Salt & Light Blog

Traits of God Part 3: He is Always with Us

7/28/2016

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Traits of God Part 3: He is Always with Us
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
Have you ever felt alone? I know I have. There are so many times I have felt completely alone, even in the midst of people. I have at times given into the lie that I had no one, but when I choose to listen to the Lord instead of the enemy’s propaganda, He reminded me that He is with me and He will never leave me. He also opened my eyes to show me the people He had placed in my life. How often have I repented for falling for the deception? But even with my consistent sin, God is with me, loving me, transforming me, and holding me. Believer, it is the same for you. You may feel alone, but you are not. You have God in so many wonderful ways and you have the worldwide body of Christ.
As Jesus was about to ascend to Heaven, He gave us an important job, a commission. It is recorded in Matthew 28:18-20.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Although He was leaving to return to Heaven, He was not leaving us. He was sending His Spirit to indwell believers and be with us always, to the end of the age. God chose to dwell, to live and stay in you. He loves you. He has made you holy. You belong to Him and He takes that very seriously. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 reads,
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
God fights for you! He is with you and nothing anyone does can make Him leave you. People who do not know love, will try to make you feel as alone as they feel. The enemy will try and make you think you are on your own. Circumstances may make you feel deserted. But it is not true for follower of Jesus. He is always with you and nothing can take you away from Him. Romans 8:37-39 encourages us with the truth.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He is not with you passively, just hanging by your side and watching apathetically. He is within you and He is working. He goes before you (Deuteronomy 31:8). He is listening (1 John 5:14). He cares. And He is keeping you safe and protected. In Isaiah 41:8-10 the Lord is speaking to Israel and to the faithful through the ages.
But you, Israel, my servant,
    Jacob, whom I have chosen,
    the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
    and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
    I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The times we are living in are turbulent, chaotic, and might be frightening for some. But as Spirit filled followers of Jesus Christ, we do not have to add to the bedlam. We can have a peace the world cannot understand, that we may not even understand (Philippians 4:4-7). How can we praise God and thank Him in the midst of the mayhem? We can because we know who God is and what He has said and we believe Him. Psalm 46 reads,
God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.   Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.   Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.   Selah

The God of Angel Armies is with you! Picture yourself walking in this world and in the Kingdom of God simultaneously. The desperate, war-torn, and blind world sees you walking peacefully among the ruins and they can’t comprehend your peace. The reason you have peace is because you know about the troops of fearsome angels surrounding you and the Warrior King, Jesus Christ on His great white horse leading them (Revelation 19:11-16). The reason you have peace is because you know God is inside you. You have peace because you know the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you (Romans 8:11). You have peace because you know God is sustaining you with His hand (Isaiah 41:13).
I can hear some of you saying, “That’s great, God is with me, but I am still lonely. I need people!” Believer, you don’t have to be alone or lonely. You are a part of the body of Christ. You are a member of a global family. God is indwelling your fellow believers just as He indwells you. You share some significant commonalities with the community of faith. Ephesians 4:4-6 reads,
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
There is one body of Christ, not many throughout the world. We are one body. We have one Spirit. He is in each of us and He is working toward the same goal for each and all. We have one Lord, Jesus Christ. We have one faith because there is one truth, not many. We may let denominations divide us, but we should not allow that to happen because we have one faith. We have one baptism. That means we are all saved by the same Gospel, our sins were forgiven by the same blood, and we all had to repent of sin. We have one God. My God is no different than your God unless your god is not the One True Living God who is called I Am (Isaiah 44:6, Exodus 3:14). We have one Father and He is sovereign over all of us, works through each and all of us, and in each of us. Romans 12:4-8 reads,
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Believers, we are commanded to be active members of the body of Christ, using our gifts to serve each other and allowing God to be over and work through and in all of us. We are members of one another, we belong to each other as much as we belong to God. Are you a functioning serving member of the body? Then don’t believe the lie that you are alone. Look around at your brothers and sisters, they love you if they love God. If you are not an effective working member of the body, then do something to change it and you will see you are not alone. You don’t have to be. You are a member of the body, a child of the LORD and if you choose not to reach out to your fellow believers, is it their fault for not comforting you or befriending you?
Do not fall for the deception that you are alone. Call out to God and draw near to Him and you will find He is right there with you. Reach out to your family in Christ and be the person God created you to be.

