Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Why must I forgive? (continued)

Posted in Forgiveness, Relationship with God, Uncategorized, Vengeance, Walking with God, tagged , , , on January 21, 2011|

In man’s (or woman’s) natural state, he has no desire to forgive another for wrongs suffered at the other’s hand or direction.  Forgiveness is one of the things that originates from God.  Forgiveness is God’s idea.

God commands us to forgive because it doesn’t come naturally.  We wouldn’t do it without some encouragement. Forgiveness contravenes my natural way of dealing with those who hurt me or my loved ones.

Nevertheless, for me it begs the question “Why would a God of justice forsake justice and ask me to forgive the wrong?”  Surely, when a wrong is done, justice is required to right or correct the wrong.  Why would God ask me to put aside justice and forgive?  Perhaps you already know the answer which may seem less than satisfying at first glance; “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

God asks me to put aside immediate justice and forgive.  He does not say justice will never come.  In fact, He promises His justice for my enemies:

  • Psalm 9:3 When my enemies turn back, They shall fall and perish at Your presence.
  • Psalm 18:40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me.
  • Psalm 27:2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.
  • Psalm 54:5 He will repay my enemies for their evil.
  • Psalm 59:10 My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.
  • Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.

The lesson for me here is not that God would have me give up, but rather God would have me give over – give over my enemies to Him! By forgiving those who wrong me, I deal with the heart issue (which we will discuss in a later post) which threatens harm to me and my relationship, and I get out of God’s way.  I allow Him to bring His justice to the situation.  All I need to do is sit back, under the shadow of my Father’s everlasting arms, and wait as my God brings justice.  He is a God of justice, so I can trust Him. Forgive and get out of God’s way!

Read Full Post »

Bible Basics – Quiz 1

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Books of the Bible, Old Testament, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on June 28, 2010|

You probably saw it coming.  Teachers have a deep-seated need to give quizzes and tests.  Here is your first quiz on Bible basics.  You don’t have to send me your score, but try to take the test first without looking at the earlier blog posts just to see how you can do.  I will post answers tomorrow, so you can get that reinforcement you need.

1.  What are the two major divisions of the Bible?

2.  What are the divisions of the Old Testament?

3.  What are the books of the Law?

4.  How many books are there in the Bible?

5.  How many books are in the Old Testament?

6.  What is true of the Bible despite its many different books written by different authors at different times?

7.  In what language was the Old Testament written?

8.  What fractional part of the Bible does the Old Testament make up?

9.  What book in the Old Testament talks about the wanderings of the Israelites?

10.  What book in the Old Testament is sometimes called the book of wisdom?

Answers will be in tomorrow’s post.

Read Full Post »

Word of Exhortation from King David

Posted in Uncategorized on June 24, 2010| 1 Comment »

Have you ever read a passage of scripture and pictured your self in the scene.  I came across a couple of verses in 1 Chronicles, and I could almost hear King David saying:

“Is not the LORD your God with?  And has He not given you rest on every side?  For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and before His people.  Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God.” 1 Chron. 22:18-19a

By inserting myself into the scene, I feel the strength of my King (David) giving me as part of his speech about all that he had done to prepare for the building of the temple, some very important insights about God.  For example:

  • God is with me.  I know this from other scriptures such as Deut. 31:6, 8 and Heb. 13:5 (God saying, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”)
  • God has given me rest on every side. David is talking about his Kingdom and rest from enemies coming against him, but the same is true for me.  Jesus promised me in Matt. 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
  • God has given the “inhabitants of the land” into my hand and the land is subdued before the LORD and His people. In the case of King David, the inhabitants of the land were those groups that lived in areas that Israel was occupying which God had promised to them.  The same promises are extended to me.   God wants me to possess my possessions, the spiritual “land” He has given to me.  This includes my walk with Him – He promises to give me victory over sin and self.  He promises that I am His child and that He has given me all that pertains to life and godliness.  He has promised that salvation is available to “whosoever believes”, so I can walk in the confidence and assurance of my salvation.  I have no enemy which is stronger than me when I am standing with Jesus, and nothing exists in this realm or any other that can separate me from the love of my Savior.  That is certainly evidence that God has given “the inhabitants of the land” into my hand by the power of His spirit and the blood shed on Calvary.

With those things established, David exhorts me to set my heart and my soul to seek the LORD my God.  For King David and the people in that audience, he was exhorting them to build the sanctuary of the LORD, but the exhortation can apply today as well.  Knowing what I know about God, namely He is with me, He has given me rest on every side (despite what it might look like), and He has given the inhabitants of the land (the enemies and problems that vex me) into my hand, I can stop wasting time worrying, fighting, striving or whatever it is that I do instead of what I should be doing.  I can stop doing those things and do the one thing that is needful, set my heart and soul to seek the LORD my God. What could be better than that?  Imagine the fruit that could come out of a life fully set on and seeking the LORD.

May the LORD show you who He is and what He has already accomplished on your behalf that you might set your heart and soul to seek Him.  For He has promised that if you seek Him, He will be found by you.

God Bless you!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts