The entirety of Psalm 16 gives us hope that God will never abandon our soul and that we can rely & trust in Him in the process. Here in verse 11, we see that God is our very life…the firm foundation of our journey with Him, and the gracious gift given of everlasting Salvation. So it can be with joy that we follow Him…for He is our refuge, our security, our counselor and defender, for ever & ever.
Month: April 2024
Daniel 4:25 ” …that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of man…”
God creates, sustains, and upholds all things by His power. It is in Him that we live, and move, and have our being. (Acts 17:28) The Doctrine of Providence or the Sovereignty of God is defined by the Westminster divines as this: God, the great Creator of all things, does uphold, direct, dispose and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own Will…” His Sovereignty is one of God’s greatest characteristics…that He is the all-powerful, Almighty, Ruler over all, and should give any Believer much comfort and peace… knowing that God is in control. Charles Spurgeon once penned, “There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s Sovereignty.” The Most High God is carefully & actively watching over all things…including you today.
Proverbs 19:11 ” A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”
Have you ever said something to a stranger only to have it misconstrued and interpreted wrongly? This happen to me this morning, and I’m still quite baffled as to how she took a light-hearted remark as offensive. But the important thing in that moment became for me…was I going to take offense by her unfriendly reply? That’s because it didn’t matter how I felt at the moment, for obviously she had misread and taken my remark personally… and reacting negatively would have just compounded the interaction. Praise God for wisdom, disciple, and self-control as I learn anew day by day… ever looking to Him as my model for forgiveness.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable…for it’s the only way to grow in the Lord.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first to admit I like to stay within my “Comfort Zone”…it’s relaxing, easy, peaceful, and soothing. There in the cocoon of my comfort zone, I only participate in activities that are familiar…making me feel in control of my environment. I don’t search out and willingly engage in any awkward situations that produce anxiety or stress on my part. But the drawback of only living in my comfort zone is that I’ll never be challenged to grow. Paul talked about pleasing man or God in Galatians 1:10, and that’s what it all boils down to…do I want to please myself, or my God? Growth only happens when we are stretched through serving and self sacrifice to others. Just as Spiritual growth only happens when we say “Yes” to God’s calling. But the real danger of staying in my comfort zone, is being lulled into a apathetic, insensitive, and numb mindset that someone else will do God’s work, not me.
Luke 12:25-26 ” Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
In His teaching about anxiety, Jesus was very blunt…worrying cannot make even a negligible change on our lifespan. And if we have absolutely no control over that, how do we think we have power over anything else? The answer is, we don’t…and the only thing anxiety shows is faltering faith on our part. Jesus goes on to prove His point by reminding us of this…eternal life itself is more important than what sustains it…that God promises to take care of His own…that anxiety accomplishes nothing…and that we already have a share in the inexhaustible riches of the Kingdom of Heaven – so why worry about temporal details? Finally, that we must prioritize and focus ourselves on what’s eternally important, exerting a confident, bold, & unwavering faith.
Psalm 46:10 ” Be still, and know that I am God.”
The original Hebrew word for “be still” doesn’t just mean “be quiet” – it means “let go.” And for most of us, that relinquishing of something near and dear of ours into the hands of God is very hard to do. We still want to have our fingers in it…still want control of it…and still want to claim it as ours. But God wants us to trust Him enough to relax our hands in submission, turn them over, and drop that “thing” into His most capable hands for safe keeping. And as our relationship with Him matures, it will become easier & easier to yield and surrender those “things” that we already know deep down are out of our control. So, let go, and know He is God…and you’ll be able to rest in and hope for a good God to work on your behalf.
Ezekiel 28:15 ” You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.”
Ezekiel 28:12-19 is not only a prophecy against the king of Tyre, who personified the arrogance of the city he ruled, (claiming divine status because of his self-perceived great wisdom and ability to understand mysterious secrets)…but it is also an oracle against the real instigator, Satan himself. Verse 12 takes us back to the beginning, “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God.” At one time, Satan was a perfectly created being…faultless and with integrity, and living happily in the Garden of Eden…but then evil raised it pointy head, and with it Satan became puffed up with conceit.(I Timothy 3:6) “So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub…for your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.” (Ezekiel 28:16-17) Satan rebelled against God and lost, but has battled with Him ever since. And His battle extends to us also…not as some grotesque comical creature, but as a beguiling, crafty, and stunning angel of light.
“At this hour…we rest in the promises of our faithful God, knowing that His Words are truth and power. We rest in the doctrines of His Word, which are true comfort. We rest in the covenant of His grace, which is a haven of delight.” C. Spurgeon
I wish we could say that all the chaos, civil unrest, wars, and injustice across the globe was going to get better…but it’s not. And the future is as uncertain as it is scary. But in this quote of Theologian Charles Spurgeon, he wants us to go back to what we do know. Psalm 145:13 tells us that, “The Lord is faithful to all His promises.” And so we can rely on God’s steadfast promises and find refuge there. Next, Hebrews 1:3 tells us that, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word.” The Word of God is divinely authoritative, accurate, and honest…and God is always in control…thus we can rest in His Word as absolute truth. But we can also trust in God’s unchanging doctrines, principals, and teachings found in the Bible. Finally, we can depend on God’s unwavering grace…His unearned & unmerited favor guaranteed by His new Covenant. (Jeremiah 31:31-34, requoted in Hebrews 8:8-12)
I John 1:1 ” That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”
When John wrote this, the Church was being infiltrated & overrun with false teachers that were denying the very fundamentals of Christianity such as Christ’s deity and His resurrection. (Much like we’re seeing now with the Progressive Movement of Churches) John wanted to make it clear…he had personally saw, heard, and touched the Son of God…not just some good man he had hung around with for three years. He was an eye witness to miracle after miracle…he had heard Jesus rebuke & demand evil spirits to leave tortured bodies…and he had enjoyed close fellowship & comradery, but most of all, John had watched Jesus die on the Cross only to rise from the dead. Yes, John had the credibility to be believed only a few could claim, and he wanted to remind the Church of it.
Habakkuk 2:18 ” Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.”
Human nature is stubbornly independent & autonomous. We take great pride in our self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and ability to go it alone. But this can become a very slippery slope when we’re trying to fill God’s shoes. That’s because, anytime we create anything, it’s man-made and flawed from the start. And when we put our confidence & trust in this man-made object, we open ourselves up for deception & falsehoods. Jeremiah 5:21 warned the people that in doing so they could become like the idols they served…blind & deaf…lacking wisdom and understanding. And in the New Testament Paul reminded the Church how idols had influenced and led them astray as nonbelievers. (I Corinthians 12:2) So idols of any kind are vain, empty, useless, and foolish.
Safetypinlove 