–Hebrews 11:10(Phillips)
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We have to be careful to use Jerusalem and Israel to symbolize and be a type of the Church, but there is a time for this.  I like what Derek Kidner says, “What Jerusalem was to the Israelite, the church is to the Christian.  Here are his closest ties, his brethren and companions, known and unknown, drawn with him to the one center as fellow pilgrims.”  This morning we finish with Psalm 122.

          6 — Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:  “May they prosper who love you.
          7 — Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.”
          8 — For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
          9 — Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.  (NKJV)

Jerusalem, a city often besieged and troubled, and we see that it still is today.  We are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and we are told what to pray.  But wait, as I wrote to begin, we should also be praying for the Church, the body of Christ.  And let me add another analogy, we should be praying for each other and ourselves as we are part of that Church, but also we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit.  That temple of old where the pilgrims in Psalm 122 were headed in no longer there, but the true believer is now the temple.  We should be praying for peace in that temple.  
     I think then of the words of Jesus when He wept over the city, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42, NKJV)  What a sad conclusion.  If not careful, we can get so caught up with praying for Jerusalem that we forget that we are now the temple.  Wouldn’t it be sad if Jesus had to say those words over us as believers?  
     What then is our peace?  “Shalom”, as I have written many times, means peace, but much more than that.  The term also conveys the notion of completeness–a complete well-being.  It is a peace–a well-being–that is completely paid for.  When the words of the psalmist were penned he had not the idea of the sacrifice of Jesus to pay completely for our peace.  Yes, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that it be free from trouble, terror and strife, but more so, we should pray for the peace of our soul, that wonderful, inner peace we have with God–may it not go away.  
     Hmmm, I wonder, perhaps we should look at the words of George Wood, “Pilgrims to the New Jerusalem don’t need to pray for that city.  It’s secure.  Neither sin, death, nor the devil can ever get inside.”  We are on a journey, and I think of the words of that old song:

               “Here among the shadows living in a lonely land,
               With strangers we’re a band of pilgrims on the move;
               Thru dangers burden’d down with sorrows,
               And we’re shunned on ev’ry hand,
               But we are looking for a city built above.”
                           –W. Oliver Cooper

Another verse says, “In this land of dangers we are going here and there, We’re simply trusting in the blessed Saviour’s love…”.  We are like those pilgrims of old who on their journey to Jerusalem prayed for its peace.  Now, however, as pilgrims and citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, “we pray instead that the peace, security, and prosperity of our eternal dwelling place will come to us while we remain on the trail below.” (Wood)  

               “Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
               Jesus we know, and he is on the throne.”
                      –Edward H. Bickersteth

                    –John Deacon  (The Provider-1)

       “When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.”

                    –Ezekiel 33:18 (NKJV)
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                    “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”
                              –Isaiah 55:6 (NKJV)

     You may have noticed that I did not write a devotional for September 11.  No, I did not forget the day, nor the rage.  But…it seems as if the nation has.  It is just another day in the history books, so quickly forgotten.  A day where God gave us a chance to repent, to come together, and it looked like it might happen for a day or two.  However, since then we are more divided than ever.  The Lord presented the opportunity…I am afraid the nation did not take advantage.  We had a man of faith as President but he was shunned and ridiculed.
     David Wilkerson preached a sermon, “The Towers Have Fallen But We Missed the Message.”  Look at the condition of our nation, was the message indeed missed?   Wilkerson said in this sermon, “We all should pray that our nation repents and turns back to the Lord.  But our most intense prayers should be for our own hearts:  ‘Lord, let me tremble not at the disasters, but at your Word.'”
     We should not stop seeking God for our nation, but has He drawn the line?  I don’t know.  However, I read the words in Isaiah and tremble at our nation.  Yes, the words were directed toward Israel, but could they not be also directed at us?  “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; and you have been weary of Me, O Israel.” (Isaiah 43:22, NKJV)  
     In this day of turmoil, chaos, and confusion we need to turn to the Lord.  In this time where our country has become weary of God, we need, as individuals to turn to the Lord.  In saying this I want to point you to an old hymn that was put in my email in response to one of my devotions.  Written by Ray Palmer, in the early 1800s, I would ask for you to ponder the words, then take inventory of your soul in these troublesome times.

          My faith looks up to Thee,
          Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
          Now hear while I pray,
          Take all my guilt away,
          O let me from this day Be wholly Thine!

          May Thy rich grace impart
          Strength to my fainting heart, My zeal inspire;
          As Thou hast died for me,
          O may my love to Thee
          Pure, warm, and changeless be A living fire!

          While life’s dark maze I tread,
          And griefs around me spread, Be Thou my guide;
          Bid darkness turn to day,
          Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
          Nor let me ever stray From Thee aside.

          When ends life’s transient dream,
          When death’s cold, sullen stream Shall o’er me roll,
          Blest Savior, then, in love,
          Fear and distrust remove;
          O bear me safe above, A ransomed soul!

Especially ponder the second and third verses.  Stay true to the Word, guard the truth, walk the path that He has laid out before you!

                    –Lou Bradshaw  (Blue Valley)

       “He who obeys instructions guards his soul, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.”

                    –Proverbs 19:16 (NIV 1978)
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     I try to have an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude.  In the midst of all that life throws my way, I try to remember Paul’s admonition that, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV).  It was G.K. Chesterton who said the the most important lesson he had learned was, “When it comes to life the critical thing is, whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
     There is a truth that is very evident, if you work with people much you will soon find out that “Unthankful people are almost always unhappy people” (Gary Inrig).  Thankfulness then, is a “prime indicator of our relationship with God” (Inrig).  Are we grateful?  How do we express it?
     There is a story, that from the beginning does not seem to be about thankfulness, but Jesus will bring that in as we delve into the story.  It is a story that we should stop and contemplate and is found in Luke 7:36-50.  It is vital, not only for our spiritual well-being, but for our mental and emotional well-being as well.  Look at those individuals who are not thankful and you will see that their heart will begin to harden.  It is inevitable.
     I want to draw your attention first of all to the setting of the parable.  “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.  When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.” (Luke 7:36-37, NIV 1978)
     We see Jesus being invited to the house of a Pharisee, who we will find out his name is Simon.  That is in itself interesting.  Realize that not all Pharisees were contemptuous of Jesus, but we must ask if there was some ulterior motive.  Simon could have been an admirer and sympathetic, but Barcly perceives that, “the whole atmosphere of discourtesy makes that unlikely.”  Perhaps Jesus was invited with the intention of tricking him.  Another reason might be that Simon was trying to patronize Jesus, use His status for his own gain.
     Notice, after the invitation, that we see Jesus reclining at the table.  This is an important feature of the story so don’t read over it.  William Barclay explains the situation, “When a guest entered such a house three things were always done.  The host placed his hand on the guest’s shoulder and gave him the kiss of peace.  That was a mark of respect which was never omitted in the case of a distinguished Rabbi.  The roads were only dust tracks, and shoes were merely soles held in place by straps across the foot.  So always cool water was poured over the guest’s feet to cleanse and comfort them.  Either a pinch of sweet-smelling incense was burned or a drop of attar of roses was placed on the guest’s head.  These things good manners demanded, and in this case not one of them was done.”
     Then we see, at the house of this upstanding Pharisee, a woman standing there.  Not just any woman.  The NIV says she “had lived a sinful life.”  Barclay identifies her as “a woman in the town, a bad woman.”  He goes on to say that she was “a notoriously bad woman.”  The theologian, J.B. Phillips describes her as “a woman, known in the town as a bad character.”
     This was the type of woman who normally would never set foot in the house of a Pharisee such as Simon.  “She was notorious throughout the town for her immoral way of life” (Inrig).  Why was she there?  Two reasons:  first, the woman “took advantage of the social customs that permitted needy people to visit such a banquet to receive some of the leftovers” (Walter L. Liefeld).  However, most importantly, she came specifically to see Jesus and we read that she brought a jar of perfume–she had prepared herself.
     Jesus came, the guest who was courteous enough to accept the invitation from the Pharisee.  Who, as Gary Inrig points out, “That the fact He was a friend of sinners did not mean that He was unwilling to be a friend of the respectable and self-righteous.  They also needed the gospel…”  Simon was there, after all it was his home, but we cannot be sure of his motives.  And we see that there was the “sinful woman” in attendance.  Ponder this scene and the individuals involved.