Not in Want

Thursday, September 29, 2016, 9:09 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 23 (ESV).

Preface

The Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth, took on human form, suffered as we suffer, and was tempted in like manner as we are also tempted, yet without sin. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and familiar with grief (See: Isaiah 53). Although there were those who followed him, in the truest sense of the word, the many turned away from him, and sent him to the cross to die, although he had done no wrong. They killed him because they didn’t like his message, and for the reason that he claimed to be God and to be equal with God, and because he confronted them with their sins; and also due to the fact that he did not join with them in their hypocrisy. Those who opposed him the fiercest were the religious leaders in the temple of God, and so it may be with many of us today.

Yet, when Jesus died on that cross, it was for a purpose. “For our sake he” (God the Father) “made him” (Jesus, the Son) “to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Co. 5:21). And, that is the essence of the gospel of our salvation. Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24). He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (2 Co. 5:15). He died, as well, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who conduct our lives not after the flesh but according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God (See: Ro. 8:1-14).

God’s grace to us is not a free license to continue in sin, while we hold on to the promise of heaven when we die. His grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14). If we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk in darkness, we are liars, and the truth is not in us (1 Jn. 1:6). Yet, Jesus called us out of the world, to be separate.

So, for the Lord Jesus to truly be our Shepherd, we must repent of our sins, turn to faith in Jesus Christ, and walk in obedience to him. He said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. He said that if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self), we will lose them, but if we lose our lives (die with Christ to sin), we will gain eternal life (Lu. 9:23-25).

Paul reiterated this in his letter to the Romans. He said that if we walk according to the flesh, we will die, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live (See: Ro. 8:1-14). A saved life is a crucified life with Christ in death to sin, and it is a life resurrected with Christ in newness of life, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See: Eph. 4:17-24; Ro. 6). The old has gone, the new has come.

My Shepherd (vv. 1-3a)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

    He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

    He restores my soul.

So, if we are truly in Christ, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord (owner-master) and Savior of our lives, then he is also our shepherd (ruler, teacher, guide, pastor, counselor, nurturer, helper, protector, provider, physician, encourager, comforter, parent, and fortification). And, this is why we shall not be in want for anything, because he is our all-in-all, i.e. he is our all-sufficiency for everything we need to survive in this world. He is our satisfaction, and we need no other. We find our joy and fulfillment in him, and we are not lacking for any good thing that he has for us.

When we truly trust in Jesus Christ to be our all-sufficiency, and we don’t feel that we have to solve all our own problems, or look to the things or people of this world in order to be fulfilled, then he fills us with his peace. If I had to picture a scene in my mind that represented peace to me, it would be this picture painted for us here in this psalm. For me, the thought of lying down on a grassy hill beside the waters, with a shade tree to give me shade and protection from the heat of the day, is my picture of peace. Yet, the beautiful thing about this is that we can have this kind of peace even if all around us is pure chaos, because this peace that Jesus gives is not conditional to our circumstances, but only to us resting in him.

The Valley (v. 3b-4)

He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

    your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

Jesus leads his followers in his righteous ways, but we must still choose to follow him. That is why he said that daily we must take up our cross and follow (obey) him. Daily we submit to him, and we surrender to his will. It is of necessity that we choose to go his way rather than our own way. The more we walk according to his righteous ways, the closer we grow in our relationship with him, and the greater our understanding is of his will for our lives, and the more our desire is for him to do his will. And, there is no better way to live than to walk in his ways; in his righteousness. Amen!

Yet, the closer we get to our Lord, and the more we conduct our lives in the power of his Spirit within us, and according to his truth, the greater the opposition will be against us. In other words, as long as we are just living our lives middle down the road, and we are not standing out for Jesus, and we are not sharing the full gospel of salvation with the lost, but we are living primarily to please ourselves, Satan is not threatened by us, and therefore he is not as apt to come strongly against us.

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Matt. 11:12 NIV84).

But, when we are forcefully advancing the kingdom of God through the teaching of the Word, and through living godly and holy lives, set apart from (unlike) this sinful world, the greater the enemy’s attacks will be against us. Satan opposed the prophets of old, John the Baptist, Jesus – God the Son, and Jesus’ apostles, and he will oppose us, too, if we are doing and teaching what they did and taught with regard to God’s eternal kingdom and his righteousness and holiness. Yet, we don’t have to be afraid of the enemy’s attacks against us, because the Lord is our Shepherd, and he will never leave us or forsake us, but he will comfort us and will give us all we need to stay strong in our faith, to resist Satan, and to keep on following Jesus.

