Walking Godly

Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on His law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” As I read thru these verses, I reflected on the beauty of the words and reality of the truth they present. We need look no further than the news headlines of today to see the wickedness of humanity. It is on full display every day. Shootings, hi-jackings, kidnappings, murder, human trafficking and more. It becomes obvious that something is terribly wrong with our society. Humanity is living out life devoid of any semblance of even kindness let alone Godliness. If we measure the depth of depravity of humanity by the above verses it is easy to see why we are where we are. Obviously, not all of humanity is heeding the Word when it says – “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked…” If we have not already lost the blessing of God upon our land, it would seem we may very close as the base wickedness of humanity quite literally continues to creep into every level of life at a pace I have never before seen. What, then is the answer. The answer is simple, its just not easy. The Psalmist spells it out – don’t walk with the wicked. That may mean we need to do some self-reflection about the company with which we hang. Maybe we have some “friends” who in fact are keeping us from being what God intended us to be – a reflection of Him. Then he says, “his delight is the law of the Lord…” That indicates we must spend time in His Word on a consistent basis. With football season just weeks away, one of things that sets winning teams apart from others is they spend time learning the offense and defense of their opponent. If we are to be a “winning” Christian, we must spend time in the Word learning the offense and defense of walking with Christ. The reward of this lifestyle is in verse 3 – “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” Wow! What this says is that if I walk away from the wicked, the scoffers, and the nay-sayers and plant myself in the Word, then my life will be refreshed, fed, nourished and prosperous. I can think of nothing better to think on beginning the year than the Word of God. Do I want to be in the congregation of the wicked or the sitting on the banks of the life giving river of God, being refreshed daily by His Word and allowing Him to prosper me as He sees fit? I know where I want to be. Come join me.

Why? Romans 11:33 - “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” NLT For those you of who have ever had children or have been around children for any length of time you might remember this - “Why?” Why this and why that until you get to a point where you have no more answers for the “Why?” I am like that when it comes to God. Not tough questions, but question like - “Why do you allow evil?” “Why do good people die seemingly before their time and evil people just seem to live on and on and on?” “Why are some people healed and others die of disease?” "Why are there so many floods?" “Why - why - why?” Paul sets up the “Why?” question with this statement - “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge!” When we can agree with this statement it is not hard for the “Why” to be resolved. Think about this for a moment - God’s riches are great. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He holds the wealth of nations in His hands. He knows where all the oil reserves are and holds those in His hand as well. He knows where the diamonds are - and holds those in His hands as well. Beyond those temporal things, He holds all eternity in His hands and who can put a value on that - priceless. Who can measure His wisdom? A portion of the wisdom of God is displayed in the wisdom of Solomon who was the wisest of men to ever live. Yet the wisdom of God is greater than that. His knowledge is so great the Word says he knew us before we were even conceived! How great are the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. If that is true, and it is - then it is logical to make the next step. I cannot understand His riches, wisdom and knowledge. They are so great they go beyond my understanding. In fact they are so great my mind cannot even begin to conceive. In light of my inability to even conceive of the greatness of God’s riches, wisdom and knowledge, can I be content to NOT understand the most difficult “Why?” If I cannot even conceive of His greatness - why should I be concerned with my very small perception of this world? Why should I be conflicted with things that make no sense to me? Very easy answer - I am human, finite, a small dot on the page, a mere speck of dust in the universe, unable to see the picture for the perspective of God. That leaves me with two thoughts - one, though I am a small speck of dust, I am the object of God’s great riches, wisdom and knowledge. He loves me so much He shares those things with me. Two, because I am a small speck of dust in the universe and because God’s riches go beyond my understanding, I can lean on His understanding, trust Him and know He will direct my paths. “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” Please continue to lift up all the families who are victims of the recent floods that seem to be going on in many places. You are loved, Pastor Roger

Thinking out loud…

Thinking out loud…. We have become a people who no longer worship the True God of creation. We have become a people who worship at the feet of financial security and lifestyle convenience. It no longer matters that these are not the things God called us to. God calls us to complete obedience to His Will and Purpose. Within that purpose can be those things, and many have found those things, but we are not called to those things or even to achieve those things. Obedience to God, complete obedience, will include struggle and hardship-John 16:33 “ I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.].” There is no promise of financial security and convenience of lifestyle. There is the promise of Peace and Victory over hardship. We are not to trust in the chariots of government or the security of financial institutions. We are to trust in God and God alone. He will supply your needs. He will supply the things necessary for life. 2 Peter 1:3-“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and goodness.” We now have some calling for “blood” because they are not getting thier way and the things they want. Those are people who have yet to understand the provisions of God. Government is not God. For many government has become “a god” and they worship at its feet waiting for provision, safety and security and when they don’t get what they want they throw themselves into fits of anger fearing for thier life. However, is this to be expected? Yes. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 - “1But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear]. 2For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, 3[and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, 4traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith….” Even those who have professed Christ have bowed down to the god of self and have become involved in this ungodly worship of security and of lifestyle convenience while ignoring the tenants and instructions of God Almighty and His call to complete obedience. Unless, or until people look to the Heavens for thier strength and security we will find our end as that of old-destruction and enslavement to the gods of self, security and lifestyle convenience. Time after time, king after king, leader after leader led the people to the foot of the idols of the gods only to become enslaved to evil more vile and more corrupt than before. The slope of serving the god of self is not just slippery, but leads to destruction and death-at least spiritually but sometimes physically. Ministers of the Gospel, I call on you to call people to Christ and His power to save. Jesus is coming soon and I want to be found as a mouthpiece blowing the trumpet and calling attention to the end of time as recorded in the Scriptures. Leave behind the promises of security and convienience. Embrace the security of serving and onedince to the One True God Who provides everything you need for life and Godliness.

Some encouragment

The Day of the Lord Psalm 12:1-2 - “Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth! Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.” NLT All I need to do is watch the news for a few minutes and I can see a number of things happening in our society. One, I see more and more Godlessness among the nations. Two, I see more and more hatred being directed at people who live in the same neighborhoods, even on the same streets. And finally, I see adults and children disappear off the streets and even out of homes. I often ask - “What is going on in our world?” After reading today’s scripture I know the answer. We are living in a day when the Godly are fast disappearing. Our Christian meeting houses are losing attenders - except for churches where the true Word of God is preached. The ranks of believers in the United States is shrinking as a whole. There are pockets of encouraging words coming from some of our University campuses and third world countries. But, cults and false religions are increasing in numbers exceeding that of Christ followers in many places. (Just a side note - it is reported there are over one million believers in Iran-pray for them as this conversion can cost them their lives.) So where does that leave us? Hopeless? Discouraged? Depressed? No, not at all. In fact, just the opposite. If we read just a couple of more verses, we find God’s answer - “I have seen the violence...Now I will rise up...” I truly believe we are in those days described in the Word as the days before the coming of the Lord. As I understand scripture, what we are seeing is exactly some of the things we are to see before the return of Jesus Christ. Sin will abound, pestilence will increase, disease will increase - Mark 13:12 - “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.” NIV In my opinion, for what it is worth, these are days for us to begin to look to the heavens. These are days when we should strengthen our faith and our resolve. We should refresh our commitment to God and His purposes for us. These are days when we put fear behind us and look with eager anticipation toward the coming of the Lord. These are days we should grow desperate in our prayers for the lost. These are the days when we keep our families, spouses, children, and grandchildren lifted up before the Lord - asking God to save those who have yet to experience the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, the Godly are truly disappearing from the earth and neighbors are lying to each other, but it is not a time to fear - it is a time to rejoice in the truth of God’s Word. This is a prophetic Psalm. God does see from Heaven and answer. He is about to bring everything to an end as we know it. Those who are alive in Christ are not far from their eternal reward. Hang on - hang in - stay the course - keep praying - tell others - and never forget God is with us so who can be against us. You are loved and prayed for, Pastor Roger