Will you stub your toe today? Pslam 90-92

Psalms 91:9-12 (NASBStr)

For you have made the Lord, my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

 No evil will befall you,

Nor will any plague come near your tent.

 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,

To guard you in all your ways.

 They will bear you up in their hands,

That you do not strike your foot against a stone.

This is my favorite Psalm.   I love the day I can read Psalms 90-92.   The three combine to be one of the most encouraging Words in all Scripture for me.   I have read them in times of victory and defeat.   This particular group of verses (above) stand in stark contrast to those just before them.  To pull them out of the chapter and have them stand alone is a poor way to view them.   The writer has just told us that pestilence, destruction, arrows, plagues, terror and a thousand deaths are happening all around us.   Yet, BECAUSE (not IF) we make God our refuge, God will protect us and those in our dwelling place.   The protection will be by His angels and will be so protective they (the angels) will make sure we don't even stub our toe agains a mere stone (spiritually speaking).  What a blessed assurance of what God can do and is doing in our life moment by moment.   NO EVIL WILL BE BEFALL YOU!!!  That doesn't mean that evil won't be around you.   This is a long quote for these short devotionals but I love how good old Matthew Henry covers this:.  

Matthew Henry:  "There shall no evil befal thee; though trouble or affliction befal thee, yet there shall be no real evil in it, for it shall come from the love of God and shall be sanctified; it shall come, not for thy hurt, but for thy good; and though, for the present, it be not joyous but grievous, yet, in the end, it shall yield so well that thou thyself shalt own no evil befel thee. It is not an evil, an only evil, but there is a mixture of good in it and a product of good by it. Nay, not thy person only, but thy dwelling, shall be taken under the divine protection:There shall no plague come nigh that, nothing to do thee or thine any damage."

Rejoice today in the promises of this great Psalm.   Today arrows fly, plagues inflict, destruction prevails, thousands die, terrors scar!  Yet, you won't even be inflicted by stubbing your toe on a stone.   His angels are watching and caring for you because you have made Him your refuge and not wealth, position, person or pride.  

Does God always remove his wrath when an individual repents? 2 Kings 21-25

2 Kings 23:24-26 (NASBStr)

Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

 However, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.

There is a false premise in the minds of most Christians that God forgives indefinitely with no consequences for sin.    And, whereas, the fact that God has forgiven and forgotten our sins as far as the east is from the west, the above passage teaches us another aspect of God's forgiveness.   Josiah, if you read chapters 22-24 was one of the most righteous kings in Judah.  He heard God's Word, responded with a revival, and, yet, God still imposed judgement on the nation of Judah.  These are God chosen people.   These are people who had the promises, the temple, the covenants, the miracles (Romans 9:1-6).    Yet, their repentance was too late.  They had to suffer the consequences for their years of no repentance.   God is faithful to forgive.   But, God can't forgive if we don't repent and allow His Son and Spirit to cleanse us.   Josiah was repentive in his life.  However, his repentance was not matched by the nation prior or after.  God's grace was apparent in Josiah's day and that held off God's wrath.   However, God does not forgive when there is no confession of sin and repentance.   Individually we can see God's grace and mercy stay off the wrath deserved for gross sin.   But, this was not an individual problem.  This was a national problem.   Individual believers can hold off God's wrath and see God's grace flow into the world.  But, once those individuals are gone, the wrath of God will flow once again.   God always forgives when we claim the substitutionary atonement of His Son.    But, we must never expect God to forgive when we lack repentance and continue in our sin.  

Are we sensitive to God's holiness? Leviticuas 22-24

Leviticus 24:16 (NASBStr)

Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

This command comes at the end of a story about a man who either used God's name to curse another, or actually cursed God directly.   He violated the third commandment and was to be punished accordingly.   Moses sought God's will on the issue and the foregoing verse is God's final command on the subject.   Those who heard him curse in a way that brought blasphemy to God's Holy name were to put their hands on the head of the offender and then the rest of the congregation was to stone the man to death.    By placing their hands on the man they were openly admitting that this man did indeed curse God and was the one deserving of death.  God takes blasphemy seriously.   You have to consider how far our society, or any society, has gone away from this treatment of blasphemy.    How many times do we here Jesus name or God's name taken in vain and used as a simply curse word?  How many times do we here of people who curse God directly for His acting (or, according to them, failure to act) in their lives?   Cursing God has become as common place as a simply language slang.   And, those who here it are no longer offended by it.   In this story someone was sensitive enough to take it to God's appointed leader.   In our world today, as believers, we are seldom even offended and never in shock, when we hear God's name blasphemed.   Before we can be too hard on the nation of Israel for their failure to keep from sin, we ought to make sure we have some sensitivity of our own to the holiness of God.  

