Our Heart Versus Our Awesome God! God’s Hammer Will Soften Our Heart. Jeremiah 23:29

Jeremiah 23:28-29 The Message

^28-29“You prophets who do nothing but dream—
    go ahead and tell your silly dreams.
But you prophets who have a message from me—
    tell it truly and faithfully.
What does straw have in common with wheat?
    Nothing else is like God’s Decree.
Isn’t my Message like fire?” God’s Decree.
    “Isn’t it like a sledgehammer busting a rock?

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

In this ancient text, the Prophet Jeremiah uses two startling images to describe the Word of God.

It is like a fire and it is like a sledge hammer.

Both are images of power -almost of danger.

The point is that this Word of God, the Message of God is not to be treated lightly, or indifferently, but handled with extreme care.

In the context Jeremiah is preaching against false prophets.

And the warning in v28 is serious news for all preachers: “Let the one who has my word speak it faithfully.”

The analogy used here by Jeremiah of God’s Word being “like a hammer which shatters a rock” likely has the sense of the power of God’s Word in shattering and breaking up the hardness of our hearts.

John Gill, a Puritan writer commented on this passage,

“to which the heart of man may be compared, being hardened by sin, confirmed in it; destitute of spiritual life; stupid and senseless; stubborn and inflexible; on which no impressions are made, and is impenitent and inflexible; see (Zechariah 7:12); now the word of the Lord, in the hand of the Spirit, is a means of breaking such hard hearts.”

In a word, God’s Word breaks the rock of “SELF” into pieces, so God can shape, break apart, break down and then work His purposes out in our life, making it possible for us to be sculpted into usefulness for His own kingdom purposes.

I am sure we have all dealt with a hard heart and so need the hammer of God’s Word to do a major softening work in breaking down the hardness of our heart.

God’s Hammer Softens Our Hearts

Jeremiah 23:28-29 Amplified Bible

²⁸The prophet who has a dream may tell his dream; but he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat [for nourishment]?” says the Lord. ²⁹“Is not My word like fire [that consumes all that cannot endure the test]?” says the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the [most stubborn] rock [in pieces]?

Have you heard of God’s indestructible hammer as described in Jeremiah 23:29?

If not, you may never have thought or been taught or preached to of God’s Word being like a powerful hammer.

The Old Testament often describes how at times, the Israelites hearts had hardened towards God.

Zechariah 7:12 explains, “They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.”

To have an adamant or hard heart describes a person who simply refuses to be persuaded, who is steadfast and unmovable or unshakeable in their thinking.

In Scripture, it refers to the spiritual condition of a person who is rebellious towards God’s law and His words.

By describing their heart condition as hard as flint, the hardest of stones and used to cut other rocks, meant their hearts were hardened to the point where they were too hard to receive God’s law, to be carved or to receive His words.

Yet God’s hammer, His Word, is able to judge the hardest of heart. It’s able to infiltrate into the deepest part of man’s heart and bring to light true motives, thoughts, and attitudes.

Can we imagine such a hammer, His hammer is able to break the unbreakable kind of rock, to utterly shatter man’s stubbornness and arrogance against God.

As Hebrews 4:12 describes, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

R.C. Sproul writes, “God’s hammer smashes not just the icons of the world around us; it also smashes the idols of my heart. It is hard, heavy, even painful, precisely because of the love of the One who wields it. He has promised to forgive me for my hard heart but has also promised to soften it.”

Ezekiel 36:26 reveals God’s desire towards men, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and you a heart of flesh.”

Like a physical hammer shatters when hard swung, God’s hammer demolishes spiritual strongholds as 2 Corinthians 10:4 explains “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

With God’s hammer, as 2 Corinthians 10:5 describes, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

God’s Word in Our Heart Comes Alive in Our Lives

There is power in the Word of God.

It is empowered with His living energy.

In the pages of Scripture, we read the story of life… life as God created it… life as God sustains it… life as God will forever reign over it.

All Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16).

Its origin is divine… originating in the mind of the all-wise and omniscient One.

It is Truth in its purest form.

The Holy Spirit gave God’s true and holy words to the authors of Scripture.

God’s Word has been cherished by believers throughout history.

We, too, are to treasure it as the very words of God for us personally.

By it we learn to grow in His love and grace.

“’Is not My word like fire?’ says the Lord, ‘And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?’” – Jeremiah 23:29

How is God’s Word like fire?

Fire burns away the brush, the chaff in our lives.

All wrong thinking, beliefs, ideas, motives are set ablaze as we read God’s Word.

False doctrine is reduced to ashes as as we are correctly taught the truth, as we learn how to live the Truth (1 Corinthians 3:13).

Fire melts away the dross, the sin in our lives (Zechariah 13:9).

When silver is melted and the impurities burned away, it gleams and reflects light.

As we become more pure, more Christlike by applying God’s Word to our lives, we better reflect our Savior.

Fire gives light to open our eyes to our own unrighteousness (Romans 3:23).

We see how desperately we need a Savior.

God’s Word shows us how we are to live.

It enlightens our spiritual path (Psalm 119:105).

Through it, God reveals His will for our lives.

Fire radiates the warmth of God’s love for us.

In God’s Word we discover His undying love and faithfulness.

In its richness, we find His comfort and encouragement (Zephaniah 3:17).

Our faith is strengthened.

Fire sets a flame in our hearts for God.

Through His Word our spiritual zeal is ignited (Jeremiah 20:9).

We desire to share all that God has done for us. We long to tell the Good News of salvation in Christ to the lost.

How is God’s Word like a hammer?

A hammer breaks up the hardened, unhumble heart… a heart hardened by sin.

The Truth of God’s Word reveals our need for repentance.

Our hearts of stone crumble in the presence of our Redeemer (Ezekiel 36:26).

A hammer shatters all pride and stubbornness.

In God’s Word, we see how far we fall short of His holiness and perfection.

We read of our humble, loving Savior who was bruised and broken for us.

With broken and contrite hearts (Psalm 51:17), we seek to emulate Him.

A hammer smashes the worldliness in our lives.

God’s Word shows us how kingdom values contrast with worldly values.

It crushes our earthly, temporal desires.

We come to live life with God’s perspective… storing up heavenly, eternal treasures (Matthew 6:20).

A hammer destroys the evil in our lives.

God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit we use to resist the evil one (Ephesians 6:17).

The power of His Word demolishes the strongholds of the enemy (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Nothing can stand against His mighty Word.

“My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.” – Isaiah 55:11

God reveals Himself to us through His Word.

His revelations give our finite minds a glimpse into all that is infinite… holy… eternal – we gain not just head knowledge but Spirit wisdom.

Anyone can read the Bible and gain information.

Yet only the divine inspiration and revelation of the Holy Spirit can take this information and cause transformation in our lives.

We begin to transform into the likeness of Christ from the inside out.

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.” – Luke 11:28

In His Word, God not only gives us the guidelines for a life in His favor, protection and blessing.

He also promises to come alongside us personally through His Spirit, giving us the power and courage to live out His guidelines in our daily walk.

For when God’s mighty Word lives in our hearts, it comes alive in our lives.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Living Word, Lord of wisdom, I sometimes, well, actually most times, I am finding understanding the Bible to be difficult. I know you want me to apply your word to my life. I thank you for giving me your word so I can grow in my relationship with you. Holy Spirit, Help me grasp what you want me to know as I read your revealed word. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. Be my teacher, so I can learn to apply them, live and obey your word. Thank you for your wise advice. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Our Kingdom Presence: Cultivating a Honeycomb of Humble and Gracious, Encouraging Words. Proverbs 16:24

Proverbs 16:24 English Standard Version

²⁴Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

It’s true.

People are drawn to those who speak to them and about them kindly.

