September Meditation

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=126 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;" BGCOLOR="#FFFFCC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="705" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 118 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="age"><B><IMG SRC="06cb16b0.jpg" border=0 width="177" height="107" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="489" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#333300" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFCCB2 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFCCB2 HEIGHT= 52 WIDTH="49"><div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="age"><B><IMG SRC="03f0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" 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Albums"><B><U><IMG SRC="03a0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></B></A></FONT></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=354 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <A NAME="sept_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="441" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Malachi 3:8</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Will a man rob God? </div> <div> Yet you have robbed Me. </div> <div> But you say, In what have we robbed You? </div> <div> In the tithe and the offering! </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     In the previous meditation, we considered what we owe other people by right of their humanity.  We owe them <I>recognition </I>of their humanity- that we would not perform against <I>them </I>acts which we know would degrade our <I>own </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>humanity.  Particularly, we are to recognize what is in the DOMAIN of our neighbor.  We steal when we violate his domain.</div> <bR> <div>     What is <B>God's</B> domain?  How might we steal from Him?</div> <div>     In the verse above, we see that the Israelites were stealing from God by withholding the tithe.  Do Christians today still owe God the tithe (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >10</FONT>% of our increase)?  Hebrews <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >7:8 </FONT>seems to argue the relevance of the tithe through the reception of them by the ever-living Christ.</div> <bR> <div>     In any case, consider what else is apparently in God's domain:</div> <bR> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1</FONT>)  He is owed the <I>best </I>of what we have.  When Cain and Abel made offerings to God, the only difference the Bible notes between them was that Abel offered the firstlings of his flock and the fat portions (Gen. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >4:4</FONT>).  Cain did not offer the firstfruits or the best.  Cain's offering was not accepted.  God is the true owner of our flocks, crops, and everything else.  It is a slight to offer Him back inferior (not the best) material from any of it.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >2</FONT>)  Salvation is in God's domain.  When He determined not to rescue the Israelites in Jeremiah's day, Jeremiah was to recognize this by withholding prayer for them (Jer. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >7:16; 11:14; 14:11</FONT>).  John faces us with a similar choice when w consider prayer for a straying brother (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1 John 5:16</FONT>)</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >3</FONT>)  Our abilities are in God's domain.  God was angry with Moses when Moses insisted that his poor public speaking ability disqualified him from service (Exod. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >4:14</FONT>).</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >4</FONT>)  Our anxieties are God's property.  He lays special claim to them:</div> <bR> <div>   <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Georgia" >1 Peter 5:7</FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  casting all your anxiety onto Him, for He cares for you.</FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     It is not so much a matter of the burden we endure by holding on to our worries.  It is more a matter of our <I>sin against God</I> by not giving Him what is His.  Anxieties are an especially pernicious form of theft against God.  By clasping a worry to our heart, we are turning the worry and <I>ourselves </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>into idols, treating them both as things stronger than God.</div> <bR> <div>     Our money; the best of all we have; our prayers for salvation and recognition of God's sovereignty in them; our abilities and service based on them; our worries- these are all in God's domain.  To withhold them from Him is theft.  The failure to actually TREAT them as His is theft.</div> <bR> <div>     Are you stealing from God?</div> <div>     Of course, the real question is:  how badly are you stealing from God?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_2"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="411" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 103:9</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> He will not continually contend, </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >nor will He nurse </FONT><I>a </I><I>grudge</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Georgia" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >forever. </FONT></div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     God apparently carries out one of two actions with His anger.  He apparently must either <I>RELINQUISH  </I>His anger or He must <I>EXPEND  </I>it.  According to Psalm <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >103:9</FONT>, He cannot merely <I>RETAIN </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>His anger, taking no action.</div> <div>     When God <I>relinquishes </I>His anger, He decides not to be angry any more.  When God <I>expends </I>His anger, He brings about consequences for it.  The Lake of Fire will obviously be the greatest expenditure of God's anger.</div> <div>     Does God even get angry with His children?  Certainly, yes.  Scriptures specifically mention God's anger against Moses (Deut. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >4:21</FONT>), Aaron (Deut. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >9:20</FONT>), Solomon (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1</FONT> Kings <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >11:9</FONT>), His people's prayer (Ps. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >80:4</FONT>).</div> <div>     But according to our Psalm, God does not <I>retain </I>His anger in these cases.</div> <div>     On the other hand, this does not mean that He will not also <I>expend </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>His anger in fatherly discipline.  We know God forgave Moses, but He still withheld Moses from entering Canaan because of His sin.</div> <div>     So God may both <I>expend </I>His anger on His children and then <I>relinquish </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>it.</div> <div>     For the unbeliever, God only <I>expends </I>His anger; He will never relinquish it.  God will only <I>retain</I> His anger for so long.  Once this life is over, the unbeliever goes to a place of grief.  That place is eventually cast into the Lake of Fire forever.</div> <bR> <div>     From this, a Christian might wrongly deduce that God can be taken for granted.  Since He will only be angry so long, I can afford to offend Him somewhat.</div> <div>     We have only to consult Moses and the other saints in their deprivation to see that God's anger towards His children is no light matter.  As the saying goes, God may not keep you from doing something dumb, but He surely can make you wish you hadn't done it.</div> <div>     Psalm <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >80 </FONT>describes a time when God's people as a whole were under discipline.  It sounds miserable.</div> <div>     A wise man and/or a Christian with any years under his belt will not want to anger God.</div> <bR> <div>     By the same token, it is comforting to know that when we slip, God's anger at our foolishness has a termination point.  Some of the far-reaching consequences may see us to the end of our days here; but God will turn His overall favor back towards us sooner rather than later.</div> <div>     Again, don't press your luck with "sooner."  Psalm <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >80</FONT> sounds as though gloom had consumed God's people "later" to the point that they had forgotten the feel of sunshine.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_3"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="470" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Hebrews 13:5</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> <I>Let your</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" > way of life </FONT><I>be</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >without the love of money, </FONT></div> <div> <I>and be</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" > content with such things as you have, </FONT></div> <div> for He has said, "Not at all will I leave you, </div> <div> not at all will I forsake you, never!" </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <U>CONTENTEDNESS</U></div> <bR> <div>     "Be content."  It is commanded.</div> <div>     The Greek root word behind the word for "content" means "to avail", with the implication of being satisfactory.</div> <div>     In our verse above, the definition of being content is to be satisfied with "such things as you have."  Thus, contentedness cancels out covetous yearnings.  I may want something I don't presently have, but I am truly OK without it.  A Christian must remind himself that acquiring something new will <I>not </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>add to his true status- that is, his spiritual wellbeing.  On the other hand, <I>coveting </I>something new <I>will </I>certainly deteriorate his spiritual health.</div> <div>     Here's a practical description of contentedness.  Contentedness is having the level of your <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Castellar" >expectation </FONT>equal to or lower than the level of what you <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Castellar" >have</FONT>.  We should probably say that contentedness is <I><B>making </B></I>your expectation level no higher than what you possess, since we are all naturally covetous.  Covetousness will not just go away; we have to chase it away.  We all have to <I><B>lower </B></I>our expectations in one area or another.</div> <div>     Now let's consider some areas in our lives where we should be content.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1</FONT>)  We should be content in the material area.  This one is probably the most obvious.  The amount of our possessions and money should be "enough" if we just have food and clothes, according to <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1 </FONT>Tim. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >6:8</FONT>.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >2</FONT>)  We must be content with physical appearance.  We look a certain way; that's how it is.  Thank God and desire the beauty of His holiness.  (This is not to say that we shouldn't fight acne or obesity, for instance.)</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >3</FONT>)  We have to be content with our natural abilities.  We may dearly wish we could play the violin, but if we are tone deaf, no amount of practice may avail greatly.  Contentedness must avail, in any case.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >4</FONT>)  We must seek contentedness with our spiritual gift.  The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts for the good of the whole body.  If I have a less-than-spectacular gift, it is probably proportionately stronger glue in holding the body of Christ together.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >5</FONT>)  We are to be content with our family.  God put us in our family.  