You Prepare (vv. 5-6)

You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

Though our enemy (enemies) may come against us in powerful ways, which they are doing now, and they may threaten to undo us, we have to remember that God/Jesus is still on the throne, that he is absolutely sovereign over all he has made, and that he has complete authority over every power, rule and dominion on this earth, and in dark places (See: Eph. 1:15-23; Col. 1:15-20; Rev. 3:14; Col. 2:9-10; & 1 Pet. 3:21-22).

We have to remember, as well, that they will one day meet their doom unless they repent of their sins and turn to faith in Jesus Christ, and that we have the hope of heaven when we die. They may kill our bodies, but they can’t kill our souls. So, we must keep on in the strength of the Lord, and in the power of the Spirit within us, in doing the will and work God has for us, and trust him to work it all out for our good, and for the salvation of human lives. We must endure with Christ in suffering for the sake of the gospel, and leave our enemies to God to work his will in their hearts and lives. And, we need to pray for our enemies to be drawn to faith in Jesus Christ.

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/112351857

The Power of the Dog

Wednesday, September 28, 2016, 11:06 p.m. – The Lord Jesus, again, put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” I believe there is a very good reason why he has been putting that song in my head nearly daily this past week or so. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 22 (Select vv. ESV).

I Cry Out (vv. 1-2)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

    and by night, but I find no rest…

Do you ever feel like that? You pray and pray, and yet God seems to remain silent concerning your requests. You have unsaved loved ones who seem to be going deeper and deeper into the depths of sin. You have been praying for years for their salvation, and yet they are still following a sinful path. The nation you grew up in appears to be going down the toilet rapidly, and straight to hell, and you question why God has not yet intervened. The church you have always loved has largely become one with the world, and she has drifted far away from her pure devotion to Jesus Christ. So, you wonder how much longer this will go on before something drastic happens to get her attention, so that God can restore her to fellowship with him.

You or people you know and love are going through heartaches, hard times, financial struggles, divorce, death of a loved one, dealing with rebellious children, having to care for aged parents, health issues, natural disasters, war, disease, famine, mass murders, violence, persecution, and the like. And, you have been praying for your (or their) circumstances, but there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight, and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, you may be even questioning God as to why these things are happening, and why he seems to be silent and not coming to the rescue.

If this is where you are, then know that there is hope for those who patiently wait on the Lord, and who believe in his sovereignty; who believe he knows what he is doing, and that he is going to work out all things for the good of those who love him, and who have been called according to his purpose, so rest in HIM. Remember what scripture says: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13). Amen!

Like a Roaring Lion (vv. 6-8, 12-13, 16-18)

But I am a worm and not a man,

    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me;

    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” …

Many bulls encompass me;

    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

they open wide their mouths at me,

    like a ravening and roaring lion…

For dogs encompass me;

    a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

they divide my garments among them,

    and for my clothing they cast lots.

If you are at all paying attention to what is going on in the world, or at least to what is being projected as going on in the world, you must be aware that things are heating up big time, in particular in America right now, and that they are headed toward some ultimate end. Just about daily now we are being bombarded with stories, here in America, of mass shootings or of cops killing people of color, or of people killing cops, and of subsequent riots and unrest. The Lord gave me the following to write two years ago:

“The following countries have had recent political uprisings, and many of them are now under (or are in the works of being under) a “national unity government.” In 2010: Afghanistan. In 2011: Tunisia, Egypt, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Turkey, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Yemen, and Greece, etc. In 2012: Syria. In 2013: Ukraine. I know there are others, too.

“So, what has been the M.O. in all of these countries? First of all there is a problem or a crisis situation in which rebels and/or terrorists or some outside entity of some kind has come against the established government or against particular people groups within these nations. Or, perhaps the government itself is accused of a particular crime against their own people and so the people rise up against their own government in order to protest and/or to overthrow the government. This is followed by chaos, uprisings, bombings, riots, and conflicts with authority, etc. in which innocent people are killed and property is destroyed.

