Psalm 53 &54

i have been going through the book of psalms for quite sometime now. refusing to just read it and move on in order to fulfill some imaginary requirement, but rather really trying to figure out what the psalmist is saying, and not only that but trying to imagine what he was going through and how it affected his prayer life and/or worship. today something caught my attention and made me sit here and share it.

i have read these particular psalms several times, but i seemed to be getting distracted, so i came back to read them yet again and finally i was able to get more out of it, i was finally able to notice some things, the text spoke to me, in a special way.

psalm 51 of course everyone has read a million times, yet i always learn something from it. psalm 52 seems very judgmental and harsh with descriptions of evil men and how God will ultimately judge them. but I believe that the ultimate "sin" described in this psalm is trusting in your great wealth, and growing strong by destroying others (v7).

psalm 53 begins with a description of a fool, as someone who says in his heart that God does not exist. more descriptions follow, this time of evildoers, and what caught my eye was the last part of verse 4 and verse 5. "… and who do not call on God? 5 There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread." do we sometimes fit into this description? sure we may not devour "people as men eat bread" but do we become overwhelmed with dread when there is nothing to dread? is it because we do not call on God? on psalm 54:4 the psalmist states that "surely God is my help; the Lord is the one Who sustains me." the description of the righteous here does not mention actions, but rather trust.

it would seem to me that these few psalms here differentiate between the wicked and the righteous not so much by their actions but mostly by in whom they trust. who you trust and who you believe in will ultimately affect your actions. Sure the wicked men do many things, but that is because they say in their hearts "there is no God". i would suggest that their actions are not the problem, not the root of it at least. but rather the fact that they do not trust in God. while the righteous, though they may stumble and fall, and at times act in a way they should not, they repent and turn to God for help, i.e. Psalm 51.

on psalm 54, the psalmist cries out for deliverance not because he is a good person and deserves it, but rather because his God is a loving, mighty God Who listens to the prayers of sinners. it appears that ultimately the ruin of man is not making mistakes (sinning) for even the righteous do it at times, but rather it is not turning to God in repentance for help and forgiveness.

the Lord will sustain you because He loves you, not because you deserve it. and the wicked will not be destroyed because of their bad actions, but rather for rejecting God. sure the actions show what you believe, but they are not the root of the problem, only a reflection of it.

focus on Who is your help, and Who sustains you. let your actions serve as a thermometer, if you will, of where your heart is, and work on your heart. love God with all your heart and invite Him in to change it, trust in Him, He loves you. and do not be "overwhelmed with dread, where there is nothing to dread." That is for those who say in their hearts "there is no God".

 

now go back and read psalm 51 again, and see if these ideas fit.

silence

a smile, a glance, a wink, a touch, a hug, a look, a gesture…

how much sound does a light make? when salt is salting, what noise do we hear?

we are called to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth. could it be that maybe we should speak fewer words, and focus on living out loud?

can silence be more powerful than shouting? when should we speak, and when should we keep silent?

if we are always talking, could that make it difficult for us to hear the still small Voice?

God, grant me the wisdom to use silence eloquently for Your glory.

silence

if you know me, you know that i am rarely silent. the title of this blog is in a way a reminder to myself that silence can be eloquent, and that i need to learn to use it.

the more i think about silence, the more it amazes me. at times i act as if i was allergic to silence. probably because i often feel like it is my responsibility to be talking, leading, entertaining, informing, teaching, explaining… but that deprives others of sharing, and thinking, it often deprives me of thinking, causing me to speak without giving what i will say proper thought. and if you have been around me you have witnessed this. perhaps in order to become a better communicator, in order to be more helpful, i need to harness and use the power of silence. hopefully i am on the path of becoming a better listener, and thus a better husband, friend, and pastor.

