NAKED INTEGRITY

May 25

Psalms 119:167-168 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. (168) I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

Oh my LORD; how I love your Words, your precepts and your testimonies. I expose my heart to you. I give it to you to do as you please because I love you. I thank you for hearing, for inclining your ear to my request to answer my prayers, -- me-- the unworthy worm that I am (Psalms 22:6).

My heart, my soul and my spirit are open before you. My sins and my errors are exposed in your sight and any day my life is in your hand. A a simple breath from your mouth, a look from your fiery countenance, and life is snuffed out of me. But instead of using your excellent power against me, you use it to withdraw your righteous anger. You choose to look away from my sin and point instead to the scarlet thread (Joshua 2:18) of Your everlasting mercies.

Let the love that I bear for your Word be my judge;
Let the care that I give to your precepts be my defense;
Let the attention that I impart to your testimonies be my plea;
Let the integrity of my heart be ever before you.

Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

LOVE OBEDIENCE

Psalms 119:166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.

Throughout his life, David acknowledged his sin. Because his passions so often led him astray, he often felt that he had lost all chances of sanctity, that he had incurred the fatal results of breaking the commandments of God (Deuteronomy 27:26)),. Yet, he hoped for salvation. He hoped, but not in vain. He hoped in God; he had confidence in the great everlasting mercies of his Lord. This hope, born of his love for his Lord, was the driving force behind the doing of the commandments.

Love makes obedience a thing of joy!
To do the will of one we like to please
Is never hardship, though it tax our strength;
Each privilege of service love will seize!

Love makes us loyal, glad to do or go,
And eager to defend a name or cause;
Love takes the drudgery from common work,
And asks no rich reward or great applause.

Love gives us satisfaction in our task,
And wealth in learning lessons of the heart;
Love sheds a light of glory on our toil
And makes us humbly glad to have a part.

Love makes us choose to do the Will of God,
To run His errands and proclaim His truth;
It gives our hearts an eager, lilting song;
Our feet are shod with tireless wings of youth!
---Hazel Hartwell Simon

Oh, so many have got it wrong; so many try to use their ‘good works’, their religious obedience to commandments, to bargain their salvation from God. But can one bargain with God? Can one dress himself with the fancy clothe of good works, put on the perfume of virtue, fashion, piety, and try to fool God into rewarding them with Salvation? Nay, my friend, obedience to God is an act of love born of gratitude--not a marketing tool.

Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Matthew 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? (37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

THE TRUE EDEN OF PEACE

Psalms 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

In the demanding fast-moving world of today, peace seems to be an elusive virtue. It escapes our mind and spirit, and leaves a frustration in our hearts that is all too often exposed in our daily interactions. Because of this void, households are broken or in confusion, social relationships are strained, politicians and businessmen act out of fear.

There are people who have found peace in their heart. There are some who possess the secret strength of quietness, who have found harmony with their Lord. Such people have an inner strength. Just to be around them is relaxing as their spirit radiates on ours. Their words and mannerism emanate that stillness that is so vital to our soul.

How do they do that? Do they themselves not struggle inside? Did they find a secret potion that sets them in denial of life’s struggles? Do they own a magic word that repeals all their doubts and worries? Do they live in a self-created idyllic world?

No, it is not so. They have simply turned the fight over. They have engaged the power of Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) to fight for them. All they have to do is take refuge in the mighty arms of the Lord through His Words. This is the place where life’s struggles are conquered, where the lies of doubt and worries are exposed and demised. Jesus’ arms are the true Eden of peace.

And all the more, it is not in mere obedience to the Law of God that they found their peace; it is in loving that Law and embracing it fervently as we do a lover. For who can truly obey the Law in all points? We are all sinners in God’s eyes (Romans 3:23). So let’s love His Law today with all our heart and we will be finally free from the offenses of the world that so often vex us.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE

Psalms 119:164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

Jewish traditions willed that a pious man would praise God seven times a day. Twice in the morning before reading the Decalogue, and once after; twice in the evening before the same reading, and twice after; making in the whole seven times.

Any king wanting to show piety would make sure to respect these timings, but King David seemed to have had a prayer life that was much deeper than the shallow routine of rituals. This king had seen his shares of troubles. To be able to sincerely praise God for His righteous judgments, he had to have a special intimate understanding of God’s ways in his life. David left home at a young age to sing for a mad king. He later had to flee form this same insane king to protect his life. He became a fugitive from his own country, which he had saved from domination. To top it all, he lost the first son from the woman he loved, and because of his sin, the sword never departed from his house, and evil constantly rose from his family (2 Samuel 12:9-11).

How nice it would be if during the course ofa troubled day we would stop whatever it is we’re doing for a time of prayer and praise. It would change our perspective on things and give us peace; it may even help us make better decisions.

Lord, help us today to remember to praise you for your goodness, your care, your protection, your love, and your righteous judgments.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

UNADULTERATED TRUTH

Psalms 119:163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.

What is lying? We sometimes lie to man. That’s when we deceive one another. God-fearing people try not to consciously do that. There is also the lying which we do to ourselves. It is more difficult to discern because we are creatures of excuses, and we like to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. Then there is the lying which consists in absolving ourselves from responsibility and guilt by twisting God’s words, by changing their perspective. We add or subtract to them (which we are not meant to do) in order to make them fit our purposes and human carnal mind.

The worst lie is the one that looks much like the truth. The concept and doctrine that is so diametrically opposite to the truth is easily spotted. While the righteous discerns it, he can be easily fooled by the lie that has taken the appearances of the truth. The devil uses this as a very smart and sly two-sided psychological strategy. On the one side, he appears as this creature with horns and a pitchfork, wearing red pajamas, promoting illicit sex, violence and rock music; and on the other side he comes in the disguise of a handsome smooth tongue preacher, teacher, or even in the form of a beautiful woman. He loves to take a whole lot of truth and mix it with a little of his lies. He does it using against ourselves our own tendencies to compromise in order to gratify our lust of the eyes and of the flesh.

We need to remember that the truth is a pure essence of doctrine. If it contains even a fraction of a drop of lie, it has been contaminated and it is not pure truth anymore. Rat-poisoning is 99.99% rat food with 0,01% poison, but it is fatal to the rodent.

With this in mind, let us check our heart with the truth of the pure word of God as interpreted by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). Let us honestly subject our doctrine, our beliefs, our *“conversation”, our Christian practices to It’s pure truth. We will be able to concur with David, I hate and abhor lying: but thy Law do I love.

* Conversation: In the King James Bible, the word “conversation” means: lifestyle.

Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Galatians 1:6-9 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

QUALITY WORD TIME

Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.

It is our God-given human nature to appreciate, cherish and protect the fruit of our labor more than what is simply given to us for free. In the case of Salvation, there is no doubt that it is free. There is nothing we can do to earn it; nothing we can do to annul it. It’s like birth--once it happens, we can die, but dying is in itself the proof that we once had life; the event cannot ‘un-happen’. But to be nourished and properly fed by the Word is different. It takes effort and will, and it is our responsibility to do it

The treasures of the Word are found through hard work, laboring in study and/or prayer. The first battle is to realize the need; that we cannot live without it. Next, the fight is against our daily businesses which have decreed that we don’t have time for the Word. We need to prioritize. We need to fight for the conviction that the gain of this investment will give us more wisdom than reading any other ‘how-to’ magazine; more class than any other fashion review; more entertainment than all the fiction and mystery books in the world.

Once this battle is won we finally sit down to dig for the cherished treasure. Our spirit relaxes in the arms of the Lord, but we are not used to this quiet and calm atmosphere so the devil comes in with a spirit of drowsiness and sleep. At that time the battle is to get up, to take a stand, to drink a glass of water;, take a breath of fresh air and rebuke this spiritual drowsiness. We may need to read a passage several times when we feel that it has a value and importance that eroded us in our sleepiness.

After a couple of hours, after the darkness of a great fight, the light finally comes as some truth downs on our spirit. A concept is conceived; a spiritual principle was uncovered and we are elated. We rejoice as one who has found great reward. We fought a good fight and won. The feeling is as of one who fought a great war and gets to divide the spoil with the princes--as one who searched long and hard at the bottom of the ocean and finally found the hidden treasure-- as one who has loved long and true, and whose love has finally been requited.

