"Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this? Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay," says the Lord. Jeremiah 2: 10,11
Why is it that we abandon the real thing for cheap, imitation substitutes? Why do we grasp for what is really a false veneer over emptiness? What makes it so difficult for us to hold onto, stay with and defend our glorious God? We exchange truth for lies that pose as truth.
From the viewpoint of the heavenlies, it is so strange; it is shocking! It is unfathomable. Oh that we would grasp the heavenly viewpoint. May we not exchange our glorious God for worthless idols, worthless substitutes...poser gods! Don't be fooled into a trade.
For our God is God alone. All glory, all honor and all power is His.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Proclamation
"For since the world began,
no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for Him."
-Isaiah 64:4
no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for Him."
-Isaiah 64:4
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Road Back
God's relationship with us is pictured beautifully in His relationship with Israel. He poignantly depicts Israel a prostitute because of her unfaithfulness to Him...trying to find love, acceptance and met needs in other lovers. Their chase after other gods has lead to rejection, shame and even despair. He states that there is "no faithfulness, no kindness and no knowledge of God in the land." The God strongly declares, "You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the Lord." To make matters worse, Israel is arrogant about it. The chasm between Israel and God is so wide that when they come to go through the motions of worship, "they will not find the Lord." (the book of Hosea)
Oh Lord, in your mercy, let me not try to find my love, acceptance or met needs in anyone or anything else than you.
In the last chapter of Hosea, God lays out the road back. He calls Israel to confess and return. This is done by asking for forgiveness, asking Him to graciously receive them back and then returning to offering Him praises.
God's response...
"I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever."
"I will be like refreshing dew from heaven; you will bloom like a lily and send your roots deep like a cedar...you will flourish like grain...you will be fragrant as wine."
Oh the joy of restoration!
Oh Lord, in your mercy, let me not try to find my love, acceptance or met needs in anyone or anything else than you.
In the last chapter of Hosea, God lays out the road back. He calls Israel to confess and return. This is done by asking for forgiveness, asking Him to graciously receive them back and then returning to offering Him praises.
God's response...
"I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever."
"I will be like refreshing dew from heaven; you will bloom like a lily and send your roots deep like a cedar...you will flourish like grain...you will be fragrant as wine."
Oh the joy of restoration!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Music
"While the harp was being played, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha." 2 Kings 3:15
"...David would play the harp, then Saul would feel better and the tormenting spirit would go away." 1 Samuel 16:23
I was struck with the place of music in God's spiritual work in our lives. It is not only a means by which we can express our worship to God, it also is an avenue by which God's Spirit's presence and work touches and enters into our lives.
Bring on the music! May it permeate pour hearts and minds as we wake in the morning, as we walk through our day and as we lay our heads on our pillows at night. "O worship the King, all glorious above, O gratefully sing His power and His love."
Friday, September 14, 2012
Sometimes life feels like "a vast army marching against me." That was the backdrop to an amazing story of victory in Jehoshaphat's life. His immediate response: he was terrified. Next, he begged the Lord for guidance. Then he called everyone else to come alongside by fasting.
Jehoshaphat's prayer is a powerful proclamation: You alone are God, You rule, You are powerful and mighty, No one can stand against You. Then he recounts God's victories for His people.
God responds immediately by His Spirit coming over one of the people who proclaims God's intention: "Don't be afraid or discouraged by this mighty army. The battle is NOT yours, but is it Mine!" Then He sets forth the battle plan: March out before this mighty army, take your battle positions but DON'T fight, stand still and watch the Lord's victory."
The next morning as Jehoshaphat and his men go out for battle, he reminds them to believe in the Lord their God so that they will stand firm and believe in His Word so they will succeed. This is truly a formula for victory.
The procession into battle is led by singers who lead by praising God for His holy splendor!
"Give thanks to the Lord, His faithful love endures forever"
The "battle" that ensues is crazy! The moment they begin to sing, God causes the enemy armies to begin fighting against themselves! When Jehoshaphat and his army reach the lookout point, all they see is dead bodies in the valley below! It says that not a single one of the enemy escaped. Then there is so much plunder, they name it the Valley of Blessing.
What was the word that spread to the surrounding nations? That the Lord himself had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Next time I am feeling like the enemy is too much or the problem too vast, is there really any grounds for worry? Absolutely not. Believe in the Lord my God. Believe His Word. Let Him do the fighting. Approach it with singing!
Jehoshaphat's prayer is a powerful proclamation: You alone are God, You rule, You are powerful and mighty, No one can stand against You. Then he recounts God's victories for His people.
God responds immediately by His Spirit coming over one of the people who proclaims God's intention: "Don't be afraid or discouraged by this mighty army. The battle is NOT yours, but is it Mine!" Then He sets forth the battle plan: March out before this mighty army, take your battle positions but DON'T fight, stand still and watch the Lord's victory."
The next morning as Jehoshaphat and his men go out for battle, he reminds them to believe in the Lord their God so that they will stand firm and believe in His Word so they will succeed. This is truly a formula for victory.
The procession into battle is led by singers who lead by praising God for His holy splendor!
"Give thanks to the Lord, His faithful love endures forever"
The "battle" that ensues is crazy! The moment they begin to sing, God causes the enemy armies to begin fighting against themselves! When Jehoshaphat and his army reach the lookout point, all they see is dead bodies in the valley below! It says that not a single one of the enemy escaped. Then there is so much plunder, they name it the Valley of Blessing.
