August 3 – August 9 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
Psalms 72:10-20
10. The kings of Tarshish and of
the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11. Yea, all kings shall fall
down before him: all nations shall serve him.12. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no elper.
13. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
15. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
18. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
19. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Notice, who are the ones that reap the
benefits that God provides. He comes as a helper to the helpless and a supply
to the needy. “Those that are whole need not a physician.” Broken, poor
and needy souls are saved. The Lord has found a way to defeat the violent and
deceitful nature of Adam and redeem the souls of men. So precious was their
blood in His sight, that He gave His for theirs. He arose again and not only
does He live to intercede for us, but we can now come to the Father’s throne
directly in His name.
An Allegory... part five
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Important messages
Chapter 9
FILL THE
EARTH – LOVE THE INDIVIDUAL
..... The landscape improved as we walked and talked, vegetation
returned and we heard the rush of a River. Soon we were on its banks and the
pathway became obvious, although we realized that we had been upon it all
along. We had not left it, when we were guided in different ways through the
desert. It was no less real than the
highway in the sky, thousands of miles long, taken by birds that migrate south,
as the cold weather approaches, and back to the north, when the climate is
ideal for nesting. They never get lost, led by an unseen hand. If we know and
acknowledge the King’s purpose and do not trust our wisdom, even though we
cannot see the path, He will lead us straight to our destination.
For the first time, the River took us to the outskirts of a huge city.
It was called Darkness. We were on a hill, looking down upon it and we watched
masses of people crowding the streets and sidewalks. That morning, we read
together about the commission that the King had given us and were reminded of
the debt that had to be paid. Our hearts united with that of the King. His name
and attributes must be proclaimed among all people, who have been deceived by His
enemy. They must have opportunity to escape his cruel rulership.
We entered the nearest suburb and in the first public square, Ignorance
Plaza, declared that all men should repent of their wicked ways and submit to
the true King. We saw that each one of these people had a chain attached to
them that led to different places. Some led to back alleys, where prostitutes,
transvestites and drug dealers circulated. Some led into offices and business
centers. Some even led into church buildings.
Many of those with longer chains did not seem to realize that they were
bound; others had very short ones and struggled with them. Not a few, came as
close as their chains would allow, as we talked. They asked how they could be
free and make contact with the King.
An Allegory... part four
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Important messages
Chapter 7
DESERT PROCESS AND MOUNTAIN CRISIS
..... The River (we can no longer call it a Stream) carried us for a good way and there was life on all sides. There was rich vegetation and fishermen along the banks were enjoying wonderful success. Then one by one, our little band drifted either towards one side or the other and in different places came to the shore.
I felt a powerful current take me from the River’s center towards the side and was actually driven by it onto a sandy beach. Looking to the right and the left, I could see some of my companions at a distance, but when I called to them, they did not answer nor come to me. The landscape was totally different. There were no trees, the air was warm and the sun beat down upon me. Yet I felt compelled to investigate this new environment. It was a wide expanse of dry land and there was no path to follow; yet I walked inland.
My mind struggled to comprehend what I was experiencing. My emotions were as dry as the landscape and I felt empty and abandoned. What had happened to the sense of the King’s presence? It seemed far away and the inner well seemed dry. I turned to look behind me and I could not see the River. Had I strayed so far from it? I stumbled on and it quickly became dark. I set up my tent and tried to sleep, but sleep was far from me.
July 27 – August 2 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
July 27
Psalms 69:16-36
16. Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
17. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
18. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.
19. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
20. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
21. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22. Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
23. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
24. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
25. Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
27. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
28. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
29. But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
32. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
33. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
34. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth
therein.
35. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
36. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name
shall dwell therein.
An Allegory... part 3
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Important messages
Chapter 5
CHRISTIANS ARE BORN, NOT MADE
..... My new companion and I talked as we walked along. He told me the story of how he came to know the King and of all the things inside him that he had never experienced before. He spoke of his longing to be led by the Stream and to experience the properties of its waters. Obviously, he had received the inner well of living water from the King.
