Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Blessed Are Those who Hungry and Thirst - Part 2

Michael continues that it is  one thing to come unto the Lord Jesus Christ. However, Jesus said, “if you continue in my word then you shall be my disciples, (my students and disciplined followers) indeed.” CS Lewis said, if you’re looking for a religion that makes you comfortable, then Christianity is not that religion. Christianity is unattainable in our fallen nature of the flesh, our sinful and worldly nature that we inherited from Adam. However, we who are "born again" of God’s spiritual nature can understand Christ’s nature ... the things of the Spirit of God.  

Jesus Christ himself blazed a trail straight to the heart of God. The beatitudes are the roadmap to follow Jesus Christ. There are many roads, but only one road leads back home to the kingdom of Heaven. Home is where the heart is, therefore, set your affections on things above. For where thy treasure is, there will your heart be also, at home with the Lord. When Christ returns, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of God our heavenly Father. Despite the confusion, chaos, strife and contention of this world, Jesus said, in this world you shall have tribulation... but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

According to 2 Timothy 4 Paul said, "I have been poured out as a drink offering. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course. Henceforth a crown of righteousness has been laid up for me and for all who are assured of salvation and look forward to the return of our Lord."

The fourth beatitude says, blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. The multitude at the Sermon on the mount knew what it meant to be hungry and thirsty. They lived in a semi-arid desert and in an impoverished culture. They often did not not have enough to eat and drink. For what are you hungry and thirsty? Jesus said to the woman at the well, I am the fountain of living waters. He who drinks of the water of life shall never thirst. He said to the crowd at Capernaum, I am the bread of life. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy our hunger for the things of the spirit ... only He can quench our thirst for righteousness because our righteousness is in Him ... for He who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” God honors faithfulness according to his word. Jesus Christ is the faithful one. He said, I always do my Father’s will. He consistently followed His Father’s word and will. This fallen world is filled with problems, pressures, and pain. There are many things to mourn over in this world... for those we loved, who have died and left this world ... for the sin which does so easily beset us.... for our having fallen short of the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. In the mourning we can turn our hearts to the Lord with meekness and humility. We mourn over our hunger and thirst for the things that we can not grasp in our own power. The solution to the problem is Jesus Christ himself. There are many problems but only one solution. There are many questions but only one answer, Jesus Christ himself.  

The secular world chases after happiness. However, happiness is a fleeting emotion that lasts but for a moment. Happiness depends on happenstance. The fleeting rush of euphoria for things having worked out in this world cannot satisfy. Happiness depends on temporary wisdom, wealth, and power. However victories according to the things of this world are temporary ... they’re here today and gone tomorrow. Happiness depends on favorable co-incidences. However with God there are no coincidences ... there are only God incidences. God is faithful to his Word. His steadfast love endures forever. Loving kindness and tender mercy is the nature of God himself.  

Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is the hunger pang for the righteousness of Christ. Repentance begins with turning from the hunger for worldly things and unto hungering for heavenly things of the Spirit of God. As the prophet Jeremiah said, Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)

The late Oswald Chambers said, why shouldn’t God break our hearts? In order for the light to shine forth, our earthen vessels ... our clay pots must be broken. Only then can the light of the spirit of Christ in us shine forth ... for we have this treasure in jars of clay so that the excellency of the power (of the spirit) may be of God and not of us. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. Righteousness is not in our own power. Righteousness is the result of Christ’s justification as the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf. When we are "born again" of God’s Spirit, who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall persecution or tribulation, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay.... in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Thank God for breaking our hearts. Thank God for filling us with a hunger and thirst for his righteousness, for meekness and mourning in order to come unto Him with empty hands and a destitute heart of humility. He alone can fill us and fulfill the purpose for which He called us ... that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace.

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Monday, August 30, 2021

Blessed Are They Who Hunger and Thirst - Pat 1

This week, Michael writes: The Beatitudes are the introduction to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. CS Lewis said "one road leads home and a thousand roads lead to the wilderness". Christianity is not a comfortable religion in this secular world. Returning home to the kingdom of Heaven often seems unattainable. Aim at the the things of earth and you’ll be forever lost. Apart from Christ, it’s impossible to reach home. The Sermon on the Mount is the profile of Jesus Christ himself. He blazed the trail to the Father’s heart. Home is where the heart is. The Sermon on the Mount is the roadmap, the turn by turn directions to arrive at home. The final destination is at the end of time when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

There are many battles in this world. However, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the powers of the Darkness of this world... against spiritual wickedness from on high. Then at the end of our earthly life, we who have been "born again" (born of the Spirit) can say with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing”. Jesus said, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." What is it that you are hungry for? What can satisfy your thirst? The one who is blessed is the one who is hungry and thirsty for God’s righteousness. God will honor a desire for the righteousness of His son. This is a hunger only He can fill. Hungering and thirsting for the things of this earth never satisfy ... they leave the soul empty and disappointed. Hungering for the things of the flesh are the picture of Tantalus. According to Roman mythology, Tantalus was doomed to spend eternity in the underworld. He was tortured by his perpetual hunger pangs, even though he was surrounded by a feast of delectable (tantalizing) foods. They were just out of reach above his head. His condemnation was to suffer a tantalizing insatiable eternal hunger.

When is enough enough? John D. Rockefeller, one of the world’s richest men was asked, “how much more money is enough?” His answer: “Just a little bit more.” Reach for the kingdoms of this earth and you will die frustrated and empty handed. Reach for the kingdom of Heaven and you’ll get the earth thrown in. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. The filling is with the righteousness of God in Christ in us. The Apostle Paul said, “in my flesh dwells no good thing.” Men and women strive for the unattainable ... to dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe, to try when your arms are too weary, to reach the unreachable star. The striving is for the things that this world holds dear ... self-satisfaction, self-gratification, self-aggrandizement, self-sufficiency, and self-actualization. When the hunger is for the selfishness of self, the result is continuous frustration because the appetites of the flesh cannot be satiated. However, when we turn from the frustration of hungering for the things of this world and, instead, hunger for God’s righteousness, then this is a hunger that only God can satisfy. Only he is sufficient.

According to 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” We’re most like those with whom we choose to associate; those whose company we enjoy. Who are you following? When we’re hungry for the fellowship of Jesus Christ and those who hunger and thirst for his righteousness, then we will be filled. Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:14, whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Then in John 6:35 he said, ... “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” 

We’re blessed when we hunger to “choke in the dust of other men and women who chase after Jesus Christ.” When our heart’s desire is to follow in close proximity to our Lord ... to hunger and thirst after His righteousness, then we shall be filled ... the filling is His righteousness, His character, His spirit. For Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of Thy grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Sunday, August 29, 2021

Faith & Wisdom – Part 4

 

Continuing, Pastor Kyle points out that we tap into eternal living when we worship God together as the body of Believers in Christ. We receive encouragement when the Word of God is spoken, because as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 explains, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” The Holy Scriptures accomplish what God designed and intended them to do. Why do Christians pray, praise the Lord and give to the church and Christian work? John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God gave where giving was a necessity and Christians follow His model where they can with our giving to help in ministry and in needy philanthropic assistance. Self-centered worldly wisdom says, “that is your money, so you do what makes you happy with it.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

1 Corinthians 1:18 says, For the word of the cross is folly to those [hell-bound] who are perishing, but to us [heaven-bound] who are being saved it is the power of God” [emphasis mine]. By faith, through God’s power, we can do what does not feel right at the time in order to do what He is asking us to do in our lives. When Christians rely on worldly wisdom, they miss the most fundamental aspects of obedience. It will never make sense or be able to convince yourself to it. The power of faith and widom work hand in hand.  

 

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 explains that, among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 

 

The Christian’s faith allows that glimpse into unimaginable possibilities that God wants to bring about in a person’s life. Christian wisdom helps us understand the timing of God to bring those possibilities about. But, what is this secret and hidden wisdom of God revealed through the Spirit? This secret and hidden wisdom is known through the faith of spiritually discerning Believer; it is the wisdom of the Spirit of God. The natural person, in their fallen state, lacks the spirit, so spiritually discerned godly wisdom and the things of faith do not make any sense to them. In John 3:3 Jesus explained, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The moving of the Spirit of God moving through the vehicle of faith is never opposed to godly wisdom; they always go hand in hand. Born again Christians have the mind of Christ.

 

Here is the target that every Christian should aim for: the fire of faith in one hand and the wisdom of God in the other. That secret and hidden wisdom that God wants you impart into your life will come by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit, but will be set into motion by the wisdom of God. Some of lean more to the faith side and some of us lean more to the wisdom side. But faith and wisdom should really be the right and the let hand of a Believer’s Christ-centered life. The reality is that we absolutely need both faith and wisdom working together in our Christian walk. Faith may say that someone you know needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and wisdom then says “here is how, where and when”. As a Christian, that is not you talking. It is the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit directing you through faith towards the wisdom of God spiritually discerned and helps to “stick to” what God “spoke to”.    

 

It is not your wisdom; it is God’s wisdom revealed to you. Isaiah 55:9 tells us, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. God’s plan is always better than our plan. Wisdom is a gift. Faith is not about doing crazy, radical and wild things; it is about doing God things. It is about responding in the moment when is speak and as God is working in “real time”. Surround yourself with people of faith and purposely do things in your life to stretch your faith beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone and avoid being stuck. Faith is a gift. 

 

Be blessed. 

In Christ, Brian   

Friday, August 27, 2021

Faith And Wisdom - Part 3

 



Faith & Widsdom - Part 2

 

Continuing Pastor Kyle’s message, Romans 10:8-10 asks, But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

 

This is biblical faith. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. There is an order and operation of the world that God made, and a specific way that the Creator of the Cosmos set things up to work harmoniously in unity. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Heart Belief is an essential requirement in getting into Heaven. In addition to “saving faith”, there is also “daily faith” in Christ, and that is where Christians live. That moment by moment place where God move in us and through us with power, where we really see the Holy Spirit working in our lives. 

 

2 Corinthians 5:7 explains, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

  

There are things that God wants to bring into your life today that you cannot see, that are activated by faith through obedience. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” This is through the powder of “daily faith”. When we lean on our own understand, we can miss the things that God wanting to activate by moment by moment faith. On this side of eternity, a life of faith is not free of all doubts. In Mark 9:23-24, Jesus said to the father whose son had a mute spirit, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 

 

In a perfect world, every Believer would live doubt-free in absolute faith. Yet, fallen and finite humans that are prone to feat and doubt. So, we are to take the faith that we have and build upon it daily to develop, improve, strengthen and mature in the process of sanctification, growing into the likeness of Christ. In that process, when we struggle, we are to go to the Lord for guidance and help. Lean heavily on the biblical and practical wisdom side as the Lord leads you by faith. Faithfully dig into the Word of God and see how is applies practically daily for peace in your heart. The Holy Scriptures help us to make healthy choices in the short term and the long term, because it is God’s wisdom communicated for our good. 

 

Proverbs 9:10-11 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by Me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.”

   

The principles in the Proverbs are so profound, instructing in the Christian life. The Bible wants us to know that “the fear of the Lord” (never desiring to let our Creator Father God in Heaven down in any way, shape or form) is the foundation of wisdom. In Scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion. In good men and women, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and His laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun everything that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. This is filial fear; a display of affection due from a son or daughter; a healthy respect of God.  

 

The other kind of fear is what we are more familiar with, a painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger. Fear expresses less apprehension than dread, and dread less than terror and fright. The force of this passion, beginning with the most moderate degree, may be thus expressed, fear, dread, terror, fright. Fear is accompanied with a desire to avoid or ward off the expected evil or harm. Fear is an uneasiness of mind, upon the thought of future evil or harm likely to befall us. This fear is the passion of our nature which excites us to provide for our security, on the approach of evil produces anxiety; apprehension, worry, concern and solicitude. This kind of fear is definitely not something that God wants in a Christian’s life. 


Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message on Christian faith and wisdom in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Through the Fire

 

This week, Michael writes: In the spiritual battle, there are two offensive weapons according to Ephesians 6. The first is the sword of the spirit which is the Word of truth. The second weapon is prayer. Prayer is God’s force multiplier. With God, no weapon formed against us shall stand. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual for the pulling down of the devil’s spiritual strongholds.

Though all seems lost and futile as we are bombarded with the news from Afghanistan and Haiti, where death and destruction run rampant, where violent terrorist extremists wreak havoc against the people. We whom God has called wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness, against the prince of the power of the air, against spiritual wickedness from on high. 

As a brother from Afghanistan prayed weeping, we pray with unbroken hearts for God’s deliverance in this life or the next. Even though our hearts break, know that you, our fellow Christians remain under the hand of our Heavenly Father. We who have gathered together underground, pray for you and beseech your prayers for God’s will to be done in us and through us to his honor and glory. The late Pastor Chuck Smith said, "God always delivers his people either in the fire, through the fire, or by the fire. The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but God refines the heart of man. Trials and tribulation try us and refine us to reveal his character within us."

According to Jeremiah 17:6, the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked ... who can know it? Our hearts deceive us when we think that we can stand in our own power. There is wickedness in the heart of flesh that we inherited from Adam’s fall. The people said to Jesus, didn’t we cast out demons and perform wondrous miracles in your name? Jesus said, depart from me ye workers of iniquity... I never knew thee. The heart of man deceives us into thinking that we’re self sufficient in our own self serving power. The deceitful heart cheats men into suffering the consequences of their prideful acts. He said to the Pharisees, In vain do they worship me, they draw nigh unto me with their lips, and honor me with their mouths, but their heart is far from me. Sin is missing the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Sin will have its way with us if we fail to repent of our having forsaken the Lord and the truth of His word.  

The late British Baptist Pastor Charles Spurgeon says, "the guilty sinner must cease and desist from confessing righteousness in his own doing... in the nature of his own flesh." Confession unto repentance begins with being broken before the Lord. As the Apostle Paul said, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. As Isaiah said when God revealed the greatness of his glory, “woe is me, I am unworthy.... a man of unclean lips.” Then a seraphim touched a hot coal of fire to Isaiah’s lips to purge him with God’s refining fire. Only God can cleanse us through the atoning sacrifice of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. For he who knew no sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.  

In Romans 7 Paul said, “who shall deliver me from this dead body?” The answer is in Romans 8 ... The law of the spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.

Oswald Chambers said, thank God for breaking our hearts for what breaks his. The light of Christ can shine forth only when God breaks the clay pots of our earthen vessels. For we have this treasure of the spirit in earthen vessels... in jars of clay so that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. The nature of the flesh will conceal, deny, and refuse to acknowledge the sin nature that we inherited from Adam. Sin is broken fellowship. Sin separates our hearts from God and the righteous standard of his holy word. John 3 says, He that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. However, Jesus Christ came not into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. For he who does truth comes to the light that his deeds may be manifest that they are wrought of God. Therefore, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. It is the goodness, the loving kindness, grace, and mercy of the Lord that calls a man to repentance.  

The theme of 1 John is our fellowship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf. 1 John 1:3 says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Repentance is to turn from sin and unto the Lord. 1 John 1:7 says walk in the light as he is in the light and the blood of Jesus Christ shall cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Walking in the love of God will cleanse our hearts... the cleansing is in the walking. Sin is "missing the mark" and hitting something "wrong in the eyes of the Lord". However When we return our hearts to the Lord, we press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus said, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the earth." Peace is available only through the Prince of Peace. Jesus said, my peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid. Peace is the result of reconciliation ... of bringing together that which has been separated. Jesus Christ’s is the one who reconciles us with God. Acceding to Ephesians 2:14-15 " For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."

2 Corinthians 5 says, we are ambassadors for Christ. As His emissaries, we’re sent to deliver a peace treaty from our homeland in Heaven, for we are citizens of heaven. The message is the gospel message of the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus Christ is the one who reconciles God to man. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...

That through his payment for sin on our behalf, we may ever live to the praise of the glory of our Father’s grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Psalm 37


“Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the Lord, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away. The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide. The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged. Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.”

