Our God is Judge

Psalm 50:16-23

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
^17 (A)For you hate discipline,
    ^(B)and you cast my words behind you.
¹⁸ If you see a thief, ^(C)you are pleased with him,
    ^(D)and you keep company with adulterers.

¹⁹ “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    ^(E)and your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother's son.
²¹ These things you have done, and I ^(F)have been silent;
    you thought that I^[a] was one like yourself.
But now I ^(G)rebuke you and ^(H)lay the charge before you.

²² “Mark this, then, you who ^(I)forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be ^(J)none to deliver!
²³ The one who ^(K)offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who ^(L)orders his way rightly
    I will show the ^(M)salvation of God!”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2050:16-23&version=ESV)

Many years ago I was sitting at a desk and I heard a man using vulgar language on the other side of the wall.  I could have thought this was just a moment of weakness for the man, out of frustration he spewed something he didn’t mean to spew but then  I heard him make a comment about being a deacon of the church, in such a way that he was mocking it.  As to say, “God, I got away with it!”  On Sundays he was one type of person and on workdays he was totally different.  He would give God the praise on Sunday, not only taking communion but serving it and then on Monday that same tongue cursed and mocked God.  I never trusted that person again.  It made me sad, sick to my stomach, and so very disappointed in the person.  I have often wondered if I should have confronted the person but I didn’t.  I wasn’t sure where my place should be but thought if he was as evil as he sounded, I should just stay clear of him and not become his friend.  God does not tolerate evil and the Words today tell us that he did not get away with this.  Jesus tells us this in Matthew 15:11, ^11 (A)it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”.   I don’t know if this man ever repented but I do know that God will forgive and I hope this man made a change in his life.

Make no mistake, God is a righteous judge.  It is through Jesus Christ that we are saved not by anything that we do or say.  He is the sacrifice that is worthy of praise and our tongues should be praising Him, not just on Sunday but each and every moment of the day. God knows our hearts and if any of us are mocking God and praising Him with the same tongue, there is judgment to come.  Yes, God is a God of love.  He loves His children and He protects them from the evil one.  However, the evil one will pay, the evil one will not prevail, because our God is a just God.

As you seek Him, make sure you seek Him daily and with an attitude of praise.  May you realize just how big our God is and how amazing He is.  Fear Him and know that He is God.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila  

Have You Told Him Lately?

Psalm 50:1-15

English Standard Version (ESV)

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

50 ^(B)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
    speaks and summons the earth
    ^(C)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
² Out of Zion, ^(D)the perfection of beauty,
    ^(E)God shines forth.

³ Our God comes; he ^(F)does not keep silence;^[a]
    before him is a devouring ^(G)fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
^4 (H)He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made ^(I)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
^6 (J)The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for ^(K)God himself is judge! Selah

^7 (L)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    ^(M)I am God, your God.
⁸ Not for your sacrifices ^(N)do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
⁹ I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
^11 (O)I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    ^(P)for the world and its fullness are mine.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
^14 (Q)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,^[b]
    and ^(R)perform your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and ^(S)call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will ^(T)deliver you, and you shall ^(U)glorify me.”

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2050:%201%20-%2015&version=ESV

Have you ever received a gift from your child?  Maybe it was a drawing that you put on the refrigerator or some dandelions that you put in a vase on the table.  Although very sweet, you didn’t need them.  Maybe at Christmas time they gave you a gift that they earned with their own money and you felt just a little guilty that your child would spend their hard earned money on you.  The greatest gift that I have received from my children is a simple “I love you” or a cry in the night because they trusted me to help them.  I may have simplified this passage to human standards but I as I read this passage it came to me that our Heavenly Father doesn’t need bulls, rams, or even pigeons to know that we love Him.   Just like we don’t need gifts from our children to know they love us.  It is not the sacrifice of the animal that He was looking for when He spoke of sacrifices.  He doesn’t need us to perform great and mighty acts but He wants us to love Him.  He wants our praise, our adoration, our undivided attention, and most of all He wants our love.  I can’t think of a more precious moment than a time when randomly I heard those sweet words come from a child’s mouth, “Mom, I love you”.  Or a time when my children wrote in a card, how much I meant to them.  How much more precious are those words to our Creator, God our Father, yes, He wants our praise. 

Next time you wonder if you are doing enough for the Lord, stop and evaluate where your heart is and ask yourself, “When was the last time I told Him I loved Him?”.  When you seek Him, be sure to give Him the praise that only He is worthy of.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

A Bright Future

Psalm 49:13-20

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹³ This is the path of those who have ^(A)foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.^[a] Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright ^(B)shall rule over them in the morning.
    ^(C)Their form shall be consumed ^(D)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
¹⁵ But God will ^(E)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will ^(F)receive me. Selah

¹⁶ Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
^17 (G)For when he dies he will ^(H)carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
¹⁸ For though, while he lives, he counts himself^(I)blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹ his soul will ^(J)go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again ^(K)see light.
^20 (L)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2049:%2013%20-%2020&version=ESV#en-ESV-14664

How do we measure success?  Many people measure success by the amount of money in their savings account, in the size of their house, or by the car they drive.  I have seen people who are living at the poverty level, collecting food stamps yet driving nice cars while living in a little shack.  Why, when it is difficult to put food on the table, do people have large screen TVs and fancy cars in their drive?  It is partially the way they measure success.  We are always trying to keep up with the neighbors next door.  We don’t mind them seeing the outside but rarely do we let them see our inside of our lives.

How does the Bible measure success?  The Bible measures success through the understanding what this world is all about by understanding who our God is.  It also measures success by our uprightness.  A rich person may get rich because they undercut someone but a successful person in the sight of God is an honest man.

Next time you see a rich person or the house he lives in and want to live in his shoes, remember his future.  It is only but a time that we are on this earth but we will reign forever in the house of the Lord. I am sure there are rich people whom I believe will be in Heaven and there are poor people who will not be in Heaven.  Do not be deceived by the success of this world as the future of the successful man by the world’s standard, may be bleak.  An upright, understanding man, is one who believes the Word of God is true, who understands their future is not on this earth, and lives an upright life.  A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, who seeks God with all their heart is the one who truly has a bright future ahead!

Seeking His with all my heart,

Sheila 

Fix Your Eyes on Him

Psalm 49:1-12

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

49 ^(B)Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
^2 (C)both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
³ My mouth shall speak ^(D)wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
⁴ I will incline my ear to ^(E)a proverb;
    I will solve my ^(F)riddle to the music of the lyre.

^5 (G)Why should I fear in ^(H)times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
⁶ those who ^(I)trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷ Truly no man ^(J)can ransom another,
    or ^(K)give to God ^(L)the price of his life,
⁸ for ^(M)the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
⁹ that he should live on forever
    and ^(N)never see the pit.

¹⁰ For he sees ^(O)that even the wise die;
    ^(P)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and ^(Q)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their ^(R)graves are their homes forever,^[a]
    their dwelling places ^(S)to all generations,
    though they ^(T)called lands by their own names.
¹² Man in his pomp ^(U)will not remain;
    ^(V)he is like the beasts that perish.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?f=B&utm_expid=13466113-8.PChnVLuORx-FtxVb0v4HEQ.1&search=Psalm%2049:1-12&version=ESV&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biblegateway.com%2F%3Ff%3DB

You have heard it said, “You can’t take it with you” or “There are no U-Hauls going to the cemetery”.  We work so hard on this earth to gain status, earn money, prepare for retirement and the list goes on but why?  Is it because this is the only life we know so we live it the best we know how?  I find myself getting caught up in the rat race of this world. I get frustrated, disappointed and even depressed when I don’t get my way.  Why is that?  My life should be about bringing glory to God, about being more like Jesus day after day but instead I get stuck on the things of this world.  Shame on me!

How should we respond when things don’t go our way?  We should be fixed on our future, the future that really matters, a future that comes after our death on this earth.  If we would only fix our eyes on our Lord and Savior “the things of earth would grow strangely dim”, as the song “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” states. 

When we fix our gaze on our future, our real future, we no longer need to look at the things of this earth as unfortunate circumstances.  We no longer have to be burdened by our lifestyle or our job.  If we are, then we have not been seeking Him enough, so keep on seeking, keep on knowing, that He is God and He is in control.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

God is Forever

Psalm 48

English Standard Version (ESV)

A Song.   A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

48 ^(B)Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
    in ^(C)the city of our God!
His ^(D)holy mountain, ^2 (E)beautiful in elevation,
    is ^(F)the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
    ^(G)the city of the great King.
³ Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.

⁴ For behold, ^(H)the kings assembled;
    they came on together.
⁵ As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic; they took to flight.
^6 (I)Trembling took hold of them there,
    anguish ^(J)as of a woman in labor.
⁷ By ^(K)the east wind you ^(L)shattered
    the ships of ^(M)Tarshish.
⁸ As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in ^(N)the city of our God,
    which God will ^(O)establish forever.  Selah

⁹ We have thought on your ^(P)steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
¹⁰ As your ^(Q)name, O God,
    so your praise reaches to ^(R)the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹     Let Mount ^(S)Zion be glad!
Let ^(T)the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
    number her towers,
¹³ consider well her ^(U)ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
^(V)that you may tell the next generation
¹⁴     that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will ^(W)guide us forever.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2048&version=ESV

The first and last verses of this Psalm sum up the entire Psalm.  All of the information in between is proof of those statements.  I believe each one of us, who have faith in God, can fill in the middle part as to how God has directed our lives.  Not every day in the life of the believer is filled with happiness and a smoothly paved road but even more dismal is the life of an unbeliever whose world and the things they worship can be totally destroyed.  One fact that the believer can hold on to is that God is forever.  The things of this world are only temporary but our God is eternal.  That is the reason that we should not worship things, they will disappear, but rather God, who is forever and ever.

How many of us forget that this life is only a fleeting moment in time but God’s kingdom reigns forever?  I would say each of us have fallen into the trap of success in this world and forget that our God is our success.  As we seek Him daily we will know Him better and better.  The more we know Him, the more we realize that He is in control and that He is worthy to be praised beyond anyone or anything in this world.

Seek Him and know that He is Worthy.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila