Salt & Light Blog

His Word is not Far Off

6/12/2017

But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Deuteronomy 30:14

But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Deuteronomy 30:14

Believer, I want to encourage you today with this brief reminder.
Deuteronomy 30:9-14 promises
The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.”
And Believer Jesus already came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17) He also said all the law hinged on two commandments. Matthew 22:36-40 reads,
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 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.”
And as you note in Deuteronomy, that commandment is easy for us because He has already put His word in our mouths and hearts.

Seeking the Face of God

7/19/2016

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! 1 Chronicles 16:11

I want to continue to seek the face of God today and look at aspects of His face. Yesterday we learned that the face of God represents His presence, grace, and favor. Believer, God is always with you, but there are times when He withdraws His presence from you or when you step out of His presence. That is not the same as being God not being with you or in you. Once indwelled, He remains indwelled. Although we can quench the Spirit, we cannot extinguish Him (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Although we can grieve the Spirit, we cannot lose Him (Ephesians 4:30). We may stifle Him, but we will never exhaust Him.
Psalm 67:1-3 reads,
May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!
To seek God’s face is to pray in order to seek His goodness, His righteousness, His grace and favor so that He might be glorified in our salvation. When David sought the face of the Lord, the Lord revealed the reason behind a famine. 2 Samuel 21:1 reads,
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
The Lord told David what to do, the King did as God commanded and God responded to David’s pleas for the land regarding the famine (2 Samuel 21:14). So seeking God’s face requires meaningful sincere prayer in which we are willing to listen to God’s answer and not just whine. It should be a way of life for us to seek God, not just something we do when bad stuff happens, but continuously. 1 Chronicles 16:8-13 reads,
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11 Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
13 O offspring of Israel his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
Let’s look at some of the aspects of God’s face. God’s face is His glory. He told Moses that whoever looked at His face and saw His glory would die. He allowed Moses to see Him only when He his Moses in a rock, covered him with His hand and allowed him to look at Him after He passed (Exodus 33:20-23). Psalm 16:6-7 describes God’s face as light and goodness giving joy and provision.
There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
    Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
    than they have when their grain and wine abound.

There are numerous verses to describing God’s face as shining. He shines His face upon us when He looks at us. Psalm 67:1, Numbers 6:25-26, and Psalm 31:16 are three of those passages. When God looks at you, Believer, He shines on you; His glory lights you and His joy touches you. He smiles when He sees you. Child of God, He loves you and He has no wrath for you (1 Thessalonians 5:9). God’s presence is a joyful place, even when we are grieving and suffering, God’s face brings us joy in the midst of it. Psalm 16:11 says it this way,
You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

What does it mean practically to seek God’s face? Well let’s consider the face. I know the first thing I think of on a face is the eyes. God’s sees you. God looks at the entire earth and He sees what is happening He knows and cares. Deuteronomy 11:12 describes the Promised Land this way,
a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
God watches and knows the needs of His people. He meets our needs. 2 Chronicles 16:9 a says,
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

Psalm 34:15 reads,
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.

While God sees us, He hears us as well and praying, crying out to Him is the first thing we can do in seeking His face. 2 Samuel 22:7 says,
In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry came to his ears.
Believer, praying involves more than speaking; it is not meant to be a one sided conversation. God has a mouth and His Word is powerful. Isaiah 45:22-23 reads,
“Turn to me and be saved,
    all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.”

If you pray, but don’t listen or you hear but do not heed, then why are you praying? What is the good of listening without the faith to follow what He speaks? God’s word is certain, His promises are guaranteed. We can have faith in what He speaks to us. Psalm 89-33-35 encourages us this way,
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
    or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
    I will not lie to David.

By His lips and mouth, by the Word God speaks, He imparts His Spirit and His judgement. God’s Word is His will manifested, it is Jesus Christ. Isaiah 11:3-5 reads,
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
    or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
    and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

And finally James 4:3-10 reminds us why at times it seems like god does not hear us. It is not that He doesn’t hear, it is that we are not heeding His word and remaining faithful to Him.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 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.
So Believer, are you seeking God’s face? Are you praying, listening, and heeding? Are you drawing ever closer to your Lord and keeping your life righteous?

