LET’S STRAIGHTEN OUR PATHS

Psalms 5:5

The *foolish shall not stand in Thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of *iniquity.

This prophetic statement is a good follow up of the preceding verse, and one of the building blocks of our faith. No matter what foolish puny man invents, no matter what he does or says in his attempts to justify his actions, we have the assurance of the outcome in ‘grand finale’. In the day when God will be ready to shake the earth and audit the ‘accounts’ of man (Matthew 25:19), none of his card castles will stand, his digital illusions of truth wealth will vanish.

The world has been given a little more time before the day of the great judgment when everyone’s work is put to the great test. We know that on that great day, the darkness of foolish, unrepentant and arrogant hearts will be unable to stand before the brightness of the Spirit of God.

Our verse today stands like John the Baptist by the waters of Jordan as a warning to check our hearts, to repent and make straight our paths. We need to rid ourselves of froth, vanity, pride, unyieldedness, arrogance and of the time-wasters in our lives. We do this so that when He comes, He finds us doing the work of the Father, and He can say: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.Matthew 25:34-35

*Foolish: KJV: Void of understanding or sound judgment; weak in intellect; applied to general character, uwise; imprudent; acting without judgment or discretion in particular things, proceeding from folly, or marked with folly; silly; vain; trifling.

*Iniquity: KJV: From the Greek: Anomia: without Law, as in, without the Law of God.

THIS IS OUR HOPE

Psalms 5:4

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

In the Gospels, Satan reminds Yeshua (as if He’d forgotten) that the world had been given to him (Luke 4:6). Today, we don’t need to be reminded of this. All we have to do is look around us, watch the nightly news, and read the newspaper. Any intelligent person can discern what powers both East and West dominates lifestyles, politics and economics in. In light of such, it is a great comfort for us to know that God has no pleasure in the wickedness that pervades our times. What comfort we have is in the knowledge that whatever devilish powers raises to show its ugly head, whether in the world of politics or in our personal lives, God will not tolerate it.

For those prone to disobedience, for those taking pleasure in the purposes of Satan, the enemy of God, our verse today serves as a dreadful reminder of future judgment. For the obedient, there is no fear to be had, only the warm fuzzy feeling that we are in the care of the Almighty creator of heaven and earth, and that eventually, He does not allow wickedness to prevail.

Abba Father, one of these days, in Your Appointed Time and Season, in the Day that You have set aside for purging, every purpose and every tool that does not come from you will be eliminated and vanish away.

Swords will be turned into plowshares; instrument of illusions and vanity will be destroyed.

Most of all, Satan will be stripped of his power to kill.

You will do all this because You do not take pleasure in wickedness.

Help me therefore, me, your child, not to dishonor you by taking pleasure in the wickedness around us, or allow it to dwell with us.

TRUST GOD’S MAN

Psalms 5:3

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Adonai; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.

The Master is always there for us, waiting to help us. He waits for us to make the connection; He waits for us to call ‘home’ for help. Sad to say, much like our grown up children, we don’t call home until we need that help.

Should He have to wait till the day is done, till our ships come home with broken sails for us to come to Him to sooth our souls? And in turn, should we wait till we have tried all our keys in the lock, failed to find any solutions, the time when our frustrated and vexed hearts and minds desperately want to know what went wrong?

Why should the Master be expected to be the ‘Repairman’ of our lives? Shouldn’t He be the ‘Chief Executive’ Isn’t our Lord the Master, the ‘Jacob’ and the ’Joseph’ on whom even Laban and Potiphar leaned? Laban and Potiphar, these worldly people put their households in the hands of God’s man for the hour, and everything flourished and came to fruition. These secular rulers didn’t know the Lord, but they recognized His power through His people, through His ‘agent’ in their lives. Why don’t we recognize as much? Why do we carry the burden? Why do we insist on directing our own steps, when we have Yeshua, God’s ‘Man’, God’s ‘Agent’ in our lives who eagerly waits to help show us the way throughout the day? Sometimes His presence in our lives is even through someone we know that He planted there for that purpose.