And oh, there is more to this idea. It is a paradox, but while we believe that what was not worth fighting for does not own much value, our lazy nature also likes easy gains. We like to rely on the processed and ‘pastor-ized’ foods (the foods already processed by our local pastor). It is the sick and weak who only eat easily chewed soft foods, because they cannot ‘stomach’ the meat of the Word in their lives. This meat of the Word only comes straight form the true shepherd, Jesus-Christ.

The personal digging and searching for the precious Word will take us to that level of understanding truth that is hard to hear; to truth that challenges every iota of comfort in our soul (John 6:60); to the true coarse barley bread of the Word.

Let us consider the quality of our Word time. As in a soldier who hones his weapon, this is the decisive factor in the outcome of the war in your life and service for the Lord. Time spent sharpening the sickle is not wasted.

Matthew 13:3-8 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; (4) And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: (5) Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: (6) And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (7) And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: (8) But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Matthew 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Matthew 13:45-46 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: (46) Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Luke 15:8-9 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? (9) And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

GOD’S JUSTICE OR OUR OWN?

Psalms 119:161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.

It is understandable to suffer for the sins we know. It is even understandable to suffer for the sins we don’t know. But oh how hard it is to suffer without a cause. We try with all we have to keep the suffering away. We ‘play the game by the rules’, stay in the ‘safe zone’.

Suffering without a cause was the baptism, the destiny of Christ; we are to be baptized with the same baptism (Matthew 20:22,23). From Abel all the way to Job, David, and Jesus, the lot of the child of God is the same. To suffer without a cause is the earmark of a life touched by God; to suffer without a cause, or even, for your virtue.

How hard it is. Here we are, we obey, we give all, we praise when we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it. We fellowship, we pray, and yet, we are not spared the rod of suffering. Oh, how that hurts our sense of justice. We claim that if we were God we would know better, we would treat us better, we would be fairerallow ourselves to be subject to such an unfair treatment.

That, my friend, is the devil’s morbid sense of self-righteous justice. For How can he be clean that is born of a woman” (Job 25:4). In God’s eyes, we are dead from the minute we are born; but in our self-righteous condemned pride, we can’t help but try to bargain our lot with God using our good works. Suffering “without a cause” has the ability to cleanse us from this ungodly sense of justice born of our carnal mind (Romans 8:7).

Whatever our lot, it is in the hand of God within His perfect plan. May the blessing of the suffering he has allotted us cleanse the sin and uncleanness of our spirit, even our own perverted sense of self-righteous justice.

Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

1 Peter 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

THE INVARIABLE TRUTH

Psalms 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

NOTE: The Hebrew text actually says: “The beginning of thy Word is truth…”

From the beginning, God’s Word has been our link with Salvation: our return to the presence of God. From the beginning, this Word promised us the final demise of the devil: the end of his power on mankind. Oh how precious are the first sweet Words of promise uttered in the Garden: And I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) (Revelations 20:2) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).
Day after day, event after event, we read it in the Book of God, we read it in our daily lives. Every time the enemy would lift his hand against one of God’s children, he ends up in the pit he intended for them, the victim of his own evil devices.

From the beginning, the devil has tried to separate us from God via sin. In spite of it, through the spirit of yearning and longing, we have had to learn to know God in a closer and more intimate way than we had ever known Him before. From the beginning, the devil tried to establish his justice upon us, but from the beginning, it made us all the more appreciate God’s merciful kindness. From the beginning, the devil tried to steal our loyalty to God, but from the beginning, it made us cling all the more to our Creator.

Oh, the precious and true Word of God. From the beginning it has decreed God’s sustained victory over His opponents. It has settled the establishment of His Kingdom and righteousness on the earth. It has declared the victory of mankind through the Lamb, and manifested the final demise of the devil. How can we fear, how can we doubt?

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Revelations 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Revelations 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

TIS GRACE AND GRACE ALONE

Psalms 119:159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.

Throughout his life long pleading, begging, praying, David had a single yearning and request: salvation. He lived his life longing for the promised restoration of his spirit, for his soul’s return in the presence of the Lord. David also intensely desired the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, and to the best of his ability and knowledge, he devoted his physical and spiritual strength to that purpose. He longed to live in the presence of the Lord; he had a deep love and appreciation for His precepts. David was not perfect though; he willingly acknowledged his sin, and he did not make his claim to Salvation by presenting his own self-deserving goodness to God. He solely depended on God’s lovingkindness.

We have yet to discover the depths of His love, the marvelous bounty of His grace. There were two thieves on Calvary crucified with Jesus. They were crucified for the sins they had committed on the earth. The law of the land had no power to either forgive or regenerate; they had to pay for their sins with a cruel death, and even then, it would not redeem their soul. In his unrepentant and hardened spirit, one of the thieves tried to use Jesus to absolve his punishment, but the law is an unforgiving taskmaster; it holds “death” as the “wages of sin” (Romans 6:23), and it has to be paid in full. The other thief knew his sin but he had faith in the merciful lovingkindness of the Master. He did not have the possibility to get baptized and do great works for Jesus. He did not have the opportunity to learn to understand the theological depth of Jesus’ role on the earth, he was fastened to a piece of wood bound to die within the next few hours. All he could bring to Jesus was the gift of his repentant and believing heart, and that was enough for Christ to pay his debt (for the law required the payment) and He said to him, “today, thou shalt be with me in paradise” (Luke 43:23).

This is all Jesus needs: our repentant believing yielded heart. He wants to control and lead it; he wants to make His inhabitation in it. We cannot deceive him by presenting the works of our flesh. No work of man can be brought forth in exchange for the grace of His presence. All He needs is our heart fully yielded to Him so He can do the “works” through us.

Like the thief on Calvary, let’s be accepted of Him solely depending on the grace of His lovingkindness. That is our only hope.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. (2) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. (3) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

DO WE JUST WATCH AS THEY DRIVE THE NAILS?

Psalms 119:158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.

I heard this song about a carpenter who finally decides to retire. As he ‘hangs up his hammer’ he says, “I don’t want to drive another nail”. His sweet wife though knows that her husband is not through; that he still has something to reckon with. On an Easter morning she drags him to a service where the preacher talks about the nails in Jesus hands. The old carpenter gets convicted of his sins against the Lord and proclaims again, “I don’t want to drive another nail”.

Our spiritual sickness of indifference and confusion laid the healing stripes (Isaiah 53: 5) on Jesus’ body. Our sins drove the nails of transgression into our Savior’s hands and feet. Our shallow mockery pierced his head with a crown of thorns. Our defiant arrogance pierced His side with a spear of contempt. Once we repent from our wrong doings and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior, He forgives us these sins and comes down from the cross to live in our hearts forever. Each day that passes though, the indifference, the confusion, the sins, the mockery, the defiance and the arrogance of the transgressors add to the stripes, the nails and to the piercing of Jesus.

How can we watch transgressors so hurt our dear Savior and not grieve? How can we, for the sake of social acceptance take part of daily mockeries at the Spirit of Righteousness? How can we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly”, “stand in the way of sinners”, or “sit in the seat of the scornful” (Psalms. 1:1) and not feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit telling us, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5).

My dear friend, let not our heart be so hardened. Let not our spirit become so familiar with the defiling of the Holy Spirit, that it blurs the difference between the “bride” (Revelations 21:2) and the “whore” (Revelations 17:1). Let not our heart feel so ‘’t home” in this world that the transgression of the ungodly doesn’t cause us to grieve.

Jeremiah 9:1 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.

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.

TO SHARE IN THE CAUSE OF CHRIST

Psalms 119:157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.

David was a godly man. He was godly because of his great love for God, his great faith in God, and because of great repentance from his sins. His heart was truly yielded to the heart of God and he did not resist the correction of the Almighty. Yet, in spite of all these great virtues, he had many enemies.

These enemies were not only foreign people, nations and armies, but were also counted among his own friends and kin (Psalms 41:9; 2 Samuel 15:4). His life seems to have been a constant struggle from within and from without. Why is it that such a man who gave his all to God found very little peace during his lifetime?

The same happens today in the world. Jesus said so. How can we, even today. Expect people who reject him to receive us. How can we expect acceptance from a world that crucifies Him daily? Why should the “prince power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) to leave us, the “seed of the woman” (Revelations 12:17), alone when he knows that we are a daily threat to his kingdom? We need to truly appreciate any moment of peace in this world; to consider it a treat that He has Himself foregone while in ministry here. Jesus is certainly better to us that he was to Himself while He was on earth.

