Psalm 127

Wow, what a Scripture to read tonight...

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. http://bible.us/Ps127.1.ESV

Favs

A favorite quote, coupled with a great Scripture.

My Favs

One of my favorite portions of Scripture, from Romans 3:

as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

There are none who are righteous, not one. Let's receive and walk in His grace today.

One of My Favs

One of my favorite portions of Scripture in the Bible comes from my favorite book, the book of Romans. The Scripture is found in Chapter 3, verses 10-12:


as it is written:

   “None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
   no one seeks for God. 

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
   no one does good,
   not even one.”

It's a good reminder, and pulls me off my self-righteous throne, whenever I might think I am somehow earning my keep and favor with God. It reminds me that my righteousness is like filthy rags, and of my desperate state before Christ.

Be encouraged of your desperation today too.

Idol

There seems to be a growing faction of people who believe that God approves of what they do with their life as long as they are doing what makes them happy. God would want them to be happy, they reason. God is where I am. As long as I am satisfied in this moment or with the decisions I am making, God must be satisfied as well.

God is love, and I love this (whatever this is), so of course God loves me and this!

It's almost hip to have this unnamed, undefined spirituality. God is in the now, God is all about me, and God wants me to be happy.

It sounds good. It almost sounds right.

This sort of unbounded spirituality is en vogue right now it seems. It's a universal spirituality that anyone can participate it. All are accepted, as long as you adopt the rules of the unnamed spirituality. Even the Hollywood "star's" of our day participate and promote its beliefs. Two of the unwritten rules is that truth is relevant, and tolerance is essential, except of course tolerance of those who are intolerant of their tolerance.

Question I'd like to ask is, what "God" are you referring to? Where is this so-called spirituality founded?

Any theology that isn't founded on the Scriptures is bound for ruin at the judgment seat of Christ. The Scripture makes it clear we were created through Him and for Him. This universal "God" is very much love, and, He is also Lord and Master of the universe. He dictates how we come to Him and what pleases Him, not the other way around. God isn't a universal generality, rather, He is a meaningful specific. He isn't an unnamed blob, His name is Jesus.

Unfortunately, I believe the church isn't too far behind the thinking and beliefs of this "spiritual chi" of our day. We like the "God" being referenced in this movement. And in the process we subtly exchange the truth of the Scripture for the lies of hell. Instead of getting our understanding of God from the Scriptures and biblical teachers, we too learn from the actors and media all around us.

I believe in many ways that the Church is so interconnected with the world that we cannot tell the difference between some Hollywood "star's" theology and the truth of the Scripture.

Like I have said before, we better make sure our the-ology isn't a me-ology.

The next time we claim God approves of our lifestyles or the decisions we make, we better have the sense enough to inquire of the One who created us and set the world in motion. It would be wise of us to seek the Scriptures and ask the One God what pleases Him, instead of assuming my temporal happiness is the source and fountain of truth for my life, and whether or not He approves.

If you or I have been guilty of following our own man-made doctrine or the false spirit of the age, it would behoove us to heed the advice of the Jesus-follower Jason Upton, "Better trash our idols if we're gonna be, in the army of the Lord."

Jesus himself put it it a little more simply and succinctly by saying, "Repent."

He couldn't have said anything more loving than that to a lost and rebellious world.