Week Ten - Beauty

BEAUTY

“When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity.  Selah.”  Psalm 39:11

With the evolution of language, the meaning of the word “beauty” as used in Psalm 39 has become obsolete.  For us, beauty has but one meaning – outward appearance.  If we read the verse with that definition in mind it would be interpreted – when the Lord reveals our sin we see that we are nothing, we see how ugly we really are and all our self conceived beauty (self-pride or glory) is stripped away.  Not a bad interpretation and one that certainly is true and has great application.

However, the word “beauty” is not referring to physical appearance.  It is talking about the desire of our heart, the thing that we hold dear, treasure or value.  If we use this definition the verse says – When the Lord reveals that our heart’s desire is misplaced, he makes the desirable thing undesirable and its joy is removed.

        

I like both interpretations.  I know both to be true.  I have known times when the Lord revealed my sin of self-pride and showed me just how ugly I really was.  This was so humbling and so necessary.  I needed to be put in my place so the beauty of the Lord could shine through me again. I have also known times when the Lord revealed to me that my heart’s affection or desire was set on something other than Him.  I have known the “beauty” of that thing to disappear as I saw how temporal and how deceitful it really was.

        

Either way, we need the Lord to put us in our place and to reveal the true intent of our heart; to make us humble.  Then, we can call out, as did the Psalmist in verse thirteen, “O spare me, that I may recover strength…” God always restores what he tears down. He makes us beautiful again.

Is there an ugliness about you that needs to be taken away?  Is there an affection or desire that is misplaced and marring your life?  Ask Him to reveal it…then deal with it!

BEAUTY

“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name;

 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”  Psalm 29:2

This usage of the word “beauty” implies splendour, glory, honour, and respect.  It is used to describe holiness.  Holiness is beautiful.  Holiness is to be the manner in which we worship the Lord.  Let’s develop this thought a bit further by a greater definition of holiness.  Strong’s Concordance says, “set apart as dedicated to God, sacred, hallowed, dedicated, purified.”

        

So, if we put this all together we would understand that in order to truly worship the Lord and bring glory to his name, we must do so as purified and wholly dedicated persons.  The beauty is not upon us, but upon the stance of holiness.

        

This is all too rare in our culture.  We hold very few things with such high esteem and we do not readily see the value of a life wholly given to God.  We tend to think that these people are weird or misfits or extremists! But God calls us to holiness and knows the real beauty of a life so dedicated.

        

A very basic illustration of the meaning “beauty of holiness” might be a long, successful marriage.  The two have set themselves apart for each other.  They have kept their vows and there is a certain beauty in their relationship that is sacred and holy.  There is an honour and respect that they show each other and that others give to them because of their life-long commitment.

        

It would do us good to look at the holiness-quotient of our lives.  Am I holy?  Is my attempt at holiness producing beauty that brings worship to the Lord and is a glory to His name?  Am I willing to give or give up what is necessary to accomplish this goal?

BEAUTY

“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:

but a woman that feareth the Lord,  she shall be praise.”

Proverbs 31:30

Finally.  A definition of beauty that is exactly what we understand it to be today.  This usage simply means outward beauty.  How sad that it is destroyed in only two words – “is vain”.  Vain means something with no substance, emptiness meaningless and worthless.  Wow.  For all of the money and time and effort we spend each day trying to look a certain way or be accepted by others, it is meaningless, worthless and empty.  Add to that that the meaning of favour is charm or grace (the moral quality of kindness displayed in a favourable disposition) and that even this is defined as deceitful (false) and we have a really sad description.

        

I don’t believe that the Lord is telling us to never comb our hair and wash our face, nor do I believe that he is saying that we should not use courtesy and social grace in our society, but I do believe he is telling us that these are not the be all and end all of our existence.  If we focus only on the outward, we are wasting our time.  Beauty is from within and we need to cultivate our hidden man more than our outward man.

