As I read Psalm 29 in my daily reading this morning, the first half of verse 2 struck me deep within my heart. I love that about God's Word, how one verse can speak to your heart in a special way. You may read through it one hundred times before it hits you that special way, or you may read it one hundred times and it speaks it to you that way each time, but it is simply amazing how God's Word works in our lives. The Word of God is precious to a child of God; it is amazing because it is living, active and powerful!
In this passage, the first part of verse 2 says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name". Ten words, yet so deep and powerful. First of all we must take note of the fact that glory is due unto Him. We don't have to wait until a miracle takes place in our lives, nor do we have to wait until a special "blessing" comes our way in order to praise and glorify the Lord. No, for you see who He is is grounds enough to give Him glory. He deserves to be glorified, praised, exalted and extoled. He alone is worthy!
Secondly we must hear the command: "Give!" This four letter word signifies at least two things. 1) If we truly believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God then we have to say that God gave this command. If God gave the command to give Him glory, then it is obviously important to Him. In other words the way the church of today so flippantly regards the sanctity of true worship and praise is contrary to a biblical attitude on the subject. 2) If the Lord commanded us to give Him glory, then it is our choice. If He told us to do something, then it is obvious that we could also not do it if we so chose. Why does this matter? Well because as you and I go through our daily lives, we must understand that in every decision we make, in every attitude we cultivate, in everything that we pursue and aspire to, we are either giving Him the glory due unto His name or we are not.
With all of my heart and on behalf of God (I say that based upon His Word) I urge you to "give unto Him the glory due unto His name." He is worthy of it, He needs no other deed to be done or book to be written to prove His worthiness of honor. Give Him the glory in everything you do today and for the rest of your life. God bless!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Blast From the Past Saturday
Lord willing, each Saturday I will try and find something from a child of God from the past to link to. It may be video sermons, articles, written sermons or book excerpts. Today we will look at a portion of the book written by Leonard Ravenhill entitled "Why Revival Tarries" (the portion quoted is taken from pgs 88-89; chapter ten 'Fire Begets Fire'). Hope the Lord blesses you through this reading today.
As the first atom bomb shook Hiroshima, so prayer alone can release that power which would shake the hearts of men. This cultured paganism at our doors, those idol temples, those fear-gripped, sin-mesmerized millions can only be moved to God as the Church is moved of God for their lost condition. With every possible guile that he knows, the devil would snatch us from the closet of prayer. For in prayer man is linked with God, and in that union Stan is baffled and beaten. Well he knows this; and so, if the closet is shut tightly, the mind is invaded with legitimate cares or with imaginations as big or more real than life. here we need to plead our main defense--the blood. Another useful way to offset wandering thoughts and to help concentration is to pray audibly or to give some utterance at least, though it need not be loud.
Having thus moved and gained the mastery over Satan, our next power is in the "exceeding great and precious promises of God." Here we are on concrete foundation. Here are our trading currencies with heaven. Here God is pledged, and longs to hear us honor Him. Here we may be engaged in warfare not with God but against principalities, for Satan delights in loss no more than any other being. Souls of men are his treasures. Damned souls, doubting souls, drunk souls, disobedient souls, sick souls, religious souls, souls of the young, souls of the old, and all souls outside of the regenerating power of the Spirit are mastered by him, though the degrees of his mastery vary. Souls, in various degrees of spirituality, are special targets for his fiery arrows, but the "shield of faith" will brush them all off and, bless the Lord, leave us all unscathed. Prayer is not for defense. The shield of faith is for that. Prayer is our secret weapon. (It seems to secret to many of the Lord's people. Who of us, despite all that we have read, claims to know much about this masterly work of prayer?)
As the first atom bomb shook Hiroshima, so prayer alone can release that power which would shake the hearts of men. This cultured paganism at our doors, those idol temples, those fear-gripped, sin-mesmerized millions can only be moved to God as the Church is moved of God for their lost condition. With every possible guile that he knows, the devil would snatch us from the closet of prayer. For in prayer man is linked with God, and in that union Stan is baffled and beaten. Well he knows this; and so, if the closet is shut tightly, the mind is invaded with legitimate cares or with imaginations as big or more real than life. here we need to plead our main defense--the blood. Another useful way to offset wandering thoughts and to help concentration is to pray audibly or to give some utterance at least, though it need not be loud.
