- araratchurch
- Apr 4, 2022
- 2 min read
“Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death.”
Psalms 13:3 NKJV
I have been with animals and people when they died. One thing that is consistent is that at the moment of death you can immediately see the light of life gone from their eyes. It’s a stunning phenomenon to experience. It happens as quickly as flipping the switch to turn the light off. One second there’s light; the next second there is none.
I’ve also seen another phenomenon associated with the eyes, but this one is among the living. While not to the degree seen at the point of death, I have seen living people with “dead” eyes.
Sometimes the cause of these eyes with no sparkle is physical in nature; but many times I have seen these dead eyes the result of great strain, pressure, sorrow, grief, and so forth. Although the person’s heart is still beating and they are still breathing, the spark of life is receding and you can see it in their eyes.
Because of our advanced technology we can immediately see people in all kinds of stressful situations. You see when their eyes are terrified, when they are angry, when they are despairing, when they are in shock, and when they have lost all hope.
On the other hand, we can see when people are full of hope, expectation, joy, excitement, and so on, by the “sparkle” in their eyes.
Ezra, in speaking about the Lord’s mercy to His people said this:
“And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.”
Ezra 9:8 NKJV
Ezra praises the Lord for bringing back the light in the eyes of the people in bondage by bringing them back to their land.
In our opening portion from Psalms today we see that David is acknowledging to the Lord that he has lost the light in his eyes. He feels hopeless, helpless, and near death, and is asking the Lord to bring back reason for hope and joy (enlightening his eyes).
Let’s face it, we often lose a lot of our life in our living. In other words, the things we go through, the things we experience, our toiling and striving, can literally diminish the light of our life (the life force) to the point that it is flickering, almost extinguished. The good news is that the One Who originally gave us our life spark, can and will rekindle the flame. You don’t have to go on a moment longer with dead eyes!
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The stress of life can take the light from your eyes, but the Lord can restore it.
- araratchurch
- Apr 2, 2022
- 2 min read
“They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.”
Psalms 12:2, 6 NKJV
I can remember watching westerns (the content of which would now be very politically incorrect) where a Native American (then referenced as an Indian) would say something along the lines of: “White man speaks with forked tongue.” As you may know, what this means is that a person is speaking in a way meant to deceive (we also used to say, “speaking out of both sides of your mouth”).
Actual forked tongues are a common feature among reptiles. You see, reptiles use their tongues to “smell,” and the forked tongue is useful for detecting the direction in which they will find their prey.
OK, I’m going to say it. People who speak with a forked tongue are also looking for “prey;” they look to manipulate, take advantage of, and further their agenda through deceitful words!
“Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates]. He says to you, “Eat and drink,” Yet his heart is not with you [but it is begrudging the cost].”
Proverbs 23:6-7 AMP
This scripture from Proverbs is often quoted without the full context. Yes, we know that it is true that what a person is thinking on the inside of themselves is who they actually are. But, the meaning here was meant to put forth the warning that you have to be careful of people who say one thing, meaning another; or who say one thing, but are using deceit to control in some way or another.
Another Proverb instructs the listener to not be “that person.”
“Put away from you a
deceitful (lying, misleading) mouth, And put devious lips far from you.”
Proverbs 4:24 AMP
In our portion from Psalms today we see that David had his fill of people speaking with forked tongues. But as he always does, he contrasts God’s way of being and doing with man’s ways; in this case, deceitful tongues of many men versus the pure tongue of the Lord. He references the Lord’s word as being purified like silver. In other words, just as purified silver has no dross, the Lord’s word has no deceit.
“As for God, His way is blameless. The word of the Lord is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless]; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”
Psalms 18:30 AMP
Unless you’re living somewhere I have never been, I can pretty much know that you deal with a lot of “forked tongues.” The first thing I will say is, make sure you are not one of “those people.” And as for those who do speak deceitfully, look out for them!
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
People often speak deceitfully, but God’s word is always true.
- araratchurch
- Apr 2, 2022
- 2 min read
”Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.”
Psalms 12:1-2, 7 NKJV
One of the strategies used by people desiring to marginalize those with whom they disagree is that of making them feel that they are in the minority. Leading the opposition to believe that no one is standing with them, is meant to intimidate and silence them, making them fear reprisal or outright rejection. More than once, I have personally seen someone in a group giving a very strong opinion not held by most of the other people in the group; yet, they control the narrative by intimidating anyone who would dare say something in opposition to their position. It’s sad how many times that strategy works.
The ultimate expression of marginalizing those with whom you disagree is making them the “bad guy” in some way or another, a “hater” of those with whom they disagree. Because decent people refuse to incorporate such aggressively in-your-face tactics, you can find those who know right from wrong, and want to do what is right, ending up in a so-called silent majority.
I am currently seeing very perverse groups in our society—with extremely radical and evil agendas—incorporating a full-throttled attempt at smacking down the righteous through relentless intimidation and marginalization.
Make no mistake, just because the righteous have been silenced, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t out there. But, unless the righteous find their strength in the Lord, they may allow widespread evil to cause them to grow cold:
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
Matthew 24:12 NKJV
Feeling that you are fighting for the right by yourself can also cause depression, despair, and despondency, as the prophet Elijah found out in the face of Jezebel’s threatenings:
“So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
[The Lord speaking:]
“Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.””
I Kings 19:13-14, 18 NKJV
In our portion from Psalms today we see that King David is lamenting the seeming scarcity of righteous people. But—as he always seems to do—after presenting his argument, he affirms that the Lord will be with the righteous, no matter how many, or few, are left.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The enemy tries to discourage the righteous by making them think that they are the only one left desiring to do what is right. But, no matter how few righteous are left, the Lord will defend them.