richardwbelcher

Different Answers In The Lord

Psalm 88:10  Will you work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise you? Selah

The Selah of Psalms calls the reader to think or meditate before proceeding.  As believers we should always be a little slow to assume we know until we have allowed Holy Spirit to administer insight.

When one first looks at this verse in Psalm 88, the initial answer is "No, once you are dead; it is over.  When the breath leaves, life is over." But in light of redemption and the fact that Jesus went to hell for us, we who should go there can now say, "God works miracles for the dead.  The dead now praise Him!"

I allude to Abraham's Bosom as the holding place for the O.T. believing who could not access heaven until after our High Priest cleansed it with the "blood of THE Lamb". After that act, Sheol was emptied and those believers were afforded access into Heaven (see Matthew 27:52-53).

For humans whose spiritual nature descends from fallen Adam, our natures are initially dead because we did not inherit the life and light of God from our forefather.   We are born "dead in our sin" even though as babes we haven't yet done one thing wrong.

The miracle God does for us is to not leave us in our original state. He calls us and draws us to accept adoption (Eph. 1:5) so that Holy Spirit can put the life of God into our hearts (Col. 2:12). And any who receive Him are given the power to become spiritual children of God (John 1:12) because of the new life within them (2Cor. 5:17).

When we are raised with newness of life, then we join others in true praise and worship of God.  The "once dead" join the chorus of angels and of the redeemed who glorify our Lord and Savior.  God has changed the carnal response to the question, "Can the dead praise Him?"  But to accomplish it, He first changes the responder.   

Has He changed You?  John 3:5

Fight or Flight

1Timothy 6:11    But you, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Sometimes people of faith want to fight against the wiles of the devil.  That is a good mindset because Christians are to resist temptation.  We are to take our initial thoughts captive, compare them to Christ, and only perform those that align with the truth found in scripture.  This is not a simple task, but a journey that broadens as we follow the Lordship of our Savior.

However, sometimes we are not to stand and fight, but instead we are told to flee.  The Bible advises us to shun or avoid (by fleeing from) abhorrent vices.  In the verse above Paul counsels Timothy to flee certain character flaws and to instead run after a different set of values.  Paul was generically mentioning foolish decisions and injurious acts (see 1Tim 6:9).

As I think about this advice, I wonder, “How does the immature or inexperienced know what choices are foolish?  How can

Married

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Thirty-five years ago, the Lord actually set me down on the couch in our apartment and told me to turn to this verse.  He then said that I would be held accountable for every fight that occurred between my wife and me.  It changed my attitude toward her and my need to be right all the time.

Girdled with What ?

Jeremiah 13:11  'For as the girdle clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel to cling to Me,' says the LORD, 'that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.'

 

God works upon the hearts of His children to cause them to cling to Him through their understanding of how great God is.  The Lord has long-desired a people who would be His; a people of renown, of praise, and of glory. 

 

However, like the Isarelites of Jeremiah's day, too many today are not hearing.  They are trying to establish personal kingdoms and are walking in the imagination of their hearts rather than in obedience to the words and the principles of scripture.

 

Jesus has asked us to take up our cross and follow Him daily.  That means

Holy Spirit and New Covenant

A good internet friend of my wife’s,Clarence Southern Roomers , asked about a Biblical difference between Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost.  As I tried writing a comment on his post, my answer got too long (something that surprises no one who knows me).  Therefore, I had to post it here.

The Hebrew word translated “spirit” is Rawach (Strong’s H7307 [remember that]). It is associated with the concept of breath occurring 378 times but translated in the KJV using 17 different words (spirit is the choice 232 times).  The associated Greek word translated “spirit” is Pneuma (Strong’s G4151).  That word occurs 385 times in the New Testament. It is translated Ghost 91 times and Spirit 137.  Interestingly it is also (with a negative word) used to describe evil spirits 47 times.

I checked the Interlinear Bible of the original languages and found no literary reason for choosing

God of the Snow

Isaiah 55:10,11 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.

Every time it snows, great joy (along with concern) covers the South.  We don’t know how to handle frozen precipitation, but many long for its presence.  When it snows, I am reminded of this verse in Isaiah that is often misquoted by Christians who state that when THEY return God’s word to Him it prospers whereunto THEY sent that word to God.

Spring rain produces gentle washing and refreshing.  However, snow is cold and does not immediately produce changes in the water-table. Snow often lays in place and only later is absorbed into the ground.  Both kinds of precipitation are sent by

Trusting the Lord

Psalm 119:39-40 Turn away the reproach which I dread, for your judgments are good. Behold I long for your precepts: revive me in your righteousness.

When Jesus goes to the cross, He recieves reproach and is forsaken by the Father. His sacrifical suffering occurs as my (our) substitute.  Psalm 119 (the longest Psalm) is filled with couplets that are great for meditation.  When we exprience reproach for standing up for truth, we need the Father's help to turn trouble away and to allow peace to remain. If we follow the leading of the Spirit and the principles of the scriptures, our hope will rest in the fact that the Lord is good.  He desires to strengthen us through each confrontation so that, like Jesus, when we are tempted, we will not sin. 

Jesus went to hell on my behalf and was revived again.  When I face reproach and, figuratively, feel like dying, I need to remember that I was crucified with Christ and the life I now live is not mine, but the will of the Father's (see Galatians 2:20).  If God could revive  Jesus from the actual pit of hell, then He can certainly raise me up from any trap I find myself in. Therefore I need to keep my trust in the Lord.

When we long for the precepts of God's word to be the rule of our life, we embark on a journey around or through situations.  Whichever God chooses, He is faithful toward us as we walk in His righteousness. Alongside each trial, the Father provides a way (1Cor 10:13) so be encouraged and remain righteous.

Christ the Son of God

Acts 9:20,24  And straightway Paul preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God … proving that this is very Christ.

After his conversion in Damascus, Paul preached that Jesus was the specific, anticipated Christ who was the Son of God.  These statements are loaded with meaning and with implications.  The same zealous, religious Saul who persecuted and killed believers was using his scriptural knowledge and revelation to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah.  This means that the Old Testament contains passages that identify the Christ and that narrows the timing to indicate that Jesus is THE Messiah.  Many studies on Old Testament prophetic passages identify such scriptures.  Here is one site with listings.  

Acts 9:20 also states that Paul preached that Jesus was the Son of God.  This notion is even more important.  It embodies the essence of the Christmas Season and the