August 15, 2025 -- Psalm 113:7b -- lifted from the ash heap

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

and lifts the needy from the ash heap…     Psalm 113:7b
 
To sit in ashes can mean one is mourning. When Job’s children were all killed in one terrible and tragic day, and then his body was covered with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head (Job 2:7) he sat in the ashes. Job was described as a righteous man. By way of contrast, when a man chases sin and indulges his addictions, he will find himself sitting in ashes. Or, when one is betrayed by those who were close to him, he might describe himself as sitting in ashes. Those who are vulnerable and forgotten in our society might describe their lives as lived in ashes. I had one friend who described his girlfriend this way, “I’d like you to meet my girlfriend. She is a bit of a dumpster fire.” It is a very descriptive expression. Many months later they broke up. Looking from the outside, you’d readily describe their lives as heaps of ashes.
 
In Psalm 113, the writer begins by saying, “Praise the LORD” (verse 1) and then follows up with “Blessed be the Name of the LORD (verse 2). One of the reasons for this summons to praise is that the LORD lifts the needy from the ash heap. How does He do this?

• Our sins deserved the full punishment of God poured out on them. When a believers turns to Jesus, he learns his sins (past, present and future) have all been fully punished upon the Person of Jesus at the cross. No wonder believers celebrate the cross as both the place of Jesus’ humiliation and the place of great glory for believers. In a very real sense, believers are lifted from the ashes of punishment and ruin.

• Believers, lifted up in Christ, are transformed. The Spirit of God gives the fruit of the Spirit. Inside out men and women are so transformed that all their relationships change. The hard work of being reconciled can commence. Granted, reconciliation one Christian to another Christian should be easier; however, even a believer will strive, in so far as it is possible for him, to live at peace with others.

• Believers are lifted from the ash heap. In our world today success is measured by money, sex, status, adulation and so on. But those who are in Christ know the greatest measure of success is one’s union with Jesus. True blessedness and joy are found in a life that is lived for Jesus.

• There is a warning as well. The Bible is written for the people of God. His people read it and if their lives do not match what is described, they are given a solemn command to repent. Change their ways. Turn away from the fires of lust and lava of greed and molten entanglements of worldliness. It is easy to blame God for one’s troubles when it is in fact a backsliding heart which leads people from glory to ashes.

• Believers are lifted from the ash heap. When one is serving Jesus, trials and troubles, temptations and torments have lost their power over believers. Believers have holy purpose. One’s life, long or short, rich or poor, fruitful or lean, has the great purpose of serving Jesus. What might look hard and charred to worldly people, is in fact a life lived as a sacrifice of praise to God, served expending oneself with holy purpose which in the end receives God’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your Master” Matthew 25:21.

 
Father in heaven, blessed are You. You are the Source of all good. Thank You that you lift ruined sinners from the ash heap and place them in fellowship with Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Thank You, faithful Father, for the work of Your Spirit, Who applies the warnings of Scripture and stops momentum of the backslider, restoring him to fellowship with Jesus. Thank You Father, for the Spirit Who brings the believer life and joy and hope and peace. Thank You, Spirit of God, for fueling and empowering this new life to take shape so that in every part, the believer, even one encountering hardship, can live praising Jesus. Spirit of Comfort, help the despairing, lonely, pained believer this day; move each one of us, Spirit of Comfort, to extend holy comfort and encouragement to those around us who are in need of it. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/NT4IvKk8Yko?si=h_C_i8gb9FjCTwrJ “Come, Thou Almighty King”
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

August 12, 2025 -- John 15:4 -- From homelessness to homed in Christ

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Abide in me, and I in you.   John 15:4 ESV
 
Many of the incarcerated men who attend my Bible Studies are the same people who wind up in homeless shelters after their release. There are many reasons for it:

• family members have after years of trying to help, have given up, and there is no where to go

• where the men are released is no where close to their home communities, sometimes not even their home province and they have no money to get back

• poverty

• past crime cycles have so exhausted the resources of family, friends, there is no home left to go to

• Christian community seems out of reach (unfamiliarity with the practice of going to church, not knowing any local churches, not feeling worthy, no transportation, no appropriate clothing, no disciple-making mentors to guide them, etc).

 
As a Christian who grew up in a loving home, who was part of a strong Christian church, homeless is bewildering to me. It remains so. Though I have for more than 20+ years dealt with homelessness as a foster parent. It was painful when youths graduated out of the foster care system with no supports except welfare. Now as a prison visiting pastor I am constantly confronted with homelessness. It is a massive, complex, many faceted problem.
 
I have been reading “Beyond Homelessness”, and here is a quotation that grabs me, spiritually, and inspires renewed hope.
     For Henri Nouwen, the Christian life is a journey from the house of fear to the
     house of love. As Jesus indicates in John 15, the house of love is a place of intimacy,
     fecundity, and ecstasy. But Nouwen describes our times as an age of homelessness:
     “Probably no word better summarizes the suffering of our time than the word ‘homeless.’
     It reveals one of our deepest and most painful conditions, the condition of not having a
     sense of belonging, of not having a place where we can feel safe, cared for, protected
     and loved.” In contrast, Jesus offers us a home: “In my father’s house there are many
     dwelling places,” and “Abide in me as I abide in you” (John 14:2; John 15:4). This home
     is a “place or space where we do not have to be afraid but can let go of our defenses
     and be free, free from worries, free from tensions, free from pressures…Home is where
     we can rest and be healed.” Whatever else the sojourning Christian community is (and
     there are many kinds and shapes and sizes), it is an embodiment, frail and fragile to be
     sure, of the love of God in Christ.
     Steven Bouma-Prediger, Brian Walsh, Beyond Homelessness. Grand Rapids: Wm B.
     Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008. Page 300-301
 
It seems to me so many who are in church pews have themselves experienced homelessness. Becoming a Christian has isolated them from family. Becoming a Christian means their circle of friends changed. Activities shared pre-Christ are now a violation of what it means to be in Christ. Jobs required moves to new locales. Christians, of all people, know the pain of spiritual homelessness and therefore, of all people, must be the most passionate and urgent and persistent in welcoming strangers into the place of rest and healing, the local church. The place where Christ is the Head and the Spirit applies Jesus’ reconciling work such that strangers become family and know themselves to be dearly loved sons and daughters of God. Ultimately that is the move from the house of fear to the house of love.
 
