Heart's Desire...

One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.--Psalm 27:4

Father,

Let this be my desire.  Let all my desires and affections be bound up in this one desire...to seek you that I may live always in nearness to you.  To behold your beauty and to inquire of You.  Let my life, O Lord, be all about You.  Let all I do and all I say glorify Your precious name.

LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.--Psalm 26:8

Enable me to, like Mary, choose the good part, the one thing that is needful:  

But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.--Luke 10:42

Help me to look forward...not back and always keep my eye on the the hope that is in You.  

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, php.3.14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.--Philippians 3:13

Keep my heart steadfast and undivided in its affections.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.--Psalm 57:7

I want to seek You Lord with my whole heart...to set my face unto you in prayer and supplication...to seek your kingdom first always.  Help me Father to pray..to do good and not grow weary.  Let my strength be in You and let me be satisfied with the goodness of Your house and the overwhelming awesomeness of Your presence. Allow me to behold your beauty and to search out the many deep and wonderful truths in Your word.  Be my sun and shield...

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.--Jeremiah 29:13

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications,--Daniel 9:3

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.--Matt 6:33

As I do this Father may you establish the work of my hands and may your beauty be upon me!

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.--Psalm 90:17

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.--2nd Corinthians 3:18

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given useverlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.--2nd Thessalonians 2:16-17

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Arise O Lord!

Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.  Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?  For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.--Psalm 44:22-26

Father,

I am delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that His life might be made manifest in my mortal flesh.  Death is working in me, but life in those who see Your life in my life.  Your Son, Jesus, was as a lamb led to slaughter and as a sheep before its shearers is silent He opened not His mouth.  You, Jesus, were  obedient to death, even the death of the cross.  No one took Your life from You.  You gave Your life willingly for mine.  My life, Father, is in Your Son.  May I do as He did here on earth...give my life away freely.  

Blessed am I, then, if I am persecuted, reviled and spoken of evilly and falsely for Your sake.  I will rejoice and be exceedingly glad!  Let me, Father, be salt and light here on this earth while I live.  Give me that single minded desire for You and Your power and presence in my life.  Oh, that others would see Your light and glorify You, my Father, in heaven.

But even so, I am so weak and so in need of You.  Your word tells me that You will not forget me....that you will have compassion on me.  I am engraved in the palms of Your hands...I am continually before You!  Awake!  Arise to help me!  Do not hide your face from my affliction.  My soul is bowed down to the dust.  Arise for my help....redeem me, rescue me, deliver me for Your mercies sake!  Be not far from me, my King and my God.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.... For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.--2nd Corinithians 4:7-18

Make Haste to Help Me!

For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.  For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.  For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.†  They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.  Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.--Psalm 38:12-15

My hope is in You, Lord.  I wait for You.  You, my God, are my earnest desire.  As I seek You, You will keep my way and prosper my pursuit with many blessings.   I will trust in You and do good.  As I journey here on this earth I will walk by faith and feed on your faithfulness.  I will delight myself in You...knowing that it is in You that I will have all the desires of my heart fulfilled.  I will commit my way also to You and You will bring it to pass.   I will be glad and rest in You, my God.

Hear me now, Father, lest my enemies rejoice over me when my feet slip and they magnify themselves against me.  Let my prayer for them that hate me and are my enemies be the same as my prayer for myself....Mercy...always mercy.  Father, I am trusting in Your mercy and rejoicing in Your salvation.   To You belong vengeance and recompense.  The foot of my enemy will slide in due time...for the day of their calamity is near...even at hand and the things that will come upon them make haste.

But as for me, Father, I am ready to halt...I am limping, stumbling....I am in adversity. My sorrow is continually before me.   How comforting it is to remember that You were despised and rejected of men....You were a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  You bore my griefs...You carried my sorrows.  You were stricken, smitten of God, afflicted for my sin....and I esteemed You not!  You were wounded for my transgressions, bruised for my iniquity...the chastisement of my peace was upon You and by your stripes I was healed.  Yea, the iniquity of us all was laid on You.

And yet, it pleased my God to bruise You and put You to grief.  He made Your soul an offering for sin.  Oh Father....HERE is the key....BUT the pleasure of His God shall prosper in His hand.  Your pleasure and His ....my Jesus.....was the salvation of mankind. Your will prospered in His hand.  You saw the travail of Your Son's soul and were satisfied because by the knowledge of Your Son many would be justified and made righteous.

