He Will Not Abandon Me!

He Will Not Abandon Me!

Reading:  Psalm 15, 16, 17
My Verse:  "For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let Your holy one see corruption" (16:10).

Assuring words, these are!  Words I need to hear often!  LORD God, throughout Your Word You tell us this - that You will never "abandon" those that belong to You!

I attended a JJ Heller concert last night.  I do enjoy her music.  She sang several of my favorite songs. One "Who You Are" says it so well with the lyrics.  "I don't know what you are doing, but I know Who You are."

There is so much pain, so much tragedy in the world.  Each of us deals with some kind of pain, including those of us that belong to you.  No, we are not exempt from the travails of this world.

And, You LORD God, don't always take away the hurt at least not immediately, even when we pray for release.  It is at these times we need to hold onto the fact of Who You are!

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:13)

You are The LORD God Almighty!

"On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:16).

You are the mighty LORD God of the universe!  You are also the God and author of Love.  You love us more than we can ever understand. You promise You will never abandon us!

While there is so much I do not understand, these words I can hold onto.

"It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

"He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Crumbling Foundations of Morality

Reading: Psalm 11 - 14
My Verse:  "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? . . The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good" (11:3, 14:1).

This morning I ran across an article entitled "Dartmouth President takes on Debased Campus Culture."  In the article President Hanlon is quoted; "Dartmouth cannot be held back by the few who wrongly hide harmful behaviors behind the illusion of youthful exuberance. Routinized excessive drinking, sexual misconduct and blatant disregard of social norms have no place at Dartmouth. Enough is enough."

This weekend I was in a conversation about swearing.  My son mentioned how he has several professors that swear frequently. And this on a Christian campus.  We talked about the why of swearing.  It was mentioned that English is a rich language, there is no need for profanity.  We discussed the reasons for swearing; laziness, insecurity - a need to appear tough, or a misguided attempt to appear "cool or hip" to the young.

It is sad that adults do not take on their responsibility of leading and guiding the young, instead they try to be like the young even when the behaviors are questionable.  These behaviors as Hanlon stated merely have the  "illusion of youthful exuberance."

Even those that deny You, LORD God, recognize the inmate need we all have for a sound moral structure in our society.  There was another article in the New York Times last week entitled, "Raising A Moral Child."  As our society slowly but steadily deteriorates this need for morality becomes more and more pronounced.

You, LORD God instruct through Your word that we are to,

   " Train up a child [a]in the way he should go,
       Even when he is old he will not depart from it" (Psalm 22:6).

    "And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and        instruction of The Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).

The very foundations of our social mores are crumbling.  And like in Noah's day there will come a time when it will be too late to turn things around.  For, You LORD God tell us you will return and put an end to all that is corrupt. (Acts 17:31)

Oh, LORD God, I pray for our society.  I pray that the professors on our campuses across the country be courageous and instead of succumbing to the desire to be more like the young - lead and guide them by example - by following Your precepts. (Psalm 18)

I commend Hanlon for speaking up on this need to check our young when they get caught up in obviously wrong and harmful behavior.  We need to stem the tide of the crumbling away of our moral foundation.

"You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability" (2 Peter 3:17).

"Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation" (Isaiah 28:16).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Troubles Of Our Own Making

My Reading: Psalm 1 - 10
My Verse:  "The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands" (9:15,16).

It is not even surprising anymore when we hear of another country leader or politician that is caught in his or her corruption - "in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught!"  They made their trouble and so cause their own demise.

Sadly, much time, energy and money is spent on trying to bring these people to justice.  Even more sadly the media seems to almost joyfully shout out this kind of news - it becomes like a feeding frenzy, a kind of sensuality. Much effort is expended to determine why this person committed such obviously wrong acts.  Psychologists are brought in to try to explain away or give excuses for why the actions were committed.

But what it comes down to is the individual was simply greedy and foolish.  They knew what they were doing, as they made each decision that took them down that wrong path.

We are all of us, even nations, responsible for how we conduct ourselves.

  "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12).

