Tuesday, October 17, 2017, 6:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “He Lifted Our Burdens.” Speak, Lord,
your words to my heart. I read Psalm 25
(Select vv. ESV).
Our Enemies
(vv. 1-3)
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
let me not
be put to shame;
let not my
enemies exult over me.
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall
be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Very few people, I would
suspect, know no enemies. Even if we were to try our hardest to not make enemies,
we couldn’t please all people at all times. Yet, our goal in life should not be
to be people who everyone will like, but it should be to live for God, to serve
him, and to live holy and godly lives, pleasing to him, as well as it should be
to love our neighbors as ourselves. And, when we do that, we will incur
enemies, because loving God and loving others with God’s love is bound to be
met with opposition and resistance.
For, it will mean that we
will love as God/Jesus loves, we will stand for righteousness and holiness, and
we will hate what God hates. God hates wickedness (sin), but he loves the
sinner. It will also mean that we will stand on the Word of Truth, because
therein is found the only hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God
Almighty, which comes from God. Yet, when we do that, we will be hated and
persecuted as Jesus was hated and persecuted, because not all people will
embrace the truth, but many will, instead, buy into the lies, because the lies
tell them they can continue in their sin but still have the hope of eternal
life with God in heaven.
God’s Ways
(vv. 4-5, 8-10)
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me
your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are
the God of my salvation;
for you I
wait all the day long.
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he
instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches
the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and
faithfulness,
for those
who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
The goal of our salvation is
not merely to be forgiven our sins, to escape hell, and to have the hope of
heaven when we leave this earth. If that is all there is to it, then why not
die as soon as we are saved? What would be the point of living, if we are just
going to continue in our sins? We are no better off than we were before, if
this is true, because we will still be in bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin,
and bound for hell, if God’s grace to us does not deliver us out of slavery to
sin and free us to now walk in his righteousness.
But, thanks be to God, his
grace to us is that, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God made the way
for us to be crucified with Christ in death to sin, and to be resurrected with
Christ to newness of life (to be reborn of the Spirit of God), created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness. By the Spirit, we can now be
putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and we can now be walking according to
the Spirit and to God’s righteousness on a daily basis. For, Jesus set us free,
not just from the punishment of sin, but also from our addictions to sin. Sin
no longer is to have dominion over us.
So, now that we have died
with Christ to sin, by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have been born again of
the Spirit of God, and we have been given new lives in Christ Jesus, our Lord,
to be lived to his righteousness, our desire should be to want to know the ways
of the Lord, and then to walk in those ways. We should not be looking for
loopholes to continue in our sin while claiming that God’s grace covers it all.
We should be so in love with God/Jesus, that we continually seek to do his
will, his way, with his heart, and in his power.
Fear God
(vv. 11-15)
For your name's sake, O Lord,
pardon my
guilt, for it is great.
Who is the man who fears the Lord?
Him will he
instruct in the way that he should choose.
His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his
offspring shall inherit the land.
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes
known to them his covenant.
My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will
pluck my feet out of the net.
Yet, if we want to know the
ways of the Lord, so that we may walk in them, then it begins with the fear of
the Lord. We must walk in the fear (honor, respect, esteem, value, worship,
obedience, submission to, and reverence) of God. Too many people who preach “the
gospel” these days do not teach the fear of God or obedience to God/Jesus
Christ and his Word, or submission to Christ and his cross. But, they teach an “entitlement”
gospel which says that God does it all, and that nothing is required of us. There
is no death to sin or living to righteousness in this “gospel,” and thus there
is no fear of God, no honoring of him or respect shown to him.
Yet, where there is no death
to sin, no living to righteousness, and no fear (reverence, respect) shown to
God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), there is also no salvation from sin, and
there is no hope of eternal life with God. For, the scriptures teach that if we
continue walking in sin, i.e. if we make sin our practice, we don’t have the
hope of eternal life with God in heaven, but a fearful expectation of judgment
and the fires of hell. But, for the one who walks in the fear of the Lord, who
conducts his life according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh,
he/she will have the hope of eternal life.
Our Troubles
(vv. 16-18)
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am
lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out
of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive
all my sins.
One of the blessings (or
benefits) of our salvation from sin, and our walks of faith with our Lord, is
that God/Jesus/The Spirit is our helper, our counselor, and our comforter in
times of trouble and distress, as well as he is our healer, deliverer and
strength. In our loneliness or affliction, he desires that we call on him and
that we trust in him to be all that we need and to supply all that is necessary
for us to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to him. He cares deeply about us,
he has a heart of compassion for us, and he will see us through any and every
trouble or difficulty which comes our way. Although he doesn’t always deliver
us from our troubles, he will help us and strengthen us through them, resulting
in his praise, honor and glory. Amen!
He Lifted Our Burdens / An Original Work / February 15, 2014
Based off Isaiah 9:2-7
People walk in darkness.
They abide in their sin.
It has power o’er them.
True belief escapes them.
Jesus Christ came to save
them.
He gave His life up for them;
Crucified; died for our sin,
So we might be forgiven,
And have life up in heaven.
Many come to know Him.
God’s love now o’erflows
them.
They rejoice in vict’ry.
Their sin is but hist’ry.
We were once bound in
slav’ry.
Jesus lifted our burdens;
Set us now free from Satan,
So we now walk in freedom.
Sin has no more dominion.
Praise be to our Savior!
He showed us His favor.
He took all our burdens;
Cast them all upon Him.
He is our mediator;
The Light which shines in
darkness.
Counselor in our troubles;
He gives peace now in our
hearts;
Joy which is everlasting.
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