Mercy By Statute

“I intreated thy favour with [my] whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.” (Ps 119:58 AV)

The writer is not seeking mercy without context.  Mercy cannot violate the holiness of God.  There are certain things that would frustrate God’s mercy.  Unrepentance would probably top that list.  Presumption might be another.  Or mercy without asking for it may not happen either.  This is a great misunderstanding among modern Christendom.  Professing believers are misled into believing that God is all grace and mercy to the extent that He takes no care over the condition or motive of anyone.  The greatest harm to blessed life is the mantra, “God loves us just the way we are”.  That is so wrong!  God loves us in spite of the way we are.  He wants to change who and what we are into the likeness of His Son.  The condition above is to seek the LORD with the whole heart.  That suggests a heart that is right with God, or at the very least, sincerely desires to be right with God.  The indication that our writer is in this frame of mind is seeking only that mercy which is according to His word.

There are certain things God does not allow when it comes to granting His mercy.  David and Bathsheba are great examples.  They had an affair, and as a result, a son was born.  The LORD struck the child with illness as soon as he made his appearance.  David responded as any father would.  He fasted and prayed.  He sought mercy for his son and his wife.  He asked the LORD for his son’s life.  This went on for seven days.  David never arose from his spot.  Every waking moment was filled with prayer.  He never ate.  He seldom slept.  He neither changed clothes nor bathed.  He remained on his knees, begging God for his son’s life.  After seven days, the baby died.  From David’s perspective, mercy never came.  He lost his son.  Why didn’t God answer David?  Even after he had repented, God still required the life of the child.  Some suppose that the LORD would not allow two people the blessings that came from adultery.  The fruits of sin are meant to be a curse.  Not a blessing.  This isn’t always the case.  Some enjoy the blessings of a birth consummated under less than righteous circumstances.  For whatever reason, the LORD does not require the lives of those children.  We may never know why.  What we do know is that David sought mercy, and God did not grant it.  Mercy was contingent on something.

The writer is not asking for mercy separate and apart from his condition or situation.  He may very well be asking for mercy and grace found in forgiveness.  What we do know is that the writer is not presumptuous.  He is not asking for the grace of God as if he is entitled.  No one is entitled to the mercy and grace of God.  What we need is the wisdom of expectations.  What is it that we want God to do, and does it violate His nature?  Exactly what is it that we are seeking, and will His character allow for it?  Mercy is the unspeakable gift from God.  But it does have principles by which it is applied.  This does not suggest mercy is earned.  If it were, then it wouldn’t be mercy.  Mercy is granted because we cannot obtain it.  That is why it is mercy.  Yet, mercy must be according to the word of God.

The Fear of Reproach

“Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments [are] good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.” (Ps 119:39-40 AV)

It is a good thing to fear reproach.  It is often one foundation for victory over sin.  Longing after the laws of the word of God is a good start.  But there has to be a turning away.  Our writer is not implying that he is currently suffering reproach for the choices he has made.  Although he probably is.  Everyone does.  Rather, he has been down this road a few times and knows what reproach is.  He knows that if he messes up, there will be a lot of opinions coming his way.  Some from with.  Some from without.  Some justified.  Some unwarranted.  Reproach is a thing of life.  It is a curse we bear for disobedience toward God.  It is not comfortable.  It is not meant to be comfortable.  The solution is to be quickened in righteousness.  That means to be made spiritually alive.  The saint who overcomes sin must desire the quickening from righteousness more than he hates reproach for sin.  This is where our writer is coming from.

There is a natural fear of getting caught.  This is a good thing.  We fear getting caught because we do not like the consequences.  One show I watch from time to time is live cop shows.  The criminal who is caught rarely makes light of it.  Every now and again, it happens.  Usually, those who make light of it are those who have yet to suffer any consequences for their actions.  For the most part, those who are caught do two things.  They either try to deny any wrong-doing hoping the police will forgive them, or they know they are caught and begin to plead for mercy.  It is not out of the ordinary for someone who is caught to know what the consequences will be long before they go to trial.  One young man was evading.  He ran into a tree.  When he was placed under arrest, he shared that he had a baby on the way and that jail was not an option.  He had outstanding warrants, and he was caught with drugs and driving under the influence.  I think the police did this man and his coming child a huge favor.  No one loves the reproach of doing wrong things.  Rare is the person who celebrates the hatred of humanity against him.

I will say it again.  We ought to disdain the reproach of sin.  It is a good thing.  A red face never hurts.  Eating crow may not be enjoyable, but it can be nutritious.  Remembering that sin comes at a cost is a thing we often forget.  Remembering that when we sin, we do not do so in a vacuum.  What matters most is God’s forgiveness and mercy.  No matter how forgiven we may be, man can often hold our sin in reproach.  It is often and defense mechanism against their own sin.  But one thing with God is that when God forgives, it never comes up again.  Praise be the LORD!  So, let us remember that sin brings reproach.  One cannot avoid it.  It is a divinely appointed consequence for doing wrong.  Longing for the righteousness of God is the escape from reproach.

When The King Get's Involved

"And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set [the battle] in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand [men which fought in] chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.” (1Ch 19:17-18 AV)

The Ammonites hired the Syrians and others to come against Israel.  Hannun, the king of the Ammonites insulted David and thought that David would invade as a result.  He took preemptive action to go against Israel before David had a chance to respond.  They surrounded Jerusalem.  David sent Joab and his brother to deal with it.  Joab split his forces in two.  One to go against the Syrians.  The other against the Ammonites.  As the battle ensued, the Syrians believe themselves to be winning.  The plan was for the stronger side to assist the weaker side, depending on the progression of the battle.  Yet, we see David come against the Syrians to assist Joab.  The enemy may think they are winning, but when the king shows up, the war is over!  David arrives and makes quick work of defeating his foes.  It isn’t even close.  David is a picture of the second coming of Christ.  The enemies of God may think they are winning, but our King will show and it will be all over but the digging of a mass grave!

Those who hate God are under the illusion that God can be defeated.  They think they can defeat God be martyring all His children, destroying all His institutions, writing all His laws out of existence, and sinking human culture into the deepest depravity possible.  As churches close and fewer people profess faith in Christ, they believe the battle is turning in their favor.  When the laws of the world change to honor a depraved value system, they think God has been successfully kicked out of His creation.  They erroneously assume that liberty to be wicked means permanent victory over their Creator.  Celebration over the freedom to kill the innocent, mutilate the weak, and inclusion of all evil is seen as the preeminence of mankind and the fall of an omnipotent Creator.  What foolishness.  As the ranks of Satan’s forces manipulate mankind to destroy itself and the people of God in the process, one unavoidable fact remains.  God has not yet had the last word.  The King has not yet arrived.

What is really encouraging is to note the success that David had, which Joab could not match.  Joab was losing the battle.  His brother could not help because he, too, was overwhelmed.  When David shows up, it appears as though his presence immediately and swiftly changed the course of the battle.  It does not seem as though David struggled at all.  He arrived, and the battle was won.  What a picture of the second coming of Christ.  His victory will be immediate and swift.  Within a mere matter of moments, the enemies of God will be conquered and dispensed with.  It will be so swift and decisive that it will be like pressing a button of flipping a switch.  One moment the entire world we gather and rise against Jesus.  The next moment, they won’t exist.  It will be that quick.  Like the calming of the seas wherein Christ spoke and immediately the sea was calm, the same will be true at His coming.  I cannot wait!

Seeking Divine Strength is Continual

“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.  Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;” (1 Chron.16:11-12 KJB)

These words are important to me.  Especially today.  Life can become overwhelming and the troubles too heavy to bear.  It is not supposed to be that way.  Particularly for a pastor.  We are supposed to be able to handle everything that comes along.  We are supposed to handle stuff in our own immediate world plus everyone else’s stuff.  We are to have broad shoulders and plow through it all with unfailing faith.  The truth of the matter is that all of us have limits.  We can have the gift of faith, and Paul did, yet still reach the end of our limits.  We can have a love for God like David did, yet his psalms are filled with distress.  We can have the faith of John, as he sees the end of all things, yet still plead for the coming of Christ.  We can have the unbending faith of Daniel, yet still have weak moments of desperation to which only God can rescue.

God does not expect us to have the attribute of omnipotence.  He does not expect us to know and see all things.  If we could, then there would be no limits to what we could face.  The fault lies not in an inherent weakness, but what we do in the condition of that weakness.  The words above are words of David at the return of the ark to Jerusalem.  These are words of praise.  But they are also words of encouragement.  The word that jumps out at me is ‘continually’.  Thinking on the implications of that one word, it would seem the mighty warrior was mighty because there never was a time he attempted a battle in his own strength.  It would seem to me that David was David because of that one word above.  Perhaps his psalms were a manifestation of that idea.  Maybe David, through the psalms and pouring out his complaints before God, was doing just what he encourages all to do.

Seeking the strength and the face of God is not an ‘as-needed’ practice.  It is to be never-ending.  Moment by moment; trial by trial; hurdle by hurdle; deep water and shallow; we are to seek the face of God and His strength without stopping for a respite.  It may seem silly to seek the LORD’s face and strength first thing in the day.  But we don’t know what we will face.  It may seem a bit immature to always depend on God when we have some strength of our own.  David wasn’t too proud to say that he had limits.  He wasn’t too big that he couldn’t see how small he really was.  David knew that what God had called him to do was too big to handle by his own strength.  He knew that the impossible life he was to lead could only be lived by the hand, face, and strength of almighty God.  We would be wise to believe the same thing.

Always Blessed

“Ye [are] blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.” (Ps 115:15 AV)

A simple truth that we often forget.  It does not matter what our life might be like, we are still blessed.  I know it is a temptation to look at the lives of others and believe they are more blessed than we.  And they may be more blessed.  Why God chooses to bless the wicked and send the righteous through adversity is a matter of perspective.  We are blessed by the simple fact that God chose to create us and then offer us the free gift of salvation.  If nothing else, we have an intimate relationship with our Creator and a home in heaven that can never be taken away.  We are blessed.  More than we might realize!

It is easy to be so overwhelmed by the troubles of life that we forget this truth.  Things come in that occupy everything we are and have.  We come to the end of ourselves, and we see life as one big dark blot.  We have forgotten how blessed we are.  We struggle with our careers, our finances, and our never-ending task list.  We forget how blessed we are.  We struggle with children who seem to be more that we bargained for.  We have to tend to the dog, the roof, and the car.  We forget how blessed we are.  We go to church, and from the moment we enter the doors to the minute we leave, there is something to do, someone who needs something, and a pointed message which seemed tailor made for our situation.  We go to the altar, but when we return to our seats, there seems to be no significant change.  We forget how blessed we are.  We age, and things that used to take little to no effort seem like scaling a mountain peak.  Spring is here, but winter is right around the corner.  We forget how blessed we are.  We get home from work and not we have three to four hours of meal preparation, cleaning up, and other household chores, and bedtime is some distant wish.  But we forget how blessed we are.  TV is not help.  We try to escape the reality of a world on fire, hoping that someone will fix it all.  In doing so, we forget how blessed we are.  Then the day comes when we have to say goodbye to those who are closest to us.  For them or for us, it is a very sad day.  Yet, we can remember how blessed we are.

The tense of the word ‘…blessed…’ is the perfect present tense.  It was true in the past.  It will be true in the future.  It is true in the present.  The psalmist is careful to frame the blessed state of the child of God as a never-ending one.  No matter what life may bring, it cannot take away what God has promised.  No matter what happens in the future, it cannot undo the blessings of the past.  If COVID taught us anything, it was to be grateful.  Prior to that disaster, we had what we needed or wanted at the moment it was desired.  There was no shortage of anything.  When a bit of adversity happened, we realized how blessed we were.  Perhaps that is why God allows adversity.  At least one reason He allows it.  Maybe we have forgotten just how forgiven and blessed we are, and only realize it when what we had is replaced by what we don’t have.  God is good.  All the time!  We have a home in heaven because our sins are all forgiven.  For that mere fact alone, we of all people are most blessed forever!

God's Cure For Righteous Indignation

“So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.” (Eze 3:14-15 AV)

Ezekiel was given an impossible task.  The LORD sent him to a nation that had no desire to listen.  They were impudent and hard-hearted.  Knowing why Ezekiel was in a bitter and heated spirit, and God’s answer for it, is enlightening.  Prior to his demeanor, the LORD instructed Ezekiel to eat a roll upon which the scriptures, or parts of it, were written.  The Bible tells us it was sweet to the taste but bitter when ingested.  The illustration was not lost on our prophet.  He understood the lesson here.  The truth of the word of God may be palatable and pleasurable to listen to, but once applied, it can be a bit difficult to live with.  Ezekiel needed to know this truth before God sent him to his own people.  To the core, they were rebels.  They would listen to the preaching, but would not change.  What was God’s answer to Ezekiel?  He was to live among them for seven days without saying a word.  He needed to see the truly miserable condition in which they were so that when he preached, he did not take their rejection too personal.

Holy indignation must be tempered by compassion and empathy.  Ezekiel was stirred in his spirit and angry of heart when he compared his nation against the holiness of God’s word.  There are a few observations here.  First, Ezekiel is not perfect.  He has to remember this.  David shares the same circumstances in Psalm 39.  But secondly, even if he was head and shoulders above his congregation in his walk with God, the people are still in need of someone who can empathize with their situation.  It may sound odd to say this, but I have personal experience.  Many years ago, I served in a church where a majority of the leadership would not follow the LORD.  The constitution of the church lent no relief.  All the people could do was to leave.  The whole church was held hostage by three men.  One of them was particularly obstinate.  I remember how I felt when he sat down with his briefcase and calculator, his date book, and his ledgers.  It was on a Sunday morning.  He sat there making business plans for the week.  He sat there in the middle of a worship service and worked a secular job.  I remember feeling sick to my stomach.  I wasn’t angry.  I wasn’t upset.  I watched him as I was preaching, realizing how rebellious and wicked he was.

This is what Ezekiel needed to see.  He needed to see the alarming condition of the people to whom he was sent.  It is said of Jesus that when He looked upon Jerusalem, knowing what they would shortly do, he wept over the city.  Ezekiel was angry and bitter.  He was angry and bitter at the condition of his nation.  It moved him to rage.  It was his response to internalizing the word of God and comparing it to the condition of the people to whom he was sent.  But he couldn’t preach that way.  It would have been of no effect.  What he needed to do was to spend a week in total silence.  He needed to observe.  He needed his emotional response to the condition of the people to change from anger and bitterness to confident compassion.  He needed to learn how to plead.  He needed to learn how to make his case without his emotions doing most of the work.  Only sitting and observing can accomplish this.

Having a Set Heart

“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart [is] established, he shall not be afraid, until he see [his desire] upon his enemies.” (Ps 112:7-8 AV)

Evil tidings are a part of life.  There is nothing you can do to keep them from coming.  All one has to do is visit a local hospital to see this truth.  There is coming a day when I will sit down with a doctor and he will tell me that I have a limited expectation of the time I have left.  There will come a time when I will have to move from a house to a small apartment.  The car will break down.  The bills will mount.  The children and grandchildren will come to adversity along the way.  My parents have passed, and soon I will get phone calls one after another, as I hear of siblings and all those whom I love doing the same.  A mark of maturing is one begins to attend more funerals than weddings, graduations, school plays, etc.  As the book of Job teaches us, man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.  The writer’s solution was to establish his heart in trust.  He did not run to a cave and hide from the world.  He did not give up and choose to escape by more drastic means.  Rather, he chose to establish his heart in trust.  Trust in the LORD.

I was a rather nervous child.  My father was an angry and unpredictable man.  At any time, he could arrive in a fit of rage and take it out on the nearest child.  At school, I was the object of bullying.  A lot of bullying.  I had no safe place in which to dwell.  The only escape I had was my paper route and a friend’s house.  But those were only temporary.  Less than an hour a day, and I found myself in a whirlwind of turmoil.  The LORD gave me an epiphany.  I cannot say it permanently fixed my skittishness, but I can say that it went a long way in starting me down the right path.  One afternoon, while in gym class (I hated gym class), as the teams were being picked, I was the last chosen.  That was usually the case.  A gym full of 50-60 boys and I was always the last one picked.  This particular time was disturbing because both captains and a number of boys gave me a look.  That corporate look said, “we are going to go after you with all the violence we can muster.  Both sides will make sure you are eliminated with zeal and callousness”.  I was nauseous.  I ran to the bathroom and vomited.  Then the LORD spoke to me.  He asked, “What is the worst thing they could do to you?”  We, it was hitting me so hard that I would die.  To which he replied, “And what is so bad with that?”  It happened.  God gave me the correct perspective in which to look at all adversity.  What is the worst thing that could happen?

