Psalms 3:7 - written words

Psalms 3:7   Arise, O Jehovah; / Save me, O my God! / Oh that You would *strike all my enemies on the cheek; / And break the teeth of the wicked.

David’s prayer for vengeance against his enemies is contrary to the New Testament, which teaches us to love our enemies and to bless those who persecute us and pray for them.

Matthew But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good and blend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

In the Psalms the words concerning the psalmists’ hating their enemies, their asking God to avenge them, and their cursing others are not the words of God but are words that issued from the psalmists’ natural sentiment while they were praising God. They are recorded by the Spirit of God in the Holy Scripture to serve God’s purpose of exposing the psalmists’ spiritual condition, i.e., that although the psalmists loved God and sought Him, they were natural, not spiritual, in their sentiment

The old testament had some violent verses, indeed. Especially those pertaining to God, we must recognize which words were spoken by Him and which words came from the natural human conditions. We must try not to take such words in the scriptures to heart and see only what is written. We must consider the instances and conditions in what is written, spoken in. Let us not disregard the context of the words in the Bible, for if taken out of context could cause much more harm to our lives than good.

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; Bless and do not curse.

Romans 12:20 But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head."

Psalms 2:12

PSALMS 2:12 Kiss* the Son, lest He be angry and you perish from the way; For His anger may suddenly be kindled. Blessed* are all those who take refuge in Him.

Kiss:
To take refuge in the Son is to believe into the Son, Christ (John 3:16, 36), taking Him as our refuge, protection, and hiding place. To kiss the Son is to love the Son and thereby to enjoy Him (John 14:21, 23). To believe in the Lord is to receive Him (John 1:12); to love the Lord is to enjoy the Lord whom we have received. These are the two requirements for us to participate in the Lord.

Blessed:
Or, Happy. The human concept that man is blessed by keeping the law of Jehovah (1:1-2) is in contrast here to the divine concept that man is blessed by taking refuge in the Son

Hebrews 11:1 - Faith

(CREDIT NOTE: edited from an e-mail I received through a friend)

Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Our Christian life is a life of faith.
 

With every genuinely saved Christian, they have been given this wonderful capacity called faith. With every child born of God, they have been allotted equally precious faith. So we don't need to ask God for faith. Faith is already in us!   

 

Faith is not just hoping that God will do something for you. 

Rather, faith is seeing what God has already done for you and what God has already given to you. This is where the genuine growth in life is. The exercise of faith is related to our human spirit. Our spirit is a spirit of faith.   

This faith is also infused into us by God's Word. 

 

Faith is solid and substantial because it is founded on the Word of God. Whenever we feel that we are lacking in faith, we just need to stand on the Word! 

 

We know that God is true, we know that we are saved, we're cleansed by the blood and forgiven by God because the Word tells us so. 

Romans 8:24 For we were saved in hope. But a hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees?

All things hoped for are things not seen. As people of hope, we should aim our life not at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Romans 4:18 He beyond hope believed in hope in order that he might become the father of many nations according to that which was spoken, "So shall your seed be."

We don't say, "I hope God will forgive me." That's not faith. Faith is saying, "Thank You, Lord, that You have cleansed me, You have forgiven me, and You are living in me."

Hence we walk in faith.

Psalms 1:3

Psalms 1:3
And he will be like a tree
Transplanted beside streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And whose foliage does not wither;
And everything he does prospers.

prospers:
The human concept here is that the man who delights in the law of God prospers in everything, whereas the wicked man suffers loss (vv. 4-5). But the experience of the psalmist in Psa. 73 was the opposite (73:1-7, 12-14). This seeming contradiction troubled the psalmist until he was instructed, in the sanctuary of God, to take only God Himself as his portion, not anything other than God (73:16-17, 25-26). According to the Lord’s teaching in the New Testament, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness (not those who are prosperous) are blessed (Matt. 5:10). In his pursuing of Christ, the apostle Paul did not prosper outwardly but suffered the loss of all things and counted them as refuse that he might gain Christ (Phil. 3:8).

Baptism

Today, during fellowship, we were speaking to some new to the church. We found them to be seeking the Lord, but have yet to proclaim him as our savior. The fellowship went on to find that they have not been baptized properly. In their pasts, they were baptized only by the sprinkling of the water, but not yet fully immersed into the Lord.

It reminded me of how I came to be baptized. One of their stories coincided with mine.  She was seeking for God in several churches only to find that in such religion it felt very superficial and exclusive only to the members of that particular church. That if you were not one of them, and do not follow through with their practices,  then you are not deemed worthy to be a part of that church. There was no feeling of acceptance in the places we have went to.

Until someone preached what true baptism is; The one thing that struck me was

Living Daily in the Glory of God

When I started this blog, I wanted to write in it every day. I wanted it to be my way of continuously coming to the Word. I started it off well, sharing my enjoyment of this Christian life I have. However, it started to slow down. I didn't know why so much, until 2 weeks after. Until now.

When I started this blog, I was merely sharing what I have learned through the day. Something that I have read and learned about the Bible and of God. It was full of life, seeking the Lord. A few posts down the line, I looked into the Word not to gain the Lord but share knowledge. At that point, I slowed down in writing. I stopped writing.

I would open the window and have a blank slate in front of me to write whatever comes to mind, but nothing. Why? I can tell you, it's because I was seeking mere words in a book rather than the life of God in His Word.

I wrote in my earlier post and quoted that "Every Scripture is God-breathed". Somewhere down the line, I stopped taking that in and looked to teach rather than feed. It was good that I had a moment to step back and look at it that way.

This week, some students reminded me of what it means to continuously seek the Lord. To continuously live in Him. Amen!

The church is seeking to expand and to grow. The Lord is looking for His expansion through us, the church. To do so, we must not just come to the Lord during the Sabbath and during bible study, and meetings, and at the church building. But rather, we should come to the Lord whenever we can. Day by day, moment by moment. We must remember to praise and thank the Lord.

The students emphasized on creating vital groups and prayer groups. Every morning, I have a prayer group call me on the phone and we pray to God and call onto him for 15-30 minutes of our day. It's a great way to start the day by waking up and turning to God. Telling Him "Lord, I Love You! Lord, I praise you! Thank You, Lord!" However, it must not stop there. As Christians, we must continue to live a Christian life. To do so, we must continue to see God in everything we do. When we meet people, when we speak to each other, are we speaking God? Or are we speaking something of the world? Most likely the latter. In doing so, we distract ourselves from a goal of coming to God. In becoming one with the Lord. So how do we stop ourselves from doing so? By reminding ourselves that God wants to gain us more every day. When we do so, we will spontaneously speak as God speaks through us to our family, friends, acquaintances and maybe even random strangers.

By doing so, we breathe out God and feed the Word of God to others. We supply life into others, and in doing so we fill ourselves with God through them too. The feeling of knowing that you are with God, and you somehow (even for a brief moment) were able to feed and turn your conversation with a friend towards God, is a good feeling.

I didn't have that the past few weeks while looking to write. I was looking merely to just teach, rather than to converse and feed my readers and speak with God through my writing. So from this point on, I want to open myself to God first before I start typing. If what I am about to write has nothing of God in my words but rather more of my own thoughts, I do not want to write it anymore. I want to type as if God was typing for me.

Rather than trying to write something every day, like I was before, I want to write when I have a real feeling of being touched by the Word. Mainly, because at that moment, I am writing and dispensing God, rather than just my own thoughts. Lord Jesus! Help me in my weakness! Speak through me so that others may hear you! I want nothing of me, but everything of you in my words that others are reading. Lord, feed them with your Word through me.  Lord work on me daily and work through me. Let me serve you, as you have served us.

The Will of God

(From an e-mail received from a friend in church: Ariel Yang)
 
People always want to know what God’s will for them is. They’ll pray and pray, “God, what do you want me to do?” Many people ask people to pray for them and with them, but they don’t realize that their problem is in their heart.

How do we know the will of God? It’s not a matter of the procedure, but a matter of what kind of person you are. In the Bible, many people prayed, but look at the kind of person God reveals His will to - not the people who prayed for God’s will in order to compare it to their own goals and choose what they want, but to people who had already resolved to do God’s will, whatever it may be. Examples: David and building the temple of God (God’s answer was that David couldn’t build the temple, contrary to David’s original intention); Samuel and establishing the kingship of Israel (Samuel hated the idea of establishing the kingship); Peter and spreading the gospel to Gentiles (Peter considered them unclean).

The real problem isn’t that we don’t know God’s will, but that we pray while still holding our own interests as the top priority in our heart. We ask, “Lord, what kind of career do You want me to have? (but I really want a successful career that allows me to live a comfortable life Lord, is that what You want? That’s what I want)”.

We don’t know how to reconcile ourselves to the Lord’s will because we still have our own will. Once the Lord and His will becomes our only goal and aim, His will becomes very clear. You might not like the answer, but by then it’s too late, you’re locked in. And even the future you would never have originally considered will be sweeter and bring you closer to Him than any path you originally wanted.

Song: Never Did I Dream Before

I enjoy this song very much. It gives a bit of that feeling of remembering the beginnings of your church life. I hope that if you are a part of the church that you don't ever forget the enjoyment that you've experienced when God first came into your life and made Himself real to you.


Title: Never Did I Dream Before

Lyrics:
1 Never did I dream before,
Such a place could e’er be found,

The Great I AM

Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Isael, I AM has sent me to you.

"I AM" has so much in it. In other words, God is saying "I will be who I will be";or "I will become who I will become. The divine title I AM denotes that God is the One who is self-existing and ever-existing, and who depends on nothing apart from Himself. As the I Am, He is the all-inclusive One, the reality of every positive thing and of whatever His called and sent ones need.

God is what God is. God is the unique self-existing One. Everything else comes and goes, but God remains. We are not, but God and God alone, always is.

Before anything else came into existence, God was. After so many things have passed out of existence, God will still be. God was, God is, and God will be.

As the self-existing One, God is the reality of every positive thing. The Gospel of John revelas that He is all we need; Life, light, food, drink pasture, the way.

This is an amazing thing to come upon and realize. Heaven and earth may pass away, but God will not. If you only believe in God, everything will be all right. You have your many riches, your health, and your flesh now, but some day those will cease to exist. However, God will still be there. You may have your weaknesses now, but those will be gone as well. Do not believe either in your weakness or in your strength for both your weakness and your strength will pass away. However, when they are gone, God will continue to be the One who is.

Acts 19:11-12 And God did works of power of no ordinary kind through the hands of Paul, / So that even handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and their diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out.

Many times, we see God as the almighty One. However, Jehovah God is neither able or mighty, and at the same time He is both. Many instances in the Bible, God has shown Himself to believers and some of those times he was the almighty one. Paul healed many people, and even the handkerchiefs that had been in touch with him could heal others.

Other times he wasn't able nor almighty in any way. When Paul was to be martyred, God did not show his greatness by breaking down the walls and setting Paul free. Rather, Paul just stayed and believed in Him, which gave Paul his strength and comfort. He does nothing to show His power, nor help us. However, Even when God apparently does nothing for us, we should still believe in Him as the One who is. If we know God as the One who is, we shall be greatly encouraged, especially during difficult times. To know God as the One who is, brings us into a deeper understanding and knowing of who He is.

Three Signs of Being Called and Sent by God: The Blood-turned Waters (3/3)

Exodus 4:9 And if they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, then you shall take some of the water of the River and shall take some of the water of the River and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you take out of the River will become blood upon the dry ground.

The meaning of the third sign, the sign of the water becoming blood, is that in the eyes of God all the earthly supply and worldly enjoyment (the water of the Nile) are nothing but death (blood). The water of the Nile represents our earthly dependency and enjoyment of worldly and earthly supply. All the supply, enjoyment and entertainment are death. In order to realize this, we need to pour the water of the Nile upon the dry land. Dry land being the source of from which life is produced (Gen 1). When they are poured out on that which produces life (the ground), immediately the death is exposed.

Exodus 78:44 And He turned their rivers into blood, As well as their streams, so that they could not drink.
Exodus 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.

The very supply of that the world affords us is death. To the people of the world, the water in the Nile is wonderful, it irrigates the land of Egypt. However, the called one must see what the water really is.

Gen 9:11-13

Gen 9:11-13 ...I establish My covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living animal that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My bow in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.

God Himself is faithfulness. He is faithful to His word, and His word is His covenant. His faithfulness will remain forever.

Three Signs of Being Called and Sent by God: The Leprous Hand (2/3)

Moses, in his being called and sent by Jehovah to speak to Pharaoh about releasing His people, had no confidence in himself to carry out the will of God. Which made Moses the right person to send out, for our God is seeking for those who rely only unto Him and nothing of the flesh.

God gave Moses three signs at which he would show Pharaoh that Moses was the chosen on. Signs that not only Pharaoh, but people living on the earth need to take heed and listen to. These signs were to provide proof that Jehovah is really the one speaking through Moses, and that Moses is carrying out God's will.

The first sign was the staff turning into a serpent. The staff is a representation of all that we rely on apart from God. The staff is the devil in disguise trying to usurp us into not relying on our God, but of our own strengths and abilities. The staff turning into the serpent is to show the devil hiding in these things we hold on to so dearly. If we aren't taking the snake by the tail and are using our "staff" for any other purpose other than God's will and authority, then we are being used by the devil. That was the first sign to be revealed.

Exodus 4:5  That they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.

God is God. There is no other, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are all one God, Jehovah. He has shown Himself to Moses, and has given three signs to prove that He is who He is. The first was the staff, the second was the leprous hand; The hand becoming leprous.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died; / and He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised.

In this verse, Paul does not speak of living for the Lord, by the Lord or with the Lord; instead, he speaks of living to the Lord. To live to Christ is to take Him as the aim of our living. In everything we do - at home, at work, or in the church life - Christ should be our unique aim.

Three Signs of Being Called and Sent by God: The Staff (1/3)

Exodus 4:1 Then Moses answered and said, What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice, but say Jehovah has not appeared to you?

Moses was called by God and sent out to speak on His behalf to Pharaoh so that His people would be set free. But Moses, had a little bit of doubt that Pharaoh would listen to him. In his 40s Moses relied very much on his natural strength and boldness. He was said to have been "powerful in his words."

Acts 7:22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and works.

40 years after, when Moses was 80 and ready for death, God came to him.

Christ: The Slave of God and Man

In the Gospel of Mark we get a clear view of Christ in His humanity and His divinity. In His human living Christ took the form of a slave, serving God and men. He was a slave not only to God but also to man. The Lord Jesus lived on earth as a slave.

Before moving on, we must not forget, and be reminded that Christ is God! Christ was God mingled with Man. 

Christ is God! 

The Slave

Mark 10:44 And whoever wants to be first among you shall be the slave of all

This is a confusing verse, isn't it? How can a slave of all be first among the many?

The Prophet

Exodus 7:1 And Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made you God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

God created man in his likeness so that he may be His continuation, expansion and expression on the earth. The first man was given everything, and all he needed to do was enjoy all that God has made and given to him on earth. Man failed.

Psalms 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail

Psalms 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

"When we have God as our portion, we have not only light, life, water, and all the benefits these bring us, but we have the very God Himself." (Crystallization-Study of Exodus Vol. Three p. 362)

Colossians 1:17 And He is before all things, and all things cohere in Him;

When we declare God as our portion, we gain him in our spirits. He becomes a part of us as we eat the Word, and keep it. When in doing so, we can have a great revelation that everything is in God, and God is everything. 

As long as we have Him, we have everything. It's such a blessing to have God as our portion; because of this we are able to receive the many rich blessings through our eating of the Word. When receiving God as our portion, we come to realize that the world has nothing to offer to us, but in God we gain everything.

Psalms 73:25 Whom do I have in the heaven but You?! And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth.

He must be practical to us. We must be near, and open up to Him. In order for God to be our portion, He must be very practical, present, enjoyable, and available. We need to see that He is everything, and everything is God. We need to know that He is with us and available in our spirits. He just wants us to enjoy His blessings, to be near to Him, to abide in Him.

In our inner beings, we believe unto Him, and He will be our portion. Though we cannot see Him with our own eyes, in our inner beings, when we declare such a thing, He will become very real to us. We can enjoy and touch something very real.

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

We may have God as our portion today, but if we do not continue to keep the Word, we will fall back into the fallen man. The outer man, our flesh, is weak. Our hearts may fail, but like the psalmists, if we declare that God is the rock of our hearts and our portion daily, He becomes our reality and from Him we receive light and life. By our reading, eating of, and breathing in of the Bible, can we gain the Lord in our inner being and gain Him as our daily portion.

Lamentations 3:23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Psalms 119:103 How sweet Your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Simply enjoying the Word, is all we need. From the morning when we wake and cry out to Him, "Abba! Father!"  He must be practical, present, enjoyable and available to us so that we may gain Him and He may gain us, moment by moment, day by day. 

Lamentations 3:24 Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; Therefore I hope in Him.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed...

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Every word in the Bible are the words given to us by God. In the span of 1600 years, the Bible, consisting of 66 books, was written by about 40 different people. However, although written by a number of persons, every word that comes out from the Bible is the Word of God. Meaning that it was the man writing the words, but it was not their words but God speaking through them.

The Bible refers to God's breathing several times as

The One New Man

Welcome to what I hope to become a daily blog of the living Word of God.

I am Jason, a believer and lover of Christ, our Lord. A Philippines-born, Filipino-American, who was raised in the Bay Area of California from the age of 6.

I was born and raised in the Catholic churches, and have lost my way somewhere in my living as a man. The enjoyment of the Holy Spirit's dispensing was not there. I wandered, lost in the wilderness, in the fleshly world. I enjoyed the world through the flesh of man, but found no enjoyment in my inner being. I did not have God with me.