Psalm 14 – 150 Days of Purposeful Meditation (Day 14)

God is true…and every man is a liar.  Not only is every man a liar…every man…but every man has rejected God in his heart.  Not only has every man foolishly rejected God in his heart, but every man has gone after his own way and has become completely useless to God.  “They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds.  There is no one who does good…they have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

You may think of yourself as “religious.”  You may attend church regularly…or at least on the big holidays.  You may occasionally dust the cover of your Bible off and set it on the coffee table for visitors to see.  Or perhaps you find your way to the floor to utter a prayer once in a while for God’s protection or help in your time of distress.  But you have not genuinely and truly sought after God in your heart.  God is “with the righteous generation.” God is a “refuge” for the afflicted.  Have you made God your refuge?  Does He walk with you…or do you merely visit Him when its convenient for you?

“The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” You may consider yourself quite wise according to the worlds standards.  But if you have ever uttered those words “there is no God;” then you are a fool in God’s eyes.  Furthermore, the utterance of those words may be at a volume such that no other human being ever hears…it may be the meditation of your heart…but the Lord knows.  He knows that you have not truly sought after Him.  He knows that you do not accept nor regard His standard.  He knows that you truly are a stranger.  He knows that you have made money, sex, food, self-image, and/or power and the esteem of men your refuge.  They are your hope.  Those things are what you seek after in life, and not Him.

God is not fooled with your external piety nor more than He was fooled by the nation which had been called by His name…Israel.  So He judged them for their false religiousness…so He sentenced them to shame and captivity in a land which was not their own.  And so He will abandon you to your shame, the mystery of your sin and your way, should you continue to seek refuge in the comforts of this world.  He will abandon you to your shame in this life and in the life to come, He will abandon you to the consequence of your shame, which is eternal torment and judgment away from His presence.

“Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!” As the Lord continues to look down upon the hearts of the children of men, what will He find?  Will He find you continuing to reject Him in your heart?  Will He see you continuing to ignore His Holy standard?  Will He see you continuing to do life your way?  Or will He find you seeking refuge from the coming storm of His wrath and indignation in the forgiving arms and cleansing blood of His Son?

Turn “to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” I Thessalonians 1:9-10

Suffering and difficulty

I won’t claim to have experienced the greatest suffering and difficulty that life may bring.  I know that I am far from it.  Sure I have had difficulty and frustration in life but I know that there are many others who experience daily physical, emotional and spiritual pain and even persecution for the cause of Christ.

But the more I think about it, I am becoming convinced that God intends for pain to act as a cleansing agent for those who are His.  We are not of this world.  We are aliens and sojourners.  But sometimes we forget this.  Sometimes we are persuaded to think of this life as our sole reason for existence.  We think of this world as our home and its joys as the greatest or best that there is…

But, beloved, God has promised us so much more than that.  He has promised us an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, unfading and which is reserved for us in Heaven, an inheritance which He has promised to keep us safe in order to receive, according to 1 Peter.  That is what we have to look forward to.   That is our hope.  We do not hope like the rest of the world that things will “just turn out okay.”  We do not hope against hope or hope in hope…whatever that means.  We hope in the eternal rest and blessing that is promised to those of us who are in the Son whom the Father has given all things.  We hope in Christ and His return.  We hope in the day that He ushers in Peace, Justice, Righteousness, Prosperity; the time where there will be no more wars, no more turmoil, no more uncertainty, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more sickness and no more death.  That time will not happen until after our Lord returns for us.  Therefore that is what we hope for.  We hope for His return and we look forward to it.  We have no other hope.   We have no greater thing to look forward to.

When suffering and difficulty come…do not fret…be not anxious, nor be afraid.  Think of it as the Lord’s way of continuing to prepare you for His rest.  If you are sick or dying, do not fear.  Think of it as the Lord’s way of shedding you of your earthly tent so that you may finally put on your heavenly one.  If you are without…fill in the blank…in this life; think of it as the Lord preparing your heart to desire more the riches that are imperishable, not defiled by sin and everlasting.

Maranatha!

My hope is built on nothing less…

Psalm 33:1-22

Psalm 33:1 Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright.  2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.  3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.  4 For the word of the LORD is upright; And all His work is done in faithfulness.  5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.  6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.  7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses.  8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.  9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.  10 The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples.  11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.  13 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men;  14 From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth,  15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.  16 The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength.  17 A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.  18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,  19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.  20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.  21 For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. 22 Let Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us, According as we have hoped in Thee.

I came across this Psalm in my studies.  I haven’t actually reached day 33 in my 150 days of purposeful meditation yet, but I couldn’t resist.  What or who are you trusting in today?  Victory does not come from men.  Strength does not come from men.  Life does not come from men.  Choose this day who you will serve…choose in whom you will put your confidence.

As for me and my house, we will hope in the LORD!

Psalm 3 – 150 days of purposeful Medidation (Day 3)

God is a shield to His people, for it says “You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head…Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing be upon Your people.”  Enemies of the people of God are many.  They range from lowly earthlings who themselves are slaves to sins deception and selfish inclinations to lofty principalities and powers who are bent on the destruction of those called by the name of God.

None of them know the end from the beginning.  None of them can say for certain what the future will hold.  None of them are greater in power than the Almighty.  None of them are wise enough to outsmart Him.  So what have we to fear?  We who are called by His name.   We who are His people.  Who do we have to fear?

God is a “shield…a glory…the One who lifts up [our] head.”  How then shall we respond to adversity?  Those things/people which pit themselves against us?  How shall we respond?  With evil?  With dismay?

We should respond with prayer.  We should respond with hope.  We should respond to them confidently knowing in whom we have trusted.  Knowing that the One in whom we have trusted is the One to whom “salvation” belongs.

Who or what is your salvation?  Is it the God to whom Salvation belongs?  Is it the God who is a Shield to His people?  Is it the God who shatters the teeth of the wicked?  If you are “the people” of the God of salvation, fear not and be not dismayed by your enemies…for He said “vengence is mine, I will repay.”  However if you are not for the God who is Salvation, then you have great reason to fear…yea even to tremble.  For this same God who is Salvation to His people is also a “consuming fire.”