Psalm 139:20-24: Perfect Hatred vs. Hatred!

I was not able to write a post yesterday so I decided to combine yesterdays post with today's since this is, essentially, the wrap up post for this study.

“For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:20-24

There is always something evil going on every second of the day, as a result of the fall. If you look at the news, you’ll see that every day all of the 10 Commandments are broken, and those are just the ones that are made public. We know, being humans born into sin, that you break the big ten every day way more than once in just one week. It’s also easy, when you witness the evil that goes on now and has gone on in the past, to react in an angry manner. How could they do that? How could such and evil thing happen? What kind of low life degenerate could do such a thing? All of these, and many more, are questions that I’ve experienced myself asking whenever I hear of some evil that was—or has been—done. The average person would say, without a second thought towards it, that they hate those people and what they are doing. So what is so special when David says that he hates the wickedness of this world, and aren't we supposed to love our enemies? (See Matthew 5:44) Well I’ll tell you, David had a perfect hatred towards the enemies, as opposed to just hating them.

Like I said before, it is easy to experience hatred for wickedness, it comes naturally. Think of all the people throughout history who people naturally just hate. Hitler, Ivan the Terrible, Stalin ect. People naturally hate this people, and why? Because they are evil. What if, however, you learned that moments before Hitler’s death he had actually accepted Jesus into his heart, and was then assassinated by one of his own guards? I’m sure the thought of that, for some, is unbearable, and they’d hate for that to be the case. They’d hate to get to heaven and see Hitler there. But that’s just the difference between hatred and perfect hatred. So what is this perfect hatred and how do we have perfect hatred as opposed to just plain hatred.
In Ephesians 6:12 it says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (See also 2 Corinthians 10:3) That is the key to having perfect hatred. If we look at every person who does wrong things—or has wronged us—in this way then we’ll find that our battle is not in fact against them, but against the evil powers that are energizing them to do so. All deeds done on earth have a spiritual connection. I was listening to a sermon done by my Pastor (Pastor Bob Coy of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale) about living by Faith, and he was saying how even though your Boss or your husband or your wife or your neighbor are acting like the devil, they are not the devil. He then said if there is any advisory, which there is, it is attached to a “string” and that person who you seem to think is “acting like the devil” are in fact a puppet and the puppeteer is the devil himself and he is manipulating and he is infiltrating because he can oppress and he can possess.
That’s how we can distinguish perfect hatred from hatred; by realizing that our war is not with the person who is doing the evil thing, it is not with the evil thing they are doing, but the evil one who is directing them to do the evil thing. It’s this type of thinking—this perfect unbiased purely directed hatred—that would cause one to rejoice with the thought that (if it were actually the case) Hitler became a Christian just before his death. It is once we come to discover this truth that we learn the best way to defeat our true enemy is by getting to the actual important matter of converting their hearts towards Christ.

David then finishes the psalm off by asking God to search him, to find if there is any wicked way in his own life, so that he can be a true impact in the world for Christ. For it is only after one has humbled himself in the sight of the Lord that they are able to be lifted up in the Glory of Christ’s omniscient omnipresent power. (See James 4:10)

As I finish out this study through Psalm 139 I need to make sure that I can differentiate between hatred and perfect hatred, and continually ask God to search me. I hope you enjoyed this study and learned as much as I have through it. I can’t wait to see what else God has to show me as I continue to meditate through his word.

Psalm 139:17-19: God is the Only Refuge Worth Taking!

Wouch! The fact that I went from consistently writing a new post everyday to missing three days in a row merits the use of a created word like “Wouch!” I apologize and truly the only excuse I can give is this; we had a lot of guest here over the weekend, so life was quite busy. However, I am hopefully back in my schedule and maybe I won’t do the same thing next weekend.

“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.” Psalm 139:17-19

In theses verses, David is acknowledging the care and dedication God has put into us humans every single day. God, who knows us, thinks of us and his thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace and love (See Jeremiah 29:11) and these thoughts of his are continually with us, sheilding us from the worlds problems.

For me, depression over days past and days to come usually come to me at night and stay with me to the morning. However, I’ve come to realize that when these downer feelings come, I am to rebuke them as methods of destruction from the enemy, and I should focus on the LORD through them, for he is the only refuge worth taking. (See Psalm 46:1 and Psalm 57:1) The best part about that is when you go to bed and then wake up, the troubles you were facing are still there but there is an even bigger presence that consumes you and gives you a peace that passes understanding, which is God! (“When I awake, I am still with thee.”)

In this imperfect world, there is always something to bring you down, something evil going on somewhere. It is important to acknowledge, however, that the in the end the evil will get their reward, the wicked will be slain, and there will be no more sorrow and no more pain. (See Revelations 21:4) We also need not be shaken by the enemies attack. My pastor always likes to say that whenever the enemy tries to bring you down with this worlds troubles and reminds you of your past, you don’t need to worry just remind him of his future. You know the end, the good guys win and the bad guys lose. The wicked will have their day of judgment, he shall judge the poor and the meek with fairness, and the bloody men--our enemies--shall depart from us. (“Surely though wilt slay the wicked, O God, depart from me therefore ye bloody men.” Psalm 139:19)

“But with righteousness and justice shall He judge the poor and decide with fairness for the meek, the poor, and the downtrodden of the earth; and He shall smite the earth and the oppressor with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.” Isaiah 11:4

There will always be something to worry about in this life. I need to learn to not obsess over them, but rather wait on the LORD and focus on his loving power, and he will give me the strength I need to move on. Strength will rise as we wait upon the LORD. (See Isaiah 40:31)

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Paslm 27:14

Psalm 139:14-16: Focusing on How Much God has Already Put into Us

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:14-16

In these verses, David is praising God for demonstrating his magnificent power by creating us. It truly is amazing to think about God creating us out of nothing. He is so powerful to the point that he has created our very existence, yet he still wants to have a relationship with us!

Some of the most common lies used by the Devil are “You’re ugly, you’re a failure, you can never measure up, you were a mistake, you are not good enough ect.” They are extremely damaging to any Christians walk with Christ, yet the key to overcoming them can be found in these verses.

It’s no little thing when a baby is created. The step by step process of each baby’s birth starts with a miracle. Man could never replicate on their own what God does every day when a baby is conceived. Every single person in the past, present, and the future were individually formed by God himself, and as we learned in the verses before, he also has a plan for each and every one of them before they were even conceived. How could something with that much thought put into it by an almighty creator be ugly, a failure, not good enough, and worst of all, a mistake? The answer is clearly as follows. IT CAN’T! It’s this same type of thinking that has lead to depression, peer-pressure, and abortion. People need to wake up to the fact that it does not matter if you feel ugly or inadequate, the very frame of your existence was formed by an almighty loving God who has a plan for your life! Every storm and trial that the enemy tries to pull you down with is just another key factor to God’s plan for your life!

If you were told you were about to go to a fancy dinner party with the most famous most influential guest in the world, and then you were told that moments prior your wardrobe had been designed by the most sought after clothing/fashion designers in all the land, would you stop by the mirror before entering the dining room to make sure you looked presentable? No! It’s not only pointless; it would also be an offense to the fashion designers! The same goes for your appearance. So many people are worried about their appearance, and how they look, but if they just grasp the fact that they were created by God himself, then why need to worry so much? Are you that concerned with what other people think about you that you’re willing to offend God by questioning his handiwork? And as for what others think about you, my Pastor loves to quote this whenever he speaks on this subject. “You wouldn’t be so interested in what people thought of you if you realized how little they did.”

My hope and prayer for myself, and anyone who reads this, is as I meditate on these verses that I’ll stop thinking about how much thought people put into me, and start focusing on how much God has already put into creating me.

The Wordless Gospel!

While I was tutoring last week my two students showed me what they called their "Chinese Bible" I told them that I would bring my bible in next week. I brought my bible with me tonight, and when I showed it to them they began to ask lots of questions. I explained to them different aspects of the bible (Like the Old and New testament, the books of the bible ect.) and since my Bible is the Evidence Bible distributed by Living Waters it had a short little comic called "The Wordless Gospel" designed for witnessing to people who don't speak English. I was able to go through it with them, and when we got to the end I was surprised by something I hadn't seen before. At the end of the comic it has a page with a whole bunch of different translations of John 3:16, one of which being Chinese! While they did not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior tonight, I know that at least a seed was planted. I'm so glad I was able to be used by God today! I ask that you would pray for my students, Owen and Brandon, pray that the seed which was planted tonight would grow and that they would some day come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior! I now know what Charles Spurgeon was talking about when he said "Even if I were utterly selfish and had no care for anything but my own happiness, I would choose, if God allowed, to be a soul winner, for never did I know perfect overflowing, unutterable happiness of the purest and most ennobling order 'till I first heard of one who had sought and found a Savior through my means." It truly is an exciting thing to share the Gospel with the lost!

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30

Psalm 139:11-13: We are Not Alone in the Darkness!

“If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.” Psalm 139:11-13

It’s amazing how applicable God’s word is in our daily lives. I started out today with a very lousy and defeated feeling. I felt alone and trapped in the darkness of this world. I felt as though my problems at the moment were incurable. I continued to think this way for the whole morning, but then when I had a break I chose to use that time to memorize my scripture verses for the day. As I read through these three verses, I was amazed at how it debunked my current depressing mindset. I had said to myself “Surley my depression (darkness) has smothered/covered me.” And though I hadn’t concluded it, I was frighteningly close to thinking that my problems were too great for God and that if it were possible for him to save me from my problems (which He was and is) I was alone in going through them. However, none of that is true, they are all lies put into my head by Satan, and I must take those thoughts captive before they sink in too deep. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5)
Every single one of those thoughts were false, and so easily debunked by today’s scripture verses. My problems were not too great for God (The Darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day) and I was not alone in my problems (even the night shall be light about me) In Daniel 2:22 it says, “He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him!” (AMP) This basically confirms what I’ve been meditating on in Psalm 139:11-13. While we may feel consumed in our problems of this world, we are not alone in the darkness for God--who is light--is with us and guiding us. He understands what we are going through, and he has a plan and a purpose for every trial we face because he made us! ("For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 AMP)
When faced with problems or trials all we need to do is turn to God’s word and dwell on his light. That’s what I did this morning and now I am experiencing the joy and peace that passes all understanding.

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

Psalm 139:7-10: You Cannot Escape God's Presence!

Even though I was going through this chapter three verses at a time, I decided to do four this time because 9 and 10 work together. Besides, I’m not doing this to memorize words in a certain pattern; I’m doing this so that I can meditate on the message within the words.

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139:7-10

David is continuing his discussion on the omnipresence of God, and confirms even more what I said in my last post, “God’s presence consumes our existence.” God is always with you no matter where you are (Wither shall I go from thy spirit? Or wither shall I flee from thy presence?). Wherever you are in life though you may feel depressed and alone (If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there), God is with you, he has a plan for your life, and he is there willing to lead you if you only follow him. (If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall they hand lead me, and they right hand shall hold me.)
It is important to remember, in this dark world that we live in, that no darkness can hide us from God’s presence, and his love for us. He is always there with us, though at times we may be foolish and think we can run away from him like Jonah did, God is always there. Jonah thought he could flee from God by taking a boat the exact opposite direction of where God wanted him to go. What happened? Out in the middle of the ocean God caused a storm, then when Jonah was thrown into the ocean Jonah was eaten by a giant fish. (See Jonah 1) Then do you know what Jonah did in the belly of the fish? Well, I’ll let Jonah 2:1-2 explain that for me: “Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, and said, ‘I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.” It was there, in the belly of the fish that Jonah learned an important lesson; You cannot escape God’s presence!
Jonah learned it the hard way, he had to be swallowed by a fish and spend three days and three nights in its belly in order to learn what David explains in Psalm 139:7-10. I need to remember that there is no escaping God’s presence, and remember that everywhere I go God will be with me, leading me.

Teaching update: Winter Camps!

I was noticing how long it has been since I've posted on my teaching here in Taiwan, and as I was attempting to form my words for this post, I found the reason I can't think of anything to write, is the same reason I've neglected to write a "teaching" post. The reason is nothing much has changed. Not to make my job sound completely boring, cause it's not, it's just I do the same thing I've done this week as I've the last 6 months I've been in Taiwan. However, I do have something to write about and that is Camp teaching.
The last week of January, we did two winter camps. Winter camps are essentially camps that they do here in Taiwan during the Winter break which is during Chinese New Year. The first camp was just a day camp. The children came in the morning, we taught them, and then they left towards dinner time. The second camp was a living camp. This time the Kids came from different major cities in Taiwan and stayed with us the whole time. (I think I liked the Living camp better)
We did the camp with the Taiwanese organization that has been helping us out here as we stay in Taiwan. The organization's name is King Car and they do a bunch of different things. We also had TA's (Teaching Assistance)helping us who were Taiwanese, and it was so fun building friendships with them!
The first camp (Day Camp) I had the highest level of English students (when the students arrived, we did a prepared English test with them to discover their English level) and we (We meaning Jared and I cause we did co-teaching) named our group "The Captains." It was so fun! The next camp (Living Camp) was a blast. We had the highest level English again, except their English was almost perfect, it was really cool. This team was also named "The Captains". I stayed all four days with the kids. It was really fun to build relationships with the kids, especially since their English level was so high I was able to actually talk with them (something I've REALLY missed being able to do) We also went to an Aquarium with the Living camp, that was REALLY fun!
The Winter camps were really fun, and I had a lot of great experiences. I also made a lot of good friends! :D
Oh, I almost forgot, I decorated the whole bank to look like a pirate ship, it was really cool! We also did plays and skits for the kids, that was also really fun! The following pictures are from the camps. There is a picture of me playing Jonah, a picture with the Captains, a picture with the Captains, a picture with the TA's and AT's, a picture of me teaching the Captains, and a picture of the whole second group at the Aquarium.

"IF GOD BRINGS YOU TO IT HE WILL BRING YOU THROUGH IT!"

I found this to be very encouraging and true, so I decided to post it :D enjoy!

Psalm 139:4-6: God's Presence Consumes Our Existence!

Yesterday (Sunday 2/19/2012) was really busy so I was not able to put together a blog post for Psalm 139:4-6. However, the following is the post I had planned writing yesterday. Don’t worry, I’m not sinking back into my old habit of starting a blog post system and then abandoning it a few days later.

Psalm 139:4-6 “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”

Verses 4-6 are clearly keeping with the theme of the first three verses which is the omniscient and omnipresent nature of God; a powerful truth that all Christians should familiarize themselves with.
How many people know exactly what they are going to say in the future? I know I don’t. Yeah, you may on special occasions write a speech for yourself, but I’m talking about your everyday life, whether you are sitting at the dinner table with your family, working at the office, or even ordering food at a drive-in, you never know what you are going to say. You may have planned scenarios in your head, but do you ever actually know what you are truly going to say? I know I don’t. In most normal everyday situations you don’t have a clue as to what you are truly going to say next. Yet God does. God knows every word you are going to speak before you speak them. God knew every word you have ever spoken, or ever will speak, before you even learned to talk. That’s how omniscient (all knowing) God is. But it doesn’t stop there with talking about how God is omniscient, it then goes on to say how God is omnipresent (Everywhere). The LORD besets us behind and before and he lays his hand upon us. That means he is in our past, he is in our future and he is with us right now all at the same time. His presence consumes our existence. Time does not affect him because he is present in all of time all at the same time. Isn’t that amazing? Every time I hear of the omniscient omnipresent power of God, I am wonderstruck. That is why the psalmist wrote the next verse: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”

These verses teach me one thing and that is God is omniscient and omnipresent. His power is vast, beyond any problem or obstacle I face on this earth, and he will always be there for me throughout every single one. I am never alone, for God is always with me.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Psalm 139:1-3: Focusing on the Joy We Can Have in Christ Today!

