Salt & Light Blog

James 4 Change your Perspective, Change the World

4/23/2016

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

James 4
How do you view your life? We can view our lives from the world’s perspective or from God’s perspective. Of course being human it is natural for us to view life from the world’s point of view; we are men and women, born to men and women, and taught by men and women. But when we were saved, God indwelled us as The Holy Spirit; He imbued us with His nature. He opened our eyes and allowed us to see things from a new viewpoint, His. It is still a choice though, how we choose to look at life. Do we choose God’s eyes or ours? Verses 1-3 read,
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Our passions, the desires of our flesh fight to gain control and keep us looking at life, success and happiness through the world’s lens. You’ve been there, you check Facebook to see your friends have gone on vacation again, or out to dinner, or to the beach. The pictures are beautiful and they look like they’re having so much fun. And a part of you yearns to be on vacation or at the beach with friends. Maybe your friend just got a new car, announced she was pregnant, or got a promotion at work. All these things are good, and you are genuinely happy for her, but part of you wants it for yourself too. I long to travel. And when my friends go to the various and many destinations they are blessed to enjoy, I feel a twinge of envy. I can choose to feed that twinge, think on it, and such, I can choose to pursue ways I can travel, or I can rejoice with my friends and keep walking in the Spirit and enjoying the amazing life God has given me.
Instead of seeking the Kingdom of God, your place in it, and God’s glory, it is easy to begin seeking worldly success, possessions, and experiences. What are you praying for? Are you praying that God will grant you that job, vacation, car, or child? Are you praying that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in Heaven, that His fame would increase, and people would come to know Him? Are you praying that you would have a powerful place in His Kingdom (but really meaning the world) or are you praying that He would use you as He wishes and that the gifts He has given you would build and edify the Kingdom? Are you praying for your glory or God’s? Verses 4-10 read,
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 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.
The Kingdom of God is not like the princedom of the world. God’s view is very different from the world’s view. Success in the world is one where the individual shows her great strength, ability, and drive. She decides what she wants in life and stops at almost nothing to achieve it. She bows to no one, people bow to her. In the world, pride is a good thing. But pride is sneaky. Pride leads to so much sin. Love of the world, money, and standing in the world all stem from pride and lead to the various sins which keep people enslaved to Satan, the prince of the world. Success in the Kingdom of God requires humility, it requires we have enough faith to give our passions and desires up to God, to bow before Him and ask for His will, not ours. It requires realizing that we have sinned and are sinners who could not and cannot save ourselves.. To want those things the world calls success is to sully our hearts with idolatry. Success in the kingdom of God shows God’s power, prowess, and persistence Draw close to God, desire Him, seek Him and He will bring us to Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts, and all life’s pieces will fall into place (Matthew 6:33). Psalm 37:1-7 reminds us to be friends with God, not with the world, to want what God wants and not worry about wanting what the world offers.
Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
    and your justice as the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!
Some people will be better off than us. Some people will have things we want. Some people will be worse off than we are. The envy we let grow within us takes our eyes off God and His mission and puts it on the world and Satan’s mission. I have dealt with ridding myself of the envy and resentment I’ve felt toward people who have things I want. And I’ve let it become bitterness which ate away at me and nearly destroyed my testimony and made me ineffectual in God’s kingdom. I envied the success other people had at getting support for their endeavors and ministries, while I could not get even my closest friends to read a book or a blog I had written. I have envied even silly things such as how many “likes” their Facebook post got, when my similar post was ignored. I began to feel very hurt. I took it personally. I “vented” to my sister. I judged the people who I felt disregarded me and realized how hateful I sounded. I had to cry for my sin. I confessed it and repented it. It is still something I have to choose daily, to be happy for their success and to look at my life through God’s eyes and not mine or my neighbor’s. I have to say when I stopped comparing our success, God showed me who I am in His Kingdom from His eyes. I have nothing to be envious of anyone else. God loves me so profusely! He has made me a warrior princess in His Kingdom. The enemy is afraid of me. And the work I do for Him has an impact whether or not I get to see it. Verses 11-12 read,
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
It was not up to me to judge people for their perceived disregard of me or even what I saw as their hypocrisy to the Kingdom, neglect of God, or anything else. God knows their hearts as well as He knows mine. Their relationship with Him is between them and Him. I can only live for Him, seek Him, and let the glory of God shine in my life so that people will know the truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who saves not me. It is Jesus who judges, not me.
I can compare my life to everyone else’s. I can freak out and think I need worldly wealth and success to keep living. But all that takes away from the Kingdom of Heaven. When I do that, Satan laughs. I will choose instead to leave all that to God. If He chooses to give me family, wealth, success, or whatever, great. If He chooses to give me a path different from others, great. It’s not my job to worry about the worldly stuff, it is my job to purse God’s Kingdom, love my neighbor, and make disciples (Matthew 6:33, Mark 12:31, Matthew 28:19).
In Matthew 6:19-21 [i] and 24-25, and 31-34 Jesus said,
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Making plans for the future, laying up treasures for your earthly life instead of your eternal one, and serving money instead of God is exactly what Satan wants from you. You will be so focused on the world, you will forget the Kingdom of God. Your heart will be on the things of the world instead of in the Kingdom of God. Verses 13-17 say it this way,
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
The worldly perspective can look good and right. When we choose to forgo worldly wisdom for Godly wisdom, people will think we’re fools and judge us as wrong. I know it because I experience it. God has called me to walk a path very different from many others. It looks wrong. If I were on Judge Judy, she would be disgusted with me and could not understand living by faith instead of a paycheck. God called me away from a nice paycheck, away from living in my own place and away from the dreams I had for a family. He has given me a ministry different than yours, but not less and not more. My life through the worldview is pitiful. My life from God’s view is wonderful and powerful. There is a commercial that says, “Change your apartment, change the world.” I say, “Change your perspective, change your life, and change the world.”

[i] Link to Matthew 6:19-34

0 Comments

James 2 Faith is Tangibly Demonstrating The Holy Spirit

4/21/2016

0 Comments

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. James 2:8 On photo of Missy Talbert’s Chalk Heart photographed by Lani Campbell

James 2
Whether you think you have prejudices or not, I can assure you that you do. They can be overcome, but they do exist. Do you think you do not judge others? Consider your opinions regarding certain hot topics such as transgenderism, you have one and you think yours is the right one. That means you think someone else’s is the wrong one. We all judge. It is a natural part of us but it is a part of us that we can control.
One place judgement shows its head is our treatment of the rich and poor. For whatever reason, we consider one or the other circumstance to mean that a person is better or worse, more deserving or less deserving, or more or less worthy of honor. James used the example of this bias to explain the principle of God’s impartiality and love through beneficence to the church. Verses 1-4 read,
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
The Kingdom of God is not like the world. In God’s Kingdom the bank account has nothing to do with honor due a person and the outer appearance have nothing to do with the heart or spirit. James pointed this out to the church by showing them that they did practice bias by giving the well-dressed man a seat of honor and pointing the scruffily dressed man to the floor. What I see though is how different the Kingdom of God is. Sitting at the teacher’s feet in God’s Kingdom is the better choice. When Martha and Lazarus’ sister Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet, Jesus commended her and we still remember the honor of that today (Luke 10:38-42).
God shows no partiality (Romans 2:11). He gives us all favor when we come into the church by faith. Some people are rich, some are poor, some are healthy, some are not, some are charming, some are shy, but God gives every one of us gifts and such to allow us to become complete in His image, lacking in nothing. Verses 5-7 remind the church of this.
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
It takes more faith in God’s provision to be poor. God chose to honor the poor in that way and says we ought to honor people’s gifts and faith by seeing that. It is the world that shows honor to people based on things like money (or lack of money). It is the powerful of the world who demand honor through wielding their power. The powerful of the Kingdom of God on the other hand wield the Word of God and His power to love all people in concrete ways that are evident. Verses 8-13 read,
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Keeping that royal law is vital, but keeping it because it is a law and not because it is the result of God’s salvation and transformation of us is missing the mark. If you do charitable works because you are fulfilling the law to love your neighbor, then you better hope and pray that you do not break any law, whatsoever. Did you lust, even for a moment? Then according to Jesus you committed adultery (Matthew 5:27-28) and you’ve broken the whole law. The Mosaic Law is an all or nothing kind of thing. If you are doing good works for people because that is what the law requires then your bias means you have broken that law and that means you’ve broken the whole law.
Faith is all or nothing as well. You choose faith, the law of liberty or you choose commandments and the Law of Moses. You cannot choose both. If you choose to obey commandments as the way to earn salvation, what you do will come back on your head. You will judge people (because we all judge) and God will judge you. In Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus said,
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”
But if you choose to live out your faith, the good works you do will come from that faith not from an obligation and God will judge you from the mercy seat of Christ (Romans 14:10). In John 5:24 Jesus said,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
We love, we do good works, not because we are trying to earn salvation but because it is the supernatural outpouring of the Spirit, the response of faith to salvation. We pay for someone’s lunch, not because our religion commands good works but because the God loves that person and He wants them to know it. We visit prisoners, not because it is a command but because our Father adores the prisoners and wants to set them free and give them His life.
You do not have to do those good works to earn salvation. But if you have God’s mighty loving Spirit abiding in you, you cannot not do those good things. If you have God’s nature, you will do what He would do and that would be to give generously, love deeply and tangibly, provide and be kind; in other words you will be doers of the word and not hearers (or speakers) only. Verses 14-17 read,
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.
The Spirit of Holy Loving God shows up in His people and it shows up because we live out the faith we have. If you say you believe God will provide but you hold onto your last dollar when you see a person who needs it, is that faith? If you say you have faith that God loves the rich evil man, but you cannot show him kindness, is that faith? Faith shows up in real ways. I can say I trust the parachute to open, but if I refuse to jump out of the plane, then it is only lip service. Verses 18-26 read,
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; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
It was an act of faith, when you said, “I believe you God, Jesus is my savior” and you made chose to submit yourself to Him that demonstrated the belief in your heart. Faith without the act is not faith. Faith does not judge who deserves our charity and who does not. God wants every person to come to Him, He wants every person to have eternal life (2 Peter 3:9). Faith allows us to love everyone impartially as God does. Faith means we live out of love, the law of liberty and not out of obligation to Pharisaical or Mosaic Law.