Most of us have probably suspected at some time that God, by the family He put us in, is 'whack' or just plain cruel.  No, that family is the perfect reflection of my own selfish stubbornness.  We are given the task of self-improvement via our families.</div> <bR> <div>     Discontent is as powerful a destroyer of our spiritual health as any other force.</div> <div>     We are naturally discontent and covetous.</div> <div>     We are commanded to banish coveting and become content.</div> <div>     Let us engage the battle today.  A piecemeal inventory will no doubt be necessary.  Refer to the list above for a starting place.  Be as detailed as possible; ask yourself area by area if you are content with what God and His providence have furnished you.  Oh yes, in our day, you will have to add your gender to the list, as our society no longer upholds the separate and equal worths of both male and female roles.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <div>     </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="sept_4"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="394" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 WIDTH="382"><div> <B>1 Timothy 6:8</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> But having food and clothing, </div> <div> we will be satisfied with these. </div> <div>  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <U>CONTENTEDNESS: Part Two</U></div> <bR> <div>     Contentedness is my acceptance of all God's providences:  my physical appearance, the family I was born into, my natural abilities, my spiritual gift(s).  </div> <div>     This is not to say that one or more of these areas might not be a source of trials.  Abusive parents, for instance, mean that I must see God's testing and refining of my character in my family placement.  Why don't others have a similar trial?  Surely, it's not that they don't need refining, but we must leave the <I>recipients</I>, <I>types</I>, <I>amounts</I>, and <I>timings </I>of God's trials in His own hands.  "You shall not covet your neighbor's ..." is a statute drawing lines of providence around my neighbor.  I will not wish myself in his place or wonder why he doesn't have my misfortune.</div> <bR> <div>         We cannot be content as long as we feel we deserve better.  Contentedness is taming our <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Castellar" >sense of deserving</FONT> with the painful whip of <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Castellar" >realistic self-assessment</FONT>.</div> <div>     We all feel that we deserve more or better than what we have.  There is probably a sane voice in each of us that occasionally tells us we <I>do </I>have more and better than we deserve, but we all still <I>generally </I>place ourselves on the deficit side of the scales when it comes to what we have versus what we deserve.  We just can't believe we've really gotten a fair shake all-round.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Proverbs 21:2</B></FONT>  <U>Every way</U> of a man is <U>upright</U> in his <U>own eyes</U>, but Jehovah measures the hearts. </div> <bR> <div>     Our sense of deserving is based on our sense of self-worth.  I deserve more and better because I am good enough.  I find a way to justify every way I think, act, and speak.  Even when I'm forced to admit that I'm dead wrong in some situation, there's still that little voice underneath blaming someone or something else.  I just <I>can't</I> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" > </FONT>be all wrong.  This self-justification is a function of the human spirit.  My mind merely formulates some reason to vindicate me, but my spirit is what's insisting that I am basically not in the wrong.  Because I'm always bsically right, I deserve only good things.</div> <div>     With this understanding that humans naturally but erroneously justify themselves (can anyone but a Christian have this presupposition?), one can learn to 'crack the whip' over his ego and say, "Hey, I'm <I>not </I>right.  Period."  </div> <div>     Suddenly, everything changes.  Suddenly, I <I>don't</I> deserve anything better.  Suddenly, I'm standing on the cusp of contentedness!</div> <div>     Hmm, what do I do now?  I've never been content before.  I've always been in a war to secure my rights and protect my self-esteem.</div> <div>     Contentedness is its own best fruit.  There's nothing like letting go of a couple of tons of self-justification for bringing great buoyancy to your heart.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_5"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="331" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Hebrews 13:6</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> so that we may boldly say, </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >"</FONT><I>The</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >Lord </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >my helper, </FONT></div> <div> and I will not fear </div> <div> what man shall do to me." </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <U>CONTENTEDNESS: Part Three</U></div> <bR> <div>     Contentedness is happiness with Emmanuel.</div> <div>     "Emmanuel" means "God with us."  This was a name given to Jesus in a prophecy by Isaiah.  Jesus came to be God among men.  He is still in the midst of His people.  If this fact truly delights us, how can we help but be content?</div> <div>     Contentedness is also this:  certainty that I will be satisfied with <I>Jesus'</I> verdict on <I>my </I>goals.  Whatever I am striving for in life, God must give the final yea or nay.  This is true for both my earthly <I>and </I>spiritual spiritual goals.</div> <div>     If I am striving to be more godly in this way or that, God's <I>means</I> for my reaching that end may deliberately involve a lot of frustration for me.  Spiritual goals are never really reached without overall spiritual maturity, and spiritual maturity is never reached without many patience-testing trials.</div> <div>     If I am striving for certain goals in my career, schooling, romance, etc., I must be ready to say, "OK, God didn't want that for me right now.  That's alright."  When God says no, though, we must not infer that He disapproved of the goal.  This is a common mistake we make, ruining our possibility for contentedness.</div> <div>     It's good to press towards a goal, but we must not be too surprised or disappointed if our road comes to a dead end.  Dead ends communicate to our human understanding that we have been working to no purpose.  Contentedness, however, reminds us that there are roads we walk that we will never see until we look back from the afterlife.  God's road for us incorporates our personal goals, but His providence always has deeper goals in mind for us.  The invisible road of God's providence turns where the road of our personal goal kept going straight.</div> <div>     Frankly, none of us can actually bear having providence agree with all our personal goals.  Our pride naturally makes us self-sufficient when things always go our way, and a self-sufficient person cannot be a person who trusts God.</div> <div>     How do we master this juggling act, then?  How can we enter into our pursuits whole-heartedly, yet reserve a place in our hearts for happiness when they disappear into nothingness?</div> <div>     We must simply remember that the <I>pursuits </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>are good and God-ordained, but the goal of our <I>sanctification </I>overrides all other concerns.  </div> <div>     Removal or postponement of a present pursuit does not damage our spirits if we are rightly related to God.  The goals, objects, or persons we seek do not ultimately belong to us; they belong to God.  In the end, it will be us, bare before God.  All our goals will have disappeared, and only our trial-etched character will remain.  </div> <div>     Will it be enough, after all?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_6"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="331" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 109 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 103:8</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >Jehovah </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >merciful and gracious, </FONT></div> <div> slow to anger, </div> <div> and plenteous in mercy. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div>     "Jehovah is <B>plenteous </B>in mercy."</div> <div>     The Hebrew root word behind "plenteous" means "to multiply by the myriad."  God actually puts His mercy 'on the scale', if you will, and says, "See there!  That's a lot!"</div> <div>     Why does He have to tell us that?</div> <div>     It is because <I>we </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>are naturally stingy and cannot believe someone else would be so generous of spirit.  Unfortunately, this is the way <I>our </I>spirits <I>intuitively </I>respond to God.  If we really believed that His mercies overflowed any depository that tried to hold them, we would be turning cartwheels in joy! </div> <div>     One reason we <I>disbelieve </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>is the account our memory gives us of our own lives.  "Hey!  I don't see any mercies dripping over the edges!"  We figure that oodles of mercy would mean we should be swimming in pleasure.</div> <div>     Ah!  That is where the adjustment in our thinking must be made.  Our base reference point about <I>ourselves </I>is inaccurate.  By thinking that we are good people to start with (or at least not so bad), the mercy of, let's say, <I>being alive</I> doesn't seem that big of a deal.  But if we saw ourselves as practically in Hell already for our hatefulness, selfishness, and pride, God's mercy would seem a rich plate indeed!</div> <div>     So we see that our reception of God's grace is truly determined by the shape we see ourselves in when that grace comes to us.  God's grace upon an already-OK-guy isn't really that gracious.</div> <div>     We must therefore adjust our mirrors a good bit.  We come to realize that the mirror we naturally choose is really a fun house mirror, only distorted to make a <I>nice </I>reflection of ourselves.</div> <bR> <div>     But let us make an incisive point.  God definitely wants to be approached as a generous God.  He'd rather have us assume He'll grant our prayers than not:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Matthew 7:11</B></FONT>  Therefore, if you, being evil, know to give good gifts to your children, <U>how much more</U> will your <U>Father</U> in Heaven <U>give good things</U> to those that ask Him? </div> <bR> <div>     Even those with inflated self-opinions are likely to receive abundantly when they ask expectantly.  Their view of self may be wrong, but their view of God is not entirely wrong.  God gives because they rightly perceive Him to be generous.  Also, God gives simply because He <I>is </I>generous. </div> <div>     There is a danger, though, about simply relating to God's bounty.  God practically becomes a Blessing Machine, dispensing goodies to please me.  </div> <div>     Again, if it is not the acres of God's mercy upon my worthless carcass that excite my expectations, my focus on <I>spiritual </I>benefits is blurred and I will naturally treasure <I>earthly </I>benefits more.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_7"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="331" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 103:10</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> He has not done to us </div> <div> according to our sins, </div> <div> nor rewarded us </div> <div> according to our iniquities. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     God overcomes our addiction to managing our own records.  We just can't keep our hands off our spiritual 'report cards'.  Here we are, hiding it in our pockets; there we are, erasing the arm off an "F" so we can doctor it into an "A".</div> <div>     The message of Christianity to a heathen is:  "Doctor no more!  The records are in God's hands.  Neither deny the truth of the records, nor fear His handling of them."</div> <div>     This is why Christianity brings Good News.  It tells us that the measure of God's dealing with us is NO LONGER our sins.