Tag Archives: blessed

THINGS THAT DAVID SAID – 14

Devotion, ,

WORDS ABOUT THE WORD.

Since we have already dipped into Psalm 119, looking at one of the most precious verses in Scripture, verse 165, let’s examine a few more gems from the same psalm.

Psalms 119:1 NIV
[1] “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.”

If David wrote this psalm, and all the evidence points to this fact, then Psalm 119 is David’s story. He gathered together, in 176 verses, everything he could think of, in his experience, that God’s Word meant to him. It was light. It was truth. It was honey. It was direction. It was security. It was delight and happiness. It was rebuke, correction, teaching. It was hope and life. It was God’s words, everything he needed for life, packaged into the pages of a book, of whatever material those pages were made.

God’s Word is like precious metal purified in the fire, preserved through centuries of hatred and fear, and every attempt to discredit and vilify its truth, inerrency, and indestructibilty. As the hymnwriter declared…

1. All people that on Earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forthtell;
Come ye before him and rejoice.

2. The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

3. O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

4. For why? The Lord our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

Author: William Kethe (1561)

(https://www.hymnary.org/text/all_ people_that_on_earth_do_dwell)

Psalm 119 begins with a declaration of blessedness. In Hebrew, there are two words that express blessedness. “Asher”, used in this verse, expresses the state of blessedness that those whom God blesses, experience. “Baruch” is God’s side of the equation. Baruch is the blessedness God bestows on those who walk according to His law. God blesses (baruch), and we are blessed (asher).

God’s blessings are not only a gift but also a state into which He places us when we choose to follow the standards of His Word. His children live in a perpetual state of blessedness in keeping with their submission and obedience to Him.

As we travel though this psalm, we meet instructions, declarations, blessings, warnings, worship, praise, prayers, actions, expressions of confidence, repentance, desire, hope…all flowing from one central truth, the beauty, efficacy, and sufficiency of God’s Word.

Without the Bible, both Old and New Covenants, we would be completely in the dark about God, the world, ourselves, life, our beginnings, our present, and our future.

Many have tried to explain these mysteries outside of the answers God gives us in His revelation. They may come up with fanciful ideas but cannot confirm what they have written with evidence. Those who believe these human impositions have no guarantee that they will end where they desire to be.

The Bible is the only reliable source of information with evidence, because God Himself has spoken, and the Holy Spirit has inspired ordinary people to write what God has said.

2 Peter 1:20-21 NIV
[20] “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. [21] For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

How has God spoken to humans in a way that we can understand?

1. Through His prophets.

Amos 3:7 NIV
[7] “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”

The word God spoke through His prophets is accurate, reliable, and guaranteed…some already fulfilled and some yet to be fulfilled, with thousands of years of evidence that it is true.

2. Through His Son.

Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV
[1] “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”

Jesus is God’s Word in person.

John 1:14 NIV
[14] “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus came to earth, became part of history, to reveal the Father, to restore people to the Father, and to take them to the Father. He backed up His message by dying and rising again. No one has been able to  disprove the evidence.

3.Through the created universe.

Psalms 19:1-4 NIV
[1] “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. [2] Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. [3] They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
[4] Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world…”

Romans 1:20 NIV
[20] “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Psalm 119 is the pinnacle of reassurance that…

2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
[3] “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

So, dear reader, if you follow David’s testimony and adjust you life to the Word of God, despite the ills of life on this planet, you will live a truly blessed life.

WHAT IS A PEACEMAKER?

Christian Life, ,

Matthew 5:9 NIV
[9] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Who are the peacemakers? Why are they called “children of God”? Who are the children of God? How can they be peacemakers?

Jesus’ simple statement raises questions. It’s no use reading that God is happy with peacemakers if we don’t know who they are and why and how they are to be pacemakers.

There is only one true “peacemaker” in all of Scripture and, outside of His work to make peace, any affort to bring peace between alienated humans is futile. Without a change of heart, reconciliation between people at war is temporary and only skin deep.

Humanity is at war with God and has been since the moment Adam chose himself over his Creator. This alienation from God is the root of all the forms enmity between humans. Until our rebellion against God is removed out of our hearts, we will always be in conflict with one another. Why…because our hearts are tainted with self-centredess which clashes with everyone else’s self-centredness.

God stepped into time with a risky plan to reconcile Adam’s alienated race with Himself. Through Jesus, He dealt with the root of sin that robbed humans of peace with God, and brought together not only humans and Himself but the two alienated religious groups that split the world, Jews and Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:11-13 NIV
[11] “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— [12] remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

“Done and dusted!” God and mankind reconciled forever through the death of His Son! Mission one accomplished!

Ephesians 2:14-18 NIV
[14] “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, [15] by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, [16] and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. [17] He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. [18] For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

“Done and dusted!” Jew and Gentile reconciled! Not only that, but all religious distinctions obliterated by lifting the two groups onto a new level…a new species called “children of God”. Jew and Gentile labels no longer apply.

Mission two complete!

However, with God’s intervention comes a new distinction… believers in Jesus versus unbelievers. The separation between these two groups is far greater and more sinister than the rift between two religious factions because it stretches beyond the grave, two different and eternal destinies depending on one fact. Did you avail yourself of the reconciliation God made possible through faith in Jesus? God’s intervention is a matter of life and death.

Since Jesus is the only true “peacemaker”, His children are under obligation to intervene between God and His alienated humans through His message of peace. Then, and then only, can the “children of God” be real peacemakers.

So, peacemakers are those who, through Jesus, are, at peace with God and with all fellow believers around the world regardless of colour, clan, or country. They are now a new species, called “children of God”. Their role is to spread the message of peace through Jesus, to bring about reconciliation with God and with fellow believers.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called, “children of God”.

BLESSED WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING – 1

Christian life, ,

Ephesians 1:3 NLT‬
[3] “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”

Three little words, “has blessed us…” should change our perspective from what God wants us to do (according to the Old Covenant) into what God has already done (in the New Covenant).

In Paul’s magnificent letter to the Ephesian church, he explains, in detail, what God has done, through Jesus, to reverse the consequences of Adam’s rebellion.

Engaging His attributes as God – love, mercy, sovereignty, and power – He set in motion a process to undo what Adam did and to restore what He set out to do from the beginning.

God wanted a family of sons and daughters like Himself with whom He could fellowship. He also designed humans to rule in His kingdom, equipped with His authority to carry out His will on a redeemed earth as it is done in heaven.

We know that His plan went awry when Adam chose to side with the devil. However, God had already built in a way to overcome Satan and neutralise his power over humans before He set about preparing the earth for human habitation.

Paul assures his readers that, from God’s perspective, what He planned was already complete before He began the process.

‭Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT‬
[4] “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. [5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

Nothing took God by surprise. Nothing fazed Him when Adam went astray. Since God is omniscient, He knew the end from the beginning. His rescue plan was foolproof because He entrusted the outworking of His plan to His Son.

How desperately we need that assurance as we navigate a world dedicated, under Satan’s rule, to derail us and take us down with God’s enemy. Unfortunately for us, we still have a part of us that sides with the devil. He has a foothold through the evil desires, directed towards doing our own selfish stuff, that lurk within us.

God has designed it this way because life on this earth is our training ground for life with Him in eternity. We are on probation. We are apprentices, learning to rule over our wayward hearts before we can rule over His earth when we live with Him in glory.

However, we also have a powerful ally living in us, God’s own Spirit. He is dedicated to putting all the provisions of God’s rescue plan into effect so that most important of all His attributes, His “chesed” – His covenant love, (an untranslatable word in English), would be clearly seen, especially by the principalities and powers that oppose Him.

God wants us to know His power in us before He can use His power through us to do His will on earth around us.

For us, it means that the operative word in the New Covenant, “done!”, applies to us. This assures us that nothing can derail God’s mission. He has done what He set out to do and nothing can change that! We are already safely entrenched in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, and living in His kingdom.

‭Colossians 1:13 NLT‬
[13] “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.”

There are several blessings that flow from our union with Jesus.

‭Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT‬
[4] Even before he made the world, God loved us and CHOSE us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. [5] God decided in advance to ADOPT us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
[7] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he PURCHASED OUR FREEDOM with the blood of his Son and FORGAVE our sins.

Chosen, adopted, freed, and forgiven! Can there be any greater blessings in a world controlled by fear, evil behaviour, and chaos than these? Can we be that secure in the midst of insecurity that nothing moves us? The answer is, “Definitely! For sure!” if we believe God’s Word.

Now let me come to the crux of my thought. If God has reassured us that everything He needed to do for us is done, why do we still pray for God to do what He has already done?

Much of our prayer is still coming from our confusion between Old and New Covenants. The value of the Old Covenant lies in the revelation of God’s holiness and the total inability of Israel (and all people) to measure up to His perfection.

‭Romans 3:23 NLT‬
[23″For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.“

This conclusion leaves us without a leg to stand on. Without God’s intervention, we are done! However, God DID step in. He Himself took care of the problem by taking our place in Jesus, the man, facing the Father’s wrath against sin, fully paying sin’s debt, and then transferring all the benefits of what He did for us, to us as a gift.

‭Romans 6:23 NLT‬
[23] “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So, what is left for us to do?

We keep complicating what God made simple. God requires only two responses to everything He accomplished for us in Jesus… believe in Jesus and love one another.

‭1 John 3:21-24 NLT‬
[21] “Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. [22] And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. [23] And this is his commandment: We must BELIEVE in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and LOVE one another, just as he commanded us. [24] Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.“

Something amazing flows from this faith that does what God REQUIRES, praise, gratitude, thanksgiving, WORSHIP. Isn’t that what God wants from us above all else?

‭John 4:23-24 NLT‬
[23] But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. [24] For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

God isn’t looking for people who will invent new ways to worship Him, in music, dance, rituals, whatever foolish people think up. Again, He has only two criteria… spirit (heart, attitude, focus) and truth (based securely on what is written in His Word).

So, where does prayer fit in to God’s requirements? Again, God has made it simple.

‭2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT‬
[20] “For all of God’s promises HAVE BEEN fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

This assurance also puts prayer squarely in the middle of God’s Word; do what God says!

For our daily physical, material, and financial needs, God has given us a promise…

‭Matthew 6:33 NLT‬
[33]”Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously (generously), and he will give you everything you need.”

When we live under God’s authority, always being generous in our attitude towards others, meeting needs when and where we can, God takes care of our needs without our having to ask.

So that takes care of much about which we focus on in prayer!

…and for our spiritual growth and development…

‭2 Peter 1:4 NLT‬
[4] “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

‭‭Hebrews 6:12 NIV‬
[12] “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

Can you see, then, that prayer in the New Covenant is a confident “amen!” to all God’s promises because Jesus has already approved and fulfilled them all. This “amen” must always be accompanied by heartfelt expressions of gratitude and praise because whatever we need has already been granted.

‭1 John 5:14-15 NIV‬
[14] “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. [15] And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

The Holy Spirit taught me years, ago, not to ask for a miracle but to ask for a word. Miracles are open-ended, according to God’s will which we don’t know for sure. When God gives us a word, we know He will honour His promise. So…

We can encapsulate our entire Christian experience in four words, DONE! THANK YOU! and AMEN! .

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.

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

Christian Life, ,

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

“Blessed are the peacemakers because they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9

Matthew 5:9-11

The bookends in these final beatitudes are “Blessed are the peacemakers…” and “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

What are peacemakers?

Firstly, if we look at the ministry of Jesus especially described in Ephesians 2:14-18, making peace and reconciling are the same ideas. He put Himself between the two opposing parties, God and man, and brought them together by paying the debt that man owed God for his sin. Jesus bore the brunt of the enmity between God and man so that He could bring them together in peace.

According to Jesus, there is an irreconcilable rift between people who understand God’s heart and bend all their energies towards living God’s way, and those who are trapped in the world system of greed, selfishness and wickedness. This difference in disposition creates such enmity that those who are righteous are victimised by those who are selfish and greedy. 

Jesus Himself is our prime example. People hated their hearts to be exposed. Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John 3:19-20.

When we take the role of a peacemaker, bringing reconciliation between warring parties, and especially between man and God, we are re-presenting the work of Jesus and revealing our resemblance to God. When we do that, we reflect the disposition of our rabbi, Jesus, who is the Son of God.

If we are persecuted for doing this, strangely enough this will bring us real happiness.  This seems rather contradictory unless we look at the reasoning behind it.

1. It is proof that we understand and are living out God’s kingdom in the world and showing the world what it is like to be a son of God.

2. We are in good company because the prophets were in the same boat.

Secondly, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom which has the connotation of wholeness of body, soul and spirit. We live in a world full of broken people, fractured and wounded by their own behaviour and by the offences caused by others. It is God’s desire to restore broken people to the kind of wholeness where everything in their lives fits together in unity and peace. As we live in the kingdom of God, we are being made whole through the work of the Holy Spirit. Our role as peacemakers is to partner with Him in bringing wholeness to others. In this way we will truly be showing our nature as sons of God.

To work at reconciling people to God, to one another and to themselves will result in shalom, and will bring us true happiness, regardless of the persecution we may experience.