Welcome back, you might need a sweater or just a good old fashioned flannel shirt. It is hard these days to clear your mind if you are a person who stays up with the issues of the day. There are two issues that seem to find their way into print most every day. One that in my mind is a a bit complex and emotional for ordinary conversation, that being this gender issue. Remember when there was only a male or female? Sorry to say that ain’t the case today, this certainly is not your daddy’s world. The other issue would be Hamas, Gaza and Iran’s place in this war against Israel. 

The first thing about a good conversation is that we limit it to as much of the fact as possible…extreme emotion regardless of the direction tends to obscure fact and in these times it’s often the property of those who can talk the loudest…that’s is being nice. It should be a noticeable fact that when fact becomes …truth, it does not do well in a hostile environment. So here are some facts.

-Hamas is a an Iranian backed Palestinian terrorist organization that at the moment controls the Gaza Strip.

-Hamas rejects any alternative other than the complete annihilation of Israel.

-What have they done? In October of this year they carried out the worst terror attack in Israel’s history. Over the years  2000 Israelis have died from suicide bombings and other attacks. The October attack count is at 1300 dead and more missing or held hostage.

-They through their campaign of violence derailed talks between Israel and the PLO during the 1990’s.

-It is a recognized fact that after conquering the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas has maintained a standing army of fighters and supplied them with the necessary weapons to continue their terrorist war against Israel.

–It is reported that the funding for these terrorist activities while financed by other sources also, the bulk of the funds, $100 million come from Iran. 

-There are at least six Hamas leaders spread throughout this area of the middle east.

As I open the conversation here on the back porch it is my belief that the first thing we must do is to recognize that it is the goal of Hamas to destroy Israel…put plainly, kill all Jews. To the best of my knowledge I have shared the truth with you. What you do with it is up to you. Stay here on the porch if you like, or come back next week. There is no justification for microwaving babies, cutting off their heads while their mothers watch, none at all. In the weeks to come the protesters on all sides will offer solutions, slogans and the politicians from all over will vie for your ear. 

The answer my friend is not blowing in the wind… or here on the back porch. It will be found in the word of God and on your knees.

God forgive your people for their sin of indifference and strengthen us to keep the faith.

jk

Source: click here 

 

The Bible did not originally contain chapter or verse references. So what happened? Well it is not hard to understand that being divided into chapters and verses helps us find scriptures quickly and easily. Consider how much harder it would be to find even one of the best known verses, John 3:16, if you had to read through the words till you found it. Chapter and verse makes it much easier. Not every thing is perfect and there are some poorly placed chapter starts and endings but overall chapter and verse works well.The Chapter divisions occurred about A. D. 1227. Sometime later along came the verses. When I was growing up and first started attending Church and Sunday School the one thing I remember the most was the memorizing of Bible verses. I did not do well at it even though I loved to go to Church and Sunday School, I was what I call a present mark on the S.S. roster. The teacher would read a bible story, sometimes we even had coloring books or pictures according to the grade we were in. Let me mention also that we even had a work sheet to follow and then take home to show to our parents. In some classes we even had treats!

 Read this from  2 Timothy 3: 14-17 (NLT)

 “14But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” Things change, I am now 80 years old and recall what the Apostle Paul Wrote long ago.

1 Corinthians 13:11 New Living Translation

 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

We all experience this in our lifetimes… they have a term for it…the growth and maturing process. At this time even at my age I have only a small revelation of what God in time will reveal to me.  There will come a time in the future when all of us will have a have a complete knowledge of God’s will. Here is a caveat we would do well to remember. It will be revealed on a completely different road, one devoid of the sins and temptations of the earthly world. How do we know which is the road we should take? In his second letter to Timothy, Chapter 3:14-17 might be a guide we could follow.Most of us have read at one time or another 2 Timothy  3:16…

