Wisdom Personified

Proverbs 9:1-6 NASB

Wisdom has built her house,

She has hewn out her seven pillars;

She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine;

She has also set her table;

She has sent out her maidens, she calls

From the tops of the heights of the city:

“Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!”

To him who lacks understanding she says,

“Come, eat of my food

And drink of the wine I have mixed.

“Forsake your folly and live,

And proceed in the way of understanding.”

Wisdom is personified here as a woman getting her house ready for guests. She is making all the necessary preparations to receive guests into her home in order that she might impart to them some godly wisdom and understanding. She is readying her home and her dining table so that she might feed her guests with the truth of God’s Word, which will bring the breath of God into their lives, if they will listen and will heed the counsel.

So, what is wisdom? It is applied knowledge. It is taking what we know intellectually, that is healthful for our minds, bodies and souls, and it is bringing it home to our hearts. It is doing the good that we know we ought to do instead of just pontificating the truths we know while we live just the opposite. It is choosing the good over the bad. And, it is using good sense instead of going out and doing what is foolish and what is harmful.

So, if we are to be like this woman, and we are to be wise, first of all we should heed God’s counsel, which is written down for us in His Word. Then, we should prepare ourselves spiritually, not only to live the lives which God has called us to live, but to share with others how they can walk in the fear of the Lord, too, and how they can be wise by heeding his instructions to us.

But, notice with me that she is not calling out to those who are already wise, but to those who lack wisdom and understanding. She is calling out to the immature who are still fleshly, at least in some ways. She is calling out to the foolish who are walking in the ways of the world instead of in the ways of God. And, she is calling them to receive her counsel (godly wisdom), and she is calling them to forsake their folly (their sinful ways), and to walk in the ways of God, and they will live. And, we should be doing this, too.

Proverbs 9:7-9 NASB

He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,

And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself.

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,

Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,

Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

As a general rule, I believe the counsel here is wise. It is better for us to correct or reprove those who will honor us and our wise counsel. For, they will become wiser, and they will increase in learning, but not just in head knowledge. They will truly learn from our godly and biblical counsel. It, too, will be reflected in their attitudes and behaviors that they took our counsel to heart, and that their lives were changed as a result.

But this is not to say that this is God’s way all the time. For, God sent his prophets of old to his rebellious people to call them to repentance, and they often mocked the prophets and scorned their counsel and they treated them badly, and not with honor and respect.

The people went on in their ungodly behavior despite the prophets’ warnings, and despite their rebukes, and despite their calls for repentance. And, this went on for many years before God finally judged his people, as he had promised he would do.

"But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious” (Ezekiel 2:7).

“They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 1:19).

“O Lord, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me” (Jeremiah 20:7).

“I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their mocking song all the day” (Lamentations 3:14).

As well, our Lord Jesus spoke words of correction and rebuke, too, to those who mocked him, who insulted him, who hated him, who chastised him regularly, who tried often to trip him up so that they could discredit him, and who eventually put him to death on a cross, although he had done no wrong.

“And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matthew 27:29).

So, the rule of thumb, I believe, is that we should obey God and his direction for our lives. If he says speak, we speak, no matter the outcome. We are not to shy away ever from sharing the truth of the gospel with people just because they might insult us, mock us, hate us and abuse us in return.

If God says “Don’t be afraid of what they will do to you,” then we have to not fear their insults and their mockery or their hatred or rejection, but we must go to whomever he sends us and say whatever he commands us to say.

Proverbs 9:10-12 NASB

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

For by me your days will be multiplied,

And years of life will be added to you.

If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,

And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

If we want to be wise, we must walk in the fear of the Lord. We must heed his counsel, and do what he says. We must honor him above all else, and treat him with the respect he so deserves. We must worship him with our very lives, giving our lives to him, for his service, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but now walking in holiness, living lives which are pleasing and acceptable to God (See Romans 12:1-2; Eph. 4:17-24).

Then, we can begin to be wise, and we can gain wisdom and understanding, and apply the truths of God’s Word to our daily lives. For, if we continue in our sinful ways, ignoring the Spirit’s promptings, doing what we know is wrong and ungodly and unholy, it will not go well for us.

