GLOOM, DESPAIR AND AGONY ON ME…

Posted on January 6, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Years ago, a tv variety show was introduced basically so country singers could have a platform to promote their music to the general public.  From the show HeeHaw, a little country humor was thrown in between the country songs.  Every week, two “good ole’ boys, dressed in overalls, would sing:

Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me

And then they would both spit “raspberries” with their mouths. Yeah, not so high class, but we all laughed as kids for the first few times.  Then it got old.  Very old. 

Is that what the psalmist is singing in today passage?  At first read through, all we hear is darkness and despair.  Going a bit deeper, we learn that this is the last “sons of Korah” psalm in the Psalms and is perhaps the most plaintive song in the entire book. In the Hebrew text, the psalm ends with the word hoshek, “darkness,” and there is no closing note of triumph as in other psalms that begin with pain and perplexity.  What is up with that?

The psalm speaks of darkness, life in the depths, the immanence of death, feelings of drowning, loneliness, and imprisonment.  I wonder if a pandemic was going on at the time?  Heman was a servant of God who was suffering intensely and did not understand why, yet he persisted in praying to God and did not abandon his faith. Not all of life’s scripts have happy endings, but that does not mean that the Lord has forsaken us. 

From Heman’s experience, as recorded in this psalm, we can discover four instructions to follow when life falls apart and our prayers seemingly are not answered; 

COME to the Lord by faith.  Be honest in prayer no matter what is going on.  Heman had trusted the Lord to save him, and the fact that he prayed as he did indicates that his faith was still active. No matter how we feel and no matter how impossible our circumstances, we can always come to the Lord with our burdens.

TELL the Lord how you feel.  He already knows, but if you need a sounding board the best person to tell how you honestly feel is One who can take it.  Telling someone else just brings them down and you still don’t have a solution.  Only God knows and can help.

DEFEND your cause before the Lord.  Heman’s argument is simply that his death will rob God of a great opportunity to demonstrate His power and glory.  Sometimes, when I don’t know what to pray when life is threatened, I simply pray, may Your Glory be seen in this.  God answers that prayer beyond our wildest imaginations. 

WAIT for the Lord’s answer.  This is the toughest one of all.  We cry out, “how long, O God?” many times in our own prayers while waiting of God’s answer and best timing.  Sometimes waiting is the only thing we can do, right?  So, what do we learn in the wait?  God’s best lessons of faith are taught in the wait.  “Be still and know that I am God” comes to mind.  Be still means to let go and give it all to God with faith knowing that He will intercede.  I have discovered that it is in giving up completely but I find God works His wonders.  Mm.

So, it seems this psalm of doom, despair and agony has given us an encouraging lesson about our faith.  What do you think?  Gloom or Gladness?

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 88, The Message

A Korah Prayer of Heman

1-9 God, you’re my last chance of the day.
    I spend the night on my knees before you.
Put me on your salvation agenda;
    take notes on the trouble I’m in.
I’ve had my fill of trouble;
    I’m camped on the edge of hell.
I’m written off as a lost cause,
    one more statistic, a hopeless case.
Abandoned as already dead,
    one more body in a stack of corpses,
And not so much as a gravestone—
    I’m a black hole in oblivion.
You’ve dropped me into a bottomless pit,
    sunk me in a pitch-black abyss.
I’m battered senseless by your rage,
    relentlessly pounded by your waves of anger.
You turned my friends against me,
    made me horrible to them.
I’m caught in a maze and can’t find my way out,
    blinded by tears of pain and frustration.

9-12 I call to you, God; all day I call.
    I wring my hands, I plead for help.
Are the dead a live audience for your miracles?
    Do ghosts ever join the choirs that praise you?
Does your love make any difference in a graveyard?
    Is your faithful presence noticed in the corridors of hell?
Are your marvelous wonders ever seen in the dark,
    your righteous ways noticed in the Land of No Memory?

13-18 I’m standing my ground, God, shouting for help,
    at my prayers every morning, on my knees each daybreak.
Why, God, do you turn a deaf ear?
    Why do you make yourself scarce?
For as long as I remember I’ve been hurting;
    I’ve taken the worst you can hand out, and I’ve had it.
Your wildfire anger has blazed through my life;
    I’m bleeding, black-and-blue.
You’ve attacked me fiercely from every side,
    raining down blows till I’m nearly dead.
You made lover and neighbor alike dump me;
    the only friend I have left is Darkness.

TRUTH:  The only true Friend we have in the gloom and darkness times of our lives is God who sheds His light and dispels the darkness.  Be still, wait and watch God do what only God can do!

Proverb 27:1, The Message

WISDOM: “Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.”

Abba Father,

We don’t know what tomorrow holds but we know who is in charge of all our tomorrows.  Great are You, Lord!  I love how you love us.  I love how you work.  You have helped me through many dark times, transforming my life little by little.  All my hope, faith, trust is in You alone because of my love for You.  Continue to do what You must in me—but be gentle.  Show me the way I should go and I will walk it.  Lead my every thought and action with your wisdom.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD’S HOMETOWN

Posted on January 5, 2021 by randscallawayffm

Even though we have lived away from our hometown for almost three decades, we still say “we are originally from Oklahoma”.  We were born there, grew to adulthood, married and birthed three children in our hometown.  Randy and I taught elementary school in our hometown before going into ministry.  God led us to pastor the church we grew up in even though others advised against that at the time.  Our mentor affirmed what God was doing in us in our hometown, however, and advised to stay for “such a time as this”, so we did.  Then God led us to leave for ministry assignments elsewhere.  So, we left our physical hometown. 

