Abiding in Him

To abide is to live in one place for a long time. An abode is where someone abides. (So a motel is not an abode, because you do not stay there permanently.)

Here are a few wonderful texts on abiding.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. (1 John 2:24)

Jesus also talks about abiding.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). When we abide in Him, we bear much fruit.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Answered prayer.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8). When we abide in Him, we become His disciples.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6). If we do not abide in Him, we perish.

Giving Thanks: How I Learned to Thank God in Everything

There are two verses on thanksgiving that I had to learn several times, but which are now fixed in my life. They are Philippians 4:6-7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6-7)

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18)

I had memorized the Philippians passage sometime in 1951. From 1953-1954, I was in graduate school in Monterey, CA. At Christmastime, I helped set up an Officers’ Christian Union conference for officers and their wives at Mt. Hermon over the New Years’ weekend. I found out there was an InterVarsity staff conference happening the same weekend, so I asked the director if we could borrow their speaker. We did, and the conference was a blessing.

We had the last meeting on Sunday morning, January 1, 1954. The speaker was a theology student from Germany. His text was Philippians 4:6-7. Because of his accent and the fact that he was teaching on a passage I had memorized, I decided not to pay attention to him.

He read the text and then asked the congregation these questions.

1. How many of you present our requests to God?
2. How many have their petitions answered?
3. How many of you thank God when He answers your prayers?

All of these were answered with a complete show of hands.

Then he asked this: “How many of you do not thank God until He answers?”

We were all embarrassed. None of us could raise our hands.

The speaker pointed to the text, where it says that prayers and petitions are to be made with thanksgiving. We are to thank God when we make the request.

†

It had been raining hard all weekend. After the last meeting, everyone packed up and went home. I had to stay to settle up the finances. When I was finished, I was walking up the mountain to our cabin where Bessie and Douglas (6 months old) were waiting. Right before I got there, I saw Roy Grayson with his head under the hood of his 1948 Studebaker. There was a puddle of water around each of his six spark plugs. He was trying to dry them out without much success.

The car was parked under the trees. We decided that we should push it backwards out of the trees onto the mountain road. Then Roy would jump into the car and let it run downhill out of gear. It worked. (As I watched him roll out of sight down the mountain with his car still not running, I was thankful that he was a pilot!)

When his car was out of sight, I went over to my car, a ’48 Nash. The starter was underneath the clutch. I stepped on it. The engine turned over once but would not start. I prayed and stepped on the starter again. Nothing. I prayed and tried again. Still nothing. I kept trying. Every time I stepped on the starter, I prayed.

Soon the battery was dead, and no sound came from the engine when I tried the starter. We had to get back to Monterey, and everyone else had already gone. I prayed, “God, what are trying to teach me?”

“What did you learn this morning? ‘Make your requests with thanksgiving.’”

I asked God to start the car and thanked Him for it. Nothing happened.

I confessed. “God, I was just plugging the formula.” This time, I requested and really thanked God. I stepped on the starter, and the engine roared into life.

Bessie and Douglas got in the car, and we drove down the mountain. At the bottom, I saw Roy’s car parked on the side of the road. Roy was walking towards us. I said, “Roy, I will give you a push.”

“It’s not necessary,” Roy said. “My car is going.”

“Guess how I got mine started?” I said.

“I know. You thanked God. It took me thirty minutes to think of it, too.”

I had several other opportunities to believe Philippians 4. But I had to believe something else first; that was 1 Thessalonians 5:18. When I gave thanks in all circumstances, I could rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say—rejoice!”). When I was rejoicing and thanking God, then I was able to be anxious for nothing (Phil. 4:6).

This was a series of verses I would believe. Each verse caused me to believe the ones connected to it. The basic verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:18, and the key word is everything.

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (NKJV)

Preaching the Gospel Effectively

There are many ways of teaching both truth and falsehood. One of the most effective ways goes by several different names: memorization, grammar, catechizing.

