Not All Happy Stuff

I Send You to Them

Ezekiel 2:1-4 ESV

 

And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’”

 

These are God’s specific instructions to his prophet Ezekiel, so they don’t generally apply to all of us in the strictest sense. But all Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for reproof, correction, and instruction and training in righteousness. So, there is something we can learn here.

 

Does the Lord still speak to us today? Yes! How? Through his written word and through his Spirit who is living within us, but also through other people and through our circumstances, but only as the Spirit speaks to us through them, and only as what we hear aligns with God’s word as a whole.

 

Are we supposed to listen to the Lord speaking to us? Yes! Does he give us instructions when he speaks to us? Yes! sometimes.

 

Does he send us to speak to other people? Yes! We are his witnesses, and we are the light of the world, and the salt of the earth, and we are to make disciples of all nations teaching them to obey Christ, and we are to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. We are to be those who are sharing the gospel with others.

 

Are we supposed to speak to other Christians? Yes! The New Testament is filled with instructions on how we are to interact with other believers in Jesus Christ. We are to share songs and hymns, and instruct, encourage, exhort, and build up to maturity one another. And we are to speak the truth in love to one another.

 

And we are to do this in the gifts of the Spirit we have been given, serving our Lord in the areas of ministry to which he has called us, and in the power and wisdom of God’s Spirit in obedience to our Lord in saying whatever it is he gives us to say to minister his love and grace to the body of Christ.

 

Will the Lord, thus, send us to speak to rebellious people who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ? Yes! For we are to speak the truth in love, one to the other, and we are to help one another to come out of sin and to walk in obedience to our Lord, and we are to exhort one another in the faith.

 

So, we need to stand up on our feet and have ears to hear what the Spirit wants to say to us, first about our own lives, and then regarding how we can encourage our fellow believers to walk in faithful obedience to our Lord. And we aren’t all going to do it in all the exact same ways, either.

 

For example, the Lord has me writing devotions and poems and songs. Then he has me place those on the internet so that the internet can “run with it” and the Lord takes what he gives me to write to the people he wants it to go to. My assignment is to write what he gives me and to put it on the internet.

 

The Lord may call you to share his gospel or to speak encouragement to the body of Christ in a different way than he has called me, for although we are all members of the same body, we don’t all function in the same way, but we are all necessary for the proper working of the body of Christ.

 

Whether They Hear or Refuse

Ezekiel 2:5-7 ESV

 

“And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.”

 

Does the Lord promise us if we go where he sends us, and we say what he leads us to say that everyone is going to welcome us with open arms? Nope! He told us that we would be hated and persecuted as he was. And who were his greatest persecutors? His own people of his own faith and his own family.

 

So, we don’t go with God’s word and speak it to others out of obedience to our Lord on the condition that it is well received, and that everyone listens to us, and that everyone gives us lots of accolades for what we are doing. We go, and we speak, whether or not anyone listens to what we have to say.

 

For the Lord doesn’t always send us to people who are ready and willing to listen. It is great when he does, but there is no requirement that says he must, for he is God! If he wants to send us to people with stubborn unbelieving and rebellious hearts who won’t listen, then we still go.

 

For not one of us knows how God plans to use us in those people’s lives. They may not listen to us now, but God’s word will never return void, but it will accomplish the purpose for which the Lord sent it. So, even if what we speak now is not well received, it may come back to their minds later.

 

So, we are not to fear their rejection or their harsh words against us, but we are to keep speaking what God gives us to speak or to write or to sing. And we are to trust the Lord with the results. And we are not to take it personally when people ignore us or even fight against us. Our job is just to obey.

 

Open Your Mouth and Eat

Ezekiel 2:8-10 ESV

 

“’But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’ And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.”

 

Now, the Scriptures are not all happy stuff that everyone wants to hear, you know. So, if you are teaching or sharing the Scriptures with others, they may not like what you are sharing, and they may wish you would lighten up and not be so serious and be more like them.

 

So, we need to be aware of this ahead of time, and we must guard against rebelling against the Lord out of a desire to be liked and accepted by other humans. For, it is a lonely and a tough road to speak messages people don’t want to hear and then have them attack or reject you.

