Believe God...

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one's youth.

5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

They shall not be ashamed,

But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.—Psalm 127:3-5

1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,

Who walks in His ways.

2 When you eat the labor of your hands,

You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

In the very heart of your house,

Your children like olive plants

All around your table.

4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

Who fears the LORD.—Psalm 128

Psalm 127 calls children “a heritage of the LORD,”...a reward.  The world often views children as inconveniences, but clearly our God values them highly. Psalm 128 continues that theme by saying that a good family life is a reward for fearing and following God. Why? Because walking and living in accordance with His  commandments brings blessing. His law is good and is for our good. His commandments are not burdensome.  

The world’s view will ALWAYS run in opposition to God.  It will despise and denigrate what is good, right, pure, and lovely.  It will call good, evil and evil, good. The people asked Jesus this question in John 6:

28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"

29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

Jesus’ reply is short, simple and to the point. Believe On Him whom God has sent. 

Beloved, believe God...believe on Him today, the same way you believed on Him the very first time for salvation.  Believe on Him now, always and forever...continually and habitually.  This is the way, the only way, we live blessed...both in this world and in eternity.  

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?—1 John 5:3-5

For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are all answered "Yes." So through Him we say our "Amen" to the glory of God.—2 Corinthians 1:20

Do not be afraid; only believe.—Mark 5:36b

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."—Rev 1:8

When Israel was a Child, I Loved Him...

 Hosea 11:1-4

1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,

      And out of Egypt I called My son. 

       2 As they called them,

      So they went from them;

      They sacrificed to the Baals, 

      And burned incense to carved images. 

       3 “ I taught Ephraim to walk, 

      Taking them by their arms;

      But they did not know that I healed them. 

       4 I drew them with gentle cords,

      With bands of love, 

      And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.

      I stooped and fed them. 

David in Chapter 18 of Second Samuel becomes blinded by his affection for his graceless son , Absalom, whom he “overloves”.  It is not difficult as parents to find ourselves in the same position as David when our children rebel.  We see them through rose-colored glasses and remember them as guileless, small children.  The truth here, however, is very different from the imaginations of David’s grieving heart.  Absalom desired to have David, along with his sons, daughters, wives and concubines murdered.  David’s desire for traitorous Absalom was that he would be spared...that the leaders of his army would deal gently with him!  David’s desire for mercy toward Absalom  was so very misplaced.  Oh, how much at this moment did both these men need God’s wisdom to enlighten their eyes.  David needed it to see Absolom for the traitor that he was and Absalom needed it to preserve himself from his own rebellion and selfish ambition which had left him literally hanging on a tree (accursed) between heaven and earth.  

David’s grief over Absalom reminded me that being a parent has enabled me to share in a small way in not only the love of Christ but also in the fellowship of His sufferings.  Loving a child opens our hearts to much love but also to the possibility of much hurt.  We see in our own desire to show mercy, love and grace to our children, a tiny smidgen of God’s desire to show mercy, love and grace toward us.  We understand a little more about the great love with which He loves us.  We can even understand a little more how He would die for us when we were yet His enemy.  

God used my own experience as a parent (the good, the bad and the ugly) to bring these truths home to my heart.  Through His word to us (me), He enabled me not only to begin to perceive the beauty of sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings but also to grasp an inkling of my Savior’s sacrificial love for me.  Truly this is how we get to know our Lord...by walking in the same path that He walked....by making, as His word says, His footsteps our pathway.  Very often this path is the despised and rejected path, but even that is a good thing because it gives us the opportunity to follow Christ's example. Whatever difficulty and grief we experience here on earth, our Jesus has been there before and is even there now going through it with us. 

 "WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.  

Here are just a few of the verses of Scripture God used in my life to give me that tiny window into His heart of love for His children.  Read them from the perspective of the Father's heart of love for you and for your children....read them as a mom or a dad thinking on his child and mourning the loss but hoping for the future. Whatever we go through here on this earth as a believer, our God will use to not only draw us closer to Him but also to transform us into His image.

Jeremiah 31:15-22

 15 Thus says the LORD:

      “ A voice was heard in Ramah,

      Lamentation and bitter weeping,

      Rachel weeping for her children,

      Refusing to be comforted for her children,

      Because they are no more.”

16 Thus says the LORD:

      “ Refrain your voice from weeping,

      And your eyes from tears;

      For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD,

      And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.

       17 There is hope in your future, says the LORD,

      That your children shall come back to their own border.

       18 “ I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:

      ‘ You have chastised me, and I was chastised,

      Like an untrained bull;

      Restore me, and I will return,

      For You are the LORD my God.

       19 Surely, after my turning, I repented;

      And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;

      I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated,

      Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’

       20 Is Ephraim My dear son?

      Is he a pleasant child?

      For though I spoke against him,

      I earnestly remember him still;

      Therefore My heart yearns for him;

      I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD.

       21 “ Set up signposts,

      Make landmarks;

      Set your heart toward the highway,

      The way in which you went.

      Turn back, O virgin of Israel,

      Turn back to these your cities.

       22 How long will you gad about,

      O you backsliding daughter? 

Empty Glory...

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.—3 John 9-10

Diotrephes was not motivated by love for God and for the brethren but by pride.  His concern was first and foremost Diotrephes.  If we are being honest, like Diotrephes, we are usually our first thought in the morning and our last at night.  Our default position when something happens is to first analyze how whatever it is might affect us personally. It is only by the Spirit of God that we can think on others at all. Diotrephes desire was to be first..he wanted the pre-eminence.  He wanted what belongs only to God.  Paul says this in Philippians:

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.—Philippians 2:3-4

According to John MacArthur, “the Greek word which is sometimes rendered “strife” because it refers to factionalism, rivalry, and partisanship, speaks of the pride that prompts people to push for their own way.  Conceit, literally ‘empty glory’, refers to the pursuit of personal glory, which is the motivation for selfish ambition.  Lowliness of mind translates a Greek word that Paul and other NT writers apparently coined. It was a term of derision, with the idea of being low, shabby, and humble. John MacArthur also says that ‘esteeming others as better than himself’ is the basic definition of true humility.”

Philippians 2 continues with these words:

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.—Philippians 2:5-8

Beloved, let this mind be in you!  Trust God with your pre-eminence, your position and your prestige.  He cares for you, thinks on you, intercedes for you and fights for you. He is your strong habitation to which you may continually resort, and He has given the commandment to save you. Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. 

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.—John 13:12-17

If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.—1 Peter 4:11

Loving with Discernment...

And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.—2 John 5-6

I am thankful for this short epistle in which John clarifies what loving in truth means in Christian hospitality.  First off, there is controversy among commentators as to who this elect lady and her children are. Some think that John is referring metaphorically  to a particular local church and her children to congregation members.  I am of the opinion that they are just what he says...a mom and her kids who were well known to him and loved in truth. 

Perhaps the lady John addresses in this epistle had asked him for guidance in regard to Christian hospitality.   Her question and her desire are good. She wants to love others especially those who are of the household of faith, but not encourage fellowship with false teachers.  John’s answer is really encapsulated in verses 5 and 6 above. The truth of God is the basis for all we do and all we say in our Christian walk.  

There are so many ways that the world loves, but what does it mean to love in truth?  Loving in truth, as verse 5 tells us, is walking in accordance to the commandments of God.  Loving this way, then, has eternal effects because truth is eternal.  It abides in us and is with us forever.  God is love so when we love in truth, we love as He loves.

Beloved, the truth of God must be our grounding and our guide and the love of God our motivation and basis for everything we do and say as believers.  Biblical love is a matter of choice and it must be with discernment based on the truth of God revealed in His word. It is not loving then to the people of God to open your door to fellowship with false teachers.  

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.—2 John 7-11

What a pastor’s heart the apostle John had for the people (“little children”) in his care.  I love that he took the time to write to this elect lady whom he loved in truth to address her hospitality concerns. 

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.—Galatians 6:2

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.—Colossians 3:16-17 

If It Had Not Been the LORD Who Was on Our Side...

 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,"

Let Israel now say—

2 "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,

When men rose up against us,

3 Then they would have swallowed us alive,

When their wrath was kindled against us;

4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,

The stream would have gone over our soul;

5 Then the swollen waters

Would have gone over our soul."

6 Blessed be the LORD,

Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.

7 Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;

The snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.—Ps 124

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?—1 John 5:4-5

This morning as I contemplated the overwhelming evil and deceit that seems to surround us, my heart became discouraged.  As I opened my Bible I prayed that God would once again fill and steady my shaky heart with His sustaining grace.  Beloved, God is faithful. This morning He did just that with the verses above from the OYB readings. 

I am an overcomer!  As a believer, my union with Christ, allows me to partake in His victory.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:37-39

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.—2 Corinthians 2:14

God has provided me away of escape from the deceit and lies that surround us.  I do not war against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers set on destroying all that is good and right.  Psalm 124 begins 

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side...

There is a pause...the thought is not completed.  Perhaps we, as believers, are meant to fill in the blank.  If the Lord had not been on my side, I would stand condemned by my sin to suffer eternally in hell. My life here on earth would be spent knowing that dying would bring no relief. It would, in fact, bring greater and more intense suffering. No good news there...only terror.  But God...

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.—Ephesians 2:4-9

Spurgeon reminds us not to look downward in despair, or look to the right hand or to the left to human confidence, or look within in pride, but 

"Unto You lift I up my eyes." —

Beloved, lift up your eyes to Him. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Our defense is of God who saves the upright in our heart. Read the following and be encouraged. Remember all of God’s promises are yes and amen in His Son.  

9 When I cry out to You,

Then my enemies will turn back;

This I know, because God is for me.

10 In God (I will praise His word),

In the LORD (I will praise His word),

11 In God I have put my trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?—Psalm 56:9-11

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life;

Of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked came against me

To eat up my flesh,

My enemies and foes,

They stumbled and fell.

