His Mercy Endures Forever

How great it is that Gods has mercy forever.  I read this Psalm 136 and was filled with joy.  No matter what I do God's mercy will endure.  He will always forgive sin (1John 1:9) and when He forgives He remembers them no more (Psalm 103:12).

To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:5

Who remembered us in our low estate:  for his mercy endureth forever.  And who hath redeemed us from our enemies:  for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:23-24

These are three verses in that text that illustrates three important points about the mercy of God.  

1. God doesn't have to give mercy to us.  He has all power all might and all wisdom.  Would it be smart to redeem a people who so much caused Him pain? (...by wisdom made the heavens...)

2. God is the only one who can forgive. "...who hath redeemed us..."  If something is redeemed that means that it is bought back.  If you buy back something that means it was whoever's buying it backs first.  Like at a pawn shop only the owner's pawn ticket can buy back the item.  That is what Christ did.  He died to cover our sins and He bought back all of mankind that believe on Him.

3.  God did this because He loves us.  "Who remembered us in our low estate..."  God loves us so much that He would do anything to take us out of the pain and struggle we put our own selves through.  He remembers us at all times, watching over us though we sometimes care not what He thinks.  It takes great love for a person to continue to look after someone after so much rejection.  That is why I love my God.  He still loves me though I ran from Him for many years. I am glad to call Him Father.

God's mercy endures forever!

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:1

 

Desperation

We should be in a desperate longing for God.  We should constantly be crying out to Him, seeking His will in our lives, and loving Him fully.  We should have an overwhelming desire to be near the LORD and to feel His presence.

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee O LORD.  Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.  I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning:  I say, more than they that watch for the morning.  Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.  And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Psalm 130

When we read this verse we should feel desperation and need for the Father.  The writer is seeking forgiveness for sin. "Out of the depths have I cried..."  This guy is earnestly desire for God to hear him."...let thine ears be attentive..."  We need to be this desperate for God.  This is a call for repentance.  We have got to cry out to God from the depths of our sin and flesh.  We have got to ask God to hear our cries.  I believe this is part of seeking His face.  Seeking his face is to have that desire for God to speak and for His will to be revealed in our lives.

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?  We have got to know the truth.  This guy knew the truth.  He knew he was a sinner.  Not all sins are big.  Not all people sin big.  Lecrae said in one of his songs that people always ask the question "If there is a God then where is He in all the murder and in the rape?"  but his rebuttal to this is "Why doesn't God let us feel the wrath of sin?"  What Lecrae is getting at is that sin is more than rape and killing. It is even lust, lying, and our evil thought.  Anything contrary to God is sin and we have all strayed from His perfect will.

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.  But thanks be to God that was not the end of it.  God gives forgiveness.  There is only one able to forgive and make clean our sins and He has done it.  GOD has shown His love by sending His Son to die.  In that death the blood of Christ has covered all of our sins.

 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.  In that forgiveness of sin our love comes.  We love God because of His love for us (1John 4:10).  And through that love we wait on Him. The Hebrew word for wait is qâvâh.  This means to expect or wait eagerly.  When we wait on the Lord it is in excitement to see what God's plan carried out will be.  We can expect it to be carried out because He said it would be.  His word is sure. On the forgiveness of sins we know that He forgives so we wait for that Holiness gotten through confession (1John 1:9). However, for revival of our souls if we seek God to change our stagnant faith we can expect a consuming fire to fall upon us.

 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.  And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.  The love of God changes people.  When we seek God in desperation to change our lives He does.  And when He changes our lives we know that He can change others.  I love how on a lot of Psalms it talks about how the country will benefit from the LORD.  Imagen every Christian on bended knee praying to seek revival in their own hearts seeking God in desperation. What would this country be (2Chronicles 7:14)?

Desperation is one who is willing to do any extravagant act regardless of consequences.  Are we willing to be desperate.  Thats in our prayer life.  Can we pray for more than five minutes?  In our bible readings, can we take scripture read and apply it to our lives everyday?  In our public life.  Can we walk the faith in which we were called to?  I challenge you to be desperate.  What could be more worth it?

Love the Law

There are many times in my life as I go through things wonder, if I am being to legalistic about certain things.  In my life I want to line all things up according to His will.  I want to follow all things in Him.  God has shown me an amazing thing by reading His word.  Psalm 119 is an amazing chapter in the bible and I believe that is why I am on this chapter now.

