2009-07-24
Good Morning Dear Ones,
A supernatural quality of the word of God is that the Holy Spirit can return us to a particular verse or passage countless times, and we learn something new every time. He can also cause us to hover over a passage, enabling us to mine out an amazing portion of spiritual gems from it that we never realized were there. No other book in my long years of experience has ever had this capability. I’m directed this week to look at the comparison between MT 7: 1-2 and HE 5: 14 in seeing what God allows us to judge. MT 7: 1-2, “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way that you judge others, and He will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.” HE 5: 14, “Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil.”
God has given us to ability to distinguish between good and evil, and it is by repeated studying of the Scriptures that this discernment is imparted. We begin by praying, PS 119: 125, “I am Your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know Your teachings.” In addition we can pray, PS 51: 6, “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with wisdom.” We all know that when we are young, we think we know it all. Then, comes a time for most people when it dawns on them that some of the decisions they are making lead to mistakes, pain, and embarrassment. We come to understand that we don’t have all the answers. It is then, that God lays open our hearts for recognition of our need to be dependant on Him. By the time a true believer is in his late thirties, he begins to see the importance of the Scriptures and sets to studying them with a more open mind. God weighs in on this journey toward wisdom and discernment in PS 1: 1, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.” It is then the spiritually, one is ready for “solid food” and not just a diet of “milk.” Does this mean our perceptions are always right ? Of course not, as Paul would say. After all, only God, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are perfect.
God wants more than anything for us to grow in our spiritual lives, allow His teaching to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, and for us to one day be sufficiently perfected by Him that we can return to Him in heaven. It’s the reason why Christ went to the cross for us. All of this must be on God’s timeline, but with our cooperation as active partners with Him in the Covenant of Grace. The advantage to us while still here on earth is “the peace that passes all human understanding” [PHIL 4: 7]. We should never sell that short. It’s priceless and so valuable as to be worth enduring some embarrassment at having to confess our sin. Moreover, it is what will open the doors to heavenly bliss and eternal life with Him. I know from personal experience that if we ask for His help in prayers along the way, He is there and happy to oblige. It’s only fitting that I close with PS 145: 16-19, “You give them enough and satisfy the needs of all. The Lord is righteous in all He does, merciful in all His acts. He is near to those who call to Him, who call to Him with sincerity. He supplies the needs of those who honor Him; He hears their cries and saves them.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne as sinners in need of Your intervention in our lives. The trust that You have placed in us to cooperate with Your efforts to perfect us and grow us spiritually is a blessing. So is Your patience with us. You have told us in MT 5: 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.” We are indeed poor in spirit and in need of Your help and guidance. We beseech You to make Your direction clear to us and to give us the courage to follow it. You have left it to us to decide if we will come closer to You and be obediently faithful to You. We choose to do this with all our hearts. For example, in the matter of taking communion, our first challenge is to understand what it is and why it is so important. 1 COR 11: 23-25, “For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, ‘This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of Me.’ In the same way, after the supper He took the cup and said, ‘This cup is God’s new covenant, sealed in My blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of Me.’” Taking communion is a privilege, and we know that we should always examine ourselves first. This is one way that You can make known to us the sins we commit, even those very subtle ones which are hard for us to see. Our honest and humble confession in Your presence is cleansing. These excerpts from PS 51, David’s confession, help us to understand. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge…Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place…Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Praying such a prayer enables us to submit to Your righteousness and stand firm in our understanding that You alone can lead us away from hell and to eternal life. We thank and praise You for always being here for us and loving us enough to lead us back to You. In Christ’s holy and mighty name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, we will look more into the importance of good preparation for communion and what human judgments are allowable by God for this. We will examine 1 COR 11: 27-32 along with MT 7: 1-2. In the meanwhile, we also need to gain wisdom by understanding what it is. Knowledge is the acquisition of data. Understanding is the act of arranging that data so as to see it’s relationships to other data. Wisdom is the application- with compassion, patience, and love -of what we understand. We need all three in order to advance in our spiritual maturity. Our need is to stand on the ethical and moral teaching of the Scriptures in all our decisions made and actions taken. Being a true believer means that we are taking the time not only to study God’s word, but to meditate over it, pray abut it, allow it to sink from our heads to our hearts, and then, to impact the actions we take. For example, my work leading a huge prayer chain in prayer has blessed me with a chance to see 1) how much need is out there, 2) God’s loving answers to the prayers He receives, and 3) God at work to make lives better. I’ve had His help every day of my life, and I’m not afraid to ask Him over and over for one kind of help or another. Sometimes it’s healing, sometimes it’s the solution to marital or parenting problems, and other times it’s comfort for the bereaved. Often, I’m asking God to give people, or even myself, peace of mind. Praise to Him! He is always there for us! Take comfort in knowing that He loves each of us and, in accordance with EPH 1: 4-5, makes bringing us back to Him a major priority in His mission statement. Indeed it is wise to yearn for God.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn