Tag: The Residuls with Conflict - Psalm 12-14

Psalms 13:2

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Tag: A Dangerous Residual Impact of Conflict

In Psalm 13 we have a passage of King David when he was being attacked, or threatened by one of his enemies.   He begins the Psalm like this:

Psalms 13:1

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

Four times in the first two verses he cries out, “how long.”   He is complaining that God seems to have neglected him in this conflict.  He wants God’s salvation ... and, he wants it today!!   We have all been to that place!!   That desire to be free from the conflict and the pain it brings is a natural part of the human experience.   We want freedom from the conflict because, when you are in it, we do really foolish things.   Job, in his conflict, began to question God’s love and grace ... that is very foolish.   Jonah, in his conflict, made a foolish decision and ended up in the belly of a fish in the bottom of the sea.   Peter, in his conflict, denied Jesus three times.  Conflict makes us do foolish things.  In the above verse, David asks, “How long must I take counseling in my soul ... ?”.    This may be one of the worse residuals of being in a conflict: We begin to look for answers in our own souls.  The Hebrew word for soul here is “nespes” and it is used over 600 times in the OT portion of the Bible.   It is the mind, heart and/or inner being of a person.  Today we might say it this way:  “How long must I consider my own mindset while in this affliction?”  The problem with conflict (that God does not instantly provide an answer for) is that we will, more often than not, seek answers in our own, tired, sinful mindsets of the past.  Job, Jonah and Peter all did that.  We all do that.  Because we don’t see an immediate response from God we seek our “own counsel.”   The problem is, we don’t think like God thinks.  We are not God.  He is, we are not.  God’s ways are higher than our thinking:

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

When we are in conflict and we don’t see God’s rescuing and working (God Works behind the scenes more often than not) we revert to what we know.  And, what we know is often the reason we are in the spot we are in.  We are so locked into our old mindsets we don’t allow God to break through into our lives with His ways.  He asks that we live by faith and trust Him, even when it makes no sense to our common mind.   Think of Peter being told by Jesus to “walk on the water.”  That is ridiculous and Peter went into his own mindset and began to sink into the water.   When God does not speak, immediately, we tend to sink into our own minds.  This is one reason why we need read God’s every day and be mediating on it every chance we get. When we don’t focus on God’s Word we will always fall into our old mindset.  Our mindset is twisted with sin, corrupted with memory, and heavy with guilt.   Yet, God’s Word is refined.   Note what David says in the Psalm just before this one:

Psalms 12:6-7

The words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

You, O Lord, will keep them;

you will guard us from this generation forever.

So, “how long?”  We don’t know how long before we see how God will intervene.  But, in the process we need to make sure we DON’T fall into our own “counsel;” our own “minds.”  Because our mindsets are not, typically, in a good place.   When God is not typically moving as fast as we want ... but in the mean time, we need to make sure we focus on God’s known word and allow it to trump our mindset.  

Tag: By Faith we Lean into God for Victory - Joshua 21-24

Joshua 23:3-5

And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.

Tag:  God does the work as we lean into Him in Faith

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of our faith is given up and giving into to allowing God to direct all aspects of our faith.  Three times in the Bible the words, “The Just shall LIVE by faith,” are written (Habakkuk; Galatians; Hebrews).  Not only are we saved by faith, but we are to live and conquer life by faith.   In the above passage Joshua is giving the final instructions to the nation of Israel as thy enter and conquer the promise land.  The “promise land” is both a real land (where Israel is today) AND a picture for the life of the believer.   Our lives, as believers, mirror the story of Israel.  We have been saved by God’s power out of Egypt (a picture of our live of sin and God’s redeeming us).   The nation of Israel needed to believe that God would take them out of Egypt ... by faith.  They past through the Red Sea on dry ground, by faith (A picture of being baptized “through” the water).   We are being lead into a promise land (victorious living), also by faith. In the above passage Joshua reminds the nation that their victory is NOT going to be because of their own efforts, but through faith in God.  God would use their hands to fight, yes, but even that was with God’s strength, as He enabled them to fight.  We are saved BY FAITH and we are to live BY FAITH.   Our own strength is useless against the enemy.  God is the ONLY one who can defeat the foe.  Faith is that shield that quenches all the arrows of the enemy:

