Jeremiah 5:24-25
They do not say to themselves, "Let us fear the Lord our God, Who gives autumn and spring rains in season, Who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest." Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. --
So much of the troubles and problems of our lives, our families, our towns and cities and our Nation have been the result of our deliberately ignoring the principles God has devised to run things of this world according to how He designed it to run. So we have instead decided that we're smart, we're our own gods who can decide for ourselves how we want to run things. But it is our Maker Who provides the means for our well-being, according to How He designed it.
When we humble ourselves to listen to His Word and obey His rules of conduct in our attitudes and our relationships, then God will see to it that things run for us according to His order. But when we decide to take matters into our own hands, then the chaos that results makes for brokenness in our relationships, our finances and in our Nation. We need to return to the Lord.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Saturday, July 30, 2016
The Prudent And The Naive
Proverbs 27:12
A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty. --
All the preppers and contrarians "see" so much "evil" around us and recommend that we "hide" ourselves by taking care of our families "off the grid," or invest our money in ways that do not conform to the majority of investors.
Some people see demons everywhere, and others contend that everything's okay and what's problematic will take care of itself.
I want to find that middle ground, that sees clearly what evil will harm, and act accordingly, not going overboard either left or right. I am looking to discern what is truth in all the chatter out there.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty. --
All the preppers and contrarians "see" so much "evil" around us and recommend that we "hide" ourselves by taking care of our families "off the grid," or invest our money in ways that do not conform to the majority of investors.
Some people see demons everywhere, and others contend that everything's okay and what's problematic will take care of itself.
I want to find that middle ground, that sees clearly what evil will harm, and act accordingly, not going overboard either left or right. I am looking to discern what is truth in all the chatter out there.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 29, 2016
The Lord Be Magnified
Psalm 35:27-28
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; --
May the people who are glad that God has caused His Truth to win out on my behalf tell of it out loud.
And let them say continually, "The Lord be magnified" --
May they constantly remember that God is the One Who designed how this world is to run, and makes sure that His order prevails over the chaos.
"Who delights in the prosperity of His servant." --
Prosperity: (Hebrew, shalowm; [total] welfare, in [good] health, [financial] prosperity, and [national/political] peace.)
God smiles when His people do things the way He designed in obedience to His rules, and reap the benefits in this world.
And my tongue shall declare Thy righteousness and Thy praise all day long. --
And whenever I realize that the "good life" I am experiencing here is the result of following God's instructions in my daily life and thinking processes; then I will also say out loud to whoever will listen that God is good, every day, to all He has made and everyone who wants to know Him and His ways.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; --
May the people who are glad that God has caused His Truth to win out on my behalf tell of it out loud.
And let them say continually, "The Lord be magnified" --
May they constantly remember that God is the One Who designed how this world is to run, and makes sure that His order prevails over the chaos.
"Who delights in the prosperity of His servant." --
Prosperity: (Hebrew, shalowm; [total] welfare, in [good] health, [financial] prosperity, and [national/political] peace.)
God smiles when His people do things the way He designed in obedience to His rules, and reap the benefits in this world.
And my tongue shall declare Thy righteousness and Thy praise all day long. --
And whenever I realize that the "good life" I am experiencing here is the result of following God's instructions in my daily life and thinking processes; then I will also say out loud to whoever will listen that God is good, every day, to all He has made and everyone who wants to know Him and His ways.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, July 28, 2016
"Filthy Rags"
Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, --
Someone who had touched a dead body was considered to be contaminated by it and was required to go through a process of cleansing to prevent the spread of disease.
and all our righteous acts --
All the best things we can do, even when we try our hardest to be good and do right.
are like filthy rags; --
These filthy rags are actually putrid, uncleanable menstrual cloths; the most disgusting thing Isaiah could think of.
This means that even the best, most noble, fine things we can do are still contaminated by uncleanness and unacceptable to God. This uncleanness is our fallen human nature; that's why Jesus said we must be "born again" (John 3:3ff).
We all shrivel up like a leaf, --
Like a fall leaf looses its chlorophyll (that gives it its green color, revealing the fall color) and then looses all its moisture and dries up and crumbles; we all "shrivel up" with wickedness and old age.
and like the wind our sins sweep us away. --
Then like the wind blows away the leaf, so our sins (iniquities; twisting the Truth) cause us to "twist in the wind," the way we twist God's good rules that are meant for our good, by "re-interpreting" them to mean something else that they're not. And we end up "blown away" from the prosperity and peace we used to know, when we acknowledged God.
Wake up, people. Do what God has enabled you to do. I know you're just one person, but it takes every one of us to constitute that "moral majority" that used to be talked about. All together we can do it, with God's help & in His strength. Persevere. Occupy until He returns, don't bury your talent by sitting on your hands.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
All of us have become like one who is unclean, --
Someone who had touched a dead body was considered to be contaminated by it and was required to go through a process of cleansing to prevent the spread of disease.
and all our righteous acts --
All the best things we can do, even when we try our hardest to be good and do right.
are like filthy rags; --
These filthy rags are actually putrid, uncleanable menstrual cloths; the most disgusting thing Isaiah could think of.
This means that even the best, most noble, fine things we can do are still contaminated by uncleanness and unacceptable to God. This uncleanness is our fallen human nature; that's why Jesus said we must be "born again" (John 3:3ff).
We all shrivel up like a leaf, --
Like a fall leaf looses its chlorophyll (that gives it its green color, revealing the fall color) and then looses all its moisture and dries up and crumbles; we all "shrivel up" with wickedness and old age.
and like the wind our sins sweep us away. --
Then like the wind blows away the leaf, so our sins (iniquities; twisting the Truth) cause us to "twist in the wind," the way we twist God's good rules that are meant for our good, by "re-interpreting" them to mean something else that they're not. And we end up "blown away" from the prosperity and peace we used to know, when we acknowledged God.
Wake up, people. Do what God has enabled you to do. I know you're just one person, but it takes every one of us to constitute that "moral majority" that used to be talked about. All together we can do it, with God's help & in His strength. Persevere. Occupy until He returns, don't bury your talent by sitting on your hands.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Does A "Fool" Rule Over Us?
Isaiah 32:6
For a fool speaks nonsense, --
A "fool" is a vile person who is morally deficient and without good character. He speaks nonsense, villany (Hebrew for nothingness, no substance).
and his heart inclines toward wickedness, --
This word wickedness is "hypocrisy" (moral filth, hypocrisy).
to practise ungodliness --
His programs are based on ungodliness or wickedness, the word here is "iniquity" (twisting, bending); in presenting himself as a good, moral person who wants to help, but promoting a deceptive world-view of scarcity.
and to speak error against the Lord,
He thereby speaks error against our Lord God Who has blessed this Earth with His riches in glory to provide over-abundantly for everyone in the whole world with much more than we need.
(In order) to keep the hungry person unsatisfied and to withhold drink from the thirsty.
This scarcity view promotes the welfare state, in providing the poor only enough to sustain life but never allowing them to get ahead. This has resulted in many families being kept poor for generations, deceived by the lie that those who worked for and accumulated an abundance must have "stolen" it all from the poor, creating class-envy resulting in class-warfare.
