“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” - Galatians 6:7
We all know that to produce a bountiful garden full of delicious and healthy fruits and vegetables we need to condition the soil, plant living seeds, and tend the garden. Did I mention to you that my once beautiful garden boxes are now full of weeds? No matter. The important thing for you and I to remember is that where ever we deliberately act the chances of getting the results we hope for are multiplied by the perseverance we put into that action. Unfortunately the same is true when we fail to act. We still get results with fallow ground; however, they are not the results we counted on. Fallow ground is simply ground we have left to disuse and weeds will find their way into the most sterile ground.
“Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.” - Job 4:8. Here, Job confesses that he has seen with his own eyes that those who mock God by their actions receive what they deserve. The same is so for the man who fails to honor God. Is our worship lying on fallow ground? We must understand that inactivity is the same as deliberately doing the wrong thing. There are only two ways in the world - the way of God and the way of the world. “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23. Whatever proceeds from us must glorify God. If we know that neglecting something will lead to hurtful results we have a Christian duty to attend to the issue so that it will not result in anything less than that which glorifies our heavenly Father.
“Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” - Hosea 10:12. If we but remember to glorify God everyday our spiritual gardens will never be fallow. They will always be full of God’s majestic bounty.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
A Bad Mix - Psalm 106:35 -36
“But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols, which became a snare to them.” - Psalm 106:35-36
Peer pressure, worldly influence, “go along to get along;” these are all modern expressions referring to ‘mingling’, learning’, and ‘serving,’ in the broader context of the psalmist’s accusation as laid out in Psalm 106. Since we are God’s ‘chosen’ (or ‘elect’) we too are faced with the dire warnings of mingling, learning, and serving the carnal world.
“Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.” - Judges 3:5-6. We are few and they are many. How far have we as Reformed Christians stumbled down this slippery slope? And to what end?
What stands out in the psalm is the fact that the Canaanites and their ilk were already in the world serving their idols when God’s chosen people came along. The command to God’s beloved was simple: “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” - 2 Corinthians 6:17. However, the chosen people mingled with them, learned their ways, and began to serve their gods!
Many will argue that Christ’s “Great Commission” ( Matthew 28:19-20) prevents the chosen people from separating themselves from the Gentiles. But it was God’s people who failed to follow the Great Commission when they encountered the unbelievers. Instead - “Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.” - Judges 2:11-12. This is the embodiment of mingling, learning, and serving strange gods. We first mingle (or mix) with the unbelievers; we then learn their wicked ways; we then follow in the cloven hoof-prints which lead to the ‘snare’ of spiritual destruction. It is like a physician who goes to cure a disease then becomes infected himself!
It is a difficult task indeed for a Reformed Christian to compete with the allure and attractions of the world. The audience is sparse and more often than not antagonistic to the “hearing of the Word.” But spread the Word we must, and in so doing reject the entrapments which beckon us to mingle, to learn, and to serve the modern idols.
May the Holy Spirit fortify us in out daily struggle to reject the carnal world and to speak boldly about the salvation that is in Jesus Christ.
Peer pressure, worldly influence, “go along to get along;” these are all modern expressions referring to ‘mingling’, learning’, and ‘serving,’ in the broader context of the psalmist’s accusation as laid out in Psalm 106. Since we are God’s ‘chosen’ (or ‘elect’) we too are faced with the dire warnings of mingling, learning, and serving the carnal world.
“Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.” - Judges 3:5-6. We are few and they are many. How far have we as Reformed Christians stumbled down this slippery slope? And to what end?
What stands out in the psalm is the fact that the Canaanites and their ilk were already in the world serving their idols when God’s chosen people came along. The command to God’s beloved was simple: “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” - 2 Corinthians 6:17. However, the chosen people mingled with them, learned their ways, and began to serve their gods!
Many will argue that Christ’s “Great Commission” ( Matthew 28:19-20) prevents the chosen people from separating themselves from the Gentiles. But it was God’s people who failed to follow the Great Commission when they encountered the unbelievers. Instead - “Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.” - Judges 2:11-12. This is the embodiment of mingling, learning, and serving strange gods. We first mingle (or mix) with the unbelievers; we then learn their wicked ways; we then follow in the cloven hoof-prints which lead to the ‘snare’ of spiritual destruction. It is like a physician who goes to cure a disease then becomes infected himself!
It is a difficult task indeed for a Reformed Christian to compete with the allure and attractions of the world. The audience is sparse and more often than not antagonistic to the “hearing of the Word.” But spread the Word we must, and in so doing reject the entrapments which beckon us to mingle, to learn, and to serve the modern idols.
May the Holy Spirit fortify us in out daily struggle to reject the carnal world and to speak boldly about the salvation that is in Jesus Christ.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
God, Gracious and Merciful - Nehemiah 9:31
“Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful.” - Nehemiah 9:31.
We have so very much to be grateful for: our lives, our families, the providence God has shown us, the salvation that is ours through Jesus Christ - the list is endless. And to what do we owe these great and wonderful bounties in our lives? What have we done to deserve all that we are or have? Truth be told, we don’t deserve any of the wonderful blessings God has provided for us. God’s grace is unmerited, otherwise it wouldn’t be grace but just compensation for what we have done. It comes to us only because of the great love God has for us.
In Nehemiah’s time the wall surrounding Jerusalem was rebuilt. Upon it’s completion there began seven days of a public reading of the Book of the Law and the people gave thanks to God for all the grace He had bestowed upon them. They recalled God’s mercy to them despite their failings of faith. God is still merciful to us today despite our failings of faith.
