Unchanging Love - Sin tossed into the sea - Micah

Micah 7:18, 19:  Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?  He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.  He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot.  Ye, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.  

Wow!!  What more needs to be said.  After all the problems of pride and sin listed in the first chapters of this great, little book; and, after all the judgment and doom declared, it is hard to imagine a more unusual ending and a more glorious finish.   God takes our pride and judges man for it.  But, He does so through His Son and then gives us a glorious and grand package of forgiveness and love.   The above two verses says everything that needs to be said.

Arguing with a fool is difficult - Proverbs 29-30

29:9 "When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, the foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest." If you have ever had to deal on a continual basis with someone who is absent a relationship with Christ and portrays their foolishness, you have a good understanding of this verse. God has given us some wisdom here to help our understanding and to remove some of the mystery as to why people go from one emotion to the next. The foolish man has no stability in his life because he has no relationship with truth. He can't, in his foolish state, find a balance and therefore stay on a given course. Instead what happens is that he might rage one time and then the next time be laughing. Foolishness is like a roller-coaster; it has no straight lines and leaves you in a constant state of highs and lows. Let's make sure we are acting in wisdom and have a connection to truth - that will give us stability. But, if you have to deal with foolishness that will be a constant ride on a roller-coaster.

Smarter than the teacher - Psalm 119

I love this chapter. Yes, it is long but it is so full of the great truths of life and answers to deep, deep problems. Find a problem and God answers it in this chapter focusing on His Word. The power of God's Word is packaged in this chapter. The question is not, "Why is it so long?" The question is, "Why is it so short?" When we start to read it we must come to the realization that God's Word; Statues; Testimony; Judgments; or Commandments (all synopsis for the Word of God) is powerful. It is so powerful that those who know it and are confident in it, "will speak of it before Kings" (119:46), without any shame. God's Word is that powerful. In 119:98, 99, and 100, we read that God's Word is so powerful we are actually wiser than our enemies; smarter than our teachers; and, understand more than old men. We can be so confient from the wisdom and understanding we derive from God's Word we are able to stand before others, of any stature, and claim superiority. In our society there is a misunderstanding that power goes to those who have more money, more information, more satisfying jobs, or, even more toys. But, in these three verses that superior power is given to those who possess and understand, devotion and grasp of His Word. God's Word is powerful. In my life it is liberating. When it comes to giving me an advantage and superiority over others: Priceless.

Take it to the LORD in prayer - 2 Chronicles 17-20

Jehoshaphat was not a perfect King but he was known as a good king for God.   When faced with trouble and difficulty he knew what to do:  He took his problems to God in prayer.   If you read 20:5-12 you will read one of the most powerful prayers in all the scripture.  When we take our issues and problems to God we acknowledge that we can't solve the problem ourselves.  Many of the problems we have are simply to drive us into a conversation with God.   Problems should not be the only reason we come to God in prayer but we should not shy away from Him over problems either.   This prayer should be studied in depth but I love that he recognizes God's sovereign rule in his life as he begins his prayer.   He knows that God is in control and nothing is going to happen unless God wills it.   That is the beauty of prayer - we know God is in charge.  We can pray harder and stronger when that truth is acknowledged first.

"Go to your room!" - God knows our passions - Numbers 33-36

There is much to learn in these four chapters ourselves and how God works with us. I noticed the concept of "cities of refuge" for the nation of Israel. As they settled into the promise land, by lot (a lesson in and of itself) God instructed them to designate 48 cities to be "cities of refuge" for the person who "killed his brother" to flee to and find safety until justice was meaded out. This "safe zone" was a key concept in God working with His people. If someone was killed by accident or by full premeditated actions he or she would need a "safe zone" to go to avoid the "passion" and "anger" of those close to the person slain. God so knew our "passion" for justice and our "passion" for immediate "vengeance" that He established a safe-zone the person could flee to. God so knows the creatures He created. He knows we have this extreme sense of fairness and justice. We should, we were created in the image of God. From early childhood we all could tell when something "just wasn't right." But, God also knows we are a corrupt individual. He knows we are bent to sin and our sense of justice is not control by mercy, love, or forgiveness. We are blinded in our justice by the passion of hatred, anger and angst. We cannot control that passion and therefore need a "city of refuge" to keep us from doing something we shouldn't. This "time out" zone is a great "method" for dealing with immediate conflict in our lives. Have a place of "refuge" is so, so important. When my wife and I were blending our two families into one we had much trouble the first year. There was much conflict. Much of it was based upon "that's not fair" mentality. We established "safe zones" kids could go to so that they did not have to deal with the immediate passions of a new family member. The safe zone was a good place to let things cool while the truth was sorted out. God knows our passions. Sending two kids to their rooms should not be a punishment but a strategy for dealing with the conflict between justice and fairness and the immediate passions of life.

Christians don't exercise enough - Hebrews 5-7

I hate to exercise.   I do it because I have to and because I eat so poorly I would enlarge to the size of a blimp if I didn't.   I ride a bike and swim with pain and eat and ride the Harley for pleasure.   But, at the end of the day it is worth the pain (or, since I jump on the scale every morning ... perhaps at the beginning of the day it is worth the pain).   In Hebrews 5:11-14 we read that the writer of Hebrews wants to be able to talk to his readers about something very deep and for mature believers.   But, in verse 14, he tells them that what he has for them is only for those who are "mature" and have "practiced" (exercised in the old King James Bible) themselves.  Maturity, in his logic, comes from those who exercise.  The verses that they have their "senses" exercised or practiced.   The word "senses" here is the Greek Hexis.  It is that part of the life that is not the mere natural habits but those that are learned through study and knowledge.  What the writer is telling us is that true believers should "exercise" or have their deep habits "practiced" by study of the Person of Christ.   That is the essence of chapter 5-7.   When we learn about Christ and learn how He relates to our life we are "practicing" or "exercising" our deeper "senses" and developing better habits.  In our modern language we are "re-programing" our responses.   We don't have to give into the lusts of the flesh; we are reprograming them through spiritual exercise to become mature and not mere infants in our walk.   Do you exercise enough?   Do you stretch your spiritual muscles with a walk in the Word or a run in righteous behavior or lift spiritual weight?    Go out today and exercise.

Power in the Name of Jesus - Acts 3-4

In these passage the writer (Luke) uses the phrase, "name of the Lord" or "name of Jesus" or refers to the "name" of Jesus nine times. In the book of Acts he uses it over 30 times. When the man was healed in Acts 3 it was because Peter used the name of and power of Jesus. I believe we have lost the faith in the power of His name. In our own personal temptation we forget that God is the only true and powerful God. In Isaiah 45:22-25 God tells Isaiah that He is the only who saves and restores and He can't swear by anything or anyone but Himself. We might "swear to God" when we want others to see we are being truthful. But, God has to swear by Himself because their is none bigger, better, purer or more powerful. When we read the rest of the story in Acts 3 and 4 we can see what God was able to do through this one act of faith in His powerful name. Praise God for the name of Jesus. Don't water it down. The world wants to turn the Name of Jesus into a swear word. The God of the universe swears by that name to save and restore to perfect health those who are torn, cripple and sinful (3:16)