 

why eloquent silence

silence seems to become rarer with the passing of time. as societies advance and as countries develop silence seems to shrink, to fade, to disappear. yet silence seems so important, so vital. i remember an orchestra director who would always tell her orchestra that the silence was just as important as the sound, if not more, and unless they respected the rests, the right notes and the harmonies would loose their effectiveness in the great scheme of the symphony as a whole.

a pause at the appropriate time, silence skillfully used can deliver greater impact than loud blast of sound. silence can say so much, it can be so eloquent, yet it is so rare.

grace is alive and well

 

this morning i needed God's help in a special way.

i had been praying about this for a while, but it has been surprisingly difficult to pray for this specific thing. this has been one of those things that you pray to God and then run and do your part, like most things we pray for. however, every time i prayed for this i felt guilty, because i felt like i was keeping up my part of the bargain. i did not feel like i was doing my part, I was not working hard enough, i was letting other things take precedence. as i would pray i would remember the times i wasted time, and how i did not deserve to have my prayer answered. i did not deserve what i was asking for and how dare i ask God for something when my life is so full of faults. i really felt like there was an enormous list of things i needed to take care of before daring to come before God to ask for anything. but i continued to pray, begging God to have mercy and help me even though i did not deserve His help. i asked Him to help me in the areas of my life that needed work, a list that seems to be continually growing, and begged Him to not give up on me.

this morning i barely had the courage to pray to God, since yesterday seemed especially disastrous, at least when the actual day is compared to my initial plans for it. but i did pray to God, feeling unworthy, feeling guilty for my misuse of time and resources He had given me, feeling like a failure, i came before the throne of our awesome God in prayer, and begged for His help and mercy.

and God came through! i did not expect it and figured i deserved to not have my prayer answered and i needed to learn that lesson, and maybe that would teach me to be more faithful in more areas of my life. but God blessed me with i needed. i did not deserve it, but God blessed me. have come home victorious, though i deserved defeat. why did God bless me? how much does he love me? a lot more than i deserve. i am so glad i prayed, and when all my faults flooded my mind, i placed them at the Savior's feet and asked for help with them as well.

now i feel even more motivated to live a better life, to be more faithful and to continue to grow, because God deserves my best. not out of fear for punishment, but as a reaction to His unfailing love and His mercy. praise God for His love and mercy.

btw- this is the second time this has happened (in this manner) since i have began my graduate studies, and i praise God for it and try to be even more faithful to Him every time, rather than to slack off because of my "faith" that God will bless me. it is true that God blesses me when i do not deserve it, but it only makes me want to try even harder to be faithful to my loving Father.

good demons

i spent quite a bit of time in airports these passed few weeks.

airports are interesting places filled wih interesting things, especially if you are not late for your flight or trying to buy food. among the many interesting things found in airports are the bookstores. i love bookstores, never mind I have several books that i have not finished reading and some i have yet to start, I love looking at new books and reading the back covers.

as i looked through the books in several bookstores i noticed many attention-grabbing books, interestingly the ones for teenagers and young adults, in their majority, had to do with the occult. they were usually about witchcraft and vampires (which are very similar to demons to me), but not in the way i am used to seeing such stories, because in these novels the witches, warlocks and vampires were not necessarily all evil, sure many of were, but there were some good ones too. this caught my attention, since we live in a day and age in which nothing is completely bad or good.

as i looked at these tittles it seemed to me that the message in these books is that if you really get to know the devil and his demons you will sympathize with him and learn that he is not all that bad, that there really is some good to him and that he adds some good to our existence.

now i admit that i have not read any of these books, therefore i am only speaking according to what others have told me, and what I have gathered from book reviews, commentaries and interviews with the authors. the popularity of these books is something that surprises me. in brasil a magazine of literature and arts which discusses trends especially among teenagers and young adults, named some of these books as the reason for an increased interest in books. these stories seem to be so powerful and so engaging that even those who usually do not enjoy reading books seem interested all of a sudden.

it seems to me that these books develop a sympathy for the devil, and what seemed to be evil a little while ago is not so bad now, you just have to understand it, to see things from a different perspective.

my fear is that as evil becomes less bad, sin will become less sinful, and little by little we eliminate any need for the cross and Jesus’ atoning sacrifice.

please share with me your thoughts on this matter.

Our Identity

this is something i have been working on for a while and it is by no means finished. i am posting it hoping for comments and reactions that may help make it more meaningful. this poem is made up entirely of scriptures. parts of it are paraphrased,and i made the verses available in case you wish to look any of them up.
this poem is an attempt to create an image from the new testament of what a christian aught to be, more specifically the remnant christians who will be proclaiming the Gospel in the last days of this world. please comment.
i know it looks long but it will not take long to read.

