinks of us that gets us motivated to carry out something wicked. Case in point, is David's sin with Bathsheba. It was one thing to sleep with another man's wife; it was something all together more wicked to plot that man's death to cover up that sin. Sin is sin, but doing something like that requires planning and making serious choices that go against everything good. So what is "a token for good?" Well, Paul speaks of "good" in Romans 8:28, saying, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose." The sin was not good, and the cover up was surely not good; but David loved God, and David was called according to God's purpose. So then, how did that work together for good? Do you need help? Seriously, it's really only a matter of crying out to God for help! He wants to help you! He might not totally make your issue or your problem go away, but He surely will comfort you and give you peace. Isn't that what we really need more that anything else, peace? Jesus is the Prince of Peace! That's what He brings with Him when He enters your heart. If you are not feeling peace, then you are still holding unto something that is preventing you of experiencing His peace. Maybe that's the part we overlook: the peace we are looking for is not found in ourselves, it's only found in Christ...
""Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink -even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk -it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. "Come to me with ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you the unfailing love I promised to David. See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious." Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously." (Isaiah 55:1-7) NLT
Whether it's the way that He loves us, or the way that He shows us mercy, our God has what it takes to take all of our shame away! People who don't have it, really don't know what it's like to feel forgiven of all their sins. I mean, it is totally impossible to see forgiveness bestowed upon a persons life; one can only assume by their joy and happiness that something has taken place. But here we have something pure and tangible; an undeniable sign of God's forgiveness being granted and His promises overriding even the most terrible sin we can carry out in this life. Here is the thing that we need to remember, with all of our hearts: God gives mercy to those who ask for His mercy! We have no right to judge anyone for anything; we are all guilty of sin, and we are all capable of carry out any sort of sin you could imagine. The thing that takes people to the next level, usually is trying to cover up something they might want to keep hidden. Nothing is hidden from God, so it's more about what man thinks of us that gets us motivated to carry out something wicked. Case in point, is David's sin with Bathsheba. It was one thing to sleep with another man's wife; it was something all together more wicked to plot that man's death to cover up that sin. Sin is sin, but doing something like that requires planning and making serious choices that go against everything good. So what is "a token for good?" Well, Paul speaks of "good" in Romans 8:28, saying, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose." The sin was not good, and the cover up was surely not good; but David loved God, and David was called according to God's purpose. So then, how did that work together for good? Do you need help? Seriously, it's really only a matter of crying out to God for help! He wants to help you! He might not totally make your issue or your problem go away, but He surely will comfort you and give you peace. Isn't that what we really need more that anything else, peace? Jesus is the Prince of Peace! That's what He brings with Him when He enters your heart. If you are not feeling peace, then you are still holding unto something that is preventing you of experiencing His peace. Maybe that's the part we overlook: the peace we are looking for is not found in ourselves, it's only found in Christ...
""Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink -even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk -it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. "Come to me with ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you the unfailing love I promised to David. See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious." Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously." (Isaiah 55:1-7) NLT
Friday, December 16, 2016
"Unquestionable"
"O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid." (Psalms 86:16)
I cannot imagine what my life would be without the Lord; I am pretty sure by now that I would have ended it on my own. Our relationship with the Lord is beyond the happenings of this life, no matter how overwhelming things might appear. That's sometimes hard to remember while we are actually in the moment, but if we can get the right perspective, we can see things from a whole different point of view. Take a look at David's perspective, and try and see how it's something that goes beyond the present; beyond any present situation or circumstance, no matter what time of your life you are living in. First of all, God is the one who chose David to be king; and as he himself says in Psalms 139:13, "For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." As you dive into that whole portion of Scripture, which I hope to do some day, you see how detailed David gets into God's hand upon his life; every little detail, from conception to the end of this life, there is nothing that God is not watching over and setting in motion. When we actually can rest in the thought that God is in control, then we can better realize how small our little situation or circumstance really is. But our biggest problem is that we tend to live in the present, the present being what is happening now; even at the expense of blocking out the past and forgetting to look to the future, we only focus on whatever it is that we are going through right now. I can't help but think about the disciples freaking out in the boat while Jesus slept; He told them that they were going to the other side, yet as soon as a storm comes upon them, they feared for their lives. Not only that, but they assumed that He did not care if they perished or not; He just remained sleeping and enjoying the rest. There is a little hint of what "entering God's rest" looks like; when God's in control, we don't need to question what the outcome is going to be, because He has already told us what it will be, no matter what...
"I can never escape your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night -but even darkness cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous -how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" (Psalms 139:7-18) NLT
I cannot imagine what my life would be without the Lord; I am pretty sure by now that I would have ended it on my own. Our relationship with the Lord is beyond the happenings of this life, no matter how overwhelming things might appear. That's sometimes hard to remember while we are actually in the moment, but if we can get the right perspective, we can see things from a whole different point of view. Take a look at David's perspective, and try and see how it's something that goes beyond the present; beyond any present situation or circumstance, no matter what time of your life you are living in. First of all, God is the one who chose David to be king; and as he himself says in Psalms 139:13, "For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." As you dive into that whole portion of Scripture, which I hope to do some day, you see how detailed David gets into God's hand upon his life; every little detail, from conception to the end of this life, there is nothing that God is not watching over and setting in motion. When we actually can rest in the thought that God is in control, then we can better realize how small our little situation or circumstance really is. But our biggest problem is that we tend to live in the present, the present being what is happening now; even at the expense of blocking out the past and forgetting to look to the future, we only focus on whatever it is that we are going through right now. I can't help but think about the disciples freaking out in the boat while Jesus slept; He told them that they were going to the other side, yet as soon as a storm comes upon them, they feared for their lives. Not only that, but they assumed that He did not care if they perished or not; He just remained sleeping and enjoying the rest. There is a little hint of what "entering God's rest" looks like; when God's in control, we don't need to question what the outcome is going to be, because He has already told us what it will be, no matter what...
