- araratchurch
- Apr 22, 2022
- 3 min read
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.”
Psalms 20:7-8 NKJV
When I was a teenager I had a male friend who didn’t want to be left having to go to a dance by himself. Therefore, he reasoned within himself that he needed to have a plan b just in case plan a didn’t pan out. In this case, he would have a date lined up of lesser preference, just in case the one he preferred, turned him down. The thing is, he really didn’t line up plan b; he just assumed she would be there. And—as you might’ve guessed—plan a (preferred date) did not work out—and lo and behold, plan b had already been asked to the dance. Needless to say, he clamored to find somebody, anybody who could wear a dress, to go to the dance with him. Now we might expect this kind of behavior in teenagers. But this behavior does not halt with the completion of adolescence; rather, it continues on, becoming ubiquitous.
The fact is, nobody wants to be left hanging. So, we line up several choices—whether it be jobs, vacations, or anything for which we are planning—in order that we always have a fallback plan. And, whereas I would not advise this in terms of relationships, in the general sense, having a plan b is not always a bad idea. But, in some cases it’s catastrophic.
You see, the Lord wants those who say they trust in Him, to abandon the habit of lining up a plan b. He sees that as what it is: faithlessness.
“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not, And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”— Therefore you shall flee! And, “We will ride on swift horses”— Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!”
Isaiah 30:15-16 NKJV
Throughout the Old Testament we see examples of God’s people—the children of Israel—depending on fallback plans. Now, they probably would’ve said that they were trusting in the Lord; but their actions said they did not. And, as we see in the above scripture, the Lord often left them to their own devices, with devastating results.
In our portion from Psalms today we see David affirming that his trust is firmly placed in the Lord. He knew that the Lord had no equal. Let us reflect back on what he said when facing Goliath, standing before this giant with only a slingshot and a pouch of stones:
“David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!”
1 Samuel 17:45-46 NLT
Trusting entirely upon the Lord worked out well that day and continued to be the secret to his success throughout his life.
No matter what challenges you are facing, remember that trusting in the Lord, means that you submit everything into His hands. Now, this does not mean that you do not plan; it just means that all your planning is based on the leading of the Holy Spirit. And, you do not fall back on your old devices “just in case God doesn’t come through for you.”
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
If you are truly trusting in the Lord, you do not need a “plan b.”
- araratchurch
- Apr 21, 2022
- 3 min read
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
Psalms 19:14 NKJV
Hot mic moments, it’s the stuff nightmares are made of. What are we referencing here? Someone, wearing a microphone —either thinking that it has been turned off or forgetting they have it on—says something they never wanted people, other than the listener, to hear. Here are some examples:
A former President of the United States while still in office, was making some negotiations with a Russian official. He, thinking his mic was turned off, whispers this to the Russian official:
"This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility." The Russian official responded, "I understand. I will transmit this information to [another Russian official]," who will retake the presidency in May.” But for a corrupt media, this would have torpedoed his chances of winning re-election.
Then there’s this:
A high-level member of the English monarchy, while doing a photo op with the press (in hopes of swaying public opinion toward something he was about to do), turned to his sons and whispered this:
"I hate doing this...I hate these people." Needless to say, this overheard sentiment did not improve his rapport with the press!
I’ll offer just one more:
A civil rights icon was being interviewed about something. During downtime of the interview, forgetting he is still wearing a mic, he turns to the other person being interviewed and says,
"I’d like to cut the [very personal body part] off [references a high level government leader] for talking down to black people." Oops!
Right about now, are you thinking how glad you are that something like this never happened to you? Well, consider this: every word we speak is being heard by the spirit world!
The world’s wisest man had this to say about the power of the words that come out of our mouth:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Proverbs 18:21 NKJV
What he is saying here is that your words are forming a world in which you will have to live; you will face the consequences of the words you have spoken.
Now, words are powerful, but to make sure we are only speaking what we should, we must start with an examination of our thoughts. After all, our words are the fruit of our thoughts. Consider what Jesus said to the Jewish leaders (enlarging upon the words of Solomon):
“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.””
Matthew 12:34-37 NKJV
It’s tragic that so few people spend any time or effort toward allowing the Holy Spirit to help them “gird up” their thoughts. And, as unrighteous thoughts are allowed to flourish, they will produce fruit in your mouth (your words).
In our portion from Psalms today we see David asking the Lord to help him train his thoughts toward being acceptable to Him. Being a man after God’s heart, he wanted every aspect of his life to please God.
Let’s not be sloppy with our thoughts and our words. Rather, let us know and understand what David knew:
Your “mic” is always on.
Day 36 with David -You cannot continue to deliberately defy God’s law without terrible consequences.
- araratchurch
- Apr 18, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 22, 2022
“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.”
Psalms 19:12-13 NKJV
I see a dangerous trend in our country. It seems that instead of solving the problem of crime, the powers that be have decided to just make it “go away” by redefining crime as not being crime, or to take away any real penalty for the same. Now, I know that sounds ridiculous on its face, but how else would you describe a system wherein you can deliberately shoot somebody and be out in a few hours, having paid no bail, under your own recognizance? In this way, there hasn’t been the actual changing of a law, but having removed most penalties, the authority of the law has been undermined.
Additionally, there is a very troubling trend toward not dealing with mental problems or illnesses, but rather, just re-defining them as being “normal.” Somehow removing something from the DSM of the American Psychiatric Association, has “solved” the problem of that disorder. I’d say that that way of thinking is “insanity.”
Now, I’m going to address what has really terrible repercussions—not only in this life—but the one to come. I have seen the trend in churches toward “solving” the sin problem by no longer categorizing things as sin which the Bible clearly describes as such. Now, we must recognize that we have all fallen short of the righteousness of God; that’s why we need a Savior and we have One in Jesus Christ. But, it seems to have become popular in many churches—in the name of being “seeker friendly”—to never speak of sin in any way. With this, the sense is given that you can live however you desire, paying no penalty, never repenting, because “Jesus paid it all.” This is not biblical.
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”
Hebrews 10:26-27 NKJV
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.”
II Peter 2:20 NKJV
These are just a couple of the many passages throughout the Scriptures, pointing us toward righteous living while warning of the consequences of the failure to do so.
In our portion from Psalms today we see David addressing the topic of “presumptuous (deliberate) sins.” He, having experienced the awful regret of going against the commands of the Lord, desperately desired to be cleansed from anything that gave place to such behavior.
Because the pull of our flesh is great, we must continually make sure that we are fully identified with Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And, that identification should result in our seeking after His way of being and doing (His righteousness). Let us not be found continuing in deliberate sin.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
You cannot continue to deliberately defy God’s law without terrible consequences.