I won’t say that I always have a handle on adversity.  There have been some very dark times since then.  There have been times when my entire world came crashing down, and I wished for the day of my home-going.  It was in those times that I had to establish my heart in trust.  The word ‘established’ is very important.  It means to permanently lay to rest so that it does not move.  This is not a reactive result of yielding.  Rather, this is a conscious choice by the writer to place his heart at rest because faith is always stronger than adversity.  Some love to live in the state of an undisciplined heart.  Some love the adrenaline rush of unabated emotion and thought.  They love to live there.  But that is not what the Bible instructs.  The Bible teaches us that the whole person; body, mind, and emotions; must be brought under subjection.  Today’s answer is medical.  Although there may be a component to this, the answer must start with a choice.  This choice places the fear, confusion, frustration, etc at the feet of faith.  It chooses to shut down the heart and force it to rest in the hope of the promises of God’s word.  What we think or how we feel is brought under the dominion of the word of God.  “Yeah, but” has no place.  What saith the LORD is the right answer!  Establish the heart.  Do so in trusting the LORD and His word.  It is the first and last thing that will bring the peace we look for.

The Shame of Assimilation

“And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that [were] by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.” (2Ki 23:7 AV)

There was a time that governments set building zones to keep apart establishments that cannot co-exist.  There was a time when no bar or other institution of ill-repute could operated within a certain distance from a school.  There was a time when churches influenced their neighborhoods.  There were no bars, cigarette shops, drugstores, etc within hundreds of yards of a church or school.  The idea was to keep bad behavior away from those who wanted nothing to do with it.  There was something called the ‘blue light district’.  It has its origin in the Revolutionary war.  A faction of the Federalist Party would signal the British with blue lights.  Since that time, ‘blue light district’ or ‘red-light district’ are terms describing certain areas of the city or town where wicked behavior was bought or sold.  The point is, cities used to separate depending on values and purpose.  Church buildings were respected.  I pastored in a gang-infested area.  Buildings, fences, and homes were tagged all the time.  Yet the church was never touched.  We suffered no break-ins.  There was no vandalism.  Today’s world is completely different.  There is no longer respect of, and separation from, the things of God.

Which brings me to our passage.  The people of God were so depraved that they allowed houses of prostitution and Sodom to exist next door to, and around from, the house of God.  Let us remember that the people of God in the form of the nation of Israel were not regenerated.  They were as lost as those who are lost today.  They may have been religious.  They may have had a relationship with God as their Creator and God.  What they did not have was a regenerated soul.  They were not born-again.  They followed the law as best they could, but there was no indwelling of the Holy Spirit to aid them in holiness.  Having said that, there is no excuse for sin.  Even more so, there is definitely no excuse for flaunting your sin in the sight of God’s house.  Yet that is how wicked they had become.  What is alarming is that the faithful of God did little to nothing to correct it.  They had no leadership to assist them.  They needed a king who could see the pure evil of vices on church grounds or businesses that exist for the carnal pleasures of man so close to the house of worship.  They needed a leader who would take a stand and clean the nation from the evil that had become so common.

Competition with the house of God will always exist.  The NFL will always play on Sundays.  Restaurants and stores that used to be closed on Sundays no longer are.  But what alarms me is the proximity that these places tend to be.  The cell phone has seen to that.  Separation from the world makes a distinction between the holy and the profane.  There has to be some distance between the godly and the godly.  What the world needs are leaders who are willing to stand for the right thing and make changes that keep wickedness and righteousness separate.  We need leaders who will draw a line and keep the attacks on the sacred distant or non-existent.  It is alarming when a house of ill-repute opens right next to a church.  It is alarming when a deviant theater opened right across from our church.  This shouldn’t happen.  Our nation needs much prayer.  Our nation needs revival.  Our nation needs leaders who will do the right thing.  Otherwise, we will suffer the fate of Israel.  We will be carried away to captivity, and our nation will be lost.

Blessedness of Observation

“The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.” (Pr 20:12 AV)

Hearing and eyesight are the primary senses by which we observe and learn.  How we choose to use them matters.  Solomon prefaces the above proverb by stating that a child is known by what he leaves in his wake.  In other words, maturity cannot be hid.  It is known by what maturity produces, or fails to produce.  If we are known by what we manifest, what we are is determined by what we take in.  What is shown on the outside is a reflection of what is on the inside.  What is on the inside is produced and influenced by what is allowed from the outside.  What we take in must be filtered through the truth that God has made the means by which we consume, and it is to Him whom we are accountable.

It is interesting what happens when one begins to lose their eyesight or hearing.  For me, it is both.  I have worn glasses for the vast majority of my life.  Having suffered several childhood head injuries, eyeglasses were a part of my life from age seven or eight until this present day.  At one point, I was so dependent on eyeglasses that it was considered legal blindness.  Over the years, it has greatly improved.  But I will never know what it is like to see with normal eyesight.  Now, my hearing is beginning to fail.  The LORD has been very good to me and provided hearing aids.  They are a decent pair, and it is astounding how much I was missing.  I bought a hearing aid dryer and now I can deep clean them every other day.  What a difference!  The interesting thing is, when you begin to lose these faculties, you begin to be a lot more discerning on how you use them.  Knowing that you might lose them for good, picking what one consumes becomes a much more thoughtful practice.  I would rather listen to the birds sing or the rustle of leaves than music played from a loudspeaker.  I would much rather read a good book than watch a movie.  Losing one's abilities makes me appreciate what is left.

God has given the ability to consume our world and learn from it.  Sometimes it is used for enjoyment.  There is nothing wrong with biblically acceptable pleasures.  I, for one, am grateful God gave hearing and eyesight by which we can interact with His creation.  This is not intended as a rebuke on how we used our ears and eyes, but rather, to appreciate the ability to do so.  To enjoy a sunset or the faces of my grandchildren is a wonder to behold.  To hear a saintly chorus with perfect pitch voices as they glorify the Creator is a blessing.  To see the heart of a child of God break for the perfect will of God is more than one deserves.  To be part of God’s creation rather than merely in it is something for which we should be eternally grateful.  There is much beauty from the hand of God that surrounds us, and He has given the means by which we can take it all in.

Greater Faith In Overcoming

“He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor [any] that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, [and] departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.” (2Ki 18:5-6 AV)

It is said of Hezekiah that no one had ever trusted the LORD as he had.  No king before him; as in David and Solomon, and no king after him; as in Josiah ever trusted the LORD as Hezekiah did.  That is quite a statement.  Why?  What made Hezekiah the most faith-filled king in the history of Israel/Judah?  After all, he did make come blunders.  Not as big as David and Solomon, but he did make some serious mistakes.  One of them cost Judah their temporary autonomy.  So, what was it about his reign that made it so commendable?  I think the fact that Hezekiah had to overcome much spiritual darkness to bring revival to his nation is the factor at play here.  Hezekiah has to cleanse the nation of generations of paganism.  He has to have those close to him executed.  He restored Judea to the glory it once knew as the temple was repaired and reused.  Hezekiah risked far more than any king before him had to risk and far more than those who followed him were willing to risk.  Sometimes it is not what we accomplish but what we overcome that determines the faith that we have.

Recently, there was a high school basketball clip that went viral.  Things like this happen all the time.  It was the charity of two competitors that took center stage, and what was lost was the bravery it took for two players to do what they did.  The game was already in hand for the eventual winning team.  There was no way for the losing team to catch up.  So, the winning team’s coach sent in a player who was handicapped.  He might have been a down’s syndrome student or some other physically impaired condition.  As the ball was in-bounded to this young man, all the players on both teams cleared the court so this young man could go the length of the court and score a basket.  What followed is why this clip went viral.  The substitution buzzer blew, and the losing team did the same thing.  They inserted a handicapped player, and the player went the full length of the court and scored a basket.  For both players, the teams and the audience stood and clapped.  What was missed was the courage it took for these two young men to do what they did.  It was only two points.  It didn’t affect the outcome of the game.  But it took all the courage and faith in the world to overcome the obstacles that lay before them.

Overcoming is often overlooked.  It is the king who can do great things because he had great resources and great opportunity who is heralded.  It is the athlete who was given great strength and skill, placed on an all-star team, and who had favorable conditions who is recognized as the greatest of all time.  The king who can take a nation seeped in wickedness and revive them unto spiritual life is not seen as all that special.  After all, there are no great buildings built.  No major wars won.  He lost more from the treasury than he ever added.  Compared to David and Solomon, Hezekiah did little to advance the physical condition of his nation.  Sin was cleansed.  Worship was rejuvenated.  But there were no temporal monuments built to the king who had faith that no one else had.  Overcoming is a huge deal.  Often it takes more strength and resolve to overcome adversity than it does to slowly build strength over time.  It is one thing to exercise faith a bit at a time and as a result, grow that faith.  It is quite another to summon huge faith for a single project or task and see God do some great things.  Overcoming is a big deal!  It takes more faith to overcome that it does to maintain.

