The Highest Thing

Psalms 138:2 (Amplified)

I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!

The Highest Thing

               What could be higher than the name of Yahweh, God Almighty?  Is there anything that could be higher?  The Psalmist David tells us there is.  It is His Word.  The Word of God is God’s guarantee of the truth that He backs and upholds by the integrity and reputation of His name that is above every name.  If you doubt the Word, then certainly we doubt God, because who is the Word?  John 1:1-5 tells us, ” IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. 2He was present originally with God.

 3All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. 4In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. 5And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].  What God has spoken and what God has “in-Christed,” if you will, He has backed with the very character and person of who He is. 

               Now look at Hebrews 6:16-20. “Men indeed swear by a greater [than themselves], and with them in all disputes the oath taken for confirmation is final [ending strife].  17Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath. 18This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us].   19[Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it–a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil, 20Where Jesus has entered in for us [in advance], a Forerunner having become a High Priest forever after the order (with the rank) of Melchizedek.”  Is not the promise and the oath of God contained within His Word? 

               You see God has given us His Word as His divine promise, by which He can not lie or deceive that He will bring to pass all that concerns us.  This is a steadfast, immovable anchor that we can take to the bank and never fear that it can be reneged upon.  Because it is the Word that holds together the universe, “All things came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being (John 1:3),” it is more feasible for the universe to utterly collapse and extinguish than for God to not uphold His Word.  That Word, that we often take so lightly and flippantly, is the power, authority and promise of the All Mighty.  Everything that God is, rest in the integrity of what is in His Word.  When we disrespect, doubt or knowingly distort the Word of God, we have stepped on and insulted the integrity of Father.  Let us not ever take His Word lightly, because He exalts it above His very name.  Let us stand in awe and wonder at just how powerful and holy God’s Word is.  It is that power and the promise that brings us within the veil into His very presence.  With all that is within you respect, honor and fear it.  His Word is not just written words upon page in a book.  They are alive, active and energized to carry out His purpose and His promise.  When you hold the Word of God, you hold a loaded gun.  It is a weapon that can kill or give life.  This is why we need the Holy Spirit to operate in it properly.  It must become a part of who we are, because He lives in us.  We are the expression of that Word in Christ and His promises are being fulfilled as we carry in faith this Holy Word in these earthen vessels.  Philippians 2:14-16 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”

               Our walk with God is in the power and authority of His Word.  What you carry, know and speak will not only change your life, but has the power to change the world around you.  God is Spirit and He has given us a spiritual Word that we, being spirit and operating out of the Holy Spirit, might bring to pass what has already been written, declared, promised and foreknown.

Blessings,

#kent

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Keep to the Path

Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Keep to the Path

There are many and diverse paths that we can take in life, but there is only one that we should be focused and sure to stay on. It is the path of the justified in Christ, the path of righteousness, the path that is leading each day into light that is shining more and more unto the perfect day. It is when we stray from this path that we begin to err from life. There are many exhortations from the Lord and many prayers from the saints to stay true to this path. Psalms 27:11 says, “Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. “ Psalms 119: 35 speaks, “Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.” Psalms 119:105 continues saying, “Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” These scriptures acknowledge the importance of learning and keeping to the path of the Lord. We see that it is the Word of God that is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path. It shows us the way and so we continually rehearse it and put it before us so that we might keep to the path.
The book of Proverbs, in teaching us its wisdom, instructs us in like manner. Proverbs 1:10-18 warns against following the pathway of sinners. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. 11 If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood, let’s waylay some harmless soul; 12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse”- 15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; 16 for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. 17 How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!” It exhorts us to avoid the temptation of hanging around bad company where we can get caught up in the snares of the enemy and stray from the path of life. Proverbs 2:6-8 tells again how to find and maintain our walk in the path of righteousness, “For the LORD gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. 9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.” Proverbs 4:10-15 give us this advice, “Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. 13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. 14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.” Finally we are left with this godly counsel in Proverbs 4:20-27, “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
It is imperative for us as the children of God to maintain diligence in holding to the path of the just. That requires that we maintain a vital relationship with the Lord in fellowship, prayer and in His Word. It means that we are always examining our ways to make sure we are not deviating from the path that Jesus walked before us.
There may be times when we find ourselves off of that path and out of the way then what do we do? In Isaiah 30:15-18 the Lord says this, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” The Lord is waiting for you, repent and keep to the path.

Blessings,
#kent

That Upon Which All Sure Things are Built

Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner [stone], a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

That Upon Which All Sure Things are Built

Every well-built building and lasting structure began with a plan and was established upon a sure foundation. God’s house is no different, for He is that master designer and builder and He has laid a foundation stone in Zion. Upon this stone is established His creation, His house, His purpose and His plan for the ages. He purposed that in Christ all that is lasting and eternal should be built. We know that Jesus Christ is that chief foundation and corner stone. While He has often been rejected of men, God has selected him and all that God is establishing is built upon Him. Without Christ we are missing the essential corner stone to build and establish a meaningful and close relationship with God, for God is in Christ reconciling, restoring and building His temple. It is that temple which we are as His people, living stones, being conformed to the image of the chief corner stone and built up into a holy habitation for God’s own dwelling.
1Peter 2:1-10 tells us, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone ” 8and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Throughout our lives we are constantly living, building and growing into who we are as a person. We must carefully choose the foundation upon which we build and add to it every decision that directs and establishes who we are and what we are becoming. If we have missed building each precept of our lives upon that chief cornerstone, we may have a weak foundation that is subject to failure and fault, but if we carefully, obediently and willfully choose Christ to be the forefront and foundation of all that we do, we also will build a sure house; one that will stand in the day of storm and testing. Let us choose well the foundation upon which we establish our life, our values and our purpose.

Blessings,
kent