Month: October 2022

“…My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth…”Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the signs of true fatherly love is the willingness to correct and chasten when a child does wrong. Today, parenting has become so corrupted by liberal ideology that people think they should never correct or discipline their children. But according to God’s Word, that is evidence of a lack of true love. Because God is a perfect Father and loves with a perfect love, He always corrects and disciplines His children as needed. But the question for us is, “Are we humble enough to receive His loving correction in the right way?” When God speaks to us personally through a sermon, do we get upset at the preacher or do we thank God that He cares enough to deal with our need? Or when God uses a fellow Christian to offer words of correction to us, do we receive it as from the Lord or do we get offended? There has never been a more difficult time for spiritual leadership to bring divine correction to God’s people. Most church people today have the same prideful attitude as this world when it comes to receiving correction. But Proverbs 12:1 reminds us, “…he who hates correction is stupid.” May God help us to realize, because He loves us, our Heavenly Father uses His messengers to speak the words of correction we need to hear.

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God…” Psalm‬ ‭42‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The psalmist is expressing what should be the heart desire of every real child of God. This is always the result for those hungering souls who “taste and see that the Lord is good”. But, if there is one thing this religious generation lacks, it is this intense desire for God Himself. Today, most church people desire many other things. They desire comfort and ease. They desire to be entertained and have their ears tickled. They desire to be more like the world than they do like Jesus. Sadly, many desire to have a hope of Heaven even while they continue in their sins. But thank God, real salvation brings a profound change in our desires! How can a soul that has tasted of God’s love and goodness still be longing for the fleeting pleasures of this world? How can we drink of that Fountain of Living Water and then be satisfied with the empty pools of this world? Let us praise God that “There is a Fountain for the thirsty soul”! May God help us to nurture this holy desire that He has placed within our souls.

“…let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As we become aware of God’s eyes upon us, watching our lives, we try to live as we should. The writer calls this ‘running the race set before us’. But soon we find out how weak we are. We soon discover that we do not have what it takes to run this race with perseverance and stedfast endurance. And so, we are encouraged to always ‘look to Jesus’! When we try to run in our own strength, we fail time after time. But when we learn to look to Jesus for every day, for every moment, even for every step we take, then we begin to discover that He is the only One Who can help us as we need. The songwriter says, “O soul are you weary and troubled, No light in the darkness you see. There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus…” If we only could understand how desperately we need to look to Jesus! God help us that the eyes of our soul will be continually upon Him. Truly there is “light and life for a look at the Saviour!” Let us look to Jesus and we will be able to run this race with stedfast endurance and finish victoriously.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Most people tend to act a little different when they know they are being watched. From supervisors at work, to school monitors, to cameras being placed almost everywhere, those in authority use this tendency to cause people to act better. But what a difference it would make if we knew this great cloud of witnesses, these heroes of the faith, were actually observing our lives here in this world? And even more, what if we truly believed that our God is watching us all the time? Certainly then, we would be laying aside those things that hinder us spiritually. Then we would be getting rid of that besetting sin that seems always to find its way in. But the reality is, every soul is under the All Seeing eyes of God! And He doesn’t miss anything. He sees not only the action, but also the motive behind the action. May this truth settle upon our minds so that we live always conscious of God’s watchful eye upon us. As the song says, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me”.

“Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.” Psalm‬ ‭40‬:‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the great truths we learn about God is that He delights to help and deliver souls. It pleases Him to see us humble ourselves in recognition of our need and call upon Him. It pleases Him that we have the faith and confidence in Him to bring our prayers before His throne of grace. He delights to hear us ask for deliverance from anything and everything that would bind our souls. So let us lift our prayers in confidence to our Merciful Father. Let us believe that His heart thrills when we bring our burdens to Him. And God help us that when we need deliverance, we ask Him for it. Far too often, believers accept conditions that bind and hinder them spiritually. They seem to become content with chains of bondage upon their hearts and lives. They settle down in the spiritual prison house, bound by fleshly habit and addictions. But let us understand that our Heavenly Father wants to deliver us from everything that would bind and hinder us spiritually! He longs to hear our cries, asking for Him to deliver and help us. And thank God, when He hears our cries, He will help and deliver us.