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The Face of God

7/18/2016

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O LORD God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. Psalm 80:19

I am so grateful to be back. I want to thank those of you who have prayed for me through my long absence. I am doing something a little different than I normally do. I have been having a very difficult time, feeling abandoned and forgotten by God. Though my head knows this is not true, my heart still feels it. I haven’t been having the deep conversations I normally have with the Lord so I asked Him to speak to me and He said, “Seek my face.” So I am doing just that today in my devotional, I am seeking God’s face. Numbers 6:24-27 is the blessing Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons. It reads,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance[c] upon you and give you peace.
27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

God’s face represents His presence and favor. For His face to shine upon them is to give them grace, help, favor, and blessing. To turn His face against them is to withhold those things. We are unable to be directly and physically in God’s presence right now in these earthly bodies. When Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory, The Lord responded,
“And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.  But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:19-23).
We would die to see Him face to face now but one day, we will be transformed and united with Him for eternity. One day we will see Him face to face. Revelation 22:3-5 describes eternity this way,
No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 says it like this,
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

We know God has promised us He will always be with us and never leave us Deuteronomy 31:6 reads,
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

So how is that different from His presence? How can His face shine on you or not shine on you? And why would there be times when His face doesn’t shine on you? We are told to seek the face of the Lord continuously, Psalm 105:1-5 reads,
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

For some Believers, we may reach times of complacency in our walk, perhaps a time when our passion or zeal for The Lord has cooled a bit, when our prayer life gets to the point of praying once or twice a day rather than continuously. So God loves us enough to do something about it. Psalm 11:4-7 reads,
The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord's throne is in heaven;
    his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
    but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;
    fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
    the upright shall behold his face.

What that means is that He closes His eyes, He withdraws His presence from us, though He doesn’t leave us. As we have stepped further away from Him, He lets us know by taking a step back from us. He tests our faith, not for His benefit since He knows our heart completely, but for ours to show us the condition of our heart. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us,
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.
Maybe like me you have felt abandoned and forgotten. But be assured that is not the case. Even though He has closed His eyes for a time, it is because of His deep love and his desire for our sanctification that He has done it. It gives us a chance to examine our hearts and see our complacency, lukewarm heart, and sin. James 4:7-10 tells us how to be close to God again.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Psalm 102:2 reads,
Do not hide your face from me
    in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
    answer me speedily in the day when I call!

Believer, He won’t hide His face forever. He loves you so much. He wants the best for you. He disciplines those He loves (Proverbs 3:12). Pray, reach out, seek His face, draw close to God. God promised in Isaiah 54:5-8,
For your Maker is your husband,
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 For the Lord has called you
    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
    says your God.
7 For a brief moment I deserted you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In overflowing anger for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

I hope this devotional has been as encouraging for you as it has been for me. My heart has been lifted and my broken heart is being healed. God didn’t abandon me. He cares about me. He loves me and He wants me to have the love I used to have.

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Psalm 87 You’re Suffering but You’re not alone

6/26/2016

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He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

Psalm 88
There are times that the suffering we experience feels as if it has been with us forever and will last forever. I think many of us could recount tales of woe to one another that might astonish the other. If we were to actually share our burdens with one another, we would realize we are not as alone in the depths of anguish. When we open our eyes and look past our own pain, we can see that there is no one among us who is not suffering. If we ignore the lie that we are alone and understand all of us suffer, then we can bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
This Psalm it titled and subtitled,
I Cry Out Day and Night Before You
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
The psalmist was Heman the Ezrahite, one of the Sons of Korah. It is a psalm which expresses deep affliction and grief. Heman laid out his pain to God frankly and genuinely. There is no happy ending to the maskil, no unicorns or twinkly smiles. But there is still hope to be found in it. Verses 1-2 read,
O LORD, God of my salvation;
    I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!

The name the psalmist uses here for God is Yahweh or Jehovah, it is God’s ultimate name, His name for Himself, I Am. The name refers to His covenant relationship to us. Though Heman was in distress, he still had faith. We know he had faith because he was praying, because he wasn’t giving up, and because of how he addressed the Lord. Heman remembered God’s covenant with him and knew God remembered it with him. What is the promise the psalmist kept in mind? What is it that kept him going? The promise that keeps me going through the worst is found often in scripture, it is written in Deuteronomy 31:8.
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Jesus said it again when He was about to ascend to Heaven in Matthew 28:20
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age

So Heman could pray because he knew his prayers were being heard. Do you know your prayers are not bouncing off the ceiling, or falling on deaf ears? God hears you. He doesn’t ignore your sorrow. Heman prayed honestly. There is no reason to hide our feelings to God. We can be completely open with Him. Being honest with God allows Him to reveal the truth to us and walk in His will and His way by taking the steps He guides us toward in our conversations. If I’m busy pretending that I am okay with my situation, how will I hear my Lord comfort me? If I am lying to myself as I tell God that everything is honky dory, how will I hear His direction? Purge the lies from your prayers and be honest. There are no masks necessary between you and your Maker and Savior.
James 4:8 reads,
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded

Verses 3-7 show the psalmists candor.
For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
    for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
    in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
He says not only is he dying but the people around him treat him as if he is already dead. He confesses he has no strength and may as well be in his grave already. Most shockingly, he accuses God of being the one who put him there. We know that God doesn’t want us in pain, but we also know that God does allow pain and suffering for various reasons. For the most part our suffering, illness, and pain is from Satan. Remember he is a creation of God and subject to Him. We can see this point illustrated in Paul’s description of the thorn in his flesh.
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
God allows Satan to send woes on us. What Satan means for evil and what people mean for harm, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). Whatever Heman’s troubles were, they began in his youth and had remained with him (Verse 15). He had suffered for so long and he saw no end in sight, but he cried out to God day and night. He leaned on the Lord and though he had no strength, he could keep going. Verses 8-12 read,
You have caused my companions to shun me;
    you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
    I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