What is that different road and what would it look like? Well for one thing it would follow those things you have learned, confirmed by those who taught you, by the way they have lived. You will retain and refresh the sacred writings which you were taught from childhood. These words have given you the wisdom to bring you to salvation through Jesus Christ. You will be careful to follow only God inspired scripture not the writings of those who seek to produce their own literature to support their own claims. We can and must respect the scripture that has open the way to God. If you are a seeking the truth you must read the Bible, no other book has such a record of bringing people to God and Christ and must not be disregarded. The scriptures in the Bible are a necessary tool in teaching others about our God. It is here in the New Testament we have the teaching of Christ and a record of his life. We as Christians can use the scriptures to convince people of the errors of their way and put them on the right road. I have no numbers to present but I do have the testimony of Saints past that Scriptures can and have convinced people of the errors of their way.  We must study the Scriptures to make ourselves useful to God and to other people. No one is saved who does not have a burning desire to save others. 

Life is Good

jk

 

This in an unusual extra post, I usually only write one a week… well I only publish one Pew a week. I started in 2013 on a very tentative note. I am not a professional writer, I don’t have any letters behind my name, I am just an ordinary guy that found God late in life. How did that happen? My way back to God was through the word. I started reading reading the Bible, going to church and the reasons aren’t that important. There was no great Damascus Road experience, no great sermon, preacher or any pressure of any kind. I just could not get over how interesting the Bible was and was drawn into the history and this fantastic story of my God, the creator and my place in this world. I could go in to detail but the point is in those early years of finding God, it was the written word that drew me in… God spoke this world into being by the power of his words. Of all the creatures on this planet, only humans can communicate through the spoken word. There is power in words, consider that words have the power to create or destroy. How are we using this power? Do we seek to build others up, or do we use words to destroy them? Where is the one place that words are used to disseminate knowledge in a positive way about this God I found. It is the bible of course and while words won’t led us to that perfect state of Wisdom because that comes only from God, you can ask Solomon about that. Solomon also called Jedidiah, was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and successor of King David, according to the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. Solomon was the biblical king most famous for his wisdom. In 1 Kings he sacrificed to God, and God later appeared to him in a dream, asking what Solomon wanted from God. Solomon asked for wisdom in order to better rule and guide his people.

I started writing The Pew to share the power of the word and now some 10 years later and over 439 posts I still love sharing the word. I have had over 10,000 reads in that time…bragging…no, it is a testimony to the power of the word. Consider this. A very ordinary guy has been given the privilege to share the word of God…to tell the story of His Son and pass the word on of the greatest gift ever…Salvation and Life Everlasting. The Pew is about the word and I am so thankful to have been blessed to share that word with you. Remember to come back to Pew this Saturday eve when I post my usual blog.

jk

When you reach a certain age and let me make note of this… for each one of us that certain age comes at different times. For me from my sixties to now at eighty years of life, each year has proven how important it is to adjust not quit. As each of my endeavors became harder to do due to health I always put my foot in the door to prevent it from closing completely. For us old dogs it is important that we know that there are other trails out there. You who have read The Porch in the past, you know that I have written it is best to stay on the porch and let the young dogs run. I still believe that with one caveat… there are other things you can do from that porch but you can’t let life close that door on you, you will become blind to reality. This is from an old man with an opinion…take it for what it is, an opinion. Three things that are important while sitting on that Porch:

God – The relationship you have with God, your creator is what will sustain you in hard times.

Reality – One harsh fact of life was told to me as being an old Jewish saying.  Life… “it’s what it is.”

HOPE –  

 1 Corinthians 13:12 — The New International Version (NIV)

¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Isaiah 40:31(NIV) but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Enjoy your time on The Porch and don’t go in and shut the door.

jk

We have reached the last section of the Book of Psalms and as we have done with the other four we will  read the first Psalm in this section…107 which contains 43 verses. We are encouraged to consider The Steadfast Love of God. The New Interpreter’s Bible, breaks down these 43 verses into four sections. These sections are plainly seen if read in this manner. The first three verses calls us to congressional response. The other sections are as follows: vv. 4-9, 10-16, 17-22, and 23-32. I suggest you read this psalm in that way to better understand the message here. In vv. 33-42 we are reminded of the steadfast love of God. The psalm presents a picture of what God’s steadfast love is all about and a fairly complete theology of salvation. 