“I delight to do Thy will, O my God: Yea, Thy law is within my heart.” Psalm‬ ‭40:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As the psalmist is inspired by the Holy Spirit, he writes about one of the great miracles and joy of a genuine relationship with God. And thank God, today, in the New Covenant, we can have His law of love written on our hearts, which changes us to those who delight to do His will! We can find joy in serving and obeying the God that we love. What a great miracle this is, that through the new birth and infilling of the Holy Spirit, our old sinful desires can be changed to those which please God. He changes our ‘want to’! This is part of us becoming the new creatures in Christ which Paul wrote about. It is where all things become new in our hearts and our desires. And yet, it is sad today that so many have accepted a form of religion that leaves them bound by sin and still desiring what sin offers rather than this real salvation which changes our desires. By a law of our nature, we all tend to move towards that which we delight in. If we still delight in sin then that will be the direction of our lives. But thank God, when we delight in Jesus and doing those things that please Him, then our lives will be moving ever closer to Him.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” Psalm‬ ‭40‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the wonderful truths we should rejoice in is, that our God hears the prayers of His children. This word ‘inclined’ means that He turns His attention to us. And what a wonder this is, that the God of all glory, the Omnipotent Creator, the Lord of Heaven and earth, would look our way and take notice of us! But as incredulous as this is, faith accepts it as truth. It is faith in God’s character that causes us to lift our prayer to Him. It is faith that moves us to continue praying even when the answer doesn’t come right away. It is faith that helps us to wait patiently on the Lord, because we are sure He is doing exactly what is needed. But it is also faith that waits in expectation! Thank God, we know that He always hears our cries and He will give the right answer at the right time. Let it be said of us, like the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, “By faith, they held onto God in prayer. By faith, they waited patiently on God to answer according to His will and purpose.” By faith, let us keep praying, keep believing and God will answer.

“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible.” Hebrews‬ ‭11:27‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Speaking of Moses, the Hebrew writer says that “he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible”. Certainly he endured many great trials. He endured years of loneliness and feeling useless. He endured separation from people he loved. He endured the grueling task of leading a complaining, impatient people for 40 years. But the key is in HOW he endured. Obviously, he did not see God with his physical eyes. But through faith, obedience and personal intimacy with God, he discovered truths about God’s nature and personality that gave him a vision of Who God is. And this should not surprise us, because Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Every true Christian has much to endure in this life. But sadly, many start out who do not endure to the end. What we need is this vision of God like Moses had. And the good news is, we have the privilege of knowing about Jesus Christ! We can read of His perfect life, His love and compassion, His stand for truth and His atoning death. As we learn of Jesus, we experience the reality of His words, “He that sees Me, sees the Father”. Let us be those who fill our hearts and minds with the truth of Jesus Christ. And seeing Him, we will be able to endure all that comes our way.

“esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” Hebrews‬ ‭11:26‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This verse continues talking about the faith of Moses. It was his faith in God that caused him to choose to serve God rather than live a life of sinful pleasure. It was his faith that caused him to choose the reproach of identifying with God’s people rather than human popularity. But let us recognize that Moses did all of this because he believed the reward of serving God was worth more than anything this world can offer! He understood that nothing in this world compares to the privilege of knowing and walking with the Living God. And nothing we could ever obtain in this world compares to the joy that is set before us in Heaven. This is something lost sight of in this materialistic minded religious age. Too many people today are trying to use God to help them to get more of this world. But let us be bold to proclaim, that the greatest reward of being a Christian is to have Jesus Christ! For us to know Him in personal relationship and to know our sins are forgiven is a far greater reward than anything this world can offer. But before we can testify to that, we must know it in personal experience. May God help us to recognize the eternal reward of being one of God’s redeemed children.

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;”Hebrews‬ ‭11:24-25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The pivotal point in Moses’ life came when he made the choice to be identified with God’s people. As an adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he had opportunity to choose fame, fortune and a life of ease in the pleasures of sin. But notice the phrase “choosing rather”. He understood what too many religious people fail to recognize today. He knew that life as a child of God was a definite choice of one thing over another. Today, many imagine that they can have everything they desire. They think they can have their pleasures in sin and still have a hope of Heaven or they can have their own way and yet also have salvation. But God help us to understand, we must choose one rather than the other! If we truly desire salvation through Jesus Christ then we must choose all that goes along with it. That includes turning from all sin, denying self, suffering and doing His will rather than our own. But if we try to live with one foot in both worlds, we will one day hear those words, “Depart from Me”. Let us chose Jesus rather than a life of sin and selfishness.