God's Dwelling Place

Sunday, January 15, 2012, 4:15 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 84:

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah

Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

My Understanding: In the time that this psalm was written, the dwelling place for the Lord was in a physical temple where the people of God went to meet with their God. Yet, when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, his death opened the way so that God’s people could come into his presence without having to go to a physical place to meet God. Through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, the curtain that divided the Holy of Holies from the people was torn in two, making the way possible for all of us to come into God’s presence through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. The temple of God, thus, is now both in individual lives of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior, and it is in the collective body of believers in Jesus Christ, comprising the church (not the institutional church), the body of Christ; his people; his saints; his servants.

So, in making this psalm practical and applicable to our lives today, it must be understood in the context of the new covenant relationship between God and his people, through Jesus Christ’s shed blood on the cross for our sins, in light of the teachings of the New Testament (in the Bible), and in light of our understanding of what the temple of God is today. It is not a physical place or a building. It is not a corporation or a denomination. It is not a club or an organization you have to join separate from your relationship with Jesus Christ. The sanctuary of God is not a room in a building called a church. It is simply the body of believers in Jesus Christ throughout the world, and it is in our individual hearts and lives.

So, when we come into God’s dwelling place today, we are coming to God in either our own personal times of worship, Bible study and prayer during our daily quiet times with the Lord, or we are getting together with other believers in Jesus Christ (location does not matter) for a time of corporate worship, Bible study, prayer, fellowship and the sharing of spiritual gifts in ministry one to the other. And, our souls should yearn daily for those times alone with the Lord during our times of personal worship of God, as well as our souls should yearn for those times of spiritual fellowship, Bible study, prayer, the breaking of bread, and the mutual encouragement and edification of one another in the collective body of Christ. Other than my personal times of worship and fellowship with my Lord on a daily basis, there is nothing more precious to me than those times of true spiritual fellowship with other believers in Jesus Christ where we share our hearts with one another, lift one another up in prayer, sing praises to God in unity, study God’s word, and we grow together in the Lord.

Then, the psalmist speaks of God’s people’s individual relationships with God. Joyful and peaceful are those who find their strength, hope, fortress, and stay in the Lord. They have set their hearts on pilgrimage (a journey to a holy place), i.e. they have set their hearts on walking daily with the Lord Jesus Christ in his will, in his strength, under his guidance and direction, in obedience to his commands, and following him wherever he leads them. They have set their hearts on eternity with God in heaven, which begins right now where we live today, and is revealed by how we live our daily lives; revealing whether we are setting our hope on this world and what this world has to offer us, or whether our hope is in the Lord and we are living out our lives with eternity’s values in view.

This journey will take us through valleys of sorrow (low places emotionally or spiritually; trials; tribulations; and times of great testing of our faith), yet even during those low periods in our lives, because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we can rejoice! Jesus Christ was able to endure the cross because of the joy of the hope that was set before him, i.e. the salvation of human souls and lives. And, we, too, can endure these times of trial in our own lives, which we will undoubtedly encounter on our pilgrimage (our spiritual journey), by our faith in Jesus Christ, in his promises, and in the hope we have of eternal life with God in heaven. We must realize that this world is not our home. We are just passing through. Our true hope, joy and peace is found in our eternal relationship with Jesus Christ, not in this life or in this world. God will bless those who find their hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ along their spiritual journey, and he will fill us with much joy and peace along the way.

Then, the psalmist declared his true heart devotion to God Almighty. Just one day in close, intimate and personal fellowship with his Lord God, either by himself or with other believers, was better than a thousand days elsewhere. He would rather be a doorkeeper in God’s house than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. In other words, he would rather take the role of a servant (a doorman) than to dwell among (have his livelihood, or to participate with, have fellowship with, or join with) the wicked (the worldly; those living sinful lifestyles). This role of a doorkeeper, though, in light of the New Testament understanding of the temple of the Lord, takes on a new meaning. Jesus Christ said he was the door/gate into heaven and also into fellowship with God via salvation from sin, which then brings one into the corporate body of Christ, the church, as well. We come into this relationship with God by his grace, through faith (repentance and obedience) in Jesus Christ.

So, for one to be a doorman or a gatekeeper in the temple of the Lord today, this would be one who serves as a witness in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and/or one who serves as a watchman in warning the church of danger of sin and rebellion, and one who calls the church to repentance. Either is not a glorified position, and is one that will often meet with resistance and rejection, yet the psalmist declared he would, in essence, rather face ridicule, scorn and rejection for the sake of walking in obedience to God than to have the fellowship and acceptance of those out in the world living sinful lifestyles. I agree!

The reason for this declaration is that the psalmist knew the spiritual blessings of God in his life would far outweigh any acceptance of man he might experience by joining in with the wicked. He knew the Light of Life, i.e. the source of eternal life, and he knew him on an intimate level, too. There is nothing greater in this life than to know the Lord Jesus Christ, and to have daily communion and fellowship with him, and to walk humbly in obedience to him every day and every step of our lives. Jesus Christ will give us all we need for walking this journey with him, if have repented of (turned from) our sins, and if we have turned to walk in faith and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ by God’s grace and in his strength, and in the power of the working of his Holy Spirit within us in cleansing us and in making us holy. “O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man” (or woman) “who trusts in you.”

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go / George Matheson / Albert L. Peace

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

My Rock of Refuge

Saturday, January 14, 2012, 4:30 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song, “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” playing in my mind:

My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 71:

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;
turn your ear to me and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of evil and cruel men.
For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,
my confidence since my youth.
From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
I have become like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.

Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
They say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.”
Be not far from me, O God;
come quickly, O my God, to help me.
May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.

But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.

Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.

I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed.
My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.

My Understanding: The psalmist declared the Lord God to be his rock of refuge, to which he could always go. He was being oppressed by his enemies – wicked, evil, and cruel men, who had him in their grasp. He called upon God to save him and to deliver him. He called upon God’s mercy to meet him in his time of need. He asked God to not forsake him, although he was old and his strength was about gone. His enemies assumed God had forsaken him, and they seized upon this “knowledge” to pursue the psalmist, thinking no one would come to rescue him. So, the psalmist called upon God to come quickly to help him, and for his accusers to be dealt with according to God’s justice.

The psalmist was confident in God’s answer to his prayers, for the Lord had been his hope and his salvation since his youth. His mouth was filled with praise for his God, declaring God’s glory and majesty, his righteousness, and his salvation all day long. Even though God had allowed the psalmist to “see troubles, many and bitter,” still he was confident that God Almighty would restore his life again, and would give him much comfort. And, he coupled this declaration of God’s faithfulness with songs of praise to God for what he knew God was going to do in delivering him, and as though God had already answered, and had already acted in his behalf. Thus, he asked God, with confidence, to sustain his life so that he could declare the power of God to the next generation.

We Have Hope

In this life we will have trouble. We will face hardships. We will have physical enemies. We will go through times of distress and despair. We will be sad at heart, lonely and afflicted. Yet, for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, by God’s grace and through faith (repentance and obedience) in what Jesus Christ did for us when he died on the cross for our sins, we have hope. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Rock of refuge to whom we can go in prayer, and we can pray in confidence for him to deliver us. Yet, this may or may not be a physical deliverance. God sometimes allows us to go through difficulties in order to teach us lessons, to grow us in his grace, to make us holy, and to strengthen us in the faith and in our resolve to obey him in all things always. So, the deliverance we receive from God may be more on a spiritual level, rather than a physical level, as we learn to trust him fully with our lives and circumstances, and as he, thus, fills us with his peace and joy despite our situations.

The real deliverance thus comes when we are able to rejoice in the Lord and to be filled with his peace despite what we are going through, and despite real physical enemies coming against us, although our true enemy is Satan, and his demons. The battle against Satan has already been won, though. Jesus Christ conquered him in death and in his bodily resurrection back to life. So, to be delivered from the attacks of Satan on our lives, we must daily put on the spiritual armor with which God has supplied us (see Ephesians 6:10-20).

