I Peter 3: 12
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil. (See also Psalm 34: 15-16.)
My son once told me that the Bible contradicts itself because God does not treat everybody the same way. He had read some skeptic who quoted "contradictory" views on what kind of character God has, loving or vengeful. But even we don't treat everybody the same; we love our friends who love us, but do not trust those who show themselves to be our enemies. God knows who His enemies are, who are the victims of our enemy's lies and deceptions, so they rebel against Him.
All of us are born as unclean beings, and need to be redeemed. But those who refuse to admit their culpability will not accept His outstretched hand that offers redemption, and so they choose to go to the place God created for the Devil and his demons, even after repeated pleadings to turn around their behavior and return to the Lord.
Ezekiel 33:11 tells us, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked would turn from his way and live: Turn, turn from your evil ways; for why do you want to die, O house of Israel?
And
II Peter 3:9 says that God is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Repentance is a turning around, realizing that we're going the wrong way and turning away from the evil toward the right and good. That's what God wants us all to do. But not everyone is willing to humble themselves before the righteous God, so God must put their punishment on them, instead of on Christ, because of their stubbornness and pride. So He "turns His face against" them.
But He "watches over" those who have turned to Him, "and His ears are open to their prayers." We need to be sure to never give up praying for those of our loved ones who have not yet known redemption, bringing them before the Throne of Grace, constantly pleading God's mercy on them.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Monday, November 21, 2016
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the Law and the Prophets.
This is the "Golden Rule." It is revered in every land, every culture, every time period. It is also a description of everything that had been written in the Hebrew Scriptures, and also in the New Testament.
Jesus said that to love God and to love our neighbor would result in obeying all the laws that had been given. To be thoughtful and kind and generous with others is how God designed us to behave. And to realize and understand how God loves us so deeply and passionately elicits a loving response from us.
John tells us that, "God is love" (I John 4:8), so those who know God, who have experienced His indescribable love, will also love others. If someone does not know how to love, it shows that they do not know God.
This does not mean that if I like strawberries, then I'll give you strawberries; but you may be allergic to strawberries. We must look deeper to understand this: If I want others to understand me, then I must learn to understand them, too; if I want others to grant me the benefit of the doubt, then I must also grant them the benefit of the doubt.
May God grant us to know His love, so we can love others with genuine love, not the "fake" love of the world. May He help us to see others with His eyes, understand with His discernment, and love them with His love. May He fill our minds with His thoughts, and fill our hearts with His love for others.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the Law and the Prophets.
This is the "Golden Rule." It is revered in every land, every culture, every time period. It is also a description of everything that had been written in the Hebrew Scriptures, and also in the New Testament.
Jesus said that to love God and to love our neighbor would result in obeying all the laws that had been given. To be thoughtful and kind and generous with others is how God designed us to behave. And to realize and understand how God loves us so deeply and passionately elicits a loving response from us.
John tells us that, "God is love" (I John 4:8), so those who know God, who have experienced His indescribable love, will also love others. If someone does not know how to love, it shows that they do not know God.
This does not mean that if I like strawberries, then I'll give you strawberries; but you may be allergic to strawberries. We must look deeper to understand this: If I want others to understand me, then I must learn to understand them, too; if I want others to grant me the benefit of the doubt, then I must also grant them the benefit of the doubt.
May God grant us to know His love, so we can love others with genuine love, not the "fake" love of the world. May He help us to see others with His eyes, understand with His discernment, and love them with His love. May He fill our minds with His thoughts, and fill our hearts with His love for others.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, November 20, 2016
A Secure Refuge And Life-Giving Fountain
Proverbs 14: 26-27
Those who fear the Lord are secure;
Everyone who recognizes God's power and authority over us all will have placed their lives on the firm foundation of His unchanging Person and Word.
He will be a refuge for their children.
They will have reared their children to know the Lord, and to trust in Him.
Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain;
Submitting to God's authority and living according to His principles will bring abundance and prosperity in life, in the physical and the emotional areas of life.
It offers escape from the snares of death.
Snares are small traps, for capturing small animals. Snares of death would be all the little things in life that tend to trip us up in our everyday living that, accumulating, would lead to poor health, troublesome relationships, and separation (death).
The better we know God and His ways and follow them, the more we will be able to enjoy this world He made and the people He has put into our lives. We will have the benefits, and He will receive the credit, the glory, because that's how He designed it all to function.
I pray for the children of all those who have tried to live their lives in a godly manner, and taught their children so, as I know that all these children also have their own minds and wills, and some will reject what they have been taught and trust their own minds and the world's philosophies over the Lord's ways.
We cannot reason or argue them into God's Kingdom, all we can do is love them with God's agape love and keep them constantly in prayer. As they grow up and leave our parental hands, they are in His hand now.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Those who fear the Lord are secure;
Everyone who recognizes God's power and authority over us all will have placed their lives on the firm foundation of His unchanging Person and Word.
He will be a refuge for their children.
They will have reared their children to know the Lord, and to trust in Him.
Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain;
Submitting to God's authority and living according to His principles will bring abundance and prosperity in life, in the physical and the emotional areas of life.
It offers escape from the snares of death.
