Tag: Word of God Speak

We Are Not Quitters Because We Are Always Guarded By the Power of God. Hebrews 10:26-31 (Verse 29)

If we reject Jesus, we reject everything that God is and everything he has given.

We insult Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

We reject grace at every level.

The message of Jesus is precious and treasured, it must never be spurned, rejected, discounted, treated lightly, misrepresented or worse, ignored.

The message of Jesus is precious beyond all the greatest rust worthy treasures of mankind, and to ignore or to reject or to misrepresent this message is to insult all that is holy.

Hebrews 10:26-31 The Message

26-31 If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

From the Midst of the Mob, a Time for Discipline?

If we are gut level honest, with ourselves, others, we all can recall times when we have failed, faltered, or temporarily lost any interest in the things of Christ.

These experiences can unsettle the faith of even the most seasoned believer.

What, then, are we to make of our faults, failures and our own stumbling’s?

The Bible is clear that once we are in Jesus’ hand, we are not coming out.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me … No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

Indeed, our stumbles, failures serve as a daily reminder to, no matter what the circumstances cling to God’s promises all the more and not to our own merit.

For those who are hidden in Christ, “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

When God promises that nothing will ever separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39), that includes our seasons of stumbling and of sinning.

When we have been redeemed by Christ, when we have been brought into His orbit of grace, He promises to complete the good work which He began in us. (Philippians 1:6)

We must conclude, then, that a genuine believer cannot be lost.

It is not possible!

According to God’s mercy, we are brought into His family and guarded by His power until the day of salvation (1 Peter 1:5).

The Bible is equally clear, however, that there are also those who for a time are marked by some dedication to God but who then turn in opposition to Jesus and His Word, never to return to Him again. (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8,)

Their repudiation of what they once professed reveals that they never genuinely nor authentically nor faithfully belonged to Jesus at all.

Such individuals, notes the author of Hebrews, receive the knowledge of truth and perhaps even suggest to others around them that their faith is sincere, but in reality, they are trampling the Son of God underfoot.

They engage in the reverse of what Paul describes in Philippians 3:8:

“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Paul counted everything in life as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.

But these men and women taste of the hardcore goodness of the Lord yet come to count Him as the rubbish (truth is too hard) when offered earthly pleasures.

The aim of the writer to the Hebrews is to warn against complacency, which leads to dangerous drifting (Hebrews 2:1).

The anonymous author of Hebrews is consistently urging the readership to run to the cross in their weakness and failures, for the wonder of the cross is that there is no sinful believer that cannot be forgiven, the glory of the Holy Spirit is that there is no weak believer He cannot preserve, He cannot revive, empower.

When you stumble, then, stumble toward the cross.

And when you and I awake each day, ask the one who died in our place for a fresh outpouring of His grace in order that you may persevere in your faith.

Draw Near to God and God will Draw Near to You

James 4:7-10The Message

7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

Sin absolutely has consequences.

Consequences which can easily cause us to question the Authority of God.

Consequences which can easily cause us to question the Sovereignty of God.

Consequences which can easily cause us to question the Legitimacy of God.

Consequences which can easily cause us to question the maximum love of God.

Consequences which can easily cause our steadfast and immovable faith to be shaken, shifted, cracks in our foundation soon appear, as from a earthquake.

Divisive issues from within the church which cause rancor and disaffiliation.

Family against Family, Brother against Brother and Sister against Sister.

We have likewise consistently and persistently learned from the Bible —and personally—how life without maximum faith in God brings terrible results.

In today’s verses from Hebrews 10:26-31 we are reminded that we may not “keep on sinning after we have received … the truth.”

In other words, once we receive salvation in Jesus, it is time to change our ways.

Hebrews 10:19-25 English Standard Version

The Full Assurance of Faith

19 Therefore, brothers,[a] since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

And we can only do that in God’s strength, under God’s surest protection.

In the full assurance of faith in Christ Jesus our Savior.

Moment to Moment, Watched Over and Guarded by God’s matchless power.

But rancor and division and disaffiliation in and within the Kingdom of God comes marked displeasure and anger from the throne of God. (1 Corinthians 3)

From within this propensity to sin quite badly, God may decide to discipline us.

When we face a hard time, we should eagerly ask if this is discipline from God.

If it is, then all sides must rush to that attitude of shared consolation, shared repentance, reconciliation, not return to the sins that God is disciplining us for.

Perhaps you are lonely because you have allowed relationships to break.

Friends and family and churches have forsaken you because of your behavior.

With the Holy Spirit’s intercessory help we can all finally get right with God and with others, and those divided relationships can be faithfully one day restored.

Maybe you are reading these words in prison or within a prison like restrictive environment – refugee camps, migrant and immigration processing centers.

If you deserve to be in prison, you know in your heart that you sinned against God and others.

Countless millions of people have found or renewed their faith in God during their time of imprisonment – there is no place God’s grace cannot reach you!

From within any, all restrictive environments, God guards and protects you.

God invites you and everyone around you to join, to rejoin His family by sincerely turning or returning to His Son Jesus the Christ as your Savior.

As the Prodigal Son found out, whatever your sin or situation, today is the anointed time to (re)open your life to the Savior, who is seeking you now.

This may be an appointed time of discipline, but it is also the time of salvation.  

This also the anointed and appointed time for everyone to draw near to God that God will also draw near to us – discipline us for a time – restoring His Kingdom.

Draw Near to God And Hold Fast to the Gospel

If our sins are forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus, then there is no further need for the sacrificial system represented by the tabernacle and the Temple (cf. Hebrews 10:18).

“Therefore” (Hebrews 10:19) introduces the whole practical section of the letter, but also specifically the application of this point.

The finished work of Jesus gives us confident access to God. It is by His blood, and through the metaphorical “veil of His flesh” that we thus boldly approach (Hebrews 10:20).

With Jesus as our high priest (Hebrews 10:21), exhorts the writer, let us:

“Draw near” (Hebrews 10:22) faithfully, with a sincere heart; and in the certainty of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ (which we call “assurance of faith”).

Make your approach boldly, having had your conscience (inwardly) cleansed by the blood of Jesus, having been outwardly washed in the obedience of baptism.

Furthermore, let us:

“Hold fast” (Hebrews 10:23) to the confession of our hope. Ours should be a rock hard, sturdy foundation of hope, because He who made the promises is reliable!

And, (Hebrews 10:24-25), let us be considerate of other Christians, encouraging one another to love and good deeds.

Let us never neglect the meeting together of Christian community, both giving and receiving the word of exhortation – and all the more so, said our writer all those centuries ago, as we see “the anointed and appointed day” approaching.

Then, having drawn near, make every possible maximum effort to keep near!

Recall that these new Hebrew Christians were not unfamiliar with persecution (Hebrews 10:32-35).

Perhaps this was why some of them were inclined to fall away (Hebrews 6:6)?

‘But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,’ the writer assures, ‘and things that accompany salvation’ (cf. Hebrews 6:9).

“We are not of those who draw back to perdition,” he asserts, “but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).

Still, the writer issues another warning (Hebrews 10:26-31).

Perhaps some were still inclined to slip from their moorings (cf. Hebrews 2:1)?

If so, perhaps it begins when we neglect to meet together under the sound of the Word of God (Hebrews 10:25)?

Again, we should keep in mind the specific Jewish background which we looked at when grappling with Hebrews 6:4-8 The Message.

4-8 Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they’ve personally experienced the sheer goodness of God’s Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can’t start over as if nothing happened. That’s impossible. Why, they’ve re-crucified Jesus! They’ve repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God’s “Well done!” But if it produces weeds and thistles, it’s more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.

The writer is demonstrating the untenability of even contemplating a return to Judaism (Hebrews 10:26b).

For those Hebrew Christians, that was what it was to ‘fall away’ (Hebrews 6:6).

The language is strong (Hebrews 10:26-29; cf. 2 Peter 2:20-22), but mercifully punctuated with compassion (Hebrews 10:39; cf. Hebrews 6:9).

The indictment (if it is that) is against those who sin WILFULLY after they have “received the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26a).

The question may be: have we really “received” it? So, for us as well as for them, it is a matter of the WILL.

Is our will anchored in the One who taught us to pray ‘THY will be done’ (Matthew 6:10; cf. Luke 22:42)?

The threat is real.

If we have not Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 10:26b), then we are going to hell (Hebrews 10:27).

If we have (Hebrews 10:29) “trodden underfoot” the Son of God; counted the blood of the covenant “an unholy thing”; and “despised” the Spirit of grace: then the punishment that awaits us is worse than that which was under the law (Hebrews 10:28-31)!

“It IS a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31), but our writer does not leave his readers there.

Rather he calls upon them to remember what they have already come through (Hebrews 10:32-39 The Message).

Hebrews 10:32-39 The Message

32-39 Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.

It won’t be long now, he’s on the way;
    he’ll show up most any minute.
But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;
    if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.

But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

Is it really worth throwing everything away after all this?

Effectively, He calls upon them to return to their ‘first love’ (cf. Revelation 2:4).

It appears that the Hebrew Christians had compassion on those who were persecuted for righteousness sake (Hebrews 10:33; cf. Matthew 5:11-12).

And, having their eyes set on the things which are above, endured the spoiling of their own goods (Hebrews 10:34).

The writer encourages ongoing confidence and reminds them that their reward awaits them in heaven (Hebrews 10:35; cf. Matthew 6:20).

Jesus said, ‘he who endures to the end shall be saved’ (cf. Matthew 24:13).

We must have the patience to bend our will to the will of God in order to receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36).

This is the desire of our writer (cf. Hebrews 3:12-14 The Message).

12-14 So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as God’s still calling it Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.

These words keep ringing in our ears:

Today, please listen;
    don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising.

People then, as now, were anxious for the return of Christ: so the writer encourages them as to its certainty.

And reminds them, as Habakkuk reminded his readers some centuries before, that meantime “the just SHALL live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38; cf. Habakkuk 2:2-4).

Those who are truly saved “do not draw back” but “believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).

But we are not quitters who lose out. Oh, no!

We will stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 121 The Message

121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;
    does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
    your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
    Guardian will never doze or sleep.

5-6 God’s your Guardian,
    right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
    sheltering you from moonstroke.

7-8 God guards you from every evil,
    he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
    he guards you now, he guards you always.

O ABBA Father Almighty, Your Son, My Savior Jesus is beyond precious to me. I know that I ever so richly deserve discipline and punishment for my sins. Thank you God for your love, for thy Son Jesus, for willingly taking my punishment so that I may be forgiven. May my life always demonstrate my love and loyalty to him and to you. I pray, I plead to Forgive me for ever insulting you, Jesus, or the Spirit. In Jesus’ name.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Governor Pilate, The Gathering Mobs, Almighty God: Please Choose This Day What You Will Do Now With My Jesus! Luke 23:13-25

For the Roman governor Pilate, it was not that he might have known better if he’d just had more information. It was not that he might have acted differently if he’d had a better understanding of how things worked among the people he ruled in the province of Judea. The case that confronted Pilate was not vague or unclear.

Several times Pilate gave the Jewish high priests the chance to submit all the evidence they could. Repeatedly Pilate recognized that the evidence added up to no case at all under Roman law.

Pilate had personally interrogated Jesus. Perhaps he figured that something Jesus might say would prove incriminating, even if the priests’ evidence had not. After these thorough reviews, Pilate returned each time with the same judgment. There has been no crime; there is no basis for charges, no reason for a sentence of any kind. The obvious legal outcome of this case was to release the defendant.

But Pilate sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion. Why? Because he recognized the power of the priests. They could make or break his governorship; they could cooperate in keeping things running smoothly in Judea, or they could make things difficult. Jesus had no power that mattered to Pilate. Jesus could be discarded, dispensed with.

And so he was, and in God’s design, for the sake of all of us.

Luke 23:13-25 The Message

13-16 Then Pilate called in the high priests, rulers, and the others and said, “You brought this man to me as a disturber of the peace. I examined him in front of all of you and found there was nothing to your charge. And neither did Herod, for he has sent him back here with a clean bill of health. It’s clear that he’s done nothing wrong, let alone anything deserving death. I’m going to warn him to watch his step and let him go.”

18-20 At that, the crowd went wild: “Kill him! Give us Barabbas!” (Barabbas had been thrown in prison for starting a riot in the city and for murder.) Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out again.

21 But they kept shouting back, “Crucify! Crucify him!”

22 He tried a third time. “But for what crime? I’ve found nothing in him deserving death. I’m going to warn him to watch his step and let him go.”

23-25 But they kept at it, a shouting mob, demanding that he be crucified. And finally they shouted him down. Pilate caved in and gave them what they wanted. He released the man thrown in prison for rioting and murder, and gave them Jesus to do whatever they wanted.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Imagine a Moment: When a Decision Has to Be Made

As governor over Judea, Pontius Pilate was responsible for maintaining order and quelling civil disruption within his jurisdiction.

