SettledInHeaven.org (Blogger): August 2011

Friday, August 26, 2011

Anger: A Gift From God

How often have we heard it said that “Anger is sinful” ? This statement, in many cases, is a true statement with a Biblical foundation. (Please refer to Eccl 7:9, Gal 5:20, Eph 4:31-32,Col3:8, James 1:19 and many more).

However, for the Christian, it is important to understand that not all types of anger are equal. There is a special type of anger that is given to us from God. It serves a useful purpose in our Christian life, and should be an integral part of our walk of faith in the midst of a sinful world.

Let’s see what the Bible teaches us about the anger that pleases God…

THE SCRIPTURE:

Ps 4:4 (KJV)

4) Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Rom 1:18 (KJV)

18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Eph 4:26 (KJV)

26) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

THE STUDY:

Ephesians 4:26 – “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” - Here we find a type of anger that pleases our Lord. It is a type of anger that is pointed toward the sin that we see in this fallen world. It is not a selfish type of anger, it is an anger motivated by Divine holiness and an understanding of sin’s results in the lives of mankind…

There are 6 aspects to this anger:

It is an anger that affects our actions.

The Greek word for anger “orge” is a word that is defined as “to be enraged causing arousal to action”. Have you ever been so angry you couldn’t hold it in any longer. This is the type of anger we are talking about.

It is an anger that mirrors the anger of God towards sin.

The Greek word for “anger” in Eph 4:26 is translated “wrath” in Rom 1:18 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness”. The same type of anger God has against sin is the same type we should have against sin. (see also Nums 22:22, Roms 9:22, Eph 5:6 etc)

It is an anger that results in abstinence from sin.

In our Eph text, we can see that the result of being angry at sin is to “sin not”.

It is an anger that we should act upon quickly.

In our text, we can see that we should deal with the issue on a daily basis and not allow this anger to dwell in our lives for an extended period. “Let not the sun go down on your wrath.”

For example, when we experience this type of anger against a sin, we should not put off dealing with it. When we see sin in our lives that causes us this anger, we are to confess and repent. (1 John 1:8-9) When we enter into a temptation that will lead to sin, we are to quickly remove ourselves from this temptation. We are not to “think about it”, nor “dwell on it”. This is reaffirmed in the next verse that says… “Neither give place to the devil”.

Finally, when we see sin in the lives of others, we are to follow Scriptural dictates in dealing with the issue. For sin in the lives of saved individuals, we are to approach them with humility and love seeking to help them (Gals 6:1-2). If the sin we see is in the lives of one who has not been saved, we are to share with them the gospel message through our words and actions, realizing their only hope of forgiveness and a changed life lies in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19)

Please notice that Ephesians 4:26 is closely related to Psalm 4:4…

Ephesians 4:26 – “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”

Psalm 4:4 – “ Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

By looking at Psa 4:4. we can learn two more facts about this type of anger….

First of all, the motive driving a Godly anger is spoken of…. It is an awe of God.

To be in “awe” of God means that we begin to see and understand His greatness, holiness, sovereignty and love; as well as all He has done for us. Why should we be angry at sin? Because we serve a holy God who loved us and gave Himself for us? Should we not hate sin as does He?

Also, notice we need to meditate on our day, on His greatness, the sin we have seen, and how we have dealt with that sin.

By meditating on our day, we will be able to identify any missed sin, deal with it and be prepared with a “clean slate” for the coming day. If we do this, we can then rest peacefully or “be still”; knowing we have done His will.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

For those who are saved …

We should all be asking Him for grace, so that we can have the appropriate anger towards sin and the wisdom to deal with sin when we see it.

For those who have yet to be saved...

The Lord desires for you to deal with the sin that is in your life. Look into His Word to see God’s attitude about sin, sin’s results for your life and the remedy for your sinful condition.

You can learn more about all these subjects by looking at my blog page entitled How To Have A Relationship With God

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May the Lord bless your study of His Word. Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”

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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Who is God?

Have you ever stopped and thought about who is God and how great is He? It is a mind boggling endeavor. Being able to identify God and begin to grasp His greatness is almost an impossible task. But, thanks to our God, and Moses his servant, we have both of our questions answered in one short passage of scripture.

In our text, Moses, the leader of the nation ofIsrael, publically declares the identity and greatness of the God of this world, allowing us all to answer the question… “Who is God?”

THE SCRIPTURE:

Deut 32

1) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2) My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

3) Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

4) [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.

THE STUDY:

The Context of this message –

Deut 31: - Moses hands authority for leadership of Israel to Joshua

Deut 32:-33: - Moses farewell address to the Israelites

Deut 34: - Moses dies

Here in Deut 32: - We have a part of the final message Moses delivers to the Israelites. What did he want to leave with the Jews? The greatness of his God!

Vs 1- The Importance of the message – “Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. “

Both men and angels, I am calling upon you to listen carefully to what I have to say.

I “will speak” – to arrange words carefully

The “words of my mouth” – speech, phrasings

Vs 2- The Results of this message - “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:”

“my doctrine” – “the received thing” the truths which I have received through revelation and experience I will now hand down to you.

“as rain”, “as dew”, “small rain”, “showers” – all speak of gentleness – Through Moses gentle words and sayings great truths would be handed down. They would be truths that would bring about growth, nourishment and increase for all the nation of Israel.

Vs 3 – The Purpose of this message “Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.”

“I will publish the name” - To reveal the identity of God

“ascribe ye greatness” – To explain the greatness of God.

“LORD” – “Jehovah” – “The Existing One” – Jehovah is the only TRUE GOD. He is the only God that actually exists. Other men may create Gods but Jehovah is the only True God. That is why He told Moses to call Him “I AM”… in other words, “I exist”. (Exodus 3:13-15)

“God” – “Supreme One, Worshipped One” – This same Jehovah is also described as God by Moses. This teaches us that He is the One who is over all of us. He is Supreme and deserves our worship.

Vs 4 – The Message – “[He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.”

“He is the Rock” – Jehovah is the Creator and Sovereign Lord of all. He does nto change. He is the firm foundation upon which everything exists. He can be relied upon for our physical life and needs, our spiritual life and needs, our daily walk with Him, and our eternal existence. He is the refuge to Whom we can run.

“His work is perfect” – All of His works are without blemish and complete. He leaves nothing undone, He commits no sin, He makes no errors.

“all His ways are judgment” - His workings among men are always fair, He never mistreats anyone nor does He unfairly favor anyone.

“a God of truth” – His teachings are actual to fact, He is faithful to His promises, He can be relied upon

“without iniquity” – He can do no sin. He is not tainted with the filth of sin, He is not dirtied. His nature is pure and untouched by sin

“just” - He lives by the same set of rules that He Himself sets. He keeps His own laws

“right” – He is straight, forthright, and honest. He is not shady, sneaky or misleading.

Jehovah is the Only True God. He is the Creator, the Lord, the Redeemer and the Holy One.

You can personally know this same God by simply turning from your sin and coming to Him in faith, trusting Him to forgive you of your sin debt, and grant you eternal life. May the Lord bless you in your search for the True God and a relationship with Him.

1Thess 1:9-10 (KJV) - For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Ask The Stars… They Will Tell You

Did you ever wonder what your future held for you? Have you ever been tempted to go to an astrologer? Have you ever actually given into the temptation and visited an astrologer?

For many Americans, having their horoscope read is an innocent, fun, and in some cases beneficial pursuit. In fact, based on the latest Harris poll, slightly more than ¼ of Americans believe in Astrology. (You can access this poll at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris_Poll_2009_12_15.pdf)

Just Google “daily horoscope” and you will see over 6 ½ million websites, most of which are offering access to daily horoscopes. Yes, undoubtedly astrology, horoscopes and other methods of foretelling future events has found a solid foothold in our society.

So what does the Lord say about all this? Is it just an innocent pursuit? Let’s see what the Word of God has to say…

  THE SCRIPTURE:

Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

(Isa 47:12-15)

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, (Psa 19:1-4)

THE STUDY:



Isa 47:12-15

In our first text, Isaiah is receiving a message from God to be delivered to the empire ofBabylon. In this message Isaiah is tellingBabylonof their coming punishment from God for the sins they have committed (vs 1-11)

Then in verse 12 and 13 - the Babylonians were to turn to their sinful pursuits of enchantments, sorceries, and getting counsel from astrologers, stargazers and monthly prognosticators. They had put these sinful pursuits ahead of serving the Lord in times past…. So they should rely on them now as well. All of those things would prove worthless.

In verses 14-15 - The Lord would do away with all those pursuits as fire burns stubble. They would not be able to deliver themselves from these judgments, much less the entire nation ofBabylon, their merchants and their associates from youth.   None of their past pursuits, or associates, could save the nation nor themselves…

Clearly these verses present two important truths about future tellers….

They are of no lasting value… the Lord is the One who controls all events. They do not control, nor can they save from future events. (Isa 44:24-25, Isa 41:21-24)

They will receive judgment from the Lord along with those who look to them. Clearly, they were sharing in the punishment meted out to the empire ofBabylon. (Isa 8:19-22)

(see also: Dan 1:20, 2:2, 2:27, 4:7, 5:7, 5:11, 5:15 – the astrologers being talked about in the book of Daniel, were unable to interpret or give the solution to the King’s dream. The entire Daniel account is teaching the impotence of astrologers when it comes to solving life’s issues and understanding God’s will for our lives.)

Psalm 19:1-4

Here we find the answer to the question “Why did the Lord create all the heavenly bodies?” In many astrologist’s minds, the purpose of the heaven’s existence is to help interpret future events. However, in our Psa 19: verses we find that the real purpose of the creation of the heavens was to display God’s great power, wisdom and glory. By looking at the greatness of the heavenly bodies, EVERYONE is given a testimony to God’s existence and greatness. It is a testimony that transcends national, cultural, language and even continental boundaries. It is the witness Paul talks about in Romans 1:19-20.