Snares are small traps, for capturing small animals. Snares of death would be all the little things in life that tend to trip us up in our everyday living that, accumulating, would lead to poor health, troublesome relationships, and separation (death).
The better we know God and His ways and follow them, the more we will be able to enjoy this world He made and the people He has put into our lives. We will have the benefits, and He will receive the credit, the glory, because that's how He designed it all to function.
I pray for the children of all those who have tried to live their lives in a godly manner, and taught their children so, as I know that all these children also have their own minds and wills, and some will reject what they have been taught and trust their own minds and the world's philosophies over the Lord's ways.
We cannot reason or argue them into God's Kingdom, all we can do is love them with God's agape love and keep them constantly in prayer. As they grow up and leave our parental hands, they are in His hand now.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Pleasing Thoughts
Psalm 104:34
May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
O my Father, I pray that You would put a guard on my very thoughts and attitudes, that I may be pleasing to You. Fill my heart with the goodness of Your Spirit, and let all my thought processes be pleasing to You; then my words will also be positive to build up and encourage those around me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
O my Father, I pray that You would put a guard on my very thoughts and attitudes, that I may be pleasing to You. Fill my heart with the goodness of Your Spirit, and let all my thought processes be pleasing to You; then my words will also be positive to build up and encourage those around me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, November 18, 2016
The Story Of Jephtha
Judges 11 and 12
These chapters tell us the story of Jephtha, one of the saints listed in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 11, the faith chapter.
In these chapters in Judges we find out that Jephtha is Gilead's son by a prostitute, and Gilead's legitimate sons chased him off of the family's property. But when the Ammonites attacked, the elders called Jephtha back to lead the military against them, and he did, to receive the honor and respect as the ruler that he did not get from his half-brothers.
But Jephtha made a foolish vow, and, being an honorable man, he was true to his word, even thought it grieved him terribly. And we never do learn the name of this young woman, only that she is Jephtha's daughter, his only child.
May we consider the consequences before we speak, and always honor what we have said, even if it is to our own hurt (see Psalm 15:4). This is what Jephtha did, and God put him into His Hall of Heroes.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
These chapters tell us the story of Jephtha, one of the saints listed in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 11, the faith chapter.
In these chapters in Judges we find out that Jephtha is Gilead's son by a prostitute, and Gilead's legitimate sons chased him off of the family's property. But when the Ammonites attacked, the elders called Jephtha back to lead the military against them, and he did, to receive the honor and respect as the ruler that he did not get from his half-brothers.
But Jephtha made a foolish vow, and, being an honorable man, he was true to his word, even thought it grieved him terribly. And we never do learn the name of this young woman, only that she is Jephtha's daughter, his only child.
May we consider the consequences before we speak, and always honor what we have said, even if it is to our own hurt (see Psalm 15:4). This is what Jephtha did, and God put him into His Hall of Heroes.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Wise People And Fools
Proverbs 13:16
Wise people think before they act; fools don't--and even brag about their foolishness.
This foolish person was me before God found me, so I understand the pride and low self-esteem that causes people to brag about all the foolish choices that bring problems and griefs into their lives. They're trying to either validate that they aren't any more stupid than others, or trying to get others to join them in their misery.
I would like to say that I haven't been that fool since I became a Christian, but I can't; it has taken me several decades to gain any measure of godly wisdom to be able to think clearly before I make decisions.
May our Father grant us all His wisdom in all our choices, to remember to think about the consequences for ourselves and others before we take that fateful step.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wise people think before they act; fools don't--and even brag about their foolishness.
This foolish person was me before God found me, so I understand the pride and low self-esteem that causes people to brag about all the foolish choices that bring problems and griefs into their lives. They're trying to either validate that they aren't any more stupid than others, or trying to get others to join them in their misery.
I would like to say that I haven't been that fool since I became a Christian, but I can't; it has taken me several decades to gain any measure of godly wisdom to be able to think clearly before I make decisions.
May our Father grant us all His wisdom in all our choices, to remember to think about the consequences for ourselves and others before we take that fateful step.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Our Earth
Psalm 104
This Psalm lays out all God has done for providing everything we need in this Earth. We see that God has formed and made this world, placed it in its place in the Universe, and designed all the Earth Systems to work together to give all its inhabitants food to eat and places to live; everything works together and complements one another to enable this world to be self-sustaining and pleasurable, so that all can have a productive life and enjoy the good things God has provided. And the goodness of God leads us to repentance, that we can see the harm that our ungodliness produces in our own bodies, our society around us, and the very Earth itself.
We are to love God and love other people; and our love will give us good sense in caring for one another and the animals and other creatures and this world we live in, which is our home for all the time we dwell here.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This Psalm lays out all God has done for providing everything we need in this Earth. We see that God has formed and made this world, placed it in its place in the Universe, and designed all the Earth Systems to work together to give all its inhabitants food to eat and places to live; everything works together and complements one another to enable this world to be self-sustaining and pleasurable, so that all can have a productive life and enjoy the good things God has provided. And the goodness of God leads us to repentance, that we can see the harm that our ungodliness produces in our own bodies, our society around us, and the very Earth itself.
We are to love God and love other people; and our love will give us good sense in caring for one another and the animals and other creatures and this world we live in, which is our home for all the time we dwell here.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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