DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- GOD LOVES THE JEWS

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- GOD LOVES THE JEWS

"For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, 'Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.' " (Psalm 83:1-4)

The attack on the Jewish people is nothing new. It has been in effect for thousands of years. We remember the attempt by Haman to destroy the Jews in the Book of Esther. We are most familiar with the holocaust and Hitler's desire to get rid of the Jewish people. And in more recent times, the threats from Iran have been evident – to rid the world of the Jews and the nation of Israel.

I believe that this is the work of Satan who hates the people God has chosen to be His own special treasure, as the Bible says five times (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; I Chronicles 19:3; Psalm 135:4). He knows that the Messiah – his nemesis -- was predicted to come through the seed of Abraham, and He has done everything he could do to destroy that seed and that nation.

But none of these attempts throughout history have been or will be successful. God has a special purpose for the descendants of Abraham and He will not allow His people to be obliterated from the face of the earth. He has kept them for thousands of years and He will keep them in the future.

Anti-semitism is alive and well around the world. When we read of these threats to annihilate the Jewish nation, we can be sure that God will protect His people from genocide in order to fulfill His plan for the future.

We can trust God to be faithful to His word, but we can also pray for the nation of Israel. So, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- FOR GOD'S SAKE!

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- FOR GOD'S SAKE

"Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, for Your name's sake." (Psalm 79:9)

How often we hear people use the phrase "For God's Sake" as an oath or profanity. They apparently have no clue what it means.

But neither did I, as a kid. I would hear my father close his prayers with the phrase, "For Jesus' sake." And I would wonder, "What does that mean?" -- For Jesus' sake.

It wasn't until I was older that I understood the significance of these words. I really began to understand when I studied the 23^rd Psalm, "He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake" (Psalm 23:3). The truth is that paths of righteousness are a benefit to the sheep, but the real focus is that our righteousness is for the glory of the Shepherd. His name is at stake, and He is glorified when we live righteous lives.

This is true of Salvation also, as we see in the focus verse. The atonement was certainly for our benefit because it opened the way for our sins to be forgiven so that we could go to heaven. But fundamentally, it was so that God would be glorified. His name and His reputation were at stake when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. When we receive His gift of forgiveness, His nature and character as a loving and forgiving God are demonstrated to the world and to the kingdom of Satan that God is true to His Word. Our salvation is for the glory of His name.

It is a testimony that will last through all eternity that God is merciful and gracious, loving and forgiving. Maybe this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote to the believers at Ephesus, God "raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" ((Ephesians 2:6-7)

Our salvation and our righteousness are demonstrations of God's goodness. They are done "for His name's sake" -- for His glory and honor-- for God's sake.

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- LIMITING GOD

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- LIMITING GOD

"Yes, again and again they tempted and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power; the day when He redeemed them from the enemy." (Psalm 78:40-41)

This is a curious statement that makes you say, "What?" How can God be limited? God is omnipotent – all powerful. There is nothing that He cannot do. Yet, Israel limited the Holy One of Israel by not really trusting, nor remembering all the miracles He had performed in their history.

I have to wonder how many times I have limited God by my failure to trust Him. He has done so many great and marvelous things in my history, and yet I sometimes fail to trust Him for the present.

The disciples asked Jesus why they could not deliver a certain person from demon possession. He answered, " 'Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard see, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." ' " (Matthew 7:19-21). There was some contingency involved in this. One was their unbelief. The second was prayer and fasting.

Is God limited? Of course not. He is sovereign and omnipotent. He can do anything He wishes to do. But He does choose to work within the framework of our faith and action.

I do not want to limit God by my unbelief or lack of doing what I need to do. May God help me to trust Him.

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- KEEPING OUR VOWS

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- PAYING OUR VOWS

"Make vows to the LORD your God, and pay them; Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared." (Psalm 76:11)

A vow is a promise to do something. Perhaps the best illustration is the vow we make at the marriage altar when we make a pledge or vow to be faithful to our partner "til death do us part."

Vows are a serious thing. If we value our integrity, we will be sure to fulfill our vows or promises. Trust is dependent on our being faithful to our word. When we fail to keep our promises, our reputations are marred.

Our focus verse says to be sure to be faithful to keep our vows to God. It is easy to say, "I will serve You, O Lord, all of my life." But it is another thing to keep that vow.

Foxhole believers are common. "Lord, get me out of this problem, and I will follow you." Then when they get out of the trial, they forget their vow and go on their merry way. God does not forget our vows even while we forget them.

Wise King Solomon had sage advice when he wrote, "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed --- Better not to vow than to vow and not pay it" (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). Jepthah came to understand this truth. Remember that he vowed that if God gave him success in battle, that he would offer as a burnt offering the first thing that came out of the doors of his house to meet him when he returned home. As it turned out, the first thing that came to greet him was his daughter (Judges 11:29-40).

Making a vow to God should not be a flippant thing. We should be careful to be sure we will keep it. A proper approach might be, "Lord, with your help, I will do such and such."

With God's help, I will serve the Lord all the days of my life. That is a solemn vow.

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- DRAWING NEAR TO GOD

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- DRAWING NEAR TO GOD

"It is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works." (Psalm 73:28)

It is a conscious choice to draw near to God. It does not happen by accident. It is a purposeful act of putting myself in a position that is close to God.

We sing the song, "Draw Me Nearer," and it is true that we would never come to God unless He called us to Himself. We were invited and drawn by the Holy Spirit. He does desire close fellowship with us.

Here is the irony of the issue. James wrote, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8). We choose to draw close to God, and He wants to be near to us. But He does not force us to draw near to Him. It is our choice. We have to take the time and effort to spend time with Him.

