Search This Out

Psalms 44:17-21 KJV
All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Verse 21 is the focus of my attention today, but it is important, I think, that we keep it in context of the verses preceding it. The Psalmist does say that if we have forgotten God, surely He will search it out. But he says more than that. He says he had not forgotten God. Through the sore troubles he and his people were facing,
They had not turned back into hardness of heart
They had not forgotten their relationship with God and
They had not dealt falsely with the covenant God had made with them
And as surely as God would search out the secrets of their hearts if they had forgotten God, He has done the same in their faithfulness.

And this is why he may boldly say
Psalms 44:26 KJV
Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

Even though the trials fall and even though in the midst of them we have conflicts, when we have that confidence that God has kept His covenants with us through Christ, we also may have the confidence to ask His to arise for our help.

Speaking To My Own Soul

Psalms 42:5 KJV
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
This has been one of my favorite verses almost since I entered into the pastorate. God has used it to bring encouragement to me in one of the most desperate times in my life, and remembering back to that day has brought joy to my heart many times.

A year ago or so I heard a sermon preached from this passage that I found to be most helpful. The pastor used this verse, and the Psalm in its entirety to deal with the subject of depression. He suggested that this verse tells us the way out of depression is to speak the right things to our soul.

Believers can claim this verse as our own as we are in Christ.

In Christ there is struggle.
This world hated Christ. Is it any wonder it hates those that are in Christ? Even our Saviour cried out, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Not that Christ did not know why or that God had in fact forsaken Him, but in identification with the pain believers often feel.

I do notice though that the question is not meant to give us permission to complain, but is meant to point that we have no real reason to complain.

In Christ we have hope.
If there is nothing else for us, there is always hope in God.
His goodness
His power
His directing of the heavens and the earth
All offer hope to the believer.

In Christ we have a promise
History is replete with the stories of Christians who, having given all for Christ, finally saw their lives ended in horrible and painful ways. What good was heir faith in Christ to them? Much every way; they realized that, should this world work its worst upon their bodies, their ultimate reward would be to praise the Lord in His physical presence.

Regardless of the trials we might face upon the earth. Those who follow Christ have this absolute and unfailing promise, "I shall yet praise Him..."

Make No Tarrying....Please

Psalms 40:17 KJV
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

This Psalm was written by David, most likely during one of those times in his life when he was afflicted. Though David was
Anointed of God
A man after God's own heart and
A generally righteous king in Israel
David's life is almost most easily outlined around the different struggles he faced. Christians struggle on this earth. The key is how we deal with those struggles.

Now to the verse: there are at least these three major divisions within it:

A humble declaration
"I am poor and needy"
A comforting consideration
"the Lord thinketh upon me; thou art my help and my deliverer"
An earnest appeal
"make no tarrying, O my God"
If David could feel like he was poor and needy then likely it is that every Christian will feel the same. It is best that we feel this way concerning our spiritual condition. We are helpless in that state without Christ. So we do not need to hide our helplessness and ignore its existence; we must instead seek the right place for comfort and for help. God's love for us is so well documented in the Word of God it is undeniable. The question is, do we lean on His care of us for both our help in times of trouble and especially for our deliverance, both from our sin and also from our oppressors?

The New Testament makes it clear that the mark of the follower of Christ is that he looks for the appearing of Jesus Christ. Every day a Christian can rightfully pray, "make no tarrying, O my God" and in some sense pine for that day when Christ comes.

Even so come, Lord Jesus!

We Can Do These

Psalms 37:34 KJV
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
I find in the last segment of this Psalm three verses that begin with and action. There are some things we as Christian must simply leave to the Lord, but these verses give us three things a righteous man can do:

Depart from evil and do goodvs 27
Step one in building righteousness into our character is to first depart from the Lord and then do good. The Bible says when we do this we will "dwell for evermore." In its ultimate sense then this passage instructs us to depart from the world and place our faith in Christ (that is doing good).

Wait on the Lord and keep His wayvs 34
I have always loved the word wait. It means to be bound together. The Christian ought to bind himself to Christ. We ought to get so wrapped up in the Lord and the things of the Lord that He "drags us along" in His way. No options, no alternatives. We go where Christ goes.

Mark the perfect man and behold the upright
vs 37
The Christian who would have a consistent and growing testimony of righteousness marks out those who have that sort of testimony and they behold or watch them. They will build relationships with them and they will learn from them. Our friends play a huge role in determining who we will become. Good friends make for a better character in us. Poor friends make for the opposite.

Fight Against Them

Psalms 35:1 KJV
Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

What a prayer issue this is!
Rather than fighting our own battles
Rather than gearing up and charging against the enemyIt is so much better to pray and seek the Lord's defense on our behalf.

Those who strive with the Christian are well known:
Of course Satan
His plan has forever been to foil the glory of God by spoiling His crowning creation.

The worldThe systems of this world, their philosophies, kingdoms and cultures are all designed to glorify man as his own god. The world can include family, friends, governments, movements, even spiritual methods; anything that finds a life surrendered only to Christ offensive.

But the worst of all is self
Of all the enemies a Christian may face, the most insidious and the one most often to launch and offensive against us will be our flesh and self will.

None of these may be defeated in the power of self and in fact the attempt to defeat them in the power of self is itself a form of attack against us by self.

O LORD, fight against them that fight against me.

Hoping in Mercy

Psalms 33:18-19 KJV
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

Gill
"... His special mercy in Christ; which appears in the provision of him as a Saviour, in the mission of him into this world, and redemption by him; and is displayed in regeneration, the pardon of sin, and eternal life: and such that hope in it are they that see themselves miserable creatures, and in need of it; and who are encouraged to hope in it from the plenty and abundance of it in the heart of God..."

"....Not with dread of his wrath, or distrust of his grace, or for sinister ends and selfish views, but with a godly fear; by which men hate evil, depart from it, are careful not to offend God by it, but to serve and worship him; on such is not only his eye of Providence to protect from danger, to supply with the necessaries of life, but of love and grace"

The place every Christian ought to want to be is directly under the eye of the LORD. It is not, for the believer, a judgmental eye, looking to see what evil he may be up to, but a caring eye, enjoying the sight of those whom He loves so dearly.

And those He loves so dearly, hope in His mercy. They know they are not worthy. They are not attempting to cover up things before God and put on a show, they just believe that God is merciful and they seek that.

Oh Lord, be merciful! Deliver us and keep us.

The Iniquity of Son

Psalms 32:5 KJV
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

The three major terms for sin are all found in this one verse:
Transgressions means a revolt or rebellion
Iniquity means a perversity, a moral evil and the punishment of it
Sin means an offense

What I was interested in was the wording, "...Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."

Barnes Notes says
“All the guilt,” or the “iniquity” of his sin, was at once forgiven..."

Gill says
"That is, either the guilt of his sin, which he took away from him; or the punishment of it, which he delivered him from..."

When the Psalmist acknowledged his sin to the Lord, the Lord then forgave (I believe we can say) both the guilt and the punishment of said sin.

Praise God! His grace lifts away the guilt of the sin so that we may have peace of soul and the punishment of sin so that we may have peace with God.

By Thy Favour

Psalms 30:7 KJV
LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

It is both a comfort and a humbling thought that our successes, strengths and prosperities are not of our own making, but the result of the favor of the Lord.

It is comforting because we may rest in Him who is always good.
It is humbling because the sinful human nature longs o beg credit for its own "mountain."

Gill says
"....it was not owing to his own merit that he enjoyed the prosperity that he did, so neither was the continuance of it owing to his goodness, power, and strength, but to the free grace and favour of God...."

Praise God for His free grace and favor.

His Commandment

1 John 3:23 KJV
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

It is true that some things in the Bible require study and some considerable thought to get hold of, but it is also true that much of the Bible (and most it, the most important parts) is written so simply that even the smallest child can understand them.

In this case the Bible tells us that
First, because we keep His commandments we can have our requests answered and
Second, when we keep His commandments we dwell in Him

So far so good; but what are those commandments? Are they complicated and difficult to both understand and obey? Are they such strenuous commandments that most people could not hope to obey them? Not at all! The commandment is only this

Believe on the name of Jesus Christ and
Love one another
A child could so easily both understand and keep these commandments. It is no hard task physically or mentally. But it does take a meek and humble spirit; which is why so very few will walk this way.

1 John 2:6 (KJV) Even As He

1 John 2:6 KJV
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

This passage is straightforward and to the point;

If you say you abide in Christ
You ought to so walk
Even as Christ walked
Nothing difficult to understand here. The Christian should live his life in a manner that imitates the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. That means we

First must know how Jesus walked.
We can't make this up and put our own opinions in here. The question isn't, "What Would Jesus Do?" The question is, "What did Jesus do?" Only when we are completely versed in the actions, attitudes and words of the Lord can we walk as He walked.

Secondly we must apply it to our own circumstances.Since we do not live in the same age and culture the Lord lived our circumstances are somewhat different than those we find in the New Testament. This doesn't give us leave to conjure up our own opinions of what Christ would have done, it just means we must understand our Bibles that much better. The Bible doesn't tell us just what we ought to have done if we lived 2000 years ago, the Bible is a living book with direction for life right now. We need only to study it to rightly divide it and apply it.

We that are Christians are to follow the life, not just of Paul and the other apostles or even of Christians who either live or have lived. We are "so to walk, even as He walked."

Walking in the Light

1 John 1:7 KJV
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

The best way to know that we are walking in the light is to realize that if we are in the light, our sins will be exposed. The more light, the more sin we will be able to see....

When we are in the light, we will not be deceived into thinking we have no sin
When we are in the light, we will be quick to confess our sins
When we are in the light we will know that not only are we sinners, but we have followed through with our nature and committed sins.

Darkness dims the truth about our sin nature. The light of the Lord Jesus, cleanses us from sin because it exposes the sin.

Stir Up

2 Peter 3:1-2 KJV
This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Peter says that both the prophets and the apostles had this one goal in their preaching, to stir our minds that:

Scoffers will come, don't let them snow you.
They can mock and scoff and argue all they please. God knew it would happen and it doesn't change His plans.

The Lord is longsuffering, don't let that throw you.
We preach that the Lord is going to come at any moment, but he hasn't come in two thousand years now. But that should not bother us. One day is like a thousand years to the Lord. When He comes we will all know that it was soon.

So while we wait, make sure we know Him.
We would best use our days of waiting upon the Lord by growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. These aren't wasted years so long as we apply ourselves to the right things.

I Know

Psalms 20:6 KJV
Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

Nothing spectacular and new today. I just really like this thought, "Now I know that the Lord saveth...."

The assurance of knowing that our faith is not merely something we hopes is effective but that it is something God in fact does brings huge comfort.

Thy Sword

Psalms 17:13-14 KJV
Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
From men which are thy hand ....

The construction of the text is undeniable. God uses the wicked as his sword to chasten and refine His own. Job saw God use Satan as His sword. God often used the nations of the Philistines and Assyrians as chastening swords in Israel and Jerusalem finally saw God use Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar as a chastening sword in among them.

However, here, is what I was blessed by this morning; the Psalmist prays, and thus gives us precedent to pray in a similar fashion, that God would deliver us from His very own sword. True enough, God uses the wicked and men of the earth to chasten and refine His children, but we, who are His children, are free to ask the Lord to deliver us from them.

Father, we need chastening, we need the discipline that comes from judgment and we are happy to acknowledge Your rightful use of any creature on this planet to bring about that chastening sword. But this morning I beg that we be delivered from them. Father, have mercy upon us and cast down the enemy, though he be used as Your rod!

From the Lord, Through the Psalmist and To the Saints

Psalms 16:2-3 KJV
O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

There is a direction indicated in the text this morning. The Psalmist says that the Lord is His Lord. He is under the submission of the Lord. He is the subordinate of the Lord. The Lord is his master and to his master he bows.

Having made such a declaration his next statement points; from the Lord, through the Psalmist and to the saints. The goodness that God had shown to him, he would now extend to others.

He would not keep it for himself
He would not hoard it and hide it
He would pass it along

To the saints and
To the excellent

I am reminded of
Romans 5:5 KJV
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

What God places in the heart of the saint may not stay there. If it is of God at all it must be shed abroad. It must spill out and onto others.

The Psalmists final statement in our text this morning is that these saints and excellent are his delight. Oh that we may also delight in the brethren!

According to God

1 Peter 4:6 KJV
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
The passage does not mean that they were dead when the Gospel was preached to them but that many who have died have heard the Gospel.

Barnes Commentary says
In respect to that - to the flesh - they were put to death; in respect to their souls - their higher natures - they were made truly to live.

I want to address the difference of focus "according to men" and "according to God."

According to men, those believers who have gone to the grave are dead.
Their lives are over
Their consciousness is gone
They are but memories
According to men, they have been judged
They have gone the same was as the unbeliever
They were not bettered by their faith

But according to God this is not so.
According to God, they live. It is not that they will live one day, but that they are living right now. Though the flesh has failed, their spirit is as fresh as the new born.
According to God, they are quickened. They are animated. They are active and conscious and full of all that is life.

I am more interested in living according to God than I am according to men.

Loving Life

1 Peter 3:10-11 KJV
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

There is something deeper here than I think comes to our minds at the very first. There is a life to love that is beyond the few years we have on earth and that life is the one to love.

Those believers of a few hundred years ago, who gave up their earthly lives (some of them being very young) for the sake of their faith in Christ, certainly loved life every bit as much as anyone could today. However they saw that this life was only the beginning, a precursor to another life that was of far greater importance than this.
They saw eternity with Christ
They saw the rewards of a faithful life
They saw the consequences of lack of faithfulnessIssues that so impacted what would be their final destiny that they were willing to pay any price, even suffering and death in this life, to secure a brighter life in eternity.

They loved life. And because they loved life they wanted their lives to blessed and abundant in eternity: even if it meant sacrificing now to receive that abundance then.

I Got What I Couldn't Have

1 Peter 2:10 KJV
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

This is a wonderful passage;
One who has no mercy receives mercy
One who has no hope finds hope
One who is outside the promises finds himself inside those same promises

This is the greatest of all miracles and is the marvelous message of the Word..... We begin with no mercy, but we, who come to Christ find what we could never deserve.

