You Will Not Abandon My Soul Psalm 16

Psalm 16

16 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3 As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
8 I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Now this is a hallelujah Psalm if ever there was one. You shall not abandon my soul.. WOW!!

But this is more than just rejoicing, there are lessons to be learned.

Choose your friends wisely

3As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

Rejoice with the saints of the land. Share your concern, your prayers, your activities with those who also serve God. Allow them to be there you as well as you be there for them.

4 The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

And accept that those who serve other gods will fail. Will suffer, the victory might momentarily be theirs but in the end, the triumph is ours. And by gods, I don't just mean other religions or known "gods". There are those who worship greed, fame, power, etc...

Worry not about their "success" for "Indeed we have a beautiful inheritance"

And we when we struggle, when we are tempted, when we doubt. Remember listen to God because
"He will make known to us the path of life"

Shauni

*remember these are my thoughts on this verse and what I took away from my Bible study.. feel free to add yours to the discussion.

Who Shall Dwell in the House of the Lord, Psalm 15

Whom shall dwell in the house of the Lord?

Psalm 15
 
15 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?

Who may dwell on Your holy hill?

2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,

And speaks truth in his heart.

3 He does not slander with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,

But who honors those who fear the Lord;

He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5 He does not put out his money at interest,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.

Now as Christians we understand that our place is guaranteed in heaven. That Jesus' death wiped away all of our sins. But that doesn't mean we should just run around sinning willy-nilly. No it means that there is a conduct of behavior that is expected of us.

Yes, we have the privilege of having the Holy Spirit live within us but we still have to consciously decide to allow the Spirit to flow through us at that moment of temptation.

But I look as this psalm as a litany of temptations. We are tempted to:

• Walk an unrighteous life
• Gossip
• Lie
• Respect evil
• Enact revenge
• Accept bribes
• Lend money to our benefit
• Judge our friends..

And that is what David is warning us against. Of course the "big" sins are things we are aware of.. murder, stealing, adultery, etc... those are obvious. But the "little" sins are equally unrighteous and all it takes is one step on the wrong path.

And right at the end of vs 5

He who does these things will never be shaken

What does that mean? Well I read this to mean, when we do these things we are not serving God, we are not glorifying God, we are falling into sin and closing our hearts to God.

So as Christians we need to walk with integrity.. to live the life God has planned for us and then we can take vs 5 in an entirely different manner.. He who does these things shall not be moved. Living a righteous life, allowing God to flow through us.. then "just like the tree that's planted by the water.. we shall not be moved!"

Shauni

*remember these are my thoughts on this verse and what I took away from my Bible study.. feel free to add yours to the discussion.

The Folly and Wickedness of Men Psalms 14

Psalm 14
 
14 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Do all the workers of wickedness not know,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they are in great dread,
For God is with the righteous generation.
6 You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,
But the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

This has become such a prevelant problem in our society. Somehow we have allowed those who have closed their hearts to God, to be in control. We have given them the power and now are suffering for it.

We are a generation that is searching. Because we crave that connection with God but as time has passed and it has been declared "There is no God" the people look elsewhere to fulfill their needs. We rarely call them cults anymore, instead we have watched them infiltrate our society and our minds.

"They have turned aside together they have turned corrupt"

That insidious whisper of promise has slithered into them until they believe in the power of greed. Of might making right. Of silencing those who stand for God. The problem is, our souls cry out for more. So we seek but not for God because "God does not exist". It's only when someone finally listens finally opens their eyes that they discover what they were seeking has been there all along.

That God will fill their spiritual coffers. That they are free in God's love. That those other "religions" are mere imitation. That true knowledge comes from God.

I can hear the voices now.. the outcry, the accusations. We must be tolerant of those who believe differently from ourselves. Must we? We must love them, yes, we must show God's love, yes. But be tolerant.. I wonder. I know I don't judge those who honestly show their faith in something other than my God. I would enjoy a lively discussion.. a meeting of minds. But these aren't even the people I speak of. I speak of those who are "spiritual" or have found the religion of conformity.. who disclaim God with one breath and spout their foul beliefs with the other.  The ones who blame Christians for being Christians and mock our beliefs while spouting tolerance.. Those people.. I find my tolerance factor is busted.

Shauni

*remember these are my thoughts on this verse and what I took away from my Bible study.. feel free to add yours to the discussion.

The Abiding Life: Part 12 Romans 8:11

Romans 8:11

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

This should be an easy verse to understand. If the Holy Spirit dwells in you then that same spirit will give life to your body.

If we can accept that basic concept then we will find it so much easier to walk the Christian life. The Holy Spirit guides not just our hearts and minds but our very bodies.

Of course it's never that easy for us. We always have questions. A discussion that came up in our study was, "How can the "mortal body" be separate from the flesh?" Remember, Paul refers to the mortal body when discussing our physical self and the flesh when discussing sins, i.e. The sins of the flesh.

