"All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man[a] as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever." 1 Peter 1:24-25
This morning I was watching KTLA5 news. The entertainment reporter interviewed Jeff Foxworthy. This month he will be hosting a new game show called "Bible Quiz."
"The fool who says in his heart, "There is no God." Psalm 14:1
Strong words. As a matter of fact, we are cautioned not to use this word flippantly. It is serious business to refer to someone as a fool. Yet the very definition of fool is to not believe or need God. How easy that seems to make it if you can convince yourself there is NO God. No God- No consequences. No God- no absolutes, No God- No fear of God. Then those who are wise in their own eyes become God, or at least their own God. I cannot even imagine what the concept of no God looks like or feels like. David is reminded of the foolish as he once again considers what it must look like from Gods perspective the way mankind acts; the way they are evil, they way they are oppressive and insensitive and self-consumed. The condition and way of man must grieve God.
"I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me." Psalm 13:6
As we work our way through this Psalm I am struck by the stark contrast between David’s utter dismay and his tremendous faith. He is so like us. I’ll admit it, he’s like me. I can in one breath be beside myself and in the next breath be completely together.
"Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men." Psalms 12:1
Sometimes do you wonder where all the Christians have gone? It is becoming increasingly difficult to identify who the believers are. It seems like many people are the same. This Psalm goes on to describe how everybody lies, deceives, boasts, oppresses others and even struts around when what is vile is honored. Kind of a picture of the degradation, corruption, inappropriateness, nastiness, and general immorality that is so rampant today. You know the contrasts, wrong is right, bad is good, down is up, etc. etc.? As we discussed over and over again in our study of the Judges; "Everyone does what is right in their own mind." There are seemingly no standards and no absolutes. The concept of integrity is jaded at best. I think we need to speak up. I can no longer remain silent. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Psalms 12 says in verse 69, "The words of the Lord are flawless". That is where we must base our trust, in God’s word and not in the words of men. We are being lied to constantly, deceived, mislead, manipulated, and played. We are hiking aimlessly in new territory without a compass and it seems to me we are heading south in a big fat hurry, as the old saying goes. Somebody stand up and say stop!! The Lord will protect us as individuals but I am concerned about the nation and the church that if we do not resist and repair the erosion of the values that are the foundation of who we are, the acceleration of degradation will pick up exponential speed.
"And the name of the city from that time will be: THE LORD IS THERE."
" Ezekiel 48:35b
Ezekiel begins with a description of the holiness of God that Israel despised and ignored. As a result, God’s presence departed from the temple, the city, and the people. Simply put, "THE LORD WAS NOT THERE." Ezekiel ends with a detailed vision of the new temple, the new city, the new people, all demonstrating God’s holiness. The pressures of everyday life can persuade us to focus only on the here at now, and forget God. That is why worship is so important; it takes our eyes off our current worries and gives us a glimpse of God’s holiness and allows us to look toward the future kingdom. God’s presence makes everything glorious, and worship brings us into His presence.
I’ve been thinking about my kids a lot lately, and looked up just a few of the many scriptures that talk about children, and applied them to my 5 “kids”, now 29-51!
"Give ear to my words. O Lord, consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You, and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:1-3
In the fundamental developmental intense years of my early faith and walk, there were a few fresh songs that had a profound impact on who I am in Him. Psalm 5:1-3, is one of them. To this day, these words are often in my morning worship, prayers, meditations, and seek of the Lord. Sometimes when I can’t focus or can’t stay on task before the Lord, I sing these words.
"The tongue has the power of life and death; and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21
During my early years as a Christian, I had the blessing of working with Junior and Senior High School students, then College students and Young Adults. Throughout this period, I got to know many different people, from different homes and up bringing. I remember the people who were most confident, well adjusted, outgoing, and had high self-esteem came from homes where the words that were spoken to them were positive, encouraging and uplifting. On the other hand, the people who lacked confidence and had lower self-esteem came from backgrounds where they were not encouraged, were belittled and told horrible things like “you’re worthless”, “you’re and idiot”, “you’ll never amount to anything” or worse yet, “I can’t believe that you’re my child – look at you!”
"not covet your neighbor's wife, your neighbor's house, or his manservant’s’ or maidservants, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:17
This is a familiar topic for me, I know, but every time I throw a bunch of stuff away, whether it is mine or someone else's or who knows who's, I am struck by the utter volume and magnitude of how much we have that we obviously don't need. Equally as mind-boggling is that we hang on to stuff until it is practically no good to anyone.
"If on part suffers, every part suffers with it, if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it." I Corinthians 12:26-27
The apostle Paul wrote this passage of scripture in his letter to the Church of believers in Corinth. During this period of history, the Christian Church was wrestling with people wanting to be the center of attention and looked at as being better than the next person based on their spiritual gifts, knowledge of scripture and various duties with the Church.
"One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand." One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
For those of you who may not know yet, we have a new kitten in the Ballester house, and his name is Moses! He was named this by Emily because she rescued him out of the "bulrushes" of our full force backyard sprinkler system on a hot July morning when it was going to be blazing hot, he was soaking wet, hairless and starving… he was only 2 days old, abandoned by his mother for some reason, but scooped up and welcomed into our home. He has since been amply bottle fed and nurtured and I am happy to report has grown to be a chubby, active BOUNCING baby boy under the tender care of his adoptive parents, Emily and Andrew. As a result of this new family addition, (or a Divine inspiration in my private Bible study time), I have been studying the life of the original "Moses" these past few weeks.
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30
One of the reasons I love Proverbs is that they are often stand-alone verses that are jam-packed with nuggets of wisdom, within a mine of truth. You just have to dig and work at it diligently to claim the rewards.
"Honor your father and your mother," Exodus 20:12a
This has been on my heart a lot lately. Let me give you ten recent reasons why.
"Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you." Jeremiah 17:4
Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is anybody's fault anymore. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, takes responsibility for anything anymore. I am not completely sure this hasn't always been true. But, I do know that it is increasingly true that the buck stops nowhere. It just keeps getting passed on and on and on. Yes, yes I know that sometimes people own up, fess up and face the music for what they have said or done or even thought, but, by and large it is very unusual for humans just to take full responsibility. When we do, we often explain away the beauty of that with a jillion excuses or reasons as we call them.
"O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." Selah. But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Selah" Psalm 3:1-8
This Psalm is written when David is running from his rebellious son, Absalom and a host of traitors. Can you identify with David? I can. Sometimes when people love and circumstances go against us, it is tempting to think that God also is against us. David reminds us the opposite is true. When everything seems to be falling apart, God is still for us. He has never nor will He ever leave us or forsake us. When we have that sinking feeling that all is lost He is our shield that protects us and will lift us out of the depths of despair.
"Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas, sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet." Acts 5:36
I recently received word that a dear friend of mine, Bob Neill, passed away. He and I go back 40+ years, and as I wrap my mind around the fact that he is in heaven now, and no longer here, I am overwhelmed with feelings of appreciation for who he was in my life. I last saw Bob just a few months ago when he and another friend, on behalf of Transformation Ministries, visited me here at Grace Harbor to pray for me and encourage me. It was a sweet meeting.
"Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ? Selah . Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." Psalms 4:1-8
Today, I have a song in my heart. Most days I have a song that is playing in my mind throughout the day. David wrote a lot of songs in his Psalms. Whether we are rejoicing or grieving, God wants to hear our song. Even if it is a pitiful, woeful song, God listens and cares. As David’s words illustrate, the Lord wants our undivided attention. He requires of us to seek no false gods and no delusions. How often we are swayed by some fanciful consideration that causes us to stray into delusional thinking or even idolatry. I doubt seriously that any of us has any actual bronze, wood or graven images that we bow down to or make offerings to or seek for counsel. Yet we have many "mental idols" or "distracting little deities" that we spend more time, talent and treasures pursuing than the one true living God. That indeed is a shame that does not glorify God.
"I do this for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:23
I have a friend who shares with me A Blessing every week. A written sentence, or paragraph or two, that communicates a prayer to God, from the heart. I believe my friend writes these himself and sends them to Pastors, Leaders, Missionaries and all Servants or the Lord he knows. He does so as if he is giving us a prayer to pray with him. Can't tell you how often his words, prayers, blessings have so touched the heart of where I am.
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain." Psalms 2:1
Why…is a good question these days.
Why is everything happening like it is?
Why all the “saber rattling” and all the political imbroglio?
Why are so many people plotting and conspiring on every level?
"Blessed is the man" Psalms 1:1a
I want to spend some time in the Psalms. This devotional ministry has been ongoing for many years and I have so appreciated the many contributors. We are so blessed to have such inspired and creative writers, many from the Grace Harbor Church Council, the Colombia Mission Team members, and others, too. I hope you are as encouraged and convicted as I am by the daily devotionals.
"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." Hebrews 2:1
Christ is above everything. We must pay the most careful attention to that.
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