- araratchurch
- May 14, 2022
- 4 min read
“For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.”
Psalms 37:9-11, 18 NKJV
Let’s face it, it’s difficult to see wicked people prospering. Sometimes I marvel at the money “thrown” at people who probably have never done anything truly good in their lives. They may have a wonderful talent: good at sports, a great singer or musician, a good actor, and so on; but their character, who they are, is frankly horrible. I’m not making a judgment on their worth as a human being; we all know that God values every soul, paying the ultimate price that we all might be saved. I’m just talking about the fact that it makes no sense (in human terms) that the type of people I’m referencing have so much when there are so many good people who spend a life, seemingly, struggling. Now, some people would say that’s a great argument for Socialism: don’t let anybody be too rich; don’t let anybody be too poor. Fact is, Socialism only makes everybody poor except for the ruling class who generally want for nothing.
When you think about it, it makes sense that the world system rewards those who pursue the things important to the world system: power, money, influence, pleasure, etc. The world system rewards some of its children richly to keep hearts and minds captivated by its siren song.
Truly, the world can’t and won’t fix the disparity between the prosperous wicked and the often-abused righteous. Its the way the world system wants to keep it.
Now, make no mistake, God can and will fill the needs of His people who call upon His name. But—the fact is—the reward of righteousness is not based in the world system’s economy.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
Those who say that the righteous will always be rich are just before taking an offering. Again, God can and will meet the needs of the righteous. I have personally seen Him make a way where there was no way, financially and otherwise. But, we do not serve the Lord to receive temporary pleasure and to be able to indulge in a lifestyle of excess. We serve the Lord because of Who He is and to receive His eternal reward!
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
II Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV
What the righteous person is assured of in this life is that the Lord hears their prayers, will plead their case, miraculously provides, equips for good works, brings soul peace, and is faithful in fulfilling a myriad more great and precious promises. But, that is not where the story ends! The righteous will rule and reign with our Lord FOREVER!
“And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.””
Revelation 5:10 NKJV
In our portion from Psalms today we see David talking about the reward of the wicked versus the reward of the righteous. The reward of the wicked is temporary; the reward of the righteous is eternal. This theme is repeated over and over in different ways throughout Psalm 37.
Interestingly, Psalm 37 was my grandfather, Aram Mushegian’s, most referenced and prescribed passages of scripture. If you take the time to read the whole psalm (and I hope you will), you will identify with it. What the psalmist does is fix our expectation and our hope on God’s reward rather then the world’s reward.
From what I understand, there was a time in my grandfather’s life when (although he turned out to be a great prophet of God) he could have anger issues. But, he learned that God would fight his battles and his reward was with the Lord. That may sound simple, but it is essential to know as we navigate this life. Otherwise, we might allow ourselves to become discouraged and frustrated by what wicked folks are getting and/or doing.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The rule and prosperity of the wicked will be cut off; the rule and prosperity of the righteous will be forever.
- araratchurch
- May 13, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: May 14, 2022
“Let not the foot of pride come against me, And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the workers of iniquity have fallen; They have been cast down and are not able to rise.”
Psalms 36:11-12 NKJV
We are accustomed to crossing boundaries. We do it all the time. We go from one state to another. Many people travel from one country to another. So, we tend to think of boundaries as simply defining where you are. Additionally, a boundary or border becomes a natural place of defense, as well as entry and exit. But, no matter what hoops you have to jump through to accomplish it, borders can be crossed.
Because of the fact that many people do not understand what God did through Jesus Christ, they tend to think of the righteous and the workers of iniquity as being separated by some sort of a simple boundary. Sometimes you cross into one side; sometimes you cross back into the other; there’s always the ability to go back and forth. And, oh yes, they think there’s a middle ground between the two.
The truth is this: there is a kingdom of darkness and a Kingdom of Light. The kingdom of darkness contains the workers of iniquity; the Kingdom of Light is populated by those who are righteous through Jesus Christ. And, as for a middle ground? It doesn’t exit. The boundary between these two kingdoms is not a shared boundary; between the two is an unscalable chasm, plunging down into the entrance of the kingdom of darkness
Because the concept of grace and unmerited favor is so important to be able to grasp, many pastors, teachers, and so on, hesitate to talk about the practice of sin. Some, for reasons of popularity, some, for reasons of their own compromised lifestyle, others, possibly thinking they are doing the right thing (making the gospel more “accessible”), completely neglect the teaching of holiness and righteous living. I don’t want to be offensive, but to me, a lot of times it looks like the sentiment being expressed is: “Jesus paid it all, so let’s live like hell.”