Deuteronomy 32 The Song of Moses

4/4/2016

he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32: 46-47

he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32: 46-47

Deuteronomy 32
God wants us to succeed. He wants us to do well. He knows we are prone to sin, to take the easy way or the flesh gratifying way. But He gives us the tools to make the right choices. Ancient Israel did not have the Holy Spirit indwelled in each person. God put His Spirit on a few and the rest were meant to trust Him and follow Him via these leaders and prophets. But they were given the Law, the priests, and the prophets. They were given the feasts and they were given prayers and songs.
In yesterday’s devotional The Lord had told Moses to write the song He would give him and teach it to Israel so that they would sing it through the generations and remember what He had done for them and not turn to idolatry as they were inclined to do (Deuteronomy 31:19-22). Chapter 32 is the song.
Deuteronomy 31:30 reads,
Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:
Verses 1-3 read,
“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
    and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 May my teaching drop as the rain,
    my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
    and like showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
    ascribe greatness to our God!”

When the song was sung both The Lord and the people were called to hear it. God was the audience to the obedience of the singer and the listeners. Israel was to listen and learn from the words, the words written by The Lord Himself to proclaim His greatness, to reveal His character to people so that they might avoid sin and thus avoid the consequences their sin would bring.
How often do you think, “If only I had listened…?” Would your teenaged self have skipped a huge amount of turmoil if you had heeded your parents’ warnings? Would you have avoided much of your suffering had you heeded the words of God? How much sin do we commit when we choose to ignore the counsel of The Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the Word of God?
Verses 4-6 remind us of God’s perfect justice.
“The Rock, his work is perfect,
    for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
    just and upright is he.
5 They have dealt corruptly with him;
    they are no longer his children because they are blemished;
    they are a crooked and twisted generation.
6 Do you thus repay the Lord,
    you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father, who created you,
    who made you and established you?”
God is perfect Justice and He made the way for Israel to be forgiven of sin and be counted as righteous. But they perverted worship, they perverted the sacrifices, and they sinned. It came to the point that God could no longer consider Israel separate and holy because although they venerated themselves as His chosen nation, they were worshipping idols and laws above the One True God. They forgot God in their religion. This song was to remind them God created them, He called Himself their Father. They could repent and turn to Him or they could suffer for their sin. It reminds believers too, not to leave the Lord out of religion.
. God can make a holy nation and Chosen people from anyone or anything. It was His choice to make Israel His own. It was His choice to make you and me His own.
The Lord commanded Israel to remember what their ancestors, the first singers and hearers of this song had gone through and what He had done for them. He chose them. He called them. He gave them their identity as His own. Verses 7-14 read,
“Remember the days of old;
    consider the years of many generations;
ask your father, and he will show you,
    your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
    when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
    according to the number of the sons of God.
9 But the Lord's portion is his people,
    Jacob his allotted heritage.
10 “He found him in a desert land,
    and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
    he kept him as the apple of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
    that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
    bearing them on its pinions,
12 the Lord alone guided him,
    no foreign god was with him.
13 He made him ride on the high places of the land,
    and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
    and oil out of the flinty rock.
14 Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
    with fat of lambs,
rams of Bashan and goats,
    with the very finest of the wheat--
    and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.”
God’s provision is rarely just the bare necessities; it is full and complete. The Promised Land flowed with milk and honey, it didn’t trickle. God pours out provision and blessings. He is the One Who Overcomes our obstacles, He is the One Who Gives, and He is the One Who Lavishes. We are the ones who look at our success and prosperity and forget that it could only have come from The Lord. Enough success and we somehow forget God and take credit for it ourselves.
Those people who write books about how to get rich and stay rich, how to succeed in business, or how to make friends and influence people, they think they are the ones responsible for their success and so they think they can make money by sharing their wisdom and skills. The secret to success is not learning how Mr. Moneybags got rich; it is in remembering who The Lord God is. When we forget to give God the credit, the glory for us and who we have become, we get lazy. We forget God. We turn to idols like money, ourselves, and other religions. That happened to Israel time and again. It happens to so many of us repeatedly. We forget where our strength comes from and think we can do anything without The Lord because we are strong, have great resources, wisdom, or whatever. Verses 15-18 say it this way,
“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
    you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
then he forsook God who made him
    and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
    with abominations they provoked him to anger.
17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
    to gods they had never known,
to new gods that had come recently,
    whom your fathers had never dreaded.
18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you,
    and you forgot the God who gave you birth.”

