And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, (Luke 1:46)
She was a young girl, born in an insignificant tribe, living in a detested village, betrothed to a poor husband, yet Mary is given a boast by God, “All generations shall call me blessed.”
Mary’s song is known as the “magnificat.” She comes to know the summation of her life as the mother of Jesus Christ. She needs nothing beyond that to be a satisfied woman and a fulfilled person. Her divine utility brings the greatest glory to God and God grants the greatest name and place among women to her. In her place, her soul became a magnifier of God.
The soul is the most primary aspect of a person: one's very existence, his reality. The place where only divine will and purpose can bring joy, peace, and contentment. It is in the soul that the deep roots of purpose feed on the nurture of the divine river. A tree must grow in three directions: first down, then out, only after that can it sustain the upward weight. Many people live in religious ritual but not relational reality. They talk big rhetoric at church but fold under minimal trouble because their soul is disconnected from divine purpose. Moreover, men hate the man's role and women detest their divine assignment of womanhood.
Yet when the soul has found its God-given purpose, one's life becomes a magnifier of God, and the soul is satisfied from all hunger and thirst.
Charles Kingsley says of purpose, “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about [at the core of our being]”
As one songwriter penned, “Use me Lord, in thy service. Draw me nearer everyday. If I falter while I’m trying, don’t be angry, just let me stand. Lord I’m willing to run on all the way.”
Mary encountered God through His holy Angel and discovered deep purpose, a full life, and a high place for time and eternity.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Who is This Baby
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
I read somewhere of a little boy and girl who were singing their favorite Christmas carol in church the Sunday before Christmas. The boy concluded "Silent Night" with the words, "Sleep in heavenly beans." "No," his sister corrected, "not beans, peas."
The fact of the matter is that many do not know the true meaning of Christmas. We do not understand its import, its impact, or its infinity. The import of Christmas is Jesus Christ, the sinless babe born in the manger, which grew up as a perfect man for the single mission of paying sin’s price of death. The impact was that through him believers are saved. Any man snatch from hell and bound for heaven is because of Christmas. Finally, its infinity: Christ is forever. The kingdom of God is populated with those who believe Jesus was born the savior of the world. And of that Kingdom, Isaiah says, shall be no end.
It is ironic that the word Christmas, literally means a “Worship Service for Christ” and it was the original tradition of Christians to go to Church every Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Yet today it seems that this is in large part a thing of the past. Christmas is celebrated without Christ. The import has become family and friends, the impact has been indebted shoppers and retailers’ bottom lines, and infinite treasure has been traded for temporal trash.
Why not become an agent of change in your own family? Before you open one gift, take a few seconds and share with your family the real meaning of Christmas in a very easy and simple way, by reading those Classical verses from Luke 2:7-14,
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Merry Christmas
I read somewhere of a little boy and girl who were singing their favorite Christmas carol in church the Sunday before Christmas. The boy concluded "Silent Night" with the words, "Sleep in heavenly beans." "No," his sister corrected, "not beans, peas."
The fact of the matter is that many do not know the true meaning of Christmas. We do not understand its import, its impact, or its infinity. The import of Christmas is Jesus Christ, the sinless babe born in the manger, which grew up as a perfect man for the single mission of paying sin’s price of death. The impact was that through him believers are saved. Any man snatch from hell and bound for heaven is because of Christmas. Finally, its infinity: Christ is forever. The kingdom of God is populated with those who believe Jesus was born the savior of the world. And of that Kingdom, Isaiah says, shall be no end.
It is ironic that the word Christmas, literally means a “Worship Service for Christ” and it was the original tradition of Christians to go to Church every Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Yet today it seems that this is in large part a thing of the past. Christmas is celebrated without Christ. The import has become family and friends, the impact has been indebted shoppers and retailers’ bottom lines, and infinite treasure has been traded for temporal trash.
Why not become an agent of change in your own family? Before you open one gift, take a few seconds and share with your family the real meaning of Christmas in a very easy and simple way, by reading those Classical verses from Luke 2:7-14,
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Merry Christmas
Friday, September 3, 2010
Supplication in Prayer
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1Jn 5:14-15)
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."
When considering prayer "supplication" is what usually come to mind. Supplication is to humbly entreat or petition God. The paradox of partition in prayer is that He already knows what you will ask for, what you need, what He will and will not give you before you ask. Simply put, prayer is not about informing God about anything. As Jesus said, “your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask him.” So the question this raises is obvious: Why pray? Why go through this ritual? Beyond simple OBEDIENCE to God, beyond the PRIVILEGE of speaking to your heavenly Father and creator God of the universe, and beyond the fact that our prayers are a UTILITY in God’s plan and program, the ironic thing about supplication is that it is not about God being informed about you but about you being informed about God. In partitioning God the believer experiences the mind of God.
Prayer is not designed to change God’s mind; prayer is designed to bring the believer in line with God’s mind. John is clear on what we can be confident of God doing. Every believer has the right and privilege to finish his partition in confidence of what God’s immediate and present will is; because, he or she is experiencing it. The idea here is that having made one’s request known to God, the believer is to be satisfied in having done so, signified by his or her acceptance of what God has allowed in that moment. The answer may indeed be a yes, no, or not yet; however, the believer’s present position is God’s present prescription.
Should one continue to ask in repetition? The answer is yes without a doubt. Jesus said keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. In the first recorded prayer in the bible Abraham prayed again and again until his heart was satisfied. Paul prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh be removed until God’s “no” soothed his heart as sufficient grace. Even Jesus, our greatest example of how to pray, prayed repeatedly in the Garden of Gethsemane until his human will to live was subdued by God’s will for him to die. That is the very point: fervent, effectual prayer brings us into concert with God’s will and yet quenches our desires with the satisfaction of His pleasure. It does not matter whether God grants one’s request or quenches one’s desire; both results in personal edification and His glory, which is the only proper goal of prayer.
Certainly this raises questions concerning verses that assert ideas such as, “He will give you the desires of your heart” or “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” or “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them,” just to note a few. However, one only needs to observe such verses a bit closer to see the circular reasoning built into the statements. For instance, the “desires of your heart” is granted based on your delighting yourself in Him. The word “delight” is a term of passion or of the “heart”. Thus your heart’s desire is Him, and He promises to give you Him, which is in fact everything one needs. Or again, Jesus prefaces “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” with “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you.” So what words are you using to ask? HIS WORDS! – Because those are the words that are in you and you are in Him or bound in and by parameters as Christ: doing nothing of your self but only what pleases the Father. Even, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” is prefaced with “Have faith in God.” Obviously, this means “confidence” in God’s word, will, way, and work as the only proper context for our partition.
So these very statements, which are frequently hi-jacked as liberties to pursue our own will and pleasure, are really severe limitations on what God will and will not grant us. This is more wonderful than we can perceive. Paradoxically, this really is an infinite and eternal freedom. One might ask illustratively, is a train freer off its track or on its track. Free from its track, a train is both destructive and it self destroyed. However, on its track, it is free to function at its optimum. So it is with the believer praying in God’s will. As Paul put it, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man makes much available to the believer.” Much should not be understood as quantity but quality, which may or may not include quantity. God knows our heart and Jesus said one of the most merciful and gracious things I’ve ever heard about prayer, “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” That is to say God will NEVER EVER give His children that which is useless (a stone) or harmful (a serpent). This idea here is literally, that God protects us from ourselves; because, we often ask for stones and serpents unknowingly. That is asking for things we don’t need or will be detrimental to us. Paul put it this way in another text, “We know not what we should pray for as we ought.” Isn’t it wonderful to know that prayer is safe, contrary to the false notions that God may give you something you should not have asked for. God not only gives us the privilege of prayer but the power of His protection in spite of our own propensities to make poor request.
Jesus does warn “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7.) We should look carefully at the warning; it is not about repetitious prayers, but repetitious words in a prayer. These words are vain and meaningless. WHY? They are vain and meaningless because the heathen thinks such will cause God to hear him. So the problem is not even the repetitious words themselves, but the false assumption about what the repetitious words will achieve. The bible, itself, is not void of repetitious prayers or repetitious words in prayer. The error is the assumption that one can manipulate God into doing what you want Him to do.
Our prayer requests never moves God, it just moves us to knowledge of God's will for us.
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."
