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Life of David Part 6: A Righteous Heart

8/21/2016

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Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3
​David was on the run from King Saul who was intent on killing him. The King was becoming more and more filled with homicidal rage. Now he wanted to kill anyone who stood with David as well. After leaving Jerusalem David went to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. 1 Samuel 21:1-9 tells the story. He was in need. He left Jerusalem in a hurry with no food and no weapons. So David went to the Ahimelech, the priest and asked for provisions. Ahimelech saw that David was alone and sensed he was likely a fugitive. David lied to the priest to keep the priest’s innocence intact, so that he would not be considered an accomplice and become a marked man as well. David told the priest that he was on a secret mission from the king and that he had men with him. He said that he had left in such a hurry that he had not brought food or weapons. Ahimelech gave him the holy bread and the sword of Goliath. David could only take the holy bread if he met certain requirements. He assured the priest that he and his men did meet them.   1 Samuel 21:5 reads,
 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?”
David cared about the priest and did not want to drag him into treason. He cared about the statutes of the LORD and would not break them by taking the showbread unless he was clean to take it. David’s sense of righteousness, came not from wanting to “be good” but from love of God, His people, and His Word. David’s righteousness came from faith. Romans 4:4-8 reads,
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
 
Doeg, the Edomite, Saul’s chief herdsman was present there that day and saw David’s interaction with Ahimelech. As soon as he was able to leave for Jerusalem, he did. He reported to Saul that David was there. But David left and went to Gath. There the servants of King Achish recognized David as Saul’s enemy and brought him to the king. But David understood the gravity of the situation and feigned insanity. The king wanted nothing to do with a madman. (1 Samuel 21:10-15).
Now David went to the Cave of Adullam. People heard he was there. He was joined by family, by people who were disillusioned with Saul, people who were in debt, bitter and distressed. He was no longer alone. He had an army of about 400 men with him (1 Samuel 22:1-2). He was now responsible for these people and he took that responsibility seriously. He would one day be their king but now he was a man on the run. David wanted to ensure his parents’ safety. He went to the King of Moab (His great grandmother Ruth’s people) and asked for their asylum with him. King Mizpeh said yes and warned David to go to Judah (1 Samuel 22:3-5).
David again showed his concern for other people. His parent’s safety was important and he risked his own for their sake. He saw the people who were suffering under Saul’s administration and let them gather to him. David was not perfect, but he was righteous. David was not perfect, he sinned but he was blameless. He was counted righteous because of his faith in God. In Psalm 26:1-3 David writes,
Vindicate me, O Lord,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
    test my heart and my mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I walk in your faithfulness.
 
David loved God’s law but He understood that the law was based on love of God and love of people. He loved God’s law enough to meditate on it enough that he comprehended the crux of righteousness is faith and keeping the law is done in love of God.
Psalm 119:97-98 reads,
Oh how I love your law!
    It is my meditation all the day.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
    for it is ever with me.
 
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 records the Greatest Commandment,
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
In Leviticus 19, The Lord goes over the Ten Commandments and wraps it up with verse 18 saying,
but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Righteousness is not found in rituals or rules. It is found in loving people as our God loves, as Jesus demonstrated. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35). 1 Peter 4:8 reads,
 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
David went to Judah to the forest of Hereth (1 Samuel 22:5). But now Saul, Doeg, and his men went to Nob to find out where David was. Saul quickly demonstrated that the only person he cared about was himself. He had no regard for the LORD and no regard for people. 1 Samuel 22:6-8 in The Message reads.
Saul got word of the whereabouts of David and his men. He was sitting under the big oak on the hill at Gibeah at the time, spear in hand, holding court surrounded by his officials. He said, “Listen here, you Benjaminites! Don’t think for a minute that you have any future with the son of Jesse! Do you think he’s going to hand over choice land, give you all influential jobs? Think again. Here you are, conspiring against me, whispering behind my back—not one of you is man enough to tell me that my own son is making deals with the son of Jesse, not one of you who cares enough to tell me that my son has taken the side of this, this . . . outlaw!”
Doeg saw his chance to look good to the king verses 9-10 read,
Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
 
Saul reacted as his hate directed him, he was on the warpath. He summoned Ahimelech and questioned him. Verses 13-15 record it,
And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.”
 
Saul ordered the priest’s and his family’s death, then added all the priests to the execution order out of his fear that they followed David. But his guard refused to kill the priests of the Lord. So Saul looked to Doeg and ordered him to do it. Doeg, who was not a Jewish man but an Edomite, killed 85 people, men, women, and children that day in Saul’s name. Saul, Israel’s anointed king had no qualm murdering those 85 people, the men who were priests of God, chosen by Him to serve. Saul’s fear and hate had eradicated any sense of righteousness, love, or goodness.
Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son escaped and fled to David and told him everything that had happened. David was devastated and took responsibility for the slaughter and offered protection to Abiathar.
 
David was a man after God’s own heart. He pursued God, He pursued His kingdom, and He pursued His righteousness. He understood that pursuing God means loving people, caring about their welfare and doing something about it. Believer, do you pursue God’s righteousness and God or do you pursue self-righteousness and self? It’s okay to trust God and let Him be God to you. He promised that if we do that, He will take care of everything else (Matthew 6:33). God doesn’t want your rituals or your sacrifices. He wants you in a relationship. He wants you to know Him, to chase after His heart, and to love Him with all of yourself. He wants a love based on trust and faith. Hosea 6:6 reads,
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
 
Believer, being a person after God’s own heart means that we will pursue righteousness. Righteousness is not based on following rules and commandments but based on God’s grace and love. Righteousness is given by faith and lived out in love.
 
