Tag: Good Reads

Exalting the Name of the Lord our God and the Truth of God’s Word! With All of our Heart and our Soul!

I do not know of anyone who does not want to be happy, do you? We spend our whole lives on the quest to find happiness, to make our lives bearable. The world offers a multitude of ways to find happiness, but the happiness found in the world is so fleeting and unsatisfactory. There is only one way to truly be happy, to truly be abundantly blessed and that is found in Exalting the Lord!

Psalm 119:1-8 Evangelical Heritage Edition

Psalm 119

The Great Psalm on the Law of the Lord[a]

Aleph: Blessed Are the Blameless

1 How blessed are those who are blameless in their way,
who walk in the law[b] of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who keep[c] his testimonies.
With all their heart they seek him.
3 Indeed, they do no wrong.
They walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded that your precepts[d] be kept completely.
5 If only my ways were unwavering in keeping your statutes![e]
6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
7 I will thank you with an upright heart
    as I learn your righteous judgments.[f] 8 I will keep your statutes.
Do not abandon me completely.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Psalm 119:2 reads, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”

In Psalm 119:2 the psalmist spoke of those who seek the Lord “with the whole heart.” To pursue something “with the whole heart” is to do so wholeheartedly, to do so with all one’s focus, with all one’s commitment, with all one’s priority, with all one’s energy, with all one’s enthusiasm. 

In fact, throughout this psalm the psalmist speaks six times concerning the pursuit of something “with the whole heart,” and five of those times he is delivering a testimony concerning his own heart and life.  So then, from these six references, we find three pursuits wherein we ought to follow the psalmist’s example to pursue them “with the whole heart” and also with the whole soul.”

We should seek our Lord’s fellowship with our whole heart.

In Psalm 119:2 the blessing is pronounced, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” 

Again in Psalm 119:10 the psalmist gave testimony, saying, “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.”  Brethren, this is to be the source for our Christian character, commitment, and conduct – the fellowship of the Lord our God.  Indeed, this should be the priority of our hearts and the center of our lives – the fellowship of the Lord our God. 

With our whole hearts, we should pursue after and pay any price for “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Philippians 3:8) 

Yea, we should be willing with our whole hearts to suffer the loss of everything else in order that we might “know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” (Philippians 3:10)  “As the hart panteth after the water brooks,” so our souls should thirst and pant after the fellowship of the Lord our God. (Psalm 42:1-2) 

The love and affection of our hearts should be wholly directed toward Him.  Indeed, we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength. He should be our first and our only love, our ONLY permanent priority # ONE love.  We should love Him, and cleave unto Him, and serve Him with all our heart and with all of our soul. 

Daily abiding in our Lord’s fellowship should be the motivating principle to which our whole hearts are submitted and by which our hearts are governed.

 Yet what if we have already left our first love for the Lord our God and His daily fellowship?  In such a case, we must be zealous with our whole heart to repent of our sinful ways and to return unto the Lord our God.  We must turn from our sinful ways with a completely broken and contrite heart, and must return unto the Lord our God with 100% whole conviction and commitment of our heart. 

Even so, James 4:8-10 declares, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” 

We must not exalt ourselves. We must return with the whole heart unto our Lord.  Then He will surely revive us spiritually, and raise us up to the place of His fellowship, and restore us to the spiritually abundant life of His fellowship. 

Even so, in Jeremiah 29:12-13 the Lord our God proclaims, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”  Then shall we grow in the knowledge and experience of His blessed daily fellowship, if we follow on with the whole heart to walk in fellowship with Him as our first and ONLY love, our first and ONLY Witness Statement, our ONLY Testimony.

We should keep our Lord’s Word with our whole heart.

We will read later on in Psalm 119:33-34 the psalmist made his request and commitment unto the Lord, saying, “Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.  Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” 

Again, later in Psalm 119:69 the Psalmist expressed his commitment unto the Lord, saying, “The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.”  Just as we should seek our Lord’s fellowship with our whole heart, even so we should keep our Lord’s Word with our whole heart. 

Indeed, seeking our Lord’s fellowship and keeping our Lord’s Word are intimately joined together. Therefore, we must pursue both together with our whole heart.  Indeed, we should have such a whole-hearted commitment to keeping our Lord’s Word, that we ever desire and delight to learn more of its higher wisdom and ways. Furthermore, we should have such a whole-hearted commitment to keep our Lord’s word, that we continue in faithful obedience even in the face of pandemic, politics and fiery trials and fierce persecution. 

We should daily come to God’s Word, diligently study God’s Word, and definitely obey God’s Word.  We should search the truth of God’s Word daily. 

We should study to show ourselves approved unto God, as spiritual workmen who do not need to be ashamed before Him. (2 Timothy 2:15)  With our whole hearts, we should desire and delight in the truth and wisdom of God’s Word. 

Indeed, we should meditate in that truth and wisdom day and night, hiding God’s Word in our hearts as the governing principles for our hearts and lives. 

Yea, we should edify each other, we should edify ourselves, we should build up our entire lives in character, convictions, commitments, and conduct upon the truth and wisdom of God’s Word, not just claiming it, but faithfully obeying it.

We should entreat our Lord’s favor with our whole heart.

Looking deeper, Psalm 119:58, our psalmist gave testimony, saying, “I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.”  Again in Psalm 119:145-147 he declared, “I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.  I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.  I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.” 

Indeed, this matter of the heart should be rooted in the previous two matters of the heart.  As we seek with our whole heart to walk in our Lord’s fellowship, we will learn more and more to set our whole-hearted trust in His tender mercies and loving kindnesses toward us. In addition, as we keep with the whole heart the truth of our Lord’s Word, we will learn more and more to set our whole–hearted hope in the promises of His Word to care for His faithful servants. 

Even so, with full assurance of faith in our hearts, we should come boldly in prayer unto our Lord’s throne of grace, “that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)  We should trust in the Lord with all our heart at all times, and should pour out our hearts before Him, knowing that He is “a refuge for us.” (Psalm 62:8)  We should rest, wait, and hope only upon the Lord our God, knowing that our help is from Him. 

With every fiber of our being, with our whole hearts, we should seek from our Lord that we might receive, seek from our Lord that we might find, and knock at our Lord’s throne of grace that His hand of grace might be opened unto us ALL.

Psalm 34:3 Evangelical Heritage Edition

An Invitation to Join David in Praise

3 Proclaim the greatness of the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 46:10-11 Evangelical Heritage Edition

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted on the earth.”

11 The Lord of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is a fortress for us. Interlude

Psalm 99:5 Evangelical Heritage Version

Exalt the Lord our God and bow down before his footstool.

Psalm 107:32 Evangelical Heritage Edition

32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the session of the elders.

With our whole hearts, with the entirety of our souls we must Exalt the Lord!

With our whole hearts, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us enter into a time of prayer and supplications.

Today God I pray that I keep your commands. Give me humility to walk in the Lord. Give me wisdom to make good choices. Give me the diligence to seek you with my whole heart, and not to be distracted by the things of this world. Amen.

  

Our Message of Living Hope which has been there from the Beginning.

What a strange way to begin a story: “In the beginning the Word already existed.” But that statement’s true because that Word is Jesus! When God wanted to tell human beings about himself, when he wanted to give us good news about salvation, when he wanted to give us a message about his love for us, he sent Jesus. Jesus is God’s Word — his Message. And this Word was with the Father all along. In fact, he was “in very nature God” (Philippians 2:6). Jesus is God come to us from the depths of eternity, not as conqueror (except over sin), but as Savior, in human flesh. He is God with us, the Messenger above of all messengers, Message above of all messages.

John 1:1-5, 14 ESV

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[a] from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

If you and I want to express ourselves, you and I could use words, actions, or deeds or as they say, “Actions speak louder than words.” You and I can use our words to communicate, convey our thoughts. Actually, the best way would be through both, allowing both our actions and our words to speak to our intent.

This is exactly what God did from the very beginning in sending His Son, Jesus Christ, directly and decisively into the affairs of man. God’s actions and words are tied into the name the Apostle John uses in describing Jesus as “The Word.”

When Jesus Christ walked among us as “The Word,” He expressed what was on God’s mind – An Eternal Hope is now living and walking among us! From His actions (miracles, healing sickness and disease, raising the dead, His death and resurrection), to His words (His Parables, what He communicated, He taught of God’s love, forgiveness, salvation, and God’s kingdom, to His prophetic words of His death, resurrection, and eventual return). The Word Came Among Us!

This is all tied up in the first several verses found in John’s gospel, which is probably one of the most compact statements about Jesus, from his existence from all eternity, to His identity as being God, and then His relationship, His connection, His Koinonia (intimate fellowship) with both God and with man.

