Prayer - Do Your Eyes Fail?

 

She peered at her book as best as ever she could but the years had not been so kind to her eyes, and try as she may, she could no longer read the words, which had now dissolved into an inscrutable blur for her.  Sadly, she lay the book aside and felt her way to the kitchen to brew a pot of tea.  At least she could still do that.  Just hope no one rearranges the outlay of things...

Nowadays, when our eyes fail, we can often do something about it:  prescription spectacles; cataract removal; cornea transplant; retina reattachments and the like.  Praise the Lord for all these innovations.

The psalmist said,

"My eyes fail looking for God's salvation and His righteous promise to him" (Psalm 119:123).

Was wondering what his promise was and think it could be that he lived his life very well according to God's Word and now he was waiting for the blessing.  (God's promise to the Israelites during their nomadic wanderings in the wilderness and then again when they entered the Promised Land had been promise of blessing if they obeyed God's laws, commands, etc.  However, this psalmist seems to have had an awful lot of oppressors and troubles despite his righteous living, instead.  He seems bewildered but trusting with some patience yet wanting the fulfilling of the promise.)

Like Isaiah remarked,

"When the time is right, I the LORD, will make it happen" (Isaiah 60:22).

Of course, that was referring to the "smallest family becoming a mighty nation" which in and of itself, is a blessing; obedience to the "be fruitful and multiply" command.

We each have our "promises" we wish someone or another will fulfill.

For that result,  psalmist was looking for God's salvation, perhaps, from his troubles.  We followers of Jesus Christ, echo along with the Holy Spirit, "Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:17).  Jesus' promise to come back for us (1 Thessalonians 4:`3-5:11) and to then be with Him for all eternity.  Sometimes our eyes fail (so to speak) while we wait for that promise to happen.  We can comfort ourselves and help ourselves to persevere with the knowledge that when the time is right, the Lord will make it happen.  He is our salvation.

Heavenly Father, we do thank You, the Giver of all good gifts and the Fulfiller of all Your promises, that You say Jesus will "come quickly"; we believe it.  Your salvation - the bringing of Your children up to be with Christ our Savior and You, forever and forever, will come.

We praise Jesus our Savior all the day long.

Help each of us to take heart and hide Your promise within that "You WILL make it happen".

May we make it our story to praise you all the day long as we look forward to Your coming.  

Jesus gave sight to the blind and that free of charge; unlike our eye doctors of today.  Even though our "eyes may fail", lead us not into the temptation to despair.  May our vision be of You, of Your Son and all you have accomplish for us.  May we wait in perfection submission, happiness and rest as we watch and wait for Your coming, knowing Your timing is the "right time".

May we be filled with Your goodness and live a life showing it to others, all the day long.  May we rest in the blessed assurance we have in the salvation of the remission of our sins through our repentance and acceptance thereof.  

May we keep this in our hearts, and sights, and give life to our eyes as we have visions of Rapture before us. We praise You, the One from whom all blessing flows.

In Jesus' Name we hope, trust, praise and pray.  May His Name ever be upon our lips as we await His coming with watchful eyes that do not fail.

                                                            ~ERC  September 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:121-128 (Ayin)

Sing, Blessed Assurance, with Jeremy Riddle, Worship Circle Hymns, with reverent and sincere, persevering watching for Jesus.  We may be faint, yet be pursuing.

 

Questions, Questions and More Questions

Things were heating up for Jesus.  There was a plot afoot to kill Him; the religious leaders questioned Him in front of the general congregation of the people in the Temple and out on the street in an attempt to discredit and shame Him and His teaching.  They sought a way to arrest Him.  Good thing they were afraid of the people.  They did not want to be stoned or to have a riot stirred up and consequently be called into question for it by their Roman conquerors.  This did not mean this growing maligning desire desisted.

Quite the contrary...In their frustration with Jesus they bribe men to act as 'spies' to try to find opportunities to trick and trap Jesus into saying something they could accuse Him of saying or doing that went against the law (Jewish or Roman) and give legal reason to arrest Him without a peoples' uproar.

Do read about this in Luke 20:20-26.

The paid spies set out then, masquerading as "sincere seekers".  Jesus knew very well what they were up too though. The "secret agents" asked the question they were primed to present;

"Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not" (verse 22 NIV)?

If Jesus had been setting Himself up to be "rival king" come to Jerusalem, and forbid payment of taxes to the Romans, He'd have been labeled a treasonous rebel.  Definite basis for an arrest.  On the other hand, if He had condoned payment, He'd have lost face with the Jewish throngs.  That would have instigated, at least, that coveted discrediting, if not an additional stirring up of unrest and riot.

Can you see how the trap was locked and loaded?

Look at the beauty of Jesus' reply.

"Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar; and to God what belongs to God" (vs 25).

I just love that!  It's so incredibly amazing and awesome.  God's WISDOM!

Wouldn't you like to be able to answer questions like that?  I would.

The marvelous thing is...we can!

Did you know that?  The Bible says we can.  If you ASK, what will happen?  You will RECEIVE and in James 1:5, it states that if anyone lacks wisdom, they can ask of God and He will give it.

In Psalm 119:97-104, the psalmist wrote that he had more insight and wisdom than his teachers and elders!  Why was that?  This is because he read, memorized, recited, meditated upon and obeyed God's Word.

So this is a second potential way to gain wisdom.

What happened to the "counter-intelligence seekers"?  They were flabbergasted by Jesus' exceedingly wise reply.  They could not catch Jesus in His words, so they became speechless and therefore, quiet.

Ok.  Let's leave the spies to their stew and make an observation about paying taxes back then,  which, by-the-way, is still relevant today....

The Roman Emperor Caesar, was not a nice guy, in fact, he was an intolerable tyrant.  Jesus didn't say that because Caesar was brutal, no need to pay taxes.  NO.  As Christians, even now, we must pay our taxes despite the type of government:  good or bad.

"Jesus was stating a principle here, not a compromise.  To give what the government requires is the responsibility of every citizen and does not break any of God's laws" (SPM book footnote).*1

Further to that, the Sanhedrin was responsible for collecting the taxes and passing them on to the Romans.  Thus, their tricky question topic posed to Jesus.  However, Jesus left absolutely no wiggle room to be misjudged as being disloyal to the Emperor or to God.

The important thing, Jesus was saying, is that our loyalty and obedience to God is imperative and as citizens of both Heaven and Earth, we have to obey the laws of both.

Now, you may interject here, what about the case of the apostles behavior as recorded in the book of Acts who were arrested and sternly commanded NOT to teach in the name of Jesus and propagate  the gospel message through Him?

In Matthew it teaches us Jesus had commanded the disciples to,

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel..." (Matthew 28:19-20).

The law of the land said, "STOP it!"

Jesus said, "GO!"

What should be done?  Observe Peter and John's reply,

"Which is right in God's eyes:  to listen to you (mere men), or to Him (Jesus)?  You be the judges!...  is it right in God's eyes to listen to you rather than God" (Acts 4:18-19 NIV)?

Upon release, look what they did,

"...we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard..." (vs 20).

Their compulsion was to obey God in a way that went against the ways of a citizen of Earth but not of Heaven, which took necessary precedence.  This even to the point of earthly legal action against them.  They were willing to pay that cost of being a disciple.

This brings us to our present age.  Christians in some places INSISTING  on their right to attend church  despite the laws of good common sense and even of the earthly land, against so doing, in this COVID-19 era.  Often going against those laws of good common sense to wear a mask and observe social distancing; on top of this, making colossal verbal 'stink' of how this is their right.

Additionally, God's Word declares in Hebrews 10:24 and 25...

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the day approaching."

Yes, "God's Word says..."  Is it "a good deed" to rebelliously insist on meeting together, mask-less, rubbing shoulders, and perhaps causing someone to contract THE coronavirus?  We must respect on another.

God's Word also says,

"Everything is permissible for me-but not everything is beneficial..." (1 Corinthians 6:13 NIV).

Yes, that was in regards to foods to eat or not to eat; however, I believe it can be applied in this instance.

Look at Jesus' answer to Satan as we read in Matthew 4:7 NIV,

"It is also written; Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

Is this enough to quash any designs we might have to quibble against the governmental powers that be who are trying to keep us all safe?

This is not political agenda, per se, as you can see the world wide statistics of those countries, who have largely, successfully stemmed the corona tide compared to those who are less than prudent about, at least, attempting to nip the virus in the bud.  The proof is in the pudding if folks care to take the blinders off and SEE.

Yes, "like Saul of Tarsus, we all want to be on the road to 'DE - MASK - US'"*2.  However, we do need to heed and exercise the fruit of the Spirit...patience.

Enough of that track.  Pull back to our story at hand.  Sadly, all of the wonder the 'spies' and the Sanhedrin members felt did not lead them to repentance.  It only led to them being spellbound in silent awe.

