Two Ways to Die Before Your Time

15  All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and
there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

16  Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
{destroy…: Heb. be desolate?}

17  Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? {before…:
Heb. not in thy time?}

There are two ways to die before your time.  You can accelerate the day of your death by playing the fool
and throwing yourself into wickedness.  "Live fast and die young," is the way the world puts it.  Sometimes a
man is like a meteor that flashes across the sky and  burns out with ashes falling upon the earth.  He tempts
God and throwing his wickedness into His Face and defies man and his order.  He dies young.

There is another way to die before your time and it is more like the first than you might think.  You can
accelerate the day of your death by playing the fool and being too righteous and too wise.  Many a man has
chosen to die upon a hill that was not worth defending.  Jesus put it this way, "Do not strain out the gnats and
swallow the camels."

The history of the world is filled with the sad stories of those who died for nothing, who threw their lives
away on trifles.  Along side of the glorious history of the martyrs who counted the Lord Jesus as worthy of
the sacrifice of their lives is the sad history of those who threw their lives away on error or trifles, on heresies
and foolish opinions.  Dying for a cause does not necessarily make you a heroic martyr; it may mean you are
a stubborn and arrogant fool.

It is better to die for something than to live for nothing; it is tragic if you both live and die for nothing.

To God only Wise: Meditation and Prayer on Romans 16:25-27

Meditation and Prayer:  Romans 16:25-27

Our Father in Heaven, this morning we would magnify You in our hearts and minds, and also by the words
of our mouth.  We join together in your praises for You are worthy of all the praises of men.

We have no strength of our own, but we stand only in the Gospel, which was preached by Your Only
Begotten Son, Jesus of Nazareth, and confirmed by those who heard Him.  We thank You that You have
revealed the mystery that was hidden from the beginning of the world but revealed through the preaching of
the apostles and the scriptures of the holy prophets.

This only is the foundation of our faith: that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the One promised from the creation
of the world, promised to fulfill His divine office of the prophet, priest, and king of our redemption.

His words reveal You, O Father, for He is Your precious Son, Light of Light, Truth of Truth, and Life of
Life, begotten of You before the world was, sent by You to teach us the right and good way, the way of
faith.

He is our Priest, offering up Himself in the body of His flesh as a sacrifice for sins to satisfy Your holy law
and a demonstration of Your love and grace.

He is our King, who rules over us in righteousness and defeats all our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the
devil.

He is God and man, we confess, O Father, One with You in Godhead, but also one with us in humanity as a
son of Adam and the Son of David to reign over Your people in righteousness and truth forever and ever.

We rejoice that we have been given the glorious privilege of being Your heralds, to spread this gospel to the
world.  We can proclaim forgiveness of sins and proclaim liberty to the lost and dying, for You have
commanded that this Gospel be preached to the entire world until the end of the world, for the mystery
hidden from the beginning of the world is that salvation through faith is freely offered to all people.

You are the only wise God, for this glorious gospel was not the invention of men, nor had it entered into the
heart of any man, but God revealed it through Jesus Christ and the prophets of both the Old and New
Testaments.

We magnify Your holy Name, O Lord God Almighty, for Your ways are righteousness and truth, judgment
and mercy, forever and ever, through the blood of Christ.

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25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

26  But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the
everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

27  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.  --Romans 16:25-27

Thinking in the Heart

Thinking in the Heart

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...." (Pr 23:7)

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable 
works, there is none that doeth good." (Ps 14:1)

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God looks on the heart of man, on the reality. Man only looks on the outward appearance and can only
evaluate the actions, not the man. But God sees the thoughts of the heart that define the man.

God is far more interested in the thoughts of the heart than He is in this or that detail of a man's life. David
was a man after God's own heart, which means that he had the Spirit of God moving and directing his
thoughts to faith, hope, and love. David was also a child of Adam and had sinful tendencies as we all do.
These sinful tendencies caused him to stumble and even commit terrible sins, but his sins did not define him.

No one in the Old Testament rose to greater heights of spiritual knowledge than did David: "The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want...." "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin...." and many other
like expressions.

In Christ's day, He encountered men who were the spiritual opposite of David. They put on a great show,
but were rotten in the heart. They were like whitewashed sepulchers that seemed outwardly attractive,but
were filled with dead men's bones, for their thoughts were corrupted with hatred and lies. Jesus knew that if
they did not repent they would face the damnation of hell, for their sins would not be put away.

We Will Glory In You, O Lord

Meditation and Prayer on Jeremiah 9:23,24

O Precious Father, how vain and foolish are the sons of men.  The things that puff us up and cause us to
boast are vain and empty things that pass away.

We glory in wisdom, as though we could search out and find the reasons for things.  But we cannot even
know the reason for things that vex us and trouble us every day.  We do not know why the good often suffer
so much, why babies suffer cruel death, why the weakest among us are afflicted and tormented.  We do not
know why evil men flourish, gain wealth and honor, and die in the fullness of age, wealthy and honored.

How vain we are, O Lord.  Men strut and preen themselves on the stage of life.  They dress in robes and
hoods and caps and love to hear their names and opinions sought after, but we know not either the beginning
nor the ends of things  Foolish men seek after those who are accounted wise, and yet the wise cannot deliver
themselves from their own sins nor escape the silence of the grave.

The wise talk much of virtue but are themselves corrupt and sinful.  Physicians cannot heal themselves and
teachers do not teach themselves and saviors cannot save themselves.

O wise Father,  the wise man cannot tell why the youth burns in same sex desire.  Who mourns for the lamb
that is torn in pieces by the wild beast far from the habitation of man?  Why do men and women yield to
desires and lusts that debase their bodies, alienate their friends and family and bring misery all around?  And
what will the end of all be?  The wise cannot tell, O Most High God.  They are blind leaders of the blind.

Though very conscious of themselves and puffed up, the wise cannot even tell what consciousness is nor its
source and nature.

But the strong are equally empty vanity.  They boast against the learned and wise.  It starts very early in
school as the young toughs make life miserable for the studious and faithful scholar.  Many who do not glory
in wisdom boast much of strength, agility, and grace in their bodies.  They are powerful in games and deeds
of physical prowess.  But where are the strong men of our youth?  What river carried away Joe Louis,
Rocky Marciano, Ted Williams, Red Grange, Babe Ruth and that other Babe, Zaharias?  What of Stan the
Man?  Shall we also speak of Hercules, Julius Caesar, Alexander, and Geronimo?

In our youth we learned of Horatius at the Bridge and the brave Spartan Three Hundred, but their strength
could not bind the Angel of Death, nor give vigor to the heart beating its last.  Where is the strength of man?
Why are we so foolish as to glory in strength, O Lord?  The strong compete in trials of strength and agility
for earthly crowns but are so weak that they cannot resist drugs and lies to gain an immoral advantage based
on deceit and wickedness.

What is the strength of Wilt who towered above all in his day but could not resist the lust that defiled himself
with thousands of women in serial fornication? What of Tiger?  What of Joe Paterno who could create
fearsome defensive linemen, but could not defend the most vulnerable?  Even thy servant Samson, the
strongest of men, could slay a thousand with the jawbone of an ass but could not overcome desire. What is
the strength of man after all, O righteous Father in Heaven?  What glory is there in the legs of a man?

And the gold and silver is vanished away.  In a moment the rich men of the world wail and weep over
desolation and ruin.  Yet how they boast in their real estate, mansions, factories, institutions and other
playthings.   But their riches cannot buy them one more breath when the Lord decrees, "This night thy soul
shall be required of thee."

What glory is there in riches that cannot buy anything but things that rust and decay, are eaten of moths, and
stolen of thieves?    O Lord, how poor we are if we are not rich toward You!!  What coin will we use to
purchase that which is more precious than rubies and more to be desire than fine gold?  Like swine, O Lord,
we rend those who traffic in such treasures and root in the dust for that which does not satisfy.

O, Precious Father, teach us the vanity of glorying in wisdom, in strength, in riches.   All of these things
cannot keep back the march of death and stay the decay of the body that returns to the dust, nor stop the
flight of the soul that returns to God who gave it.  These are ways that seem right unto foolish men, but the
end thereof are the ways of death, as the prophets have warned us.

O that we might know You, O Heavenly Father!  O that we might understand the Lord who exercises loving
kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth!  These are the true wisdom, strength, and riches and may
be purchased without money, without price.

You are not an absent God, O Lord.  You are active and busy in the world, O Father, exercising loving
kindness, judgment and righteousness.   You have never been absent from Your Creation since the beginning
of the world, for You created it to be inhabited by man and filled it full of blessings and riches and men.  You
prepared the world for the coming of Your Son to put away sins, and You continue in your zeal to bring all
things to completeness and Your sons to their inheritance in glory in Jesus Christ.  You, O Lord, exercise
loving kindness in the world, calling out a people for your Name through the preaching of the Gospel to the
ends of the earth.

But, O Lord God and Precious Father, we  also confess that You are exercising judgment in the world.  You
know the difference between good and evil and use both for Your glory.  The wicked shall not prosper, nor
shall one precious righteous one fall to the earth in vain.  The wicked are like the chaff which the wind drives
away and they shall not stand before Your judgment.

O Righteous Father, all evil and wickedness could be purged from all of Your creation by a glance from
Your eyes that flame like fire, but You rule the evil also and have purposes of good for Your people,
purposes of grace and kindness and mercy. You owe nothing to the rebellious and hard of heart and will
vindicate Your holiness at the time appointed.

You do not dance to our tune nor weep at our call.  This is also a treasure to be known only by faith through
Scripture and the Spirit of God.  This we do confess.  We have eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear,
minds that cannot think, and hearts that cannot understand, unless You quicken us by Your Spirit.

We also see Your hand of righteousness in the world, for Your true church is clothed with the righteousness
of faith and is being perfected through tribulations and trials, being prepared as a bride for her husband.
When we have suffered according to the portion given to us, we shall shine as the brightness of the firmament
and as the stars forever and ever, being made partakers of Your holiness.

O Holy and Precious Father, give us grace to seek that city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is
God.   You have said it: "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in
chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the
Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!"

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."

In this we will glory, O Lord.  In this we will praise Your Holy Name.  By Your word and Spirit You teach
us the knowledge of Yourself and open our eyes to see You working loving kindness, judgment and
righteousness in the world, for in these things You delight, and so do we, by Your grace.

We praise your Holy Name in the Church that You purchased with Your own blood.   Though this is
foolishness to men who glory in the vanity of men, yet we will glory in Your Name forever and ever.  Amen
and Amen.

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"Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory in his riches:  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and
knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:
for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."   Jeremiah 9:23,24

The Two Become One!

Meditation on Matthew 19:3-6:
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife for every cause? 4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at
the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one
flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

From the words of Jesus Christ; those who deny His words are of the devil.

1. God created man male and female, in a marriage before the Fall, after Adam had named the animals and
found no helper fit for Him. God made Eve, not Evan, nor Bill, not Shamgar.

2. Marriage is a stronger tie than parents and children. A man leaves his mother and father and gets married
to a wife, which is an indication of growing up not remaining in perpetual childhood, creating a new family for
the glory of God.

3. The two become one. Three do not become one. 1001 do not become one. A marriage is of two: a man
and a woman. Not a man and a dog; not a man and man; not woman and a woman; not a woman and
fourteen men. Two become one.

4. God makes marriage, and any human who changes the definition sets himself against God. "Let not man
put asunder" is the decree of the Almighty announced by Jesus Christ, who knows.

5. Divorce and polygamy were permitted by Moses because of the hardness of the hearts of Israel, as Jesus
said. Moses had a veil on his face and saw only the hinder parts of God; the fullness of marriage is seen in
the face of Jesus Christ.

6. from the Directory of Worship, RCUS., from the ceremony for Marriage:

"Marriage was instituted by God himself in the time of man's innocency and uprightness. The Lord God said,
'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.' Thereupon God created
woman of man's own substance and brought her unto the man. Our Lord Jesus Christ honored marriage by
his presence at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. And he confirmed it as a divine ordinance and a union not be
be severed when he declared, 'What therefore God hath jointed together, let not man put asunder.'
Moreover, the apostle set forth the sacred and exalted nature of marriage when he likened it to the spiritual
union of Christ and his church."

7. The church is the bride of Christ, and she will be His honored guest at the marriage Supper of the Lamb,
in holiness and virtue. Of course these are figures of speech taken from the institution of marriage before the
fall of man and the entry of sin into the world, But the figures are of God: His people are lambs, His bride,
His vine, His garden; not His wolves, whore, thistle, or weed patch.

8. Sins against marriage: fornication, adultery, homosexuality, pedophilia, rape, etc., and sins which defile the
lips that speak them may be forgiven by the gifts of grace: repentance, conversion, and faith, but hardness of
heart and confirmation in wickedness bring the wrath of God. The minister is called to mourn and weep and
search for souls, but He must announce the judgment of the Lord:

Proverbs 28:1,2: "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that
without remedy.

God will not be "nice" in the day of judgment and wrath:

Col. 3:5 "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate
affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God
cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them."

Use whatever translation you want, the meaning is the same: here is the ESV: "Put to death therefore what is
earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On
account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them."

Time to grow up and face some reality: The gifts of grace are, among others, Repentance, Conversion, Faith.
The gifts of grace come to us through Jesus Christ alone, through the blood of His Cross who reconciles us
unto God. The gifts are signs of grace, not the cause of grace. We are not saved by works of righteousness
but unto works of righteousness, which always follow faith.