The psalmist was deeply sad. He felt trapped in his pain and exhausted from sorrow. He was having trouble seeing anything except his grief. Yet, he still prayed, not only with his words but with his posture; he spread out his hands to God. Look how honest he was with God. He said, “Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed praise you?” He was saying if I’m dead, what good can you do through me? How can I praise you and tell anyone how great you are if I’m dead? Even as he cried out his anguish and frustration to God, he still declared God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, miracles, and righteousness. He said, ‘how can I tell the world about your steadfast love and faithfulness if I’m dead or considered an abomination? People can’t see your wonders or righteousness in my desolation.’
Heman was not afraid to be honest with God. I have no doubt that God answered Heman. I think that verses 10-12 show that God was included in the conversation. As Heman cried out, it was God who said, “Your suffering is showing my steadfast love, faithfulness, wonders, and righteousness. You are not an abomination to me. You are not dead. My grace is sufficient for you. You are not alone. I am with you to the end of the age.”

A few weeks ago, I was awake very early and spending time with my Lord in nature. I freely let it all go. I cried and cried to Him about my pain and illness. Parts of my prayer echoed this Psalm. I had suffered for so long and felt like I was very close to death. I asked God why He had not healed me. Just then a sparrow flew into my path. Immediately Luke 12:6-7 came to my mind,
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

My Father didn’t stop there, He then brought Matthew 6:26 to me.
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which led to Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
In that little sparrow, God spoke to me and said, “Don’t worry; just keep seeking me. I’m taking care of you. I will always be with you.” My cries turned to thanks. My fears turned to faith. If I had not been willing to be completely open, God would not have been able to allay my weakness with His strength.
Did my health get restored? No. I was still in pain, still weak and still sick. My world didn’t suddenly become a rose garden. My world remained as it was but my perspective changed. I haven’t stopped asking the Lord to heal me. I haven’t stopped suffering this terrible pain and frailty. Neither did Heman. Verses 13-18 read,
But I, O LORD, cry to you;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
    Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
    they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.

This psalm doesn’t end with fat baby angels playing harps on fluffy clouds. It ends with Heman’s pain and loneliness. God doesn’t always take away the pain, He doesn’t always have those we’ve lost forgive us and restore failed relationships. But He does always remain with us. He does always take care of us when we seek Him and His will.
Believer, I know you’re suffering. I know you wonder if it will ever end. The Father will never leave you nor forsake you. Jesus is with you, always. The Holy Spirit is in you; His awesome power is at work in you. You have hope. You have eternity waiting for you. Jesus described our eternal home this way in Revelation 21:3-4,
Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age Matthew 28:20

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Genesis 9:1-17 God’s Promises are Certain and Eternal

6/9/2016

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Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations Deuteronomy 7:9

Genesis 9:1-17
Noah and his family were finally off the ark after 15 long months. God had saved them from the destruction that He had wrought on the rest of the world. After Noah made an offering of praise and thanks to the Lord, He blessed the entire family and their descendants, including you and me. Verse 1 reads,
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”
His first blessing was in the form of this familiar command, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” It was up to Noah and his sons to be the forefathers of all the peoples who would fill the earth. They were all that was left, but just as God had filled the earth with only Adam and Eve, He would do so with Noah’s sons and their wives. He was reminding them that there was hope and a future by giving them the same words He had spoken to Adam and Eve in the beginning. In Genesis 1:28-29 God said,
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
Now God added to that promise and covenant He had made with Adam and Eve.
Verses 2-3 read,
The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
The animals had not previously had a natural fear of man, but after the Flood, God gave them that fear. Before the Flood, the animals were under men’s dominion but not afraid because they would need to obey Noah and spend more than a year enclosed with him. But after the flood, both animals and men became carnivores. The fear was a protection for the predator/prey relationship as a balance for the population.
There was also the promise of animals as food and provision for Noah and his descendants. Previously God have given man plants, trees, and seeds, but now he said, “I give you everything.” They would no longer have to rely solely on plants and seeds but now could add meat. The offerings men made to God after this point would bless both God and man in communion and fellowship, as well as provision for the priest who would offer it, even though there were no priests yet (Leviticus 7:15, Leviticus 10:12-15).
But this promise came with a warning, about respecting life. Verses 4-6 reads,
But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man,
    by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.

