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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OUR HISTORY OF REBELLION

Posted on December 27, 2020 by randscallawayffm

We humans are a fickle creation of God.  God loved us first and loves us still.  He provides our all our needs.  He rescues us and protects us.  Then we rebel because we think we can do a better job with our lives than God our creator?  It’s been that way since Adam, God’s first created human…in the image of God, Himself.  Is it any wonder that God had a Plan from the beginning to redeem us from our rebellion against Him? 

God, our Father gave us free will to choose Him or not.  When do not choose Him, rebel against Him, chaos of evil sweeps in to destroy us.  So, at the very beginning of creation, God created in His own image along with The Plan to redeem mankind.  That Plan was Jesus, His Son.

“Listen, dear friends, to God’s Truth”, says Asaph who retells all the miracles of God’s protection and provisions for His people.  As Asaph reviewed the history of his people, he saw a sad record of forgetfulness, faithlessness, foolishness, and failure; and he sought to understand what it all meant. These things were written for the profit of believers today (1 Cor. 10:11-12), so we had better pay attention to what Asaph says.

History is His story.  The story of God.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 78, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

1-4 Listen, dear friends, to God’s truth,
    bend your ears to what I tell you.
I’m chewing on the morsel of a proverb;
    I’ll let you in on the sweet old truths,
Stories we heard from our fathers,
    counsel we learned at our mother’s knee.
We’re not keeping this to ourselves,
    we’re passing it along to the next generation—
God’s fame and fortune,
    the marvelous things he has done.

5-8 He planted a witness in Jacob,
    set his Word firmly in Israel,
Then commanded our parents
    to teach it to their children
So the next generation would know,
    and all the generations to come—
Know the truth and tell the stories
    so their children can trust in God,
Never forget the works of God
    but keep his commands to the letter.
Heaven forbid they should be like their parents,
    bullheaded and bad,
A fickle and faithless bunch
    who never stayed true to God.

9-16 The Ephraimites, armed to the teeth,
    ran off when the battle began.
They were cowards to God’s Covenant,
    refused to walk by his Word.
They forgot what he had done—
    marvels he’d done right before their eyes.
He performed miracles in plain sight of their parents
    in Egypt, out on the fields of Zoan.
He split the Sea and they walked right through it;
    he piled the waters to the right and the left.
He led them by day with a cloud,
    led them all the night long with a fiery torch.
He split rocks in the wilderness,
    gave them all they could drink from underground springs;
He made creeks flow out from sheer rock,
    and water pour out like a river

17-20 All they did was sin even more,
    rebel in the desert against the High God.
They tried to get their own way with God,
    clamored for favors, for special attention.
They whined like spoiled children,
    “Why can’t God give us a decent meal in this desert?
Sure, he struck the rock and the water flowed,
    creeks cascaded from the rock.
But how about some fresh-baked bread?
    How about a nice cut of meat?”

21-31 When God heard that, he was furious—
    his anger flared against Jacob,
    he lost his temper with Israel.
It was clear they didn’t believe God,
    had no intention of trusting in his help.
But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds
    and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven.
He rained down showers of manna to eat,
    he gave them the Bread of Heaven.
They ate the bread of the mighty angels;
    he sent them all the food they could eat.
He let East Wind break loose from the skies,
    gave a strong push to South Wind.
This time it was birds that rained down—
    succulent birds, an abundance of birds.
He aimed them right for the center of their camp;
    all round their tents there were birds.
They ate and had their fill;
    he handed them everything they craved on a platter.
But their greed knew no bounds;
    they stuffed their mouths with more and more.
Finally, God was fed up, his anger erupted—
    he cut down their brightest and best,
    he laid low Israel’s finest young men.

32-37 And—can you believe it?—they kept right on sinning;
    all those wonders and they still wouldn’t believe!
So their lives dribbled off to nothing—
    nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town.
When he cut them down, they came running for help;
    they turned and pled for mercy.
They gave witness that God was their rock,
    that High God was their redeemer,
But they didn’t mean a word of it;
    they lied through their teeth the whole time.
They could not have cared less about him,
    wanted nothing to do with his Covenant.

38-55 And God? Compassionate!
    Forgave the sin! Didn’t destroy!
Over and over he reined in his anger,
    restrained his considerable wrath.
He knew what they were made of;
    he knew there wasn’t much to them,
How often in the desert they had spurned him,
    tried his patience in those wilderness years.
Time and again they pushed him to the limit,
    provoked Israel’s Holy God.

How quickly they forgot what he’d done,
    forgot their day of rescue from the enemy,
When he did miracles in Egypt,
    wonders on the plain of Zoan.
He turned the River and its streams to blood—
    not a drop of water fit to drink.
He sent flies, which ate them alive,
    and frogs, which bedeviled them.
He turned their harvest over to caterpillars,
    everything they had worked for to the locusts.
He flattened their grapevines with hail;
    a killing frost ruined their orchards.
He pounded their cattle with hail,
    let thunderbolts loose on their herds.
His anger flared,
    a wild firestorm of havoc,

An advance guard of disease-carrying angels
    to clear the ground, preparing the way before him.
He didn’t spare those people,
    he let the plague rage through their lives.
He killed all the Egyptian firstborns,
    lusty infants, offspring of Ham’s virility.
Then he led his people out like sheep,
    took his flock safely through the wilderness.
He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear.
    The Sea took care of their enemies for good.
He brought them into his holy land,
    this mountain he claimed for his own.
He scattered everyone who got in their way;
    he staked out an inheritance for them—
    the tribes of Israel all had their own places.

56-64 But they kept on giving him a hard time,
    rebelled against God, the High God,
    refused to do anything he told them.
They were worse, if that’s possible, than their parents:
    traitors—crooked as a corkscrew.
Their pagan orgies provoked God’s anger,
    their obscene idolatries broke his heart.
When God heard their carryings-on, he was furious;
    he posted a huge No over Israel.
He walked off and left Shiloh empty,
    abandoned the shrine where he had met with Israel.
He let his pride and joy go to the dogs,
    turned his back on the pride of his life.
He turned them loose on fields of battle;
    angry, he let them fend for themselves.
Their young men went to war and never came back;
    their young women waited in vain.
Their priests were massacred,
    and their widows never shed a tear.

65-72 Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet
    like someone roused from deep sleep,
    shouting like a drunken warrior.
He hit his enemies hard, sent them running,
    yelping, not daring to look back.
He disqualified Joseph as leader,
    told Ephraim he didn’t have what it takes,
And chose the Tribe of Judah instead,
    Mount Zion, which he loves so much.
He built his sanctuary there, resplendent,
    solid and lasting as the earth itself.
Then he chose David, his servant,
    handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens.
One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs,
    the next day God had him shepherding Jacob,
    his people Israel, his prize possession.
His good heart made him a good shepherd;
    he guided the people wisely and well.

TRUTH:  Great is God’s faithfulness, little is ours to Him.  Pray to remember what God has done in our lives.  Avoid the foolishness and folly of rebelling again the One and Only who loves us most.  NO ONE loves us like God!

Proverb 24:19-22, The Message

Don’t bother your head with braggarts
    or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
Those people have no future at all;
    they’re headed down a dead-end street.

21-22 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:  Fear God with awe and never forget His love for us.  A rebellious life is a lonely, hopeless, empty life.  With God, hope, joy, peace with His unconditional love abounds from the inside out, no matter what is happening around us.  Go with God.  He never fails.

Abba Father,

Thank you for your great, unchanging faithfulness to us!  Thank for Your Plan, Jesus, who while we were yet sinners in our rebellious state of mind, heart and soul, you saved us.  Thank you for provisions and protection.  Thank you for life eternal.  I love to tell Your Story which is the history of how you saved and rescued me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GO OVER WHAT GOD HAS DONE

Posted on December 26, 2020 by randscallawayffm

I’ve done my share of yelling, looking for God in the middle of my tumultuous thinking.  I’ve been honest with God about my frustrations with others who hurt others with words and actions.  And God listens.  God is not put off by our honesty, in fact, He applauds it.  What He won’t listen to is disrespect.  He will not listen to blame and excuses because of pride, selfishness, laziness and greed for that is sin in our character and God cannot be in the same room with sin. God is right, good, pure and holy.  God listens to sincere, humble, repentant hearts who seek His wisdom, help, understanding and insight.

Asaph, the psalmist for today, teaches us that in the middle of your mess, “go over what God has done” and “ponder all the things” God has accomplished, and give a long, loving look at His acts.  That’s when our life-song changes key to higher scale of thinking with more gratitude and praise.  We gain a new perspective.  New verses are added to our song that are full of praise.  Then, miraculously our once dull ears are finely tuned to listen to God after He has heard our yell for help.

“O God! Your way is holy!  No god is great like God!  You’re the God who makes things happen…”

I’ll admit the year 2020 has been a challenge to humanity but we have also witnessed God still at work in the most creative ways we have ever seen.  Pause and list all the ways God’s glory has been revealed around us.  List the ways God taught us.  Consider all His loving acts of kindness, gentleness, love, mercy and grace.  Ponder all these things.  Perspective. 

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 77, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might,
    I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.