3 Though an army may encamp against me,

My heart shall not fear;

Though war may rise against me,

In this I will be confident.—Psalm 27:1-3

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;

The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.—Psalm 121

1 Unto You I lift up my eyes,

O You who dwell in the heavens.

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

So our eyes look to the LORD our God,

Until He has mercy on us.

3 Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us!

For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled

With the scorn of those who are at ease,

With the contempt of the proud.—Psalm 123

1 Those who trust in the LORD

Are like Mount Zion,

Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

So the LORD surrounds His people

From this time forth and forever.—Psalm 125

1 When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

And our tongue with singing.

Then they said among the nations,

"The LORD has done great things for them."

3 The LORD has done great things for us,

And we are glad.—Psalm 126

Biblical Love...

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.—1 John 4:21

This verse summarizes what John has been discussing in verses 7-21.  Those who are born again have received God’s nature.  Because God IS love, as His child, our lives will reflect this love to others. Per John MacArthur, the original language in 4:7 conveys the idea that those who are born again “will exhibit the characteristic habit of love.”  I want this habit of love in my life.  Reading this verse in the Amplified Bible helped me. 

And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should also [unselfishly] love his brother and seek the best for him.—1 John 4:21

Now the word love is used so lightly today that it has kind of become meaningless to me.  I needed more.  The Amplified delivered.   How do I love as God loves?  I unselfishly seek the best for them.  THAT is a short, succinct and powerful description of true biblical love. Love does not seek its own...that helps me “see” it.  That leaves me no wiggle room.  As a fallen human being, I KNOW that my first thought in the morning is me as is my last thought before I sleep. I am filled with selfish ambition. I desperately need the Spirit of God’s to help me think on others...to put their needs above my own.  Biblical love, as I said in my post yesterday, is always an action. It gives sacrificially.  

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.—Romans 5:6-8

Loving in Deed and in Truth...

 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.—1 John 3:18

There is a huge chasm between the first half of verse 18 and the second half.  That chasm is bridged by the Spirit of God living in our hearts. It is easy to love others in word but impossible to love them in deed and in truth without the Holy Spirit living in our hearts working to reveal in us the beautiful and precious character of Christ. In Him we are sufficient, because He has given us all we need for life and godliness.  

By this, John says in verse 16, we know love...

because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

The supernatural love of God has been poured out in the heart of every true believer. Genuine Christian love is evidenced in self-sacrificing and giving...both extraordinary and “ordinary”.  Unbelievers, in contrast, are marked (see vs 12-17) by an indifference towards the needs of others.  The love of God is shown in that He laid down His life for us.  We, as believers, are called to this said same love.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.—John 15:12

Beloved, the word translated as love in the Bible is never a noun, but always a verb. Love is not reflected in sentiment or feeling but in action.  Truth is where our words and our deeds match.

  

Behold What Manner of Love...

 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.—1 John 3:1-3

God the Father has lavished me with His love.  I am not only called His child, I AM His child.  

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.—John 1:12-13

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.—Romans 8:15-17

This world is not my home. My hope is certain...my destiny sure.  My life here is the worst things will get for me.  Here on earth I might be rejected, despised and tried, but through it all,  I can look forward to receiving my full inheritance in heaven.  We, who believe, will be like Him and be with Him.  My new man was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. 

and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,—Colossians 3:10

At Christ’s return, the believer (me!) will experience ultimate conformity to His likeness.

who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself—Philippians 3:21

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.—Romans 8:29

John MacArthur says this about that likeness...

“The glorious nature of that conformity defies description, but as much as glorified humanity can be like incarnate deity, believers will be, without becoming deity.”

Having this sure and certain hope encourages us to purify our hearts and live godly today.  Paul nails it in Philippians 3:

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 3:12-14

Paul’s goal here on earth and in heaven were the same...Christlikeness.  Ours should be the same.  

The Love of God Perfected...

But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.—1 John 2:5-6

What a wonderful verse on which to meditate.  God’s love is perfected or brought to maturity in those who obey His word. Our own lives give evidence as to whether we truly know Him. Those who know Him will walk as He walked.  Those who are truly in Christ will daily grow to look, love, and live like Him. I sooo want this in my life. 

Even in knowing that, my first reaction to the above two verses is rebellion. My flesh bristles.  A wall comes up between my God and me.  I feel burdened and kinda hopeless.  At my age I KNOW I cannot keep His word.  My second response is relief because I remember that He has not left me alone.  His Spirit is with me and is in me. He does the “keeping” work. My job is just to abide.  Jesus taught His disciples in John 15 what that means, explaining it in His illustration of the vine and its branches. Just as the branch gets its life by remaining in contact with the vine, so believers receive their strength by staying in fellowship with Christ.  Without Him, beloved, we can do nothing good. Abiding in Him and His word leads to knowing Him through His word and knowing His truth sets you free to walk as He walked. 

And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."—Exodus 33:14