Father in heaven, thank You for Your love so rich and full. Thank You for Jesus, through Whom we intimately and intensely know Your love and discover ourselves to be home. Thank You Spirit of the Living God for grafting us into Christ so that rich or poor, sick or well, young or old, we know all things come to us not by chance but from Your Fatherly hand. Teach us, as those who are given home, safety, and protection in Christ to be a refuge to the rootless, homeless ones in our local communities. As we abide in You, Lord Jesus, cause us to be bold witnesses and evangelists to what it means to be in Christ, home, safe, welcomed, loved. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/05jKxv8ApuI?si=gPWpX7bN9eKYvWtP My worth is not in what I own
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

August 11, 2025 -- John 20:30-31 -- Why read the Bible?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:30-31 ESV
 
Why should believers read the Bible? This passage helps us understand. Here are some of the reasons we read the word:

• It connects you to Jesus.

• It is the only weapon to go with on the offensive against the enemy.

• It is comfort to the heart, mind and soul

• It is the Spirit Who makes the deep things of God known to you.

• It is richer and better and sweeter the more you read it and contemplate upon it.

• It is the source for effective praying—as you read the Psalms and read the prayers of the saints and the prayers of Christ the Captain of your salvation.

 
Spirit of the Living God, draw me to the Bible this day. As I read it, may Jesus Christ and Who He Is be to me clearer, nearer, and dearer. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/a6LC8cu03Ig?si=EkbcYgXG8EQwDIym Thy Word
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

August 9, 2025 -- John 14:26 -- The Holy Spirit -- the True Comforter

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 14:26 ESV
 
The word “Helper” is often translated as “the Comforter”. A friend gave me a multi-volume collection of C. H. Spurgeon sermons. I have been thoroughly enjoying them. His comments on the Helper, or Comforter, are striking. Please note, in the past it was common to refer to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost. Spurgeon uses that expression for the Spirit in this quotation.
 
“And first, we will remark, that God the Holy Ghost is a very loving Comforter. I am in distress, and I want consolation. Some passer-by hears of my sorrow, and he steps within, sits down, and essays to cheer me; he speaks soothing words, but he loves me not; he is a stranger; he knows me not at all; he has only comes in to try his skill. And what is the consequence? His words run o’er me like oil upon a slab of marble; they are like the pattering rain upon the rock; they do not break my grief; it stands unmoved as adamant, because he no love for me. But let some one who loves me dear as his own life, come and plead with me, then truly his words are music; they taste like honey: he knows the password of the doors of my heart, and my ear is attentive to every word: I catch the intonation of each syllable as it falls, for it is like the harmony of the harps of heaven. Oh! there is a voice in love, it speaks a language which is its own: it has an idiom and a brogue which none can mimic; wisdom cannot imitate it; oratory cannot attain unto it; it is love alone which can reach the mourning heart; love is the only handkerchief which can wipe the mourner’s tears away. And is not the Holy Ghost a loving comforter? Dost thou know, O saint, how much the Holy Spirit love thee?”
C.H. Spurgeon, “The Comforter” Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol. 1 - 2, Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Eleventh Printing 2023, page 73
 
Joy
 
O Christ ! All thy ways of mercy tend to and end in my delight,
Thou didst weep, sorrow, suffer that I might rejoice.
For my joy Thou hast sent the Comforter,
multiplied thy promises, shown me my future happiness,
given me a living fountain.
Thou art preparing joy for me and me for joy;
I pray for joy, wait for joy, long for joy;
give me more than I can hold, desire, or think of.
Measure out to me my times and degrees of joy,
at my work, business, duties.
If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning.
Let me rest in the thought of thy love, pardon for sin,
my title to heaven, my future unspotted state.
I am an unworthy recipient of Thy grace.
I often disesteem thy blood and slight thy love,
but can in repentance draw water from the wells of Thy joyous forgiveness.
Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath,
where the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation,
glorification is finished and perfected for ever,
where thou wilt rejoice over me with joy.
There is no joy like the joy of heaven, for in that state are no sad divisions,
unchristian quarrels, contentions, evil designs,
weariness, hunger, cold, sadness, sin, suffering,
persecutions, toils of duty.
O healthful place where none are sick!
O happy land where all are kings!
O holy assembly where all are priests!
How free a state where none are servants except to thee!
Bring me speedily to the land of joy.
“Joy” The Valley of Vision
 
https://youtu.be/kDYjn-YdnD4?si=HHySEICBaYXGzXEg Holy Spirit Living Breath of God
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

August 6, 2026 -- Ephesians 5:18 -- Be filled with the Holy Spirit...how?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…
Ephesians 5:18 ESV
 
Much of my in-prison and in-community work with Redemption Prison Ministry involves meeting with men who are struggling with addiction. Interestingly enough, those who are incarcerated are often far more open and honest about their addictions and their spiritual struggles than are my Christian peers who occupy the pews of local churches.
 
Drunkenness includes addiction to alcohol, that is obvious and clearly stated, but people can be drunk with power. With anger. With gossip. With envy. Sin is an addictive drug. Debauchery is a word rarely used in general conversation. It is appropriately descriptive. It includes sexual lust, passions, adultery, pornography and so on. Sins that are rampant in our world today…and likely not nearly confessed often enough among our church members today. Once again, it is a testimony to the work of the Holy Spirit that those who are gripped by the grace of Jesus Christ realize their sinfulness and confess it, seeking to be emptied of sin and filled to overflowing with the goodness of our God.
 
Paul is making the point that it is critical for those who have been cleansed by the atoning blood of Christ—their mind and heart, now emptied of the trash of sin and the vileness of debauchery—not remain empty. The bible calls for believers to be filled with the Spirit so that they will be connected to Jesus Christ, Who is living water welling up within them.
 
Sinclair Ferguson has a clear-sighted interpretation of that command: “be filled”. I am using his material and adding to it.

1. To be filled is to be an on-going reality for every day. It is not once and done proposition. It is a day in and day out experience that should be evident in the life of a Christian. One who is filled in this way is connected to Jesus, His life coursing through one’s mind, one’s heart, one’s intentions, one’s plans.

2. To be filled with the Spirit is a command to be obeyed. Do you pray to be filled? Do you seek the Spirit with zeal? Do you read the bible, expecting to be filled? Do you meet with other Christians longing for this truth to be fulfilled in you?

3. To be filled with the Spirit is a gift of God to be received. That means your attitude and posture must be one of receptivity. If you are focused every where else other than on God and His rich blessings, then gift of being filled be not be received

Sinclair Ferguson, Let’s Study Ephesians.
 
How are you doing on that check list? Are you seeking to be Spirit-filled? Praying to be Spirit-filled? Are you receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit? Do you conscientiously remove from your life all sinful and wicked actions which would hinder such filling? If you are struggling to understand what is keeping you dry, seek the advice of a trusted Christian brother or sister who knows you well enough to be honest and cherishes you enough to be patient and gentle in answering you.
 
Who is like You, O God, steadfast in mercy and in love? There is no one in the farthest cosmos or in the depths who is like You—You are great and worthy of all our praise. Thank You for the life that is ours in Christ. Thank You for the wonderful gift of the Spirit. Mighty God, fill us to overflowing with Your Spirit so that sin will be what it truly is repugnant to us and like a vile stench driving us away from it; fill us so that we desire more of Christ; fill us so that we will with open hands of gratitude receive the gift of Christ and His love which in turn leads us to know You, our Good Father. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/KLTu1xv2-Us?si=ZBuXZJkJcOz708iA O the Deep Love of Jesus
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

August 5, 2025 -- John 1:14 & 15:7-11 -- Home and Jesus

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 ESV
 
 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
John 15:7-11 ESV
 
“The Word of God—this creative, calling, engendering, blessing and powerful Word—takes on flesh. This is a Word of love, and love must be embodied: it must take place somewhere and in some time.
“And not only does this Word take on flesh, it tabernacles, or tents, among us. It moves into the neighborhood and makes a home with us. So when Jesus later invites his disciples to ‘abide’ in him and in his love, he is inviting them to a reciprocity of relationship (John 15:7-11). He is, in effect, saying: ‘I have come to abide with you; I have come to make my home with you. Let’s do that together. Come and make your home with me.’ Love of this kind permeates the Gospels because it characterizes the God to whom Jesus bears witness and the Jesus in whom God is personally present.”
“The Indwelling God and the Sojourning Community” Beyond Homelessness, page 277^.
 
We live in a world that is constantly on the move. Mobile. Changing jobs. Changing cities. Changing homes. What is the one thread of consistency in our lives? For the Christian it is the among-us-living Jesus. He is making His home among us and we build our lives on Him. Wherever we are, whenever we meet with other Christians we have a home-coming. There we can sigh and know we are with family—those who like us, have been adopted by God, brought in from the world of sin and darkness and given the righteousness of Jesus Christ in Him with others walk in the light of life. What a glorious relief that is. What a haven of safety.
 
^Steven Bouma-Prediger and Brian Walsh. Beyond Homelessness Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008, page 277
 
O LORD our God, our hearts are restless until they find true rest in You. Thank You for the glorious gift of Jesus, Who makes His home among us. Thank You for the glorious gift of the Christian community, among whom we discern Jesus’ presence. Thank You for the glorious gift of home with Jesus, which begins now and stretches into eternity, in the New Heaven and New Earth. Spirit of the Living God, seal in us the blessed work of Jesus so that our lives and our residences become Jesus-filled-homes for fellow, weary travelers. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/8wfhhFHMgxY?si=MoFakCi7FzZbihRw Jesus is Mine

 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 30, 2025 -- Psalm 119:35 -- Not get this quick, but daily faithfulness

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Psalm 119:35 ESV
 
If you type “get rich quick” into your search engine, you’ll find there are pages and pages of books for sale, websites, videos, and scheme galore. How to lose weight, fast. Again, you can endlessly scroll through pages, websites, videos and self-help books. There are all kinds of short-cuts available to do this or get that done. Fix your marriage. Gullible people are aiming for short-cuts in every area of life.
 
The Bible offers a striking contrast. For 176 verses, the psalmist is dedicating himself to the path of the Lord, to His rules and precepts. While the world is calling for quick fixes, he realized that a long-steady, faithful journey in obedient service to Jesus Christ is the only way to live a fulfilled and blessed life.
 
Consider God’s pattern. There is a season of dormancy: winter. There is a season for warmth and planting and growth: Spring. A season for fruit and vegetables as the summer sun does its work in ripening fruit: summer. A time for preparing for harvest and preparing for the season of winter: Fall. Year in. Year out. Decade in. Decade out. Century in. Century out. God lovingly works His creation and cares for His people who are born, live and die. And the seasons continue. A constant, regular, steady display of His faithfulness.
 
Dear people of God, allow God to lead you. Read your bible. Pray every day. Attend church. Listen to preachers who know the word and can explain it clearly. Daily put into practice the commandments so that you will walk the path of God’s commandments. Day in. Day out. Week in. Week out. Month in. Month out. You’ll find that the pattern of obedience to Jesus Christ lived out in this way does indeed bring great delight.
 
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
Psalm 119:33 ESV
 
https://youtu.be/FSHe-kibZDg?si=QMigMTa90oUQRntQ “Teach Me Thy Way”
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 29, 2025 -- Psalm 119:33 -- Teach me, O LORD

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
Psalm 119:33 ESV
 
There is an urgency in this verse. The Psalmist prays in the imperative voice teach me! He requires the help of the Holy Spirit and the instruction of God’s written rules to be impressed on his heart. There are so many temptations in life and peer pressures which attempt to pull him from his obedience to God. At verse 25 he’d noted that his soul clings to the dust. He feels the pull towards the cravings of his sinful humanity. Unless the teaching of the LORD stands as a barrier between him and his inclination to wrongdoing, he will, as he noted in verse 29, go down a false way.
 
Recently, as I was teaching at Teen Challenge, one of the men commented, “In the bible the writers are so open about their sins and the challenges they face in life. Why don’t I hear this kind of talk in my local church?” What a great question. What an honest question that is. I wonder if regular church goers are afraid to be honest. I wonder if churchgoers have put on niceness and forgotten the fact their old nature is totally depraved. Though now a new creation in Christ, there are still in the world all around them, temptations arising within their own hearts, and alluring temptations fired at them from the demonic realms. Men who are in recovery have this preached to them all the time, but when they leave recovery, it seems the life of Christ and the required self-denial is not mentioned nearly often enough in Christian churches.
 
How frightening church can be for those who are aware of their sin, aware of the Savior’s reconciling blood by which their sins have been punished in His Person at the cross and believers are given His righteousness. Yet they do not find the soul’s hard struggle to stay pure and walk in holiness reflected among the well-dressed people in the pews. Jesus taught such a high level of required obedience, even if to look lustfully, is to commit adultery. One who hates a brother in his hearts, is a murderer. It would appear to strangers church people do not struggle at all. King David, whom the bible describes as a man after God’s own heart, wrote, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” Psalm 51:3. No wonder the psalmist cries out to God, “teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes.” The bible is far more honest and revealing of the heart’s condition than many religious people allow. Obviously, this lesson must be repeated and emphasized so that such open awareness of one’s waywardness is matched by the experience of His gracious correction and instruction and communal walking in obedience. Precious Christian, be aware that your soul’s struggle is reflected in the Bible. Be assured, there are fellow Christians who hear your pain, know your struggles and desire to walk in real, deep fellowship with you.
 
