Author: kezha1

Springtime is planting season here in the Midwest. And the last few weeks have been very busy with farmers plowing and sowing seed (here in Illinois, it’s corn and soybeans). But all these crops depend on rain to give them a good start… for without it the seeds won’t sprout. So these rains that come in March and April are vitally important for the farmer’s bottom line and what his yield will be in the Fall. But God is good all the time and He only ever does good…including sending rain on the earth, for Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:45, “God causes the sun to rise on the evil and good and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.” But why would He do that? It’s because He’s merciful, compassionate, and gracious to all mankind…wanting none to perish. And who knows how a perfectly timed rain storm could change a stubborn and rebellious heart.

They estimate that there are between 10 Billion Trillion and 100 Billion Trillion stars in the observable universe. That’s a 1 followed by 22-24 zeros! And God not only knows them all by heart, but by His power asserted His authority over the universe by putting them all into place…giving each one a unique and special name. Yet in this vast universe, God knows your name and every little detail about you. He knows your ups and downs, your hopes and dreams, and the desires of your heart…and He loves you with an everlasting love. So tonight go out into the dark sky and look up…and as God told Abraham, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if you can.” (Genesis 15:5) Those Billions of Trillions of flickering lights are how much God loves you.

Maybe you know one…maybe you are one. What am I talking about? A woman, wife and/or mother who self-sabotages and deliberately destroys her household by her contentious manner. The old saying “Happy wife happy life” is taken to the extreme as her husband and children walk on eggshells as to not evoke her wrath…the whole house becoming a war zone with land mines of rage buried everywhere. But many woman don’t even realize how they are ruining their family’s life…that’s because they are in deep personal pain and have never dealt with it. So what can be done? Proverbs 24:3 says, “By wisdom a house is built…” Wisdom seeks out counsel, addresses past wounds, and accepts responsibility for actions…and changes for the better with the Lord’s help.

Jesus had traveled to His hometown with His disciples, and on the Sabbath He began to teach in the Synagogue. Many of His fellow townspeople not only immediately recognized Jesus but when they heard Him preach were totally astonished. But why did they take offense at Him? Several reasons. First, Jesus was bringing the Gospel Message to them but they rejected Him and it from lack of faith. And secondly, they rejected Jesus because they saw Him only from their past recollection of Him…not for what He had become. This can happen to anyone of us. People will only remember us as the quiet, shy wallflower, or worse yet the kid that was always getting into trouble…not the person God has radically changed by His grace and mercy standing before them. Sadly, the people’s taking offense became a stumbling block in not allowing them to hear the truth from Jesus, and the reason they fell away.

Sixteen long years passed between the laying of the foundation for the Temple in Jerusalem and when work resumed. This became difficult and arduous years for His people as they waited on the Lord to move on their behalf. So my question for you today is…has the Lord ever made you wait? Now for me, I usually become impatient, my waiting becomes a time of whining, my grumbling gives way to discouragement, and eventually the delay fades into feelings of defeat. But waiting on the Lord is in of itself a very special time if we will look at it from His perspective and not ours. During this time we can determine within us to grow not grumble and persevere not protest. We can regard our waiting with readiness and expectation as we abide with our Heavenly Father knowing that His timing is always perfect.

Theses verses beg one question…What is your motive for giving or what causes you to act when you see a need? Consequently then, our motive will be wrong if the only reason for giving is a desire for admiration and honor from our peers. For Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…” Thus, when our charity and compassion for others come from the right motive…it truly won’t matter if anyone knows.

Here we see God’s contempt for the making and worshipping of idols…a spiritual adultery or apostasy as we betray our loyalty to the Lord and instead build altars to false gods. Now these altars don’t have to be physically built of stone, wood, dirt, or bronze…they can be constructed and setup in our hearts with anything we cherish more than God. It can be anything, like a shoe or purse collection, or a new car or boat that can become a altar that you worship at if it’s more important to you than your relationship with God. So just remember, when God’s jealous anger is provoked…His indignation and exasperation is stirred to a boiling point…His wrath will be poured out.

In these verses Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit…assuring His disciples that the Counselor would be coming, exposing the guilt of the world. And when He came, He would lay bare the man-centered world-view that ignores or even denies eternity and views our existence only by material standards and selfishness, greed, power, lust, and ambition. That’s why the Holy Spirit is excellent at showing us right from wrong using one of His most powerful attributes…His compelling, decisive, and relentless conviction. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is determined and unyielding…cutting to the quick in the deepest, darkest reaches of our soul…for He knows everything and will doggedly shine a glaring bright light on our sin until we relent. For if we’d be honest with ourselves, we don’t need the Holy Spirit telling us something we already know…there’s unrepentant sin in our life.

Just as God’s heavenly reign and dwelling place is so far beyond our comprehension is the notion that planet earth is His footstool. The picture of this coming from the victorious Israelite army placing their feet on the necks of captured enemy kings…(a placing of their enemies under their feet.) (Joshua 10:24) But also is the notion that human hands could possibly build a dwelling place that could contain God, when in Acts 7:50 He asks, “Has not My hand made all these things?” or later in Acts 17:24, when it says, “The God Who made the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” For as Solomon so wisely asked, “But will God really dwell on earth with men when even the highest heavens can’t contain Him?” (II Chronicles 6:18) We only have to look to Revelation 21:1-3 for that answer when a new heaven and a new earth will appear …with a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven…and a voice saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

So why is the author of this Psalm urging the people to arise and shout praises to God? Isaiah 12:6 may give us a reason…”Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” The Lord is in the midst of us so why not glorify His Name? But even if you just “sing and make music in your heart to the Lord”, (Ephesians 5:19) thanking God for what He’s done during the Pandemic to keep you safe is the very least you can do. Or as Psalm 5:11 tells us, “Let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your Name may rejoice in You.”