God required that the blood be removed from the meat they would eat. Blood represents life and the draining of it, gives us an appreciation for the life the animal held. Today, most of us do not hunt for our food, we get it from farms and ranches who do all the work of raising and gathering. Our food is butchered and prepared by someone else. So we don’t always appreciate that the steak was once a cow that lived and breathed or that the bread was once stalks of wheat. But we are meant to appreciate it and be thankful to God, the Giver of Life.
Thoughtlessness about that blood, and the life which was taken is no small thing. Life is sacred because it comes from God. He promised He would avenge the taking of life, especially the life of man, because we are made in His image. God doesn’t take that lightly but too many of us do. All men, saved or not saved, farmer or banker, are made in the image of God and so are to be respected as God’s creation. Then God reiterated this fact by reminding Noah and his family to make more life rather than take it. Verses 7-11 read,
And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

To show us how holy life is to Him, God made a covenant with men and every kind of animal to never destroy life by a flood and never send a flood to destroy the earth. He also chose to add a beautiful reminder for both Himself and us. Verses 12-17
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

God didn’t and does not need his memory jogged about His promise. The rainbow reminds us that even though the clouds are dark and the storm may be difficult God is saying, ‘I will not let this storm devastate or obliterate you.’
The Lord is so good! His promises are forever. His covenants are forever. If God said, do this and I will do that, you can be certain He will hold up His end. Jesus reminded us He is the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation in Revelation 3:14.

In Deuteronomy 7:6-11 The Lord told Israel,
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”

Here are just a few beautiful promises from God Romans 8:37-39 says,
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord

Psalm 139:13-18 reads,
For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 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.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

And Deuteronomy 31:8 reads,
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Believer, whatever it is you are going through today, remember God loves you, you are special made in His image and He is with you. When the storms of life are brewing all around you look up to the skies, see His rainbow and remember His promises to you.

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Deuteronomy 31 Remember Who The Lord is, All He has Done, and He is With You

4/3/2016

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Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Deuteronomy 31
As Moses reached the end of reminding Israel of the Law, of writing it all down, preparing them to cross the Jordan, and handing the reigns of Israel over to Joshua, he must have felt so many conflicting emotions. He was about to die. He would not see the Promised Land that he had led the people to behind the LORD for forty years. And God had told him and Israel that they would not keep the covenant He had made with them. Moses had lived 120 years, forty as a prince of Egypt, forty as a sojourner and learner, and forty as a prophet and friend of God. Israel had been with him through that life, they were slaves in Egypt 430 years, wanderers in the desert for forty years, and now they would become God’s nation of Israel under a new prophet and leader.
First Moses encouraged the people and then Joshua their new leader. Verses 1-8 read,
“So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’3 The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Whenever we are about to begin something new, the Lord wants us to remember what He has already done for us. He wants us to consider the ways He has brought us through, the great things He has done, and who He has been. He tells us, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is I, the Lord your God who goes with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” What has the Lord already done for you? Has He always provided? Has He defeated the enemy? Has He made you into someone new? Has He brought you through the wilderness, trials, suffering, and tribulations untold? Don’t you know He will not leave you now? Don’t you know He is with you?
In order to remember God’s presence with Israel and help them to not forget, God commanded the regular reading of the Law he had just given them when they assembled for the Feast of Booths each year. The Feast of Booths was a celebration of gratitude for provision and a reminder of the wilderness. This joyous occasion was marked with purposeful recollection of God’s care and leading and the covenant He kept with them. Verses 9-13 read,
Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Why did the Lord want them to remember and obey? So that they would know who God is, so they would fear Him, to deeply venerate Him for every generation. Reading the Law together and hearing all God had done should have kept Israel from sinning, from breaking the covenant they had made with God. But it didn’t.
Now Moses had to appoint Joshua to take his place and prepare Him to lead the nation into the Promised Land. Verses 14-18 read,
And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.
16 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.”
Even when it seems He is far off or not with you at all, He is with you. Sometimes He withdraws the awareness of His presence from you so that you will actively seek Him again and sometimes you close your eyes to Him in your sin, pride, and shame. God had made the covenant with Israel knowing they would break it time and again. He gave them the Promised Land knowing they would desecrate it. But He loved them. He loves us. He saved us knowing every sin we would commit, knowing every defiant act we would perpetrate, yet He chooses to see us through Jesus’ blood as His righteous children. He never leaves us, He never forsakes us. He loves us so much that He wants us to be who we were created to be, a distinctive people, a holy priesthood, His chosen nation. So sometimes He hides His face from us. He doesn’t leave, He lets us feel as if He has. He does that for our good. He does that to discipline and bring us back onto the path He leads us on.
Hiding his face means He doesn’t rescue us from the circumstances we permitted by our sin. He lets us have the free will to choose the flesh and He lets us suffer the consequences of those actions. He does it because our Loving Holy Father disciplines His children and conforms us to His image.
God gave Israel a song which would remind them to turn back to the Lord. He knew they would sin and He still made a way for them to repent and come back. Verses 19-29 read,
“Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel.
23 And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”
24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 26 “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there fora witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”

God loves you! He loves you very much. He loves you and saved you even though you are not perfect. He is making you perfect though. He promised this for you and to Him the promise is as good as done. Hebrews 10:14-18 says it this way,
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

We cannot be perfect without God. We cannot even try to be good enough on our own. With Him, we remember all He has done, who He is, and what He has said. We do our part which is to let Him be God, trust Him do what must be done, and heed the words He has given to us.