He was accustomed to using and wielding his power and influence to determine the outcome for any issue brought before him, those awaiting their sentence.

But imagine if you can the undeniable tension of Jesus’ arrival in his courtroom which immediately confronted Gov. Pilate with the greatest dilemma of his life.

Accompanied by a large crowd of religious officials, with the gathering of the mob of people curious at what is going on, Jesus was now brought before Pilate.

When Pilate pressed the mob and asked them explicitly, “What evil has he done?” all they seemed able to do was to raise their chorus of voices louder.

Now, I have always been taught that a raised voice is often indicative of a weak or non existent argument.

King Herod had examined Jesus and found Jesus was no threat and sent him back to Pilate for his final judgement.

Governor Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, there were no charges to be brought against Jesus and so he essentially declared to all those assembled, 

“I find no guilt in this man. 

But the cries of the Temple Authorities and the crowd grew more demanding and more insistent, and more threatening to the authority of Pilate and Peace in the land and I can hear how Pilate must have started big time doubting himself, asking himself, “I have to decide now, What can I do with this Jesus of Nazareth?

“Not Guilty” But Being Sentenced to Die Anyway

Essentially, Governor Pilate, the chief political authority had to decide in that exact moment; “What do I do now with this wild mob, this innocent man Jesus?”

“Yield to the obviously right thing to do – to release an innocent Man?”

“Yield to the Temple Authorities whom he must still peacefully govern Judea?”

“Yield to the growing unrest of the gathered mob who were probably unaware or generally uninformed or minimally educated of the whole purpose of the gathering or like the Temple Authorities, wanted Jesus to be gone from their midst because they were more afraid of Caesar and his well trained Armies?”

“Yield to the Ultimate Authority and absolute Sovereignty of God without whom Governor Pontius Pilate would have no authority over anyone (John 19:11)?”

Pilate wanted to release Jesus.

He knew that he should release Jesus.

The Political Pilate had all the political authority he needed to release Jesus.

But Pilate instead capitulated to his desire to placate the crowd and to maintain favor with the religious leaders, and the voices of the frenzied throng prevailed.

Governor Pilate’s dilemma is not unfamiliar to us.

In fact, it is the great dilemma that confronts men and women in authority: having that authority, wielding that power, what to do with Jesus of Nazareth.

Pilate came face-to-face with the Son of God and heard His testimony from His own lips—and still he chose the world, all of the noise of that rising crescendo attached to the “mob mentality” over bending his knee to the King of kings.

Political Decisions made at the highest levels of Government swaying to those who make the loudest noise, threaten the greatest violence to peace in the land.

“100% Pro” God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit?

“100% Crucify” God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit?

Who do we fear the most?

The Authority and the Armies of Caesar?

What do we value the most?

The loss of our own authority, the loss of our control, the loss of our jobs?

What becomes our Steadfast and Immovable, Unyielding Affirmation of Faith?

No matter what or who may come, we value the Lord our God over everything?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 The Message

4 Attention, Israel!

God, our God! God the one and only!

5 Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!

6-9 Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

Or we let the political authorities and the noise of every single mob who comes to threaten our peace, threaten our belief systems with shouts of “crucify him?”

What was God Doing in that “Pressure Cooker?”

Even with and within all of that adverse pressure of the moment, In Jesus’ sentencing, God’s eternal plan of salvation unfolded in a moment in time.

Jesus always claimed the absolute sovereignty of God over him and everything else including the weight of the politics and the violent intentions of the mob.

Jesus was unwavering in his stated beliefs that God absolutely remained God.

No matter what else happened to him, God was always in absolute command.

Jesus knew he had no reason to be afraid of what would happen to him.

The Temple Authorities were not ever going to change their minds.

The mob was not going to lessen their call for crucifixion one tiny bit.

If anything, the mob would only get bigger and even significantly louder.

Jesus knew the truth, the whole truth ,nothing but the truth of Almighty God.

Jesus was not accused and condemned for His own sin.

He was not dying for Himself.

He was dying for us.

He who was totally innocent became totally guilty in order that we who are totally guilty might be declared completely innocent. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

All of Pilate’s attempts to dismiss Jesus, to turn Him over for other officials to pass judgment, to wipe his hands clean of the matter, didn’t work.

All of the scorning and violence of the gathered mobs did not compel Jesus to put down his cross and renounce his Father in Heaven, and walk off the stage.

Neither will anyone’s politics.

Neither will anyone’s polling or winning vote count.

Neither will anyone’s Governing political authority or influence cause a believer to renounce their steadfast, immovable, unyielding faith, in their Savior Jesus.

Neither will anyone’s efforts to use the battering ram of “mob mentality.”

Neither will anyone else’s efforts at censorship to dismiss the resurrection.

Our only authentic hope, our only genuinely living hope in life and in our death is to praise, respond in our hearts to the glory of what happened on the cross.

Like Governor Pontius Pilate, we face a choice: either we bow our knee to Christ and His lordship or we capitulate to the pressures of the surrounding culture.

And while that is a choice, decision we make in the privacy of our hearts, it is one that ultimately reveals itself, as it did with Pilate, in what we say when all those around us are urging us to deny the rule or goodness of our Savior Christ.

However loud those voices become,

We too will always have our private and public choices to make,

We will always be pressured by the politics of the moment and the politicians and every single sway and nuances of their political ideologies, to sway us into some range of similar thinking that we would continue to vote then into office.

But ultimately, if you and I are God’s Children, then be ready to stand for Him!

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

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

Let us Affirm our Faith and Pray,

Affirmation

I refuse to believe that we are unable to influence the events around us.

I refuse to believe we are bound by the politics of racism, war, and injustice.

I believe those around me are my brother and my sister in Christ Jesus.

I believe in dignity every day and that our brokenness can be healed.

I believe in integrity every day and that God is the Way, the Truth, the Life.

I believe we can overcome oppression and violence, without resorting to it.

This means I seek to know more of God, to reject revenge and retaliation.

I remember, “Hate cannot drive out hate: only the light, love of God can.”

Here we are Lord, 

on our knees,
Crying mercy;
Mercy for our souls,
Mercy for one another,
Mercy for our churches,
Mercy for our nation,
mercy for our world.

Here we are again
Standing in your presence
in awe of you your holiness,
your otherness,
your mystery,
and your incarnation

We stand bringing the needs of our friends, family, church,

community, nation and world to lay at your feet.
We cry out in pain for the struggles of the world.
We cry out for those who are in pain, sick, in the hospital, rehab,

homebound, nursing homes and those on their death bead.
We cry out for the divisions and conflict that seems to be in our lives,

our families, our churches, our communities, our nation and our world.
We cry out for those who live in poverty, those who are starving,

those who are in prisons, and those who live under oppression.

Lord, pour out your mercy
like healing, comforting rain.
Amen. 

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Do You or I Know the One Good Thing Which God Desires of The Shape of Our All Too Human Hearts? Psalm 78:65-72

As followers of Jesus, we are committed to living by God’s standards, such as integrity—saying what we mean and doing what we say.

Proverbs 21:3 says, “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”

Integrity means being “honest” and “whole and undivided.” First, we have to be honest with ourselves by asking:

Do I say I will do things that don’t get done?
Do I make excuses for not following through?
Do I substitute words when actions are needed?

Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, “Do not be quick with your mouth…”

The Bible doesn’t teach us not to use words, but to use them wisely and back them up with consistent actions.

Jesus says, in Matthew 25:21, the “master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
The master says “well done,” not, “well said.”

If we struggle with integrity, there is hope. Romans 8:1 says. “.. there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Start with the first tiny step of an honest self-assessment.

Then choose to follow Jesus to the next step in integrity, and keep following Him day by day.

Psalm 78:65-72 The Message

65-72 Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet
    like someone roused from deep sleep,
    shouting like a drunken warrior.
He hit his enemies hard, sent them running,
    yelping, not daring to look back.
He disqualified Joseph as leader,
    told Ephraim he didn’t have what it takes,
And chose the Tribe of Judah instead,
    Mount Zion, which he loves so much.
He built his sanctuary there, resplendent,
    solid and lasting as the earth itself.
Then he chose David, his servant,
    handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens.
One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs,
    the next day God had him shepherding Jacob,
    his people Israel, his prize possession.
His good heart made him a good shepherd;
    he guided the people wisely and well.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

An Integrity Filled Heart

When we are talking about the qualities that are necessary for a Christian heart, integrity is one quality that cannot, and should not, ever be ignored.

The reason is because that’s the exact type of heart which God desires and uses.

72 
So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart;
And guided them with his skillful hands. Psalm 78:72 Amplified

It was with such an integrous heart that God commended David.

In Acts 13:22 the Lord’s testimony of David says, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.”

If David had a heart after God’s heart, and if David’s heart was integrous, therefore it can be concluded that integrity is an integral part of God’s own heart, in other words, integrity is one of God’s qualities we should seek after.

This is seen in something Moses said about God’s character.

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)

And so, a Christian’s heart needs to be an integrous heart because an integrous heart, a heart filled with integrity is part of God’s own heart, we should desire it with the same fervor, tenacity as God Himself possesses it, desires to share it.

Therefore, I think it’s safe to say that integrity is needed now more than ever.

There are several reasons why.

First, we also live in a society where what was once called good and integrous, is now being called hate-filled and evil, and what was once called hateful and evil is now being called good and true and the most desirable to be possessed by all.

What is evil is being taught, advocated for and celebrated in schools at all levels.

What is good and righteous is declared to be extremist, worthy of a prison cell.

What was once considered backwards, abhorrent is fast becoming acceptable conduct, praise worthy conduct, taught to be an acceptable medical practice.

How radically backwards has become so common place and acceptable in our day to day conversations in such a short span of time is truly mind-boggling.

How bad is this in the eyes and heart of God.

Remember, integrity is a part of God’s own heart.

Well, Isaiah prophesied this, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20 NKJV)

But also, our society drowning in lies.

We are living in a world that is living more by the lie than by the truth, and the sad part is that most people shrug shoulders, don’t think it is that big a deal.

But it is a big deal, and the Bible calls it sin.

In fact, it’s such a huge deal to God in how it hurts our relationship with Him and others that He makes it one of His big ten, that is, the Ten Commandments.

This one is the ninth to be exact.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16 NKJV)

But, before we can continue looking at what is an integrity filled heart, I believe it is vitally important we come to know and understand what integrity means.

Understanding What Integrity Means

Psalm 15 Amplified Bible

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

15 O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?
Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?
2 
He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,
And speaks and holds truth in his heart.
3 
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 
In his eyes an evil person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].
He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit];
5 
He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],
And does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Having integrity is adhering to truth and a code of values, and for Christians, it means adhering to the Way and the Truth and the Life found only God’s Word.

Synonyms would include: being honest, a person of high moral character, a person of virtue, who lives their lives in accordance with the morals, ethics and values set forth by God Himself in the Bible, values they say they believe in.

Therefore, integrity is about being honest, fair, and having a strong sense of what is right and wrong.

It’s adhering to the moral and ethical principles set forth in God’s Word, which speaks directly to a person’s private, public character, being, who they truly are.

But it also has a second definition, and that is a person who is undivided and thus unwavering in their belief and trust in God.

Integrity is not so much about what we do as it is about who we are.

It means we privately, publicly live according to what we say and believe in.

It’s about who we are on the inside more than what we portray on the outside.

It’s doing right even when no one else is looking, and who we are, how we each act and behave in the dark more than what we do in the light.

Integrity, therefore, is best defined by how it’s fleshed out in our lives.

• It’s about keeping our word even when it hurts.

• It’s about being honest in all our dealings.

• It’s practicing morality in both our bodies and in our minds.

• It’s about admitting mistakes and doing what’s necessary to make them right.

This is why integrity of heart is something God is searching for in His people.

King David said that it’s only with an integrous heart that we can dwell in God’s presence.

So, if we want to dwell in the presence of God, then we have to have integrity, and thus walk and talk and live our lives by it.

“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.” (Psalm 15:1-2 NKJV)

In fact, God is pleased when we do walk with integrity in our hearts.

Proverbs 11:18-20 Amplified Bible

18 
The wicked man earns deceptive wages,
But he who sows righteousness and lives his life with integrity will have a true reward [that is both permanent and satisfying].
19 
He who is steadfast in righteousness attains life,
But he who pursues evil attains his own death.
20 
The perverse in heart are repulsive and shamefully vile to the Lord,
But those who are blameless and above reproach in their walk are His delight!

In Proverbs 11:20 the Lord says that while He detests people with crooked and twisted hearts, He does mightily and muchly delights in those with integrity.

Integrity of Job

Job 27:3-6 Amplified Bible

3 
As long as my life is within me,
And the breath of God is [still] in my nostrils,
4 
My lips will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue utter deceit.
5 
“Far be it from me that I should admit you are right [in your accusations against me];
Until I die, I will not remove my integrity from me.
6 
“I hold fast my uprightness and my right standing with God and I will not let them go;
My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

Job was such a man with a heart filled with integrity

Job said, “As long as my breath is in me … my lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit … Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.” (Job 27:3-6 NKJV)

In fact, not only is God pleased with such an integrous heart, but He also brags on it. We actually see God brag on Job when Satan came before God’s throne.

The Lord said,

“Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8 NKJV)

God, therefore, looks for integrity and an integrous heart is what He desires for His leaders.

It was a heart of integrity that distinguished the leadership of King David.

“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (Psalm 78:72 NIV)

While an integrous heart is manifested in our lives, in other words, people can see it, people can readily and instinctively recognize it, it’s really an inside job.

Integrity is an Inside Job

Matthew 23:25-26 Amplified Bible

25 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). 26 You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.

In speaking about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, Jesus said,

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matthew 23:25-26 NKJV)

The term “hypocrite” in the Greek language comes from the theater.

In Greek theater one actor would often play more than one part, so they wore masks to cover their face for the different parts.

Hypocrisy therefore means someone is wearing a mask (or masks) to hide his or her true nature; therefore, hypocrisy is in direct opposition to integrity.

Integrity, therefore, begins on the inside, which is probably why Jesus tells us to cleanse the inside.

Psalm 51:5-8 Amplified Bible

5 
I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness;
In sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful].
6 
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.
7 
Purify me with [a]hyssop, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 
Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied;
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.

When we do, we will then be clean on the outside, or in how we deal with others.

If integrity is an inside job, and seeing how within the human heart, that is, the spiritual side of our hearts, there exists nothing but evil and wickedness bent on deceiving, as the Lord says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” how can we possibly clean it?

We can’t wash it out with soap and water, but we can confess and repent.

Psalm 51:1-6 The Message

51 1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace!
    Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
    soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been;
    my sins are staring me down.

4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
    it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
    whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
    in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
    Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV)

So, a heart of integrity is a heart that is free from hypocrisy and a heart that is honest about it’s true condition before a holy and righteous God.

It’s a heart that does not put on a mask to hide its true identity making people think that it’s someone who is not and something that it’s not, but rather it’s a heart that honestly and openly confesses its faults, shortcomings, and sins, and actively seeks to turn them over to His Father God and far far away from them.

Another aspect of integrity I like to talk about is that what erodes our integrity.

Erosion of Integrity

Genesis 3:8-13 Amplified Bible

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [afternoon breeze] of the day, so the man and his wife hid and kept themselves hidden from the [a]presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9  But the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten [fruit] from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12  And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree].”

Now the simple answer is sin, but it isn’t the one time sin that does it; rather it is a combination of sins that are not being dealt with, that is, they are not being confessed or repented of, or as some would say, it is all those wee little mistakes we allow without seeking them out, mining them and out making them right.

This then leads us to the second thing about integrity.

Integrity is About the Little Things

Integrity isn’t built nor is it destroyed in one fell swoop, but in little bits and pieces.

In Solomon’s song he says that it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine, and therefore they must be captured (Song of Solomon 2:15).

Rome was never built in a day, and neither was it destroyed in a day.

It was over an extended period, especially in its downfall as it decayed from the inside through moral and ethical perversion.

And it’s this same moral and ethical decay we’re seeing in our own country.

America is no longer the shining beacon to the world, instead it has been decaying little by little, year after year, and the cracks are getting bigger, crumpling the integrous foundation laid by our nations’ founding fathers.

Someone I know bought a nice house in an exclusive neighborhood, but the foundation wasn’t laid correctly, the concrete did not have enough rebar.

And so, the house has cracks not only in its foundation, but also throughout its walls and into the ceiling.

With one really good shake the house could conceivably come down.

Jesus said,

“Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:26-27 NKJV)

Therefore, integrity doesn’t happen overnight, nor is it lost overnight because of one mistake or sin.

Rather, integrity is built over time and lost the same way.

We need to be careful then and not blame our circumstances when these cracks begin to develop.

This leads me to another aspect of having an integrous heart.

If we fail to come to belief in Jesus Christ, then our foundation won’t be built on anything solid, when the storms of life hit and rage all around us, then the risk is that our foundation will crumble, and the houses of our lives will come down.

When we violate God’s word or break one of His commands, when our integrity is compromised, small cracks begin to form in the foundations of our lives, and if left neglected, that is, unconfessed, unrepented for, then the firm foundation and our lives will begin to crumble.

How can we prevent the small cracks from getting bigger?

They must be sealed through the process of confession, forgiveness, and heart felt Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 repentance.

This will restore the foundation and make it as stronger than it ever was.

Jesus said,

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10 NKJV)

If people can’t trust us in the small matters, how can trust us when things get serious, and our help is really needed.

Integrity Is Not Determined by Circumstances

“But the child (Samuel) ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest. Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.” (1 Samuel 2:11b-12 NKJV)

Even though our upbringing and the circumstances we face in this life affect us, we still have the power to choose either good or evil.

Two people can grow up in the same environment, even in the same household, but turn out completely different.

One may have integrity, while the other may not.

Take for instance the high priest Eli’s two sons and Samuel.

They all grew up in the tabernacle under Eli’s tutelage.

Samuel grew up to be a man of integrity, while Eli’s two sons were corrupt.

If circumstances really could determine our ability to be a person of integrity, Joseph would be the classic example to follow.

Circumstances weren’t kind to Joseph as he was sold by his brothers into slavery, lied about by Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into prison and forgotten by a top official in Pharaoh’s court.

Yet he never allowed the negative circumstances he encountered to dictate his actions, rather he kept his integrity through it all.

Looking at the circumstances that assailed Joseph and his not wavering in keeping his integrity leads me to the last aspect about having integrity.

Integrity is Expensive

Matthew 16:24-26 The Message

24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Joseph’s integrity cost him dearly.

It cost him his freedom, but in the end, God blessed him, raised him up into a position of highest responsibility and saved his family through him as a result.

There is something that I tell everyone I counsel when things don’t go their way and they are tempted to take the easy way out.

I tell them that when we honor God, God will honor us.

Having an integrous heart will lead to problems, relational conflicts, loss of business, and possibly loss of a job – but in the end, it will lead to real benefits.

Benefits and Blessing of Integrity

a. Safety and Security

“He who walks with integrity walks securely.” (Proverbs 10:9 NKJV)

b. Protection

“Let integrity and uprightness preserve me.” (Psalm 25:21 NKJV)

c. Guidance

“The integrity of the upright will guide them.” (Proverbs 11:3 NKJV)

d. Family

“The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.” (Proverbs 20:7 NKJV)

And so, while our integrity will cost us, in the end it will bring real and lasting benefits that money can’t buy.

Now that we’ve determined a heart of integrity, the question becomes “What Does an Integrous Heart Do?”

What Does an Integrous Heart Do?

Speak the Truth

Luke 6:43-45 The Message

Work the Words into Your Life

43-45 “You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.

Jesus said that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45).

And so a heart that is integrous is going to speak the truth.

Jesus said, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37 NIV)

Long explanations are not necessary, a simple yes or no will do the trick.

Our words need to be so reliable that nothing more than a simple statement or word is needed.

Solomon said, “Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.” (Proverbs 4:24 NKJV)

A person with an integrous heart won’t be found speaking from both sides of their mouth.

Hypocrisy and lies would not be considered acceptable.

And while speaking the truth will cost, there is a larger cost involved when we tell a lie.

It might cost us our marriage, our relationship with God, our children’s future, as well as friendships, career, and the list goes on.

Paul adds a quality to our need to speak the truth, and that is the quality of love (Ephesians 4:25).

25 What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. (The Message)

We are told to speak the truth in love.

The reason is because we have the tendency to launch the truth at people like a guided missile intending to blow away all opposition to our point of view.

In the end we may feel good for speaking the truth, but the other person is laying there with their guts splattered all over the place.

So, an integrous heart speaks the truth through a loving spirit, looking to heal; not hurt.

But besides speaking the truth, an integrous heart also stands for the truth.

Integrity Stands for the Truth

Standing for the truth is taking our speaking the truth to the next level by putting it into action.

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” (2 Corinthians 13:8 NKJV)

In our society today there’s a prevalent attitude that whatever someone believes in, that it is affirmed and above board honest truth, whether it’s true or it’s not.

It’s called subjective truth.

It means that whatever is true for one person must automatically be true for all others, whether it is or not.

What this is doing is kicking objective truth to the curb or throwing it out the window.

Today subjective truth is going by the name of political correctness, tolerance, which when bisected and exposed to the light of God, is anything but tolerant.

What is needed are Christians who are willing to stand for the truth and against the wrongs of society.

We are to be people of an integrous heart that not only speaks the truth, but also witnesses to the truth and testifies to it and stand upon the truth of God’s Word.

The Apostle James says, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17 NKJV)

Therefore, not speaking the truth and standing for what is wrong is sin.

More Thoughts on Our Desiring an Integrous Heart

Integrity is a vital element to a Christian’s heart and one that needs to be constantly nourished and maintained, because it’s out the abundance of our heart we speak, and it’s our hearts that determine who and what we are, therefore we need to guard our hearts, and the best defense is a heart that is totally sold out for Jesus Christ and is filled with the truth of God’s Word.

I would like to end with what I said at the beginning, because when we finally understand this, having a heart of integrity will be something that we strive for.

And it was about King David.

If David had a heart after God’s heart, and if David’s heart was integrous, therefore it can be concluded integrity is an integral part of God’s own heart.

Therefore, our hearts need to be disciplined, integrous, because an integrous heart, a heart filled with integrity, is part of God’s own heart He readily shares.

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

Let us Pray,

Confessing My Lack Of Integrity And Praying To Change

Psalm 51:7-15 The Message

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
    scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
    set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
    give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
    or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
    put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
    so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
    and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
    I’ll let loose with your praise.

Heavenly Father, Your are good and righteous altogether and I come to You today, confessing that I have not lived my life the way that You would have wanted, nor did I choose the path that You would have wished for me to take.

I confess my lack and come to You in humility of spirit, knowing that in Your loving-kindness, You forgive those that are of a contrite heart. Father, I want to turn my life around and live in a way that is transparent before You. I want to live a godly life that is pleasing to You and a life that brings glory to Your name. Lord, I do not want to grieve or quench the work of the Holy Spirit in my life any more, and know that the only way to please You is to walk in spirit and truth, and to live each day in submission to Your guidance, and empowered by Your grace.

Cleanse my heart of sin, forgive my stupidity and teach me Your ways I pray. Lord, I want to change my behavior to reflect those of the Lord Jesus, I want the thoughts of my mind to be pleasing in Your sight. I want to be a person of integrity, and live a life that is godly and full of grace, and I can only do so as I abide in You and rest in Your love. Teach me Your ways and give me a teachable spirit so that in the days to come I may live godly in Christ Jesus, knowing that this is Your will for my life.

Thank You that You have been faithful to me even when I proved unfaithful, and in Your grace, I step out into the future with my hand in Yours. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Do You and I Truly Know The One Thing Satan Really Desires to Take from Us? Job 1:6-12

God recognizes Job’s faithfulness. He remarks to his Satan (a Hebrew word meaning simply “accuser”, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8).

The accuser spots an opening for mischief and replies, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9). That is, does Job love God only because God has blessed him so richly?

Is Job’s praise and his burnt offerings “according to the number of them all” just a calculated scheme to keep the goods flowing?

Or to use a modern image, is Job’s faithfulness nothing more than a coin fed into the vending machine of God’s blessing?

Job 1:6-12 Amplified Bible

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the [a]Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.” 12 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Job’s Prosperity Acknowledged as God’s Blessing

At the beginning of the Book of Job we are introduced to an exceptionally prosperous farmer/rancher named Job.

He is described as “the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:3).

Like the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, his wealth was measured by his many thousand head of livestock, numerous servants and large family.

His seven sons and three daughters (Job 1:2) are both a personal joy to him and an important foundation of his wealth.

In agricultural societies, children supply the most reliable part of the labor needed in a household.

They are the best hope for a comfortable retirement, the only pension plan available in the Ancient Near East, as is in many parts of the world today.

Job regards his success to be the result of God’s blessing.

We are told that God has “blessed the work of Job’s hands, and his possessions have increased in the land” (Job 1:10).

Job’s recognition that he owes everything to God’s blessing is highlighted by an unusual detail.

He worries that his children might inadvertently offend God.

Although Job takes care to remain “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1), he worries that his children may not be so fastidious.

What if one of them, addled by too much drink during their frequent days-long feasts, should sin by cursing God (Job 1:4)?

Therefore, after every feast, to forestall any offense to God, “Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all” (Job 1:5).

God recognizes Job’s faithfulness.

He remarks to his Satan (a Hebrew word meaning simply “accuser”,

“Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8).

The accuser spots an opening for mischief and replies, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9).

That is, does Job love God only because God has blessed him so richly?

Is Job’s praise and his burnt offerings “according to the number of them all” just a calculated scheme to keep the goods flowing?

Or to use a modern image, is Job’s faithfulness nothing more than a coin fed into the vending machine of God’s blessing?

We could apply this question to ourselves.

Do we relate to God primarily so that He will bless us with the stuff we want?

Or worse yet, so that God won’t “jinx” the success we seem to be achieving on our own?

In good times, this may not be a burning issue.

We believe in God.

We have faith in God.

We acknowledge him — at least theoretically — as the source of all good things.

At the same time, we work diligently, we work and we labor faithfully in God’s Kingdom so God’s goodness, our work go hand in hand like “peas and carrots.”

When times are good, blessings abound and we do in fact have a season or two and prosper, it is natural to thank God and praise him highly and mightily for it.

We all know and recognize that things can go wrong in a big hurry and we have a clever adversary, yet there are things about him we sometimes get wrong.

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people mention how Satan is attacking them and he is after their stuff.

They talk as if Satan is primarily interested in robbing them of their health and their finances and all manner of earthly possessions and resources.

I’ve a heard a number of sermons that center around this, listened to music that echoes the same sentiment, and witnessed many falling into the belief Satan is ceaselessly, relentlessly, skulking around every street corner, after their things.

But let me offer you a gentle awakening.

Satan does not have an insatiable desire for your belongings.

He is not fixated on your house, your car, your bank account, or your job.

In fact,

I believe our material possessions hardly register to him, unless he can somehow subtly exploit them to undermine our faith and hinder our relationship with God.

The One Thing Satan Is After?

Hebrews 11:5-6 The Message

5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

However, there is one thing in your life that Satan relentlessly pursues.

He knows that without it, the reality of you leading a victorious Christian life becomes utterly unattainable.

What indescribably valuable resource is our Adversary after?

Your Faith.

My Faith.

My Wife’s Faith.

The Faith of Parents

Our Children’s Faith.

Our Neighbor’s Faith.

The Faith of our Teachers, our Educators

The Homeless person’s Faith.

The Addicts and Alcoholics persons Faith

The Mentally Ill person’s Faith.

The people just diagnosed with Cancer’s Faith.

The Faith of our Clergy.

The Faith of our Laity.

The Faith of our Neighborhoods and our Communities.

Our Churches Faith, regardless of denominations.

In short and in hardcore truth – everyone’s Faith.

From the very beginning, Satan has attempted to instill doubt within the hearts of all humanity (Genesis 3).

He tries to provoke you to question the very words of God, his character, and even his existence.

The reason is that he understands the important role faith plays in all our lives.

Satan is fully aware of bible verses which highlight the significance of our faith.

Faith is essential in our Christian journey.

It is the foundation upon which we build our relationship with God.

Without faith, our ability to please God diminishes, and our desire to seek him can taper off.

Satan, the enemy of our soul, understands this truth all too well.

He knows that when our faith diminishes, our faith erodes, faith disappears, our spiritual vitality suffers also, and our connection to Savior God weakens.

It is in those moments of wavering faith we may feel most distant from God.

We may notice a lack of motivation to pray.

We may neglect the reading and studying of his Word, and we may isolate ourselves from the Koinonia fellowship of fellow believers.

Think back to times in your own life when you have experienced a lack of faith (I have had plenty).

Perhaps it was during a season of doubt, disappointment, or personal struggle.

In those moments, you may recall that seeking God was not a priority in your life and this was all connected to your faith.

Because of this connection, the enemy knows if he can weaken our faith, it will steadily, subtly, suddenly cascade through every part of your walk with God.

That is why he is so passively and aggressively persistent in attacking our faith.

Your Faith Is Like Your Heart

Matthew 6:19-23 The Message

A Life of God-Worship

19-21 “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

22-23 “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a musty cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

Just as your heart pumps life-giving oxygen rich blood throughout the body, faith fuels your relationship with God.

It enables you to experience his presence, guidance, and power.

Faith is necessary when you begin your walk with God, and it is crucial for you to grow in your walk with God.

You are saved by faith, justified by faith, and empowered to live according to his will by faith.

If you damage or neglect your faith, your walk with God withers, just as your body would die without a functioning heart and a set of healthy lungs.

How Does Satan Attack Your Faith?

Genesis 3:1-8 The Message

3 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”

2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”

4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”

6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

8 When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.

One of the principal ways Satan attacks your faith is by using life’s realities against you.

Sometimes he will even try to use God’s own word against you.

Remember the question he asked Eve, “Did God really say?” 

In John 16:33, Jesus said in this world, you will have trouble.

I have written on this verse before, calling it the most overlooked promise in Scripture.

However, even though this is a reality of life, when trouble comes, we often end up disappointed or sometimes even feeling deserted by God.

In these vulnerable moments, Satan will use this against you by stirring up a whole range of our emotions, which affect our faith.

He might whisper or shout things like –

If God really loved you, this would have never happened.

You fasted and prayed and God didn’t answer your prayer. That’s because he really doesn’t care.

I thought God said call upon me and I will answer. How’s that going for you?

These types of whispers and darts the enemy throws at you are all designed to attack and weaken your faith.

When you are discouraged, disillusioned, or disappointed, the result is your faith can suffer, your belief in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit can suffer too.

When seeds of doubt or discouragement don’t work, Satan may turn to worldly distractions.

He may tempt you to look at other things and take your eyes off Jesus.

He aims to strip away your confidence in God’s promises and provision.

This can render you ineffective in your pursuit of God and his plans for your life.

Regardless of the method, it all goes back to the one thing he wants to take from you, which is your faith.

How to Guard against These Attacks?

Ephesians 6:10-18 The Message

A Fight to the Finish

10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

To counter these attacks, you must guard and nurture your faith.

One reason is because you overcome the enemies’ attacks on your faith by using the same thing he is after, your faith.

The Bible reminds us in Ephesians 6:10-18 that we extinguish the darts of the enemy with the shield of faith.

When the enemy comes to attack your faith, you use that same faith to fight back and defeat his plan.

However, to do this effectively, you must cultivate a vibrant faith.

This requires intentional effort and a steadfast commitment to seeking God and His truth.

You must immerse yourself in his Word and commune with him in prayer.

It also helps to surround yourself with fellow believers who can encourage you and aid you in building your faith. 

One thing to note is faith is not an all-or-nothing proposition.

It is a journey — a process of growth and development.

You will experience seasons of struggle, but that does not mean your faith is irreparably damaged.

God is gracious and compassionate, ready to restore and revive your faith as you surrender yourself to Him.

When you face moments of doubt or spiritual dryness – and they will come – then you must not succumb to the enemy’s ploys.

Hebrews 6:13-20 The Message

God Gave His Word

13-18 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it all the way, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Instead, we can choose to anchor ourselves in the steadfast and immovable and always and forever truths of God’s Word and rely on his unyielding faithfulness.

As we walk closer to Him, we fortify our faith and we prevent the enemy from robbing our spiritual vitality.

This does not mean life won’t hurt, but through it all your faith will stay strong.

Final Thoughts

Hebrews 11:1-6 The Message

Faith in What We Don’t See

11 1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.

5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

Faith is an indispensable component of your walk with God.

Just as your physical heart and lungs sustains life in your body, faith sustains and nourishes your spiritual life.

Satan recognizes the power of faith and seeks to strip it away from you, hindering your connection with God.

But you have the choice to protect and cultivate your faith.

Let us commit to nurturing our faith through prayer, the study of God’s Word, and fellowship with other believers.

By doing so, we can guard against the enemy’s schemes.

This will also position us to experience the fullness of a vibrant, faith-filled relationship with your loving Heavenly Father.

I pray today, come what may, you would go forth anyway and walk by faith.

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

Let us Pray,

Lord, God of the Patriarchs and the Prophets, help me to be more like Job. You put a wall of protection around him, his family, and his property, and You were also the source of his prosperity. I pray for that same hedge of protection for my family and my property. By Christ, Help me to use my life, resources, talents, and position to lead others closer to You and bring You glory. Use me — like you did Job — as a source of great encouragement to those in my sphere of influence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Best Fatherly Practices, Learning From His Examples: “Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, Will You Reveal Who You Are?” Matthew 6:7-13

What comes to mind when you hear the term Father’s Day? Maybe you think about stereotypical gifts like neckties or #1 Dad t-shirts. Perhaps you have memories of the sights and smells of grilling together. Or maybe—like many people—the holiday provides an opportunity for you to celebrate your Father in heaven.

On this Father’s Day—and every day—I pray that your spirit would be refreshed, refocused, and renewed as you “see what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

Matthew 6:7-13 The Message

7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes, Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

A Father’s Day Message to You … Set The Example.

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

Many of us approach Father’s Day with mixed emotions.

Some people have hands-on fathers who are available and deeply interested in their children’s lives; while others will have a somewhat distant, disinterested father; while still some others still were abandoned by their fathers altogether.

And like me, some have fathers who have died.

But one thing we all have in common, no matter what kind of dad or step dad we are or currently have or have had, is that we have an authentic Father in heaven.

And regardless of how your father, my father on earth has treated us, we have a Father in heaven who has always been there, always will, 100%, be there for us.

The Bible says that God is a “father of the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5 NKJV).

And David wrote,

“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10).

We have an authentic heavenly Father, and the way in which we authentically communicate with him is through prayer.

The greatest prayer that was ever prayed is often called the Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus taught us to pray:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9–13)

To address God as “Father” was a revolutionary thought to the Jewish mind.

The Hebrews feared God and attached such sacredness to His name, they would not even utter it.

In the Old Testament, God is referred to as “Father” fewer than seven times.

And when He is, it is either indirectly or rather remotely.

In fact, when Jesus referred to God as his father, he was accused of blasphemy.

One of the reasons Jesus was crucified was because he spoke of this radically special relationship he had with his father – not his earthly one, but heavenly.

Now, because of his death and resurrection, we can have that relationship, too.

After rising from the dead, he said to Mary Magdalene, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (John 20:17).

As you are now, were growing up, if your father was disengaged, disinterested and passive, you might think of God, talk to God, in exactly that self same way: disconnected, 100% oblivious to what is going on in your life, not really caring.

Then again, if your father was a thoroughly involved, nurturing and affirming dad, you might naturally apply those same qualities to your perception of God.

Whatever our experience was or currently is, we need to view God not the way we view an earthly dad; we need to view God as He is presented in Scripture.

Not only does the Bible tells us to address him as Father, but we are to do so in an intimate way.

The apostle Paul wrote, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15 NLT).

The word Abba speaks of intimacy, like calling your father “Daddy” or “Papa.”

The idea is that of an affectionate relationship.

My grandson call me “Papa.”

My sister’s granddaughters, when they were just starting to talk, would lift her hands up and say, “Nema” when they wanted to be picked up or get out of their highchairs. (How can parent or grandparent resist the innocent sound of that?)

If you want an accurate snapshot of God, a proper portrait of the Father, just look at the story Jesus told about the prodigal son (see Luke 15).

The story isn’t all just about the son, however; it is also about the loving father who stayed at home – anticipating, expecting, waiting, praying for that one day.

And who is more qualified to talk about a loving father than His own Son, Jesus?

In this story, Jesus presents him as an engaged, loving, affectionate father who loves his sons.

The father has two sons, the youngest of whom demanded his portion of the estate before the father has died.

The son went off to a distant land and lived like a fool – as a prodigal – blowing his money, consorting with prostitutes, literally ending up in a pig pen, and as he was finally coming to his senses, turned around and began returning home.

Back at home we see a father who stayed home, who longed for his son’s return and then ran to throw his arms around him, kissing him over and over again.

The conclusion of the story from a modern paraphrase goes this way:

The son started his speech: “Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.

But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, “Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here – given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!” And they began to have a wonderful time. (Luke 15:20–24 The Message)

That is your Heavenly Father. Although He is our God, there is an undeniable intimacy, there is relationship, there is closeness, there is 10000% affection.

If you want to know what kind of Father we have in heaven, just look at Jesus.

Because Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has as also seen the Father” (John 14:9 NKJV).

He also said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father …” (John 8:19).st look at Jesus with the little children in his arms, blessing them.

Look closely, with a father’s eyes, and a father’s broken heart, shattered soul at Jesus with tears streaming down all his face at the grave of his friend, Lazarus.

Just look at Jesus, washing his disciples’ feet in the Upper Room.

