God Ran to Us

Sunday, July 31, 2011, 4:45 a.m. – The song, When God Ran, was playing in my mind when I woke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Luke 10:1-24:

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13 “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.

16 “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

My Understanding: The Lord had woken me this morning with the song, When God Ran, playing in my mind, so as I read the scripture this morning for my quiet time with the Lord, I was thinking and praying about this idea of God running to us, as the father ran to greet his prodigal son while the son was on the way back home to his father. I read Luke 8 and 9 first, but when I got to chapter 10, and I read about Jesus sending out the seventy-two, I realized that when Jesus sends us out into the world to share the gospel, to show his love to others, and to bring them comfort, encouragement and hope, this is God running to us.

This passage of scripture begins by letting us know that the harvest is plentiful, i.e. we are not short on people in need of the love of Christ and the gospel of Christ to be shared with them. The problem lies in the fact that the workers are few. God uses us as his human instruments to continue the ministry he began when he was on this earth. For those of us who have truly believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God lives within us and, if we allow him, he lives and works out through us into the lives of others, so we that become Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them out like lambs among wolves. The world may find the gospel of Jesus Christ offensive, because the cross is an offense, so the gospel of Jesus Christ, i.e. God running to us, may be met with resistance. Those with whom we share the love of Jesus and with whom we share his gospel may not welcome us and may not welcome the gospel of Jesus Christ. The disciples were to wipe the dust off their feet against those who refused to even welcome them. They did this as a sign that they were breaking ties with them.

We can’t force the gospel upon people. It is not our job to bring the conviction to their hearts. That is God’s job. Our job is just to tell them the truth, as we know and understand it, which is that the kingdom of God is near, i.e. Jesus Christ, in all his fullness has come, he died on the cross for our sins so that we could go free from sin, he rose from the dead, triumphing over sin, he ascended into heaven and one day he will return for those who have put their faith and trust in him as Lord and Savior. When he left the earth, he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell the lives of those who believe in him so that he would be with us forever. Thus, the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of believers begins with regeneration, i.e. he brings about the cleansing of our sin and then transforming us into our new lives in Christ Jesus.

In the story of the prodigal son, the son had taken his inheritance and had blown it on living wildly. One day, when his wild living finally took its toll on him, he came to his senses, realized the wrong he had done, and he desired to return home to his father. He realized he did not deserve to have his father take him back, so he humbled himself and was willing to become his father’s servant. When the father saw that his son was returning home, the father ran to the son and embraced him and welcomed him home. This song, When God Ran, is based off that story.

God has and will run to us, too, but he won’t force himself upon us. If we resist him, he will wipe the dust off his feet and he will break ties with us, too. Yet, when we humble ourselves, when we come to our senses and we realize the wrong we have done, and we are willing to be his servants, he will embrace us with open arms of love and he will welcome us back into his family as his children. The way he runs to us is often through his followers and disciples who are willing to be his hands and feet and to continue the Lord’s ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit within us working in us and out through us.

The disciples were excited over the miracles they saw God perform in people’s lives through them, yet Jesus told them that they should, instead, rejoice that their names are written in heaven. We, too, should rejoice that people’s names are being written in heaven.

The father of the prodigal son, as well as the son, rejoiced when the son returned home to his father. All of us, at one time, were prodigals. The Bible says that we all, like sheep, have gone astray and we have gone our own way. We have all sinned. There is no one who is righteous in himself. Yet, God ran to us by sending his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be free from the penalty and the control of sin over our lives. And, he continues to run to us by sending out his disciples into the world to share his gospel and his love. So, if you are a prodigal today, know that God is running to you, yet he will not force himself upon you. It is up to you if you will receive him today.

When God Ran / Phillips, Craig and Dean

And then He ran to me, He took me in His arms
Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again”
Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in His voice He said,
“Son do you know I still love you?”
He caught me by surprise as He brought me to my knees
When God ran – I saw Him run to me

Christ In Me

Tuesday, July 27, 2011, 7:11 a.m. – The song, “May Christ Be See In Me,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Luke 4 (quoting 4:14-30):

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

My Understanding: Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. He was led by the Spirit of God into the desert, where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil. He fasted during those 40 days. Satan threw three separate temptations at Jesus. Jesus responded to each one with the word of God. On the third temptation, Satan also used the word of God, with a twist, to try to tempt Jesus, but Jesus responded, “It says, ‘Do not put your Lord God to the test.’”

Jesus returned to Galilee, in the power of the Spirit. He taught in their synagogues. He read scripture. He read Isaiah 61. Following this, Jesus said that no prophet is accepted in his hometown, so that is why he had to go to other people. With power and authority he gave orders to evil spirits and they came out. Jesus healed the sick and the afflicted. He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God… because that is why I was sent.”

The song that the Lord gave me this morning when I awoke was “May Christ Be Seen In Me.” What I realized, as I read this passage of scripture in Mark 4, is that this was describing many of Jesus’ characteristics, qualities and deeds. If I am to have Christ be seen in me, then I need to know Christ personally as my Lord and Savior, know who Christ is, what he was like when he walked this earth, and what kinds of things he did that were evident that he was who he said he was. If I say I am a Christian, then these same qualities should be evident in my life, as well.

Full of the Holy Spirit

The first quality or characteristic of Jesus that I noted is that he was full of the Holy Spirit. I am actually writing this now on Wednesday. I was reading in Luke 5 for my quiet time with the Lord this morning. I read about how you can’t put new wine into old wineskins or they will burst, the wine will run out, and the old wineskins would be ruined. I always have thought of that parable in relation to the fact that we can’t invite Jesus Christ to come into our lives, if our idea of that is that he just gives us a cleaned up version of our old lives, or worse, that he comes to dwell within our old lives. When Jesus Christ, in the person of the Holy Spirit, comes into dwell in the hearts of true believers in Jesus Christ, he does a clean sweep, i.e. our old lives of sin are done away with. This does not mean we will never sin again, but it means we have repented of our sin, we have turned from living according to our old fleshly desires, we have been transformed and made new in Christ, and we are now turning to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. So, the Holy Spirit is able to fill us, and we are able to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us because we are no longer living our lives to please self, but we are living to please God.

Jesus was also led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted of Satan. God does not tempt us, but he does allow us to be tempted and he does allow us to go through times of testing of our faith in order to strengthen us in our faith. So, he will sometimes lead us through difficulties, valleys, dark times, etc., as well as he will lead us to the mountain tops of rejoicing in victories. Through the good and the bad experiences of our lives, though, Jesus is always with us. He will never leave those who are truly his. He is not surprised by what we are going through, because he has allowed it for our good. So, instead of resisting or trying to get out of those difficult times, we should be like Jesus and submit to God’s leading and allow him to teach us what he wants us to learn during those times, which can be difficult, I know. Yet, yielding to God and to his will, rather than fighting against God, wins out every time. These times when we are tempted of Satan, we should follow Jesus’ example by knowing the word of God and using it as our sword of the Spirit against Satan’s temptations, tricks and lies that he likes to use against us to get us to give up on what God has called us to do and to get us to submit to the devil instead.

Taught in the Synagogues

The synagogues of Jesus’ day were the house of the Lord. The synagogues were the places where God’s people gathered together to hear scripture read and taught. They were specific places. Jesus told the woman at the well, who questioned him about where the Jews worshiped God vs. where others worshiped God, that a day was coming, which has now come, when men would no longer worship God on this mountain or that mountain, but they would worship God in spirit and in truth. He was talking about how, after he died on the cross for our sins, and after he rose from the dead in conquering sin so we could go free, he ascended into heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God now dwells within the hearts of his true followers.

So, now we don’t have to go to a specific place to worship God. We can worship him wherever we are and we can be taught by him no matter where we are. So, for us to follow Jesus’ example in teaching the word of God in the synagogues of our day, it means for us to teach the word of God wherever true believers in Jesus Christ gather together to hear the word taught, whether it is in a formal institutional church building, a house, the marketplace, on the job during break, in a vehicle, at the shopping mall, on the internet, etc. The important thing for us is that we are willing to share the word of God wherever he places us, even if it is to go out into “deep water,” as Jesus asked Peter to do, in chapter 5, in order to “catch many fish.” Jesus told Peter he would make him a fisher of men. He has called each one of his followers to be witnesses and to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all of God’s commands.

Anointed of God

Jesus read Isaiah 61, the first several verses. He was applying the words to himself, yet now that we have Jesus Christ within us in the person of the Holy Spirit, we are to also do these same things as Jesus did in his power and strength working within us and out through us. Jesus was anointed, i.e. he was anointed with the Holy Spirit to do the work God the Father had called him to do. We, as well, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, are given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and to empower us to be Christ’s witnesses to all the world. We are to follow Jesus example in preaching the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor in spirit (humble), to proclaim freedom from sin to those who are captivated by sin’s deceitfulness, to tell of recovery of spiritual sight for those still living in spiritual darkness, and to share how those who are oppressed of the enemy can be released and can find victory in Jesus Christ, their Lord.

Jesus was anointed of the Spirit to proclaim the “year of the Lord’s favor,” i.e. the day of our salvation and of his grace to us in saving us from our sins. He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God… because that is why I was sent.” And, he kept on preaching in the synagogues, even in the face of much rejection and persecution. And, we must, as well, be those who share with others the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ in telling them how Jesus Christ, God the Son, left heaven, came to the earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and was crucified on a cross, although he had done no wrong. He took upon himself all our sins, crucified them with him, buried them with him, and then rose from the dead, triumphing over Satan, hell, death and sin so that we could go free from the penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God in hell, and also free from the control of sin over our lives on a day-to-day basis.

We need to tell them that by God’s grace in providing the way of salvation for us, we can come to faith in Jesus Christ via repentance and obedience, i.e. faith means turning from our sins and turning to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ. If anyone is telling you that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation or that God is pleased with you no matter what you do, don’t listen to them for they are giving out a false gospel. If we want Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit (the new wine) to come and dwell within us (the wineskins), we have to first of all allow the Spirit of God to do his work of regeneration in our lives in changing our hearts so that we willingly turn from our sin and we desire nothing more than to walk with our Lord in complete surrender and obedience to Him and to his will for our lives. Then, and only then, can we be filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and then for Christ Jesus to be seen in us in all his love, truth, and grace working in us and out through us into the lives of others. May Christ be seen in me, O Lord. This is my plea.

May Christ Be Seen in Me / Percy Crawford

O Lord, I give myself to Thee, and all that I possess;
I lay aside my sinful pride and claim Thy righteousness,
My will lies shattered at Thy feet, I pray Thy will be done,
My only plea to live for Thee and magnify Thy Son.

O may I count all gain but loss, save as to Thee 'tis gain;
Let me not shun the promised cross, nor shirk to suffer pain,
Then lead me, Lord, up Calv'ry's hill, forth to the cross with Thee,
And there pour out my life with God, As Thou didst Lord for me.
O humbly may I serve Thee, Lord, as in Thy will I tread;
And may I live anew in Christ, as risen from the dead.
Then closely walking by Thy side, may love flow out thro' me,
That those whom Thou shalt lead my way may, too, find life in Thee.

May Christ be seen in me, O Lord,
Hear Thou my earnest plea;
O take me, fill me, use me, Lord,
Till Christ be seen in me.

If You Wish Upon a Star

Concerning the Time of Tribulation

Sunday, July 24, 2011, 7:25 a.m. – I woke this morning from a dream. The song, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” was playing in my mind when I awoke. I thought that particularly odd, but then I thought, perhaps, the song went with the dream somehow, so I inquired of the Lord. When I got out to the living room, I noticed right away that my song book, which was sitting on the keyboard, was opened to the song, “In That Day.” So, that song began playing in my mind. I thought, perhaps, that was only because I had seen it before me, yet, as I began to read the passage of scripture for today, which was the song of Mary, from Luke’s gospel, I began to see the connection, and realized that it must have been divine intervention that had me turn to that exact page in the song book last evening.

Note: The names used in this recording of the dream are not the people’s real names. Yet, I believe the Lord gave me these specific names to use for a reason. The characters are Joe and Carol. Joe means: “the average joe; an ordinary man” (MW Dictionary). Carol means: “song; hymn.” Both of these names fit perfectly with this story and with the song, “In That Day,” and with Mary’s Song in Luke 1, which was my passage of scripture for my QT today.

THE DREAM: Joe was watching the movie, “The Stand,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stand) which is based off of a Stephen King novel by that same title (not recommended viewing). The movie is a twisted, yet perhaps accurate in many respects, depiction of the time of tribulation. It begins with a massive plague that wipes out much of the population on the earth. The people who survive the plague gather together into two basic groups – good and evil. The evil is depicted very explicitly with an antichrist figure, who plays the part very well. There are several places in the movie that are extremely sexual and obsessively evil, which depicts Satan well. I saw this many years ago when I was allowing myself to watch movies like this, although I would look away during the truly evil and/or sexual parts. I wish I had never seen the movie.

Anyway, in the dream, Joe was watching this movie. He had seen it several times. His wife, Carol, saw him watching the movie, and she confronted him about it. He said something to the effect that he just forgot those sexual scenes were in the movie, even though he had seen the movie several times, as noted. Yet, as he was talking with his wife Carol, he never once looked away from the TV screen. He just kept watching the movie.

So, Carol got angry with him, and told him that he should know not to watch that movie. She questioned him as to why he was still watching it, even after being confronted. There was a comment he made to her that indicated something to the effect that he thought it was no big deal. Carol responded to him by saying something about how attitudes such as his, where people don’t deal with real life issues, tear apart many marriages. END

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Luke 1:39-56:

Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

My Understanding: The dream ended with Joe still watching the movie, not even looking at his wife, not heeding her counsel, and with his wife Carol angry with him. This said to me that what the Lord was depicting to me here, in this allegorical form, is not something in the past, but it is something in the present that is happening now. Joe is representative of mankind; every day, ordinary mankind, in general, both male and female.

The name “Carol” means song. There are three songs that are a part of this writing today. The first is “When You Wish Upon a Star.” The second one is, “In That Day,” which is based off of Isaiah 12 (a song), and the third is the Song of Mary, as recorded in the gospel of Luke. I believe all three songs have a specific message and that the three songs all connect in some fashion. Carol was giving a warning to Joe. These three songs also give a warning.

Joe was watching a movie, which had a star-studded cast. He was watching and was engrossed in a fantasy world (a star). This was his idol. It was more important to him than his marriage relationship to Carol. The movie was based off of a novel (fantasy), yet had some basis in reality, in that it loosely portrayed the time of tribulation. God won out in the end and Satan lost. That was the best part of the movie. Yet, the movie was filled with evil and with sexually explicit material, and Joe was allowing his eyes, mind and heart to be caught up in that world while ignoring his real world and his wife, who was very concerned about him. I believe Joe describes many people today, in particular in America, who are not only caught up in a fantasy world, but who believe everything they see and hear on TV or in the news as though it is real, when it may just be fantasy made to look real, while ignoring the realities around them. They are caught up in a sin-sick society to where they easily, like I admit that I also did previously, allowed a “little poop” in their/my “brownie.” I thought the entertainment value of the movie would override any objectionable material or that somehow I could just block out or overlook the bad stuff for the sake of entertainment.