"I can never escape your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night -but even darkness cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous -how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" (Psalms 139:7-18) NLT
Thursday, December 15, 2016
"No Matter What"
"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." (Psalms 86:15)
Now that you see what I was trying to say, there is something of a relationship between the description of the characters in the last verse and those who do not matter: those that don't matter are the proud, those who are violent against the just, and the those that do not set God before them. Not that God cannot hold a place for them in His heart, because God is not willing that anyone should have to perish. But we are given free will to make a choice; and in most cases, those that choose not to accept God's love for them, they become harder and harder; to the point of actually becoming bitter and hating any mention of God. As I was listening to Pastor Jon yesterday, I anticipated that he was going to answer the missing part of what God was speaking into my heart yesterday; and sure enough he did. He was associating the children of Israel murmuring against God in the wilderness over the manna, and how when Jesus explained to the people He was the Manna from Heaven, and the Jews murmured against Him. John 6:43 says: "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, "Murmur not among yourselves." It had to strike a cord in the hearts of some of them, if they new anything about how the children of Israel murmured against God over the manna in the wilderness. There is such a huge difference between those that have accepted God's mercy and those that have not; the biggest difference being that they get it! It's like a light switch being turned on, and everything you did not know or understand is all of the sudden made available for you to see. What happens to us when we actually become aware, is exactly what this verse before us today is speaking of; we see God just as He is, "full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." Do you know what the opposite of murmuring is? How about being grateful? Thankful in everything, even in the things that seem to hurt or seem boring or might not give us pleasure. It's about knowing what matters most and being thankful for everything else; everything else, even those things that bring us pain and discomfort, because in our suffering we are drawn closer to God's love. Sure, it might not seem pleasant or enjoyable, but it can still bring the kind of peace that passes all understanding; that is the kind of peace where you know that God loves you and you are safe in His arms, no matter what...
"Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day."" (John 6:35-40) NLT
Now that you see what I was trying to say, there is something of a relationship between the description of the characters in the last verse and those who do not matter: those that don't matter are the proud, those who are violent against the just, and the those that do not set God before them. Not that God cannot hold a place for them in His heart, because God is not willing that anyone should have to perish. But we are given free will to make a choice; and in most cases, those that choose not to accept God's love for them, they become harder and harder; to the point of actually becoming bitter and hating any mention of God. As I was listening to Pastor Jon yesterday, I anticipated that he was going to answer the missing part of what God was speaking into my heart yesterday; and sure enough he did. He was associating the children of Israel murmuring against God in the wilderness over the manna, and how when Jesus explained to the people He was the Manna from Heaven, and the Jews murmured against Him. John 6:43 says: "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, "Murmur not among yourselves." It had to strike a cord in the hearts of some of them, if they new anything about how the children of Israel murmured against God over the manna in the wilderness. There is such a huge difference between those that have accepted God's mercy and those that have not; the biggest difference being that they get it! It's like a light switch being turned on, and everything you did not know or understand is all of the sudden made available for you to see. What happens to us when we actually become aware, is exactly what this verse before us today is speaking of; we see God just as He is, "full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." Do you know what the opposite of murmuring is? How about being grateful? Thankful in everything, even in the things that seem to hurt or seem boring or might not give us pleasure. It's about knowing what matters most and being thankful for everything else; everything else, even those things that bring us pain and discomfort, because in our suffering we are drawn closer to God's love. Sure, it might not seem pleasant or enjoyable, but it can still bring the kind of peace that passes all understanding; that is the kind of peace where you know that God loves you and you are safe in His arms, no matter what...
"Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day."" (John 6:35-40) NLT
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
"Anyone Who Matters"
"O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assembles of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them." (Psalms 86:14)
There is another way to look at this, if you are skeptical about your own security and place in the family of God: is there peace in your heart for the eternity that awaits you? If there was anything that stood out in my getting saved, more than anything else, it was the sense of peace I felt regarding my eternity with the Lord. It was as if a huge burden had been lifted off of me, and for the first time in my life, I actually felt free. And you want to know the funny part of that, is that I was actually in jail at the time I was saved. Imagine that, in jail, but feeling free! Jesus is not called Prince of Peace for nothing: He is the Prince of Peace because He brings peace with Him when He comes into our hearts. It is beyond anything else we can understand, or anything that we can't; how we can have peace in the midst of something we cannot control, only because we know how much we matter to God! But, here is the thing about how this works in us, it is peace that is tested. I don't really realize the powerful peace that is available until it is actually tested. I think a good example of what I mean is found in the life of Abraham, the father of our faith; who having faith in the promises of God, lacked peace enough about certain situations, enough to have his wife pretend to be his brother. Call it a precaution, if you will; or you could almost call it a lack of faith; but the way I see it, he had peace that needed to be tested. If God is in charge, then He is in charge in a very big way. Little things are seldom enough to prove we really are at peace with God. If your life is going great and you are having no issues to overcome, then you really don't need to concern yourself with much; peace is easy to feel. But throw a little danger or turmoil into your life, and you start to look for peace, anywhere that you can find it. But, there is only one place where we find the kind of peace that we are looking for, it's in God! You think about this little thing Abraham concerned himself with, actually could have become something much bigger; but God intervened! All of the sudden the little thing which could have become a very big thing, became absolutely nothing. Besides that, if you are one of His kids, then you really don't have anything to worry about at all, because you matter! As a matter of fact, He knows every fiber of your being, everything you have ever thought or said or done. There is nothing about you that is hidden from your Heavenly Father; so think of that when you are searching for peace! Peace is found in the big stuff, the stuff that really matters...
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again -rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7) NLT
There is another way to look at this, if you are skeptical about your own security and place in the family of God: is there peace in your heart for the eternity that awaits you? If there was anything that stood out in my getting saved, more than anything else, it was the sense of peace I felt regarding my eternity with the Lord. It was as if a huge burden had been lifted off of me, and for the first time in my life, I actually felt free. And you want to know the funny part of that, is that I was actually in jail at the time I was saved. Imagine that, in jail, but feeling free! Jesus is not called Prince of Peace for nothing: He is the Prince of Peace because He brings peace with Him when He comes into our hearts. It is beyond anything else we can understand, or anything that we can't; how we can have peace in the midst of something we cannot control, only because we know how much we matter to God! But, here is the thing about how this works in us, it is peace that is tested. I don't really realize the powerful peace that is available until it is actually tested. I think a good example of what I mean is found in the life of Abraham, the father of our faith; who having faith in the promises of God, lacked peace enough about certain situations, enough to have his wife pretend to be his brother. Call it a precaution, if you will; or you could almost call it a lack of faith; but the way I see it, he had peace that needed to be tested. If God is in charge, then He is in charge in a very big way. Little things are seldom enough to prove we really are at peace with God. If your life is going great and you are having no issues to overcome, then you really don't need to concern yourself with much; peace is easy to feel. But throw a little danger or turmoil into your life, and you start to look for peace, anywhere that you can find it. But, there is only one place where we find the kind of peace that we are looking for, it's in God! You think about this little thing Abraham concerned himself with, actually could have become something much bigger; but God intervened! All of the sudden the little thing which could have become a very big thing, became absolutely nothing. Besides that, if you are one of His kids, then you really don't have anything to worry about at all, because you matter! As a matter of fact, He knows every fiber of your being, everything you have ever thought or said or done. There is nothing about you that is hidden from your Heavenly Father; so think of that when you are searching for peace! Peace is found in the big stuff, the stuff that really matters...