All this here on earth that we go through, Father, THIS is its ultimate purpose...to draw more to come to the knowledge of You through Your Son, Jesus and be saved from an eternity of torment.  You brought me up out of the horrible pit and set my feet upon a rock.  You established my goings.  God it was You who put a new song in my mouth...praise unto You...may many see it and trust in You.  Oh Father, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that You will reveal in us.  May Your pleasure prosper in my life!!  May I one day look upon the travail of my own soul and be satisfied.  May I see the fruit that You, and You alone, wrought when the darkness covered me and Your billows went over me and be glad!

Let me pray for those who would desire to see me fail.  Open the eyes of my enemies....your enemies, really....to see Your glory, grace, and truth in the face of Jesus.

My enemies are lively, Father....and they do hate me wrongfully.  They render evil for good to because I follow the One that is good.  Forsake me not, make haste to help me.  Use my travail for my good and Your glory.  Bring my enemies to You.....Make haste to help me....BUT Father, make haste to help those who do not know You....make haste to bring them into Your kingdom of light.

You Are Light About Me...

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers were.--Psalm 39:12

Hear my prayer, Father...I am a stranger here on this earth.  I don't know how to come in or go out without You.  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  Don't hide your commandments from me...Your statutes are my song during my pilgrimage here.  My true home is with You in heaven.  Here on this earth I walk by faith and not by sight.  I need your directions and your guidance.   I need your right hand to lead me and uphold me in the right way.  When the darkness covers me, You are light about me.

Do not hold your peace at my tears...my sorrow, Father, is continually before me.  You keep all my tears in a bottle.  Have mercy on me, for I am weak.  I am your beloved...he who touches me touches, the apple of your eye.  You are gracious and merciful.  I have been brought low, but You, O God, help me.  I will rest under the shadow of Your wing because You have and will deal bountifully with me. You have delivered my soul from death and my eyes from tears.

A Prayer to the God of My Life

The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.  --Psalm 42:8

You are my King and my God...at Your word my deliverance comes.  You command Your blessings....even life for evermore....upon me.  You daily load me with benefits.  Your kindness towards me reaches to the heavens.  Your tender mercies are always with me.  You do not stand aloof at my tears.  Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.   I will bless You and lift up my hands to You.  My soul shall be satisfied with your goodness.

At night Your song is with me. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble and You, my God, surround me with songs of deliverance.   I will remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches. I will sing aloud of Your goodness and be joyful in Your glory.  You alone give me gladness of heart and in the shadow of Your wings I rejoice.  I will follow hard after You and Your right hand will hold me up.  My soul waits upon You only, for my expectation is from You.   You are the God of my life.  My rock, my refuge and my strength.   In you I live and move and have my being.

Waiting Upon My God...

They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.--Psalm 34:5

Father,

Thank you for this verse...shame disappears when I look at you because in You there is neither darkness nor fear.  In You even the night is light about me and Your perfect love casts out fear.   I look to You, Father, and I am helped.  You look upon the humble and contrite heart...you save those who seek Your face in sincerity and truth.  When I focus my gaze on You, Your light continually flows to me and I am radiant.  You, O Lord, put Your light in my heart.

As a maid servant looks to her mistress, let my eyes wait upon You until You have mercy on me.  You alone are God and there is no other besides You.  I will look unto You, my Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith.  I will look unto Him who endured the cross for the salvation of my soul, despising the shame!  Help me Father, not to grow weary or faint...Bring to my remembrance the hostility Your Son faced...Help me to recall that I have not yet suffered to bloodshed as He did, striving against sin.  Help me to press on knowing that You have a purpose in all my trials and tribulations.  What a joy and a privilege if someone might see Your light in my life and look to You and be changed....

Jesus...the Voice of Wisdom

Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,  I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.--Psalm 40:7


This is wisdom...fearing God and finding your delight in His word and doing His will.  Proverbs 8 personifies wisdom.  Colossians 2 tells us that in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  JESUS PERSONIFIES WISDOM.  Read Proverbs 8 and hear the voice of Jesus.  Hear His will for you...



"Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.  O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.  Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.  For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.  All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.  They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.  For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.  I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.  By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.  By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.  I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.  My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.  I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.  When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.  Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:  While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:  When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;  Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.  Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.  For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."

Christophobia: Ask Yourself

Christophobia: Ask Yourself: Is this really what we are? Close to 56,000,0000 murdered pre-born infants in less than 40 years? Forcing contraceptive and abortifactant ex...

The Steps of a Good Man...

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.--Psalm 37:23-24

Father,

Bow down your ear to me and hear me...for I am poor and needy.  Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not....oh that Your righteousness go before me always!

Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me....May this always be my prayer...may You, my God, be my one consuming passion.  I have esteemed your word more than my necessary food...prepare my heart to walk in Your steps and my tongue to answer with Your words.  Let your counsel stand in my life.  You, who do not slumber...You will not allow my foot to be moved.  My God shall preserve my going out and my coming in.  Let it not be in me, Father, to direct my own steps or to walk in the "way" of man.

You take pleasure in those that fear You and hope in Your mercy.  Those who are upright in their way are Your delight and with those who do good and share You are well pleased.  Lord, let me glory in understanding and knowing that You are my God who exercises lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth...in these let me find my delight.

Though I fall, Father, I will not be utterly cast down, You uphold me with your right hand  Many, my God, are my afflictions but You deliver me out of them all.  Your hands of mercy hold me.  In the multitude of my anxieties within Your comforts delight my soul.  You hold up those that fall and raise up all who are bowed down.  When I sit in darkness, You, O Lord, are a light to me.  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

“I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:1-2

Plead My Cause, O God....

Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me:  Fight against them that fight against me.--Psalm 35:1

Plead my cause, God...fight against those who fight against me.  Contend with my contenders!  Meet my accusers with Your Son, my Advocate!   Jesus, You are my Intercessor and my Champion...I leave my case in your hands.

Be my strong tower and my rock.  Deliver me from the hypocrites...from the deceitful and the unjust.  For You are the God of my strength.  Lord, You know their hearts...You have seen all their vengeance and imaginations against me.  I have become their taunting song...their music.  Oh Father, my heart's desire is that You would render unto them a recompense according to the work of their hand.  My heart is NOT merciful toward them. You, O Lord, are a God of holiness and a God of justice, but You are also my God of mercy and love.  Forgive my lack of mercy...forgive my lack of love.  Give me Your love and mercy for those that give me daily so much sorrow of heart.  Give me your forgiving heart towards them....Give me a heart that desires Your very best for them.

Align my will with yours, Father.  I have nothing to fear ensconced in Your perfect love.  Vengeance is yours, Lord, not mine.  You have shown me so much mercy...You pulled me up out of the miry clay.  You died for me when I was yet your enemy.  How can I pray for anything but your mercy upon even my enemies.

The battle is Yours, not mine.  I take refuge under the shadow of Your wing and place my trust in You.  Draw my enemies to You with cords of love.  In the meantime, Father, I take shelter in You...and as I do help me to be a strength to the poor and needy in their distress.  Enable me to be a refuge from the storm and a shadow from the heat to those you place in my path.

Thank you Lord that you have a plan for my life.  That Your thoughts toward me are good...they are thoughts of peace and not of evil.  Thank you Father for Your Son's death on the cross for me.  I have been forgiven much...help me to love much and pray that others...even my enemies will know the future and the hope that You have so graciously and mercifully given me.

The Book of Hosea - Introduction

Hosea is a minor prophet who ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel from about 760 to 720 B.C.  during a time of great prosperity outwardly but rottenness and decay inwardly.  Judgment was on its way.  Hosea obeyed God and preached His word but the people refused to hear and repent.  Judgment came to the northern kingdom by way of Assyria.

The name Hosea means salvation.  He described God jealous love for His people.  The story is a tragic one where God asks Hosea to do some pretty difficult things.   Hosea was told by God to marry a woman of harlotry, a prostitute named Gomer.  After they had several children, she left her family and sold herself into prostitution once again.  God then told Hosea that he was to buy her back from harlotry...to forgive her and love her.   This provided the people of Israel with a very real picture of God's love for them.  Israel was involved in false worship...spiritual adultery.  They despised God's goodness, faithfulness and grace and instead turned to the worship of idols....They exchanged light for darkness and sweetness for bitter.  The verse that comes to mind is from Romans, Chapter 2.

"Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:

God despite His people's unfaithfulness continued to reach out in love...offering them forgiveness and restoration if they would turn from their sin.  He used Hosea to speak His heart to them.  

How else could Hosea hope to understand and express His God's heart and  convey His sorrow, than to experience betrayal for himself with all its grief, humiliation, dashed hope and disappointments.   Hosea, by his own trial, was able to truly understand and express God's hearth as He watched His children forget Him and go after other gods.  Trials in our own lives have so many purposes...sometimes the biggest blessing in a trial is the understanding and knowledge that come as we walk and experience some of what Jesus himself experienced...as we share in the fellowship of His sufferings. Truly, as we surrender to the trials that our God both brings us and allows, they draw us into His Presence like nothing else can.  

