To My Sweet Daughters in Him:
The Gibeonites were afraid. Their neighbors on the same side of the Jordan had heard of the children of Israel's victories and decided to gather together to fight Joshua with one accord. The Gibeonites, however, decided to use guile rather than brawn. Sadly, even after the children of Israel's defeat at Ai (because they did not ask "His" counsel before going into battle) Joshua once again stepped out ahead of the Lord. He looked at the outward rather than seek His God, and he made a treaty with the Gibeonites.
I have done as Joshua did here more times than I want to remember. Unbelief has so much trouble waiting. The men of Israel had had doubts about the truthfulness of the Gibeonites. Read Joshua 9:7:
Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you dwell among us; so can we make a covenant with you?"
Truly God does speak to our hearts and gives us warnings. Unfortunately, like Joshua, we do not always heed the warning. We ignore it, we make rationalizations for it or we out and out disregard it. As believers, we are to wait on our God, and walk by faith, not by sight. We are to bring it all to Him in prayer and then surrender to God's desires in any situation we face. We bring much needless pain, trial and trouble to our lives when we don't listen to our Lord.
Girls, our God is a true and faithful friend. His plan for us is best and comes from His heart of love. Seek His face in prayer. Seek His word and allow it to speak to your heart. Remember that in our flesh we look at the evidence and think we know...we think we have got it covered...that we do not need to ask His counsel. Walk in the Spirit...seek His mind, His wisdom and His will. Seek His grace and His mercy to obtain help. Don't ignore His warnings....listen for His voice and do what He says.
Love
Mom
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.--Proverbs 3:5-6
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Notes on Revelation 15
Chapter 15: Prelude to Judgment...
Chapter 15 is the prelude to God's final judgment of the earth. We see here the seven angels getting ready to pour out the judgments on the earth. In them, the bible says, the wrath of God is complete. We are coming to the end of the tribulation period. At the conclusion of the last of the bowl judgments, Jesus will return to establish His kingdom on the earth. As an aside...the word plague here is not translated disease or epidemic but is translated blow or wound. These are deadly blows that will strike the world with killing impact.
The sea of glass that is before the throne of God is now mingled with fire...fiery judgment is about to take place. (Revelation 4:6)
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over the image, and over the mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying:
Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for only thou art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.Rev 15:2-4
There they are surrounding God's throne...these are the believers redeemed during the tribulation period. Those that had been victorious over the beast...who did not worship his image and who did not take his mark. (6:9–11; 7:9–17; 12:11, 17; 14:1–5, 12–13). The harps are indicate that these saints are singing praises to God. They sing the song of Moses...a song of deliverance and the Song of the Lamb. These believers rejoice because their prayers for God to take vengeance on their persecutors (6:9–10) are about to be answered. It is hard for us to imagine that there will be songs sung in heaven just before these terrible judgments. Throughout chapter 16 we will see God's judgments asserted as righteous. We will also see the consistency of man's rebellion and his refusal to repent. Again...right now we see in the mirror dimly but then face to face. I really don't even think we can even begin to comprehend the magnitude of the effect that sin has had on this world. Or even the opportunities that each of us in this world has been given to accept the free gift of Jesus.
Let's go through the song...
Great and marvelous are God's works! Looking at His work of redemption....He sent His only Son to die for us even when we were yet His enemies! Look at creation...it's magnitude but also its precision. Look at His work in your own life...in the life of your loved ones. Behold His mercy!!
True and just are His ways. No one can accuse God of not being fair. Right now we do not know the whole story. Again, we are looking through the mirror dimly so to speak. When all is revealed, however, all will declare it. God's holy and righteous character demands that He judge sinners that have rejected His Son. If He ignored their sin, He would not be holy, righteous, and true to His nature. The song closes with joyful anticipation of the millennial reign of Christ, when all the nations will come and worship before God. Read their reward in Revelation 20:4-6:
Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. Revelation 15:5-8
A pretty solemn moment...the instruments of God's wrath are distributed here. Each angel will perform his assigned task. The temple of the tabernacle...the holy of holies opens...these judgments come from God Himself. There is so much of the OT here....I liked reading about it in John MacArthur's book: Because the Time is Near, here is an excerpt:
"This Greek word for “bowls” refers to shallow saucers. The imagery is not that of a stream being poured gradually out of a pitcher, but of the whole contents of the shallow saucers being hurled down in an instant flood of judgment. Bowls were part of the temple furnishings (1 Kings 7:50; Zechariah 14:20) and were associated with the sacrifices (Exodus 27:3; 38:3). Those who refuse to drink the cup of salvation (Psalm 116:13) will be drowned in the judgments poured from the bowls of wrath. Because God lives forever and ever. He has the power to put an end to sin, so that it cannot exist again forever in His holy presence. Out of the heavenly temple came not only the angels, but also smoke symbolizing the glory of God and His power. Smoke, an emblem of majesty (Exodus 19:16–18), also symbolized God’s glorious presence in the Old Testament tabernacle or temple (Exodus 40:34–35; 1 Kings 8:10–11; Isaiah 6:1–4). This smoke also symbolizes God’s wrath. No one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues were finished. The glory cloud will remain in the heavenly temple until the earth is completely purged and prepared for the King and His kingdom."
Chapter 16 brings the final judgment...the end is coming and the Son of Man will be returning to the earth to establish His Kingdom.
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is completed the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire. Revelation 15:1-2
Chapter 15 is the prelude to God's final judgment of the earth. We see here the seven angels getting ready to pour out the judgments on the earth. In them, the bible says, the wrath of God is complete. We are coming to the end of the tribulation period. At the conclusion of the last of the bowl judgments, Jesus will return to establish His kingdom on the earth. As an aside...the word plague here is not translated disease or epidemic but is translated blow or wound. These are deadly blows that will strike the world with killing impact.
The sea of glass that is before the throne of God is now mingled with fire...fiery judgment is about to take place. (Revelation 4:6)
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over the image, and over the mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying:
Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for only thou art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.Rev 15:2-4
There they are surrounding God's throne...these are the believers redeemed during the tribulation period. Those that had been victorious over the beast...who did not worship his image and who did not take his mark. (6:9–11; 7:9–17; 12:11, 17; 14:1–5, 12–13). The harps are indicate that these saints are singing praises to God. They sing the song of Moses...a song of deliverance and the Song of the Lamb. These believers rejoice because their prayers for God to take vengeance on their persecutors (6:9–10) are about to be answered. It is hard for us to imagine that there will be songs sung in heaven just before these terrible judgments. Throughout chapter 16 we will see God's judgments asserted as righteous. We will also see the consistency of man's rebellion and his refusal to repent. Again...right now we see in the mirror dimly but then face to face. I really don't even think we can even begin to comprehend the magnitude of the effect that sin has had on this world. Or even the opportunities that each of us in this world has been given to accept the free gift of Jesus.
Let's go through the song...
Great and marvelous are God's works! Looking at His work of redemption....He sent His only Son to die for us even when we were yet His enemies! Look at creation...it's magnitude but also its precision. Look at His work in your own life...in the life of your loved ones. Behold His mercy!!
God's mercy even in this greatest time of judgment is clearly evidenced in the 144,000 Jewish evangelist, the two witnesses, the saved that are still on the earth as well as the flying angel from Chapter 14 that preaches the everlasting gospel from the midst of heaven. In fact as God's wrath increases so do His efforts to bring His creatures to repentance. This time of tribulation will yield the greatest harvest ever!
