“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

“I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:17)

“then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,” (2 Chronicles 6:30)

I think I have mentioned these passages before, but they have been giving me great comfort lately, knowing that God knows all the motives, intents, and plans of my heart. He tests the heart and has pleasure in uprightness. It is so comforting.

He sees all the reasons for doing the things that we do. While everyone else may assume and presume… He knows and He judges with perfect judgement. Not only is that comforting, for those that are His, but it should also spur us to fear Him and do righteously.

For those that are His, He is the good shepherd. Being that I am a dumb sheep, that is good news. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside waters of rest. It is good to rest with the Shepherd, rest and comfort for our souls.

I think many times, for those that are His, the Lord forces us to slow down, be quiet, and turn our attention to Him. He does this through all sorts of means, like, but not limited to, loss, separation, cancer, unemployment, death, accidents, surgery, depression, moves, etc, etc. All for the good of our souls to seek Him. All for His name to be made great.

He is better at overseeing our souls than we are. “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25)

Jesus is the King of all comfort. The God of all consolation. The God of all Peace. That is why He can say “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29) And He is perfect in His help, not only because of His infinite power and ability to know the hearts of all, but also because of His experience. Because He has suffered He is able to help those who are suffering (Hebrews 2:18).

And so we go to Him. Go to Christ. Seek Christ. Put the weight of everything on Him. Bind what He, and not what someone else has said, to your heart.

“Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:128

Reading through Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, etc, it is amazing to see how the Lord is involved. There is nothing too difficult for Him. He gives, He takes away, He sells, He delivers, He confounds, He kills, He makes alive, He prospers, He afflicts, He has mercy, He executes justice. He is perfect.

The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” – Judges 1:2

Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. – Judges 1:4

Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. – Judges 3:8

But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord , the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. – Judges 3:9

The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. – Judges 3:10

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord . – Judges 3:12

And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. – Judges 4:2

And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. – Judges 4:9

And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. – Judges 4:15

the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. – Judges 6:8

So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. – Judges 11:32

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. – Judges 13:1

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. – Ruth 1:6

The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. – 1 Samuel 5:6

“But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” – 1 Samuel 13:14

And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. – 1 Samuel 15:28

Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” – 1 Samuel 23:4

And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. – 1 Samuel 25:38

And David became greater and greater, for the Lord , the God of hosts, was with him. – 2 Samuel 5:10

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. – 2 Samuel 6:7

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.” – Hebrews 6:1-3

How many professing Christians understand the foundations that we are told to go beyond in this text?

How far I still have to go.

The ‘Therefore‘ is because of chapter 5, verses 11-14:

“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

Constantly discerning between good and evil.

“Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.”

Every time I hear it or read it = Wow.

The person proclaiming truth needs to humble themselves, but the person receiving the truth needs to humble themselves as well.

If someone can receive the truth, regardless of how it is said to them, that is a gift from God.

“Quietude, which some men cannot abide because it reveals their inward poverty, is as a palace of cedar to the wise, for along its hallowed courts the King in his beauty deigns to walk” – Charles Spurgeon

“And yet some people actually imagine that the revelation in God’s Word is not enough to meet our needs. They think that God from time to time carries on an actual conversation with them, chatting with them, satisfying their doubts, testifying to His love for them, promising them support and blessings. As a result, their emotions soar; they are full of bubbling joy that is mixed with self-confidence and a high opinion of themselves. The foundation for these feelings, however, does not lie within the Bible itself, but instead rests on the sudden creations of their imaginations. These people are clearly deluded. God’s Word is for all of us and each of us; He does not need to give particular messages to particular people.”
— Jonathan Edwards

“A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God’s power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God’s wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.”
— Jonathan Edwards

“Today, true mortification is all but lost between the rigid, stubborn frame of spirit which is earthly, legal, harsh, critical, consistent with wrath, envy, malice, and pride, on the one hand, and pretences of liberty, grace, and I know not what, on the other.” – John Owen (The Mortification of Sin, abridged)

I liked the “I know not what” part. Having a sense of the certainty of something, but not knowing exactly… I like that he said that.

“Let a man pretend what he will, little concern over sin is a serious offence to the grace and mercy of God!” – John Owen (The Mortification of Sin, abridged)

“Others are hardened in their own sin by persuading themselves that they are in just as good a condition as the unmortified professor. They see their [the unmortified professor's] zeal for religion, but it is not accompanied by righteousness. They view their worldy and selfish lives. They see them talk spiritually but live vainly. They hear them mention communion with God, and yet they are in every way conformed to the world. They see them boast of forgiveness of sins, and yet never forgive others. Thus, as they see the stain of sin in the unmortified professor, they harden their own hearts in their unregeneracy.” – John Owen (The Mortification of Sin, abridged)

Through all of the wrestlings and wranglings of our soul it is nice to have a steadfastness upon which to lean. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe” (Prov. 18:10).