Carol gave warning to Joe, and Carol means “song,” so the three songs are giving warning to mankind, in general, I believe, in today’s culture. The first, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” sounds really good, until you look at it in reality. If we put our hope and faith in a fantasy world, we will get exactly what we “wished” for, i.e. the judgment of God. All the signs of the end of the age were right before Joe’s eyes, but he totally missed it, because he was deceived. He didn’t see the truth that was coming through loud and clear through all the lies (fantasy). And, that is true of our world today, too. There are many lies being told via politicians, actors (same thing), news stories, et al, and yet most Americans accept them as reality and don’t see the truth of what is really going on right before their eyes.

Stephen King’s book was just like that. It was fantasy for the purpose of entertainment, yet the reality is that what it depicted, i.e. a time of great tribulation when Satan rules, is coming, yet most people just kind of slough that off, thinking it doesn’t apply to them. They continue to take a whole world of evil into their minds, without any thought for God or for his warnings, and if they are Christians, then they are doing this right in front of God, in his face. Jesus Christ is the husband (spouse) of the church just as Carol (song) was the spouse of Joe (average every day human being). And Joe completely ignored his wife. Many Christians are doing just that. They are completely ignoring our Lord and his warnings.

The second song, “In That Day,” is basically Isaiah 12, a song, put to music. Isaiah 12 is a song of rejoicing by the remnant who survives the judgment of God on his people, because of God’s deliverance and salvation. This song may have had a prior fulfillment, yet it is also prophetic of the time of tribulation when the remnant, who survives God’s judgment, will praise the Lord for his salvation and deliverance. God was/is angry with his people because of their idolatry and spiritual adultery (depicted in the dream). He had warned them again and again. They had seen God’s judgment on his people before, or they knew of that judgment through history’s records, yet it did not faze them. They still continued to do as they pleased, and they paraded their idols right in God’s face. He sent his prophets to them time and time again to call them to repentance, yet they refused. So, he had to bring judgment upon them. And, he will do this again. I believe he is presently angry with his church here in the USA because of the idolatry and spiritual adultery of his people and because of their refusal to hear and heed his warnings and refusal to repent of their ways.

The third song, which is the song of Mary in today’s scripture passage, describes how God has mercy on those who fear him, but he will use his arm (strength; power) to scatter those who are proud in their inmost thoughts (represented by Joe). He will bring down rulers from their thrones, but he will lift up the humble. He will fill the truly hungry (spiritually) with good things (his spiritual blessings and salvation), but he will send the rich (the selfish and greedy) away empty (without hope of salvation). Some people might say that this is Old Testament and that we are now under grace. But the same message is all through the New Testament, especially in the books of James, First John and Revelation. Repentance and obedience to God are essential for salvation, yet many false teachers would have you believe otherwise. God is warning his people again and again that they must repent. They must be humble, turn from their wicked ways, and they must obey God’s commands or face judgment. There are no guarantees that any of us might survive such a judgment, so we should heed God’s warnings (represented by Carol) today while we still have breath.

I believe that the Bible prophesies, as represented by the passage in Isaiah 12, that following the judgment of God on his people, his anger will turn away and he will restore the remnant to a right relationship with him. That is what the song, “In That Day,” is about. So, there is hope for the repentant, the humble of heart, and for those who truly fear God by turning from their sins and by taking God seriously in obeying his commands and heeding his warnings. We serve a merciful God, yet he is also a God of justice. Don’t play around. If you are like Joe and you are ignoring your Lord while living in your fantasy world, then I pray that you will get your heart right with Jesus today. A day of judgment is coming!

In That Day / An Original Work / May 21, 2011

Based off of Isaiah 12

In that day you will say: “I will praise You, Lord.
I know You were angry; anger’s turned away.
God is my salvation; I’ll trust; not afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, my strength; the Lord, Lord, my song;
He is my salvation; Lord, my comforter.”
With joy you’ll draw water from salvation’s wells.

In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on His holy name; make Him known today.
Proclaim: He’s exalted. Tell what He has done.
Sing, for He is glorious; make this known to all.
Shout aloud; sing for joy, people of Zion;
Great is the Holy One, who among us dwells.”

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

The Lord's Servant

Saturday, July 23, 2011, 7:25 a.m. – “Jesus, Lead Me,” was playing in my mind as I woke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Luke 1:5-38:

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19 The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

My Understanding: Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were upright in the sight of God. They observed all of God’s commands and regulations blamelessly. Zechariah was one of the high priests who went before God to make atonement for the sins of the people on a yearly basis. Mary, who was pledged to be married to Joseph, and was a cousin of Elizabeth, was a young virgin girl who was highly favored by God. Both Zechariah and Mary received visits from the angel, Gabriel, and were given messages concerning the births of sons.

Zechariah’s son was to be born naturally, even though he and Elizabeth were well along in years. God must have opened Elizabeth’s womb, though. Mary’s son was to be born of the Holy Spirit of God without natural relations with any man. Both of their sons were to be very special. One was to be the forerunner for Jesus Christ in turning the hearts of the people of Israel back to the Lord their God and in preparing the people for the coming of Jesus Christ, their promised Messiah. And, the son to be born to Mary of the Holy Spirit was to be the very Son of God and God himself, as our God is a triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, Mary’s son, was very God and very man. He is the one John spoke of when he said, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

When Zechariah was told by the angel Gabriel that he and Elizabeth were to have a son in their old age, although he was a righteous man, still he doubted. He asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” When Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she was to have a son by the Holy Spirit, she responded, as well, with a question: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” On the surface, this may appear that they were both questioning what the angel said based upon what they saw as physical impossibilities. Yet, there was a distinct difference between Zechariah’s response, which was one of unbelief, and Mary’s response, which was one of belief.

Zechariah wanted to know how he could be sure that what the angel Gabriel was telling him was the truth. Perhaps he was looking for some kind of proof or a sign of some sort. We are not told much other than the question he asked Gabriel, and the fact that Gabriel saw his response as one of unbelief in what Gabriel had told him. He doubted. He lacked the faith to believe that God could cause him and his wife to have a son in their old age. Yet, Mary’s response was much different. She did not ask how she could be sure if it was the truth. She believed it was. Her question had a more practical nature to it. And, her question was proof that she believed the angel. She knew she was a virgin, so she just wanted to know, in all practicality, how this was going to take place.

Since Zechariah’s response was one of unbelief, the angel told Zechariah that he was going to be silent and not able to speak until the day that John, Zechariah’s son, was born. Since Mary’s response was one of belief, the angel answered her question and he explained to her what she should expect and how this was going to happen. This took more faith for Mary to believe that she would be pregnant of the Holy Spirit than it took for Zechariah to believe that he and his wife would give birth in their old age, yet she had faith. It took much more commitment on Mary’s part to accept what the angel had said to her, because how would she explain her pregnancy? She would be tagged as impure and forever people would think she had been unfaithful to Joseph or that she and Joseph had committed sexual sin together. Zechariah just had to believe that his son was to be the forerunner of the Messiah, which is a big enough step of faith right there. Zechariah was a priest. He was a righteous man. You would think that his response should have been more of faith than that of a young girl. Maybe that is why the Lord Jesus said we should have child-like faith. Sometimes the more schooled we are the harder it is for us to accept the things of God that children can accept so easily. Yet, Mary believed. And, Zechariah doubted.

The angel told Mary that nothing was impossible with God, which was evidenced by the fact that Elizabeth was six months pregnant by the time Mary was visited with the angel Gabriel. And, Mary’s response to this declaration by the angel was: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Wow! How many of us would believe like Mary did? Or, how many of us would doubt like Zechariah did? Zechariah just had to believe that God was going to give him and his wife a son in their old age, yet a very special son. For Mary, this was total commitment. She had to give her body, her reputation, the possibility that she might be stoned to death for being pregnant outside of marriage, and her very life. How many of us would so readily and easily believe God to do something in our lives that would cost us our reputation, our youth, perhaps, and/or our very lives? Mary had to put her all on the altar that day when she said to the angel, “May it be to me as you have said.”