John 1:1-5 Amplified Bible

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

John begins his Gospel the same way the Genesis account begins in the Old Testament, “In the beginning.” (Genesis 1:1) But Jesus achieved what years of law never could and never would, and that is humanity’s salvation, that is, bringing humanity back into a right relationship with God. You might say that after an indeterminate, uncountable number of years, Jesus Came, reset history.

In our passage John says that “The Word,” which we will see is a name for Jesus, is fulfilling the plan God had in mind all along – A Living Hope for All.

So powerful is the truth found in this name the Apostle John uses that he couldn’t help using it again in his first letter to the church 50 + years later.

1 John 1:1-3 (NKJV)

What Was Heard, Seen, and Touched

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

John expresses to us Jesus is the exact representation of who God the Father is, both in His actions and words. Jesus is the exact representation of Living Hope.

The Apostle Paul clearly expressed to the Followers in Colossae these thoughts;

Colossians 1:3-18 Easy to Read Version

3 In our prayers we always thank God for you. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We thank him because we have heard about the faith you have in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all of God’s people. 5 Your faith and love continue because you know what is waiting for you in heaven—the hope you have had since you first heard the true message, the Good News 6 that was told to you. Throughout the world, this Good News is bringing blessings and is spreading. And that’s what has been happening among you since the first time you heard it and understood the truth about God’s grace. 7 You heard it from Epaphras, our dear friend and co-worker. He is a faithful servant of Christ for us.[a] 8 He also told us about the love you have from the Spirit.

9 Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray:

that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; 10 that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God[b]; 11 that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come.

Then you will be happy 12 and give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light. 13 God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 14 The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.

The Son of God Is the Same as God

15 No one can see God,
    but the Son is exactly like God.
    He rules over everything that has been made.[c]
16 Through his power all things were made:
    things in heaven and on earth, seen and not seen—
all spiritual rulers, lords, powers, and authorities.
    Everything was made through him and for him.

17 The Son was there before anything was made.
    And all things continue because of him.
18 He is the head of the body, which is the church.
    He is the beginning of everything else.
And he is the first among all who will be raised from death.[d]
    So in everything he is most important.

The anonymous author of Hebrews expresses it rather nicely saying that Jesus was the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person.

Hebrews 1:1-4 NKJV 

God’s Supreme Revelation

1 God, who [a]at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [b]worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had [c]by Himself [d] purged [e]our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

The Son Exalted Above Angels

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say:

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

And again:

“I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”?

6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:

“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

7 And of the angels He says:

“Who makes His angels spirits
And His ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But to the Son He says:

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A [f]scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

10 And:

“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said:

“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. In the beginning, the Hope already existed. The Hope was with God, and the Hope was God. The Hope came! The Hope lived among us, filled with Grace and Truth and Life in more abundance than we could dare imagine.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, let us now dare Pray;

Thank you, Father in heaven, for expressing a message that I can understand. Thank you for expressing a message that I can see in action. Thank you for Jesus and all he is to me. Thank you for your One and only perfect expression of faith, hope and love, of truest salvation, and grace. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

We are Reflecting Upon Making the Decision to Believe in God or Not. What is Your Christian Worldview?

How do you and I view and react to the world around us? Do you and I have a Biblical worldview? Do you and I see and view the world through the leaves, the ever spreading vines of a carefully grown, well manicured thorn laden rose tree?

Colossians 2:8-12 NASB

8 See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, [a]rather than in accordance with Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made [b]complete, and He is the head [c]over every ruler and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Hot button topics. Politically Incorrect, Aggressively Divisive and Taboo topics. Topics few people are prepared to converse about, have meaningful discussions and debates over without either side being prepared for open vitriolic warfare. The idea of civilized, non judgmental conferences and educational moments? Those topics for which only highly skilled, well reputed mediators dare to tread. Yet these hot plate topics rigorously define nearly every individuals world view.

Immigration, Abortion. Euthanasia. Pornography. Same-sex marriage. Gender, Transgender rights. Embryonic research. Genetic enhancement. You can add to this mix COVID, mandated vaccines, out of control government spending, etc.

Christians and Non Christians who are surveying the cultural landscape in the West have a clear sense that things are headed in a destructive direction. While most believers can easily (readily?) identify the symptoms of decline, few feel competent to diagnose and address the root causes. There are many complex factors, concerns behind these developments, but one invaluable tool for better understanding and engaging with our culture is the concept of worldview.