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Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Psalm 23

 


“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:1-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.23.6.NKJV

Monday, August 23, 2021

Psalm 1

 


“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”






Sunday, August 22, 2021

Faith & Wisdom – Part 1

 

A couple weeks ago, Pastor Kyle preached on Sunday that we have a dominate hand and an opposite hand, but we are designed to use both hand in unison in life and both hands work best when they are working together. Likewise, the ire of our faith in God combined with an informed, godly decision-making process using wisdom is what makes a Christian and a healthy Christian church. It is never faith or wisdom; it is always faith and wisdom together. 

 

Hebrews 11:1-3,6 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

 

The Apostle John tells us in John 4:24 that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The Apostle confirms in 1 John 4:12 that “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 1:19-20 that “what can be known about God is plain to us, because God has shown it to us all. For his invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, we all are without excuse. Assured faith is knowing that God exists in the spiritual realm (a dimension that we cannot physically see) and within our spirit and soul, but the definite and indisputable evidence in creation is obvious in unexplainable order and irreducible complexity in it. We cannot see God visually, but see His fingerprints everywhere. This is biblical faith unto belief. 

 

Romans 10:8-9 says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. What is Saving Faith?  It’s not just a head knowledge or a temporary faith, it’s trusting in Christ Alone for your salvation! All have sinned against God and the wages of sin is death. Our sin against our Almighty Creator God earned us the loss of Heaven and eternal life in Hell. But God, by His essential attributes of love and mercy, gives us grace. The Apostle Peter brings this to light in 2 Peter 3:9, where he proclaims to us that “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” So, God made a “Plan of Salvation” [the Gospel] for us to be freely redeemed and reconciled. How? 

 

John 3:14-17 confirms that “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Our sin separates us from God and disqualifies us from Heaven. The blessed Savior, Jesus Christ clarifies in John 3:3, 7-8 saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again they cannot see the kingdom of God. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” How do you become born again of the Spirit, converted and transformed? Believe that Creator God exists and is in control of His creation completely, confess that you are a guilty sinner, hate and repent of your sin against your loving, just and holy God, confess with your mouth that Jesus (the Savior of the world sent by God the Father) is Lord of your life forevermore and believe by faith in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, conquering sin and death and you shall be converted in your soul, regenerated in your spirit, transformed in your heart, consecrated unto God and saved. That is saving faith. 

 

The Apostle Paul sums in up in Ephesians 2:1-8 explaining that “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

 

In Christ, Brian

Saturday, August 21, 2021

A New Attitude

 

Ephesians 2:1-5 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” 

This week, Michael asks: What does Jesus require? What doth the Lord require of thee? He has redeemed us from the power of sin, not because we were deserving of forgiveness. He loved us when we were unloveable, while we were . Not because of who we are but because of who He is. Love, mercy and grace are the nature of God himself. By grace you have been saved, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world and Lord of all.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus presented a new approach to our attitudes of heart. The beatitudes are the “beautiful attitudes” that will set our hearts free.  

According to Romans 5:20, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Ephesians 2:8 says, for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. In order to understand the meaning of redemption and reconciliation by God’s grace, we must first understand that from which we were forgiven.  

The root of sin is an attitude of pride. In our pride we have accumulated a resentment bank that says, “people have wronged me and never made it right.” One man said in a counseling session, “My wife doesn’t respect me.” The Counselor asked him, “Are you respectable?” It’s much easier to see the sin in others without recognizing the sin of resentment in our own hearts. The sin problem is that we see the sin in others while being blinded to the bigger sin ... judging others for having wronged us. Jesus said, “how can you see to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye, when you have a two by four in your own eye.” The two by four is resentment, unforgiveness, and judgmentalism ... the things that blind us to the love of God. How do you “yank the plank?” How do you cast the two by four out of your own eye?  

In our confession of sin, repentance and belief in God's plan of salvation for us, when God justifies us by the transforming payment His son Jesus Christ paid on our behalf, on the Cross He casts our sin as far is the east is from the west and remembers them no more. When we’re saved by His grace through His Son’s sacrifice for sin, we are "born again" and made the righteousness of Christ.  

The word sin means literally to miss the mark. However, the emphasis of the word sin is not on the "missing" but on the mark itself. The mark is God's holy Word, Will and Way; the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The devil’s ploy is to remind us how far short of the mark we fall. But, once having saving faith, if we confess our sins, our broken fellowship, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

According to the beatitudes, forgiveness starts with humility. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jeremiah 24:7 says, I will put it in your hearts to humble yourselves to know me. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, returning to God begins with a heart humbled before the Lord: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” The Old Testament law of sin and death showed God’s people, both then and now, that in themselves, they could not keep His righteous commandments. When people try to prove righteousness in their own power, then God allows them to reap the natural consequences of their self serving sin nature. The old saying goes: ouch the oven and you'll get burned.

Jesus said, if you’re bringing an offering before God and have an issue against your brother, first go reconcile with your brother. Then you can come back and offer your sacrifice to God with a pure and clean heart of forgiveness.  As needy men and women of God, our need is to ask forgiveness and give forgiveness. This is why Jesus said in His model prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Without a heart that forgives others, we cannot approach God’s throne of grace with a pure heart of meekness and humility. Unforgiveness distracts our attention away from godliness which negatively affects our attitude. Without forgiving others, our heart says, Jesus’ death on my behalf was not sufficient. The unforgiving heart is an unforgiven heart, because that which is wrong in the eyes of the Lord is always wrong.  

the old axiom goes, I forgave and set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner was me. The greatest freedom is in allowing the Lord to take captivate our hearts: Make me a captive Lord of your holy Word, Will and Way, and then I shall be free. Force me to render up my defiant sword and I shall a conqueror be; conquering my sinful self. I sink in life’s alarms, if by myself I stand. Imprison me within thine arms and free shall be my stand, that with a heart of humility and forgiveness, we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Friday, August 20, 2021

Blessed Are the Meek

 

As stated in previous posts, the beatitudes are a progression, the steps that lead us to the heart of Jesus Christ himself. The path of righteousness is opposite from the path of our natural sinful fallen nature. The first beatitude is that we must be “poor in spirit” ... destitute and empty-handed in order to receive the blessings of the Lord. The second beatitude says, blessed are “they that mourn” for they shall be comforted. The comfort is in the Holy Spirit and the hope of the return of Jesus Christ at the resurrection of the dead – the Second Coming.

The third beatitude says, blessed are “the meek” for they shall inherit the earth. Meekness is not a wordy value ... the world discounts meekness. However, meekness is not weakness ... instead meekness is truly power under control. Jesus, although He had twelve legions of angels at his command, controlled His spirit to the glory of God. What would Jesus do? He said, “I always do my Father’s will.” Meekness includes being teachable ... coachable to follow the leading of our heavenly Father according to the Spirit of God, in Christ, in us.

In order to be blessed and meek before the Lord, first we must become “poor in spirit” and then mourn over our sins, having missed the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Meekness is adaptable and flexible to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction. Meekness is eager to reconcile and forgive. It is related to our Creator Father’s steadfast love ... His loving kindness, tender mercy, and compassionate forgiveness.

Even though Jesus ministered when Judea was under the oppression of the Roman Empire, He was not concerned about political correctness. He told His disciples and the Pharisaic leaders of the temple, render unto Cesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s. Meekness characterizes one who demonstrates kindness, generosity, and compassion toward those who are suffering and in distress. The meek are not caught up in their own self-interest. A meek individual is not defensive and self-absorbed, but instead seeks to comfort, bless, and minister to others.  

Meekness and humility counter the selfishness of pride. Meekness gives up our own rights and with a heart to serve others. It debases and decreases my own self-serving self so that the Lord may increase. To the meek Jesus said, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we’re pulling alongside our Lord, He will carry the bulk of the load. With a heart of love and compassion, it’s no chore to carry a brother or sister who has fallen and needs my help. As the song says, “So, on we go. His welfare is of my concern. No burden is he to bear. We'll get there. For I know, he would not encumber me. He ain't heavy, he's my brother.” Meekness allows the Holy Spirit to come help Himself to my life. A man or woman of meekness knows by experience that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  

Meekness teaches that it is all of Thee and none of me. After the Apostle Paul had prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh, God finally answered him, “My strength is made perfect in thy weakness, my grace is sufficient for thee.” The reward of a meek heart is that the meek shall inherit the earth. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3, all things are yours and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.  