Speaking to others in a kind manner is a characteristic that we don’t come in contact with today like we use to.

IT TAKES VERY LITTLE COURAGE TO CLICK SEND.

In the past when anyone wanted to speak poorly about someone, they did it behind their back (still a terrible thing to do) but today, in this age of the smart phone and the internet, people get to “hide behind” their computer screens and phones and we get a whole lot more wild, bold with how we respond to others.

You don’t even have to share your name.

You can send something “anonymously” and hide your computers address.

If one was inclined, they can just be blatantly mean and remain anonymous.

SWEETNESS TO THE SOUL

I think today, more than ever before, it’s incredibly refreshing to hear kind and gracious words – such rare words have a huge impact on our mind and our body.

Like the verse says in Proverbs 16:24

Proverbs 16:24 King James Version

²⁴Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

I know how much my soul grieves, I know that I have felt sick to my stomach for days when someone has been downright mean toward me and I have felt a renewed sense of joy and energy when I hear true encouragement and praise.

Words affect our entire being. And they can remain a part of our souls makeup for the rest of our lives. I can remember as a child things I was told, both good and bad, and even today I really have to battle all the lies to embrace the truth.

I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED AS KIND AND LOVING

As one who is getting more mature in their years, if I leave one Kingdom legacy, I believe I would want it to be that I left others feeling good about themselves.

Not because I lied to to be politically correct, to over inflate their egos, to butter them up or with man’s wisdom made things up to baby them into feeling good.

But because I truly found the good in someone and left them feeling like I saw that piece of them and treated them in a way that they felt loved and respected.

Even when I have to share something negative, I want to turn to God, I want to strive to do it in a way that is gracious and kind – I want to turn them onto God.

There really are ways to give constructive criticism, to not be so blunt and so disrespectful, both in our every day lives and our social media lives. There are real people on the other side of that screen, who feel hurt, pain, joy, and love.

CHOOSE TO SPEAK LIFE

We each have the power to speak life and/or death into those around us.

We each can make a person feel either incredibly small or incredibly loved.

We need to be more careful with our words.

With our friends, with strangers, and for sure with our families- the ones who sometimes get the brunt of our frustrations.

So, in these days of 2024, stand out from the crowd – please have the courage to be kind – have some courage to speak life into those we come into contact with.

CULTIVATING A HONEYCOMB OF GRACIOUS WORDS

Proverbs 16:24 Amplified Bible

²⁴
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweet and delightful to the soul and healing to the body.

What words are you putting out into the world?

Are we choosing our words thoughtfully, are we taking every opportunity to be Kingdom builders, Kingdom edifiers, speaking to encourage and uplift others?

our words “adding honey” sweetening the lives of those who hear, read them?

Or, are we following the Social Media trend to be anonymous, speak your mind, speak truth to set someone straight, or put another in his or her rightful place?

Maybe you try to be encouraging but others just push your buttons to the point where you feel like you have to say something, anything or you’ll simply burst!

It’s so easy in heated moments of conflict to get caught up in the latest political, social, fashion, or celebrity debate, say things you’ll wish later you hadn’t said.

So if you and/or I have slipped up in our words a few times, we are not alone.

James 3:2 describes how, “We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”

Still, Scripture reminds that,

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless” (James 1:26).

Maybe we have been surprised by things we have heard or have read by other Christians and perhaps even our own words at times have caught us off guard?

Proverbs 13:3 gives incentive for choosing to be careful with your words, describing the difference it can make in your life to do so, stating,

“Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.”

If you struggle with speaking careless words, ask God to, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

As well, Psalm 34:13 urges to

“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.”

When you do, Proverbs 12:14 encourages that from the fruit of your lips you will be filled with good things.

Proverbs 12:14Easy-to-Read Version

¹⁴People get good things for the words they say, and they are rewarded for the work they do.

Likewise, Proverbs 16:23 describes how, “The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction.”

Speak truth, Speak of God, Speak Jesus, Speak Holy Spirit, ask God to direct your speech so that your words are helping to build up the faith of those around you.

As Colossians 3:16 urges, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

What is the object lesson of Proverbs 16 24?

As Proverbs 16:24 tells us, pleasant words are like a honeycomb, bringing sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

We want to be known for the fruit of our gentleness and for the fruit of our compassion and be using our words to uplift and encourage those around us.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 34:1-10 The Message

34 I bless God every chance I get;
my lungs expand with his praise.

²I live and breathe God;
if things aren’t going well, hear this and be happy:

³Join me in spreading the news;
together let’s get the word out.

⁴God met me more than halfway,
he freed me from my anxious fears.

⁵Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
Never hide your feelings from him.

⁶When I was desperate, I called out,
and God got me out of a tight spot.

⁷God’s angel sets up a circle
of protection around us while we pray.

⁸Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.

⁹Worship God if you want the best;
worship opens doors to all his goodness.

¹⁰Young lions on the prowl get hungry,
but God-seekers are full of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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As We Have Accepted Christ Into Our Lives: Freedom From Worldly Rules. Colossians 2:6-7

Colossians 2:6-7 New Living Translation

Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ

⁶And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. ⁷Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Parents quickly understand the necessity of rules in order to keep children safe.

Six years ago, when I ventured into pre-school teaching for four and five year old’s, I learned for toddlers, the rules are very simple but often life or death!

Rules like listen to your mom and dad, listen to your teachers, sit up straight, don’t run out into the street; don’t touch a hot stove; don’t run into a burning campfire; don’t jump into the water without a life jacket before you can swim …don’t get lost.

When they reach school age, the rules include manners- respecting their teachers and other adults in their lives; and honesty, reading, and studying hard for tests instead of their peering over onto another classmate’s paper.

As they grow older, and they observe people, the rules become a more tangled mess of life, morality we, ourselves, struggle alongside our kin to maintain.

At any age, rules more often allow us to frame how we become the best version of ourselves rather than always inhibiting us from experiencing life to the full.

A rule, as a noun, is defined as a principle or regulation governing conduct, an action, procedure, arrangement, etc.

As a verb, to rule means to control or direct; to exercise domination power, to have authority, or influence over; to govern.

I found it interesting that the heading before today’s verses, in the NLT translation of the Bible, reads: “Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ.”

Jesus didn’t come to abolish the necessary growth we obtain through following rules; He came so we would have freedom, “to be free indeed,” to benefit from complete obedience, though we cannot obtain perfection this side of heaven.

Christ Jesus makes up for our lack.

Freedom From Rules?

Matthew 5:17-18 The Message

Completing God’s Law

^17-18“Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.

Two spiritual poisons are deadly to the soul: legalism and lawlessness.

Legalism implies that God loves and accepts us because of our performance.

We ingest this toxin when we look favorably at our own brief history of good behavior and think and then (gasp) come to believe that’s why God loves us.

Lawlessness says we are free to live however we wish because God’s love is not based on our good works.

We ingest this toxin anytime we brush aside the importance of obedience to God or we self reason and self rationalize then (gasp) minimize some sin in our life.

Jesus warns against both.

To those who insist that God’s law is unimportant, Jesus says he has come to obey God’s law perfectly.

Obedience to God matters so absolutely much that Jesus had to keep God’s commandments perfectly (fulfilling the law) so that we might have salvation.

At the same time, also Jesus warns that if we try to gain God’s approval based on our moral and ethical performance, our goodness must then surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law – “be the wisest above everyone’s eyes.”

They were high and mighty religious authorities and experts famous for their “obedience to the law” but still so far from perfect, as Jesus often pointed out.

The Gospel is that although we cannot obey God’s law, Jesus fulfilled it for us.

Then he was punished for our sake as a law-breaker so that God might view us as law-keepers!

As the gospel truly lives in us, may we live a life of obedience to God that flows from deep gratitude to Jesus, who frees us from both legalism and lawlessness.

Freedom from rules, through Christ, releases the pressure of a burden we can never hope live up to. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, willing to walk out the will of His Father to free us from the burden of our own sin …and lack of obedience.

Though our hearts are often in the right place as we wake each day to follow Jesus, we carry with us a hopeless entanglement of sin that trips into our daily lives and then, prayerfully rolls over into our confession of them in the next.

Grace-filled and unfailing in love for us, God made a way for us to be forgiven and a chance to repent …to change.

From the Parable of the Sower, we know that seedling planted in the ground slowly makes its way up through the soil and breaks through to see the sun.

Our lives are a continual process of blooming where we are planted.

Paul uses the illustration of our “being rooted in Christ,” the Life Application Bible explains, “Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, we draw our life-giving strength from Christ.

Colossians 2:6-7 The Message

From the Shadows to the Substance

^6-⁷My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

The more we raise up, draw our strength from him, the less we will be fooled or entangled by those who falsely claim to have life’s answers apart from Christ.”

Our Life Now On God’s Terms, New Life In Christ.

Romans 8:1-2 The Message

The Solution Is Life on God’s Terms

8 ^1-2With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

Today’s verses from Paul’s letter to the Colossians I pray encourage us to keep raising up, a life straining for the light and to let our roots grow down into Him.

Perennials are those plants that return year after year and spread out each time they come back to life in the Spring.

I like to plant things that tend to grow and spread out without my obvious lack of a green thumb to hindering their life cycle.

What begins as a spacious garden soon overflows with fresh wildflowers.

I love giving nature a space to take over in my yard and plodding out to pick fresh blooms each day as more and more cut through to the light of the sun.

Our lives are new every day, just as God’s mercy is new every day.

He is faithful to complete His promise of our new life in Christ.

We are a new creation in Him, and it doesn’t happen overnight!

A bulk of the change occurs progressively over time, season after season, and year after year.

“New life in Christ starts and continues when we acknowledge Him as leader over all we are and do,” just as the Life Application Study Bible explains;

“Then we must accept his leadership daily by being rooted, built up, and strengthened in the faith.”

Intersecting Faith and Life

Ephesians 2:16-22 The Message

^16-18Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.

^19-22That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

Today’s verses talk of freedom in Savior Christ overflowing with thankfulness as a result of the truth we are being taught.

Gratitude is a natural by-product of knowing God.

It’s impossible to know Him and not be able to grasp gratitude, even in the worst and hardest of times.

Today’s beautiful verses, written by the apostle Paul, I pray remind us all of the amazing gift of freedom we have as we embrace life within the love of Christ.

If ever we find ourselves feeling burdened by rules, we can be assured the guilt is not rooted in Him!

But freedom is.

We are free to admit our weaknesses, run to Him in our lack, and know without a doubt He sacrifices His perfect life so we could live ours to the full.

He is with us, always.

Let’s release the pressure, follow Jesus, allow our roots to grow down in Him, and our lives be built on Him.

Let’s proclaim freedom, embrace the promise Paul penned: Then our faith will grow strong in the truth we are taught, and we will overflow with thankfulness.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 The Message

16 ^1-2Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.

³And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!

⁴Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.

⁵^-6My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!

^7-8The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

^9-10I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!

¹¹Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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The One Invitation of All Invitations: ‘O Come On, My Soul, Let’s Listen to God, Come, Let Us Rest in God Alone. Psalm 62

Psalm 62 New King James Version

A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
²He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my ^[a]defense;
I shall not be greatly moved.^[b]

³How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
⁴They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. Selah

⁵My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my ^[c]expectation is from Him.
⁶He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be ^[d]moved.
⁷In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

⁸Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹Surely men of low degree are ^[e]a vapor,
Men of high degree are a lie;
If they are weighed on the scales,
They are altogether lighter than vapor.
¹⁰Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.

¹¹God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.
¹²Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy;
For You ^[f]render to each one according to his work.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Matthew 11:28 New King James Version

²⁸Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Whenever you receive invitations, you probably find yourself asking the same sorts of questions: Who is it from? Who is it for? Why does it matter?

This verse presents one of the loveliest invitations in the whole of the New Testament—but to understand it best, we must ask those same questions.

First, this is a personal invitation.

It is not an invitation to a program, nor is it an invitation to a religion or to a philosophy to be included alongside Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, New Age-ism, humanism, or any other “ism” found among today’s worldviews.

It is an invitation from Jesus Himself – He is bidding each of us, “Come to me.”

The significance of the invitation lies in who is issuing it.

In the Gospels, Jesus declares who He is: the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the Son of God (see John 4:25-26; 1 John 4:14).

By virtue of this identity, Jesus should anticipate, should expect, even could command an instant response—but instead, here – He extends an invitation.

And who does He invite to come? “All who labor and are heavy laden.”

This invitation is all-inclusive.

It doesn’t single out a certain group among a larger group based on arbitrary standards invented by academia and culture, but it describes all of humanity.

Each of us absolutely need to hear these words over again, because there’s not one person who isn’t figuratively pushing around a wheelbarrow filled with all the cares, responsibilities, fears, and failures that surely make up his or her life.

Why does all this matter? Jesus invites us to find “rest for your souls.”

He’s speaking in eternal terms of a rest that never fails.

He’s beckoning us towards a banquet, He doesn’t even ask us to provide clothes.

We show up for the banquet just the way we are.

God takes all our “Here are my fears, doubts” and “Here are my good deeds” clothes so many of us like to dress up in, calls them rags, and tosses them aside.

He takes all the self deprecating self debasing “I’m so bad and messed up that there’s no hope” clothes and unceremoniously tosses all of them aside too.

In their place, He covers us over with “the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10), which is provided by Jesus Christ Himself.

When we find our doubts weighing us down like a millstone, we can rest from our striving to make something of ourselves or to earn heaven for ourselves when we come to Jesus, receive all we need, all we could ever need, from Him.

This is the invitation of all invitations that our doubts do not want any part of.

O’ Come On, My Soul, Let’s Listen, Let’s Rest In God!

Psalm 62 Easy-to-Read Version

To the director, Jeduthun.^[a] A song of David.

62 I must calm down and turn to God;
only he can rescue me.
²He is my Rock, the only one who can save me.
He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.

³How long will you people attack me?
    Do you all want to kill me?
I am like a leaning wall,
    like a fence ready to fall.
⁴You want only to destroy me,
    to bring me down from my important position.
It makes you happy to tell lies about me.
    In public, you say nice things,
    but in private, you curse me. Selah

⁵I must calm down and turn to God;
    he is my only hope.
⁶He is my Rock, the only one who can save me.
    He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.
⁷My victory and honor come from God.
    He is the mighty Rock, where I am safe.
⁸People, always put your trust in God!
    Tell him all your problems.
    God is our place of safety. Selah

⁹People cannot really help.
    You cannot depend on them.
Compared to God, they are nothing—
    no more than a gentle puff of air!
¹⁰Don’t trust in your power to take things by force.
    Don’t think you will gain anything by stealing.
And if you become wealthy,
    don’t put your trust in riches.
¹¹God says there is one thing you can really depend on, and I believe it:
    “Strength comes from God!”

¹²My Lord, your love is real.
You reward all people for what they do.

Psalm 62 is a window into David’s heart and reminds us to trust in God alone.

Like many of the psalms he wrote, David starts with praise and God’s Truth before he navigates into his struggles and emotions.

Even in 2024, it is an intelligent strategy that is abundantly helpful to all of us.

Spending time daily in God’s Word helps us view life through His perspective.

The psalmist states that because God is his rock, salvation, and stronghold, he won’t be shaken (verses 1-2).

As the Psalmist reflects further upon trouble, his doubts and the enemy, David prays, counsels his own heart to entrust all fear and frustration into God’s care.