For, if we retain living to the flesh as our pattern for daily living, we will not have the hope of eternal life with God, for we will reap what we sow. If we are trying to live in both worlds, i.e. if we are trying to live to please God part of the time while we hold on to certain sins in order to keep gratifying our flesh, we will not be at peace. We will not have the joy of the Lord. And, we will never move forward in our relationships with God/Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 9:13-18 NASB

The woman of folly is boisterous,

She is naive and knows nothing.

She sits at the doorway of her house,

On a seat by the high places of the city,

Calling to those who pass by,

Who are making their paths straight:

“Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”

And to him who lacks understanding she says,

“Stolen water is sweet;

And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

But he does not know that the dead are there,

That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Here folly is personified, as was wisdom. And, interestingly enough, she is calling out to those who are “making their paths straight.”

She doesn’t have to call out to those who are already in her house, for they are already there. She wants to entrap those who have made the decision to walk the straight and narrow, who have chosen the path of righteousness, and so she uses trickery and deception and manipulation to try to get Christians to go her way instead of to go the way of God. She is good at what she does, and she can be very persuasive.

What she tries to do is lead those astray who have chosen to follow Jesus with their lives. So, she lies to them. She tells them that they can follow Jesus and still live to the flesh at the same time, and that they still have heaven guaranteed them when they die.

She tells them that Jesus paid the penalty for their sin, so they can continue in their sin, in their sinful addictions, without guilt, and without any need to change. She convinces them that God’s grace covers all future sins and so it doesn’t matter how much they sin, for it is all paid for, so they can live how they want. And, she convinces them that “belief” in Jesus Christ is merely an acknowledgment of who he is or an acceptance of his sacrifice for sin.

And, she preys on those whose faith is weak, or who are just beginning to believe in Jesus, and those who are contemplating faith in Jesus Christ, too. For, if she can catch them in her net before they gain wisdom and understanding, then she feels as though she has them for life, and that she has been victorious.

But, the unsuspecting new believer, or the one who is considering faith in Jesus Christ, or the immature Christian who has not yet grown past infanthood will not yet have the wisdom and discernment needed to separate truth from fiction unless they are in tune with the Holy Spirit’s voice. And, so they may easily fall into her trap, because they don’t realize that those who live in her house are still dead in their sins and that they are bound for hell, not for heaven.

So, we need to understand here that Jesus Christ died on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins, and not just to give us the hope of heaven when we die, but he died and he rose again that we might die to sin and live with him to righteousness. He died to transform our lives away from living to sin to walking with him in his holiness and righteousness. For, if we live according to our flesh, we will die in our sins, and we don’t have heaven guaranteed.

So, please know the truth, and follow the truth (wisdom), and you will live. Don’t get trapped by “folly” and end up losing your life for eternity.

Muted Trumpet

An Original Work / October 14, 2011

Softly He speaks gently to us,

Giving us His messages, and

He waits patiently for us to

Respond to His words.

Will you listen to Him speaking?

Will you waken from your sleeping?

He is calling; hear Him whisper

His truth unto you.

Jesus speaks His words unto us,

So that He might live out through us,

Giving light to all who need Him,

So they can obey.

He gave His life to die for us,

So that from sin He would free us

To walk humbly in obedience

Unto Him each day.

Hear the trumpet clearly calling.

He died to keep us from falling.

Won’t you listen; heed His call to

Turn to Him today?

Hasten to Him calling to you.

Turn from sin and follow Jesus.

He loves you so much He gave you

Life eternally.

https://vimeo.com/125739604

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

The Mistress

Psalm 40:1-3 NASB

I waited patiently for the Lord;

And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,

And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will see and fear

And will trust in the Lord.

In this life we will have trouble, hardships and persecutions. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to turn to our Lord during these times, and call on him for help, and seek his counsel and wisdom in knowing what to do and how to respond to our difficult circumstances and to the people who are hurting us.

He will come to the rescue, maybe not always in the way we had hoped or in the timely manner we had wished for, at least with regard to some of our requests.

But, he will help us through every challenge which presents itself to us, and he will deliver us from us caving to our flesh during these times. And, He will strengthen us, and give us a song of rejoicing in Him. And, because of this, others will be encouraged who are also going through trials and troubles.

Psalm 40:4-5 NASB

How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,

And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,

And Your thoughts toward us;

There is none to compare with You.

If I would declare and speak of them,

They would be too numerous to count.

There are great spiritual benefits to putting our trust in the Lord and not in ourselves or in other humans who are bound to fail us. For one, we are at peace in knowing that God is absolutely in control of the situations of our lives, so we don’t have to worry about what might happen to us.

We also know that God is completely faithful in all that he does, and that he always has in mind what is for our good, so we don’t have to worry that others will be able to do stuff to us that God can’t handle or that he doesn’t already have a plan in mind for how he is going to work this out for our good and for the spiritual benefit of others, too.

Because our God is fully in power and in control over all things, and because he is totally trustworthy, and he is always working for what is for our best, we should not ever worry or feel as though we have to do such and such in order to make things happen, especially if what we do is compromising our faith and Christian principles.

Psalm 40:6-8 NASB

Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;

My ears You have opened;

Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.

Then I said, “Behold, I come;

In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

I delight to do Your will, O my God;

Your Law is within my heart.”

God doesn’t need our help, as though he is not capable of working things out the way they should go. He also doesn’t need what we are willing to sacrifice for him if we are not willing to lay it all down on his altar and follow Jesus in surrender and in obedience to his will for our lives.

What he desires and requires of us is that we give our lives to him and that we follow him wherever he leads us in doing what he wants us to do, even if it gets us hated and rejected by other people, and even if it means we will be persecuted for our faith, and even if others speak evil against us and accuse us falsely of what we did not do, or they abandon us completely.

What he wants are followers who are eager and ready to do his will, and in whom God’s law (his instructions in godly living) are written in their hearts. From their hearts their desire is for the Lord and for his commands, and they are not resistant to his instructions, nor do they try to find ways around them.

Psalm 40:9-10 NASB

I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;

Behold, I will not restrain my lips,

O Lord, You know.

I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;

I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;

I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.

Many of us are being persecuted, are being treated badly, and are being rejected, betrayed and abandoned physically or emotionally or spiritually by other humans because of our stand for truth and for righteousness. We are hated and forsaken by many because, when we stand for righteousness, we also stand against what is wicked, evil, immoral, impure, lewd and ungodly.

Because we stand against what God is against, and because we stand for what God is for, the ungodly, including many who call themselves Christians, will reject us, mistreat us, abandon us, and think we are oddballs and out of touch with reality.

They may even call us “goody-goodies” or “holy-rollers” or whatever other derogatory term they can find in order to try to shame us into compromise with the world so that we don’t stand out as different. But, we are supposed to stand out as different! That is what it means to be holy – to be unlike, different from the world, because we are being made to be like Jesus.

Psalm 40:11-12 NASB

You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;

Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.

For evils beyond number have surrounded me;

My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;

They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,

And my heart has failed me.

So, in these times when we are being persecuted or abandoned for our stand for truth and righteousness, we call on God for mercy. We pray for his compassion towards us in our times of trouble and heartache and suffering for the name of Jesus and for the sake of his gospel. For, His lovingkindness and His truth are what preserve our lives, during these times especially.

The evils which surround us at these times are those coming from those who oppose not only us, but the true gospel. They are like an army coming against us to defeat us, and they can be very overwhelming and oppressive, at times, so much so that we may suffer much anguish of heart and mind.

For, Satan’s goal is to destroy us and Jesus Christ and his Word and his gospel message. Thus, he has gotten many humans to create a false grace gospel to supplant the true gospel, like a mistress consuming the heart of one’s husband so that the husband abandons his wife physically and/or emotionally for another lover.

For, the mistress demands nothing, and requires no faithfulness or purity, but only fulfills the lustful desires of the one seeking her out. For, she cares nothing for the husband, only for what he can do to satisfy her flesh, as well. She is the personification of this false grace gospel.

The false grace gospel, as well, cares nothing for the souls of those who come to her bed. Her goal is to appease the flesh, and to fulfill the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life. And, so many are driven to her bosom, because righteousness and holiness and faithfulness are not required. And, wickedness and lewdness and immorality are not opposed, but sins are coddled, instead. And, many people have found satisfaction in her bed.

Psalm 40:13-17 NASB

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;

Make haste, O Lord, to help me.

Let those be ashamed and humiliated together

Who seek my life to destroy it;

Let those be turned back and dishonored

Who delight in my hurt.

Let those be appalled because of their shame

Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

Let those who love Your salvation say continually,

“The Lord be magnified!”

Since I am afflicted and needy,

Let the Lord be mindful of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Do not delay, O my God.