I told him about the meeting years before and about the lack of response from most of the people. I mentioned the quota that had not been met and of my desire to pay my part and then, to find many others with the same desire. I brought out the petition and we knelt by the pathway, as he signed his name to it. We asked for help together from our mother city, the New Jerusalem, as stated in the petition, that the King’s people would be powerfully moved by the Stream to take His message of good news to all mankind.
We had not yet arisen from our knees, when we heard someone sobbing. We hurried in the direction of the sound until, almost hidden in the brush, we came upon a middle-aged man, sprawled on the ground, face down. His clothes were torn and filthy and he had numerous bruises and cuts. We each took one of his arms and, as gently as possible, helped him to a sitting position. After taking a long drink from my canteen and eating one of my friend’s chocolate bars, he began to tell us his story.
July 20 – 26 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
July 20
Psalms 67:1-3
1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
3. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
Revival blessing upon God’s people spawns a worldwide effect upon the heathen. Prayer is not to receive blessing for self-gratification, but “ that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.”
We never become expert spiritual specialists. Our hope is ever in the mercy of God. Let us place our trust solidly in Him and not in personal achievement. When we have done all there is to do, we are still unworthy servants and blessing is due to God’s mercy. May that thought take us to our knees and heighten the intensity of our petitions. The Psalmist’ prayer goes beyond Moses’ experience. He will have His face shine upon His people, while Moses saw only the backside of God. That statement is worthy of a “Selah”.
God approves of audacity, when it comes from a truly hungry heart, intent on showing God’s way to the nations. The glow of the Spirit causes more widespread attention than the shine upon Moses’ face. “All nations” respond to the Prophet raised up like unto Moses, whose message must be heard. People are drawn, when He is lifted up on the cross and His face, marred beyond recognition and striped with blood, reflects the glory of God. Look and live, all nations of the earth!
An Allegory... part 2
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Important messages
Chapter 3
JESUS OF NAZARETH
.... I am fully aware that the vision of the New Jerusalem came as a result of being so close to the living Stream of water and that it was a revelation to the heart, rather than to the physical part of my being. If a person will linger by it, as he ponders the King’s Manual, he will see things that cannot be viewed anywhere else on earth and they will be more real to him than the things that he sees with his eyes and hears with his ears. The book and the Stream are a wonderful combination and a treasure from the house of the King.
It was through this combination that I first came to know about the King. I learned that He often left His palace and came to country places where He would meet with common people. Sometimes, He spent much time with them, teaching them His ways. Probably, one of the most favored by Him was a shepherd boy, who had to tend his father’s sheep. The King taught him many songs, which were so full of meaning and feeling that they eventually were sung around the world. Another shepherd, taught by the King, became a world-renowned prophet. I personally know people who regularly met with Him in the woods and were taught very special things, unknown to even the most learned citizens of this world.
The King actually dedicated 33 years to walk and talk with His people. He became a carpenter in a small town, so it’s very clear that He did not want to be known as one of the elite of the earth. During that time, as well, He was in the country observing flowers and birds and watching the farmers do their work. As you can see, our King is a very special Person with a heart for living things.
July 13 – 19 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
July 13
Psalms 64:2-6
2. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
3. Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
5. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
6. They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
David’s life story gives us instruction concerning the secret counsel of the wicked. It teaches that the tongue is the powerful servant of an evil heart. It is the outward instrument of inward conspiracy. Notice the plotting that is exposed in this Psalm. First, the evil workers sharpen their weapons, encouraging themselves through means of communication. They confirm each other’s intentions, until they are firmly convinced they are in the right and all restraint from godly fear is cast aside. Then they deliver, as archers would bend bows, draw back and release with a maximum degree of strength. The tongue accomplishes this malicious business with bitter words that incite violence and administer venomous sniper attacks. They seem to come from nowhere.
