WINNING WITH GOD

 

WINNING WITH GOD

   My dear Ann lived today's title when it was discovered that she had a terminal illness. It being the way she had lived all her life prior to and after the medical prognosis: “The ultimate healing is knowing the Lord and dying trusting Him.”

EBB4

 

NEGLECTING GOD'S PROVISION

 

NEGLECTING GOD’S PROVISION

 

  2Chronicles [MKJV] 16:12 And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, until his disease was very grievous. Yet in his disease he did not seek to Jehovah, but to the physicians. 

  Proverbs 1:7; 2:2-3, 5 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. … incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; … Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. 

  Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God. 

  2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 

  2Peter 1:2-3 Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue, 

 

  The king Asa pattern is a sadly deficient way for people to live; neglecting God’s curative provision and instead relying on the world’s provision. Life presents many issues. Within my brief view and experience, primarily of the emotional sort that hinders our health in body, soul, and spirit.

  In God’s Word is curative provision for optimizing individual overall health mentally, emotionally, and physically. But we must be 2Timothy 2:15 seekers to find it. Something that requires time and patience as opposed to the world’s customary pharmacies. Guiding wisdom that when found requires submissive application, a letting go of the world’s education and exercise.

  Life issues that you’ll readily recognize, have experienced, or are experiencing: Anger, anxiety, aging well, alcohol and drug abuse, anorexia and bulimia, lack of boundaries, bullying, caregiving, conflict resolution, considering marriage, marriage, a critical spirit, chronic illness and disability, codependency, confrontation, decision making, defining authentic love, depression, domestic violence, dysfunctional family, envy and jealousy, financial freedom, forgiveness, friendship, gambling, grief, guilt, hope, loneliness, manipulation, overeating, parenting, perfectionism, procrastination, reconciliation, rejection, self-worth (as opposed to unhealthy ego-centric self-esteem), sexual integrity, singleness, spiritual abuse, stress, success through failure, suicide prevention, trials and tribulations, verbal and emotional abuse, victimization.

  All of the above list and more because God is love and He would not have us perish for the lack of wisdom.

  As ever, the choices are individually ours. (Rom.12:1-3) And beyond here and now for us and those watching, I believe the choices matter eternally.

EBB4

 

PS. Upon request I will provided where to find convenient Biblical summation of one or more life issues listed above.

SQUABBLING

 

CONTENTIOUS CONTINUOUS SQUABBLING

  2Corinthians [ESV] 5:11-21 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

  Jude 1:3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 

  Last evening I viewed a prime example of grown men enmeshed in rude contentious continuous squabbling. After 30 minutes I’d heard enough and switched to a comparatively more sensible sci-fi survival drama.

  During the televised debacle my thoughts turned to what saints as God’s ambassadors of reconciliation example should be. Contending for the faith, never belligerently contentious regardless of what the manner of others may be.

  Please pray with me for the juvenile combatants and that in these chaotic times we emulate them not.

EBB4

TRUSTING JEHOVAH IN PROSPERITY AND PANDEMIC

 

TRUSTING JEHOVAH IN PROSPERITY AND PANDEMIC

2Chronicles [MKJV] 16:12 And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, until his disease was very grievous. Yet in his disease he did not seek to Jehovah, but to the physicians. 

Asa     ā´sa (אסא, 'āṣā', “healer”; Ἀσά, Asá):

