My Utmost for His Highest - May 30th - Yes--But . . . !

And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. - Luke 9:61

    Supposing God tells you to do something which is an enormous test to your common sense, what are you going to do? Hang back? If you get into the habit of doing a thing in the physical domain, you will do it every time until you break the habit determinedly; and the same is true spiritually. Again and again you will get up to what Jesus Christ wants, and every time you will turn back when it comes to the point, until you abandon resolutely. "Yes, but--supposing I do obey God in this matter, what about . . . ?" "Yes, I will obey God if He will let me use my common sense, but don't ask me to take a step in the dark." Jesus Christ demands of the man who trusts Him the same reckless sporting spirit that the natural man exhibits. If a man is going to do anything worth while, there are times when he has to risk everything on his leap, and in the spiritual domain Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold by common sense and leap into what He says, and immediately you do, you find that what He says fits on as solidly as common sense. At the bar of common sense Jesus Christ's statements may seem mad; but bring them to the bar of faith, and you begin to find with awestruck spirit that they are the words of God. Trust entirely in God, and when He brings you to the venture, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis, only one out of a crowd is daring enough to bank his faith in the character of God.

- From Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest" - Classic Edition

Highlights and Underlines are courtesy of Mom from her print edition.

My thoughts

Interesting devotion which speaks of a common sentiment among us all - I will follow you Lord, but... as long as it make sense to my common sense I will follow Him but to venture out in the dark, well, that is something I'm not willing to do. Yet, Jesus demands this reckless way, defying common sense and forging ahead. That is the truth - even in evangelism, once we feel like we are properly prepared, then we will set out. We trust in ourselves even when we say we are following God rather than putting our faith in the character of God. 

Titus 2:11 - Is Grace Cooperative

Titus 2:11 - For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

Message: Is Grace Cooperative?

Time: Paul is the author, written in AD 63. Paul went with Titus to the island of Crete and evangelized there before Paul left Titus there in a position of leadership. The book speaks of living right as guided by Truth.

What the Lord is Saying:

The issue: How free is the human will after the fall of Adam.

Humans beings are free to make choices. But our freedom is limited by our desires. Freedom is doing what we most want to do. Apart from God's grace, the only thing that we want to do is sin. In order to do what is truly good and pleasing to God, grace must change our hearts. It is only the regenerate person that understands the things of God.

I go back to an idea that I have been focusing on: the horizontal and the vertical. The horizontal is our life lived with one another and the life I live for myself. In this life there is freedom: each day there are choices to engage in good acts and bad acts as they relate to man's relationship to man. Much good has been done by men and women on this horizontal level. We should not ever diminish these acts. But there is the vertical - man's relationship with God. Without God's grace there is no vertical, only a horizontal. Grace brings the vertical into my life because sin removed the vertical. Without grace, I will only live on the horizontal. With grace, I can carry out the things of God. Thus, today's text states in Titus 2:11 - For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men. Salvation is a God thing and it is needed to make me right vertically, right with God.

The debate that I have been looking at is - can man get to God on his own or must God intervene? And is this intervention completely by God or is man involved?

RC Sproul Message - Is Grace Cooperative - In this message RC Sproul begins his lecture by reciting a quote by Joseph Arminius in which he upholds the lost condition of man following Adam's sin or his sin and mentions that the only way man can be brought to salvation is through the act of grace into that person's life. He mentions that Arminius began as a pure Calvinist and Augustinian but then he got wrapped up in a debate with someone and in that process began to move further and further away from the reformed doctrine.

Early on he speaks of preventing grace and prevenient grace. "Pre" means before and "venient" - coming before so this is 'grace that comes before something." Grace comes before conversion. There are also those who look at internal grace and external grace. External grace is something that happens outside of ourselves, outside of our soul. Internal grace would be something that God does inside of us. For Arminius, grace is not limited to an external operation of the Holy Spirit, but also God's internal operation. However, he then goes to say that all persons have their own will and can refuse the call of the Holy Spirit. So even though it is internal (God doing something inside of us), it is not irresistible. He says the grace of regeneration is sufficient to convert. It is all a person needs to be liberated from spiritual bondage. The grace is enough. But it is not inherently efficient as it does not always affect conversion or regeneration. Thus, prevenient grace or grace that comes before man's choice to then choose whether or not he wants that grace.

Calvin however speaks that the calling of God is effectual. Here the Spirit effects what it intends and thus, it cannot be rejected. Thus, grace is internal and effectual. But for Arminius it is internal but can be rejected. Arminius says that if man does not submit to the grace, the fault lies with man. Pelagius would though deny this for Pelagius believes that God does not have to help a person be saved. But Arminius says that God does have to help, but man can reject. Arminius seeks to not make God accountable to people rejecting Him whereby with Calvin the onus is completely on God as to man being saved or not saved. While Arminius believes that the rejecting by man means that the fault rests on him, he also does not believe that the acceptance of man does not rest on man being virtuous. To believe this would mean that man has something to boast about and this would contradict what Paul says in Ephesians 2:9.

Arminius gave a famous example of a rich man coming to a beggar to offer him a gift. The beggar does nothing to earn the gift, and to receive it simply reaches out his had to accept the gift. But the beggar can also not reach out his hand and therefore be content in his position of being poor. Billy Graham even stated that God does 99% and man does 1% whereby reformers would say that for the drowning man, the person would drown and then God would pull him out of the water and resuscitate him to life.

After Arminius died in 1609, some of his disciples in the Synod of Dort were called upon to consider the five articles of Remonstrance. It was in response to these five articles that we received the five points of Calvinism.

[I was thinking of this question - most of the proof text I think about Calvinist thought, namely whether man is involved at all in salvation, comes from Paul's writings (and also Hebrews). Is it possible that Augustine and Calvin concluded their points on man having no place in saving man from Paul alone or is that line of thinking consistent throughout the Bible? Stated another way, is Jesus a Calvinist? Is God and the Old Testament writers Calvinist? This is a side-note question of mine. Some people have made the assertion that if we only follow the red letters or Jesus' words then we won't come to the conclusion of grace alone.]

RC Sproul Message - Born to Sin - In this message RC Sproul begins speaking about Jonathan Edwards and his book, Freedom of the Will, written in 1754. That book is very theological and philosophical and technical. It was written after Edwards had been removed from his church in Northampton and began a ministry to the Indians at Stockbridge (both in Massachusetts).

Edwards deals with the question - "What is the will anyway?" Philosophers often looked at the mind, the affections, and the will OR the mind, the heart, and the will. Edwards felt it was important to distinguish between the mind or thinking and the will or choosing. He says they are interrelated. In analyzing the will, the making of human decisions or choices, he looked first at the law of causality. Causality is every effect must have a cause. Thus, he analyzed human choices as effects with causes. The choices we make are made for a reason and the mind supplies the reason. Thus, the choices we make are what we deem to be good for us, though, Edwards use of the word good isn't necessarily morality, but rather good is what is pleasing to us. Thus, the good is what is most pleasing to me, at this moment, and to choose what I want. Thus, this is the role of desire in the making of choices. The mind deems a particular action to be good and pleasing to us. For example, when one is hungry, those hunger pains alert the mind and then the mind through choosing decides to eat, in order to meet the need of hunger, in order to please himself.

Edwards states that all choices are caused by something. They don't just happen. And what causes choices are inclinations. Thus, choices are motivated or driven by inclinations. Edwards understood that as humans we are complex. At times, we have very complex desires and motives within our lives. Paul reverberates this idea in Romans 7:19 - For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do. What Paul seems to be saying that in him are competing desires and competing inclinations. In Christ is the desire to always do those things that honor God, but in his flesh is desires contrary to the Spirit and sometimes I follow these desires. Edwards might say to Paul that at the time of your choice to sin, you have a stronger desire to not do what is pleasing to God than you have in yourself to please God. Thus, there is a conflict of inclinations. Thus, Edwards states that we always choose according to the strongest inclination at the moment.

This is not determinism which is being controlled by external forces that coerce us, such as our environment and place in which we live and grow up. Atheists believe in determinism, meaning we are a product of our environment. What Edwards is focused on instead is self-determination in which the choices we make are determined by us. What Edwards is getting at is our choices are determined by us and my desires and what my mind deems to be most good for me at the moment. There is a desire continuum we have. Some desires are strong while others are mild. Thus freedom is the power to choose according to your inclinations.

For example, the doctor may recommend and I may agree that I need to lose 30 pounds as losing pounds has a myriad of positive outcomes. But, my desire to lose those pounds varies from moment to moment. After eating a thanksgiving meal I have no desires to eat more and want to lose pounds, but when I am hungry and a chocolate sundae is presented before me, my desire for that sundae is greater than my desire to lose weight. Thus, the desire continuum. We have different degrees of desires, but without an inclination there wouldn't be a choice is what Edwards argues.

Yet, Edwards is arguing with pagan philosophers and even other theologians which might say that the will is not indifferent, but has a prior bent, disposition or inclination. To be really free it would have an equal means to go to the right or the left. Edwards says an indifferent choice is an irrational concept. If I choose one thing over another for no other reason whatsoever, like choosing which way to go at a fork in the road with no reason to choose either way, how would that have any moral significance. Intent is essential to a moral decision, to a voluntary act. To be a moral decision, there has to be a reason or intent. But he says the idea of an indifferent choice is a nonsensical concept.

What Edwards is most famous for is his distinction between our natural ability and our moral ability. This is similar to Augustinian's distinction between free will and liberty. Edwards says, "We have the natural ability to make choices." We have natural ability that is not coerced by outside forces. What we lack, according to Edwards, is the moral ability to choose the things of God. Because in the fall, we lost our disposition, our desire, our inclination for God. We don't choose God because we don't want him. We cannot choose what we do not want. We have no natural inclination for the things of God until the Holy Spirit creates that in our soul. Thus back to the vertical, Edwards is stating that we lack, on our own, the ability to see that God is what we need the most in our lives, and in turn meets us on the vertical, on our own. The only way our heart is inclined to the things of God is God coming to us and once God comes, we cannot resist Him. Thus, grace is not cooperative.

Summary: On the horizontal, man is capable of making choices, based upon his inclinations and desires. The problem is that apart from grace, we only desires the things of this world, the things that do not save us, that are not of salvation, that therefore are not of God. To do the things of God, God must intervene in our lives and this intervention is not resisting. If God calls us, we will respond.

Promise: Paul says that the grace of God has brought salvation to all people, thus God has saved all sorts of people. The gospel must be preached to all people.

Prayer: Father, your word is alive and true. I seek truth. Even as I spend time talking to people that are coming from a myriad of faiths, I want to make sure that the truth of who you are and how salvation happens or how I am made to be free from sin happens. Guide me into truth always. Thank you for saving me and making me whole and giving me new life. I live now in obedience to You and I do not want that to ever be muddy or unclear. You are my God and I am yours. You love me and in response I love You and others and want You to be in the life of all others I am near. Save. Save people. Keep on saving people. 

Ecclesiastes 11:5 - Humility of Understanding

Ecclesiastes 11:5
Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

Message:  Humility of Understanding

Time: The Book of Ecclesiastes does not directly identify its author. The conventional belief is that the author is indeed Solomon. The book was likely written towards the end of Solomon's reign, approximately 935 B.C. It is a book of perspective whereby the speaker reveals the depression that inevitably results from seeking happiness in worldly things. Most every form of worldly pleasure is explored by the Preacher, and none of it gives him a sense of meaning. He accepts that life is brief and ultimately worthless without God and advises the reader to focus on an eternal God instead of temporary pleasure.

What the Lord is Saying: Ecclesiastes 11 began with the message that time is short and I need to do my best each day and give my best. And life is unpredictable; as we do our best and be responsible we can trust God for his outcomes. Now, verse 5 has these words: Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. 

Now, it seems like we are in the age of knowledge. I often think about right now and our lifestyles. Their is an influx of entertainment, recreation, activity, choices -- and all of these things have one thing in common: more knowledge. With more knowledge we have more choices and more options for our time. It is actually mesmerizing. 

Yet, this knowledge does not mean we have greater wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" and Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Knowledge and wisdom are found by fearing the Lord or letting God define in our lives these virtues. In God is true morality. In life, morality is blurred. Life is constantly in motion, but we need to remember where we have come from. Religion is often seen as tradition which then flies in the face of now, when knowledge is erasing tradition.

This verse would not be a popular verse of today because it states that we do not know the activity of God. In God, there is mystery, which causes us to trust. Mystery is not what we like as it is being erased with knowledge. We would much rather say that people get what they deserve (i.e. karma). Often, the only time God is brought up is when we are at a stage of helplessness or not understanding and to me, this occurs often, in the realm of sickness. In sickness, we don't see why things have occurred the way they have and so at those moments, we continue to pray and ask God for his mercy.