Do you really believe in the power of God's Word? 1 Thessalonians 1-3

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NASBStr)

For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

There are many books written and many books, through the ages, have been read and digested by man.   Prior to Paul's day, during the silent years of the Bible (400 b.c. to 40 A.D.) Socrates, Aristotle and Plato were published authors.  Confucius lived during that time, as well.  All of their words were setting the Greek culture on its head.   These three men were revered by their followers and nation.  Each word they penned was quoted and re-quoated.   Most of Paul's discussion on Mars Hill recorded in Acts 17 would have been centered around their teaching.   During Paul's day there were actual schools of philosophy that each philosopher would have attached themselves to as a loyal follower.   The words of philosophy (the words means "love of wisdom") were bantered about in the common markets daily.  In the city of Thessalonica this would have been a daily occurrence the church was familiar with.   They would have been both participants in the past and observes of the present practice.  Yet, Paul comes thundering in with the above statement.   When he preached among them in and around 40-45 A.D. they did not receive his words like the words of Plato or Aristotle.   They received them as though they were the very Words of God ... because they were!!   In the debate between this worlds philosophy and God's Word, there is no debate.    God's Word is authoritative.  God's Word is transformative.   God's Word is active (Hebrews 4:12).  Man's words are opinions, dull and dormant.   Yet, even though the Bible is the books sold the most, it the book read the least.   More homes have the Bible than any other book.   More people neglect to read the Bible than any other book ... even believers.   Paul commended the city for taking the Word of God for what it was.   It was transformative and powerful and performed a work within them. 

What key aspect of the post-resurrection is important to us? Luke 23-24

Luke 24:49 (NASBStr)

And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Luke, unlike the other gospel writers, spends little time with Jesus' post-resurrection activities.  Other than the long walk with two men and the appearance in the upper room with the disciples we have little from Luke.   But, like all the gospel writers, Luke does add the above line to assure us that all those giving an account mention the work of the Holy Spirit.   Jesus was about to ascend to heaven but He was about to leave the disciples with our the Person of the Spirit to comfort them and the Power of the Spirit to equip them.    It is important that believers today know the work of the Spirit.   Jesus left us with the Spirit as a "promise" as mentioned above.   Jesus had told them that He would be "in them" and they would be "in Him."   Through John's writings in John 15 about Christ being the Vine and we being the branches, they had been given the picture of their relationship with Him.  But, it was the Spirit of God that would make that happen.   When the Spirit enters us, as a person of the Trinity, Christ enters us.   We have the power of God within us and as we yield to that power and allow the Spirit more and more control of our life we have more power at our disposal to live for God.   Luke may be short on the post-resurrection accounts, but he does give us a key element: Jesus would send the Spirit of God.   The Spirit of God give us the Person of God and the Power of God within our lives.  

Reading what you can't understand ... does that make sense? Ezekial 37-42

Ezekiel 40:1-4 (NASBStr)

CHAPTER 40

Vision of the Man with a Measuring Rod

 In the twenty- fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was taken, on that same day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there. In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, and on it to the south there was a structure like a city. So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. The man said to me, “ Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

This chapter and the rest of the Book of Ezekiel may be, without much argument, some of the toughest chapters to read and to understand and to make practical for our every day life.   The vision the Man of God is about to see is about the Temple, the Tribes and the Land, and the Worship of God for the nation of Israel.  Much confusion is made over what the chapters mean, when the events will take place (or took place) and what they mean for the Nation of Israel or the Church or both.   They are so revered and feared among the Jewish nation that no one under 30 years of age is allowed to read them.   They must be important and practical because not only are they included in Ezekiel's book and are part of the Cannon of Scripture, they are referred to in the last few chapters of The Revelation of St. John.  This restoration of the temple and temple worship is important to God.  If it is important to God it should be important to us.   When we read The Revelation we are told that simply by reading it we are blessed.   So, by faith we read it.  Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that ALL Scripture is given to us and is profitable.   This section shows God's attention to detail.  Each wall is measured to specific lengths.   We can take great assurance in these hard to read measurements and configuration of a Temple we have no knowledge about that God is paying attention to the smallest of details in His plans for this earth, His people and His Church.   Be confused by the reading ... many are and will be ... but, be assured as your read that God is completely in the know and in charge.  

Do you enjoy the benefits of disciplining your child(ren)? Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13:24 (NASBStr)

He who withholds his rod hates his son,

But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

This proverb is so foreign to today's chid rearing mantra.   In the mid 1940s Dr. Spock published his famous book on child care and child development and that forever changed the concept of not just corporal punishment (mentioned in the above proverb) but child care of all kinds.   Tough love was replaced, eventually, by time outs.   Our societal-world-view is quite different than  a Biblical-world-view.   The NIV Study Bible has a great thought on this verse: 

NIV Study notes:  Whoever spares the rod hates their children. Parents are encouraged to apply the rod of punishment to drive out folly (22:15) so that the child will not follow a path of destruction (19:18; 23:13–14). The rod and a reprimand “impart wisdom” (29:15) and promote a healthy and happy family life (29:17). Discipline is rooted in love (see 3:11–12 and note). rod. Probably a figure of speech for caring discipline of any kind.

