Need For Encouragement

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.” (Isa 3:10 AV)

Written in the context of the day of the LORD, the prophet is instructed to encourage the righteous despite what they are seeing.  The tribulation will be beyond horrible.  At the conclusion of the seven years of judgment, only those who have received Christ will remain.  The total casualty rate of the seven years of judgment will be astronomical.  Seeing all that destruction will be very discouraging.  For many reasons.  Faith may be challenged.  I am sure while Noah was on the ark, thoughts of hopelessness may have entered his mind.  Just look at the words of the minor prophets.  A time or two, they also questioned their future.  But perhaps the one thought that comes to my mind is realizing the devastation that lay before them and the understanding it included almost everyone they knew, had to be discouraging.  This reminds me of how the Israelis may have felt as Egypt was judged.  They had to wonder if the plagues would touch them.  Some did.  But seeing corpses as far as the eye can see had to be frightening at the most, revolting at the least.  The point is, the saints cannot always endure the practical way in which the holiness of God works out.  Amid the negative, must come positive.  There has to be a sunrise to endure the blackness of night.

After my shoulder surgery, I had six months of rehab.  There were all sorts of people there with all sorts of disabilities.  As I visited with them, I learned of their treatments and how long or short they might have to be.  Most of those who came had long-term conditions.  They would be in therapy for years.  There were several stroke victims.  There were many accident victims.  There were a few post-surgery patients who were gaining the use of their limbs.  There were a few elderly simply trying to stave off the inevitable.  Being surrounded by so many people who were far worse off than I, it could get discouraging.  When the therapist interviewed me, she asked me what my expectations were.  What percentage of fully functional mobility was I looking for?  I thought that was a trick question.  Wouldn’t everyone want one hundred percent?  What was she trying to tell me?  When many are suffering, it is hard to remain positive.  Yet, my therapists did just that.  She reminded me the harder I worked, the better the results regardless of what I was seeing around me.  Her encouragement was often all I needed to complete painful exercises that would eventually result in one hundred percent mobility.

Encouragement is a rare thing.  We see it as a weakness.  That is, we think if we need it, we are not strong enough.  Actually, that is true.  We are not.  We need to hear that everything will be ok.  Even if our life is falling apart and everything around us seems to be out of our control, we need to hear that God still reigns, He loves us, and everything will work out.  Too much of our preaching is doom and gloom.  Yes, we need to be rebuked. Yes, we need to be reproved.  We have allowed the shallow Christian culture to corner the market on encouragement.  It is profusely overdone in certain circles.  That doesn’t mean we cannot encourage.  God is a good God.  He loves us more than we could ever comprehend.  He loves us like a Father.  A Father who knows all things and can do all things.  Our Father will not abandon us and even if the world seems in a total meltdown, the child of God will be ok.  We may have to suffer a bit.  We may have to go through some cleansing ourselves.  But in the end, we have eternity and all our troubles will be over.  There is no reason to keep a sad face.  Jesus is coming back or we will go to our homegoing.  One way or another, we will be in the presence of our loving Father and all our troubles will be over

The Privilege of Being God's Friend

“His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” (So 5:16 AV)

This a good verse for those considering marriage.  I have used this principle several times.  If the husband and wife cannot be friends, they should get counseling and becomes best friends.  I have shared my own experiences with my wonderful wife and best friend, Lisa.  The context of the Song of Solomon is the courtship and marriage of Solomon and his beloved wife.  It is interesting these words are uttered by the wife and not the king.  This means the king and husband made his wife feel as though she was more than his wife.  He made her feel like his friend.  Because she was.  However, the point is made this relationship also describes the relationship between Christ and the church.  The fact that Christ calls us friends and we can call Him a friend is beyond amazing. 

Jesus said, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (Joh 15:15 KJB)  Our LORD gives a good understanding of what it might be that differentiates a friend from an acquaintance.  He states we are His friend because He has not held back in sharing all the Father had given Him.  Secondly, a friend knows the plans and purpose of his friend.  He knows what his dreams and aspirations are.  He knows where he has gone, what he has done, and where he will go next.  A friend, according to the Bible, knows things intimately that no one else knows.  This is the wonder of our friendship with God.  He owes us nothing.  Jesus does not owe us transparency. He does not have to tell us anything.  Yet, God provided us with the wonder of who and what He is by inspiring and preserving His word.  The fact God calls us His friend and that we can call Him our friend almost seems sacrilegious.  Nevertheless, we can and He does.

Another thought also comes to mind.  When I had a best friend, we spent a lot of time together.  My wife and I spend a lot of time together.  It is one of the perks of ministry.  I imagine living at the same location as you work and having a wife that does not necessarily need to work outside the home, affords a lot of relationship time.  Some regret such an arrangement.  I, on the other hand, relish it.  I get to spend pretty much my waking hours with my best friend, humanly speaking.  I love it.  When it comes to Jesus, the amount of time we spend with Him directly affects how intimate our relationship with Him will be.  The privilege to be the friend of God should drive us to increase the depth of that relationship.  When I read the above verse, I was moved with humble gratitude that the God of the universe would consider me a friend.