May our amazement with God, His Word, Jesus and what He has done for us, cause us to live a humble, devoted life of righteousness and thankfulness to Him and His will for our lives; actively serving Him and the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the next segment of verses from Luke 20, [verses 27-40 (NIV)], we are further introduced to the Sadducees.  Many of this sect were actually members of the Sanhedrin.  They were, very roughly speaking, similar to the Pharisees yet with striking differences.  One of the major differences, which is relevant here to the question they asked Jesus, is that they did not believe in any such thing as resurrection.

Look at some of the differences which I discovered from a meme online:

-The Pharisees were teachers of the Law whereas the Sadducees were Temple 'rulers'

-The Pharisees had interpretations of the Torah where the Sadducees kept strictly to the Torah alone.

-The Pharisees were middle class vs the Sadducees being more wealthy & labeled "Upper Class"

-The Pharisees were convinced of the resurrection of the dead while the Sadducees denied it.

-The Pharisees believed in afterlife vs the Sadducees said, no such thing--you die, you get put six feet under--that's it.

-The Pharisees rejected the Jewish leaders while the Sadducees supported them (after all, many of them were the Jewish leaders)--whence came the rub betwixt the two sects.

Can you just picture the Sadducees marching down the road in  pomp and circumstance, ready to erupt with what they felt was 'sure fire' to nail Jesus to the cross then and there.  That, or at least, discredit Him enough to topple the peoples' regard of Him.

They told the story of the woman, now a widow, who had had seven husbands, each dying in succession, leaving them all childless.  They wanted to know Jesus' take on which man would be her husband in the resurrection.

They were laughing and smirking up their sleeves.  Surely, they had Him here.  Mockery at just the  thought of resurrection.

"Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her" (Luke 20:33)?

Since the Sadducees only used the Torah, their question stemmed from the Law that God gave Moses to inscribe and record.  This law about widows (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) was intended to protect their rights.  Women and what's more, widows, were considered low down on the spectrum of class.  Generally, they were very poor and often without a male protector and were easily exploited.  This particular law was, that if a man died childless, then the brother was permitted and encouraged to marry the widow.

Jesus' response was that they did not know the full scope of truth.  They did not know or realize that in the after Earth life (yes, there IS life after death), there was something essentially different.  For the unsaved, of course, there is eternal punishment in Hell.  However, for those who have accepted Jesus as Savior there will be three new things for us which can be read about in verses 34-37.

These are the three 'new things' to learn about life in the life after Earth life, that Jesus encapsulated for the querying Sadducee interrogators.  One, marriage does not apply in the after Earth life.  Two, they can no longer die.  Third, they will be similar to the angels in that they don't marry nor die; and are sons of God.

Incidentally, angels are greater in power and authority above us now; however, in the everlasting time in Heaven, the roles will be reversed, and we children of God will be more powerful and have the greater authority over angels. We will even be judge over some of them.  That is, over Satan and his minions.

Another thing about angels is that they are created beings, same as human beings have been.  Therefore, when a human being departs from Earth, they do NOT become an angel; nor a star for that matter.

Anyway, we divert from our main topic.  Let's get back.

Jesus mentions the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  That kind of gets to be a fuzzy connection for us.  However, Jesus refers to them and says that God is their God:

 "the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (vs 37).  

This implies the three are still alive  in the afterlife.  True, their bodies are long decayed in the ground, yet would God talk about a relationship with someone who no longer exists?  Remember the Sadducees don't believe in life after death.  Yet they still revered these three patriarchs as if they still existed.

Jesus had touched a sensitive chord in their belief system and they knew it.  

Some teachers of the law responded, "Well said, Teacher!"  An acknowledgment of some credibility.  The rest did not dare to ask any more questions.

Some of the teachers of the law may well have been silently smirking, glad that the Sadducees had "lost" the argument.  This seems to be a dead end though.

If only they had instead, shown some positive change acknowledging  Jesus and who He was (and still is).  If only they had been obedient and sought out understanding of the Law of God, as written by Moses that they purportedly treasured, they would have been on the right track to obeying and believing in Jesus and that He was their Messiah.  They would not have made excuses for not realizing and/or admitting who Jesus was and accepted Him as their Messiah.  They would not have continued to plot Jesus' arrest and death.

Jesus questioners now desisted.  Jesus took the floor then and countered with another of His tough questions. However, we'll let that marinate till another auspicious time.