Ephesians 6:16

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

Faith is the victory that overcomes the evil one and gives us victory to live in the promise land.   In Hebrews we read what happened to some of these Israelites who, refused to follow in belief:

Hebrews 3:16-19

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Tag: Is anything too Hard for Christ - Genesis 16-19

Genesis 18:10-14

Then the Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old? ’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

Is anything to hard for The Lord?   As you look at your life do you see impossible problems in front of you, or opportunities for God to do a miracle?    God is in the business of doing great things.    He put the nation of Israel in the place of hardship on a repeated basis just to show His glory when He delivered them.   Is it any surprise that the very birth of Israel (Isaac's seed) would be in the face of great odds and tremendous hardship?  Take a look at the hardship you face.   Do you see God grace and power ready to be displayed in this?   Do you see the fact that God wants to perform a miracle for us?   We can laugh like Sarah in our above passage, or we can fall on our face and be thankful ahead of time that God is going to do a great miracle.   Is there anything to hard for God?   God heals conflicts!   God heals diseases!  God heals financial burdens!   God heals heartaches!   God heals everything we need to be healed ... in HIs own way and in His OWN time.   Is there anything to hard for God?

Tag: Mind of the Spirit - Romans 7-8

Romans 8:5-8

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Tag: Set Your Mind of the Things of the Spirit

I seldom in my blog simply quote someone else on a verse, but this commentary makes too many great observations to ignore:

World Biblical NT Commentary Series:

“The antithesis of Spirit and flesh is to this day often mistaken as a dichotomy in morals (good and bad), or in religion (dos and don’ts), or in personality (mind and body, spirit and matter, etc.). But Spirit and flesh are not descriptive of a theological or ethical schizophrenia, or of higher and lower principles in the same person, one Christian, the other unchristian, or one saved, the other unsaved. Spirit and flesh are rather two exclusive realms, two authorities or governing powers. One is either in the Spirit or in the flesh, but not in both at the same time. The language indicates a sense of sovereignty and totality of the one or the other: to live according to the sinful nature / Spirit (v. 5), “controlled by the sinful nature / Spirit” (v. 9), “belonging to Christ” (v. 9), “if the Spirit … is living in you” (v. 11), in “obligation … not to the sinful nature / Spirit” (v. 12–13).  In verses 5–8 Paul speaks of the mind of the Spirit or flesh. Phronēma means “thought,” conveying the idea of the sum total of inner dispositions, literally a “mindset” that leads to a goal. “Flesh” then connotes not base instincts or the material side of life, but that which human nature in its rebellion against God has made of itself. Spirit, likewise, is not a noble or ideal self, but God’s transmitting of the effects of Christ’s salvation to believers and God’s infusing himself into them.

We noted that there are twenty-one references to the Spirit in chapter 8. Only slightly less important is sarx, “flesh,” which occurs thirteen times in the first thirteen verses of the chapter. Paul sets the two in opposition, like flint sharpened by flint, in verse 6: The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life. Flesh and Spirit, and death and life are polar opposites. The disposition controlled by sin leads to death, and is death even in life. The disposition controlled by the Spirit participates even now in the life and peace that will be fully realized in the world to come.”

To be in the “flesh” is to be in our natural mindset, what we are born with in mind.  Our “flesh” is what we are, absent Christ.  To set our mind on the Spirit, it is to allow Christ to rule our thoughts.   We can’t live in both realms.  By faith, we ask Christ to change our mind. We want to allow the Spirit of God to rule our minds.   Later Paul will tell us to “renew” our minds.   This means our minds can be reprogrammed.  We can’t, by ourselves, change our minds.  But, by submitting ourselves to God, we can allow the Spirit, by faith, to change our minds.  To reprogram each thought and to bring it into captivity for Christ.  With the mind of the Spirit we don’t let our minds run wild:

2 Corinthians 10:5

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Walking in the Spirit is to allow the Spirit to figure things out; to live with the Spirit’s mindset, not the old mindset of the flesh.  

Tag: Solutions to Fear - Matthew 8-10

Matthew 10:26-31 (Have No Fear)

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Tag: Solutions to Fear

The above text is taken from some instructions Jesus gave to His disciples, as they went out into the world to live and speak out for Him.  Earlier Jesus has sent them out and warned them that they WILL suffer persecution (you can’t come to Christ without some persecution).   This warning, obviously, caused them to have “fear.”   Jesus is not ignorant of our fear(s).  He knows we WILL fear; even in our walk with Him. Jesus’ solution to fear is powerful.   The first solution is:

“So have no fear of them (those mocking your faith), for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”  

Jesus solution to our fear of man’s treatment of us, is the truth that God KNOWS what is going on.   There is nothing man can do to us that God does not know and won’t expose; in some way or another.   We fear as though we are left alone in our suffering.  Jesus truth to stop that fear is to, by faith, believe that God is fully aware of what is happening and will, in His time, expose those who are crafting in secret to hurt us.   We can rest in that truth ... God knows!!

The second solution to fear is:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 

Jesus states, IF you are going to fear (and you will) than fear the right thing, or the right person.  Don’t fear the person who can simply hurt the body (that would be the real fear the disciples faced), but fear God, who can destroy body and soul (the real person).   The solution is to stand in awe of God and fear Him.  We ought to fear doing something that displeases God MORE than we fear what man can do to us.  Our pleasing God brings blessing, no matter the suffering.  Our pleasing man brings suffering, no matter the extent we please them.  We are made to please God.  When we fear (stand in awe of) Him, we can be assured that He will care for us.  

The third solution is that God cares for everything He created.  It is God’s nature to take care of what is His.  We are His and, therefore, He will care for us like He cares for everything He owns:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

Even a sparrow (worth only 1/2 a penny) is on God’s radar.  Each day God feeds the sparrows.  God is so in-tune those He created, He can tell you the exact number of hairs on your head.  We worry about what our hair looks like - God counts each hair.  

Our fears can be stopped when we fear the right things (God) and trust God’s care for us instead.   God will not allow anything to happen to us He can’t expose and care for!!!  

Tag: The Lord Almighty - Isaiah 18-22

 Isaiah 22:12-14

In that day the Lord God of hosts

called for weeping and mourning,

for baldness and wearing sackcloth;

and behold, joy and gladness,

killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,

eating flesh and drinking wine.

“Let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die.”

The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:

“Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”

says the Lord God of hosts.

Tag:  Lord God of Hosts

The above passage is taken from the middle of chapter 22 and from the “oracle” (prophecy) against Jerusalem (The city that represents God’s People).  Chapter 22 is in the middle of other “oracles” against other nations.   All the oracles are claiming God’s punishment for their failure to obey God’s Word and walk in faith.   Judgment comes on all men (Romans 2).   The passage, above, is identified in the beginning of it and the end of it as coming from, “the Lord god of Hosts.”   There are many names for God in the Bible, but here is what one blogger stated about this particular name:

“The name “LORD of hosts” occurs some 261 times in the Old Testament Scriptures. God is first called the “LORD of hosts” in 1 Samuel 1:3. The word LORD, capitalized, refers to Yahweh, the self-existent, redemptive God. The word hosts is a translation of the Hebrew word sabaoth, meaning “armies”—a reference to the angelic armies of heaven. Thus, another way of saying “LORD of hosts” is “God of the armies of heaven.” The NIV translates YHWH saboath as “LORD Almighty.”

The phrase Lord Almighty ought to stir up faith and courage and confidence for the one who trust in YHWH.   When we cry out to the LORD, that ought to be a blessing and a sure sense of victory in our hearts.   This is the LORD ALMIGHTY we are praying to for our help in time of need.   This issue, however, in the above passage is that the Lord Almighty, the Lord of Hosts, is speaking to the nation about a time of judgement.   He is speaking of judgment and their response, rather than repentance, is, “Oh, well, Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.”   God’s response?  “Well, If you don’t repent there is NO atoning for your sins.”   It is not that God won’t forgive them.  It is the fact, that without repenting, there can be no remission of sins.  God can and does provide for forgiveness.  However, if we reject the glory and power and provision of the Lord Almighty, and instead continue to indulge in our sin, their can be no more sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 6).   This name for God ought to give us great and glorious assurance.   However, when we walk in sin the same name of God that should assure us, instead, condemns and judges us.  He is the LORD ALMIGHTY ... YHWH SABOATH! 

Tag: Prosperity Gospel has a Long History - Job 8-10

Job 8:5-7

If you will seek God

and plead with the Almighty for mercy,

if you are pure and upright,

surely then he will rouse himself for you

and restore your rightful habitation.

And though your beginning was small,

your latter days will be very great.

Tag:   Prosperity Gospel has a long history

Bildad, one of Job’s “friends” is giving him counsel in chapter 8 of this book.  Bildad has a very simple philosophy and it is summarized in the above passage.  He believes that if Job repents and confesses his sins he will be blessed.  In fact, he teaches, the more Job confesses thee more Job will be blessed.   As Bildad observes Job’s state (Job has lost everything), he makes conclusion similar to most of the word today:  Bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people.   Therefore, since bad things have happened to Job, he must be bad.  Bildad’s solution for Job is to confess and repent of his bad, and good things will begin t happen.   This is the core of today’s prosperity gospel.  For Bildad type preachers, mankind only has to repent, live a great life and God will bless you.  Their main thought: Blessing follows repentance; much repentance - much blessing.   What Bildad (and today’s prosperity teachers) failed to remember, is that Job was not bad. Remember, what GOD said about Job to start the book:

Job 1:1

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

Job 1:8

And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

Prosperity preachers must cringe at the story of Job. It is completely the opposite of their teaching.  Job was a great man who suffered.  Bildad can’t get that.  In his mind Job MUST have done something wrong and he simply needs to repent to be restored.   Granted, Job, in the later end, was restored to wealth and prosperity.   But, it was not because of His performance, but rather God’s amazing grace.   God is not a “you-do-this-I’ll-do-that” type of God.   Every good thing that happens in our life is because of God’s grace.   We can rejoice in that!!!   Repentance is done because we have sin in our lives and we recognize that it offends a holy and righteous God, not because we get prosperity as a result.   

Tag: God Watches the Wicked and Watches over the Righteous - Psalm 9-11

Psalms 10:12-15

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;

forget not the afflicted.

Why does the wicked renounce God

and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,

that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless commits himself;

you have been the helper of the fatherless.

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

call his wickedness to account till you find none.

Tag:  God is Watching and Correcting the Wicked

Perhaps the hardest thought for a believer to wrap their mind around is contained in the above passage.   In Psalm 10, David is crying out to God about the wicked.  He is specifically pointing out to God (as thought God were blind to it all) that the wicked person in his life is just mocking God.   This wicked person David is referring to is crushing David and other “righteous” people, but, as it appears to David, God is doing nothing.   This wicked person seems to be able to run his mouth, deceived the masses and oppress the poor (those who can’t defend themselves).   Notice what David writes in the two verses just before the above verses:

Psalms 10:10-11

The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

Despite this observation, God wants us to believe what David writes in vs. 12-15.   In the above passage for today we read that God DOES see the wicked and WILL NOT allow the wicked to go unpunished or uncorrected.   David writes, “But you do see ...”.   This is a truth all believers have to realize and take into account.  God has not closed His eyes to the hurt of the helpless.  God DOES see.  And, since He sees He will rise to action.  It may not be in our time frame.   It may not be the way we want God to respond.   But, God will and is responding.  Living by faith is trusting in verses 12-15 despite the hurt of verses 1-10.   God DOES see the wicked mock and curse and crush the innocent.   God WILL do something about and, indeed, is doing something about it.  We can trust Psalm 10 to be carried out in the world around us.  Note how the psalm ends:

Psalm 10:17-18

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to to justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.  

Tag: Safety in Counselors - Joshua 16-20

Joshua 18:8-10

So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion.

Tag:  Using the Skills of Others to Accomplish the Task 

Joshua was the leader of Israel.   However, he understood the meaning of “developing” others and using the skills of others.   In the above passage he sends out men to “write the description of the land.”  These men would record the land and Joshua would use that recording to determine which of the remaining tribes received which land.   There is no doubt that Joshua learned this leadership tool from Moses, when Moses sent the original spies out in Numbers 13.  Of course, in that occasion those going out to survey the land turned the people into jello and they were so afraid to go into the promise land, God forbade them.  But, Joshua understood the need to use the skills of others and to gather data before making decisions.   He sent spies out to survey Jericho, as well.   Joshua knew that, as a leader, he can do it himself.  He needed good men and good leaders around him to be better.   This was his skill he learned from Moses and practiced himself.  Perhaps this is what Solomon was thinking when he wrote the following:

Proverbs 11:14

Where there is no guidance, a people falls,

but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Tag: Proximity to Sin Impacts Our Lives! Genesis 12-15

Genesis 14:12

They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

Tag: Proximity to Sin Impacts Us!