“So, this gets the attention of Obama (the U.S.) and the International Community. Then they come to the “rescue” to intervene in the situation, and to either assist in the overthrow of the government and/or to assist in the obliteration of “terrorists.” They often promote themselves as saviors who are coming to protect innocents against tyrannical governments or against terrorists. Yet, they end up killing even more innocents and destroy even more property. Then, they establish “unity” or “transitional” governments. And, they also threaten all who do not “cooperate” with the “international community,” with dire “consequences.”

There is terminology for what happened in these other countries, and for what is now happening in America. It is called “Order out of chaos.” In other words, certain world powers are creating these chaotic situations so that they can go into these nations, and into the USA now, with a preconceived solution to their/our problems, but not to save us, but to overtake us, and to bring us all under the rule of the beast, i.e. the New World Order, which is a totalitarian regime, and under a one-world religion.

So, persecution of Christians is part of this, too. They are working hard to rid the world of the Jesus of the Bible, and of his gospel, and of his messengers, too, so that they can bring the world together in forced unity with the beast New World Order. And, so they are building a case against religious extremists, which includes evangelical Christians. We are being tagged as hatemongers, bigots, disunifiers, intolerant, and the like. And, we must be reprogrammed or removed from having any impact on other people’s lives, because what we believe is opposed to Satan and his kingdom, so his plan is to obliterate us. Yet, he can kill our bodies, but he can’t kill our souls. He may be able to thwart the spreading of the gospel in some areas, but he can’t kill God’s word, for it will endure forever.  

Come Quickly (vv. 19-21a)

But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

Deliver my soul from the sword,

    my precious life from the power of the dog!

    Save me from the mouth of the lion!

When we see all these things taking place, and especially if God has made us aware of all the deceptions and manipulations of truth, so that our eyes are opened to what is really going on behind all the play-acting, our hearts are burdened for the world around us to have their eyes opened, too. We are concerned that so many are deceived, and that they are following after lies, so we pray for God to open blinded eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, so they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified through faith in Jesus Christ (See: Ac. 26:16-18).

The real “power of the dog” here is deception and manipulation. A dog is a false prophet, an evil person or entity whose goal is to deceive and to trap the people of this world in their web. So, the people of this world need to be delivered from this “power of the dog,” i.e. its ability to blind people’s foresight so that they can’t see the truth, but they believe the lies. The mouth of the lion, as well, is deception, trickery, cunning and craftiness in deceitful scheming. So, so many people, particularly here in America, which is where I live, and know, have bought into these “dogs’” lies and dramatizations and false flags, and so they took the bait, and now they are on the “dogs’” fishhook. So, I pray for the people of this world to have their eyes opened so they are no longer deceived, but that they will come to the knowledge of the truth, and will trust Jesus Christ to be their only Savior.

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/112351857

A Just Cause

Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 6:11 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 17 (ESV).

A Heart Prepared (vv. 1-5)

A Prayer of David.

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!

    Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

From your presence let my vindication come!

    Let your eyes behold the right!

You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,

    you have tested me, and you will find nothing;

    I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

    I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have held fast to your paths;

    my feet have not slipped.

So many people have the wrong concept of God’s salvation. They think that Jesus died for their sins just so they could be forgiven of their sin, escape the punishment of hell, and just so they could go to heaven when they die. Yet, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. He died, too, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but who conduct our lives according to the Spirit. God’s grace is not a free license to continue in sin. His grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for his return.

So, before we take our requests to the Lord in prayer we should examine our own hearts and lives before God. We ought to make sure that we have nothing in our lives which would hinder our prayers, i.e. which would hinder our communion with our Lord. Especially if we are calling on God to vindicate us, i.e. to defend our cause, or to exonerate us of our enemy’s charges against us, then we need to have clear consciences before the Lord. We should not be holding on to any known sin in our lives and yet ask God to deliver us from the enemy’s attacks against us. And, yet, many people do, and then they wonder why they are not delivered. And, yet, God does not always deliver us from attacks, but he will deliver us through them.

An Honest Appeal (vv. 6-9)

I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

    incline your ear to me; hear my words.

Wondrously show your steadfast love,

    O Savior of those who seek refuge

    from their adversaries at your right hand.

Keep me as the apple of your eye;

    hide me in the shadow of your wings,

from the wicked who do me violence,

    my deadly enemies who surround me.