For ourselves then, here and now...know that it is easy to find excuses and what may look like viable reasons for not wanting to do what we KNOW is right and good for us.  We give ourselves excuses to get out of doing the right things.  For example:  Right things such as following school rules, boundaries parents set; paying taxes; going to church mask-less, among other things.

Is it right to disobey because maybe teachers, parents, pastors or the government don't follow the rules?  Or, maybe the one in authority is not kind?  (If you are in physical and/or sexual abuse harm's way--remove yourself and/or talk to someone who hopefully will be able to help you.)

Do we still need to listen?

In God's sight, how should we behave in order to honor Him?  

This is the ultimate question and leveler.

                                                  ~ERC  September 2020~

Based on Luke 20:20-26 and 27-40

Part 3 video

Reference:

*1 SPM book, A Study Guide to The GOSPEL According to LUKE; Issachar Sdn. Bhd; copyright 2005.

*2 Seen on a church billboard in WI, USA.

Prayer - A Man of Peace

 "Woe to me that I dwell on this earth, that I live among people who want war instead of peace.  Too long have I lived among those who hate peace"  Psalm 120 NIV.

Even now, on  this earth, in this world there are strife-torn areas.  People who seem to hate peace, "but I am a man of peace," says the psalmist of Psalm 120.  "When I speak, they are for war".

Lord, in this day and age, there's so much war, pride and strife, rioting and rebellions.  We think of demonstration in Hong Kong and currently in many US cities and towns.  Demonstrations, yes; but rioting, vandalism, looting...?!  

What would Martin Luther King, Jr have said about this?  He would have demanded peace.  A man of peace who wrought such great victories by unceasingly, advocating peaceful demonstrations.   Yet, there was, and still is the element that wants 'war'.

King believed,

"a riot is the language of the unheard".*

He also,

"...inspired the human race to strive for harmony among all people. His tragic death shocked the nation, but his words and his dedication to equality continue to inspire younger generations."*

Hopefully, his words, so sacrificially spoken, have not been forgotten.

Mahatma Gandhi...what would he have done or said about all the rioting?  He would likely have gone into fasting mode, day and night, for as long as it took for the rioting to stop.  He'd come out nothing much more than a gaunt sack of skin and bones, rather quite literally.  Man of peace.

Father, Your Son Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace also wants peace.  However, when men speak of peace there is war instead.

I ask, Father, do bring about peace in these various places:  those mentioned above and in other parts of the world that are under such war grounds or threat thereof in one way or another.  We long for the peace and justice You can bring.  May Your Kingdom come.  We do know that true and full peace will not come until Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to this earth during the millennium.  Come quickly.

Until then, we do thank-You for the peace we can have in our hearts, here and now, through Jesus and the accepting of Your gift of salvation through Him.

Additionally, I ask that we can dwell in this world with rulers of countries who know how to control their people, not in authoritarian ways, but with authority, with care for their people and their lives.  It's not a matter of black or white, or Asian or whatever.  It's not a matter of ethnic background.  It's about misuse of power.  People in positions of authority of power who misuse it.  Human nature fighting for supremacy.  

You hate it Father.

Lord, yes, people want their situation to be better and there's nothing wrong with that.  I do not condemn the demonstrations, as long as they are peaceful.

However, Father, help the governors, mayors, and others in administrative positions in the affected areas to be able to find peaceful solutions and resolutions and actual taking of action to address the serious issues as and where needed.  Bring Your justice to the peoples.

We know that the end of this world appears to be imminent by all these things.  We've got "The Virus" (covid-19); plagues of locusts, cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes, the demonstrations turned vicious by nefarious folks who willfully wish to spoil and cloud the sincere demonstrators' purpose.  Father, may Your justice and peace reign.

People look for peace in their time.  "Peace, peace," they plead.  Yet, the potsherds of the earth stir up war.

Father, may the populace look up to You, the One true God and Your Son Jesus Christ and have peace in their hearts in the midst of all the chaos.

I ask all this in Jesus, the Prince of Peace, precious Name.

Psalm 120, especially verses 6 and 7, at the outset says, 

"I call on the Lord in my distress and He answered me." 

We call on You too, in the distress of the world, for peace, for resolution of COVID-19; for demonstrations that turn violent.  Father, bring us the peace we need in our respective countries where we are so we can live in all godliness and honesty.  Nevertheless, in the troubled areas, LORD, save them.  Save them. Save them.  Bring about peace.

Come, Lord Jesus, Prince and Man of Peace.

I ask in the Divine Man of Peace, Jesus', name, that all people everywhere, will lift up their eyes to the hills from whence their help will come...from You, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.

Thank You for watching over us all...

                                                            ~ERC  May 2020~

Based on Psalm 120 especially verse 6 and 7.

*Reference:

keepinspiring.me/martin luther king jr quotes.

Sing, It Is Well With My Soul, with Audrey Assad

Good Book - Though WATERS ROAR

 Here's another work of fiction.  However, what I'd like to direct you to is the author in general, rather than this book in particular; although it too will be addressed.

This author, Lynn Austin, is a fantastic one, at least from the standpoint of those who love to craft English or see it crafted in ingenious ways.  The way Austin tweaks and twirls the vocabulary will leave your mouth agape in astonishment, among other effects.  She creates her tone, not so much by what she says but how she says it.

Her use of alliteration gives one punch after another, not letting her foot off the gas, so to speak, and constructs a magnificently splendid roller coaster of humor that will have you  grinning like a Cheshire cat or even in very undignified,  outright snortings and guffaw-ings.  This is especially seen in her book, A Proper Pursuit, which was the first one of Austin's books I ever read.  She had me hooked!

You could say her works are historical fiction with some weavings of mystery to boot, at least the one's I've read, which has been only two, more's the pity, but she also touches on the attitudes and character of a woman who knows, or comes to know, herself.  Her characters become strong and are god-fearing women of faith-even if sometimes, reluctant faith. 

Austin has gotten awards for her work and one of her novels has even been turned into a movie by Hallmark:  Hidden Places.  It is set during the Great Depression years.  But, we are getting off track.

This particular book, Though WATERS ROAR, gives snapshots of two women:  a grandmother and a granddaughter.  The grandmother's childhood was during the US Civil War years (1861-1865) and the granddaughter's time was during the Prohibition days of the 1920's.  Both had spent time in jail due to being involved in demonstrations for the causes of their day.  Of course this does have a tinge of romance but is not the focus of the story.  

The grandmother went through a heartbreaking time and tells her granddaughter, who also had her struggles, of the faith and hope in the Lord and of how she lived one day at a time through the days of "roaring waters".  Each had their strengths and weaknesses and it wasn't so much about what they

 

"accomplished but about the sort of person they'd become".

Grab a copy, curl up on the couch and 'bookworm' your way through.

Happy Reading!

                                                    ~ERC  September 2020~

Prayer - Double-Mindedness, Away!

 

"Do you want the blue one or the yellow one?"

"Um, the blue one to match my eyes.  Oh, but the yellow one is so fresh and spring like and cheery."

"Soooo, which one?"

"Hmm.  Blue or yellow?  Blue.  No, yellow..."

…and...the double-mindedness goes on.

Choosing a blue or yellow dress or blouse is not very life-threatening or stressful yet in more important issues, double-mindedness is mostly seen as negative action.

The psalmist of Psalm 119 (vs 113) says he "hates" (yes, a strong word) double-minded people.  Yes, we do get frustrated with them.  Not sure what the psalmist's issue was with them exactly but they must of galled him enough to say, "hate" them.  His antidote, however, was to love God's law.  He made the LORD his refuge, shield, and hope in God's word.

Father God, in our exasperations of life with other people, and in this case, double-minded ones who become "unstable in all their ways" (James 1:8), may we find our stabilizing anchor and hope in You, Your word and Your protection.  May we habitually turn to Your Word for the guidance and wisdom we need to navigate our lives.

Maybe evil doers were tempting the psalmist, attempting to pull him into their circle of nefarious deeds, yet his conscience and fear of You pulled him back to the right path as recorded, and according to Your Words, laws, commands, precepts; back and forth, the decision tottered and somersaulted, like being tossed upon the stormy sea waves (James 1:5-8).  Father God, we often do this too.

Thank-You, Abba Father, Your words, when we trust in them and You, tip the scale to You and Your protection.  Indeed, "keep those evil doers away" from us and our loved ones.  Protect our hearts and minds against them so we will think and act aright.

Father, Your word says You will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6), and in so doing, with You by our side, we can be sustained by this promise and be kept in the right path via right thinking and understanding of Your love, care, promises, and Your words.  Bring them always to mind to uphold us, to be steady in our choices and decisions; thus be delivered from double-mindedness ourselves.

Like a chain reaction of events, then, Father, may Your sustaining power, Your deliverance, Your keeping of promises, Your very presence in our lives dispel any delusions we may have, or that may have been planted by evil doers to rush off this way or chase after that, and in so doing give us Your mind, and the mind of our Savior Jesus Christ.  