Lot, in chapter 13, was given a choice, by his uncle Abram, where he wanted to live.   Abram told him he could go left or right and take the land he wanted.  Abram would go the opposite way. Note Abram’s exact words:

Genesis 13:9

Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

What did Lot choose?  He choose the riches looking land and the land nearest wicked Sodom.  Sodom was, at the time of Lot’s choosing, already wicked:

Genesis 13:13

Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

Lot choose to live near and in proximity to this wickedness.  Suddenly, when Sodom is taken captive by an even more wicked king, Lot is swept up in the fray.   the issue here is not that Lot was an innocent victim and/or collateral damage from two kings, in war with each other.  Lot wanted to be near the wickedness of they day.  He enjoyed it.   He took little thought that he might suffer for that decision.   When we cuddle up against the world, we ought not be surprised that we suffer for it.  As the saying goes, “those who lie down with dogs get flees.”   We have to understand that being a believer does not exempt us from the influences of the world.   The closer we get to living with sin, the more likely we will suffer from that sin ... if only residually.   Abraham had to come and rescue Lot.   But, he goes right back to living in Sodom and, eventually, the entire city is destroyed (chapter 19).  Lot does not learn his lesson. Regretfully, most of us do not!

Tag: Our Unity in Christ means Disunity with Sin - Romans 5-6

Romans 6:5-6

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Tag:  Our Unity with Christ Enables Our Separation from Sin

Romans 6 is one of the most powerful passages in all of the Bible.   Chapters 1-5 taught us that we are sinful, judgement is coming on that sin, Jesus stepped in to take our judgment and we are now “justified” by faith in Christ’s substitutionary atonement.   That is all pure doctrine.  When we get to chapter 6-8 we begin to talk about how that doctrine works it way out into our lives in our fight against sin.   The key thought in the above verse is that we are “united” with Christ.  Through faith we have been “placed in Christ.”  By being “in” Christ we are “United” with Him.  Therefore we were “united” in his death ... He died for us and we were “in” Him as a result.   We were also with Him in His resurrection.  That means the penalty of sin was defeated by Him for us in His death and the power of sin was overcome by Him for us in His resurrection. Sin, based upon that doctrine, no longer has power over us.  We have this truth.  Living in light of this truth is the thought in chapters 6-8.   Sin is like an old marriage partner.   Using divorce for a good illustration is probably bad, but think of our relationship with sin as a marriage.  We mutual submit to each other.   Then a divorce happens (we have been set free from the union of sin and us).  The marriage partner is still alive and walking around.  The partner can still talk to you and attempt to influence or belittle or harass or harm, but they have no “legal” right to do so.  They can only hurt and manipulate you if you give him/her power in your life.   The truth is we are free from hat marriage partner ... that are “dead” do us ... or, better, we are now “alive” and they are dead.   That is the relationship we now have with sin.  Because we are “in Christ” (united with Him) we are free from sin (separated from its power over us).  That does not mean we don’t sin.   We do.  But, it is because we are allowing a something dead to us to influence us.  

Tag: God Delievers from Evil - Matthews 5-7

Matthew 6:13

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Tag:  God Delivers from Evil

In the “Lord’s Prayer” we are taught by Jesus how to pray to the Father.  The prayer would be more apt entitled, “The Disciples Prayer.”  In the above line of the prayer (in many manuscripts, the last line) we are told to pray for deliverance from evil.  We are, in fact, told to ask God to not lead us into temptation.   The emphasis should not be that we think God WILL lead us to temptation, but that we recognize that God can keep us from temptation and deliver us for the Evil One.   All other scripture teaches that God is the deliverer of our lives (Psalm 91 is a great example of one of those passages that teach us this truth).  We are to pray, each day, that our protection is from God, not our own efforts.  Our safety from the Evil One and his temptations is not from our own strength, smarts, or skills.   The world would teach us this. The psychology of the world is that man is the captain of his own ship and the master of his own fate.  But, in this prayer we are taught that God is in control of our lives. If we want deliverance from temptation and the Evil One it is first about asking God to intervene in our lives in a mighty way.   This DOES NOT exempt us from putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6) or from renewing our mind (Romans 12).  But, it begins by recognizing that the power we need to resist evil begins with God protecting us and enabling us. 

