Forgive To Be Forgiven

October 22, 2011 “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him.” (Mark 11:25) Sin destroys! The “thief,” Satan, has come to destroy us any way he can. God is a holy God and cannot have fellowship with anyone who continues in sin. Approaching our holy God in prayer we must come with clean hands and a pure heart, if we want our prayers heard (Ps.66:18). Unforgiveness is a cancerous sin of the soul, it not only breaks our relationship with one another and breaks our fellowship with God but it brings bitterness into our heart and chains us to that person we are not forgiving. I read about a most horrible punishment in a pagan country that if a person committed murder the dead body would be fastened to the back of the guilty and made to carry the corrupting body until the corruption from the dead body infected and killed the murderer. This is a terrible picture but shows how unforgiveness will affect us if we persist in carrying it in our heart. Unforgiveness permeates all of our thinking and grows like a cancer that corrupts our soul (mind, will and emotions). The unforgiven person may never know the grudge we are holding against them. But that dead body of unforgiveness is corrupting our entire life, making us into a critical, bitter person. Psychiatrists say that the progression of a bitter spirit leads to paranoia. When we are paranoid we think everyone is against us, we can’t accept love but see an ulterior motive behind every kind act done to us. Unforgiveness destroys relationships, homes, jobs and even our dreams. It is a load too heavy for anyone to carry. When we come to God in prayer we must first forgive anything we are holding against anyone. In the Lord’s Prayer (Matt.6:15) it says if we don’t forgive we can’t be forgiven by God. God can’t forgive a sin of which we will not let go. Forgiveness is very simple but most difficult to do because it involves our pride and our stubborn will. It is simply “letting go” of whatever we feel justified in holding on to “because they did me wrong.” The longer we hold onto our justification the closer to “death” we come – death to peace, joy, that relationship, freedom in our spirit, a healthy mind, and fellowship with our Father. We must ask ourselves, “What is this unforgiveness costing me?” “How much am I willing to pay to hold onto to this "death"? It is hard to forgive someone who has hurt us so badly. We feel they have a great debt they owe us – an apology and restitution for their disloyalty, unfaithfulness, slander, hypocrisy, etc. The first step toward forgiveness is to examine carefully all for which Christ has forgiven and will continue to forgive me. I must weigh all for which He has forgiven me on one side of His scales and put the things for which I need to forgive someone else on the other side of the scales. The debt owed me will be way up in the air while my debt to Christ of all my sins will be on the ground. Matthew 18:21-35 is the perfect scenario of how my unforgiveness compares with the Father’s forgiveness.

Whether that person, who we feel has wronged us, will ever ask for forgiveness, we must, for the sake of our relationship with others, with Jesus Who has forgiven us so much and for being forgiven by the Father, we must choose to forgive. Forgiveness is a choice. When we choose to forgive, our healing process begins – first of all, it begins with the Father forgiving us of our sin of unforgiveness, and that old body of corruption falls off our back. “Unforgiveness says, ‘you wronged me and you owe me.’ Forgiveness says, ‘I will no longer hold against you what you have done against me.'” You may say, “I just can’t forgive nor forget!” The truth is you don’t want to forgive. You would rather nurse your “sore of entitlement to be hurt” and continue to carry that corrupting body. “Get a life” by letting go, that you can “stand before God to pray” because you have forgiven; now He can forgive you! Satan will work in your mind to dredge up that old body of unforgiveness, but just take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (II Cor.10:5), submit yourself to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). O the joy of sins forgiven, where the healing waters flow.

God Is Not Silent

“The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3b)

As most of you know, we in Texas are in the midst of the worst draught in well over a hundred years, with no relief in sight. Our creeks, ponds and lakes are drying up; our grass, plants and trees are dying. It pains me to look out into our woods and drive down the road and see trees that are over one hundred years old and one hundred feet tall dying or dead. The ranchers are having hay hauled in for their cattle because their hay fields are dead or never made. The farmers crops are drying up on the vine or in the ground, and the wild fires have been rampant, burning tens of thousands of acres of woodlands and grasslands. The wild animals are fleeing to find safety from the fires and to find food and water.

There are hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis – all in diverse places. I have been saying for sometime that God is trying to wake us up from our lethargy and satisfaction with the status-quo and to shake us out of our complacency. He is shouting to us through His sovereign creation that we should “Be still and know that He is God.” God is not silent!

Man thinks he is self-sufficient and he is so wise, while he is so very lukewarm in his devotion to our God. We have said (especially those of us in the western world), “I am rich, I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing, and we do not realize and understand that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. Because of our self and material idolatry our Creator counsels us to purchase from Him His gold (His wisdom – Prov.16:16), refined and tested by fire, that we may be truly wealthy, and clothed in white clothes (His righteousness, Isaiah 61:10) to cover our shame; and salve to heal our sick souls so we may truly see His holiness” (Rev.3:15-18). Our God is not silent!

He has spoken to us in His Word by prophets, angels, from a burning bush, by a donkey, and He spoke in a still small voice. He desires that we would recognize and acknowledge Him for Who He is, the sovereign Creator of all the earth, and gratefully and affectionate praise Him. The Psalmist in Psalm 104 describes very succinctly how this Sovereign Creator still speaks; He still speaks today by His written and spoken Word, His Holy Spirit, nature and natural disasters. He is not silent! Are we listening?

PSALM 104

You are clothed with honor and majesty – You are the One Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment,
You are the One Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent,
Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters (above the firmament),
Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,
Who makes winds His messengers, flames of fire His ministers.
You laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be moved forever.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains
At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
The mountain rose, the valleys sank down to the place which You appointed for them.
You have set a boundary for the waters which they may not pass over, that they turn not again to deluge the earth.
He sends forth springs into the valleys; their waters run among the mountains.
They give drink to every wild beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst there.
Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests; they sing among the branches.
He waters the mountains from His upper rooms; the earth is satisfied and abounds with the fruit of His works.
He causes vegetation to grow for the cattle, and all that the earth produces for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food out of the earth –
And wine gladdens the heart of man, to make his face shine more than oil, and bread to support, refresh and strengthen man’s heart.
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly and are filled with sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He has planted, where the birds make their nests; as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the conies and badgers.
The Lord appointed the moon for the seasons; the sun knows the exact time of its setting.
You, O Lord, make darkness and it becomes night, in which creeps forth every wild beast of the forest.
The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God. When the sun arises, they withdraw themselves and lie down in their dens.
Man goes forth to his work and remains at his task until evening.
O Lord, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom You make them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.
These all wait and are dependent upon You, that You may give them their food in due season. When You give it to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, and they are filled with good things. When You hide Your face, they are troubled and dismayed, when You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
When You send for Your Spirit and give them breath, they are created, and You replenish the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works – Who look on the earth. And it quakes and trembles, Who touches the mountains. And they smoke!
I will sing to the Lord as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.

Affectionately and gratefully praise the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord, Hallelujah!

“God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.” (William Cowper)

God is not silent, He speaks to me every day!

