Habakkuk 2

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

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

God is Watching


Psalm 139:1-6 ESV

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

For the follower of Jesus Christ, these words are comforting and assuring. God, who created us, knows everything about us. He knows us much better than we even know ourselves. He knows us inside and out, through and through. He knows what we are going to do or say even before we know it. He knows what we are thinking, and he knows our attitudes, too, for he can see all the way into our hearts, and he knows our true motives, as well.

He knows it all even before it happens, and he sees it all, too. Nothing, not anything is hidden from God’s sight. So, no matter where we go, God is there watching. No matter what we watch, or what conversations we have with people, or what activities we are involving ourselves in, God is there observing our every move. And, what we do matters to him, for he made us for a purpose, and that purpose is that we give glory to him by our lives.

Yet, many people live their lives as though this is not true, and many of them are Christians, too, but who are living in spiritual adultery against their Lord. For, they have partnered themselves with lust and lewdness, and they are believing the lies of wolves in sheep’s clothing rather than the truth of God’s Holy Word. In fact, they are rejecting much of God’s Word in favor of the teachings of mere mortals, because the lies comfort them in their sins.

For, the lies tell them that they can be saved from their sins and be bound for heaven and yet still walk in sin, and still live in rebellion against Almighty God. For, they are convinced that once they are saved, God’s grace covers it all, and their sins no longer matter to God. And, some even go so far as to say that God no longer sees when they sin, and so they can be involved in all kinds of wickedness and gross immorality, and they say that when God the Father looks at them, he only sees Jesus, who is God the Son.

Yet, many of them are not merely denying the truth of God’s Word to console them in their sins, but they are now actually joining in with these wolves in sheep’s clothing to stand in opposition to God’s Word and to God’s messengers, too. And, they are campaigning against the true gospel of our salvation, accusing it of being “works-based salvation” or hateful, intolerant, extreme and/or radical.

And, they are doing this all in God’s face, too, with him watching, but in direct opposition to him, targeting his Word and his messengers (witnesses) who are spreading the truth of his gospel. And, too, they are building a case against those who are teaching the truth, calling them radical and extreme, or bigoted and intolerant, or hateful, while they themselves are embracing the lies.

For they are a rebellious people,
    lying children,
children unwilling to hear
    the instruction of the Lord;
who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
    and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
    prophesy illusions,
leave the way, turn aside from the path,
    let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 30:9-11 ESV

Psalm 139:13-16 ESV

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

Yet, there is comfort here for those who are following the Lord with their lives. There is comfort here, too, for those who are being accused falsely, and who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ and for the sake of his gospel.

God made us. He knit us together in the womb’s of our mothers. He placed us in the families where we grew up. He created each and every one of us with a unique design and purpose. Not one of us is the same, and although we were all created to give glory to God by our lives, we don’t all have the same exact purpose or calling in life. We don’t all have the same function.

But, all those who are followers of Jesus are to leave our lives of sin behind us to follow our Lord in surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands. This is his will for all of our lives. He created us for this purpose when he gave us new birth in him. Our lives are no longer to be our own, to live them however we want. Sin is to no longer have dominion over us, but Jesus is to be our only Lord (owner-master).

God has a design and purpose for each one of our lives, and for all of us it is to give him glory by how we live our lives, to submit our lives to him, and to reverence him and to give him honor by following him in obedience. And, we can do this because of what he did for us on that cross. For, he died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. His grace to us is deliverance from the control of sin over our lives and it is freedom to walk in holiness.

For, it is not grace if it leaves us still bound in our sins, still walking in the flesh, yielding to sinful practices. God’s grace delivers from slavery to sin, and it empowers us to live righteously before our God all our days. Amen!

And, so if you are one who is holding to the truth, and who is sharing the truth with others, and if you are presently under fire for believing the truth and teaching the truth to others, and your friends and family have turned their backs on you, and they have betrayed you, know that God is fully sovereign over your life. All the days ordained for you were written in his book before one of them came into being, so find comfort in that.

Know that the same God who made you, and who knows all about you, and who created you for a purpose, and who is watching over your life, has a plan and a purpose for this, too, and he will give you all that you need to survive this onslaught, which is truly directed at him, and to come out victorious. Just keep on in doing what he has called you to do, and keep entrusting your life into his hands, and he will carry you through.

Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

Again, God created us for a purpose, and that purpose is for us to give glory to him with our lives. And, he gave us his grace, and he provided the way for us to be saved from our sins, and to have eternal life with him, too. And, that way is the way of the cross in our lives, in dying with him to sin that we might live with him to his righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

So, we should all pray for God to search our hearts, and to show us what is in our hearts, for anyone of us can be self-deceived, at times. Anyone of us can convince ourselves, at times, that either God doesn’t see, or that he doesn’t know, or that he doesn’t care, now that we are under grace.

But, his grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts (worldly passions) and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14).

And, the truth of his gospel of salvation is that we must die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness if we want to have eternal life with him. This is not saying we will be perfect, but that sin should no longer have dominion over our lives, but that Jesus should be our only Lord. And, now we should walk (conduct our lives) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

For, if we walk according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, we are going to die in our sins, not have eternal life with God (Gal. 5:19-21). And, we are all going to reap what we sow, too. For, if we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But, if by the Spirit, we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8). So, know the truth and live the truth, for your life depends on it.

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.


Tuesday, May 14, 2019

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