Saturday I read a verse that I have been thinking about ever since. Psalm 54:4 says, "Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul." What an amazing truth! God, the creator and ruler of the universe, is my helper. He, and he alone, sustains my innermost being. He offers complete satisfaction and contentment. So why do I look for sustencance elsewhere--in pleasant circumstances, people, religion, the pleasures of this life? Sometimes I am so foolish.
I need to look to the Lord and the Lord alone to sustain my soul.
Today I read another verse that offers further insight into how God sustains my soul. Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." No matter how great my difficulties and disappointments, I can be sustained by the Lord. But, I need to cast my burden upon the Lord in order to experience His sustaining strength. I cannot replay them over and over in my mind; I cannot try to handle them all on my own; I cannot gripe and complain about them; I cannot stew and fret over them; I cannot just wish or imagine things were differnet. At times I have done all of these things. I must cast my burdens upon the Lord. It is only then that He promises to sustain me, that I need not be shaken.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Ladder to Heaven?
Yesterday I drove by a chuch that had a message board in front saying, "Church is the ladder to heaven." Is that a biblically accurate picture?
The church is certainly precious to the Lord. It is referred to as Christ's body, as Christ's bride. You can't seriously read the New Testament without noticing the centrality of the local church. Every believer needs to be committed to a church that faithfully preaches and teaches God's Word, that equips the saints for the work of service, that reaches out to the lost. It is in the context of the local church that the "one-anothers" can be lived out. The church is clearly important--but is it a ladder to heaven?
A ladder is something one must climb, as rung by rung we get closer to the goal. The climber is the central figure in this picture. That is not true about salvation, but it is true about every human religion. The focus is on us earning our way to heaven. The Bible talks about a different path to salvation. It is not a ladder, but a rescue, an air-lift. All men are sinners and in desperate need of rescue. We can do nothing in our own efforts to earn God's favor, to climb up the ladder. The good news is that God is a God who rescues and saves! John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life". We obtain this eternal life, not by climbing to heaven by our own good works, or our participation in the church, but by believing in Christ's finished work on the cross, and trusting in Him. He did it all!
Out of love for Him and gratitude for all that He has done for me, I want to be a part of the church, to serve Him, to minister to others, and to reach out to those who don't know Christ. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one whould boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" Our good works are not rungs on the ladder to heaven, they are a response to the fact that He has rescued us, air-lifted us out of the mire of sin and self and human achievement. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13-14), and therefore we want to proclaim the escellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9)
The church is certainly precious to the Lord. It is referred to as Christ's body, as Christ's bride. You can't seriously read the New Testament without noticing the centrality of the local church. Every believer needs to be committed to a church that faithfully preaches and teaches God's Word, that equips the saints for the work of service, that reaches out to the lost. It is in the context of the local church that the "one-anothers" can be lived out. The church is clearly important--but is it a ladder to heaven?
A ladder is something one must climb, as rung by rung we get closer to the goal. The climber is the central figure in this picture. That is not true about salvation, but it is true about every human religion. The focus is on us earning our way to heaven. The Bible talks about a different path to salvation. It is not a ladder, but a rescue, an air-lift. All men are sinners and in desperate need of rescue. We can do nothing in our own efforts to earn God's favor, to climb up the ladder. The good news is that God is a God who rescues and saves! John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life". We obtain this eternal life, not by climbing to heaven by our own good works, or our participation in the church, but by believing in Christ's finished work on the cross, and trusting in Him. He did it all!
Out of love for Him and gratitude for all that He has done for me, I want to be a part of the church, to serve Him, to minister to others, and to reach out to those who don't know Christ. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one whould boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" Our good works are not rungs on the ladder to heaven, they are a response to the fact that He has rescued us, air-lifted us out of the mire of sin and self and human achievement. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13-14), and therefore we want to proclaim the escellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9)
Sunday, June 19, 2005
The Perfect Father
I have been more reflective on Father's Day the last couple of years since my father died. I still miss my earthly father, but I am thankful that I have a perfect heavenly father. He loves me like no person on earth will or even can. He knows me in my innermost being and knows what it best for me, and has the power to make it happen. He never changes. He has adopted me into his family and invites me to cast all my cares upon him, and draw near his throne with confidence. He is indeed the perfect father.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Joining the World of Blog
I am the last in my family to join the blog world (I've even read somewhere of my dog having his own blog!). So far I have resisted the urgings of family members since we are in the middle of a move and things are rather hectic, but was encouraged by a posting at godsongmusic.com to go ahead and jump in. So here we go...
Once my decision had been made to start my own blog, my next decision was what name to choose. In Proverbs 31 God gives us a description of an excellent wife. Some have derided this picture as unattainable, overwhelming, or even old-fashioned, but God's Word presents it as a godly model which women throughout the ages can pursue in their own lives. Verse 25 contains one of my favorite phrases--she smiles at the future. She doesn't live in fear or dread of the future, she isn't consumed with anxiety about her children or grandchildren, she isn't overwhelmed by world events or national calamaties, she isn't disheartened by the difficulties of life. She smiles at the future. How can she do this? How can I do this? How can you do this? Doesn't she know about terrorism? increasing immorality in entertainment? crime rates? traffic? violence in schools? global warming? She's obviously not a 21st century woman!
Verse 30 holds the key to her smiling at the future. She fears the Lord. She regards Him with reverence and awe. He is the focus of her life. She has confidence in the future. The 21st century woman can be smiling at the future when her hope and confidence is in the Lord. The future is in His hands--her personal future, the future of her loved ones, and the future of the world. What a joy to know that God is in the control, and He is working for my good and His glory! When I am looking at life through the lens of God's Word, rather than letting my cirucmstances distort my view of God, I can be smiling at the future. And so can you!
Once my decision had been made to start my own blog, my next decision was what name to choose. In Proverbs 31 God gives us a description of an excellent wife. Some have derided this picture as unattainable, overwhelming, or even old-fashioned, but God's Word presents it as a godly model which women throughout the ages can pursue in their own lives. Verse 25 contains one of my favorite phrases--she smiles at the future. She doesn't live in fear or dread of the future, she isn't consumed with anxiety about her children or grandchildren, she isn't overwhelmed by world events or national calamaties, she isn't disheartened by the difficulties of life. She smiles at the future. How can she do this? How can I do this? How can you do this? Doesn't she know about terrorism? increasing immorality in entertainment? crime rates? traffic? violence in schools? global warming? She's obviously not a 21st century woman!
Verse 30 holds the key to her smiling at the future. She fears the Lord. She regards Him with reverence and awe. He is the focus of her life. She has confidence in the future. The 21st century woman can be smiling at the future when her hope and confidence is in the Lord. The future is in His hands--her personal future, the future of her loved ones, and the future of the world. What a joy to know that God is in the control, and He is working for my good and His glory! When I am looking at life through the lens of God's Word, rather than letting my cirucmstances distort my view of God, I can be smiling at the future. And so can you!
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