The Fear of Man…

 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. 21 But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"

22 Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."

23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. 25 And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.—Luke 23:20-25

Pilate heard two voices…the voice of his conscience and the voice of the crowd.  Sadly, tragically, he succumbed to the loud, insistent voice of man. 

Father…Praying today that my own heart would put aside the fear of man that can drown out the voice of Your precious Spirit speaking Your truth and Your direction to my heart. Give me the courage to live out my faith even and especially in the face of fear and opposition. 

The fear of man brings a snare,

But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.—Proverbs 29:25

Enoch Walked with God…

 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.—Genesis 5:21-24

By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.—Hebrews11:5-6

The writer of Genesis in Chapter 5 reminds us that Enoch didn’t just live…Enoch walked with God.  Enoch desired to live a life of faith…a life of unbroken fellowship with His God.  Spending all his time with the Lord was what was important to Enoch.  For 300 years! Enoch faithfully walked with God.  He didn’t just visit with him during the day, he remained with Him.  Enoch abided.  

I so like the picture this paints of companionably walking with my God throughout my day.  Enoch’s testimony was simply that he pleased God.  It didn’t matter who else around him may not have been pleased because pleasing God was what mattered to Enoch. May this be more and more true of my own life with each passing day.  Oh Father!  Do this work in me!  Not by might…not by power but my my Spirit says the Lord. May nothing come between us…May nothing ever be more important to me than You. 

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust."—Psalm 91:1-2

14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation."—Psalm 91:14-16

A Song of Sorrow….

 A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.

O LORD, God of my salvation,

I have cried out day and night before You.

2 Let my prayer come before You;

Incline Your ear to my cry.

3 For my soul is full of troubles,

And my life draws near to the grave.

4 I am counted with those who go down to the pit;

I am like a man who has no strength,

5 Adrift among the dead,

Like the slain who lie in the grave,

Whom You remember no more,

And who are cut off from Your hand.

6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,

In darkness, in the depths.

7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah

8 You have put away my acquaintances far from me;

You have made me an abomination to them;

I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.

LORD, I have called daily upon You;

I have stretched out my hands to You.

10 Will You work wonders for the dead?

Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah

11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?

Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?

And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD,

And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

14 LORD, why do You cast off my soul?

Why do You hide Your face from me?

15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;

I suffer Your terrors;

I am distraught.

16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;

Your terrors have cut me off.

17 They came around me all day long like water;

They engulfed me altogether.

18 Loved one and friend You have put far from me,

And my acquaintances into darkness.—Psalm 88

I have to say that Psalm 88 was a bit depressing.  The first half describes the Psalmist suffering in great detail and the last part his pleas for mercy and relief.  It is unlike most Psalms because there is no upturn at the end...the psalm concludes with the psalmist in a dark, lonely and friendless place.  I sighed and read it through again and then a third time. It came to me as I read, that all of us  have felt this way at one time or another even as believers.  What blessed me was that despite the writer’s despondency and depression, he turned his heart to the Lord.  It brought Psalm 62:8 to mind. 

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us. Selah

Spurgeon calls Psalm 88 a Song of Sorrow.  I really liked that because even when darkness is our only companion and we don’t understand the Lord’s ways, as believers, we always have hope.  Underlying all the Psalmist grief and depression was trust in His God.  He was NEVER alone and neither are we.  The darkness of our circumstances can not overcome the Light emanating from inside our hearts. Despite his feelings...despite his circumstances...it was to God he turned. With childlike faith then...despite our feelings...despite our circumstances...we WILL turn to our God.  

Father...Thank you that You are always with me.  Thank you that You hear my prayers.  Thank you that You sustain through difficult times with Your sustaining grace and Your unfailing love. Thank you that in You...even the night is light about me.  

Envy and All Its Companions…

 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.  But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. --Genesis 37:3-4

 For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.--Job 5:2 
 
To My Precious Daughters, 


So many of us are immersed in the sins of discontentment, and envy Looking around us we lament, "how come he, why not me or why shouldn't I?  Envy brings along a host of other sins including malice and hatred.  Envy is the pain we feel inside when someone gets something we want or we think we deserve.  Malice is the satisfaction we feel when we see them fail.  Slander usually follows. The person who lives in these sins, lives in a prison of their own making and defiles all who come into contact with them with their dissatisfaction, hatred and very often, hypocrisy.

Putting aside Jacob's sin of favoritism for this study, look at what envy, malice and hatred in the heart brought about for Joseph's brothers.  Now God worked what they meant for evil for good and for the saving of the nation but it made them fall so far that they were able to throw their younger brother in a pit and have a picnic lunch surrounded by his pleas for mercy.

Beloved, be content with the possessions, the position and the circumstances that God has blessed you with.  That is right...blessed you with.  Take a few minutes to look back over your life and see how He has delivered you from your own desires.  So often we think we know what we need to be happy.  Don't go there...give it to the Lord.  Allow Him to put you forward or keep you back.  Position, power, prestige and possessions oftentimes come with very high price tags. Your God knows not only what you need but what you can handle. Psalm 84 tells us that the Lord will withhold no good thing from those who fear Him. Know this and surrender to His direction and will for your life. The Lord knows exactly what you need.  He is your manufacturer and has already paid for you with the highest of prices...His Son's death on the cross.  

All of us are vulnerable to envy and like other sins it begins in our hearts which the bible tells us are desperately wicked.  Girls, keep your hearts with all diligence for out of the heart springs the issues of life and it is out of  the abundance of the heart that your mouth will speak.  Evil speaking is a symptom of malice, envy and deceit in your heart.  Be ruthless with these sins.  Feeding them or allowing them to fester will crowd your heart with selfish desires and wrong things and bring about  your ruin.  Fill your heart with Him and His word.  Delight yourself  in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart.  What does that mean, you ask?

As you spend more and more time with the Lord and His word, His desires for you will become your own desires for yourself.   You will begin to not want anything else but His presence and His will in your life.  You will, in fact, fear going your own way.  The more we get to know the Lord, the more we will delight in His presence.  The better we know the Lord the more we will rely on Him because our eyes will be opened to our own fleshly weaknesses and sin. Gladly will we relinquish the control and direction of our life to Him who does all things well!   Gladly will we commit it all to Him!  His desires for us are from His heart of love for us.  Trust Him to do it all well in your life.  He can see around corners...He sees the end from the beginning.  You do not!

Love
Mom

The Helpless Commits Himself to You…

 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,

To repay it by Your hand.

The helpless commits himself to You;

You are the helper of the fatherless.—Psalm 10:14

Reading through Psalm 10 brought Hagar to mind when she fled from her mistress Sarai’s harsh treatment. 

Hagar, Abraham’s wife, after fleeing Sarai’s harsh treatment finds herself pregnant, alone and helpless in the wilderness by a spring of water.  The Angel of the Lord appears to her here and tells her to return and submit herself under the hand of her mistress and assures her of His protection and His plan for her.  Hagar could go back and submit herself under Sarai’s hand because she knew she was really committing herself to God...to the God who saw her affliction and would look after her. 

Hagar speaking...

So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”—Genesis 16:13 ESV

God does see...He is our God who sees.  He knows what each of us faced yesterday and what we will face today.   He hears the cry of the humble...Truly He is the God who looks after us (me)! 

Men Always Ought to Pray and not Lose Heart…

 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,—Luke 18:1

Such a sweet reminder to me last night from the very heart of my God.  Each one of us will face times of adversity in this life.  When we do, what will be our response?  Will we faint and fear or, as David does in Psalm 61, will we cry out to God in our distress?  Beloved…be like David…instead of fearing and fretting, pray.  

Read with me a portion of Psalm 61:

1 Hear my cry, O God;

Attend to my prayer.

2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

David does not give in to futility and fear.  He goes to God, trusting that his voice will be heard: 

“Hear my cry, O God” 

He asks the Lord to deliver him: 

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” 

David asks God to take him to a place of safety that he himself cannot attain on his own strength.  May we do the same.  May we remember God in the midst of a storm and choose faith over fear. 

13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

14 Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!—Psalm 27:13-14

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:6-7

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.—1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:14-16

1 I love the LORD, because He has heard

My voice and my supplications.

2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,

Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

3 The pains of death surrounded me,

And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;

I found trouble and sorrow.

4 Then I called upon the name of the LORD:

"O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!"

5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;

Yes, our God is merciful.

6 The LORD preserves the simple;

I was brought low, and He saved me.