Discard the dross.  

Cause us to love You and Your words with our whole being.  Cause us to cling to Your Word and may double-mindedness be cast away.  May we tremble in reverence and fear and stand in awe of Your laws and how they exponentially buoy and buffer our lives, keeping us on a steady course of life that pleases and honors You, drawing us ever closer to You!

You never fail and You never change Your mind.  You have loved us from eternity past till now, and always will.  

In Jesus Name we, Your children, ask, praise and pray.

                                                  ~ERC  August 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:113-120 (Samekh).

Sing, Show Me Your Ways along with Darlene Zschech of Hillsongs

Prayer - Joy in the Heart Despite the "Suffer Much" Oaths

 

Okay.  Just off the top of your head; can you quote Psalm 119:105?  More than likely you can.  It is probably the most well known and loved of all the Psalm 119 verses; it and verse 11.

Verse 105 reads,

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path" (NIV).

The path of life is fraught with many challenges and to move forward, to overcome, its a "must" to have the word of God to illuminate and show us the way over, under, through and/or around the obstacles so we can place our feet firmly and confidently on to our next step.

Then there is the case of 'the oaths'.  Such serious things and I don't mean the foul language oaths.  No way!   I'm talking formal promises made in front of a judge, magistrate, congregation and/or a pastor, that involves putting it in writing and signing with witnesses, and public declarations.

Similarly, as the Psalmist did.  He declared he had,

"...taken an oath and confirmed it" (v. 106).

Not sure what the legalese is here with that couplet, but in my mind its verbally declaring, then the "signing and  sealing"; double assurance that it will be done as stated.

This person of the Psalm's pen, was showing his genuine and serious intention to follow God's righteous laws. This is so very commendable.  It was not something done lightly.

What vows have we each committed to?  There are many kinds.  Most likely think of wedding vows.  Then there's oaths taken in court to "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"; there's oaths to utter when being sworn in to becoming a citizen of some other country other than your own land of birth.  They make you promise on the Bible or some book of religion to show you really mean what you say in the sight of God, or the tenets of their respective beliefs.

Words come cheap though.  Easy to promise but not easy to keep.  The psalmist said he "suffered much" and then asked the LORD to "preserve his life" (v. 107).  When the going gets tough, we often "suffer much".  Thus, the call to "preserve his life", I imagine, as we too, may feel.

You know, take marriage for a capital example.  That couple has no idea what they're vowing to.  Oh, most think they know, but, well,...they "suffer much" in this unbreakable league of friendship (that's an expression I read somewhere that seem aptly apropos here).

You see, there's this saying about marriage where some people hint that it is a three-ring circus.  They say,

"First, there's the engagement ring.

 Second, there's the wedding ring.

Third, there's the suffer ring"*

Such suffering, for example, comes cuz they didn't know there were actually SIX people tying the knot that day, not TWO!  That's what my Daddy used to like to say.

Of course I didn't want to listen to that "nonsense" but there seems to be some truth in it.

First, there's the person which each of the 'halves' believes themselves to be; that's two.  Then, who she thinks he is, and who he thinks she is; that's four.  Lastly, who they each really are; that's six.  So you can see quite a confusion in the fusion of "thinks".  The shock of discovery can come rather soon on the heels of the sound of the lilting, "I do's" that are wafted into the air.

And so they "suffer much" as they wrestle their thoughts into the compelled new line of thinking.  This requires that please, "preserve my life" prayer if they wish to persevere and uphold those oaths that they had "taken and confirmed".

Sounds like a dim view of marriage but I believe that many vows or decisions people take have hidden elements that one could not ever foresee.  It's impossible to know all the implications of even good things like marriage; or taking your aging parents into your home to care for; or deciding to do full time mission work in a foreign land.  One will never know the extent of such "oaths".

The psalmist points in the right direction with his call to the LORD to "preserve his life" and to "accept his praise."  He knew great extenuating circumstances even in his kingship role.  It was not a bed of roses.

As we emerge through a bout of "suffer much" or even as we navigate through it, "willing praise" is an antidote to frustration, anger, despair and etc.  This, I believe, the psalmist was trying to tell us.

Here's a little poem about affliction from a binder of "Notes and Jottings" my father collected over the years.  The author is unknown.

"Affliction is but for a moment.

But after its purpose is wrought

The Blessing will go on forever

The fruit that trial has brought."