Jeshurun is another name for Israel. It means upright, just and straight. Success made Jeshurun grow from upright, just, and straight to fat, stout, and sleek. That may have looked attractive as her wealth showed, but it made her forsake God; it caused her to scoff at the idea that The Lord was her Salvation and Creator.
Believer, whatever success you enjoy, wealth, wisdom, or spiritual gifts, be careful to remember it is not you, but God. You could never be good enough to be saved. Jesus saved you. You are not the source of the prophesies, good works, wisdom, healing, or evangelism that you perform. The Holy Spirit manifests Himself in you. You couldn’t even have chosen Christ without the Father having called you. Without God, all those things that make you so great are just a harsh and meaningless noise (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
When we choose to turn to ourselves instead of The Lord, He lets us. He will hide His face from us and let us struggle without Him. He wants us to learn to depend on Him, to come back and be the sons and daughters He made us to be. Verses 19-25 read,
“The Lord saw it and spurned them,
    because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
20 And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
    I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
    children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 They have made me jealous with what is no god;
    they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
    I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger,
    and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
    and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
    I will spend my arrows on them;
24 they shall be wasted with hunger,
    and devoured by plague
    and poisonous pestilence;
I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
    with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.
25 Outdoors the sword shall bereave,
    and indoors terror,
for young man and woman alike,
    the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.”
If prosperity and success make someone fall away from the Lord, then suffering often brings them back to Him. I know many people who only pray when they are at the end of their rope. When they have nothing left to do but cry out to God, that is the only time they talk to Him. Their prayers are one-sided dirges and monologues of grief. But sometimes their desperation begins a relationship and dependence on The Lord. And too often that relationship lasts for only the duration of the suffering. Do you depend on God through good times and bad, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health? Or do you only talk to Him when He is all you have left to turn to?
God can make a whole new nation for Himself, He can take the stones and trees and turn them to a worshipping people. But doing that would mean losing the chance that the sinner will repent. It would mean letting the people he used to exact justice think they were righteous gods. He will never leave us or forsake us, even when we have forsaken Him. Verses 26-27 read,
“I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;
    I will wipe them from human memory,”
27 had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
    lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
lest they should say, “Our hand is triumphant,
    it was not the Lord who did all this.”’
God loves Israel. God loves ISIS. He loves you and He loves your enemies. He wants the best for you. He wants salvation for each and every person. So often the discipline He uses to bring you back into walking rightly with Him is also being used to call the lost He used to work the discipline. He understands that they don’t have His Holy Spirit and they need to see Him work in you and bless you with his mercy and grace. Maybe they will want that mercy and grace too, and they will call upon His name. Verses 28-33 read,
“For they are a nation void of counsel,
    and there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand this;
    they would discern their latter end!
30 How could one have chased a thousand,
    and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
    and the Lord had given them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock;
    our enemies are by themselves.
32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
    and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
    their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of serpents
    and the cruel venom of asps”

He has given each person the chance to repent. He gave you that opportunity and He gave the lousy neighbor, the one who cut down the tree on your property and whose dog pees in your roses the opportunity. He gives the punished and the punisher the chance to repent and be saved. When someone refuses that gift, God will give them what they deserve. It’s not up to you or me to take revenge. Every person will pay the price, either with her own blood or the blood of Jesus. God’s vengeance is fierce and it will not be pretty or light. It will not be a simple elevator trip to Hell. Hell is not like a biker bar where people will hang out with sinners forever. It will be more horrific than we can imagine. Verses 34-38 read,
“‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
    sealed up in my treasuries?
35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
    for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
    and their doom comes swiftly.’
36 For the Lord will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
    and there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
    the rock in which they took refuge,
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
    let them be your protection!”

You can’t save yourself. Buddha, Mohammed, Baal, Satan, Money, or a bright smile cannot save you. Only the Lord God, Jesus Christ can save. One day every person will realize that Jesus Christ is Lord. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow (Philippians 2:10). Will it be in triumphant worship or in dreadful realization that your god is powerless and bogus? Verse 39-43 read,
“‘See now that I, even I, am he,
    and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
    I wound and I heal;
    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven
    and swear, As I live forever,
41 if I sharpen my flashing sword
    and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
    and will repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
    and my sword shall devour flesh--
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
    from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’
43 “Rejoice with him, O heavens;[
    bow down to him, all gods,
for he avenges the blood of his children
    and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him
    and cleanses his people's land.”
God is awesome! He is The LORD! Do you know it? Do you need to be reminded? Let His Word shape you before suffering and discipline must teach you. Know who God is now, before The Day of the Lord demonstrates it for you. God’s Word is a gift to us. Believers are indwelled with The Holy Spirit, so that we can understand it, write it on our hearts and live it out for the world. Do not forget who God is or who you are in Him. Verses 44-47 read,
Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

After Moses taught Israel the song and exhorted them to live by God’s Word, he was reminded that he would not be with them. Moses had to pay the price for his disobedience and trust God to be God for Israel. Verses 48-52,
That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Spiritually Fat but Starving to Death

10/13/2015

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3

Recently a great friend and I were talking and she said that we as a society were spiritually fat. We have easy access to the Bible, to biblical resources and teaching. We can go to church as often as we please. We have Christian music, movies, cruises, retreats, and even dating sites. We really can be immersed completely in the Christian culture as deeply as we desire.
But the thing about all that easy access is it has led to an indolent Christianity. All though there is a surplus of resources for studying the Word, many Christians rarely open their Bible. The Bible in conjunction with the Holy Spirit should be our primary source of study. Rather than take in the healthy pure meat of the Bible, too many of us get the processed food of second hand teaching. We follow this preacher or that author, when we are supposed to follow Christ. We are supposed to keep the Gospel of Christ pure not sully it with our personal views. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 reads,
“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?”
Many believers only read or hear the word when they are at a church service, hearing the pastor’s sermon. Or rather than read the Bible for themselves they choose to read a book about the Bible or a book about living well that resources the Bible. Even many of our Bible Studies are actually studies of other books. The rest of the time, if they get any word at all, it is in bite-sized cookies covered in sugar and removed from the whole, sweet little encouraging Bible verses posted on social networks or given in a greeting card. Often times they are not even Bible verses but poplar phrases that many people come to believe as doctrine.
When God gave the law to the people of Israel He said in Deuteronomy 4:1-2
“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.”
Proverbs 30:5-6 say,
“Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”
We are not supposed to add or take away anything from the Word of God. Doing either has dire consequences for the person taking only the parts she likes, the person adding what she thinks should be there as well as the person who hears and believes the lies.
The processed food of books about the Bible, and books that resource the Bible are okay once in a while if one is regularly in the Bible herself. If she knows the word, she can discern the additives and remain spiritually healthy. But if she doesn’t know the word for herself then she takes in all the additives and poisons along with the truth. Those poisons can twist the truth.
A spiritual diet made up only sugary nuggets leads a person to worship a false god, a god who would never give you more than you can handle, a god who will let you into heaven if your intentions are good, and a god who doesn’t care if people follow his laws.
Our spiritual intake has to be made up primarily of the 100% pure whole Word of God with the Holy Spirit there to help us digest it and turn it to energy.
James 1:22-25 reads,
“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.”
Being people of action who actually execute and act on scripture is another thing we do not seem to see a great deal of in our spiritual fatness. In order to be doers of the word and not hearers only, we have to hear first. And to carry out what it says, we have to know what it says. There is someone else doing it, why should we? We’ll support this ministry or that by posting a picture to our Facebook page for an hour. We’ll proclaim Christ by clicking like on the latest Christian meme. But doing those things is not doing the word.
We live where most people, even the poorest eat and live better than the majority of the world, so we blind ourselves to the needs around us. We keep living in the bubble of Christian culture and think going to see all the Christian movies, listening to Christian music and spending time doing Christian activities with Christian friends is somehow being Christian. The Bible doesn’t tell us to be Christian, it says to live and walk like Jesus. It says to do what Jesus did. It says to keep the commandments, which means obeying them, which means acting. It says love one another as Jesus loved us. All those things take action.
1 John 2:3-6 reads,
“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
We cannot become the mature strong Christians we were born to be without exercising our gifts or active walking and living of the Word. Hebrews 5:11-14 says it like this,
“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Maturity and Strength in Christ comes from Jesus giving His life for us allowing us to live for Him. That means we actually have to live for Him.
Romans 5:1-5 says,
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
We are truly blessed to have the rich offerings of so much spiritual nourishment around us. But we have to partake of the good stuff, the pure no sugar-added Word of God on a regular and frequent basis. We have to do what the Bible says, not just read about it, think about it and support the ones who do. In other words we have to eat right and exercise.

Psalm 119:25-32 My Soul Clings to Sin and Death or to Jesus and Life

9/11/2015

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 On photo of Train Tracks by Donna Campbell

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 On photo of Train Tracks by Donna Campbell

Psalm 119:25-32

We are human. We know it. We use it as an excuse for our bad behavior often enough. God knows it too. That is why He sent Jesus, His perfect Son to be the Way for us to reconcile with Him in peace. We are human, but we do not have to settle for the corruption of our flesh. We may be human but as believers we have the Perfect Holy Spirit living in us. We don’t have to let our flesh win. Verses 25-26 read,

“My soul clings to the dust;
    give me life according to your word!
26 When I told of my ways, you answered me;
    teach me your statutes!”

