Month: August 2024

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Worship thoughts

Psalm 95 & 96 How to worship

In these psalms we are encouraged by how worship was done and we can learn and apply these same standards to us today. The psalmist says “Come, let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.” [Ps 95:6] How many of us do that in our quiet time? How many of us do it in our churches? How many of us exhibit these qualities? If truth be known, few do with the exception of one church in particular, but the question remains is it to worship the Creator or just a mode that we learned as children and now do almost without thinking why. 

The psalmist also encourages singing! Charles Spurgeon, in his discussion of family worship, says to do three things: bow, pray and sing. What a beautiful expression of our faith! What a beautiful way to honor God in our families. Again the psalmist encourages us to worship: “Come, let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.” [Ps 96:2]And then he gives the reason why: “For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;” [Ps 96:4]

Today as you begin your quiet time, take some time to sing,pray, kneel and honor God. 

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It’s not fair!

God's justice is sure

Psalm 94 Justice

The wicked continue on their path thinking there will be no consequences for their actions because in their mind, God does not exist nor will He find them at fault. Yet, “justice will prevail” for the One who made man also is the One who has ears to hear and will avenge His people at the right time. 

All around us we see those who are the wicked and we can name them and truly we hold them up to God pleading for His vengeance. We ask God how long? Just as the souls under the altar in Revelation, God says be patient,for the time has not yet come. 

So as you watch the news, listen to people gripe and complain, know this truth: in due time God will avenge. Justice will prevail. 

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Old Age’s Fruit

Do I see myself on the potter's wheel?

Psalm 92 Because of the sin in the Garden, all that grows, both flesh and plants will wither and die. That was the consequence of the sin of Adam and Eve. It is hard to watch the things we love die, parents, siblings and animals. It is hard to put a precious pet to sleep and it is all because of the sin of our first parents. But, into this scene we find the psalmist shouting these words of encouragement; “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon, Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish in the courts of our God.They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green.” [Ps 92:12-14] 

Yes, sin has cast a pall upon all living things, but God sent His Son to make a way to make us righteous so we can yield fruit as we age.  So with that in mind, what fruit are you yielding for those around you before God calls you home to heaven? 

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Are you Grateful?

Romans 11 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways! [Rom 11:33] 

Paul expertly reveals the plan of God for His people and we who are the Gentiles. Thus, Paul reminds us that salvation given to us is a gift for we were the wild olive branch and yet He chose to graft us in. He reminds us that the we who are the Gentiles must remain humble lest we too be cut off. Salvation is for all and God is pleased when we accept His plan. Once grafted in we become part of the true olive tree and for this we are to be grateful. 

Today I am more and more grateful for His plan and His acceptance of me as a wild olive branch which He chose to graft into the true olive tree. 

Secondly, Paul explains that there will be a day when the Jew will also be grafted into the true tree but for now their stubbornness has kept them from believing this: salvation is for Jew and Gentile. Has God forgotten His promise to them? Not in anyway but they are walking in darkness at this time. Keep pressing on, keep praying, keep living the grace filled life so they will see the benefit of salvation. 

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Does Anyone Care?

Each must choose

Romans 10 Paul loves his people and it is recorded as such. In fact he loves them so much that he is willing to forgo his salvation if it would mean they could be saved, but salvation is a one way street…just you and God. There are no backstreets and no grandfather clauses to let people into God’s heaven, but the question as it was in Paul’s day it is today: Doesn’t anyone care? Doesn’t anyone want God’s Son? The answer is this: busyness of life takes precedence. We seek our own way to heaven by trusting in that which we can see and touch. That is why idolatry is so popular. There is no faith involved, just look at a Buddha or a work of art and say: there is a god there. What foolish nonsense says Paul, and I agree. 

The MSG says it like this:”When you see God reach out to people you think are religiously stupid, you’ll throw temper tantrums.” And that is the story of the Jew and unbelievers both in the time of Paul and today. Again the MSG puts it like this: “Day after day after day, I beckoned Israel with open arms, And got nothing for my trouble but cold shoulders and icy stares.” 

Where are we today? Is our heart cold or hot? Do we care that our loved ones care nothing about scripture or Jesus? Are we as willing as Paul who would forgo his salvation that they might be saved? My heart is heavy for those who are rejecting Christ. And I wonder how then can we reach them? How about you? 

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Conundrums

Romans 9 The Crux of the Matter

Paul has gently but forcefully been seeking his countrymen to believe in

Christ, but as it has been for a millennium and as Christ said, they are blind to the truth. He reminded the Corinthians of this fact when he said that our enemy has blinded our minds so we cannot see the glorious image of the Christ. Now Paul cuts to the chase and says you will never reap the blessings of God if you remain in your unsaved state and in your blindness. 

To help the Jews understand his point he illustrates the choice of Jacob over Esau. This is what we call a conundrum: It is an inconsistency, a sharp irregularity, that often produces a conundrum, which is a riddle or puzzle.And we cannot solve it using human means, this is a God choice and a God given riddle. But, we ask God why? The answer is God is God and what He has decided in eternity past is His choice. If it were me, I would not have chosen Jacob or me! But, God chose and that is the end of the matter, accept it or reject it. 

So where are we today? We read and seek the understanding that only the Holy Spirit can and will give. He will provide the answers as we seek Him in prayer. We may not know or understand all of it but we are called to believe. Peter said it like this: You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,[1 Peter 1:8]

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Not my fault!

Proverbs 20 Responsibility

Like many today, the people of the time this was written, wanted not to take responsibility for their own sins. Dr. Constable explains it like this: “They were claiming to be the innocent victims of the actions of others, blaming others for their condition. In this they sounded just like many in our own day who refuse to take personal responsibility for their actions.” Today we call this blame-shifting. I am not at fault, it is someone else’s sin and I should not be held responsible. Kids do this today and it is almost like a switch was turned on: it’s not my fault. He made me do it. She made me do it. 

Beware of this sin for it permeates society and your own group, whether it be family or the church. Paul wrote to the Romans: there is none righteous, no not one.” [Rom 3:10] The Proverbs author says it like this: Who can say, “I have kept my heart clean; I am pure from my sin”?“ [Proverbs 20:9]

Great question offered by Paul and to us. 

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Chosen by God

God so loved

Psalm 89 The Calling of David and You

God called the nation of Israel out of Egypt,not because they were more numerous or more wise or more strong.  God said He chose them “because of his love and his faithfulness to the promise he solemnly vowed to their ancestors that the Lord brought them out with great power, redeeming them from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” [Deut 7:7-9]

In this psalm God’s call to David was similar: “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant.” [Ps 89:3] It wasn’t because of his strength or riches or fame. He chose David, just as He has chosen you, because He looked down from heaven and found David and you as one who would be faithful. He chose you from the foundation of the world to be His servant. With this choice, God promised to love, protect and be faithful to you in all of your work and exploits. 

Reader, think on this: you were chosen! God found you and birthed you to be a part of His kingdom. Jesus said “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, [Jn 15:16]

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Free at Last!

Rom 8:1 no more condemnation

Romans 8 NO Condemnation

Satan is our adversary and as it says, his one motivation is to find or seeks to kill and destroy. He uses many means to keep us from being at peace and his tool is to remind us and to rehearse in our minds our past sins. Yet, as Paul writes, we have powerful advocates in the Holy Spirit and Jesus who are our intercessors in these times. Their prayers and words to the Father assure us of this: we are forgiven, sealed and prepared for the kingdom’s work both here and in the future. The older I get, the more I appreciate vs 1: there is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Secondly, when I can’t pray for one reason or another, the Holy Spirit knows the problem and He intercedes for me to the Father. His words are far more eloquent than mine. They reach the deepest hurt and the deepest thoughts of my heart. 

Amen and amen! Not condemned but free! 

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An illustration

Romans 7 Are you teachable?

A good teacher often finds and uses an illustration to help his/her students to understand the lesson. Paul is a good teacher and uses the illustration of marriage. We stand before the preacher and vow to death due us part but Paul says we are blind when life becomes challenging. We become unfaithful and adulteresses. Paul explains it this way; remember, you and your groom/bride blindly walked the aisle to say you will be faithful. But then when life goes awry we step into the divorce court. We say we have lost our first love and so we seek to fulfill that by finding a new mate, walking the aisle again to marry and repeat that vow…but God calls it adultery. We have become unfaithful to the one to whom we vowed the first time. The only release from this vow is death of the one to whom you vowed “until death do us part.” The complementary to this is we are wed to the Law and it is lord over us. We must die to the Law so we can be joined to Christ who is our new husband. One of us must die, it is either me or the Law.

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