Having thus moved and gained the mastery over Satan, our next power is in the "exceeding great and precious promises of God." Here we are on concrete foundation. Here are our trading currencies with heaven. Here God is pledged, and longs to hear us honor Him. Here we may be engaged in warfare not with God but against principalities, for Satan delights in loss no more than any other being. Souls of men are his treasures. Damned souls, doubting souls, drunk souls, disobedient souls, sick souls, religious souls, souls of the young, souls of the old, and all souls outside of the regenerating power of the Spirit are mastered by him, though the degrees of his mastery vary. Souls, in various degrees of spirituality, are special targets for his fiery arrows, but the "shield of faith" will brush them all off and, bless the Lord, leave us all unscathed. Prayer is not for defense. The shield of faith is for that. Prayer is our secret weapon. (It seems to secret to many of the Lord's people. Who of us, despite all that we have read, claims to know much about this masterly work of prayer?)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Be Ye Separate Saith the Lord!
2Co 6:14-18- [14] Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? [15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? [16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, [18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Step foot into the majority of our modern day churches throughout the United States of America and you will find quickly that either the entire congregation, including the pastors and staff, are ignorant of this passage of Scripture or they simply choose to completely ignore it. It is obvious that the "world" has crept into the church, and in many places overtaken it. Our music styles are worldly; our "worship" services are more like rock concerts; our preaching is not the straight preaching of the un-adulterated Word of God; our lifestyles are tainted with the lusts of the flesh and a love for this world more than we would like to confess; it is sickening to any devoted child of God and to God Himself for that matter! It is terrible, ungodly, unholy and simply against any and everything to do with God and His Word! How can we profess to serve the God of the Bible, but then reject His commandments that come from it?
This passage is clear. It is not hard to understand; neither is it hard to follow if we truly love Christ. You see, when a person completely falls head over heels in love with Jesus Christ, there is nothing left in this "world" that they desire. They strive to be holy! They long for an outpouring of the Holy Ghost in their hearts. They daily seek that place in God that would bring them to a closer walk with Him. It is not hard for them to "come out..." and "separate" because they are longing to get closer to Christ anyway! It's not hard to lose their love for their world, because their desires, likes, dislikes, etc as far as the moral/spiritual sense has been transformed! And they have been given the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
Notice that he says, "what fellowship hath..." There is no common ground with us and the rest of the world! We are different; we were created as new creatures and therefore we became different (2 Cor. 5:17); we were commanded to be different (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1;Rom. 12:2). We no longer have carnal minds but spiritual (1 Cor. 2). The fact is, that a child of God desires to be like God. They have no desire to conform to this world, they lost that desire when the old man died!
Before I just start rambling on and on, let me get to verse 18. This is a precious promise given unto us by God Himself. But what is true with every other promise in the Word of God is true with this one, their are conditions. The condition was/is that we come out from among the world and be a people separated unto God for His glory and then we will receive the blessings of the Lord. The "God is only grace and mercy" movement of today that says what happens in your life after you say the sinner's prayer can't effect where you spend eternity is just not biblical.
I urge you to cry out to God as David did when he said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psa 51:10). Cry out to God to search your heart, to let you know of anything hidden within you that would hinder you from becoming the child of God He desires you to be. He longs to bless you as His child, and He has shown you how to live in the eternal blessings of God, now just respond to Him and be sanctified, set apart and meet for the master's use! God bless!
Step foot into the majority of our modern day churches throughout the United States of America and you will find quickly that either the entire congregation, including the pastors and staff, are ignorant of this passage of Scripture or they simply choose to completely ignore it. It is obvious that the "world" has crept into the church, and in many places overtaken it. Our music styles are worldly; our "worship" services are more like rock concerts; our preaching is not the straight preaching of the un-adulterated Word of God; our lifestyles are tainted with the lusts of the flesh and a love for this world more than we would like to confess; it is sickening to any devoted child of God and to God Himself for that matter! It is terrible, ungodly, unholy and simply against any and everything to do with God and His Word! How can we profess to serve the God of the Bible, but then reject His commandments that come from it?
This passage is clear. It is not hard to understand; neither is it hard to follow if we truly love Christ. You see, when a person completely falls head over heels in love with Jesus Christ, there is nothing left in this "world" that they desire. They strive to be holy! They long for an outpouring of the Holy Ghost in their hearts. They daily seek that place in God that would bring them to a closer walk with Him. It is not hard for them to "come out..." and "separate" because they are longing to get closer to Christ anyway! It's not hard to lose their love for their world, because their desires, likes, dislikes, etc as far as the moral/spiritual sense has been transformed! And they have been given the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
Notice that he says, "what fellowship hath..." There is no common ground with us and the rest of the world! We are different; we were created as new creatures and therefore we became different (2 Cor. 5:17); we were commanded to be different (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1;Rom. 12:2). We no longer have carnal minds but spiritual (1 Cor. 2). The fact is, that a child of God desires to be like God. They have no desire to conform to this world, they lost that desire when the old man died!