His Judgment Is Always Better

“Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.” (Pr 29:26 AV)

I love this verse!  What a relief to know this is true.  Especially because my profession requires me to give advice and favor.  One might be puzzled by that statement.  Why would a pastor, who advises people and showers affirmation and purpose on them, rejoice that God’s judgment is better?  That makes people independent of the preacher, doesn’t it?  It sure does!  And that is a good thing.  Knowing there is a God who is infinitely wiser than I am and that the people of God can go to Him for judgment makes my job a whole lot easier.  And a whole lot more comforting.  The pastor can strive to be right.  He can do his best to discern the situation at hand.  However, he is limited.  Very limited.  Knowing God is there for them to guide and lead them is a comfort to the pastor.  Not a threat.  He knows that sharing his wisdom may not always apply as he sees it.  Therefore, by pointing the people of God to the word of God by prayer and heeding the Holy Spirit, they can discern the perfect will of God for their lives.

One of the greatest pleasures I derive is when I give advice and the child of God makes a different choice.  And it turns out to be the right thing.  I love being wrong.  When God is right and I am wrong, it is wonderful!  This shows to be that God is in control.  Nothing could illustrate this better than my daughters-in-law.  As any parent does, we pick our child’s spouse long before they are ready for marriage.  Perhaps there is a young person that impresses us so much and seems to be a perfect match for our child that we develop that relationship through befriending his or her parents.  We are impressed with how godly they seem.  We are impressed with their heart for the things of God and what seems to be a vibrant spiritual life.  I remember when my sons were teenagers and young adults.  We thought we had it all figured out.  The thing was, the young person whom we had picked out for our child was not what she seemed.  My sons knew that.  I did not.  I learned a valuable lesson after being wrong several times.  When I finally came to the conclusion the LORD knew what He was doing and He was doing it better than I ever could, I took my hands off the process and allowed the LORD to work in my sons.  Praise God my sons listened to God rather than their father!  I have awesome daughters-in-law, and I couldn’t have picked any better!

So, what is the application?  Two-fold, really.  First, don’t be so quick to accept the judgment of an authority figure if he or she is contrary to the word of God.  God does use them.  They are more right than they are wrong.  In fact, they are right most of the time.  However, your faith should ultimately rest in the judgment of God.  God is good, all the time.  He does not keep back from us that wisdom we need in order to live in blessed service and love toward Him.  His judgment is perfect.  God’s judgment should be the judgment you follow.  And any sage worth his or her salt will acknowledge this.  He or she will defer to the LORD without reservation or offense.  God is a whole lot smarter than us and we are not always right.  We have no problem with that!  Praise the LORD I have someone to whom I defer all my cases.  He knows what He is doing.  Praise God!

Too Short To Remain The Same

“Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Ec 9:6 AV)

As the theme of this book goes, Solomon is examining the futility of those things that man prioritizes in light of a godless eternity.  If God does not exist, then our lives mean nothing.  If God does not exist, then the pursuits of life don’t matter either.  If there is no eternity, then we should have no priorities.  Nothing really matters if there is no afterlife.  There are many things Solomon mentions as futile.  Or, as he puts it, a vanity.  Above, Solomon points to three emotions directed toward other people.  There is love, hatred, and envy.  One positive emotion and two negative emotions.  These emotions are excessive in nature.  They are more robust than other emotions like admiration, dislike, or aversion.   Love, hatred, and envy are the strongest emotions that shape relationships we have with others.  If there is no eternity, why bother?  These emotions may make our lives more enjoyable to us for the moment, but in the long run, what difference would they make?  That is if God does not exist.  As I pondered this, the Spirit pointed out a conclusion appropriate for the saints. We believe God exists and in the eternity which we will enjoy.  If hatred and envy do not exist in that life, why bother harboring them in this life?

God has allowed me a blessing that few truly enjoy.  Growing up, I had few friends.  There were several reasons for this, but the friends I did have were very close.  In my early years, I had one friend in particular who was so close, we were tied at the hip.  We went everywhere together.  He taught me to love black licorice, garden, and own an aquarium.  We spoke of Corvettes, walked the fields getting sick on wild onions, and he taught me how to sauté mushrooms.  We went to Catholic schools together and if it were not for him, I would have been bullied far worse than I was.  It wasn’t until eighth grade when he moved away that most of my bad memories of my childhood transpired.  Over the years, we both accepted Christ as our Savior but lived worlds apart.  He stayed relatively close to where we grew up, but I moved two hours away, then to the Midwest and South.  The LORD put him on my heart and we reconnected after almost forty years of estrangement.  As we spoke, we both agreed we would not live in the past, but relish in what God had done with both of us and where we would eventually be.  All the memories we had (the bad ones that is) didn’t matter.  Both of us went through similar childhoods and neither of us wanted to revisit those memories.  The fond memories remained.  But the bitterness and resentment were erased by our separate relationships with the LORD Jesus Christ.

Life is too short to harbor ill feelings toward others.  After all, hatred and envy will all be gone when we step onto those golden streets of glory.  All those things that happened to us (and all those things we did to other people) will be forgotten.  There is a tree amid the river of life.  That tree yields a different fruit every month.  Twelve different fruits.  These fruits and leaves of the tree, the bible tells us, are for the healing of the nations.  I believe in eternity, this special place will be a place where one-time adversarial saints can fellowship in the light of God’s glory and remember what they have in common – the love of Christ.  If hatred and envy will be non-existent, then why harbor them now?  If forgiveness and love are the themes of glory, why not live in them now?  I have seen too many lives ruined because the saints wish to hold onto emotions used to manipulate others.  As I said, life is too short.  Let it go, already.  Remember, as hurt as you are, you have hurt others, too.  Time to learn to forgive.  Time to learn to forget.  After all, this is the reality of eternity, so why not start now?