James explained how to draw near to God in the following verses: "Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (verses 8-10). Coming into God's presence requires that we humble ourselves before Him, with a pure heart, confessing our sin.

The Psalmist put it this way: "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…." (Psalm 24:3-4a).

It is an affront to God's holiness to come into His presence with known sin in our lives. If we want to draw near to Him, it must be on His terms, not ours. And His terms are purity and holiness.

We can come boldly to the throne of grace when we know that our hearts are clean. That only happens as the Psalmist said, "I have put my trust in the LORD God," not in how good I am. That said, it is a conscious act of desiring to draw near to God that will cause me to spend time in His presence in prayer and His Word.

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WORSHIP AND PRAISE

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WORSHIP AND PRAISE

"All the earth shall worship you and sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name." (Psalm 66:4)

We don't know who wrote this psalm, but whoever it was indicated that praise and worship are related, but there is a difference between them. David worshiped God by singing out the honor of His name – Who He is. But he also praised God, saying, "How awesome are Your works!" (vss. 2-3) . He spoke of God's greatness and how that greatness was manifested by His works.

Worship is declaring Who God is. He is Almighty. He is holy. He is Righteous and Just. He is all-powerful. He is love. He is good. He is unchanging. He is eternal. He is present in the here and now – omnipresent. And we go on and on with a long list of other attributes and perfections of God.

Praise is extolling Him for what He does. What He does flows out of Who He is. Because He is good, He does good things. Because He is righteous, everything He does is right. Because He is all-powerful, He can do miracles.

When we come into God's presence, we need to have a balance of worship and praise, declaring both Who He is and What He has done. He is great and He does great things.

A hymn that demonstrates worship is, "O Worship the King, all glorious above and gratefully sing His power and His love. Our shield and defender the ancient of days, pavillioned in splendor and girded with praise. O tell of His might; O sing of His grace. Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space. His chariots of wrath the deep thunder-clouds form, and dark is His path on the wings of the storm."

And then we sing praise songs like, "To God be the glory great things He hath done, so loved He the world that He gave us His son, who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life's gate that all may go in. Praise, the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done."

We worship our majestic God and praise Him for His marvelous works.

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- FOLLOWING JESUS

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- FOLLOWING JESUS

"My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me." (Psalm 63:8)

There are all kinds of followers. Followers of Muhammed, followers of Krishna, followers of Buddah, followers of Kant, Freud, or Marx. It indicates adhering to a certain Person or philosophy. Christians of the First Century had the moniker, "Followers of the Way," because they followed the teachings of Jesus.

David, the Psalmist, walked close to God. He did not veer from the path nor follow at a distance.

It is so easy in our Christian walk to wander off the path that Christ is walking. We see another patch of grass that looks greener and we are drawn aside. Or we get so involved with the duties and struggles of life that we allow distance to develop between us and Jesus.

Walking close to Jesus has the advantage of being near Him so that when we stumble, His right hand upholds us. When I am walking at a distance and stumble, I fall hard, not because He is not there to help me, but because I am slow to call out to Him for help.

When I am following Jesus, I have the confidence that He is going before me. He is not following me, but I am following Him. Because He is before me, He knows what my path will be and I can trust Him. Sometimes He leads besides the still waters, and sometimes He leads through the valley of the shadow of death. But either way, I can be assured that He is there because I am following Him closely.

The hymn-writer wrote: "Follow, I will follow Thee, my Lord, follow every passing day. My tomorrows are all known to Thee. Thou wilt lead me all the way." I want to follow Jesus closely.

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- OUR BANNER

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- OUR BANNER

"You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah" (Psalm 60:4)

A banner or flag is a symbol of a kingdom. When we see the stars and stripes waving in the wind, we know that it represents the United States of America. When I am looking for a Post Office, I often look for Old Glory because I know that it is government property.

When an army goes into battle, the flag is an important part of the troops because it identifies the nation that the soldiers are fighting for.

God has given us a banner and we display it proudly. It announces that we are Christians and that we belong to God. I am not talking about a physical flag, but our loyalty to Christ is evidence of our commitment to the banner of His kingdom.

We used to sing the song, "Love is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart, for the king is in residence here." I think this comes from the English tradition of flying the British flag at Buckingham Palace when the King (or Queen) is present in the house.

God is present in our lives, and we can proudly display the banner. So, "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross. Lift high His royal banner, it shall not suffer loss."

Our banner represents the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we display it with our loyalty and our trust in the King.

Love, Dad

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- UNSHAKEABLE FAITH

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- UNSHAKEABLE FAITH

"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise." (Psalm 57:6)

David was on the run – fleeing from Saul who wanted to take his life. In the midst of his adversity, he proclaimed His faith in God. His faith was steadfast, unmovable. His trust was in God and it would not be shaken, regardless of how things looked in the natural. This was a choice of the will – "I will praise."

We sing the song, "I shall not be, I shall not be moved, just like a tree planted by the waters, I shall not be moved." That confession is a good one. It declares that our faith in Christ will not be sidetracked just because things are not going the way we want.

Our faith has a firm foundation. We know the nature and character of God. He is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. He will never change.

We have His Word. As the hymn says, "How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for our faith in His excellent Word."

We have the historical facts of Jesus who died and rose again. Those facts cannot be changed, and they are a strong foundation.

We have personal testimony of the good things that God has done in our lives. He has proven His faithfulness over and over again.

So when life throws me curve balls that Satan would use to tempt me to forsake my faith in God, I can rest on these firm foundations, and I can say with the Psalmist, "I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved" (Psalm 16:8).

Love, Dad