   "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Psalm 10 graphically spells out the ugliness of these ruthless corrupt characters.  It is like reading about what goes on today.  It just shows that no matter the age or century, man, when he goes after the desires of his own heart becomes more and more corrupt.  They are seeking something to satisfy, but nothing does.

It is like the great heroin drug addition going on now.  People keep dying because they just keep needing more and more to get their "high", eventually overdosing.  So it is with all things not of You, LORD God, that we try to satisfy ourselves with.  It is never enough.

You, LORD God, only can satisfy our deepest needs.  Solomon, the wisest man to have ever lived, came to that conclusion.

"Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

No, we cannot, individuals or nations put the blame elsewhere for our selfish greedy behavior!
You, LORD God gave us a free will to decide for ourselves how we will go.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

God Directs Us To Intercede Through Prayer!

God Directs Us To Intercede Through Prayer!

Reading: Job 38 - 42
My Verse:  "And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.  So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job's prayer" (42:8,9).

I think this is just fascinating!  Now, I  wonder, why does God direct Job to intercede for his friends?  Why could he not just accept their own prayers?  Earlier He says to Job's friends, "My anger burns against you . . .  for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."  They had committed a most awful sin, that of not speaking rightly of You LORD God.  And because they did that You could not, would not deal directly with them. They needed someone who was in right fellowship with You to intercede for them!  And in this case that was Job!

So many think prayer is silly and useless.  And yet most people, when finding themselves in dire circumstances, turn to prayer.  I really like what C.S. Lewis says on prayer.

"Pascal says that God 'instituted prayer in order to allow His creatures the dignity of causality'.  It would perhaps be truer to say that He invented both prayer and physical action for that purpose.  He gave us small creatures the dignity of being able to contribute to the course of events in two different ways.  He made the matter of the universe such that we can (in those limits) do things to it; that is why we can wash our own hands and feed or murder our fellow creatures. Similarly, He made His own plan or plot of history such that it admits a certain amount of free play and can be modified in response to our prayers. If it is foolish and impudent to ask for victory in a war (on the ground that God might be expected to know best), it would be equally foolish and impudent to put on a mackintosh - does not God know best whether you ought to be wet or dry?"

Prayer is to be constant. "Be constant in prayer" (Romans 12:12)
We are to pray for our own needs. "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray" (James 5:13).
We are to pray for others. "Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church" (Acts 12:5)

Thank You, LORD God for this reminder of the importance of prayer!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

God Strives to Bring Us To HIM!

God Strives to Bring Us To Him!

Reading:  Job 31 - 37
My Verse:  "Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times, with a man,  to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life" (Job 33:29,30).

Elihu speaks such great truth here!  You, LORD God do all that can be done to bring us to YOU!

"What is man that You are mindful of him and the son of man that You care for him?"(Psalm 8:4)

How You care for us, despite the awful things that we do.  You only want the best for us.  You want fellowship with each of us!  You want fellowship with me!  All of scripture's aim and purpose is to this end.

"But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).

We struggle so to make sense of our world. Sadly, many want to do that on their own. Our pride wants to exclude You, our Creator God.  But no matter what unbelievers say You are the God of the Universe.  Every man will be forced to admit that in the end. (Romans 14:11)

You try to reach us in so many ways. "For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it" (Job 33:14).  Blindly and stubbornly man turns away from Your loving revelation of Yourself.

The other day I watched this amazing time lapse video of blossoming flowers.  It is so hard to understand how anyone could believe that all happened by chance!  You are indeed an amazing God!  "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens" (Psalm 8:1).

The conception and birth of a child; the sun, moon and stars; the brilliant breathtaking colors we see in nature; our very speech; the incredible variety and uniqueness of each and every human; the majestic oak tree and pine tree;  the incredible properties of water the essence of life; all speak to and display Your majesty and glory!

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters . . . Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live" (Isaiah 55:1-3).

Oh, LORD God, thank You for striving so hard to bring us to You!  Thank You for Your great love and  patience!  Thank You for Your Word that points us to You!

"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts" (Jeremiah 15:16).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!