COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP

Psalms 106:30 Then stood up Phinehas, and *executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. *Executed judgment: The Hebrew verb used in this sentence is “Palal” and means: pray; entreat; judge; intercede; make supplications.

The story is of God’s judgment executed against a man who exhibited the epitome of defiance. The children of Israel were required to remain pure from the idolatrous practices of the idolatrous nations whose religious rituals involved unnatural and unhealthy sexual practices. In spite of having made a promise to obey God about these things, the people of Israel went to the nearby Moabite city, hobnobbed at the temple of Baal-Peor, and indulged in their gross practices (Numbers 25:3).

God, through Moses, showed strong disapproval, and people in the camp were in a spirit of repentance and mourning for their sins. In spite of all this, one of the princely leaders of Israel brought the object of God’s anger to his own tent: a Moabite princess (Numbers 25:4-6; 14,15). Pinehas the priest, in zeal and indignation toward the cause of God, took a javelin and pieced them both during their contemptuous act (Numbers 25:8). Just as God caused a plague to erupt in the whole camp because of the rebellious sin of one, God also caused the plague to cease because of the righteousness of one, Pinehas.

God’s mercy is at the same level as His indignation. Just like the ill-inspired deeds of one man can cause a group, a church, a society, or a country to be the object of God’s wrath, the God-inspired righteous zeal of one man can cause the plague to be removed.

Oh, that God may give us ‘men’ who have the ‘guts’ and righteous zeal to be moved and pray fervently about their part in eradicating the evil that affects us.
Thank God for Jesus Christ--he had the ‘guts’ to stay the plague from us by taking our sin upon his responsible shoulders, and thereby executing judgment.

1 Timothy 5:20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY

Psalms 106:29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.

The writer of this psalm uses the events in the children of Israel’s desert journey as a platform for precedents. He reiterates parts of it to form spiritual lessons that unveil to us the character of the Lord; to reveal His likes and dislikes.

This story refers to a time when the children of Israel camped by a Moabite city. Balak, the Moabite King hired Balaam the prophet to curse them, but Balaam, under the threat and inspiration of the Angel of the Lord blessed them instead (Numbers 22,23,24). As the story continues; it tells us that the children of Israel committed fornication and idolatry with the Moabites, and therefore brought down a curse upon (Numbers 25).

The Lord must get very frustrated with us sometimes. He gives us His Word to lead and guide us; He even works for us as He foils the enemy’s plans against us. The question then to ask ourselves is: as individuals or even as a corporate groups, how many of our problems, sicknesses and our financial difficulties How many of our sociaux-political problems and family breakdowns are self-inflicted, due to our disobeying His rules of conduct because of our going after the ‘forbidden fruit’?

It has been said that the only thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history. Can we break this vicious cycle?

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

AS THE DOG RETURNS TO HIS VOMIT . . .

Psalms 106:28b . . . and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

Idolatrous worship often included necromantic activities. People would use the organs of dead animals sacrificed to their dead god to divine the future.

We humans seem to never learn, we always return to the same thing. Eve was not satisfied in the spiritually perfect realm of the Garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit. The children of Israel despised being owned by the living God of the universe and made a golden calf--they returned to Egyptian witchcraft.

It is easy to understand the plight and have compassion on those who have never known the living God. They roam in an esoteric junkyard realm, desperately groping, trying to find spiritual substance to feed their poor shriveled soul. But how saddening it must be for the living God who gives us the pure living waters of life when we, who know the wholesome light of His spirit, return to the works of darkness. Why should we trust the works of the flesh, the wisdom of man, or dark sciences (Matthew 7:15) to find purpose and life?

Let us, with holy repulsion, lay aside the filthy elements of the world and with godly appreciation, let us wholly feed on the kosher meat of His Word (John 6:55), and drink the fresh living waters of His Spirit. Let us not only be full satisfying ourselves, but let it fill us to the point of overflowing to the people that daily cross our path.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

TO EAT HEALTHY SPIRITUAL FOOD

Psalms 106:28a They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, . . .

We know that when we feed on junk food instead of good healthy food, we injure our physical health. Our body becomes deformed and we feel uncomfortable as we reap the fruit of an improper diet. The same goes with our spirit. It is the holy of holies of our humanity. Only the kosher dedicated food of God should be consumed in it, and we cannot indulge in the philosophical ‘sweet’ doctrines of man without injuring and confusing it.

Once we reject the living oracles of a living faith by a living God, we are only one step away from legalism, ritualism and eventually, mysticism. Once we separate ourselves from the truth that God pleads for us to receive, we are left dependant on the errors of man’s wisdom, listening to the rhetoric of wise religious philosophers and therefore doomed to their spiritual confusion; and from this seed of spiritual confusion grows idolatry.

May God help us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) of the material we feed our mind, heart and spirit; and not only to ours, but also to be diligent to feed the hearts of our children with the kosher food of His Word coming from His spirit.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

WHAT HE SAYS HAPPENS

Psalms 106:26-27 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.

The Bible tells of countless nations, kingdoms, empires and individuals whom God promised to destroy because they incurred His wrath. This stands as an earmark of the divine authorship of its words. The study of history teaches us that whom God said should be destroyed, has been destroyed. In the ancient world, one of the most threatening forms of destructions, as a person or as a nation, was the termination of the family or tribal name and therefore, of the descendance.

In the case of the children of Israel, the Bible tells us that God made a promise of perpetual descendance to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. This promise was to be fulfilled through someone from the tribe of Judah, the son of Israel (Jacob) (Genesis 32:28), to be born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2). The Bible also tells us that the land of Canaan was given to the children of Israel under conditions of obedience to God’s laws; that if they did not obey Him, He would scatter them throughout the nations (Leviticus 36:13-42), and give the land to a more worthy one (Matthew 21:33-36).

The children of Israel disobeyed, and disobedience cannot go unpunished (Romans 6:23). The Assyrian empire conquered the ten northern tribes which then dispersed into the world, but God preserved Judea until such a time when He fulfilled His promises in Jesus.. Forty years after Jesus crucifixion, Judea was also scattered into the nations.

Such is the fruit of sin in the world. Attachment to the land no longer bears the importance that it did in the past. Mankind has now become a wanderer and is no longer ‘grounded’—he has lost his connection and attachment to the land. His descendance is scattered all over the world. Thank God that as in the case of the Jewish nation, the promise of a return home, of a gathering of our seed is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. We will all meet in New Jerusalem, the kingdom that he has prepared for all of us who long to go home after a long journey through the wilderness (John 14:2-3; Revelations 21:2-3).

Revelation 22:2-3 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

A GOOD TRADE

Psalms 106:24-25 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.

God promised the children of Israel a land that flowed with milk and honey--a rich land, the glory of all lands (Ezekiel 20:6), a land of their own. He proved his power to them by delivering them from Egypt, their land of bondage, with his mighty hand. He took them by that same hand and led them every step of the way; supplied them with water from a rock and with food from heaven. Yet, in spite of all the support God gave them, they despised the land of promise. They despised the future heaven God had prepared for them; to them, it was not worth the trouble, it was not worth crossing the harsh desert, it was not worth fighting for. “Let us go back to the bread of Egypt, to its flesh pots (Exodus 16:3),” they cried.

Our future dwelling in heaven is still earmarked with the notion of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). To acquire it, we must leave this world behind. We are not going there with our I-pods, favorite music, jewelry, houses, lands, cars, nor any of our worldly trinkets. Should we complain? Does that give us a sense of loss? Paul said that compared to knowing Jesus, he counted all things on earth as dung (Philippians 3:8).

It is a bad sign when the child of God despises his God-given heritage and future blessings and desires to dwell among the flesh pots of the world. It is a bad sign when we value the things of the world more than the land of promise Jesus has gone to prepare for us (John 14:2-3). It is a bad sign when the physical realm has such a grip on us that we do not appreciate the beauty and blessings of the spiritual realm. It is a bad sign when we murmur against he Lord because His blessings may cost a little. Complaining against the blessings of the Lord comes from doubt, and doubts come from not believing his Word.

Do we look at the children of Israel in a critical way because of these things? Let us conjure in our minds our own picture of the millennium to come--how do we see it? Is it a picture where we are surrounded with all the things of this world that are important to us, or is it a picture of deliverance from the bondage of the madness of the materialism that has brought the world to the brink of destruction?

Oh, the freedom that surrounds us when we have truly surrendered all to Him and are liberated from the flesh pots of “Egypt”. Oh the beauty that appears when our spiritual vision is cleared from material obstructions. No more murmuring, only thankfulness; no more complaints, only gratefulness.

