Psalm 119:11, 101, 104, 113: "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you . . . . I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word . . . . I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path . . . . I hate double-minded men, but I love your law."
The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119, and interestingly it is also the chapter that lists references to the Word of God more frequently than any other (nearly 200). This chapter therefore could be called the "Word" chapter for its many affirmations of the preciousness of God's Holy Word and the blessings afforded to those who would hear it.
One of the striking revelations from the verses mentioned above is the assurance that adherence to the Word keeps one from sin; in fact, for those who would savor and revere the Word, there arises within their spirit a hatred for sinful paths. So too comes a detesting of double-mindedness. One who loves the Word finds repulsive those who are "fence straddlers" . . . that is, those who have one foot in their presumed faith and one foot toward the worldly enticements that are contrary to the Word of God. There is no equivocation within the person who loves the Lord and His Word, for he finds God's Word more precious than fine gold (Psalm 119:127) and he follows its choice morsels of wisdom without hesitation (Psalm 119:167).
Those involved in sin are those not regularly meditating upon God's Word and obeying its precepts. If you find yourself in such a predicament, then start with meditating upon God's Holy Word and permit the Holy Spirit to use the Scriptures to convict you and lead you toward the paths of righteousness. God will bless you for your obedience to Him (Psalm 119:1).
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
What's the Middle Verse of the Bible?
Psalm 118:8: "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man."
In looking through the voluminous information on the Internet concerning the middle chapter and verse of the Bible, I found that the majority of references cite Psalm 118:8 as that verse. What is also mentioned is that there are 594 chapters both before and after Psalm 118. When one adds 594 together, one gets 1188 (which also is the verse above). Whereas the original Scriptures were not given chapter and verse delineations, we do find that this middle verse does give us the summation of what we must understand about a true relationship with God.
Whereas God has given to us His offering of salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, we know that our response to Him must be faithful surrender. Ultimately, we must yield the entirety of our lives to His Lordship. To trust in ourselves and seek our own adulation and satisfaction is the foundation of sin, which is treason against the Almighty! God is Creator of all things and worthy of all worship; when man displaces true worship in favor of himself, he is subject to the wrath of God. This is why Jesus Christ, God Almighty, had to come to pay the sin penalty that we all have committed.
Still, the benefits of God's grace are only granted to those who would kick themselves off the throne of their lives and submit to Christ as Lord and Savior. No matter of perfunctory religiosity will do . . . only capitulation to the Sovereign Lord of Hosts.
Let us not trust in ourselves; rather, let us put our faith and trust in the LORD as our refuge. We will never regret our decision to do so, for the LORD is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from our sins of rebellion.
In looking through the voluminous information on the Internet concerning the middle chapter and verse of the Bible, I found that the majority of references cite Psalm 118:8 as that verse. What is also mentioned is that there are 594 chapters both before and after Psalm 118. When one adds 594 together, one gets 1188 (which also is the verse above). Whereas the original Scriptures were not given chapter and verse delineations, we do find that this middle verse does give us the summation of what we must understand about a true relationship with God.
Whereas God has given to us His offering of salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, we know that our response to Him must be faithful surrender. Ultimately, we must yield the entirety of our lives to His Lordship. To trust in ourselves and seek our own adulation and satisfaction is the foundation of sin, which is treason against the Almighty! God is Creator of all things and worthy of all worship; when man displaces true worship in favor of himself, he is subject to the wrath of God. This is why Jesus Christ, God Almighty, had to come to pay the sin penalty that we all have committed.
Still, the benefits of God's grace are only granted to those who would kick themselves off the throne of their lives and submit to Christ as Lord and Savior. No matter of perfunctory religiosity will do . . . only capitulation to the Sovereign Lord of Hosts.
Let us not trust in ourselves; rather, let us put our faith and trust in the LORD as our refuge. We will never regret our decision to do so, for the LORD is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from our sins of rebellion.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
How Can You Keep Yourself Pure?
Psalm 119:9: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word."
Purity and integrity are attributes noticeably absent in our modern world. Instead, what we find prevalent are people who are "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:2-4).
Many of these people are so brazen in their wickedness, that their consciences are seared to indifference about their behavior. There is no guilt or shame associated with their actions; for to them, their own satisfaction justifies any behavior that they perpetrate.
For one to live a life of Godliness, being obedient to the One True Lord of Hosts, he must be committed to feasting upon the Holy Scriptures of God and living according to its dictates. If a person is not in the Word of God, he invariably will gravitate back to the debasement of self-idolization that seeks to satisfy its own desires over surrender to the Lord. Still, merely hearing the Word is not enough. We MUST also do what it says . . . otherwise we are just kidding ourselves. (see James 1:22-23).
Examine yourself. Do you find yourself separated from intimate fellowship with the LORD through His Word? Do you only pick up your Bible to take it to church on Sundays? Do you even pick it up then? Is your Bible collecting dust on a shelf? Then don't be surprised if you are experiencing the painful consequences of sin in your life. Sin will be evident when you are not permitting the Holy Spirit to use the Scriptures to saturate your soul with the directives that will lead you down the paths of righteousness (see Psalm 119:105). Repentance and recommitment might be in order here. Confess your indifference to the Word of God and get yourself into it . . . and start living it. Then watch out . . . for the LORD will pour out His wisdom and blessing upon you truly in magnificent ways.
Purity and integrity are attributes noticeably absent in our modern world. Instead, what we find prevalent are people who are "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:2-4).
Many of these people are so brazen in their wickedness, that their consciences are seared to indifference about their behavior. There is no guilt or shame associated with their actions; for to them, their own satisfaction justifies any behavior that they perpetrate.
For one to live a life of Godliness, being obedient to the One True Lord of Hosts, he must be committed to feasting upon the Holy Scriptures of God and living according to its dictates. If a person is not in the Word of God, he invariably will gravitate back to the debasement of self-idolization that seeks to satisfy its own desires over surrender to the Lord. Still, merely hearing the Word is not enough. We MUST also do what it says . . . otherwise we are just kidding ourselves. (see James 1:22-23).
Examine yourself. Do you find yourself separated from intimate fellowship with the LORD through His Word? Do you only pick up your Bible to take it to church on Sundays? Do you even pick it up then? Is your Bible collecting dust on a shelf? Then don't be surprised if you are experiencing the painful consequences of sin in your life. Sin will be evident when you are not permitting the Holy Spirit to use the Scriptures to saturate your soul with the directives that will lead you down the paths of righteousness (see Psalm 119:105). Repentance and recommitment might be in order here. Confess your indifference to the Word of God and get yourself into it . . . and start living it. Then watch out . . . for the LORD will pour out His wisdom and blessing upon you truly in magnificent ways.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Going Backward Instead of Forward
Jeremiah 7:23-24: "I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward."
We have all heard the old saying "two steps forward, three steps back" when referring to vain attempts of making progress in something. In the life of the Israelites of the days of Jeremiah, these people were making no attempts whatsoever at Godliness. There were no steps forward . . . only steps backward. They were feasting upon their selfish, sinful desires with no thought whatsoever to surrendering to the LORD. Sadly, they believed that their participation in religious services justified themselves to the LORD; but once they performed their "religious ritual" they were done with God.
Those who truly have been transformed by the saving grace of God will evidence this wonderful, Divine work in their lives by living lives of surrender and obedience. This certainly is the command given to us by the Almighty when He tells us, "Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. Don't just say, 'we're safe.' That proves nothing . . ."(NLT). "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (NIV). Luke 3:8.
And lest we believe that we are not able to live our lives free from sin and self-centeredness, the LORD tells us that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:3-4). We therefore have no excuses.
Let's not follow the pattern of life modeled by the Israelites in Jeremiah's day. Let us not take a few steps forward in obedience and maturity in our faith, only to fall back into the pattern of worldliness that is so typical of a person of ego-centrism and carnality. Instead, let us keep pressing forward in obedience until the day of our full redemption in eternity.
