Monthly Archives: December 2015

Singing with the King (66) – Fight for Life

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)

Ps 139 Embryo Baby

I posted this picture on Facebook and was thoroughly dismayed for the “Near-nothing” response it gathered. Now granted, most of my Facebook buds are Christ-followers, but my posts are public and… nothing. So I thought I’d post it on my blog.

Psalm 139 is a celebration of God–His omniscience, His creativity, His care, and His involvement. And it is a celebration of LIFE! The following verse says: Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. The problem is our culture has forgotten the wonder of His work; they not only don’t know it well, they don’t know it at all. So it’s up to us to remind them.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. (Isaiah 40:31)

From the day I was born, I have been in your care, and from the time of my birth, you have been my God. (Psalm 22:10)

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (Psalm 24:1)

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:5)

Will you fight for Life?

He made us in His image; we belong to Him; and He is thoroughly involved in our lives. So for 2016, I ask the LORD that planned parenthood will end, that parts for profit will cease, and the pall of this culture of death will evaporate. But toady,pray for His Mercy. Amen.

Singing with the King (65) – Hope

And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. (Psalm 39:7)

Waiting5 I had a chat with a friend at work and we were talking about the word hope. And as is often the case, our culture has diluted the meaning of the word. It now has to do with wishes, wants, and desires—things which may or may not happen. And I suppose that makes sense. If your hope is based upon the character and nature of someone (or something) other than God, then hope is little more than a crap shoot.

But when you put your hope in God, hope is much greater than a wish. Consider:

God is not like people, who lie; He is not a human who changes his mind. Whatever He promises, He does; He speaks, and it is done. (Numbers 23:19)

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46:11)

Whatever He promises, speaks and purposes, it is done. And when you have that kind of consistence and trustworthiness, you then have a sure hope; a hope that does not disappoint.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Did you see what we must hope in? Not in our circumstances, but in Him. Because we exult in Him which is eternal, we can then exult through our tribulations. Our hope is not driven by wishful thinking or possibility, for it would fail in the midst of trouble. Rather, it is driven by the love of God through the Holy Spirit, which allows us to push past the tribulation and into His glory.

God’s character ensures our hope, empowers our hope, enlivens our hope and enflames our hope. But hope is much more personal than an attribute, or trait, or motivation.

To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope. (1 Timothy 1:1)

Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. (Titus 2:13)

So back to David’s question: And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My hope is not only in Christ alone, but Christ Himself is my hope.

May your hope be that personal.

Singing with the King (64) – Where Your Home Is

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

cross and shadow There are two very important words in this verse: dwell and abide. The word dwell in Hebrew is used for a lot of words. It can be translated as some form of inhabit, sit, stay, remain, and even married. Do you get the impression that dwelling in the shelter of the Most High is a place where not only do you want to stay, but it is a place where you are welcome. And it is a place that is close, maybe even home.

And though the Hebrew word for abide doesn’t have quite so many definitions or appearances in the OT, some of its translations are spend the night, abide, and lodge. There is within its definitions an aspect of rest. So, abiding also gives you a sense of a place where you can find rest.

The word shelter can also be a hiding place or a secret place. The same word appears in Psalm 32, which you may recognize: You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. (v.7) So now we see the LORD God welcoming us in a place of safety, a place known only by Him.

The word shadow can also mean protection or shade. It is important to note, as we read in James, Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. You see, there is no shadow with in God, it is not part of his nature; but He certainly can cast a very long shadow, and has been known to use darkness, as seen in Psalm 18: He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. (v.9)

I’ve thrown a lot more definitions at you than I typically do; but I want you to understand what it means to dwell and abide with the Most High. It is a place of rest and safety. It is a place where you are welcome and you can call home. And most importantly, He is there.

There’s one more aspect to the word abide that I want you to see. We find it in part of Christ’s teaching to His disciples at the Last Supper:

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

From this passage, we learn that abiding in Christ is a living, organic, intimate condition. In the Greek definitions, you still get the aspect of resting, remaining, staying, and even being held. But it also has the meaning of standing fast in a battle, holding your position. Understand that home is not a static place. If you abide in Christ, He is your home. Then you can join with the psalmist in the very next verse of Psalm 91: “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.”.