Our souls cling to dust. It is often easier to give in to the flesh. It is easier to have immediate gratification and forget about eternity. But like the psalmist, we can acknowledge the state of our sin nature and ask God to give us life in Jesus. When we confess and repent as we tell The Lord how sinful, helpless, and hopeless we are, He forgives, He gives us His Spirit, and He teaches us His way.

Some are still stagnant, some still cling to our old dead selves. Some do not realize it is a choice to be the new creation God has made us. Colossians 3:1-5 says,

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry”

How do we do that? How do we choose to put to death the earthly things, the dustiness of our old selves? First, we have to set our minds on Christ, The Kingdom of Heaven, and God’s righteousness. (Matthew 6:33). But how can we put our minds on The Kingdom of Heaven? How do we know what it is that is of Christ or of the world? How do we seek God? Verses 27-8 read,

“Make me understand the way of your precepts,
    and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word!”

We get to know God through His Word, the Scriptures, The Truth revealed through The Holy Spirit and demonstrated through Jesus Christ. The psalmist asked God to make him understand. The Holy Spirit allows us to understand the Scriptures and reveals the secrets that those without Him cannot understand. (Ephesians 3:1-6). We can speak until we are blue in the face and the world will think we are crazy. They call the Bible a lie, Jesus a crutch, and believers weak minded. But we know the truth because we have the Spirit of Truth. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 says,

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Verse 29 reads,

“Put false ways far from me
    and graciously teach me your law!”

God gives us discernment. His Holy Spirit distinguishes truth from lies, dark from light, and Godly from earthly. God’s Word, Jesus Christ has given us His mind as the Spirit transforms us to Jesus image, we as spiritual and not fleshly beings, are able to discern those things too. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). God’s written Word also allows us to discern those things. (Hebrews 4:12). That discernment keeps us away from false doctrines. 1 John 4:5-6 tells us,

“They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

Discernment is not only an act of the mind, but it permeates the heart. We come not only to recognize what is from God and what is not, but we come to love what is from God, and that affects the way we live our lives. (Romans 12:9-11). Verses 30-32 read,

“I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I set your rules before me.
31 I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;
    let me not be put to shame!
32 I will run in the way of your commandments
    when you enlarge my heart!”

Yes, we are human but we have The Spirit of Truth in us transforming us, maturing us, and making us more and more like Jesus every day if we choose to let Him. Believer, encourage you to set the Word of God before you. Cling to God’s testaments, the truth of God’s will and love demonstrated for you. Cling to eternal life rather than your dead past. Let God make you over into Jesus’ image and grow your love, your spirit, your soul, your mind, and your ministry.

Psalm 119:9-16 Delight in the Word of God

9/9/2015

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. Hebrews 4:12 On photo of Bible and Cup by Donna Campbell

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. Hebrews 4:12 On photo of Bible and Cup by Donna Campbell

Psalm 119:9-16

Verse 9 asks the question and gives an answer.

“How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.”

As followers of Christ, we want to remain pure, undefiled, and blameless. That is easier to want than live out. But there is a way, His name is Jesus. We have to be conscientious and persistent about protecting purity. We have to be deliberate about glorifying Jesus, about walking as He walked, living as He lives, and loving as He loves. What is God’s Word? It is God’s will expressed. It is the scriptures which record and teach His will. It is Jesus Christ the propitiation for our sin and the revelation of God, who lived His life by the perfect will of The Father and is the plan of salvation for the world. (John 1:1-5).

John 6:37-40 says it this way,

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

We have to be purposefully internalizing God’s Word. To do that, we have to read the Bible. We have to know what it says. We have to be hearers and doers of the word. (James 1:19-25). Verses 10-12 read,

“With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!”

Seeking God with our whole heart means seeking His will and His Word. We can’t obey Him, if we don’t know what He has told us to do. We cannot store His word in our hearts if we don’t know what his word says. The Holy Spirit will teach us. He makes God’s Word plain to us, He unlocks it and allows us to hear it and understand it. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 explains it this way,

“these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

Reading, learning, and discerning God’s Word helps us not to sin. As we listen to the Spirit and follow His guidance it does become easier not to sin. He replaces the desires of the flesh with God’s desires. He showers us with the blessings and joys of God will. Psalm 37:3-6 says,

“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.”

But how can we delight in The Lord if we haven’t bothered to get to know Him? When we seek to know God by reading the Bible, following and communing with Christ, obeying His Word, praying to The Father and listening to The Holy Spirt, our character changes. We become more like Jesus exhibiting His traits, speaking in love, truth, psalms and praise, and walking in faith. Verses 13-16 read,

“With my lips I declare
    all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.”

