Your Comforts Delight My Soul

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He is unemployed, laid off from a good job. The unemployment checks are no longer coming in. He continues to apply for work wherever and whenever he can. He hears over and over, “not qualified, over qualified, the position you are seeking is now filled.”

He sits at the kitchen table with bills covering it. He plants his elbows down on the table, resting his head in the palms of his hands. His fingers massage his forehead as he closes his eyes. “God, how do I do this?” he questions in his thoughts.

She stares fearfully at the pink slip of paper in her hand. Tears fill her eyes as she opens the door, slips behind the steering wheel, then closes the door. She grips the back of her head with her hand and straightens herself in the seat tilting her head back. “God, “ she thinks, “What am I going to do now?”

A mother and father are standing at the bedside of their only child. The stinging words of the doctor rings in each of their thoughts, “I am so sorry.” They embrace as the tears begin to fall and the soft sobbing begins. “God,” the father thinks, “I don't understand.”

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28 KJV),” the Master promises. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33 KJV).”

The bills may remain unpaid. The sickness may need to be endured. Make no mistake about it, death will come. Maybe you are thinking, asking silently, “God, how do I do this? Why is this happening?” Believe it or not, He cares. Believe it or not, He waits to flood you with compassion. But in Him there is peace, for He is the Prince of Peace.

If you know Him, come. If you do not know Him, come. You see, this one thing I know, “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul (Ps. 94:19 NKJV).”

God Knows Me

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"The LORD knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:6 AMP)."


Such a powerful promise from God though exciting, also causes me to search deeper into the though that God could know me. Out of all the billions of people who have walked this planet, God could know even me!


I wrote of how God knows the course of life the righteous take in my last post, Road Walked On - Digging Into the Psalms. I wrote of how God will appoint the course of life for the righteous. Yet as I was thinking about it later, I was led to this passage of scripture:


"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23 KJV)."


The words of Jesus, "I never knew you" are an attention grabber! It's obvious from this passage of scripture these people knew the name of Jesus. It's obvious they professed to know who he was. It's obvious they had accomplished many great works through the name of Jesus. By all appearances these people should be considered righteous; right? Yet Jesus said, "I never knew you."


We call him Lord. We know his name; Jesus. We build magnificent buildings in his name. We write, play, and sing many wonderful songs in his name. We make profession after profession of faith in his name. We prophesy in his name. We pray for healing and deliverance in his name. Yet does he know us?


Who is it whom God knows? He knows those who do the will of the Father. What is the will of the Father? Bearing fruit. "When you bear (produce) much fruit, my Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine (John 15:8 AMP)." Jesus spoke of bearing fruit again and again during his ministry. He spoke of sending reapers into the harvest to gather fruit unto eternal life (John 4:36). The fruit we are to bear is the souls we harvest for the kingdom of God.


We possess the power to be witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8). We are commissioned to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). The course of world events has sparked an intense interest in eschatology. The fruit is ripe. The harvest is ready. Are there reapers willing to work to bring in the fruit of the harvest?


God give me a burden, a passion to share Christ with all. Lord, help me to be a branch which bears fruit. I want to be known of God. I don't want to stand before him and hear him say, "I don't know you."


God bless...

Fate of the Wicked - Digging Into the Psalms

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We love blessings. They make us happy. The promise to be blessed is a positive force with the power to brighten our day. Yet as we journey we must also deal with the negatives presented in the Scriptures. They should serve as warnings, and should cause us to evaluate our relationship with our Creator.

We've been thrilled by the promise of multiple blessings for the godly, who delight themselves in the Law of the Lord, but there's an opposite. Where there are the godly, there must also be the ungodly. Let's look at Psalm 1:4 (KJV):

"The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away."

Chaff is the debris separated from the grain during threshing. Chaff is a material that is completely worthless. The grain is to be saved. The chaff is to be turned into compost or destroyed. The godly are saved like the grain. The ungodly aren't.

Here's how the prophet Isaiah describes the fate of the ungodly:

"You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy LORD God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot and your blossoms will turn to dust (Isaiah 5:24 Contemporary English Version)."

What a contrast this is to the godly who are planted like trees by rivers of water! The ungodly are worthless chaff, and are destined for the fire. The ungodly reject the Law of the Lord. They take no delight in obeying God's commandments. Let's move on...

"Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous (Psalms 1:5 KJV)."

This is the ultimate fate of the ungodly. They are to be eternally separated from God and the godly. The ungodly will not be justified in the final judgment. The ungodly will stand before God without excuse. They don't have a place among the godly. They're out of their element if they try to stand among the congregation of the saints.

These are the words of Jesus Christ:

"The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire (Matthew 13:49-50 KJV)."

Sobering words to say the least. Do they make you think about your relationship with God? They should.

I can't stop here like this. God doesn't want any to perish. He desires for all humanity to come to repentance, changing their hearts and lives (2 Peter 3:9). For God so loved, he gave (John 3:16). What will you do now? God bless...

Rivers of Water - Digging Into the Psalms

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There is a river that flows from God above. There is a fountain that's filled with His great love. Come to this water. There is a vast supply. There is a river that never shall run dry (words by Max and David Sapp).


We looked into the word blessed in the first installment of this blog series. We learned how the word really means multiple blessings. We understand that the one who walks uprightly and delights in God's law is blessed with multiple blessings. What are these blessings?


"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalm 1:3 KJV)."


Every time I read the word river in the Bible, I can't help but think of the song "There Is A River", which is why I began this posting with a stanza of the song. The prophet Ezekiel writes of this river in Ezekiel chapter 47. The apostle John speaks of this river in Revelation 22:1-2.


Blessing number one:
The blessed one will be like a tree. Give a young sapling plenty of nutrients and water and it will become a solid, extremely difficult to move tree. Put that tree into our lifetime, into our neighborhoods, and it's even harder to take down. There are houses, outbuildings, powerlines, the neighbors property, among other things to deal with when removing trees today.


Blessing number two:
The tree is planted by rivers of water. I want you to take particular notice: this tree is planted by rivers, plural, rivers. The Hebrew word translated as river is derived from a primitive root meaning to split or divide! It's no mistake or coincidence the psalmist uses the plural rivers here. The tree, the one blessed, isn't blessed just once. The one blessed is blessed over and over!


Blessing number three:
This blessing also comes from the rivers. It's the water itself. A river is a continuous flowing supply of water. The water is constantly moving, constantly being refreshed. This constant supply of fresh water is a necessity for Christian growth and maturity. We must allow God to plant us in the water of his Spirit!


Blessing number four:
The tree will bear fruit in its season. A well-watered, strong Christian will bear fruit. I'm not talking about living the high life. I'm not talking the prosperity gospel. I'm not talking about how we act. I'm talking about winning souls! The one who is blessed will bear fruit. We will win souls!


Blessing number five:
The blessed tree will never lose its leaves. They will never wither, fade, or fall off the tree. It's an evergreen tree. How can this be? The blessed one is rooted in an everlasting supply of fresh water. The blessed one grows towards an everlasting sun. The blessed is planted in rivers of water, the Spirit. The one blessed doesn't need to rely on the natural sun to keep his 'leaves' green. Jesus Christ himself is the SUN!


The last blessing listed:
The blessed one will prosper in everything he or she does.I know sometimes it doesn't feel like we're prospering much. Sink your roots deep into the river of God and take in all the water you can get. Allow your branches to spread forth into the light of the Son. Keep drinking. Keep growing. Keep maturing. When your season comes, you will bear much fruit, and you'll bear fruit over and over! The blessing are multiple! God bless...

More of Psalms One

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In Let's Get Started Into the Palms, we took a close look at the man who walks in the council of the ungodly, stands in the way of sinners, and sits in the seat of the scornful. Psalms 1:1 (KJV) begins with the promise, "Blessed is the man". I like being blessed! Don't you? If we don't follow the plans and the purposes of the ungodly, if we don't submit to the ways and means where sinners walk, and if we don't join ourselves to those who disdain and mock the Way of the Lord, God promises to bless us with multiple blessings!


Now let's bring a contrast to the ungodly, scornful sinner...


"But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." (Psalms 1:2 KJV)


This is the description of the man who is blessed. Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and the rejoicing of mine heart (Jer. 15:16 KJV)."  A blessed man is happy! I could jump ahead to Psalm 119 and give a listing of the benefits in delighting ourselves in the Word. But I'd like to forge into the New Testament Epistles and establish the case for doing so.


No prophecy, not one word of the scriptures is of any private interpretation (2Pe. 1:20). The men who penned the Word wrote as they were moved on by the Holy Spirit (2Pe. 1:21). All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God (2Tim. 3:16). Therefore the Word, the Law of the Lord, is profitable to for us. It's good for doctrine, reproof, correction, and for instruction in the way of righteousness (2Tim. 3:16). The knowledge of exactly who God is and God's plan for humanity is contained in the Scriptures from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.


We're blessed today to have the Holy Bible, the written Word of God. When David penned the words of Psalm 1, he didn't have sixty-six books at his fingertips. He didn't have much more than the writings of Moses to delight himself in. Yet David was able to exclaim, "Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord!"


God's Word, the Scriptures, the Holy Bible should be the daily bread for every Christian believer. How much more should we delight in the Scriptures we have so readily available to us today? How much more should we make it a point to meditate in the Law of the Lord day and night? I ask you, is your delight in the Word of God? Do you take time to read and study such a God-given treasure to humanity? Does the Law of the Lord give you joy, causing your heart to rejoice? If it does, then my friend, you are blessed!


Next time we'll get into the details of the multiple blessings for the one who doesn't walk in counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners, sit in the seat of the scornful, but whose delight is in the Law of the Lord. Until then, God bless...

Let's Get Started Into the Psalms

A journey into the depths of The Book of Psalms offers us a bountiful supply of topics which touch on nearly every human experience. I started digging deeper into the Psalms while completing an intensive study on the topic of prayer. The Book of Psalms is known as the prayer book of the Bible. The Psalms were written as hymns to be used in the Jewish temple. The Psalms were also to be used to teach the people about the God they served. Let's get started...


Psalm 1 can be considered a preface psalm. The differences between the godly and the ungodly are laid out clearly. The godly are blessed, and the ungodly aren't. The final verse of Psalm 1 states the whole message of Christianity in a nutshell...


"For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psalms 1:6 KJV)."


Psalm 1:1 begins with great promise, "Blessed is the man." The word blessed comes from the Hebrew 'esher. It's a plural word, meaning multiple blessings or exceeding happiness. Now that's good stuff! Who doesn't like such a promise of blessing! But hold on, our promise turns to the negative rather quickly. Let's look at verse 1...


"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."


The verse rapidly dives into the counsel of the ungodly, the way of sinners, and the seat of the scornful. Take note of the grading, or steps, of sin given here. We start by walking in the counsel of the ungodly. We move ahead to standing with sinners. Then we reach the point of sitting with the scornful. How can this be?


Humanity goes from bad to worse when it chooses to live in sin. We start by thinking we want to be like everyone around us. We begin listening to the voices of those around us. "Go ahead, do it. You'll feel good." The sin is more practical than habitual at this stage. One gets careless and forgets God. It becomes easier and easier to give in to the temptation as we mover farther and farther away from God. We would do well to heed the advice of Proverbs 1:10 (KJV), "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."


When sinning becomes habitual, we've moved to the next stage. We're standing in the way with sinners. We're sinning by choice. Sinners standing in the way will call out for us to "Cast our lots in with them (Proverbs 1:14)." Again, we must heed the advice given to us in Proverbs 1:15 (KJV), "My son, walk thou not in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path."


Well, if we don't turn away from our sin, we'll get to the point of sitting in the seat of the scornful. We've reached the position of not just being sinners, but willfully calling out to and teaching others to sin. We disdain the commandments of God. We no longer have a fear of God. And to think all this started with a little temptation! Proverbs 1:22 tells us that the scorners delight in their scorning.


Don't give up hope! God calls out to us. He calls for us to repent, to turn away from sin, to change our hearts and our lives. If we will do so, God gives us this promise, "Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you (Proverbs 1:23 NKJV)."


I promise to get back to the positive and the promise of multiple blessing next time. Feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Until then, God bless...

Forgiven

"Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (Ps. 32:2 KJV)."

Psalm 32:2 is a continuation of the promise contained in the first verse. We learned in verse 1 of how happy is the one whose sins are forgiven. The second verse supports the promise of forgiveness given in verse 1. Verse 2 however, also contains a tremendous fundamental truth.

Psalms 32:1 says the one whose sin is forgiven and covered is blessed, or happy. Psalm 32:2 reinforces this by saying how happy the one is who God doesn't count their sin against them. The powerful truth lies in the words, "unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity."

How many times do we approach the altar and repent for the same sin we commit over and over? Why does this happen? We confess our sin to Christ at the altar, and by faith we believe God has granted forgiveness. We leave the altar feeling good and happy (Ps. 32:1). After a few moments, minutes, hours, or days, something happens.

The enemy of our soul can't stand us believing God's forgiven us. The forgiveness of sin, or remission of sin comes only through the covering of the blood of Jesus Christ. The moment we're covered, Satan loses power. He's rebuked by the blood of Christ. How much time passes from repentance to remembrance?

The devil begins to throw forgiven sin back in our face. We begin feeling the guilt associated with the sin all over again. We start beating ourselves up over it, and before long, we give up and give in, committing the same sin again. We return to the altar and start the circular process all over.

Psalm 32:2 is a direct response to this exact situation. It's a promise of truth saying those whom God has forgiven he will not hold their sin against them. Sin that's covered by the blood of Christ is gone, no longer in existence. That my friends is the tremendous truth contained in Psalm 32:2.

When Satan begins to attack, calling sin to your remembrance, fight back with the words of Psalm 32:2. Rejoice and be exceeding glad! God has forgiven our sin! God no longer holds the sin against us! The sin is gone! God bless...

In My Distress I Will Call On the Lord

In My distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears (Psalms 18:6 NKJV).

In my distress I called on the Lord. What an amazing inspiration this statement should be. Let's dig into this concept of calling on the Lord.

Distress
The word distress is used as a noun. The Hebrew word translated as distress literally means a narrow or tight place. The modern definition of distress is the state of being in serious trouble or in mental or physical anguish.

When things go seriously wrong, it does feel like the world is closing in on you. When you're suffering in mental or physical agony it can become the only thing you focus on. That's a narrow or tight place to be in.

I Call On the Lord
We do have the Lord to cry out to when we get into the tight place of trouble. Instead of crying out to God after we're in serious trouble we should consider calling on Him at the first sign of distress.

Our God will hear us when we cry out to Him. The sound of our voice will reach His ears in the throne room of His habitation in Heaven. God promises us that while we are speaking the words of our prayers He will hear them (Isaiah 65:24).

I would encourage everyone today, including myself, to cry out to God in our distress. He will hear our prayers in His holy temple of heaven. When God hears our prayer, sooner or later, He will respond.