</div> <div>     [Shocked look]</div> <div>     Yes, there should be a shocked look when we hear that the all-knowing God somehow manages to just overlook our sins.  Is He so deprived of friendship that He'll do <I>anything </I>to render us accessible?</div> <div>     So we might suspect.  Both halves of our verse above tell us that God has shifted the basis of dealings with us <I>from </I>our sins to something else.</div> <div>     Now let us be plain.  If this was our only consideration, we would be talking about an injustice.  We should be ready to object based on integrity.  But how could we?  We're the ones getting the good deal!</div> <div>     Yet most Christians really look into the matter little further than this.  They want the quickest, simplest formula for resolving the sin issue, then they want to forget about it.  The modern gospel accommodates this approach.  Make a decision for Jesus; now you never need to worry your head about the sin dilemma again.</div> <div>     The Christian still listening to God, intent on finding out how this miracle occurs- that his sin is no longer the basis for God's dealings with him- need only go to the next two verses in the Psalm:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 103:11</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  For as the heavens </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >above the earth, </FONT><I>so</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >is His mercy mighty over those who fear Him.  As far as the east </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >from the west, </FONT><I>so</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >far has He <U>removed</U> our transgressions from us. </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     God has actually <I>removed </I>our transgressions.  He did <I>not merely overlook </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" > </FONT>them.  He is just and righteous.  There had to be a just and righteous means to cancel our sin debt.</div> <div>     <I>This is why there is such detailed and extensive information about sacrificial offerings in the Old Testament and about Christ's redemption, their fulfillment, in the New Testament</I>.</div> <bR> <div>     But let us be practical and personal for the moment.  How can <I><B>I  </B></I>know that <I><B>I  </B></I>am someone whose sins have been thus removed?  How can I know that <I><B>my </B></I>sin is no longer the basis for God's dealing with <I><B>me</B></I>?</div> <div>     The next verse in the Psalm runs thus:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 103:13</B></FONT>  As a father shows compassion to his children, so Jehovah shows compassion to those who <U>fear</U> Him. </div> <bR> <div>     If my soul was <I>perplexed </I>over how my sins could be bypassed, then God's answer to my dilemma would be welcome news.  I will naturally <B>fear </B>one so mighty as to overcome what was a hopeless difficulty for me.</div> <div>     But if I was not terribly troubled by my sin problem, God's answer for it would seem more or less perfunctory- something He was going to do anyway.  I did not learn to fear Him in my redemption; I will not learn to fear Him in my daily life.</div> <div>     This kind of Christianity will find it necessary to go back to the habit of doctoring the 'report card'.  Such a Christian will find no delight in coming before God in prayer.  He will find no emotional relief in a daily confession of sin.  So he will only have a doctored report card to hand God at the end of the line.</div> <bR> <div>     Are you daily able to thank God- thank God from a wide-open, elated spirit- that He has bypassed your deficient report card- has overcome it by just means, by the death of His Son?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_8"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="394" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Micah 1:3</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> For, behold, </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >Jehovah </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >coming out of His place, </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >and </FONT><I>He</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >will come down </FONT></div> <div> and walk on the high places of the earth. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     God is everywhere; He is omnipresence.</div> <div>     This simple fact about God is behind a great deal of unfocused praying- rather, our <I>misunderstanding </I>about God's omnipresence diffuses the directness our prayers should have.</div> <div>     'A' does not equal 'None-A'.  One thing cannot be its opposite.  Does this mean that since God is <I>everywhere</I>, He cannot be centrally located, found in <I>one </I>place?  No, that would be an illogical application of the fact that God is everywhere.  The fact that God is everywhere does not imply that He cannot be somewhere specific.  Neither do we lose part of Him by thinking of Him in a single place or direction:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>John 17:1</B></FONT>  <U>Jesus</U> spoke these things and <U>lifted up His eyes</U> to Heaven, and said, <U>Father</U>, the hour has come. </div> <bR> <div>     How can God be 'tied' to one place, Heaven?  And how can Heaven be straight upwards from Jerusalem?  Would a prayer from the other side of the world be launched upward into empty space?</div> <div>     Obviously we are not to conceive of Heaven as a floating kingdom, drifting above some portion of the earth like a satellite.  The main significance of a prayer directed upwards is that Heaven is <I>not here</I>; it is 'out there':</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Isa 66:1</B></FONT>  So says Jehovah: <U>Heaven</U> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>is</I> </FONT>My throne, and <U>earth</U> the footstool of My feet. </div> <bR> <div>     God may cause Heaven to 'intersect' with earth by coming down upon Sinai Himself or by sending regiments of angels here, but they <I>are </I>two separate locations, Heaven and earth.</div> <div>     </div> <div>     When we converse, we talk <I>towards </I>someone.  Do we pray <I>towards  </I>God?  Yes.</div> <div>     Can <I>we </I>be moving 'away from' God?  Yes, just as we can be 'facing' Him (not that He ceases to exist in the opposite direction), we can 'turn our backs' to Him, not so much physically or geographically, but still very definitely.</div> <bR> <div>     God directs us <I>towards </I>Him:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Isaiah 45:22</B></FONT>  Turn <U>to</U> Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>am</I> </FONT>God, and there <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Georgia" ><I>is</I></FONT> no other. </div> <bR> <div>     Are we obeying this command?</div> <div>     Or is God too amorphous (shapeless) for us to hone in on Him when we conceive of or pray to Him?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_9"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="361" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 109 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 103:15</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> <I>As for</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" > man, his days </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >as grass; </FONT></div> <div> as the flower of the field, </div> <div> so he flourishes. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     It is important to conceive of ourselves as TEMPORARY.</div> <div>     It is not an easy thing to do- thinking of oneself as a passing thing.  The Christian doctrine of immortality might tend to increase our feeling of permanence, but there is a sense in which it should not.  We should do nothing to defeat the idea that our life as earthly creatures is fleeting.  In fact, we must apply great effort to attain and maintain the idea!  </div> <div>     There is so much in us that cries out, "I shall not be moved from the earth!"  It doesn't matter that we would quickly and calmly answer yes if asked whether we shall surely die.  Death is nonetheless in a category in our thoughts which keeps it far away from realistic concerns, no matter how much we may mask the distance.  The fear of death is much deeper than our conscious thoughts.  Hebrews describes part of Jesus' work for us in this way:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Hebrews 2:15</B></FONT>  and might set free all those who through <U>fear of death</U> through the <U>whole of their life</U> were subject to <U>bondage</U>. </div> <bR> <div>     Fear of death naturally binds us.  Its main bondage is its own invisibility.  We are not equipped to face death.  Because death is <I>within </I>us through <B>sin</B>, it can wear a disguise which foils our attempts to identify it.  It is like seeing our own face reflected in the glass of a window, but faces outside the window mingle with our reflection, effectively hiding it.</div> <div>     This is why the Bible describes a funeral as revelatory (it reveals something):</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Ecclesiastes 7:2</B></FONT>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>It is</I></FONT> better to go to the <U>house of mourning</U> than to go to the house of feasting; for that <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>is</I> </FONT>the end of all men; and the living will <U>lay </U><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I><U>it</U></I><U> </U></FONT><U>to his heart</U>. </div> <bR> <div>     The 'reflection' that stops moving, motionless in death, finally gives us a fix on where we are.  "That's me.  I, too, shall die."  Of course, our masking routine is still at work, but we are multiplied times closer to reality during a funeral service.</div> <bR> <div>     Again, it is crucial to know ourselves as temporary.  Christians know it by faith.  We accept God's word on it.</div> <div>     Man's original, glorious course was altered by sin.  Our <B>place </B>on earth will pass.  Following the verse in the box at top, we read:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 103:16</B></FONT>  For the wind passes over it, and it is <U>gone</U> ...</div> <bR> <div>     Our <B>recognition </B>will pass also:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 103:16</B></FONT>  For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and <U>its place</U> shall <U>know it</U> <U>no more</U>. </div> <bR> <div>     Isn't that a slap in the face!  No more recognition of ME.  My memory will immediately begin to fade and soon be gone without a trace.</div> <div>     It is our dreams of earthly immortality that keep us from embracing eternity.  All the achievements I shall accomplish <I>here</I>, all my loves, all the help I render ...  these are the only immortality I can presently embrace.</div> <div>     It is truly only by faith that we look to a <B>p</B>lace and <B>r</B>ecognition <I>beyond </I>this earth.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_10"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="395" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 103:17</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> But the mercy of Jehovah </div> <div> <I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >from everlasting to everlasting </FONT></div> <div> on those who fear Him, </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >and His righteousness </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >to sons of sons; </FONT></div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     In the previous meditation, we considered Psalm <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >103:15, 16</FONT>:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Georgia" >Psalm 103:15, 16</FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT><I>As for</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >man, his days </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.  For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and its place shall know it no more. </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     From these two verses we discussed the necessity of knowing how temporary we are.  This knowledge must break through great resistance in the human mind.</div> <div>     But now the Lord shows us a contrasting truth.  While <I>we </I>are temporary, His <I>mercy </I>is permanent:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Psa 103:17</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  ... from everlasting to everlasting ... </FONT></div> <div>    </div> <div>     Now God is not mitigating the fact of our impermanence; He's not saying that being temporary isn't so bad.  He's saying that His permanence is the only thing that can <I>overcome </I>our brevity (the briefness of our lifespan).  Specifically, His MERCY overcomes our vaporous lives.</div> <div>     How did life become so brief?  Is it supposed to be that way?  Is it just the 'circle of life'?  </div> <div>     NO!  It is the <I>circle of </I><I><B>death</B></I><I>!</I>  Adam and mankind could have lived forever.  Sin brought death, and death brought brevity.  That is why it takes God's mercy to overcome our short existence.  Our short existence is part of the punishment for sin.  Mankind as one tastes death because we have "all together gone astray" (Isa. <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >53</FONT>).</div> <bR> <div>     On whom does God have the mercy that overcomes death?  According to our Psalm, it is on those who <B>fear </B>Him.  Fear is merely negative motivation; it is motivation to avoid something or some action.  Those who are motivated <I>not  </I>to displease God are those who fear Him.  When they think of displeasing God, they think of two things:  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1</FONT>)  How can I offend someone who has been so kind to me?    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >2</FONT>)  If I offend Him, His fatherly love will require spankings; and, boy, does He know how to spank!</div> <div>     This same fear of God acknowledges the cause of our brevity.  "I am short-lived because I am a sinner."</div> <div>     God's mercy more than overcomes our brevity, but it also operates <I>alongside </I>our brevity.  God doesn't want us to forget what He is overcoming.  Every hair on our head is numbered; but that number eventually grows less and less.  Every breath we take also has a number on it, and one of them will be the final one in the sequence.  Everything about our earthly existence, then, can magnify God's mercy by means of <I>contrast</I>.  I am sick; God's mercy will grant me eternal health.  I am tired; God's mercy will invigorate me entirely, eternally.  Yes, God can patch me up now, but my body will always be prone to sickness and tiredness again.  God's overcoming mercy is received by faith because it rests in eternity, and we're not there yet.</div> <bR> <div>     Is God's mercy actually overcoming anything in your life?  Do you specifically rejoice in His mercy in contrast to your earthly limitations?  Ultimately, our limitations only minister good to us if they serve as such reminders.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <div>  </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="sept_11"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="455" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Matthew 7:6</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >Do not give that which </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >holy to the dogs, </FONT></div> <div> nor throw your pearls before the pigs, </div> <div> that they should not trample them with their feet, </div> <div> and turning, they <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>then </I></FONT>tear you. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     In Jesus' day, dogs and pigs were both unclean animals to Jews .  They could not eat these animals.  This illustrated to the Jews that they were not to 'ingest' Gentile lifestyles.</div> <div>     Now Jesus expanded on this idea* by telling God's people to be careful how they handled matters of their most holy faith in the <I>presence </I>of unbelievers (dogs and pigs).</div> <div>     Here are the factors necessary to understand Jesus' instruction:</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1</FONT>)  A dog has no way to value a holy item.  Give him sacrificial meat from a peace offering, and it's just meat to him.  He has no fellowship with the worship.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >2</FONT>)  A pig has no way to value pearls.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >3</FONT>)  Furthermore, in a pig's value system, pearls might look like something he <I>does </I>value:  peas or acorns, for instance.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >4</FONT>)  In a pig's value system, you are a trickster if you give him something he'll supposedly like, but he only wounds his teeth on it.</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >5</FONT>)  Does not the pig 'rightfully' attack you for tricking him?</div> <bR> <div>     Jesus is simply telling us to be realistic.  If <B>we </B>have truly crossed a great divide in entering God's kingdom, we have left <B>deprived men</B> back on the other side.  We must pity them and reach out to them, but we cannot expect them to fellowship in our holy things.  </div> <bR> <div>     Jesus' lesson, then, is to KEEP the correct value on spiritual things.  DON'T tell unbelievers, "Here's something you'll really like!  It's just like your yummy acorns!"  That's a <I>trick!</I></div> <div>     We should be telling unbelievers, "I have something you desperately need, but you'll have no appetite for it, because you are separated from God.  Shall I tell you more?"</div> <div>     Now we have obeyed Jesus.  We have kept our holy things to ourselves.  We have not simply pitched them across the fence and invited, "Here, try one of these!"</div> <div>     Our words must direct the unclean to ONE THING:  <I><B>their uncleanness!</B></I>  We tell them about God's cleansing power <B>for </B>their uncleanness.  There is no coming to God without this cleaning up.  The cleaning up, of course, will clean the pig right <I>out </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>of them!  God's cleansing scours dogs into new creatures- transforms them into sheep!</div> <div>     So much of the modern gospel is salesmanship!  It seeks to do exactly what Jesus said NOT to do.  It says, "Look at what <I>I </I> have that <I>you </I>want."  We have marched hordes of pigs into the sanctuary, handing them disposable sheepskins at the door.</div> <div>     Christians, having succumbed more and more to this model, have subtly transformed <I>themselves </I>into 'shigs'.  We so badly want unbelievers to identify with us, we erase most of our holy characteristics to appeal to them.  We have lowered ourselves, not by consciously adopting unholy standards, but by <I>raising </I>pigs in our thinking into something higher than they are.  We assume they can 'get it' by whatever watered-down means we must use to teach them.  </div> <div>     We have totally lost sight of the fact that we are not selling a product or a lifestyle.  We are crying out a warning of destruction for all who remain as they are.</div> <bR> <div>  *<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century" > Summarizing what the Old Testament had already taught.</FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_12"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 109 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 103:22</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Bless Jehovah, all His works </div> <div> in all the places of His dominion; </div> <div> bless Jehovah, O my soul. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     Everything, each creature that God has made, is called upon to worship Him.  Everything God made should gladly ascribe goodness to Him.</div> <div>     Humans are perceptive creatures; that is, we evaluate information we take in.  Furthermore, we tend to delight in certain of our perceptions.  Those delights, in turn, tend to have a creaturely bent.  That is, we, as creatures, tend to delight in other created things.</div> <div>     How much better to delight in God!</div> <div>     How fitting to perceive His noble deeds as praiseworthy!  How proper to take note of His attributes!  How honorable to announce His care for His people!</div> <div>     Surely others, whatever their perceptions may be, could not deny the worthiness of our God!</div> <div>     Let us be persuasive by our great delight in God.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_13"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 103:20</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Bless Jehovah, O angels of His; </div> <div> mighty in strength; </div> <div> doing His Word; </div> <div> listening to the voice of His Word. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     The psalmist calls upon the angels to praise God. </div> <div>     It is appropriate for man to address the angels in this manner.  They are our fellow creatures, and all created things are to praise God.</div> <div>     The prayer that Jesus taught us to pray makes reference to angels, albeit not by name:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Matthew 6:10</B></FONT>  ... May Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. </div> <bR> <div>     When we ask that God's will be carried out here on earth the way it is carried out in Heaven, we are referencing the angels- perhaps other beings too, but primarily angels.  They are God's main attendants in Heaven; they are the ones sent forth by Him to do His will.</div> <div>     As this is the pattern Christ gave us for daily prayer, the angels should be in our thinking daily.  We should readily conceive of ourselves as their partners in carrying out God's will.</div> <div>     In the verse in the box, the psalmist mentions two activities of angels we should definitely mimic.  "Doing His Word" and "Listening to the voice of His Word" are both pursuits in which Christians can follow the angels.</div> <div>     The psalmist had already mentioned that men are dust.  The angels, on the other hand, are "mighty in strength."  The angels, therefore, serve as a pattern by the superiority of their service.  They follow God mightily; we follow weakly by comparison.</div> <div>     On another scale, however, we should realize that the angels' are not so different from us.  Their strength is limited, just as ours is.  We can only follow God with all the might at our disposal: </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Deuteronomy 6:5</B></FONT>  And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and <U>with all your might</U>. </div> <bR> <div>     When we follow God with all the might at our disposal, then, surely God will commend us as much as He does His angels:</div> <bR> <div> [    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Centaur" >A final consideration:  Though we are to exhort angels in a general way, this does not imply that we are to converse with them.  We are not yet in the realm where we may openly fellowship with angels.  But, again, this present separation should not keep us from thinking about them profitably every day</FONT>. ]</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_14"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>Isaiah 59:20</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> And the Redeemer comes to Zion, </div> <div> and to those in Jacob </div> <div> who turn back from their rebellion, </div> <div> declares Jehovah. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     To whom does the Redeemer come?</div> <div>     He comes to those who <I>turn back from</I> their rebellion.  Apparently He comes to no others.</div> <div>     This means that everyone Jesus rescues is someone who comes <I>towards </I>Him, <I>away </I>from his former lifestyle.</div> <div>     Do they <I>initiate </I>the move towards Him?  Not if the move requires a new heart.</div> <div>     But our point here is that when you describe a saved person, you can do so with reference to the Savior rescuing him, <B>or </B>you can do so with reference to his departure from sin; but he is one and the same saved person.  All who know the Savior, therefore, depart from transgression.