Psalm 122:
1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together.
4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
Comment: As headlines cry, "Israel Under Attack!" - it's good to refresh our minds with God's perspective on current events. We may be caught unaware by news reports; but know that our God, who knows the end from the beginning, is never surprised by late breaking news headlines.
Bible prophecy will be fulfilled, God's promises concerning Jerusalem, both the judgments against her sinfulness and the overweening glory He intended for "her" from the beginning, will come to pass.
Jerusalem is a focal point in God's plan and purpose. He chose it. He calls it Zion. He also refers to it as the "city of David." It plays an integral part in His redemptive plan - toward Israel and toward all mankind. What's more, the earthly city is representative of the heavenly city, New Jerusalem. (See Revelation 21:1-3.)
Psalm 48:
1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness.
2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
...
8 As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
9 We have thought of Thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple.
10 According to Thy Name, O God, so is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of Thy judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, and go around her: tell the towers thereof.
13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death.
For further study...
Isaiah 24:23; 62:1-4; 66:10-20; Jeremiah 3:17; Joel 2:32; 3:16-17; Zechariah 2:7-13; 8:20-22; 12:10.
Showing posts with label Current Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Current Events. Show all posts
Friday, July 11, 2014
Friday, March 23, 2012
Gathering Our Thoughts
We live in a fractured world. Current happenings conspire on a daily basis, keeping our minds so occupied with the here and now that we have no time (or even the inclination,) to ponder much of anything past the present moment. Conider these...
From the beginning, this rat-race mentality was never God's intent. And while He knows the circumstances of this present world, it is still not His intent for us. He told His disciples, "Come ye apart and rest a while." He spoke to us all when He said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
Tom Fred Tenney said, "Keep the main thing the main thing." Therein lies the key! A magazine article entitled, "Must.Focus" listed five reasons for distracted thoughts; 1.) Stress, 2.) Multi-tasking, 3.) Life change, 4.) Getting older, and, 5.) Too much on my plate. [Source: Ladies Home Journal,"Must.Focus," December 2011/January 2012, pg. 54.] The author said sensory overloads are common today. So much so that a national magazine considered it a worthwhile topic. We all get into trouble when our priorities schedule us. What we should be doing is scheduling our priorities. This is not just a semantic difference.
"The tyrany of the urgent" is mentioned in the bullet list following the first paragraph. Urgent, my friend, does not mean what we seem to think it means. Urgent is not an emergency! It may be important, but it's not life or death. Too many times we allow what is merely urgent to usurp the crucial. An old song says, "...for one-hundred years from now, it won't matter anyhow..." It's the truth! In the light of the eternal, Adam's walks and talks with God in the cool of the day were far more important than the momentary pleasure of forbidden fruit. That one choice changed everything; yet, nothing changed - for that same choice sits before us today.
Where are our priorities? Are they temporal? or eternal? after the flesh? or after the Spirit? When our priorities are set, our choices align themselves accordingly (and our "to do" list will follow suit). Daniel "purposed in his heart not to defile himself..." That purpose affected the rest of his life. Rehoboam was the last king of all Israel (the twelve tribes). Grandson of David, son of the wisest man who ever lived, yet he did not "prepare his heart to seek the LORD." That choice made all the difference - and as a result, Rehoboam lost it all! [See Daniel 1:8; & II Chronicles 12:13-14.]
Now more than ever, we need to gather our thoughts, prepare our mind, purpose in our heart, and focus our attention on what's truly important. Majoring in minors is a tool used by both the flesh and the enemy. Jesus said tithing of mint, anise, and cummin (seeds) wasn't wrong, but omitting the weightier matters, (justice, mercy, the love of God and your fellow-man,) was a critical error. When our mind is preoccupied with the mundane, it can't recognize the glimpses of glory God sends our way. Distracted thinking prevents us from gathering our thoughts and lofting them into eternity's flow.
Here's the remedy...
- sound bytes, newsflashes, 15-second commercials, abrupt segues, streaming, tweets, the internet,
- multi-tasking, cellphones, call-waiting, crowded/conflicting schedules, the tyrany of the urgent,
- media blitzkrieg, assaults on the senses; eyes, ears, nose, tastes, touch, distracted thinking,
- double-speak, hidden agendas, mind games, political correctness,
- catastrophic events, disasters, and tragedies occuring simultaneously around the world,
- nature's rampages; earthquakes, hurricanes, pestilences, tornadoes, tsunamis, typhoons, volcanoes,
- man's rampages; crime, hatred, predators, revolts, riots, suicide-bombers/bombings, vengeance, violence, wars and rumors of wars...
From the beginning, this rat-race mentality was never God's intent. And while He knows the circumstances of this present world, it is still not His intent for us. He told His disciples, "Come ye apart and rest a while." He spoke to us all when He said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
Tom Fred Tenney said, "Keep the main thing the main thing." Therein lies the key! A magazine article entitled, "Must.Focus" listed five reasons for distracted thoughts; 1.) Stress, 2.) Multi-tasking, 3.) Life change, 4.) Getting older, and, 5.) Too much on my plate. [Source: Ladies Home Journal,"Must.Focus," December 2011/January 2012, pg. 54.] The author said sensory overloads are common today. So much so that a national magazine considered it a worthwhile topic. We all get into trouble when our priorities schedule us. What we should be doing is scheduling our priorities. This is not just a semantic difference.
"The tyrany of the urgent" is mentioned in the bullet list following the first paragraph. Urgent, my friend, does not mean what we seem to think it means. Urgent is not an emergency! It may be important, but it's not life or death. Too many times we allow what is merely urgent to usurp the crucial. An old song says, "...for one-hundred years from now, it won't matter anyhow..." It's the truth! In the light of the eternal, Adam's walks and talks with God in the cool of the day were far more important than the momentary pleasure of forbidden fruit. That one choice changed everything; yet, nothing changed - for that same choice sits before us today.
Where are our priorities? Are they temporal? or eternal? after the flesh? or after the Spirit? When our priorities are set, our choices align themselves accordingly (and our "to do" list will follow suit). Daniel "purposed in his heart not to defile himself..." That purpose affected the rest of his life. Rehoboam was the last king of all Israel (the twelve tribes). Grandson of David, son of the wisest man who ever lived, yet he did not "prepare his heart to seek the LORD." That choice made all the difference - and as a result, Rehoboam lost it all! [See Daniel 1:8; & II Chronicles 12:13-14.]
Now more than ever, we need to gather our thoughts, prepare our mind, purpose in our heart, and focus our attention on what's truly important. Majoring in minors is a tool used by both the flesh and the enemy. Jesus said tithing of mint, anise, and cummin (seeds) wasn't wrong, but omitting the weightier matters, (justice, mercy, the love of God and your fellow-man,) was a critical error. When our mind is preoccupied with the mundane, it can't recognize the glimpses of glory God sends our way. Distracted thinking prevents us from gathering our thoughts and lofting them into eternity's flow.
Here's the remedy...
- "Let [allow/permit] this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..." (Philippans 2:5)
- "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" (I Peter 1:13, see also 14-16.)
- "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing [every misplaced priority] that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (II Corinthians 10:5)
- "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3)
- "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:2)
- "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
