God's Possession 1Peter 2:1-12

"Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors.  

Then even if they accuse you of doing

wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and

they will give honor to God when he judges the world."

-1Peter 2:12

These verses are talking about Christ being the 'living' cornerstone of God's temple, and we are living stones in God's temple.   We are also royal priests, and a holy nation, and God's possession as He has called us out of Darkness and into light.

Peter continues a theme that we are foreigners in this world, and in these verses, he lifts up the believer, letting us know that we belong to a different leader, different nation.   What does this do to any sense of nationalism that we may have for our own country?   I think this doesn't eliminate our nationalism, or pride we have in our earthly nation, but this isn't our home.    It's much like when a person becomes a citizen of another country, their loyalties and love change to the new country.   Thousands of people come to Canada because they have to flee their old country because of threats to them, or the living conditions, but immigration isn't so easy, if you want to become a citizen of Canada, you have to show that you can hold down a job, do something to be productive to Canada. It's the same way in a sense when we become a Christian.  We still love our earthly country, but our allegence is to God first, and when we are living for God, we need to be active ... to know that we are holy priests, that we are living stones of God's temple, that what we do in this world should reflect our citizenship with God.

The verse on top of this page is interesting, that our lifestyle, how we live not only gives praise to God in judgement, but the testimony of the people around us about us will give honor to God when he judges the world.  This could man that they will accept Christ because of our testimony also.   It just emphasizes that our lifestyle needs to reflect God's work in us. 

Give me Food ... NOW 1Peter 2:1-3

"Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you 

will grow into a full experience of salvation.  Cry out for this nourishment, now that you 

have had a taste of the Lord's kindness."

(vs. 2-3)

I find that its way to easy to NOT look into God's word, to NOT pray, to let the world and our own desires trump what we need to do to stay pure and growing in our relationship with God.   The 'craving' to grow in God, is partly due to discipline, and our need to better ourselves.   We have had a taste of the goodness of God, what it's like to have God work in our lives .. the Mountain top experience as it were.   But the test of our faith comes when we need to live out that faith, that desire to grow even when we don't necessarily feel that spiritual.

We can do a few things to combat this, whether its accountability with someone else, setting up a routine, or even as these verses mention ... thinking about the kindness of God already in our lives.    Knowing what God has done, and our deep yearning to see him continue to do it.    

2:1 says "So get rid of all evil behavior.  Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech."  All these things change through the transformation that God does in our lives the more we crave his righteousness.

I enjoy the book by Ed Dobson "The Year of Living like Jesus", were he tried his best for one year to live as Jesus would live.   The author even used beads as a way to meditate on God's word, and to help him change his mindset.   Now I'm not suggesting that everyone get prayer beads, but its a great example of someone that craved God's heart.   Changing something in our lives that helps to focus on Christ.

May we have heart that craves after God's righteousness, that longs to follow Christ, that waits anticipation for what God wants to do in our lives.

The Forever People 1Peter 1:17-25

"People are like grass;

their beauty is like a flower in the field.

The grass withers and the flower fades.

But the word of the Lord remains forever."

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

1Peter 1:24-25

We are 'Forever People', people who are strangers and foreigners in this land, we are bought and paid for by the ultimate ransom, not by money, but by Christ's blood (vs.18-20), we are slaves to sin no more.    These verses also talk about living in 'reverent fear of Him', of God.   Though we do acknowledge that we His children, there is something wrong to think that we are 'best buds' with God.  We can't loose the fact that there is a judgement coming, and though I believe that if you have Christ as lord and saviour of your life, you are secure in your salvation, but it is a reminder that our faith cannot be an idle faith, but a faith that is active.    We also need to realize that, as it says in vs. 17, God doesn't play favorites.   We are not judged on a scale based on what others have done, but on we ourselves have done with what is given.

I remember watching Oprah one day, quite a few years ago, and she said that she couldn't believe in  a God that  tells us to fear Him.    Yet how can we not have a reverential fear of the maker of worlds, designer of people, and of our salvation.   In the Old testament we have people in awe of God, afraid to show their face to Him, because of his holiness and awesomeness.    Though we are made pure through the blood of Christ, we cannot mistake our salvation for being able to treat our relationship with God like the relationship we have with our everyday friends and family.    Take time to remember the holiness of the Lord, and when we pray, give him the praise He is due.    Also, there is a warning given through the pages of 1Peter, a warning against complacency of our faith.   We need to remember what God has done for us, and live that out through our lives.