 

We have to care more about the salvation of other people’s lives and what is truly best for them than we care about how they treat us in return. We have to be willing to speak the truth in love even if all we get in return is a cold shoulder from those who don’t like the messages.

 

We have to love God and our fellow humans so much that we will be willing to be hated if it means saying what they need to hear. So, we must be those who are willing to receive whatever the Lord has for us to do or to say, for human lives depend on hearing the truth which will set them free.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

We Must All Give Account

Pay Closer Attention!

Hebrews 2:1 ESV

 

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

 

We who say we believe in Jesus Christ, who claim him as our Lord and Savior, who have heard the message of the gospel taught, and who have received it and our Lord by faith, are the ones here who must pay closer attention to what we have heard (or what we should have heard).

 

So, how do we do that? One way is to read the Scriptures, particularly the New Testament, one book and one verse at a time so that we get the context of what we have heard. For, taken out of context, we may have heard some things the wrong way.

 

Also, we need to be reading the Scriptures for ourselves every day, letting the Holy Spirit speak his truths to our hearts. We need to have ears to hear what he wants to say to us, and we must be open to receive from him the lessons he would have for us to learn.

 

And then we must be those who put the word of God into practice in our daily lives, and who do not resist the Spirit because we don’t like the message he is giving us. We must surrender all to our Lord and let him direct us in the path that he has for us to travel.

 

And what is that path? It is the way of the cross of Christ. It is the gospel of our salvation. It is the way of holiness, godliness, and righteousness and not the way of sin and selfishness. It involves us dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness one day at a time, in his power.

 

It means that every day we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ to do his will for that day. We submit ourselves to his Lordship over our lives. We forsake our sins, we resist the devil, and we walk in obedience to his commands, empowered by God’s Spirit who lives within us.

 

For, the gospel message teaches us that Jesus Christ died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. It teaches us that we are to forsake our sins, be transformed in heart and mind, and to put our faith into practice in our daily lives via walks of obedience to our Lord.

 

So, if we pay closer attention to that, it means we will ever be more vigilant in not only being in the Word of God daily, and listening to what it teaches us, but in doing what it says. For, if we don’t pay closer attention to the gospel, but we lose sight of what it teaches us, we are in danger of drifting.

 

And if we drift away from it, it means we flow past it, we fall away from it. We go past our destination because we weren’t paying attention to where we are supposed to be going. This may be a temporary lapse, then we repent, and then we get on the path again, or it may be a permanent fall if we never repent and if we never return to walking with our Lord again.

 

How Shall We Escape?

Hebrews 2:2-3 ESV

 

“For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

 

When God delivered his people out of slavery in Egypt, and he took them on the way to the promised land, via the wilderness, he gave them very specific laws (instructions, commands) that they were to follow. Many of them resisted his commands, though, and they repeatedly did what they were commanded not to do, in God’s face, in willful defiance against the Lord.

 

The Lord was extremely patient with them, though. He endured their disobedience and their idolatry for some time before he punished many of them. For, they willfully worshiped idols, engaged in sexual immorality, put the Lord to the test, and grumbled and complained against God and Moses.

 

And the Scriptures teach us that these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did, and they were destroyed. And these things were recorded for us for our instruction so that we don’t follow in the same path they did and end up falling beyond recovery.

 

Also, we are warned that if we hear the Lord’s voice speaking to us, telling us what we need to do or not do, we are not to harden our hearts as they did in the rebellion in the wilderness, who then went astray from the Lord, and who then died and did not get to enter the Lord’s eternal rest.

 

And we are warned to take heart lest there be in any of us an unbelieving heart, leading us to fall away from God. For the Lord couples disobedience with unbelief, and it is unbelief that condemns us to hell. For, if we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, and in sin, we will not inherit eternal life with God. We will die in our sins.

Therefore, Strive to Enter

Hebrews 4:11-13 ESV

 

“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

 

If there is one thing I know for certain it is that our salvation is not just forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life with God. It is deliverance from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we now become slaves of God and of his righteousness.

 

I also know that we must walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, we must by the Spirit be putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and we must be walking in obedience to our Lord in doing what he says to do, submitting to his Lordship over our lives.