Father, Exalt Thyself!

“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; That thy beloved may be delivered: save [with] thy right hand, and answer me.” (Ps 108:5-6 AV)

We have this misunderstanding that Satan is motivated by winning.  This is not true.  The devil is fully aware of his future.  He knows he cannot defeat God.  He tried that once and failed.  So, as we observe the forces of Satan aligning themselves against the things that God loves, it isn’t to win a score.  There is only one reason why Satan does what he does.  It is precisely because he knows he has already lost.  His name is Destroyer.  He has no interest in winning a war he cannot win.  But he is motivated by destroying all that he can in order to hurt the Creator in some way.  The world, however, is not that bright.  The world actually thinks it can win.  Their arena is the here and now.  Their field of play is the world.  They erroneously believe they can kick God off the planet and have it all to themselves.  This has been the case since Cain and Abel.  Those who hate God wish to defeat those who love God.  Thus, we see the request above.  Not until the LORD defends and delivers His beloved once and for all will the enemies of God realize they have lost.  It will happen.  It is merely a matter of time.

The cause for deliverance is important.  The writer is not seeking deliverance to ease the trouble.  Rather, he seeks it so that God is exalted.  Trouble from the hands of those who hate God may be severe at times.  But it is the least we could do for the One who gave His life for us.  We may want an end to the persecution, but we owe all that we are to Jesus our Savior.  We can do no less.  Therefore, seeking deliverance should be for a higher cause.  That cause is the glory of God.  As long as the world and devil perceive they are winning a war, then God is demeaned and insulted.  I am sure He does not feel threatened.  If they only understood who it is that they are attacking, and what He can do, perhaps they would see just how foolish it all is.  I have to admit.  It gets tiresome sometimes.  It is like a slow drip.  Annoying and draining.  We know the end from the beginning.  We know how this all ends.  We have a home in heaven, and the God-haters can never take that away.  They can live wicked lives, but that is not the case where the saints will dwell forever!  Not a chance.  Scream as they may, there is no abomination in heaven!  It is all outlawed!  Only purity and holiness.

So, how do we pray?  Do we pray as weary souls who want an end to all this filth?  Do we pray that we can live a peaceful and holy life free from the influence and attacks of those who hate God?  How do we pray?  I think our author gives us a clue.  It is not our deliverance from adversity that we seek.  Although we will welcome it with rejoicing and praise for our wonderful God.  Rather, we should be offended for God at the way His enemies treat Him.  Until we are more concerned with the glory of God than we are for our own comfort, our prayers will go unanswered.  It is time to pray.  Time to pray that God would be exalted.  It is time to pray that God would deliver His beloved to show to the devil and the world that they lost and He won!  Time for the conqueror to come and take what He created and is rightfully His!  It is time that we pray that the throne of Jesus Christ be lifted up above all His enemies and that all must come and bow the knee!  It is time to pray for the exaltation of the Creator above His creation once and for all!

Deliverance Guaranteed

“[Thou], which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” (Ps 71:20 AV)

God’s deliverance does not mean the absence of all troubles.  If it did, there would be no need for deliverance.  David is summarizing his life.  He remembers the good and the bad.  When it comes to the bad, the king thinks of God’s deliverance.  He does not dwell on the baggage that troubles can produce.  David is also relying on the faithfulness of God to bring him out of all troubles that are yet to come.  The verse above suggests David is facing troubles and that because God has delivered him before, He will deliver him again.  Because this is the second to last of David’s psalms in what is called the book of psalms, he could very well be referring to his illness and impending death. (There are more Davidic psalms that appear after psalm 72.  But psalms.1-72 are all David’s.  That is why the ‘book of David’s psalms’ ends at 72) Because David uses ‘hast’ which is past tense and ‘shalt’ which is future tense, he is in the middle of times of troubles anticipating more ahead.  The point is simple.  If we are children of God by faith, then our Father will never abandon us.  No matter what troubles come; and they will come; God will be there.

It is unrealistic and immature to think that life can be trouble-free.  Those who pursue such a life will be disappointed.  Those who think it possible will never grow up.  Troubles are part of life.  Even if mankind had never sinned, faith would still need to be learned and grown.  For faith to grow, there must be risk.  Risk is a form of trouble.  So, to think that life can be free from all anxiety is naïve at best.  Foolish at worst.  Note also that David uses the words ‘great’ and ‘sore’.  Troubles are not meant to be easy.  They are not meant to be infrequent.  The problem with being human is that we are human.  We do not learn lessons all that easy.  Discipline and obedience are not in our nature.  Faith is not natural.  These things come by the hardness of life.  Faith and obedience, however, are the only means to a blessed life.  Have you ever met someone who was steeped in rebellion or doubt who was completely happy?

Today, Psalm 107 was in my daily reading schedule.  I was going to write regarding the last verse of this psalm.  It reads, “Whoso [is] wise, and will observe these [things], even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.” (Ps 107:43 AV)  I had written of it before and it is a theme that has repeated itself several times over the last few months.  Observation is what determines the effectiveness of God’s lovingkindness and not the presence of it.  The presence of it is constant and unending.  If God’s love is ineffective, it is only because we do not see it.  What gives bones to this truth is the context in which it is found.  The psalm rehearses Israel’s history of doubt and disobedience answered by God’s mercy and provision.  Even when they did not live to please God, He never gave up on them.  He repeatedly delivered them even if their situation was self-inflicted.  That is the God who saved us and loved us.  Yes, troubles came and will come.  They will be many and sore.  But out of them all will the LORD deliver those who love and trust Him.

Ruled Spirit

“[He that is] slow to anger [is] better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Pr 16:32 AV)

Anger isn’t the only emotion that can get out of control.  Any emotion to which we are prone can get away from us.  In our proverb, it is anger.  Anger is an effective motivator to accomplish a task.  The problem with unabated anger is the damage is leaves in its wake.  Anger is monocular.  It hones in on one and only one goal.  What it cannot see are all the peripheral effects of being so singularly focused.  Having shared all that, that which we want to consider is the ruling of the spirit.  What is that?  How is it accomplished?  What does it look like?  Are feelings permitted, and to what degree?

To rule here means to have dominion over.  It means to cause to rule.  The spirit is that which gives animation.  It is our outward manifestation of who and what we are on the inside wherein it pertains to personality and emotional expression.  It is that part of us that expressed life of the soul and body.  To rule the spirit is to control how we express or manifest what we think, feel, or desire on the inside.  Now pay attention here.  The degree of what we are on the inside will force itself to the surface.  In other words, Solomon is not saying we can feel as deeply as we wish on the inside as long as it does not show on the outside.  That is not good.  Those feelings on the inside will work themselves out in one form or another.  This is why people who bottle up their emotions suffer physical consequences later on.  The problem isn’t self-control.  The problem is Self.  Thinking, feeling, and desiring are all expressions of who we are.  People become dependent on outlets for their emotions, thinking, or desires that are less harmful, but it doesn’t address the root problem.  The root problem is permitting the thinking, feeling, or desires to begin with.  Self is not disciplined.  It is simply refocused.

So, what is the answer?  God!  Not just the person of God, but the promises from God.  Peter writes, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:” (2Pe 1:3 AV) Either we believe this or we don’t.  Our belief doesn’t change this.  All that we need is given of the Father.  What we must think is found in His word.  Anything above the authority of the word of God only leads to harm.  God has given us all the answers to our out-of-control emotional expression.  The comfort and contentment we seek are found in His word.  All the desires God permits are found in the scriptures.  Prayer, faith, and an intimate walk with God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit will meet all our needs and help discipline the spirit.  Ruling the spirit is one of the most important things we can learn.  Just because we can feel, think, or want doesn’t mean it is good for us.  Just because we feel, think, or want doesn’t mean we are helplessly victimized by them.  No!  Ruling the spirit is the key.

Divine Intervention is a Matter of Perception

“And he answered, Fear not: for they that [be] with us [are] more than they that [be] with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (2Ki 6:16-17 AV)

Syria had come against Israel, and because the blessed Seer warned her king, the nation could evade a war she could not win.  The king of Syria believed a spy was among them, but it came to his attention that the man of God was the voice in the ear of the king of Israel.  It was discovered where Elisha was abiding.  The king of Syria sent forces to completely surround the city.  His intent was to destroy it with Elisha also being among the dead.  At the time, Elisha was training a young prophet.  That young prophet was understandable gravely concerned for their situation.  Elisha took his young student out of the gate of the city and prayed that God would open his eyes to the reality of the battle that lay ahead.  Now note that the young men’s eyes were opened, and as they were, the angelic forces arrived.  Rather, the forces of God were already present and staged for the battle.  Experience and faith gave Elisha the spiritual eye to see the reality of the situation.  It took prayer for the younger man to see it.  What this shows us is that divine intervention is not a logistical problem.  It is a perception problem.  God is there.  God is here.  God is everywhere to work on behalf of those who love and trust Him.  We simply need to see it.

A common theme in stories of the thriller sort is a cat burglar who must evade several layers of security to catch the prize.  Or, the adventurer and treasure seeker must solve a labyrinth of traps designed to protect the valuable artifact.  One such scenario is the laser beam security feature.  Many beams shoot across the room and picked up by sensors on the opposite side.  They come from all directions and at all sorts of angles.  The character must stretch and bend to avoid breaking a beam.  If even one beam is broken, then he or she is trapped and apprehended.  The problem is, the beams cannot be seen.  That is where a can of fogger comes in.  A light mist or fog is blown over the room, and all the beams can be seen.  It is not until an agent is added that assists the character in seeing what he or she cannot naturally see.

Our outside agent is experience, the word of God, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot see what God is doing without the eyes of faith.  For the young man to see, all it took was the prayer of a man with great faith.  Elisha had seen God to great things.  Things beyond belief.  He has seen God bring a young man dead for hours, if not days, back to life.  If God can reanimate a corpse, surely he could rescue them from an invading army.  Our faith may determine what God will do.  There is enough biblical evidence to make that point.  There were times when the lack of faith hindered what God was prepared to do.  But that is the key, isn’t it?  God is not less of a God because we do not believe.  God is not any less present because we have limited perception.  Those angelic chariots were on the hill surrounding the enemy, regardless of the young prophet’s perception to see them.  God is always there.  He is willing to act on behalf of those who trust in Him!

A Choice To Think On God Sweetly

“My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” (Ps 104:34 AV)

God will be one of two things to us.  Either He will be a executing judge or a loving Father.  Either He will find us guilty and condemn us to a devil’s hell to be tormented day and night forever and ever.  Or, He will be a Father who loves and pities us.  Either He will sit upon His throne and execute final judgment.  Or, He will be involved with us, bringing us unto Christlikeness.  But He cannot be both at the same time.  Our view of God may be tainted, but that doesn’t change who He is to us.  We may think that God disapproves of us to the point that He is willing to disown us.  But He cannot.  We may think He has forgotten us like those who perish, but He has not.  We may feel as though God is far from us, but if we are His children, we are only a prayer away.  The writer is thinking upon who and what God is to him.   He makes a choice.  He chooses to think fondly and gratefully upon the person and nature of God.  It is a choice he makes.  He chooses to think on the truth rather than on his perception.

Life is not easy.  No one had a perfect father.  Some had better than others.  But no one had a perfect one.  Some had no father present.  Some had a father who was always there.  Some had a father who was never loving and affirming.  Others had fathers who were their greatest fans.  Some had fathers who abused them.  Others had fathers who would go to the ends of the world to protect and provide for them.  Some had fathers who didn’t care how their children ended up.  Some had fathers who invested the time and wisdom to mentor their children into responsible and healthy adults.  Some had fathers who never wanted anything to do with God.  Others had fathers who loved the LORD with their whole hearts.  No two families are alike.  No two fathers are alike.  Earthly fathers vary.  They are of different quality and quantity.  They change over time.  Some for the better.  Some for the worse.  Our earthly fathers may disappoint us.  They may even leave a few scars behind.  It is no wonder that some carry baggage throughout their lives from the ruin left in the wake of a hateful or absent father.  To remember them with sweetness of memory is impossible.  But our God is not that person!

Our God is always the same.  Depending on who and what we are will determine our relationship with Him and our perception of Him.  But He can never change.  We may not understand why He does certain things or why He has allowed other things.  But that does not change who and what He is.  Maybe we don’t understand why our prayers were answered contrary to our wishes or why our hopes and dreams didn’t turn out.  But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  Maybe we wonder how close or distant He seems.  But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  Maybe our lives are not where we thought they would be, or that somehow, the LORD did not figure it the same way we did.  But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  God may not always be what we want Him to be.  God may allow things that hurt rather than heal. But that doesn’t change who and what God is.  How we choose to think upon Him is a matter of faith.  Either we remember God for what He says He is and see manifestations of what He says He is, or we choose to trust our own perception and reasoning.  Either way, that doesn’t change who and what God is.  The Psalmist chooses to sweetly think of God.  He chooses to be grateful rather than anything else.  He makes a promise to his own heart that as he lay down to sleep, he will recollect all the good that has come from God and all the bad from which He delivered him.  How we choose to think on God goes a long way in how we experience life.

Divine Consideration

“Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.” (Ps 103:13-14 AV)

Every parent has done this.  We have forgotten how fragile our children can be.  Whether we were rough-housing and an injury ensued, or we said an unkind thing that our child took very personally, we forget just how human we are.  God does not.  And the reality that He is who He is yet does not forget the nature of our existence is a miracle in and of itself.  It is verse fourteen that truly speaks to the heart this morning.  When we consider just how big God is and how inconsequential we are, it should strike us with awe that our Creator knows and remembers just how small and frail we are.  Just imagine a God who is so large that all the created universe cannot contain Him.  That is what Solomon tells us.  Not imagine how small we must be in comparison.  Much like a scientist who would look at a single-celled organism, we are infinitesimally small in comparison to the LORD.  Yet, He takes pity on us.

A humbling thought is how much our Creator regards us and treats us with respect.  He does not need to do this.  He is God.  All honor and respect go to Him.  As Creator, He can do as He wishes with what He creates.  When it comes to sentient beings like mankind, he regards our low estate.  He sees us exactly as we are and treats us with love and respect.  That is mind-blowing.  A delicate touch is necessary for certain tasks.  The artist who works with Japanese rice paper needs to be delicate.  A craftsman working with centuries-old ceramic as repairs are made works slowly and patiently.  The zookeeper who is tasked with managing a rare and delicate butterfly will do all he or she can to create an environment where the creature can thrive.  A baker making a souffle will watch it carefully.  He or she does not allow for any vibration lest the souffle fall.  A house of cards goes up patiently and slowly.  There is respect for that which is weaker and more fragile.

We can take great comfort in that the God of all things sees us as the delicate and fragile beings that we are.  He knows exactly what we are made of and what we can tolerate.  The promise of pity, however, only applies to those who love Him and obey Him.  He withholds more than we can handle because we fall upon our faces toward One who is infinitely greater.  When we show the respect due our Creator, then He remembers our frame and takes pity.  What a great God we serve and love!

Sin and the Sin of Unbelief

“And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou [art] a man of God, [and] that the word of the LORD in thy mouth [is] truth.” (1Ki 17:24 AV)

Many speculate that unbelief was the sin of the widow that she believed caused the near-death experience of her son.  That might be close.  While during a time of divinely sent drought and famine, the LORD sent Elijah to a widow woman.  This widow had only enough meal and oil left in her house to feed her and her son.  She was gathering sticks to make this food when Elijah commanded her to fix him a cake from what she had first.  He promised that while she did, her meal and oil would miraculously perpetually sustain.  She obeyed, and the LORD provided.  The Bible is silent on how long Elijah was with the widow before her son fell ill.  The scriptures use the term ‘many days’.  Suffice it to say, the miracle of perpetual supply could not be discarded.  Yet it is said she had a heart of unbelief.  This is supported by her profession of faith above.  There was something she was missing even though she lived in the present reality of a miracle.  I can understand this.

There are those saints who believe that when it comes to God’s grace, there are limits based on past sin.  I have ministered to many who refuse to believe God’s grace is infinite.  They hang on to some sin of the past that limits their belief in God’s mercy.  They believe God is gracious enough to save them.  They may even believe God is merciful enough to do some things.  Yet they hang on to their guilt as would rather assume God’s grace is limited rather than hope in an eternally gracious God.  More times that one would think, I have sat in my office with someone who was so despondent that they didn’t think God would answer.  The were in a perpetual state of self-destruction that refused to call out for mercy because they truly thought there was none left.  All one has to do is to read the book of Judges to understand just how merciful God is.  We have all been there.  We have messed up to a point that we think God will never forgive.  We begin to think we have worn out the red carpet of mercy and grace.  We think that God did some miracles in the past, but the mistakes of the present are simply too much for God’s grace to overcome.