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2 Kings 13:10-25 The Lord Will Never Forsake You

2/3/2016

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Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:12-14

s2 Kings 13:10-25
Today’s passage describes the reign of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. Verses 10-13 read,
“In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.”
It would seem that that is all that will be written about this Jehoash or Joash (the two names are interchangeable, like Michael and Mike refer to the same person). He walked in the way of Jeroboam and led Israel in sin, meaning he not only encouraged Jeroboam’s false religion which displaced true worship in Samaria, he practiced it. But even so, The Lord did not forsake Joash nor did He forget Israel. In fact Joash was a mighty warrior king for Israel because The Lord refused to relinquish His people.
Verse 14 turns from Joash to Elisha.
“Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
Elisha was ill and he was going to die. Joash came to see him and he was distraught over losing this man, the father to the sons of the prophets, father to a nation and better for Israel’s security than an army of chariots and horsemen. When Elijah, Elisha’s mentor was taken to Heaven, Elisha cried out the very same thing as The Lord allowed him to see His army take Elijah (2 Kings 2:9-13). Although Joash did not worship The Lord in the way The Lord had commanded, he still turned to Him, he still trusted The Lord to protect Israel and be their God because of Elisha. God would not abandon His people even when they turned from Him. Verses 15-19 read,
And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
Elisha was not angry that Joash had only struck the ground three times, he was angry that the people he loved would not completely eradicate their sin and would not completely overcome Syria. Joash would lead his people in victory against Syria three times, but he would not eliminate the threat for future generations. Joash did not give his entire heart to The Lord, only part of it. If he had loved The Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:6), he would have taught the people of Israel to worship The Lord in truth and he would have torn down the false temple. Real faith results in real works which results in real effects. James 2:14-22 explains it this way,
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;”
Even so, The Lord did not desert Joash and Israel, He kept His covenant with them, He is their God and they are His people and they will know He is The Lord (Exodus 6:7). They didn’t keep the covenant, but God did. And He extended that covenant to believers in Jesus Christ who have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel (2 Corinthians 6:16-18, Romans 11:17-23).
After Joash said goodbye to the beloved prophet, Elisha died. Verses 20-21 read,
“So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.”
Even after his death, Elisha’s life was life-giving to people who remembered him, to people who heard and read what was recorded about his life and deeds, and literally to a dead man thrown into the grave with him. Elisha’s legacy continued to glorify The Lord, his legacy saved lives. He spoke the Word of God. He never backed down from that. God was always with Him. The Spirit of God was on Elisha from the moment he put on Elijah’s mantle and never left him.
God used Joash even though he did not worship Him in spirit and truth. But look how much more The Lord used Elisha who was totally ‘sold out’ to Him. Israel and Judah were saved numerous times, countless people came to faith in The Lord, the sons of the prophets learned, and people were raised from the dead even after his death. Consider how much more The Lord will use you and me, Brothers and Sisters, who have the Holy Spirit not just on us but within us! Consider the impact we can make for the Kingdom of God because we love The Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Consider the lives that can be saved, the people snatched from death because we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. You and I can make a difference if we let God use us fully. Ephesians 1:15-23 reads,
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
Unlike Joash, Jesus conquered the enemy and made us victors with Him. He completely wiped Satan out, and one day soon Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. But there is more to do. There are people blindly following Satan to Hell, they must be rescued. In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus commanded his disciples,
“And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
He would not tell us to do something and not make it possible for us to do it. Elisha had the Spirit of God on Him and he did all these things for The Lord. We have the spirit of God in us, we can do all the things that Jesus did. Together and the unified body of Christ, the impact we could and should make on this world should be huge! In John 14:11-17 Jesus said,
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me[ anything in my name, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
The Lord did not abandon Joash or Israel, His special possession. He did not abandon Elisha, His prophet. He will not abandon us, His sons and daughters. Do not be afraid to glorify The Lord and do the works that prove your faith to the world.

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Psalm 44 Where is God in my Trials?

7/4/2015

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Psalm 44

I know there are times when you feel detached from The Lord, even when you have not sinned, even when you are doing everything a good Christian does. You’re going to church, you’re spending time with Him, and you’re reading the Bible. But somehow you are still being persecuted, you are still suffering. What do you do in times like that?

What do we do when it feels like our prayers are hitting the ceiling instead of being breathed in by Holy God? We trust God. We remember all the miracles, the guidance, and the good He has done for us. We trust that He hears us and knows what is best for us. We remember the truth, God will never leave us nor forsake us. Verses 1-3 read,

“O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,
    but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
    but them you set free;
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,
    nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
    and the light of your face,
    for you delighted in them.”

It was not Israel that won the Promised Land for themselves. It was God Almighty who gave it to them. He defeated their enemies. It was not their strength but His. What is it in our lives that we’ve taken credit for that we should be thanking God for? What gifts and talents do we have that we have not acknowledged are from God and used them for His Kingdom? God loves us so much. He enjoys giving us blessings, fighting for us, and bringing us to the city He has promised us in eternity, New Jerusalem. When we remember all God has done for us so far and all He did for those in the past, we are reminded that we can trust Him to carry us through all our present trials and all our future hardships. Verses 4-8 read,

“You are my King, O God;
    ordain salvation for Jacob!
5 Through you we push down our foes;
    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For not in my bow do I trust,
    nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
    and have put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually,
    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah”

Didn’t He save us before? Didn’t He vindicate us? We can trust in His strength not ours. We can have faith in His plan instead of our own. We can believe that salvation is ours and that eternal life began the moment we submitted to Him as Lord and King. Even when we are in the midst of persecution, tribulation, and suffering we can thank God and praise Him. He used our past suffering for our good and He is using our present pain for our good, and He will use our future experience for our good.