So many days I feel weak. I feel really, really weak inside. On those days I think “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”. Really? With all of my heart? “Lean not on your own understanding”. Really? Do not lean on my own understanding? “In all your ways acknowledge Him”. Really? Acknowledge God in all of my ways? Well. Ok. Then I hold on tightly to the “and He shall direct your paths” part.

Feelings can be swayed so easily. So easily. In realizing that right thinking leads to right feeling, and that what we feed our minds is what our minds are given over to, it has become quite clear to me over the past couple of years that I have to preach to myself. I have to speak the truth to myself or else I am moved too easily. I love it when David says in Psalm 16:8 “I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Sometimes I get so numb to the word “faith” that I need to switch it out with the word “confidence”, in order to really get it. When I read God tell Jeremiah “I am the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me?” (32:17), it leaves me thinking “No, of course there isn’t and yes I can have confidence in You”. I think I associate certainty and a firm trust with the word “confidence” more so than the word “faith”.

As I go through different seasons of life, it is nice to have confidence that God has ordained my seasons just as surely as He has ordained “seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night”. Though it feels cold and rainy, sometimes amidst the gray, the light mist feels good against your face.

I woke up thinking about Haiti this morning. It has been almost twelve years since I went there for a mission trip. I remember vividly the night sky and staring up at the stars from the roof of the mission I was staying at. I remember the sound of the voodoo drums resonating across the mountains and valleys as we traveled to a “mountain church”. I remember the signs of spirituality everywhere… spirituality with great darkness.

I have seen several posts or comments related to the tragedy in Haiti, as well as other tragedies, typically they are from atheists, that say things like, “a single penny to help the cause is better than all the prayers in the world”. I hate that saying. It is a lie.

I am well aware that there are people who hide behind words and “saying a prayer” so that they do not actually have to give or move. I am well aware that the heart that is truly moved by the love of God will manifest itself with deeds of love. I am well aware that faith without works is dead.

Don’t think for a second that money given to relief is worth more than your prayers. James 5:17 says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.” God ordained and used Elijah’s prayer to shut up rain on the land of Israel for 3 1/2 years. God can ordain and use your prayer to awaken the hearts of Haitians to the light of the glorious good news of Jesus Christ.

I keep going back to read in Luke 18:1 when it says the reason Jesus spoke the parable to them was to teach them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. Men always ought to pray and not lose heart. Men always ought to pray and not lose heart. It’s easy to lose heart. Pray.

If you cannot give abundantly physically, you can give abundantly through prayer. Not through a flippant prayer, but through earnest and fervent prayers. The “effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”. God honors fervent praying. Praying that shows a broken and contrite spirit.

There are times that you may be moved to pray and that prayer comes easily. There also may be times that you have to labor and wrestle not only in prayer but just to start praying. Regardless of how easy or hard it is we must continue earnestly in prayer, pray without ceasing, and pray always and not lose heart. God hears our prayers, God uses our prayers, God ordains our prayers as the means to carry out His will in the world, and who knows what other great things are happening which we cannot see?

God is good.

For my quiet time I am reading in Corinthians. I just finished 1 Corinthians and have started 2 Corinthians. Like always, there are so many things that hit me and prick my heart, but I want to share one of them from 2 Corinthians 5:1-8.

In verse two it talks about groaning with earnest desire to be clothed with our heavenly habitation (dwelling). It is speaking of being in this current ‘tent of the body’ and longing to be further clothed. Just like 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 talks about how corruption will put on incorruption so here in 2 Cor 5:4 Paul says, “…that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”

Then it blows me away that in verse 5 when it talks about God preparing us for this very thing (being clothed with our heavenly body and habitation) it says that He has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. A deposit. A down payment. Like earnest money.

How great is it that God who is supreme and cannot lie and cannot be moved puts a down payment on us? He secures us with Himself so that nothing can annul it. He prepares us to receive that for which He has prepared for us.

Now. What REALLY hit me was the next 3 verses. Verse 6 starts like this “So we are always confident”. Love that. Always confident huh. About what? Sorry, let me finish the verse, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

The point is that we know, by faith, that when we are in the current ‘tent of this body’ that we are absent from the Lord and when we are absent from the body that we will be present with the Lord. I like how then Paul says, “well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord”.

It seems like a lot of people do not groan for their heavenly habitation. It seems like a lot of people would not be well pleased to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. We are consumed far too much with our desires (which are weak desires) so that we think if only we had this or that before we die or if only we accomplished such and such. Everything good and perfect comes from God so to go to His presence is far better than anything we could ever think or imagine. We should be well pleased to say “To live is Christ and to die is gain”.

There is confidence in living that way. For who or what can separate you from the love of Christ which passes knowledge?

Verse 9 starts with “therefore”. So because of everything we just said, “we make it our aim whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

Can I get an amen. Sure. Amen.