So, those who are standing on the Word of God, and who are standing for righteousness, purity, holiness and faithfulness, are often opposed and rejected and persecuted, even within the church, by those who want to continue in their sinful addictions without interruption.

So, this is a prayer of the persecuted for deliverance from these enemies of the gospel of our salvation who do seek to destroy our lives, to hurt us, and who do seek to destroy the gospel of our salvation, too (See: John 10). But, it is also a prayer that our persecutors would be brought to a place of shame and disgrace and humiliation, I believe in the hope that they would come to their senses and that they would repent of their sins and trust Jesus with their lives.

But, this is also a prayer of thanksgiving for those who do honor their God as the holy God that he is, and who do revere him, and walk in obedience to him, and who do not live to satisfy the sinful cravings of their flesh. It is a prayer for them, as well, that they would be victorious over the enemy of their souls, and despite persecution, would be able to praise God and thank Him continually.

My Sheep 

An Original Work / June 24, 2012 

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263

Sunday, October 21, 2018 – Thank You, Jesus, for your watch and your care over us who are your true sheep, and that we have no reason ever to fear.

Honest Confession

Psalm 51

Introduction

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

David, a man after God’s own heart, who followed the Lord with all his heart, was still flesh and blood. He was still human, and he was tempted to sin as we all are. And, he gave in to that temptation. He first of all lusted after a woman who was the wife of another, and then he abused his power as king by having her brought to him so that he could sleep with her.

When he learned that she was now pregnant, he tried to get her husband to come home from battle to sleep with her so that it would look as though the child was his. And, when that didn’t work, because her husband was a man of honor and valor, then he had her husband murdered. But, even there he made it look like an act of war, in order to cover up his sin with the woman.

When the time of grieving her husband’s death was past, David married her, and they had the child together, but the child died, because of David’s sins.

But, prior to the child’s death, God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David with his sins, and when confronted, David repented of his sins. But, God let him know, even though he was forgiven, that there would be natural consequences for his sins. And, sometimes it is the same with us.

Psalm 51:1-4 NASB

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me.

Against You, You only, I have sinned

And done what is evil in Your sight,

So that You are justified when You speak

And blameless when You judge.

Not one of us is perfect. Even though, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven our sins, we still live in flesh bodies, and therefore we are still capable of sin, even to the extent that David sinned against God and against his fellow humans. So, we must be careful if we think that we stand, lest we fall. For, pride comes before a fall.

So, we must make certain that we recognize our own humanity and our own propensity to sin so that we don’t, in pride, open up ourselves to fall big time into sin because we are stupid.

But, when we do sin, we must be honest with God and with those we sinned against, and we must own up to the sin and repent. And, repenting is not just confessing the wrong, but it is choosing to turn away from the wrong and to now do what is right.

For, to be followers of Jesus Christ, not one of us should be living in sin, repeating the same offenses over and over and over again. But, we should be learning from our failures, be growing in Christ, and we should be maturing in our walks of faith – by the Spirit daily putting our sins to death.

Psalm 51:5-9 NASB

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,

And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness,

Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins

And blot out all my iniquities.

Because the first man Adam sinned against God we, as humans, are all born into sin (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Co. 15:21-22, 42-49). We are separate from God and we are not able, in our own flesh, to be acceptable to God. But, that is not the end of the story, thank God!

God the Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth, took on human form, suffered and was tempted as we suffer and are tempted, yet without sin. And, although he was loved by some, he was hated by many, and eventually they put him to death on a cross.

But, this was God’s will that he should suffer in this way, for through Christ’s death and resurrection, we are able to be delivered from our slavery to sin, be born of the Spirit of God, and we are able to walk in holiness, in righteousness, and in purity in the strength of the Lord.

For, when Jesus died he put sin to death, on our behalf, so that through faith in him we might die with him to sin and live with him to his righteousness. So, this faith in Christ involves conformity to his righteousness through the power of God’s Spirit living within us, as we cooperate fully with the Spirit in his work of cleansing our hearts from sin.

But, this cleansing from sin he promises us must be preceded by honest confession, for if we withhold the truth and hold on to our lies, and then if we cover up the lies with even more sins against God and against others, we will never be free, and we will never be able to walk in victory over sin and in Christ’s righteousness, for we are still wearing the chains.

So, if we want to be free, we need to be honest, and then we need to turn from those sins to following our Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives.