Tag: God Levels Nations - Isaiah 12-17

Isaiah 13:11

I will punish the world for its evil,

and the wicked for their iniquity;

I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,

and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.

Tag:  God Can Level Any Nation

The above verse is taken from chapter 13 of Isaiah.  In that chapter the prophet is prophesying against Babylon.  The prophecy will tell all who read that Babylon will soon be dropped from the face of the earth.  At this time frame, Babylon was the THE nation of record.  They were the most feared and most powerful nation on the face of the earth.  This prophecy (in the entire chapter) tells us that God will wipe Babylon off the face of the earth.   This would be like God wiping the USA off he face of the earth.   We would never believe a prophet that stated this type of thing about the USA.  Yet, this is what God did and CAN do.  We need to stand in awe of God that He is a God who is powerful and sovereign.   Note, however, that the reason for the destruction for Babylon is stated, above.   Isaiah states that God will “punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity.”   God does not destroy on a whim.  God is a righteous God and makes judgments based upon His Law.  God judges the nations.   God brings others nations against nations.  Note:

Isaiah 13:17

Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,

who have no regard for silver

and do not delight in gold.

God uses one nation against another.   He destroys one nation at the hands of another.   This should not cause fear in our lives.  This ought to cause us to be in awe of God and to rest in His sovereignty.    God is in control.  We can rest in this.  And, if God is in this type of control, just think what He can and do for our lives.   

Tag: Suffering Stripes Away False Resources - Job 6-7

Job 6:13

Have I any help in me,

when resource is driven from me?

Tag:   Suffering Caused Reflection about Resources

Job is suffering.  He is the Biblical-Life example of suffering.   Job has lost his property, his livestock; his wealth, his reputation, his children, the respect of his spouse and, his feeling of the security and confidence in had in his relationship with God.   In these verses he is speaking that his “strength” has been zapped from him.   He is as if dead ... the ultimate end of strength and energy.   In the above verse he asked the ultimate question: “Now that all my resources are gone, what help do I have?”   Suffering in our lives drives all external, earthly and temporal resources away from us.  We don’t realize it but we tend to trust (without think they are idols) our wealth, our children, our spouse, our family, our property.   But, when those are taken from us, we, like Job, cry out and ask, “Where is my strength? Now, that these are being taken away, what is my hope?”   In the above line the ESV translation of the Bible uses the word “resource” in regard to what has been “driven” from Job.  The NIV uses the word “success.”  The point is, Job had so relied upon his physical and earthly “things” to give him his significance, he now wondered were he would get strength.  Here is where the marvelous truth of the New Testament comes in.  Note just a couple of verses that Paul states on this subject:

2 Corinthians 4:7-11

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Job was about to learn about the “surpassing greatness” of God’s power in his life.  We, as NT believers, need to realize that all the “stuff” and “relationships” in the world are not to replace the “resources” we have in Christ.   God is our resources and replaces all things “earth.”   Our only hope in suffering is to realize that the suffering stripes away everything we “did” trust in and replaces it with what we “should” trust in .... God’s unconditional, love!!

Tag: The Reason we Praise God - Psalm 6-8

Psalms 7:17

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Tag:  The Reason for Praise

God wants us to praise Him.  He created us to sing praises to Him.   That should be enough of a reason for us to do so ... the mere fact that is our created purpose in life.   But, the fact that God is who He is, gives us much more than a functional reason to do so.   We worship God because His character shows us He is “due” that worship.   When we see a beautiful sunset there is praise and adoration, because of that beauty.  People walk out on a pier in the evening just to sit and watch for that beauty.  People take pictures of the sunset to show others later.   The sun, a created thing, is showing off beauty and so we, naturally, “praise” it.   If the creation is so beautiful and strikes awe in our hearts, just think of what praise the Creator deserves.  We ought to sing praises to God because His righteousness demands it.  This psalm is about David asking God to judge his enemies.  Being assured that God will do just that (and do so in righteousness), David ends the psalm with the above statement to give “thanks due to His righteousness.”   God is a perfect Judge and a Perfect God.  He NEVER makes a mistake.  We can rejoice in the fact that God is “righteous.”   

