The ‘****TRUTH***’ in Psalms.
Ps. {25:5} Lead me in thy ********TRUTH******
and teach me
for thou [art] the God of my salvation
on thee do I wait all the day.
**
Lead me.
Teach me.
Truth.
The walk with Christ is not stagnant. We accept the grace Jesus came to offer us and we live in His truth. We are led in that truth and taught in that truth while covered in His mercy and grace.
Ps {25:10} All the paths of the LORD [are] mercy and ********TRUTH******
unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
**
The paths of the Lord.
All.
All means every single path, all of them.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth for who?
For those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
Mercy and truth.
These are the paths of the Lord make no mistake about it, there isn’t a single path of the Lord that isn’t mercy and truth, not one.
Amen.
Ps. {26:3} For thy lovingkindness [is] before mine eyes: and I have walked
in thy ********TRUTH******.
**
Walked in thy truth.
Walking in truth.
Wonderful truth.
3 John {1:4} ‘I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.’
John {16:13} ‘Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…’
Eph. {4:21} ‘If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus’
1 John {2:3} And hereby we do know that we know him,
if we keep his commandments.
{2:4} He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him.
{2:5} But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected
hereby know we that we are in him.
{2:6} He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk,
even as he walked.
**
They that say they know Jesus and don’t keep His commandments is a what? A liar.They that keep His word, His word which His commandment, those that keep His word is the love of God perfected and we can know we are in Him. We can know. We can.
We want to know don’t we?
We can know if we’re in Jesus.
If we walked as Jesus walk, we are abiding in Jesus.
Are we walking as Jesus walked?
Are we walking in truth? His truth?
Questions we all need to ask ourselves and keep asking ourselves, never stop asking ourselves.
If we can’t answer that we are walking in His truth by His grace, we need to ask Him to help us do so. We have to cry out to Him that we believe, to help our unbelief, that we need Him and we will never stop needing Him even when we are walking the darkest of paths we need Him to guide us to Him, to the light and life in Him now and always.
Amen.
Friday, September 12, 2008
As we seek the truth and to walk in it.
We want to know who can be with God. We say all can and that is true, but the story doesn't end by us accepting the grace of God. It'd be nice if it did. I'd love to accept the grace of God and POOF, heaven is my home now and forever. Life doesn't stop upon acceptance of eternal life, upon repenting. Life goes on. All the same problems, all the same joys, all the same disappointments, all the same temptations, it doesn't end.
People who are *born again* often experience an elation of life. Things seem different, the air sweeter, life's problems less heavy upon the shoulders. A new window of life has opened up and everything has changed. It's wonderful! It's like walking a few feet off the ground. Things don't seem to bother us like they used to, we have entirely new ways of looking at things. The insurmountable problems don't disappear but our ability to handle them changes. We have a faith in God who will help us through anything and that bolsters our lives.
All that wonder is amazing and it can grow and linger and keep us for a long time, or a short time. I'd like to say it can last forever but sadly the feelings we get wrapped up in can fade. Maybe for some it lasts forever, maybe for some it's unending.
I know several people, not many in the grand scheme of our world, but several who have accepted Christ and experienced this very thing- the fading.
If only it were possible to make that heartfelt acceptance of Christ's grace and truly repent and then die in Christ right then without anything coming between me and that moment of pure togetherness with Christ. It doesn't work that way. There is no magic transport out of life and it's woes. We have to walk in Christ once we accept Him into our lives.
The walk is a daily struggle, even if at first it seems like a walk in clouds and not a struggle at all. The frosting slips off the cake and the cake dries out, and sometimes there are only crumbs left to pick at to keep us alive. Not a pretty picture, one that we don't want to dwell on. Happiness and light is so much better. A pretty frosted cake is a lot nicer than a few dried out crumbs.
Who can walk with Christ?
Who can live with Him?
We all should, but it's a walk that is on going ever forward and it's not through candy land, but through the real world with all its ups and downs, its heartaches, its pains, it's joys, the good and the bad they don't disappear because we choose to walk with Christ. It's a huge mistake to believe that our lives will be easy and carefree. The worst of the worst will come our ways it has to. We are on Christ's side and that's exactly where the devil doesn't want us to be. What better way than to lure with light and good, sweet and easy, just enough bumps in the road to keep the realism and then wham! Blindsided by life, by the master of sin.
Who can abide with Christ?
Psalms
{15:1} LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
{15:2} He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
{15:3} [He that] backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
{15:4} In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. [He that] sweareth to [his own] hurt, and changeth not.
{15:5} [He that] putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these [things] shall never be moved.
He that walketh upright.
He that worketh righteousness.
He that speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not.
He that honours them that fear the Lord.
He that would rather hurt than change.
He that isn't out for monetary gain.
You think accepting Christ's grace ends the story? It's only the beginning.
We need to walk in Christ.
Truth.
Truth in our hearts.
The choices we make each day in our lives reflect our walk with Christ.
It's by Christ we are able to walk upright.
We have to acknowledge that there is more than just accepting Christ, there is a walk with Christ.
2 John {1:4} 'I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.'
Walking in truth.
1 John {1:5} 'This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. {1:6} If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: {1:7} But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. {1:8} If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. {1:9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. {1:10} If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.'
Walk in the light.
Truth.
Ephesians {5:1} 'Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; {5:2} And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.'
Walk in love.
Truth.
Ephesians {2:8} 'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: {2:9} Not of works, lest any man should boast. {2:10} For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.'
Contradictory? No.
We are only saved by grace, but the story doesn't end there.
We can't boast of ourselves or anything we do.
We have to give all our glory to God where it belongs and boast nothing of ourselves at all whatsoever.
'created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.'
Walk in truth.
It is a walk and it's the walk that we all have to take once we accept the grace of Jesus into our lives. We can't forget the walking part. The knowing that life won't fall quiet and peaceful, but any peace we find has to be in Jesus and found constantly, daily, hourly, minutely, secondly... you get the picture.
May God bless us all and keep us by the grace of Christ our savior and Lord now and always as we seek the truth and to walk in it.
Amen.
People who are *born again* often experience an elation of life. Things seem different, the air sweeter, life's problems less heavy upon the shoulders. A new window of life has opened up and everything has changed. It's wonderful! It's like walking a few feet off the ground. Things don't seem to bother us like they used to, we have entirely new ways of looking at things. The insurmountable problems don't disappear but our ability to handle them changes. We have a faith in God who will help us through anything and that bolsters our lives.
All that wonder is amazing and it can grow and linger and keep us for a long time, or a short time. I'd like to say it can last forever but sadly the feelings we get wrapped up in can fade. Maybe for some it lasts forever, maybe for some it's unending.
I know several people, not many in the grand scheme of our world, but several who have accepted Christ and experienced this very thing- the fading.
If only it were possible to make that heartfelt acceptance of Christ's grace and truly repent and then die in Christ right then without anything coming between me and that moment of pure togetherness with Christ. It doesn't work that way. There is no magic transport out of life and it's woes. We have to walk in Christ once we accept Him into our lives.
The walk is a daily struggle, even if at first it seems like a walk in clouds and not a struggle at all. The frosting slips off the cake and the cake dries out, and sometimes there are only crumbs left to pick at to keep us alive. Not a pretty picture, one that we don't want to dwell on. Happiness and light is so much better. A pretty frosted cake is a lot nicer than a few dried out crumbs.
Who can walk with Christ?
Who can live with Him?
We all should, but it's a walk that is on going ever forward and it's not through candy land, but through the real world with all its ups and downs, its heartaches, its pains, it's joys, the good and the bad they don't disappear because we choose to walk with Christ. It's a huge mistake to believe that our lives will be easy and carefree. The worst of the worst will come our ways it has to. We are on Christ's side and that's exactly where the devil doesn't want us to be. What better way than to lure with light and good, sweet and easy, just enough bumps in the road to keep the realism and then wham! Blindsided by life, by the master of sin.
Who can abide with Christ?
Psalms
{15:1} LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
{15:2} He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
{15:3} [He that] backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
{15:4} In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. [He that] sweareth to [his own] hurt, and changeth not.
{15:5} [He that] putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these [things] shall never be moved.
He that walketh upright.
He that worketh righteousness.
He that speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not.
He that honours them that fear the Lord.
He that would rather hurt than change.
He that isn't out for monetary gain.
You think accepting Christ's grace ends the story? It's only the beginning.
We need to walk in Christ.
Truth.
Truth in our hearts.
The choices we make each day in our lives reflect our walk with Christ.
It's by Christ we are able to walk upright.
We have to acknowledge that there is more than just accepting Christ, there is a walk with Christ.
2 John {1:4} 'I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.'
Walking in truth.
1 John {1:5} 'This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. {1:6} If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: {1:7} But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. {1:8} If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. {1:9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. {1:10} If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.'
Walk in the light.
Truth.
Ephesians {5:1} 'Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; {5:2} And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.'
Walk in love.
Truth.
Ephesians {2:8} 'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: {2:9} Not of works, lest any man should boast. {2:10} For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.'
Contradictory? No.
We are only saved by grace, but the story doesn't end there.
We can't boast of ourselves or anything we do.
We have to give all our glory to God where it belongs and boast nothing of ourselves at all whatsoever.
'created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.'
Walk in truth.
It is a walk and it's the walk that we all have to take once we accept the grace of Jesus into our lives. We can't forget the walking part. The knowing that life won't fall quiet and peaceful, but any peace we find has to be in Jesus and found constantly, daily, hourly, minutely, secondly... you get the picture.
May God bless us all and keep us by the grace of Christ our savior and Lord now and always as we seek the truth and to walk in it.
Amen.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Serve him in truth with all your heart.
Truth.
1 Sam. {12:24} Only fear the LORD, and serve himin truth with all your heart: for consider how great [things]he hath done for you. {12:25} But if ye shall still dowickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
**
Serve him in truth with all your heart.
In truth.
We can't lie to God.
We can lie to ourselves. We can convince ourselves that things aren't how they really are because then we feel better. We don't feel the weight of our own sin upon us, we don't feel our need of God's grace, and in feeling no need we are less apt to seek out God. We've got everything under control, we don't need anyone rocking our boats. Life is good, life is grand, and besides it's easier to just believe this way than to believe that we need to serve God with all our heart. We have trouble serving one another so serving God surely isn't going to be easier than serving man. When we serve God with all our heart we are putting Him first. How do we put God first when we are so consumed with ourselves? Our image, our leisure, our comforts, our needs, our desires, our everything.
Do you think everyone can serve God with all their hearts?
Do you think it's possible.
Do you think there is one person on earth that can't do that, that can't serve God?
What would make it impossible to serve God?
I can't think of anything outside of not knowing He exists.
There isn't a single situation or circumstance that can keep us from serving God.
But...what about being forced to disobey or face death, torture?
All through time men/women of God have suffered to serve Him rather than disobey Him. Many have died in order to serve Him in truth with all their hearts.
There isn't a single circumstance that can keep us from serving God. We can choose not to serve him, but there is nothing that can stop us.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for-- the evidence of things not seen.
We live by our senses, our feelings.
There are those who work hard in ways I've never had to, they work for their families, children. They work till their fingers bleed, until their bodies ache beyond what I personally can comprehend. These people live all over the world and they devote themselves to others not to themselves. Remarkable people, remarkable and amazing that they could live lives that are selfless in that respect.
No matter our circumstances, our upbringing, our day to day grind, we can serve God. We can't let ourselves get caught up in the whys of our life. We can't let ourselves get all caught up in anything that would make us believe we can't serve God. Anything.
In all we do, we need to do it to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians {10:31} 'Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.'
1 Samuel {12:24} 'Serve Him in truth with all your heart.'
You know that small still voice inside that points out when you're doing something that isn't to the glory of God? That voice should be encouraged not told to shut up. Now that's something that is hard to do, very hard. We want it to shut up more often than not because it interferes with whatever we're doing. It depresses us. It causes us to despair of ever being able to serve God with all our heart. The voice of our conscience can be loud, it can be soft, it can be silenced, or encouraged to speak.
I read something somewhere but I can't remember where now, but it talked of accepting the voice of our conscience and every time it speaks to us remembering this...
Proverbs {3:11} 'My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: {3:12} For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son [in whom] he delighteth.'
Despise not.
despise (dî-spìz´) verb, transitivedespised, despising, despises
1. To regard with contempt or scorn2. To dislike intensely; loathe
Contempt not.Scorn not.Dislike intensely not.Loath not.
But we want to!
We want to hate the voice that speaks to us and tells us we've done wrong, or are doing wrong. We don't like how it makes us feel it shames us, makes us want to do worse at times to try and silence it, there's no telling what the voice will do to us, but if we stop despising it, it has the potential to help us grow in Christ, in knowledge in grace.
2 Peter {3:17} 'Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know [these things] before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. {3:18} But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.'
We can grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord.
We have to beware, we have to despise not the chastening.
When we do wrong as we are going to do, when we fall to sin and feel the weight of it heavy upon us trying to drag us down, grab hold of the knowledge that we have been chastened, that we are feeling that chastening, that the pain we feel, the despair that seems like it doesn't want to let us go is that chastening and we have to grab hold of it, ask for forgiveness for our wrong doing whatever it is and go on, growing in grace and knowledge. We can't be weary of the correction, the Lord loves us and He will correct us and like a father with a child, the child can resent the correction- it's normal in a lot of ways to resent the correction because it makes us feel so many negative things about ourselves- we have to throw off the resentment and realize that the chastening is for our own good. God loves us. He chastens us. We need to learn and grow from it. Even children with their parents can grow from their parents chastening, it is possible. So often we don't think our children learn anything from our chastening, but they are. We can learn from the Lord's chastening.
Serve him in truth with all your heart.
We need to do this. We can do this by the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever. Amen.
1 Sam. {12:24} Only fear the LORD, and serve himin truth with all your heart: for consider how great [things]he hath done for you. {12:25} But if ye shall still dowickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
**
Serve him in truth with all your heart.
In truth.
We can't lie to God.
We can lie to ourselves. We can convince ourselves that things aren't how they really are because then we feel better. We don't feel the weight of our own sin upon us, we don't feel our need of God's grace, and in feeling no need we are less apt to seek out God. We've got everything under control, we don't need anyone rocking our boats. Life is good, life is grand, and besides it's easier to just believe this way than to believe that we need to serve God with all our heart. We have trouble serving one another so serving God surely isn't going to be easier than serving man. When we serve God with all our heart we are putting Him first. How do we put God first when we are so consumed with ourselves? Our image, our leisure, our comforts, our needs, our desires, our everything.
Do you think everyone can serve God with all their hearts?
Do you think it's possible.
Do you think there is one person on earth that can't do that, that can't serve God?
What would make it impossible to serve God?
I can't think of anything outside of not knowing He exists.
There isn't a single situation or circumstance that can keep us from serving God.
But...what about being forced to disobey or face death, torture?
All through time men/women of God have suffered to serve Him rather than disobey Him. Many have died in order to serve Him in truth with all their hearts.
There isn't a single circumstance that can keep us from serving God. We can choose not to serve him, but there is nothing that can stop us.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for-- the evidence of things not seen.
We live by our senses, our feelings.
There are those who work hard in ways I've never had to, they work for their families, children. They work till their fingers bleed, until their bodies ache beyond what I personally can comprehend. These people live all over the world and they devote themselves to others not to themselves. Remarkable people, remarkable and amazing that they could live lives that are selfless in that respect.
No matter our circumstances, our upbringing, our day to day grind, we can serve God. We can't let ourselves get caught up in the whys of our life. We can't let ourselves get all caught up in anything that would make us believe we can't serve God. Anything.
In all we do, we need to do it to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians {10:31} 'Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.'
1 Samuel {12:24} 'Serve Him in truth with all your heart.'
You know that small still voice inside that points out when you're doing something that isn't to the glory of God? That voice should be encouraged not told to shut up. Now that's something that is hard to do, very hard. We want it to shut up more often than not because it interferes with whatever we're doing. It depresses us. It causes us to despair of ever being able to serve God with all our heart. The voice of our conscience can be loud, it can be soft, it can be silenced, or encouraged to speak.
I read something somewhere but I can't remember where now, but it talked of accepting the voice of our conscience and every time it speaks to us remembering this...
Proverbs {3:11} 'My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: {3:12} For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son [in whom] he delighteth.'
Despise not.
despise (dî-spìz´) verb, transitivedespised, despising, despises
1. To regard with contempt or scorn2. To dislike intensely; loathe
Contempt not.Scorn not.Dislike intensely not.Loath not.
But we want to!
We want to hate the voice that speaks to us and tells us we've done wrong, or are doing wrong. We don't like how it makes us feel it shames us, makes us want to do worse at times to try and silence it, there's no telling what the voice will do to us, but if we stop despising it, it has the potential to help us grow in Christ, in knowledge in grace.
2 Peter {3:17} 'Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know [these things] before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. {3:18} But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.'
We can grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord.
We have to beware, we have to despise not the chastening.
When we do wrong as we are going to do, when we fall to sin and feel the weight of it heavy upon us trying to drag us down, grab hold of the knowledge that we have been chastened, that we are feeling that chastening, that the pain we feel, the despair that seems like it doesn't want to let us go is that chastening and we have to grab hold of it, ask for forgiveness for our wrong doing whatever it is and go on, growing in grace and knowledge. We can't be weary of the correction, the Lord loves us and He will correct us and like a father with a child, the child can resent the correction- it's normal in a lot of ways to resent the correction because it makes us feel so many negative things about ourselves- we have to throw off the resentment and realize that the chastening is for our own good. God loves us. He chastens us. We need to learn and grow from it. Even children with their parents can grow from their parents chastening, it is possible. So often we don't think our children learn anything from our chastening, but they are. We can learn from the Lord's chastening.
Serve him in truth with all your heart.
We need to do this. We can do this by the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever. Amen.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life
Truth.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truth
**Fear the Lord. Reverence the Lord.Serve the Lord.How?In Sincerity and...in truth.
He knows our hearts, he knows us as we don't even know ourselves.
It'd be strange to be asked to serve the Lord in lies and falsehood wouldn't it? Lies, untruths, deception, none of that is God. There are no lies with Him, no deception and He only asks that we serve Him the same- without lies, with sincerity.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truthand put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,and in Egypt;and serve ye the LORD. {24:15} And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will servewhether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood,or the gods of the Amorites,in whose land ye dwellbut as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
**We've heard this saying before, people write it on plaques - 'Choose you this day whom ye will serve, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.'
This is where it comes from, this passage.
Lets read it again in full.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truthand put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,and in Egypt;and serve ye the LORD. {24:15} And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will servewhether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood,or the gods of the Amorites,in whose land ye dwellbut as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
**If it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord--
Evil to serve the Lord?
How can it seem evil to serve the Lord?
And yet those who don't choose to follow him must think it is wrong in some way to do so when they choose not to follow him right?
Why do people choose not to follow God?
They don't want anyone in control of *their* lives?
They don't want to believe in a power that can control their lives.
Perhaps they fully believe there is only here and now and it's a waste of time to believe in a God they can't see, hear, touch, talk to.
There can be any number of reasons for a person to choose not to follow God, to not believe in Him.
But we can't make the mistake of believing that people get out of choosing, that anyone is exempt.
We all have to choose.
And it's a constant choice.
We do choose each day to make certain actions. We choose to get dressed or not get dressed. We choose to go to work or not to go to work. We choose to eat or not to eat. We choose so much and so often and we choose to follow God or not to follow Him.
The Bible is clear on this, very clear.
Choose.
We have a choice.
Does it seem evil to serve the Lord?
evil (ê´vel) adjectiveeviler, evilest1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant. See synonyms at bad1.2. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.4. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.5. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.
noun1. The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.2. That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.3. An evil force, power, or personification.4. Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice.
Evil to serve the Lord.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truthand put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,and in Egypt;and serve ye the LORD. {24:15} And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will servewhether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood,or the gods of the Amorites,in whose land ye dwellbut as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
**
Choose you this day whom ye will serve.
They had to choose back then and we have to today.
Good, evil. There are only two. There is no gray area here. No middle line.
The truth.
The truth or a lie?
1 John {2:1} My little children,these things write I unto you,that ye sin not.And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous{2:2} And he is the propitiation for our sinsand not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
{2:3} And hereby we do know that we know him,if we keep his commandments.
{2:4} He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
{2:5} But whoso keepeth his word,in him verily is the love of God perfectedhereby know we that we are in him.
{2:6} He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
**
The truth is not in those who don't keep his commandments.
Yet in those who keep his word... the love of God is perfected.
We can know we are in him.
We can know.
If we keep God's word, if we keep the words of Jesus, the love will be perfected.
Is it easy?
No.
Life isn't easy.
We need the truth.
The truth.
John {14:6} Jesus saith unto him,I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus is the truth.
Jesus brought with Him truth and grace, we need Jesus, we need His grace and His truth.
Amen.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truth
**Fear the Lord. Reverence the Lord.Serve the Lord.How?In Sincerity and...in truth.
He knows our hearts, he knows us as we don't even know ourselves.
It'd be strange to be asked to serve the Lord in lies and falsehood wouldn't it? Lies, untruths, deception, none of that is God. There are no lies with Him, no deception and He only asks that we serve Him the same- without lies, with sincerity.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truthand put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,and in Egypt;and serve ye the LORD. {24:15} And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will servewhether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood,or the gods of the Amorites,in whose land ye dwellbut as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
**We've heard this saying before, people write it on plaques - 'Choose you this day whom ye will serve, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.'
This is where it comes from, this passage.
Lets read it again in full.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truthand put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,and in Egypt;and serve ye the LORD. {24:15} And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will servewhether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood,or the gods of the Amorites,in whose land ye dwellbut as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
**If it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord--
Evil to serve the Lord?
How can it seem evil to serve the Lord?
And yet those who don't choose to follow him must think it is wrong in some way to do so when they choose not to follow him right?
Why do people choose not to follow God?
They don't want anyone in control of *their* lives?
They don't want to believe in a power that can control their lives.
Perhaps they fully believe there is only here and now and it's a waste of time to believe in a God they can't see, hear, touch, talk to.
There can be any number of reasons for a person to choose not to follow God, to not believe in Him.
But we can't make the mistake of believing that people get out of choosing, that anyone is exempt.
We all have to choose.
And it's a constant choice.
We do choose each day to make certain actions. We choose to get dressed or not get dressed. We choose to go to work or not to go to work. We choose to eat or not to eat. We choose so much and so often and we choose to follow God or not to follow Him.
The Bible is clear on this, very clear.
Choose.
We have a choice.
Does it seem evil to serve the Lord?
evil (ê´vel) adjectiveeviler, evilest1. Morally bad or wrong; wicked: an evil tyrant. See synonyms at bad1.2. Causing ruin, injury, or pain; harmful: the evil effects of a poor diet.3. Characterized by or indicating future misfortune; ominous: evil omens.4. Bad or blameworthy by report; infamous: an evil reputation.5. Characterized by anger or spite; malicious: an evil temper.
noun1. The quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.2. That which causes harm, misfortune, or destruction: a leader's power to do both good and evil.3. An evil force, power, or personification.4. Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice.
Evil to serve the Lord.
Joshua {24:14} Now therefore fear the LORD,and serve him in sincerity and in truthand put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,and in Egypt;and serve ye the LORD. {24:15} And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will servewhether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood,or the gods of the Amorites,in whose land ye dwellbut as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
**
Choose you this day whom ye will serve.
They had to choose back then and we have to today.
Good, evil. There are only two. There is no gray area here. No middle line.
The truth.
The truth or a lie?
1 John {2:1} My little children,these things write I unto you,that ye sin not.And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous{2:2} And he is the propitiation for our sinsand not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
{2:3} And hereby we do know that we know him,if we keep his commandments.
{2:4} He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
{2:5} But whoso keepeth his word,in him verily is the love of God perfectedhereby know we that we are in him.
{2:6} He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
**
The truth is not in those who don't keep his commandments.
Yet in those who keep his word... the love of God is perfected.
We can know we are in him.
We can know.
If we keep God's word, if we keep the words of Jesus, the love will be perfected.
Is it easy?
No.
Life isn't easy.
We need the truth.
The truth.
John {14:6} Jesus saith unto him,I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus is the truth.
Jesus brought with Him truth and grace, we need Jesus, we need His grace and His truth.
Amen.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
For all his ways are judgment
Recap :)
Deut-{31:24} And it came to pass, when Moses had made anend of writing the words of this law in a book, until theywere finished{31:25} That Moses commanded the Levites,which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,{31:26} Take this book of the law, and put it in the side ofthe ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it maybe there for a witness against thee.{31:27} For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alivewith you this day, ye have been rebellious against theLORD; and how much more after my death?{31:28} Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, andyour officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, andcall heaven and earth to record against them.{31:29} For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt[yourselves,] and turn aside from the way which I havecommanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days;because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provokehim to anger through the work of your hands. {31:30} And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel thewords of this song, until they were ended.{32:1} Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear,O earth, the words of my mouth. {32:2} My doctrine shalldrop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as thesmall rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon thegrass{32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORD:ascribe ye greatness unto our God. {32:4} [He is] the Rock,his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a Godof truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.
**
Moses is talking here, telling the people about how after he's gone they'll be prone to even more evil than they were when he was alive.
He says this about God--
{32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORD:ascribe ye greatness unto our God. {32:4} [He is] the Rock,his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a Godof truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.
**
A God of truth without iniquity, just and right is he.
This goes without saying really, or should especially to those who had witnessed God's miracles first hand.
Witnessing God's miracles. Yesterday I talked about how we tend to believe that if we were alive then we wouldn't have disobeyed, if we'd been the ones to see and live those miracles it'd be different. The same holds true for people who talk about Jesus. They say if they were one of His disciples they wouldn't have denied Him. They say if they could only live back then with Jesus they'd be able to follow Him better. If only...If only...If only...
So many 'if onlies' and they all manage to keep us from realizing our own spiritual walk as an individual is just as important, just as remarkable even though we aren't living in the time of Moses or Jesus. If onlies are excuses that we could do without because in the long run they only hurt us. If you find yourself caught up in the 'if only this... or if only that', try to stop yourself and say 'if only hurts'. If onlies hurt and we need to try and get away from them- now don't you say 'if only I could stop if only-ing' what a trap is that! Talk about being caught in a vicious cycle. We need to try and give this problem to God if we have it, ask Him to help us stop making excuses and to live here and now content with the time we live in, the circumstance we are alive in and help us to find Him and follow Him as He would have us to.
**
Continuing on with that passage in Deuteronomy-- Remember Moses is speaking of to those who God has set free from the Egyptian rule and taken into the wilderness, God's chosen people, those who agreed wholeheartedly to the covenant He proposed to them.
{32:5} They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
**Moses is telling it like it is. It's not like the movie Ten Commandments where the people cross over into the promised land and the illusion is that they were of a majority following God like Moses had been. They were corrupt, they were perverse and crooked. Again we can start with the excuses if we wanted and say stuff like- well it's not their fault they were used to captivity, it's not their fault they were raised as slaves around those who worship idols and such- excuses- excuses- excuses.
{32:6} Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
**God the Father. God who made them, established them, bought them. Just like us. We're no different.
{32:7} Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. {32:8} When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. {32:9} For the LORD’S portion [is] his people; Jacob [is] the lot of his inheritance.{32:10} He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. {32:11} As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings{32:12} [So] the LORD alone did lead him, and [there was] no strange god with him.{32:13} He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock{32:14} Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape
**How wonderful this is, God taking care of His people. Unfortunately God's people time and again seem to take it for granted that God will provide. They seem to forget that it is God giving them so much. Often it takes losing what we have to realize just how much we have. When we don't lose it, often we'll just consider it our just due and sometimes even want more...more...more, never having enough and not giving God the thanks and praise we should.
{32:15} But Jeshurun (My Note- meaning the people of Israel/Jacob) waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered [with fatness;] then he forsook God [which] made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.{32:16} They provoked him to jealousy with strange [gods,] with abominations provoked they him to anger.
**Provoked God to jealousy with strange gods!
Here He is giving them all He can and they provoke Him. They take on strange Gods, abominations!
{32:17} They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new [gods that] came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
**Sacrificed to devils- not to God!
Unbelievable? No, sadly not.
We're the same today aren't we? What? You're not sacrificing unto the devil, to other gods? Tell me, if God is not being worshipped by you, what are you worshipping? If you say you don't worship to anyone or anything, then you are admitting you're not worshipping God. Is it any better to worship no one? No, not really because then by omission we are putting ourselves before God, basically saying we have no need of God, He's not worthy of worship. Having no other gods before God includes the god of self.
{32:18} Of the Rock [that] begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. {32:19} And when the LORD saw [it,] he abhorred [them,] because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. {32:20} And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end [shall be:] for they [are] a very froward generation, children in whom [is] no faith. {32:21} They have moved me to jealousy with [that which is] not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with [those which are] not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.{32:22} For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. {32:23} I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. {32:24} [They shall be] burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. {32:25} The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling [also] with the man of gray hairs.{32:26} I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:{32:27} Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, [and] lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.
**Covenant breaking is serious stuff.The Covenant first and foremost says 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me'Covenant breakers.
In our world we don't treat covenant breakers so seriously do we?
So many liars, we're used to liars aren't we?
We're used to being lied to by just about everyone. And we're used to lying. It's sad. So sad.
Our government leaders lie to us and we just shake our heads, but we're not shocked anymore.
Being lied to hurts, we don't expect loved ones to lie to us but they do too and sadly we might be hurt, but we're not overly shocked-- not really. Deep down we accept lies. We are told to give liars second chances, third chances, fourth, fifth...sixth... endless chances. Jesus even tells us we have to forgive endlessly. God forgives endlessly and yet God shapes, He molds, and makes us, He created us and wants us to live in love.
The only thing we have to really say is parents- if you are a parent you know in a small way the love God has for us, as we have for our children. Sometimes our love is shown in ways a child perceives as hurtful, hateful, the opposite of love, but in truth it is the deepest love that inflicts, watches and suffers through the pain with those being chastised.
Too many people want to stop at God is hateful because of all He has done, and all he does. They want to say once more that God changed, Jesus made God new, and the new God isn't like the old one. Equating a God who shapes through adversity, who tries to draw His people back to Him, wanting them to know that He is love- His covenant is love.
{32:28} For they [are] a nation void of counsel, neither [is there any] understanding in them.{32:29} O that they were wise, [that] they understood this, [that] they would consider their latter end!{32:30} How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? {32:31} For their rock [is] not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves [being] judges. {32:32} For their vine [is] of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes [are] grapes of gall, their clusters [are] bitter: {32:33} Their wine [is] the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.{32:34} [Is] not this laid up in store with me, [and] sealed up among my treasures?{32:35} To me [belongeth] vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in [due] time: for the day of their calamity [is] at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. {32:36} For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that [their] power is gone, and [there is] none shut up, orleft. {32:37} And he shall say, Where [are] their gods, [their] rock in whom they trusted, {32:38} Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, [and] drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, [and] be your protection. {32:39} See now that I, [even] I, [am] he, and [there is] no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of my hand. {32:40} For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.{32:41} If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.{32:42} I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; [and that] with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. {32:43} Rejoice, O ye nations, [with] his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, [and] to his people.
**
Wow!
Wow!
{32:44} And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. {32:45} And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel{32:46} And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. {32:47} For it [is] not a vain thing for you; because it [is] your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong [your] days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
**There is so much that could be said about all this, so much.
Moses said it all, all those words that seem so violent, so un-God-like in the way we want God to be soft and cuddly, sweet and all. Truthfully, being forgiving, being filled with love doesn't mean giving up priciples, standards, truth. It doesn't mean succumbing to evil and allowing it endlessly. Even Jesus turned over the money changer's tables in anger didn't He? Why? If we are supposed to be only cuddly and sweet?
There is so much to explore here, so much.
Truth and grace.
Jesus came with truth and grace.
There is no deception, no confusion with Him as He manifest His Father to us all. Love is at the root of all God has ever done. Love for a creation, for a creature, love that goes beyond our comprehension. The truth and grace of Jesus is given to us, all truth, all grace.
Remember at the beginning of that passage--
{32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORDascribe ye greatness unto our God {32:4} He is the Rock his work is perfect for all his ways are judgment a God of truthand without iniquityjust and right is he.
**All true.
A God of truth.
May we come to understand the truth as we accept the grace given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Son of God, now and forever.
Amen.
Deut-{31:24} And it came to pass, when Moses had made anend of writing the words of this law in a book, until theywere finished{31:25} That Moses commanded the Levites,which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,{31:26} Take this book of the law, and put it in the side ofthe ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it maybe there for a witness against thee.{31:27} For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alivewith you this day, ye have been rebellious against theLORD; and how much more after my death?{31:28} Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, andyour officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, andcall heaven and earth to record against them.{31:29} For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt[yourselves,] and turn aside from the way which I havecommanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days;because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provokehim to anger through the work of your hands. {31:30} And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel thewords of this song, until they were ended.{32:1} Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear,O earth, the words of my mouth. {32:2} My doctrine shalldrop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as thesmall rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon thegrass{32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORD:ascribe ye greatness unto our God. {32:4} [He is] the Rock,his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a Godof truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.
**
Moses is talking here, telling the people about how after he's gone they'll be prone to even more evil than they were when he was alive.
He says this about God--
{32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORD:ascribe ye greatness unto our God. {32:4} [He is] the Rock,his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a Godof truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.
**
A God of truth without iniquity, just and right is he.
This goes without saying really, or should especially to those who had witnessed God's miracles first hand.
Witnessing God's miracles. Yesterday I talked about how we tend to believe that if we were alive then we wouldn't have disobeyed, if we'd been the ones to see and live those miracles it'd be different. The same holds true for people who talk about Jesus. They say if they were one of His disciples they wouldn't have denied Him. They say if they could only live back then with Jesus they'd be able to follow Him better. If only...If only...If only...
So many 'if onlies' and they all manage to keep us from realizing our own spiritual walk as an individual is just as important, just as remarkable even though we aren't living in the time of Moses or Jesus. If onlies are excuses that we could do without because in the long run they only hurt us. If you find yourself caught up in the 'if only this... or if only that', try to stop yourself and say 'if only hurts'. If onlies hurt and we need to try and get away from them- now don't you say 'if only I could stop if only-ing' what a trap is that! Talk about being caught in a vicious cycle. We need to try and give this problem to God if we have it, ask Him to help us stop making excuses and to live here and now content with the time we live in, the circumstance we are alive in and help us to find Him and follow Him as He would have us to.
**
Continuing on with that passage in Deuteronomy-- Remember Moses is speaking of to those who God has set free from the Egyptian rule and taken into the wilderness, God's chosen people, those who agreed wholeheartedly to the covenant He proposed to them.
{32:5} They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
**Moses is telling it like it is. It's not like the movie Ten Commandments where the people cross over into the promised land and the illusion is that they were of a majority following God like Moses had been. They were corrupt, they were perverse and crooked. Again we can start with the excuses if we wanted and say stuff like- well it's not their fault they were used to captivity, it's not their fault they were raised as slaves around those who worship idols and such- excuses- excuses- excuses.
{32:6} Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
**God the Father. God who made them, established them, bought them. Just like us. We're no different.
{32:7} Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. {32:8} When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. {32:9} For the LORD’S portion [is] his people; Jacob [is] the lot of his inheritance.{32:10} He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. {32:11} As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings{32:12} [So] the LORD alone did lead him, and [there was] no strange god with him.{32:13} He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock{32:14} Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape
**How wonderful this is, God taking care of His people. Unfortunately God's people time and again seem to take it for granted that God will provide. They seem to forget that it is God giving them so much. Often it takes losing what we have to realize just how much we have. When we don't lose it, often we'll just consider it our just due and sometimes even want more...more...more, never having enough and not giving God the thanks and praise we should.
{32:15} But Jeshurun (My Note- meaning the people of Israel/Jacob) waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered [with fatness;] then he forsook God [which] made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.{32:16} They provoked him to jealousy with strange [gods,] with abominations provoked they him to anger.
**Provoked God to jealousy with strange gods!
Here He is giving them all He can and they provoke Him. They take on strange Gods, abominations!
{32:17} They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new [gods that] came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
**Sacrificed to devils- not to God!
Unbelievable? No, sadly not.
We're the same today aren't we? What? You're not sacrificing unto the devil, to other gods? Tell me, if God is not being worshipped by you, what are you worshipping? If you say you don't worship to anyone or anything, then you are admitting you're not worshipping God. Is it any better to worship no one? No, not really because then by omission we are putting ourselves before God, basically saying we have no need of God, He's not worthy of worship. Having no other gods before God includes the god of self.
{32:18} Of the Rock [that] begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. {32:19} And when the LORD saw [it,] he abhorred [them,] because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. {32:20} And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end [shall be:] for they [are] a very froward generation, children in whom [is] no faith. {32:21} They have moved me to jealousy with [that which is] not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with [those which are] not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.{32:22} For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. {32:23} I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. {32:24} [They shall be] burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. {32:25} The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling [also] with the man of gray hairs.{32:26} I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:{32:27} Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, [and] lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.
**Covenant breaking is serious stuff.The Covenant first and foremost says 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me'Covenant breakers.
In our world we don't treat covenant breakers so seriously do we?
So many liars, we're used to liars aren't we?
We're used to being lied to by just about everyone. And we're used to lying. It's sad. So sad.
Our government leaders lie to us and we just shake our heads, but we're not shocked anymore.
Being lied to hurts, we don't expect loved ones to lie to us but they do too and sadly we might be hurt, but we're not overly shocked-- not really. Deep down we accept lies. We are told to give liars second chances, third chances, fourth, fifth...sixth... endless chances. Jesus even tells us we have to forgive endlessly. God forgives endlessly and yet God shapes, He molds, and makes us, He created us and wants us to live in love.
The only thing we have to really say is parents- if you are a parent you know in a small way the love God has for us, as we have for our children. Sometimes our love is shown in ways a child perceives as hurtful, hateful, the opposite of love, but in truth it is the deepest love that inflicts, watches and suffers through the pain with those being chastised.
Too many people want to stop at God is hateful because of all He has done, and all he does. They want to say once more that God changed, Jesus made God new, and the new God isn't like the old one. Equating a God who shapes through adversity, who tries to draw His people back to Him, wanting them to know that He is love- His covenant is love.
{32:28} For they [are] a nation void of counsel, neither [is there any] understanding in them.{32:29} O that they were wise, [that] they understood this, [that] they would consider their latter end!{32:30} How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? {32:31} For their rock [is] not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves [being] judges. {32:32} For their vine [is] of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes [are] grapes of gall, their clusters [are] bitter: {32:33} Their wine [is] the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.{32:34} [Is] not this laid up in store with me, [and] sealed up among my treasures?{32:35} To me [belongeth] vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in [due] time: for the day of their calamity [is] at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. {32:36} For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that [their] power is gone, and [there is] none shut up, orleft. {32:37} And he shall say, Where [are] their gods, [their] rock in whom they trusted, {32:38} Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, [and] drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, [and] be your protection. {32:39} See now that I, [even] I, [am] he, and [there is] no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of my hand. {32:40} For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.{32:41} If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.{32:42} I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; [and that] with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. {32:43} Rejoice, O ye nations, [with] his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, [and] to his people.
**
Wow!
Wow!
{32:44} And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. {32:45} And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel{32:46} And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. {32:47} For it [is] not a vain thing for you; because it [is] your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong [your] days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
**There is so much that could be said about all this, so much.
Moses said it all, all those words that seem so violent, so un-God-like in the way we want God to be soft and cuddly, sweet and all. Truthfully, being forgiving, being filled with love doesn't mean giving up priciples, standards, truth. It doesn't mean succumbing to evil and allowing it endlessly. Even Jesus turned over the money changer's tables in anger didn't He? Why? If we are supposed to be only cuddly and sweet?
There is so much to explore here, so much.
Truth and grace.
Jesus came with truth and grace.
There is no deception, no confusion with Him as He manifest His Father to us all. Love is at the root of all God has ever done. Love for a creation, for a creature, love that goes beyond our comprehension. The truth and grace of Jesus is given to us, all truth, all grace.
Remember at the beginning of that passage--
{32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORDascribe ye greatness unto our God {32:4} He is the Rock his work is perfect for all his ways are judgment a God of truthand without iniquityjust and right is he.
**All true.
A God of truth.
May we come to understand the truth as we accept the grace given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Son of God, now and forever.
Amen.
Monday, September 8, 2008
We read so much about God, His truth, His grace, His love. We try to separate the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament and we say one is loving the other vengeful. But the God of truth is the God of truth, Old and New Testament, from the Beginning unto the End.
Here we have a long passage with Moses lets read it slowly, carefully-
Duet. {31:24} And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, {31:25} That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, {31:26} Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. {31:27} For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
**Moses knows that God's chosen people have been rebellious against the Lord while he, Moses was alive. It seems amazing doesn't it? To witness so many miracles and still rebel. We like to think that *we* wouldn't do such a thing. If we had the same experience we'd be amazed and follow the Lord and His commands perfectly. We think that don't we. We really do. It's easy for us to say stuff like that- the if only complex that some how makes it God's fault and not ours. God's fault because He should show His miracles to all of us in the same way and give us all the same opportunity to follow His commands through that wonderful witness. So as long as God doesn't give us the *same* chance then it's His fault if we don't believe. The blame game. The- how could they not obey with such an amazing witness of God's power, I would- syndrome.
But would we? I suppose that's only something we can each answer for ourselves, right?
The facts are that Moses was dealing with those God had freed from captivity, God ASKED them if they would follow Him and His commands. They had a choice to either follow Him and obey or not. They said yes, they agreed to his commands, to follow him and then... they broke that agreement, over and over even right after God showed them His wondrous power of love to them. Moses had every right to say what he was saying, they rebelled while he was alive, how much more were they going to do so when he was gone?
Deut. {31:28} Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. {31:29} For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt [yourselves,] and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
**Utterly corrupt yourselves.Turn aside from the way they'd been commanded.Evil would befall them.They'd do evil in the sight of the Lord.Provoking God to anger by the works of their own hands.
Such a condemnation. Do you think any of them wanted to jump up and shout, 'No way! We'd never do that!' I imagine there were those that felt that way. I doubt seriously there were those nodding and agreeing, knowing that they were going to be corrupt and do evil. We know pride is a great sin, if not the greatest, and pride alone keeps people saying they'd never do this or that and then they turn out to be the very ones who do whatever it was they proclaim they would not do.
Moses seems sincere in his admonition. He's going on their history of rebelling while he was with them, leading them through God. So he wasn't holding back, he was telling it like it is, God always does that you know. God doesn't mince words, He just tells it like it is, it's us who want to twist things around and make them work the way *we* want them to work, regardless of whether it's right or wrong.
Deut. {31:30} And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended. {32:1} Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. {32:2} My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon thegrass: {32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.{32:4} [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.
**
Publish the name of the Lord. Ascribe greatness unto our God. He is the Rock.His work is perfect.All His ways are judgment. A God of truth. Without iniquity.Just and right is he.
A God of truth.
Jesus brought with Him grace and truth.
God's truth, God's grace.
Truth.
It's amazing isn't it? So amazing.
The truth. The ultimate truth, only truth, truth.
We twist things, God never does. We muddle things up, God doesn't. We want half truths because they pacify our sinful nature. We don't want real truths because they war with our nature. Jesus came with truth and grace, by His grace we are save through the truth of His love, God's love.
More on this tomorrow... :) It really is a long passage. May God bless us all and keep us in Him through the grace and mercy of His loving Son.
Amen.
Here we have a long passage with Moses lets read it slowly, carefully-
Duet. {31:24} And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, {31:25} That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, {31:26} Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. {31:27} For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
**Moses knows that God's chosen people have been rebellious against the Lord while he, Moses was alive. It seems amazing doesn't it? To witness so many miracles and still rebel. We like to think that *we* wouldn't do such a thing. If we had the same experience we'd be amazed and follow the Lord and His commands perfectly. We think that don't we. We really do. It's easy for us to say stuff like that- the if only complex that some how makes it God's fault and not ours. God's fault because He should show His miracles to all of us in the same way and give us all the same opportunity to follow His commands through that wonderful witness. So as long as God doesn't give us the *same* chance then it's His fault if we don't believe. The blame game. The- how could they not obey with such an amazing witness of God's power, I would- syndrome.
But would we? I suppose that's only something we can each answer for ourselves, right?
The facts are that Moses was dealing with those God had freed from captivity, God ASKED them if they would follow Him and His commands. They had a choice to either follow Him and obey or not. They said yes, they agreed to his commands, to follow him and then... they broke that agreement, over and over even right after God showed them His wondrous power of love to them. Moses had every right to say what he was saying, they rebelled while he was alive, how much more were they going to do so when he was gone?
Deut. {31:28} Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. {31:29} For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt [yourselves,] and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
**Utterly corrupt yourselves.Turn aside from the way they'd been commanded.Evil would befall them.They'd do evil in the sight of the Lord.Provoking God to anger by the works of their own hands.
Such a condemnation. Do you think any of them wanted to jump up and shout, 'No way! We'd never do that!' I imagine there were those that felt that way. I doubt seriously there were those nodding and agreeing, knowing that they were going to be corrupt and do evil. We know pride is a great sin, if not the greatest, and pride alone keeps people saying they'd never do this or that and then they turn out to be the very ones who do whatever it was they proclaim they would not do.
Moses seems sincere in his admonition. He's going on their history of rebelling while he was with them, leading them through God. So he wasn't holding back, he was telling it like it is, God always does that you know. God doesn't mince words, He just tells it like it is, it's us who want to twist things around and make them work the way *we* want them to work, regardless of whether it's right or wrong.
Deut. {31:30} And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended. {32:1} Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. {32:2} My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon thegrass: {32:3} Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.{32:4} [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.
**
Publish the name of the Lord. Ascribe greatness unto our God. He is the Rock.His work is perfect.All His ways are judgment. A God of truth. Without iniquity.Just and right is he.
A God of truth.
Jesus brought with Him grace and truth.
God's truth, God's grace.
Truth.
It's amazing isn't it? So amazing.
The truth. The ultimate truth, only truth, truth.
We twist things, God never does. We muddle things up, God doesn't. We want half truths because they pacify our sinful nature. We don't want real truths because they war with our nature. Jesus came with truth and grace, by His grace we are save through the truth of His love, God's love.
More on this tomorrow... :) It really is a long passage. May God bless us all and keep us in Him through the grace and mercy of His loving Son.
Amen.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Truth
Gen. {24:27} And he said,Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham,who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truthI being in the way,the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.
**God gave to Abraham his mercy and his truth.Abraham wasn't left destitute of them.
God's mercy.
God's truth.
Gen. {32:9} And Jacob said,O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me,Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
{32:10} I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan;and now I am become two bands.
{32:11} Deliver me,I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, [and] the mother with the children.
{32:12} And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good,and make thy seed as the sand of the sea,which cannot be numbered for multitude.
**Jacob said- 'I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,and of all the truth,'
Mercy and truth. All mercy, all truth.
None of us are worthy of all the mercy and truth God shows to us, none of us can ever be worthy.
Exodus {18:21} Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men,such as fear God,men of truth, hating covetousness
**
Men of truth, hating covetousness.
covetous (kùv´î-tes) adjective1. Excessively and culpably desirous of the possessions of another. See synonyms at jealous.2. Marked by extreme desire to acquire or possess: covetous of learning.
truth (tr¡th) nounplural truths (tr¡thz, tr¡ths)1. Conformity to fact or actuality.2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.3. Sincerity; integrity.4. Fidelity to an original or a standard.5. Reality; actuality.6. Truth (tr¡th). Christian Science. God.
Men of truth.Men of God.Men of sincerity, integrity.Hating the act of covetousness- those not excessively wanting what others have.
Hebrews {13:5} Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:for he hath said, I will never leave thee,nor forsake thee.
**Be content with such things as you have.Jesus will never leave us, or forsake us.
Wanting what others have- something so many of us do all the time- it's a way of life for us.
Wanting more, wanting the best, wanting what the next person has, wanting ever wanting very seldom satisfied with what we have. And when we attain something we desire- the satisfaction for having attained it doesn't really last for very long, does it? And we're back to wanting for something else.
Seriously.
When we're young we want the things our friends have, when grow older we want the things our friends have- our peers, we don't want to be the odd one out who doesn't want to fit in and have the latest technology, the latest gadget. Those who possess the newest and the best stuff are to be coveted right? Because the newest and the best is well... the best. Fame and fortune we are told are the desired goals. Have enough money to live comfortably well off and you are a success.
These are the things we're taught, the things we believe.
Covetousness.
We call that life.
It's one of those things that have become so commonplace, so normal we don't even see it for what it is any more. We call it human nature, we say it's acceptable, but in reality it's a part of the sin problem that has infected us all since sin began.
The truth is... hating covetousness, not embracing it.
Exodus {18:21} Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men,such as fear God,men of truth, hating covetousness
**
Men of truth hating covetousness.
We are to hate sin and covetousness is a sin.
We have to recognize in ourselves, covetousness. If you think you aren't one who covets, wonderful, truly wonderful. I'm not going to try and convince you that you covet. We have to examine ourselves.
2 Cor. {13:5} Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you,except ye be reprobates?
**
We have to know our own selves. If Jesus isn't in us then we are lost. Examine ourselves.
By grace we are save through the mercy and sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, but once we are saved it doesn't end there, we have to walk in Christ.
Galations {5:16} [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Romans {6:11} Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. {6:12} Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. {6:13} Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.{6:14} For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law,but under grace. {6:15} What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?God forbid.{6:16} Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,his servants ye are to whom ye obey;whether of sin unto death,or of obedience unto righteousness?{6:17} But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin,but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.{6:18} Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. {6:19} I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh:for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity;even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.{6:20} For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.{6:21} What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?for the end of those things [is] death.{6:22} But now being made free from sin,and become servants to God,ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.{6:23} For the wages of sin [is] death;but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Gen. {24:27} And he said,Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham,who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truthI being in the way,the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.
**God gave to Abraham his mercy and his truth.Abraham wasn't left destitute of them.
God's mercy.
God's truth.
Gen. {32:9} And Jacob said,O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me,Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
{32:10} I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan;and now I am become two bands.
{32:11} Deliver me,I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, [and] the mother with the children.
{32:12} And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good,and make thy seed as the sand of the sea,which cannot be numbered for multitude.
**Jacob said- 'I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,and of all the truth,'
Mercy and truth. All mercy, all truth.
None of us are worthy of all the mercy and truth God shows to us, none of us can ever be worthy.
Exodus {18:21} Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men,such as fear God,men of truth, hating covetousness
**
Men of truth, hating covetousness.
covetous (kùv´î-tes) adjective1. Excessively and culpably desirous of the possessions of another. See synonyms at jealous.2. Marked by extreme desire to acquire or possess: covetous of learning.
truth (tr¡th) nounplural truths (tr¡thz, tr¡ths)1. Conformity to fact or actuality.2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.3. Sincerity; integrity.4. Fidelity to an original or a standard.5. Reality; actuality.6. Truth (tr¡th). Christian Science. God.
Men of truth.Men of God.Men of sincerity, integrity.Hating the act of covetousness- those not excessively wanting what others have.
Hebrews {13:5} Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:for he hath said, I will never leave thee,nor forsake thee.
**Be content with such things as you have.Jesus will never leave us, or forsake us.
Wanting what others have- something so many of us do all the time- it's a way of life for us.
Wanting more, wanting the best, wanting what the next person has, wanting ever wanting very seldom satisfied with what we have. And when we attain something we desire- the satisfaction for having attained it doesn't really last for very long, does it? And we're back to wanting for something else.
Seriously.
When we're young we want the things our friends have, when grow older we want the things our friends have- our peers, we don't want to be the odd one out who doesn't want to fit in and have the latest technology, the latest gadget. Those who possess the newest and the best stuff are to be coveted right? Because the newest and the best is well... the best. Fame and fortune we are told are the desired goals. Have enough money to live comfortably well off and you are a success.
These are the things we're taught, the things we believe.
Covetousness.
We call that life.
It's one of those things that have become so commonplace, so normal we don't even see it for what it is any more. We call it human nature, we say it's acceptable, but in reality it's a part of the sin problem that has infected us all since sin began.
The truth is... hating covetousness, not embracing it.
Exodus {18:21} Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men,such as fear God,men of truth, hating covetousness
**
Men of truth hating covetousness.
We are to hate sin and covetousness is a sin.
We have to recognize in ourselves, covetousness. If you think you aren't one who covets, wonderful, truly wonderful. I'm not going to try and convince you that you covet. We have to examine ourselves.
2 Cor. {13:5} Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you,except ye be reprobates?
**
We have to know our own selves. If Jesus isn't in us then we are lost. Examine ourselves.
By grace we are save through the mercy and sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, but once we are saved it doesn't end there, we have to walk in Christ.
Galations {5:16} [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Romans {6:11} Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. {6:12} Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. {6:13} Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.{6:14} For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law,but under grace. {6:15} What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?God forbid.{6:16} Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,his servants ye are to whom ye obey;whether of sin unto death,or of obedience unto righteousness?{6:17} But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin,but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.{6:18} Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. {6:19} I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh:for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity;even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.{6:20} For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.{6:21} What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?for the end of those things [is] death.{6:22} But now being made free from sin,and become servants to God,ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.{6:23} For the wages of sin [is] death;but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
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