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues … clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;--Revelation 7:9
True and just are His ways. No one can accuse God of not being fair. Right now we do not know the whole story. Again, we are looking through the mirror dimly so to speak. When all is revealed, however, all will declare it. God's holy and righteous character demands that He judge sinners that have rejected His Son. If He ignored their sin, He would not be holy, righteous, and true to His nature. The song closes with joyful anticipation of the millennial reign of Christ, when all the nations will come and worship before God. Read their reward in Revelation 20:4-6:
Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. Revelation 15:5-8
"This Greek word for “bowls” refers to shallow saucers. The imagery is not that of a stream being poured gradually out of a pitcher, but of the whole contents of the shallow saucers being hurled down in an instant flood of judgment. Bowls were part of the temple furnishings (1 Kings 7:50; Zechariah 14:20) and were associated with the sacrifices (Exodus 27:3; 38:3). Those who refuse to drink the cup of salvation (Psalm 116:13) will be drowned in the judgments poured from the bowls of wrath. Because God lives forever and ever. He has the power to put an end to sin, so that it cannot exist again forever in His holy presence. Out of the heavenly temple came not only the angels, but also smoke symbolizing the glory of God and His power. Smoke, an emblem of majesty (Exodus 19:16–18), also symbolized God’s glorious presence in the Old Testament tabernacle or temple (Exodus 40:34–35; 1 Kings 8:10–11; Isaiah 6:1–4). This smoke also symbolizes God’s wrath. No one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues were finished. The glory cloud will remain in the heavenly temple until the earth is completely purged and prepared for the King and His kingdom."
Chapter 16 brings the final judgment...the end is coming and the Son of Man will be returning to the earth to establish His Kingdom.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Notes on Revelation 14
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.--Revelation 14:1-3
Wow...what did John see? He saw the Lamb of God on Mount Zion that is prophesied and pictured in Psalm 2. His appearance is awe-inspiring...Jesus poised to take possession of the earth.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.--Psalm 2:6-12
The Lamb appears with the 144,000 who have the name of the God sealed on their foreheads. These are the servants of God that were sealed...12,000 from each of the tribes of the children of Israel. Unbelievers have the mark of the beast but these have the mark of God. They are protected as they preach and do His will. These men enter the millennial kingdom alive. Here they can be heard singing the song of redemption. The voice of God is said here to have a musical sound...i love that! Harps in the bible symbolize joy...heaven sings...Jesus is triumphant!
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.--Revelation 14:4-5
We get a little more information here about the 144,000, who truly will shine as lights in the world during its darkest time. They will not be defiled with women. They are devoted followers of the Lamb. They are the first fruits unto God and therefore separated completely to do His will. In their mouth is no guile. They speak the truth of God. They are blameless before Him. They are not sinless but their lives are godly examples to all...lights among a crooked and perverse generation.
Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.--Daniel 6:4
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.--Revelation 14:6-11
The first angel preaches the Gospel to those who dwell on the earth, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Our God's mercy, grace and love toward His creatures truly reaches into the heavenlies.
I love what John MacArthur says about the various ways the gospel is described in Scripture:
"Like a multifaceted jewel, Scripture describes the gospel in various terms, each looking at it from a different viewpoint, including the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of God, the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of the glory of Christ, and the gospel of salvation (Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:14; Acts 20:24; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesisans 1:13). Here it is described as “eternal” because it provides the means to eternal life."
The next angel sadly pronounces judgment....an indication that the message of the first angel was mostly rejected.
The third angel promises damnation. The bible tells us we are without excuse when we reject the word of God. (Romans 1:20-21) The fate of those who reject the message of God is absolutely horrifying.
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Forever and ever is a long time...
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.--Revelation 14:12-13
The perseverance of the saints...Those whom God has justified will never lose their faith. They will keep His commandments and keep the faith come what may...even when facing the loss of their lives. They will maintain their testimony to the end...no group in history will face face more intense persecution and no group in history will manifest the character of saving faith more than the tribulation believers. Our faith is from God. As such it is supernatural. The kind of faith that endures to the end is from God. Believers are kept by the power of God. He is able to save to the uttermost and lives to make intercession for us. Jesus is speaking in John 10:28-29:
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
True saving faith from God endures...I am so encouraged when I read the many verses in the Scripture that tell me over and over again that it is not up to me...If my confession was sincere, I cannot do anything to lose my salvation.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord! You do not hear blessed are the dead often but believers who live out the the reality of their faith trusting in Jesus for it all die with the promise of eternal life. Their suffering ends and they rest from their labors...their deeds follow them.
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.--Hebrews 6:10
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. --Revelation 14:14-16
Read that very last verse again...and the earth was reaped. Divine judgment executed. Pretty sobering thought. These final judgments are detailed in Chapter 16.
Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.--Revelation 14:17-20
The execution of final judgment is in view here. The grain harvest (14-16) and the grape harvest (17-20) The grain harvest symbolizes the seven bowl judgements and the grape harvest, Armageddon. The imagery used is pretty dramatic and very sobering. In fact the word for ripe in verse 15 means to be withered...to become dry. The grain here has passed the point of usefulness and fit only as it says in Matthew 13 to be burned.
The word ripe in 18 means to flourish or come to maturity. The ungodly people of the earth are literally "bursting with the juice of wickedness and ready for the harvest of righteousness.
This angel does not come from the throne of God but from the altar where the saints of God are...the ones who have been beheaded because of their belief. This pictures their prayers being answered. When the angels swings his sickle to the earth, all the enemies of God who have up to this point survived the other judgments will be annilhated. I will end with a quote from John MacArthur's description of the Battle of Armageddon from his book, Because the Time is Near, that is so worth reading:
They "will be gathered like grape clusters from the vine of the earth and flung into the great wine press of the wrath of God. A winepress consisted of two stone basins connected by a trough. Grapes would be trampled in the upper basin, and the juice would collect in the lower one. The splattering of the juice as the grapes are stomped vividly pictures the splattered blood of those who will be destroyed (cf. Isaiah 63:3; Lamentation 1:15; Joel 3:13).
The staggering, horrifying bloodbath of the battle of Armageddon will be so widespread that blood will come out from the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles. “The winepress [will be] trodden outside the city,” as the Lord protects Jerusalem from the carnage of the battle of Armageddon (cf. 11:2; Daniel 11:45; Zechariah 14:1–4). There will be millions of people engaged in the battle of Armageddon, as all the nations gather together to fight against Christ. Still, it is difficult to imagine that they could produce a flow of blood “up to the horses’ bridles [about four feet deep] for a distance of two hundred miles” (literally “1,600 stadia”). A better interpretation, whether there are actual horses involved or not, sees this as hyperbole to suggest the slaughter in which blood will splatter into the air profusely along the whole length of the battle. When the slaughter reaches its peak, blood could flow deeply in troughs and streambeds. Armageddon, as this passage indicates, will actually be a slaughter rather than a battle.
When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, Antichrist, the false prophet, and all their human and demonic forces will be immediately destroyed. Those who refuse to repent, even after repeated warnings, will learn firsthand the sobering truth that
“it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
They would do well to heed admonition of Psalm 2:
“Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” "
Monday, January 2, 2012
Create In Me A Clean Heart
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.--Psalm 51:7-11
Father,
Thank You that as I walk in the light in fellowship with You and with others that the precious blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanses me from all my sin. If I confess my sin, Lord, You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
Wash me, Lord, with the water of Your Word. Allow it to root deeply in my heart and convict me of all unrighteousness. Allow Your Word to transform me into Your image. Allow it to set my heart aright and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Though my sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. In Your precious Son, Father, I am made clean.
Please Father, do not hide your face from me. Blot out all my iniquities. For they have gone over my head and, like a heavy burden, are too heavy for me. I am troubled and bowed down...feeble, sore and broken. There is no rest in my soul because of my sin.
O how happy is the man to whom God does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Lord, I acknowledge my sin and all my desire is before You. My heart pants, my strength fails...the light is gone from my eyes. I am sorry for my sin.
But You, O Lord, are my God who forgives! I have trusted in Your mercy and my hope is in Your Word. My heart rejoices in Your salvation. I sing to You because You have dealt bountifully with me! You have turned my mourning to dancing and have girded me with the gladness of Your salvation. You have forgiven all my sins...You are always with me...even when I make my bed in the depths of the sea...even there You find me...Your right hand leads me and holds me fast.
