"When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek."
What a precious text of Scripture! Certainly this reveals the intimate & loving communion between a believer abiding in fellowship with the Lord & the Lord Himself. This entire Psalm, as so many in the Psalter, reveals this beautiful closeness that the Lord so desires from us.
You know, I was looking over the Book of Acts this week, & a great Bible teacher now with the Lord, Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, made a tremendous point in connection with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, & the Lord's faithful disciple, Ananias (not Sapphira's infamous husband!). As the Lord directed Ananias to go & lay hands on the freshly converted Saul, Ananias understandably balked at first! His response is almost funny! "Lord! Don't You know all the bad things this fellow has done, & that he came here to keep on doing those awful things..." Certainly this is a very rough paraphrase, but the point is clear! Ananias felt comfortable being very open & candid with the Lord, obviously something he was in the habit of doing. Dr. Morgan pointed out that the supernatural simply seemed natural to these early believers! The point is, that they were completely at home with the Lord! The reverse was also true...He was at home in their hearts & lives as well! Isn't that what Paul meant when he said what he did in Ephesians 3:17? Listen to the Amplified version of that text: "May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love..." Now we know that once we trust in Christ for eternal life, that positionally we are in Him forever, but in our everyday lives, the Lord wants to do what Paul said in Ephesians 3:17, & what He was doing in Ananias' heart in Acts 9! The Lord desires much more than we do, even at our best moments, to be in intimate, close fellowship with us! This is encouraging, yet also sobering, to think how many times I have left my wonderful Savior desiring much closer fellowship with me while I went off to do some pointless thing in light of eternity...
Anyway, I'm not really sure what my reaon for posting this was, but I do know that we as believers can be as close to the Lord as we want to be, since He has made every effort & put everything in place for it to be so! Let's be like David when he said, "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." May the Lord bless you all!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Psalm 116:15
Precious in the sight of the LORD
Is the death of His saints. (NKJV)
I have wondered just what this means that the death of His saints is precious to the Lord? I know the Lord cares about everything in our lives, but a thought recently came to me about this that I would like some feedback on from the fine folks that drop in to this blog from time to time. Do you think it is possible that this may mean, at least in part, that it is especially precious to Him when each of His sons & daughters comes Home to Heaven with Him? Certainly there is far more than this, but do you think this could at least be a part of what this precious promise means?
AND, on top of that, if this is true, then for us to persevere in faithfulness to the end of our lives & to have an abundant entrance into His Kingdom & presence (2 Pe.1:10-11) brings even more joy to HIS holy heart?? So, our faithfulness being rewarded at the Bema seat of Christ not only brings joy to US, but also to HIM?? Just a thought, & I am looking forward to your thoughts as well!! May the Lord bless you all!
Is the death of His saints. (NKJV)
I have wondered just what this means that the death of His saints is precious to the Lord? I know the Lord cares about everything in our lives, but a thought recently came to me about this that I would like some feedback on from the fine folks that drop in to this blog from time to time. Do you think it is possible that this may mean, at least in part, that it is especially precious to Him when each of His sons & daughters comes Home to Heaven with Him? Certainly there is far more than this, but do you think this could at least be a part of what this precious promise means?
AND, on top of that, if this is true, then for us to persevere in faithfulness to the end of our lives & to have an abundant entrance into His Kingdom & presence (2 Pe.1:10-11) brings even more joy to HIS holy heart?? So, our faithfulness being rewarded at the Bema seat of Christ not only brings joy to US, but also to HIM?? Just a thought, & I am looking forward to your thoughts as well!! May the Lord bless you all!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Psalm 84
This Psalm has always been among my favorites, but lately the Lord is making it even dearer to my heart. I've been listening to some teaching on this Psalm from the late Bible preacher & teacher, Dr. Ray Stedman, & it has certainly blessed my heart, & I wanted to share a snippet with you. This Psalm of course concerns the OT saint who greatly desires fellowship with God in the physical Jewish Temple. Yet they also knew that God was much bigger than the Temple & only in His grace did He choose to meet with them there. (1 Ki.8:27)
Dr. Stedman made the analogy of the OT Temple representing the believer's physical body today & how that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us today! (1 Co.6:19-20). So, this Psalm is actually presenting the joys of fellowship with God in daily life for the believer! I especially like what he says concerning vv.5-6!
"Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of springwater; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings." (HCSB) Only when we realize that our strength is only in God are we able to really enjoy life with God. He then related a true story that had happened that week, keeping in mind that Dr. Stedman went Home to be with the Lord in 1992. He said that a young man who was struggling with some great personal problems was under a great cloud of depression. He came to visit Dr. Stedman's church, & Dr. Jack Mitchell, also now with the Lord, was preaching a message uplifting the grace & forgiveness of God in Christ. At the end of the message someone overheard him say to a friend, "Oh, what a load of guilt has been lifted from my heart today!" This young man was so enthralled by Dr. Mitchell's message that he returned again that night for more. He made an appointment to speak further with an associate pastor, Dave Roper, about his problems & new hope in Christ. They were enjoying their talk together in the car while stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, a moving van ran the light & plowed into the car, instantly killing the boy, but hardly scratching brother Roper. They were all greatly stunned & saddened by this, since they were praying for him at that very time, but also they were thankful that the Lord had used Dr. Mitchell to make his valley of Weeping (Baca) a spring for God to bless him before he left this world! The Psalmist went on to pray in v.8 for God to make him that kind of man, & I so want that as well. But you know, I must admit to all of you dear brothers & sisters in Christ, that sometimes I fear what is necessary to make me like that. I want to be a blessing, but so often I don't want to experience what is necessary for it to come to pass.
Thanks for your prayers & for taking the time to read my ramblings! May the Lord bless you all as you serve Him today!
Dr. Stedman made the analogy of the OT Temple representing the believer's physical body today & how that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us today! (1 Co.6:19-20). So, this Psalm is actually presenting the joys of fellowship with God in daily life for the believer! I especially like what he says concerning vv.5-6!
"Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of springwater; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings." (HCSB) Only when we realize that our strength is only in God are we able to really enjoy life with God. He then related a true story that had happened that week, keeping in mind that Dr. Stedman went Home to be with the Lord in 1992. He said that a young man who was struggling with some great personal problems was under a great cloud of depression. He came to visit Dr. Stedman's church, & Dr. Jack Mitchell, also now with the Lord, was preaching a message uplifting the grace & forgiveness of God in Christ. At the end of the message someone overheard him say to a friend, "Oh, what a load of guilt has been lifted from my heart today!" This young man was so enthralled by Dr. Mitchell's message that he returned again that night for more. He made an appointment to speak further with an associate pastor, Dave Roper, about his problems & new hope in Christ. They were enjoying their talk together in the car while stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, a moving van ran the light & plowed into the car, instantly killing the boy, but hardly scratching brother Roper. They were all greatly stunned & saddened by this, since they were praying for him at that very time, but also they were thankful that the Lord had used Dr. Mitchell to make his valley of Weeping (Baca) a spring for God to bless him before he left this world! The Psalmist went on to pray in v.8 for God to make him that kind of man, & I so want that as well. But you know, I must admit to all of you dear brothers & sisters in Christ, that sometimes I fear what is necessary to make me like that. I want to be a blessing, but so often I don't want to experience what is necessary for it to come to pass.
Thanks for your prayers & for taking the time to read my ramblings! May the Lord bless you all as you serve Him today!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
What Joy!
I don't know about y'all, but I have had a tendency since my earliest remembrance of being introspective. I don't mean just sort of , but to the point of almost making myself crazy. Well, you can imagine that in the matter of salvation, this can become very discouraging. But I want to say with joy in my heart that even in the midst of all my introspective questions that to this day pop up in my mind, the way to send them packing is to remember the wonderful promises of God to the believer in Christ! Some that clear out the doubts & fears in my heart are John 6:47, Matthew 11:28, Ephesians 2:8-9 along with Titus 3:5-7 among some others like Acts 13:38-39. Now I still struggle with living the Christian life quite often, but my wonderful Savior Whose Spirit lives in me helps me in that matter as well! Isn't it a joy above all others to belong to the Savior Who loves us so? I trust you all who are reading this have placed your trust in Him as well. If you have not, you can do that right now! He died for you! He rose again & wants more than anything to save you if you will but trust Him to do it! Thank you for letting me share this joy with you!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Beauty of Grace!
Today is Father's day. I am not a father, but I am so thankful for the ones that I have! Wait a minute!! The ones?? Yes, & I know that most if not all of you know that I mean both my earthly, & as thankful as I am for him, even more so my Heavenly One that my earthly one helped me find by introducing me to His Son Jesus Christ many years ago!! My earthy dad has always been such a wonderful, consistent witness for his Heavenly Father that it is likely best that I am not a father myself. If I was, I would definitely not be anywhere near the father that my Dad is!
But you know, this brings up an interesting point. I wonder if any of you have ever struggled with wondering exactly when your date of conversion to Christ was? I used to just worry myself silly over this! Strange as it seems to me now, this was once a life-or-death struggle. I had heard evangelists say such things as if you did not know when you were saved that you likely were not! I now know, & I unashamedly thank men like Bob Wilkin & others at GES, for helping me see, it is not so important to know when one was saved as to know that one is saved now. Thankfully I do know that. I also wonder if any of you have ever been so infatuated with having a conversion story that you even embellished the one you have to make it more "thrilling"?
Brothers & sisters, I am so thankful for God's grace in Jesus Christ! He has given me a wonderful wife who loves me & Him, & most of all He has given me eternal life in Christ! There is nothing in this world like knowing Christ & having the assurance of Heaven! OK, I'll stop rambling. Happy Father's Day!
But you know, this brings up an interesting point. I wonder if any of you have ever struggled with wondering exactly when your date of conversion to Christ was? I used to just worry myself silly over this! Strange as it seems to me now, this was once a life-or-death struggle. I had heard evangelists say such things as if you did not know when you were saved that you likely were not! I now know, & I unashamedly thank men like Bob Wilkin & others at GES, for helping me see, it is not so important to know when one was saved as to know that one is saved now. Thankfully I do know that. I also wonder if any of you have ever been so infatuated with having a conversion story that you even embellished the one you have to make it more "thrilling"?
Brothers & sisters, I am so thankful for God's grace in Jesus Christ! He has given me a wonderful wife who loves me & Him, & most of all He has given me eternal life in Christ! There is nothing in this world like knowing Christ & having the assurance of Heaven! OK, I'll stop rambling. Happy Father's Day!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Number 21
Today is our 21st anniversary as husband & wife. My wife is a gem. She almost decided at our first meeting, a blind date, to just let me go my way, but thankfully, changed her mind at the last! I was away from the Lord at the time, though in seminary, & she helped me draw back into fellowship with Him. Thank the Lord for a good, Godly wife. May the Lord bless you all.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Psalm 107
"For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." v.9. How true this is! This entire Psalm is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I can certainly remember the emptiness of being lost & how the Lord has often made the truth of this verse a reality in my own life. Of course I know that I am saved whether I sense His presence or not, but this truth is so sweet that I just had to share it with my blog brothers & sisters! Any comments? God Bless.
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