There are things you miss from your hometown adventures.  For us, it’s eating Braum’s ice cream in warmer weather.  When you make visits back to your hometown, the first activities on the agenda are eating the foods you miss, going to places that bring pleasant memories or looking up former friends that grew up with you and remained in your hometown.  Memories usually get better with age.  (Smiling.) 

God’s hometown on earth, the city of Jerusalem, is described by the psalmist as the place he loves to dwell for it is the place His people come to be reborn, recommitting their love for Him!  But let’s take a closer look for understanding.  The writer was not indulging in arrogant nationalism but only seeking to glorify the God of Israel and the blessings He bestows.

The psalm must be read on two levels. It is a prophecy of the future kingdom, when all nations will come to Jerusalem to worship (86:9; Isa. 2:1-5), and it is also a picture of the heavenly Zion where the children of God have their spiritual citizenship (Luke 10:20; Gal. 4:21-31; Phil. 3:20-21; Heb. 12:18-24).  Old and New Covenants come together in this simple psalm of praise to God where all are saved from death by believing that He is who He says He is. 

He is God and we are not.  No one loves like our God.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).  When we believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died to redeem us, we are reborn and adopted as God’s children to live in His “hometown” of heaven with Him forever! 

GOING DEEPER STILL…

Warren Weirsbe, Commentator, helps to understand the connection between Zion and God’s eternal “hometown”. 

“David chose Jerusalem for his capital city (2 Sam. 5:6-10), and the Lord validated that choice by putting His temple there. The nation of Israel was to be separate from the other nations both politically (Num. 23:9) and geographically. That is why God called Jerusalem “my city” (Isa. 45:13) and “the Holy City” (Isa. 48:2; 52:1) and Zion “my holy mountain” (Isa. 11:9; 56:7; 57:13). It is “the joy of the whole earth … the city of the great King” (48:2).

It is His foundation from which He has built His great work of redemption (Isa. 14:32). “Salvation is of the Jews,” said Jesus (John 4:22); and were it not for Israel, the world would not have the knowledge of the true and living God, the inspired Scriptures, or the Savior. Jesus died and rose again outside the walls of Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit descended on the church meeting in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and it was from Jerusalem that the early Jewish believers scattered to carry the gospel to the nations.”

Jerusalem is God’s hometown on earth.  Jerusalem was not only the temple of the true God, but also the throne of David, and it would be the Davidic line that would give us the Savior, Jesus Christ. In the end times, Jerusalem will be a center of controversy and conflict, but the Lord will rescue His beloved city (Zech. 12:1–13:1). But the prophets have written some “glorious things” about the future Jerusalem, and the apostles have written even more glorious things about the heavenly Jerusalem!

The emphasis in all three verses is on birth, indicating that the people who enter the future glorious kingdom will experience a “new birth” and belong to the family of God. Like Paul, they will be citizens by birth (Acts 22:25-29) and not by purchase. The phrase “them that know me” indicates more than an intellectual appreciation of the Lord. It describes a personal relationship with Him, like that of husband and wife (Gen. 4:1; 19:8; 1 Sam. 2:12; 3:7).

WHOEVER BELIEVES…

As citizens of Zion and the children of God, the Jews and Gentiles not only live together, but they also sing together and play musical instruments as they rejoice in God’s blessings. Be born again into the Kingdom of God.  “Believe and you will be saved”…(Acts 16:31)  Every person is invited to God’s hometown and claim it as their own! 

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 87, The Message

A Korah Psalm

87 1-3 He founded Zion on the Holy Mountain—
    and oh, how God loves his home!
Loves it far better than all
    the homes of Jacob put together!
God’s hometown—oh!
    everyone there is talking about you!

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4 I name them off, those among whom I’m famous:
    Egypt and Babylon,
    also Philistia,
    even Tyre, along with Cush.
Word’s getting around; they point them out:
    “This one was born again here!”

5 The word’s getting out on Zion:
    “Men and women, right and left,
    get born again in her!”

6 God registers their names in his book:
    “This one, this one, and this one—
    born again, right here.”

7 Singers and dancers give credit to Zion:
    “All my springs are in you!”

TRUTH:  God’s loves his hometown but He loves His created even more!  Believe, love God back, begin a seriously committed relationship with the God who loves us beyond human capabilities.  Believe and God’s hometown is ours, too!

Proverb 27:19, The Message

“As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”

WISDOM: “Hometown” is where the heart is. 

Abba Father,

We ponder the memories of our hometown and they cannot compare to residing in the hometown of your salvation and redemption.  Thank you, Jesus, for the invitation to dwell in Your Presence, seek Your wisdom, and to live as a member of Your family forever.  Thank you for hope, joy, and peace through good times and bad.  Thank you for loving us the way you do.  Thank you for helping us grow in our relationship with you as “joint heirs” in your forever hometown Kingdom.  There is no one like You.  Great are you Lord.  Praise will forever be on my lips for I have been reborn into your hometown!  Thank you, Lord.  If home is where the heart is then I’m home with you.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD IS NO QUITTER!

Posted on January 4, 2021 by randscallawayffm

When life gets too hard, we quit.  When someone hurts our feelings, mocks us or ignores us, we quit, sulk and walk away.  When our work becomes too challenging, requiring more learning, we quit to find a work that is easier.  When a spouse doesn’t please or “meet our needs”, we quit working on the relationship and turn to someone else who we think will make us happier.  When a restaurant serves us in a manner that displeases us, we quit going there.  No second chances from us to be had! When someone betrays us, we hold a grudge and ban them from our lives forever. When someone gets angry at us and tells us their love for us is over, we quit loving them and everyone else like them.  Quitting for humans in a world that tells us to “have our own way” is easy and even acceptable. 