 

And I know that if we choose not to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, and if we refuse to obey his commands (New Covenant), and if we choose to continue in habitual, deliberate, and premediated sin against God, we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

For, we are all going to reap what we sow. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (like the children of Israel who disobeyed the Lord). But if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life, which is not guaranteed to all who profess faith in Jesus Christ but to all who are living the faith that they profess, by God’s Spirit.

 

[1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

*Caution: This link may contain ads

O Lord, My Fortress

Saved from my Enemies

Psalms 18:1-3 ESV

 

“I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

    and I am saved from my enemies.”

 

Who are our enemies? Certainly, Satan is our enemy, as are his demons, and the many hordes who follow him. But even professing Christians can be our enemies, too. Who were Jesus’ fiercest opponents? They were the rulers in the temple and the teachers of the law. Pastors can be our enemies.

 

So, what defines an enemy? An enemy is an adversary, and an adversary is an opponent, a rival, an antagonist. He (or she) is someone who is against us, who is opposed to who we are and what we stand for and what we believe and practice. He is one who will resist us strongly sometimes, too.

 

But not all enemies are aggressively against us. Some are passively against us. They may not resist us. They may just ignore, reject, and exclude us. They may not fight against us. They just want nothing to do with us. We are an embarrassment or an offense to them because of who we are.

 

Enemies are the opposite of friends, but even many people who claim to be our friends may turn out to be our enemies. They would be those who, on the surface, appear to like us, but behind the scenes, they are speaking out against us, and they may even be turning others against us, too.

 

But does Jesus Christ (God the Son) promise us that if we follow him we won’t have enemies? No! He promised us we would have enemies. He said we would be hated and persecuted like Jesus was hated and persecuted. And he said we would be falsely accused, imprisoned, and even killed for our faith in Jesus Christ.

 

So, when our enemies come against us, does the Lord always physically rescue us from our enemies? No! Sometimes he does, but sometimes he doesn’t. So, how does he save us from our enemies? He saves us by teaching us to trust him in all things, and to not give way to fear.

 

He saves us from our enemies by teaching us about his sovereignty over our lives, and by teaching us to love our enemies and to pray for them and to do good to them. He saves us, too, by teaching us to keep on obeying him, to keep pursuing righteousness and holiness, and to not run and hide.

 

And he saved us from our enemy Satan when he took our sins upon himself and he died on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin and to empower us to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to him. And we are saved when we yield control of our lives over to him and we die with him to sin.

 

The Cords of Death

Psalms 18:4-6 ESV

 

“The cords of death encompassed me;

    the torrents of destruction assailed me;

the cords of Sheol entangled me;

    the snares of death confronted me.

 

“In my distress I called upon the Lord;

    to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

    and my cry to him reached his ears.”

 

Those of us who were abused as children by a parent, or parents, or by other family members who lived with us, understand “the cords of death encompassed me.” My father was the epitome of Satan. He was a big bully who felt he had to show he was stronger than everyone else.

 

So, he bullied, and he abused those who were weaker than him, including his wife and his children. I feared him greatly, for his anger was fierce. For there was no way out of facing his wrath if he decided to come against you. His hand and his mouth were quick to strike at any given moment.

 

But he isn’t the only abuser I have faced in my life. I have faced many, some of whom were pastors of churches who thought they knew me when they didn’t and who strongly opposed me although I was doing no wrong. They just didn’t get me and so they decided who they thought I was.

 

I have been yelled at, strongly accused falsely of things I did not do, banned from a church property (for telling the truth), put on church discipline (because I would not tell a lie), yelled at for standing strong on the truth because I would not join the majority, and invited to go someplace else where I would be a “better fit.” So, I know these torrents of destruction.

 

And I most certainly called upon the Lord in my distress. To my God I called for help with tears streaming down my cheeks and with cries coming from the anguish of my soul. For, I know what it is like to be hated, to be rejected, to be falsely accused, and to be mistreated for no wrongdoing.

 

Some of those situations he physically delivered me out of, praise his name! Some of them he did not. And he did not keep me from having similar treatment against me repeated over and over again. Paul certainly was mistreated over again, as were the prophets of old.