There is yet another question to be asked. If our life seems to roll along like a song without much of a fight; If the societies of the world easily accept us as one of their own; do we share in the fate of Christ? If our virtue counts no enemy; if we find it easy to get along with all; if our own kin never would rise against us (John 15:25); do we truly share in the fate of our Lord?

The life of every true child of God in history is marked with physical and spiritual persecutions. It is so because every true child of God is a witness to God’s power, and therefore a threat to the devil’s kingdom. In the Greek, the word ‘witness’, is also the word “martyr’. There is no true witness that is not also a martyr for the cause of Christ.

John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

2Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

THE JUDGEMENTS OF HIS MERCY

Psalms 119:156 Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.

Is the fight discouraging? Does the way seem long and hard? Do others seem to have an easier path? Does it all seem unjust? Others felt also that way, like Job, Abraham Jacob, and David; and they all had the confidence to contend with God.

What does a relationship with God look like? What is He to us? Is He that great distant ruling potentate? Is He so far from our heart that His commands seem cold and unreasonable? Is He like the rulers of this world who exercise authority over the children of men, or like the gods of the heathen who only require sacrifices and care not for the welfare of their followers? And tell me now, does such a high and haughty god provoke religiosity? Does it feed our spiritual ego?

In life, who are the people with whom we have the faith to plead our cause, to ask for mercy, to plead for reprieve and forgiveness? Is it with the stranger, the governor or the blind justice of the land? No my friend, it is from our friends, from those closest to us, those of whom we trust the love. Those may be the ones we argue with the most because we have faith in their love for us, that they will forgive, even our contentions.

So my friend, we do not need to be unnecessarily ‘religious’. We can leave that for those whose gods cannot speak nor hear nor feel. We can leave that for the people who do not want a living god who will reason and talk with them; or even a god who will go as far as getting involved in their lives. Yea, leave the religious attitude to them who want to place there god on a shelf in a shrine outside their home.

Like the patriarchs of old, we can plead our cause, demand His mercy, claim His promises. He loves to hear His Children contend for His love and care, wrestle with the angel for His blessing. He loves to prove Himself to be the God of their salvation beyond and above all circumstances.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

THE DIFFERENCE

Psalms 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.

Oh my friend, what is the difference between the saved and the unsaved, between the righteous and the wicked, and between the son and the stranger?
Thus it is my friend. Will the child who lives close to the bosom of his father fret? Will he be afraid of the bully?

The saved, the righteous, the sons, have their eyes on their Lord and Father. They keep their eyes upon His and thus enjoy perfect peace. The devil and his cohorts can scream, screech, saber-rattle all they want. They can elevate their towers, strengthen their battering rams, display all their fancy weapons in attempts to scare the righteous. God will laugh at their pretentious attempts, and His children will not be moved. They know it; one look from their father and the pride of the wicked vanishes away, it burns and melt like candle wax (Job 40:9,11-12). So let us not fear when the devil tries to show off. Let us not fret when he comes with his lies amplified with the hot air of deceit. We can simply rebuke Him in the name of our Lord Jesus and watch him vanish away.

It is not the same with the unsaved, the wicked and the stranger to the household of God. He does not have the protection of the Creator to keep him safe. He does not have the assurances of the Words of the Lord to comfort him. He does not have the securities of the arms of God to envelop him. He is scared of death and of the dark. He needs constant reassuring. He has to rely on potent medicines and drugs to find peace of mind and quietness of spirit. He is scared of his own shadow; he lives in constant fear and confusion because he seeks not God’s statutes.

Let us now learn to rest in the arms of God; to go to sleep there and let Him fight the darkness that would want to conquer us. May the sunshine of His Spirit burn the chaff, the dross; may it bring us light, warmth, strength and perfect peace.

Proverbs 11:19 As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.

Proverbs 13:21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY

Psalms 119:153-154 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law. (154) Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.

The prosecutor of this world has come to the throne of the great Judge of all (Job 1:6-12). He has found fault, he has found wickedness in us. He expounds the case before the God of the universe remembering every element. He *twists facts like the wick of a candle; he supports his case with false witnesses (Matthew 26:60).

We now appear before the throne of the Eternal Judge. What do we plead? Will we bring before Him our fleshly works to prove the goodness of our heart? Will we justify our case with a show of religiosity? Will we show Him unjust in proclaiming that we do not deserve the worst of all punishment (Psalms 51:4)?

Guilty, yea we should plead guilty. There is no other plea for us. How can he be clean that is born of a woman? (Job 25:4). From the foundations of the world, before we were even created, we were born to be found guilty . . . and by His grace, to be justified.

Oh, what a comfort we have in a Defense Attorney who has himself conquered the death of guilt. What a relief, what a sigh to know that we have One who stands for us as the standard (Isaiah 59:19) of God’s Word of grace and **mercy. Let our attorney battle with the lying prosecutor; let our defender prove him to be the liar that he is. Surely, we will not be absolved of our mistakes nor from our sins--justice will be served--but as a tender and wiser older brother, Jesus will take upon Himself the price of our foolish youthful pranks and deliver us from “the snare of the fowler” (Psalms 91:3).

Psalms 91:2-4 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. (3) Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. (4) He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

*The word “wicked” comes from the twisting of a candle ‘wick’.

** Mercy: Undeserved forgiveness.

HIS ETERNAL TESTIMONIES

Psalms 119:152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.

Oh Lord, the world and its vanity can vanish away; thy testimonies are founded forever.
My friends and their fickle ways can bid me leave; thy testimonies are founded forever.

Of this we can rest assured: the world was not founded on temporal material elements. It does not rest on wooden beams and cement foundations. Nails and glue do not hold it; nor is it sawn together like a garment. Wheels and gears activated by uncertain fuel powers do not hold it in space nor make it turn. It is only and solely the sureties of the testimonies of God that hold it all together.

Look at the earth, would we be afraid to build on it something so heavy that it cannot hold it? Would an excess of population bring it down? Can we build something so high that it could hinder its revolutions in space?

Nay my friend; but the testimonies of God are founded on His immutable eternity. A sparrow does not fall, neither does a hair of our head without His permission (Matthew 12:29; Luke 12:7).

We can rest assured in the surety of God’s testimonies. We can rest assured that what He has said He will perform (Numbers 23:19); that what He has created He will nurture and protect (Zecheriah 2:8); that what He has given He will not take away (Romans 11:29); and that the One who never lies gave us the promise of His presence (Hebrews 13:5).

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

THE BREATH BESIDE US

Psalms 119:150-151 They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. (151) Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.

We children of God, who by our own integrity have decided to follow close to our Lord. We Christian, who out of gratitude have enrolled in active service for our Lord: why do would we think that our life should now unfold like a springtime morning breeze? Just because we are now on the winning side, should we stop experiencing the enemy’s blows to our soul? Nay my friend, oh nay. Once we have enrolled in the army of righteousness, we may as well forfeit our right to peaceful civilian life.

We now hear the steps of the enemy drawing near. He has no face but the face of the ungodly who rebels against God and his ways. He has no goal but that of destroying everything that is Godly, including us. He has no desire but to establish his rule and dominion on all mankind. Because we are enrolled in active service, we are his daily and nightly target. He follows nigh after us with every intention to trip our steps, disturb our sleep, confuse our thoughts, wound your faith.

But as near as the enemy is, as close as he is drawing nigh, God is ever closer to us. Yes we may hear his steps approaching, we may the clatter of his devices, the rattling of hi traps, but if we just pay attention for a moment, if we just turn our ears away from the enemy’s distracting and intimidating noises, we can hear our Lors and commander ‘s breath at our side. When we walk, He walks by us. When we run He runs by us. When we stop to catch our breath, He massages our spirit, shielding us from the the enemy’s fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16) for a while.

Yes, those who fight the servants of God are far from His laws. They will fall into the ditch which they themselves have digged for us; like Haman of old, they will hang on their own gallows (Ester 9:25).

1 Peter 5:8-10 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (9) Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (10) But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

HEAR MY VOICE

Psalms 119:149 Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment.

They say that there is something wrong with a baby that cannot cry his lungs out to make his needs known. In the same way, there is something spiritually wrong with the Christian who cannot pray his heart out in prayer and praise to make his needs known to the almighty Father who created him.

Oh, that my voice may be heard in the Heaven. Oh, that it may express the full expression of my love for my LORD. Will I talk softly or shyly? Will I whisper? Will I measure my expression for the sake of poise and eloquence? Will I use the trickeries of rehearsed speeches? Will I compete with the rich and wise in my mannerism? Will I apply ‘self-control’?

Nay, my God and my LORD; nay, nay and nay! No preparations and rehearsals are needed. Let my voice be loud; let it shout through the heavens. Let my spirit carry it unto you in a wild dance of adoration. Like King David of old, let me appear vile and humble in praises to my Lord (1 Samuel 6:21,22). Let my voice praise you in the tongues of men and of angels (1 Corinthians 13;1); let my heart beat to the rhythm of my Lord; let my body be raptured in the freedom of your spirit: let my whole body and soul be the full expression of my love for my Lord.

I know I can come to you with no fear, no apprehension. I know that you see my faults, my failings; but you have covered them with the expression of your love (Isaiah1:18), and I trust in your loving kindness and in your judgment to hear and *quicken me.

*Quicken: To give life

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

MATINE

Psalms 119:147-148 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word. (148) Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.

How quiet are the wee hours of the morning. What blessedness is found in waking ahead of the world’s frantic action to connect with the Lord.

To wake up when “no man can work” (John 9:4), when darkness still wraps the world with its heavy coat. To eagerly enter the temple of our heart, this is life’s climax, what we live for, what we die for: to meet with our Lord. There is no need for pompous preparations; His Temple is always ready and decorated, waiting for our arrival. There is no need for ritual cleanings; we are already cleansed in the blood of the Lamb. There is no need for a key or a doorkeeper; the door is wide open. There is no entrance fee, the price has already been paid. There is no need for a vicar or priest; we are in His presence, in a heart to heart intimacy that has yet to be imagined.

We sit at His feet, we listen to His soothing voice. The waters of the fountain of His words refresh our heart and strengthen our spirit. We drink them, splash them on our face, even bathe our whole body. We want to feel their coolness on the burning of our battle scars. We want to apply them on the sores of our wounded spirit. We want to feed our innermost being with the nutrition of their spiritual minerals.

We would stay there all day if you could, but the sun runs to its eastern course; the dawn slowly shies on the horizon. “No, not yet, please, just a little more before the world gets up, before duty calls me to the fields, Lord. Please, why can’t it be Sabbath today? I want to spend all day in the refreshing waters of your arms!” Oh, to keep the sun from rising, we wish we could, like Joshua.

The Lord looks up to us with a tender reassuring look, “You can! Give me your heart; I will fill it up with these waters like in a bottle. It will bring with you their refreshing and strengthening coolness wherever you go. Each time it pumps, it will pump it into every fiber of your soul. Take it; take it with you. Take enough for yourself, and to share with every one you meet. Tell them about the Fountain, that they too can meet me in its Temple every morning. Tell them that if they come to me, I will heal their wounds, soothe their sores and fill their empty heart with my Spirit.”

“And wherever you go, remember:

Hebrews 13:5 I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Mat 28:20 Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

AM I A GOOD INVESTMENT OF GOD’S GRACE?

Psalms 119:146 I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.

So many times the Children of Israel asked the Lord to save them from their enemies, only to return to their rebellious ways afterwards. Due to their sins, God would allow for them to become prey to the nations around them. After a few years of servitude they would become desperate and promise God to change. The Lord would send them a deliverer, and a few years later, they would once again be back to their disobedient ways. Sad to say, this seems to be the perpetual story not only of Israel but of mankind.

The keeping of the testimonies of God has one and only one purpose: to be a witness of God’s ways to the world; to be a representation of His Spirit and of His care and love. David begged God to deliver him so that he could continue being a witness unto God. There was no concept to him of salvation without *repentance--of a salvation that would not be for the purpose of continuing God’s work.

Therefore let us not hypocritically make promises of faithfulness unto God only when we need His help. God desires so much to show the world how it could and should be run. He wants so much for the testimonies of His wisdom to be spread around the world, His righteousness to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Let us therefore promise instead, that whether God delivers us or not, we will obey, we will be the witnesses that he wants us to be through the “keeping’ of His “testimonies”. Obedience comes first, then God answers prayer!

Whoever you are in present trouble; whoever you are calling for God’s rescue; whoever you are shedding remorseful tears; whoever you are my friend, ask your soul this question: What am I going to do with my Salvation? My Lord has given all for me, what am I ready to give to Him? Will I return to Him the dividends of His life invested for me?

Luke 8:8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

* Repentance: From the Greek word, “Metanoia”: turn around, U-turn, revolution.

ANECDOTE:
Bishop Moore tells the story of a little boy who was swimming one day in a lake when suddenly he suffered some type of physical difficulty and could swim no farther. The boy struggled for his life. He had gone under twice, when he felt the strong arm of a man lifting him. The man had seen the little boy's desperate plight and had swum out to save him. The man took the boy safely to shore and, after making certain that everything was well, turned to leave. The little boy said, "Thank you, sir, for saving my life." The man replied, "You're welcome, son. See to it that you are worth saving."
Bishop Moore said that he has never forgotten those words, for he was that boy whose life was saved by a man who didn't even leave his name.
A good question for the Christian to ask is, "Am I worth saving?" God in Christ has made a large investment in the life of each of us, and He has every right to expect a return of His investment.

THE CAUSE OF ALL THINGS

May 6

Psalms 119:145 I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.

Here is a principle that we have largely forgotten in today’s society. With very few exceptions, the Word teaches us that distresses, problems, tragedies, and even persecutions come from God, that they are to teach us lessons, to work His will in our lives, and bring our strayed hearts back to Him. Job’s comforters tried to convict Job of sin. Even the pagan sailors in Jonah’s ship wanted everyone on board to make things right with their god. Jesus’ disciples wondered if the healed man had been blind because of his own sins, or those of his parents.

There should never be a question as to whether we have sinned or not. The Bible said that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). If we have a hard time finding faults in ourselves, we can enroll the help of those closest to us such as our spouse, or teenage children, our closest co-workers--they will be glad to tell us When tragedy hits as a person, a society, a country, it is a time for heart-searching and to desperately cry to the Lord. It is a time for repentance, and to determine to keep God’s command. It is a time to re-evaluate our modus operandi; to yield to the changes God brings in our life. It is certainly not a time for justification, arguing and arranging with God. It is a time of learning by listening to the instruction that He has for us with a sincere and honest heart (Luke 8:15).

No matter who’s right or wrong, no matter what the physical elements of the situation are, the spiritual principle remains the same: all things come to us for the purpose of bringing us close to Him.

Today in our desperation, let us cry with a whole heart;. Let us be desperate to learn, and promise to keep His statutes.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

LIFE IS IN HIS WORDS

May 5

Psalms 119:144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

Knowing the Word of God, I must read it; reading the Word of God, I must understand it, for then, “I shall live”.

The Bible is not a book of ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’; neither is it a book of doctrines. It is a book outlining spiritual principles for us to discover. The discovering of them by the means of understanding gives life. Sometimes, we study a passage. All of a sudden, it becomes clear; it opens a whole new avenue of principles never understood before which open a deeper understanding of the Word. The rush, the happiness, the ‘goose-bumps’ of that moment, is the Spirit of life feeding our soul.

The Bible is not a book too deep for us to understand. It can be understood with the pure and simple innocent logic of a child. The helpful elements necessary to help us grasp the fullness of its principles are a good knowledge of its culture, language and history.

In the Bible, God seems to teach us through opposites. Proverbs 26, verse 4 advises us, Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him, while the next verse instructs us saying, Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. Obviously, the Word is not here to give us legalistic guidelines as whether to “answer a fool” or not, but rather that there are times when we should, and times when we shouldn’t. The Word also tells us the reasons why; it says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver (Proverbs 25:11).

Oh Lord, help us do justice to your Word by letting it feed our heart, our soul. Help us not to analyze it with our carnal mind, but help us to understand it by the means of your spirit, the Holy Spirit which you have said will lead us into all truth (John 16:3).