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV
Now, I know all the things that are said every time the topic of sinful lifestyles is broached. You can be accused of anything from being a hater (by the world), to having a religious spirit (by some within the church). But, I can only speak what the Lord has said.
I could list scores of passages here; but none would convince the heart set towards sin. Notice I said “the heart SET toward sin.” When we are talking about the righteous versus workers of iniquity, we are not talking about those who live perfect lives versus those who are doing their best but continue to fail. The distinction is between those who want the things of God (the Kingdom of God and His righteousness), and those who don’t (those guided by the desires of the flesh (pleasure), the desire for things (possessions, money), and the desire for self aggrandizement (power and pride). All I can say is, the best indication of what people want, is what they do when given the choice.
We sometimes have competing desires. For example, you want to fit into those pants you once wore; but you also want that donut. Those are competing desires and, which ever desire is stronger, will rule the day.
Those who want to please the Lord, will pursue the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Those who want to please themselves, will be workers of iniquity (having a lifestyle of sin).
There is excellent news regarding workers of righteousness versus workers of iniquity. The Lord is very patient with those whose heart is still open towards Him; He will continually—in one way or another—seek to draw them into right standing. The Bible is full of examples of people, once workers of iniquity, who became children of the light. Some of us are in that group.
“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV
In our portion from Psalms today we see David reflecting on the fact that righteousness leads to the favor of God, but those who set themselves against the Lord, are impossibly lost.
Let us walk in the light as He is in the light. Let us pursue those things which are above where our Lord sits at the right hand of the Father. It’s a decision we will never regret.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
Workers of iniquity have fallen and they can’t get up.
- araratchurch
- May 12, 2022
- 4 min read
“They reward me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. But in my adversity they rejoiced And gathered together; Attackers gathered against me, And I did not know it; They tore at me and did not cease; With ungodly mockers at feasts They gnashed at me with their teeth. Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions.”
Psalms 35:12-17 NKJV
You really, really, want to do it; the words are a battering ram, pounding against your teeth; just open your mouth and say it. Wait, maybe we should back up just a little.
There are times when you have done good for a person—listened to all of their woes, put salve on their wounds, covered for some lack—trying to somehow lighten the load of life on their shoulders; yet, they turn around and try to do you in when it serves their purposes.
Case in point, there have been times when there were people who were speaking complete lies against me or someone else, and having the truth on my side—not only of my own innocence but of the accuser’s actual bad deeds—the thought comes to mind, “I’m going to defend myself, and in the process, shed a little light on their life.” I haven’t done it and I won’t do it. But why?
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:19-21 NKJV
As much as such vitriol and betrayal hurts, the child of God must not allow that hurt to cause us to do the devil’s work.
To make my point I could parade a whole host of Biblical examples of good people of God being done wrong, having their good returned with evil, yet continuing to walk in righteousness, trusting God to be their vindicator and avenger. But, there is no greater example of this than our Lord.
The good works Jesus did were finally rewarded with betrayal, torture, and crucifixion. Think about it: at one point, earlier on, the religious leaders took up stones to kill Him where He stood:
“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?””
John 10:31-32 NKJV
Yesterday, we looked at a scripture Jesus read in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:18-19). It’s interesting to note that just after His reading of that scripture, a dialogue ensued between He and the religious leaders, ending in their trying to throw Jesus off a cliff:
“So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.”
Luke 4:28-30 NKJV
Talk about being able to take vengeance against such evil-returned-for-good, Jesus could have seen them vaporized; yet, He forgave them.
In our portion from Psalms today we see David seeking his Heavenly Father to bring vengeance on people (he had once cared for) who were trying to destroy him. He was leaving vengeance and vindication to the Lord. This type of prayer is often found throughout the psalms. Here are a couple more examples:
“Those also who render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good. Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”
Psalms 38:20-22 NKJV
“In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.”
Psalms 109:4-5 NKJV
When Saul was pursuing David to kill him, David came upon Saul sleeping and had the opportunity to do him in. He didn’t, but rather cut off a corner of Saul’s garment. He even regretted that small act:
“Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.””
I Samuel 24:4-6 NKJV
When people for whom you have done good, turn around and try to do you in, it’s a terrible, terrible feeling. But, we must leave our vindication and vengeance to the Lord.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
You must leave vengeance to God when people return evil for your good.