0 Comments

Deuteronomy 16:18-20 Judges and Justice

3/11/2016

1 Comment

Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. John 7:24

Deuteronomy 16:18-20
Our Lord is the God of Justice. He cares very much about justice in all its forms and definitions. Deuteronomy 16:18-20 reads,
“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
When Israel settled in the Promised Land, God wanted them to be different from other nations. He was their God, their Sovereign, and their Justice, so rather than appointing a king, He wanted them to have judges over portions of Israel and officers in each town. This was not a new thing for Israel, They had judges and officers when they were in the wilderness. At first Moses would sit as the intermediary between Israel and The Lord. He described what He did to Jethro, his father-in-law who had brought his wife and sons to visit him in Exodus 18:15-16,
“Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.”
Jethro told his son-in-law that he and Israel would wear themselves out that way. It was too much for one person to take on. So Jethro offered Moses some advice in Exodus 18:19-23.
“Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
This was God’s way of governing His people. The people did not bow down to an earthly king, they had a representative, an intermediary who brought the pleas of the people to Him and He directed them. The Judges system worked in the wilderness and it would work in the Promised Land. It is a picture of Jesus, our Righteous Judge as intermediary between us and The Father. It is a picture of us as intermediaries for one another in the body, elders praying for teachers, teachers praying for students, and students praying for one another. It is a picture of us standing in and praying for the lost. Romans 8:31-35 describes Jesus as our intermediary.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be 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?
The judges who represented the people had to be able to judge with righteous judgement. Righteous is צֶ֫דֶק transliterated tsedeq. Strong’s defines it as accurate, fair, just, righteously, vindication, and what is right. Judgement in verse 18 is the word מִשְׁפָּט or mishpat. It is defined as cause, charge, court, judgement, justice, ordinance, manner of life, and way prescribed. They had to know God and His will them to judge with righteous judgement. They had to know what righteousness was and what the way prescribed was.
John 7 describes Jesus at the Feast of Booths. The Sanhedrin were seeking to kill Jesus. They used the excuse that He had healed a man on the Sabbath. Although, many people knew it was dangerous for Him to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths, He went anyway. When He was there, Jesus stood up and taught and the people were amazed by his teaching and they wondered how He could speak with such authority. John 7:16-24 reads,
“So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Righteous judgement means we think, speak, and act on God’s Word and will, not our own. We judge from His viewpoint, not humanity’s viewpoint. Verse 19 reads,
You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous
Perverting justice is done by showing partiality toward the rich, poor, Hebrew, Greek, whoever, to give one group of people more consideration. Justice is also perverted when a verdict can be bought. The judges (and we) had to look at everyone on the same field. Leviticus 19:15-18 describes it this way,
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
Love your neighbor as yourself. Do for your neighbor and consider your neighbor the same way you consider yourself. In Acts 10, Peter saw the vision of the clean and unclean foods so that God could teach Him that He shows no favoritism. Romans 2:1-11 describes the difference between righteous judgement and perverted justice, loving your neighbor as yourself and showing partiality.
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
God is our Judge and He is Justice. Jesus Christ our Faithful and True Judge will come to judge the world, riding on a white horse and when He does there will be only one criterion, are we righteous because of Jesus’ blood or not. Vengeance is His and He will exact it on the Day of the Wrath of the Lamb. He is our Justice. Verse 20 reads,
Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
It is tempting to give in to the perverted governments of this world, to fall prey to the schemes of the accuser and follow leaders of countries instead of Jesus. While we are called to remember that God placed these people in office and render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, we do not bow down to anyone but The Lord, Our Heavenly Father, Awesome Savior, and Holy Spirit. He is God. We live in whatever country we live in, but we abide in Christ and we are citizens of Heaven.
God called Israel to be different, to stand out with Him as Sovereign instead of a man. He called us to the same thing. It was after Israel chose to be like the nations around them and have kings that they followed those kings to their own destruction.

1 Comment

Psalm 82 You are an Agent of Justice, Judge with Righteous Judgement

8/11/2015

0 Comments

Matthew 25:37-40 On Photo of Agents of Justice by Glynda Gordon

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:37-40 On Photo of Agents of Justice by Glynda Gordon

Psalm 82

At first reading of this Psalm, I was confused. I read it again and asked for understanding. And of course God revealed some things to me. I am not a Bible scholar. But I am a child of the Living God, saved by Jesus Christ and filled with His Spirit.

According to my research, this psalm was to instruct kings and courts of justice in many nations. Asaph reminds them that The Lord is among them. Verses 1-4 read,

“God has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

The kings, princes, and judges of the world sometimes consider themselves gods. It was certainly true during the times when this Psalm was written. King’s demanded worship from their citizens. I know many people today who consider every person or at least themselves gods. And whether they admit it or not, they judge, they dole out their brand of justice as if they are gods. They decide people’s fates by perpetuating inequality and withholding the justice the weak, poor, orphaned, and troubled need.

Asaph told the kings and princes they had power given to them by God and they ought to use it properly. Believers today are royalty. We have an onus to be the righteous royal judges the Father appointed us to be, Jesus made us to be, and the Spirit enables us to be. We do not judge in the sense most people consider judging. We are not saying “I’m better than you. You are evil. I am good.” We judge with the discernment of God through His law to say what is just, what is unjust, what is of God and what is not of God. We are to judge what is right for us to do in order to love people as Jesus loves us, in order to bring justice to those who suffer injustice. John 7:21-24 reads,

“Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

We do not judge the lost for being lost. We do not judge the poor for being needy. To judge them doesn’t make sense. Verse 5 reads,

“They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    they walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”

It is an upside down skewed world which blames the victim and not the perpetrator for injustice. But that is so often what we do. The courts throw down mandates based on the law and the constitution without concern for the effects. Fatherless children wander the streets looking for their needs to be met and instead of freeing them from the bonds of Satan, we blame them for their ignorance and tell them they deserve to be in chains. Don’t we all deserve to be in chains? Isn’t Jesus the only reason we could be reconciled to The Father? Already the world judges and promotes injustice. Already, the powers of the world get more powerful, the rich get richer, and all on the backs of the oppressed.

God cares deeply about the poor, the prisoner, the oppressed, the widow, and the hungry. He cares about social justice as much as He cares about spiritual justice. So should we. James 1:22-27 says it this way,

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Jesus told us when we clothe to the poor, feed the hungry, and visit the prisoner that we are not just serving them, we are serving Him. (Matthew 25:31-46).

No matter who the king, prince, or judge in this world is, he will die. Every person will die and every person’s sin must be paid for. It will be paid for by our own death or by Christ’s. Verse 6 reads,

“I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.”

