Category Archives: BIBLE STUDY

NOT wearied out through fear! #godindaily life, #thebibleindailylife

“ Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16, AMPC)

Desperate – again.  For thirty minutes I stayed in bed, eyes closed, listening to “Faith’s Checkbook”, a powerful book of devotions by Charles Spurgeon. Then I got up, dressed fast, and went into the kitchen to feed Lily. Next to the sink was the sheet of paper with Psalm 100 printed on it. After some desperate prayer, I had put it there the night before to remind myself to return, with focus, to my habit of meditating on a fresh portion of Scripture each day.

Not stopping for Lily’s usual brushing and morning playtime, I went directly to the rocker by the window, picked up my AMPC Bible and held it to my chest. I pressed it tight against me, feeling the roughness of its cover with my thumb, looking out into tree branches where sparse autumn leaves reflected the slanting rays of the morning sun. I pressed my eyes closed, shutting out the world, focusing with all my might on God, the Unseen Eternal One.

“. . . I will not, in any degree . . . relax My grip on you. [Assuredly not!] (Hebrews 13:5. AMPC)

“Oh, Father! I am so tired of everything being messed up and so confusing! I don’t know what to do about this latest batch of problems. I am so afraid, about so many things lately. I am just afraid and everything looks so hopeless. I don’t see any way out of all this. . . “

Tears came then, the tears that had not come during the past week or so of car trouble, other bills, and hiatal hernia symptoms that require radical rearranging of how, when and what I eat and how I exercise and sleep, and on and on. I had allowed the multiple problems, all at the same time—the “cares of this life”—to stop my practice of daily meditating on a new Bible verse or passage. Oh, I had still kept repeating the verses I already know but I had not taken time with God to find new verses for meditation each day. Furthermore, I had let His fresh words for me “depart from before my eyes.” I had not kept His fresh manna “In the center of my heart.” (Proverbs 4: 21, AMPC)

But yet, in spite of all that, God had never, no never, no never once “relaxed His hold on me.” And when I got desperate enough, and sought Him with all my heart, He found me.

“29 But if from there you will seek (inquire for and require as necessity) the Lord your God, you will find Him if you [truly] seek Him with all your heart [and mind] and soul and life.” (Deuteronomy 4:29, AMPC)

Encouragement for you and for me.  That was this morning. The long shadows of late afternoon now stretch across the grass. The trees outside my east-facing window stand in deep shade. My heart is, once again, blessedly at peace. No, the problems are not all fixed but I am completely confident and trusting that God will keep me in His peace as we walk this path together, and as I keep my mind fixed on His Word and other eternal things, rather than the “light and momentary” troubles of this life on earth.

“10 And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity].” (Psalm 9:10, AMPC)

It has lately been on my heart to write a blog post about encouragement. I know you have your own set of personal troubles. I also believe that you are probably having more than the usual amount of difficulty just living your life. The enemy is desperately trying to destroy our world and, of course, especially those who believe in and live for Jesus.

Let’s look again at the first part of 2 Corinthians 4:16 and take warning.

“Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). “(2 Corinthians 4:16a, AMPC, emphasis added).

The reason I grew so discouraged and allowed Satan to drag me out of the good path I was following with God is that fear had “wearied me out”. I had become, in a sense, spiritless, living controlled by fear, not by the Spirit. And that had worn me out. That is Satan’s plan for each of us.

Please, please, please meditate on God’s Word!  Although this world is filled with “troubles, trials, distress, and frustration” (John 16:33), God has provided a sure way of escape from all the plans of the enemy. When we obey God with all our heart, and when we meditate day and night on His word, we live continually in the secret place of His presence, and we are safe.

That is what I have been wanting to remind you of, dear friend. No matter how dark the world seems to be getting, no matter how your personal world seems to be crumbling, God is earnestly looking to keep you in hope and comfort and peace and security and aware of His great love.

 And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!” (Isaiah 30:18, AMPC, emphasis added).

In Proverbs 4:20-22 God urges us to think on His Word constantly. He says:

“. . . attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings.21 Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart.22 For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.to keep His Word before our eyes

Four verses that never, ever, no never fail me. What I intended to be a short piece of writing is, as usual, getting longer. But the main thing I wanted to share with you is four verses that I have been meditating on first thing in the morning and throughout the day for months now. It is like putting on a suit of spiritual armor. His Word–my protection and provision—keeps me covered in His peace and guides my steps.

[1] Habakkuk 3:17-19. “17 Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!

19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!”

a grassy field with mountains in the backgroundPhoto by www.dreamstime.com “Endless Landscapes of Iceland”

Briefly, notice that the prophet is saying that even if his whole world falls apart, still he will not only rejoice in God, but he will exult in God. Why? Because God will be his strength, his bravery, and his army that cannot be conquered. God will enable him to keep moving forward and make progress in his spiritual life in the midst of danger troubles, sufferings, and responsibilities. (For more thoughts on this passage, see the blog posts “Yet I will rejoice” on August 15 and 29, 2024.)

[2] Psalm 28:7. “The Lord is my Strength and my [impenetrable] Shield; my heart trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him.” (emphasis added)

Notice that the psalmist uses his voice to praise God and His loving protection. Then he says because I trust in God, with confidence, I am very happy, and I sing praises to Him.

[3] Psalm 32:10. “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he who trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on the Lord shall be compassed about with mercy and with loving-kindness.” (emphasis added).

How many mornings have I sat and looked at these words! How many mornings have I said, “Lord, thank You! This verse promises me that if I trust in You, rely on You and lean on You with confidence that You will completely encircle me with mercy and with lovingkindness. Everything I experience will come through Your mercy and loving kindnesses.”

[4] Psalm 33:18-22.18 Behold, the Lord’s eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, 19 To deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

20 Our inner selves wait [earnestly] for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield.

21 For in Him does our heart rejoice, because we have trusted (relied on and been confident) in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You.” (emphasis added)

The psalmist reassures himself that God is carefully watching over those who have reverential and worshipful fear of Him, those who depend upon Him and wait for Him and His mercy and lovingkindness. Why is God doing that? To deliver them from death and things associated with death, like discouragement, and to sustain them during times of lack (or famine.)

Though they are hidden in my heart, it is a deep comfort to read these these verses each morning, and pay fresh attention to the words I have underlined in red, words that show me my part in all these priceless promises.

My part is to trust in, rely on, and lean on Him with confident expectation, actively knowing in my mind that He is protecting me and actively trusting He will give all that I need for this day, “in proportion to my waiting and hoping for Him.”

Closing prayer. Dear Father, Your Word is such a comfort and guide! Thank You for it, Lord, and for teaching us how to study it and “rightly divide it,” so that we may run in the path of Your commands, with the strength and joy that Your presence never, no never, no never fails to give.

Help us this day, Lord, as we go about our own personal life to know, perceive and recognize that You are with us, that You are carefully, lovingly watching over us. Oh, have mercy on our flesh, Lord, and help our hearts be undivided toward You. Help us feed on Your Word so that we may be able to trust in You, to lean on You, and to rely on You so that You can help our heart and we can greatly rejoice in You!

Whether our path today be through storm or sunshine, keep our hearts and minds fixed on You and on things above, where Christ is seated at Your right hand, Father, and through Whose shed blood we have forgiveness of sin and the power to live a holy life as we fulfill the plans You made for each of us when we were yet in the womb.

Oh, Father! Give us a hunger for Your Word. Help us keep it before our eyes and in the center of our heart. Help us guard our hearts, for we know that out of our heart, flow the issues of our life (Proverbs 4). Let rivers of living water flow from our inmost being so that we may share with others that eternal life that only You can give. Amen and so be it!

aerial photography of sea cloudsPhoto by Emmanuel Appiah on Unsplash

How much love is enough? Part Three, #godindailylife, #thebibleindailylife

But if one loves God truly
[with affectionate reverence,
prompt obedience, and
grateful recognition of His blessing],
he is known by God
[recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love,
and he is owned by Him]. (I Corinthians 8:3, AMPC)

Review of Part One and Two: In Parts One and Two we pondered the meaning of the first two phrases of 1 Corinthians 8:3 in the Amplified Classic Bible. We learned that God wants us to be reverent toward Him. We also learned that He wants that reverence to be affectionate. Jesus actually told us when He ate the Last Supper with His disciples to “call Him affectionately to remembrance” whenever we take the Lord’s Supper.

Part Three: I usually try to balance how much space I give to each part of a topic. So, when the phrase “affectionate reverence” took so many words, I got a bit concerned. I did not have that many ideas in mind to talk about “prompt obedience and grateful recognition of His blessing.”  Then I realized that prompt obedience and grateful recognition of God’s blessing both flow naturally from affectionate reverence.

assorted-color interlocking blocks on floorPhoto by Mark Spiske on Unsplash

Prompt obedience.  “Come on Ben. You need to get dressed so we can go to the park.”

“In a minute, Nana. I’ve got to finish this!”

I looked at my grandson, digging through a bucket of Leggos for just the right piece. His attention was focused on his immediate goal not my long-term one of giving him and his brother exercise and fresh air for the good of their bodies. He was focusing on what was giving him pleasure right now, not on the greater good I had in store for him and his brother.

How many times, I must ask myself, has God told me to do something (which is always, always, always for my good) and I have put off obeying Him? How many times have I said I should do this or I should stop doing that and failed to follow through, though I had good intentions. And, how many times have I intended to obey God about something and then forgot, until I heard it again?

You have likely heard that “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” James 4:17 warns us “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (NLT). If I read the Scriptures about tithing, and put it off, I am disobeying until I obey. If I read 2 Timothy 2:15 and still my only time with the Bible is a quick, superficial reading, I am not obeying God’s command to study the Word.

How do our good intentions get side-tracked so easily? Consider James 1:22.   “ Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (NIV)

Pay attention here! The Word says I deceive myself if I hear something in the Bible that I am supposed to do and I do not do it. How does that work? I may feel I am doing well if I listen to preaching and read the Bible a little. And certainly, I think, I am doing well if I actually study the Word. Yes, that is good. However, if I stop there I am deceiving myself. I must actually do what the verses I have read and studied tell me to do! I am to obey God and obey Him promptly!

Consider the next three verses in James 1.

23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,  and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (NIV, emphasis added)

When a child learns the ABCs, that child is urged to keep looking at the correct way to write an a. Each line of the worksheet begins with a properly written a.  When a carpenter needs ten 12-inch pieces of wood, he does not cut one piece and then use it to measure the next nine pieces. No! He uses the ruler and measures each piece carefully. He keeps going back to and using an accurate measurement.

If I do not keep looking intently into God’s Word, which, like a mirror, reveals my imperfections, I will go on my way and think I am doing well. If I rub my hand over my cheek, I may think I have removed a smudge, but a mirror will reveal it is still there.

person holding yellow pencil on white table

Friend, we need to be constantly looking hard and long – intently – into the mirror of God’s Word so that we can see and keep in our conscious minds what He says to do. If we do not do that, the world, our flesh and the devil will draw us out of the path of obedience.

And what about being prompt in our obedience? If I feel affection for someone, I am quick to do whatever I can to help them and to please them. My heart is open toward them. Work on drawing closer to God and you will naturally be quicker to obey Him. Spiritual growth is progressive. God does not expect mature behavior from new believers. However, He tells us clearly to press in and seek to grow into maturity. Maturity includes obeying promptly.

Grateful recognition of His blessing. Notice the text says “grateful recognition.”  If I recognize, or accurately identify, that something is a blessing, how much does it mean if I do not do so with gratitude?  When I admonish one grandson to tell his brother thank you for voluntarily taking his turn feeding the cats so he can finish a project, I might hear an absent-minded “Thank you.” His tone of voice says he does not really mean it. However, a spontaneous, sincere “Thank you!” rings out when his brother shares the last unclaimed cookie on the plate.

A while back I began thanking God for (seemingly) little things–food to eat, the clothes on my back, the little flock of brown sparrows flitting out of the bushes as I walk by, the serendipity of hearing a praise song on the radio at just the right moment.  Gratitude for “little” things has become a habit but sometimes I realize my mind is not on the thing I am giving thanks for and that I am not consciously speaking to God. That always stops me. I stop and ask God’s forgiveness, then continue with a sincere heart. That is when true gratitude bubbles up from within and brings that peace that is beyond what we can understand or explain.

The longer I know God, the more I get frustrated with my own ingratitude and complaining. If I have eyes to see, I perceive, every single day, showers of blessings on my life and the lives of those around me. This truth holds for everyone in every circumstance. “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created]. (Psalm 145:9, AMPC) And God’s mercies “begin afresh every morning.” (Lamentations 3:23, NLT)

Gratitude brings us nearer to God. Another reason God tells us to have grateful hearts is that we come into His presence when we offer Him our thanks. Consider Psalm 100:4-5.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. (NIV)

When you give sincere thanks to God, you step into the outer part of His sanctuary. Then when you start thinking about His wonderful qualities, you begin praising Him, putting into words how very, very good He is. You are drawing nearer to the mercy seat. And how does God want us to approach Him? Timidly? Like a dog slinking forward? No!

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16, NIV, emphasis added)

In Part Four, we will explore how the last phrase of 1 Corinthians 8:3 fits with Hebrews 4:14-16. Until then, ponder these two passages of God’s Word. Ask Him to show you the connections between them.

two brown birds on green grass during daytimePhoto by Andrian Rubinskiy on Unsplash

 

How much love is enough? Part Two, #godindailylife, #thebibleindailylife

carrots on brown wooden chopping boardPhoto by Simona Sergi on Unsplash

Part Two: In Part One, we began pondering the meaning of 1 Corinthians 8:3:

But if one loves God truly
[with affectionate reverence,
prompt obedience, and
grateful recognition of His blessing],
he is known by God
[recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love,
and he is owned by Him]. (I Corinthians 8:3, AMPC)

We learned that God wants us to be affectionate with Him.  For example, when Jesus was sharing a meal with His disciples for the last time, He asked them to remember Him with affection whenever they ate the bread and drank the wine.

Becoming more affectionate. In Part One, I shared that being affectionate with God did not come naturally to me at first because I had an overly formal attitude toward God. However, as I kept trying God kept helping. One big help was the little book “The Practice of the Presence of God”, written in the 17th century by a friar called Brother Lawrence. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It helped me overcome the last remnants of over-formality with God.

In this dynamo of a book, Brother Lawrence talks about chatting with the Lord while he worked in the monastery’s kitchen, for example. He said,

“. . . during any daily duty, lift your heart to Him (God), because even the least little remembrance will please Him. You don’t have to pray out loud; He’s nearer than you can imagine. . . We can make our hearts personal chapels where we can enter anytime to talk to God privately. These conversations can be so loving and gentle, and anyone can have them” (page 36).

Slowly, I began talking to God more and more during the day, finding that as I drew near to God, He drew near to me (James 4:8) and that He was with me when I was with Him (2 Chronicles 15:2). I also found my feelings of affection for the Lord growing.

It works! It took a long time, with countless failures and trying again. However, continually seeking His moment-by-moment presence as Brother Lawrence suggested has brought deep settled peace and the confidence that my loving Heavenly Father will always, always, always help me find His presence and regain my peace, no matter what I do or what happens around me.