</div> <div>     The logic for reaching this conclusion is simple indeed, but its critics are numerous in our day.  They would seek to find a flaw in the reasoning.  Why?  Because they believe that one is a Christian only by virtue of half of the definition.  They believe that a Christian is someone Jesus rescues, but this recipient of salvation does not necessarily depart the realms of sin.</div> <div>     Certainly we must admit that no one who departs their rebellion will be rebellious no more.  But the case being made is only this:  that someone Christ rescues <I>does  </I>depart from rebellion.  The <I>degree </I>of departure is not immediately settled, only the <I>certainty </I>of it.</div> <div>     Another way to say this is that Jesus saves us <I>from </I>our sin, not <I>in </I>our sin:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Matthew 1:21</B></FONT>  And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people <U>from</U> their sins. </div> <bR> <div>     Every true Christian, therefore, is someone who has departed from the ways of mutiny against God.  </div> <div>     Might he be drawn <I>back </I>into those ways?  Yes, though a <I>complete </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>return to transgression against God would be an indication that a complete departure from it was never made.  That is, the person never escaped his old nature:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>2 Peter 2:22</B></FONT>  But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, "The <U>dog</U> <U>turns</U> to his own vomit again," and "the <U>sow</U> that has washed to wallowing in the mire." </div> <bR> <div>     A dog can stay in the sheep pen a while, but his "baa" will eventually end in its natural "baark".  A pig can don curly hair to go with its curly tail, but it will ultimately scrape its sheepskin off with its mudhole rolling.</div> <div>     Real Christian sheep <I>can </I>be caught enviously eyeing their vomit.  New creatures in Christ <I>can </I>be found back in their old mudholes.  The difference is, these habits are no longer their native ones, and they will turn again from them.  You might even say they will turn from rebellion <I>again</I>.  In a way, the Christian life is a <I>daily </I>turning from the old ways that remain within us.</div> <div>     But will a Christian simply live in both realms, sinning all the time, then 'making up with God' just as quickly?  No, that is an imaginary brand of Christianity.  That is, it comes from the imagination of men, not the pages of Scripture.  Millions may prefer this variety of the faith, but in the end, they really don't even want the first half of the equation either- they really don't want Jesus to rescue them.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <div>     </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="sept_15"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Isaiah 60:1</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Arise, shine; for your light has come, </div> <div> and the glory of Jehovah has risen on you! </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     A Christian must live in the realization that light has come, and it has come to him.</div> <div>     Light has come in that Jesus has entered the world.</div> <div>     Light has come in that He gave final authorization for His Word, which Word we now have.</div> <div>     Light has come in that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to testify of both Jesus and the Word.</div> <div>     There can never be a time when a Christian can say, "The light has just risen."  The light rose a long time ago.  We can become newly <I>aware </I>of its rising, but the rising itself is an long-accomplished fact.</div> <div>     Whenever a Christian experiences revival, he is merely 'catching up' with what's been going on spiritually.  Jesus has ascended.  He sits at the right hand of His Father.  He intercedes for us.  If we sat in darkness, it is not because there was no light available.</div> <div>     A Christian must simply act on Isaiah's command daily.  He must rise to the Light that is already there.  Having risen, he must reflect that light now shining on him.  </div> <div>     This is a repeatable process every day.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 115:8</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Those who make them will be like them; </div> <div> yes, everyone who trusts in them. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     Whom or what would you think the "them" in this verse refers to?</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psa 115:4 - 7</B></FONT>   Their <U>idols</U> are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.  They have mouths, but they don't speak. They have eyes, but they don't see.  They have ears, but they don't hear. They have noses, but they don't smell.   They have hands, but they don't feel. They have feet, but they don't walk, neither do they speak through their throat. </div> <bR> <div>     Those who <I>promote</I> idols are like the idols, appearing alive but not alive.  Generally, the most 'lively' of the idol-makers are those most enthralled in death's grip.</div> <div>     Those who <I>trust </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>idols are dead in like manner.  They are dead just like the idols they worship are dead.  Idolaters give idols the appearance of life because they themselves crave life.</div> <div>     Idolized money falls into the category of a life-giving savior.  Money = life.  The "life" most Americans ascribe to money is the <U>higher standard of living</U> derived from the money.  </div> <div>     Subsequently, the words of the Psalm in the box above come true.  The people come to find <I>themselves </I>in the image of the <I>money </I>they worship.  The value of the money is what's written on it.  The person's value becomes <I>his </I>dollar amount- the amount of money and possessions he has.  The person and his idol are fused into one dead image.</div> <bR> <div>     All the things spoken of idols in Psalm <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >115 </FONT>are said in contrast to the LIVING God:</div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 115:2</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"   Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases. </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The living God has life on His own.  His life is not derived.  That makes Him the only recipient of worship who would <I>not </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>therefore be an idol.</div> <bR> <div>     Is He the one you're worshipping?</div> <div>     Sure enough?</div> <div>     You <I>can </I>be sure that if you're an American, the worship of money has well rubbed off on you.  Have you, then, rubbed <I><B>it </B></I>off?  Or is your Christianity just an 'add-on' to your pursuit of 'the American dream'?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_17"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 109 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 115:1</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Not to us, O Jehovah, not to us, </div> <div> but to Your name give glory, </div> <div> for Your mercy <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Georgia" ><I>and</I></FONT> for Your truth's sake. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     We don't deserve a manifestation of God's glory, but we are to ask Him to manifest it <B>for His own sake</B>.</div> <div>     One reason we are to give God for making this gratis manifestation of His glory is so the ones who deny Him will be put to shame:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Georgia" >Psalm 115:2</FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >   Why should the nations say, Where now </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >their God? </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     So we're not the only ones involved.  Our worth is not the only factor in the equation.</div> <div>     We can actually ask God not to leave <I>us  </I>high and dry, basing our requesting solely on <I>unbelievers  </I>around us.  We may not deserve a second chance ourselves, but God's glory should not be denied because of our unworthiness.</div> <div>     Imagine praying like that.  Certainly God would be pleased with that kind of prayer.  Certainly that would prove that we are more worthy of a second chance than we thought.  Praying that God's glory <I>needs </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>to be manifested is proof of how highly we regard His glory.  It is also proof that we don't make ourselves the center of our own little universe.  We see that God's glory has a life of its own apart from us.</div> <div>     Perhaps you wouldn't think you need to pray like this because you assume God <I>automatically </I>gives second chances.  That is a bad assumption which godly men don't make:</div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 85:5</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations? </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     If you don't think God can be angry with you, then you're thinking He can overlook His sense of justice just for <I>your </I>sake.  And that would certainly keep you from praying correctly, for a righteous prayer, as we have seen, prays for <I>God's</I> sake, with <I>His  </I>honor and reputation in mind.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_18"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 51:13</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> I will teach transgressors Your ways; </div> <div> and sinners shall be converted to You. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     Why do Christians clam up about God?</div> <div>     The short answer is that we are disobedient.  We are told to proclaim God:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 96:3</B></FONT>  <U>Tell</U> of His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people. </div> <bR> <div>     Our lips are a dead give-away of our spirits:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Matthew 12:37</B></FONT>  For <U>by your words</U> you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. </div> <bR> <div>     God will need to look no further than our words to judge us.  This means that our spiritual state is evident by what we say.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Matthew 12:34</B></FONT>  ... For <U>out of</U> the abundance of the <U>heart</U> the <U>mouth speaks</U>. </div> <bR> <div>     If our hearts were full of Jesus, so would our mouths be.</div> <div>     Whatever our hearts <I>are </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>full of <I>does </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>come out in our words.</div> <bR> <div>     We may have seen people who jabber on about Jesus ignorantly and/or shallowly.  We don't want to be cast in their mold, so we just keep our Jesus to ourselves.</div> <div>     As in any case where one man's poor example colors our decisions, God will be rebuking us, "So that person was more important than I.  I said to speak, but you disobeyed Me to avoid following his bad attempt.  You are worse than he is; at least he tried."</div> <bR> <div>     Perhaps the more pertinent issue is how we can fill our hearts with more Jesus.  <I>Then </I>speech about Him would flow naturally.  Jesus may be 'in your heart', but He is not really the object of your heart's love if you don't think about Him.  That's what Bible reading and prayer are for- to think about the One who is supposedly in your heart.  </div> <div>     There will be many on the Last Day who will finally find the <I>revealing </I>of their hearts by their words was <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Centaur" ><B>true</B></FONT>, but their confidence that Jesus was <I>in </I>their hearts was <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Centaur" ><B>false</B></FONT>.