We have all heard the old saying "two steps forward, three steps back" when referring to vain attempts of making progress in something. In the life of the Israelites of the days of Jeremiah, these people were making no attempts whatsoever at Godliness. There were no steps forward . . . only steps backward. They were feasting upon their selfish, sinful desires with no thought whatsoever to surrendering to the LORD. Sadly, they believed that their participation in religious services justified themselves to the LORD; but once they performed their "religious ritual" they were done with God.
Those who truly have been transformed by the saving grace of God will evidence this wonderful, Divine work in their lives by living lives of surrender and obedience. This certainly is the command given to us by the Almighty when He tells us, "Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. Don't just say, 'we're safe.' That proves nothing . . ."(NLT). "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (NIV). Luke 3:8.
And lest we believe that we are not able to live our lives free from sin and self-centeredness, the LORD tells us that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:3-4). We therefore have no excuses.
Let's not follow the pattern of life modeled by the Israelites in Jeremiah's day. Let us not take a few steps forward in obedience and maturity in our faith, only to fall back into the pattern of worldliness that is so typical of a person of ego-centrism and carnality. Instead, let us keep pressing forward in obedience until the day of our full redemption in eternity.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
How Do You Repay the LORD for His Goodness?
Psalm 116:12: "How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill the vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people."
There's no doubt that the LORD has lavished upon us the immeasurable blessings of grace and fellowship with Him. So how are we to repay Him? Whereas we know that we cannot perform in such a way to merit our favor before the LORD; still, we are able to show our deepest gratitude for His grace by holding up the cup of salvation. This may seem a bit strange at first; but if we take and raise our salvation to a place of prominence within our hearts and lives, we will find ourselves in celebrative praise to the LORD who has blessed us with eternal hope through His loving death and resurrection. When we lift this cup, we will find ourselves in utter amazement and overwhelming joy at our glorious LORD. We will be awestruck that the God of the entire universe desires intimate fellowship with us for all eternity; and we will be humbled that He has offered to us the blessedness of perfection . . . freed from all of the ravishes of this life that have come upon us because of sin.
When we raise the cup of our salvation, we also will find ourselves calling upon the LORD with more regularly. Our hearts will be reoriented to understand that we are utterly dependent upon Him for everything . . . our lives, our needs, our fulfillment, etc. And we also will understand that only the LORD will bring the contentment and completion that our souls so desperately crave.
When we raise the cup of our salvation, we also will fulfill our vows to the LORD. This is not just honoring a few promises made now and again to God, but it involves a total surrender to Him as Sovereign Master and King. We find this disposition in the Psalmist's words found just a few verses later (Psalm 116:16): "O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant." Our faithful obedience is not something that we have to motivate ourselves to do; rather, it a shear delight, when we fathom the amazing love and grace that God has lavished upon us.
One of the interesting verses wedged between the two verses that speak of one being a faithful servant to His LORD, is this one: "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (116:15). God is so pleased with the one who is "totally in" for Him that his death is a delight in that it results in his spirit being called into God's glorious presence. The LORD is desirous of His followers communing with Him before His throne. This in and of itself is absolutely wonderful and amazing . . . that the Sovereign Creator of the universe desires eternal fellowship with those so undeserving of Him.
For those of us who have received His salvation and have come to appreciate His presence in our lives, let us do as the Psalmist shares; namely, let us offer thank offerings to the LORD, call on His name regularly, and fulfill our vows of obedience to Him. The LORD delights in our true worship of Him.
