Scanning the Computer

       We are fairly cautious internet users.  We don’t download a lot of stuff and never open emails or links from people we don’t know- or suspicious ones from those we do know.  Most of the problems we get are from ad ware which is fairly easy to resolve.  Viruses, spyware, worms and trojans are things to beware for they can hijack your computer, corrupt data or even ‘kill’ your machine.  It’s scary stuff, especially since we can now keep terabytes of important/ personal information on our machines.

       Yesterday, it was time to upgrade my free anti-virus and it came in with next year’s date like a car.  As usual, when it was done, it wanted me to restart the computer to get it running properly.  That was a little annoying because I had work to do and didn’t have time to reboot.  I finally had time for the reboot and then it wanted to run a computer scan; nothing I wanted to do since it would slow down my work, so I put it off until today. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if any wicked way is in me; and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps. 139:23,24

Wash me completely from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned, and done evil in Your eyes; ... Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. … Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Ps. 51:2-4,7,10

       King David was a man who was passionate about Jehovah, accomplished great feats, and made enormous mistakes.  But I think the reason God said, “…I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after My own heart,…” (Ac. 13:22) is because David showed his love for God by his obedience to God’s will and his repentant heart.  He wasn’t content to allow sin to remain in him, not even those sins he didn’t know about.  “My sin is ever before me.” indicates that he lived a life of conviction, he knew that sin was against Jehovah and only Jehovah could wash him clean.

       So it was kind of like David realized the viruses, spyware, worms and trojans were constantly infiltrating his being and so he’d run (to) his anti-virus software (God) to scan, root them out and clean them up.  I think in that sense, we all need to scan for sin daily, constantly bringing what we know to the Lord for forgiveness, and asking Him to deal with that which we do not know.  For myself I usually ask the Lord to expose my unknown sin to me or others so that it can no longer hide in the darkness keeping junk between Him and me.  I don’t want ANYTHING of the dark between us anymore.  How about you?

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jh. 1:8,9

All Die and All Live

       Funerals are very emotional to me whether or not I know the person who died.  I go through a general sadness in that no man should have to die, and a specific sadness that no one should have to suffer the loss of a loved one.  Yet, we all must die (2Sm. 14:14).  Even when the person is in Heaven and there is hope for seeing them again, that does not stop the ache of missing them here and now.  There are many I miss in my own life; I’m confident some were saved and are waiting for me in Heaven, and others I am unsure about because they may have been saved in the last few moments of their lives.

       So it was after the funeral yesterday that I sat reading Scriptures and was astounded by the end of a verse that indicated something I simply never considered.  We experience the loss of a person, their touch, their voice, their laughter, their love, their wisdom, etc. while we remain living on this earth.  But God, who is eternal and knew us before we were born (Jr. 1:5; Ps. 139:16), is not the God of the dead but of the living…

But that the dead are raised, even Moses pointed out at the Bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For He is not God of the dead, but of the living. For all live to Him. Lk. 20:37,38

       Now, this could mean God is the God of the spiritually living (saved) and not those spiritually dead (unsaved), but proper interpretation of the Bible is to take it literally when at all possible.  “For all live to Him.” (Mt. 22:32; Mr. 12:27 omit these 5 words).  God IS the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because they are not dead in spirit but in body.  “…to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2Cr. 5:8 Web) 

All live to God.

       To God, we don’t die.  There is no loss in the respect that our spirit lives on, so our physical death (in my mind) probably doesn’t affect Him like we are affected by the death of a loved one.  I think for Him it would be worse if our spirit was dead to Him due to rejecting Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.  God doesn’t want one to perish (2Pt. 3:9), not one, but all to repent and turn to Him.

All live to God.  It is our choice how we live after our bodies die…

     Will it be eternal life or torment?  Choose wisely…

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Dn. 12:2

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life. Mt. 25:46

as Sodom and Gomorrah… undergoing vengeance of everlasting fire. Jude 1:7

He who believes on the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him. Jh. 3:36

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night, those who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. Rv. 14:11

Difficult Times

       For the past year a Bible study friend of mine has been going through very rough times.  She lost her Mom last year near the holidays, most of the in between stuff is not mine to say, she has been fighting health problems since this March, there are a couple new stressors on her life since then, and her Dad just passed away this latest holiday.  Why does her life seem like such never-ending difficulties?  Did she do something wrong?

       It’s weird how we often think first about what we did wrong to make bad things happen in our life.  Certainly our own poor choices may bring bad repercussions that last decades, but I don’t think God is ‘the giver’ of anything that isn’t good.  Having said that, He certainly allows us to go through terrible times when He finds in important in His plans- usually for our growth… 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights… Jm. 1:17

        Will God use all the good and the ‘bad’ things that happen in this life to His advantage such as helping us grow?  My life is proof that growth often comes from troubled times.  And I see this dear friend standing stronger in the Lord this year after all she’s been through.  So does God allow these things to test and try us?  Let’s see what the Bible says about difficult times, starting with Jesus’ promise of troubles:

I have spoken these things to you so that you might have peace in Me. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Jh. 16:33

My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of temptations*, knowing that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. Jm. 1:3,4  (*trial, proving, or temptation)

in which you greatly rejoice, yet a little while, if need be, grieving in manifold temptations*; so that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than that of gold that perishes, but being proven through fire) might be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 1Pt. 1:6,7

And not only this, but we glory in afflictions also, knowing that afflictions work out patience, and patience works out experience, and experience works out hope. Rm. 5:3,4

Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which is to try you, as though a strange thing happened to you, but rejoice according as you are partakers of Christ's suffering, so that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1Pt. 4:12,13

Lord, help us to press in to You whenever hard times hit us, so that we may find strength in Your arms, peace and joy in Your presence, and hope in Your love.  And my we continue to go from glory to glory, maturing in all the trials of life, until we reflect Your image.