Heaven gained another great man yesterday. It sure seems like God is moving a lot of them there in this season. I can't even begin to imagine the conversations they are having in heaven. This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 14 and my heart cringed. It is a Psalm about those who are not headed to heaven. It makes me sad yet as I stop and think about it I know of so many who blatantly refuse God. Psalm 14 reads in The Passion Translation:
Only the withering soul would say to himself,
“There is no God.”
Anyone who thinks like this is corrupt and callous,
depraved and detestable, devoid of what is good.
2 The Lord looks down in love,
bending over heaven’s balcony,
looking over all of Adam’s sons and daughters.
He’s looking to see if there is anyone who acts wisely,
any who are searching for God and wanting to please him.
3 But no, everyone has wandered astray,
walking stubbornly toward evil.
Not one is good; he can’t even find one.
4 Look how they live in luxury while exploiting my people!
Won’t these workers of wickedness ever learn?
They don’t ever even think of praying to God.
5 But just look at them now, in panic, trembling with terror.
For the Lord is on the side of the generation of loyal lovers.
6 The Lord is always the safest place for the poor
when the workers of wickedness oppress them.
7 How I wish that Israel’s rescue
would arise from the midst of Zion!
When his people are restored,
Jacob’s joy will break forth
and Israel will be glad!
The term withering means 'a fool' in Hebrew. The footnote reads: If we make no room for God, we have withered hearts, our moral sense of righteousness is put to sleep, and the noble aspirations of the heart shrivel up and die. That is so sad. We must never give up sharing God with others. We must never quit praying for people to change their life around to include God. Instead we must live a life sharing His love so people will desire to have Him in their own life. There are times when we feel like throwing up our hands and quitting but we just cannot do that. This Psalm tells us how people without Him have lived. It is in the past. Psalm 53 has almost the same message but it it prophetic. It reads in The Passion Translation:
Only the withering soul would say to himself,
“There’s no God for me!”
Anyone who thinks like that is corrupt and callous;
depraved and detestable, they are devoid of what is good.
2 The Lord looks down in love, bending over heaven’s balcony.
God looks over all of Adam’s sons and daughters,
looking to see if there are any who are wise with insight—
any who search for him, wanting to please him.
3 But no, all have wandered astray, walking stubbornly toward evil.
Not one is good; he can’t even find one!
4 Look how they live in luxury while exploiting my people.
Won’t these workers of wickedness ever learn!
They never even think of praying to God.
5 Soon, unheard-of terror will seize them while in their sins.
God himself will one day scatter the bones
of those who rose up against you.
Doomed and rejected, they will be put to shame,
for God has despised them.
6 Oh, I wish our time of rescue were already here.
Oh, that God would come forth now—
arising from the midst of his Zion-people
to save and restore his very own.
When God fully restores his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be filled with gladness!
Matthew Henry wrote of Psalm 14:
The world is bad; oh that the Messiah would come and change its character! There is universal corruption; oh for the times of reformation! The triumphs of Zion's King will be the joys of Zion's children. The second coming of Christ, finally to do away the dominion of sin and Satan, will be the completing of this salvation, which is the hope, and will be the joy of every Israelite indeed. With this assurance we should comfort ourselves and one another, under the sins of sinners and sufferings of saints.
All believers need to press into God and allow Him to use them to love people into a relationship with Him. If we give up, many will spend eternity in hell instead of heaven. I have known several who have passed in the last month. Most were living lives that pointed them to heaven. There were a couple I'm not sure where they were in their spiritual lives. I could use the excuse I am no longer near them but that is not a valid excuse in today's society with telephone, computer, etc. I should of/could of made contact with them. Shame on me! I pray someone did love them with His love so they changed their lives. My heart is breaking as I think about this. I know I can't save anyone. Only God does that. But I also know I need to allow Him to use me however He desires so more people can experience His love.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for being with me as I loved on Mr. Fran's family with Your love last evening! Thank You for allowing me the privilege to share Your love with them! Oh how I pray for Your comfort to be upon them in the days ahead. I pray the same for all of us who have lost loved ones. I pray for the hurts of my heart over Doc leaving to continue to be healed as I rejoice he is no longer suffering. Lord, cleanse me so I can realize You more than ever before. May You shine brightly from my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts throughout this day. Lord, I pray for continued work on the church building to be realized so we can finish it. I know it will happen in Your time and I pray that is coming soon. Thank You for my friends Beth and Bob who I had time with yesterday! May You continue to bless them in abundance as they serve You. Thank You for being My Future! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment