Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; (2) So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; (3) Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; (4) If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; (5) Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
This father continues his monologue; or since this is implied to be God speaking to us, should I say, ‘this Father continues His monologue?
What is He telling us? What is He teaching us? What precept is He imparting to us?
How come that with so much religion, there is so little deep true faith? How come that with so many Churches opened every Sunday, with so many stores selling religious material, with so many TV and radio stations teaching about God, so many do not understand the fear of the Lord, and do not find the knowledge of God? If I were hungry after eating a copious and rich meal, I would stop and wonder if what I ate was real food, or if maybe I ate at all.
Let us now analyze the issue.
The text says, “if thou wilt receive my words . . .” The word ‘wilt’ in the KJV is not the used as we do today. It is not the future tense of the verb to be. It is a verb that denotes of the notion of personal will. In today’s English we could say: ‘if you will want’, (emphasis on want).
Our text continues with: “to receive”. There is a tendency to read the Word of God as if it were philosophy. Philosophy only requires to be accepted mentally. We process it and change it according to times and season. The word of God says that it needs to simply be received if we want to enjoy the benefits thereof. Could it be that all this Word is read as it were philosophy and not received at face value?
Finally, the text says, ‘my words’. The author here is God. We will never understand the fear of the Lord; neither will we find the knowledge of God by listening to someone else’s words or hearing a person’s private processing and understanding of the Word.
To obtain the benefits of the Word, we have to desperately want it, and unquestionably receive it. It needs to become our personal inclination and we need to apply our heart to it. It must be His Word, heard in our own spirit straight from the heart of God, and without the adultering and processing of man’s teaching. Anything else will eventually turn to spiritual confusion.
'Be strong, be strong and be strengthened!'
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Monday, October 08, 2007
SPIRITUAL LAWS AND PRINCIPLES #1
Proverbs 1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Herein is the conclusion of the chapter. The fate of the simple, the destiny of the one who doesn’t care to learn the right way, of the one who is Imprudent and does not seek to hear wise counsel, is sealed by his own doings. The child who failed to listen to the advice of his wise teachers will fall in the very pit they warned him of.
The King and author of these words also said, The fool and his money are soon parted. When we do not run our finances in the way God prescribed it in His Word, we are fools, and we soon find ourselves in penury. This principle works for a family unit as well as for a country. Worst of all when we, under the lure of gain, diverge from God’s financial dynamics, it is our own prosperity that eventually destroys us.
For individuals, societies, corporations and countries, these principles are as infallible as the law of gravity. Our careless disobedience to all of God’s ways leads us to the pits of hell. Not because God is mean, not because He is dictatorial, but simply because He is the on who knows the way away from the pitfalls.
Oh that we would care to listen. Oh, that we would want to hear. The message is simple. The map is clearly drawn. May we obtain deliverance from that wicked side in us which naturally wants to rebel against God’s wise advice. May we desire His leadings and value them higher than the price of pure gold.
Herein is the conclusion of the chapter. The fate of the simple, the destiny of the one who doesn’t care to learn the right way, of the one who is Imprudent and does not seek to hear wise counsel, is sealed by his own doings. The child who failed to listen to the advice of his wise teachers will fall in the very pit they warned him of.
The King and author of these words also said, The fool and his money are soon parted. When we do not run our finances in the way God prescribed it in His Word, we are fools, and we soon find ourselves in penury. This principle works for a family unit as well as for a country. Worst of all when we, under the lure of gain, diverge from God’s financial dynamics, it is our own prosperity that eventually destroys us.
For individuals, societies, corporations and countries, these principles are as infallible as the law of gravity. Our careless disobedience to all of God’s ways leads us to the pits of hell. Not because God is mean, not because He is dictatorial, but simply because He is the on who knows the way away from the pitfalls.
Oh that we would care to listen. Oh, that we would want to hear. The message is simple. The map is clearly drawn. May we obtain deliverance from that wicked side in us which naturally wants to rebel against God’s wise advice. May we desire His leadings and value them higher than the price of pure gold.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
HE GIVES US WHAT WE WANT
Proverbs 1:31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Herein we hear the old Gypsy blessing: ‘May God give you what you want’.
In His great mercy, God faithfully tries to lead us away from dangerous pitfalls. He informs us in His words about the negative effects of certain ways and attitudes. His Holy Spirit reminds us constantly of His warnings in His written and spoken Words. Yet somehow, our personal desires seem to over power us and drown out the heavenly voice in our hearts.
The only recourse God has is therefore to let us eat of the fruits of our own doings. It is then that we learn our lesson: from our own suffering, and where like the famous prodigal son, we vomit on the ground after we have been filled with our own desires. It is then that hopefully, we learn that after all, God was right. It is then that sheepishly, we return to the house of the father who waits for us on the doorsteps with open arms, ready heal our wounds.
When we feel sick of life and its vanity, let us take a trip down memory lane. Are we just getting filled with our own desires? Are our prayers answered at the cost of our heart filling with bitterness and anguish? It is important to ask l these questions that stem from the basic equation: is my will in line with God’s will?
Herein we hear the old Gypsy blessing: ‘May God give you what you want’.
In His great mercy, God faithfully tries to lead us away from dangerous pitfalls. He informs us in His words about the negative effects of certain ways and attitudes. His Holy Spirit reminds us constantly of His warnings in His written and spoken Words. Yet somehow, our personal desires seem to over power us and drown out the heavenly voice in our hearts.
The only recourse God has is therefore to let us eat of the fruits of our own doings. It is then that we learn our lesson: from our own suffering, and where like the famous prodigal son, we vomit on the ground after we have been filled with our own desires. It is then that hopefully, we learn that after all, God was right. It is then that sheepishly, we return to the house of the father who waits for us on the doorsteps with open arms, ready heal our wounds.
When we feel sick of life and its vanity, let us take a trip down memory lane. Are we just getting filled with our own desires? Are our prayers answered at the cost of our heart filling with bitterness and anguish? It is important to ask l these questions that stem from the basic equation: is my will in line with God’s will?
Saturday, October 06, 2007
THE PERSPECTIVE IN GOD’S JUDGMENTS
Proverbs 1:24-30 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: (26) I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; (27) When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. (28) Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: (29) For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: (30) They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Note: I kept these verses together because they form one sentence teaching us one particular concept.
We can read this passage and picture a sadistic God who uses His great power to punish His subject. We could see him laugh hysterically after He made up His mind to not hear our plea. But is it the picture that is portrayed for us here?
To get the right picture, we need to read the text within its complete perspective. God, our loving husband, took us and lifted us up from the foul sinful wilderness of this world. With a strong hand and a heavy price, He made us His wife. We in turn, have turned our nose up at all His bounty, care and provision, and went to party with other ‘lovers’. Now that we find ourselves in big trouble, we want to call upon Him to deliver us. Should he just come and rescue us prematurely before we learn our lesson? Should we just use and take advantage of His love and goodness? Should we expect the benefits of ‘married life’, the protection of the husband, without giving him our commitment and faithfulness?
Look at Israel. He rescued her in the desert, but even after they broke His covenant, He renewed His marriage with them, paid and new price, a new dowry when he came to take the price of their (as well as ours) sins on the tree. The prophetic picture of the Bible tells us that God does pay the price of our deliverance; that His mercies are new every morning. Does that mean that we do not have to suffer for a while the bitter results of our bad choices? Certainly not, or how would He be a just God? And all the more, how would we then learn to know better?
In all God’s dealing with us, let us not forget that He is the One who put Himself at risk for us so He could deliver us from the clutches of the enemy. Let us also remember that just like Him, we learn obedience through our sufferings.
Note: I kept these verses together because they form one sentence teaching us one particular concept.
We can read this passage and picture a sadistic God who uses His great power to punish His subject. We could see him laugh hysterically after He made up His mind to not hear our plea. But is it the picture that is portrayed for us here?
To get the right picture, we need to read the text within its complete perspective. God, our loving husband, took us and lifted us up from the foul sinful wilderness of this world. With a strong hand and a heavy price, He made us His wife. We in turn, have turned our nose up at all His bounty, care and provision, and went to party with other ‘lovers’. Now that we find ourselves in big trouble, we want to call upon Him to deliver us. Should he just come and rescue us prematurely before we learn our lesson? Should we just use and take advantage of His love and goodness? Should we expect the benefits of ‘married life’, the protection of the husband, without giving him our commitment and faithfulness?
Look at Israel. He rescued her in the desert, but even after they broke His covenant, He renewed His marriage with them, paid and new price, a new dowry when he came to take the price of their (as well as ours) sins on the tree. The prophetic picture of the Bible tells us that God does pay the price of our deliverance; that His mercies are new every morning. Does that mean that we do not have to suffer for a while the bitter results of our bad choices? Certainly not, or how would He be a just God? And all the more, how would we then learn to know better?
In all God’s dealing with us, let us not forget that He is the One who put Himself at risk for us so He could deliver us from the clutches of the enemy. Let us also remember that just like Him, we learn obedience through our sufferings.
Friday, October 05, 2007
WHERE HIS WORD IS MADE KNOWN UNTO US
Proverbs 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Who demands perfection? Who asks for total theological understanding? Who makes issues of details? Who strains at a gnat? Certainly not God!
All God asks is that we turn around. All He asks is that we acknowledge Him with all our hearts. Oh, how He knows our frame and our inability to understand things. All He requires is that we love Him and turn our will towards His instruction and then, oh then the most wonderful thing happens.
If we only but turn our hearts to Him. If we only but resolve to give Him all our love and attention, He does the impossible. He pours out His Spirit upon us; behold, He makes His Word known unto us: finally, we understand, finally we know. We did not obey because we understood, we understood because we obeyed. He said to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. He told us that, because only within the veil of our loving relationship with God lays the understanding of His instruction.
As we spend time with Him enjoying the food and comfort emanating from His Spirit, He also reveals to us the beautiful future He reserves for His children, and that my friend, is where strength and faith for today is found.
Who demands perfection? Who asks for total theological understanding? Who makes issues of details? Who strains at a gnat? Certainly not God!
All God asks is that we turn around. All He asks is that we acknowledge Him with all our hearts. Oh, how He knows our frame and our inability to understand things. All He requires is that we love Him and turn our will towards His instruction and then, oh then the most wonderful thing happens.
If we only but turn our hearts to Him. If we only but resolve to give Him all our love and attention, He does the impossible. He pours out His Spirit upon us; behold, He makes His Word known unto us: finally, we understand, finally we know. We did not obey because we understood, we understood because we obeyed. He said to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. He told us that, because only within the veil of our loving relationship with God lays the understanding of His instruction.
As we spend time with Him enjoying the food and comfort emanating from His Spirit, He also reveals to us the beautiful future He reserves for His children, and that my friend, is where strength and faith for today is found.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
THE FOOL DESPISE KNOWLEDGE
Proverbs 1:22-23 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
The father of our writer taught that the fool says in his heart that there is no God.
The fool lives his life as a natural being and a spiritual orphan. He does not know his Creator; neither does he wish to know Him. He does not understand the head nor the tail of his destiny and leads an unconscious existence. The fools has to be brought to the knowledge of truth that he was created by a God who has for hjim the most marvelous destiny. The fool needs to be taught the knowledge of God so he can be delivered from his folly.
Sad to say, there are fools who do not want to come under the covering of God. They want to continue their lives of spiritual transience. They prefer to be shouting stars with no other goal nor purpose but to crash at any moment on the surface of a desolate planet or worst, cause damages on a populated area.
How long will it take for the fool to realize that his only chance to life is to come to the knowledge and acceptance of the covering of the Master who has created him? How long will the fool love folly? How long will the fool hate knowledge? Not even our text today answers this question. It seems that all things will not come to reckoning until the great day of the white throne judgment, at the restoration of all things.
The father of our writer taught that the fool says in his heart that there is no God.
The fool lives his life as a natural being and a spiritual orphan. He does not know his Creator; neither does he wish to know Him. He does not understand the head nor the tail of his destiny and leads an unconscious existence. The fools has to be brought to the knowledge of truth that he was created by a God who has for hjim the most marvelous destiny. The fool needs to be taught the knowledge of God so he can be delivered from his folly.
Sad to say, there are fools who do not want to come under the covering of God. They want to continue their lives of spiritual transience. They prefer to be shouting stars with no other goal nor purpose but to crash at any moment on the surface of a desolate planet or worst, cause damages on a populated area.
How long will it take for the fool to realize that his only chance to life is to come to the knowledge and acceptance of the covering of the Master who has created him? How long will the fool love folly? How long will the fool hate knowledge? Not even our text today answers this question. It seems that all things will not come to reckoning until the great day of the white throne judgment, at the restoration of all things.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
LET US NOT SCORN HIM
Proverbs 1:21-22 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, (22) How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
The author of this prologue takes us back to the teaching of his own father who said, Blessed is the man . . . sitteth not in the seat of the scorner, (Psalms 1:1).
The scorner seats in his comfortable armchair; he laughs at the elements of righteousness. To him, the simplicity of Messiah is foolishness; it is subject to his rational mind. He indulges in all unrighteousness as if no one was watching; he literally thumbs his nose at the creator of his soul. Cynicism is his defense against the Holy Ghost’s pricks of conviction; ignorance is his excuse.
Doesn’t he know? Doesn’t he know that the One who created the heavens and the earth will laugh in the day of the calamity of the wicked? Doesn’t the scorner know that when in a fit of mockery he ignored the cross of messiah, he sealed his own destruction? Yes he knows, yet, in his scorning and silly mind, he seats and continue to delight in his own way.
We can look at those who openly and deliberately make a mockery of Messiah’s redemptive sacrifice, but let us be careful that we do not replicate the same mockery in our lives, even in more subtle ways. The One whom we agree redeemed our souls said, If you love Me, you keep my commandments. He also said that by their traditions, men often nullify His Words; isHis make them of none effects. Isn’t that the ultimate of all scorning mockery, to know the Word and deliberately go another way?
Let us be careful to obey His commandments in our lives. Let us also not scorn the Holy by our keeping of man’s secular ways and traditions above those established in His Word.
The author of this prologue takes us back to the teaching of his own father who said, Blessed is the man . . . sitteth not in the seat of the scorner, (Psalms 1:1).
The scorner seats in his comfortable armchair; he laughs at the elements of righteousness. To him, the simplicity of Messiah is foolishness; it is subject to his rational mind. He indulges in all unrighteousness as if no one was watching; he literally thumbs his nose at the creator of his soul. Cynicism is his defense against the Holy Ghost’s pricks of conviction; ignorance is his excuse.
Doesn’t he know? Doesn’t he know that the One who created the heavens and the earth will laugh in the day of the calamity of the wicked? Doesn’t the scorner know that when in a fit of mockery he ignored the cross of messiah, he sealed his own destruction? Yes he knows, yet, in his scorning and silly mind, he seats and continue to delight in his own way.
We can look at those who openly and deliberately make a mockery of Messiah’s redemptive sacrifice, but let us be careful that we do not replicate the same mockery in our lives, even in more subtle ways. The One whom we agree redeemed our souls said, If you love Me, you keep my commandments. He also said that by their traditions, men often nullify His Words; isHis make them of none effects. Isn’t that the ultimate of all scorning mockery, to know the Word and deliberately go another way?
Let us be careful to obey His commandments in our lives. Let us also not scorn the Holy by our keeping of man’s secular ways and traditions above those established in His Word.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
NO EXCUSE FOR IGNORANCE
Proverbs 1:22-23 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the
scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Webster dictionary: SIMPLE:. Weak in intellect; not wise or sagacious; silly; Ex: The simple believeth every word; but the prudent looketh well to his going. Prov 14.
In the beginning of this proverb, a father instructs his son that if he abides by his wide advice, he will have subtility; he will be wise and not prey to evil men.
To benefit from this advice, the son needs to not only be yielded to the fatherly instructions, but he needs to study it. He needs to learn to apply it with wisdom and maturity. This takes time; it takes time to pray, learn, weigh the future fruits of our actions and even seek advice from appropriate people.
The old adage, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”, is true. In this statement, ‘Wisdom’ does not excuse our lack of knowledge. Wisdom knows that knowledge is available. Wisdom knows that knowledge of right and wrong is published far and wide; that one only has to accept it in his heart and it will be there. In this segment Wisdom accuses us; yes it accuses us of spiritual lethargy, laziness, apathy and indifference. It accuses us of not desiring the wisdom that has been afforded us. It accuses us of not even caring about it. It accuses us of loving our state of spiritual slumber where we are easily drawn from doctrine to doctrine, not even realizing that eventually, we fall into disobedience leading us to heresy and blasphemy. Is there an excuse available for us when so much is published to help us stay on the right path? I doubt it.
In this segment also Wisdom’ pleads with us. It pleads with us to forsake our state of slumber. It pleads with us to turn at God’s reproofs in our lives. He promised that if we just turn to Him, just turn around and give him even if only a look, as he sees us afar us, he will us to welcome us again into his loving arms. Will you?
scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Webster dictionary: SIMPLE:. Weak in intellect; not wise or sagacious; silly; Ex: The simple believeth every word; but the prudent looketh well to his going. Prov 14.
In the beginning of this proverb, a father instructs his son that if he abides by his wide advice, he will have subtility; he will be wise and not prey to evil men.
To benefit from this advice, the son needs to not only be yielded to the fatherly instructions, but he needs to study it. He needs to learn to apply it with wisdom and maturity. This takes time; it takes time to pray, learn, weigh the future fruits of our actions and even seek advice from appropriate people.
The old adage, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”, is true. In this statement, ‘Wisdom’ does not excuse our lack of knowledge. Wisdom knows that knowledge is available. Wisdom knows that knowledge of right and wrong is published far and wide; that one only has to accept it in his heart and it will be there. In this segment Wisdom accuses us; yes it accuses us of spiritual lethargy, laziness, apathy and indifference. It accuses us of not desiring the wisdom that has been afforded us. It accuses us of not even caring about it. It accuses us of loving our state of spiritual slumber where we are easily drawn from doctrine to doctrine, not even realizing that eventually, we fall into disobedience leading us to heresy and blasphemy. Is there an excuse available for us when so much is published to help us stay on the right path? I doubt it.
In this segment also Wisdom’ pleads with us. It pleads with us to forsake our state of slumber. It pleads with us to turn at God’s reproofs in our lives. He promised that if we just turn to Him, just turn around and give him even if only a look, as he sees us afar us, he will us to welcome us again into his loving arms. Will you?
Monday, October 01, 2007
HEAR THE VOICE OF WISDOM
Proverbs 1:20-21 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: (21) She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
Do we even hear it? And even if we did, do we make time during the day to process what it told us? Is our life so cluttered with unnecessary information that we do not even hear Wisdom’s voice? The Word cannot lie, and here we are told that Wisdom cries itself out trying to reach us at the places we gather together.
You say, where is it? It is so crowded and noisy around here that I couldn’t hear it even if it shouted through a megaphone.
It is not quiet; it ‘crieth’ the Word says. We are always in such a hurry to go somewhere, but Wisdom is faithful to try to meet us on our way. Its voice is often heard by the processing of information; but do we even take the time to process what we see and what we hear?.
Here one complains about the fate life seems to have ordered for him. Is he really victim of a destiny out of control or is he reaping the fruits of disobedience? Should we take time to think about it and learn from the voice of Wisdom screaming in our hears, ‘Here is what will happen to you if you do the same?’ Here is one whose spirit seems to be blessed with graciousness even in spite of troubles. Should we take the time to to ask ourselves, ‘ Here is one who has nothing, yet, his eyes shine and radiate happiness; why?’ Furthermore, creation is rich in examples that ‘cry out’ to us the principles of wisdom. The realms of physics and of biology daily teach us about the wise foundations upon which our world is built.
If we push away the noise, the mind-clutter, the rush and the undue pressure; if we decide to day to make the choice to hear, to give heed to the voice of Wisdom, what wonders will we learn, what wisdom will we acquire.
Do we even hear it? And even if we did, do we make time during the day to process what it told us? Is our life so cluttered with unnecessary information that we do not even hear Wisdom’s voice? The Word cannot lie, and here we are told that Wisdom cries itself out trying to reach us at the places we gather together.
You say, where is it? It is so crowded and noisy around here that I couldn’t hear it even if it shouted through a megaphone.
It is not quiet; it ‘crieth’ the Word says. We are always in such a hurry to go somewhere, but Wisdom is faithful to try to meet us on our way. Its voice is often heard by the processing of information; but do we even take the time to process what we see and what we hear?.
Here one complains about the fate life seems to have ordered for him. Is he really victim of a destiny out of control or is he reaping the fruits of disobedience? Should we take time to think about it and learn from the voice of Wisdom screaming in our hears, ‘Here is what will happen to you if you do the same?’ Here is one whose spirit seems to be blessed with graciousness even in spite of troubles. Should we take the time to to ask ourselves, ‘ Here is one who has nothing, yet, his eyes shine and radiate happiness; why?’ Furthermore, creation is rich in examples that ‘cry out’ to us the principles of wisdom. The realms of physics and of biology daily teach us about the wise foundations upon which our world is built.
If we push away the noise, the mind-clutter, the rush and the undue pressure; if we decide to day to make the choice to hear, to give heed to the voice of Wisdom, what wonders will we learn, what wisdom will we acquire.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
OF MEN AND BIRDS
Proverbs 1:17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
The proverb above appears in the midst of a long litany of specific warnings about certain actions and their consequences. It is a simile the father uses to instruct his son that these actions are nets that will ensnare him.
What are these actions? They are the actions of those who prey on innocent people to steal from them unaware. They are the actions not only of those who stalk a house until the opportune time to break in, but also of those who prey against senior citizen with tricky offers that rob them of their life savings. These actions are the strategy of smart businesses who lure people into buying things they don’t need, or even unhealthy and ungodly things. These actions never go unpunished. In this simile, the father instructs his son that these actions have an uncanny boomerang effect; they return, and ensnare their executors (v: 18,19).
By performing such vile acts with such cruel intent, a man spreads a net for his own captivity. Reading these proverbs a man is warned. He can see the net and can avoid it. Bird catchers know why it is vain to spread a net in the sight of any bird. Birds instinctively avoid visible spread nets. God has put in them this sense of prudence.
How is it that man cannot do the same as birds? How is it that birds see the net and avoid it, and men don’t?
Proverbs 1:17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
The proverb above appears in the midst of a long litany of specific warnings about certain actions and their consequences. It is a simile the father uses to instruct his son that these actions are nets that will ensnare him.
What are these actions? They are the actions of those who prey on innocent people to steal from them unaware. They are the actions not only of those who stalk a house until the opportune time to break in, but also of those who prey against senior citizen with tricky offers that rob them of their life savings. These actions are the strategy of smart businesses who lure people into buying things they don’t need, or even unhealthy and ungodly things. These actions never go unpunished. In this simile, the father instructs his son that these actions have an uncanny boomerang effect; they return, and ensnare their executors (v: 18,19).
By performing such vile acts with such cruel intent, a man spreads a net for his own captivity. Reading these proverbs a man is warned. He can see the net and can avoid it. Bird catchers know why it is vain to spread a net in the sight of any bird. Birds instinctively avoid visible spread nets. God has put in them this sense of prudence.
How is it that man cannot do the same as birds? How is it that birds see the net and avoid it, and men don’t?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
WHY DON’T WE?
Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
What freedom we have been given; what self-determination has God put within each of us to help us stay on the right track!
Yes the powers of evil seem to be ruling the world with great noise and pomp but here is the good news: as powerful as the forces of evil are, so are the powers of godliness, and more. We have within ourselves the power to say no; the power to refuse to follow the evil crowd; so why don’t we? Why is the righteous so easily enticed by sinners?
Here we arrive at the place where even God asks for permission to enter. This is the realm that makes us different from all the creatures on the face of the earth. Here is the inner sanctum cave where the big game is played: free will.
Our own personal will is the one and only successful weapon against the lures of the enemy. It is the element that defeats the devil in a moment: the moment we yield it to God. At that instant, the armies of God the Most High fill the inner sanctum of our heart as we hear the screeching noise of the forces of hell retreating. At that very instant, the battle is won.
The question still remains: if all we have to do is yield ourselves to God, why don’t we?
What freedom we have been given; what self-determination has God put within each of us to help us stay on the right track!
Yes the powers of evil seem to be ruling the world with great noise and pomp but here is the good news: as powerful as the forces of evil are, so are the powers of godliness, and more. We have within ourselves the power to say no; the power to refuse to follow the evil crowd; so why don’t we? Why is the righteous so easily enticed by sinners?
Here we arrive at the place where even God asks for permission to enter. This is the realm that makes us different from all the creatures on the face of the earth. Here is the inner sanctum cave where the big game is played: free will.
Our own personal will is the one and only successful weapon against the lures of the enemy. It is the element that defeats the devil in a moment: the moment we yield it to God. At that instant, the armies of God the Most High fill the inner sanctum of our heart as we hear the screeching noise of the forces of hell retreating. At that very instant, the battle is won.
The question still remains: if all we have to do is yield ourselves to God, why don’t we?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
HEAVENLY ACCESSORIES
Proverbs 1:8-9 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: (9) For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Oh, how earthly and human are the dynamics in this passage.
The father is the preceptor, the pattern after which the family unit is shaped. He often has to be away doing such things as fathers do to supply for their families or to protect their fields. The mother on the other hand is mostly at home caring for his children, nurturing them in the instruction of the father.
Isn’t this a beautiful picture of God the Father of us all? With His booming voice, He gave us His instructions on Mt Sinai, and afterward left us with the motherly care of the Torah (the 5 first books of the Bible) to teach us in our daily lives. In Jewish traditions, the Torah is often related to as the “breasts” of God. King David in the Psalms even makes a reference to ‘nursing fathers’.
The event at Mt Sinai is paralleled in both concept and chronology with the events in Jerusalem ten days after Jesus’ ascension. Here was Jesus leaving the disciples, but He sent them the Holy Spirit to lead and comfort them in their daily lives.
May we proudly bear the Instruction (translated as ‘law’ in most Bibles; ‘Torah’ in Hebrew) of our Heavenly Father as an “ornament of grace” unto our heads; and may the laws of the Holy Spirit be daily the chain that decorates our neckline. May they be heavenly accessory part of our daily garments. May we rejoice in them that all may see and glorify our “Father which is in Heaven”.
Oh, how earthly and human are the dynamics in this passage.
The father is the preceptor, the pattern after which the family unit is shaped. He often has to be away doing such things as fathers do to supply for their families or to protect their fields. The mother on the other hand is mostly at home caring for his children, nurturing them in the instruction of the father.
Isn’t this a beautiful picture of God the Father of us all? With His booming voice, He gave us His instructions on Mt Sinai, and afterward left us with the motherly care of the Torah (the 5 first books of the Bible) to teach us in our daily lives. In Jewish traditions, the Torah is often related to as the “breasts” of God. King David in the Psalms even makes a reference to ‘nursing fathers’.
The event at Mt Sinai is paralleled in both concept and chronology with the events in Jerusalem ten days after Jesus’ ascension. Here was Jesus leaving the disciples, but He sent them the Holy Spirit to lead and comfort them in their daily lives.
May we proudly bear the Instruction (translated as ‘law’ in most Bibles; ‘Torah’ in Hebrew) of our Heavenly Father as an “ornament of grace” unto our heads; and may the laws of the Holy Spirit be daily the chain that decorates our neckline. May they be heavenly accessory part of our daily garments. May we rejoice in them that all may see and glorify our “Father which is in Heaven”.
Monday, September 24, 2007
THE RACE THAT IS ON HIGHER GROUNDS
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
This word ‘fear’ used in our King James Bible sounds cold as a word to describe our relationship with God, but is it? It is not a word that denotes of fear as we have from an irrational enemy or an oppressor; it tells rather of a respectful fear. It is the fear of the knowledge that whatever we do, good and bad, has retribution. It is the fear of knowing that even when we think that no one hears, God does. It is the knowledge that when we believe no one sees us, God’s eyes look even in the deepest chambers of our being, and knows our every thought, intentional and unintentional. It is realizing that the Holy Spirit is the ‘police’ of our soul.
There are many today who have succeeded in rationalizing the voice of their conscience and therefore, they do not even realize that they have one. They live their lives in total oblivion of the presence of God and think that life will never catch up with them. They despise the wisdom and instruction that are able to save them from the pits the enemy of our souls has prepared for us in order to catch us in his net on judgment day. Are we living in a generation of fools?
We are indeed, but here is the good news: we are each one of us individuals with freedom of choice. We do not have to run the loosing race with the fools. Any moment, any time, we can change the course of our lives; have a turn-around, a ‘metanoia’ (Greek word for ‘repentance’) and run the race that is on higher grounds; the race that affords infinite rewards and eternal dividends.
Which race do you run?
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
This word ‘fear’ used in our King James Bible sounds cold as a word to describe our relationship with God, but is it? It is not a word that denotes of fear as we have from an irrational enemy or an oppressor; it tells rather of a respectful fear. It is the fear of the knowledge that whatever we do, good and bad, has retribution. It is the fear of knowing that even when we think that no one hears, God does. It is the knowledge that when we believe no one sees us, God’s eyes look even in the deepest chambers of our being, and knows our every thought, intentional and unintentional. It is realizing that the Holy Spirit is the ‘police’ of our soul.
There are many today who have succeeded in rationalizing the voice of their conscience and therefore, they do not even realize that they have one. They live their lives in total oblivion of the presence of God and think that life will never catch up with them. They despise the wisdom and instruction that are able to save them from the pits the enemy of our souls has prepared for us in order to catch us in his net on judgment day. Are we living in a generation of fools?
We are indeed, but here is the good news: we are each one of us individuals with freedom of choice. We do not have to run the loosing race with the fools. Any moment, any time, we can change the course of our lives; have a turn-around, a ‘metanoia’ (Greek word for ‘repentance’) and run the race that is on higher grounds; the race that affords infinite rewards and eternal dividends.
Which race do you run?
Friday, September 21, 2007
. . . AND UNDERSTANDING ONES GET WISDOM;
Proverbs 1:1-6
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . and understanding ones get wisdom;
To whom is understanding given? To who is wisdom granted? If we want to understand to great wisdom of God we cannot only try to tune in to His ‘learning channel’. We also have to use the ‘tools’ of His trade.
Let’s say I own a factory designed to produce dishwashers. Now I am asked to produce cars. Even though I have production chains ready using such materials as could be needed to produce cars, my attempts would be futile unless I actually change the chains, get new materials, and even train my workers into the manufacture of cars.
Our spirit works much the same way. We cannot even start to understand the beginning of the wisdom of God unless our spirit has been regenerated. The circuitry that runs it rewired and we are taught new reactions towards His Words.
Once we are rewired, It is possible to be so ingrained into a form and understanding of the Word that we cannot see any other way that what we have been taught for such a long time. It is therefore important to also stay with an understanding of the Word that is totally unadulterated by the rationalizing of man. That is why Jesus said we needed to become babes, so we can take God’s Word for what it says: at face value.
May God help us through the study of these royal proverbs to find the wisdom granted to those who have the ‘tools of the trade’ to understand.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . and understanding ones get wisdom;
To whom is understanding given? To who is wisdom granted? If we want to understand to great wisdom of God we cannot only try to tune in to His ‘learning channel’. We also have to use the ‘tools’ of His trade.
Let’s say I own a factory designed to produce dishwashers. Now I am asked to produce cars. Even though I have production chains ready using such materials as could be needed to produce cars, my attempts would be futile unless I actually change the chains, get new materials, and even train my workers into the manufacture of cars.
Our spirit works much the same way. We cannot even start to understand the beginning of the wisdom of God unless our spirit has been regenerated. The circuitry that runs it rewired and we are taught new reactions towards His Words.
Once we are rewired, It is possible to be so ingrained into a form and understanding of the Word that we cannot see any other way that what we have been taught for such a long time. It is therefore important to also stay with an understanding of the Word that is totally unadulterated by the rationalizing of man. That is why Jesus said we needed to become babes, so we can take God’s Word for what it says: at face value.
May God help us through the study of these royal proverbs to find the wisdom granted to those who have the ‘tools of the trade’ to understand.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
. . . KNOWLEDGE AND JUDGMENT TO THE YOUNG MAN
Proverbs 1:1-6
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . knowledge and judgment to the young man; the wise hears and increases learning;
Where are the ‘wise old owls’ of the past; the older men and women who were sought for their advice?
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness, (Proverbs 16:31) wise King Solomon tells us. It is true, but we live in a generation that idolizes youth. Our culture vilifies old age; we are ashamed of it and use all sort of products, contraptions and even surgery to try to appear and stay young.
God puts the older folks in our midst, those who have a larger and more complete perspective on life, as a source of wisdom. They may not know how to use all of our modern contraptions; they may now know how to replicate the latest dance moves on the dance floor; they may not wear the trendiest fashionable clothes, but they usually know more about life than our arrogant youth who seems to be leading their generation to its destruction. They think they know it all; they have arrogantly pushed away the word of the wise and tried to be the voice of wisdom for their own generation. How foolish are the children of today
In the days of Israel’s glory, a man usually went over one full study cycle of the Torah (the 5 first books of Moses) each year. He grew with the Word, and each year, as he matured, he saw and understood the Word in a different way. As he got older, he had a natural grasp on spirituality that young men could only dream to caress.
As we, who have lived longer and know more about life teach these proverbs in our homes, they will give knowledge and judgment to our young men and women. Let us faithfully study the Godly words of wisdom, understand them ourselves, and make sure to impart their wisdom to our youth.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . knowledge and judgment to the young man; the wise hears and increases learning;
Where are the ‘wise old owls’ of the past; the older men and women who were sought for their advice?
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness, (Proverbs 16:31) wise King Solomon tells us. It is true, but we live in a generation that idolizes youth. Our culture vilifies old age; we are ashamed of it and use all sort of products, contraptions and even surgery to try to appear and stay young.
