Tuesday, January 30, 2018

PSALM 103 VERSE 3 - "TO HEAL AND FORGIVE"

"Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:3)
Iniquities are basically the worst type of offense against the Lord our God. It goes like this: Sin -> Transgressions -> Iniquities. Let us examine the man whom God used to write this Psalm himself – King David. When he first saw Uriah the Hittite’s wife, it was not while he was absent-mindedly walking on the roof.  Uriah was one of the elite 37, called “David’s Mighty Men”.  His beautiful wife, Bathsheba had to have been known by everyone in the palace and societal circles. 

Later on, when the Bible says that “in the Spring when Kings went off to war”…David stayed behind, sin had already formed in his mind. He had allowed the lustful thoughts about Bathsheba to form a nest in his hair and instead of taking it captive, rebuking the temptation and turning from it, he doubled down on his “missing the mark” (the definition of sin).

Then David took his sin a little further into an action plan. He did the recon on the rooftop, saw what he saw and sent for her. He was the king and she obviously has some culpability in this. This is transgression. He had not done anything yet, and could still back out of complete rebellion against God. If anyone of us ever gets that far into sin, to the second tier of rebellion – turning around and fleeing immorality is still the best option. However, David went over the cliff. On purpose, he willingly disregarded God, Whose Holy Spirit lived in David so he could write Scripture and then not just committed adultery but murder to cover up what he did. This last stage of sin is iniquity. 

It is not just King David who has gone as far in open rebellion against God to commit iniquity. All manner of Christians has done either one of these three levels of sin or all three at once. God has, is now and will continue to forgive even the worst violation of His Law and Commandments.  Everyone from pastor to well-known TV evangelists to politicians and regular folk has done it. Most of us never go as far as King David or some three-times divorced fancy pants preacher…. or you name them. Most people just do the everyday sins of losing tempers, swearing or not following through on promises to the Lord.  Sins can also include things like not making proper uses of time, resources and spiritual gifts.  We are all guilty in some way of one or the other of these. The amazing thing is God still loves us, even if the conduct of the sinner stinks to the high heavens! 

This is the kind of sin which God forgives – the foulest and worse. Even the little sins we commit, after being saved, are not kosher with the Lord. He forgives….but there is a caveat here.  We must first stop sinning. Then we must turn away from all the stumbling blocks which have temporarily broken our wonderful fellowship with God. Then, we must repent. Seriously repent and ask forgiveness. Now, we cannot keep committing the same sin and doing what Paul said “should we keep sinning that Grace may abound? May it never be” (Romans 6:1-2)

Here are the kinds of prayers of repentance, as a guide. We must add our own specific circumstance, or where we are in at the time, for which we need forgiveness. From Psalm 51:
9   Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners will be converted to You.

God not only forgives the vilest of sins, but He heals diseases. Even diseases caused by sin – from alcoholism to sexual – can be healed by the Almighty.  Not all disease is caused by sin or circumstances of birth. Remember the incident in the Bible here: "And His (Jesus) disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" John 9:2.

The human body is exceedingly frail in the grand scheme of things, due to the Fall of Man in Genesis chapter 3, but it is also created with certain immune mechanisms to fight off all kinds of plagues and diseases.  Christians were the first to bring hygiene, healthful living and hospitals to the world…and especially the uncivilized world, hundreds of years ago. Conditions for life – air/water and other essential entities- have improved from the Dark  Ages where plaques and other widespread diseases killed millions and millions. But in spite of the best medical technology and advances in medicine in the 21st century, a vast amount of sicknesses still cannot be defeated.

There is still no cure for the common cold or cancer. But there is God. He Who made us and knows every hair on our heads, and every cell He created. He knows how everything works better than 100 teams of doctors at John Hopkins.  He can heal. He heals when He wishes and He does from time to time when we pray and ask.  

Sometimes, He does not heal because there is a lesson to be learned from the ensuing trial and test of our perseverance. Sometimes He does not heal because it is time for the person to leave this earth. But He heals and He touches so many in a miraculous way.  I have seen people healed from lumps in the chest. I have a friend who was healed from Stage 3 colon cancer because the man of God praying about it. I was there when that happened to listen to him pray…and on and on. Our God reigns and our God heals! Bless His Holy Name! 
Amen.



Monday, January 29, 2018

PSALM 103 VERSE 2 - "BENEFITS OF THE BELIEVER"

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Psalm 103:2)
Webster's Dictionary defines the word "benefit" as "something that produces good or helpful results or effects or that promotes well-being". It is also described as "an act of kindness". This basically describes the Grace of Almighty God to a bunch of people who deserves the opposite of acts of kindness and goodness. But this is Who He is.

Just as we glorify our Father in Heaven for Who He is (verse 1), we bless and should be absolutely grateful for ALL He has done for us. There are so many benefits of being a child of God, it comes down to a question of "where do I begin"?! 

First and most importantly, we look at the Eternal Benefits of being a born-again, saved, being-sanctified in the Lord son or daughter of the King- the Lord Jesus Christ:
ETERNAL BENEFITS:
- Jesus saves us from Hell. Yes, He does. Salvation, however, is more than just eternal "fire insurance". It is the fruit of the Gospel manifested in the believer. Salvation is the main opening bell....to the greatest and best life a person could ever dream of having. At the point of conversion, we are immediately transferred from the kingdom of darkness, death, and the devil, to ALL of Eternity Past, Present, and Future. 

In Eternity Past, the Holy Spirit, Who takes up permanent 100% residence in us testifies to the Veracity of the Scripture. The Oracles of God are recorded in the Bible and while we see archaeology proving the Bible almost daily, Holy Spirit confirms the accounts of the Old Testament, from Creation to the Book of the Revelation. Biblical historians like Josephus, Eusebius as well as others confirm the rest. How much we avail ourselves of these eternal truths actually depends on us and our willingness to study the Bible, fast and pray.

In Eternity Present, we should be aware that everything we do has consequences. Our Faith in Jesus Christ should spur us to not just good works in the community and to our family and friends, but Faith requires us to share the Gospel with those whom we know, are lost. We take nothing from this life to the next, except another person, if we lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Eternity Future is first, the 1000 year Reign with Christ, right here on the Earth and secondly, at the end of that Age, the Eternal Kingdom forever, with the Lord.

TEMPORAL (In This Life) BENEFITS:
-  Blessed Assurance that not only Jesus is yours and mine, but we are the only ones with the sure Hope of an after-life free of Judgment which casts us away from Holy God. 

-  This Assurance of heaven brings peace, joy, contentment and if we live with the knowledge of our inheritance in Christ, we can have the life which Christ intends us to have. This is available right now, in this present life.

-  The fruits of the Spirit are for us to enjoy NOW. They are, as listed in Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness". How we love our spouses, children and our fellow man bring so much joy. This joy leads to peace and contentment in our hearts if we are patient and kind. This Christian attitude then shows the goodness and faithfulness of God, which if applied with the sharing of the Gospel, has the potential to lead many to Jesus Christ and Salvation!

-  One of the main benefits of living in the Life and Authority of Christ is the ability to persevere. Life is never meant to be easy and many are the tears, pains, and fears of the believer. Most Christians worldwide live in massive poverty due to persecution by those under atheist and other religions of those countries.  It is in these times of persecution and trial that the Lord brings the true hope of Christ which sees them through the end.  Christians everywhere, get cancer, lose children, lose jobs and get in horrible tragedies like everyone else. The main difference in this life is the Christian is prepared for Eternity if he or she is truly born-again and following Jesus Christ as Lord.

These are just some of the primary benefits of the believer. Those who are wise, will rise and thank God for every single one of those mentioned above. The gratitude we exhibit should not only be evident in our lifestyle but in our personal relationship with Almighty God. A daily consistent attitude of gratitude, humility and more should lead us to bless His Holy Name, at all times, since He has given so much to us. Amen.


Sunday, January 28, 2018

PSALM 103 VERSE 1 - "MORE THAN 10000 REASONS"

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy Name! (Psalm 103:1)
We know from the Westminster Confession of our Faith that the  "Chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever". This definition of one of our primary charges as Christians comes out of these two following verses:

1 Corinthians 10:31.Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory.
Romans 11:36. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. 

The Puritans were some of the greatest Christian thinkers who ever lived and their writings and exhortations set a standard for understanding the Bible which few in the public arena attain to, in these final days. One of them was Thomas Watson who wrote about what "glorifying God" really means. Watson writes "To glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts, and, to have a venerable esteem of him. Psalm 92:8. "Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore." Psalm 97:9, "Thou art exalted far above all gods." There is in God all that may draw forth both wonder and delight; there is a constellation of all beauties; he is prima causa [the first cause], the original and spring-head of being, who sheds a glory upon the creature."

The same God we are meant to, should be and will continue to Glorify, as described by Watson, is the same God we must "Bless"!  You and I glorify that which we admire, adore, admit to worshiping and are full of affection towards. We do so because the object of this amazing love is WORTHY...and more of this adoration. Such an intense and emotional love ought to be first and foremost dedicated to the only and God - Yahweh - Who art in Heaven.

We glorify and BLESS, praise, thank, give our best to the Lord in spirit and in truth.  We do so not half-heartedly but with every fiber of our spiritual and physical being. The greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and soul. That means every fiber of our being, every level of the multi-floor building which is our humanity, has to be in sync with the Great God of the Universe. Our redeemed spirit and the Holy Spirit should be so integrated in sanctification that would inner-self sings out His praises!

Everything inside of us; everything around us; everything we say and believe we are should not run off on our own. Instead, the essence of who we are have to understand the God of the Bible, His many wonderful Attributes, should speak of God, with absolutely no daylight between us. It should be said of us, when whenever we encounter someone and depart after speaking with them, that it can be said of us that "we have been with Jesus". This has to be our waking song and the praise from our souls, all day long. Amen



Saturday, January 27, 2018

THE ALL-PROTECTIVE GOD - PSALM 139: 23-24

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." (Psalm 139:23-24)
Many of us have had encounters with angelic beings. There are accounts of what has happened on many mission fields or people in dangerous places or situations who are suddenly protected and cleared through those same situations.

Elisha saw the Chariots of fire. My wife spoke to a woman in line at an AMC Theater one time who knew more about us than any human being. Then the angel disappeared. I was about to slide down an icy small hill, where I parked at the top, on a cold snowy morning, when all of a sudden my little Taurus was shot directly into my parking spot a few feet away. The parking was perfectly straight with equal space on both sides! I sat there smiling knowing exactly what had happened and thanking the good Lord. "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them (Psalm 34:7)


Why are we even discussing this about Angels? Here is why - our positional salvation. When we are placed into the Eternal Kingdom of God - all of it. We are grafted into the Family of God, from Eternity past and into the Future. This includes every heavenly being. We all have our role in our Heavenly Father's Kingdom. However, as saved human beings, we baffle even the angels, in that we can literally appeal directly to the Throne of God, and He hears us.


It is unbelievable the kind of access we have to the very Throne of God. This access represents just some of the Fruit of acknowledging, fearing, knowing and revering the All-Knowing, All-Present, All-Perceiving and All-Powerful God. We have studied all four of these attributes earlier in Psalm 139. However KNOWING these truths about God and not doing our part to stay in the zone He presets for us, is NOT the mark of a good Christian. There is a reason Psalm 139 ends up with these two critical verses (verses 23 and 24).

Scripture explicitly compels us to examine ourselves daily (sometimes many times a day) to see not if we are saved, but if we are acting like one who IS saved. Therefore in order find ourselves in full alignment with the God Who is all we have described in this Psalm, we MUST constantly maintain every aspect and facet of our daily walk.  This world is so unforgiving. We can do a great job or do the right thing 99.9% of the time, but one lapse in judgment or a decimal point left out on a total by accident, can call all 


But our positional salvation in Christ – permanent and sure – gives us the hope and reassurance that we can now proceed to grow in Him, according to His Will and purposes. We can rest assured that even when we sin and fall short, the Lord is faithful to forgive and remove our sins from us, as far as the east is from the west. It is absolutely critical we use these 


To comprehend what these verses mean, we must have a fixed point of reference of God’s stated Will for our lives? Most people are still looking for that statement or “revelation”. Romans 12:2 tells us exactly what it is, right here “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."


This much is true – if we stay in the Will of God, He SHALL work His way through us and lead us where we are supposed to BE. For this to function in the form which God designed for us, there must be obedience and obedience comes from one place – a mind found in Christ.


For our minds to be found in Christ, there has to be maintenance. The Apostle Paul tells to “work out our salvation”. He did not say “work FOR it”. Working out one’s salvation literally means  the process of Sanctification. We are saved once and justified – made right – because of repentance and faith and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord. This is just the beginning of our walk in Christ. 

Now these final verses of Psalm 139 are active and ongoing, just as our daily walk with the Savior should be. In fact, these two verses should be used by us to take stock of ourselves, with the long view of holding ourselves accountable before God. So, let us look at what the verses teaches:
Search me and know my heart: Jeremiah 17:10 tells us that God does the following: "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds." So we know He has the capability to get to the root of the matter, since He is our Creator and knows every single thing about us.  We also know that every human heart...EVERY human who ever lived except the God-Man Jesus Christ, is exceedingly corrupt, sinful, lustful, greedy and all that bad stuff (Jeremiah 17:9). Even when the Lord causes us to be born again and gives us a new heart, we need to check our selves before we wreck ourselves by more sin!. The way to fixing our sin problem, in the process of becoming MORE like Christ as one who is born again is to constantly ask the Lord to search with the strongest searchlight, every hidden part of our heart, mind and soul to discover where we need Him to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.


Try me and know my anxious thoughts: King David, the human author of Psalm 139 writes to his son in 1 Chronicles 28:9 the following "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever." We know that because Solomon developed such a lust for female companionship of all varieties and pagan nation, he had over 1000 women in his royal household/harem and rejected the Law of the Lord by his actions, for most of his life. The Lord allowed Solomon to do this until he repented and came to his senses and proceeded to write the Book of Ecclesiastes as a warning, as much as anything else. We must know this about God, unless we do as Scripture tells us and take every thought captive by not allowing them into our system in the first place, we are already on the path to major sin, if allowed unchecked. Here is what we should be doing after the Lord reveals our thoughts or if we get side-swiped and blindsided by evil thoughts from the devil...from 2 Corinthians 10:5, we read: "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

- See if there is any anxious way....lead me in the everlasting way: We must realize that God is for us. In fact Jesus Himself intercedes, prays for and comes to the Throne of the Father on our behalf if we ask in His Name. Romans 8:27b tells us "He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." We do NOT want to be disqualified by service to the Lord or even worse. So we examine ourselves each day to keep short accounts with God by confessing our moral shortcomings immediately and then trying our best to NOT do them again (2 Corinthians 13:5).

God has offered us life and life more abundantly. He sets before us life OR death. He sets before us blessings or curse. He wants us to CHOOSE LIFE that both us and our descendants might life (Deuteronomy 30:19). The everlasting and eternal way that God has been leading us throughout our entire Christian walk is found in this Life. Choose Life is not just a slogan for the pro-life movement and what a wonderful movement we have here to protect the life of the unborn. Choose Life from this amazing sermon by Moses in Deuteronomy is the way out of anxious stressful living when all the world is falling down all around us. Take God at His Promises. He can be depended upon.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

THE ALL-POWERFUL GOD - PSALM 139: VERSES 17-21

In Psalm 103:2, we are reminded that we should “Bless the Lord, Oh my soul….and forget not His benefits”.  The actual word for Benefits is the Hebrew word “gemul” which literally means….in context…”forget not all that He (the Lord) has given unto us”! We Christians have a tendency to not just forget what He has done for us, but the actual “benefit” of resting in the Victory of sin and death which He provides at the positional point of Salvation. 
One of the primary “benefits” of true conversion, from the dominion of darkness to the Kingdom of God’s marvelous light, is the ability to REST in the Lord! Jesus said it well (no surprise here). He said “you have not, because you ask not”. To paraphrase the King, we stress much, because we rest not.  The Bible talks about rest for the people of God all the time. Hebrews 4:9  tell us “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God”. While we have to work at staying close to the Lord, through right living, prayer and Bible study as well as good deeds, the most important part of our position in Christ is already done. We are forgiven if we repent. We are heaven-bound because Jesus the Son of God died for our sins on the Cross, and He is our Lord and Master. The important work is done.

King David, the prophet, warrior poet and king of Israel knew this, without knowing the fullness of Christ during his time on earth. He did not know the Name of Yeshua, but David was one of the few in the Old Testament who had the Holy Spirit of Christ! Here is the King of Israel, who had conquered all enemies, after spending over a decade on the run from King Saul and his assassins just resting and basking in the Glory of God.
Psalm 139:17-21
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
20 For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

Verse 17-18 are perfect examples for us today, on how a man or woman or child of God should function daily, in a dying, stress-filled and dangerous world, even when things personally go against us. Therein lies the Power of God in two distinctive ways. These ways are both the All-Powerful or Omnipotent God Himself and the Power of God imputed, embedded and existent in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit!

These are things which these two verses teaches us so we can have that same confidence, power and then rest in this Omnipotent God:
The Thoughts of the Lord are not only precious, they take precedence over every other thought. His thoughts are NOT our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). His Thoughts are right in our hands. His thoughts are known as The Bible. His Thoughts show us the pathway to peace, purpose and emotional prosperity.

- King David and most believers in God from Adam to only 400 years ago, never had a copy of the Bible EVER! It did not exist in the form, in which we are so fortunate to have nowadays. They did have the scrolls of the Law – the first five books of the Old Testament and the two historical books of Samuel; the Kings and the Chronicles (1st and 2nd of each, respectively).  They knew the works of the Lord from Abraham, Moses, the Crossing of the Red Sea and all His marvelous works. There were so many, concerning the Kindness, mercy and love of God that they could only come from His Unfathomable Mind and Heart. We have all of those Words and Thoughts and could never fully grasp the Totality of both words and thoughts in this lifetime. We could live to be 176 years like Abraham and still not understand 30% of them. This alone should inspire awe and reverence in Christians today.

Because the man of God knows what he doesn’t know (David that is,) and fully comprehends the absolute Power of God in His incredible Mind and Heart, the king is using wisdom, fortified by knowledge to discern the extent of this Power. God tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You and I would be VERY wise if we recognize this huge TRUTH and live by it daily. Jesus Himself tells us, in Matthew 10:28 the following "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell".

