Optimism Resulting from Meditation

Optimism Resulting from Meditation

Every Christian battles against some type of sin. There is something in the life of the Christian that continually makes them aware of their deficiencies and their great need of grace.  I am a person who has battled with pessimism and negativity.  It is a strange thing for me and for years I just accepted that that is just the way the Lord made me.  However, as I was studying this summer through a few different studies, I made a discovery.  Pessimism and negativity are fruit sins in my life and the root of the problem is unbelief and selfishness.  I noticed that my unbelief caused me to have a low view of others, because at the heart of the matter I did not believe that God could accomplish certain things in some people’s lives.  I would then embrace the thought that it did not matter what I said or did that those people would not listen anyway.  I now see that my view was a fruit of unbelief.  I do not know whether a person will listen or not, but I know that God can make them listen and He can change their life through the means of His Word. Secondly, much of my complaining at home, church, and anywhere else was a result of me not getting my way.  The root of this sin is selfishness and now I see that I need to die to self and seek for God to get His way.  Lastly, instead of submitting to the thought that this is the way God made me, I decided to try something.  I decided to memorize and meditate upon the Word of God and ask Him to cut the root of my sins in order that the bad fruit would stop being produced. 

I put my mind and heart to Psalm 145:1-21 over the past month and the following are my abbreviated conclusions.

Here is what I am commanded to do:

1)   Extol and bless God

2)   Every day I must bless and praise God  

3)   I must search out the unsearchableness of God

4)   I must make known the acts of God to the next generation

5)   I must meditate on His character and works

6)   I must declare His greatness

7)   I must bless Him

8)   I must speak of His kingdom and tell of His power

9)   I must make known His deeds and the glorious splendor of His kingdom

10)I must look to Him (meaning trust Him fully)

11)I must call on Him in truth

12)I must fear Him

13)I must love Him

14)I must speak His praise

Here is the reason that I should continually do the above:

1)   He is worthy

2)   He is eternal

3)   He is BIG

4)   He is worthy (yes, this is twice)

5)   He is worthy (yes, this is three times)

6)   He is great

7)   He is famous, good, and righteous

8)   He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love

9)   He is good to all and His mercy is over all

10)He is glorious

11)He is omnipotent

12)He acts and He possesses an eternal kingdom

13)He is eternal

14)He is compassionate

15)He is the God of providence

16)He is the God of providence (yes, 2^ndtime)

17)He is perfect

18)He is attentive 

19)He is accessible

20)He protects and He is just

21)He is holy!

The actions/deeds/works of God are mentioned in Psalm 145:4 (2x), 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 (2x), 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20.

A month of meditation and memorization have had a profound affect upon my heart.  I do not know that I will be called an optimist anytime soon, but I know that my heart has been affected.  I feel that God has been chopping at the root of my sin and that bad fruit is falling off of the tree.  I am going to continue this process until I am convinced of victory. 

Whatever your sins may be.  Find a text that give clear revelation of the character of God and a text that speaks to the root of your sin and invest much time in meditation and memorization.  I know from experience now, that to complain while meditating on God’s Word that says, “Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever”, is very difficult to do.  The Psalmist says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). I think he is right.  Put it to the test and see if he is speaking the truth. 

Gospel reflection of the week:

First, let me say that my illustration is not even close to what happened to Paul, but perhaps the principle is the same.  The apostle Paul had some injustices happen to him in Acts 21. I bring this up because it seems in my day that people are always fighting for their ‘rights’ and getting angry when people do them wrong.  Even confessing Christians fall into this category many times.  People get angry at their neighbor because of loud music, un-mowed grass, shooting fireworks late at night, and etc.  People today seem to have something within them that makes them think that the world revolves around them and that if something happens contrary to what they deem right, then they are filled with anger at the person who went contrary to them.

What did Paul do?  He was converted for sure.  He loved Jesus.  He was concerned about men’s souls.  He preached the gospel.  He went on missions to preach the gospel.  In Acts 21 he receives a negative response to his preaching.  They ‘seized Paul’ and ‘dragged’ him out of the temple.  They sought to kill him.  They commenced to ‘beating him’.  He was ‘arrested’.  He was ‘bound with two chains’.  How did Paul respond to these injustices?  Paul said, “I beg you, permit me to speak to the people”.  With all the injustice his only desire was to make them aware of the gospel.  After he shared his testimony they were even more angry. 

There is no record that Paul ever tried to get even or to be recompensed for the wrongs that were done to him.  Paul’s view of God, the gospel, the souls of men, and eternity was of far more importance than personal rights.  

I learned this lesson on Wednesday night after church.  I had a burden for my neighbor and wanted to share with him.  He likes to look at the stars and has a telescope so I went over to view the moon and Saturn with him at about 9:30pm.  I wanted to share Psalm 19 with him.  I mentioned that I would come over about that time and he said that would be great.  On my way over to his house his dogs came out and one of them bit me. 

It is at this point I had to determine whether I should defend my rights, get angry, or deflect things away from my pain for the greater cause of my neighbor’s soul.  By the grace of God, I was able to control my anger and ended up spending a bit of time with my neighbor looking through a telescope.  Once the viewing process was done I was able to relay Psalm 19 and talk about General Revelation and Special Revelation.  I pray that God uses this scenario to soften my neighbors heart and that ultimately he and his family will come to know and worship King Jesus. 

Treasures Worth Hiding

Treasures Worth Hiding

            I suppose a definition of treasure should start our discussion.  Treasure – “Wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or horded . . . something of great worth or value . . . a person esteemed as rare or precious . . . a collection of precious things” (Webster’s Dictionary).  I would add that a treasure is that which is valuable to the person, but it may not be a treasure to someone else.  

When a man discovers his treasure he is filled with joy.  It is not often that treasures are found, but when they are there is much celebration and an immediate concern over protection.  I think of the old days where men sought for gold and when they found it they certainly rejoiced.  As soon as the found it they staked their claim, defended their mine, and were even willing to kill to keep others from stealing what they had discovered.  

            There are all types of treasure across the world.  What is a treasure to one may be junk to another, but whatever the treasure is, when a man finds it, he is certainly happy.  Whether it is rubies, gold, dollars, spouse, vehicle, house, popularity, IPhone, computer, or etc., men love to obtain their treasure. Funny thing about what people treasure. The majority of what men treasure is temporal, deteriorating, unsatisfying, and worst of all it is worthless on judgment day.  Jesus said of men’s treasure, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul” (Matthew 16:26 ESV)?  The wisest of men said, “And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil” (Ecclesiastes 2:10 ESV).  Solomon’s conclusion was that it was all vanity. 

            There is a treasure worth hiding and there is a great reason to hide it in the right spot.  The Psalmist tells us of a great treasure worth hiding.  “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalms 119:11 ESV).  The word translated ‘stored up’ in the Septuagint is the word ‘to hide’.  In the Hebrew text the word is ‘to hide or to treasure’.  The Psalmist is saying that he has stored, hidden, or treasured God’s Word in his heart. This word is used the following ways in other text.  “I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasuredthe words of his mouth more than my portion of food” (Job 23:12 ESV).  “The wise lay upknowledge” (Proverbs 10:14 ESV).  “My son, if you receive my words and treasureup my commandments with you,” (Proverbs 2:1 ESV).  “My son, keep my words and treasure upmy commandments with you;” (Proverbs 7:1 ESV).  

            The Word of God is to be found and treasured in the heart.  If a man believes God’s Word to be a treasure he will meditate and memorize that which has brought him great joy.  No man is willing to leave his treasure lying around for someone else to steal.  No gold miner leaves his gold lying around in the open.  No lotto winner leaves a million dollars on the dash of his car. Treasures are hidden, kept, and defended.  Men go to great pains to guard their treasure.  They put things in banks, pay money for security systems, buy guard dogs and guns, and they seek out clever places to hide things.  The Psalmist found the best hiding place ever, his heart. You could steal the Psalmist scroll and lock him in prison, but you could not take his treasure.  

            Let’s ask some probing question before dealing with the last line of this verse.  If your Bible, phone, and computer was taken away from you and you were thrown in jail, how much Bible would you have?  Sitting there in your cell, how much treasure would you have?  Could you quote to yourself more than John 3:16?  If you had a cellmate could you communicate your treasure to his lost soul?  Could you say to him, “The Bible says” and actually quote what it says?  Let’s press a little further.  What can you tell someone about hunting, fishing, internet, Facebook, sports, automotive, or lines from movies, from memory?  It is a bit strange how much the mind can remember about the things we treasure.  It is a bit strange how well the mind works upon subjects that make us happy.  The mind is capable of great masses of memory over what the heart finds great pleasure in. The Psalmist found that his heart was most satisfied when it contained the most Scripture.  Have you ever memorized a verse, a passage, a chapter, or a book of the Bible?  People ask me how I can ride a bicycle 100 miles without stopping and I tell them that I started by riding one mile.  How can a man memorize a book of the Bible?  He does it one verse at a time!

            A host of Biblical reasons can be given for memorizing Scripture, but here the Psalmist gives us one very good one.  Scripture should be stored, hidden, or treasured in the heart so that you may not sin against God.  Sin is black, ugly, abominable, shameful, wicked, and anyone who loves what is good, hates what is evil.  Sin is at the foundation of why the Son of God was slaughtered on Calvary.  Sin is the very thing that separates men from God. Sin is the very thing that brought the curse and leads men to eternal hell.  Sin is offensive to God, hated by God, punished by God, and sin brings about the unmitigated wrath of God.  The Psalmist knew this about sin and that is why he was concerned about sin.  He wanted a way to prevent himself from sin. One of the ways that he discovered to prevent sin in his own life was to store, hide, or treasure God’s Word in His heart.  The Psalmist attributes Scripture memory to the prevention of sin.  

            If the root of your sin is pride, unbelief, or selfishness you could begin by asking God what He has to say about these sins.  You could memorize verses that say something like the following. “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proudbut gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 ESV).  “So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:19 ESV).  “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old selfwith its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9–10 ESV).  Store verses like these in your heart and remind yourself that these are the types of things God has to say about these sins.  It becomes more difficult to be prideful when your heart keeps telling you that God opposes the proud.  

            The above examples were illustrations that deal with sinful areas, but I would also encourage you to memorize verses that bring comfort, encouragement, resolve, and most assuredly verses that clarify the gospel. Scripture memory ought to be a large part of your Christian life.  Scripture memory takes work, time, and discipline.  You will have to turn off the TV, phone, computer, and intentionally devote your time to meditation upon the Word of God.  I can give a long list of reasons that you ought to devote yourself to Scripture memory, but I will stay with the Psalmist and say in summary form, “If the Word is your treasure you will hide it your heart and you will do so because you do not want to sin against such a great and holy God.”

Bicycle wreck and a great daughter

On July 23rd I was riding my bicycle down the highway.  I had ridden 27 miles and was about 6 or 7 miles from home.  I was having a good day and enjoying the morning ride.  Without any warning a 3/4 ton 4X4 truck came across the white stripe and hit me in the back.  The truck was traveling at about 60 mph.  I was launched into the air and then down to the pavement.  I slid for quite a distance on the pavement and lost a lot of skin.  The collision broke my bicycle in the middle, broke my wrist, damaged my ribs on both sides, twisted my ankle, hurt my shin and my knee on the left side, put bruises on legs, back, back of both arms, and truly impacted me emotionally as I thought through what happened.  The people who saw the accident all believed I was dead.  However, by the grace of God I am still alive.  I have been in pain for 8 days now and operating at a very reduced level.

This event has taught me a lot and I know that God has had and will continue to have great purposes to come from it.  The greatest impression that I had was the realization of the brevity of life.  My life is a vapor and soon it will be gone.  Secondly, it has reminded my once again of the value of family, friends, and certainly the church body.  Third, in the midst of pain and shock it is still right to preach the gospel to the ambulance personnel, highway patrols, firetruck personnel, paramedics, the guy who hit me, the people who stopped to check on me, and to anyone else who was listening that day.  Lastly, it has taught me that people actually do care and love me.  This has been the most humbling of all.  It has greatly impacted me for people to check on me, come by and pray for me, bring me food, and simply to write things that have blessed my heart.

I am thankful that God caused a truck to run over me in order to teach me these lessons.  I certainly do not ever want to experience this again, but I am thankful and I know without a shadow of a doubt that my God does all things well.

And to finish this article I would like to add what my daughter wrote about this event.  I love my daughter and what she writes shows her love for me:

"The bicyclist you just joked about running over for points, he has a wife that loves and depends on him. The bicyclist you just swerved, yelled, or threw your trash at; he has children, some that haven't even graduated yet, a young daughter that deserves to have her dad walk her down the aisle someday. The bicyclist that you just ran over with your truck at 60 mph because you weren't paying attention, he has a newborn granddaughter that hasn't met him yet. Please share the road. I know it tests your patience, but cyclists are people and their lives matter to many." (Samantha) 

The Voice of the Offended Preacher

In the last few years and especially the last months it seems that the whole world is offended.  Flags are being removed, equal rights are shouting their views, a Confederate Soldier Memorial is vandalized in Denton Texas because it expresses Racism, politicians are apologizing for statements, people are infuriated because a cake baker will not bake a cake for certain people, and on and on and on and on and on it goes.  To quote the old line, "Where it stops nobody knows."

Well for anyone who cares to read my rant I just want to go on record that I am OFFENDED by the following (they are in random order as they come to mind):
Abortion
Alcohol sales
Homosexuality
Bad language in the public schools, public park, stores, and public events
Loud music
Country music
Gothic dress
Adultery
Drugs
People using the middle finger while driving
Texting while driving
People skipping church for worldly things
The gospel being watered down
Shallow music in the church
Facebook
People using electronics while I am preaching
Arminianism
Pre-tribulation dispensationalist
Women preachers
Boys wearing earrings
Parents who will not use a belt on their kids bottom
Tattoos
Transgenders
And, I am offended at people who are offended by what I am offended about!

Just for the record, so as to bring some clarity to my position.  I am a preacher of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the only way to heaven.  Jesus is fully God and fully man.  Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and brought forth by a virgin.  Jesus is sinless.  Jesus is the judge of the universe.  Jesus will throw some people into hell and He will escort His elect into His Kingdom.  Jesus used words like hell, wrath, judgment, repentance, and He used them often.  Jesus excludes Muslims, Buddhist, New Agers, Atheist, Agnostics, Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and every other works based religion that does not repent and honor Him alone as the only Lord and Savior of sinful man. "Do you take offense at this?" (John 6:61)  Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." (John 6:65)

I will continue to preach that the sinless Son of God came to give His life as a ransom for many.  He died on the cross of Calvary as a substitute for sinners.  He absorbed the fullness of the wrath of God in the place of the elect.  He took the sinfulness of man upon Himself and imputed His perfect righteousness to all who repent and believe.  He rose from the dead on the third day.  He was seen after the resurrection by over 500 people at one time.  He has commanded all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel.  Those who do will be gloriously saved and those who do not will be forever damned.

If what has been said in this blog is offensive, then REPENT.

Tithing

Tithing

I continue to run across people today that say that ‘tithing’ is not to be practiced in our day and time.  They claim that tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament and that it has passed away with the old covenant.  Is this true?  These well meaning people emphasize that giving is a matter of the heart and that God blesses a cheerful giver.  They claim that when giving is done in the church it ought to be out of a love for the Lord and not simply a duty that must be obeyed.  They claim that to encourage tithing is to fall into legalism.  The people who claim tithing to be a form of legalism are usually the same people who do not think that the 4^th commandment is still valid.  If we put both of these thoughts together we end up with a group of people who rebel against the Sabbath and rob the local church of the necessary funds to do the work that God has called the church to do. 

First, I would like to say that I agree with God blessing a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).  In many ways the teaching of the NT should compel one to give far and above the 10 percent mark.  According to the NT it would be good to sell all one has and give it to the poor.  If all the saints would give with a full and joyful heart the things that could be done for missions would greatly increase overnight.  However, does the truth of a cheerful heart negate the reality that the saints ought to tithe 10 percent?  Second, if there is one thing I know about the people of the 21^st century it is that most people are undisciplined.  In order for a person to tithe 10 percent each and every paycheck, they will need discipline, faith, and a resolve towards the things of God.  God gave us such a discipline to guard our hearts against materialism, selfishness, and forgetfulness.  When people do not tithe they readily spend money upon the material.  When people do not tithe they immediately begin to believe that all the money they possess belongs to them.  Thus, if they feel like it they will give a bit of it to the church.  When people do not tithe they forget to trust God and be dependent upon Him for all things.  

When Jesus is pronouncing judgment upon the Pharisees we find that He acknowledges the necessity ἀποδεκατόω (to tithe, collect a tithe).  In Matthew 23:23 Jesus once again calls the Pharisees ὑποκριτής (hypocrites, actors, pretenders).  They are acting one way and then doing another.  They are saying one thing and doing the opposite.  They get one side right and the other side wrong.  The side that they get right is that they ἀποδεκατόω (to tithe, collect a tithe).  The side that they get wrong is that they ἀφίημι (to leave, depart, neglect) matters that carry more weight than tithing.  They have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  They should have done these last three as well if not more so than the tithing that they were doing.  Notice what Jesus is saying in the last sentence of verse 23.  The English phrase from the ESV is “These you ought to have done.”  In Greek He uses δεῖ which means, “To be under necessity of happening, it is necessary, one must, one has to.”  Jesus is saying, “It is absolutely necessary for you to practice justice, mercy, and faithfulness.”  However, you should not ἀφίημι (to leave, depart, neglect) the tithing mint, dill, and cumin.  

In one verse Jesus has shown that tithing is valid and should be practiced and at the same time shown the importance of justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  Notice, Jesus did not say, “You do not need to tithe anymore since we are in a new covenant.”  He simply says that Christians must practice justice, mercy, and faithfulness without neglecting tithing. 

I am sure that there are those who will not be convinced about tithing by my very short article, but do not tell me tithing is not in the NT.  For those who have the audacity to say that it is only one verse, I would reply and say that one verse is certainly enough.  I would also let you know that this is not the only verse on tithing in the NT, but I will let you try to find the others.   

Reading

ἀναγιγνώσκω - "To read something that is written or inscribed, read" (BDAG).  This word is used 32 times in the New Testament.  7 times in the gospel of Matthew Jesus is asking, "Have you not read?" in reference to the Old Testament.  Out of the 7 times this word is used in Acts, 5 of them are in reference to reading in the Old Testament.  In Thessalonians and Revelation the word is used in reference to public reading in the church.  

In the book of revelation this word is used under the heading of those who would be blessed by God.  Those who are blessed are those who "continually read," "continually hear," and "continually keep" what is written in the book.  

Reading seems to be a lost art in our world today in light of TV, movies, and electronic fascination.  There is a tremendous loss for those who do not read on a regular basis and it cannot be recovered by any other means.  Reading is one of those things that cannot be duplicated by some other technique.  Reading is one of the greatest blessings that a person can engage in.  Reading exposes people to the gospel, to the beauty of Christ, the wonder of the atonement, the history of the church, the future of the church, the immanent return of Christ, etc.  Reading allows people to sit at the feet of Owen, Watson, Bunyan, Swinnock, Spurgeon, Edwards, Morris, Beale, Carson, MacArthur, and a host of others.  

Reading is a discipline.  Reading is a reward.  Reading is an adventure.  Reading is an exposure.  Reading is one of the greatest privileges of the Christian faith.  

I ran across the following quote and pass it on for you to READ:

Keep on Reading

Even if I don’t read as many books as others, I still read. If I’m not reading, I’m relying on my memory which seems to be decreasing daily. So I read. I once heard someone say that books don’t change people--sentences do. If I glean two or three sentences from a book that affect the way I think and the way I live, that’s time well invested. So I read. Books give me the opportunity to learn from and about godly, bright, insightful people I’ll never meet. So I read. What I know will always be dwarfed by what I don’t know. So I read. Books help me become more effective at what I do. So I read.

- Bob Kauflin

Have you READ lately?