1 Timothy 6:5-6 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain.

JESUS, THE MEDIATORY INTERCESSOR

August 6

Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

From his conception, Moses is a primary earthly figure directing us to the understanding of what the Messiah’s role on earth would be. The edict in Egypt sought Moses’ life even as Herod would seek the life of the young Jesus. Just like Jesus after his flight to Egypt as a child, Moses was called out of Egypt to be with his people. Moses left his people as criminal but returned to deliver them even as Jesus suffered the crucifixion as a criminal but gave everlasting life to those who trust in Him.

Moses provided water from a rock; Jesus is the water and the rock. Moses prayed for bread from heaven; Jesus is the bread from heaven. Moses brought the Word of God’s instructions engraved in stone; Jesus is the Word of instruction made flesh engraved in our heart. Moses acted a mediator when people could not hear from God themselves, Jesus is the mediator between God and Man. Moses interceded for the people against the wrath of God; Jesus takes the punishment for us. Moses prayed to divert the wrath of God from us; he ordered Aaron the high priest to prepare a sacrifice of atonement (Numbers 16:46-48). Jesus prayed for us and became the sacrifice of atonement; He is the lamb, the altar and the shed blood.

Jesus told us that we, like Moses, should also pray and not faint (Luke 18:1); Paul advised us to pray for presidents and kings (! Timothy 2:1-2), and James pleaded that we’d pray one for another that we may be healed (James 5:16).

God is still in the business of answering prayers. Let us therefore join the rank of the great men and women of God, and with the sacrifice of intercessory tears for our husbands, wives, children, friends, soldiers, and politicians, tap more fervently from this all too often ignored primary resource. If prayer changes things, if things are not changed, it could lie with our lack of intercessory prayer.

James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

HUMAN IRONY

Psalms 106:21-22 They forgat God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt; Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

This is an image of the decadence of man’s spirituality; a tragic picture of the conditioning of the human spirit; a satire to the pride of mankind mixed with a warning to future generations.

When we are given a chance at betterment in our lives, we all too often complain that it comes through those who seem to know more about things than we do; people like us, our peers, who have gone through and graduated from something we are still gripped by. This challenges our sensitive pride and leaves us with the humbling feeling that we are not valued at our true worth. Our complaints are then transformed into a cynical vilifying of the personality of our wise counselors, which in our own eyes brings them down to our low level, and excuses us from listening to their wise counsel.

Sad to say, we also do that with God. We don’t like his wise control over our lives; his obvious superiority gives us an inferiority complex which is really a ‘superiority complex’ born of pride.

While at the Mount of God, the children of Israel were asked to agree to God’s laws before they even heard them (Exodus 19:3-8); they were to wait on Moses’ return not knowing if he would even return (Exodus 32:1); they were in a total state of dependency to God, and faced with the most basic of all elements of faith: the fact that none of us as nations, societies, communities or individuals are self-sufficient.

We obviously are unable to govern ourselves and, except by the grace and mercy of God, we make an absolute mess of our personal lives. In spite of empiric historical evidence to these facts, we insist on wanting to know “better” than God. We certainly do not want a God who will lead us, poor dumb sheep, in the pastures of His great wisdom (Psalms 23:10.) We want a God in the similitude of an ox that we can lead about to serve us in our own pleasures; a god that we can yoke to go our way, one whose love for us is proven by indulging us. How parallel to the picture of the “loving god” many of us are tempted to imagine, what a blatant picture of man’s pride.

Let us now, humanity even in the person of each one of us, kneel in our prayer closet and affirm to him who created all things our utter dependence on his wisdom as nations and individuals. Let us yield to His yoke and let our soul receive the rest it desperately needs.

Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

JESUS, THE ONLY PRIEST, ALTAR AND SACRIFICE.

Psalms 106:17-18 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. (18) And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

Two hundred fifty princes of the children of Israel had gathered together to challenge Moses and Aaron’s authority (Numbers 16). The people didn’t just challenge their authority, but also their claim to leadership. Accusations of pride and self-elevation were leveled and a full-scale mutiny was on its way. Korah, a Levite, led the rebellion with two other people from the tribe of Reuben. Their argument was that since everyone is holy, it doesn’t really matter who’s in charge; they had lost respect for God’ s messianic election of Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1).

Moses, a very pragmatic man, did not care to justify himself in front of these men; he took his case to the God who had instructed him. The levitical law expressedly forbade any non ordained religious services. Under sentence of death, services had to be ordained by God, conducted in His way, by the person of His choice (Leviticus 10:1-2). This law was an exercise to the concept of respecting the one and only atonement made for our sins in the form and manner of Jesus Christ. All Moses had to do was to tell them, “Alright, you most likely remember what happened to those who offer unauthorized sacrifices. If God ordained you, bring your censers close to the tabernacle and let’s see what happens” (Numbers 16:5-7). They did as Moses said, and they were consumed in the fiery judgment of the Lord.

God may work with us about certain things like He did with Lot (Genesis 19:20-21). But His role in our lives, as well as the atoning role of Jesus is not up to a vote, nor even for discussion. Moses and Aaron were types and images of the future role Jesus and the Holy Sprit would play in our lives. They therefore could not be upstaged. Jesus said, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Matthew 12:31). The people who came to Moses attributed themselves a religious position of leadership that God had not ordained, which is blasphemy.

A time is coming, and its shadow is already upon us, when the people of the world will replace Yehovah with a god carved according to their own value system (Revelations 13). Those guilty of this great transgression will suffer the same fate as those of the rebellion in the desert (Revelations 19:20).

Let us make sure that Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah ordained of God, is the only atoning sacrifice in our heart. Let us rely solely on His saving blood without any adulteration from our own works and concepts. Let us serve Him with His ordained will, without the confusion of our own. Let us humbly yield our heart to God who knows best.

Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

GOD’S AUTHORITY AND CONVICTION

Psalms 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.

God asked Moses and Aaron to perform an impossible task. God, in his wisdom, knew the nature of mankind and their habit of persecuting those who come in His authority. God’s leaders are always subject the harsh criticism from those they try to guide.

Moses had the special link with God. This link was that of a mediator between God and man, the foreshadowing of Jesus’ role. Aaron, Moses’ brother was the High priest. He executed the perpetual atonement sacrifices. Through the levitical offerings, Aaron was like a foreshadow of the Holy Sprit, constantly reminding and convicting people of their sins (John 16:8). Moses and Aaron were the physical representation of authority and conviction. These are very needed elements for a well-balanced godly life, but sad to say, we vehemently naturally, consciously and sub-consciously, fight against God’s authority and conviction in our lives.

We naturally chaff against God’s authoritative control over us. We subconsciously justify ourselves against conviction. Our natural rebellion usually finds no other way to manifest itself than to lash out in critical attacks against those vessels who represent authority and conviction. Our wounded pride blinds us to the hard work and sacrifice of those who care for us and tries to find fault with them. Our deflated ego numbs us to our own faults, and we look at the vessel of God’s conviction with bloody envy.

Jesus ‘took the flak’ of our rebelliousness once and for all. It is a good thing that now the only people we can take our rebellion to are: God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Human pastors can relieve themselves of this ungrateful task by leading the flock to the Word who will do its work in people’s lives through the Holy Spirit.

May God help us not to become one of those who in the time of God’s wrath on the earth will lift their fist and blame God for the problems they brought upon themselves (Revelations 6:9). Let us voluntarily yield our hearts to God’s gentle leading conviction, and humbly receive the light that exposes us to ourselves, so day by day, we can grow into mature spirituality

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

THANK GOD FOR UNANSWERED PRAYERS

Psalms 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

Indulgence is so often equated with love. We think that we show love to a child when we pamper him with things. In the same way, we equate God’s love for us with the measure of answered prayers.

Answered prayer is no proof of God’s favor. When traveling in the Sinai desert, God provided the children of Israel with a food correspondent to their lifestyle. Due to the heat and lack of refrigeration, meat would have been unhealthy. But the people were unthankful for this health diet coming from the heart of the great Dietitian, and they sniffed at angels’ food (Psalms 78:25). They desired meat and God gave them so much of it that it made them sick (Numbers 11:32.).

It is the reality of our nature that we do not appreciate the good that God does to us in spite of ourselves, until He’s allowed us a taste of the bad we so much desire. When we retrace our lives with the wisdom afforded by the years, we sometimes realize how we have pushed for certain things and frustrated ourselves in our own efforts to make them happen, only to be left with ashes between our teeth and bitterness in our hearts. When we are so stubborn, God may allow us to learn our lesson by letting us have our own way and then reap the results.

Let us therefore make sure that we are yielded to God in all things. That we pray intelligently, importunately if need be, but that when all is said and done, we also leave things in his hands in the complete trust that he knows best.

Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

THE SECURE INSECURITY OF GOD

Psalms 106:13-14 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

When Moses was on the mount getting the instructions that would become the code of ethics for Israel and eventually the whole world, the children of Israel became impatient. Even though life was hard in Egypt, they were used to its dainties and sense of security (Numbers 11:5). When things got hard in the desert, and life required more faith on their part as individuals, they quickly went back and carved the golden calf of the security of corporate pagan faith, which allowed them more of what they wanted, and required less personal sacrifice and dependence on God.

It is easy to criticize the Children of Israel for these doubts and rebellion against God after they witnessing such strong miracles of his power, but how do we fare today?

Each day we are sustained by the strength of the manna of God’s grace and forgiveness and we freely drink of the abundant waters of His life empowering Living Words. We enjoy the benefits of answered prayers and are blessed with the fellowship of like-spirited people. Yet in spite of all these things, especially when things get difficult, don’t we sometimes want to give up this life of faith, this seemingly uncertain dependence on God, and hanker and lust after the seeming ease in the ungodly lifestyle of the world of mammon (Luke 16:13)?

Waiting on God can be so difficult for many of us; we quickly forget the testimony of his works. It seems so much easier to rest our faith on the visible ‘golden calf’ of our own efforts, carnal wisdom and personalized religion. Let us not do so, but learning from the mistakes of the past, let us, at the times that God appoints in our lives, patiently sit at the foot of the mount and wait for His instruction.

Luke 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

THE TESTIMONY

Psalms 106:11-12 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

The Lord does nothing halfway. In the day that he delivers his children from their enemies, he executes a full deliverance and there is no doubt as to who gets the credit for it.

When God desired to take a people from among the many tribes living on the earth, a people through whom he would reveal the character of His beloved Son to the world, He chose the children of Israel. To win their trust and confidence, God first chose for them a leader from among them, one who was familiar with the Egyptian culture in which they lived. God also performed many mighty miracles in their midst while He delivered them from their oppressors. When all was said and done, there was no doubt in the mind of people in the region that God was with the children of Israel, and that he performed mighty miracles for them (Exodus 14). There was no doubt either in the mind of the children of Israel as to whom to accredit their complete deliverance. It was after they witnessed all these things, that they believed His Words and sang His praises. These events were forever to be their testimony to the nations.

In the same manner, Jesus Christ lived among us; He was subjected to everything we are subjected to (Hebrews 4:15). Like Moses, Jesus was familiar with our lives on earth. By the miracle of resurrection, Jesus delivers us from the enemy of our soul who would otherwise love to keep us in bondage. As the waters of the Red Sea closed in on the Egyptian army, it delivered Israel from its pursuing enemy, and created a separating gulf between the two. In the same way, the waters of baptism drown the enslaving power the enemy wants to exercise on our soul, and creates a separation between our old life and us.

Let us then, as the children of Israel did after their miraculous deliverance, believe his Words, sing his praises, and live lives that reflect the testimony of his power.

1 Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

A HATED LOVE

Psalms 106:10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

There is the kind of hate that we receive from people because of their vindictive spirit. We have wronged them and they are hurt. They do not know how to suffer themselves to be defrauded. They do not know how to take wrong (1 Corinthians 6:7).

There is also the hate of people who are just plain hateful. They are self-righteous and contentious. They do not like anything that does not project their personal views and opinions. This is close to the hate of religious people who, in their zealous misguided efforts to obey the Lord’s injunction to hate evil (Psalms 97:10), look at people in a critical way, hating them for their weaknesses instead of directing their hatred towards sin and love them with the love of Jesus Christ who sees beyond our weaknesses.

There is also political and ethnic hatred where we are hated because we belong to a different race or culture. People persecute and ostracize us because we are not part of their cultural clique. We see this happen throughout world history, a history that is rich in religious and cultural wars, and even cases of ethnic cleansing. Christian kids are also targeted by the “cool cats” of this generation, put aside as “uncool” because they do not want to yield to evil peer pressure.

On the other hand, the child of God, regardless of his cultural or social background, from the moment he is saved, incurs the hate of the very enemy of God. From the moment we invite Jesus to live in us, we represent everything Satan hates. From birth control to abortion, war, car accidents, ethnic cleansing, bad company, the devil will use everything in his arsenal of evil to physically kill as many Christians as he can, or even more so, killing them spiritually by rendering them useless by leading them to live a life in compromise of their Christian values.

We need to be aware of the devices of the evil one who as a roaring lion walks about seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8), but most of all we need to be aware of the One who from the beginning redeems us from the hands of him that hates us.

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

THE ONE AND ONLY ONE

Psalms 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

When the Children sat on the shore of Nueba Beach on the eastern arm of the Red Sea, they were not going to the Promised Land. To go from Goshen to Canaan, they did not need to cross the Red Sea. They were going to Mt Sinai, in Arabia (Galatians 4:25), to do exactly what Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had to do before they could inherit the promises of God. The Children of Israel were coming out their familiar world and surroundings, to go to a place where they could hear God and God alone. They accepted to be put in a position of total surrender and dependence.

God does not take second place, nor even does He take His rank among the myriad of other choices that compete for our attention. When He wants to bless us, He wants to eliminate all the other ‘competitors’; He wants to be the One and the only One. God led the Children of Israel on that path because he wanted them to cut off their bridges behind them; to put the sea, the desert and thereby the possibility of return between them and Egypt (Exodus 13:17-18). On their way to that Mountain in the land of Median, they were going to hear from God.

When we are on our way to hear from Him, God will hear the news from afar off that His child is coming to Him. He will anxiously wait on the top of the nearest hill expecting at any time to see the silhouette of His beloved child. God will send His armies like a cloud to escort the returning prodigal. They will stand between His son and his pursuing enemy; they will be light to show him the way and blindness to his enemies (Exodus 14:19-20); they will make for him a pathway through the sea to show him the way; they will take off the wheels from the chariot of his pursuers and drown them into the sea (Exodus 14:25). God will also send His servants ahead in the wilderness to provide food and water for His beloved child (Exodus 16:15; 17:6).

There are times in our lives when God seems to let everything fail around us; times when we are back to square one, back to the drawing board of listening to Him and trying to find His will. Let us not fear these times. Let us not fear loosing control of our own destiny; let us not fear God getting into the ‘driver’s seat’ of our lives telling us to take a nap in the back of the car and let Him drive. Rather let us enjoy being carried on the wings of the wind of His will in utter dependence to Him. Patiently sit at the foot of the Mount, waiting for His Word (let us not, in our impatience carve the golden calf of our own will (Exodus 32:1-4)). If during these times we wait for Him, He will give us the Word that will change and redirect our lives in the way we should live to enjoy the Land of His Promises.

Heb 6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

HE SAVES US FOR HIS NAMES’ SAKE

Psalms 106:7-8 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. (8) Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.

It is not until children grow up and have a turn in the role of parenthood that they are able to truly appreciate what their parents have done for them. We, as parents, know the anguish, tears, desperate prayers and long night watches spent at the bedside of a sick child. We are accustomed with the worries and concerns that plague us as our dear one is suddenly faced with the brand new issues of teenage hood. We are familiar with the dilemma of not being able to afford to give a child something very important to them, and have been faced with the deep sacrifices required to secure their future. Most of all, when all is said and done, we also know the scorn, criticism and ungratefulness of the young ‘buck’ who like the proverbial prodigal son, proudly leaves the family den to show us ‘how it should be done’. He then squanders our love and care on what does not profit, only to come back years later with his tail between his legs’ begging for cash to get him out of a ‘pickle’ and to get a chance to a new start. Taking the issue down one more knot, only a parent, no matter what the child has done, will continue to love, care, show concern and mercy to a child, even through a microphone behind the glass of a prison’s visiting room, or during visits at a recovery center.

When the prodigal son returned home, his father told the older son, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine” (Luke 15:31). The older brother was now the sole inheritor of the father’s wealth. The younger brother had lost all except one thing: the love of his Father; he was still welcome at the father’s table, as a son. This story is the analogy that Jesus gave to describe God’s relationship with those of the household of God. This story is to show us the love He has for us, as a parent.

Not only He loves us, but also He seems to care about His sample to us as a parent. When a parent abandons his child just because he is bad, this parent might be looked down upon by others. So God, that he might make his mighty power to be known (Psalms 106:8) saves us. That is the miracle of His loving grace and power that He saves us, once we return unto Him.

1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

JESUS, THE ATONEMENT OF THE NATIONS

Psalms 106:6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.

A nation is blessed or punished according to the acts of its king. When a king is godly, makes wise choices according to God’s spirit, God blesses the nation with increase, wisdom, the favor of its neighbors, internal peace, security and an overall sense of growth towards righteousness and virtue. This is a spiritual principle and new righteous empires have often grown out of the ashes of their decadent, indulgent and wicked predecessors. In turn, when this new empire also backslides from the virtue that earned it God’s blessing, it also becomes the prey of its more righteous conqueror.

This generation is proud and does not like to admit to faults and sins; it justifies itself to its own conscience with ‘conditions’, and ‘syndromes’, but healing and forgiveness can only come after full admission of error. David, a man of God not unaffected by human passions, knew how to eventually humble himself before God and endorse not just his own sins, but also the sins of his ancestors and that of the nation. Like Moses, he was a true mediator of the people, and God blessed the country when under his rule.

Oh that God may give us kings, rulers who refuse to pride themselves on the arm of the flesh; who know not only to seek God about their own sin, but to also acknowledge the sins of their fathers and of their nation; kings who have the spirit of atonement for their people, who seek God’s blessing fro them even at their own hurt; then and only then, will we again draw God’s blessing upon our land.

When the world will have come to the end of its own unraveling, when its economy, politics and diplomacy will arrive at the impasse of all impasses, when it will have pushed itself into a corner, Jesus the Messiah, the king of glory who atones for the sins of all nations, the One who even has not sinned atones by taking on our sins, will make a triumphal entry on the world’s scene (Revelations 19:11). He will show of us how we have sinned in our pride show us the example of a true king.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

JESUS, THE EARNEST OF THE GOOD THINGS TO COME

Psalms 106:5 That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.

This expression of longing is introduced to us by David’s supplication for salvation in the preceding verse: Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation. David calls salvation: the favour that God bears to His people.

Our lives are often complicated; it is sometimes hard to make sense of things. Many of us grope in such darkness that we do not even see even one full step ahead of us. We do not understand the injustices, the sicknesses, the sufferings, the conflicts between people and between countries where more often than not, innocent young soldiers and civilians pay the price of political debacle and confusion.

Let us now for an instant turn our eyes and look to the promises David anticipated. He was hungry for salvation because he wanted to see the good of God’s chosen. He wanted to rejoice in the gladness of the nation of God and be a partaker of the glory with God’s inheritance. David knew that the promises of God made to His people were first to be fulfilled through the coming Messiah; that through salvation, he would see goodness and rejoicing with God’s people of all the earth.

So no matter how dark is the night for the child of God in this realm, we have the promise of a glorious dawn at the edge of eternity; of a time when the promises made to the fathers will be fulfilled in the children; of the time when Jesus Christ will reign supreme. He will then teach each of us His Words that tell us how the world should have been run and how to solve problems and differences maturely. He will also teach us that wealth is in the ability to give and not to take; that power is in the ability to command virtue in ourselves, not in the in the control of others, and that God’s love is the motivating principle by which all of creation was designed (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25).

In the meantime, God has given us an advance on these things: He gave us the earnest of the spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22); so even if today we have very little control in the way the world is being run, we can already look to the spirit of God to bring peace to our lives and to that of those around us.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

YASHUA, THE BODY FROM THE SHADOWS

Psalms 106:4-5 Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation; That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.

This man, this great King of Israel, this commander in chief of the armies of the Lord, was a great statesman, as well as a great prophet. He was a Hebrew descendant from the Hebrew *Abraham (Genesis 14:13); an Israelite after Jacob the son of Isaac (Genesis 32:28); a Jew from the tribe of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob through Leah, his wife (Genesis 29:35). David was under the covering of the levitical religious system, and yet, yet he asked God to visit him with the salvation which was to come through Jesus Christ, his descendant one thousand years later.

Unlike today, ancient Hebrews knew that God had a Son who would one day come to Jerusalem and redeem them from the curse of the original sin (Genesis 3). As Moses told children of Israel about the Messiah’s future physical arrival on the world scene, he also told them that one day a prophet would come and that they were to listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15). The prophet Isaiah told us that this ‘servant’ would be the lamb that would take upon himself the sin of the people (Isaiah 53).

Before Jesus came, the sins of the people were redeemed by the sacrifice of an innocent animal. The blood of this animal was sprinkled on the altar of the Ark of the Covenant. The blood of Jesus, the sinless Son of God, is the last innocent blood shed for the sins of mankind. Man loves temples, buildings, rituals and ceremonies. It is a tendency for him to look back at these ancient days with nostalgia. He seems to always want to recreate a religion based on the elements of temples, priesthood, and rituals; but for the born-again child of God, there is no more need of this type, for Jesus Christ, is the anti-type. He is the temple, the Ark, the altar, the sacrifice, the blood, and the high priest all together in one. He is also the Sabbath of our rest, the kosher meat of the Word and the waters of purification. The Jerusalem of our peace is the New Jerusalem to come, the tabernacle of God that will come to dwell on the earth, the restored tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16; Revelations 21-22).

Let us therefore not dwell in the religious elementary school of shadows, types and pictures, but with full faith endorse the diploma of graduation of spiritual salvation, for the worship of a spiritual God in our hearts.

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

*Abram is called “the Hebrew”, either from his passing over or coming beyond the river Euphrates, from Ur in Chaldea into Canaan. The Hebrew word “Hebrew” is “ivree, from the Hebrew verb, “laavor” meaning “to go over”. According to the Talmudists Ur of the Chaldees was called עיברא זעירא, "little Ibra".

JESUS, THE ALTAR THAT SANCTIFIES THE GIFT

Psalms 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

What praise, what beatitude, what truth!

At the end of the long road of life, we take stock of our existence. If we are honest in our assessment, we see that whenever we followed God, whenever we kept His judgments and did His righteousness, we were blessed. We also realize that whenever we stubbornly clung to our own ways pushing to fulfill our personal desires, we created our own doom. We therefore come to the conclusion that if we had done things God’s way all the time, we also would have been blessed all the time; but we didn’t. We didn’t because our human nature is such that it fights against the ways of God (Romans 7:18-23).

What then? If the very nature of which I am made keeps me from the very blessedness God intended for me, what good is it for me? Is the above scripture the teasing of a God who satirically enjoys setting before His children ‘cookies’ that are impossible to reach? Maybe this statement is to blame for the present attitude of a world which decides to indulge in pleasures today because ‘tomorrow we die’. After all, what good is it to put forth the effort if it is impossible?

Yes; it is impossible; but the things which are impossible with men are possible with God (Luke 18:27). The end of man’s strength, is the beginning of God’s opportunity. In the prophetic statement of the text above, David saw the living Messiah; the one who would take upon Himself the sin of the world; the embodiment of the perpetual levitical atonement blood of sacrifice; the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

How many of us whose hearts have been sprinkled (Exodus 12:7) by the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ still, subconsciously, define righteousness through our own ‘works’ and attitudes? A lifetime may not be enough for us to grasp the fullness of His mercy.

Don’t we remember what Jesus taught us, that it is the altar that sanctifies the gift, not the gift the altar (Matthew 23:19). Jesus is the altar, the lamb and the shed blood. Let us now lay ourselves on the altar of His person, to be healed by His broken body (Luke 22:19) and by His stripes of righteousness (Isaiah 53:5); to be forgiven by His shed blood of atonement (Matthew 26:28). Let us give up all personal attempts at righteousness, knowing that His blood, and His blood alone is able to make us walk in God’s judgment, doing His righteousness all the time.

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

THE SURE PROMISES OF GOD

July 22, 2006
Psalms 106:1-2 Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can shew forth all his praise?

King David ordered the liturgy of the Temple worship. His songs were, and are still used for praise in Jewish worship. The sentence in the above text is written in the imperative. This is a command for the whole congregation to praise the Lord. It is not only the duty of the priests and choirs to praise the Lord but the whole congregation was probed to worship God and acknowledge the greatness of His mighty acts.

In any text, book, movie, story, documentary, it is easy to remain at the surface of the story line, and miss the essentials of the message. When talking about God’s mighty acts, we may imagine the creation of the universe in six days (Genesis 1); the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21); people strengthened, healed, resurrected (Hebrews 11), and the coming down of the final new Jerusalem (Revelations 21-22).; but what are these mighty acts that David conveys in his song of praise to the Lord?

The song starts and ends with Praise ye the Lord, the English translation for the Hebrew praise: Hallelujah. The space in between the two praises is filled with the mournful accounts of Israel’s willful disobediences to God. This psalm tells us of God’s mercy towards His flock, His people, His children, His wife, and His church even in spite of their rebellious defiance. This song reminds us that even though the fathers have sinned, the children inherit the promise. This song assures us that God’s promises are not conditional, that like the one made to Abraham (Genesis 15:4-6), they hold their weight in gold; that they will be fulfilled, no matter what you or I can do.

