Friday

 The lyrics of this song are so uplifting. Read them as the singers worship. Be blessed, and I will see you next week.

Answers

Yesterday we asked a question to finish our study of Psalm 36. What CAN we do to help a believer whose interest in the Christian walk has cooled?

Some people might say, "nothing."  "It's up to that believer."
I don't accept that. I say we can help that person.

Here's why . . . . 

In many Christians' vocabulary, there's a word  --  backsliding. 

Been there?

Know somebody?

Well, most Christians do backslide at one time or another in their lives with Christ.

OK, but what is it?

Some people will have different definitions, but I think backsliding is like an interruption or a step backward in our spiritual growth.

It can just be an interruption. A short time of no growth.

It can also be a step backward. That's when there's a longer time of no growth, or there is a definite slide backwards.

It can be summed up as our turning away from our spiritual life and resuming life in the flesh. It means that we are just not "growing up" spiritually.

Did you know that the churches of America are filled with baby Christians who have chosen (for some reason or another) not to grow up?  If a baby has physical problems and can't grow up, it's terribly sad. In the same way, if one of God's children refuses to grow up, it breaks His heart. God's design, His plan for all believers is for us to start out as spiritual children, to progress to young men and women, and to go on to mature believers.

In our tool chest here at the farm, we have several old saws. Very old saws. One is so well-used that it is missing teeth! Instead of the pattern of up/down/up/down of the sharp teeth, there are places where teeth have been lost.... the gaps between those "ups" of sharp teeth are fairly long! The other saw has been used, but not as much.....all of the teeth are there; the pattern is complete.

Much like the saw, our Christian lives are a series of "ups and downs." Unfortunately, we all have our moments of living our way instead of Christ's way. But overall, the general trend is to move forward, to move upward, in our spiritual growth. The number of upward steps far outweighs the number of downward steps.

When we backslide, the number of downward steps, and the length of those gaps before going back upwards increases. We see that in the saw that had teeth missing. The gaps were fairly long. In our spiritual lives, those gaps are the time we spend being stagnant. We are not growing spiritually.  Tragically, we sometimes even move backwards.

James talked about backsliders; he called them "forgetful hearers." When we backslide, we can actually begin to forget the lessons we have learned and the things we have experienced in Christ! 

 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25, NIV)

Some believers slide down faster than others do. How quickly they slide depends on if they were surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Backsliding "looks like" the person is gratifying the desires of the flesh, instead of living according to the Holy Spirit. It looks like a person still being a spiritual infant three or four years after receiving Christ as Savior. (I back this up with I Corinthians 3:1-3 and Hebrews 5:11-14.)  Backsliding also looks like lukewarmness to the things of Christ. It looks like intentional sins. 

In contrast, spiritual growth looks like the fruit of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)

Backsliding is not a game to play. It has a high price. But it's not an unpardonable sin. 

If we are trying to counsel another believer we need to remind them of this: backsliding will not lead to hell because God's grace forgives all of our sins - past, present, and future. Our Father God has tools to make us sit up and take notice! Check out these verses from the Old Testament:

Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
    to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
    and their backslidings many. (Jeremiah 5:6)

Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the Lord your God
    and have no awe of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. (Jeremiah 2:19)

But wait!

Backsliding is not the end of the world!

We need to tell the believer we are talking to, that Jesus is waiting with outstretched arms! He wants to welcome us back!

 ...........I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:23b)

Here's the cure for backsliding -- to return to Christ as our Lord. Christ told us the path to follow:

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2:4-5)

See? There are three parts to remember. Three parts to follow. And this is what we can do to help another believer: gently remind them that Christ's arms are open wide, and encourage them to 1.) remember what it used to be like when they were close to Jesus.  2.) Repent that it's not that way now. 3.) Repeat the things that they did when we were on fire for Jesus.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:7)

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37)

Those words will sound so sweet to the unbeliever who realizes their backslidden condition, remembers what their relationship used to be like, repents that it has changed, and wants to return.

Backsliding is not the end of the world. He loves us; He paid the price for our sins; He is waiting for us to return to Him.

Your turn to speak

We've camped out for a while here in Psalm 36.

David told us first that he had a message for the sinful - he told us about how the devil uses sin to flatter people. Sin makes them think that they really aren't all that bad, and it becomes something that they lie awake at night and plan how to pursue the sin the next day!

Then David reminded us to reverence the Lord. He told us of the delightfulness of God: His immense love for us, His faithfulness, and His justice. He spoke of the abundance of blessings that God gives to us -- love, protection, and abundant provisions for life.

Truly, when we seek God and work to have an intimate, daily relationship with Him, we will find delight in our walk with Him.

I would like to ask a question today and if you have time to answer, please think about leaving a comment for all of us to learn from . . . 

What can we do to help a believer whose interest in the Christian walk has cooled?

I'd like to hear your thoughts if you feel led to leave an answer. 

Verses that inspire

I was reminded of this "gem" of a verse this past week, and I made it a point to include it in my studies all week. It's been a blessing to me, and I hope it will be for you:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Many people today have opinions. 

They have passions. 

Things they are interested in. 

Things they are crazy about.

Some of them put bumper stickers on their car to show what they are passionate about.

Some people wear lapel pins. 

Some prefer a tee shirt with a logo printed on it.

Lots of people use social media to let others know what they are interested in or passionate about.

If we say that we are God's disciples, is there enough evidence for anyone to know?

If we say that we follow Jesus Christ, and that He is our Savior, do our lives show it?

Not just if we have a sticker on our car that looks like a fish. 

Not just that we are wearing a necklace and a cross.

Let's get real, here. Do we love one another?

And if we say we do, how do we show THAT?

Just something to think about as we re-read those verses today. Perhaps we need to make it a matter of prayer. And then find a way (or several ways) to show His love today.

Praying for more

David ends Psalm 36 with a prayer for all believers:

Continue your love to those who know you,
    your righteousness to the upright in heart.
 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

See how the evildoers lie fallen—
    thrown down, not able to rise! (vs. 10-12)

David is asking God to continue His love to those who know Him. Even thought we have come to know God - even though we have experienced His grace and love through Jesus Christ, we need a steady, uninterrupted flow! We need more. And He has promised it.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

But wait, you may say, why do we need to ask Him for it, if He has already promised to continue His love for us?

It's because as the old joke went, "God isn't finished with us yet." We are never fully sanctified in this life. We are sanctified (more and more, if we are seeking Him) each day, but we will not be completely like our Savior until we see Him face to face:

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2)

So, we must continue to ask God to bless us with the gift of His righteousness. Not just in outward behavior - also in uprightness of our hearts. We need to seek God, and we need to delight in Him, so that we may have a pure heart: a pure thought life.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Outward sin begins with corrupt thoughts. If we allow those thoughts to remain and give them a home in our heart, it's only a matter of time before we sin outwardly!

In closing the psalm, David asks that the Lord will protect him (and us) from the proud and the wicked . . . evil people feel uncomfortable around righteous people. They feel in their hearts, with the conscience that they still have, that they are somehow not quite right. They feel what the old-timers used to call "convicted." We don't hear that much nowadays, do we? (Grin) Conviction is a translation of the Greek word "elencho" and it means to "convince someone of a truth, to reprove, accuse, or cross-examine a witness." The Holy Spirit as a prosecuting attorney? Can't think of a better one! So, instead of just the pangs of a guilty conscience, the wicked have their evil exposed and reproved; they are convinced that they need a Savior. To be convicted is to feel the sheer ugliness of sin. And that happens when we have seen God's beauty, His purity, and His delightfulness. When they are convicted, the wicked would love to see the righteous fall, go away, be swept aside. Then they can continue in their sin. 

David looks into the future, though, and he says that he knows (verse 12) that the wicked will meet their final demise. He is so confident in the Lord that he sees this in the future, just as if it has already happened. We, too, can be confident that the Lord will protect us, and the wicked will receive His judgment.

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)

Have we cried out to Jesus for life and light? Have we seen the deceitfulness of sin and turned away from its flattery? Have we delighted in God and His abundant blessings? Let's make the priority of each day to find happiness in our God!

Independence Day and the Liberty Tree

For our Friday music, I wanted to pay homage to my country. With all of its problems and all of the issues that I personally am trying to help resolve, it's still the best country on earth.

The freedoms that our founding fathers envisioned and set down in our Constitution have been upheld and fought for, for well over two centuries. Still, this country is a young upstart compared to many nations. 

Before it was actually a country, it was a group of colonies. A "whole mess," as my grandma would say, of colonists, with differing opinions, religions, and backgrounds. But there was one thing that roped them all together: the idea of freedom. Of men and women taking responsibility for their own lives, and of accountability to each other and the morals and decency rooted in Judeo-Christian values.

The Liberty Tree was the backdrop for many discussions (some heated) about taxation, representation, and the rights of free men before their God. Some were fiery and radical, and espoused violence as a way to solve problems. Some were reasoned and cautious, and pushed calmness and rhetoric as the solution to the issues at hand. 

Unlike many of the landmarks of old Boston, such as the Old North Church and others, the Liberty Tree is almost forgotten today. Could be because the British chopped down the venerable old elm in 1775. Or it could be that the tree symbolized the sometimes violent, uprising, "radical" side of the Revolution. It is a side of our history that is still a bit too "messy" for comfort.

Contrast the messiness of 1775, with it's public square, its buckets of tar and bags of feathers, hanging and burning people in effigy, and more, with today. . . . Today's messiness is characterized by people calling each other names on social media and the combined force of citizens, business, and technology giants to squash ideas that don't fit the narrative of a select few -- while rioters burn portions of cities and take aim at law enforcement. 

