Return to the Lord

 Come, let us return to the LORD;

for he has torn us, that he may heal us;

he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will raise us up,

that we may live before him.

Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD;

his going out is sure as the dawn;

he will come to us as the showers,

as the spring rains that water the earth.” 

Hosea 6:1-3 

The answer is clear in scripture as to what we must do. We must return to the Lord. 

This is how we must respond to Covid. Return to the Lord. To the violence. We must return to the Lord. To the division. To the oppression and to the injustices of the world. Return to the Lord.

Revival starts within our own heart. 

God has made the path clear and easy to see. We don't need a better president, we don't need more riots and protests or any of the other things we keep doing in our society. We need to return to the Lord.

These words are from the OT but they are just as relevant to us today. God does not change.

Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

Let us press on to know the LORD.

The Power of Repentance

This morning's Bible reading was in 1 Kings, chapters 7-9 and is packed full of wonderful truth. King Solomon has completed the building of the Temple and he takes time to pray to God. 

“Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 

The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, 

that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. - 1 Kings 8:56-58 

Do you see it?

Not one of God's promises will fail to come true. Like Israel, we can find rest in Him, for He is faithful to what he promises us.

He will never leave nor forsake us. Whenever we feel distant from God, it is not Him who left, He is always there. But our sin will keep us from feeling His presence.

Solomon understood the power of humility and a repentant heart.

“When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers. “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.” - 1 Kings 8:33-36   

That is a description of how the Gospel works. We must keep His commandments. But we all fail in our own efforts to do so. Sometimes that brings consequences. But if we confess and repent, He will forgive us and restore us.

Again, we see Solomon, in this prayer, show us the way of the Gospel.

“If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them.”                          - 1 Kings 8:46-50   

There is no one who does not sin. But through Christ, God made a way for us to come to Him in prayers of repentance. 

See how Solomon finishes His prayer.

“Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

God’s Word will not fail you. Call on Him today and receive the free gift of salvation that Jesus has offered to you. Let Him restore you, so that you may live under the umbrella of God’s grace and mercy.

Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.

What To Do When Your Faith Is Tested

The world is in a crisis this very day. For the most part, there is nowhere one could go that the threat of sickness and even death, is not real, due to the corona virus situation. People are scared. The world has basically shut down and many people hiding out in their homes.

As a Christian, I am called to be different than the world. No, we Christians are not perfect, we still worry and get anxious, but to be Biblically truthful, we are not supposed to be afraid, nor are we to be anxious. We are all at different levels of spiritual maturity, so each of us will have our own struggles.

This begs the question, what are we to do with the current situation? What does this all mean? Why is this happening?

If you follow me on social media, you may likely know that I am one of those crazy Christians, who has the audacity to sat that this virus is a warning from God. I have always believed that the message of repentance is the correct one that ought to be preached. John the Baptist came out of the wilderness preparing the way for the coming Messiah, with this message saying “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 3:2. We see that Jesus began His public ministry with the same words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 4:17. The call to repent is a serious one and I find no scriptural reason that we shouldn’t believe that we ought to be still preaching the same thing. The world we live in today has for the most part moved further and further from God and is very similar to the one we read of in Genesis 6, where man had become so corrupt, that God decided He would clean out mankind and start anew with Noah. We live in a world today that appears ripe for a cleansing.

No, I don’t believe God is going to wipe out mankind at this time, but I do believe that since we live in an age of grace, since the coming of Christ, and  that because “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.- 2 Peter 3:9, I believe God is showing His mercy in bringing a warning to this lost and godless world. The message to those who reject Him is simple; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

But we Christians, though we all have things to repent of, are not guilty of the only sin that will lead you to hell, which is the sin of unbelief. We who are Christ’s have repented of that sin and are forgiven and have received the gift of eternal life.

Then what are we to do with this crisis?

The answer is simple and is found clearly in scripture. We are to see this as a trial and a test of our faith. Look at the Book of James and it becomes easy to see what we do.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” -

James 1:2-4  

We are to count it all joy. Clearly this is a trial and James tells us that trials of various kinds test our faith. I don’t know about you, but my faith is being tested. I’ve spent the last several years purposely trying to build my faith, for I know from past experience, difficult times come. But as hard as I’ve worked at it I still struggle. I’ve committed myself to a daily time of Bible study, have attended church regularly, joined a small group where I get encouraged, I’ve prayed and prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide me to greater faith, and made it my goal to believe every word that God has written down in the scriptures. But still as my faith is tested daily, I am struggling and fighting to avoid fear, anxiety, and doubt.