O Lord Jesus, How Much You Loved Us!

Meditation and Prayer on Matthew 10:27, 28

"What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the
housetops.  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."  Matthew 10:27,28

O Lord Jesus, How much You loved me and all Your people!  You said that if there were no heaven, You
would have told us.  You loved us enough to tell us the truth.  There is a heaven, and although You did not
give us a full description [for we walk by faith], You did tell us that there was room there for all of those who
trust You.

You, precious Lord Jesus, also loved us enough to tell us that there is a hell.  A place of horror and
punishment that endures forever to destroy forever both the soul and the body.  We have more descriptions
of hell than we have of heaven.  It is a place of fire, fire that is not quenched, where the sinner does not die in
an instant, but dies eternally forever and ever.

The smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever and they have no rest day nor night.  It is a place
that was not prepared for man, but for the devil and his angels, but those who serve the devil and do not trust
in You, Lord Jesus, rightfully have their eternal home with their master, the devil, who takes them captive at
his will.

You told us this in immense love and grace, dear Lord, and if it were not so You would have told us.  You
never used words for manipulation and causeless fear, but to indicate truth and reality.

Oh precious Lord Jesus, You know the ways of Your Father in Heaven, for You proceeded and came forth
from Him before the foundation of the world, for You are the Wisdom of God, the Son of the Living God.
You know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  You know that our God is a
burning Fire.  You know that He is the judge of all the earth and at the end of the world the righteous will be
raised from the dead to eternal life and glory, but the wicked will be raised to eternal shame, wrath, and
condemnation.

That's the reason You came to the earth, Lord Jesus.  You loved us and You came from the love of Your
father to be lifted up on the horrible cross for the sins of Your people, so that all of those who believe on
You might have everlasting life and not come into condemnation, but pass from death unto life.  Those who
do not believe are already condemned and lie under the wrath of God.  You knew that and loved us enough
to tell us.

We are also to tell the world.  We have no secrets that we keep from the world, but what has been told to
us in private we are to shout from the housetops.  What we hear in darkness, we are to speak in the light.
That is what You did, Lord Jesus, and we are not smarter than You.

Preachers do not preach about hell nowadays because they love money, the praise of men, and shun the 

shame of the cross.  And the people love to have it so, and pay handsome salaries to ensure that they are not 

told the truth.  But how could they be ashamed of You, Lord Jesus?  What a powerful statement the cross is 

of Your love for us and the love of Your Father who would not spare to tell us the truth and suffer the 

consequences of that truth, that other truth that God's justice will burn against sin even when those sins were 

laid on His Only Begotten Son.

We cannot understand the height, the depth, the width, and the height of Your love for us, Lord Jesus, and 

the love of Your Father, who loves not with vain show, but in deed and in truth, abhorring evil and loving the 

good.  We would not be smarter and more holy than the Lord Jesus, dear Lord, but will follow Him even 

unto death, by Your grace and mercy.

We shall not be afraid of men who shall die, O Precious Father, if you give us the boldness of faith and 

strengthen us with might in the inner man.  We will fear You, of Father of Light, who holds the soul of every 

man in life, and we will fear the Son of God who holds the keys of death and hell and walks among the 

churches and tests and tries them for their faithfulness and love.

"Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that 

is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above 

all.

"Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in 

thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name."  1 Chronicles 29:10-13

Might in the Inner Man

Meditation and Prayer on Ephesians 3:14-21

I bow before You, O Precious Father. We call You Father for so many reasons: You are the Father from

eternity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Your eternal Wisdom, Who rejoiced with You before the world began. 

You are the Father of all fathers, and all fathers are named after You, for there is no power, or authority, or
existence that You have not created and hold in Your own hands, whether in heaven, or in earth, or in things
under the earth, for You have created all things and uphold all things by Your mighty Power.

I pray for myself and for all Your church. We are so weak in our inward man, O Precious Father. We give 

way so easily to temptation, especially in the inner man, the hidden man of the heart. Because of this we pray 

for Your mercy and grace, for sin and desire are very strong in the flesh and hold us captive to sin and 

misery unless we are freed by Your Spirit.

How abundant are Your riches in glory, Precious Father. We are weak and poor because we are poor in 

You, O Lord. Give us the gift of inner strength. That the might of Your Spirit, who raised again Christ Jesus 

from the dead, would enliven and strengthen in our hearts, that the strength and fiber of Christ, the mighty 

Conqueror, might dwell in our hearts by faith.

Save me and Your Church, O Father, from weakness and spinelessness and timidity and fear. The Spirit that 

You have given us is not the Spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and soundness of mind. May we have 

boldness, first of all, to come into Your presence through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Second, may 

we in Your presence receive grace to help in time of need. I pray, O Precious Father, that Our God would 

count me and all Your church worthy of this calling, to fulfill all good pleasure of Your goodness, and the 

work of faith with power, as You have promised and for which the apostles prayed. 

Sin is very strong, O Father, in the inner man, but greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. Satan 

has great power in the world, but the power of Christ is greater to subdue sin and unbelief and strengthen me 

with all Your saints with might in the inner man. The victory that overcomes the world is faith. Work that faith 

in us and drive away weakness and fear.

O Precious Father, give me to be rooted and grounded in love. I need to be enabled [given strength] to 

understand with all the saints what is the breadth, the length, the depth, and the height. For Christ is all and 

all. He is the measure of all things and such knowledge is beyond the measure of any single saint of Your, but 

grant unto each of us to understand according to our measure, and seek Your face in all Your people, and 

we must not despise the weakest of Your faithful people.

In the fullness of Christ is the fullness of God, for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We 

come to completion through faith In Christ. I do believe, O Father, that You are able to do so much more, 

exceedingly abundantly more, than I can even think or ask, through the power that works in us. May I not 

limit You, O God, but give You glory in Your church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end. 

Amen and Amen.

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“14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family 

in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be 

strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that 

ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, 

and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye 

might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all 

that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ 

Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph 3:14-21)

Jacob and Esau

"Jacob Have I Loved; Esau Have I Hated" There's a Showstopper!
Repost from a year of so ago.

This note is in support of the orthodox Christian doctrine that God does not change. One of the 
incommunicable attributes of God is immutability. Anytime you change the essential attributes of anything, it 
ceases to be what it was. If something has four legs, a tail, two eyes, chases rabbits, barks at squirrels, wags 
its tail when friendly, and is filled with cement....it is not a dog. You can wiggle anyway you want to, but such 
a creature may not exist at all, but if it exists it is not a dog, no matter how much you want it to be. It might 
have been a dog at one time, but it is a dog no longer.

