Category Archives: Christian Life

PSALM 32

Christian Life, ,

Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
  I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Palm 32

What happiness for those whose guilt is pardoned!

What joy to know my sin’s no longer there!

What peace I have when I have made confession,

When I iniquity no longer bear!

There was a time when I refused to open

My heart to show the darkness deep inside:

My days were filled with unrelieved frustration

Because I failed to let you see my pride.

Day in, day out, your hand was hard upon me,

My strength was gone, like water in the sun,

‘Til I, at last, responded to your pleading;

I let you see the evil I had done.

The very moment I had made confession,

In mercy you forgave my guilt and sin,

You lifted off the load that I was bearing,

You washed and made me clean and pure within.

And now in you I find a place of shelter,

For in the storms of life you cover me;

You steady and you guide through times of trouble:

My mouth is filled with songs of victory.

“My eye upon you, I will teach and lead you:

I’ll choose the path that’s best for you to go:

Stay close beside me, you will never falter;

I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“The senseless horse must feel the bit and bridle;

The mule cannot be left without restraint.

Don’t be like them, for they are only creatures,

But follow where I lead without complaint.”

While sorrows wait for those who practise evil,

Abiding love surrounds the trusting soul.

Rejoice, then, all who are His chosen people,

Each one who makes obedience his goal.

PSALM 24

Christian life, ,

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.,
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in 10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty —
he is the King of glory.

Psalm 24

The earth belongs to God, ‘tis yours by right,

For you created earth and sky and sea:

You pushed away the oceans by your might

That islands, continents and lands might be.

Who may ascend the hill of this great God,

Before His holy presence fearless stand

To tell Him He is worshipped and adored?

The people who are clean of heart and hand.

God’s throne is open to the trusting heart,

To those who hate and spurn dishonesty;

From lying lips have set themselves apart –

God’s gift of righteousness to them is free.

To such as these God opens up the way

To enter into fellowship with Him;

They’ll share His heart, He’ll never say them nay:

Their love, their faith, their hope will never dim.

Swing wide, O ancient gates, receive your God

And let the King of Glory enter in:

Who is this King of Glory?  He is Lord.

Victorious in battle is our King!

Come, open up your gates, your voices raise;

Exalt our mighty King of Glory now:

Join with the heavenly host in joyous praise;

Before His throne in awe and wonder bow.

PSALM 15

Christian Life, ,

LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the LORD;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken. Psalms 15

Psalm 15

Lord, who may go and refuge find

Within the Holy Place?

And who may climb your holy hill

And look into your face?

The one who leads a blameless life,

Who truly is sincere;

The one who will not evil speak

And gossip will not hear.

The one who cares for fellow men,

Who speaks against all sin;

Encourages God’s faithful ones

Whose lives are pure within.

He keeps his promise to his hurt;

He does not crush the poor

By charging interest on debt

Which they cannot endure.

He will not testify against

Those who are innocent;

No offered bribe is big enough

To change his pure intent.

This is the man who will be strong

‘Gainst evil all around;

His heart is anchored in his God

Where truth and right are found.

PSALM 1

Christian Life, , ,

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalms 1

Psalm 1

O the joys of those who do not

Follow evil men’s advice,

Keeping company with sinners,

Joining them at any price.

Their delight is in Jehovah;

Day and night they read His word:

‘Tis their joy to follow closely

All the precepts of the Lord.

Like the trees that grow and flourish

Planted by the water course –

They are rooted, ever strengthened

By God’s word, their secret source.

Bearing fruit, though all around them

Wither in the barren soil,

They draw up the hidden moisture

Without fret and without toil.

They stay green and fresh forever,

Caring not what comes their way;

People round them fade and wither,

Wilting in the evil day.

But for sinners who have nothing

To sustain them in the drought,

Just like chaff in blust’ry weather,

Blown away by fear and doubt,

On the fearful day of judgment,

When they’re called before the throne,

They won’t stand among the godly:

They will not be called His own.

Righteous ones will stand before Him;

Those who choose to walk His path:

Godless men cast out forever,

Left to face God’s fiery wrath.

THE NATURE OF THE SPIRIT WITHIN

Christian life, ,

THE NATURE OF THE SPIRIT WITHIN
James 4:5

Now and then I come across a verse of Scripture that is translated in a variety of ways in different versions of the Bible. This can be confusing because it seems to me that the translators make the text say what they want it to say rather than what it is really saying.

One of these texts is James 4:5. Here are a few variations to illustrate my point.

James 4:5 CEV
[5] Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”?

James 4:5 NIV
[5] Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?

James 4:5 NLT
[5] Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

James 4:5 GNT
[5] Don’t think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.”

Since Scripture is meant to be taken seriously, what sense can we make of a verse that differs from version to version. Do you get my point? With this variation in translation, what truth can we understand from this text?

Perhaps we might find the real meaning if we go back to the context. When I was exploring the meaning of the words in the Greek text, I came across some words that might be clues to the meaning.

Kenos… to no purpose
Phthonos… envy, spite, ill-will
Epipotheo… long for, desire greatly, crave, lust
Katoikeo… inhabit, dwell in, implying permanent residence
Pneuma… wind, breath, vital principle, mental disposotion

When we put the meaning of these words together, they seem to echo what James was writing about in the first two verses.

James 4:1-2 NLT
[1] “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? [2] You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

In the context, James admonishes believers for quarrelling and fighting within the fellowship of the church. “There’s war going on in the body of Christ because of jealousy, even leading to murder to get what someone else has.”

What is the root of this outrageous behaviour? “Evil desires at war within you!” This is the age-old issue of war between the old nature driven by sinful desires and the Holy Spirit who leads us in righteousness.

Paul addresses the same issue in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 5:13-17 NLT
[13] “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. [14] For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [15] But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. [16] So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. [17] The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”

Paul and James are saying the same in slightly different ways.

Despite the variety of interpretations, the King James Version comes closest to the meaning of the Greek text.

James 4:5 KJV
[5] Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

James is explaining the reason for the “evil desires at war within you” that produce the conflicts between people. It’s the spirit in us (corrupted by sin) that drives us towards envy.
Envy, in turn, wants to eliminate the one who causes us ill-will towards him/her.

In the context, then, we must ask, how can the Holy Spirit in us have an attitude of ill-will and cause us to lust after what someone else has? Since there are no capital letters in the ancient Greek text, “Spirit” here can either mean Holy Spirit or our spirit.

We must, therefore, understand that James was focusing on the evil desires in us that drive us to want to harm others to get our own way.

This is an issue that New Testament writers, especially Paul, address at length because our old sinful nature has such a strong influence and powerful pull against our new nature in Christ. This struggle is not a periodic skirmish but a daily ongoing war against the flesh. If we give in to its dictates, there will be both temporal and eternal consequences.

So, we are urged to call, constantly, on the Lord to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, our three arch and mortal enemies, because Jesus overcame them for us.

Our victory comes through faith in Jesus.

1 John 5:4-5 NLT
[4] “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. [5] And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

and the discipline of dying daily to the flesh so that we can live daily to God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:12-13 NLT
[12] “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. [13] For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”

Jesus stated bluntly,

Matthew 16:24-26 NLT
[24]” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [25] If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. [26] And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

That’s the question we must all answer.