John 6:53-63 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (54) Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (55) For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (56) He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (57) As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (58) This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. (59) These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. (60) Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? (61) When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? (62) What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? (63) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

STRENGTH BORN FROM TRIALS

May 4

Psalms 119:143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.

Trouble without, anguish within; whatever the trouble, anguish is its eternal companion. But yet, see, my friend, the Child of God. In his processing of trouble the true Child of God who lives close to his Father differs from the common worldling.

Let’s watch him and learn. He does not curse the trouble nor kick it in frustration. Neither does he, like the proverbial ostrich, put his head in the sand in denial of it. We will not find the Child of God rationalizing and analyzing the trouble. Minimizing it is unrealistic to him, and he has too much integrity to maximize it into giants in order to create excuses. (Numbers 13:32).

In the time of trouble and anguish, the true Child of God who lives close to his father finds delight in the commandment of his God. Those of us who have experienced true spiritual warfare know what this means. It is at such times that the Word becomes our strength and comfort. At such times, the Word seems to take a life of its own and add dimensions to itself. It becomes our lifeline, our anchor; it talks to us and fills our heart with joy.

Let us therefore not curse trouble. Let us not kick anguish in anger. Trouble and anguish are pressure element of the spiritual battle which empower the Word of life to make us soar.

1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: (13) But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

ANECDOTE:
The cocoon of the emperor moth is flask-shaped. In order for the perfect insect to appear it must force its way through the neck of the cocoon in hours of intense struggling. It is believed that the pressure to which the moth's body is subjected is a provision of nature for forcing the juices into the vessels of the wings.
A person was witnessing this struggle once, and out of pity took the point of some scissors and snipped the confining threads to make the exit easier, but the moth's wings never developed, and it spent its brief span of life crawling instead of flying through the air on rainbow wings.
Look not with false pity on God's children who suffer. As men we are inclined to be shortsighted. God would have us inspire their courage in the midst of it by remembering His love, and then looking for the glory to come out of it.

EVEN SO LORD, COME QUICKLY!

May 3

Psalms 119:142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.

Kingdoms and their rulers exercise their power over men for a little while, only in the end to yield it to another. Philosophers bask in fame’s sunshine for a moment of glory, until such a time when the fickle loyalties of man run in search of something new (Acts 17:21).In the same manner, the world and its vanity will eventually yield to the glory of God. The temporal will yield to the eternal; the corruptible to the incorruptible; the flesh to the spirit (1 Corinthians 15:53,54).

Today, we also have a choice of where we want to live. Do we want to live in the vanity of man, entrust our destiny to its temporal world; yield our soul to its fickle vanity? Will our eyes behold in wonder and serve the deceiving beauty of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3)? Will our heart shun investing in the now invisible but eternal spiritual kingdom of God? The apostle told us, the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

“Even so, come Lord Jesus; come with your everlasting righteousness written in the heart of every man woman and child (Jeremiah 31;31-33). Come to rule over us, and all the kingdoms of men with your rod of iron (Revelations 19:15). Come with the truth of thy law which surpasses the vanity of past present and future philosophers. Come and establish you kingdom on earth.”

I long for the time when my eyes will no more behold the terrors of war, sickness and dysfunctional living. I long for the day when my ears will be overwhelmed no more with the hardened longing of desperate children who have to protect themselves from immature adults. I pray for my spirit to find rest from the grieving of the heart of the innocent. I long for the time when You, the righteous judge of the earth will finally come and teach us how we ought to live; Yes, I long for the time when the truth of Your everlasting righteousness will have conquered the hearts of man, and fear and terror will have vanished.

1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelations 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

HUMILITY TRAINING

May 2

Psalms 119:141 I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.

How many times do we want to get back at those who despise us and make us feel small? How many times do we want to say or do something that may vindicate us in our own eyes? How many times, when faced with these situations, are we tempted to forget His precepts and try to bring in our own justice?

Whatever our background, the fate of God’s children is to eventually be abased in the eyes of the world, as well as their own eyes. God has ordained it so because we need to learn the true humility that elevates us in his kingdom. This humility training comes at the price of deep humiliations and true breakings. Oh, how God knows our number; how well He knows the very thing that will provoke the humility schooling in us.

With some of us He may use what we are the most conscious of: our outward appearance. He may give us a poor complexion or an inability to lose weight. With others He may use a handicap such as a speech impediment. He may also use a simple mind or an inability to compete with others in physical aptitudes. He may also allow people, often those closest to us, to mock us, despise us, use and misunderstand us, even and particularly at times when we try to do something good for them. This will cause us to want to cry out for justice and vindication, and it will not come no matter what we do or say. A situation brings us to a place in our life where the only godly solution to the problem is to go under in humility.

Jesus suffered it all without opening His mouth. He went as a sheep to the slaughter (Isaiah 53). He gave His body and His life voluntarily over to the mockers and scorners of this world. He did it so so He could conquer evil. He did it so we could live. He did as a sample for us to follow, and no true missionary, pastor or teacher of the Word can do a good job without the humility schooling that God sends our way and brings us through.


Matthew 5:3-10 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (5) Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (6) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (7) Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (8) Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (9) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (10) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

HOW CAN WE IMPROVE ON THE BEST?

May 1

Psalms 119:140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.

When will man stop trying to improve on the creation of God? In his attempts to adapt everything to his own pride, lust and greed, man has adulterated most of creation. Maybe that is why it is “groaning” (Romans 8:22).

Over-extensive mixing, breeding and grafting caused some roses to lose their smell. Ever increasingly capricious market demand makes farmers genetically modify vegetable, poultry and cattle so in their unnatural sizes and colors they lose their taste and nutritional values.

Pride and vanity causes people to modify their bodies in order to meet man’s idea of beauty. They also modify their spirit using mood-altering drugs instead of going to the Lord for solutions to their problems. And the saddest thing of all, is that after man has laid God’s creation on the altar of his proud vanity, he has also laid his faith on it. Faith is now so mixed with philosophy, secular psychology and superstitions that we can’t make the difference between the two anymore. Not only have we lost the pure originals in the physical, but we have also lost them in the spiritual.

Thank God, we still have the pure Rose of Sharon (Song Of Songs 2:1) to teach us the originals perspective of godly beauty and fragrance. We have the meekness of the Lamb of God (John 1:29) to bring us back to the true values of Heaven, and we have the assurance that all things will be restored when the incorruptible puts on the corruptible (1 Corinthians 15:53).

“Lord, wean me from the adulterated ways of man; deliver me from pride, vanity and lust which has so corrupted me and creation. Help me with all my heart to desire the purity of your Sprit and of your words. In Jesus Name!”

Rev 21:1-5 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (2) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (4) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (5) And he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new!

TRUE LOVE FOR GOD

April 30

Psalms 119:139 My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.

When he saw people who should have known better, forget the Lord who has made them and loves them so much, David grieved to the point of self-consumption. His zeal for following the Lord was a consuming fire within him (Hebrews 12:29). His enemies were not defined by the prejudices of geographical boundaries or by religious sectarianism; they were simply the ungodly, the people who despised God’s Words no matter who they were:

Today, there is a crowd of people with a “victim mentality”. There is a crowd of people who’d rather find fault in God rather than change their twisted behavior. These people would brand someone projecting David’s attitude towards iniquity as self-righteous and intolerant. The disheartening element in this, is that there are even Christians in this crowd; Christians who prefer to be in good standing with the world rather than promote God’s standards. They respond to this emotional blackmail by lowering the concepts of Godliness. They also degrade Godliness to a humanistic man-promoting and man-pleasing set of rituals.

The whole idea is not about how much we hate evil, which is nevertheless the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 8:13), but it is that we love God so much, that it hurts us to see people blaspheme His name. Just like when we really love someone, we think that they are the best of the best in the world, and we feel grieved if someone else doesn’t like them.

Psalms 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

A SOUND FOUNDATION

April 29

Psalms 119:138 Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.

Within the quantum of traditions, beliefs, spiritual applications, personal theological preferences, and biblical speculations that form one’s religion, it is important to make the difference between what is the Word, or testimony that God “hast commanded”, and what is the “testimony” “commanded” by “man”, be it of ourselves, a religious authority, or a charismatic teacher.

In the course of my missionary life, I have met many, who claim to have believed in God, and who later became disappointed and ‘left the faith’. At that point, it is important to ask the question, What did ‘believing in God’ look like to them? What did it mean”? Was it the following of an endless and meaningless set of traditions? Was it an experience based on an emotionally hyped high? Was it based on loyalty offered to a man/woman or peer-group? Or was their ‘religion’ even approached as many do a support group, for the comfort of personal problems? Any of these attitudes towards faith represent a faulty foundation, and any “house” built upon it will certainly fall. By contrast, the Word, or testimony that the LORD has commanded never fail; they are “righteous and very faithful” one who builds on them is never disappointed. .(Matthew 7:24-27).

We have here a situation where we create our own “religion”, with our own parameters, expect God to honor it, and jilts Him if He doesn’t. It is sad when people “jilt” God, as one would an unfaithful and unreliable lover, when their relationship with Him was not based on His promises and conditions, but rather on their own speculated selfish and immature expectations. This problem of unrealistic personal expectations is also witnessed today by many a marriage counselor. People have “Hollywood-ian” expectations in their marriage that have nothing to do with what God intended this union to be, and they wonder why their marriage, just like their religion, ends up in “divorce”. What is all the most amazing is that the apostle Paul associated the concepts of marriage with our relationship with God.

“Lord, you have given me your Words, as well as the wit and ability to read it. Give me now the discernment to separate the “wheat from the chaff” (Matthew 3:12)--Your reliable “very righteous and faithful” Word, from the sinking-sand of the traditions and perversions of man”
MarK 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

A CONSISTENT GOD IN THE MIDST OF CHANGING TIMES

April 28

Psalms 119:137 Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.

Times have changed. In his extreme pride, man has twisted the concepts of right and wrong. He has exchanged godliness for humanism, truth for relativism, and absolutes for feelings.

There used to be a time when there was a respectful awe about the Word of God. If one did not understand something, or if he felt that a testimony from the Word was harsh or difficult to swallow; he had a spirit of humility about it, he felt that maybe he was ignorant, that he needed a teacher to explain to him through maybe a different perspective. Now, mankind reads the word of God in a spirit of pride and judgment. He judges the Word by his own standards of right and wrong, and since the ways of man are not the ways of God (Isaiah 55:8), and since man’s sense of right and wrong is different than that of God, man often ends up criticizing the word. And as time goes on, as the world plunges more and more into darkness, it will be more and more difficult to understand the ways of God, and define them as ‘righteous’ and “upright”.

We have to train ourselves today to look at everything God allows to come our way as His perfect will. I am not suggesting a spirit of fatalism, but rather an understanding of His will, beyond the limited scope of the vantage point of our carnal mind, which is in fact, in enmity against God (Romans 8:7).

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for cold, heat, drought, flood, life, death, joy, sorrow, health, illness, good, bad, strength, weakness--for all the things you bring my way, they represent your perfect will for me, I thank you for it all.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Mark 7:37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

ANECDOTE:
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey...
I asked for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things...
I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty that I might be wise...
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God...
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things...
I got nothing that I asked for--but everything I had hoped for,
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.

THE FEAR OF EMPATHY

April 27

Psalms 119:136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.

I remember watching a movie with some people who thought it was hilarious every time someone got blown up or hurt. To me, such a reaction seems to come from a spirit that is seared and numb to pain, from a sort of sadistic indifference, most probably coming from an excess of exposure to violence, mostly through TV. Still another time I was watching some sort of comedy where people were making fun of each other, and the audience then laughed at someone else’s expense. A good teacher I know always points out to her students that there is a difference between laughing with people, and laughing at people.

When He came to Jerusalem, Jesus saw a city that despised God, they had turned the Temple into a den of thieves, their faith had become a ritualistic religion, and they had forgotten the mercies of God. He cried in sorrow against the city that killed the prophets and those that are sent unto her; He expressed the longing of God to gather His people unto Him, but they wouldn’t be gathered (Matthew 23:37).

The Spirit of God does not find it funny when people are hurt or made fun at.
The Spirit of God rather cries when He sees His children going the wrong way.
The Spirit of God is not insensitive to pain, heartaches, or woes
The Spirit of God tenderly pleads and cries for the soul to find its way.

At the sight of evil:
Does our spirit ache with pains of sympathy?
Does it provoke weeping like it did Jesus at the sight of sinful Jerusalem?
Does it make us wish e could take the whole world into our arms and protect it form its own evil?

If we cannot, is it because we are you afraid of the pain such empathy would create, so we protect ourselves with indifference and shallowness?

Matthew 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

THE TRUE SIGNS OF GOD’S BLESSINGS

April 26

Psalms 119:135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.

Our prayers can be so full of “gimme’s”. “Gimme” this, and “gimme” that, all in search of material blessings.

Two men stand in the tribunal of world’s opinion.
One is healthy, the other disease-ridden.
One is decked with gold; the other walks in rags.
One is wealthy, the other begs for daily food.
One has wit; the other is simple as a child.
One’s life seem wholesome; the other’s barely above sin’s flow.
One’s life is long; the other was dramatic and short.

Now my friend, in full honesty; do we not more easily equate the shining of God’s face on the one that seems to receive the physical blessings rather than on the other? Do we not more readily equate the blessing of God with popularity, abundance, long life, wealth, and wit?

Oh, that we would look at His Words in the way God looks at them.
Oh, that we would look at success in the way God looks at it.
Oh, that we would look at riches in the way God looks at them.
Oh, that we would look at death in the way God looks at it.

May God help us realize that your face shines upon us even now as we bathe in the clear light of your Words. There is no other blessing so precious that the sole light of your face. There is not benediction so dear as the enwrapping warmth of your precepts; no love so precious to be owned as the faithfulness of Your statutes.

James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

FREEDOM TO SERVE GOD

April 25

Psalms 119:134 Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.

Many understand the keeping of God’s precepts as something they “have” to do; the point is that it is something we “get” to do!

Man’s governments usually work against the keeping of God’s biblically established precepts. Because of man’s sinful nature, governments have to enforce their own laws in order to keep order and protect their citizens. When these laws are the product of secularism and/or special interest religious groups and denominations, there is an element of oppression for the people of God who are supposed to be led by God only, via the Holy Spirit.

In the Word it is encouraged for God’s children to follow the local governmental laws in order to live in peace with all men and be able to be free to continue preaching the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). But when these laws start to be diametrically opposed to the basic spiritual rules of God’s kingdom, then we are told that it is better to obey God than to obey man (Acts 5:29). Even now, the pure spirit of the people of God yearns to be free (Romans 8:23).

It is only in the millennial era that this prayer from King David will be fully answered. Only then, when the world is fully controlled by Jesus the Christ Himself, will we be completely free from the oppression of man’s governments (Revelations 20:4). Not only is it hard to live today in the morals and spiritual realm that we could live, but also the Bible tells us that it will become harder, even to just be a Christian or a God believing person (Revelations 13:7).

This is not meant to make us fear because we know that in the end, Jesus is the victorious conqueror of our souls and of the world.

Revlations 20:1-10 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. (2) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

THE STEPS OF OBEDIENCE

April 24

Psalms 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Iniquity: from the root: unequal. Something that is not equal to God’s righteousness.

As long as we live in this world, iniquity will be present with us; we will not be rid of it. The goal is to not let it have dominion over us. The only way for iniquity to not dominate us is to let God order our steps. We cannot pray, “Lord protect me, but let me go where I want”; “Lord, keep me healthy but don’t try to curb my food habits”; or even better, “Lord, help my spirit to reflect you, but don’t regulate my media diet”. If we do not want iniquity to have dominion over us, we need to also pray, “Lord, order my steps”, and obey his “ordering”.

The sad thing is that iniquity has no power of its own on us until we give it an invitation. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1John 3:8) and He led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8); we are protected with the seal of God. But as soon as we go the way of the enemy through disobedient action or attitude, a part of him becomes part of us. It becomes like a digital cookie, which creates a bridge to other ones, and, eventually, we get the virus that freezes our spiritual machine to a dead stop.

Let us not give over the victory to the enemy by voluntarily putting ourselves in harm’s way. Most temptations are avoided by staying away from temptation media wave channels. Let us rather tune in to God’s channel so He can “order” our “steps” in His Word.

May God help us today to order our paths away from iniquity.
May God help us today to obey His good, gentle and leading Words.
May God help us today not to invite glittering temptation.
May God help us today to have endurance in fighting.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

ANECDOTE:

There is a story of a southern man who came to a watchmaker and gave him the hands of a clock, saying: "I want yer to fix up dese hans. Dey jes' doan' keep no mo' kerrec' time for mo' den six monfs." "Where is the clock?" answered the watchmaker. "Out at de house on Injun Creek." "But I must have the clock." "Didn't I tell yer dar's nuffin' de matter wid de clock 'ceptin' de hans? And I done brought 'em to you. You jes' want the clock so you can tinker with it and charge me a big price. Gimme back dem hans." And so saying, he went off to find some reasonable watchmaker. Foolish as he was, his caution is very like that of those who try to regulate their lives without being made right on the inside. And their reason for not putting themselves into the hands of the Lord is very similar to the reason the colored man gave. They are afraid the price will be too great. They say, "We only wish to avoid this or that habit." But the Master Workman says, "I cannot regulate the hands unless I have the heart."

LOOKS OF MERCY

April 23

Psalms 119:132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

Paul reminds us that we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The soul convicted of sin before it’s God is like that of the child whom the parents found in disobedience. The child will need training and correction, but as he grows into a teenager he will be personally responsible for his actions, he will then also need mercy to preserve even his life from the penalty of disobedience, which is death (Deut 21:18). The “victim mentality” of this age allows us the indulgence of blaming our disobediences on everything and everyone, dead or alive; but in the sight of God, we are solely responsible for our faults.

There are so many souls today convicted of disobedience who cannot bear even a look from their Heavenly father. They are like the teenager who in his heart knows he has disappointed his parents, so in his pride, instead of trying to change and make amends, he leaves home and spends the rest of his life running. First he runs from home, then from responsibility and in the end he runs from the law. All he had to do from the beginning is look back in his parent’s eyes, who should indulge him with the same mercy they themselves benefit from at the hand of their Heavenly Father.

Will you stop running? Will you stop pretending? Will you stop faking righteousness with your make-up of hypocrisy? Will you turn around, and ask Him to look upon your wretched sinful face with mercy? Oh I know, His mercy means “honey”, His mercy means “bitter”. His mercy means “plenty”, though sometimes looks “poorer”. His mercy means “blue skies” in the eye of the storm; His mercy means “comfort”, in my soul so forlorn. His mercy may deliver from pain; His mercy may sustain the pain. His mercy may free from the cross, His mercy may also bring the cross. But whatever His mercy means, whatever the Father places in its hands, may I look at it as the gift that he chose to help me make amends.

Let us today realize the mercy God pours into our lives, and stop whining at our blessings by using this truer perspective and standard:
“Whatever the Lord allows in our lives is “mercy” compared to what we really deserve.”

Lam 3:22-23 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. (23) They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

TRUE SATISFACTION

April 22, 2006

Psalms 119:131 I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.

If you have never felt the pangs of intense thirst, I don’t know if you can realize the intensity of “panting”. Panting is a term generally used for animals such as a hart, or even a dog.

From the very beginning, man was to subdue and have dominion over the animals of the earth (Genesis 1:28). Just as the animals are dominated by man and are dependant on his mercy and care, so we are dominated by God and are dependant on His mercy and care. Compared to God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, our limited nature could almost seem like this relationship that the animals have towards man. When it came to his relationship with God, David was conscious of this great majesty of Yehovah, and he was not afraid to humiliate himself in words, by using expressions like “panting” when describing his need for his God, and by his “wild” deeds, in exhibiting a wild worship dance in front of his subjects (2 Samuel 6:21,22).

This text is about panting for the Word of God, about longing for His commandments. I think that many people are starving and panting in longing for God’s commandments, but they don’t know it. They interpret it as needing more “amusement”*, a physical enjoyment of some sort. Sometimes this empty feeling comes into us and we think that we need to get into a relationship, watch a movie, smoke a cigarette, take drugs, have sex, call our therapist. The only thing that ever satisfies the human soul is a connection with his God, but man tries to fill it with all kinds of other things, so that now it pants and is starving.

Lord, help me to know when my heart pants for you. Help me to go to the fountains of living waters, and not to look to carnal things in order to fill it. Even though I have waters here that can satisfy me for a moment, help me to desire the waters of eternal life.

*AMUSEMENT. From “muse”: think; with the affix “a”: without.
Amusement literally means “away from thinking”. People search for amusements to get away from having to think about their problems, the direction their lives are headed, and the deeper meaning of life.

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: (14) But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

April 21, 2006

Psalms 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

A friend was telling me how confused and stressed she was. I encouraged her to be sure not to neglect her daily Word intake nor her prayer time. She told me that she did spend a daily substantial amount of time feeding herself spiritually, and even had regular fellowship with other Christians. What was the problem then? Why was she still confused? How can someone spend time in the presence of the LORD through His precious Words, and still come out confused and stressed? The only other question I had was, to inquire about the content of her spiritual diet. What was she reading? Was it appropriate for her situation? Was it Bible based material or the teachings of a man? Did she even study the Bible itself or did she rely on the studies of others? Did she apply the Word to herself, or did she absolve herself. The light of the Word finds no entrance in some minds because they are blocked by negative attitudes.

The Word should flood our spirits with light. The Word should bring our hearts an influx of clarity. The Word should fill our minds so that nothing is confused anymore. The Word should strengthen our faith so that we have the confidence that His hand is in our lives, even when everything seems contrary to our expectations.

When we spend time in the presence of the LORD through His Words, by faith, everything should seem clear. But there has got to be an “entrance”. It cannot be the shallow hearing of the ear; it has to be the deep hearing of the heart. In the Greek, the word “believe”, “pisteuo” is synonymous to “drink in”. Therefore the way one has to believe to partake of eternal life, is by the entrance of the Word, as if it were water that enters in, and is distributed to every part of our being.

Oh LORD, I am a simple person. Bring understanding to my heart through the enlightening of my soul. Let not indifference, unbelief, prejudice and self-concept block the entrance of your Words in me. Waters always look and rush for the lowest places; help my heart to be lowly and meek, so that if be filled to overflowing with you waters of Light.

“I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen {Bible} verses all day, than rinse my hand in several chapters.” Charles Spurgeon

Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

ONE DOCTRINE

April 20

Psalms 119:129 Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.

We live in the age of advertisement. A product, a method, a cure, a political party, an opinion, a therapy, a Church, a religion, a philosophy, everyone wants to sell you something, or on something. In their efforts to convince you, they will fill your senses with seemingly irrefutable testimonials and proofs that they are the “best”, the “original”, and the most “viewed”, “heard”, “sold”, “practiced”, “growing trend”, “natural”. But how can each of these, be all these things? This reminds me of the story of how the inmate of an insane asylum came to the director pointing out that another inmate believed with absolute certainty that he was Napoleon. Feeling that the reporting inmate was finally coming to his sanity, the director asked, “And why would you think that he cannot be Napoleon?” “It is simple” replied the first inmate, “How can he be Napoleon when I am Napoleon!”

Beloved, let it not be so with our views of the Word of God. There are today many teachers and expounders of the Word of God, each with his own convincing interpretation, so much so that an overdose of “objective” listening in this doctrinal “supermarket” where one can pick and choose what he wants to believe, can leave one completely confused and disillusioned. In the early days of the Church at Corinth, some members wanted to free themselves from the responsibility of following some of the “straight and narrow” (Matthew 7:14) truths of the Word, so they started “shopping” their doctrinal beliefs from among their religious teachers. Paul, in his wisdom stopped the dispute by bringing them all back to the Word: CHRIST-JESUS (1 Corinthians 1:11-13; 3:3-7, and also 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; 4:15-16).

Beloved, the words and teachings of man are an unsound foundation. They have, and will always fail. Look only to the inspired Biblical Word of God, interpreted in your heart by the Holy Spirit which has been ordained to teach us all things (John 14:26). The Word is Wonderful. It is Wonderful in its exactness, balance, accuracy, truth, wisdom, invariableness and consistency; His testimonies are wonderful and your soul can commit itself to the keeping of them with no fear of error or falling.

Revelations 21:2-3; 12-14 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: (13) On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. (14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

ONE DOCTRINE

April 20

Psalms 119:129 Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.

We live in the age of advertisement. A product, a method, a cure, a political party, an opinion, a therapy, a Church, a religion, a philosophy, everyone wants to sell you something, or on something. In their efforts to convince you, they will fill your senses with seemingly irrefutable testimonials and proofs that they are the “best”, the “original”, and the most “viewed”, “heard”, “sold”, “practiced”, “growing trend”, “natural”. But how can each of these, be all these things? This reminds me of the story of how the inmate of an insane asylum came to the director pointing out that another inmate believed with absolute certainty that he was Napoleon. Feeling that the reporting inmate was finally coming to his sanity, the director asked, “And why would you think that he cannot be Napoleon?” “It is simple” replied the first inmate, “How can he be Napoleon when I am Napoleon!”

Beloved, let it not be so with our views of the Word of God. There are today many teachers and expounders of the Word of God, each with his own convincing interpretation, so much so that an overdose of “objective” listening in this doctrinal “supermarket” where one can pick and choose what he wants to believe, can leave one completely confused and disillusioned. In the early days of the Church at Corinth, some members wanted to free themselves from the responsibility of following some of the “straight and narrow” (Matthew 7:14) truths of the Word, so they started “shopping” their doctrinal beliefs from among their religious teachers. Paul, in his wisdom stopped the dispute by bringing them all back to the Word: CHRIST-JESUS (1 Corinthians 1:11-13; 3:3-7, and also 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; 4:15-16).

Beloved, the words and teachings of man are an unsound foundation. They have, and will always fail. Look only to the inspired Biblical Word of God, interpreted in your heart by the Holy Spirit which has been ordained to teach us all things (John 14:26). The Word is Wonderful. It is Wonderful in its exactness, balance, accuracy, truth, wisdom, invariableness and consistency; His testimonies are wonderful and your soul can commit itself to the keeping of them with no fear of error or falling.

Revelations 21:2-3; 12-14 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: (13) On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. (14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

April 19

Psalms 119:126-128 It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

Two ways man uses to void the Law of God:
1) He attacks the authenticity of the Word so one won’t feel accountable to it.
2) He makes ungodly living fashionable, and gives a bad connotation to wholesome living.

We live in a time when a man is no more a man; when a woman is no more a woman; when a child play adult games, and when adults behave like children.

We live in a time when feelings have replaced facts; form has replaced faith; when “saying it’ is as good as “being it”, and when appearances are as good as reality.

We live in a time when if one dares to speak the truth he is a ‘fanatic’, when falsehood is only a ‘matter of personal opinion’.

We live in a time when children teach their parents the ways of the world, because parents are afraid to teach their children the ways of God.

We live in a time when ‘bad’ means good, and good means ‘old-fashioned’.

We live in a time when the people of God see these things. They have been een delivered from the Egyptian Pharaoh who kept them in the captivity of their sin (Exodus 12), but they have now succumbed to the serpents that resulted from their fearful murmuring (Numbers 21:5-7). They fell to lust and paid the fateful price of hiding an “Achan’s wedge” of materialism within their “tent” (Joshua 7), Therefore they are weak. Only when they will look fully again upon their Savior lifted upon the wood (Numbers 21:9), and clean themselves from the unclean loot, (2 Corinthians 6:17), will they be re-strengthened.

It is time, yes, now it is time, O Lord to fight for us, to work. Open the eyes of our hearts and of our spirits that we may see and understand the unadulterated truth of Your Word, that we may love Thy commandments above gold, esteem thy precepts concerning all things, and hate every false way.

John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

RULING SERVANTS

April 18

Psalms 119:125 I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.

A certain French Marquis was raised to his grand and exalted state from very humble surroundings. He had been a shepherd in his earlier days & so, in his palace, he had one room known as "The Shepherd's Room". In that room were reproductions of hills & valleys & running streams & rocks & sheepfolds. Here were the staff he had carried & the clothes he had worn as a lad when herding his sheep. When asked one day the meaning of this, he replied, "If ever my heart is tempted to haughtiness & pride, I go into that room & remind myself of what I once was." Such humility would have saved Nebuchadnezzar & Belshazzar Daniel 4 and 5).

Yes, we are Children of the Almighty. Yes, we have been adopted at a high price. Yes, none can touch us without the permission of the almighty God. Yes, we will be standing in the courts of the Lord forever as His favored children. We stand in this world as a light shining in the midst of darkness (Ephesians 5:8), a chosen royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). But when in front of our Lord, as the twenty-four elders do (Revelation 4:10), let us cast down our shiny crowns, and remember our humble station of servants of the living God.

It is impossible to truly be in the presence of God and not be humbled by it. Walking daily in the presence of the Lord in spirit should therefore cause an automatic attitude of humility. If your religion allows you to behave in pride and arrogance, your god is indeed a small one. If you do know the Almighty, and still behave in pride and arrogance, it gives evidence that you are walking closer to worldlings than you are to your God.

Lord Jesus, help me to be a good example of You. Help me to walk close to You in Spirit daily so that I would be humbled and walk more in your Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. .

Phi lippians2:6-8 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

DOUBLE STANDARDS?

April 17

Psalms 119:124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.

Thank God that He does not rule us solely by justice; we would all be condemned from birth. Anyone who wants to apply the rigid rule of justice to all, needs to fist start by applying it to himself. The Bible says that we all have sinned, so technically we are all condemned from the start (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

There is much more peace in our heart in appealing for God’s mercy than for His justice, and if mercy is to be applied to one, it is to be applied to all. Mercy is a bridge that we cannot deny to others without also denying it to ourselves. What greater example is there than that of the story of Jonah.

Jonah was a Hebrew statesman. God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire who at that time cruelly oppressed the Hebrew nation. God asked him to go on an errand of mercy to these people--these people, who were idol worshippers, unbelievers in the LORD—and give them the message of God so they could avoid His punishing judgments. Put this one in context of world politics today and get an idea of the situation. No wonder Jonah didn’t want to go! Jonah knew that God was merciful, and that if the Ninevites repented, God would forego His judgments, even on that cruel Assyrian empire, and this is exactly what happened, which made Jonah very upset. Jonah yielded to the ‘victim mentality’ spirit of revenge. He wanted Nineveh to get the true justice that she rightly deserved. He forgot that God allowed the Assyrians to persecute the ten tribes of Israel because of their disobedience to His Laws, whereas the Lord said of the Ninevites, that they didn’t even know their right from their left. (Jonah 3:10; 4:1,2;4:11). Jesus even justified the Ninevites of Jonah’s day before the Jewish religious leaders of His own day (Matthew 12:41).

The question to ask ourselves is: Do we pray for God to deal with others according to His justice, while we ask Him for mercy for ourselves?

* Mercy: Undeserved forgiveness

John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

April 16

JESUS THE REWARD OF FAITH

Psalms 119:123 Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.

It is amazing to realize how many times God waits to the very last minute before He rescues us. Can we wait? How long does it take before we give up on waiting? Can we wait until He comes through? Do we have the assurance of faith to wait for ‘the hour” of the Lord, and not fly to our own rescue? Have we ever waited till our eyes failed even of tears in our desperate waiting for an answer, a confirmation, while at the same time fighting the temptation to leave off trusting and run to the poor means of our own strength? Like Jacob, do we you wrestle with the angel until the break of day (Genesis 32:24,25)?

Sometimes we feel that God’s timing is a bit off; maybe it is ours that is off. He often waits till ‘the break of day’, (Genesis 32:24,) for us to come to the end of our rope, the end of our own human resources, in order to show His greatness and help us in a ‘nick of time’. Maybe He likes suspense. Or maybe, He wants to test our faith to see if we really can wait on Him, if we really have cut the bridges of our own means of rescue, being willing to ‘die in faith’ that He is right even if we don’t get rescued.

Some of us are tested with our health, some with our finances, and yet others through our family situations. Before we decide to take a medicine which provokes potentially serious side effects, let us take the time to pray and see if perhaps He may heal. Before spending money on the credit card, or make a potentially long-term loan, let us pray and see if perhaps He has a plan to supply otherwise. Before making rash decisions about our children or our marriage, let us ask the Lord, He may have some solutions. When we pray for all these things, let us also have the patience to wrestle with that angel until daybreak, until our eyes “fail” of tears for the Word of His righteousness that will direct and save us.

Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalms 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.