We Can Sing

They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. 

Is. 24:14

       The Jews were taken captive by the Assyrians (during Isaiah’s time) and scattered throughout their kingdom.  I can’t imagine being taken captive and having to live in a foreign land not of my choice, but surely that is no reason to be singing, especially the praises of a God who would allow that to happen… right?  Yet, in this verse, the people are praising God from the sea (a term meaning many lands).

       Why are these people praising the God who allowed them to be taken captive?  Perhaps they looked at the positive side of their situation.  They weren’t dead like some of their fellow Jews, they weren’t seriously injured, and their homeland was still viable to live on therefore there were possibilities they could return one day.  It would be easy to blame the God who allowed the captivity to happen, but would life without God be any happier?  No, then they would just be miserable in the situation which they were in.

       The truth is, as human we are predisposed to look at the negative side of things, and placing blame to someone (like God) justifies our negative outlook.  We can be piss-y and miserable because our situation is not our fault!!  Bad things happen because we live in a sinful, fallen world headed for destruction.

       God has not changed (Mal. 3:6).  He planned our salvation and ultimate victory from the beginning of time “…Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Rev. 13:8) and in Him and His plan we can trust because His word is sure “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him…” (2Cor. 1:20).  No matter what situation we find ourselves in, hope for eternal life is promised to His children, and His Word shall come to pass, every one (Mt. 5:18) “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Tt. 1:2).

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  Php. 4:11

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  1Th. 5:18    (Notice the word is not “for” but “in” every thing.) 

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…  Job 13:15

       Obviously, we don’t have to be thrilled or happy for the bad things that happen.  That’s not what any of these scriptures are about.  They are saying that in good and even bad times we can trust God, and we can be content in Him- that He is with us in it all (Is. 43:2).  For who He is, and in trust of His care for us, we can give Him thanks in every thing- good and bad.  We too can sing the majesty of a God who leads us to victory… forevermore!

Been to a Funeral

       I actually didn’t know the man whose funeral it was; sure I’d seen him a couple times, but it was his wife I knew, and her first husband.  She did not deserve to lose two husbands in her life, but since sin entered the world, so did death (Rom. 5:12) and we humans cannot control life and death no matter how much we want to.  So it was a solemn morning for me- there was no real celebration.  The right words were spoken at the service as if there was a glorious new day ahead for the man, but I didn’t see it in the faces…  Very sad.

For today, I am just writing some of my thoughts.

I wonder how many of the people reciting or singing specific words really believe what they are saying.

(That goes for anyone at any church!)

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  Mt. 6:7

You can find brothers and sisters in the Lord just about anywhere.

There was an adorable little old lady whose face shone with God’s love and glory.

Why is it we think being good (going to church, serving at church, praying etc) will get us into eternal life in Heaven?

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.  Eph. 2:8,9

Life is in Jesus Christ and no other.  Reading about Him/ the Bible won’t save you.

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.  And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.  Jh. 5:39,40

True joy, peace, hope (Rom. 15:13), freedom (Gal. 5:1), and abundant life (Jh. 10:10) are only found in relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.  Lk. 4:18-21

Thank You Lord and Savior

                for the new life and hope for a glorious eternity with You

                                   because of all You have done.

Faith and Folly

       Seems to me, on the back of great victories, the children of God end up in a mess.  Take for example the children of Israel after leaving Egypt- many great miracles- and they began to worship a calf (Ex. 32).  Then there were all the complaints in the desert though they saw with their own eyes God provide one way or another.  Once victorious in the land, they stopped asking for God’s advice and made bad decisions (Jos. 9).  Here is another story after they allotted the land to the sons of Israel:

The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war.  They made war with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.  And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him.  Then they took away their livestock… also one hundred thousand of their men; for many fell dead, because the war was God’s. And they dwelt in their place until the captivity.  1Chr. 5:18-22 NKJV

And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.  So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser[a] king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity…  1Chr. 5:25,26

       The Eastern Hebrew tribes took the land they needed from the inhabitants dwelling there.  God gave them a great victory because they trusted Him and they cried out to Him in battle.  Notice how 44,760 men took captive over 100,000 men (and many men were dead).  That’s near impossible odds, but they did it.  (That’s faith)  Just over 300 years later these same Hebrews were taken captive for being unfaithful (to the same God who gave them victory) by worshipping other gods.  (That’s folly)

       We like to look down on the Jews for these mistakes, but the truth is, we are no better today.  We are on the side of the cross where there is proof of Jesus who walked the earth, did miracles, died, was resurrected from the dead and seen by over 500 people.  Many of us have seen miracles of one kind or another or seen God move in our lives somehow.  So, a short time after the greatest victory in our lives- salvation through Jesus Christ, we often enter into folly, accepting worldly behaviour into our lives just as the Jews who went back to idol worship.

       The only difference is we don’t (usually) physically pray to, bow down, or acknowledge our idols as gods: TV, money, computers, cell phones, sports, cars, status, power, food, friends, parties, our children, sensual pleasures, toys-ipods, tablets... the list could go on for a while.  So, how do we keep from making the same foolish mistake over and over again where we put other things in priority over God thus establishing them as idols in our lives?

       Daily and often during the day, we should remember all He has done for us.  (We really should write them all down so we can reread them.)  The Hebrews were told (in Deuteronomy) over ten times to remember what God had done for them, they neglected to do so and suffered the consequences thereof.  Let us learn from such folly and return to faith and trust in our God.

Remember, and forget not… Dt. 9:7