The Light of My Eyes…

 

The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

And a good report makes the bones healthy.—Proverbs 15:30

So many things in this world vie for our attention and our heart. There is only One, however, that we need give our attention. Only One that will see us through this life and into the next.  Only One whose lovingkindness is always before our eyes. Only One that can never be taken from us. Sound truth and wisdom are from our Father in heaven.  Any thought that brings Him, the Giver of all that is good to mind, will stir our heart, relieve our anxiety and produce a cheerful face. 

Purpose with me, right here and right now to make Him your all in all. He who is the same yesterday today and forever, will never leave you nor forsake you. His mercy reaches to the heavens and his faithfulness to the skies. With Him is the fountain of life. In His light we see light.  He who holds all things, holds us.  May He be the light of our eyes and the rejoicing of our heart. 

Beloved…Put your trust under the shadow of His wings. Drink from the river of His pleasures and be abundantly satisfied with the fullness of His house. Philippians 4:8 comes to mind here. May all the gifts and the graces of God point us forever and always to Him who loves us with an everlasting love. 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works

Which You have done;

And Your thoughts toward us

Cannot be recounted to You in order;

If I would declare and speak of them,

They are more than can be numbered.—Psalm 40:5

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!—Psalm 107:15

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.—Psalm 103:1-5

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;

naught be all else to me, save that thou art.

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Bearing Our Cross After Jesus…

 

Bearing Our Cross After Jesus…

Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.—Luke 23:26-27

Such a graphic, but beautiful picture Luke paints here of what each of us, as believers, are to do as  His “followers”; bear our cross and follow after Him. The cross is a symbol of shame, humiliation, forgiveness and victory.  It was an instrument of death that brought life to the world and eternal glory to Jesus, the Son of God. Mark 15:21 tells us that Simon was the father of Rufus and Alexander.  In Romans 16:13 we learn that Paul sent greetings to Rufus and Alexander. The fact that Paul included greetings to them most likely means that they were well-known Christians. The implication is that Simon got saved—perhaps, on the very day that the Romans compelled him to carry the cross of Christ.

As any true believer can attest, the cross is the point where we see God’s love the clearest.  (We love Him because He first loved us.) It is where we go to be forgiven and obtain peace.  It is where mercy and truth meet. It is where righteousness and peace kiss. It is there that Truth springs out of the earth and our Righteous Father looks down from heaven.  It is there at the cross as we make Jesus’ footsteps our pathway, that we get to know Him and share in the fellowship of His sufferings. It is at the cross where we learn to die to what we want and live for the will of our Father in Heaven.  It is at the cross where we find our true life.

What they meant for evil then, Jesus used for good not only to perhaps the saving of Simon, but also to the instructive illustration that Simon portrays in bearing the cross after Him.

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.—Luke 9:23-26

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.—Matthew 10:38-39

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.—John 12:24-26

Truly, we can say with Paul..

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.—Philippians 3:7-11

As For Me, I Will Call Upon God…

 

As for me, I will call upon God,

And the LORD shall save me.

Evening and morning and at noon

I will pray, and cry aloud,

And He shall hear my voice.

He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,—Psalm 55:16-18

Cast your burden on the LORD,

And He shall sustain you;

He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.—Psalm 55:22

Whenever I am afraid,

I will trust in You.—Psalm 56:3

You number my wanderings;

Put my tears into Your bottle;

Are they not in Your book?

When I cry out to You,

Then my enemies will turn back;

This I know, because God is for me.—Psalm 56:8-9

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,

Until these calamities have passed by.

I will cry out to God Most High,

To God who performs all things for me.

He shall send from heaven and save me;

He reproaches the one who would swallow me up.

Selah

God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.—Psalm 57:1-3

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

I will sing and give praise.—Psalm 57:8

My daily Bible reading has placed me in the midst of Psalms 55, 56 and 57.  The above verses are the ones that I underlined. Aside from bringing me much strength and comfort, David’s inspired words have also reminded me, among other things, that…

—My God is for me…

—He is on my side

—He fights for me

—He is merciful

—He cares for me

—He desires to hear my voice

—He wants me to cast my cares and burdens upon Him

—He desires that I stay myself on His providence and promises

—He wants to be the One who upholds me in the struggles of this life.

—He numbers my wanderings

—My tears are precious to Him…

—He performs all things for me

—He desires to be my strong habitation to which I can continually resort

—He wants me to honor Him with my trust 

Beloved…Moment by precious moment, by His Spirit who dwells in you, resolve to trust in the mercy and grace of your God. Behold, God is our helper.  The Lord is our strong tower. His steadfast love never ceases..His mercies never come to an end. Great is His faithfulness. 

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,

Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

They make it a spring;

The rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength;

Each one appears before God in Zion.—Psalm 84:5-7

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!—Psalm 84:11

Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord…

 

“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” —Psalm 55:22

Beloved…I don’t know about you, but I need this reminder every day. Today was no exception. I am thankful that God is my strong habitation to which I can continually resort.  I liked what John MacArthur said about this verse as well as Matthew Henry and Charles Spurgeon. I have found them helpful to meditate on when anxiety starts to take hold. 

The word for burden implies one’s circumstances, one’s lot. The psalmist promises that the Lord will uphold the believer in the struggles of life.—John MacArthur. 

Short and sweet. In the struggles of this life our God is our support. 

The following is from Matthew Henry’s Commentary…

He encourages himself and all good people to commit themselves to God, with confidence in him. He himself resolves to do so (v. 23): "I will trust in thee, in thy providence, and power, and mercy, and not in my own prudence, strength, or merit; when bloody and deceitful men are cut off in the midst of their days I shall still live by faith in thee." 

And this he will have others to do (v. 22): "Cast thy burden upon the Lord," whoever thou art that art burdened, and whatever the burden is. "Cast thy gift upon the Lord" (so some read it); "whatever blessings God has bestowed upon thee to enjoy commit them all to his custody, and particularly commit the keeping of thy soul to him." Or, "Whatever it is that thou desirest God should give thee, leave it to him to give it to thee in his own way and time. 

Cast thy care upon the Lord," so the Septuagint, to which the apostle refers, 1 Peter  5:7. Care is a burden; it makes the heart stoop (Prov. 12:25); we must cast it upon God by faith and prayer, commit our way and works to him; let him do as seemeth him good, and we will be satisfied. 

To cast our burden upon God is to stay ourselves on his providence and promise, and to be very easy in the assurance that all shall work for good. If we do so, it is promised, 1. That he will sustain us, both support and supply us, will himself carry us in the arms of his power, as the nurse carries the sucking-child, will strengthen our spirits so by his Spirit as that they shall sustain the infirmity. He has not promised to free us immediately from that trouble which gives rise to our cares and fears; but he will provide that we be not tempted above what we are able, and that we shall be able according as we are tempted. 2. That he will never suffer the righteous to be moved, to be so shaken by any troubles as to quit either their duty to God or their comfort in him. However, he will not suffer them to be moved for ever (as some read it); though they fall, they shall not be utterly cast down.—Matthew Henry

My favorite in this one is the admonition to “stay” ourselves on God…on His providence and promise. I also liked that he reminds us to commit all to Him…the “burdens” and the “blessings”. 

Thy burden, or what thy God lays upon thee, lay thou it upon the Lord. His wisdom casts it on thee, it is thy wisdom to cast it on him. He cast thy lot for thee, cast thy lot on him. He gives thee thy portion of suffering, accept it with cheerful resignation, and then take it back to him by thine assured confidence. He shall sustain thee. Thy bread shall be given thee, thy waters shall be sure. Abundant nourishment shall fit thee to bear all thy labours and trials. As thy days so shall thy strength be. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. He may move like the boughs of a tree in the tempest, but he shall never be moved like a tree torn up by the roots. He stands firm who stands in God. Many would destroy the saints, but God has not suffered it, and never will. Like pillars, the godly stand immoveable, to the glory of the Great Architect.—Charles Spurgeon

Spurgeon consistently and continually reminds us to obey what God has commanded here in this verse.  I like that because I always need to be reminded.  “His wisdom casts it on thee, it is thy wisdom to cast it on him.”

Ending with some cross-reference verses…

Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.—Psalm 37:5-6

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.—Matthew 6:25-34

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.—1 Peter 5:7

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;

For the LORD upholds him with His hand.—Psalm 37:24

Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!—Psalm 27:14

My soul, wait silently for God alone,

For my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.—Psalm 62:1-8

I have set the LORD always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in hope.

For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.—Psalm 16:8-11

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;

The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in

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

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."—John 10:27-30

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."—Matthew 11:28-30

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

I Samuel 8…

 

And the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.-- 1 Samuel 8:7


Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.--1 Samuel 8:19-20

These are some sad words we find in 1 Samuel 8...so much like ours today.  It was God's desire to rule over his people.  The children of Israel rejected His rule and forfeited the blessings of both His rule and His kingdom.  When we reject God's rule, we are doomed to be ruled by men.  God had told the people what it would be like to have a king...describing a huge government bureaucracy that someone (the King's subjects) would have to pay for.  Taxation would increase and they would see less and less of the fruits of their labors. 

After hearing all these warnings the people "nevertheless" wanted a king anyway.  They were willing to put themselves into bondage in order not to have God rule over them.  God let them have their way...this was and is never a good thing.

God still desires to reign in the hearts and lives of His children.  So many of us reject his offer and choose instead wells without water...things that are vain and do not profit.  We choose to NOT be set free from the penalty and power of sin and unbelievably live under the horrible bondage of all sorts of other masters, enduring pretty horrific consequences rather than be ruled by God.  Pride is not rational and sin makes us stupid.  The wages of sin is death,  but the gift of God is eternal life in His Son.  Take His free gift.  Allow Him to rule and reign in your heart.  He wants to bring you out of the darkness and into His marvelous light.  He has so much more for you and desires to do in your life exceedingly abundantly above all that  you could ask or think.  Ask Him right now to lift you up out of the miry clay...to deliver you from  bondage that you are in and set your feet upon the rock that is Christ. 

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.--Hebrews 2:14-15

Thus Far the Lord Has Helped Us…

 

Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.

And Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you." So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines."

And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."

So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.—1 Samuel 7:1-14

In all our variegated trials and troubles, God’s desire is to subdue the enemy of our souls and restore to us the territory they have taken.

This morning my heart focused on these inspired words of Samuel…

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.

Beloved…God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He desires truth in our inward man. He wants our hearts to be His and His alone. God wants us to live today in this vale of tears in the same way He wanted the Israelites to live…by faith, depending on His grace. 

What does that look like in your life and mine? How do we actually live this way?

The answer is always in the turning. Turn to Him in your trouble, turn to Him in your anguish and grief.  Turn to Him in your weakness, turn to Him in your fits of depression and hopelessness.  Turn to Him in your need, turn to Him in your discontentedness and dissatisfaction.  Turn to Him in your sin and repent.  

When we do this, we will look back and see our own Ebenezer stone pathway because there will never have been a turning where He has not helped us. As believers, His sustaining grace will be there to meet every single one of our needs. Jesus, the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the Lord is our Advocate. He will go before us and make our crooked places straight. He will help us. Keep turning…Keep looking up.

He will comfort us in our sorrow, 

He will give beauty for ashes

He will give the oil of joy for mourning,

He will give the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That we may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

Oh Father…

Turn away our eyes from looking at worthless things,

And revive us in Your way.—Psalm 119:37

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.—Psalm 121:1-2

The Lord God is our strength and our song. He is our salvation. 

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

"God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble."

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.—1 Peter 5:7-8

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

Selah—Psalm 62:8

I will love You, 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 shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.

The pangs of death surrounded me,

And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD,

And cried out to my God;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,

Because He was angry.

Smoke went up from His nostrils,

And devouring fire from His mouth;

Coals were kindled by it.

He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With darkness under His feet.

And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;

He flew upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness His secret place;

His canopy around Him was dark waters

And thick clouds of the skies.

From the brightness before Him,

His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

The LORD thundered from heaven,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,

Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

Then the channels of the sea were seen,

The foundations of the world were uncovered

At Your rebuke, O LORD,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

He sent from above, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me,

For they were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the LORD was my support.

He also brought me out into a broad place;

He delivered me because He delighted in me.—Psalm 18:1-19