Verses 19-22 is a perfect example of the scary, yet awesome, Power of God to destroy evil. He – the Lord – HAS dismantled so many evil empires over history, we lose count. The very first one was the entire world during the Flood of Noah’s time. Later on, the Israelites were told to take the land belonging to the evil Canaanites and on and on. God even sacks the cities of His own people in order to uphold His Holiness as well as teach a lesson. The brutal Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar was saved by God towards the end of his life. However. before that, the Lord sent Nebuchadnezzar to sack, burn down now pagan Jerusalem and take the majority of people into exile, hundreds of miles away. 

God will always be holy, holy, holy.  All humankind, in our natural states, are wicked, wicked, wicked.  From here on out, after all we have seen and read of the Power of God to destroy evil in all of human history, anything we see taking place should be viewed with biblical lens. These lens shine the light on the sins of all people. When we see entire nations where witchcraft and voodoo are the major religions as in several third world countries suffer natural disasters and constant poverty, we see the power of God to punish (verse 19)

When we see nation against nation, tribe against tribe followed by pestilence and disease, we see verse 20.  Those who worship other gods in the demonic realm are not only taking the Name of the one True God in vain, they have violated the very first commandment and the law which has been written on hearts of ALL humans, since the time of Creation. While all final accounts will be settled for good on Judgment Day and eternal punishment awaits the wicked of the world – both nations and individuals, some judgment has already begun in this life. This is what the plaques of the Dark Ages was all about or the ruins we see in Central and South America now of ancient peoples who shook their fists at Holy God....among many others.

The people of God are supposed to hate, despise and turn away from all this wickedness of not just other nations, witchcraft and worse. But we are also commanded to not participate in the corruption of the modern culture and its obvious excesses (Verse 21).  The Word of God in this verse says “hate with a perfect hatred”. However, there is an addendum.

While we despise and stay away from everything evil, nonetheless, we pray for and about the entire scenario. We pray for protection from ALL evil (Psalm 91 and others). However, we also pray for the salvation of those involved in evil. Even if the evil is perpetrated against us, we pray for them.  We have personal evidence this kind of prayer works. The Power of God is such that sure He punishes evil, but He is also so powerful in love and goodness that He pardons those who have hated Him their entire lives, if they turn from their sins, repent and accept Him as Lord of their lives. In this, we see the Omnipotent demonstrate the amazing Power of Forgiveness. Glory to His Name. 

Sunday, January 14, 2018

THE ALL-PERCEIVING GOD- : PSALM 139: VERSES 13-16

THE OMNISCIENT GOD
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)

"Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him." (John 4:29-30)....these are the words of the five-time married, now living in sin, famous "Woman at the Well"!

Putting aside the obvious amazement that a fairly loose heathen woman would obviously know more Scripture and prophesy than 75% of church women (and men) today, her words reveal so much more about an Attribute of God, it is uncanny.

In fact, this statement by another unnamed biblical figure who was healed by Jesus explains beautifully the verses from Psalm 139 written above (verses 13-16)! By the way, there is a reason almost none of the multitude of Jesus healed and/or ministered to,  are actually named in the Gospels. Whether it is this now wonderful converted Samaritan saint, or the woman with the blood issue or the nobleman's son or the blind man or the ten lepers....and on and on. Not one of them was named. They were not named because the Holy Spirit of God Who inspired Scripture wants us to focus on the God Who Heals (Yahweh Rophe).

In Psalm 139 verse 13, we see the intricacy of the Design of the most Intelligent Designer of the Universe and Creator of Heaven and Earth. The most evil thing about governments and educators forcing human beings to learn their "Theory of Evolution" only, as if it were fact, is it robs people of their souls coming into true fellowship. When you force-feed innocently trusting kids seeking knowledge, that their ancestors crawled out of the ocean or were monkeys that came from a big bang that came out of nothing, what hope do you expect them to have about a great life out there for them?

We can discuss the future fiery home of these people some other time, but an absence of God in education, culture and now sadly, church culture has led the vast majority of mankind in the past 150 years permanently away from the All-seeing, All-perceiving God Who is both omniscient and loving, if some of these same humans would open their brains and think a little. Christianity is the only thinking man's religion where you do not check your brains at the doorstep.

Verse 14:  We believe that this incredible human body with its amazing network of cells, ligaments, a heart that pumps blood, lungs that take in air and a brain which cannot be fathomed, did NOT come from some explosion out of nothing-ness or an ape. The same people who teach this vile stuff, will force food or auto manufacturers to follow the law very carefully to insure their products are safe, workable and up to code. Yet with matters of even more significance, they deny the Creator. 

We invite you to think of what "fearfully and wonderfully made" actually means. Some would argue that the Alabama-based Mercedes Benz plant makes some of the most wonderful creations of autos. The engineering that goes into a Nissan in Tennesee or the Toyota in Kentucky is incredible. But even these machines are not built to last 30-40-70-95 years (or over 100 years) in some cases. The human body is! Some people abuse their own bodies with gouging at buffet restaurants, diet coke, rum and coke or burgers with cheese sauce, bread and fries (over 5000 calories) and still, if they change their diet and exercise, the body restores itself. In the original language, "fearfully" means that God has set us apart from the other species (like animals) with such respect, reverence and such heart-felt interest in His Creation that He made a marvelous (wonderful) thing! This is why He says in Psalm 116:15 "precious in the Eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints". God respects and loves those who love Him and our death on earth is precious to Him, since it means, He is calling us now, literally back to Himself. When we are forgiven and saved by the Blood of Christ, our inner person instinctively knows all this, since our inner person is awakened as unto God. Each human has that capacity to know God intimately, unfortunately, the majority reject that free gift.

Verse 15:  Consider this the following: if you or I were working on a song with our guitar or piano, or say my friend who is an artist with wax and oils starts working on the huge four by six foot canvas, would we really want to stream it LIVE over Facebook or Periscope or God knows what else is out there? No! The majority of sane people would wait until we are good and ready to showcase the item, or painting before releasing for public consumption. God is the Wisest Being in the Universe and His teachings and creation are out there and plain for EVERYONE to see. We have the Bible and can see everything around us including the uncountable stars and galaxies. However, He does His most important work in secret there- and that is the forming and shaping of the Souls of His Saints.

We were fearfully and physically wonderfully made, when Adam was created and the human race began. We are all direct descendants of Noah and his sons and their wives (from whence all the races came). We do not get to see the baby in a mother's womb at Memorial Hospital grow from conception to a 10 weeks old to six months in, until we see the child delivered at birth. The baby is alive from the moment of conception. The mother knows the baby is alive. The ultrasound PROVES there is a baby in there. God put the entire baby Creation in motion. This is all done away from Facebook Live and all public eyes. This is how our God works. His best work is done in secret, because, in spiritual terms, it is the fruits of our labor which matters.

Verse 16:  The Attributes of God all work together - for obvious reasons. First of all, He is God. Secondly, while His personality, like ours, may have different qualities, it is still different sides of the same Coin.  He is both all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful. We know from the New Testament as well, that God knows us before He even created the world. So it is no surprise that our actual time on this earth is both known and set in stone. 

There is only one instance in history where God extended a man's life. King Hezekiah appealed to the Lord and was given 15 more years by the Lord. Hezekiah found out from the prophet Isaiah he was about to die and cried out to heaven. Now God knew in advance He was going to give this grace to the king. Nothing takes God by surprise. He knows the beginning from the end and vice versa. While we will only live those numbereD days, preset by our Heavenly Father, how we live here on earth means EVERYTHING. Most people just stumble through life, do what they think is the best they can and then wait to pass on. Most think they are "okay" and God is okay with that.  Most are wrong.

Jesus said He came to give us life, to give us life more abundantly and that begins now. The moment we come into relationship with God through Christ, and are born again, we begin the journey which will carry us through Eternity. How awesome and truly great this permanent relationship with God through Christ is, depends entirely on us. We can know all these stunning attributes of God and quote them freely, but if we do not intimately know the God behind these attributes Himself, we are lost and in eternal danger. Do you know Him? Does HE know YOU, as His? It is easy to do - Jesus said "the time is fulfilled (here), repent, believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15)....and be saved. Amen.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

THE ALWAYS PRESENT GOD - : PSALM 139: VERSES 7-12

HIS OMNIPRESENCE
God is the only Being in the Universe Who can be everywhere at one time. Why? Because He is first – God and secondly – because the Universe is His own artwork. It is His own masterpiece if you will. No created being has any claim to such a Truth. The devil and his angels are all created and while they are they are the “prince and the powers of the air”, in this current age, they are basically on a short leash. They can be yanked at any time and stopped from a Pearl Harbor-type spiritual attack by a Godly man or woman, of strong Faith in Jesus Christ.

Scripture tell us that “the eyes of the Lord runneth to and fro, across the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf (of those) whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He scans the Earth! He sees all. He can visually focus in on all. He can also zoom into the “secret” goings-on that people thing they are doing behind closed doors, or ungodly secret societies with funny  hats and strange symbols.  Nothing is hidden from these Holy Eyes, Who sees all and knows all.

These everpresent (Omnipresent) Eyes are described even more fully in Zechariah 4:10 which gives a more complete picture of piercing, powerful Eyes of God. It is also perfectly exhibits how God the Father, God the Son, the Holy Spirit and the Eyes of All via the Seven Eyes mentioned in this particular verse, all work together perfectly. There is no daylight between them. There is no disagreement between any of them.

These are is the everpresent Eyesight which King David describes in Verses 7-12 of Psalm 139...here:
7  Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9  If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

Verse 7: Here is a man who knows neither he nor anyone else can run from God.  Many of the godless will commit sin and evil completely unaware that they are in the complete line of sight of Providence.  Many will turn from Christ and run to the strange chanting and mystic pagan religions of the world, thinking they have escaped His  “Jesus”.  Many will delude themselves they can conduct their daily and/or personal lives like the rest of this slimy culture does, and “sure God may see but He knows I’m alright”…..This is heresy and rebellion. The bible says rebellion is divination, which will never be rewarded with eternal life. No one can run from the Eyes and Presence of the Living God!

Verse 8: David also states the obvious here as, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which was given only to a few men in the Old Testament.  God is of course, present in His Heavenly Kingdom. However, if people so choose, He is also in charge of the gates of hell. Make no bones about it - people DO choose Hell - when they reject the Son of God, Who is the ONLY Way to Heaven (John 14:6).  The Creator absolutely created everything, including the abyss for Lucifer, the former worship leader in Heaven and all who ever followed him. Anyone who does NOT follow Christ is an ultimate follower of the fallen angels, led by Lucifer. God can be present there as well. Two New Testament passages confirm this fact. Jesus spoke of the rich man in hell and he was in plain view of the poor beggar, Lazarus who was in paradise. Jesus called “paradise”  Abraham’s bosom. He knew about this incident because He could see it from His vantage point in Heaven. He is ever present. The second instance is mentioned by Peter, and something the Lord wanted recorded. Here it is without comment: “18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water." (1 Peter 3:18-20).

Verses 9-10: These two verses are meant by both God and David who wrote them down to show the power and presence of God. The human writer tells us that even if he were to transport himself somehow, to say, an island in the middle of the Meditterean or New Zealand - God goes before him...or you...or I. If we are supposed to be there - wherever there is - God shows His Omniscience by setting up divine appointments or provision. However, the converse is true. If you are NOT supposed to go there, but got it in your head that God TOLD you to go there...or you felt like going anyway, you will not succeed. Most likely, if you and I are faithful to the Lord, He will extricate us from difficult places where we are not in alignment with His plan. Sometimes we have a hard lesson to learn from it. In this case, we remain where we are until the time of testing is over. Then the Lord frees us from the burden we put on ourselves. This is what "remotest part of the sea....Your right Hand will lay hold of me". God will not abandon His faithful children. He WILL allow us to learn hard lessons from our mistakes, so we do not keep making them over and over again!

Verses 11-12: If our hearts and minds are right with God, atmospheric conditions will never affect us. It may affect the things we have to do, in the natural, For instance, we cannot mow the lawn at midnight or go on a surf board in January in Lake Michigan. If you heart and soul are right with God, you and I will not fear the terror of the darkness because we know that our God is always watching us, and watching out for us. The state of light on earth means nothing to the God Who is Light, and to Whom scripture applies as so bright that in the Kingdom no other light is needed. While wicked and cruel men use the cover of darkness to do all kinds of deeds, nothing is hidden from Abba Father and all will be revealed on that incredible and incredibly scary Day of the Lord.

Our ever-present, omnipresent, always there, always everywhere God and Creator should be worshiped and thanked mightily, because if His Eyes were not upon us, think of the world of hurt we would be in today. Amen. 

Friday, January 5, 2018

THE ALL KNOWING GOD- : PSALM 139: VERSES 1-6


ATTRIBUTE #1 - THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD
1  O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2  You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3  You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4  Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5  You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.......(Psalm 139:1-6)

The Theory of Life and Life in the Lord is not only much simple to comprehend and explain. It has been confirmed as true, by the Spirit of the Living God. This is difficult for those who  live in abject mindlessness over evolution and the so-called Big Bang, to get this Truth. It is not only because of the lies they have bought but because their worldly knowledge has overruled their capacity to grasp the Simplicity and Truth of the Gospel

We, who are saved, are indwelt by the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God and all Truth. He is the same Spirit Who hovered over the face of the Earth in Genesis 1:1. He is the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the Dead on the Third Day. He is the same Spirit Who enabled Apostles Peter and Paul – ordinary men – to raise people from the dead, themselves. He is the Same Spirit of God Who breathed the Oracles of God into forty ordinary men from different places and backgrounds, over 1500 years who wrote down the same narrative – the God’s Plan of Redemption through one Person – the Man Christ Jesus. He is the same Spirit Who gave us the Bible!

