“None is righteous, no, not one;

11  no one understands;no one seeks for God. 12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless no one does good, not even one.”13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”“The venom of asps is under their lips.”14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”15  “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16  in their paths are ruin and misery,17  and the way of peace they have not known.”18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”  (Romans 3:10-18 – E S V) 

 In Exodus 20:13 we read… “You shall not murder.” No true believer of the faith should ever disagree or marginalize that commandment. Consider this…but that may well depend on your definition of the word murder. Many christians and even those who don’t believe apply this “thou shall not” to war. The interpretation of the Hebrew word literally means “the intentional, premeditated killing of another person with malice; murder.” Justice is in reality an act of God. There are man made laws and judgement but those which are of God, the creator of all things are inevitable and are final. War is never a good thing but sometimes the evil is of man’s own doing, his quest for his desires and paths to them destroys the innocent and that which God has created. Our world today is filled with sinful people who because of their lack of the basic acts of compassion, forgiveness, respect, patience and love for others makes war inevitable.

Please make note that I am sharing with you things I have read from an article in Got Questions? It is a bible app that is well received and offers scriptures to reinforce their writings. I will share that link at the end of this blog and encourage you to visit it. We might ask ourselves is there or could there ever be a just war? Here we open a can of worms so to speak… Mortals definition of a just war might depend on the possibility that it was the only way to stop the suffering of innocent people or…Is it possible that God ordained his wrath and vengeance on those evil perpetrators responsible for these atrocities to their fellow men? I will take some liberties here and not list the supporting scriptures to this opinion, they are listed in recommended URL below. It is the opinion gathered from reading the aforementioned article. War is always the result of sin.  (Romans 3:10-18),  

We have sort of scratched around the edge of this war thing but be assured of this…It is an error to say that God never supports a war. There are many scriptures to support this view…OT and NT.

This blog was a last minute thought. There is never a good war, maybe a just war is about as close as we can get to it being tolerable. We can never excuse the suffering, misery, destruction and the frustration of the collective inability of mortals to have compassion and love for each other. What can we as the people of God do? We can pray for an end to this war, or more purposely, to all wars.

Philippians 4:6–7 — The New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This you can take to the bank…Vengeance is Mine says the Lord… In God’s Time, In God’s Way, he will chose the manner of his judgement. There will be a Divine judgement. 

Jesus Ain’t N0 Pacifist…Pray for Peace

The link below will take you to the source of my information. It is an excellent article, please read it.

Life is Good

jk

https://www.gotquestions.org/war-Bible.html

In this chapter we read of King Hezekiah’s sickness and recovery in verses 1-8. As we read on verses 9-22 are about his thanksgiving. Good study of the scriptures requires we consider the subject at hand in its full context. A closer look can be found in 2 Kings 20: 1-11. The thing to be learned from this scripture today and it applies to all situations involving prayer… whether we live or die, we shall be his, we do not pray in vain. No prayer is ever not answered but not always in our way or time. Hezekiah’s illness is of a very serious nature. It is written that the prophet Isaiah went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” His reaction is what can be expected with this one exception that speaks to the character and strength of this man’s faith.  He immediately turned his face to the wall and began to pray. “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” The King then wept bitterly. Illness can overtake a person in the blink of an eye, its seriousness will determine reaction and the response… How we react to different events in our lives is determined by the content of the life we are living. The story takes a quick turn and even before Isaiah was past the middle court the Lord instructed him to return to the king….

“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you….On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. 

Writings indicate that the King was a good man, a Godly man but it’s worth noting that the scripture shows a moment of doubt ever so slight… Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?” … “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.” Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

There is such beautiful depth in the power of prayer and the lesson here among the scriptures. The King grieves that he will no longer see the Lord. Hezekiah’s desire has always been to serve God and have  communion with him. Consider that when a good man’s time here on earth is over all his cares and frustrations are ended and he rests from the labour of life itself. As we continue in these scriptures I see a beautiful vision. God has appointed our time here but the depth and seriousness of an illness can cause us to calculate the time we have left, when it is far more important to secure our own salvation and trust in our faith in God and his promise of eternal life through repentance and the pardon of our sins. God has promised Hezekiah 15 more years and he in return has promised to abound in praising and serving God. God’s promises are not to do away, but to quicken and encourage life and health which are given that we may glorify God and do good.