        

Remember when Samuel came searching the sons of Jesse to find the new king of Israel?  Samuel said, “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart.”  If we want the praise of God and the favour of men, we need to make sure our lives show the respect, care and attention due the Lord.  This is much more than a daily surface repair, it is an attitude of a lifetime that is revealed by the beauty of the Lord in the life of a soul who has learned to fear and love God.

Are you relying on looks and social graces to get you through life?  Are you tending your inner man with the same care and attention you give to your outward man?

BEAUTY

“So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord: and worship thou him.”  Psalm 45:11

Psalm 45 is a beautiful description of the daughter of the king.  Beginning in verse 9 and going through the rest of the chapter the Psalmist reveals the character qualities of the daughter whose beauty is desired.  It is interesting to note that not once is her physical appearance mentioned.  All of the qualities have to do with integrity, honour and respect.  Verses 13 and 14 mention her clothing.  It is made with gold and fine needlework, which symbolizes a life well-woven with care and attention to detail.

        

If we take a look at verse ten we see that her beauty proceeds from a heart and ear that listen to the Lord and are set apart for Him.  So, her beauty is one of relationship and character that is not necessarily based on her facial features.

        

I read once that God’s favourite place is with you.  The king greatly desires to have fellowship with us.  He wants us to be beautiful for Him and beautiful because of Him. 

When we come before him, do we take time to “make an entrance”?  Do we prepare our hearts and attitudes before coming to the King of Kings?  Do our lives make us desirable to him?  Are we weaving a life with care and attention to detail?  So many questions….only you can answer.

  BEAUTY

“…he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”  Isaiah 53:2

This usage of the word “beauty” means what is seen with the eye, the appearance or countenance.  The word “form” means shape or good body and the word “comeliness” means glory or majesty of an object.

        

Isaiah 53 is a description of our Saviour.  Here we understand that Jesus, as a physical man, did not necessarily have a great body, nor did he project great majesty as he walked about, nor did he have anything about his personage that would call attention to the fact of his presence.  He was simply a man like so many others on the street.

        

I think this is great!  Jesus was plain.  Just like you and me.  The Bible says he can understand all we go through and I think that even in this detail, God knew that so many of us walk through life unrecognized and plain.  No one comes and offers us movie contracts or modelling opportunities.  We just get up each day and straighten ourselves and do our thing.

        

Jesus did the same.  He knew what His Father had planned and he went about doing God’s will.  He didn’t do it with great fanfare, but just faithfully in obedience.  He obeyed his parents and returned home to learn carpentry becoming known as the carpenter’s son.  Then, when God moved him to public ministry, again, he simply did what God instructed and taught simple folk the great truths.  Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, the soldiers would not have picked him out without the aid of Judas.

        

Christ’s mission was much greater than mine, but he gave me an example of how to live my life.  Live it simply.  Simply obeying.  Not looking for great fanfare or notoriety, but looking for that “Well done” that comes from a life simply led.

Do you see the beauty of simplicity?  Of obedience?  Of faithfulness?

Week Nine - Ask

ASK

“…yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”  James 4:2

My second son was one of those kids who could never make up his mind. I would try to encourage him to tell me what he wanted, but he just never seemed to be able, except for food of course!  But when it came to Christmas, or his birthday, he would say he didn’t know what he wanted.  Then, afterwards I would hear him say, “I would have liked that.”  And my blood would boil.  I so wanted to make him happy, but because he would never be upfront with what really mattered to him it left me feeling like a failure and left him disappointed.  To this day I don’t know the real reason behind why he was hesitant to ask for what he wanted.  Sometimes he would say that he didn’t think we could afford it.  Maybe he didn’t believe that we would seek to give him his wish, but for whatever reason, he was afraid to ask.

        

We can be like that with the Lord.  We don’t really believe that he is either able or willing to give us what we really desire.  Maybe we think our wish is trivial or unimportant.  Maybe we think we don’t deserve it.  But for whatever reason, we go around disappointed because we don’t see what we want.

        

Other times I think it is pride that causes us not to ask.  We have swallowed the non-Scriptural thought that God helps those who help themselves and think that we have to do something to earn His gifts.  Or, we don’t want to humble ourselves enough to ask.  We would rather do without and think we are being super spiritual than to let go of our pride and come in child-like faith to a loving heavenly Father to have all of our needs met. 

James 1:5 is speaking of the desire for wisdom and in this matter of asking, we need great wisdom.  What does James 1:5 promise?  “let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally…”  Hum, sounds to me like God enjoys giving to his children.  All they have to do is ask.  What is holding you back?

ASK

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”  Matthew 21:22

Asking takes faith.  Faith is believing we will receive.  Faith is not to be placed in the action of asking, but in the One from whom we will receive our request.  It therefore involves praise and submission as we come before the throne.

When it comes to your human father, you ask because you expect that he will be able to grant your request.  You do not demand. but you come as a seeking receiver.  He is the one that will grant the request.  Your hopes are pinned on his ability, not your own.  You believe that your father will give you what you have asked because either you know he has the ability, or that your request is within his power to grant, or you believe that he would want to do this for you.

When we ask our heavenly Father, these truths must be exercised as well.  We must believe that He is the one to grant the request and that it is within His ability.  Of course, all things are within His ability, but we must also recognize that all things are within His prerogative as well.  We do not come to God with a demanding attitude, but one of earnest expectation and faith.

Another aspect of asking is removal of pride.  We cannot expect to receive because of our own merit, or simply because we have put forth our request.  The receiving is dependent upon the goodness of the Father.  The Father holds the options.  He can grant the request, delay to answer until an appropriate time, or deny the request altogether.  It is his prerogative, just as with earthly fathers.

God wants us to ask.  He wants to answer.  This is how a relationship is built and trust is strengthened.  Answers to prayer are like stitches that hold a garment together: the more the stitches, the stronger the bond.

What is your attitude in prayer requests?  Do you come believing?

ASK

“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?  Matthew 7:9-11

One of the lies of Satan is that God will withhold from us, or that God is not able to adequately meet our need.  When we believe this lie we start coming to God with beggarly requests.  We cry before him for things he has already provided.  

Wouldn’t you count it foolish for a child to ask his earthly father daily if he were going to let them live in the house, eat at the table and wear clothes?  Yet, we fret over these things daily.  How much better the child that seeks his father’s counsel for growth and development and by faith with confidence and thankfulness leaves the physical needs to be met by the father’s love without doubtful asking?

When we limit our prayers to only requests for things God has already provided or promised to provide we are not exhibiting faith.  We are actually exhibiting unthankfulness and discontent with what we have.  We seek as Gentiles who only crave only material and physical desires; yet, he wants to give us more. 

  

God is good.  He wants to meet our need and he does meet our need.  Yet, how much more could he give us if we were to be thankful and recognized the good gifts he has already provided?  It is a good exercise to examine our heart attitudes about the gifts of God.  It is a good exercise to eradicate lies from our prayer life.  Simply take time to ask yourself the questions posed in today’s Scripture. 

If we think we are good parents by meeting the physical needs of our children to the best of our ability, how much greater a parent is God and what good things could he give us if we were thankful for what we already had and believed Him to be a good parent?

ASK

“In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.”  I Kings 3:5

What an amazing offer God made to Solomon.  “Ask what ever you want and I will give it you.”  But Solomon was ready.  He knew what he needed - wisdom. 

When we read of Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10 Jesus posed the same type of question, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?  Bartimaeus was also ready.  He knew what he needed – sight.

These men made specific requests.  They knew what they needed and they believed that the source of their request was right before them, so the seized the opportunity.

We, however, tend to ask so generically.  “Lord, bless us.”  “Lord, watch over…”  “Lord, help me!”  God already blesses.  God already watches over.  God is our constant help.  Not that these are to be overlooked, but I put it to you that we are not ready. 

We are not aware of our real need so our requests become general. We ask, but our definition is so blurred that we do not even see the answers to our prayers because we do not know what they look like.  We just toddle along blinded to the real power of the relationship we can have with an Almighty God who is standing before us asking what we need.

Define your request.  Make it something that can be evidenced when granted.  You need spiritual strength – ask Him!  You need great wisdom – ask Him!  You need deliverance from addiction – ask Him!  You need a friend and some real encouragement – ask Him! Then look and recognize what he does. Remember, he is able to do more!  So, prove Him!  He is not afraid and he will not fail.

Are you ready with a specific request?  Why hesitate?  Ask.

ASK

“Now unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…”  Ephesians 3:20

I love this “exceeding abundantly above” phrase.  He is able to do exceeding abundantly above.  Imagine. If you ask for a piece of bread, it will come as a whole loaf with jam and butter!  And then some cheese and chutney, and all served on a golden platter.  And it will be free!  That is such an inadequate illustration, but I hope you get the meaning.  We ask for small things when God is able to do so much more. 

I know in my own life that God has blessed me above measure.  I started out my Christian life with a simple desire to please Him and in return He has pleased me so much more than I could have ever pleased Him.  He has granted so many answers to prayer in unimaginable ways and has made my life so much richer in the process.  It is unexplainable and intangible, yet it is real, deep and precious.

I think the key to the verse is found in the last part – “according to the power that worketh in us”.  The answers to prayer are not because I asked or because I had such great faith, but because of the power that is within.  It is His power, not mine.  He works in my life to develop a relationship.  The exceeding abundantly above answers to prayer are for those who are walking with Him and who are allowing the power of God to work through them. 

The Psalmist wrote, “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”  (Psalm 84:11) I can believe that He will work on my behalf to bring mighty answers to prayer because it is His desire to bless and use me for His glory. By taking a step of faith and asking, I get to see Him work!  Nothing is beyond His ability to answer!

Can you pray this prayer with me?  “Lord, let me continue to see these amazing answers to powerful prayer for Your glory alone.  Let me be that channel of blessing to others.  Let my life be exceeding abundantly above all that I could ever imagine according to your power that lives in me!  This I ask, O Lord.”

Week Eight - According

ACCORDING

“Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.”  Psalm 62:12

“According”.  It is word of measurement.  It comes from a word meaning foundation, based upon, and springing from.  This verse in Psalms teaches us that we will all receive something from the Lord based upon our work for him.  It is probably a wonderful thing that the phrase is preceded by the truth of God’s mercy.  For when it comes to receiving according to our works, we will all need mercy.

It reminds me of the truth of sowing and reaping.  Were it not for God’s mercy, we would all be consumed and destroyed, for none of us have done good enough works to be spared.  But God in his great mercy and love has chosen to forgive us for our failures and desires to reward us for our successes.

What though, if the reverse were true?  What if we served a God without mercy?  What if we really got what we deserved?

Not a very bright prospect, huh?

It also prompts me to think about the works I am doing for Him.  What real reward am I earning?  When it comes to judgment fire, how many of my works will be able to withstand the heat of God’s judgment?  I don’t think I will really know until the day, but until then I choose to continue to serve.  Until then, I look for the mercy of God when I fail and the smile of God when I succeed.  Until then, I will keep my eyes on Him who loves me and reaches out to me with great mercy in order to give me blessing according to my work.

ACCORDING

“…according to thy Word….”

 Psalm 119:9, 25, 28, 41, 58, 65, 76, 107, 116, 154, 169, 170

God’s Word:

Verse 9 – brings cleansing

Verse 25 – brings life

Verse 28 – brings strength

Verse 41 – brings salvation

Verse 58 – brings mercy

Verse 65 – brings God’s good dealing

Verse 76 – brings comfort

Verse 107 – brings relief from affliction

Verse 116 – brings upholding

Verse 154 – brings quickening

Verse 169 – brings understanding

Verse 170 – brings deliverance

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and over and over the Psalmist praises and adores God’s Word.  God’s Word is the foundation of life.  God’s Word is the basis upon which life is created and ultimately judged.  God’s Word is the spring of life for every man who heeds it.  As the Psalmist writes he calls upon this basic truth and appeals to God for application of the Word to the needs of his life.