That means that sometimes we do go through persecution, hardships, and pain. That means that sometimes God will test our faith. He doesn’t do it to punish us. He doesn’t condemn us. He strengthens us and He shows us who we have become in Him. He holds up a mirror and lets us see His reflection looking back at us with immense and stalwart love. Our Father hasn’t forgotten us, instead He let go of the bicycle. He is so proud of who we are becoming and what we are doing. If He had never let go of the bike, if He had not proven our faith we would never know we could ride that bike wherever we needed to go. Falling is not fun and the injuries it causes are painful but we get back up, we get back on, and we trust God when He tells us He will always be there with us.

The author of this psalm felt the heaviness of the ordeal he endured. He could see that God was allowing the enemies of Israel to oppress them. Verses 9-16 read,

“But you have rejected us and disgraced us
    and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
    and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
    demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
    a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.”

But he prayed anyway, he trusted in who God was and he remembered all God had done and promised. He didn’t stop praying because times were hard. He didn’t stop believing that God is awesome because of his pain. And he didn’t stop praying for deliverance or believing that God would save him. Verses 17-22 read,

“All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our steps departed from your way;
19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
    and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this?
    For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

These verses reflect the agony of suffering and the hope of maintaining and exercising faith. Look again at verse 19.

“yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
    and covered us with the shadow of death.”

What does the shadow of death bring to mind? Psalm 23:4 says,

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.”

God didn’t promise we wouldn’t walk through darkness or experience the effects of the evil of the world, but He did promise to be with us, and to use it for our good. (Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:28-29). He did promise that our response would be a testimony to the lost. (1 Peter 2:21). In Romans chapter 8 Paul quotes verse 22 of this psalm. Let’s read a portion of that profound chapter now, Romans 8:31-39 encourages us through the worst of troubles.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be[i] against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do you see how much God loves us? He is making us better and stronger because the world will war with Him and therefore us. But we are overcomers and victors in Christ. We are united with Him and cannot be separated from Him.

God can handle our honesty. He knows whether our words and thoughts reflect our heart. Because we are indelibly intricately inseparably united with God we can be sincere about our feelings. Often times when we bare those thoughts that are born from our flesh, God reveals our hearts to us and makes it possible to repent and further solidify our faith and trust in His greatness. Don’t be afraid to ask God for help. Don’t be afraid to say, “Yo, God did you forget me?” He will remind you He has not. The psalmist wasn’t afraid to authentically ask God to rescue Him, even when his attitude seemed irreverent. Verses 23-26 read,

“Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!”

Just remember this, The Lord loves you. He loves you deeply, consistently, and without condition. You cannot earn His love. You cannot merit His favor. How do you know this? Because Jesus died for you long before you were born. He died for your salvation before you took your first breath. He loves you so much. Remember that and trust Him through all your hardships. Celebrate Jesus no matter what you suffer.

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Psalm 22 You May Feel Alone, But God Will Never Forsake You.

6/12/2015

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Psalm 22

Psalm 22 is a Psalm with deep significance. It is read aloud each year at The Passover Seder. Every faithful Jewish person knows it, the way every student from my generation knows The Gettysburg Address, or the Pledge of Allegiance. It is the psalm that Jesus quoted as He hung dying on the cross when He gave His life for us. He only had to say that first sentence and every Jewish person in attendance who had just celebrated the Passover Seder remembered the Psalm and couldn’t help but see the prophetic words manifested.

Verses 1-2 read,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest.”

There are times when we feel as if God has left us, when we feel as if we are suffering with no end, crying out to God with no answer. But we know that isn’t true. Abandonment is a lie from the devil. God will never leave us.

Jesus knew God wouldn’t and couldn’t forsake Him. He is God. He took all our sins upon Himself and at that moment He represented the conflict between God and man. God doesn’t forsake us, we forsook Him until we accepted the gift of Salvation. God is Holy and He is good beyond what we can fathom. Man is separated from God by sin. Verses 3-5 read,

“Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted;
    they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”

The Old Covenant called for a relationship based on laws. It was getting to know who God is by following the law. Israel could trust God because He gave the Law, He led them through the wilderness, He anointed them with the Law, and He delivered them to The Promised Land. The Jewish nation got to know God and could have faith in Him, because when they cried out He answered.

When we cry out to God, when we call on the name of Jesus, He redeems us. He removes our sin. We are no longer sentenced to death. We are destined for eternal life. Romans 8:1-4 says,

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Jesus, the Son of God came to earth and was like us. He experienced life like us, yet He remained sinless through it. He followed the law perfectly but refused to give in to the ritual rules and tradition that the Pharisees worshipped. Jesus completely empathized with us. The religious hated Him. The powerful despised Him.