Tag: Compromise is Always Judged - Joshua 11-15

Joshua 13:22

Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain.

Tag:   Compromise is Always Judged

Balaam was, at one time, a man of God.  He was enticed, by wealth, power and prestige, to trick Israel into living a life of compromise with their enemies.  He was asked on multiple occasions to curse Israel.  When he continued to refuse to curse them, the enemies of Israel increased the wages.  He finally convinced the enemy to simply marry into the nation of Israel and allow the match-making to take its course.  Eventually the wives would convince the Israelite husbands to compromise their faith and follow the false gods of their enemy.   They would convince them, too, to compromise.  The example Balaam is found numerous times in God’s word and used to emphasize the dangers of compromise.  Balaam compromised himself to eventually compromise the entire nation of Israel.  God despises compromise.   In the above verse we see that Balaam is finally judged.   God will always judge compromise.   We have to make sure that we understand that God hates the ways of Balaam.  Noticed what the NT says about Balaam:

2 Peter 2:15

Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

Revelation 2:14

But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.

God holds all of us to the same standard today.  God hates the ways of Balaam ... compromising our faith and mixing our faith with the world is contrary to the holiness of God.   Compromise will, eventually, be judged.  

Tag: God’s is a Covenant God - Genesis 8-11

Genesis 9:17

God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Tag: God is a Covenant God

In the above verse we see the reminder by God about the rainbow.   The rainbow was set in the sky to remind man that God keeps His covenant.   Here is what we know about the Hebrew word for “covenant:”

berit - “covenant; league; confederacy.” This word is most probably derived from an Akkadian root meaning “to fetter”; it has parallels in Hittite, Egyptian, Assyrian, and Aramaic. Berit is used over 280 times and in all parts of the Old Testament. The first occurrence of the word is in Gen. 6:18: “But with thee [Noah] will I establish my covenant.”

God is a covenant keeping God.  Notice what the prophet Micah says about God’s keeping His covenant:

Micah 7:18-20

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity

and passing over transgression

for the remnant of his inheritance?

He does not retain his anger forever,

because he delights in steadfast love.

He will again have compassion on us;

he will tread our iniquities underfoot.

You will cast all our sins

into the depths of the sea.

You will show faithfulness to Jacob

and steadfast love to Abraham,

as you have sworn to our fathers

from the days of old.

We must never forget that God keeps His promises.  We have little in our lives to relate to this.  No one we know always keeps their promises.  Only God can and does keep every promises He makes.  We are not used to that. We are humans and we never see this type of thing.  This is why when God said He would never, again, destroy man with a flood and puts a “rainbow” in the sky, we need this type of sign.  It reminds us that God is a covenant keeping God and we have nothing to fear. God ALWAYS keeps His promises.  

Tag: The Fear of the Lord is Essential for Belief - Romans 3-4

Romans 3:18

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Tag:  Fear of God is Essential for Belief

The above verse is taken out of the middle of a long list of verses Paul is writing to tell us that we are sinful.   Probably, most people don’t need the number of words Paul writes to convince them they are sinful.  The entire first chapters of Romans are committed to convincing Gentiles and Jews that they are sinful and need to be justified by faith, not by their works.  Most don’t need this many verses to convince them they are sinners, but, apparently, man needs a lot more verses to convince them they need faith to justify them.  In order for man to admit they are a sinner AND that they need Christ, man must come to the place he “fears” God.   The fear of God, fear of the Lord, is the first step to admitting you are sinful.   The fear of the Lord is the first step toward wisdom.  The fear of the Lord is the only way to avoid evil.   

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Notice the relationship of the Fear of the Lord and our staying away from sin:

Proverbs 3:7

Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 1:29

Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

Proverbs 14:27

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Proverbs 23:17

Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.

When we sin we no longer respect God and His always.  When we sin we longer recognized God’s character; we trod His Holiness under the feet of sin.   Paul is making it clear to the Jews and Gentiles in Rome that the reason they are sinners is because they do not fear the Lord.  When we don’t fear the Lord we stand in need of His justification, as we can’t justify ourselves.  