This is a wake-up call to all God's people who know His ways. There is still hope for us, if we will acknowledge our Lord God in our public life and turn from all our wicked ways and call upon His Holy Name to help us, then He will hear from Heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land. This applies to all His people everywhere, in every Nation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For a fool speaks nonsense, --
A "fool" is a vile person who is morally deficient and without good character. He speaks nonsense, villany (Hebrew for nothingness, no substance).
and his heart inclines toward wickedness, --
This word wickedness is "hypocrisy" (moral filth, hypocrisy).
to practise ungodliness --
His programs are based on ungodliness or wickedness, the word here is "iniquity" (twisting, bending); in presenting himself as a good, moral person who wants to help, but promoting a deceptive world-view of scarcity.
and to speak error against the Lord,
He thereby speaks error against our Lord God Who has blessed this Earth with His riches in glory to provide over-abundantly for everyone in the whole world with much more than we need.
(In order) to keep the hungry person unsatisfied and to withhold drink from the thirsty.
This scarcity view promotes the welfare state, in providing the poor only enough to sustain life but never allowing them to get ahead. This has resulted in many families being kept poor for generations, deceived by the lie that those who worked for and accumulated an abundance must have "stolen" it all from the poor, creating class-envy resulting in class-warfare.
This is a wake-up call to all God's people who know His ways. There is still hope for us, if we will acknowledge our Lord God in our public life and turn from all our wicked ways and call upon His Holy Name to help us, then He will hear from Heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land. This applies to all His people everywhere, in every Nation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
A Sin-Sick Nation
Isaiah 1:4-6
Alas, sinful nation, --
Any nation that has "missed the bull's eye," an archery term.
People weighed down with iniquity, --
This is a word for "twisting" and "bending" the Truth into unrecognizable monstrosities that weigh us down.
Offspring of evildoers, --
Like your parents who taught you to be harmful, injurious to yourselves and others.
Sons who act corruptly! --
Children who cause the good to putrefy!
They have abandoned the Lord, --
In preferring these twisted and corrupt ways, they have abandoned the pure right ways of the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel, --
They abhor the Holy One's goodness and deliberately provoked Him to anger.
They have turned away from Him. --
They've turned their backs on how He has designed this world to work, considering that God is not worth their attention; in their pride they consider themselves gods who know better.
The result is this:
Where will you be stricken again, as you continue in your rebellion?
We've had so many problems and troubles, financially, socially, relationally, even terroristically; what will happen next to tear down and destroy our society?
The whole head is sick, --
All our thinking processes have been infected.
And the whole heart is faint. --
There is no more hope for times to get any better, only despair.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head --
The whole body, every limb, every organ.
There is nothing sound in it, --
Nothing is healthy.
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, --
The "open sores" of all our problems staring us in the face.
Not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil.
All the "remedies" and "reforms" the sick government provides do no good at all to actually solve any of the problems we have but only to benefit themselves and the Big Corporations who are in partnership with them, off the backs of the poor and sick that they are keeping poor and sick.
We have become a "sinful nation" that has gotten sick, and the moral sickness has infected every part of our national body: our federal, state and local governments; our seats of learning and education; our healthcare and hospital systems; our businesses and corporations, our insurance and other "helping" institutions; and even our churches.
We need real solutions to solve our problems at the root, to return to the common-sense, Biblical ways we learned from our Manufacturer's Instructions; and seek God's people to lead us back into His righteousness, before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Alas, sinful nation, --
Any nation that has "missed the bull's eye," an archery term.
People weighed down with iniquity, --
This is a word for "twisting" and "bending" the Truth into unrecognizable monstrosities that weigh us down.
Offspring of evildoers, --
Like your parents who taught you to be harmful, injurious to yourselves and others.
Sons who act corruptly! --
Children who cause the good to putrefy!
They have abandoned the Lord, --
In preferring these twisted and corrupt ways, they have abandoned the pure right ways of the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel, --
They abhor the Holy One's goodness and deliberately provoked Him to anger.
They have turned away from Him. --
They've turned their backs on how He has designed this world to work, considering that God is not worth their attention; in their pride they consider themselves gods who know better.
The result is this:
Where will you be stricken again, as you continue in your rebellion?
We've had so many problems and troubles, financially, socially, relationally, even terroristically; what will happen next to tear down and destroy our society?
The whole head is sick, --
All our thinking processes have been infected.
And the whole heart is faint. --
There is no more hope for times to get any better, only despair.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head --
The whole body, every limb, every organ.
There is nothing sound in it, --
Nothing is healthy.
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, --
The "open sores" of all our problems staring us in the face.
Not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil.
All the "remedies" and "reforms" the sick government provides do no good at all to actually solve any of the problems we have but only to benefit themselves and the Big Corporations who are in partnership with them, off the backs of the poor and sick that they are keeping poor and sick.
We have become a "sinful nation" that has gotten sick, and the moral sickness has infected every part of our national body: our federal, state and local governments; our seats of learning and education; our healthcare and hospital systems; our businesses and corporations, our insurance and other "helping" institutions; and even our churches.
We need real solutions to solve our problems at the root, to return to the common-sense, Biblical ways we learned from our Manufacturer's Instructions; and seek God's people to lead us back into His righteousness, before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, July 25, 2016
Sabbath Rest
Mark 6:31-32
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.
Gordon MacDonald said, "We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it."
When Jesus and His disciples went through a very busy time, He instructed His friends to come away with him on a vacation to rest and be able to relax. When God gave the Ten Commandments He included one that demanded we "rest" one day every seven, and not do our regular work that day. When He created the whole world and everything in it, He "rested" from creating anything more, as an example to us. God doesn't need to "rest," as He never grows weary. But He made us to need a break from our everyday work. He made us to need a time of "getting away" from time to time to relax and refocus. Then we can return to our regular lives with new enthusiasm and fresh perspectives, and avoid "burning out."
He is so good to us, He gave us a "Sabbath rest" for our own well being and good health. Jesus even said that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." He meant that we have the Day of Rest for our good, not just another obligation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.
Gordon MacDonald said, "We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it."
When Jesus and His disciples went through a very busy time, He instructed His friends to come away with him on a vacation to rest and be able to relax. When God gave the Ten Commandments He included one that demanded we "rest" one day every seven, and not do our regular work that day. When He created the whole world and everything in it, He "rested" from creating anything more, as an example to us. God doesn't need to "rest," as He never grows weary. But He made us to need a break from our everyday work. He made us to need a time of "getting away" from time to time to relax and refocus. Then we can return to our regular lives with new enthusiasm and fresh perspectives, and avoid "burning out."
He is so good to us, He gave us a "Sabbath rest" for our own well being and good health. Jesus even said that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." He meant that we have the Day of Rest for our good, not just another obligation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, July 24, 2016
The Words On Our Lips
Isaiah 59:20-21
"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those of Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the Lord. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the Lord, "My Spirit, Who is on you, will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants--from this time on and forever," says the Lord. --
O my Father, I pray for my children. I know that You have given me Your Spirit, Who will never depart from me. I pray that You will grant repentance to those who don't know You yet, that Your words will also be on their lips. And I pray for my grandchildren, and their children after them, that they all will also have Your words on their lips to pass on to their descendants, too.
You have said that You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). Show me my part in Your plan to save them, as You have saved their parents. May Your words be on all our lips, from this time on and forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those of Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the Lord. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the Lord, "My Spirit, Who is on you, will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants--from this time on and forever," says the Lord. --
O my Father, I pray for my children. I know that You have given me Your Spirit, Who will never depart from me. I pray that You will grant repentance to those who don't know You yet, that Your words will also be on their lips. And I pray for my grandchildren, and their children after them, that they all will also have Your words on their lips to pass on to their descendants, too.
