Category Archives: Book Reviews

PSALM 22

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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn
He has done it!

Psalm 22

“God, my God!”  forlorn and lonely – 

Darkness shudders at this cry;

Weeps earth for this man abandoned,

“Why am I forsaken, why?”

Seems no ear is bent to listen,

No touch comforts searing pain,

No voice speaking reassurance . . .

Silence haunts the dark terrain:

No help comes despite the pleading –

Day and night roll into one;

No-one heeds the cries, the groaning

Of the one and only Son.

Holy God, you make your dwelling

In the shrine of joyous praise;

Worship, song and adoration

Join our hearts in warm embrace.

E’en our fathers, long forgotten,

In your presence sang and praised

Round your throne in fervent worship,

Hearts aglow and voices raised.

They were never disappointed:

When they called to you for aid:

You delivered them from evil,

For they trusted what you said.

As for me, a worm and no man,

Scorned, despised by all mankind;

Those who see me mock and snigger;

“Who is this one?” they demand.

“Is this he who claims the favour

Of his God, who cares for him?

We’ll believe it when we see it!

God responding to this claim!”

Listen not to cruel mocking:

I have known your help before:

From my mother’s womb you brought me,

Years of growing up you saw:

From my birth I leaned upon you,

Trusted you to be my God.

Do not leave me, I am helpless:

Only you can save me, Lord!

Fearsome enemies surround me,

Drooling, circling for the kill,

Bashan’s bulls, these roaring lions

Gnash and tear my flesh at will.

All my strength is drained, like water;

All my bones are out of joint,

And my heart, like wax, is melted:

I am wasted, pale and gaunt;

Tongue is dried, my eyes are sunken;

Weakening with each rasping breath

Ebbs my life, for you have left me,

Laid me in the dust of death.

Enemies keep circling closer –

Hungry dogs, with fangs laid bare;

Hands and feet are pierced and bleeding;

At my pain they gloat and stare.

Every bone screams out in anguish;

Nothing shields me from this shame;

Throwing dice to win my clothing

Just as though it were a game!

Yet one final, feeble whisper

Pleads to God for aid, in vain.

“Rescue me from death, and save me;

Hear my cry yet once again!

Would you stand aside, unheeding,

Caring not that evil men

Snatch away the life you gave me?

Will you not, then, intervene?”

Yet, I know my God will answer.

I will stand and testify,

Praise you in the congregation,

For you heard my desp’rate cry!

“Praise the Lord, each one who fears Him,”

All must reverence His name.

Let all Israel sing His praises,

Tell to everyone His fame.

He has not despised my suff’ring,

Heard my cries of deep despair,

Bent to listen to my calling,

Came in answer to my prayer.

Yes, I’ll lift your name in honour,

Publicly fulfil my vow:

Those who fear your name will witness,

In your presence humbly bow.

All the poor shall feast on plenty;

Hunger shall be satisfied:

Those who seek the Lord shall find Him,

Those who find, in Him abide.

Earth shall see this grand reunion,

Nations to the Lord return:

God is king, He rules the peoples –

All shall for His presence yearn.

Proud and humble, all will worship,

Born, these mortal men, to die;

Yes, our children, too, will serve Him

Mighty God will magnify..

‘Tis our joy to tell the story

To our offspring, yet unborn;

Tirelessly we share the message –

Ageless tale, by time unworn.

THE RIDDLE OF ANTICHRIST

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THE RIDDLE OF ANTICHRIST

“Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that (the) Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.”
1 John 2:18-19 NLT

“Antichrist” is a hot potato in today’s prophetic machinations. Prophecy fundis have associated prominent names with “the Antichrist” almost since John wrote these words.

Who is this mysterious figure who dominates eschatological predictions? Some big names have come and gone, others are much alive, and still others have yet to appear on the horizon.

Trouble is, much of prophetic interpretation is imposed on Scripture rather than derived from Scripture.

So what is John saying? Since John is the only Biblical writer to use the word “antichrist”, we must look for the meaning first in his explanation.

“I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
2 John 1:7 NLT

First then, anyone who denies that Jesus was a real human being like us, is part of the antichrist. They are deceivers, obviously sowing their lies among God’s people to mislead them since people in the world are already living in deception.

Does this mean that antichrist is more than one person?

In our quote from 1 John 2, John spoke of “many antichrists”. What did he mean? “Many” means many! That isn’t difficult to understand! So, how can the Antichrist be a single figure?

“Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise, they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.”
1 John 2:18-19 NLT

Second, antichrists are those who originated in the church fellowship. They were once part of the church, but their departure is evidence that they were never real members of Christ’s body. No prominent political figure here!

Third, their presence from among God’s people is part of the “last hour”. What is the last hour? Scripture uses the terms the “last days” or “the last hour “, interchangeably, to mean the period of time between Jesus’s first and second coming.

“In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…”
Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV

So, John says that there is an antichrist spirit at work through people who were once in the church, the era of grace through Jesus, who deny the reality of Jesus’ real humanity. Their purpose is to deceive and mislead God’s people away from the truth. In this sense, anti-Christ means against Christ, in opposition to Christ.

There is a subtle way in which these “antichrists” speak against Christ. By denying His humanity, they rob Jesus of His right to be our atoning sacrifice. Since He had to be a real man to take our place in death, if He were not truly human, He cannot be our substitute and sacrifice.

John explains that faith is the incarnation of Jesus, His coming to earth as a flesh and blood human being, is crucial to the gospel. He took pains to explain, in the 4th Gospel, that the Word, the embodiment of God’s revelation of Himself, became “flesh” a term used to describe His physical nature, and lived for a while with us.

“So, the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
John 1:14 NLT

Two natures God and man, perfectly combined in one person. To deny Jesus’ humanity shatters any hope we have in His work of the restoration of all things to His original plan.

How does our arch enemy, the devil, try to accomplish this? By using influential people to speak in place of (anti) and to speak against (anti) Jesus to deceive people into believing that He was never a real man.

“So, I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
1 John 2:21-23 NLT

So, what is John’s point?

“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.”
1 John 4:1-3 NLT

Apart from the many cults that deny the humanity of Jesus, there is a religious system, led by a succession of men representing that system, that denies the true humanity of Jesus. Through a process of human reason, the doctrine of the immaculate conception of Mary has become a central and official doctrine of a system that claims to be Christian but represents the spirit of antichrist.

This doctrine says that, since Jesus was born of Mary, and Mary was supposedly conceived without sin, Jesus cannot, therefore, have been made like us.

But the Bibles says…

“We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to
help the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.”
Hebrews 2:16-17 NLT

Therefore…

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testing we do, yet he did not sin.”
Hebrews 4:15 NLT

The debate about the identity of “antichrist” is, once again, a red herring, a distracter that lures us away from trusting and worshipping Jesus because He is the one and only true God/man, sent from the Father to bring salvation to the whole world.

“Then he (Jesus) asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon, son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
Matthew 16:15-17 NLT

Unless we confess, like Peter, that the real Jesus, the human Jesus, is God’s anointed Son, we are also part of the antichrist that has been at work since Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

THE LORD’S PRAYER – WHERE IS GOD?

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THE LORD’S PRAYER – WHERE IS GOD?

“Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9

How difficult is it to talk to someone when we don’t know where He is? “Our Father in heaven…” we pray but where is heaven? For most of us heaven is “up there” but where – on another planet somewhere or in another galaxy or somewhere beyond the universe? This makes praying to a Father whom we can’t see and whose whereabouts we don’t know, much more complicated and unreal.

The God we address in prayer is unseen.  He is Spirit – John 4:24 and we cannot and must not try to create Him in our imagination. He has no physical form. We can know only Him by what He does and where He has been. We have to learn from God’s revealed truth about Himself what heaven really is.

There are Scriptures that indicate that heaven is not a geographical place but an unseen realm which is all around us but which we cannot see and only partially experience because we humans are flesh, imperfect and separated from that realm now. In Psalm 139:7, David cries, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” and Solomon lamented, “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built.” 1 Kings 8:27. According to Jeremiah 23:24, “’Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord” and the Apostle Paul confirmed, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28.

There are times when the veil between flesh and spirit thins out momentarily and humans can see into the spirit world. Elisha and his servant Gehazi were surrounded by the Syrian army in Dothan. Gehazi cried out in fear because they were trapped and at their mercy until Elisha assured him, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see. Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16, 17. The veil thinned just long enough for Gehazi to see with his eyes what Elisha saw by faith.

According to Genesis 2:7 God breathed into man the breath of life (His own ruach – breath, spirit) and man became a living being. Man, therefore, has in his lungs the very breath of God.

Just as we need to change our awareness from ourselves to God, we also need to change our awareness from God somewhere far away and inaccessible to a God who is as near to us as our breath. Prayer is therefore, first, becoming aware that I live in the environment of God. He is spirit, He fills the entire universe, and I am, therefore, immersed in His Presence like a fish in water.

Learning To Be A Son – Chapter Fourteen – A Tale Of Two Sons

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LEARNING TO BE A SON

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A TALE OF TWO SONS

Jesus told a story of a father and two sons. By telling parables, Jesus used one of the rabbinic teaching methods with great effect. “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” as it is known, is the third in a chain of three stories about lost things. The purpose of the parables was to alert the Pharisees to their bad attitude towards people whom they perceived as lower than themselves. They criticised Jesus for hobnobbing with “sinners”. Jesus insisted that it was sinners who needed Him more than the “righteous”.

The first two stories illustrated how friends and family rejoice on earth when lost property is found and how angels rejoiced in heaven when a lost sinner came home. Jesus’ third story was much closer to the bone. The father received his lost son with joy when he returned home after wasting his inheritance on worthless friends and riotous living, but the elder brother refused to share in the celebration.

The older brother did not realise that he was just as lost to the father as his younger brother. The younger son left home as a rebel, wasted his money, repented and returned home to beg for a place among the servants. His father received him with joy and reinstated him as a son. The older brother remained at home but served his father as a slave. He did not realise that he was a son and that he was always with his father to share in the father’s bounty.

The difference between the older and younger son was the difference of attitude. They were both sons, even though the younger son renounced his place in the family by his attitude and behaviour until he came to his senses. The older son was just as lost to the father, although he remained at home, because he acted and served like a slave.

Both sons had no fellowship with the father, the one because he ran away and the other because he had did not share the father’s heart.

Jesus did not apply the story as He did with many other parables. He left it open-ended for the Pharisees to reach their own conclusion. It is up to us as well to make up our minds which of the two sons represent us. Some of us are sons lost to the Father because we are in the far country. We live and act like orphans. Others of us are like the elder brother who did everything right but had no fellowship with the Father because he lived like a slave. We fear God’s punishment instead of being secure in the Father’s love.

EPILOGUE

The purpose of our journey through this book is to rediscover who we really are – God’s beloved sons and daughters, restored to the Father and to the family of God because of what Jesus did for us.

God has a purpose for us in His family which we discover through prayer – having fellowship with the Father so that we can get to know Him and so that we can learn what He wants to accomplish for His kingdom through us.

It is because we are His sons and daughters that we have access to Him and to all the resources He makes available to us in Christ and through the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will on earth and to re-establish His rule in the hearts of those who believe in and receive Jesus as Lord.

“Son” is our password to access everything we have in Christ. Outside of our family relationship with the Father we are not eligible for anything that belongs to Him and to His Son.

God is writing His big story and He has invited us to be a part of it if we allow Him to write our story through Him. Now that we have the “password”, let us use it wisely because, through it He has given us access to His World Wide Web.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

 

 

Learning To Be A Son – Chapter Thirteen – Lest We Forget

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LEARNING TO BE A SON

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

LEST WE FORGET

Fellowship with God as His sons and daughters can lead to problems if we forget who our Father is. We must beware that intimacy with God does not become familiarity which borders on disrespect for who He is and contempt for His word.

Moses had problems in the Israelite camp with two of Aaron’s sons who offered profane fire on God’s altar. God put them to death. Moses himself was refused entry into the Promised Land because he disobeyed God and struck the rock twice. The people in Malachi’s day were sliding back into sloppy worship and had to be warned.

David knew that God was inescapable, but it comforted him, not terrified him because he knew that God responded to those who fear Him. Jesus was the perfect model of one who feared the Lord. He honoured the Father by His submission and obedience to Him.

What is friendship with God? Abraham was known as the friend of God. How did he get a title like that? God put him to the test and he trusted God so implicitly that he obeyed Him immediately. Prompt and complete obedience is the acid test of true friendship with God.

Jesus called His disciples His friends but He qualified His statement with these words:

You are my friends if you obey what I command. (John 15:14)

The fear of the Lord opens the way to intimacy with Him (Psa. 25:14). The fear of the Lord is also the foundation of true wisdom. Everything we do in life in obedience to God’s word works and shows us that respect for God which issues in obedience is the foundation of success in life.

Our relationship with God stands firmly on two legs. He is our Father and He invites us into fellowship with Him. He is also our Creator, source and sustainer. He is sovereign over us and we honour Him and obey Him because He is the Almighty God.

We are to keep these two aspects of our relationship with Him in balance. He calls us to separate ourselves from the world and its evil desires and to be His holy temple in which He dwells by His Spirit.