Bad Memory is Good Memory

“For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.” (Ec 5:20 AV)

Poor memory is not always a bad thing.  I can attest to that.  Solomon, in his wisdom, is making an argument that life without God is a vain pursuit.  Every interest mankind has is brought to the natural conclusion of itself.  Whether it be health, wealth, relationships, stature, or knowledge, all come to an end without any eternal value.  Life itself is vain.  And this is true.  The question then arises, if all is vain, then the troubles of life will seem all that much worse.  And if there is an eternity, the troubles of this life will only carry on to the next.  So, what is the point?  This is a false assertion.  Salomon answers this challenge above.  The context is a life of travail.  Not life in general.  The wise sage shares the ultimate hope for the human experience.  If God is our center, then even the worst of days will be forgotten.  And I can attest to this!

Having suffered three concussions and a hereditary disease of the cerebral circulatory system, memory is not my friend. The first concussion I suffered was as a four-year-old in a car accident.  The second was while ice skating.  The third, running into a parked car with my bicycle.  This has led to a life of poor memory.  Yet, God is good to me.  He has worked my brain so the bad memories are only remembered as factual if remembered at all, and the emotions felt during those times are not.  I have seen a suicide, was beaten in a park, was bullied severely in school, and moved in my senior year of High School.  I have been held up and gunpoint, had my life threatened two other times with firearms and was threatened physical harm if I showed up to preach.  I have been at the bedside of people who have passed off into eternity, had my character maligned over a five-state radio program, and had more than one difficult church business meeting.  I have been threatened, insulted, demeaned, and ridiculed.  My life is full of traumatic events.  It is also true of every human being.  My life is not unique.  The events might be somewhat unique, but the overall experiences of life are not.  Over time, the LORD has allowed me to forget the traumatic nature of these events and only retain the fact that they happened.  Why?  Because God is my center.  Not the events of life.

If you let Him, God can and will become the Joy of your heart.  He will fill those voids and heal those wounds.  The things you didn’t think you would ever survive become but a small thing in the whole scope of life.  When your wife gets cancer and you are thrown in the middle of a whirlwind, it is God who stops the merry-go-round and comforts you that He is and was, always in control.  I remember when my brother was killed.  It seemed like every day was a dark day.  It took a while.  Now, I remember most of the details of that day, but I don’t remember how I felt.  I remember I mourned deeply for many months. I remember the dreams.  But I don’t remember how deeply I felt at his passing.  Why?  Because God is my center.  He has answered me in the joy of my heart.  The same can be true for any who will accept Him as LORD and Savior.  He will fill the void and heal the wounded heart.  God can and does this for all who call upon His name, trusting in His grace and love.

Time Delayed Beauty

“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” (Ec 3:11 AV)

Solomon is exactly right.  God hath made everything beautiful, in His time.  But that is the key.  In His time.  Often, this verse is referenced when something beautiful is found.  Maybe a sunset or a mountain peak covered in snow.  Perhaps a flower blooming from a cactus.  Then there is the caterpillar and butterfly.  When this verse is referenced, the example is usually past or past tense.  Rarely is it considered as a future promise.  But this verse can be considered as just that.  When we look at the cactus, we can quote this verse knowing a flower is coming.  When sitting in a tree stand and the temperature has made our nose turn red and our feet cool, we can quote this verse knowing that the sun will rise and another beautiful day dawn.  Knowing the truth of the verse is not the problem.  The problem is those last three words.  In His time.

My wife follows this artist on Facebook.  I scroll through her news to watch these short video clips.  She is not a realist.  She doesn’t create art by meticulous detailed painting of every shadow and color.  Rather, her talent lies in pouring paint and using odd instruments like chains, Q-tips, tinfoil, or sponges to create her painting.  Brushes are only used in general senses.  Only very rarely does she use paintbrushes to paint in detail.  She starts with a canvas or other media and pours paints in creative ways.  Sometimes she pours them into a can with both ends cut off.  She layers the paints, then lifts the can so they flow in a pattern.  Other times, she will drag a paint-laden chain off the canvas.  Or, she will put dots of different paints and then use a trowel to spread them.  When she starts, you wouldn’t think any desirable art would come of it.  But when she is down, her work is amazing.  When at one time it was a mess of paint that seemed to be thrown haphazardly on a white canvas, when she is done, it looks like a field of flowers or a starry sky reflected in a pool of water.  It is amazing.  What is the difference?  Time.  Her time.  She knows where she is going with what seems like a mess.

This is how God works.  Life may seem like a mess right now, but something beautiful is coming.  We may live a life that beauty is not the word that comes to mind, but if we know Christ, there is coming a time when we will be transformed into the image of His Son perfectly and without blemish.  God is good.  He has a plan.  We are His workmanship.  He has not created garbage.  There is a sunrise coming.  There is a new day dawning.  There is coming a day when all that makes life ugly will be gone.  This is a promise.  Nature is our evidence.  A fire may destroy acres of forest, but visit that land in a few decades and beauty will have risen from the ash.  God does make everything beautiful.  But He does so on His time.  Waiting makes all the difference.

They Mean Well

“Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.” (Ps 141:5 AV)

Here is a beautiful picture of mutual correction and support.  This is how the body of Christ should work.  Iron should sharpen iron.  Our psalmist is pointing out the advantage of a friendly face correcting the erring one as opposed to an unfriendly face.  In particular, the phrase “which shall not break my head” should speak volumes to the one being corrected and the one doing the correcting.  The correction of the righteous should be for reconciliation and restoration.  The smiter should not smite so the errant is powerless to reform.  On the other hand, the errant should not fear the correction of the righteous.  It is often sharper than correction from the wicked because the wicked wish the errant to be like them.  The correction of the righteous should smart.  It should sting.  The difference is the smiting of the righteous is done in love.  Whereas the smiting of the wicked is either done in vengeance or not at all.

I can remember some of the times when a mature believer corrected me and it was not comfortable.  I have relayed some of them.  There were times when I was not living right.  There were other times when I wasn’t seeing things right.  Then there were the times I made decisions that were not the wisest and I couldn’t see it.  I am sure I shared this, but it bears repeating.  I add a bit of a twist to it.  Prior to getting married, I had to quit my job because my boss was unreasonable, unethical, and insulted my wife.  That led me to almost nine months of consistent employment.  One of the jobs I tried was selling devices installed on HVAC units that cycled them on and off while calling for heat or air.  Rather than the unit running constantly until the thermostat was satisfied.  I thought if I could sell a bunch to my church and they worked, there was the possibility of selling to hundreds of households.  I went to the business manager and presented my product.  He knew my wife because she was his secretary before marrying her.  He gave me a reaming-out like I have never had before.  He was a mechanical engineer by trade and taught me why these devices would not work and actually would cause great damage to the unit.  Then he reamed me out again because I was studying for the ministry at the time and to him, this was giving up on my calling.  It hurt.  It stung.  But he did it in love.

We will seek the easiest course possible.  We avoid the hard things.  We should not be apprehensive of the correction which comes from those who love us.  We should welcome it.  It may hurt a bit, but it will not break us.  We may not enjoy it all that much, but it is just what we need.  David knows of what he speaks.  Nathan, his cousin, was the one who rebuked him concerning Bathsheba.  That was much easier to take than Absalom’s rebellion.  It’s not going to kill you to listen to those who know you best and have your best interests at heart.  They mean well. 

All-knowing means All-comforting

“O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” (Ps 139:1-3 AV)

We often use Psalm 139 as a foundation of God’s omniscience regarding our accountability to Him.  We correctly point out there is no place we can hide where God cannot find us.  He knows everywhere we go and everything we do.  We also make note of the fact God knows every thought and feeling we have.  He knows every desire.  He knows every intention.  He knows what we think even if we do not verbalize it or act upon it.  We mention these things to motivate people to live right before an omniscient and all-powerful God.  However, David means this psalm to be a psalm of comfort.  Later in the psalm, he raises his concerns over his enemies.  Knowing that we have a God that knows all things about us can be disconcerting.  But it should be more of a comfort than anything else.  To know that God knows how I feel, my limitations, my fears, anxieties, etc. is of great relief to me.  Knowing there is nothing hidden from Him may be a motive to live right; it should be; but it is more of a comfort to know there is nothing that He does not know.

Everyone goes through a time when we wonder if anyone ‘gets us’.  We feel isolated because we think that no one understands.  This is not the case.  We are all basically the same.  The difference is we may not have exactly the same circumstances in life at exactly the same time or manner.  This doesn’t help, however, when we are going through a difficult time or we are struggling with issues of the heart.  We still sit in isolation thinking no one could possibly know what we are going through.  It reminds me of a pitch-black room in which we believe we are sitting in the middle.  Over time, we are left alone with our thoughts.  We wonder where we are and how we got there.  There is absolutely no light.  We don’t know if we are in a vast warehouse that would offer no obvious way out, or if we are sitting in a closet.  We listen intently for any clue as to our situation.  There is no sound.  Not one.  We sit and contemplate our outcome.  Will we be found?  Will anyone miss us?  We wonder if we are abandoned because we don’t know how long we have been there.  Hours go by.  The longer we sit there, the more depressed and distraught we become.  Then we start weeping.  Left all alone, we think this is how our life will come to an end.  Then, all of a sudden, the light comes on and we find out we are in a room filled with people who had been there all along.  Like you, they were strapped to a chair with earplugs inserted.  They, too, thought they were all alone and no one would come and rescue them.  This is how we live our lives.  Privately.  Enduring pain and trouble thinking our situation is unique and no one would ever comprehend what it is like to be us.

This is not true.  Although others may have their fair share of problems that causes them to be blind to yours, there is One who knows everything.  He knows exactly what you face and as David expresses several times, He compasses you before and behind.  Whether we can sense Him or not, the all-knowing, ever-present, almighty God is there.  He is in that dark room with You.  You are not alone.  He is in that dark room with everyone.  God needs no light.  He is spirit and transcends all time and space.  He knows it all and loves you with an everlasting love.  Knowing we love a God that ‘gets us’ is all we need to traverse this pilgrimage with joy, faith, and contentment.  Praise the LORD for His ever-present and all-knowing hand.

Useless Facts or Profitable Knowledge?

“Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.” (Pr 23:12 AV)

Instruction and knowledge have no value if we are not prepared to use them.  The word for ‘instruction’ here means to discipline or chasten the will.  This would make complete sense seeing it is our hearts that need this discipline mentioned above.  The word for ‘knowledge’ means discernment.  This requires an ear that is willing to heed the words, meditate upon the words, and gain an understanding of how they apply in situations that arise.  Instruction and knowledge exist with or without our participation.  To make them profitable to us, we need to engage.  We need to chasten the heart.  Desire and our will must come under the dominion of instruction.  Knowing the difference between right and wrong matters not if we do not have a heart willing to do what is right. This is the understanding of the word ‘instruction’.  It is a willingness to discipline the heart.  It is roping in of the desires and chastening our desires under the dominion of what is right.  The reason knowledge follows here is compliance is necessary even if we do not understand why.  Once we comply with what is right, then knowledge often follows.  Discernment comes as wisdom is applied.  Again, this also comes down to a willingness.  The mind must be opened to the truth learned by the disciplined heart.