(1) A king of Judah, the third one after the separation of Judah and Israel. He was the son of Abijah and grandson of Rehoboam. Maacah, his mother, or rather grandmother, was daughter of Abishalom (Absalom) (1Ki_15:1). The first ten years of his reign were prosperous and peaceful (2Ch_14:1). He introduced many reforms, such as putting away the sodomites or male prostitutes, removing idols from holy places, breaking down altars, pillars and Asherim. He even deposed the “queen mother” because of her idolatrous practices, and of the image which she had made for Asherah (1Ki_15:12; 2Ch_14:3). Though the king himself, in the main, was a zealous reformer, his subjects did not always keep pace with him (1Ki_15:17). With an army of 580,000 he repelled an attack of Zerah, the Ethiopian, and routed him completely at Mareshah in the lowlands of Judah (2Ch_14:6). Directed and encouraged by Azariah the prophet, he carried on a great revival. Having restored the great altar of burnt offering in the temple, he assembled the people for a renewal of their covenant with Yahweh. On this occasion 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep were offered in sacrifice. For the next twenty years there was apparently great prosperity and peace throughout his kingdom, but in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, Judah was attacked by Baasha, king of Israel, at all times hostile to Judah (1Ki_15:32). Baasha continued to encroach and finally fortified Ramah as a frontier fortress. Asa, faint-hearted, instead of putting his entire trust in Yahweh, made an alliance with Ben-hadad, of Damascus. The Syrian king, in consideration of a large sum of money and much treasure from the temple at Jerusalem, consented to attack the northern portion of Baasha's territory. It was at this favorable moment that Asa captured Ramah, and with the vast building material collected there by Baasha, he built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah (1Ki_15:16-22). This lack of faith in Yahweh was severely criticized by Hanani the prophet. Asa, instead of listening patiently to this prophet of God, was greatly offended and enraged and Hanani was put in prison (2Ch_16:1-10). Three years later, Asa was attacked by gout or some disease of the feet. Here again he is accused of lack of faith, for “he sought not to Yahweh, but to the physicians” (2Ch_16:12). Having ruled forty-one years, he died and was buried with great pomp in a tomb erected by himself in the city of David, i.e. Jerusalem. On the whole his reign was very successful, but it is sad to chronicle that as the years rolled on he became less and less faithful to Yahweh and His law. [from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia]

  In reading and studying God’s Word this morning I’m reminded how easy it is to trust Him in healthy prosperous times and yet risk moving away in ill winds.

EBB4

 

 

LEARNING IN DISCOMFORT

 

LEARNING IN DISCOMFOR

  I like to learn new things, trying to do so every day. I learned that replacing a thermostat in a contemporary vehicle (99’ Ford Explorer 4.0 V6) is not so simple as it was with past ones; a matter yesteryear of removing two bolts or capscrews, taking out the faulty thermostat, scraping away the old cardboard gasket, popping in a new set with a smear of just-to-be-safe sealer compound, replace the fitting and two bolts, top off the anti-freeze, and drive. Not so simple or quick these days as there is much to remove in modern jam-packed engine compartments before finally arriving at thermostat area. This was then followed by another class: My watching brother Rick Parks demonstrating going through one+ hour step by step process of seeking why the heater/defroster fan would not work. (Computerized, thereby eliminating the simplicity of replacing a manual switch or connector.)

  Both learning experiences had with them a level of discomfort, including the balmy 21 degree Nebraska day.

  This is not to complain, for the value of our time together in the “Fellowship of the Fan”, plus the educating was important to us and our Lord as we’re loving one another. (Jn.13:34-35;1Jn.3:17-18; 2Pet.1:5-8)

  And then after the sun had set and I was inside recovering normal body temperature, along came brother Bryan Poole, excitedly sharing recent blessings in his life, but also unintentionally uncomfortably reminding me of what a wretched codependent I once was.

  Later, drifting off to sleep with sinuses pouring akin to Smith Falls waiting for Claritin’s effectiveness I recalled how much more I learn in and with discomfort than at ease. With this in mind I look forward to the classroom in a brother’s attic; The Fellowship of Fiberglass, for who knows what the Lord may teach us there?  EBB4 (Friday, February 20, 2009)

UNDER HIS WINGS

 Psalm [GW] 91:2-6 I will say to the LORD, "You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." He is the one who will rescue you from hunters' traps and from deadly plagues. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. His truth is your shield and armor. You do not need to fear terrors of the night, arrows that fly during the day, plagues that roam the dark, epidemics that strike at noon.  

WHO SECURES GOD'S SALVATION CONTRACT?

 

WHO SECURES THE SALVATION CONTRACT?

 

  God’s covenant promise of eternal salvation is absolute; believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved is plainly spelled out in Scripture. Not in the least to sound supportive of predestination, but because of security confusion on the part of some folks, I ask:

 

1. Does our trusting Him secure the salvation covenant?

 

2. Is God’s salvation agreement secured by our “hearing”?

 

3. Is eternal life secured by our ability to establish and keep faith?

 

4. Is salvation secured by a covenant between us and God?

 

5. Is salvation secured by a covenant between God and us?

 

  Believers’ security in guaranteed by none of the above. Salvation is secured by God on one side and God on the other. It is a covenant God made with Himself! (Heb.6:17-19) as Andrew Farley states, “We [believers] are the beneficiaries of a covenant we did not start and that we do not maintain or sustain. Therefore, God is the one Who makes certain that we continue in Him.” (2Tim.2:13; Heb.7:22, 25)

  As a believer we are secure. Knowing this and feeling so is also nice . . . relieving and empowering.

EBB4