How God loves ...

Isaiah 55

New King James Version (NKJV)

An Invitation to Abundant Life

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
² Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
³ Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
⁴ Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
⁵ Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”

⁶ Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

⁸ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

¹² “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

 

 

Listening to David Crowder Band sing John Mark McMillan song "How He Loves", and looking at video of story behind song (http://vimeo.com/10868953) reminds me of Isaiah 55:8-9, that God is so not like us ...

Peace and Justice

Reported for jury duty today.  Thought of these verses, circling the building and praying during the lunch break:

 

Isaiah 48:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

 

Psalm 51:3-4 (NIV)

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.

 

I smiled when I saw that the book I was reading, in the place I was reading (while waiting in the jury room), mentioned the story Jesus told in Luke 18:1-8:

 

Luke 18:1-8, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

Then he gave them an illustration to show that they must always pray and never lose heart.

^2-5 “Once upon a time,” he said, “there was a magistrate in a town who had neither fear of God nor respect for his fellow-men. There was a widow in the town who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Please protect me from the man who is trying to ruin me.’ And for a long time he refused. But later he said to himself, ‘Although I don’t fear God and have no respect for men, yet this woman is such a nuisance that I shall give judgment in her favour, or else her continual visits will be the death of me!’”

^6-8 Then the Lord said, “Notice how this dishonest magistrate behaved. Do you suppose God, patient as he is, will not see justice done for his chosen, who appeal to him day and night? I assure you he will not delay in seeing justice done. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find men on earth who believe in him?”

 

 

So, watching the proceedings, thinking of God as Judge ...

 

Psalm 135 (NKJV)

Praise to God in Creation and Redemption

 Praise the Lord!

 

Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
² You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the courts of the house of our God,
³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.
⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His special treasure.

 

⁵ For I know that the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
⁷ He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

 

⁸ He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
Both of man and beast.
⁹ He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰ He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—
¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan—
¹² And gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.

 

¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.
¹⁴ For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.

 

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
¹⁷ They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

 

¹⁹ Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
²⁰ Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
²¹ Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!

 

Praise the Lord!

 

… and my journey with Him continues …

Back again ...

It’s been a while since I blogged.  In reading some of my earlier posts, I see that a lot of the things I planned on doing (regarding the blog) didn’t get done.

But God is faithful, and continues to call me back to this when I would probably just shake my head in failure, disappointed with myself in my lack of commitment and follow-through, and go on to something else. 

Isaiah 30:15 (AMP)

¹⁵ For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength. …

So in response to His call, humbled by His grace and patient lovingkindness towards me, His mercy and goodness shown again and again … here I am again.  And the reason I am here, on this blog, is the reason I am here, on this earth: to bring God glory.  That’s been my lesson lately, that that is my part in God’s plan – to bring Him glory. 

1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31-33 (NKJV)

²³ All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. ²⁴ Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

³¹ Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ³² Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, ³³ just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Not sure why, but thinking of these verses:

Zechariah 9:16 (AMP)

¹⁶ And the Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of His people, for they shall be as the [precious] jewels of a crown, lifted high over and shining glitteringly upon His land.

Isaiah 62:1-3 (NKJV)

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
You shall also be a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.

… and my journey with Him continues …

Cruel to be Kind

[...this is really a continuation from prior blog post, Correcting Rebuke...]

On the same day that I was awakened with the insect bite, I was making a phone call and was put on hold.  An “oldie but goodie” song came on briefly and quickly went off as I was switched to another extension – I don’t remember what it was but I was surprised to hear it instead of classical or other instrumental music. My foot began to itch where I had been bitten, and to hurt where it was swelling inside of my shoe.  I was asking the Lord if that had really been necessary to get me up, though I conceded with a smile that it was certainly effective.

Psalm 141:1-5, New King James Version (NKJV)

            Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness
            A Psalm of David.

Lord, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
² Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

³ Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴ Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

⁵ Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.

Proverbs 27:5-6, 9 New King James Version (NKJV)

            ⁵ Open rebuke is better
             Than love carefully concealed.

⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁹ Ointment and perfume delight the heart,
And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.

Immediately I was put back on hold and the song “Cruel to be kind” came on.  I cracked up laughing.  As soon as I got off of the phone, I got on the internet and looked up the song on youtube.

I found the original, but then a more current version that I liked more:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a30Uo5sJWSQ – this was done as part of a show (Live from Daryl’s House) that was new to me.  I looked at some other episodes of these, choosing some for the guest artist and some for the song being performed.  In all of them that I watched, I was so thankful to God for His gift of music, of sound, of hearing, and for the joy of making and sharing in the music that seemed so evident on these shows.  I heard some “old” (i.e. familiar) songs performed by “new” people (people I didn’t know or hadn’t heard perform these particular songs) and some “new” (previously unknown to me) songs performed by artists with which I was familiar.

Matthew 13:52, New King James Version (NKJV)
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

 So I’m just sharing in this joy, in this music, in this gracious gift of God, and hear the song, “That’s the Way I Feel About Cha” performed by Daryl Hall and band with Monte Montgomery, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7izBLEoZHs.  Monte’s vocals (from 3:51 to 4:17), had a harmony that struck me differently at that moment, and it was just like the Lord was affirming ... to me ... yet again His love ... for me.

Romans 5:6-8, New King James Version (NKJV)
 Christ in Our Place
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

… and He says, “That’s the way I feel about cha” …

John 14:6, New King James Version (NKJV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Romans 8:31-32, New King James Version (NKJV)
God’s Everlasting Love
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

… and He says, “That’s the way I feel about cha” …

Romans 8:33-37, New King James Version (NKJV)
33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
 “For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

… and He says, “That’s the way I feel about cha” …

Romans 8:38-39, New King James Version (NKJV)
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 Jeremiah 31:3, New King James Version (NKJV)
The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

… and He says, “That’s the way I feel about cha” …

1 John 4:10, King James Version (KJV)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

… and He says, “That’s the way I feel about you” …

SONG: How He Loves, by David Crowder Band - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ&ob=av2e

… and my journey with Him continues …

Correcting Rebuke

So, I was still having trouble maintaining consistency with my morning devotional time.  Then I read this in The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, in the chapter on “Habits of Holiness”:

“…don’t be discouraged by failure.  There is a vast difference between failing and becoming a failure.  We become a failure when we give up – when we stop trying.  But as long as we are working on those sinful habits, regardless of how often we fail, we have not become a failure, and we can expect to see progress.”

Encouraging words.  Thinking about Proverbs 24:16:

For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

I used to think the seven times was the limit to fail, to fall.  But then I heard some preaching and read some things about when Peter asked Jesus if seven times was the limit of forgiveness to be given, and Jesus replied (in Matthew 18:22) not seven, but seventy times seven – meaning a greater amount than what we would think.  So I needn’t give up, even  if it’s been seven times that I’ve missed my devotional appointment – I can just persevere. 

The other day, despondent at bedtime, fearful that I wouldn’t wake up enough to “make an intelligent decision” the next morning to actually get up for my special time with God, I asked Him to help me get up (something that I often ask).  The next morning, more than 2 hours before my appointment time, I awoke scratching my toes where something had bitten me.  God had answered my prayer as there was no going back to sleep after that.  So, with some things that were going on regarding my schedule and relationships, I was thanking God during my devotional time for answering my prayer, albeit not in the way I would have thought  (per Isaiah 55:6-9).  It was then that He revealed that there was unforgiveness, sadness and disappointment in my heart that could have contributed to my lack of follow-through in my plans to stay committed in my part of keeping our appointed time.

Psalm 50:21, King James Version (KJV)

           ²¹ These things hast thou done, and I kept silence;
            thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself:
            but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

 Psalm 39:11, New King James Version (NKJV)

            ¹¹ When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,
               You make his beauty melt away like a moth;
               Surely every man is vapor. Selah

  I was able to repent (humbly, “in dust and ashes” like in Job 42:6b) and accept God’s forgiveness, and extend it in my heart to those I felt had slighted me.

Isaiah 61:1, New King James Version (NKJV)

            The Good News of Salvation
            “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
            Because the Lord has anointed Me
            To preach good tidings to the poor;
            He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
            To proclaim liberty to the captives,
            And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

 Thanking God for delivering me from this instance of bondage in the pride, hard-heartedness and self-centeredness which was manifest in my harboring of unforgiveness, I thought of the song “I am Free” by Newsboys (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbcYyOsF50 ).