This is a good way to teach, but even when it is used with the truth of the gospel, the teaching may not result in faith. When that is the case, it is because some things are missing, generally in the teacher. These somethings are: 1) the power of the Holy Spirit, 2) love for the student, 3) preaching boldly, 4) preaching in the name of Jesus Christ, 5) fear.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our report?" So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom. 10:16-17)

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers…that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. (Eph. 4:11, 14-15)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. (2 Cor. 5:10-11)

It is much easier to just teach truth than it is to preach it in the name of Christ, in love, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in boldness, and in fear.

Shoveling Walks

We moved to Moscow from Ann Arbor, Michigan, in September 1971. That means I have lived half my life in Moscow. I lived 17 years on the East Coast, 18 years in Nebraska, 3 years in Michigan, 2 years in Japan, 2 years in California, and a few months in Bremerton, Washington. Moscow has the best four-season climate in the country. That first winter we had 70 inches of snow. Over these 46 years, I have noticed that many people do not shovel the sidewalk at their residence, and some businesses do not shovel their walks. In a residence, it is a kindness and a consideration for the neighbors. For a business, it is just good business. If you are old like I am, you can hire someone to do it. If you are young, you can volunteer to shovel your neighbor’s walk.

If you are human, healthy, kind, and considerate, you can shovel neighbors' walks. Don’t have time? Make time. If you are lazy, pay someone else to do it. If you are a Christian and do not shovel your walk, people may wonder what kind of Christian you are.

Thanksgiving

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, "Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise." Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD.” (1 Chron. 16:34-36)

This is the first time in the Bible where three things happened and were recorded together in worship. It was the return of the ark of the covenant to the City of David. The three things were music, singing, and thanksgiving. David may have been the bravest man in the history of the world. He may have been the greatest general in history. He may have been the greatest musician and the greatest poet, and he was a man after God’s own heart.

Look for thanksgiving also in the Psalms and in Paul’s letters. Here are just a few:

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. (Psalm 95:2)

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 107:1)

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57)

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (2 Cor. 4:15)

Pray for Workers

Every day I come across verses of Scripture I want to preach, proclaim, shout, or sing. Here is one:

An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. (Psalm 36:1-2)

This is such a good description of the sinfulness of the wicked. The wicked man cannot even see, much less hate, his own sin. The reason is that he flatters himself. This is the ultimate expression of selfishness and self-conceit.

Please pray with us using the command in Matthew 9:37-38 as your prayer: “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”

Light

Today's post will be all Scripture. These are a few favorite verses of mine.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:4-6)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Tim. 6:13-16)

The Humility Harness

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Eph. 4:2)

Notice the word “completely.” Apparently it is possible to be completely humble and gentle. We see it Philippians 2:5-7 as well: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

• Made himself nothing
• Humbled himself and became obedient to death
• Even death on the cross

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” We are to be humble, completely, just like Jesus. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29).

Get into the humility harness with Jesus.

A Study of Isaiah 58

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Isaiah 58.

The first five verses are God telling the religious people why their prayers are not answered.

Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.

For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

"Why have we fasted," they say,
"and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?"
Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?

The next ten verses give three different conditions and the wonderful results of meeting them. Verses 6 and 7 give conditions:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Verses 8 and 9a give the result:

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

9b and 10a give conditions:

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed…

10b-12 give the answer:

Then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Verse 13 gives the condition:

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words…

Verse 14 gives the answer:

Then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Over the years, I have occasionally met the conditions. The answers are always wonderful. One of our great joys is seeing our children and grandchildren meet the conditions.

Here is a New Testament counterpart:

Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)

How many of the saints obey this at least some of the time?

Finding Out Basic Problems (Counseling Basics)

In many years of meeting with Christians who are in trouble of some kind, I try to find out basic problems. To do this, I ask questions.

1. What is your mouth like? “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45).

It is amazing how many “Christians” talk dirty. The answers I get go like this:

“I work on a fishing boat.”
“I work in a restaurant kitchen.”
“I’m in the Marines.”

What they are doing is giving me excuses for talking dirty—as if that was an adequate answer.

2. When was the last time you read all of the New Testament?

They say, “All of it?”

3. I ask for their life story. I find out many things that they do not know they are telling me.

4. Do you have more joy in your live today than you had when you were converted?

I know the answer—it’s no. The reason for the answer is that they have years of unconfessed sin. I found out that was true for me when I had been a Christian for 3 ½ years. Two years later, I found out again. My first awakening was in the spring of 1951 on a ship in the Sea of Japan. I was awakened by reading The Calvary Road, given to me by two women missionaries in Japan. I cleaned house—I confessed every sin I could remember since I had become a Christian. It was wonderful. Several years later, I found out that I had again accumulated unconfessed sin. This time, it was by reading Continuous Revival. I will be glad to send one or both of these books to you. You can reach me here, at jimwilson27@frontier.com, or at (208) 882-4383.

Son of Man

Jesus uses the term Son of Man about 80 times in the Gospels, referring to Himself. Here is one of those times. “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3:13-15). This is followed by John 3:16.

We can see, because both result in everlasting life, that the Son of Man is the same as the only-begotten Son. The Son of Man probably refers to Daniel 7.

As I looked, thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
A river of fire was flowing,
coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books were opened….

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Dan. 7:9-10, 13-14)

The Jewish authorities knew what Jesus was referring to when he said, “Son of Man.”

Raising Children Who Stay

Recently, there was a family party for me. I was more of an observer than I was a participant. All of the greatgrandchildren were whooping it up. Not all of my descendants were present. Heather, Ararat, and their three children were not there; Mallory, her husband, and their two children were in Canada; and Brooke, Daniel, and their four kids were in England.

This was my basic observation: all of the marriages seemed to be perfect marriages. All of the children were obedient (22 were present), and there were no fights among any of the cousins.

Why have I been so blessed? I have done some thinking on the subject. I watched other families and asked them how they did it; I watched others and observed how they didn’t do it. I had to do a lot of changing over the years.

For instance, my first nine years as a Christian were in the Navy. I was a disciplinarian. I did not want my sons to grow up to be sissies. I was hard on them. I woke up and changed and started to be expressively affectionate to them.

It was easier with Heather. While I was still in the Navy, I was visiting a Christian family and waiting for dinner to be served. I asked the little daughter to sit on my lap. She did. However, she did not want to get off. That told me that she was not getting enough affection from her father. She was starved for it, and trying to soak it up from me. I knew that if nothing changed, she would be pregnant by the time she was 16.

It turned out that she was 17 when she got pregnant. At that time, I made a decision that I was not going to let that happen to Heather. Years later, when Heather was a senior in high school, I went up to her room as usual to tuck her in bed and kiss her goodnight. She said, “Dad, I know why you’re doing this. You are afraid I will get my loving somewhere else.” I said, “Right on.”

You may not know this, but I think it is unwise to allow an 18-year-old child to attend college somewhere other than at home. They are not old enough to be autonomous. Yet 18-year-olds who are away from home think that they are autonomous.

People respond to this with the fact that I let my 18-year-old sons join the Navy. Yes, I had been in the Navy. There they were under authority, not autonomous. In addition, I visited Douglas in the Navy in New London and in Norfolk, and I visited Evan in El Centro. When Heather was still single and doing mission and teaching work, I visited her in Egypt, California, Pennsylvania, and Turkey.

They all knew that they were still in the family. When Ararat got interested in Heather, she called us from Istanbul to tell us of his interest. I replied, “Shake him.” She said, “What do mean, shake him?” “Get rid of him. You know how to get rid of guys.” “But Dad, I’m interested in this one.” “Well,” I said, “that’s different. Now I will take charge of the courtship.” There I was with a 31-year-old daughter 10,000 miles away, and I said I was going to take charge. Her reply was, “Ok. I don’t want to do anything stupid.”

I know many Christian families. Some of them have children who are not believers or have gone astray. One of the reasons this happens is that the child realizes he is not loved or respected, so he goes off in order to get love and respect. It doesn’t work. We did not do everything right, but we caught ourselves in time, so we have had no tragedies.

Here are two of the Bible texts we have counted on.