As if to go heart to heart with his innermost self to plead, “O’ Come on, my soul, let’s listen to what God says about this,” he remembers what he has learned:

Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah Psalm 62:5-8

The Psalms remind us that God created us with feelings and emotions that help us respond to life’s experiences.

They are beautiful because God created them.

Doubts cause us to question who, what and why standing in front of us.

Sadness helps us respond to grief.

Fear helps us flee danger.

Anger helps us respond to injustice.

Best of all, love leads us to express care and affection.

However, the fall of man has tainted emotions like these with sin, and we often automatically default to our human nature, which can absolutely keep us from experiencing the purity and peace we can have in our Lord and Savior Christ.

Here, we get stuck in feelings like fearfulness, hopelessness, and unforgiveness instead of freedom.

Feelings can begin to define, box us in rather than help us process and emote.

Yet, praise the Lord because of the finished work of Jesus at Calvary; we can live free rather than stuck or enslaved to sin. (John 19:28-30)

As we read throughout the Psalms, over a lifetime David learned God’s Truth.

Amid the struggle, he listens to God’s Truth.

Beautifully, he then leads others to rely on God’s Truth.

As it says in Psalm 62:8, “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah”

Learn!

Listen!

Invite!

Lead others!

By the power of the Holy Spirit, this is the beautiful pattern of writing God’s Word on our hearts, weaving His wisdom into our souls, so that we have it to anchor and encourage ourselves and can then share the good news with others.

Life absolutely, abundantly challenges us for the rest of our days here on earth.

It’s okay to feel, but by the transformative power of the Word of God, but as a child of God, we don’t have to live stuck in a downward spiral or a stagnant pit.

Whether we have a friend nearby to sit with us as we process our emotions or whether you sit alone today, cling to what God says about your circumstances.

Think about the words you might tell a friend going through the same thing.

We are too hard on ourselves, and perhaps today, you need to give yourself the grace and pep talk anchored in God’s Truth that you would give a friend today.

“O’ Come on, my soul, let’s listen to God! O’ Come, Let Us Rest in God Alone!”

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.[1]

1 Charlotte Elliot, “Just As I Am, Without One Plea” (1835).

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 100 Easy-to-Read Version

A song of thanks.

100 Earth, sing to the Lord!
²Be happy as you serve the Lord!
    Come before him with happy songs!
³Know that the Lord is God.
    He made us, and we belong to him.
    We are his people, the sheep he takes care of.
⁴Come through the gates to his Temple giving thanks to him.
    Enter his courtyards with songs of praise.
    Honor him and bless his name.
⁵The Lord is good!
    There is no end to his faithful love.
    We can trust him forever and ever!

Father God, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit, who counsels me and ministers to my heart and my soul daily. Friends are a gift and a blessing, but none can fill the perfect friendship of Your Son, Our Savior Jesus Christ. Help my soul to always listen to your Truth. Settle my soul, Help me speak kind words and thoughts to myself that are gentle, encouraging—just as I would walk with, talk to, a friend in need today.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Togetherness in Christ: ‘Deliverance When We Doubt’ — Isaiah 43:18-19

Isaiah 43:16-21 New Living Translation

¹⁶I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
    making a dry path through the sea.
¹⁷I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
    with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
    their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

¹⁸“But forget all that—
    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
¹⁹For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
²⁰The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
    the jackals and owls, too,
    for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
    so my chosen people can be refreshed.
²¹I have made Israel for myself,
    and they will someday honor me before the whole world.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

I don’t know where we find ourselves emotionally today.

But I do know that, being human, we are finding ourselves locked into some emotional state that we cannot seem to shake as easily as we would like to do.

Life seems to guarantee that we will face significant times when we feel alone, abandoned, under attack, forgotten, targeted, under siege, and overwhelmed.

In such difficult times, I like to remind myself of three biblical truths:

Jesus felt abandoned on the cross (Matthew 27:46) even though He knew God would never abandon Him (John 16:32).

We need to acknowledge that our feelings are real and sometimes raw, even too raw, but they are not always correct.

Jesus’ “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” expressed how He felt.

But reading the rest of Psalm 22 it goes on to describe the horrors of the cross that the Lord knew were coming on Him, yet finishes with the truth of what God was going to accomplish through His death on the cross and His resurrection.

We do not have to believe our feelings and doubts.

We can express them to God and remind ourselves of God’s promises.

When we have difficulty believing, we can cry out like the father who desperately wanted to believe that Jesus could heal His son and said,

“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

We can look back on God’s history of work with His people and see how God repeatedly delivered His people through harsh times — Israel from Egypt through the plagues and the Red Sea are but one of many examples.

Even John the Baptizer’s ministry that led to the coming of Jesus seems to be foreshadowed in today’s passage. (Mark 1:1-8)

And, as Mark’s narrative reminds us as God’s people in His Gospel word, despite all the worst, there is room for our publicly declaring over the very worst of personal doubts; “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

We have the God Who is “about to do something new” to deliver His people!

Isaiah 43:18-19 New Living Translation

We have the promise of God’s permanent presence in us and with us made clear by Jesus (John 14:15-17) the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 13:5-6), from Apostle Paul. (Romans 8:32-39)

Those promises are forever sealed by Jesus’ loving sacrifice for us to deliver us from sin, death, and hell.

John 19:28-30 New Living Translation

The Death of Jesus

²⁸Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”^[a] ²⁹A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. ³⁰When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

And, as Paul reminds us, that if God would allow the gift of His Son to save us, will not He also give us all the things we need to get us home to Him, as well? (Romans 8:31-34)

Romans 8:31-34 New Living Translation

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

³¹What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³²Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Dear brother or sister in Jesus, don’t let the devil’s deceiving words, personal doubts, or the voices of cynics, skeptics, and haters rob you of your confidence.

Your Father in heaven is the God of new things – after all, He Created them all!

John 1:1-5 New Living Translation

Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
²He existed in the beginning with God.
³God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
⁴The Word gave life to everything that was created,^[a]
    and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.^[b]

When the doubts assail, take heart my friends, take refuge in the heart of God.

Nothing in this life is so stuck the Lord will not provide us a new way forward!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
²He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
³    He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
⁴Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
⁵You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
⁶Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Father, I do believe, but help my unbelief. I want to trust in Your deliverance in my current circumstances as I read about those great acts of salvation. You performed to deliver Your people in the past. I need the Holy Spirit to help me sense Your presence and infuse me with the power to endure as I place my faith in You, not listen to my doubts, circumstances, and enemies. I pray all this in the authoritative name of Jesus.

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When God Is Doing Something New, and We’re Still Stuck in the Old Stuff. Isaiah 43:18-19

Isaiah 43:16-21 The Message

^16-21This is what God says,
    the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
    who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
    they lie down and then can’t get up;
    they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
“Forget about what’s happened;
    don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
    It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,
    rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’
    —the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
    rivers through the sunbaked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
    the people I made especially for myself,
    a people custom-made to praise me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Sometimes… truthfully, more often than we I believe actually realize, God is wanting to do, reveal, something “new” and yet we’re still stuck in the “old.”

It’s hard at times.

To let go.

It is not so hard at times … refuse to give up any control over what we value, even if what we have valued so highly has pretty much all of lost its shelf life.

Of what’s familiar, and what we know, of what has always worked best for us.

It seems easier to stay “comfortable,” to stay in control, or give the illusion of staying in control, to just keep going with the flow, so not to mess anything up.

But then “new” happens, and it often sends us spiraling, on one big, long loop.

For those adrenaline junkies who 100% love change – “new” is mostly exciting.

For those who don’t like change and 100% resist it- “new” is mostly stressful.