Open your bibles to Psalm 107 and let’s go beyond the word. We start with vv. 1-3. This psalm ties in with 106 but introduces us to a major theme…Steadfast Love. Right away in verse 2 we are introduced to a counter theme… Trouble. We encounter a new term “the redeemed” those gathered from exile. Post-exilic generations were known elsewhere as “The redeemed of The Lord. Moving on to vv. 4-9 the theme presented here is not one of experience had by any person or group, but when applied to those of Israel’s experience of the Exodus, wandering in the wilderness and return from exile their meaning is central to these verses. There are happenings that are experienced by the Jews such as hunger and thirst which are satisfied by God. We are shown here that they are taken care of by God’s leading the way, and they happen in a display of wonderful works. These verses  aways show the one factor, that of connectivity…the crying out of the people is always a part of the experience of salvation. Next we move to vv. 10-16. These verses could allude to anyone’s experience of oppression. We also see how some of the words here paint the picture the psalmist is putting forth. Darkness, shadow of death, gloom, prisoners, misery, affliction and distress. There is the connection with Psalm 106, it is in God’s character “to help those who have no one to help them.” Reinforcing the fact that God is steadfastly loving. There is one other thing to note in these verses…the people are delivered and are expected to publicly proclaim what God has done. In these next verses 17-22 we are told of an adventure at sea that exposes the weakness of men and shows God moving to comfort them. These men were at “their wits end”and in their wisdom cried out to God, they acknowledged their total dependence upon God and had faith in His steadfast love. We finish with vv.33-43. A few quick points to leave you with. The first psalm in Book IV defined wisdom as a humble, daily dependence on God. So the simple context to wrapping this up lies in some part to Plasm 107 v.43.

Those who listen will learn this lesson. It is best to renounce mortal wisdom, cry out to God and be the beneficiaries of God’s wonderful works. It could not be more appropriate a thought for these days and Israel’s plight this very day

God’s enduring steadfast love has always throughout history aided and endured exiles everywhere to have hope. It is Our hope as well.

Life is Good

jk

Sun sets earlier now and the chill of the early evening is noticeable in my old bones. With that said, let’s get to pondering…We are now three days into this week and there is no lack of material and the bad news is the bad news. There are always good things to ponder but we can and do get overwhelmed by all the bad stuff. I just came in from off the front porch, I am eighty years old and old traditions die hard. I love watching the kids dress up and for some of them it will be the first time they have interacted with a stranger…well a strange old man at least. I love the memories of days gone by but times change and for us old folks it can be a bit sad. With all the trouble in today’s world handing out candy to kids is a break in the chaos of the day… a bit more about that word in a moment. I am an observer of people, a people watcher and their actions, attitudes and behavior in a world that has become divided by hate and misunderstanding driven by personal efforts or a groups organizational agendas, which provide all kinds of fodder for pondering.

Now…that brings me to the word of the day, Chaos. The simple definition of that word is “complete disorder and confusion”. Consider this, those who implement chaos through their actions or encouragement have a special line in the dictionary. They are described as people who are completely unordered, unpredictable and confusing. Some synonyms they have are disorderly wild and they have an extreme lack of restraint or control. I will leave it to your discretion to name these folks. I have out of respect and better judgement simply gave them a group name. I refer to them as the AGENTS OF CHAOS. They are everywhere and they have no particular domain. They are in government at all levels. They do not have a record of introducing any positive solutions to the problems we face. Their line of thought is very simple…to find fault, encourage differences and if possible encourage others by doing what they do best, “create disorder and confusion”.

I do not want this to become a rant…don’t want to be like them. Let me put it this way. I would rather decide how many bags of candy I will need to purchase… than spend my time complaining about the evils of celebrating Halloween. In short I turn to scripture…

John 8:12

I Am the Light of the World

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

When we succumb to chaos we walk in darkness but we have the Light of Christ’s coming to show us the Good Way.

jk

This week we travel to the forth section of the Book of Psalms. This section contains psalms 90 through 107. There are 17 verses in psalm 90 and it is the only one contributed to Moses. This does lend some significance and it is the opening Psalm of Book IV. The book takes us immediately back to the time of Moses where there was no land, Temple or monarchy. It can be referred to as the theological heart of these discourses that are to follow…simply put, God reigns! Just as he did in the days of Moses. In layman terms, such as myself, God is the same today as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow, short form… forever. Alpha and Omega, we would do well to remember this. As we did last week we have an outline of this psalm available from the “New Interpreter’s Bible” Verses 1-2 focus  primarily on God, verses 3-6 focus on humanity. They are followed by verses 7-12 which explore the matter of life and matters of time. Verse 12 actually provides us with a moment of transition. From verse 13-17 things take us to a more hopeful direction.

 As we read verse one and two we see an affirmation of God’s permanence in the creation of this earth, our home. God has provided the only dwelling place we have ever known and it has been that way for all generations. Interesting to note that in our study material NIB, that here God is portrayed not as Mother Earth but as Mother of the Earth. We read of human time being all generations and of course of God as everlasting to everlasting. These next verses 3-6 continues to address the passage of time with such words and phrases as back to dust, yesterday, years, morning and evening. As with all scripture there is within the words things that can have different meanings. There is no doubt that time has a “crushing effect” on human life and we know that life is transitory but we do have the good news of verse 13 too look forward to. There is the movement from God’s time to human time. We read here the structure of the inexorable passage of time… impossible to stop or prevent. In psalm 90 is an interesting question…not directly but implied. Verses 7-11 are often interpreted or compared to Genesis 2-3. Both of these sets do make a connection between sin and death, a bit difficult to define in exact terms and not completely free of some vagueness, but would the humans have lived forever even if they had avoided sin? The text tells us that the punishment for their sin was not death but banishment. Don’t want to get off on a rabbit trail here but it is interesting to note the possibility of death was always a part of God’s plan…depending on how you interpret the word. In the strictest of biblical terms, death means to be fundamentally alienated from God. As I struggled with this concept I was able to see that without doubt sin does separate us from God and the promises that have been made through various covenants God has made with His People. It is death that makes sin an issue for those of the faith… A physical death is a death that offers no hope and no promises of a better day. Here we move to verse 12 which when understood correctly can restore our hope. If we aren’t careful we might fall into the trap of believing that this transience thing is the sum of our life. That would lead us to the thought that it was God’s intention for us to be about the business of “counting our days”. I don’t believe that God sought to lead us to believe how oppressive life is but rather that life is a gift of time God has given us. His words and that which we have been taught by the Saints of days gone by are intended to lift us up, give us hope and give us a “heart of wisdom” that death is no longer a problem. This plan of Transience also becomes no longer a problem. God has a plan for us as we go from Life to Death… He has removed the despair and in its place is life eternal with Him.

The big picture in verse 13 is the fact that God is being asked to forgive human sinfulness. God is being asked to do what we humans consistently do not do…to turn and repent! The short way out of all this theology, our God’s fundamental character involves steadfast love which is shown in His forgiving us of our sins, God’s compassion on the people in the form of the forgiveness of sins. We finish this with verses 14-17. After reading through these verses and the various commentaries I thought it best to just sorta share some thoughts with you. Palm 90 looks at Moses as an intercessor… The Moses “connection” if you will. In the previous Psalm 89 the “ steadfast love” occurs seven times. That brings me back to the Wesleyan practice of placing scripture in the full context. To better understand Psalm 90, reading Psalm 89 would be of help. Back to Psalm 90…it finally affirms God’s faithfulness in the face of human unfaithfulness, God’s being redemptive. Before time was always thought of as toil and trouble but here is an example of this Moses connection…while wandering in the wilderness the people became angry about the lack of water and food. Their behavior angered God but he did turn to satisfy them, there was water from the rock, and manna from the heavens. We can see the clear implication that God will turn, satisfy and make glad his own works and establish humanity’s work. We learn here: “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.”