...I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. Psalm 119:40

...I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. Psalm 119:70

 ...O how I love the law...Psalm 119:97

Therefore I love thy commandments above gold Psalm 119:127

All these verses show how the person loves the law.  That is what I am to do. I am to love the law that God has given me because first He has given it and second because it is good for me.  In all the times that I have gone through God's word has held up in every area.  I must remember that God's laws have reasons behind them and those reasons are for my welfare.  Now when I think am I being to legalistic, I will think, I will delight my self in the LORD and His laws for they are good for me.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto good works.  2Timothy 3:16;17

 

Striving for Perfection

How can a person be holy?  That is the question the writer of Beth from Psalm 119 asked.  Many would say "by the blood of Christ!"  They are right in some aspects, but to maintain holiness is what God has required and this is not by continuing to sin and ask for forgiveness (Rom 6:1-2).

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  With my whole heart have I sought thee:  O let me not wander from thy commandments.  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.  With my lips have I declared all judgments of thy mouth.  I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.  I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.  Psalm 119:9-16

First the question is made with an immediate answer.  We have to listen to what the Word presents. Taking heed in the original Hebrew is shâmar which is to hedge about or guard.  Our writer says we must make defense against the flesh with the living Word of God. In English the definition to heed is to take careful attention to; observation or regard.  We have to not only read but study and make it important in our affairs.

Next the writer says that we not only have to study and observe the law of the LORD but we have to seek the one who authored it, the LORD God.  And we must not seek him flippantly either but diligently and thoroughly. We must seek to know His will for our lives, and not to run from it.  We must strive to live to the standards in which He has given us to live by, His commandments.  We must follow them at all cost.

But how are we to follow them?  By hiding His word in our hearts.  Knowing the word of the LORD will help to keep our minds on things that are good and of good report.  It will keep our thoughts focused on the Creator above and his will for our lives (Philippians 4:8).  However, when temptation does come scripture will be in our memory to recall as a defense against the evil one (Matthew 4:3-10).

Next is to pray for guidance.  Let us not forget whose statutes they are.  We know we can go to Him who created the statues and he will teach them to us "...O Lord: teach me thy statutes"  It says in James 1:5 that if any man would ask God for wisdom He will give it to them, and not just give them a little but a lot.

When we have prayed and asked God for the knowledge of His will in our lives, he begins to reveal the truths of His word in our lives.  We begin to manifest them in our actions and talk to others about them.  Helping to spread the Gospel of Peace helps others to know the faith we have thereby making us more accountable for the actions we take.  But the reason we tell others is because they have become real in our lives. "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies..."  We begin to understand the purpose of the laws and begin to experience their spiritual surgery in our lives.  We start to see the manner of man in which God wants us to become in Him.

Finally but one of the most important aspects is to meditate on the things he has taught us. To meditate is to exercise the mind in thought or reflection.  We must review the word in which we read, trying to find a deep understand and a way to apply to our own lives and ways of explaining what we have read to others.

In this psalm the writer is showing the spiritual progress he has gone through.  First he wants to know how to be holy, so he seeks for God and tries to follow His word .  Then he ask for Gods help in understanding and God shows up giving him wisdom.  Then he shares this wisdom with others because he rejoices in the knowledge.  But that knowledge is not enough.  He meditates.  This is to be an example in our lives.  When I was younger God blessed me with some knowledge about his word but I became prideful and thought there was no more to learn.  Quickly I turned back to sin.  Never again however!  To be like this man who after he has gain much knowledge still meditates to know more.  He delights himself in Gods word seeking to know more and more and not turning from it.

Our life must reflect this mans if we seek to be holy.  Gods word is the means by which we gain holiness.  Through His word we learn to have hope, faith, joy, and love.  O the word of the LORD is great and makes men whom follow it holy!
 

Idol Worship

Idols were a major thing in the days of the bible and they still are in other countries.  In some countries there is worship of of 3,000 gods.  It's incredible.  But Americans have the same action in idol worship. Here's a verse that made me laugh when I first read it.