You have created in me a clean heart. In Your Son, Jesus, I am a new creature. Old things have passed away and behold all things have been made new! You God have reconciled me to Yourself by Your Son. Only in Him am I found righteous! In Him I am washed as white as snow.
I will praise You forever because You, God, are my Portion. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. You do not cast me out but cover me in the blood of Your Son. You are my hiding place. Under Your wing, I take shelter. I am with You always.
What can I render to You, my God, for all Your benefits to me??? Like David, I have taken the cup of Your salvation. Upon Your name will I call.
Make me an ambassador for You, Father. I want to tell the precious people of this world about You. i want to teach them Your ways by Your Spirit working in my life. I want them to be converted unto YOU!
Father,
Thank You that as I walk in the light in fellowship with You and with others that the precious blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanses me from all my sin. If I confess my sin, Lord, You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
Wash me, Lord, with the water of Your Word. Allow it to root deeply in my heart and convict me of all unrighteousness. Allow Your Word to transform me into Your image. Allow it to set my heart aright and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Though my sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. In Your precious Son, Father, I am made clean.
Please Father, do not hide your face from me. Blot out all my iniquities. For they have gone over my head and, like a heavy burden, are too heavy for me. I am troubled and bowed down...feeble, sore and broken. There is no rest in my soul because of my sin.
O how happy is the man to whom God does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Lord, I acknowledge my sin and all my desire is before You. My heart pants, my strength fails...the light is gone from my eyes. I am sorry for my sin.
But You, O Lord, are my God who forgives! I have trusted in Your mercy and my hope is in Your Word. My heart rejoices in Your salvation. I sing to You because You have dealt bountifully with me! You have turned my mourning to dancing and have girded me with the gladness of Your salvation. You have forgiven all my sins...You are always with me...even when I make my bed in the depths of the sea...even there You find me...Your right hand leads me and holds me fast.
You have created in me a clean heart. In Your Son, Jesus, I am a new creature. Old things have passed away and behold all things have been made new! You God have reconciled me to Yourself by Your Son. Only in Him am I found righteous! In Him I am washed as white as snow.
I will praise You forever because You, God, are my Portion. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. You do not cast me out but cover me in the blood of Your Son. You are my hiding place. Under Your wing, I take shelter. I am with You always.
What can I render to You, my God, for all Your benefits to me??? Like David, I have taken the cup of Your salvation. Upon Your name will I call.
Make me an ambassador for You, Father. I want to tell the precious people of this world about You. i want to teach them Your ways by Your Spirit working in my life. I want them to be converted unto YOU!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
When My Heart is Overwhelmed...
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?--Joshua 7:6-9
I can so relate to how Joshua is feeling here. Rending clothes, tearing hair, beating the breast, throwing dust upon the head and falling prostrate in the Bible are all signs of deep affliction and distress. Sometimes we just don't understand what God is doing....why something occurred or why the Lord "seemed" to help us one day and not the next. But God whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts "did it" differently. We complain against Him, question His motives, His abilities and even His Word.
This is where we find Joshua. He seems to have completely forgotten all the mighty wonders the Lord has done in the last 40 plus years. He seems to have forgotten what the Lord said to Him in the very first chapter of this book:
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, .... There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.--Joshua 1:2-4
I am so like Joshua...it is easy for me to trust God when things are going the way I think they should go...but when things begin to go south and not make sense, I can sound just like Joshua does here....full of doubt and overwhelmed by my circumstances. The Israelites had just had a major victory at Jericho, but had to turn tail and run from the men in Ai. The battle of Ai should have been an easy win. Unfortunately, there was unconfessed sin in the camp of Israel.
Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.--Joshua 7:11-12
Israel's disobedience had grieved the Spirit of God, but Joshua, as their leader, had quenched the Spirit by not acknowledging the Lord in prayer before going into battle. It is so easy when coming off a major spiritual victory to forget God and go in your own strength. THAT is not what our God wants. He wants us to depend on Him at all times. Sadly for us, difficulties cause us to remember where our strength comes from more than the good times do. God desire and goal for us as we journey through this life is for us to be conformed to His image...to become like Him and reflect His glory.
Feeling happy...bring it to Him. Feeling helpless, fearful and overwhelmed....bring it to Him. Bring it all to Him. Fall at His feet and turn your heart upside down before Him. Surrender to His Spirit. and acknowledge Him in all your ways. Allow Him to be your Guide and direct your path always.
Father....When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I...
I can so relate to how Joshua is feeling here. Rending clothes, tearing hair, beating the breast, throwing dust upon the head and falling prostrate in the Bible are all signs of deep affliction and distress. Sometimes we just don't understand what God is doing....why something occurred or why the Lord "seemed" to help us one day and not the next. But God whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts "did it" differently. We complain against Him, question His motives, His abilities and even His Word.
This is where we find Joshua. He seems to have completely forgotten all the mighty wonders the Lord has done in the last 40 plus years. He seems to have forgotten what the Lord said to Him in the very first chapter of this book:
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, .... There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.--Joshua 1:2-4
I am so like Joshua...it is easy for me to trust God when things are going the way I think they should go...but when things begin to go south and not make sense, I can sound just like Joshua does here....full of doubt and overwhelmed by my circumstances. The Israelites had just had a major victory at Jericho, but had to turn tail and run from the men in Ai. The battle of Ai should have been an easy win. Unfortunately, there was unconfessed sin in the camp of Israel.
Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.--Joshua 7:11-12
Israel's disobedience had grieved the Spirit of God, but Joshua, as their leader, had quenched the Spirit by not acknowledging the Lord in prayer before going into battle. It is so easy when coming off a major spiritual victory to forget God and go in your own strength. THAT is not what our God wants. He wants us to depend on Him at all times. Sadly for us, difficulties cause us to remember where our strength comes from more than the good times do. God desire and goal for us as we journey through this life is for us to be conformed to His image...to become like Him and reflect His glory.
Feeling happy...bring it to Him. Feeling helpless, fearful and overwhelmed....bring it to Him. Bring it all to Him. Fall at His feet and turn your heart upside down before Him. Surrender to His Spirit. and acknowledge Him in all your ways. Allow Him to be your Guide and direct your path always.
Father....When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I...
Saturday, December 31, 2011
My Strength and My Song...
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
The only thing that will lift me up out of despair is to hear Your voice filled with lovingkindness. Cause me to hear it! You are the One that I trust in. You are the One who lifts my burdens and brings me to hope. You are the One who does not change and whose presence is always with me. I belong to You....I am relying on You. You are faithful...You will not disappoint one who is trusting You.
Lord, I am seeking you diligently and trusting you completely. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk. Enlighten my darkness Lord and enable me to see the perfect path You and You alone have laid out for me.
My soul is heavy but as I lift it up to You, You bear me up on eagle's wings and renew my strength....then I will be able to run and not grow weary; walk and not grow faint.
Lord, You are the God of my circumstances. Thank you for your presence in my life...thank you for the gift of Your Son. You are my strength and my song.
Friday, December 30, 2011
The Waters Will Not Overflow Us...
Chapters 3 and 4 of the book of Joshua were some convicting chapters of Scripture for me. What a reminder of God's sovereign care and love for His people. What a reminder to me who, like the Israelites, often needs memorial stones to remember the wonderful things God has done and still does in my life. God wants us to set up these memorials. He wants us to rejoice in Him always. He wants us to do this not just for us either...but for the generation that will come after us.
He desires us to talk to our children about the marvelous things He has done in our lives. He wants us to show them how the Lord blessed the teeny tiny steps of faith we took....He wants them also to know that when we took these teeny tiny steps of faith and got our feet wet in the waters of the Jordan...THE WATERS DID NOT overflow us AND that throughout it all OUR GOD WAS WITH US. He wants them to know that it was not anything we did, but it was the Lord our God who did it all. He was the One who performed all things for us and made all that concerned us perfect.
