More Precious than Money; Sweeter than Honey

June 30, 2010

Eddie God's Word Leave a comment

They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:10-11)

Psalm 19:10:  The law, testimony, precepts, commandment and rule of the Lord are to be more desired than gold, yea much fine gold?  Can you imagine the looks you would get from the world when you express that about your heart?  Even so, how many are really there? I mean a Christian with that kind of passion for the truths of God’s Word.  It’s not a simple exchange between a Bible and a large amount of cash.  We must see this statement in the light of what both can do.

The treasures of God’s Word can revive our down-trodden soul, make us wise, cause our heart to rejoice, give us enlightenment, and will not go away.  I’ve seen some of the most unhappy people be those who lack nothing materially.  Do you ever see human interest stories on the television focusing on the lives of mega-lottery winners after they have spent it all?

Investigate who is better physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually (for these make up the whole person) in the long run, the one who pursues the good job, the good life, the American dream at the expense of his relationship with God or the one who simply desires to know God, the author of the Book.

In vs. 11, the psalmist reminds us from God’s precepts we receive warnings.  Warnings about traps and tricks Satan can use on us to destroy our lives. On the other hand, we can find great reward when we keep them.  Go back and reread Psalm 1:2-3.

The Lord is All These and More!

June 29, 2010

Eddie Praise & Thankfulness, Promises, Worship Leave a comment

Today lets meditate on verses 8 and 9 from Psalm 145.  Read them now.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

The psalmist gives us some descriptors of Creator God, the Great I AM:

  • He is gracious
  • He is merciful
  • He is slow to anger
  • He is abounding in steadfast love.
  • He is good to all
  • His mercy covers all that he has made.

Plenty to think on, huh?

God is a gracious God.  One who dispenses grace, yes.  We are all about that as recipients.  But this tells us that graciousness is an attribute of God.  He is One ready to pour out unmerited favor upon His creation.  As merciful, this attribute describes that aspect of God whereas He will show favor at times when the object of mercy deserves otherwise.  These two qualities, grace and mercy, are oftentimes seen together because of their similarities.

God is slow to anger.  He is not some angry, vengeful God that looks to make life miserable for everyone.  No it is very evident by what our world is doing today that God is slow to anger.  I find myself getting angry at things in which from all indications, God is being slow in His anger.  This is a character quality that God wants displayed in our life too.

God is abounding in “steadfast love.”  Do you understand that simply stated, the love of God never changes.  Do a search of “steadfast love” in your Bible.  Especially notice Psalms in your search.  It appears more than once in Psa. 25, 31, 33, 36, 40, 52, 57, 59, 69, 85, 89, 103, 106, 107, 109, 118, 119. 136 (it endures forever), and 143.  I think God wants us to get the point!

God is good to all.  Even when tragedy happens in our lives we must trust Him in this very description.  Just because we don’t see the good right now, it doesn’t mean He won’t bring good out of it.  God is good to all!

That mercy described above covers all that he has made.

Wow!  This is our God!  This is the One who wants to hang out with us for eternity!  He deserves our love, obedience and praise!

Like a Tree by Streams of Water

June 28, 2010

Eddie God's Word, Happiness, Prosperity Leave a comment

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1)

Recall from earlier posts that the “Happy Person” is the one who delights in the God’s word and meditates on it daily.

The effect of delighting and meditating is profound.  The psalmist compares it to a tree planted beside a stream.  I think we see the analogy wherever we may live, but the imagery is especially vivid in Palistine.  In the relative barrenness of that area, imagine streams of water and we can visualize what the vegetation would look like along those streams. We see trees growing along those streams.  These are trees whose roots are tapping the fresh supply of water enabling them to flourish and to yield its fruit at the proper time.  Inspite of prolonged dry spells, the leaves on those trees never wither.  That tree is reaping wonderful benefits from being tapped into the streams of water.  They are able to fully be what they are meant to be as a tree.

So, let’s pull that over into the life of a Christian. The child of God who is delighting in God’s word and meditating on it regularly will be tapping into the spiritual springs that will result in God prospering that Christian to be everything God desires for him/her to become.  This will be what will bring true joy in our life.

Meditating on God’s Wonderful Works

June 26, 2010

Eddie Forgiveness, Meditational Moments, Perspective, Praise & Thankfulness, Sins, Worship Leave a comment

4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. (Psalm 145)

(vv. 4-5) - How important it is to share with our children how the Lord has worked in our lives even while we were growing up.  (See vs. 12; Isa. 38:19; Deut. 11:18-21).  See that child with wide eyes of wonder hearing the stories of God’s faithfulness in answered prayer, deliverance from troubles, stumping the doctors, financial needs being met, etc.

Meditate/meditation occurs 19 times in Psalms.  I have been blessed so many times as I take a passage and turn it over in my mind (with no external distractions) and consider its application in my life.  It becomes a means for the Spirit to speak to my heart. In our current passage, one example of meditation is “on the glorious splendor of your majesty” (v. 5).

The example I think of when I consider the glorious splendor of God’s majesty is what Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-6) and what John (Rev.4).  Words cannot describe the full splendor of it all.  Yet it is helpful for us to try.

The Psalmist also meditated continually on God’s wondrous works.  These could be in general through nature, history or humanity.  They could also be in his own personal life.  Just remembering and thinking back over how God has worked in our lives.  How he worked in and through a particular event in history or in His creation.

So, what are the benefits of this meditation in our lives?  First, it should spawn the same response as it did Isaiah.   “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”  It is good to see my sinfulness; my helplessness and the condition of my culture!  Secondly, I recognize the One who is there and delights to help me. To Him I turn for forgiveness and deliverance.  When I meditate on His majesty and His works, my God becomes larger than any problem I have in my life!

Christian Imatators!

June 25, 2010

Eddie Genuine Christianity Leave a comment

1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them 6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Tradition holds that Jannes and Jambres of verse 8 were Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in Exodus 7-9.  Consider what these men did as they squared off with Moses:  they were imitators of what Moses did.  They were counterfeits!  Satan is the great imatator.

Now let’s take the context of 2 Timothy 3:1-9.  Paul appears to group those who carry the 20 characteristics given in verses 1-7 into a category of imatators/counterfeits, opposers of the truth, corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.  Now think of this for a moment:  we have professed believers in our churches who practice the things listed in verses 1-7.  This is characteristic of the last days.  The easy believe-ism promoted by many today has resulted in our churches being packed with imatators.  It is in direct opposition to the truth that when a person is saved his/her life is changed.  Paul is identifying people with corrupt thinking.  They are not really a child of God!  One day (vs. 9) “their folly will be plain to all.”  This is a call to being genuine!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

His Word Stands Forever

June 24, 2010

Eddie God's Word Leave a comment

6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40: 6-8)

Verses 6-8 opens with yet another cry.  Isaiah asks “What shall I cry?” The voice declares how fragile and temporary our lives are but that the God’s Word will forever be!

It’s very interesting to see the cycle of grass especially in neighborhoods.  How rich and green they are in the summer but in the winter season they are sand tan!  They’ve lost that beauty.  Even if they were to remain manicured, they still fall short of that summer sheen!  So it is with our life here on earth.  We have a period of time in which we can be at the peak of what we’ve been made to be here on heart, but the time is coming when we will be gone from this planet.  Unlike the grass which returns to its greening the next year; we will not return.

That is contrasted with God’s Word.  God’s Word has endured the storms of the ages and it remains and is, in this writer’s estimation, stronger than ever.  It is sure and pure.  Lives, minds and ideas come and go.  His Word, His love letter to us, will remain!

What the Word Is and Does!

June 23, 2010

Eddie God's Word Leave a comment

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is rsure,
making wise tthe simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether. (Psalm 19: 7-9)

What a wonderful display God presents in verses 1-6 to announce that He is here!  Then the psalmist turns his attention to “the law of the Lord.”  God’s specific/special revelation of Himself.  It is the revelation God gives that allows the reader to know what God is really like.  Nature, for all its grandeur, falls short of providing us with this knowledge.

This has been a long-term favorite discriptor passage of God’s Word.  I notice that it is described with a variety of adjectives:  law, testimony, precepts, commandment, and rule.  I notice in vs. 9 he drops in “fear” of the Lord as we are reading about God’s word.  From the synonyms he moves to the predicate nominatives.  Remember those in English class?  It restates the subject of the sentence.  So we learn God’s Word is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true and righteous.

Then the psalmist explains what the Word does:

  • revives the soul
  • makes the simple wise
  • rejoices the heart
  • enlightens the eyes
  • endures forever

“Have you read your Bible today?” seems so trite when I consider the above.  “Have you spent time in God’s Word today?”

Great is the Lord – Part 2

June 22, 2010

Eddie Praise & Thankfulness Leave a comment

2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom. (Psalm 145)

The Psalmist never fails to bless God and intends to praise His name eternally!  The Lord is Great and our praise should likewise be great.  He doesn’t deserve some namsy-pamsy mindless trite verse.  Our praise should be the richest that can be offered!  If that is a point of difficulty, one should attempt to search His greatness (v. 3).  Job 5:9 asks the question: who is it that does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number?  Isa. 40:28 records that God’s own understanding is unsearchable.  We should try!  It will impact our praise in return!

  • He is everlasting (search that!).
  • Creator of this universe! (Ponder that!)
  • He never faints.
  • He never grows weary.
  • We cannot search all there is to understand about God.
  • Yet, He desires us to know Him!

The Happy Person – Part 2

June 21, 2010

Eddie God's Word, Happiness Leave a comment

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.  (Psalm 1)

When I think of something that causes me to “delight.”  I sense a quiet happiness that may manifest itself in a smile.  There is peace and satisfaction with the idea of delight.

Here, we think of delighting in the law of the Lord. The word “law” could be translated “instruction.”  Our understanding of the phrase “law of the Lord” could simply mean “word of God.”

I pause and I think of the idea behind delight and those things which bring me this quiet happiness accompanied by peace and satisfaction.  Then I ask myself,  “Does God’s Word affect me this way?”  I confess…it doesn’t always.  Continuing with my self-talk I ask, “Under what conditions do I not take delight in the Word of God?”  The answer:  when I treat it as a religious requirement to read.  “Gotta read my Bible today!”   When I come to His Word with anticipation of God speaking to me today, I walk away in delight.

But the verse implores me to not leave it behind, rather, if I am going to be “blessed” as the Psalm begins, I must (1) delight in God’s Word and (2) meditate on it throughout the day. I should take the promise or principle that God gives me and ponder it all day.  Consider its application in my life.  It may be something that is happening currently in my life.  Perhaps it is something that is upcoming that I will need.  It could even be a truth or promise that I need to share with someone God is going to bring across my path.

Do you think God is that active in our life?  My, I do!  I’ve seen Him do it!

The 20 Characteristics of a Worm

June 18, 2010

Eddie Commitment, Last Days, Obedience, Purity, Service, Sins Leave a comment


1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful,
proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of
godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain
control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins
and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning
but never able to acknowledge the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

The 20 Characteristics of a Worm – not a biology lesson but a
warning on human behavior.  Paul writes Timothy in this second
letter alerting him to some of the traits that will be found
to be prominent in many people in the “last days.”  Numbers 1-19
are listed in verses 2 through 5.  Number 20 is in verse 7.

We should meditate on this list and take the the following steps:

1) Are any of these traits showing up in our life?  Get rid of them!
2) Do we see them appearing in the lives of our spouse or children?
Lovingly talk with them about it, showing them this passage as
to what God thinks about it.
3) Are our children dating or hanging out with friends who display
these characteristics?  Point this out to them verse 5.  If
they won’t follow God’s instructions, loving be a parent at
that point (Ephesians 6:4).

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