When I read 1Peter 1:24-25 I look at the poetic verses (originally Isa. 40:6-8) which I have used on occasion, and then I see what Peter added to it.  That the word that lasts forever is the Good News that was preached to us.    The truth of the Good News, that is what lasts forever.  Because of what Christ has done, we are 'Forever People', people with an eternal destiny with God because of the living word that was preached to us, and that lives in us through the Holy Spirit.   We are strangers and foreigners in this land, like Peter wrote, because of the Good News.   Everything changes for the believer ... our vision, our hope, the way we live our lives, our goals, our perspective on life, all because of the Good News, because of the living Word, Christ has changed us, transformed us.

May we not live in complacency, but in victory, may our vision not be limited to the hopelessness and despair of this world, but be lifted up to the hope, peace, and love of the next.   We are Forever People, people with a destiny.   The greatest thing about the word of God is that we can let people in on this hope we have.   We have limited time to share an eternal hope.

Bilbo would be proud...

Ok, so I have 111 posts up on this blog, and I'm surprised I've made it  this far.   For those that may of stumbled onto this site, here are a few pointers:

• These are all draft posts, done before I head to work in the morning.   Lots of grammar and spelling mistakes will need to be endured.  These are 'thoughts unplugged'.
• These posts are basically guidelines for me, for whatever day it is.   It's a way to get my head straightened out before I head out.   Sometimes there are big ideas, sometimes simple ideas, but either way it's nice to see that God has alot of work to do in me.
• I hope you are blessed by something that is written, and you are encouraged to go to the 'source' and check out God's word.
• Thanks for reading.

Holy Living Batman!! 1Peter 1:13-15

"So you must live as God's obedient children.

Don't slip back into your old ways of living

and satisfy your own desires.  You didn't know any better

then." 1Peter 1:14 NLT

Because of what Christ has done for us, because of the Good news and the work of the Holy Spirit, because of our trust in the salvation of our souls, we are called to holy living.   Why?  Because our hearts are to reflect the heart of God, like the moon reflecting the sun, so we are to reflect the Son of God.

We can be very judgemental of the people in the world who don't know Christ, but the fact is, they don't know the holiness of Christ, except through our lives, and our walk of faith.  Our old ways we were a slave to sin, only Christ has saved us, set us on a new course, a course that needs to be set to the holiness of God.    It is why we try to better ourselves, to read the scriptures, and practice what Christ demonstrated.  Our desires are new, our thoughts are renewed.   Yes we struggle with sin, but we do have a way out, that is found in the holiness of a righteous God.

The Christian life isn't an easy one, but the payoff trumps any struggle we have here.   Our hope isn't built on our desires, but what God desires for me.   What a great God we have, that He takes us out of the sludge of sin that we can find ourselves, takes our hand and lifts us out, cleans us, and then uses us to reflect the same holiness He is.   

1 Peter 1:10-12 Angel Party

"They were told that their messages were not

for themselves, but for you.   And now this Good News 

has been announced to you by those who preached in 

the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

It is all so wonderful that even the angels are 

eagerly watching these things happen."

1Peter 1:12

Sometimes life doesn't seem THAT exciting, doesn't it?   It's not like everyday events should be written down and then put into a book, because our life is so exciting.   But here we have an account of were even the angels are waiting in anticipation of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.

We have very much become a society that looks to the television for escapism, or the internet for the latest exciting thing, but the angels are waiting for what the Spirit does in our lives, much more than we are waiting for any Hollywood event.    What's important in the heavenly realm, is not what's important in worldly standards.  So what does this do with how I live today?

• Know that our faith has a great Heritage, and that what we take for granted, is what people have yearned for for thousands of years.   
• Live in anticipation of what God will do in you today.   The angels are waiting, and so should we.   We have the Holy Spirit working in us if we have made that life altering decision to give our lives over to Christ.
• Keep in mind that what we do for Christ here, is celebrated in heaven.   Nothing good gets unnoticed.

Facing the trials 1Peter 1:1-9

"You love him even though you have never seen him.  

Though you do not see him now, you trust him; 

and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  

The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls."

Peter is lifting up the believers in what is today's Turkey.   Telling them about the salvation of Christ because of his resurrection, and then about the joy we need to have when facing trials, because of our great inheritance in heaven.    It's a motivational speech to those that are suffering, it's a hope to cling to when things look worst.

For the pessimist in us, we look at this and you want to think that Peter is just hoping that by saying positive things that the believers will stick it out.    The promise of a great reward at the end.   It's easy to promise something will come when your not the one supplying the promise.   So what's the difference between what Peter is saying versus what... lets say governments say to people to keep them in line, or what terrorist groups say to their suicide bombers?

Here are some marked differences:

• Peter was there when Christ was crucified, and he saw the risen Saviour .... along with over 500 other people.   This is why at the beginning of this passage, Peter emphasizes "because God raised Jesus from the dead.  Now we live in great expectation."    It's not that Peter came out of nowhere and promised these things, it's that he knew Christ intimately, he knew the truth of Christ, and the power of God.   
• Peter wasn't living in a vacuum, he wasn't having a good time of living out his faith either, there was persecution where he was, not just who he was writing too.   If history is correct, he probably suffered the worst out of the disciples, being crucified upside down on a cross.
• There is nothing earthly in his promise... there isn't a promise of something that doesn't line up with what we know of the hereafter.    It is salvation and the glory of God, not a new camel, or a thousand sheep and lots of women waiting for us, but the promise of the coming of Christ, salvation, and out of reach of change and decay.
• The people he is writing for are suffering, but they already have that joy, that inexpressible joy.   Peter is just lifting up the people for what they are already doing.  

Life isn't a cakewalk, and if it is, then your not angering the enemy enough, because 'carrying our cross' is one of the things that we as believers do.   But I do know that as much as life wants to kick us, there is joy in the Lord that allows us to stand throughout adversity.   We do have a hope, that is beyond this world.  We are foreigners in a strange land, and I look forward to the day when I can meet the Lord, and talk with the maker of my salvation.  What a great and real hope we have in Christ.

The Bitter Stew

*a rough cut of my sermon preached tomorrow*

The Bitter soup
Scripture: Genesis 25:19-34
One day, two monks were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own.

The first monk kindly offered, “We will carry you across if you would like.”

“Thank you,” she said gratefully, accepting their help.

So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When they got to the other side, they set her down, and she went on her way.

After they had walked another mile or so, the second monk began to complain. “Look at my clothes,” he said. “They are filthy from carrying that woman across the river. And my back still hurts from lifting her. I can feel it getting stiff.” The first monk just smiled and nodded his head.

A few more miles up the road, the second monk griped again, “My back is hurting me so badly, and it is all because we had to carry that silly woman across the river! I cannot go any farther because of the pain.”

The first monk looked down at his partner, now lying on the ground, moaning.

“Have you wondered why I am not complaining?” he asked.

“Your back hurts because you are still carrying the woman. But I set her down five miles ago.”

Dr. Anthony T. Evans, Guiding Your Family in a Misguided World



Genesis 25 - Abraham was the father of Isaac who married Rebekah (Gen. 25:20) and she couldn’t have children, so Isaac prayed for his wife, the Lord answered, and in fact gave them not one son but two.   This was quite unusual and so she asked the Lord what was happening, the Lord said “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the other will serve the younger.”


(Birth of Esau and Jacob)


A) Esau didn’t look at the big picture “What good is the birthright to me?”
The birthright was given to Isaac, by Abraham and given to the eldest son.    The inheritance was a divine appointment by God for the descendants of Abraham, and in turn, the descendants of Isaac, Abrahams son … “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands my decrees and my laws.

In the Old Testament times, being the first born was a great privilege and responsibility to carry on the family, and to receive the blessings from your father.    Old testament law of primogeniture provided that at least a double share of the father’s property be given to the firstborn son when the father died.

Esau exchanged the inheritance promised to his father, by his father, for a bowl of lentil stew, because he was famished!   For a momentary want!!

“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said, “What good is the birthright to me?” (25:32)

“Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew.  He ate and drank and then got up and left.  So Esau despised his birthright.” (25:34)

Question: Who knew the true value of the inheritance?   Jacob or Esau?
Esau saw the stew, he said “let me have some of that red stew” the Hebrew word meaning Red was Edom…. Esau was red when he was born, and he made a pun saying that he wanted the red stew … meaning that it was meant for him.    But the inheritance he didn’t care for at the time.