The joy, the thrill, and enjoyment that comes from knowing the Word of God and living the Word of God is beyond explanation. It must be seen by others to be wanted by them. It must be experienced to understand it. I do not know anyone who is sincerely following Jesus and living a Spirit-filled life of friendship with God who would give it up for all the money they could imagine. The glory of the riches of God is way beyond the glory of earthly riches. Ephesians 3:14-21 reads,

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Believer, I pray that you will delight in the Word of God and experience the joy and fullness of God. I ask the Lord to rain His glory, blessings, and riches on you and keep you steadfast and blameless until the Day of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 63 My Soul Thirsts for Living Water

7/23/2015

Psalm 63

Imagine you are in a land where all the crops have died, where there is no flowing water and you are starving and thirsty. Maybe that is too much for us in countries like America, Canada, and Great Britain. Most of us have never been as hungry or thirst as an orphan in a third world country. But try to imagine yourself at your hungriest and thirstiest, you empty stomach growling and your tongue and throat so dry you can’t speak. How badly would you want a glass of clean pure water to relieve your parched throat? How intensely would you want a piece of fresh warm bread to satisfy your growling stomach?

It that the way you yearn for God? Is that the way you long for The Lord? Do you pursue Him the same way you would search for water to alleviate your thirst? We have it so easy today. God is easy to find. I don’t know how accurate the research was but the statistic I found seems likely, the average American household has 4.7 Bibles. We have access to know God. Maybe because it is so easy for us, we don’t seek Him with the intense desperation of people in other countries. In some countries people must sneak in a Bible and worship God secretly in basements because if they are caught they will be tortured, imprisoned, or killed. But who is better off? Should we develop the desperation for God that Christians in China or India have? I think so.

David, the King of Israel who could enter the tabernacle and worship God anytime he liked had the deep desire to know God more. Verses 1-4 read,

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.”

Even though David knew God well, he understood there was so much more of the Lord to know and experience. He didn’t take his access to the throne of God for granted. Perhaps because he was a king who understood what it meant to be royalty in a land of commoners, he understood the privilege.

When we desire God so profoundly, we act on it. We do not lay on our beds wishing we could know God more. A thirsty man doesn’t just sit feet from a spring wishing he could drink. He goes to the spring and drinks. We pray, we listen we consider all He has done, and all He has promised. We read His Word. We contemplate His love. And we praise and worship Him.

When we seek God, His kingdom, and His nature. He satisfies us. Though we yearn desperately, He gratifies completely, more than completely. David compare it to the man desperate for a crust of bread receiving a banquet fit for a king, rich flavorful fatty and nourishing foods. God does that for us. Verses 5-8 read,

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.”

It is easy for the privileged, like those of us in nations where our poorest are richer than the rich of third world countries to forget to be grateful. We consider privileges to be our rights. We forget how actually blessed we are. David showed his thankfulness and appreciation to God by meditating on Him, by considering and contemplating the awesomeness of The Lord, his Provider, his Sovereign, his Redeemer, and his Almighty and Sufficient God.

David praised God for His unwavering love and His consistent ever-present help. He sang for joy in the shadow of God’s wings. The shadow of His wings refers to the wings of the cherubim on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant. The shadow of his wings is God’s mercy and grace to us, our salvation. We rest in the shadow of His wings since we cannot earn His love which is freely given. We cannot warrant His favor since He is just. We cannot merit Salvation since Jesus died and rose for us before we took our first breath and while we were still lost. (Romans 5:6-9). The word for mercy seat means propitiation, the satisfaction of our debt to God. Propitiation is the gaining of favor, to appease and wipe away wrath. Jesus is our propitiation, He is our mercy seat. 1 John 2:1-6 reads,

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

David clung to The Lord. To cling is to latch on, hold tightly like a baby latches on to the mother’s breast for life sustaining milk. But it was not only David who held tightly to God, God held David upright. God David’s Savior made it possible for him to be upright. The right hand of God, Jesus Christ our savior upholds us. Acts 5:29-32 reads,

“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Jesus saves those who call on His name for salvation. But to the enemy, his minions, and his prisoners of war, Jesus will defeat them and send them to the eternal fires of the pit of Hell. Verses 9-11 read,

“But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.”

The Lord promised this in His Word that Jesus, the Word of God would Judge and anyone not covered by His righteousness would go to the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20). It is by the Word, the Sword of God, the living will of God that people will be judged. John 1:1-5 tells us Jesus is the Word, the living manifestation of God’s will. We will all be judged by the Word of God. Either we are covered by His righteousness or we are not. Those who reject Christ choose to be judge by the Law. And no one but Jesus was able to live up to the Law.

