- araratchurch
- May 20, 2022
- 3 min read
“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.”
Psalms 51:1 NKJV
I believe that there are “window-into-the-soul” moments for all of us. That is, I believe that there are circumstances through which our own inner nature is revealed, writ large. For example, many people abstain from doing evil, simply because of their fear of punishment. As an aside, this is the reason we are seeing rising crime in our society; with our moral decay, there has also been a slackening of consequences for crimes committed by particular groups. But leaving that where it is, I will go on to say, it is readily revealed what a person has in their heart to do when they are given the opportunity to do it with impunity. Every parent knows that the true test of the effectiveness of the character training they have imparted to their children, is when the child is away from their watchful eye, free to do what they will.
Another type of situation that will reveal the contents of the inner recesses of a person’s heart and mind, is when someone has done something bad to them (lying on them, cheating on them, etc.), and the aggrieved person is handed the opportunity—tied up with a bow on top—to be able to do the perpetrator in.
Sadly, there are many people who—given the a chance—would do terrible things. And, the only reason they don’t, is because of some sort of restraint imposed on them.
Now—within the context of what has just been said—consider the case of how the Lord operates. He can literally do whatever He wants to do! Who or what could restrain Him? So, with the Lord, we see that whatever He does is strictly because of His own character.
It’s very good news for us that God acts according to His own character, in that, man, having openly rebelled against the law of God, was redeemed through what God Himself did for us through Jesus Christ. He does what He does for us according to His own nature.
“This is a faithful and trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He will also deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful [true to His word and His righteous character], for He cannot deny Himself.”
2 Timothy 2:11-13 AMP
We see that some things—in terms of our relationship with God—are definitely reciprocal. We cannot live with Him if we do not die with Him (to our own way of being and doing); we cannot expect to be exonerated through His righteousness, if we have denied Him in this life. But here’s the clincher: even when we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, because that is Who He is.
We see throughout the scriptures, the Lord reminding His people that He is doing, what He is doing for them, because of His own Name’s sake, not because of anything they had done to deserve it.
““Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.”
Ezekiel 36:22-23 NKJV
The greatest test of the character of God in Jesus Christ, came as He hung on the cross in the presence of His accusers, tormentors, and executioners, and—rather than calling for their destruction—asked His Father to forgive them.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
In our portion from Psalms today we find David—after the occasion of his being challenged by the prophet Nathan concerning his responsibility in the death of Uriah—asking the Lord to forgive his sin, according to the Lord‘s own lovingkindness and mercy. David knew he had not a leg to stand on concerning his sin. The only thing he could stand on was God’s own character.
The mercy and lovingkindness of our Lord is beyond our comprehension. Many of us know what we might have done, given the opportunity to do as we pleased, facing no recourse. But our God, displays His character for all to see, as He daily loads us with undeserved benefits and new mercies. Great is His faithfulness!
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The Lord deals with us according to Who He is.
- araratchurch
- May 19, 2022
- 2 min read
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”
Psalms 43:5 NKJV
I clearly remember how it looked on the many occasions my father spoke of how he dealt with disciplining himself. Generally within the context of talking about discouragement, he would say, “I grab Harry Mushegan by the nape of the neck and I take him to the altar; and I hold onto the horns of the altar until I get right!” As he was speaking these words, he illustrated by reaching behind his neck, grabbing the collar of his shirt and his suit coat, and pulling up on it. I remember how he would look with his suit coat pulled up so high that you could see the pockets on the back of his pants. Looking back on that illustration I realize how important that practice was in his life. I also realize that that practice made a huge difference between him and a lot of other people in the ministry who did not self-discipline. For that matter, it made a difference between him and the scores of people everywhere who allow themselves to surrender to major funks, thinking they have no choice but to keep sliding until they hit bottom.
Many years ago I struggled with panic attacks. Various things can contribute to a panic attack; there are physical, as well as mental, triggers. Of course I did the physical things I could do to reduce the risk of a panic attack. But real victory only came as I began to use the word of God on myself; I encouraged myself in the Lord. Although it sounds so obvious that we should use the word of God on ourselves, in fact, many people don’t even think of doing it. I guess we assume that knowing what God has said, and having instructed others as to what God has said, somehow automatically applies it to our own lives. But that is not the case.
God has given us His word as a tool to be used, not as slogan material, to be recited, but never received.
In our portion from Psalms today we see David speaking to his own soul, challenging the fact that he was feeling cast down. Additionally, he instructs his soul to find its hope in the Lord. Encouraging himself in the Lord (reminding himself of the goodness and mercy of God), was a major part of David’s life as illustrated here:
“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
I Samuel 30:6 NKJV
Basically, every day presents opportunities for you to choose between taking a trip down the slide of despair or climbing up the stairs built with God‘s word. It may seem easier just to go on down that slide today; but you won’t like it when you get to the bottom!
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
Sometimes you’ve just got to talk to yourself.
- araratchurch
- May 19, 2022
- 3 min read
“Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.”
Psalms 41:1-3 NKJV
Many years ago, when our sons were small, we often ran very close on our finances. At one point, we began to make ends meet by the use of credit cards; that proved to only put off the constant running short. And then you find yourself facing unmanageable debt.
I remember one Sunday, saying to the Lord that we really were in a tight place and we needed help. That Sunday at church one of the ladies gave me $200 saying the Lord has spoken to her to do that. This was not given as a result of my “poor mouthing.” I told the Lord my need and He spoke to a an open heart.
I know the stress of not having enough and I know the relief of someone “filling in the gap and making up the hedge.” Thanks be to God, I also know what it feels like to be able to help others who are in need.
I have a theory: I believe that grateful people are generous and look for ways to bless others. On the other hand, I believe that ungrateful people have somehow developed a sense of entitlement to what they don’t have. I have seen this attitude in people who are not poor, so to speak, but they fixate their mind on what they don’t have, making those around them miserable until they get it. That’s a sad, sad, state of being. If you look around you in the world, you will see that even our poor, sometimes live better than the majority of people in other countries. To be ungrateful for what you have is one of those things that the Lord frowns on.
“So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.””
Luke 17:17-19 NKJV
People who are grateful for what God has done for them don’t look at what they don’t have; they’re grateful for what they do have. They also have a heart open to the needs of others.
Jesus, speaking about His judgment, made a very clear distinction between the generous, grateful, and merciful soul and the soul that is greedy, grasping, and unmerciful.
“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””
Matthew 25:40, 45-46 NKJV
It’s obvious that the Lord places a premium on those who freely give as they have been freely given.
In our portion from Psalms today we see David referencing those who are generous to people in need. He obviously puts himself in the category of those who “consider the poor.” He then presents his situation, for which he found no one willing to help him, asking the Lord to help him as he had helped others. Now, if that kind of reasoning seems odd, we do well to remember that our Lord—in teaching His disciples to pray—said to ask for forgiveness based on the way we forgive others. In fact, this reciprocity principle is found all through God‘s word. Put succinctly: do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12).
Think of the parable Jesus told about the wicked servant—having been forgiven a great debt—turned around and started “squeezing” those who owed him; the end of that person was not good.
“Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.”
Matthew 18:32-34 NKJV
I truly believe that the person who struggles with being generous needs to ask the Lord to forgive them. Somewhere along the line they have become ungrateful, and as such, have become unmerciful, and yes, unholy.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The Lord blesses those who bless others.