better words than I...

Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from You."
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let Your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

~David, Psalm 16

Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;
they are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them,
the waters of a full cup are drained by them.
And they say, "How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward You.

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
You hold my right hand.
You guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward You will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the Rock of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from You shall perish;
You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to You.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all Your works.

~Asaph, Psalm 73

O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your forbearance take me not away;
know that for Your sake I bear reproach.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and Your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,
O Jehovah, God of hosts.
I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;I sat alone,
because Your hand was upon me,
for You had filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will You be to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?

Therefore thus says the Lord:
"If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save and deliver you,
declares Jehovah.
I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless."

~Jeremiah, Jeremiah 15:15-21

Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says,

"In a favorable time I listened to you,
in a day of salvation I have helped you."

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by thruthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as imposters, and yet are true; and unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

"I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be seperate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a Father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty."

~Paul, 2 Corinthians 6

my gorge rises at it

You get three points if you can tell me where the title of this blog came from.

But all foolishness set aside:

What have we become?
A self indulgent people
What have we become?
Tell me, where are the righteous ones?
What have we become?
In a world degenerating
What have we become?

What is going through our heads? I'm sick lately of these filthy rags.

"What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient servants, you are servants of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?"
~Romans 6:15-16

There are two kingdoms. Light and darkness. There is no in between. We are servants of sin or obedient to God. This isn't an angel and a devil on our shoulder type thing, sometimes we side with one, sometimes with the other.

"But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it."
~Joshua 6:18

God is bent on destroying sin. After Joshua said this, the people went into the city of Jericho and destroyed all there: man, woman, child, animal, and all that could be burned. One man took a nice piece of clothing. Israel was defeated in their next battle, and 36 men died because of his sin. Then, he and his family was stoned and burned. After that, Israel easily defeated their enemies with no problem, killing 12,000 without losing a single man themselves.

"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that [Christ] appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy to works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he can not keep on sinning because he has been born of God."
~1 John 3:4-9

Not one of the most popular passages in scripture. Why? Because we love our filthy rags. We're being offered white robes, why do we cling to the rags?

What about love?
What about God?
What about holiness?
What about mercy, compassion, and selflessness?

Oh, that we would learn to abide!

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirits are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under teh law. Now the works of the flesh are evident; sexual immorality, impurity, sesuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, murder, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
~Galatians 5:16-24

If a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Gal. 5:9), then why are we not aggressively seeking out the areas of our life where sin lies undisturbed and giving those areas over to God in obedience? And not just the ugly sins, but worldliness, vanity, greed, manipulation, and everything that the Spirit is against. We have taken a weak view towards sin, making some worse than others, but there is only sin and obedience, and nothing that doesn't come from God can stand before Him, so why do we permit it?

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1

And what does our Lord say?

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recogize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."
~Matthew 7:15-20

And again,

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a brance and withers; and the brances are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
~John 15:1-11

What are we to say then? "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be perecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Tim. 3:12-13) Where is our persecution?

Where is our desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus?

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
~Romans 8:1

"Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
~Romans 8:8

"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries....'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls."
~Hebrews 10:26-27,37-39

Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
~Matthew 9:61-62

If anyone would dispute that God does not require absolute holiness out of us, let him show me in scripture. Yet it is not our holiness that He accepts, because our filthy rags are worth nothing to Him. He doesn't want the kingdom of darkness's attempts at holiness. Instead, if we abide, being completely obedient, crucifying our flesh, then He purifys us as He is pure, and we receive His righteousness, and we no longer belong to ourselves, for truly a King can command His servants without first asking how they feel about the command. In this country we've gotten so used to owning our own lives that we don't know what it means to say "Lord" to Christ. If He is our Lord, He would have us live differently then we are. The freedom I am given in this country I only count as value in that it lets me be a bondservant and a slave to Christ, obedient to His heart and no other.

Consult Matthew 22:1-14.

"Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it....for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from His works as God did his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience."
~Hebrews 4:1,10-11

So we rest from our works, because they are worthless, but by being obedient we receive His righteousness and are not put to shame.

"Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."
~Hebrews 12:12-14

~sojourner

The Blues

Is this the New Year or just another night?
Is this the new fear or just another fright?
Is this the new tear or just another desperation?

So easy to feel all alone and pass it off as a fad.

Is this the finger or just another fist?
Is this the kingdom or just a hit n' miss?
A misdirection, most in all this desperation

I know I'm not alone...but right now I'm even confused on the issues. Things I spoke so surely about a week ago...now I hesitate...what was I so worked up about.

Is this what they call freedom?
Is this what you call pain?
Is this what they call discontented fame?

Maybe the world is just this way...maybe I can't expect anything more.

It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in

But more is still beckoning. And it won't stop beckoning.

I'm singing this one like a broken piece of glass
From broken arms an' broken noses in the back
Is this the New Year or just another desperation?

"So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his words as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience"
~Hebrews 4:9-11

You're pushing till you're shoving
You bend until you break
Till you stand on the broken fields where our fathers lay

"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in his.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls."
~Hebrews 10:35-39

It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in

And He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet and I heard Him speaking to me. And He said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day....And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks...But you, son of man, hear what I say to you."
~Ezekiel 2:1-3,6a,8a

There's nothing here worth saving,
Is no one here at all?
Is there any net left that could break our fall?

"But you, gird up your loins; arise, and say to them everything that I have commanded you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I, behold I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares Jehovah, to deliver you."
~Jeremiah 1:17-19

It'll be a day like this one
When the sky falls down and the hungry and poor and deserted are found
Are you discontented?
Have you been pushing hard?
Have you been through and down this broken house of cards?

I know what I have to do, but I'm afraid. But there is no more time for being afraid.

It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in

Is there nothing left now?
Nothing left to sing
Are there any left who haven't kissed the enemy?
Is this the New Year or just another desperation?

Just as I could find you, do the wicked never lose?
Is there any honest song to sing besides these blues?
And nothing is okay
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in
Until the world caves in

~"The Blues" by Switchfoot

What if today could be the day we rise up and find that we are strong?

"An appaling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?"~Jeremiah 5:30-31

~sojourner