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."

Monday, October 21, 2019

Speak the Truth


Psalm 40:1-3 ESV

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

In Context

In context, this “pit” is not talking about hell, and the deliverance is not speaking of our eternal salvation, either. For, we don’t have to wait and wait for the Lord to answer us with regard to his salvation. It is always the Lord’s will at all times to deliver people out of the pit of hell, and to set them free from their sinful addictions. For, today is the day of salvation!

So, if you are holding on to your sinful practices, convinced that it just isn’t God’s timing to deliver you yet, then you are believing a lie straight from hell. If, too, you are convinced that you are the one having to wait on God to deliver you, then that is a lie, too. And, it is from Satan. For, Jesus already provided the way of salvation. He is not the one holding out. You are!

You just have to surrender your life over to him, leave your life of sin behind you, and in the power of God’s Holy Spirit walk daily according to the Spirit of God and no longer according to the ways of this world and of your sinful flesh. For, you just have to accept God’s grace into your life by saying “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and by living a self-controlled, upright and godly life while you wait for our Lord’s soon return (Tit. 2:11-14).

The Pit

“The pit,” nonetheless, appears to be some type of danger, difficulty, trial or tribulation. It could be a temptation to sin, a severe persecution, a sickness, and/or a severe attack of the enemy on our bodies, minds or emotions. For, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are going to face trials, tribulations, persecutions, and attacks of the enemy. And, some of them can be quite distressing and overwhelming to the point to where we just cry, “Help!”

But, I must note here that the deliverance doesn’t always come in a physical form. Sometimes the Lord does relieve us FROM our suffering, but often he relieves us THROUGH our suffering, for suffering is part of the Christian life (Ro. 5:3-5; Phil. 3:7-11; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; 4:12-17; 1 Thess. 3:1-5; Jas. 1:2-4; Matt. 5:10-12; Lu. 21:12-19; 2 Co. 1:3-11; Heb. 12:3-12).

So, the “pit of destruction,” in this case, has to do with those things which threaten to undo us, which move us to fall apart emotionally, which pressure us to get us discouraged, and which persuade us to lose faith, etc. In fact, “depression” can easily be translated “pit of destruction.”

Yet, it isn’t that we have to wait on the Lord to get us out of depression, for the mere fact that we are depressed (if we are) is a signal that our faith is failing. But, we may have to wait and wait for him to deliver us from those situations which are tempting us to give up and to surrender to the flesh rather than to surrender to God. Or, we may have to wait and wait for that particular battle to cease and for us to be victorious and at peace.

Basically, as followers of Christ, we are in a spiritual battle with the enemy of our souls. So, we have to resist him, flee temptation, put on that armor of God daily, and draw near to God in full assurance of faith. For, the flesh is at war with the Spirit, and the Spirit is at war with the flesh.

So, this is real warfare. And, sometimes it is very painful and distressing. But, we need to persevere, and we must keep calling on God, and keep fighting the good fight of faith, and the Lord will put us on that solid Rock, and he will give us a firm place to stand. For with each battle we face, and with each battle we win in the power of God, the stronger we will become in our walks of faith and in our battle against Satan.

Singing songs of praise to God, too, is one of the best ways to fight off the enemy when he is attacking us. For, he hates praise to God. And, singing lifts our spirits, as well. It is one of the ways in which we put on that armor of God and we use that sword of the Spirit with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us. But, also, the Lord does put a new song in our hearts with each battle that we win, which is for the glory and praise of God.

Psalm 40:4-5 ESV

Blessed is the man who makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are more than can be told.

There are many lies circulating within the church, or within organized Christianity. And, these lies are opposed to Christ and to his gospel. For, they come from Satan. I listed one of those at the beginning of this writing, but there are many, and they come in various forms. But, at the root of these lies is Satan, for he wants to pull us all away from following Jesus Christ with our lives, and he wants to convince us to keep walking in sin.

So, he has convinced much of today’s church to buy into his lies. He has convinced many to believe that they can merely acknowledge Jesus Christ and what he did for us in dying on a cross so that we could be delivered from our sin and have eternal life with God. But, they don’t teach repentance and obedience to Christ and to his commands. They don’t teach that we have to leave our lives of sin behind us and to follow Jesus Christ with our lives if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God.

But, that is what scripture teaches. It says we must die with Christ to sin daily, and we must live with Christ to his righteousness. We must walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. And, we must walk in obedience to the Lord’s commands or we don’t know God and he is not in us or us in him, and we don’t have eternal life with God (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8; 1 Pet. 2:24).

So, making the Lord our trust is not merely professing faith in him or making some public declaration of faith in him, or saying some words after someone in a prayer. Making him our trust means submitting to his will for our lives, making him Lord (owner-master) of our lives, leaving our lives of sin behind us and following our Lord in obedience to his will and to his ways (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; Jn. 10:27-30; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; Jn. 6:35-66).

Psalm 40:6-8 ESV

In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

So many people think that God is pleased with them if they go to a church service once a week and sing praise and worship songs and listen to a sermon. They think if they give to the church and to the needy, if they have a ministry of some kind within the church, and if they have daily devotions that God is pleased with them that they gave him that time.

But, God does not delight in what we are willing to give to him, if we are the ones still in control over our own lives, calling all the shots, and determining what we will or will not do for God. God doesn’t want what little we are willing to offer him. He wants it all! He wants us on the altar of sacrifice as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is our acceptable worship of God – no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but transformed of the Spirit of God in the renewing of our minds by God.

Psalm 40:9-10 ESV

I have told the glad news of deliverance
    in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

Not only does our Lord want us fully surrendered to him, letting him have complete control over our lives, with him determining what we do and what we don’t do, but he wants us telling others about his love and grace, too.

But, he wants us telling them the truth, not the “feel good” messages that so many are preaching these days which leave people still in bondage to sin while promising them heaven when they die. He wants us proclaiming the truth with regard to the way to deliverance from sin, which is via true repentance and walks of obedience to our Lord (Eph. 4:17-24).

In Truth

An Original Work / January 10, 2012

Fellowshipping with my Lord, Savior, King.
He is Lord of all; Lord of ev’rything.
He is with me through ev’ry hour of day,
List’ning to me speak, as I humbly pray.
He cares for my needs,
and He intercedes for me,
‘cause He loves me in ev’ry way.

Obey His commands, and do all He says.
Sitting at His feet, daily in His word,
Let His word speak to me in ev’ry way,
Giving comfort and healing through each day.
Oh, how Jesus loves,
And He cares for you,
Which is why He died for our sins, in truth.

Love our Lord God, Savior, and King of kings.
Worship Him in truth, for He reigns supreme.
He created us with a plan in mind
For us to be His servants, and Him mind.
Follow Him in truth;
Go where’er He leads.
Share His love with others, and their needs meet.
Others: their needs meet.


Monday, October 21, 2019


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