Yes, the tree of Liberty was and still is a symbol of our freedoms. Today, we have the freedom to speak, as long as we are fully aware that we may be removed from social media or lose the privilege of doing business where we choose. Patriots have died so that we can have our freedoms, but I wonder how long we will keep them?  We have been so complacent for so long -- perhaps we need to remember what our forefathers fought for....they didn't have to fight against other colonists; they were united to resist a king. The colonists wanted to be left alone to enjoy self-government, their private property, and farm or conduct business in peace. Today's citizens are concerned with "getting all they deserve."

Perhaps "we the people" need to quit looking at our smartphones and look at the documents that remind us of our freedoms and our constitutional republic. We need to return to the values that make that republic possible. (And yes, it IS a republic. It makes me so annoyed when commentators try to tell us about our democracy. A democracy is simply majority rule, people! The majority can snuff out the rights and voices of the minority. The founders, in their wisdom, gave us ways for the few to be heard by the many! Don't lose sight of this -- go back and read the Constitution, the Declaration, and some of the Federalist Papers.)

I hope that you will overlook the length of my rant, but not its content - these things need to be heard in the public square of today. We need to return to the "revolutionary" ideas of one nation under God; we need to value the free market (not free trade) and economic freedom for all; we need to promote free speech (even to those who disagree with us) and the right to peaceably assemble; and we must oppose government overreach and the suppression of the rights provided to all Americans. Those are God-given rights -- the Declaration and Constitution don't give those to us; they simply list them. They come to us from God, the source of all of our blessings. Let's pray for our country, our leaders, and ourselves, that we will look back at the Liberty Tree and be inspired to drop the shield of complacency -- to get involved and win our country back.

Provisions and light

                                                              

The delightfulness of God is apparent in His many blessings to us. David has reminded us of His lovingkindness, His justice, and His inviting love and protection. Now, he reminds us of more:

They feast on the abundance of your house;
    you give them drink from your river of delights. (Psalm 36:8)

The Hebrew word used here that is translated "abundance" literally means "fatness." The scholars say it means the best portion of the meat from the sacrifices offered at the temple. In our modern terms, picture a tender prime rib, or a delicious porterhouse steak . . . . the very best.  Many years ago, my grandad was an inspector with a huge meat company. He traveled the United States and visited factories, ensuring that the company always had a consistently high-quality product. As little kids, we learned terms like "marbling" and "prime" and "choice." Believe it or not, these terms had just as much to do with the amount of fat in the cuts of meat, as it did with the quality control used in preparing and distributing them! And honestly, if you were to try to cook (even if you tried "low and slow") a piece of meat with little or no fat in it, you would find it tougher and harder to get through. The flavor and the tenderness actually has a lot to do with the fat. Hence, the terms abundance in this verse. 

To really appreciate the river metaphor in the verse, we have to remember where these people lived. 

They lived in a desert!

A spring was wonderful. A flowing river was especially awesome! 

It meant not just refreshment, but life -- you could have all you wanted to drink. You could cool off by bathing in it. You could irrigate your crops from it. Your flocks and herds could drink from it. The word here "delights" at the end of the verse actually means "Eden." Perhaps David is reminding his listeners of the garden of Eden, which had four rivers flowing through it. 

God's provisions for His people are both abundant and delightful. David is communicating that God blesses us and we feast on all of the delightful things that we want or need. This doesn't mean that we believers will always dine on T-bone steaks and have everything we desire. but it does reinforce the idea that He will care for and provide for us! Is this our concept of God? Do we see His lovingkindness and faithfulness as incredible, as immense? Do we think of His righteousness as impressive? Is His love precious and inviting to us?  Do we thank Him daily for the abundance of delightful things He provides? 

For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light we see light. (vs. 9)

The fountain of life. Not just the physical life nurtured by that flowing river that we just talked about, but also spiritual life. This sounds a lot like another verse:

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 

(John 1:4)

Jesus, Himself, is the source of eternal life for His children. An unending supply. He never, ever runs dry. Jesus is also the source of our light. Spiritually, we are all like the man in John who was born blind. In our natural, sinful state, we can't see the glory and beauty of God and His many delights, because Satan has clouded our minds with sin. Remember that Jesus told Peter he did not arrive at his understanding of Jesus' identity as the Messiah all alone. God revealed it to him. And Paul said:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (II Corinthians 4:4)

It's God Who provides us with life (both physical and spiritual) and it is He Who provides us with light. David wants all who listen to know that sin deceives the sinner, and he wants us to turn away from the flattery and futility of sin to the immense delightfulness of God. 

Let's determine in ourselves to seek Him as the source of every blessing. We will find that each day He becomes more delightful, more personal, more real to us.