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Psalm 73:25 ESV
Other humans are going to fail us at one time or another, because we are all clay. We are all flesh and blood. Not one of us can ever say we have never sinned. And, we all still have the propensity to sin.
We are physically weak, too, as humans, i.e. we get sick, we get hurt, we get injured and we bleed. We get tired and discouraged and depressed at times, too. And, we can be forgetful, too, sometimes. So, no human is 100% dependable.
Sometimes other humans fail us greatly, or we fail them. And, when we feel we have been, or we are literally abandoned by other humans, our hearts can fail us, too. We can feel sad, lonely, and confused. And, we may not know what direction to go next. We may, too, lose all faith in human kind, and if we are not careful, this can turn to bitterness, too. So, we must guard our hearts against that.
So, there is good reason why scripture teaches us not to put our faith and our hope in human beings. For one, they might lead us astray. We might be influenced or persuaded by them to abandon our convictions and to compromise with the world. They might manipulate us into believing their lies. They might deceive us with false doctrine. Or, they might convince us to follow after the wisdom of this world rather than to follow Christ (Psalm 118:9; Psalm 146:3; 1 Co. 2:1-5; 1 Co. 3:1-9, 18-23; 2 Pet. 3:17-18).
So, sometimes it is a blessing for us to have been let down by other humans, because it teaches us that our dependency, our hope, our joy and our purpose for living cannot come from other people. And, it makes us realize that our dependency, our joy, our hope and our purpose for living must come from God, and from God alone.
For, we truly have no one but him who will never fail us, and who will always love and support those of us who are his. And, people are never to be our gods, either. God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – is to be our one and only God on whom we depend for life, for love, for purpose, and for direction. He should be the one we desire, that we long for and thirst after. He should be our central focus. And, he alone should be our all-sufficiency. So, we need to stop looking to humans to be for us what only God can be.
Psalm 73:26 ESV
This is not to say that other humans can never hurt us again, though. For, when we become vulnerable, and we reach out to others in love, and we care about people, and we give of ourselves to meet others’ needs, we do put our hearts out there to be stomped on.
But, when our hearts are injured, we must immediately go to God for help and support, for him to bring healing. And, we must forgive those who hurt us, and not let that keep us from continuing to love and to care about others’ needs. And, it is amazing the peace that will come to our hearts when we choose to not let others’ actions towards us determine our course of action in the future, but we allow God to determine our course, instead.
I know that I have made many bad decisions in my life based off of how others treated me, because I let their conduct towards me affect how I viewed myself. I let their behavior towards me bring me into depression or to lead me into sin. Or, I let it instill fear in my heart.
For, I used to believe that other humans had power over me that God could do nothing about, so I would literally be crushed and feel hopeless and in despair because of how another human dealt with me. I gave far too much weight to what others did or said about me. And, I let it defeat me.
I wish I could say I don’t ever battle with this anymore, but I can’t. Still sometimes I must work through these emotions in prayer and give them to God, and he has to remind me that he is my strength and my portion, and so I must put my trust fully in him and learn to rest in him through it all. And, he encourages my heart, and he fills me with his peace and joy.
Psalm 73:27 ESV
This is a very sad reality. I don’t want to see anyone die and go to hell. I don’t want to see anyone destroy their own lives or the lives of others. But, I can’t control what others do. I can influence, I can help, I can pray, I can love, and I can offer godly counsel and wisdom. But, only those people can make their own decisions about how they are going to live their lives.
The reality is, though, which I know is hard to accept, but it is God’s Word, that if we walk (in lifestyle) in darkness (sin, wickedness), we will die in our sins, no matter what faith we profess in Jesus Christ. If we make sin our practice, and we don’t make righteousness our practice, we don’t have the hope of heaven when we die, but a fearful expectation of judgment and the fires of hell. These are not my words. This is what the New Testament teaches (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
So many people today are teaching a cheap grace gospel which does not teach death to sin or living to righteousness as required for eternal life with God. But, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. His grace to us is not free license to continue walking in sin. For, God’s grace instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we await Christ’s return (1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; Tit. 2:11-14; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6:1-23).
And, please know this that scripture teaches that we will reap what we sow. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But, if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8).
Psalm 73:28 ESV
So, we need to make the Lord our refuge and our strength. We need to rely on him for all things and not be led astray by what others say or do. We need to not let other humans influence us or move us away from God. We must not let what they do to us deter us from our commitments to the Lord Jesus or to keep us from speaking the truth of God’s Word.