7 Return to your rest, O my soul,

For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For You have delivered my soul from death,

My eyes from tears,

And my feet from falling.—Psalm 116

Surrounded With His Favor…

 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous: With favor You will surround him as with a shield.--Psalm 5:11-12

Dear Girls,

I read these verses this morning.  What comfort we have in our Lord.  He may deal with others in judgment but we who hope in Him can ever shout for joy because He defends us. He protects us.  He covers us. He is our refuge...strong and sure. We can be joyful in Him , because He blesses us and surrounds us with His favor like a shield.  We are bullet proof.  God has got our back!  He is on our side.  He is near...for in Him we live and move and have our beings.  There is nothing to fear or be anxious about...what can man do to us?  Maybe they can kill the body but when we awake...we awake in His likeness!  He knows we are weak and remembers that we are dust.  He has no illusions about us and yet He surrounds us with His favor like a shield.  We can depend on Him to make our way straight before His face. We can depend on His grace, goodness strength and mercy which is always with us for the journey that lies ahead...and when we  look to Him, we are radiant and our faces are not ashamed.  

Love

Mom

Read the verses below and extol His holy name! 

Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." --Psalm 35:27

Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!"  But I am poor and needy; Yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God. --Psalm 40:16-17

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit.  You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord GOD will slay you, And call His servants by another name; So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes. --Isaiah 65:13-16

But as it is written: "EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." --1 Corinthians 2:9

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. --Psalm 23:6

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. --Romans 8:28

After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her." Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!" And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen! Alleluia!"  Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!" And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! --Revelation 19:1-6

The Rich Man and Lazarus…

 19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'

27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' 30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"—Luke 16:19-31 (emphasis mine)

Prior to salvation when I would hear this Scripture read in the Catholic Church where I grew up, I agreed with the rich man.  If God could just send someone back to us from the dead that would go a long way in saving many.   Interestingly, even at my young age I noted that the rich man still treated Lazarus as if he were below him in status.  Hell did not cleanse him from his wrong thinking. 

The rich man thought that people could be persuaded to repent and believe if God sent someone back to them from the dead. I love Abraham’s response. 

31 But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"

Belief is a spiritual process not an intellectual one. I can believe something in my mind but not necessarily believe it with my heart.  As a kid I believed much of what I read in Scripture with my intellect but I did not believe it enough to live my life in accordance with its precepts or stake my eternal destiny on what it said. Believing did not change how I behaved day in and day out. Many, many years later, when I was finally ready to believe what the Bible said with my heart…with everything that I am…my actions followed what my heart believed.  The internal change was evidenced in my outward behavior. 

Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  Beloved…the gospel itself is the power of God to salvation. 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.—Romans 1:16

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.—Hebrews 4:12

having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,—1 Peter 1:23

Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.—James 1:18

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

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."—John 6:63-65

Walvoord aptly points out that just a short time later Jesus did raise a man from the dead, another man named Lazarus (John 11:38-44). The result was that the religious leaders began to plot more earnestly to kill both Jesus and Lazarus (John 11:45-53; 12:10-11).  

The Parable of the Lost Sheep…

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 

7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.—Luke 15:1-7

This is a famous parable...most people probably get its meaning, but maybe you are like me and have not really rethought its meaning since you first heard it as a child.  Having done that (rethought its meaning) this morning, I am feeling...well...sheepish.

I have loved this particular parable since I was a child for two reasons.  The first is because I really love animals, and the second is because I personally HATE to lose anything.  For example, when my children were little, I would take care to ensure that when a toy or puzzle was put away it had all its pieces.  If it didn’t, a search would ensue. I could really relate to the Shepherd’s joy in finding the sheep that was lost. 

Today as I read, I observed a word in verse 7 that I had not noticed in all my previous readings.  The word was “just”, and that one little word made me rethink the entire parable.  Read the verse again and notice how the “just” person is defined. 

 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance

Do you see why I am feeling sheepish?  Inserting myself into the story, I am the lost sheep who was found!  The other 99 are the ones who are really lost because they think they are righteous and, therefore, have no need of repentance. The Bible says that there is none that are righteous...no not one...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Beloved....the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.  The joy of God Himself is when a blinded, lost “sheep” comes to repentance. 

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.—Hebrews 12:2

For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.—2 Peter 2:25