They made a calf in Ho'-reb, and whorshippped the molten image.  Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass..  They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt.  Psalm 106:19-21

These verses say that the people of Israel turned their glory of the LORD into something that eats grass.  The amazing power and wonder of God was reduced to a cow.  I laughed, and then I thought, we do the same thing.  We changed God's awesome wonder in our lives to things that can do nothing in themselves.  Money, which is only paper.  It has no monitary value in itself.  Or we turn God into videogames.  We put a false reality above our Creator.  For some of us it may be a person.  We put them on a pedistool thinking they will never lie cheat or steal when they are only human, NOT God.  No matter what it is if we spend more time in that than the Father it becomes an idol.

In the time that the Israels had built this idol Moses had left to retrieve God's law for the people.  He had been taking a while and either they had gotten bored or they had got tired of waiting on the LORD.  A lot of our relationship with Christ is waiting.  Many times it says wait on the LORD, or suffer (patience) in Christ (Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Galations 6:9)  When these times are not the most exciting or they seem to not get the results we want we must stand fast in Him and endure because God's glory is so much greater.  For those that had built the calf they did not get to see the promise land, and for us it will be the same.  We may miss out on His blessings.

there is a hell

A man told me once if you don't believe in hell then you don't believe in the God of the bible.  I believe that is very true because God is just and God is righteous and Holy.  He does not allow the wicked to go unpunished.

O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. Psalm 95:1-2

Since even back in the day the people of God have been looking for justice. What if a man commits murder and is never found out? Where is his judgement? What if a man steels a person's wallet and never gets caught?  Those are laws against men and they should be prosecuted by the court.  How about if a man sleeps with many women and causes emotional damage to them?  Or a women is a gossip and ruins the lives of people around her?  These are against God's laws.  Is there no punishment for these?

And He shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yeah, the LORD our God shall cut them off. Psalm 95:23

My answer to these questions are the Lord shall cut them off.  What then shall he cut them off from?  The glorious kingdom of God.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?  Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

But not only that but they shall receive a payment for what is due, for there is life after this one.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9:27 

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire. Revelations 20:13-15 ESV

How great it is to be redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ who has saved us from our former selves.  For we all were living in this path but a transformation through Jesus's sacrifice on the cross is the only reason that salvation is here now. And how great it is to know that the wicked shall not go unpunished.  But we must all remember that tho we get hurt in these lives that it is our duty as Christians to forgive and to reconcile others to Christ, for we too were in the same place yet we are washed by His blood, made whole by His sacrifice and been redeemed by his grace.

 

struggleing with sin

In this life I must choose wheather to go doing Gods will or to follow my flesh.  Sin is a terrible thing and when started the chain will contine more and more sins will occur.  How am I to break this cycle?  How am I to overcome the torture of the two spirits within me?  First I begin with the consequences.  I know if I do right there are blessings and wrong consequences.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galations 6:7-8

My body is being destroyed because of my sin nature, however; through living in Christ I can have eternal rewards. And life will be everlasting with Him. Then I find out what does it take to do things which are in the Spirit. The Bible says it will be tough.

Therfore since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. 1Peter 4:1

Sometimes it is physically painful to stop from doing the sins that are desired in the flesh.  In many of the things the flesh, world, and Satan offer are pleasing to the eye or to the touch.  They are desired by the flesh because they are desirable.  However, if I am to serve the risen Savior I must suffer in these things.  But when I do suffer it says I shall have "...ceased from sin."

If it is a struggle then who can help me with these desires that I might strive to stop sinning?  Who can give me the strength to do so?  I must live by the Spirit of God.  I must allow Him to direct my path and my thoughts.  I must make a choice not to push back the direction of the Spirt.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not cary out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

I must note that it says desire not desires, because there is one thing that my flesh wants.  It is to sin against the almighty Creator.  Sin is born in me and can only be defeated by the power of the risen Savior.  Therefor if sin is born in me the only way for me to stop sin is to follow a Spirit that is not of me, the Spirit which God gives all of His children.  The Comforter Holy Spirit.

I write this with ease, but to live these principles are difficult, however; that does not give me the reason to sin.  If I have the directions to fix a machine that I have broken but do not use them because they are difficult and continue to handle the machine in its current state and I get injured.  Then the manufacturer is not at fault I am because a plan to make the machine perfect again was in place. I was just to lazy to do it.