Sometimes we treat our inheritance the same way …. We don’t realize how precious it is, other things take precedence.   What inheritance?

Our inheritance:
Heb 9:15 “that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant (ie.laws of Moses)”

Ephesians 1:11 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order than we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  And you also were included in Christ when you heard  the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.   Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

We have an ever lasting inheritance as a child of God.  Once we are marked by the Holy Spirit, once we have made the decision to follow the Lord, we can easily fall into the same trap that Esau did.

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised.” (Rom. 1:24-25)   We are tempted to put things before our relationship with the Lord.  Esau was no different.

Beware of the pitfalls in our heart, and the temptations around us that keep us from knowing the truth of salvation.    We have this inheritance, this promise from God, but we only see the now.


B) The Lost Blessing  In Genesis chapter 27 we find Isaac old and blind, and he tells Esau that he would like him to go out to the country and get some fresh game and “Prepare me  the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” (27:4)

Rebekah who likes Jacob, and thinks that he should have the blessings, tricks Isaac by cooking two young goats, and covering Jacob in Esau’s clothes and covered his hands and neck with goat skins so that when Isaac ate the food and touched Jacob, he would think that it was Esau before him.

Blessing of Jacob
“May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earths richness-
An abundance of grain and new wine.
May nations serve you
And peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over you brothers,
And may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
And those who bless you be blessed.”

Listen to Esau’s reaction when Isaac told Esau that he had given his blessing away … “he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me- me too, my father!” But he (Jacob) said “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessings”

Esau held bitterness in his heart towards his inheritance up to this point.   He really didn’t care to live the way his parents wanted him too, in fact he married two Hittite women which were “a source of grief  to Isaac and Rebekah” (Gen.26:35)

Maybe it was the prophecy that was told at his birth.  Maybe it was the teasing of some people about his red hair, or maybe it was that he couldn’t really understand the importance of the responsibilities of being the eldest son.   Sure he was loved by his father, but he was shunned by his, who liked Jacob better.   For a minute he probably thought that he could get it all back with this blessing.   But Jacob ruined that for him.

It’s easy for us to side with Esau, I mean the moral decision of Jacob and his mother were far from honest.    But then we look at what the bitterness cost Esau.    Esau who at one time didn’t care about his inheritance, about any blessing, dismissed it and gave it away to Jacob in exchange for some stew … a verbal oath that was binding between brothers.

We have choices that we make for ourselves, that we have to deal with.   We get bills for things that we pay for, we have debt for things we want, there is no one to blame for these things but ourselves.  The good and the bad.   When it comes to salvation, we need to put away those things that hinder us in our faith, put away our pride, our bitterness.
When we think about salvation, which is a free gift from God, that he gave to us through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, through no merit of our own, He showed us the way to salvation.    Romans 10: 9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.   For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”


Esau begged for a blessings, his father gave him this one:
“Your dwelling will be
Away from the earth’s richness,
Away from the dew of heaven
Above.
You will live by the sword
And you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
You will throw his yoke
From off your neck.”

Jacob was sent to Paddan Aram to get a wife, because Isaac instructed him to NOT marry a Canaanite woman, Esau went and married a Canaanite woman (Mahalath) (28:6-9) in addition to 2 Hittite women he married earlier.

The legacy of Esau was one of bitterness, and regret.   He was the father of the Edom nation that would later be subdued by Israel.   Esau let his past cloud his future.   He let things keep him from taking the inheritance that was due him.

Ephesians 4:31
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.”

Three things we need to do to move on in our relationships.
1) Accept the gift of salvation and forgiveness that Christ offers.
2) Practice Compassion - Part of communication and empathy.
3) Forgiveness … accepting forgiveness of others, and forgiving others are all part of breaking down bitterness  Bitterness is the result of powerlessness in the face of anger.   Something happens and we feel powerless about it.   And then we get angry, and if carried further, it goes into revenge.

You might be like the one monk at the beginning of this message, holding on to bitterness, that keeps you from knowing Christ.    The inheritance is in front of you, the choice is yours.

Genesis 33:4 “But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.   And they wept.”    God had done something in Esau’s heart to mend his relationship with his brother, even though the consequences of his actions would follow his descendants.