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes,
and I will keep it to the end. Psalm 119:33
 
https://youtu.be/FSHe-kibZDg?si=urLIDFWyMzCsiVjD Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 28, 2025 -- Matthew 2:13-14 -- Jesus, the Ultimate Displaced Person

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt…
Matthew 2:13-14 ESV
 
Have you ever considered the fact that Jesus was a displaced person (DP)? His parents, in compliance with the decree of Caesar Augustus that the Roman world be enrolled in the census, went from their hometown to Bethlehem to be registered. They lived in Bethlehem for a while after Jesus’ birth, but then His family had to flee to Egypt. The local king of the region, threatened by the news of the birth of a potential rival to his power, was about to put all the male children, two years old and younger, to death. After a time in Egypt, the holy family went to Israel again. Then were internally displaced, fleeing to Nazareth. It was a place where Jewish people mixed with Gentile people. It was a town in which the “pure” Jewish people were despised. Being a DP means:

• Jesus’ family struggled to find food that complied with Jewish laws for clean food (as was required by the extensive laws of Leviticus)

• Jesus’ family did not have extensive family ties in the area, something very important in that culture for the celebration of festivals.

• Jesus’ family would have been hated by the Jews, because Jesus was born less than nine month after his parents’ wedding. The Gentiles of the region would have hated them because they were Jewish.

There are various measures sociologists use to determine life stresses. The top five are: the death of a loved one, the divorce, moving, major illness, job loss. Add to that, becoming a DP is a huge life stressor, contributing to depression, anxiety, PTSD and so on. DP people are often caught in poverty and face discrimination. This means that Jesus endured the hardest of life’s experiences, He can identify with you and with me.
 
We live in a culture where people are always on the move. People move for jobs. People move from place to place because of poverty. Even those who are in their home region note that home has changed because of our mobile culture. Technology means that people are more media connected, but far less relationship connected. Jesus, the ultimate DP, understands. Pour out your heart to Him.
 
Today’s prayer is Psalm 139:1-12. Read it slowly. Pray it realizing how truly God understands the rootlessness of your life and upheaval your experience.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.
 
https://youtu.be/F2tKVqZZiI4?si=4couVfxd7j0D1YuV Turn Your Eyes/The Glorious Christ
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 24, 2025 -- Psalm 27:5 -- The Secret Place and Prayer

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.
Psalm 27:5 ESV
 
Sometimes passages like this have become familiar to me in different bible translations. I am not sure why, but this verse I remember from the King James Version: “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.” It resonates for me as I think of the use of “secret places” in reference to Jesus. He went to lonely places, to wilderness places to pray. Jesus went to secret places, to pray as in His humanity He was seeking on-going intimacy with His Father in heaven.
 
In Matthew 6, Jesus taught on prayer. Believers pray in secret. The Father Who sees you praying in secret rewards you openly. The best and greatest reward is to know God as one’s loving Father Who has given the extravagant gift of salvation in Christ. Such prayer is evidence of the Spirit at work in the life of the believer. Prompting the believer to pray. Leading the believers to lonely, secret places where one can find loneliness is thrown down in the light of His presence.
 
Does prayer “work”? That is the question many ask. Some pray for healing, but do not get better. Some pray for improved financial stability and their finances tank. Okay then, what is prayer all about? From earliest days, the picture of prayer is one of intimacy with God. He Who made you, knows what is best for you. He knows why and for what He designed you. Even before you were saved, He prepared for you good works which you will accomplish when you are in Christ. From that place of intimacy with God you will have the strength and the desire to submit to His will and do as He commands. Prayer works because it connects you to God.
 
Dear Father in heaven, what a marvelous truth it is, that You have given me life and You desire to have fellowship with me. In fact, You desire fellowship with all believers who are Yours through Jesus Christ. Spirit of the Living God, what a glorious task You have, to teach us to pray, to lead us to intimacy with our Father through our union with Jesus. Spirit of God, quiet my mind. Clear out all the rushing words and crowding thoughts, so that in the stillness of secret time alone, I may learn to delight in God my Savior. Lead my heart to daily rejoicing in the contemplation of Christ. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/SQgNH-4NF0Q?si=Slq3TBnG_Sc1eXfA Beautiful Savior
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 22, 2025 -- John 15:18-19 -- Crash helmets? Check. Life-preservers? Check. Okay, now preach the Gospel

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 15:18-19 ESV
 
Every day North American Christians have a decision to make. Will we cozy up to the culture and stay relatively safe, or will we deeply live out our faith? That means welcoming the outcast, meeting the untouchables of society? One of my favorite quotations related to the missionary endeavors of the church comes from Annie Dillard. She spent some time as a teenager in the church, but to my knowledge, is not a practising Christian. Listen to what she writes:
On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently
sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of
power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of
it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets,
mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear
ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash
helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash
us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or
the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.”
Annie Dillard, from Teaching a Stone to Talk
 

• What if a murder, who really committed that crime, paid their debt to society by time spent in prison, becomes a Christians while incarcerated, what if such a man wanted to join your church?

• What if Muslim, who lives five doors down from you, were to radically encounter Jesus and learning that you are a Christian, ask to join you in your church? His family is furious. They are angry with him, and angry with the church body taking him in. There will be consequences.

 
It seems to me that church today has become gentrified. We are insensible to the depths of the raging conflict “out there” in the world. We read about it in missionary blogs and reports. But then it is safely a half a world away. We hear of persecution in the church, but that is usually reported in countries we don’t have on our cruise itineraries or in our vacation brochures.
 
Does the world really hate you as a Christian? Do fellow Christians get uneasy around you and push back against you? If not, I guess my question is, where have you compromised the Gospel to the point that you do not expect God the Warrior to do as He has always done:

• to the exiting Israelites adding heaps of hated Egyptians, who have joined the believing community. Can you imagine the chaos that would cause? Talk about having to overcome hatred of one’s enemies;

• to the conquering Israelites, adding Rahab the prostitute and her family;

• to the young Christian church adding Cornelius, the man who gave alms, but is a ranking officer in the Roman Army, the oppressors;

• to the church rocked by persecution and imprisonment adding the apostle Paul, who himself prior to becoming a Christian was Saul. As Saul he had killed and imprisoned so many that any gathering of believers likely had someone in their family or extended circle of friends who had been personally affected by Saul, now Paul. And he’s preaching!

 
But brothers and sisters, we are not of the world. When Christ called us His Own, He remade us. What we once were is not what we are. Knowing the greatness of His salvation, the on-going renovation of your soul in holiness, get ready, welcome other refugees from the tyranny of the world. If you are not prepared to be who you are called to be in Christ, stop praying for revival. God will bring despicable to your doorstep. Who else is there? Sin makes us despicable. If you are not prepared to minister to people who have all kinds of needs, wounds, traumas and baggage, stop praying empty pious words.
 