 

But I had to learn to trust the Lord’s sovereignty over my life through them. I had to learn that God formed me in the womb of my mother. He placed me in that family. He allowed me to be mistreated and to be falsely accused because that is the life of one who is dedicated to following Jesus Christ.

 

I had to learn to trust the Lord in these circumstances, to pray for wisdom in how to respond to mistreatment, and I had to learn to not run away in fear but to be strong in the Lord and to continue in what he has called me to do despite all opposition against me.

 

This is certainly not to say that I was or that I am perfect. But the rejections and the mistreatments I received were almost always unjust and were wrongs done against me when I was not doing what they accused me of doing. So, I was suffering for the sake of righteousness in most cases.

 

Psalms 18:16-19 ESV

 

“He sent from on high, he took me;

    he drew me out of many waters.

He rescued me from my strong enemy

    and from those who hated me,

    for they were too mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

    but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a broad place;

    he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”

 

It took me many years to finally get to the place where I truly trusted the Lord’s sovereignty over my life, to where I accepted that he allowed me to go through the things he permitted me to go through for a good reason, which was to prepare me for the ministry he has for me today.

 

When I cried it all out to him, and he helped me to understand this, and I surrendered to his will for my life, no matter how painful, he drew me out of deep waters. It isn’t that he rescued me from having to endure unjust suffering. He didn’t! He rescued me from its damaging effects on my life. Does it still hurt when I get mistreated? Sure, it does. But it no longer takes me out. I don’t run and hide. I keep on in following my Lord.

 

And he will do the same for you. If you are being mistreated or you are being falsely accused of what you know you did not do, or if you are being fought against and opposed because of your walk of faith with Jesus Christ and for your stand on the truth, the Lord is your support!

 

He may not physically deliver you from your enemies, but he will deliver you from the impact of their treatment against you, and he will help you to love your enemies and to keep on in following the Lord despite all opposition. And he will give you the strength you need to endure and to keep the faith.

 

Only Hope

 

By Jonathan Foreman

 

I give you my destiny

I'm giving you all of me

I want your symphony

Singing in all that I am

At the top of my lungs

I'm giving it my all

 

So, I lay my head back down

And I lift my hands and pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours

I know now you're my only hope

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gnS7ZEbEqU

Caution: This link may contain ads

 

We Speak, not to Please Humans

We Had Boldness in our God

1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 ESV

 

“For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.”

 

I was reading in Psalms 139 earlier this morning regarding God’s sovereignty over our lives, how God knitted us together in the wombs of our mothers, and at least for those of us who are followers of Jesus, how all the days formed for us were written in God’s book before one of them came into being (1).

 

I contemplated how God allowed the things he allowed to take place in my life for a purpose. It doesn’t mean that he approved or that he caused any of them to happen, but he permitted them to take place. And everything that happened served a purpose in my life in making me who I am today.

 

And that is basically what Paul is talking about here, too. Paul and the other apostles’ boldness in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ was enhanced by the things that they suffered for the sake of Christ and for his gospel. The opposition they faced to the preaching of the gospel only served to encourage them more to preach the truth of the gospel.

 

I know that is definitely the truth in my life. The suffering I have had to endure, the unjust treatments, and the opposition I have faced have only served to encourage me more to keep speaking the truth of the gospel and to keep opposing the lies so that many people will be delivered from their slavery to sin so that they can become bond-slaves of Jesus Christ.

 

Approved by God

1 Thessalonians 2:3-6 ESV

 

“For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.”

 

I believe it is important for us all to test our own hearts, from time to time, to check our own motives and attitudes, to make certain that our hearts are in the right place, and that we are doing and saying what we are doing and saying with good intent and under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

 

But people can do wrong things with good intentions, sometimes, so that can’t be the only measure of whether or not what we are doing and saying is the kinds of things the Lord wants us to do and say. We also need to make certain that what we do and say lines up with the truths of Scripture.

 

When we are certain that our hearts are in the right place, that we have the right motives, that we are operating in the power and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and that we are being true to the Scriptures (in context), then we can say with confidence that our speaking and our actions do not stem from error or impurity nor from any attempt to deceive others.