Psalm 51:10-13 NASB

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

And sustain me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners will be converted to You.

When we are honest with God and with others concerning our sins, and we truly turn away from those sins to follow our Lord in obedience, he does renew us, and he does restore us to fellowship with him. And, then we are at peace. But, we will never know peace as long as we willfully hold on to sins and we refuse to be honest about them and to turn away from them.

But, when we do repent of our sins, and we turn to God or back to God to follow our Lord in surrender to his will for our lives, we are renewed in spirit, for we serve a loving, forgiving and compassionate God. Amen! And, we can know his joy once more, and he will strengthen us and help us to remain steadfast in our faith and to walk in purity with him, if we will let him.

And, in his strength and power at work within us we can live in victory over sin. We don’t have to keep repeating the same old sins over and over and over again, feeling continually defeated by our own inability to conquer sinful addictions. For, Jesus died to set us free!

We just have to bow the knee, resist Satan, flee temptation, cut out of our lives what is leading us into sin, then say “NO” to doing what we know is wrong and say “YES” to doing what we know is right, relying on God to sustain us and to help us through it all.

Then, when we are walking in freedom from the control of sin over our lives, and we are living for the Lord, and we are walking in his ways, although not perfectly, we can teach others how to also walk in the ways of the Lord and to live victoriously over sin.

But, we must guard against talking above what we ourselves are living, and we must guard against hypocrisy, and we must be honest, sincere, and genuine with others, or we do no one any good.

Psalm 51:14-17 NASB

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;

Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

That my mouth may declare Your praise.

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;

You are not pleased with burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

If you have ever sinned as deeply as David sinned against God, you will know in your heart and in your emotions what David felt when he wrote this prayer of confession to God. This was no light or flippant confession of sin, shallow in nature, having no real power to it.

This was a man, broken in heart by his own sin, fully repentant, seeking God’s face for deliverance, not only from the sin itself, but from the guilt he felt in his heart over the horrible things which he had done. I get this fully!

Then, when God delivered him, and he was able to forgive himself, as well, the joy of his salvation was restored to his heart and mind, and he was able once more to sing praises to God. Amen!

What David learned from this, and what we all need to learn from this is that God is not interested in what we are willing to do for him, of our own choosing, if we are not willing to lay our lives down on the altar and give our lives fully to him for him to work his will and his ways in our lives.

What God desires from us is not service projects, especially while we willfully hold on to sinful practices. What he desires are broken and contrite hearts, fully repentant, humble, honest, and willing to be molded by him into his likeness, and to do what he has called each of us to be and to do.

Then, he can take us, and he can use us for his glory in the lives of others who also need the Lord, and who need to be broken before him, too.

He Reached Down  

An Original Work / February 3, 2014

Based off Psalm 18

How I love You, Lord, my Rock and my strength.

My God is my fortress; I hide in Him.

He is my shield and the horn of

My salvation, whom I praise.

I have found my refuge in Him.

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;

Drew me out of waters so deep, I’d sink.

He delivered me from Satan

And my slavery to sin;

Gave me hope of heaven with Him.

My God turned my darkness into His light;

Opened up my blinded eyes; gave me sight.

As for God, his way is perfect.

He gives strength to stand secure.

I have found my vict’ry in Him.

My Lord lives! Praise be to my Savior God,

Jesus Christ, who died on a cruel cross.

He is my Rock and the source

Of my salvation, whom I trust.

I will give praise always to Him.

https://vimeo.com/86346545

Saturday, October 20, 2018 – Thank You, Jesus, that you reached down from heaven and you rescued me from my slavery to sin. Amen!

Though War Arise

I have sought the Lord concerning what he would have me teach with regard to this passage of scripture today, and so what I am relaying is what I believe he has laid upon my heart to share, and that it is very timely.

Psalm 27:1-3 NASB

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life;

Whom shall I dread?

When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,

My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

Though a host encamp against me,

My heart will not fear;

Though war arise against me,

In spite of this I shall be confident.

We read in the prophecies of scripture, both in the Old and the New Testaments, regarding a time at the end of time when things will get really evil, and deception will abound, and a “beast” will arise and will conquer nations and peoples and the saints of God (believers in Jesus Christ).

These things, nonetheless, don’t just suddenly appear on the scene. These things are carefully and craftily planned and carried out over many years in preparation for the “final act.” So, much of this has been going on forever, and with the passage of time we have seen more and more prophecy of scripture being fulfilled in our day and time.

What the Lord has been showing me these past fourteen years is that the elite “beast” of the world (the rich and powerful) are the de facto government of the USA, and our government serves them. They are the all-seeing eye which hovers over the unfinished pyramid on our national seal. And, NATO, I believe, is its/their military power.

Thus, the US military, which comprises the vast majority of NATO forces, under the direction of our government, which is really under the direction of the elite (all-seeing eye beast), is going throughout the world, not to protect our freedoms, and not to protect us from invading forces, but as conquerors in overtaking other nations and in confiscating their natural resources and their lands, and in killing Christians and anyone who opposes them and does not bow to this beast.

But, then the media, which is also under the control of the elite (all-seeing eye beast), spews forth whatever the wealthy and powerful rulers of this world want the world to believe, especially in America where most Americans truly believe the media, and where they believe we are the “good guys.” But, we aren’t.

We are the harlot who rides the beast, more specifically the institutional church is because it is the church in bed with the government which is of the beast, so that makes the (501c3) church culpable for the crimes committed by our government leaders and military forces.

But, this also means that our greatest enemies are those within our own nation, and those within the church, too, for the government is within the church, and many false teachers are also within the church, but they are not there to help us, but they are there to kill, to steal and to destroy the church (See John 10).

So, whether you live in a nation other than the USA where you are faced with the reality of physical persecution at the hands of the US government and the All-Seeing Eye (Elite, powerful and wealthy), or whether you live in the USA, and for now are only being persecuted in non-physical ways, still this beast, this conglomerate of the wealthy and powerful of the world is our enemy, and it/they are out to get us, to destroy us.

Yet, if we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and we have died with him to sin, and we have been resurrected with him to newness of life to be lived to his righteousness, we have nothing to fear. For, the Lord is our light and our salvation. He is our defense. He is the stronghold of our lives. And, he will give us everything we need to endure, to remain strong in him, to withstand all persecution, and to come out of it all as mighty conquerors through Christ Jesus, who loves us.

Psalm 27:4-6 NASB

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord

And to meditate in His temple.

For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;

In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;

He will lift me up on a rock.

And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,

And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

This is SO encouraging! If truly we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been born again to new life in him, and we are walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, then we can be assured that we may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives. For, Jesus died on that cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. This is what it means to be saved from our sins.

Thus, if we are in Christ Jesus by death to sin and living to righteousness, in his power and in his strength at work within us, then we are protected from the evil one. This is not to say that we won’t suffer persecution or false imprisonment or torture or death for our faith in Jesus Christ. We will suffer, because that is part of our walk of faith, and because Satan hates us and is out to destroy us if truly we are followers of Jesus Christ.

But, he will give us what we need to stand strong against the enemy and to not bow to this beast and to not compromise with the world and to stay firm in our commitments to Jesus Christ to the death, if necessary.

Psalm 27:7-10 NASB

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,

And be gracious to me and answer me.

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,

“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

Do not hide Your face from me,

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not abandon me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation!

For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

But the Lord will take me up.

In this time of evil that is on the earth, and which will increase, we will be hated, but not just by those outside of our nation or those outside of the church, but by those within our own nation and in our own towns and in our own neighborhoods and households, and coming from family members and church people and church leaders, too. And, they will abandon us, if not physically, they will emotionally and spiritually forsake us.

Yet, we can be comforted with the knowledge that our Lord will never leave or forsake those who are truly his. He will be with us always. We can always count on him and his Word and that he will do what he has promised. So, in that we can rest secure that we can go to him in our sorrow and in our suffering and he will take us and hold us and comfort us. Amen!

Psalm 27:11-14 NASB

Teach me Your way, O Lord,

And lead me in a level path

Because of my foes.

Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

These false witnesses have not only risen against us, who are followers of Jesus, but they are against the gospel of our salvation, too. So, they have infiltrated the church in order to destroy the gospel message, too. Thus, they have diluted the gospel to a half-truth gospel made to appear as though it is the true gospel, when it is a lie.

For, they have removed from the gospel the whole idea that we must die with Christ to sin and that we must live with him to righteousness if we want to have eternal life with God. Some even take it so far as to tell their listeners that God requires nothing of them other than some obscure and non-descript “faith” which is not true faith at all, for it doesn’t come from God, but from the flesh. And, they tell them that they don’t have to repent of their sins or obey Jesus or submit to his will for their lives.