God puts the older folks in our midst, those who have a larger and more complete perspective on life, as a source of wisdom. They may not know how to use all of our modern contraptions; they may now know how to replicate the latest dance moves on the dance floor; they may not wear the trendiest fashionable clothes, but they usually know more about life than our arrogant youth who seems to be leading their generation to its destruction. They think they know it all; they have arrogantly pushed away the word of the wise and tried to be the voice of wisdom for their own generation. How foolish are the children of today
In the days of Israel’s glory, a man usually went over one full study cycle of the Torah (the 5 first books of Moses) each year. He grew with the Word, and each year, as he matured, he saw and understood the Word in a different way. As he got older, he had a natural grasp on spirituality that young men could only dream to caress.
As we, who have lived longer and know more about life teach these proverbs in our homes, they will give knowledge and judgment to our young men and women. Let us faithfully study the Godly words of wisdom, understand them ourselves, and make sure to impart their wisdom to our youth.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
. . .TO GIVE SENSE TO THE SIMPLE;
Proverbs 1:1-6
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . .to give sense to the simple;
When studying the Bible, if we are serious about finding out what God wants to say to us, we sometimes need to refer to the original language, as well as to the contextual culture. The word sense in this text holds the meaning of ‘wisdom in caution and prudence’. The word simple means, ‘foolish’, as in ‘easily seducible’.
As I was warning my students about the grave dangers of unsupervised and uncontrolled Internet use by teenagers, one of my young, obviously ‘simple’ and ‘foolish’ students said, “ I don’t care; if I want it, I’ll do it even if it is dangerous”!
When I heard this, my heart sank and saw that my work was cut out for the year with that student. She needs to learn ‘sense’, but as they say, ‘common sense is not always so common’.
The words in these proverbs are to teach us this prudence we so desperately need. These proverbs are to help us not be so seducible and gullible to the doctrines, ways and ‘truths’ sent to us by the enemy of our soul. These proverbs can help us get the truth again from the Word, without the foolish relative interpretations of men who constantly try to weasel away form the definite constant stability of God’s standards.
Let us in all honesty dig in these proverbs and find again the Word of life that is able to save our soul from certain spiritual death.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . .to give sense to the simple;
When studying the Bible, if we are serious about finding out what God wants to say to us, we sometimes need to refer to the original language, as well as to the contextual culture. The word sense in this text holds the meaning of ‘wisdom in caution and prudence’. The word simple means, ‘foolish’, as in ‘easily seducible’.
As I was warning my students about the grave dangers of unsupervised and uncontrolled Internet use by teenagers, one of my young, obviously ‘simple’ and ‘foolish’ students said, “ I don’t care; if I want it, I’ll do it even if it is dangerous”!
When I heard this, my heart sank and saw that my work was cut out for the year with that student. She needs to learn ‘sense’, but as they say, ‘common sense is not always so common’.
The words in these proverbs are to teach us this prudence we so desperately need. These proverbs are to help us not be so seducible and gullible to the doctrines, ways and ‘truths’ sent to us by the enemy of our soul. These proverbs can help us get the truth again from the Word, without the foolish relative interpretations of men who constantly try to weasel away form the definite constant stability of God’s standards.
Let us in all honesty dig in these proverbs and find again the Word of life that is able to save our soul from certain spiritual death.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
. . . TO RECEIVE THE INSTRUCTION OF WISDOM, JUSTICE, AND JUDGMENT, AND UPRIGHTNESS;
Proverbs 1:1-6
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
The unmovable standards of wisdom, justice and judgments are forever established in the heavenlies. Their Creator has provided us with the means to understand them, but today, the shifting sands of moral and spiritual relativity have robbed us from the stable standards of God’s words imbedded in rock solid stone.
We think we are so mart. We are like one who having bought an expensive piece of equipment, studies the manual in order to rewrite it to his own liking. What he thinks to improve, to his own hurt, he destroys with every alteration.
While we search for answers to heal our frazzled psyches, we fill ourselves with instructions of every sort. Only the instruction of wisdom, of the wisdom coming from God, makes any sense to the psychological programming imbedded in our souls. Anything else will freeze the program to an eventual total shut down, as we can see happens to many today.
God’s principles of justice and judgment are the foundation of human social etiquette; but in our search for self-justification, we have with each generation re-written the rules of right and wrong. The difference between black and white has not only become blurry, but one has traded with the other.
Uprightness is integrity towards God, His instruction and His sense of justice and of judgment. In total disregard to the unshakable truths found in the spiritual dynamics of obedience to God in spite of personal hurt, the concept of uprightness has now shifted to become integrity towards self-interest and preservation.
Let us in the study of these proverbs rediscover the ultimate unshakable truths that created us and our universe.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
The unmovable standards of wisdom, justice and judgments are forever established in the heavenlies. Their Creator has provided us with the means to understand them, but today, the shifting sands of moral and spiritual relativity have robbed us from the stable standards of God’s words imbedded in rock solid stone.
We think we are so mart. We are like one who having bought an expensive piece of equipment, studies the manual in order to rewrite it to his own liking. What he thinks to improve, to his own hurt, he destroys with every alteration.
While we search for answers to heal our frazzled psyches, we fill ourselves with instructions of every sort. Only the instruction of wisdom, of the wisdom coming from God, makes any sense to the psychological programming imbedded in our souls. Anything else will freeze the program to an eventual total shut down, as we can see happens to many today.
God’s principles of justice and judgment are the foundation of human social etiquette; but in our search for self-justification, we have with each generation re-written the rules of right and wrong. The difference between black and white has not only become blurry, but one has traded with the other.
Uprightness is integrity towards God, His instruction and His sense of justice and of judgment. In total disregard to the unshakable truths found in the spiritual dynamics of obedience to God in spite of personal hurt, the concept of uprightness has now shifted to become integrity towards self-interest and preservation.
Let us in the study of these proverbs rediscover the ultimate unshakable truths that created us and our universe.
Monday, September 17, 2007
. . . TO RECOGNIZE THE WORDS OF UNDERSTANDING
Proverbs 1:1-6
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
to recognize the words of understanding;
On radio, on TV, through the mail or the Internet, we are daily bombarded with advice about health, marriage, finances, religion and child rearing. It’s a market out there as everyone wants to tell us that they have the million dollars solution to life’s problems. Somwhere though, one of these voices that shouts in the market place is the voice of wisdom.
It’s like Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians. Somehow, Pharoah’s men could replicate Moses’ changing of a wooden staff into a snake, which would the unsuspecting confused wondering, “who then is the true God? Are they all the same?” How then do we make thje difference and “recognize” which is “the word of understanding”?
These proverbs from King Solomon are said to help us make the difference between the esoteric boastings of the world from the illusionary realm of Satan and the true power that comes from the Kingdom of God. It is my prayer that as we study these proverbs together, we will grow in knowing how to make the difference.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
to recognize the words of understanding;
On radio, on TV, through the mail or the Internet, we are daily bombarded with advice about health, marriage, finances, religion and child rearing. It’s a market out there as everyone wants to tell us that they have the million dollars solution to life’s problems. Somwhere though, one of these voices that shouts in the market place is the voice of wisdom.
It’s like Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians. Somehow, Pharoah’s men could replicate Moses’ changing of a wooden staff into a snake, which would the unsuspecting confused wondering, “who then is the true God? Are they all the same?” How then do we make thje difference and “recognize” which is “the word of understanding”?
These proverbs from King Solomon are said to help us make the difference between the esoteric boastings of the world from the illusionary realm of Satan and the true power that comes from the Kingdom of God. It is my prayer that as we study these proverbs together, we will grow in knowing how to make the difference.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
. . . AND INSTRUCTION
Proverbs 1:1-6
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . and instruction; In ancient times God established His Laws upon tablets of stones. The children had no sooner promised to follow and obey God that they turned away from Him to worship the work of their own hands. They knew what was right, but only in their heads. In spite of all they had seen God do to the Egyptians for their defiance against God, The Children of Israel did not yet have “wisdom” to ‘fear the Lord” in their hearts yet.
The Hebrew word for instruction that is used in this passage is the word ‘musar’. Properly this word means ‘chastisement’; figuratively it means rebuke, reprove, doctrine, warning, and also restraint. In the book of the New Covenant, Paul also advises Timothy to . . . reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2).
Once we enter a new situation such as a new school, a new job, or a new social circle, isn’t helpful to get an orientation and familiarize ourselves with the modus operandi, the do’s and don’t of our new environment? God enters a betrothal covenant with us and He doesn’t want to leave us in the dark as far as His expectations from us, and what does He expect more than any husband would expect from his wife, only that she be consecrated and dedicated to him.
These proverbs from King Solomon not only give us the wisdom to fear and honor God, but also teach us in the ways of the great King.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
. . . and instruction; In ancient times God established His Laws upon tablets of stones. The children had no sooner promised to follow and obey God that they turned away from Him to worship the work of their own hands. They knew what was right, but only in their heads. In spite of all they had seen God do to the Egyptians for their defiance against God, The Children of Israel did not yet have “wisdom” to ‘fear the Lord” in their hearts yet.
The Hebrew word for instruction that is used in this passage is the word ‘musar’. Properly this word means ‘chastisement’; figuratively it means rebuke, reprove, doctrine, warning, and also restraint. In the book of the New Covenant, Paul also advises Timothy to . . . reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2).
Once we enter a new situation such as a new school, a new job, or a new social circle, isn’t helpful to get an orientation and familiarize ourselves with the modus operandi, the do’s and don’t of our new environment? God enters a betrothal covenant with us and He doesn’t want to leave us in the dark as far as His expectations from us, and what does He expect more than any husband would expect from his wife, only that she be consecrated and dedicated to him.
These proverbs from King Solomon not only give us the wisdom to fear and honor God, but also teach us in the ways of the great King.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
TO KNOW WISDOM
Proverbs 1:1-6
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
This statement starts the Book of Proverbs. This ‘loaded’ sentence tells us everything these Words from the wisest king the world can teach us. We will go over them phrase by phrase.
To know wisdom: Wisdom today is relative, but the wisdom inferred here is most certainly the wisdom of God, also called by the apostle James, the wisdom that is from above (James 3:17).
We may not always know what decisions are done in this wisdom that is from above from those which are not, but the apostle gives us a clue as to its properties, and fruits. James said, But the wisdom that is from above is first truly pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Above all, let us also remember that the fear (obedience, respect, honor) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Let us take seriously reflecting on these proverbs from the king inspired by the King; they will help us to know His wisdom.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
to know wisdom and instruction;
to recognize the words of understanding;
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;
to give sense to the simple,
knowledge and judgment to the young man;
the wise hears and increases learning;
and understanding ones get wisdom;
to understand a proverb and its meaning;
the words of the wise, and their acute sayings.
This statement starts the Book of Proverbs. This ‘loaded’ sentence tells us everything these Words from the wisest king the world can teach us. We will go over them phrase by phrase.
To know wisdom: Wisdom today is relative, but the wisdom inferred here is most certainly the wisdom of God, also called by the apostle James, the wisdom that is from above (James 3:17).
We may not always know what decisions are done in this wisdom that is from above from those which are not, but the apostle gives us a clue as to its properties, and fruits. James said, But the wisdom that is from above is first truly pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Above all, let us also remember that the fear (obedience, respect, honor) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Let us take seriously reflecting on these proverbs from the king inspired by the King; they will help us to know His wisdom.
Friday, September 14, 2007
THE PERPETUAL BLESSING
Psalms 134:3 The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
This is the blessing the priests pronounced on the pilgrims as they returned to their homes in the four corners of Asia at the end of their thrice-yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The pilgrimage was motivated by much more than the desire to see the holy sights and the tombs of the patriarchs. It was not a touristic visit to the Holy Land. Like the longing of the homing pigeon to return to its place, it was motivated by the longing of the human soul to return in the presence of its Creator. As the pilgrims left, the priests sent with the blessing of the promises of Zion.
The blessing of the promise of Zion is the presence of Jesus the Messiah and of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We may spend time in the temple of God in the privacy of our prayer closet; we may enjoy the blessings and edification of fellowship with the saints; so wherever we go, let us take this blessing with us and overflow it on everyone that we meet on our way.
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
This is the blessing the priests pronounced on the pilgrims as they returned to their homes in the four corners of Asia at the end of their thrice-yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The pilgrimage was motivated by much more than the desire to see the holy sights and the tombs of the patriarchs. It was not a touristic visit to the Holy Land. Like the longing of the homing pigeon to return to its place, it was motivated by the longing of the human soul to return in the presence of its Creator. As the pilgrims left, the priests sent with the blessing of the promises of Zion.
The blessing of the promise of Zion is the presence of Jesus the Messiah and of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We may spend time in the temple of God in the privacy of our prayer closet; we may enjoy the blessings and edification of fellowship with the saints; so wherever we go, let us take this blessing with us and overflow it on everyone that we meet on our way.
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Thursday, September 13, 2007
THE PERPETUAL TIME OF PRAISE
Psalms 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.
The fourth chapter of the book of Revelations tells us of the throne of God. In front of the throne is an altar ablaze with a perpetual fire (Revelations 8:3). The throne is surrounded by four winged beasts full of eyes before and behind that rest not day or night from praising the God of heaven (Revelations 4:6-9).
To convey this notion to His people, God gave them a symbolic wooden Ark, representing His throne, with a flaming altar in front of it. God also established the levitical service: the fire and of the altar which must be tended to day and night. The Ark, the altar, and later on the temple were only symbols of greater spiritual truths, only to be discarded in the day when the Messiah established His throne in our hearts.
We in whom Christ reigns; we in whose heart is the throne of God through the mediation of His Messiah; let us serve Him in the day light when all is clear and bright; and let us serve Him also in the night watches when we cannot sleep. At all times, let us serve Him with praise and with dedicated hands. Let us bless and thank Him for all His benefits to us. That may be the reason why we cannot sleep sometimes: Jesus calls upon us to do the service of praising and blessing Him by the altar.
1Chronicles 9:33 And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.
The fourth chapter of the book of Revelations tells us of the throne of God. In front of the throne is an altar ablaze with a perpetual fire (Revelations 8:3). The throne is surrounded by four winged beasts full of eyes before and behind that rest not day or night from praising the God of heaven (Revelations 4:6-9).
To convey this notion to His people, God gave them a symbolic wooden Ark, representing His throne, with a flaming altar in front of it. God also established the levitical service: the fire and of the altar which must be tended to day and night. The Ark, the altar, and later on the temple were only symbols of greater spiritual truths, only to be discarded in the day when the Messiah established His throne in our hearts.
We in whom Christ reigns; we in whose heart is the throne of God through the mediation of His Messiah; let us serve Him in the day light when all is clear and bright; and let us serve Him also in the night watches when we cannot sleep. At all times, let us serve Him with praise and with dedicated hands. Let us bless and thank Him for all His benefits to us. That may be the reason why we cannot sleep sometimes: Jesus calls upon us to do the service of praising and blessing Him by the altar.
1Chronicles 9:33 And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
‘PRAY-ORS, PRAYEES, AND PRAY-OR-PRAYEES.’
NOTE: From 120 to 134 the psalms are called ‘songs of degree”. Pilgrims sang these songs as they traveled on their thrice-yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The 134th Psalm is the last one of the songs of degree. When pilgrims left Jerusalem at the break of dawn, they were moved with a sense of awe and melancholy as they watched the light emanating from the chambers of the priests who tended to the temple during the night watches.
Psalms 134:1 Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
There are those who pray, and there are those who are prayed for. There are also those who pray for the prayer warriors. Moses, as the good prayer warrior and intercessor he was, needed to be supported in that way.
When the children of Israel were fighting Amalek in the desert (Exodus 17:11-12), Moses, Aaron and Hur were watching and praying on a nearby hill. They realized that when Moses lifted up his hands in prayer, Israel was winning, but when Moses had his hands down, Israel was losing the battle. Aaron and Hur then decided to help prop up Moses’ tired arms until the battle was won.
Let us, with our prayers bless the pastors, the shepherds, the teachers, and the prayer warriors who spend their time by day or in the night watches praying for us. Let us not forget that their prayers are the winds that direct the fiery Word arrows to the heart of the enemy (1 Peter 5:8), and generate the noise of heavenly chariots that drives him away in fear (2 Kings 6:24; 7:5b-7).
Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.
Psalms 134:1 Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
There are those who pray, and there are those who are prayed for. There are also those who pray for the prayer warriors. Moses, as the good prayer warrior and intercessor he was, needed to be supported in that way.
When the children of Israel were fighting Amalek in the desert (Exodus 17:11-12), Moses, Aaron and Hur were watching and praying on a nearby hill. They realized that when Moses lifted up his hands in prayer, Israel was winning, but when Moses had his hands down, Israel was losing the battle. Aaron and Hur then decided to help prop up Moses’ tired arms until the battle was won.
Let us, with our prayers bless the pastors, the shepherds, the teachers, and the prayer warriors who spend their time by day or in the night watches praying for us. Let us not forget that their prayers are the winds that direct the fiery Word arrows to the heart of the enemy (1 Peter 5:8), and generate the noise of heavenly chariots that drives him away in fear (2 Kings 6:24; 7:5b-7).
Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
THE MEASURE OF A LIFE
Psalms 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
How do we measure a man’s life? By its length? By its depth? Or by its content?
Some of us have the philosophy that life is short; that therefore it is to be enjoyed at any cost. Others, with a sense of responsibility, fill it with philanthropic activities. But really, how does God look at it? How does God measure the fullness of a life?
We are actors on the great stage of existence. We yearn to play in the greatest play of all, under the greatest Playwright of all times. The fullness of our existence is therefore only fulfilled in one thing: playing the role He has set for us to play. Oh, but there are so many others who desire our participation in their drama. These other producers tempt us with carnal incentives that we at times waste our talent on; we sadly sometimes fall for their illusionary empty promises, and in doing do, we exchange the substantial best for our lives, for an illusionary temporary good
Each of our lives has a particular purpose and God is the great Playwright who has written the script of our existence. Each part of our script is synchronized with the script of other players and produces a domino effect on the rest of the plot. Our presence in the play, or lack of it, is never passive, but reactionary; it has an effect.
The fullness of a man’s life is in how much he absorbed the script of God, regardless of how boring, glamorous, short, long, simple or intricate.
Knowing that we play for the Master-producer, conducting the only movies that have the right outcome in the theater of life, let us dedicate ourselves to only play His script; to not just play the role, but to be the role He assigns for us daily.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.
How do we measure a man’s life? By its length? By its depth? Or by its content?
Some of us have the philosophy that life is short; that therefore it is to be enjoyed at any cost. Others, with a sense of responsibility, fill it with philanthropic activities. But really, how does God look at it? How does God measure the fullness of a life?
We are actors on the great stage of existence. We yearn to play in the greatest play of all, under the greatest Playwright of all times. The fullness of our existence is therefore only fulfilled in one thing: playing the role He has set for us to play. Oh, but there are so many others who desire our participation in their drama. These other producers tempt us with carnal incentives that we at times waste our talent on; we sadly sometimes fall for their illusionary empty promises, and in doing do, we exchange the substantial best for our lives, for an illusionary temporary good
Each of our lives has a particular purpose and God is the great Playwright who has written the script of our existence. Each part of our script is synchronized with the script of other players and produces a domino effect on the rest of the plot. Our presence in the play, or lack of it, is never passive, but reactionary; it has an effect.
The fullness of a man’s life is in how much he absorbed the script of God, regardless of how boring, glamorous, short, long, simple or intricate.
Knowing that we play for the Master-producer, conducting the only movies that have the right outcome in the theater of life, let us dedicate ourselves to only play His script; to not just play the role, but to be the role He assigns for us daily.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
THE ‘PRICE’ OF PEACE
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The fountain of peace is found under the shadow of the Almighty--rest from the burning heat of the day; a place where the cool breeze of the Holy Spirit refreshes and restores the soul. This promise of heavenly bliss is given with a condition: to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Much of our life is a wrestle; we struggle to stay on top of things, and we yearn for the peace our soul so desperately needs. This lack of drinking at the fountain of peace has caused most of the industrialized world to seek the help of various sortsiesof psychological therapy or medicines. I sometimes wonder how God, the provider of this source of peace, looks at it.
It is sad, but whereas we are told where to find the peace we so desperately crave, we often only pay a token visit to it. Why is that? Is the fee too high?
What are we afraid to lose by coming to God in closer intimacy? Are we apprehending the fact that He may ask us to reconsider elements in our lives that cause it to be confusing? Are we going to have to put something on the altar of His divine will in order to find that peace?
May God help us, today, to come so close to him that we may dwell in the temple of his shadow. May he help us to not trade the bliss of his continual presence for anything this world has to offer, that we may drink abundantly of the fountain of peace to our fill.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.
The fountain of peace is found under the shadow of the Almighty--rest from the burning heat of the day; a place where the cool breeze of the Holy Spirit refreshes and restores the soul. This promise of heavenly bliss is given with a condition: to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Much of our life is a wrestle; we struggle to stay on top of things, and we yearn for the peace our soul so desperately needs. This lack of drinking at the fountain of peace has caused most of the industrialized world to seek the help of various sortsiesof psychological therapy or medicines. I sometimes wonder how God, the provider of this source of peace, looks at it.
It is sad, but whereas we are told where to find the peace we so desperately crave, we often only pay a token visit to it. Why is that? Is the fee too high?
What are we afraid to lose by coming to God in closer intimacy? Are we apprehending the fact that He may ask us to reconsider elements in our lives that cause it to be confusing? Are we going to have to put something on the altar of His divine will in order to find that peace?
May God help us, today, to come so close to him that we may dwell in the temple of his shadow. May he help us to not trade the bliss of his continual presence for anything this world has to offer, that we may drink abundantly of the fountain of peace to our fill.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.
HOME
Psalms 106:47-48 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our hometown; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones or people of akin passions.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home. Our soul longs to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it finally arrives in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 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.
Here is the cry of the traveler weary of wandering; the longing of the pilgrim anxious for his destination; and the yearning of the stranger desiring a place to call home.
Some of us live in the country of our birth; some of us have moved to settle in another country. Some of us live in or near our hometown; some of us have moved cross-country. There are also some of us who are so traveled, that ‘home’ is not a geographical place, but wherever we find ourselves in the world as long as it is in the company of our loved-ones or people of akin passions.
Whether we travel or live a sedentary life, our soul yearns for home. Our soul longs to be gathered unto its people and unto its God. Our soul was delivered from Egypt; it found its God at Mt Horeb; it has dedicated its life to follow the Lord. Now our soul traverses the wilderness of this world learning precious lessons of yieldedness, sanctity, trust and obedience to our Savior before it finally arrives in the heavenly Promised Land where as the old song says, there are no strangers”.
Oh, my Lord and my God, how my soul longs for your presence. How it yearns to be gathered into the place that you have prepared for us (John 14:2-3). My soul desires you; it longs to be gathered to the place where misunderstandings, sadness and strife are things of the past. My heart cries for the place where it can lay fully opened to the light and not get burned; where it can lay it right open on the sidewalk without fear of being trampled upon. This, my friends is ‘home’.
Hebrews 11:13-16 . . . and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 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.
Friday, August 24, 2007
PERSECUTION; OR CORRECTION FROM THE LORD?
Psalms 106:46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
The life of the child of God is one of tribulations for righteousness’ sake. Sometimes God ordains the tribulation as a correction to his child, (Judges 2:13,14) and other times He allows it for the purpose of spiritually purifying his children (Daniel 12:10). The time is coming when tribulation will be used all over the earth to reveal God’s true faithful ones (Revelations 13:16,17).
In spite of this, it doesn’t mean that every time we find ourselves in opposition with family and friends, that we are ‘suffering’ persecution for righteousness’ sake’. Sometimes, our social conflicts stem from the fact that we may just be wrong on something, blind to some truth, or even that we have an arrogant obnoxious attitude about it, which God does not bless (2 Timothy 2:24). These same principles can be applied in the realm of business and international politics.
God owns the heart of his children. He also owns the heart of the nations, and none of either one can make a move without His permission. We need to always remember that God is ultimately the one in charge, in control, and ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in our lives, and in the world. When we repent from our errors, when we harmonize our soul with God’s Spirit, God also pours His blessings on us in the form of the favor of our enemies.
So when we are faced with personal, social or political conflict, let us not be so quick in adopting the ‘persecution syndrome’. Let us check our heart to see if maybe our poor relationship with our ‘neighbor’ is a reflection of our disharmony with God’s Spirit.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
The life of the child of God is one of tribulations for righteousness’ sake. Sometimes God ordains the tribulation as a correction to his child, (Judges 2:13,14) and other times He allows it for the purpose of spiritually purifying his children (Daniel 12:10). The time is coming when tribulation will be used all over the earth to reveal God’s true faithful ones (Revelations 13:16,17).
In spite of this, it doesn’t mean that every time we find ourselves in opposition with family and friends, that we are ‘suffering’ persecution for righteousness’ sake’. Sometimes, our social conflicts stem from the fact that we may just be wrong on something, blind to some truth, or even that we have an arrogant obnoxious attitude about it, which God does not bless (2 Timothy 2:24). These same principles can be applied in the realm of business and international politics.
God owns the heart of his children. He also owns the heart of the nations, and none of either one can make a move without His permission. We need to always remember that God is ultimately the one in charge, in control, and ultimately responsible for everything that goes on in our lives, and in the world. When we repent from our errors, when we harmonize our soul with God’s Spirit, God also pours His blessings on us in the form of the favor of our enemies.
So when we are faced with personal, social or political conflict, let us not be so quick in adopting the ‘persecution syndrome’. Let us check our heart to see if maybe our poor relationship with our ‘neighbor’ is a reflection of our disharmony with God’s Spirit.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
JESUS’ MANY TYPES
Psalms 106:44-45 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
After they rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden, God made a covenant of redemption with Adam and Eve. This covenant declared that somewhere, sometime, a ‘son of Adam’ through an ‘Eve’ would redeem them from their sin incurred (Genesis 3:15). Through Noah’s flood, Moses’ Exodus; through oppression by neighboring nations, the story of the people of God has been a story of sin and redemption. They would sin against God by practicing idolatry, so God would let them fall in the hands of enemies. God knew that there was still a promise to be fulfilled, so after they realized their error, He heard their cry and sent them a redeemer. If they were desperate enough and heard this redeemer, He delivered them from their enemies.
Even today, the people of God have a redeemer to free them from their enemies. All they have to do is call upon Jesus Christ and he delivers them. Jesus, Yeshua Hamashia’h, has many types. He is Noah building an ark to preserve the covenant seed from a world bent on destruction; He is Abraham taking us to the Promised Land, and pleading for the nations. Jesus is Moses the mediator and lawgiver; Joshua the conqueror of the Promised Land. He is Samson, Gideon, David, and all those who came before to supernaturally redeem God’s people.
Today, Jesus Christ is the perpetual redeemer who always stands in the favor of God’s people. When we call upon Him in desperation and repentance, He is ever present to redeem us from our enemies and from the results of our sins. Who could be so foolish to neglect so great a salvation?
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
After they rebelled against Him in the Garden of Eden, God made a covenant of redemption with Adam and Eve. This covenant declared that somewhere, sometime, a ‘son of Adam’ through an ‘Eve’ would redeem them from their sin incurred (Genesis 3:15). Through Noah’s flood, Moses’ Exodus; through oppression by neighboring nations, the story of the people of God has been a story of sin and redemption. They would sin against God by practicing idolatry, so God would let them fall in the hands of enemies. God knew that there was still a promise to be fulfilled, so after they realized their error, He heard their cry and sent them a redeemer. If they were desperate enough and heard this redeemer, He delivered them from their enemies.
Even today, the people of God have a redeemer to free them from their enemies. All they have to do is call upon Jesus Christ and he delivers them. Jesus, Yeshua Hamashia’h, has many types. He is Noah building an ark to preserve the covenant seed from a world bent on destruction; He is Abraham taking us to the Promised Land, and pleading for the nations. Jesus is Moses the mediator and lawgiver; Joshua the conqueror of the Promised Land. He is Samson, Gideon, David, and all those who came before to supernaturally redeem God’s people.
Today, Jesus Christ is the perpetual redeemer who always stands in the favor of God’s people. When we call upon Him in desperation and repentance, He is ever present to redeem us from our enemies and from the results of our sins. Who could be so foolish to neglect so great a salvation?
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
DOWNFALL FROM BLESSINGS
Psalms 106:43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
Can we be trusted with God’s blessings?
When life rolls like a song, we seem to forget God; we think it robbery to enjoy the blessings of His grace and love (Philippians 2:6). Like naughty children, we promise to obey the rules, then run to our own devices. We get in trouble, cry for deliverance, and when God bails us out we go right back to it. It’s a wonder to realize how, in his carnal state, man prefers sin and hell than God’s blessings in heaven.
As a dog returneth to his vomit the Bible says, so the fool returneth to his folly (Proverb 26:11). The pages of history, not only of Israel’s history, but that of the world, bear witness to this fact. We seem to never learn from our past. We have a perverted hunger for territorial wars, for control of strategic resources, and for an unhealthy independence from God’s way of life. Israel was time again brought under the yoke of its enemies because of his disobedience after God had delivered them. It almost seems like a microcosm of the spiritual attitude of the whole world. It is also an extension of the way each one of us handle our lives.
We cannot do very much in the realm of politics, but as individuals, we have the power to change the world. Using Murphy’s law, (the fact everyone of us has influence on at least 250 people in our lives) let us decide, each one of us, as individuals, to buck the tide of the accepted way; to be thankful for God’s blessings, prefer heaven than hell, and live a life that “walks the Bible’s talk”.
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Can we be trusted with God’s blessings?
When life rolls like a song, we seem to forget God; we think it robbery to enjoy the blessings of His grace and love (Philippians 2:6). Like naughty children, we promise to obey the rules, then run to our own devices. We get in trouble, cry for deliverance, and when God bails us out we go right back to it. It’s a wonder to realize how, in his carnal state, man prefers sin and hell than God’s blessings in heaven.
As a dog returneth to his vomit the Bible says, so the fool returneth to his folly (Proverb 26:11). The pages of history, not only of Israel’s history, but that of the world, bear witness to this fact. We seem to never learn from our past. We have a perverted hunger for territorial wars, for control of strategic resources, and for an unhealthy independence from God’s way of life. Israel was time again brought under the yoke of its enemies because of his disobedience after God had delivered them. It almost seems like a microcosm of the spiritual attitude of the whole world. It is also an extension of the way each one of us handle our lives.
We cannot do very much in the realm of politics, but as individuals, we have the power to change the world. Using Murphy’s law, (the fact everyone of us has influence on at least 250 people in our lives) let us decide, each one of us, as individuals, to buck the tide of the accepted way; to be thankful for God’s blessings, prefer heaven than hell, and live a life that “walks the Bible’s talk”.
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
CONQUER THE ‘LAND’
Psalms 106:42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
History stands as a witness. As a nation or as individuals, the dynamics of life remain the same. The evil that we allow and compromise with and the wrong that we fail to denounce, become our oppressor. Be it excess materialism, perversion of morality, distortion of faith, as a rod on His children’s backside, God uses those with whom they perversely seek fellowship. Those who yoke together with unbelievers; those who fellowship with the works of darkness; those who attempt to serve God and mammon; (2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:11; Matthew 6:24); see them now; day and night they push the treadmill of these who have become their masters.. They labor and find no pleasure in their labor. Their Sabbaths are robbed from under them; they have no time to fellowship with their God; no time for their own.
The scriptures have warned us, we cannot take fire into our bosom without getting burned (Proverbs 6:27). Even now a foul smell of burning engulfs the world’s atmosphere; smoke billows on the horizon and the drums of war sound in the distance.
The oppressor first seeks to conquer our mind. As he did with Eve in the garden, he tries to convince us that there is no pleasure in the keeping God’s word. Our enemy tells us that he alone has the treasures of wisdom. Once he has conquered our mind, our body and soul fall into his hands.
Let us acknowledge the enemy’s his evil. Let us denounce his wicked intentions to our souls. Today, let us free ourselves from the heavy burden of his bondage and take upon us the easy yoke of our Messiah, Jesus, and once again let us conquer the land of our hearts for God.
John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
History stands as a witness. As a nation or as individuals, the dynamics of life remain the same. The evil that we allow and compromise with and the wrong that we fail to denounce, become our oppressor. Be it excess materialism, perversion of morality, distortion of faith, as a rod on His children’s backside, God uses those with whom they perversely seek fellowship. Those who yoke together with unbelievers; those who fellowship with the works of darkness; those who attempt to serve God and mammon; (2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:11; Matthew 6:24); see them now; day and night they push the treadmill of these who have become their masters.. They labor and find no pleasure in their labor. Their Sabbaths are robbed from under them; they have no time to fellowship with their God; no time for their own.
The scriptures have warned us, we cannot take fire into our bosom without getting burned (Proverbs 6:27). Even now a foul smell of burning engulfs the world’s atmosphere; smoke billows on the horizon and the drums of war sound in the distance.
The oppressor first seeks to conquer our mind. As he did with Eve in the garden, he tries to convince us that there is no pleasure in the keeping God’s word. Our enemy tells us that he alone has the treasures of wisdom. Once he has conquered our mind, our body and soul fall into his hands.
Let us acknowledge the enemy’s his evil. Let us denounce his wicked intentions to our souls. Today, let us free ourselves from the heavy burden of his bondage and take upon us the easy yoke of our Messiah, Jesus, and once again let us conquer the land of our hearts for God.
John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Monday, August 20, 2007
THE PATIENT LOVER OF OUR SOUL
Psalms 106:40-41 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
The husbandman went on a journey far away; He left his estate in the able hands of his wife, the redeemed bride; the one he has redeemed with a strong hand and a great price. When she realized her husband tarried to return home, she went to the streets and played the harlot. She invited many lovers to her bed and defiled it with adulterous loves. The husbandman returned and was stricken with grief at the sight of his polluted wife and household. He did not dare to enter in. If that is what his beloved wife wants, so be it and he left her in the evil hands of the abusers of souls until she receives the due recompense of her actions.
What else could we do in such a situation? Even if he would come in and chase the lovers away it would be to no avail. They were not the offense. The offense was the ungrateful bride and her desire for stolen waters and for bread eaten in secret (Proverbs 9;17). The husband, as hurt as he was, had no other recourse than to let the bride finish what she was doing until, bruised and abused, when she has received the fruits of sin, she cries in a repentant spirit to him for help. Then, he will chase the lovers away, deliver his bride from their impure hands, cleanse his house from the filth of their abominable orgies, and receive his bride again unto him in a spirit of new life and forgiveness.
Can we understand this parable? Do we understand the Lord’s mercy towards us? What would we do in His place? We would probably reject the bride and divorce her. God had done that before, and he swore that He would not do it again. Because He loves His bride dearly, He now takes the hurt, the offense, the shame and the insult into His own bosom and waits for His beloved bride to return. When she has finally learned to love Him and truly desires to forsake all others for Him, He reinstates her to her former status. What a wonderful Lord we have.
Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
The husbandman went on a journey far away; He left his estate in the able hands of his wife, the redeemed bride; the one he has redeemed with a strong hand and a great price. When she realized her husband tarried to return home, she went to the streets and played the harlot. She invited many lovers to her bed and defiled it with adulterous loves. The husbandman returned and was stricken with grief at the sight of his polluted wife and household. He did not dare to enter in. If that is what his beloved wife wants, so be it and he left her in the evil hands of the abusers of souls until she receives the due recompense of her actions.
What else could we do in such a situation? Even if he would come in and chase the lovers away it would be to no avail. They were not the offense. The offense was the ungrateful bride and her desire for stolen waters and for bread eaten in secret (Proverbs 9;17). The husband, as hurt as he was, had no other recourse than to let the bride finish what she was doing until, bruised and abused, when she has received the fruits of sin, she cries in a repentant spirit to him for help. Then, he will chase the lovers away, deliver his bride from their impure hands, cleanse his house from the filth of their abominable orgies, and receive his bride again unto him in a spirit of new life and forgiveness.
Can we understand this parable? Do we understand the Lord’s mercy towards us? What would we do in His place? We would probably reject the bride and divorce her. God had done that before, and he swore that He would not do it again. Because He loves His bride dearly, He now takes the hurt, the offense, the shame and the insult into His own bosom and waits for His beloved bride to return. When she has finally learned to love Him and truly desires to forsake all others for Him, He reinstates her to her former status. What a wonderful Lord we have.
Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
THE PRINCE AND THE UNGREATFUL PRINCESS
Psalms 106:39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
The young maiden sat on the street corner, a slave selling herself to earn money for her evil master. She was dirty, tired, starving, and thirsty. She had been beaten, used, misused, abused, and raped. Even as she sat on the street, she was the object of scorn, and took the brunt of the village’s young men’s perverted games; how she was still alive was a wonder.
The Prince of the realm rode through the streets on his white stallion. He was happy, wealthy but lonely; he needed a bride with whom to share his happiness. His eyes fell on the young maiden. The Prince saw beyond the filth, the corruption, the blood that had stained the young girl’s skirt. He couldn’t see her scarred legs, her swollen feet and bruised face. In a moment, the love that came upon him as he looked in her eyes transcended all that the corruption the world had laid upon the maiden. The prince got off his horse; with a stroke of his staff chased the perverted young men. He generously paid the ransom for her freedom and with a look of happiness and satisfaction, he put his skirt upon her to hide her shame. He then mounted her on his horse and took her to the palace to live a new life of happiness with him.
After a few days in the idyllic palace, the maiden hankered after her old life. She brought the perverted young men into the palace of the prince and polluted it with their filth, evil orgies and dirty inventions. The prince was heartbroken; how could the maiden do this?
Oh, the foolishness of the young maiden. Yes indeed, how could she do this? As foolish as the maiden was, are we—the children of the Most High who have been redeemed by the blood of the prince guilty of less? After having been redeemed with a strong hand by our Savior, do we not hanker after the evil that previously abused and shamed us? Do we not bring the evil of the world into the Holy of Holies of His house, into the ‘Holy Land’: our heart?
May God help us to be good brides for the Prince; to keep His house clean and free from the corruption and confusion of the world.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
The young maiden sat on the street corner, a slave selling herself to earn money for her evil master. She was dirty, tired, starving, and thirsty. She had been beaten, used, misused, abused, and raped. Even as she sat on the street, she was the object of scorn, and took the brunt of the village’s young men’s perverted games; how she was still alive was a wonder.
The Prince of the realm rode through the streets on his white stallion. He was happy, wealthy but lonely; he needed a bride with whom to share his happiness. His eyes fell on the young maiden. The Prince saw beyond the filth, the corruption, the blood that had stained the young girl’s skirt. He couldn’t see her scarred legs, her swollen feet and bruised face. In a moment, the love that came upon him as he looked in her eyes transcended all that the corruption the world had laid upon the maiden. The prince got off his horse; with a stroke of his staff chased the perverted young men. He generously paid the ransom for her freedom and with a look of happiness and satisfaction, he put his skirt upon her to hide her shame. He then mounted her on his horse and took her to the palace to live a new life of happiness with him.
After a few days in the idyllic palace, the maiden hankered after her old life. She brought the perverted young men into the palace of the prince and polluted it with their filth, evil orgies and dirty inventions. The prince was heartbroken; how could the maiden do this?
Oh, the foolishness of the young maiden. Yes indeed, how could she do this? As foolish as the maiden was, are we—the children of the Most High who have been redeemed by the blood of the prince guilty of less? After having been redeemed with a strong hand by our Savior, do we not hanker after the evil that previously abused and shamed us? Do we not bring the evil of the world into the Holy of Holies of His house, into the ‘Holy Land’: our heart?
May God help us to be good brides for the Prince; to keep His house clean and free from the corruption and confusion of the world.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
GOD’S LIBERTY OFFERED ON THE ALTAR OF THE DEVIL’S FREEDOM
Psalms 106:37-38 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
Why, why is it that man would rather yield to the burden of devils than to submit to the easy yoke of Yehovah? Why is it that when given wholesome spirituality, we hanker for the cesspool of superstition? Why is it that when we are given life, we snuff at it and choose death?
Is our modern civilization above such lowly crimes and passions as the children of Israel were guilty of? Do we hear these verses and think of these ancients who didn’t know better? As we read, do we picture primitive people in the distant lands of Africa or in the Amazon forest?
Since the second part of the twentieth century, our society has experienced a general rebellion against the very principles that were the spiritual building blocks of this country; it now even denies God as the creator of us all. Bewitched by a false concept of freedom, our modern civilization has strayed from wholesome boundaries. As a result, we have birthed a culture of death; we have created the spiritual genocide of a generation.
We have been lured and persuaded by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) to remove godly and healthy spiritual boundaries, and now, the proverbial werewolves roam freely, feasting on our precious lambs: our children. Dressed in sheep coats, the gods of ‘freedom’ of speech, press, choice, art, religion, and government, demand the soul of our children, and we are too willing to sacrifice them on the altar of independence from God. We exchange our God-given liberties, and sacrifice our children on the altar of the devil’s freedom.
God has a way with His children. He usually ends up letting them reap the fruits of their own doings. God eventually allows His people to be conquered by a foreign or an ungodly power. Our generation is said to be soon the witness of the revelation of such a power (Revelations 13). At that time, God’s children will repent and call unto Him. Isn’t it when the children are in trouble and need help that they finally call home?
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Why, why is it that man would rather yield to the burden of devils than to submit to the easy yoke of Yehovah? Why is it that when given wholesome spirituality, we hanker for the cesspool of superstition? Why is it that when we are given life, we snuff at it and choose death?
Is our modern civilization above such lowly crimes and passions as the children of Israel were guilty of? Do we hear these verses and think of these ancients who didn’t know better? As we read, do we picture primitive people in the distant lands of Africa or in the Amazon forest?
Since the second part of the twentieth century, our society has experienced a general rebellion against the very principles that were the spiritual building blocks of this country; it now even denies God as the creator of us all. Bewitched by a false concept of freedom, our modern civilization has strayed from wholesome boundaries. As a result, we have birthed a culture of death; we have created the spiritual genocide of a generation.
We have been lured and persuaded by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) to remove godly and healthy spiritual boundaries, and now, the proverbial werewolves roam freely, feasting on our precious lambs: our children. Dressed in sheep coats, the gods of ‘freedom’ of speech, press, choice, art, religion, and government, demand the soul of our children, and we are too willing to sacrifice them on the altar of independence from God. We exchange our God-given liberties, and sacrifice our children on the altar of the devil’s freedom.
God has a way with His children. He usually ends up letting them reap the fruits of their own doings. God eventually allows His people to be conquered by a foreign or an ungodly power. Our generation is said to be soon the witness of the revelation of such a power (Revelations 13). At that time, God’s children will repent and call unto Him. Isn’t it when the children are in trouble and need help that they finally call home?
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Friday, August 17, 2007
THE SIREN’S TEMPTATIONS
Psalms 106:36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
The Greek writer Homer tells us of Oedipus’ desperate journey home. His way took him through many adventures, which tested his integrity. One such test was sailing through sirens infested waters. (Sirens: mythological mermaids).
Sirens usually inhabited rock filled sea regions. Mariners who would approach them would meet their doom as the rocks pierced their vessel. Sirens lured sailors with their beautiful feminine voices. Attracted, captains would order the ship towards what they were beautiful bare breasted women, and thus were lured to treacherous hidden rocks lurking just beneath the surface of the water.
Oedipus, this ship’s captain, knew of the danger of following the siren’s call, but he wanted to hear their song. As his ship neared the siren-infested waters, he commanded his men to tie him to the mast of the ship and to stuff their ears with straw. He also told them to plug their own ears so they could ignore any command of his to stir the ship towards the sirens. Thus, Oedipus heard the song of the infamous sirens and kept his vessel on course.
How like the lure of Homer’s sirens is the call of temptation. Did Oedipus really foil the siren’s attempts? His body may have been tied to the mast, but through his ears, his heart was still conquered. His body couldn’t conceive temptation into sinful action, but his heart was nevertheless taken.
The fear of negative repercussions instilled in us by religious and secular laws may tie us to ‘the mast’ and keep us from doing the wrong things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our hearts do not yearn for the evil.
Jesus and Paul both warned us to not deceive ourselves by pretending to obey God by following the letter of the law. God sees even the thinking of evil in our heart (Matthew 5:28). What are we to do now when we live in a world where in every media possible, where in both religious and secular institutions, sirens scream their songs at us through loudspeakers? How can our heart not be negatively affected?
We cannot isolate ourselves from the world, but we can avoid the sounds of the sirens in our own homes, and insulate our heart from their songs by the Holy Spirit that is given to us.
Proverbs 4:14-15 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
The Greek writer Homer tells us of Oedipus’ desperate journey home. His way took him through many adventures, which tested his integrity. One such test was sailing through sirens infested waters. (Sirens: mythological mermaids).
Sirens usually inhabited rock filled sea regions. Mariners who would approach them would meet their doom as the rocks pierced their vessel. Sirens lured sailors with their beautiful feminine voices. Attracted, captains would order the ship towards what they were beautiful bare breasted women, and thus were lured to treacherous hidden rocks lurking just beneath the surface of the water.
Oedipus, this ship’s captain, knew of the danger of following the siren’s call, but he wanted to hear their song. As his ship neared the siren-infested waters, he commanded his men to tie him to the mast of the ship and to stuff their ears with straw. He also told them to plug their own ears so they could ignore any command of his to stir the ship towards the sirens. Thus, Oedipus heard the song of the infamous sirens and kept his vessel on course.
How like the lure of Homer’s sirens is the call of temptation. Did Oedipus really foil the siren’s attempts? His body may have been tied to the mast, but through his ears, his heart was still conquered. His body couldn’t conceive temptation into sinful action, but his heart was nevertheless taken.
The fear of negative repercussions instilled in us by religious and secular laws may tie us to ‘the mast’ and keep us from doing the wrong things, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that our hearts do not yearn for the evil.