When you’re purposefully set at naught, when your good is spoken of as evil, your opinions ridiculed, and you take it all with patient silence, then you’re blessed to be numbered among the meek. When you’re standing in the midst of persecution for God’s righteous calling, when you can truly love to be unknown, then you understand the meaning of meekness. When everything I do is for God’s glory and not mine, when my purpose is to comfort and not be comforted, to serve and not be served, to love and not be loved, then I’ll understand the nature of Jesus Christ Himself ... for He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus Christ himself was our example of meekness that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Thursday, August 19, 2021

Happy and Blessed

 

Jesus’ sermon on the mount was His introduction to "Kingdom Living". This sermon started with the Beatitudes. Becoming a disciple, a student and disciplined follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, starts with the revelation and realization of our Lord’s beautiful attitudes. Then walking in His footsteps takes us peacefully through the difficulties of trials and tribulations. Following the path He blazed for us produces a strong family resemblance to our big brother ... for Jesus Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. We learn to forsake our old selves as we follow in the dust of the Rabbi (teacher - Jesus Christ) into the newness of life. 

In spiritual warfare, the adversary’s strategy is to remove Christians from the spiritual battlefield. It’s said that the vast majority of people can handle adversity. It’s easy to seek strength in the Lord when we’re under pressure and under fire from the spiritual onslaught. The old adage is that there are no atheists in foxholes. However, it’s much more difficult to follow the Lord when we’re contented and comfortable in the secular things of this world. In a humanistic and materialistic world of plenty with luxuries lavish and extravagant, it’s difficult to place our treasures in the things of heaven instead of in the things of this world. 

The beatitudes are God’s prescription for wellbeing, contentment, and satisfaction; not in the things of this world, but in the things of the Spirit of God. According to Psalm 34:7, God desires to give us the desires of our heart. However there is a prerequisite to God giving us our desires. The prerequisite is that we intentionally, deliberately, and purposely delight ourselves in the Lord. Then when our delight is His delight ... when His good pleasure is our good pleasure.  Philippians 2:13 says he will work in us and through us to will and to do of His good pleasure.  

The world looks for happiness. However, true happiness is found in godly holiness. There is a world of difference between happiness and blessedness. Happiness is dependent on seeking the blessings of this world, whereas blessedness is in seeking the Blessor. Secular happiness depends on happenstance but In God’s economy, there are no happenstances. Life is not a series of coincidences. For men and women of God there are no co-incidences, there are only God-incidences. For it is God who worketh in you to will and to do of His good pleasure.

The devil entices people into thinking that there is happiness and pleasure in the things of this world, with the attitude of "I see it, I want it, I have to have it, and I get it immediately or else I am not happy".. Satan also appeals to the false comfort found in drugs, self-indulgent behavior, possessions, riches, trends, be cool, popularity and the praise of men. However, true contentment is not in worldly things. True contentment is in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The adversary tricks Christians to separate into two factions: One is the priests, the clergy and the full time Christian ministers. The other is the laity ... the church members, the called out, the assembly of God’s people. The church body must be united in Christ.

The holy Scripture teaches that there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. According to 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” If we look at leaders in the church, we’ll be disappointed when they fall short of God’s righteous standard. For all, including church leaders, have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Follow Jesus. There is only one standard, the Word of God, and Jesus Christ, the Word of God made manifest in the flesh. Therefore, Paul said, “we preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Jesus is the living Word and our standard for faith and practice.

The beatitudes are progressive starting with poverty in spirit. God works best with nothing. When a person understands that they are in need of God’s Spirit, then God can fill them with the gift of is Holy Spirit. Then through the eyes of Christ with spiritual perception and awareness, He shows us the reality of the other six beatitudes. Until we have God’s spirit we cannot mourn over those who are lost without God’s Spirit.  The spirit of Christ is the spirit of meekness. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Meekness means that we are coachable to receive the things of the spirit of God. The meek hunger and thirst after righteousness. The Word of God is an acquired taste .... taste and see that the Lord is good. As Psalm 19 says, The judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. A pure heart is the heart of Christ we received when we were "born again" of God’s spirit. A pure heart understands and perceives God’s truth and loves with the true love of God. 