When considering prayer "supplication" is what usually come to mind. Supplication is to humbly entreat or petition God. The paradox of partition in prayer is that He already knows what you will ask for, what you need, what He will and will not give you before you ask. Simply put, prayer is not about informing God about anything. As Jesus said, “your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask him.” So the question this raises is obvious: Why pray? Why go through this ritual? Beyond simple OBEDIENCE to God, beyond the PRIVILEGE of speaking to your heavenly Father and creator God of the universe, and beyond the fact that our prayers are a UTILITY in God’s plan and program, the ironic thing about supplication is that it is not about God being informed about you but about you being informed about God. In partitioning God the believer experiences the mind of God.
Prayer is not designed to change God’s mind; prayer is designed to bring the believer in line with God’s mind. John is clear on what we can be confident of God doing. Every believer has the right and privilege to finish his partition in confidence of what God’s immediate and present will is; because, he or she is experiencing it. The idea here is that having made one’s request known to God, the believer is to be satisfied in having done so, signified by his or her acceptance of what God has allowed in that moment. The answer may indeed be a yes, no, or not yet; however, the believer’s present position is God’s present prescription.
Should one continue to ask in repetition? The answer is yes without a doubt. Jesus said keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. In the first recorded prayer in the bible Abraham prayed again and again until his heart was satisfied. Paul prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh be removed until God’s “no” soothed his heart as sufficient grace. Even Jesus, our greatest example of how to pray, prayed repeatedly in the Garden of Gethsemane until his human will to live was subdued by God’s will for him to die. That is the very point: fervent, effectual prayer brings us into concert with God’s will and yet quenches our desires with the satisfaction of His pleasure. It does not matter whether God grants one’s request or quenches one’s desire; both results in personal edification and His glory, which is the only proper goal of prayer.
Certainly this raises questions concerning verses that assert ideas such as, “He will give you the desires of your heart” or “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” or “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them,” just to note a few. However, one only needs to observe such verses a bit closer to see the circular reasoning built into the statements. For instance, the “desires of your heart” is granted based on your delighting yourself in Him. The word “delight” is a term of passion or of the “heart”. Thus your heart’s desire is Him, and He promises to give you Him, which is in fact everything one needs. Or again, Jesus prefaces “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” with “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you.” So what words are you using to ask? HIS WORDS! – Because those are the words that are in you and you are in Him or bound in and by parameters as Christ: doing nothing of your self but only what pleases the Father. Even, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” is prefaced with “Have faith in God.” Obviously, this means “confidence” in God’s word, will, way, and work as the only proper context for our partition.
So these very statements, which are frequently hi-jacked as liberties to pursue our own will and pleasure, are really severe limitations on what God will and will not grant us. This is more wonderful than we can perceive. Paradoxically, this really is an infinite and eternal freedom. One might ask illustratively, is a train freer off its track or on its track. Free from its track, a train is both destructive and it self destroyed. However, on its track, it is free to function at its optimum. So it is with the believer praying in God’s will. As Paul put it, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man makes much available to the believer.” Much should not be understood as quantity but quality, which may or may not include quantity. God knows our heart and Jesus said one of the most merciful and gracious things I’ve ever heard about prayer, “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” That is to say God will NEVER EVER give His children that which is useless (a stone) or harmful (a serpent). This idea here is literally, that God protects us from ourselves; because, we often ask for stones and serpents unknowingly. That is asking for things we don’t need or will be detrimental to us. Paul put it this way in another text, “We know not what we should pray for as we ought.” Isn’t it wonderful to know that prayer is safe, contrary to the false notions that God may give you something you should not have asked for. God not only gives us the privilege of prayer but the power of His protection in spite of our own propensities to make poor request.
Jesus does warn “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7.) We should look carefully at the warning; it is not about repetitious prayers, but repetitious words in a prayer. These words are vain and meaningless. WHY? They are vain and meaningless because the heathen thinks such will cause God to hear him. So the problem is not even the repetitious words themselves, but the false assumption about what the repetitious words will achieve. The bible, itself, is not void of repetitious prayers or repetitious words in prayer. The error is the assumption that one can manipulate God into doing what you want Him to do.
Our prayer requests never moves God, it just moves us to knowledge of God's will for us.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Confession in Prayer
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9.)
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."
Intimacy is not only marked by the togetherness of fellowship but by the openness of fellowship, and therein forgiveness is dealt out and cleansing is carried out by God. Through confession in prayer the believer realizes the cleansing of God. It is made obvious by confession of sins that a person's heart is contrite, his or her intents are pure, and that he or she is working to put off all manner of bitterness, anger and malice; it would be dishonorable to do anything other than to forgive and restore one who is broken and shamed at his own failings. And what a word of guarantee found in John’s characterization of God: “He is faithful and just.”
Honesty about one's self, sins, struggles and solicitations is the very spindle of the prayer wheel. Jesus says, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret." He wants us to be all the way in secret from men, so we can be all the way open with God.
An old preacher was teaching a child to pray. After the child silently prayed for himself, the preacher asked him "Did you tell God everything?" He responded "Yes! I told God everything I wanted to tell him." The first surprise of secret prayer is the difficulty of specific and honest confession to God. The Second surprise of secret prayer is the stuff in your life that you are somewhat reluctant to ask God to take. Yes, you will find that there are some things that are even hard to tell God about you and some places in your life that you still wish to hold onto and keep God out of. The fact is pride even accompanies us into our secret prayer closet.
It is interesting that in Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well; he does not let her know what he knows until she confesses it. Our carnality makes it difficult to perceive the reality of God's omniscience. Obeying Him through confession allows us to experience His omniscience through divine confirmation. We must learn to be honest with the one we can never be dishonest with anyway, to own up to what He already knows about us, quit hiding among the trees, cease running from his presence, stop fearing his voice, take off the fig leaves, take off the front, take off the fraud, remove the mask, kill the cover up, and live naked and unashamed before Him.
John indicates that the admission of our sins always results in the righteous forgiveness and cleansing of all unrighteousness in accordance with the promise and character of God as his goal for the Christian is not destruction but deliverance, not condemnation but compassion, not to forsake us but to forgive us.
The old maxim says "Open confession is good for the soul." The sentiment of this verse is that fellowship is fostered through honest and open confession of sins as sin. Such confessional honesty is found resident in specifics, not generalities. You did not sin generally but specifically. One must walk the stairs of confession of his or her realized sins to the purifying presence and cleansing power of almighty God. Through confessional prayer God does all of the heavy lifting for you.
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."
Intimacy is not only marked by the togetherness of fellowship but by the openness of fellowship, and therein forgiveness is dealt out and cleansing is carried out by God. Through confession in prayer the believer realizes the cleansing of God. It is made obvious by confession of sins that a person's heart is contrite, his or her intents are pure, and that he or she is working to put off all manner of bitterness, anger and malice; it would be dishonorable to do anything other than to forgive and restore one who is broken and shamed at his own failings. And what a word of guarantee found in John’s characterization of God: “He is faithful and just.”
Honesty about one's self, sins, struggles and solicitations is the very spindle of the prayer wheel. Jesus says, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret." He wants us to be all the way in secret from men, so we can be all the way open with God.
An old preacher was teaching a child to pray. After the child silently prayed for himself, the preacher asked him "Did you tell God everything?" He responded "Yes! I told God everything I wanted to tell him." The first surprise of secret prayer is the difficulty of specific and honest confession to God. The Second surprise of secret prayer is the stuff in your life that you are somewhat reluctant to ask God to take. Yes, you will find that there are some things that are even hard to tell God about you and some places in your life that you still wish to hold onto and keep God out of. The fact is pride even accompanies us into our secret prayer closet.
It is interesting that in Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well; he does not let her know what he knows until she confesses it. Our carnality makes it difficult to perceive the reality of God's omniscience. Obeying Him through confession allows us to experience His omniscience through divine confirmation. We must learn to be honest with the one we can never be dishonest with anyway, to own up to what He already knows about us, quit hiding among the trees, cease running from his presence, stop fearing his voice, take off the fig leaves, take off the front, take off the fraud, remove the mask, kill the cover up, and live naked and unashamed before Him.
John indicates that the admission of our sins always results in the righteous forgiveness and cleansing of all unrighteousness in accordance with the promise and character of God as his goal for the Christian is not destruction but deliverance, not condemnation but compassion, not to forsake us but to forgive us.
The old maxim says "Open confession is good for the soul." The sentiment of this verse is that fellowship is fostered through honest and open confession of sins as sin. Such confessional honesty is found resident in specifics, not generalities. You did not sin generally but specifically. One must walk the stairs of confession of his or her realized sins to the purifying presence and cleansing power of almighty God. Through confessional prayer God does all of the heavy lifting for you.