God has a calling for each one of us. Some of us may be given more acceptable tasks that may or may not get us honor on this earth. Others of us may be given much harder assignments, such as Mary’s, to where our assignment means we give up our rights to be thought well of and/or to be liked and admired by people. Either way, we should all be bearing Christ in our bodies, i.e. we should be crucified with Christ, so that we (our flesh) no longer live, but Christ lives within us (as master), and the lives we now live we live by faith in the Son of God who gave himself up for us when he died on the cross for our sins (see Galatians 2:20). So, we should all have the same attitude as Mary. No matter what God calls us to do or what assignments he gives us and no matter what it may cost us in this life, we should all say with Mary: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” I pray that will be the heart response of all true believers in Jesus Christ today.

Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead alway.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

Open Up My Heart

Friday, July 22, 2011, 8:45 a.m. – When I woke this morning, the song, “Jesus, Lead Me,” was playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Mark 15, and then went back and read parts of Mark 14 so that what I read was in context. I am quoting Mark 14:33-41:

The Death of Jesus
33 At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

36 One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

My Understanding: Jesus was betrayed by one of his twelve disciples, Judas. Judas had cut a deal with the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders, i.e. the spiritual leaders of Jesus’ day, who sent men to arrest Jesus. Judas had arranged a signal with them so the soldiers would know which person to arrest. The one Judas kissed was the one they were looking for. Thus, the men seized Jesus and arrested him. Jesus was brought before the religious leaders, including the whole Sanhedrin. They were looking for evidence against Jesus so they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many people gave false testimony against Jesus, but there was disagreement among their statements. Jesus remained silent and gave no answer to their accusations. Yet, when asked directly if he was the Christ, he replied, “I am.”

Then, they accused him of blasphemy, and decided that he was worthy of death. Some of the people present spit at Jesus. They blindfolded him and then they struck him with their fists. They mocked him and then the guards took him and beat him. Judas, one of the twelve had betrayed Jesus into the hands of his enemies. All of Jesus’ disciples initially deserted him and fled. And, Peter, another of the twelve, who had said he would never fall away, disowned Jesus three times, just as Jesus had said he would. Yet, when Peter heard the rooster crow a second time, he remembered Jesus’ words and he broke down and wept.

The next morning, the religious leaders and the whole Sanhedrin handed Jesus over to Pilate. And Pilate examined Jesus. It was the custom to release a prisoner whom the people requested. Pilate asked the people if they wanted Jesus released, i.e. if he should release “the king of the Jews.” He asked this, knowing that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were envious of him. The chief priests stirred up the crowd to have a murderer, named Barabbas, released instead. So, Pilate asked the crowd what he should do with Jesus, to which they replied, “Crucify him!” Pilate wanted to make the crowd happy, so he released Barabbas, he had Jesus flogged, and then he handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led Jesus away. They called together all the other soldiers. And, they mocked Jesus. They placed a crown of thorns on his head. They continually struck him in the head with a staff and spit on him. They pretended, in a mocking way, to worship him. Then they led him to be crucified. This is our Lord that they did all this to. He is our God, our perfect Lamb sacrifice for our sins who went through all of this for you and for me so that we could be free from sin. He is God; the creator of the universe and of all things on the earth, and yet he left his home in heaven, came to earth as a baby, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and then he went through all of this pain and suffering leading up to his crucifixion, as well as the pain of the crucifixion, itself. Yet, that was not the greatest suffering of all. When he died on that cross, he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. Think about how much suffering you have had in your life due to your own sins. He took all our sins on him. He crucified them, buried them, and then he rose from the dead, triumphing over death, hell, Satan and sin so we’d be free.

Our sins had to be the greatest suffering of all, yet he faced another great, and perhaps an even greater suffering, and that was, when he took our sins on him, God the Father could not look on him. So Jesus also felt the pain and suffering of separation from God the Father. I know there have been times in my life when I have felt as though God was not present, though I knew he was. I felt as though he was silent. I wanted to hear his voice and to just have that assurance that he was right there. There were times when I even told him that he could yell at me, if that is what I needed, but I just needed to hear his voice speaking to me. I just needed to feel his presence. I think that has to be one of the most horrible feelings ever – to sense the absence of the presence of God, even though he would not ever leave those who are truly his. So, Jesus suffered this separation from his Father, too.

When Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The curtain in the temple is what separated the Holy of Holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant, from the people. God’s people could not come into his presence then like we can today. It was there the high priests made yearly sacrifices (atonement) for the sins of the people, and for themselves. So, the tearing of the temple’s curtain in two signified that Jesus’ blood sacrifice on the cross for our sins had once and for all paid for our sins and had made the way for us now to come into God’s presence, as the Holy Spirit of God now dwells within the hearts and lives of true believers in Jesus Christ. So now we no longer need human priests to intercede for us between us and God the Father, because Jesus is our high priest who now is our mediator between us and the Father so that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence (See the book of Hebrews).

Because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross in dying for our sins and then in rising from the dead, gaining victory over our sin, we are now able to come to faith in Jesus Christ and to have our sins crucified with Christ, buried with him and then we are able to be raised to have new lives in Christ Jesus. We come to faith in Jesus Christ because God the Father first draws us to that faith, then because of what Jesus did for us in saving us from sin, so it is only by God’s grace that we are even able to believe in Jesus Christ. When we choose to believe, part of that belief means that we turn from our sin and our former ways of living according to our own fleshly appetites, and we choose to walk humbly before God in faith and obedience to all his commands. In other words, we cannot separate repentance and obedience from the act of believing in Jesus Christ. They are intrinsically linked together. So, if you have not repented of your sins and if you have not made that commitment to invite Jesus Christ into your life and to walk in obedience to Him, I pray you do so today.

Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead alway.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

Jesus, Lead Me

Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead alway.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

The Danger of Deception

Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 7:30 a.m. – Yesterday afternoon I suffered greatly from a severe headache that sent me into a dark room to escape the light and to keep myself immobile, because it hurt even to move. I prayed for healing. I called out, “help,” to God because the pain was so great. Then, the Lord placed the song, “Our Awesome God,” in my mind. So, I began to sing to him, “I praise and adore You, Father. I worship and praise you, Lord. You are such an awesome God who loves us so much…” Just then, I heard in my mind, “Get up Tabitha and walk, because your faith has healed you.” So, I got up. And, I came out into the office and told my husband what the Lord had just done for me.

Tabitha (Dorcas) was a Christian woman in New Testament times who some presently regard as having had the ministry of a deaconess. She died and Peter was instrumental in raising her from the dead. Jesus healed a woman with a bleeding disorder when he said to her “take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you,” as well as he told a blind man who asked for healing, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you,” and Jesus healed a paralytic when he said to him, “Get up, take your mat and walk.” So, when Jesus spoke these words to me, it was a combination of the words spoken to a man who was blind, a woman suffering a bleeding disorder, a paralytic who could not walk and a Christian woman and servant of the Lord who had died and whom Peter brought back to life.

I knew the Lord did not heal me for me to just take the rest of the evening off, so I got into the word to hear from the Lord. I read Mark 12 first about the parable of the tenants. And, I took notes on that chapter. But, then the words to the song came back into my mind… “You are such an awesome God who loves us so much, You implore us to follow You each moment of the days we have on earth…” I knew that the passage the Lord would have me read and write about must be related to God imploring us to follow Him each moment of the days we have left on this earth, so I kept reading. The next chapter, Mark 13, fit to the tee the idea of God imploring his children to live for him during the days they have yet remaining on the earth. So, I knew this is where I was to focus my time and attention.

Keep Watch!

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Mark 13 for my quiet time with the Lord. Since this chapter is 37 verses long, I will summarize some of it and quote some. Jesus told his disciples of the coming destruction of the temple. On the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, some of Jesus’ disciples inquired of him privately concerning the signs that these things are about to be fulfilled. Jesus told them of the signs of the end of the age. He began with the words “Watch out that no one deceives you.” At least seven times during this talk the Lord Jesus had with his disciples he used phrases such as “watch out,” “be on your guard,” “be alert,” “keep watch,” etc. Obviously there was much danger that even Jesus’ own disciples could be deceived, so he was warning them ahead of time, which we are also warned about in other passages in the New Testament. So, it is possible for us, as well, to be deceived, which is why it is so imperative that we keep watch and that we are alert.

Jesus told his disciples that there would be many deceivers, some of which would claim to be the promised Messiah of the people. I have found that the deception is greater if the claim is not so obvious but more subtle and comes more stealthily, escaping notice. Many raise themselves up as saviors of the people without literally declaring themselves to be such, but by their words and actions they give off the impression that is what they are claiming, and the greater deception lies there because people are more apt to follow them.

Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars; nation against nation; kingdom against kingdom; and earthquakes and famines. He said these were the beginnings of birth pains. He was relating the events of the last days to the pregnancy of a woman and these things being only the beginning of her pains associated with the birth of her child.

He told his disciples that they would be handed over to local councils and flogged in the synagogues. They would stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.” Family members will betray other family members and even have them put to death. We will be hated because of our faith in Jesus Christ, “but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Many of these things, if not all of them, have taken place since Jesus left the earth to go back to heaven. We, in America, have not yet had to face this kind of persecution, but it is coming. The gospel has gone far and wide, but I don’t know if it has reached every nation yet. The phrase, “but he who stands firm to the end will be saved,” is repeated in various forms throughout the New Testament. True faith is faith that endures, continues and overcomes to the end.

The Abomination

Mark 13:14-23: “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

Abomination (definition) – “something that is immoral, disgusting, or shameful; an object of intense disapproval or dislike” (Encarta); “refers to foreign gods, their images, or related worship practices; denote improper ways of worshiping God” (Harper's Bible dictionary; 1985); “of idols and things pertaining to idolatry” (Strong’s Concordance).

There are many opinions as to what the “abomination that causes desolation” means. It is mentioned in Old Testament and New Testament passages of scripture. Matthew’s gospel states: “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel…”

Daniel 11:31-32: “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

The “holy place” used to be in a physical temple in which God’s Spirit dwelled. And, the temple of God used to be a physical building. Yet, when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, that curtain that divided the people from direct access to God was torn in two. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he sent His Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, so that now the temple of God lives inside of those who truly put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (master) of their lives. And, now the “holy place” is in our hearts. And, we, the people of God, are his temple.

So, if the “abomination that causes desolation” is standing (holding to a particular attitude, viewpoint or opinion) in the “holy place,” i.e. if it is taking a firm position in our hearts (the hearts of believers in Jesus), and “abomination” is directly related to idolatry, then this is speaking of God’s people, his church, living in idolatry against their holy God, with a refusal to repent, which is what brought destruction to God’s people all throughout Biblical history. The goal of the antichrist is to destroy the church. He will exalt himself over everything that is called God so that he sets himself up in God’s temple. So, if the temple is our hearts and collectively we are the church, then this is speaking of a person or entity of some kind that has taken a position in the church in authority over the authority of God. I can’t speak for other nations, but I do know that, in the USA, most institutional churches are under the authority of the government of the USA, and that authority supersedes God’s authority where God would tell his shepherd’s to speak on an issue that the government would forbid. So, in this sense, the US government has set itself up in the church in the USA in a position of authority that is over the authority of God and is followed over God’s authority.

“With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant…” The covenant is our covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. We violate that covenant through continued, unrepentant sin, in particular the sin of spiritual adultery and idolatry (being worshipful toward other things or people over or in place of true worship of God). The government of the USA asks us for this kind of worship when they ask us to put our hands over our hearts and pledge allegiance (commitment; faithfulness; fidelity) to the government of our nation, and we do this inside the confines of the institutional church. Yet, this is not confined merely to the government and to their authority, though it is highly possible that they have been behind much of the transition that has taken place within the church over the years.

The institutional church of the 21st Century in America has been taken over (most, if not all) by man’s philosophies, marketing schemes, programs, goals, visions, purpose statements, etc., which are all based off of Marketing 101 classes that we now call “church planting seminars” or “church growth seminars.” Churches are run just like businesses and they use the same techniques, to gain people, as do worldly businesses, which definitely use “flattery” to gain people’s attention and acceptance. The gospel has been watered down in many churches to where it has no resemblance at all to the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The word “sin” has been replaced with “I messed up,” which feels as though it has a lesser offense to it. It is being taught that repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ are not necessary for salvation and that God is pleased with you no matter what you do. These are all deceptions.

“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice.” What if his armed forces are preachers and teachers in our modern-day churches? And, they are desecrating (insulting and defiling) the temple fortress (our salvation found in the true gospel of Jesus Christ) and are abolishing the daily sacrifice (our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, no longer conformed to the pattern of the world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds)? Remember that Jesus was speaking to his disciples and that the Bible teaches that even the elect could be deceived. Deception is not obvious. It is stealthy, and it comes at us slowly and subtly. That is why we need to watch, to be on our guard, and to be alert, because our enemy is a lion prowling around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We need to be in God’s word daily!

Mark 13:35-37: “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Don’t let him find you spiritually asleep because you have fallen into deception. Daniel 11:32b: “…but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.” Be alert! Keep watch! Be on your guard! Ask the Lord for much discernment so that you are not deceived. Allow him to bring healing to your lives and to bring you back from the dead. Repent of your sins today, and turn to walk with Jesus Christ in faith and obedience and your faith will heal you.

Our Awesome God / An Original Work / May 25, 2011

I praise and adore You, Father,
I worship and praise You, Lord.
You are such an awesome God,
Who loves us so much, You implore
Us to follow You each moment
Of the days we have on earth,
So that we might live forever
With You, ‘cause of our new birth.

I praise and adore You, Jesus.
You died on a cruel tree,
So that we might be forgiven
Of our sins; You set us free
To love and obey You only,
While we bow on bended knee,
As we humbly walk before You,
Serving freely; You to please.

I praise and adore You, Spirit,
You came in to live with me.
Jesus sent You to abide
Within us, and our comfort be.
You guide and direct and counsel
Us in all of our God’s ways,
So that we can live for Jesus,
To follow Him all our days.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/our-awesome-god

The Train is Coming

Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 6:57 a.m. – When I woke this morning, the title to the last song the Lord gave me to write was in my mind, i.e. “The Train.” I prayed, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening, and then I read Mark 10-11. This passage stood out to me today:

Mark 11:12-21:

Jesus Clears the Temple

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written:

“‘My house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations’?

But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

19 When evening came, they went out of the city.

The Withered Fig Tree

20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

My Understanding: The other day, my husband and I were praying concerning our need of a local body of believers with whom to meet on a regular basis for the teaching of the word, for fellowship, for the breaking of bread and for prayer, as well as for the exercising of spiritual gifts, and for the purpose of being a functioning body of believers as our Lord intended (See Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; Romans 12:1-8; I Corinthians 12; and Ephesians 4:1-16). When my husband began to pray, he said he heard the sound of a train. It immediately brought to his memory a particular local institutional church where we had visited for a while, and that triggered in his memory, and in mine, other institutional churches where we had previously attended. We talked about those particular local congregations together, as we were examining, in our minds and hearts, before God, where we had been previously and what message the Lord might have for us by the image he gave my husband of a train.