Your home, your family, or workplace if you’re like most, or anyone who thinks and believes far more differently than you is probably a mix of those two traits.

But here’s what I love about God.

Isaiah 55:8-11 The Message

^8-11“I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

He always thinks and always works far outside our own finite box of thinking.

He doesn’t always work in the ways that we would have chosen for our “new.”

If we had to have a “new.”

He always sees the big picture.

He always knows what He’s doing.

He always works behind the scenes of life that unfold our every day, in the unexpected places where we can’t always see or understand all the “why’s.”

1 Corinthians 2:9-13The Message

^6-10We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.

But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

^10-13The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

So we can trust…that He has our best in mind.

That He’s got our back.

He’s with us right now.

And He’s secured our future too.

Sometimes our “new” comes out of great blessing, new opportunities.

And sometimes it comes through great pain, huge loss.

People move, life happens, decisions are made, many change jobs, kids grow up, and there are times we might go through some really tough struggles.

We may even start to feel cheated.

Like life is unfair.

But it still breathes this truth: God is not finished with our lives yet.

We are still here.

And on a never ending basis, He has great purpose in all that we walk through, even in every life change and season.

Whether we recognize it or not, we’re rubbing shoulders everyday with people that we needed to meet in our “new,” however hard that new thing might be.

We can rest in His care for us.

He knows.

He sees.

He works in ways we do not always “get,” but there’s a special place of peace in our knowing, in our acknowledgment that we don’t have to try to control it all.

By these ancient yet still relevant words from Isaiah 43:18-19 God says we can let go – of the need to figure it all out, and the striving to make things happen.

We can trust Him.

Our future awaits, and there’s still good around the bend. God has more in store.

Intersecting Faith and Life – The Joy of Forgetting

Isaiah 43:18-19 Easy-to-Read Version

¹⁸So don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, ¹⁹because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant. Surely you know this is true. I will even make a road in the desert, and rivers will flow through that dry land.

Do you like new stuff?

Many of us do.

Part of the excitement for kids as they open presents at Christmas or on their birthday is that they’re getting something new and hopefully more exciting.

Older family members may get excited about new clothing, a new vehicle, or new tools for the workshop, even the fresh smell of new carpet in their home.

Yes, we like new things.

But, and it bears to be repeated that it’s also possible to get stuck in the past.

Some of us may have a nostalgic hope that we can recover the “good old days,” and others of us may be locked face to face with a past we simply can’t escape.

Maybe we feel stuck by the circumstances of a broken home, made bad financial choices, stuck on sins we now regret, or of an injustice that has been done to us.

Though Christians do not and should not ever ignore the hardcore lessons of their past, Isaiah 43:18-19, faith in Christ always challenges us to look forward.

Our goal is not and should not be exclusively “change for the sake of change,” as if instantly new things by themselves could give us 1% hope and fulfillment.

But these ancient yet always relevant words from Isaiah 43:18-19 reminds us of the only One who brings lasting change: “I am doing a new thing!” God says.

Take a photograph of the old stuff and frame it because we can each find joy in forgetting our past only when our future rests on the change Christ works in us.

Philippians 3:13-14 The Message

Focused on the Goal

^12-14I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

The years are gone, finished, past.

We cannot reclaim them nor can we undo them.

We cannot, should not rest on the great distance those years have brought us.

If and when tomorrow dawns, and we exercise our lungs to breathe, it will be another day, a new opportunity, and the time to show our faith in Jesus as Lord.

It is God’s gift of a new day Let’s journey forward, knowing our God already inhabits the future, promises to provide us refreshment on our journey there.

Because of Christ’s work on the cross, we can experience the joy of forgetting our sinful past (Philippians 3:13-14) pressing on as new people in Jesus Christ.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40 The Message

40 ^1-3I waited and waited and waited for God.
    At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
    pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
    a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
    they enter the mystery,
    abandoning themselves to God.

^4-5Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
    ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
    compares to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
    and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
    account for you.

⁶Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
    that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
    that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
    so I can listen.

^7-8So I answered, “I’m coming.
    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
    you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
    became part of my very being.

^9-10I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
    I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
    a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
    I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
    let the congregation know the whole story.

^11-12Now God, don’t hold out on me,
    don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
    are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
    a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
    I couldn’t see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
    so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

^13-15Soften up, God, and intervene;
    hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
    will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
    will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
    will be booed and jeered without mercy.

^16-17But all who are hunting for you—
    oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
    make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
    but God, don’t put it off.

God of all Creation, God of new beginnings, thank you for a fresh start in Christ. Help us to leave behind our sin and to live joyfully for him. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Cherishing God’s Word: Where’s the Art of Lifelong Learning Nowadays? Proverbs 7:1-3

Proverbs 7:1-5 Easy-to-Read Version

Wisdom Will Keep You From Adultery

7 My son, remember my words. Don’t forget what I have told you. ²Consider my teaching as precious as your own eyes. Obey my commands, and you will have a good life. ³Tie them around your finger. Write them on your heart. ⁴Treat wisdom like the woman you love and knowledge like the one dearest to you. ⁵Wisdom will save you from that other woman, the other man’s wife, who tempts you with such sweet words.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

I find it a dangerous thing to go grocery shopping when I’m hungry.

I find myself tempted to buy food that under normal circumstances would not appeal to me at all.

Reading my Bible, I am not alone, according to King Solomon: “One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7).

This same principle can be applied to our pursuit of wisdom’s purity.

There is a real danger in going through our days spiritually hungry because we have not fed well upon the word of God.

If we are going to make any meaningful attempt at maintaining our purity, it is imperative that we not only read God’s word; we must also cherish it.

Solomon—the king of Israel to whom God gave wisdom that surpassed anyone else’s (1 Kings 3:3-14)—here uses language that gets directly at the notion of cherishing God’s word when he tells his son to;

“keep” his words, to “treasure” them, to keep them “as the apple of [his] eye,” to “bind” them, and to “write” them on his heart.

For us to relate to God’s word this way requires us to get beyond using the Bible merely as a textbook to study, a book of proof texts for arguments, or a promise book to which we will occasionally turn to on a Sunday morning when preached.

Our Cherishing God’s word requires us to seek the perspective of the psalmist who, far distancing himself from the proud and the scoffers of his day, says of the man who is walking with God, “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).

There is a direct correlation between our delighting in God’s word—allowing it to lead, to control and ergo, guide our lives—and maintaining a zeal for purity.

As our text clearly admonishes, If we fail to cherish Scripture, the question is not if we will stumble in the matter of purity but inevitably – when.

Every one of us can keep our way pure by hiding God’s word in our hearts (Psalm 119:9-16).

Psalm 119:9-16 The Message

^9-16How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

Do we have a plan for memorizing Scripture?

Let me challenge you to make a commitment to memorize a verse of the Bible, whether it’s every other day, every day, every week, or whatever it might be.

Make a plan, and stick with it.

Feast on God’s word and be satisfied. Cherish the Scriptures and be pure.

(Re)Discovering The Lost (?) Art Of Lifelong Learning

Proverbs 19:8 The Message

⁸Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor;
keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life.

I love to learn something new, exciting and different!

Every day, I try my best to take advantage of opportunities God brings me to learn something new.

Those opportunities take many forms: reading books, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts when I can find them, asking people questions, going to events, traveling when I can, even my praying about the meaning of my dreams.

It’s exciting for me to discover more about all sorts of topics that interest me.

In the process, God gives me glimpses of His miraculous creative works in the world, so I have a taste for discovering God’s wonder through lifelong learning.

Proverbs 19:8 urges students and readers of all ages and all ideological bents to learn all they can and then remember what they learned so they can prosper.

We should embrace the pursuit of wisdom, since it not only enhances our spiritual growth but also edifies, equips us to navigate life’s challenges well.

Education – in all its forms – empowers us with the tools to make informed decisions, understand the world around us, deepen our relationship with God.

God calls us to be lifelong learners, continuously seeking to grow in wisdom.

Proverbs 18:15 NIV advises: “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.”

Our ultimate teacher is the One who knows everything, as well as the source of everything there is to learn about: being God and His Son Jesus Christ Himself.

In Proverbs 1:7, we read “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

The Bible tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” in both Proverbs 9:10 NIV and Psalm 111:10 NIV.

Proverbs 9:10 New International Version

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Psalm 111:10 New International Version

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To him belongs eternal praise.

In Matthew 11:28-30 NIV,

Jesus urges us to learn from him and promises that the process of learning as we enjoy relationships with him will be easy and refreshing:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

God wants us to cultivate a hunger for learning.

Psalm 34:8-10 New International Version

⁸Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
⁹Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
¹⁰The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

We can “taste and see” by our taking advantage of the many opportunities God gives us to acquire more knowledge and wisdom. Here are some ways to do so:

-Engage in regular Bible study to gain spiritual insights.

-Pray regularly for the Holy Spirit to renew your mind.

-Read books and articles on topics that interest you.

-Listen to podcasts when we can find them and listen to audiobooks on our phones or satellite radios while we’re shopping or doing household chores.

-Watch educational videos, such as documentaries.

-when we can afford to we can travel, attend conferences and workshops to learn from experts and network with other learners.

-In times of fellowship, discuss the news and other topics with people you know, asking them what they think and learning from their perspectives.

-Travel to experience new cultures and ways of life.

-Reflect on your dreams and ask the Holy Spirit to help you learn from them.

The keys to lifelong learning are for us to be more open to new experiences and more resolved and willing to put in the effort to discipline ourselves, to truly learn and apply what we learn to our lives with holy discernment and wisdom.

Our disciplined pursuit of knowledge should align with biblical principles and contribute positively to our spiritual growth.

Through lifelong learning, we open ourselves to the thriving lives God intends us to live.

So, resolve to get excited about learning more every day God gives us to live!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear God, we acknowledge that you are the source of all wisdom, and we humbly seek your guidance as we commit ourselves to lifelong learning. Please give us a hunger for your Word so we can diligently study and meditate on your teachings in the Bible. Help us to immerse ourselves in the Bible and find treasures of wisdom that will transform our minds and hearts. May Your Holy Spirit constantly be our teacher, guiding us and leading us into all truth and revealing the mysteries of your kingdom.

Grant us discernment to distinguish between knowledge aligning with your will and that knowledge which leads astray. Father, we ask for a humble and teachable spirit, recognizing there is always more to learn and ways to grow. Open our minds to new perspectives, experiences, and knowledge from diverse various sources, while always keeping your truth as our foundation. Help us to apply the knowledge we gain in practical ways, living out your principles in our daily lives, interactions with others.

Creator of all life, Author of all wisdom, Master Educator, Enable us to be a blessing to those around us, using our knowledge for your good purposes. Thank you for the gift of life and lifelong learning and the opportunity to grow wiser throughout our lives. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, whose our Savior and Teacher. Amen.

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Into the Word of God: More Truth Than We Can Ever Dare To Imagine. John 21:25

John 21:25 The Message

²⁵There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

It’s called hyperbole.

That’s the literary device John uses here to express his thoughts about the astonishing signs and wonders of Jesus.

In these closing words from his Gospel narrative, John is using wonder and imagination to say that the sum total of Jesus’ life and teachings and all the amazing things he did were so great the world could barely contain them all.

Hyperbole is a literary tool that helps us express the inexpressible, to say, to try and communicate, express, the depths of what one’s words cannot fully say.

John’s words clue us in to the fact that no human agent can fully capture the divine.

The sum total of who Jesus is and the sum of what he has done cannot ever be adequately transcribed by human hands and truly grasped by human minds.

The sum total of Jesus is infinitely more than what can be expressed in words.

“Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,” says one of the great church’s hymns – yet even that many is so very woefully insufficient.

Sometimes we may think we have Jesus completely figured out. But that’s impossible. Jesus is always more than what we can wrap our minds around.

Thankfully, Jesus wants to be known, and he reveals himself to us.

He reveals to all that He is God, that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

In receiving his love and forgiveness, Jesus becomes our brother, friend, and Savior – In the words of another church song, “Jesus is all the world to me”!

And even singing that great hymn a million times comes up indescribably short of what my Lord, Savior, Jesus Christ has truly come to mean to me personally!

I Believe There Is Always More Truth To Be Learned!

John 21:25 Amplified Bible

²⁵And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were recorded ^[a]one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

In these words closing out this Gospel narrative, we uncover a profound truth about our Lord and Savior – a truth that calls us to pursue lifelong learning.

There is always more to learn about Jesus!

“I do not know it all!”

“I cannot know it all!”

“I will never know it all!”

“But, that does not stop my desire from trying to learn more of my Jesus!”

The Gospel of John features many inspirational revelations about Jesus.

However, the closing verse should intrigue us, reminds us that the recorded accounts are only a glimpse into what Jesus did during his earthly life – not even considering the far innumerable things that Jesus has done in heaven!

This verse is an intriguing invitation for us to embark on a journey of discovery, to dive deeper into the depths, mysteries of God, to be inspired with wonder.

Why is this pursuit of lifelong learning and wonder so important?

It’s because our faith is not stagnant; it’s a living, breathing relationship with a God whose depth surpasses our understanding – every verse, every story, every revelation is another opportunity to encounter profound truths about Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 English Standard Version

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. ¹⁰The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

By actively engaging with the Bible, by actively disciplining ourselves to read God’s Word, we open our hearts to the transformative power of God’s Word.

Luke 24:28-35 New King James Version

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened

²⁸Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He ^[a] indicated that He would have gone farther. ²⁹But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

³⁰Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

³²And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” ³³So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was ^[b]known to them in the breaking of bread.

Just as the disciples experienced Jesus in countless ways during their time with him, we too can encounter him in fresh ways through the pages of the Bible.

There’s always something more to learn, a new facet of God’s character to uncover, and a deeper, infinitely richer understanding of his will for our lives.

As we read and study God’s Word, let’s approach it with a sense of wonder and anticipation – may we be like children, eager to discover the hidden treasures within each passage, knowing that the more we seek, the more we will find.

God promises us in Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

When we wholeheartedly seek God, we all should always be about the Father’s business of listening to Jesus, always learning something wonderful about him.

Luke 2:43-50 New King James Version

⁴³When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And ^[a]Joseph and His mother did not know it; ⁴⁴but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. ⁴⁶Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. ⁴⁸So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

⁴⁹And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” ⁵⁰But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

In a world that often emphasizes instant gratification and quick truths, the pursuit of lifelong learning and wonder seems like a countercultural virtue.

Pray, it encourages each of us to approach our faith journey with a curiosity that spans a lifetime, acknowledging that we’re always students inside God’s school.

It’s an invitation to a transformative journey of the heart.

The more we read, study, learn, and the more our discoveries inspire us with truest awe, the more we can fall in love with the God who loves us completely.

Pursuing learning and wonder every day God gives us to live is an important way to gain wisdom – but even more than that, it’s a soul-stirring adventure, soul stirring time of the deepest of discoveries that draws us into God’s heart.

Psalm 119:9-16 New King James Version

ב BETH

⁹How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
¹⁰With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
¹¹Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
¹²Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes.
¹³With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of Your mouth.
¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate on Your precepts,
And ^[a]contemplate Your ways.
¹⁶I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

The acknowledgment in John 21:25 that the world could not contain the books if every knowable deed of Jesus were recorded, should righteously humble us.

It reminds us of the limitations of language and severe limitations of human expression when attempting to even minimally encapsulate God’s majesty.