 

It is good, too, to make certain that we aren’t speaking from our own flesh, but that we are speaking in the power of God’s Spirit according to the truths of Scripture, and not according to any personal prejudices we might have picked up over the years.

 

And it is critical, too, that what we speak is to the honor and glory of God and not for the approval of other humans. If, when we speak (or write), we do so with the thought in mind of how many “likes” we are going to receive, then we are writing for the wrong motives.

 

Nonetheless, if when we speak or write we do so without thought to whether people are going to like us or not, but only for the glory of God, in his power, and for the good of our fellows humans, then our hearts are in the right place. And we will speak for the benefit of others, and not for ourselves.

 

Thus, we will be approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel when we speak to please God and not to please other humans. For if we are sharing a gospel message for the purpose of gaining human approval, then we aren’t sharing the whole counsel of God and the true gospel of salvation.

 

For, if we are genuinely sharing the truth of the gospel, in its fulness, the majority of people are not going to like it, for it does not tickle itching ears. It doesn’t tell them what they want to hear. It tells them what they need to hear, and so many will reject the gospel message, and they will reject us, too, for being the messengers.

 

But we are not to let that discourage or dishearten us. We need to be motivated even more to get the truth out to as many as will listen.

 

Like a Nursing Mother

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 ESV

 

“But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

 

I have four children of my own. They are all in their 40s now. When they each were babies, I nursed them, some for shorter times, and some for longer times. There is a close bond that forms (or that should form) between a mother and her babies, which I believe is enhanced by breast feeding the infants.

 

Well, that is how we should treat those who are under our care, and/or to whom we are imparting God’s word. But “gentle” does not mean weak or compromising of truth so as not to hurt people’s feelings. For the truth hurts sometimes, but the truth is what we need to hear.

 

But we should have that kind of loving affection for the people to whom we are ministering God’s word. But even having this kind of loving affection does not mean we back away from sharing the hard truths of Scripture so as not to offend others. They need to hear the truth! We all do!

 

This kind of love for others is indeed self-sacrificial. For, if we are teaching the truth, although some will love us for it, others will hate and despise us or want nothing to do with us because we are speaking truth they don’t want to hear, because they don’t want to feel guilty about their sins.

 

So, we need the Lord’s help to remain steadfast in our faith, to not back down, and to not compromise truth or our morals in order to be liked and accepted by others. We need to speak boldly the word of God but also with reserved strength and with loving affection for those to whom we are ministering.

 

Jesus, Rescue Me  

 

An Original Work / September 18, 2011

Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39

 

Jesus, rescue me today.

Listen while I bow and pray.

I need Your help to obey You;

Live for You always.

Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,

As I pray to You.

Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,

Living in Your truth.

Jesus, how I long for You to

Change my heart anew.

 

Father, God, my heart’s desire

Is to live for You this hour

In Your Holy Spirit’s power

Living in me now.

Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,

Guiding me each day.

Help me to show love and kindness

To the lost, I pray.

Father, teach me to love others

As You love always.

 

Holy Spirit come in pow’r.

Revive our hearts in this hour.

Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;

Live for You each day.

Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,

As we humbly pray.

Teach us how to live for You, Lord,

Obey You always.

Holy Spirit come in power,

Revive us today.

 

https://vimeo.com/126092919

 

(1)       https://walkingwounded.blog/2021/07/06/im-fearfully-and-wonderfully-made/

I'm Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

You Search Me and Know Me

Psalms 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.”

 

Our Lord God knows everything about us, for he created us. He knows us inside and out, better than we know ourselves. He knows what we are thinking and what we are going to say before we know it. I don’t always know what I am going to say before I say it.

 

I definitely don’t know what I am going to write before I write it. I don’t usually even know the passage of Scripture I am going to be writing on until the time to write. And when I sit down to write, I pray for the Lord to give me the words to say or else nothing gets written.

 

Even as I began this writing, there were no more words in my head after the first paragraph. So, I prayed, and I inquired of the Lord if this was the passage he wanted me to write on today and if there was anything he needed to deal with me about before I wrote, too. I always want my heart clean before him.