Several things need to be said about Jacob and Esau. They are mentioned first in Genesis 25. Isaac's 
beloved wife Rebekah had no children for many years after they were married. Isaac prayed earnestly to the 
Lord and God heard his prayer and Rebekah conceived. [This was not a change is God's plans, for He had 
promised Abraham a blessed seed through Isaac--so cool your jets, you with changeable gods. The 
promises of God and His immediate providence often seem to contradict. It is a test of faith.].

God told Isaac that there were two nations in Rebekah's womb, two very different people, one stronger than 
the other, and the elder should serve the younger. When the twins were born Esau was born first [the elder] 
and Jacob was born second [the younger]. Jacob took hold of Esau's heel. Isaac was sixty years old when 
they were born. This means that he and Rebekah waited for twenty years after they were married to have 
children. God is very often not in a hurry, nor does He feel it necessary for us to know everything. We are to 
walk by faith. Abraham waited for 100 years before Isaac was born; it was ok for Isaac to wait until he was 
sixty. There are several considerations about Jacob and Esau. There are others, but these are major and to 
the topic before us.

First Consideration. Both had exactly the same parents, descended from Isaac and Abraham, the same 
mother and father, the same grandfather and grandmother. God said before they were born that the elder 
would serve the younger.

But Isaac loved Esau, who was a man's man, a hunter, one who made Isaac's heart glad. Jacob was a "plain" 
man, and quiet, ordinary sort of a person, but the word can also mean upright and honest, and even 
"perfect." Hebrews says that Esau was profane, but that doesn't seem to appear in the Biblical narrative.
Esau delighted the heart of Isaac.

When Isaac was old, he determined to give Abraham's blessing to Esau. Why not? He loved Esau, and 
surely God could see the advantages that Esau had over Jacob. Every Sunday School child knows the story-
-at least they did when I was a kid. Now, maybe they know more about giant pickles and carrots.

Isaac tried to change the decree of God. He knew what God had said concerning the elder serving the 
younger, but surely God need Isaac's input into this decision. So he called Esau and told him to go make him 
some savory meat and he would bless him.

But Rebekah heard her husband, she called Jacob, and they deceived the old blind man and Isaac gave 
Jacob the blessing. There is no way to justify this deception, it was wrong and contrary to the duty of wife 
and son to so deceive their father. But that is not the lesson. The lesson at least is this:

1. Isaac has no authority to even seek to change the decree of God. Isaac recognizes this, and after he saw 
that he had been deceived, he could not change the blessing. It is interesting that people think that God can 
change His decrees, but Isaac can't change his. The Bible says that Gen. 27: 33 And Isaac trembled very 
exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all 
before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed."

2. There is nothing more humbling or more productive of the fear of God than the realization that after you 
have done all you could to NOT do the will of God, you have done it anyway. Esau did not value the 
birthright because he was a profane man and earthly minded.

Isaac was a man of faith, but his sin could not be the cause of Esau's losing the brithright; Rebekah and 
Jacob's perfidy could not be the cause of the giving of the birthright and the blessing. This whole sordid and 
sorry mess has nothing in it anywhere that God could look down and see, "Well, that changes my mind." Nor 
did any of the mess stir Him to change His mind about blessing the children of Abraham. That was fixed in 
His immutability.

The Calvinist doctrine of immutability ought to be embraced by every hopeful son of Abraham, for there is 
no great foundation of the hope of Israel than the immutability of God. God is the Rock. As David said: 2Sa 
22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, 
and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence.

3. Even the Psalmist understood this idea: Our evil and our goodness cannot reach to God. He is 
transcendent, and above all things, although He is never absent from anything. He cannot be stained with our 
sins, nor can He be enriched with our goodness. In Psalm 50, the Lord has a controversy with the saints 
because they thought the blood of bulls and goats were something that He needed, when the cattle on a 
thousand hills were His. He said they should be thankful, call upon Him in the time of trouble, and keep their 
obligations to each other.

He was angry with the wicked because they took His covenant in their mouths and thought that He was just 
like them: 21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an 
one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. 22 Now consider this, ye that 
forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

Esau was not hated of God because he did evil; he did evil because he was hated of God. The doing of 
righteousness and faith are wonderful gifts of God; not the purchase price of God's gifts. We will draw this 
out in further posts.

Even the Darkness Shall Be Light

Just as dark comes when we turn out the light, and
death comes when we smother the life, so
wickedness comes when we turn from God and His
righteousness. Why curse the darkness when we
have turned out the light? Why curse death when we
have smothered life? Why curse God for evil when
we depart from faith and righteousness? What fools
we are.

Darkness bears witness to the light; death bears
witness to life; and even our evil bears witness to the

righteousness of God.

Psalm 139:7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness
and the light are both alike to thee.

What Jesus Did and Taught!

The Doctrine of Christ is everything. Christianity is not about how you feel; nor about how clean you feel

inside; nor how holy you fancy yourself; or what religious experiences you fancy you have had: it all comes 

down to the Person and Work of Christ. Who is He, and what did He do? Christianity is about Christ and
you only know Him through the doctrine of the Apostles.

2Jo 1:9 "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in 

the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son."

1 Tim. 6:3-5: "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our 

Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but 

doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse 

disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such 

withdraw thyself."

When we believe and abide in the doctrine of the apostles then we have fellowship with the Lord Jesus that 

they knew: 1 John 1:3.

"Now we see that the sum of the gospel consisteth of these two parts, namely, of the doctrine of Christ, and 

of his acts; forasmuch as he did not only bring unto men that embassage which was given him in charge of his 

Father, but also performed all things that could be required of the Messias. He began his kingdom, he 

pacified God with his sacrifice, he purged man’s sins with his own precious blood, he subdued death and the 

devil, he restored us unto true liberty, he purchased righteousness and life for us." John Calvin on Acts 1:1. 

"Jesus began to do and teach."

2Co 3:15, 18 "15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart....But we all, 

[Context,when reading the Gospel] with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed 

into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The greatest experience you will ever have is when, as God caused light to break forth on that first day of 

creation, the Holy Spirit causes the light to shine into your heart and faith awakens that Jesus is truly the Son 

of God and that His atonement fully satisfies for all your sins. Amen and Amen. 2Co 4:6 "For God, who 

commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of 

the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Seven Churches of Revelation.

The following link will take you to the first three of seven sermons on the Seven Churches of Revelation.
Sermons are made for listening so take the time to hear.  God bless.   Seven Churches

We All Have Lost All of Them....

from my FB friend and ex-student:  

Krista Work.  Wonderful Post!

I can hear my dear Little Son entertaining himself while he tries not to nap. He's singing his own versions of
"The Wheels on the Bus" and "Ten Green Bottles." He is talking to his stuffed animals and making them
answer back--using their 'voices.' When we drive places he observes that green means go and red means
stop. He likes me to repeat Hickory Dickory Dock. He calls his daddy his buddy. He runs down hills. He

says "Whee" when we drive around corners.