But, the way of the Lord is not like that. The way of the Lord is the way of righteousness and holiness and purity and faithfulness and honesty. He says that if we want to come after him, we must deny self and we must daily put sin to death. He also said that if we hold on to our old lives, we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives (die with him to sin) for his sake, then we have the hope of eternal life (See: Lu. 9:23-25; cf. Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

The sad reality of it all, though, is that it seems the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians have bought into this feel-good half-truth gospel which is not the true gospel, for it saves no one of sin, but leaves them still bound in their sins and on their way to hell. And, that is because it is driven by the flesh in order to appease the flesh, so that people can continue in their sinful addictions without guilt.

But, it is all a lie, and if you buy it, you will pay the consequences. So, don’t be fooled. Know the truth. Believe the truth! For, the truth will set you free!

Only in Him 

An Original Work / February 19, 2014

Based off Isaiah 30

Woe to those who look to man’s help;

Who turn away from Jesus Christ;

Forming an alliance not in step with God;

Making their own plans, and praying not.

Willing not to listen to truth,

They close their ears to what is right.

Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;

Feel good messages that bring cheer.

Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.

Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.

Do not turn to idols. They’ll not satisfy.

Jesus will save you. That’s why He died.

Your Lord will be gracious to you.

He cares all about you, ‘tis true.

He forgives you all of your sin

When you give your life up to Him.

Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be

When you bow to Him on your knees;

Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.

He’ll lead and guide you all of your days.

Now you will sing praises to Him.

He delivered you from your sin.

You’ll tell others now of His grace,

So they may see Christ face-to-face.

https://vimeo.com/87181019

Thursday, October 18, 2018 – Thank You, Jesus!

Friend or Foe?

Psalm 25:1-3 NASB

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in You I trust,

Do not let me be ashamed;

Do not let my enemies exult over me.

Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;

Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

We all have enemies. Even those who may be loved by the masses have those who don’t like them or who despise them or who are against them. For, we can never please everyone. We shouldn’t even try to please everyone, but we should be living to please God.

Yet, even some people who we think are our friends may be, in fact, our enemies, if they coddle us in our sins rather than speak truth to our hearts. Or, if our friends are leading us into sin, then they are not really our friends. For, better are the rebukes of a true friend than the kisses of an enemy.

Those of us who are following the Lord Jesus in surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands, and are walking in his ways, definitely have enemies, because Satan hates us, and so he will persuade those who are under his control to also hate us and to mistreat us.

The sad reality here, though, is that many who profess the name of Jesus are actually his enemies and are our enemies, as well. Our enemies may or may not be genuinely saved from their sins, but they are those who are walking in the ways of the world and of the flesh, and so they don’t like those of us who are following the Lord – though not in absolute perfection, but who are walking in his ways and in his truth day by day.

So, this is the cry of the heart of one who is a servant of the Lord who has enemies who are causing him or her harm and distress via deceitfulness and betrayal. These enemies could be those who claim to be our friends and who claim to care about us, but who may be lying to us. This is asking of the Lord that our enemies not be able to triumph over us, in their pride, but that our enemies would be brought to the place where they are ashamed of their conduct, and hopefully brought to repentance.

Psalm 25:4-7 NASB

Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,

For they have been from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

According to Your lovingkindness remember me,

For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

None of us is incapable of being penetrated by sin. Although we are forgiven of our sins when we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we still live in flesh bodies. We still have the propensity to sin against God.

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, though, and by faith in him, we are delivered from our slavery to sin so that we can now become slaves of his righteousness. Sin should no longer be our master. It should no longer have control over our lives so that our lives are ruled by sin.

Daily, by the Spirit of God, we should be putting to death the deeds of the flesh and we should be walking (conducting our lives) according to the Spirit. If we do sin, we should repent of it, and keep following our Lord in surrender and in obedience to his will.

We should desire our Lord above all else, and want to know his ways and to walk in them, and for him to show us the way in which he wants us to go. And, we should desire truth in the innermost parts of our lives.

Psalm 25:12-15 NASB

Who is the man who fears the Lord?

He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

His soul will abide in prosperity,

And his descendants will inherit the land.

The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,

And He will make them know His covenant.

My eyes are continually toward the Lord,

For He will pluck my feet out of the net.

