JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL

JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL

A Psalm of David.  25:1

“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.”

            “Jesus, Lover of my Soul” is one of my favorite songs.  I love to play it on the piano in a soft jazz rhythm.  It just seems to move my spirit.  Mostly, we just sing the song because it’s moving, but the title alone holds many mysteries when you meditate on the words. 

            Let’s explore what the ‘soul’ is according to the dictionary.  (It is the immortal or spiritual part of the person without any physical or material reality, and is the emotional and moral thinking part of a human.)

 Now to go to the Word of God:  Did you know that the ‘soul’ is mentioned 1,497 times in the Bible and 294 times in Psalms alone.  As many of the Psalms are believed to be King David’s writings and songs, we realize how concerned he was with his soul.  Taking the number of times it is mentioned in the Bible, we can know how important it is to God. 

            It has been observed over and over again that at the time a person dies, the invisible spirit leaves their body.  Although it has no physical matter, it has been proven there is a change of weight in the body. In the book of Ecclesiastes 12:6-7, it appears to explain it.  “ Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

            I believe this silver cord is our spirit’s lifeline to our physical body in the same way our umbilical cord is our lifeline to our mother’s body during birth.  To put this in simple words is to say [my interpretation], “Remember, or think about God while you are young before it’s too late.  When you die, [when the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered]; [the wheel is broken at the well], the well of your life is dried up.  Then your body turns to dust and goes back into the earth.  Your spirit then returns to God in heaven where your choice while you lived will determine whether you go to Heaven or Hell.

            This warning is to every living soul.  This is why the Lord loves our soul so much.  He created us in our mother’s womb and placed our soul inside our body. ^“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. .”  Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

            I do not believe that God cares how our bodies look, or whether we have hair or not; His eyes are on the heart (our soul).  The heart is considered to be the source of emotions, thoughts, feelings and our conscience.  So what is the difference between the soul and spirit?  We live in a body and have a soul, but the real person inside of us is our spirit.  When we accept Christ as our Savior our spirit becomes new because now we are born of God.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says “ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

            Our old self was covered in dirt and grime from our past and when we are born again, it was washed clean and becomes new.  We know this by the fact that God has placed a new spirit within us and our body becomes the “temple of the Holy Spirit”.  [I Corinthians 6:19]

            We are made up of 3 parts; body, soul and spirit.  Again, I must say that the soul and spirit live within the body.  Let’s read in Genesis 2:7 (KJV):  “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 soul.”  Every human is created in God’s image, therefore able to communicate with God.  Perhaps all creatures have a soul, but they do not have a spirit as does a human being.  Only the spirit of a person can communicate with God. 

            Psalm 25:1:“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.”  In simple words we can say, “I give you all of me; my body, soul and spirit.”  That is what God wants from you; your entire being.  He loves you entirely; that’s why he sent his Son, Jesus to die for your sins, wash you clean and make you a new creature – a clean soul.  How true it is, “Jesus, Lover of my Soul”.

When my life has ended, my body and my soul will perish, but my spirit shall rise to heaven and I will be given a new body that will never die, and my spirit shall live forever more. 

 

 

           

 

CAN I LIVE A HOLY LIFE?

CAN I LIVE A HOLY LIFE?

            I’m sure many of us have asked this same question; is it possible to live a Holy Life?  I have thought about this quite often when I do or say things that are unholy.  Leviticus 19:2 tells us, “You must be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”  He didn’t say that to taken lightly.  So how can we be Holy?

     First, we must be saved by receiving Jesus as our Savior.  (John 3:16)  ^“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

     Secondly, from that time on our life should change. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

     Thirdly, we must show others that we are Christians by living Holy Lives.  2 Timothy 1:9 “For God saved us and called us to live a Holy Life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.”

            This does not mean we are perfect, nor will we become perfect in this world; it’s impossible.  But, as Christians we should desire to live more like Jesus.  We should practice the fruit of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.  This is found in Galatians, 5:22   It’s not always easy no matter how spiritually mature you are.  Our humanness strives with our spirit on many of these things.  Are we always kind?  Are we always patient?  How about being faithful?  Be honest; how often do we give in to having things go our way instead of being faithful and wait for God’s way?

            It is work to live a Holy life; anything worth having is worth working for.  Hebrews 12:14 puts is this way; “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”  We might not like thinking about these things, but I didn’t write it; it’s in the Bible.  I must remind myself that salvation its self was not free; Jesus paid the price so we might receive it and have eternal life.  If it wasn’t for God’s mercy and grace, we wouldn’t know this today.

            I know that many preach that once we receive Jesus as our Savior we are saved and don’t ever have to think about it again.  We can do whatever and God’s grace cover’s it all.  I never understood that way of thinking, although it sounds great; I am sure we must ask forgiveness when we fall into sin.  I am also sure once we are saved, we cannot just sit back and do nothing for the Lord.  In 2 Peter 2:21 it tells us this;  “It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.” You see, living a holy life is a ‘command’, not a suggestion.  Not that it makes us greater or more spiritual, but it helps us to reach out and touch others with kindness, compassion and peace.

            Jesus is coming back to claim his own; we don’t know when that will be, but I know I want to be ready.  I struggle trying to live a holy life and I surely don’t always succeed, but God knows my heart and sees that my desire is to follow him.  2 Peter 3:11 shows us how important it is to try to do that.  “Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life?”

Thank you God for showing us the way and when we stumble and fall, you pick us up and help us to continue on until we go home to you, or you return to us.  Amen

WHO WANTS TO BE A WINNER?

WHO WANTS TO BE A WINNER?

             I would guess that almost everyone would answer that question with a ‘YES’.  If you are a competitive person you will always try to win whether in racing, game playing or being in any kind of a contest.  I know I am quite competitive, especially when playing a board game.  In order to win, you must press forward as hard as you can and give your very best for it.

            Work ethics have always been a strong force in my life.  Not that I was trying to win something, but I knew it would pay off to give my best to my job.  Actually, I found great rewards by doing this such as promotion, bonuses and more pay.  If we do our best, God will do his best and we will find favor in the workplace. 

            I am reminded of Joseph in the Old Testament.  Joseph lived through some very tough times; his brothers wanted to kill him, but sold him to be a slave in Egypt.  Because of his faithfulness to God and his great work ethics he was promoted in the household where he worked.  Then he was betrayed by his master’s wife and ended up in prison.   Even there he found favor and eventually was brought before the Pharaoh who promoted him to a place where only the Pharaoh himself, was higher than Joseph over the whole land of Egypt.  

            The Message Bible puts it this way: “So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time.” 1 Peter 5:6

            Not only do we want to be a winner in life itself, but we should want to be a Spiritual winner.  Whether you like it or not, as Christians how we work, play or pray is an example to all of those around us.  What others see in our lives may help them to make a decision in their life.  The following scripture tells us how a Christian should live.  “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”  2 Timothy 2:22

            We all know what righteous living is, as well as love and peace, but do we understand faithfulness.  The dictionary says it means: constant, conscientious, agreement, steadfastness.  This applies to all areas of our life; physically as well as spiritual.  Faithfulness is one of the fruit of the Spirit [Galatians 5:22-23].

            I don’t enjoy losing in any contest, but above all I don’t want to lose this race in life.  I think of what the apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 9:24; “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”  What is the prize?  Eternal Life!

            Of all the things I have read and studied in the Bible, one thing stands out in my mind and it’s found in Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT); ^“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.  On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.”

            To put it plainly, I want to be a winner; a winner in this life and for eternity.  I’m the only one who can decide to win or lose.  Even God can’t make that decision for me.  I chose to follow Jesus and to run the race of life so I can enter heaven.  Yes, Jesus death on the cross gave me the free gift of salvation, but if I chose to throw it away and be a loser, the ball is in my court.

            What are you going to do with God’s gift; lose it or choose it?         
           

 

 

GOD'S INDEPENDENCE DAY

God’s Independence Day

            Today, July 7, 2013, Jack Wright, at Shiloh Tabernacle, explained what happened to the brave men who put together the Declaration of Independence.  When they signed their names to it they became wanted men.  They were declaring our freedom from Great Britain who then ruled our thirteen colonies which became the United States of America.  This made them traitors to the King of England and hardly any of them survived untouched. 
            One of the signers; John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail the following letter at the time:
          “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
           Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.  And, so it has been that we celebrate the Fourth of July with families, friends, parades, guns bonfires and fireworks. 
          In order to have the freedom that we have today, the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence sacrificed all they owned; their own lives and the lives of their families.  It takes sacrifice to make freedom available.  This is also true in our spiritual life.  It took a sacrifice to save us from Hell.  That sacrifice was Jesus Christ!
         God sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross that we might be saved.  In other words, set free from sin and death.  How can that be?  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” ( Romans 6:23)  The day that you believe this and then do what the Bible says,  “You confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)  You will be free at that moment; “free from the law of sin and death.”  (Romans 8:2)
         This is God’s Independence Day for you and you can celebrate it the rest of your life.  When your time on his earth is finished, you will continue to celebrate for eternity in Heaven.
          If you believe that everyone goes to heaven when they die, you are sadly mistaken.  Only those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will enter heaven.  God’s gift of his Son is free, but very costly.  Don’t mock it or shame it because God will deny any people that do.   
         We just celebrated our country’s Independence Day; why not celebrate God’s Independence Day if you have not done so.

1. Pray and ask God to forgive you of any sin in your life.

2. Believe that Jesus died for those sins.

3. Ask Jesus to come and live in your heart.

4. Thank him for loving you enough to die for you.

 You are Saved!  You are Free! Go tell somebody what happened to you.

 

Celebrate your freedom!