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Wednesday, May 31, 2017

HE"S IN CONTROL



HE’S IN CONTROL!

Mankind fell through a desire to cast off God’s control. Satan’s great enticement was that we would “be as gods knowing both good and evil” and, therefore gain control. Man quickly learned that God retained control and still maintains it today.

1. HE’S IN CONTROL OF NATURE’S LAWS!

Jer 5:22
22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

2. HE’S IN CONTROL OF MY ADVANCEMENT!

Ps 75:6-7
6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

3. HE’S IN CONTROL OF GOVERNMENTS!

Dan 2:21
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

Matt 24:6
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

4. HE’S IN CONTROL OF MY PERSONAL SAFETY & MY FUTURE!

Rom 8:31
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Matt 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Heb 13:6
The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Dear Lord, today I rest in the knowledge that you are, as always, in control. AMEN

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

A HIGH AND HOLY GOD



A HIGH AND HOLY GOD!

Isa 57:15-21
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of his [ Judah’s] covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly [kept on backsliding] in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips; [I will restore praise to his lips] Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

Isa 6:1-3
6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

IT MATTERS HOW WE VIEW GOD!

Isaiah continues to see Jehovah in the way that he first saw Him in chapter six, Holy and exalted. This is as it should be! Because Calvary has made God instantly accessible we have made him casual and familiar. In making Him our Friend I fear we have ceased to see Him as Lord. In making His Word more readable, through multiple modern translations, we have lost the awesome majesty of His words.

WHO HE IS DETERMINES HOW HE ACTS AND REACTS TO US!

God is Holy! That is His name! He dwells in a holy place with others He Himself has made holy also. This is both good and bad news. Those who have been made holy by the blood of His Son Jesus will one day dwell with him but the wicked can not dwell. The wicked is so incompatible with the holy that both would be eternally frustrated if the wicked should reside in heaven. Like eggs and golf balls, both are of the same color and relative size but they have different natures. You might refrigerate golf balls but could never eat them. You might smash an egg off the tee box but the result would not be pleasant. Each has his own place. They can not dwell together.

GOD TRANSFORMS THE CONTRITE IN HEART!

The holy God is easily entreated and responds favorably to those who are bruised with sorrow for their sin. To view our sin in the same way that God views them is to share His nature and opinion. God moves quickly to solidify this and to transform the penitent into a holy being through redemption. The penitent has been enlightened by the Spirit, convinced of his sinfulness and brought to repentance. God continues to fashion him for His own holy dwelling place.

GOD PUTS PRAISE ON OUR LIPS!

If Judah would repent and turn from his backsliding ways (see v.18) God would remove the affliction which is only to turn him and would replace the pining with praise. But there is no peace, God says, to the wicked. His own wickedness afflicts him. His thoughts control him and his deeds destroy him.

But we are built for praise! Heaven is a holy place inhabited by holy people. It is not, as some think, a place where our every lust will be satisfied. It is a place where our spirit and our heart is revived and restored.

Oh Lord! Early will I praise thee! I will bless thee as long as my soul lives. Purge me and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. AMEN

Monday, May 29, 2017

HIS FOOTPRINT ON MY HEART



HIS FOOTPRINT ON MY HEART!

1 Cor 10:13
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

           Because a thing is wrong, does not preclude my attraction to it! I am a man of two natures like the Apostle Paul. In Romans chapter 7 he painfully describes the struggle that rages in the heart of the man with two natures. What he wants to do he does not do and what he loathes to do he seems addicted to. In Romans chapter 8 he explains that the liberating difference is Jesus.

Rom 7:24-8:1
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

           Isaac H. Meredith, in 1900 wrote a hymn called Seal us, O Holy Spirit which conveys the thought of Christ’s image stamped on our heart. The first stanza is below.

Seal us, O Holy Spirit,
Grant us Thine impress, we pray;
We would be more like the Savior,
Stamped with His image today.

Dear Lord, walk throughout my heart and leave your footprints today. Be the difference between me and sin. AMEN

Sunday, May 28, 2017

THE MIND OF CHRIST



THE MIND OF CHRIST!

Phil 2:2-8
2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Three times in this portion Paul uses the word “mind.” It is interesting to learn that they have different meanings in the New Testament’s original language. Each time, however, Paul is emphasizing the fact that our actions begin in our thought processes. Let’s take a look.

Like minded – One accord – of one mind—THIS IS UNITY!

Couples who have been married for a long time have an uncanny ability to finish each other’s thoughts and sentences in a conversation. They are so intimately familiar with one another that they seem to share one mind! This is the atmosphere Paul is promoting within the Philippians’ church. The meaning is UNITY.

What would happen if you did not have to ask a question because you already knew the answer? What would happen if you did not have to persuade or negotiate because there was no opposition? What if every action had a predictable and FAVORABLE reaction? This is the atmosphere Paul wanted for them.

1 Cor 1:10
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.


Lowliness of mind – THIS IS HUMILITY!

Paul actually explains himself in verse 4 when he says: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” What would happen if every member of the church weighed their ambitions in someone else’s balance? What if we consciously and intentionally thought of others more than ourselves? What if each time we prepared a cup of coffee for ourselves we prepared one for someone else – just the way they like it – two sugars and no cream? Think about the atmosphere in that church where every member functioned in this way!

The Mind of Christ – THIS IS SACRIFICE!

Without abandoning His awareness of His own equality with God, Jesus “took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” It was necessary for Christ to become man!

Rom 8:3-4
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

It was a tough job, as we say, but someone had to do it! This is the mind of sacrifice. Jesus willingly suffered loss that we might gain. Try, Paul was saying, to blend your affections and emotions – your mind – with this attitude held by Christ. The opposite of this “mind” is what I call the “greedy grab” mindset and it genders strife.

James 4:1-2
4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Dear Lord! Help me to develop a mind of unity with my brethren, a mind of humility with my peers and the mind of Christ in the world. AMEN