Psalm 36:1-4 ESV
“Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his
heart;
there is no fear of God
before his
eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his
iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased
to act wisely and do good.
He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself
in a way that is not good;
he does not
reject evil.”
People who are still bound in sin, who are still under the
control of sin and of Satan, who have surrendered their lives over to the lusts
of their flesh, without conscience, have no fear of the Lord, no honor or
respect for God.
The sad reality of this, though, is that many of them
profess faith in Jesus Christ. They make a show of righteousness. They go
through the motions of religious practice. And, they can fool many people. For,
they are skilled actors, and many of them are charmers and manipulators.
They are proud. They are convinced they will not be found
out, that no one will know the depths of their sin. They are very clever in
their own eyes, plotting evil in secret, continuing their path of degradation while
making an outward appearance of all goodness.
They are liars and deceivers who tell so many lies that they
begin to believe their own lies. Even though they may know the truth
intellectually, it has not reached down into the depths of their hearts, for they
will not receive it. They may receive it on a surface level, but they don’t let
it impact how they live, ultimately, for their hearts are still being controlled
by the flesh.
They tend to follow cyclical patterns of thought and behavior,
too, for sin is addictive, and addiction goes in cycles, for it repeats the
same behaviors over again. So, not only will they repeat the same (or similar)
sins over and over, but also the same conversations, the same excuses, the same
verbal attacks of others, and the same lies and denials, etc. It all gets
repeated.
The longer they are able to continue in this addictive cycle,
without serious consequence, the more confident they become that they will not
be found out, and that no one will really know what they are doing when no one
can see but God.
They are skilled liars and deceivers, so they will not only
lie to cover-up their sin, after the fact, but they will proactively lie in
order to give a cover story for the sin that they are plotting to commit. Not a
word from their mouths can be trusted. It doesn’t mean they never tell the
truth, but that they tell so many lies that they are not trustworthy.
They are also skilled at mind games, playing with others’
emotions, trying to trip them up with their words or to get them riled up,
hoping that they will “blow it” so they have reason to accuse them. They are
users and abusers who take advantage of others for their own selfish gain.
They may even get others to join in with them in their dissipation,
or in their trickery and deceit. And, they may do this out of spite or to be
mean and cruel to someone else. For, they are consistently plotting trouble, and
they are up to no good, not rejecting evil, at least not for long, or not in
full sincerity.
This is the lot of the wicked who have given themselves over
to the lusts of their flesh, and who have no fear of God before their eyes.
Psalm 36:5-6 ESV
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your
faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments
are like the great deep;
man and beast
you save, O Lord.”
On the other hand, our Lord is to be fully trusted. He will
never leave or forsake those who are truly his. He will never betray, nor will
he be unfaithful. Every word of his can be trusted. Amen!
His love is everlasting. It is dependable. His love is not
surface only. It is not fakery. It is not just emotion. He doesn’t say one
thing and then do another. His love is self-sacrificial. It prefers what is
holy, righteous, godly, moral, honest, and upright. He truly cares.
Jesus’ love for us considers what is truly best for us, as
God knows best. He knows what we need, and he will provide. He goes before us
and he prepares the way for us and he guides our steps each step of the way
when we put our faith and trust in him. He counsels us in the way that we
should go, and he strengthens and empowers us to do what he has gifted and
called us to do.
He listens to our prayers if we are listening to him and if
we are following him and his lead, and if we are not resisting him in spirit
and if we are not refusing his counsel. And, he speaks to us through his Holy
Spirit who he gave to us to teach us all things and through his Word.
He is never too busy or too distracted to listen and to care
about us and what is on our hearts. He sympathizes with us in our weaknesses,
and his Spirit intercedes for us when we are at a loss for words to pray.
He encourages us in our walks of faith, and he comforts us
when we are hurting and in pain. He counsels us when we don’t know what to do,
and he shows us the right way to go. Sometimes, at least for me, he will answer
my thoughts, before I even pray, with a song that speaks right to my heart with
just the right words I need to hear.
The love of God is so awesome! It is unfathomable! And, I am
so thankful that my Lord loves me, and that he takes such good care of me. I
thank him and I praise him. My life belongs to him. I am his, and he is mine.
Have
Thine Own Way, Lord
Words
by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907
Music
by George C. Stebbins, 1907
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just
now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
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