We also must not let fear of our circumstances get the best of us or feel as though we have no recourse, or that we have run out of options, or that we can’t make it on such and such. We can’t let external things going on in our lives control how we live our lives, either. We can’t let sickness get us down or fear anything that might come our way that it can somehow prevent us from continuing with the Lord and in our service to him.
Satan wants to get us discouraged and disheartened. He wants us believing that other people or circumstances or other things can somehow have control over us or that they can take us out. But, nothing can happen to us but what God allows it. And, if he allows it, he can handle it, too. Do we believe that? Do we believe he is absolutely sovereign over all things? If we do, then that should definitely impact how we react to our difficulties.
We need to make God our refuge all the time, but especially in times of trouble. We need to draw near to him, and lay our burdens at his feet. We need to pray for godly wisdom to make right decisions. But, we need to not fear the road ahead of us or what it may bring. For, God is with those of us who rely on him for our strength and who are faithful to him. And, he will carry us through anything that comes our way until the day he takes us home.
In the meanwhile, we need to keep on keeping on in the faith without wavering and keep telling people the truth of God’s Word and of his gospel message so that many will be saved from their slavery to sin and have eternal life with God. We must be strong and courageous in the strength of the Lord and put on that armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against us, and then we must put our absolute trust in God alone.
Courageous!
An Original Work / December 24, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures
The Word of God throughout taught.
Some people heard, but did doubt.
Still others had faith in Christ.
By grace He purified them.
They turned from sin
And they obeyed Christ.
He opened up their blinded eyesight;
Turned them from darkness
To the true Light;
Forgave their sin by His might.
He strengthened them in their faith.
He said, “Remain my faithful.”
He called them to obedience.
By faith, they were so grateful.
By faith, they were to follow Jesus;
To daily sit and listen to Him;
To have such faith
That mountains could move;
To love those whom He gave them.
Be on your guard; courageous.
Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.
Take up the shield of your faith;
Protect against all evil.
Do not move from
The hope that you have.
Your faith in Jesus let it endure.
Hold to the truth;
Your conscience be clear.
Endure with perseverance.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
Other humans are going to fail us at one time or another, because we are all clay. We are all flesh and blood. Not one of us can ever say we have never sinned. And, we all still have the propensity to sin.
We are physically weak, too, as humans, i.e. we get sick, we get hurt, we get injured and we bleed. We get tired and discouraged and depressed at times, too. And, we can be forgetful, too, sometimes. So, no human is 100% dependable.
Sometimes other humans fail us greatly, or we fail them. And, when we feel we have been, or we are literally abandoned by other humans, our hearts can fail us, too. We can feel sad, lonely, and confused. And, we may not know what direction to go next. We may, too, lose all faith in human kind, and if we are not careful, this can turn to bitterness, too. So, we must guard our hearts against that.
So, there is good reason why scripture teaches us not to put our faith and our hope in human beings. For one, they might lead us astray. We might be influenced or persuaded by them to abandon our convictions and to compromise with the world. They might manipulate us into believing their lies. They might deceive us with false doctrine. Or, they might convince us to follow after the wisdom of this world rather than to follow Christ (Psalm 118:9; Psalm 146:3; 1 Co. 2:1-5; 1 Co. 3:1-9, 18-23; 2 Pet. 3:17-18).
So, sometimes it is a blessing for us to have been let down by other humans, because it teaches us that our dependency, our hope, our joy and our purpose for living cannot come from other people. And, it makes us realize that our dependency, our joy, our hope and our purpose for living must come from God, and from God alone.
For, we truly have no one but him who will never fail us, and who will always love and support those of us who are his. And, people are never to be our gods, either. God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – is to be our one and only God on whom we depend for life, for love, for purpose, and for direction. He should be the one we desire, that we long for and thirst after. He should be our central focus. And, he alone should be our all-sufficiency. So, we need to stop looking to humans to be for us what only God can be.
Psalm 73:26 ESV
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
This is not to say that other humans can never hurt us again, though. For, when we become vulnerable, and we reach out to others in love, and we care about people, and we give of ourselves to meet others’ needs, we do put our hearts out there to be stomped on.