Tag: Folllowing Christ Typically Means Leaving Something - Matthew 3-4

Matthew 4:18-21 (Jesus Calls the First Disciples)

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

Tag:  Following Christ Typically Means Leaving Something Else. 

In the above passage Christ is calling His first disciples to follow Him.   When we put this into the context of the day we have to remember that, first, Jesus was not, at this point, popular, powerful, or prestigious.   Jesus had no home, no office complex, no property.   Jesus was the Son of God, but these disciples did not know that, yet.   He tells them He is calling them to catch men for Him.  That means they will have to stop catching fish for themselves.  This is the second area to note:  These men had means .. by the standards of the world in those days.   They had boats, nets, occupations, families and, no doubt, connections in the community.    They more than likely had a place each night to lay their heads down.  We know at least one, Peter, had a family.  But, Christ was calling them to follow Him.   For both Peter and the brothers James and John, the “immediately” left their “nets” to follow Christ.   The term “nets” is symbolic for “everything” of value.  They hung onto nothing.   They didn’t debate it.  They did so immediately.   They had no evidence that this “Jesus” was legitimate or a lark.   Jesus simply spoke a word and they, by faith, stepped and left everything precious to them into His care.   Since, after Christ’s death, Peter and the rest of the disciples go fishing (see John 21) we can assume they either sold the boats, or, more likely left them with family.   

John 21:3

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Yet, we do know they “immediately left their nets” (no doubt full of fish).   In John 21 the same thing will happen based upon Jesus’ words:

John 21:7-8

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

Peter, in John 21, would not only leave the boats, he left a boat load of fish.   Following Christ is not about getting a pass from hell and a ticket to heaven ... although that does happen.  Following Christ is putting everything you love and desire at the feet of Jesus and giving Him complete rule and allegiance ... based simply on His command to follow Him.  That is ultimate trust ... based upon the promises and principles of God’s word.  We simply believe Jesus tells the truth and we follow Him, giving up everything so that He is paramount in our lives.   We “all” need to “immediately” leave something when we come to Christ.  We tend to cling to our “boats” in hope that they will give us what we need.  But, Jesus says, “come, follow me ... .”    We can’t follow Him without leaving behind something.   

Tag: The Basis for Great Leadership - Isaiah 7-11

Isaiah 11:3-5

And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Tag:   The Basis for Great Leadership

Isaiah, in the above passage, is painting a picture of the Leadership of the Messiah.   What Isaiah is teaching us about leadership is that “empirical data” can be misleading in regard to establishing leadership.   Note what the writer says about Christ:

And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

He states that Christ will NOT lead by what He observes or by what He hears.  Yet, that is exactly how mankind does leadership.  Leaders today spend time gathering “data” and “observing” behavior.   Earthly leaders compare and contrast, using empirical evidence to make “informed” decisions.  The beauty of the Christ making decisions and leading is that He will lead, says Isaiah, not by observation, but by the Fear of the Lord.   The basis for great leadership is Knowing and Fearing God.   I personally know of NO leadership book that would tell you that your observations and data gathering are to be subservient to your Fear of the Lord.   Isaiah goes on to say that the Messiah will lead in “righteousness” and “faithfulness.”   These are acts of faith toward God.   Christ, the perfect Human Being, would lead in a perfect manner.   He would allow the righteousness of God and faithfulness toward God to trump any observations.  The issue with have with our empirical data is that it is skewed in two ways:  1).  We only see the outside of others.  We do not know their hearts.   Only God knows the hearts.   2). Our own minds are corrupt with our own bias.  Therefore whatever we observe we observe with our own bias.  The only way to truly, really lead is via the Fear of the Lord.  Note what one leader (Solomon) said about that:

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

True insight is only given when we walk in faith toward God and seek His wisdom and seek to have all of our empirical data filtered through the lens of reverence and awe toward God.   It does not matter what I see ... God tells me about the condition of the heart.   It does not matter what I hear ... God has already told me what comes from man’s heart.   What I learn about the human condition via God’s Word trumps anything I observe with my eyes or hear with my ears.  The issue with modern day psychology is that they psychologist do all their work based upon observation and the thoughts of their own minds.  God is telling us to filter everything we see and hear through the righteousness of God’s Word.  That is leading by fearing the Lord.