Although I disagree that the "rod" is a figure of speech, what the study notes tell us is that God knows that real love includes discipline (of many sorts).  In Hebrews 10 we are told that God chastens every son He receives.   And, He does so out of love.    I especially like the reference in 29:15:  

The rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

When we don't discipline a child and we don't because we "want them to know we love them and accept them the way they are" we will eventually get shame.  Correction (the rod AND reproof) will give wisdom.    Neglect discipline and two things happen:  The child loses a chance to gain wisdom and the parent gains shame.  

When you are in trouble do you have confidence to come to God? Psalm 87-89

Psalms 88:1-3 (NASBStr)

 O Lord, the God of my salvation,

I have cried out by day and in the night before You.

 Let my prayer come before You;

 Incline Your ear to my cry!

 For my soul has had enough troubles,

And my life has drawn near to Sheol.

Who has not felt like the above verses and cried out the above lines?   For those who have faith in God these lines ring more truer than we would care to admit.   We often feel that we are "near to Sheol (the place of death)" and need to call out to God for help.   He is "the God of my salvation" so we have the positional blessing as sons of God and can cry out.   Psalm 88, however, sounds like the writer can't find God.  He is experiencing the chastisement of God and we are not given a reason why.   If you read the verses of the Psalm  you see that the writer is alone and in great despair.   Yet, he begins the Psalm with that statement that God is HIS salvation.  Despite the feelings of remorse He is assured of his position with God.   When the unbelieving world gets to the point of this writer who do they cry out to?  Who do they pray to?   When their soul has "had enough troubles" who do they turn to for relief and for salvation?   The great blessing from God is that despite the fact that we are in great trouble, believers can begin their prayer with, "O Lord, the God of my salvation."   Even if our condition before God does not feel right our position with God is unharmed and unaltered.  

What does the world think of the confidence you have in God? 2 Kings 16-20

2 Kings 18:19-20 (NASBStr)

Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “ What is this confidence that you have? You say (but they are only empty words), ‘ I have counsel and strength for the war. ’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?

The world does not get believers!   When we voice confidence in God despite the conditions and/or circumstances around us,, the non-believing world asks, "What is this confidence that you have?"   We are instructed by God to put our confidence in Him.  We are to enter the throne room of God in full confidence (Hebrews 4:16).   We are to have no confidence in the flesh but rather in Christ's work in our lives (Philippians 3:4).   When the world sees us they wonder why we trust in God despite all the pressure around us.  Many people in the world trust in the things they can see.  When they can't see safety they don't think they are safe.  Yet, the world doesn't understand our world-view.   We believe that God is completely in charge.   When Rabshakeh came to Hezekiah and his people he was mocking them about what he thought was a false sense of security.  Herod thought that about the Jesus.   Herodias thought that about Paul.   Nebuchadnezzar thought that about the three young men in the fiery furnace.   We who believe in God's power and presence have a funny and weird world-view as seen by the unbeliever.   "What is this confidence that you have have?", they ask.   We say in Yahweh, the Creator of the World.  

Why are we to act different than the Word? Leviticus 19-21

Leviticus 20:22-26 (NASBStr)

‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. Hence I have said to you, “ You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.

In the above passage God gives Moses the reason for all the ordinances and commands in the previous few chapters.  God has given them instructions about sexual misconduct, how to treat the poor, how to avoid idolatry, and many more commands.  Throughout the book of Leviticus God gives them a command and then states, "For I am The Lord," or, a divergence of that.  In the above passage He gets even more explicit.  He tells them that the reason for this type of conduct is that they are to be different than the world around them and that the world around them was being condemned because they did not reflect the glory and character of God.   The point being made is that how we treat others shows the character of God within us.   God is giving us the motivation and the mission all rolled into one.  We are to be separate from the world in conduct because He is Holy.  Our conduct reflects His holiness ... or, should.   We ought not act as though we are like the world, when, in essence we are His children and therefore different than the world.   The children of the king do not act (or, should not) like the children of the pedestrian.   We ought not to act as though we are "better" than they are, but we ought to act as though we are reflecting our Father in Heaven.  He is perfect and holy and we are His children.  Act like it.  

How do you do your day-to-day work? Colossians 3-4

Colossians 3:22-25 (NASBStr)

Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

Christians have a difficult time in our society today in regard to their work situations.   Few realize that that the doctrines they learn on Sunday are applicable and necessary on Monday through Saturday.   That is nothing new to the Church.   Paul wrote to the believers at Colossee to make sure that their relationships in the work-a-day world were in line with their walk with Christ.   In the above passage he neither condemns or promotes slavery.   He does tell both slaves and masters to make sure that they realize that the life and situation they are currently experiencing is for the purpose of bring glory to God.   The master and those they are over are to complete all the principles of this book and are to do so with a hear that his full of God.   Whatever situation we are experiencing in regard to our employment is for the purpose of bring glory to God and should be done for that reason.  We might get a pay check now but we will have the ultimate pay-day when we meet God and He gives us our reward.  There is a clear relationship between how we conduct ourselves in this world and how God rewards us in His world.   We must bring our doctrine to work with us.   It is His doctrine and His command.  

Will what you are seeing right now be here tomorrow? Luke 21-22

Luke 21:33 (NASBStr)

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Most of what you own today will be gone in three to five years.   Maybe your home will still be standing but autos, clothes, trinkets and toys typically are "consumed" by this world and rust or rot away.   They simply wear out.   There is very little that is everlasting that you can count on to be here forever.   Think how true that might have been in Jesus day.   Material goods had less resistance to the world's wear and tear than they do today.   Even political structures could change overnight.  One nation could be in control one day and another the next.   The statement Jesus makes in the above verse is quite profound with this background.   Jesus has been telling the disciples that earth as they know it will soon be changed.  The END is coming.    Yet, in the midst of all this declaration of abomination Jesus utters saving grace ... "My Words will not pass away."   That truth is vital to our very belief structure as believers.   These words are an anchor for our storm of life.   We may lose everything ... if you have never lost everything you may miss this .... but God's faithfulness to keep EVERY promise of His Word still endures.   We may lose our job, our homes, our health, and even our family.    But, God is faithful to His Word.   As we are faithful to Him to fulfill it, He is faithful to us in the fulfillment of it.   No promise He has uttered will pass away without it first coming to complete and utter fruition.   The things we see (heaven and earth) will pass away.  The things we stand in awe of (a sunset, a star, a canyon, a building, an accomplishment of mankind) will all pass away.   But the simply truth of God's Word will endure forever.   You can bank on it.  

Have you had a heart transplant? Ezekiel 31-36

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NASBStr)

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Through out the book of Ezekiel, the nation of Israel is being warned and admonished to forsake her ways and live for God; the way He intended.  They are told what God will do with the surrounding nations who have tormented them and have been told why they are, themselves, living in captivity.   Throughout the book Ezekiel tells them that these things are happening "so that they would know God."    Yet, they still don't.   The only way they would know God would be if they had a change inside their hearts.   Like Pharaoh of old, their hearts were hard against God.  It would only be by God's grace and mercy that their hearts would be soft for God and yield to God.  In the above passage we see the heart transplant that God states He will do on them.  He is going to "change" their heart.   He is going to put a new heart in them and place His Spirit in them.   For centuries Israel had showed that it could not obey God in their own efforts and own flesh.  Despite favored status and Divine miracles they still had a heart of stone.   God would have to soften their heart and make them walk in His statues.   Without that work of God they would continue to be a hard hearted people.  God must do that same work in all of our ives.    All of our hearts are hard against God.  Only God can do a heart transplant.   Only God can place His Spirit in us.  We don't do any of it on our own.   If you have a heart for God rejoice that He did a work in you.   Without His grace you would have nothing but a hard heart bent on disobedience.   

Are you safe from harm? Proverbs 11-12

Proverbs 12:21 (NASBStr)

No harm befalls the righteous,

But the wicked are filled with trouble.

Those who are "in Christ", at times, may forget the blessings of this proverb on a day-to-day basis.  Those we have been declared righteous by God have an umbrella of protection over them.   Psalm 91 is another example of this declaration. Solomon no-doubt read this Psalm and many others speaking of God's watchful eye over His children.    Those who are truly righteous will always be under the shadow of God's wing.   The wicked, certainly, don't reflect on the second part of this proverb.    The wicked, those who live in contempt of God and do not fear Him, will find their fill of trouble.  Yes, like Aspah in Psalm 73, there are times when we observe the wicked "living at ease".   However, God knows their terror in their hearts at night and in the shame and guilt of their conscious.   They may be able to mask the "trouble" well with what we see is the "good life" but in reality the wicked are filled with trouble and will end in shame.   The contrast between the two life styles is striking.   Only God can protect us.  Though the wicked trust in his riches to cover him they too will fail.  

Are you home? Do you long for HOME? Psalm 84-86

Psalms 84:1-3 (NASBStr)

 How lovely are Your dwelling places,

O Lord of hosts!

 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord;

My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

 The bird also has found a house,

And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,

Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,

 My King and my God.

As I wright this devotional I am on vacation.   Each night we are sleeping away from our "home."    When you reach the half-way point you begin to long for your own bed, your own coach, your own place.   It is always fun to travel, but it is better to be home.   That longing for "home" is what the Psalmist is writing in the above Psalm.   He is telling us that he longs for his real home ... the dwelling place be God.   He is speaking literally of the Temple and his desire to serve in it and minister.   Figuratively he is talking about dwelling permanently with God and being in His presence.   He tells us how he longs for "God's house" and to be in God's presence.   He is ultimately telling us that we are travelers in this world and we are not at home until we are permanently in the presence of God.    Until we reach that place and that point we are only travelers.   We are living in temporary places right now.  You might call that temporary place home but it is not.  Don't get too comfortable.   We are only here on a temporary basis.   The writer gives us a great comparison in the above description.  He envies the birds who, apparently, have actually made a home in the Temple.  Perhaps they have made nest in the crevices of the Temple structure.   He sees them and longs to have such a comfort level to make our home with God.   They even lay their eggs in this place.  So close to God ... so close to His care and watchful eye.  Perhaps this is where Jesus took his description in Matthew 6 about God caring for the sparrows.   To be permanently in God's presence is our desire.   We can get close to Him on this journey but this is NOT our Home.   Our home is with Him permanently.  

Are you using passive-agressive behavior to slow the Kingdom? 2 Kings 11-15

2 Kings 12:6-7 (NASBStr)

But it came about that in the twenty- third year of King Jehoash the priests had not repaired the damages of the house. Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests and said to them, “Why do you not repair the damages of the house? Now therefore take no more money from your acquaintances, but pay it for the damages of the house.”

Sometimes, even leaders in ministry get lazy and content.   They might simply become comfortable and not wish to disrupt the status quo ... because the status quo is good for them.   Or, they might be in fear and think any change could bring about some unwanted affect and therefore they avoid making needed changes.   Maybe they simply don't agree with the required change and, through passive aggressive behavior, they drag their feet to assure the project is either delayed or derailed.  Whatever the reason the priest in the above passage disobeyed the king and did not make the needed repairs on the temple.   We are not told "why" but only informed that King Jehoash does some follow up work and discovered that for many years the priest sat on the money they had collected and refused to open their fists and pay the carpenters and builders to make the improvements.   They apparently like the collect but not the disbursement.  Having leaders who are content, fearful, passive-aggressive or simply lazy is never good ... especially in the house of God.  The priest should have been leading the reform.  Instead they were obstacles to growth.   The lesson here is to avoid becoming like these priest (obstacles) and be more like the King (catalyst) for God's Kingdom.   If we are not moving we are obstacles.   If we are not contributing we are obstacles.   Don't be an obstacle in God's Kingdom.   Do what you are required.  Quit trying to be comfortable.   Quit trying to keep the status quo.   Stop dragging your feet on projects you can contribute to or make happen.   Don't be a lazy priest.  Be an energetic King.  

Are sexual sins offensive to God based solely on The Law? Leviticus 16-18

Leviticus 18:30 (NASBStr)

Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the Lord your God. ’”

Moses has just recorded for us, in this section, a list of "abominable customs" and is warning the nation of Israel not to practice them.   In fact, he tells the nation that the people of the land who did practice these things are suffering punishment for this reason.   He even states that IF they practice these things they will also be spewed out of the land and suffer punishment.   God is making a point that the "Gentile" nations that did these things ARE being punished for doing the abominable things.   The punishment is not because they are Gentiles, but because they are doing the abominable things.   What are the abominable things?  Three main sexual practices were being addressed:  Incest, sodomy and sex with animals.   God is telling the nation that it is lewd and abominable behavior to practice sex with your relative, with your gender and with animals.   And, that behavior will not go unpunished.  And, even though God does make it part of the "LAW" He is also telling us that the Gentile nations are doing these things and being punished for it.   The behavior is offensive to God and must be punished by God.   To maintain in an argument that since the Law was Old Testament, homosexual behavior is acceptable is to miss the point of the reason God put this requirement into the Law.   God so the sin of Gentiles and wants His people to be different and not suffer the same punishment.   Sex with family, gender and animals was, and still is, offensive to God!!   Yes, it is part of the Law of God for Israel.   No, it is not limited to them.   It was put in place for them because it was offensive to God for ANY nation.  

Do you have a life mission? Colossians 1-2

Colossians 1:28-29 (NASBStr)

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

Paul had been informed about the believers at Colossee and wanted to admonish them in their walk in Christ.  He prayed for them urgently to be strong in Christ and to have a worthy walk.    As he commends them and admonishes them he turns the pen on himself and states the above "life mission."   These two verses summarize what Paul believed his life mission was all about.   He was passionate about proclaiming Christ and Him alone.   He was committed to teaching every man for the sole purpose that they might be "complete" in Christ.   This, obviously, implies that when we come to Christ, in faith, we are not done.   There is growth to experience.   Paul was committed to making sure the growth in others was complete.  He was Christ's instrument in the chiseling process.   God was the hammer and Paul the chisel.  Paul strove to be the chisel.   This was all done in the "power" of God, via the Spirit.  Paul realized this mission was not done in his strength or power.  Christ was the model and the power.  Paul was the instrument.  Paul was not trying to fashion others to be like him but like Christ.   He was no trying to do this in his strength but in Christ's power.   This is a perfect example of a believers life mission.   Simply a tool in the Master craftsmen's hand.   