So many people say they want to know God’s will for their lives, and they will even claim that they are seeking to know his will, all the while they are living in open rebellion against God via sinful addictions. So, their words and their actions don’t mix. For, we can’t walk in the ways of our flesh, to do what is contrary to God’s commands, and be led by the Spirit in the ways of the Lord, too. For, one will ultimately cancel out the other.

So, if we want to know the ways of the Lord, so that we may walk in them, then we need to be those who walk in the fear of the Lord. This means that we honor him as the holy God that he is. It means, too, that we walk in obedience to his commands, that we show him respect, and that we revere him always. It also means that we worship him via the yielding of our lives over to him, to be pleasing to him, and that we no longer live in conformity to the ways of this sinful world (See: Rom. 12:1-2).

For, if we truly want victory over sin, we have to live in the fear of the Lord. We can’t have it both ways. We can’t continually and consistently be yielding control of our lives over to the lusts of our flesh and then expect God to deliver us. Thus, if you are one who is “struggling” with sinful addiction, i.e. you are one who regularly yields to the flesh, as a matter of course, then don’t be surprised when you continue to fail and you don’t have victory.

For, we can’t play with fire and expect to not get burned. We can’t continue to go into situations blindly which have burned us before, and then act surprised, or wonder why God didn’t rescue us. He has already made the way of escape for us. We just have to take the way out he provided, which is to forsake our lives of sin and to walk with him in obedience, in purity, and in faithfulness.

Psalm 25:16-22 NASB

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

For I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

Bring me out of my distresses.

Look upon my affliction and my trouble,

And forgive all my sins.

Look upon my enemies, for they are many,

And they hate me with violent hatred.

Guard my soul and deliver me;

Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,

For I wait for You.

Redeem Israel, O God,

Out of all his troubles.

When our enemies come against us fiercely to attack us, or when they secretly do evil against us behind our backs in a way of betrayal against us, especially if they are those who claim to love us, it hurts. It wounds our hearts. And, we will feel those emotions of being betrayed, forsaken, and forgotten, and that is loneliness. It is loneliness to experience hatred, abandonment, betrayal, unfaithfulness, and deceit, and to feel such rejection of ourselves by others.

But, if we are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord fills that loneliness with his Spirit, with his comfort, and with his love. For, when others forsake us, our Lord will receive us. He will never leave us or forsake us.

Because we are human, and we bleed physically and emotionally, we are not unaffected by how other people treat us. Yet, we must turn these hurts over to the Lord and allow him to heal our wounded hearts and to bring peace to our troubled minds. So, it is a very good thing for us to cry these out to God and to allow him to bring comfort to our hearts, and to let him fill us with his joy.

And, we need to pray for those who despitefully use us and abuse us, and do good to them and say to them what is beneficial for them. We should pray that God would bring them to their knees in repentance so that they can be delivered from their slavery to sin. For, many people who claim to love God are not walking in love or in truth or in purity, but they are living to please the lusts of their flesh, no matter who they hurt in the process.

So, we need to pray that they will turn their hearts over to Jesus and that they will now walk in victory over sin and in God’s love and grace. And, we need to keep forgiving them, no matter how many times they sin against us. And, we need to guard our own hearts against bitterness of spirit or depression because of what we are going through at the hands of those who hate us.

Living Water

An Original Work / November 21, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

My people have forsaken Me,

Their Savior, who died on a tree;

Made idols, and they worshipped them;

So empty, they will ne’er fulfill.

Lord, You are the hope of Your chosen ones.

Those who turn away from You will be shamed;

The Spring of Living Water left behind.

Living Water satisfies.

The thirsty, let them come and drink;

Believe in Jesus as their King;

The gift of Jesus given them,

So they will never thirst again.

Indeed, the Living Water flows within.

It springs up like a fountain cleansing sin.

Eternal life in heaven promised them.

Living Water glorifies.

Oh people, won’t you come to Him?

Obey Him and repent of sin.

Let Jesus come and live within.

Surrender all your life to Him.

My people, won’t you turn your hearts to Me?

Forsake your idols and then you’ll be free.

Won’t you come now to Me on bended knee?

Living Water sanctifies.

https://vimeo.com/113088324

Wednesday, October 17, 2018, 3:00 a.m. – Thank You, Jesus, for loving us, for your comfort, your joy, your peace and for victory over sin and over loneliness.