Conclusion.. Psalm 90 functions as the songs of praise and a call to decision. We are being called to entrust ourselves and our allotted time to God. There is the assurance that a life grounded in God’s work, God’s time and our labors will lead us to understand this:

John 3:16-17

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Join us again next week in the Pew. Life is Good.

jk

Well, thought it might be time to write about this…might say the truth is I need to get it off my chest. Many times in the past I have alluded to the fact that it might be best for the old dogs to stay on the porch and let the young dogs run the rabbits. I have suddenly come to the realization that as Pogo once said “we have found the enemy…and it is us.” …that the term old dogs applies to me now. I am in the process of rearranging my daily routines to accommodate my growing lack of mobility. My favorite stops for coffee and pondering and writing are becoming fewer by the day. My Mac Air is no longer light as air and there is no lightness to my step…matter of fact I don’t step much anymore…just kinda stumble along as best as I can and if I may, I prefer to call it a Southern Shuffle, meaning with a style all of its own. Look at the picture to the left…three things to take note of. The cane is always in the way and reduces me to the use of only one hand, the hat I always forget and have to go back and get  most of the time. The bench well, it is symbolic of the fact that I can’t stand for long periods of time. Oh yes, that look of despair is my concern about the location of a bathroom…distance and accessibility. I am very fortunate that I have been blessed with the ability to provide myself with a number of ways to get around. I have three walkers, all with wheels that I can use for different terrain. A cane If it is for short distances or balance and one of those GoGo Elite three wheel scooters when the event allows for such. May I insert here a word of wisdom for our current leadership. The scooter is of course battery powered…it is in fact what you may call an EV. Limited in distance and lacking in power. Now all this is great but the fact is the porch works best for old dogs. When I do get off the porch I get in the way. People are nice enough but the fact is in crowds, canes, walkers and even scooters are objects that get in the way of the flow. I was at a sporting event the other night with my daughter…used my scooter to get to the ADA seating and I found myself trying to stay out of the way of people the whole way. Remember on my scooter I am only about knee high and hard to see in a crowd. I have been told to run over them but they are all bigger than me and I can’t walk away or run for that matter. So where is all this taking us?

Lot of discussion these day about age concerning our governmental leadership. I will go out on the limb here and beg to differ with some of the assessments about this age issue. First of all stupidity has no specific age levels. Wisdom is not an attribute of age and is not a product of longevity. Our Congress and other government positions are an example of that. It is not so much about being in the way as it is about clutter. You can figure that out on your own. Sitting on the porch is not all that great but I would like to think that I left the ground the young dogs are running in better shape than I found it.

jk

 

This week we add to our journey through Psalms Book 3. As I have shared with you when we started the Book of Psalms, for study purposes it is broken down is to 5 sections. Today we read Psalm 73…28 verses and it is the first in this section which includes 73-89. Open your bibles and let’s go… I will be reading from the NLT version. I am using for my research material The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 4 and Clarke’s Commentary.

When we start this Psalm 73 it travels back to the very start of the psalter, Psalm 1 & 2 which we read in our first unit of this study. We see here in psalm 73 that the primary characters are the wicked and the conclusion of psalm 73 goes back to that of psalm 1 vv. 5-6. 

5 

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment

    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous,

6 

for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked will perish.

It recalls Psalm 2:12 usage of refuge 

12

with trembling kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.

We read that sameness inPsalm 73:28

28 

he let them fall within their camp,

    all around their dwellings.