Praise the Lord!

But Men

Psalms 9:20 KJV
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
I am not one given to praying for bad things to happen to people, even when I believe they have done badly. But this Biblical prayer is one worthy of our bringing before the Lord regularly; not that we wish evil and bad things to happen to others, but that the nations of this world would see that they are but men.

Nations, and especially those leaders of them, can so easily take on a god complex. They begin to view themselves as larger than life and above not only the laws they themselves have created, but the law of God. They view themselves as
Wiser than those they lead
More power than those they lead and
Having more privilege than those they lead

And they forget that, though they may lead, they are ultimately still accountable to the Sovereign of all.

O Lord, cause our nations leaders to fear You for only in that fear can they have any real wisdom. Help them to see that they are but men. Lead them to lead only as they in turn follow You.

His Righteousness

Psalms 7:17 KJV
I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

One of the grandest reasons to give praise to the Lord is according to or on account of His own righteousness. We know we are to give thanks in everything. But sometimes things are not so easy for us to praise and give thanks for.
Difficult circumstances in life
Challenges with health
Problems in relationships

We can praise the Lord at all times when we come to the place where we see that God is always righteous and always right. This world has some terrible things in it. But God has a plan and in that plan, those that trust in Him can never fear. God will make all things good.

Praise Him according to His righteousness.

As For Me

Psalms 5:7 KJV
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

While God has placed us here as witnesses, it is important that we remember our first priority is not to witness but to worship.

Regardless of what others do
Regardless of what other issues come up

Our place is to come into the house of the Lord and worship.

We come in His fear and
We come trusting His mercy

But by all means we come.

First Pure

James 3:17 KJV
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

The wisdom from above can be defined as having two characteristics, purity and peaceable (each of the descriptors given after peaceable give more detail about being peaceable.)

But the passage says that the wisdom that is from above is first pure. In other words, if it is not pure, it is not from above even if it is peaceable. The qualifier for its being from above is that it is pure. Without this purity it is not from above regardless of whatever other good things it might be.

I am remind that the Bible says, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."[1] It is not always possible and the thing that makes it not possible is that we must first be pure, holy and separate from sinners.

The standard for whether something is from God or not is - is it pure. And the measuring rod for purity must not be our opinions but the Word of God. If anything is in conflict with the Word of God, no matter what other good things might be said about it, it is not from above, it is earthly, sensual and devilish. It may appear to have accomplished wonderful things, but if it is not pure according to the Word of God, it is not from above.

Purity, according to God's standard must be the qualifier. Otherwise it "descendeth not from above."
[1] Romans 12:18

Perfected Faith

James 2:22 KJV
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Gill says this
"...the sense is, that hereby his faith was declared to be sincere, unfeigned, true, and genuine; just as love is said to be perfected."

Every Christian ought to seek a perfected faith.
Not that we can ever become sinlessly perfect, only Jesus is that
Nor that our faith will not experience ebbs and flows. Abraham, of whom our text refers, experienced such times, and if he, then certainly we.
But that, through the practice and exercising of our faith, we may have a faith that is
· Visible to others
· Sincere and
· Profitable

The Sum of the Book

Job 42:17 KJV
So Job died, being old and full of days.

I do not consider the book of Job one of the easier in the Bible to get hold of.
Job's friends appear to say very truthful things, but God says they do not speak truth
Job's testimony from God's own mouth is that he is a perfect and upright man, yet he seems to get a stern lecture by the Lord toward the end of the book
Job claims to trust God (and I believe he did) but he also complains that he wishes he had never been born.
But in the end the Bible says "So Job died being old and full of days."

Regardless of the confusing properties that exist in the contents of the book the final lesson and sum of its message is that Job did more than merely survive his trials. Job came through them into remarkable blessing.

I do not believe that each Christian should expect the exact same results as Job experienced, but I am confident that the primary lesson of the book is that the believer may expect that, as he trusts the Lord, he too will come through his trials having more than survived them but being blessed wonderfully despite them.

A Good Thing

Hebrews 13:9 KJV
Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Albert Barnes Notes says
"The apostle does not exhort them to adhere to an opinion merely because they had before held it, or because it was an old opinion, nor does he forbid their following the leadings of truth though they might be required to abandon what they had before held; but he cautions them against that vacillating spirit, and that easy credulity, which would lead them to yield to any novelty, and to embrace an opinion because it was new or strange."

"A religious opinion, once embraced on what was regarded as good evidence, or in which we have been trained, should not be abandoned for slight causes. Truth indeed should always be followed, but it should be only after careful inquiry."

Because the book of Hebrews is originally written Jews who had come to Christ, and because of the reference to "meats" in the verse, this text is likely a reference to the doctrines of the Judaizers who attempted to meld their old Jewish practices with the teachings of Christ and, in consequence, derived new doctrines that were neither Jewish nor Christian. But the principles apply to any believer in any age who is faced with any "new" doctrine. We should not be quick to abandon what we have once embraced. Surely there are times when it becomes necessary. When we, having searched the Scriptures, find those doctrines we have leaned upon wanting for scriptural foundation, it is our duty to abandon them for the Word of God. There are many who are so stuck in their traditional denominations, for instance, that they refuse to come to Christ because it will, of necessity, mean they must leave their old friend. But I rather think in our day the problem is the other way around. People today are too quick to accept a doctrine as truth without giving it proper investigation. They will climb on board any new teaching so long as it is the one that promises them what they believe God should give them or the one that appears to be the most successful.

God help us to have the spirit of discernment to try the spirits whether they be of God and only approve that which is doctrinally excellent.

Lift Up Those Hands!

Hebrews 12:12-13 KJV
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

We must carefully see that this exhortation is not so much that we as Christians lift up the hands of others who are faint, but that we lift up our own hands and strengthen our own feeble knees after having been chastened of the Lord.

Chastening is never joyous and we are not asked to act as if it is. However the benefits of the chastening of the Lord are so numerous and the implications attached to the fact that the Lord would chasten us are so encouraging that, while we do not rejoice in the chastening, we may certainly rejoice in its fruit.

So what is expected of us is clear; let not the believer linger in self pity and depression. Lift up our hands, straighten our knees, make our paths straight and move right on for the glory of God. If we continue in our lame spirit it will be to our undoing. God has equipped us with whatever we need to be healthy in the spirit. Accept that healing and go on in peace and holiness for Jesus Christ!

As you may have noticed, I have not posted in two weeks. My wife and I took a couple of weeks vacation. We did not go anywhere special this year, just a few day trips and some time with family. While I did visit with the Lord each day, I did not have access to the internet to post the results of those visits. So today I offer two weeks worth of devotional time.