Are you rejoicing when you should weep? Luke 19-20

Luke 19:41-42 (NASBStr)

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

Today I am in New Jersey and can see the skyline of New York.   Obviously, it is missing the two towers violently taken out by evil men by airplanes.  Yesterday I visited the memorial of those who perished that day.   There was no laughing.   There was no rejoicing.   There was only silent talking and reflecting.   There was a BIG sign that asked you to be silent and reflect, as well.   Three blocks outside the area, however, people were laughing and joking oblivious to both the sign and the memory.   In the above story we see Jesus riding on a donkey and being hailed as king.   People are said to be "rejoicing" over "their king."   This was a happy moment.  It would be imagined that even the disciples were caught up in the laughter and excitement.   Yet, in the midst of the praise and celebration we read the second occasion Jesus is said to weep on this earth.  He sees Jerusalem as a place that has rejected her King multiple times.  He states, "If you had known ...".     They had many opportunities to know.   It is doubtful than many of those I saw yesterday at the 911 Memorial Reflecting Pools were mourning the city towers for their spiritual loss suffered that day.   How many went to be their Lord that Day?   How many of God's Children did evil remove from the earth that day.   Did the city of New York know the spiritual loss that 9/11/11 day?   Did anyone there mourn the loss of those who perished without Christ?  Those who went to their death failing to respond to countless times others told them about the King of Kings.   Jesus mourned because this city had persecuted prophet and king who stood for God.  Jesus wept.  Again.   This time for the fact that an entire city had rejected for centuries The Lord of Lords ... and would again despite the rejoicing in the streets.  

Do you have the, "This is mine!" issue? Ezekiel 25-30

Ezekiel 29:3 (NASBStr)

Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers,

That has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it. ’

These five chapters in Ezekiel (25-30) are addressing the judgments of God on the surrounding nations who did not, or do not, honor God's people, Israel.  In each case the nation being judged has risen up in opposition of Israel and God's plans and has acted violently against them.  Although the rest of the chapters have there own nuisances each has something similar to God's statement above to Pharaoh, King of Egypt.   Pharaoh, like all of the nations leaders, was a self-promoting "prince" who God had put into his leadership position.   He was where he was because God put him there.   However, like each of the other leaders, he claimed more authority and power than God had allowed.  He refused to submit to the King of Kings.   In this passage here, God reminds him, the Nile River was GOD'S RIVER.    The Nile River was the icon of Egypt.   They claimed it as their own and it was the one thing that gave them their identity.   Yet, like all of us, the people, and Pharaoh, tried to claim the river.   God reminds them that God is the creator and owner of all things.  The fact that the Nile River ran through Egypt was God's plan.   God put it there.   God will not allow us to lay claim of what is His ...and, everything is HIS.   We all tend to refer to things as "my" house; "my" car; "my" job.   Everything is Gods.   If we try to lay claim of anything and attempt to coup His glory He will correct us.   God is the one with glory.   If we attempt to call our Nile, "mine" God will correct us.  

Are you hungry and refuse to eat? Proverbs 10

Proverbs 10:21 (NASBStr)

The lips of the righteous feed many,

But fools die for lack of understanding.

Proverbs 10:21 (AMP)

The lips of the [uncompromisingly] righteous feed and guide many, but fools die for want of understanding and heart.

It is one thing to have no bread to eat.  It is another thing to stand outside a bread store what is giving away free bread and simply have no heart's desire to go in and therefore starve on the street.   This is the picture Solomon is painting for us in the above proverb.   The righteous (those declared so by the sovereign act of God based upon Christ's work and received by faith) have only to open their mouths and good things proceed out.   As Matthew Henry states, "they are of weight and of worth."   Since the righteous have been saved by the Word of God they are filled with the Word of God.  So, out of their mouth is the Bread of Life.  In Proverbs chapter eight and nine we read that wisdom is on the street, on every corner, crying out.  Could this be believers full of God's Word ready to proclaim wisdom and offer the bread of life to all who pass by?   Yet, the fool will die because they lack a "heart" (the word "understanding" above) for it and will not listen.   The fool dies even though wisdom cries out to all who know and fear The Lord.   God cries out via his creation and via His children.  Yet, the fool, who's heart has rejected The Lord, dies for lack of his hearts desire to submit by faith in the Wisdom of God.   Bread can be available but some will never eat.  

Are you up against a rock and a hard place? Psalm 81-83

Psalms 81:16 (NASBStr)

“ But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

God majors on converting tough times into blessings for us.   The Bible is full of times when God took a bad situation and brought "honey" from the rock.  Nothing is a better example of that than our own salvation.  We were completely depraved and had nothing God needed or could desire and yet, through Christ, God took the cold, hard rock of our heart and made it sweet for Him.   Paul was a man who persecuted the church and was licensed to kill believers. He personally held the coats of the flash mob that stoned Deacon Stephen.   Yet, God turned his cold-hard heart into a source of honey as the writer of Scripture for the Church.  Of course, the exact example Asaph is writing about in this Psalm is when God literally had water flow from a rock to quench the cold-hard hearts of the Israelites lust and desire.   God sent birds from the sky and manna from heaven.  We ought never to stare at a the "rock" of our problems without first remembering that God majors on turning them into sources of sweet sustenance.   Everywhere we turn in Scripture God was able to take the hard and difficult and make it soft and sweet like honey.   That is what God does.  Rejoice in your rock today.   It will be your source of honey tomorrow.  

When you look what do you see? 2 Kings 6-10

2 Kings 6:17 (NASBStr)

Then Elisha prayed and said, “ O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Elisha's servant has a problem.   When he went outside he saw the armies of the  King of Aram had surrounded him and Elisha.  In obvious fear he reports to Elisha the dire straight they are in.   Elisha, as a man of God, tells him that there are "more for them" than are against them.    But, Elisha is looking at the situations with a different set of eyes.   He knows that God is there for them.   And, as a spiritual man, that is how he sees that situation and all situations.    In verses seventeen, above, we have a great example of what we should do when we are working with a believer who has less faith and wider eyes of flesh than they should.   Elisha prays for his servant.   He doesn't get frustrated with him.  He doesn't try to open the servants eyes through a class.  He doesn't guilt the servant into see what he sees.   Elisha knows that the only one who can open the eyes of this servant is God.  So, Elisha prays.  He prays that God would open the eyes of the man so he would see the army of angelic hosts God has on their side.   Only God can open our eyes.  Jesus told HIs disciples that in Matthew 13:15-16.  Paul prayed that for the Ephesian believers (Ephesians 1:18).   He wanted their eyes open so that they would see their hope in Christ.    Seeing God in every situation is a God enabled thing.  It is God who opens the eyes of our understanding.   We ought to be praying that for our children, co-workes, fellow church members, everyone we know.   Oh that God would open eyes by the Spirit of God to see the things of God.  When we pray for our children we need not give them things.  We need to ask God to open their spiritual eyes to know and see The Lord of Hosts who is on their side.   Let's not give them instruction; let's pray God will open their eyes to the power of God!!!

Do our innocent acts of the body need a sacrifice for sin? Leviticus 13-15

Leviticus 15:31 (NASBStr)

“Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.”

Chapters 13-15 have to do with laws about the leper and uncleanness of women or men in regard to normal human functions.   The extreme of the leper is on one side and the innocent natural discharge of the human body on the other side.  Yet, in both cases The Lord demanded the priest convey and monitor laws on how to respond to such things.    The reasons may be multiple; especially if you understand the living conditions of a over a million people traveling through the desert.  Yet, the reason given above is in regard to the holiness of God and His presence in the Tabernacle.    The leper had to leave the area so as to not be close to the "TENT" (another description of the Tabernacle).   God wanted the nation to understand they were to be separate from God.   God was holy.  ANYTHING that may cause uncleanness was to be treated as sin; even though the act itself may not have been caused by a sinful act of disobedience.   Because man is full of sin, there is no such thing as innocent uncleanness, in reality.  This passage shows us that man is full of sin and therefore needs to be cleansed completely before coming to God.   Whether due to a terrible disease or an natural discharge from a man during the night, God wants holiness.   A sacrifice had to be made for each.   We don't understand the extent of Christ's atonement for us.  He saved us from all sin, including the natural acts of a sinful body.   

How are we being transformed? Philippians 3-4

Philippians 3:20-21 (NASBStr)

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

As we read through chapter three we are told by Paul that the flesh benefits nothing in every stage of Christianity.   The flesh benefited nothing in the justification (the past) of our salvation and it will benefit nothing all the way through glorification of our salvation (the future).   Our sanctification (our present) is also completely ALL GOD ALL THE TIME.   Our faith in Jesus Christ to do the work necessary for justification THROUGH glorification is stated in this chapter.  No flesh will benefit but only FAITH in Christ.   So, at the end of the chapter we see Paul's statement above.   Our citizenship in heaven is fully on Christ as He "transforms" us to "conform" us to His image.   Where we are and where we are going is on the "exertion of the power He has" since all things are subject to Him.  That means WE are subject to His power.  We don't use our flesh to conform to Christ.  He uses His power (the power that was given Him that all things are subject to Him) to accomplish the task.   We don't have to worry about the process or the product at the end.  He knows the state we are in now and what state we are to look like at the end.   He has the power to accomplish that look.  Even when we fail to see the change God is in the process of transforming us into the image of Christ.  As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:18; from one degree of glory to the next.    God is using HIS power.  It is not our power (flesh) that will make us look like Christ. It is our faith in Christ doing the work that will make us look like Christ.   All Faith, no flesh!!!

Do you show mercy? Luke 17-18

Luke 17:12-13 (NASBStr)

As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

The ten leprous men cried out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"   In the next chapter, a blind man who is sitting along the side of the road will ask the exact thing.   Both the lepers and the blind man came to a point to recognize their need for mercy.   God is the God of mercy.   We all need to cry out to Him for mercy in our lives.   Yet, we are also to extend mercy.   Jesus is trying to demonstrate to His disciples the need for them to show the same mercy to God that God shows us.  In Micah 6:8 we read that the duty of man is not sacrifice and form worship but to do justice and to love kindness (mercy) to others and to walk in humility (later in Luke 18:14 Jesus will address the need to be humble).   When we read these miracles of Jesus we need to remember that not only are we seeing the glory of God in the lives of men but we are seeing the character of God demonstrated so that we will model that behavior.  As the children of God we should, at least at times and in the Spirit, act with Godly character.  Showing mercy to others is not just a command of God it is a character of walking in the Spirit (Galatians 6).   Show mercy to others ... as you sat on the edge of the road begging in your sin mercy was shown to you.  

Do you sacrifice your children to an idol? Ezekiel 19-24

Ezekiel 23:37-39 (NASBStr)

For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to them as food. Again, they have done this to Me:they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths. For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and lo, thus they did within My house.

Idolatry is a powerful practice in the lives of men.   Most people, today, if asked, would not admit to any form of idolatry.  Most of us would say that is a practice of uneducated and superstitious people.   Yet, we practice idolatry every day by putting something other than God on the throne of our lives.  If we think "worship" is when we give something honor and praise via our time and our treasure than we worship many of the possessions we own and have worked for to obtain.  We even worship our occupation and especially the education that comes with it.  Our country worships "learning".  It does not worship the God who gives wisdom for what we learn, however.  In the above verses one of the distinctions of idol worship is the sacrificing of our children to our idols.  Again, if asked, our society would say they would NEVER do that and find it barbaric.  Yet, the same person who would react violently to that thought would not mind working Saturdays and Sundays to earn money for a mortgage on a nice house and sacrifice their time away from the children to do that ... all the while claiming what a good parent they are by what they "provide" their children.  Yet, they are sacrificing their children for their idols (style of living).   Make sure we know what true idol worship is all about.   When we put something on the throne other than God we are idol worshipping.   When we do that at the cost of raising our children for God, we sacrifice our children for that idol.   You might think the nation of Israel was a wicked and horrible people.  Yet, we do the same thing every day for cars, houses, boats, campers, life styles.   

Do you like shinny stuff or stuff that has been around? Proverbs 8-9

Proverbs 8:23

“From everlasting I was established,

From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

Some people only like new things. They like the shiny parts of it; they like the smell of it; they like to be the ones who are the first to own it. But sometimes there are more valuable benefits to finding what is old.  The above proverb tells us that wisdom is a very old commodity. In fact, the next seven or eight versus explain that wisdom has been around since the beginning of time and, actually, before time. We have already learned by studying these proverbs that Christ is wisdom (1 Corinthians 1). What Solomon is trying to tell us is that wisdom was with God in Christ, in the beginning, when He created the heavens and the earth.  It was in Wisdom that crafted them. Therefore when we call for wisdom what we are actually calling for it is God's nature; God's wisdom in our life.  We only have to look a short distance in life to see the wisdom behind what God created. Man spends his life studying creation and cannot fully explain it. He studies the earth: he studies the body: he studies insects: he studies the stars: and he still cannot fathom the depths of the wisdom of God. Yet, in this chapter of Proverbs, we are told that wisdom is as available as air. Wisdom is on the corner of every street crying out for those who wish to have her. We have but to ask. See James. You don't have to go far to find wisdom, you don't have to cry aloud to get wisdom, you don't have to search for wisdom as though it were some lost item or hidden treasure with no map to find her. Wisdom is available to those who humble themselves, fear the Lord, and seek it diligently. It's been here for a long, long, time.

Does God see you? Psalm 78-80

Psalms 80:3 (NASBStr)

O God, restore us

And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

This same verse appears in this same Psalm three times.  Here, verse seven and, at the end of the chapter, verse nineteen.   God has given us this Psalm to enable us to know the salvation and power of His saving grace.   To be saved we first need someone to notice that we are dead.   We can't notice first that we are dead because ... we are dead.   Dead people don't notice anything.   The Psalm is simply stating that before there is any saving we need the only One who can save to turn and see us dead.   If we were simply floating in the water, unconscious, we would need another boater to see us for us to be rescued.   The same is true about our salvation.   God first must turn His face to us.  Once that happens, and only after that happens, can we be saved.   God can restore and save after He looks at us.  We need to pray each day that God will turn and see our loved ones and save them.  

How worried are you about the future? 2 Kings 1-5

2 Kings 2:3 (NASBStr)

Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.”

Elijah was about to leave this earth and Elisha and the other prophets knew it ... they were prophets.   Since Elisha was the heir apparent to Elijah it was important that he not only stay by Elijah's side to minister to him, but to also learn from him.   So, where Elijah goes, Elisha goes.     But, Elijah tells him to stay home while he makes a quick trip to the city of Bethel.   This is where the angst of the group of prophets comes into view.  The other prophets began to stir up Elisha's spirit (or wanted to) over Elijah's soon departure.  However, Elisha kept his focus on things of truth and told them to be still ... to calm their spirits.   What sage advice for those who get all worked up about the future.   "Be still" is the advice of a mature prophet who rejects the worry-wort spirit of his peers.   We need more people in business and in life who will say, "be still" and don't get all worked up.   Let God deal with the unknown.  We just need to be prepared for what we do know and exercise faith in that.  We can get so worked up over future events and future issues.   The world of the conservative political Christian can get so caught up in the "voices" of the day.  If they only realized the time we spend listening to "talking heads" would be better spent actually talking to God and in the same state Elisha tells the prophets ... be still!!    We get so excited about the future and about what God might or might do.   Elisha had already been promised by God that he would be Elijah's successor.   He trusted, by faith, in God fulfilling His Word.  When we believe God will fulfill His Word we can afford the luxury of "being still."