We often value the wrong things.  We can spend our lives working to surround ourselves with things that don’t matter.  We can sacrifice the things that do matter, to gain those things that don’t.”
              –Dan Arnold  (Bear Creek)

    “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'”
              –Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)
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         “The Lord of glory is my light
          And my salvation, too.
          God is my strength, nor will I fear
          What all my foes can do.”
                  –Isaac Watts

Are you fearful about the future?  Do you get worried about the elections of 2020?  Are you afraid to walk out your door for fear of being shot or molested?  Where are your thoughts?  What should they be on?  What is your greatest desire?  The first part of Psalm 27 has the answers for these questions.

         1 – The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?
         2 – When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.
         3 – Though an army deploys against me, my heart is not afraid; though a war breaks out against me, still I am confident.
         4 – I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple.
         5 – For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity; He will hide me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high on a rock.
         6 – Then my head will be high above my enemies around me; I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.  I will sing and make music to the Lord. (HCSB)

    Right from the start we see, we know, we can have the assurance that we can go through this world with God by our side.  He is our protection whether it be in this physical realm or from attacks in the spiritual realm.  God is with us, therefore, we can walk with confidence.
    Your greatest desire, what is it?  Many will say more money or wealth, some might say a new car, others may want peace or ease.  Notice:  David’s greatest desire, the one thing he asked for was to live in the house of the Lord.  So many Christians live from day to day, others live for self.  David was yearning for heaven.  How many believers see Heaven the most?  A verse that we should grab hold of tightly and never let go is where Paul wrote in Philippians, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” (1:21, HCSB)
    Here is something that you should try; it might prove to be interesting.  What are your weaknesses?  Write down just three.  Then go to the Scripture and look at how God is perfect in that area.  Then turn to Him, begin to praise Him in that area of your weakness knowing that He is there with you and is able to protect you and help you overcome.
    I like the prayer of Jean Baptiste Avrillon:

         “Adorable Sun, enlighten my steps.  Be thou the true noonday of my soul; exterminate its darkness, disperse its clouds; burn, dry up and consume all its filth and impurities.  Divine Sun, rise upon my mind and never set.”

Of course, he was speaking not of the “sun” but of the divine Son of God–Jesus Christ.  Look at who Christ is in our life, if we allow Him to work.  Grasp hold of that last phrase, “rise upon my mind and never set.”

No man or woman passes my cabin in a month.  But I am never lonely.  I love these vast canyon walls towering above me.  And the silence is so sweet.”
              –Zane Grey  (Call of the Canyon)

    “Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.”
              –Psalm 107:30 (NKJV)
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Very few of us enjoy solitude.  Most folk like to be with the crowd, the noise and excitement; to be alone, shut away from everything might seem nice for maybe an hour.  Take the phone away for an hour and see what happens.  Think of the reason that you go to church; it is not for solitude, but most people say the most important thing about church is fellowship.  Folks just can’t handle solitude, yet it is important that we seek and cherish times of solitude.  Jesus often sought solitude.

         “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”
                   –Mark 1:35 (NKJV)

I came across the following thoughts on solitude in my reading this week.

         “Solitude is the garden for our hearts, which yearn for love.  It is the place where our aloneness can bear fruit.  It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds.  Solitude, whether it is connected with a physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives.  It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction.  Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude, we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval.  But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says, ‘Do not be afraid.  I am with you, and I will guide you through the valley of darkness.’  Let’s keep returning to our solitude.”

With all the turmoil in the world and in our nation, there is a need for solitude.  I am not talking about escaping the world, for Jesus never did that, but he found time to be alone with His heavenly Father.  If Jesus needed that how much more do we need it!

Never give up to the desert or to any of its minions!  Never cease to fight!  You must fight to live—an’ so make that fight equally for your mind an’ your soul!”
              –Zane Grey  (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

       “There is no fear of God before his eyes.  For he flatters himself in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.  The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good.  He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good; He does not abhor evil.”
              –Psalm 36:1-4 (NKJV)
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I want to take another look at compromise this morning.  How often do people forsake truth for tolerance?  They give over to emotions and feelings versus holding firm to conviction.  Does happiness takes precedence over obedience to the Word of God?  We are called to obey rather than to give in to the tide of political correctness.
    Briefly, take a look at the first chapter of Judges.
         1:6 – mutilation was a pagan practice (hmmm, i.e, abortion).  Judah began to draw its standards from the people around them–only partial obedience.
         1:19 – they began to trust in iron chariots rather than God–diminished power is the result of diminished faith.
         1:21 – Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites.
         1:29 – Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites.
         1:30 – Zebulun allowed the Canaanites to dwell among them and become forced laborers.
         1:31 – Asher dwelt with the Canaanites.
         1:33 – Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants.
         1:34 – Dan was forced into the mountains, and later on Dan ceases to exist as a tribe.  They are no longer recognizable because of their compromise.
Rather than whole-heartedly obeying God, they did so only in part.  They compromised.  Perhaps one of the saddest commentaries in Scripture can be found in Judges 2:2-3 (NKJV).

          “‘And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?’ Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’”

This country was founded upon Biblical principles, but to look at much of what is happening now it is easy to see that many of these principles are being bent, twisted, ignored, or forsaken.  Listen!  Compromise always leads to Catastrophe!
    Take a look at 2:5, “Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.” (NKJV)  The word “Bochim” means “weeping.”  Compromise will bring you to a place of weeping.  There will be brokenness because of half-hearted devotion and obedience.  Don’t blame the government–the Democrats or Republicans–for our dilemma.  Blame the people, especially half-hearted believers who have led the nation to weeping.
    Someone has said that the most miserable people in the world are professing believers who will not commit themselves to the Lord.  We are getting to the point, however, where there are those who prefer not to be called “Christians,” and I can see why for they have removed Christ from their life.  They are no longer Christ-like.
    But, on the brighter note–there are those blood-bought believers who are standing up to the test.  They are not giving in to the world, or the devil.  Walk away this morning with, not a song on your lips, but one etched deep in your soul.

              “When we walk with the Lord
               In the Light of His Word
               What a glory He sheds on our way!
               While we do His good will,
               He abides with us still,
               And with all who will trust and obey.

                    Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
                    To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
                             –J.H. Sammis

I declared war on Satan a long time ago and it’s his work you’re about tonight.”
               –Elmer Kelton  (Badger Boy)

    “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”
               –Ephesians 2:1-2 (NKJV)
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“Three things led to death in the jungles of Vietnam,” was told me by several combat veterans of that war.  These three things were:  complacency, curiosity, and compromise.  The same is true of the battle against Satan and his evil followers.  The Book of Judges touches on each of those deadly pitfalls, but I want to take a minute and look at compromise.  Once a person begins to compromise it is hard for them to stop.  

         “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
                    –Judges 21:25(NKJV)

Why do we see chaos, confusion, horror, and terror along the streets of America?  One reason is that there is no “King” in America.  Taken and pushed aside is God.  A forgotten relic of days gone by.  Oh, He might have been important once; yes, He might have helped us in times of trouble in the past, but now; now we are more enlightened and know what to do…  And look where it has gotten us when we began to do things that were right in the eyes of man.
    Over and over God had to send someone to help Israel when they began to lower their standards and compromised with the people around them.  God always presents an opportunity for repentance and revival, but people have to be ready to accept and stopped compromising.  Gary Inrig wrote, “Unless we grab hold of the great principles of spiritual living…we may find ourselves to be spiritual dropouts, mere spectators at the climax of the invisible war between God and Satan or, even worse, spiritual casualties.”
    The shootings that are seeming to become part of the norm, are caused by moral collapse.  When a large portion of the nation clamors that they have the right to murder unborn infants, how can they be appalled by someone else being murdered?  When man turns away from God’s law, how can they know what is right?  Inrig continues, “Much more than I want to admit, many Christians live, act, and choose as if God’s Word had never been written.”  People are doing right in their own eyes!
    Drag queens in libraries and schools of elementary children are applauded.  The gay lifestyle is accepted and they flaunt their lifestyle and dare others to contradict them, the gender confusion and I could go on.  And we wonder why things happen in America?  Moral collapse–people doing right in their own eyes.  To turn our backs upon God eventually will bring disaster.
    We are fighting those who do not want to obey the laws of the law (i.e., the Constitution), but demand that sharia law should be their law.  I often wonder why those come to the U.S. for freedom from the lives they were living in other countries and then demand to live under the laws of the country they came from.  Hmmm, one thing for sure it is doing right in their own eyes.
    God does not allow compromise.  You cannot read either the Old or the New Testaments and realize that.  Come out from among them, separate yourselves, having nothing to do with the world, make no covenant with them…  What have we done?  The opposite, in the name of tolerance and political correctness we have compromised.  A clever, evil scheme by the devil that is centuries old.
    We must be committed to serving a sovereign God.  One that declared that compromise with heathen and pagan people will not be allowed.  There can be no covenant with the enemy for the enemy was still the enemy.  There is much danger in compromise, in doing things that are right in your own eyes.  Heed the words of God in Exodus 23:32-33 (NKJV).

        “You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”