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God’s Traits Part 5: God’s Righteousness

7/30/2016

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Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. Psalm 36:6
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. Psalm 36:6
​God’s Traits Part 5: God’s Righteousness
The righteousness of God is one of the most significant traits of God. It can also one of the most indefinable or difficult to describe. God’s righteousness is not the same as His holiness and different from His goodness. Yet we very often think of the three synonymously. [i] The Old Testament or Hebrew word is צְדָקָה transliterated as tsedaqah and it means “the quality of being morally right or justifiable.” The New Testament word is δικαιοσύνη, ης, ἡ transliterated as dikaiosuné. It means “justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.” The righteousness of God is virtually synonymous with His justice. In fact, sometimes the words are translated as righteousness and others as justice. To say that God is righteous means He always does what it right or just without fail or bias. God is our measure for righteousness because He is righteousness. 1 Samuel 2:2-3 reads,
There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
 
About Religion defined Righteousness as “the state of moral perfection required by God to enter heaven.” Well then, we are all doomed! Because we know we fall short of moral perfection. Ecclesiastes 7:20 confirms the bad news.
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
So what is the answer for man? How do we attain righteousness if it impossible for us? Well of course, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26).
 In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained how God’s righteousness was available apart from the law. The Law was taken out of the equation for righteousness and instead along with the Prophets, points to the only way to it, Jesus Christ. Paul described it like this in Romans 3:21-26,
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.
What that means is Jesus took all our wrongs and moral shortcomings off of us and put them on himself. He paid the price (death per Romans 6:23) required to settle the debt with God and we were credited with righteousness, moral perfection. Imagine it as shopping. Let’s say you want a necklace called righteousness. You would also like the matching bracelet called eternal life. But your credit isn’t good enough. You have sin on your debit record and that has to be paid for before you can have that necklace. Jesus paid your debt with His blood. Then He gave you His necklace, righteousness as if you had paid for it. Even though you had nothing left, He credited it to your account. On top of that, when Jesus resurrected and conquered death, He gave you the matching bracelet of eternal life. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ for shopaholics.
It is God’s goodness and His love which moves Him to give us His righteousness.  Let’s explore more about God’s righteousness, how it is revealed and manifested and how it should affect us.
Consider what just means, since as we have learned it is tantamount to righteousness. If a person is just it means he will evaluate situations with all the information from all sides and will judge without partiality based on that information. Psalm 119:137-144 reads,
Righteous are you, O Lord,
    and right are your rules.
138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
    and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
    because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
    and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
    yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
    and your law is true.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
    but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever;
    give me understanding that I may live.
 
This passage has so much to say about righteousness. First, the psalmist shows the connection of righteousness to God’s rules. Everything God does is perfect and comes from His nature of justice. So in wanting to be righteous, a person would follow God’s rules. Although those who do not know God do not even consider God’s words, believers can rejoice in them because we know God’s words, His promises, covenants and rules are perfect and true. God’s righteousness is eternal it will never end and we can rejoice in that.
God does absolutely nothing outside of His righteousness. We may from time to time put our righteousness aside to take a part in some selfishness, pride, or self-righteousness, but our loving perfect God never does. Everything He does is right. We see it in His kindness toward us. There are so many of us crying out to Him all the time. We need Him constantly and He never tires of meeting our needs, saving us, and making us more. Psalm 145:14-20 reads,
The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.
 
Why doesn’t our Great and Mighty God get tired of our constant neediness? Because He is Righteous, He is Just. He has all the information. He knows who we are and that we cannot do it without Him. It pleases Him when we grow in the Spirit (Romans 8:8-11). It is His will for us to be spiritually mature (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
His righteousness cannot stand for us to be hurt while the wicked prosper. In our imperfection we want vengeance now, and we call it justice. We want those who hurt us to suffer the consequences thinking it will make us feel better. But God is so righteous that He is giving those who haven’t come to know Him yet, the same chance we had. He is giving them time before He finally judges the earth in His Righteousness. 2 Peter 3:7-10 reads,
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
There are lost out there, imperfect just like you, but they blind to their own imperfection and blind to the salvation that awaits them in Jesus Christ. We don’t have to hope for the day when they will finally pay. One day they will pay and their lives will be exposed or on that day Jesus will pay and their lives will be exposed. You and I then also need to remember that on that day the truth comes out and our lives will be revealed. We will either drink from the cup of wrath or we will drink from the cup of eternal life with Christ. There will be no more wickedness, sin, sadness or death there. Are you living a righteous life or is it more of a self-righteous life? Do you love people enough to trust God? 2 Peter 3:11-13 reads,
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
We are told to seek God’s righteousness (Matthew 6:33). That means is not natural for any of us to exhibit that perfect rightness. We are to pursue it for ourselves and for others. God has all the information, He knows everything (Job 37:16, Psalm 147:5). We do not. We can just trust judgement to God and keep pursing His love, His kingdom, and His Righteousness.


[i] Deffinbaugh, B. (2004, May 18). The Righteousness of God. Retrieved from Bible.Org: https://bible.org/seriespage/6-righteousness-god
 
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Are You Wearing the Wedding Garments?