Each of the beatitudes depends on the Spirit of God. None of these beautiful attitudes are natural qualities. For the Spirit of God is antithetical to the nature of the body and soul we inherited from Adam. Even though natural men and women without God’s Spirit may possess natural abilities, only those born of God’s Spirit possess spiritual abilities. The beatitudes are the motivation that allows God to work with us, in us and through us to will and to do of God’s good pleasure.

The beautiful attitudes of the beatitudes are the qualities and characteristics of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we live our lives according to God’s purpose, which He has planned for us in advance, we understand that we’re no longer the people that we used to be. As Isaiah 40:29-31, concludes, “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”, that we may live by Christ’s blessed beatitudes to the praise of the glory of His grace, being happy and blessed!

 Your brother in Christ, Michael

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

The Beatitude of Humility

 

Ephesians 6:10-13 says that we are in the middle of a spiritual battle. We have been equipped with the armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high. Despite the darkness of this fallen world, God has an over-arching plan and a purpose.  

In order to turn to the Lord, a man and woman of God must humble themself. We are powerless against the powers of darkness unless our power is in the Lord. God’s battle plan is different from the world’s. Jesus said, “love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Pray for them who persecute you and despitefully use you.” Be not overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.
When Jesus and the disciples spoke the good news of the gospel in Luke 9, the people rejected the message. The disciples asked Jesus, “Shall we call down fire from heaven to consume them like Elijah did?” Jesus said, “you dont know what you’re asking. I came not to condemn the world, but to save it.

The first of the beatitudes in Matthew 5 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” This is counter-intuitive to the world’s logic. The world values riches acquired through self-sufficiency and self-reliance. However, humility is the first of the beatitudes ... the Lord’s blessed beautiful attitudes. In order to approach a holy God, we must first forsake our sinful pride. We must approach His throne of grace with empty hands, because we truly have nothing to offer a just and holy God. Only when we’re poor in spirit can He fill us with the power of His Holy Spirit.

The second beatitude says, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” God gave us His word and His spirit to afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted. The apostle Paul said, “in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.” When we ask the Lord to open the eyes or our spiritual understanding, He will show us that despite the afflictions and storms of life, our prayer is not “deliver me from the storm,” but rather, “deliver me through the storm.”  Despite the sin, deception and distractions, panic, pandemic and pandemonium in the world around us, Jesus said, blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Our comfort is not of this world but in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “come unto me all ye who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Without the Lord, we will be crushed under the weight of the world. However in His strength we can bear up under the pressure. The Lord is our fortress and our strong tower. In the shadow of the Almighty there is refuge from the storm. The devil picks off sheep who stray far from the Good Shepherd. There is safety and protection in the presence of Jesus Christ. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The third beatitude says, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The prerequisites for hungering and thirsting after righteousness are the first two beatitudes: humility and mourning for the sins we have committed against the Lord. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is “an acquired taste.” When we approach our Lord with a broken heart of humility and mourning, He, by His mercy and grace, will give us a hunger and thirst for His righteousness. Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing.” The love of God keeps us humble. Love seeks not her own, is not boastful or proud, is not puffed up, keeps no record of wrongs done.

In Philippians 2, Paul said by revelation, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ.” The attitude of Christ was not to be served, but to serve. He humbled himself and took upon himself the form of a servant and became obedient to his Father, even unto the death on the cross. He was shamefully humiliated and he suffered and died, taking upon Himself the shameful punishment that we deserved for our sin. This is amazing grace ... in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. For Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect innocent sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Desperation and destitution are often blessings in disguise. They humble us to the place that we come to realize, “all I need is thee.” God has called us together as a the people of God, so that we can walk together in the ministry and fellowship of brothers and sisters who are pursuing the Lord Jesus Christ. As members of the body of Christ, we’ve been called to liberty in Him. The liberty is not an occasion to sin, but to serve God by following Christ’s example ... to humbly serve one another in love, so that together we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael