Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Saturday, October 7, 2017

His Steadfast Love

Saturday, October 7, 2017, 4:09 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Praise Be Told.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 63 (ESV).

His Power and Glory (vv. 1-4)

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.

Our God, the One and Only True God, creator of the universe and all mankind – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the only God whom we are to worship and to whom we are to give our praise. He is the one who made us, who knows all about us, and who created us for a purpose, which is to give glory to HIM by our lives. We are to seek after him earnestly, with all our hearts, and desire him above all else, and want to know and to do his will.

As most all of us should realize, we were not born saints, but sinners. By nature, we have a propensity to sin against God and to do what displeases him. And, we have all come up short of attaining God’s divine approval. Also, we can’t save ourselves. There is nothing we can do to earn or to deserve our own salvation. We will never be good enough, in our own merit, to be rewarded with God’s heaven. So, what hope do we have?

Well, that is why God the Father sent his Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners. God the Son took on human flesh, was born as a baby to a human mother, with God as his Father, and grew up to be a man. He suffered like we suffer, and he was tempted in like manner as we are also tempted, yet without sin. He healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, cast out demons, comforted the sorrowful, fed the hungry, confronted sin in sinful human beings, and preached repentance for forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. And, because of this he was hated by many.

So, his enemies plotted and carried out his death on a cross. But, it was the will of God that Jesus should suffer and die for our sins, for when he died our sins died with him and were buried with him, and when he was resurrected from the dead, he rose victorious over sin, hell, Satan and death, on our behalf. So, through faith in Him we might be forgiven our sins, have the hope of eternal life with God, be delivered out of slavery to sin, and be free to now walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness. For, when we were under the control of sin, we were free from the control of righteousness (Ro. 6).

God, My Help (vv. 5-8)

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

Jesus Christ, God the Son, is not only our Savior, but he is our helper, healer, friend, comforter, counselor, teacher and guide. After he died and rose again, and he ascended back to heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell the lives of those who believed on him to be Lord and Savior of their lives. So, when we believe in Jesus, and we die with him to sin, and we are resurrected with him to newness of life in him, his Holy Spirit comes to live within us – God within us – to teach, counsel, help, and comfort, etc. He guides us into all truth, speaks to us through God’s written word (the Bible), and shows us the way we are to live to give honor, glory and praise to God.

So, what should this look like, in all practicality? I mean, if we truly have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been resurrected with him to newness of life, to be lived to his righteousness, and he is our helper, guide, healer, comforter, teacher and friend, what difference should that make in our lives? How should we be changed from how we were before we met Christ as Savior? How should we live differently than we did before?

Well, we should desire our Lord above all else, he should be first place in our lives, we should want to do what pleases him, and we should not be looking for a way to excuse away willful and addictive sinful practices. When we do sin, we should humble ourselves before him in repentance, and we should seek his counsel and help in fleeing sin and in hungering and thirsting after God and his holiness and righteousness. And, then we need to do what he shows us. We, too, must cut out of our lives what leads us into sin, and we should not tempt fate by continually going where we ought not to go, and then be surprised when it continues to end up the same way.

In other words, we can’t put on Christ in our lives if we are putting on the junk of this world every day. If we spend hours upon hours playing video or computer games, reading novels, watching TV shows, viewing movies, getting on Facebook, surfing the net, watching sports, or otherwise wasting precious time with what is mostly junk, and with what is often in direct contrast to God, to his Word, and to his divine character and will, we are shooting ourselves in the foot. And, then we act surprised when we fall into sin time and time again, and we can’t seem to get victory. So, we have to get rid of the junk in our lives and we have to seek after God with all our hearts if we want to experience his power and victory in our lives.

Enemies of Christ (vv. 9-11)

But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

There are many people in this world who are enemies of the cross of Christ and who want to live life however they want, and who will not submit to God or to his purposes for their lives. Many of these are strongly opposed to the gospel of our salvation, and willfully work against Christ and his followers. They may even be among those who are persecuting the Lord’s saints – his servants and witnesses. And, some of these, sadly enough, even profess to believe in Jesus Christ and to be his followers, but they believe in a man-made Jesus and a false gospel which gives permission for its followers to continue in sin against God, yet still promises them heaven when they die.

What we must know about this is that the true gospel teaches death to sin, living to righteousness, repentance, and obedience to Christ as crucial to saving faith in Jesus Christ and to eternal life with God in heaven. We must also know that the Bible teaches that if we continue in (practice) sin, we don’t have the hope of eternal life with God, but a fearful expectation of judgment and of the fires of hell. And, this is in the New Testament. So, if you bought into the lie that says that you have the hope of heaven when you die, but that you can still play with sin and not get burned, then think again. It isn’t that we must be sinless, but that we should no longer walk in sin, and that now, by the grace of God, we should walk in his holiness.

Praise Be Told! / An Original Work 
Based off Various Scriptures / December 28, 2013

He was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for all our sin.
Our chastisement was upon Him.
By His stripes, we now are healed.

He has witnessed all our trials,
And the sins we choose to wear.
Yet, while we were dead in our sin,
Jesus died, our sins to bear.

He himself bore all of our sins
In His body on a cross,
So that we might die to our sin,
And live for His righteousness.

By faith in the pow’r of Jesus
And His blood shed for our sins,
We can be forgiven our sin,
And have life with God in heav’n.

He will lead us and He’ll guide us
In the way that we should go.
He will comfort and protect us,
Because Jesus, we do know.

Though He disciplines for our good,
He will heal us – Praise be told!
Do not fear, your Lord is with you.
Just have faith in Christ your Lord.



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