That is what our Father in heaven is like – if we will still let him set the example.

Best Practices, Learning From Our Fathers Example

Philippians 4:8-9 The Message

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Most parents learn the best way to teach their children is by setting an example.

In healthy families, we learn a lot about right and wrong, good and bad, by simply watching our parents, grandparents or older “grandparent” siblings.

Ephesians 6:1-4 The Message

6 1-3 Children, do what your parents tell you. This is only right. “Honor your father and mother” is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely, “so you will live well and have a long life.”

4 Fathers, don’t frustrate your children with no-win scenarios. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.

Do you, Do I, do we, have a strong relationship with our (step) children?

The way we first think about God has much to do with how we were parented—especially by our father.

What image of the Lord are you portraying?

Many men will suffer alone, struggle in their role as dads because their own fathers were either absent—physically or emotionally— or poor examples.

But regardless of what a person experienced in the past, the #1 best thing any parent can do is first look to the Scriptures to imitate God the heavenly Father.

But how do we know who He really is?

We get our best glimpse of what the heavenly Father is like by looking at His Son.

Do we learn, do we see and witness and testify unto the Father’s Authority?

Speaking with the disciples, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me . . . He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:6, 9).

Not only is Christ our path to relationship with God; He is also the way we come to know the Father’s true character.

When we look at Jesus’ life, what do we see?

He was revealed to be merciful, patient, gentle, compassionate, merciful, forgiving, kind, and full of goodness toward all people (Matthew 9:10-13).

He was revealed to be a hard worker and a family provider – Matthew 13:1-9

The Savior healed the sick, provided for needs, and offered forgiveness—regardless of the offense (Matthew 14:14-21; Luke 23:34).

But in love, He didn’t hesitate to discipline or correct others when required.

Hebrews 12:4-11 The Message

4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
    but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
    the child he embraces, he also corrects.

God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off big-time, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

More than a solid education or material possessions, your child’s greatest need is a role model of devotion to God, a steady revealing of their Heavenly Father through prayer, Bible reading, Bible Teaching and by steadfast and holy living.

Matthew 16:17-18 The Message

17-18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.

If you make knowing and following the heavenly Father your first priority, you won’t have to worry about what kind of parent you will be – the child will see it.

It’s our privilege, responsibility as as parents, grandparents, fellow believers to be Godly, to teach Godly, and and live and model, set Godly examples to others.

Paul’s own life must have shown joy and gentleness for him to use himself as an example to follow.

It’s not a matter of just learning what the Bible teaches about such attitudes.

What counts is putting them into practice.

Like Paul, we’ve got to live in such a way that we can say,

“Learn what I teach—by example!”

A disciplined sense of what’s right and disciplined conviction of what’s wrong is a wonderful and necessary “GOD WHO IS OUR FATHER” thing to live into, to teach our children, to our grandchildren the way they should and should not go.

Proverbs 22:6 The Message

6 Point your kids [grandkids – my emphasis] in the right direction—
    when they’re old they won’t be lost.

What kind of “HEAVENLY FATHER” example are we exactly right now?

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

Let us Pray,

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, we come before you today humbled and in awe of Your grace and mercy. Lord, we thank You for the way You have designed what a family is supposed to look like and the specific roles You have ordained to a mother and a father of how to lead their children. Yet Lord, through our sinful ways we have taken what You have made holy and created our own version of today’s families. Because of this, our children are suffering. It is for the fathers, families, and children of our nation that we do pray today. 

Lord, we pray specifically for fathers and fatherhood across our land. Your Word clearly instructs fathers to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). God, we thank You for the men who are leading according to Your statutes and the ones that are laying their lives down for Your purposes. We pray that You will continue to use these men to lead their families and other men. We pray You will strengthen the fathers of our nation and that You will continue to empower churches, organizations, and individuals to invest in fathers and fatherhood for the sake of our children.  

We pray for the single fathers out there; whether they are raising their children alone or even if they are doing the best they can with the time and gifts they have. We pray for strength, protection, wisdom, and discernment to help them through whatever trials they may be facing. Thank You Lord for these men and please guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, help meet all of their needs, that they may experience Your maximum peace that surpasses all of their comprehension. 

We pray for the dads out there who are being alienated from their children right now. We pray, oh Lord, that You would shield and shelter them from the pain and possibly the anger that may be rising up in them, for You to strike down the barriers that are hindering these dads from seeing their children. God, do not let this destroy them as men, fathers, or in their relationship with You. They need You in a mighty way and we pray You would show Yourself strong on behalf of anyone that is being alienated from their children and that You would reunite these families together. 

Lord, we lift up the dads right now that are not stepping up to the plate as fathers, for whatever reason. Once again, we have allowed the evil one to get into our lives and wreak havoc on what You have said is good. We pray for these men to come to their knees and repent, that they would turn from their ways, seek You, and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Father, we pray for their children and the moms who are parenting alone because of these men’s decisions. We pray You would step in as a father to the fatherless and a defender of widows in these situations, that their story would be another testimony that nothing is too hard for You. 

Finally, Father we lift up the men and women that are on the front lines in the battle for fatherhood and the war against fatherlessness. God, You clearly put leaders of all skills, gifts, calibers in positions of influence: from the highest ranks to the least of these. However we know with men these initiatives would fall short, but with You all things are possible. We pray for everything from the right funding for the programs to continue, to godly leadership from beginning to end. We pray for a revival of manhood, for fathers to lead their families by beginning each day on their knees. God Your Word says You will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:6). As our Creator, Savior, and heavenly Father, we believe this will bear eternal fruit- that generational curses will become generational blessings, restoring our families back to the way that You intended. 

We come into agreement as we read and speak this prayer out loud that this is a nation that is desperate not only for our earthly fathers to rise up to the challenge, but more importantly, that they need to follow You, Father, as their ultimate guide and example. It is in the wonderful, precious, matchless name of Jesus Christ we pray.

 

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes, Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Our Courage and Our Compassion to Do the Will Of Him Who Sent Us, To Actually Accomplish All of His Work. John 4:34-38

Where do you find the strength to continue your service to the Father?

Clearly, some things in which we invest our time prove futile. Still, others are worse than futile; they are depleting as well as futile.

However, consciously doing what we do to honor the Father, to follow his will, enables us to experience his empowering presence.

Rather than leaving us depleted, we find new strength and vitality.

Accomplishing the will of God and doing the work he created us to do blesses us as we bless others. That’s why Jesus reprimanded the evil one with the truth that God’s word nourishes more than bread.

So we need to ask ourselves each day, “What do I need to obey? What will help me live in God’s will for my life today?”

Then, as we do that, we too can actively versus passively, rejoice in the nourishing presence and thirst quenching power of heaven.

John 4:34-38 The Message

34-35 Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!

36-38 “The Harvester isn’t waiting. He’s taking his pay, gathering in this grain that’s ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That’s the truth of the saying, ‘This one sows, that one harvests.’ I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Lift Up Your Eyes and Actually Look to Actually See

John 4:34–35 come at the end of Jesus’ conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 and as the disciples come out, she then goes running back into town to talk about who she has met and what he had summarized about her life.

Jesus is having this conversation with the disciples.

They are saying, “Hey, you haven’t eaten.”

He responds, “Oh, I’ve eaten. I have much better food than you’ve eaten. My food is to do the will of him who sent me, to finish his work.”

Basically what sustains Jesus is obeying the Father, accomplishing His will, doing the mission He sent me to do, here in John 4 “to bring living water to a woman who never met or knew me, I had never before met in my life, at a well.”

Then Rabbi Jesus says,

“Open your eyes and look. There’s so much work to do. There are so many people,” the harvest language here, “Who are in need of the grace and mercy and presence of God, the living water that Jesus has come to offer.”

Rabbi, Teacher Jesus says, “This is your food. This is your sustenance. Giving your life, making this living water known to those who are thirsty.”

This Text Wants Us To Spread The Gospel To Others

These Samaritans, they came back to the well with her, they’re ready to hear it.

These verses are a plea for the disciples and us: Open our eyes and actually and authentically look, do not say later, the fields are ripe for harvest and oh, I pray for this perspective maybe one day, maybe some day in the future in my life, in each one of our lives, that we would all have open eyes, that we would realize all around us there are definitely people in definite need of Jesus’ own living water.

There are people in need of salvation in Christ all around us right now today.

We will always be surrounded by people, all of us, in different parts of the world where we live and we work and we carry on with our daily lives, there are people around us who are authentically in need of the grace of Christ, so God, help us to open our eyes, see that they are white for harvest, that they’re ready to hear.

Certainly, not everybody is gonna respond favorably when we share the Gospel but God helps us to believe when we share, many are ready to hear the message, they want to hear God, the Way, the Truth, the Life of God through Christ Jesus.

Rabbi Jesus is saying “the Father in Heaven has already wired their souls to want Him, to need Him, to feed from Him, to drink from Him, to need grace from Him.”

By His courage and compassion Rabbi Jesus, has made that grace authentic, made it available, made it actually drinkable through His death on the cross.

He has made His living water genuine, eternal satisfaction possible, in God.

What of Our 21st Century Courage and Compassion?

Although God has His pulpit in heaven, He also has His “servants” on earth.

It’s clear from Scripture that in the mystery and kindness of His purposes, God has determined to use our feeble voices to enable others to hear His voice.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, our words of witness, our words of testimony about His living Word further His plans and change people’s lives and futures.

The question, then, is this:

Are we (actively versus passively) (authentically versus haphazardly) stepping forward into this privilege, or are we authentically holding back from doing it?

Following His encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus encouraged His disciples to open their eyes and “see that the fields are white for harvest.”

If we, like the disciples, actually look up to see the actual harvest before us, then we too must actually, authentically proclaim the word of Christ, declaring with genuine urgency and joy; “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Our saying this takes authentic courage and genuine confidence in the Gospel.

The gospel message runs completely counter to the prevailing worldviews.

It is the prime “#1 most wanted” enemy of much contemporary thought.

Claims for final truth in Jesus are not simply ignored; they are opposed, they are mocked, they are scorned, giving of the utmost offense and they are destroyed.

Our confidence, however, rests in the fact that the gospel message was given to us by God whose confidence in His Son to accomplish the task was at its utmost.

We did not invent it and by the Word of God we must not modify nor reinvent it.

Instead, look up, to see: “all authority in heaven and on earth” is Christ’s, and He has commanded us to “go … and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19).

While we need confidence in our message, we also need compassion in our tone.

Jesus came as a humble servant.

He rode into town on a lowly donkey and spoke with gentleness and humility.

When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion, because He saw them as sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).

Only by the enabling power of His Holy Spirit, can we ourselves authentically demonstrate the same care, same compassion as we also recall we were once “foolish, disobedient,” “led astray” before Christ sought us out and transformed us (Titus 3:3).

Difficult days and challenging seasons have undeniably created an increased willingness in the hearts of those around us to talk about what weighs them down, what concerns them to the utmost about the brokenness in our world.

These authentically Dangerous and Disconcerting, Uncertain times must move you and me to be ready to seize upon any opportunity to proclaim to our family and friends, and neighbors “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2), 100% confident that the Holy Spirit of God can use our efforts for eternal gain.

What About our 21st Century Patience, Forbearance?

1 Timothy 1:15-20 The Message

15-19 Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.

Deep honor and bright glory
    to the King of All Time—
One God, Immortal, Invisible,
    ever and always. Oh, yes!

I’m passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in.

19-20 There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.

When we hear the words patience and forbearance, we probably think of the virtues that enables us to wait.

That’s truly one way of looking at it, but Spirit-led patience is also much more.

Patience is longsuffering.

It involves more than passive waiting; it is active forbearance.

It is a deliberate willingness to put up with disagreeable things in pursuit of higher goals.

The best example of patience in the Bible is God himself.

A number of times, God is described as being “slow to anger” and “abounding in steadfast Love” (see Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8).

This phrase captures what true patience is.

Patient people do more than just wait.

They actively restrain their rightful anger and frustration.

For a higher purpose, they put up with things that they know are wrong.

This is the attitude our longsuffering God has toward sinful people.

For Paul, the “immense patience” of Jesus meant that God put up with all his wickedness for a long time before showing mercy to him.

Paul calls himself “the worst of sinners,” reflecting back on the time of his life when he persecuted Christians (see Acts 7:54-8:3).

But God waited Paul out, had other plans for Paul (Acts 9:1-31; 13:1-28:31).

That could easily be the testimony and witness of every single believer.

How wonderful that God’s love rests on his own capacity for goodness, and not our own capacity for intolerance, impatience, divisiveness, and utmost hatred!

Be bold. Be loving. Be active. Be prayerful – for only in Jesus can our darkness be turned to light – only in Jesus is there a true fresh start and a whole new future.