The Lord was with Joshua and He is with us. The Lord exalted Him in the sight of all in Israel and when we obey Him and wait on Him as Joshua did, He lifts us up. I love that as their leader Joshua spoke words of faith to the people God had placed in his charge. Read them now:
And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."--Joshua 4:5
Wow...what a great thing for your kids to go to bed hearing. Take a shower, brush your teeth ...tomorrow the Lord is going to do wonders among us. Be ready for it...look for it!
Too often my kids hear me grumble and complain. Too often they hear a lack of thankfulness in both my words and my attitude. How much better if I magnified my Lord. How much better if my words and my actions matched always with what I claim to believe. The faith of all those around me would be strengthened. God wants lives committed completely and utterly to Him...He desires living sacrifices that glorify Him in both word and deed. He wants us to dwell on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report...He wants us to meditate on the praiseworthy.
As a believer, I can thank God in all things. In trials I can remember that He works all together for good and that His goodness and mercy follow me wherever He leads. In good times I can remember that also. I can sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to those around me always, because my past has been forgiven. My present is in Him who I can go boldly before to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. My future is secured in heaven. Things may look pretty dark at times, but in reality, I am blessed in the heavenlies by a Father who holds all good things in His hand that is forever stretched out in love toward me.
Praying that my kids today can look to my example and anticipate the wonderful things God can and will do in their lives also.
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 3:17
He desires us to talk to our children about the marvelous things He has done in our lives. He wants us to show them how the Lord blessed the teeny tiny steps of faith we took....He wants them also to know that when we took these teeny tiny steps of faith and got our feet wet in the waters of the Jordan...THE WATERS DID NOT overflow us AND that throughout it all OUR GOD WAS WITH US. He wants them to know that it was not anything we did, but it was the Lord our God who did it all. He was the One who performed all things for us and made all that concerned us perfect.
The Lord was with Joshua and He is with us. The Lord exalted Him in the sight of all in Israel and when we obey Him and wait on Him as Joshua did, He lifts us up. I love that as their leader Joshua spoke words of faith to the people God had placed in his charge. Read them now:
And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."--Joshua 4:5
Wow...what a great thing for your kids to go to bed hearing. Take a shower, brush your teeth ...tomorrow the Lord is going to do wonders among us. Be ready for it...look for it!
Too often my kids hear me grumble and complain. Too often they hear a lack of thankfulness in both my words and my attitude. How much better if I magnified my Lord. How much better if my words and my actions matched always with what I claim to believe. The faith of all those around me would be strengthened. God wants lives committed completely and utterly to Him...He desires living sacrifices that glorify Him in both word and deed. He wants us to dwell on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report...He wants us to meditate on the praiseworthy.
As a believer, I can thank God in all things. In trials I can remember that He works all together for good and that His goodness and mercy follow me wherever He leads. In good times I can remember that also. I can sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to those around me always, because my past has been forgiven. My present is in Him who I can go boldly before to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. My future is secured in heaven. Things may look pretty dark at times, but in reality, I am blessed in the heavenlies by a Father who holds all good things in His hand that is forever stretched out in love toward me.
Praying that my kids today can look to my example and anticipate the wonderful things God can and will do in their lives also.
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 3:17
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Search Me and Know My Heart...
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.--Psalm 51:5-6
Prayer to My Father in Heaven...
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? It cannot be done." --Job 14:4
I am made, Father, in the likeness of sinful, fallen man. For by one man's offense death has reigned but by one Man's obedience the free gift of righteousness and eternal life came to all men. I was born in sin...You sent Your Son to die so I could be born again in the Spirit. I rejoice, Father, in the gift of Your Son.
I walked in times past according to the lusts of my flesh..fulfilling its desires and was by nature a child of wrath. But You, O God, You who are rich in mercy and who love me with so great a love even when I was dead in my trespasses and sins....You have quickened me and made me alive by Your grace. I am bound for heaven! Not because of anything I did but because of what You did at the cross at Calvary. I am your workmanship. I have nothing to boast about. Whatever I am that is good is from You. Whatever I do that is good comes from You.
You, Father, do no see me as man sees me. Man looks at the outward...but You look at my heart. You desire in me the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This is what is great and precious in Your sight. This is what pleases You.
Examine me Father, try my innermost heart and soul. These are the seat of all my desires and affections. Try me and test me in the night seasons. You give understanding to my heart...You make me to know wisdom. You write Your law upon my heart. Father, I want to worship You in Spirit and in truth. I want nothing false in my life. You God, are the God who sees. Search me and know my heart. Lead me in the way of righteousness...keep my feet from slipping and set me in a broad place.
I want to seek You with all of my heart. I desire to please You, Father. I pray that as I seek You and You search my heart that I will receive Your correction and my heart will be enlarged with Your goodness and grace. My desire is to draw near to You....to humble myself before You and allow You to lift me up.
Prayer to My Father in Heaven...
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? It cannot be done." --Job 14:4
I am made, Father, in the likeness of sinful, fallen man. For by one man's offense death has reigned but by one Man's obedience the free gift of righteousness and eternal life came to all men. I was born in sin...You sent Your Son to die so I could be born again in the Spirit. I rejoice, Father, in the gift of Your Son.
I walked in times past according to the lusts of my flesh..fulfilling its desires and was by nature a child of wrath. But You, O God, You who are rich in mercy and who love me with so great a love even when I was dead in my trespasses and sins....You have quickened me and made me alive by Your grace. I am bound for heaven! Not because of anything I did but because of what You did at the cross at Calvary. I am your workmanship. I have nothing to boast about. Whatever I am that is good is from You. Whatever I do that is good comes from You.
You, Father, do no see me as man sees me. Man looks at the outward...but You look at my heart. You desire in me the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This is what is great and precious in Your sight. This is what pleases You.
Examine me Father, try my innermost heart and soul. These are the seat of all my desires and affections. Try me and test me in the night seasons. You give understanding to my heart...You make me to know wisdom. You write Your law upon my heart. Father, I want to worship You in Spirit and in truth. I want nothing false in my life. You God, are the God who sees. Search me and know my heart. Lead me in the way of righteousness...keep my feet from slipping and set me in a broad place.
I want to seek You with all of my heart. I desire to please You, Father. I pray that as I seek You and You search my heart that I will receive Your correction and my heart will be enlarged with Your goodness and grace. My desire is to draw near to You....to humble myself before You and allow You to lift me up.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Hiding Nothing...
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.--Psalm 51:3-4
Father,
I acknowledge...I admit...I say the same thing that you say about my sin and my rebellion. I am hiding nothing from You. I lay it all out before You. I declare my sin and I am sorry for it. Deliver my soul, Father, from going into the pit. I want to see the light of life. You promise in Your word that if I confess my sin and turn, You will show me mercy and will be faithful and just to forgive me my wrongdoing. Let the fear of You be with me always...let me stand in awe of who You are. Keep my heart soft and my conscience tender. Keep my sin always before me...convict me...don't allow my heart to be seared nor my conscience hardened.
I am so grateful, Lord, that you are a God who shows mercy and feels compassion toward me. I am so grateful that You "looked" for my repentance and desired only my good. You pulled me up out of the miry clay and set me feet on a rock. Your kindness drew me close. Your goodness overwhelmed me...it and it alone brought me to repentance. When I turned, You ran to meet me with arms and heart wide open. You delivered me from the power of darkness and conveyed me into the kingdom of Your light. You showered me with Your love and gave me the best of everything.
Lord....You have forgiven me of much! Praying that I will always have Your love and Your compassion and forgiveness for those You have placed in my life. Praying that I realize and remember as David did that even though I wrong others with my sin, my ultimate offense, Father, is against You and Your holy law. You alone, Lord, are righteous. You, alone will judge the world. Jesus, You are the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world for my sin. It is against You and You alone that I have sinned.