There's no doubt that the LORD has lavished upon us the immeasurable blessings of grace and fellowship with Him. So how are we to repay Him? Whereas we know that we cannot perform in such a way to merit our favor before the LORD; still, we are able to show our deepest gratitude for His grace by holding up the cup of salvation. This may seem a bit strange at first; but if we take and raise our salvation to a place of prominence within our hearts and lives, we will find ourselves in celebrative praise to the LORD who has blessed us with eternal hope through His loving death and resurrection. When we lift this cup, we will find ourselves in utter amazement and overwhelming joy at our glorious LORD. We will be awestruck that the God of the entire universe desires intimate fellowship with us for all eternity; and we will be humbled that He has offered to us the blessedness of perfection . . . freed from all of the ravishes of this life that have come upon us because of sin.
When we raise the cup of our salvation, we also will find ourselves calling upon the LORD with more regularly. Our hearts will be reoriented to understand that we are utterly dependent upon Him for everything . . . our lives, our needs, our fulfillment, etc. And we also will understand that only the LORD will bring the contentment and completion that our souls so desperately crave.
When we raise the cup of our salvation, we also will fulfill our vows to the LORD. This is not just honoring a few promises made now and again to God, but it involves a total surrender to Him as Sovereign Master and King. We find this disposition in the Psalmist's words found just a few verses later (Psalm 116:16): "O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant." Our faithful obedience is not something that we have to motivate ourselves to do; rather, it a shear delight, when we fathom the amazing love and grace that God has lavished upon us.
One of the interesting verses wedged between the two verses that speak of one being a faithful servant to His LORD, is this one: "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (116:15). God is so pleased with the one who is "totally in" for Him that his death is a delight in that it results in his spirit being called into God's glorious presence. The LORD is desirous of His followers communing with Him before His throne. This in and of itself is absolutely wonderful and amazing . . . that the Sovereign Creator of the universe desires eternal fellowship with those so undeserving of Him.
For those of us who have received His salvation and have come to appreciate His presence in our lives, let us do as the Psalmist shares; namely, let us offer thank offerings to the LORD, call on His name regularly, and fulfill our vows of obedience to Him. The LORD delights in our true worship of Him.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Formula for a Healthy Family (both locally and Spiritually)
If there is one thing noticeably lacking in our culture today, it is a society of healthy families and healthy churches. Dysfunction seems to ooze forth from these relational entities, resulting in a staggering number of relational fractures. Headache and heartache spew forth from those directly involved, with many stammering to find a relationship that first and foremost makes them happy. They cycle from relationship to relationship trying to find the one that will meet their needs; seldom do you find one that is desirous of searching the Scriptures to see God's formula for healthy families and churches. We therefore would do well to reexamine the Scriptures to see God's instructions to us in these areas, in order that those of us who have had an improper understanding of our roles in these relationships might confess our waywardness and return to the LORD's will with steadfast obedience.
Let us first start with the husband who is the spiritual head of the family. A husband is to love his bride as Christ loves the Church (His bride), putting her needs before His own, even if this means his very life. This calling has been given to the husband by the LORD, to help him better appreciate the LORD's own calling as husband to the Church and "has given himself up for the church in order that he might make her holy and purified to present her as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or blemish." (see Ephesians 5:25-33). One can see the beauty of a loving LORD who lavishes His love to the Church, with the desire of presenting her in beautiful splendor before the heavenly hosts in eternity at the celebration of the wedding feast. This is LOVE at its finest!
Husbands would do well to reflect often upon the LORD's modeling and embrace these principles of love and ministry that would bless his bride. There is no discerning wife that would reject such a display of love and kindness; in fact, there are many brides who are grieving in the deepest depths of their souls because they are married to self-absorbed husbands who are only interested in satisfying their personal needs. If you find yourself a husband like this, it is time to confess your egregious sin to the LORD and your wife, and return to the Biblical understanding of your calling as a servant to the LORD and a true "lover" of your wife. You will be blessed if you do.