It is My Meditation All the Day
O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97
What's on your mind the most? If it's not God's word, whatever it may be, it is in the way and place of God's word.
I, myself, have been deficient in my understanding of the concept of "meditation," not wrong, but not comprehensive. I've said in the past that meditation is constantly pondering the application of the word of God, and it is certainly that too! That was far, but not far enough. I have since come to understand that "meditation" is the totality of one's contemplation of the word of God including: study, prayer, confession, fasting, fellowship, & ministry. Meditation on the word of God is Christianity. Every one of the other 6 fore mentioned major concepts fall under or within the context of meditation. In other words, meditation is the capital enterprise in the devotional life of the Christian in concept and in practice.
Meditation in eastern mysticism is to empty one's mind to become one with his experience of all things, but meditation in Christianity is to fill your mind with the word of God to interpret all things you experience. Meditation is to never let the word of God leave your mind. Psalm 1 states it, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Psa 1:2). His word does not leave me, in calmness, in confusion, in calamity, or in controversy. Meditation means no matter the circumstances I abide/dwell/keep His precepts in my words, thoughts and deeds; the outward results are that I keep His peace, possess His power, speak His praise.
When God's peace, power, and praise leave your character or continence, it is a result of failing to meditate on His word. When your mouth can't help cursing, when your mind can't find contentment, when your madness won't let you control yourself, when you are so messed up that you can't be consoled and calm, it is a result of failing to meditate on His word.
Meditation means to keep God's word on your mind. The CONTENT of "meditation" is to EXPRESS INEXPRESSIBLE (O how), EMOTION FOR GOD'S WORD (love I thy law) which ENGULFS ONE'S WHOLE LIFE (it is my meditation all the day).
You cannot maintain what you are not passionate about. You can fail to be excited about something that is benefiting you because you don't perceive its benefit. However, you cannot be excited about something you don't perceive is benefiting you. This passion comes from God's word at work in your life perpetuating an ever-increasing love for His word. Spurgeon put it this way, "The psalmist meditated in God's word because he loved it, and then loved it the more because he meditated in it." I will state it again in the most succinct way that I believe it can be stated: Meditation on the word of God is Christianity.
What's on your mind the most? If it's not God's word, whatever it may be, it is in the way and place of God's word.
I, myself, have been deficient in my understanding of the concept of "meditation," not wrong, but not comprehensive. I've said in the past that meditation is constantly pondering the application of the word of God, and it is certainly that too! That was far, but not far enough. I have since come to understand that "meditation" is the totality of one's contemplation of the word of God including: study, prayer, confession, fasting, fellowship, & ministry. Meditation on the word of God is Christianity. Every one of the other 6 fore mentioned major concepts fall under or within the context of meditation. In other words, meditation is the capital enterprise in the devotional life of the Christian in concept and in practice.
Meditation in eastern mysticism is to empty one's mind to become one with his experience of all things, but meditation in Christianity is to fill your mind with the word of God to interpret all things you experience. Meditation is to never let the word of God leave your mind. Psalm 1 states it, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Psa 1:2). His word does not leave me, in calmness, in confusion, in calamity, or in controversy. Meditation means no matter the circumstances I abide/dwell/keep His precepts in my words, thoughts and deeds; the outward results are that I keep His peace, possess His power, speak His praise.
When God's peace, power, and praise leave your character or continence, it is a result of failing to meditate on His word. When your mouth can't help cursing, when your mind can't find contentment, when your madness won't let you control yourself, when you are so messed up that you can't be consoled and calm, it is a result of failing to meditate on His word.
Meditation means to keep God's word on your mind. The CONTENT of "meditation" is to EXPRESS INEXPRESSIBLE (O how), EMOTION FOR GOD'S WORD (love I thy law) which ENGULFS ONE'S WHOLE LIFE (it is my meditation all the day).
You cannot maintain what you are not passionate about. You can fail to be excited about something that is benefiting you because you don't perceive its benefit. However, you cannot be excited about something you don't perceive is benefiting you. This passion comes from God's word at work in your life perpetuating an ever-increasing love for His word. Spurgeon put it this way, "The psalmist meditated in God's word because he loved it, and then loved it the more because he meditated in it." I will state it again in the most succinct way that I believe it can be stated: Meditation on the word of God is Christianity.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thanksgiving in Prayer
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4)
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."
The greatest facilitator of peace through prayer is not partition but thanksgiving; it is not leaving what concerns you at the altar, but the attitude in which you approach the altar. Thanksgiving means that one prays to God not with a comprehensive list of what He has done. That is impossible! Rather, one prays with an attitude of thanksgiving, particularly thanking God in relationship to your partitions. By thanking God in prayer, the believer will realize the joy, peace, and contentment of God by appreciating God’s grace and mercy; that is, expressing gratefulness for receiving so many good things and yet not experiencing so many not so good things that could have occurred. As a youth, I remember the elders praying, “Lord, I thank you that things are as well as they are.” Thanksgiving in prayer is to approach the throne of God with respect for His sovereignty, supremacy and sufficiency. Simply put, it is to understand that whatever you need or whatever you are going through is exactly what you need at that very moment. If it were not than God would never have allowed it to be. As Paul put it, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” This does not at all preclude expressing one’s subjective partitions, as such flows out of the desires of your heart; however, thanksgiving is the appropriate disposition by which subjects are to come in to the presence of the King to express those desires. It is to recognize the words of Paul in Romans 8, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” I often say to my congregation the most important posture in prayer is not on your knees, but recognizing that He is God and you are not.
How much more effective is a child’s appeal to his parents, when he or she approaches them with genuine respect of whatever their final decision is and sincere gratitude for their loving-kindness as parents. This, to say the least, exhibits love, wisdom, maturity, responsibility, and submission.
I was talking to a lady about being thankful to God in prayer. She said, “I am always thankful. In fact, I thank God for giving me what I am asking for in advance.” I refrained from laughing at such a ridiculous notion. I said to her, “you cannot know what God is going to do. You can only truly thank someone for what they have done. Advanced thanksgiving is neither a logical or biblical concept. That is neither respect nor gratitude to God but an attempt at manipulating God.
While often we come to God in some sense of discomfort, feeling as though we really need what we are requesting, the surprise is often the comfort that results from simply thanking Him for what we already have or what He has protected us from. One should not pray about tomorrow without thanking Him for today. Thanksgiving in prayer often results in discovering that one's circumstance is not as intense as it appeared prior to prayer. One should not ask for more without thanking Him for what he already has. One should not pray for His help without first thanking Him for having kept him thus far. We should not only think about, but pray about, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, and whatsoever things are of good report.
At all times especially in prayer we must, “Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.” After expressing genuine thanksgiving, one will always leave prayer time with joy, peace, and contentment, and no doubt having prayed more fervently, effectually and thus effectively.
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."
The greatest facilitator of peace through prayer is not partition but thanksgiving; it is not leaving what concerns you at the altar, but the attitude in which you approach the altar. Thanksgiving means that one prays to God not with a comprehensive list of what He has done. That is impossible! Rather, one prays with an attitude of thanksgiving, particularly thanking God in relationship to your partitions. By thanking God in prayer, the believer will realize the joy, peace, and contentment of God by appreciating God’s grace and mercy; that is, expressing gratefulness for receiving so many good things and yet not experiencing so many not so good things that could have occurred. As a youth, I remember the elders praying, “Lord, I thank you that things are as well as they are.” Thanksgiving in prayer is to approach the throne of God with respect for His sovereignty, supremacy and sufficiency. Simply put, it is to understand that whatever you need or whatever you are going through is exactly what you need at that very moment. If it were not than God would never have allowed it to be. As Paul put it, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” This does not at all preclude expressing one’s subjective partitions, as such flows out of the desires of your heart; however, thanksgiving is the appropriate disposition by which subjects are to come in to the presence of the King to express those desires. It is to recognize the words of Paul in Romans 8, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” I often say to my congregation the most important posture in prayer is not on your knees, but recognizing that He is God and you are not.
How much more effective is a child’s appeal to his parents, when he or she approaches them with genuine respect of whatever their final decision is and sincere gratitude for their loving-kindness as parents. This, to say the least, exhibits love, wisdom, maturity, responsibility, and submission.
I was talking to a lady about being thankful to God in prayer. She said, “I am always thankful. In fact, I thank God for giving me what I am asking for in advance.” I refrained from laughing at such a ridiculous notion. I said to her, “you cannot know what God is going to do. You can only truly thank someone for what they have done. Advanced thanksgiving is neither a logical or biblical concept. That is neither respect nor gratitude to God but an attempt at manipulating God.
While often we come to God in some sense of discomfort, feeling as though we really need what we are requesting, the surprise is often the comfort that results from simply thanking Him for what we already have or what He has protected us from. One should not pray about tomorrow without thanking Him for today. Thanksgiving in prayer often results in discovering that one's circumstance is not as intense as it appeared prior to prayer. One should not ask for more without thanking Him for what he already has. One should not pray for His help without first thanking Him for having kept him thus far. We should not only think about, but pray about, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, and whatsoever things are of good report.
At all times especially in prayer we must, “Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.” After expressing genuine thanksgiving, one will always leave prayer time with joy, peace, and contentment, and no doubt having prayed more fervently, effectually and thus effectively.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
THE VIRTUEOUS WOMAN - Her Victory (Prov. 31:28-31)
The problem of humanity is that which we want, we don’t know how to obtain it; and we don’t know what it takes to get what we want, and when we find out what it takes, we don’t want what it takes. We want victory without the distance. We want the strength without the discipline. We want the win without the race. We want the crown without the cost.
WHAT DO WOMEN WANT??? Women like to be praised. Yet today they are often repulsed and repelled by that which is praiseworthy. It amazes me how some women today will revel in not being able to cook, clean, or boast about not submitting to her husband, yet a woman wants to be praised as a mother and a wife.
Ironically, it seems that a woman virtually cannot live without a man and/or a woman who cannot have children often feels incomplete as a woman. This is not a negative thing as feminism has tried to frame it; rather, it is by design. A woman was created to be a wife and a mother; she is designed to be a wife and a mother. Therefore her greatest reward is found in being a submissive wife and a consummate mother. Whatever psychology you hold about the functionality of life that is acceptable, logical, rational, and in concert with the world is contrary to God. Only functioning as you've been created and designed to function will bring you the greatest fulfillment and satisfaction. The praise a woman desires is wrapped up in the packaging of wifeliness and motherhood.
First, the virtuous woman is praised by her matured children. That is, they have now become adults and what she has helped them to become: disciplined, prudent, honorable, ethical, and skilled, speaks well of her as a mother. The proverbist writes, "...he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him ...and she that bare thee shall rejoice." (Prov 23:24 & 25.) This is the reward of all of the long hard years of diligence and a wonderful fulfillment that can only be experience when it is done.
Secondly, she is praised by her husband. While this no doubt is inclusive direct tribute expressed by her husband, its primary meaning refers to her contribution to his life: his name, his home, his accomplishments would all be impossible without her. Yet she does not rave or boast in this fact, but she simply knows her contribution and rejoices in the fruit of her labor with a quiet spirit and the existential reward of fulfillment.
Thirdly, she is praised by other women. Another important area of reward is found amongst her peers. Just as men find tremendous nobility in excelling among other men, so does women find honor in excelling among women. “Excelling” is a term that indicates not vain-glory, but the ability to provide leadership to other women. Rest assured there is no virtue that does not result in mentoring others.
Fourthly, she is praised because she fears the LORD. Her virtuous life is a result of knowing her created purpose and how she has been fashioned by God to carry it out. She is a continue worshipper, not a fanatical cultural Christian, full of popular religious rhetoric, but frequently and subtly speaking of God as her guide, strength, and her master. This is what gets her through everyday and gets her to the wonderful rewards of life.
Fifthly and finally she is praised by her own works in the gates. It is one thing for your family to speak well of you or your peers to speak well of you; however, the virtuous woman is praised by the chief authorities of the community. Not because she has sought such, but because she sought to please God by submitting to and honoring her husband, diligently rearing her children, and teaching other women her ways. Thus her “homework” has ascended as a sweet smelling savor and rendered her praiseworthy, winning her the praise of all.
WHAT DO WOMEN WANT??? Women like to be praised. Yet today they are often repulsed and repelled by that which is praiseworthy. It amazes me how some women today will revel in not being able to cook, clean, or boast about not submitting to her husband, yet a woman wants to be praised as a mother and a wife.
Ironically, it seems that a woman virtually cannot live without a man and/or a woman who cannot have children often feels incomplete as a woman. This is not a negative thing as feminism has tried to frame it; rather, it is by design. A woman was created to be a wife and a mother; she is designed to be a wife and a mother. Therefore her greatest reward is found in being a submissive wife and a consummate mother. Whatever psychology you hold about the functionality of life that is acceptable, logical, rational, and in concert with the world is contrary to God. Only functioning as you've been created and designed to function will bring you the greatest fulfillment and satisfaction. The praise a woman desires is wrapped up in the packaging of wifeliness and motherhood.
First, the virtuous woman is praised by her matured children. That is, they have now become adults and what she has helped them to become: disciplined, prudent, honorable, ethical, and skilled, speaks well of her as a mother. The proverbist writes, "...he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him ...and she that bare thee shall rejoice." (Prov 23:24 & 25.) This is the reward of all of the long hard years of diligence and a wonderful fulfillment that can only be experience when it is done.
Secondly, she is praised by her husband. While this no doubt is inclusive direct tribute expressed by her husband, its primary meaning refers to her contribution to his life: his name, his home, his accomplishments would all be impossible without her. Yet she does not rave or boast in this fact, but she simply knows her contribution and rejoices in the fruit of her labor with a quiet spirit and the existential reward of fulfillment.
Thirdly, she is praised by other women. Another important area of reward is found amongst her peers. Just as men find tremendous nobility in excelling among other men, so does women find honor in excelling among women. “Excelling” is a term that indicates not vain-glory, but the ability to provide leadership to other women. Rest assured there is no virtue that does not result in mentoring others.
Fourthly, she is praised because she fears the LORD. Her virtuous life is a result of knowing her created purpose and how she has been fashioned by God to carry it out. She is a continue worshipper, not a fanatical cultural Christian, full of popular religious rhetoric, but frequently and subtly speaking of God as her guide, strength, and her master. This is what gets her through everyday and gets her to the wonderful rewards of life.
Fifthly and finally she is praised by her own works in the gates. It is one thing for your family to speak well of you or your peers to speak well of you; however, the virtuous woman is praised by the chief authorities of the community. Not because she has sought such, but because she sought to please God by submitting to and honoring her husband, diligently rearing her children, and teaching other women her ways. Thus her “homework” has ascended as a sweet smelling savor and rendered her praiseworthy, winning her the praise of all.
Friday, August 6, 2010
THE VIRTUEOUS WOMAN Pt III - Her Value (Prov. 31:23-27)
A person will never maintain what they do not value. It’s funny how many women today try to front like they cook, clean, and comb hair, while trying to get a man, but they don’t seem to understand what it took to get his attention is what it takes to keep his attention. Yet women often value being praise but they don’t value praise worthy stuff. This woman was not only taught what to be, she was taught what to do; this woman was not only taught what to do, she was taught what was important. We’ve looked at her virtues: valuable, trustworthy, helpful, industrious, resourceful, and nurturing; we’ve looked at her vigilance: prudent, reserved, thorough, productive, charitable, protective, and elegant. Her vigilance flows from her virtues, and her virtue flows from her values. This woman valued what God says is valuable: Her husband’s adornment (v23), tasteful (v24), progressive (v25), discrete (v26), and a homemaker (v27.) Her values are a means of help to her husband.
Supportive: If the husband is nobody and nothing then the wife is nobody and nothing; because, he wares her as his adornment everywhere he goes. If he is nobody to you (respectable), then he will be nobody to others. If he is nobody to you, he will be nobody to your children. The indication in the passage is that her husband is known at the gate or as a community authority, because of her contribution to his life. Whatever a man may be, his wife aught to make him all the more improved in it.
Tasteful: She likes nice things. Not merely self-adornments, but her taste is wholesome (home, husband, and kids.) Every man longs to say when others come to his home and experiences its beautiful sights and sounds, its wonderful aromas and taste, and its touch and feel, my wife does this. The home is the outward symbol of what a woman does inwardly for her husband. If the home is a mess and a wreck, it exposes the fact that she has little help for him if any.
Progressive: The old saying goes, behind every good man is a woman telling him what to do. It is often the woman that truly keeps a man moving forward, reminding a man of what he said and what he is supposed to be doing to accomplish his vision. She wants to get there as much, if not more than he does; because, she is a benefactor of his blessings promised by God in his vision.
Discrete: A woman makes her home, her family, with her mouth, the way she carries herself, and how she interacts with others. Most of the time nobody knows what’s going on in the four walls of your home until the wife is telling it. Yet this woman is careful not to kill the character of her husband nor her home with words.
Homemaker: Women are naturally concerned about what people think, yet today’s woman doesn’t seem to understand that her family is her true beautification. She should not be primarily known for her career but her home. Who her family is and how they look, and how she cares for her husband and children tells it all.
Supportive: If the husband is nobody and nothing then the wife is nobody and nothing; because, he wares her as his adornment everywhere he goes. If he is nobody to you (respectable), then he will be nobody to others. If he is nobody to you, he will be nobody to your children. The indication in the passage is that her husband is known at the gate or as a community authority, because of her contribution to his life. Whatever a man may be, his wife aught to make him all the more improved in it.
Tasteful: She likes nice things. Not merely self-adornments, but her taste is wholesome (home, husband, and kids.) Every man longs to say when others come to his home and experiences its beautiful sights and sounds, its wonderful aromas and taste, and its touch and feel, my wife does this. The home is the outward symbol of what a woman does inwardly for her husband. If the home is a mess and a wreck, it exposes the fact that she has little help for him if any.
Progressive: The old saying goes, behind every good man is a woman telling him what to do. It is often the woman that truly keeps a man moving forward, reminding a man of what he said and what he is supposed to be doing to accomplish his vision. She wants to get there as much, if not more than he does; because, she is a benefactor of his blessings promised by God in his vision.
Discrete: A woman makes her home, her family, with her mouth, the way she carries herself, and how she interacts with others. Most of the time nobody knows what’s going on in the four walls of your home until the wife is telling it. Yet this woman is careful not to kill the character of her husband nor her home with words.
Homemaker: Women are naturally concerned about what people think, yet today’s woman doesn’t seem to understand that her family is her true beautification. She should not be primarily known for her career but her home. Who her family is and how they look, and how she cares for her husband and children tells it all.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
THE VIRTUEOUS WOMAN Pt II: Her Vigilance (Prov. 31:16-22)
This passage has been aptly deemed by classical Christianity, “The Virtuous Woman” or “A Good Woman.” And I’ve heard women who solicit accolades from others, wanting them to declare her as a good mother or a wonderful wife. Yet she fails at the motherly purpose and she lacks the magic of a wife full of wonder.
A good woman makes a house feel homely, she makes groceries into savory meals, she makes a husband and children feel like family. She keeps the whole thing together and running smoothly. She does not highlight family flaws, she covers them. She does not make wounds, she heals them. She makes boo-boos feel better with a kiss.
This woman has been taught what is right and good and how to function in a way that will prosper and benefit her life. Somebody once asked me a riddle, “What woman in the bible ate herself out of house and home?” The answer is Eve… because she functioned in chaos and disorder… but not the virtuous woman. This woman has zeroed in on what is important.
The fact of the matter is nothing can be good if there is not first a defined purpose and secondly a pursuit of that defined purpose.
Let’s look at her vigilance: First, she is “prudent,” a wise business woman, not at all a homemaker by the world's inferior perception and conception. Home is primary but not preventative in excelling outside of the home. She recognizes that the things which are good for her family are good for others as well. Secondly, she is “reserved.” She does not spend her strength foolishly. She reserves herself for her family and that which is beneficial to them. Thirdly she is “thorough.” She does not do things half heartedly or carelessly. She is concerned that whatever she provides to people are of the highest quality. Fourthly, she is “productive.” She is skilled and able to create goods. Fifthly, she is “charitable.” She’s kind and giving. Every child is treated as her child. She is utterly hospitable. She embraces the pains of others as problems for her attention. She is “protective. “ She gives diligence to the safety and well-being of her family. Finally she is “elegant.” She loves finery. She is no personal slouch. Her hair and her wear is always together.
Simply put the virtuous woman functions at optimal capacity, motivated by love for God, love for family and love for being a mother and wife in keeping with her design.
A good woman makes a house feel homely, she makes groceries into savory meals, she makes a husband and children feel like family. She keeps the whole thing together and running smoothly. She does not highlight family flaws, she covers them. She does not make wounds, she heals them. She makes boo-boos feel better with a kiss.
This woman has been taught what is right and good and how to function in a way that will prosper and benefit her life. Somebody once asked me a riddle, “What woman in the bible ate herself out of house and home?” The answer is Eve… because she functioned in chaos and disorder… but not the virtuous woman. This woman has zeroed in on what is important.
The fact of the matter is nothing can be good if there is not first a defined purpose and secondly a pursuit of that defined purpose.
Let’s look at her vigilance: First, she is “prudent,” a wise business woman, not at all a homemaker by the world's inferior perception and conception. Home is primary but not preventative in excelling outside of the home. She recognizes that the things which are good for her family are good for others as well. Secondly, she is “reserved.” She does not spend her strength foolishly. She reserves herself for her family and that which is beneficial to them. Thirdly she is “thorough.” She does not do things half heartedly or carelessly. She is concerned that whatever she provides to people are of the highest quality. Fourthly, she is “productive.” She is skilled and able to create goods. Fifthly, she is “charitable.” She’s kind and giving. Every child is treated as her child. She is utterly hospitable. She embraces the pains of others as problems for her attention. She is “protective. “ She gives diligence to the safety and well-being of her family. Finally she is “elegant.” She loves finery. She is no personal slouch. Her hair and her wear is always together.
Simply put the virtuous woman functions at optimal capacity, motivated by love for God, love for family and love for being a mother and wife in keeping with her design.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Adoration in Prayer
Enter… into his courts with praise (Psalm 100:4)
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. “A” stands for “adoration”; “C” stands for “confession”; “T” stands for “thanksgiving,” and “S” stands for “supplication.”
One always approaches a king with adoration. Adoration is praising God, raving about His character, qualities, His mighty works of creation and redemption. Effective devotional prayer starts with praise. In adoration the believer realizes the presence of God. Some would crassly say “it is to usher in the presence of God.” In some sense that is true, if we mean it ushers the presence of God in to our mind; that is, it brings us into a greater awareness of His presence. One verse that helps our understanding of the function of adoration in prayer says, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) This means when God’s adoration is in one’s mouth and mind, God’s presence is in our mind and heart.
I was talking to a fellow who was boasting about the “King in You”, which are the words and sentiments of a popular song today. The idea is because we are “royalty” of a sort we should have high self-esteem. It’s good for selling records, but hardly conveys any biblical truth. I went on to tell the young man, I’m not concerned about the king in me (if in fact there is any such thing at all), but about living in the presence of THE KING. That is what adoration is all about; we come into his presence through an awareness of Him fostered by praise. It is impossible to be in the conscious, realized presence of God and think highly of one’s self. Peter, who at first was filled with self, after having fished unsuccessfully, expressed to Jesus his objection the command to cast his net again. Yet Peter heeding Jesus’ instruction and drawing in a tremendous catch, realized he was in the presence of God thus “He fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8). One can only think highly of self, because the king is not present.
We know that God is omnipresent as it were and we constantly dwell in His domain; however, in adoration God comes to dwell in your domain (i.e. your mind and heart). It is like living in a kingdom and having the king himself to come to your house. Adoring God is the first and most prime aspect of prayer, for it engages the mind and heart of the believer and brings about an awareness of who God is and who you are, His perfections and your short-comings, His power and your own weaknesses, his divine sufficiency and our human dependency. This is where prayer must start. Prayer is a place of great humility; after all, we are in the presence of our King and humility starts with adoration. One elder of my youth use to say in the opening of his prayer, “Father we come as an empty pitcher before a full fountain.” I often say to my congregation, the most important part of praying is to realize He is God and you are not! That happens in adoration.
There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. “A” stands for “adoration”; “C” stands for “confession”; “T” stands for “thanksgiving,” and “S” stands for “supplication.”
One always approaches a king with adoration. Adoration is praising God, raving about His character, qualities, His mighty works of creation and redemption. Effective devotional prayer starts with praise. In adoration the believer realizes the presence of God. Some would crassly say “it is to usher in the presence of God.” In some sense that is true, if we mean it ushers the presence of God in to our mind; that is, it brings us into a greater awareness of His presence. One verse that helps our understanding of the function of adoration in prayer says, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) This means when God’s adoration is in one’s mouth and mind, God’s presence is in our mind and heart.
I was talking to a fellow who was boasting about the “King in You”, which are the words and sentiments of a popular song today. The idea is because we are “royalty” of a sort we should have high self-esteem. It’s good for selling records, but hardly conveys any biblical truth. I went on to tell the young man, I’m not concerned about the king in me (if in fact there is any such thing at all), but about living in the presence of THE KING. That is what adoration is all about; we come into his presence through an awareness of Him fostered by praise. It is impossible to be in the conscious, realized presence of God and think highly of one’s self. Peter, who at first was filled with self, after having fished unsuccessfully, expressed to Jesus his objection the command to cast his net again. Yet Peter heeding Jesus’ instruction and drawing in a tremendous catch, realized he was in the presence of God thus “He fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8). One can only think highly of self, because the king is not present.
We know that God is omnipresent as it were and we constantly dwell in His domain; however, in adoration God comes to dwell in your domain (i.e. your mind and heart). It is like living in a kingdom and having the king himself to come to your house. Adoring God is the first and most prime aspect of prayer, for it engages the mind and heart of the believer and brings about an awareness of who God is and who you are, His perfections and your short-comings, His power and your own weaknesses, his divine sufficiency and our human dependency. This is where prayer must start. Prayer is a place of great humility; after all, we are in the presence of our King and humility starts with adoration. One elder of my youth use to say in the opening of his prayer, “Father we come as an empty pitcher before a full fountain.” I often say to my congregation, the most important part of praying is to realize He is God and you are not! That happens in adoration.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN - Part 1: Her Virtue
Proverb 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
In a time where women are taking their queue from the world and that in stark opposition to God’s word, Christians need to proclaim His truths clearer, louder, and more frequently. A true woman is what God’s says she is and nothing more or less. She is the helper to her husband, a compliment to his life, and his most valuable possession. This has less to do with who her husband is, than it has to do with what God made her to be. This kind of woman is no accident; somebody has prepared her for a husband.
This passage has been aptly deemed by classical Christianity, “The Virtuous Woman” or “A Good Woman.” It is a proverb written by a mother to her son, describing a woman like herself as the kind of woman he should marry. Today, many women are told the opposite of what the bible affirms as true, good, and right before God. They are told that they should not have to live up to their husband’s mother’s standards; they are told that they are not their husband’s possession; they are told that they have a right to their own life, vision, and goals; they are told they have as much say-so in the direction of the family unit as does their husband. Yet how wrong and anti-biblical is such talk.
This passage, though speaking much about a type of woman is centered on a man. It is warning to a man. It is instruction to a man. It adorns a woman in beautiful character for a man. It describes a woman at optimal function that is valuable to a man. It describes a woman as having endured vigorous preparation for a man. Paul affirms this in the New Testament, "For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man (1 Corinthian 11:8-9). The goodness of this woman is a product of understanding, accepting, and remaining in her God-ordained purpose. In verses 10-15 she is found having 5 traits in the eyes of her husband: 1) supremely valuable – she is his most treasured possession, 2) absolutely trustworthy – she acts in the context of his intention and pleasure, 3) extremely helpful – she makes him a better man directly and indirectly, 4) capable and skillful – she is able to produce things of value good for her family and others, 5) Resourceful and thrifty – she is frugal, not at all wasteful or destructive, and 6) Nurturing – she works to optimize the family in all areas.
In short, the virtuous woman has been prepared to be a wife to her husband, a mother to her children, and a model woman for other women.
In a time where women are taking their queue from the world and that in stark opposition to God’s word, Christians need to proclaim His truths clearer, louder, and more frequently. A true woman is what God’s says she is and nothing more or less. She is the helper to her husband, a compliment to his life, and his most valuable possession. This has less to do with who her husband is, than it has to do with what God made her to be. This kind of woman is no accident; somebody has prepared her for a husband.
This passage has been aptly deemed by classical Christianity, “The Virtuous Woman” or “A Good Woman.” It is a proverb written by a mother to her son, describing a woman like herself as the kind of woman he should marry. Today, many women are told the opposite of what the bible affirms as true, good, and right before God. They are told that they should not have to live up to their husband’s mother’s standards; they are told that they are not their husband’s possession; they are told that they have a right to their own life, vision, and goals; they are told they have as much say-so in the direction of the family unit as does their husband. Yet how wrong and anti-biblical is such talk.
This passage, though speaking much about a type of woman is centered on a man. It is warning to a man. It is instruction to a man. It adorns a woman in beautiful character for a man. It describes a woman at optimal function that is valuable to a man. It describes a woman as having endured vigorous preparation for a man. Paul affirms this in the New Testament, "For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man (1 Corinthian 11:8-9). The goodness of this woman is a product of understanding, accepting, and remaining in her God-ordained purpose. In verses 10-15 she is found having 5 traits in the eyes of her husband: 1) supremely valuable – she is his most treasured possession, 2) absolutely trustworthy – she acts in the context of his intention and pleasure, 3) extremely helpful – she makes him a better man directly and indirectly, 4) capable and skillful – she is able to produce things of value good for her family and others, 5) Resourceful and thrifty – she is frugal, not at all wasteful or destructive, and 6) Nurturing – she works to optimize the family in all areas.
In short, the virtuous woman has been prepared to be a wife to her husband, a mother to her children, and a model woman for other women.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Rejoicing the Heart
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart (Psalm 19:8)
Everybody wants to find true happiness. Yet we are prone to do that which does not result in our happiness. The biblical formula to true happiness is “Freedom in Christ + Faithfulness to God + Fulfillment of Purpose = Happiness.”
“Statues” refers to God's Spirit, His standards, His character. The joy here is a result of knowing God and pleasing Him according to that knowledge. I'm convinced that it is no co-incident that his statues precede his commandments in the next clause. One can never properly perceive His commandments without knowing his statues.
We assume that God’s way cannot possibly result in our happiness. How can turning the other cheek result in happiness? How can giving up your cloak to the same person who took your coat make you happy? How can going two miles for the person who makes you go one mile, loving your enemies, praying for those who despitefully misuse you, returning good for evil. How can these values bring about true happiness?
Today it is erroneously taught that the return on righteousness is health and wealth in this life. Yet this is so contrary to the life of Christ, His Apostles, and New Testament saints. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Those saints seemed to go along rejoicing all the way.
The psalmist says righteousness brings happiness; it rejoices the heart. The end of a righteous act is always and without fail vindication and justification by God. Right will always win, but not always immediately. …And that’s our problem. We want the return on righteousness to be micro waved, faxed, emailed… However, this is not how the economy of God works. Doing right is a seed sown. Paul says, “Be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Why is there a danger of fainting? The return requires temperance and patience. The martyred souls under the altar cried out, “How long Lord?” God did answer them, not by instantly avenging them, but by supplying them with white robes. That is, by granting their names to be great and noised about among the surviving saints as sure and faithful men and women of God. This seems to be saying, be happy in doing right for righteousness sake for now, knowing you are free from judgment, pleasing to God, having fulfilled your purpose. No righteousness will not rejoice the flesh immediately, yet knowing that even fleshly resolve is certainly on the way can and will rejoice the heart.
Everybody wants to find true happiness. Yet we are prone to do that which does not result in our happiness. The biblical formula to true happiness is “Freedom in Christ + Faithfulness to God + Fulfillment of Purpose = Happiness.”
“Statues” refers to God's Spirit, His standards, His character. The joy here is a result of knowing God and pleasing Him according to that knowledge. I'm convinced that it is no co-incident that his statues precede his commandments in the next clause. One can never properly perceive His commandments without knowing his statues.
We assume that God’s way cannot possibly result in our happiness. How can turning the other cheek result in happiness? How can giving up your cloak to the same person who took your coat make you happy? How can going two miles for the person who makes you go one mile, loving your enemies, praying for those who despitefully misuse you, returning good for evil. How can these values bring about true happiness?
Today it is erroneously taught that the return on righteousness is health and wealth in this life. Yet this is so contrary to the life of Christ, His Apostles, and New Testament saints. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Those saints seemed to go along rejoicing all the way.
The psalmist says righteousness brings happiness; it rejoices the heart. The end of a righteous act is always and without fail vindication and justification by God. Right will always win, but not always immediately. …And that’s our problem. We want the return on righteousness to be micro waved, faxed, emailed… However, this is not how the economy of God works. Doing right is a seed sown. Paul says, “Be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Why is there a danger of fainting? The return requires temperance and patience. The martyred souls under the altar cried out, “How long Lord?” God did answer them, not by instantly avenging them, but by supplying them with white robes. That is, by granting their names to be great and noised about among the surviving saints as sure and faithful men and women of God. This seems to be saying, be happy in doing right for righteousness sake for now, knowing you are free from judgment, pleasing to God, having fulfilled your purpose. No righteousness will not rejoice the flesh immediately, yet knowing that even fleshly resolve is certainly on the way can and will rejoice the heart.
Making Wise the Simple
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. (Psalms 19:7b)
Unquestionable, yet it calls our understanding into question. In Christianity, there is no such thing as a wise testimony. Light is simple; darkness is complex, winding, twisting and elusive.
And darkness cannot comprehend light; the natural cannot receive the spiritual; belief cannot cohabitate with unbelief. So where men are exalted and God is minimized, His testimonies only confound, confused bewilder and baffle. It is pearls before swine and the holy before dogs.
People cannot accept the testimony God changed my life; because, it does not fit. They cannot embrace the testimony God healed me; because, it does not fit. They will not hear that prayer made a difference; because, it does not fit. It does not fit into the little box of human wisdom. It defies mere horizontal logic based in laboratory data.
Yet the Psalmist says it is “sure”. That is sound, certain, lasting, and real. And that is the only test of the Lord’s testimonies. Gamaliel said it plainly, “For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it” In great humility, he resolved to let men be men and God be God.
Paul put it plainly, God is passed finding out. He is passed exploration and discovery. He is passed experimentation and empirical observation. He is subject to no law, no principle, and no standard; for He’s the author of every righteous law, every true principle, and every lofty standard.
To comprehend God is to be God. The assumption that one has comprehended God is the highest position of arrogant ignorance. And that is it: we were converted from wise to simple. What we thought took hard work only took faith. What we thought demanded ambition only demanded patience. What we thought took knowing the world only took knowing Him. When we thought our testimony would be the complexities of what we did ultimately became the simplicity of what God did. The songwriter captures the essence of the simple testimony when he wrote…
Yes, God is real
Real in my soul
Yes, God is real
For He has washed
And made me whole
His love for me
Is like pure gold
Yes, God is real
For I can feel
Him in my soul
Unquestionable, yet it calls our understanding into question. In Christianity, there is no such thing as a wise testimony. Light is simple; darkness is complex, winding, twisting and elusive.
And darkness cannot comprehend light; the natural cannot receive the spiritual; belief cannot cohabitate with unbelief. So where men are exalted and God is minimized, His testimonies only confound, confused bewilder and baffle. It is pearls before swine and the holy before dogs.
People cannot accept the testimony God changed my life; because, it does not fit. They cannot embrace the testimony God healed me; because, it does not fit. They will not hear that prayer made a difference; because, it does not fit. It does not fit into the little box of human wisdom. It defies mere horizontal logic based in laboratory data.
Yet the Psalmist says it is “sure”. That is sound, certain, lasting, and real. And that is the only test of the Lord’s testimonies. Gamaliel said it plainly, “For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it” In great humility, he resolved to let men be men and God be God.
Paul put it plainly, God is passed finding out. He is passed exploration and discovery. He is passed experimentation and empirical observation. He is subject to no law, no principle, and no standard; for He’s the author of every righteous law, every true principle, and every lofty standard.
To comprehend God is to be God. The assumption that one has comprehended God is the highest position of arrogant ignorance. And that is it: we were converted from wise to simple. What we thought took hard work only took faith. What we thought demanded ambition only demanded patience. What we thought took knowing the world only took knowing Him. When we thought our testimony would be the complexities of what we did ultimately became the simplicity of what God did. The songwriter captures the essence of the simple testimony when he wrote…
Yes, God is real
Real in my soul
Yes, God is real
For He has washed
And made me whole
His love for me
Is like pure gold
Yes, God is real
For I can feel
Him in my soul
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Converting the Soul
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul (Psalms 19:7)
The Psalmist declares the law of the Lord to be complete, sufficient and adequate, converting the soul. It is perfect to manifest one’s guilt. It is perfect to bring one face to face with the ultimate Judge. It is perfect to shut one’s prideful boast. It is perfect to turn one against his existential error. It is perfect to bring one to the end of himself.
Everyone who runs into the law is not converted but there is no one converted that did not run into the law. No one comes to Christ on the upbeat; to the contrary, the sinner comes abused, broken, confused, degraded, and empty from the consequences of sin. And those consequences are the hand of God executing His law. What law? The soul that sins shall surely die. What law? The wages of sin is death. Who killed the man who jumps off the building, it is God: God’s own judicial determination in the unmovable law of gravity. And it is the same God that orders the consequential turmoil, trauma, or tragedy that is essential to every conversion.
Conversion means to be freed from ideas or doubts that bound one to a false course – to repent. Unconverted Peter asserted at the Mount of Olives, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” Yet only hours later, warming at the fire, the consequential denial of Peter’s presumptuous arrogance broke him. Why – Because god has a certain law for pride. Paul employs it when instructing Timothy, “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.”
There are those who would say that the law is done away with. They would say it is grace today not law. What an error! For if there is no law there can be no grace. O but moreover, if there is no law there is no God. For God is the law; He is himself the standard; He is holiness itself. Thus the law is immutable, immovable, and irresistible. The law was not created the law was revealed. And what is revealed “is always”; and the only thing that “is always” is God. John states it aptly, “ …And the word was God.”
And the story of every Christian is that he ran into God’s law. God would not let us be comfortable in our sin. He would not let us find peace or contentment. Law penalized our sin until we came to the end of it. Law freed us from what we love when its pain was manifest beyond our desire for the wrong itself. …And we were freed, freed from thinking the bad is good; freed from believing that such death is life; freed to hear God’s voice; freed to receive the gospel; freed to know His love; freed to know his mercy and grace. Elsewhere the Psalmist says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light.” The hymnologist, said “I once was blind but now I see.”
The Psalmist declares the law of the Lord to be complete, sufficient and adequate, converting the soul. It is perfect to manifest one’s guilt. It is perfect to bring one face to face with the ultimate Judge. It is perfect to shut one’s prideful boast. It is perfect to turn one against his existential error. It is perfect to bring one to the end of himself.
Everyone who runs into the law is not converted but there is no one converted that did not run into the law. No one comes to Christ on the upbeat; to the contrary, the sinner comes abused, broken, confused, degraded, and empty from the consequences of sin. And those consequences are the hand of God executing His law. What law? The soul that sins shall surely die. What law? The wages of sin is death. Who killed the man who jumps off the building, it is God: God’s own judicial determination in the unmovable law of gravity. And it is the same God that orders the consequential turmoil, trauma, or tragedy that is essential to every conversion.
Conversion means to be freed from ideas or doubts that bound one to a false course – to repent. Unconverted Peter asserted at the Mount of Olives, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” Yet only hours later, warming at the fire, the consequential denial of Peter’s presumptuous arrogance broke him. Why – Because god has a certain law for pride. Paul employs it when instructing Timothy, “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.”
There are those who would say that the law is done away with. They would say it is grace today not law. What an error! For if there is no law there can be no grace. O but moreover, if there is no law there is no God. For God is the law; He is himself the standard; He is holiness itself. Thus the law is immutable, immovable, and irresistible. The law was not created the law was revealed. And what is revealed “is always”; and the only thing that “is always” is God. John states it aptly, “ …And the word was God.”
And the story of every Christian is that he ran into God’s law. God would not let us be comfortable in our sin. He would not let us find peace or contentment. Law penalized our sin until we came to the end of it. Law freed us from what we love when its pain was manifest beyond our desire for the wrong itself. …And we were freed, freed from thinking the bad is good; freed from believing that such death is life; freed to hear God’s voice; freed to receive the gospel; freed to know His love; freed to know his mercy and grace. Elsewhere the Psalmist says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light.” The hymnologist, said “I once was blind but now I see.”
Thursday, May 20, 2010
When We Remembered Zion
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. (Psalm 137:1)
Their disobedience had brought them to Babylon. The river is indicative here of Babylon’s best. They were in the most plenteous, pleasant, pristine, productive place Babylon had to offer. The Babylonian’s first methodical philosophy was not oppression but one of impression. They sought to woo their captives into service. But when you belong to God, you can never feel comfortable in the world. You may ride in the best Bentley… You may live in the palatial Fifth Avenue Penthouse… You may party with a president and a princess… But the world’s prosperity cannot compare to being blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. All of the world’s blissful places cannot replace the peace of God that passes all understanding. All of the world’s recognitions and accolades cannot measure up to one “Well done thy good and faithful servant”.
While in Zion, they worshiped the gods of Babylon: Baal and Ashtoreth… They demoralized their own priesthood… They persecuted and kill the prophets… Jeremiah prophesied, “I see a boiling pot tilted to the north”… In other words, the Babylonians are coming for us… and God’s going to step back and let them have their way. God gave them all the Babylon they wanted. And they did not like it!
And here they were in Babylon sitting down. “Sitting down” shows inactivity and deep reflection. The flesh fest was over. The fruitless festivities had ended. The stench of sin had reached heaven. And now in exile “they remembered!” As they wept, “they remembered!” Not in Jerusalem, but in Babylon, “they remembered!” Not by the Jordan, but by the Euphrates, “they remembered!” While being offered Babylon’s best, they were contemplating the high cost of their low living.
Saints, if you keep on playing with the world, God will let you have all of the world you want. He will exile you from a place of pleasure to a place of pain. That’s why they are there – Because every now and then, God will turn things upside down; He will put the world on top of the church for a season. He’ll let the sinners dominate the saints for a season. How long is that season? Until He stamps out the mess in you that won’t let Him bless you. How long is that season? – Until you are ready to show forth the praises of Him who has brought you out of darkness into the marvelous light. How long is that season? – Until there is no more you but only Him living in you, living for you, and living through you.
Their disobedience had brought them to Babylon. The river is indicative here of Babylon’s best. They were in the most plenteous, pleasant, pristine, productive place Babylon had to offer. The Babylonian’s first methodical philosophy was not oppression but one of impression. They sought to woo their captives into service. But when you belong to God, you can never feel comfortable in the world. You may ride in the best Bentley… You may live in the palatial Fifth Avenue Penthouse… You may party with a president and a princess… But the world’s prosperity cannot compare to being blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. All of the world’s blissful places cannot replace the peace of God that passes all understanding. All of the world’s recognitions and accolades cannot measure up to one “Well done thy good and faithful servant”.
While in Zion, they worshiped the gods of Babylon: Baal and Ashtoreth… They demoralized their own priesthood… They persecuted and kill the prophets… Jeremiah prophesied, “I see a boiling pot tilted to the north”… In other words, the Babylonians are coming for us… and God’s going to step back and let them have their way. God gave them all the Babylon they wanted. And they did not like it!
And here they were in Babylon sitting down. “Sitting down” shows inactivity and deep reflection. The flesh fest was over. The fruitless festivities had ended. The stench of sin had reached heaven. And now in exile “they remembered!” As they wept, “they remembered!” Not in Jerusalem, but in Babylon, “they remembered!” Not by the Jordan, but by the Euphrates, “they remembered!” While being offered Babylon’s best, they were contemplating the high cost of their low living.
Saints, if you keep on playing with the world, God will let you have all of the world you want. He will exile you from a place of pleasure to a place of pain. That’s why they are there – Because every now and then, God will turn things upside down; He will put the world on top of the church for a season. He’ll let the sinners dominate the saints for a season. How long is that season? Until He stamps out the mess in you that won’t let Him bless you. How long is that season? – Until you are ready to show forth the praises of Him who has brought you out of darkness into the marvelous light. How long is that season? – Until there is no more you but only Him living in you, living for you, and living through you.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth. (Deuteronomy 5:8)
What drives the worship of men? Is it not what they want; that is, what they want to be. Yes the Israelites made golden calves. But why? Because they really believed God looked like a cow? No! Because they wanted to become a nation like Egypt, they did what Egyptians did. The image of a perfect, prestigious and powerful nation was resident in their minds and they pursued and worshipped that image until it manifested two things: golden calves and the anger of God. They did not worship bulls they worship Egypt. Yet they did not worship Egypt, they worshipped the likeness of Egypt, which likeness they want to assume.
The real image resides where the graven image originated: in the mind of the worshipper. More existential than the idol itself, is what one believes about the graven image, for this mental idol drives the worship of any physical idol: what one sees himself as, or where one conceive herself as being: the possession, the posture, the prestige. A young man plagued by the abandonment of his dad is on the search for his perfect dad which reality resides only in his mind. Yet it drives his rebellion toward all authority figures. A longing to be married guides a woman into promiscuity, as she stares at herself being married to each man she encounters. That adulterous guy who always imagined himself to be the lady's man has never settled down in his own marriage, wagering the wellbeing of his family, as he exploits woman after woman. And where did that image come from? It was made up of three components: lack, want and hurt. And that idle is often walled in by the sentimental belief that lack, want, and/or hurt legalizes the idol.
Like Christ, the image demands faithfulness, shamelessness, and yet therein is found not the bliss and satisfaction imagined, but only the momentary pleasure of sin that quickly fades into a lifetime of pain. One is sold a scourge, the curse, an endless cycle of hurt, a hopeless hope, shameless shame, and a dead dream that will let him die desperately wondering and looking outside the will of God for fulfillment in a place where it can never be found. Oh yes he will find something: wasted time, wasted opportunities, wasted relationships, wasted resources, wasted efforts and energy. Driven to exponential sins by an idolatrous image that is now set before God, above God.
We, the saints, the warriors of God, must with the power of Christ destroy this false god that has gained dominion over the life of this man or woman. And replace that image with the image of Christ. Paul writes "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." It has been made number one, above Christ and to the consequential detriment of the person.
War must be waged to destroy that image as God destroyed the statue of Dagon in the pagan temple. And who is this person, but the temple of the Holy Spirit in whom God will stand alone in? God will cleanse and claim every place of worship by the entrance of His presence, for therein is light and thereby darkness is gone. The glory of Christ is revealed and the pretention of the idol is exposed and the power of the idol is expelled.
What drives the worship of men? Is it not what they want; that is, what they want to be. Yes the Israelites made golden calves. But why? Because they really believed God looked like a cow? No! Because they wanted to become a nation like Egypt, they did what Egyptians did. The image of a perfect, prestigious and powerful nation was resident in their minds and they pursued and worshipped that image until it manifested two things: golden calves and the anger of God. They did not worship bulls they worship Egypt. Yet they did not worship Egypt, they worshipped the likeness of Egypt, which likeness they want to assume.
The real image resides where the graven image originated: in the mind of the worshipper. More existential than the idol itself, is what one believes about the graven image, for this mental idol drives the worship of any physical idol: what one sees himself as, or where one conceive herself as being: the possession, the posture, the prestige. A young man plagued by the abandonment of his dad is on the search for his perfect dad which reality resides only in his mind. Yet it drives his rebellion toward all authority figures. A longing to be married guides a woman into promiscuity, as she stares at herself being married to each man she encounters. That adulterous guy who always imagined himself to be the lady's man has never settled down in his own marriage, wagering the wellbeing of his family, as he exploits woman after woman. And where did that image come from? It was made up of three components: lack, want and hurt. And that idle is often walled in by the sentimental belief that lack, want, and/or hurt legalizes the idol.
Like Christ, the image demands faithfulness, shamelessness, and yet therein is found not the bliss and satisfaction imagined, but only the momentary pleasure of sin that quickly fades into a lifetime of pain. One is sold a scourge, the curse, an endless cycle of hurt, a hopeless hope, shameless shame, and a dead dream that will let him die desperately wondering and looking outside the will of God for fulfillment in a place where it can never be found. Oh yes he will find something: wasted time, wasted opportunities, wasted relationships, wasted resources, wasted efforts and energy. Driven to exponential sins by an idolatrous image that is now set before God, above God.
We, the saints, the warriors of God, must with the power of Christ destroy this false god that has gained dominion over the life of this man or woman. And replace that image with the image of Christ. Paul writes "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." It has been made number one, above Christ and to the consequential detriment of the person.
War must be waged to destroy that image as God destroyed the statue of Dagon in the pagan temple. And who is this person, but the temple of the Holy Spirit in whom God will stand alone in? God will cleanse and claim every place of worship by the entrance of His presence, for therein is light and thereby darkness is gone. The glory of Christ is revealed and the pretention of the idol is exposed and the power of the idol is expelled.
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