Quitting is our mantra–unless we know the God who never quits and never gives up on us!

David’s psalm offers high praise to the God who never quits!  Let’s read this passage over and over until we can list all the ways God never quits!  This is a great exercise for us.  If we really believe that what we believe about God is really real, we will want to be who He wants to be and do what He wants us to do.  Jesus, God’ Son, came to earth to show us God’s never quitting love, mercy and grace.  Jesus, the supreme example of never quitting until our lives were redeemed, taught us how to live a never quitting life of love.  Like the prophet of God Micah repeated from God Himself, we are required to live this life “doing what is right, loving mercy, while walking humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8, paraphrased.)  There is no mention in God’s Word that states we are to quit loving or doing what is right while walking with God.

In fact, for further clarification, Paul writes, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  (Galatians 6:9) That “harvest” describes lost people, seekers of hope, who need help finding and following Jesus, the Source of everlasting, never quitting love, hope, peace in good times and bad, mercy and grace.  Jesus invites us to His work to tell His story while pointing the “harvest” of souls to Him to be saved from death. 

God never quits.  “God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!”

“O God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit.”  Thank you. 

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 86, The Message

A David Psalm

86 1-7 Bend an ear, God; answer me.
    I’m one miserable wretch!
Keep me safe—haven’t I lived a good life?
    Help your servant—I’m depending on you!
You’re my God; have mercy on me.
    I count on you from morning to night.
Give your servant a happy life;
    I put myself in your hands!
You’re well-known as good and forgiving,
    bighearted to all who ask for help.
Pay attention, God, to my prayer;
    bend down and listen to my cry for help.
Every time I’m in trouble I call on you,
    confident that you’ll answer.

8-10 There’s no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord,
    and nothing to compare with your works.
All the nations you made are on their way,
    ready to give honor to you, O Lord,
Ready to put your beauty on display,
    parading your greatness,
And the great things you do—
    God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!

11-17 Train me, God, to walk straight;
    then I’ll follow your true path.
Put me together, one heart and mind;
    then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.
From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord;
    I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to.
You’ve always been great toward me—what love!
    You snatched me from the brink of disaster!
God, these bullies have reared their heads!
    A gang of thugs is after me—
    and they don’t care a thing about you.
But you, O God, are both tender and kind,
    not easily angered, immense in love,
    and you never, never quit.
So look me in the eye and show kindness,
    give your servant the strength to go on,
    save your dear, dear child!
Make a show of how much you love me
    so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed,
As you, God, gently and powerfully
    put me back on my feet.

TRUTH:  Our Father in Heaven never quits.  He never quits loving us, being with us, protecting us, providing for us and teaching us.  God is always at work in those who love Him back.  Love God.  Love like He loves us.

Proverb 26:13-15, The Message

Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there!
    Tigers are prowling the streets!”
    and then pull the covers back over their heads.

14 Just as a door turns on its hinges,
    so a lazybones turns back over in bed.

15 A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie,
    but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.

WISDOM:  Loafers quit, run and hide.  Believers never quit and run to the battle that God is fighting for us and with us.

Abba Father,

O Lord, I am so glad you never gave up on me.  Your love is amazing, relentless and unchanging in depth and breadth.  I fall and you are always there to snatch me from the fire that could burn me forever.  Always is a good word in our language to describe you.  You always love, even when we feel unlovable.  You always protect.  You always show us mercy and kindness.  You always provide just what we need before we know we need it.  Thank you, Lord.  Continue to work on me and teach me to never quit loving and showing mercy.

In Jesus Name, Amen

And we’re singing…

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me…

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RESTORATION—RISING FROM THE ASHES

Posted on January 3, 2021 by randscallawayffm

This psalm was probably written after the Jewish people returned to their land following their seventy years of captivity in Babylon (Jer. 29). The Scottish preacher George H. Morrison said, “The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings,” and he is right. It is a sin to disobey God and fall, but it is also a sin to stay fallen. We must always make a new beginning, and this psalm gives us some instructions that we can follow after times of failure and chastening.

First, Give Thanks to God!  Jeremiah had told the people that their captivity would last seventy years and that then the Lord would restore a remnant to the land (Jer. 29). God protected the people as they made the long journey home. He forgave their sins and gave them a new beginning, and for this they thanked the Lord (Isa. 40:1-2). When we turn back to God, repent, and confess our sins, He turns back to us and restores us.

Ask God for Renewed Life. It is one thing for the nation collectively to have a new birth of freedom, but there must also be changes in individuals. The praise begun in verses 1-3 now becomes prayer from the hearts of the people. I am reminded of the God’s direction and desire to restore us from 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  God’s desire is to restore our relationship with Him!

“Turn [restore] us” is the burden of their prayer. It has well been said that a change in geography will never overcome a flaw in character. The return of the people to the land was no guarantee that all of them had returned to the Lord. Establishing the nation, rebuilding the temple, and restoring the liturgy would not guarantee God’s blessing on His people. They desperately needed His life at work within them.

Same here today.  We complain and cry out for this deadly virus that is wreaking havoc, holding us “captive” of our once self-made lifestyles to cease.  Even when it does, or is controlled by a vaccination, what will we have learned through the struggle of mask wearing and isolation?  We can go back to church, “back to what was”, and not have learned anything in the circumstance.  The virus did not come from God, but God used the life altering situation to restore what was lost in His people—if we allowed Him.

