Glad I took some time tonight to read this again.

I find myself meditating on the following verses in Romans 3:

19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

We are to do good deeds, and I suppose doing what the law commands was (and is?) considered “good deeds”. But the thing he’s trying to get them to understand that doing what the law commands, even if we could follow it completely and without fail (no one can), is not what saves us. The law exists only to show us how guilty we really are.

What I read about the Pharisees back then tells me that they took great pride in following God’s commands. It seems like this was their focus. The laws are complicated and lengthy. I imagine them sitting around for hours debating and discussing every little nuance. Yet, what’s important is to know that God sent Jesus to die on the cross as payment in full for all our sin. I still know there are many people thinking that if they can just do more GOOD things than BAD that they’ll be okay. Without accepting & believing that Jesus Christ did what He did, it doesn’t matter how GOOD you have been.

Paul really clears it up in the following verses in the same chapter:

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

It’s so simple. But it was so different than anything they’d heard.

Lord, how I wish I could simply obey and never fail you. But I know that even when I do fail, you are willing to forgive me. It’s hard to grasp the depth of your love for mankind – especially someone like me. But I’m grateful. Help me to keep my eyes on You so I can continue becoming more like you on this journey you have me on.

Amen.

peace,
e

Today’s reading got me thinking about rewards. I’ve always resisted thinking about being rewarded by God for doing good. Yet, the Bible is clear that there are rewards for those who are faithful in God’s kingdom. Conversely, there are also consequences for doing wrong. Look at the passage in Romans 2, verses 5 – 11:

5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”[a] 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism.

As Christians, we know that our eternal life is solely dependent upon our relationship with Jesus Christ. However, reading this passage could make one think that doing good can save you. Out of context, one can certainly get that impression. However, I believe that Paul is pointing out that it is God inside us, changing us, that makes us righteous, and that results in our outward expressions of good. Look at what he says at the end of this chapter in verses 28 & 29:

28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

It is easy to appear spiritual on the outside, but you will know a person by their deeds (fruit). On the other hand, if God is inside a person, it will show outwardly.

peace,
e

As I read Romans 1 this morning, I was amazed to see the correlation of what we’re studying in Wildmen, the Wild at Heart book by John Eldredge, and the first chapter of Romans. Paul is talking about how God has revealed himself with His invisible qualities, His power and His divine nature, since creation. And, yet some choose to ignore that, suppressing the Truth for their own wickedness:

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

One thing I have come to understand is this: God created each of us with a plan. We may choose to live our lives seeking that plan (his will) and following Him, or we may choose to follow our own plan. Life is not “easy” either way because we were born into a battle between good and evil. But, I am convinced that following God and His plan for us is the only way to live a peaceful, happy, abundant life. People can choose to ignore God and make their own choices, but it always leads to consequences in ever-increasing difficulty and, ultimately in death and separation from God for eternity.

God makes it very clear. Sin is fun for a season. Some people get to the point where they abandon what they know about God and exchange the truth for their own wicked desires. That is where God turns them over to evil. I know people there now, learning hard lessons, living in turmoil and ruin, refusing to come back to God.

God will not force Himself upon us. He wants us to choose to have faith and believe in Him. Otherwise, we’d be just a bunch of robots, programmed to love God. Without faith, man may choose to worship God’s creation rather than God himself, leading to all kinds of trouble. I noticed several choice/consequences in this passage:

1. They knew God, but chose to not glorify or give thanks to Him, so their thinking became futile and their hearts were darkened (verse 21)
2. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like His creation, so God gave them over to shameful lusts (verses 25-26)
3. They did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind and they were filled with every kind of wickedness (verse 28)

My prayer for those people is that they would eventually get to the place where all they can do is look up and see God. I’ve been there. It’s not a good place. But, God is still there to pick us up and put us back on the road to Him. That road is not easy but the peace and comfort, knowing God is at the end, makes life worth living.

Have a great day!

peace,
e

Verse 1 of this chapter says:

1 David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

This is a bit confusing to me. Are we going back in time to when David actually sang this song? I take this to mean that David, after many chapters of doing “his own thing”,  remembers a song that he wrote way back when King Saul was pursuing him, trying to kill him. While I’m delighted to see David remember God and remember a song he used to sing, the impact is not the same. It’s not like he’s singing to the Lord a new song. He can only remember the words of a song from days gone by. But, at least he’s singing to the Lord (that’s a good step in the right direction).