Who are we?
We are Christians,
More than that we are The Remnant
We keep the commandments of God
We have the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17b)
We overcome by the blood of the Lamb (Rev 12:11)
Our faith rests not on man’s wisdom
but on God’s power. (1 Cor. 2:5)
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show (2 Cor. 4:7a)
We speak of God’s secret wisdom,
a wisdom that has been hidden
and that God has destined for our glory before time began.(1 Cor. 2:7)

We live by faith, not by sight.(2Cor. .5:7)
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal. (2 cor. 4:18)
We are always on our guard,
standing in the faith,
men and women of courage,
we are strong.
and most importantly,
we do everything in love. (1 Cor. 16:13)
We make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification. (Rom. 14:19)
With a spirit of faith
we believe and therefore speak,
we know that the One who raised the Jesus from the dead will also raise us. (2Cor.4:13)

Through God's mercy we have this ministry,
we do not lose heart. (2Cor 4:1)
To be more precise,
we have renounced secret and shameful ways;
we do not use deception,
nor do we distort the Word of God. (2Cor. 4:2)
Weather we eat or drink,
or whatever we do,
we do it all for the glory of God.(1 Cor. 10:31)

We do not preach ourselves,
but Jesus Christ as Lord,
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.(2 Cor.4:5)
We want others to follow our example,
as we follow the example of Christ. (1 Cor. 11:1)
We are Christ's ambassadors,
imagine God making His appeal through us. (2Cor. 5:20)
for we are the temple of the living God. (2Cor. 6:16)
what fellowship can light have with darkness?(2Cor. 6:14b)
We have been crucified with Christ
so we no longer live,
but Christ lives in us. (Gal. 2:20a)
We died to sin;
how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:2)
We count ourselves dead to sin
but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 6:11)
God always leads us into victory in Christ
and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.
We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved
and those who are perishing.
To the one we are the smell of death;
to the other, the fragrance of life.
Unlike so many,
we do not market the word of God for profit.
On the contrary,
in Christ we speak before God with sincerity,
like men and women sent from God.(2 Cor. 2:14-17)

We stand firm.
Letting nothing move us.
Always giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
Because we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58)
Though we live in the world,
we do not wage war as the world does.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
No, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (2Cor.10:3-4)

We advance with great endurance;
in troubles, hardships and distresses;
in beatings, imprisonments and riots;
in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;
in purity, understanding, patience and kindness;
in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;
in truthful speech and in the power of God;
with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; (2 Cor. 6:4-7)
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk
but of power. (1 Cor. 4:20)
This all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2Cor 4:7b)
We are hard pressed on every side,
but not crushed;
perplexed,
but not in despair;
persecuted,
but not abandoned;
struck down,
but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Cor. 4:8-10)
Woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel. (1 Cor. 9:16b)
For Christ's sake,
we delight in weaknesses,
in insults,
in hardships,
in persecutions,
in difficulties.

For when we are weak, then we are strong.(2 Cor. 12:10)

We do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4:16)

We are a letter from Christ
His words are written on our hearts,
known and read by everybody.
You can see the result of our ministry,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone
but on tablets of human hearts. (2Chor 3:2-3)

Our competence comes from God. (2 Cor.3:5b)

We are sometimes under great pressure,
far beyond our ability to endure,
at times we despair even of life,
and in our hearts we feel the sentence of death.
But this happens that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,
Who raises the dead. (2 Cor.1:8b-9)
On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us.
Therefore, (2 Cor. 1:10b)
We always press on,
Through glory and dishonor,
bad report and good report;
We are genuine,
yet regarded as impostors;
known,
yet regarded as unknown;
dying,
and yet we live on;
beaten,
and yet not killed;
sorrowful,
yet always rejoicing;
poor,
yet making many rich;
having nothing,
and yet possessing everything. (2 Cor. .6:8-10)
We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ (1 Cor. 9:12b)
We who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,
so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body.
So then, death is at work in us,
but life is at work in you. (2Cor.4:11-12)
We are not ashamed of the gospel,
Because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone ho believes. (Rom 1:16)
We understand that everything is permissible for us –
but not everything is beneficial.
everything is permissible for us –
but we will not be mastered by anything. (1 Cor. 6:12)
I tell you,
Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 3:7)
now is the time of God's favor,
now is the day of salvation.(2 Cor.. 6:2b)
On Christ's behalf we beg you:
Be reconciled to God.(2 Cor.. 5:20b)