So how can it be separated? Physically, literally of course we can't separate our flesh from our bodies, but spiritually? Now that's a different story.

The moment temptation hits we must make a split second choice. Will we give in to temptation? Will we gossip, lie, cheat, steal, etc..? Or will we yield to the Spirit that dwells within us to flow through us? To guide our thoughts and actions. Yes actions by allowing the spirit to guide our "mortal bodies" we turn away from sin. At that moment our flesh (temptation) is separated from our "mortal bodies".

It's a delicate dance with God always allowing us to choose. Give in to the flesh or yield to the Spirit? Sadly, the correct choice often seems the harder one. That's because we are not yielding to the Spirit we are trying to be good or do the right thing on our own. People, it's possible but very very hard. And doing it ourselves does not glorify God. But by yielding? By allowing the Spirit to flow through us.. now that is so amazingly easy. Let go and let God.. remember that saying? Well, that's pretty much what happens when our "mortal bodies" are controlled by the Spirit. And oh the joy that can be found in doing so.

Shauni

*remember these are my thoughts on this verse and what I took away from my Bible study.. feel free to add yours to the discussion.

The Abiding Life: Part 11 John 15: 1-12

We all know this scripture but do we really understand it? Sure in theory maybe but have you broken it down??

John 15: 1-12

1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
9 "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11 "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
When I read this, I always took this to mean we are a family, in Christ. All of our branches connect due to the vine. Yes that could be considered accurate but it's seriously limiting God's power. Limiting how God uses you.

The essential nature of God (The Christian Life) is not something that we produce, it is something that flows through us. We are the branches, we BEAR the fruit but the vine itself is what actually produces it, cut off the branch and what you have is a dead branch but the vine can still produce.

By being Living Branches (huge shout out to my First Family High School Choir, the Living Branches) we can be pruned and sculpted. God will do whatever He needs to do in our lives to get us to produce the most fruit possible. Our dead weight removed in order to bear God's perfect fruit.

So what does this all tell us? We can't do it ourselves. We are incapable of creating the fruit, the Vine (God) creates the fruit. And once the branch starts to bear fruit, the Vinter (God) must do His utmost to make that branch strong enough to bear plentiful and abundant fruit.

And for being that branch we are rewarded. We are given a promise of a life full of Joy!!

Shauni

*remember these are my thoughts on this verse and what I took away from my Bible study.. feel free to add yours to the discussion.

The Abiding Life: Part 10 Col 1:27

Colossians 1:27
 
27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

To me, this verse firmly takes us from being inactive to active. God not only dwells in us but now H is using us as a witness. God in all his fullness. Yes, His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) dwells in us but we must remember that we represent the Trinity, the fullness of God.

John 14:7
 
7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

And does our purpose become? To have Chris in us with the hop of glory.

*Glory - enhance the reputation of another

There are discussions about the meaning of glory pertaining to this verse.

• Some think it means that while Christ lives in us now, we have the promise of future glory in heaven with Him.
•  Others believe that it means that if we allow Christ to guide us, to flow through us, we have that glory right now.

While I agree with the first explanation, we as Christians will live in Glory with Jesus, in heaven. I personally feel that this particular verse has a more imminent meaning. In this body, right now. If Jesus lives in me, I have the hope of a life of glory. Being used as an instrument to glorify God.

*To Glorify - To cause the dignity and worth of something else to be clearly seen, understood and acknowledged by another.

1 Peter 2:12

12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

By choosing to walk in the Spirit, we bear witness to Him. By our very actions we glorify Him by word and deed. 

Shauni

*remember these are my thoughts on this verse and what I took away from my Bible study.. feel free to add yours to the discussion.

 

How Long, Oh Lord? Psalms 13

Psalm 13  A Prayer for Help in Trouble.

  1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 
  2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 
  3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 
  4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. 
  5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
  6 I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Do you know what I liked about this Psalm? Even David, beloved of God sometimes felt like God had abandoned him. Like he was on his own, clueless as to how to serve God without His guidance. And yet, even though he felt abandoned, even though he felt like he was suddenly God's red headed step child. That God actually favored his enemies. He still knew, in his heart that his only true recourse was to turn to God. To believe in the faith he had entrusted in God. Because God had yet to fail  in a promise made.

How easy is it to step believing? To allow the circumstances to dictate the facts. To turn our own way, sure that we can handle our struggles on our own? Way too easy. This Psalm reminds me of one of my favorite expressions, "I have failed God many times but He has NEVER failed me." Seems David got the memo. It's ok to question but when our doubts overflow (or even just start) turn your eyes to God. Because He has never failed us and his promise is solid as the very foundations of the world.

Shauni

*remember these are my thoughts on this verse and what I took away from my Bible study.. feel free to add yours to the discussion.