James tells us though that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. Steadfastness, if we let it have its full effect, will make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

These aren’t my words; these are the Words of God.  I know that because it says this in 

2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The answer to how we count this as joy, in the midst of uncertainty, sickness, and even death, is to lay hold of the truth that God is actually using these times, this pain and sorrow, to make us more like Jesus. James said that trials make us “perfect and complete” which would certainly describe Jesus.

I know this is hard. Some of us will face different levels of testing. I don’t know why God may test your faith differently than mine. Some of us will face tests that will seem impossible to bear and unless you keep your eyes on Jesus and you live in His strength, not your own, it may be impossible. But don’t try to do this alone. Let Jesus take you through it and believe what He has told us in the Bible. Moses had a message for Israel as they prepared to cross into the promised land and his message had a promise that is also ours. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." - Deuteronomy 31:6  

The same promise is echoed in Hebrews 13:5 which says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I don’t know what the immediate future holds for any of us. I know what the end result will be for all of us who “let steadfastness have its full effect.” We will lack nothing and will one day soon be free from this broken and corrupt world that has sin and sickness beating us down. We will live in eternal bliss with our Lord and Savior for all of eternity.

I hope this encourages you to dig deeper into God’s word and learn even more of the joy and the peace we can live in until he comes back or takes us home. If you have trouble understanding and knowing what to do next, James speaks to that as well.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. - James 1:5-6  

When your faith is weak, turn to Jesus with whatever little faith you can muster up and go to Him in prayer. Believe God. If you do, then you will be able to do as James commands us to.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” - James 1:2-4  

May God richly bless you.

The Sins of Self and What it is Doing To Us

The paragraph to follow was written by John MacArthur in 1991 in his commentary on Romans. As you read it, consider how each year our culture, our people grow deeper into this life of self. Self-desire is the antithesis of the Christian faith.

"It should not be surprising that, as the world more and more advocates self-love and self-fulfillment, the problems of sexual promiscuity, abuse, and perversion, of stealing, lying, murder, suicide, hopelessness, and all other forms of moral and social ills are multiplying exponentially."

MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Romans 1-8.

Just look at the news these days. Sexual promiscuity, abuse, and perversion is rampant and there is even a great movement to normalize it. Stealing and murder? It's out of control. Almost every day, someone in St. Louis is carjacked at threat of death by gunpoint. Murders are a regular occurrence. Maybe the most heart breaking of all is the increase in suicides, especially amongst our youth. Suicides result from hopelessness.

As he predicted in 1991, this nonsense of self-love and self-fulfillment has been the impetus that has pushed God and His Word farther and farther from our society. The result is clearly seen in the mess we have made of our society.

Revelation 6:10 comes to mind.

"...and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

The church in America keeps preaching this soft "feel good" message of salvation. It's time we wake up and begin to preach as Jesus did. We need to preach repentance. We need to take a stand against our own sin. We need to crucify it.

1 Peter 4:17-18

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

We are scarcely being saved people. The word used there means "with difficulty." If we, the elect of God is scarcely being saved, then what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

Lessons from Matthew - Repent and Be Baptized

This morning finds me on my latest journey into the New Testament and obviously that begins in the Gospel of Matthew. Several things stand out this morning, as I begin to study the narrative of the life of Jesus and His ministry.

First of all, we find that John the Baptist has come forward to prepare the way for the public arrival of Jesus. The message that John preached was a simple one; Repent. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is at hand. John was preparing the way by telling the people that if they want to know the Messiah, they will be required to change. The message of the Gospel is no different today. When Jesus calls us to new life, our hearts will be forever changed. We must turn away from how we view our behaviors and confess our sins. We must repent.

It is popular to tell people today that you don’t have to clean yourself up before coming to Christ, and while that is true, that does not mean you won’t be getting cleaned up. True salvation experiences always involve immediate change. While certainly sanctification, the process of becoming like Christ, is a life-long process, there will be evidence of conversion when one becomes Born Again. Simply saying you believe in Jesus and yet, demonstrating no change at all, ought to raise an alarm in the lives of those who claim Christ. John calls us to repent. The first words of Jesus as He began His public ministry were the same.

Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Not only did John prepare the way by preaching repentance and baptizing people as they confessed their sins, Jesus also came on the public scene by getting baptized. Why would Jesus need to be baptized? He was without sin. There are several things to understand about why Jesus had John baptize Him.

First, the baptism of Jesus was not a baptism of repentance as John was doing with the people. It was a baptism of identification. Having came from Heaven as a man, Jesus was identifying Himself with us in the sense that would find Himself tempted in all ways, just as we are, (See Hebrews 4:15). By allowing John to baptize Him, Jesus was also identifying Himself as one who is fully obedient to the will of the Father as expressed in John 6:38 saying, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” The root of repentance is that we have changed our minds, we have turned from our desire to please our self and are seeking to please God.

The second reason I believe Jesus was baptized is found in the tension of Him being both God and man. There are those who argue the theology behind the incarnation of Jesus as to how His Deity was dealt with while on this earth, but I find no evidence that at any time He wanted to, Jesus could not choose to exercise the full powers of being God. But in His baptism, He had the full power of the Holy Spirit come upon Him. This was to be an example for us.

Matthew 3:16
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

By being baptized Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit. This was to show us that we can live for Him through the power of God as we move by the work of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus did. We are not to serve God by our own efforts, our own strength, or anything of our flesh; we are to serve God and walk this life in His power as the scriptures have declared.

Ezekiel 36:27
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Acts 1:8
 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Romans 8:11
 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Though many Christians may differ on how the Holy Spirit comes upon us, all must agree with God’s Word which tells us that all true believers have the Holy Spirit indwelling them.

Romans 8:9
 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

I don’t know what you’ve been taught, but the scriptures are clear.

1 Corinthians 3:16
 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

All Christians have the Holy Spirit indwelling their hearts and He is the power that changes us and the power that drives us when we serve God. If you gain nothing else from this writing, see the truth of the indwelling of the Spirit in your life. And what does that mean to you today? Again, we turn to God’s Word.

Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

I close for now with this truth; We must repent, and we must live in and by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we have no desire for that, then we are not His. But if we are hearing the voice of God calling us to come to him, then we must simply follow the words of Peter as recorded in the Book of Acts.

Acts 2:38
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter also said this in 2 Peter 1:10
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Today is the day of salvation. Repent and be baptized.

What Do the Old Testament Prophets Have To Do With Us Today?

Over the past several weeks I finished reading the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and am currently about one-third of the way through Jeremiah. These are beautiful books of the Old Testament and if you are a passionate reader of the Scriptures, you probably love reading these great works as much as I do. Maybe you have even been through Sunday school lessons on them and heard sermons preached on the texts. Personally, I have read each of these books several times in the course of my travels through scripture. But through the years as I have grown in my Bible studies, it has become clear that these writings are not just wonderful literary works, nor are they simply a history of the Jewish Nation. No, I believe with all my heart, that God not only sent these prophets to speak to the hearts of the Jews, He sent them to us with a message as well. Paul explains the real purpose of the Old Testament to us Christians in Romans 15:4, saying that, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

The Old Testament was as much for our instruction, as are the scriptures of the New Testament. Listen carefully to what I am saying. No, Christians are not under the same covenant as Israel was in those days. We are not bound by the Mosaic Law in terms of a need to follow some rules to be saved. But honestly, a right understanding of the Old Testament will demonstrate the fact that no one is, was, or will ever be saved by the law. The only way to heaven and to God’s Kingdom, is through the saving blood of Jesus. I won’t take time to here to explain the specifics of how salvation by faith worked out for the Jews, I will leave that to your own Biblical study. The point I think needs to be grasped by the modern-day Christian, is that we are no different in what God is looking for when He calls us to be His.

What God wants from each and every person He elects to salvation, is their heart. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, man’s heart is naturally turned against God. When God sent the flood to cleanse the earth of its sinful condition, it was the heart of man that God spoke to.

Genesis 6:5
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Jeremiah tells us that truth about our hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

That is us, people. Our hearts are so sick that we cannot even understand ourselves. This is what drives men to desperate acts. Our world, our nation, our cities, and even our families are filled with strife. Addictions, adultery, sexual attitudes that rebel against all of God’s Word, crime and violence consume our news today. Suicides, murders, violence against women and children are all just responses to the sickness of the human heart. Listen to the what God says to us in response to our sick hearts.

Jeremiah 17:10
 “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

This must lead us to a personal response to the question, what does God see within my own heart? You see, the message we see in the OT prophets that is for us today, is important. Yes, we are saved by grace, it is only the blood shed at Calvary in which we have hope. But think about what is happening to God’s chosen people in the stories of the OT. God chooses them and makes a covenant that gives them many physical promises, yet in spite of the multitudes of miracles and provision He gives, their hearts continually move away from Him. They fall back to their idols.

I think the American Christian takes his blessings for granted. We live in such abundance that we think God has made a special deal with us and we can just sit back and thank Him on Thanksgiving Day, tell Jesus, “Happy Birthday” on Christmas, and put on a nice suit and go to church on Easter Sunday and then all is well.

Wake up America! Whatever semblance of a Christian nation our forefathers set up, has been systematically dismantled. In my life time alone, prayer has been removed from schools, abortion made legal, sex has been liberated from the bonds of marriage, and even gender is no longer accepted as God-given.

God has no covenant with America. Unlike Israel, we are NOT God’s chosen people. It’s time we opened up our Bibles and turned to the prophets to see what God had to say to them about their sin. If God would bring judgement as He did against His chosen people, then how much more might God consider bringing judgment to us?

The good news for the Jews is that God always leaves a remnant. The good news for us is that God sent Jesus and in Him we have an eternal hope if we confess Him as Lord and Savior. But the warning from the prophets to the Jews is the same warning to us as well. Repent from our sin and we will be blessed. Continue in your sin? Read your Bible. It won’t be good.

The only hope America has is in the remnant of true Christians that dwell here today. If we do not start standing for God and His Word, we are risking severe judgment. As spoiled as we are in this country, even the simple removal of our blessings will bring many to their knees.

What must we do? First of all, pray. We need to stop whining about our leaders and focus on praying for them. Secondly, we as God’s church, His elect, need to repent. Third, we must stand for God’s truth. We must speak out, in love, against sin. This means we must stop following along with the world. Revival starts in our own heart. As my pastor once said, draw a circle around yourself, and start there. Open your Bible and read it as if it is speaking directly to you. It is.

I leave you with a message from God’s Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal its truth to you personally.

1 Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 78

There is a famous quote about history that says, “Those who cannot learn from history are bound to repeat it.” In school, we were told that is why we study the past, and there is validity in that statement. Christians need to be just as diligent about the history of our faith and psalm 78 is an example of the psalmist reminding Israel of their past. Their past was one of God saving them in their need and then shortly they forget God and turn from their faith back to idols and disobedience to the law. Yet time after time God has saved Israel. The story of the Jews is also our story. We drift from our faith and God allows us to fall into trouble, we cry out in repentance, and He rescues us again and again.

Psalm 78:1-4

Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,  Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.  We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

We must teach our children the truth of who God is and how He has saved us through Jesus’ death on the cross.

Psalm 78:7-8
That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments,  And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

In America, we have turned our back on God. We have turned to our own idols. Idols like money, sex, and drugs. People show up to churches seeking relief from the sorrows and fears of this life, yet they reject the truth of God’s Word. We live Monday to Saturday in our own lives filled with greed, pornography, sex without marriage, homosexuality, drugs and alcohol abuse. We simply reject God’s declaration against what God Himself calls sin, and we set our own law based on what we think is right. Then we go to church on Sunday and act if all is ok.

Psalm 78:17-18
Yet they still continued to sin against Him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert. And in their heart they put God to the test By asking food according to their desire.

Historically this is about the Jews, but it is also a clear picture of us today.

Psalm 78:21
Therefore the LORD heard and was full of wrath; And a fire was kindled against Jacob And anger also mounted against Israel

God’s wrath is real and it is not to be toyed with. The Bible is clear; God disciplines those He loves. To those who think these lessons from the Old Testament are not for us; Hebrews 12:5-6 says this, “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” That quote from Hebrews is taken right out of the Old Testament and given to Christians in the New Testament.

The psalmist goes on to tell of the provision God gave the Jews when they complained against Him after the exodus from Egypt.

Psalm 78:23-29
Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,  and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.  Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.  He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;  he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;  he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.  And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.

But then…

Psalm 78:30-31
But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,  the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel.

God will not force you to follow His law. But there are serious ramifications to disobedience. Friends, God does not change.

Psalm 78:32-37
In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.  So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.  When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.  They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.  But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.  Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.

Things in our world are in a precarious place. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and violent streets are upon us. There is a real threat of nuclear war in the air.

Psalm 78:38-39
Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.  He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.

Our God is a patient and long-suffering god. There is hope.

Read all of this psalm, and pray through it, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal your own sin against God and then remember that God sent Jesus to make a way for us to come back to Him. Cry out to Him with a true repentant heart.

The history story in this psalm ends with David.

Psalm 78:70-72
He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;  from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.  With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

This is simply a picture of Jesus, who had not yet come when this psalm was written. But He has now. Our hope is in Him. But real faith in Jesus is faith that obeys His commandments and does not make up its own moral law. It follows the law of God, the law of Jesus.

So, you went to church today; good for you. You should have. But if tomorrow you reject God’s way and act like Israel by seeking food of your own desire then you are not loving Jesus, who said this in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Learn from history. Repent and follow Jesus. Don’t go down the same path you keep choosing, but follow the Great Shepherd, as we see in the 23^rd Psalm.

Psalm 23:1-4

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Do that and you will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.