Perhaps we endeavor to think back over our lives. We undertake a dangerous proposition if we are not careful. What segments do we emphasize? What do we magnify? Can I really review my past accurately? Am I happy with it, or regretting my exercise? Paul, the Apostle, spoke of forgetting what is behind, pressing on to what is still coming — in Philippians 3:13. We do well to take his advise. A believer in Christ can err in his or her evaluations due to a complex makeup in Adam. They may live in confusion regarding ideals. For example, some have convictions from God’s Word that bring tremendous security to their lives. But, other Christians are fighting for their salvation. Some have had sound teachers, others are self taught or have had immature leaders as examples. It means that God’s process of making them like Christ’ has not been completed yet.…
Healing at the Cross Posts
“But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” Psalm 3:3 Heads need a lifting often because, “…they are increased that trouble me! The opposition thickens and becomes a myriad squeezing in on me. They assemble and try to convince me that God will not help me. (my paraphrase).Psalm 3:1-3 They gang up on me. They magnify the pressure. They try to load on my shoulders what only God could carry. It can be a shocking thing to realize a true enemy. David, and this is extremely sad, had to acknowledge his own son as his enemy. Author of Psalm 3, David faced a “no-win” situation; defeat the enemy — lose your son; or, concede to that enemy– lose your kingdom. This combination weighed down the head, persecuted hope, pushed depression, drove despair. However: 2 Samuel 16 tells a unique story. As…
The subject of Biblical testing at the initiation of God is one of fleeting understanding. In fact, this author wrote a short commentary on “Job” a few years ago, only to wander, today, if there was any accuracy in the insight. I am thinking of writing a revision. I had discussed “Sense evaluation” as a target of God’s testing, which I still hold to be true. God’s servant in Isaiah 11: 3, judged not “after the sight of his eyes, neither reproved after the hearing of his ears.” — a prophetic passage pointing to Christ. The reference refers to temporal thinking which, again, God targets for exposure and ultimate removal. God seeks to orient us to the eternal. Our degree of Spiritual content through the intake of God’s Word reveals itself in the trial. In his booklet, “When Testings Come,” Dr. Carl H. Stevens writes that in tests. “God watches six…
” In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways.” Judges 5:6 Matthew Henry makes an observation about what this verse meant: First it meant “No trade. For want of soldiers to protect men of business in their business from the incursions of the enemy, and for want of magistrates to restrain and punish thieves and robbers among them (men of broken fortunes and desperate spirits, that, having no employment, took to rob on the highroad)….” Secondly, “No travelling. Whereas in times when there was some order and government the travellers might be safe in the open roads, and the robbers were forced to lurk in the by-ways, no, on the contrary, the robbers insulted on the open roads without check, and the honest travelers were obliged to sculk and walk through by-ways, in continual…
Dad was first to go in our family. A shocking heart attack and he was gone. Just 60, Dad was pressured with life, and working hard to provide for all of us, could not find enough relief. He suffered only a few days of abject pain, then went. Dad was a religious man, but perhaps not a saved man. He made a confession of belief in those final moments before death at the leading of Mom and daughter. I was not present. I firmly trust to see Dad again in heaven; God is a merciful Savior. I am anxious to see both Dad and Savior. Twenty two years later, Josh followed Dad. At twenty five, it surprised us all. In fact it redefined the thought of “surprise,” it was beyond belief. Out of place and out of time, our oldest son left us behind for heavenly dwelling. It destroyed hope,…
As the sun goes down on the world, a Christian looks upward. We must refocus — since we actually and easily belong also to this world — tainted by a sin propensity inherited from our parents. (They got theirs from their parents who got theirs from their parents and so on.) We gaze skyward to where our precious Father and Savior has prepared a sinless residence, which awaits us at the time of our death or even before — at the snatching away of the Church at 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15. The shout of the Lord, as a commander inciting his troops, will pierce the sky. A trumpet will reverberate, or bombastically blast out. Bright angelic tones sound out like the sun bursting through clouds — and all of it happening in a moment, (indivisible time), in the twinkling of an eye. (the flapping of a wing,…
Job_5:9 begins: “… (God) does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number:”Job_36:26 adds: “Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.”Then, Psalm_145:3 “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah_40:28 Paul repeats it: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans_11:33 Finally,In Ephesians_3:8 Paul exclaims, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” Is it realistic to say that we men fail at discerning the unsearchable God? We may…
In Revelation 2:1-7, God commended the church at Ephesus very highly. Yet, they lacked one thing. God said, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4). “First love” means God loving me as a depraved sinner, God loving me while I was ungodly (Romans 5:6), while I was yet a sinner. (Romans 5:8). Quote is from “3 dimensional Christianity” by Dr. Carl H. Stevens Friends, too much of me-merit, or me-demerit hurts first love. Words such as “unconditional” must hold place, and others such as “unworthy” must keep their descriptive input. “Grace ” must always be the transferrer of this love to the believer, “Mercy” can never let “judgement” rejoice over it. In closing, “to believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great secret.” Newell love ya
And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire; and had taken the women captives that were in it; both great and small: they had put none to death, but had carried them off, and went on their way. 1 Samuel 30:1-2 An adverse day, “So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.” 1Samuel 30:3 David lifted his voice and wept, And so too, all the people with him. Then, “…the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters.” Out of the bitter gash created in every man’s…
“I will arise, I will go to Jesus; He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms.” Glen Campbell sang the words. These words are written for the sake of broken folks; the author (William Walker) wrote it in his own brokenness, no doubt. “Come Ye weary, Heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall. If you tarry till you’re better, you will never come at all. “ Remarkable is the plight of the faint in heart. Desperate yet declining, Extremely needy yet losing hope, Emotional and Spiritual brokenness can mean a lot of things. It may imply a messy life full of imperfection. It may mean being heartbroken from a past relationship. It may mean emotional scarring from the deep wounds of the past. Sometimes, brokenness makes us a victim; for others, it motivates us to be strong. With…