• The belt of truth buckled around your waist (arming ourselves with the truth)
• The breastplate of righteousness in place (being in a right relationship with God)
• Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace
• The shield of faith, with which to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one
• The helmet of salvation (to protect our minds from Satan’s accusations)
• The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (fight lies with truth of word)
• Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests
• Be alert (watchful; discerning), and always keep on praying for all the saints

When we daily put on this spiritual armor, with which God has graciously supplied for us who put our hope and trust in him, we will experience God’s peace and joy in our lives, and we will be filled to overflowing with love for God, for his word, and a with a desire to follow him, to serve him, to obey him in all things, and to be his witnesses in sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with others, so that they, too, may find this hope of salvation.

Yet, we can’t put on this spiritual armor unless we have first of all turned from our sin, been spiritually transformed by the working of the Holy Spirit of God in cleansing us from sin, and unless we have turned to walk in faithful obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, to make him Lord (master) of our lives, and have made the commitment to follow the Lord always. Then, we can rejoice in our own salvation in that we have been set free from bondage to sin, and then we have full access to this spiritual armor to put on daily so that we can experience deliverance from enemy attacks. And, in the process of daily putting on this spiritual armor, we will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will love him more and more, and we will be filled so much with God’s love and his word that it will just naturally flow out from our lives in praise and in sharing with others what Christ has done for us.

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness
Of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord,
I humbly pray.
Be my desire,
Set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in
Fellowship with You,
Listening to You;
Sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently,
Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting
For Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts
Be King today.
Help us to live for
You ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from
Your word within us,
Help us obey You,
Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment,
Lord, in Your presence,
Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,
Lord, our master;
Be an example
Of Your love,
Helping the hurting,
Lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You,
Follow You always,
Bearing their cross and
Turning from sin;
Walking in daily
Fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.

http://youtu.be/MnTH6DW98EI

Deep Waters

Friday, January 13, 2012, 6:31 a.m. – The song, “He Keeps Me Singing,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 69 (NIV 1984):

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

1 Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.

5 You know my folly, O God;
my guilt is not hidden from you.

6 May those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me,
O Lord, the LORD Almighty;
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
8 I am a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my own mother’s sons;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.

13 But I pray to you, O LORD,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
18 Come near and rescue me;
redeem me because of my foes…

29 I am in pain and distress;
may your salvation, O God, protect me.

30 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.
32 The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.

My Understanding: Both this psalm, and the song, “He Keeps Me Singing,” speak of “deep waters.” “Deep water” is a phrase meaning despair, or finding oneself in some kind of trouble or difficulty that seems overwhelming. David was overwhelmed by the attacks of his enemies. They hated him without reason. His enemies sought to destroy him. They tried to get him to pay, i.e. to make restitution for a crime he did not commit. They hated, scorned, insulted, made sport of, and mocked him. They gave him bitterness of spirit and severity of treatment as his “food and drink.” And, he was overwrought with pain and agony because of his enemies and their fierce attacks against him, even to the point of despair.

In his despair, David called out to God in prayer for God to save him. Yet, this was not the first time he called on God for help, because he stated that he was worn out calling for help. He did not see God at work in his circumstances, because he had not yet been rescued from his physical enemies. Because of his enemies’ attacks against him, he was a stranger and an alien even to the members of his own family. He asked God that those whose hope is in the Lord not be put to shame and disgrace because of David’s situation, so he showed concern for how his situation was affecting others, too. He committed himself to God who knows his heart and knows what sins he has committed, yet there is not a sense here that David was holding any sin in his heart, but that he was in a right relationship with God.