A Most Deadly Weapon

October 4, 2011 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 15:4) In the day we live several countries have weapons that can destroy the earth and all life that is on it. All it would take is the punch of a few buttons and earth as we know it would be annihilated. We don’t know if or when this possibility might occur, so many live in constant fear of the unthinkable happening. We as Christians don’t have to live in any fear because, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a well balanced mind that is disciplined and with self-control” (II Tim.1:7). We don’t have to fear something that is out of our control anyway, but trust that to our sovereign God. What we can control and we do need to fear is the deadliest organ in our body. This organ performs a most important biological function in our body but when it is misused it can destroy, but when used properly it can bring life and health. Have you guessed yet what that organ is? It is the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Life or death is in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it, for death or life.” Jesus said, “By your words you will be justified and acquitted; and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced.” We offend in many ways but if anyone does not offend in speech, he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature (James 3:2). Verses 3-12 compare controlling the horse with a bit and a small rudder of a ship to that little organ in our mouths which is uncontrollable. It is called a “fire,” a world of wickedness. Every kind of beast, bird, reptile and sea animal can be tamed by human genius, but the human tongue can not be tamed by the genius of any man. It is a restless, undisciplined, irreconcilable evil, full of deadly poison. With that organ we bless the Lord and curse men who have been made in God’s likeness. These things ought not to be so. Can a fountain send forth, simultaneously, from the same opening fresh and bitter water? Just as a fig tree does not bear olives or a grapevine bear figs, neither can a salt spring furnish fresh water. The Psalms speak of the tongue as being a sharp sword (57:4). We are admonished not to sin with our tongue (39:1), and to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking deceit (34:13). The wicked one’s mouth is full of cursing, deceit, fraud; under his tongue are trouble and sin (10:7). One of the things required for a person to live in God’s presence is to not slander with his tongue (15:3). In (64:1-8) David ask for the Lord’s protection again his enemy from destroying him with venomous words like swords, they talked of laying snares; but God will make them to stumble and their own their own tongues will turn against them. The ninth Commandment says we are not to bear false witness against our neighbor. With our tongue we can exhibit our integrity by “speaking truly, dealing truly and living truly (Eph.4:15). We are told in I Peter 3:10 if we want to enjoy life and see good days that we are to keep our tongue free from evil and our lips from treachery or deceit. The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me,” simply is not true. A child who grows up with condemnation will grow to feel guilty. A child who grows up with criticism will grow to fell worthless. A child who grows up with untrustworthy parents will grow to be untrusting. A child who grows up with angry parents will grow to be fearful and angry. But a child who grows up with parents who praises, loves, is patient, kind and one who keeps their word, will grow up to be a loving, confident, generous and with strong integrity. I think it was James Dobson who coined the term, “tough love.” The truth sometimes hurts but it can be healing if it is spoken in love (Eph. 4:15). Truth is easy to administer. Even someone with a cold heart can speak truth but it takes someone with a heart made tender by the love of God to speak in love. B. Crawford aptly put it, “Truth is utterly necessary to keep us from what is harmful, but it can turn people away if applied in a harsh manner. Christ is the only One who could apply both with perfect equanimity.” We should administer a lot of grace with our tongue to the guilty and innocent alike. Remember, Christ’s example – He loved the sinner but hated His sin. He spoke in truth about the sin but spoke in love about the sinner. Only the blood of Jesus applied to our hard, dirty hearts can change that hard, dirty organ in our mouth. Prayer, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, my Strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Help me to “lead every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ (II Cor.10:5), so my negative thoughts will not contaminate my tongue to speak evil of any kind. Heal me from bad, past influences that would cause me to continue in the same sin toward others. Cleanse my heart, O God, make it more like Yours and when I speak, may I speak Your praises and speak as You would speak – always with love. Father, may I speak with words that come from a purified heart and mind. I pray this in the most precious and the sweetest name I know, Jesus Christ. Amen!

He Is Worthy

“Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne.” (Rev.5:13)

There is only One who deserves all the blessing and honor and glory and power, and He is sitting on the throne – the Lamb of God, our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the great I Am, the beginning and the end, the Prince of Peace, the King of kings, the good Shepherd , our Righteousness. He is our “head-lifter,” our Rock, our merciful Redeemer, our Way-Maker, the living Water, the Light, the Bread of Life, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the sovereign God, the unchanging God, our Provider, the Pearl of Great Price. He is our Perfecter, our Advocate, the Bridge between God and man, our Sacrifice, Hope and Deliverer, our Shield and Buckler, our Burden Bearer and sure Foundation. He is the God Who sees everything, the Covenant Keeper, the Gift Giver,
Our Hiding Place, the God Who is there, our Comforter, the Eternal God. He is our All in All, the incomparable God! Our God has power to do the supernatural, the unthinkable and the impossible – What a mighty God we serve!