2-6 I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord;
    my life was an open wound that wouldn’t heal.
When friends said, “Everything will turn out all right,”
    I didn’t believe a word they said.
I remember God—and shake my head.
    I bow my head—then wring my hands.
I’m awake all night—not a wink of sleep;
    I can’t even say what’s bothering me.
I go over the days one by one,
    I ponder the years gone by.
I strum my lute all through the night,
    wondering how to get my life together.

7-10 Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good?
    Will he never smile again?
Is his love worn threadbare?
    Has his salvation promise burned out?
Has God forgotten his manners?
    Has he angrily stalked off and left us?
“Just my luck,” I said. “The High God goes out of business
    just the moment I need him.”

11-12 Once again I’ll go over what God has done,
    lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished,
    and give a long, loving look at your acts.

13-15 O God! Your way is holy!
    No god is great like God!
You’re the God who makes things happen;
    you showed everyone what you can do—
You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble,
    rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.

16-19 Ocean saw you in action, God,
    saw you and trembled with fear;
    Deep Ocean was scared to death.
Clouds belched buckets of rain,
    Sky exploded with thunder,
    your arrows flashing this way and that.
From Whirlwind came your thundering voice,
    Lightning exposed the world,
    Earth reeled and rocked.
You strode right through Ocean,
    walked straight through roaring Ocean,
    but nobody saw you come or go.

20 Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron,
You led your people like a flock of sheep.

TRUTH:  God, “You led your people” through good times and bad and accomplished your will and plan.  You will lead us still.  We are your sheep.  You are our God. 

Proverb 24:10, The Message

If you fall to pieces in a crisis,
    there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

WISDOM:  If you are about to fall; fall into the arms of Jesus.

Abba Father,

Thank you for saving my soul.  Thank you for being my strength and my song in the night when I am weak.  Thank you for consistently teaching me the lessons I need to learn in this life while preparing for the next with You.  I have yet to graduate from Your School of Developing your characteristics, but I am gaining ground with each lesson.  Thank you for the comfort and encouragement your Holy Spirit pours over my wounds.  Thank you for the challenges you give us that move us, sometimes kicking and screaming, from our will to your will be done.  Thank you for protecting us and providing for all you know we need before we do.  Thank you for Your Presence felt in our lives each day.  Thank you for listening to my honest prayers and bending low to help me up.  Thank you for what lies ahead.  Thank you for all you have done, are doing and will do.  You are God and I am not.  I trust in You.  I’m Yours.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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DO WHAT YOU SAID

Posted on December 24, 2020 by randscallawayffm

I am more inclined to trust someone who did what they said they were going to do consistently.  How about you?  Did you ever stop to think that is the way God feels about us?  Let’s go farther down the road in this thinking.  What would happen in our lives if we did what we told God we were going to do regularly with sincere, obedient hearts to his will and plan?  Don’t you think He would begin to trust us with more?

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” –Jesus             Luke 16:10

Our next song of praise reveals the character of God and what He expects from His people.  God’s mighty works reveal the greatness of His character and His power.  God wants us to know Him, trust Him and obey Him.  Instead of resisting the Lord–a losing battle–we should be grateful to Him for rescuing us (v. 9) and saving us from our sins. Asaph spoke to the Jewish believers and told them to keep the promises they made to the Lord when Jerusalem was in danger. How easy it is to make vows and not keep them (Eccl. 5:1-6)! 

The psalm begins at Jerusalem and its environs (vv. 1-6), then moves to the entire land of Israel (vv. 7-9), and now it reaches the whole earth (v. 12). There will be a day when the rulers of the earth will bow to Jesus Christ and worship Him as King of Kings (Isa. 2:1-4; 11:1ff.; Rev. 19:11-16).

PAUSE AND REFECT

Knowing God is sovereign over earth’s rulers, what can you trust Him to do in your life?

Wisdom and Worship, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 76, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

76 1-3 God is well-known in Judah;
    in Israel, he’s a household name.
He keeps a house in Salem,
    his own suite of rooms in Zion.
That’s where, using arrows for kindling,
    he made a bonfire of weapons of war.

4-6 Oh, how bright you shine!
    Outshining their huge piles of loot!
The warriors were plundered
    and left there impotent.
And now there’s nothing to them,
    nothing to show for their swagger and threats.
Your sudden roar, God of Jacob,
    knocked the wind out of horse and rider.

7-10 Fierce you are, and fearsome!
    Who can stand up to your rising anger?
From heaven you thunder judgment;
    earth falls to her knees and holds her breath.
God stands tall and makes things right,
    he saves all the wretched on earth.
Instead of smoldering rage—God-praise!
    All that sputtering rage—now a garland for God!

11-12 Do for God what you said you’d do—
    he is, after all, your God.
Let everyone in town bring offerings
    to the One Who Watches our every move.
Nobody gets by with anything,
    no one plays fast and loose with him.

TRUTH: “Do for God what you said you’d do—He is, after all, your God.”  Trust in His Plan whether you understand it or not.  Trust builds upon the foundation of our faith in Christ.  God sees and smiles when we trust and obey.  “To obey is better than sacrifice”, says God through Samuel.  1 Samuel 15:22

Proverb 24, The Message

13-14 Eat honey, dear child—it’s good for you—
    and delicacies that melt in your mouth.
Likewise knowledge,
    and wisdom for your soul—
Get that and your future’s secured,
    your hope is on solid rock.

WISDOM:  Seek God’s wisdom as if your life depended on it—because it does!

Abba Father,

Thank you for the wisdom we seek. Thank you for protecting us from making foolish mistakes in our lives.  Thank you for picking us up, dusting us off and making good out our foolish follies in life.  Sometimes “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”, as You warned us on the Mount of Olives, your prayer place.  So, we pray right now for minds to know you more, hearts to love you with all that is in us with cleansed souls to house Your Holy Spirit that teaches us.  Help us to follow through with complete trust and obedience to you for that is the foundation of our intimate, holy relationship with You!  I am learning.  You are transforming me.  Continue your work in me. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

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LET’S TALK! WHAT DO YOU SAY?

Posted on December 23, 2020 by randscallawayffm

Talk can be uplifting or talk can bring us low.  Talk can bring life or it can take life from us.  Talk can announce good news or not so good news.  Talk can build sweet, intimate relationships or cause a forever rift and separation.  Talk can be good or talk can be bad.  What we choose to talk about can make a difference in the life of someone else.

Self-talk can be our own worse enemy or our greatest ally.  “Love your neighbor as yourself”, says Jesus.  But what if we don’t have any love for ourselves?  Does that affect how we love others?  Why, yes it does.  This theme is at the heart of Lauren Daigle’s song that has swept over the world and caused believers and seekers alike to stop and think about their own self-talk.

Pause and reflect at the lyrics of “You Say”

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low
Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know
Ooh-oh

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
And when I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe (I)
Oh, I believe (I)
What You say of me (I)
I believe

The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity
Ooh-oh

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say… More

At the point of her lowest low, God reminds her of how much He loves her.  His love realized changes everything! 

Let’s pause and think about our talk that stems from the heart.  The more we realize and understand the love Jesus had for us when he went to the cross, the more we begin to love others.  The more we love God back, the more deeply we love each other.  Read that again.  I truly believe that the more I realize God’s love for me is the measure of my love for others. God’s love for me causes me to humbly love what He sees in me.  This realization leads me to loving others like He loves me!  This love, so amazing, is holy, intimate and constantly transforming me and my talk from the inside out.

What is on your mind right now?  Jesus says whatever is in our heart will spill out over our lips.  What do we talk about most from day to day?  Who do we talk about most?  Our talk is definitely a heart issue.  Whoever we love the most will affect our talk.  I am reminded of a chorus we used to sing years ago in my youth;

Let’s talk about Jesus, the King of kings is He,

The Lord of lords supreme, through all eternity. 

The great I AM, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Door, 

Let’s talk about Jesus more and more.

If the love of Jesus is our first thought when we rise in the morning, then He will probably be the center of our talk all day long.


I love to tell the story
  Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory,
  Of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story,
  Because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings
  As nothing else can do.

ALL these songs of old and new play in the background of my mind as the Psalmist sings His songs of praise to God!  Sing with me…

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 75, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

75 We thank you, God, we thank you—
    your Name is our favorite word;
    your mighty works are all we talk about.

2-4 You say, “I’m calling this meeting to order,
    I’m ready to set things right.
When the earth goes topsy-turvy
    And nobody knows which end is up,
I nail it all down,
    I put everything in place again.
I say to the smart alecks, ‘That’s enough,’
    to the bullies, ‘Not so fast.’”

5-6 Don’t raise your fist against High God.
    Don’t raise your voice against Rock of Ages.
He’s the One from east to west;
    from desert to mountains, he’s the One.

7-8 God rules: he brings this one down to his knees,
    pulls that one up on her feet.
God has a cup in his hand,
    a bowl of wine, full to the brim.
He draws from it and pours;
    it’s drained to the dregs.
Earth’s wicked ones drink it all,
    drink it down to the last bitter drop!

9-10 And I’m telling the story of God Eternal,
    singing the praises of Jacob’s God.
The fists of the wicked
    are bloody stumps,
The arms of the righteous
    are lofty green branches.

TRUTH:  Tell the story.  Live the story.  All glory to God for His story in us!

Proverb 24:1-6, The Message

  1-2 Don’t envy bad people;
    don’t even want to be around them.
All they think about is causing a disturbance;
    all they talk about is making trouble.

3-4 It takes wisdom to build a house,
    and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;
It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms
    with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.

5-6 It’s better to be wise than strong;
    intelligence outranks muscle any day.

WISDOM:  Know God.  Know the Good News of Jesus.  Ask for words of wisdom.  Tell the story of redemption, our firm foundation for life. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy, in Jesus, but to trust and obey.  (Yes, one last song….)

Abba Father,

Great are you, Lord.  You have done great things in my life and in the lives of those around me.  You are still doing great, amazing, unexpected things that are beyond my imagination!  So, I love to tell your story.  I love to talk about you night and day.  You are God and we are not even close.  Nothing is too hard for you.  You never sleep, always at work for our best.  You know what will happen next to challenge us and you have prepared ways for us to overcome before we get there.  Yes, there is no one like you.  Why would I trust in anyone or anything else?  That’s just foolishness.  I love you, Lord with all my heart, mind and soul because you first loved me.  Thank you for loving me the way you do.  Thank you for teaching me to love like you love.  I have not perfected your love but I know your love is perfect in me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity
Ooh-oh…

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WHERE ARE YOU, GOD?

Posted on December 22, 2020 by randscallawayffm

How could this happen?  How can this be?  We hear people moaning and groaning about the current situation.  So many dying around us brings fear and anxiety like we have never felt before in our life span.  This is an all attack on our complacency!  This is a challenge we never dreamed we would face.  We don’t remember a time like this passed on in stories by our parents or grandparents, only of war and ravages of war.  We do remember that those who survived war stayed silent about because it was too painful to talk about to family or anyone else.  This is new for us, Lord.  How long will it go on?  Will we talk about it later?  How will this end?

People of faith are fighting among themselves over who’s fault it is that we are in this predicament.  What is that really all about?  Some readily blame God.  They say that what is happening is in His plan. Some say it could be worse.  “Refresh your memory of us” your people cry out like the psalmist did when your people were taken captive and your worship center, your holy sanctuary, not only wildly destroyed but desecrated by barbarian hearts of evil.  Have you forgotten us who believe?  Where are you, Lord?

The faith of God’s people are tested.  The Babylonian army is too much to bear.  However, no matter what is happening, a remnant of God’s people believe and will not turn from God.  They question, but do not turn away from God.  For God is their Hope.

Even though the prophets had warned that judgment was coming (2 Chron. 36:15-21), the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple were catastrophic events that shook the people’s faith. As he surveyed the situation, Asaph moved from despair to confidence and in the end affirmed that all was not lost.

God will go silent for 400 years but Hope is not lost in the silence.  Darkness overtakes the world.  But there is still a remnant who remain faithful.  God promised a Messiah who would save them.  God’s remnant believed in the Promise.  In the Davidic line, Mary and Joseph remain faithfully devoted to God.  God knows whose hearts are completely His, that’s probably why Mary and Joseph were chosen for God’s very specific work as caregivers of the Promise.  After darkness, God suddenly brought a bright Light into the world, breaking through the long silence with the cry of an infant.  Jesus, born to a virgin betrothed to Joseph will be the caregivers for the Son of God who will deliverer them and all of humanity who choose to believe.  Jesus, our Living Hope.  We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.  We are the remnant who believe no matter what is happening around us or to us.  We believe.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 74, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

74 You walked off and left us, and never looked back.
    God, how could you do that?
We’re your very own sheep;
    how can you stomp off in anger?

2-3 Refresh your memory of us—you bought us a long time ago.
    Your most precious tribe—you paid a good price for us!
    Your very own Mount Zion—you actually lived here once!
Come and visit the site of disaster,
    see how they’ve wrecked the sanctuary.

4-8 While your people were at worship, your enemies barged in,
    brawling and scrawling graffiti.
They set fire to the porch;
    axes swinging, they chopped up the woodwork,
Beat down the doors with sledgehammers,
    then split them into kindling.
They burned your holy place to the ground,
    violated the place of worship.
They said to themselves, “We’ll wipe them all out,”
    and burned down all the places of worship.

9-17 There’s not a sign or symbol of God in sight,
    nor anyone to speak in his name,
    no one who knows what’s going on.
How long, God, will barbarians blaspheme,
    enemies curse and get by with it?
Why don’t you do something? How long are you going
    to sit there with your hands folded in your lap?
God is my King from the very start;
    he works salvation in the womb of the earth.
With one blow you split the sea in two,
    you made mincemeat of the dragon Tannin.
You lopped off the heads of Leviathan,
    then served them up in a stew for the animals.
With your finger you opened up springs and creeks,
    and dried up the wild floodwaters.
You own the day, you own the night;
    you put stars and sun in place.
You laid out the four corners of earth,
    shaped the seasons of summer and winter.

18-21 Mark and remember, God, all the enemy
    taunts, each idiot desecration.
Don’t throw your lambs to the wolves;
    after all we’ve been through, don’t forget us.
Remember your promises;
    the city is in darkness, the countryside violent.
Don’t leave the victims to rot in the street;
    make them a choir that sings your praises.

22-23 On your feet, O God—
    stand up for yourself!
Do you hear what they’re saying about you,
    all the vile obscenities?
Don’t tune out their malicious filth,
    the brawling invective that never lets up.

TRUTH: “God is my King from the very start; he works salvation in the womb of the earth.”  Jesus is our salvation, planned from the beginning.  Asaph was concerned about the glory of God’s name and the survival of God’s people. It was God’s cause that was uppermost in his mind. The prophet Jeremiah had preached about the dependability of God’s covenant (Jer. 33:19-26), and Asaph was asking God to fulfill His purposes for the nation.

The nation had been ravaged, the city of Jerusalem had been wrecked, and the temple had been destroyed and burned–but the essentials had not been touched by the enemy! The nation still had Jehovah God as their God, His Word and His covenant had not been changed, and Jehovah was at work in the world!

God is at work in our world today, and we need not despair.  He is our Hope because of His Promises kept.  He is our God.  There is no one like our God!  He never changes.  He is always at work for us not against us.  God’s love never gives up on us.  God knows our hearts.  He knows who really believes and who does not.  He is God, our Father.  Jesus, His Son, our Deliverer, Savior and Lord.  Our hope.

Proverb 23:17-18, The Message

Don’t for a minute envy careless rebels;
    soak yourself in the Fear-of-God—
That’s where your future lies.
    Then you won’t be left with an armload of nothing.

Abba Father,

You are the God of Promises Kept.  You never change your ways that lead to our best life with you, no matter what is happening around us.  You, Mighty God of all, still longs for a relationship with us.  You even call us Friend!  It is hard to wrap our thinking around the God of all bending down to listen to us, lavishly loving us unconditionally, taking time to guide us, showing mercy and grace when we fail because we lose focus.  When we call to you from worldview thinking that is dark, you run to us, meeting halfway from the road of despair to the road of hope.  You put your arm around us and bring us back into your Lighthouse of love, mercy and grace.  You are our living hope.  You are the One and Only I completely trust because your promises are true.

Instead of asking how long, where are you or why me, I run to you with praise and thanksgiving for always being with us, always loving us and always and forever desiring an intimate relationship with us.  Wow.  There is NO ONE like you!  Thank you for loving us the way you do.  Continue to teach me, taking my thoughts deeper still into the mystery of your eternal love for us.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD IS GOOD, BUT I NEARLY MISSED IT!

Posted on December 21, 2020 by randscallawayffm

As “Go tell it on the mountain” still rings in my ears from the worship set in yesterday’s online service, I think about how I nearly missed being in this place in my life right now.  My story could have taken a completely different turn if I would have listened to others tell me what I should be doing, who I should be dating, what career I should pursue, what life I should be leading and most of all, who I am as a person.  I could have run after the dreams of others to build the bigger and better house, own the best cars, and fill storage places with lots of stuff. I could have given all my time as well in that pursuit and missed real life completely.   

The world has plans for us with plenty of creative people telling us how to get the “good life” in media and film.  With this constant bombardment, comparison leads to envy.  Those who don’t love God seem to have more than they need. They have it made. They don’t seem to have any problems at all, at least that’s what they tell us.  I nearly missed God’s best because I was looking at them and not Him!

God’s best for me is knowing I am doing what HE wants for this is the only way to peace for me.  When I look back at all the good advice I could have followed, but instead followed God’s best advice through the mentors He placed in my life at just the right time and place, I praise God.  I shudder at what could have been.  I thank for what is. 

I nearly missed it. I nearly missed living a life with a man of God for nearly 50 years.  I could have gone my own way and not experienced helping others find and follow Jesus in ways that were beyond my imagination.  God provided experiences that challenged me to grow, sorrows that led to evaluation and reflection, teaching moments when I needed it most, along with joy unspeakable and full of His glory!

Our Psalmist “nearly missed it”.  I nearly missed it, but I didn’t.  I praise God I didn’t miss Him.  Today I can “go tell it on the mountain” with complete assurance of the Truth that Jesus Christ, our Savior was born!  Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah was sent from God to earth.  Jesus, Savior and Lord, lived on earth to give mankind a glimpse of living in heaven.  Jesus, lived to die for our sin so we could walk right up to God with repentant hearts and relate to Him as Our Father.  Jesus made it right. Jesus, the One and Only.  All because God loved us.  I really believe what I believe about God is really real! 

Don’t miss it.  God is not only good; God is the best!  Saying yes to God’s saving grace, through Jesus Christ, is the best decision you will ever make in this life.  Saying yes means life forever with God!  Following Jesus and letting Him be Lord of your life right now is assurance that you will never miss out on what His best plan for you, plans not to harm you, but plans to make you prosper and grow in His Name.  It’s not about stuff, it’s about Life.  It’s all about God.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I nearly missed it, but I didn’t.  I pray you find Him, too.  For in Him is Life.

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 73, The Message

1-5 No doubt about it! God is good—
    good to good people, good to the good-hearted.
But I nearly missed it,
    missed seeing his goodness.
I was looking the other way,
    looking up to the people
At the top,
    envying the wicked who have it made,
Who have nothing to worry about,
    not a care in the whole wide world.

6-10 Pretentious with arrogance,
    they wear the latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and overfed,
    decked out in silk bows of silliness.
They jeer, using words to kill;
    they bully their way with words.
They’re full of hot air,
    loudmouths disturbing the peace.
People actually listen to them—can you believe it?
    Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

11-14 What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?
    Nobody’s tending the store.
The wicked get by with everything;
    they have it made, piling up riches.
I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;
    what has it gotten me?
A long run of bad luck, that’s what—
    a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.

15-20 If I’d have given in and talked like this,
    I would have betrayed your dear children.
Still, when I tried to figure it out,
    all I got was a splitting headache . . .
Until I entered the sanctuary of God.
    Then I saw the whole picture:
The slippery road you’ve put them on,
    with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
In the blink of an eye, disaster!
    A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!
We wake up and rub our eyes. . . . Nothing.
    There’s nothing to them. And there never was.

21-24 When I was beleaguered and bitter,
    totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox
    in your very presence.
I’m still in your presence,
    but you’ve taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me,
    and then you bless me.

25-28 You’re all I want in heaven!
    You’re all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
    God is rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who left you are falling apart!
    Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again.
But I’m in the very presence of God—
    oh, how refreshing it is!
I’ve made Lord God my home.
    God, I’m telling the world what you do!

TRUTH:  You’re all I want in heaven.  You’re all I want on earth.  God, I’m telling the world what you do!

Proverb 23:1-5, The Message

Restrain yourself.

1-3 When you go out to dinner with an influential person,
    mind your manners:
Don’t gobble your food,
    don’t talk with your mouth full.
And don’t stuff yourself;
    bridle your appetite.

4-5 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich;
    restrain yourself!
Riches disappear in the blink of an eye;
    wealth sprouts wings
    and flies off into the wild blue yonder.

WISDOM: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” –Jesus               (Matthew 6:19-21)

Abba Father,

I nearly missed, could have missed it, but I didn’t.  You are God and I am not.  You saved my soul, dear Jesus, and made me whole.  Your Holy Spirit, Your Presence, is with me each day to guide me, challenge and correct me.  You lead me to Your best.  You deliver me from the enemy who seeks to destroy my soul.  You fight my battles and conquer for victory, making me and others who believe and follow more than conquerors.  Thank you for showing me your ways, being patient with me, cleaning up my messes, and keeping me on level, solid ground.  Continue to transform me.  I don’t want to miss a thing that you are telling me on the mountain of learning and growing as your servant and friend.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE ONE AND ONLY WONDER-WORKING GOD!

Posted on December 19, 2020 by randscallawayffm

Solomon was known to be a man of wisdom.  But he wasn’t born with wisdom.  After succeeding his father, David, as King, this inexperienced, young man’s first request from God was wisdom.  When He could have asked for anything, he pleaded for wisdom.  God gave it.  This God-given wisdom is proven in a righteous act of wisdom in 1 Kings 3:16-28!  It’s worth a read!

We don’t know if Solomon wrote this psalm or David wrote it for him for the people to use as a prayer over the new King.  But what we do know and need to understand that the words and meaning go beyond both David and Solomon to the one “greater than Solomon” (Matt. 12:42), Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel. The psalm is quoted nowhere in the New Testament as referring to Jesus, but certainly it describes the elements that will make up the promised kingdom when Jesus returns.

Take a look at all the Kingly responsibilities listed in this prayer-song.  The Lord was King over His people, and the man on the throne in Jerusalem was His representative, obligated to lead the people according to the law of God (Deut. 17:14-20). He had to be impartial in his dealings (Ex. 23:3, 6; Deut. 1:17; Isa. 16:5) and make sure that his throne was founded on righteousness and justice (89:14; 92:2).

It’s no wonder that young Solomon asked for wisdom from God!  Note all the acts of righteousness mentioned four times in verses 1-7; and see Proverbs 16:12. Messiah will one day reign in righteousness and execute justice throughout the world (Isa. 9:7; 11:4-5; Jer. 23:5-6; Zech. 9:9). In the whole land of Israel, from the mountains to the hills, Solomon’s reign would bring peace and prosperity, for both of these blessings depend on righteousness (Isa. 32:17).

It is because Jesus fulfilled God’s righteousness in His life and death that sinners can be forgiven and have peace with God (Rom. 5:1-8), and He is our “King of righteousness” and “King of peace” (Heb. 7:1-3). Solomon’s name is related to the Hebrew word shalom, which means “peace, prosperity, well-being.” The king’s ministry to the poor and afflicted reminds us of the ministry of Jesus. Early in his reign, Solomon had that kind of concern, but in his later life, his values changed, and he burdened the people with heavy taxes, probably to take care of his many wives in latter years.  Sigh.

God promised David an endless dynasty (2 Sam. 7:16, 19, 26), and this was fulfilled in Jesus, the son of David (Luke 1:31-33).  We have already noted that Jesus is in all of scripture for Jesus is our Savior, Messiah and Lord.  The Old Testament points to Jesus, God’s Son and God’s Plan from the beginning to save His people from their sins.  God’s promised-kept is when we seek Him, we will find Him.  He will lead us when we ask and help us as we daily journey with Him.  Need wisdom?  Ask God.  God freely gives exactly what we need. (James 1:5)

Believe Jesus and be saved by His grace and mercy.  Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be at peace through good times and bad. Our wonder-working God is always awake and ready to listen to our prayers of conversation with Him.  Talk to God, He listens!  If fact, He delights in all the details of our lives!  What?!  Yes! and Amen!

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.”  Psalm 37:23

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 72, The Message

A Solomon Psalm

72 1-8 Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,
    the gift of just rule to the crown prince.
May he judge your people rightly,
    be honorable to your meek and lowly.
Let the mountains give exuberant witness;
    shape the hills with the contours of right living.
Please stand up for the poor,
    help the children of the needy,
    come down hard on the cruel tyrants.
Outlast the sun, outlive the moon—
    age after age after age.
Be rainfall on cut grass,
    earth-refreshing rain showers.
Let righteousness burst into blossom
    and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.
Rule from sea to sea,
    from the River to the Rim.

9-14 Foes will fall on their knees before God,
    his enemies lick the dust.
Kings remote and legendary will pay homage,
    kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.
All kings will fall down and worship,
    and godless nations sign up to serve him,
Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
    the destitute who have run out of luck.
He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
    he restores the wretched of the earth.
He frees them from tyranny and torture—
    when they bleed, he bleeds;
    when they die, he dies.

15-17 And live! Oh, let him live!
    Deck him out in Sheba gold.
Offer prayers unceasing to him,
    bless him from morning to night.
Fields of golden grain in the land,
    cresting the mountains in wild exuberance,
Cornucopias of praise, praises
    springing from the city like grass from the earth.
May he never be forgotten,
    his fame shine on like sunshine.
May all godless people enter his circle of blessing
    and bless the One who blessed them.

18-20 Blessed God, Israel’s God,
    the one and only wonder-working God!
Blessed always his blazing glory!
    All earth brims with his glory.
Yes and Yes and Yes.

TRUTH: “May all godless people enter his circle of blessing and bless the One who blessed them.  Blessed God, Israel’s God, the one and only wonder-working God!”

Proverb 22:28, The Message

WISDOM: “Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines staked out long ago by your ancestors.”

Abba Father,

We need wisdom in all the details of our lives, too.  So, we ask for wisdom, insight and understand for our journey today.  I will take one day at a time and ask for wisdom with each step.  I know you will lead us.  I need to follow.  I know you love us more than we love ourselves.  I will love you back with all my heart, mind and soul.  I will love others like you love me—unconditionally.  I choose you for you are life to me.  It is a commitment I made with you long ago and have never regretted the decision.  Bad days are less bad with you in them.  Good times are greater still with praising you for them.  You hang in there with us through the good, bad and ugly and for that I am eternally grateful.  Bless the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me, praise your Holy Name.  You are done great things.  You are the wonderworking God of all who believe and follow You!  Continue your work in me.  Yes and Amen!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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