Suffering.

Suffering.

There are so many ways we can suffer. For a lot of people suffering is a daily occurrence. I'm not just talking about physical suffering, but mental, emotional, and yes, spiritual suffering, we suffer.

This life pains us in ways too numerous to really count.

Have you ever heard someone tell you that you've brought hardship on yourself? That you're the cause of your own suffering? They might not be wrong, but that doesn't make it any less painful. I'm sure you've all heard the not so nice phrase- 'Suck it up.' Meaning stop feeling sorry for yourself, we all have issues yours aren't so special that you need the monopoly on the pity stage. Yet, there are times we do need that monopoly, right? During a severe crisis no one begrudges someone their time in the spotlight of suffering. For the everyday- day to day- sufferings we all share in commonly, those are the sufferings we'd rather not see looked upon as being uniquely special to any one person, share that world-wide stage.

Suffering. Did you suffer in any way at all today?

Sometimes the world's suffering cause us to suffer, doesn't it?

Belonging to Christ does not mean we will not suffer, quite the contrary.

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake

In the behalf of Christ… we are to believe on Him, also we are to suffer for Him.

How do we suffer for Christ? We know we are to believe on Him, but how do we suffer for Him? Right now in this world I live in there are people who are claiming Jesus Christ as their Savior and because they make this claim they are being beaten, tortured, murdered. There are people watching their families, wives, daughters, sons, husbands being killed because they say they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Just for a moment imagine such horror. It's real. It's not movie horror, it's real, it's happening. These people are truly suffering for Christ in the ultimate form of suffering, they are giving their lives as a testimony for Jesus Christ, their Savior.

By the grace of God this isn't so extremely common that most people in the world today have to fear facing such suffering. In most places people can worship Jesus Christ without fear, I say that but do I have all the facts of the matter, no. I think of China where there is such a severe crackdown on Christianity. The government of China wants to control the people and what they believe and they go to great lengths to do so, and China is huge! It's not some small country with a tiny population.

A possibly fact from the internet-

'How much of the world's population is Chinese?

More than half of all people around the globe (3.97 billion) live in just seven countries, according to the UN's estimates. China has the world's largest population (1.42 billion), followed by India (1.35 billion).Jul 11, 2018'

Did you read that? China  has the world's largest population.  That is a country with great strictures on religion. The people there suffer for Christ.

Truly, people suffer for just believing in Christ in many places around the world.

If you're blessed to live in a country that allows you freedom to worship as you choose, then that is one way you aren't exposed to suffering- at least not in that particular form.

As I stated earlier, we all suffer in our own way. I don't know a single person who doesn't have some sort of suffering in their lives. This world is just that bad. We do all we can to stop the suffering we have some control over. We take pills to ease pain, we offer counseling for those with mental and emotional suffering. We try to ease suffering we really do. The world doesn’t just sit back and ignore all the suffering, it tries. It often fails, but it tries to eliminate as much suffering as it can.

Until our Savior returns and evil is ended, we will live with suffering. We will have tribulations and just because we believe in Jesus Christ doesn't make us exempt from suffering.

Our Savior knew we'd suffer not only all the sufferings of this world, but for our belief in Him. You might not be living in fear for your life for your belief, but you will be spiritually hunted by Satan and his spiritual minions- as all Christ followers are. The manifestations of the hunt are littered throughout our lives. Obstacles will be constantly thrown up all around us in all sorts of ways. People just assume that bad things happen all the time to everyone, but all those bad things are orchestrated by Satan and yes, allowed to happen by God. God allows things for the ultimate good to those that are His, this is the hope we have as Christ followers, knowing our suffering is in ways we cannot fully comprehend meant for our good.

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 

Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 

Rom 5:4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 

1Pe 2:19  For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 

1Pe 2:20  For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 

1Pe 3:14  But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled

Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 

Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 

Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 

Luk 6:23  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 

More on all of this tomorrow by the grace of our LORD, by His love, His will.

May we have some comprehension that all the suffering will one day soon be over for all of us watching and praying as we await the soon return of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Do Not Despise the Chaos.

Day by day we who seek to belong to the Lord realize just how far from the Lord we are in so many ways.

"The  Christian life is a constant fighting…You think Jesus Christ came to save you from any suffering and to do you good. He came to save you from your sins, and until you are saved from them He will step between you and no suffering. "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent." [Rev. 3:19]  George MacDonald.

Pro 3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 

Pro 3:12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 

This is truth. We want life to be easy, and problem free, we want a lot less chaos and drama so we can just feel peace, and possibly happiness. We like things remaining on an even keel and why wouldn't we? Aren't we all seeking a problem free life? So many believe having money would solve 95% of all their problems, and those with that money have found they have a whole new set of problems to go with the money.

Our desire for a problem free life is a good thing because it helps us to realize that this world doesn’t offer such an existence. This world offers us bits of happiness, and an acceptance how things are as being the way they should be, but that's not truth. We don't have to accept things being the way they are with only glimpses of true joy. We can choose to live now knowing that there is a place that WILL be problem free. There is a place for us that will give us unending JOY. We can live now in this chaotic world with HOPE for the future that isn't of this world. We can live now willing to be molded, guided, led to being prepared for this new world. We can accept that we are going to have very chaotic lives that will lead us through refining fire after fire in order to purify us. We need to trust that we are being made new. We need to know that Christ in us, and us crucified with Christ is our hope of glory to come.

We will be chastened! And some chastening is brutal. Daily chastisement can be so incredibly wearisome and while God would have it for our good, Satan is right there wanting it for our despair. We need to look for the lessons we are being taught through our life, through the chastising. We aren't chastised senselessly, not ever. We need to comprehend why we are being chasten, what is the reason, the purpose. Is it for our ultimate good, or another's. God can use us to help others, especially if we surrender our lives for His purpose. Not all we go through is solely for us. We live in a family of humanity, and as family we will all be there for each other throughout our lives.

Pro 3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 

Pro 3:12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 

We should NOT despise the chaos- the chastening the LORD uses to correct us, to rid of us the sin tendencies we struggle with. We should not despise the lessons - the long lessons, the short lessons, the very hard lessons or those which are not extremely hard- none of the lessons should be despised as long as the LORD is in control, as long as the LORD is teaching us, correcting us.

May His peace which passes all our understanding be ours through all our life and its many, many lessons.

All by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, now and forever!

All in HIS LOVE.

Be Not Wise In Your Own Eyes.

Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 

We love being wise in our own eyes, don't we? Is it any wonder that we are instructed NOT to be wise in our own eyes? We adore patting ourselves on the back. Self-centeredness is a huge curse that we all have. Wanting to be self-important, wanting to have a high self-esteem these are all things that are touted as being good, all the while we know anyone that crosses the unseen line into braggart, boaster, self-absorbed, vain, narcissistic has gone too far. There is a television show that I watch and on that show there are a panel of three judges, these judges are constantly giving contradictory advice to the contestants of the show. They say- be more assertive, own yourself, take charge, believe in yourself and then they'll turn around and say to the same person you don't want to get too cocky. They'll say they love the person's humbleness all the while telling them to come out of their shells. Yes, there are fine lines that we must walk if we are walking with the world and trying to impress the world and its ways.

God tells us NOT to be wise in our own eyes. We are NOT to laud our achievements, our ability to think well, our higher I.Q., our ability of being smarter than others. We simply are NOT to take any credit whatsoever for our own wisdom in anything. Why are we not to be wise in our own eyes. It leads to self-dependence not God-dependence. We see less and less of our need for God when we take credit for our own wisdom, as if it wasn't God who gave us that wisdom. There are thousands upon thousands of people who say they have no need of God because they are doing fine without Him. They give no glory to God whatsoever. They sense no need for salvation, believing they are too smart to be duped into believing in something they can't see or hear. Faith is not something they are willing to risk their supposed intelligence upon, it might make them see foolish-even if only to themselves.

Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 

Be not wise in our own eyes -- FEAR THE LORD and DEPART FROM EVIL.

The LORD should be magnified always. Recognizing any intelligence on our part is of God, this is what is necessary. Giving God the glory, not ourselves, this is what will keep us from the evil of self. Because it is evil when we take all the glory to ourselves, glory that is not ours to take, glory we have NO right to. We did NOT create ourselves! We do NOT sustain ourselves! Yet so many believe they do just because they can say the words and believe the words. Just as they will say to a person of faith that their faith is baseless, a person of faith can do the same to them.

We are to fear the Lord, to have the Lord paramount in our existence, in ALL we do, just as we studied yesterday. All our ways are to be directed by acknowledging God. ALL our ways. We don't take a single breath without God.

God's plan for us is for us to be His willingly, wanting Him, knowing Him.

Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 

Pro 3:8  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 

Pro 3:9  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 

Pro 3:10  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 

All My Ways

What does ALL include?

