Doxology

       "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow..."  The words seem to ring out in our minds and hearts as we form a "doxology" in appreciation of what God has done for us.  When certain words, like the ones just mentioned, come to mind, I can't help but to begin singing what we call, "The Doxology."  It has been a part of my life for the past 70 years, even when i was a child I could remember having sung the doxology.  I have a lot of melodies tucked away in my mind but many of them are just there and can be recalled when I need them, which, to be honest, is not very often.  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Three Blind Mice and Row, Row Row Your Boat" are just filed away and can be recalled when the need arises, which isn't very often.  A Doxology comes forth because of something great that God does.  First Timothy 6:15-16 says, "Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;  Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." 
     The Apostle Paul is getting ready to sign off on his first letter to Timothy and suddenly breaks forth in an excellent doxology.  He did something like this in the middle of the Book of Ephesians in 3:20-21.  Paul had just gone through three chapters of spiritual riches and before he goes on into the practical part of his letter, he breaks forth in a doxology.  There are many other doxologies in the Bible such as the famous one in the ending of the Book of Jude.  We do somewhat the same thing ourselves when we experience something great from God.  I recently saw a photograph of the Cascades in Giles County, Virginia and the waterfall had been frozen into a magnificent display of ice.  What else can you say, but "Praise God for His handiwork."  The word, "doxology" simply means "glory."  We are giving God glory for what He has done, for what He is doing, and what He is going to do in the future.  As you go out into the world today, see how many times you can give God glory for something that takes place in your life or in the lives of others, or even what you see that He has done.  We are a blessed people and the words of our familiar doxology ring forth often in our lives.  Praise God today, from Whom all blessings flow.

Our Answer or His?

       Most believers have accepted the fact that God answers prayer.  That isn't the problem with us.  The problem is that we often pray and include in our prayers the answer that we desire of God.  A pastor that I knew was visiting in the hospital and the patient asked him to pray for her.  He prayed for her healing and while he was praying, she passed away.  At first, he was taken by surprise and wondered about the effectiveness of his prayers.  After all, he had prayed for her healing and she died.   What kind of answer is that.  Then, he thought a bit more and realized the patient had experienced the ultimate healing.  We know that we are in a problem or that we desire something so we figure out how God could answer it and then give that whole plan to Him.  Then, we figure, that it will be easy for God to answer us.  All He has to do is follow our instructions.  After all, the Scriptures in  Psalm 91:15 says, "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him."
       So, here we are in trouble, praying to God for an answer and then we decide what that answer should be.  The only problem to that kind of thinking is that God often doesn't take the route in answering that we think He should take.  In fact, quite often God takes a completely different route or method in answering our prayers.  The important factor for us is that God will answer and He will deliver.  The problem with us is that we don't know how He is going to answer.  It should be a comfort to us in just knowing that God is there and that He is listening and that He is going to answer.  We should not be spending time on telling God how He should answer but just let Him do it in the way that He is going to perform it.  It often becomes something amazing when we ask God to help us in our life and then wait for the answer only to find that He has answered it.  The answer came in a rather unexpected way, but the answer did come.  So, rest in God's plan for your life today and rest in the answers that He is already sending for your needs.  His way will always be the right way.  Praise God today that He does answer prayer but it is in His way and not that of our own.

Walk the Walk!