When we do call upon God in prayer, and in truth, we should believe that he hears us and that he will answer us. We might not always get the answer we would like, but we must pray in faith. And, then we must accept whatever answer we receive from the Lord, and trust him to work out all things in our lives for our good, and for the salvation of human lives. We must believe that God loves us, and that, no matter how he answers our requests, that he always has our best interests at heart, because he knows what we need. In other words, he does not promise us that we won’t have to go through suffering. In fact, he promises that we will, and that we will be hated, rejected and persecuted for our faith in him, just as he was treated. Yet, he allows these things in our lives for our good – to strengthen and mature us in our walks of faith, to teach us patience and endurance, to develop within us godly character, and so we might not rely on ourselves, but on HIM.

A Difficult Situation (vv. 10-14)

They close their hearts to pity;

    with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

They have now surrounded our steps;

    they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.

He is like a lion eager to tear,

    as a young lion lurking in ambush.

Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!

    Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

from men by your hand, O Lord,

    from men of the world whose portion is in this life.

You fill their womb with treasure;

    they are satisfied with children,

    and they leave their abundance to their infants.

We all have enemies, i.e. people who don’t like us for one reason or another, who maybe are jealous of us, or who resent us, or who are offended by us. Some people who don’t like us will just avoid us. Others will act like they do like us, but then they will stab us in the back when we aren’t looking. They will then say the opposite to others about us from what they say about us to our faces. And, still others will come out fighting against us with both fists (literally or figuratively), and will not try to hide their disdain for us at all. If I had my druthers, I think I would choose the latter, because, at least, it is honest. I hate lies and deceit! I would rather someone just tell me they don’t like me than to pretend like they do, and then stab me in the back.

Yet, our enemy, Satan, is a great deceiver, and so are his followers. They will try to win us over with their lies and their manipulations because they want to lead us away from our pure devotion to Christ, and to lead us to believe their lies, in order that we might fall prey to their deceptions. Some of these messengers of Satan will even pretend to be followers of Christ so that we will trust them, and so we will believe them, and so we will follow them and their teachings or their messages. These messengers of Satan come in many forms, too. Some of them are politicians, and some are heads of governments, and some are pastors of churches or church elders. They may even be our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers or members of our own families. So, we must be very discerning, so we don’t fall into their traps. For their goal is to bring us down, and to destroy our faith.

One of the biggest ways this is happening right now is through trying to discredit and thus obliterate the gospel, as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles, in favor of messages which appeal to human flesh and which don’t confront sin or call for repentance, but which make people feel good about themselves in their sin. The gospel of Jesus Christ is under severe attack globally, and so are its messengers. Many of our leaders are making a huge case for the removal of the gospel, as Jesus taught it, and for replacing it with an “all inclusive” message (faith) which accepts (is lenient towards) all faiths and all walks of life. They want to bring the world together as one, in unity, and to do away with all which divides us as the people of the world. Well, the gospel divides, and thus they will attempt to remove it, and its messengers, unless we agree to conform to the “all inclusive” religion.

So, we must pray for our enemies, and those who would come against the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we must pray for God to turn their hearts to heaven. He changed Saul’s (Paul’s) heart so much so that he turned from a persecutor of Christians to one of the great leaders of the early church and an apostle of Jesus Christ. And, we must pray for ourselves to respond in love to people who hurt us, who reject us, and who treat us despitefully.

A Heart Satisfied (v. 15)

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

    when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

When we truly find our satisfaction in Christ alone, and we honestly believe that he is all we need in this life in order to survive and to thrive, then the enemy’s attacks against us can’t truly harm us. They may hurt, and it may be painful, but they can’t destroy us, because our all sufficiency is Christ, and as long as we have our Lord, we will rest secure, and be at peace.

Our enemy is out to destroy us. I do not deny that. But there isn’t anything he can do to us or take away from us that will remove God’s love for us, or his watch and care over us, or that will rob us of our salvation. He can destroy our bodies, and take away our homes and our possessions, but he can’t kill our souls. He can persecute us, and even falsely accuse us, and turn people against us, but God will never abandon us. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can rest in his love and comfort. So, we must commit all these matters to the Lord in prayer, and we must commit to him our very lives, and trust him to see us through whatever the future holds for us.