Passion for the house of the Lord consumed David. His mind and his attention were given fully over to the Lord and to his eternal kingdom. Because of his zeal for the Lord, “the insults of those who insult you fall on me,” he said to God in prayer. Basically he was saying that he was being insulted because of his fear, honor, respect and obedience to God, and that the insults he was receiving really were directed at God himself. By David following the Lord his God, he was being treated the same by God’s enemies as they were treating God. The apostle Paul quoted this about Jesus Christ when he said in Romans 15:1-3:

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

As well, when Jesus Christ cleared the temple of those who were turning the Lord’s house into a marketplace, the disciples remembered that it was written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” And, Jesus Christ, on the cross, was offered vinegar to drink. So, much of this psalm, though certainly about David, was fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, and death. Jesus Christ bore the pain of unjust suffering for us so that we could be free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal punishment in hell), and so we could be free from the control of sin over our daily lives. He died on the cross for our sins, taking upon himself the penalty of our sin so that we could go free. We, outside of Christ, are enemies of God and of the cross, so the insults against God are our sins, and our sins fell upon Jesus Christ.

Yet, Jesus Christ was not saved from death at the hand of his physical enemies. He was not saved from unjust suffering and persecution. He endured all that he suffered for you and for me so that we could go free. His death on the cross had all the appearance of defeat and a victory for Satan, but that was not the case. Jesus Christ conquered death, hell, Satan and sin on the cross in his death, and in his bodily resurrection back to life. And, he did this so that we can be conquerors over our enemy, Satan, and so we can live victoriously over sin, and so that we can live with God/Jesus Christ for eternity. And, that is where the true victory takes place. We may not see God’s justice in this life. He may or may not rescue us from our physical enemies while we are still on the face of this earth. But what he does promise us is victory over our true enemy, Satan, victory over sin, and eternity with God.

So, even though we may be going through deep waters right now, or we may have deep waters coming to us in the near future, we can still have hope, even in the midst of great trials and suffering. We don’t have to fear man or what man might do to us, because, for those of us who are truly in Christ Jesus by God’s grace and through faith (repentance and obedience), we can have the assurance that God is with us and that he will give us the strength and endurance we need to bear up under the pain of unjust suffering, and to be joyful, even in the midst of great difficulties. As well, we need to accept the sovereignty of God in our lives and in our circumstances, and see his footprints all the way. He has not abandoned us. He did not look the other way when these difficulties came upon us. They did not take him by surprise, though they may have taken us by surprise. He is with us, and he will give us all we need to go through these deep waters of our lives. He will provide!

We need to remember what the scriptures teach, too, with regard to our enemies. Jesus taught us that we are to love our enemies by 1) Praying for those who mistreat us, 2) Saying kind things about those who curse us, and 3) Doing good to those who hate us. As well, we need to also remember that our true enemies are Satan and his evil spirits, i.e. this is a spiritual battle that must be fought and won on a spiritual level with spiritual weapons of warfare (see Ephesians 6:10-20). When we have the right attitude and thinking with regard to our enemies, and when we apply these scriptural truths with regard to our enemies to our own lives, then truly we can be joyful and sing even in deep waters.

He Keeps Me Singing / Luther B. Bridgers

There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
“Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still,”
In all of life’s ebb and flow.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain;
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.

Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting ‘neath His sheltering wing,
Always looking on His smiling face –
That is why I shout and sing.

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep
See His foot-prints all the way.

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to world’s unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus –
Sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.

Christ in Me

Thursday, January 12, 2012, 4:44 a.m. – The song, “May Christ Be Seen in Me,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 66 (NIV 1984):

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

1 Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name.”
Selah

5 Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man’s behalf!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
Selah

8 Praise our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, O God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
Selah

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

My Understanding: The psalm begins with a call to praise and reverence Almighty God for his power against his enemies, and for his awesome deeds. It continues with a call to come and see how awesome are God’s works in man’s behalf. Then, it gives a synopsis account of how God had led his people out of slavery in Egypt, how Pharaoh’s heart was hardened by God so that he decided to pursue the Israelites after he had let them go, how the Israelites cried out to Moses about their predicament, how Moses then encouraged them that God would deliver them, and then how God used Moses to divide the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could go through the sea on dry ground. The Egyptians pursued them into the sea, but once the Israelites had all gotten safely to the other side, the Lord threw Pharaoh’s army into confusion so that they decided not to pursue the Israelites, the Lord made the sea go back in its place, and then the Lord swept the Egyptians into the sea so that they all drowned. Not one person who pursued the Israelites survived (see Exodus 14). And, this was followed by a call for the rebellious to not rise up against God.