What is a worldview. The fact is, everyone has a worldview. It is how we see the world around us and we interpret and react to events. A worldview is the core of what we steadfastly truly believe (not just give lip service to), likewise defend.

It answers the basic questions of life:

How did we get here (creation and the universe)?

Where are we going (the meaning of history)?

What is the nature of reality (physical or spiritual or both)?

What is the nature of God, or transcendent reality? (is there a higher power?)

What is the nature of truth (objective or subjective)?

What is the nature of human beings? (who are we and how did we get here?)

What happens to human beings when they die? (is there eternal life?)

What guidelines determine human behavior? (ethics and morals, who decides?)

Where did we (human kind) go wrong? (or have we gone wrong?)

Is there a fix?

How these questions are answered determines our outlook on the world. These are just a few of the questions that define our worldview. For example, if we have a naturalist or humanistic worldview where we are just a comic accident and there is a natural explanation to all that there is, then humans are just highly developed, evolved animals. If that is the case then, so what is the big deal about abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, mandated vaccines, the like?

If we are here by accident, then who are you to tell me what my morals should be, to dare question my ethics, Who are you to tell me what is right and wrong?

The fact is, our worldview matters. It matter in how re react, in a God honoring way to the world around us. The worldviews of others in our culture explains why we as a people, a nation, a culture, is headed in a destructive direction.

Over the course of this devotion, we will explore our worldview, then contrast it with the worldviews of our culture, try to sort out world versus. Christian view.

We genuinely need to critically examine our own view of the world. Paul tells us:

2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB

5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you [a] fail the test?

Do we have a true Biblical Worldview? Notice I am no longer saying a Christian worldview. I will now be deliberately changing that term because the very word “Christian” has been so grievously altered, misused, deliberately misapplied, and distorted over time. But I will use the term “Biblical Worldview” meaning, “does our view of the world measure up to what the Word of God tells us, not someone’s concept of what a Christian ought to believe or ought to live?”

1 Timothy 6:20-21 NASB

20 Timothy, protect what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — 21 which some have professed and thereby have gone astray [a]from the faith.

Here’s the problem. According to recent survey (May 2021) commissioned by the Family Research Council under the direction of George Barna:

Click to access EF21E41.pdf

* 80 percent of born-again Christians claim to have a biblical worldview, but only 19 percent have one.

* 74 percent of conservatives claim to have a biblical worldview, but only 16 percent do.

* 44 percent of millennials (ages 25-40) claim a biblical worldview; only 4 percent have one.

This only represents just a small sample of people who were surveyed. If we were to do this self same sample on a significantly wider and broader scope, how would these results change – would the percentages increase of decrease?

As I further perused the report of the statistics for mainline Protestant churches and evangelical churches, the magnitude of numbers were just about as dire:

* 69% of adults who attend a mainline Protestant church (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal, etc.) claim they have a biblical worldview, but only 8% actually have one.

* 81% who attend an evangelical church (many non-denominational and most Baptist) claim they have a biblical worldview, but only 21% actually have one.

No wonder the church is in trouble today. Most of the so-called “born-again” believers do not know what they believe, or they do not realize that their beliefs are corrupted by the world.

This corruption of beliefs didn’t happen by accident. We are exposed to the philosophies of the world every day, through the culture we live in, through TV shows piped into our living rooms, through our news sources, through the internet and let us not speak about social media and its effect on our world.

Very little of what we are exposed to in the world reflect the Judeo-Christian principles which formed and guided this nation for many years. Since WW2, we have seen a marked moral decline in our culture. America is quickly going the way of Europe, which has virtually been godless for many years, where now most churches and cathedrals there are merely museums of an era gone by.

We do not need to tell or yell at each other how worldview has grown, being very intolerant of anything espousing biblical values. Our Christian foundations are being systematically destroyed. King David asked the question in his day:

Psalm 11:1-3 NASB

11 In the Lord I take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow,
They have [a]set their arrow on the string
To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

The worldview of those in our modern culture has invaded the church. In our postmodern culture, truth itself has been lost and is now relative. What is true for you may not be what is true for me and vise-versa. Whereas formally a difference of opinion was tolerated, now anything that does not agree with the current worldview, what is considered politically correct, or the current cultural norms, are now labeled as bigoted and intolerant, and other negative adjectives.