So too a man who is a father is called to love his children, modeling the unfathomable love that God the Father has for us as His children (see I John 3:1). This father is to demonstrate constancy in his Godly integrity so that his children will be granted the blessing of stability and security, in much the same way that God the Father is unchanging in His purposes of righteousness so that we are secure in our faith in Him as LORD (see Hebrews 6:17; James 1:17). A father is to discipline his children in love so that they will follow the precepts of the LORD in their adult lives (Hebrews 12:7-8; Proverbs 22:6). Of course this mandate to discipline is with the understanding that it is given constructively and redemptively . . . in order that the children will not lose heart in exasperation (Ephesians 6:4). How often have we observed the dearth of Godly fathers in the home (if they are even in the home)? How often have we seen mothers being forced to take the initiative to take their children to church and prepare devotions for their children in the home, while the father is disengaged from anything spiritually related? This should never be! The fathers are to be the spiritual leaders in the home . . . this is their calling. If you are a father and are neither modeling integrity in your life nor leading your family in intimate fellowship with the LORD, it would be better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and cast yourself in the depths of the sea (see Luke 17:1-2)! Therefore confess your sins of disobedience to the LORD's calling and start being the Godly father that you are supposed to be.
A wife is called to submit to her Godly husband in everything in much the same way as the Church is to submit to Christ as its Head and Savior (see Ephesians 5:22-24, I Peter 3:1-7). Submission unfortunately has been relegated by our society to being a suppressive instrument that inhibits women from being all that they can be. This of course is not the intended purpose of the LORD. Much like the calling for husbands to love their wives in order that they and their wives might better appreciate through experience God's love for the Church, so too through submission, wives and their husbands are able to understand through their personal, relational experience the calling of the Church to surrender to the LORD in all things. This submission does not mean that women have less intrinsic value than their husbands; rather, it is a functional role that God has prescribed to give us an earthly model that helps us better understand the ultimate heavenly marriage (i.e. God and the Church). This submission is seen as "fitting to the LORD" (Colossians 3:18). Need any more be said?
Much like the husband is to be a Godly man of integrity, being a blessing to his family, a wife is also to be a woman of noble character, which will be her husband's crown (see Proverbs 12:4). If the wife demonstrates such Godliness, her husband will be respected in the community for having a wife like this, and he will praise her for being such a blessing (see Proverbs 31:23, 28). Whereas this command might be quite foreign in our modern culture, still it is the Divine mandate for a healthy, vibrant marital relationship.
A wife who is a mother is to nurture and challenge her children so that they will mature in faith with each passing year. If she faithfully fulfills this calling, her children will not depart from Godly principles as they grow older. . . but will rise up, praising the LORD and blessing the name of their mother (Proverbs 22:6; 31:28). This too is the calling of the Church . . . as the bride and mother to nurture and challenge its congregants so that they will mature in the faith. There's no seeker-sensitive, sweet, sticky, cinnamon-bun spirituality here!
Children are called to submit to and respect their mother and father, for their parents have been placed in their positions of authority by the LORD. The Lord is pleased with such surrender (Colossians 3:20) and promises that things will go well for the child who submits to his Godly parents (Ephesians 6:3). If children will respect and obey their Godly parents, they will have no difficulty in surrendering themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which is the critical ingredient of salvation!
So too are the congregants to "obey their spiritual leaders and submit to their authority (for they) keep watch over the members as men who must give an account (before God)." (Hebrews 13:17, I Timothy 5:17,19; I Thessalonians 5:12). How often have we observed unruly, recalcitrant "church members" who would rebel against all those in spiritual authority over them? They are the instigators of disharmony and dissension within the church, much like Diotrephes, who was antagonistic in the church because "he loved to be first." (see 3 John 9-10). Just as a local family is quite dysfunctional when its children do not respect and submit to their parents, so too is the church whose congregants constantly rebel against the leadership appointed by the LORD. Many churches are dying from within, because its members are self-consumed and will not submit themselves to the Godly elders of the church, who again have been placed in their positions by the LORD to lead the church in the ways of obedience and righteousness until the day of our reclamation.
There is much to reflect upon in the above mandates from the LORD. May we break free from the dysfunction that is so prevalent in our culture by faithfully following our Divinely-appointed, relational responsibilities. We will be blessed in our families and in our churches if we do.