(looking for that song on youtube today, I found this one with 3 songs that have me going, thanking God anew – right now! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crhPJ7V4m0o)

                                  ... and my journey with Him continues ...

Abhor sin - Pursue holiness

At a Good Friday service a few years ago, when a huge wooden cross was being carried from the back of the venue through the crowd to the stage area, I heard in my spirit, “I abhor sin.”  I had been (softly) crying, thinking of Jesus’ sacrifice for me, what He went through (as close as I can wrap my mind around it) – but this thought caught me off guard.  “Abhor? Where did that come from?” of course, this was a rhetorical question.  Although I don’t use the term” abhor” in normal conversation, I do know of the word from the Bible.  My crying was quieted as I realized that something deeper than I knew was going on within me.

I later looked to see if I could find a verse in the Bible where the phrase “abhor sin” was used.  The closest I got was in Romans 12:9: “…Abhor what is evil…” – I figured sin was evil, so there you go, right?  In my head, what I had heard seemed reasonable and to be in agreement with Scripture.  Like Mary after Jesus’ birth, who, upon hearing the shepherds make “… widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child…pondered … in her heart” – so I “pondered” what I had heard. (I looked up “abhor” today in dictionary.com, and got this definition:  to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate.)

In March, I attended a class (via teleconference call) on The Power of a Sanctified Time, Place, and Person of Prayer.  Through this class and several other confirming messages from sermons, songs,  books, etc., I was made aware of how lax I had become lately with my devotional prayer times and was convicted to “do better.”  It has been much harder than I had imagined it would be to be as committed to this discipline as I should.  But the Lord has been gracious, and continually speaks to me from His Word about the need for discipline in my life:

Job 5:17 (NKJV)
“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

Proverbs 3:11-12 (NKJV)
My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NKJV)
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Hebrews 12:5-11 (NKJV)
[ The Discipline of God ]

⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
⁶ For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

During the March class mentioned above, a recommendation was given for the book The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges.  I was just reading along when I came to this paragraph at the beginning of a chapter on The Battle for Holiness:

Through our union with Christ in His death we are delivered from the dominion of sin.  But we still find sin struggling to gain mastery over us, as Paul depicted so vividly: “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me” (Romans 7:21).  We may not like the fact that we have this lifelong struggle with sin, but the more we realize and accept it, the better equipped we will be to deal with it.  The more we discover about the strength of indwelling sin, the less we feel its effects.  To the extent that we discover this law of sin within ourselves, we will abhor and fight against it.

Wow … there it is, to “abhor sin.”  I see God's providence in my reading this book such that I will have additional instruction and be more motivated to apply the principles laid forth therein – to pursue holiness.

                                    ... and my journey with Him continues ... 

Radiant Bride / Church

Hmmm ... seems to be on my screen lately about problems in marriages.  So i paid attention when i got an email devotional talking about it - specifically about the man's role. (The Radical Side of "I Do" - #6590, http://www.hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/the-radical-side-of-i-do-6590?utm_campaign=bd594d9bbc-AWWY+6590&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Ron+Hutchcraft+Ministries%2C+Inc.)

A couple of things stuck out to me, the first of which i'll discuss in this blog.  It is the truth about Christ's work to present the Church to Himself as "...a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."  (Ephesians 5:27, NIV, emphasis mine) When i read "radiant", i thought about Psalm 34 (emphasis mine):

Psalm 34:4-6, (NIV)

⁴ I sought the LORD, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

⁶ This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.

i'm sooooooooooooooo grateful for what God has done - for me, for all of us:

2 Corinthians 4:6

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Again, it is such a precious thing, the LORD's doing which is marvelous in our eyes:

Isaiah 60

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Gentiles Bless Zion

Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
² For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
³ The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴ “Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
⁵ Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
⁶ The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
⁷ All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My glory.

Jude 1:24-25

New Living Translation (NLT)

A Prayer of Praise

²⁴ Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. ²⁵ All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

... and my journey with Him continues ...