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again -rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7) NLT
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
"Anywho"
"For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." (Psalms 86:13)
Not that being yanked up from the fires of hell is not something to be thankful for, because it is; but God's love is what made it all possible. Why me? That's the amazing part of this great mystery. Since I was a small child I had always believed that God existed, but I did not really know how much He loved me. I believed that we where created, and I believed that there was a God somewhere up there in the heavens who watched over us; but I did not think that He personally watched over me, nor that He actually cared all that much about me. Not until that Sunday morning in September 1981, because on the day, I saw how much He loved me, for the very first time! As far as this life is concerned, it really does not matter what happens here. We always hope for the best in whatever we do, but it's really not what matters the most. Heaven is what matters! Paul was very explicit in his example of all the things that cannot separate us from the love of God; and somewhere in that list we find ourselves! Yes, that's right; me, my own worst enemy; even I cannot undue what Christ has done! My name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life; and not only that, but He, the Lamb of God, has sealed it there with His blood. There is nowhere I can hide, or nothing that I can do, to take the place of what has taken place; it's done! I guess we could call that eternal security, if that's what you like; but the crazy thing about that, is that it's secure in heaven, somewhere way out of my reach; I couldn't reach up and take it back, even if I wanted to. When I study this verse, I get the sense that David is thinking of his greatest sin; as he penned this verse, his greatest sin comes to mind, and he references it as "the lowest hell." That's what hell could mean in this reference, "of extreme degradation in sin." Paul had some reference to this also, as he referenced himself as the Chief of Sinners. One could only imagine what was going through David's mind and heart, thinking about his loyal servant who he put to death. Or better yet, thinking about his Messiah who would come and pay the price for that sin...
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" -and I am the worst of them all." (1 Timothy 1:12-15) NLT
Not that being yanked up from the fires of hell is not something to be thankful for, because it is; but God's love is what made it all possible. Why me? That's the amazing part of this great mystery. Since I was a small child I had always believed that God existed, but I did not really know how much He loved me. I believed that we where created, and I believed that there was a God somewhere up there in the heavens who watched over us; but I did not think that He personally watched over me, nor that He actually cared all that much about me. Not until that Sunday morning in September 1981, because on the day, I saw how much He loved me, for the very first time! As far as this life is concerned, it really does not matter what happens here. We always hope for the best in whatever we do, but it's really not what matters the most. Heaven is what matters! Paul was very explicit in his example of all the things that cannot separate us from the love of God; and somewhere in that list we find ourselves! Yes, that's right; me, my own worst enemy; even I cannot undue what Christ has done! My name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life; and not only that, but He, the Lamb of God, has sealed it there with His blood. There is nowhere I can hide, or nothing that I can do, to take the place of what has taken place; it's done! I guess we could call that eternal security, if that's what you like; but the crazy thing about that, is that it's secure in heaven, somewhere way out of my reach; I couldn't reach up and take it back, even if I wanted to. When I study this verse, I get the sense that David is thinking of his greatest sin; as he penned this verse, his greatest sin comes to mind, and he references it as "the lowest hell." That's what hell could mean in this reference, "of extreme degradation in sin." Paul had some reference to this also, as he referenced himself as the Chief of Sinners. One could only imagine what was going through David's mind and heart, thinking about his loyal servant who he put to death. Or better yet, thinking about his Messiah who would come and pay the price for that sin...
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" -and I am the worst of them all." (1 Timothy 1:12-15) NLT
Monday, December 12, 2016
"United In Praise"
"I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore." (Psalms 86:12)
Just in case you might have missed the point, I will attempt to make it from a different angle. God's love is not conditioned upon our ability to be obedient, it is conditioned upon our acceptance of it. I find this hard to share without getting all choked up; but God's love for you and I is put out there for everyone and anyone who might want to accept it. Willing to accept it, is more like it! Because once you step into this powerful love, your life is never going to be the same. Going back to the "first love" issue, and as to what that actually represents, just the sheer power of His love should be enough to hold us and prevent us from going astray. I know it might not seem that is how it works at times, but if really stop and consider what it was that turned your heart, it wasn't just the fact that He saved you: it was that He loves you! But I'm a brat, and I do things that are selfish and disgusting; how could He still love me? I know, it's hard to understand. Sometimes it takes more faith to believe that I am worthy of His love, than it does to believe that He loves me. But that's the thing we need to stop. We are not worthy of His love, but He still loves us! But why? How could He? I might be starting to make the point a little clearer; or maybe I'm just muddying up the water. That reminds me, I need to get one of my favorite pictures hung up. It's been setting on the side of my desk forever, and I need to have it displayed to remind me of what I truly am. If you have seen this picture, it shows a man weeping at the foot of the cross with his head bowed between his arms; but in the reflection of the water at the base of the cross, he is looking up and is smiling with such great joy on his face. He loves us so much! We truly do need to rest in His love...
"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one -for God himself has given us right standing with himself? Who then will condemn us? No one -for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is our through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below -indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39) NLT
Just in case you might have missed the point, I will attempt to make it from a different angle. God's love is not conditioned upon our ability to be obedient, it is conditioned upon our acceptance of it. I find this hard to share without getting all choked up; but God's love for you and I is put out there for everyone and anyone who might want to accept it. Willing to accept it, is more like it! Because once you step into this powerful love, your life is never going to be the same. Going back to the "first love" issue, and as to what that actually represents, just the sheer power of His love should be enough to hold us and prevent us from going astray. I know it might not seem that is how it works at times, but if really stop and consider what it was that turned your heart, it wasn't just the fact that He saved you: it was that He loves you! But I'm a brat, and I do things that are selfish and disgusting; how could He still love me? I know, it's hard to understand. Sometimes it takes more faith to believe that I am worthy of His love, than it does to believe that He loves me. But that's the thing we need to stop. We are not worthy of His love, but He still loves us! But why? How could He? I might be starting to make the point a little clearer; or maybe I'm just muddying up the water. That reminds me, I need to get one of my favorite pictures hung up. It's been setting on the side of my desk forever, and I need to have it displayed to remind me of what I truly am. If you have seen this picture, it shows a man weeping at the foot of the cross with his head bowed between his arms; but in the reflection of the water at the base of the cross, he is looking up and is smiling with such great joy on his face. He loves us so much! We truly do need to rest in His love...