And, if you do not know Jesus today as your Lord and Savior, I must say to you that one day Jesus is going to return to judge the world, and to reward his servants. And, you will have to give an account to God for what you did with his Son Jesus. Jesus died for the sins of the entire world so that we could go free, not just from eternal damnation, and not just so we can go to heaven when we die, but he died to set you free from bondage to sin, and he has given you the promise of hope of eternal life with God in heaven if you will put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. So, today will you choose life, or will you choose death? Will you choose Jesus, or will you choose to follow Satan straight to hell? Choose rightly!

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/112351857

My Chosen Portion

Monday, September 26, 2016, 7:38 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “A Believer’s Prayer.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 16 (ESV).

Preserve Me (vv. 1-2)

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

    I have no good apart from you.”

The psalmist asks of the Lord that he keep watch over him, that he preserve him, and that he hold on to him and safeguard him. He loves his Lord, and he does not ever want to stray from him, or to look to any other to satisfy him. His desire is to continue in Christ/God, and in his love and in his Word, and that he would not part from his God in any way. And, so, he takes refuge in his Lord, i.e. he looks to the Lord to meet his needs and to fulfill the deep longings of his soul. God/Jesus is his owner-master, and he wants no other. So, he fills his life with the things of God, and he longs for his times of sweet fellowship with his Lord in prayer and in his Word. And, he does not run after other gods or thirst after the ungodly things this ungodly world has to offer him. May we all emulate his relationship with his Lord.

The Saints (v. 3)

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

    in whom is all my delight.

The saints of God are those who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord, and as Savior of their lives, who are walking in Christ’s righteousness and holiness. They have been sanctified and made holy by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for their sins, and by faith in Christ and in his sacrificial offering for our sins. They have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and have been resurrected with Christ in newness of life, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). They are to be honored for their walks of faith and obedience to God. And, we should delight (find pleasure) in them, for they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In today’s world, though, even within the institutional church, sadly enough, the godly are not usually honored, and worldly Christians do not delight in them, either. In fact, the godly are often treated as though they are weird (crazy) or abnormal, and society is accentuating this very much these days.

If you are godly, and you take God and his Word seriously, and you do what he/it says, and you follow Christ where he leads you, and you tell people about Jesus, and you share with them the gospel of salvation from sin, you might be tagged as a religious extremist, a hatemonger, a bigot and/or as intolerant. And, you will, undoubtedly, be hearing many messages which tell you that you need to change, and that you need to not be trying to convince people about faith in Jesus Christ. They say you should just love on everyone, and accept (show lenience towards) people for who they are, right where they are, no matter their lifestyles of choice or their religious beliefs. We should love them as Jesus loves us, but we should not be accepting of sin or of other religions. That is called permissiveness. All this, of course, is working its way toward a one-world religion under the beast.

Other gods (v. 4)

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

    or take their names on my lips.

Yet, those who malign Christ’s servants and messengers, i.e. his saints, and who would try to present the saints of God as people who need to be exterminated or reprogrammed, are those who are following after other gods which will never satisfy the deep longings of their souls. They are those who are chasing after temporal happiness that will never fulfill, and that is fleeting. They may or may not appear as happy people on the outside, but they will never be truly at peace, nor will they experience true lasting joy, for they are looking for love in all the wrong places. And, in the end, everything they sought after, i.e. the pleasures of this life, will pass away.

Pleasant Places (vv. 5-6)

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

    you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Instead of spending our lives going after what will never truly satisfy our souls, but will only bring much sorrow and emptiness, and will end badly for us, we need to choose God/Jesus as our only portion (sustenance or nourishment for life), which the Lord maintains (upholds, keeps). He keeps us in his care by the power of his Spirit now living within those of us who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And, he has given us a wonderful inheritance in Christ Jesus, i.e. he has given us eternal life with God, forgiveness of sins, his righteousness and holiness, and freedom from both the penalty of sin (eternal damnation) and freedom from slavery to sin, so that we can now become servants of Christ’s righteousness.