Then the psalmist gave a call to praise Almighty God for how he had preserved the lives of his people. God had tested them severely and had refined them like silver. Silver is refined by placing it over the fire, by letting it heat up, and by allowing the flames of the fire to burn away any impurities. The silversmith must sit, holding the silver, during the entire refining process, so that the silver is not left in the fire too long and thus destroyed. The way the silversmith knows that the silver is fully refined is when he can see his image reflected in it (Resource: http://www.clarion-call.org/extras/malachi.htm). And, the analogy is obvious. We are the silver that must be refined in the fire of trials. God/Jesus takes us through these trials and difficulties, and he holds us through it all. He never lets go. The purpose of the trials is to burn away any impurities in our lives, i.e. to convict and purify of sinful behaviors and/or attitudes. When God/Jesus can see his image in us (“May Christ Be Seen in Me”), then he knows that the refining process is complete.

The psalmist then gave us some examples of ways in which God allowed his children to be refined and tested. They were brought into prison, and burdens were laid on their backs. And, God allowed men to ride over their heads. They were oppressed and afflicted, alienated and rejected, and were treated unjustly. And, this brings to mind Revelation 13:7-10 (NIV 1984):

He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

9 He who has an ear, let him hear.

10 If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed.

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

God’s word promises a day is coming when Satan (the Dragon), the beast and the false prophet will rule the earth, at which time the beast will be given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. Some believers in Jesus will go into captivity (prison), and others will be killed with the sword. This will be a great time of persecution for believers in Jesus Christ. Many throughout the world have already suffered such severe persecution. We, in America, have not yet had to face such opposition to our faith, but that time is coming. And, God is not promising physical deliverance from our enemies at this time, either. The deliverance he is promising us, though, is from our impurities, from our fears, and from our human natures which war against us on a regular basis. He will use this time to refine us like silver in the fire of trial, and to make us a holy bride ready for her husband, Jesus Christ. He promises to be with us all the way and to hold on to us and not allow us to stay in the fire too long to where we are destroyed. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, though we may feel differently about this at times, but he will provide a way out for us so that we can stand up under the temptation and/or trial.

Next, the psalmist spoke of vows he made to God when he was in trouble. Many people make promises to God during times when they are in trouble, but as soon as they are delivered, they forget the vows they made. I am certain that many of those vows are not well-thought-out, and/or are perhaps unreasonable, as they were made during times of duress, and thus must be reexamined before God, and confessed to God as spoken hastily. Others are, perhaps, vows that they should make anyway, even when not in trouble, and thus those are vows that should be honored. When we come into relationship with Jesus Christ by God’s grace and through faith, we enter into a covenant relationship with God, which is like a marriage. Thus, the vows we take are to leave our lives of sin behind us, and to endeavor, by God’s grace and in the power and working of the Holy Spirit within us, to obey our Lord in all things, and to follow him wherever he leads us. The Lord often allows us to go through times of trial when we stray away from those vows, and thus the trial serves as a reminder of the vows we made to God, and of our determination to keep those vows.

Lastly, the psalmist calls to all those who reverence, honor and obey their Lord God to listen to him tell of what God has done for him. He cried out to God in his suffering. God’s praise was on his tongue. He had not cherished (taken pleasure in; made as his treasure) sin in his heart, otherwise the Lord would not have listened to his prayers. Yet, the Lord did listen, and he did not reject the psalmist’s prayer, nor did God withdraw his love from him. Yet, this does not mean God will not allow us to suffer greatly. And, God’s answers to our prayers may involve even more suffering, because he knows what we need to have all our impurities cleansed, to strengthen us, and to make us holy, so that his image can be seen in us. The greatest way, thus, that God can answer our prayers is through delivering us through the trials, but not necessarily out of the trials. In other words, the greatest victory for us, as believers in Jesus Christ, is the victory over sin and over Satan and his attacks on us. We can be despised, rejected, falsely accused, put in prison and/or even killed for something we didn’t do, and we can still gain the victory if we stand firm in our faith to the end, and we don’t let Satan get the best of us. Stephen (in the Bible) was a great example of this (See Acts 6-7). He remained strong in his faith until his last breath.