There will be a link below to a web site containing 7 Seven Reasons For Payer. I will post them here, go to the web site for a more detailed account.

1) Prayer can set (or change) the tone of your day

2) Prayer helps you make better decisions

3) Daily prayer keeps God in the forefront of your mind, not forgotten until Sunday

4) More frequent communication builds a stronger relationship

5) The discipline of daily prayer is submitting your heart to God

6) Answered prayers are prayers prayed

7) Opening your heart to God daily allows God to transform your heart

Remember the link below and make a daily habit of having a conversation with God.

Life is Good

jk

https://www.prayerandpossibilities.com/importance-daily-prayer/

I have been a member of the Methodist Church for over 40 years and I have seen a lot of changes in the church…so what is next? 

The Methodist Church has always been involved to my knowledge in social activism from its very inception. For decades now the church has fought the pressures from within and outside groups to change the teaching, or to be more exact, the doctrinal teachings of the church and church law. Both of these efforts always conflict with biblical standards and centuries of Christian beliefs and standards. Like right on cue I came across an article in the publication, The Next Methodism, written by Timothy Tennent, basically answering the question “What’s next”. Before I get to far into this there are many denominations experiencing this rush for change driven by the demands of our present times and fueled by societal, cultural, and agenda driven groups. I am somewhat uncomfortable with the following statement in the opening remarks of the article.

“there is an understandable excitement about the launch of the next Methodism out of the ashes of the current tragedy known as the United Methodist Church”

Not only is this statement, in my opinion as a Layman in the church but also a person who is very familiar with this traveling caravan of disruption and one thought idealism, offensive and not accurate but to be fair in this world of uncivil discourse, I will rephrase that to read… It is not accurate, at least from the pew I am sitting in. For decades same-sex issues have dominated District and General conferences as well Annual and to be clear they were not the only issues that were dealt with at these meetings but they were the most emotional, disruptive and hurtful to the body of the church. What is the issue that has brought us to this stage? If you replied same-sex, you might be wrong. The reason I say this is that I am guilty of not understanding or seeing the big picture myself. While I don’t agree with some of the things written in his article…. I do appreciate Mr. Tennent pointing me to the bigger picture.  

For decades many books have been written and read, position papers published, conversations and positions taken about just this issue alone.The disturbing thing about the issue now is that we, the church, are leaning toward the consideration that the most likely way to settle it, as being a spilt… in common terms… a divorce, a nasty one that would necessitate an equitable distribution of assets. Can you imagine that! There are those among the church who believe that we, God’s people, should divide what belongs to God among ourselves to satisfy an unreasonable horde of administrators and well educated theologians and unreasonable people of the faith! I must insert what I believe to be true… The majority of these people are sincere well meaning disciples of the church.There is much more here than many of we the laity know about and I include myself in that number. This from Asbury University… “John Wesley’s primary focus was upon the doctrine of salvation and the relationship between grace, faith, and holiness of heart and life. First, Wesley taught the classical doctrine of original sin and the absolute inability of human beings to save themselves through virtuous works. …” 

Wesleyan-Holiness Theology – Asbury University

https://www.asbury.edu › about › spiritual-vitality › faith

“The Wesleyan Methodist Church in America was created in early 1843 as a result of a schism from the Methodist Episcopal Church over slavery, holiness, and the arbitrary use of episcopal power by the parent church.”

 The word, episcopal power is of interest to me in this sentence. Many folks in the Pew are concerned that their voices are not being heard by leadership of the Methodist Church. A definition of which is:-of a bishop or bishops, • (of a Church) governed by or having bishops.

Consider this if you will please, from the United Methodist Resources:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

The Ancient Creedal Faith

The United Methodist Church professes no faith other than the ancient Christian faith, “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3), rooted in Sacred Scripture, interpreted and taught by the Early Church Fathers and the Ancient Ecumenical Councils.  This same grace-centered and Christ-centered faith was reasserted by the Reformers and was affirmed by the Anglican Church in which the Methodist movement first arose.   

 A creed by definition is a summary or statement of what one believes. It originates from the Latin credo meaning “I believe”. Some things have changed and one item seems to be that there is less use of the Methodist Creeds as in the past and yes people are talking about that. To what degree is this and what do these creeds say about us? There will be link at the end of the blog that will provide more information. I have struggled with this blog because one man’s cause is another man’s aggravation and the last thing the church needs is more of that. So let’s take a little break learning with history from classroom.synonym.com . There have been many divisions in the Methodist Church over the years since 1784 through 1840’s, and into the civil war which caused more division because of the bishops refusal to take an official stand on slavery. I like the fact that folks at “classroom” use the word division, seems a bit more civil than split. Then, in the 1880s, there were other divisions, some due to a  concern that John Wesley’s teachings on holiness were not being emphasized enough within the whole body of the church. I am open to being corrected but in an effort to wrap this up allow me to share just a few more points with you. Timothy Tennent, in his written discourse points to some thoughts and acts that basically sum up where we are at due to previous actions. A flagship reasoning for the split in United Methodism over the ordination of men and women who are in same-sex marriages and The removal of wording in the Book of Discipline.I always believed for years it was because of these Nine little words. 

The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. (303.3 Methodist Book of Discipline)

It has among the outside pressure groups been a standard rallying battle cry, picked up by other social justice warriors. They have so far been successful with the disruption and negative thoughts directed toward the United Methodist Church but have not been able to gain their goal. Sometimes an issue is so disruptive that it chokes itself… So they change the narrative to one that takes a little more finesse and requires some knowledge of the issues. The article includes three acts that are found in Billy Abraham’s chapter of the Next Methodism and is entitled “Doctrine or Death”. Now I will re-print those here for a hopefully clearer picture of where we find ourselves today as written by Mr. Abraham. Remember that what you are about to read is verbatim from his writings.

Act One was the confusion that the replacement of the ecumenical creeds with Wesley’s 44 canonical sermons and his Notes to the New Testament led to the false idea that Wesley was not committed to the grand ecumenical tradition.  

Acts Two was the rise of social activism and human experience which further distanced Methodism from historic doctrinal confessions. 

In Act Three the United Methodist church further distanced itself from the grand ecumenical tradition, replacing it with a form of pluralism which allowed endless innovations of both faith and practice.  Mr. Abraham comments made note of the fact that In Act Two we lost our Wesleyan heritage. He also notes that  In Act Three we lost our very identity as a distinctive Christian movement.  The failure of many of our official UM seminaries and episcopal leaders to guard our Christian identity led to our current untenable situation where we no longer have any viable basis for unity in mission, doctrine or experience.  

I am going to step back in the Pew to close this out. I do not favor a split, division or any other means of settling these obvious differences that may occur other than the use of that good old Methodist 3 legged stool, Reason Tradition and Experience. Mr. Tennent and Mr. Abraham, both used that stool to arrive at their positions and though I would consider myself not entirely in their Pew, I respect and admire their work and thoughts. I realize it might be a bit pretentious on my part…. I close with this thought…. Nothing of any value is ever conceived or blessed in an atmosphere of distrust, rancor or absence of God’s blessing and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Unity in the body of the believers and Our God will survive this issue. The Church shall not be split and stand.

Life is Good 

jk   

https://christianityfaq.com/methodists-apostles-creed/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe that many of you will know this song, if not you will know the writer… Kris Kristofferson, if not maybe the songs actual name… Why Me or Why me Lord. How often in our daily life when things get tough, have we asked that very question? Today’s world is full of “why me’s.” From growing up in the fifties, casting my first vote in a national election in 1964, our world has evolved into one that lacks civility, respect and the moral standards have deteriorated under the increasing pressure of the changing of social and cultural norms…. I might note here the term you often hear is the new norm. A nice polite way of giving the impression of general approval of such practices. 

This song by Kris Kristofferson always has been a favorite of mind because it is a statement of faith found….of hope…and expectation of restoration and not eternal damnation. Mr Kristofferson gets his message across without being preachy. I have included a small section of the lyrics here. You can Google the whole song if you wish. 

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so

Help me Jesus I know what I am

Now that I know that I’ve need you so

Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.

Tell me Lord, if you think there’s a way

I can try to repay

All I’ve taken from you

Maybe Lord, I can show someone else

What I’ve been through myself

On my way back to you.

Songwriters: Kris Kristofferson

Why Me lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

I believe many times we are better served by the axiom “less said the better”.

While you  won’t find this song in the Bible you will find a biblical response to the question….Why me Lord….Consider the Book of Psalms… Psalm 16 to be exact.

Psalm 16

A miktam  of David.

1 

Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.

2 

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”

3 

I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

4 

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.

5 

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.

6 

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

8 

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10 

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.

11 

You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  Miktam or Michtam (Hebrew: מִכְתָּם) is a word of unknown meaning found in the headings of Psalms 16 and 56–60 in the Hebrew Bible.^[1] These six Psalms, and many others, are associated with King David, but this tradition is more likely to be sentimental than historical.^[2] They may have formed one of several smaller collections of psalms which preceded the present psalter and on which it was based.^[2]

This psalm alludes to David , who would become King of Judah, who in his travels had spent time among idolaters, was forced to leave his country because of Saul’s persecution and cries out to God for help.We learn in the first 7 verses his dislike of idol worshipers and his desire to be united again to God’s people and his strong confidence in God, who has been so kind to him in his time of distress. Now this may be a stretch for some but I see a person who has seen a few bad days and seeks a way back home… That way being a path to God… Many of us need to find the way home… Amen…Go With God

Life is Good

jk

This will be a bit unusual this week but every now and then I like to step out of the Pew. We can immerse ourselves in the Bible, structure our lives to avoid those things that we consider to be outside the faith but until the Lord’s day comes we live among the human world mortal sins and shortcomings. We have been called to challenge that and to tell the story and bring others to Jesus Christ….BUT…. 

There are so many things in our everyday lives that challenge our Christian way of life that I don’t think our minds are large enough to cipher through all of it. Now at this point I will endeavor to elaborate on that BUT, in the opening paragraph. In the news today here in the USA we learned that there will soon be a vacancy on the highest court of our nation… that would be the Supreme Court of The United States. A person will be nominated by our President, considered by our Senate and upon whose consent the vacancy will be filled. Let’s think about this for a moment. The President and the Senate will examine reason, ponder, and think and yes there is a bit of redundancy here and guess what…they will overthink the subject at hand. Why? Because of those little soundtracks running in their minds. Now to be nice here I will simply say they will overload their minds due to the increasing amount of pressure from social, cultural and agenda driven causes. Ok, where is the Christian perspective in this weeks Blog? Well, it comes from a  current sermon series at church titled Soundtracks and has as it guide thoughts from a book, Soundtracks written by Jon Acuff. 

Like the Greeks of old, our Senate the smaller upper assembly in the US Congress, must give their consent to the President’s choice and they love to debate. There is nothing unusual about this process or anything evil about it…but… the good people haven’t shown up yet and already Jon Acuff’s theory on overthinking has cast its shadow on the process. To borrow from Jerry Lee Lewis, while there might not be a “whole lotta shaken going on” there is a whole lot of thinking going on. So far it is shaping up to be an issue of race, political agendas and one other issue that has always been a hot button issue…plainly said Abortion and that friends caught my attention. The search, the vetting, the nomination and either approval or not of the US Senate of that person, follows a procedure that is in place and has a history of working well. You may have noticed up to this point…somehow the Bible got lost in all the thinking I have been doing…Could I have over thought this situation? I most likely have but  consider this. My own study and reading others comments has led me to the conclusion the bible does not say anything at all about Abortion. We find ourselves caught in a dilemma here. The last candidate  nominated to the court was thought of as a Pro-Lifer… This time the tag will be a person thought of as  Pro-Choice. Now to be fair I always try to see both sides of the debate but I have always looked at a debate as a process that only one can win…there always will be a loser or in some cases, losers. From a believers view the word of God is not debatable. The Bible does not present itself as having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone and we miss this point but I do admit that some commentaries and writers do. Example…you will not find the word gay in the Bible, Old or New Testament, except in the newer translations but you will find behaviors that today attribute to the use of that term in new world language and have assigned that word to describe those certain behaviors in our time. The point I am trying to make is that there are things that take place in the Bible, situations where what we now refer to as an Abortion occurs, but is not referred to as such. Basically speaking, the qualifications to be appointed to the Supreme Court are few, and concise. The link posted at the end of today’s blog is very informative, well worth the read. All this would work well and get this done…but in this case the overthinking will make for a decision of excessive thought due to those nasty soundtracks in the minds of all involved. I will leave you with this thought… Here is a direct quote from an opinion piece I read in preparing this blog.

October 16, 2020

By John J. Collins

“Christians can point to a long tradition of condemnation of abortion, dating back to the period just after the New Testament, and may reasonably feel that this tradition carries weight.”

“But Christians who turn to Scripture to trump a political debate with the force of biblical authority should be reminded that the Bible does not actually say anything at all on the topic. On this issue, there is no divine revelation to be had.”

(John J. Collins is Holmes Professor of Old Testament at Yale Divinity School and author of “What Are Biblical Values? What the Bible Says on Key Ethical Issues.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

The above being the tag attached to these quotes. I don’t feel like it is a waste of space as I always want you to know where I get my information… or it could be a law…I don’t know.

I would add to the Professor’s comments with respect… in today’s world there is no such thing as biblical authority and with sadness I must say very little within the church. We are a weird people. We believe God created everything, even our very person. We heard the argument “it is my body, no one can tell me what I can do with it.”

So I will go out with a big bang! You my friend were created by God, given life and a purpose and I will give you the “do what I will with it” there is such a thing as free will.  Here is that but again …your soul belongs to your creator and in the end he will determine its fate. God gives and is life, why are you so determined to take it.

Life is Good

jk

https://thelawdictionary.org/article/qualifications-to-become-a-supreme-court-justice/ 

 

These last two years and now the early days of 2022 have been ones of great stress not only for those of the way but all the people of the world. Here in the USA we have seen over the previous years a decline in church membership coupled with disdain for our faith and a lack of respect for our beliefs which have gone as far as physical violence against persons of the faith and destruction of places of worship. The church used to, so to speak, have a place at the table of social, cultural, and accepted behaviors, even going as far as to model some of them after biblical teachings. These two psalms are closely linked in vocabulary, themes and refrains. They both speak to in general terms of dangers, threats, anxiety, trust, and hope. These are common of all people all over the world for all time. Yes, these are quite common adjectives of things that occupy our minds but in today’s world I believe they have become an overwhelming state of mind for some of us. To use a phrase common these days…the new norm. People are losing hope and just the simple tasks of the day can suddenly become fraught with dangers, threats and anxiety and we have forgotten where our hope lies. 

We as a church, nation and its’ people have forgotten our God’s love and concern for his people. Look at our nation today… The church, and the people who profess faith in God, find themselves in a hostile environment that does not support the faith or affirm that our lives derive from or depend upon God. The church and its people have become resident aliens in our own country. Given the way we are now days, this self-grounded and self-directed the you can do it mind set, it’s up to you, is not enough. This cultural mantra in its cultural context ignores the Christian view that the most important thing we can do is hope in God and claim God as our help. Even Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane who was fully embodied in dependence on God, could not at that moment fully avoid a state of uneasiness or anxiety and neither shall we. The good news is that neither shall we be able to escape his steadfast love and faithfulness. Rejoice amid the uncertainty knowing that God loves you…Leave your anxiety and fears at the foot of the cross. I have posted here Psalm 42 and 43 for easy reference, Please take time to read from God’s word. Our Hope Is With God.

Life is Good

jk

Psalm 42

Longing for God and His Help in Distress

 1 

As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.

2 

My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?

3 

My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”

4 

These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,[a]
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.

5 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.

7 

Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.

8 

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.