 

I don’t want to ever be hypocritical. I don’t want to teach beyond what I am living or write about something which I am not putting into practice myself. So, I want the Lord to search my heart and to show me where I am failing in any way so that I can get that right with him before I move forward.

 

You Knitted Me Together

Psalms 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.”

 

What came to mind before I started writing this was an incident which took place when I was a child. It was something over which I had no control. I didn’t know why it happened, but it saddened me. I didn’t have the courage to ask why, and I didn’t know why until many years later.

 

So, as I was sitting here getting ready to write, I was inquiring of the Lord about that incident and if there was something he wanted to teach me through this. And then I read this part where it says, “You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”

 

So, what that means is that God gave me the parents that he gave me. He chose for me the mother and the father I was to have, for better or for worse. And he chose for me the siblings that I had, and my experiences I had with them, too. For all the days that were formed for me were written in God’s book before any of them came into being.

 

God allowed the things he allowed to take place in my life for a purpose. It doesn’t mean that he approved or that he caused any of it to happen, but he permitted it to take place. And everything that happened served a purpose in my life in making me who I am today.

 

The Scriptures teach that God chose us in him even before he laid the foundations of the earth. So, this means that God knew me even before he created the universe, and that he called me for a very specific purpose, and he allowed me to go through the things I went through to prepare me for this ministry.

 

So, when this says that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” that includes all the things God had planned for our lives to make us who we are. He uses our difficult experiences to draw us to himself and to humble us and to mold us and make us into his likeness.

 

When I consider this calling which the Lord has placed on my life, and I look at my life from birth to my present age of 71, I can see in so many ways how all of this was preparing me for this point in time in my life. The Lord was setting me apart for his service even from before I was born.

 

So, when you think back over your life, and you wonder why things happened the way that they did, the things which were out of your control, remember these words of the Psalmist. All of your experiences were allowed by God to happen in order that he would make you into the person he wants you to be for his purposes and for his glory and for the salvation of human lives, too. For we are all here to share the gospel of our salvation.

 

Lead Me in the Way

Psalms 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!”

 

Perhaps you are reading this, and you are struggling to accept the idea of God’s absolute sovereignty over your life. You have had some difficult experiences, perhaps in your childhood, in your marriage, with co-workers, with neighbors, or with the church. And you just can’t accept that a loving God would allow you to go through what you went through.

 

Well, he never promised us that life would be easy or that we wouldn’t have to suffer. In fact, he said we would suffer, that suffering is part of life, and it is definitely part of the Christian life. For, we share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

 

Through the things we suffer, if we are followers of Christ, God matures us, he makes us holy, and he teaches us patience and endurance and to rely on him and not on ourselves. And he makes us, and he molds us into his image, and he prepares us for the calling he has upon our lives.

 

Think with me about Joseph and what he suffered at the hands of his brothers. What did he tell them many years later? “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

 

I believe that is a picture of my life, too. Satan tried to destroy me from birth on throughout my life. Many people in my life did evil to me. But all of this was allowed by God to make me who he wanted me to be so that he could use me in the way he is now using me, which definitely involves the saving of many lives.

 

So, again, if you are struggling with something you went through in your life or that you are presently going through, and you are questioning God as to why he allowed or is allowing this to happen to you, give it over to the Lord. Surrender your all to him and let him make you into who he wants you to be. Let him use it in your life for his purposes and for his glory.

 

Jesus, Rescue Me  

 

An Original Work / September 18, 2011

Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39

 

Jesus, rescue me today.

Listen while I bow and pray.

I need Your help to obey You;

Live for You always.

Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,

As I pray to You.

Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,

Living in Your truth.

Jesus, how I long for You to

Change my heart anew.

 

Father, God, my heart’s desire

Is to live for You this hour

In Your Holy Spirit’s power

Living in me now.

Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,

Guiding me each day.

Help me to show love and kindness

To the lost, I pray.

Father, teach me to love others

As You love always.

 

Holy Spirit come in pow’r.

Revive our hearts in this hour.

Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;

Live for You each day.

Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,

As we humbly pray.

Teach us how to live for You, Lord,

Obey You always.

Holy Spirit come in power,

Revive us today.