But, you, who are in Christ, rouse yourself. Don the life preservers. Strap yourself to the mast of Christ’s salvation and throw life-preservers to the drowning people of this world and brace yourself to draw them in against the wind, the storms (and keep going even against the howling protests of those next to you in the pews who will say, “but they will change us. They will affect our comfortable life in the pews.”) It will get ugly. And it will be glorious. What glory there is for those who are saved. What joy there is for the ones privileged by the Spirit of God to bring in wounded and weary souls into the glory of the Kingdom of God. You are not of the world, you are Christ’s. You have been chosen by Christ to come out from the world and serve Him and be hated by the world.
 
Faithful Father, thank You for the life that is ours in Christ. Thank You for faithful parents, Sunday School teachers, neighbours, chaplains and evangelists who went to the highways and alleys of this world and rescued us from the depths of our depravities. Spirit of God, rouse us from our slumber and lethargy and give us holy boldness and courage to welcome all those whom the Father has given unto Christ as the prize of His atoning work. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/dHLikbLXQ8E?si=FbAljrVaGcOpMVCr Not What These Hands Have Done
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 20, 2025 -- Psalm 27:7-9a -- Seek the LORD--invitation and command

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
Hide not your face from me.
Psalm 27:7-9a ESV
 
Today is Sunday. I’m wishing every one of you a blessed Sunday. Listen to the invitation and the command issued in these verses. The Psalmist is asking God to hear him when he cries out to the LORD his God. Look at the response of God. He commands the petitioner: seek! my face! It is imperative. It is a requirement. It demands that the one who cries to the LORD will get motivated, rousing himself from laziness to activity.
 
The response of the psalmist is wonderful. He responds immediately in his heart. The heart is the place where he makes the most important decisions of his life and having made them, acts on them. The psalmist responds that he will seek the LORD. The sense here is not that such seeking is a once-a-day quick prayer action. The seeking of the LORD requires intentionality through-out the day. Seeking the LORD means one is focused on Him and desiring Him above all other activities or things in life. Seek the LORD today!

• Get to church today.

• Spend time in prayer.

• Look for Christian friends and talk about God.

• Through-out the day ask yourself, in what I am doing now, am I seeking the LORD?

  
  Thank You, Gracious Father, for both the command to seek You and the promise that You will be found by those who seek You^. Thank You for the open gathering of Your people at churches and secret meetings of Your people in places of persecution. Spirit of God, assist Your people to seek for Jesus with whole-hearted determination so that through union with Him we are brought to the Father. O LORD, You are the Light and Salvation of Your people, no other treasure is as precious and glorious as knowing You. Amen.
  ^Jeremiah 29:13
  https://youtu.be/FcD9uhRC3Ew?si=zPWGRYfD2VaPclDs Go Light Your World
   

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 19, 2025 -- Psalm 105:4-5 -- Remember the judgments He uttered. Curious? Read on.

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Seek the LORD and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
Psalm 105:4-5 ESV

Why should the people of God, who have sought Him and His strength and His presence, remember the judgments He uttered? The Psalm spends much time expounding that very theme. The canvas is the judgment of the LORD against Egypt. God made a covenant with Abraham, that one day his descendants would possess the land. Abraham never saw that promised fulfilled in his life-time. The LORD however, Who is from everlasting to everlasting, never forgets His promises. As the people of God remember God's judgments and the ways in which He fulfills everyone of them, they are brought to their knees in worship.

The LORD rendered judgment against the brothers of Joseph for selling him into slavery. Yet God also showed mercy to the whole house of Israel. What the brothered intended for evil, God intended for good. The brothers were culpable for their wickedness in selling Joseph into slavery, but Joseph saw the hand of God in all the events that happened. In a very dramatic, beautiful scene of reconciliation, Joseph forgave his brothers.

The LORD judged Egypt for her sins. The plagues are referenced, each one was an opportunity for the people of Egypt (from Pharaoh to down to the serving girl) to repent of their sins and set Israel free. Stubbornly Pharaoh led his people to refuse the command of God until the LORD ravaged the land because of the hardness of their hearts. Still, the LORD brought His people out with joy (verse 43a). There is an additional line, a parallelism which highlights the greater mercy of God, “His chosen ones with singing” (verse 43b). There were many Egyptians who left Egypt with the Israelites, placing their trust in the Living God. They were chosen by God and so were brought into the covenant community. What a surprise. Oppressors, the former slave-owning Egyptians, becoming humble servants of the LORD along with the Israelites. (Imagine the fireworks resulting from God's gracious saving acts as these formerly disparate people are suddenly formed into one new whole!)

The greatest act of judgment, that reverberates through-out history is the judgment of God against Jesus. Though Jesus was sinless, God poured out His full wrath upon the Christ, crushing Him for the iniquities of us all. It is the judgment of God that causes believers to pause, in awe, and then praise God. For the cross is also the place where God judged every sin of every believer, and having punished His beloved Son in their place, God judged believers to be righteous, having the imputed righteousness of Jesus granted to them.

When believers contemplate the judgments He uttered, humility becomes the governing disposition in the life of believers. When believers recognize the cost of God’s glorious and righteous judgments, then they heartily and without reservation welcome other sinner-saints, who are now qualified to share in the inheritance of light in the kingdom of the Son the Father loves. The very same judgment which simultaneously punished Jesus and set you free, has been applied to others. What glorious fellowship, what joy divine, to lean upon the everlasting arms of God’s unstoppable love.

Father in heaven, just and true are all Your ways. Thank You for the glorious salvation You have worked through Jesus Christ. Blessed Jesus, a life-time of saying and living thanks to You does not even began to convey the greatness of our debt to Your lovingkindness. Thank You. Let our lives be a song of thanks, a constant memorial to Your goodness which is demonstrated in loving welcome to all those the Father has given into Your care as part of the family of God. Blessed Spirit of the Living God, break up the hard, compacted soil of our hearts that the truth of the just and glorious judgments of God will be planted deep within us and yield a harvest of praise and worship unto God. Let the contemplation of the judgments God uttered lead us to keep the commands of God and put each one into practice as a public demonstration of our life-long thanksgiving to You. Amen.

https://youtu.be/UubIQnVC4IA?si=xR2pUm74Bt6Q_kmX Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 18, 2025 -- Psalm 105:4-5 -- The Vital act of remembering

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Seek the LORD and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
Psalm 105:4-5 ESV
 
That word remember carries a lot of freight. In the Ten Commandments that same word is used in reference to the Sabbath Day: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). It is obvious the word remember requires action. It is more than mental activity. The act of remembering means there will be suitable activity which results from the remembering. For example, to remember the Sabbath means the people of God prepare and bring their sacrifice. The people of God bring tithes and offerings. The people of God cease from working so that the day is filled with the knowledge of God through public worship and private devotions and family devotions.
 
Back to Psalm 105, to remember the wondrous works that He has done means that believers will think about

• the beautiful way in which the Father brought them from death to life through Jesus Christ

• what it means to be dead to sin and alive in Christ

• in view of the life that theirs in Christ they will flee temptation.

