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Praise the Lord!

10/1/2019

 
         Praise the Lord!
         Praise God in His sanctuary;
         Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
         Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
         Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
...Let everything that has breath PRAISE THE LORD! 
Psalm 150:1-2

The End...

The Psalms are the hymnbook for any situation--fear, failing, faithfulness, family, following God...but the very last Psalm summarizes the End of it all: Praise to God! 
Here, in the structure of the book of Psalms, we have the foreshadowing of the book of Revelation:
​trials, tribulation, troubles--but at the end: a great multitude that no one could number, and angels, and elders, and four living creatures worshiping God and saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Rev. 7:9-12)

...is Jesus.

Here, in the structure of the book of Psalms, we have the foreshadowing that at the NAME OF JESUS, every knee will bow of those who are IN HEAVEN, and ON EARTH, and UNDER THE EARTH, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11)
In Jesus, the Psalmist's admonition is finally fulfilled: everything that has breath WILL be praising the Lord!   
Praise is not dependent on the situation happening at hand in our lives, but the situation going on in heaven for the rest of eternity, which is based on the unchanging character of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ.
​Praise to the Lord!

Choosing a Traitor

9/12/2019

 
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Luke 6:12-16
It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;  Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus relied on His Father.

The Scriptures often record Jesus' times of slipping away alone to pray to His Father. On this occasion, the critical selection of twelve men to establish God's kingdom on earth was at hand.  The selection wasn't based on their personality or request, but by the choosing and purposes of the Father.  

The Traitor was not a Mistake.

​The amazing thing is that Judas Iscariot was chosen after a night of prayer. 
He was not a mistake that somehow got into the group unnoticed. From the outside, he looked just like the rest of the disciples. His covetous, unbelieving heart was unknown to the other apostles, but it was not unknown to God.  From the beginning, Jesus knew that "not all of them were clean" (John 13:11) and that one of them would betray him. He knew that one of them was a "plant from Satan." (Matt. 13:38) From the very beginning, the choosing of a traitor was to fulfill the words given to the prophets made about Messiah. (Luke 22:22) The choosing of the Traitor was eventually going to lead Jesus to the Cross: the purpose for which He had come. (John 12:27)
When I am praying for wisdom about a situation, I often have in mind that there is going to be a "good outcome"...that all will "turn out well."  
I don't often consider that a Judas Iscariot might be as much a part of the answer as a Peter and James and John--or that the long-range answer to my prayer is the way of the Cross. 

Jesus did good to His enemies.

Immediately after choosing the Twelve Apostles, including the Traitor, Judas--
Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount.  His words take on a new understanding when seen in light of Judas: "Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." This wasn't pious advice delivered at a Temple teaching. It was the daily example of how Jesus treated a close friend who was going to sell Him to His enemies to be crucified for 30 pieces of silver. 

"Come!"

7/23/2019

 
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​How can a person tell when a thought is God’s Voice or when it is Satan’s lies?

One key indicator is that Satan’s lies are bent on attacking my value and destroying my desire to come to God.
Phrases like, “You’ve messed up again, God won’t want to see you!” and “You are such a failure as a Christian!” may sound like rational thoughts when considering the evidence, but they are in direct opposition to the truth that God’s voice always invites me to come to Him, regardless of where I am.
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) 

If attacking my value does not keep me away from God, Satan will use the more subtle tactic of deceiving me about my true condition and need for God's changing grace.
Thoughts like, “I’m doing so well, praying and reading God’s Word.” “Everything is going well, I must be doing something right!” can mask pride and give a false security that equally destroys a desire to come to God. A person without an inner thirst will not come to God. A longing, a desire for the inner empty to be filled, a dissatisfaction with plastic facades and empty motions--that place of neediness and thirst for righteousness is exactly what delights the Father:
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." (Isaiah 55:1)

Jesus made it very specific that the thirsty one, the needy one, the distressed one crying out, is crying out to Him--and the one who comes to Him will be satisfied, not just one time, but continually. The invitation is open.
“Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’”
​(John 7:37-38)


You know what the scary part was? The people who studied the Scriptures were the ones who wouldn’t come to Jesus. The reason? Although the motions made it look like they were seeking God, they weren’t thirsty. They didn’t feel a driving need that made them want to be changed. Their knowledge of Scripture kept them insulated from seeing or feeling their true condition—that they were not filled with compassion and love for others, they were concerned only for their own wellbeing.
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
(John 5:39)


Whether we hear the lies that we have messed up too much and God doesn't want us to come, or we are subtly deceived with feeling no need to come, the invitation remains the same to the end:
“Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17)

Calibrating

4/23/2019

Comments

 
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cal·i·brate
/ˈkaləˌbrāt/
verb
To correlate the readings of (an instrument) with those of a standard in order to check the instrument's accuracy.

Mark 1:32-38
When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. 
 And the whole city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”
 He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” (NASB 1995)


What is interesting in this short passage is that Jesus' actions don't appear to match the "reaction" taking place around him.  After an amazing turn out of people into the night hours the day before, what would you expect someone in ministry to do? Excitedly ride the wave of positive response?  Or cringe at being crushed by the clamoring crowd?  Peter expected what we all would expect...things are just getting going and you don't want to leave now that everyone is seeking you out! Yet Jesus doesn't seem to be gauging His next course of action by the crowds at all. 

Jesus draws His strength for the day by spending time alone with His Father in prayer. He is calibrated NOT by the popular opinion of the crowds, nor by their pressing needs, but by the purpose for which the Father sent Him...to preach repentance and the Gospel.​

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    About this blog...

    Thousands have come to the same Word of God and seen His magnificance and penned commentary or devotional thoughts or hymns. What can I add that hasn't already been said?!
    ​Yet seeing the amazing God of Scripture propels me to add my snapshots to the multitudes that have gone before. 

    This informal blog is a place to share these devotional thoughts in the hope that they encourage you as you read through God's Word for yourself.

    ​--Leiann Walther

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