Tag: Christ

  • Wisdom Cries Out

    Wisdom Cries Out

    Proverbs 8: NKJV Does not wisdom cry out,
    And understanding lift up her voice?
    2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
    Beside the way, where the paths meet.
    3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
    At the entrance of the doors:

    4 “To you, O men, I call,
    And my voice is to the sons of men.
    5 O you simple ones, understand prudence,
    And you fools, be of an understanding heart.

    Wisdom cries out! She calls out from the mountaintop. She echos the Truth of the Almighty from Mount Gerizim and Mount Moriah, from Mount Sinai and the Mount of Olives.

    John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

    From the echo of the Voice of Truth, through unclean lips of the Prophet; from the highest mountain of the Law to the lowest manger of the cattle and fields of sheep: Truth is born as a Son of Man and speaks softly to those who will hear. You without deafening distraction hear what the Truth of wisdom would say to your soul.

    Proverbs 8:6 Listen, for I will speak of excellent things,
    And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
    7 For my mouth will speak truth;
    Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
    8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
    Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.

    Yet we will not sit in silence before the Very Voice of wisdom and hear what Christ Jesus would instruct to our wayward and crooked paths. (Do YOU read His gospel truth before you begin your way in this day?)

    Hebrews 1: God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things…

     

    Proverbs 9:Wisdom has built her house,
    She has hewn out her seven pillars;
    2 She has slaughtered her meat,
    She has mixed her wine,
    She has also furnished her table.
    3 She has sent out her maidens,
    She cries out from the highest places of the city,
    4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

    You with ears to hear, hear the Voice of Truth.

    Or will you yet hear the distraction of the devil, the beguiler of your soul by the lies of his snare?

    Luke 22:“For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

    And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

     

    Matthew 13:Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way…

    …at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

    If Satan had asked to sift the soul of Simon Peter as chaff, will the snarer of souls not also seek to turn you from the wisdom of Truth?

    Do YOU read your Bible?

    Do YOU hear the invitation of Christ Jesus (with ears to hear) and do you continue with Jesus as your Lord, even in the trials of this life of distraction?

    OR have you missed the invitation of the Banquet; for Wisdom will not beg your repentance and obedience.

    Proverbs 9: 6 Forsake foolishness and live,
    And go in the way of understanding.

    7 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
    And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
    8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
    Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
    9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
    Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

    10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

    Jesus IS and will return. He will judge all sin and unrighteousness with wisdom and truth. He will gather the chaff; neither will those who only claim Him while wandering the paths of wickedness be seated at the Table of His mercy and love.

    Luke 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

    The persistent fool will not receive the cleansed robe of His righteousness.

     Matthew 22:

    The Parable of the Wedding Feast

    And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:

    2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.

    4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’

    5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business…

    8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy…

    11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

    14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

    Though wisdom and Truth have called sinners and fools to the feast, only the humble and repentant will receive the Lord’s robe of righteousness.

    The King, in His mercy, has demonstrated much patience; that you might now accept His invitation to come among the guests.

    Revelation 19: 

    5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both[c] small and great!”

    6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

    9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

     

    12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

     

    He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

    KING OF KINGS AND
    LORD OF LORDS.

    You with ears to hear, hear; for our Lord will not always contend with the dust of the earth and the chaff of the harvest.

     

  • but have not love,

    but have not love,

    1 Corinthians 13

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    The Way of Love
    13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,

    Let us summarize the list (from the ESV):

    •  2 And if I have prophetic powers,
    • and understand all mysteries
    • and all knowledge,
    • and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,
    • but have not love, I am nothing. 

    • 3 If I give away all I have,
    • and if I deliver up my body to be burned [to death],
    • but have not love, I gain nothing.

    WE are nothing and we gain nothing without this love – we are NOT Christians without Christ’s love evident in our faith and in our lives.

    This famous “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13 is most notably read (often at weddings) as an example of the love of a husband and a wife. The following verses, more notably than the opening verses, are truly much more than just the romantic love between a husband and wife; for the Apostle Paul speaks not of eros, nor phileo (brotherly love), but of agape – a godly love to which Christians must cling, pouring out sacrificially from the overflowing fountain of the love of Christ Jesus.

    The literal translation of agape love in the King James Version is charity. (Don’t get it mixed up with the giving away of money; charity is an outpouring of the overflowing love of God.)  Think of ‘charity’ as the love given so personally by our Lord Jesus Christ – charity is the touch of love Jesus would give to another, if He were you.