We can be confident He will come closer to us as we try to come closer to Him. He reassures us in I John 5:14-15 that:

 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him” (NIV).

If there is any doubt in your mind about this, it is from the enemy and is designed to keep you from your rightful place with God. Lift up the shield of faith and take the sword of truth in hand. Keep pressing on and pressing in until you reach the promised land of delighting yourself in His presence!

God is affectionate with us. Beloved, God says He “. . . cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully.” I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and He cares about you watchfully.”(emphasis added)

This is not the only place in the Bible where God clearly shows His affection and the depth of His love for us. As you pursue your daily personal Bible study, make note of these places and imprint them on your heart, i.e., memorize them! Some of my favorites include particular verses in Psalm 139, Psalm 136, John 3, John 14, Joshua 1, Isaiah 26, 2 Chronicles 14, and Ephesians 3. The Bible overflows with God’s love. It is, indeed, God’s love letter to us, as someone once said.

Ask, seek, and knock. If you ask, God will show you how to love Him more affectionately. It will be as individual as your fingerprints.

Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.

For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened. (Matthew 8:7-8, AMPC)

What about reverence? Let’s turn our attention to the word reverence.   God tells us in numerous places in the Bible that we are to revere, or fear, Him. One of the best known verses is Deuteronomy 10:12:

12 “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (NASB)

Reverence means “fear, mingled with respect or esteem” (Webster’s 1828 online dictionary). Fear is a strong emotion caused by awareness that something can hurt you. We are to be aware of Who God is and treat Him with respect and admiration. And we are to do that with affection.

As I ponder this, I think of how my grandsons rough housed with their papa when they were very little. They would launch themselves at him as he sat on the couch, squealing with delight when he gently pinned them down, crowing with victory when they escaped his strong arms, then turning around and jumping on him again.

Obviously, as humans and animals alike do, they would have felt that instinctive caution upon being near a larger, manifestly stronger being. But my grandsons knew their papa as gentle, loving, and tender as well as strong and protective. They had a personal knowledge of their papa’s love and kindness.

man in blue long sleeve shirt carrying baby in white onesiePhoto by Natasha Ivanchikhina on Unsplash

Although my grandsons knew their papa was much stronger and bigger and that they had to do what he said, they also had experience and acquaintance with his mercy and they confidently played with him because he had always done good for them. Psalm 9:10 says something similar about the believer who understands God’s nature.

10 And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity (Psalm 9:10, AMPC, emphasis added).

How to get acquainted with Gods’ mercy, love and kindness. So, how do we get to know God well enough to be affectionately reverent? How do we acquire that experience and acquaintance with His mercy, love, and kindness? The Word tells us that God is with us when we are with Him. (2 Chronicles 15:2). The Word also promises that “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11-b, AMP).

If you ask, God will show you how being affectionate with Him looks in your life. Perhaps you could start by thinking of the person whom you most cherish and are most comfortable being with. How do you talk with them? How do you approach them? How often do you think about them during the day?

I strongly recommend reading the psalms out loud with the Lord. Read them slowly, thinking about each phrase. Read them with love in your voice. Read them realizing that God is right there with you, listening to you. Some psalms that especially address intimacy with the Lord are: Psalm 25, 63, 139, 18 and 71.

Read these and other psalms, consciously knowing that God loves you dearly, and He longs for your close fellowship with Him day by day, hour by hour. You are His treasure, and He delights in you, yes you, exactly as you are at this moment. He has written your name in the palms of His hands. He can no more forget you than a nursing mother can forget her infant. Your voice is pleasant to Him. He wants to share each moment of your life with you.

Would a mother turn away from her toddler who wants to sit in her lap and just be cuddled? Does a lover turn his face away when his beloved smiles at him?

Jesus will never, no never, reject one who comes to Him. Consider now the words of Jesus in John 6:37.

All whom My father gives (entrusts) to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me] (AMPC)

Do you see how God emphasizes that He will never, no never, reject anyone who comes to Him? He says He will “most certainly no cast out” such a person. That includes you. Do you want to be closer to God? All you have to do is ask.

silhouette photo of man on cliff during sunsetPhoto by Zac Durant on Unsplash

In Part Three, we will continue exploring 1 Corinthians 8:3, beginning  with the phrase “prompt obedience.”

 

How much love is enough? Part One, #godindailylife, #thebibleindailylife

a window with a tree outside of it

Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash

Note:  Part of this blog post comes from the March 26, 2020, blog post “Are you affectionate with God?”  Part was drafted but not posted on December 26, 2023, when I asked myself, “How much love is enough?” on a cold December morning . . .

A persistently returning lie. “I am thinking again that You are mad at me. Again!” I sighed with pencil poised above the clipboard holding a thick stack of looseleaf notebook paper in my lap, slowly rocking back and forth. The air here near the window was pleasantly cold. Staring into the darkness of the December morning, I shook my head.

Again that silly feeling comes up. Why, Lord?” I asked, “Why does that feeling still surface when I know it is a lie? You have shown me so many times when I have lapsed into a works attitude, the attitude that I have to work hard to stay in Your favor and Your love. Will some part of my heart always forget the blessed truth in Ephesians 2:8-10, that we are saved and live a righteous life because of grace, not because of what we do?”

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. (NLT).

As I continued journaling with God in the early morning chill that penetrated the walls–which this native-Floridian-turned-Texan prolongs by keeping the heater turned off–some answers came.

What led to hearing that lie? It had been a busy week, making final preparations for Christmas, fitting physical therapy appointments in, and spending as much time as possible with my grandsons while they were out of school. All this, though good, had meant I spent less than the usual time with my personal spiritual disciplines, like prayer, Bible study, Bible reading and just being with the Lord.

“That’s where the false guilt came in, isn’t it, Lord? And that’s when I subconsciously began thinking You don’t love me as much because I am not doing the things I think I should do for You and with You. And the guilt and the lie grew with each passing, busier than usual day.”

I paused, cradled the warm mug in my hands, took a sip of tea, inhaled the apple-ish, vaguely floral scent of chamomile, and looked out the window again.

“Hmm. . . maybe this should be a blog post. I definitely need to study this subject for myself. I only have an hour before I have to leave for the gym and another busy day, so I don’t have time to get into work on the book, and my bank of ready-to-post blogs is empty. Do I know any Scriptures that speak to this problem?”

What will destroy that lie? Immediately I thought of First Corinthians 8:3, the only new verse I had meditated on this past week. I walked to the middle of the front room, the big countertop—the command center, so to speak, of my blessed little home, the place where I keep to-do lists and verses I am meditating upon–and picked up the half-sheet of paper from its place by the sink. Spattered dishwater had made wrinkled spots on it, as numerous as summer freckles. I read:

But if one loves God truly

[with affectionate reverence,

prompt obedience, and

grateful recognition of His blessing],

he is known by God

[recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love,

and he is owned by Him]. (I Corinthians 8:3, AMPC)

“Hmm, Lord. I think You are saying I need to study on this phrase by phrase. Yes, I see that the amplifying phrases in the AMPC show what to truly love You actually means.”

“but If anyone truly loves God” – true love for fellow believers, true love for God.    Before I began studying word by word and phrase by phrase,  I briefly got the context for the book, then the chapter. Paul wrote First Corinthians to the church in Corinth, a wicked city where the wickedness made it hard for believers to live a Christ-like life. Paul addressed many problems, scolding the Corinthians believers for their errors and teaching them how they should be living. Chapter Eight (part of the section on Christian rights and responsibilities) addresses food sacrificed to idols, as the NIV labels this section.

Verse 3 is tucked in as a parenthetical aside, a little side comment, where Paul says all of us (meaning him and the Corinthian believers) understood about idols, that they are really nothing. But Paul explains that having knowledge, for example about the true nature of idols, can make you feel important, but love will lead you to build others up. Paul warns that if you think you know all the answers, you really do not know “as you ought to know.” (I Corinthians 8:2, NIV). In the rest of the chapter, Paul explains that if you really act in love toward your fellow believers, you will not do anything that will make them stumble in their walk with Christ.

For the Corinthians, that meant they would not eat meat sacrificed to idols if it would lead new believers who did not yet fully realize that idols were nothing to also eat such meat and thereby sin against their conscience.

The whole chapter is about acting in love toward our fellow believers. That is why Paul starts the chapter by contrasting how love and pride affect our behavior.  Perhaps that is why he puts that little-but-big statement in verse 3 about what truly loving God is. Perhaps pondering what a believer’s true love for another believer looked like led Paul to ponder what a believer’s true love for God looked like.

“But if one loves God truly, (with affectionate reverence . . . ” Part of truly loving God truly is having affectionate reverence toward Him. Let’s consider the word affection first. Webster’s 1828 online dictionary defines affection as:

“a permanent bent of the mind, formed by the presence of an object, or by some act of another person, and existing without the presence of its object. It also means “a settled good will, love or zealous attachment; as, the affection of a parent for his child.”

God’s Word tells us to be affectionate with Him.  A quick search reveals the word “affection” or “affectionately” appears 55 times in the AMPC, most of which appear in the psalms”.  After the words bless the Lord, we see [affectionately and gratefully praise]. The words in brackets are amplifying words that show what people in Bible times would automatically have thought when they heard the words “Bless the Lord.”

(By the way, a similar search for the word “affection” in the KJV, NASB, NIV, and the NLT shows that it appears between seven and ten times. However, in no instance is “affection” used in speaking of our love for God. I rarely used the AMPC until recent years. How I wish I had heard this idea before!)

Luke 7:36-50 gives a clear example of what affection for God is. Mary gave Jesus her very best as she kissed His feet, washed them with her tears, dried them with her hair and anointed them with costly perfume.

“… and as she stood behind Him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.”(verse 38).  In verse 45, the AMPC says that Jesus told the Pharisee that Mary had, from the moment He came into the room not stopped kissing His feet “tenderly and caressingly.”

Reading the whole story as recorded in Luke 7:36-50 and Mark14:3-9, shows us that Jesus obviously approved of the affectionate way Mary demonstrated her love for Him. To the self-righteous people who criticized and said the perfume on His feet was a waste.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus said, “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. . . I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. (Mark 13:6, 9, NIV)”

Today, you and I can likewise show God our affection by giving our best effort, for Him, all day, in whatever we are doing. (“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”, Ecclesiastes 9:10a, NIV). We also give Him our best by loving Him with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

An awesome reason to be affectionate. Next, notice that, in 1 Corinthians 11:24, during the Lord’s Supper, when Jesus had given thanks, He broke the bread, and said “Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.” And He repeats His request when the wine is taken, in verse 25. “Similarly, when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.” Every time I take the Lord’s Supper, Jesus wants me to remember Him with affection.

I knew that believers observe the Lord’s supper to honor and respect Him by remembering His incomprehensible sacrifice for us. However, until I read this verse in the Amplified as I wrote this blog, I did not know that Jesus specifically asked us to remember Him with affection.

He could have, very appropriately, said to call Him to remembrance with respect and awe and fear. This is certainly part of the way we should approach God and it is the most basic, foundational way to think of God. But He clearly wants us to think of Him with affection, too. If you have deep respect and awe and appreciation for Who God is and what He has done for us, if you know Him well and pursue a close relationship with Him, eventually your love for Him will also include affection.

gray and black rocks

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I believe that Jesus was, as always, putting us above Himself here because He knew that thinking of the agony He endured for us could make us sad. I understand that because I would, if he were alive, affectionately kiss and hold my earthly father’s hands, hands roughened by years of operating heavy equipment, big strong hands covered with sun-bronzed skin and scars. I would gaze with fondness at the tan lines on his forehead and arms, acquired through decades of loving labor for his family. I would do the same for my mother’s soap roughened hands. And so, when I think about what Jesus did for me, I am affectionately grateful, and privileged to come so close to Him.

We are only affectionate with those we know intimately. Synonyms for intimate include private, personal, secret, innermost, cherished, familiar, dear, devoted, and deepest. Help us, Father, to be more intimate with You!

Being affectionate with the Lord might not come naturally at first. As a new believer in Jesus, I had an overly formal attitude toward Him. I had at least a measure of  proper reverence and fear (Deuteronomy 13:4, I Chronicles 16:25, Psalm 2:11) but I also had an unhealthy subconscious fear that I was not doing enough, fear that I was not worthy, and fear that God would one day abandon me because of that. Those wounded attitudes were caused by events in the past, obviously the work of the evil one, but God (whose power no foe can withstand, Psalm 91:1, AMPC) brought those hurts, with the shame and guilt, into the light of His love and forgiveness.

Over time, He helped me learn to ask Him into each moment of my day, including the undignified times (like exercising or scrubbing the bathroom) and times when I fail Him in my reactions to frustrations, like with traffic and technology. I began learning to practice the presence of the Lord.

In Part Two, we will continue exploring what true love for God is. Until then ponder First  Corinthians 8:3 and see what God shows you. 

But if one loves God truly

[with affectionate reverence,

prompt obedience, and

grateful recognition of His blessing],

he is known by God

[recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love,

and he is owned by Him]. (I Corinthians 8:3, AMPC)

Are you ready to vote?

a large american flag flying in the sky

Photo by Annerose Walz
on Unsplash

Are you registered to vote? If not, get busy!  The deadline to vote in Travis County, Texas, where I live, is October 7.  An astoundingly large percentage of believers do not vote. Please do not be one of them! If you do not vote in an election, you have, by default, voted for whoever wins that election.  Think about that.

Unsure if you are registered? Maybe it’s been a while since you voted. If you are not sure whether you are registered to vote, visit Can I Vote | NASS.  You can also contact your county’s tax office.

Are the people you know registered? Ask others if they are ready to vote. It only takes a few seconds to ask someone else if they are registered to vote. You can work that into a brief exchange with the person who sells you one bottle of aspirin at the drug store or the person who bags up your groceries. And certainly you can easily ask family and friends.

Being good citizens. Jesus taught that we are to be responsible citizens. Part of good citizenship is to pay taxes. In Matthew 17:24-27 Jesus demonstrated this aspect of being a good citizen. The NIV labels this portion of scripture “The Temple Tax.”

24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

26 “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

And in Mark 12:13-17, which the NIV Bible labels “Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar” is another example of where Jesus said to pay taxes.

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at Him.”

Another part of good citizenship for an American is to vote. Think about it. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren and our fellow citizens – and most importantly, to God!

boy in blue dress shirt standing on green grass field during daytime

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on Unsplash

Yet I will rejoice, Part Two, #godindaily life #theBibleindailylife

In Part One, we began exploring Habakkuk 3:17-19. We saw that we can choose to rejoice and trust God, and even be over-joyed in Him, even when all hope seems lost. We can do that because God, living within us, will be, or exist within us, as  our ‘strength, our personal bravery and our invincible army.” In Part Two, we will consider how He does that.

a grassy field with mountains in the background

Photo by Dreamstime.com on  Unsplash

17 Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!

19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! (Habakkuk 3:17-19, AMPC)

About that semicolon  in verse 19. . .  As we learned in school, a semicolon connects two independent clauses that are related. Though I have daily pondered upon this passage for months, I did not see the importance of that semicolon in verse 19 until writing this blog post.  That semicolon connects the things I need (strength, bravery and an army-size amount of help) with what God will do for each of those needs. He will give me strength to walk, He will make me brave, and He will enable me to make progress in the midst of trials.

“. . . He makes my feet like hinds’ feet. . . (Habbakkuk 3:19) ”  The term hinds’ feet is mentioned in 2 Samuel 22:34. On the day God delivered David from his enemies and Saul, David sang the 51 verses of 2 Samuel 22 to the Lord.  David’s words in that song are very similar to Psalm 18, in which verse 33 declares “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.” (AMPC)

Do you see where Habakkuk likely got the visual imagery for Habakkuk 3:19, the verse we are exploring? No doubt Habakkuk had reflected often upon David’s thoughts about hinds’ feet.

What does hinds’ feet mean? The hind symbolized “agility, swiftness, and surefootedness, indispensable qualifications in ancient warfare.” 2 Samuel 22:34 Commentaries: “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me on my high places. (biblehub.com).  God had gifted David with these and many more qualities essential to the life he would live for God, which included being a warrior in those ancient times.

The hind “is a picture also of the ability God gives His children to travel easily over the rough paths of life, and to feel at home among the difficulties of life. The hind enjoys the rough mountain terrain. She is sure-footed, she does not seek easy paths.” (Wilson’s Dictionary of Bible Types, 1957, p. 259).

white goat on large roc k

Photo by Nick Dunlap on Unsplash

God gives hinds, or deer and mountain goats, a hoof that is split, which enables them to grip; a hard outer part of the hoof that can dig into rock, with a soft bottom part that molds into the contours of the mountain; strong forequarters or shoulders; and an incredible sense of balance, among other things. If that is how God cares for them, how much more will He provide for us, oh we of little faith? (Matthew 6:30, Matthew 8:26).

“. . .  and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror] but to walk and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places of trouble, suffering or responsibility.” (Habakkuk 3:19, AMPC).  Mountain goats do not stand still in terror of obstacles or danger. With their strong feet and powerful forequarters, they can jump nearly 12 feet. With God, I have strength for each challenge, little or big. With God, I am empowered to walk and move forward, rather than letting fear immobilize me. With God, I can make progress, in both spiritual and earthly realms, in the thick of daily life’s ” troubles, sufferings and responsibilities.”

I believe all of us sometimes feel that the humdrum responsibilities of daily life are too much. But in God, we can move forward, one step at a time, one task at a time, with any challenge.

three white goats on rocky cliff

Photo by Chirag Saini on Unsplash

The dangerous heights. I like to think of Psalm 18:33 together with Habakkuk 3:19. Remember Psalm 18:33 says: “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.”

When we face personal troubles and when God is testing or training us, we are in dangerous times because we are, like mountain goats, in a potentially dangerous position. Because of our human weaknesses, we are in danger of turning away from God in such times. But God has provided all that we need to stand firm. Not only that but He has provided all we need to make progress in the very midst of those testings and trials.  “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3, NIV)”

We can also apply this principle to the dangerous times we live in as we see darkness trying to overcome the world. Believers world-wide are being tested and tried. Will we stand fast in our faith? Will we speak up for righteousness? Will we say homosexuality, transgenderism, anti-Semitism, and abortion are sin?

Will we do the things God shows us we can do personally to fight evil in our day? Will we educate ourselves on the issues, vote and encourage others to vote? Will we send emails and letters and call our government representatives? Will we participate in government and run for a local office or help at the voting polls?

We are in perilous times yet also the most glorious, victorious times of all time. God is exposing evil. He is awakening millions to eternal life. He is calling individual believers to a closer, stronger relationship with Him and He is calling believers to be salt and light.

Encourage yourself! To encourage ourselves, we can ponder all the dangers David faced. We can ponder all the victories God gave him, and we can—with God’s strength, His personal bravery and His mighty army—“walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8) We can live holy, consecrated lives, and we can do our part to influence the world around us. We can let the light of God’s truth and love shine into this present darkness. We can be that candle on a hill. We can be the salt and light Jesus commanded us to be in His first great sermon, the Sermon on the mount.

lighted candle

Photo by Jarl Schmidt on Unsplash

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16, NIV)

It is no accident that you and I are alive at this time. All the days of our life were ordained by God before one of them ever came to be. (Psalm 139:16) We have a part to play in the part of the world in which God has deliberately placed us.

With our eyes fixed on God, we can rely on Him to give us hinds’ feet, for our personal struggles and also for our nation and our world. We can be strong, we can move forward in the face of fear, and we can take our part in the invincible army of God.

You and I can fulfill Philippians 2:15-16 as we strive to:

“prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness], 16 holding out and offering to everyone the word of life. . .” (AMPC).

It is especially in hard places that we are positioned to shine as beacons for God.

So, I say to myself and to you: Set your heart to rejoice, to exult in the Lord and to shine!

Shine within your heart in your personal relationship with God. Love Him truly “[with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing]” (1 Corinthians 8:3a, Psalm 149:4, AMPC).

Shine into the darkness of this world. Like Gideon, go in the strength you have (Judges 6:14) and bring to the world the light that comes from understanding truth.

In the midst of dire personal and world circumstances, declare “Yet, I will rejoice! I will exult in the [victorious God] of my salvation! (Habakkuk 3:18, AMPC)

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Yet I will rejoice, Part One, #godindaily life #theBibleindailylife

P
a grassy field with mountains in the background

Photo by www.dreamstime.com “Endless Landscapes of Iceland”

17 Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!

19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! (Habakkuk 3:17-19, AMPC)

This Bible passage is one of several I rely upon when the enemy of our souls sends thoughts of discouragement or fear in an attempt to stop me from moving forward. They empower me to push through daily life, certain that God is with me, giving His strength for each tedious task, pleased that I keep my thoughts on Him and share each detail of ordinary days, prizing each shared moment as the mutual treasure and delight they are.

These words also carry me through times of dark adversity, personal as well as world-wide, like we are all facing now.

Brief background. The prophet Habakkuk warned God’s people living in Judah that judgement for their wickedness was coming. A time was coming when the Babylonians would take them captive. The first two chapters of Habakkuk are a dialogue between God and the prophet. Habakkuk did “not understand how God could use the Babylonians, who were even more wicked than the wicked Jews to bring judgement on God’s chosen people.”  (The 1984 New International Version of the Bible, p. 816.) The wicked Jews referred to were the Jewish leaders who were oppressing the poor.

Chapter Three is entitled “A prayer of Habakkuk.” It is a meditation with himself, an intercession for the church. In his commentary on Habakkuk 3, Matthew Henry says, “This prophet had found God ready to answer his requests and complaints before, and therefore now repeats his applications to Him. Because God has inclined his ear to us, we must resolve that therefore we will call upon him as long as we live.”  I can only say amen!

brown wooden barn in high ground at daytime

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Exploring Habakkuk 3:17-19 phrase by phrase. Notice that Habakkuk describes a circumstance where the figs, the fruit, the olive trees, the fields, the lambs and the cattle all fail.

“17 Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines,
[though] the product of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food,
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there are no cattle in the stalls,. . . “

He is talking about a time of famine and great distress because these six sources were the food supply for people in that region at that time.

These words tell me that even when everything falls apart, I can choose to be glad in the Lord. Why? Because God has answered me before and God’s Word, as well as my own personal experiences, demonstrate that He answers prayer.

“Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation.”  Ponder that word “yet”.  “Yet” is a conjunction meaning “nevertheless, notwithstanding, however.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary). It also means still, even so, or despite all of that. That “yet” connects the rest of the verse with what came before.

It takes an immovable stance of faith to trust God in truly desperate circumstances, just as Job did when he said “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15, NKJ). Though the situations we face are not as desperate or tragic as those of Habakkuk and Job, the appropriate response to our troubles is the same:  trust in God and rejoice, or be glad, in Him.

Trusting in Him enables us to rejoice. We can trust God in truly desperate circumstances if we understand His nature, if we “know His name.” “Those who know Your name trust in you, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:10, NIV).  Examine this verse in the AMPC.

10 And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity] (emphasis added).

Think back over the times you have clearly seen God’s mercy in your life and in others.  Read Bible passages that speak of God’s mercy for His chosen people, like Psalm 18, 46, 68, 81, and 105, 106 and 107 and Acts 7:2-53. That exact same all-powerful, all-knowing God is at work in your life. Pause and carefully consider that.

“I will rejoice, I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation.”  To rejoice is “To experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations.” (Webster’s 1828 dictionary)

girl picking gift in front of pre-lit tree

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But the prophet takes it a step further when he specifically says “I will exult.” Think about Christmas morning when you were a child. To exult is “to leap for joy; hence, to rejoice in triumph; to rejoice exceedingly, at success or victory; to be glad above measure; to triumph.” (Webster’s 1828 dictionary). That is to be beside yourself with joy, like when David danced before the Lord because finally the ark of the covenant was about to be brought to Jerusalem. David was exulting in triumph.

Habakkuk 3:8 in the AMPC includes the adjective victorious in brackets–“I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation.”  That is why, even in dire circumstances, we can be rejoice, we can exult, and we can be jubilant.  Our God is always, always, always victorious. Nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17).

Image result for free word art of beVerse 19: “The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery and my invincible army; . . . ”  One morning, a while ago now, Holy Spirit opened my heart to the light of truth in these words. He showed me that when I feel too weak for one more step, when I am afraid, or when I face something impossible, the loving God who lives within me (John 14:23, Galations 2:20) will be, or exist as, the strength I need.  My indwelling God will be, or exist as, the bravery I need. The One Who has made His home inside my heart will be, or exist as, my personal supernatural army that can never be defeated.

Words cannot express the peace and confidence in God I felt as these truths took root in my heart. I can only pray that you experience the same.

In Part Two, we will learn about the importance of that semicolon in Verse 19.

 

God’s Arsenal for Peace and Security, Revisited – Part Two

In Part One, we were reminded that the truths in God’s Word are our weapons for spiritual warfare. Some Bible verses in particular will keep us in peace and feeling secure if we keep those verses uppermost in our minds and hearts. We considered the benefits of meditating upon and memorizing God’s Word.

Part Two covers the following topics.

  • Why the AMPC?
  • God’s Word has power to change your heart and your life.
  • How does God’s Word change your heart?
  • As God’s truth increases in your heart, lies and darkness decrease.
  • A word of encouragement about meditating and memorizing.
  • God’s Arsenal for Peace and Security – List of Verses

Why the Amplified translation of the Bible? Here is the description of the Amplified translation from www.lockman.org, the publisher.

“The Amplified Bible is a Literal Equivalent translation that, by using synonyms and definitions, both explains and expands the meaning of words in the text by placing amplification in parentheses, brackets, and after key words. This unique system of translation allows the reader to more completely and clearly grasp the meaning as it was understood in the original languages. Additionally, amplifications may provide further theological, historical, and other details for a better understanding of the text.”

Image result for free picture of dog with a boneTo meditate means to ponder, consider, to roll something over and over in your mind, and to work at it like a dog works at a bone or a cow chews her cud.  Compare the translations of Isaiah 26:3-4 below.

  • NIV – “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast in You because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”
  • NKJ – “You will keep in perfect peace Whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever. For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”
  • NLT – “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You. Trust in the Lord always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal rock.”
  • AMPC – “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord – commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him—forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting rock—the Rock of Ages.”

Picture of All Punctuation MarksYou will see that the Amplified has more words than most other translations.  These “extra” words—those set off in dashes, braces, brackets and parentheses –are shades of meaning that the original readers of the Bible would have automatically understood when they heard that word or phrase. Slowly, carefully reading these phrases in the Amplified is one way to meditate. It slows the mind down and guides the thought process. If I meditate on Isaiah 26:3 in the NIV or the NKJ, for example, I will come up with my own ideas about what “perfect peace” and a “steadfast mind” and “trust” mean, but the “extra” words in the Amplified are, I believe, the first thoughts we should  dwell on as we meditate on a verse or passage because they are, I believe, levels of meaning that God intended when He inspired the writers of Scripture.

So, using the Amplified has two clear benefits for meditation. First, it will force you to slow down and spend more time as you meditate. Second, it will help your meditation uncover more completely, in my opinion, what God is saying in His Word.

One clear example is the word trust in Isaiah 26:3-4. Isaiah 26:3 tells us to trust in the Lord and verse 4 defines trust in the clarifying words of the Amplified, the words between dashes. Verse 4 says “So trust in the Lord—commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him—forever. . .”  That means to me that when I see God use the word trust, He means “to commit myself to Him, to lean on Him, and to hope confidently in Him.”  Using my own thoughts, I did not think of those three layers of meaning.

I suggest you try using the Amplified translation to memorize. If, after a sincere effort, you are not blessed then use a translation such as the New King James or New International. I also recommend using the Amplified Classic edition. Later editions leave out some of the amplifying phrases.

God’s Word has power to change your heart and your life. The power of God’s Word will “fix” your heart no matter if your problem is addiction, anger, self-control, loneliness, depression, or fear. Then, as your heart changes, your life will change.

Image result for public domain picture of judge with gavelHebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s Word is alive and full of power, and that it “judges the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (NIV) One thing that phrase means to me is that God’s Word in my mind enables me to discern, or to judge, whether thoughts and feelings in my heart are good or bad, true or false, beneficial or detrimental, holy or corrupted, whether they are from God or from the devil, and whether they lead toward life or lead toward death.

When I was deeply depressed and cowered down by fear, most of my thoughts were negative. The enemy and my own downtrodden heart generated thoughts and feelings of hopelessness and discouragement, day after day. Only when I began studying the Word for myself in my areas of need and then consciously kept those verses in my mind minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, did the healing begin.

The verses in “Your Basic Arsenal” are listed in the order in which I studied and then memorized them during that season. What I needed most when I first began was peace, so I kept repeating God’s promise to keep me in peace if I kept my mind fixed on Him (Isaiah 26:3).  The truth of that Word made the lies in my heart flee, little by little. The light of truth chases the darkness of lies away, just as dawn chases the darkness of night away (Proverbs 4:18).

How does God’s Word change your heart? Here is one example of how the Word changes hearts. Whispering SilhouetteIsaiah 26:3 is true. It is a fact that God will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts are fixed on Him. (NLT) But the enemy tries to make us believe things that are not true. He tries to make us believe his lies, just as he did with Adam and Eve. I became and stayed depressed because, although I knew a lot of the Word, the enemy shot lying thought arrows into my heart, thoughts like “I will always feel bad and stay depressed. God cannot heal me. I am too messed up. I have wasted too much time. I have disappointed God, and He is mad at me.” If you hear something often enough, you can start to believe it, even if it is not true.

But because God’s Word is “alive and full of power,” it is active, it operates in our hearts, it energizes our hearts, and it is effective in our hearts. (Hebrews 4:12, AMPC). As soon as I heard even one short statement of truth (for example, God will never fail me in any way), the light that comes from that truth drove away some of the darkness–immediately. As I kept repeating that truth and thinking about it, pondering what exactly it meant, more light came into my mind and then my feelings.

As I searched the Bible for verses about peace, God led me first to Isaiah 26:3 and Hebrews 13:5. I started trying to keep the truths in those verses in my mind, by reading them repeatedly, then by repeating them over and over all day long, day after day, and thinking about them phrase by phrase, thinking about what each phrase meant, what each word in the phrases meant.

Image result for free picture of dawnAs God’s truth increases in your heart, lies and darkness decrease. When we meditate on God’s truth, truth and light start to take up more space in our thoughts than lies, so that truth becomes dominant, or foremost.  That is like changing undrinkable salt water by adding more fresh water until it becomes drinkable. Really, it is more like a desalinization plant because the salt, or lie, is actually removed, not just diluted!

I believe that is one reason God tells us, many times, to think about His Word all day long. As we keep His Word in our mind, hour by hour, day by day, we begin to think about life and situations like God thinks about them because we have more of the truth about life and those situations in our hearts. We start to walk in truth, to live in truth, to think like God and to act in a godly way.

As we keep diligently studying the Word, building up our library of knowledge about life as it really is, as God explains it in His Word, we grow up spiritually and grow stronger, and we fall for Satan’s lies far less often.

A word of encouragement about meditating and memorizing. You do not have to actually memorize the verses, although it will benefit you more to do so. You will find that if you ponder, think about, and puzzle over what each phrase means, you will nearly have it memorized without even trying. If you have an especially  hard time memorizing I urge you to give it your best effort, with prayer, for at least a week, with just one verse. If you really feel you cannot memorize, then do work faithfully to at least develop the habit of meditating on a specific verse or two each day, hour by hour intentionally rolling it over in your mind.

Image result for public domain picture of workbootsI heard a story about a man who worked as a laborer, with no way to pause and read the Word of God during the long hours he labored with his hands and back. But that man deeply loved God and the Word, so he memorized what he could of one verse each morning and meditated on that all day. The pastor who told the story said that man had a deeper understanding of God’s Word than many of the formally educated pastors and theologians he knew. The point, to me, is:  try the best you can, with all your heart, to study the Word and God will make your efforts succeed. Study Psalm 1 and selah – pause to think about what it says!

Remember the table below “God’s Arsenal for Peace and Security” is available as a printable Word document on the Books and More tab at www.wordsofhopeandhealing.com.

“Grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 1:3, NIV)

Gods Arsenal for Peace and Security

Scripture Reference Key Thought – Memory Cue
Section One  
Isaiah 26:3 1. Peace
Hebrews 13:5 2. never fails
Isaiah 30:15 3. to return
Psalm 91 4. to the secret place.
Section Two
Lamentations 3:25-26 5.  God is good,
Genesis 28:15 6. He is near, so
Psalm 27:14 7. I can wait,
Isaiah 41:10 8. and not fear,
Psalm 94:12-15 9. And keep myself calm!
Section Three
John 16:33 10. I can be of good cheer!
Psalm 18:30-36 11. (because) God is perfect.
Psalm 1 12. I can think about Him all day.
Psalm 107 13. And I can thank Him.
Section Four
II Chronicles 15:2 14.  I will find Him
Philippians 4 15. as I rejoice, and
Psalm 103 16. and praise Him.
2  Chronicles 16:9 17. He longs to strengthen me.
See the “Books and More” page at www.wordsofhopeandhealing.com for a printable Word document of this table.

God’s Arsenal for Peace and Security, Revisited – Part One

The power of God’s Word– the power of Truth–renewed my mind (Romans 12:2) after a long season of severe depression. Although I had known the Lord for many years, I did not have the habit of meditating on His Word all day long. This post and the next show how God changed that, and how easily He can do the same for you.

This is a reprinting from October 1, 2020, nearly four years ago.  Through all this time, meditating on God’s Word has kept me free from depression. For sure, there have been emotional dips and seasons of feeling discouraged and afraid. But every time I returned to the habit of pondering the truths of God’s Word all day long, God gave me “again a settled place of quiet and safety.” (Jeremiah 15:19, AMPC). He has a settled place of quiet and safety for you, too.

Part One covers these topics:

  • God’s weapons for spiritual warfare.
  • Why these particular verses?
  • Why in this particular order?
  • How to use the key word sentences.
  • Why meditate?
  • Why memorize?

God’s weapons for spiritual warfare.  According to Webster’s online dictionary, https://webster-dictionary.org/definition/arsenal, an arsenal is a “military structure where arms and ammunition and other military equipment are stored and training is given in the use of arms.”

God’s Word contains every truth a child of God needs for victory in this world, and His Word trains us how to use those truths. His Word is a weapon, and it is also a place of training. His Word is an arsenal.

Diligently studying His Word equips you to “put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:11, NIV) The Word teaches you how to put on and use the pieces of spiritual armor God has prepared for us that include truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and “the sword the Spirit wields, which is the Word God.” (Ephesians 6:17, AMPC).

Image result for free picture of peaceWhy these particular verses? The verses given here are a fundamental part of the arsenal of God’s Word because they will help you fight for peace and for confidence that God loves you and will always take care of you. We all need peace, every day, and we all need confidence that God is with us and will take care of us.  These verses will help build that peace and that confidence. I discovered these verses as I searched the Word for healing from depression and for courage to face my everyday life.

Why in this particular order? When I began studying the Word for myself in my areas of personal need, I started studying verses about fear. However, I soon discovered that studying about peace helped more. While I studied, I selected the verse that seemed most comforting and meditated on that verse, phrase by phrase, all day long, until I nearly memorized it, which often took days. When I realized I was memorizing almost by accident as I meditated, I decided to try a bit harder and intentionally memorize the verses.

So, while memorizing the current verse, I kept studying, searching for Scriptures in my areas of need. Once I had a verse memorized, I went on to the next Scripture I had found during study time. Soon, I had a long chain of Scriptures I could play in my mind when negative thoughts and feelings threatened to steal my peace. But I forgot them when I did not have my list with me or when I could not take time to read it, for example, when driving.  What to do?

How to use the key word sentences.  As I kept trying to remember the list of verses, I saw that the key word or thought in each verse formed a sentence.  Look at the sample below. The left column gives the Scripture reference, and the right column gives the key word or thought of that Scripture. If you read straight down the right column, you will see that the key words form sentences, which are themselves comforting truths. For example, “Peace never fails to return to the secret place.” That thought reassures us that we can always find peace when we stay in the secret place.

 How to Use Key Word Sentences

Scripture Key Word Sentences
Isaiah 26:3 Peace
Hebrews 13:5 never fails
Isaiah 30:15 to return
Psalm 91 to the secret place.

On the “Books and More” tab of this website you will find a printable document called “God’s Arsenal for Peace and Security.”  This list contains four sets of verses. Please do not be intimidated!  Take it one verse at a time, at your own pace. Although I suggest you for sure do the first two sets, you do not have to do them all. You might find Holy Spirit leading you to a different chain of Scriptures or adding to these. Let Him lead you. He knows exactly what you need. (Psalm 139)

Why meditate? We know we are to think about and meditate on God’s Word all day, every day. God tells us to meditate, in Deuteronomy 11:18-21, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1, Proverbs 4:20-23, and Philippians 4:8. Meditation is good for us  and can be health to our bodies if we are diligent with it. (Proverbs 4:23). Thinking about God’s Word throughout the day helps keep us far from sin and close to Him in our thoughts and actions. Hearing, and believing, God’s Word will change the way we think, feel, and live.

Image result for free picture of flaming arrowsWhy memorize? As described earlier, as you meditate on a verse or passage, you are more than halfway to memorizing it anyway. Having what God’s Word says about life’s situations available in your memory is powerful. I compare God’s Word in your mind to having a huge bodyguard with you 24/7. If you have planted the Word in your mind, then Holy Spirit, like the perfect Guardian and Protector He is, will bring the Scripture you need to your conscious mind in each situation you face. The Word keeps the enemy out of your mind. He may shoot flaming arrows of thoughts, but even the worst of his “lie arrows” bounce off the shield of Truth and do you no harm.

As I described above, if you take one verse a day phrase by phrase, going over each phrase many times during that day, you will nearly have it memorized. If it is not fixed in memory during that day, focus on that verse another day. Memorizing God’s Word weaves it into the fabric of our very being so that it guides our actions. A child who has been told often enough to “Say thank you” finally starts doing so automatically. Hiding God’s Word in our heart works the same way. It helps keep us acting as God wants. Hiding His Word in our heart keeps us from sin (Psalm 119:11).

In Part Two, we will consider how using the Amplified Classic Bible can enhance your meditation and how God’s Word works to change your heart.

God notices you – always! – Revisited

Note: Dear friend, this blog post is a repeat from September 29, 2020. With all that is happening in our world right now, it is a reminder that I personally need.

Image result for Jacob Ladder to Heaven“Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15 (AMPC) – Part of God’s promise to Jacob, when he left his father Isaac’s house.

“Behold, I am with you.”  I stepped out of the front door of my daughter’s house, noticing that her key chain had a heft mine did not. Cool air caressed my face, and I inhaled deeply, relishing the crispness of it, and hoping the chilly days of February would extend well into the springtime.

I climbed into my daughter’s SUV and put my purse, thermos of water, and two napkins (which my grandsons would put in their laps to, somewhat, catch cracker crumbs from their after-school, on-the-road snack) in the passenger seat, my usual weekday routine. As I backed up and drove down the neighborhood street under the oaks that nearly met overhead. I started repeating the phrases of Genesis 28:15, my current meditation verse.

Father, that phrase ‘Behold, I am with you’, starts with ‘Behold’, which means to pay attention to something, to stop and take notice, like when the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. You really want me to stop and realize You are with me, don’t You?”

Tears moistened my eyes. My throat tightened. “Thank You, Father that You know how I feel. You know I still feel so small and unimportant and so guilty sometimes that I wasted two years being so depressed and fearful. I am so, so grateful that You are healing the depression as You give me the strength to keep my mind on You and Your Word all day.

And to know, to have You say to my mind almost audibly through that verse, that You are right here with me in this car, that You are here with me in all my failures and fears, well, Father, it is more than I can understand but I thank You so much for letting me feel Your presence. Thank You, Father, thank You. If You are with me, everything will be okay. Help me remember that.”

Image result for free picture of street with brown trees and grass“I will keep watch over you with care.” I turned left on Stassney, then right on Manchaca, heading toward school, driving through streets surrounded by faded brown winter trees and grass and a low, gray sky above. Leaving the heater gave the air inside the car a pleasant, brisk bite.

And the thought, Father, that You keep watch over me, why that is a military term, isn’t it? You want me to think of You like a soldier standing guard through the night and the day, purposefully focused on keeping that which he is guarding safe from all harm. And You say you keep watch over me with care, which means diligently, paying attention to each detail. And it is You, You, Lord, Who made and sustains the entire universe, You are the One who is keeping watch over every detail of my days, every day. That is just too wonderful for me to understand, Lord.”

“I will take notice of you wherever you may go.” The familiar road dipped down then up then turned left in a slow arc as I drove by offices and stores. Excitement and pleasure built, as it always did, when I was about to see my grandsons.

Image result for free picture of parent and child in woods“Lord, there is something about that phrase “take notice of you.” I know it means to pay special attention to, or to be interested in, and the dictionary said it means ‘to observe with special attention.” Father, the picture that comes to mind each time with that phrase is of a parent noticing the tiny things her child is doing and how much that little child wants the parent to notice them, to pay attention to them, to help build a block tower or to take a walk in the park to find roly-polies and pinecones.

I guess that’s why that phrase means so much to me, Lord. You know the hurts of the past that You are still healing. You know I felt unnoticed and unimportant growing up. I did not feel loved, even though I was. And You know how the enemy has used those same lies for all my life to torment me, to steal good things from my life and to get me depressed and discouraged so often through the years.

Thank You, Father, that Your Word, Your truth, is changing my heart at the root level as I keep thinking about Your truths, over and over a hundred times a day even with the same truth, like now, that You, You, Lord up in heaven, are noticing me, right now, this very moment. And that what I am doing—this ordinary, mundane thing—is precious in Your sight. You are noticing how I have prepared the little snack the boys love, You notice how I love the cool weather You’ve given, You notice that I am trying to memorize Your Word, You notice that I am trying with all my heart to please You and do what You want all day long.

Image result for free picture of daytime skyYou notice me, Lord! Help me never take that for granted.  You notice when I feel I have failed, and the truth of Your wonderful Word tells me that Your love for me is as high as the heavens are above the earth, that Your love has separated my sins—and that includes my failures—as far as the east is from the west. Your Word tells me that You do all that because You love me and have compassion on me like a father loves and pities his children, and that You have imprinted on Your heart that I am just dust, a frail human being.  Thank you, Father, for those comforting truths in Psalm 103.

Thank You, Father, thank You. To know that You notice each thing I do, that You observe me with special attention is comforting. It gives me strength to keep going and to trust that You will continue the healing.”

“. . . and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I told you.”  I parked on the street bordering the school, along with other parents and grandparents, then walked up the sloping hill to the school entrance, slowly to avoid getting too short of breath. Sitting on the bench encircling a grandfather oak, waiting for the bell, I saw Ansel, head swiveling as he walked out, third behind his teacher. He broke out of line, said something to her, then, as she saw me, she nodded to him, bumped fists, and he ran toward me, backpack wobbling from side to side, his face lit up.

“Nana!”, he yelled. “I knew you were coming!”

We waited on Ben’s class, then the three of us walked to the car. As we drove home, I listened to their brotherly chatter in the back seat. I also listened to what Holy Spirit whispered in my heart as I repeated the last phrase of Genesis 28:15-16.

“Thank You, Lord.” I silently prayed as Ansel asked Ben if he had seen the new swings on the playground,  “Thank You that I know You will finish the good work of healing You have started in me. Thank You that I know You will be with me every moment, just as You are right now.”

A personal request

Dear, dear reader, I wish I could adequately explain what a difference keeping God’s Word in my mind has made for me. The scene described above happened years ago now, when I had just started the habit of studying the Word of God, diligently, in my areas of personal need and meditating upon and memorizing the verses Holy Spirit showed me. During the months of doing that, God healed deep depression and fear. Counseling and medicine had helped, but life remained a daily misery until God’s Word began its healing work.

And the healing came, hour by hour, day by day, week upon week, as I kept studying and meditating all day long on God’s truths about peace and His loving provision and other healing truths. The truth of God did its work as I drove to work, got groceries, spent time with my family, and most of all when I was home, alone with God, facing the struggle of reclaiming the happy and productive life depression had stolen for two years.

It is worth noting that meditating on God’s Word has kept me free from depression for nearly four years now. There have been brief times of discouragement and moments of despair when the path led through dark valleys and over mountains that looked impossible. But as I tried, no matter how feebly, to think on God’s Word, His Word never once failed to comfort and deliver.

God’s Word will heal your life. Your problem may not be depression and anxiety, but whatever it is, God’s Word will heal your heart and your life. I beg you to start the habit of constant, all-day and night meditation upon verses from the Bible that address your needs.

Usually, a piece of writing seems to end itself. But I only know how to end this one by pleading, once again: Please make getting God’s Word into your heart a daily priority.  God’s Word will make your heart whole and sound. God’s Words truly are “ . . . life to those that find them, healing and health to all their flesh.” Proverbs 4:22, AMPC.

The next two blog posts, “God’s Arsenal for Peace and Security – Revisited – Parts One and Two”  give a list of Scriptures that will lead you toward peace and explain more about how the Word works in your heart. Image result for free picture of bible study

 

 

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” (Philemon 25)