9 

I say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”

10 

As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”

11 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

Psalm 43

Prayer to God in Time of Trouble

1 

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust
deliver me!

2 

For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy?

3 

O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.

4 

Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.

5 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

 

Last week we took a look at Salvation and it occurred to me what follows validates the saving grace of God through his Son Jesus Christ. Because of the kindness of God given freely we can receive the gift of eternal life…but as I wrote then, there must be repentance…that you might say is the rest of the story. Today we look at an interesting contrast between the wickedness of man and the goodness of God.  Psalm 36 is our subject this week, all 12 verses of it. This psalm is considered by many to be the best of the collection. The period in which it was written…

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat in the Jewish–Babylonian War and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The event is described in the Hebrew Bible, and its historicity is supported by archaeological and non-biblical evidence.

We will break it down for a closer look. In verses 1-4 this psalm notes the miserable state of the wicked and verses 5-9 speaks to the excellence of God’s mercy in itself, and to his followers. In verse 10 we encounter prayers for the upright; moving to verse 11 a prayer for himself that he may be saved from pride and violence. The last verse, 12, shows the end of the workers of iniquity. 

Transgressions reside in our hearts and speak to us, encouraging us to continue in our wicked ways. It is accepted that in many ways that what lies in a persons heart so goes their mind. The spirit of transgression lives and reigns and grows in the heart of those who have no knowledge of God. Because there is no knowledge of God, nothing hinders this natural inclination to live out the ways of wickedness and because we do not know God, we have no fear of God. The Babylonians were idolaters of the grossest kind living a life filled with sin and greed, history confirms this. When we allow sin to come into our hearts and the love of God does not dwell in the heart and mind this fosters an attitude of no fear as our mind tells us to go and do and we embrace the evil that beckons us. We can lose direction in our life, actually flattering ourselves by pleasuring ourselves and are blind to our sins and believe others are also. If we could see ourselves as we really are, we would then see how truly detestable we really are. The very words from our mouths are those of deceit and calculated to pervert others, and lead them astray. The often heard words of ‘he plots while we sleep’ is true of an evil mind that is busy in the darkness plotting  next steps and doing so with no sense of God, kindness or remorse. Such is the character of sin and evil.

All of us over time have looked at someone who in our mind, through their actions, are living a deceitful and wrong life. We may even ask ourselves why God lets them, so to speak…get away with it. You might find the answer to that question a bit confusing. The answer my friends lies there in verse 5…Psalm 36- Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens your faithfulness to the skies. God’s faithfulness binds him to fulfill the covenants and the promises made by his mercy.

Consider the mountains of God, made by his own hands, the tops of which are unreachable by mortals and from these he rains down on us his  mercy, truth, righteousness, and judgments. There is no limit on the intensity and good in the nature of God and that it is his delight to make all his creatures happy. He preserves the man, and he preserves the beast even when their natural nature might compel them to actions that would do them harm. Within the shadow of God his kindness is indescribably excellent, abundant, and freely given. It should come as no surprise that the children of Adam put their trust under the shadow of God’s wings, looking to His providence for the supply of their bodies; they trust in His mercy for the salvation of their souls. In verse 8 the psalmist refers to the joyous expectation they had of being restored to their own land, and to the ordinances of the temple. Verse 9 reminds us that no man can be a light unto his own self, all light, knowledge and understanding comes from God. In this verse we are brought to the understanding that God is light, it was God that said, “Let there be Light”…by that light the eye of man was enabled to behold the various works of God, and the beauties of creation. By this same light He can see our sins, frailties and even into our very souls. God’s words of salvation can illuminate those very things in our heart and soul that thrive in the darkness of sin. Through this, the light of God and his son Christ we might reconcile ourselves to our God and savior Jesus Christ. “In God’s light, we shall see the light” 

In the next verse it is plain that the psalmist makes known the continued need for God’s loving kindness. The need for the grace which justifies the ungodly, and sanctifies the unholy removes the cover of darkness and frees us to be reconciled to God. This is true of every genuine penitent, and of every true believer. Moving to verse 11 the prayer of the psalmist is that the treatment from the Babylonians over the last seventy years may come to an end. Lord, Restore us to our land…and let not the foot of the proud and violent remove us from it again. Verse 12 speaks to the fate of those whose pride has gone before them. Clarke’s Commentary ends it best with these words.

“The object of this Psalm is to implore God, out of his goodness, that he would deliver the upright from the pride and malice of the wicked.”

Life is Good

jk 

The Bible tells that salvation, also referred to as deliverance or redemption is the act of saving people from sin and its consequences. It has been written that there are seven deadly sins…listed as follows, lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy, and pride. There are many more as counted in just the Old Testament alone… Consider that the entire books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy are devoted to revealing to the Israelites God’s laws. Jewish rabbis say that there are 613 laws in the Torah (Books of Moses). Of those, 365 are in the “thou shalt not…” category. It is not my intention to do a numerical count of sins but when considering salvation delivers us from it, it would be most helpful to recognize it for what it is. I have been reading both secular and religious writings about sin and I thought there might be a simple way to put it. I have shared with you in the past that I am a simple layman, there are no letters of distinction that follow my name…here I am just a few words into this blog and I find myself buried under an avalanche of words within the written and digital world, both secular and theological. The Pew has for years had a tagline …  “A Layman’s Look At The Gospel”. So here is my view. 

It is my belief that anything that separates us from God is a sin. That covers a lot of ground. Sin is due to personal behavior and sometimes can be the result of attitudes that foster defiance and it hurts to write but also are the result of one who has a hatred of God. Yes, there are those in this world that hate God. We as Christians accept the Judaic concept of sin but look to the New Testament thought that the sinful nature of humanity is a condition that Jesus came into the world to heal. There is no way that any rational person could ever deny that sin is not destructive to those who do so and to those around them. Where there are the attributes of sin the Holy Spirit cannot abide.

Why is salvation important?

Salvation means being saved from sin, living a life here on earth that allows for a strong relationship with God, which in turn allows our relationship with Jesus Christ to strengthen our resolve and to live a good Christian life. How do we receive Salvation? Many writers and many ways have attempted to give us the answer for this question. … one source says salvation can be achieved in the following manner: “Live a holy and righteous life dedicated to Yahweh, the God of Creation. Fast, worship, and celebrate during the appropriate holidays.”  Simple OT reasoning and then there is the Theological term “atonement”. It centers on cleansing of impurity from the Temple, mind and bodies. Then there is the  New Testament notions  “Christ died for our sins” 1 Corinthians 15:3  “we were reconciled to God through his sacrifice. 

1 Corinthians 15:3

3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,

My one thought here is to keep this simple. Salvation is freely given to those who seek it…but… there is that caveat. The gift is free but requires a true repentance and the spiritual maintenance of mind, body and soul, that we might be acceptable in His sight. I thought that in keeping it simple Wikipedia did it best……

“Repentance is reviewing one’s actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.”

Now sins are divided by some to be judged by their severity, and state of intent. There are those of an intentional nature, knowingly done and those of omission and lack of vigilance. Love is the balm of Christian thought and action. How do we live to serve God and Christ?

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8, 13

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends….   13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Fill life with Love.

Life is Good

jk

 

 

For a large number of Christians, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, God’s gift of salvation and the path to the restoration of his relationship with his people. The story is remarkable, a virgin gives birth to a boy in a stable who is in reality the Son of the Living God. A star marks the manger where he lay, Angles sing of his birth, shepherds follow the star to see this Child. It is not long thereafter that wise men seek him also, bringing gifts. This child will bring about the wholesale murder of all boys born that day and he will become the subject of a massive manhunt…he has yet to utter a word. We know little of his early life and in later years he appears before a rather strange man in animal skins who lives on bugs, nuts and berries and is at home in the desert wearing animal skins, pleading for people to renounce their sins because the Messiah is soon to come. A remarkable story whose reality is even more remarkable. From these humble beginnings the Greatest Story Ever Told is born. Consider this…there were from the beginning doubters and history has put forth many arguments and theories about this man who presented himself as the Messiah. There is the fact that the Jewish people had always expected a savior, the one who would restore Israel to her rightful place as the chosen people of God. 