Father,
I acknowledge...I admit...I say the same thing that you say about my sin and my rebellion. I am hiding nothing from You. I lay it all out before You. I declare my sin and I am sorry for it. Deliver my soul, Father, from going into the pit. I want to see the light of life. You promise in Your word that if I confess my sin and turn, You will show me mercy and will be faithful and just to forgive me my wrongdoing. Let the fear of You be with me always...let me stand in awe of who You are. Keep my heart soft and my conscience tender. Keep my sin always before me...convict me...don't allow my heart to be seared nor my conscience hardened.
I am so grateful, Lord, that you are a God who shows mercy and feels compassion toward me. I am so grateful that You "looked" for my repentance and desired only my good. You pulled me up out of the miry clay and set me feet on a rock. Your kindness drew me close. Your goodness overwhelmed me...it and it alone brought me to repentance. When I turned, You ran to meet me with arms and heart wide open. You delivered me from the power of darkness and conveyed me into the kingdom of Your light. You showered me with Your love and gave me the best of everything.
Lord....You have forgiven me of much! Praying that I will always have Your love and Your compassion and forgiveness for those You have placed in my life. Praying that I realize and remember as David did that even though I wrong others with my sin, my ultimate offense, Father, is against You and Your holy law. You alone, Lord, are righteous. You, alone will judge the world. Jesus, You are the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world for my sin. It is against You and You alone that I have sinned.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Unrelenting Pictures of Jesus...The Scarlet Thread
I am reading through the book of Joshua and once again I am overwhelmed by the unrelenting pictures of Jesus I find on almost every page of the Bible.
Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.--Joshua 2:18
This is the scarlet cord that can be found throughout the Old and the New Testament that binds the entire bible together into one integrated message system and points us so beautifully to Jesus and His shed blood that saves. Look for it..it is everywhere.
In Egypt at the Passover the blood of the lamb was placed on the doorposts and all who were inside that house were spared the death of the firstborn. In Jericho, the spies were saved by a scarlet cord let down by Rahab, a harlot, who believed that the Israelite's God was the God of the Universe and the God that would save her and her family from certain death. Everyone in Rahab's house was spared when Jericho was destroyed because of the scarlet cord she displayed by faith in her window. Rahab, the harlot, can be found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. What a picture of God's grace!!!!
The Old Testament purification and cleansing rituals are replete with the use of cedar wood, scarlet wool and hyssop. Wood brings to mind the cross. Scarlet speaks of the shed blood of Jesus. Hyssop is what was used to offer Jesus the sour wine on the cross as well as what the Israelites used to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on their doorposts.
There are so many more and all are tied together by the word scarlet. Read the following and be amazed.
Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
Psalm 22 is one of the greatest prophetic messianic psalms and gives a very graphic description of the crucifixion of our Lord. David wrote this psalm 1000 years before crucifixion became a Roman method of capital punishment. The very first verse of Psalm 22 in fact, was quoted by Jesus on the cross. For this study I am looking at the word worm in verse 6. The word is from the Hebrew word towla and in the Strongs it is listed as H8438. There are many different kinds of worms but the word used here refers to a very particular kind of worm. It is the scarlet or crimson worm. In fact, wherever the bible speaks of the word scarlet, as in your sins may be as scarlet, they are referring to the color and shape of this particular worm. Remember how the bible describes the cloak that they put on Jesus.
Matthew 27:28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
Read and be amazed at how Jesus truly is found on every page of the Bible.
Here is part of the entry for how it is used in this particular psalm:
worm, scarlet stuff, crimson
"When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted."
What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood that he might 'bring many sons unto glory' (Hbr 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through him! Psa 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (cf. Isa 1:18)" (Henry Morris. Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Baker Book House, 1985, p. 73)
Pretty amazing...
God has provided a refuge for us in His Son. Jesus is our place of safety. Just as Rahab and her family were spared from death and the Israelites from the death of their firstborn, so are we, when we abide in Him and are covered by His blood. His presence in our hearts guarantees our safety.
Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.--Joshua 2:18
This is the scarlet cord that can be found throughout the Old and the New Testament that binds the entire bible together into one integrated message system and points us so beautifully to Jesus and His shed blood that saves. Look for it..it is everywhere.
In Egypt at the Passover the blood of the lamb was placed on the doorposts and all who were inside that house were spared the death of the firstborn. In Jericho, the spies were saved by a scarlet cord let down by Rahab, a harlot, who believed that the Israelite's God was the God of the Universe and the God that would save her and her family from certain death. Everyone in Rahab's house was spared when Jericho was destroyed because of the scarlet cord she displayed by faith in her window. Rahab, the harlot, can be found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. What a picture of God's grace!!!!
The Old Testament purification and cleansing rituals are replete with the use of cedar wood, scarlet wool and hyssop. Wood brings to mind the cross. Scarlet speaks of the shed blood of Jesus. Hyssop is what was used to offer Jesus the sour wine on the cross as well as what the Israelites used to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on their doorposts.
There are so many more and all are tied together by the word scarlet. Read the following and be amazed.
Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
Psalm 22 is one of the greatest prophetic messianic psalms and gives a very graphic description of the crucifixion of our Lord. David wrote this psalm 1000 years before crucifixion became a Roman method of capital punishment. The very first verse of Psalm 22 in fact, was quoted by Jesus on the cross. For this study I am looking at the word worm in verse 6. The word is from the Hebrew word towla and in the Strongs it is listed as H8438. There are many different kinds of worms but the word used here refers to a very particular kind of worm. It is the scarlet or crimson worm. In fact, wherever the bible speaks of the word scarlet, as in your sins may be as scarlet, they are referring to the color and shape of this particular worm. Remember how the bible describes the cloak that they put on Jesus.
Matthew 27:28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
Read and be amazed at how Jesus truly is found on every page of the Bible.
Here is part of the entry for how it is used in this particular psalm:
worm, scarlet stuff, crimson
a) worm - the female 'coccus ilicis'
b) scarlet stuff, crimson, scarlet
1) the dye made from the dried body of the female of the worm "coccus ilicis"
The following gives a better explanation...
"When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted."
What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood that he might 'bring many sons unto glory' (Hbr 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through him! Psa 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (cf. Isa 1:18)" (Henry Morris. Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Baker Book House, 1985, p. 73)
Pretty amazing...
God has provided a refuge for us in His Son. Jesus is our place of safety. Just as Rahab and her family were spared from death and the Israelites from the death of their firstborn, so are we, when we abide in Him and are covered by His blood. His presence in our hearts guarantees our safety.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Because of His Great Love.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.--Psalm 51:1-2
Lord,
It is within your power to punish me...to bring me to harm, but instead You show mercy. You do not give me what I deserve, You give me grace. You show me unmerited and undeserved favor. I did nothing to earn it...I did nothing to deserve it...and I will never merit it.
In the greatness of Your love, mercy and grace, You suffer long with me, forgive my sins, You cleanse me with hyssop and make me white as snow. You died for me when I was still Your enemy...You live now to make intercession for me. I am forgiven and called by Your name. Deal with me, Lord, and have mercy on me according to the multitude of your tender mercies...not for my sake but because by Your grace I am Your child. You are merciful, righteous and good. You are my God who is compassionate. You are my high priest who sympathizes with my weakness and was in all points tempted like me. You experienced it all. You understand and because of Your great love at the manger in Bethlehem and on the cross at Calvary, I can come boldly to Your throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Truly, who is like my God, who pardons iniquity, blots out transgressions and casts sins into the depths of the sea. My God delights in mercy and has shown me the exceeding riches of His kindness and His grace by making me accepted in His Beloved.
Blessed be my Lord, who daily loads me with benefits, The God of my salvation!
Lord,
It is within your power to punish me...to bring me to harm, but instead You show mercy. You do not give me what I deserve, You give me grace. You show me unmerited and undeserved favor. I did nothing to earn it...I did nothing to deserve it...and I will never merit it.