What was the word that spread to the surrounding nations? That the Lord himself had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Next time I am feeling like the enemy is too much or the problem too vast, is there really any grounds for worry? Absolutely not. Believe in the Lord my God. Believe His Word. Let Him do the fighting. Approach it with singing!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Shorting Ourselves the Victory
It is said of King Asa of Judah that he did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed pagan shrines and incense alters and he commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord. God honored him with peace in land; no one tried to make war against him. He recognized this and gave God the credit.
Once when an Ethiopian army did attack, Asa deployed his armies and cried out to the Lord his God for help, "O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone..." The Lord defeated the Ethiopian army in the presence of Asa and his army. Wow!
Later in Asa's reign, the king from Israel invaded Judah. Asa responded this time by taking the silver and gold from the temple treasuries and paying off the king of Aram to attack the towns of Israel for him. Acting in his own power, he shorted himself victory! God sends his spokesman to Asa to tell him that because he trusted in the king of Aram rather than the Lord his God, he missed his chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram and would continue to be at war. "Remember the Ethiopians...at that time you relied on the Lord, and He handed them over to you. The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. What a fool you have been!"
The challenge... Am I trusting God alone? Or am I trying to work it out my way? Do I truly believe that only He can help against the mighty? When He is searching the whole earth, I want to be one whom he chooses to strengthen. Oh for a heart fully committed!
Once when an Ethiopian army did attack, Asa deployed his armies and cried out to the Lord his God for help, "O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone..." The Lord defeated the Ethiopian army in the presence of Asa and his army. Wow!
Later in Asa's reign, the king from Israel invaded Judah. Asa responded this time by taking the silver and gold from the temple treasuries and paying off the king of Aram to attack the towns of Israel for him. Acting in his own power, he shorted himself victory! God sends his spokesman to Asa to tell him that because he trusted in the king of Aram rather than the Lord his God, he missed his chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram and would continue to be at war. "Remember the Ethiopians...at that time you relied on the Lord, and He handed them over to you. The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. What a fool you have been!"
The challenge... Am I trusting God alone? Or am I trying to work it out my way? Do I truly believe that only He can help against the mighty? When He is searching the whole earth, I want to be one whom he chooses to strengthen. Oh for a heart fully committed!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Proclamation
After a long journey of waiting and trusting....
Psalm 98:1-3
Sing a new song to the Lord.
for He has done wonderful deeds.
His right hand has won a mighty victory;
His holy arm has shown his saving power!
The Lord has announced His victory
and has revealed His righteousness to everyone!
He has remembered His promise to love and be faithful,
The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Psalm 98:1-3
Sing a new song to the Lord.
for He has done wonderful deeds.
His right hand has won a mighty victory;
His holy arm has shown his saving power!
The Lord has announced His victory
and has revealed His righteousness to everyone!
He has remembered His promise to love and be faithful,
The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Psalm 18...excerpts
"To the faithful, You show Yourself faithful;
to those with integrity, You show integrity.
To the pure You show Yourself pure,
but to the wicked, You show Yourself hostile.
You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
You light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
In Your strength, I can crush an army;
with my God, I can scale a wall.
God's way is perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.
For who is God, except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?"
to those with integrity, You show integrity.
To the pure You show Yourself pure,
but to the wicked, You show Yourself hostile.
You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
You light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
In Your strength, I can crush an army;
with my God, I can scale a wall.
God's way is perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.
For who is God, except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?"
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Confident Hope
"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
What is the order of things here? Trust in the source of hope > joy and peace > confident hope
Hope doesn't just happen, doesn't just appear. Hope comes from a source. Just as a stream doesn't just happen, there must be a source. It may by a spring or glacier, but it has a source. God, God alone, is the source of hope. When we trust (believe) God to be who He is, Hope, then we drink of that stream of hope. That stream of anticipation or expectancy. As the hope fills our inner being, we experience joy and peace. Joy and peace can be both emotions and a state of being. God's hope produces joy and peace in both. We feel joy and peace and we are characterized by joy and peace. Furthermore, He causes us to overflow with confident hope [toward others] courtesy the power of the Holy Spirit. As I have walked through the journey of my father entering into Jesus presence, I have a deeper appreciation for the joy and peace that have run deep and overflowed my being in a confident hope that, though physical death is accompanied by pain and sorrow, I can "take heart, because I (Jesus) have overcome the world." John 16:33 Yes, as we are in Christ Jesus, so we will overcome this world. I am declaring this to you, I have a confident hope, flanked by joy and peace, in this.
What is the order of things here? Trust in the source of hope > joy and peace > confident hope
Hope doesn't just happen, doesn't just appear. Hope comes from a source. Just as a stream doesn't just happen, there must be a source. It may by a spring or glacier, but it has a source. God, God alone, is the source of hope. When we trust (believe) God to be who He is, Hope, then we drink of that stream of hope. That stream of anticipation or expectancy. As the hope fills our inner being, we experience joy and peace. Joy and peace can be both emotions and a state of being. God's hope produces joy and peace in both. We feel joy and peace and we are characterized by joy and peace. Furthermore, He causes us to overflow with confident hope [toward others] courtesy the power of the Holy Spirit. As I have walked through the journey of my father entering into Jesus presence, I have a deeper appreciation for the joy and peace that have run deep and overflowed my being in a confident hope that, though physical death is accompanied by pain and sorrow, I can "take heart, because I (Jesus) have overcome the world." John 16:33 Yes, as we are in Christ Jesus, so we will overcome this world. I am declaring this to you, I have a confident hope, flanked by joy and peace, in this.
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