Putting the Psalms Into Practice

"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you...My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips."  

Psalm 63:3, 5

Satan demonstrated a cunning understanding of man's tendency to do anything to protect his own flesh when he said, "Skin for skin!  All that a man has he will give for his life" (Job 2:4).  Of course, Bible students know that Job was so much more than Satan gave him credit for and despite all of Satan's best efforts he could not entice Job to forfeit his faith in God.

Life is so precious, is it not?  It is a gift from God and throughout its duration we experience much that we come to love and value.  But is there something of even greater import than living a life of pleasant experiences and engaging pursuits?  David certainly thought so.  Even at the height of its pleasures this life cannot compare to the joy of dwelling with God.  Another great servant of God said, "I am hard pressed between the two.  My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" (Philippians 1:23).  

Each of us knows that sometimes the events of this life are brutal and incredibly hard to bear.  However, even when life progresses swimmingly without a hiccup anywhere in site, the honest heart knows that it will not last forever.  Whether one's life is filled with good things, bad things, or a combination of both it is all so very fleeting!  The wise Preacher said, "For the living know that they will die..." (Eccl. 9:5).  Just because the vast majority of humanity strives manfully to avoid thinking about their inevitable demise, deep inside we all know that it's going to happen one day.  So why value something that by its very nature is fleeting when there is something so much better that is eternal?  God's steadfast love is not just better than life, it lasts longer.  By longer I mean everlasting!  When we come to recognize this there will be very real, practical results.

First, we will learn to hate our own lives.  Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).  Jesus is not telling us to disregard every command to love our family but to recognize that we must love them, and our own selves, less than we love He and His Father.  It is important that we recognize this statement from Christ as an extension of one we tend to find much easier to stomach.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).  Practically speaking, to truly believe that God's steadfast love is better than life means that one must necessarily love everything they love less than they love Him.

Second, we will not fear men to such an extent that our faith and trust in God crumble.  Again, Jesus said, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).  I do not believe that Jesus is saying we sin the moment we allow man to frighten us.  After all, courage is demonstrated when one acts in the face of and despite fear.  However, should man instill such fear in our hearts that we devalue God's lovingkindness and no longer make acceptance before Him our priority than we have stepped off track and sinned.  So few truly believe that standing right in God's eyes is better than preserving one's life! Let us always remember that the crown comes after the faithful life, even if that faith necessitates a sudden and violent death (Revelation 2:10).

Finally, to truly believe that God's steadfast love is better than life is to set oneself to obey Him in all things.  Whose will and desires take priority in our lives?  We must make it God's!  Too many pay little more than lip-service to Him.  They "praise God" this and "praise God" that, yet live self-serving lives concerned far more with fulfilling their own desires than His.  Peter came to learn that, "in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 10:35).  If the doers of right (doers of His will) are acceptable to Him than the ones who fail to do it obviously are not.  We must not be those who praise the Lord with our lips and then live selfish lives (Matthew 7:21).  

Psalm 63 is a treasure trove of practical instruction on proper attitudes and proper living with God at the helm of our hearts.  In this post we barely scratched the surface!  Is God's steadfast love better to you than life itself?  If so it will reflect in your words and your actions.  Put the thoughts of this psalm into action! 

Snapshots of Jesus

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."

Matthew 10:34

What a startling statement from the One who came to save mankind from their sins!  It is difficult to fathom how He who came to bring peace (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 5:9) simultaneously brought war.  However, considering His very purpose in coming should remind us that breaking down is often required before building up can occur.  Destruction usually proceeds construction and such is the case with Christ.  Before one can become His disciple all presuppositions, preconceived notions, and faulty philosophies, no matter how dear, must be destroyed.  After one becomes a disciple battles will continue on a daily basis as Satan struggles to win back that which was lost.  Sometimes he will use the disciple's own family against them, which is the context of our Lord's statement in Matthew 10:34.

In this snapshot of Jesus we see a Savior who loved His disciples enough to prepare them for exactly what was to come as they followed Him.  Should their faith remain intact to the very end they would receive a crown of life and understand that their suffering was but for a moment and not worth comparing to the glory that awaited.  However, the cross comes before the crown and Jesus would not have them ignorant of that fact.  

It is tempting to accentuate the positive to the eliminating of the negative.  It is much more enjoyable to speak to the perspective Christian about the joys of knowing Christ, the wonders of salvation, the intimacy of the spiritual family, and the glory of Heaven than to speak of the difficulties and discouragement's Christians face at the hands of a world firmly committed to Satan.  Many Christians have fallen because they were not prepared.  

It takes a special kind of love to tell people exactly what they need to hear knowing beforehand that they are not going to like it.  It takes a special kind of love to be so transparent as to refuse to hide future difficulties to win a few immediate gains.  Matthew 10:34 shows us another example of Christ's love for His people in a rather startling way.  Loving someone is preparing them for everything, not just that which is pleasant.  Praise our Lord for such all encompassing love!       

Q and A

"James 1:13 says that God cannot be tempted by evil.  If Jesus was God in the flesh than why do so many claim that he was tempted just like we are when the Bible clearly says God cannot be tempted?" Another question asks, "Does Hebrews 4:15 means that Jesus faced every temptation that man faces?"

I've chosen to examine these two questions together as they will overlap a bit.  James 1:13 clearly states that God cannot be tempted by evil, just as the first questioner stated.  Hebrews 4:15 just as clearly says that Jesus Christ has  been tempted in every respect as we are yet without sins.

First, Scripture leaves no doubt that Jesus was God in the flesh.  Though passages could be multiplied John 1:1, 14 and Hebrews 1:3 are sufficient to prove the point.  Many have concluded that James 1:13 and Hebrews 4:15 contradict one another or prove that Jesus was not really God in the flesh.  Paul calls the incarnation a mystery for very good reason (1 Timothy 3:16).  The incarnation was a miraculous event in which God became man while not ceasing to be God. I will not pretend I can explain it nor will I presume to attempt an explanation.  Jesus was tempted in his humanity which does not contradict James 1:13 in any way.  Remember, the incarnation was a mystery and a one time event.  It is not for us to explain how it happened, but to accept that it did because the Bible tells us so.

As to the second question, I do not believe that Hebrews 4:15 means that Jesus Christ experienced every temptation known to man, but that he felt the force of temptation just as we all feel it.  The questioner likely finds certain things tempting that I do not and vice versa.  However, the questioner and I both know how strong temptation can be.  It is in that way that Jesus was tempted in all respects as we are.  Because he has experienced temptation he can sympathize with our weaknesses.  Because he never sinned he can be our Savior.  Let us praise him for that!  

Working With Words

"The SWORD of the Spirit"

Ephesians 6:17

In Ephesians 6:13-17 we find Paul's famous instruction for putting on the whole armor of God.  The "sword of the Spirit" is the only item he lists which is offensive in nature.  Everything else he describes is used to defend against attack.  Many assume this "sword" is something like a broadsword that is swung this way and that in an effort to hack and slash anything that stands in its way.  Strength, not skill, is the requirement.  The actual word says otherwise.

Paul uses the word machaira.  That word is more descriptive than our English word "sword."  The machaira was a short dagger, requiring significant skill to use properly.  To flail about with such a weapon would be next to useless for it is incisive and precise.  It must hit a vulnerable spot to do damage but when it does it is devastating.  

This is significant because it demonstrates that we must develop more than a general knowledge of Scripture.  Our goal is to become precise in using God's Word.  Whatever temptation rears its head must be met with the specific passage of Scripture dealing with it.  Thus, possessing the sword of the "Spirit" is not simply owning a Bible, but owning the knowledge contained therein.