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_19"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="392" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 151 ><NOBR><div> <B>Job 16:12</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> I was at ease, </div> <div> but He has broken me in pieces; </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >yea, </FONT><I>He has</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" > also taken </FONT><I>me</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >by my neck </FONT></div> <div> and shaken me to pieces </div> <div> and set me up for His mark. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     Job was left picking up the pieces of his life.  He knew this could not be so unless God had ordained it.  Perhaps Job wrongly attributed Satan's canine tactics (taking him by the neck and shaking) directly to God.  But at least he correctly understood that no such action could be carried out by Satan unless permitted by God.</div> <div>     What are we to do when God leaves us in pieces?</div> <div>     It is at times when we are 'not ourselves' that our BASIC SELF is revealed.  Did we really believe all that religion stuff?  Or was it only good while life was going well?  Most people prefer not to think about it.  Their conclusion is that such matters are a mystery that cannot be discovered.  Hopefully, God is on the job and presumably doing the best He can.</div> <div>     Job insisted on pursuing the matter.  That is to his credit.  If his beliefs meant anything at all, they needed to be of assistance in a predicament.</div> <div>     If you or I were ever as dismantled as Job was, we would doubtless not have done as well as he did.  To whatever degree we might <I>become </I>unglued, though, we should realize that our beliefs will be put to the test.  We can be brought to a point where we <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Castellar" >do not <B>feel </B>like</FONT> calling on God.  </div> <div>     A dry cry to God at that point involves perhaps <I>more </I>faith than we've employed any other time.  The times when we <I>felt  </I>a believing response probably expressed <I>less </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>actual faith.</div> <div>     Job said some foolish things in his pain for which God corrected him, but Job never abandoned the basic position that God was dealing with him.</div> <div>     We must settle beforehand that, should we be taken apart, our separate pieces must be called upon to issue a bare intellectual affirmation of our belief in God.  There may be no emotion behind the affirmation, but at that point, it may still be an affirmation of greater value than any we expressed in our wholeness.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="410" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 116:2</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Because He has bowed down His ear to me, </div> <div> therefore I will call on <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>Him</I> </FONT>in my days. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     The psalmist makes a very simple connection here.  <I>Because </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>God had "stretched" (Hebrew) His ear to him, he would <I>therefore </I>pray to God all his life.</div> <div>     Working this logic in reverse, we must assume that most professing Christians don't think that God has inclined His ear to them, for they have not responded with an active prayer life.  The average Christian prayer life is intermittent at best.  Neither is there much ardent calling on God, but only a presentation of our 'lists':  "Give me ..." and so one list ensues.  Also, "Bless/heal/ help ..." and so another inventory begins.  Thus we stand at the cosmic vending machine, inserting our 'prayer quarters' in hopes of supplies and blessings.</div> <div>     Most Christians would consider it mercenary to say, "God answered me; THEREFORE I'll pray consistently."  But that's what the psalmist said.  Apparently it's an allowable exchange.  Apparently the fact that God hears us is <I>supposed </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>to inspire our commitment to pray.</div> <div>     In fact, it sounds as though this is one of the main purposes for Christ's sacrifice.  At the end of a lengthy argument proving Christ's superiority to the Aaronic priests, the writer of Hebrews makes this point:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Hebrews 10:19 - 22</B></FONT>  Therefore, brothers, <U>having boldness to enter</U> into the <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>Holy of</I> </FONT>Holies <U>by the blood of Jesus</U>, by a new and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;  and <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I><U>having</U></I><U> </U></FONT><U>a High Priest</U> over the house of God, <U>let us draw near</U> with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>our</I> </FONT>bodies having been washed with pure water. </div> <bR> <div>     This is the author's first application of His argument!  <I>Because </I>Jesus is the way into Heaven, let's make sure we bring our prayers INTO HEAVEN!</div> <div>     What is the average Christian response to this openness of Heaven?  "Well, it's always open; I can come later if I like."</div> <div>     We treat Heaven like a <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >24</FONT>-hour Wal Mart.  But that's consistent with our vending machine approach to God.  We'll come when our shopping list is drawn up.  No need to hurry.  I've got enough from my last trip to last the rest of the week .</div> <bR> <div>     Such a casual approach shows no real knowledge of Jesus, Heaven, or prayer.</div> <div>     So we might say it will be one or the other:  the <B>causal </B>approach or the <B>casual </B>approach.  The causal approach sees a <I>cause </I>for bringing prayer before God and follows it.  The casual approach perceives no such connection or urgency.  The latter approach would be the preferred method of the nominal Christian.  The nominal Christian is Christian in name only.  His final destination will also be nominal.  He will be paying a 'nominal' fee for his degree of belief in the real Heaven.  The nominal (i.e., named) amount is eternity.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_21"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="410" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 119:4</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> You have commanded Your precepts </div> <div> to be kept diligently. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     God not only gives us commands to keep, He also tells us <I>how </I>to keep them!  Man, is He bossy!  But if anyone is qualified to be boss, it is certainly God.</div> <div>     We must assume from our verse that to keep God's precepts <I>without  </I>diligence <I>would </I><I><B>not </B></I><I>be really keeping them!</I>  That certainly separates the men from the boys, spiritually speaking.  I can't just saunter through my spiritual duties as I please, in my own sweet time.  The God who devised commandments to be fitting to my human nature made them invasive of my whole being.  God requires everything.  I'll either render Him that or my rendering is a useless offering.</div> <div>     Hear how the psalmist responds to the thought of God's requirement of "vehement" (Hebrew for "diligently") precept-keeping:</div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 119:5</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  Oh that my ways were established to observe Your statutes! </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The psalmist was greatly motivated at the thought of God's 'micro-management' of his life.  Why?  Because he knew that God could run his life better than he himself could.  Oh that <I>we </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>had such <I>deferment ! !</I> </div> <div>     The psalmist also knew the outcome when he paid detailed attention to God's directions:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Psalm 119:6</B></FONT>  <U>Then</U> I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on <U>all</U> your commandments. </div> <bR> <div>     How is shame invited into our lives?  It is not only when we <I>break </I>a commandment.  It is also when we do not focus on the <I>totality </I>of God's commandment regimen!  "All"  His commandments must be pondered, because they form a sum whole.  This whole is disregarded when any <I>part </I>is disregarded, even a single command.  Such disregard unavoidably results in shame according to the verse above.</div> <div>     We must have the same attention to detail that we are forced to employ when following building codes or the like.</div> <div>     Our generation, however, has come to consider DETAIL an insult to God.  The moment someone focuses on a finer point of God's directions, a nay-sayer is always waiting to remind us, "Hey, do you think God really wants us to work up such a sweat over <I>that?  </I>Aren't we forgetting the big picture here?"  </div> <div>     And so, in effect, we make our list of more important commandments the enemies of less important ones (to put a wiser face on the scoffing than it deserves).  The fact is, the larger commandments are the big brothers of the smaller ones, and we are surely asking for a black eye to show contempt for a family member.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_22"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="455" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 119:7</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> I will praise You with uprightness of heart </div> <div> when I have learned Your righteous judgments. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     The psalmist praised God with uprightness of heart.</div> <div>     Question:  Can the heart be upright when a person is engaged in evil?</div> <div>     In our day, we have come to separate ACT from MOTIVE to such an extent that we are easily convinced that an evil <I>act </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>could come from an upright <I>heart</I>.</div> <div>     Now we can certainly agree that an upright heart can <I>turn </I>from its uprightness to perform an evil deed.  But, to answer our question, as long as a heart is upright,<I> it will not engage in iniquity</I>.</div> <bR> <div>     Can there be <I>any </I>good in an evil act?</div> <div>     No.  When we choose to transgress, God may graciously override our bad intentions in bringing good out of the situation, but no good can be attributed to <I>us </I>when <I>we </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>choose the evil.</div> <bR> <div>     Can good be forecast by a person committing an evil act?  That is, can a transgressor say, "Well, at least I can see some good that will come out of this."  Again, no.  The general knowledge that God in His mercy doesn't usually let our evil choices swallow us whole is not an actual forecast of good.  Any good we think we foresee in an evil choice will probably <I>not </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>come to pass.</div> <bR> <div>     We must therefore UNconvince ourselves that evil seeds we plant can sprout a good harvest.  This notion that naturally suggests itself to our minds is an especially nasty form of presumption against God.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> Galatians 6:7</B></FONT>  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For <U>whatever a man sows</U>, <B><U>that</U></B> he also will reap. </div> <bR> <div>   An upright heart is the only motive we can sow that will reap good,</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_23"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="455" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 151 ><NOBR><div> <B>Acts 26:14</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> And all of us falling to the ground, </div> <div> I heard a voice speaking to me, </div> <div> and saying in the Hebrew dialect, </div> <div> Saul, Saul why do you persecute Me? </div> <div> <I>It is</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" > hard for you to kick against the prods. </FONT></div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <U>The Continuity of Disruption</U></div> <bR> <div>     Christianity is a <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Schoolbook" ><B>disruption</B></FONT>.</div> <div>     It brings to a halt a man's whole existence.</div> <div>     Saul, in the above verse, is recounting his big disruption.  Any real conversion to Christianity is no less a disruption (though ours may be less dramatic than Saul's).</div> <bR> <div>     Consider, though, that this supreme disruption is really a <B>continuation </B>of God's original purpose for man:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>1 Peter 2:25</B></FONT>  For you were straying like sheep, but <U>have now returned</U> to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. </div> <bR> <div>     Whatever Adam's sin disrupted in man's relationship with God, Christ has now restored.  When He comes to us to rescue us, He picks up the thread of our story back at the point of disruption, so to speak.</div> <bR> <div>     BUT Christ does not restore us all in one step.  Sin, the great disrupter, is allowed to remain within us the rest of our earthly existence.  We are allowed to see and experience the great transformation BACK to godliness.  After calling us back to Himself in conversion, Christ continues to call us back daily in repentance:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Colossians 3:5</B></FONT>  Then <U>put to death</U> your members which <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>are</I> </FONT>on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry</div> <bR> <div>     Therefore, the <B>continuity </B>of our relationship with God depends on the <I>constant </I><B>disruption </B>of our sinful natures!</div> <bR> <div>     There are three main sources we must count on to do this disrupting:</div> <bR> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1</FONT>)  Ourselves, as the Colossians verse above tells each of us to put our own sinful motions to death;</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >2</FONT>)  Christians who will confront us:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Hebrews 3:13</B></FONT>  But <U>exhort</U> one another <U>daily</U>, while it is called today, <U>lest</U> any of you be <U>hardened</U> through <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Georgia" ><I>the</I></FONT> deceitfulness of sin. </div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >3</FONT>)  Preachers.  Their main job is to minister the Word in such a way as to disrupt our straying tendencies:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>2 Timothy 4:2</B></FONT>  <U>preach</U> the word; be ready in season and out of season; <U>reprove</U>, <U>rebuke</U>, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. </div> <bR> <div>     All these forms of <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" >disruption </FONT>are uncomfortable, but we only secure the comfort of <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" >continuity </FONT>in our Shepherd's fold thereby.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_24"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="455" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <B>1 John 1:9</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> If we make it our habit to confess our sins, </div> <div> He is faithful and righteous </div> <div> to forgive us those sins </div> <div> and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     The above Bible version translates the present active subjunctive of "confess" by including the word "habit".  Some versions say "if we keep confessing", which carries the same idea.</div> <div>     The Greek word for confess literally means "like word" or "similar definition".  When we confess our sins, we are supposed to express the <B>same thing</B> about our sins that God does.  Therefore, it is very important that we know two things:</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1</FONT>)  The Biblical <I>definition </I>of sin, and;</div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >2</FONT>)  A Bible <I>list </I>of sins.</div> <div>     No list of sins will be complete without a knowledge of all the <B>commands </B>we are supposed to keep.  Since sin is "transgression of the law" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1 </FONT>John <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >3:4</FONT>), we only know sin by knowing the Law:  God's do's and don't's.  Whenever we <I>fail </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>to <B>do </B>one of God's "do's", we have sinned.  Whenever we <I>do </I>what God said <B>not </B>to do (a "don't"), we have sinned.</div> <div>     With this knowledge in hand, we are ready to add the necessary <I>emotional </I>component to our confession, for we are not expressing about sin a "word similar" to God's  if we do not feel a certain way about it:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Ezra 9:6</B></FONT>  And I said, O my God, I am <U>ashamed</U> and <U>blush</U> to lift up my face to You, my God. For <U>our iniquities</U> have increased <U>over </U><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I><U>our</U></I><U> </U></FONT><U>heads</U>, and our guiltiness has grown <U>up to the heavens</U>. </div> <bR> <div>     Well, Ezra certainly had a voluminous inventory of sins memorized!  And apparently he and the Israelites had committed all or most of them!</div> <div>     But notice how he <I>felt</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I>   </I></FONT>about sin.  He was ashamed.  If we carry only a clinical definition of sin with no corresponding heart reaction, we cannot truly confess our sin.</div> <bR> <div>     In our day, the Church has learned a wonderful trick indeed.  We have learned to confess our sins <I>without confessing!</I></div> <div>     We have <I><B>not </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT>been taught to confess:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The foolishness of our sin</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The iniquity of our sin</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The abomination of our sin</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The hurtfulness of our sin (to men)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The offense of our sin (to God)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The madness of our sin.</div> <bR> <div>     In short, we have not been taught to Biblically confess our sins.</div> <div>     The promise of forgiveness and cleansing is conditioned on confession.  We cannot invent our own definition of confession and fulfill that condition.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_25"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="412" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 173 ><NOBR><div> <B>2 Timothy 1:8</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Therefore you should not be ashamed </div> <div> of the testimony of our Lord, </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >nor </FONT><I>of</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >me His prisoner. </FONT></div> <div> But be partaker of </div> <div> the afflictions of the Gospel </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >according to </FONT><I>the</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >power of God </FONT></div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     The apostle Paul here tells pastor Timothy to share in the "evils" (Greek) of the Gospel.</div> <div>     This gives us a general principle by which to judge men's treatment of us.</div> <div>     <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Castellar" >Whatever treatment the Gospel would receive from a man, we should be willing to receive the same treatment</FONT>.</div> <div>     If someone <I>tolerates </I>the Gospel, but it is of no great interest to him, we should expect to be patronized by such a person.</div> <div>     If someone in <I>intolerant </I>of the Gospel, viewing it as an affront to humanity or himself in some way, we should expect to be despised by that person.</div> <div>     If someone <I>loves </I>the Gospel, we should expect to be companions with him.</div> <bR> <div>     Our maxim says we should be <I>willing </I>to be treated as the Gospel is.  Our examples take this a step further, though, and say we should <I>expect </I>corresponding treatment.</div> <div>     We can take this a step futher still and say that we should WANT to receive the same treatment as the gospel.</div> <div>     We should not <I>incite </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>a negative response towards the gospel.  A person's distaste for the Gospel should always surface <I>despite </I>our winsome ways.  But once we have gleaned a man's spiritual posture, we should begin looking beyond our personal interaction with him to our interaction as an ambassador of the Gospel.*</div> <bR> <div>  * <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >It won't hurt if we behave so kindly that we know he'll regret alienating us</FONT>.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_26"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="412" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 119:23</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> Princes also sat and spoke against me; </div> <div> <I>but</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >Your servant thought on Your Statutes. </FONT></div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     When men sit in official council to negatively discuss me, a sufficient counsel for me is in God's Statutes.  </div> <div>     I will be tempted to think mainly on the details of my case.  What are they going to say against me?  What shall I answer?</div> <div>     A great deal of faith is required to direct my thoughts to God's case laws, where I may not find any direct correlation to my case.</div> <div>     The main benefit of meditating on God's Statutes is the ordering of my mind by fixed principles.  Thinking upon Scriptures takes me into eternal realms, away from the changeable and devious pronouncements of men.  </div> <div>     From the eternal, unchanging realms, I reenter man's realm and realize that the wicked cannot preside.  They may decide against me now, even to my great harm; but they cannot stop God's true justice from ultimately overruling.  As long as I am concentrating on serving Him, I am invulnerable.  That's because the only true and hurtful vulnerability is being drawn away from Him in my thoughts.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_27"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="412" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Psalm 119:176</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> I have gone astray like a lost sheep;</div> <div> seek Your servant</div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     When we have lost our way, is it worth finding our way back?</div> <div>     It's a lot of trouble finding our way back.  It's easier to decide to stay lost.  There's really no decision to be made when we're off track.  The only decision or trouble comes from considering a return road.  But a return road means putting back all the habits whereby I had overcome my laziness.  It's so much easier to just go on being lazy.  It's a great deal of effort to have a quiet time.  I feel fake so often.  Isn't it hypocrisy to pray when I don't feel like it?  </div> <bR> <div>     When we have lost our way, we have lost our sense of God's grace.  Our prayers had become mere duties which were <B>depended on</B> to keep us in contact with God.  Our sense of <B>dependence </B>had switched from God to our duties.</div> <div>     Do we have duties?  Yes.  Is prayer one of them?  Yes.  Will we be able to draw near to God without prayer?  No.  But can we pray properly while feeling that is is <I>our diligence</I> which is keeping the relationship together?  No.  </div> <div>     There must always be a sense of God's gracious acceptance which welcomes me and keeps me in His presence.  Then my prayer won't be such an effort.  </div> <div>     It will still be an effort.  It will still be a duty.  It will still require the overcoming of inertia to get a prayer started.  But the first thing that should always be on my mind in prayer is that I'm there because God was there first.  I'm seeking Him because He sought me out.</div> <div>     In His prelude to the model prayer, Jesus teaches the proper frame of mind to bring to prayer :</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Matthew 6:7, 8</B></FONT>  But when you pray, do not be babbling vain words, as the nations; for <U>they think</U> that they shall be <U>heard in</U> their much <U>speaking</U>.<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div>     Then do not be like them, for your <U>Father knows</U> what things <U>you</U> have <U>need</U> of before you ask Him. </div> <bR> <div>     Yes, our prayers are always tending to return to paganism.  We're always fighting the slip into idolatry- treating God as an idol at our disposal.  It always becomes <I>our </I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>effort which is the magic ingredient.  We always forget that God is God.  That is why we always stray.</div> <div>     Hopefully it's always worth finding our way back.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="412" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 22:14</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >The mouth of wayward women </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >a deep pit; </FONT></div> <div> those despised <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>by</I> </FONT>Jehovah shall fall there. </div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     God sets up those who ignore Him for certain falls.  This is called being led into temptation.  God does not make us desire an evil thing, but He places opportunity to sin in our path.  Be sure in your mind that the <I>whole world</I> is a place of opportunity to sin for those who forget God.  When we have minimized God, sin is pretty much all that is left in the picture for us.  God just sees to it that the 'jail cell' we pick fits our particular choice of idols.</div> <div>     God has a very particular hidden pit waiting for certain men to fall into.  Consider who these men are.</div> <div>     The Hebrew word for "despised" in our verse above means "to foam (at the mouth); to be enraged".  Those with whom God is very angry receive a special treatment:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Ecclesiastes 7:26</B></FONT>   and I found more bitter than death the <U>woman</U> whose heart <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>is</I> </FONT>snares and nets; her hands <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>are</I> </FONT><U>bonds</U>. He who is good before God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be <U>captured</U> by her. </div> <bR> <div>     You see, that woman is after any man.  The good man has to "escape from her."  The good man is 'led into temptation' <I>outwardly </I>by her advances, but since he is "good before God", he is not led into temptation <I>inwardly</I>.*  He is able to say no to her.</div> <bR> <div>     Now all we have to determine is who is the man with whom God is angry.  </div> <div>     One easy way to find out is to see which guys have shacked up with wayward women.</div> <div>     But to take a look at what was wrong in these guys' <I>hearts</I>, we need to look at this Scripture:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Proverbs 6:16, 17</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >   These six </FONT><I>things</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >Jehovah hates; yea, seven </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >an abomination to his soul;  a proud look, ...</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     God hates <B>pride </B>first of all.  Even the glimmer of pride in a superior flash of the eyes sickens Him.  It indicates a deep-seated satisfaction with self.</div> <div>     God then says in effect, "OK, fellah, you think so much of yourself, let Me give you a little cutie who'll pay you the attention you deserve."  And soon he is at her mercy.  No one can wreck a man like a woman.  She allows him a sense of mastery, but her talons sink deep within him, and he will never really escape.  If he manages to break free from one adulteress, he will only fly to the arms of the next one.</div> <div>     The adulteress can be a neighbor woman, married or unmarried.  She can be a complete stranger.  But she is wayward in her heart.  She, too, is already bearing her punishment for forgetting God.</div> <div>     So God has an appointment book for spiritual criminals and their appropriate jails.  </div> <div>     It is our great wisdom to know the crimes that make God especially angry.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" > *  </FONT>This is therefore the real meaning of "Do not lead us into temptation".  It is a request to be kept from evil influence in the <I>heart</I>, not in <I>outward circumstances</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" >.</FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_29"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="498" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 173 ><NOBR><div> <B>Genesis 39:7 - 9</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> his master's wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph, </div> <div> and said, Lie with me. </div> <div> And he refused, and said to his master's wife ... </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" > "...you </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >his wife. </FONT></div> <div> And how should I do this great evil </div> <div> and sin against God?" </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     If a man commits adultery with a woman, he deserves her and she deserves him.  Each one deserves to be attached to an adulterer, an unfaithful one.</div> <div>     For any man who is concerned to keep himself clear of this fate, he can evaluate himself in his social interactions.  How does he treat the women around him?  More particularly, how would <I>other women </I>say he treats women?  Women notice how men regard other women  (This inspires much of the competition in the female world).</div> <div>     Of course, certain women who would notice the slightest subtleties of a man's flattery, eye contact, or bodily posture are <I>themselves </I>more compromised in their behavior than other women.  But their perspective is no less valid.  Perhaps it is thereby <I>more </I>useful.</div> <div>     Most often, a man should only <I>imagine </I>what a female would say about his attentions to other females.  It would probably not serve him well to actually ask most girls.  But even imagining will yield profitable results in this exercise.  Merely bringing the subject into the light of conscious evaluation will remove layers of deception.</div> <div>     If there <I>were </I>a gal whom a man could safely ask, she could help him immensely with her frank response to, "Do I flirt with any females (or with females in general)?"  </div> <div>     If the lass queried did not try to spare his feelings, she could tell him things about his communications he had no previous idea about.  Some matters he would simply have to reinterpret from a feminine perspective, for he would have no personal basis for understanding them.  But it is how a female interprets male interaction that counts in this case.</div> <div>     If we would be blameless, we need to recognize our own motives.  Some of our motives are not hidden from us at all.  Or they are 'hidden in plain view', so much a part of our intentions that they are immune from our evaluation.</div> <div>     Adultery/fornication is an easy sin to fall into.  There is always a thin line between the congenial and the flirtatious.  The solidity of that line as a barrier depends almost entirely on our conscious attention to it.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ssvwv]vwv]vtv]vwv]vwvss</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sept_30"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="443" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 3:13</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >Happy </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >the man who finds wisdom, </FONT></div> <div> and the man who gets understanding. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>     Does wisdom bring happiness?</div> <div>     Our verse above indicates that it does.</div> <div>     Can <B><U>un</U></B>happiness, then, be used as a signal that I should search for wisdom- I am unhappy, therefore, I am lacking wisdom in my life- ?</div> <div>     There is one more piece of information we must bring to the equation before we can answer intelligently:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Ecclesiastes 1:18</B></FONT>  For <U>in</U> much <U>wisdom</U> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>is</I> </FONT>much <U>grief</U>; and he who increases knowledge increases pain. </div> <div>  </div> <div>     Wisdom <I>does </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>bring happiness according to Proverbs <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >3:13</FONT>; but wisdom brings grief according to Ecclesiastes <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >1:18</FONT>.  Is there a contradiction?  </div> <div>     No, because neither verse promises happiness or sorrow <I>exclusively</I>.  Either verse would be true if a man received its emotion, whether or not that man also received any conflicting emotion.</div> <div>     Of course, we have not necessarily concluded that happiness and sorrow <I>are </I>conflicting emotions.  Can someone be happy only by erasing any trace of sorrow from his life?  No, someone can be basically happy while feeling sorrow over certain matters.</div> <div>     In fact, it is possible that someone can be <I>greatly </I>sorrowful <B>and </B><I>greatly </I>happy at the same time.</div> <div>     This is not much different than saying that we can love and hate at the same time.  In this case, it is easier to see that some objects of <I>love </I><B>require </B>corresponding objects of <I>hate</I>.  If I love righteousness, I must hate sin.</div> <div>     Similarly, if I am happy with righteousness, sin should make me sad.  Is it a common situation for righteousness <I>and </I>sin to be present in a Christian's life?  Yes, indeed!  Very common.  It is the very Christian experience:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Romans 7:22 - 24</B></FONT>  For I <U>delight</U> in the Law of God according to the inward man;  but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind ...   O <U>wretched</U> man <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>that</I> </FONT>I <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>am</I></FONT>! </div> <bR> <div>     The critical matter, then, is to determine the proper causes of our happiness and our sorrow.  I should be happy to the degree that <I>its </I>proper causes are present in my life and unhappy where <I>its </I>proper causes are present.</div> <div>     Back to the original question, then.  Should unhappiness in my life be a sign that wisdom is lacking, since wisdom brings happiness.  Yes, <I>general </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>unhappiness should tell us that there is insufficient wisdom in us.</div> <div>     Should I go searching for wisdom to find happiness?  Or is that selfish?  Must I seek wisdom purely for its own sake?</div> <div>     Since happiness is one necessary fruit of wisdom, it is God's will for me to be happy in being wise.  God is not saying, "Well, happiness is self-indulgent, but I'll give you some of it <I>as long as</I> you put wisdom first!"  No, happiness is a necessary consequence of wisdom.  It flows forth generously, just as wisdom itself to those who seek it.</div> <div>     The same wisdom will also bring grief, because wisdom is insight, and insight into our world and ourselves shows us sin's ugliness.</div> <div>     The sin within <I>myself </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BwSymbol" ><I> </I></FONT>is ugly and dejecting, but I must follow the apostle's example and emphasize gratitude in spite of my sorrow:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Georgia" ><B>Romans 7:25</B></FONT>  <U>I thank God</U> through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv]vzv</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>