You have said that You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). Show me my part in Your plan to save them, as You have saved their parents. May Your words be on all our lips, from this time on and forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, July 23, 2016
God's Secret
Psalm 25:14
The secret of the Lord --
"Secret" in the Hebrew is sode; "A company of persons in close deliberation; a secret, intimate counsel." This is God's Plan of the Ages, what the Father, the Son and the Spirit devised and decided before He created anything that is. God's program for the operation of this world on this Earth. There is no way we can know this, except that God decides to reveal it to us.
is for those who fear Him, --
God reveals this program to those who fear Him, the people who are willing to be willing to acknowledge God's power and greatness and authority over us as our Owner, our Master.
And He will make them know His covenant.
These are they to whom God allows to know Who He is and the terms of the contract, the covenant He has put in force over us and for us. This agreement shows us what God has done for us in meeting all our needs. When we understand this covenant and live our lives according to its principles, then we reap the benefits of this world and the next; and God gets all the credit, all the glory for designing it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The secret of the Lord --
"Secret" in the Hebrew is sode; "A company of persons in close deliberation; a secret, intimate counsel." This is God's Plan of the Ages, what the Father, the Son and the Spirit devised and decided before He created anything that is. God's program for the operation of this world on this Earth. There is no way we can know this, except that God decides to reveal it to us.
is for those who fear Him, --
God reveals this program to those who fear Him, the people who are willing to be willing to acknowledge God's power and greatness and authority over us as our Owner, our Master.
And He will make them know His covenant.
These are they to whom God allows to know Who He is and the terms of the contract, the covenant He has put in force over us and for us. This agreement shows us what God has done for us in meeting all our needs. When we understand this covenant and live our lives according to its principles, then we reap the benefits of this world and the next; and God gets all the credit, all the glory for designing it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 22, 2016
Heart's Desire And Counsel
Psalm 20:4
May He grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your counsel!
O my Father, may my heart's desire be what You want for me, because I know that whatever You want for me is so much better than anything I could want for myself.
And, Father, may my counsel be truely according to Your Word, that I may correctly discern what You are teaching me; to share with others accurately Your attitudes and thoughts toward them, to show them Your righteous ways. Then many others will come to know how right You are and how following Your ways will be to their benefit.
You desire to bless us, Father, as our Maker You love what You have made and want to do good to us all our days. When we follow Your instructions all our lives, then we will be thinking and acting in harmony with how You designed this world to work, and the result will be peace and harmony and great abundance. And You, Father God, will enjoy all the credit, all the glory, for planning it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
May He grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your counsel!
O my Father, may my heart's desire be what You want for me, because I know that whatever You want for me is so much better than anything I could want for myself.
And, Father, may my counsel be truely according to Your Word, that I may correctly discern what You are teaching me; to share with others accurately Your attitudes and thoughts toward them, to show them Your righteous ways. Then many others will come to know how right You are and how following Your ways will be to their benefit.
You desire to bless us, Father, as our Maker You love what You have made and want to do good to us all our days. When we follow Your instructions all our lives, then we will be thinking and acting in harmony with how You designed this world to work, and the result will be peace and harmony and great abundance. And You, Father God, will enjoy all the credit, all the glory, for planning it so.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Our Attitudes And Our Children
Isaiah 39:8
(also II Kings 20:19)
"The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."
King Hezekiah had gotten sick, and almost died. But God saw his tears and healed him. Other nations had heard about it, and the king of Babylon sent envoys to him. He showed these envoys all the treasures and valuables in his palace, showing off. Then Isaiah told him that the king of Babylon would come and take away all these treasures, carrying them off to faraway Babylon, along with Hezekiah's own descendents. Hezekiah's response to this was, that's good, I'll have peace and safety, all this trouble won't come until after I'm dead and gone.
God gave Hezekiah fifteen more years to live. During this time he had a son. When he died, Manasseh was twelve years old. Hezekiah had been a good king who followed the Lord all his life. But Manasseh was a very wicked king. I wonder if the father's selfish attitude in not caring that his own grandchildren would be eunuch slaves in a foreign land, had an effect on his son that turned him away from the Lord.
Parents, we need to be aware that our children won't necessarily do what we say, if our own attitudes contradict what we're trying to teach them. They are smarter than we usually give them credit for, and will pick up our bad habits even when we try to hide them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(also II Kings 20:19)
"The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."
King Hezekiah had gotten sick, and almost died. But God saw his tears and healed him. Other nations had heard about it, and the king of Babylon sent envoys to him. He showed these envoys all the treasures and valuables in his palace, showing off. Then Isaiah told him that the king of Babylon would come and take away all these treasures, carrying them off to faraway Babylon, along with Hezekiah's own descendents. Hezekiah's response to this was, that's good, I'll have peace and safety, all this trouble won't come until after I'm dead and gone.
God gave Hezekiah fifteen more years to live. During this time he had a son. When he died, Manasseh was twelve years old. Hezekiah had been a good king who followed the Lord all his life. But Manasseh was a very wicked king. I wonder if the father's selfish attitude in not caring that his own grandchildren would be eunuch slaves in a foreign land, had an effect on his son that turned him away from the Lord.
Parents, we need to be aware that our children won't necessarily do what we say, if our own attitudes contradict what we're trying to teach them. They are smarter than we usually give them credit for, and will pick up our bad habits even when we try to hide them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
To Serve God Without Fear
Luke 1:74-75
To grant us, that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
When enemies rule over us, we are not free to worship God according to His Word. Our forefathers left England and came to America in order to worship God freely and not be compelled to join a nationalized church. So our Constitution specifically states that the government is not to establish a church or organized religion, nor is it to interfere with any church or religious people. When this foundation for our laws was followed, we had the freedom to preach the Gospel without fear; we could teach our children how to read using the Bible for our textbook; we could bless our neighbors and customers freely without fear. And we enjoyed the prosperity that flowed from this.
I have recently heard about florists and bakers and other businesspeople who have blessed their customers in the past but are now being sued in court for maintaining the right ways God has allowed to be established in this Nation. Enemies of God are now gaining power.
O Lord Almighty, please wake up Your church, show us what each one of us is to do, how to act, what to pursue, to deliver us from the hand of our enemies, in rooting out those who are leading us away from Your good Ways and raising up others in our government who do know Your ways to bring up this Nation back into Your righteousness, and receive Your blessings, the benefits of cooperating with how You designed this world to work.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
To grant us, that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
When enemies rule over us, we are not free to worship God according to His Word. Our forefathers left England and came to America in order to worship God freely and not be compelled to join a nationalized church. So our Constitution specifically states that the government is not to establish a church or organized religion, nor is it to interfere with any church or religious people. When this foundation for our laws was followed, we had the freedom to preach the Gospel without fear; we could teach our children how to read using the Bible for our textbook; we could bless our neighbors and customers freely without fear. And we enjoyed the prosperity that flowed from this.
I have recently heard about florists and bakers and other businesspeople who have blessed their customers in the past but are now being sued in court for maintaining the right ways God has allowed to be established in this Nation. Enemies of God are now gaining power.
O Lord Almighty, please wake up Your church, show us what each one of us is to do, how to act, what to pursue, to deliver us from the hand of our enemies, in rooting out those who are leading us away from Your good Ways and raising up others in our government who do know Your ways to bring up this Nation back into Your righteousness, and receive Your blessings, the benefits of cooperating with how You designed this world to work.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Psalm 119, God's Law
Psalm 119
Overview:
This song is an acrostic; that means that each verse of a stanza starts with the same letter of the alphabet, and each successive stanza goes to the next letter in the alphabet. So this is a very long song.
It's all about God's Law. We may think of having to follow rules and regulations as a negative, limiting our freedom. But this song refers to God's:
Ways
Deeds
Word of Truth
Name
Word, Words
Promises
Statutes
Decrees
Precepts
Law, Laws and
Commands
182 times, in its 176 verses, and names only three negative things that I can find in this whole Psalm:
(1) Delusions come to nothing. Whenever we think wrongly or have a wrong idea of what God wants us to do or live, it doesn't work out.
(2) Enemies ignore God's Word and Laws. God's enemies and our enemies as God's people deliberately ignore and discount what God has said. Even when they know about His ways, they think they know better and try to do things their own way. When we think like this, we're acting like God's enemies.
(3) I shed tears because the Law is not obeyed. When I see how people are hurting and harming themselves and others by going against what our Maker has clearly told us how to act and live, I realize that if only they would listen to learn and understand, then they wouldn't be so miserable.
I have counted 58 positive things about God's rules in this song:
(1) They give me hope.
(2) They are wonderful.
(3) They give me comfort in my suffering.
(4) When I obey, no sin cannot rule over me.
(5) They are the theme of my song.
(6) They redeem me from human oppression.
(7) I will practice to obey them.
(8) God's Statutes will be in effect forever.
(9) They teach me how to be and do good.
(10) They give me great peace.
(11) They give me good judgment.
(12) His Laws sustain me.
(13) Affliction teaches me God's decrees.
(14) They keep me from being shamed.
(15) They are precious.
(16) I memorize them to keep me from sin.
(17) They are righteous.
(18) They make me rejoice.
(19) Their promise is comfort in love.
(20) They make me to consider God's ways.
(21) God's Law gives compassion which gives life.
(22) I don't want to neglect them.
(23) They are eternal in the Heavens.
(24) They rebuke the arrogant.
(25) They are trustworthy.
(26) They preserve my life.
(27) They established the Earth, and it stands.
(28) They strengthen me.
(29) All things, all Creation, obeys & serves God.
(30) I obey the Law.
(31) Those who obey will not perish.
(32) They grant salvation.
(33) God made me & I belong to Him, I'm His property.
(34) I pant in longing to understand His ways.
(35) Earthly perfection is limited, His commandments are boundless.
(36) His Promises are thoroughly tested.
(37) They make me wiser than my enemies.
(38) Understanding them gives life.
(39) They give me more insight than my teachers.
(40) God's laws are eternal.
(41) They give me more understanding than the elders.
(42) God's hand is always ready to help.
(43) They are sweeter than honey.
(44) They bless me.
(45) They are my refuge and shield.
(46) They help me stay pure.
(47) They sustain me.
(48) I say them (recite them) out loud.
(49) I love them more than pure gold.
(50) I meditate on them.
(51) They give the light of understanding.
(52) They are my delight.
(53) They help me see.
(54) They are my counsellors.
(55) They give me understanding.
(56) I keep the Law.
(57) I'll not be disgraced, and
(58) I can answer taunts.
So no matter what I face in life, God has the answer for me in His Word, the Bible. His rules and regulations (The Law) are universal principles that apply to everyone all the time, in every culture, in every time. Even when the World happens onto His principles, even when they do not acknowledge God, they still "work," because that's how He designed things to work. How much better to study the Manufacturer's Instructions directly to get all the answers, "straight from the horse's mouth." When I can get the wider view to see the whole picture, how much easier life is, how much smoother the road I walk, and how much clearer is the way to handle whatever comes my way.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Overview:
This song is an acrostic; that means that each verse of a stanza starts with the same letter of the alphabet, and each successive stanza goes to the next letter in the alphabet. So this is a very long song.
It's all about God's Law. We may think of having to follow rules and regulations as a negative, limiting our freedom. But this song refers to God's:
Ways
Deeds
Word of Truth
Name
Word, Words
Promises
Statutes
Decrees
Precepts
Law, Laws and
Commands
182 times, in its 176 verses, and names only three negative things that I can find in this whole Psalm:
(1) Delusions come to nothing. Whenever we think wrongly or have a wrong idea of what God wants us to do or live, it doesn't work out.
(2) Enemies ignore God's Word and Laws. God's enemies and our enemies as God's people deliberately ignore and discount what God has said. Even when they know about His ways, they think they know better and try to do things their own way. When we think like this, we're acting like God's enemies.
(3) I shed tears because the Law is not obeyed. When I see how people are hurting and harming themselves and others by going against what our Maker has clearly told us how to act and live, I realize that if only they would listen to learn and understand, then they wouldn't be so miserable.
I have counted 58 positive things about God's rules in this song:
(1) They give me hope.
(2) They are wonderful.
(3) They give me comfort in my suffering.
(4) When I obey, no sin cannot rule over me.
(5) They are the theme of my song.
(6) They redeem me from human oppression.
(7) I will practice to obey them.
(8) God's Statutes will be in effect forever.
(9) They teach me how to be and do good.
(10) They give me great peace.
(11) They give me good judgment.
(12) His Laws sustain me.
(13) Affliction teaches me God's decrees.
(14) They keep me from being shamed.
(15) They are precious.
(16) I memorize them to keep me from sin.
(17) They are righteous.
(18) They make me rejoice.
(19) Their promise is comfort in love.
(20) They make me to consider God's ways.
(21) God's Law gives compassion which gives life.
(22) I don't want to neglect them.
(23) They are eternal in the Heavens.
(24) They rebuke the arrogant.
(25) They are trustworthy.
(26) They preserve my life.
(27) They established the Earth, and it stands.
(28) They strengthen me.
(29) All things, all Creation, obeys & serves God.
(30) I obey the Law.
(31) Those who obey will not perish.
(32) They grant salvation.
(33) God made me & I belong to Him, I'm His property.
(34) I pant in longing to understand His ways.
(35) Earthly perfection is limited, His commandments are boundless.
(36) His Promises are thoroughly tested.
(37) They make me wiser than my enemies.
(38) Understanding them gives life.
(39) They give me more insight than my teachers.
(40) God's laws are eternal.
(41) They give me more understanding than the elders.
(42) God's hand is always ready to help.
(43) They are sweeter than honey.
(44) They bless me.
(45) They are my refuge and shield.
(46) They help me stay pure.
(47) They sustain me.
(48) I say them (recite them) out loud.
(49) I love them more than pure gold.
(50) I meditate on them.
(51) They give the light of understanding.
(52) They are my delight.
(53) They help me see.
(54) They are my counsellors.
(55) They give me understanding.
(56) I keep the Law.
(57) I'll not be disgraced, and
(58) I can answer taunts.
So no matter what I face in life, God has the answer for me in His Word, the Bible. His rules and regulations (The Law) are universal principles that apply to everyone all the time, in every culture, in every time. Even when the World happens onto His principles, even when they do not acknowledge God, they still "work," because that's how He designed things to work. How much better to study the Manufacturer's Instructions directly to get all the answers, "straight from the horse's mouth." When I can get the wider view to see the whole picture, how much easier life is, how much smoother the road I walk, and how much clearer is the way to handle whatever comes my way.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, July 18, 2016
What Does God Require Of Me?
Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man --
God has made clear to mankind.
what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? --
Here's what God considers good, and what He wants of us -- so we need to listen up, this is important, it's crucial.
