Psalms

I just flew in yesterday from Chicago, and early this morning, I drove my wife to the airport to fly out again.  She is speaking in North Carolina this Friday and Saturday, and will spend the weekend with her good friend, Ginger Baines.  They are like two peas in a pod, and I know they will have a great time together.  I on the other hand will be living a bachelors life for a five or six days!  Pray for me. I am finishing up the last few chapters of Job and then into Psalms.  Both are such wonderful books.  Here are some thoughts: 1) FOUR GENERATIONS- Job 42:16 says:  "After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his son's sons, even four generations."  So, how old was Job?  Well he was old enough to have ten fully grown children before they were killed and probably if he followed the pattern of Issac would have been about 40 when he married and perhaps 60 when he had his first child.  Throw in about 16 years to have ten children and he was perhaps 70 or even 80 before his children died.  Then another year to put all of the suffering into, and then another 16 years to have seven sons, and three daughters, and then.... add 140 years!  What do you get?  Well, I come up with about 226 or 236!  Older than Abraham who died at 175.  You see, this is just another reason some say that Job was the oldest patriarch mentioned in the Bible after the tower of Babel.  He knew God and loved God, and God allowed him to be used to teach us so many, many lessons.  Perhaps God would like to use our lives as well?  Let us let Him! 2) SACRIFICE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS- Psalms 4:5 says:  "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD."  Now, God respects those who try to live righteous.  vs. 3 says:  "But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself:"  5:12 says:  "For thou, LORD wilt bless the righteous:"  And many, many such verses could be given.  Now, back to the "sacrifice".  Well, yes, the flesh must be sacrificed in order to live a righteous life.  We know that as a Christian we are saved by Christ's sacrifice, but if we are to live a godly life in an ungodly world, we must learn to say a big "no" to the flesh and that is to "sacrifice" the pleasures of this world in order to live pleasing to our Savior.  Is it worth it.... a big YES!!  Is it easy to do so.... a big NO!  But no sacrifice is easy!  We must work at it all of the time and lay our lives on the line and put the desire to please Christ above the desire to please self!  Sacrifice! 3) HONOUR- The Bible says that we should give honour to whom honour is due.  And in Psalms 15:4 it says:  "In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD."   We are to honour them that fear the LORD.  Today we spell honour, honor.  One is an old English spelling, but it means exactly the same.  Give honor to those who fear the LORD.  Do you know some godly people?  How have you honored them lately?  I try my best whenever possible to give honor to godly people.  Sometimes I just thank them for their godly example.  Sometimes I say, It is an honor for me to pastor such a godly person.  I want to let them know that I know that God thinks they are very important.... for they are!  Give honor! Well, so much for today.  LORD, let us live for You today!  Let our lives bring you glory.  Let our testimony shine before men.  Let us render the sacrifice of righteousness.  Let us give honor to those you put into our paths today that deserve it.  And LORD, give us the strength that we need.  This Christian life was never meant to be lived apart from your strength, and we fail miserably when we try to do so.  Help us to cling closely to our Heavenly PaPa.  Love you LORD!!  Amen.     Have a blessed day!  Dr. Mike Mutchler, Pastor