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Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Help is On The Way
There was a once a blind beggar named Bartimaeus sitting outside the town of Jericho. No one knows why he was blind, or for how long, or any of his story other than that he was there and was blind. Hopeless, helpless, overlooked, and forgotten…But help was on the way…Mark 10:46-52
There was another man, possessed and out of his mind with demons tormenting him. He ran naked in the tombs of the G
There was another man, possessed and out of his mind with demons tormenting him. He ran naked in the tombs of the G
adarenes and attacked people who ventured near. He had been bound in chains but broke them and the demons drove him into the wilderness and no man could tame him or help him. He was alone and abandoned to his fate by his friends and family…But help was on the way…Luke 8:26-36
A woman in Samaria was an outcast. She had lived an immoral life, had five husbands, and was still in an illegitimate relationship. She wouldn’t even come to the well when the other women did. Shame and disappointment were her daily fare, with no way to change what her life had been, no way to erase the scars inside…But help was on the way…John 4
A different woman, sick and hemorrhaging blood for twelve years had spent her last dime on doctors and was none better. She was ceremonially unclean according to the law. She wasn’t allowed in the Temple. She wasn’t supposed to mix with the crowds, she had no way to turn…But help was on the way… Luke 8:43-48
Help was on the way. Brothers and sons and daughters died and were buried…but help was on the way. Lepers were outcast and untouchable…But help was on the way. Blind men, lame men, lost men, all needing more than this world could give, found that all the while, Help was on the way.
Those sandaled feet that trod the dusty roads of Judea are still seeking and saving.
What battle are you fighting today? What mental or physical obstacle has become a mountain bearing down on you? Have you done something you wish you could undo, something you need forgiveness for and you can’t even forgive yourself? Are you fighting a temptation that beats you down and defeats you? Are you battling addiction? Are you fighting an illness or injury that is almost too much for you?
We are all fighting some battle. In the midst of the battle it often seems we plow ahead in a solitary struggle. But just as in all those people’s lives in the Gospels, Help is on the way. You are not alone. Jesus is with you if you are saved, and he will come alongside if you have not been saved, and will turn to Him, trust Him, and surrender to Him. He may or may not take the battle completely away, but He will be there in the battle with you. He will not let you go under. He is rest for the weary, hope for the hopeless, love for the broken heart, He has grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing, He’ll meet you wherever you are. He is help on the way.
A woman in Samaria was an outcast. She had lived an immoral life, had five husbands, and was still in an illegitimate relationship. She wouldn’t even come to the well when the other women did. Shame and disappointment were her daily fare, with no way to change what her life had been, no way to erase the scars inside…But help was on the way…John 4
A different woman, sick and hemorrhaging blood for twelve years had spent her last dime on doctors and was none better. She was ceremonially unclean according to the law. She wasn’t allowed in the Temple. She wasn’t supposed to mix with the crowds, she had no way to turn…But help was on the way… Luke 8:43-48
Help was on the way. Brothers and sons and daughters died and were buried…but help was on the way. Lepers were outcast and untouchable…But help was on the way. Blind men, lame men, lost men, all needing more than this world could give, found that all the while, Help was on the way.
Those sandaled feet that trod the dusty roads of Judea are still seeking and saving.
What battle are you fighting today? What mental or physical obstacle has become a mountain bearing down on you? Have you done something you wish you could undo, something you need forgiveness for and you can’t even forgive yourself? Are you fighting a temptation that beats you down and defeats you? Are you battling addiction? Are you fighting an illness or injury that is almost too much for you?
We are all fighting some battle. In the midst of the battle it often seems we plow ahead in a solitary struggle. But just as in all those people’s lives in the Gospels, Help is on the way. You are not alone. Jesus is with you if you are saved, and he will come alongside if you have not been saved, and will turn to Him, trust Him, and surrender to Him. He may or may not take the battle completely away, but He will be there in the battle with you. He will not let you go under. He is rest for the weary, hope for the hopeless, love for the broken heart, He has grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing, He’ll meet you wherever you are. He is help on the way.
Friday, October 17, 2008
What Does the Word Say About the Antichrist?
The following is a study I made using the Cyclopedic index in the front of the Thomas Nelson Open Bible. If you can find a copy and use the features in it, I promise you will find it's the best study Bible around. I have used mine continually for twenty-one years.
This study is in response to a series of question a friend at work asked me.
The Antichrist:
A. Called:
1. Man of Sin (2 Thess. 2:3-12)
2. Son of Perdition (2 Thess. 2:3-12)
3. Wicked one (2 Thess. 2:3-12)
a. The Antichrist will be indwelt and possessed by Satan. The only other person called the “son of perdition” was Judas Iscariot in John 17:12. Judas was possessed and indwelt by Satan in John 13:27.
4. Antichrist: (1 John 2:18, 22) The Antichrist will come, but now there are many “antichrists” who are those who deny that Jesus is the Christ and they deny the Father.
5. The Beast (Rev 11:7) This is the most common name for the Antichrist in the book of the Revelation.
B. Described as:
1. Lawless. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) This means that he will oppose all the laws of God and will actively fight to break them.
2. Opposing God. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) He will oppose God and will exalt himself above God, which was the plan of Lucifer from the time he rebelled in Heaven against God. (Isaiah 14:12-17)
3. Working wonders (2 Thess. 2:3-12) The Antichrist will have Satans power behind him to work miracles. See Pharoes magicians for an example of men working miracles in Satan’s power
4. Inspired by Satan. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) All his plans and thoughts will follow the will of Satan, (Lucifer)
5. Both a person and a system. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) There will be a single person who is the Antichrist, but there is also a system of antichrist in which the world system is constantly opposed to the work and will of God.
6. Seeking man’s worship. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) Satan always wanted to be worshiped in God’s place. (Isaiah 14:12-17). As the Antichrist he will put himself into that position officially by occupying the temple and demanding worship as god. Many people will do exactly that.
7. Deceiving the world. (2 John 7, Rev 19:20, 2 Thess. 2:10-12) The antichrist will deceive virtually everyone into falling for his lies. All who have heard the true Gospel and have willfully rejected it will be deceived by him, because when they had a chance to come to Christ, they rejected Him because they preferred the world and it’s pleasures. 2 Thess. 2:10-12 says that even God will send them delusion at that point because of their prior rejections. The lost world will flock to the antichrist in huge numbers to lift him up. (This does not mean that all will be deceived. During the tribulation many will hear the Gospel and turn to Christ.)
8. Persecuting Christians. (Rev. 13:7) Those Christians who are saved during the tribulation will fall under the wrath and persecution of the Antichrist.
9. He will deny Christ’s Incarnation. (1 John 4:3, 2 John 7) The Antichrist will deny Christ so that people will worship him instead of the real Christ. Anyone who denies Jesus deity and incarnation is showing an example of the “spirit of antichrist” Think of atheists and Darwinists and their adamant denial of God and Jesus and you see it at work.
10. One and Many. (1 John 2:18-22) There will be one “Antichrist” the person, but there are many who show the spirit and attitudes of antichrists. Many will be ex church members who have fallen away and denied the faith. (This does not show that you can lose your salvation, only that those who fall away were never saved to begin with. (see 1 john 2:19)
C. The Coming of Antichrist.
1. It is foretold. (2 Thess. 2:5) The books of Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation, and at severl other places in scripture speak of his coming as the Antichrist. Daniel 9:26-27 speaks of the “prince that shall come” which is speaking of the Antichrist.
2. He will come in the Last Days. (1 John 2:18) The last days will be especially marked by a spirit of denying Christ. People will mock Christian beliefs and values and will run headlong after the pleasures of this world. Leading up to the rapture Christians will begin to come under increasing persecution. 2 Thess. 2:13-17 encourage us to stand fast in the face of the spirit of antichrist.
3. The Antichrist is now restrained. (2 Thess. 2:6) He will be revealed in his time but not until the time appointed. NO ONE will know who he is until it is revealed, so people should not believe all the predictions being put out by misled men who claim to have figured it out. The Antichrist could be, and probably is alive today. The signs of the times are leaning in that direction. The presence of the church and the Holy spirit are blocking his rise to power at this time. When the church is raptured the Holy Spirit will step out of the way and the Antichrist will emerge ready to take over a broken world system. Almost everyone left will look to him for solutions.
4. The Emergence of the Antichrist will follow the removal of the hindrance. (2 Thess. 2:7) as discussed in the above paragraph.
5. Exists before Jesus return. (2 Thess. 2:3,8) The Antichrist will be around and will be a prominent leader before the rapture. The Rapture and associated events will cause people to seek a leader who can correct the insanity and bring about peace. This leader will suddenly rise to the occasion and have all the answers people are seeking.
6. He will arise by Satan’s deception. (2 Thess. 2:10) The Antichrist will deceive many. Some he will deceive by lies. The devil is the father of lies and is better at it than anyone else. No man can stand up to his lies in his own strength and wisdom. A person must have the Word of God and the Spirit of god in order to not be fooled by Satan. Some he will fool with miracles. They will see his miraculous works and immediately give him credit as being God. These lying wonders will be imitations of the true miracles of Christ. He will even present his own death and resurrection, whether real or faked. In Rev ch. 13 he has a wound unto death which was miraculously healed and he lived again.
D. The Destruction of the Antichrist.
1. Will Happen at Christ’s Return. (2 Thess. 2:8, Rev. 19:20) When the real Christ returns, the false Christ will be destroyed. Christ will simply speak forth the defeat of the Antichrist “by the spirit of His mouth”. Revelation 19 speaks of the return of Christ with His armies and a sword going out from His mouth to destroy the armies of the Antichrist, (the nations). He defeats the armies of the Antichrist with a Word.
2. He will be cast in the lake of fire. (Rev 19:20) The Beast, (the Antichrist) and the false prophet will be captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. In Rev. 20: 1-3 Satan is captured and thrown into a bottomless pit for a thousand years. He will then be released for just a short season to bring a last rebellion against God. Then Satan will be cast in the Lake of Fire with the Beast and the False Prophet forever.
E. The Antichrist has his season, but he cannot and will not triumph.
The following is a study I made using the Cyclopedic index in the front of the Thomas Nelson Open Bible. If you can find a copy and use the features in it, I promise you will find it's the best study Bible around. I have used mine continually for twenty-one years.
This study is in response to a series of question a friend at work asked me.
The Antichrist:
A. Called:
1. Man of Sin (2 Thess. 2:3-12)
2. Son of Perdition (2 Thess. 2:3-12)
3. Wicked one (2 Thess. 2:3-12)
a. The Antichrist will be indwelt and possessed by Satan. The only other person called the “son of perdition” was Judas Iscariot in John 17:12. Judas was possessed and indwelt by Satan in John 13:27.
4. Antichrist: (1 John 2:18, 22) The Antichrist will come, but now there are many “antichrists” who are those who deny that Jesus is the Christ and they deny the Father.
5. The Beast (Rev 11:7) This is the most common name for the Antichrist in the book of the Revelation.
B. Described as:
1. Lawless. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) This means that he will oppose all the laws of God and will actively fight to break them.
2. Opposing God. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) He will oppose God and will exalt himself above God, which was the plan of Lucifer from the time he rebelled in Heaven against God. (Isaiah 14:12-17)
3. Working wonders (2 Thess. 2:3-12) The Antichrist will have Satans power behind him to work miracles. See Pharoes magicians for an example of men working miracles in Satan’s power
4. Inspired by Satan. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) All his plans and thoughts will follow the will of Satan, (Lucifer)
5. Both a person and a system. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) There will be a single person who is the Antichrist, but there is also a system of antichrist in which the world system is constantly opposed to the work and will of God.
6. Seeking man’s worship. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) Satan always wanted to be worshiped in God’s place. (Isaiah 14:12-17). As the Antichrist he will put himself into that position officially by occupying the temple and demanding worship as god. Many people will do exactly that.
7. Deceiving the world. (2 John 7, Rev 19:20, 2 Thess. 2:10-12) The antichrist will deceive virtually everyone into falling for his lies. All who have heard the true Gospel and have willfully rejected it will be deceived by him, because when they had a chance to come to Christ, they rejected Him because they preferred the world and it’s pleasures. 2 Thess. 2:10-12 says that even God will send them delusion at that point because of their prior rejections. The lost world will flock to the antichrist in huge numbers to lift him up. (This does not mean that all will be deceived. During the tribulation many will hear the Gospel and turn to Christ.)
8. Persecuting Christians. (Rev. 13:7) Those Christians who are saved during the tribulation will fall under the wrath and persecution of the Antichrist.
9. He will deny Christ’s Incarnation. (1 John 4:3, 2 John 7) The Antichrist will deny Christ so that people will worship him instead of the real Christ. Anyone who denies Jesus deity and incarnation is showing an example of the “spirit of antichrist” Think of atheists and Darwinists and their adamant denial of God and Jesus and you see it at work.
10. One and Many. (1 John 2:18-22) There will be one “Antichrist” the person, but there are many who show the spirit and attitudes of antichrists. Many will be ex church members who have fallen away and denied the faith. (This does not show that you can lose your salvation, only that those who fall away were never saved to begin with. (see 1 john 2:19)
C. The Coming of Antichrist.
1. It is foretold. (2 Thess. 2:5) The books of Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation, and at severl other places in scripture speak of his coming as the Antichrist. Daniel 9:26-27 speaks of the “prince that shall come” which is speaking of the Antichrist.
2. He will come in the Last Days. (1 John 2:18) The last days will be especially marked by a spirit of denying Christ. People will mock Christian beliefs and values and will run headlong after the pleasures of this world. Leading up to the rapture Christians will begin to come under increasing persecution. 2 Thess. 2:13-17 encourage us to stand fast in the face of the spirit of antichrist.
3. The Antichrist is now restrained. (2 Thess. 2:6) He will be revealed in his time but not until the time appointed. NO ONE will know who he is until it is revealed, so people should not believe all the predictions being put out by misled men who claim to have figured it out. The Antichrist could be, and probably is alive today. The signs of the times are leaning in that direction. The presence of the church and the Holy spirit are blocking his rise to power at this time. When the church is raptured the Holy Spirit will step out of the way and the Antichrist will emerge ready to take over a broken world system. Almost everyone left will look to him for solutions.
4. The Emergence of the Antichrist will follow the removal of the hindrance. (2 Thess. 2:7) as discussed in the above paragraph.
5. Exists before Jesus return. (2 Thess. 2:3,8) The Antichrist will be around and will be a prominent leader before the rapture. The Rapture and associated events will cause people to seek a leader who can correct the insanity and bring about peace. This leader will suddenly rise to the occasion and have all the answers people are seeking.
6. He will arise by Satan’s deception. (2 Thess. 2:10) The Antichrist will deceive many. Some he will deceive by lies. The devil is the father of lies and is better at it than anyone else. No man can stand up to his lies in his own strength and wisdom. A person must have the Word of God and the Spirit of god in order to not be fooled by Satan. Some he will fool with miracles. They will see his miraculous works and immediately give him credit as being God. These lying wonders will be imitations of the true miracles of Christ. He will even present his own death and resurrection, whether real or faked. In Rev ch. 13 he has a wound unto death which was miraculously healed and he lived again.
D. The Destruction of the Antichrist.
1. Will Happen at Christ’s Return. (2 Thess. 2:8, Rev. 19:20) When the real Christ returns, the false Christ will be destroyed. Christ will simply speak forth the defeat of the Antichrist “by the spirit of His mouth”. Revelation 19 speaks of the return of Christ with His armies and a sword going out from His mouth to destroy the armies of the Antichrist, (the nations). He defeats the armies of the Antichrist with a Word.
2. He will be cast in the lake of fire. (Rev 19:20) The Beast, (the Antichrist) and the false prophet will be captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. In Rev. 20: 1-3 Satan is captured and thrown into a bottomless pit for a thousand years. He will then be released for just a short season to bring a last rebellion against God. Then Satan will be cast in the Lake of Fire with the Beast and the False Prophet forever.
E. The Antichrist has his season, but he cannot and will not triumph.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 27It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
It behoves a man to think on the things of God. His mental state will be much improved and fortified as he dwells upon the Lord and His faithfulness. God has never failed and never will. He has never abandoned His Children in any way or at any time. Whe we fail and go far astray in sin and God's wrath should justifiably be turned toward our destruction, and consume us, yet His mercy is great and He is compassionate. His Compassions fail not.
Not only do they not fail, they do not grow old. Yesterday's compassion does not work for today. New sin steps in, new rebellion, new faltering in our walk; for we are not yet perfect. We are still very human and the old nature reasserts itself with distressing regularity. When we would give up and hide away from God, His mercy comes edging into our heart reminding us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. He renews his mercy again and again with out fail. Great is His faithfulness. New grace for each new day, hour, minute, situation, temptation, or trial, is renewed and continually extended toward the saint, waiting for us to apprehend it at the Throne of Grace, through prayer, confession and repentance. Yet when we tarry and do not go immediately to the Throne of Grace, still His mercy is there tempered also by His longsuffering. He waits while we go through each storm until we realize the only source of peace is in Him alone. Then we cry out to Him and he is there. Psalm 107 repeats this theme several times in cycles.
The Lord is my portion. He is all-satisfying, and as we learn more of Him we begin to find greater and greater pleasure, and more importantly, satisfaction in Him as opposed to worldly sources. Satis faction is important. Contentedness, with Godliness, is great gain. Satisfaction and contentedness relieve the most part of our lack of peace. Longing for worldly things creates unrest that eats away at our peace and joy, leaving a bitter shell behind. Longing only for God and the things of righteousness leaves a sweet yearning for His presence, but no bitterness, envy, or disappointment. Therefore, we can look to Him in hope, knowing that he will ultimately satisfy our every desire in Himself. He is faithful to the promises that He has made in His Word.
The Lord is good. He gives us good things, continually pouring out blessing upon blessing as we march through this life. All good things come down from Him. He pours out many blessing on the just and unjust alike. He does not do us as we have done Him. He does not give us what we deserve, but instead gives us thing according to His riches in Glory and reserves for the Saints a dwelling place in His Heaven. God's saints get what we don't deserve, at a price we did not have to pay, which we never could have at our own expense.
The Lord is good to them that wait for him and the soul that seeks Him out. God wants our attention. He is central to all the universe and is the One alone in whom we can find fulfillment. Those that seek Him out find that He is good beyond anything this earth has to offer. Taste the Lord and see that He is Good. God is the most precious, highest, most holy, most powerful, awesome, Omniscient, perfect, being in the universe. It is not conceit for Him to want our attention. It is part of His Love that He wants us to experience Him and have the joy that only He could give.
In light of all this, it is good that we look unto God, the Author and Finisher of Our Faith, to gain hope in troubled times and to find the strength we need to endure. His faithfulness is sure. His mercies are renewed daily, continually. He gives us good things. Beyond that, and best of all, the end of all the saints in this world, means the beginning of Heaven. While we struggle with life and the events and trouble here, we can wait for and look forward to that ultimate end of Salvation; eternal in Heaven with Him.
In our days here we must run patiently the race that is set before us. Let us bear whatever yoke is set upon us in these days, knowing that God is good and that all things work together for good to them that love Him, to those who are the called according to His purpose. The future is bright, and God is still in control. His mercy and Love are good forever.
It behoves a man to think on the things of God. His mental state will be much improved and fortified as he dwells upon the Lord and His faithfulness. God has never failed and never will. He has never abandoned His Children in any way or at any time. Whe we fail and go far astray in sin and God's wrath should justifiably be turned toward our destruction, and consume us, yet His mercy is great and He is compassionate. His Compassions fail not.
Not only do they not fail, they do not grow old. Yesterday's compassion does not work for today. New sin steps in, new rebellion, new faltering in our walk; for we are not yet perfect. We are still very human and the old nature reasserts itself with distressing regularity. When we would give up and hide away from God, His mercy comes edging into our heart reminding us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. He renews his mercy again and again with out fail. Great is His faithfulness. New grace for each new day, hour, minute, situation, temptation, or trial, is renewed and continually extended toward the saint, waiting for us to apprehend it at the Throne of Grace, through prayer, confession and repentance. Yet when we tarry and do not go immediately to the Throne of Grace, still His mercy is there tempered also by His longsuffering. He waits while we go through each storm until we realize the only source of peace is in Him alone. Then we cry out to Him and he is there. Psalm 107 repeats this theme several times in cycles.
The Lord is my portion. He is all-satisfying, and as we learn more of Him we begin to find greater and greater pleasure, and more importantly, satisfaction in Him as opposed to worldly sources. Satis faction is important. Contentedness, with Godliness, is great gain. Satisfaction and contentedness relieve the most part of our lack of peace. Longing for worldly things creates unrest that eats away at our peace and joy, leaving a bitter shell behind. Longing only for God and the things of righteousness leaves a sweet yearning for His presence, but no bitterness, envy, or disappointment. Therefore, we can look to Him in hope, knowing that he will ultimately satisfy our every desire in Himself. He is faithful to the promises that He has made in His Word.
The Lord is good. He gives us good things, continually pouring out blessing upon blessing as we march through this life. All good things come down from Him. He pours out many blessing on the just and unjust alike. He does not do us as we have done Him. He does not give us what we deserve, but instead gives us thing according to His riches in Glory and reserves for the Saints a dwelling place in His Heaven. God's saints get what we don't deserve, at a price we did not have to pay, which we never could have at our own expense.
The Lord is good to them that wait for him and the soul that seeks Him out. God wants our attention. He is central to all the universe and is the One alone in whom we can find fulfillment. Those that seek Him out find that He is good beyond anything this earth has to offer. Taste the Lord and see that He is Good. God is the most precious, highest, most holy, most powerful, awesome, Omniscient, perfect, being in the universe. It is not conceit for Him to want our attention. It is part of His Love that He wants us to experience Him and have the joy that only He could give.
In light of all this, it is good that we look unto God, the Author and Finisher of Our Faith, to gain hope in troubled times and to find the strength we need to endure. His faithfulness is sure. His mercies are renewed daily, continually. He gives us good things. Beyond that, and best of all, the end of all the saints in this world, means the beginning of Heaven. While we struggle with life and the events and trouble here, we can wait for and look forward to that ultimate end of Salvation; eternal in Heaven with Him.
In our days here we must run patiently the race that is set before us. Let us bear whatever yoke is set upon us in these days, knowing that God is good and that all things work together for good to them that love Him, to those who are the called according to His purpose. The future is bright, and God is still in control. His mercy and Love are good forever.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Today is May 1st. I was reading Psalm 107. A friend and I discussed some recent problems in our personal lives and how those problems had hindered our walk with God. We mutually concluded that we need to start over with God and clear some things out of the way, then LEAVE it all in HIS hands. That is the hard part, along with rededicating ourselves to doing His will and always following after Him. We know that it is only through and by the help of God through His Word, His Spirit, and through time spent with Him that we will get back in close fellowship with Him. God is willing and so must we remain so. Give me grace oh God for the journey, and strength for the fight.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Help in Time of Need
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
How many times have I been in trouble with no one to help me? How many hours have I thought and struggled to find and answer or an escape or some small comfort? Far too many, I am afraid. Many times I felt alone in a battle, and never took avail of the help that was so near at hand. For we do have a very present help in times of trouble.
The Psalmist was " looking unto the hills" in hope of help. The hills no doubt sat cool and distant somehow detached and unmoved at his plight. Mountains are great and beautiful things, solemn and peaceful, timeless and strong, but miserable help when we are in distress. I remember growing up in the foothills and mountains of western North Carolina. Often I would take to the woods and the hills and valleys to escape or to just seek new paths I had not yet walked. The deep shadowed hollows and forests were a cool, refreshing place to wander and think the deep, deep thoughts of boyhood. However, sometimes I had troubles and pain, whether emotional or physical, and it was not toward the hills I turned, but toward home. Home offered safety, security and comfort.
The Psalmist looked unto the hills and they stoically looked back, in their unchanging stillness, and he continued on to ask: "From whence cometh my help?" He needed to look beyond the hills in seeking help. In a song I used to hear time to time, the singer would ask: "Is there anybody out there?" I have felt that way. I have felt totally alone.
With great joy I can say with absolute certainty that, "yes, someone is out there", and that Someone is closer than you ever thought. He is there waiting for you to reach out your hand and ask for His help. Verse two says it all: My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The Psalmist needed to look past the hills to the maker of the hills, and there was help plentiful for whatever he faced. We are never alone. Never forsaken or forgotten. He said He would be with us always, even unto the end of the earth.
First we see that the help comes from someone who has the power to help. The creator who has all power. It would be a sad day to ask for help and have someone who was willing, but unable. Our Lord is both willing and able. He is the Creator of all that is, what problem could we possibly have that would baffle Him or confound His power? Isaiah wrote it this way: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else"
Next we can know that He can put us in a place so that we can not be moved. A place so safe that not even our foot can slip and put us back in danger. He is holding us tight, and nothing we can do or anyone else can do, can break us free from His grip. He is there always, alert and ready to come to our aid.
Third, He stands guard constantly over our well being. Vs. 5-8 show Him protecting us from every danger.
He saves us from evil here. There are evil men about looking to take advantage or destroy us. The devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The world wants us to conform to its immorality and darkness. God protects us from them all, but we have to trust Him and lean on Him, and not our own understanding. Verse 7 promises protection here.
But it goes a long way past the clear and present dangers of this world. It also says that He preserves my soul. Not only here are we protected, but also on that dark day when we slip from this world. He will go with us through the dark valley of death and preserve us through that door into His presence forevermore. While our body dies here on this plane, we can never die if we are in Christ. He will be there and escort us triumphantly into His Father’s presence. There is no death for the saints of God.
We are kept and protected in the Lord Jesus Christ, from this time forth, even forevermore. Amen.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Four Pieces of Good News
1. Jesus was born.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Jesus was born to a very humble beginning in a stall of a stable in an obscure little town in Judea. He did not come to a castle, or to a rich family, or with a great army, but His coming was the culmination of centuries of prophecy and expectation. He was not just another man. He was God in the flesh, Emmanuel. Angels in great joy came to announce his birth, not to the king, not to the politicians, or to the rich, but to a band of shepherds on a hill outside of town. He came to save all people, no matter what their social status was. The Angels spoke true when they said it was “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” No one is excluded; any and all who come can come to know Him and the joy He brings. Not only are all welcome, all are invited. Come to Him and understand that in Him alone is safety, security, hope, and peace. Wise men sought Him then, wise men still seek Him today.
2. He lived a sinless life, yet knows about temptation.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin
Imagine standing before a judge who not only had never done anything wrong, but had never even felt the temptation to do something wrong. How unmerciful that judge would be! A judge like that could not understand how we failed, and would punish us without mercy. Our Lord Jesus is not like that. He never sinned, it is true, but He knows the feeling of temptations. He knows how it feels to want something that is not rightfully ours. He faced every type of temptation that we deal with: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, and yet never sinned. He did not give in and He gives us strength to stand firm as well. 1 Cor. 10:13 says He will provide a way of escape. We have to realize that and look for it, but it is there. There is never, ever, a situation where we are left with no choice but to sin. I notice in the passage that He is TOUCHED with the feeling of our infirmities. I see that two ways. One, He has felt the temptation that we are feeling and knows how we feel. Two, our situation touches Him in His heart and inspires compassion and mercy. He has walked that “mile in our shoes” and has felt our temptations, and “He ever liveth to make intercession for us.” Good knews; He knows where we are coming from.
3. He died for our sins, all of them.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Above we talked about temptation. Jesus was tempted, but never sinned. We unfortunately, cannot say that. We fail; sometimes so bad we can’t understand how we ever came to that point. Our failures are not just mistakes we can shrug off and go on. Our failures are sin. Sin is transgression of God’s law. God’s law demands perfect obedience. Failure is short of the mark of God’s perfect righteousness, and demands punishment. God’s word says “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” We are facing the death penalty for breaking God’s law. We have another problem: we cannot pay the debt we owe and can’t pay to cleanse our record. Nothing we can do will wipe the record clean, because all of our actions are tainted with sin. God says “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Good works would not clean up our past, take care of our present, or blind God to our future sins. We need help. God knew that and planned from all eternity past to provide for our need. The first verse under number one tells us that a “Saviour” is born, who is Christ the Lord. Jesus was born to save us from our sin, but how? The law said that the punishment for sin is death. We were supposed to die for our sins, but Gods plan was to provide a substitute. That substitute was Jesus Christ. He was taken, beaten, mocked, and nailed to a cross to die in our place. His horrible death shows the seriousness of sin. It’s real and it’s deadly and God is dead serious about it. The good news is that “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” He suffered, we benefit, he died, we live, violence was done to him to bring peace to us, we were critically ill, he died so we could be healed. A few verses later Isaiah tells us that God saw the travail of His soul and was satisfied. Justice had been fulfilled.
4. He arose and holds the keys to death, hell and the grave.
4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
They came early on the first day of the week to the grave expecting to anoint the body of Jesus. Glorious surprise! The grave was open, the stone was rolled away. They entered and found not Jesus, but a “young man” who gave them the great news: “Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here.” Jesus was not there. Death could not maintain its grip on Him. His sacrifice was accepted and He was alive again. He is risen! We serve a risen saviour, and he ever liveth to make intercession for us. He was born, he lived a sinless life, He died for our sins, and He arose on the third day to show the world that His sacrifice is the all-sufficient, complete, full payment for sin. In Him alone lies salvation. He is the resurrection and the life. We also know that the same power that raised Christ will one day raise all those who are in Christ Jesus.
We live in an insecure world. Jesus is a Solid Rock that never changes. Take hold of Him and He will give you strength to weather any storm and withstand every onslaught of our enemy, the devil. If you have never accepted Him, he waits for you, knocking at the door. Open today and let Him enter your life. Your eternity hangs in the balance.
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