In the greatness of Your love, mercy and grace, You suffer long with me, forgive my sins, You cleanse me with hyssop and make me white as snow. You died for me when I was still Your enemy...You live now to make intercession for me. I am forgiven and called by Your name. Deal with me, Lord, and have mercy on me according to the multitude of your tender mercies...not for my sake but because by Your grace I am Your child. You are merciful, righteous and good. You are my God who is compassionate. You are my high priest who sympathizes with my weakness and was in all points tempted like me. You experienced it all. You understand and because of Your great love at the manger in Bethlehem and on the cross at Calvary, I can come boldly to Your throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Truly, who is like my God, who pardons iniquity, blots out transgressions and casts sins into the depths of the sea. My God delights in mercy and has shown me the exceeding riches of His kindness and His grace by making me accepted in His Beloved.
Blessed be my Lord, who daily loads me with benefits, The God of my salvation!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Waiting on the Lord
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.--Psalm 27:14
Father,
My hope is in You and in Your word. Thank you that I can come boldly before your throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. While I wait, Lord, help me to be strong and courageous...to quit like a man...to stand fast knowing that you are right there with me and hold my hand. You are my help and my shield...my soul waits for You. You will be gracious to me. You will have mercy on me. You will not disappoint me. Be exalted in my life.
I will not step out ahead of You, nor will I lag behind but I will look for You....I will wait for You! You are my God who cares for me. I will follow where you lead. I will dwell in the shelter of Your wings. You are my God and I want You to be my guide even unto death.
As I walk with You, You will strengthen my heart because as I draw close to You I learn that You are the One who performs all things for me and that You do all things well. You are the One from whom my strength comes. You live in my heart. When I cry out, You answer me and strengthen me with strength in my soul. I am trusting You and depending on You to give me everything I need for the path You lead me down. Because I wait on You, my strength is renewed and I mount up on the wings of eagles. I run and do not grow weary...I walk and do not faint. Your grace, Father, is sufficient for me. Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. I am strengthened with might by Your Spirit in my inner man. I can do all things because You strengthen me as I wait on You.
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. --2nd Corinthians 2:14
Father,
My hope is in You and in Your word. Thank you that I can come boldly before your throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. While I wait, Lord, help me to be strong and courageous...to quit like a man...to stand fast knowing that you are right there with me and hold my hand. You are my help and my shield...my soul waits for You. You will be gracious to me. You will have mercy on me. You will not disappoint me. Be exalted in my life.
I will not step out ahead of You, nor will I lag behind but I will look for You....I will wait for You! You are my God who cares for me. I will follow where you lead. I will dwell in the shelter of Your wings. You are my God and I want You to be my guide even unto death.
As I walk with You, You will strengthen my heart because as I draw close to You I learn that You are the One who performs all things for me and that You do all things well. You are the One from whom my strength comes. You live in my heart. When I cry out, You answer me and strengthen me with strength in my soul. I am trusting You and depending on You to give me everything I need for the path You lead me down. Because I wait on You, my strength is renewed and I mount up on the wings of eagles. I run and do not grow weary...I walk and do not faint. Your grace, Father, is sufficient for me. Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. I am strengthened with might by Your Spirit in my inner man. I can do all things because You strengthen me as I wait on You.
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. --2nd Corinthians 2:14
Saturday, December 24, 2011
COME ON IN...BY JONI EARECKSON TADA
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11
One of my favorite moments during the holidays is when the tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, the fire is crackling, music fills the house, and—ta-daaa—you throw open the front door and exclaim to your friends, “Come on in! Now the celebration can start!” Suddenly the place comes alive. Welcoming in friends through the front door is pure joy. And it’s joy because it’s shared. Christmas joy is always welcomed with a “Come on in!”
That’s the beauty of it. It’s appropriate that the Lord Jesus entered the inside of history from the outside. Joy came through a door when he crossed the threshold of this world. Oh sure, the world had all the “trimmings” of religion, the right props and all the tinsel, but it was only when Jesus stepped out of eternity into time that our world experienced genuine joy… perhaps for the first time. Oswald Chambers wrote, “The Lord… is God incarnate, God coming in to human flesh, coming into it from the outside. Our Lord’s birth was an advent, a coming in. And… so he must come into me from the outside, as well.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
So there you are, all dressed up in your Christmas best, waiting to share it with someone special. Well, the room will stay empty (no matter how many people walk through your door) and a little lonely until you invite the Lord of Joy inside. It only happens when he is born in you, a “coming into” much like swinging open the front door to welcome a wonderful guest. Jesus stands outside the door of your holiday season. Don’t miss out on the best part of Christmas. Open up and welcome him in.
Spurgeon on the Birth of Christ....
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.--Isaiah 7:14
Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and adoring Magi, let us see him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in him, and can sing, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our brother and friend; let us adore and admire. Let us notice at the very first glance his miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son.
The first promise ran thus, "The seed of the woman," not the offspring of the man. Since venturous woman led the way in the sin which brought forth Paradise lost, she, and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly man, was as to his human nature the Holy One of God.
Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory; and let us pray that he may be formed in us, the hope of glory. Fail not to note his humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as "a virgin," not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of large estate. True the blood of kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she could sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how poor the man to whom she stood affianced, and how the accommodation afforded to the new-born King! Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendour.
Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and adoring Magi, let us see him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in him, and can sing, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our brother and friend; let us adore and admire. Let us notice at the very first glance his miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son.
The first promise ran thus, "The seed of the woman," not the offspring of the man. Since venturous woman led the way in the sin which brought forth Paradise lost, she, and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly man, was as to his human nature the Holy One of God.
Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory; and let us pray that he may be formed in us, the hope of glory. Fail not to note his humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as "a virgin," not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of large estate. True the blood of kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she could sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how poor the man to whom she stood affianced, and how the accommodation afforded to the new-born King! Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendour.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Screwtape Letters...Chapter 4 by C. S. Lewis
My dear Wormwood,
I am very pleased by what you tell me about this man’s relations with his mother. But you must press your advantage. The Enemy will be working from the centre outwards, gradually bringing more and more of the patient’s conduct under the new standard, and may reach his behaviour to the old lady at any moment. You want to get in first. Keep in close touch with our colleague Glubose who is in charge of the mother, and build up between you in that house a good settled habit of mutual annoyance; daily pinpricks. The following methods are useful.
1. Keep his mind on the inner life. He thinks his conversion is something inside him and his attention is therefore chiefly turned at present to the states of his own mind—or rather to that very expurgated version of them which is all you should allow him to see. Encourage this. Keep his mind off the most elementary duties by directing it to the most advanced and spiritual ones. Aggravate that most useful human characteristic, the horror and neglect of the obvious. You must bring him to a condition in which he can practise self-examination for an hour without discovering any of those facts about himself which are perfectly clear to anyone who has ever lived in the same house with him or worked in the same office.
2. It is, no doubt, impossible to prevent his praying for his mother, but we have means of rendering the prayers innocuous. Make sure that they are always very ‘spiritual’, that he is always concerned with the state of her soul and never with her rheumatism. Two advantages will follow. In the first place, his attention will be kept on what he regards as her sins, by which, with a little guidance from you, he can be induced to mean any of her actions which are inconvenient or irritating to himself. Thus you can keep rubbing the wounds of the day a little sorer even while he is on his knees; the operation is not at all difficult and you will find it very entertaining. In the second place, since his ideas about her soul will be very crude and often erroneous, he will, in some degree, be praying for an imaginary person, and it will be your task to make that imaginary person daily less and less like the real mother—the sharp-tongued old lady at the breakfast table. In time, you may get the cleavage so wide that no thought or feeling from his prayers for theimagined mother will ever flow over into his treatment of the real one. I have had patients of my own so well in hand that they could be turned at a moment’s notice from impassioned prayer for a wife’s or son’s ‘soul’ to beating or insulting the real wife or son without a qualm.
3. When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are almost unendurably irritating to the other. Work on that. Bring fully into the consciousness of your patient that particular lift of his mother’s eyebrows which he learned to dislike in the nursery, and let him think how much he dislikes it. Let him assume that she knows how annoying it is and does it to annoy—if you know your job he will not notice the immense improbability of the assumption. And, of course, never let him suspect that he has tones and looks which similarly annoy her. As hecannot see or hear himself, this is easily managed.
4. In civilised life domestic hatred usually expresses itself by saying things which would appear quite harmless on paper (the words are not offensive) but in such a voice, or at such a moment, that they are not far short of a blow in the face. To keep this game up you and Glubose must see to it that each of these two fools has a sort of double standard. Your patient must demand that all his own utterances are to be taken at their face value and judged simply on the actual words, while at the same time judging all his mother’s utterances with the fullest and most over-sensitive interpretation of the tone and the context and the suspected intention. She must be encouraged to do the same to him. Hence from every quarrel they can both go away convinced, or very nearly convinced, that they are quite innocent. You know the kind of thing: ‘I simply ask her what time dinner will be and she flies into a temper.’ Once this habit is well established you have the delightful situation of a human saying things with the express purpose of offending and yet having a grievance when offence is taken. Finally, tell me something about the old lady’s religious position. Is she at all jealous of the new factor in her son’s life?—at all piqued that he should have learned from others, and so late, what she considers she gave him such good opportunity of learning in childhood? Does she feel he is making a great deal of ‘fuss’ about it—or that he’s getting in on very easy terms? Remember the elder brother in the Enemy’s story?
Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE
I am very pleased by what you tell me about this man’s relations with his mother. But you must press your advantage. The Enemy will be working from the centre outwards, gradually bringing more and more of the patient’s conduct under the new standard, and may reach his behaviour to the old lady at any moment. You want to get in first. Keep in close touch with our colleague Glubose who is in charge of the mother, and build up between you in that house a good settled habit of mutual annoyance; daily pinpricks. The following methods are useful.
1. Keep his mind on the inner life. He thinks his conversion is something inside him and his attention is therefore chiefly turned at present to the states of his own mind—or rather to that very expurgated version of them which is all you should allow him to see. Encourage this. Keep his mind off the most elementary duties by directing it to the most advanced and spiritual ones. Aggravate that most useful human characteristic, the horror and neglect of the obvious. You must bring him to a condition in which he can practise self-examination for an hour without discovering any of those facts about himself which are perfectly clear to anyone who has ever lived in the same house with him or worked in the same office.
2. It is, no doubt, impossible to prevent his praying for his mother, but we have means of rendering the prayers innocuous. Make sure that they are always very ‘spiritual’, that he is always concerned with the state of her soul and never with her rheumatism. Two advantages will follow. In the first place, his attention will be kept on what he regards as her sins, by which, with a little guidance from you, he can be induced to mean any of her actions which are inconvenient or irritating to himself. Thus you can keep rubbing the wounds of the day a little sorer even while he is on his knees; the operation is not at all difficult and you will find it very entertaining. In the second place, since his ideas about her soul will be very crude and often erroneous, he will, in some degree, be praying for an imaginary person, and it will be your task to make that imaginary person daily less and less like the real mother—the sharp-tongued old lady at the breakfast table. In time, you may get the cleavage so wide that no thought or feeling from his prayers for theimagined mother will ever flow over into his treatment of the real one. I have had patients of my own so well in hand that they could be turned at a moment’s notice from impassioned prayer for a wife’s or son’s ‘soul’ to beating or insulting the real wife or son without a qualm.
3. When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are almost unendurably irritating to the other. Work on that. Bring fully into the consciousness of your patient that particular lift of his mother’s eyebrows which he learned to dislike in the nursery, and let him think how much he dislikes it. Let him assume that she knows how annoying it is and does it to annoy—if you know your job he will not notice the immense improbability of the assumption. And, of course, never let him suspect that he has tones and looks which similarly annoy her. As hecannot see or hear himself, this is easily managed.
4. In civilised life domestic hatred usually expresses itself by saying things which would appear quite harmless on paper (the words are not offensive) but in such a voice, or at such a moment, that they are not far short of a blow in the face. To keep this game up you and Glubose must see to it that each of these two fools has a sort of double standard. Your patient must demand that all his own utterances are to be taken at their face value and judged simply on the actual words, while at the same time judging all his mother’s utterances with the fullest and most over-sensitive interpretation of the tone and the context and the suspected intention. She must be encouraged to do the same to him. Hence from every quarrel they can both go away convinced, or very nearly convinced, that they are quite innocent. You know the kind of thing: ‘I simply ask her what time dinner will be and she flies into a temper.’ Once this habit is well established you have the delightful situation of a human saying things with the express purpose of offending and yet having a grievance when offence is taken. Finally, tell me something about the old lady’s religious position. Is she at all jealous of the new factor in her son’s life?—at all piqued that he should have learned from others, and so late, what she considers she gave him such good opportunity of learning in childhood? Does she feel he is making a great deal of ‘fuss’ about it—or that he’s getting in on very easy terms? Remember the elder brother in the Enemy’s story?
Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE
Each Day by Max Lucado
|
Thursday, December 22, 2011
No Room by Max Lucado
No Room
Here I am! I stand
at the door and knock.
Revelation 3:20
at the door and knock.
Revelation 3:20
Some of the saddest words on earth are: “We don’t have room for you.”
Jesus knew the sound of those words. He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, “We don’t have room for you.” …
And when he was hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection? “We don’t have room for you in this world.”
Even today Jesus is given the same treatment. He goes from heart to heart, asking if he might enter.…
Every so often, he is welcomed. Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay. And to that person Jesus gives this great promise: … “In my father’s house are many rooms.” …
What a delightful promise he makes us! We make room for him in our hearts, and he makes room for us in his house.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Screwtape on Gluttony...
My dear Wormwood,
The contemptuous way in which you spoke of gluttony as a means of catching souls, in your last letter, only shows your ignorance. One of the great achievements of the last hundred years has been to deaden the human conscience on that subject, so that by now you will hardly find a sermon preached or a conscience troubled about it in the whole length and breadth of Europe. This has largely been effected by concentrating all our efforts on gluttony of Delicacy, not gluttony of Excess.
Your patient’s mother, as I learn from the dossier and you might have learned from Glubose, is a good example. She would be astonished—one day, I hope, will be—to learn that her whole life is enslaved to this kind of sensuality, which is quite concealed from her by the fact that the quantities involved are small. But what do quantities matter, provided we can use a human belly and palate to produce querulousness, impatience, uncharitableness, and self-concern? Glubose has this old woman well in hand. She is a positive terror to hostesses and servants. She is always turning from what has been offered her to say with a demure little sigh and a smile ‘Oh please, please…all I want is a cup of tea, weak but not too weak, and the teeniest weeniest bit of really crisp toast.’
You see? Because what she wants is smaller and less costly than what has been set before her, she never recognises as gluttony her determination to get what she wants, however troublesome it may be to others. At the very moment of indulging her appetite she believes that she is practising temperance. In a crowded restaurant she gives a little scream at the plate which some overworked waitress has set before her and says, ‘Oh, that’s far, far too much! Take it away and bring me about a quarter of it.’ If challenged, she would say she was doing this to avoid waste; in reality she does it because the particular shade of delicacy to which we have enslaved her is offended by the sight of more food than she happens to want. The real value of the quiet, unobtrusive work which Glubose has been doing for years on this old woman can be gauged by the way in which her belly now dominates her whole life.
