May 28 – June 3 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
May 28
Psalms 44:17-25
17.
All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have
we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
18.
Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy
way;
19.
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us
with the shadow of death.
20.
If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to
a strange god;
21.
Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
22.
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as
sheep for the slaughter.
23.
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.
24.
Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our
oppression?
25.
For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the
earth.
24. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’
sake.
In the midst of a trial, the Psalmist
comes to the end of himself. He is in an intolerable position. He cannot accept
the statis quo, settle into it or
call it the norm. It is dishonorable and shameful. Should God’s people reek
instead of sending forth a sweet aroma? Should they submit to the storm of
unrighteousness? No, David will not give in. He will not forget God or forsake
His covenant. He will not turn back in his heart or stop walking in God’s
direction. He has been broken down and shadows have come, but “to whom shall we go” - there is no
alternative for the true seeker. He is conscious of the omniscience,
omnipresence and omnipotence of God. He cannot stray or render credit to
another god. He lives and prays “for Thy sake”.
The desperate condition calls forth mighty
intercessions. The Psalms are scripture, Holy Spirit-breathed and mighty.
Breathe them in! Write them on your heart and bear them on your lips! “Awake,
oh Lord!” This kind of boldness had better not be offered presumptuously. It
had better be deep calling unto deep. If it is, then watch out, because all of
heaven will respond and this poor, little planet will shake from pole to pole.
What Does It Mean to be Used of God?
Labels:
personal testimonies
After camp in Barcelona in 2005, someone wrote down a
few of the outstanding testimonies shared by various young people in the last
camp meeting, including the following: “Hector was very broken and sincere. He
recognized his hypocrisy and that, in spite of having faked a true
Christianity, it had never been a reality in his life. He was always hemmed in
by sin, even though many around him never knew it. They even encouraged him to
share in the word and repeatedly remarked about what a nice guy he was. He
admitted that he had never been born again and his disconsolate and deep desire
was that Christ would be a reality in his life.”
Hector fell on November 4, 2011 and went into a coma
that lasted until July 4th, 2012, exactly eight months after the
fall…
 |
| Hector and Nerea on the right with Hector's family at the wedding of his sister, Sara and Juanma |
Seeking the Spirit of the Kingdom, chapter four
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Important messages
CHAPTER 4
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE SPIRIT
AND THE FLESH
THE SONS OF SARAH AND HAGAR
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| The chapter is taken from this book |
In
Galatians 4:21-31, Paul speaks of the sons of Sarah and Hagar allegorically.
The words that join to relate and characterize the son of the slave are law,
slavery, sin and flesh. Paul said that these characteristics corresponded to
Jerusalem in their time (verse 25), and by this conclusion, we can see again
the relationship between religion and the world. It is external and visible,
very different from the Kingdom that comes without observation, because it is
within us: “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed (visibly,
outwardly)… For behold, the kingdom of God is within you (margin NAS. Within is
the same Greek word as inside used in Mt. 23:26, the only other place, where it
is used.)” (Luke 17:20, 21). The Kingdom of God is spiritual; it is a kingdom
of the heart that has to do with grace, a promise and the work of the Holy
Spirit.
Ishmael
had carnal roots and could only bear fruit accordingly (as we saw before with
King Saul). His birth was a project of the flesh, according to a human plan,
and he was born into slavery. Abraham and Sarah conceived this plan, intending
to bring into being by human possibilities, the promise that only God could
fulfill. Since his mother was a slave, Ishmael also was a slave. Because he was
conceived according to human possibilities, he was carnal. He was born because
of a plan designed by human beings, contrary to the promise of God; therefore,
in this particular way, Ishmael was born a sinner.
May 21 – 27 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
May 21
Psalms 40:5-8
5.
Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and
thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto
thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
6.
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou
opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7.
Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8.
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Verse five gives the main
theme of this Psalm. Praise evokes for what preceded, for what now follows and
for uncounted blessings beyond human capability to enumerate. Many are the
Lord’s thoughts and works for our benefit, abundantly above what we ask, think
or can appreciate. It is God’s way to go above the necessary to an overflow
that exceeds our intake abilities.
The Lord’s thoughts, which are far above
ours, are towards those who trust in Him. His is an inward work of the heart.
Without it, our outward works are useless. What is needed far more than
religious busybodies is a person with spiritual ears and divine revelation. Let
there be one John the Baptist who can proclaim the Lamb of God, rather than the
priests in the temple, who offer daily sacrifice. What is needed is not someone
who offers of his possessions, as Cain did, but one who is purchased of God,
re-created and wholly set apart for the Lord – body, soul and spirit. Christ’s
life was a personification of perfection in godliness, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren.
Ireland Makes You Think
Labels:
personal testimonies
CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR AN ENLARGEMENT
In a corner of my mind, I seem
to remember having shared the Word one time in the city of (London)Derry,
traveling with our son, Dave, and that would have been the only time that I
preached in Northern Ireland. David lived in Cork and we went to visit him many
times and there was always opportunity to speak in churches there. We also went
through Northern Ireland from Scotland en
route to the republic. May 14 – 20 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
May 14
Psalms 36:9, 12
9. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy
light shall we see light.
12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen:
they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.
To sin against the light is to sin against
life. We toy with death when we resist its rays and ignore its warnings. How
many thought they could harbor one hidden sin and entertain it in the privacy
of their own heart, who are ashamed today and are as exposed as a naked man on
a hill? How irritated they were at the voice of the preacher of righteousness!
They branded him a critic, a legalist, or a negativist. Now where are the wraps
of false grace and licentious love they held so close to their frames?
Our comfort and peace can be due to a
resistance to the light. May our personal history have a happier ending. May
we, like the Samaritan woman, rejoice in having found the Christ of truth and
righteousness, who tells us all things that ever we did, for this One alone
gives the living water that springs up into everlasting life.
“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we
say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the
truth...if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and CLEANSE US from ALL unrighteousness.”
Seeking the Spirit of the Kingdom, chapter three
Labels:
Important messages
CHAPTER 3
CRUCIFY THE
FLESH AND THE WORLD;
LIVE IN THE
SPIRIT
THE LAW AND THE PROMISE
|
| Read the entire book |
Paul instructed Timothy, his
son in the faith, about the law. “The Law is good,” he said, “if one uses it
lawfully… the law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are
lawless and disobedient…” (1 Tim. 1:8, 9). We can see the benefits of the law,
just by observing its effect on society. Man by nature is a transgressor of
everything that is good. For that reason, thanks to the law, he is deterred on
his way to his own destruction, in which he, at the same time, endangers the
whole world. He and society need the law for their protection. “The law… was
added because of transgressions” (Gal. 3:19). So the function of the law is
noble; it demands nothing that is evil or unjust. Romans 7:12 tells us that “the
Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
The law is necessary so there
can be order in society and it avoids chaos and anarchy; it is essential in
preserving justice. However, even though it restrains the liberty of man, so
that he will not self destruct, it does not contribute in any way to his
spiritual well-being. It only condemns him. Paul taught the Galatians that “as
many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse” (Gal. 3:10). Then he
gives the reason: “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written
in the book of the Law, to perform them.” The argument takes for granted that
we all have failed to do what the law requires and, as a consequence, we are
under a curse; the sentence is eternal punishment. The law is good, but since
we have transgressed, or worse yet, we continue to transgress, we are under the
condemnation that the law demands. The law does not provide the power to
fulfill it, but only defines sin and chastises it.
The Unknown God of the 21st Century
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Important messages
“And Paul stood
in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive
that ye are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of
your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What
therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you.” Acts
17:22-23
The account of Paul in Athens
in Acts 17 mentions that “his spirit was
provoked within Him as he beheld the city full of idols”. Why is he upset
to this degree? The Greek word is well translated “provoked” here and could also be translated “exasperated”. There should be no question that Paul was motivated
by a profound love and a fierce devotion to the God of the Bible, as he saw an
important and influential city on the world scene, spiritually ignorant and
idolatrous. Paul’s God had been excluded and insulted. Anyone in this age, who
has the same love and devotion as the apostle, will understand this
exasperation. The humanist and religious person will be totally perplexed by
such a reaction.
Could it be possible after 20
centuries of Christianity that a large part of the evangelical world has fallen
into the same ignorance and idolatry as was evident in Athens? With the Bible
so handy and professing to believe that all of it is divinely inspired, we
would think that a return to idolatrous paganism would be impossible. If it is
possible, it would be due to a voluntary ignorance and an unwillingness to
confront some aspects of the biblical revelation. There would be a gradual, yet
general, distancing from Bible teaching in the evangelical world, finally
falling into a mentality that is incompatible with the nature of God.
A Report from Misiones, Argentina
Labels:
personal testimonies
 |
| Carlos and Ursula Pedd |
May 7 - 13 Daily Meditations in the Psalms,
Labels:
Daily Meditations
May 7
Psalms 36:8a
8.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and
thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
God, Who never lies, yet swore with an
oath to Abraham, is not content that His people be just satisfied, but will
have them abundantly satisfied. What
is the source of their satisfaction? It is His house and to better describe the
contents of the house, the Holy Spirit applies the word fatness. Now picture, if you will, a mansion, a palace, a castle,
or the White House, with servants scurrying here and there, with storerooms of
supply, and a kitchen with cooks and bakers. All of these will fall far short
of giving you an idea of the fatness of His house. The Light of Life must
illuminate our spirits through an experiential discovery in prayer.
What treasures unfold to those who seek
those things, which are above! God’s house is “where it’s at” and heaven, which
will one day be ours by sight, is now ours through the eyes of faith. We look
for a city whose builder and maker is God. An enlightened Abraham can never be
attached to the earth with more than tent
stakes. His house with a foundation
is above. It is an insult to God, when we scratch in the earth like chickens,
eking out an existence, and pursuing fleeting pleasures.
Seeking the Spirit of the Kingdom, chapter two
Labels:
Important messages
CHAPTER 2:
THE HOLY SPIRIT, FAITH AND THE GOSPEL
THERE IS AN EVIL TRINITY
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| The adjoining chapter is from this book |
“You foolish Galatians” (Gal. 3:1). I wonder what would happen to Paul, if he
could speak so forcefully to Twenty-first Century Christians. He certainly
would not have many people in his congregation, because today we are expected
to speak in a way that is “politically correct”. People are very sensitive and
are easily offended by any little word of criticism or by something that might
damage their self-esteem. Today, Paul would be accused of being judgmental and
lacking in love.
I
can assure anyone, who is a convert in this new generation, that the
presentation of the truths of God to His people in this time is not what it
used to be. I can remember passion, directness (using the pronoun you)
and a lot of frankness in preaching. What would be the reaction today to a
message like Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”? I think
the answer is obvious and has much to do with the difference between the
results of preaching in those times and the kind of success we see today. Paul
commanded Titus, “Reprove them severely
so that they may be sound in the faith.” He accused the Galatians of
being bewitched, besides asking them, “Are
you so foolish?” (verse 3).
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