New life is not something that we manufacture ourselves; new life can come only from the Holy Spirit of God. God gave a special message about this to Haggai (Hag. 2:1-9) and also to Zechariah (Zech. 4:6).

Listen to God’s message to us.  “I can’t wait to hear”, (verse 8) suggests that the worship leader or a prophet stepped forward and said, in effect, “Now it is time to be silent before God and listen for His message to us for this hour.” God and His people were now reconciled, and He was speaking peace to them (Jer. 29:11).  The task of God’s people is to fear God and glorify Him (v. 9).

In verses 10-13, the Lord announced future blessings that He would send if His people continued to walk with Him. Righteousness and peace–attributes of God–are personified and would “kiss” each other, for the warfare would be over. 

There is a glimpse here of the Person and work of Jesus Christ, for only in Him can mercy and truth become friends, for if you tell the truth, you may not receive mercy! But the blessing changes the people, for truth springs up from the earth! God’s people are faithful and walk in the truth. The psalmist described a world of holiness and harmony, a picture of the coming kingdom over which Christ shall reign. And what a harvest there will be, not only of food necessary for survival (Hag. 1:3-11) but also of heaven-sent blessings that will bring joy to the land. As people walk through the land, God’s righteousness will go before them, and their way will be prepared. God’s will shall be done on earth just as it is now done in heaven.

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

A Korah Psalm

85 1-3 God, you smiled on your good earth!
    You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
    you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
    you cooled your hot, righteous anger.

4-7 Help us again, God of our help;
    don’t hold a grudge against us forever.
You aren’t going to keep this up, are you?
    scowling and angry, year after year?
Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
    Then your people will laugh and sing!
Show us how much you love us, God!
    Give us the salvation we need!

8-9 I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say.
    God’s about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
    so they’ll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
    Our country is home base for Glory!

10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
    Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
    Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
    our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
    and clears a path for his passage.

TRUTH: “Right Living strides out before him and clears a path for His passage.”  “If my people who are called by My Name…”

Proverb 26:1, The Message

We no more give honors to fools
    than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.

WISDOM:  Do not honor, envy or ask fools to lead us to foolish living.  Seek wisdom.

Abba Father,

I repent of complaining while you are shaping me, knocking off all the rough edges, and molding me for your good and perfect will.  I give you my life.  I repent of foolish thinking and holding grudges against those who mock me.  I call on You to renew the joy of your salvation in me.  I ask for wisdom from You.  I pray for insight and understanding for those are the skills for right living.  Continue to mature your character traits in me.  It’s tough work and only you can do it.  I love you with all that is in me.  I need you every hour.  Restore us.  Heal us.  Save us.

In Jesus Name, Amen

And we’re singing…

By Your spirit I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King, is resurrecting me
In Your name I come alive
To declare Your victory
The resurrected King, is resurrecting me
By Your spirit I will rise
From the ashes of defeat…

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WHERE I’D RATHER BE…

Posted on January 2, 2021 by randscallawayffm

As soon as the calendar year turns over, our social media is bombarded with beach scenes calling us to live in the sun during the winter months.  We even dream of sunshine..at least I do.  If you live in the sunshine, there’s probably no place you’d rather be!  If you live in a place that is overcast and cold at this time of the new year, then you dream of being in the sun.  We tell each other all the places we’d rather be than where we are.  We’re human, that way.

Let’s go another road.  How would you rather look?  I have experienced life enough to hear curly headed people wish for straight hair, blonds wish they were brunettes, the short want to be taller, the tall what to be shorter, the fair skin want less freckles, the dark skin wants to be lighter, the large what to be small and the thin want to larger.  The muscled want to be more muscled.  And it goes on and on, never being satisfied with our physical appearances to a fault.  We spend way too much thinking on this avenue at this time of year, as well.  Just throw the stale Christmas cookies away and listen…

What if we took as much time thinking about the outside and pondered about the inside?  Who are we?  Where would we really rather be?  What gives us the most peace, no matter where we physically live?  Where do we “live” spiritually?  Who do we love talking to the most?  Who gives life to our soul?  Who takes our breath away?  Who would we rather be with and talk to when no other person on earth is around?  Who is the One and Only who knows us best and wants the best for us because of His relentless, unchangeable, merciful, gracious love?  Who do we talk to first each morning before anyone else?  Who brings calm when we are overwhelmed by overthinking? Who is it we long to be with most of all?  Who do we eagerly serve all day long and into the night, without tiring, simply because of Who we are serving?

“One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.”

Where would you rather be?

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 84, The Message

A Korah Psalm

1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
    I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,
    where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
    sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
    singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
    How blessed they are to live and sing there!

5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live,
    whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
    discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
    at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!

8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:
    O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!
Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
    our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
    beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
    than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
    generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
    It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

TRUTH:  “I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.  All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory.”

Basking in the SONshine is where I’d rather be…

Proverb 25:25-28, The Message

Like a cool drink of water when you’re worn out and weary
    is a letter from a long-lost friend.

26 A good person who gives in to a bad person
    is a muddied spring, a polluted well.

27 It’s not smart to stuff yourself with sweets,
    nor is glory piled on glory good for you.

28 A person without self-control
    is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.

WISDOM:  Be SONshine to others who are living under the overcast of loneliness and doubt without God.  A self-controlled person is a person who has given control to God.

Abba Father,

No matter where we physically live on this earth, you send your shining Light and Life to the dark places that can occasionally overcome our souls.  Your Light always pierces the darkness and eliminates it altogether.  I love that about You!  You are the One I long for each morning and the One I thank before my head hits the pillow at night.  You are the One who listens to my ramblings and guides me to where I rather be.  Your desires for me become my desires in agreement with your will and purpose.  Yes!  Better is one day with you than a thousand elsewhere!

In Jesus Name, Amen 

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PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES

Posted on January 1, 2021 by randscallawayffm

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  –Jesus             Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

Be perfect in God’s love by loving others the way He loves us—Unconditionally.

The psalmist is crying out to God, praying for their enemy to be dealt with by God.  The psalmist is specifically pointing out ways for God to provide justice where justice is needed!  Smiling at these words because God doesn’t need our help.  Granted, their enemy truly wants to wipe God’s people off the face of the earth and take everything they have all while mocking and persecuting them.  Because God is God, it seems to be acceptable to be honest before God for God is the One and Only who can help!  Our God is merciful and just.  The world calls it “karma”.  Believers call it justice in the midst of turmoil when the enemy seems at full strength, God is stronger still.

How many times have we seen God’s glorious justice prevail when the enemy thought he had won?  Think about it.  Write it down and praise God!

So, like Jesus taught, we pray for our enemies, believing God knows what is happening and is still in control of every circumstance.  We know that God never fails and always prevails as the Victor at the end of a long day.  Even in death, because of Jesus’ work on the cross to save us, God wins.  Therefore, we win.  We pray, lament, ask for help and wisdom and then wait, listen and obey what God says.  This is not laying down, curling up in the fetal position, giving up or “taking it on the chin” defenselessly, it is calling on the One and Only, God of all who is in all, to fight our battles. 

The ultimate prayer is that our enemies turn to God and believe.  Asaph’s last words of his prayer are, “Bring them to the end of their rope, and leave them there dangling, helpless.  Then they’ll learn your name: ‘God,’ the one and only High God on earth.”

Commenting on this psalm, Alexander Maclaren wrote, “The world is up in arms against God’s people, and what weapon has Israel? Nothing but prayer.” But is there any better weapon? As he saw the enemy armies surrounding Israel, Asaph lifted three heartfelt requests to the Lord;

  1. Lord, see what is happening!
  2. Lord, do what is necessary.
  3. Glorify Your Name! 

Before asking for their destruction, Asaph prayed that the enemy would be “ashamed and dismayed” and would turn to the true and living God. 

THIS should be our prayer as we pray for our enemies…In Jesus Name.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 83, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

1-5 God, don’t shut me out;
    don’t give me the silent treatment, O God.
Your enemies are out there whooping it up,
    the God-haters are living it up;
They’re plotting to do your people in,
    conspiring to rob you of your precious ones.
“Let’s wipe this nation from the face of the earth,”
    they say; “scratch Israel’s name off the books.”
And now they’re putting their heads together,
    making plans to get rid of you.

6-8 Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
    Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia and the Tyrians,
    And now Assyria has joined up,
    Giving muscle to the gang of Lot.

9-12 Do to them what you did to Midian,
    to Sisera and Jabin at Kishon Brook;
They came to a bad end at Endor,
    nothing but dung for the garden.
Cut down their leaders as you did Oreb and Zeeb,
    their princes to nothings like Zebah and Zalmunna,
With their empty brags, “We’re grabbing it all,
    grabbing God’s gardens for ourselves.”

13-18 My God! I’ve had it with them!
    Blow them away!
Tumbleweeds in the desert waste,
    charred sticks in the burned-over ground.
Knock the breath right out of them, so they’re gasping
    for breath, gasping, “God.”
Bring them to the end of their rope,
    and leave them there dangling, helpless.
Then they’ll learn your name: “God,”
    the one and only High God on earth.

TRUTH:  Pray for your enemies.  Pray for God’s justice.  Trust and obey God. 

Proverb 25:21-22, The Message

If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch;
    if he’s thirsty, bring him a drink.
Your generosity will surprise him with goodness,
    and God will look after you.

WISDOM:  Pray for your enemies.  Do good to your enemies.  God will look after you.

Abba Father,

Wow, what a lesson today about how to pray for our enemies!  We also remember that ultimately our enemy is not of flesh and blood, but is the prince of darkness whose goal is death and destruction.  I pray for those who allow this prince to use them like puppets, creating chaos in our lives.  I pray that come to you and call you, Lord.  I pray for myself to have your help in not falling for evil’s schemes.  May Your Kingdom come, may Your Will be done.  Give us this day all we need to win over the enemy.  Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who hurt, mock, belittle as sin against us.  DELIVER us from all evil.  For you have all power.  To you be all glory for the victory!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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YOU’VE GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN YOUR HANDS

Posted on December 31, 2020 by randscallawayffm

How many remember the song of justice and peace we sang as children and teens?  The song became a favorite among folk singers in my era and beyond.  I haven’t heard it sung in a long time.  To this generation it is probably deemed to repetitive and boring.  In case you forgot or have never heard of this song of hope, it goes like this,

He’s got the whole world in His hands
He’s got the whole wide world in His hands
He’s got the whole world in His hands
He’s got the whole world in His hands

This is also the song that never ends!  Each verse added a new perspective of God’s provision and care, grace and mercy.  Yes, it is a camp song easily sung around a fire. Other added verses would be;

  1. He’s got the little bitty baby in His hands…
  2. He’s got you and me brother in His hands
    He’s got you and me sister in His hands
  3. He’s got everybody here in His hands…
    He’s got the whole world in His hands
    He’s got the whole wide world in His hands…

This was a song of innocence to a generation of “Jesus” people who didn’t realize at that moment in time all the injustice to people around the world and how deeply it was ingrained in certain areas and cultures.  But we do now.  We call on God and He listens.  He knows.  And He cares.  He’s got the whole world in His hands.  As the Psalmist knows, corrupt judges will be dealt with by the Most High God, the Creator of all, the One and Only who is Judge and has the last say. 

OUR TAKEAWAY

Don’t be one of the corrupt judges who look only to satisfy their own desires!  Let your first thought be Love, not like the world loves, but pure, unconditional Jesus love for all mankind.  “Judge not…” for God has the whole world in His hands.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 82, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

82 God calls the judges into his courtroom,
    he puts all the judges in the dock.

2-4 “Enough! You’ve corrupted justice long enough,
    you’ve let the wicked get away with murder.
You’re here to defend the defenseless,
    to make sure that underdogs get a fair break;
Your job is to stand up for the powerless,
    and prosecute all those who exploit them.”

5 Ignorant judges! Head-in-the-sand judges!
    They haven’t a clue to what’s going on.
And now everything’s falling apart,
    the world’s coming unglued.

6-7 “I commissioned you judges, each one of you,
    deputies of the High God,
But you’ve betrayed your commission
    and now you’re stripped of your rank, busted.”

8 O God, give them their just deserts!
    You’ve got the whole world in your hands!

TRUTH:  God will provide justice for those treated unjustly.  Woe to us who judge people God has created as “less than”.  Woe to us who love only a select few and forget the rest of the world.  Woe to us who think only of ourselves and those we choose to be our friends.  Injustice comes in all colors, ages, political affiliations, religions, cultures and social statuses. 

Make a stand, says Joshua to the people of God, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:15 NIV

Proverb 25:6-15, The Message

Don’t work yourself into the spotlight;
    don’t push your way into the place of prominence.
It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor
    than face humiliation by being demoted.

8 Don’t jump to conclusions—there may be
    a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.

9-10 In the heat of an argument,
    don’t betray confidences;
Word is sure to get around,
    and no one will trust you.

11-12 The right word at the right time
    is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,
And a wise friend’s timely reprimand
    is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.

13 Reliable friends who do what they say
    are like cool drinks in sweltering heat—refreshing!

14 Like billowing clouds that bring no rain
    is the person who talks big but never produces.

15 Patient persistence pierces through indifference;
    gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses.

WISDOM:  Gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses. 

Abba Father,

You created us, male and female, to love you back and to love each other.  You created love.  You are the maker of mercy.  You are a great God of grace.  You are the supreme example, dear Jesus, of how to “lay down your life” for another because of this great love of God.  We love, not as the world says to love, but as you have shown us Love.  Help us to love like you love, not expectantly anything in return.  Help us to love so deeply that divisions are impossible.  Help us to love so graciously others will be drawn to You and Your love in us.  Most of all, help us not to assume who is credible enough to love but to just love.  Help us to judge not, just love.  For you have taught us Love never fails.  I’m so glad You’ve got the whole wide world in Your Hands.  Yes, indeed!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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CAN YOU HEAR ME, NOW?

Posted on December 30, 2020 by randscallawayffm

Anyone who gathers with others to sing songs of praise to God, from the heart, loves the activity of worship.  Worshiping the God who loves us most, provides and protects is encouraging.  When we praise God with others it is invigorating for the soul who loves God.  We pray, giving all our burdens to God, and leave the gathering, called church, with freedom.  For that day, our load of burdens lifted.

Then Monday morning comes and we go back to the bad habits we have acquired of doing life our way on our terms for we have not yet learned that every day should be worship to God.  Our first thought should be the love of God for us and our love for Him. But our daily routine, work and school schedules, pressing appointments that seem to manage us press in all around us.  We haven’t learned that worship is having no other gods before our God.  We forget that worship is much more than a song or experience, it is our life given to God each day.  It is asking God what HE wants, no matter what your responsibilities are in this life.  No matter what we do or what are current responsibilities are currently, God can and wants to help us do it well.  God wants our lives lived for Him now.  God wants to help us fulfill His purpose that He created in us. Ultimately, His desire for us is to live according to His will and specific plan he created especially for each one of us!  HIS way is always the best way because there is NO ONE who loves us more than God! 

Paul describes worship with clarity to the church in Rome:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Romans 12:1-2, NLT

The psalmist called the people together to worship the Lord, but then the Lord’s messenger received a special message from God and delivered it to the people.  It reminds us a mobile phone company that asks, “Can you hear me, now?”  The psalm reminds us of three different aspects of true worship; Praising God’s Name, Hearing God’s Word and Obeying God’s Will.  Most times, we as a fractured, distracted humanity, stop with praising God’s Name.  Praising God’s Name is wonderful, right and pleasing to God, but there is much more to worship of God than singing Him a song.  It is listening to Him and then obeying what He says.  This is worship

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 81, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

1-5 A song to our strong God!
    a shout to the God of Jacob!
Anthems from the choir, music from the band,
    sweet sounds from lute and harp,
Trumpets and trombones and horns:
    it’s festival day, a feast to God!
A day decreed by God,
    solemnly ordered by the God of Jacob.
He commanded Joseph to keep this day
    so we’d never forget what he did in Egypt.

I hear this most gentle whisper from One
I never guessed would speak to me:

6-7 “I took the world off your shoulders,
    freed you from a life of hard labor.
You called to me in your pain;
    I got you out of a bad place.
I answered you from where the thunder hides,
    I proved you at Meribah Fountain.

8-10 “Listen, dear ones—get this straight;
    O Israel, don’t take this lightly.
Don’t take up with strange gods,
    don’t worship the latest in gods.
I’m God, your God, the very God
    who rescued you from doom in Egypt,
Then fed you all you could eat,
    filled your hungry stomachs.

11-12 “But my people didn’t listen,
    Israel paid no attention;
So I let go of the reins and told them, ‘Run!
    Do it your own way!’

13-16 “Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now?
    Israel, will you follow my map?
I’ll make short work of your enemies,
    give your foes the back of my hand.
I’ll send the God-haters cringing like dogs,
    never to be heard from again.
You’ll feast on my fresh-baked bread
    spread with butter and rock-pure honey.”

TRUTH:  Love God with all our hearts, minds and souls.  Love others.  Praise, Listen and Obey as if our lives depended on it—because they do!

Proverbs 25:3-5, The Message

Like the horizons for breadth and the ocean for depth,
    the understanding of a good leader is broad and deep.

4-5 Remove impurities from the silver
    and the silversmith can craft a fine chalice;
Remove the wicked from leadership
    and authority will be credible and God-honoring.

WISDOM:  Honor God with our lives.

Abba Father,

Yes, I can hear you!  Great are You Lord!  We sing your praises for that is easy, right and good.  Then we are challenged to give our very lives and that is harder but necessary to grow up and mature.  It is only in sacrificially giving our lives to you which provides the fertile soil, can the holy fruit of your growing character mature in us.  Continue to remove the impurities from my life that do not belong so that I can reflect the beauty of you in me and bear your fruit in your time for your purpose. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE SMILE OF GOD

Posted on December 29, 2020 by randscallawayffm

Are we living in ways that make God smile?  I wonder.  When we talk, does God smile at the words that fall from our lips?  Do our thoughts, (because He knows them all), make God smile?  In the workplace, at home or among our church family, do our actions make God smile?  That’s what I’m pondering this morning as read about the people of Israel begging God to smile on them once more. 

God’s people have gone their own way and are now paying the consequences of their sin of putting what they want ahead of what God wants for them.  The Assyrians have conquered them, desecrated all that is holy and is now marching them away from all they knew as “home”.  This is Asaph’s prayer to God on behalf of His people after it was taken captive by Assyria in 722-21 BC. 

God’s people lament “how long” and feel God has left them.  They cry out to God for they feel God no longer favors His people with His “smile” of help and protection.  But who left?  Truthfully?  God’s people are now crying out for mercy.  We do that occasionally, too!  But are they repentant?  God hears their cries for help and is merciful.

Warren Weirsbe, Commentator, helps us to understand where these cries for mercy are coming from in this psalm.  Asaph asks God to remember what He had established from the “vine” of Joseph until this day.   Weirsbe writes, “That Asaph would pray for Samaria and ask God for restoration and reunion for the whole nation indicates that some of the old rivalries were ending and that some of the people of Judah were concerned over “the affliction of Joseph” (Amos 6:6). It’s unfortunate that it sometimes takes dissension, division, and destruction to bring brothers closer together. Joseph and his brothers are a case in point. The refrain “Restore us” (vv. 3, 7, 19 niv) marks out the three requests Asaph made to the Lord for both kingdoms;  Save the flock, pity your people and revive your vine.

SAVE THE FLOCK:  Asaph asked the Lord to “stir up [His] strength” (7:6; 78:65) and bring salvation to His people. This reminds us of the words of Moses whenever the camp set out, “Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered” (Num. 10:35 niv). The request “cause thy face to shine” of the refrain reminds us of the priestly benediction (Num. 6:22-27. When God hides His face, there is trouble.  “Turn us again” means “restore us to our former state of blessing and fellowship with the Lord.”  In other words, smile on us, Lord!

PITY YOUR PEOPLE:  The shepherd image blends in with the image of Israel as God’s people: “We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (100:3).  note that the “O God” of verse 3 now becomes “O Lord God of hosts” (v. 4) (“God Almighty” niv). Jehovah is the Lord of the armies of heaven and earth, but His people no longer marched in victory.

REVIVE YOUR VINE:  The image now changes to that of Israel the vine.  Jesus used this image to describe Himself and His followers (John 15), and in Revelation 14:17-20, John wrote of “the vine of the earth,” the corrupt Gentile nations in the end times. The Lord transplanted Israel from Egypt to Canaan, uprooted the nations in Canaan, and planted His people in the land of their inheritance. As long as the people obeyed the Lord, the vine grew and covered more and more of the land.

But the luxurious “Vine” disobeyed the Lord, produced “worthless fruit” (see Isa. 5:2 nasb), and felt the chastening hand of the Lord. He withdrew His protection and permitted the enemy to enter the land and ruin the vineyard. Asaph prayed that the Lord might forgive and once again bless His people.

Asaph appealed to the covenant and asked God to be faithful to forgive His people as they called upon Him and confessed their sins (Lev. 26:40-45; Deut. 30:1-10). This is the Old Testament version of 1 John 1:9. Spiritually speaking, the roots of Israel are still strong (Rom. 11:1ff., especially vv. 16-24), and one day the vine and olive tree will be restored, and Asaph’s prayer will be answered.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW FOR TODAY?  

Jesus is the Vine and we who believe in Him are the branches.  Let us take a look at what Jesus told his followers while He walked this earth.  Jesus explains:

The Vine and the Branches

15 1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.

11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

16 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.

17 “But remember the root command: Love one another.

John 15:1-17

FRUIT BEARING, WHAT IS THAT REALLY?

When we are attached to The Vine, Jesus, our branch grows, matures and bears the beautiful fruit of His love, the “root command” mentioned in John 15.  You can’t get apples from an orange tree, right?  Attached to Jesus, we begin to bear holy fruit that comes from His Vine of righteousness.  These fruits are described specifically by Paul in Galatians 5;

“He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.  Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.”  Galatians 5:22-24, The Message)

THIS brings the smile of God with favor when we lead “fruit-bearing” lives.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 80, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

80 1-2 Listen, Shepherd, Israel’s Shepherd—
    get all your Joseph sheep together.
Throw beams of light
    from your dazzling throne
So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh
    can see where they’re going.
Get out of bed—you’ve slept long enough!
    Come on the run before it’s too late.

3 God, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

4-6 God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    how long will you smolder like a sleeping volcano
    while your people call for fire and brimstone?
You put us on a diet of tears,
    bucket after bucket of salty tears to drink.
You make us look ridiculous to our friends;
    our enemies poke fun day after day.

7 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
        That will be our salvation.

8-18 Remember how you brought a young vine from Egypt,
    cleared out the brambles and briers
    and planted your very own vineyard?
You prepared the good earth,
    you planted her roots deep;
    the vineyard filled the land.
Your vine soared high and shaded the mountains,
    even dwarfing the giant cedars.
Your vine ranged west to the Sea,
    east to the River.

So why do you no longer protect your vine?
    Trespassers pick its grapes at will;
Wild pigs crash through and crush it,
    and the mice nibble away at what’s left.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, turn our way!
    Take a good look at what’s happened
    and attend to this vine.
Care for what you once tenderly planted—
    the vine you raised from a shoot.
And those who dared to set it on fire—
    give them a look that will kill!
Then take the hand of your once-favorite child,
    the child you raised to adulthood.
We will never turn our back on you;
    breathe life into our lungs so we can shout your name!

19 God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

TRUTH:  God’s mercy is everlasting.  God’s smile returns to repentant hearts.  THAT is our salvation!

Proverb 24:21-22, The Message

Fear God, dear child—respect your leaders;
    don’t be defiant or mutinous.
Without warning your life can turn upside down,
    and who knows how or when it might happen?

WISDOM:  Know God.  Fear God with awe for His greatness and mighty hand.  Seek the smile of God in all we think, do or say. 

Abba Father,

Thank you for making us smile because of your salvation given to us so freely. We smile because you have been so merciful to us. Your grace is so undeserved. Thank you, Lord for consistently tending the branch that is attached to you, The Vine.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD, HELP US

Posted on December 28, 2020 by randscallawayffm

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 79, The Message

1-4 God! Barbarians have broken into your home,
    violated your holy temple,
    left Jerusalem a pile of rubble!
They’ve served up the corpses of your servants
    as carrion food for birds of prey,
Threw the bones of your holy people
    out to the wild animals to gnaw on.
They dumped out their blood
    like buckets of water.
All around Jerusalem, their bodies
    were left to rot, unburied.
We’re nothing but a joke to our neighbors,
    graffiti scrawled on the city walls.

5-7 How long do we have to put up with this, God?
    Do you have it in for us for good?
    Will your smoldering rage never cool down?
If you’re going to be angry, be angry
    with the pagans who care nothing about you,
    or your rival kingdoms who ignore you.
They’re the ones who ruined Jacob,
    who wrecked and looted the place where he lived.

8-10 Don’t blame us for the sins of our parents.
    Hurry up and help us; we’re at the end of our rope.
You’re famous for helping; God, give us a break.
    Your reputation is on the line.
Pull us out of this mess, forgive us our sins—
    do what you’re famous for doing!
Don’t let the heathen get by with their sneers:
    “Where’s your God? Is he out to lunch?”
Go public and show the godless world
    that they can’t kill your servants and get by with it.

11-13 Give groaning prisoners a hearing;
    pardon those on death row from their doom—you can do it!
Give our jeering neighbors what they’ve got coming to them;
    let their God-taunts boomerang and knock them flat.
Then we, your people, the ones you love and care for,
    will thank you over and over and over.
We’ll tell everyone we meet
    how wonderful you are, how praiseworthy you are!

TRUTH:  God is with us.  God hears and sees all that is going on around us. God loves us even when we don’t love Him back.  God cares deeply for His people even when world pandemics, ravages of war, and other calamities affect all people.  God will continue to take all the bad this sinful world throws at us and makes good of it all in the end.  Count on it.  God wins every time.  God wins in the end. 

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  Romans 8:37, NKJV

Proverb 24:5-9, The Message

It’s better to be wise than strong;
    intelligence outranks muscle any day.
Strategic planning is the key to warfare;
    to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

7 Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;
    in a serious discussion they haven’t a clue.

8-9 The person who’s always cooking up some evil
    soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
Fools incubate sin;
    cynics desecrate beauty.

WISDOM:  Wisdom wins over strength and muscle any day.  Know God.  Know your enemy.  Know yourself and what you lack.  Ask for wisdom from God.  God is the key to strategic planning for victory over the real enemy. 

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12

Abba Father,

We need wisdom beyond ourselves and you give it for the asking.  So we are asking for wisdom, insight and understanding as you know it.  You created all.  You know how everything works.  You know our minds and what we will do before we do it.  You see what lies ahead that will challenge us.  You know every bump in the road on the path to you.  So, why would we trust in ourselves or anyone else on this earth that is temporary, fragile and gone tomorrow?  I don’t.  My life is in You!  Continue to transform me while giving me the wisdom to allow you to do what needs to be done in me.  I want to grow, not just grow old.  Thank you, dear Jesus for saving my soul. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

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