Those who dwell deeply in God’s Word know these truths to be real and active.  They know the surety and confidence with which they can rest and trust.  They know the heights to which the Word of God alone can take them.  And, they know that no matter how low life brings them, God’s Word is still there to lift them up and to uphold them in every trial.  Are you directing your life according to the Word?

  

ACCORDING

“…according to thy tender mercies….”  Psalm 69:16

Psalm 25:7 – “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.”

Psalm 69:16 – “Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.”

We cannot begin to delve into the word “according” until we know what we are measuring.  Therefore, we need the meaning of the word, “mercy”, which is, compassionate, unfailing love. 

We had a young family visiting in our home that had a son that was about four years old.  They had been trying to teach him the meaning of the word mercy.  Their definition was to not receive what you actually deserved.  This son was quite a sharp lad and had taken in their definition.  Now, each time he actually deserved to be punished for misbehaviour, he would call out to them, “Mercy, mercy, please give me mercy!”

In some sense, this is what the Psalmist is doing as well.  In the 25^th Psalm we see that he knows his own guilt, but asks God to think kindly toward him and not punish him according to his youthful sins.  In the 69^th Psalm he casts himself upon the love and kindness of God asking him to turn to him, or, look upon him with mercy.  This reminds me of the call of the sinner in the Gospels, “God be merciful unto me a sinner”.

We can call out to God for this compassionate unfailing love, because it is a foundation.  It is what springs from God.  God is love; therefore we can call upon him to receive love.  His love never fails.  It never ends.  It is always there.  It is a measure by which we can be assured of its supply. God will not withhold it from his children, so if you need it today -call.  Come boldly before the throne of grace!

ACCORDING

“I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness…Psalm 7:17

“Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness…”

 Psalm 35:24

“The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.”  Psalm 18:20

“Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.”  Psalm 18:24

Wow.  The Psalmist is taking a really big step here.  Just think.  When we look at the first two verses referring to the righteousness of God, we don’t really have a problem for we know that God is always right and always just.  There is no unrighteousness in Him to any degree!  We should praise him for that, and we can know that God will judge us rightly based upon his own true righteousness.

But then, the Psalmist asks God to reward him according to his own human righteousness.  He must be very confident that he has acted rightly and that God will not find fault.  He says that his hands are clean; they are free from impurity or guilt. These verses are not a basis for salvation.  The Psalmist is not asking for God to forgive his sin, this matter is already settled.  What he is asking for and has recognized, is that God has already looked at his life and has rewarded him for living rightly.

There is blessing upon the one who lives rightly.  They can stand confidently before God for judgment.  They can also stand confidently if there is a problem, for they know that a righteous Judge will deal rightly and mercifully with them in that matter also.  I John 3:21 says, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.”  The Psalmist had this confidence.  Do you?

ACCORDING

Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.”  Psalm 33:22

There are so many verses using this word that it is impossible to look them all.  Words like, power, integrity, deeds, purposed, work, etc., all of these are placed against the word “according”.  But for a final look at the measurement, let’s consider Psalm 33:22.  We are back to that word “mercy”, meaning compassionate, unfailing love.  It is being measured by the word, “hope”.  This means to wait for or to expect.  So, the question is, “How much hope do we have?”  God’s mercy will be upon us based upon the measure of our expectation.

Hope is a vital part of the Christian experience.  It is one of the three things that remain – Faith, Hope, and Charity.  The Bible says that without hope we are miserable.  It also says that we will be happy if our hope is in the Lord, and further, hope makes us not ashamed and we are saved by hope.  We are to be looking for that blessed hope and if that hope is in us it will cause us to live a pure life. Hope is vital. 

The Psalmist used hope to lift him from despair.  Several times as he asked himself why he was cast down or disquieted, he said, “…hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him…” God has no problem granting mercy to the soul whose hope and trust are based solely upon God’s sufficiency.  The soul whose hope is placed such has a solid foundation, a basis upon which to build, and will be springing forth from a depth that proceeds from a never-ending resource that is based upon the power and ability of God.

My hope is built on nothing less


Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;


I dare not trust the sweetest frame,


But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;


All other ground is sinking sand…