David cried out about his enemies and haters taunting him. And when he did, He described what was happening to Jesus as He chose to give us His life for the New Covenant which would allow us to know God on a level more intimate than the Law could. Verses 6-8 read,

“But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Now read Matthew 27:41-43

“So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Psalm 22:9-13 read,

“Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
    you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth,
    and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
    for trouble is near,
    and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me;
    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
    like a ravening and roaring lion.”

From before we were born God chose us. He has been sovereign over us, and He makes us His glory. (Romans 8:28-30). The devil, our enemy seeks to destroy us. (1 Peter 5:8-11). He wants to use suffering to hurt us, yet God uses it for our good.

Jesus suffered and His anguish was good for us. His torment on the cross, His death for us, is the crux of the New Covenant. We can suffer horribly. It will never be worse than what Jesus willingly suffered for us. Our suffering is often the consequences of our own poor choices, but Jesus was innocent. He agonized for us. We may feel alone through our tribulations, but we are not. Jesus understands. The Holy Spirit has sealed us for eternal life. Verses 14-18 read,

“I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
    it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;
    a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet--
17 I can count all my bones--
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.”

I have felt like that, my heart melted and completely alone in the midst of people who want me devastated. I was not alone. David felt it. You’ve probably felt like that. And my God, Jesus Christ underwent it. Matthew 27:33-36 describes His torment.

“And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.”

God is our Salvation! Jesus our Messiah was pierced for our transgressions! (Isaiah 53:5). We need Him and He answers. He is with us. He never leaves. He understands. He cares. He saved us from Satan. He was hated, yet He loves us. We have been and are hated if we truly are the image of Christ. (Matthew 10:22). He saved us and we respond by glorifying Him, by praising Him, and by testifying to who He is. The devil despises us. God adores us. Verses 19-24 read,

“But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dog!
21     Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
    the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
    but has heard, when he cried to him.”

Jesus gives us eternal life. Life, not only on this earth, but forever on the New Earth. Salvation is for all of us, none have to be excluded, Jew or gentile, rich or poor. All we have to do is call on Jesus. Verses 25-31 read,

“From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
    May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
    and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
    and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
    even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
    that he has done it.”

You are not forsaken. God has not and will not abandon you. You have not been rejected. Give your shame to God and let Him make you new. You can trust in Him. He understands. He cares. He loves. He is with you, now and always.

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Psalm 16 God is with you. But What Does That Mean?

6/5/2015

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Psalm 16

Believer, God is always with you. More importantly you are always with Him, in His care, in His loving hands. Remember nothing can snatch you out of His hands, nothing. (John 10:28). But there is more to your relationship than His great protection. His love for you is deeper and wider than that. Regardless of what you do He will not stop loving you. He couldn’t possibly love you any more.

Verses 1-2 read,

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”

The Lord preserves us, He keeps us and maintains us. It is good for us to know it to acknowledge it. It is God who not only sustains our lives, but He upholds our souls. He keeps us, but not as the same person we were when we first called on Him. He makes us new creatures. (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are reborn into a new life as new people. And the longer we walk with God and let Him preserve us, the more He makes us over to be like Him. All the good in us, is from God.

Apart from The Lord we are not capable of goodness. Good without God is futile. Before we knew Christ, we tried to do good things because it was the law. We didn’t steal because we didn’t want to go to jail. And we often broke the law regardless of our attempts not to do so. We knew it was wrong to lie, but we did. But in Christ, we are new and we have His Spirit conforming us to His image. Now in our maturation, we do good because God’s own nature is within us and we delight in His goodness. We are no longer concerned with punishment. We do good because we relish being united with God, we bear the fruit of His nature within us. We manifest His love, His good, and His salvation. Goodness is demonstrated in active use of the gifts God gave us.

God doesn’t require our service. We serve Him because we love Him and because we appreciate His amazing love and beautiful grace. The good He produces in us that manifests in goodness and service that benefits all the saints. Verse 3 reads,

“As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
    in whom is all my delight.”

It is the edification of the church, the maturation of His children, and the love displayed by us for one another that pleases the Lord. All the good gifts He has given us are not for us individually, but for His church, His bride, His beloved. They are for us as a body. Ephesians 4:11-13 reads,

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”

Verses 4-6 read,

“The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
    or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

People were made for a relationship with God. We were created with a need to worship. The lost don’t know what they are missing but they try to fill it with worship of idols and they are never satisfied. They seek to serve, but they serve false gods in futility. Their frustration increases and they can’t satisfy their longings. But for those in Christ, we serve The One True Living God. He is all we need. His grace is sufficient. The lost fear death because they don’t know what lies on the other side. But we have no fear of death, it has lost its sting, we know what awaits us in eternity. It is absolutely a beautiful inheritance. The lost can only hope for nothingness. We expect New Jerusalem. We experience the Kingdom of God now and we look forward to the fulfillment of it in the future.