"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one -for God himself has given us right standing with himself? Who then will condemn us? No one -for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is our through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below -indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39) NLT
Sunday, December 11, 2016
"United By Love"
"Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name." (Psalms 86:11)
Call me crazy, but is it harder to love God or fear Him? What about what John says in 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." I am under the understanding that we cannot love God the way that we should, because God's love is the perfect love; our love is always built upon conditions and is shallow; compared with God's love, our love is superficial. So what do we do? Well, first of all, the word "fear" in the way David uses it, actually means to have fear, or to be afraid; dreadfully afraid is more like it, a godly fear. However, the good news, if you would like to call it that, is that this dreadful fear is followed by "thy name." What's in a name, you might wonder? Understanding for one; the name is what we understand God to be. A better way to put it, is to look at John's next statement after "He that feareth is not made perfect in love." "We love him, because he first loved us." Do I deserve His love? Absolutely not! But, nonetheless, He loves me! So my understanding of God, is that He loves me, and He loves me so much, that He sent His Only Son to come and die for my sins! Does that make me afraid? Of myself, yes, but not of God! I'm afraid for what I am, compared to what I should be. After all, He gave His all for me; you would think that I could at least put a little effort into giving my all for Him. I am dreadfully afraid of what I can be; but when I look at God, I am made blameless in the shadow of His love for me. God's love is bigger than you or I could ever need; and if I could just have a piece of it, then I could learn to love others as I love myself. That's why Jesus put those two commands together, because they are one love...
""I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one -as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me."" (John 17:20-23) NLT
Call me crazy, but is it harder to love God or fear Him? What about what John says in 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." I am under the understanding that we cannot love God the way that we should, because God's love is the perfect love; our love is always built upon conditions and is shallow; compared with God's love, our love is superficial. So what do we do? Well, first of all, the word "fear" in the way David uses it, actually means to have fear, or to be afraid; dreadfully afraid is more like it, a godly fear. However, the good news, if you would like to call it that, is that this dreadful fear is followed by "thy name." What's in a name, you might wonder? Understanding for one; the name is what we understand God to be. A better way to put it, is to look at John's next statement after "He that feareth is not made perfect in love." "We love him, because he first loved us." Do I deserve His love? Absolutely not! But, nonetheless, He loves me! So my understanding of God, is that He loves me, and He loves me so much, that He sent His Only Son to come and die for my sins! Does that make me afraid? Of myself, yes, but not of God! I'm afraid for what I am, compared to what I should be. After all, He gave His all for me; you would think that I could at least put a little effort into giving my all for Him. I am dreadfully afraid of what I can be; but when I look at God, I am made blameless in the shadow of His love for me. God's love is bigger than you or I could ever need; and if I could just have a piece of it, then I could learn to love others as I love myself. That's why Jesus put those two commands together, because they are one love...
""I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one -as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me."" (John 17:20-23) NLT
Saturday, December 10, 2016
"The One and Only"
"For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone." (Psalms 86:10)
We might not always get the full picture, but what He gives us is enough to make up our minds. Do we actually need a sign? Not in the least; our salvation is sign enough! Isn't that what faith is all about? It's not about a sign or asking God to prove anything. It's about believing with all of hearts that God's word is true, and then living as though you believe it. If we don't have what it takes, it's only because we have not asked Him hard enough to take stuff away. You have got to mean business if you are going to really tear down any strongholds; because it's not just about habits, it's about making Him Lord of your life. Remembering how this Psalms is actually more than just a prayer, it's a cry for help; and because it's a cry for help, we must have the desire within us to be helped. Now, what it is that makes the desire to be helped stronger that the desire to sin, that's something we all should be very familiar with, because it is all about love. Do I love Him enough to change my life? Not on my own! I can't change anything; it is God who must change me; He is the only one that can change our hearts. Only He can change a heart of stone into a heart that is filled with love. That is the one thing about the story that Jesus gave regarding prayer, we have got to be persistent! We keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking, because the work is never really done! Our filling of the Holy Spirit is always renewed, day by day, we continually asked to be filled; not just to be partly filled, but filled to overflowing; so much so, that there is no more room for anything else. It's not going to be easy, because there will be difficulties and oppositions from all sides; but the only side that really matters in our own inside, the heart! Do you see where I am going? The point of this is very simple, because love comes in all sorts of different sizes and shapes; but one true love has only one! In Revelation 2:4, Jesus speaking to the church of Ephesus, says, "Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." I have always figured that to be based upon the feeling I had when I first got saved. Maybe it was a sermon I heard, or something I made up on my own; but I have always just figured it meant that we fell out of love with that first experience, the day we asked Jesus into our hearts. It's not about any of that: It's about loving Him first, above all else...
"One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Listen O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love you neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these." The teacher of the law replied, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law." Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions." (Mark 12:28-34) NLT
We might not always get the full picture, but what He gives us is enough to make up our minds. Do we actually need a sign? Not in the least; our salvation is sign enough! Isn't that what faith is all about? It's not about a sign or asking God to prove anything. It's about believing with all of hearts that God's word is true, and then living as though you believe it. If we don't have what it takes, it's only because we have not asked Him hard enough to take stuff away. You have got to mean business if you are going to really tear down any strongholds; because it's not just about habits, it's about making Him Lord of your life. Remembering how this Psalms is actually more than just a prayer, it's a cry for help; and because it's a cry for help, we must have the desire within us to be helped. Now, what it is that makes the desire to be helped stronger that the desire to sin, that's something we all should be very familiar with, because it is all about love. Do I love Him enough to change my life? Not on my own! I can't change anything; it is God who must change me; He is the only one that can change our hearts. Only He can change a heart of stone into a heart that is filled with love. That is the one thing about the story that Jesus gave regarding prayer, we have got to be persistent! We keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking, because the work is never really done! Our filling of the Holy Spirit is always renewed, day by day, we continually asked to be filled; not just to be partly filled, but filled to overflowing; so much so, that there is no more room for anything else. It's not going to be easy, because there will be difficulties and oppositions from all sides; but the only side that really matters in our own inside, the heart! Do you see where I am going? The point of this is very simple, because love comes in all sorts of different sizes and shapes; but one true love has only one! In Revelation 2:4, Jesus speaking to the church of Ephesus, says, "Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." I have always figured that to be based upon the feeling I had when I first got saved. Maybe it was a sermon I heard, or something I made up on my own; but I have always just figured it meant that we fell out of love with that first experience, the day we asked Jesus into our hearts. It's not about any of that: It's about loving Him first, above all else...
"One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Listen O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love you neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these." The teacher of the law replied, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law." Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions." (Mark 12:28-34) NLT
Friday, December 9, 2016
"Better Believe It"
"All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name." (Psalms 86:9) I would like to think by now that we would have settled the issue of who is in charge; after all, every single thing that is, was, or ever will be, it all belongs to the Lord. If you like to have things to show something of a comparison, as I watched The Donald delivering a speech last night, someone in the crowd must have said something that was not so nice; but he was gracious about it, answering back with something like, "I think they are really on my side, they just don't know it yet." It's not too far off from the reality of God's dominion, because every knee shall bow before Him; even those that might say that they want nothing to do with Him; even those that might try to say the He does not exist. There is absolutely no getting out of it! Crazy as it might seem, this is the only time for any type of a choice to be made, right now! Today is the day of salvation, because tomorrow is what it is; and the only way to change your tomorrow is by surrendering today. After this, it's too late to make any changes. That's some pretty serious stuff to consider, don't you think? It might not seem to be such an important topic right now, but then again, who ever thinks about what really matters any more; it's all about right now, what's for dinner, and getting through today. In this crazy fast past life that we live in, nothing in this life is certain; absolutely nothing! They say that there are two things for sure, death and taxes; well, if you're born again you have cheated death, and if you're in prison you don't pay taxes. Besides that, everything we have is a blessing, and we need to give thanks for the chance to enjoy any of it, including each other! My job is one that shows me the reality of not holding on to anything here too hard. I've seen families that seemed to have it all and looked like they were set for life, all of the sudden devastated and hopeless; all because they put too much trust in their material life, and not in the life that really matters. This is serious stuff! We don't get another chance to make a choice! We either bow to Him now and live forever, or bow to Him later and die forever. For now, the choice is yours...
"And I saw a great white throne and one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelations 20:11-15) NLT
"And I saw a great white throne and one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelations 20:11-15) NLT
Thursday, December 8, 2016
"What a Wonderful God!"
"Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works." (Psalms 86:8)
So, if you hadn't noticed, in the illustration that Jesus gave, the neighbor did not remain silent; he might not have been in agreement, but he did answer. I guess I just like to draw upon certain things more than others. It's not like we are ever going to be totally in line with God's way of doing things, not in this life; but we can be in line with certain aspects of His character and His love. You can take what Jesus said for what it's worth, or you can make it into something more, something about our obligation to give onto others. I can't quite get the thought of this out of my mind, but it's all about serving one another; whether that involves feeding those that are hungry, or providing a home for the homeless, or just actually caring about someone enough to pray earnestly for their life, both here and eternally. There has got to be a reason we have been placed in the position we are in, no matter what your position is, you have a purpose for the Kingdom of God. And the really funny part of that is, it's that we might not even realize what it is. We could go through our whole Christian life, not even knowing that our purpose was being fulfilled, just to find out in heaven that we made a powerful contribution. I couldn't help but think about God's tiny creations, those little things that we never really see, but they are important nonetheless. That's what I am talking about, because we can never underestimate God's ability to use a life, any life; even a life that might be a wreck and out of sorts. Maybe it doesn't all make sense; then again, maybe it doesn't need to. We are only asked to take God at His word, not try and figure out why He is saying what He says, or what the verbs mean between the nouns. Our God is so complex and misunderstood, we can't figure it out; and even when we think that we have, He brings out a whole new level of understanding, and we are right back where we started, amazed and overwhelmed...
"Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the LORD ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand." (Isaiah 40:12-15) NLT
So, if you hadn't noticed, in the illustration that Jesus gave, the neighbor did not remain silent; he might not have been in agreement, but he did answer. I guess I just like to draw upon certain things more than others. It's not like we are ever going to be totally in line with God's way of doing things, not in this life; but we can be in line with certain aspects of His character and His love. You can take what Jesus said for what it's worth, or you can make it into something more, something about our obligation to give onto others. I can't quite get the thought of this out of my mind, but it's all about serving one another; whether that involves feeding those that are hungry, or providing a home for the homeless, or just actually caring about someone enough to pray earnestly for their life, both here and eternally. There has got to be a reason we have been placed in the position we are in, no matter what your position is, you have a purpose for the Kingdom of God. And the really funny part of that is, it's that we might not even realize what it is. We could go through our whole Christian life, not even knowing that our purpose was being fulfilled, just to find out in heaven that we made a powerful contribution. I couldn't help but think about God's tiny creations, those little things that we never really see, but they are important nonetheless. That's what I am talking about, because we can never underestimate God's ability to use a life, any life; even a life that might be a wreck and out of sorts. Maybe it doesn't all make sense; then again, maybe it doesn't need to. We are only asked to take God at His word, not try and figure out why He is saying what He says, or what the verbs mean between the nouns. Our God is so complex and misunderstood, we can't figure it out; and even when we think that we have, He brings out a whole new level of understanding, and we are right back where we started, amazed and overwhelmed...
"Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the LORD ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand." (Isaiah 40:12-15) NLT
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
"A Call to Answer"
"In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me." (Psalms 86:7)
Not only is it more than just a cry, it's more than even a prayer; it's worship! Yesterday I heard a caller ask, Is prayer actually worship? or something to the effect; and it reminded me of the prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples. That prayer was all about worship! What is worship, if not giving praise to God? And when we lift up our voices to Him in prayer, are we not also acknowledging He is worthy to be cried out to? Are we not acknowledging that He listens? Isn't that what worship is really all about? We don't worship God to hear ourselves sign; although it's always wonderful to listen and participate in corporate worship; but we worship with song to praise our wonderful Creator. Even in the body of what this verse is saying, there is worship being demonstrated by the fact that David is saying, "for thou wilt answer me." As a matter of fact, this Psalm is thought to be a prayer that David not only wrote as a song, but that he taught to others; a kind of corporate prayer in the form of a song, which is made for worship. Nowadays, everyone is into texting; it seems to be the first choice in our communications. The second choice is calling; if they don't answer your text right away, then you give them a call; and then if they don't answer your call, you text them again asking if they are alright. We really don't need to ask God anything twice, but for the benefit of our own persistence, we do it anyways. It's our way of making sure that He got the message; but if we could text Him, we would probably still call out to Him also, to follow up the text. Well, maybe not this new generation, they won't even program their voicemail, because calling people is not something that they are interested in doing, it's all handled by text. And if they are going to call someone, then it's going to be to an answering machine or a voice mailbox; something that they don't have to engage in a two-way conversation. That's what David is speaking about, a two-way conversation with God! He's not talking about leaving a message, he's talking about getting an answer; when you call out to God, God will answer, because He is God and that's what He does...