These are the unutterable mighty acts of God for who can equate with His patience, with the mercy He shows? We are so quick to go after revenge, justice and retaliation, but God, while never compromising righteousness, finds a way, even at His own cost, to fulfill His promises of mercy. May Jesus Christ, the Son of God through whom the promises are fulfilled be praised forever.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

PRAISE HIM WITH CLEAN HANDS

Psalms 103:20-22 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. (21) Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. (22) Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

Is someone ‘good’ just because they believe in the virtue of goodness? Is someone clean just because they believe cleanliness is right? Is someone honest just because they acquiesce that honesty is a good thing? Is someone a Christian just because he attends a church?

What would we think of a child who praises his parents up and down, claims to acknowledge and agree with their wisdom in decision-making, confesses desire to emulate them and yet, in his daily behavior, does everything contrary to their bidding. That child would certainly be viewed as a hypocrite and a liar wouldn’t he?

It is a sad thing today that while praising their Father in Heaven, God’s children everywhere rob, lie, kill; rely on the arm of flesh rather than that of God; worship God that they fashioned according to their own ways, and are more attentive to the traditions of man than to the commandment of the God almighty that they claim created them (Matthew 15:3). By our example, we, who are supposed to be the custodians of the faith imparted to us, have sadly been the biggest enemies of its propagation. The apostle Paul severely rebuked the Roman church for such behavior, and told then that the name of God was blasphemed among the unbelievers because of their hypocritical sample (Romans 2:17-24).

That is why Jesus Christ told us that the heart of the law of God was justice and mercy (Matthew 23:23); obedience not sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22); and that if we have ought against our ‘brother’, He would rather that we leave aside our sacrificial service to Him and reconcile with him first (Matthew 5:23-24).

Let us now seriously and honestly ponder these things. Let us raise unto God praises cleaned from malice and envy; let us offer a service purified from our owns works of disobedience; let us match our walk with our talk.

Romans 2:13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

HE WILL MAKE ALL THINGS RIGHT

Psalms 103:19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Looking at the increasing freak weather events, at the insanity of escalating wars, the plague of rampant urban crime, and at the mounting seismologic instability, the conditions of the earth today could be described with these words from the second verse of the first chapter in the Bible book of Genesis: the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: confusion. The consolation of every God-fearing human being on the globe is that The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. That He will some day soon come to the earth, separate the light from the darkness and bring order out of the confusion of six thousand years of man’s rule (Genesis 1). By the sovereignty of His own spirit, He will to calm the ‘sea’ of religious, political and natural instability (Mathew 8:26) and establish His loving rule over all of mankind (Revelations 19:15).

Our personal lives can at times also feel like a tangled mass of confusion, and this consolation offered us concerning the world of tomorrow can be very small for many of us when it comes to the hope needed to overcome today’s problems. The good news is that the Lord reigns also in the lives and hearts of His subjects. He does not force Himself on us, but He reigns as a loving ruler who endeavors to win the loyalty of His people.

As we watch our ships returned with broken sails; as we hopelessly stare at the tangled mess of our own plans; as we ponder upon the confusion of our personal lives, let us honestly (Luke 8:15) in spirit and in truth (John 4:23), look to the One who reigns over us all and yield, surrender our hearts to Him. He will separate the light form the darkness, the truth from the lies, the chaff from the wheat, the true hope from the false dream.

1 Corinthians 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

THE ROAD MAP TO PEACE

Psalms 103:17-18 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; (18) To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

After pondering the vanity and futility of the days of man (Psalms 103:15-16), let us wonder at the Lord’s perpetual mercy and righteousness. How is it that the intelligent man of today cannot see that without the eternal God that created him his life is doomed to emptiness? The temporal tabernacle of our flesh (2 Corinthians 5:1) incases a soul that is hungry for eternity. To withhold the spirit of God from its eternal destiny and force it to live within the narrow confines of human flesh, is denying the wings of an eagle the freedom of the mountain’s mighty wind by forcing it to live in a cage (John 3:8).

The world stands on the verge of blowing itself to pieces. Many lives are daily shattered by the evils of wars-- religious wars. All sides claim to have an edge on God, but who truly fears Him and His righteousness? Who keeps His covenant and remembers His commandments to do them? They have religiously thrown their silver and their gold at the altar of man’ justice and vengeance, and their political priests have built them the golden calf of enmity with God (Exodus 32:2-4). The Words of God’s covenant of peace tells us, ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it (Numbers 35:33). So much blood has been shed, but Jesus Christ has enough ‘blood’ to cleanse the land.

Come now, all humanity; come arm in arm and heart to heart. Come to the only Rock that pours forth the only ‘holy water’ of peace. Come now to the great gates of Zion, come to pay your respects to the One, the only one who has written in His blood the covenant of peace for the world. Come and let Him write in your heart His commandments of love and true righteousness. Let dropping tears of repentance replace missiles; the pricks of a convicted heart replace vengeance, and pure white snow cover offenses.

1 Corinthians 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

TOMORROW, A FADING FLOWER.

Psalms 103:15-16 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. (16) For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

My friend, Marshall, refurbished old computers that he would donate to schools and ministries. I sent many of these machines abroad to fledgling computer training centers in poorer countries. Marshall had turned his garage into a computer parts warehouse as well as into a workshop where he taught teenagers how to build and maintain computers. What a passion he had for this project! A couple of years later he passed away, and his grown sons emptied the garage and sent it all to the dump. They felt they could finally dispose of this ‘junk’ they felt their father had wasted his time with.

Such a spirit of vanity and uselessness prevails today. A man works his whole life to build an empire, or even a good reputation for his family, but he has no guarantee that his children will take over after him. He can’t be sure that they will not obliterate his hard work after he’s gone. All this generation is left with is the mentality of ‘let’s eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die’, and with very little or no care for future generations. There was a time when a man knew that by his own hard work, he could leave a farm, a company, an inheritance to his children They were thankful and careful to carry on the family business or farm after the father died, even unto their own children. This hope existed in spite of the knowledge that tragedy or the simple passing of time could in a moment dry the flower of the finest of hopes. What is then a man to do to escape this sense of uselessness and emptiness?

Jesus warned us of this when He said, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life…. (John 6:27). He also gave us this parable, The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened (Matthew 13:33). Only what is done for Jesus Christ in this life will resist the corruption of time and the devaluation of the currency of human values. What ever is done for the Kingdom of God will even use time to augment its own worth.

Let us today honestly take stock of the quantum of our life. How much of it is the ‘perishing ’ part, and how much the ‘enduring’ part (John 6:27). Let us make sure to leave behind us an uncorruptaible spiritual inheritance of enduring eternal souls won for His eternal heavenly Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. (14) If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. (15) If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

THE GOD WHOSE SON WAS SPEARED

Psalms 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

In the movie “End of the Spear”, we are introduced to a young Waodani convert, Dayumae. At a young age, she took refuge with foreigners to flee the revenge killings that plagued her tribe. The Waodanis were a primitive people who lived in the Amazon forest of Ecuador. Their social mentality brought them into such a cycle of revenge and retaliation that spearing wars with neighboring tribes nearly brought them to a point of self-annihilation. Life expectancy was so low, no one ever had grandchildren; everyone had at least one close family member who had been speared. It is when they received the Gospel of the God who didn’t want them to kill that they were able to keep their first generation of grandfathers.

In the movie, we are shown how Dayumae was instrumental to this change of behavior. The message she brought was: “God has a Son. God’s Son came on earth to tell us that God doesn’t want us to kill. People speared Him because of this message, but He did not spear back. He did it so that those who speared Him could live well and in peace.” This God could understand the Waodanis; He also had a relative, a son who was ‘speared’.

God’s empathy for our frame is not born out of false or emotional pity. He understands our losses; He also lost a Son, who was tortured and killed for the ransom price of our redemption. His Son voluntarily yielded Himself to everyday things we go through on earth as human beings, as well as to the cruel and painful death of the sinner so He could represent us to the Father--so He could be a worthy and empathic high-priest to us (Hebrews 4:15).

Yes, we have a God who is emotional like we are. He is capable of anger (Exodus 4:14); of repentance (Exodus 32:14); of wrath (Exodus 15:7); of pity (Psalms 103:13); of hate (Proverb 6:16); of empathy (Psalms 103:14); and of hurt (Jeremiah 8:21).

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

THE FATHER’S LOVE

Psalms 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

Oh, how these divine words reflect the expression of our Father’s true love for us. These words should chase any doubt that He truly loves us.

I am a father. Some of my children who have left the nest to live their destiny seem to have forgotten the instructions of godly principles and virtues taught to them when they were younger. I hope the best for them; even if it comes by the way of hard knocks that will lead them back to the paths of the Lord. Often, things have got to get worse before they get better.

Did my children heed all my instructions? No. Did they walk according to my hopes and wishes? No. But are they still my sons? Yes. Am I proud of them? Yes. Do I still love them, pray for them? Yes. Will I be there for them in their day of trouble? Yes. Will it be my joy and comfort even to the point of tears when they finally yield their souls to the God of all spirits? Yes.

To all fathers here I write, to all of us for whom parenthood has left ashes in the teeth, and bitterness in the heart. Do we wonder about the final fate of our wandering children? This I say: if we, who are evil, are capable of grace, care and mercy towards our offspring, how much God, who is perfect, should be capable of the same towards us all, yet without compromising truth and righteousness (Matthew 7:11). Also this I want to ask: can anyone, can any physical or spiritual powers rob God of one of His children? Nay, my friend nay. (John 10:28).

In our pride, we like to have things under our control; we feel that unless we hold in our hands the regulating of the life of people around us, things will fail. Let us now remember this; that as our children leave the family home, as they fly away from under the protection of our wings, they go under the wings and control of Him who has a much greater vantage point and perspective on their lives than we could ever dream to have. He is the Alpha and the Omega; He sees their lives from beginning to end. Who are we then to argue with the lesson plans that He choses for them?

Luke 15:22-24 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (23) And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: (24) For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

SLAVES OR SERVANTS?

Psalms 103:11-12 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. (12) As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

We humans often offend each other. We hold grudges and want restitution. We demand the humiliation of the offender. Ironically, though we walk self-righteously toward those who offend us, we are not blameless ourselves. Mercy is a bridge we all need to cross; to ‘blow it up’ for others only works to our own disadvantage.

The distance between and earth and between East and West are the most extensive dimensions we can think of. Our finite and limited human mind can only speculate about their notions. God, the creator of the heavens, of the earth, and of the whole universe, knows these dimensions. He also knows that they are out of the realm of our human comprehension, and He uses them to tell us that His mercy towards us is grander than anything we can imagine. He can’t put a price on it; it cost His Son to give it to us, and who can price a life? All He asks for in return is that we fear Him: that we recognize Him as God, and that we reverence and give due respect to His commandments and His will in our lives. Who could refuse a God like that? Man tries to live by justice; but only God has the power to give true mercy.

It is ironic that man often refuses the free mercy of God, but will willingly accepts the costly ‘free’ offers of the devil. It is pride that makes us refuse what is freely given to us. We want to work for it, earn it, to deserve it, because it gives us an edge of control. The ultimate irony of that is that the industrial world is a society where the system of lending and interest, people accept to be lured into unnecessary indulgences which forever enslaves them to financial institutions, but yet in pride, refuse to be indebted to God and accept His free gift of mercy. They prefer to be the slaves of the world, than the voluntary servants of God.

We should not be afraid to throw ourselves at God’s mercy, to indebt ourselves to Him in respect and reverence. It only costs the yielding of our lives, only to receive the resurrected life of His Son in return.

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.

GOD’S CLASSROOM

Psalms 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

When God wants to teach His ways to someone, it is an act of His election: God chooses the vessel, and He writes the lesson plan. With the children of Israel, Moses had the privilege of being taught the fullness of God’s ways. He had the leading role in the main act of their history. Like an expectant mother, Moses suffered the apprehension of pregnancy, the pains of labor, the joy of deliverance, and the strenuous work of raising the child to full maturity. Like a mother he pleaded with God’s mercy for them when they disobeyed; he exhorted them daily to follow the commandments of the Lord (Numbers 14).

Moses was the epitome of the true missionary. He saw the plight of the people from afar and he allowed God to break his heart. He felt the need of the situation (Exodus 2:11-12). He left his lofty station as prince of Egypt to become a member of the nation of slaves (Hebrews 11:24-27), and yielded himself to forty years of training in the wilderness as a shepherd (Exodus 3:1). He had to learn to become the instrument of God, solely dependant on Him, not on his own strength. He dedicated his entire life to his mission, until the day he died; when he passed it on to the person he had trained to take over (Deuteronomy 34:7-9).

We want to be shown God’s ways, but He instructs us in unexpected ways. God does not usually teach us in a classroom set up with books, expounding theoretical lectures and discourses. On-the-job lessons are His way, and our life is the tool of the trade. If we men, and yes I am talking to men, would know the teachings of God, if we would know the great wisdom of His ways with us, we would do well to stop our feverish activities once in a while, take a sabbatical rest and reflect on our lives, and that of the flock God has entrusted us with, the life of our spouses and of our children.

Like Moses, let us go to the place of isolation on Mt. Horeb (Exodus 3); take off our shoes and listen to Him; there yield our life for an instrument of His peace. Like Mary, let us forego the serving; let us sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from the Word of divine grace (Luke 10:41-42). Quiet, in the presence of the Lord, we will learn the wisdom of ages; we will receive the ‘law’ that will take us, as well as our flocks to the promised Land.

Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

JESUS’ RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT

Psalms 103:6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

Mankind had tried to govern itself for six thousand years. Kingdoms, empires, rulers, philosophies and modes of governments have come and gone and yet, never has there been a time when the whole earth was ruled in peace, with happiness and plenty for all. There may have been societies who’ve accomplished a certain level of harmony, but it has always been at the price of oppression of a ethnic, social, or economic minority.

Only in the Bible can we find the basic social structure by which man should be governed; it instructs us on godly economics, justice and righteousness. The irony is that instead of learning from the One who created us all, we are all too busy trying to ‘reinvent the wheel.’ God’s chosen form of government is not decided majority rule, and neither is the office of being God available to public election.

Only Jesus the Messiah will succeed in ruling the world as it should be run. When He returns to live with us here on earth, He will teach us all how the world should have been governed; then and only then, will the planet be ruled without social and economic injustice. The poor will have enough and the rich not too much. The magistrate will rule under God without respect of persons. Justice will be rendered and issues will be resolved in a wise and mature way without the use of force.

As for today, if we claim to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus the Christ, we may do well to take the time to review our earthly social behavior with the Word of God. Let there be no mistake: our salvation is by grace, but every one of our words, every one of our actions, will be weighed and reckoned with. We will be made to eat our own words and to see the fruits of our selfish, conceited actions and poor judgment (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). Judgment does begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17).

Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.

THE FOOD THAT SATISFIES

Psalms 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

There is a difference between being satiated and being satisfied. One can be satiated without being satisfied. The elements of the world fill us up with junk food, but only the LORD satisfies our soul with good things.

It is easy to understand the difference between junk food that just fills and the healthy food that satisfies. After many hours of hard physical work, my energy level is low; I need food to sustain me. I stop working and I eat a healthy meal of protein, carbohydrates and fiber. I might even contribute to healthy digestion with a catnap. After eating healthy food and resting, my body is strengthened, I feel renewed, and I can work again. But if instead I fill myself with high sugar junk food that seem to cut the hunger but do not really fill me with the nutrients that I need, even though I eat, I do not really restore my body. After a while of such lifestyle, my body is negatively affected, I might even become sick.

On the contrary, when the LORD feeds us, we are truly filled. When we feed on His healthy diet, we become truly satisfied. The dainties of the world do not tempt us; they lose their tempting power over us; they mean nothing to us because our heart is truly full. It is the same as with a husband who is well cared for by his wife will be less tempted to look elsewhere for satisfaction. At a youth outreach, my wife was asked why she didn’t do marijuana; she answered, “Because it brings me down,” she said, “with the Spirit of the Lord, I’m already high.”

When we are satisfied with the things of the LORD, we don’t grope in darkness and confusion; we have a clear vision, understanding, and perspective of the positive, and of the negative elements of his life. Things may sadden us at times, but depression has no grip on us. How could one walk in the Light and not see his way? (Psalms 25:12-14)

It is important that we be honest with ourselves. Let us diagnose our spiritual health by asking our souls the questions that matter. Let us ask, like King David, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? (Psalms 42:5) It is normal for the one who does not partake of heavenly food to be hungry, but does it make sense that one who claims to partake of the Father’s table still be confused, in the dark, and hungry for the junk food of the world?

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

GOD’S GREATEST GIFTS

Psalms 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Sometimes we get so sidetracked from the main issues. We assume that God does not answer some of our prayers so we doubt His love for us. We often approach our relationship with Him like a job application. We examine the pros and cons of the contract; we evaluate the benefits, and are ready to sue if things don’t go according to our expectations. Some of us also act like the ungrateful children of this generation. They have parents who are able to provide them with basic food, shelter, clothing and education, but they are not happy unless they have the trendy latest fads and fashion in clothing, styles and gadgets. One day we will realize that even if Jesus didn’t give us anything else, like our parents, he gave us the most important things: life and protection.

From the moment of conception, human beings exist in the shadow of physical death, at the mercy of the carrying mother. Later, they are born so helpless that it seems all odds are against them. Good parents adopt a lifestyle that provides shelter and protection for the new life and for the child that is to come. They live with constant watchful care and concern for their child, and this continues long into the child’s adulthood.

Similarly, since the original sin (Genesis 3) our spiritual life is doomed to spiritual death (Romans 6:23), to live a life separated from God, and to spend eternity in the lake of fire (Revelations 20:15). God, our heavenly Father, watches over us and protects and shelters us. He has provided His Son, Jesus-Christ, to willingly and mercifully pay the “wages of sin” (Romans 6:23). We are now free from death, the condemnation of sin, and able to enjoy life in God’s presence while on earth, and after life, in God’s heavenly city, New Jerusalem, for ever. This is God’s main gift to us, and even if He would give us nothing else, this is the best deal ever offered on this side of the universe.

Oh, that we would realize the value of this sacrifice conceived in the depth of the heart of the love of God for us. Let us not whine anymore but be thankful for this crown of mercy that redeems us from inevitable death.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (56) The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

JESUS, OUR WINDSHIELD WIPERS

Psalms 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

A little girl once made a comment on Jesus forgiving our sins. She said, “We are like in a car in the rain; the rain keeps obstructing the view on the windshield, but Jesus is like the windshield wipers that keep clearing it up.”

Most of the time we play the game of righteousness with ourselves. We feel that we are not so bad, or at least not as bad as others, and we are pretty pleased with our own spiritual standing. We then end up feeling pretty comfortable which leads us to pride; and when we get proud, like the proverbial whale, we blow; and when we blow, again like the whale, we get harpooned. At that moment, we realize that we are not all that good after all, and our hurt deflated pride takes us down to the abyss of discouragement.

It is good for us when we feel spiritually comfortable to be reminded of our earthly frame. The Lord often uses the people who know us best such as close friends, spouses, and teenage children to remind us of the fact that we are “but dust”.

When our hurt pride feels the rain of condemnation and when despair blurs our vision, it is time to turn on the ‘windshield-wipers’. If the rain gets heavier, we turn them on to the next speed. We may need to be more careful in our driving, to slow down in order to avoid hydroplaning; hopefully, our tires are sound and sturdy, sticking to the road.

No matter how much rain falls on us during life’s travels, if we are honest with ourselves and acknowledge our weaknesses to God, we can flip the switch and turn on Jesus, His perpetual windshield wipers, and they will clear our vision.

1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world

PRAISE HIM IN WORDS AND DEEDS

Psalms 103:1-2 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. (2) Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

“In Tewin churchyard, a short distance from King's Cross Station, in England, stands a great four-trunked tree growing out of a grave. Its presence there has given rise to much speculation among the residents of that section. The grave from which it grows is that of Lady Anne Grimston.

Is the tree a monument to a woman's disbelief or did it happen to grow there merely by chance? Nobody knows. Lady Anne Grimston did not believe in life after death. When she lay dying in her palatial home, she said to a friend, "I shall live again as surely as a tree will grow from my body." She was buried in a marble tomb. The grave was marked by a large marble slab, and surrounded by an iron railing. Years later the marble slab was found to be moved a little. Then it cracked, and through the crack a small tree grew. The tree continued to grow, tilting the stone and breaking the marble masonry until today it has surrounded the tomb with its roots, and has torn the railing out of the ground with its massive trunks. The tree at Lady Anne Grimston's grave is one of the largest in England.

Was it mere chance that caused the tree to grow there? Perhaps God the Almighty took her challenge. “ (Author unknown)

A tree is such a wonderful example of praise; no matter the obstacle in its way, it will lift its branches to the skies to praise and give glory to the LORD that made it.

Let the world praise the wicked, I will praise you, because you are Holy. Let the world murmur and gripe, I will bless You. Let the world glory in its own works, I will remember Your benefits. Let the world praise his own name, I will praise Your Holy Name. Not with my lips only or with the vanity of gaudy words. Not with the pretense of showy works; but with my soul. With my soul, the conjunction of my body with the spirit of life in me that you have given me (Genesis 2:7), will I praise You; with the fullness of my words and of my actions.

In all that we do, in all that we go through, may we never forget that the main purpose of our existence is to please God (Revelations 4:11), and that to praise Him is the sign that we have faith in Him.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: (18) Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

THE PILGRIM’S TRUST

Psalms 84:12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

No matter where this road of life takes us, if our trust is the Lord, we are blessed. Evil beasts may assail us; enemies may conquer us; in spite of it all, if our trust is the Lord, we are blessed. When the road of pilgrimage grows weary and long; when it looks like we may even have lost our way, if our trust is the Lord, we are blessed. When we feel strong, when we feel weak; even when faced with impossibility, if our trust is the Lord, we are blessed.

The blessing of the Lord is not prejudiced; it does not discriminate; it doesn’t play the hypocritical games of man. Will it go to the well attired? Will it favor those who make show of attendance in the congregation?

Man rests on the strength of his arms, but the blessing of the Lord in upon those who trust in Him.
Man relies on the brilliance of his mind, but the blessing of the Lord is upon those who trust in Him
Man feels secure in the possession of wealth, but the blessing of the Lord is upon those who trust in Him.
Man trusts his own virtue, but the blessing of the Lord is upon those who trust in Him.

God blesses the kind of faith that when there is a choice, a decision, or an alternative, great faith still chooses to trust the Lord in spite of other possibilities.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

GRACE FOR THE WAY

Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

As earthly pilgrims we are in dire need of the light of the sun. Without the light, we would be groping in the dark and cold would also overtake us. As pilgrims, a shield to ward off dangerous enemies is also imperative. Without it, we are at the mercy of would-be assassins.

A sun for light and warmth; a shield for protection; such is the Lord for the pilgrim on their journey to New Jerusalem. Our way through the world is spiritually dark, cold and unfriendly. We need the ‘sun’ of God to show us the way and to keep us warm. We need God’s shield of protection to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16), to protect us against the “adversary the devil” who “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1Pe 5:8)

Is the way hard, long and strenuous? Do we grow weary in your pilgrimage? In our longing and yearning, do we dream of the day when we will be home in the safe haven of the spiritual home of our soul? Beloved, we must remember the words God gave to the great pilgrim of all times, the apostle Paul, My grace is sufficient for thee;( 2 Corinthians 12:9. The grace He gives us in spite of our failing soul glorifies His Name.

Our pilgrimage to new Jerusalem may require the denying of our soul (Matthew 16:24). It may leave us uncertain of shelter (Matthew 8:20). It may lead us into combat with the ungodly (Hebrews 11:34), and even in mortal danger. But may we always remember the promise He gave to all the pilgrims en route to their Heavenly Home, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly (Psalms 84:11).

Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

FOR A DAY IN YOUR COURTS OH, LORD

Psalms 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

God’s favorite test with us seems to be on loyalty. At one time or another in our lives, His Spirit takes us to a place of decision; a decision that reflects the quantum sum of our strength, or of our weakness. At that moment, we are asked to choose between God and personal interests. The choice may be between settling for the good versus striving for the best; or between temporal, instant gratification, versus eternal future happiness. One thing is certain, it is usually a choice that involves personal sacrifice.

When the Lord brings us to that place, He lays out a path that leads to a promised land. This prospect gives us the necessary incentive to climb the hill of ‘difficulty’, to cross the desert of ‘hardship’, and to conquer the evil beasts of ‘impossibility, failure and doubt’. Normally, we cower at the sight of these giants on the road of service. We naturally prefer the path of ease by the river of ‘Go With the Flow’, and we settle for the easily reached and leave our dreams unfulfilled.

When Caleb arrived in Canaan, he and Joshua were the oldest men among the Children of Israel, the only ones remaining from the generation that left Egypt. Caleb was eighty five years old when he said, “…behold, … I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims (giants) were there, … if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said. (Joshua 14:10-12). The narration of the story tells us that, “Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb… because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. (Joshua 14:140. This mountain was the mountain range of Judea where king David was to reign from for 40 years, where the Temple was built, where Jesus was crucified, and where He will return (Zecheriah 14:4).

