Our Fickle Hearts

Joshua 24:19a, 27, 20    

Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the Lord ... " -- Joshua knew the people, he knew that their hearts were fickle. They were very passionate people, and would throw themselves into whatever stirred their passions.

"See!" he said to all the people. "This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God." -- Joshua set up a large stone to witness all the people would do, to remind them of their determination to serve and obey the Lord. When their passions waned, that stone would remind them of their words, to encourage them to continue to follow the Lord even in the mundane every-days. That was the idea, anyway. Joshua did all he could to keep the people's focus on God.

"If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after He has been good to you." -- As we read the story of God's chosen people, we see that it was very difficult for them to keep their focus on the Lord, and they ended up conquered by other nations and dispersed all over the world.

America also was founded upon the Judeo-Christian traditions, which means, our Founding Fathers based our Constitution and Bill of Rights on biblical principles, acknowledging God our Creator as the Giver of our rights, and the Government as protector of those God-given rights.

But since we as a Nation has turned away from God and kicked Him out of our schools and public life, He is also withdrawing from us His blessings that has in the past allowed us to rise to become the richest nation this world has ever seen. As a result, our prosperity is waning, and our government is imposing more and more tyranny upon the populace by diluting and denying us the rights our constitution emumerates.  

Our Defense Lawyer

I John 2:1-2  

My dear children, -- Tender love and affection.

I write this to you -- specifically to those dear to him.

So that you will not sin. -- His motive, that we be pure.

But if anybody does sin, -- since we're not perfect yet.

We have one who speaks to the Father in our defence, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. -- Jesus is our defence lawyer, pleading our case before the throne of God.

He is the atoning sacrifice -- the sacrificial Lamb.

For our sins, -- To take away the sin-barrier between us and God.

And not only for ours -- Jesus did not die for only those who would accept His sacrifice on their behalf, even though it can only be applied for forgiveness to those who admit that they owe the price He paid.

But also for the sins of the whole world. -- Jesus took care of the sin/curse problem for the whole world, the whole universe, purchasing it all for Himself and thereby empowering Him with the authority to be the Judge, and also the cleanser and remover of all sin and cursedness, and to "make all things new" in the New Heaven and the New Earth. All paid for by His death. And proven by His Resurrection.   

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:13-17   

Therefore put on the full armor of God, -- Don't leave anything out, make sure I have all the parts.

So that when the day of evil comes, -- whenever the enemy mounts an attack.

You may be able to stand your ground, -- Stand to fight, to resist and not fall down.

And after you have done everything, -- Everything I am able to do, not shirking any responsibility.

To stand. -- To remain standing, not knocked down or out, not cowering or hiding. Victorious.

Stand firm, then, -- A good, solid stance, ready for anything.

With the belt of Truth buckled around your waist, -- referring to the "skirt" the Roman soldiers wore, with metal greaves covering the hips and upper thighs; to protect our purity.

With the breastplate of Righteousness in place, -- To protect our heart, and everything that includes.

And with your feet fitted with the Readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. -- The tall boots, for marching, travelling, to tell others the Good News.

In addition to all this, -- We surely don't want to forget the rest of our equipment.

Take up the shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. -- Our Faith, our Trusting in God, will be able to answer any argument, defend any attack, no matter from what direction it comes.

Take the helmet of salvation -- To protect my head, my brain, my mind, to guard my thinking processes from deceit and wrong paths and attitudes.

And the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. -- Our only weapon, that double-edged sword that King Jesus the Conquerer will use to "strike down the nations" (Revelation 19:15), all written down for us in a book we call the Bible.  

Our Nature

Ephesians 2:3   

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature [the flesh] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

We are "objects of wrath," deserving of the execution death Jesus suffered, by the very nature we have, before we even do any of the things to follow its desires and thoughts. We only do those things because of the sinfulness of our human nature.

And after we are saved from that sinfulness and given a new nature, from above, powered by God's own Holy Spirit, then we are able to choose to do those good works that God planned ahead of time for us to do.   

Living Stones

I Peter 2:5   

You, also, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house . . . 

We are living stones, we are built into God's temple, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. We are God's Temple in Heaven, the original, the pattern God showed Moses on the mount, after which, according to which the Tabernacle was made.

Revelation 6:9-10  

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"


Revelation 16:7  

And I heard the altar respond, "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."


The sixth seal showed John the martyrs who were crying out for God to judge those whose rebellion against God resulted in their martyrdom; John saw them as "under the altar" in Heaven.

Then, when the bowls of wrath are poured out on the land, sea, and fresh waters, it is the Altar itself that commends God for His vengeance and justice that the martyrs had cried out for at the Fifth Seal.

It appears to me that, since we are all Living Stones of God's Heavenly Temple, the martyrs seem to be the stones of the very Altar in that Temple. What an exalted, privileged position they have!

Suffering and Hope

Romans 5:3-5   

We also rejoice in our sufferings, -- This seems impossible until we read the rest.

because we know that -- We're not guessing, we're not hoping so, we know.

suffering produces perseverance, -- we learn to patiently keep on keeping on.

perseverance produces character, -- The character of Christ Himself being reproduced in us, conforming us into His very image.

and character produces hope. -- Not an "I hope so" kind of concept, but the very knowing. 

And hope does not disappoint us, -- We know for a certainty that God is always faithful to keep His promises, no matter how bleak matters look to us at the moment.

because God has poured out -- Poured out, not dripped or skimped on. 

His love -- His very Agape love, unconditional and abundant.

into our hearts -- Filled our very selves with this supernatural level of caring, overflowing us, so that we can spill over onto other people whose lives touch ours.

by the Holy Spirit, -- His own Spirit of Life, who is the Seal, the Guarantee and the Deposit; the Down Payment on all God has promised us (Ephesians 1:13-14), just as sure as that the sun will rise tomorrow!

whom He has given us. -- The One who is powering the New Life God gives us when He calls us into His own Kingdom, to be His sons and daughters, to rule as His kings and queens.

Just as Jesus endured the Cross, seeing the Joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2), we can rejoice (take joy in) whatever trials, sufferings, tribulations, afflictions, troubles and persecutions that come into our lives, knowing that they will help us learn patience (perseverance, hopeful endurance, constancy, patient waiting), which develops in us good character (proven trustworthiness, tested integrity), which produces in us a constant attitude of hope (to anticipate with pleasure, expectation, confidence) that will never (shame us down, make us ashamed, disgraced or dishonored) disappoint us. What a wonderful Father we have in our God! 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Abide in Me

Jesus' discourse recorded in John 15:1-17   

Abide in Me; Abide in My love; Keep my commandment to love one another; That My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full; Abide in Me and whatever you ask in My Name, My Father will give you; That you bear much fruit and your fruit should remain; By this is My father glorified!

So if I love Jesus, if I am "at home" in His love for me, then I will also love others who He loves; and loving others, I will wish no harm to them, keeping the Law; my joy will increase in spite of circumstances; and whatever I pray for will be according to the love Jesus has for me and I have for Him and others, and the Father will be glorified in answering my requests, thereby producing fruit that will endure. Everything is intricately tied into each other, woven together tightly so that love joy, obedience, asking and receiving answers, fruit bearing, and God's glory are all intertwined. Amazing!