Good Morning! 2010.06.04 - Psalm 37:23-24 - The Steps of a Good Man

Good Morning!

 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in

 

his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD

 

upholdeth him with his hand (Psalm 37:23-24).

 

My speech teacher, Mrs. Grace Greene, quoted verse 23 every morning for 4 ½ months. I memorized the next verse with it and have been meditating on those verses for over fifty years.

Can it be that the almighty God of the universe is ordering my steps? Can it be that He watches me as I walk and He notes every time I stumble and keeps me from making the worst out of my stupidity and wandering nature? The idea that the God of heaven is holding my hand is awesome! Just awesome!

When my children were barely beyond the toddler stage we sometimes walked in the yard or in a public park. We might go up or down some rough steps and I would say "You better let me hold your hand!" Invariably their response was "I can do it!" But how many times did their best plans fail them and they fell down and skinned a knee? In crossing a street it was my choice to hold their hand, not theirs. I cringe when driving along the road and a mother is walking along with a child, not holding the child's hand. One sudden impulse and the child could dash in front of the car and be dead.

The steps in this verse refer to our journey of life in general. The complicated cloth made up of threads of many origins. It suggests strongly not only guidance but also control. We do not know who is going to cross our path today. When the Twin Towers in New York were attacked on 911, several stories emerged of people who were sick that day, or had a doctor's appointment or had car trouble or traffic problems. Did God actually have anything to do with that? And why didn't everybody have a flat tire that day? You see how complicated this gets?

Good man. You will notice in your King James Bible that "good" is in italics which means the word was supplied by translators. They assumed that it was a particular kind of man who was guided by the Lord. A rebellious man, a man who is determined to live independent of God cannot expect and does not want to be guided by the Lord. He is his own god and doesn't want the God of Heaven telling him what to do. So, he's on his own to make a royal mess out of himself.

Ordered. This means established. Matthew Henry comments: "by the whispers of conscience, saying, This is the way, walk in it. He does not always show him his way at a distance, but leads him step by step, as children are led."

Delighteth in his way. Some believe that it is God who is delighted in the way His child is walking. But in the context it appears that the Christian is the one who is delighted in the way God his leading his steps. I take that view. Looking back over many years, I can see clearly the hand of the Lord in so many, many things. There was no voice from heaven "now hear this—now hear this!" In the Book of Esther the name of God does not appear even once. But no book of the Bible gives clearer evidence of the hand of God upon the lives of His own. And so it is that many times we cannot see the hand of God during the day, until it is over and we look back on it. We do not always recognize the significance of people crossing our path or of incidences occurring in a certain way.

Our verses for today are nothing short of awesome (which I have already said at least twice) in its implication. God has not confined His interacting with people to stories in the Bible. He is still at work today just as much as He was in Bible stories.

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  (Psa 373-:5)

 

To be removed from this mailing list, please click here. In the subject line type "remove."  ●To subscribe to this and other Encourager mailings, click here. In the subject line, type "subscribe." Please give your name and email address. ●Please set your spam system (contact list) to accept  encourager@biblewalking.com and  dan@dancarr.org.   ●Thank you for accepting our mail and passing it on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning! 2010.06.03 - 1Peter 5:7 - He Careth For You

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you (1Pe 5:7).

Does it ever cross your mind that the One who made this vast universe actually knows you and cares about you? Even if you are frail and sick, He cares about you. If you are facing surgery or cancer treatments or certain death: He cares about you. If you've lost your job; if the family is falling apart He cares about you.

"He careth for you" literally means that it matters to Him all the things that matter to you. Peter is talking about anxiety. The Lord Jesus said, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will rest you" (see Mat_11:28).

Paul tells us to worry about nothing. Worrying is to lack faith in God and … whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23). I must confess that this is one of the easiest sins in the world. I think some people may enjoy worrying about something. We feel threatened because we don't know how some things are going to turn out.

A small amount of risk is the key ingredient of adventure and is the opposite of security. We need to not know the outcome of some things. But there is a line that is crossed when we begin to dwell on the unknown and its threat to us. That is worry. One of my favorite choruses is: Why Worry When You Can Pray (A-flat).

One of my favorite songs is: Leave It There (Key of F)

If the world from you withhold of its silver and its gold. And you have to get along with meager fare. Just remember in His word, how he feeds the little bird; Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If your body suffers pain and your health you can't regain. And your soul is almost sinking in despair. Jesus knows the pain you feel. He can save and He can heal; Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

CHORUS:

Leave it there…leave it there. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out; Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

Another favorite song is: Take It to the Lord in Prayer. (Key of C)

If the road before you offers nought but toil and pain; If the sun is hidden by dark clouds of rain;If without a ray of hope your life is filled with care, Take it to the Lord in prayer.

CHORUS:

Many are the heartaches that will come to you, Keep your trust in Jesus, He will see you thru; Never will you find a friend so kind and true; Take it to the Lord in prayer.

A favorite chorus is: God Answers Prayer In the Morning.(Key of F)

God answers prayer in the morning; God answers prayer at noon.God answers prayer in the evening, so keep your heart in tune.

Good Morning! 2010.06.02 - Psalm 33:13 - Psalm 11:3 - If the Foundations Be Destroyed

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people Whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)

I agree with McGee who said: "This is still a good question to ask. Today the authority of the Word of God is being challenged on every hand. As I write, we have the "new morality," which is sin that the Bible has condemned from the very beginning. The problem is, What can the righteous do? I will tell you what they can do. [they can] Listen to the psalmist:"

And here is what the psalmist said:

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. (Psa 11:4-7)

God is going to have the last word. He will decide what "righteous and wicked" are. The popular thing today is to gather the opinions of books and media and entertainment and drunken parties and declare that we have pulled God off His throne. We will be God! We will tell God what to be if He wants people to follow Him. We are doing this individually, socially, educationally and politically.

We are on a political kick of rewriting the U. S. Constitution and inserting the myth of separation of church and state and through this we can put God things in a box and keep His ideas out of public schools and the public arena. Not so fast! I have read the Constitution many times and that doctrine is not in the Constitution. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice: William Rehnquist has said it is not there.

The Constitution is as un-read as the Bible is un-read. There is a separation of government out of churches in the Constitution but there is not one word about separation of churches out of government. It is simply not there. The idea of separation of church and state today as preached by the Supreme Court is to disavow our historical heritage and the basis of morality of the country.

All laws are about morality—without exception. They're about promoting good things and forbidding bad things by somebody's definition and that's the stuff of morality. It is for sure that morality is not pure science or applied science. What is good? What is bad? We're redefining morality that is enforced by government. Almost nothing is known today about the Founding Fathers or the Founding Documents of the United States which is the valid blueprint of all law and order.

But the politicians are only one group of society that is trying to do away with God. You, my friend, are part of the picture. Are you part of the problem or are you part of the solution?

God is not only the God of individuals—He is also the God of nations. The wages of sin is death and that holds true for individuals and holds true for nations. When you have the death of God, you also have the death of the nation. It is as certain as the law of gravity and Einstein's law of relativity. Let's face it! We cannot break the law of gravity nor can we break God's established laws of morality. Breaking God's laws will break us and break our nation. God is patient but His patience will not endure forever. God's people should remember the following ancient and up-to-date message from the Lord:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2Ch 7:14)