Unless The Lord Builds The House

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.
( Psalms 127: 2a NASB)

     Recently I had a day on my job that was an exercise in futility.  I executed a change in my work schedule that I thought would be productive. I worked longer and harder than usual but accomplished even less than I did on most days.  When God is not working with us we actually labor in vain.

     The next morning part of my daily reading was psalm 127. God is always right on time.   As I read this passage I realized why my efforts the previous day were so futile.  I was trying to build the house, so to speak, without His help.  Sometimes there's a very fine line between diligence and striving.  Of course God wants his people to be diligent. But God exhorts us to not strive. Cease striving and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10 NASB).  So the pertinent point is how do we distinguish between hard work and nervous effort?   It’s simply the one accompanied by peace.  That day God tried to give me a sign, restlessness in my spirit. Peace has been referred to as the barometer of the soul.  It’s the indicator of how well our efforts are aligning with God's will.  It is not the absence of struggle but the presence of calm or tranquilly in our daily battles. Our Heavenly Father is concerned about his children's daily life and peace is the compass that guides us.

        The pivotal question in this process is whether we believe that God wants to take care of us in the mundane aspects of our lives.  The Bible says,  “Faith without works is dead.”  But some of us practice that as work without faith.  Maybe I should have taken a few moments alone with God and asked him why I was so restless that day? When we feel that compulsion to work longer and longer days, sometimes we should just shorten our workday and retire early.  This may be the most diligent, obedient, and productive thing to do; “For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep” (v. 2c).

        

Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs:  http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

             http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

        

God's Bottle and Book

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. (Psalms 56: 8 NLT)

        In times of our greatest need God can appear to be distant.  But he is always there.  He is taking note of our sufferings, collecting our tears in his divine receptacle and recording the events in his eternal ledger.

        David penned this Psalm when the Philistines had seized him at Gath.  They were attacking him all day long and slandering him in their bold attacks.  His enemies were always twisting his words in their evil plots to do him harm.  In life’s twists and turns we can often feel overwhelmed with fear from the fierce attacks of the enemy of our souls.  According to David’s example, it's ok to be afraid, as long as it leads us toward God and not away. “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you” (v. 3).  

       David was a man who always seemed to be able to use his trials to make him better rather than bitter.  Why?  He simply believed that a loving God was always with him.  As verse 8 describes, God took note of his sorrows.  Not as a disinterested observer, but as an empathetic and involved participant.  He knew God as one who would never leave him or forsake him.

       My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when life’s circumstances bring you to tears, listen closely.  You may almost be able to hear the sound of a loving God weeping with you.  Gaze on his Word and in your mind’s eye you will be able to see the tear-stained bottle and book that God has placed on heaven 's bookshelf.  God not only sees but cares, and he never, ever forgets.

Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs:  http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

             http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

   

   

Believing A Lie

The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die. For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3: 4-5 NASB)        

        It has been said that any sin that we commit is always preceded by a lie about God.  It happened in the Garden of Eden and it's been replicating itself ever since.  There is nothing new under the sun.

        Satan encounters Eve with a boldface lie, “You surely will not die.”  Then he said something that was even more cunning. He put the seed in her mind that God had an unrighteous motive.  “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”  A strategy of the evil one is to distort the character of God.  Why would Eve want to obey God if she believes He is being disingenuous with her?  Before Eve ate of the fruit, she had to swallow the lie that God was not really who He portrayed Himself to be.  Satan succeeds by using deceptive means to tell her that good is bad and bad is good.

        If you want to put a Biblical handle on the sins of Eve and ultimately Adam, call it the Devil’s two-edged sword of pride and unbelief.  Pride, in that it is very tempting to start to believe that the creature can be like the creator.  Only God can be like God.  Unbelief, in that when we start to doubt the goodness of God it leads us down that slippery slope into all sorts of evil.

      So what is the antidote for the lies of the evil one? It is very simple. Just believe the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; ... (John 14:6). When Satan tempted Jesus, He responded, “It is written” (Matthew 4:4).  The Bible from start to finish reveals a God that is good and without reproach.  Anything that questions the very nature of God is always a lie.  The crux of the matter is, do we fully believe what is written?

       

Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs:  http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

             http://gleanings757.blogspot.com