 

Here is an interesting note… Moving through the songs and prayers of  Psalms 3-72 we note that our happiness and prosperity has everything to do with God’s presence in our life and all  the threats and sufferings of this life. It could be easily argued that in some aspects this could be a profession of faith and be a part of religious instruction or as liturgy. Now as we take a look at the structure of Psalm 73 we will break it down into 3 sections of verses and also by verses.

Section 1

vv. 1-12 are the problem (12 Lines) 

vv. 1-3 the plight of the psalmist (3 lines)

vv.  4-12 the prosperity of the wicked (nine lines)

Section 2 

vv. 13-17 turning point

Section 3  

vv. 18-28 the solution (12 lines)

vv.  18-20 the plight of the wicked (3 lines) 

vv.   21-28 the prosperity of the psalmist (9 lines) 

Short note before we move on from Clarke’s Commentary.

“A Psalm of Asaph:” and it is likely that this Asaph was the composer of it; that he lived under the Babylonish captivity; and that he published this Psalm to console the Israelites under bondage, who were greatly tried to find themselves in such outward distress and misery, while a people much more wicked and corrupt than they, were in great prosperity, and held them in bondage.

Times were hard but even being captives they had many blessings from God…The best of which was they had promises of deliverance,  which would be fulfilled in due time. It is understood throughout scripture, Old and New that those of a pure heart would never be forsaken by God. Here we see doubt creep in as we all often wonder how the wicked always seem to prosper as we struggle with the difficulties and the afflictions of life. It is only natural for us to be irritated at our circumstances. We must remember that these wicked people have no conception of what is to come…there is a time of judgement yet to come. It is a very good possibility that if we had endless comforts we would never prepare for something better. It is really not that hard to understand…If it weren’t for our human trials and afflictions, why just the struggle of everyday life…most of us would never understand the need we have for God, for his love and protection and of course the promise of the resurrection. To go just a little further consider this. Without the cross there would have been no resurrection and we would not really be so concerned about what is next. Life would be only temporal, praise God for the promise of the resurrection, that which is to come to those who believe. The following verses in this psalm builds on that hope. Verse four is interesting. I know it is old school…so to speak but Satan will throw everything at us in this life even including for some a painful death…all this to shake our confidence in our God. The ungodly know nothing of this because Satan is sure of them and he will not come against his prey. Kinda reminds me of the story about frogs. Put some frogs in a pot of water and they are content, turn the heat up and by the time they realize they are in trouble it is to late. The ungodly are distracted by the sins of life and the flesh, by the time they realize what is happening, it will be to late. They go quietly like sheep to the slaughter. Verse 6, 7,8 are explicit, they do not not minimize the evil that is among us. I will not list all the signs of office and position of that day which were emblems of magistracy and civil power but these emblems only pointed to those who were responsible for the misery of the people. They were signs of violence, and the oppressive conduct that encompassed them. These signs of office and power were used to plunder of the poor and defenseless. They have become fat from their plunder and only wish for more. They cannot be satisfied even though they have more than they expected it still isn’t more than they wish for. Does this resonate with you? They are corrupt, they discount excessive acts and   they neither show equity, kindness, nor mercy; they are cruel, and they vindicate their proceedings. These people blaspheme God, ridicule religion, mock at Providence, and laugh at a concept of judgement for the wicked.They find fault with every thing; they speak badly of  the just in heaven, and ridicule the saints that are upon earth. They criticize every prospect of the judgement of God to come.