In our current “woke” “cancel culture” we can no longer even say 2+2=4. Even the truth of mathematics is now subjective to whatever you want 2+2 to equal.

A young man who had recently graduated from high school, told me about a mathematics teacher who labeled him a “bigot” for thinking it was important to get the right answer. “As long as students worked together in a group and achieved consensus, the teacher insisted, the outcome was also acceptable.”

Here is a fact that we can and must live with.

There is absolute truth in the universe. And He can be known.

John 14:6 NASB

6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus also said that:

John 8:31-32 NASB

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

But what the world calls the truth and Bible calls the truth are often two different things. When we see the world with spiritual eyes guided by the Holy Spirit, we see the world differently from others.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 NASB

12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [a]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

14 But [b]a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is [c]discerned by no one. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

But the very real, unspoken problem in the church is we are surrounded by the world and are daily being bombarded by the philosophies of the world. There are ultra slick talking politicians and others who can sell a drowning man water. And we, being ignorant of the Scriptures will accept human reasoning and the arguments of why the world is the way it is. This is nothing new. There has always been those who will raise doubt in our minds since the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:1 NASB

The Fall of Mankind

3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

Romans 1:25 NASB

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for [a]falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed [b]forever. Amen.

Most of the letters in the New Testament, those of Paul, Peter, James and John, spend a great deal of time warning the early church about the deception of false teachers and about heresies that creep into the fellowship.

Today’s verses are typical of these warnings.

We are warned not be taken captive from “philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition.” Philosophy means the “love of wisdom.” Seeking wisdom is not evil in and of itself, for the book of Proverbs has a fair amount to say about seeking wisdom.

But seeking human wisdom, wisdom that is apart for Jesus is evil.

Colossians 2:1-3 NASB

You Are Built Up In Christ

2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have in your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not [a]personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and that they would attain to all the wealth [b]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Seeking after human wisdom and saying that through human reasoning all can be answered, is evil because that is the core of the humanist worldview. Humanist view is the humans are the end of all things intellectually. So we are warned about human reasoning and philosophy, because: human reasoning is “in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.”

The term “elementary principles of the world” has been debated by scholars for years. But those things of the “natural world” like “earth, fire, wind, and water,” what the ancients thought everything was composed of.

Today, our elementary things of the world consist of the “big bang” and the millions and billions of years of random chance (evolution) as the explanation as to why of where we are here today, and this naturalism worldview has been taught in our school for almost 100 years. No wonder the kids today think the things of the Bible are mere fairy tales. None of these things are from Christ, Who is more than the Author of Truth, He is Truth. Paul also warned Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:20-21 NASB

20 Timothy, protect what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — 21 which some have professed and thereby have gone astray [a]from the faith.

We need to hold tight to what we have been given. Paul says to “protect,” other translations has “guard.” This is a command. Hold these close, the truth of the Scriptures. Do we understand it all. No, but our lack of understanding does not change the truth. If anything, it should encourage us to study all the more. We need to avoid “worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments.” This is also a command in the form of a participle. We are to avoid these things.

Paul tells us that many Christians have fallen for these false knowledge (or outright lies) and by doing so “have gone astray from the faith.” The Bible is true in all that is says, whether of history, of science, or of the things and nature of God. If we have a true Biblical worldview, we would be vastly different from the world around us and we need to be ready for the world to “easily” label us as believing backwards, bigoted, homophobic, and a host of other negative terms.

But Jesus is returning soon.

Luke 18:1-8 NASB

Parables on Prayer

18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect any person. 3 Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my [a]opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any person, 5 yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise [b]by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day [c]and night, and will He delay long for them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [d]faith on the earth?”

When He returns, will he find us believing Him, obeying Him, reacting to the world based on his truth, or will we be found with the rest the world? Will he find us doing His will or our will and the will of the world? Important questions!

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us now Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus and that all things were made by Him and for Him. I realize that without Him there is no meaning in life. Keep me from being influenced by the enticing arguments, idle philosophies and crude notions of human traditions, which inevitably look for answers to life, anywhere except to the truth, which is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in the Word of God. Thank You that He is the only way, the only truth and the only life. May I grow in grace and in a knowledge of Jesus day by day Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.

History’s Greatest Invitation Ever Extended, Yet Seldom Ever Delivered: An Invitation Too Frequently Refused

An Invitation is an Invitation. Someone is supposedly thinking high enough of someone that they want that someone to share in a uniquely special moment.