We are sons of God. We were all created by Him. None of us was begotten by God, only Jesus has that distinction. (John 3:16). He was not created, He is God. (John 1:1-5). And so we are merely human. We will suffer a physical death, but we have eternal life with God. Because believers are imbued with the Spirit of God and have eternal life through Jesus, the Son of God we are judges and kings. We are royalty. We are distinctive or as Peter said it, peculiar. Our appointing is higher than the judge of the highest courts. Our call is higher than the king of a nation. Our anointing is for The Lord. In that role we are called to be merciful, forgiving, and compassionate. 1 Peter 2:9-10 reminds us who we are.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Do not be afraid to embrace your identity as a royal child of The King of kings. Do not forgo nobility because you are trying to be humble. Nobility and humility go hand in hand, they are not opposites but two traits which describe Jesus and should describe us. We are to love one another. We are to love as Jesus loves. We are to love others the way we love ourselves. That kind of love implies we would not allow harm or injury to come on someone else if we can help it.

Now on this earth we are agents of justice and it is serious business but one day we will judge in a way we never imagined. If we can’t be just and loving now, how will we fulfill the calling of Jesus? People are watching and they judge us harshly against their imagined image of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 says this,

“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!”

True love would rather take the injury on himself that let be inflicted on someone else. John 15:12-17 says it this way,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

As agents of justice, lovers of the Lord, and doers of His Word, we have to remember Judgement Day is real and it is coming. The lost will perish. Verse 8 says,

“Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall inherit all the nations!”

I implore you to deliberately go out and glorify the Lord. Intentionally go out and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ be the light to those who have neither knowledge nor understanding and walk about in darkness.

0 Comments

Psalm 75 God is Our Righteous Judge

8/4/2015

1 Comment

Psalm 75

The Lord is awesome and good. The last couple of days we have been encouraged to remember all the great things God has done for us. We continue to remember His might each day and He continues to fortify our faith. We also keep in mind what The Lord will do, what He has promised will happen. Verse 1 reads,

“We give thanks to you, O God;
    we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.”

We not only thank The Lord for all He has done but also all He will do. His promises are so sure, we can count them as done. We have faith that God will always overcome, always do what is good, and always be with us. We recount God’s wondrous deeds so that He is glorified. We recount His awesome works so that people will know who Jesus is and have the opportunity to make Him Lord of their lives. We recount His beautiful acts so that we can spread the Gospel and make disciples of every nation.

One promise He has made is judgement. God will judge the earth and there is only one criterion for this judgement. It will not be based on wealth, status, race, or ability. It will not be centered on how good or bad we are, or how much good or bad we have done. It will be founded on whether Jesus is our Lord or not. Verses 2-5 say,

“At the set time that I appoint
    I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
    it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
    or speak with haughty neck.’”

God is a God of equity, which is impartiality, justice, and evenhandedness. He doesn’t consider some people better than others. In Christ every person is equal. Men are not more favored than women. Israelites are not more preferred than the Chinese. Race, gender, or socio-economic status do not have clout with The Lord. He loves each and every person equally. He offers Salvation to everyone the same, and never forces His will upon us. We are all measured on one thing and we have all fallen short of the standard. And we all have the same chance to receive the gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Romans 3:21-25 says,

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Everyone has sinned. We are all born sinners. No one can raise himself above that. But Jesus does elevate us from sinner to saint. All we have to do is ask and He gives us His righteousness. Those who try and exalt themselves to righteousness will fail and fall. God gives us all the exact same path to Salvation. It is Jesus Christ or nothing. Good works cannot save anyone. Only God’s work can save.

People judge and our judgement brings bias, prejudice, racism, hate, favoritism, and inequality. Our judgement created social classes, oppression, and privilege. Our judgment created yardsticks for measuring appearances and value. But God created us all, not just some in His image. (Genesis 1:26-27). God loves everyone dearly. And God made a way for us all to attain salvation. In John 3:16-18 Jesus puts it this way,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

God’s judgement is not like the judgement of man. He is our Almighty Omniscient Creator. His judgement is fair and perfect. It isn’t based on how much we have accomplished. He doesn’t care what the world sees as our potential. With God our potential is limitless, all things are possible. Matthew 19:23-30 reads,

“And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

People don’t want to believe that there will be a Judgement Day, but there will be. Verses 6-8 describe it this way,

“For not from the east or from the west
    and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
    putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
    with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
    and all the wicked of the earth
    shall drain it down to the dregs.”