In verse 10 I struggle to understand even with the aid of various commentaries. I think when I read 10,11 and 12 it helped me some to understand better. We can become dismayed and confused with all the actions and words going on around us. We might even ask does God know what’s going on here? I look around me and still see all these wicked people getting richer from my misery. He is driven in verse 12 to say…it is ungodly that they still flaunt their irreligious and profane behavior before God and His people. Verse 13 leads us into a  dangerous thought. The psalmist put forth the question of have I cleansed my heart in vain? Does not God honor our efforts to worship the true God, to walk according to the law of righteousness, and keep the ordinances of the Most High? Verses 14,15 and 16 to me represents a short lament from the psalmist as to his daily encounter, from early morn on of trouble and pain. He has refrained from speaking to it least he be at odds with God’s people. It has been a difficult task for him to understand why these wicked people still prosper! We must remember and understand that this Psalm was written during the captivity, there was no sanctuary in captivity and none in Jerusalem, it had been destroyed. We need to learn that where we set apart our hearts and minds to seek our God is where he will meet us. It is a slippery path the unrighteous walk and they will eventually fall. All the riches in the world will never get you past those gates. Remember what Jesus said…  “Sell what thou hast, and give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy cross, and follow me.” Many of us remember that every action has a reaction and so naturally we as Christians recognize that sin has its consequences. Verse 19 tells us God’s reaction to sin… 

How suddenly are they destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors! (NIV)

Without God whatever appearance they had of greatness, nobility, honor, and happiness was swept away in an instant. They knew nothing of the greatness of God, had they, surely they would have not risk such dishonor.? Yet we of The Way, are sorry for their demise under such circumstances. But at the same time it awakens in me  that myself and my people are under God’s care; that we are continually upheld by HIM; and while in His hand, we shall not be utterly cast down. Verses 24-26 lift us up and encourage us to remain on the right path. We may have full confidence that when we follow the  WORD and SPIRIT as our guide through life; those who have done thy righteous will, shall be received into thy eternal glory. There is nothing here in this life we will need in heaven… God has made known His position on both heaven and earth… but we will do well to remember we have an advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ, therefore where do you look? We all will die and it is wise to make God the rock of your heart. Look to the heavens because it is God and God alone that can tend the desires and wishes of an immortal spirit. We have the prospect of its being for ever, this eternity thing, that is the inheritance of those who believe and serve.

As we wrap this up with the last two verses 27-28 we go back to the title of this blog… It is Good to be Near God….  WE reminded they that are far from thee shall perish. To be clear, it is good to draw near to God.

From the writings of Clarke’s Commentary:

I have put my trust in the Lord God — I confide in Jehovah, my Prop and Stay. I have taken him for my portion.

That I may declare all thy works. — That I may testify to all how good it is to draw nigh to God; and what a sufficient portion he is to the soul of man.

Life is Good

jk 

Welcome back to the porch. Plenty of stuff to ponder so far this week. Evenings are a bit cooler and I do enjoy that. Don’t know why it is on my mind, except I retyped most of the first sentence more than once. It brought to mind how far we have come in the world of digital convenience. Before Bill Gates and the computer the typewriter was something I avoided at all costs. When I wrote something I always used a pencil and had those large erasers on the table or desk a short reach away. Using the computer today it is much easier to clean up a mistake or misspelling quickly and leave no sign that you might have got it wrong to start with. You can highlight, back up and erase with a few key strokes and get this in most cases, the computer will correct your spelling and grammar for you. I got to thinking that might be the reason we have become so reckless as to how we speak to and treat other people. We forget that words, actions and bad behavior is not that easy to correct. There is not enough white-out, erasers, or delete keys to correct something we say, write or do that tends to hurt other people. Information is only a google away, and we experience less think time to search out and discover the facts…Consider this…A farmer prepares the ground for planting, removes the rocks and weeds that will hinder a good crop, he knows his field…his planting ground so to speak. Computers allows us to plant the ground we have never plowed and never considering the quality of the of the seed or ground…we use another mans plow and seed. 

The whole purpose of this little discourse is to remind all of us to think about what we say and how words are a marker of time, character, and faith. We are living in a time where hate, disrespect and common civility are now the norm. What you say and do does matter and there is in real life no delete key. 

Do all the good you can, to all the people you can and stand firm in the faith. 

jk