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

Let us Pray,

Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Ultimate Source of all good and perfect gifts, Just like we were surrounded in a desert by people and we have water and we would with urgency say, “Our work is to get this water to as many people as possible. God, help us to live that way. Help us to live today, this week, that way. Help us to live our lives with that kind of urgency for the harvest fields around us and God, just like you worked in that Samaritan woman at the well, we pray that you would work in many hearts, many, many hearts through our lives, that you would draw many hearts to know the life, eternal life, satisfaction, rivers of living water that are found in you. God, may many people … Even today, we pray that people today would drink from that water as a result of our lives living with urgency for the spread of your grace. My true God, may it be so we pray. May that be our food today. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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What a Long-Suffering and Gracious and Restorative God we Each Pray To. Hosea 6:1-3

Hosea 6:1-3 shares of Israel’s desire to return from their misery and repent from their sin.

The Israelites didn’t realize the impact and consequences of their sin, but recognized no matter how far they strayed God was the one who would heal and restore them.

Hosea 6:3 says, “Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

In verse 3 the Israelites pressed into acknowledging the Lord.

They had the same assurance that you and I can have; just as the sun appears every morning,

God always does too.

Despite how far and wide you or I have strayed, God will authentically respond to you as you seek Him.

Hosea 6:1-3 New King James Version

A Call to Repentance

6 Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will [a]bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

What A Long-Suffering And Gracious God We Have

God rebuked the people of Israel for their apostasy and idolatry, pronouncing a severe judgement upon them and causing Amos the prophet to mourn that His people were destroyed for lack of knowledge of the God of Israel, while He also is bewailing their marked and severe disinterest in the God of their salvation.

And yet the stark and serious warning broke into a comforting song of hope, that one day God would return, revive and restore His erring nation and pour out His blessings upon them like dew onto a parched desert, or as the spring showers falling over a hot and dry and dusty and thirsty land. (Psalm 63:1-2)

God knows that the disobedient Israel will one day return to His open arms of love, for they are all like a flock of straying sheep without a shepherd and the wounds and pain that have been inflicted due to the centuries of idolatry and apostasy will be over, when they come to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, Savior.

And He will bind up their wounds, mend the broken-hearted, with His soothing ointment and He will anoint their nation with the oil of gladness, when they call on the name of the Lord and recognize their God and Savior – for then they will look upon Him Whom they have pierced – whom they have crucified and buried.

His dealings with Israel is a great comfort to all of God’s children, for we know that despite the times when we also wander away from the Lord; getting swept into worldly ways or adopting a careless attitude, His initial response may well be discipline or chastisement, but He is also long-suffering towards us, even when we stray from His path of righteousness and follow our own foolish ways.

What a long-suffering and gracious God we have – for as He has dealt wisely with us, will continue in that wisdom, in grace, truth toward His erring nation.

So will Deal deal with Christians who have wandered far from His outstretched arms of love and truth or when faith wears thin and life seems too much to bear.

No matter how far any of us have strayed, His long standing promises to the church are as sure and praise-worthy, His promises to Israel. His chastening rod may hurt or wound us, but His promise of grace will truly help and heal.

Prayer for Restoration – Our Daily Prayer Unto God

6 1-3 “Come on, let’s go back to God.
    He hurt us, but he’ll heal us.
He hit us hard,
    but he’ll put us right again.
In a couple of days we’ll feel better.
    By the third day he’ll have made us brand-new,
Alive and on our feet,
    fit to face him.
We’re ready to study God,
    eager for God-knowledge.
As sure as dawn breaks,
    so sure is his daily arrival.
He comes as rain comes,
    as spring rain refreshing the ground.” (Hosea 6, The Message)

The exact moment sin reared its impossibly hideous, ugly head, in the form of a snake, in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3, brokenness likewise entered the scene.

Undoubtedly, we live in a broken world filled to overflowing of broken systems, overwhelmingly stressful situations, and people who could care less about God.

Sin leaves a vast ripple effect that continues year after year, generation after generation. It affects every individual. You cannot walk through life unscathed.

This is no different for Christians as it is for non-Christians. 

Matthew 5:45 says, “…He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Just because we are Christians does not and never will mean we are exempt from trials of all degrees and heartaches of every measure known but to God.

Sometimes with and without awareness, we have chosen a destructive path.

Other times, God makes us dwell in darkness (Lamentations 3:4-6 The Message).

4-6 He turned me into a skeleton
    of skin and bones, then broke the bones.
He hemmed me in, ganged up on me,
    poured on the trouble and hard times.
He locked me up in deep darkness,
    like a corpse nailed inside a coffin.

It’s not uncommon to forget God can still restore us when we are in the muck and the mire of a trial – our situations sometimes cloud our view of all God is. 

I don’t know what you, the reader of this devotion may be facing today, but I want to remind you the truth is God is still in the business of restoring!

He can still restore a broken relationship, shattered marriage, limp bodies, prodigal child, special needs children, tattered hearts, and scrambled minds.

With frustrated man, frustrated women, frustrated humanity, it is impossible to restore such as those, but with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Truth is God does not always restore the things we have in mind the way we have that restoration all acceptably socially, culturally, politically defined.

Instead, God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit restores our peace, joy, hope, and contentment, despite our uncertain situations – regardless of what ways and means our God chooses, He still redeems, repairs, restores, resurrects!

In addition to this, let us please never forget God always has the very final say.

By His Sovereign Will,

By God’s own Authority,

By God’s own Power,

Let it now be our declaration that no matter what threatens our souls,

We have the faith that according to the truths revealed in the Word of God,

When God speaks, Pharaoh relents, the chariots disappear beneath the waves and the storm is compelled to be silent, the seas will part for His Children, the lame are healed, the crippled will walk, the deaf will hear, and the will blind see.

He has the authority over everything because He is the creator of all things. 

If we are going through a tough season, keep pouring your heart out to God.

He is not weary of your tears.

He will not grow weary of your tears.

In fact God will collect your tears and reveal them to you at the suitable time.

Psalm 56:8 The Message

8 You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn
    through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
    each ache written in your book.

He knows the words you cannot seem to utter.

He sees the pain no one else can see.

But also please remember to remind yourself God can still do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ever ask, do, or ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20). 

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

Psalm 56 The Message

56 1-4 Take my side, God—I’m getting kicked around,
    stomped on every day.
Not a day goes by
    but somebody beats me up;
They make it their duty
    to beat me up.
When I get really afraid
    I come to you in trust.
I’m proud to praise God;
    fearless now, I trust in God.
    What can mere mortals do?

5-6 They don’t let up—
    they smear my reputation
    and huddle to plot my collapse.
They gang up,
    sneak together through the alleys
To take me by surprise,
    wait their chance to get me.

7 Pay them back in evil!
    Get angry, God!
    Down with these people!

8 You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn
    through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
    each ache written in your book.

9 If my enemies run away,
    turn tail when I yell at them,
Then I’ll know
    that God is on my side.

10-11 I’m proud to praise God,
    proud to praise God.
Fearless now, I trust in God;
    what can mere mortals do to me?

12-13 God, you did everything you promised,
    and I’m thanking you with all my heart.
You pulled me from the brink of death,
    my feet from the cliff-edge of doom.
Now I stroll at leisure with God
    in the sunlit fields of life.

Creator, Father, I ask You for a fresh vision for what breakthrough will look like in my life. Help me to pursue healing while I wait for my miracle. Show me how to rest right in the middle of the storm. Help me to enjoy the feast You prepare for me, right in the middle of the raging battlefield. I want my whole life to testify that there’s a God in heaven who knows my name and who will get me safely home. Fill me afresh with the wonder of Your long-suffering love and indomitable power. I am so very determined to win this battle with fear and anxiety. Help me to discern when to rest, when to feast, and how to actively engage my faith as I wait for You to breakthrough. May my life display Your power. Do the impossible in and through me, I pray. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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The “I” Problem. Romans 7:14-25

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

Romans 7:13-25 Authorized (King James) Version

13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Every once in a while, you come to a verse or a passage of Scripture that grabs you by the lapels and pushes you back against some wall and will not let you go.

Recently, Romans 7:14 has been that verse for me.

Virtually every commentary and study tool I have used as a reference for the study of this verse has stated that this is the most difficult and controversial passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans to write about and try to interpret.

For this reason, I will devote this entire devotional study exclusively on verse 14.

Hopefully, with some effort I can bring clarity to this text that has mightily challenged myself and students of Scripture down through the centuries.

I have titled this devotional “The ‘I’ Problem,” because as we read this passage, you will note how many times Paul uses the word “I.”

I do not believe there is another passage in the entire Bible with the word “I” used so many times.

In verses 14-25, “I” is used twenty-four times, and when you add in the times Paul uses “me,” “my,” or “myself,” it is another thirteen times.

That comes to a total of thirty-seven times in these short twelve verses that the Apostle Paul refers to himself in this one passage.

That is an awful lot of deliberate attention Paul places upon himself as opposed to his deliberately placing our attention of Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus alone.

We need to try to begin by determining exactly to whom Paul is referring when he uses the first person term “I.”

Is Paul actually speaking of himself as a believer?

Or is he actually referring to his past when he was an unbeliever, prior to his timely, sudden encounter with the Resurrected Lord on the Damascus Road?

In Romans 7:1-13, Paul was describing his life as an unbeliever.

Is Paul still speaking in this manner?

Or is he now speaking of his current state as a believer?

And if he is speaking of himself as a believer, is this referring to himself as a mature believer?

Or to an immature believer?

We need to begin by identifying who Paul is referring to when he says “I” in Romans 7:14.

The answer to this question carries great implications for our own Christian lives.

The Person Identified

14 We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am a creature of the flesh [worldly, self-reliant—carnal and unspiritual], sold into slavery to sin [and serving under its control]. {Amplified}

Paul begins, “For we know that the Law is spiritual” (verse 14).

Paul states that this principle is common knowledge.

It is a truth that is well understood by the believers in Rome.

This is not a new teaching or something they do not yet know.

When Paul refers to the “Law,” he is referring to the moral law of God.

The ceremonial law was fulfilled in the death of Christ.

The civil law was used by the Jews to govern their society in the Promised Land.

The book of Romans was written to the believers in Rome, where Caesar and the Roman Senate were governing the Roman Empire.

Therefore, the civil law was not applicable to the Jews in Rome in Paul’s day.

He is referring to the moral law, he says they already know that it is “spiritual.”

This is to say, the moral law remains useful today for spiritual purposes.

Paul continues, “But I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin” (verse 14).

I believe this is Paul referring to himself as a mature believer.

This is the majority position, not an obscure minority position.

I believe that this designation is important, because you and I as believers should be able to identify with Paul in this statement.

We will examine six reasons why we come to the conclusion Paul is referring to himself as he currently writes this as a mature believer in Jesus Christ.

These reasons are as follows:

1. Notice the Change in Verb Tenses.

First, we must give our attention to the change in verb tenses from the first half of the chapter to the second half.

In verses 1-13, Paul was discussing his pre-conversion state.

All the verbs that Paul used were in the aorist past tense.

This represented his past life before Christ.

In verse 14, there is a noticeable change in verb tense as Paul begins using the present tense “I am.”

In verses 14-25, there are thirty-six verbs that are translated as being Paul’s current experience.

The first of these is in verse 14 in which Paul states, “I am” in the present tense.

In verse 15, he writes in the present tense, “For what I am doing.”

He continues to write in the present tense through the end of chapter seven.

Paul is describing in some detail what he believes is the stark reality of his own current personal experience as he is sitting at table writing the book of Romans.

What Paul tells us about his present deeply personal struggle with sin is the very same personal struggle that you and I face as believers on a daily basis.

This struggle with sin does not mean that we are lost.

Rather, it indicates that the struggle is a confirmation that we are saved.

Before we were converted to Christ, received the Holy Spirit into our heart, we were not struggling so much with sin in our lives, certainly not like we do now.

Prior to knowing Christ, there was only our sin nature taking us down the broad path of a lifestyle of sin.

But now that we Christ Jesus as our Savior, have a new heart and a new nature, we are still constantly and continuously experiencing this internal conflict.

So, the first reason that I believe Paul is writing this as a believer in Christ Jesus is his persistent use of present tense verbs.

2. Love for Scripture and Hatred of Personal Sin

Second, only a believer has a deep love for Scripture and a deep hatred of personal sin.

Paul writes, “I am doing the very thing I hate” (verse 15).

That is not the way that an unbeliever talks, but how a believer does.

Paul affirms that “the Law is good” (verse 16), and he writes, “I practice the very thing I do not want” (verse 19).

Paul has had a change of heart desires.

This change of affections is the result of the new birth.

He now finds himself doing the very things that he does not want to do.

This is the result of being a new man in Christ.

You and I can relate to that.

Then Paul goes on to state, “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man” (verse 22).

That is the way an authentic and genuine believer speaks.

Only a spiritual believer has a deep love for Scripture along with a deep hatred for personal sin.

This will be true in the heart of every believer.

Deep down inside his regenerated soul, the believer is a new person in Christ.

They love the Law and hate the sin that violates the Law.

For the one born of God, His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).

3. Giving Thanks to God for Deliverance

Third, Paul gives highest thanks to God for deliverance from his body of death.

After lamenting over his struggle with sin and crying out, “who will set me free from the body of this death” (verse 24), Paul declares, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 25).

Paul thanks God for providing deliverance through Jesus Christ.

That is clearly the talk of an authentic believer, not the exuberant confession of an unbeliever.

4. An Increasing Awareness of Personal Sin

Paul as a mature believer was growing in an increasing awareness of his sin.

As he grew closer to the Lord, he was drawing closer to the sin-exposing light of God’s holiness.

“God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

As he drew closer to the Light, the Light revealed more imperfections in him.

As he matured as a Christian, he became increasingly sensitive to sin in his own life.

There was an increasing awareness of sin issues in his life of which he was not previously aware – the searchlight of the Law reveals his sin and impurities.

We see this truth in the life of Paul as we try to trace the progression of his own spiritual growth through Scripture.

In 55 A.D., Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians and confided, “I am the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9).

As time moved on, Paul continued to grow and mature in the Lord, as he moved further down the path of sanctification.

Five years later, in 61 A.D., while in his first Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote the book of Ephesians.

At this time, he stated, “I am the least of all saints” (Ephesians 3:8).

This reflects a further heightening personal awareness of the depths of his sin.

First, he was the least of all the apostles.

But then, as he grows and matures in the Lord, he declares that he is the least of all the saints.

Sometime between the years 63-66 A.D., towards the end of his life, Paul writes 1 Timothy.

He says, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:15).

He now says that he is the greatest among all the sinners.

From this declension, we might be tempted to think or believe that Paul is going backwards, “backsliding” in his Christian life, going from bad to very worse.

But in reality, Paul is actually progressing in the right direction.

He is becoming more and more humble.

He is becoming increasingly more aware of the depravity of sin in his life, his need to be in continual repentance, in a continual relationship with His Savior.

By such an intensive process, He does not become sinless, he cannot become sinless but he does grow in spiritual awareness to prayerfully sin much less.

There is a heightened sense of an awareness to his own sin as he is growing in his Christian life.

It does not take him as long to be convicted of his sin as he once did.

He is more ready to confess and repent of it and try harder to avoid sin, and then try , much harder to preach it and teach it to others down the line because he is growing closer to the Lord – and others need to grow closer to the Lord.

We find in Paul is a mature believer who has a heightened awareness of his sin.

We find in Paul a mature believer who is determined, passionate, aware, about the need to teach others who will become those future generations of believers.

5. An Inner War Between His Flesh and The Spirit

There is a fierce war that rages within believers between his flesh and the Spirit.

When we were converted, our war with sin had only just begun.

In Galatians, Paul gave the command for believers, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

“Walk” is a metaphor for our daily conduct as we live our lives.

As we walk through this world, which are landmines of temptations and lures.

This is why Paul instructs believers to “walk by the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit gives believers spiritual direction, power in pursuing holiness.

The Spirit enables believers to resist temptation, to keep their eyes on the Lord.

The Spirit gives believers the power needed to buffet and discipline their body in order to make it their slave.

It is the ministry of the Spirit to bring to the believer’s mind the right Scripture needed in order to walk in holiness before the Lord.

I believe it is clear in Galatians 5:16 that believers still have “the desire of the flesh” within them.

The “flesh” refers to our fallen nature, which we inherited from Adam.

This is the sinful desires within us.

The word “desire” (epithymia) is a strong Greek word which means ‘to long for’ something – to desperately long for something which is forbidden or taboo.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1939/esv/mgnt/0-1/

It can be used in a positive way, as in 1 Timothy 3:1 when Paul writes that it is a good thing for an overseer or elder to “desire” the ministry.

Or this word can be used in a negative way, such as a forbidden longing after sinful things.

When used in this manner, it means to be desperately lusting after that which is forbidden by God.

The flesh within believers of all maturity levels and degrees still sets its deep cravings on those things that are enticing and alluring and deeply tempting.

This results in a war between the flesh and the Spirit within each believer.

The new heart that God has put within the believer in regeneration loves the Lord and His Word.

He wants his life to count for Christ and to be used to expand His kingdom.

But as he lives his life, his flesh still wants attention, holds him back at times.

This is true in each one of us as believers.

Consequently, we ourselves must be and become more aware that our major problem is not outside of us, but securely locked deep inside each one of us.

There are the outside forces of the evil world system and the evil one, Satan.

But even without them, there is still an inward conflict taking place between our flesh and the Spirit, who indwells us.

If we do not walk by the Holy Spirit, we will surely and certainly carry out the sinful desires of our fallen flesh.

“In Opposition to One Another”

Further, we read, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another” (Galatians 5:17).

The “flesh” is that part within us that is still part of our fallen nature.

It is no longer the dominant power it once was within us, but it is still present and has a constant and continuous influence in our lives.

Flesh remains self-centered, self-focused, self-preoccupied, self-flattering, and self-absorbed.

It sets its desire against what the Holy Spirit desires to do in our lives in His work of progressive sanctification.

The good news is that the Spirit is far more powerful than the flesh.

This internal, civil war will be fought throughout the duration of our Christian lives, it will not be without much internal opposition.

There exists an ongoing collision within us between the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit.

No Christian is exempt from this battle.

Paul says, the flesh and the Spirit are “in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (verse 17).  

“Opposition” (antikeimai) means ‘to oppose, to be adverse to, to withstand.’

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g480/esv/mgnt/0-1/

In this verse 17, “you” refers to believers, and “things” refers to the desires of the flesh.

There is within our flesh the desire to be pleased by sin.

As a result, no believer is simply coasting into glory without any internal conflict with sin.

There is an ongoing fight for holiness, purity, and godliness that we must undertake every single day of our life.

The lusts of the flesh never takes a day off.

It never goes on vacation.

It is always with us as long as we live on this earth.

Although we have been delivered from the dominating power of sin, does not mean we have been delivered from the indwelling presence of sin in our lives.

“Lay Aside the Old Self”

Paul writes in Ephesians, “You lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit” (Ephesians 4:22).

To “lay aside” is the idea of taking off dirty clothes.

Just as every day we take off the dirty clothes we slept in and put on clean clothes, the believer must do the same in his spiritual life.

The “old self” is your fallen nature, your sinful flesh.

Paul uses a present tense verb when he says your old self “is being corrupted.”

“Corrupted” (phtheiro) means ‘to become defiled.’

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5351/esv/mgnt/0-1/

There is still a defiling effect that is taking place inside the believer.

We have to take off the old self and disrobe the sin by confessing it, repenting of it, and resisting its temptation.

The pithy saying, “Let go and let God” is a lie that is not taught in the Bible.

It is a passivist’s approach to the internal warfare that we experience.

“Lusts of deceit” means that our flesh is lying to us.

It says we can sin without any consequences or ramifications.

That is a clear and obvious contradiction of reality.

The desires of our flesh will cause us to choose sin versus pursuing holiness.

We should never choose sin, because it is harmful for our spiritual life.

Yet we are continually being enticed by our flesh and its lustful deceit.

Tragically, there are times that we cave in to such temptations.

All of this is to say, there is a fierce war going on inside every Christian.

If there is not a war going on within you between your flesh and the Spirit, you are not a Christian.

Inside the one born of God, the flesh is lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit is continually, unavoidably setting its desires against the flesh.

They are in fierce opposition to one another.

When we see Paul refer to the war between the flesh and the Spirit in Romans 7, we can better understand in the much broader scope of the length and breadth of Scripture, this war absolutely does take place within every Christian’s soul.      

6. True Believers Still Sin, Can Commit Gross Sins

The final reason why I believe this refers to Paul as a believer is that it must be acknowledged and clearly and firmly recognized that true believers still sin.

In fact, they can even commit gross sins.

There are no lack of examples in the Scripture of this truth.

Abraham lied about his own wife, saying she was his sister, so that he could protect himself.

Moses killed someone and tried to bury the evidence.

Samson was an adulterer.

David was an adulterer and actually conspired murder to hide his sin.

Solomon was a polygamist and serial adulterer.

Jonah was filled with racial prejudice.

He wildly pouted when Nineveh repented because he did not want them in the kingdom of God.

Peter denied the Lord three times.

Ananias and Sapphira lied in church.

The Corinthians pushed the limits of how carnal a believer could possibly be and still be a Christian.

What Paul struggled with as a believer in Romans 7 clearly matches up with these examples in Scripture.

In Psalms 32 and 51, David confessed his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband that he arranged.

In his overwhelming lust, in his royal covetousness, in that sin, David gazed down, in his power, on Bathsheba from his palace roof as she was bathing.

He then had her brought to him in his palace and committed adultery with her.

Once it was discovered that she was pregnant, David in his panic, he had her husband deliberately moved to the front lines of the war to be killed, so that he could then bring her into his palace without any questions about the baby.

This is as disturbing and shocking as sin can be.

With all this considered, I believe that Paul is describing himself as a mature believer, who is wrestling with sin and fighting for purity.

Paul is not casually giving in to sin in his life.

Rather, he is resisting temptation as he finds himself doing the things he does not want to do.

All of the reasons previously mentioned point to the fact that when Paul writes Romans 7:14, he is describing his current state as a mature believer in Christ.

The internal, intensely personal struggles that Paul had with sin as a believer are the very same struggles that you and I face as we seek to walk in the Spirit.

Praise God we all have a Savior who is intensely familiar with such a struggle.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 51 The Message

51 1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace!
    Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
    soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been;
    my sins are staring me down.

4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
    it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
    whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
    in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
    Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
    scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
    set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
    give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
    or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
    put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
    so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
    and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
    I’ll let loose with your praise.

16-17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
    a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
    when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
    don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,
    repair Jerusalem’s broken-down walls.
Then you’ll get real worship from us,
    acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
    they can heave onto your altar!

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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How Well Are We Dealing With Indwelling Sin? Romans 7:14-16

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

Romans 7:14-16 The Message

14-16 I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I cannot be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes all too obvious that God’s command is necessary.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Okay … We Never Like To Admit We Are Sinners

OK…so we don’t like to admit it.

Still, we must.

We are all born sinners.

We’re sons of Adam and daughters of Eve (CS Lewis, Narnia Chronicles).

No one needs to teach any single one of us how to be selfish, to put what we want ahead of what others (and even God) may want – we all have our PhD’s.

Born from our mother’s womb with an immediate need to independently insist on satisfying what we want (our first milk) apart from the word and will of God.

We do not know better, we have no awareness of anything outside of ourselves.

It’s what our first parents Adam and Eve did in Genesis 3; it’s what every human being, save Only One – Jesus, has done in his/her walking days on planet earth.

When we do, inevitably tough stuff happens.

Self-inflicted tough stuff.

Self-inflicted impossibly tough stuff.

All kinds of rough and tough stuff which diminishes us and often hurts others.

Self-centered lust conceives sin, and sin birthed ends in death (James 1:13-15).

13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer. (The Message)

The good God intended in our lives inevitably fails to happen; and the bad God knows it is best to avoid, inevitably, uncontrollably, raises and takes its place.

Without Jesus’ propitiation for it, His redemption of us from it, His resurrection power to defeat it, His Spirit’s power to replace it with righteousness, we simply automatically default back into it.

Dr. Tony Evans describes older automobiles that required power-steering fluid to enable steering a car virtually effortlessly.

[But] “when your power steering fluid got low, you’d have to force the wheel to turn…to pull and tug. The pull of the wheel back to center was so strong that without power steering, when you’d take your hands off the wheel, it would snap back to neutral position”

Paul calls it sin centered, or which “dwells” in, my flesh.

Without redemption and the Holy Spirit’s power, our flesh steers us back into our sinful living, into doing what we hate.

Too much tough stuff, impossibly rough stuff, for which we all need God’s help.

Now, Our Challenges Dealing With Indwelling Sin

Colossians 3:3-8 The Message

3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

If becoming a Christian meant we no longer sinned, Paul would have been wasting ink when he wrote, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.”

It is more than a little possible to embrace a form of externalism that makes us look really good to people on the outside when really we know that what the Bible says is true: that while we are saved children of God, we are also sinners.

How is it, then, that sin continues to wreak havoc?

It is because while we are indeed in Christ, who liberates us from the bondage of sin, we are still very much, unavoidably so) locked deep into, within, our flesh.

That’s the problem:

we each still experience “the desires of the flesh” that “are against the Spirit … for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17).