Let us first start with the husband who is the spiritual head of the family. A husband is to love his bride as Christ loves the Church (His bride), putting her needs before His own, even if this means his very life. This calling has been given to the husband by the LORD, to help him better appreciate the LORD's own calling as husband to the Church and "has given himself up for the church in order that he might make her holy and purified to present her as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or blemish." (see Ephesians 5:25-33). One can see the beauty of a loving LORD who lavishes His love to the Church, with the desire of presenting her in beautiful splendor before the heavenly hosts in eternity at the celebration of the wedding feast. This is LOVE at its finest!
Husbands would do well to reflect often upon the LORD's modeling and embrace these principles of love and ministry that would bless his bride. There is no discerning wife that would reject such a display of love and kindness; in fact, there are many brides who are grieving in the deepest depths of their souls because they are married to self-absorbed husbands who are only interested in satisfying their personal needs. If you find yourself a husband like this, it is time to confess your egregious sin to the LORD and your wife, and return to the Biblical understanding of your calling as a servant to the LORD and a true "lover" of your wife. You will be blessed if you do.
So too a man who is a father is called to love his children, modeling the unfathomable love that God the Father has for us as His children (see I John 3:1). This father is to demonstrate constancy in his Godly integrity so that his children will be granted the blessing of stability and security, in much the same way that God the Father is unchanging in His purposes of righteousness so that we are secure in our faith in Him as LORD (see Hebrews 6:17; James 1:17). A father is to discipline his children in love so that they will follow the precepts of the LORD in their adult lives (Hebrews 12:7-8; Proverbs 22:6). Of course this mandate to discipline is with the understanding that it is given constructively and redemptively . . . in order that the children will not lose heart in exasperation (Ephesians 6:4). How often have we observed the dearth of Godly fathers in the home (if they are even in the home)? How often have we seen mothers being forced to take the initiative to take their children to church and prepare devotions for their children in the home, while the father is disengaged from anything spiritually related? This should never be! The fathers are to be the spiritual leaders in the home . . . this is their calling. If you are a father and are neither modeling integrity in your life nor leading your family in intimate fellowship with the LORD, it would be better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and cast yourself in the depths of the sea (see Luke 17:1-2)! Therefore confess your sins of disobedience to the LORD's calling and start being the Godly father that you are supposed to be.
A wife is called to submit to her Godly husband in everything in much the same way as the Church is to submit to Christ as its Head and Savior (see Ephesians 5:22-24, I Peter 3:1-7). Submission unfortunately has been relegated by our society to being a suppressive instrument that inhibits women from being all that they can be. This of course is not the intended purpose of the LORD. Much like the calling for husbands to love their wives in order that they and their wives might better appreciate through experience God's love for the Church, so too through submission, wives and their husbands are able to understand through their personal, relational experience the calling of the Church to surrender to the LORD in all things. This submission does not mean that women have less intrinsic value than their husbands; rather, it is a functional role that God has prescribed to give us an earthly model that helps us better understand the ultimate heavenly marriage (i.e. God and the Church). This submission is seen as "fitting to the LORD" (Colossians 3:18). Need any more be said?
Much like the husband is to be a Godly man of integrity, being a blessing to his family, a wife is also to be a woman of noble character, which will be her husband's crown (see Proverbs 12:4). If the wife demonstrates such Godliness, her husband will be respected in the community for having a wife like this, and he will praise her for being such a blessing (see Proverbs 31:23, 28). Whereas this command might be quite foreign in our modern culture, still it is the Divine mandate for a healthy, vibrant marital relationship.
A wife who is a mother is to nurture and challenge her children so that they will mature in faith with each passing year. If she faithfully fulfills this calling, her children will not depart from Godly principles as they grow older. . . but will rise up, praising the LORD and blessing the name of their mother (Proverbs 22:6; 31:28). This too is the calling of the Church . . . as the bride and mother to nurture and challenge its congregants so that they will mature in the faith. There's no seeker-sensitive, sweet, sticky, cinnamon-bun spirituality here!