(vs. 6-7) Is it burnt offerings? year-old calves? thousands of rams? ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Even my firstborn, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? NO!
This is what God wants of us:
To act justly --
To live our lives realizing that everyone, whether our friend or our enemy, has the right to justly have their grievances settled.
And to love mercy --
To view our fellow man with kindness, compassion, and making allowance for their weaknesses, granting mercy in forgiving their wrongs.
And to walk humbly with your God. --
Recognize that God is God, and I am not. I am merely flesh, and in my flesh, I am weak and I make foolish, selfish choices. Only in the power of His Spirit living in me am I able to act justly and love mercy, to become more and more like my God I worship, to do the good things He planned ahead of time for me to do, and that is why He will receive all the credit, all the glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
He has shown you, O man --
God has made clear to mankind.
what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? --
Here's what God considers good, and what He wants of us -- so we need to listen up, this is important, it's crucial.
(vs. 6-7) Is it burnt offerings? year-old calves? thousands of rams? ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Even my firstborn, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? NO!
This is what God wants of us:
To act justly --
To live our lives realizing that everyone, whether our friend or our enemy, has the right to justly have their grievances settled.
And to love mercy --
To view our fellow man with kindness, compassion, and making allowance for their weaknesses, granting mercy in forgiving their wrongs.
And to walk humbly with your God. --
Recognize that God is God, and I am not. I am merely flesh, and in my flesh, I am weak and I make foolish, selfish choices. Only in the power of His Spirit living in me am I able to act justly and love mercy, to become more and more like my God I worship, to do the good things He planned ahead of time for me to do, and that is why He will receive all the credit, all the glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Sennacherib Attacks Hezekiah & What God Did
II Kings 18:13-19:37
II Chronicles 32:1-23
Isaiah 37:1-38
These three books all tell the story of how, even after all the good that Hezekiah did in trying to lead his people back to worshiping the Lord instead of all the idols of the peoples who lived there before them, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack Judah and capture Jerusalem. He wanted to deport them to foreign lands to remove their identity as Jews and Israelites, as he and his forebears did to many other nations. Sennacherib's mistake was that he considered the Lord God to be no different from all the idols, the false gods of the other nations he conquered. He did not recognize that the Lord God is God, and all the other gods are nothing.
Hezekiah's response to this situation was to do what he could to cut off the water supply to the enemy and fortify his own defenses, and, most importantly, he turned to the Lord. He sent his emissaries to God's prophet Isaiah, as he spread out the letter from Sennacherib before the Lord. His prayer admitted the truth of how this king had in fact conquered all these other peoples, and burned their idols in the fire, because they were not gods, but merely the work of men's hands, and the Lord God is God over all because He is the maker of all the heavens and the earth.
Isaiah's reply to Hezekiah said how God had planned long ago that Sennacherib would destroy all those other nations, and has carried out His plans. But now that this king is attacking God's people, God would lead him back to his own country and destroy him there.
Then God's Angelic Army destroyed Sennacherib's whole army that was laying siege against Jerusalem, and when the people woke up in the morning there were all the dead bodies. So they broke camp and left.
God told Isaiah that He would put His hook in his nose and His bit in his mouth and lead him back home. And while he was peacefully worshiping his god in his local temple, his own sons came in and murdered him.
So God took good care of His people, as He said He would, and punished the arrogant ruler who refused to admit that God was the One Who used him to carry out His own plans.
God always carries out His promises, no matter what the circumstances may look like. If we see only with our own eyes, at what is going on in this world, we may be discouraged and dismayed. But when we see with His eyes, in the power of His Spirit Who lives in us, then we will discern how God uses even the ungodly and arrogant and selfish and cruel to carry out His plans, then will also deal with these evil people, too. He always has and He always will.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
II Chronicles 32:1-23
Isaiah 37:1-38
These three books all tell the story of how, even after all the good that Hezekiah did in trying to lead his people back to worshiping the Lord instead of all the idols of the peoples who lived there before them, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack Judah and capture Jerusalem. He wanted to deport them to foreign lands to remove their identity as Jews and Israelites, as he and his forebears did to many other nations. Sennacherib's mistake was that he considered the Lord God to be no different from all the idols, the false gods of the other nations he conquered. He did not recognize that the Lord God is God, and all the other gods are nothing.
Hezekiah's response to this situation was to do what he could to cut off the water supply to the enemy and fortify his own defenses, and, most importantly, he turned to the Lord. He sent his emissaries to God's prophet Isaiah, as he spread out the letter from Sennacherib before the Lord. His prayer admitted the truth of how this king had in fact conquered all these other peoples, and burned their idols in the fire, because they were not gods, but merely the work of men's hands, and the Lord God is God over all because He is the maker of all the heavens and the earth.
Isaiah's reply to Hezekiah said how God had planned long ago that Sennacherib would destroy all those other nations, and has carried out His plans. But now that this king is attacking God's people, God would lead him back to his own country and destroy him there.
Then God's Angelic Army destroyed Sennacherib's whole army that was laying siege against Jerusalem, and when the people woke up in the morning there were all the dead bodies. So they broke camp and left.
God told Isaiah that He would put His hook in his nose and His bit in his mouth and lead him back home. And while he was peacefully worshiping his god in his local temple, his own sons came in and murdered him.
So God took good care of His people, as He said He would, and punished the arrogant ruler who refused to admit that God was the One Who used him to carry out His own plans.
God always carries out His promises, no matter what the circumstances may look like. If we see only with our own eyes, at what is going on in this world, we may be discouraged and dismayed. But when we see with His eyes, in the power of His Spirit Who lives in us, then we will discern how God uses even the ungodly and arrogant and selfish and cruel to carry out His plans, then will also deal with these evil people, too. He always has and He always will.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Oil Of Gladness For Mourning
Isaiah 61:3
To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
When my husband of 30 years died suddenly, I went into a tailspin, as I had depended on him for everything. All I could do was to be with my church family as often as I could, and turn to God in spending daily time with Him in His Word and my journal.
I learned to lean on my Lord instead of my husband, and I was complimented by one of my church ladies for my strength, when I still felt so weak and helpless.
God was faithful to His promise to me in this verse, and through the years has grown me into an "oak," steadfast in His Word, and He still receives all the glory for His "planting" me and growing me strong, who was just a "glop of pudding" on the couch.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
When my husband of 30 years died suddenly, I went into a tailspin, as I had depended on him for everything. All I could do was to be with my church family as often as I could, and turn to God in spending daily time with Him in His Word and my journal.
I learned to lean on my Lord instead of my husband, and I was complimented by one of my church ladies for my strength, when I still felt so weak and helpless.
God was faithful to His promise to me in this verse, and through the years has grown me into an "oak," steadfast in His Word, and He still receives all the glory for His "planting" me and growing me strong, who was just a "glop of pudding" on the couch.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 15, 2016
Getting Alone With The Father
Luke 5:16
But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
Jesus regularly slipped away to a place where He could be by Himself with His father to pray (see also Luke 9:18 and 11:1). He would sneak out so early in the morning that it was "still dark" (Mark 1:35) and His disciples had to go looking for Him to start the day's work of ministry (v. 36). And sometimes He found such a secluded place that the multitudes had to search for Him (Luke 4:42).
When the time came to choose His disciples, He really felt the need to bore down in prayer, so "He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12).