When we look at the widow, we see someone who was hanging onto guilt over sin.  She did not believe Elijah could raise her son.  Or, better yet, she believed he could, but probably wouldn’t.  Why else would she call for him?  If she truly believed God’s grace had run out and all she could hope for His a never-ending supply, then why call the prophet of God?  Obviously, she did what she knew was the only thing to do.  She called for the man of God, knowing that he could resurrect her son.  As to whether God would do it or not, that was a completely different story.  We are not advocating that we act in presumption toward the grace of God.  Not one little bit.  If we are presumptuous, then there is no grace to be had.  On the other hand, if we are truly desperate and acknowledge our faults, God will manifest His grace and mercy toward His children.  He can do no other.

Hungers Change

“Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Mt 5:6 AV)

What a promise!  For those who know the LORD and hate sin, this is for what we pray.  We are tired of the old man having his time with us.  We are tired of losing battles.  The flesh is beyond a mere annoyance.  The heart is our worst enemy.  The devil and the world pale in comparison to the wickedness that dwells within.  The Holy Spirit attempts to convict and empower.  But more times that we care to admit, our choice falls on the wrong side.  Paul knew of this battle intimately.  Even toward the end of his life and ministry, he sorrowed after his failures.  His flesh gave him more problems that he cared to recount.  He called this battle the body of death.  It was a daily and constant struggle between righteousness and selfishness.  So, the saint lays his head down each and every night begging God to radically change him into the perfectly righteous child He deserves.  He dreams of heaven wherein righteousness dwells.  He speaks of his glorification wherein the LORD will permanently transform him into the image of His holy Son.  All the battles seem easier to bear when seen through the promise of eternity!

But there must be a hunger for it.  A hunger is not a natural craving.  That is what sin is.  Rather, the hunger for righteousness must be developed.  Remember those days of childhood when we wanted nothing but the sweet?  Cookies, ice cream, candy, etc.  We lived on it.  If it wasn’t sweet, we were not interested.  As we grew older, we developed a taste for healthier alternatives.  An excellent salad sounds a lot better than a sugar-infused main dish.  A good batch of roasted cauliflower sounds much better than brown sugar and green beans.  The savory is more appealing than the sweet.  I was not a fan of seafood.  Frozen fish sticks and tuna were as far as I went.  Any other fish reminded me of my father’s obsession with canned salmon.  But a funny thing happened.  I grew up!  I had stuffed orange roughy, shrimp with cocktail sauce, and some fried clams.  No pun intended, but I was hooked.  Soon I was trying lobster, crawdads, and clams.  I developed a taste for them.  I grew a hunger for them.

Righteousness is contrary to our nature.  If we are to have any hunger for it at all, it has to be developed.  The more we reject sin and strive after righteousness, the more we should hunger for it.  Circumstances from sin are a good way to have a distaste for it.  The key is to grow a hunger for righteousness by continually striving after it.  There is a promise of righteousness for those who hunger for it.  So never stop wanting to do right!

What Works May Not Work

“And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name [was] Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up [his] hand against the king. And this [was] the cause that he lifted up [his] hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, [and] repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam [was] a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.” (1Ki 11:26-28 AV)

Solomon made two major errors.  At the inception of his kingdom, he allied himself in business and marriage with the pagan nations around him.  This came back to bite him hard.  To please his wives, he worshipped their gods and built temples for their gods.  He also built high places of worship which drew Israel out of the temple.  We see his other major blunder above.  His pragmatism nullified his discernment.  He saw an industrious young man who made good on everything he touched.  He governed the ten northern tribes for Solomon and increased the kingdom many times over.  Yet Solomon could not see the pride of his heart.  He could not see that this young, ambitious man would use his drive and success to eventually topple the kingdom.  Solomon’s pragmatism was his strength.  But it was also his weakness.  If it worked, then it must be right.  He married strange wives because it avoided warfare and enriched both Israel and their neighbors.  He employed Jeroboam because he knew what he was doing and his ambition would benefit the crown.  Both calculations were off.  Integrity and character matter more the results.

Ambition can blind the mind’s eye to bigger issues.  How often is this tale told?  So many through the annuls of history have proven over and again that pride in accomplishment often tarnishes the end result.  There was Napolean who invaded Russia but lacked the wisdom to understand how difficult Russian winters were.  Hilter followed suit.  Not content to continue westward, he turned eastward and failed in the same way as his French predecessor did.  This tendency is not limited to military pursuits.  How many famous people have sullied their accomplishments because they could not control other impulses?  Time and again, successful people lose all accolades because of a lapse of judgment.  But what happened to Solomon was more than a mere lapse of judgment.  It was deliberate.  He deliberately chose a more pragmatic rather than principled way.  He chose what worked rather than what was right.  Would he have arrived at the same end?  We will never know.  But what we do know is that Jeroboam split the kingdom and made Baal the god of the north.

I’ll have to admit, sometimes it is easier to plug a hole than to wait in the right situation.  In the ministry, we are tempted to do so all the time.  It is not advisable.  It is better to suffer a need than to fill a need with the wrong person.  Solomon was a very wise person.  Reading the book of Proverbs proves this to be true.  But the thing about that book that people do not consider is that the truths are generally true.  They are not true all the time.  They are patterns that tend to repeat themselves and not absolute laws that are always followed.  They are observations.  They are not absolute.  Proverbs are pragmatic advice that works out far more than it doesn’t work out.  But it is no guarantee.  That being said, one can see how a pragmatic king can make unwise choices.  He compares the odds and makes the wisest choice based on the predicted outcome.  This is superficial reasoning.  What it does not consider are the intangibles.  The things that cannot be seen, like the hidden pride of a subordinate.  Does that mean that pragmatism has no place?  Not so.  It has a major place.  Just not the only place.

Knowing One's Own Heart

“What prayer and supplication soever be [made] by any man, [or] by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:” (1Ki 8:38 AV)

The Spirit led me to consider the phrase ‘the plague of his own heart’. I thought it was an interesting and very accurate description of our wickedness.  In particular, the word ‘plague’ struck me as very important.  In the Hebrew, the word means spot or disease.  When we think of a plague, we think of things like the black plague or leprosy.  We think of horrible disease that spreads quickly and takes many lives.  So, when the saint dwells on the phrase, he is faced with the unpalatable truth that our hearts are diseased and wicked.  We are full of sin.  Like a plague, it spreads and destroys.  But what also was pertinent are two other truths associated with a sick heart.  The first is that it is known.  It is known by the one possessing it.  The soul is moved to act upon the revelation that his heart is plagued with wickedness and sin.  It is a truth he would rather not consider.  To see it with the mind's eye and the heart of conviction is beyond uncomfortable.  This then reveals the second truth.  It drives him to prayer.  He cannot live with the sickness of his heart.  He must go to the only one who can give forgiveness and heal the sick heart.  The only one who can free from sin is God.

To truly know the plague of our own hearts is not an easy endeavor.  There is a common reaction when speaking to the lost regarding the nature of their hearts and souls.  Being newly saved, I shared the following verse to people close to me. “But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isa 64:6 AV) I remember the reaction.  They were incredulous.  How dare anyone tell them that they were completely and wholly wicked! After all, they knew they sinned, but when compared to their estimation of themselves, they were basically a good person.  That is not what the Bible says.  This happened again while knocking on doors.  An individual could not accept the face of total wickedness in the soul.  After all, they were not nearly as bad as the worst criminals known to man.  To know the plague of one's own heart takes humility and honesty.  It takes examination of the heart against the words of God’s law.  I remember the first time I read the entire bible from start to finish.  I never felt so dirty in my life.

To say that our hearts are plagued is a great description.  What matters is our response.  Solomon knew the nature of the human heart better than anyone.  This is why he wanted a permanent place of worship.  We wanted a predictable and secure place to which the spiritually unclean Hebrew could go.  He wanted a place was the penitent saint could find mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  Note also that the penitent will not go to the temple until he knows the plague of his heart.  That knowledge is of his own heart and not the heart of others.  Of course, we know how sinful other people are.  This is obvious.  The issue we have in knowing just how sin-sick our own hearts are.  The place of worship was built for those who came to the ugly truth of their own wickedness and wished to get right with God.  That is the whole point of our walk with God.  It must be established by faith and obedience.  The plague of our own hearts is the greatest hindrance to this.  It is time to do some radical heart surgery and treatment.  Knowing the condition of it is the start.

Wisdom Is Only As Good As Its Weakest Point

“And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.” (1Ki 5:12 AV)

It doesn’t escape the mind that God kept his word yet Solomon didn’t use God’s provision to the fullest.  This chapter of First Kings tells of Solomon’s ability to set up a kingdom of influence and peace.  There has never been a time like Solomon’s time.  He could control all the kings of his enemies.  Mostly through diplomacy and shared commerce.  He could frame hostility as a financially and humanly wasteful way.  He built trade partnerships with his neighbors needed to build the temple.  What follows in chapter six is the description of the temple as Solomon gave direction to build it.  In many ways, Solomon used the wisdom God gave.  Yet, in all his wisdom, he couldn’t discipline the flesh.  It was his flesh that caused great harm to the people of Israel.  It was this one area of weakness that had more impact on Israel than all the wise arrangements he made with his enemies.  Wisdom is only as good as the weakest area.  This is one lesson Solomon did not learn.

The following is an AI generated overview of the Mars Climate Orbiter disaster: The Mars Climate Orbiter was lost in 1999 due to a critical unit conversion error where Lockheed Martin engineers provided thruster data in English units (pound-seconds) while NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory navigation team assumed the data was in metric units (newton-seconds). This mismatch caused the spacecraft to approach Mars 60 km (37 miles) closer than planned, plunging it too deeply into the Martian atmosphere where it burned up on September 23, 1999, after a 286-day journey. Cost of Loss: The mission cost $125 million (some sources cite a total program cost of $327 million). Technical Failure: The onboard software calculated trajectory corrections based on 4.45 times less force than intended because the software interpreted the English pound-force values as metric newtons. Systemic Issues: The error went undetected because quality control procedures failed to catch the discrepancy during the nine-month flight, despite warning signs that the spacecraft required more course corrections than expected. Consequences: The loss prevented the orbiter from serving as a radio relay for the Mars Polar Lander, forcing mission planners to rely on the existing Mars Global Surveyor instead.

Looking at the overall project and the amount of intelligence required just to get the Orbiter off the ground and to Mars is beyond comprehension.  Kudos to the men and women who did all the work to make this happen.  Very smart people indeed.  Yet it all went for naught because of one small flaw.  All the wisdom required to make this project happen was undone by one and only one factor.  This is how wisdom works.  Wisdom in one area does not mean wisdom is automatic in all areas.  We tend to live this way.  We are successfully smart is some or most areas of life and think it to be sufficient to cover all areas of life.  We may be great in academics, but lack discipline is self-control.  We may be great in separation standards of outward appearance, but accept worldly entertainment as a release.  We may be disciplined in our personal hygiene, yet overeat.  Wisdom is a complete package.  Not a partial one.  Solomon learned this the hard way.  Humility and constant self-examination are the keys.  Solomon forgot this.  He may have even used his gift of wisdom in ways that solved a short-term goal, but failed in the long game.  Marrying Pharaoh’s daughter may have ended conflict and opened trade, but it also introduced paganism.  Wisdom is an entire concern.  Not only those areas that seem easy to address.

The Prayer of the Second-generation Saint

“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I [am but] a little child: I know not [how] to go out or come in.” (1Ki 3:7 AV)

This struck me as a perfect prayer for the second-generation Christian.  David learned much in the school of hard knocks.  He went from a Shepard boy to a victorious king by way of very difficult experiences.  His wisdom came by sword and by swagger.  David learned much the hard way.  His experiences from nothing to something were the greatest asset he had.  Solomon, on the other hand, grew up in the palace of a king.  By the time Solomon was grown into adulthood, the vast majority of Israel’s enemies were conquered.  There were not too many battles left.  David cleaned up a mess left by Saul and disobedient Israel.  He established Israel as the major kingdom of the middle east.  This was no small feat.  From the killing of a lion and bear to save his flock, to Goliath, to the Philistines; David fought many battles so Solomon did not have to.  This is the wisdom behind Solomon’s prayer.  He knew he never had the experiences of his father nor would he ever have them.  He would never know what it was like to personally wield a sword at the enemy.  He would never know what it was like to flee from your enemy and hide in caves.  He would never know the weariness of a battle too big for anyone but God.  He grew up protected from the world, and because of it, he lacked much experience.  This gives explanation to his view that he is but a little child.

It takes a great deal of maturity and humility to see one’s own weaknesses.  The pride of our youthful hearts demand we learn the same lessons our parents learned in much the same manner as they did.  This often results in greater consequences than our parents suffered.  It is God’s design to use the experiences and knowledge of former generations to teach the newer generations.  The plethora of knowledge should increase.  But that is not always the case.  The more we learn the less we know.  How else do we explain great wars of each generation?  We simply do not learn the lessons our forefathers learned.  We don’t accept their wisdom and guidance so that we can be further ahead than they were.  Solomon looked at his father.  He saw a great man whom God used.  He knew his father had made some serious mistakes.  He knew he didn’t want to make the same ones.  So, he asked for the wisdom of his forefathers.  This is great, but for one unfortunate truth.

For all of Solomon’s wisdom, he committed two serious errors that began the downfall of Israel.  He married non-Jewish wives for the sake of diplomacy.  He also established extra-temple worship on the high places.  It would be the Egyptian wives and wives from pagan nations that would steer Solomon’s heart from God to false gods.  His reluctance from the sword and attraction toward diplomacy is what drove him.  He learned much.  The book of proverbs is a testament to the wisdom God granted.  But he also ignored much.  The second-generation Christian who knows the testimony of his parents will do well to learn the lessons their bruises teach.  David had many battle scars.  Each one told a story.  Each one was a lesson for Solomon to learn.  The scars of the first-generation Christ often run deep.  But praise be to God that we can pass those experiences on to a generation that wishes to learn.

Our Condescending God

“Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.” (2Sa 22:36 AV)

That word, ‘gentleness’ is very interesting.  One dictionary states that the word means meekness.  Meekness is strength under restraint.  Still another states that it means condescension.  Putting the two together, we see that the gentleness of God is His attribute by which He comes down to the level of those whom He loves and intercedes in a way that they can thrive.  Two major events precipitated this passage of scripture.  The verse above is part of a psalm or song David wrote toward the end of his reign.  Joshua had made a treaty with the Gibeonites many decades prior.  Since that time, they were hewers of wood and servants of Israel.  Saul, wishing to impress Israel, broke the treaty and began to exterminate the Gibeonites.  God brought famine on the land because of this.  David, once he was established as king, enquired as to what the Gibeonites would require to make this right.  Seven male descendants were to be executed.  Five were sons of Michal, David’s first wife and daughter of Saul.  The second event was the decisive victory God had given Israel over the Philistines.  This battle would forever nullify the threat these people were toward God’s people.  David was finally at rest.  Perhaps the meekness to which David is referring has to do with the LORD refraining from more severe punishment following Bathsheba and the death of his four sons.  Regardless, that for which David is deeply grateful is that God would condescend to men of low report.  He was eternally grateful that God would care enough to be involved in his life.  The gentleness of God has enlarged David, and it was God’s salvation for which he was truly thankful.

What we must consider this morning is the relationship between the shield of salvation and the gentleness of God’s hand.  Note the colon between the two phrases.  That means the second half expounds on the first.  God’s salvation is brought by His gentleness.  This is truly evident in the incarnation of Christ and His death on the cross.  God came down to man.  God did not require man to come up to Him.  He came down to earth, took on the form of a man, lived perfectly according to the law, and was sacrificed for our sins.  What meekness!  What gentleness!  God’s gentleness does not stop at Calvary.  It continues for all eternity.  This is where the shield of salvation comes in.  Just this morning, as I was taking my time driving down the road, it gave me some time to reflect.  We are going through a challenging time.  And things are not going to get any better.  As we age and disease progresses, the challenges will increase and become more severe.  Life changes are going to happen at a more dramatic and quicker pace.  There is not taking for granted another decade or year.  If we are not careful, we will allow the difficulties of life to rob us of the joy which we should have in Jesus.

So, the thought came by way of the Holy Spirit that I am truly grateful for the life God had given.  But even more so, the eternal life I have been given.  There is no basis for complaint.  None.  God doesn’t owe us anything.  The life we have been given is merely a step into glorious eternal life.  If we have nothing at all, we have more than we need in the person of our Creator.  He didn’t have to condescend by way of creation.  He didn’t have to make anyone.  The fact that He gives life and then redeems life is far more blessed than any adversity we might face.  David’s use of the word ‘great’ isn’t the same as how we might understand it today.  The word ‘great’ means enlarged.  David may be speaking of his reign.  But he might also be speaking of his inner blessedness.  I think it is the latter.  Being grateful is one of the keys to David’s contentment.  God is good.  All the time!  The fact that He desires to create mankind and then be involved with mankind is too wonderful for the humble soul.