Creation testifies always of God's handiwork. This verse states 3 ideas:

1. We do not know the path of the wind (or spirit in other translations)
2. We do not know how bones work in the womb of a pregnant woman
3. We do no know the activity of God who makes all things.  

Man does not understand the breath of life, how it begins, when it begins, nor how it ends or when it ends. On a side note, it is interesting the obsession we have now with robots, for man desires to have control over something and so the creation of a robot is more in that control. The body is often self healing, yet sometimes it isn't. There is definite mystery in how one body works, while another does not. We do not know how bones work. And we do not understand God. Evil is present. Weather disasters it seem have increased. Man introduces these ideas of climate change or global warming as the answer to increases in natural disasters. Yet, God's timing could be a wake-up to us that he is real, that he is real and still present in lives today. And those events are startling ways in which he attempts to get our attention.

Job 11:7-9 Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.
Psalm 145:3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.

Promise: The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. Life begins with Him and knowing Him. Get to know the character of God more than the ways and means of man.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for not seeing and acknowledging You. We love our progress and our advancement. More and more we are leaning on our own understanding and with greater knowledge we become more independent of our creator. Even in our worship, we want to achieve an altered state of being in Your Presence. Bring us back to You Lord. Remind us you are the author of life. Remind us that you are in control. Remind us that you are present. Remind us continually that we need you. Lord, keep us couched in wonder and amazement, and keep reminding us we are not in control, but You are in control. You define life. Guard me Lord so that I am defined by You.

Jesus Calling: December 12

I am taking care of you. Feel the warmth and security of being enveloped in My loving Presence. Every detail of your life is under My control. Moreover, everything fits into a pattern for good, to those who love Me and are called according to My design and purpose.
     Because the world is in an abnormal, fallen condition, people tend to think that chance governs the universe. Events may seem to occur randomly, with little or no meaning. People who view the world this way have overlooked one basic fact: the limitations of human understanding. What you know of the world you inhabit is only the tip of the iceberg. Submerged beneath the surface of the visible world are mysteries too vast for you to comprehend. If you could only see how close I am to you and constantly I work on your behalf, you would never again doubt that I am wonderfully caring for you. This is why you must live by faith, not by sight; trusting in My mysterious, majestic Presence.

Romans 8:28
Amplified Version
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
 
Job 42:1-3
English Standard Version
¹ Then Job answered the Lord and said:

² “I know that you can do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
³ ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

I Peter 5:7
English Standard Version
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
 
2 Corinthians 5:7
English Standard Version
for we walk by faith, not by sight.

My Prayer
Lord, thank you for caring for me. Thank you for working out my life in order that you can be glorified. Help me to believe in you every step of the way. I pray that I would live by faith, not by sight and you would teach our city, state, country, world to live in the same manner, turning their lives over to you and resting in your providence. Thank you for governing our universe. You can do all things God. No purpose of yours can be thwarted. Keep reveling truth. You care for me so you can handle all of me. 

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Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Psalm 78:1-20 - For the Coming Generation

Psalm 78:1-20

Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. ² I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, ³ which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.⁴ We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. 

⁵ For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, ⁶ That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, they may arise and tell to their children, ⁷ That they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, ⁸ And not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God. 

⁹ The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, they turned back in the day of battle.
¹⁰ They did not keep the covenant of God And refused to walk in His law; ¹¹ They forgot His deeds and His miracles that He had shown them. ¹² He wrought wonders before their fathers In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. ¹³ He divided the sea and caused them to pass through, and He made the waters stand up like a heap. ¹⁴ Then He led them with the cloud by day and all the night with a light of fire. ¹⁵ He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave abundant drink like the ocean depths. ¹⁶ He brought forth streams also from the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers.¹⁷ Yet they still continued to sin against Him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. ¹⁸ And in their heart they put God to the test by asking food according to their desire. ¹⁹ Then they spoke against God; They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? ²⁰ “Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?”

Message: For the Coming Generation; Warning to the Stubborn and Rebellious

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

Overview
This Psalm begins with the words Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. This is a beginning that seems similar to words found in the book of Proverbs. But, it is clearly a call to the people to pay attention to what is going to be said. He says that he speak with a parable. He will pass on words that our fathers have said to us.

Pass on these words to future generations
Actually, in reading this Psalm, at least these first 20 verses, it is a call out to the people of God to carry forth the Word of God from generation to generation. I will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. I have a responsibility before my children to continue to pass on the word of God. I do not think I've ever read this verse or taken it very seriously. 

Stubborn and Rebellious People
There was a warning in verse 8 to not be like a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.  Stubborn and rebellious is a people that are stiff-necked, ungovernable; inclined to revolt. Therefore, a people that do not pass on words to their children and future generations are described as this. Stubborn and rebellious is synonymous with not being faithful to God.

We come across people all the time that say they believe in God and pray, but I wonder if they believe they are faithful to God. Its one thing to believe and pray, but quite another to be faithful. I just think of this as I speak to people. I am not sure I am even faithful to God and his promises. I think I do this on a part-time basis. I'm not sure if this describes me completely. But, I also think, for the most part, it is a goal of mine to be this way.

This stubborn and rebellious way is further understand through the description of a people group. In verse 9, the sons of Ephraim was one of the largest tribes of Israel. They were a large tribe and therefore had the platform and means to be independent of the other tribes. They were archers equipped with bows. They were armed and they were ready to defend only themselves but they turned back in the day of battle or they did not stand by their brethren. They were a proud people and a selfish people. The Christian life is to be about community and serving others and ministering to people.

These people rejected God

• They did not keep the covenant of God
• refused to walk in His law
• They forgot His deeds and His miracles that He had shown them

These people ignored God:

• He wrought wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.  
• He divided the sea and caused them to pass through, and He made the waters stand up like a heap.  
• Then He led them with the cloud by day and all the night with a light of fire.  
• He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave abundant drink like the ocean depths.  
• He brought forth streams also from the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers

They put God to the test:

• asking food according to their desire.  
• Can God prepare a table in the wilderness
• Can He give bread also
•  Will He provide meat for His people

Conclusion
This chapter describes fathers preparing their children for the future, teaching them God's word. I wonder how I do this as a father or rather I think about this and see that I need to improve in this area. I'm having difficulty right now talking to my youngest. Yet, there are still stories I could communicate from God's word. Perhaps I need to look at my Bible again and think about the stories that are within it and what it can teach. Help me God. Give me strength and courage to pass these truths onto my children. They all need it. Help me with my youngest and even though he does not voice an interest in God right now, show me how I can still use words from our lives.

