Blessed

Psalms 1:1 ... "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

This Psalm has no title as many of them have.  This very first Psalm has been generally considered as the preface, or the introduction to the whole book.  It sets the stage so to speak, the tempo and the theme perhaps for the complete body of work that follows.

The Book of Psalms opens with the same invocation, that we find Jesus using in Matthew 5:3-11, as He begins the Sermon on the Mount.  Both Jesus and David use the same benediction ... "Blessed" ... at the beginning of their remarks instead of at the end of them. 

The original word translated into English as "blessed" is a very expressive word.  Here, speaking of the intended man in this Psalm, the word blessed is a joyful acclamation and could be read as ... happy, even enviable ... is the man who is following after God.

Why is he blessed?  This man, (or woman) "walks not" or does not follow after, or seek the counsel of the ungodly.  Instead he takes the wise counsel of God's Word.  Notice the blessing is not just for the man spoken of ... but the way it is written, the blessing is for all men who are not led by the ungodly.

The wisest counsel to be found is in the Word of God.  I give you three examples ...

Proverbs 1:10 ... "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent not." 

Proverbs 1:15 ... "My son, walk not in the way with them; keep thy foot from their path."

Proverbs 4:14-15 ... "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it ..."

What's the advise given to the reader ... do not consent to ungodly counsel, and do not walk in the same paths that the ungodly walk in.

Let the Word of God light your path.  Psalms 119:105 states ... "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  

Proverbs 4:19 gives this warning ... "The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble."  Evil loves darkness.  Just like cock roaches, the workers of evil come out when it gets dark.

What's the best deterrent against crime when the sun sets and it gets dark out ... turn on the lights.  Light always dispels darkness ... physically and spiritually. 

Now I will admit that walking by faith alone can sometimes be like walking in a dark cave, with only enough light to see the next step.  Could it be ... God wants you to walk one step at a time and trust Him that the light will be there as you pick up your foot for the next step.  Many times He will only allow you to see that next step, not the whole journey.
 
Really ... do we want to know everything that is ahead of us?  Sometimes, no, most of the time we must take it totally by faith.    

One of the signs of the blessed man is that his outward walk has changed.  Because he no longer listens to ungodly counsel, he likewise does not "stand in the way of sinners" ... meaning the type of company he keeps.  He does not have the "herd" mentality to stand with the ungodly just because it's the popular path.

When men begin to live in sin, they go from good, to bad, to worse.  This fate can even befall the Godly ... if they don't guard their heart.  This warning is from Proverbs 4:23 ... "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life."  (Amplified Bible)

At first they may just listen to the counsel of the ungodly, but slowly if they begin to walk in their counsel ... they forget God.  This pathway may seem more practical, but in time it will become habitual and then they will also find themselves "standing in the way of sinners."

When men violate the first two, and if left alone, they will go one step further and will sit in the seat of the scornful.

What does it mean to sit in the seat of the scornful?  As used here ... the translation would be to take a comfortable position and "scoff at, mock and have contemptuous ridicule" for the Godly man.

The seat of the scornful could even be a seat of the powerful, a place admired by the world ... but it is very near to the gate of hell ... so let the "blessed man" flee from it, for it shall soon be empty and destruction shall swallow up the man (or woman) who sits in it.

This Psalm speaks of the "blessed man" and what he is like.  But it also calls attention to the reality that the ungodly are not so blessed. 

Verse 4 reads ... "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away." 

Verses 5 & 6 are not as kindly towards the ungodly. 


Psalms 1 ... to be continued.



(Comments are welcome, and will be posted by moderator.)

Motivational Gifts

There are seven different traits that help shape the different personalities of people given to the church to help enable it to function properly as one body.  They are the behavioral and emotional attributes that characterize an individual … in the church or in the world.  These seven gifts in people are the main reason they act or react as they do in certain circumstances.  These gifts are what motivates or moves their responses to various situations; they are the cause behind what they do … hence the name … motivational gifts.

These seven gifts are different than the nine spiritual gifts that operate in the church but are just as important for the health and operation of each local body of believers.  The motivational gifts are given to you by God … like your DNA is … it's just there, like the color of your eyes or hair.

NOTE … Your motivational gifting is the determining principle of your personality tendencies and it motivates your behavioral characteristics.

I'm going to try and give a simple explanation of each gift; what they are and how each one works to help the church operate together as one body.  The Apostle Paul speaks of each of them in Romans 12:4-8 … 

"For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:  (meaning … we are not all equipped or called to do the same thing)
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness."

I believe what Paul is saying with this scripture is, that just as the physical body has many different parts or members; all of these members do not have the same function … they don't work the same or are used the same.

