"The Inward Part And Heart of a Man Are Unsearchable"

"They devise injustices, saying, 'We are ready with a we-conceived plot;' for the inward thought and the heart of man are deep."  (Psalm 64:6, NASB)

A more literal translation says, "They search out injustices, saying, 'We are complete with a well-conceived plot'....The inward part and the heart of a man are unsearchable."

A visit to the Wannsee Conference House is always very sobering.  Here on a very cold Tuesday afternoon, January 20, 1942, 15 high level German officials met for about an hour and a half-------- and changed the course of history.  While the statistics say that 6,000,000 Jews died in the Holocaust, the ultimate intent was for all 11,000,000 Jews of Europe to die; as Heydrich put it at the meeting, "no Jews, not one."  No passage in Holy Writ describes any better what took place in that beautiful villa, that very dark day in human history than our text.  Yet 73 years have passed since that fateful afternoon in a quiet, "peaceful," lakeside villa, and the, "injustices," are still in the earth.  "Well-conceived plot[s]," are continually conceived.  When one considers the, "injustices," the evil in the earth, one can only assent to, "the inward part and the heart of a man are deep (and) unsearchable." 
When we observe the evil in the earth, many ask, "Why?"  We can say that it is sin at work, and perpetrators of, "injustices," are of, "the evil one," and, of course, this would be correct.  Yet there is one very lingering truth which haunts us still.  Germany, as was the South in American history, "steeped in Christianity."  Both, however, reflected more a cultural version of Christianity than they did what the Bible calls, "the faith of Jesus."  One could possibly say that slavery and what happened at the "Wannsee Conference" are just the "froth on the cauldron" of human history. 

You and I too must beware of this diabolical, creeping temptation and possibility.  None of us is exempt.  I submit to you that only a continual, thorough reading, meditating study of the, "Words of God," can keep us from the evil of acculturation.  Germany and the American South have not been the only "culprits" throughout history.  And today, you and I have the same challenge which has faced the Followers of Jesus throughout history, viz., the rejection of the evils in any culture, and the embrace of the life style of the Kingdom of Heaven/God.  "Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth." (Revelation 3:10, ESV)

Father, in Jesus' Name, keep me from the deception of acculturation.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

There Are Still, "Bloodthirsty Men"

"Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloodthirsty men."  (Psalm 59:2)

This is not just a poetic utterance.  There were people after David who wanted blood, his blood, his death.  Psalms 56-60 from today's Psalms reading reveal the constant struggle of David just to stay alive, to survive attempts to do away with him, to kill him.

Since we arrived, I have really been experiencing a sense of the same evil of, "bloodthirsty men," and women here in Germany over 80 years ago.  It did not start 80 years ago, but it reached a zenith in the 1930s and '40s.  Our text is an example of a Covenant man, one who, "had God's heart," enduring intense persecution and attempted murder.  David did not get "special treatment."  Yet the mystery remains as to why some Followers of Jesus throughout the centuries have experienced so much more suffering and death than others.

One reason Paul said, "Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might," is that we, "may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places," every day of our lives.  We are really sensing the reality of this passage more than previous missions here in Berlin (also, see Daniel 10).  Whatever we face here or you face where you are right now, we have the same assurance as David, "The Lord is my light and my salvation....The Lord Jesus is the strength of my life...." 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that I am Yours and You are mine.  Amen.

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I think we started off a little too energetic.  After taking a couple of weeks to recover from the ice-slipping accident, and getting out of shape, yesterday, and a whole day at that on the streets, really got to me.  I know we can count on some of you praying for our "renewed strength."

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"No One Was Found Worth"------- Except

"So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.  But one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep.  Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open and loose its seven seals.'"  (Revelation 5: 1, 2)

"....the Lion of the tribe of Judah...has prevailed."  So fear not, John, or anyone else who thinks of Heaven and, "the Holy of Holies," or, "the Most Holy Place," and who thinks no one dare, "enter inside the Veil."  Jesus has, and all in Jesus have.

There is depth of eternal reality here which no man understands or can comprehend, but in which, however, we do so rejoice.   The only Worthy One, not only in Earth, but also in Heaven lives in you and me, any who live in moment by moment surrender to Jesus.  "....No one was found worthy"--------- but Jesus.  And the Good News is that all in Jesus, those who, "trust in, rely on, and cling to," Jesus are worthy with nothing less and no one less than Jesus, His Blood, His Righteousness.  And because, "there is therefore now no condemnation," their is also, "therefore now no," separation.   

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that where You are, "there I am also."  Amen.
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Arrived in Berlin this morning around 02:35 EST

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2