But then again, it might be that the person or those people being invited is, are supposed to be invited to a particular event because of their place or status in the particular arenas (politics, entertainment, wealth, higher social standing, politically correct standing) they are being invited into. As a commoner or much less than a commoner I am quite certain I’m on nobodies mandatory party list. O’ the glitz and glamour politically correct chauffeured soiree’s I miss out on.

But then again, invitations are not always just invitations to a party or event I would want to be seen at, associated with or active or passive participant in. It means I would have to make some measure of personal commitment to some cause or concern I do not philosophically agree with or can financially support or will surely end up regretting because its original intent is purposely hidden.

So, it is ever wise and thoroughly prudent to do one’s due diligence before one RSVP’s themselves to another persons or organizations invitation to “party!”

For example;

“Religious life is an encounter with the living God. Sometimes that encounter is preceded by a kind of soul-searching agony that tries desperately not to hear, runs in the opposite direction, and frantically tries to reason itself out of answering the invitation.” Mother Angelica

“I’m always shocked when I get an invitation. People are always shocked when they see me at a party.” Joan Rivers

“I got an invitation to go to the Olympic trials. And in the same week, I got a telegram from a… big executive at Columbia Records.” Johnny Mathis

“Wherever the invitation of men or your own occasions lead you, speak the very truth, as your life and conscience teach it, and cheer the waiting, fainting hearts of men with new hope and new revelation.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, now, we should exercise our due diligence on the greatest invitation ever recorded anywhere. The greatest invitation to the greatest “party” anywhere!

Isaiah 55:1-3 AKJV

55 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,
and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat;
yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
and your labour for that which satisfieth not?
hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good,
and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me:
hear, and your soul shall live;
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
even the sure mercies of David.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

AN INVITATION NOT TO BE REFUSED

I once read of a visiting preacher who arrived at a neighborhood church and read the poster announcing him as a “preacher with the unchanged message”.

He had a nasty moment in his spirit when he thought that the news had got out that he had only one sermon to his name! Charles Spurgeon got exasperated with a number of his students whose sermons were below standard. He said of them, “10,000 thousands are their texts but all their laborious sermons one!”

In one sense, a preacher of the gospel has an unchanged message; each sermon may have a different text, but ultimately the gospel has but one message. And that message can be summarized in one word – it’s an invitation from God – it’s an invitation to focus all of one’s energies and resources on the word “Come”.

Imagine if you can you’re at your shopping centre one Saturday morning. Quite unexpectedly a window on the first floor of a large super market or wholesale shoppers club or departmental store opens and the manager rings a bell to get the attention of the shopping crowd within. He shouts out, “Everybody is truly invited to come shopping – everything is free today: there’s nothing to pay!”

It was this kind of announcement that Isaiah made in Babylon some 2,500 years ago. Hear the words of God spoken through the prophet, “Come, all you who are thirsty, and you, who have no money, come buy and eat!” (55:1).

“Come, all you who are thirsty.” If you’ve been to the Holy Land you’ll have seen the water-seller as he walks the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem. I remember seeing this colorful figure and took his photograph and had to pay for the drink he poured out, although I didn’t fancy it and didn’t drink it! Water, especially in a hot climate, is a valuable commodity and not easy to come by.

Isaiah was addressing the people of Israel who at this time were exiled from their homeland. They had refused to obey God’s laws and now they were suffering the consequences of their actions. God had allowed the Assyrian army to be his instrument of punishment. Their land had been devastated and they had been taken into captivity in Babylon for seventy years.

These are the defeated people who sat and wept by the rivers of Babylon, mocked by their captors, surrounded on every hand by the images of the gods who had apparently defeated Jehovah, the living God of Israel. (Psalm 137)

The people were strangers in a strange land, separated from their homeland by several hundred of miles of inhospitable wilderness. They felt alienated from their God who they believed had turned his back on them. The divine glory of Jerusalem, its temple were but a faded memory that only brought them pain to think about it. These unfulfilled longings brought them to the edge of despair.

It was into this bleak spiritual wilderness that God’s messenger came with a word from the Lord. It wasn’t just good advice, based on human wisdom and psychology, telling them to resign themselves to their present sad condition.

No, it was history’s greatest proclamation of salvation and hope. It was:

A GRACIOUS INVITATION

Most people like to receive an invitation to a special function, perhaps to a wedding or a celebration dinner. But that sort of invitation is highly restrictive. Wedding invitations are given to relatives and close friends; celebration dinner invitations are restricted to top people in business or politics.

But the invitation Isaiah offers is a universal invitation. Isaiah’s words are those which would have been used in the market place. You can imagine the street traders calling out to the passers-by to try their produce – “Come…” It’s like in a carnival with the town crier ringing his bell and calling the crowds’ attention.

How typical this is of our gracious God. He does not wait for people to go in search of him – he takes the initiative, His eternally wide open eyes comes in search of them. (2 Chronicles 16:9a: 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of  them  whose heart is perfect toward him. )

His love is such that he wants to be found by them, he longs to pardon them and share good things with them. Jesus said that he “came into the world to seek and save what was lost” (Luke 19:1-10). It’s as if God stands in the market place and implores the people to come to him to find what they really need.

Being our Creator, God possesses the greatest understanding of our human condition. (Psalm 139) Ever since the disaster of the Garden of Eden when our first parents failed to obey God’s instruction, when they tried to “eat their fill” from God’s tree of knowledge, to overstep divinely-given boundaries, mankind has been trying to get to that perfect place of satisfaction for an inner longing.

The famous English poet, Lord Byron (1788-1824), described his experience vividly typical of so many of our fellow citizens: he said he “Drank every cup of joy, drank early, deeply drank, drank draughts which common millions might have drunk, then died of thirst because there was no more to drink.”

It seems, he missed drinking from the Fount of life that only God can supply.

The prophet Isaiah’s call is to everyone who is not satisfied, who feels that their life is incomplete; that there’s something they crave for over and above their present possessions. It’s to “all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come buy and eat.” The only qualification that is made to the invitation is that need must be recognized. The invitation is to “all” –

It means none are excluded who do not for some reason exclude themselves. Jesus said he “did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:13).

Those whose eyes have been blinded by the “glitz and glamor” of this world; driven by politics and wealth, corruption, intrigue and power, those who falsely depend upon the temporary merits of their own good works for righteousness – these do not all thirst. They have, sadly, an insufficient sense of their true need.

What a sad condition for anyone to be in! And what a dangerous state, because the invitation is also an urgent invitation, for however great is God’s patience, the offer isn’t available indefinitely. Isaiah went on to say, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

God’s word to mankind is a word of gracious invitation, but not only that, it’s an invitational word of:

GENEROUS PROVISION

Here indeed is good news of abundant provision, of generosity that only God could provide. He makes a personal invitation to “Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” The words of the text are a paradox – something which would be absurd if it weren’t true. Isaiah’s hearers, and us too, are invited to “buy, yet without money and without price.” Can this be true? Isn’t it a contradiction in terms? The contradiction on the surface is but intended to make this wonderful truth more emphatic.

This offer from God has been termed “the Salvation Market” because it reverses the world’s commercial values where you get “nothing for nothing”! As they say in business: ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch!’ But here we must recognize our absolute spiritual poverty in God’s sight. We must abandon any claims to self-righteousness. We must put away all ideas of having a part in our own salvation. We must be willing to rely on God’s undeserved love and forgiveness, made possible by the sacrifice by his Son, Jesus, on the Cross. The “Salvation Market” is the only market where the seller pays, not the buyer!

Cheap things are seldom valued. Ask a high price and people think a commodity is precious. But God’s offer is not an illusion. Here is the “heavenly merchant” who died for the buyers in his market. He died that no one coming to his market should ever be sent empty away. The selling price is zero, but that doesn’t mean that these goods cost nothing to the “heavenly merchant”. These goods are the cheapest sold and the dearest bought that ever were. All the wealth in the world couldn’t purchase one item in God’s marketplace, for the Son of Man bought them at great price, and now they are all free. No money can buy them because what God offers here in this text is without price because it is 100% priceless.

The offer is not merely about the basic necessities of life. It’s not just enough to only just barely “get by” as if the offer was only for bread and water. No, it is for “wine and milk” – nothing but the best. These were undreamed of luxuries for a people in exile, living in the foreign hovels of Assyria and yet, such is the fallen nature of mankind, Isaiah immediately has to ask the question, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does (can) not satisfy?”

The prophet is puzzled. “Why” he asks his hearers, “do you waste your life?” The inference is that, unbelievably, so many refuse God’s invitation to eternal life. Yet human nature always finds it hard to accept a free offer and wants to make a ‘minimal’ contribution of some kind towards it. No one likes to feel permanently indebted, not even to God, such is the stubbornness of humanity. Those who do that will end up like the Prodigal Son, shattered and disillusioned with life. God’s eternal values are 100% diametrically opposite of our worlds.

 We come back to the prophet’s words, “Why spend money … and labour on what does not and cannot ever satisfy?” Why indeed? The free will that God has given us enables us to come freely to him and to be able to enter into the full relationship of sonship. If we reject the generous provision that he has made in Jesus, we deliberately choose darkness rather than light, we turn our backs upon his love. It leaves us without protection and exposed to the forces of evil.

We only have to look at the indescribable depths of moral and ethical failures of our world around us to see the 1000% chaos sin has brought upon its victims.

The good news is that God hasn’t given up on mankind. The gracious invitation, “Come, all…”, the generous provision, “buy … without money”, leads on to a:

GREAT EXPECTATION

The commodity in shortest supply among the exiles was hope. Everything that belonged to their past had been destroyed. Their land had been ravaged. The temple in Jerusalem, the centre of their worship, lay in ruins. There was no comfort to be found in their present circumstances. They were overwhelmed by their sense of loss, taunted by their captors, like fish out of water in an alien culture. Life was bleak and the future didn’t bear thinking about. (Psalm 137)

It was into this darkness that a near inaudible word of promise came, “Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you…” It was a both a quiet yet thunderous word of hope. God was telling them that he still rules and is in control of events in Babylon. He’s a God whose purposes are way beyond the grasp of mere humans. He knows precisely what he’s doing and he is willing to transform their circumstances.

The exiles were in despair. They believed that they were doomed to remain in exile and that all was lost. But the word from the Lord through Isaiah spoke of a new beginning. There was, after all, a future for them.

There was going to be a second Exodus. For a second time God was going to redeem his people from captivity and lead them across the wilderness. “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace” (Isaiah 55:12). The thunderous sounds of hope declaring God will once again save his people and lead them into triumph.

Our God is the God of the “Second Chance”. Yes, the people of Judah had for the most part rejected God but he still loved them, and here he was offering them a fresh start. There’s an urgency, an imperative about the words; there’s a progression in what had to be done. The invitation was to “come, buy and eat” indicating there’s more involved to God’s offer of salvation than hearing the good news of the gospel and even believing it: there’s a definite requirement that we make it our own by a participation of it, by “eating” it. (Psalm 34)

“Hear me”, says God, “that your soul may live.” This would be secured by an “everlasting covenant” as promised “to David”.

God’s promises to King David and his royal successors after him are now being made freely available to all the people of Israel, both high and low. Covenant privilege has now been extended to the whole people of God. The prophecy was wonderfully fulfilled and made possible by the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, “great David’s greater son”. He is the mediator and trustee of the new covenant. All believers in Jesus are members of God’s royal family.

Here then is Isaiah’s great invitation. It comes to us with compelling urgency to accept God’s offer of a lifetime. It sweeps away our objections. It presses us to respond without delay. It points to God’s immeasurable love and it tells us that whether we are thirsty for his grace or strangers to his covenant or too poor to purchase our salvation, we have only to return our lives to the Lord and he will abundantly pardon. We shall be ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven through Jesus Christ our Redeemer and our Lord (Mark 10:41-45, Luke 19:1-10).

The salvation of God is there for all that will come to him in repentance and faith. Even knowledge of it won’t save us. It is faith, that unique obedience of a relationship with God, which saves. God’s purpose for his people is to give us his life by putting his Spirit within us. Don’t let’s miss it; don’t let’s accept anything less. Isaiah’s word, “Come”, is a gracious invitation; it offers a generous provision and provides a great expectation.

We can thank our God for what He’s done for us in Jesus in the words of an old hymn: “How Good is the God We Adore” by Joseph Hart, 1712-1768

“How good is the God we adore,

Our faithful, unchangeable Friend!

His love is as great as his power,

And knows neither measure or end!

‘Tis Jesus the First and the Last,

Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home;

We’ll praise him for all that is past,

And trust him for all that’s to come.”

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us now Pray;

God of our hearts…here we are! We’ve come with thirsty hearts, praying that your Word will satisfy us. We come with aching hearts, praying for good news to comfort us. We come with overflowing hearts, praying for a chance to share your love with all those who are our neighbors. You, who know our hearts and hear our prayers, be with us now in these days of greatest want and need. Amen.