Yet he was once so small and undeveloped he couldn't lift his head to drink his milk-- I had to do that for

him! He was once so small and undeveloped he couldn't regulate his body temperature--I did that for him! 

He couldn't digest food, or move his arms and legs. Once he didn't even have arms, or legs, or a brain, or 

any body parts. But he was still himself, a precious child, an individual--when in his development would it 

have been appropriate to exterminate him from my life?

Yes, I will be the first to agree that having a child is costly, hard, uncomfortable, painful, tedious, boring, 

humiliating, difficult, encumbering. But isn't a person worth it? He's worth it for his own sake, let alone all the 

benefit he brings into my life. Caring for him makes me more patient, more kind, more tolerant, stronger, 

better able to endure through discomfort, pain, humiliation, boredom, tedium.

Roe v. Wade is a personal issue to me. Motherhood and parenting are valued, cherished parts of my life. I 

was once pregnant, and I gave birth to a baby boy. Now he is nearly two. I am pregnant again--12 weeks 

along, and the fetus has all his/her body parts, completely unique DNA, a separate blood supply that does 

not mix with mine. Someday this pregnancy will result in a child's birth and the expansion of our family.

Yes, Roe v. Wade is personal to me. I think of my own Dear Son and of all the dear sons and daughters that 

are NOT here--people who should be living, breathing, active thirty somethings, twenty somethings, college 

kids, teenagers, tweens, kindergartners, toddlers, babies--perhaps even some of the Newtown teachers' 

coworkers, some of those kids' classmates and schoolmates--some of the Columbine kids' classmates and 

locker neighbors--some of the Virginia Tech kids' classmates and roommates-- We grieve and mourn 

because of all those that have been killed in shootings and terrorist attacks and wars and diseases, but these 

50,000,000 kids have been lost and their empty seats at the table, empty places in classrooms, empty 

lockers and dorm rooms and cubicles and offices and desks are just as empty.

Grieve their loss as well. We've all lost them. Women who should have been mothers, men who ought to 

have been dads...should-have-been sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents, ought-to-

have-been classmates, roommates, cubicle neighbors, teachers and principals, teammates, mechanics, 

electricians, plumbers, doctors, nurses...the list goes on and on.

Philosophy and theology can state truths. So can statistics and math. But empty cribs, missing friends, absent 

colleagues--to me they are more eloquent. I'm lonely for the 50,000,000. My life is all the richer for just +1, 

my Little Son. How much are we all missing with a deficit of 50,000,000 people?

Meditation and Prayer on Romans 12:9

"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. "

Dear God and Precious Father, this command seems so far above us: “Let love be without dissimulation.”

How insincere we often are, Lord, especially in the matter of love. For love is not blind, nor deaf, nor
amoral.

Dear Lord Jesus, You said “If You love me, keep my commandments.”

The first and great commandment is to love You, our Creator and God, with all our hearts, with all our souls,
with all our minds, and all our strength.

What hateful things we sometimes do in the name of love. You have shown us the way, “Abhor that which is
evil; cleave to that which is good.”

Wickedness puts on a cloak of love and loves evil and hates the good. The minister is considered loving if he
does not rebuke sin and reprove ungodliness, thereby despising Your commandment. He sells his God for
the love of the world. This is not love, O God, but how hard it is to be faithful.

Abhor that which is evil. All kinds of evil. Evil ideas, evil doctrines, evil attitudes, evil posturing, evil
hypocrisies, evil speakings, backbiting, slandering, evil gossiping, evil deeds against Your commandments
that forbid disobedience to godly authority, murder and hatred, adultery and other sexual sins, thefts of all
kinds, destroying reputations, and even the evil desire for such things.

You abhor such things, dear Lord. You loath them. You hate them with every fiber of Your holiness. We
have no word strong enough to express Your hatred of them, but we see Your hatred of evil in the awful
sufferngs in the soul and body of Jesus Christ.

Your wrath came upon Him and He suffered the punishment that Your justice requires for transgression of
Your holy law, a coming short of the glory of God.

Grant us Your Spirit, not to dull our senses and obscure our moral natures, but to sharpen them and
invigorate us, for He is given to reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. We love in truth by
abhorring evil, for that is the meaning of the sentence; we also love by cleaving [sticking to, and being glued
to] that which is good.

How faithful You are, Dear Lord. You not only tell us to love, but You tell us how to love.

“Reprove” means 1) to convict, refute, confute 1a) generally with a suggestion of shame of the person
convicted 1b) by conviction to bring to the light, to expose 2) to find fault with, correct 2a) by word 2a1) to
reprehend severely, chide, admonish, reprove 2a2) to call to account, show one his fault, demand an
explanation 2b) by deed 2b1) to chasten, to punish.

You, O Lord, abhor the evil because You cleave to that which is good. You know how much better we
would be if we would repent and turn from our evil ways and evil thoughts and false doctrines and proud
thoughts.

You hate what we have become by turning away from You, the fountain of goodness and truth.

How our flesh hates this truth, dear Lord. Every fiber in our being rises against reproof and rebuke. We
rebuke the rebuker and reprove the reprover.

This is right when men rebuke in ignorance or to avoid the cross, but so evil when we resist truth and
counsel. We dissimulate and pretend to be wronged and add slander to our offenses against each other.

We sin either in tyranny, seeking to exercise lordship; or we sin in truancy, refusing to love our neighbor as
God has commanded us. We do evil in the name of love, and we know to do good and do it not in the name
of love.

And so we dissimulate and our eye is evil, and we do not see God. Men praise our foolishness which is
horrid in Your pure eyes, O Most High.

Grant us forgiveness and repentance, O Lord, that we might be salt and light in the world for Your glory and
praise.

Amos 5:10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Pr 9:8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Pr 24: 24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor
him: 25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.

Pr 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.

But how deceitful is my heart, dear Lord.

We reprove and rebuke, not out of love, but from spite and ill will, pretending love. This is why we need
Your Spirit so desperately, so we do not play the fool and sow strife and hatred in the name of love.

Give me a humble heart to receive instruction, and meekness and boldness of Spirit to speak truth plainly.
How hard it is to be obedient in this, O Lord.

May I be filled with goodness and knowledge and so be able [capable, strong, effective] to admonish others
in obedience to You, having examined my own heart and life.

May I love the good and the godly people and cleave to them and support and defend them. May I abhor
evil thoughts, doctrines, habits, practices, attitudes, with my whole soul, as You do, O Lord. Precious, Lord Jesus. 

How You loved us.

You took upon Yourself our horrid sins and bore them and received the punishment of Your Father for them
as if they were Your Own sins!

