A Place of Quiet Rest

 Near to the Heart of God

 Verse 1

There is a place of quiet rest,

     Near to the heart of God,

A place where sin cannot molest,

     Near to the heart of God.

 Chorus

     O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

          Sent from the heart of God,

     Hold us, who wait before Thee,

          Near to the heart of God.

 Verse 2

There is a place of comfort sweet,

     Near to the heart of God,

A place where we our Savior meet,

     Near to the heart of God.

 Verse 3

There is a place of full release,

     Near to the heart of God,

A place where all is joy and peace,

     Near to the heart of God

Access To God

Hebrews 4:16

      “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

      Technology is a blessing in so many ways.  Need a bit of information about a health problem?  All you have to do is access the Internet where you can instantaneously get a list of options to guide your search.  Need to contact a friend?  Just send a text, email, or Facebook post.  But technology can also be frustrating at times.  Think of the times when an important conversation is cut off because of a dead cellphone battery, with no way to reconnect until you find a plug to recharge it.  The other day I needed to access some information in one of my accounts and was asked a list of security questions.  Now, I couldn’t remember any of the answers.  My wife, Janie, she is always fussing at me because when I get blocked out of my account, I’ll just change the password.  That’s not really a problem until I can’t remember what I changed it to.

      All of this makes me delighted with the reality that when I need to access God in prayer, there are no security questions and no batteries required.

      I love the assurance that John gives when he says in

1 John 5:13-15, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

      God is always accessible, for He never slumbers nor sleeps!  (Ps. 121:4).  And thanks to His love for us, He is waiting and ready to listen.

 CHRISTIAN LOVE

The Controlling Guideline

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 

INTRODUCTION

                 In the chapter that serves as our Scripture reading, the Apostle Paul is dealing with a practice that was common in the first century but is not familiar to us today.  N America today people generally either worship one god or no god at all.  In ancient Corinth there were many gods and many different religions.  Sacrifices were made to these various idols, and then the worshipers and their guests ate the meat offered in sacrifice.  To eat meat offered to an idol was to engage in a form of worship and to receive nourishment and the hope of help from the idol god whose sacrifice was being consumed.

                 Those who were converted to faith in Jesus Christ forsook the worship of idols and recognized idols to be nothing.  Some of these new converts insisted that, since the idols had no reality, there was no harm in feasting at an idol temple, or in purchasing the meat offered in sacrifice to idols.

 Paul says that to participate in such feasts or to use the meat offered to idols could be harmful to those who had not yet come to a knowledge of the true God.  He declares that not everyone has the knowledge of the truth as they had come to know it in Christ Jesus.  He is eager that these new converts relate properly to those who are still pagans.  In our text he enunciates a principle that reveals that Christian love must be the controlling guideline for all of our conduct as it affects nonbelievers.

                 It is interesting to note how the various modern translations deal with this verse.  Today’s English Version says, “If food makes my brother sin, I myself will never eat meat again, so as not to make my brother fall into sin.”  Phillips translates it, “This makes me determined that, if there is any possibility of meat injuring my brother, I will have none of it as long as I live, for fear I might do him harm.”  Williams translates it, “So then, if food can make my brother fall, I will never, no never, eat meat again, in order to keep my brother from falling.”

  What the Apostle Paul, and these translators of the Word, are trying to tell us is that:

 We are responsible for our influence (Matt 5:16).

                 Christian love will cause us to recognize our responsibility for our influence and cause us to beware lest we cause others to stumble.

 

 

A Life Without God

Psalm 14

1  Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.

2  The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.

3  They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.

      On the surface, this psalm seems directed against those openly denying the existence of God.  But, in fact, the principles articulated here have implications for everyone.

      What David learned was how easy it can be for anyone to forget about God and to go his own way.  And he learned the importance of focusing on God, placing Him first, seeking Him, trusting in Him, thinking about Him, and being guided by His principles.  These attitudes are the foundation for a life of blessing.

      This is true for everyone.  Yes, denying His existence leads to a life without His blessing, protection, and wisdom.  But even those who superficially believe in Him can act as if He does not exist.

      Without a consciousness of God, we can believe any argument.  When we stop focusing on Him, we can embrace any lifestyle.  We can drift into any belief system and develop our own interpretations of events.  We can follow any magnetic personality or be enticed by any clever-sounding teaching.

      The sure path is to stay focused on God.  To be committed to constant prayer, remembering that He is with us, all the time.  To be sensitive to His Spirit.  To live according to His Word.

      In your life, seek to have a more intimate relationship with God. Read and study His Word.  Spend time in prayer.  Commit the issues of your life to Him.

 

Never Ashamed

 Psalm 31:1

      “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.”

       David was concerned about being ashamed.  We might assume he was thinking about sins or questionable actions.  But David displayed another perspective.

       The Hebrew word here suggests being disappointed.  He thought he had not trusted God completely.  He thought he had set a bad example that others might follow.

       David used the same word to declare how he took refuge in God, knowing He would “put to shame” those who opposed him” (Psalm 14:6).  David used this word four times in Psalm 25, confirming that he trusted in God, praying that he would not be ashamed.

       In Psalm 31, David was concerned with his response to opposition.  The shame was possible if he reacted in the wrong way.  His cry was, “Let me never be ashamed.” Ultimately, David knew that he would not feel shame because he took refuge in the Lord.  He was David’s “fortress” and his “rock of strength” (v. 3-4).  He prayed instead, “Let the wicked be put to shame” (v. 17).

       We might feel ashamed in many ways.  But, as David discovered, we can feel shame if we react to problems with fear and worry rather than faith or when we realize others might follow our example and drift away from Him.

       Today, make sure that you trust in Him.  Be confident in Him and an example of faith to others, so you will not feel ashamed.

A Flourishing Tree

Proverbs 11:28

      “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.”

      I’ve always had a collector’s heart.  As a kid, I collected stamps.  Baseball cards.  Comics.  Now, as an adult, I tend to collect knives, books western movies on DVD.  Sometimes I wonder, do I really need another knife or book?

      Of course, it’s not about need.  It’s about the childlike thrill of getting something new.  Or sometimes the satisfaction of getting something old, something rare.  Whatever captivates our imagination, we’re tempted to believe that if we only had “X,” our lives would be better.  We’d be happy.  Content.

      Except those things never deliver the goods.  Why?  Because God created us to be filled by Him, not by the things that the world around us often insists will satisfy our longing hearts.  There is a vacuum filled void deep within our hearts that causes us to search for something to fill it with and so, we tend to keep searching, gathering, collecting.

This feeling is hardly new.  Proverbs contrasts two ways of life: a life spent pursuing riches versus a life grounded in loving God and giving generously.  In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases Proverbs 11:28 like this: “A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.”

      What a picture!  Two ways of life: one flourishing and fruitful, one hollow and barren.  The world insists that material abundance equals “the good life.”  In contrast, God invites us to be rooted in Him, to experience His goodness, and to flourish fruitfully.  And as we’re shaped by our relationship with Him, God reshapes our hearts and desires, transforming us from the inside out.