The story is even more tragic because Israel rejected God's hand of mercy toward them and continued to go their own way.  See yourself in this story....God who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved "you" even when "you" were dead in trespasses and sin made "you" alive together with His Son!  Each one of us who are believers have been saved by grace...and that not of ourselves it is the gift of God.  He redeemed us when we were His enemies...when we were slaves of sin.  He purchased us out of slavery by His Son's death on the cross.  Not because we deserved it or because there was anything special about us,  but because He loves us.  The Bible says that our Maker is our Husband.  Unbeliever...God wants you for Himself...despite your sin...despite who you are.  Surrender to Him...accept the gift that He offers.  

Bringing Our Empty Vessels To Battle...

It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. 

Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.

And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”

Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” 

And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. --Judges 7:9-15

I love that last line...Gideon worshiped!  Judges 6,  7 and 8 tell the story of Gideon and his personal struggle of faith.  Gideon had much trouble believing God.  I, for one, am thankful for Gideon's story.   It encourages me to seek His grace when my own faith fails knowing that my God's compassions fail not.  God's responses to Gideon  show Him as merciful, gracious and forgiving. 

In faith is victory...and here (finally) at the end of chapter 7, we find Gideon. From man's perspective the battle looks impossible to win.  Earlier in the story God had trimmed Gideon's army of 32,000 men down to 300.  Three hundred men going up against 135,000.  Gideon and all of Israel would know as they went into battle and came out victorious that the victory was not theirs but God's. They would not come out with hearts lifted up thinking they had done something.  They would go in and out the same way...knowing they were weak and depending on the strength of their God.  

My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When Gideon returns from his spying adventure into the enemy camp, he tells his men with confidence that the Lord would deliver the enemy into their hands.  Gideon sees the invisible and then by faith does the impossible...wins the battle with God's 300.  Gideon's plan was simple.  Each man was given a trumpet, an empty vessel to break, and a torch.  The men would encircle the enemies camp with their torches hidden inside their vessels.  At Gideon's signal the men would blow the trumpets, break their vessels which would reveal the lights and then shout, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"  God would do the rest. 

What  spoke to my heart in this story was God's  kindness and grace especially in the face of weakness and lack of faith. It filled my heart with love and gratitude.  So often I can be like Gideon.  How comforting to know that our God knows our frames.  He knows that we are dust. 

Another was what happened to Gideon when he stopped doubting and truly believed in His heart that victory was in His God. He worshiped His God and He became a leader.  He and His men brought their empty vessels to battle where the light of God was seen only after these vessels were broken and rendered useless.  When we are weak...that is what God's uses to show Himself strong.  The following verse from Corinthians says it all...may each of us remember it when our faith is tested.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

God is our light and our salvation...whom shall we fear. He is the light of our life. ...of whom shall we be afraid.  When the enemy comes against us...when they encamp all around us and war rises, may we remember our God and may our entire weight of trust and confidence be in Him.  

Wronging Your Own Soul...

For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.  But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.--Proverbs 1:32-33

Turning away from the Lord is deadly.  He that sins wrongs his own soul and in hating Christ you are really loving death.  The bible is clear.....He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son does not have life.


For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.--Proverb 8:35-36


Who are the simple and the foolish that the bible talks about?  The simple are the ones who are naive or ignorant.  Their minds are described as an open door that allows everything to enter.  The fools are the obstinate unbelievers who refuse to listen to the truth. The third group not mentioned by name here, but  perhaps even more accountable than the simple and the foolish, are the scorners and the mockers.   These commit more serious, determined acts...they know the truth, willfully turn from it and in effect trample the Son of God underfoot.

"The prosperity of fools shall destroy them."  The tables of those who are rich or those who put their own comfort first become a snare for them....that which was meant for their welfare becomes a trap and darkens their eyes so that they do not see their latter end.  (Thinking of Lazarus and the rich man here....Luke 16) When our eyes are on the Lord, however, He shows us the snares and the traps and plucks our feet from the net.  How foolish we are when we lay up treasures for ourselves in this life without thought of the eternal one that is coming.  Used for the wrong purposes the riches of this world are corrupted.  We may live in pleasure here, but judgment is coming and may even be at our door. To whom will all our riches belong, when we perish from this earth?  Be rich toward God...store up your treasure in heaven.

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. Look to Him and He will teach you the way...your soul shall dwell at ease and your seed, the bible says,  shall inherit the earth.  Incline your ear to Him...hearken unto Him and your soul shall live and He will show you His covenant and the sure mercies of David.  Those who are His hear His voice, walk in victory and are kept by His power.  The Lord is their place of refuge, their confidence and He keeps their foot from slipping. He who loves the Lord can never be separated from His love.  He whose mind is stayed on Him will be kept in perfect peace by His God.

Mere Christianity - The Law of Human Nature by C. S. Lewis

EVERY ONE HAS HEARD people quarreling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kinds of things they say. They say things like this: "How’d you like it if anyone did the same to you?"--‘That’s my seat, I was there first"--"Leave him alone, he isn’t doing you any harm"--"Why should you shove in first?"--"Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine"--"Come on, you promised." People say things like that every day, educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups.

Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes them is not merely saying that the other man’s behavior does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some kind of standard of behavior which he expects the other man to know about. And the other man very seldom replies: "To hell with your standard." Nearly always he tries to make out that what he has been doing does not really go against the standard, or that if it does there is some special excuse. He pretends there is some special reason in this particular case why the person who took the seat first should not keep it, or that things were quite different when he was given the bit of orange, or that some thing has turned up which lets him off keeping his promise. It looks, in fact, very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of Law or Rule of fair play or decent behavior or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed. And they have. If they had not, they might, of course, fight like animals, but they could not quarrel in the human sense of the word. Quarreling means trying to show that the other man is in the wrong. And there would be no sense in trying to do that unless you and he had some sort of agreement as to what Right and Wrong are; just as there would be no sense in saying that a footballer had committed a foul unless there was some agreement about the rules of football.

Now this Law or Rule about Right and Wrong used to be called the Law of Nature. Nowadays, when we talk of the "laws of nature" we usually mean things like gravitation, or heredity, or the laws of chemistry. But when the older thinkers called the Law of Right and Wrong "the Law of Nature," they really meant the Law of Human Nature. The idea was that, just as all bodies are governed by the law of gravitation and organisms by biological laws, so the creature called man also had his law--with this great difference, that a body could not choose whether it obeyed the law of gravitation or not, but a man could choose either to obey the Law of Human Nature or to disobey it.

We may put this in another way. Each man is at every moment subjected to several sets of law but there is only one of these which he is free to disobey. As a body, he is subjected to gravitation and cannot disobey it; if you leave him unsupported in mid-air, he has no more choice about falling than a stone has. As an organism, he is subjected to various biological laws which he cannot disobey any more than an animal can. That is, he cannot disobey those laws which he shares with other things; but the law which is peculiar to his human nature, the law he does not share with animals or vegetables or inorganic things, is the one he can disobey if he chooses.

This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that every one knew it by nature and did not need to be taught it. They did not mean, of course, that you might not find an odd individual here and there who did not know it, just as you find a few people who are color-blind or have no ear for a tune. But taking the race as a whole, they thought that the human idea of decent behavior was obvious to every one. And I believe they were right. If they were not, then all the things we said about the war were nonsense. What was the sense in saying the enemy were in the wrong unless Right is a real thing which the Nazis at bottom knew as well as we did and ought to have practiced! If they had no notion of what we mean by right, then, though we might still have had to fight them, we could no more have blamed them for that than for the color of their hair.

I know that some people say the idea of a Law of Nature or decent behavior known to all men is unsound, because different civilizations and different ages have had quite different moralities.

But this is not true. There have been differences between their moralities, but these have never amounted to anything like a total difference. If anyone will take the trouble to compare the moral teaching of, say, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Creeks and Romans, what will really strike him will be how very like they are to each other and to our own. Some of the evidence for this I have put together in the appendix of another book called The Abolition of Man; but for our present purpose I need only ask the reader to think what a totally different morality would mean. Think of a country where people were admired for running away in battle, or where a man felt proud of double-crossing all the people who had been kindest to him. You might just as well try to imagine a country where two and two made five. Men have differed as regards what people you ought to be unselfish to--whether it was only your own family, or your fellow countrymen, or everyone. But they have always agreed that you ought not to put Yourself first. selfishness has never been admired. Men have differed as to whether you should have one wife or four. But they have always agreed that you must not simply have any woman you liked.

But the most remarkable thing is this. Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining "It’s not fair" before you can say Jack Robinson. A nation may say treaties do not matter; but then, next minute, they spoil their case by saying that the particular treaty they want to break was an unfair one. But if treaties do not matter, and if there is no such thing as Right and Wrong--in other words, if there is no Law of Nature--what is the difference between a fair treaty and an unfair one? Have they not let the cat out of the bag and shown that, whatever they say, they really know the Law of Nature just like anyone else?

It seems, then, we are forced to believe in a real Right and Wrong People may be sometimes mistaken about them, just as people sometimes get their sums wrong; but they are not a matter of mere taste and opinion any more than the multiplication table. Now if we are agreed about that, I go on to my next point, which is this. None of us are really keeping the Law of Nature. If there are any exceptions among you, 1 apologize to them. They had much better read some other work, for nothing I am going to say concerns them. And now, turning to the ordinary human beings who are left:

I hope you will not misunderstand what I am going to say. I am not preaching, and Heaven knows I do not pretend to be better than anyone else. I am only trying to call attention to a fact; the fact that this year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behavior we expect from other people. There may be all sorts of excuses for us. That time you were so unfair to the children was when you were very tired. That slightly shady business about the money--the one you have almost forgotten-came when you were very hard up. And what you promised to do for old So-and-so and have never done--well, you never would have promised if you had known how frightfully busy you were going to be. And as for your behavior to your wife (or husband) or sister (or brother) if I knew how irritating they could be, I would not wonder at it--and who the dickens am I, anyway? I am just the same. That is to say, I do not succeed in keeping the Law of Nature very well, and the moment anyone tells me I am not keeping it, there starts up in my mind a string of excuses as long as your arm. The question at the moment is not whether they are good excuses. The point is that they are one more proof of how deeply, whether we like it or not, we believe in the Law of Nature. If we do not believe in decent behavior, why should we be so anxious to make excuses for not having behaved decently? The truth is, we believe in decency so much--we feel the Rule of Law pressing on us so--that we cannot bear to face the fact that we are breaking it, and consequently we try to shift the responsibility. For you notice that it is only for our bad behavior that we find all these explanations. It is only our bad temper that we put down to being tired or worried or hungry; we put our good temper down to ourselves.

These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in.

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Choose This Day...

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.--Joshua 22:5

Joshua gives the children of Israel his farewell address in Chapter 23 and tells them to take careful heed to love the Lord their God.  In Chapter 24, Joshua tells the Israelites to choose whom they will serve.  Serving is what this devotional is about but Joshua got it in the right order.  I serve my family because I love them.  Loving them makes me want to care for them and serve them.  Serving God should following loving Him. You see if we truly, truly understand in our hearts what our God has done for us, we will love Him and our desire will be to serve Him.   Our love for Him will compel us!  He who has been forgiven much loves much.  God's love is outlined for us in 1 Corinthians 13.  Read verses 1-3:

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

Love should be the motivating force behind all that we do.  Without love as the Scripture says we are nothing and even if I give my body to be burned, it profits me nothing. We serve our God because we "love" to...not because we "have" to.  

Joshua spends the first part of chapter 24 reminding the people that God had done it all for them.  All that they had and saw were gifts from His hand.  In Joshua 24:14-15 he puts the choice to the people and asks them to choose whom they will serve.

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

The only way to serve God rightly is in sincerity and in truth.  Serving God in any other way is a lie and will be fraught with wrong motives.  It is anything but peaceable and pure and as James says, "

"For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there."

Make no mistake each one of us will choose the "god" we will serve.  We will either be impassioned and influenced by the God of Israel allowing Him to be our focal point, our Master, our Savior and our Lord or we will be devoted to arranging our lives around some other passion...money, pleasure, knowledge, etc.  I love how Joshua points out how foolish they would be to serve another God.  The Israelites were not making a blind leap of faith in choosing to serve the Lord...they saw His might and His power...they witnessed His miracles.  Let's look at some other verses that talk about serving.

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.--1 Samuel 7:3

And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;  And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.--1 Samuel 12:20

Samuel warns them not to turn aside from serving and following the Lord, but reminds them to serve Him with all of their hearts.  This "whole heart" message is repeated often in Scripture.  It is so like us to  go after vain things...things that might provide us with temporary relief or temporary distraction but in the end only increase our misery.  They will not profit nor deliver as Samuel says.  In fact, they will keep us from cleaving unto our God and take us out of the place of blessing.  The more we look up to Jesus the more these things will grow dim in the light of His glory and grace. 

Jesus also warns us not to have a divided heart.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.--Matthew 4:10

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.--Matthew 6:24

If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.--John 12:26

If we are cleaving unto our Lord, then wherever He is, we will be also...ready, willing and available to serve...separated unto the gospel of Christ.  His presence will be with us and will go before us in whatever we face and whatever we do.  If we are nigh unto Him (as a good servant always is) we will  consider His desires before our own...we will listen and wait for His commands...and we will know and pray for those things that He desires.  What does God desire...that His people stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.  

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.--Colossians 4:12

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;--Romans 1:9

Hearken to the Lord's voice.  Love Him with all of your heart.  Walk in His ways and keep His commandments.  Cleave unto HIm.   Serve Him with a thankful and grateful heart for all He has done.  Seek to please Him and not man for it is from Him that your reward will come.

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.--Galatians 1:10

The Bible...Cave Crickets and Honey...by Anna

Psalm 48:14 “For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.”


Strangely enough, this verse, however comforting it is, was not wholly the basis for this study—more along the lines of a complement. The real basis is a little caption above Psalm 102, which I came across in the wee hours of the 14th of December. There’s me, taking a little nocturnal sip of honey to ease my throat, sitting at the kitchen table (very careful to keep my feet under me to avoid the similarly-nocturnal cave crickets) and paging through the Psalms. I’d had a rough day, and needed comfort—earlier, I had even resorted to my childhood method of hiding under a table…unfortunately, while children grow, tables stay much the same height. (My poor neck!) And He gave me everything I needed in one little caption—not even a verse! Not even properly in the Bible!—but it held all the comfort I needed. 

“The Lord’s Eternal Love.”

It hit me like a thunderbolt. My spoon literally froze in midair, halfway to my mouth. 

I hadn’t really thought about the Lord’s eternal LOVE before. I’d thought about plenty of eternal things, of course—eternity with Him, His eternal faithfulness, His gift of eternal life, etc., etc. I even knew factually about His eternal love—I guess it just never quite sunk in before, that God could love me—ME—forever. 

Forever’s a pretty long time. (I know, I know. Bit of a cliché. But it’s true.) He’ll never leave me. He’ll never cease to love me. No matter what happens, no matter how bad a day—or week, or month, or even year—I’ve had. No matter what I’ve done, that phrase is still waiting for me through it all, soothing my tattered nerves and calming me when I feel I’ve gone too far to be loved, when I feel like I’ve ‘burnt my bridges’ beyond repair. Just four little words, but they will—HE will—comfort me all my life.

Christ and His Children...by Spurgeon

January 18

Christ and His Children

When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. (Isaiah 53:10)

Our Lord Jesus has not died in vain. His death was sacrificial: He died as our substitute, because death was the penalty of our sins. Because His substitution was accepted of God, He has saved those for whom He made His soul a sacrifice. By death He became like the corn of wheat which bringeth forth much fruit. There must be a succession of children unto Jesus; He is "the Father of the everlasting age." He shall say, "Behold, I and the children whom Thou hast given me."

A man is honored in his sons, and Jesus hath His quiver full of these arrows of the mighty. A man is represented in his children, and so is the Christ in Christians. In his seed a man's life seems to be prolonged and extended; and so is the life of Jesus continued in believers.

Jesus lives, for He sees His seed. He fixes His eye on us, He delights in us, He recognizes us as the fruit of His soul travail. Let us be glad that our Lord does not fail to enjoy the result of His dread sacrifice, and that He will never cease to feast His eyes upon the harvest of His death. Those eyes which once wept for us are now viewing us with pleasure. Yes, He looks upon those who are looking unto Him. Our eyes meet! What a joy is this!

Cleaving...

THE CHARGE:  But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.--Joshua 22:5

Looking today at Joshua's charge to "cleave unto Him".  I looked up the word cleave in the online Blue Letter Bible and came up with the following definition.

Cleave:  To cling, stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with, follow closely, join to, overtake, catch up, follow hard, keep fast, abide....to adhere especially firmly as if with glue; to be glued...to be attached to someone and lovingly devoted.

It is the Lord, our God, we are to cleave unto.  Look at that definition....it really gives us no wiggle room.  Our God is to be always on our minds....always on our hearts.....always in our sight.  Nothing should interfere with our relationship with Him.

Staying close to our God keeps us safe, protected, blessed and nurtured.   When we stay close to Him, acknowledging His sovereignty and control in our lives, He handles all things that come our way.  We can take shelter in His presence and allow Him to perform all things for us and make perfect that which concerns us.  Staying close to our Lord enables us to hear His voice and keeps us from losing our way.  We can walk in His footsteps and even have His right hand uphold us as we walk.

Clinging to God takes a putting aside of pride and self will.  It was a decision for the children of Israel that really was a no brainer when they looked at the evidence.  Unfortunately pride has a way of getting in the way of rational thought.   It got in the children of Israel's way and it gets in our way, also.   It was the Lord who had driven out the enemy from before them.  It was the Lord who parted the sea.  It was the Lord who fought for them. It was the Lord who enabled them to stand.  Cleaving to the Lord won the battles for the Israelites and it will win our battles as well.  In cleaving is protection.  The Lord will go before you.  He will warn you of snares, point out dangers, and smooth your path.  The Lord will remove those things from your life that interfere with your walk with Him....those things that cause you to lose sight of Him...those things which weigh you down and hinder you from following him closely.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Read Deuteronomy 4:3:


Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal–peor: for all the men that followed Baal–peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.  But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. 

The message there:  Stay close to Jesus and live!

In Acts 11:23 Barnabas exhorts the people of Antioch "that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord."  I like that!  To purpose in your heart about something is to decide ahead of time to do it no matter the cost.  When circumstances come up that require a choice, your decision is easy because it has already been made.  Purpose in your own heart to cleave unto Him alone.  Purpose to allow nothing to interfere with your relationship with Him.    You have decided that the Lord will be your support....that you will not look to the right or left, but will follow Him.

Paul tells us in Romans 12:9 to "cleave unto that which is good."  That which is good is God.  If you cleave unto Him, you will be embracing goodness and His grace and mercy will be with you and He will work all that occurs in your life...even those things your enemies mean for your harm...together for good because you love Him and have been called according to His purposes.

The God who created the heavens and the earth is nigh to us and is in all things that we call upon him for.  His law and His will for us is perfect and His heart one of love.  Do not let pride interfere with your decision to come to the Lord...do not let it interfere with your decision to stay close to the Lord.  Again pride blocks all rational thought.  Put it aside and get beyond it.  By faith surrender to your Lord...He is on your side....there is nothing to fear.  It is the only decision that makes sense.  It is the only decision that saves you and enables you to live forever with Him.

Near and Far by Rebecca

They draw near who follow after wickedness; They are far from Your law.
You are near, O LORD, And all Your commandments are truth.--Psalm 119:150-151

Written By My Daughter, Rebecca...

I love the psalmist's contrast in these two verses. Those who despise the Lord and are far from His law - and who are therefore inevitably followers of wickedness - are near to him. But the Lord is also near! And His commandments (His word, His promises) are true. So what He says about the fate of the wicked and His goodness toward His children is also true. Whatever trials or tribulations we may endure in this life, then, or whatever foes may come against us, we may still rejoice! Those who sow to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but those who sow to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. God is not mocked! He will fully repay the evildoer, and what man intended for evil in the lives of God's children, God will use for our good. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:31-37, NKJV)

Take Heed - Part 2...Love

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. jos.22.6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.--Joshua 22:5-6

The land had been possessed!  Here Joshua is dismissing the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh in order that they could return to their land on the other side of the Jordan River.  This is his charge to them as they left.  This is God's charge to us.  This is my prayer for you and me.

Father,

Behold, what manner of love You have bestowed upon me, that I should be called your child!! You are a God who shows mercy unto thousands that love you and keep your commandments.  Help me, Lord, to love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me to love others as You love them...to walk in Your ways and to serve you with all that I possess.

Heaven and earth are the work of Your hands.  All that is in them is Yours.    I also am your handiwork.  I belong to You.  You have redeemed me with Your blood.  You have pulled me up out of the miry clay and have set my feet upon a rock.  You have blessed me with eternal life in the heavenly places.  Truly, Lord you deserve all my obedience.  You deserve all my praise. All glory and honor and thanksgiving belong to You.  You, O Lord, loved me and died for me when I was still your enemy.  You loved me when I was unloveable...You loved me first!   You chose me Father and You delight in me!!!!

And if that was not enough, You have not left me alone, but have sent Your Holy Spirit,  the Comforter, to abide with me forever.  You reveal Yourself to me, walk with me here as I journey and show me the path of life.   You make your home with me!  Because I love you and believe, You, Lord,  make all things in my life work together for good according to Your purposes.  When I die, the crown of life is mine...and not just mine only, but it belongs to all who love you!!

...And yet....despite all of this...I am still so stubborn, so prideful, so willful!  Soften my heart to seek You and Your grace more.  Help me, Lord, to put aside ME and MY desires.  Help me to want what You want.  Align my will with Your perfect one.   Obedience to You brings blessing.   Obedience is how Your love is made perfect in me.  Your word tells me that obedience is better than sacrifice and to love You is to keep your commandments.  Above all other things, Father, help me to put on love...love is the bond of perfection.