Thursday, April 28, 2016

10 AMAZING TRUTHS OF GOD’S LOVE FOR ME













I HAVE MANY REASONS TO PRAISE GOD!

Psalm 40:1-3
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord. 

HE is my God! What a privilege to think about our loving God.

1 - He loved me before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:4-5 …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 

2 - He loved me when I was His enemy.
Romans 5:8 …but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

3 - He loved me when I was not even looking for Him.
Romans 3:10-11 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. 

4 - He loved me, so He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

5 - He loved me, so He gave me His Word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

6 - He loved me and sent the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort me.
John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 

7 - He loves me, so He has sealed me with the Holy Spirit.               
Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 

8 - He loves me, so He protects me.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 

9 - He loves me, so He disciplines me.
Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 

10 - He loves me, so He gave me the church.
Ephesians 4:11-13 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 

The list could go on and on… You are probably thinking that I forgot some other wonderful reasons to rejoice in our God! This is the God Who saved us and walks with us. David knew this holy God, the eternal, perfectly wise, powerful-without-limit, loving God who chose to reveal Himself to us, and graciously chose to love us when we could offer nothing to Him. We cannot even offer our ability to remain faithful, because it is He Who gives and sustains faith.

David waited for Him in his times of distress, and found in Him the comfort he was looking for.


God listens to our cries, He hears what no one else hears, He knows the pains that we do not even know how to explain. What a wonderfully comforting image inspired by God, in verse 1, to portray Himself as kindly inclining toward His distressed child!

God is perfectly able to bring us out of the deepest, most destructive hole we will ever be in. In fact, there is no deeper or more desperate place than our state before He saved us. God places us in a safe place, where our steps are secure. He guides us, informing us about how we should walk through life, what our goals should be, where our joy should come from, where we should place our confidence, what we should avoid, what we should actively run from.

Our eternal destiny is secure, our present is cared for, and our future is sure. He is our God! Do you know the God of the Bible? He is not a god created by man. As you study the Bible, you will find out that He is more holy that you ever imagined, that you are more unworthy than you ever understood, that He is far more wise, powerful and loving than you could ever comprehend. You cannot know Him through your thoughts, feelings or imagination. Your only valid source of information about God comes from His Word, which is the Bible. All other supposed revelations about God are NOT true and are not worthy of belief.

So then, how should you live, when you are related to God as His believing child, and thus an inheritor with Christ of all spiritual blessings?

A new song of praise should be the natural outflow of this awareness. Why is it not always like this? Because we lose sight of the grace of God. What should we do if we find ourselves failing to praise God? Stop – reflect – meditate – thank – praise.

God never changes, no matter the circumstance or the trial we are facing. He is consistently faithful to His character and His promises. He is, at all times, worthy of our praise.

A praising believer will cause others to become aware of the God of the Bible. Our lives will attract others to Christ, when, in the midst of our trials, we rest in God and praise Him for His help.

He is my God! I will praise Him for revealing Himself to me, for transforming my life, for giving me a sure hope of eternal blessing, and for using me to shine for Him. It is definitely worthwhile to wait on God!


Tuesday, April 26, 2016

WHEN DIFFICULTIES COME, WHAT DO WE SAY?














DO WE CONTINUE TO PLACE OUR HOPE IN GOD?

Psalm 39:1-3
1 I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
3 My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue: 

As David dealt with the distresses in his life, he had determined not to sin by his speech. His silence protected him from rebelling against God, as well as from damaging his testimony before the wicked.

As the agony of his difficulty mounted within him, he could not keep his silence any longer:

Psalm 39:4-6
4 “O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

David does not sin, he does not rebel or speak against God, he just asks his Lord to help him remember the frailty and shortness of human life.

This psalm should be a warning about how we react to our own difficulties. Are we committed not to speak against God and not to damage our testimony of faith in Him before the unsaved? When we complain, or become angry or bitter, we are rebelling against God.

Our testimony of faith in Christ can be tainted by the way we deal with life’s situations. Are we shining witnesses to our spouse and children? Do those people who live in close contact with us know us as complainers? David had committed not to speak against his God, no matter what his circumstances were.

David’s reflection also caused him to look at his life with an awareness of its frailty and brevity. Are our reactions and attitudes so earthly that we forget how momentary our life is?