Hebrews 4:11-13 tells us that Scripture, the Word of God is a discerning judge.

“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 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.”

And Revelation 19:11-16 describes Jesus,

“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.”

Is your soul desperate for the Lord? Do you desire Him the way a man trekking through the desert longs for water? Is Jesus your oasis, your Living Water satisfying your thirst forever? (John 4:7-14). Jesus promises to satisfy our souls’ longing for Him. John 7:37-39 reads,

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Psalm 33 The Steadfast Love of The Lord

6/23/2015

Psalm 33

God’s love is real. It is tangible, evidenced by the earth itself and revealed by those who trust Him. In what ways do we see The Lord’s steadfast love manifested? We see God’s love in our response to that same love. When we thank the Lord, praise Him and worship Him, His love reflected back to Him is experienced by all those worshipping and seen by the witnesses surrounding us. Verses 1-5 read,

“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.”

When we sing Him a song it is because of His love we can do so. When we prophesy (speak His message and word to another) it is through His love. When we praise Him for His great works and thank Him for what He has done for us, it is by way of His love. When we pray for someone it is due to God’s love. When we do a kindness for someone or help them it is because of God’s love. God loves us deeply, consistently and continually. Because He loves us, we love Him. Because we love Him, we love others. Because we love others they see the love of God and they might fall in love with Him too. God’s love is a never ending circle of palpable love given and received.

God’s love is evidenced by creation itself. In His greatness He made this world. He did it by speaking it out of nothingness. Verses 6-9 say,

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
    he puts the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.”

God’s word is powerful. He spoke and created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He speaks and His word makes it so. When God speaks His will becomes real. Jesus, the Son of God is called The Word of God. He is God’s will manifested in the flesh. It is through Jesus, the Word of God that the whole earth was created. John 1:1-3 puts it this way,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

God’s will is a relationship with us. God’s plan is salvation for us. God wants good for us. He has plans and those plans are promises that cannot and will not be broken. How much better it is to lean on God, to choose His will and His plans over our own or worse over the plans someone else has for us. God’s plans cannot be ruined. Verses 10-12 read,

“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!”

It is an awesome blessing to be God’s chosen, to be able to rely on Him and know that regardless of what happens He holds our heart and soul in His capable and loving hands. We don’t have to rely on our own strengths. We don’t have to put our trust in the plans of men. We don’t hope in the armies or governments of any kingdom on earth. Ours is the Kingdom of God. Verses 13-17 put it like this,

“The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.”

It is God that created each person, it is He who made their hearts and ours. He is sovereign and though they are lost and try to fill their emptiness with wealth, fleshly desires, and earthly power they can’t be satisfied and they won’t be saved that way. No one will be saved depending on his own strength or means. The only way to salvation is Jesus Christ. For those of us who put our hope and faith in Him, there is salvation. No matter what we suffer on this earth God carries us through it. He is always with us. He is always The Lord God. He is always our Refuge, Provider, Healer, Savior, Comforter, and Father. Verses 18-22 read,

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.”

Do you trust in God? Do you truly depend on Him or do you rely on your own strength before you turn to God in hopelessness? Do you understand what it is that He loves you? It is a profound and immeasurable love. God’s love is not lip service but real. God is love. He demonstrated His intense love for you by living perfectly, giving up His life to pay the price, and raising from the dead to overcome sin once and for all. His love is your salvation. His love reflected back to Him can be the salvation of those lost who watch you.

Psalm 12 Words of People and The Word of God

6/1/2015

Psalm 12

Doesn’t it seem that the world is full of people who talk big and act little? People make promises we know they won’t keep. People talk so much about making a difference, yet it seems they only talk. They stand on their soap box and rant about how bad things are and tell people what they should do. But their words are only words without actions to back them up. They shout” love your neighbor!” But they let him starve. They cry, “Do good!” but they cheat and lie to get what they want. Verses 1-2 read,

“Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
    for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
    with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”

God’s words on the other hand are powerful perfect, and pure. His promises are not just words but fulfilled. His will is manifested by His Word. His words bring life. He created everything with His words. Words are powerful. They are not meant to flatter. They are meant to express the heart. They should be backed by deeds, actions, and truth.