He withdrew His sweet presence from You in the darkness of that day that You were hanged on a tree, a
cursed thing, so that we might be freed from the curse and received into favor.

Stir up my heart and soul, Dear Father. Renew Your image in me through the blood of the Cross that I may
abhor all evil in myself and elsewhere, and cleave to the good, whether the work of Your Spirit in me, or in
others by Your grace.

For You are the fountain of life and from You all blessing flow. May I love people without dissimulation
enough to seek their good in all things, as did Your Only Begotten Son. In the Name of You my Savior,
Jesus Christ, for You “loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows….” Amen and Amen.

American Worship

 

I Thess. 1:9, 10 "Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to

wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which

delivered us from the wrath to come.

It is time for repentance, to follow the Thessalonians.

 

Idolatry begins in the inner man because of inherited wickedness. Idolatry is nurtured

in the inner man.by wicked lusts and thoughts.  Idolatry is first judged in the inner man

by spiritual blindness and corrupt thinking.

American Idolatry: These are old idols and were condemned by the law and the

prophets of Scripture. Among Other Things:

Wealth: we think we can create bread from stones by issuing loads and loads of fake

money. We cannot pray in public for our daily bread, but we can lobby the government

for free everything.

Military: we think we can be secure behind the finest military in the world. We war

against God and build advanced weapons.

Education: We seek to create a new kind of virtuous man through education,

discipline, and nurture.  Teachers cannot teach children about being born again, but

every school has a psychiatrist for mental health problems and every parent has access

to mind changing drugs and behavior modification techniques.

Sex: sex, sex, and more sex of all varieties: fornication, sodomy, adultery,

pornography almost without restriction. Arts, Music, and even Religion is spiced with

sex to keep them from being boring.

Science. We reject the knowledge of Scripture and pour our energy in to broken pots

that hold no water. We dream that our every need will be supplied if we can only

master the knowledge of the creation. Not even the notion of God is necessary for we

have unlocked the secrets of nature and will soon be master of our own destiny and

happiness. We boast in our wisdom that over thousands of years that will understand

the workings of the world that God created out of nothing by the word of His power.

How foolish is the idolater in the midst of his self-congratulations:

Jeremiah 9:23, 24: "Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am

the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:

for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."

Not only did the prophets speak against the idolatry of Israel, the covenant people, but

they also spoke dire warnings against the nations: Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Egypt,

Moab, Edom, Canaan, etc. for their blasphemies against their Creator, the living God,

and called them to repentance, warning them of famine, disruptions of nature and wild

animals, wars, pestilence, and other disasters.

Isaiah 2:17-22: "And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of

men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols

he shall utterly abolish.

And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of

the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the

earth. 

"In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made

each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of

the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory

of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose

breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

 

Heidelberg Catechism:

Q95: What is idolatry?

A95: Idolatry is to conceive or have something else in which to place our trust instead

of, or besides,  the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Word.[1]

1. Eph. 2:12; 5:5; Phil. 3:19; John 2:23; 5:23; II John 1:9; Psa. 62:5-7; 73:25-26;

81:8-9; Matt. 6:24

Prayer and Meditation on Psalm 16:1-3

Prayer and Meditation on Psalm 16:1-3

O Lord God, there is nothing that I need from You except the preservation of soul and body, but that is all
there is. I fly to You, for you are the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. What good is
temporary salvation, O God, if you do not keep my feet from falling and my heart from straying?

But I have received Your precious Spirit of Adoption, so that my soul cries out to You, “O Precious Father,
preserve my body and soul!” and I will trust you forever. You will preserve me until the resurrection of the
dead, and afterwards receive me, body and soul, into glory, into eternal rest.

I confess that I have no ladders of my own tall enough to reach to You, O Precious Father. Not my
goodness, not my determination, not my will, not my faith, not my righteousness can open the gates of heaven
and escort my soul into your presence.

Only Your dear Son, Jesus of Nazareth, reaches from heaven to earth to lay hold on sinners like me and give
us entrance into the mansions of your Father’s house of light. I have been humbled before your word and do
not trust in any, save the Lord Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

But I can reach out to Your people, Precious Father, to the saints in the earth who call upon your Name in
truth. I delight in them, O Lord for they are most excellent, being washed in the blood of the Lamb.

I can do this, Precious Father, only because the Spirit of Your dear Son has been given to me to love the
church that you purchased with Your own blood, to love your sacraments and ordinances and promises. For
in loving You, Precious Father, You have taught me to love Your Own. And in Your love, my soul is
preserved forever and ever. In the Name of Christ, Amen.

1 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
--Psalm 16

What Is Man? Garbage to Discard? Road Kill?

To maintain naturalism, the humanist has to reject the idea that man's nature is to be the image of
God: that, among other things he has the ability and duty to make moral judgments.  To humanism,
man is no more than a rabbit or a wolf.  He has natural instincts but they are of the earth, the product
of evolution.  If there are gods, then these gods are completely natural, the product of later phases of
evolution. Man is nothing special; if defective, he can be culled simply as a herd of goats can be
culled of defectives to improve the herd. He can also be created into a new humanity through 
education and discipline.

There is no sense of sin in this view, only mistakes and correctable defects.  The schools become the
instruments of salvation, for man will educate himself into perfection, into godhood.

Humanist may talk of natural law, but they mean it only in this sense, the law of nature which can be
understood only by examining nature.  There is no Divine revelation and certainly no revelation from
the Creator which describes the nature of man.  The nature of man can only be learned from science,
the examination of behavior.  Men, like animals must always act according to the law of their nature.

Whatever laws there are come from experience, the experience of mankind; certainly there are no
laws revealed by the Creator that command the image of God.

Certainly man desires to live and will protect his life energetically.  But so what? So will a skunk or a
salamander.  How is man's life different from theirs?  Man desires liberty.  So do most animals who
resist domestication.  At the zoo, animals and birds are caged for the most part.  Why is man any
different from them?  All animals seek happiness: they want to have food, shelter, sex, comfort.

No animal has complete right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Other animals take these
rights away from each other every day.  Foxes feed on rabbits; hawks confine rodents to their holes;
the lion doesn't consider the happiness of the gnu.  So why make a big deal over natural law?  Those
who resist the "progress of the race" must be neutralized for the good of all.

It is impossible to stress how ungodly and satanic all of the above philosophy is.  When we minimize
sin and make righteousness relative, then we degrade our view of mankind.  The result is uniformly
cruelty, brutality, slaughter,and carnage.  Tyrants always deceive themselves and comfort themselves
with the illusion that their cruelty is for the better good.  Josef Stalin said, "To make a omelet you
have to break some eggs."  He broke millions of them and never produced the omelet.

But new saviors and new dreams continue to arise, denying the image of God, denying sin, and
putting salvation far away from them.  For by making themselves antichrist, the true Savior Jesus
Christ is pushed far away from them.  And the blood of the innocents cries out to God as did the
blood of Abel who was murdered by his brother.  Man is not road kill.  He is not garbage to be
dumped in landfill.  Ge 9:6 "Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the
image of God made he man."

Man's nobility and exceptionalism lies in the image of God. He was created in true righteousness,
knowledge, and holiness, with dominion over the creation. By Adam's sin, this image is defaced and
corrupted but cannot be eradicated in spite of man's rebellion against God.  His rebellion does not
erase of image of God, but makes him liable for judgment and the wrath of God, in whom he lives
and moves and has his being. He is a sinner precisely because he is the image of God and is called to
repentance, faith, and glory.  God loves His image, but hates its defilement and perversion and will
bring eternal wrath and judgment upon everyone who remains wedded to his wickedness.

John 8:  "21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in
your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come....  23  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am
from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die
in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

Before All Gods [Authorities]

Meditation and Prayer on Psalm 138:1-3

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, We worship You with all our hearts. You do not accept the will worship of
empty ceremonies, or vain motions of the body, for You are the only Living and True God, the only Holy
and Eternal Spirit Who created all things Wisdom and Power, in Jesus Christ Your Only Begotten Son,
through the power of Your Holy Spirit.

Therefore we come before You with our whole hearts, minds, souls, and strength.

We will sing praises to You and lift our voices. You are in heaven and Your true and Holy Temple is there,
for You inhabit eternity. Even the heavens themselves cannot contain You though You are not far from any of
us.

We will sing our songs of praise before all the world, before all authorities, powers. What You have told us
in private, we will declare from the mountain tops as You have commanded. Your word is not to be
treasured up in private or behind closed doors, but is to be proclaimed to all men, whatever their station and
power and authority. For You have magnified Your word above all Your Name.

You have been pleased to make Your presence known at times and places in the history of the world and
these revelations of Yourself pointed to the time when Your dear Son, the Lord Jesus, would be made flesh
and dwell among us. He fully loved You with all Your hearts, souls, minds, and strength and being made a
perfect man He offered Himself up as a perfect sacrifice for sins, not on a Jewish altar, but outside the city,
on Mt. Golgotha, and thus took away our sin.

He established His church forever to be His earthly dwelling place, by His word and Spirit. In Your Church
we will offer up the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving for You lovingkindness and Your truth, which
endure throughout the ages.

In Your church, You have magnified You word above all Your name. Your promises to us would draw our
minds up to You, in love and gratitude, for You have not failed to do everything that You promised to do. 
Not one of Your promises fail.

O Lord, may we by You Spirit be faithful and true to speak Your word to all men. May Your word not be
diminished in our eyes or in our speech, but may it be magnified in our bodies, lived and preached and
confessed and obeyed. As Your precious holy apostle Paul prayed to You, [Php 1:20} “that in nothing I
shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body,
whether it be by life, or by death."

When we called upon You, O Lord, You heard and You answered us. You have strengthened me with
strength in my soul, so that I will not be ashamed. Blessed be Your Name forever and ever, Amen.
---------

“1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 2 I will worship toward
thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy
word above all thy name. 3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength
in my soul.” (Ps 138:1-3)

How Can God Be Just?

The "problem" confronting the Godhead was not whether it was just to damn the sinner, but why it could be
just to save any of us.

All were deserving of the fires of His wrath, but how could He be just and the justifier of him who believed?
[Romans 3:24-26.] The solution to the divine "dilemma" was setting Christ forth to be "a propitiation through
faith in His blood...." so that God would be revealed to be righteous in saving any sinner. ["propitiation"
means an appeasing, a taking away of wrath.]

That is why there can be no boasting, but only thankfulness for a free salvation, without the deeds of the law,
by which all are condemned. The death of Christ does not void the law but establishes its righteousness and
satisfies its just claims. Amen and Amen.

Meditation and Prayer on Job 23:10-14

O Precious Father in Heaven, Your words are more to me than my necessary food. How wonderful is the

Name “Father” that the Spirit of Adoption has placed upon the lips and in the hearts of Your people!

You know the way that I go; I take that way and it is Your way, for You have ordained that I will be like 

Christ, and after I am tested in the way, I shall be purified as gold. You know each step of my way for You 

have ordered them.

I do not live by bread alone, but by every word from Your mouth. My feet have held to Your steps and You 

have kept me in the way so that I have not departed from it. This is Your decree for me, O precious Father, 

and it is a good decree, for You love me in Jesus Christ and have delivered me from the bondage and guilt of 

sin, so that nothing in my way can separate me from Your love.

This is why I have not turned back from the commandment of Your lips, for we are not of those who draw 

back unto perdition, but those who believe to the saving of our souls. We have esteemed the words of Your 

mouth as more than our necessary food.

For You, O precious Father, are never divided in Your mind as we often are. Known are all Your works 

from the foundation of the world and none of them shall pass away or fail.

You are light and there is no darkness in You. No one can turn You from the purposes that You have 

purposed, for You have always done whatsoever You have pleased, in heaven and in earth, as the Scripture 

declares.
 

You always perform what You have promised and appointed for me: there is no end of Your mercies and 

kindnesses that are in Your heart as the Father of Your children. You will supply all my need, according to 

Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Nothing can stay Your Almighty Hand.

This is my life, O Precious Father. I have wandered all over the place, Dear Lord, and have often come 

short of Your glory, but even in these things, You have not failed in Your promises and care, for You have 

upheld me by Your powerful Hand and turned all things to my good, according to Your purposes in Christ 

Jesus.

You, O Precious Father, are my portion and my inheritance forever. Psalm 146:5, 6 “Happy is he that hath 

the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, 

and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever….”

--------------

10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth 

more than my necessary food.

13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

Job 23:10-14

Building Without Foundation

Jesus said the walls will come tumbling down if a building is built without a foundation. When the winds and 

the rains come, the house built upon the sand will come tumbling down.

The foundations are his words, Jesus said, in that famous conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew
7], specifically the "doing" of His words.

Great institutions that men had great hope for have come tumbling down, for they ignored the words of
Christ.

We were smarter than Christ, we though. Marriage didn't have to built upon the principles of Christ, and
children didn't need to be reared according to Scripture. When I was a boy, I only knew a few people who
had been divorced--now it is much the norm.

Evangelism didn't need to based on truth--just a desire for people to "know Jesus." Campaigns were not
designed to convince people of the truth, but designed to produce a powerful emotional experience. There
has been a steady decline of commitment to truth as the years have passed. "Let's all get together  forget our
differences, and evangelize the world." But as time passed and the principle was carried out consistently, our
converts began to look very much like the world from which they were "converted." Word's didn't mean
anything anymore, and we didn't talk about election, justification, sanctification, immutability.

Words declined in value and the highest form of communication with God--the highest form of spiritual
enlightenment--came in the form of incoherent tongues-babbling. Our march away from the creeds and the
sayings of Christ was now complete: Incomprehensible mutterings replaced His meaningful words and were
much sought for. But thousands and thousands flocked to mega-churches and felt good. It was showtime.

We forgot the sayings in Christ about the judgment at the last day, where the sheep would be put on the right
and the goats on the left. Such discrimination must not be named among us--In the drunken dream that
imagines a world where everyone gets along, there is no room for the concept of the kind of wickedness and
evil and wants everyone either in bondage or dead. In our stupor of spiritual vapidness we think that we can
save everyone with enormous exudings of good will and valueless "love" where people will learn to be nice to
everyone.

But it was our Lord who said, "Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they turn again and rend you." There
are those who bite and devour, who murder and steal, who destroy and waste. They will not be converted
by valueless Christians.

We are to do good to all men. Sometimes the good that we do to our brother is to deliver him from the bully
and the brute.

"Abba" is NOT "Daddy."

"Abba" is NOT "Daddy."  Better translation would be "Dearest Father."

When You Hide, You Reveal Knowledge!

God created man in His image, which included holiness.  God gave Adam a moral sense, the ability to know
that he should not disobey God's command concerning the Tree in the midst of the garden [Genesis 2,3].
Adam did not know shame nor the horror of sin until after his fall, but he was a moral being in the image of
God from his creation.

Because he is a sinner, man's moral sense is corrupt and he uses it in hatred and destruction against his
neighbor.  Jesus said that some would even think they did God service by persecuting Christians.  They
accused Jesus Himself of blasphemy and other sins against the Ten Commandments.

Jesus condemned this sin in the clearest words when He said, "Judge not that ye be not judged."  The gift
that we have received from God to know what is holy and good must not be used against the people of God
as a weapon of hatred and strife.  Jesus clarified Himself in another commandment: Joh 7:24 "Judge not
according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

In fact, discernment is one of the gifts of the Spirit and the church of Ephesus was praised for finding that
some who said they were apostles were lying.  There are many other like places in the Bible.

The Pharisees misused their moral senses by accusing Jesus of casting out devils by the power of the devil.
This evil speaking was a horrible sin, but it was couched in moral language and righteous pretenses.  They
couldn't have done it without a God-given sense of morality and decency. How immoral it would have been
for Jesus to have been in league with the devil and doing lying miracles!

Another example of the misuse of this gift is the sinner who says, "Judge not, that ye be not judged."  He
pretends to be following Jesus, but he means the opposite.  Jesus is saying, "Do not misuse my gift to
condemn the righteous," but the reprobate means, "Misuse God's gift to justify the wicked.  By your silence
give consent unto my nastiness."  Just as the devil misquoted Scripture to snare Jesus, so do these nasty
people quote Scripture to snare the godly.

To obey God is to "abhor the evil; cleave to that which is good."

Jesus said it another way, "If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

Prayer and Meditation from Psalm 89:15-21

Prayer and Meditation from Psalm 89:15-21

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, we lift our voices to You today, for we have heard the good news 

concerning Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This good news is a joyful sound that has gone throughout the whole world, but we are especially blessed, 

because we have heard, not only with the ears of our bodies, but with the ears of our souls. We understand, 

because You have taught us.

Because we have heard the the good news, the joyful sound, we are blessed of You and we do not walk in 

Your disfavor under a frowning countenance, but in the light and joy of Your grace.

Those who hear and believe the joyful sound of the Gospel rejoice in Your Name all the day long, and we 

are exalted in Your righteousness, and not our own. It is Your righteousness, O Lord Jesus, by which our 

souls are exalted and lifted up to You.

For You, O Lord, are the glory of our strength. We have no strength of our own, but in You we mount up 

with wings as eagles; we walk and are not weary; we run and are not faint.

What glory You have given to Your people in days gone by: How could five have chased a hundred and a 

hundred put ten thousand to flight except that thy Holy Spirit was the strength of our hands and thy sword the 

power of our sword?

Our weakness is our own, Dear Lord. Our strength is Yours alone. We are dust and ashes, but You inhabit 

eternity and caused the light to shine out of darkness and formed the world of nothing.

It is by Your favor and grace alone that our horn is exalted and we prevail over that which would destroy us.

You are our defense; You are our King forever. We overcome by faith, dear Lord; we are defeated and 

overcome by our own unbelief and emptiness.

For You have revealed by the holy prophets that You have anointed Jesus of Nazareth, born of the Virgin of 

the seed of David according to the flesh and the Son of God according to His eternal power and Godhead, 

to be our Savior and Lord.

You crowned Him with glory and honor because by the Eternal Spirit He offered up Himself to Divine 

Justice as a sacrifice for sins, fulfilling the law and the prophets and by Your Spirit He is our Lord and 

Messiah, able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.

This is the joyful sound, O Lord. This is the good news, oh Blessed Savior. Through thy eternal Spirit His 

kingdom is established forever, His righteousness our righteousness; His strength our strength; His glory our 

glory. Amen and Amen.

We do bring our petitions before You, O Lord. We pray that You would strengthen us with might in the 

inner man through faith in the gospel.

We do bitterly repent our unbelief and our sins; grant to us Your blessed Spirit that we may walk in holiness 

and righteousness before You all the days of our life.

Effectually work in us love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance 

and may we put off the works of idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, 

heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, for they that do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Our old man is crucified with Christ, and we live in the Spirit and also ought to walk in the Spirit, in Your 

righteousness, glory, and strength. This is the good news, the joyful sound in which we rejoice, O Lord.
----
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy 

countenance.

16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favor our horn shall be exalted.

18 For the LORD is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have 

exalted one chosen out of the people.

20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. 

 –Psalm 89:15-21

So, You Found "It"?

Funny thing. People who insist that you look at the facts cannot even tell you what a fact is. How big is the

moon? In what direction does the sun move?

When you say you like coffee, is the only fact I know is that you said you like coffee? How do I know you 

didn't lie? And who is the "you" who likes coffee? Are "you" your taste buds, or something else? If something 

else, what is it that you call "you."

If you tell me that it is a fact that you "found God," may I not respond that He wasn't lost? And how do you 

know what you found? Maybe something found you. If so, what was it, and how do you know?

When you went "looking for God" you wanted anything but the God of the Bible. Maybe you found "it." If 

you did, that's awful for you. you won't like "it" when "it" gets through with you.

You say you don't believe the Bible? Good luck with THAT. That suit of clothes has been tried by a lot of 

wretched people. Didn't work for them that well, either. But you got your little kick of sin, though, didn't 

you?

17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the 

LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.

19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and 

for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself 

to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the 

glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Isaiah 2