God is with us, He never leaves us. Our future is with Him and so is our present. He doesn’t leave us alone to figure it out by ourselves. He guides us and teaches us. We ask, He answers. We wonder, He leads. The lost wander, walk in circles and have no idea they’re being led by a liar who leads them to certain death. Verses 7-8 say,

“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

We do not have to be anxious, we do not have to be uncertain. God’s Holy Spirit is in us, He counsels us by day and teaches us by night. There is never a time when we are alone. He is in us and we are in Him. United cohesively with Him. We can’t be separated from Him. So nothing can distress us. God is with us. Verses 9-10 read,

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
    my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    or let your holy one see corruption.”

‘God is with you’ is not just a saying. God is with us, not only beside us, behind us, and in front of us, but within us and fused with us. We are assured of salvation. We are safe from the ravages of death. We are fortified by our Rock, sustained by our Strong Tower, and sealed by our Comforter.

Take pleasure in the security of God with you. Take stock of what it means that He will not abandon your soul. He has chosen you, saved you and sealed you. You are His. Nothing can separate you from His love. He will never forsake you. He has given you a beautiful inheritance, amazing gifts, and a well-lit path. Praise Him. Enjoy Him. Delight in Him. And rejoice with Him. Verse 11 concludes the Psalm,

“You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

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Ezekiel 10 The LORD May Withdraw His Presence but He Will Always Be With You

2/17/2015

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Ezekiel Chapter 10

This chapter continues Ezekiel’s vision of Jerusalem’s destruction. Verses 1-2 read,

“Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne. 2 And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.”

And he went in before my eyes.”

The Glory of God, His presence rose up out of the threshold of the temple and appeared above the cherubim in preparation to leave the temple. But before He went, He ordered that coals be taken from the between the cherubim and scattered over the city. Immediately I thought of Isaiah Chapter 6 when the burning coal is touched to Isaiah’s lips to atone his sins. The coals would burn the city, yes but they would also cleanse the idolatry, the dross, and the other impurities out of the city.

The chapter also describes the worst possible judgment for Jerusalem. Verses 18-19 read,

“Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.”

The Lord left the temple, His presence had resided there since it was dedicated but He left. Because of the abomination of the idolatry, the temple was no longer sanctified, no longer holy, and the Lord would not let His glory be among anything unholy.

Would the priests notice? Had they noticed when they themselves defiled the temple? Would the people notice?

The Lord promises us He will never leave us nor forsake us. Hebrews 13:5-6 says,

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
    I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

But He does withdraw at times. He doesn’t leave, He just hides Himself, His will and His manifestation from us. He doesn’t pull away to be cruel. He is God. He is never cruel. He is Love. He is perfect love. He does what He does for us with purpose for our own good to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. The Lord knows there are times when He must hide His face from us. Isaiah 646-7 reads,

“We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls upon your name,
    who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
    and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.”

It is not that He is not with us, it is that He doesn’t make His presence clearly known to us. He is always with us, always. Why? Why would the Lord do that?

Perhaps because we have been looking elsewhere for our answers. Maybe we have been meditating on something other than the Word of God to find peace. Or maybe we have been seeking provision from the 24 hour cash loan place instead of the Lord God Almighty. Maybe we’ve been looking for love through astrology instead of the King of kings. Whatever it is, we didn’t call on the Lord. So He in His infinite wisdom and unwavering persistent love hid Himself from us and let us see how idolatry would work out for us. Don’t think that anything done can be kept secret from God. We can’t put our hope in money and think that our prayers for help fool the Lord. He is not only there when we pray but always. In Jeremiah 23:23-24 the LORD says,

“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”

When God steps back it is in order for us to learn and call on Him again. He is always with us. He always sees us. He always knows our needs. But we do not always know our needs. He loves us enough to teach us those things. The Lord is waiting for us to rouse ourselves to take hold of Him, to call on His name. When we do that we know He is there. James 4:8-10 reads,

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Do you feel as if God is far away from you? He is not. Maybe it is you who is far from God. Perhaps you’ve sought your sanctuary, your provision, your peace, and your joy elsewhere and so the Lord is allowing you to do that. The good people find outside of the Lord may look wonderful but it is temporary. Psalm 73-23-28 reads,

“Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    that I may tell of all your works.

I encourage you today to stop finding answers outside of God. Stop seeking the comfort of the world and call on Him. He is with you, waiting for you to call on Him. Let Him be your Almighty God.

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<<Previous

Traits of God Part 3: He is Always with Us

The Face of God

Psalm 87 You’re Suffering but You’re not alone

Genesis 9:1-17 God’s Promises are Certain and Eternal

Deuteronomy 31 Remember Who The Lord is, All He has Done, and He is With You

2 Kings 13:10-25 The Lord Will Never Forsake You

Psalm 44 Where is God in my Trials?

Psalm 22 You May Feel Alone, But God Will Never Forsake You.

Psalm 16 God is with you. But What Does That Mean?

Ezekiel 10 The LORD May Withdraw His Presence but He Will Always Be With You

Donna Campbell

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