I’ve had fancy, and I’ve had fillin’.  Give me fillin’ every time.”
              –Elmer Kelton  (The Pumpkin Rollers)

    “He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?”
              –Romans 8:32 HCSB
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Here is a hymn that possibly will never be sung in a church again.  The words are just not proper for the enlightened Christian of the 21st century.  After all, God’s Word is meant to be interpreted by the individual, not actually doing and living by the actual, authoritative Word of God.

              “Take time to be holy,
               Speak oft with thy Lord;
               Abide in Him always,
               And feed on His Word.
               Make friends of God’s children;
               Help those who are weak;
               Forgetting in nothing
               His blessing to seek.”
                       –William Dunn Longstaff

Time does truly rush on.  Technology is trying to take the place of God.  Phone time, not study time.  Social media, not prayer.  Knowledge is rampant and right at our fingertips, therefore, the seeking of God should be the same way.  Tarry?  My, what an archaic word.  I don’t have time to spend with God in secret for the big game is coming on.  On and on and on we make with the excuses and yet we are told to be holy.

              “Take time to be holy,
               The world rushes on;
               Much time spend in secret
               With Jesus alone;
               By looking to Jesus,
               Like Him thou shalt be;
               Thy friends in thy conduct
               His likeness shall see.”

Troubles come, emotional roller-coasters, need help in your struggles no matter what type they are.  Go to the pyschologist, the nearest guru, or find the right signs in the stars.  No the answer is to seek Christ.  Seek to be more like Him.  Oh, but that means to be holy.  It means to take time in His presence.  It means to listen to Him and not rush ahead of what He is doing in your life.  It means to make sure that every motive is in line with His Word.  Our thoughts need to be captive and in obedience to His Word and will.  It is not done in a rush, just like the training of a soldier is not done overnight, being trained to be a disciple of the Lord takes time.

              “Take time to be holy,
               Let Him be thy guide,
               And run not before Him
               Whatever betide;
               In joy or in sorrow
               Still follow the Lord,
               And, looking to Jesus,
               Still trust in His Word.

               Take time to be holy,
               Be calm in thy soul;
               Each thought and each motive
               Beneath His control;
               Thus led by His Spirit
               To fountains of love,
               Thou soon shalt be fitted
               For service above.”

First Peter 1:16 declares, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”  Our lives should be like that of Jesus and therefore we should seek holiness, more so as the evil grows and the day of the Lord approaches.  Peter wrote again, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be [in the meantime] in holy behavior [that is, in a pattern of daily life that sets you apart as a believer] and in godliness [displaying profound reverence toward our awesome God].” (2 Peter 3:11, AMP)
    Interesting that last phrase.  We are on this earth and what we do here largely determines our “service above.”  Something to ponder.

He has a true man’s heart, and holds a great purpose in it.”
              –Ralph Connor  (The Sky Pilot)

    “I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
              –Psalm 16:8 (KJV)
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Take a good look at the last few verses of Psalm 2.  These verses show a side of God that is not often preached about anymore.  It is a side of God that is tough and uncompromising.  It is important to realize that God does not compromise.  Sin cost His Son’s life; however, sin also brought Him joy that mankind could now be redeemed.

              “I will declare the LORD’s decree: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.  Ask
of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance and the ends of the earth Your possession.  You will break them with a rod of iron; You will shatter them like pottery.'”  (2:7-9, HCSB)

“You are My son” refers to three people in Scripture.  All three are vital to God’s plan and to us.  The first, of course, is His only begotten Son–Jesus.  These verses are prophesies of Christ, especially in the last days and going into the Millennial Reign.  The second is David, and the third is me/you/us–those who have accepted Jesus Christ.

              “So now, kings, be wise; receive instructions, you judges of the earth.  Serve the LORD with reverential awe, and rejoice with trembling.  Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry, and you will perish in your rebellion, for His anger may ignite at any moment.  All those who take refuge in Him are happy.”  (2:10-12, HCSB)

This is the day of salvation, for individuals as well as nations.  Very simply stated, those that oppose God will be broken.  Instead of wisdom and seeking the Lord, it seems that many are moving farther and farther away, especially those with influence in leadership.  Look at the words, “His anger may ignite at any moment.”  The trumpet may sound at any time, then comes the judgment upon the earth.

Let’s take one more look at verse 11.  “Serve the LORD with reverential awe, and rejoice with trembling.”  This is a good definition of how we should worship.  Remember, most of the time worship is reflected in Scripture as service.  We serve a God whose anger could ignite at any moment.  Do we think of that when there is hopping up and down in a service?  Not much reverence and awe there.  In fact, very little worship is done today with trembling.  Ponder the words of Paul, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12, HCSB)  The Amplified says it very clear:

              “work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).”

In other words, learn how to worship according to Scripture; learn who He is so you can worship properly.

              “Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
               To his feet thy tribute bring.
               Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
               Who like me his praise shall sing?
               Alleluia!  Alleluia!
               Praise the everlasting King!”
                       –Henry F. Lyte

A man needs regular chores and a regular time to do them.  Otherwise he loses the order of his life.”
              –Elmer Kelton  (The Man Who Rode Midnight)

    “But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.”
              –1 Corinthians 14:40 (NLT)
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Pot-Pourri for Pondering on a Friday:
    Let me give you a few things to ponder this morning.  I know it’s Friday, but that’s no reason not to keep the brain working and the soul searching.  You can relax a bit tomorrow and on Sunday.
    Heard a good sermon last Sunday.  There was one item I thought interesting.  When the children of Israel left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea that was a type of salvation.  No longer were they in bondage.  To put it in church terms, they were now “saved.”  The crossing of the Jordan symbolized the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  However, there were two and a half tribes that did not cross Jordan (Gad, Reuben, Manasseh).  They wanted to stay on the other side.
There was an issue.  They were told that they would have to at least be involved in the fight that would take place in the Promised Land; remember, there were giants in the land.  Those who crossed Jordan symbolizes those that go into the fight having been baptized in the Holy Spirit, the others would have to fight, but they were not filled.
    Ponder that!
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    Here’s something good from Rick Renner.  He is a minister who is an expert in Greek.  We all know that we should continually search and examine ourselves.  We should also realize that we are responsible to grow in the Spirit.  It does not just happen, there must be growth.

         “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves…”
                   –2 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV)

The word “examine” means an “intense examination.”  Here are some questions to ask yourself in the midst of examining yourself.
         1)  What do you give to God financially?  Do you tithe?  Do you give to missions?  What type of attitude do you have in your giving?
         2)  What do you do with your time?  I was thinking if people would pray as much as they spend time on their phone there may be a revival sweep the land.
         3)  What do you do to serve others?  
         4)  When you pray, what do you pray about?  Do your prayers center around you?
         5)  What personal sacrifices do you make to serve the Lord?  What comes first, your wants or the Kingdom?
         6)  What do your spending habits reveal about you?  Do you overspend?  Do you spend on things that are not needed?  Does your spending reflect your love for the Lord?
         7)  What are you sacrificing to be obedient to God?  Obedience is better than sacrifice, but they do go hand-in-hand.
         8)  What does your lifestyle reveal about your priorities?  Church or a ball game on Sunday?  Prayer time or phone time?
Ponder that!
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    Here is a story of the life of Bill Wallace who became a missionary to South China.  When he arrived there was a war going on between warlords and the government of Chiang Kai-shek.  Many missionaries fled, but Wallace remained at the hospital.
    He survived those dangers only to face a greater one–the menace of the invading Japanese.  He continued to stay performing surgeries in the midst of battle.  Finally, in 1940 he came back to America on furlough.  When he sought to return, he said, “When I was trying to decide what I should do with my life, I became convinced God wanted me to be a medical missionary.  That decision took me to China.  And that, along with the fact that I was extremely happy there, will take me back.”  He returned on August 14, 1942.
    Following the defeat of the Japanese there was another peril facing China and Wallace–the communists.  He stayed performing his duties.  In December of 1950, Communists soldiers came to arrest the best surgeon in China on espionage charges.  “He was placed in a small cell where he preached to passersby from a tiny window.  Brutal interrogations followed, and Wallace, wearing down, stuck verses of Scripture on the walls of his cell.  When he died from the ordeal, the Communists tried to say he had hanged himself; but his body showed no signs of suicide.  He was buried in a cheap wooden coffin in a bamboo-shaded cemetery.  The inscription on his grave simply said:  For to Me to Live Is Christ.”  (Robert J. Morgan)
Ponder that!

I’m not going to let worry…rule my life.  It seems to me that if a man is going to get anywhere in this life, he’d better start for somewhere, and have something definite in mind.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Chancy)

    “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
              –1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
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Postmodernism will say that you can give your opinion on what the Bible says.  Well, that may be true, but only to a point.  You can give your opinion but that does not change the truth of what is written.  If you want the Holy Spirit to work in your life and have a quiet, still, confident soul then you must take the Bible in its own way and accept it on its own terms.  
    There are no shortcuts when dealing with God.  He demands total allegiance.  Because of that you cannot interpret the Bible any way you want.  You cannot take things out of the Word that do not suit your thoughts and opinions.  The Word of God must be taken without any modification or qualification.
    People also strive to do their own thing and will find that does not bring a calmness to the soul either.  Only seeking after righteousness will the blessing of a sweet spirit begin to happen.  People think that happiness is in things or doing things; perhaps finding the right type of entertainment will bring a stillness to the soul.  No so.  You must seek God, see the fundamental principles found in His Word.
    If your heart is troubled, that means you are not truly believing in God and His Word.  You might find yourself in one of these situations:
         1)  Mature Christians will live triumphantly.  Sure they may have problems and even fall into sin, but they will overcome because of the Spirit that lives within them.  True happiness, joy, and peace were not disturbed by the what they had to endure.
         2)  Refusing to think just evades the problem.  Escapism is not the answer, whatever that may be.
         3)  You cannot believe in part of God, but every facet of who and what God is.  You cannot pick and choose which character trait of God not to believe in.
         4)  God is in charge; God controls everything and there is nothing that happens apart from Him.  No, He does not cause everything, but He will allow all.
    Because God is in control nothing then is impossible with Him.  If you do not believe this then you will never come to know a quiet heart.  You must believe what He says about life and eternity.  Lloyd-Jones says, “It is still His world; He has not turned His back upon it.  He is not allowing it to sin itself into utter hopelessness; He comes into it.”  He is the God who is there.  Therefore, blessing or cursing depends solely upon whether our lives are lived in accordance with His way and plan, whether we live in obedience or not. (see Deuteronomy 11)
    This should give us hope and confidence.  Nothing can happen to us apart from God.  “If you really believe in God, anything that may happen to you will drive you nearer to God and anything that drives you nearer to Him is a ‘good thing’ for you.” (Lloyd-Jones)  Remember that sometimes God has to chastise us in order to draw us back a little bit nearer to Him, to get us to be in obedience to Him.  If we truly believe in God, we commit our affairs and our lives into His almighty loving arms.
    Grasp this and hold onto it:  “To believe God means an utter, implicit confidence in what He has said about Himself and in what He has said about what He will do.”  (Lloyd-Jones)