Likewise each local church body, made up of different members (people) are dependent on one another and need one another to operate correctly.  So then, by putting each of these seven different gifts or attributes in operation when it is needed makes for a healthier church body.

1.) The first one Paul mentions, is the gift of "prophesy or insight" … they instinctually know certain things and have an intuitive sense about where people and things really are.  They can identify evil as well as God's presence.

2.) The second one is the gift of "ministry or server" … which is serving those around you, doing for others in practical service.  Their gift is with deeds rather than words.  They see what needs to be done.  Servers find it hard to say no.

3.) The third one mentioned is the gift of "teaching" … having the ability to impart knowledge and to lead others into revealed truth.  They water but do not plant.  They need to validate truth and will test the knowledge of those who teach them.  They can give the impression of a lack of warmth in their personality, for they are not feeling orientated.  They can also seem authoritarian in their presentation of the facts.

4.) Number four on the list is the gift of "exhortation or encouragement" … using words to see people grow and mature.  They are motivated to encourage and stimulate people through their own life experiences.  To them the Word needs to produce real results.  Truth must be positive, practical, and personal.

5.) The fifth trait is the gift of "giving or contributor" … one who shares with others in need.  They are motivated to support others.  Giving can be material things, time, or financial help.  True givers give with no fanfare, manipulation or self-gain in mind.  Contributors usually have insight as to when, whom and how to give.
   
6.) Number six on Paul's list is the gift of being a "ruler or leader" … one who stands in front of others … "facilitating."  It's really leadership aid by working with and through others.  Facilitators can structure, organize and direct his co-workers.  Leaders do not joy in the task themselves … but they will do it anyway.

7.) The seventh and last, but only in the order listed; but just as important and the most needed of all the gifts is "mercy" … the compassionate love and kindness to help meet the sympathetic and emotional needs in the church body.  As servers are doers … mercies are feelers.  Their gift is to feel or sense when people are hurting and reach out to them.

We need a lot more mercies, servers, exhorters and perhaps even more contributors than … let's say insights or facilitators.  There is more need in these three areas than the others.

All seven motivational gifts are resident within each believer, but all seven do not operate with the same strength.

I have already stated that your motivational gift is the determining principle of your personality and temperament.  Your temperament is your usual mood, your normal emotionalism.

There are four basic temperaments or personalities of people.  I want to look at all four, what they are, how they operate and some of the problems associated with each one.  All four temperaments will have an effect on the operation of the motivational gifts.

The four temperaments and their basic characteristics are …

1.) Choleric … strong; worker.
2.) Melancholy … perfection; thinker.
3.) Phlegmatic … peaceful; listener.    
4.) Sanguine … popular; talker.

The Negative problems of each …

Choleric …
Basic desire is control. 
Emotional need is obedience. 
Cause of depression is ... not being in control. 
Spiritual struggle … the Sovereignty of God.

Melancholy …
Basic desire is perfection. 
Emotional need is sensitivity. 
Cause of depression is ... things aren't perfect. 
Spiritual struggle … the fairness of God.

Phlegmatic …
Basic desire is peace. 
Emotional need is self worth. 
Cause of depression is ... conflict. 
Spiritual struggle … person of worth. 

Sanguine …
Basic desire is fun. 
Emotional need is attention. 
Cause of depression is ... not having fun. 
Spiritual struggle … discipline.

These are the basic strengths and weaknesses in the four personalities.

This is why all the parts of the body of Christ need to know who they are and how they are equipped so they can do the type of work best suited for them.  Remember … some plant and others water … but all work.



(Comments are welcome, and will be posted by moderator.)

Jesus Only

I don't teach "Jesus Only." 

But, I do believe that the Trinity … the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one in the Godhead, with each one having their own distinction and purpose.  No, I can't explain how that can be, but the answer to each question below is found in Scripture.  For clarity, I have highlighted each answer in bold print …

Who is the creator?  Jesus.  Who is the Lamb of God?  Jesus.  Who died on the cross?  Jesus.  Who is the Healer?  Jesus.  Who is seated on the Mercy Seat?  Jesus.  Who is coming back for His church?  Jesus.  Who has been given all power both in Heaven and in Earth?  Jesus.  Who is the same yesterday, today and forever?  Jesus.  Who ever lives to make intercession for you?  Jesus.  Who is Lord?  Jesus.

Do I see only "Jesus" most of the time?  Yes … I admit I do.  Do you want to know more about God?  Then look at Jesus.

But first, let's look again at … God Himself.

I correspond with a Jewish lady who knows the Jesus story very well.  I am interested in her Jewish faith and why she believes as she does.  One of my questions to her was ...

"Why don't Jewish people believe that Jesus is the son of God?"

She wrote back ... "Jews don't believe in a plural God.  Deuteronomy 6:4 states ... 'the LORD our God is one LORD.'  We don't accept the teaching of a Trinity ... God is one."

