The conclusion of the whole matter
Can you hide yourself from God? No. Can you hide yourself fomr man? Yes. Can you hide yourself from your loved ones, those who supposedly know you better than you're supposed to know yourself? Yes. How often is it someone does something that is shockingly out of character? More often than people probably like. Secret things, evil secret things and even good secret things. Thing are hid from people but not God. We are blind to a lot things in life, completely blind and yet there is One who sees everything little thing we do. God is our judge and the standard of that judgement is reverence towards God and keeping His commandments- that is our whole duty. Reverencing God, putting God where He belongs in our lives, the only supreme being, the only one worthy of any worship we have to give. Why is it so hard for us to reverence God? Why? Why is it hard to put God first? If we can't put God first are we going to keep His commandments? No. The first commandment is... Thou shall have no other gods before me.
Eccl. {12:13} Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the
whole [duty] of man. {12:14} For God shall bring every
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be]
good, or whether [it be] evil.
The conclusion of the WHOLE MATTER! There is a conclusion to the whole matter, to everything, to every question, ever moment of wondering, there is a conclusion, there is a bottom line. And in conclusion... when we hear those words we have a sense of expectation that we're coming to the end of the matter, we're coming to the last bit and if we haven't understood all the talk before at this point there is a recap that concludes the whole matter. In conclusion. In conclusion concerning man and life--
Fear God and keep his commandments, this is the whole duty of man.
But there is a little more to that conclusion-
For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether good or whether evil.
There you have it, the conclusion to the whole matter of life.
Our lives are not hidden, they are not secrets to God. While no one on earth can really know us truly- know all the secret things of our heart, God knows. If you've nothing to hide from God you've no problem with Him knowing all there is to know, right? When we believe we are hiding anything from God we are mistaken. If we think that by ignoring Him and keeping Him out of our lives that He'll leave us alone, well no matter what we do He knows. There is no place a person can hide from God. We might be able to hide from each other, hide from a loved one, hide from the law, hide from strangers, hide from ourselves and yes, sometimes we fill our hearts with self-delusion to hide from ourselves and we do a darn good job of it too; but we can't hide anything from God. Some might say that's a cruel God who watches us, looking for us to make a mistake and obviously they don't know God's character at all. He is our Creator! He loves us! Out of love He wants us to be the creatures He made us to be and to be those creatures we must love Him and understand that He loves us. It's not by coincidence we are given life as we are- coupling and as a result children. A great lesson is learned, an imperfect lesson but a lesson nonetheless, when we have children. Generally parents want what is best for their children- God wants what is best for us. Our Heavenly Father wants His children to trust in Him. Can we always trust our earthly parents? No. But God is our Creator, our parents while having a hand in our creation only do so because God first gave them life.
May we come to understand the conclusion of the whole matter of life- it's no mystery.
Eccl. {12:13} Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the
whole [duty] of man.
May God bless and keep us, may we learn to fear God, to reverence God, to keep His commandments as He would have us keep them, in His love.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior this is possible and only through Him. In His love now and forever.
Amen.
6/6/10
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Sleep in the dust of the earth... what does it mean to sleep in the dust of the earth? Think about it for a moment. If a person is awake after they die they're no longer sleeping, right? Why would the dead need to sleep anyway, they aren't alive needing the basics of life- sleep, food, air, water. Yes read that again-
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.
The only time a person sleeps in the dust of the earth is when they are dead. Dust returning to dust. Many shall awake when Christ returns to deliver His people. However of those many awaking not all are going to wake up to everlasting life but rather everlasting shame and contempt.
The Bible tells us the dead in Christ shall rise...
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Some wake to life in Christ, others wake to destruction.
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power
Every eye shall see Him!
Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Life and death, life after death and death after death. People don't like to think about death after death. People don't like to contemplate not existing in one form or another. People believe foolishly that no matter what they will be saved, they will be written in the Book of Life. People delude themselves and allow themselves to be deluded by others into believing that death is just merely a stepping stone to a new and better life. Those that believe in hell as pictured in many movies, books, televison shows etc, even then don't seem all that concerned about it being real or not being real.
Everlasting shame and contempt. Shame and contempt that will last until non-existence takes over in the very end of all sin, the end of all evil.
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
There will be a time of trouble right before the people of God are delivered, the people who have died in Christ and live in Christ will go with Him when He returns. That time of trouble isn't far off and we really need to place our faith in Jesus, our hope in Jesus, our lives in Jesus hands claiming His righteousness knowing that in Him is LIFE and life is found in no other.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior now and forever and ever!
Amen.
6/6/11
Psa 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
Do we need to pray this? Most of us aren't in the hands of the wicked, are we? Do the unrighteous and cruel men hold us captive? Perhaps we are held captive more than we realize. Seriously. Just how much do other people influence our lives? Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, friends, neighbors, peers, schoolmates, teachers, doctors, everyone we come in contact with has a touch of influence upon our lives. The stranger that smiles, the stranger that frowns, the stranger that seems oblivious to our existence. Those we work for, those who work for us, those who help us, those we help. It's an endless ongoing influence surrounding each of us. We have even more influence from others nowadays from those who are online. Whole groups of people that would otherwise be total strangers to us are now influences that affect us.
When Christ prayed to His Father to NOT take us out of this world but to KEEP us from evil, it was a prayer that was more necessary than we really understand. Evil's influence comes in so very many forms. To pray to be delivered from the wicked, the unrighteous, and the cruel person is asking to be protected from the evil people in the world, isn't it?
The wicked-
Pro 5:22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
Pro 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
Pro 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
Pro 15:28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Pro 21:10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil…
Pro 24:19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The wicked- those who are bound up in sin, deceitful, evil.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful
The wicked surround us and when we dare to acknowledge the wicked ways we are witness to we are the ones who are often unjustly condemned. We need protection from the wicked, we need to pray as David prayed- Deliver me oh my God out of the hand of the wicked. The wicked are not simply the gangsters on the street. The wicked are not just the murderers caught and jailed. The wicked are not just the sexual predators our world is filled with. The wicked are ANY that would keep us from God. The wicked are ANY that would do anything to prevent us from worshipping our Savior as we are told to worship. The wicked are all who are unrepentant. We need to be delivered from any that would keep us from God. We need the protection of the Holy Spirit to keep us from succumbing to the grand delusions that surround us that try and convince us that God's way is wrong, that evil is good and good is evil.
We do need to pray-
Psa 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
We are surrounded by people who wear false cloaks of righteousness and are eager and ready to hand us a cloak just like theirs. While we must live IN this world, we need to pray that we are kept from evil. Our Savior prayed that way for us and if He prayed that way we too need to pray that way. Deliver us from evil- from the wicked, from the unrighteous, from the cruel men that surround us. We can never cease to pray to be delivered, never. We can never become comfortable in believing all those around us only care for our well-being. We can never allow ourselves to believe there are no wicked, no unrighteous, no cruel people. While we MUST NEVER condemn another's eternal life because that is not ours to know, but we must understand that evil lurks all around us- it's not paranoia if it's true, right? Far be it from me to call another wicked, evil, unrighteous, or cruel- I have my own problems, that old beam in my own eye to removed so I can pluck a tiny mote out of another's eye. But I can't allow myself to be deceived into believing that evil, that wickedness, that unrighteousness, or that cruelty doesn't exist. I must understand my need for deliverance in all things.
God please deliver us from ALL the wicked, ALL the unrighteous, ALL that are cruel-- in YOUR righteousness alone this is possible. Keep us from evil Lord, keep us from evil by Your mercy!
Save us oh Lord, SAVE US.
In Your amazing love!
Amen.
Can you hide yourself from God? No. Can you hide yourself fomr man? Yes. Can you hide yourself from your loved ones, those who supposedly know you better than you're supposed to know yourself? Yes. How often is it someone does something that is shockingly out of character? More often than people probably like. Secret things, evil secret things and even good secret things. Thing are hid from people but not God. We are blind to a lot things in life, completely blind and yet there is One who sees everything little thing we do. God is our judge and the standard of that judgement is reverence towards God and keeping His commandments- that is our whole duty. Reverencing God, putting God where He belongs in our lives, the only supreme being, the only one worthy of any worship we have to give. Why is it so hard for us to reverence God? Why? Why is it hard to put God first? If we can't put God first are we going to keep His commandments? No. The first commandment is... Thou shall have no other gods before me.
Eccl. {12:13} Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the
whole [duty] of man. {12:14} For God shall bring every
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be]
good, or whether [it be] evil.
The conclusion of the WHOLE MATTER! There is a conclusion to the whole matter, to everything, to every question, ever moment of wondering, there is a conclusion, there is a bottom line. And in conclusion... when we hear those words we have a sense of expectation that we're coming to the end of the matter, we're coming to the last bit and if we haven't understood all the talk before at this point there is a recap that concludes the whole matter. In conclusion. In conclusion concerning man and life--
Fear God and keep his commandments, this is the whole duty of man.
But there is a little more to that conclusion-
For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether good or whether evil.
There you have it, the conclusion to the whole matter of life.
Our lives are not hidden, they are not secrets to God. While no one on earth can really know us truly- know all the secret things of our heart, God knows. If you've nothing to hide from God you've no problem with Him knowing all there is to know, right? When we believe we are hiding anything from God we are mistaken. If we think that by ignoring Him and keeping Him out of our lives that He'll leave us alone, well no matter what we do He knows. There is no place a person can hide from God. We might be able to hide from each other, hide from a loved one, hide from the law, hide from strangers, hide from ourselves and yes, sometimes we fill our hearts with self-delusion to hide from ourselves and we do a darn good job of it too; but we can't hide anything from God. Some might say that's a cruel God who watches us, looking for us to make a mistake and obviously they don't know God's character at all. He is our Creator! He loves us! Out of love He wants us to be the creatures He made us to be and to be those creatures we must love Him and understand that He loves us. It's not by coincidence we are given life as we are- coupling and as a result children. A great lesson is learned, an imperfect lesson but a lesson nonetheless, when we have children. Generally parents want what is best for their children- God wants what is best for us. Our Heavenly Father wants His children to trust in Him. Can we always trust our earthly parents? No. But God is our Creator, our parents while having a hand in our creation only do so because God first gave them life.
May we come to understand the conclusion of the whole matter of life- it's no mystery.
Eccl. {12:13} Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the
whole [duty] of man.
May God bless and keep us, may we learn to fear God, to reverence God, to keep His commandments as He would have us keep them, in His love.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior this is possible and only through Him. In His love now and forever.
Amen.
6/6/10
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Sleep in the dust of the earth... what does it mean to sleep in the dust of the earth? Think about it for a moment. If a person is awake after they die they're no longer sleeping, right? Why would the dead need to sleep anyway, they aren't alive needing the basics of life- sleep, food, air, water. Yes read that again-
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.
The only time a person sleeps in the dust of the earth is when they are dead. Dust returning to dust. Many shall awake when Christ returns to deliver His people. However of those many awaking not all are going to wake up to everlasting life but rather everlasting shame and contempt.
The Bible tells us the dead in Christ shall rise...
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Some wake to life in Christ, others wake to destruction.
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power
Every eye shall see Him!
Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Life and death, life after death and death after death. People don't like to think about death after death. People don't like to contemplate not existing in one form or another. People believe foolishly that no matter what they will be saved, they will be written in the Book of Life. People delude themselves and allow themselves to be deluded by others into believing that death is just merely a stepping stone to a new and better life. Those that believe in hell as pictured in many movies, books, televison shows etc, even then don't seem all that concerned about it being real or not being real.
Everlasting shame and contempt. Shame and contempt that will last until non-existence takes over in the very end of all sin, the end of all evil.
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
There will be a time of trouble right before the people of God are delivered, the people who have died in Christ and live in Christ will go with Him when He returns. That time of trouble isn't far off and we really need to place our faith in Jesus, our hope in Jesus, our lives in Jesus hands claiming His righteousness knowing that in Him is LIFE and life is found in no other.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior now and forever and ever!
Amen.
6/6/11
Psa 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
Do we need to pray this? Most of us aren't in the hands of the wicked, are we? Do the unrighteous and cruel men hold us captive? Perhaps we are held captive more than we realize. Seriously. Just how much do other people influence our lives? Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, friends, neighbors, peers, schoolmates, teachers, doctors, everyone we come in contact with has a touch of influence upon our lives. The stranger that smiles, the stranger that frowns, the stranger that seems oblivious to our existence. Those we work for, those who work for us, those who help us, those we help. It's an endless ongoing influence surrounding each of us. We have even more influence from others nowadays from those who are online. Whole groups of people that would otherwise be total strangers to us are now influences that affect us.
When Christ prayed to His Father to NOT take us out of this world but to KEEP us from evil, it was a prayer that was more necessary than we really understand. Evil's influence comes in so very many forms. To pray to be delivered from the wicked, the unrighteous, and the cruel person is asking to be protected from the evil people in the world, isn't it?
The wicked-
Pro 5:22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
Pro 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
Pro 12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
Pro 15:28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Pro 21:10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil…
Pro 24:19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The wicked- those who are bound up in sin, deceitful, evil.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful
The wicked surround us and when we dare to acknowledge the wicked ways we are witness to we are the ones who are often unjustly condemned. We need protection from the wicked, we need to pray as David prayed- Deliver me oh my God out of the hand of the wicked. The wicked are not simply the gangsters on the street. The wicked are not just the murderers caught and jailed. The wicked are not just the sexual predators our world is filled with. The wicked are ANY that would keep us from God. The wicked are ANY that would do anything to prevent us from worshipping our Savior as we are told to worship. The wicked are all who are unrepentant. We need to be delivered from any that would keep us from God. We need the protection of the Holy Spirit to keep us from succumbing to the grand delusions that surround us that try and convince us that God's way is wrong, that evil is good and good is evil.
We do need to pray-
Psa 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
We are surrounded by people who wear false cloaks of righteousness and are eager and ready to hand us a cloak just like theirs. While we must live IN this world, we need to pray that we are kept from evil. Our Savior prayed that way for us and if He prayed that way we too need to pray that way. Deliver us from evil- from the wicked, from the unrighteous, from the cruel men that surround us. We can never cease to pray to be delivered, never. We can never become comfortable in believing all those around us only care for our well-being. We can never allow ourselves to believe there are no wicked, no unrighteous, no cruel people. While we MUST NEVER condemn another's eternal life because that is not ours to know, but we must understand that evil lurks all around us- it's not paranoia if it's true, right? Far be it from me to call another wicked, evil, unrighteous, or cruel- I have my own problems, that old beam in my own eye to removed so I can pluck a tiny mote out of another's eye. But I can't allow myself to be deceived into believing that evil, that wickedness, that unrighteousness, or that cruelty doesn't exist. I must understand my need for deliverance in all things.
God please deliver us from ALL the wicked, ALL the unrighteous, ALL that are cruel-- in YOUR righteousness alone this is possible. Keep us from evil Lord, keep us from evil by Your mercy!
Save us oh Lord, SAVE US.
In Your amazing love!
Amen.