       Have you ever heard the expression,"You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"    Basically, it says we can say a lot about any number of things, but there comes a time when we have to put to practice that which we preach.  I had recently mentioned in a class how important it was to read a certain portion of Scripture every day.  It is for the study we are currently pursuing in the Book of James.  A number of things, however came into my life unexpectedly causing me to fall short of my own goal.  I missed a couple of days in my own reading goal.  Oh, they were noble things,but still, I didn't get the job done.   James 4:7-8 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
       One thing for sure, the Book of James is practical.  There are a number of commands in the book which involved things that we should put to use in our own lives.  The little saying comes into play at this point.  We can talk about them all we want but that doesn't necessarily make it come to pass.  That is when we say that we can say the right words but that isn't going to be a guarantee that they will happen in our lives.  Even noble things can come into your life which may interfere with your goals.  When I look back on my particular situation, there were things that could have been given a far less priority than I gave them.  Then, I would have had time.  Our passage for today reminds us to draw nigh to God.  As soon as you declare that you desire to draw night to God, Satan takes a quick jab at you and you almost forget the goal that you had in mind.  People often give us formulas for drawing near to God.  One recently stated that we should put aside twelve minutes a day for a time of devotion.  Dr. Harry Inronside once recommended fifteen minutes a day divided up equally with reading, meditating and praying.  Think about it!  We are advised to spend a mere 12 to 15 minutes a day in a time of devotion.  It is true that this may be a start, but it is far less than we should be doing.  So, as we talk about drawing near to God, let us begin now to take steps in our journey.  May we indeed be able to walk the walk.  Praise God today that He longs to have intimate fellowship with us.  May we have the same desire in our hearts

The Measure of Belief

       Some people feel that if they believe something strongly enough that it will be true or that it will come to pass.  For myself, I think I was more of a pessimist than an optimist.  I always looked for things to go wrong and no leprechaun or gnome or hobbit was going to change things. When I played a concert, I would have a bassoon reed on the instrument, one behind my right ear and one soaking in a small glass of water.  I was prepared for anything that could go wrong, especially with the reed.  Throughout the ages, men and women have believed certain things that seem ridiculous now, but they were things in which they firmly believed at that time.  The fact that they believed them didn't change anything.  Even when people believed that the earth was flat didn't change the truth the earth was round.  The object of one's faith has to measure up to the faith itself or it is meaningless.  James speaks about the fact that the devils have a form of belief.   James 2:19 says, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." 
      In this example, we learn that the devils have a form of belief about certain things.  Obviously, they believe that there is one God and they believe many other things about God also.  However, the beliefs that they have are not anyway going to be able to contribute to saving faith.  They have not put their trust in Christ for salvation.  Sadly, there are many today who have a faith in their lives that is very similar to that of the devils.  They believe that there is a God but that is the extent of their belief.  They also do not have a saving faith as expressed in the belief that Jesus died for their sins and that He is the only way of salvation.  Some may even strongly believe that their belief system is sufficient in order to achieve eternal life in the end.  However, their belief system is nothing more than that of the people who thought that the earth was flat.  It is wrong and therefore will not produce salvation in the end.  So, it does make a difference what you believe.  Just because you believe something will not make it true.  Is your faith in Christ for salvation or do you just believe that there is a God?  It does make a difference.  Christianity is a personal relationship with Christ and God is the One Who grantees our salvation.  Praise God today for sending His Son to die on the cross and to grant salvation to those that believe in Him.

The Attic

           I used to wiggle my way into the attic when I was a kid and explore what things were stored there.  One of the items I enjoyed looking at was a 78 rpm record with the name of Thomas Edison on it.  The record was about 1/4 inch thick.  Things have changed since the "Edison" record.   Inventors are continually trying to make something new.  Progress seems to be made by the amount of new ideas that materialize into some product.  The television presents a continual parade of new ideas that are supposed to make our lives easier.  I recall one such product that would be able to clean your whole floor by simply turning it on and letting it go by itself until it had finished the job.  It was a robot vacuum cleaner.   It had a pretty high price on it.  But, it has fallen to the long list of other things that were presented but never really caught on.  The same product is now a feature at a store called “Big Lots” where items are sold at reduced prices as they are bought up by that company and offered at great savings from the original price.  The writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes makes an interesting observation.  He says that there is virtually no new thing under the sun.  In fact, he spends a great deal of time with the phrase “under the sun” which occurs 27 times in the Bible and only in this particular book.  Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”  
       This concept is important to us as it states that there is no new thing under the sun.  That is, tragedy, joy, sorrow, death, sickness, prosperity, poverty and all other characteristics of life are the same now as they were during the life of the writer of Ecclesiastes.  There is nothing that is new.  This is an answer to the critics that say that they Bible is out of date and does not apply to the things of today’s world.  On the contrary, the Scripture is just as applicable today as it was 3,000 years ago.  Man’s problem and God’s solution are still the same.  We continue to try to invent new things to make our lives easier, but the basic problem of sin still exists and the only solution is the one that God gave us.  There is only one way and that way is through God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  So, if you are perplexed by what’s going on in your life, take heart as you scan God’s Word because He will take care of you just as He took care of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Praise God today for His working in our lives and solving all of our problems.

Irregular

          Most people try to save a little money now and then.  I guess that's why some of us have purchased those things that are labeled, "Slightly Irregular."  I come across these items in discount stores or on some items in my junk mail.  They might say, "some cosmetic blemishes."  That might mean a dent or a scratch somewhere.   When you look at them by themselves, they don't look too bad.  There might be some imperfection but, for the most part, it doesn't hurt the function of the item.  Some of them, however, may be a bit uncomfortable to wear.  Take for instance, socks.  The irregularity might be that it doesn't have all of the threads at the opening, making it tight to get on.  Or, they might be a little bit short.  Things that are supposed to be round are not.  Things that are supposed to be smooth have a little dimple or a rough spot in them.  There are a lot of things in this world that are "slightly irregular."  Man could be classified as one of them.  In our natural state, before we are saved, we could possibly be classified as "Really Irregular."  We are not regular enough to make it into heaven without having some changes made.  Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  
     When we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, some changes were made.  Oh,  for the most part, we don't see them on the outside here on earth, but some changes were made.  We were born from above.  We now have new life.  We are a new creation.  Old things are passed away and everything has become new.  We are no longer "irregular."  After we are born again, we realize that we can have daily fellowship with God and with other believers.  We also realize that we can offer prayers to God and really have Him answer.  We come to the realization that this life is not the best thing but that the best thing is coming later when we go home to be with The Lord.  We who were once "Irregular" have been made perfect because of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  So, praise God today for what He has done in our lives and that we are now spiritually perfect in His sight.  You are a "new creation."

Shalom, Shalom

        It doesn't take long when you read the morning paper, or listen to the news that you finally discover that the world is not abiding under peaceful conditions.  The leader of a foreign country made the statement supposedly that the button for nuclear war was on his table.  Well, we can say that we are not living in a world of peaceful conditions.  So, what's new?  In 1985, over 50 wars, some big, some small, were going on somewhere in the word.  Man does not live with the goal of world peace in his thinking.  We sometimes can't even find peace in smaller groups of people from businesses or schools, or churches or even in families.  Where can we find real peace?   Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."  
     God here defines this peace as "perfect peace."  Now, that's the kind to have.  The Hebrew language has a word for peace which is, "shalom."  In this passage the words are, "shalom, shalom"  Yes, two identical words which become translated as "perfect peace."  God's Word points to God Himself as the author of this "perfect" peace.  We find that perfect peace, and it doesn't get any better than that, comes when a person is completely trusting in God.  Have you come to that point in your life?  Do you trust God to take care of the problems in your life?  Do you trust God to take care of the finances in your life?  Do you trust God to mend broken relationships?  If we admit it, things at times look a little bleak and we may not be able to discern how they are going to get better, even just a little better.  God is able to do the impossible things.  We are even reminded that it was God would could do the impossible when a statement was made saying that with God, all things are possible.  Just look at God's record.  God parted the red Sea and the Israelites walked through on "dry" ground.   God made water come from a rock.  God fed the Israelites with manna from heaven for 40 years.  God overshadowed Mary and the incarnation took place.  Jesus was raised from the dead in the most miraculous resurrection.  Jesus ascended into heaven even as the disciples were watching.  Based On God's record, I would say that He provides "perfect peace" to those who trust fully in Him.  So, in the midst of an unpeaceful world, you can still find peace.  Praise God today for providing peace for all of us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.