Never Mind That

Hebrews 11:15 KJV
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

Gill's Commentary is sufficient for this passage
"...when men are called by grace, and converted, they come out of a country, this world, which is a land of sin and iniquity, of great folly and ignorance, of darkness, and of the shadow of death; a desert, a mere wilderness; a country where Satan reigns, full of wicked and ungodly men; and which is the land of their nativity, as to their first birth: and they may be said to come out of it, not in a natural and civil sense, but in a spiritual one; and it is the character of a converted man, or one that is come out of the world, and is separated from it, to be unmindful of it; not so as not to consider from whence he came out, as owing to rich grace; nor so as not to lament the iniquities of it; nor so as not to pray for the conversion of the inhabitants of it; but he is unmindful of it, so as to be desirous of the company of the men of it, or to have the affections set upon it, and the heart tickled with the pleasures of it, or so as to desire to return to it, for which there is a great deal of reason: for this country is not worth minding; and there is much in it to set a gracious mind against it; a good man has better things to mind; and it is below, and unworthy of a Christian, to mind the world; and besides, worldly mindedness is attended with bad consequences..."

God help us to not be mindful of this world.

The Ant and His Friends

Proverbs 6:6-8 KJV
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

This passage, though often quoted and frequently referred to, is seldom taken in its proper context. It ought to be taken into consideration with the subject of surety.

Do not be slothful about delivering yourself from your suretyship. You have yoked your name and possessions with the debt of another; be diligent in getting the situation paid for.
Provide for it
Plan for it
Pay for itHumble yourself and make sure your friend. See that the debt is paid in whatever means you must do so. Otherwise your own poverty will come.

The Bible teaches us to bear one another's burdens. Sometimes a brother can be in debt and in need of help in getting out of debt. The problem comes when we attach our own names to debts they accrue. Like a sinking ship, if we jump on board rather than saving them, we may go down with them.

So the point of the parable is not merely that we plan for our own "winter" but that, if we have placed our name with another in debt that we are not slothful about getting the debt resolved. Maybe not that we don't get in debt, but that we "gather food" for the "harvest" of paying the debt off.

Look For Him

Hebrews 9:28 KJV
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The coming of the Lord is so much more important a doctrine than we often give it merit. This is no doctrine we ought to play with, proposing varying ideas concerning when and why and for whom. The Word of God says in this passage that salvation belongs to those who look for Him.

So at least one of the evidences of the true believer is that they look for the appearing of Jesus Christ.
They believe it to be fact
They expect it to be soon
They long for it to be now and
They live with it in mind

The Lord Pitched It

Hebrews 8:2 KJV
A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Gill says this is a reference not to heaven but to the Church of Christ. The church is an institution of the Lord. It is His and He is the head of it. He gives to the church whom He chooses and He preserves it as He pleases. The Lord cherishes His church. He designs its testimony to be holy and without blemish.

May God grant us that we never forget what an awesome thing it is to belong to the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched.
May we support it
May we be faithful to it
May we never forsake it

Not Slothful

Hebrews 6:12 KJV
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

God's saints are called to be diligent and not slothful. Usually I think of sloth as having to do with our work ethics.
Getting to work on time
Giving our employer an honest day
Doing our diligence to be educated concerned our work
But this text uses sloth in context to our Christian walk. God says we are to follow other believers and that we are not to be slothful about it.

God has called us to be followers
He likens us to sheep and we do well to view ourselves as God instructs and not as we would like to think of ourselves. We are creatures who need to be led. In fact I don't believe we are ever without leadership. We either follow purposefully or inadvertently, but we are following, so the real question becomes

Who are we following?
I suggest that those who through faith and patience inherit the promises are those whose lives on earth have been completed and have now inherited those promises. We can never know that the one who appears to have faith and patience in fact will inherit those promises. Too many have fallen short after years and years of supposedly walking with the Lord for me to trust anyone who has not finished his course. I choose to follow those whose race is run.

God Forbid

Job 27:5 KJV
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

These are the words of Job and not of his friends. Much of what his friends say sounds pious and good, but we must be careful, remembering from whence those words come. Not so here. Job makes an affirmation that any believer would be wise to make.

He says he will not remove his integrity.
He knows what is right
He knows he has followed the Lord
He knows he has been upright and just
He knows he has feared God and eschewed evil

And though the tide of circumstances has gotten it so these others are in, on the human plane, in a position to deride and judge him, Job refuses to budge on right and wrong.

He will not buy into the charismatic mentality of Eliphaz
He will not degrade his faith to the Protestant mentality of Bildad
He will not conform his life to the dogmatic mentality of Zophar

His is, by the testimony of God, a pure walk. And Job wasn't budging!

God give us some believers like that today!

God Forbid

Job 27:5 KJV
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

These are the words of Job and not of his friends. Much of what his friends say sounds pious and good, but we must be careful, remembering from whence those words come. Not so here. Job makes an affirmation that any believer would be wise to make.

He says he will not remove his integrity.
He knows what is right
He knows he has followed the Lord
He knows he has been upright and just
He knows he has feared God and eschewed evil

And though the tide of circumstances has gotten it so these others are in, on the human plane, in a position to deride and judge him, Job refuses to budge on right and wrong.

He will not buy into the charismatic mentality of Eliphaz
He will not degrade his faith to the Protestant mentality of Bildad
He will not conform his life to the dogmatic mentality of Zophar

His is, by the testimony of God, a pure walk. And Job wasn't budging!

God give us some believers like that today!

The Unprofitable Word

Hebrews 4:2 KJV
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
When all is said and done, the Word preached will either be profitable or unprofitable to the hearer because of faith.

The Word of God, mixed with faith, is profitable.
It saves
It comforts
It corrects
It instructs
It guides
It blesses

But the same Word of God, often preached at the same time, is also preached to some who do not mix it with faith. And it is to them, unprofitable.
They do not believe
They are not blessed
They will not obey and therefore
Nothing has changed.

This is a faith operation. And faith, though it may be passed from one to another, is always a gift of God and not a product of man's industry. Ultimately we come down to this.... whether the Word of God is profitable or not is a matter of what God has done in the heart of the hearer.

We lean upon the Lord.

Unbelief

Hebrews 3:12 KJV
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

I saw this text as complimentary to the text that I focused upon yesterday. We must give the more earnest heed not to let the things we have learned from God to slip AND we must take heed not to depart from the living God.

What a tragic thing it is when one who has heard the Word of God and has responded to it turns out to have an "evil heart of unbelief." Some who appear to have walked with us and with our Saviour turn out to be, after all, unbelievers.

It is no little thing to be a believer. It is not something that happens without consequence and then we can just turn from as we please. The one who has been born again will demonstrate that new birth in a careful heeding of the things they have learned and an purposeful walk that will not, in the end, depart from the living God.

Too Many

Hebrews 2:1 KJV
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

· Too many things have slipped spiritually over the years.
· Too many Christians have dropped their convictions.
· Too many doctrines have become compromised to convenience
· Too many churches have accommodated the world

There is no question that the things of God can slip if we do not give the more earnest heed. If in Paul's day that earnest heed was needful, how much more so in our day.

HIS Power

Hebrews 1:3 KJV
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

My focus this morning is on "the word of His power." Christ upholds all things by His own power.
It is a power that belongs solely to Him
It is a power that holds the universe in place
It is a power that is manifested in His spoken Word

His power is what we need today:
His Word, spoken in this world,
His influence in the hearts of men and women,
His working in the course of man.
May we ever look for His power and, may we ever trust in His power.