The woman is in what may be called the ‘All-I-want’ state of mind. All she wants is a cup of tea properly made, or an egg properly boiled, or a slice of bread properly toasted. But she never finds any servant or any friend who can do these simple things ‘properly’—because her ‘properly’ conceals an insatiable demand for the exact, and almost impossible, palatal pleasures which she imagines she remembers from the past; a past described by her as ‘the days when you could get good servants’ but known to us as the days when her senses were more easily pleased and she had pleasures of other kinds which made her less dependent on those of the table. Meanwhile, the daily disappointment produces daily ill temper: cooks give notice and friendships are cooled. If ever the Enemy introduces into her mind a faint suspicion that she is too interested in food, Glubose counters it by suggesting to her that she doesn’t mind what she eats herself but ‘does like to have things nice for her boy’. In fact, of course, her greed has been one of the chief sources of his domestic discomfort for many years.
Now your patient is his mother’s son. While working your hardest, quite rightly, on other fronts, you must not neglect a little quiet infiltration in respect of gluttony. Being a male, he is not so likely to be caught by the ‘All I want’ camouflage. Males are best turned into gluttons with the help of their vanity. They ought to be made to think themselves very knowing about food, to pique themselves on having found the only restaurant in the town where steaks are really ‘properly’ cooked. What begins as vanity can then be gradually turned into habit. But, however you approach it, the great thing is to bring him into the state in which the denial of any one indulgence—it matters not which, champagne or tea, sole col-bert or cigarettes—‘puts him out’, for then his charity, justice, and obedience are all at your mercy.
Mere excess in food is much less valuable than delicacy. Its chief use is as a kind of artillery preparation for attacks on chastity. On that, as on every other subject, keep your man in a condition of false spirituality. Never let him notice the medical aspect. Keep him wondering what pride or lack of faith has delivered him into your hands when a simple enquiry into what he has been eating or drinking for the last twenty-four hours would show him whence your ammunition comes and thus enable him by a very little abstinence to imperil your lines of communication. If he must think of the medical side of chastity, feed him the grand lie which we have made the English humans believe, that physical exercise in excess and consequent fatigue are specially favourable to this virtue. How they can believe this, in face of the notorious lustfulness of sailors and soldiers, may well be asked. But we used the schoolmasters to put the story about—men who were really interested in chastity as an excuse for games and therefore recommended games as an aid to chastity. But this whole business is too large to deal with at the tail-end of a letter,
Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE
The contemptuous way in which you spoke of gluttony as a means of catching souls, in your last letter, only shows your ignorance. One of the great achievements of the last hundred years has been to deaden the human conscience on that subject, so that by now you will hardly find a sermon preached or a conscience troubled about it in the whole length and breadth of Europe. This has largely been effected by concentrating all our efforts on gluttony of Delicacy, not gluttony of Excess.
Your patient’s mother, as I learn from the dossier and you might have learned from Glubose, is a good example. She would be astonished—one day, I hope, will be—to learn that her whole life is enslaved to this kind of sensuality, which is quite concealed from her by the fact that the quantities involved are small. But what do quantities matter, provided we can use a human belly and palate to produce querulousness, impatience, uncharitableness, and self-concern? Glubose has this old woman well in hand. She is a positive terror to hostesses and servants. She is always turning from what has been offered her to say with a demure little sigh and a smile ‘Oh please, please…all I want is a cup of tea, weak but not too weak, and the teeniest weeniest bit of really crisp toast.’
You see? Because what she wants is smaller and less costly than what has been set before her, she never recognises as gluttony her determination to get what she wants, however troublesome it may be to others. At the very moment of indulging her appetite she believes that she is practising temperance. In a crowded restaurant she gives a little scream at the plate which some overworked waitress has set before her and says, ‘Oh, that’s far, far too much! Take it away and bring me about a quarter of it.’ If challenged, she would say she was doing this to avoid waste; in reality she does it because the particular shade of delicacy to which we have enslaved her is offended by the sight of more food than she happens to want. The real value of the quiet, unobtrusive work which Glubose has been doing for years on this old woman can be gauged by the way in which her belly now dominates her whole life.
The woman is in what may be called the ‘All-I-want’ state of mind. All she wants is a cup of tea properly made, or an egg properly boiled, or a slice of bread properly toasted. But she never finds any servant or any friend who can do these simple things ‘properly’—because her ‘properly’ conceals an insatiable demand for the exact, and almost impossible, palatal pleasures which she imagines she remembers from the past; a past described by her as ‘the days when you could get good servants’ but known to us as the days when her senses were more easily pleased and she had pleasures of other kinds which made her less dependent on those of the table. Meanwhile, the daily disappointment produces daily ill temper: cooks give notice and friendships are cooled. If ever the Enemy introduces into her mind a faint suspicion that she is too interested in food, Glubose counters it by suggesting to her that she doesn’t mind what she eats herself but ‘does like to have things nice for her boy’. In fact, of course, her greed has been one of the chief sources of his domestic discomfort for many years.
Now your patient is his mother’s son. While working your hardest, quite rightly, on other fronts, you must not neglect a little quiet infiltration in respect of gluttony. Being a male, he is not so likely to be caught by the ‘All I want’ camouflage. Males are best turned into gluttons with the help of their vanity. They ought to be made to think themselves very knowing about food, to pique themselves on having found the only restaurant in the town where steaks are really ‘properly’ cooked. What begins as vanity can then be gradually turned into habit. But, however you approach it, the great thing is to bring him into the state in which the denial of any one indulgence—it matters not which, champagne or tea, sole col-bert or cigarettes—‘puts him out’, for then his charity, justice, and obedience are all at your mercy.
Mere excess in food is much less valuable than delicacy. Its chief use is as a kind of artillery preparation for attacks on chastity. On that, as on every other subject, keep your man in a condition of false spirituality. Never let him notice the medical aspect. Keep him wondering what pride or lack of faith has delivered him into your hands when a simple enquiry into what he has been eating or drinking for the last twenty-four hours would show him whence your ammunition comes and thus enable him by a very little abstinence to imperil your lines of communication. If he must think of the medical side of chastity, feed him the grand lie which we have made the English humans believe, that physical exercise in excess and consequent fatigue are specially favourable to this virtue. How they can believe this, in face of the notorious lustfulness of sailors and soldiers, may well be asked. But we used the schoolmasters to put the story about—men who were really interested in chastity as an excuse for games and therefore recommended games as an aid to chastity. But this whole business is too large to deal with at the tail-end of a letter,
Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE
Dwelling in Safety...
The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him, Who shelters him all the day long And he shall dwell between His shoulders. --Deuteronomy 33:12
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, Destroy!--Deuteronomy 33:27
I am His beloved and He is mine. My God is my shield, my sword, my refuge, my strength, my song, my strong tower and my help. I dwell in safety with Him...covered by His feathers and tucked safely under His wing. He fights all my battles and shelters me all the day long.
The eternal God, the God that is from everlasting to everlasting, is my hiding place and underneath are His everlasting arms. Really, how safe can I be??? The One who exists outside of time and space, holds me close. I am secure in Him. I am kept by the power of the One who created the heavens and the earth. I am held securely and safely by the One who truly CAN keep me from falling and present me faultless before the presence of His glory. He has thrust out the enemy and freed me from the law of sin and death. He is my everlasting strength and power....He is my salvation!
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, Destroy!--Deuteronomy 33:27
I am His beloved and He is mine. My God is my shield, my sword, my refuge, my strength, my song, my strong tower and my help. I dwell in safety with Him...covered by His feathers and tucked safely under His wing. He fights all my battles and shelters me all the day long.
The eternal God, the God that is from everlasting to everlasting, is my hiding place and underneath are His everlasting arms. Really, how safe can I be??? The One who exists outside of time and space, holds me close. I am secure in Him. I am kept by the power of the One who created the heavens and the earth. I am held securely and safely by the One who truly CAN keep me from falling and present me faultless before the presence of His glory. He has thrust out the enemy and freed me from the law of sin and death. He is my everlasting strength and power....He is my salvation!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Christophobia: Volcanic Encouragement to Love and Do Good
Christophobia: Volcanic Encouragement to Love and Do Good: And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manne...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)