If I tell you to take all of the leftover pie, what would you do? Take one piece? Take half of what's left? What about three quarters of the leftovers is that what I want you to take? No. I want you to take all of it, that means every single bit of that leftover pie needs to go with you and not a single crumb be left behind.

When someone asks if you're all in, what are they referencing? That they want half your attention and effort? No, they want all of your attention and effort in whatever endeavor they're talking about. They don't want you to half-heartedly help out, they want you to whole-heartedly help out.

All is everything, isn't it?  I can go on all day (yes, a pun lol) giving one example after another as to what all means and it will never mean less than everything. Even if it ends up being less than all, less than everything that isn't what is meant to start with that's for sure.

Clean up all of your mess. No, that doesn't mean leave me that little pile of mess to clean. Take all of your clothes to your bedroom. No, that doesn't mean leave the ones inside the dryer. Get rid of all those boxes. No, that doesn't mean leave the tiny boxes in the corner.

You understand what I'm trying to convey here by now. I want you to agree that all means all, not some.

Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

In how many ways of ours are we to acknowledge God?

ALL.

Yes, you've got it, ALL of our ways. We are not to leave out a single way of ours when it comes to acknowledging God.

Do we want God to direct our paths? I most certainly do! If I didn't want God to direct my paths then clearly I'm not wanting God in my life. We can't want God in just certain parts of our lives. We can't put God on hold while we indulge in a little bit of waywardness. We can't tuck God in our Bible and put the Bible on a shelf only taking the Bible and God out when we think we have a need for it and Him. We can't ask God to close His eyes while we do this little bit of unacceptable behavior. We aren't supposed to pick God up in the morning devotion and set Him back down only to pick Him back up during the times we eat and say a prayer for our meals, always putting Him back down. We aren't supposed to take God out at night when we say our bedtime prayers, only to put Him away until morning.  We are to have God in ALL we do! God is supposed to be with us always and you know something? This verse--

Col_1:27  …Christ in you…

Christ in us! If Christ is in us He is with us wherever we are and in whatever we do, never ever are we without Him.

In ALL our ways acknowledge God.

We have to ACKNOWLEDGE GOD in ALL our ways.

The acknowledging, maybe this is where we tend to fall a bit short.

Dict. Def- Acknowledge- admit something, show awareness of something, show appreciation of something, recognize somebody or something legally, thank somebody officially, admit, recognize, allow, accept, concede, grant, confess, own up, fess up, greet, salute, wave, nod, hail, reply, answer, respond, react, return, rejoin.

Acknowledge God.

Webster's Bible Dictionary-

Acknowledge

ACKNOWL'EDGE, v.t. Aknol'edge, [ad and knowledge. See Know.]

1. To own, avow or admit to be true, by a declaration of assent; as to acknowledge the being of a God.

2. To own or notice with particular regard.

In all thy ways acknowledge God. Prov 3. Isa 33.

3. To own or confess, as implying a consciousness of guilt.

I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Psa 51 and 32.

4. To own with assent; to admit or receive with approbation.

He that acknowledgeth the son, hath the father also.

1 John 2. 2 Tim 2.

5. To own with gratitude; to own as a benefit; as, to acknowledge a favor, or the receipt of a gift.

Thy his gifts acknowledged not.

6. To own or admit to belong to; as, to acknowledge a son.

7. To receive with respect.

All that see them shall acknowledge that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. Isa 6. 1 Cor 16.

8. To own, avow or assent to an act in a legal form, to give it validity; as, to acknowledge a deed before competent authority.

Are we noticing God in 'particular regard' with ALL we do? Or are we leaving some areas unacknowledged when it comes to God?

God needs to be acknowledged ALWAYS, in ALL our ways!

If you want God to direct your paths YOU HAVE to acknowledge Him in all your ways. I know I want God to direct my paths because I most certainly do not want to live my life without Him guiding me.

Please Father God, please direct my paths and help me to acknowledge you in all my ways. All through Jesus Christ my Lord, my Savior! Now and forever!!!!!!!

Forget Not.

Forget not.

If you are told to forget not by God, and you forget, you are guilty of not listening to God, not heeding His word.

Throughout history God's people continuously forgot God and His ways and they were held accountable for their forgetfulness.

I'm someone who is prone to forgetfulness and I have been all my life, it's nothing new for me. I don't like my forgetfulness, it's caused a lot of hardship.