Godly Counsel (vv. 7-8)

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

    in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me;

    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

I love how this psalmist describes his relationship with his Lord, and I identify with him. My Lord often gives me counsel and instructs me in the night. He might wake me up any hour of the night with a song in my head, and he might speak with me, through his Word, and through his Spirit, concerning just about anything having to do with my life or with the world in which I live. My Lord speaks to me all throughout the day and into the night, and in the middle of the night. That is how our relationship works, and I can talk with him any time of day or night, too. This, to me, is what scripture means when it says that we are to pray without ceasing. Because the Spirit of God lives within us, we are continually in God’s presence, and we should always be in an attitude of prayer to where we can hear him speak to us and we can speak to him any time of day and any place.

As well, if I set the Lord always before me, that means I do this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that he is foremost in my mind and life all the time, even in the middle of the night, and that I am always conscious of his presence and of his voice speaking his words to my heart. It means, as well, that my life is not compartmentalized into work, social, family, entertainment and religion/faith, etc., but that my life is all about faith and my relationship with Jesus Christ, and that all else falls underneath my relationship with Jesus and flows from that. When we have this view of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we see him as always there with us, by our side, and therefore we don’t fear the enemy coming against us.

The Path of Life (vv. 9-11)

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

    or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

When we are in Christ through faith in Jesus Christ, we are under God’s care and protection. He promises us that he will never leave us or forsake us, no matter how bad things get in this world of ours, so in that we can rest secure. Even though humans will betray, reject, and leave us, our Lord will never leave us. He is always there watching over us, guiding and leading us in the way that we should go. The pleasure and joy that we find in our relationships with him surpasses by far any temporal joy or pleasures this sinful world has to offer us. So, we should give our whole hearts to him in unadulterated devotion, to walk in his ways and in his truth.

A Believer’s Prayer / An Original Work / July 31, 2012

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

https://vimeo.com/114796263

Take Refuge

Sunday, September 25, 2016, 9:11 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 5 (ESV).

Prayer (vv. 1-3)

Give ear to my words, O Lord;

    consider my groaning.

Give attention to the sound of my cry,

    my King and my God,

    for to you do I pray.

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

What is the purpose of prayer? It is our time when we commune with our Lord, i.e. when we talk with him and he talks with us. When we pray, we share with him our requests, we confess our sins, we cry out to him for help in our suffering and in our difficult circumstances, and we ask for wisdom and understanding. In prayer, we also give praise and thanksgiving to God for who he is and for all the things he has done, and for things promised which we know he is yet to do. As well, we seek his face for counsel and direction, and to know his Word and how it is to be applied to our daily lives. Sometimes, when we pray, all we can say is just “Help!” Other times we can articulate more clearly what we want to say. In prayer, we also grow closer to our Lord as we get to know him and his heart, and we begin to reflect that heart in our relationships with other people. In prayer, we also trust our Lord with our life’s circumstances, and we rest in his love and grace.

Evildoers (vv. 4-6)

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

    evil may not dwell with you.

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;

    you hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies;

    the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

Sometimes we must cry out to God because of all the wickedness which is going on in the world. We pray for wisdom and understanding, so that we are not caught in a web of deceit and trickery. So much of what is being passed off as truth these days is total or partial fabrication, and for the purpose to deceive and to manipulate people via that deceit. So, that is why we must pray and ask God to show us what is truth and what is lies, so we don’t follow the lies, thinking we are following truth. We need to ask the Lord to give us discerning spirits, and to hear his voice clearly, and that we would not believe everything coming out of the mouths of our politicians, our government leaders, and many who call themselves ministers of the gospel. Just because it looks real or it sounds real does not make it real (truthful).

We also pray for the lost world to have their eyes and ears opened to the truth, so they may be turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified through faith in Jesus Christ (See: Ac. 26:16-18). And, we pray for the church, much of which has been caught in this web of deception, and are following after humans when they should be following after God. We pray their eyes may opened, as well, and that they will discern truth from lies, and that they will repent of their sins, and will renew their walks of faith with the Lord Jesus Christ, for many are living in spiritual adultery against their Lord and are following after the idols of man.

Righteousness (vv. 7-8)

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

    will enter your house.

I will bow down toward your holy temple

    in the fear of you.

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

    because of my enemies;

    make your way straight before me.