But, when our hearts are injured, we must immediately go to God for help and support, for him to bring healing. And, we must forgive those who hurt us, and not let that keep us from continuing to love and to care about others’ needs. And, it is amazing the peace that will come to our hearts when we choose to not let others’ actions towards us determine our course of action in the future, but we allow God to determine our course, instead.
I know that I have made many bad decisions in my life based off of how others treated me, because I let their conduct towards me affect how I viewed myself. I let their behavior towards me bring me into depression or to lead me into sin. Or, I let it instill fear in my heart.
For, I used to believe that other humans had power over me that God could do nothing about, so I would literally be crushed and feel hopeless and in despair because of how another human dealt with me. I gave far too much weight to what others did or said about me. And, I let it defeat me.
I wish I could say I don’t ever battle with this anymore, but I can’t. Still sometimes I must work through these emotions in prayer and give them to God, and he has to remind me that he is my strength and my portion, and so I must put my trust fully in him and learn to rest in him through it all. And, he encourages my heart, and he fills me with his peace and joy.
Psalm 73:27 ESV
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
This is a very sad reality. I don’t want to see anyone die and go to hell. I don’t want to see anyone destroy their own lives or the lives of others. But, I can’t control what others do. I can influence, I can help, I can pray, I can love, and I can offer godly counsel and wisdom. But, only those people can make their own decisions about how they are going to live their lives.
The reality is, though, which I know is hard to accept, but it is God’s Word, that if we walk (in lifestyle) in darkness (sin, wickedness), we will die in our sins, no matter what faith we profess in Jesus Christ. If we make sin our practice, and we don’t make righteousness our practice, we don’t have the hope of heaven when we die, but a fearful expectation of judgment and the fires of hell. These are not my words. This is what the New Testament teaches (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
So many people today are teaching a cheap grace gospel which does not teach death to sin or living to righteousness as required for eternal life with God. But, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. His grace to us is not free license to continue walking in sin. For, God’s grace instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we await Christ’s return (1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; Tit. 2:11-14; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6:1-23).
And, please know this that scripture teaches that we will reap what we sow. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But, if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8).
Psalm 73:28 ESV
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
So, we need to make the Lord our refuge and our strength. We need to rely on him for all things and not be led astray by what others say or do. We need to not let other humans influence us or move us away from God. We must not let what they do to us deter us from our commitments to the Lord Jesus or to keep us from speaking the truth of God’s Word.
We also must not let fear of our circumstances get the best of us or feel as though we have no recourse, or that we have run out of options, or that we can’t make it on such and such. We can’t let external things going on in our lives control how we live our lives, either. We can’t let sickness get us down or fear anything that might come our way that it can somehow prevent us from continuing with the Lord and in our service to him.
Satan wants to get us discouraged and disheartened. He wants us believing that other people or circumstances or other things can somehow have control over us or that they can take us out. But, nothing can happen to us but what God allows it. And, if he allows it, he can handle it, too. Do we believe that? Do we believe he is absolutely sovereign over all things? If we do, then that should definitely impact how we react to our difficulties.
We need to make God our refuge all the time, but especially in times of trouble. We need to draw near to him, and lay our burdens at his feet. We need to pray for godly wisdom to make right decisions. But, we need to not fear the road ahead of us or what it may bring. For, God is with those of us who rely on him for our strength and who are faithful to him. And, he will carry us through anything that comes our way until the day he takes us home.
In the meanwhile, we need to keep on keeping on in the faith without wavering and keep telling people the truth of God’s Word and of his gospel message so that many will be saved from their slavery to sin and have eternal life with God. We must be strong and courageous in the strength of the Lord and put on that armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against us, and then we must put our absolute trust in God alone.
Courageous!
An Original Work / December 24, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures
The Word of God throughout taught.
Some people heard, but did doubt.
Still others had faith in Christ.
By grace He purified them.
They turned from sin
And they obeyed Christ.
He opened up their blinded eyesight;
Turned them from darkness
To the true Light;
Forgave their sin by His might.
He strengthened them in their faith.
He said, “Remain my faithful.”
He called them to obedience.
By faith, they were so grateful.
By faith, they were to follow Jesus;
To daily sit and listen to Him;
To have such faith
That mountains could move;
To love those whom He gave them.
Be on your guard; courageous.
Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.
Take up the shield of your faith;
Protect against all evil.
Do not move from
The hope that you have.
Your faith in Jesus let it endure.
Hold to the truth;
Your conscience be clear.
Endure with perseverance.
Friday, March 1, 2019