Whatever you have done, whatever you are holding on to that is keeping you from realizing the freedom and the inheritance that is waiting for us you need to allow Christ to break that down.   You have a chance right now to ask the Lord to work in your life, you have a chance that Esau missed.   Don’t be sidetracked by the trappings of this world, but find the freedom that can only come from Christ.

Steps of Christian maturity (1John 2:12-14)

These verses come as John is speaking about the light, and if you live in the light you don't cause one another to stumble.   John uses the dark and light analogy quite a bit in his writings, not only in 1 John, but also the book of John.

In these verses we see John writing to all Christians:

• because your sins were forgiven
• because you know the father

To young believers in the faith:

• who have won their battle with the evil one
• because you are strong
• God's word lives in your hearts

To mature believers:

• Because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning (repeated 2x)

Some people have a tendency to right away expect new Christians to know and accept everything right away.   I remember when I was running a youth center, on of the board members wanted me to teach on Creationism because it was so important.   But the thing was, the teens I was speaking too didn't even have a faith in Christ, or if they did, it was a very basic level faith.   We need to make sure we don't through new Christians into the pool, without having them first learn how to swim.

Here John is speaking the message of light, and of Christ to all types of believers.  Notice that the young believers have knowledge of the basics of the Christian faith -- their sins are forgiven, they know the father, God's word lives in their hearts, and they have won their battle against evil .. they have seen the victory against the evil one.. they know that they are 'saved'.    

Only when we grow into maturity (not age, in faith), is there a knowledge of more theological issues ... like John pointed out .. Christ existed from the beginning.  That's actually quite the statement, because that's all part of the 'trinity' which is hard enough to wrap our heads around.

Now some have become Christians by wrestling with theological issues eg. C.S. Lewis came into faith by having debates and talks with J.R.R. Tolkien, but in most cases that approach won't work, and Lewis and Tolkien were friends long before their theological talks.      

But I think we in the Church need to recognize where people are in their spiritual growth, and what type of 'food' they need in order to nurture that growth, and I think it's important to be conscious of this when we speak to unbelievers for the first time and as we cultivate friendships with them.

Language from the heart

"Don't use foul or abusive language.  Let everything you say be good and helpful,

so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."

Ephesians 4:29

I don't want to focus on the foul language aspect of this verse, because for most of us in the Christian world, we know this.   But our focus needs to be on letting our words be good and helpful, because if we focus on what we should do, instead of what we shouldn't do, what we shouldn't do won't even be an option.   

I am surprised sometimes how unbelievers cheer when a believer messes up and swears ... especially at a work place.   What we say is born out of the feelings in our heart, and the discipline of the believer.   We need to concentrate, and make a concerted effort to be the voice of encouragement, and helpfulness.   The more we do this, the more of an impact we will have on those that don't believe.

There are some of those in the Christian church that do swear, thinking that this will help bring the Christ message closer to unbelievers, so that in the end the message would reach into their hearts, instead of being a 'stumbling block'.   Unfortunately the message become convoluted and watered down for the sake of compromise.

For me I think the message that is toughest to act on is always being a voice that is an encouragement, instead of sitting on the sidelines.   I need to seize moments of encouragement.   Not only to help those that are having a tough day, but also for the sake of my own heart and witness.   The more we practice being a light, the more the darkness of the world flees from the world, but also the more it is kept back from our own hearts.   

The transforming power of Christ, through the Holy Spirit works not only outside of us, but inside of us.   Thank you Lord!

God's Masterpiece

"God saved you by his grace when you believed,

And you can't take credit for this, it is a gift from 

God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, 

so none of us can boast about it.  For we are 

God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,

so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

Ephesians 2:8

Ephesians 1:11 says that God has chosen us in advance, and He makes everything work according to His plan.  

No matter what rough a day you might be having, or maybe the negative  feelings we may be rolling through, we are God's masterpiece!    Why is this so amazing?   a) because we didn't earn it.  There is nothing that one person can boast about ... We don't keep a chart of who did more good works than another person, there isn't a competitiveness in salvation, we are a masterpiece because of Christ, what He has done.    b) because he saw us and knew what we would be like before the creation of the World. (1:4)   c) It gave God great pleasure to adopt us into His family (1:5)  ... you are not just a masterpiece like an object to God, but we bring pleasure to God  d) We are with purpose .. to praise and Glorify God (what ever form that may entail)  What a great promise, and an encouragement to us today.

You and I are God's masterpiece for we live for Christ, putting away the things of this World, and giving Glory to God.

Watch for Opportunities

"Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 

Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord

wants you do do."

Ephesians 5:16-17

I was just reading these verses in Ephesians and I thought it might be a nice reminder today to keep these words in my mind.  Making the most of every opportunity, and to act according to the Lord's will, what He wants me to do.

It's so easy to do what we want to do each day, if fact that's usually how we screw things up in our lives, living day to day with our own intentions on how things should be.   And if we do that, we miss the opportunities that the Lord gives us to minister.

Verses 18-20  the message continues, saying not to be drunk with wine, but instead be filled with joy and thanksgiving, singing hymns and songs of praise.    These are the things that we can do, that will help us to understand what the Lord wants in our life.   Through the book of Psalms and even here we are reminded of how praise and worship are supposed to be active things in our lives, to help in our understanding of God.

May today be filled with joy in your heart, and may you embrace the praise of the Lord, and seek him out, so that we can make most of the opportunities He will reveal to us.

Psalm 20

"May he grant your heart's desires 

and make all your plans succeed.

May we shout for joy when we hear

of your victory

and raise a victory banner in the name 

of our God.

May the Lord answer all your prayers."

This is an encouraging Psalm for King David, and it comes to my mind is how often do we encourage each other in the faith?  Do we lift up people in their victories, or do we selfishly wonder why God seems to answer other people's prayers, and not our own?

Jesus prayed that there would be unity among believers, just before he was betrayed and taken to the cross.   Joy in each other's accomplishments is part of that unity.   Sharing moments of answered prayer, and thanking God for each other is not only what we do, but one of the best evangelism methods that we can have.   

We need to take time, to share in each others joys, and pains, and openly celebrate what God has done in each of our lives.  It's a great lesson of Psalm 20 of how we can lift people up.

Psalm 19

"How can I know all the sins lurking in my

heart?

Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

Keep you servant from deliberate sins!

Don't let them control me.

Then I will be free of guilt

and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing to you, 

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.""

Psalm 19:12-14

^"23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, ²⁶ for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus."

 Ro 3:23-26

A few things popped out at me when I was reading Psalm 19.   David is asking God to keep him from deliberate sinning.   I'm looking into my prayer life, and though I confess my sins to God, I'm trying to remember the last time that I asked God to keep me from 'deliberate sinning'.    We do it all the time don't we?  Sin deliberately that is.. and then we have a slight pang of guilt, and only then realize that we need to ask forgiveness for those sins.

I need to start my day with this type of prayer.  David had it right.

Another thing that leaped up at me was the reminder of why we shouldn't sin. .... and it goes with the words "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be PLEASING TO YOU."  .. we don't avoid/stop sinning because of what the others may think, or even guilt, but because it keeps us from pleasing God.

That's the type of relationship God wants, that's why Christ was sent to dye so that our sin doesn't keep us from Him .. because whatever we do, both in deed and the meditations of our heart, need to be pointed toward pleasing God the Father.   

We can be focused so much on work, children, marriage, friendships, that we loose focus that everything we do needs to be  what?  Please the heart of God.   Refocusing our eyes to He who created us, His Son that Saved us, and the Holy Spirit that guides us into the path of .. Pleasing Him.  Why? Because He is our Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  What a great reminder.  May we not let sin or anything else steer us off of that path.

Praise God!

Psalm 18

"You have given me your shield of victory.  

Your right hand supports me;

your help has made me great.

You have made a wide path for my feet 

to keep them from slipping."

Psalm 18:35-36

"The temptations in your life are no different from 

what others experience.  And God is faithful.  

He will not allow the temptation to be

more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, 

he will show you a way out so that you can endure."

1 Corinthians 10:13-14

At the beginning of the Psalm it tells that this is the song that David sang to God because of his victories over the trials, over the pursuit of Saul.  This is a Psalm of victory, of acknowledgement of what God has done in his life.   

I did like the verse talking about how God made the path for David's feet keep from slipping.   Not literally but figuratively (though, who knows maybe literally too with so many pursuers after him), but poetically, this is similar to what we face with temptations, and the fact that God isn't waiting for us to fail.  He isn't waiting for us to make a wrong move so he could strike us down with his finger.  No, God is cheering us on, God is giving us ways to succeed in life!!   What an encouragement that the God of the Universe isn't taunting us, or going against us, but he opens up ways for us to succeed.  God supports us, He lifts us up, He has given us a shield of victory, He helps us to make us great, He has made the path wide enough for our feet to NOT slip!!

 God doesn't stand by David, God didn't look afar at David!  God WORKED, God went INTO ACTION for David.   And he does the same for us!!  Praise God!!

On the side:

Upon reading 18:7-15  My imagination rang out,and it's a wondrous telling of the power of God, but it reminded me of Volcano's.   Now Israel doesn't have volcano's, but the illustration and the words echo of one.   Pretty funky stuff.   Any enlightenment?   Did David have the inspiration of writing these words upon witnessing or hearing about volcano's?    Maybe from traders?   Either way, it really doesn't matter, it's beautifully written, and tells of God's mighty provision in David's desperate times.   But it is interesting :)

Psalm 17 .. Wake me when this is done.

"Because I am righteous, I will see you.   

When I awake, I will see you face to face and 

be satisfied"

Psalm 17:15

For believers who's faith is in Christ Jesus, we are made righteous (Rom 4:4-8) which is amazing, that we are put right with God.   But I really love this Psalm when it talks about living in righteousness, and we are awakened.   Like the previous life was a dream.   In David's instance (before he later screwed up in life) he was counted righteous.   

Remember the old camp song "Row row row your boat"?  The song says "Life is but a dream", this may be truer than we know, especially when we compare it when we meet the Lord face to face.   Then we will be awake, everything will come alive, then we will be 'satisfied'.

The Rolling Stones sang "We can't get no satisfaction" no matter how hard they tried.   But it the presence of God, when we see him face to face, we will have that satisfaction, we will be awake in the fullest sense, and all will be revealed to us.   We all agree that in this world nothing makes sense, sin has distorted what God intended.    It's like going to a circus and looking at a trick mirror and everything about us is distorted, and mixed up.   But when we see the Lord, our eyes will of been opened we will be awake, we will be satisfied.   What promise!! What Hope we have in Christ Jesus!  

Psalm 16

"No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.

My body rests in safety. 

For you will not leave my soul among 

the dead

or allow your holy one to rot in the 

grave.

You will show me the way of life,

granting me the joy of your presence

and the pleasures of living with you forever."

Psalm 16:9-11

Psalm 16 is a Psalm of praise to God.   Most of the time when we pray we come with requests, and petitions, but David in this Psalm praises God for who He is.    David thanks God for his inheritance, for his land, for his guidance, for God being there for him, for godly people, for every good thing, for pleasures, for life eternal.   All these things come out of this Psalm.

Part of finding joy in life, is expressing your blessings to God.  A thankful heart melts away discouragement better than most medications.   Take time today to express to God your thankfulness ... and you will notice that your day will be filled joy that comes from knowing Him who created Joy!!

Psalm 15

"Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?"

Psalm 15 is the call to holiness, a call to be a righteous person, a blameless person.   These are things spoken of that may not make us popular with the world, or may get us financially ahead in life, or may prosper us with a new car or anything like that.   These are people that are given the honor of worshiping in the sanctuary of the Lord.   For those of us who understand that our purpose in life is to worship the Lord, these are some things that David points out, that allow us the honor to worship the Lord.

These are all good things to do, I think most people would agree with the list of Psalm 15.  But I like vs 4's answer to who can worship in the sanctuary of the Lord ...

"Those who despise flagrant sinners,

 and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,

and keep their promises even when it hurts."

Keeping our promises, even when it hurts.  Can't help but smile as I read this, because it's so true.   Have we made promises to people that we realize that maybe we shouldn't have?   Do we go back on promises that we make because of how tough it is to keep?   Think of the context of marriage, or friendship, or family.    Maybe this goes to a commitment we made to help someone, but we backed out at the last minute, because if we kept that promise, we would lose something in the process.    You can use the example of helping someone move, and you promised them that you would, but as the day approaches you renege on that promise so that you could attend a hockey game with your friends.

The hardest part about being a Christian sometimes is realizing that we are set apart, that we are called to holiness, and righteousness.  Sometimes the cost of that includes some discomfort in our lives.   But the payoff is worth it isn't it?   Like the finish line at the end of a grueling foot race, and you know that if you keep on going, there is a trophy to be won.

Psalm 14

"The Lord looks down from heaven

on the entire human race; 

he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,

if anyone seeks God." 

Psalm 14:2

This Palm starts off "Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God".   There are quite a few people that claim that they don't believe that there is a God, there rational is usually that if there is a God he would of done a great miracle, he wouldn't let evil into the world, and religion has brought so much violence in the world.   Of course these claims are based on ignorance because even if God did provide a great miracle, chances are that we'd forget about it, and make another excuse that there is no God.   There are disasters in the world and evil, out of our own doing really ... humanity has the potential to solve the hunger issues, and social issues, but so many people have their own agendas that nothing gets done.   Evil was brought on by freewill, first Adam's choice to do what he knew was wrong, and lets face it, even if didn't take the fruit, someone else would of.   God's grace gave us a way out of the bondage of sin, through His Son.

As of religions of the world, and their battles, humanity has a tendency to take what is meant to be pure, and twist it to meet their own political agendas.   But then again, we just have to look at the atrocities of Hitler, Stalin, and others in history to find examples of Atheistic leadership.

Some people who were Christians at one time and have turned their back on their faith, usually have a) done something they knew was wrong and refuse to turn their back on their sin  b) have issues of unforgiveness and bitterness that have festered in their hearts  c) Allowed so much of the world to corrupt their hearts, that they can't see God and his work.

Of course these are generalizations, but the Psalm tells of wisdom of those who seek God.   The wisdom of the world does not line up to the wisdom of God.   The world sees things as they want to see ... the vision is narrow, and can only see one thing at a time.   When we seek God, when we strive after what He wants in our lives, we are putting our faith in a being that transcends time, and who is .... in fact truth.   John 8:32 speaks of a truth that sets us free, truth in Christ.   That is why the truly wise seek God, because God is truth.   Outside of God we can only trust in human wisdom and understanding.

So the challenge today is for us to embrace the truth of God, don't trade that in for the foolishness of God.   Seek God, seek him in everything you do.   Yes we struggle, yes we have 'off days', but trust in God, in his truth in your life, and that's the first step in wisdom, and in a life that is separate from the world.

Psalm 13

"But I trust in your unfailing love.  I will rejoice because you have rescued me.  I will sing 

to the Lord because he is good to me." vs. 5-6

How often do we look into the blessings of our past?   In my previous blog I mentioned that we rarely bring up the bad stuff in our past ... but how often do we look to His faithfulness in our past?    This is something that we don't do enough, and yet this is why David sings.

David sees God's handiwork in his past, and realizes that God has rescued him, and because of this he sings to the Lord because the Lord has been good to him.    Maybe you've had a crappy past, maybe life has seemed incredibly hard and tough for you.   Maybe that is what is driving your future, being reminded constantly about something that's happened to you.   It can be easy to dwell on our past mistakes, but what gets us through is holding on the Promises of God, and recalling His blessings to you in the past.

Scripture is filled with recollection of God's work in the lives of the Israelites.   The Passover feast is a reminder of God's deliverance of his people from the Egyptians.   We are also reminded in Church of Christ's work in our lives through the celebration of Communion.    When we loose sight of what God has done in our past, we lose Vision of what God can do in our lives in the future.   It's so important to keep track of God's faithfulness, and to thank him for it.   

Psalm 12

12:1 "Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!   The faithful have vanished from the earth!  Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts."

"Gone are the good old days!" some people often say.  It's easy to look back and ponder our past and see how good things were.    We can look at society and think back to 'simpler' times and consider how good things were way back when we were young, as opposed to how they are now.    Truth is, there was no such thing as good old days.   Our minds have a tendency to play tricks on us, and keep up from remembering the 'not so good' events in our lives.   It's a survival mechanism that's God put in us to help us cope with certain situations and move on.

History has never been quiet (depending on who wrote the history textbooks), and in todays passage we see that David is crying out.    In vs. 1 he is saying much the same things that perhaps people are saying today in our congregations, and even in our workplaces.   But we don't, and should live in the past, or even in today.   David says (or sings) in verse 6 "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace purified seven times over"  We live for His promises His tomorrow today.

God's tomorrow is better than our best day, and that is something to look forward to.