- araratchurch
- May 15, 2022
- 4 min read
“My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”
Psalms 38:5-6, 21-22 NKJV
We can only imagine what it must’ve been like to have been placed in Eden, the paradise garden of God. The first man and woman had everything they needed to succeed; the world was literally at their command. But there was just this one thing: don’t eat the fruit of that one tree. Well, we all know the rest of the story. That temptation proved to be too much for them and they fell with a thud, still resounding throughout the millennia. Thank God, through Jesus Christ, that paradise lost, will one day be regained. But back to the fallen duo.
Having directly disobeyed God, and feeling the awful change in their being, their reaction was to hide from the Lord.
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.””
Genesis 3:8-10 NKJV
We need not wonder what their “nakedness” was. The point is, they knew what it was like to be connected to the dynamo, the power, of God; they knew what it was like to be able to hear His voice without fear; now they felt isolated, as the voice of their Creator, inspired terror in their fallen souls.
I dare say none of us could identify with the level of fall this first couple experienced. After all, we haven’t walked with the Lord, looking at Him face-to-face, fellowshipping with Him as with a dear Father. But I would imagine that we all know what it feels like to fail miserably. And then—to make it even worse—we often fail in such a way that the repercussions continue to reverberate.
When we fail, and fail miserably, we’re often tempted to take the route the first couple took: to “hide.” Now, I don’t imagine we think we can actually hide from God; but we often withdraw from Him with our hearts. And, adding insult to injury, we may fail to acknowledge our responsibility in finding ourselves in such a miserable state. But, denial, especially before the Lord, just digs us into a deeper hole.
Now the truth is, it’s better if you don’t mess up big time or otherwise. It’s better if we keep ourselves listening to the Lord, watching and praying, and being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. But—every once in a while—life may deal you a sucker punch for which you were not prepared, and you fall hard.
The wonderful news is that we don’t need to hide anymore; the Lord Himself has made a way for us to obtain mercy, even when we’ve messed up big time.
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
I John 2:1-2 NKJV
It’s common for people to retort, “You don’t know me!” when they feel that something about them has been assumed. But, that is something we can never say to our Lord. He came, taking on the envelope of flesh, so that He could absolutely know who we are and how we feel.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16 NKJV
In our portion from Psalms today we see David basically throwing himself on the mercy of the court, so to speak. He knew he was in a miserable situation; sounds like he got a good dose of some very bad STD. But whatever his misery was, it was real, and he knew that he had no one to blame but himself. But, instead of hiding himself from the Lord, he ran into His arms, begging for His mercy.
Unlike the Lord, I don’t know what you’ve been through; I don’t know the temptations you’ve faced or the failings you’ve experienced. But one thing I do know: His grace is sufficient. Whether you are facing a grand slam failure, or you’ve just dropped the ball somewhere, don’t make things worse by denying your sin or allowing your sin to cause you to hide from the Lord. Do what David did: run to the Lord, admitting your sin, and ask Him to help you!
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
Even when you mess up big, take it to the Lord.
- 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.