Again, the purpose of the refiner’s fire of testing and trials in our lives is to purify us from all impurities and to make us holy, so that Christ may be seen in us. May we submit ourselves to whatever cross the Lord may have us to bear, so that Christ may be seen in us.

May Christ Be Seen in Me / Percy Crawford

O Lord, I give myself to Thee, and all that I possess;
I lay aside my sinful pride and claim Thy righteousness,
My will lies shattered at Thy feet, I pray Thy will be done,
My only plea to live for Thee and magnify Thy Son.

O may I count all gain but loss, save as to Thee 'tis gain;
Let me not shun the promised cross, nor shirk to suffer pain,
Then lead me, Lord, up Calv'ry's hill, forth to the cross with Thee,
And there pour out my life with God, As Thou didst Lord for me.
O humbly may I serve Thee, Lord, as in Thy will I tread;
And may I live anew in Christ, as risen from the dead.
Then closely walking by Thy side, may love flow out thro' me,
That those whom Thou shalt lead my way may, too, find life in Thee.

Chorus
May Christ be seen in me, O Lord,
Hear Thou my earnest plea;
O take me, fill me, use me, Lord,
Till Christ be seen in me.

In Truth

This song, “In Truth,” is about our intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, about how much he loves and cares for us, how he listens to the prayers of those who are his servants, how he cares for our needs, and about how he intercedes for us to God the Father. It is about the importance of time spent daily in his word in hearing the Lord speak his truths to our hearts, and about how he comforts and heals us. It is about how, “in truth,” he died on the cross for our sins so that we could be free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternity in hell), and so we could be set free from the control of sin over our day-to-day lives. And, it is about how he has called us to not only be saved from sin, but to be his obedient servants in following him “in truth” wherever he leads us, and to do whatever he has called us to do and to be, including being his servants to others in meeting their needs.


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.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free):
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/in-truth

Song on video:
http://youtu.be/7wrSHlJxgl4

Our Desert Experiences

Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 6:11 a.m. – The song, “Near the Cross,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 63:

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

They who seek my life will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God’s name will praise him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

My Understanding: The title of this psalm sets the stage for the words expressed therein. David was in a desert. A desert is “an area of land, usually in very hot climates, that consists only of sand, gravel, or rock with little or no vegetation, no permanent bodies of water, and erratic rainfall,” or it can be “a place or situation that is devoid of some desirable thing or overwhelmed by an undesirable thing” (Encarta). We may all, at times, experience such times in our lives when we feel all alone, abandoned, forsaken, rejected, persecuted unjustly, falsely accused, imprisoned by our circumstances, and when it appears outwardly as though all has been lost, and that we are without resources, without human rights, without the means to solve our own problems, and/or when we are lonely, afflicted, and trembling because of our situations, and/or when we can’t see the light of dawn.

David found himself in such circumstances. And, his response to his situation sets the example for all of us in how we should respond to our own desert experiences. When he was in this desert occurrence of his life, he looked to God for help. He earnestly sought the Lord. He was in a place that was devoid of physical food and water, yet his soul thirsted for God, and his body longed for the Lord. He remembered what he had learned of God in the sanctuary, and how he had previously seen and witnessed God’s power and glory. And, he placed his trust in the Lord. He believed in God’s love for him, and he chose to be satisfied with manna from heaven (the richest of foods) when his body was lacking such food physically. Instead of grumbling and complaining about his circumstances, he chose to have his lips glorify God. He praised the Lord, and he sang songs in praise to the Lord, too.

Not only that, but even at night when he normally would be sleeping in a comfortable bed in his palace, and yet he was in the desert, instead, he remembered the Lord. He thought about the Lord during the watches of the night. He knew God was his only help in this situation, so he clung to the Lord and to the hope that comes from God, and from God alone. He sang praises to God under the protection, covering, shelter and shield of God’s loving arms. And, he knew that God’s right hand would uphold him. He believed in God’s ultimate justice, and that his true enemies – Satan and his cohorts – would one day be destroyed. He believed that God would one day silence the mouths of liars, i.e. those who were coming against him, too. He trusted his life into God’s hands, and trusted in God’s ultimate justice to prevail in due time.