I think that often, when we are faced with life’s difficulties, persecutions, and opposition to our faith and to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that it draws us closer to our Lord, and it makes us stronger and even more determined to follow our Lord in full obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives. When things are going well for us, and we don’t face much opposition, it is possible to become more complacent or casual in our relationships with Jesus Christ. But, when we face trouble and hardship, it leads us to call on God in our trouble and to ask him to help us, and that is where we grow in our walks of faith and in our commitments to service to our Lord. We need this, so that when things get even harder, which they will, we will be prepared for the battle, and we won’t give up in defeat at the first sign of strong opposition, which has come, and is only going to get much worse.

No Truth (vv. 9-10)

For there is no truth in their mouth;

    their inmost self is destruction;

their throat is an open grave;

    they flatter with their tongue.

Make them bear their guilt, O God;

    let them fall by their own counsels;

because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,

    for they have rebelled against you.

There are many liars and deceivers in our world today whose words cannot be trusted. And, it takes much godly discernment to see through all the smokes and mirrors, so that we can see clearly the truth which lies behind all the fabrications and dramatizations. So, I caution you quite earnestly to not believe everything you see and hear, even if it looks real to you, because just about anything can be faked, and is being faked. Remember, we were warned in scripture about a great time of deception to come upon the earth, and that even the elect would be susceptible to being deceived. And, remember that deception is called that for a reason, i.e. it is not obvious. Clever liars and tricksters, who are great actors, are able to make people believe lies are truth and truth is lies, so test everything in prayer and against the Word of God, and ask the Lord to open your eyes to truth.

Take Refuge (vv. 11-12)

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

    let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

    that those who love your name may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous, O Lord;

    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

One of the biggest problems in our society and within the church is that this generation (post WWII) has grown up on television, and television has become central in many homes, even in Christian homes. TV can convince us that anything is real, even if it is totally play acted. Reality and make-believe now often overlap each other to where it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other ends. The world is, thus, able to manipulate human minds, via TV, so that we follow the lies instead of the truth, and we buy into the world’s system, values, thinking and way of behaving more so than we follow the ways of God – his values, thinking, and actions. So, if we, the people of this world, spend most of our free time in front of the TV instead of in the Word of God, logic says we are going to follow and believe more of what we see and hear on TV rather than believe what God’s Word teaches.

So, if we want to not fall into deception, and we are praying that God will open our eyes to the truth, then we, as the people of this world, need a serious break from entertaining ourselves with TV, smart phones, tablets, PCs, and the like, so that we can listen to hear God’s voice clearly without all that other “noise” interfering and shutting out his voice. If the world lost electricity, and we had to go without electronic instruments, I think that might just be a blessing from Almighty God, because the people of this world would then talk with each other, and they would call on God in their distress, and they would be able to hear God, because all these other things would not be muffling his voice. I have been without a TV for 8 years now, and I don’t miss it one bit! I would not want it back for anything!

Yet, just because we take a break from the world of make-believe does not ensure that we will call on God, or that we will grow in our walks of faith with Christ, or that we will have our eyes opened to the truth. We must take refuge in our Lord. We must seek his face, and desire him above all else, and want to know his Word and his will for our lives, and we must obey what he teaches us and not be hearers only. We must replace what was worldly in our lives with what is godly. In place of sitting in front of a TV every evening, and taking into our minds all the world has to offer us, we should spend that time in prayer, in God’s word, in ministering to the needs of others, in building personal relationships and communications with other humans, and in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost world. We should be sowing spiritual seed in other people’s lives, and we should be abiding in Christ and his word abiding in us, and we should be doing his will.

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/112351857

Rulers Take Counsel

Saturday, September 24, 2016, 5:33 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 2 (ESV).

Nations Rage (vv. 1-3)

Why do the nations rage

    and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

    and the rulers take counsel together,

    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

“Let us burst their bonds apart

    and cast away their cords from us.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ is under attack in the church, in our world, and in the USA like never before in my lifetime. The enemy infiltrated the church in order to destroy her and to destroy the gospel, and he has largely been successful, for a time. The church, which used to preach the gospel as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles, has largely gone the way of the world, and has turned the church into big business, and they are marketing it just like big business, too. Since they operate just like any other business, they have to have a product that sells to the general public, and that will keep their customer base coming back for more of the same. They also have to compete with others who are selling the same product, and so they must change things often in order to keep up with their competitors.

Thus, the gatherings of the church, at least here in America, have largely turned into big shows for the purpose of entertaining the masses. They must give people what they want, and what makes them feel good inside, so they will come back for more. So, they entertain them in volumes, and they use gimmicks and trickery to keep them coming back. Thus, the Word of God has largely been replaced with books on how to grow your church, i.e. your business, and with books written by mere men. Movies, which have sexual scenes in them, or which glorify sin in any way, have “approved” clips played from them for the masses during “worship” services. Many pastors have turned into “game show hosts,” rather than being men of God and of the Word of God. They paint for us a picture of “church” as having to be “fun.” And, thus, the gospel must be diluted so as not to offend anyone, because if you offend people, they won’t want to come back to your place of business, right?

The product they are selling has little resemblance to the gospel as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles. They teach people that all they have to do is pray a prayer after someone, and that they are now guaranteed heaven when they die, no matter what they do from this point forward. They tell them, too, that God requires absolutely nothing of them – no repentance, no obedience, and no surrender to Christ and submission to the cross of Christ. All they have to do is “believe,” which is rather ambiguous in the way they say it, as to what that really means. We have to remember here, though, that James warned that even the demons believe, and they shudder. So, obviously there is something more to salvation than some ambiguous belief which is absent of the cross of Christ in the life of the “believer.”

Not content with just destroying the church and the gospel, as taught within the church, they have gone to silencing those who are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ outside the walls of the institutional church. If we read the speeches of our leaders much at all, it should be real clear where they are heading with all of this. They want to do away with all which divides us as the people of the world so that we can all come together as one people united under a one world government with a one world “all inclusive” religion, of sorts. So, they have been working hard to create an environment in the USA, and in the world, where they can build a case for having to silence those they deem to be “religious extremists,” who they also call hatemongers, bigots, and intolerant. So, they have created “false flags” and have orchestrated riots, mass murders, racial tensions, and have pitted various people groups against one another so that they have an excuse to “save us” from ourselves.

We must know that the media, for the most part, is party to all of this, and that they only report what they are told to report, and that much of what we see on TV, and think is real, is not real at all, or is partially real and partially faked or orchestrated to make it look like one group did something when it was really these world leaders who are doing this. So many of these mass murders we are seeing in the news are not what they appear to be at all, for these are orchestrated by world powers in order to subvert sovereign nations and to bring them into subjection to the New World Order. And, this is what is taking place in America now, too. We are seeing the same M.O. going on in our nation as we have witnessed going on in other nations throughout the world for some time now.

My King (vv. 4-9)

He who sits in the heavens laughs;

    the Lord holds them in derision.

Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

    and terrify them in his fury, saying,

“As for me, I have set my King

    on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;

    today I have begotten you.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

    and the ends of the earth your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron

    and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Yet, God is not shaken by them and their threats against his people, and neither should we be shaken by them, because their time is short, and their works will perish, and they will be destroyed by God. Instead, we should keep our hearts and our minds focused on Jesus Christ, and we should continue to share the full gospel message of salvation despite all threats and opposition against us. Our God is watching over us who are his, and he is completely sovereign over all that he has made. None of this catches him by surprise. The enemy can do nothing if God does not allow it. As well, Jesus never promised us that we would be free from persecution. In fact, he promised us that we would be hated and persecuted as he was, so it should not unsettle us that this is what is happening now in America, or in any country in the world.

Be Warned (vv. 10-12)

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

    be warned, O rulers of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear,

    and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son,

    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

    for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

There is a warning here to those who are coming against the Lord, and against his Anointed. God may allow you to have some level of success, or apparent success, for a short period of time, but your doom is sure unless you repent of your sins and you turn to follow Jesus Christ with your lives. It is not enough just to give lip service to God while you plot against his people, his saints, behind their backs. God sees what you do in secret, in dark places, even if no one else sees, and he remembers, and he will pay you back for what you have done unless, of course, you do repent of your sins and turn to faith in Jesus Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ will not be diluted to something which does not resemble the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by him and his NT apostles. His Word endures forever! You can’t kill it, no matter how hard you may try. His Word teaches us that coming to Christ means we die with Christ to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. It teaches us that God’s grace is not a free license to continue in sin without guilt and without remorse, but God’s grace, which brings salvation, teaches us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, godly and upright lives while we wait for Christ’s return. It teaches us, too, that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. This is what it means to walk in the fear of the Lord. And, all who take refuge in HIM are blessed.

For Our Nation / An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/112351857