Will Power must prevail over Emotion.

The Judeo-Christian Faith gives us reasons to sing. More than that, the songs sung have their origin in and direction in the Grace of the Almighty, Lord of lords and King of kings. The Psalms cover experiences from praise to pain, laughter to lament, from thanksgiving and testimony to tribulation’s testing times. There are Psalms expressing individual experiences to corporate worship. For this article I want to takes us through Psalm 116 using the Amplified Bible’s translation.

As we take a short stroll through it I have chosen to highlight an act of the will in our relationship with our Lord and Saviour. The psalmist uses ‘will’ 6 times. In itself that is of interest as six(6) is the number of ‘Man.’ Could we therefore assume that for Humanity as a whole, and a person as an individual it is the exercise of the ‘will’ rather than the emotions God seeks from us?

The psalm opens with an expression of love to the Lord Yahweh. Then comes the reason for why he, and perhaps we initially began to love the Lord. Why would we call upon the Lord? Because, His love frightened the life out of us, or at least me! For in love the Lord He made known the holiness of His character then I realised my degraded being. How could I or anyone else stand unscathed in His presence? Only by His love. For He heard my cry of despair and pointed my heart to the cross. There I found love’s grace and forgiveness.

Verse two is the motivation for why I continue to call upon Him? This goes way beyond sentimentality. It is rooted and grounded in the act of the will, the choice of commitment! There have been slip up along the way and only the Lord knows how many are yet to happen. However, His love paid the way back for me. It is paved with my tears of gratitude! Verses 3-8 are some of the psalmist’s reasons for being grateful. How close do they come to echoing yours and my reasons?

Verse nine tells how the psalmist would live out his discovery of love. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. As with any baby, walking requires growth and encouragement, perseverance and even role models. The love of God moves us to walk and live in a manner pleasing to Him. How do we know what pleases Him? That is one of the roles of the Bible. It points out the way as well as warning of detours and dangerous ‘potholes.’ Failure to read it and hear it explained has led many to moral and spiritual injuries and a damaged witness.

Verse thirteen shares with us the writer’s delight in the love of Yahweh! The cup of salvation may be likened to one of the four Passover cups. Within that celebration of national redemption is an individual’s discovery of grace. At the cross the fulfilment of the Passover Lamb became inextricably linked to Jesus. He is the Saviour. When a person share in the Lord’s Supper it is with the celebration of Christ’s Name and achievement. Have you or I recently listed the benefits we have entered into because of responding to the Love of Christ?

Verse fourteen takes us ever deeper into the motivation which stems from taking the cup of Salvation. It moves the will to refresh its vows. What a privilege the Communion offers. Though unseen, the Lord is there inviting you to take the bread and the wine (or juice) and to remember Him. As a person does this with sincerity it is similar to exchanging vows of love and trust. Verse eighteen repeats this desire to renew the vows. It is personal but it is also done in the presence of the congregation.

Verse seventeen actually concludes the emphasis of the psalm on his will. It is also a fitting climax to our own commitment. ‘I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving. From Leviticus 7 and elsewhere this offering was personal. It also had a cost which was voluntarily made. It harkens back to verse twelve where the writer acknowledges God’s benefits personally experienced. The sacrifice had to be made without yeast. That is always a symbol of sin. So before offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving ensure any residual sin is confessed, dealt with and cleansed though the blood of Christ. Then notice the verse concludes with how the psalm began. “I …will call upon the name of the Lord!”

As another psalm puts it “let us come before His presence with thanksgiving in our hearts!”

©Ray Hawkins April 3oth 2017.

The Path can have potholes.

Psalm 23:3                                                           Where He Leads.

 

The Shepherd, Jesus, is up front of the flock. He leads. He calls. The sheep follow. How many of us in the flock wonder about some of the ways He takes us. For, there are times when we see ourselves in strange and unexpected places. This is where the flock and the individual sheep must trust the Shepherd. In this psalm two paths are mentioned. We will look at one of them today.

He leads me in right paths. This brings to the fore the fact that there are wrong paths we can wander onto. Being human and being responsible to keep the unseen Shepherd in ‘view’ is an interesting struggle. We have a stubborn, self-interested nature which sometimes fights against walking the ‘right paths. The mind is inclined to delude us into thinking ‘if we cannot see the Shepherd, He can’t see us.’ In the Old Testament a whole book has stories summed up by ‘They did what was right in their own eyes.’ Judges is a depressing book, yet at the same time most illuminating and with a strong warning embedded in it. Proverbs 16:25 ‘Sometimes there is a way that seems to be right, but in the end it is the way to death.’

How then do we keep the unseen Shepherd in our focus? ‘Set your minds on things that are above, and not on things that are on the earth.’ (Colossians 3:2) Easy words but we live in the visual how can we discern the way we should go? We have been given the equivalent of a GPS. Let’s call the Bible our ‘Godly Pathway Service.’ While it isn’t audio controlled God does cause it to ‘talk to us’ when we open it and want to know His will.

We like the idea of being led by still waters and even in right paths if they’re comfortable. Unfortunately sometimes they lead through some tough territory. We will look at verse 4 later. From that verse David understands the fact, the right path can take him and us through valleys. It is those times which play on our mind and test the depths of our trust in the Shepherd of my soul. Psalm 25 was also written by David. Was it at a much later date? In it he talks about his Shepherd helping him in his life’s experience. What David wrote here could be inserted in various parts of Psalm 23. Many of us can identify with him in this Psalm.