Children are called to submit to and respect their mother and father, for their parents have been placed in their positions of authority by the LORD. The Lord is pleased with such surrender (Colossians 3:20) and promises that things will go well for the child who submits to his Godly parents (Ephesians 6:3). If children will respect and obey their Godly parents, they will have no difficulty in surrendering themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which is the critical ingredient of salvation!
So too are the congregants to "obey their spiritual leaders and submit to their authority (for they) keep watch over the members as men who must give an account (before God)." (Hebrews 13:17, I Timothy 5:17,19; I Thessalonians 5:12). How often have we observed unruly, recalcitrant "church members" who would rebel against all those in spiritual authority over them? They are the instigators of disharmony and dissension within the church, much like Diotrephes, who was antagonistic in the church because "he loved to be first." (see 3 John 9-10). Just as a local family is quite dysfunctional when its children do not respect and submit to their parents, so too is the church whose congregants constantly rebel against the leadership appointed by the LORD. Many churches are dying from within, because its members are self-consumed and will not submit themselves to the Godly elders of the church, who again have been placed in their positions by the LORD to lead the church in the ways of obedience and righteousness until the day of our reclamation.
There is much to reflect upon in the above mandates from the LORD. May we break free from the dysfunction that is so prevalent in our culture by faithfully following our Divinely-appointed, relational responsibilities. We will be blessed in our families and in our churches if we do.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sing Your Praise to the LORD
Psalm 113:3-9: "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD."
One of my favorite Christian songs of all time is from the late Christian musician, Rich Mullins, entitled "Sing Your Praise to the LORD." In the bridge of this song, the above verses are quoted, which really gives the singer THE reason why one is to sing praises to the LORD. We know that the LORD is exalted above all. He sits enthroned on high and "stoops down" to give us His love and care at all times. And even though we may find ourselves without the benefits of worldly privilege and affluence, the LORD will raise us up at the proper time and establish us for all eternity as His adopted sons of daughters . . . children of the Almighty King.
For this reason, our souls should be overflowing with the joy of our salvation, and we should be praising the name of the LORD from the moment of our rising ("the rising of the sun") until the last moment of consciousness before our sleep ("the place where it [the sun] sets"). At all times and in all places, our primary thought should be one of praise and adoration of the One True LORD of hosts, and only an attitude of genuine awe and gratefulness to the LORD will display such a disposition. Otherwise we will fall back into the ways of our selfishness and begin to seek our own appetites over glorifying the LORD.
Let us not forget the awesomeness of the LORD and His loving kindness to us. Let us reflect upon the extraordinary privilege of our adoption into His royal family with all of the benefits contained therein. And let us sing our praises to the LORD genuinely and wholeheartedly.
One of my favorite Christian songs of all time is from the late Christian musician, Rich Mullins, entitled "Sing Your Praise to the LORD." In the bridge of this song, the above verses are quoted, which really gives the singer THE reason why one is to sing praises to the LORD. We know that the LORD is exalted above all. He sits enthroned on high and "stoops down" to give us His love and care at all times. And even though we may find ourselves without the benefits of worldly privilege and affluence, the LORD will raise us up at the proper time and establish us for all eternity as His adopted sons of daughters . . . children of the Almighty King.
For this reason, our souls should be overflowing with the joy of our salvation, and we should be praising the name of the LORD from the moment of our rising ("the rising of the sun") until the last moment of consciousness before our sleep ("the place where it [the sun] sets"). At all times and in all places, our primary thought should be one of praise and adoration of the One True LORD of hosts, and only an attitude of genuine awe and gratefulness to the LORD will display such a disposition. Otherwise we will fall back into the ways of our selfishness and begin to seek our own appetites over glorifying the LORD.
Let us not forget the awesomeness of the LORD and His loving kindness to us. Let us reflect upon the extraordinary privilege of our adoption into His royal family with all of the benefits contained therein. And let us sing our praises to the LORD genuinely and wholeheartedly.
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