The evening prior to this, the Lord had given me a tune. I recorded the tune. I struggled with finding the right chords to go with the tune and even with the tune itself, but it finally came together. Then, I sat down to hear from the Lord concerning what lyrics he had for the song. He was silent. So, I went to bed with no lyrics for the tune, trusting that he would give them to me when the time was right. The next morning, my husband and I had the discussion together about the meaning of the train. Later in the day, after my husband and I had this discussion about the image of a train in relation to previous churches we had attended, I was praying, again, concerning lyrics to this tune, when I heard clearly in my mind, “The Train.” So, that evening, while my husband was busy with something else, I sat down and prayerfully inquired of the Lord concerning lyrics to this tune. Then, he gave me the words to “The Train,” which is about much of today’s institutional church.

The image the Lord was giving me of the train was that it was being powered by man and man’s teachings, marketing schemes, philosophies, etc., instead of by the word of God. The cars represented individual institutional church congregations. They were all interconnected, intrinsically linked together, and were all together on a set of tracks following the same engine car powered by man. A train presents a very interesting illustration, because if the Lord had shown us a caravan of automobiles, it would be completely different. If you are in a caravan of autos and are traveling a road, following a lead car, you can turn off in another direction and you can easily leave the caravan, plus you are the one in control and your auto is individually operated. Train cars, though, do not have their own engines, they do not have their own steering mechanisms, and they are linked securely together and are on railroad tracks with no way of escape. They are all powered by the same exact engine, and it is not God. And, they are all headed in the same direction, which is to judgment of God.

That brings me to today’s passage of scripture. The fig tree was illustrative of Israel. Today, true Israel is comprised of true believers in Jesus Christ. We are God’s chosen people, a holy priesthood of believers, set apart to God and to his service. The fig tree should have at least had buds on it, indicating that figs would come in season, but it only had leaves. This was a picture of God’s people without any evidence of fruit or even of the possibility of fruit. From a distance, the tree had the appearance of being a fig tree that would bear fruit, but on close examination, it was obvious that fruit was not going to come from this tree, so Jesus said to the tree that it would never bear fruit again. This was symbolic of the coming judgment on the nation of Israel for their stubborn and rebellious hearts in refusing to listen to and obey God and to recognize Jesus as their promised Messiah. And, this is also a picture of much of today’s institutional church, which has the appearance of being religious and of doing all the right things, but many are not truly bearing fruit in keeping with repentance, but are cars in this train, all linked together, and all following the same man-powered engine. And, their destiny is judgment, because they are followers of man instead of followers of God.

Jesus entered the temple area and saw that they had turned it into a marketplace. Today, the temple of the Lord is in the hearts of true believers in Jesus Christ. Collectively, we are called the church. The true church, in reality, is not an institution of man, it is not a denomination, it is not a building, and it is not a corporation under the government of the USA or of any country. The sanctuary of God is not in a building. A building, called a church, is not the house of God. We do not enter the Lord’s house when we enter a building. The Lord’s house is in the hearts of those who truly believe. We are the temple of God.

So, when we, the people of God, meet together, we are meeting together as the church. So, when men turn those meetings, gatherings, fellowships, etc. into big business, elaborate buildings and programs of men, marketing schemes of men, et al, in order to attract the world to the church, and/or to provide a Christian form of entertainment, they are doing the same things as these cattlemen and moneychangers were doing in the temple area. God’s church is for the purpose of prayer, true Christian fellowship in the Lord, the breaking of bread in communion and fellowship, and for the teaching of the word of God, as well as it is to be a functioning body as Christ intended. Instead, much of what we call church today has little resemblance to the church in the book of Acts or that is spoken of in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, as well as in Ephesians 4.

We, as the Lord’s church, need to get disconnected from these other cars and from following a man-powered engine and from captivity to this train on these tracks, which is heading to judgment, and we need to learn what church really is about and to be the church as God intended us to be. We need to be in God’s word daily, listening to Jesus at his feet, obeying what he teaches us, following his teachings, learning what it means to be the body of Christ, and then we need to meet with other believers in Jesus Christ in the way in which God intended for us to meet and to function, not as a business, not following man, but under the power and control of the Holy Spirit of God allowing him to lead, guide, counsel and direct us in the way we should go. It won’t be popular. People may not like us because we are not on the train, yet we will be at peace with God and we will function as his body in the way he intended his body to function. May we all hear from the Lord in this matter today.

The Train / An Original Work / July 17, 2011

The train is coming down the tracks.
It captures all who in faith lack.
The engine is controlled by man;
Leads each captive to ruin.

The cars, they are God’s holy church,
Which follows men who are on the search
To trap the church in their own snare;
For Christ they do not care.

The track, it leads to God’s judgment
For those who are not repentant,
But follow, each his own stubborn way,
And Jesus they do not obey.

So God is calling to His bride
To turn from sin and in Christ abide;
Stop placing their trust solely in man;
Trust Christ for His forgiveness.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to the Song

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men” (Mark 7:6-8).

O Unbelieving Generation

Monday, July 18, 2011, 6:11 a.m. – The old song, “There’s a New Song in My Heart,” by John W. Peterson, was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Mark 9:14-32:

The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

19 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

My Understanding: Most of us have not had to deal with being demon possessed to where a demonic spirit threw us into convulsions and we had no control over our own bodies, and subsequently we were in great need of a miracle of deliverance. So, we may not identify with this boy or with his deliverance. Yet, the Bible tells us that we are born into sin and if we are not serving the One true God, we are serving Satan, sin is our master, and we are its slaves. A slave is one who is dominated, controlled and ruled by another. And, a master is one who controls or influences, has authority over and has ownership of his slaves. So, as sinners outside of God’s saving grace, we are just as much in need of God’s healing touch of deliverance from the control of Satan over our lives as this boy who was demon possessed.

The father of the boy brought him to Jesus. He said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Jesus responded by saying, “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes.” And, that is true of what it takes for us to be delivered from bondage (as a slave) to sin and from the control sin (our master) has over our lives, in the flesh nature. Not one of us is too bad to be saved or is beyond hope of salvation. We are all sinners. There is not one of us who is righteous in our own merit. And, we are all in need of God’s amazing grace in delivering us from slavery to sin and in setting us free to live for God.

Jesus had the authority to command this spirit to come out of the boy, because he was/is God and because he was speaking under the authority of Almighty God, who alone has the power to deliver from the evil one. Jesus also had the authority to take away our sins because he was/is God, because he became a man and suffered as we suffer and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and because he was our perfect Lamb who died on the cross, taking upon himself all our sins, crucifying and burying them with him, and then because he rose from the dead, triumphing over our sins so we could go free.

When the evil spirit came out of the boy, the boy looked like he was dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and the boy stood up. When we come to Jesus Christ and by his grace he sets us free from our sin, we die to our old way of life and we leave our sins behind. Then Jesus raises us to a new life in Christ where we are no longer controlled and ruled by sin, but where the Spirit of God now lives within us and has rule and dominion over our lives; to where we now obey God instead of obeying sin (see Romans 6).

The unbelieving generation Jesus was referring to in this passage of scripture were those in the crowd, but in particular his disciples. He was chiding them for their lack of faith in God’s power to deliver from the evil one and for their spiritual slowness. Yet, “unbelieving generation” is a phrase that can be applied to our day and time and to those who lack faith in God to believe that he can deliver from bondage to sin and to believe that he can truly set someone free, transforming that person into a completely new individual. When we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and we truly believe that he has set us free from sin, then it should be evidenced by how we live our lives.

If we continue to live in sin and to be controlled by sin after we have made a confession of Christ as Savior, then the question begs to be asked, “Did we really believe?” The disciples could not cast out that demon because they lacked the faith to believe the demon could come out of the boy. When we say we believe and yet we continue to be controlled by sin, we also are lacking in faith to believe that Jesus Christ can truly set us free from the control that sin has over our lives. Thus, we need to repent of our sin, we need to turn away from it, and we need to turn toward our Lord Jesus and to walk in faith and obedience to Almighty God. This is what it means to truly believe in Jesus Christ with the kind of faith that delivers from sin. If we do not have that kind of faith, then we are among the unbelieving generation Jesus is speaking about who need to understand what it means to believe, and to know and understand that God has the power to transform lives.

The father of the boy said, “I believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” I like that. I have, at times, prayed that prayer to God. It is an honest prayer. And, it speaks volumes about this man’s faith to believe in what God could do to deliver his son from this evil spirit. He recognized that he had limited faith. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the message of the gospel, and the message is heard through the word of Christ (see Romans 10:17). This man probably had limited knowledge and understanding of Jesus and maybe had only heard about him by word of mouth, so limited knowledge of the word of Christ possibly contributed to his diminished faith, yet he acted upon the faith he had and he asked the Lord Jesus to increase his faith, so that was true faith in action.

I think we often get this idea of faith as something where we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died on the cross for our sins, that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and that he died for our sins and thus has the power to free us from the ultimate penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God and eternal torment in hell. Yet, faith means putting everything on the line for God. We may not come to Christ with enormous knowledge, but if we come to him with child-like faith that says, “I believe; help me overcome my unbelief,” that is genuine believing faith, because it completely puts our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to change our hearts, minds, way of thinking, behavior, actions, etc. It invites Jesus Christ to move us in a new direction with our lives and expresses a desire to no longer walk in the unbelief we had previously been living under. That is what it means to repent and that is what it means to have believing faith; obedient faith that submits to our Lord and that surrenders our wills to him, and that puts a new song in our hearts.

There’s a New Song in My Heart / John W. Peterson

There’s a new song in my heart
Since the Savior set me free;
There’s a new song in my heart,
‘tis a heavenly harmony!
All my sins are washed away
by the blood of Calvary;
O what peace and joy nothing can destroy:
There’s a new song in my heart!

The Train

The Train / An Original Work / July 17, 2011

The train is coming down the tracks.
It captures all who in faith lack.
The engine is controlled by man;
Leads each captive to ruin.

The cars, they are God’s holy church,
Which follows men who are on the search
To trap the church in their own snare;
For Christ they do not care.

The track, it leads to God’s judgment
For those who are not repentant,
But follow, each his own stubborn way,
And Jesus they do not obey.

So God is calling to His bride
To turn from sin and in Christ abide;
Stop placing their trust solely in man;
Trust Christ for His forgiveness.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men” (Mark 7:6-8).

Who is Jesus?

Sunday, July 17, 2011, 7:27 a.m. – The song, “Our Awesome God,” was playing in my mind, again, when I woke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Mark 8:27-38:

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Predicts His Death
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

My Understanding: The people of Jesus’ day did not recognize Jesus for who he was. In John’s gospel, he recorded that Jesus came into the world, but the world did not recognize him; he came to his own people, but his own people did not accept him as their Messiah and Lord. Yet, it was essential that Jesus’ own disciples realized who he was, especially because of what Jesus was going to tell them next concerning his own death and resurrection, and because of what being followers of Jesus Christ was going to cost them in the future. So, he asked his disciples first of all what everyone else was saying about who he was, and then he asked them who they thought he was, because it was important that they did not think like the world did, but that they had a clear understanding of who they were following.

I believe the same is true of us today. I believe it is very important that, if we are going to be Jesus’ true disciples, we have a clear understanding of who Jesus really is. “Oh,” you might say, “I know who he is. He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, our Lord and Savior who died on the cross for our sins so that we could live eternally with God in heaven.” That is most certainly true, yet he is so much more than that.

He is not only the Son of God, but he is God the Son, i.e. he is the second person of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the creator of the universe and he holds all things together (see Col. 1:15-23). He is our high priest, so we need no others to speak to God on our behalf, i.e. we need not go to another human priest, or pray to any other gods, nor pray to people who have died before us, because he is our only mediator between us and God the Father. He is our redeemer who bought us back from sin to faith in Jesus Christ so that we could be restored to a right relationship with God the Father, and so we could walk in obedient fellowship with him. He saved us, not only so we could go to heaven one day, but he saved us from bondage to and the control of sin over our lives on a day-to-day basis. As well, he saved us so that we could live to please him and to obey him in all things. One day he is going to judge us and the world, and he will say “I never knew you” to all those who had the notion that nothing was required of them but that Jesus does it all.

Next, Jesus told his disciples that he was going to have to suffer many things. He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law. They would kill him, but after three days he would rise again. In other places in the gospels, Jesus warned his disciples that they would face the same kinds of treatment because they were his followers. The whole of the New Testament continually emphasizes the cost of following Jesus Christ, i.e. that when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we die with him to our old way of life and we are resurrected to a new life in Christ in which Christ now rules our hearts and the old life of sin is done away with. And, we are taught that being in Christ means sharing in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. So, if we are truly following Jesus Christ with our lives, we have left our old lives of sin behind us, we are living to please God in all things, and we are walking in obedient daily fellowship with him, we will be persecuted and rejected for our relationship with Jesus Christ, even by the religious leaders of our churches today and/or by people in our modern-day congregations.

If we think that being a Christian means that everyone will like us and that we are to live lives pleasing to men so that people see us as “good” or “nice,” and/or that being a good Christian means that people will view us as such, then we need to go back and read through the New Testament and read the life of Jesus and his teachings. Jesus was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. He was despised and rejected of man. Men hid their faces from him. They mocked him, accused him falsely, thought he was crazy, and even accused him of being of Satan. He said that if this is how he was treated, we, as his followers, will be treated the same. So, if we think being a follower of Christ will not mean rejection, persecution and great suffering for our faith, then we do not have in mind the things of God, just like Peter did not when he rebuked Jesus for telling his disciples all that he must suffer at the hands of the religious of his day. And, if we are not being rejected for our faith, then we need to ask why. Maybe we are not standing out as true followers of Jesus Christ in following him and we are living just like the world, so there is no reason to reject us.

Yet, Jesus taught his disciples what it meant to truly be followers of Jesus Christ. He said that if anyone was to come after him as one of his followers, he must first of all deny himself. To deny (disallow; forbid; prevent) oneself means to stop making ourselves and our interests, desires, wants and needs the objects (goals; motivation) of our lives, actions and decisions. The second requirement for being a follower of Jesus Christ is to take up our cross daily and to follow him. When Jesus made the decision to take up his cross and he carried it to Golgotha, he knew that this meant rejection, persecution, beatings, mocking, abandonment, betrayal, false accusations, and that a horrible death awaited him. Although he was God and he could have stopped it all, he submitted himself to the cross to die in our place so that we could go free. So, he denied his rights, as God, and he took upon himself the place of a servant because he loves us so very much. So, taking up our cross daily means daily dying to our own selfish desires, to sin, to what we want out of life, and to humbly submit (surrender) ourselves to God’s will and direction for our lives in all things.

Jesus said that if we want to save our human lives, i.e. our fleshly and worldly desires and our own selfish wills for our lives to live as we please and to do what pleases us without regard for or inquiry of God as to what he wants and desires of us, then we will lose our lives for eternity. Yet, if we choose to deny ourselves and to take up our cross daily and to truly follow the Lord Jesus Christ in living to please him and to obey him, leaving our lives of sin behind us, then we will be saved for eternity.

We cannot live our lives for the goal of gaining the world and the world’s approval of us and possessing the things of this world to satisfy the longings of our hearts, because if we do, we will forfeit our souls. As well, if we are ashamed of Christ and our relationship with him, i.e. we tell our friends and family members about all the worldly things going on in our lives – about our possessions, achievements, or the pleasures this world has to offer us in the world of entertainment, education, etc. – and yet we fail to tell them about Jesus Christ and what he means in our lives, because we are more concerned about fitting into and pleasing this “adulterous and sinful generation” in which we now live rather than with following after and living lives pleasing to Christ, then we will have no part of God’s eternal kingdom. We need to know and to understand this so that one day we don’t hear, “I never knew you.”

Our Awesome God / An Original Work / May 25, 2011

I praise and adore You, Father,
I worship and praise You, Lord.
You are such an awesome God,
Who loves us so much, You implore
Us to follow You each moment
Of the days we have on earth,
So that we might live forever
With You, ‘cause of our new birth.

I praise and adore You, Jesus.
You died on a cruel tree,
So that we might be forgiven
Of our sins; You set us free
To love and obey You only,
While we bow on bended knee,
As we humbly walk before You,
Serving freely; You to please.

I praise and adore You, Spirit,
You came in to live with me.
Jesus sent You to abide
Within us, and our comfort be.
You guide and direct and counsel
Us in all of our God’s ways,
So that we can live for Jesus,
To follow Him all our days.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

A Divided People

Friday, July 15, 2011, 4:44 a.m. – The song, “A People Divided,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Mark 7:1-23:

Clean and Unclean
1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2 saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

9 And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’”

17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? 19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)

20 He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

My Understanding: In summary of this passage, the Pharisees and some teachers of the law gathered around Jesus. They saw his disciples eating with unwashed hands. They asked Jesus why his disciples did not live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with unwashed hands. Jesus quoted Isaiah, and applied it to the teachers of the law, by saying they honored God only with their lips but their hearts were far from God; they worshipped God in vain; their teachings were but rules taught by men. He went on to describe them as those who let go of, set aside and nullify the word of God in order to hold on to and serve their own traditions; the traditions of men.

Then, Jesus went on to explain away these empty traditions of men handed down from generation to generation, by explaining what truly makes a man clean or unclean. He said that nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him, for what goes into the stomach comes out of the body. Rather, it is what comes out of a man (from his heart) that makes him unclean, such as evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, etc.

The world we live in today, including in the church, is not all that different from what Jesus encountered when he walked this earth. We have leaders and pastors in our churches just like these Pharisees and teachers of the law, and most of them are not in traditional churches, either. The worst offenders, I believe, are those within the circle of the current trend of how to do church in America today, which is based off of books and the teachings of men. They give the impression that they are the real deal, genuine, and authentic, etc., yet as you go from church to church, they are all, pretty much, carbon copies of one another, and are mostly all following the same non-biblical patterns and philosophies based off the teachings of men. And, more often than not, they hold to the teachings of men above and over the teachings of scripture, as many of them are taught to do so in their training. I know, because my husband and I went through such training, and I know, because I have personally witnessed this taking place in churches and among church leaders.

The Pharisees were so concerned with external appearance and following men’s teachings and rules that they neglected the greater things of showing love to their fellow man and obeying God’s commands. In fact, Jesus said that they nullified the word of God by their traditions. Many of these new teachings of men also nullify the word of God and provide the worst offense to the gospel of Jesus Christ when they teach that repentance (turning from sin) and obedience to God and to his commands are not necessary for salvation. Added to that is the teaching that God is pleased with you no matter what you do. They are giving people a false hope of salvation based upon a lie, and they are leaving people in their sins, which is not love. This teaching waters down the gospel and makes the narrow path to heaven on which few travel into a broad road that many travel, because then more people will come to “faith” in Jesus Christ, but what often is being taught is not biblical faith.

These modern-day teachings of men also divide the church, as they follow the concept of grouping people according to the personality of the church, demographics, etc. They use modern-day marketing schemes and techniques for attracting the people of the world to the church, yet they are attracting them by worldly means to worldly methods and worldly programs. If they do this, they are not attracting them to Jesus Christ or to the gospel but to a cleaned-up version of what the world is offering them. And, thus, they often tell parts of the body of Christ, “we have no need of you,” please go someplace else, because they feel those people, although genuine believers in Jesus Christ, don’t fit their particular circle within the body of Christ. I find these words, on this subject, from I Corinthians 12 particularly encouraging:

But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other (vv24b-25).

God’s design for his church is described in I Corinthians 12. We are all one body no matter if we are old, young, plump, skinny, tall, short, black, white, Hispanic, male, female, a factory worker or an executive at a desk in an office, or we are rich or poor, etc. We are not to exclude members of the body of Christ based upon the teachings of men. Yet, many of today’s pastors are being taught to do just that and are told who they should desire to have in their churches and who they are to watch out for and to discourage participation from. And, I have heard on more than one occasion a pastor saying he would be glad to help a person find another church that would be a “better fit.” What better fit is there than for the body of Christ to work together as one unit as God intended and to not say to parts of the body, “We don’t need you because you don’t fit our demographic or our vision for our church”? Ezekiel 34 has some strong words of exhortation for these shepherds of the flock.

These same pastors and shepherds of the flock are following the same pattern as the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus’ day when they tempt us to follow them and their teachings in pure and absolute devotion above and often in place of God’s holy word. They become idols to us when they get us to follow them above God and to follow their books above following the word of God and when they use manipulation and threats to get us to submit to them and to their human philosophies, telling us that somehow we are being disunifiers if we do not conform, yet they are the ones dividing the church and pulling away God’s people from pure devotion to Jesus Christ to follow man. The disciples had the correct response to this: “We must obey God rather than man.”

The goal of this new wind of teaching is to divide and to destroy Christ’s church. It may not be the goal of individual pastors, but it is Satan’s goal and I believe that it is the goal of those behind the scenes who initiated all of this new teaching, for it excludes people from the kingdom of God who think they are “in,” and it excludes genuine believers in Jesus Christ from the body because they “don’t fit” a particular human mold that someone decided was necessary for “growing” churches. Yet, that is counterproductive to how the church (the body of Christ) is truly to grow through genuine transformations of the human heart.

Jesus is warning against those who divide the church through stressing men’s teachings over and above the word of God and who call for devotion to men and man-made traditions over and above devotion to our Lord God and service and obedience to him only. He is warning against those who divide the church by telling those within the body “We have no need of you,” and who would forsake the teachings of scripture in order to fulfill the goals of men. He is warning against those who would give out a false gospel in order to achieve the approval of and the following of men to men’s teachings and by doing so offer religious Band-Aids to people for the serious wounds of men’s sins which are festering and are in need of God’s divine grace and transformation of the human heart. He is warning against those who care more about outward appearance than they care about what is in the human heart and in helping people to be free from their sins and free to obey God. And, he is calling out to us, his church, to forsake our man-made idols, to turn from our sins, and to turn or return to him as our One and Only Lord, God and King.

I pray we will heed his warnings and that we will cease following after men and man-made idols that divide us, including following after political parties that even divide the church, and that we will choose to follow him as our only master, doing what he asks us to do.

A People Divided / An Original Work / July 4, 2011

Flick’ring torches; hatred; violence;
Crashing windows; guns of men;
We are a people divided
By our love of pow’r and fame.

Idols marching; they’re in chorus;
Their goal to destroy the church,
Tempting us to follow them in
Pure devotion; them we search.

Leave your idols. Follow your God.
Make Him your Lord God and King.
Be a living witness for Him,
And your off’rings to Him bring.

Repent of your sins and worship
Him; a living sacrifice,
Put your all upon His altar.
Leave your old life way behind.

Flick’ring torches; hatred; violence;
Crashing windows; guns of men;
We are a people divided
By our love of pow’r and fame.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/a-people-divided