His Way: Abundant Pardon

​Let the wicked forsake his way,
​​And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
​​Let him return to the LORD,
​​And He will have mercy on him;
​​And to our God,
​​For He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7

I want to go to Heaven, forever. And I have a few ideas about what Heaven should be. Those sound like my way. And the first line of our verse for today addresses my way. Throughout the years of my life on this earth I have shown my way to be filled with, let's see, what's the word for it? Oh yes, it too is right there in that first line of the verse, wicked. Indeed from an early age I learned how to demand my way and care nothing for my neighbor's way. The closest neighbor of course being my mother and my method of demanding being the usual for a baby, something in the tone of 'waaah!'.

Our verse tells of forsaking my way, the way of selfishness and thinking that I have a knowledge of what is good and what is evil. Hmm, that reminds me of something too, an old story from the Bible. As soon as Adam took that forbidden fruit, he likely was stunned by the number and strength of unrighteous thoughts that assaulted his mind. And the call from that first day of sin was for us to return to the Lord. Adam tried to hide from the Lord, and then he tried to blame his wife. Men have performed poorly at saving themselves ever since that time.

Two lines in this verse speak of wicked and unrighteous men, one line is a meeting of the man and the Lord, and then comes mercy and abundant pardon. Note how we are to return to the LORD and to our God. Jesus is our Lord and the way to God the Father. My way will never save me, but His way, who by the way IS the Way, has saved us from the law of sin and death.

Praise God for His mercy and abundant pardon!

Bucky

Love Trumps Rules?

Revive me with your loyal love, that I might keep the rules you have revealed. Psalm 119:88

[Disclaimer] There is no apostrophe in the title and this is not a statement about our President's decrees.

When I searched on love and rules in the Bible text, it was interesting that there was no verse saying that love trumps rules. In fact, there were several verses in the New English Translation and a couple in the ESV where love and rules went hand in hand. Deuteronomy, that old book of the law, spoke of loving the Lord and keeping His rules. The psalmist spoke of loving the Lord's rules and the prophets wrote of God's unfailing love as He rules. So, at least using those words, love does not trump any of the Lord's rules. Instead, love enables us to keep the rules and love is constantly in God's will as He rules.

In place of viewing the rules of the Word of God as some whip cracking down on us, it might be that we are to look to those two great rules the Lord Jesus gave to us that fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets. And indeed, both of them involve love. Love is not a way out of or around the rules, but a way to live in them and keep them.

Praise God for His great unfailing love and His wonderful rules!

Bucky

Trashing the Honorable

The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the elder,
And the base toward the honorable.” Isaiah 3:5

We may think that insolence from the younger persons is something invented in this particular generation, but Isaiah brought the prophecy of the Lord to another generation many years ago showing this would come to Israel, the remnant called Judah in this case. As I am no longer a child in years, there is a bit less to worry about, but then there is that line about the base and the honorable.

This thumbing the nose, to use an elder term, or trashing those in office comes to us as a temptation. And no it is not limited to the current president, though he may have raised it to unprecedented levels of popularity and volume. Speaking those disparaging words toward our leaders is likely a sign that the first two lines of this verse cannot be far behind. I don't think that I would care to live in a place where everyone was oppressed, and each by their neighbors at that! Even in our little town though we have seen the laws used to oppress one another by a neighbor. Perhaps a time as foretold by Isaiah to Judah is not far away for us too.

May the Lord our God guide us home to Him soon,

Bucky

On Eagle's Wings...to Himself!

"You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." Exodus 19:4

In the Revelation there is a prophecy of Israel and eagle's wings once again wherein the woman, which we know to be Israel by her birth of a special son, is given two wings of a great eagle to fly to a refuge. A place of refuge is of course what we look to our Lord to provide. We also look to meet the Lord Jesus in the clouds at the Rapture, which would also be a place where eagle's wings could take us if they are ordained by Him.

Eagle's wings speak of travel high, far, and fast. Travel away from danger and into the loving arms of our Savior. But the eagle's wings must also go into a shrieking dive to rend and kill. True, for now, but that is what the eagle must do to get by in this fallen and cursed world. We have similar activities that we do to get by until the reunion with our Lord. What we look, somewhat enviously we may admit, to the eagle for is that ability to fly high and far at great speed. And God uses that metaphor to remind us of that glorious destination in this amazing flight - to Himself! He brought Israel to Himself in the wilderness and daily He brings you and me to Himself with speed in this wilderness of the world. One day, as on wings of eagles, He will bring us to Himself forever.

Have a great day in the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Out of Context!

the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, Genesis 15:19

We sometimes like to grab verses out of context and use them for our own benefit. Well, here you go, take this verse and run with it. How did someone even think this should be a verse? Did division of the words in Genesis go a step too far? Some verses do stand well on their own, telling the story and all we need to know even these many years later. John 3:16 is a good example of this. But other verses must have their context or at the very least we are left quite baffled. What's a Kenite? Who were the Kenezzites and what happens if you use that one on a triple word score in Scrabble? Are there any Kadmonites left? Where was Kadmon anyway?

In the context, these are all peoples in the land promised to Abraham when he was still known as Abram. The Lord our God is making a covenant with Abram that includes all the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. Ponder on the meaning of that geography for a moment or two! The context makes all the difference. That one verse taken from its context is utterly incomprehensible to us in these latter days. Those folks are so far out of our knowledge that the names just buzz in our ears (one more than the others) and we have no idea what to make of this verse. In the story though, we can understand that these nations or tribes occupied land that the Lord has contracted with Abram to own by way of His promise.

Memorized verses are good, but read the Bible and get the story!

Bucky

Confusion Everywhere

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:33

The label states, 'no something' and gives no context. Is it a warning or an advertisement? Does the absence of that something make the product better, cheaper, or what? This is but a tiny part of the confusion sewn throughout the world and now grown into fully mature plants with seeds of confusion scattering far and wide. Political parties proclaim the other parties wrong about everything. One side says this thing must be eliminated at the same time as the other side says that it is essential to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And let's not get into all the religions of the world. Confusion and deception increase daily, and we need a sure thing to look to in this world.

The confidence we have in Christ shows you the way before I can even write it down, His word. The word of God is that sure thing we can study daily, indeed we must study daily, to bring us back to assurance in Christ while the storm of confusion rages all around. We believe in Christ and we believe His word!

Bucky

He Breathed On Them

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20:21-23

He breathed on man once and life began in the man; He breathed on man the second time and life in the Spirit began. There is a remarkable similarity between the first life giving breath and the second. One life breathed in and then Adam chose to go his own way bringing death. Born once and fallen, from then on all of Adam's progeny were born fallen. Our Lord Jesus became the way to life once more by bringing the second birth, and to live all must be born again. And then our Lord breathed on man again and the Spirit of God came into those who believe in Him. And I can no more explain this than Nicodemus could back in his day.

It is the power of God in us and this new life comes by the breathing of our Lord into you and me. Rebirth in the Spirit and of the Spirit, the breath of life from God and from our Lord Jesus, and I have taken on something in this writing which I cannot teach or explain or even guess at. It is His word and work, and it is His word at work in us. To the unbeliever that is Christian mumbo-jumbo. To those who believe, we have no explanation for this great work of God save to give the glory to Him.

Faith cannot explain the mechanism or the method, but faith believes in the One who worked His will in us.

Bucky

It Melted?

So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted. Exodus 16:21

The sun melted? Sounds like an apt description for our weather lately. Of course, the manna melted away, not the sun. But what a test placed before Israel. This manna was tasty stuff. Now imagine your favorite food spread out on the rocks each morning. As much as anyone could want and more! Cheeseburgers, or pizza, or fried chicken, too early for that? How about all those good breakfast foods? And all you have to do is walk out of the tent each morning and gather what you need for the day.

Just for the day. No leftovers in little plastic dishes in the fridge.

Even as a bachelor, I have leftovers in the fridge and a pantry cupboard with food in it. No matter how good that manna was though, no matter how bleak the landscape might look in all directions from the camp, there was to be no storage. They tried and the worms liked the manna just as much as the people did. The stuff melted on the ground about mid-day, and it rotted overnight in the shade of a tent. This was not about overeating on that first day when Israel discovered manna was really good, but about trusting in God to provide each day and twice on Friday (for the Sabbath).

We would struggle too. A feast spread out for us each day, but only take what you need for the day and no sleeping in until noon? Yup, I could see problems coming for all of us in one way or another. No hunting for meat, just gather up that manna each morning. So, what did they do for the remainder of a normal day in the wilderness? And they didn't have the Internet back then!

Stay safe in the Lord today!

Bucky

In The Middle Of It

“The harvest is past,
​​The summer is ended,
​​And we are not saved!” Jeremiah 8:20

In the middle of something it seems that the next thing is far away. Yesterday was hot; today is forecast as hotter; tomorrow more heat and humidity. We are in the middle of it. It being summer of course, and I didn't need to tell you that. Jeremiah warned in our verse for today that there is an ending. A time comes when that which we are in the middle of is no more and has come to a close.

As for the church age, that time between the ascension of Christ and His glorious return, we may be in the middle of it or we may be close to the ending of it. Right now we cannot see the end and it seems much the same to us as it always has been. All we know for sure is that we are not present in the beginning of it. My evidence is that I can read about Peter and Paul in the Bible, and I have not met them recently. If you just graduated high school this year, you may wonder if one or both was still alive when I was a child. Not to worry, I did the same thing to my elders when I was your age.

Yes, we are in the summer time of the church, and we do not know yet when the harvest will be over and done with. Yet, recall Jeremiah and know that the time will come when the autumn and winter of this earth has come and swiftly the end will follow. However, there comes a new season and the return of our Lord to His place to make all things new. It seems so far away from us now, but swiftly He comes!

In the name of our precious Lord Jesus,

Bucky

The Gloomy Pits of Darkness

For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. 2 Peter 2:4

Gloomy pits of darkness, why would anyone want to go there? And yet, many do. Of course they do not think that is what they want; thinking instead that they are going their own way to a heaven they imagine. For that matter, why would angels in heaven want to go down to gloomy pits of darkness? Well, of course they did not think they were going there either. The Devil doesn't want to go there; he wants to set his throne above the Lord's. The gloomy pits of darkness are not on anyone's wish list of places to abide.

We don't want to go there either, but if that is our only reason for doing good works then we have discovered a quite selfish reason. So, do good works so that we can go to heaven? Hmm, better target of course, but still a selfish and self-centered reason for striving to do good. And who says that a few good works done for your eternal destination is good enough to make the cut? The entrances to the gloomy pits of darkness seem to be yawning just a little wider this morning.

The only answer to our salvation remains in Jesus our Lord. Why did the angels who sinned not get a chance at repentance in Christ? Well, He was there with them, was He not? Whether the chance was given or not does not matter to our situation though. We do have the good news of Jesus Christ and we do have the time to decide to believe in Him...for now. Spreading the good news is eternally critical for the many who refuse to believe. The time grows shorter with each passing day. The hour and day of His return is set! Let us share again the good news that our Lord Jesus accepts all who come to Him, and all need to come to Him, soon!

The grace of Jesus Christ to you,
Bucky

Faith or Pride?

“Behold the proud,
​​His soul is not upright in him;
​​But the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4

Ah, no, not that verse again! That means I have to spell 'Habakkuk' on a Monday morning. Why couldn't that prophet have a name like Tim or Joe or Bob? But I did spell it, you might point out, twice. Yes, but I also fumbled it both times as there seems to be some urgent desire to put a double B in the man's name. Not sure why that would be.

Two sides to this coin: the proud who does not have an upright soul, and the just who live by faith. Wait, wouldn't the usual opposite side of the coin be the just living upright in their soul? Yes, if we are talking regular old coins metaphorically, even though our coins are not meant to be opposites on the heads and tails, or obverse and reverse if we want to be correct. And where was I? Ran the ol' thought train right off the rails there!

Anyway, the proud and the just. It is interesting that God does not send word through Habakkuk (got it, that time!) that the just live by the uprightness or righteousness of the soul. No, we would have no chance that way, for all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard. Instead, the just live by faith. Faith in what or whom?

Faith and believes in are the same, and the One we believe in is Jesus the Christ. For He is, the way, the truth, and the life.

Live in Christ by faith!
Bucky

Not Always Our Desire

He saw that rest was good,
​​And that the land was pleasant;
​​He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden,
​​And became a band of slaves.  Genesis 49:15

Among Jacob's last words is this verse to Issachar, and it speaks to us these many years later. We can also see the later meanings that would come for all of Israel and not just the one tribe. Did 400 years of slavery in Egypt begin with Issachar? If the words of Jacob were prophetic, and it seems they are, then what did Issachar do to get this started?

According to the preceding verse, Issachar lay down like a donkey between two burdens. We do not know what they were, but apparently he bowed his shoulder to one of them - probably a decision made without consulting the Lord. Issachar may have chosen to do what he wanted instead of what the Lord desired of him. A choice we face often ourselves. In choosing his desire over the Lord's will, which is the heart of sin, he became enslaved. Sin does that to people.

However, we can know that this is not a permanent condition by a little jaunt back to Revelation 7:7 where we find 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Issachar. The tribe made it (will make it) to the end times, unlike other tribes who fell to sin along the way and are not found in that list. (The tribe of Dan, for example.) We too may fall into a trap of sin brought on by a decision to go our way instead of the Lord's way, and we can find forgiveness and mercy in our Lord. Amen!

Have a great weekend in Christ!

Bucky

Your Will or His?

I would hasten my escape
​​From the windy storm and tempest. Psalm 55:8

We agree with the psalmist, David in this case, and we too would hasten our escape from this world. Whether by way of the Rapture or through calling it quits on this world soon, we would be glad to be gone.

John may have groaned a bit when he heard the Lord say that he would be staying through to the end. Old age brings with it some sufferings, and there is something to be wished for in an early exit. Jesus also told Peter that he too would be staying on for a bit, but his end didn't sound quite so easy. Both disciples likely had an 'I would' available to them, just like you and me do, but we also know whose will is going to happen. When we pray that God's will be done, we are repenting of that 'I would', just as David brought his psalm to a close with, "But I will trust in You."

For those who do not yet believe, we may be here for a bit or we may be gone soon, but we will to do His will, and will pray for you and His salvation.

In Christ the Lord,
Bucky

The Power of Darkness Hour

“When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Luke 22:53

One way we think to measure freedom is in the time to do anything we want to do. (What we need of course is freedom from sin.) One power that does not have that sort of freedom is the power of darkness. We know from the Book of Job that the top dog in that power needed to get God's hedge of protection removed or loosened in order to attack Job, and even then there were restrictions. Jesus here speaking to the worldly authorities noted a particular hour when they were allowed to seize the person of the Christ. From Pilate to the lowest ranking soldier or priest, the worldly ones needed a break in the authority of the Christ in order to seize Him and do their will for that brief time. It had to be.

Those of us who believe in Jesus know that without this, no amount of force or guile could overcome the power of the Almighty, which Jesus as God in human form could have shown at any time He desired to do so. The Man who calmed the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee surely could have sent the power of darkness packing. The One who healed so many and sent out the demons from so many others would surely not have been balked by a few men with spears and swords had He not desired first to fulfill His Father's will in the crucifixion. He submitted, but He was not weak.

For a brief time at the end of things here, the power of darkness will once more enjoy a season, a time, a few short years of power and the freedom to do some terrible things. But our Lord Jesus has already stated more than once to us that He is, "The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End". (Revelation 21:6).

The love of the Almighty to you and yours on this day,

Bucky

We Would Not?

 For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:
​
​​“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
​​In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
​​But you would not,
​​And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
​​Therefore you shall flee!
​​And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
​​Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
Isaiah 30:15-16

What is it like to 'would not' before the Lord? I think we know by now through our disobedience.

When things are not going well, say in Bible study or prayer or worship, we often bend toward action. The Word of the Lord will get into my head if I just spend 12 hours of each day reading it, we say with the confidence of hard work. One commentary on the Word is not working, so surely three will do the trick. Or, I just need a different minister and all will be right between me and God, he said, right before the upheaval in the local church began. We have tried these and other things when the doldrums of the spirit have set in on us. The Israelites had a similar answer to the Lord when He spoke to them words of returning, rest, quietness, and confidence: Let us run to the hills on horseback!

Disobedience toward the Lord must be the number one reason for our struggles in the body of Christ. What's that you say? Unbelief? The unbelievers have their religious duties to help them through the tough times, or no religion to worry over at all. It is those who believe in Jesus and struggle to obey that face the dark night of the soul, the claustrophobia in the prayer closet, and an uproar in the church group. We mourn over the sudden opaqueness in the Word and the wall that seems to have sprung up between the supplicant and the Savior. And the answer may well be, "But you would not."

Love and joy in Christ to you,

Bucky

Lights In The World

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world," Philippians 2:14-15

If you have ever held a leadership position, you will know what a delight it would be to have a group to lead who lived by this scripture passage. Of course you did...when the order was for a long weekend or to work on a popular project. Paul though is writing to the Philippians about those times when the command is not so much fun. A team-building exercise by way of coming together to complete an onerous task that needs doing, not the ones where the group goes to a ballgame. Yes, those orders where we the leaders and former leaders have heard expressed the sounds of human suffering, the moaning of the condemned, the lamentation of those left behind...yes, the hyperbole of the masses being told something they didn't want to do. What a light we could be in the world by simply not joining in the griping and complaining that so often characterizes the groups we work in at our place of employment.

Now that sounds almost doable, but what if we were to abstain from complaining and disputing in politics?

Bucky

Gentle Cords

I drew them with gentle cords,
​​With bands of love,
​​And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.
​​I stooped and fed them. Hosea 11:4

After I gave my life to Jesus, I waited to feel the tug of His chains and felt nothing. I read the verses about being guided to the right or left, and waited for the pull on me to either side. Yet I felt nothing. It seemed that every decision was mine alone and the consequences were often too much for a person to bear on his own. The Lord foretold of hooks in the jaws to Sennacherib who had spoken proudly before the Lord after being given strength and purpose to accomplish a mission. That sounds a bit more like what I expected. But that is what God has for those who would stand proudly against Him.

The verse for today explains why we do not feel what that enemy whispers to us. The Lord our God uses bands of love, gentle cords to lead us. We are not yanked around like the proud ones, but led gently with love. The Lord removes the yoke of sin's payment from our neck and stoops to feed us. Those whispers of the enemy are lies. Trust in the Lord as He leads us gently in His love!

Gentle in love, our Lord.

Bucky

All Shall Know Him

"No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:34

Teaching is one of the callings we have one toward another. Some are blessed in doing it and others are blessed to receive it. However, this verse speaks of a future time when no teaching about the Lord is needed. All shall know Him. No more Bible study classes, no sermons, all already know the Lord. Kind of seems strange, does it not? What about worship services? Perhaps not, but only because all will worship the Lord already, all the time. Gathering together? Maybe we will be gathered together at all times already as the bride of Christ.

This verse speaks of something fulfilled that is no longer needed. New has come and the old thing has been set aside forever. Our Lord spoke of making all things new, so it stands to reason that we can wait as old things are set aside and new things take their places. Guessing what they might be is enjoyable, but will those guesses be correct? Of course, every one of us has something we do out of necessity now that we would gladly set aside in the new times to come. I could start a list, but would soon be overwhelmed. Like you, I will wait on the Lord and see all those new things He makes. Starting with knowing Him though, that is certainly a good 'un! I look forward to that with you!

Love and joy in Christ the Lord!

Bucky