Job's Faith

Job 19:25-27 KJV
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

I love Job's confession of faith.

Despite the intense pain Job is experiencing, emotionally, physically and mentally, still his spirit and soul rests upon His God.

This body will die and decay. So what!
The believer will be resurrected to see the Lord

This life may experience terrible tragedy. So what!
The believer will stand eternally with Christ in the heavenlies.

This earthly path might include some times when the Lord is difficult to see. So what!
In our flesh we will see the Lord. We will one day be in His presence, never to be without Him again. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is always here. And one day we will have the physical proof of it.

Saved

Titus 3:5-7 KJV
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Praise God for salvation that is wrought not by the works of man (if they were wrought by man they could as easily be destroyed by man) but by our Almighty God. In this passage we learn that we are saved

MercifullyGod withholds from us that judgment we so rightfully deserve. His mercy is, as is all of salvation, founded upon the work of Christ. God does not merely overlook the judgment of our sin but places that judgment upon His own Son

AbundantlyGod's salvation is no small thing. Just as Peter's wife's mother was so healed that she could immediately get up and minister to those in her home (as opposed to a supposed healing that still required she rest and recuperate) when God saves us it is immediate complete and eternal.

GraciouslySalvation is a gift. It is not merited by our deeds in any way. It is completely purchased by the work of Christ and freely given those who will but rest in Christ.

What Grace Teaches

Titus 2:11-13 KJV
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Grace, rather than giving us license, teaches us
To deny certain things
To live a certain way and
To look for a certain Saviour
Far from permitting our abandon of standards of righteousness, grace teaches us to press toward things that are different than this world and things that are more sure than this world.

A certain Saviour speaks both of the surety of His coming and the fact that He is a specific Saviour; not one of our own choosing.

Sounds Like a Baptist

Job 4:1 KJV
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered....

Scofield's Notes says
Eliphaz rests on mysterious experience, Bildad rests upon his tradition and Zophar rests upon his dogmatic knowledge of God. It occurred to me that:

Eliphaz is the charismatic Christian
Bildad is the Protestant Christian and
Zophar is the fundamental Baptist Christian

Scofield says of the three, Zophar is the least open to reason. That sounds like a Baptist! :-)

Thy Ministry

2 Timothy 4:5 KJV
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

"...make full proof of thy ministry."

The ministry is not something to be done lightly or as a hobby. The man in the ministry ought to fully immerse himself in it.

This is not to say he may not work a secular type job as needed in order to provide for his family. It is to say that even in that work he ought to do it as a function and part of his ministry.

The cause of the gospel ought to be his heart and passion.
The work of the ministry ought to occupy his very being.

Whatever else he may be engaged in
Wherever he might find himself to be
He is in the ministry.
He is called of God.
He has a charge and commission.

Let nothing distract him from that calling!

Continue Thou

2 Timothy 3:14 KJV
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

The major theme of 2 Timothy is the general apostasy of the last days and the afflictions that are a part of it. As Paul suffered for the gospel, so he encouraged Timothy to do likewise and urges him to urge those that will come after Timothy to continue in the things we have learned.

What is the answer to the current troubles in our world today?
What should be the Christian response to worldliness in the churches?
How should the Christian react to a general disdain for the faith of Jesus Christ?

Here it is, "Continue thou in the thing which thou hast learned...."

Our responsibility as believers has always been and will always be, regardless of what changes the world makes is simply this, "Continue thou....."

Don't give up
Don't quit
Don't let some things slip
Don't drop our standards a little
Don't compromise with the world

"Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned..."

A Sure Foundation

2 Timothy 2:19 KJV
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Even before the Apostles left this earth, Satan had begun his attacks upon the church of the Living God.
Apostasy, the willful denial of truth among false professors
Error, wrong assumptions based upon personal ignorance and
Heresy, the turning from truth or its practice by the brethren
Had already become a problem.
Some were saying that the resurrection had already past
Others were abusing the doctrines of spiritual gifts

In the midst of all of these attacks of the devil the Word of God gives us this wonderful assurance, "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure...."

Satan may attack and oppress the believer all he wants; he cannot shake the foundation of God. So our safest place as believers is inside that foundation. The best place for us to be is securely in His church, living for its advancement, listening to the message preached through it and fellowshipping with the others who are also safely within it. The church is not a building but a fellowship and we are not to cloister ourselves inside the confines of whatever structure our assembly gathers. We are to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature, but as we do so, we are wise to do it in the authority and protection of our church and among the fellowship of others whoa re doing the same.

Nothing to be Ashamed Of

2 Timothy 1:8 KJV
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

The word ashamed here means "to impose disgrace." It would not have been impossible but that the lost world thought of Christianity as a disgrace.
The believers were hated and hunted down
The majority of the wealthy, worldly wise, and powerful rejected the gospel, in fact
The believers themselves were only a mere handful of people in comparison to the populations of the world.
The world would have considered the Christian movement a disgrace by worldly standards.
So Paul encouraged Timothy not to be ashamed

Paul exhorted Timothy not to be ashamed of the Testimony of the Lord
Jesus Christ came, not as a world conqueror but as a lowly babe in the manger.
In His life He had no place to lay His head. and
He suffered a humiliating death at a young age.
But His gospel message is pure and powerful. It changes the eternal destiny of immortal souls. There is nothing in the testimony of Christ to be ashamed of.

Paul then urged Timothy not to be ashamed of the prison experiences of himself.
Paul had gone from an "up and coming" in the Jew's religion to an itinerant preacher who wasn't even very well received of other Christians and finally a prisoner sentenced to death for his message. On the human level Paul's experience would not appear to be one we would desire to follow. But Paul's life wasn't lived on the human level. His treasures were of a different sort. While Paul died an ignoble death in his day, his message is impacting lives 2000 years later. That is nothing to be ashamed of.

Finally Paul charged Timothy that he should partake in these same afflictions which were first seen in Christ and then in Paul.
It's not a message most will comprehend. Those who are not saved could never understand why a believer would choose a life of affliction. The majority of professing Christians would never consider partaking in the afflictions of the gospel. But those who will enter into these afflictions will find the power of God more than capable of sustaining them.

Trust

1 Timothy 6:20 KJV
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

The preacher has something that is committed to his trust; it is not his own.
In Timothy's case, it had been committed to him by Apostle Paul.
Paul's investment in time and training must not go to waste. Timothy was not free to do with what he had been taught as he would. Paul trusted Timothy to keep it, guard it, and grow it.

It had been committed to him through the "laying on of hands of the presbytery" [1]
This is the only reference in the Bible to Timothy's ordination. Gill suggests that this "presbytery" (literally, eldership) must have been the apostles since Philip did not lay hands on those in Samaria but waited for Peter and John. Timothy's calling and ministry were not of his own making. Others had invested in him. They had placed their trust in him to keep what was committed to him.

It had been committed to him by the LordThis of course is the ultimate trust. That Jesus Christ would count us faithful and put us in the ministry is a fact too grand to grasp.