What is very apparent is the road (in Psalm 25) he was walking had enemies, foes, affliction, distress and trouble. Such can be the case when a person wants to do the right things in life. In this psalm David wants to know truth, to fear the Lord and know the wonder of God’s covenant of love. Such desire can be opposed by others whose ways are shrouded in unrighteous darkness and hostility to the God of Israel. In psalm 23 is the grace of the Shepherd anointing the sheep with oil. In psalm 25 we gain a picture of why this healing, refreshing act was needed. David had transgressed, had a sense of guilt, was troubled in heart, and was caught up in some messy net. His cry “O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.’ How many of us have cried words of a similar vein?

Little understood by ‘the flock’ are the words of Psalm 23 which finish verse 3, ‘for his name’s sake.’ The honour of our Shepherd is bound up in the way the sheep follow. When we walk according to the path of righteousness it is our testimony of trust and obedience. Onlookers don’t see our Shepherd. This may cause them to wonder about our lifestyle, priorities, endurance and relationships. It is this principle of the honour of His Name’ which Ezekiel especially stresses. The Lord made a covenant with Israel and will keep it, regardless of their waywardness. The Shepherd will discipline them. He will deliver them from their enemies. He will not only restore them to their land (which has happened) He will return to them at the proper time. Why does He bother? ‘For His name’s sake!’ For in that Name we are baptised. In that Name we pray. In that Name we have a refuge. In that Name we approach the Father. It is that reason which places us under a lifestyle responsibility of walking in the right path.

Proverbs has a saying to remind us, the sheep in His flock, about the heart matter we need to be led.  Proverbs 3:5-6. ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely upon your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.’

 To be continued

Ray Hawkins 21 Feb 2016

The Way We Walk

Christians are called to walk and to run. Apart from the obvious, what are the spiritual differences? To walk relates to our daily expression of Christian living and relationships. To run has the sense of ministry. It may be a short run or a marathon, even a relay. The difference is runners usually have coaches and back-up support, for them to run is something they must do alone. This will be looked at in another blog.

 Some are commissioned to run with a message. All, however, are called to walk as witnesses to the things of Christ. This is especially true in regard to what Jesus has done and is doing in their lives. One of the great things about walking is it can be done singularly, couples or in group. It can be for health and exercise. As you walk you can engage in conversation. There may or may not be a destination at the walks conclusion. Walking with others has its limitation. Youth must regulate its pace to walk beside the aged or infirm. Visually impaired need the visually clear to understand their limitations and match it with compassion.

Ephesians has a number references to our Christian walk and relationships. The Greek word paints the picture of a person walking around and around within a certain arena or atmosphere. Our original walk was one involving spiritual deadness, slaves to good and bad desires, and ignorant of or disobedient to Christ Jesus. We lived in the Devil’s playground, often unknowingly (Ephesians 2:2).

When we were saved by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8) God relocated us into a new atmosphere, where Jesus Christ rules. Part of our walk here is to do good deeds.  (Ephesians 2:10). While this is new territory for us, it has been part of God’s plan before creation. He wants us to learn our life’s new atmosphere by walking around and around in it. The Holy Spirit has been given to us as our ‘coach and companion.’ His manual is the one He put together with His prophets and apostles, we know it as ‘the Bible.’  In this new arena of faith, whose atmosphere is from Heaven, our Lord gives us supporters. Older believers are called upon to help the new Christians to ‘get their on the right track.’ Understanding that brings to mind the old saying, ‘practice what you preach.’ We may also add, ‘walk the way I’m walking and in the direction I’m taking.’

Ephesians 4:1-2 offers the undergirding principle old and young believers need as their mindset. Humility, Meekness, Longsuffering, and Forbearing one another in love. If you imagine these are easy to produce and portray read the story of Moses. He first appears as an adult in Exodus as a passionate and quick tempered man. These habits, mixed with self-righteousness and sense of mission led to him killing an Egyptian. It required years in the wilderness, marriage as retraining ground for God’s purposes to be activated in his life.  Numbers 12:3 bears testimony to him learning and applying the ‘atmosphere of Heaven’ for he is called the meekest of all. Just because that word rhymes with ‘weakness,’ don’t be fooled. Meekness requires more than physical or emotional strength. It needs the grace of Christ to sustain it over and over again.

Ephesians 5:2 Wants us to walk around and around in love, not sentimentality. True love is a sacrificial love. It is costly. For it’s a love based upon and flows out of Christ’s love for us. Such love can wear us down unless we set our affections on Christ Jesus. When this love is expressed – notice what rises up to the Lord, a sweet smelling fragrance. (2 Cor. 2:14-16)

Ephesians 5:15 tells us how we are to walk in a hostile world. Do it carefully. Be wise, not unwise. Being ‘fools for Christ’ in the eyes of the World and not ‘stupid hypocrites’ demands of us the Wisdom which comes from fearing and honouring God through obeying His word. There are many other references to how we should live our Christian calling with and in front of others. When we walk along the Lord’s walking trail it will prepare us if and when He puts us into the Christian life’s running events. Walking success, with God or in other relationships is summed up in Amos 3:3, ‘Can two walk together, except they be agreed?’ (KJV)

Ray Hawkins 12 Oct. 2015.