Who is it that God will put down and who will He lift up? It all hinges on Jesus. Matthew 26:26-29 says,

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”

That night Jesus was arrested (Matthew 26:46-56). He was laid down His life on the cross the next day. He poured out His blood to save us. (Matthew 27:32-44). And on the third day, He rose again, our Risen Savior. (Matthew 28:1-10).

Jesus drank that cup for us. He drank the condemnation, punishment, and payment for our sins for us. But those who reject Christ they’ll drink every last drop of God’s wrath themselves. Revelation 14:17-20 describes it this way,

“Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.[1]”

Jesus is described again as our Righteous Warrior King and Judge in Revelation 19:11-16.

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Will you drink the cup or did Jesus drink it for you? Will you recount it to the world so that they too can ask Jesus to drink their cup for them? Will you judge as the world judges, or will you let God be the judge and care enough about the oppressed, prisoners, widows, orphans, and poor to tell them about the freedom, treasures, and love of Jesus? Will you lift them up? Verses 9-10 read,

“But I will declare it forever;
    I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
    but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.”

[1] That is a river of blood about 5 feet tall and 184 miles long

1 Comment

Psalm 59 Let God be your Deliverer

7/19/2015

0 Comments

Psalm 59

This miktam of David was written while King Saul was trying to kill David. He had sent men to watch David’s house so that he could have him murdered in his bed. (1 Samuel 19). Saul was God’s anointed king. But David had been chosen to succeed him. Saul grew ever more paranoid and angry. He didn’t care that David was married to his daughter or that his best friend was his son. His paranoia made him hate David. His anger turned to blind rage and he was desperate to kill David.

In verses 1-2 David calls on the Lord to deliver him and protect him from his enemies.

“Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
    protect me from those who rise up against me;
2 deliver me from those who work evil,
    and save me from bloodthirsty men.”

David didn’t turn to his own strength, wits, or money. He turned to the Lord God his Maker and his Justice, Elohim. The enemy wants to destroy us as well. The devil doesn’t want us coming into our royal identities. He doesn’t want to be effective. He hates us because we are heirs to the Kingdom of God. He thinks that it ought to be him. (Isaiah 14:13-15). Verses 3-7 describe Saul’s men and their wicked behavior following a paranoid and hateful leader. It can also describe the behavior of the followers of the prince of the power of the air, Satan toward believers.

3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
    fierce men stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4     for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Awake, come to meet me, and see!
5     You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

6 Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths
    with swords in their lips--
    for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

People will hate us for following Jesus, like the Saul hated David for being chosen by God. They can hate us for Jesus’ sake, but they shouldn’t hate us for our actions. Our actions, our words, and our lives should be a testimony to God, lived in love and beneficence. In John 15:18-19 Jesus said,

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

But that doesn’t give us a right to hate them, to be hateful to them, or to be evil in return. In Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus said,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

The world is lost and their inheritance is eternal death, they crave to lift themselves up, to live in the moment and make themselves happy, rich, and satisfied. But we are eternal creatures and the present, the world, and all its offerings can’t satisfy. (James 4:1-9). Only the Lord God, our Savior, our Peace, and our Provider can truly satisfy. Psalm 107:8-9 says,

“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.”

But David trusted the Lord. He didn’t have to figure it out himself, defend himself, or take vengeance himself. He knew God is Just. He knew God was his Shield and his enemies couldn’t break through God’s defense. Verses 8-10 read,

“But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
    you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
    God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter by your power and bring them down,
    O Lord, our shield!
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13     consume them in wrath;
    consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
    to the ends of the earth. Selah

14 Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
15 They wander about for food
    and growl if they do not get their fill.”

In this miktam David has refers to God as:

·         Elohim- Creator and Judge, the Lord of justice.

·         Yahweh- this is God’s own unpronounceable holiest name.

·         Lord God of Hosts- the powerful chief over the angel armies coming swiftly on hos noble steed to conquer the enemy for eternity.

·         God of Israel- Sovereign over His chosen people

·         My Strength

·         My Fortress

·         God in His Steadfast Love

·         Our Shield

·         Refuge

These names are all true of God. They describe His character. How can we be afraid when The LORD God loves us so much. How can we not choose to let Him take care of us when He is who He is?

The lost don’t know God. Verse 7 says they ask “Who” will hear them. They do not know who God is. But we can show them who He is by trusting Him and glorifying Him. By letting God be God and bringing them to a place where they will see their choice and make it.

In verse 11 David asked the Lord not to kill his enemies. He didn’t want them to die. He wanted them to fall and face their evil. It is in the face of our sins that we realize we need the Lord. And that is what David wanted for his enemies. That is what God wants for our enemies. He doesn’t want people to suffer an eternity separated from Him. (2 Peter 3:9). He longs for people to know Him and allow Him to lavish His perfect constant and never-ending love on them.

Rather than spend our time scheming against and wishing bad for our enemies, we can spend our time loving them and praising God. Instead of showing them how powerful and great we are, we can demonstrate God’s strength through our weakness as we depend on Him. Verses 16-17 read,

“But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love.”

So Believer, I encourage you to praise God everywhere, always, and through everything. Your praise and worship takes power away from the enemy and allows his followers to see the love and power of God Almighty, their Creator and Judge. Jesus’ righteousness lived out in your life makes their sin apparent to them so they can call on the name of the Lord.

0 Comments

Psalm 58 Only The Lord is Elohim our Judge

7/18/2015

0 Comments

Psalm 58

This Psalm, a miktam of David is entitled God Who Judges the Earth. It is supposed to be God who is the judge, not man. Yet so many people put themselves in His place and condemn, punish, and kill as if they have the right, as if they have never sinned. Leaders make sweeping decisions for people and someone is always hurt by their choices. If they swear to uphold group a, group b is forgotten and vice versa. But they are never trampled by their own rulings. They always reap the gain from the people’s loss.

Verses 1-2 read,

“Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
    Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
    your hands deal out violence on earth.”

The people who make themselves judge by doling out slanted justice elevate themselves to a false position of god. They think they have a right to magistrate. But they can’t hand out justice properly, they can’t judge uprightly, because their hearts are flawed. They like all of us are born sinners. We all plan evil. We all scheme selfishly. And those who elevate themselves to be judge, dispense a skewed justice. They become murderers. They take vengeance on themselves and somehow think it is their right to spew their false piety, anger, hate, and viciousness over everyone.

We are all born sinners. None of us has the right to allocate justice while we ourselves are unjust. None of us has the right to judge because we deserve judgment. Verses 3-5 read,

“The wicked are estranged from the womb;
    they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
    like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
    or of the cunning enchanter.”

We are all born imperfect and capable of evil. But we don’t have to stay that way. The Father calls us to Him. Jesus can give us His righteousness. The Holy Spirit can conform us to Christ’s image. But some people can’t make The Lord their God, because they have raised themselves up to be their own gods. They think they are in charge of their own lives, but these gods are slaves to Satan, the prince of this world. They spread their poison like deadly snakes who kill with one bite. And like the adder those lethal serpents keep spreading their poisonous lies. Their own agenda is fragile and can’t stand up to arguments. Their pride makes them deaf. They refuse to hear anyone for fear that their image will be destroyed.

But they like everyone on this earth will be judged by the One God Elohim. He is our Creator and Judge. Only He has the authority to avenge, judge, condemn, or absolve. Verses 6-7 describe the punishment the wicked judges will receive.

“O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
    tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
    when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.”

God breaks their teeth making them harmless. They can’t rip apart their prey or even wound without their teeth. And though in the worldly sense they may cause the believer pain and suffering, they have no real power to wound us. They are like their haughty prince, the devil, whom Peter described as a prowling lion. He encouraged believers not to freak out and fear him, but to remain calm and act. 1 Peter 5:6-11 says,

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

The devil is like a roaring lion, but he has no teeth when it comes to followers of Jesus Christ. Whatever pains he might cause are temporary. We can resist him because of our faith in Our Awesome God, The Lion of Judah who is worthy and conquered the devil. Revelation 5:1-5 reads,

“Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

It is God, Elohim, who judges. Only He is worthy. Vengeance is His. (Deuteronomy 32:35-36). His Judgment will bring eternal punishment and death to the wicked. It will be as if they never existed. Verses 8-9 read,

“Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
    like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
    whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!”

But for us who make Jesus our Lord and are credited with His righteousness judgement brings eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven. He gives it to us now before Judgement Day so that we can glorify Him and so that the lost can be found and declare Jesus is Lord. Verses 10-11 read,

“The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
    he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
    surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

Who is your God? Is He Elohim? Is Jesus your righteousness? Are you indwelled with God’s Awesome Holy Spirit? Or are you your own god judging the world with an unworthy and sinful heart. With Jesus as our Lord and The Holy Spirit within us we are given the authority to forgive, and to bless. (John 20:21-23). But we leave judgement up to Jesus. We may discern sin and error in a fellow believer and help him back, but this is not the judgement of God who judges finally and completely with all authority. (John 5:25-29, James 4:10-12).

0 Comments

Psalm 9 What Do You Have To Thank God For?

5/29/2015

0 Comments

Psalm 9

Verses 1-2 read,

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”

Why should we thank God? What is it that have to be thankful for? Sometimes I know people don’t think they have anything to be thankful for. They look at their lives and see lack instead of plenty. But Believer, we have so much to thank Him for and so very much to praise Him for. Verses 3-4 read,

“When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.”

The Lord’s enemy and ours are the same. And in Him we have nothing to fear from Satan or his minions. God is just and He will send them to eternal Hell. And that is another reason to thank Him because he is a God of justice. And He judges with righteous judgement. We in His image have been given the ability to do the same. God doesn’t judge with bias or favoritism, and we should not either. He doesn’t judge based on what is apparent to others, He assesses the heart, the mind, and the motives. In John Chapter 7:23-24 Jesus told the Jews who accused him of being demon possessed,

“If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Verses 5-6 read,

“You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.”

The Lord has warned everyone that they have to choose Him or Hell. And those who choose Hell will get what they asked for. On God’s timeline it is already done, because He said it will be done. Their names ae blotted out forever, as if they never existed. But for His children, those who choose Jesus eternity is very different and it is done! God’s enemy is our enemy, we win. We go on to eternal celebration and Sabbath with God and the enemy perishes. Jesus told the disciples who rejoiced over the awesome works they did in His name, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:19-20).

Their name is forgotten, but ours is written in the Book of Life forever. And God our King is king forever. He is on the throne now and He will remain there eternally. He is Awesome Holy God, yesterday, today, and forever. He is our Righteous Judge, but we have nothing to fear because He gave us His own righteousness. Verses 7-8 read,

“But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with uprightness.”

He judges righteously. He rules virtuously. He will not let the enemy harm us, or even touch us. When the enemy hurts us, it is because we invited him to do so, it is because we let him. Although bad things happen to us God is with us. The LORD God of Angel Armies fights for us and works everything out for our good, the good of becoming more like Him as we are meant to be. Verses 9-12 say,

“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.”

What do you have to Thank God for? He loves you so completely. He fights for you. He won for you. We may feel like we’re still in battle with the enemy, but He already won the war. Jesus said, “It is finished.” He didn’t mean His life, He meant that the war is over and He won. He won and we won. He is King of kings. We can trust Him. The enemy oppresses, but Jesus liberates. He is our rock and our Strong Tower in times of trouble and always, but the enemy is chaos ad loves to make more. God adores us. He thinks of us. He cares about us. Everything He does is for our benefit. We can cry to Him because He loves us. We can pray and know that He hears us and cares.

Of course we are in a reciprocal relationship with God. We don’t only tell Him our troubles, we thank Him and praise Him. We talk to Him and we listen as He talks to us. Isn’t that glorious? God talks to us! David prayed and David thanked the Lord for answering in the same breath. He prayed and He knew that God already knew his troubles and that our Just and Righteous God would do what was best. Verses 13-20 read,

“Be gracious to me, O Lord!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
    I may rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked shall return to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
    Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah”

What do you have to thank God for? If you do not know then I pray you will.

0 Comments

James 4 Change your Perspective, Change the World

James 2 Faith is Tangibly Demonstrating The Holy Spirit

Deuteronomy 16:18-20 Judges and Justice

Psalm 82 You are an Agent of Justice, Judge with Righteous Judgement

Psalm 75 God is Our Righteous Judge

Psalm 59 Let God be your Deliverer

Psalm 58 Only The Lord is Elohim our Judge

Psalm 9 What Do You Have To Thank God For?

Donna Campbell

Subscribe to Salt & Light Daily

Archives

Categories