 

https://vimeo.com/126092919

He Has Done Gloriously

God is My Salvation

Isaiah 12:1-2 ESV

“You will say in that day:

‘I will give thanks to you, O Lord,

    for though you were angry with me,

your anger turned away,

    that you might comfort me.

“’Behold, God is my salvation;

    I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

    and he has become my salvation.’”

Before we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we are separate from God, dead in sin, headed to hell, and unable in and of ourselves to be acceptable to God, no matter how hard we might try, and no matter how many good deeds we might do (Rom 3:23).

For, not one of us can ever be good enough, of ourselves, to enter into God’s heaven. We can do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation. It is only by God’s grace, via Jesus’ blood sacrifice for our sins, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ that any of us can be saved and have eternal life.

But… and this is critical that we get this… we are not saved from our sins just so we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. We are delivered from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we can now become slaves of God and of his righteousness, living holy lives, pleasing to him.

For, Jesus Christ died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us, and so that we might now be God’s possession and that we might honor God with our lives.

So, when we come to Christ in genuine God-persuaded faith in him, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him. The old has gone. The new has come. Now we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God, and no longer according to our flesh to please our flesh.

So, all the praise, and all the glory, and all the thanks for our salvation from sin, and for our walks of obedient faith, belong to God and not to ourselves.

Make Known His Deeds

Isaiah 12:3-6 ESV

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:

“’Give thanks to the Lord,

    call upon his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples,

    proclaim that his name is exalted.

“’Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;

    let this be made known in all the earth.

Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.’”

If you are excited about something going on in your life, don’t you want to share it with other people? I mean, for those who are on social media, that is largely what that is about, sharing with friends and neighbors and former friends what is going on in our lives, and what is important to us.

So, if we are excited that Jesus Christ set us free from our bondage to sin, and that he has given us new lives in him, free from the control of sin and Satan, and empowered by God’s Spirit to live holy lives, pleasing to God, shouldn’t we want to share that good news with others? Yes, we should!

We should be telling people far and wide about our faith in Jesus Christ, and about what he did for us, and regarding what a difference that is making in our lives. We should be telling others about his love and grace, and how he delivers us from our bondage to sin so that we are no longer enslaved to sin.

We should be proclaiming his grace and his goodness, that is to us all, to anyone who will listen, and wherever there is opportunity to share the gospel of our salvation. We should tell them of how he gives purpose to our lives, and how he has a plan for our lives for our good and for his glory.

And we ought to be sharing the “whole counsel of God” and not a half-truth gospel which tickles itching ears because it consoles people in their sins and gives them comfort that they can keep on living in deliberate and habitual sin against God without guilt and without punishment.

For, Jesus set us free so that we can leave our lives of sin behind us to follow him in obedience to his will and to his ways, and so we can live holy lives, pleasing to him, and so we can fulfill his purpose for us via our obedience and our surrender of our lives to him. 

For this is why we were created, to do the will of God. So, there is much peace and joy in knowing that we are in the center of God’s will doing what he has purposed that we should do. There is much satisfaction in knowing that we, as his servants, are making a difference in this world, too.

But the glory goes to God, for it is only by his purpose and grace that we are even saved from our sins and have new lives in him. And we are only able to obey him in the power of God’s Spirit and in the strength and guidance of the Lord. For, it is our Lord who has done gloriously in changing our hearts.

More Precious Than Silver  

Lynn DeShazo

Lord, You are more precious than silver.

Lord, You are more costly than gold.

Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds,

And nothing I desire compares to You.

Lord, Your Love is higher than mountains.

Lord, Your Love is deeper than seas.

Lord, Your Love encompasses the nations,

And yet, You live right here inside of me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKmlrlzTHXY 

Do Not Be Led Astray

They Will Lead Many Astray

Matthew 24:3-8 ESV

 

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

 

Personally, I have not yet heard anyone claim that he is the Christ, but I have heard many people claim that they are Christians, or that they are following Christ with their lives, and yet they are leading others astray with their false teaching and with their diluted gospel message.

 

Many people are equating the keeping of the Old Covenant with obedience to our Lord under the New Covenant, and thus they are teaching that we don’t have to obey our Lord’s commands under the New Covenant. They call that works-based salvation. And that gives them liberty to continue in sin.

