Son, always listen to the crazy old men.  Mostly it’s just geezer gas, but ever now and then, they’ll drop a pearl on you.  Be ready to ketch it.”
              –Lou Bradshaw (Hickory Jack)

    “The Lord said, ‘It is because they abandoned My instruction that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it.'”
              –Jeremiah 9:13 (HCSB)
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              “Though they lead o’er the cold, dark mountains, seeking His sheep;
               Or along by Siloam’s fountains, helping the weak.
               Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow;
               We will follow the steps of Jesus where’re they go.”
                        –Mary Slade

Are you quivering with fear, afraid to venture out or take another step?  Because use of this virus, many are.  Take time to meditate on this portion of Psalm 37.  These Scriptures should give us hope and build our faith.  The Lord is interested and involved in every aspect of your life.  What are your plans for the day?  Have you involved God in them, asked Him about them?  In another version, the second part of verse 23 states, “He delights in every detail of your lives.”  If you’re in a quandary about what to do–ask Him. Take a step for they will be guided by the Lord.

    23 – A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way.
    24 – Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.

Perhaps these next verses mean more to me now than before.  I saw it in action with several of the godly people I saw in the church as I was growing up, but now I know it firsthand.  I can say with complete assurance, the Lord has always been with me.  What are the words of that relatively new song, “He’s a good, good Father”?  Annie and I have been in places where we’ve had little and we’ve had times where we’ve had more than enough.  There have been times when we’ve eaten steak, and there have been times when we’ve had the pinto beans, but we’ve never gone hungry.  Living on Social Security, we do not look for the government to provide, we look to the Lord.  He knows how to stretch a dollar, and knows where, when, and how we should spend.  The Lord is good, and He is faithful.
    My children are now serving the Lord, the greatest satisfaction a father could have.  They are following the steps that the Lord have established for them, as are the grandchildren.  Surely, the Lord is good.

    25 – I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread.
    26 – He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing.

Verses 27-29, are true to an extent in this life, but the truth of them extend on into eternity.  There will be a day, a second death, for the wicked, for those who reject Christ.  However, the godly will walk in His way and will inherit, not only the land, but eternal life.  

    27 – Turn away from evil and do what is good, and dwell there forever.
    28 – For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones.  They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.
    29 – The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it permanently. (HCSB)

There is a requirement–“turn away from evil.”  The Lord will never leave or forsake the godly; it is their steps that He will guide and establish.  The godly will inherit the land.  Do you sometimes feel lost, then do an inventory of your life, turn away from evil and back to the Lord.  Get back into the Word, and then take a step–it will be guided and established by the Lord.  And let me add, this is worship–worship with the will.  Don’t be afraid of getting lost.  “The godly man is not left in the trackless forest without a guide, or doomed to struggle in the darkness without a kindly light; he is not orphaned in the world without a loving hand to aid.  His Father, unseen but not unknown, has prepared the path and somehow guides the steps of those who commit their way to him”. (James Hastings)

Life isn’t about owning the most land or building up a fortune of the nicest things money can buy.  Life is about getting to know the Creator of our souls, the One who loved us enough to suffer and die for us.”
              –Kenneth S. Pratt  (Willow Falls)

    “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
              –Hebrews 1:3 (NASB)
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What do you think is the most important verse in the Bible?  I’m sure many will quickly say, John 3:16, and it would be hard to argue that.  Others may point to John 1:1-4 and that has its merit.  My personal opinion is:

    “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
              –John 19:30 (NASB)

Everything from the time of creation, and even before creation, pointed to that day.  Upon that statement by Jesus, eternity hinges.  All, and I do mean all, revolves around that statement.  There would be no need for John 1:1-4 without that statement.  There could be no John 3:16 unless Jesus could make that statement.
    Let me throw out some terms to you:  atonement, substitution, propitiation, redemption, justification, pardon, mercy, grace, sacrifice, reconciliation, restoration–this was the work of the cross.  Jesus took our infirmities, He bore our sickness, the sins of the world–past, present, and future–He took upon Himself at the cross.  He assumed our burden on the cross, that is one reason this day is called “Good Friday.”
    Let me quickly add, I am not taking away from the resurrection.  Without the resurrection, the cross would be worthless, but the “work” was finished on the cross.  The crucifixion of Jesus is the “finishing of transgression and the making of an end to sin.”  We are reconciled to God by the death of His Son (Romans 5:10).  I like the way Horatius Bonar states it, “To the cross, therefore, do we look and cleave; knowing that out of its death cometh life to us, and out of its condemnation pardon and righteousness.”
    Those words from the cross declare that the purpose of His coming is now complete.  When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” sin, death, and the grave were defeated.  It didn’t happen in the grave, the work was completed on the cross.  Jesus never wondered about the resurrection.  He was secure in His divinity and the power of the Father and Holy Spirit to know that He would rise again.  There was never any doubt there, but He dreaded all the pain of the cross in His manhood.  He would feel pain, and the Holy One, the Pure One, would be touched by the sins of all.  
    He would not remain in the tomb!  “The resurrection is the blessed announcement of the Father that the work had been accepted and the surety set free; but it was no part either of the atonement or the righteousness” (Bonar).  “He rose, not in order to justify us, but because we were justified.  In raising Him from the dead, God the Father cleared Him from the imputed guilt which had nailed Him to the cross and borne Him down to the tomb” (Bonar)  His sacrifice was accepted, the Father’s righteous judgment upon sin was accepted.  When He cried, “It is finished” the judgment of man’s sin was accepted.
    Take time this weekend to read those wonderful words penned by George Bennard.  He purposely draws our attention to the cross.  Take heart in those words, understand that when Jesus cried, “It is finished,” it was also a proclamation.

              “So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
               Till my trophies at last I lay down;
               I will cling to the old rugged cross,
               And exchange it someday for a crown.”
                         –George Bennard

I don’t have to go to church to hunt for Him.  I see Him around me every day, everywhere I look.”
                –Elmer Kelton  (The Good Old Boys)

    “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”
                –Philippians 3:8 (NASB)
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Does the cross just represent an emotional response?  Does it bring tears and sorrow?  That is not necessarily bad, but if that’s all it does then it is a reproach to what took place on the cross.  Isaac Watts wrote a great hymn concerning the cross.  Throughout the years it has brought to many an emotional response, but that was not the purpose of Watts.  Ponder each verse from this grand old hymn.

         “When I survey the wondrous cross,
          On which the Prince of glory died,
          My richest gain I count but loss,
          And pour contempt on all my pride.”

Do you count your career loss?  How about your material possessions?  When we look at the cross it should do more than bring mere tears, it should force us to humble service.  Paul said that he would boast only in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Everything else is vain, meaningless, unless we view them in light of the cross.  Our efforts, our good deeds, our awards, our honors, all that we have accomplished are not worth boasting about in view of the cross.

         “Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
          Save in the death of Christ, my God;
          All the vain things that charm me most,
          I sacrifice them to His blood.”

Jesus took it all!  Why then do we look to ourselves?  The images depict a horrible image that will and should stir our emotions.  But God did not intend for us to simply cry over Christ’s suffering.  Many people saw Mel Gibson’s movie–they wept, tears were flowing–but their lives did not change.  We may have sorrow, but not repentance, yet a purpose of the cross is to bring man to repentance and obedience.

         “See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
          Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
          Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
          Or thorns compose so rich a crown?”

“The verb ‘survey’ means ‘to view in detail,’ but Watts had more than careful observation in mind when he encouraged Christians to survey the ‘cross on which the Prince of Glory died.’  When we truly survey the cross, kneeling in awe before the astounding love that was poured out for us there, it alters the way we live.”  (Denise K. Loock, Open Your Hymnal)

         “Were the whole realm of nature mine,
          That were a present far too small;
          Love so amazing, so divine,
          Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

It demands more than tears, it demands your soul–your all.  Yes, remember the cross and the sacrifice of Christ.  Yes, shed tears, but not of sorrow, but of joy for now you can be redeemed by this precious blood that was shed.  Sing this song in worship; this “worship should prune our souls and motivate us to act upon the words we sing.” (Loock)

Get people spoiled to luxury and pretty soon it’s not a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity.”
             –Elmer Kelton  (The Good Old Boys)

    “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or elseI am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent.”
             –Revelation 2:5 (NASB)
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There is one topic that I rarely hear preached from the pulpit anymore, yet it is vital to the growth of the church and of the Christian.  People are quoting and claiming 2 Chronicles 7:14, but are not fulfilling the obligations presented in the verse.  REPENTANCE!  It is a vital doctrine, but is not presented.  Repentance means that we have sinned; repentance means that man has a sin nature, both of which are not viewed in a good light by people today.
    For God to heal our land there must be humbleness and repentance.  Repentance means that we will do our best not to sin again, not to offend anymore.  What is it that causes a person/you to offend?  I came across the following when reading last week and thought I would share it.  It is a piece by F.B. Meyer dealing with the cause of sin and what we should do about it.

         “Is it a friendship?  Then he will cut the tender cord, though it were a thread of his life.
          Is it an amusement?  The he will forever absent himself from that place, those scenes, and that companionship.
          Is it a profitable means of making money?  Then he will rather live on a crust than follow it a moment longer.
          Is it a study, a pursuit, a book?  Then he will rather lose hand or foot or eye than miss the favor of God, which is life.
          Is it something that the church permits?  Nevertheless, to him if it be sin, he will discard it.
          If you cannot walk on ice without slipping or falling, it is better not to go on at all.  If you cannot digest certain food, it is better not to put it into the mouth.”

    People are afraid, yet they refuse to repent.  They refuse to humble themselves before the Lord and recognize they are not where they belong in the eyes of the Lord.  I have seen pictures of people along streets and byways praying.  Good, that is a first step.  On to repentance–a changing of ways, a changing of lifestyles.  People must get back to the Bible, and recognize the holiness of Almighty God.