 
To remember His miracles means that believers will

• consider the creation and know God made you in His image, therefore you are called to worship Him alone and yield to Him your obedience

• ponder the resurrection of Jesus from the dead

• recognize your union with Christ Jesus means God the Father Who chose you for life, raised you up to life in Christ through the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead and your life is sealed in Christ

• recoil in horror at their own sin, understanding to sin is in effect to say to God, I’d rather be in the clutches of the devil and bound over for death.

As you can see the act of remembering His miracles is a very personal, new-life-in-Christ affirming action that invigorates your faith.
 
Blessed are You, O God, my Father. You express great and steadfast love to Your people through Jesus Christ, in Whom we are reconciled to Yourself.
Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ; to contemplate Your grace and truth is to realize You live here, among Your people.
Blessed are You, Spirit of the Living God, guardian of the spiritual inheritance granted us in love through the work of Jesus Christ.
Triune God, give us such holy memory that we hate our sin more and more and cling to Jesus ever more closely as our minds and souls are filled with the glorious vision of living with You now and into eternity. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/w1YBYrJ8Hzg?si=wYT8pMlIElRgLFKB The Church’s One Foundation
 

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July 17, 2025 -- Psalm 105:4-5 -- Hey, what do you keep thinking about when you're not thinking about anything at all?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Seek the LORD and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
Psalm 105:4-5 ESV
 
The command seek the LORD is found in more than a dozen places in the Old Testament. It can also mean inquire of Him, like speaking to Him in prayer bringing your requests to Him. It puts into perspective the life of Jesus as it is recorded in the Gospel According to Luke. More than a dozen times Luke records that Jesus went off to a lonely place to pray. Clearly Jesus was obedient to this command, both in His private life and in His public life.
 
Psalm 105 adds to this phrase to the command “and His strength.” Think of all the ways we need the strength of God:

• Strength to witness.

• Strength to fight spiritual lethargy.

• Strength to push through formulaic prayers and deeply engage with God.

• Strength to fight temptation.

• Strength to live in Christian community when things are tough.

• Strength to receive others.

• Strength to love the unlovable.

• Strength to be obedient to His commands, at all times.

• Strength to carry out one’s duties in view of the fact God is holy.

• Strength from God which sustains the weary.

• Strength to face persecution.

• Strength to observe the Sabbath as holy.

• Strength to guard the eyes and heart from the corrupting influences of the world.

 
Look at the repetition, seek His presence continually. Repetition was used for emphasis. Usually the repetition added a new idea or nuance. That is the case here. Seeking of the LORD is not merely commanded so that His people will slavishly obey Him. The goal is to seek Him, to have such a rich and deep and beautiful relationship with God that He is your life’s prize; by continually seeking Him He becomes your heart’s ultimate desire; He is the treasure which time nor thief can steal. Knowing this reinvigorates the desire to seek the LORD and His strength.
 
Memory is a key component of this cycle of seeking the LORD. In my work among men who are incarcerated, I meet so many who continually remember what happened. In the retelling bitterness and anger grow stronger. No doubt, like me, you can name many people who are free, not physically in jai, but are behind the bars of their own bad memories and hateful past. They rehearse these events endlessly until an odd word or a sideways look can cause them to fly into rage and anger. The cherished presence of the LORD gets crowded out by this hindrance of bad memories. The psalmist is wise. He is familiar with the ways of the human heart and both commands and invites believers to test the LORD in this. Seek His presence continually. Look how you will be changed by the glory of God and preaching His majestic works to your heart and mind.
For the last number of years, when I take my regular walk, I will listen to a bible-reading app. It is a wonderful way to put the Word of God into my heart. Scripture is meant to be spoken aloud. It is for hearing. To have someone else read the bible is such a blessing. Stories, events, and lessons from the bible heard during these extended times of bible-listening keep the lessons fresh. I know for myself it is easy to get caught up in a negative cycle of thoughts especially when I am alone with my thoughts. I can lose all perspective when I spend too much time just rehashing circumstances or events or the words of others. What the psalmist says about seeking the presence of the LORD and bringing to mind all His works, His miracles, His love, His judgments—ah, what blessed relief flows into the life of His people when they rehearse all He has done and is doing.
 
Oh LORD my God, I give thanks to You!
I call out, trusting in Your Name.
As I remind myself what You have done and are doing in my life, break through the cycles of despair and anger.
Lift Your child, called beloved through the Lord Jesus Christ, to the place where I know Your love more fully and that knowledge be without any tinge of self-pity or self-righteousness.
Gracious God, work in Your sons and daughters individually and communally so that together we will rise and sing Your praises and declare Your glory far and wide.
Help us to seek You and Your strength
and by Your Spirit motivate us to seek the presence of Jesus,
Who is the radiance of the Father’s glory.
Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/Q3aP5iuJITg?si=NOeSXpnbxiD0dib2 Zach Williams – Rescue Story
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 15, 2025 -- Romans 1:21-23 -- What's your thinking like? Darkened or bright?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Romans 1:21-23 ESV
 
In my newsfeed there was a splashy story honouring an early pioneer woman for her study of chimpanzees. The story got crazy as it went on to say humanity needs to honour its nearest living relatives, all the various apes and chimps. Oh pul-lez. It is enough to turn the stomach. It is enough to make one weep with grief at the futility of human thinking.
 
The point in Romans 1 is if one does not worship God and honour Him alone, then one will worship things, creatures, any foolish thing. That disordered worship will lead people deeper into their folly and deeper into the darkness of their wicked hearts. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20. Already in the Old Testament there was a judgment, and a curse pronounced on those who call evil good and good evil. How much greater will that curse be now that Jesus, the radiance of the Father’s glory, the manifestation of His good, has appeared and brought reconciliation. Those who reject Him face the Father’s just and appropriate wrath.
 
God is the source of good. He is the standard of good. He is to be worshiped. His word guides all our living. As the world gets more confused and descending into even more confusion, it is the word of God that lights the way. The word is objective truth. It is the standard by which the Spirit of God can bring restored sanity.
 
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen
BCP
 
https://youtu.be/odKxftGhVRE?si=HAq7C-z-b9St8ikd The King in All His Beauty

 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 14, 2025 -- Ephesians 5:1 -- Who are you imitating?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit’s power: Sh’ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.      Ephesians 5:1 ESV
 
A friend of mine brought his 10-year-old son to a church leadership meeting. The son loved his dad. His father, who was speaking at the meeting, stood up and made motions and gestures with his hands. Seated beside him, watching intently, was his son. He was making the same motions and gestures after his dad, copying him as closely as he could. He was completely unselfconscious about it. He was just loving his dad and copying him. That is what I think of when I read Ephesians 5:1. Our love for God is that of beloved children, copying the actions of our beloved Father. No matter what anyone else thinks or says, He is our hero and our pattern.
 
