Who can show us any good?

Psalms 4:6-7 (NIV)

[6] Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” 

Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

[7] You have filled my heart with greater joy 

than when their grain and new wine abound.

A Christian must answer this question with surety and a real conviction. 

The reason we get so caught up in politics and candidates is because in our hearts we believe that a certain type of government, or human rights, wilil bring peace and joy.

The reason we spend our emotion in finding the right person to love or who will love us, is because we believe that they can give us joy and peace in this life.

The reason we give our blood sweat and tears to our work or business, with no time for the Lord or our familiy, is because we believe that the earnings and profits we will have from them will give us joy.

Who will show us any good?

A true believer knows that only the light of the grace of God shining upon us will bring us joy.

He gives us a greater joy more than when their grain and new wine abound.  To translaste that in modern words - God's joy is greater than economic reviews, stock market prices, more than our salaries, profits and benefits we can get from work can give us.  More than the love of a spouse, of a friend.  More than politics, or a President's character or foreign policies. 

God gives us a greater joy.  In a circus of a world we live in, don't you think we need a greater joy than what it promises us? 

Who will show us any good? Check your heart. Where does our joy come from? 

Committing our Plans to our Sovereign God

Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, 

and your plans will succeed.

We have here a proverb expressing total trust to our God concerning the plans that we make.  Christians are not robots.  God does not input or program plans into our minds so that we will do what He wants.  We have been created with a will, with reasoning, which is what differes us from animals.  People plan.  We think, we imagine, we desire.  The difference with one who walks with God is that he/she realizes that his/her plans alone are not what matter.  There is Someone greater, Someone sovereign, Someone in charge of His life.  This is what moves us to commit.

This is why it is important for us to really understand what this proverb means.  Many read this, and "claim" it, to mean that everything that we commit the Lord WILL cause to succeed.  And He will, because this is His promise.  But the understanding of that success needs to be in the context of who our God is, not just in what we desire.

To commit in Hebrew means "to roll, roll away" (NASB Greek concordance).  Picture a ball rolling away from your hand.  This is what it means to commit.  In our minds we may have plans, in our hearts we may have desires.  Now, what the Lord asks from us is to roll it away from our minds and hearts and into His hands.  When we commit our plans to the Lord we do not insist, nor expect, that automatically it will come to pass according to how and what we have imagined it to be.  It is now in the Lord's hands.  We need to trust Him to bring the success that He has prepared for us.

We also need to understand this proverb according to the two preceding proverbs in chapter 16:

[1] To man belong the plans of the heart, 

but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.

We may plan, but the outcome is all in the hand of our God.  God wants us to plan but He wants us to remember that what happens in our life is all in the hand of our Sovereign God.  God is not a puppet who, because we ask Him to, will accomplish our plans for us.  He is the One orchestrating events and circumstances of our life.  Everything that actually happens is part of His working.  And His promise is that all things will work out for good to the one who loves Him and who He has called into His kingdom (Romans 8:28)

So, go ahead and plan, but remember that the actual "reply" comes from God.

[2] All a man's ways seem innocent to him, 

but motives are weighed by the LORD.

When we plan, when we have desires, all of them look innocent and right to us.  But there is a God who knows better than we do. And, there is a God who knows the motives of our hearts.

How do we know that our plans will really be good for us?

How do we know that our plans are spiritually beneficial for us?

How do we know if we will truly glorify God when our plans are implemented?

We don't.  This is why our trust should be in the God who knows the motives of our hearts.

These two proverbs remind us why we need to commit to the Lord all our plans.  We roll them over to God, surrendering ourselves to His sovereign plan for us, and having Him judge the motives of our hearts, and bring to fruition all the plans that will truly glorify His name in our life, that will truly be good and beneficial for us now and eternally.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do.

Missing Out on the "One Thing" We Should be Seeking

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.
(Psalms 27:4)

In the midst of battle, of evildoers coming upon him to devour his flesh, David sought refuge in the presence of his God.
David said "One thing...".  Not strong armor, not a good sharp sword, not in military advisers.  One thing that David wanted, as he was surrounded with his enemies, was to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.
David wasn't saying that he was going to stay in the temple the whole day praying.  In fact, David did not mean the temple built by his son Solomon, for it was not built yet.
David was talking about the presence of His God, the beauty of His presence, and the wisdom that he could meditate upon.
For this David would go to the Tabernacle, and seek God with all his heart.
This was the ONE THING that he sought for, that he always asked for from God.

How we miss out on this blessing, this privilege, this grace of being able to enjoy the presence of God in His house.
The interesting is today, in the New Testament, true believers in God through Jesus Christ have been given a beautiful gift - the Holy Spirit Himself.
John 14:17  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

He indwells each and every true believer in Christ.  This is why Paul writes that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Imagine, what David so longed for - to dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate upon His teachings and guidance - is what God is graciously allowing us to enjoy every day, every moment, of our life, without having to go to a church building, a chapel or a special place.  He, God Himself, is right inside us, dwelling in us.
How many of us take advantage of this, and spend quality time worshiping, listening and seeking His wonderful presence day by day?

I wonder, if we were to fill in the blanks of David's statement, what would our answer be - "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek...what would our answer be?

In the midst of all the chaos and warfare we are experiencing in the world, I pray we may all seek the same thing David sought...and enjoy it.  He is not far.

Understanding John 15:1-8

John 15:1-8 (NIV)

 The Vine and the Branches

 [15:1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4] Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 [5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. [8] This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

This passage has been misused and misunderstood, mostly by those who think that true Christians can lose their salvation by being "cut off" by the Father.  It is also a very important reminder of how true Christians are supposed to live - bearing fruit.  It is interesting how many will claim to be true believers and yet live lives opposite the life and teaching of our Lord.

So allow me to dissect and explain this verse as simply as possible.

Jesus is the true Vine.  He is the source of life, true life.  

In that vine there are many branches.

Who knows who the true branches are?  The Gardener.  Our Heavenly Father is the Gardener.

He knows which branch should be cut off, and which branch should remain.

What are the branches He cuts off?  Those that bear NO FRUIT.

What are the branches that He chooses to remain?  Those that bear fruit.  He prunes them so that they will be EVEN MORE FRUITFUL.

     These are the branches that REMAIN - the branches that bear fruit.

     Who are these branches that bear much fruit?  Jesus' disciples.  We see that in verse 8.

     Bearing much fruit gives glory to the Father.  These are the true disciples of our Lord.

The branches that do not bear fruit - NOT DISCIPLES.  This is why they are thrown away, because they are not bearing fruit.  The Father cuts them off from the true Vine.

The true branches are those that are "clean".  The clean branches are the Lord's disciples, as He says in verse 3.

Remaining in the Vine is not the work of a disciple.  Because no matter how we try to remain we always seem to let go.

When Jesus tells His disciples to "Remain in Me", He is not telling them to try with their own effort to remain.  He is simply reminding them of who they are, that they are those whom the Father has not cut off and has chosen to remain so that He can prune them to bear much fruit.

It's like God telling them "live the life that I have chosen you to live".  

Christians live out the life that their heavenly Father has chosen for them to live.

True disciples bear much fruit.  This is what God is working out in our lives.  There is no true branch, true disciple, that is not bearing fruit.

Again, not because the disciple is trying hard, but because our Father is continually pruning us so that through our bearing much fruit we can glorify His name.

The Blessing in Temptation 2

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me." 
(Luk 22:31-34)

The next blessing that we have in the midst of temptation is what our Lord told Simon after telling him that he was about to be sifted like wheat:
"but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail".

If Peter really believed that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, these words should have given him the greatest assurance ever.  Imagine the Lord Himself saying that He prayed for Simon that his faith would not fail!
And not only that, but the Lord also prayed that after Peter would overcome the temptation he would go and strengthen his brothers after successfully overcoming the temptation.  Jesus prayer for Peter was for while he was going through the temptation,and also after the temptation.  It was a complete prayer!

All Peter had to do was to face the temptation fully trusting that his Lord had prayed that his faith would not fail, and that his experience would strengthen his brothers.
Sadly, Peter did not do that.
"But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" 

Peter trusted in himself.  He wanted to boast, either to his Lord, or to the other disciples who were there listening.  It's as if he wanted to prove himself as the top disciple who would be ready to follow his Lord no matter what!

Of course our Lord wants us standing as a disciple who will be with the Lord through thick and thin, even in the midst of death.  This is why throughout the history of the church, even up to today, we have believers standing before governments, before people, facing persecution and death and yet not forsaking their faith and walk with the Lord.
But God wants us doing this not depending on our own strength, but in the strength and grace of our God.
Depending on our own strength and effort will lead to boasting in our self, and will not bring glory to God in our heart and to others.
But depending on God strengthens our faith, and makes us trust in a power that comes from God Himself to overcome all temptation that we face.  This is what truly glorifies our God!

Our Lord and Savior has the same heart's desire for each of His disciples today in the midst of temptation - that our faith may not fail, and that after the victory over temptation that we will go and strengthen our brothers.
When Jesus prayed for Simon He was praying as a man calling on His Father to grant us this strength.  Today, as the One seated at the right hand of the Father, He may not be praying anymore for us because He is not a man anymore, but He still has the same heart's desire for us, just as He did with Simon and the other disciples.

What a blessing it is to know that our Lord will see us through every temptation, as we trust in Him, and in His working of righteousness in our life.  Truly He is the source of faith and strength for every believer!

The Blessing in Temptation

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me." 
(Luk 22:31-34)

Yes, there is blessing in temptation, or in the midst of temptation.  Temptation, in itself, is not wrong.  We are not yet sinning when we are being tempted.  Every Christian faces temptation every day.  It's how we face temptation that is important.
A temptation can become something bad, drastic even for us when we succumb to it and eventually sin.
But a temptation can actually be a blessing, especially when we realize the blessings that happen when we are in the midst of it.
Let's take a look at the example in our Lord's dealing with Simon.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat...
It's the "sifting like wheat" that strikes us first.  Imagine yourself going through this:


or this:


If you were the wheat being sifted, that is not an experience you want to go through.
That is exactly what Satan wants to do to us...he wants to sift us so bad that we give up on our faith and our righteousness.
But look what our Lord tells Peter before He describes Satan's temptation - 
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission...

Here is the first blessing regarding temptation - it has to go through our Sovereign Lord.  Satan needs to ask permission before he can actually sift us.  This shows us that Satan cannot just do anything that he wants with us.  He cannot just throw any kind of temptation toward us.  He needs to ask permission.
This also tells us that our God is really the great and awesome God He is, that even Satan is not independent of His plan.

Secondly, this tells us that our Lord is truly sovereign over our lives.  Nothing happens without His sovereign permission - whether it be a blessing or a temptation.
Now, we may ask, why will our Lord even allow us to be tempted in the first place?
Remember, temptations are tests, tests of our faith and allegiance to our Lord.  Our faith and our desire to walk with the Lord must be tested.

But doesn't God see me suffering through temptation?  Yes, our sovereign God knows this.  In fact, this is where His sovereignty again comes in with regards to temptation:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 
(1Co 10:13)

And that is a blessing, because this means that not only is God sovereign that Satan needs to ask permission, but He is also sovereign as to the kind of temptation that will be brought to us.  And He will not allow us a temptation that we cannot bear.

In other words, whatever temptation we are going through there is a way of escape.  It's an escape that can be found by faith, as we trust Him and hold on to Him, to see us through.  It is our Lord Himself who is making sure that we walk in the righteousness that He desires from us.