Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But those who keep the law strive with them. Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the Lord understand all things . . . When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves. (Proverbs 28:4-5, 12, NASB)
There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. (Hosea 4:2, NASB)
These verses again remind me of the lawlessness and lack of justice in our nation. The criminals are elevated above law-abiding citizens. Those who abide by the law are derided, those who break the law are lauded. There is no justice, nor is there peace. People who seek justice are ridiculed. In our biggest cities, crime and murders skyrocket as there is no accountability.
However, there’s Good News! There will be justice in Heaven to those who seek it on earth! Those who love Jesus will live to see true justice!
Worship: “Wishes,” by Out of the Grey
I’m sorry this is so short. I’m having computer issues.
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.” (Hebrews 3:12-15, NASB)
The text above is from the book of Hebrews, author unknown. The theme of this passage is the encouragement of brothers and sisters in Christ so that they do not fall away from the promise that awaits them. Since “we have become partakers of Christ,” we shouldn’t be involved in sin. “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today.'” Why? “So that none of [us] will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” The author tells us to encourage each other today. We are not to wait until tomorrow, but to do it today. Tomorrow might be too late!
The last quotation in the passage refers to the Israelites when they were wandering through the Sinai Peninsula enroute to the Promised Land. They hardened their hearts to the point where God vowed that none of them would enter His rest in Israel, except for Joshua and Caleb, and the sons and daughters of the sinners. The warning here is for us to not do the same. Instead, we are to encourage each other so as not to engage in sin.
We followers of Jesus are to encourage each other “Today,” and “day after day.” It seems we’re never to stop. The objective is to ensure “we” don’t lose the hope of God’s rest that awaits us in Paradise. That would be a shame.
Worship: “New Name Written Down In Glory,” by Charity Gayle
Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s . . . You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:14-15, 17, NASB)
In the verses above, King Jehoshaphat of Judah had been told there was an invading army to the east of Jerusalem, by the Dead Sea. The army was composed of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, all from the east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River, and all natural enemies of Israel. The invaders are described as “a great multitude.” King Jehoshaphat calls an assembly of all Judah to Jerusalem to call upon the Lord to rescue Judah. He delivers a great prayer to invoke God’s help, and says, “We are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)
This is exactly where God wants Judah: Totally reliant on Him! He had delivered Israel before in battles they had no business winning. God had cleared out the Promised Land, as He said, of the evil people who inhabited the land so Israel could take their place. He had punished Israel and Judah when they hadn’t trusted Him, like when they made alliances with evil nations, imported chariots and horses from Egypt, or taken a census of able-bodied men without God’s permission. God wanted Israel and Judah to be reliant on Him, and Him alone.
We join the text above. After the king’s prayer, Jehaziel, a descendant of prominent Levites, delivers a word from God: “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.” The battle is the Lord’s! Perfect! Further, “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.” Judah would not even need to fight. What?
Sure enough, Judah went out the next day to join the battle. King Jehoshaphat delivered a speech: “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” (2 Chronicles 20:20) The king appointed singers to give praise to God, and placed them in front of the army. What they witnessed next was astounding: God threw the great invading multitude into confusion, so that they turned against each other, and slaughtered themselves! The battle was indeed God’s that day! As promised, Judah did not have to fight.
God wants us to have the same reliance on Him. He wants our total, unconditional surrender to Him so that we don’t count on anything or anyone else but the Creator of the universe. It’s awesome when we take time to consider: God fights our battles for us, if we only would let Him. “The battle is not yours but God’s!”
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God . . . (2 Timothy 3:1-4, NASB)
This portion is from the Apostle Paul’s second letter to his son in the faith, Timothy. Timothy was still at Ephesus trying to right wrongs in the church there, and his mentor was writing advice. This is Paul’s last letter we have in our Holy Bible, as he was again imprisoned in Rome, and he says it doesn’t look good for him. In this excerpt he speaks of signs of the End Times, before Jesus comes back to earth for His people.
Paul begins with a prophecy: “In the last days difficult times will come.” He elaborates with the characteristics of the people of the times: They will be “lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Does this sound familiar? It reminds me of the world around us. There is so much lawlessness and rebellion going on everywhere. “Wars and rumors of wars.” (Matthew 24:6) Chaos everywhere. Confusion. Are we in the Last Days? I don’t know, it sure looks like it. But . . . I remember at Sunday School or Bible study, hearing someone tell of a conversation with some senior members at his church. They were getting closer to the end of their lives, and they expressed disappointment that Jesus had not come back for them. They thought for sure that during their lifetimes . . .
