Unless the Lord builds A House...

Psalms 127:1-2 (A Psalm of Solomon) says,

1. Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat;  for God gives rest to his loved ones.
   

The Psalm and these verses were opened to me by the Holy Spirit through the life of Abraham of whom we read in the book of Genesis. God had promised Abraham that He, the LORD, was going to make Abraham a father of a nation through the barren womb of Sarah, his wife. We read about God's promise upon Abraham's life for a son through Sarah, Abraham's attempt at fulfilling God's promise because of Sarah's barrenness, God fulfilling His promise in His time, and the results thereof.  It should be noted that from the initial promise God gave to Abraham to the fulfillment of that promise spanned 25 years of Abraham's life!

Genesis 11:29-30, says, “Meanwhile, Abram married Sarai, and his brother Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of their brother Haran. (Milcah had a sister named Iscah.) Now Sarai was not able to have any children. [Abram and Sarai were their original names until God changed it to Abraham and Sarah.] Apparently, it was a known fact to Abram and the rest of his family that Sarah was not able to have any children. And into this barren womb, God spoke a promise to Abram, Genesis 12:1-3, "Then the Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives , and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.“

Abram was seventy five years old when God spoke this promise upon his life, to make him a father of a great nation. Abram obediently left his father's house with his belongings, wealth, Sarai and servants and arrived in Canaan.  There the Lord again appeared to Abram and told him, “I am going to give this land to your offspring.” To Abram's descendants. The LORD reiterated his promise to Abram again in chapter 13, verses 14-16 – After Lot was gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction. I am going to give all this land to you and your seed as a permanent possession. And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted!

Now, as we read the Bible we see that God's initial promise to bless him with a child and when he actually does become a father spans over 25 years of Abraham's life.  Several times during this span God reiterates his promise to Abraham. At times, I Abraham doubted if ever he was going to be a father, for we read in Genesis 15:1-6, "Afterward the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram replied, “ O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since I don't have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no children, so one of my servants will have to be my heir.”

Then the LORD said to him, “ No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you.” Then the LORD brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, “ Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that – too many to count!” And Abram believed the LORD [though Abram, in Genesis 11:30, knew Sarai couldn't have any children, but when the LORD promised him posterity, he believed the LORD though his intimate knowledge of Sarah told him otherwise] and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith.  [Faith is the KEY that unlocks God's promises in your life.]

Later, in chapter 16 we read that doubt again creeps in...10 years into God's promise, "But Sarai, Abram's wife, had no children. So Sarai took her servant, an Egyptian woman named Hagar, and gave her to Abram so she could bear his children. “ The Lord has kept me from having any children,” Sarai said to Abram. “ Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed. So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram first arrived in the land of Canaan.) So Abram slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant."

Further along in the chapter we see the results of impatience and putting trust in one's own intelligence, knowledge, experience and judgment. [Maybe "impatience" is not the right choice of word as he had been waiting 10 years for the fulfillment of God's promise - I don't know if I could last a year of waiting! May be that's why he's called the Father of Faith - the birth of Isaac completes his faith building - proof in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac at God's command, for he knew the God who gave him a seed in a barren womb of a 90 year old - old woman was able to raise up a dead Isaac!!!] Strife developed between Sarah and Hagar. Chapter 16 continues...

"When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress Sarai with contempt. Then Sarai said to Abram, “ It's all your fault! Now this servant of mine is pregnant, and she despises me, though I myself gave her the privilege of sleeping with you. The Lord will make you pay for doing this to me! Abram replied, “ Since she is your servant, you may deal with her as you see fit.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and Hagar ran away."

Would you think that Abraham had any peace during these times as his wife whom he loved and her servant - the expectant mother of his only child fought with each other? Would you think there was any peace or joy in that household? As we read the rest of the chapter, we see that Hagar finally returned back to Abraham and Sarah, and Hagar gave birth to a son, Ishmael – a name that meant he will live at odds with his brothers! Abraham at this point was 86 years old.

When Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah was 89 years old, the LORD again appeared to him and reiterated His promise to bless him a son through Sarah when he turned a 100 years old; and make his offspring into a mighty nation. Genesis 21:1-6 says, "Then the LORD did exactly what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would. And Abraham named his son Isaac. Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. Abraham was one hundred years old at the time. And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me. For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”"

Even though God delivered his promise to Abraham in His time, the results of trusting in his own judgment continued to haunt and trouble Abraham. Strife again brewed between Sarah and Hagar, and Sarah asks Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael out of the household – to get rid of them!  The Bible says, “This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son [who was 13 years old at this point; when you consider the bond that had grown between the father and son - Abraham's first born over those 13 years, you could imagine Abraham's pain and sorrow upon his wife's demand!]. But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant wife. Do just as Sarah says, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. But I will make a nation of the descendants of Hagar's son because he also is your son.”

Ishmael was Abraham's own son, just like Isaac, but was Abraham's own attempt at fulfilling God's promise that did not give him lasting joy, nor peace. In the end, walking with worldly counsel (Sarah's advise to have a child through her servant Hagar) gave him much pain and suffering. But through Isaac, the seed God had promised him, through his lawful wife (not any servant woman) was a nation born – Jacob (Israel!)

Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless,Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night,anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Isaiah 29:14 says, I will show that human wisdom is foolish and even the most brilliant people lack understanding.

Hillsongs - How great is our God!

Jars of Clay - Love came down at Christmas
(I post this song as today is Christmas and my daughter sang this as a solo in her school's program - made me proud to hear her sing!)

That's My King - Jesus Christ

The late Dr. S. M. Lockeridge, a pastor from San Diego, California said these words in a sermon in Detroit in 1976:

Click above to listen to the message as you read below...it's powerful!

My King was born King. The Bible says He's a Seven Way King. He's the King of the Jews - that's an Ethnic King. He's the King of Israel - that's a National King. He's the King of righteousness. He's the King of the ages. He's the King of Heaven. He's the King of glory. He's the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that's my King.

Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don't try to mislead me. Do you know my King? David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is the only one of whom there are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's imperially powerful. He's impartially merciful. That's my King. He's God's Son. He's the sinner's saviour. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He's honest. He's unique. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He's supreme. He's pre-eminent. He's the grandest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He's the supreme problem in higher criticism. He's the fundamental doctrine of historic theology. He's the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That's my King.

He's the miracle of the age. He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He's the only one able to supply all our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He's the Almighty God who guides and keeps all his people. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. That's my King.

Do you know Him? Well, my King is a King of knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway of peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. He's the master of the mighty. He's the captain of the conquerors. He's the head of the heroes. He's the leader of the legislatures. He's the overseer of the overcomers. He's the governor of governors. He's the prince of princes. He's the King of kings and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King.

His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you . . . but He's indescribable. That's my King. He's incomprehensible, He's invincible, and He is irresistible.

I'm coming to tell you this, that the heavens of heavens can't contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hands. You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him. The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree about Him. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him. That's my King.

He always has been and He always will be. I'm talking about the fact that He had no predecessor and He'll have no successor. There's nobody before Him and there'll be nobody after Him. You can't impeach Him and He's not going to resign. That's my King! That's my King!

Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Well, all the power belongs to my King. We're around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but in the end all that matters is God's power. Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory. We try to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? Forever and ever and ever and ever. . . And when you get through with all of the ever's, then . . .Amen!

David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork!

The Eye of God

Helix Nebula                                                                                               Helix Nebula

A spiral galaxy - Messier 81

Our Solar System

"The Hand of God" nebula

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-

the moon and the stars you have set in place-

what are mortals that you should think of us,

mere humans that you should care for us?

                                                                       Psalms 8:3-4

The Gentle Whisper...

4/21/09 journal entry...

1 Kings 19:11-13 – “ Go out and stand before me on the mountain, “ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And the voice said, “ what are you doing here, Elijah?

April 12th through 19th of 2009 was a week of fasting and prayer in our church. On April 13th during the evening service, I led the church into prayer and worship, and felt the strong presence of the Holy Spirit. On April 16th I was asked by the pastor to pray at the evening service and as I prayed I felt , literally experienced something lift off of me. All of a sudden the prayer wasn't flowing out smoothly, it became hard. The remainder of the week was a low point, felt empty inside of me; prayer, bible reading and meditation were not focused; and didn't feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.  How does one go from such spiritual highs to absolute lows and not know what happened?

The bible quote from 1 Kings 19 at the start of this blog was the answer to my questions to God during my loneliness and feeling of abandonment, a real downer! My questions as to why should God's children have to feel this way, and where God was in the midst of their turmoils? As I was driving to work on Monday, April 20th, I felt very tired, as a matter of fact completely exhausted and sleepy. Behind the wheel of the car on a busy highway with bumper to bumper traffic and tractor trailers going beside me, it was not a good feeling. I thought this could be my day. I even said a prayer to God to forgive any and all sins on my part, just in case. I thought of pulling to the side of the road and taking a bit of rest, but continued driving. I got to work safely, but felt absolutely crappy (like the guy from the V8 commercial - discombobulated!). I spoke with my friend - my supervisor and he gave me permission to take off early as there weren't any pressing matters at work.

On my drive back home, I asked God why I as his child should feel lonely and depressed (its funny how you can have all your family and friends around you, but feel completely abandoned.) There is a lot that I have to be thankful for. I've enjoyed God's mercy all my life even when I was not a faithful christian. That day as I was driving back it was not so much a prayer to God, but it was more of a conversation as between any two people, at times angry. Finally, I told him that I knew he could hear me...I know you hear me God, I know you hear me!

As I have written previously in other blogs, I have concluded that no matter what the circumstance, we should always seek God's presence. What I mean by this is, we should seek his presence in prayer and reading of scripture even when our hearts are weighed down with all kinds of troubles and our minds are unsettled by the circumstances surrounding our lives. It is in our utter weakness and state of helplessness that God's glory is magnified. For that, we have to seek his presence in our lives at all times – good & bad.

I took off from work the following day. Sat in my room to worship and pray. Following which I read my bible. Not knowing what to read, or where to start, I opened the bible and it happened to be 1 Kings 19.  I had completed reading the books of 1st & 2nd Kings previously, but what I write here never occurred to me until today. The Holy Spirit, God, reveals his messages at the most appropriate time in our lives.  This is how the message answered to my needs and opened up to me through the scripture I quoted at the beginning of this blog...

Upon hearing the threats of Queen Jezebel, King Ahab's wife, upon his life for destroying the priests of Baal at Mt. Carmel, Elijah forgot all the mighty deeds that God had performed through him. He forgot how the Lord had fed him by ravens (a bird known to snatch food out of your hands!) at the Kerith Brook; how God provided when he prayed for the widow of Zarephath who was preparing to die with her son after they ate the last piece of bread as she had no other food nor the means for it; Upon Elijah's praying, God provided for her enough flour and oil supernaturally until the next rain came; how God helped him to raise the dead son of the same widow; how at Mount Carmel God sent fire from heaven at his command during the competition with priests of Baal and burned up a completely water soaked offering and altar, and the water that had ponded around the altar; Elijah then slaughtered the priests of Baal following this incident; how God sent rain when he prayed and God gave him special strength to race ahead of Ahab's chariot. (Refer to chapters 17, 18 and 19 in the book of 1 Kings.)

Elijah and the prophets of Baal

Elijah fed by the ravens

Elijah and the son of the widow from Zarephath

Elijah was so taken in by fear for his life that he forgot all the mighty works of God that was performed through him – Elijah. 1Kings 19:3-4 (NLT) says, “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the desert, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” He was literally praying to God to take his life.  He'd had enough and couldn't take any more in his life, wanting to quit. But he was forgetting that even during his periods of let downs, his enemy had not triumphed over him. Why? For his Lord was with him. As I was reading Elijah's prayer, it reminded of my state and my prayer to God.

The Bible says, as Elijah lay down and slept under the broom tree, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mt. Sinai (also called Mt. Horeb), the mountain of God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.

But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed everyone of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.