Let us acknowledge that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps (Jeremiah 10:23). While we acknowledge that you are the Creator of the universe, may we make You O Adonai the Director and manager of our hearts, minds and souls; be the focus of our attention. When we wake up in the morning, as King David did, let us receive our first instructions from You.

MAKE HIM YOUR FIRST CALL

Psalms 5:2

Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto Thee will I pray.

We live in a time when we are at a loss simply raising a family, keeping a marriage, making enough money, or staying minimally healthy. Smart merchants market and peddle self ‘helps’ of all sorts in a supermarket fashion. Maybe that's why the prophet said, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Adonai.

Jeremiah 17:5
When faced with trouble, we have to make a conscious effort to not turn to these tempting empty schemes and focus on: unto Thee will I pray.

God constantly rebuked Israel for leaning on the ‘arm of the ‘flesh’—Egypt--for its protection. God was not enough for them. When things went wrong, they went to idols for their care and sustenance. Eventually. it wasn’t even enough for them to be ruled and sustained by the God of the universe alone through His judges. They wanted a king--a physical, visible and tangible person to rely on, and then eventually also to blame when things went wrong. They did not want to be solely dependant on God.

Today, it is an act of great faith to make the Lord our first call when in need, It takes faith to put aside all the ‘self-help’ books and videos, the teachings of specialized ‘gurus’ that vie to help us fight against the ailments that plague us . Addiction, depression, financial instability, psychological and physical disorders, problems with our marriage, problems with our children; the list goes on and on. It is not that we can’t gain some helpful information from these other sources, but as believers, shouldn’t God be our first shot?

When we ask the Lord first, not only does He help us, but He shows us what we may have done wrong, where we may have disobeyed His Word, either in thought or action. If we call on the Lord first, we will understand how we got into such a mess in the first place by leaning on our own arm of flesh and putting trust in man, and we will learn to amend our ways. Maybe that’s what we fear.

Lord, help us and make us helpable. Teach us and make us teachable. Train us to make You our first call for help in our day of trouble. Give us receptive hearts so that we can learn to amend our ways and live closer to Your will and Your Word.

BOLD CONFIDENCE

Psalms 5:1

Give ear to my words, O Adonai, consider my meditation.

When the Lord encouraged the prophet Isaiah to be bold in prayer he was told, . . . . . concerning the work of my hands command ye me (Isaiah 45:11).

The God that created the universe and everything therein has put himself at the command of mortal men and women. He is flattered when we request His attention. Don’t we like it when our children want and enjoy our company, when we feel that we are their closest friends and that they are not fearful to confide in us? But a child only acts that way when he knows in his heart that when he shares his most private emotions and feelings, there is a sensitive soul at the other end who will handle his heart with care.

We see this principle at work in our verse today. In his hour of trial, the psalmist keeps his confidence in the God who created Him. David has the utter confidence The Father will ‘lend him His ears’; that He will be a faithful, diligent, responsible and sensitive handler of his deepest heart cry.

None of us who own the atoning blood of Messiah should fear to enter in the temple of His presence. Whatever the fear, whatever the doubt, whatever the sorrow, the pain, the frustration or the emotion, He will handle our heart with the care, sensitivity, love and warmth of a mother with her newborn child.

How many of us pray, Our Father . . . but then, by failing to go to Him in our time of need, act as if we were orphans?

Adonai, may we believe in your love, care, concern and dedication for us. You have said of Yourself, But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (1Timothy 5:8). Lord, you are not an infidel.

PEACE IN THE MIDST OF LABOR

Psalms 4:8

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Adonai, only makest me dwell in safety.

Oh, it is so easy to be tranquil and at peace when life flows like soft sweet song; but should this peace wane at the sound of mounting staccatos?

As we reflect on David’s statement, let us not forget its context. David was leaving Jerusalem in disgrace, fleeing the mutiny mounted by his own son Absalom. David also well aware that his misfortune was a result of his own sinful actions. He realized that as a King, he was a reference point to his people. He needed to be punished.

We are supposed keep our focus on our God at all times. When a woman is in labor of natural childbirth, she is doing the hardest work she’ll ever do. To concentrate her attention on a pleasant picture or photo, or even looking at her husband helps her focus on her breathing techniques. As a movement in labor of the new millennial world doing the hardest work we’ll ever do, it is most important that during the intense pains of labor, we make our Master our main focal point. What a wonderful illustration of the Church, the bride of Christ, focusing and finding strength in her heavenly Husband in her time of tribulation. Then and only then will she have inner peace and comforting faith in the midst of her hard labor.

Peter, the follower of the Master spoke of exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

May we all, in our the times of life-giving hard labor, focus on these Promises Adonai gave us in His Word, that we also, like King David, may both lay ourselves down in peace and sleep.

OH, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Psalms 4:7

Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

God’s blessing of happiness is not measured in dollars and cents. Riches do make themselves wings (Proverbs 23:5). The truly happy individual is one who has learned to love, cherish and value the blessings that come from the heart; the spiritual blessings that no robber can steal and no rust can corrupt. In that sole ability lies the virtue of pure unadulterated happiness, of a joy that can never be altered by silver or gold, of a peace independent of outside politics and economics.

Oh, to know the joy of our God; to know the completeness that makes the rejoicings of this present world a mournful dirge; to experience the feasting that dwarfs their wealth into meals of famine; the brightness that reveals their freedom as an devilish illusion. Only the pure and regenerated in heart can ever see and experience these blessings from Adonai (Matthew 5:8).

Abba Father; please clean our hearts from the illusions that surround us. Help us not to settle for the cyber-virtual happiness of this present world. Grant us the knowledge of your love that is true; the experience of the pure and undefiled gladness only your Spirit can put in our hearts. This we ask, in the Name and merit of Yeshua the Messiah.

NO DOUBTS IN THE LIGHT OF HIS FACE

Psalms 4:6

There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Adonai, lift thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.

Does the screaming of our skeptic world seem to be getting so loud that it covers the voice of God? Does the voice of certainty of God’s care also seem to be fading among believers, thus giving way to doubt and self-reliance? Could these be signs of the great apostasy spoken of by the Apostle Paul?

Such times when public opinion mocks and ridicules the person of faith are not times for us to heed their criticisms. Such times are rather for us draw even closer to God, to let His countenance shine upon us. This darkness will only make His Light shine brighter.

As we look upon Him, our countenance is lifted. As we meditate upon His gracious love and abundant care, our faith in Him grows. As we focus our face on His, the sun rises on our world of darkness and worry. As we hear His songs of comforting reassurance, the voice of the world is drowns to insignificance. His countenance is always lifted upon us; it is His promise. We are the ones who need to turn ours towards His.

ON THIS VETERAN’S DAY…

Proverbs 18:18

The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.

What a ‘coincidence’ for this verse to fall on this American Veteran’s Day!. Let us today honor all those who died in wars. But how do we honor them? In the grave, what are the somber thoughts of those who died horrible deaths, of those who died blown up and mutilated? What are the thoughts of their wives and of their children? What conversation took place as they faced the Almighty God Who Himself is called the God of Hosts (armies). What do those who are on the other side think as they watch us continuing to immaturely solve our problems through such degradation of humanity, us who are supposed to be made in the Image (nature, character) of God?

How should we honor them?

Could we honor them by learning to find other ways to solve our issues, our requirements for space and resources? Could we honor them by learning to keep dreams alive that do not require us to shatter those of other’s? What dream requires such atrocities? War is the unraveling of civilization. In wars all virtues disappear and we become animals living by the sole instinct of self-preservation. Wars between humans only prove that somewhere something failed.

In the past, God has declared wars, and the future seems to indicate a repeat. In the end, the Messiah will come, and He Himself will fight the ‘War to End all Wars’. He will fight a righteous war, not motivated by selfish ambitions. He will fight for righteousness to vindicate all the victims of man’s inhumanity to man, and for the reality of the establishment of the only righteous and peaceful kingdom on earth:

His Father’s Kingdom.

The Messiah is the ‘Lot’ that causes contentions to cease. This verse tells us how people used to solve their unsolvable differences by including God in the discussion. They simply cast a lot in front of ‘God’ in the presence of witnesses and agreed to abide by its outcome. Thus they avoided a physical conflict.

Can we trust God’s decisions that much?

THE SACRIFICE OF A YIELDED HEART

Psalms 4:5

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in Adonai.

God in the Bible refused several sacrifices. Cain’s jealous angry heart (Genesis 4:4), Saul’s disobedient spirit (1 Samuel 15:22), and the Pharisee’s proud and self-righteous gifts (Luke 18:11).

Sacrifices of righteousness require trust in Adonai. When Araunah insisted on giving to David everything he needed to make an offering, the King insisted, “I will not give onto Adonai of that which has cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24); if it doesn’t cost, emotionally or financially, if it doesn’t hurt, it is not a sacrifice.

A sacrifice of righteousness has to be mixed with obedience, obedience that’s invested deep down in the soul. Often, God asks for the very thing which hurts to give, that which requires an investment of faith, our ‘Isaac’, the last handful of meal in the barrel, the last drop of oil in the cruse (1 Kings 17:12); because when that happens, we have to trust Him again for our inheritance and our daily sustenance.

Let us not be afraid to give that which Adonai asks of us. Let us not fear to lay at His feet the thing which He requires from us. Let’s wake up each morning and make an ‘exchange of wills’, exchange what we want for what He wants. Our sacrifice will then be an acceptable sweet odor in His nostrils; we will be His saints gathered unto Him, those that have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice. Psalms 50:5

DRAW NEAR

Psalms 4:4

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.

Selah.

Now that we have been redeemed, separated and set aside from Egypt, drawn away from our own purposes, separated and sanctified for God’s purpose,; reborn in the waters of the seabed of the Red Sea; now that He has brought us unto Him near the mountain to hear His Instruction, He has called us to a new purpose: let us therefore make Him the object of our focus. May we not look back, neither to the left or to the right in doubt and questioning of His ways for us.

Now is a time for sweet communion with Him in the Holy of Holies, where He lives in the chambers of our heart. Now is the time for quietness, reflection and listening to His voice; the time to take our shoes off, approach the Holy Mount and hear the voice of God giving His Instruction.

There, in the silencing of our own purposes, in the surrendering of our will, leaving behind our old culture, He gives us the peace that passes all understanding; He reveals Himself, and His purpose to us just as He did Moses (Exodus 19-20), and like Paul, the scales are removed from our eyes and we finally receive the answers to our plaguing questions; we finally understand.

OUR DEFENSE LAWYER

Proverbs 18:17

He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.

It is generally understood of judicial affairs, that the first person that opens a cause is very apt to prejudice the judge and court in his favour, The responsibility of a judge is therefore to judge righteous judgments and not to give undue justification to this first complainant for in time, another person will come with a version of events that will cast doubts on the testimony of the first.

Aside from the legal system, there is also what has been coined the ‘court of public opinion’. This is something akin to gossip. It is the opinion people develop on issues and people by listening to the verbal vomit of self-righteous hot-air powered hype-filled arguments of gossipers, self-appointed wise-men, judges, talk-show hosts, etc…. We should never, and this is very important, we should never endorse a judgment against someone if that other person is not present, and given his basic right to defend himself with his side of the picture. We ourselves are dependant on this system, so we should extend to others the same mercy that is granted us.