The preaching of the gospel is not ours to do with as we please. We are not to regard this as having come to us of our own, but as having been passed down to us. To change courses in methods, ministry or message is to break the trust of those who have handled the ministry before us. God help us to keep what has been committed to us.
[1] (1 Timothy 4:14)

The Power of Words

Job 4:3-5 KJV
Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

Eliphaz reveals himself to be a self righteous and proud man. The basis of his entire speech before Job was based upon a religious experience and vision that he saw. Since the Bible was not yet written and God did speak to mankind through visions in those days, we have no reason to insist that this wasn't from God. However, its effect upon Eliphaz is not. It is not uncommon for men to be blessed of God and to become lifted in pride because of the blessing. So happens to Eliphaz.

However, his earliest words are not his thoughts, but merely observation which appears to be true. That observation is that Job had instructed many and strengthened the weak hands. Eliphaz makes the observation that Job's words had upholden the falling and strengthened feeble knees.

The power of the Word is not only effective in damaging, but in building up and encouraging. The child of God ought to make it his lifelong practice to use his words in just such a way!

Now there comes a day when Job is cast down. God's Word has made it quite clear that this was through no sin on Job's account but that God might be glorified. We can be assured that, with the one who has "thrown himself under the Lord" we will have our times similar to Job's. By God's grace we too will glorify God through those times.

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

Job 2:12 KJV
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

The testimony of Job is so incredible. God declares in 2:3 that Satan had "moved [God] against [Job]."

He has lost his possessions
He has lost his livestock and
He has lost his children.

That Job loved his children mightily is evidenced in 1:5 and his continual prayers and offerings for them.

Finally Job lost his physical health. The Bible says that he was so deformed and defeated by all that had gone on that his friends "knew him not." The pressures had been so intense that not only had he experienced physical deformity but, I am sure, emotional deformity as well.

And yet despite it all Job said
Job 1:21 KJV
And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
And
Job 2:10 KJV
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job was content (though suffering) to be in the hands of God and to glorify the Lord in whatever way He deemed best for the present time. Job had glorified God in times of prosperity, power and success. Now he would glorify God in times of humility, poverty and want.

May God be glorified in whatever His pleasure is for His people!

How To Behave

1 Timothy 3:15 KJV
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
I am reminded today of the importance of the local church and of our behaviour in that church.
In some denominations, the building itself becomes an idol of worship. The building becomes ornate, rich, and ostentatious. People come to admire and adore the building more than the creator.
In some denominations (and, for that matter, independent churches) the service itself becomes an idol. The people are expected to reverence the experience of church. Hushed tones and carefully scripted programs are carried out with no on allowed to interfere with the flow of said program.

We would do well to remember that we are to have no gods before the Lord. That includes those god we might make up in the Lord's house.

On the other hand, the church of the Living God is an awesome place and the believer would also do well to remember to behave as becoming his profession of faith while there. We gather together, in whatever place we assemble, for the purpose of worshiping the Lord and that is exactly what we ought to do while we are there.

Human Responsibilty and Divine Sovereignty

Proverbs 16:33 KJV
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

The lot was a means used in ancient times to determine the will of the Lord and to make decisions. Some people says it would have been something like rolling dice. A person would cast the lot into the fabric of their garment and make choices based upon the casting of that lot. The point of the passage then is this... men make decisions, but the Lord is the one who carries out his will.

I find in this verse a hunt toward the balance between human responsibility and divine sovereignty. Some people lean way too heavily on human responsibility. They plan, scheme, delegate and execute. In the end, some of them will give God credit, but then, if their plans have been successful enough, they will advertise their successes and in some cases offer to teach others (for a price of course) how to be successful as they have been. While they say they give God glory, it is really all about them. One preacher said publicly "God didn't do much in this town, until I got here."

On the other hand some people don't do anything. They refuse to see that it is commanded of the Lord that we "Go." God has called us into His fields and commissioned us to preach the Gospel. We are too "cast the lot into the lap" as it were.

The reality is that the Word of God teaches us a balance. We are to "cast the lot" We are to be actively involved. We are to labor abundantly in the cause of Christ. But we are to also always keep before us that, the disposing of our labor is "of the Lord." He makes the final choices and accomplishes His will for our lives as He chooses.

Keeping that in mind will ensure that He truly gets the glory.

The Lord IS Faithful

2 Thessalonians 3:3 KJV
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

In the backdrop of of the Apostle's own confrontations with unreasonable and wicked men, Paul says, "Pray for us." Preachers need the prayers and encouragement and support of those the Lord has led to follow them because there are plenty of others who will not follow.

Unreasonable menThere are some who will not see the faith of Christ as reasonable. Even though no real Christian forces his views upon another; even though we simply want to faithfully follow the Lord and let others know that they may have the same peace with God we have discovered, some are just unreasonable.

Wicked men
While the unreasonable can be considered wicked in their own right, there are others who just take wickedness further. Their persecutions and oppressions of Christians are targeted, intentional and purposefully mean.

But despite all of the trials they bring into the life of the believer, Paul says, "The Lord is faithful..."There is a comfort and assurance that is fond in that truth that makes all of the difficulties a Christian endures worth it.

Life is not easy for anyone. The wealthiest, to the poorest face struggles and victories. Some choose for themselves lives that others of us would not dream of, but they find in their choices both trials and joys. Some have lives we can only dream of, but even they find in their lives trials and joys. In the end we are all on an even playing field in this life. Only eternity makes our choices have value. Make your choices one that provide heaven as you home and treasures awaiting you there.

I Told You

2 Thessalonians 2:5 KJV
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
I have met some Christians over the years who believe that the doctrines of future things are not that important. Though they personally hold views that are contrary to the pre-tribulational rapture, they usually say things like, "Whether you are right about the rapture or I am right, it doesn't matter, we will both make it when it happens." One preacher friend of mine, when confronted with that statement, told the person, "That's a cop out. Decide what you believe and hold it."

But the doctrines of the future things, and especially concerning those things surrounding the rapture and the Tribulation, were of great urgency to the Apostle Paul. Though Paul was only in the city of Thessalonica a short time, yet in his stay he did tell those new Christians about the Tribulation, the rapture and the events that were involved in it.

Paul did not avoid these doctrines as controversial. Neither did he view them as insignificant and not necessary for young believers. It was among the first things he told them about.

The Bible doctrines of the Tribulation, rapture, antichrist, and the falling away of the faith prior to it all are key doctrines. They give the Christian
Insight into the world in which he lives
Motivation to aggressively serve the Lord and
Hope that, though this world is tough, we will escape the judgment that it faces.

Something We Just Don't Need to Study

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 KJV
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
I am reminded that the Bible says
1 Timothy 1:4 KJV
Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

2 Timothy 2:23 KJV
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.

Titus 3:9 KJV
But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
The Apostle Paul says that he has no need to write to the believers in Thessalonica concerning the times and seasons of the Lord's return because they knew perfectly that the coming of the Lord would be "as a thief in the night." No man can no the day or the hour. We can't know if Jesus will come in the spring or the fall.
Mark 13:35 KJV
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
The Christians at Thessalonica did not have time to learn a great deal of the Word of God before the Apostle was forced to leave their town, but they had learned this one truth perfectly, when Jesus comes, it will be "as a thief in the night" and we therefore ought to be on watch always.

Why, if they could learn that in such a short time, do so many Christians have trouble with it after so long a time?

An Evidence of Sanctification

1 Thessalonians 4:6 KJV
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
John Gill's notes
"This is commonly understood of transgressing the bounds of justice and equity between men and men; and of cheating and defrauding in trade and business, by increasing or lessening the value and prices of goods by the buyer and seller, by not keeping to the bargain, contract, covenant, or sample, by false weights and measures, and by taking the advantage of the weakness and ignorance of men; all which is aggravated by dealing thus with a brother…"

Albert Barnes commentary
"That no man go beyond ……... This word means, “to make to go over,” as, e. g., a wall or mountain; then, to overpass, to wit, certain limits, to transgress; and then to go too far, i. e., to go beyond right - hence to cheat or defraud. It is not used elsewhere in the New Testament. The idea of overreaching is that which is implied in its use here.
And defraud - ….., “oppress,” or “overreach.” This word properly means, to have more than another; then to have an advantage; and then to take advantage of any one, to circumvent, defraud, cheat. It is rendered “got an advantage,” …; “defraud,” …; “make a gain,” 2Co_12:17-18. Compare for the use of the adjective, 1Co_5:10-11; 1Co_6:10; Eph_5:5; and the noun, Mar_7:22; Luk_12:15; Rom_1:29; 2Co_9:5; Eph_5:3; Col_3:5; 1Th_2:5; 2Pe_2:3, 2Pe_2:14. It is the word commonly used to denote covetousness. Taking advantage of, is the idea which it conveys here."

This chapter gives us a description of the sanctified believer and asserts that one of the evidences of such sanctification is that this believer will not defraud his brother; he will not take advantage of a brother's weakness in order to gain an advantage over him.

How far it appears to me that we have moved from such a mark today. Christians bite and devour one another for their own gain and often call it the evidence of God's power upon them that they are able to do it.

But God gives this warning (or encouragement depending upon whether you are the one defrauding or being defrauded) "...the Lord is the avenger of all such..." Our purpose must be to reach toward this high ideal, realizing that there will be many who defraud and take advantage of us because we choose to follow Christ rather than build our own universe. Our comfort in our afflictions will be this - we do not need to avenge ourselves. The Lord will right the records in glory, where it will count eternally.

How We Live

1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 KJV
Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith:
For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

Albert Barnes Commentary says of this, "This is equivalent to saying, “My life and comfort depend on your stability in the faith, and your correct Christian walk...”

Notice how closely the preacher's joy and encouragement is connected with the testimony and spiritual relationship of the congregation.

The Apostle Paul suffered greatly in his ministry. He was constantly under threat of persecution and attack from the unbelievers and he also found himself maligned, mistreated and falsely accused by certain of the believers. Paul will face shipwrecks, beatings and other dangers before he is finally imprisoned and eventually beheaded. And yet through all of those afflictions he says he is comforted, his life has meaning and purpose when he knows that he ministers to stand fast in the Lord.

I wished I had a way to communicate to those I minister to and have ministered to, how important their walk with Christ is to my own state of well being. I, as a preacher, can endure some pretty difficult things so long as I know those I had had ministry with are continuing on and growing in the Lord. When I hear of those who have turned from Christ, or others who have compromised the faith I delivered to them, it crushes me. When Christians I have been blessed to preach the Word of God to rebel and continue on in their rebellion, it breaks my heart. But when I learn of those who stand fast in the Lord; when I witness believers
Whose faith in the Lord,
Whose testimony is bright for Christ and
Whose walk is zealous and active in the church,
It breathes life into my afflicted soul.

The preacher lives for Christ. He must preach "not as pleasing men, but God which trieth out hearts." But he knows his ministry is toward people. And he longs to see them truly "grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." He is in a strait. He must follow Christ and preach Christ knowing that it will make him lonely and separated from those who refuse to walk that way with him. But at the same time his ministry is so inextricably tied men that he must always long to see them come alongside him in his walk with Christ. With Paul he calls out constantly, "follow me as I also follow Christ." And then he must continue on following Christ knowing that people he loves will be left behind.

Entering Into a Curse

Nehemiah 10:29 KJV
They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;

Nehemiah 10:39 KJV
For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
Chapters 9 and 10 of Nehemiah speak of a type of covenant that the people of Israel entered into under Nehemiah's leadership.
It is called a "curse" in verse 29.
The idea is that they agreed that, should they break their covenant and oath, they would be bound under judgment; they would submit to the discipline of the whole.

It is styled as a separation in verse 28.
God's people are to be separated from this world. We are to be different and unique. Those of the world should be able to tell we are not the same. And on of the most unique things about us ought to be our covenant one with another.
The fact that we, as a people of God in a local church setting, are committed to each other.
That we will hear both the encouragements and rebukes of one another and
That we will agree to the discipline that our brothers and sisters impose upon us for breeching our covenant,
Certainly separates us from the world.

It ends with a commitment to the house of God in verse 39.
I do not see this commitment as being last because it was the least important, nor do I see it as simply one of the commitments they made in their covenant. I see this as the sum of their covenant. Everything else leads to and is involved in this one commitment, not to forsake the house of our God. And I see this as placed last in the list as a point of emphasis. If we remember nothing else, let's remember this; we will not forsake the house of our God!

Three Things

1 Thessalonians 1:10 KJV
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Three keys in this verse:

There is a future wrath
Any man or woman is a fool to ignore the warnings of this wrath. It is inescapable and unavoidable. Nothing will prevent the wrath of God from being poured out in His time.

There is a deliverance offered.
The term is past tense. What Jesus did on the cross and in His resurrection is complete once and for all. There is no need of a new and improved Saviour. There is no need of a Saviour more modern and appealing to today's mankind. Because it is a past tense deliverance those of us who have received it know it. We do not concern ourselves with whether we have been delivered or not. It is done, finished.

There is a purpose for todayAnd that is that we wait for Jesus to come. Sure, there is more involved in it than sitting around; but there is that is the main thing but this thing. We wait for Jesus! We look for Him, we long for Him and we tell others about Him.

Wisdom is Out To Get Us

Proverbs 8:1-4 KJV
Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
Wisdom can be a reference to one of several things:
It is a quality a man ought to aspire to. We gain this wisdom by knowledge coupled with experience
It is treasure that is passed down from a father to a son. Proverbs is written under this analogy (though it is not necessary to hold that this is the only application in the Proverbs)
It is a unique characteristic of God who is the only all wise One.
A.W. Pink suggests that the wisdom of Proverbs refers to the righteous and the fool of Proverbs to the wicked
It is also obviously a reference to the Person of Jesus Christ, of whom the description of wisdom in Proverbs 8 can only apply

Now here is the thing that grabs my attention today; this wisdom is so ACTIVE. This wisdom is not a passive thing that lies on a table waiting someone to pick it up and make it their own. This wisdom, like God after Adam in the Garden of Eden pursues us. This is not a wisdom that can only belong to those who mental capacities are capable of attaining it. This is something that attains to us.

So the one who lacks it does so of His own volition. Wisdom cries and searches us out. She is in the top of the high places and it is by the places of the paths. She is like the steeples on the churches that stretch heaven-ward pointing men to Christ. She is like the Spiritual billboards that ring out a message as we drive by them. If there is anything that may make one miss it, it is when we do not frequent those places where men and women ought to be.

How foolish is the one who stops his ears at her voice!

Affections

Colossians 3:1-2 KJV
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
It isn't impossible to see these two verses as conditional to being risen with Christ. If it is true that you are risen with Christ, then you affections will be on things above.

Jonathan Edwards wrote a huge piece in his day on the subject of "Religious Affections." It is difficult to think that the one who is born again, redeemed out of the sin of this world and is now seated together with Christ in heavenly places, would have much interest in the paltry and petty attractions that are of this world.

The one who has risen with Christ has been made a live to see new things; things in the heavenlies. This that are invisible and unimaginable to worldlings . As the sun arises to illuminate the new morning, so the child of God has arisen and Christ has illuminated beauties that yet lie in darkness to those who have not Christ.

That which attracts a man defines that man. The sow must eventually go to her wallow. The dog will, of his nature return to his vomit. The worldling cannot help but be attracted to the things on the earth. And those who are risen with Christ will find they are drawn away from the pleasures of the world and into heavenly delights.

Led, Kept, and Spoken To

Proverbs 6:22 KJV
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

That these commandments are more than an earthly father's instructions to his son can be seen in the similarity this verse has with
Deuteronomy 6:7 KJV
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

The father who desires to bring his children up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord do more than teach them how to earn a living in the world. That father teaches the Bible to his children all day long.

And the child who hears and obeys such instruction will find that these commands will lead them, keep them and speak to them in the best ways of life.

A Noisy "Iambus"

Colossians 2:15 KJV
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

I enjoy the thought of this passage. When Jesus rose from the grave He did not do it in a quite uneventful way. The soldiers that guarded His tomb fell down as dead. The earth shook and, the Bible says, Jesus spoiled principalities and powers (the fallen angels) and made "a shew of them openly" that is, He made an exhibit of His resurrection. He shewed Himself alive forty days after His passion.
He appeared and disappeared.
He ate with the believers
He taught them and encouraged them
He called them and instructed them and
He ascended to heaven before their very eyes.

The words "triumphing over" refer to "a noisy iambus" (poem or song, which is thought to be the origin of comedy). It also has roots in the word "clamor."

Jesus did not merely defeat the devil. Jesus "rubbed his face in his defeat."

Jesus did not just barely gain victory over Satan; He so sounded routed him that noise of the victory rattles in the ears of his defeated foes.

Praise God for such an astounding victory!

Made Us Meet

Colossians 1:12 KJV
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

We have much to thank the Father for when we realize that we are meet (qualified and fit) to be partakers of the heavenly inheritance only because the Father has made us meet. We did not deserve it. We could have done nothing to earn it. It is a gift, bequeathed upon us completely at the will of the Father.

Albert Barnes' Notes says that in making us meet God has given us, "... a state of feeling that is adapted to that. There is a congruity between his feelings and heaven - a state of mind that can be satisfied with nothing but heaven. He has in his heart substantially the same principles which reign in heaven; and he is suited to find happiness only in the same objects in which the inhabitants of heaven do, He loves the same God and Saviour; has pleasure in the same truths; prefers, as they do, holiness to sin; and, like the inhabitants of heaven, he would choose to seek his pleasure in holy living, rather than in the ways of vanity. His preferences are all on the side of holiness and virtue; and, with such preferences, he is fitted for the enjoyments of heaven."

May God grant us that we can be satisfied with nothing but heaven.
That heaven is the only thing that is able to satisfy us and we will not be satisfied until we are there and
That we can be satisfied with heaven even when we have nothing else in this world.

The Lord Is At Hand

Philippians 4:5 KJV
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

When this passage says "the Lord is at hand" it is speaking of a near presence rather than that His coming is soon. Gill says, "... the Lord is nigh unto them, as he is to all that call upon him in truth, Psa_145:18; He
Is a present help in time of trouble, Psa_46:1; he is in the midst of them, and
Will help, and that right early, Psa_46:5; and
Will avenge his elect, and vindicate their cause, and right all their wrongs in His due time..."

This truth ties those truths that go both before and after together.

What goes before....
Because the Lord is at hand
We can rejoice in the Lord alway
We ought to be moderate and that publicly
And what comes after
Because the Lord is at hand
We do not have to be filled with care
We can let out requests be made known to God through him and
We can have a peace that passes all understanding
The Lord is at hand. He is present and with us and He is eager that we would find in Him our contentment and satisfaction.

Our Vile Body

Philippians 3:20-21 KJV
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

I wonder how often we think of our bodies as vile? Gill says of this body that it is
defiled with sin,
attended with frailty, and is
mortal; andbeing dead, is sown and laid in the grave in corruption, weakness, and dishonour...

The worse thing about the born again person is his body.
It is not redeemed as yet.
It is chained to this world.
It continues to lust things the believer's spirit would not have and
It can so easily refuse (through illness and disease) to allow us physical ability to serve the Lord as we would

Our body is vile. It is one of three major enemies of the Christian,
The world
The flesh and
The devil

And it must be brought into submission lest it leads to the Christian being cast away.

And we look for Jesus to, among other things, change this vile body.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

That The Word of the Lord ...Might Be Fulfilled

Ezra 1:1 KJV
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

Jeremiah's ministry was a good 70 years previous to Cyrus' reign and it is not impossible that Cyrus had heard of Jeremiah's preaching. Certainly Daniel and the three other Hebrews would have been familiar with his preaching. No doubt many of the Jews who had gone into captivity, though disagreeing with Jeremiah while he preached, realized he was right once they had been captured. Surely they spoke about his message one with another and passed it down to their children. Obviously also Jeremiah's message had been written down and could conceivably been in written form in Babylon during their captivity there.

There are many of the prophecies of the Word of God that were fulfilled without the persons fulfilling them being aware or even willing that they fulfill God's Word. Alexander the Great and the other world empires did not purposely choose to fulfill God's Word either in their rise to power or their eventual fall. Nebuchadnezzar did not choose to become insane and live as an animal. On the other hand there are some prophesies that could have been fulfilled as a man saw God's Word, realized it pertained to them and chose to obey it.
It was prophesied years before Josiah came on the throne in Jerusalem that he would burn the bones of Jeroboam. It is not impossible to believe that Josiah, knowing that the Word of God said that and then finding the body of Jeroboam, realized the Scriptures referred to himself and then submitted to obeying the Word of God.
Cyrus was prophesied seventy years before his ascension to the throne that he would allow the Jews to return and build the Temple. Could it not have been that he, having heard that Jeremiah had prophesied a king named Cyrus would decree the return of the Jews, humbly realized that the Word of God spoke of himself so he elected to obey that Word?

True enough, there are some things in the Word of God that are fulfilled with or without our cognizant involvement. Some portions of the will of God will run their course even if we do not pay them attention.

But there are some things that the Lord expects we will submit to and obey. We cannot change the will of God. He will accomplish His plan. But we can see ourselves in that will and choose to fulfill it.