    1 Corinthians 13 in the original KJV.

    IF you were to replace the word ‘love’ with ‘charity’ or ‘agape’ in your Bible, you would likely come nearer the intention of what the Apostle is telling Christians about its importance in the witness of our lives. The following is such an example from the Amplified Bible:

     4 Agape [Charity] endures long and is patient and kind; charity never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
    5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Agape (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
    6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
    7 Charity bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
    8 Agape never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

    Please study more about this special love Christians must have for each other; for it is a command of our Lord Christ Jesus.

    Let us close in consideration of the briefness of this life in the flesh, in witness to the charity of Christ Jesus. Closing in the same manner of substituting “charity” or the original Greek word, agape. from the Amplified Bible:

      13 And so faith, hope, charity abide [faith—conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope—joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; charity —true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is agape.

     

  • Turn in your hymnal..

    Turn in your hymnal..

    .. to Psalms – Book II.

    You probably know that Psalms is the Hymnal of worship in song to the LORD. You may know that Psalms is divided into five BOOKS, which contain a total of 150 songs (Psalms). Most of us know that many Psalms were written by David and most of us could not name a writer of any other of these holy lyrics.

    Today we are going to focus on hymns attributed to just one ‘lyricist,’ Psalms of worship by the sons of Korah. Some Psalms are introduced as a maskiyl [maschil] or song of contemplation. From these you will recognize many comforting scriptures familiar to us in certain times of distress.

    Psalm 42 MendelssohnPsalm 42

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Book Two
    Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?
    To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

    42 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
    2 My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
    When shall I come and appear before God?
    3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
    while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

    The Psalmist (a descendant of Korah from the priestly line of Levi) goes on to lament:

     Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?

    I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
    Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”

    An explanation of context – conjecture from a commentator from my NLT Bible – may be helpful.

    The psalmists are not afraid to ask questions and express doubts. These questions clarify life issues.

    “The historical context is uncertain; these psalms might be the voice of God’s people in exile, confessing their loyalty to God as he punishes them for their prevailing apostasy.”

    … but if you do not listen…

    … but if you refuse to obey…

    Then I will say, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me you evil doers.’

    WE get indignant to the idea that God would punish ME or punish you (dear believer) for our SIN. Yet the tone of these psalms is a plea for mercy, a confession of faith and a hope of redemption.

    Psalm 43

    Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people,
    from the deceitful and unjust man
    deliver me!
    2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
    Why do I go about mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?

    Psalm 44

    O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
    what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:

    11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
    and have scattered us among the nations.
    12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
    demanding no high price for them.
    13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and scorn of those around us.
    14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
    a laughingstock among the peoples.
    15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and shame has covered my face
    16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
    17 All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.

    Do you ever feel like that? … like you deserve the wrath of God?

    Yet WHY will he not save you? Why? …

    Romans 3: “None is righteous, no, not one;
    11 no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
    12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”

    24 Why do you hide your face?
    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
    25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
    26 Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

    Let us remember who these descendants of Korah, Priests of Levi, truly are — remember of the inheritance of their sin (as well we ought to remember as our belly clings to the ground — that to dust we will return).

    Numbers 29: These are the Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord 10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. 11 But the sons of Korah did not die.

    These were members of the Levitical choir appointed by David, descendants of a fallen Kingdom and a once-again broken people in exile. These were men like us – men (and women; children of broken families) in need of God and wondering how godly men and a godly nation could have so quickly strayed from righteousness – how far we have fallen into destruction and hopelessness.

     Psalm 46a mighty fortress

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    God Is Our Fortress
    To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

    46 God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
    2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
    3 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
    4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
    5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
    6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
    7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

    I commend to you all of the Psalms of the sons of Korah, 42-49, which I have only excerpted in part here.

    We close with focus for your serious consideration of the last of these:

    Psalm 49

     English Standard Version (ESV)

    Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?
    To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

    49 Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
    2 both low and high,
    rich and poor together!

    5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
    6 those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?

    my redeemer lives - job - cross7 Truly no man can ransom another,
    or give to God the price of his life,
    8 for the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
    9 that he should live on forever
    and never see the pit.

     A word to the wise:

    10 For he sees that even the wise die;
    the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and leave their wealth to others.
    11 Their graves are their homes forever,
    their dwelling places to all generations,
    though they called lands by their own names.

    14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
    and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
    Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
    15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me. Selah

    The Living God has ransomed the souls of His chosen.

    Do you call upon the Name of Christ Jesus, our Redeemer?

    16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
    17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
    18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
    19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again see light.

    20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

    Philippians 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

    You with ears to hear, know that Christ Jesus IS Lord and Redeemer.

    Whom Shall I Fear –  by Chris Tomlin