And when He had fed the 5000 men, besides the women and children, He sent His disciples away in the boat and went up into the mountain by Himself to pray; to mourn the loss of His cousin John the Baptist, and to avoid the people forcing Him to be king; and He prayed from dusk until the fourth watch, between 3 and 6 am (Matthew 14:23-25, Mark 6:46-47, John 6:15)!
If Jesus needed to pray that much, how much more do I need to "get alone" with my Father: to seek His face, to learn His ways, to receive His grace and mercy, to gain His strength to overcome our enemy the devil and to flee from temptation, and to grow in the fruit of His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
Jesus regularly slipped away to a place where He could be by Himself with His father to pray (see also Luke 9:18 and 11:1). He would sneak out so early in the morning that it was "still dark" (Mark 1:35) and His disciples had to go looking for Him to start the day's work of ministry (v. 36). And sometimes He found such a secluded place that the multitudes had to search for Him (Luke 4:42).
When the time came to choose His disciples, He really felt the need to bore down in prayer, so "He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12).
And when He had fed the 5000 men, besides the women and children, He sent His disciples away in the boat and went up into the mountain by Himself to pray; to mourn the loss of His cousin John the Baptist, and to avoid the people forcing Him to be king; and He prayed from dusk until the fourth watch, between 3 and 6 am (Matthew 14:23-25, Mark 6:46-47, John 6:15)!
If Jesus needed to pray that much, how much more do I need to "get alone" with my Father: to seek His face, to learn His ways, to receive His grace and mercy, to gain His strength to overcome our enemy the devil and to flee from temptation, and to grow in the fruit of His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Joseph's Faith In God's Promises
Exodus 13:19
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God shall surely take care of you; and you shall carry my bones from here with you."
Genesis 50:25-26
Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here." So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Joshua 24:32
Joseph's faith in God was strong. They were not even slaves yet when Joseph died, they were enslaved when a new Pharaoh came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph (Exodus 1:8). The Israelites kept that coffin the rest of the three hundred plus years they were in Egypt, then took it with them when they left, and the 40 years they wandered in circles in the Desert. Then when they finally entered the Promised Land and conquered some of the wicked nations who were there, Joseph's bones were finally laid to rest.
God's promises are always fulfilled, even when it seems He's taking a long time; He always knows the right time. Our time-frame is very short, as our lives end so soon; God's time-frame has no frame--it's eternal.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God shall surely take care of you; and you shall carry my bones from here with you."
Genesis 50:25-26
Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here." So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Joshua 24:32
Joseph's faith in God was strong. They were not even slaves yet when Joseph died, they were enslaved when a new Pharaoh came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph (Exodus 1:8). The Israelites kept that coffin the rest of the three hundred plus years they were in Egypt, then took it with them when they left, and the 40 years they wandered in circles in the Desert. Then when they finally entered the Promised Land and conquered some of the wicked nations who were there, Joseph's bones were finally laid to rest.
God's promises are always fulfilled, even when it seems He's taking a long time; He always knows the right time. Our time-frame is very short, as our lives end so soon; God's time-frame has no frame--it's eternal.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
God Changes Us
Philippians 4:13, 19
I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me.
When I was a new Christian and just married to my husband, I realized that he wasn't the man I thought he was; his bad habits were much more of his life than he had let on before our nuptials.
So I prayed and asked God to change him into the husband I thought I wanted him to be. Then I considered the situation, and remembered that God was sovereign and had led me to this man; so I asked God to change me, to be the wife who could love him and live with him just as he was.
And God changed me.
A year later we moved cross-country, and God used that move and the love for my husband that God gave me to draw him to Himself, and that's when God began to change him, too. So God answered both of my prayers.
And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
When I did all things in His power and trusted God to lead, then I found that all my needs were, and are being, met, not only my basic needs, but so much more, according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, very generously.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me.
When I was a new Christian and just married to my husband, I realized that he wasn't the man I thought he was; his bad habits were much more of his life than he had let on before our nuptials.
So I prayed and asked God to change him into the husband I thought I wanted him to be. Then I considered the situation, and remembered that God was sovereign and had led me to this man; so I asked God to change me, to be the wife who could love him and live with him just as he was.
And God changed me.
A year later we moved cross-country, and God used that move and the love for my husband that God gave me to draw him to Himself, and that's when God began to change him, too. So God answered both of my prayers.
And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
When I did all things in His power and trusted God to lead, then I found that all my needs were, and are being, met, not only my basic needs, but so much more, according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, very generously.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Waiting On The Lord
Psalm 130
Out of the depths -
Despair, trouble, despondency.
I cry to you. O Lord; -
Lord Jesus, You are the One I turn to.
O Lord, hear my voice. -
I am praying out loud.
Let Your ears be attentive -
He will pay attention, listen closely.
to my cry for mercy. -
I am confessing sins, wrongs. I cry for the Lord to not give me the punishment of death that I deserve.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, -
Good thing He doesn't; He puts them as far from us as East is from West.
O Lord, who could stand? -
No one, not one living soul.
But with You there is forgiveness; -
By the death of the animal sacrifices that covered over the sins temporarily. You are so generous and gracious.
Therefore You are feared. -
Because we know that we deserve the death the animals gave for us. Only God forgives sins, only God is worthy of our reverential respect, our worship.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, -
I don't demand instant answers.
and in His Word I put my hope. -
I trust Your faithfulness to keep Your Word , to do what You said, to keep Your promises.
My soul waits for the Lord -
No anxiety in anticipation.
More than watchmen wait for the morning (2x) -
I am more sure that You will answer than they are that the morning will come.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, -
Instead of anything or anyone else.
For with the Lord is unfailing love -
Only His love is real, Agape love.
And with Him is full redemption. -
Complete, entire, full rescue.
He Himself will redeem Israel [His people] from all their sins. -
Jesus, not an angel. He is the Lord God of the Old Testament Who took on Himself the flesh of Mankind, and in that flesh He paid the full debt we owed for all our sins, not just covering over them, but wiping them out completely. He Himself did redeem His People!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, July 11, 2016
Believe And Know
John 6:45, 69
It is written in the Prophets, "And they shall all be taught of God."
Jesus was quoting Isaiah 54:13a. The word He used for taught is recorded here in the Greek as DIASKO, which refers to a mental assent.
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
Here, the word He used for learned is recorded as the Greek word MATHON, which means experiential knowledge.
And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.
Peter is presenting this same order: believe, and you will know. James also tells us (1:22) to not just give a mental agreement to the Truth, but to live it out in our lives. This is the Divine order: decide to believe, then you will see and understand. And when your learning goes from your head to your heart, then you will have God's perspective in your attitudes and the way you live your daily life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
It is written in the Prophets, "And they shall all be taught of God."
Jesus was quoting Isaiah 54:13a. The word He used for taught is recorded here in the Greek as DIASKO, which refers to a mental assent.
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
Here, the word He used for learned is recorded as the Greek word MATHON, which means experiential knowledge.
And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.
Peter is presenting this same order: believe, and you will know. James also tells us (1:22) to not just give a mental agreement to the Truth, but to live it out in our lives. This is the Divine order: decide to believe, then you will see and understand. And when your learning goes from your head to your heart, then you will have God's perspective in your attitudes and the way you live your daily life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, July 10, 2016
God's Eternal Law
Psalm 119:91
Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve You.
When God created the Universe, He put His order into it, all the laws of Nature (like Gravity) and science (like Mathematics). And all of His creation obeys these laws; and in obeying they are serving Him.
Only some of the Angels, and all of Mankind have violated this Order that God placed in all of His creation, and missed the mark (sinned), which has resulted in all the disorder we see in this world system. From our governments down to our own families and ourselves, we can trace every problem, trouble and grief to some ignoring or rebelling against God's "Manufacturer's Instructions;" the rules, regulations, laws, statutes, precepts, decrees and commandments, that teach us His ways to cooperate with how He designed things to work.
So we try to break His natural laws (morally) and His technical ways (science), arrogantly deciding that we know better than our Maker, and only break ourselves on them; for God's Law is unbreakable, eternal, and will last forever, even when this Earth and this whole Universe explodes and is no more, continuing into the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve You.
When God created the Universe, He put His order into it, all the laws of Nature (like Gravity) and science (like Mathematics). And all of His creation obeys these laws; and in obeying they are serving Him.
Only some of the Angels, and all of Mankind have violated this Order that God placed in all of His creation, and missed the mark (sinned), which has resulted in all the disorder we see in this world system. From our governments down to our own families and ourselves, we can trace every problem, trouble and grief to some ignoring or rebelling against God's "Manufacturer's Instructions;" the rules, regulations, laws, statutes, precepts, decrees and commandments, that teach us His ways to cooperate with how He designed things to work.
So we try to break His natural laws (morally) and His technical ways (science), arrogantly deciding that we know better than our Maker, and only break ourselves on them; for God's Law is unbreakable, eternal, and will last forever, even when this Earth and this whole Universe explodes and is no more, continuing into the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Why We Are To Watch Ourselves
Deuteronomy 6:10-12, 18
Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, then watch yourself, lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
It is always the human tendency when life is going well and we have everything we could ever want in this life, to think that we deserve all this goodness, and that we have somehow earned it; and forget that God is the One Who provides our needs and wants and has brought us through everything in our past in order to make us who we are today. It's easy to forget the past as we enjoy the present.
That's why we're admonished to watch yourself to keep in mind Who God is, and all the rules, regulations, and instructions He has given us so that we can live pleasant lives.
(v. 18) And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers.
God always fulfills His promises to us. We need to "pay attention" and "be careful" and "watch ourselves" constantly and continually, every day, so as not to slip into the worldly perspectives that surround us all the time, that lie to us and try to deceive us into attitudes and actions that will destroy us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, then watch yourself, lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
It is always the human tendency when life is going well and we have everything we could ever want in this life, to think that we deserve all this goodness, and that we have somehow earned it; and forget that God is the One Who provides our needs and wants and has brought us through everything in our past in order to make us who we are today. It's easy to forget the past as we enjoy the present.
That's why we're admonished to watch yourself to keep in mind Who God is, and all the rules, regulations, and instructions He has given us so that we can live pleasant lives.
(v. 18) And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers.
God always fulfills His promises to us. We need to "pay attention" and "be careful" and "watch ourselves" constantly and continually, every day, so as not to slip into the worldly perspectives that surround us all the time, that lie to us and try to deceive us into attitudes and actions that will destroy us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 8, 2016
Wisdom And Understanding
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; --
Having a healthy respect for God's power and justice is the beginning of being able to connect the dots to see the "big picture."
All who follow His precepts have good understanding. --
People who live their lives in cooperation with the way God designed things to work in the world will be able to understand the connections between thoughts and ideas, actions, and the consequences of the actions.
To Him belongs eternal praise. --
God will forever receive all the credit for designing and making everything that exists in all the Universe, and how everything works together and everything that is done affects everything else that is done. He is the One Who thought it all up and planned it all out, then had the power to execute all His plans through our choices here. Absolutely amazing!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; --
Having a healthy respect for God's power and justice is the beginning of being able to connect the dots to see the "big picture."
All who follow His precepts have good understanding. --
People who live their lives in cooperation with the way God designed things to work in the world will be able to understand the connections between thoughts and ideas, actions, and the consequences of the actions.
To Him belongs eternal praise. --
God will forever receive all the credit for designing and making everything that exists in all the Universe, and how everything works together and everything that is done affects everything else that is done. He is the One Who thought it all up and planned it all out, then had the power to execute all His plans through our choices here. Absolutely amazing!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Help From Friends
Exodus 17:8-13
(11-13) So it came about when Moses held his hand up (with the Rod of God), that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Moses was advanced in years when he led Israel out of Egypt, and when Amalek attacked, he couldn't hold his hands up hour after hour. So his friends helped. His brother Aaron and (traditionally) his brother-in-law Hur each took an arm and helped Moses hold up the rod of God to give Israel the victory.
God did not leave Moses alone in this drama, He gave him the help he needed to succeed, and he accepted that help.
God will also give us the help we need to succeed in what He has planned for us to accomplish. We need to humble ourselves to accept the help and share the credit and the benefits of our successes. And God will get the glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(11-13) So it came about when Moses held his hand up (with the Rod of God), that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Moses was advanced in years when he led Israel out of Egypt, and when Amalek attacked, he couldn't hold his hands up hour after hour. So his friends helped. His brother Aaron and (traditionally) his brother-in-law Hur each took an arm and helped Moses hold up the rod of God to give Israel the victory.
God did not leave Moses alone in this drama, He gave him the help he needed to succeed, and he accepted that help.
God will also give us the help we need to succeed in what He has planned for us to accomplish. We need to humble ourselves to accept the help and share the credit and the benefits of our successes. And God will get the glory.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Pray For Peace
Psalm 122:1-9
(6-9) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, "May peace be within you." For the sake of the House of the Lord our God I will seek your good. --
David prayed for his capital city, that God's peace would be upon it, which would bring prosperity to its palaces, which in turn would bring goodness to all the people.
We also need to pray for our capital cities, our governments, so that our "palaces," our State houses and businesses, would prosper and bring our population the good of cooperating with the way things were designed to work.
When our Federal government and our State and County and City government officials understand and rule according to true justice and righteousness, then the evil will be restrained and the good will flourish, giving peace and prosperity to the whole Nation.
We pray, Father, for the peace of Jerusalem, and for the governments of the Nations of the World, especially our own; that Your peace would flourish and all will know Your good upon them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(6-9) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, "May peace be within you." For the sake of the House of the Lord our God I will seek your good. --
David prayed for his capital city, that God's peace would be upon it, which would bring prosperity to its palaces, which in turn would bring goodness to all the people.
We also need to pray for our capital cities, our governments, so that our "palaces," our State houses and businesses, would prosper and bring our population the good of cooperating with the way things were designed to work.
When our Federal government and our State and County and City government officials understand and rule according to true justice and righteousness, then the evil will be restrained and the good will flourish, giving peace and prosperity to the whole Nation.
We pray, Father, for the peace of Jerusalem, and for the governments of the Nations of the World, especially our own; that Your peace would flourish and all will know Your good upon them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Parables Of Minas And Talents
Luke 19:11-27 -- Tells us of the Parable of the Minas.
Matthew 25:14-30 -- Tells us the Parable of the Talents.
In Luke, the householder gave ten minas to his ten servants, one mina to each. This would represent the equal opportunities life itself presents to each one of us equally.
In Matthew, the householder gives different amounts of Talents to his different servants according to their abilities. This shows that God sees each of us individually and gives His gifts to each of us according to our different abilities and capacities.
What we learn from both of these parables us that we are responsible for both our common resources of time and life, as well as our individual, personalized gifts, talents and abilities, to use whatever we have received, as tools to serve God by loving one another and the World. We are to use our time and the other resources of this World to help one another in our needs and to promote God's Kingdom by sharing our stories of what God has done for us, the Good News, so all those in the World will hear the Truth of the Gospel.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Matthew 25:14-30 -- Tells us the Parable of the Talents.
In Luke, the householder gave ten minas to his ten servants, one mina to each. This would represent the equal opportunities life itself presents to each one of us equally.
In Matthew, the householder gives different amounts of Talents to his different servants according to their abilities. This shows that God sees each of us individually and gives His gifts to each of us according to our different abilities and capacities.
What we learn from both of these parables us that we are responsible for both our common resources of time and life, as well as our individual, personalized gifts, talents and abilities, to use whatever we have received, as tools to serve God by loving one another and the World. We are to use our time and the other resources of this World to help one another in our needs and to promote God's Kingdom by sharing our stories of what God has done for us, the Good News, so all those in the World will hear the Truth of the Gospel.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, July 4, 2016
Hastening The Coming Of The Day Of God
II Peter 3:10-13
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the Heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and its works will be burned up.
Since all things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the Day of God,
On account of which the Heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
But according to His promise we are looking for new Heavens and a new Earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Peter is telling us here about the end of this order of creation (see Revelation 20:11) and the beginning of a new order of creation (see Revelation 21:1) that is not under any curse, but where the right always happens and nothing wears out or winds down, but will last forever.
And we believers can hasten the coming of this Day of God.
So how do we hasten the coming of the End of the World, and why would we want to?
Matthew 24:14 Jesus tells us that, This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole World for a witness to all Nations, and then the end shall come.
So we hasten the conclusion to God's Plan of the Ages by preaching the Gospel to every creature, in every Nation. And when everyone has clearly heard the message of what Jesus has accomplished on their behalf, and made their decision to accept or reject this generous Gift, then the End will come.
We will only be able to do this as we live our own personal lives in holy conduct and godliness while looking for the coming of the Lord.
And we want to do this, because this World we live in now is filled with injustice, suffering, grief and evil, which is getting worse and worse. And the New Heaven and Earth will be created as a perfect environment that will last forever, where no curse will cause things to wear out or wind down, there will be nothing that will hurt or harm or hamper any more, because all these negative and fatal things have passed away.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the Heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and its works will be burned up.
Since all things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the Day of God,
On account of which the Heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
But according to His promise we are looking for new Heavens and a new Earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Peter is telling us here about the end of this order of creation (see Revelation 20:11) and the beginning of a new order of creation (see Revelation 21:1) that is not under any curse, but where the right always happens and nothing wears out or winds down, but will last forever.
And we believers can hasten the coming of this Day of God.
So how do we hasten the coming of the End of the World, and why would we want to?
Matthew 24:14 Jesus tells us that, This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole World for a witness to all Nations, and then the end shall come.
So we hasten the conclusion to God's Plan of the Ages by preaching the Gospel to every creature, in every Nation. And when everyone has clearly heard the message of what Jesus has accomplished on their behalf, and made their decision to accept or reject this generous Gift, then the End will come.
We will only be able to do this as we live our own personal lives in holy conduct and godliness while looking for the coming of the Lord.
And we want to do this, because this World we live in now is filled with injustice, suffering, grief and evil, which is getting worse and worse. And the New Heaven and Earth will be created as a perfect environment that will last forever, where no curse will cause things to wear out or wind down, there will be nothing that will hurt or harm or hamper any more, because all these negative and fatal things have passed away.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Authority Over Death And Life
John 10:17-18
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father. --
This is amazing! God the Father gave to Christ Jesus the authority to lay down His life as the Sacrifice. We do not have this authority, we don't have the right to take our own or others' lives, as we are created and made by Him and we belong to Him as His property. But Jesus is the Creator; and the Father and the Son and the Spirit decided in their Heavenly Council their whole Plan of the Ages, before anything was created. And part of this plan, the hinge, the lynch pin upon which all history hangs, is that the Son came to live among us, to be one of us, and to lay down His life as the Atoning Sacrifice, that not only covered over our sins temporarily, but paid in full the whole principle of our debt. And He also exercised His right to take up His life again after death; this no one has ever done before, because all who came before were creatures--He is the Creator.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father. --
This is amazing! God the Father gave to Christ Jesus the authority to lay down His life as the Sacrifice. We do not have this authority, we don't have the right to take our own or others' lives, as we are created and made by Him and we belong to Him as His property. But Jesus is the Creator; and the Father and the Son and the Spirit decided in their Heavenly Council their whole Plan of the Ages, before anything was created. And part of this plan, the hinge, the lynch pin upon which all history hangs, is that the Son came to live among us, to be one of us, and to lay down His life as the Atoning Sacrifice, that not only covered over our sins temporarily, but paid in full the whole principle of our debt. And He also exercised His right to take up His life again after death; this no one has ever done before, because all who came before were creatures--He is the Creator.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Our New Way Of Life
Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship --
We are God's masterpiece, His work of art.
created in Christ Jesus --
Because of what Jesus accomplished for us, we are now reborn spiritually, created new, having His Holy Spirit living in us, causing our dead spirits to come alive with His life: God's miracle in each of us.
for good works --
God did this this in us and left us here instead of taking us directly to Heaven, so that we will do His good work of promoting His kingdom by proclaiming and publishing what He has done for us.
which God prepared beforehand, --
The Plan God devised and planned out in detail before He created anything.
that we should walk in them. --
This is our new lifestyle, changed from the way we lived before; a completely different and better and righteous way of life.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
For we are His workmanship --
We are God's masterpiece, His work of art.
created in Christ Jesus --
Because of what Jesus accomplished for us, we are now reborn spiritually, created new, having His Holy Spirit living in us, causing our dead spirits to come alive with His life: God's miracle in each of us.
for good works --
God did this this in us and left us here instead of taking us directly to Heaven, so that we will do His good work of promoting His kingdom by proclaiming and publishing what He has done for us.
which God prepared beforehand, --
The Plan God devised and planned out in detail before He created anything.
that we should walk in them. --
This is our new lifestyle, changed from the way we lived before; a completely different and better and righteous way of life.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 1, 2016
Just As We Are
II Chronicles 30:9, 18-20
The Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.
Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God--the Lord, the God of their ancestors--even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
When Hezekiah became king in Judah, he immediately set out to clean out the Temple so they could worship God again, and he began the worship by celebrating the Passover, and he invited all the Israelites to come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord and worship Him (vs. 6-9). So there were people from all Israel joining with Judah and Benjamin to celebrate this feast.
But some who had come a long way, had not had opportunity to follow the "letter of the law" to be ceremonially clean, and they participated anyway. When King Hezekiah learned this, he prayed for them, and God heard his prayer and accepted them.
So even in the Old Testament times, God is wanting to accept us just as we are, if we turn to Him in repentance to seek His face.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.
Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God--the Lord, the God of their ancestors--even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
When Hezekiah became king in Judah, he immediately set out to clean out the Temple so they could worship God again, and he began the worship by celebrating the Passover, and he invited all the Israelites to come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord and worship Him (vs. 6-9). So there were people from all Israel joining with Judah and Benjamin to celebrate this feast.
But some who had come a long way, had not had opportunity to follow the "letter of the law" to be ceremonially clean, and they participated anyway. When King Hezekiah learned this, he prayed for them, and God heard his prayer and accepted them.
So even in the Old Testament times, God is wanting to accept us just as we are, if we turn to Him in repentance to seek His face.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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