From the early prophets to that very day of his baptism by John in the wilderness, the Jews had lived with this in-destructible faith and the raw belief that it would be so. The beginning of the ministry occurred with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan, near the River Jordan by John the Baptist. New Testament writings give as the principal locations for the ministry of Jesus as Galilee and Judea, with activities also taking place in surrounding areas such as Perea and Samaria. 

Now I need to be careful here but the enormity of the scope of his ministry is pivotal to the story. Three years a total estimated distance of 3,125 miles, Jesus WALKED during his ministry. Add to that his disciples, the 12 of his picking, walked with him…most likely the majority of those miles. Now there are records of large crowds following him through certain areas and there were others we find in the gospel writings that were with him at various times… I think of it sometimes as being a traveling caravan of Salvation…with the Cross going on before. I believe Jesus saw that Cross on the horizon when he took his very first step on those roads. He would sit among the mighty and the fallen, kneel in the dust of a town to speak to the stoning of a woman, speak to a Samaritan woman at a well, heal the blind and sick on the Sabbath…all these acts adding to his notoriety and adding fuel to those enemies that would have him put aside. His ministry would come to an end on the ragged outcrop of a hill…There he would be taunted, mocked and nailed to a wooden cross, his side pierced just as the heavens open up in fury and the cloth rent…. The world would never be the same. 

 I have thought of many ways to bring this blog to a close. I then realized the story is not finished yet, the end is yet to come. The brightness of the lights, the joy of the tree and the unexpected love we feel for people in general makes me wish everyday could be Christmas. God has blessed the world with the greatest gift ever given to man. It is argued every year to keep Christ in Christmas. I encourage you to not pack him away till next year….Keep him in your heart, mind and very being…. The story is not completed yet. 

Come Lord Jesus

Life is Good

jk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a repost from a few years ago…It has become a tradition to post it each year at at Christmas. May you and yours have a Merry Christmas…Praise God for his son Jesus Christ!

I am constantly searching the internet for little gems of knowledge and wisdom that will enrich and encourage us ordinary folks whose frantic pace in this life causes us to rush by without even taking the time to “smell the coffee” so to speak. Well over fifty years ago we were introduced to the world of Charlie Brown. Charles Schultz created a community of loveable misfits each with their own recognizable frailties’ of mind, body and spirit, in which many of us saw a part of ourselves in the characters and took this lovable bunch into our hearts. Unlike some of the modern animated cartoons of this day the brilliance of Charles Shultz shows us our faults in a gentle and endearing way. Charlie Brown also helps us see the real value of community, the need we have for others and the power of a simple love that transcends the norms of this day. Having said all this let me introduce you to a brilliant post of December 14, 2014, by Jason Soroski. I have edited his original post for space requirements and encourage you to go to the posted url to read it as posted. (jasonsoroski.wordpress.com)

Here are some excerpts from that post.

I was in the first grade back when they still performed Christmas pageants in schools (less than 50 years, but still a very long time ago), and our class performed a version of the Charlie Brown Christmas. Since I was kind of a bookworm and already had a blue blanket, I was chosen to play the part of Linus. As Linus, I memorized Luke 2:8-14, and that Scripture has been hidden in my heart ever since. But while working so diligently to learn those lines, there is one important thing I didn’t notice then, and didn’t notice until now. Right in the middle of speaking, Linus drops the blanket.

Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally and others all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up. Until this moment. When he simply drops it. In that climactic scene when Linus shares “what Christmas is all about,” he drops his security blanket, and I am now convinced that this is intentional. Most telling is the specific moment he drops it: when he utters the words, “fear not”

 Looking at it now, it is pretty clear what Charles Schultz was saying, and it’s so simple it’s brilliant.

The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears.

The birth of Jesus frees us from the habits we are unable (or unwilling) to break ourselves.

The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, and learn to trust and cling to Him instead.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and take Jason Soroski’s advice and “drop the blanket” in the coming new year. Again I encourage you to go to the url posted above and read some more of this gentlemen’s writings and activities.

Life is Good

jk