It calls us to approach Jesus with reverent awe, recognizing that our own finite minds can only finitely grasp a fraction of his infinite glory as the Son of God.

By embracing the endless wonder of our knowing Jesus, we position ourselves for spiritual growth – our lifelong learning becomes a rhythm of discipleship.

The more we learn, the more we love.

The more we love, the more we are transformed into his likeness and the more we grow in holiness.

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 ^1-2So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

So, let’s dare ourselves to take our lives on a sacred pilgrimage into God’s heart.

Let’s dare ourselves to look forward to what Jesus will teach us day by day, and further dare ourselves to allow those discoveries to spark wonder in our souls.

The more we dare ourselves to seek, the more God will reveal, and we will find, and the more we find, the closer our relationships with our Savior can become.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Lord, as I read these passages of scripture, show me Your truth, what you want me to learn. Pinpoint the things in my thinking and my life that aren’t right. Help me to remember that Your word is life and always true, whereas my ideas are too often fleeting. Use the truth of Your Word to transform my limited thinking and behavior. Let Your truth, your wisdom, inform my faith, let my faith guide my actions. Amen.

O God, your love is much greater than we can imagine. Thank you for your salvation, revealed, offered to us in Christ Jesus. May our hearts and lives overflow with thanks.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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First, Foremost, Utmost, Uppermost: Our Great High Priest! Hebrews 5:5-6

Hebrews 5:1-10 New King James Version

Qualifications for High Priesthood

5 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He can ^[a]have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. ³Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁴And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

A Priest Forever

⁵So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”

⁶As He also says in another place:

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;

⁷who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The concept of priesthood and the ancient sacrificial system is so far removed from our contemporary Western world, but here it is mentioned in the Word of God for our studying and understanding it is fundamental to Christian living.

The practice of animal sacrifice in Old Testament Israel was not a man-made system created as a futile attempt to reach God, to make humans acceptable to Him.

Rather, it was devised by God, related to man’s ears, it was meant to help God’s covenant people understand His character, His expectations, and the wonder of His plan of redemption and renewal (and it can still help us in this way today).

In all of its nuances, God was pointing His people toward the finished and perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come both as His people’s Great High Priest and as the one perfect sacrifice offered on their behalf.

Historically, Israel’s high priest would have come from the line of Aaron, Moses’ brother, and would have been considered “chief among his brothers” (Leviticus 21:10).

This chosen individual would have experienced the same societal conditions, pressures, and trials as the men and women he was representing, which would have helped him to become a more compassionate advocate on their behalf.

Long before the arrival of Jesus, however, the historical pattern of high-priestly appointments had been corrupted by Herod the Great and other political rulers, and other ambitious religious leaders who chose the high priest for themselves.

They didn’t understand that the high priest’s role was not an high honor to be bestowed by man but ultimately a call from God, as it had been for Aaron.

High priests of the lineage of Aaron were never to represent solely the political establishment; they were to represent everyone of God’s people to God Himself.

That is one of the factors that makes Jesus the very best high priest: He did not exercise his ego, exercise his considerable influence, to take upon Himself the high glory of becoming a high priest; rather, He was appointed by the Father.

Instead He publicly acknowledged, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’” (John 8:54).

Throughout His earthly ministry, He perfectly endured the same hardships we face. He has gone before Almighty God for our sins even though He was sinless.

With a spirit of incomparable gentleness, Jesus spurs us toward righteousness.

Because He offered the perfect sacrifice—indeed, because He was the perfect sacrifice—you and I can enjoy God’s presence both now and forevermore.

No sin or suffering, no disappointment or despair, makes this glorious reality any less true: that each and everyone of us have a priest, forever, and therefore each and everyone of us have a secure and everlasting place with Him, forever.

Appointed By God, Eternal in the Heavens

Hebrews 5:5-10 New King James Version

A Priest Forever

⁵So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”

⁶As He also says in another place:

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;

⁷who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰ called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”

What were the qualifications for becoming the high priest?

The high priest was chosen from God’s people, from the descendants of Aaron (Exodus 40:12-15), and was able to “deal gently” with those who did not know God and were going astray.

Exodus 40:12-15 New King James Version

¹²“Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. ¹³You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. ¹⁴And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. ¹⁵You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”

This person was also called by God rather than taking the honor upon himself.

Jesus did not come to appoint himself as the great high priest.

But he met the qualifications of this role.

As has been noted, He is fully human and fully God and can empathize with all our weaknesses.

Philippians 2:5-11 New King James Version

The Humbled and Exalted Christ

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it ^[a]robbery to be equal with God, ⁷but ^[b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He understands all that we go through, even all our temptations, and yet he did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Hebrews 4:14-16 New King James Version

Our Compassionate High Priest

¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So God appointed Him as the great High Priest.

And because Jesus is the Son of God, from long before the time of Aaron, God declared him “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek,” who served as a priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:18-20; Hebrews 7:1-3) outside the time Aaron.

At some points in the history of God’s people, the high priest office was in the hands of families who usurped it, took it on themselves or bought control of it.

Jesus does not take this on himself but is appointed by God.

He meets the qualifications, and he meets the needs of all of God’s people.

The office of the great High Priest is not to be bought.

It is filled by Jesus, God’s Son, who is fully human, appointed by God himself.

Jesus is the Source of Eternal Salvation

Hebrews 5:9-11 New King James Version

⁹And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”¹¹of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

On the cross Jesus said “it is finished” right before he gave up his spirit.

With these three simple yet profound words, He was signifying that everything He came to do was accomplished, everything ever written about Him had been fulfilled and the redemption of the entire world was ultimately completed.

Since there was nothing left to do He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father taking his rightful place as Lord (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12).

This is an important truth to understand because Jesus is Lord whether you have personally confessed his Lordship.

Not recognizing His position does not change it as fact.

Peter stated this very thing at Pentecost, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2: 32-36).

With one marvelous act of obedience on the cross, Jesus was perfectly equipped through this experience to become our High Priest in service to God.

With this completed exercise He became both the author and source of eternal salvation to everyone who puts their saving faith in Him.

Everything we know and experience as humans has a beginning and an end.

We are bound by time, distance and energy.

We set aside periods of rest and recharging by eating, sleeping and drinking.

This maintains our body’s health and energy.

In light of this, it is hard to wrap our brains around the fact that, Jesus is the source of eternal salvation.

Which means that it originated with him, it flows out of him and He is the supply for its power.

Jesus told this very truth to the woman at the well in John 4,

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

Once you and I and others whom God Himself summons, participate in this life that Jesus offers He is able to sustain us and keep us forever because Jesus is the wellspring to eternal life and its supply of abundant life will never be shut off!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 24 New King James Version

The King of Glory and His Kingdom

A Psalm of David.

24 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
²For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the ^[a]waters.

³Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
⁵He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah

⁷Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
⁸Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
⁹Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
¹⁰Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus our Savior as God’s anointed High Priest, Who ever lives to make intercession for us. Thank You that He is the Mediator between God and man and that through Him we have access to Your throne of grace.. for mercy to find help in time of need. Thank You that the Lord Jesus finished the good work of redemption by means of His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.. so that by grace through faith in Him I have been brought into eternal fellowship with You – May I live breath to breath, day by day to Your praise, and glory in Jesus name,

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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First, Foremost, Utmost, Uppermost: Our Full Contentment in Christ Jesus! Philippians 4:10-14

Philippians 4:10-14 The Message

Content Whatever the Circumstances

^10-14I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Sometimes we have the distinct pleasure of meeting a non believer or Christian who just exudes calm, peace, and contentment even though they are living with physical, mental, spiritual limitations or ailments that are difficult and painful.