 

But Jesus’ sacrificial death on that cross did not deliver us from having to obey our Lord and his gospel. It liberated us from our slavery to sin so that we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness.

 

Obedience to our Lord was not eradicated under the New Covenant. It is upheld! All throughout the New Testament under the New Covenant we are taught the importance of walks of obedience to our Lord Jesus, in submission to him as Lord, and in surrender of our lives to him.

 

For, when we trust Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, we die with him to sin, and we live to him and to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit living within us. We now walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit, and we no longer walk (in practice) according to our flesh.

 

But many people are being led astray by master manipulators who twist the truth of Scripture to their advantage to make it say what tickles itching ears. And they are leading the masses to believe that faith in Jesus Christ does not require repentance, obedience, or submission to Christ as Lord.

 

And so, we have many people professing faith in Jesus Christ on the promise that heaven is guaranteed them when they die, and yet they are still living their lives to the flesh, to do what they want to do, convincing themselves that they don’t have to surrender their lives to Christ.

 

But if they continue on that course, and they don’t repent of their sins, and they don’t obey the Lord, then heaven is not guaranteed them. They will die in their sins. They will not inherit eternal life with God. And it is because they refused to obey the Lord and his commandments under the New Covenant.

 

You Will Be Hated

Matthew 24:9-14 ESV

 

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

 

If you are following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands, under the New Covenant, and you are dying with him to sin, and you are living to him and to his righteousness, and he is truly Lord (master) of your life, and you are going with him wherever he leads, you will be hated, even by others who also profess faith in Jesus Christ.

 

In America, for now, we who are following Jesus Christ with our lives are not facing the severity of persecution as Christians are in other nations. We aren’t literally being put to death for our faith in Jesus Christ. But there is a far worse fate that is being meted out on those professing faith in Christ.

 

The liars and deceivers and false teachers are meting out a far worse death than the death of our physical bodies. They are leading professers of faith in Jesus Christ to their deaths for eternity because they are convincing them that they don’t have to forsake their sins or follow Jesus in obedience.

 

They are literally killing them with their false words and with their false gospel message and with their false promises. For they are telling them that they can believe in Jesus, have their sins forgiven, have heaven guaranteed them when they die, but that they don’t have to obey the Lord.

 

And people are flocking to this false gospel in large numbers, and this false gospel is spreading far and wide, and it is in the forefront, and it is largely being accepted by most who profess faith in Christ, at least here in America. The narrow road has been turned into a broad road which leads to death.

 

So, lawlessness is increasing because they are being taught that they don’t have to obey the Lord or any of his commandments. So, they are being liberated to continue in habitual, deliberate, and premeditated sin against the Lord, while they claim that is freedom and it is from God’s grace.

 

But those of us who are still following our Lord, and who have not compromised our faith or forsaken the truth of the gospel are being fought against, and we are being rejected and falsely accused and ostracized for our stand on the truth and for our walks of obedience to our Lord.

 

But if we endure in our faith, strong and steadfast, to the very end, we will be saved from our sins and we will have eternal life with God. And the true gospel is going out throughout the world, and it is going out through writing and posting on the internet, as well as through other means.

 

The Abomination of Desolation

Matthew 24:15 ESV

 

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).”

 

An abomination is something that is an outrage, a disgrace, something God abhors, that is revolting to him. And desolation is misery, despair, sadness, and devastation (destruction, damage). And the “holy place” is God’s temple, and we are his temple if we believe in him.

 

And what is happening in much of today’s church, and to the gospel, and to the lives of many of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ is an abomination, and it does cause much destruction and damage to human lives. And it is this cheap grace gospel which is taking its stand in the gatherings of the church, the body of Christ, and it is killing people.

 

So, please understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ demands death to sin and living to God and to his righteousness. It demands walks of obedience to our Lord and submission to Christ as owner-master of our lives. For, if we walk according to our flesh, we will not inherit eternal life, but we will die.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

Songs in the Night  

 

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

 

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

 

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

 

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

 

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

 

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

 

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

 

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

 

https://vimeo.com/379484387