We are in constant court of Law before the Almighty. The enemy loves to go to the Father in legal terms and constantly accuse us. Satan’s arguments against us are logical and bathed in a sense of incomparably sound justice. Sad to say, since we are guilty of disobedience towards God, these arguments are also right;

But thanks to the Almighty, we have a Defense Lawyer who does not judge by the seeing of the eye nor by the hearing of the ear, but He judges righteous judgments (Isaiah 11). He also remembers that we are but dust and that we need help in fulfilling the best of our endeavors and commitments to obey. He has therefore made an out of court settlement or ‘covenant’ that absolves His people from guilt on the accounts of His own earned merits. The legal fees are also paid in full, and He never ceases to pray/intercede for us in front of the Father/Judge of the universe. His Name is Yeshua Hamashiach, and if you know him, He is your defense lawyer too.

HE SETS US APART FOR HIMSELF

Psalms 4:3

But know that Adonai hath set apart him that is godly for himself: Adonai will hear when I call unto him.

Does following the Master daily cause loneliness to our hearts? Does it provoke us to forsake the past again and again? Does He at times take us on a limb and requires that we saw it off? Do you feel Him right now taking you to a lonely desert place to make a decision that can influence the rest of your life?

This is not a time to fear. Our Master honors those who, imitating Him, are willing to take on the new uncharted paths He sets for them. He honors those who desire to follow His name, His Name only, unafraid of flame or foe. This is the way of the Bridegroom; He calls and woos His Bride away from the cares, distractions and dependencies of this world. He uses situations that require great faith and dependence on Him, all for the purpose of separating His bride for the full service of His house. He likes to take her out of ’Egypt’ and into the desert, away from her comfort zone, to let her feel the strength of His love, as she basks in total dependence on Him.

The winds of His Holy Spirit blow here today, there tomorrow. May we be a Bride who knows how to follow the changing and purging winds of the Spirit of the Bridegroom; a bride who hears and who obeys when He takes and sets her apart; a bride who knows that wherever He chooses to take her, it is for her best regardless of the seeming outward conditions.

DO WE HEAR HIS CRY?

Psalms 4:2

O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?

Selah.

In his flight from his traitorous son Absalom, David never ceases praying to God. His fight is fully borne in a spiritual manner. His cry unto God against the foolish vanity of the men who are stealing the kingdom away from him echoes Yeshua’s against this wicked and adulterated generation

(Matthew 16:4).

We, the people—humanity--are the glory of God. We are wonderfully and fearfully made in His powerful and likeness, nature and character. Yet our actions, attitudes and conduct blot the image of the glorious God who created us with their shame. Do we even hear Him cry from the Heavens begging us to reform? In the winds of the skies, and in the noise of high waters, He cries to stir our attention away from proud and vain thoughts, from our wicked ways; do we hear His cry? Do we listen?

How long, He screams, How long will you seek after ‘leasing’ , after lies, falsehood and pretenses in the carnal man. In these words we can hear the soul of the weeping prophet crying,

Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

Jeremiah 9:1

THE BEST GIFTS

Proverbs 18:16
A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

It is fascinating how each realm has its own dynamics. Worldly business dynamics run by selfish interests and the solvency of numbers, but spiritual, godly business dynamics run by unselfish giving, obedience and trust in God’s plans.

A believer in the world has to, in some level, deal with business, but the way he deals with it will reveal who he is. We cannot say that we are believers and yet act like worldlings. We only deceive ourselves, sometimes we deceive others, but we certainly do not deceive God Who discern between matter and matter in our hearts.

This proverb could be translated as: ‘The ‘giving’ of a man makes room for him, and brings him before the great’. The wealth of a man is not defined by what he can hoard, as it is the financially uncertain pauper who hoards, but by what he gives, as only a rich man has the ability to give liberally. By doing so, a man naturally joins the ranks of the ‘great’, of those who have the ability to give.

Let us also remember that giving is not solely confined to the realm of money. Many would rather give their money than their precious time. Yeshua had no money, but He constantly gave of Himself. The apostles also said: ‘silver and gold have I not, but such as I have give I thee. Time, virtue, knowledge, sympathy, friendship, fellowship and sometimes, just a listening ear can constitute some of the best gifts ever given.