Promise: God's word is present and living. We can't just ignore it or even question it without it yielding stubborn and rebellious people.

Psalm 106:6-48 - A Call for Us to Remember

Psalm 106:6-48

We have sinned like our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known. Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, and He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness. So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but craved intensely in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. So He gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them. When they became envious of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and engulfed the company of Abiram. And a fire blazed up in their company; the flame consumed the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image. Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham and awesome things by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, to turn away His wrath from destroying them. Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe in His word, but grumbled in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the Lord. Therefore He swore to them that He would cast them down in the wilderness, and that He would cast their seed among the nations and scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to all generations forever. They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, so that it went hard with Moses on their account; because they were rebellious against His Spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood. Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people and He abhorred His inheritance. Then He gave them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power. Many times He would deliver them; they, however, were rebellious in their counsel, and so sank down in their iniquity. Nevertheless He looked upon their distress when He heard their cry; and He remembered His covenant for their sake, and relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. He also made them objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the Lord!

Message: A call for us to remember

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

The words of the first 5 verses of Psalm 106 yesterday, in my reading, can basically be summed up with the proclamation that "God is great; His deeds are mighty; His ways are true; so God, show Your favor on us." 

The beginning focus, from this Psalm, is on the greatness of God and the only reason He would show favor to us is because He is great. I was reminded yesterday of my need to speak of His greatness, but also to remember the things that He has done in my life. I began a writing in which I would document those things. I must remember. We must remember. Without remembering, we forget what has occurred and the blessings that we have received. They happen and occur constantly. 

As a kid and even as I got older, I always the theme of that 80s song from Edin-Adahl singing, "Bring back the joy of my salvation." It was a stark reminder that I remember the thrill that I experienced embracing the Gospel and its reality upon my life. 

The rest of this Psalm, is dark, as it speaks to a people that did not remember God. It begins with the memory that we sinned, repeating iniquity (We have sinned like our fathers), and yet God saved us in order to show His power (Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name), rescuing them from their foes (redeemed them from the hand of the enemy). For a moment, they believe and sang his praise, but then forgot, got selfish, and blamed God (tempted God in the desert). But they did not simply forget, but they replaced their Love for God with a Love for something else (They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image). God said He would destroy them, but Moses intervened. But they still did not surrender, but continued in their march away from God (They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt) and a plague resulted and their doom was near; but then Phinehas intervened (Phinehas stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed). But they continued abandoning God and their descent continued (they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols) and even as they spiraled down, He remembered His covenant with them (He remembered His covenant for their sake). We must praise God. Praise the Lord. He restores us and saves us despite our constant attempts to run the other way. We must stay close to Him and remember what we have received, and be thankful and not forget.

Promise: Remember what the Lord has done in my life. Don't forget.

Romans 13:4b - The Government and the Sword

Romans 13:4b - But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

Message: The government's vocation is to carry the sword (badge) and execute God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome

What the Lord is Saying:


Doing wrong
It seems that the primary role of government--found here in these verses--is to uphold good. The Scripture says, "but if you do wrong, be afraid." We must uphold the rules of our society and if we do wrong in our own accord, we should not be surprised of the penalty. This is the essence of these verses. Yet, we are not to submit to the government when they uphold terror or do things that are contrary to the word of God.

The sword or badge
The passage also says, "for he does not bear the sword in vain." The sword in this verse is similar to a badge that a sheriff would wear. The badge is emblematic, informing people of the authority of the person wearing it. Now I remember watching movies--westerns--where the sheriffs wore this badge and yet was on the side of evil. That was one of the tensions in the movie. And this is a tension in life sometimes because we half to decipher what good and evil are.

The tension in our society today
This issue of homosexuality and gay marriage is something that is difficult to decipher. Our government is moving more and more toward a leadership that upholds this as good. And yet, at one level, what they are intending to do or the outcome is often one of fairness by simply allowing the citizens to share in the benefits, such as tax benefits, afforded other married people. So on the one hand that doesn't appear to be something that is evil. But in so doing it communicates a message of approving the citizens choice for these unnatural relationships.

So the government that we are commanded to uphold now in these verses is moving more and more toward upholding things that conflict with the Bible (and yet there is even discussion now that these verses have different meaning today). In some ways right and wrong, 100 years ago, was more clearly defined. But now with the ever increasing rights of each person and the affirmation of the individuality of each person, the application of this verse seems to get tougher.

People should see the badge or the sword and its authority and desire to keep the law just by that viewing of authority, even if there was no other motive.

Exacting vengeance
In verse 4, it states that the one who is in authority is "the servant of God, and avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer." The Scripture says, "vengeance is Mine, declares the Lord" and yet God appoints government to carry out wrath on the wrongdoer. But now in this world in which right and wrong becomes more blurry, men start not seeing the government carrying out wrath on the wrongdoer but instead see the need to do it themselves.

I see this type of thinking present everywhere. I see this in movies when a father's child is kidnapped and rather than waiting for the government/law/police he wants to take matters into his own hands and the movie often even paints the picture that if the person would have waited for the law the matter would not have resolved and life would not have been spared. I see this in my job when a coworker does something that I don't like, rather than waiting for my boss to do something, I take vengeance into my own hands. Why do I do this? Often it is because (1) I am inpatient and don't want to wait for my boss, (2) but it is also because my boss does not execute vengeance in the manner in which I want it done. I see this in life when a courts decision is not to punish an offender because they get off on a technicality and so people take the matter into their own hands. Recently, there has been an eruption of police officers getting shot because the courts did not execute vengeance upon these officers in the way the people wanted and so "an Oxbow Incident" erupts.

It is interesting because I even see this in the TV shows that we watch. I see this in shows like Hawaii 5O, a special task force is assigned by the governor, and this task force often carries out wrath on the wrongdoer in ways that are not in line with the laws, but we like it because the person is 'getting what they deserve.' Chicago PD is another show that does this because criminals with the use of lawyers and their inalienable rights have figured out how to get around the law so the Chicago PD officers threaten or use excessive violence in order to save a person. It is subtle but authority is continually being compromised.

Conclusion
And so being a Christian and upholding these verses makes us look even more backwards to society and our peers. Reading and studying God's word is a challenge. How much more do we need the fellowship with one another, the talking about these verses and prayer.

Promise: God's promise and his plan is correct. The state is to uphold good and carry out wrath on the wrongdoer. 

Jesus Calling: April 25

     Make Me your focal point as you move through this day. Just as a spinning ballerina must keep returning her eyes to a given point to maintain her balance, so you must keep returning your focus to Me. Circumstances are in flux, and the world seems to be whirling around you. The only way to keep your balance is to fix your eyes on Me, the One who never changes. If you gaze too long at your circumstances, you will become dizzy and confused. Look to Me, refreshing yourself in My Presence, and your steps will be steady and sure. 

Hebrews 12:2
English Standard Version

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Psalm 102:27
English Standard Version

But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.


My Prayer
Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to my words of groaning. I need you every moment. I need you to work in my life and in the lives of my family members. You are the worker of all things good in our lives. I cannot will them to act, but you Lord, can stir in them a desire to glorify you through their words and deeds.  

Lord, I am living my life the best I know how; trying to be sensitive to you, but as my children are now out of our home, they are not near to my guidance when they were young and reaching up their hands to mine, crying out for help. It is hard as a parent to transition to them being on their own, but I want to trust You for their lives continually. Help them to remember only the good of my parenting and to make you their focal point throughout each day. Show them the unrest and dissatisfaction when they seek help from places outside of You. 

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.   

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Romans 12:16-17 - Harmonious Living

Romans 12:16-17 - Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. ¹⁷ Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.

Message: Do not be self-focused, but thing about others and what is best for them.

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome

What the Lord is Saying:

I continue to walk rather slowly through these marks of what it means to be a Christian. As is Paul's custom throughout this book, he repeats. There are similar ideas here in some of these phrases, and yet differences. 

Be of the same mind toward one another
This is an interesting phrase to me. I am to live in harmony with other people. If Paul is mentioning this here, like this, then my guess is this is not necessarily natural. It is tragic because, on the surface, it appears that many Christians do not live like this toward other people. Instead, I see a policeman mentality so much of the time with ministers of the gospel policing what is truth. It seems like Christians become the judge in society for what should be right and wrong. Is that our role? Are we to take on an offensive attitude? Yes, we are to defend our faith, but it seems that defense takes on the form of separation.

Could it be that we are not of the same mind because we are not bathing ourselves in the Word of God like he expects of Christians? And so being of the same mind is harder. 

I just think this is a hard principle. I feel like in this section of scripture Paul is writing characteristics of the Christian and what it means to be a Christian. He has gone through the Law and Grace and the theology of Grace, but now he gets to direct application. 

To be honest, I think this is a phrase that is easy to say, but hard to extrapolate the exact meaning. Yes, it is important for me to live in harmony with other people. There should be peace, kindness, unity in feeling, interests and objection. I mean, in some ways, Pamela and I had to leave Hoffmantown because we started to realize that we were having a really hard time with this idea. We were not of the same mind with the people in that church. It was like they were at one place and we were some place very different. I do not think that I was just trying to get my way. But, I did feel like because there was such a separation of thought that it was not doing any good for us to be there. It was doing more harm than good. 

In marriage, I see that Pamela and I are of the same mind. Do we agree on everything? No. Do we do things the same way? No. But, we believe in the marriage and our children. We are focused on making it all work. We have the same objective and so we can work through all the situations. We are not giving up even though at times we feel like giving up. I think the Spirit is alive in our marriage. I think the unity we share in Christ allows the Spirit of God to work through both of us and cements us together. Being of the same mind is possible, but it is definitely only possible when God's Spirit is at the helm and is allowed to work. 

Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly

I am not to be arrogant in actions, but even in my mind. I am not to conduct myself in such a way as to make myself out to be more important than others. The Christian should not put forth the idea that because they are saved, because God has rescued them and made them holy, that they are somehow better than others. 

I think this is a real danger of a believer. I think because of their understanding they make themselves out to be superior to other people. But that misses a right understanding of the gospel because we are not in the faith we are because of our righteousness, but God has grafted us in, and so we are to give Him all the glory. 

And the complement of this thought is I am to associate with the lowly. Boy, this is hard when you are not accustomed to this. That I should go out of my way to associate with the lowly and who would be the lowly? If it is the homeless guy on the corner, asking for money ("Will work for food") then how do I associate with him? Do I take him out to eat? Could I spend more time with the lowly and bring them into my home? 

Do not be wise in your own estimation

I should not put myself up on a pedestal. I am not to uphold myself as being the wise one. In this statement is an attitude of boasting in myself. Proverbs 3:7 states something similar: "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil." A part of this is don't think that you know what other people are going through when you haven't gone through what they are going through. Don't assume that you know another person's perspective. 

I think I make assumptions about people's faith sometimes because of the label I place on them. I am learning to not do this. Every person has a different story. Each person has a different testimony of how they came to Christ and so each person will also have a different story as to how they have not come to Christ.

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone

I am never to pay back evil for evil. To me, this is a statement that separates Christians from other major religions. I see this statement, but I admit, it is a hard one to follow, even in my own household. When I have been wronged or even when evil has been committed against me; when I have been shunned at work; when I am made to look like a fool; when I am not respected; when my authority is questioned; my natural inclination is to do something or say something toward that other person that discredits them. Again, Paul doesn't give commands that are natural to follow. He recognizes here that it is somewhat normal to pay back evil for evil. 

How often have I heard the phrase, "I am going to get even with you?" As I watch movies and TV shows it is most often the reason behind the show. In crime shows, it is not just that a person will be caught for a crime they committed, but someone how something will happen to them that will try to equal the evil that they did.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:39, "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." 

Matthew 5:44, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

So, what is my response to evil? It is to continue doing good. I think the mark of a Christian is his response to circumstances. My faith is not to waiver. I am to stand trusting in God no matter what. Romans 12:21 says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Good is to rein in my life. As trials come, as hard times appear, as things occur that I don't understand, and when things well up inside of me, my response is simple, I am to remain doing the things that I do on any other day. I am to rise and surrender myself to the Lord and accept what He provides. I need to re-train myself in this way. I am too quickly trained to react and respond based upon what the world is training me. 

