What if?

Regret is something that plagues today's society.  We look at the things we've done and we say "If only I had been wiser.  Smarter.  More patient.  There's SOMETHING I clearly missed."  I can't honestly say that regret is something that's biblically healthy.  However, reminiscing, or even reflecting upon the glory of God is something that most certainly is healthy.  David himself realized this and wrote innumerable times about how God had delivered him from the hands of the enemy.

Psalm 124:1-5: What if the Lord had not been on our side?  Let all Israel repeat: What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us?  They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.  The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us.  Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.

He knew it!  He not only knew his life wouldn't be the same without God, he knew exactly what would have happened.  He knew the tumult and the destruction of life would have completely overwhelmed his mortal soul.  But with God, and only from God, can we succeed from the dangers, destruction, death, and evils of this world.

Psalm 124:6-8: Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart!  We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap.  The trap is broken, and we are free!  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

Relief

Psalm 122:1-3: I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is a well-built city; its seamless walls cannot be breached.

How often are we truly enjoying the refuge of God? Like getting caught in a rainstorm, our first instinct is to head for shelter.  To get to SOMETHING that is away from the destruction of water.  It's funny to watch dozens of people try and cram themselves under one canopy in the city.  Their quickly fleeting hope that the are promised some of this shelter from the world falling down around them.  Well, I can say you are indeed promised shelter from your world falling down around you.

Ultimate what is best is our undying devotion and desire to run to God for shelter.   There is never "not enough room" and we are all comfortable at once under his shelter.

Psalm 121:5-8: The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.  The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.  The lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.  The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Great in All the Earth!

Isaiah 6 depicts a beautiful picture to us.  Like a horror scene where you back up and find yourself face to face with a psychotic man is the level of amazement of Isaiah.

"In a vision, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the skirts of His train filled the most holy part of the temple." (Isa 6:1)

The very fringes of his fabric FILLS the holiest parts of an already holy temple.  Like sustenance so potent even the crumbs fill the biggest of appetites.

"[The Seraphim] cried to another and said, "Holy, holy holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isa 6:3)

The entire EARTH is filled with his glory.  In the most real sense, if the understanding that a heavenly temple is filled with the glory emanating from the threads of God's robes is too lofty to understand, the whole tiny planet that will live on itself is full of His glory.

The Wilderness

Luke 1:80

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

It is in the wilderness where we grow.  It is apart from the noise, the banter, the distractions, the enveloping technological invasion and ultimately our comfort where God finds us as a barren child.  He finds us surviving off honey and clothed in the skins of animals that we must work to overcome.  Our food is guarded, our meals are scattered and our shelter comes only from toil and work.

It's where everything is stripped from us where God can prepare us.  From then, in His timing, we are revealed.  We are often not ready to be revealed.  A masterpiece still in the works, as we wait on the finishing touches, or maybe the middle ground, or maybe our first foundations.  If we were ready to be revealed, the celebration of the Lord's construction would have already taken place.

Only through the wilderness are we prepared.  Only in his timing are we revealed.  Only for His glory are we celebrated.

Lucrative

For most of us, the economy we find ourselves in seems to be failing.  Whether or not you're American, things haven't been going quite right on a global scale for a little while now.  Now between you and me, I've been offered 3 jobs in the past 3 months, one of which I never even applied for, so I don't personally see what the hoopla about this giant "depression" some people are calling it.  More importantly, I've been realizing lately the importance of money.  More specifically, valuables.  Which brings me to my point.

I've come across quite possibly the most challenging verse I've encountered in my short time following this Jesus guy.  Out of the few parts of the Bible we tend to skip over, that gruelingly long chapter of the Bible, Psalm 119 I would venture to say is one of them.  Not only in its length but in its content.  Being that I've been reading through the Psalms for quite a while now I'm not sure whoever wrote these words (if it really was Ezra like some people think, I'm coming for you buddy when I get to heaven).

2 - - Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.

14 - - I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches.

24 - - Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.

40 - - I long to obey your commandments!  Renew my life with your goodness.

47 - - How I delight in your commands!  How I love them!

72 - - Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver.

I have a problem with these verses.  The problem is that I can't do them.  I'm not joyful when I begrudgingly obey the speed limit, the fact that I know I could be making more money elsewhere, or being in love with any laws or commandments.  I'm a man; I'm in love with money, cars, and pretty girls.  Not that I truly know what love is concerning any of those matters.

Everytime I look at a dollar bill at this point I see that "In God we trust" and it reminds me.  When it comes down to it, all our fears, worries, sins, and failures all stem from the fact that we don't trust God enough.  We don't trust that when we give financially to God that he won't multiply it and bless us.  We don't trust that when we quit our job to go be foot soldiers of the gospel he will provide.  We don't trust that when we go on that date that he will either bring two special people together or protect our heart from those who don't need it.

The next time you reach for your wallet, your purse: In God we trust.  His words, his instructions are more valuable that millions in Gold or Silver.

Shalom, selah.  Andrew.

Hey, everything's right tonight.

Here's an excerpt from what God gave me today:

 - Praise the Lord!  I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.

 - Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.  High righteousness never fails.

 - He gives food to those who trust him; he always remembers his covenant

 - He has paid a full ransom for his people.  He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.  what a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!

 - When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in.  They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.

 - Such people will not be overcome by evil circumstances.  Those who are righteous will be long remembered.

 - They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.

 - They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.

So far this calender year and continuing on into the end of the summer, I'm looking at my best friend (the man to your left of me in the picture) moving from my home here in Virginia to Jacksonville, FL, along with numerous other friends whom have graduated college this semester, who happens to be getting married as well, along with numerous others whom I have spent a lot of time with over the past 4 years.

The #1 thing God has been teaching me lately is that if I'm not content where I am, I will not be content if something changes.  If I'm sitting at home lamenting I have nothing to do, then I will not be happy if somebody calls me to go to a party (the legit kind, not the drunken kinds, kiddos) or see a movie.  If I am with people and I'm not enjoying my time, I'm not going to be more content setting things on fire or shooting off fireworks with them.

Ultimately, if I'm not content coming home to an empty house, with no comfort, no conversation, and no warmth, when will I ever be content?

Today I was excited to come home.  If nothing else but the warmth of my bed and God-given rest, I was excited.  Maybe there's something inherently wrong with me (as I sit here with dress pants, a t-shirt and sandals on if any indication of my level of normalcy), but with nothing else to bank on for the rest of my life but what the wonderful fellowship I experience on Sunday mornings at Thomas Road and the camaraderie of the people I work with at Liberty University Online, I would say I'm content.

The most important part I would say in the contentedness I have found is trying to remember who God has made me.  It's also been the hardest part.  Amos Lee has a good addendum to this......

Sometimes we forget who we got, who they are.  Oh, who they're not.  There is so much more in love, than black and white.  Keep it loose child, gotta keep it tight. - "Keep it loose, Keep it tight"