Jesus and Paul both warned us to not deceive ourselves by pretending to obey God by following the letter of the law. God sees even the thinking of evil in our heart (Matthew 5:28). What are we to do now when we live in a world where in every media possible, where in both religious and secular institutions, sirens scream their songs at us through loudspeakers? How can our heart not be negatively affected?
We cannot isolate ourselves from the world, but we can avoid the sounds of the sirens in our own homes, and insulate our heart from their songs by the Holy Spirit that is given to us.
Proverbs 4:14-15 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
EXCUSE ABUSE
Psalms 106:35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
The children of Israel spent decades in an unfriendly desert. Their lives were hard and uncertain. We could almost excuse their sin of seeking security by making alliances with surrounding neighbors. In the midst of their seeming uncertainty, we can almost understand their need for a god that can be seen like that of the nations around them. But really, can their difficult lifestyle constitute an excuse to their sin of idolatry? When they arrived in the land that flowed with milk and honey, instead of obeying what Yehovah had told them and staying separate from the evil practices of idolatry, they mingled with it, and assimilated it. It was not the harshness of the wilderness that caused Israel to sin, but the natural human hankering for evil. As much as we speak of freedom and liberty, we love the security of dependence on what we can see and understand instead of on an uncertain God; and that to God, is dolatry.
It is so easy to find excuses not to be all we need to be for God. It is so easy to blame personal conditions and circumstances; and in most cases our friends will also excuse us because in doing so, they excuse themselves. But the question is: will God excuse us? Will God excuse us when we have at our disposal, at the fingertips of prayer, the wise advice from His Words and the power of the Holy Spirit that can move mountains at our request?
Let us ponder these things and remember that we will stand alone before God without the support of well-meaning friends, or the props of the excuses we so often indulge in. Let us be today all that we can be for the Lord; not looking for excuses as to why we can’t obey what God asks of us, but rather searching for the reasons why we should.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
The children of Israel spent decades in an unfriendly desert. Their lives were hard and uncertain. We could almost excuse their sin of seeking security by making alliances with surrounding neighbors. In the midst of their seeming uncertainty, we can almost understand their need for a god that can be seen like that of the nations around them. But really, can their difficult lifestyle constitute an excuse to their sin of idolatry? When they arrived in the land that flowed with milk and honey, instead of obeying what Yehovah had told them and staying separate from the evil practices of idolatry, they mingled with it, and assimilated it. It was not the harshness of the wilderness that caused Israel to sin, but the natural human hankering for evil. As much as we speak of freedom and liberty, we love the security of dependence on what we can see and understand instead of on an uncertain God; and that to God, is dolatry.
It is so easy to find excuses not to be all we need to be for God. It is so easy to blame personal conditions and circumstances; and in most cases our friends will also excuse us because in doing so, they excuse themselves. But the question is: will God excuse us? Will God excuse us when we have at our disposal, at the fingertips of prayer, the wise advice from His Words and the power of the Holy Spirit that can move mountains at our request?
Let us ponder these things and remember that we will stand alone before God without the support of well-meaning friends, or the props of the excuses we so often indulge in. Let us be today all that we can be for the Lord; not looking for excuses as to why we can’t obey what God asks of us, but rather searching for the reasons why we should.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
LIGHT CONTAINS NO DARKNESS
Psalms 106:34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
Israel was on a crusade. God sent them to Canaan for a reason far more important than to find a country to settle in. They were to conquer the Judean mountains and all the lands adjacent to them and make it God’s country. They were to make it a country where God’s Words and Spirit would flourish and be a testimony to the nations in the rest of the world. Israel was meant not to just conquer the land and settle, but they also were to destroy its inhabitants. They were meant to annihilate the evil idolatrous culture of the Canaanites. Israel was to loath their human sacrifices and their perverted religious orgies, and become the sample nation that would birth the Messiah. Israel disobeyed and compromised instead, sheathing its sword and settling in before the battle was utterly won, and as Moses had predicted, the nations around them became their constant spiritual snare (Deuteronomy 7:16).
Even today, the ‘Canaanite’ lives on; his evil indulgent practices fill our society; they are found in our stores, in our media, in our schools, in our churches and there is nothing we can do about the perverted influences of these great institutions of the world. Today, the place where we fight and win against the ‘Canaanite’ is in our heart.
Let us fight a valiant and courageous warfare against the ‘Canaanite’ in our heart. Let us never be influenced by his smooth words. Let us never be attracted by his loathsome practices. Most of all, let us never make peace with him; this is a war to the finish.
There is no peaceful co-existence of good with evil. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness. There is no communion between light and darkness; Belial has no concord with Christ. The believer has no part with the infidel, and the temple of God in our bodies has no agreement with the temples of idols (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Israel was on a crusade. God sent them to Canaan for a reason far more important than to find a country to settle in. They were to conquer the Judean mountains and all the lands adjacent to them and make it God’s country. They were to make it a country where God’s Words and Spirit would flourish and be a testimony to the nations in the rest of the world. Israel was meant not to just conquer the land and settle, but they also were to destroy its inhabitants. They were meant to annihilate the evil idolatrous culture of the Canaanites. Israel was to loath their human sacrifices and their perverted religious orgies, and become the sample nation that would birth the Messiah. Israel disobeyed and compromised instead, sheathing its sword and settling in before the battle was utterly won, and as Moses had predicted, the nations around them became their constant spiritual snare (Deuteronomy 7:16).
Even today, the ‘Canaanite’ lives on; his evil indulgent practices fill our society; they are found in our stores, in our media, in our schools, in our churches and there is nothing we can do about the perverted influences of these great institutions of the world. Today, the place where we fight and win against the ‘Canaanite’ is in our heart.
Let us fight a valiant and courageous warfare against the ‘Canaanite’ in our heart. Let us never be influenced by his smooth words. Let us never be attracted by his loathsome practices. Most of all, let us never make peace with him; this is a war to the finish.
There is no peaceful co-existence of good with evil. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness. There is no communion between light and darkness; Belial has no concord with Christ. The believer has no part with the infidel, and the temple of God in our bodies has no agreement with the temples of idols (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
LEADERSHIP IN HIS IMAGE
Psalms 106:32-33 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Leadership is a heavy crown. Never does the old adage, “others may, but you cannot” ring truer than when we are called to such a position. People look up to their leaders so whether they like it or not, in a bi-product sort of way, they become teachers. People learn more by what they see than by what they hear; therefore the example of the leader they see has to correspond with the example of the leader they hear.
God had so blessed Moses; in the eyes of the children of Israel, he was the very representation of God; the closest thing to God Himself. Moses was also the mediator between God and the people. After the many miracles of protection and supply God had already performed for them, the people of Israel complained again, wondering if they were going to die of thirst. God asked Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses smote the rock twice and offered it to the people in an angry fashion (Numbers 20:3-13). As a representative of God, Moses couldn’t indulge in giving in to his own anger. God had to make him an example to become a reference point for generations to come for all his spiritual leaders, teachers, and parents.
God had mercy on the people, compassion on their unbelief, but Moses got frustrated with them. God showed a similar amount of mercy and compassion on the whole world in sin and rebellion, by sending His Son Jesus Christ, in a spirit of true mercy and compassion to take our sin for us.
Every one of us, whether we like it or not, has a spiritual responsibility to others, if only by living our life in way that encapsulates the God we claim to represent. We are responsible to the world, but most especially to our friends, to our co-workers, to our spouses, and to our children.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the earth in the night sky, may God help us to effectively reflect the light of God’s mercy and compassion to everyone we meet in this dark hour of the world.
James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
Leadership is a heavy crown. Never does the old adage, “others may, but you cannot” ring truer than when we are called to such a position. People look up to their leaders so whether they like it or not, in a bi-product sort of way, they become teachers. People learn more by what they see than by what they hear; therefore the example of the leader they see has to correspond with the example of the leader they hear.
God had so blessed Moses; in the eyes of the children of Israel, he was the very representation of God; the closest thing to God Himself. Moses was also the mediator between God and the people. After the many miracles of protection and supply God had already performed for them, the people of Israel complained again, wondering if they were going to die of thirst. God asked Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses smote the rock twice and offered it to the people in an angry fashion (Numbers 20:3-13). As a representative of God, Moses couldn’t indulge in giving in to his own anger. God had to make him an example to become a reference point for generations to come for all his spiritual leaders, teachers, and parents.
God had mercy on the people, compassion on their unbelief, but Moses got frustrated with them. God showed a similar amount of mercy and compassion on the whole world in sin and rebellion, by sending His Son Jesus Christ, in a spirit of true mercy and compassion to take our sin for us.
Every one of us, whether we like it or not, has a spiritual responsibility to others, if only by living our life in way that encapsulates the God we claim to represent. We are responsible to the world, but most especially to our friends, to our co-workers, to our spouses, and to our children.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun to the earth in the night sky, may God help us to effectively reflect the light of God’s mercy and compassion to everyone we meet in this dark hour of the world.
James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
Monday, August 13, 2007
PASSION FOR THE MESSIAH
Psalms 106:31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
Oh, how God judges by the motives of the heart. A violent act was committed; one that contained domestic and international political repercussions. Pinehas the priest delivered a death sentence to a prince of the children of Israel and a princess of the nearby Moabite city while they were publicly committing flagrant rebellion against Moses—God’s appointed leader, a spiritual forerunner of the Messiah Himself.
Pinehas did not look to the right nor to the left. He did not consider the opinions of man, neither did he care about them; a much more important thing was at stake than his personal reputation: the honor of God. Pinehas was personally offended for God with holy indignation, just as Jesus was at the people who transformed faith into a business when He came to the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21;12).
Pinehas’s actions had nothing to do with personal gain, power, politics, revenge, and the likes. His was an act of passion, an act of zeal for purity and righteousness, an act of love for God; an act of concern for the generations to come who would reference the character of their faith through these stories. Such pure motives draw the blessing of God on man and on his seed.
May God bless us with passion; passion that denies its due to the opinions of men; passion that soars beyond man’s erroneous sense of justice; the wholehearted and single-eyed passion (Matthew 6:22) of the lover careful to protect the honor of his bride, of the wife standing up for her husband’s virtue.
2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Oh, how God judges by the motives of the heart. A violent act was committed; one that contained domestic and international political repercussions. Pinehas the priest delivered a death sentence to a prince of the children of Israel and a princess of the nearby Moabite city while they were publicly committing flagrant rebellion against Moses—God’s appointed leader, a spiritual forerunner of the Messiah Himself.
Pinehas did not look to the right nor to the left. He did not consider the opinions of man, neither did he care about them; a much more important thing was at stake than his personal reputation: the honor of God. Pinehas was personally offended for God with holy indignation, just as Jesus was at the people who transformed faith into a business when He came to the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21;12).
Pinehas’s actions had nothing to do with personal gain, power, politics, revenge, and the likes. His was an act of passion, an act of zeal for purity and righteousness, an act of love for God; an act of concern for the generations to come who would reference the character of their faith through these stories. Such pure motives draw the blessing of God on man and on his seed.
May God bless us with passion; passion that denies its due to the opinions of men; passion that soars beyond man’s erroneous sense of justice; the wholehearted and single-eyed passion (Matthew 6:22) of the lover careful to protect the honor of his bride, of the wife standing up for her husband’s virtue.
2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, August 10, 2007
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,
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,
Thursday, August 09, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
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:
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:
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, August 06, 2007
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.
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.
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.
Friday, August 03, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
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;
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;
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, July 30, 2007
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.
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.
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