Yes, Jesus Christ is worthy to receive blessing, honor, glory, power and to sit on the throne, and all of His children sit on in “heavenly places” with Him.

“That’s My King”
The late Dr. S. M. Lockeridge, a pastor from San Diego, California said these words in a sermon in Detroit in 1976:

My King was born King. The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King. He’s the King of the Jews – that’s an Ethnic King. He’s the king of Israel – that’s a National King. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King!
Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don’t try to mislead me. Do you know my King? David said the Heavens declare the glory of god, and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is the only one of whom there are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out his blessing.
He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. That’s my King. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s Savior. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s honest. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent. He’s the grandest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of historic theology. He’s the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That’s my King!
He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He’s the only one able to supply all our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s the Almighty God who guides and keeps all His people. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. That’s my King !
Do you know Him? Well, my King is a King of knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory. He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the Heroes. He’s the leader of the legislatures. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King!
His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you…but He’s indescribable. That’s my King. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible, and He is irresistible.
I‘m coming to tell you this, that the heavens of heavens can’t contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him. The Pharisees couldn’t stand him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him…the witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree about Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t hand Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my King!
Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory! Well, all the power belongs to my King. We’re around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but in the end all that matter is god’s power. Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory. We try to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? Forever and ever and ever and ever……And when you get through with all of the ever’s, then….Amen!

Faith vs. Fatalism

October 1, 2011 “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). (Unless you believe there is an Almighty God these thoughts won’t interest you.) This all powerful, all knowing, ever present God spoke the entire creation into being and He said, “It is good.” Every word He speaks is good and it is Truth. This God chose to become flesh and live among us (John1:1-14. He was the Word that spoke the worlds (and us) into being. His Word is Truth and stands forever. He gave us the Word in written form, the Bible. Though heaven and earth may pass away (and it will someday) but His Word will never pass away (Matt.24:35; Isa.40:8; I Pet.1:25). Many books can inform us of many things, but only the Bible, God’s Word, can transform us when we accept Christ the Savior of the Bible. Once we were blind but now we see; we were hopeless but now we have hope; we were in anguish of soul, but now we have His peace that passes understanding; we were under God’s condemnation, now we are reconciled and have a place in His family. To have faith in God we must have faith in His Word – all of it, not just the parts we understand or like. Until we accept, by faith, the Savior, Jesus – “the Word,” we cannot understand His Word (Eph.4:18). To believe in God we must believe His Word because: “Every scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness (holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose and action), so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” To choose to believe in God and what He says in His Word is choosing faith. The Way of faith is a learning process. Just as a child learns to walk, it is slow and stumbling at first, but as he is persistent in practicing his legs become stronger and his balance is perfected and soon he is running. As John Eldredge put it, “Whatever our situation in life – butcher, baker, candlestick maker – our deepest and most pressing need is to learn to walk with God,” then we can learn to run with God. All this learning comes about by reading, meditating and obeying God’s Word. It is the ‘blueprint’ for life. Fatalism is the opposite of Faith. Fatalism attempts to rise up against the Creator and replace God’s will with his own will. Psalm 2:4 says that “God laughs at man’s willfulness and holds him in derision.” God has given man a will, but only within limits. God is the Creator of all and He never relinquishes control of this world’s system, humans or even angels (His or Satan’s). Fatalism says, “Let’s eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Faith says, “Jesus loves me; He has a plan for my life; He is my Shepherd that leads me in paths of righteousness; He knows what is best for me and makes all things work together for my good, as I trust Him and He will take me home to heaven some day.” This world is in chaos and if we don’t trust in the Sovereign God, knowing He is in complete control of everything and that His Word never fails but will accomplish the purpose for which It was spoken (Isaiah 55:11), we will be a person most miserable and have nothing to believe in but fatalism and no hope for now nor the future. “Trust and Obey” John H. Sammis When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will He abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”