This was certainly true in Saul’s case against David. With his corps of secret servants, Saul plotted his death. David often was unaware of his danger and on one occasion, Jonathan became his informer and saved him. “Surely”, Saul thought, “God has delivered my enemy into my hands.” He searched the depths of his fallen nature to come up with a self-justified, carefully devised murder plan. It is a fearful thing.
An Allegory... part 1
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Important messages
I begin the book, God Made the Country, with a dream that I had many years ago. Fortunately, I wrote the details, so they are quite accurate after the passage of a few decades. I mingle an interpretation, which I hope is accurate, with the account of the dream.
From that point on, I let my imagination take over, in an allegory, which is somewhat based on actual situations and experiences. In the book, I leave the allegory behind and go on with the theme that I wished to convey. The same sequence is repeated in every chapter.
However, in this post and several others, I will simply give you the dream and the allegory. It brought a smile to my face, when one young man, who bought the book, told me that he had only read the allegory, without reading the teaching that followed. Well, you are going to have a chance to do the same. I hope that you enjoy it.
I DREAMED...
One night many years ago, I dreamed a dream. I saw myself in a long, but narrow and plain, assembly hall filled with people. It was a great congregation, the general assembly of the first-born, those who had been called out of the world and set apart for the King. It was an unadorned place, because the people, who had built it in years past, were not looking for the niceties of this world, but only those things which could be useful to promote their King’s business. The hall was narrow, because the truth, into which these people had entered, did not allow for broad opinions or a liberal lifestyle.
July 6 – 12 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
Psalms 61
1. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.
6. Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations.
7. He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
8. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.
Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. There is no place on God’s green earth from which man can make a cry to heaven and not be heard. From the edge of the precipice that drops down to the abyss, from opposite heaven, on the extreme hell-ward side of earth, prayer can be offered to God. A heart that is overwhelmed with unbearable pressure, because of enemies that are too strong, is the one that is a candidate for divine aid.
Self-encouragement or self-motivation does not bring help. This man’s battles are too big for him and he needs a lift from outside himself. He needs to be raised above the world to the solid rock, which is Christ Jesus. Thank God, the rock became flesh and dwelt among us. He is our shelter and strong tower through earth’s trials. He is more than enough for all its onslaughts. “I’m switching tents,” said David. “I’m moving into the wing-covered shelter for the rest of my earthly journey.” Here we pause for a “Selah” to meditate and wonder over the provision in which we can trust.
We enter into covenant with God. Our vows are received and in turn, we receive God’s heritage. We become “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.” This does not belong to a frivolous people, but is for the God-fearers. “He shall abide before God for ever” – God’s heritage is eternal life. Mercy and truth are its preserving qualities. Mercy extends its hand to those without strength and truth sets him free. Our part is to be a continual praise to His name, both now and forever, by daily attendance and ministry to Him, to Whom we commit our lives. Do not get caught up in delusions of future grandeur, but live faithfully and consistently a day at a time.
God Made the Country
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In the beginning, God brought order out of chaos with no help from man. Someone has said that God created man last of all His handiwork, so that he would not interfere with His work. I think we can all agree that man is a wonderful meddler. The record declares, in any case, that man was created on the sixth day and God used that fact as a point of argument in dealing with Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” Thankfully, none of us were there.
The story is told of a famous painter, who took brush in hand to portray on canvas a masterpiece of a lifetime. He drew inspiration from the depths of his being and moved his hand with all his acquired skill. The work obsessed him. He toiled through long day-light hours and seldom went to his bed before midnight. One day, his son entered the house to find his father napping, exhausted on the couch. His little mind, with the best of intentions, quickly determined to help his poor father with the labor that devoured his time. He slipped into the studio, grabbed a brush, dipped it into oil and within minutes irreparably marred the priceless painting.
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