God’s intention is always to draw us to Him, to promote dependence upon Him. Our trials are a gift of God, as they put our priorities in perspective and expose our frailty.

Psalm 39:7-11
“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
11 When you discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 

David’s reactions are a good example for us. Totally dependent on God, he recognizes that all is under the control of His Sovereign Lord, and repents, asking God to deliver him.

Are these our reactions to the difficulties of life? Do we continue to place our hope in God? Do we examine ourselves before we judge others? Do we guard our hearts and minds, as we recognize the sovereignty of God in all our situations?

I am afraid that often we are driven by pride, thinking that we deserve better than what we have been given. We look at others as the cause of our misery. We spin our wheels, in our desire to change our circumstances.

Psalm 39:12-13
“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!” 

David does not desist from asking God for reprieve. But he realizes that he is just a pilgrim on earth.

Do we look at our lives on earth the way we should? We are temporary sojourners, pilgrims, progressing through life not as victims, but as witnesses of God’s power and glory.

1 Peter 2:11-12
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation


Life is hard! We certainly can ask God for reprieves, knowing that He is in control. We should commit to keep our tongue from sinning. And remembering the brevity of our lives, we should make sure that they invite others to recognize the presence and power of our God, Who deserves all glory.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

7 TRUTHS ABOUT SIN WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET












OUR SIN SHOULD DRIVE US TO GOD!

Psalm 38

A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me. 

In this psalm that David has designated for the memorial offering, he speaks about his sin and the anguish that it has caused. We do not know if this memorial is David’s request to God to remember him, or it is for himself, to remember his sin and God’s forgiveness. As we read through this psalm, though, it is abundantly clear that sin has had a profound effect in David’s life.

He knows that he deserves the discipline of God and that God has not remained indifferent. We certainly know from the Word of God, that David had to endure the consequences of his sin; we also know that he repented of his sin before God.

When we sin, we are not thinking about how foolish it is to sin, to be willing to trade the peace and wisdom that comes from God for some temporary pleasure. In verse five, David makes it very clear that his choice to sin was certainly foolish.

His sin brought both internal consequences and external ones, leaving David in distress, bearing its weight. His inner tumult is the result of his sorrow for the effect of God’s indignation about his iniquities.

David’s repentance and sorrow are real. They are directed to his Lord. He knows that he has offended his God and is bearing the weight of His judgment. He really does not have anything to offer God, apart from his sorrow and repentance. He knows that God is totally aware of what is going on in his heart. He is utterly dependent on God for forgiveness and for protection from his enemies.

He realizes that his enemies are also part of God’s rebuke and discipline, but His pressing priority is to be close to his God, living in repentant and humble submission to Him.

Only God has an acceptable solution, and David is willing to wait upon Him. The Lord is the One who can save him and forgive him. David is expectant, relying upon God’s rescue.

As we meditate on these words, some thoughts come to mind about how we should approach our own sin.

1 - We should never be attracted by momentary pleasure. Sin is always the result of our foolish rebellion. The author of Hebrews, in chapter 11, reminds us that Moses chose to serve God instead of being allured by the pleasures of sin.

2 - We should never minimize it.  God is always offended by it, and it will always bring consequences in our lives.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

3 - We should never justify it. We should never blame our sin on our circumstances or the behavior of others.

Proverbs 28:13
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

4 - We should never overlook the heavy hand of God. God will let the weight of sin come upon us. We should be questioning our relationship with Him, if, when we sin, we do not experience His heavy hand upon us.

Hebrews 12:5-6
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.” 

5 - We should never blame God for the consequences for our sin. Sin will leave scars that will be constant reminders of our foolishness.

Colossians 3:5-6
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 

6 - We should never believe that we are slaves to sin. If we have justified our sin because “we cannot help it”, we must repent. Only unbelievers are slaves to sin!

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 

7 - We should never forget that God forgives sin. We must believe that God is faithful to His promises and will forgive confessed sin.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Although David felt the weight of his sin, he knew that he needed to turn to God and repent. He knew that God could refresh his soul and protect him from his enemies.

Psalm 38:18
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin. 

As we recognize sin and its gravity before God, we have only one place to go: to the feet of Jesus. May the Lord help us to view sin the way God sees it, and may we rejoice in forgiveness, with a renewed appreciation for the amazing gift that it is to us.

Psalm 38:21-22
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!