We are justified in Christ; all of the guilt that attaches to our lives is dealt with in our Savior Jesus.

We have died to sin in Christ so that it no longer has a tyrannical rule in our lives.

But although sin no longer reigns, it still remains and rages.

It no longer defines us, but it still clings to us like our skin does.

We therefore need to learn how to admit to ourselves, to learn to not to ever underestimate the presence and the catastrophically nature, the seriousness of sin; instead, we must be disciplined to watch out for its subtleties, insinuations.

To fight the good fight against sin, we must come, through our reading, studies, praying through the Word of God, to understand its addictive, enslaving power.

As the saying goes,

“Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.”

Sin, then, must be attacked at the point of entry before it takes root within our hearts.

The only way to tackle sin is recognize we need to kill it, without compromise, so as to prevent all future damage, seen or unseen.

We will only be able to overcome sin when we are authentically motivated to “turn our eyes to Jesus, look into His face” and take strong measures against it.

Yet we will still sin, we will still make a serious mistake if we think we are the ones who can overcome sin’s indwelling power.

Since Christ “is our life,” our battle against sin is not to be faced in our own strength but in God’s mighty power; and since Christ “is your life,” your battle against sin is not a battle for salvation, for He has already secured that for you.

So now we need to commit to putting our sin to death, and we need to ask the Holy Spirit to overwhelm us with His wonderful love and fullness so as to create within us the deeper desire to do that which God’s word calls us to do: to seek out, find, and kill off all that “is earthly in you.”

Rethinking Sin

Romans 7:21-25 The Message

21-23 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

24 I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Many, if not actually all of us will still tend to think of sin in all -or- nothing terms: we either are sinners, or we are not.

Our problem is that while God does change us, we still carry that lifelong tug toward temptation around our waists and our ankles like a prison ball, chain.

Even the most experienced Christians are still tempted every single day to covet and lust and dishonor God and others—and lots more – which is kept private.

So what’s missing?

The 12 step recovery movement helps us in looking at this struggle.

Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step recovery groups have helped millions of people come to terms with addictions that won’t go away.

The idea is simple: while addicts won’t ever be completely done with their addictions in this life, they can still choose to work to become free from it.

From a Christian perspective, addicts learn to let God lead them into a new life so they are no longer at the mercy of their addiction.

A recovering alcoholic will say that while they are still an alcoholic, they have not had a drink in a decade, they still introduce themselves, admit to being an alcoholic, but a much healthier one – a “more aware alcoholic,” one might say.

What if we decidedly looked at the stories of sinners in the Bible that way?

What if the sins of David and other believers were somehow part of a process of God allowing us to hit bottom, finally turn to his almighty power to be set free?

What if we reframed our thinking, viewed the Christian community as, say a network of small to medium sized fellowship “sinners anonymous” groups?

How would such “bible study, prayer meeting fellowships” change our thinking and our daily approach to our dealing with the scourge called “indwelling sin?”

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

Let us Pray,

Lord, though we often pretend we can master our sin struggles, we really need to be mastered by you. Surprise us into a deeper mercy than we might expect. My Heavenly Father, keep me ever mindful of the truth that there is an internal war with sin that is seeking to wound me, draw me back into my former fleshly ways. Thanks be to God, Who delivers me from this inner conflict, through Jesus Christ my Lord, my Savior.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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How Can We Use All Our Creative Talents to Thank and Glorify God? Psalm 116:12-19

When in our music God is glorified,
And adoration leaves no room for pride,
It is as though the whole creation cried:
Alleluia!

How often, making music, we have found
A new dimension in the world of sound,
As worship moved us to a more profound
Alleluia!

So has the Church, in liturgy and song,
In faith and love, through centuries of wrong,
Borne witness to the truth in every tongue:
Alleluia!

And did not Jesus sing a Psalm that night
When utmost evil strove against the light?
Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight:
Alleluia!

Psalm 116:12-19 The Message

12-19 What can I give back to God
    for the blessings he’s poured out on me?
I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God!
    I’ll pray in the name of God;
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
    and I’ll do it together with his people.
When they arrive at the gates of death,
    God welcomes those who love him.
Oh, God, here I am, your servant,
    your faithful servant: set me free for your service!
I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice
    and pray in the name of God.
I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,
    and I’ll do it in company with his people,
In the place of worship, in God’s house,
    in Jerusalem, God’s city.
Hallelujah!

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

What Shall I Render Unto the Lord?

The Psalmist expresses the depths of his love for the Lord because God hears and God answers unto His children when they call to Him.

In this Psalm, his song of deepest praise, the Psalmist recalls the many troubles and sorrows he has already encountered, then unleashes upon all his readership exactly how gracious and exactly how compassionate the Lord has been to him.

The Lord heard his cry for help, the Lord rescued him from death and despair.

And as the Psalmist remembers the merciful kindness and patient grace of the Lord towards him, he cries out,

“How can I repay the LORD for all the good He has done for me?

What can I give to the LORD for all he has done for me?

What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?”

The Psalmist knows there is so much he wants to do to say “Thank You, God!”

Yet also within this psalm, the Psalmist knew, as we do, that there is nothing that we can do to exactly repay the Lord for all His grace and love towards us.

There is no amount of payment or reward that we can offer to God that could possibly pay Him back for the miraculous, wonderful things He has done for us.

There is nothing we can do, but we can surely offer Him our sacrifice of praise.

We can pour out our whole heart of gratitude to Him for our great salvation.

We can tell others, we can shout and sing to others of the wonders of His grace and mercy, and we can render unto God our hearts, to seek to do His will with a willing and obedient heart that is overflowing with love for our gracious Savior.

Oh! I wish I could influence God, but God is never influenced by man’s foolish attempts to repay Him for what He has freely given as an eternal gift of grace.

There is nothing we can do to repay the Lord for all His goodness and loving-kindness He has shown towards us, but we can live a life that is pleasing to Him by trusting His Word and seeking in all that we say and do to live a godly life.

We can render unto God our gifts and our talents, to walk in spirit and truth, submitted to the guidance and the leading of the Holy Spirit, and letting the love of Christ shine through us in thought and deed, to the glory of the Father.

We Can Use All Our Creative Talents to Glorify God

Psalm 138:4-6 The Message

4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God,
    all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.”
They’ll sing of what you’ve done:
    “How great the glory of God!”
And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below;
    no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

It is written in the very first line of the Bible: “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1, emphasis added).

Creativity begins with God.

He had a plan and had a good design for the cosmos and spoke it into being.

We have a written account of how creation came to be, and how the very first people were made by God. God spoke, made, and revealed it all through the written word – He was behind the entire creative order that we see around us.

When we look at the intricacy of a snowflake or a leaf or a spider web, the symmetry of a butterfly, or the perfect location of the earth’s position in the rest of the solar system, we witness to all the handiwork of our Creator God.

He also planned that we would be made in His image (Genesis 1:26), so it is no surprise that we get to experience the wonder and joy of creativity ourselves.

With all of the wonders and miracles of this creative potential surrounding us every single day we live, how can we use our creative talents to glorify God?

Give All the Glory to God Alone

Whatever we do, we are to do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

That includes our creative endeavors.

As the apostle Paul shared,

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).

In Colossians 1:16 it says: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

It is through Jesus that everything has been made and it is all for Him (John 1:3).

God made the universe through His Son (Hebrews 1:2) and it is by faith that “we understand the universe was formed at God’s own spoken command, so what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

It’s right, it’s good, it is an abundantly authentically joyful thing, to always give all of the glory to the only One who made it all, for whom it is all for.

It also fulfills the command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Luke 10:27).

What we create should not ever be worshiped, nor should we glorify ourselves or others in ours or theirs creative pursuits.

That does not mean that we do not enjoy or appreciate what we create, what they create but we remember to keep our love, affections in their rightful place.

Participate in God’s Masterpiece

We have the immense privilege of joining with God in His creative purposes for the world.

It was God’s wonderful idea to create people and to get the first man to name the livestock, the birds and the wild animals (Genesis 2:20).

God “brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19).

This was God’s idea to involve us, not an idea of our own making.

God made the first woman as a helper, creating her from the rib of the man, and he named her too (Genesis 2:21-23).

They would work together in the world.

God invites us to participate in His grand design on earth, and invites us into actively participating in mission and ministry for His own kingdom purposes.

We are made in His image and formed by Him, God has a plan and a purpose, establishing our steps (Proverbs 16:9).

We can use our creative talents for good or for ill, but as we look to Jesus, our desires will become more and more like His.

Using our gifts of creativity enables each of us to singularly, uniquely, express a critically important part of who God has designed us all to be (Psalm 139:13-16).

That will definitely look different for each person, as we are all individuals with unique gifts, talents and abilities, yet we are, each and every single one of us, all “fearfully and wonderfully made” shaped, by Him in His Image (Psalm 139:14).

Love Others with Our Creativity

It is important to remember the first two commandments as we create: love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Loving the Lord always comes first.

We need to spend time with Him regularly; it is vital to build and nurture a relationship with our Heavenly Father.

As we do this, it will transform our longings, desires to love and serve others. 

God loves the people whom He created, and He designed us to be in community together.

As we create to the glory of God and out of love for Him, it will spill over into how we use our gifts, talents, time and creative resources for edifying others.

This might look like caring for those in need, volunteering our skills, designing something to the best of our ability with utmost integrity, photographing or painting beautiful landscapes to show God’s work on display, so much more.

There are endless opportunities to be creative.

The people in our homes, communities and the wider world can be unbelievably and miraculously blessed, truly uplifted, inspired by our God-given creativity.

Manage Our Creative Talents Well

We are to steward what God has given us and remember that all good gifts come from Him (James 1:17).

Even as we are diligent and disciplined with our time, resources and creative talents, we can continue to learn and develop and mature in our creativity.

As we look to Him who is the giver and provider of all we need, we worship Him alone, rather than anything that we create.

Throughout the Bible, there are examples of humans using their gifts and abilities to create things to worship other than God.

We saw it when the Israelites created a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32) and in the construction of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-4).

In both cases, they made a god or a name for themselves, demonstrating the skill, but also the deep-rooted malignant pride too characteristic of mankind.

Even idolizing people made in the image of God lends itself to the worship of the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

There is risk and temptation to pursue and follow created things and step into idolatry, rather than to the single minded single directed worship of our God.

Therefore, we must bring our creativity before the Lord, knowing it is Him that we are serving, and we should use our gifts and talents respectfully and wisely.

Embrace the Skills Given to Us

God gives skills to different people.

We are all given certain abilities, even if it may take us a little while to discover or develop what they are.

In the building of the Tabernacle, there were many who had different skills given to them by God which would be used to complete it:

“All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded” (Exodus 35:10).

It is a beautiful picture of some of God’s people who were “willing and whose heart moved them” and brought materials and offerings to God for this work (Exodus 35:21-22).

Men and women all participated together, and there was a fervent willingness, highly developed skill involved to make what God had commanded come to be.

Are we also willing to offer our skills in whatever way is needed for God’s glory and purpose?

God Equips Those Who He Calls

God also equips those whom He calls to a specific task.

In the building of the Tabernacle, the Lord chose Bezalel of the tribe of Judah, and filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all kinds of skills, to make artistic designs (Exodus:35:30-34).

He also equipped him and Oholiab of the tribe of Dan to be able to teach others. God is the one who fills us with the skills for the tasks that He has called us to.

The creative process means walking through trials and frustrations at times, but can also develop our perseverance and character.

God can use our creativity to shape and transform us into the likeness of Jesus as we seek to use our creative talents for His glory.

He is interested in our hearts.

As we create, we can ask Jesus to help us honor Him in our pursuits.

We can use our gifts and talents and our creativity to build up believers, spread the good news to those who do not know Jesus, support those in need, and use it as a way to provide an income for our families and programs of our churches.

As we surrender, yield to God, continually thinking “not my will but yours be done,” He takes our creative offering, transform it for His glory and purposes.

God saw the two loaves and five fish, and He was the One who filled the crowd.

Give Him your imagination, your creative talents, your need to express your gratitude, no matter how big or small, let Him deeply satisfy your every need.

As pastor and theologian Reverend Dr. John Piper said:

“God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.”

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

Let us Pray,

My dear loving Heavenly Father, I just want to thank You for loving me so much that You sent Your Son to die for me so that I might live with You forever. Thank You, Father, for the innumerable ways that You demonstrate Your love, protection, and provision toward me. I pray that I may have an attitude of gratitude toward You in all I say and do so that You are praised and glorified in my life. Remember all those artists, inspire their diverse creative gifts, those whom you have placed among us, for are they not, O Lord, the fellows of your inspiration? Do they not, Lord God, bring to your people great proof of your divinity and our part in it? In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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