"Jesus said, "This is how you should pray: "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation." Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this -though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You fathers -if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."" (Luke 11:2-13) NLT
Not only is it more than just a cry, it's more than even a prayer; it's worship! Yesterday I heard a caller ask, Is prayer actually worship? or something to the effect; and it reminded me of the prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples. That prayer was all about worship! What is worship, if not giving praise to God? And when we lift up our voices to Him in prayer, are we not also acknowledging He is worthy to be cried out to? Are we not acknowledging that He listens? Isn't that what worship is really all about? We don't worship God to hear ourselves sign; although it's always wonderful to listen and participate in corporate worship; but we worship with song to praise our wonderful Creator. Even in the body of what this verse is saying, there is worship being demonstrated by the fact that David is saying, "for thou wilt answer me." As a matter of fact, this Psalm is thought to be a prayer that David not only wrote as a song, but that he taught to others; a kind of corporate prayer in the form of a song, which is made for worship. Nowadays, everyone is into texting; it seems to be the first choice in our communications. The second choice is calling; if they don't answer your text right away, then you give them a call; and then if they don't answer your call, you text them again asking if they are alright. We really don't need to ask God anything twice, but for the benefit of our own persistence, we do it anyways. It's our way of making sure that He got the message; but if we could text Him, we would probably still call out to Him also, to follow up the text. Well, maybe not this new generation, they won't even program their voicemail, because calling people is not something that they are interested in doing, it's all handled by text. And if they are going to call someone, then it's going to be to an answering machine or a voice mailbox; something that they don't have to engage in a two-way conversation. That's what David is speaking about, a two-way conversation with God! He's not talking about leaving a message, he's talking about getting an answer; when you call out to God, God will answer, because He is God and that's what He does...
"Jesus said, "This is how you should pray: "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation." Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this -though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You fathers -if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."" (Luke 11:2-13) NLT
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
"More Than a Cry"
"Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications." (Psalms 86:6)
It might not seem as though He answers all of our prayers, and maybe it's good that He doesn't; but if you really think about it, most of the time we really don't know what to ask for. I know, we might have something that feels as though it's life threatening or needs God's immediate attention, but that's not really how things work in the spiritual sense. In other words, what makes sense in our material world and for our material needs, does not line up with spiritual needs, and vice versa. Only God has the answers to what is best for our spiritual needs. Sometimes, those around us need more help with spiritual needs than us, so we get to become a tool to sharpen them. No matter what, we must come to the place where we totally trust that God is listening, and that He responds to our prayers. It might not be the response that we were looking for or had in mind; but nonetheless, God does listen and responds to His children, we can have confidence in that. (1 John 5:14-15) Having said that, I know for certain that it's easy to doubt God's response is even happening; I think I am a pretty good person to give testimony to that. But I also know that God gives us just what we need to get through another day of hoping, or another day of patience, or another day of grace; no matter what, He knows what we can handle and what it takes to break us; but sometimes breaking us is the only way to get us to hand everything over to Him. The way I see it, prayers are more than crying out to God; even when we are crying out, our prayers have direction and tangibility. Even though we can't actually see or touch God, we know that He can see and touch us; and it is that relationship we have with Him that gives us the confidence in knowing that He listens to every single prayer that we pray, because it's not this life that matters the most, but it's the next...
"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) NLT
It might not seem as though He answers all of our prayers, and maybe it's good that He doesn't; but if you really think about it, most of the time we really don't know what to ask for. I know, we might have something that feels as though it's life threatening or needs God's immediate attention, but that's not really how things work in the spiritual sense. In other words, what makes sense in our material world and for our material needs, does not line up with spiritual needs, and vice versa. Only God has the answers to what is best for our spiritual needs. Sometimes, those around us need more help with spiritual needs than us, so we get to become a tool to sharpen them. No matter what, we must come to the place where we totally trust that God is listening, and that He responds to our prayers. It might not be the response that we were looking for or had in mind; but nonetheless, God does listen and responds to His children, we can have confidence in that. (1 John 5:14-15) Having said that, I know for certain that it's easy to doubt God's response is even happening; I think I am a pretty good person to give testimony to that. But I also know that God gives us just what we need to get through another day of hoping, or another day of patience, or another day of grace; no matter what, He knows what we can handle and what it takes to break us; but sometimes breaking us is the only way to get us to hand everything over to Him. The way I see it, prayers are more than crying out to God; even when we are crying out, our prayers have direction and tangibility. Even though we can't actually see or touch God, we know that He can see and touch us; and it is that relationship we have with Him that gives us the confidence in knowing that He listens to every single prayer that we pray, because it's not this life that matters the most, but it's the next...
"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) NLT
Monday, December 5, 2016
"Rejoice In Mercy"
"For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." (Psalms 86:5) You can call that whatever you want; I will continue to call it amazing and far more than we could ever need or ask for. I need to know, when anyone out there first asked for God's forgiveness, did you expect to receive so much? I am willing to answer for you, by saying, Absolutely not! I would have been happy with just being forgiven and given eternal life. But God, who has so much more to give, He doesn't hold back anything from His children; even those of us that do not deserve any of it, He freely gives us so much more than we ever could even imagine. If you could list everything down upon a list, it would most likely stretch for miles; but we can't, because most of the stuff which would be contained upon that list hasn't even been granted yet. That is the part that I find to be so amazing, the hope in all that is to come; and it's all because of God's rich mercy. If not for mercy, I would still be left at the side of the road; never mind that He not only rescued me, but He placed me in "heavenly places," something I totally don't get, nor do I hardly deserve. But that's just it, it's not based upon me and my righteousness; it is based upon the righteousness of Christ Jesus: 'By His stripes I am healed.' That healing has absolutely nothing to do with this physical body. It's all about a spiritual healing, one which caused life to come where there once was nothing but death. And the craziness of all of that, is that I did not even know I was dead. Try explaining that to someone who does not know the Lord; they would just call you crazy and want nothing to do with you. What a glorious God we serve! His mercy truly is new every morning; even on those mornings when we feel so undeserving, He truly is "ready to forgive!" I think about Adam and Eve, and how God came to them ready to forgive them for the sin that they had committed, but they refused to own up to their own sin. Adam blamed the women whom God had given him; which in effect, he was blaming God, that God put this woman in his life, who then gave him the fruit to eat. Eve, she just blamed it on the devil; which in and of itself is just stupid, because if you know that God said don't do it, then why would anything anyone else say matter? Sure, you could say that she was deceived, but she was deceived because she wanted to be deceived; just like Adam sinned because he wanted to sin, not because the woman gave him the fruit. But God showed up showing mercy! And do you know what is even crazier still: they were hiding from God because they had sinned...
"Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:18-21) NLT
"Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:18-21) NLT
Sunday, December 4, 2016
"Joy In Being Kept"
"Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." (Psalms 86:4)
Grace has a very personal appointment, which is why no one who is His child can ever really be disgraced. Oh, we might feel discouraged or disappointment in ourselves; but it's knowing that we are loved and kept by a God who loves us more than we even love ourselves, that's what keeps us going forward, getting out of bed, and counting it all joy; if nothing else, for the sake of being loved. We really need to start getting the right perspective when it comes to life, living, and being alive. This material world is only for a very short period of time; it's just a flicker compared to the eternity that awaits. Yet, how much focus we give to our daily lives compared to the eternity that awaits, it's almost an opposite comparison; our thoughts towards eternity are only little flickers through each of are daily lives. Obviously we must keep doing whatever it takes to feed our families, pay our bills, and be productive citizens in our communities; but these are only temporary things in themselves, and nothing tangible is being taken with us when we leave this world, so that's where we leave it. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have let pressures of this material life affect my eternal perspective; and we are only speaking about stuff over the last thirty days! To be perfectly honest, it's a lot like what James says about a man looking in a mirror, seeing who he is, going his way, and instantly forgetting what manner of man that he is; I consider how important eternal life is compared to this life, and turn to continue on living this life, instantly forgetting what I had just considered. A little pressure from paying the bills, a little bad news about not receiving payment I expected; anything that's contrary to what I had hoped, instantly puts me at odds and takes away my joy; if nothing else, but for a moment. But let me tell you something, even a single moment of displaying discouragement can be enough to steal from your testimony of being kept in God's grace. It is so important to keep our right perspective, to keep our focus on the things that remain, and not be distracted by the temporary concerns of this material world. No matter how important those concerns may appear, they quickly fade in the light of eternity...
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD'S favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory." (Isaiah 61:1-3) NLT
Grace has a very personal appointment, which is why no one who is His child can ever really be disgraced. Oh, we might feel discouraged or disappointment in ourselves; but it's knowing that we are loved and kept by a God who loves us more than we even love ourselves, that's what keeps us going forward, getting out of bed, and counting it all joy; if nothing else, for the sake of being loved. We really need to start getting the right perspective when it comes to life, living, and being alive. This material world is only for a very short period of time; it's just a flicker compared to the eternity that awaits. Yet, how much focus we give to our daily lives compared to the eternity that awaits, it's almost an opposite comparison; our thoughts towards eternity are only little flickers through each of are daily lives. Obviously we must keep doing whatever it takes to feed our families, pay our bills, and be productive citizens in our communities; but these are only temporary things in themselves, and nothing tangible is being taken with us when we leave this world, so that's where we leave it. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have let pressures of this material life affect my eternal perspective; and we are only speaking about stuff over the last thirty days! To be perfectly honest, it's a lot like what James says about a man looking in a mirror, seeing who he is, going his way, and instantly forgetting what manner of man that he is; I consider how important eternal life is compared to this life, and turn to continue on living this life, instantly forgetting what I had just considered. A little pressure from paying the bills, a little bad news about not receiving payment I expected; anything that's contrary to what I had hoped, instantly puts me at odds and takes away my joy; if nothing else, but for a moment. But let me tell you something, even a single moment of displaying discouragement can be enough to steal from your testimony of being kept in God's grace. It is so important to keep our right perspective, to keep our focus on the things that remain, and not be distracted by the temporary concerns of this material world. No matter how important those concerns may appear, they quickly fade in the light of eternity...
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD'S favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory." (Isaiah 61:1-3) NLT
Saturday, December 3, 2016
"Kept By Grace"
"Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily." (Psalms 86:3)
Forgive me if I appear to be moving too fast, but I have a mission; at least I think that I do, but God is the one who will determine the outcome. Actually, I want to be in the next Psalm by the 20th of the month; so we will see how it goes: Lord willing, it will happen. Having said that, don't you think that closing Scripture was pretty awesome? If you don't get the connection, you will soon enough; we all belong to God, whether you're in or you're out, it really makes no difference to whether or not God owns your soul; so He has every right to do with you what He wishes. That's the most amazing thing about this message of hope! We are His, we are not our own! If God has called you out of the darkness, then you are chosen to remain in His light; it's really as simple as that. Does that mean that you can't return to the darkness? You know, I don't want to judge your condition, or where you stand with the Lord; but I will say this, if you have truly been born again, then you are already living in eternal life. God has you secured in heaven, where nobody or nothing can change your security in Him. Does that mean all your life here will be hunky-dory? That's a big fat No! The way I see it, the mercy upon our souls has already been completed; that deal was settled the moment you asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Paul instructs everyone to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) That does not mean that we need to work for our salvation, as some might interpret it; but that we need to accept what we are and know how important our calling is in the Lord. It's really not about us; if it was, then He would have taken us home as soon as we were saved. It's about being salt and light for the Kingdom of God. We are His ambassadors, and as such, we need to diligent to hold our own feet to the fire; but realizing He will hold us accountable for all that we do. That said, all that we do, is to be His work in us. This goes back to what Paul says in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." And if you really want to get back to basics, you go back to Romans 6:11, where Paul says, "Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Those are the things that point to "working out your salvation," not performing works, but letting Christ work in you...
"O LORD, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me. All day long I put my hope in you." (Psalms 25:1-5) NLT
Forgive me if I appear to be moving too fast, but I have a mission; at least I think that I do, but God is the one who will determine the outcome. Actually, I want to be in the next Psalm by the 20th of the month; so we will see how it goes: Lord willing, it will happen. Having said that, don't you think that closing Scripture was pretty awesome? If you don't get the connection, you will soon enough; we all belong to God, whether you're in or you're out, it really makes no difference to whether or not God owns your soul; so He has every right to do with you what He wishes. That's the most amazing thing about this message of hope! We are His, we are not our own! If God has called you out of the darkness, then you are chosen to remain in His light; it's really as simple as that. Does that mean that you can't return to the darkness? You know, I don't want to judge your condition, or where you stand with the Lord; but I will say this, if you have truly been born again, then you are already living in eternal life. God has you secured in heaven, where nobody or nothing can change your security in Him. Does that mean all your life here will be hunky-dory? That's a big fat No! The way I see it, the mercy upon our souls has already been completed; that deal was settled the moment you asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Paul instructs everyone to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) That does not mean that we need to work for our salvation, as some might interpret it; but that we need to accept what we are and know how important our calling is in the Lord. It's really not about us; if it was, then He would have taken us home as soon as we were saved. It's about being salt and light for the Kingdom of God. We are His ambassadors, and as such, we need to diligent to hold our own feet to the fire; but realizing He will hold us accountable for all that we do. That said, all that we do, is to be His work in us. This goes back to what Paul says in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." And if you really want to get back to basics, you go back to Romans 6:11, where Paul says, "Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Those are the things that point to "working out your salvation," not performing works, but letting Christ work in you...
"O LORD, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me. All day long I put my hope in you." (Psalms 25:1-5) NLT
Friday, December 2, 2016
"Kept Holding On"
"Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee." (Psalms 86:2) At first read, you might wonder what it means for David to use the word "holy" as a term to describe who or what he is before God; but taken in the context of what he is believing, just the fact that he believes God is who He is, and that God does have the power to pardon his sins, then he can actually lift up holy hands to his God and declare himself a faithful servant. Was he always faithful? Not so much at being holy and righteous; but at holding onto God and counting on God to show mercy, he was better than most. To put it mildly, to be saved from the fires of hell, one must be found holy and without sin. I know that the general public, and even many that call themselves Christians, don't subscribe to that belief; nor do they believe that there is an actual hell that has eternal fire and brimstone. Personally, I choose to not take that chance. I make sure to ask God for forgiveness every morning and night; even during the day, when I realize that I have committed a sin. If you actually believe that Jesus was telling the truth about hell, then you can't take any chances with sin. Take what was spoken by Paul in that closing Scripture yesterday, his point of receiving the Holy Spirit, is not just a test for having been born again, it's also the proof of holiness. It's like this: all through the Old Testament every servant or prophet of God was gifted by God's Spirit coming upon them; it was a sign that they were in line with God's purposes and doing His will. In this New Testament period, we that have been born again receive the Holy Spirit within us, which is a sign that we are not just in the perfect will of God, but we are children of God, born of His Spirit. The only way that this is made possible, is by believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; there is no other way to be born of the Spirit, than to be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. I guess another way you could look at it, is to consider who God is, and if the Holy Spirit is God, then in order for Him to dwell within us, we must be holy; it is only the blood of Jesus that qualifies us as a holy dwelling place for God's Spirit...
"So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth." So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what he makes them do?" No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, "Why have you made me like this?" When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. And we are among those whom he selected, both the Jews and from the Gentiles." (Romans 9:16-24) NLT
"So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth." So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what he makes them do?" No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, "Why have you made me like this?" When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. And we are among those whom he selected, both the Jews and from the Gentiles." (Romans 9:16-24) NLT
Thursday, December 1, 2016
"A Cry for Help"
PSALMS 86 [A Prayer of David.] (Verse 1:) "Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy."
You can't tell me that there is not some kind of link from Psalm to Psalm, because there surely is. Even if Ezra was not the one who put these Psalms in order, the Holy Spirit did, no matter who was the man that worked on putting them in some sort of order. It was pretty obvious that David was not the author of the previous Psalm, but that does not does not mean a Psalm that was written some 500 years before could not follow after it. If you wondered why I changed my pattern of starting each Psalm, it is all about timing; that's all that I will say about that for now, so don't dwell on it. As we left off yesterday, there was the need to be connected with God's mercy; not just as the receiver of His mercy, but as someone who lives God's mercy. The King James version of Galatians 2:21, says, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." It's pretty close to the NLT, but as with most translations, there is something lost in the way that new translations interpret what is being said. The point that Paul is making speaks much more than making God's grace 'meaningless,' because the point has more to do with accepting His grace, and then adding works to it; which is why "frustrate" is a word that better suits for that particular application. On the other hand, you could accept the term "meaningless" as the way to interpret what "grace" might represent; because if grace needs to stand alone by itself, adding anything to it would count it as meaningless; if that makes any sense to anyone out there. However, in the context of what Paul is actually saying, none of that actually makes any sense, because we are dead in Christ; so what we do or don't do, doesn't really matter, it's all about Christ living in us. In other words, it is grace, not that God's grace is only His merciful kindness that brings us to exercise Christian values; but His grace is the spiritual condition that we are in, with Christ living in us, that we might be governed by the power of His divine grace and not by the law. The law is only there to remind us how needy we truly are of God's mercy and grace. Moving on, prayer requires that those lifting up holy hands to a Holy God, actually have a right to get His attention. What better way do we have than to be poor and needy...
"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of Course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." (Galatians 3:1-5) NLT
You can't tell me that there is not some kind of link from Psalm to Psalm, because there surely is. Even if Ezra was not the one who put these Psalms in order, the Holy Spirit did, no matter who was the man that worked on putting them in some sort of order. It was pretty obvious that David was not the author of the previous Psalm, but that does not does not mean a Psalm that was written some 500 years before could not follow after it. If you wondered why I changed my pattern of starting each Psalm, it is all about timing; that's all that I will say about that for now, so don't dwell on it. As we left off yesterday, there was the need to be connected with God's mercy; not just as the receiver of His mercy, but as someone who lives God's mercy. The King James version of Galatians 2:21, says, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." It's pretty close to the NLT, but as with most translations, there is something lost in the way that new translations interpret what is being said. The point that Paul is making speaks much more than making God's grace 'meaningless,' because the point has more to do with accepting His grace, and then adding works to it; which is why "frustrate" is a word that better suits for that particular application. On the other hand, you could accept the term "meaningless" as the way to interpret what "grace" might represent; because if grace needs to stand alone by itself, adding anything to it would count it as meaningless; if that makes any sense to anyone out there. However, in the context of what Paul is actually saying, none of that actually makes any sense, because we are dead in Christ; so what we do or don't do, doesn't really matter, it's all about Christ living in us. In other words, it is grace, not that God's grace is only His merciful kindness that brings us to exercise Christian values; but His grace is the spiritual condition that we are in, with Christ living in us, that we might be governed by the power of His divine grace and not by the law. The law is only there to remind us how needy we truly are of God's mercy and grace. Moving on, prayer requires that those lifting up holy hands to a Holy God, actually have a right to get His attention. What better way do we have than to be poor and needy...
"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of Course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." (Galatians 3:1-5) NLT
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