In addition to praise, ask the LORD to teach you His ways.

Oh Father God, we, Your children, cry out to You.  Only You know the full extent of our individual oaths and how each one suffers.  Indeed, we echo the words of the psalmist, "preserve our lives". Thank-You so much for that, we have every confidence in You, knowing You will come to our aid, and for Your written word that we can read, meditate upon, consider and obey.  Help us to focus on You through thick and thin.  May Your words be the joy of our hearts, triggering more willing praise.

When the evil one sets a snare before us to hurt, hinder and harm us, to dissuade us from keeping our oaths; again, may none of us "stray from Your precepts".  May our hearts be steadfast in You and Your words with the strong mind of keeping them to the very end.

Father, I know that in this very fallen world, these oaths do get broken and cause other untold "suffer much-es".  We are so sad and sorry this happens.  We know that in the end, You will comfort those who have been the injured parties.  Help them overcome, Father, and bring them an avenue of joy for their hearts.

For the others, like the psalmist, may we be as determined and say as emphatically, 

"I have taken an oath and confirmed it, I will follow Your righteous laws" (v. 106), 

which give... 

"...light to our path".  

May there be joy in the hearts despite the "suffer much" oaths. 

                                                     ~ERC  August 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:105-112 (Nun)

Sing, Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace) along with the Hillsong folks.

*Reference: 

Michael Hodges in 1001 More Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking

Cornerstone Rejected

 The Sanhedrin's refusal to answer Jesus' question, and their refusal to accept His right of power and authority, led Him to relate a surprisingly, very pointed parable about Wicked Tenants in a vineyard.  This you can read about in Luke 19:9-19.

To recap, a man planted a vineyard and rented it out to tenants, and then left for a long time.  Who knows, perhaps it was the nobleman from another parable who had left his servants with a gold mina coin each to mind, while he went off to acquire the kingship of the region.  

Anyway, at harvest time this landlord sent a servant to collect the harvest.  It could be that in lieu of currency, the tenants paid rent in terms of produce:  grapes, in this case.  The tenants, being wicked, beat the poor soul up and sent him away empty-handed.

The land owner sent two more such servants who received the same maltreatment as the first chap.   The owner then believed the tenants would respect his only son.

How very wrong he was!  The son got murdered and thrown out of the vineyard.

The vineyard owner came and did away with the wicked servants and replaced them.

Although Jesus' parable was told to the ubiquitous crowds that clamored about Him, His real target was the religious leaders from the Sanhedrin.  He wanted to point out to these Jewish leaders that God would destroy them if they rejected and killed Him.

He was saying that the vineyard owner represented God, and that He was God's Son that was killed and thrown out; rejected.  Added to that was that the wicked tenants, representing the Jewish religious leaders in particular, and the Jewish nation in general would have their places in the Kingdom of God given to others.  They, like these wicked tenants in the parable, would be replaced by others.

Who were these others?  Why, the very Gentiles they despised and tried to keep out of the Temple Court of the Gentiles.  The Jews, as a nation would be set aside, making way for the Gentiles;  those from the rest of the peoples of the world.

I do not mean to say the Jews no longer have a chance of relationship with God their Heavenly Father ever again!  NO!  Recall that God made a promise to King David, ever so long ago that he would forever have a descendant upon the throne.  So, the individual Jewish person can take heart.

Salvation is unto all who receive Jesus Christ as Savior.  Jews and Gentiles, alike, have this wonderful gift offered to them.  They are all welcomed when each repents, confesses their sins and has Jesus wash their sins away.  They are then a child of God, in His family of people from every tribe, nation, and people.

The different slaves or servants sent by the landlord to collect the harvest, typify the various Old Testament prophets God sent over the years of Israel's history.  Time and again they strayed from God's laws and hankered after other 'gods'.  The One True God then sent His men to tell the Israelites where they were going wrong, to repent, come back and obey God and to serve Him alone.

These were such prophets as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Daniel, among others.  Many were badly treated.  Jeremiah, for example, was thrown into a miry pit and left to die by angry men who didn't want to hear the message.  Thankfully, some of Jeremiah's friends managed to haul him out with ropes (Jeremiah 38:1-13).

In the New Testament, it was John the Baptizer whom the religious leaders of his and Jesus' day, did not want to admit, was sent by God.

Finally, God sent His own Son, Jesus.  Look what these jealous leaders did to Him.  Killed Him, they did, as rather explicitly told in Jesus' parable.

