Holding Fast – Praying Pint

28.i. “Shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life”

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life

Numbers 14:27   “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.

Psalms 106:25    They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD.

James 5:9  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

Jude 1:16    These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires;

Hebrews 12:14    Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

James 3:18   But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Do all things without complaining and disputing: without criticizing, speaking out against, find fault with, opposing, and objecting to. Without argument, quarreling, conflict, deny, question, doubt, protest against. I have to think Do all things without complaining and disputing, refers to both personal conflicts between us and others, as well as us with God. It seems no matter how far we go back in time, complaining and disputing between us and other Christians and us with God is a constant. It can be displayed in both passive and aggressive means, direct confrontation or covert acts, and willfully leading dissension or allowing to be ourselves to be influenced into ungodly thoughts, words, and actions. What amazes me is the skill at which some are able to do this. They seem to be either speaking out of love but in truth, it is nothing of the kind or they come out throwing hand grenades or a combination of both.

We are to be different, shining lights, rejoicing in Christ. We should be able to discern both direct and covert, passive and aggressive willful ungodly attitudes, words, thoughts, and actions. The problem is the world around us is so full of this that it seems to be the way of life. Far too many Christians are neglectful and complacent in their walk with God. They are more influenced by the world than they are by the Holy Spirit. This is how and why such things are brought into the church and between brothers and sisters of Christ. Paul is basically saying you ought to know better than to think, act, and speak this way. There needs to be an intentional choice made deep in each heart, soul, and mind, that desires and seeks to be ever-present under the influence of the Holy Spirit for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

73. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Joshua 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

Deuteronomy 31:10-12    And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths,  when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.  Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law,

Nehemiah 8:2-3     So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.  And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Nehemiah 9:3    And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20     “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.  If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,  I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,  loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

There was times past when God’s word was read to an entire nation, a time spent listening to His word and time spent in confession and time spent in worship. It is hard for us to imagine what it would be like to not have God’s written word immediately available and easily accessible. Wh don’t have to wait until there is a special day for His word to be read to us, we can read it at anytime we choose. Is it possible that His word is so readily available that we don’t find the need to spend time in it every day? Is it possible that because it is so accessible that we just tuck it away until we think we need it?

God’s word is not to be seen or used as a remedy quick fix book for when we come to hard times or sickness, or troubles, or trials. God’s word is to be food for every moment of every day. His word is to be so needed that it is consumed like the very air we need and breath. If His word is not active in your life is it possible that it is void from your choice of needing it, relying on it, clinging to it, wanting it??????

Choose to spend time in His word, neglecting it will always lead to your heart, mind and soul drifting away from Him.

60. I did not speak in secret

Deuteronomy 30:11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Isaiah 45:19    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

Romans 16:25-26     Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages  but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—

Colossians 1:26-27     the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Can His word be so close to our heart and so familiar to our soul that it can not be understood or not be put into practice? NO! I wonder how it is possible to spend day after day, and week after week, and possibly month after month without more than a glance at His word when we know of the blessings and curses that come from either obedience or neglect. Have we watered down His word so much that following it only requires a showing up in Church a few times per month and speaking to God is dialed back to only when something troubling is happening.

His word would tell us that we can comprehend it, we can understand it, it is revealed to us, it is not far off, and it is brought to the very door of our heart, mind, and soul. However, it does no good in the heart, soul, and mind of anyone who does not cherish it or read it, or seek it, or desire it, or want to obey it. Neglects and complacency are not excuses, they are a choice.

Wholly Committed

shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever.

Joshua 14:9
And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God

Numbers 14:24
But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it

Numbers 32:12
‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord

Deuteronomy 11:22
For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.

What does it mean to “Fully Follow God”? What do we use to determine if we are following Him fully? I remember 40 years ago it was normal to attend Sunday morning bible study, Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening worship, Wednesday evening prayer, and some morning or evening throughout the week in bible study. This was normal and considered to the region I lived. As I look around now the norm is to attend a worship service on Sunday morning and maybe a bible study once per week. What has changed? Our culture seems to have been able to pull us away from continually meeting together to worship, pray, fellowship, disciple making, and hold each other accountable. When this happens the first thing we leave behind is His word which leads to loss of focus and the repeated reminder of who God is and what our purpose is. God wants us to serve Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul. How is that possible if we live for Him straddling the fence of commitment? Out of the twelve that Moses sent to scout out the land only two were found to fully follow Him with a heart and mind and soul. I ask myself many times if I would be one of these two or one of the ten. There are times I am one of the two but more often than not I am one of the ten who sees the battle before me and am not seeing it in the hands of God and His awesome power, strength and might. Do you want rest from the battles before you – commit fully to serving God, give all your battles into His hands, and give the victory to His glory.