PSALM 100 verses 4 and 5 . . . one other thought.

another thought on the commandment about the name of the Lord . . .

to take up God's name for "nothingness" would be like taking a stick of dynamite and sticking it in your back pocket or carelessly tossing it around your living room, letting your kids play with it, setting it next to the stove, tossing it in a campfire.  You miss out on the amazing potential and power of that stick of dynamite and it could literally hurt or kill you.

we wouldn't do that with dynamite - why would we do that with the Name of the LORD which has the power, REAL Dynamite power, to save?!?

Lift up Jesus' real powerful name in thanks, praise and conversation with Him.  . . . and be real about what you are going through: the temptations, the frustrations, the hurts, the worries, the joys and pleasures.

be blessed,

Al

Travelling closer to God, to Jesus. . . . . . . . . . PSALM 100: 4-5

This weekend I got to speak on the second commandment, "do not lift up the name of the LORD your God for nothingness."  That is the Hebrew translation.  It means that we are not to misuse the name of the Lord, "use it or lift it up for nothingness."  Nothingness would be to curse, swear, take the name of the LORD lightly, to just say it without meaning it, etc.

So to use the Name of the LORD - Jesus - for "somethingness" would be to call on Him in trouble, talk to Him in confession, ask Him for blessings in our life, or to simply talk to Him as a friend, a Savior, a Redeemer.  They there is the aspect of calling on the name of the LORD for Thanks and Praise.  

I confess that these have often caused me to be squeemish because they seemed so . . . innocuous, harmless, without energy, etc.  But Psalm 100 and some other truths about thanksgiving and praise have turned my understanding around.

Psalm 100:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Thanks and praise DO something to us.  Thanksgiving actually activates endorphins to be released into your brain - a sort of natural high.  Praise may have similar changes.  Here is what the Psalm speaks about.  When you give thanks, it brings you to the gate, the entryway of God's presence.  When you give praise (applause, celebrating all that God is) it brings you into His actual presence.  

That definitely has the power to change our mindset.  If we are grumpy, tense, worrying - we have the opportunity to turn our mood around because in His presence, all things can take on a different flavor.

I like this new insight on verses 4 and 5 of Psalm 100 because He is forever Good - He can't help it.  that is His nature.

Blessings,
Al

Luke 5. Forgiveness

Luke 5:20-26

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

• Ø  To the Jews, forgiving sins and healing were on the same par.  What if we looked at our own forgiveness with such awe?  Is it possible that forgiving sins really heals us, others?  If we forgave more, how many lives could be healed?  If we believed and accepted God’s forgiveness of us, how many of us would be healed of darkness, guilt, frustration, ?

Luke 7:41-43

• “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,^[a] and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
  ⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
  “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
  
  Ø  A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2).  Let’s say that is about $200 for sake of illustration.  The one was forgiven $100,000 and the other $10,000.  Which one would appreciate the debt cancelling process more?  It immediately makes me think of where student loans are today.  I left college in 1989 with $10,000 in debt.  If they would have cancelled that, I would have been very happy and appreciative.  But to have the debt for my house cancelled, might have the potential to create even more excitement and appreciation.  
  So do we really realize how much Jesus took away from our Debt to God?  I want to rethink that today.

WHO DO YOU MEET ALONG THE WAY? Matthew 25:40

We had our church picnic yesterday - complete with worship service and potluck, lots of grilled foods to follow.  Many good things came from the day.  We were made aware of several challenges for two of our sisters in the faith - that gives us something to pray for.  We had clear blue skies, so warm and not a hint of rain; WOW!  That was a welcome gift after the last months of almost solid rain and cold.  Also lots of visitors, great conversations over perfectly grilled Turkey (nice job, Fran and Joel)!

What I never expected to see was a middle aged woman timidly approaching the shelter with her very full wire push cart, stuffed with bags of . . . stuff.  She was looking for a meal:  "Is this a private picnic or is it open to the public?"  She wasn't 'badly' dressed but would stand out as a little rough compared to most of those gathered.  But I know the congregation and better still, I know the heart of Jesus for a lady like this - out on the street, collecting all she can to survive and probably really hungry about this time of day.  He loves her and wants to care for her.  We got to be one of the ways Jesus cared for her yesterday.

On top of that it gave several members an opportunity to talk to her as well.  Lord Jesus, please bless Marie and thank you for blessing us with her presence yesterday.

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

As you travel this earth, honor your parents so that . . .

Ephesians 6

 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

So that it may go well with you:  your "honoring" or "not honoring" can physically affect you .

God's design is that you ENJOY long life.

This commandment is pervasive – and whether our parents have been good or bad, they have a fundamental affect on issues in life.

In the Book,  Bold love, by Dan Allender, a certain young man wanted to be a lawyer – he wanted to fight against all pretenders and fakes.  He wanted to drive out all pompous and hateful individuals because, sadly, his father was like that.  

He wanted his father to pay.  But He couldn’t even say one disagreeable thing to his father.  He was too afraid of him.  In trying to get back at his father he himself became a cruel man, seeking retribution at the sacrifice of making other cruel individuals pay.

·         He could make other cruel men pay – but became cruel himself.            God has a better route for us to travel.  As we live our life, He asks us to consider deeply and truthfully WHAT OUR PARENTS are really like.  This is called "honor" - in the original language, Hebrew, the word means to "have weight" or examine the weight.  Right, wrong, hurtful, or helpful - weigh out and search out what your parents were to you.  Respect them but ALSO tell the truth about them.               God bless you as you tell yourself the truth about your parents; go on a treasure hunt for the good and don't ignore the hurt or abuse or neglect that may have also been there.

Genesis 2 - Men and Women

Genesis two shows a glimpse of God creating man and woman with great care.  For those of you who have (or haven't) noticed, He created men different from women and women different from men.

Genesis 2

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

. . . . Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

I get the privilege of working with couples at our church and in the neighborhood.  Last night we had a "year in review" for newly married couples and here is one clip on men and women that is absolutely hilarious and insightful:

My wife and I just rolled in laughter while watching this - partly because it is sooooo true.

ENJOY!

Travel the Globe; Prayer and Psalm 139

Psalm 139 has a great prayer thought for travellers:

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

God is everywhere I go - anywhere.  Our family headed to China for one year of teaching and study - God was there with us.  We were anxious about the trip with (at the time) three young children but God was there with us every step of the way.

My wife and I were in Taiwan, and Belize and the Philippines and everywhere we have traveled we could either be cognizant of His presence or we could forget about it.

I'm reading through the book, The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg.  Its about being the person that God specifically designed you to be.  Anyway, there is a quote from a book concerning prayer and God's presence everywhere:  "Anytime I sin, I must remove any thought of the presence of god from my conscious awareness.  Then when I pray, I have to put Him back in my mind's focus.  the goal of prayer is not toe get good at praying, as many people think.  The goal of prayer is not to try to set new records for how much time we spend praying.  The goal of prayer is to live all of my life and speak all of my words in the joyful awareness of the presence of God (italics not mine)."

Prayer gets to be more real when we realize the Psalm 139 truth that God is always around even if we have traveled great distances from home or even if our mind has strayed great thoughts away from "home" - from Him.  Jesus is always with the "real me."

Lord Jesus, test my thoughts and let me see that any anxious thought, any temptation thought, any angry twist someone's nose thought does not surprise you because you are always there with me.  Let me know that I can be honest with you no matter where I am in my journey of faith.  Amen, Sweet Jesus!

Be safe, People of God.

Al