Fall Down!

“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”  (Ps 95:6 AV)

I don’t think we appreciate the dynamic of God as Creator nearly as much as we should.  Rebellion, even among God’s people, is out of control.  What we think, how we feel, or what we desire is king.  It astounds me how many who profess God as their God and Christ as their Savior and LORD do not care what His word says.  It is even more astounding how many profess a faith in God yet hold Him on trial for everything they think is not Godlike.  There is no fear of God anymore.  There is little humility and gratitude.  God owes us.  That is the feeling today.  If our lives are not as we wish, then God is not fair.  If we see the world in turmoil and the innocent abused, it is God’s fault and not the fault of wicked mankind.  God is the Creator.  We exist by His wishes and power.  We have the ability to reason and verbalize our rebellion because God gives us the breath of life.  As Solomon states, “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, [is] from the LORD.” (Pr 16:1 AV) We live and move and have our being, as Paul states, by the sovereign hand of God.  The least we could do is acknowledge His existence and right to all that He has created by bowing down in worship.

Those who walk with God in sincerity and truth look forward to the day when we fall down at the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Those who love the LORD cannot imagine any other scenario where we don’t fall down for all of eternity and never look up.  To fail to have that heart as we walk as pilgrims is confusing, convicting, and not desirable.  Those who fall down and worship are not perfect.  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  In fact, often just the opposite.  Remember those who washed the feet of Jesus?  Remember how the Pharisees failed to wash the feet of Jesus, and a lowly woman of questionable character wept, washing his feet with tears and anointing his feet with the best that she had?  It doesn’t take a sinless heart to worship.  Just a broken one.  Many who know of true worship are not stellar examples of Christlikeness.  The thing is, unlike the Pharisees, they know it.  It is one thing to live unbroken and unbroken.  It is quite another to live broken and broken.

David was by no means a perfect man.  He made many mistakes.  He occasioned the death of tens of thousands.  Poor choices and disobedience left a wake of hurt behind him.  Yet, he never forgot that God was his maker.  He never walked in pride.  He may not have been able to completely tame the flesh, but his heart was broken every time he failed.  This psalm is written to Israel.  The creation of which the writer speaks is the creation of Israel as a nation.  But God’s creative hand was not limited to a nation.  He created and creates all things.  You and I are here because our Creator made us.  He is all-powerful.  He is all-wise.  He sees everything, and no one or nothing can hinder His hand.  With a God who is infinite in attributes and actions, only a fool would not fall down and worship.  We may not understand all that He does.  In our limited ability to observe and understand, we may think God is not who He claims to be.  Regardless, He is still the Creator.  It doesn’t matter what we think or how we feel.  He is the Creator, and the first response to His existence is to fall down in humility and worship Him as such.

The Bearer of Good News

“Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath avenged him of his enemies. And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead.” (2Sa 18:19-20 AV)

“And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed [be] the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king. And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, and [me] thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what [it was].” (2Sa 18:28-29 AV)

There is great wisdom in what Ahimaaz did.  It was customary for certain pages to relay certain types of news.  There were pages that relayed good news.  There were others who relayed bad news.  Cushi was the page of bad news.  He was the one whom Joab wished to send alone.  However, it seems Ahimaaz knew how David would take the news of Absalom’s death and wished to cushion the blow with good news.  This is further evidenced by exactly what it was that Ahimaaz told David.  Note in particular that Ahimaaz knew of Absalom’s death by way of Joab’s testimony.  He may not have seen the incident nor witnessed Absalom’s burial.  He knew of Absalom’s death as secondhand information.  Therefore, when he shared the news of a battle won, he was not lying to David regarding his knowledge of Absalom.  Ahimaaz knew his job well.  He knew his job was to encourage the king when adversity was on the way.  Adversity is part of life.  Those who encourage in the light of impending adversity are much needed.

I have been in enough hospitals to know the value of this.  There are healthcare workers who have good news.  There are healthcare workers who have bad news.  When a therapist comes to help work muscles, or a occupational therapist comes in the room to teach new skills; these blessed people bring good news.  But when an oncologist enters the room, especially for the first time, there may not be good news.  When someone from the nutritional department comes in to help plan a menu, this is generally good news.  When an orderly comes in to take you to imagining, it might not be good news.  A few months back, my wife was getting an infusion.  She needs supplemental hydration following her cancer treatment.  It is difficult for her when they need to put an IV in.  It often takes someone from imaging to come with an ultrasound machine to find a workable vein.  This is a painful process because her veins are hard to get to.  In walked a gentleman from an organization that shares flower bouquets with patients who are having a difficult time.  That month happened to be the month they ministered to my wife.  The flowers came before the imaging team came.  Good news before bad.

Ahimaaz knew how to soften the blow of what was coming.  He could have risen up in pride because he knew something David wanted to know.  He could have practiced ‘one-up-manship’ by sharing the news of the death of Absalom.  However, he knew his duty.  He knew what it was that he did best.  He knew that David needed to hear the good news before he heard the bad news.  Ahimaaz ministered to his king well.  Perhaps the LORD is asking you to be that one who softens the blow of some hard news that is on its way.  Perhaps you are the one who needs to show someone the bright side of an otherwise dark experience.  Maybe your words of encouragement will get someone through and impossible situation.  We know how David reacted to Absalom’s death.  One has to wonder how much worse it would have been if David was not first encouraged before he was discouraged.

What Happened to Tamar?

“And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he [is] thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.” (2Sa 13:20 AV) 

I wonder what happened to Tamar when Absalom rebelled.  I feel sorry for Tamar.  She was forced and rejected by her half-brother.  Her brother shows compassion by taking her into his home.  Then he rebels against their father, the king.  He must flee to his grandfather and leaves Tamar behind in Jerusalem.  Two men used her.  A half-brother and a brother.  The brother was far more subtle.  He used the injustice toward his sister to commit insurrection which he probably had in his heart already.  If he really cared for Tamar, he would not have tried to take the throne from the duly and divinely anointed king of Israel.  Rebellion fails to see a greater responsibility while pursuing the desires of the heart.  Absalom’s duty was to protect and provide for his sister.  Once banished and eventually dead, he could do neither.  Absalom’s sin was founded on the false idea of a greater good.  He believed exacting justice and fleeing was a greater good than to care for his sister.  In the wake of his rebellion, Absalom left a family and a sister behind.  For what?

Absalom’s fault was not in executing his half-brother for raping his sister.  The bible tells us that David was comforted by the death of his criminal son.  Why Absalom did not return and make it good with his father is not immediately known.  What we do know is that when Absalom returned to Jerusalem, he sat in the gate and judged the people.  We can surmise that Absalom did not return to Jerusalem upon executing justice because, in his heart, he had no respect for his father.  Perhaps he resented his father because he felt that David should have been the one to exercise justice and not leave it to his son.  But that begs a question.  Why does justice need to be as swift as Absalom wanted?  It didn’t.  The law allowed half-siblings to marry as long as they forfeit their inheritance.  Perhaps David was working the situation to that end.  Who knows?  There is a lot of detail missing.  We don’t know what was going on behind the scenes.  Nor can we perfectly discern the hearts of David or Absalom.  What we do know is that Absalom’s rebellion failed to take care of his obligation towards Tamar.  Once David had passed, one has to wonder what ever became of poor Tamar.  A victim of one man’s lust and another’s rebellion.

When man is bent on a course of action, he will justify it with a greater good.  The greater good is not a greater good.  It is an excuse.  Absalom was so bent on rebellion that he did an equal injustice to his sister as his half-brother did.  He abandoned her for his own ambition.  Perhaps he believed he would not be denied the throne and thus could care for Tamar.  But someone who acts in rebellion never considers failure.  He feigns compassion for his sister.  He feigns an elevated sense of justice where it concerns his sister, Tamar.  It is hugely ironic that Absalom sits and judges Israel according to the law, yet commits insurrection contrary to it.  He follows the law as a means of breaking it.  This morning, I was impressed by how calloused Absalom was toward his sister once rebellion was stirred.  He claimed love and compassion for her enough to welcome her into his home and take care of her every need.  Yet, he would not sacrifice his rebellion for the sake of someone he professes to care for.