As the Word of God speaks to us, being told not to forget means we have to take special pains to remember. Just like I've had to take special pains to write down lists, to leave myself notes so I don't forget day to day things- groceries I want to pick up, things I want to accomplish, things others want me to accomplish and so on.

What kind of special pains should we take so we remember all the things God would have us remember?

Constant study, constant reminders, daily reviewing, unending prayer, and trusting in God. We are told this--

Joh_14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

We need to trust that the Holy Spirit will bring all we need to our remembrance when we need to remember. However, we need to have all the information in our minds to begin with right? To not forget means we knew something at one point before forgetting. If we are asked to do something in the future and we forget, at one point we knew we'd been asked to do something. We need to have the word of God in our minds, and once it is there we may forget things, but we have a Holy Spirit who will help us remember what we once knew.

Pro 3:1  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments

We are told not to forget God's law, and most people know that even in the royal law, the ten commandments, we are given one commandment with the command to remember. Our hearts need to keep the commands of God. They need to be a part of our lives. If we live God's commands then they'll be so much a part of us we won't be in danger of forgetting.

Pro 3:2  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Praise God.

Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart

We are told not to forsake mercy and truth but to bind them about our necks, and to write them on the table of our hearts.

How incredibly important mercy and truth are that we are told to attach these to our very being, they should be a part of us, a vital part.

Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 

Such wisdom. Let us read and absorb what we are being told.

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

All too often we lean to our understanding. We want to understand. We believe we have the right to understand. We upset ourselves trying to comprehend all we can. To lean not to our understanding means we have to allow for not comprehending all we want to comprehend. We have to yield what we believe is our need to understand. I can recall saying numerous times to others- I just don't understand, I want to understand, help me understand. This is especially when I'm in the midst of an argument and I'm trying to comprehend another's point of view. It also happens when I'm trying to understand something difficult for me and I'm not grasping it easily. I have desperately wanted to understand things and still not been able to- it's very, very frustrating. When we have to trust in the LORD with all our hearts and NOT lean into our own understanding, we have to believe that the LORD will give us all the comprehension we need to belong to Him and follow Him as He wills. We can't expect to understand all things of God, we just can't. We need to trust even when we can't understand. Allowing ourselves to get frustrated because we don’t understand everything defeats our need to trust with all our hearts. ALL our heart needs to be involved in trusting, not just a part of it, all of it.

More on all of this tomorrow by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. All through HIS LOVE!

Christ Our Eden.

In reading the book - Love Not the World by Watchman Nee, I found an interesting sentence (one among many).

'Today, through Christ, God plants in the heart of His redeemed people an Eden to which, in triumphant fact, Satan will at last have no moral access whatever.'

Yesterday, on the Sabbath, I started a study called, Cracking the Genesis Code, found on Youtube videos. The study begins with the fact of at the very beginning of our existence we were placed in a garden- the Garden of Eden. There in that garden after we were newly created we were told by our Creator that the earth was ours. We were given dominion over the earth.

Gen 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

In the Garden Adam and Eve lived sinless and then at some point Satan came to tempt them and succeeded. The conditions God had placed upon Adam and Eve remaining rulers of the earth as His children were this--

Gen 2:15  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 

Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

Here were the conditions- DO NOT EAT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.  So really it was a single condition. Do not eat from a single tree.

We all know what happened, Adam and Eve ate from the tree they were told not to eat from and as a result they brought death upon themselves and all their offspring. They abdicated their rulership over earth when they chose to listen to evil. They gave Satan that power. And this is what happened to the Garden of Eden…

Gen 3:23  Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

A flaming sword turning every way possible protected the tree of life, and Cherubims were guarding the garden. Of all the earth this place was off limits to Satan and all mankind. Spiritually protected that place would not be available to any but God.

God drove man out of the garden, but He had a plan for mankind to be redeemed. God, the declared Son, would die for mankind.  And every single able minded person would have to make the same choice as Adam and Eve- good or evil.

When we make the choice for God we are choosing Him over Satan and all that belongs to Satan. We are choosing God over so much of the world, because this world is Satan's dominion. Reading that sentence--

'Today, through Christ, God plants in the heart of His redeemed people an Eden to which, in triumphant fact, Satan will at last have no moral access whatever.'

-- it had me thinking about how when we choose God we are inviting Christ to live in us.

Col_1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

Christ in us is the Eden of our heart, the pure Garden where no sin was allowed to remain. We need a place in us where Satan has no moral access, don't we? Christ in us is that place. We have to choose to recognize Christ in us, Christ living in us, working in us for His will. This is our hope, that Christ is in us, that Christ knows us in this way. He truly is our hope of glory, our only hope.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

Our love is for Christ, our love is for God the Father, our love is for the Holy Spirit. Our love is heavenward, not earthbound. The idea that we have Christ in us as our hope must be a reality, more than an idea. Christ our hope. Our love must be of Christ's world, and that world is not this one.

Joh_17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

This is a reality, not a mere idea. We must recognize that we truly are not to love the world, or the things in the world, we should love nothing that is not of Christ. Christ came to teach us about salvation, our heaven hope, our kingdom of God hope. Christ died so we could live with this hope as reality.

May we have Christ in us our moral anchor where Satan has no ground whatsoever!

All through the love of God, all through the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, all by the Holy Spirit given to us, guiding us, loving us now and always!

Sabbath- Deprived or Blessed?

Did the Israelites fleeing Egypt feel deprived or blessed? I'm sure they had a lot of mixed emotions. The elation of their new freedom from harsh taskmasters. Free from the evil rulers that had them murdering their own male children. I'd say they celebrated having those shackles removed from their lives, wouldn't you?

Exo 1:13  And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 

Exo 1:14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. 

Exo 1:15  And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 

Exo 1:16  And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. 

The midwives feared God more than Pharaoh though and didn't kill the newborns so Pharaoh did this--

Exo 1:22  And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. 

The cruelty that was shown to the Israelites was very real and their lives were far from easy. Did they feel blessed to be freed from the slavery they'd endured for so long? Yes. They rejoiced.

Take the time and read the song Moses and the Israelites sang--

Exo 15:1  Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 

Exo 15:2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 

Exo 15:3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. 

Exo 15:4  Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 

Exo 15:5  The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 

Exo 15:6  Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 

Exo 15:7  And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 

Exo 15:8  And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 

Exo 15:9  The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. 

Exo 15:10  Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 

Exo 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 

Exo 15:12  Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 

Exo 15:13  Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 

Exo 15:14  The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 

Exo 15:15  Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 

Exo 15:16  Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. 

Exo 15:17  Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 

Exo 15:18  The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. 

Exo 15:19  For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. 

Exo 15:20  And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 

Exo 15:21  And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 

I'd say they were celebrating their freedom, yes? They felt blessed.

Do you remember your first taste of salvation? That sweet overwhelming knowledge of your Savior, saving you? Do you remember the weight of your sinful life, the guilt of being unworthy, and how the good news of the gospel was brought to you and you realized that Jesus' sacrifice was for you? You learned that Jesus died and when He died He did it so you could live with Him in eternity. Jesus' love for you was revealed in all its amazing glory and the weight of sin was lifted from your shoulders. The blessed relief you felt, can you recall it even now? I'm talking about the first time you felt salvation's amazing love, do you remember? You felt blessed.

The children of Israel felt blessed at first and then over time they didn't quite feel so blessed. They started complaining and even went so far as to wish they were back in bondage.

Exo 16:2  And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 

Exo 16:3  And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 

Exo 17:3  And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 

Num 11:4  And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 

Num 11:5  We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 

Num 11:6  But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. 

Why did they want to return to bondage? Because the lusts of the flesh overwhelmed them. Selfish, self-serving lusts longed to be filled and overcame their desire for freedom and the ability to serve God.

The war of our flesh is real, very, very real. We need to deprive ourselves of the lusts, we do. As we began our new life in Christ it was all consuming and wondrous but as time went on for a lot of us the newness faded. When the newness faded and we realized that Christ would have us deny ourselves and take up our crosses things began to change a bit. The daily walk with Christ wasn't going to be one of self-indulgence. The focus of our lives would no longer be ourselves and fulfilling our own desires. The war was on, and such a mighty war it would be. The war would last until death's sleep, or the return of our Savior and the lifelong battle would be filled with many skirmishes. Some we'd lose and some we would win through Christ.

We have to take a moment and ask ourselves a question that popped in my head today-

Does keeping the Sabbath day holy make you feel deprived or blessed?

This is a thought provoking question as it is meant to be.

If you recognize that by keeping the Sabbath holy you are refraining from all unnecessary labor, that you are not seeking your own pleasures but rather seeking the spiritual refreshing that comes from God, then you are keeping the Sabbath properly.  Yet many have taken the Sabbath day and have made it a self-centered day of indulging themselves in all manner of selfish pursuits with seldom more than a few hours of worship and Bible study. People will argue that the Sabbath was made for man so man should be able to do as they please. I can't dispute that the Sabbath was made for man, Jesus Himself said so. Jesus said those words as He KEPT the Sabbath properly, freeing it from some of the traditions man had placed upon it making it so that man seemed to have been made for the Sabbath.  The Sabbath kept by Jesus meant His going to the synagogues and temple to read from the scriptures and have a discourse with others on their meanings- Bible Study. The Sabbath kept by Jesus meant His gathering with others to fellowship - eat, drink, and share the plan of salvation, to share the wisdom and knowledge given to Him by God the Father. The Sabbath kept by Jesus meant seeing the needs of humanity and helping fulfil those needs- healing others. The Sabbath kept by Jesus meant walking leisurely about as He conversed with others, allowing for the offhanded snack to be consumed so hunger didn't prevent attention from His words.

Jesus was accused of breaking some Sabbath rules- he healed, he told a person to pick up their bed (the place where the lame man had lain before being healed), he allowed his disciples to pick a few bits of food in a field just enough to keep their hunger at bay, not a harvest by any means.   The oppressive strictures that the Israel leaders had put upon the Sabbath were not from God, and Jesus was revealing just how the Sabbath should be kept. His Apostles and disciples long after His death and resurrection, and return to heaven, all kept the Sabbath. The Sabbath was changed by man, not God.

Jesus kept all the royal law perfectly. Do you object to Jesus' saying that adultery was more than the act of sex and included the lust of the mind wanting and imagining that sex without the physical act taking place? So far the Israelites only believed that the act of sex with someone other than your marriage partner was adultery- not so.  Do you object to Jesus' saying that murder was more than the physical act as well? That simply getting unjustly angry and desiring the death of another without killing them was also murder. Yes? You object to this revelation of the commandment? It doesn't suit your taste to have a deeper truth revealed?

Whether it is the Sabbath commandment or any of the other of the ten royal laws, Jesus kept them all perfectly and continuously, never abolishing a single one. Jesus even said this--

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 

Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 

Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus came to fulfill and when He returns and all evil is done away with and sin is no longer possible, all will be fulfilled completely and utterly.

Sin is the transgression of the royal law.

And as long as sin exists the law exists.

Once sin is eradicated and Satan is put to his ultimate end, no more royal law will be needed because all will keep that law naturally without any desire to transgress it at all whatsoever.

Now, back to the question--

Does keeping the Sabbath day holy make you feel deprived or blessed?

Do you feel deprived because you can't do the same things you can do on the other six days of the week? The thing is, you can do them, nothing can stop you but yourself. However, you should keep the entire Sabbath day holy, because God made the seventh day of the week holy, He blessed the entire day not just a portion of the day. How to keep it holy? Jesus was our example. Bible study, fellowship, worship, praise, helping others. We are to take our minds OFF ourselves on this day! This is where our problems truly begin. We focus on ourselves! We focus on HOW we are feeling- bored, antsy, frustrated, when we aren't supposed to focus on how we are feeling! Our focus needs to be on our SAVIOR.  We are so incredibly BLESSED to have this day of holiness every single week!

Will we be as the Israelites freed from Egypt? All of whom died wandering in the wilderness unfit to enter the promised land, all but Joshua and Caleb. For forty years the men and women died off in the wilderness until only their children and Joshua and Caleb were left to enter the promised land. They felt deprived, their selfishness was their focus, not God. They wanted to be enslaved as long as their self-serving desires were met.  Do you want to be enslaved as long as your self-serving desires are met? Satan will gladly enslave all those who want to serve themselves and not serve God.

Are you deprived on the Sabbath day, or are you extremely blessed by God?

You are given time to devote to Him.

What do you think you'll do in heaven? Fulfil your selfish lusts? No, not ever. We will serve our God! We will be loved and love in turn in the way we are meant to be.

1Co_2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

We can't even imagine the wonders in store for us who love God!

2Co_4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The things that are NOT seen these should be our Sabbath focus, the eternal things, spiritual things. Even as we interact with others- in worship, in service to them, we are given the powerful presence of living in holy time during all of our interactions on the Sabbath day.

1Jn_2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Where is our love- in the world and with things of the world?

Our love needs to be with our Heavenly Father, with our Savior, our treasures in heaven. Our love shouldn't be here with ourselves.

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 

We live in this world, but we shouldn't be of this world.

Let the Sabbath be a blessing! God, please, let the Sabbath be a blessing to us now and always!

All through the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, now and forever!!!!!!!