HE STRAIGHTENS CROOKED PATHS!

HE STRAIGHTENS CROOKED PATHS!

Isa 42:16

16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

          What makes a crooked road? The answer is obstacles and opportunities! We’ve all seen serpentine mountain roads climbing to the summit. We have seen country roads that follow a crooked path and we wonder why some engineer did not survey a straighter path.

          Obstacles that are too big or too heavy cause our paths to wind and twist. Our road often follows the path of least resistance because we are not equipped with the tools to remove the obstructions. Sometimes destinations are changed! What stands in your way this morning? What is planted and rooted so deeply that you have to go around it? Why has God allowed this “thing” to stand in the way of your progress? Trust God to make your path straight.

          Opportunities also cause us to venture from our path. Moses “turned aside” to see a burning bush  and his life was forever changed because of it. Never become so busy or so structured that you can’t visit a wayside market. Sometimes opportunities do not knock; they just sit there by the side of the road.

          Always keep your eye on the destination. I love talking to people whose lives have been changed because of an encounter with Jesus. Some very unlikely candidates have become some of God’s choicest servants. Moses was a murderer and Paul persecuted the church but both were changed by a meeting with God.

He Leadeth Me

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Lord, I do not yet know whether today’s path will be crooked or straight. I am trusting you to lead me in the way I am to go. AMEN

GOD IS FAITHFUL!

GOD IS FAITHFUL!

2 Thess 3:3

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

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.

James 1:17

17 Every good gift and every perfect ( free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

AMPLIFIED

God is so very constant that we take Him for granted. Angels gathered around Him are in a perpetual amazement at His glory and their praises never cease. We breathe His air, feast upon His bounty and walk upon the ground fashioned by His hand but we ignore Him. God is faithful to the children of men!

Ruth gleans after the reapers in the field of Boaz and they drop handfuls on purpose. God does the same day by day. Found treasure is dropped from the pocket of the Almighty. We, the needy, walk along and discover today’s provision. We think ourselves lucky but it is the hand of God that fills our apron. We carry home a bushel. We feast upon it and sell the rest in the marketplace. God is faithful. The morning sun warms our cheek, a bird sings and we fill our breast with the freshness of a new day. God is faithful.

God’s faithfulness is part of His own nature. It is not possible for Him to be un-faithful. When He withholds it is not due to lack or neglect. It is full of purpose. When he withdraws it is to create in us a sense of loss and a thirst for His presence. Everything He does is full of purpose. He has not lost sight of you. He knows your name. He restrains kings for your sake.

God’s faithfulness is not manipulated by our own. Our un-faithfulness cannot cancel out His faithfulness! “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim 2:13) God blesses those who curse Him and provides for those who believe Him not. He cannot deny himself. 

Lam 3:22-23

22 It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lord, words fail in my effort to describe your faithfulness! Thank you! AMEN

WHEN WE SIN!

WHEN WE SIN!

1 John 1:7-2:2

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

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

          The verses above form a model for mending the broken relationship between the sinner and the Savior. As we walk along “in the light” we are able to see well enough to not stumble. In this ongoing association we enjoy ongoing cleansing because that is the sense of the Greek word katharizo. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia which indicates both partnership and communion but I think of it as a friendship. When I offend my friend it strains the partnership and both are sad.

          If we say, pretend or assume, that we have no sin we are only fooling ourselves. The sin nature remains in every believer! It will remain until we die. We will always have to struggle against it. We do not help our cause by pretending it away. We can function in this life as a cripple but we have to acknowledge our handicap and make adjustments. Life is harder when we pretend.

          The word confess, in verse 9, is an interesting word. It is the Greek word homologeo and means: “a confession is made; thanksgiving is offered; and a promise is made.” When I sin I begin to restore the relationship by confessing. God responds faithfully with forgiveness. I then offer thanksgiving and promise that I will never “do that again!” I may or may not be able to keep that promise but that is the process.

          The ideal situation, in chapter 2 and verse 1, is that we live without sinning but John seems to know that is not going to happen. He explains that we have an advocate. This word is parakletos and is translated “comforter” in the gospel of John 14:16. Jesus promised that when he went away He would send another comforter. In the case of the sinner, the word parakletos means a defense attorney. When we sin Jesus speaks on our behalf to the Father. Forgiveness is then offered and cleansing prescribed.

          Our defense attorney is not only our counselor but He is the perfect and complete satisfaction the law and the Judge is requiring. The word propitiation, in chapter 2 and verse 2, is not one of our common English words but the meaning is “stain remover.” If you spill coffee on a white table cloth you might be able to cover it with talcum powder but if you want to actually remove the stain it will need to be washed. Jesus washes away our stains and satisfies the demands of the law and the Judge.

Dear Lord, when I sin I imagine you standing with your back to me and your arms folded in disgust. I imagine you angry and unfriendly. I wonder if you will even hear my prayer but when I ask forgiveness you gently turn toward me and forgive me. You then turn toward me and begin to clean me up. You sternly warn me to be careful not to fall again but then you smile at me and put your arm around me. We then continue our walk together. Thank you Lord! I promise not to ever “do that again!” AMEN