There Is Only "One Thing" Which Will See You Through Life

"And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD."  (Psalm 27:6)

David could "offer sacrifices of joy" and "sing praises to the LORD" in the midst of his enemies, because he had a life commitment and determination.  It is found in verse four-- "One thing I have desired...."  David was a "one-desire" person, and because of that "one desire," nothing could deter him from his faith, his confidence, and his absolute dependency upon the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was his "light and my salvation," and "the strength of my life."

You know enough about David's frailties and weaknesses to know that if he found this joy and praise in the midst of his struggles, you can also.  David was an adulterer and murderer who sank into deep depression over his sin.  He was betrayed by family and friends, accused falsely, the object of deadly jealousy, lost a wife, his first born, and, for a while, his "business."  Yet his head was "lifted up above" all of this and he could still say, "I will offer sacrifices of joy...and sing praises to the LORD"--------------------------- the Lord who is my Shepherd, My "One Thing" in life.

Father, in Jesus' Name, may You always be my "One Thing."  Amen.


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"Many Shall Run To and Fro"

"....Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." 

(Daniel 12:4)

 

I am sitting in a large chair at a Starbucks, people coming and going, "to and fro," lattes, coffee cakes, all mostly "to go."  Where are they going?  Why the hurry?  On my first Bible running trip to Eastern Europe, we stopped at an autobahn rest stop near Wurtzburg, Germany.  It was sort of like the old American "Howard Johnson's."  I asked for a coffee to go, and, bless her heart, the clerk had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.  When I finally got some sort of explanation through, she said, "Oh, no.  Sit down, enjoy."  The thought ran through my mind.  "May the German never get go mugs!"

 

It seems as though there is a definite connection between, "to and fro," and, "knowledge shall increase."  But this pursuit of "knowledge," the pursuit of faster and better has produced little which has benefited most of mankind.  It seems to me that we are just producing more and more self-centeredness and greed, a sort of Frankenstein Monster which has turned on us.  Even "ministry" needs to be bigger, better, and faster.  Frankly there is no better worship, no better preaching and teaching, or better churches now than there were when I grew up in the 40's and 50's.  (My Dad still holds the number one best sermon on The Cross of Jesus I have ever heard!)  Modern "speed" and technology will never improve the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit.

 

Try this.  Leave your go mug home tomorrow.  Don't get lunch at a "drive-through."  Take the time to watch and listen, maybe even with that person who seems to want to go on and on about nothing.  They may be a despondent Believer, or a desperate soul looking for Jesus.  Remember, "That person who brings [a person] back to God will have saved a wandering soul from death, bringing about the forgiveness of his many sins."  (James 5:20--LB)  I don't think a "runner" can do this.

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, in this "knowledge-shall-increase" culture, may my love for You and my fellow man be that which increases!  Amen. 

 

 

 

 

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Whose Will Prevails, Father's or Mine?

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (John 6:35)

The sixth chapter of John reveals one of the great, "I Am," claims of Jesus.  "I am the bread of life." But this, "I am," claim as well as all the others are not isolated from His relationship in our Father.  Everywhere Jesus went, "the will of Him Who sent Me," emanated from Him.

Everywhere you and I go today, "The will of Him who sent" Jesus should emanate from us, that is, unless we are going out to do our own will.  This should be a daily "reality check" for us.  Do I go out in my own will, my own purposes, seeking my own pleasure, identity, and goals, or do I go out under, guided, shaped, and motivated by "the will of Him Who sent me?"

There is nothing but frustration for the person whose life is his own.  There is nothing but blessing for the person whose life is Jesus Christ's.

Father, in Jesus' Name, Blessed Holy Spirit, constantly remind me that my life is not about me, but "the will of Him who sent me."  Amen.
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Please continue to pray for my brother, Sheldon, in Israel.


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