The Lord can not harden His heart against us, His children…He can not hold a grudge either for all our misdeeds we seem to do over and over. Rather, He finds pleasure in being kind and loving towards us…like a loving parent towards a little child. The Lord blots out completely our transgressions, and will remember our sins no more. The Prophet Micah was right to ask that awe-inspiring question…Who is a God like You?
I Timothy 6:17 ” Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertian, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
We live in an age and time of uncertainty, and to solely rely on or put confidence in money alone is a scary thing. Wealth and riches are ever fleeting, and not something to place our full trust in. In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus spoke of a man whose vast wealth convinced him to take life easy…to eat, drink, and be merry. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.” By placing our trust in the Lord rather than temporal things, He holds out to us everything, and fills our hearts with joy.
Proverbs 17:6 ” Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”
During the Summer as children we would occasionally spend a night at our paternal Grandparents who lived close by. My Grandpa was a jovial sort, who smoked White Owl cigars and wore bib-overalls. Grandma was a tiny woman with a tremendous amount of energy and her Bible always at the ready. But the one thing I will always remember fondly about those visits was Breakfast. Now, it started out with the traditional fare of…eggs, bacon,and toast, but the real fun started when that had all been eaten. Grandpa would go to the pantry and bring back a fruit pie. What a forbidden treat… pie for Breakfast! As little girls, we would be absolutely giddy with excitement to think we could share in Grandpa’s special custom. This memory of my Grandparents has always been very special, and I can only hope that I’m making those same kind of lasting traditions and memories for my Grandchildren.
Ezekiel 11:19 ” I will give them an undivided heart and put a new Spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”
In this verse the Lord is saying that He will give us a heart that is united with His, and place within us the Holy Spirit, who will work on our behalf. The Lord will transplant our unrepentant, unyielding, hard as flint heart, and instead replace it with one that is undivided for Him. And the result will be us changed…a likeness of Jesus, His words not written on tablets of stone, but on tablets of our hearts.
Psalm 84:10-11 ” Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
We make decisions everyday…some are quick and rash, others come after careful and well thought out deliberation. Some of these decisions have eternal consequences attached to them. The Writer of this Psalm has prudently considered his life, and has chosen what he feels is the morally right thing to do. He would rather have the lowly position of Doorman at the Temple than be around the godless.He would rather spend what little time he had with the Lord, than anywhere else. We make decisions everyday…make ones that have lasting effects.
I Thessalonians 5: 16-18 ” Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I read the first part of this verse, and I’m ready to throw in the towel…I fail miserably in all areas, everyday. Too often, I allow discouragement and trouble to cause me to become exasperated and defeated Spiritually. My rejoicing turns to whining, my gratefulness turns to grousing. But the key to this verse lies at the end…for this is God’s divine purpose for us, His good pleasure for our lives as we depend on Him, not ourselves to accomplish it. Through Him I can achieve all this and be victorious…and so can you!
Luke 8: 5-8 ” A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
The farmers are in the fields around us planting grain in hopes of a great harvest this Fall. God’s Word is dispersed just like the farmers planting. His Word may go out, but be treated with no regard and ground under foot by this uncaring World…it may be heard by someone, but because they don’t understand it, Satan will snatch it away, whispering in their ear that they “don’t need that religious garbage.” His Word may be received with great joy by someone, only to lose it quickly and fall away when trouble comes into their life, because they were not rooted in Faith. Finally, His Word may be heard and received, but because of all the pressures and enticements of the World, they will never grow Spiritually, or be fruitful. But there are times when God’s Word will go forth and take root in someone’s life ,where it will grow, and reproduce, and that person will become more and more like Jesus everyday.
Romans 8:28 ” And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
In other manuscripts this well-known verse is translated…”And we know that all things work together for good, (or bring about what is good) to those who love God.” The Lord can bring about something useful, profitable, and beneficial from the most dire and serious situation…when our simple human minds can only see the bad, He is still working for the good. Joseph’s brothers sold him off to a passing caravan, and though their intentions were evil, the Lord was still in control of the final outcome. In Genesis 50:20, by then in charge of the whole land of Egypt, Joseph told his brothers…” You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” No matter what it looks like right now…the final result is solely the Lord’s.
Isaiah 44:20 ” He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?’ “
Earlier in this chapter, Isaiah has been talking about a man cutting down a tree, and using half to build a fire to cook and warm himself…the other portion, carving it into an idol and bowing down to worship. The heart can be deceived, and it can lead us far from, and contrary to God’s Laws. This Spirit of delusion will blind us from the truth, and cause confusion and false belief in our minds. There comes a time, when we can hear and see the truth, but fail to even recognize it. So deluded from what is right and good and Godly, we flounder in lies and deception, unable to even save ourselves. But there is someone much greater, who can open our eyes and ears to the truth, and dispel the deception …”Return to Me,” says the Lord, “for I have redeemed you.”
Proverbs 16:28 ” A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.”
How many friendships have been blown apart by groundless rumor and hearsay? When whispering behind one’s back suddenly takes an ugly turn, gossip usually is to blame. Gossiping…quite a pastime for many, elevated to an art form for some. But where does all this backbiting get us? Elsewhere in Proverbs it says, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” In other words…If you forgive an insult rather than keep dredging it up to everyone who will listen, it will not cause friends to quarrel, take offense, and lose that close relationship they once had. Gossip…just say NO.
Safetypinlove 