These verses stood out to me as I read the song (how I wish I could have sheet music to go with these words):

25 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

27 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

28 You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

Rewards – according to cleanness. Faithfulness to the faithful. Blamelessness to the blameless. Pureness to the pure. Salvation to the humble. God calls us to be obedient, righteous, clean and pure. Without these, life is always more difficult. Wrong choices in weak moments remove rewards, faithfulness from God.

David’s story still reminds me that once I take my eyes off God, it gets ever-increasingly difficult to get back to the “good ol’ days”. Much better to remain righteous and clean and pure, never taking our eyes off God. Even if we sin, which God knows we will, we MUST turn back immediately, like David did in his younger years. Better still, we should never stop praying about EVERYTHING so we don’t end up in a situation like David did.

e

Guilty.

David has sinned before God. This caused the commission of other sins to cover up. Now David, a man after God’s own heart, is wracked with guilt. We can see in Psalm 32:3-4 some of what he is going through:

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

If that weren’t enough, God sends Nathan with a message:

I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.  I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.  Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ “

The consequences of David’s choices are mounting. Not only did a woman get pregnant, her husband die, his army given reason to doubt his integrity, but now we see in this chapter the innocent son, born from David’s sin is going to die. All the guilt is more than David can bear.

David is quick to repent. And, God is faithful to forgive. Yet, the consequences remain. David’s actions will affect not only him, but his family for generations to come.

David was not looking for this to happen. He was looking for a moment of pleasure. He didn’t need another wife. He didn’t need more children. I’m sure if he would have thought it through a bit more, he would have made different choices.

The lesson to learn here is to keep our eyes on God. If we’re serving Him and keeping our eyes on Him, then we won’t see Bathsheba bathing in the moonlight. We’ll probably be off to war with the other kings. We can’t let our guard down – not even for a moment. Sin will destroy all we’ve been working to hard to accomplish. A moment of weakness can ruin the plans God has for us. He will turn what the enemy planned for evil into something good – but we’ll miss the original blessings God has for us.

Keeping my eyes on Him today…
e

There are 2 things that struck me as I read this chapter today.

First was how David was not where he should have been. For some reason, he decided to play hookey that fateful day he just happened to view Bathsheba up on the roof taking a bath.

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Had he been where he should have been, “when kings go off to war”, this all would never have happened.

The other thing is how David’s actions bore more consequences than he probably though. As with most people when they sin, there are consequences to more than just ourselves when we choose do disobey God. Because of David’s decision to stay home and not go to war, he committed adultery, a child was born out of sin, and a faithful warrior and husband was murdered. Heinous. What about those in the army who knew about the order to abandon Bathsheba’s husband during war so that he would be killed? Did they not now question David’s authority? The Bible also mentions others who got killed in the line of duty while carrying out David’s evil plan to have this man killed in battle:

So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

David’s actions affected those other men and their families as well.

What actions are you and I carrying out today that go against God’s will? How will those actions affect us? How will they affect those around us – those we love, those we know and even those we do not even know… Lord, help me keep my eyes on You today.

peace,
e

So, King Saul is dead. David can finally be annointed King as the prophet Samuel had anointed him so many years back.

But first, David sought God on where he and his family should settle:

In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.
The LORD said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where shall I go?”
“To Hebron,” the LORD answered. (verse 1)

Throughout the books of first and second Samuel, this is one of the common things you will see. David stops frequently and asks God for guidance. “Should I go here, Lord?”, “What should I wear?”, “Which side of the bed should I get up on today?” Okay, I may have thrown in that last one myself, but from my reading I get the impression that David consulted God on every decision large and small.

Perhaps this is why God calls David, and no other in the Bible, “a man after God’s own heart.”

I have to ask myself these questions:

1. Do I believe God hears my prayers? My answer is an empahtic “Yes!”
2. Do I believe God answers my prayers? Again, “Yes!” is my answer, but not always in the ways I expect.
3. Do I believe God cares about my well-being? Definitely “Yes!”. He has demonstrated this time and again. He’s not necessarily interested in what I wear, for example, but definitely interested in my decisions and the consequences involved.
4. So why is it that I don’t take everything to Him in prayer – as David did?

That’s the question I must ponder today. What about you? Do you take everything to God in prayer? Or, like me, do you usually end up doing things on your own, only consulting God if things get out of hand?

Forgive me, Lord. I trust You. I will try to be more like your servant, David.

peace,

e

God appoints rulers of nations

I jump back into dBrag (see http://www.dbrag.org for more info) again with a good friend, after a season of “busy-ness”, having been convinced once again of the importance of spending time each day in meditation of the Holy Bible. I am grateful for God’s Word and for good friends who care enough to help me along on my journey to continue to growing in my relationship with Jesus Christ.

Today, we jump back in at 2 Samuel. This chapter starts out with an Amalekite man coming to David, having escaped the Israelite camp that David just defeated. The man, clothes torn with dust on his head, fell at David’s feet and began to honor him. He told David of the death of Saul, the King of Israel and also the death of Saul’s son, Jonathan (who was David’s best friend).

As you know, King Saul was in hot pursuit of David to kill him to prevent him from becoming his replacement. Yet, David did not rejoice at the new of King Saul’s death. David asked how it happened. When the Amalekite reported that he himself helped kill Saul, who was already fataly wounded, David became enraged.

¹³ David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite,” he answered.

¹⁴ David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”

¹⁵ Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. ¹⁶ For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’ “

Why? Why was David so mad at the man, who was simply helping Saul to die rather than to lie there in pain and suffering until he bled to death? David, although he knew he was to be the next King, refused to lay his hand on the Lord’s anointed. You see, he believes that God appoints the kings and rulers of nations. As such, David put his fate in the hands of God. When God was ready for him to be King, God would work out the circumstances, and David would not have that blood on his hands.

Romans 13:1 has this reminder:

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

It is God who appoints authority and establishes powers of nations. We are to pray for our leaders and leave what happens in the hands of God.

Will you be a David today? Will you pray for your nation’s leaders? Will you avoid trashing your leader with course jokes or hateful speech? No matter how bad it seems, God is in control. God can see the future, we cannot.

Trust the Lord and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6

peace,

e

I love watching “man on the street” type of videos. They can be very eye-opening. I wonder how people would respond to the question, “What does God hate?”

I think we’d hear things like murder, adultery, blasphemy, rape, etc. Today in Proverbs 6, we are given the list of six things God hates:

16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Some made the list (murderer or hands that shed innocent blood) but some may surprise you: haughty (which I had to look up – it means “having or showing excessive pride or arrogance”) eyes, liars, wicked heart, lack of self-control, liar (again).

To be honest, I was disappointed that religion didn’t make the list. I suppose it’s a good thing I’m not God!

From the writer’s comment “seven that are detestable to Him”, I get the impression that there is a special emphasis on the last one in the list, which is “a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” I think we are to be especially vigilant for this type of person. They can do a severe amount of damage in a short time.

Contrast these to the things God loves (found in Galatians chapter 5): love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

God, I wish to do those things you love. Yet, like Paul writes about in Romans chapter 7, I usually find myself doing the things I hate, and not doing the things I want to be doing. I love Your mercy, God, and declare that I need You more than ever. Help me today to be found doing those things that please You.

grace & peace,
e

This morning I woke up with the word “freedom” on my mind. Perhaps it had something to do with last night’s election results, perhaps it was not. I wondered if I would find anything in today’s reading in Proverbs chapter 4.

Here is what jumped out at me today:

21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths
22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
23 He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

These verses spoke to me about freedom. A man may think he has freedom apart from God. Yet, his ways are in full view. Just because a man does not choose to believe or follow God’s law, he is still held accountable. Without God’s law, we are not free. We will be bound by our evil deeds. We will be led astray by our own sinful nature (our own great folly).

Do you desire freedom? Then submit yourself to God. It goes against our nature, but that is the sweet irony of a life committed to God.

It reminds me of this passage in Matthew 16:

24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

Lord, I long for this kind of freedom… a life free of the snare of sin, free to walk with You uninhibited by my own selfish desires.

grace & peace,
e