Psalm 139:1-3 “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.”

Wow, it’s only the first three verses and its already jam packed with amazing truths! I love that about God’s word! I decided to take the chapter 3 verses at a time, a nice easy pace that won’t let me get caught up with just memorizing words, but rather help me to really meditate on the truths within those words.

♫ “Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.” ♫

When the writers of this famous secular Christmas song wrote that particular verse, they had the incentive, I’m sure, to put the idea in the minds of their young listeners that Santa Claus knows everything about you; when you’re sleeping and when you’re awake too! While that is just a fairytale idea thought up by parents who want obedient children, the reality with God is quite the same. He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake and he even knows when you’ve been bad or good! (See Proverbs 5:21) Only with God, it’s not just a scare tactic to get you to be good, but rather it is a reassuring promise.

I don’t know if you know or not (whether it be due to the fact that you don’t know me well enough or I just hide it really well) but I do a whole lot of excessive thought towards my past, present, and future. My mind is constantly on “What did I do yesterday? What do I do now? What am I going to do?” and this unhealthy thought process is discouraged in many passages in the bible. For instance in Matthew 6:34 it says “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” This means that I should stop worrying about what I’m supposed to do tomorrow (or in my case also worrying about what I did yesterday), and start focusing on what God wishes me to do today. How can I just let go of my worrisome habit? Easily, by meditating on the promise spoken in Psalm 139:1-3 that speaks of how God is in control, and he knows my downsitting and my uprising, he understands my thoughts afar off (Before my feeble mind considers them), and he is acquainted with all my ways (Past, Present, Future)

I need to start living in “Daylight compartments” refusing to let the regrets of yesterday and the fears of tomorrow rob me of the joy I can have in Christ today.

Doberman Pinscher Vs. Yellow Lab

Recently it has come to my attention, through my quiet time that I've been more concerned with fleshly desires, and how best to please me, then on strengthening my spirit and walk with Christ. This has concerned me, especially after watching a recent bible study done by my Pastor (Pastor Bob Coy of Fort Lauderdale Florida) where he gave an analogy of a man holding two dogs. One dog is a Doberman Pinscher and the other is a Yellow Lab. He said imagine if the man only fed the Doberman and neglected the Yellow lab, which of the two dogs would have a stronger pull, or be a greater influence to the direction the man goes. The answer is obvious; the Doberman. However if you feed the lab and neglect to care for the Doberman, the lab would be the stronger influence to the man then the Doberman. The Yellow lab is obviously your spirit and the Doberman your flesh. I don't want to keep feeding the Doberman (Fleshly desires) and leave my Yellow lab (My spirit) to starve Therefore I've decided I will start putting more of an emphasis on building up my spirit, and what better way to do that then to study and meditate on God's Word?
The portion of scripture I decided to begin my study in is Psalm 139. A while back we had gone through and memorized this chapter as a family, but I hadn't really memorized it, I had only remembered the words (And in truth, I didn't even remember the words for that long) and it was that experience of my version of "memorizing", and several other experiences that discouraged me from even trying it again. Why did my version of memorizing fail? Because I was putting my emphasis on memorizing all of the words, as was previously stated, instead of actually acknowledging the meaning and meditating on that. I read somewhere recently that the people who cried out "Crucify him!" to Pilate had memorized large portions of scripture! And why was it that the amounts of scripture they memorized didn't affect their spiritual judgment? Because they knew Scripture with their minds but it never got to their hearts. Jesus challenged the Pharisees who had this same problem in John 5:39 "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." I also read that David did not say, "Thy word have I memorized in my mind," but rather "Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee."
I also decided to start blogging about my experience in this new process I’m taking. Not to in any way use this as a method of boasting, but rather a way to keep me accountable and motivated to do this, despite the fact that I don’t have anyone who actually is going to read this.
So here go my first steps to feeding my spirit and denying my flesh *gulp* I don’t expect this to be easy, but I’ve got this promise to keep my motivated.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13