Silence Can Be Deadly

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms 28. Psalm 28:1-2 are so powerful! “To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.” (your innermost sanctuary) This tells me that when I lift my hands up, I’m appealing to my Daddy’s heart for me. Hear me, Mom, Dad! And, answer me; answer my need for reassurance, admonition, correction, instruction, encouragement, etc. Remember Job? Yeah, God answered him, didn’t He? LOL My favorite line from that whole book is when Job says, “I’ll just shut up now.” I giggle every time I read it. And, yes, I’ve said that same thing myself; more times than I care to disclose. God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Your silence can be lethal. Interaction stimulates even infants in the womb. Admonition, encouragement, instruction, empower us with knowledge, wisdom, and courage. Correction reveals error and makes way for instruction and encouragement. It also reinforces standards and boundaries; helping to realign us with truth and integrity. All of theses empower bonding in love, and cement relationships. Relationship empowers boldness. Verse 2 Begins “Hear the the voice of my please for mercy.” You can tell by the way that voice sounds what’s going on inside that person. (fear, desperation, frustration, overwhelmed, etc.) Those pleas for mercy. Mercy is defined as: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. (definition from Oxford Languages) We need to stop the onslaught dead in its tracks and make it manageable. My oldest daughter was just overwhelmed by a Math lesson dealing with decimal places. I drew a chart for her, like the one I’d learned decimal places on, and showed her how to use it. She aced that section in her math class. She hadn’t been shown that in class.

Psalm 28:3 is a powerful revelation about inappropriate places, people, and things. Some I thought of were bars, parties, gossip sessions, adult conversation, and age inappropriateness. That stuff comes back on us; we’re sowing seeds, and we will reap. That 9 year old that acts and sounds like a 37 year old comes to mind. Jesus did not take us to Hell; He went there for us. Psalm 27:7 is the next powerful one here. It gives us a revelation of two things. First, you must trust God to be helped by Him. (How can you believe and obey Him if you don’t trust Him?) Secondly, you must be trustworthy in order for your children, mate, friends, and others to feel they can be helped by you. (Why would, or should they turn to you if they can’t trust you?)

Proverbs 28 tomorrow.

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He Gave Us The Power

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 8. Psalm 8 is a psalm King David wrote, glorifying the LORD. King David recognized, not only who God really is (our Heavenly Father), but also, he knew who he was, in the LORD. Verse 1 tells us God’s glory is set above the heavens – over the powers, principalities, and hosts of spiritual wickedness. There’s only so far they can go. Verse 2 tells us that God has ordained praise to silence the enemy and avenger. “Out of the mouths of children and infants” -that’s us when we’re reborn. Right then, the devil is rendered powerless to accuse and exact payment. Verses 5 & 6 tell us that we’re made a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honor. He has made us ruler over the works of His hands! That means, in Jesus’ Name, the powers, principalities and hosts of spiritual wickedness (the spirits) are subject to us; they must obey. Jesus gave us the power to master good and evil, and gave us the same authority He has over the spirits.

The only thing I’m going to tell you about Proverbs 8, in this message, is that Jesus is the wisdom of God personified. You’ll see that in verses 22-31. The whole proverb is a list that shows us the benefits of seeking and embracing wisdom. I encourage you to delve into it. Verses 15 & 16 tell us that it is by wisdom that kings rule. We are kings and queens in the earth. Whether we rule/govern our homes, or our communities, wisdom is what empowers us to do so justly. *Our treasuries are spirit, heart, mind, and soul.

Thank you, Paul Wilbur, for such beautiful praises for me to sing to the LORD/Lord!

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Rule Them, Indeed

First, back to Psalm 2:9 -“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them into pieces like a potter’s vessel.” If you look at all the nations of the world, all the different cultures, beliefs, religions, standards and boundaries (moral, social, familial, etc.), you’ll see why it’s important that you be able to break them and dash them into pieces.

This verse tells us a couple of things. First, the nations and the ends of the earth are our heritage. That means they can be of benefit to us. We can learn from other cultures, beliefs, and religions. We can also be led astray by them, as the nation of Israel was through intermarriage with people of foreign cultures. (The lands they journeyed through and were supposed to dispossess) Some cultures have very different standards and boundaries, social and familial practices, and some religions are idolatrous, and may even involve witchcraft and sorcery. Some of the ancient religions involved human sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of children. We know that this is not Godly. We also know that some things considered the norm for others, are not going to work for us. Just because a bunch of folks do it, doesn’t make it right; or even beneficial. This is where the rod of iron (Word of God) and dashing things into pieces comes in. The things that are of no use to us, those that will harm us, those that go against God and Godly wisdom, etc., are the things we need to throw out. This works the same way in generational curses. Those things that are/were harmful need to be thrown out and replaced with God’s ways, according to God’s standards and boundaries.

That brings us to Psalm 3:1-7 “Oh, Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Have you ever been laughed at by peers because of your faith, or because you wouldn’t do something they thought was o.k. to do? Many will try to tell us that God’s ways are old fashioned, outdated, actually even oppressive and hateful. But God is a shield around us, and the lifter of our heads. It almost always turns out in the end, that obedience to His Word, and sticking to His ways, was the right thing to dos. I say, “almost,” only because some of those results we won’t know until we get to Heaven. Verse 7 of Psalm 3 tells us that God will silence and disarm the enemy. It never fails, when the enemy causes you to doubt or fear, God’s Word will show you the truth, and empower you to stand on the truth; dispelling the fear and the doubt.

Finally, Proverbs 3 gives us a lists of all the benefits we gain from allowing God to teach us, and keeping to His teaching, and keeping His commandments in our hearts. Whenever I read about God’s commandments, I think of Jesus’ words: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Thank you, Casting Crowns, for this inspirational song!

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