The Lord then told him “ Go out and stand before me on the mountain.“ And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “ what are you doing here, Elijah?”

Map of Israel during Elijah's time

He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” God's response to Elijah was vs. 18. of chapter 19, “Yet I will preserve seven thousand others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal or kissed him!” He was saying to Elijah, you are not alone Elijah, there are others who are going through what you are going through, I have preserved them just as I have you.

These scriptures gave me a new perspective into my circumstances. When God asked Elijah to go out and stand before him on the mountain, he was telling Elijah that He – God – was larger than the mountain and Elijah.  God's presence engulfed the entire mountain that Elijah was to stand upon. When the terrible winds that sheared the rocks off the mountain, the earthquake that shook the entire mountain and the fire that burned everything on the mountain happened, Elijah was still preserved. The ground that Elijah stood on was safe ground. The Bible says that God was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, neither in the fire. If Elijah had realized that even with all these natural calamities happening around him, he was standing safe on firm ground, he would have taken his eyes off of his troubles and focused back on God and remembered the marvellous things He had done for him in the past. If we are to focus on Him, rather than on the wind, the earthquake and fire in our lives, we will come to realize that the calamities will not destroy us, for our God will preserve us in his hands.  We will then hear his gentle whisper, the whisper that reminds us of his promises that he faithfully upholds for his children.

It was encouraging to see  that Elijah – the mighty prophet of God was so human at his core, with strengths and weaknesses, like me, was so fixated on his problems that he sounded like a broken record (ref vs. 10 & 14) each time he answered the Lord's question as to what he was doing there – running away from his enemies, showing a lack of faith. We forget what God has done in our lives when we pay attention to the negative circumstances surrounding our lives.  As we pay attention to the noise and begin listening to it, we become unsettled and fear takes over. Sometimes, God has to send us on a long journey to tire us out, as he sent Elijah on a long journey, just to get us to focus back on him; but as he did for Elijah, he sustains us with just enough energy to make the journey. It is then, in our broken state that we finally pay attention to him and hear his gentle whispers, that say “I am with thee until the very end of time.”

Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Instead of thinking about the storm that split the rocks on the mountain he was standing on, the earthquake that shook the entire mountain without breaking a single bone in him, and the fire that consumed everything but him – Why? For the Lord covered him completely including the mountain he was standing on. All Elijah could think of was the threat against his life from Delilah. I was doing the same, forgetting what God had done for me and was just consumed by my present situation.

We have short memories when it comes to blessings we have enjoyed from the Lord. Our issues may seem like an insurmountable mountain to us, but our Lord asks that we stand on that mountain that is our issue, in his presence. His presence engulfs the entire mountain with you in it and more...the Winds, the Earthquakes, and the Fires. Take your eyes of the noise in your life and plant them on your Lord who encompasses and engulfs your insurmountable mountains. Stand still in his presence and you will hear his gentle whispers. You will know that He is God.

Pressing on when times get hard!

Remember to be persistent in your prayer, so the Bible teaches. If you note in the case of Elijah, he prayed and immediately the rain stopped in Israel for 3.5 years; he prayed and immediately fire from heaven consumed the water soaked altar and sacrifice, defeating the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel. Elijah had to pray and stretch over the dead son of the widow of Zarephath three times before he came back to life. He had to pray and send his servant seven times to see if the storm clouds and rain had come. Be persistent in your prayer and the Lord will answer in his time – the right time! Don't give up!

In the New Testament we read a similar event in the lives of the disciples,

Mathew 8:23-27 (NLT) – Jesus calms the storm

Then Jesus got in the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Lord save us! We're going to drown! And Jesus answered, “ Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he stood up and rebuked the  wind and waves, and suddenly all was calm. The disciples just sat there in awe. “Who is this?” they asked themselves. “Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Again, God was not in the storm... He was in the boat with his disciples.  He is right beside you. Have faith that the storm that seemingly would capsize your boat and drown you has no authority over you, a child of God, when the one who created you in his own image is with you. Walk with God! Be obedient to his commands! The wind will come to pass, the earthquake will pass and the fire will pass. His gentle whispers will sustain your life!

No Doubt from Petra