The second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Ex. 10:4-6). One thousand generations. Currently, we have four generations, down to our greatgrandchildren.

Deuteronomy 11:18-21: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”

I am willing to say more on the subject if you want to discuss any of it. Reply here or email me at jimwilson27@frontier.com. I have also written on how to lead your adult children back to the Lord.

God's Love & Ice Cream Love

Let’s look at John 3:16. “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.”

God is love (1 John 4:8).

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Love is not jealous.
Love does not brag.
Love is not arrogant.
Love does not dishonor others.
Love does not seek its own.
Love does not take wrongs it has suffered into account.
Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness.
Love rejoices with the truth.
Love never fails.
Love bears all things.
Love believes all things.
Love endures all things.

Other things fail.

This is the love God has for us: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:14-18).

The love 1 Corinthians 13 talks about is the kind of love we are to love God with. We are returning His love to Him in obedience. We love because He first loved us.

Love is expressed in two directions. Love expressed upwards (towards God or those in authority over us) is done through obedience. Love downward or horizontally is given sacrificially for the benefit of the one loved.

Expressing love this way also provides information. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). By this love that they can see, everyone will know that you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

It also gives us knowledge about ourselves. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). This love or our lack of it give us knowledge about our relationship to God.

John 3:16 is expressed again in 1 John 4:10-11: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

The “world” God loved in John 3:16 is not the world of rocks, trees, and rivers, because only individual unbelievers are capable of believing and responding to love given. Rocks and trees are not. The world is capable of believing—all of mankind. The part of the world that believes will not perish. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36).

The only people who can love as God loves are those who have believed that Jesus died for them. When they believe, they receive the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).

The rest of the world is left to “love” in worldly, erotic, or selfish ways. None of this love is obedient or sacrificial. Unfortunately, many Christians think in the same terms as the unbelievers. They think they love someone, but what they really love is themselves—the benefits they get from being around the person. It is the same as “loving” ice cream. Many Christians are not up to loving their enemies, neighbors, spouses, other Christians, or God. They are Christians living like the world.

Election Day Reflections

In January 1949, I marched with the Brigade of Midshipmen in Truman’s inauguration. In 1961, I put together an evangelistic dinner for the Corps of Cadets from West Point and the Brigade of Midshipmen from the Naval Academy following Kennedy’s inaugural parade.

My history with presidents includes: 2 years under Calvin Coolidge, 4 years under Herbert Hoover, 12+ years with Franklin Roosevelt, almost 8 years with Harry Truman, 8 with Eisenhower, 2 with John F. Kennedy, 6 with Lyndon Johnson, 6 with Richard Nixon, 2 with Gerald Ford, 4 with Jimmy Carter, 8 with Ronald Reagan, 4 with George HW Bush, 8 with Bill Clinton, 8 with George W. Bush, 8 with Barak Obama, and 1 now with Donald Trump.

For many of my years, I looked at the President of the United States as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Each president swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

This year is not a presidential election, but here are the qualities I have looked for in presidents and politicians in the last forty years (not in order of importance): integrity, sexual morality, good economic policy, small government, states’ rights, socially conservative. I also look at their religion, family, and profanity. If I consider these at all, it is difficult to find a qualified man. I did not vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Thoughts on Psalm 102

Psalm 102 has some wonderful truths:

“Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD” (v. 18). We are one of those future generations.

“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them, and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end” (vs. 25-27).

Isn’t this wonderful? The heavens are going to wear out like old clothes which we throw away or give to Goodwill.

Two Reasons People Are Hurting

There are two great needs in the world today. Actually, they overlap.

The first need belongs to the billions of people who are lost and are going to die without Christ.

The other group is made up of Christians who do not think they are loved by God, by their parents, or by friends. They are loved by God, but they have believed the lie of the devil that God does not love them. As far as their perception that other people don’t love them, it may be true or false.

God has a solution for both groups. The first is that Christians are to make disciples of the world. The second is that God has commanded Christians to love God, their neighbors, wives, brothers, and enemies with a sacrificial love. This is not happening. The result is that many people are being short-changed on receiving love. Consequently, they are hurting very much.