David asked The Lord to shut the mouths of liars and proud who thought their words, promises and threats were enough. He asked God to silence those who acted with selfish ambition. They spoke of goodness but oppressed the poor and the weak. Verses 3-4 read,

“May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
    our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

People may deny God with shouts but that doesn’t erase Him. He is I Am. He will always keep His promises. He will always be Sovereign Holy Almighty Loving God. He will always hear the prayers of His children. How much more powerful can our words be than that He listens to us? Verses 5-6 say,

“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.”

God’s Word created the universe. God’s Word brought salvation. God’s Word is perfect and pure. Jesus, the Son of God is God’s will manifested among us. God’s will is for everyone to be saved and be in a relationship with Him. He made it possible by becoming a man and paying for our sins with His life. John 1:14 tells us,

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

No one can take us out of God’s protection. No one can separate us from His perfect love. Verses 7-8 read,

“You, O Lord, will keep them;
    you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among the children of man.”

Do not believe the words of the enemy. He is a liar seeking to destroy the Kingdom of God and t the very least make you ineffective. Keep faith in The Lord. The enemy will not win. He has already lost.

Do not be like the wicked who speak flowers but act with thorns. Let your words be expressed in action. Rather than wish someone well, do something to make them well.

Ezekiel 37 The Valley of Bones

3/19/2015

Ezekiel Chapter 37

The Lord showed Ezekiel a valley bones. The valley was filled with dry bones completely clean of any flesh. Verses 3-6 read,

“And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

When God spoke to Ezekiel and said, “Can these bones live?” the obvious answer for most people would have been a resounding “No!” But Ezekiel trusted God. He knew there was a purpose for the vision, and he knew that God is God and all things are possible with God. Ezekiel saw a valley filled with skeletons but God saw more. God saw what could be and what would be. So Ezekiel answered, “O Lord God, you know.” The Lord’s response was to tell Ezekiel to prophesy, to deliver His word and will to the bones. Ezekiel obeyed even though it seemed hopeless to expect a valley of bones to receive that word. Verses 7-10 describe what happened next.

“So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”

When the Lord has a word, a will, it will be done. Even the impossible becomes possible. God gave the very dead remains life again. They were so dead, there was nothing left of them, not a single shred of flesh, just very dry bones. But the Word of God restored flesh and blood to the bones, and the Spirit gave them breath and life and they stood and became a great army.

God used Ezekiel to speak His word and command life to the bones. He uses you and me to speak His word to the dead today so that they can be restored to life. When Jesus becomes Lord of someone’s life, they are brought out of death to new life. They are made whole, healed, and given the new promise of eternal life. They are given the Holy Spirit and sealed eternally. People may have lost all hope of life. They may think their sin is too grievous and that there is no way to have a relationship with God. Even others looking at them may see them as doomed but the Lord doesn’t. The Lord knows there is possibility and if He tells us to give His word to someone we must reply, “O Lord God, you know.” Verses 11-14 read,

“Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Not only can everyone experience spiritual resurrection but there will be a physical one as well. Believers have been called out of their spiritual graves, no longer headed for Hell and now headed for New Jerusalem. One day we will be called out of our physical graves and gathered together in New Jerusalem with Jesus as our King forever. That resurrection is the perfection of the new life we receive now on earth. We were once dead in sin, destined for eternal Hell. Now we are alive in Christ living eternal life with Him. One day we will raise out of our graves and be completely transformed and completed whole and holy.

At the time of Ezekiel’s prophecy Israel was two nations, Israel and Judah. But the Lord had promised to restore them and He meant absolutely. He said He would unite the divided nation to be the one nation they were meant to be. He even had Ezekiel perform a miracle of taking two sticks and making them one stick. Verses 21-22 read,

“then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.”

These verses refer to the spilt nation of Israel, and they refer to the Jews and the gentiles united in Christ. In unity it no longer mattered if the Jew were from Judah or Ephraim, he was from Israel. In Christ it doesn’t matter if we were Hebrew or Greek, we are belong to Christ. Verses 26-28 read,

“I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.28 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Jesus is God with us forever. He is our sanctuary. We are the temple of God and His Spirit is within us and with us forever. Nothing can take us out of God’s hand. Nothing can separate us from Him. That is His awesome promise. Once we were dead. We were a pile of dry brittle condemned bones. Now we are fully alive, filled with the Spirit of the Living God, living with Jesus as our King forever. We are united with God, inseparable from Him.

You have the power to speak that life to the dead. God didn’t show Ezekiel the valley of bones and say ‘What a pity for them’ He showed Ezekiel the valley of bones and said, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord… you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” I encourage you today, to listen to the Lord, obey His Spirit and prophesy to those He calls you to. Give the hopeless the hope of Jesus. Show them they can be united with God. He will be their God and they will be His people.