The point is, since the beginning of Christianity, believers have thought they were in the Last Days. Paul’s list of evil traits is not new, not original to our generations; yet to us it seems that the evil around us is more pronounced and accelerating. Jesus said it’s not for us to know the hour or the day of His return, that only the Father knows for sure. So what shall we do while we wait for His glorious return?
Well, first we need to (in the words of CBN’s Gordon Robertson) populate Heaven. God knows how many souls will be in heaven at the end. If He tarries, it’s to get to that number. Second, practice. As believers, we’re in dress rehearsal for what we’ll be doing for eternity in heaven. And third (we’ll be doing this in heaven), execute what Jesus called the two greatest commandments: Love God and love other people!
Worship: “Love God and Love People,” by Danny Gokey, ft. Michael W. Smith
. . . discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. (1 Timothy 4:7-10, NASB)
The Apostle Paul wrote his first letter to his protege, his son in the faith, Timothy, because there was trouble at the church at Ephesus. Timothy was there, and Paul wrote to give instructions to correct the problems. In this snippet from 1 Timothy 4, Paul speaks of godly discipline.
What is the purpose of godly discipline? According to Paul, “bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” There’s nothing wrong with working out. No one disputes the physical and mental value of exercise. However, Paul says there is eternal value to spiritual exercise. In fact, he says the spiritual > the physical.
According to Paul, there is both earthly and heavenly value in godliness. Godly living attracts other people who may want to do the same. This is valuable because of our mission to populate heaven. Godliness is also important because as followers of Jesus, we’re in dress rehearsal for what we’ll be doing when we get to heaven. So practice, because practice makes perfect!
Paul concludes with why our actions are important: “We have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” God desires all of us to be saved, although it’s not His mandate. But He is the potential Savior of us all. It’s up to everyone to either accept the free gift of His Son, or to reject Him. To those who pray Jesus into their hearts, God has promised the hope of eternal fellowship with Him in heaven, the New Jerusalem. If you haven’t received Jesus, would you do it now? Now practice!
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. (Proverbs 3:27-28, NASB)
The excerpt above is from Proverbs 3, and is more advice from King Solomon to one of his sons. To me, this advice is along the lines of loving your neighbor as yourself.
When asked by a scribe to tell him the “foremost” commandment, Jesus replied, “you shall love the Lord your God” with all your being; “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31) Jesus’ guidance is simple, and had been previously given in the Law of Moses: Love God and love other people. If we could only do this, there would be no trouble in this world. In heaven, all of us will love the Lord, and love others. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
This guidance applies to our enemies as well. We’re called to love everyone, not just those who love us. There are no caveats, no exceptions. “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the Lord will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.” (Proverbs 24:17-18) And, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:21-22)
Loving one’s neighbor is often hard. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be commanded in the Law of Moses, repeated in King Solomon’s Proverbs, and emphasized by King Jesus! Loving one’s enemies is doubly (at least!) hard. But the Bible calls for us to leave revenge up to God. God will take retribution on those who hate His people. It all comes down to loving God, and loving people. Without exception!
Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. (Proverbs 3:25-26, NASB)
There are many instances in the Bible where people are told to have courage. Situational courage is called for on many situations. When angels appear, people are told to not be afraid (angels must be a scary sight!). In the excerpt above from Proverbs, King Solomon, speaking to one of his sons, gives a tutorial on faith in God, and the resulting confidence.
Solomon says, “Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes.” He had been taught well by his father, King David, who was in many tight spots himself. The source of David’s strength? God Himself! Solomon continues, telling his son why he should not fear: “For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught.” Trust in the Lord is our ultimate confidence. Because of His promises, we should have no fear. (The primary mode of transportation in those days for most people was on foot. Many of the roads were treacherous, hence the comment about “your foot from being caught.”)
God is good. Because of His promises, we should have no fear. As Jan Catton has reminds me, “No fear, only faith.” I have placed my faith, hope, and trust in the Lord!
Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
Worship: “Confidence,” by Sanctus Real
This past Wednesday (10 August) was the one-year anniversary of my first post on Dead Man Not Walking. It took a few days to figure out what I could do, and how quickly, but I figured I could do an essay every three days. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this. With the ALS, I lose a little bit each day. I’m having trouble controlling a drooping eyelid. When it closes, I can’t control the computer, and I can’t type. My eyes also tear uncontrollably at times, and when that happens, I may look one way, but the computer thinks differently (many times I have been typing only to have all my work deleted). But God is good!
Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! . . . I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever . . . But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works. (Psalm 73:1, 23-26, 28, NASB)
Psalm 73 is “The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.” The author is Asaph, a chief among the Levites, who had charge of musicians and singers during the days of King David, and who wrote many of the psalms. (1 Chronicles 16:4-7) In accordance with the title, this psalm deals with the wicked, but the portion above is from my highlights.
Sometimes it’s just best to let the psalm speak for itself.
“Surely God is good” to His people, to those who have put their trust and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has surely “taken hold of my right hand.” I look forward to heaven, and seeing the Lord, because of His good promises. “This world has nothing for me (words from a song).” Though I may come up short, and my time on this earth will soon come to an end, yet my God will never fail me, nor forsake me. He is “the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” God is my refuge and my strength, “that I may tell of all [His] works.” God IS the strength of my heart!
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious . . . “All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah. Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men . . . Come and hear, all who fear God, And I will tell of what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue . . . But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me. (Psalm 66:1-2, 4-5, 16-17, 19-20, NASB)
Psalm 66 is titled “Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.” There is no author listed in this psalm in my bible.com edition. According to Bible Hub, “The name of the author of this psalm is unknown. There is no certain evidence that it was composed by David, yet there is nothing in the psalm itself which is inconsistent with the supposition that he was the author. Perhaps the most natural and obvious interpretation of Psalm 66:13-15, would be that there is reference there to the temple; and if so, of course, the psalm must have been written by someone else. But it is not absolutely necessary to suppose that the temple is there referred to, for the language might be applied to the tabernacle as the “house” or the place of the worship of God. There is, however, no positive evidence that it was composed by David, and it is impossible now to determine its authorship.” (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/psalms/66.https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/psalms/66.htm)
In the first section of the excerpts above, the author tells of his praises to God. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people, so we should praise the Lord when we pray. Indeed, the psalmist says to “shout joyfully to God, all the earth . . . make His praise glorious!” (the exclamation point is mine!) All the earth is not shouting joyfully to God, as the author had hoped, so His people need to pick up the slack!
In the second part, he tells us “what [God] has done for [his] soul.” The psalmist recounts that God has heard, and answered, his prayers. He has no doubt that God has shown “lovingkindness” to him.
Despite my illness, I still feel like praising God. He has blessed me with a great life, and He has not broken any of His good promises to me. He doesn’t guarantee that this life will be easy. My hope and my trust is in what’s ahead. The best is yet to come!
Worship: “Make His Praise Glorious,” by Sandi Patty
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:3-8,NASB)
Thankful today that John Davis came through his double bypass surgery well. Praise God!
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, excerpted above, he discusses some interesting doctrines of importance to the church of Jesus Christ. This portion is part of the introduction of his letter.
The first concept is predestination. Over the years I’ve heard two possible meanings of predestination:
1) That those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be adopted as sons or daughters of God, and will spend eternity with Him in heaven; or,
2) God has predetermined before the dawn of time, who would or would not be saved, and thus have the same privileges listed above.
Paul seems to point to the latter when he says, ” . . . He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” But what about free will? If God has already decided, why must we work to plant seeds that will result in the Holy Spirit bringing people into the Kingdom? I’ve heard it explained that we don’t know how a person will come to salvation. Jesus told us in the Great Commission to go to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel. “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” God loves us so much that He sent His Son, so that by believing in Him, we’re adopted sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe!
The second doctrine is that of the salvation by the blood of the Lamb of God. The Old Testament documents that God requires blood for the redemption of sins. In the Tabernacle and Temple, the high priest was required to enter the Holy of Holies once per year to deliver the blood of an animal sacrifice for the redemption of his sins and those of the people. When Jesus came to earth, He lived a perfect life, free from sin, so He would be an acceptable sacrifice to God the Father. Jesus went to the cross to take the punishment we all deserve, and His blood sacrifice is good for all time, not to be repeated, so you and I can be saved from our sins. Praise God that He loves us so!
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.” Because of God’s grace, we are saved by Jesus’ blood, and our sins are forgiven!
Praise God that He loves us so much that He made a plan of redemption so that we could be saved! Praise the Lord Jesus that He followed the Father’s plan and withstood horrific torture and crucifixion, so that by His blood we might be saved! Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
Worship: “Thank You Jesus for the Blood,” by Charity Gayle