We do all this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (2 Cor. 4:15)

We hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
For He Who promised is faithful.(Heb. 10:23)
For it is written:
No eye has seen,
nor ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for us who love Him.( 1 Cor.. 2:9)
If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31b)

In view of God’s mercy,
we offer our bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God
as our spiritual act of worship.
We do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. (Rom 12:1-2)
We hate what is evil;
but cling to what is good
We are joyful in hope,
patient in affliction,
and faithful in prayer. (Rom 12:9,12)
We are not overcome with evil,
rather, we overcome evil with good. (Rom 12:21)
If we live,
we live to the Lord;
If we die,
we die to the Lord.
Therefore, whether we live or die,
we, belong to the Lord. (Rom 14:8)
In all these things –
trouble,
hardship,
persecution,
famine,
nakedness,
danger,
sword,
– we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. (Rom. 8:35,37)
We rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character;
and character, hope. (Rom.5:3-4)

exposure to my taste in music

salvation

since this is my first blog, i decided to start with the basics. this blog will allow you to get a glimpse of my core beliefs. this is summarized, but i think i covered the most important points related to salvation according to the Bible.

Sin originated in heaven with Lucifer coveting the status of God (Isa. 14:13-14). However, sin did not affect the Earth until Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:5-6). From this point on Adam and Eve were doomed to die because God said if they ate the forbidden fruit they would die (Gen. 2:17).

We can see that sin is a legal problem, because its wages is death (Romans 6:23). However, sin is also a relational problem because it separates us from God, this is why Adam and Eve hid from God (Gen. 3:8), and now we can no longer face God for our sins hide His face from us (Isa. 59:2). Finally sin is also a governmental problem since sin is rebellion against God and His government, against His laws (1 John 3:4), therefore "he who sins is of the devil" (1 John 3:8), for the reason that the devil claimed that God was an unjust ruler, and that it was impossible to keep His laws.

Due to the first two humans sinning we are condemned to die for "in Adam all die" (1Cor.15:22), because that was the consequence of eating of the fruit from the forbidden tree. Because Adam plunged humanity into rebellion against God and His government, we are predisposed to disobey God's laws from birth (Ps. 51:5). This is why we face the struggle mentioned in Romans 7:21-25. Though we are not born guilty of sin, we are born with a tendency to sin, that is to disobey God rather then obey Him.

Thankfully, God has a solution for this problem, Jesus is the solution.
The same way that all of humanity was doomed to die in Adam, in Jesus we can all be saved (1Cor.21-22). Not meaning that we were physically or spiritually inside of Jesus, but rather that He paid the wages of sin, He died for us, that is, in our place.

God has to punish sin in order to save His government. Sending Jesus to die for us is how God chose to save us without encouraging more rebellion. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

In order to understand how salvation works, we must understand the Sanctuary. The sinner comes voluntarily to the sanctuary, confesses his sins while laying his hands on the head of the lamb transferring his sins to the innocent lamb (Lev 4:4,24). Thus the sinner is separated from the sin, an exchange is made, and the lamb is sacrificed fulfilling the penalty for sin. The sacrificial substitute must die in the sinner's place, then the sinner must depend on the priest who represents the sinner, to complete the process (Lev.4-5).

We are the sinners, and Christ is the Lamb, who died for our sins, and the Priest who makes the atonement (Heb.4:15; 7; 9:7,15), thus the law is fulfilled.

Even though the price was paid for sin and the legal part has been taken care of, we need have to have faith in order to be saved (Eph.2:8).

According to John 3:16, whosoever believes (has faith) in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. However, it is not just any faith, we must have faith in God (Mark 11:32), and a faith that works outwardly (James 2:14). We must have a practical faith that does what God wills despite our feelings or thoughts (Heb.11).

This is the subjective part, this is what affects our personal lives, we must practice righteousness (1 John 3:7, 1 Tim 6:11-12), salvation is a real experience. Nevertheless, there is a future part to salvation, when we are taken heaven, where God has prepared new homes for us (John 14:1-3, Rev. 1:6; 21:4; 22:12).