Our Father in heaven has made Himself known through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect elder brother. He is loving. He has sacrificed Himself so that we, younger brothers and sisters, might know the fullest extent of our Father’s love. Jesus, Who has known the Father from eternity past has revealed Him. Jesus, Who fully shares our humanity, showed us how to love God in the ordinary rough and tumble of life.

• Jesus was mocked. He turned to His Father in heaven.

• Jesus was insulted. He quoted the Scriptures, knowing that in them He was shielded.

• Jesus was betrayed. The Spirit of God was upon Him without measure and He was comforted.

Dear fellow believers, when we are mocked for our faith in Jesus Christ, like Him, we turn to God in prayer. When we are insulted for His Name’s sake, read the Word. There are laments in the Psalms, which give expression to the brokenness of the heart. You will find comfort in every part of the word of God. Read until you know the presence of Him Who loves you. Jesus was betrayed. That will happen in our lives. Jesus told His followers, if the world hated Him it will also hate all who follow Him. Furthermore, sin has such a strong grip on us, that we will betray Him also. But the Spirit of God is given to believers. The Spirit of God lives in you and is destroying all the works of evil. The Spirit of God helps you to see your sin, to hate it. Confessing it and repenting of it, you will once again walk in fellowship with God as beloved children.
 
Father in heaven, thank You for Your great love. By the powerful presence of Your Spirit in us, help us to look carefully how we walk, so we will not walk as unwise, but as wise children, making the best use of the time we have, because these days are evil. Father, fill us again with Your Spirit so that we will always be directed to Jesus, in Whom we are reconciled to You and to one another. Amen. (Ephesians 5:15-16 are the foundational verses for this prayer)
 
https://youtu.be/plB84_1CMsY?si=VbtqBTdlWygAnPmT O Praise the LORD, Make His Name Known
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 10, 2025 -- Romans 1:18 -- Wrath of God. Love of God.

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.                       
Romans 1:18 ESV
 
Every Wednesday evening Carolyn and I host a supper and Bible Study in our home. Our currently study material is Dr. Michael Kruger’s video series “Romans Bible Study.” (It is available on-line and is free. Recommend it.) Last night our study had just this one verse in focus. For the benefit of our students and those interested, I’ll give a summary of his three main points adding some of my own observations. He titled this episode, part 5, God’s wrath.
 

1. God’s wrath is foundational; it is why we need the Gospel. It is possible for someone to be very ill and not know it. Perhaps there are vague symptoms but nothing specific. He doesn’t see a need to change anything to improve his health. At a routine doctor’s appointment, the doctor shows some concern and orders various medical tests. The results show the man is very ill. Suddenly everything changes. His health will become something vitally important, and he will make necessary life-style changes so that he will live. Hell is real. God’s judgment is real. Our world finds it hard to accept its need for a Savior because people are unaware how dire their condition really is.

2. The wrath of God is universal. It is against all men. Kruger noted “We grandly underestimate our sin and grandly underestimate the holiness of God”. The result is that the gap between God and me is relatively small. Not a big deal. The fact is God’s holiness is far beyond us and our sinfulness is so great we can not ever reach Him on our own. And, all men, all people deserve God’s wrath. This is what drives believers to go out and evangelize. The bad news is all men face that wrath of God which will cast them into hell for eternity. The good news is there is salvation in Jesus for all who believe.

3. God’s wrath is revealed from heaven. God is love. But that is not His only attribute, as if He only had no other one. He is holy. He is good. He is just. Every single sin ever committed, and every sin ever to be committed in the future, must be punished by God. He will, as His holiness and justice demand, pour out His wrath on the sinner. Or, for all those who believe in the Lord Jesus find God’s wrath was poured out on the Person of Jesus and the perfect obedience of Jesus is credited to them. That is Good News. That is what fuels evangelism.

It is important to note that wrath is not God having a fit of rage. He’s not flying off the handle. God’s wrath is a disposition born out of His holiness. That leaves us with a huge question: “If God takes sin that seriously, how is your disposition toward sin?” Do you excuse your sin? Underestimate it? Do you underestimate the holiness of God or compare yourself with others you consider are more sinful than yourself rather than comparing yourself with Jesus, the perfect standard. He alone of all people who ever lived, ever will live, or are living now, He alone had the perfect obedience that turns away God’s wrath. He is our beautiful Savior.
 
  O Supreme Moving Cause,
May I always be subordinate to thee, be dependent upon thee,
be found in the path where thou dost walk,
and where thy Spirit moves,
take heed of estrangement from thee, of becoming insensible to thy love.
Thou dost not move men like stones, but dost endue them with life,
not to enable them to move without thee,
but in submission to thee, the first mover.
O Lord, I am astonished at the difference
between my receivings and my deservings,
between the state I am now in and my past gracelessness,
between the heaven I am bound for andthe hell I merit.
Who made me to differ, but thee?
for I was no more ready to receive Christ than were others;
I could not have begun  to love thee hadst thou not first loved me,
or been willing unless thou hadst first made me so.
O that such a crown should fit the head of sucha sinner!
such high advancement be for an unfruitful person!
such joys for so vile a rebel!
Infinite wisdom cast the design of salvation
into the mould of purchase and freedom;
Let wrath deserved be written on the door of hell,
But the free gift of grace on the gate of heaven.
I know that my sufferings are the result of my sinning,
but in heaven both shall cease;
Grant me to attain this haven and be done with sailing,
and may the gales of thy mercy blow me safely into harbour.
Let thy love draw me nearer to thyself, wean me from sin,
mortify me to this world,
and make me ready for my departure hence.
Secure me by thy grace as I sail across this stormy sea.
“The Mover” Valley of Vision
 
https://youtu.be/ojHxW3zMGyU?si=RZS9tyTOAzjEoZfc Behold, What Manner of Love
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved

July 8, 2025 -- Proverbs 8:13a -- Hatred of Evil

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.
Proverbs 8:13a ESV
 
Paul and Silas, when they preached the Gospel to the Philippian jailor, declared, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Salvation is found in the Name of Jesus. Even Old Testament believers are saved through the work of Jesus Christ. Those who are saved are said to fear the LORD. That is a strange expression for us. I touched on it in yesterday’s devotion. Even the most law-abiding citizen realizes how his heart chafes against rules he doesn’t like and the most moderate sorry-saying Canadian can get behind an “elbows up” campaign so that their hearts become tuned to resentment against others. Our hearts are idol factories. The chief idol is self. One’s own wants, desires, and pleasures.
 
When one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ his heart is changed. The King who sits on the throne in the centre of a Christian’s life is Jesus. Self, the tyrant, who used to make demands, imperially expecting every wish to be fulfilled has been deposed. Jesus has made the believer His own and the believers longs to be more fully Christ’s.
 
A common question posed by those who are being drawn to Jesus relates to former sins and learning to own one’s current allegiance to Jesus. There are all kinds of shades and nuances related to such question. Where evil is entertained, toyed with, but not hated, the consequences will be dire. Here are some examples of questions posed:

• My girlfriend isn’t a Christian now, but she is interested in religious things, is that okay? No. It isn’t. To belong to Jesus is to be married to Him. In the Old Testament God called out those who didn’t fully believe in Him as prostitutes. They sold themselves out to other gods. It is graphic. It is clear.

• My girlfriend is a Christian, we’re sleeping together, but we’re not married. Is that a problem? Yes it is. You are saying I want to be naked and vulnerable, but I want to keep my options open. I want to have the pleasure of sex without the commitment of heart vulnerability and commitment that must go along with it. You are saying you are wiser than God Who made you and instructs you not to have sex before marriage.

• What about movies and series, video games, media and music? Do I have to censure what I watch? Of course you do. The fact you are asking the question means your conscience is waking up. It is sad that the very same believers who can easily binge-watch shows are also struggling to read the Bible. Social media and gaming are not designed to help build you up in your precious faith. In fact, you know that all such activities are designed to draw your attention in to the exclusion of other things.

Ask yourself this, what pleasure or activity or aspiration or possession do you have which, if you were asked to give it up to honour Jesus, would cause you to clutch it even tighter? My guess is that you’ve landed on the idol that is interfering with your walk with God.
 
The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil precisely because the LORD is greater than anything this world has to offer. The fear of the LORD leads the believer to embrace Jesus not merely as a wonderful addition to one’s life. Jesus is the source of pleasure, the director of all activities, the soul’s great aspiration and your soul’s greatest treasure. This matter of hating evil must be revisited time and again in the life of the believer. Sin is insidious. Before you know it, a little harmless-seeming activity has overgrown your thoughts and is crowding out good in your life. The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil precisely because the LORD, Who is holy, hates evil. Those who love Him, desire to be more fully like Him.
 
Faithful Father in heaven, You are very great and worthy to be praised. By Your Spirit’s powerful presence in me, assist me to make a probing search of my life, my mind and my goals so that any lingering sin will be ruthlessly rooted out. Recognizing that sin has deep taproots, help me to dig out even to the root-tips thus ensuring it will not easily spring up within me again. Spirit of God, lead me in renewed, vigorous devotion to Jesus. Spirit of God, so transform me that Jesus is the source of my life’s pleasure, the director of all activities, my soul’s aspiration and my soul’s prize. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/a91_3VYRiZo?si=8Y5Po8vWOQBd5EqZ Fill Thou My Life
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

July 7, 2025 -- Psalm 99:1 -- Why tremble at knowing Jesus the King reigns?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
Psalm 99:1 ESV
 
Like Psalm 97, our Psalm today begins with the fact that the LORD reigns. Jesus Christ is the King Who rules over all. In Psalm 97 the people and coastlands rejoice. Now people are called to tremble. Why would those who love the King and are His beloved subjects, tremble before Him?
Psalm 97, 98 and 99 all make explicit the fact that the LORD is the Judge of all the people of the earth. His justice is true, exacting. He shows no favoritism. Sin is never excused or swept under the carpet. All who transgress His laws and rebel against Him face His terrible wrath. But we are law-abiding citizens of this great King, why would we be afraid?
 
Suppose you are a law-abiding citizen of the Dominion of Canada, when you are driving and you see a police officer driving near you, do you check your speed to see if you are within the limit? Do you use your signal indicator while the police are around, whereas usually you might neglect to do so? You are law-abiding, even so, you check yourself and your actions when a law officer is present. You fear to break the law because you know it is just, and it serves to allow all people to live together in community. If no laws were present to govern your actions you know how easily you’d become lazy in obedience. You can also imagine how those around you would also become lazy in obedience. You know there are people who don’t care about the law at all, and if they think they can get away with something their ungoverned recklessness would increase unchecked and endanger everyone.
 
The LORD reigns. Those who love Him fear to disobey, just like a law-abiding driver might fear to see the police nearby. On the one hand a law-abiding citizen is delighted the police are there, when there is distress, violence, or someone is beaten or robbed, it is comforting to know the police will serve and protect. On the other hand, a law-abiding citizen has reason to fear because no one is perfect. If a person’s life were an open book and an officer could examine it all, the police would have ample cause to arrest him as much as he has cause to arrest the flagrantly law-breaking person.
 
The cherubim, the holy angels, are the police officers of God’s justice. They are sent ensure His rule and laws are obeyed. No wonder the people of the earth would quake at the thought of cherubim being sent among them.
 
The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! Let those who are not law-abiding, those who live as if they will never be judged or held to account be put on notice: the justice of God is at hand. At the moment of death, the judgment will fall on that person’s life, and no one will escape His wrath. If Jesus returns very soon, then all the living and the dead will be judged before His terrible throne of justice. Any infraction against the holiness of God, no matter how great or how small, will be punished to the fullest extent of God’s righteous law. It is the LORD Who made all people. It is the LORD Who has the full right and authority to command obedience from His handiwork, the people He has made.
 
But why would we, as New Testament Christians fear? Jesus has taken away their punishment. Surely, believers don’t need to tremble?! Yes, blessed be the Name of Jesus, in Him all their sins have been punished. All the wrath of God has been turned aside. Now, as those who are forgiven, who are called beloved sons and daughters of the Most High God, have a desire to live for Him. Just like a loving child obeys a parent out of love and respect for the parent, so a loving child of the Heavenly Father desires to submit, obey and please the Father in heaven. It is a marvelous thing to know that God is pleased with His children.
 
Christians tremble, seeking to obey both as individuals and obeying Him within the context of Christian community. Believers by their obedience to the King bear witness to the world of the reality of their allegiance. The LORD, Who is great, Who is holy, Who is an avenger of wrongdoings (all phrases from Psalm 99) requires His children to live in obedience to Him. Christians serve the LORD, not themselves. Often pride rears up, or selfish desires, which interfere with holy obedience. Christians exalt the LORD their God—in such worship the prideful ego is appropriately crushed as one proclaims his life and death dependence on the LORD Who reigns.
 
The LORD reigns! With believers through-out the ages it is an honour and a joy to proclaim it. The LORD reigns! Be exalted, O King, as Your people make a joyful noise before You!
The LORD reigns! By Your Spirit, lead Your people in reverent obedience to Jesus. Impress upon all Your children Your holiness. Confronted by Your greatness, humbled before Your holiness, awed by Your love what else could Your people do? Your people praise You. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/1b25rfn6J48?si=EM9AC2kMUhIRpd7P I Stand Amazed in the Presence
 

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