Month: April 2024

“because he should have remained in the city of his refuge…” Numbers‬ ‭35:28‬ ‭KJV‬‬. When God appointed the Cities of Refuge for Israel He made the conditions very clear. As long as the offender remained in the city he was safe. The revenger of blood could not get to him. Verse 25 says “…he shall abide in it…”. And if he went beyond the borders of the city, then he could be found and killed by his enemy. 1 Cor. 10:11 reminds us, “that these things were written for our example”. Thank God, we know that Jesus Christ is our Refuge! We, who are guilty, can run to Him and find a blessed Refuge for our souls. In Him we find forgiveness and security for our souls. No enemy can harm our souls as long as we are abiding in Christ. And then, Jesus Himself tells us in John 15, that we must abide in Him! And without this abiding we will not be safe! Would to God that believers today truly understood the necessity of a life of abiding! Salvation is not an occasional visit with Jesus. Rather, it is a profound life change where we come to abide in Him Who is the only Refuge for our souls! By God’s grace, let us learn to abide in Jesus.

“In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and He heard me. Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.” Psalm‬ ‭120:1-2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Everyone understands that when we are lied about or someone spreads deceitful information about us, it is very hurtful and causes distress. Our human reaction is to respond in the flesh and try to get back at the person responsible. As fallen human beings we long to vindicate ourselves. But the psalmist David gives us this great example of what the Godly do when these things happen. Rather than make his appeal to men, he cries out to God. Instead of worrying so much about his reputation (which is only what people think of us), he asks God to deliver and safeguard his soul. How much heartache could be avoided if only God’s people realized, that God can fight our battles so much better than we can! And that He is using these kind of situations to grow us spiritually and make us more like Jesus. In the end it will not matter what others think or say about us. But what truly matters is what God knows about us. By God’s grace, let us seek to please the only One Who can deliver our soul.

“Great peace have they which love Thy law: And nothing shall offend them.” Psalm‬ ‭119:165‬ ‭KJV‬‬. When the person or object of our love is weak or unsteady, it causes our hearts to be troubled. We worry that which we love will be taken from us. And with all things human these are very real concerns, because there is nothing permanent about this world or the people in it. But when our love is for God’s Word we can have great peace because we know it is forever settled in Heaven. It is unchanging, unshakable and will endure eternally! This is what happens when a person truly loves God. They fall in love with His Word. They love to hear His voice speaking to them through the Word. We find great peace because the God Whom we love has spoken to us all that we need to know. Because He is Unfailing we know that every Word He spoke is unfailing. This kind of security is what brings us great peace. We know that because God said it, it is settled! Men and devils may try to change, twist and manipulate it, but God’s Word is eternal. Let us put our faith in Jesus Christ Who is the Incarnate Word. Let us love Him Who is our peace. As we do, we will have great peace no matter what comes against us.

“the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” 2 Peter‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the blessed things about true Christian life is that it can be lived even in the worst possible circumstances. As the Apostle Peter is writing here, he tells of Noah who lived in a very wicked generation, one ultimately destroyed by the flood. And yet God kept him faithful there, even when everyone around him was going the wrong way. He mentions Lot, who again was kept by the power of God while he lived in Sodom, which also was destroyed because of their wickedness. Today as we live in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile towards true Christianity, we should remember that God still knows how to keep those who love and fear Him. These are the godly ones who will be kept by the power of God. And we should note, the godly do not needlessly or purposefully expose themselves to temptation. Many times God guides us in order to keep us from the temptations. But in those times when we are tried and tested by the difficulties of this life, we can rest secure, our God still watches over and protects His own. And for those who reject Him, we need not worry that anyone is going to avoid what is coming to them. The wicked may seem to prosper here and now, but their day of reckoning is coming.

“according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…”2 Peter‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Think of these profound words “ALL THINGS’. These words remind us of what Paul wrote to the Philippians, “But my God shall supply ALL your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”(Phil. 4:19‬) And yet, in spite ‭‬‬of these wonderful promises of God, most of religion today says that we do not have all we need to live holy and Godly lives in this present world. They say that we are too weak and then imply, that even God’s power is somehow limited in what He can do for us. But let us determine, that we are going to believe God rather than man! Let us hold to this truth, that our God has given us ‘ALL THINGS’ that we need to be able to live a holy and Christlike life for His glory. The songwriter expressed it like this: “I asked my dear Saviour what He had purchased, For me when on Calvary He died. For ALL my past and ALL my problems, He just said that He would provide. Every need supplied. Every need supplied. Healing, Cleansing, Sweet peace inside, Every need He supplied.”

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter‬ ‭5:6-7‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Normally when we read these words in verse 6, we think of the exaltation that will come when we enter into the joys of Heaven. And many people tend to endure the humbling so they can enjoy the exaltation. But may we also understand, that for God’s humble children, it is our exalted privilege to be able to come before Him as our loving Father and cast all of our care upon Him! Most people in religion today consider ‘humbling ourselves’ to be something very difficult and to be sure, it is contrary to our fallen nature. But the other side of this is, that through humbling ourselves under God’s hand we discover this wonderful access which allows us to come before His throne of grace and lay our burdens down at His feet. Through humility we learn that we are not sufficient for these things. And only through this humility can we truly discover how much He cares for us. The proud heart never experiences the joys of this exalted privilege. They imagine that they can handle things and keep trying in vain to carry burdens they were never created to carry alone. By God’s grace, let us believe the joy and exaltation of humbling ourselves under God’s mighty hand, and cast all of our cares on Him.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings…” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:12-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the great fallacies being promoted in religion today is, that the Christian life will make our lives easier and more comfortable. Some even say that Christians will be exempt from suffering. But these ideas are clearly contrary to the Word of God. Peter writes here that we should not be surprised by fiery trials. He lets us know that afflictions and suffering are not unusual things. Rather, they are to be expected as we are pilgrims on a journey and soldiers in a spiritual conflict. But then, he says also that we should rejoice because we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ! We know he is not talking about the sufferings of Christ which He experienced in His passion, when He paid the price for our sins. No one could possibly share in that suffering. But what we can rejoice in, is that we have the privilege, with Christ living in us, as partakers of His nature, to share in the suffering that true Christian life brings. And let us realize, that through the suffering we experience for Him, our souls are being prepared for the glory that awaits.

”For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.“ ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV. Let us consider this great call of God upon our lives: “Called to holiness”. Few seem to realize the great blessing of this call. The holy life is the only life that can be filled with joy and peace as God desires for his children. This is part of God’s call to be partakers of His divine nature. And yet, it is sad that much of modern religion has painted a picture of ‘holiness people’ that is altogether untrue and unbiblical. And then there are groups who call themselves ‘holiness’ who terribly misrepresent what this call is about. Their attitudes of unkindness and their lack of love reveal how little they know of the experience of holiness. But in spite of all the failure of men , this remains God’s call upon us. The reality is that God has called every true believer to a life of holiness and godliness in this present world. What kind of Father would He be if He called us to Himself and then left us to continue in sin and uncleanness? What kind of salvation would we have that left us in our sins? Many talk today about God’s love to us, but then fail to see that holiness is God’s love within us being lived out. The greatest way we can show God’s love to a needy world is as we answer His call to live a holy life. By God’s grace let us answer His call.

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:1‬ ‭KJV‬‬. In this passage we are reminded of the ongoing spiritual warfare between the flesh and the Spirit. When Peter is writing here of Jesus, ‘suffering in the flesh’, he is speaking of more than just the final days and hours of His Atoning work. He is referring to the entire life of self denial and sacrifice that Jesus lived. Because He lived completely in the Spirit, always and only doing the will of God, His life was separate from the ungodly world around Him. His life was one that never yielded to the ungodly desires of the flesh. As a result, this attitude set most of His fellowmen against Him. It caused Him to be persecuted and to suffer long before He went to the cross. And yet we are commanded to ‘arm ourselves with the same mind’. That means we are to have the same attitude Jesus had towards our flesh and the ungodliness of this world. We are to say “Yes” to the Spirit and “No” to our flesh, just as He did. And the only way possible for us to live this life, is as we have His Spirit dwelling in us and we purpose to arm ourselves with the mind of Christ.