Paul and Silas in Jail

This reminds me of the time Paul and Silas were arrested and were thrown in jail (See Acts 16:16-34). Paul had just commanded, in the name of Jesus, that a demonic spirit come out of a slave girl, who “earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.” This angered the owners of the slave girl, who then “seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.” They brought them before the judges and accused them falsely. The crowd of people went along with them and joined in the attacks against Paul and Silas. The judges ordered them to be stripped, beaten, severely flogged and thrown into prison, and to have their feet fastened in the stocks.

Yet, at midnight (during the watches of the night) “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Then suddenly there was a violent earthquake, the foundations of the prison were shaken, and all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and thinking that certainly all the prisoners had escaped, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. “But Paul shouted, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’” And, as a result of this, the jailer sought Paul and Silas out for how he could be saved, and he and his whole family were saved by God’s grace, and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, praise Jesus! We never know what God has in mind with our desert experiences or how he might use us in the lives of others when we respond to our situations in a godly manner. The Lord may use our “deserts” to bring other people to Jesus Christ. Then, it will be all worth what we had to go through.

Though God does not cause evil, he does permit evil to exist. He does allow his children to suffer injustices, and to be even thrown into prison for crimes they did not commit. He will allow us to be pursued by enemies, and even to have lies told against us. God will allow us to be persecuted, hated, rejected and abandoned for the sake of his name and because we are followers of Jesus Christ. And, he does not even promise that we will experience true justice while we are on the face of this earth. Jesus died while still being falsely accused and while hung on a tree as a common criminal, although he had committed no wrong. And, Jesus told his disciples that they would be treated the same as he was treated. Yet, Jesus was resurrected back to life in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin so that we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal damnation) and free from the control of sin over our lives.

So, justice did prevail in his death and resurrection, and it will prevail when one day he returns to judge the earth, to judge mankind, and to give Satan and his cohorts their just desserts. So, even if we don’t see justice in this life, we know that Jesus Christ is the victor, and he has already won this battle against Satan – our true enemy.

So, when we are going through such desert experiences in our own lives, we, too, can trust the Lord with our own lives and with the lives of our enemies (both human and spiritual), believing God for his justice, but also praying for our human enemies to come to Jesus Christ, and to receive him as their Lord and Savior.

Jesus said that if anyone was to follow him, he must deny himself, he must take up his cross daily, and he must follow the Lord Jesus wherever he leads him. These desert experiences of our lives, thus, can be the crosses we must take up, as we must die to what we feel are our own rights, and we must submit ourselves to our Lord, trusting him to work in our circumstances for his glory and for our good. Near the cross of Christ, in humble surrender and obedience, and in worship and praise of our Lord, we find healing for our souls. We experience God’s love and mercy, and we learn how to walk by faith and not by sight on a day-to-day basis, under Jesus’ love and protection. And, we learn to wait on God’s perfect timing, hoping, and trusting always in the Lord for him to work in and through our circumstances for his glory and for our ultimate good, in order to draw us closer to Him.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane

Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.

In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BasJqHsCIo4

In God Alone

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 5:20 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 60-62 (quoting selected verses from NIV 1984):

Psalm 60: 3-4: You have shown your people desperate times;
you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner
to be unfurled against the bow.

Psalm 60:11-12: Give us aid against the enemy,
for the help of man is worthless.
With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.

Psalm 61:1-5: Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah

For you have heard my vows, O God;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Psalm 62:5-12: Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah

Lowborn men are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie;
if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath…

One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.

My Understanding: You have heard the saying, “I never promised you a rose garden.” It originated from the title of a novel by Hannah Green, and it also was turned into a hit song in the 1970’s, which was sung by Lynn Anderson. It basically says, and I am translating it into Biblical terms here, that God never promised us that life was going to be easy or that we would never have to face hardships, difficulties, injustices, persecutions, rejections, trials and/or temptations. In fact, Jesus promised his followers just the opposite, and this was reiterated by the apostles and writers of the New Testament (in the Bible). As long as we live on the face of this earth, and we are in these flesh bodies, and we live among people who also live in flesh bodies, we will face times of great difficulty which will try our faith.

Yet, there is good news! For those who fear the Lord, i.e. for those who respect, honor as holy, follow, and obey the Lord Jesus, God has raised a banner to be opened up against the attacks of the enemy, Satan. A banner can be “a guiding principle,” “the flag of a country or army,” “a standard,” (Encarta) or as a sign that signals troops to prepare for battle. Our banner, as believers in Jesus Christ, is first of all Jesus Christ himself, then what he did on the cross in dying for our sins, and in being resurrected back to life in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin. He died to give us salvation from sin so that we could be set free from the control of and the penalty of sin. And, this is our rallying point through which we can prepare for battle against our enemy, and through which we can gain the victory over our foe. Jesus Christ won the battle for us! So, we can win against the attacks of the enemy by applying to our own lives what Jesus Christ already did for us (see Ephesians 6:10-20).

So, when we go through times of great difficulty and trials that try our faith, we know and can rest assured that if we have this salvation by God’s grace, and through faith (repentance and obedience), which are gifts from God, and as appropriated to our lives, and we have this kind of fear of God to where we follow him in obedience and surrender to his will, Jesus will be our refuge and a strong tower against our foe, Satan. When we cry out to God in our distress and in our weakness, he will hear us, and he will lead us right into the loving arms of Jesus Christ. He will hear our vows (like marriage vows) to him because he knows our hearts and he knows those who are truly his by faith. Our vows represent our part of the covenant relationship between us and God via Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins. We are given a heritage of eternal life with God when we enter into that covenant relationship with God via faith (repentance and obedience) in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, which is done by the working of the Holy Spirit of God in transforming our lives.

As well, when life hits us hard and sometimes kicks us to the curb, as well as at all times, our true rest, hope, salvation and comfort should be found in God and God alone. This does not mean we should not accept the help and comfort of other people, or that we should not rejoice in such encouragement and helpfulness of mankind. We should be thankful for all helpers and encouragers along the way. Yet, our complete trust and hope and salvation cannot be in man and should not be in man, because we, as humans, will fail each other, because we are all sinners, and because we are not God that we can control the destiny of our own lives, much less the lives of other human beings.

We can do our best to help others and to offer words and actions demonstrating genuine care and concern, yet we don’t have the power to decide man’s fate, or to change human hearts or the course of anyone’s life. If we put our hope in man and man fails us, we will be shaken. Yet if we put our hope in the Lord Jesus, and we have the understanding that God never promised us a rose garden, but he has promised to be with us, to comfort us, to give us strength, encouragement, counsel, and victory over our foe, then we will not be shaken because our hope is not in this world or this life, but is in life eternal with God/Jesus Christ. And, that is a hope that cannot be shaken because it rests in God, not in man.

So, today, if you are putting your hope in this life, in this world, in a nation or government, in job security, in wealth, and/or in the things or people of this world, I pray you will come to the realization that Jesus Christ is our only hope for salvation, and that you will place your hope and trust in HIM and in HIM alone.

Tell Me the Story of Jesus / Fanny J. Crosby / John R. Sweney

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word;
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus,
Sang as they welcomed His birth,
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”

Fasting alone in the desert,
Tell of the days that are past,
How for our sins He was tempted,
Yet was triumphant at last.
Tell of the years of His labor,
Tell of the sorrow He bore;
He was despised and afflicted,
Homeless, rejected and poor.

Tell of the cross where they nailed Him,
Writhing in anguish and pain;
Tell of the grave where they laid Him,
Tell how He liveth again.
Love in that story so tender,
Clearer than ever I see;
Stay, let me weep while you whisper,
“Love paid the ransom for me.”

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word;
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wJRmzK2KJM