I have started down the road of investigating hearing aids.  I am finding it more difficult to hear what others are saying.  I am becoming a proficient lip reader of late.  I also suffer from tinnitus.  I have for almost fifty years.  Due to a childhood injury, I have had a loud ringing in my right ear for as long as I can remember.  Anyway, the journey of investigation has yielded some rather important facts. I learned how the ear works and why aids can be a life-changing aid.  I always wonder how amplification improved hearing while protecting the hearing you have.  Fascinating.  Then I investigated OTC aids and why they may or may not be a good idea.  I went to an audiologist for a hearing test and discovered what I already knew.   My hearing loss is moderate.  But for my age, it's a bit more severe than most.  As far as the tinnitus goes, there is no cure.  There are only treatments.  These treatments vary, but the short of it is, to eliminate things that can aggravate it like blood pressure brought on by stress, and masking the sound by others so your brain is not distracted by the ringing.  The thing is, there is no relief unless I am willing to discipline my heart to address the issue even if it seems far-fetched.  How can listening to birds chirping, crickets signing, and waves crashing help my tinnitus?  But it does!

We read sound wisdom day in and day out when we spend time in the word of God.  The Holy Spirit speaks to us.  We write down all that we have heard.  But it does us no good unless there is a heart that is instructed unto wisdom and the hearing of the mind is willing to patiently wait for the purpose of the wisdom.  If we sit on all that we have learned and do nothing with it, what we have learned serves no purpose.  We can write our papers.  We can sit in the Sunday School class.  We can fill in our lessons.  We can regurgitate what we already know.  But if there is no heart to it, or mind willing to hear, all we have accumulated goes to waste.  Solomon is teaching his children.  He spends hours upon hours sharing with them all that God has taught him.  Yet in the end, with all his wisdom, Solomon had no heart for what he knew to be right.  He married strange wives who stole his heart away to pagan gods.  All that wisdom was laid to waste because he would not chasten his heart to live according to what God has shown him.

Glad Day Glad Day

"The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” (Ps 126:3 AV)

What’s interesting regarding this verse is it is shrouded in thoughts just the opposite.  This psalm, many believe, was written upon reflection of the Babylonian captivity.  It speaks of sowing in a time of weeping in the hope that when troubles commence, there would be a harvest awaiting them.  This psalm is the psalm of bearing precious seed.  This reminds me of the wells of Baca of Psalm 84.  These wells were dug in the valley of Baca in anticipation of being filled by sporadic rainfall. This valley of Baca was traveled by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles.  The valley represents hardships along their pilgrimage and even though there were severe dry spells, they dug wells anticipating the LORD would be good to them and fill them with rainwater.  The verse above is an important reminder that even in the very hardest of times, God does great things.  Because he does, we can be glad.

Life is experienced by our perception rather than true reality.  Or, putting it a better way, we experience life based on what we choose to see.  When you are a kid, life is great.  I grew up in the snow belt of N.Y. state.  It was cold and snowy.  We didn’t know how miserable it was until we got older.  When we were younger, we got all suited up and went out and played in the snow until we were so wet we could barely move.  We would come into the house and my Mom would have us take all our wet clothes off, lay them out to dry, and we would sit by the fire with hot cocoa.  It was priceless.  Over the years, the snow became something we had to shovel.  Instead of getting suited up to play in it, we found ourselves out in the snow shoveling off a six-car parking slab and sidewalks on two sides.  Instead of getting soaked by the snow, we were drenched in sweat.  Instead of building forts and having snowball fights, we were getting our work done so we could come back in.  As we got older still, the snow turned into a hazard.  Old enough to drive, we found it rather treacherous.  It can be downright blinding.  Then retirement age comes and the last thing we want to do is shovel or drive in the stuff.  What happened?  Had the snow become more frequent or heavier?  Did winter seem to come earlier and depart later?  What made the difference?

God does not change.  Life is also predictable.  There are certainties in life.   There will be hardships.  Thanks to Adam and our continued failures, our world is full of trouble.  Life abounds with it.  How we process life goes a long way in determining how we experience it.  Our writer is not naïve.  He knows the reality of the situation.  He knows Israel has been led away to a foreign land to serve at the pleasure of a king who does not know God.  They know their lives are forever changed and for most of them, they will never see liberty again.  The writer knows there will be much weeping and sorrow as they leave their beloved land and for most of them, their good days are behind them.  Yet in all this, he reminds others that God has been good to them and regardless of what life seems to be like at the moment, to be glad.  God is good.  All the time.  We simply need to be reminded of this truth, especially at those times when life seems most difficult.

Like a Balloon

“Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.” (Ps 119:116 AV)

The word ‘ashamed’ here means disappointed.  This begs the question.  How can we be ashamed of something we did not write?  How can we be “put to shame before others” over something of which we are not the originator?  The shame comes from the first part of the verse.  Our writer needs to be encouraged and motivated by the word of God.  Especially where it applies to the observation of others.  He prays that the LORD would use His word and that he would believe His word so that those who see him may believe in the trustworthiness of the written word of God.  David wants to live in the power of the word but he knows words alone will not do it.  He needs the LORD to use His word within him so that he does not fall into discouragement or temptation.  David is praying not only for the word of God but the effectual working of the word of God by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Two words jump out at me right away.  ‘Uphold’ and ‘hope’.  The two go hand in hand.  This may be an unusual way of thinking about this, but balloons come to mind.  All types of balloons.  Balloons are amazing.  No one ever had a bad thought regarding balloons.  One of our favorite games at church is team volleyball with balloons.  It didn’t matter how young or old those playing happened to be.  Throw a few balloons in the air, and people cannot help but smile.  Why?  For my birthday, my wife got helium-filled balloons.  She got the foil kind.  I put them in front of the picture window and they would sway with the temperature of the air.  As they did so, they would reflect sunshine all throughout our first floor.  Balloons are one thing that can lift the spirits.   Perhaps that is why people love them so much.  It reminds us to think above our present situation.  As they ascend, we are not saddened.  We are uplifted.  Even if we happened to lose one to the atmosphere, we watch as it floats away knowing it will land somewhere, and probably encourage whoever finds it.  Balloons are a metaphor for hope.  They rise above what keeps everything else down.  They cannot be bound.  They speak of tomorrow for we know not where it will be.  These simple little articles are a source of relief.  They are a wonder.

Just like latex needs gas to rise above and do what it was designed to do, the word of God needs the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Most of all, a balloon needs to be placed in a situation where it will do what it was intended to do.  Grocery stores have many balloons.  But they sit idle and useless until bought and taken home.  For those who are downtrodden or overwhelmed with life’s troubles, the answer is the word of God led by the Holy Spirit.  Upholding and hope do not come on their own.  The word of God must be coupled with faith.  Too many have debates with the Holy Spirit as He is trying to meet our soul’s needs through the word of God.  We debate with Him.  We force Him to justify the hope that lies within.  We will not believe it until the trouble is over.  By then, the effectiveness of the word of God is wasted.  If the LORD is to uphold us and sustain the hope that He gives, we must yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit through His word.  In other words, we need to recognize the balloon in the room, pick it up, and keep it in the air.  If our hope is lost, it is not because God failed to meet it.  It is because we neglected to accept and rely upon it.  Hope is there.  We simply need to engage.

Nothing Better

“I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.” (Ps 119:96 AV)

This sounds an awful lot like Solomon.  He writes an entire book on the vanity of all that mankind can pursue.  He concludes that life’s pleasure and meaning can be found in simple obedience to the word of God.  His father, David, is perhaps the origin of this wisdom.  The meaning is similar above.  David has gotten all that he can out of life.  He has gotten everything that he ever wanted.  There was not any other ambition or desire he could possibly want.  Nothing satisfied.  Not completely.  The only source of continued satisfaction is the word of God.  To David, if you took everything away and he still had his Bible, he would be completely content.  The end of all things does not compare with what God can do by His wonderful word.

The times I cherish the most are the quiet times spent with the LORD.  Although we have these times every day, I am thinking about those times of significant fellowship unabated by normal life that seems to encroach on these times.  I wish  I could say they are common, but they are not.  Life is too hectic and responsibilities too great to have one complete day of nothing but divine fellowship. The kids and dog needs tending to.  The spouse needs attention.  The house needs repairs and the lawn needs to be mowed.  Church people are a constant draw for your attention.  They need encouragement, counsel, and challenge.  There are your own personal needs like preparing meals, doctor's appointments, or car repairs.  Life demands of us a great deal of time.  But there are those times when the world seems to leave you alone and God is the only one who has our attention.  There have been those times while sitting in a tent camper during a rain storm, sitting by a pond in a lawn chair, or in the car as the waves crash on the boulders below.  There are those times sitting in a pew while everyone else is at work.  Then there are those times spent in hospital chapels while our loved one is resting after surgery.  Times when God seems so near that you can touch Him. It is in those times you realize He is all you need.

It took a while, but David came to the conclusion his son would eventually deduce.  There is nothing better than to sit and listen to the voice of God as the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart through His word.  There is no place grander than a quiet place with God and God alone speaking directly to your spirit.  There is no sweeter place than a sublime spot away from the fray for a few hours in the day when God has our complete attention and the words of His book seem almost as real as an audible voice directly from heaven.  As I said, it may take some time to come to the same conclusion.  After we have pursued all we can and attained all that is available, we will look at it all and the one possession or experience that eclipses them all is that old Bible, sitting on the table, opened and waiting for our hungry eyes to ingest the presence of God.

It's Open

“Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:” (Ps 118:19 AV)

In context, these gates are more than likely, the gates to the city of Jerusalem; also known as the city of righteousness.  Some attempt to make these gates the gates of the tabernacle or temple.  But neither had gates.  The writer wishes to enter the city to then attend the Tabernacle or the temple for worship.  There are several things to be observed here.  First, the gates cannot be opened by those wishing to enter.  They must be opened by someone who had the ability and authority to do so.  Otherwise, there would not have been a request from the writer.  If he had the ability to open the gates, he would not have asked they be opened.  Second, the writer promises to enter through the gates if they are opened by someone from the inside.  Thirdly, he desires to praise the LORD and he believes the only proper way to do that is through the gates of righteousness.  Although this psalm regards the Old Testament Tabernacle or Temple, there is a point to be made here.  If and when the LORD opens the way of righteousness, will we enter?

In our passage, there doesn’t seem to be an either-or choice.  In other words, our writer is not seeking an alternative and if the gates are not opened, he will simply go the way of unrighteousness.  His desire is focused on one way, and one way only.  There seems also to be the possibility that even when the gates of righteousness are opened, faith to some degree, would be required.  He knows what lies on the other side of the gates.  He knows when the gates are opened, he would only have one choice.  A desire for opened gates suggests an obligation to go through those gates.  Asking and receiving means obeying.  Our writer sees what is behind him and around him.  He gazes upon the closed gates.  He compares his present situation and the life he would have if the gates were opened.  He makes the decision his life would be far better within the gates of righteousness.  Once there, his life would be defined by the praise that he can offer to God, who answered his prayer.

May sinners and saints come to the end of a life of sin and desire the righteousness of God.  It is by the shed blood of Christ these gates are opened.  Someone with the ability and authority to make a way for righteousness did so by way of Calvary.  The gate of righteousness has been opened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the word of God.  We know what righteousness looks like.  We know where to find it.  We have the power to walk in the way of it.  The gates are opened by a power greater than ourselves.  What we lack is desire.  These doors are wide open.  There is no mystery.  There is no hidden wisdom.  There are no complicated steps.  The worshipper stands without the gates and knows the only reason they are closed is because we have closed them.  Only when the penitent comes to the end of his road and sees no other option for a life of praise and blessing, will he ask the gates to be opened once again.  The choice is ours.  Do we want the gates to be opened?  If they are, will we walk through them?  The ball is in our court.

Ready For God's Work

“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.” (Ps 110:3 AV)

There is a lot to unpack in this verse.  David is our writer.  The context is the submission of the world under the hand of the LORD by way of His return and the saints of God.  To David personally, this has application during his reign.  David, being a type of millennial reign, uses this principle toward the establishment of his kingdom.  In a microscopic way, David’s campaign to conquer Israel’s enemies represents what Jesus will do when He returns.  Having established the context, we can now look at this verse a bit closer.  We will work backward.

The dew of thy youth speaks of the dawning of a new day.  A new day wherein righteousness and holiness will be its nature.  David is declaring that in the day of God’s youth, or the new day that will dawn when Christ returns, there is hope like that of a beautiful sunrise after a dark and stormy night.  This corresponds with the phrase that precedes the aforementioned.  The morning is when everything is new and beautiful.  Just like the arrival of Jesus Christ.  This day will come because of God’s power.  No longer will Satan have the ability to influence mankind.  He and his ilk will be cast into hell for 1,000 years.  The temporal enemies of Jesus will be dispatched and the reign of our Messiah will commence.  This is why His reign will be a beautiful thing.  David starts the verse by implying when the LORD does return to set up His kingdom, the people of God will be willing to live and worship at His feet.  It is that initial phrase that we want to contemplate this morning.

This promise can be applied any time God moves in an obvious and mighty way.  We do not have to wait until Christ’s return.  The big question is: are we, or will we be, willing to respond when God does a great work?  Today, we begin one of our annual Revivals.  There is no doubt that God will move the preacher.  There is no doubt the Holy Spirit desires to change our hearts.  There is no doubt God wants us to be radically different by the time this Revival ends.  It will all depend on how willing we are.  Will we put aside all that distracts from the working of the Holy Spirit?  Will we be quick to confess and forsake?  Will we be ready to trust God with that which He wants to do in our lives?  Will we answer the call?  What comes of this week will, in large part, be determined by our willingness at the start!  When God wants to do something, a yielded heart makes all the difference.

Pleading for a Thank You

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” (Ps 107:8-9 AV)

This is so true.  Even when we don’t notice, the LORD is meeting the needs of our souls.  He fills it with the word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  The longing soul needs the comfort that only God can bring.  Only the Creator of the universe who is spirit, can meet the needs of our spirits.  For that reason, we should praise God for His goodness to us.  The plea is that which the LORD has laid on my heart this morning.  Not just for myself. But for all believers.

We live in a world bent on murmuring and complaining.  We cannot seem to have a good day, week, month, or year.  We are trained to evaluate all things in the light of what is wrong and not what is right.  We see the clouds, but we can’t take notice of the sunshine.  Look, we made the world what it is.  It is because of Adam’s sin, and our continuing in that sin, that resulted in a world of heartache and ruin.  It lays squarely at the feet of humanity.  However, no matter how bad we make it, God’s grace can be found.  No matter how difficult life is, the goodness of God abounds.  It really doesn’t matter if we can see it or not, the goodness of God is still obvious.  For that reason, the children of men should praise God for what He does for us.

Peter tells us that life itself is a grace.  The fact we can breathe and exist is a blessing that we do not deserve.  Being created allows us to know our Creator.  This, too, is the greatest of all graces.  To know and to love the One who made us is goodness beyond words.  This, of course, was and is provided by the sacrifice of Christ at the cross of Calvary.  Definitely a goodness.  Far more than the heart can fully appreciate.  God provides for our needs.  He guides us by His Spirit.  He does not allow us to stay the same but matures us unto holiness like Himself.  We have heaven to look forward to.  A temporal existence that will not be missed.  To say that God is not good is to be totally blind to the infinite mercy bestowed upon us.

We see what we want to see.  We see what we are trained to see.  We see what we have the disposition to see.  If we are not looking for the goodness of God, chances are we will miss it.  It will still be there.  I am on my way to heaven whether I meditate upon that or not.  I am forgiven whether I think upon it or not.  The sun will come up tomorrow and there will be air to breathe.  The birds will sing, the grass will grow, and there will still be food in the pantry.  Life may have its challenges, but through them all, God is faithful.  Perhaps instead of looking for the coming storm, we can remember the rainbow that appears after the storm.  Perhaps waiting for the other shoe to drop, remember you only have two feet.  Oh, that man would praise God for His goodness to the children of men.

He Will Hear You, Too

“He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.” (Ps 102:17-18 AV)

The psalmist tells us why the promise of verse seventeen appears.  The writer has learned it.  He need not remind himself that God does answer the prayer of those who have come to the end of their strength and resources.  He has lived it.  We don’t know who the writer is nor do we need to.  The title of the psalm, which some believe was provided at the time of inspiration reads,  “A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD.”  This means the words of the writer are as much an assurance to himself as they will be for all those generations to come.  He knows, by experience, God will regard and answer the prayer of this psalm.  He knows God loves him and cares about the situation in which he suffers.  He has been here before.  He will be here again.  What he hopes he can do is to encourage those who have not lived through as many trying days as he has that God is good to all those who call upon His name.  He hopes that in some way, his experience will help others who will face similar circumstances and that God is not too small that He cannot handle anything that comes our way.

It is interesting what your kids pick up as you raise them in your home.  No home is perfect.  Some troubles and trials interrupt life regularly.  Having served in ministry for almost forty years, our home was not without some trying times.  There was the occasional passing of someone close to us.  There were difficult business meetings.  There were times of spiritual dearth as well as great revival.  There were times of oppositions so called.  There were times of deep need that no one but our family knew about.  There were times the adversary made our service and sacrifice especially difficult.  But there were many more times when our faith was tried to the breaking point.  Times when we didn’t know how we were going to make ends meet.  Times when one or more of our children were severely ill.  Times when the power bill was so past due, we had to live without electricity until the next payday.  There were times when our car broke down and there was no way we could get around.  Times when neighbors didn’t appreciate what I did for a living.  Tests of faith included the lean years when it seemed no one cared enough to consider eternal life.  There were times of doubt as to where the LORD would have me to serve.  Serving God in full-time Christian service is not for the faint of heart.  You will be taxed to the limit.  But through all of this, our boys saw something we were not aware of.  To us, we were hanging on for our dear lives.  To them, Mom and Dad had faith they wished someday to emulate.  I am astounded that even today, they pass on an accolade or two.  It was all God and none of us!  His faithfulness, and showing that faithfulness through my wife and I, is the main reason they too serve God with their lives.

When I read the verse above, I have to ask myself; what kind of hope am I leaving for those who will follow?  Is there enough evidence in my life of pleading with God in times of deep need and watching what God will do?  Are there sufficient times of God’s intervention that help others endure hardships as I have been blessed to do?  Is the power of God something they see so that when times are especially difficult, those who observe God’s hand through my life can take comfort in the same God loves them?  Our writer is transparent here.  He describes his struggle.  He shares his challenge.  Not that others would pity him, but that they might find themselves in the same struggle.  He wants them to see the God who answered him will also answer them.  The record is for those who will follow that we might make their way a little bit easier.

Catch Me 'Cause He Can

“When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.” (Ps 94:18 AV)

How often do we use this verse?  Quite a bit, I imagine.  When we are at the end of our rope and we cannot hand on anymore, the LORD seems to catch us when our strength abates.  When we don’t think we can g another day, the LORD is there to give us His strength that pushes on.  When we cannot take one more hit, then LORD seems to know just how much we have taken and eases our burden so that we might continue on our journey.  When I think of this verse, I think of my hero, Job.  How much can a guy take?  Losing his family, wealth, and health were all bad enough.  But then having to endure hateful opinions from those who called themselves his friends was too much to bear.  After a few rounds of debate and accusation, balanced by Job’s request for mercy and understanding from his friends, the LORD spoke to Job.  The LORD would not allow the circumstances to continue.  The LORD put an end to all debate.  He comforted Job by asserting His sovereignty.  God spoke and that ended the torment.

There were several recreational skills my Dad wanted all of us to learn.  One was swimming.  The other was ice skating.  My father intended to give us a few things we could do outdoors to keep us occupied in the outdoors rather than be entertained by the TV.  When I think of the verse above, I think of the many hours my father taught us to ice skate.  There was a publicly assessable ice rink with a very minimal cost which he took us to quite a bit.  I remember the day I learned to ice skate.  It took a while.  My dad would lace on the double-bladed ice skates we all used to learn.  He would then take us out on the ice and allow us one time around while holding onto the wall.  Then he would take us on the open ice.  Between his legs, he taught us to skate straight without losing our balance.  When we did slip and begin to fall, he held onto our arms.  We may have lost our balance, but we never went down.  Then he showed us how to push off with one foot while keeping the other on the ice at all times.  Lastly came two feet.  It took a while, but he was able to show us how to get around on ice skates.  The thing is, as long as we were between his legs, we would not go down.  It was only when we got a bit too overconfident and ventured out on our own before we were ready that we often took a fall.  As long as we were under the shadow of my father’s strength, we were ok.

There are times when the reality of the above verse is obvious.  Most of the time, it is not noticed until after the fact.  When we can step back and look at the deep waters of which we just came, and realize it was impossible without God, we begin to understand just how much God enabled us to get through it.  My wife’s recent cancer surgery is a great example.  While amid this turmoil, a person simply hangs on for dear life.  Circumstances take hold of you and there is little, if anything, one can do about it.  It is a bit like an amusement park ride from your nightmares.  There is nothing anyone can do by hanging on.  Then, one practically lives at the hospital.  All the treatments, doctors' appointments, and consultations take up a lot of time and bombard you with more information than a human being can process.  One becomes very overwhelmed.  Then comes a period where one settles into their new normal.  Life begins to seem like old hat.  Predictable, dependable, and survivable.  When you reach that plateau, you look back on the last year and wonder how you ever made it through it all.  Just look above.  The writer of this Psalm knows how!  Unless I had God’s mercy, I would have fallen rather hard and deep.  Praise the LORD for His mercy!