Respect what is right in the sight of all men

The word respect is an interesting one. I think there is an idea in this word that means to "stop." I think there is this idea that before you respond or react in a way that is natural to you, I am to think before. I am to observe in advance. I am to notice beforehand or plan before. Again, I see a big failure in my life in this over and over. The moment I feel attacked I immediately respond. I don't think. And yet this is what I need to do. I need to stop and think about how to respond and then do it in a way, that if I were to line up a string of people from all walks of life and ask them all what they would do, there would be a right way of doing things and the majority would respond to that situation in that way. I am to do what is right in the sight of all men.

Promise: I must live my life God's way. I am not live in a way that is natural to me.

Romans 9:10-13 - God's Purpose of Election

Romans 9:10-13 - 10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Message: God's Purpose of Election;

Time: Romulus founded ancient Rome about 753 BC. By 600 BC it had become a wealthy, flourishing city with a monarch. Around 500 BC, the monarch was overthrown. A republic resulted and after war, Rome became the only great power in the Mediterranean, succeeding the empire of Alexander the Great. Before and after the birth of Christ, Rome's dominion continued to expand to about two thirds the size of the continental US. At the time Paul wrote, Rome had a population of about 1,000,000. Most were slaves. It was a vast empire, but had many religions present. It is unknown how the church started in Rome, but Gentiles and Jews both were involved. Paul was writing to address a problem, but he wanted to be there and perhaps, make Rome his base for his missionary journey's

What the Lord is Saying:

Review
Paul begins Romans 9 with a question: How can this Jesus be the Messiah when the leaders of Israel don't believe in Him? How can the new covenant set aside the old covenant? How could God give a gospel that His own leaders would deny and consider to be a heresy or a blasphemy? If the Jews are God's people and yet they never have believed in the gospel, the new covenant, the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, that Jesus is the Messiah, then how can it all be true? It really just seems like Christianity is just another religion.

And so Paul, in these verses, 6 to 33 is going to state how God character has not changed. The unbelief of Israel is not inconsistent with God's person. The fact that Israel doesn't believe does not mean that God's promise has been violated.

This is a hard text. It is not just a hard text to understand based upon what it says. It is a hard text and message because it does infer a difficulty people have to believe in Jesus, and specifically here, the difficulty that Israel's people have, the Jews, to believe in Jesus. If they embrace the gospel, they are saying no to their heritage, their traditions, their families, their entire ways of life. That is a very difficult thing that I don't even understand or comprehend. I grew up in a family of faith and specifically a family of Christian faith and so me embracing the salvation of Jesus is not anything bewildering and it doesn't place me as an outsider.

But, I think of the missionaries we support in India and the message of the gospel they are presenting to Hindu's and Muslims and this message that flies as not just an opposite, but really as an opposition to the prevailing truth these people know and have been taught throughout the centuries. Those missionaries are discovering that the people they are ministering to, their current faith, pervades all areas of their life. They have celebrations and ritualistic times that affect their entire life.

One thing they are dealing with is that they don't want the message of the gospel to just be an addition to these people's faith. They don't want it to just be a cute story that they can add onto their faith. There is that tendency even if they embrace it. I really feel for those missionaries because they are facing every day a big battle. 

This is why I've noticed when talking to people about their beliefs and faith and it is harder for people that are older because they are more set in their ways and they have more that they are attached to and therefore, they have a harder time changing.

Verses 6-9
In these verses Paul declared that the word of God had not failed. And a true descendant of Israel is one who has embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we can hold on to God's promises. They are true, but they are only true to those that have true faith in Him.

God's example of His calling
He previously stated that two sons were born from the same man, but two women. One from Hagar and one from Sarah. In that instance, he chose one and did not choose the other. In this case though Paul shows that two sons were born from the same union of one couple, Rebekah and Isaac and also in this situation one was chosen and one not. Paul seems to be making the point here in verse 10 and previously in verse 9, that God chooses based upon His own doing. He uses whatever circumstance to carry out his commission.

And then in verse 11, it is also mentioned that God's purpose in His choosing is based upon whom He calls and not based upon the works of the individuals. God doesn't wait to see how a person will perform to then count that person as worthy or not and then choose the one that is worthy and not choose the unworthy one. No, instead he chooses one. And then the crazy thing is this: the story of Isaac makes more sense to us because God chose Isaac born of the union of Abraham and Sarah. He gave a promise to Abraham and carried it out. Sarah gave her husband Hagar, but this wasn't God's timing. Ishmael resulted from that union.

But, in the instance of Jacob and Esau. Jacob is loved even though Esau comes out first. Rebekah has to sort of trick Isaac by getting the blessing of Isaac for Jacob. And yet Jacob is the chosen one. Jacob was loved. Esau was not. Jacob was chosen before the birth of either.

Verse 13 is a quote from Malachi 1:2,3 "2  “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; 3  but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

It is easy to see why God did not choose Esau. Esau was godless, filled with pride, having sold his birthright for food. But, still, while that is clear, it is not clear why Jacob would be chosen instead. Esau was the first born.

So Paul uses these two lessons to put forth the point that God's choosing of people is based upon God, not man. One could argue that Isaac was chosen because Abraham and Sarah were both Jewish and Hagar was not. But, Isaac and Rebekah were both Jewish. One Jew was chosen, one was not. God chooses based upon His decision. It's actually a tough truth. 

Promise: From Tabletalk, July 10, 2014: 'God chooses people for salvation according to His good pleasure and not because of anything in them. He chooses to save sinners in spite of their sin."

Romans 4:18-21 - Persevering, Strengthening Faith

Romans 4:18-21 - 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

Message: Faith continues; sustains

Time: The date of the book is probably 60 A.D. written from Corinth on Paul's third missionary journey. The church in Rome seems to be established and Romans does not speak of any one error in the church that he is addressing. The church had a large Jewish element, but also filled with Gentile converts from paganism, both free as well as slaves. 

What the Lord is Saying: 

At the end of verse 17 it states that God gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. Yesterday, I wasn't sure what that meant, but now reading these verses (19) it does show that what he was talking about is God giving life to something that, from all appearances, was dead. 

Romans 4 continues to be re-delivering the message of the Old Testament, and specifically Abraham, the father of the Jews, but even more notably the father of us all. God made Abraham a promise and this promise was not momentary, but a blessing for all time for him to be the father of many nations. But, why is Abraham important? He is clearly important to the Jew, but why is he important to me? I think, he is one example, God used of a man who was declared righteous by his faith, not by works. So, Abraham is an example to me.


Verse 18 - Abraham had hope and believed in the impossible
The reading today begins "in hope against hope he believed." What Paul now shows and continues to show is that this act of crediting a person with righteousness and declaring a person alive is supremely an divine act. It is not human effort. Hope is complete assurance of a future good. But, it is also clear that what Christ does seems impossible to man. And thus the reason for the word "believe" to continually be repeated. Romans has 20 references to the word believe. And that I think is the meaning of the phrase "in hope against hope." It is an oxymoron statement, but against all of the hope of believing, in hope Abraham believed. Hope is the desire for something to happen. Faith is the confidence that is will happen. 

It was 25 years from the time Abraham received the promise that he would have a son and when he actually had a son. 25 years. I struggle waiting 25 minutes or even 25 days. 

The rest of verse 18 is a repeat of the fact that Abraham held tightly to the promise God had given him, that he would be the father of many nations. Abraham's offspring would be a result for future generations. 

Verse 19 - Despite what he saw and knew, Abraham did not become weak in faith
Abraham did not get weak in his faith. 25 years of waiting and Abraham did not become weak in faith. I have teenagers in the house who are often not in the house, but off, doing things. Life is changing. The kids are no longer in the house, by our side, in the other room playing why I am in one room, outside in the neighborhood, with us. More and more there time is spent not near us. Pamela and I have longed for the day in the past of being alone and now we are and we wish we weren't. My wife and I are secure in our marriage, but we miss having our kids nearby. When they are near, I know what they are doing. As they leave, I don't know. And yet, I just want to know all is okay. The boys don't seem to have a problem communicating where they are at, but my daughter is a different story. She doesn't want to have to tell us, but just wants us to trust her. And it is hard. It is hard to not know. It's easy to her because she knows herself. We know her but she is also changing and we also remember what life was like at that age. Life is so fragile as well. It can be gone in an instant, and yet, our hope (desire) and faith (certainty) must be in the Lord. 

Without becoming weak Abraham looked at himself and Sarah. Abraham was 100 years old. Sarah's womb was dead. And yet Abraham did not become weak in his faith. The evidence before him was not strong that anything would happen as far as fulfilling the promise God had given him. But, with Abraham, he did not become weak. 

Verse 20 - Abraham's faith grew
In the face of all that Abraham saw in himself, he not only did not get weak in his faith, but his faith grew? I can't help but put a question mark after the statement that this faith grew. What in the world? His faith grew? The evidence showed him that nothing would happen, but for Abraham, his faith grew? It grew because of 1 thing: He believed. He believed God. 

Right now, with teenagers, will my faith grow? Will my thirst for knowing where they are at cause me to shrink in faith or will my faith remain or will my faith grow? 

And growing faith means we glory in God. I always go back and remember Romans 1:21 that "even though they knew God, they did not honor God or give thanks." The first thing that happens when we begin to flee God is not giving thanks. Knowing God is honoring God and thanking Him, giving glory to God. Glory gives a proper opinion of who God is. To glorify God is to state with my life that God is real. That God is complete and can handle anything. And that understanding can cause my faith to grow because I then don't doubt. 

Verse 21 - Abraham's definition of faith
Why don't I doubt? Because I am fully convinced in God and what He will do. This is a more complete definition of faith: "being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform." Abraham is not saying that he knew how God would perform his promises. Old in age, as he prayed, he was confident in God, but that didn't mean he understood how God will do something. I don't need to understand completely, my faith tells me that God will do it. He is able.

Promise: Faith doesn't mean that we know all the answers, but faith does mean that God knows all the answers.

Romans 3:18 - No Fear of God

Romans 3:18 - “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 

Message: The picture of no fear of God.

Time: Paul probably wrote Romans between A.D. 57-58 while he was at Corinth in the home of his friend and convert Gaius. He planned to go first to Jerusalem to deliver a gift of money from the Gentile churches to the poor in Jerusalem. Then he hoped to visit Rome on his way to Spain. His hopes were later realized, but not as he had expected. When he finally arrived in Rome in early A.D. 60, he was a prisoner under house arrest (Acts 28:11-31).

What the Lord is Saying:

Here in verse 18 is sort of an interesting, though apt, culmination of man's departure from God. It is somewhat similar to chapter 1. I am always reminded that as my turns from God, he stops giving thanks to God for His hand of providence in life. And here is the calling card of the sinner. We have seen that no one is righteous, the tongue is poison and our feet are swift to shed blood. 

But, more directly now before God, there is no fear of God. This statement really could be a summary statement of the problem with all men: no fear of God. This is a quote from Psalm 36:1, "Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes."

The stark reminder of this verse is man really doesn't care about God. Fearing God causes us to turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:7). The fear of God means our sin is constrained so without it, sin is unleashed. It always amazes me the surprise it seems the Christian world has in the world's sins. They don't fear God. How can we expect them to follow through on God's commandments when they don't fear Him? 

Deuteronomy 4:10 -  Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.
-- with an absence of God's words in our life, there is going to be an absence of the fear of God. 

Why is the fear of God so important? I think it is a recognition that God is there. It is interesting that when I'm breaking the law of speeding, I fear the police catching me. In a dark room, sometimes I fear not having light. Sometimes I fear being found out for not being as smart as people think I am. I fear people often, not wanting to talk to them about God, because I don't want their rejection of me or their verdict upon me. I think of money too much because I fear being without it. I have fears that my children will not walk with the Lord. But, I wonder if I really fear God. What often motivates me to not sin is the consequences of sin. I hope that what begins my desire to avoid sin is the realization that God is there. He created me. He has a purpose for me. He is in control. In some ways, I think fear of God is respecting who God is. It is recognizing that He is there, always. It is knowing that He is Holy. It is believing in Him.

Promise: Without fear of God, there is no foundation. Man is in chaos.

Romans 1:26-27 - Giving Up What is Natural

Romans 1:26-27 - 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

Message: Giving up what is natural

Time:  Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.

What the Lord is Saying: 

These verse are on the heels of verse 24 where it states that God gave the people over to their sins. Basically that is the thought. People had been given an awareness of God in their life, but exchanged it for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than the creator. Verse 24 mentions that "their bodies might be dishonored among them." John MacArthur states, "The more he (man) exalts himself, the more he declines. The more he magnifies himself the more he diminishes. The more he honors himself, the more he becomes dishonored." And so this verse that speaks of bodies being dishonored among them partly seems to speak of sexual sin. Preceptaustin.org states on this verse, "Remember that Paul was writing Romans from the city of Corinth, where every sort of sexual immorality and ritualistic prostitution was practiced promiscuously. In fact things were so vile in Corinth that the expression “to live like a Corinthian” came to mean “to live a life of moral degradation”! Corinth’s idol temple had more than one thousand so called priestesses dedicated to gratification of lust."

Thus, we come to verse 26 and 27, two verses that I have always spoke of homosexuality or practicing the gay lifestyle. The homosexual would say that these verses instead speak more of idolatry that has been referenced in the verses previously stated in Romans 1:19-23. My thinking, however, is the words that are being used, specifically the words found in the New American Standard translation. In 24, it is "lust of their hearts to impurity" and "bodies dishonored." And even in 25, it gives the idea that the relationship with a person supersedes the relationship with God.

And verse 26 refers to passions.The Greek word for passions is pathos and has 2 other references in the new testament in Colossians 3:5 and I Thessalonians 4:5 and both instances refer to sexual passions. Again, Paul is writing from Corinth which was a mecca of sexual sin and in Greece homosexuality was rampant and even because a lifestyle that people that was cool. I believe now we are seeing the same thing to do. It has become almost cool to be gay.

I don't know how this passage could be anything but about homosexuality but I am sure many will try to make it out to be something different. Homosexuality is against nature. It is a choice people make. Over time, men and women may have a predisposition to that choice, but it is still a choice. One thing I notice about my life is the more time I spend in the Word, the more time I spend reading the things of God and praying and engaging in communication with others, the more I become aware of the sin in my life and the wrongdoing. The closer I get to God, the more I see how awful of a person I am. So, for people to not see this in themselves must mean that they are not reading the Bible or not reading it to conform to God and His ways, but instead just read it like a school book. God's word must be read with an eye toward change and conforming to the will of God. As we do, God changes us. This entire chapter of Romans is a progression from being near God to being away from God and it is a chapter that describes what happens to a man that over time exchanges the truth of God for a lie. But, that lie ends up becoming that person's truth. We can't be surprised at sin in the world and the way people embrace it. They are spending their days without God so they are naturally moving in that direction. The challenge of the disciple is to continually help people see that their is a God and Gospel and God does care about us and our entire life and how it is lived. It is so easy to get comfortable in life and feel like all you are doing is okay and decent. But, God is just not on the throne so clearly. And more and more we need Him and He needs to be in the center of our life. O wretched man that I am. Lord, bring people to their knees. Yes, we need a revival, but that revival needs to start within the Body of Christ. Yes, the masses of Society need to change, but God, change me. Change us.

Promise:  God has an order and a way for male and females. Don't adjust it or change it. Accept it and God will bless us.

Romans 1:19-21 - The Primal Sin of Humanity

Romans 1:19-21 - 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Message: The Primal Sin of Humanity - not giving thanks to the God that made creation and man.

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.

What the Lord is Saying:

The words here are a continuation of verse 18 which mentioned how the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against ungodliness, unrighteousness and those who suppress the truth of God in their life. And verse 19, as is Paul's custom in writing, further clarifies what he has said previously. The subject is people who suppress the truth of God in their life. Paul makes it clear they are suppressing something that God has made clear within man.

These words are so key because as I talk to people about the truth of God, it isn't a foreign subject matter. I am simply awakening subjects that are already in them. On the contrary, I often think that I must try hard to show people Christ and yet these verses speak to the fact that God is self-evident in our world.

The entire reason that I think the Way of the Master witnessing technique is so true and correct is it appeals to the conscience of man. It confirms verse 19 in that people have a conscience and they have a knowledge of right and wrong. But, the problem is often that though they  know right and wrong they have suppressed God's real power and so they don't think their sin is that serious. Yes God forgives sin, but if a person just holds onto the act of forgiveness, and doesn't examine the sin in their life continually then the request for forgiveness is just a mantra in the person's life with no real meaning. [Also, over time people often think life is just a continual progression of improvement. And because we see improvement in our lives and the way we live them, we start to think that self-improvement equals God's acceptance and so our good deeds or works brings about God's acceptance.] 

I've always loved verse 20 because when I am outside and looking at the mountains and the tree's and hiking and seeing animals and how they are made, I am reminded of God and the clarity of His creation.

This explains the integrity of my God. He has integrity in that He clearly has made Himself known to all people. A beautiful sunset, the birth of a child, a banana or piece of fruit, a beautiful sunrise, the green green grass, the mountain -- if anyone looks at these things and then says, "there is no God" then they are denying God for these things testify of God being there. 

In verse 21, people knew God. He is evident through the creation. But, they didn't honor Him as God or give thanks for what He had provided, but instead they sought ways to show that it couldn't be God that authored all of creation and in so doing, there foolish heart was darkened. The notion of training comes up here. People train themselves over time to ignore God and figure out answers that are not God. And so their heart becomes darkened. 

Per Wayne Barber, the word futile means empty or unable in their speculations, in their reasoning. They are unable to think straight. Verse 21 is so clear that it didn't have to be this way, but they became futile. The atheists message right now is that it, God and His Gospel, simply couldn't be right. God, and who He is, over time, is being pushed out. The name of God is more and more not revered, but instead is just a way to express amazement or bewilderment in a person (i.e. OMG). God has been pushed out of our schools to the point that the mere mention of Him is deemed improper. God has been pushed out of people's lives for years. In my lifetime I can see how this has occurred, but it has been occurring for a long time.

John 8:44 states that the devil is a liar and the father of lies. It is the devil's goal to preach lies. Even those who claim faith have distorted God. Outside, there is a rise in changing God with the Jehovah Witnesses and Latter Day Saints. Within the church, there is a proclamation of easy belief.

At the most rudimentary level, sin is being recast. It is being redefined. The church is rightfully seeing the promulgation of homosexuality, but before that, the marriage union was being defiled as divorce was more and more prominent and adultery justified. The church often works so hard to tell the world they are corrupt, while ignoring those within the church that are walking in the doors. People are showing up in church needing the truth of God and yet are simply seeing an "us" against "them" mentality. It is sports of a different kind. We need to protect the Body of Christ from the lies of the devil. We are so lofty in our explanations of scripture that we are missing the most basic tenets of it. 

Promise: The knowledge of God and His creation is born into man. Man this pushes God out through life, but God will always reign.