Standing Before God

“Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?” 1 Sam. vi. 20.

And yet, before this holy Lord God, every soul must one day stand. “We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ,” says the apostle, “that every one may receive according to the things he hath done in the body.” In some sense, we may be said to stand before Him now: “for He is not far from every one of us;” nay, “in Him we live, and move, and have our being.” The consequence of this is, that there is no creature which is not manifest to His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes “of Him with whom we have to do.” With regard therefore to His own Omniscience and Omnipresence, we already stand before this holy Lord God. He is about our bed, and about our paths, and is acquainted with all our ways; nor is there a word in our tongues, or a thought in our hearts, but He knows it altogether. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
~Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778)

Wisdom

Wisdom is from God; it is the gift of the Holy Spirit. One can be erudite yet lacks godly wisdom. One may lack intellectual proficiency  yet possesses spiritual and heavenly wisdom.

Wisdom is knowing and following the will of God. It is doing what God wants and not what man or  society wants.

Wisdom is having the gift of discernment. It is believing and adhering to the truth, not subscribing to error.  It is knowing what is right from what is wrong in accordance to the commands of God. It is knowing what sin is, the appearance of sin, and what is not. It is turning back from sin (Jeremiah 25:5) and not being  like the “dog that returned to its vomit and the washed sow that wallowed in the mire" (2 Peter 2:22).

Humility is wisdom (Proverbs 11:12). Humility crashes pride. Pride is the enemy of God (Proverbs 16:5). Repentance is humility. Asking for forgiveness for a transgression towards others is humility. Giving forgiveness for the wrong of others is wisdom (Matthew 6:14-15; Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:31-32).

Patience is wisdom (James 5:7-8). Waiting on the Lord is wisdom (Psalm 130:5). Trusting and resting on the Lord’s sovereignty is wisdom (Psalm 95:3; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 1:11-12).

To be cautious and prudent  is to have wisdom (Proverbs 8:12; Proverbs 14:18). Careless thoughts and actions will bear wrong fruits (Proverbs 21:23). Careless words will destroy relationships (Proverbs 12:18; Matthew 12:37; James 3:6).

Lack of wisdom leads to countless mistakes in life. It leads to wrong plans, wrong decisions, wrong judgments, wrong priorities, wrong affections, wrong relationships. It follows the dictates of the deceitful  and desperately wicked heart (Jeremiah 17:9), the covetous flesh (Colossians 3:5; Romans 13:14), and the ungodly norms of society (Romans 12:2; John 17:15-18).

Lack of wisdom leads one to be fooled by the smooth tongue, by the seductive whispers of treacherous men, by the tickling-to-the-ear teachings of the wolves in the church (Proverbs 14:18). It leads one astray emotionally and spiritually.

Lack of wisdom leads one to sin.

King Solomon had everything but wisdom. When he asked God for it, God gave it to him (1 Kings 3:3; 1 Kings 4:29-34). God delights to give wisdom and gives generously to those who truly seek it (Proverb 2:2-8; James 1:5).

To love God and His precepts is wisdom (Psalm 119:7). To fear God and hate sin is wisdom (Proverbs 1:7).

To study the Word of God is wisdom (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 3:14-15; Psalm 119:11; Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 2:15; Psalm 119:105).

In Perspective

A righteous man will respect and be truthful to the one who loves him,  but a wicked and deceitful man who masks himself under  the cloak of righteousness is bound to make a fool out of the one who loves him.

“Love does not count the cost” but propriety, respect, and good conscience dictate that expensive gifts should be returned once the friendship or relationship is over.

Effeminacy is discernible; it can not be hidden. You will hear it in his voice; you will notice it in his language, in his manner of expressing himself, whether verbal or written, in his unguarded moments, in his photos, in his character, and in the way he treats others.  He will try to show a façade of goodness and righteousness and will conceal his true self as much as he can.

The effeminate person is a bundle of complexities, eccentricities, inconsistencies, and contradictions. He can be a friend, or a foe. He can be faithful; he can be deceitful.  He can be warm and responsive; he can be cold and indifferent. He can be kind and gentle;  he can be nasty and insulting. He can be as meek as a lamb; he can be as proud as a peacock.  He can be a giver; he can be a niggard. He can be patient, caring, and sensitive; he can close the door on you and drop you anytime like a hot potato.

Idiom:  taken for a ride ~ to be deceived, to be screwed.

      

Sentence(s): His friendship was a farce. She was taken for a ride.

(Farce – pretense, masquerade, charade)

The Joy of His Salvation; the Hope in His Returning

A Christian woman may have to endure various trials in life: the indignities inflicted by a degenerate, philandering husband…the pain of betrayal and abandonment of a deceitful friend…the loneliness of having children with different spiritual beliefs where none is the biblical Christ…the frustration of being a part of a family where almost everyone practices the apostate religion.

She may wander off at times but it won’t be for long for she will suffer the Father’s chastisement.  God will cause her to repent and be grateful for God rebukes and reproves those He loves (Rev. 3:19, Deut. 8:5, Prov. 3:12, 1 Cor. 11:32, Heb. 12:6, Rev. 2:5).

For the most dreadful moment in life is for God to withold His restraining Hand and allow us to live and die in our sins.

An afflicted Christian woman knows how to keep still and wait on the Lord. Because she is God’s child, nothing can take away the joy of His salvation from her. She remains steadfast in the faith, continuously wait and hope for that glorious day of His returning. She knows that her future is secure. She trusts that God is sovereign and will hear her prayers that one day her family will  be saved.

God instills faith, obedience, and daily repentance in His children. Left on their own, they are bound to follow the enticements of the world and to give in to the lusts of their hearts.

Salvation is of the Lord.                                                              

“Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.” Psalm3:8

“Salvation was planned by the Father for His elect before the foundation of the world. It was purchased for them by the holy life and vicarious death of His incarnate Son. It is applied to and wrought in them by His Holy Spirit. It is known and enjoyed through the study of the Scriptures, through the exercise of faith, and through communion with the triune Jehovah.” A. W. Pink

All of grace

“Everything in the great work of salvation sets forth the splendor of the grace of the Most High God. What do we see in election, predestination, redemption, regeneration, and preservation, but His grace?” Don Fortner

“Between here and heaven, every minute that the Christian lives will be a minute of grace.” Charles Spurgeon

“It is grace at the beginning, and grace at the end…The Christian life starts with grace,  it must continue with grace, it ends with grace. Grace, wondrous grace.”  Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“And he said unto me,  My grace is sufficient for thee:  for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. “ 2 Corinthians 12:9

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:…” Ephesians 2:8

The Good Shepherd who has a hundred sheep will leave the ninety nine to look for the lost one.

“How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?” Matthew 18:12

A Lesson Learned

Freedom from the yoke of false friendship ~

Christians don't make fools out of their friends. They don't hurt them. They don't lie to them. They don't take advantage of them. They don't take them for granted. They don't leave them out in the cold. They don't humiliate them.
Christians love their friends at all times.

poetry

panacea
by mariamaqui

the  answer to that

inevitable  calling

is your presence which

was worth the waiting.

wondrous presence,

exhilarating, invigorating;

real essence,

love and service abounding.

the  horizon,

limitless  is its boundaries,

the  future,

pregnant with positive possibilities.

another day is dawning

and dreams are near fulfilling;

yesterday no cure was in sight

but now you're here to make things right.

poetry by maria maqui

i.  point of no return 

a thousand veils, a thousand faces,

left in a daze in a thousand mazes;

drawn to a throne of high-falutin rhetoric

which is nothing but hysterical histrionics.

guised, disguised, like actors in a play,

who is fake? who is real? who am I to say?

best foot forward seeking its own reward,

how am I to know? how am I to guard?

dazzled, bedazzled, but all was falsity;

duplicity, incongruity actually in reality.

gullibility, vulnerability, how could you be so blind?

i've been taken for a ride, putting me in a bind.

is there a place to go, is there a place to escape

where tears shall no more flow, and hearts shall never break?

is there a way to leave, is there a way to mourn

my wasted sensibilities from this point of no return?

ii.  a mouthful of bullets

a mouthful of bullets

right from the pit,

aimed at an enemy,

vengeance is sweet.

mouth of filth,

questionable intentions,

whence were they coming?

from the pulpit.

the high and mighty

( who isn’t God)

keeps on kicking,

burying the fallen

into the deep.

eyes blazing, voice thundering,

reverberating, ear-splitting,

nerve-wracking, mind-boggling,

but my spirit never breaking.

you can blow me up to smithereens

but never again can you enter in;

you can lift your gods to your pedestal,

i never knew you, whoever you are.