Well, it's kind of hard to argue against that point when she has scripture.  In fact, later I found out that Jesus quoted that very scripture in Mark 12:29.  That presents one big hurdle to get beyond when trying to share the gospel with Jewish people.  Of course Jesus was alluding to the fact that He was one with His Father.

So ... what do we know about this one God?  Personally, I agree with the Jews that there is but one living and true God ... but as I have already stated ... I see Him in the person of Jesus.

I question if we will every see "God" Himself, or as Jesus described Him ... God the Father.  Oh, I am confident that we will see Jesus in His glorified physical body as the Son of God, the resurrected Christ, and as far as I know, Jesus will continue to be who He is forever ... the Lord of Heaven and earth.  And forever is a long, long time.

Believe it or not, I do have somewhat of a reason why I question being able to see God the Father.  The scripture states that God is a spirit ... therefore as a spirit He would be invisible to the natural eye.  As a spirit He would be without a physical body with a measured dimension, having no limits or boundaries, filling the universe with His presence and measuring it with the span of His hand.  (Isaiah 40:12)

Being a spirit explains David speaking to God in Psalm 139:8 ... "If I ascend up to heaven you are there; if I make my bed in hell you are there."

The Apostle Paul in comparing Jesus with God, describes Jesus this way in Colossians 1:15 … "He is the exact likeness of the unseen God, the visible representation of the invisible …"  (Amp.)

Notice the two descriptive words Paul uses to describe God ... unseen and invisible.  Of course, in the eternal realm after the resurrection of the dead, we will be made like Jesus, having glorified bodies, perhaps then we may be able to look upon God the Father.  But until then ... we look to Jesus.

God has also been called immutable, which means ... unchangeable.  In Malachi 3:6 God said ... "I change not."  When something man makes needs a "change," the reason is usually to bring improvement, to make it better, or to make it more useful.  Not so with God.  He is perfect in all His ways.  No improvement needed.   

In my previous post, I stated that one of the many reasons God sent Jesus into the world was so we might know Him, meaning knowing God better.  Most people that don't know Him yet today, have a mistaken view of God as someone to be feared, not loved.

All they need to do is ... look at Jesus ... not the outward form of the man, but as the Son of God, who is the visible representation of God's nature and character ... the unchanging, perfect love of God.  Every thought, action and deed performed by either Jesus or God the Father was always for the benefit of man.  Is there a greater proof of God's love than what we find in ...

John 3:16 ... "For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish, but have eternal life." 

It was God's plan.  It was God's own will to bruise His Son.  God provided "Himself" as the Lamb to be slain for sin.  (Genesis 22:8)

So ... how are we to picture Jesus?  As the sacrificial lamb?  The lion of the tribe of Judah?  A humble servant?  King of Kings?  These are all good.  How do I see Jesus?

I see Jesus as ... God.  Period.  He is my Lord.  He is my God.  And God the Father is well pleased in Him.  "There is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."  (Acts 4:12)

I even see Jesus in the Old Testament everywhere the Angel of the Lord appeared to man.  The Angel of the Lord never again appears in scripture after Jesus is born of Mary.  Why is that?  For me, it's proof that Jesus was the Angel of the Lord.

Jesus was not the Son of God ... until He was born of Mary.  (Psalms 2:7 & Hebrews 1:5)

Until then ... He was the Word of God.  He walked with Adam in the garden, appeared as the Captain of the Lord's hosts, was the forth man in the fiery furnace, and He was the one who handed Moses the Book of the Law.

And then the Word was made flesh.  (John 1:1 & 14)

Do I see only "Jesus" most of the time?  Yes … I admit I do.

Not "Jesus Only" ... but ... only Jesus.  He's the one I know. 



(Comments are welcome, and will be posted by moderator.)

That We May Know Him

Did you ever wonder why God not only allowed, but even planned for Jesus to be born in this world of sin?  Many people might answer, and rightly so, that the main reason was ... "to seek and save that which was lost."  (Luke 19:10) 

As I began thinking about this question, and although it's not all-inclusive, I believe the following reason should also be near the top of the list ...

"So that we may know Him." 

This phrase is what I want to look at today.  Now the question becomes ... so that we may know ... "who?"

The disciple that I believe knew Jesus best, made the above statement in 1st John 5:20.  These are not the words of Jesus.  These are the words of John. 

"We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true.  And we are in Him who is true by being in His Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life."  (NIV)

As I consider this scripture, the answer to who John is speaking of when he says, "so that we may know Him," to me seems obvious, but this verse has stirred much debate and discussion over time.  There has been much difference of opinion as to whether the word "Him" in this phrase refers to Jesus or to God the Father.

The first thing I notice is that John is saying that we are in Him ... who is true.  But that doesn't really tell us whether it's Jesus or God the Father does it. 

This scripture states that the coming of Jesus, gave us understanding ... and for what purpose ... to know God.  To know God as Jesus knew Him ... as a God of love and grace and mercy.  As a father figure who longs for an intimate relationship with His children that He didn't have before.  John experienced and knew this from being personally taught by Jesus, and it shows through in his writings about our Father in Heaven.  

There was an earlier time when John and the other disciples may not have known God as the loving father Jesus was portraying Him to be.  But Jesus spoke of His father as a God of love and mercy and lived out that example in front of them.

One time in the temple during the feast of tabernacles, Jesus addressed the rulers of the people, which included the scribes and Pharisees who were supposed to know God but obviously didn't.  By now they sought to kill Him.  But no matter, Jesus proclaims boldly anyway in John 7:28 ...

"I am not come of myself, but He that sent me is true, whom you know not.  But I know Him: for I am from Him, and He sent me."

From this verse, we find Jesus saying He didn't come on His own, but He was sent by Him that is true, meaning His Father ... the God of Israel. 

Notice as well, Jesus states ... "whom you know not" ... which goes back to my suggestion as to one of the reasons Jesus was sent ... "so that we may know Him" ...  not meaning Himself, but His father, the one He was presenting as a God of love.

Returning back to my key verse, I want you to look a another phrase John places here ... "and we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ."

We have already established that God the Father is the one meant here as true.  By John saying we are in Him (God the Father) ... he is clarifying it's through being in His Son Jesus.

In this dissertation I have been working the thought ... "that we may know Him" ... not the God of the Old Testament, not the Law giver who was revered and yet feared by the saints of old, but the God Jesus pictured as His loving father.  Yes, still holy, but with open arms you can run to.  And if you can't run to Him, you can call out to Him.

When Jesus came, He portrayed God in this whole new light ... as a loving, kind and merciful Father.  And the only way Jesus could do that was to say ... "I and my Father are one."   (John 10:30)

Jesus was basically saying, if you want to know what God is like, then look at who I am and what I'm like, because ... "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."  (John 14:9)

The Apostle Paul describes Jesus this way in Colossians 1:15 … "He is the exact likeness of the unseen God, the visible representation of the invisible …"  (Amp.)

The image that is seen is that of the Son of God.  He is the perfect and complete eternal image of His Father ... more than a shadow or a representation, more than just a visible likeness.  This "image" includes the same nature and perfections as God the Father, but in His own personality and distinction as the Son.

Hebrews 1:3 puts it this way … "He is the sole expression of the glory of God ... He is the perfect imprint and the very image of God's nature ..."  (Amp.)

If you want to know who God is … look at Jesus ... who is the visible face of God.  He is the very image and nature of the invisible God, the express image of His person, and is such a likeness that it can be said, that …

"He who has seen the one has seen the other."

That's why Jesus came ... "that we may know Him."



(Comments are welcome, and will be posted by moderator.)
 

America Has Passed

The following was written January 2, 2014 by my late friend Dr. David Yeagley, a Comanche Indian and fellow Christian.  As a native American, he was also a patriot and loved this land more than most.

I spoke highly of Dr. Yeagley in the past calling him, in my opinion ... "the voice of reason in America."  His first answer for our nation's woes was always ... "to repent and turn back to God."

I thought he was usually correct on most of his views and what needed to be done to keep America strong, safe and free.  But with this commentary on the fate of America ... I hope this one time ... that he was wrong.

Dr. David Yeagley on America ...


"It is difficult for a realist to have a positive outlook for 2014, when obviously self-righteous fools are intentionally ruining the country, and having a wondrous delight in so doing. They crave a legacy of changing America, from the land of the free and home of the brave, to the land of the weak and ignorant dependents.

There is no solution. It is a tragedy, even if an inevitability. White conservatives are just out-numbered and out-gunned, just as the American Indians were.

So, let 2014 be a year of passing, of quick passing. If there is no 2nd Revolution, then we shall all need to quickly submit to the tyrannies ahead, and make as little fuss about it as possible, lest we be bigger fools than they which brought on the demise. All our loud talk about guns and freedom is just noble-sounding noise. The tyrannists have won already. They knew how to take advantage of the weak, ignorant, and greedy.

I am genuinely sorry that America has passed."
                                                               

Lord ... we pray it's not too late for You to heal our land.  Peg and I repent for America.

We would ask, that believers in Jesus, wherever they may read this post ... would pray for the people of this great land to turn back to our Creator and seek His hand of mercy and forgiveness. 

May the Light of the Gospel shine again like a lighthouse over America.

"Dr. David Yeagley ... you will be missed."