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath;” - Psalm 78:38.
Our present world is quite possibly the worst representation of mankind ever presented to God. Murder, adultery, infanticide, homosexuality, idol worship; there simply is no sin that we have not taken to a hellish degree. That God doesn’t consume us in His righteous fiery rage is purely by His grace and mercy! “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” - Lamentations 3:22.
God is patient with us despite our glowering insolence toward Him. Such patience can be born of love alone. Paul expresses this very idea in his letter to the Ephesians - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” - Ephesians 1:3-5. As God loves, so should we love. His grace and mercy surround us each and every day. Our love for God and our fellow men and women separates us from those who disdain His love, grace, and mercy.
May we always be thankful to our Heavenly Father who loves us and sheds His grace and mercy upon us for no other reason than His own good pleasure.
We have so very much to be grateful for: our lives, our families, the providence God has shown us, the salvation that is ours through Jesus Christ - the list is endless. And to what do we owe these great and wonderful bounties in our lives? What have we done to deserve all that we are or have? Truth be told, we don’t deserve any of the wonderful blessings God has provided for us. God’s grace is unmerited, otherwise it wouldn’t be grace but just compensation for what we have done. It comes to us only because of the great love God has for us.
In Nehemiah’s time the wall surrounding Jerusalem was rebuilt. Upon it’s completion there began seven days of a public reading of the Book of the Law and the people gave thanks to God for all the grace He had bestowed upon them. They recalled God’s mercy to them despite their failings of faith. God is still merciful to us today despite our failings of faith.
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath;” - Psalm 78:38.
Our present world is quite possibly the worst representation of mankind ever presented to God. Murder, adultery, infanticide, homosexuality, idol worship; there simply is no sin that we have not taken to a hellish degree. That God doesn’t consume us in His righteous fiery rage is purely by His grace and mercy! “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” - Lamentations 3:22.
God is patient with us despite our glowering insolence toward Him. Such patience can be born of love alone. Paul expresses this very idea in his letter to the Ephesians - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” - Ephesians 1:3-5. As God loves, so should we love. His grace and mercy surround us each and every day. Our love for God and our fellow men and women separates us from those who disdain His love, grace, and mercy.
May we always be thankful to our Heavenly Father who loves us and sheds His grace and mercy upon us for no other reason than His own good pleasure.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Consumed By God? - Psalm 63:1
“O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water..” - Psalm 63:1
Are we consumed with God? A rather simple question it seems, but looks can be deceiving. Let’s first give definition to the word, “consumed.” Merriman-Webster says to “consume” means to “absorb the attention of.” When we think of our relationship with God is being absorbed in our attention to Him the first thing that comes to our minds? Again, let us examine this definition more closely.
We can say that we are absorbed in a book or movie when outside distractions fail to grasp our attention. The book or film can be said to have “absorbed our attention.” Much the same can be said of relationships. When we are attracted to another by virtue of common interests or goals or even by a romantic connection we are often absorbed into that relationship to the exclusion of others. So much so, in fact, that we are often remiss in our daily duties or even other relationships. We are, in effect, consumed by the relationship.
“My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” - Psalm 84:2. The psalmist establishes that he is consumed by the Lord. This is not a momentary desire or inclination; it is a preoccupation with the things of God, a veritable passion for the Lord! Is our devotion to God worthy to be called zealous? Passionate?
Unless we devote our attention and energies to an endeavor we will often come up short of our intentions because we have failed to give that endeavor its proper priority in our lives. Half-measures seldom produce a fullness of result. So it is with our devotion to God. When our daily activities require our fullest attention then God must still be in the back of our minds where we can call upon Him in prayer and supplication at a moment’s notice. This is what it means to be consumed by God.
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” - Psalm 42:1. Our zeal for God must be greater than anything else in our lives regardless of worldly priority. Nothing should come before our Creator, our Sustainer, our Lord and our Savior. This is the essence of being consumed by God.
May the fullness of our devotion be in our hearts and minds and souls always.
Are we consumed with God? A rather simple question it seems, but looks can be deceiving. Let’s first give definition to the word, “consumed.” Merriman-Webster says to “consume” means to “absorb the attention of.” When we think of our relationship with God is being absorbed in our attention to Him the first thing that comes to our minds? Again, let us examine this definition more closely.
We can say that we are absorbed in a book or movie when outside distractions fail to grasp our attention. The book or film can be said to have “absorbed our attention.” Much the same can be said of relationships. When we are attracted to another by virtue of common interests or goals or even by a romantic connection we are often absorbed into that relationship to the exclusion of others. So much so, in fact, that we are often remiss in our daily duties or even other relationships. We are, in effect, consumed by the relationship.
“My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” - Psalm 84:2. The psalmist establishes that he is consumed by the Lord. This is not a momentary desire or inclination; it is a preoccupation with the things of God, a veritable passion for the Lord! Is our devotion to God worthy to be called zealous? Passionate?
Unless we devote our attention and energies to an endeavor we will often come up short of our intentions because we have failed to give that endeavor its proper priority in our lives. Half-measures seldom produce a fullness of result. So it is with our devotion to God. When our daily activities require our fullest attention then God must still be in the back of our minds where we can call upon Him in prayer and supplication at a moment’s notice. This is what it means to be consumed by God.
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” - Psalm 42:1. Our zeal for God must be greater than anything else in our lives regardless of worldly priority. Nothing should come before our Creator, our Sustainer, our Lord and our Savior. This is the essence of being consumed by God.
May the fullness of our devotion be in our hearts and minds and souls always.
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