It is this God…it is this Creator…it is this Sustainer….it is He – mighty and lifted up….seated High Upon The Throne….it is He, Worthy and in unapproachable Light, Who designed, ordained, created and purposed us in His unfathomable amazing mind, even BEFORE His Spirit  hovered over the earth in Genesis 1:1! It is He! It is Abba Father – our Father Who art in Heaven of Whom Psalm 139 so wonderfully describes in His incredible ways, nay, His Attributes!

Listen to how the Spirit enables King David to being Psalm 139 “O LORD, You have searched me and known. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought from afar” (verses 1 and 2).

In this Psalm, the very Attributes of God are not only evident, but the words of this Psalm screams out loud about Who He is and How He knows us. We begin by looking at the first six verses of Psalm 139 and all about:

THE ALL-KNOWING GOD:
Verse 1: He searches AND knows us. The word for searching is the same one used when Joshua and Caleb "explored" the Promised Land and found it good. For reasons of Grace known only to Him, though we are sinners, when He examines every sinful corner of our being, He finds every small detail of our second by second existence, yet, He still loves us! This is the very definition of Grace and compassion to those of us who were once rebels, yet still need some refining into the very character God requires of us.

Verse 2: He knows our "sitting down" (or when we lay down to rest) and wakes us up in the morning. He doesn't have to. We get to wake up to a new day in our own beds, in our own homes, with our own family into which God in His wisdom and love has placed us. Not just that, but Scripture tells us that God gives to His beloved in their (our) sleep. Therefore sometimes we awake in joy and gladness to take on the day, knowing the problems of the day will be solved, because He has given us the peace and insight to do the right thing with confidence! In addition, He sits in the Heavenly throne, with over 7 billion people at any one time on earth....AND KNOWS WHAT I AM THINKING! Can you dig that, my friends?! It is absolutely incredible.

Verse 3: Notice that the Bible uses the word "intimately" in verse 3 as our Creator, the all-knowing God, is well acquainted not just with WHAT we think, do and say, but WHY we are bent in such a way. He created us with different personalities yet allows them to develop on its own, according to physical, social and other environmental conditions and He is well acquainted with all these circumstances. Being a God Who does not force Himself on someone who does not want to be in fellowship with Him, He allows these personality traits to continue until we come to the realization that we are not in right alignment or on the same page as Abba Father. God once prophesied, by name, over 150 years before, about the appearance on the scene of the great Persian King Cyrus who was going to be the second great emancipator of Israel from Babylonian Captivity (Isaiah 44:28). But Isaiah 45:1-7 shows that even though God had chosen and appointed Cyrus to be this great king and religious tolerance guy, we find out he did not worship the one true God of heaven who set him up as victorious, but bowed down to the various pagan idols of Persia and the Middle East. This is confirmed in a book I read at one time, called Persia and The Bible. God even knows the intimate details of our spiritual thoughts and actions...as well as who will reject Him. He still wishes all will come to repentance and be saved.

Verse 4:  The Lord knows we are either going to loudly swear when dropping a hammer on our foot, or speak kind words of encouragement and hope and love to someone who needs to hear these life-giving exhortations. The power to lift up and/or cut down are in the Power of the tongue and we are warned about these things in the Book of Proverbs and James. Knowing that God knows what we are going to say at any given time, should spur us to be a little more circumspect in our speech and hearts. This is goes for both believers in Yahweh as well as non-believers.

Verse 5: You always hear people praying for a "hedge of protection" from the Lord for either someone they know or themselves. This is not too far off what Verse 5 means. The hedge or Hand of protection includes the Hand of Provision! Our heavenly Father provides for those whom He protects. This is natural and par for the course. The phrase "laid Your Hand upon me" is a good thing! Only a fool or one who is lost (one and the same) would reject the loving Powerful, Providing, Protecting Hand of God guiding every aspect of their lives. In a nutshell,  this is what is meant by living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

Verse 6:  In light of EVERYTHING just briefly discussed in the previous five verse about the Omniscience of God, what should our response be, in return? Well, our main response, after gratitude, should be AWE! We must, in our love for our Creator and Lord, stand in awe and amazement at all we have just spoken about above and the so many more things about our All-Knowing God which could fill numerous books across the spectrum of history. King David, who wrote this psalm under divine inspiration, says the very things we should say in humility "such knowledge is too wonderful for me". 

If we are wise, we would say this same thing as we should never lose this child-like faith and the wonder of the Christian life, even with the corrupt distracting world out there. We should realize, unlike biblical characters like Nimrod and others, that we really cannot even grasp 1/1000th the power, wisdom and knowledge which resides on the Throne of Heaven. How could we know these things when He is God and he are puny little creatures? Oh, all glory, praise and honor to Him Who sits on the Throne, yet knows little old me. Amen.