It is a hard road climb to the Temple of the Lord on top of the mountains. It is a steep road to the place of usefulness where we are part of His everlasting plan. The climb may required us to leave everything behind. Like Jacob, we may arrive crippled by the fight (Genesis 32:25) but oh, what a sight, what a glory when we arrive.

One day in the place of the Lord on the mountain of His Temple is beyond compare with every a life of ease in the valley has to offer.

Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

THE BRIGHT HEALING HYSSOP

Psalms 84:9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

There is a place in our life where the stains of dirt overcome the white of purity; where the blotch of wickedness overpowers the beauty of virtue. What is to be done in such a place?

For millennia, Professor Kent B. Good, a humanist scientist, has tried to find a scrubbing solution that will clean blotchy stains from the human soul. Relentlessly each day, he entered his laboratory. He went to the cabinet of ‘self-reliance’ and used all its chemistries.

He first prepared a liquid solution, a mix made of ‘religion’, ‘human piety’. He diluted it all in ‘lie’. He added to it at least two scouring ingredients such as self-appointed ‘good works’ and ‘bargain sacrifices’. The final potion was mixed into a creamy paste in a special blender activated by ‘human effort’. He took the paste, and using the applicator of ‘vain prayers’, he applied it on the soul of his students, poor unsuspecting soul laden with condemnation, and waited for time to do its work. But lo, the paste hardened into a rigid cast of legalistic formalism merely instituting control of movement. The symptoms were gone, but the disease continued its rotting work, though unsuspected, on the inside. Such is the fate of all those who rely on themselves for righteousness.

Let us now hear the Words of the Master, the Creator of our soul. He has the ‘antidote’ for the diseases sin brought upon us. He owns the cleansing *Hyssop (Leviticus 14:49-56) that cures by purifying on the inside. We must apply the hyssop cream of repentance on the bright spots and leprous scabs of sin. We also must shield them with the blood his Anointed the Lord Jesus-Christ, and its brightness will overshadow all stains. He says, Come now, and let us reason together . . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18), and, I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

It is vain to try to prove ourselves to God through our own efforts. He knows our frame that we are but dust (Psalms 103:14). We must call on to him to only “behold” the “shield” and the “face” of his Anointed, and the imperfections of our human nature will be cleared in His sight.
*The ancient used to use hyssop for cleaning and the curing of diseases, the levitical laws also advise its use for purification (Lev 14),. For more information on hyssop go to
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

PATIENCE

Psalms 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

Isn’t it written in the Holy Book, in the stories of old? Let’s sit now. Let’s take the time to meditate and ponder on God’s ways as expounded in His acts of old. Let’s take notice and learn that He always comes through for His children. . . at the last minute. He does so on purpose because He wants us to learn patience. But oh, how we squirm while we wait on God; and worst of all, in our self-righteous lack of patience, we accuse Him of not caring about us because He seems not to answer our prayers.

In this generation, the name of the game is ‘speed’. The faster it goes, the faster we want it to go. Waiting is considered an infringement of our rights. We want to be ‘tended to’ right away. It is sad though when we are that way with God. This is the generation of instant gratification. This generation says, “I want to be happy, and I want to be happy now.” I want it, and I want it now.” “I want to know it, and I want to know it now.” But happiness only comes to us when we take the time to let ourselves be broken into appreciation of the real satisfaction of the heart. Gain only comes by allowing time for investments to grow into earnings. Knowledge only comes through having the patience to learn.

May we learn to have the faith of the importunate woman who, by her patient importunity, so annoyed the wicked judge that he rendered justice unto her (Luke18:1-7). May we learn to pray patiently, knowing that God knows what’s best for us. May we always remember that God’s delays are not denials.

Luke 18:1-7 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; (2) Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: (3) And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. (4) And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; (5) Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. (6) And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. (7) And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Romans 5:3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; (4) And patience, experience; and experience, hope: (5) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

THE VICTORY’S ALREADY WON, PREPARE FOR THE PARTY.

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

In the conclusion of this psalm lies a resolution for a believer’s life.

A host of the wicked enemies may come upon us to eat up our flesh, yet we have the assurance of the protection of His pavilion. No matter what ‘life’ may throw at us; no matter what the enemy may use to intimidate us, always we must remember God’s modus operandi for His children, . . . in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. . . mine head (shall)be lifted up above mine enemies round about me. . . Psalms 27:5, 6. We have the assurance of the security promised in the secret place of His tabernacle, and there is no doubt that when the time of judgment arrives, our heads shall be lifted up above that of the enemies of God (Daniel 7:14,18).

Oh Lord, I want to thank you that you won the victory (1 John 3:8). I can now look at the future without fear, with the certainty that the battle will lead to victory and to the unconditional surrender of the enemy. It is not a question of if; only a question of when.

We must anticipate the victory, even plan for the party; make preparations towards it (Revelations 19:9), and thanks to our wonderful Lord, we have reservations for it. Let’s shout, sing and blow the *shofar, for His redeeming blood has won the victory for me and for humanity. There is no stopping us now. Every fall is a fall upward and every trial is an instruction to bring us closer to Him. May meditation on these thoughts strengthen our faith and courage--that the victory is already won.

I see a soldier. I see a soldier wounded, lying on the ground. Blood pours from his gashing wounds. He is in pain; he is in terrible suffering while his enemies stand by him sneering, about to give him their final blow. Suddenly, the Son of God appears from the sky,” Stand back, leave him!” He says, “My blood paid for his life, you have no right nor authority over him, he is Mine.” Oh, what a comfort; what a relief to know that the victory doesn’t depend upon us, but upon the Son of God crucified on Calvary.

* Shofar: a Jewish trumpet made out of ram’s horn

Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

THE FOUNDATION OF TRUE FAITH

Psalms 27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

What is it that gives courage to the laboring missionary? What is the element that gives the believer the substance to fight daily the good fight of faith? How do we explain Christians-- both the past and contemporary-- who, without hesitation put their lives on the line for the Lord and the Word of the Gospel? What is it that keeps people from spiritually ‘fainting’ or, giving up and cracking under insurmountable spiritual strain or pressure?

To find the answers to these questions, we need to turn our ears from carnal wisdom; we need to hear the Words of celestial truth. Faith, in its early stages, is like a love relationship. It is as easy to say, “I fell in love”, as to proclaim, “I believe”. Time and conflict though, have the nasty habit of testing both love relationships and faith. So, what makes the difference between a “fainting” love or a “fainting” faith? What quantifies the caliber of their foundation?

Here are some things to ponder. Is the proclaimed ‘love’, ‘belief’, or ‘faith’ emotion-based? Are they solely driven by human passion? Is the substance of their existence founded on physical gratification? Or is it a ‘love’, ‘belief’, and ‘faith’ that is true and alive of its own without having to lean on the shaky props of feelings and that stands tall without the stilts of personal gratification?

Faith and true relationships need to be built on the certainty of the foundation of the Word of God. We need to lead our life and service for the Lord according to His unfailing will. This is the secret of not ‘fainting”, when we “believe”, and ‘know’ that it is God’s will that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

KNOW NOTHING BUT HIM

Psalms 27:11-12 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. (12) Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

A good teacher friend of mine often challenges her students with the question, “Are you teachable?”

Each day, we need to ask ourselves that same question. Am I teachable? Is it easy for the LORD to lead and guide me? Am I a ‘problem student’ to Him? Would I love to have me as a student?

The problem that I think the LORD faces in teaching us is that He leads us in a “plain path”. Our flesh, our carnal mind, likes to pride itself in the complicated, the smart, the gaudy; but the path of the LORD is usually plain, simple, self-effacing; even humble by its low simplicity.

God’s greatest military heroes were asked to do some of the most ridiculous things, but when they obeyed, they won His battles. Who ever heard of winning a war when outnumbered one to a thousand, by breaking pots, hiding torches, and blowing trumpets and screaming your head off in the middle of the night? But that’s just what Gideon did (Judges 7:20). And who would have been crazy enough to obey God when He said that in order to conquer one of the most impregnable cities of their day, they should walk around it seven times with the Ark of the Covenant, and again, blow their trumpets and scream their heads off? And yet, that’ s just what Joshua did (Joshua 6:20).

The apostle Paul was one of the smartest men alive in the first century C.E. It would be easy to conclude that his success in winning the intellectual and wisdom hungry Greeks was the fruits of his personal intellectual prowess, but to make sure that God and God alone would get the glory, he determined to put his carnal wisdom aside in favor of projecting the simple power of the Holy Spirit. He said, For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified 1Corinthians 2:2.

So it is, that when we allow God to lead us in His “plain path”, He delivers us from our enemies, helps us win the victories, and the testimony of false witnesses cannot even touch our soul.

1 Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: