Spiritual Things Go Against Nature.

In my last post, I wrote about learning about God and how important that is. I thought I would continue writing about this as found in the book, “The Art of Divine Contentment,” by Thomas Watson. There are many lessons in this book that I think are helpful to Christians.

The author says there are two main reasons why we must study the Bible and study what God is like.

Number One: Because spiritual things are against nature. “For men to be justified by the righteousness of another, to become a fool that he may be wise, to have all by losing all; this is against nature.”

“For a man to deny his own wisdom, and see himself blind; to deny his own will and have it melted into the will of God…crucifying that sin that is dearest to his heart; for a man to be dead to the world, and in the midst of want to abound; for him to take up the cross, and follow Jesus…this is against nature and therefore must be learned.”

Number 2: Because spiritual things are far above nature.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.  Isaiah 55:8

“Only God’s Spirit can light our candle here,” writes Watson. Like the man in the chariot, who needed Philip to explain the scriptures to him, so we need the Holy Spirit to enlighten our mind. “We  cannot learn till the Spirit of God shines into our hearts.”

 “Lead me in your truth and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day.”  Psalm 25:5

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”  John 14:26

I’m going to add my own thoughts here. I’ll call it my number 3 reason for studying the Bible.

Number 3:

In order to love God, we need to know him. We cannot feel close to a stranger. We cannot  admire someone we don’t know. If we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, we must know him.

Every book in the Bible tells us something about God. If we have trouble understanding what we read about him, then ask him for guidance and perhaps read some Commentaries on the Bible that try to explain each verse. I have found that very helpful. There are good Commentaries on Bible Hub online. They are written by man, so realize they could be off the mark. But knowing the culture of the ancient people helps us understand why God dealt with them the way he did.

If You Love Life; Love the Lord.

Who is God?

Someone worth knowing.

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Fear the Lord, you his holy people,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Whoever of you loves life

and desires to see many good days,

keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from telling lies.

Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are attentive to their cry;

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to blot out their name from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The righteous person may have many troubles,

but the Lord delivers him from them all;

he protects all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;

the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord will rescue his servants;

no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned."

Psalm 34

"For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light."  Psalm 36:9

Who am I?

Someone who has tasted and found that the Lord is good. Someone who has had many troubles, but the Lord delivered me from them all. Someone who knows the Lord always hears me, which gives me great comfort and joy.

Falling in Love with God."

The first time I read Song of Solomon I thought, "Why is this crazy poem in the Bible? What does it have to do with God?"  I couldn't figure it out so I asked God what it meant.  A thought came into my mind, "This is how I want you to love me."

Whoa, that hadn't crossed my mind. As far as I could see, Solomon was in love with this girl and wooed her by saying stuff like,

"Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from the hills of Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,

coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin; not one of them is alone." 

( I guess she didn't have any missing teeth, which was a bonus in those days.)

I thought about myself falling in love and what it is like. I remember thinking about my boyfriend for hours during the day. I was constantly wondering what he was doing; I couldn't wait to see him after work and then have the whole weekend together. I was full of happiness when I was with him. That's what I saw in Song of Solomon. But how was I going to feel like that about God?

I  have always prayed, "Help me to love you with all my heart, soul and strength and my neighbor as myself." Love has been my goal for many years. But I had to be honest, I didn't have a "feeling" of love for God very often. 

A few weeks ago, I listened to some talks by Ty Gibson. He talks about how God loves us like no one else I have ever heard. After listening for some days, I finally got it. I finally believed God loved me. He really loved me.

I'd known that in my mind, but never in my heart. I believed the Bible when it told me God is love and God loves you; but I always had a sneaking suspicion that he was only putting up with me because he had to. I thought I was a big disappointment to him.

But here comes the great surprise. The greatest surprise of all. When I believed God did love me, I finally had that amazing feeling of falling in love with Him. I just love talking with him, thinking about him and spending a whole day alone with him. 

I know why that happened. If you don't believe someone likes you, then you hold back. You keep your distance. You don't trust. How could I love someone I didn't trust? 

So, now I'm in love with God.  Amazing.

Here are a few of my favorite verses from Song of Solomon.

The girl Solomon loves is speaking here: 

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest

is my beloved among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

Let him lead me to the banquet hall,

and let his banner over me be love.

Strengthen me with raisins,

refresh me with apples,

for I am faint with love.

His left arm is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me.

Listen! My beloved!

Look! Here he comes,

leaping across the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Look! There he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattice.

My beloved spoke and said to me,

“Arise, my darling,

my beautiful one, come with me.

See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me.”

I now see Jesus, running through the forest to my house; he's looking through my window, knocking on my door, asking me to come away with him to heaven. 

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"  Revelation 22:20

Here is where you can find some of Ty Gibson's talks. "An Endless Falling in Love," is one of the best.

http://www.pilgrimskeyradionetwork.com/sermons/sermons.php?speak=40