This rather enraged the Jewish religious leaders and they plotted to kill Jesus.

All along, Jesus did not directly declare His divine nature in words, so much as in this parable.  Perhaps, as Jesus' time of death was nearing He began to reveal Himself more.  In a way, He was also telling the Sanhedrin members from whence He got His power and authority.

This was also serving as a warning to them of the consequences of rejecting His authority and attempts to get rid of Him.

The people's reaction was great surprise and horror at what had happened to the servants, but more so to the owner's son.  "God forbid!" they exclaimed.  They just could not grasp it.

Jesus' analogies went on.  He spoke of the cornerstone which was rejected.  A cornerstone was a very important piece in any construction of buildings in ancient times.  It was the very first piece to be put in place.  It would be set in the corner of the foundation to determine the two walls on either side of it.  These walls needed to be absolutely straight, of course, as they were aligned to the cornerstone.  If the cornerstone was off kilter, so would the walls be and the whole building would then be rather shabbily put together and in jeopardy of collapse.

Cornerstones could be rejected for whatever reason.  Possibly they were not smooth or not square, potentially rendering the the building not square.

Jesus' response to the peoples' reaction that the son would be killed and thrown out, was that He, Jesus, the Son and "cornerstone," would be termed 'worthless" and therefore, rejected.  This rejection inflicted by the very ones, who should have known who He was and welcomed Him with opened arms--the recognized Jewish leaders. 

Another aspect of the cornerstone, besides its need of perfection, is that it had potential destructive power.  If it were to fall upon anyone or anything, it would crush the person or item, breaking them to smithereens, even to dust.

What could this mean?  The homology here, is that people may oppose and reject Jesus, but they would be the ones to suffer in the end.  There is future judgment even for people who reject Christ, today.  This is solemn and terrible.

Jesus always wanted people to understand those things and by talking about this cornerstone, could be seen to be warning the crowds about rejecting Him too.  The consequences of judgment would be upon the person who rejects Him; an eternity in Hell with the devil and his minions.

Once again, the teachers of the law and chief priests who were listening, look for a way to arrest Jesus.  They knew He was talking about them and their anger, and hatred deepened.  They did not march Him away just yet, however, as they were restrained by their fear of the people revolting.  They did not want the mobs stoning them nor creating a riot.  Riots attracted Roman attention, and this was vastly undesirable to them.

Pause a while here.

As always, we need to examine ourselves.  Have we accepted Jesus as Savior?  How about as Lord?  There's a difference you know.  To accept Jesus as Savior is to repent and confess our sins to God and to receive his forgiveness of sins through Jesus.  It is to receive His eternal life and the Holy Spirit.

To make Jesus Lord of our life is to make Him our "Boss" or Master, or King over us; to make a throne out of our heart and allow Jesus to sit there as King and to call the shots of our life.  We are obedient to Him so when we read God's Word and He asks us to do certain things and we reject Him, we reject the Holy Spirit's work in our lives; that's NOT making Him Lord.  However, if we align ourselves to Him, we make Him our Lord, as well as Savior, we make Him the Boss, and our Cornerstone.

If we always try to be like Jesus, this means we are aligning ourselves to the cornerstone who is Jesus.  Jesus was (and still is) perfect.  Even though the religious leaders did not accept that, we know that Jesus is perfect.  So, we can align ourselves up to Jesus and aim for perfection.

Of course, we are not God, so we will never be 100% perfect but we can certainly aim for that.  There's actually a verse in the Bible which asks us to do just that, "aim for perfection" (2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV).  If you aim for it, you could very well get very close to it.

We aim for perfection by reading God's Word, and obeying it and listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance in our lives.

Our God and Father, we thank-You so much for this lesson from one of Jesus' parables.  Help us not to reject Your Son Jesus as the cornerstone of our lives; rather to accept Him as Savior and Lord.

We know Father, that it is not always easy to live our lives in this manner but once again, we thank-You for the dynamic power of Your Holy Spirit that You have given to each one of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.

Your Holy Spirit can empower us to obedience and to refreshing our minds and hearts with Your word so we will live our lives in obedience to You and in pleasing manner to You, we can them aim for that perfection we need to align ourselves to Your Son Jesus, our Cornerstone.

Bless and keep each reader of this blog entry.  Bless and keep them; make Your face shine upon them and give them peace.  I ask this in Jesus our Cornerstone's Name.

                                                              ~ERC  August 2020~

Based on Luke 20:9-19 NIV 

Part 2 Video