6/16/2016

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Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isaiah 52:1
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isaiah 52:1
​The Garments
Wedding dresses across our cultures vary greatly, but one thing that is true for most of our cultures is that what the bride and groom wear is important. In China the wedding dress is expected to be a vibrant red. In India the bride wears multiple lavish outfits, one for each of the various ceremonies. In the U.S. a bride is expected to wear a white gown. If she walks down the aisle in a black cocktail dress or a pair of jeans, certain attitudes are conveyed and the crowd (at least the women) will think she is not taking her commitment very seriously. They won’t see her as a bride, just a girl at a party.
Today, let’s take a look at our wedding garments and what they mean to us as believers.
Man and woman were created without sin, they walked with God in a perfect relationship. There was nothing hidden between them.  Genesis 2:25 reads,
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed
 
There was nothing at all hindering a completely open communion between them. There was no sin, so there was no reason for shame. But then sin entered the world. The man and his wife were deceived, they listened to the perverted words of the serpent and disobeyed God and they fell out of that perfect union with the Lord. When their eyes were opened after eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the first thing they noticed was their nakedness, their bareness and their first reaction was to cover it up and hide (Genesis 3:7-8). The Lord knew what they had done. He knew where they were but He responded in love, He called out to them, not with wrath but with gentleness and what were His first acts after they confessed? He gave them names. He named Adam and Adam named his wife, Eve. Genesis 3:21 records the act that accompanied their new names,
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
This is a simple verse but it holds more than first meets the eye. The Lord spilled blood, He sacrificed an animal and made the couple garments and covered their nakedness, their shame with the clothes He had made. This was a loving act of forgiveness.
Our old garments represent our sinful state. Zechariah 3:3-5 reads,
Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.
No matter what we do on our own, no matter how clean we pretend our clothes are, or how many righteous acts we do, we can’t do anything about our iniquity. Isaiah 64:6 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.
 
The first man and woman tried to cover their own sin by making their own clothes. Their act was inadequate. The Lord had told them the consequence for sin would be death (Genesis 2:17) and death entered the world that day. It took a death, it took blood to forgive their sin and restore their righteousness.
The garments God gives us represent righteousness Isaiah 61:10 describes the garments as wedding clothes.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
 
These garments are required for salvation. We can’t be in a relationship with God based on our own goodness. We can only be in a relationship with God based on the righteousness He gives us. Revelation 19:6-9 describes The Wedding Feast of the Lamb, Our Eternity in perfect and complete union with the Lord, Jesus Christ the Bridegroom,
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”--
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
 
The bride was ready, she had clothed herself with the proper attire. Blessed are those who are invited, but not everyone who is invited will be admitted. In Matthew 22:2-11 Jesus tells the story of the Wedding Feast. The story ends with the people who answer the invitation enjoying the wedding, but one man had come and chosen not to wear his wedding clothes. Verses 11-14 of that passage read,
“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
 
We can clothe ourselves in Jesus’ righteousness, with the garments He gives us, or we can clothe ourselves with self-righteousness, pagan religions, and good karma. Zephaniah 1:7-8 says it this way,
Be silent before the Lord God!
    For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice--
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
 
What does that mean for us practically? How do we clothe ourselves in the beautiful pure linen wedding garments? It begins with sincere repentance. Repentance is not merely saying, “I’m sorry” it is an understanding that breaks the heart and is demonstrated genuinely,
 
Joel 2:12-14 describes repentance like this,
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
    and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
    for the Lord your God?
 
We tear our hearts, not our outer appearance. We take the garments of righteousness from Christ and let Him give us new hearts. And He does. Isaiah 61:1-3 describes what Jesus does for us,
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion--
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified
 
So once we’ve repented and God has given us these beautiful new clothes, what does that look like? Paul describes it in Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
 
The righteousness of Christ is revealed in faith. We have faith in the power of God for our salvation, for our sanctification. Our lives lived in faith destroys Satan. Revelation 12:9-11 reads,
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
How can faith do that? Because faith is not faith unless it is expressed. I can shout all day long that I know the bridge won’t collapse, but unless I walk across it, my faith is not real. James said our faith is revealed by what we do. James 2:14-18 reads,
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.
 
Is your faith evident? Are you wearing the garments God gave you, the garments of Jesus’ righteousness or are you trying to get by with clothes that might look good enough? Are you ready and dressed for The Wedding Feast of the Lamb?
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Romans 13 The Law and the Christian

5/18/2016

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Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10
​Romans 13
There is more than one kind of law. There is the law of nature, God’s Law, Mosaic Law, and governmental law to name a few. The Christian has a unique relationship with each of these laws because of her unique relationship with The LORD God who made them all. For instance a Christian may not agree with the political view of her government but she knows God is Sovereign and so she respects the government and follows the laws put in place by them. She obeys the laws of her country, state, and city because obeying those laws reflects her submission to God and shows her humility to the world and gives them a chance to see God’s love at work. Paul told the Roman Christians who lived under a government who did not always have their best interest in heart to remember who put those in control in power. Verses 1-2 read,
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
 
All authority comes from God. So obeying the laws put in place by the country is obedience to God. When a policeman stops us for speeding, it does us no favor to be belligerent or even defensive. If we had not been breaking the speed limit, would he have stopped us? And if we were not speeding, if we were not breaking any laws then we have no reason for hostility, no reason to be defensive or fearful because we didn’t do anything wrong. Sure the policeman could still give us a citation, even if we think he’s is in the wrong. But will our antagonism stop him? Will our opposition show him the love of Jesus? Verses 3-7 read,
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
 
The deference we show earthly authorities is a picture of our acquiescence to The Lord. It is an opportunity to love people in a way that most of the world cannot practice. The illustration of our relationship with God also extends to punishment and reward. If we are fulfilling governmental laws, we have nothing to fear from governmental authority. If we are fulfilling God’s law or know Jesus has fulfilled it for us) we have nothing to fear from God. When a policeman knocks at the door and we have done nothing illegal, we don’t have to worry. We are free to respect authority because we know that we have not earned the penalties of breaking the law.
I know that our governments are not perfect. There are people who are condemned even though they are innocent. There are people in prison for crimes they did not commit, even some who have been put to death. But we are still free to give authority the respect they are owed, because we trust God above them. We know that somehow even in a fallen and flawed world, God has us and He will use all of it for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
We are not subject to Mosaic Law because Jesus, the Lamb of God fulfilled the Law by sacrificing Himself on the cross and defeating death and sin in the Resurrection. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are free as slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18). That may sound confusing but what it means is this: At one time we lived to please ourselves and everything we did was sin because we were living outside God’s will, outside of a relationship with Him. We lived for pleasure, pride, and profligacy. But when we were set free from sin, we offered ourselves to Jesus and became free to love Him, free to love people, and free to express His love in righteousness. We offer our lives to the Lord as living examples of who He is and that means offering ourselves to loving people as Jesus loves them.
Jesus fulfilled Mosaic Law and we are no longer under a list of dos and don’ts. We are now under the Law of Love. Paul describes it in verses 8-10.
 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
 
Truly, love fulfills every aspect of the law. If we are expressing God’s love to someone would we commit adultery, murder, steal, or even be envious of them? No, there is not an iota of love in those acts. Love cannot sin. It’s time to stop concentrating on the Law of Moses and start focusing on loving people with the ferocity of God Almighty. Let’s love people, be just as concerned for their welfare, feelings, and future as our own. Let’s be slaves of righteousness who focus on what we can do to love as Jesus loves instead of slaves of sin who focus on how not to sin and what is sin and what is not.
Believer, you have been set free! Stop putting on those shackles of sin and instead live and walk in the freedom you’ve been given. You are free to live and walk in the Spirit of God who has indwelled you. Stop concentrating on laws and sins and put your eyes on Jesus. We are free from the Law, why continue to live under it? We cannot live in between law and Jesus. There is no middle road, no tension between law and antinomianism (that is complete disregard of any sort of authority including God). Both are ways that Satan keeps people enslaved and away from the true grace of Jesus Christ our Salvation. Both are slavery to law, sin, and death.  1 Corinthians 10:21-24 reads,
 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
 
 
The only sin for the Christian is to know what good she ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17 tells us,
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
 
Instead of keeping our eyes on the list of what we should not do, lets follow Jesus, imitate Him, live out the expression of the Holy Spirit and do what we know is right. What do we know is right? It is to love one another as Jesus loved us. Time is short, people are dying without knowing Jesus. They need us to show them who He is, not tell them what they should not do. Lists of sin do not save, Jesus does. Verses 11-14 read,
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
 
Wasting our time focusing on sin and sins only leads toward temptation and giving in to sin. Let’s walk in the light of Christ, wearing the full armor of Christ, exuding the fruit of the Spirit. Let us focus on the living the Law of Love rather than following the laws like the Pharisees did.
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Romans 6 Is Freedom from Sin the Same as Freedom to Sin?

5/11/2016

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When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18
​Romans 6
You do not have to keep sinning. I know so many of us use the excuse that we can’t help it, can’t control ourselves, or are compelled to sin. But the truth is, if we are believers that is just a cop out. We do not have to keep sinning. Self-control is an ability the Holy Spirit gives us, it is a fruit, a result of having Him in us making us over (Galatians 5:22-23). Sin no longer holds the sway over us in any way at all. You were once a sinner, but now you are under God’s overflowing beautiful grace. Jesus gave you a new life. That new life is not about law, sin, and death; it is about grace, righteousness, and life.
To begin Romans chapter 6 in context we need to read the last verses of chapter 5. Romans 5:17-21 reads,
For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
God, our Holy Righteous Lord forgives sin. There is no sin too big for Him, no sins too many for Him. Sin cannot overcome grace because God’s grace is boundless. So does grace give us free reign to sin? Since we do not follow the law, does that mean we can just do whatever we want and then proclaim God’s grace to the world as an excuse for our debauchery?  Chapter 6 verses 1-4 say,
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
 
Jesus didn’t go to the cross as a pretty little picture, He died quite horrifically and painfully in order to put sin to death. When we believed, we died too to our old lives, identities, and nature. Jesus resurrected to end death forever and give us a new life, identity, and nature. When we believed we raised up to a new life. We were re-born. To continue to walk, act, and be the sinful person we used to be just trashes what Jesus did for us on the cross. We are new! We are born again! We are alive! We have the promise of unity with God and the hope of eternal life. We have His Holy Spirit within us working out our sanctification, that is He is making us into Jesus’ image. Verses 5-11 read,
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
 
To be saved, to call ourselves believers means we call Jesus our Lord. We give him dominion (rule, authority, and power) over us. He is in charge, the king, master, and owner of our lives and hearts. Jesus put sin to death, He even put death to death! (Revelation 20:14). In Revelation 1:17b-18 Jesus said,
“Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
Do you understand that when Jesus laid down His life and rose from the dead, He made it so we do not have to be under sin’s rule any longer? We don’t have to sin! Sin is a choice, not a compulsion. Verses 12-14 read,
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
 