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION

For the Christian….

We need to always remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who controls our future. (Dan 4:34-35, Isa 46:9-11) It is our responsibility to trust Him with our future on a daily basis. To seek knowledge of what our future holds is a lack of faith on our part. He will take care of us… we do not need to think, nor worry about what the future may hold. (Matt 6:25-34)

For those who have never trusted in Christ…

The greatest peace comes from trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to care for our past, present and future. (Phil 4:6-7) By looking to Christ and trusting in His work on the cross, we can find rest and peace from the burden of our sin. (Matt 11:28-30).

Turn to the Lord, relying totally on Him to give forgiveness, peace and rest… this is the key to knowing we are under His care. Then the future is no longer an uncertainty to be feared and concerned about… it can now be approached with a confident expectation knowing that He will accompany us and protect us no matter what the future may hold. (Pro 3:5-6, Psa 32:8, Jer 6:16)

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Friday, August 5, 2011

One of the most common phrases used to describe someone who helps others in times of need is “a Good Samaritan”. This phrase has become so common that in many cases, those using this title have no idea its source or contextual meaning.

The original description and story behind the Good Samaritan is found in God’s Word… let’s take a few minutes to read about the Good Samaritan and how his actions affect every one of us.

THE SCRIPTURE:

Luke 10:25-37 (KJV)

25) And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?...37) And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

THE STUDY:

For us to properly understand the story of the Good Samaritan, we need to notice the pretext of this story found in Luke 10:25-29…

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Here, we find the Lord talking to a lawyer (a person who was educated in the Old Testament laws of God.)   The lawyer stands up, and asks a question of Christ desiring to trip up Christ and find fault with Him.

He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

To avoid falling into the lawyer’s trap Jesus wisely responds by asking the lawyer two questions….“ What is written in the law? How readest thou?”

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

The lawyer responds with a quote from the OT found in Deut 6:5

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Here, Jesus knew that no fallen human can love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind. Jesus response was clearly an attempt by Christ to point out the lawyer’s great spiritual need… to recognize his sin and then come to Christ for the forgiveness.

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

However, the lawyers response clearly indicates that he was blind to his own sinful condition.

The lawyer had missed the point. He didn’t want to own up to his own sinful condition. He now was trying to change the subject to the second part of his response, the need to love our neighbour as ourself.

This is where Christ now begins the story of the Good Samaritan.   Christ, in His infinate wisdom seeks to show this man his sinful condition, his need of salvation, as well as trying to answer this man’s question about who is our neighbor….

And Jesus answering said, A certain [man] went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded [him], and departed, leaving [him] half dead.

Here, the Lord begins the story by presenting sinful mankind’s condition before salvation. Mankind, following Satan’s attack in the garden of Eden is now sinful, naked in God’s presence and mortally wounded. Sinful man is now half dead…. He is spiritually dead while still possessing physical life. Soon, however, he will be totally dead without God’s intervention in his life. This was the lawyer’s current condition.

31) And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

Here, the priest represents organized religions. They can do nothing to heal this man’s condition. Religion without submission to the will and ways of God is simply hypocrisy and of no value to God nor man.

32) And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked [on him], and passed by on the other side.

Next, the Levite (a picture of the law) passes by, once again of no help to this wounded man. All of our works of righteousness are nothing in the sight of a Just God.

33) But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion [on him],

Jesus Christ is pictured by this Samaritan. Here Christ comes to the wounded one, the helpless one, the half dead one. When Christ saw him, out of mercy based upon love He begins to help meet his needs.

34) And went to [him], and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Christ goes to the sinner, medicates his wounds of sin with the Spirit (oil) and His blood (wine). He then supports and enables him through His Spirit (beast) leading him to His church (inn).

It was there at His church that this man was cared for by God and loved.

35) And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave [them] to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Here Christ is seen paying the debt of the sinner, giving this debt payment to the host (the saints in the congregation). By this He is enabling the host to care for the newly saved one. In other words, He is giving the church the truth and leadership and other blessings so that they can properly care for him.   At Christ’s second coming a further set of blessings (rewards) will be given to those who are faithful in caring for this newly saved man.

36) Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

After Christ told this story, trying to show this man his sin and the salvation and care that is found in Christ, Jesus now points him to the answer to his question… the Samaritan is the true neighbor of the man is such great need.

37) And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Now once, again Christ places the responsibility on the man to show mercy to those who has wronged him. Again Christ, is trying to show him his sin and need to come to Christ for salvation.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

For those who are saved …

We need to never minimize what the Lord did for us when He came to us, saved, us and then led us by His Spirit into His church where we are fed and cared for.

For those who have yet to be saved...

Don’t be like this man who was unwilling to take an honest look at his sin and spiritual needs. By being honest with ourselves, and our God, we can not only see our spiritual need and look to Him to meet that need.

Heb 12:2 (KJV)

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

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