Before I just start rambling on and on, let me get to verse 18. This is a precious promise given unto us by God Himself. But what is true with every other promise in the Word of God is true with this one, their are conditions. The condition was/is that we come out from among the world and be a people separated unto God for His glory and then we will receive the blessings of the Lord. The "God is only grace and mercy" movement of today that says what happens in your life after you say the sinner's prayer can't effect where you spend eternity is just not biblical.
I urge you to cry out to God as David did when he said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psa 51:10). Cry out to God to search your heart, to let you know of anything hidden within you that would hinder you from becoming the child of God He desires you to be. He longs to bless you as His child, and He has shown you how to live in the eternal blessings of God, now just respond to Him and be sanctified, set apart and meet for the master's use! God bless!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
What Will you do WIth the Box?
Try to imagine yourself hiking through a thick, lucious forest. In the middle of the forest, you stumble upon a cabin, where you can tell someone is living. Slowly you push the creaking door open to find an older gentleman with tattered clothing and a matted beard hunched over a desk scribbling in a notebook. There are test tubes lining the walls; computer screens flashing all around you. The gentleman’s hygiene is not up to par to say the least, but you can tell that it is because he has devoted himself to his work, whatever that is. Out of curiosity and maybe a little bit of concern, you interrupt him from his work. You introduce yourself and surprisingly begin conversing. This meeting led to others and you soon become extremely close friends; the only secret between the two of you is what exactly this man's work is. After many years of close companionship the man in the cabin finds himself at death’s doorstep. While on his death bed, the old man pulls you to his side, grabs a box from under his bed and carefully hands it to you. He then begins to tell you that this is the results of his life work; that the contents of this box, contains the secrets to all of the world’s major problems. He said that if what is in this box is acted upon, the problems of world hunger, world peace, economic, moral, social and justice problems will all be solved. He explains further that it will be hard work, and it will mean sacrificing your whole life just as he has done to put it into action, but he assures you that if you do it, all of the major world issues will be resolved.
You are shocked, you’re speechless, and your mind races as you try to process what all just happened. As soon as you can, you take the box to a group of scientists who then test the old man’s results and find that what the man said was actually true. As you sit on your bed that night, you begin to realize the awesome responsibility that has just been handed to you. Here is the question though, “what will you do with it?” In your hands you hold the answer to all of the world’s problems, but what will you do? Will you shove it to the side in hopes that someone else will pick it up and put it into action? Will you stick it on a shelf or in a drawer with all the best intentions to one day pick it up and begin to work, but after you have lived your life a little? Will you begin working on this project only to get weary and burn out on it in a matter of weeks? I hope and pray that all of us would at that time pick the box up, realize that life is not just about us, stop being selfish and we would cause the sufferings of many people on our planet to cease.
Spiritually, what will you do with the box? In the spiritual side of things, we hold the answers to the church’s problems, and if truth be told the world’s problems now but many times we push them to the side only to forget about them and move on. God has given us his word, and he has promised us many blessings throughout the pages of the precious Bible if we would just listen, trust and obey. But many times we just take his word, put it in a drawer or on a shelf and leave it there until Sunday rolls around. Many professing Christians only open their bibles on Sunday morning when they turn to follow the preacher, and this is sickening to God. He has shown us in his word that we could have power, that we could pull down strongholds, that we could be strong in the Lord and that we could be more than conquerors! He has given us the key, if we would only put it into action. I urge you to ask yourself: What will you do with the box?
You are shocked, you’re speechless, and your mind races as you try to process what all just happened. As soon as you can, you take the box to a group of scientists who then test the old man’s results and find that what the man said was actually true. As you sit on your bed that night, you begin to realize the awesome responsibility that has just been handed to you. Here is the question though, “what will you do with it?” In your hands you hold the answer to all of the world’s problems, but what will you do? Will you shove it to the side in hopes that someone else will pick it up and put it into action? Will you stick it on a shelf or in a drawer with all the best intentions to one day pick it up and begin to work, but after you have lived your life a little? Will you begin working on this project only to get weary and burn out on it in a matter of weeks? I hope and pray that all of us would at that time pick the box up, realize that life is not just about us, stop being selfish and we would cause the sufferings of many people on our planet to cease.
Spiritually, what will you do with the box? In the spiritual side of things, we hold the answers to the church’s problems, and if truth be told the world’s problems now but many times we push them to the side only to forget about them and move on. God has given us his word, and he has promised us many blessings throughout the pages of the precious Bible if we would just listen, trust and obey. But many times we just take his word, put it in a drawer or on a shelf and leave it there until Sunday rolls around. Many professing Christians only open their bibles on Sunday morning when they turn to follow the preacher, and this is sickening to God. He has shown us in his word that we could have power, that we could pull down strongholds, that we could be strong in the Lord and that we could be more than conquerors! He has given us the key, if we would only put it into action. I urge you to ask yourself: What will you do with the box?
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