We are not under the law now, sin does not have to rule over us. There are so many people who call themselves Christians and yet still live as citizens of the world. They give in to sin constantly, they are bitter, wrathful, and hateful. They revel in depravity, drunkenness, and decadence and claim freedom in Christ. But their lives don’t reveal freedom, their lives reveal the chains holding them to sin. Their lives do not show deliverance from sin by Jesus Christ, they show bondage to sin. Who would ever choose to follow such a weak god who cannot liberate a person from the mire of wrongs she lives in? Who would follow a god who makes his followers no different than anyone else on the earth? Just because we are not under the law, does not mean we should flaunt it by sinning and acting like the rest of the world. Verses 15-16 say it this way,
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 
If we keep choosing to sin, we are proclaiming sin as our master. We cannot claim Christ as our Lord and yet obey the basal desires, gratify our every whim, and exalt our selfishness. We are not slaves to sin if we call Jesus Lord and mean it. We are free from the tyranny of self-seeking, self-gratifying, life-killing sin. Freedom in Christ is much more than liberation from the law; it is more profound than escape from wrath and Hell. If Jesus has ahold of your heart, will, desires, and soul, if His Spirit reigns in you, you are free to live in love, conform to His image (be like Him), and be who you are meant to be. You are free to do good, free to glorify (reflect and direct attention to) God, and free to enjoy the world on a level people without Christ cannot imagine. We are free to give our lives completely to God and let Him do with us as He chooses. Verses 17-19 read,
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
If the idea of being sanctified does not flood you with joy, then perhaps you are still enslaved to sin. Being sanctified, conformed to Christ’s image is wonderful, it is being made into who you were made to be. The more you grow, the more you mature in Christ, the more wonder and joy you find in this life He has given you.
What good did sinning ever bring you? What good did it do you to satisfy your urges, fill your stomach, or vent every capricious thought? It did you no good, and it did no one else any good. Those nights of drunken partying may have been fun in the moment but the celebration of Jesus is so much better, eternal, and purposeful. The old party led to death, the new celebration brings life. Verses 20-23 read,
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
Believer, do not give into the excuses, the lies of sin. You are freed from sin, free to be the righteous child of God you were born to be! You are free to live this amazing life for God. Choose life.
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Romans 4 Saved by Faith in Jesus not Obedience to the Law.

5/9/2016

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For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8
​Romans 4
We know from what we have been reading that the law has a purpose, but that purpose is not to save or make anyone righteous. The law reveals God and His righteousness to us and it proves our inability to be righteous, it exposes our sin (Leviticus 20:22-26, Romans 3:20). The law demonstrates God’s grace because God knows we cannot keep it but promises to put the law in our hearts and give us new hearts and spirits (Deuteronomy 6:5, Ezekiel 36:26). God said, “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine” (Leviticus 20:26). But how can we be holy as He is holy when we are incapable of keeping the law? It is because when God writes the law on our hearts and that moves us to trust in Him to give us new hearts and spirits, it is called faith. He makes us righteous not because of the law but because of the faith, the relationship with Him because we want to know more about who Holy God is.
Being righteous doesn’t mean being pious or good. Being righteous means we are forgiven of our sins, it means God no longer counts our sin against us because it no longer exists. Paul explained it by using Abraham as an example for us. Verses 1-8 read,
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Abraham was not counted as righteous because he did anything. He was counted as righteous because he believed God. The Lord saved Abraham as a gift, not because he obeyed God and went where He told him to go, but because he believed God. Abraham’s belief manifested in obedience to go where He was told, but it was his faith which was counted as righteousness, not the obedience. The obedience was the product of Abraham’s faith. Verses 9-12 explain it using the example of circumcision.
Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing. It is our new hearts, our new spirits, our new selves which show our faith and God’s perfect Righteousness and Grace. Galatians 6:15-16 reads,
For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Faith is not something we sit in, it is not invisible or fruitless. Faith is something we walk in, it shows, and it has results. Faith results in obedience. Faith compels us to obey God, obedience proves faith. The law does not result in our transformation, it is the faith we exhibit in God to keep His promises which allows Him to change us. The Law makes us aware of God and our inability to be who He created us to be. We were created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). That means we were made for eternity, for holiness, with the desire to be in a relationship with the Eternal God, though most of us mistook it for a desire for our own divinity. When God made His covenant with Abraham, He made the way for all of us to live in relationship with Him as Abraham lived in relationship with Him. Verses 13-16 read,
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
 
Do you imagine that what Abraham believed was easier than what you or I are asked to believe? I mean Abraham audibly heard God speak, who wouldn’t have faith in God after that? God spoke audibly to many people who didn’t have faith. He spoke to face to face to Adam and Eve but they didn’t believe Him and their disbelief resulted in their disobedience (Genesis 3:1-7). When God spoke to Abraham there were not a ton of people around who followed God, prayed, or even acknowledged Him. For most people the God of the Universe was a legend or a myth but at least one family line had continued to teach the Truth; they were the exception and not the rule. God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations. That was not an easy promise to believe. Abraham was an old man, closer to death than the prime of life but he believed. Faith is rarely easy.
What has God promised you? How long have you waited? I have waited years and I am still waiting, not with hope that maybe it will be, but with assurance that it will be because God has already made it so. It isn’t easy. Sometimes I am so sick, I can’t gather the strength to walk to the bathroom. Sometimes the pain makes me so weary I wonder if I can bear it one more day. Sometimes I feel so inadequate for my lack of health that I want to give up. But God reminds me of His promise. Brothers and Sisters encourage me with His word and love. Abraham didn’t have the body of Christ surrounding him. He didn’t have the wonderful Holy Spirit within him strengthening him. He was the one who had to speak God’s word to the people around him like Sarah and Lot. He had to exhibit his faith for them and he only had God. Of course God is enough. God is able. That is faith. Verses 17-25 read,
as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness. That means God called Him righteous because He believed. That is for us too! All we have to do is believe God that He gave us Jesus Christ who laid down His life to pay the price for our sin and raised Him from death to save us.
Are you trying to earn salvation by being good enough? Are you hoping your good deeds outweigh the mistakes you’ve made? How unfair would it be if the way to Heaven, the way to know God was based on some secret scorecard? How wrong would it be for us to have to stand on a scale after we die and hope that our charity and kindness outweighed our self-indulgence and malice? God is love! He loves you! He doesn’t base salvation on being good and never has. It has always been faith in Him that causes Him to say “You are forgiven, You are mine.”
If you want to know how to be saved, if you have questions you want answered to make understanding this easier, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will gladly talk to you honestly and without judgement. You can also click on this link for more information. There are not many roads to God, there is only one way; He is Jesus. John 14:6-11 reads,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
​
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Unless You are More Righteous than the Guys who Memorized the Torah, you're Out of Luck

12/3/2015

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When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30
Matthew 5:17-20 reads,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So is Jesus telling us that He still expects us to go to the Temple and sacrifice bulls and lambs, pour our drink offerings and offer peace offerings? No, he is not. He said, not an iota of the Law would pass until all is accomplished. While He walked during His ministry and before His crucifixion, it had not yet been accomplished. But Jesus, the Word of God, God’s will manifested, did accomplish what the Law and Prophets said would be. Isaiah 55:10-13 told us that God’s Word would accomplish His purpose.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
And Jesus told us when it was done as He gave up His life on the cross. John 19:28-30 says,
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
But before He died to pay the price for sin, people were still subject to the Law. Jesus told them their righteousness had to exceed that of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a sect of Jewish men who devoted themselves to Moses’ Law. They memorized the Torah, the entire law. They took every stroke, every iota and dot of the law very seriously and made rules so that the Laws would not be broken. For instance, imagine a law that says, “Do not walk on the grass on Tuesdays,” A Pharisee would ensure that law was kept by adding rules such as on Tuesday’s keep a mile between your feet and the grass, do not plant grass within the city where you live and do not build a house on any grass.” They took the Law very seriously and they took the rules they made to protect the law very seriously. They kept the law as well as any human could. People who were not Pharisees, who couldn’t afford to devote themselves so wholly to that sort of study had no hope of knowing the law the way the Pharisees did and so no hope of following it perfectly. When Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The people listening must have been shell-shocked. They were ordinary people who were not half as righteous as The Pharisees who flaunted their piety. (Matthew 6:1-18).
But Jesus didn’t think the Pharisees were all that. He called them hypocrites, liars and serpents. (Matthew 23). He told them they were headed straight to Hell. Even perfectly keeping the Law couldn’t guarantee the Kingdom of Heaven. The Pharisees and most of the people who tied so ardently to follow the law, exalted the rules and rituals and lost the essence of the Law. They lost the relationship with God the Law was meant to give them. God didn’t want empty offerings and robotic sacrifice, He wanted people to understand the meaning and follow them with their hearts and souls as well as their brains and actions. The Law was meant to give people a way to faith and relationship with God, to show them their sin and a God who loved them beyond their sin to make a way to Him. The Law is God’s word, His will made plain. It reveals our cores. Hebrews 4:12-13 puts it this way,
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
After Jesus dropped everyone’s jaws with that statement, He went on to talk about how keeping the law in word was not keeping the law in the heart. He gave us examples regarding anger, lust, divorce, oaths, and revenge in Matthew 5:21-44.
Verse 21-22 read,
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
The majority of us can say, “I’ve never murdered anyone! I’ve got that one down pat!” but I am not sure there is even one of us who could say, “I’ve never gotten angry with nor insulted my loved one.” Jesus was saying the law is not about mere outward appearance, the law goes to the heart and soul. Again and again Jesus compared following the letter of the law with the truth of the law.
Verses 27-28 reads,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart”
Verses 31-36 says,
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”
Verses 38-39 read,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
And verses 43-44 say,
“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,”
A lot of us can say, “Yep, I’m not too bad. I haven’t broken the “big” laws. But Jesus said if you even insulted your brother, you killed him, if you even had a lustful thought, you committed adultery, and if you retaliated injury for injury, you hated.
In Matthew 19:16-22, we read the narrative of a rich young man who asked Jesus what was necessary for him to go to Heaven. Jesus said, “You can’t be good enough to go to Heaven. Keep the ten commandments.” He didn’t say, the entire law, just the Ten Commandments. And the young man said, I have kept them all. So Jesus replied, if you want to be perfect, go sell all your earthly treasures, give the money to the poor, put your treasures (your heart and hopes) in Heaven and follow me. The young man had no problem following rules, but when asked to put his heart behind them and give up earthly glory for Jesus’ glory, he couldn’t do it.
What about you? Are you following the rules with your mind and actions but not with your heart and soul? Are you trying to be good enough to go to Heaven? Jesus said, you can’t be good enough. There is only one way to Heaven and that is by Jesus. The law followed down to the last stroke cannot make you righteous enough to go to Heaven. But Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. He died on the cross to forgive your sins. He rose from dead to give you eternal life. All you have to do is say it and know it and you will become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus gives you His perfection and that’s it. Romans 10:9-13 reads,
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
​
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JEHOVAH-TSID-KENU The LORD is Our Righteousness

10/3/2015

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The LORD is Our Righteousness. Jehovah-Tsid-Kenu
Jeremiah 33:14-16 says,
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.”
Think on that today. This is God we are speaking of. This is His plan for you and me. This is one of the names He gave Himself. The LORD is Our Righteousness.
We are not righteous because we are so good. No, we have all sinned. Everyone has fallen short of being who God created him to be. Romans 3:21-26 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.”
We are righteous because Jesus is righteous and gave us credit for His goodness through His death and resurrection. Nothing we could do could ever earn the title of righteous. We cannot earn salvation 1 Corinthians 1:26-32 says,
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
It is in Jesus Christ that we are made good, we are redeemed and sanctified. To be sanctified is to be blessed, made holy, consecrated, set aside for a divine purpose. Isn’t that amazing? And we didn’t earn it! It is a gift from the Lord. Ephesians 2:1-10 reads,
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Is the Lord your righteousness? Have you considered the magnitude of your sin? Have you been forgiven? It is easy. There is no magic trick, no special charm or recitation. You simply acknowledge you need Jesus, remember everyone has sinned, everyone needs Jesus. Once you’ve admitted you have sinned, you repent (that means are sorry and you choose not to continue sinning), make Jesus your Lord (the one in charge of you) and believe that He resurrected from the dead for you, and proclaim it, shout it to the world. Romans 10:8-13 puts it this way,
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Are you already a believer is Jesus your righteousness? Then love people enough to tell them about Jesus. Romans 10:14-17 says,
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
The LORD is our Righteousness! Righteousness is being virtuous, moral, just, and honest. To be those things, implies you are doing good, acting in a fair and appropriate manner, and telling the truth. We do not do to earn salvation, we do in response to salvation. The Holy Spirit is making us more like Christ every day. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says,
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Thank you Lord, for your salvation. Thank you for forgiveness and redemption, justice, security, and eternal life. You God are my righteousness. It is only because of you that I can be blameless. You are my LORD. I praise you Lord and I am so deeply grateful for your never-ending love and sovereignty.
In Jesus’ Name Amen.
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Psalm 119:1-8 It Only Takes a Tiny seed of Faith to Grow into a Huge Tree of Faith.

9/8/2015

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He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 On photo of Beautiful Tree by Donna Campbell
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 On photo of Beautiful Tree by Donna Campbell
Psalm 119:1-8

Today we will begin to study Psalm 119. It is the longest and perhaps the most beautiful of the Psalms. Each verse is a golden nugget of wisdom which together creates a treasure of acumen, insight, and understanding.

Verses 1-4 read,

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
    to be kept diligently.”

According to Strong’s Concordance, the word for blameless is tamim, תָּמִים. It means complete, intact, unblemished, and one who is perfect. What!?! How can we be expected to be perfect? We are not and  cannot be perfect! But Jesus is! 1 Peter 1:15-23 reads,

“but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;”

God called us to be holy, and He wouldn’t ask us to do something unless He gave us a way to do it. What is the way to blamelessness? Jesus. He came and lived perfectly, He laid down His life like a spotless sacrificial lamb to pay the debt for our sin. And He gives us righteousness. (Romans 3:21-26). We are now considered blameless, One day we will be perfect and without sin at all, but in God’s eyes it is already done. Jesus death and resurrection if the demonstration of the promise of eternity. (2 Timothy 1:8-10).

We walk in the Law of the Lord, not the Law of Moses. While we walk we are being made over more and more like Christ each step of the way. While our hope is promised and as good as done, we still conscientiously strive to carry out God’s Word, His will manifested. And in doing so we pursue His Kingdom, we strive toward the goal of being the perfect reflection of Jesus. Philippians 3:12-21 reads,

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

We do that through faith and obedience. It takes only the tiniest bit of faith to take that first step and obey God. Then God takes that little seed of faith and grows it into a huge and sheltering tree of life. In Mark 9:14-29 A man brought his son, who had an unclean spirit which caused him to have horrible seizures, deafness and muteness to Jesus. Verses 21-23 of that passage read,

“And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 

Then Jesus cast the spirit from the boy and healed hm. The boy’s father had only enough faith to ask Jesus to heal his son. He was filled with doubt. The disciples had already tried and failed to heal the boy. But the man took his tiny mustard seed of faith and obeyed God by asking Jesus. His belief, surrounded by his unbelief was enough. All things are possible for one who believes. It doesn’t say “All things are possible for one who has no shred of doubt.” Let God take your drop of faith amidst your sea of doubt and grow your faith until it displaces every particle of that doubt.

It is that continuous stepping of faith, one step at a time which leads to our growth and gives us a faith and a peace which baffles people. One obedient step after one obedient step leads to a steady walk. Verses 5-8 read,

“Oh that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
    when I learn your righteous rules.
8 I will keep your statutes;
    do not utterly forsake me!”

Walking by faith, diligently obeying The Lord and keeping His commandments as our focus leads to our maturity. With each step The Holy Spirit in us transforms us to reflect Jesus. With each act of obedience the Spirit grows stronger in us, replacing our flesh (our sin nature) with Himself.

What commandments do we have as people saved by grace? We have the great commission, which gives us our objective and assignment on earth.

“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.” (Matthew 28:18-20).

We have the two great commandments which encompass the entire Law of Moses and every word of the Prophets.

“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40).

We have Jesus’ New Commandment.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34).

We have other commandments as well, such as bee baptized. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:38) and take the Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion. (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34). There are more and we follow them, not because those commandments save us, but because we love Jesus and we thank Him for our salvation. We long to please Him and obedience pleases Him. Obedience grows us, makes us more like Christ and is a testimony to the lost.

In our earthly bodies and on this earth, we are not yet perfected. We are a work under way. But we are in progress and will be brought to perfect completion on the Day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6). But the great news is that when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He credited us with righteousness. (Romans 4:20-25). We are reconciled to The Father in a union which cannot be torn. (John 17:20-21, Romans 8:31-39 ). He chooses not to consider our sins. (Hebrews 8:12). And the Holy Spirit is at work in us conforming us to the perfect likeness of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

So walk in faith, even if your faith is miniscule. Trust that The Lord will grow that faith until your doubt is miniscule. One day our faith will be rewarded as our hope is manifested in Jesus’ return and the New Heavens and New Earth replace the present heavens and earth. I will leave you with the reminder of that awesome promise in Revelation 21:1-4.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “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.”


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Psalm 64 Why Do Evil Men Prosper?

7/24/2015

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Psalm 64

Does it seem sometimes, as Jeremiah complained that evil men prosper? Jeremiah 12:1-2 says what so many of us think from time to time.

“Righteous are you, O Lord,
    when I complain to you;
    yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
    they grow and produce fruit;
you are near in their mouth
    and far from their heart.”

We look up from walking our difficult road in choosing right to see people who don’t care about God or beneficence or goodness, running past us toward money, power, and an easy life. It can be discouraging. But we are not alone in this grievance. And we are not seeing the whole picture either. When we take our eyes of The Lord and compare ourselves to the people around us, we can become blinded by faithlessness. David’s enemies sometimes seemed to be winning in their quest to destroy him. He like Jeremiah complained about it in Verses 1-6 of the Psalm.

“Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
    preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the throng of evildoers,
3 who whet their tongues like swords,
    who aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from ambush at the blameless,
    shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;
    they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
6     They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
    For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.”

Our enemy the Liar and his followers bitterly hate us. Their hate comes out in vicious words accusing us of many wrongdoings. The enemy lies in wait for us and even though we are forgiven and righteous in Christ, he attacks us. He is determined to destroy our walk with Jesus, our testimony, and our effectiveness. Our enemy thinks we are stupid and won’t recognize his attacks. Sadly many Christians do fall for his lies, accusations, and schemes. They do not know who they are in Christ. They forget who The Lord really is. And they succumb to Satan’s attacks. They are not wearing the full armor of Christ because they don’t understand their identity in Him well enough to wear that noble armor. Paul encouraged us in Ephesians 6:10-13,

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Armor is protective. But it must be worn deliberately and properly to be effective. We have to put it on. We have to choose to know who we are and trust who God is to avail ourselves of God’s perfect protection. Paul described the armor in Ephesians 6:14-18,

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

When we know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14:6) we can understand who we are in Him and combat every lie with the Truth. When we know who we are in Christ and what He has done for us we know we nothing can take the eternal life Jesus’ righteousness gave to us. When we understand who God our Redeemer is we are able to boldly be a testimony to Him, always ready with the Gospel which makes peace between God and man. When we know who Almighty God is we can have faith in Him, and then the lies and attacks of the enemy bounce off of our Shield unable to hurt us. When we know who we are in Christ, Salvation which can’t be taken from us protects our minds and souls and gives us the ability to fight back. We don’t fight with just any weapon, we don’t sling useless retorts at the enemy, we cut him down with the Word of God, the Scriptures and Jesus Christ whose very name holds immense and holy power. When we know who God is and who we are, we don’t worry, we pray in The Spirit for all the saints battling the enemy.

Satan doesn’t care about justice. He lies to people and blinds them to the consequences of sin and the cost of rejecting Christ. But our Lord God Elohim is our Justice and our Righteous Judge. He is The Truth and the Way. He is our Righteousness, our Shield, our Salvation, and our Sword. He is The LORD. Verses 7-9 describe The Justice of The Lord for us.

“But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
    all who see them will wag their heads.
9 Then all mankind fears;
    they tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.”

God avenges us. He wounds the followers of the prince of this world. He gives them a chance to turn to Him. But whatever their choice, God’s mighty power and perfect love are demonstrated for the whole world to see. He is glorified. And more people can come to Him as we, wearing the readiness of the Gospel tell of the awesomeness of our Lord.

Why do evil men seem to prosper? So that when they fall the impact will be felt, seen, and heard by the multitudes. God will be glorified. And we will rejoice and glorify Him further. Verse 10 tells us to stop complaining and whining and rejoice instead because we know who The Lord is and we know who we are in Him.

“Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
    and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!”

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    Donna Campbell

    As I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action.

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    October 21st 2015
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    September 27th 2015
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