Or maybe they are facing, have faced heart-wrenching tragedy in the past—and yet there they are, almost serene in their faith and utterly joyful on every level.

When we see such people, we sometimes conclude that God must have wired them really well.

We figure that such people must have been born right side, sunny-side up with a personality and disposition that naturally lends itself to a contented nature.

But if we think or believe that way, we are usually wrong.

Talk to such folks long enough, and you will discover what Paul wrote to the Philippian followers: their contentment is a hardcore, hard learned behavior.

You are not born with it. It does not come easily for anyone. But by grace we grow, we learn, we mature. And as we do, contentment becomes a way of life.

But it is not inevitable.

Many of us know someone who got trapped by their suffering long ago.

For a time, they turned inward and curdled into an angry, resentful person.

Not one of us can ever avoid some level of pain, hardship, or deprivation in life.

Our prayer is that when we find ourselves facing such difficult times, we can learn what Paul learned over the long haul: a contentment anchored in Christ.

Have I Really Learned How to be Contented in Christ?

Philippians 4:11-13 New Living Translation

¹¹Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. ¹²I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. ¹³For I can do everything through Christ,^[a] who gives me strength.

From something to nothing.

From nothing to something.

From everything back to nothing.

From nothing thrust into everything.

But, can we really expect to have quite literally everything?

And still genuinely claim that we are content with our measure of success?

We live in a society permeated by discontent.

All kinds of Commercials condition us to be envious.

Can we be happy and content if we cannot afford those $$$$$$ Tesla vehicles?

Can we be content with even those “pseudo-cheap” electric cars or hybrids that are not big enough to hold a growing family and all of those groceries they need that will not travel more than a couple of hundred miles without recharging it?

Can we stand to be so limited in our abilities to go on those nice vacations which are well beyond the driving range of those tiny electric cars, and the insufficient numbers of charging stations for us to plug into when we’ll finally get ourselves to the middle of nowhere where there is nothing but peace, joy, contentment?

Can we be content with living in apartments when our dream is to buy a house but we cannot afford even an “as is house” because “as is” costs far too much?

The real issue, though, is not so much how we are limited or not limited by the financial bounds of society we live in but the state of our own hearts and minds.

Truth: we are drawn away from contentment by so much of “what our hearts desire” which clamors for our attention: titles, possessions, influence, or fame.

Yet all of these and more seek to rob us of any sense of joy in what our God has given us, persuading us that it will never be enough -the chase is never-ending.

Paul, though, from chief Pharisee to Roman jails could say not only that he was merely content but that he could be fully content “in whatever situation I am.”

This is what everyone is searching for!

What was the secret, then?

It was to ground his sense of self and his outlook on life in the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul didn’t champion a stiff upper lip in the face of hardship or offer a false gospel of self-sufficiency.

No, his contentment was the removing himself from everything, a result of bowing his heart and mind to God’s will, no matter what conditions he faced.

Philippians 3:7-9 New Living Translation

⁷I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.^[a] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Not everyone has lived on both sides of the street.

Not everyone wants to live on both sides of the street.

Not everyone knows how the other half lives.

Not everyone wants to know how the other half lives on the other side.

Not everyone needs to know how the other half lives on the other side.

But Paul did.

He knew what it was to be successful, rich, educated, respected, warm and fed, he knew what it was to be cold and naked, beaten many times to within an inch of his life, threatened with his life, to be killed, and thrown into a Roman jail.

If he had derived contentment from his circumstances, his life would have been a constant roller-coaster ride, leaving him intoxicated by all of those wonderful luxuries one minute and thoroughly overwhelmed by their absence in the next. (Acts 9:1-19)

Under the weight of such an extreme life condition and transition, such a fickle spirit could, would have, neutralized Paul, making him unable to serve Christ.

Paul was a normal man with normal needs.

In a letter to Timothy from a dungeon in Rome, Paul wrote, “Do your best to come to me soon ….. Bring the cloak ..… the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:9, 13).

He had been deserted by others and lacked certain possessions.

Yes, Paul wanted things like clothing, books, and company—but he knew he would be fine without them, for his peace rested in something much greater.

Like the Apostle Paul, my own contentment, your contentment can and should ultimately be grounded in your union with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Refuse any worldly ambition other than the eternal ambition of belonging to Him alone remaining entirely unequivocally in His will and at His full disposal.

When you know Christ, how wonderful He is—that He is your all in all, more precious than silver, more costly than gold, more beautiful than diamonds, and nothing you have compares to Him[1]—the way you view your circumstances, and the measure of your contentment will be completely, finally transformed.

1 Lynn DeShazo, “More Precious Than Silver” (1982).

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 English Standard Version

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam^[a] of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
²I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”

³As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.^[b]

⁴The sorrows of those who run after^[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

⁵The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
⁶The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

⁷I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.^[d]
⁸I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being^[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
¹⁰For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.^[f]

¹¹You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Some days, dear God, we confess that our needs seem to outnumber our resources. But whatever the day brings, whether in our richness or from our poverty, from our healthiness or infirmity, in the end, help us to be content and joyful in you. In Christ, Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Jeremiah 23:28-29 The Message

God’s Hammer Softens Our Hearts

Jeremiah 23:28-29 Amplified Bible

God’s Word in Our Heart Comes Alive in Our Lives

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Proverbs 16:24 English Standard Version

IT TAKES VERY LITTLE COURAGE TO CLICK SEND.

SWEETNESS TO THE SOUL

Proverbs 16:24 King James Version

I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED AS KIND AND LOVING

CHOOSE TO SPEAK LIFE

CULTIVATING A HONEYCOMB OF GRACIOUS WORDS

Proverbs 16:24 Amplified Bible

Proverbs 12:14Easy-to-Read Version

Psalm 34:1-10 The Message

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Colossians 2:6-7 New Living Translation

Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ

Freedom From Rules?

Matthew 5:17-18 The Message

Completing God’s Law

Colossians 2:6-7 The Message

From the Shadows to the Substance

Our Life Now On God’s Terms, New Life In Christ.

Romans 8:1-2 The Message

The Solution Is Life on God’s Terms

Intersecting Faith and Life

Ephesians 2:16-22 The Message

Psalm 16 The Message

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Psalm 62 New King James Version

A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Matthew 11:28 New King James Version

O’ Come On, My Soul, Let’s Listen, Let’s Rest In God!

Psalm 62 Easy-to-Read Version

To the director, Jeduthun.[a] A song of David.

Psalm 100 Easy-to-Read Version

A song of thanks.

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Isaiah 43:16-21 New Living Translation

Isaiah 43:18-19 New Living Translation

John 19:28-30 New Living Translation

The Death of Jesus

Romans 8:31-34 New Living Translation

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

John 1:1-5 New Living Translation

Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

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Isaiah 43:16-21 The Message

Isaiah 55:8-11 The Message

1 Corinthians 2:9-13The Message

Intersecting Faith and Life – The Joy of Forgetting

Isaiah 43:18-19 Easy-to-Read Version

Philippians 3:13-14 The Message

Focused on the Goal

Psalm 40 The Message

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Proverbs 7:1-5 Easy-to-Read Version

Wisdom Will Keep You From Adultery

Psalm 119:9-16 The Message

(Re)Discovering The Lost (?) Art Of Lifelong Learning

Proverbs 19:8 The Message

Proverbs 9:10 New International Version

Psalm 111:10 New International Version

Psalm 34:8-10 New International Version

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John 21:25 The Message

I Believe There Is Always More Truth To Be Learned!

John 21:25 Amplified Bible

Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 English Standard Version

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

Luke 24:28-35 New King James Version

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened

Luke 2:43-50 New King James Version

Psalm 119:9-16 New King James Version

ב BETH

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

To the director, Jeduthun.^[a] A song of David.

A Miktam^[a] of David.