trusthim

Trust in Him

I'm fairly certain that most of you out there who have followed the spiritual progress that is displayed on this web site by studying the writings in the order that they were revealed and written, will have been aware of how the message has changed from being condemnatory of one's sinful lifestyle, to the means of becoming a new person in Christ Jesus, to the way of remaining so, to the aim of being obedient and pleasing to our Saviour, with the inclusion of evidence of the constant presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives, and so on.
It becomes apparent that the writer of these discourses has been changed as additional knowledge was revealed by the Holy Spirit of God, and today the articles contain Biblical doctrines that will only interest those readers who are reborn from above, who wish to please the Holy One who made them and redeemed them.

By now you don't really need any external input as you are being fed spiritually by the Holy Ghost yourself, as you continue to study God's word and apply the lessons in your life.

However, perhaps you will be blessed by the following revelations and even learn something from them.

Psalm thirty seven has been read many times by this writer and possibly because the first couple of verses contain such tough meat to chew on and digest, verse five kind of slips by one's eyes in the by-going.
Remember the first eleven verses of Proverbs chapter two?: My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:; (Proverbs 2:1-11)

This verse is one of those as described above:: Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.; (Psalms 37:5)

As you cannot help noticing, it is broken up into three sequential statements, the power of the next one only becoming apparent as the previous one successfully comes into force. Let's look at them in turn.

Commit thy way unto the LORD
Most of the writings on this web site have to do with the above statement - How to.

This writer has been reading the following passages on an almost daily basis in an effort to walk closer to Christ Jesus. The words have been enlarged, printed out, stuck together vertically and hung from the ceiling cornice in a long ribbon so that they can be contemplated on at will.
: Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.; (1 Timothy 4:15); Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.; (Psalms 62:12); And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.; (1 Corinthians 13:2); *A Psalm of David.* LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.; (Psalms 15:1-2); Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.; (1 Corinthians 13:4-7); be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.; (1 Timothy 4:12-13); But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.; (Galatians 5:22-23); For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.; (Ephesians 5:8-11); Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.; (Philippians 4:8); Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.; (Colossians 3:2); And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:; (2 Corinthians 9:8); But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.; (1 Corinthians 9:27); For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.; (1 Peter 2:19-20); Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.; (1 Peter 3:7)

With the hope that the Lord has given, I'll learn how to become a better Christian.

Trust also in Him
To the few who are striving to enter through the strait gate and have the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives and the spiritual evidence that goes with it - this is for you; and me.

Let's read once again Matthew 6:19-34:: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 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.

Can you apply it in your life? Can I?
Do we trust Him enough?

My spiritual brother Darryl and I are both retirees, more or less living on a fixed income. The reality of a currency that devalued by more than a third last year, together with inflation reaching 10% p.a. again was worrying. We have been discussing this problem backwards and forwards for some months, especially the possibility of moving to smaller living quarters with the resultant lesser monthly expenses and simpler, quieter lifestyle.

We have read of others who trusted in the Lord, both in the Bible and other places and it seems that the Lord was waiting to reveal this truth to us at the right time, because the following passages were, amongst others, studied during two consecutive weeks and discussed on the subsequent Sunday mornings when we were together.: My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.; (Proverbs 3:1-4); Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:; (Proverbs 3:9); But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.; (Proverbs 4:18); My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.; (Proverbs 4:20-22); Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.; (Proverbs 4:23-27); My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.; (Proverbs 7:1-5); Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.; (Proverbs 8:1-21); For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.; (Isaiah 45:18-19); Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.; (James 4:8-9); Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.; (James 4:13-15)

At about the same time, the following was shown in a daily reading:: Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.; (Psalms 37:5)

together with the comment:
"Faith is the courage of the spirit which projects itself forward, sure of finding the truth."
and
"To go bravely forward is to invite a miracle."

This seemed to be the culmination of an answer about our need to move house and a lesson in practical faith.
: Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.; (James 5:16)

On this first Sunday morning we both felt the presence of the Lord in our midst in a special way. He was telling us something that we did not yet fully understand.

On the second Sunday morning, as a follow through to Psalm 37:5 we read:: The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.; (Proverbs 10:24)

From a daily devotional book:
For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him, Amen. . . (2 Corinthians 1:20)
"Sometimes Christians go for a good while in trouble, yet not realising that riches are laid up for them in a familiar promise.
When Christian and Hopeful strayed out of the path upon forbidden ground, they found themselves locked up in Doubting Castle by Giant Despair for their carelessness, and there they lay for days, until one night they began to pray. "Now a little before it was day, Good Christian as one half amazed, broke out in passionate speech: ' What a fool!' quote he 'am I, thus to lie in this horrible dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty. I have a key in my bosom called promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.' Then said Hopeful, ' That's good news, good brother; pluck it out of thy bosom and try.' Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom, and began to try the dungeon door, whose bolts gave back and the door flew open with ease and Christian and Hopeful came out."
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.
: The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.; (Proverbs 10:29); For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.; (1 Peter 3:10-12)

My dear brother or sister, believe in God's power, trust in Him.

He shall bring it to pass
: Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.; (Isaiah 40:28-31)

At this time the following was also read from a book written by a famous Christian evangelist who had formerly been a gang leader in America:

"In Ephesians Paul prayed that his readers might have the eyes of their understanding opened to know ' what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.' (1:19-20).
The same power of God that raised Jesus from the dead is available to every one of us today."

A few pages further on he writes about an occasion where he was to give his testimony at a country fair. He explains how he went up into some woods to find peace and talk with God before the meeting and then writes:
"I hurried back to the house of the G***s and rode to the fair grounds. Three thousand people had been expected for the meeting, but the grounds were packed. A police lieutenant said, ' There are about 7,000 people here.'
They filled the big open-air amphitheatre and stood in the aisles. Soon after the service began, with lively gospel music provided by three local churches, rain began to fall.
I thought to myself that there was no way we would be able to make it through the service. The rain increased from a mist to a drizzle. Raw gusts of wind roared through the tiers of seats, and the rain became a tremendous downpour. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and I felt that we were getting a preview of World War III.
The people were getting soaked through. I looked at that patient multitude and thanked God. I knew there were some beautiful Christians in the audience with great faith. I asked the Lord to take control. Then I asked the people to join me in prayer.
' Lord,' I said, ' there are people here tonight who love you. There are people here who need your help. There are many powers up there in the heavens, Lord, but you control them. All power in heaven and earth is in your hands. You have the power to stop this storm until this service is over. We ask you to stop it. Amen.'
Almost as soon as I said 'Amen' the rain stopped. Amazement and delight spread over the faces in front of me. The crowd understood that God really answers prayer. The way was prepared for many to accept their supernatural Saviour. And my own faith was stirred. I said in my heart, ' Thank you, Father.'
. . . . . . .
As the service ended and councillors went to the counselling rooms with the new converts, another flash of lightning split the sky and the thunder boomed in a deafening blast. Again the rain descended in torrents . . . .

This was surely an act of practical faith; taking God at His word; trusting in Him.
: Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.; (James 5:13-15)
This is a promise that God has made to them that obey Him!

Here's more:: A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.; (Proverbs 16:9); He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.; (Proverbs 16:20)
: Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.; And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.; (Psalms 37:5-6)
: Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;; (1 Timothy 6:17)


Practical Christianity
It's always very comforting to read about Spiritual occurrences that happened to others, not so. If we are professing Christians we get a warm glow and if the testimony is very powerful or moving, there might even be the odd tear or two.

But, have you - yourself - ever had your faith tested on your daily walk in the world? When something unusual happens, that appears to be supernatural, do you thank and praise your Lord? We know that He delights in us, surely we should delight in His presence in our lives.

In the week following the revelations that we received, as described above, while walking in the neighbourhood, a couple of trees were discovered on an open piece of veld, a branch of which I would dearly loved to have obtained for a purpose that was contemplated. I was sorely tempted, even to the point of getting a saw out, but in the back of my head the Holy Spirit seemed to say "Those trees belong to someone". On the same day the following passage was read:: And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.; (1 John 3:3-10)

So the saw was put away again.
This was on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Now, for commercial reasons this web site is being transferred to another web hosting Company and on Thursday morning at about 3am I awoke and started worrying about the transfer that had not taken place as it should have done, until I got a question in my head that said "Whose web site is it anyway?".
Getting up and going into my study I fell on my face and asked the Lord to ensure that the web site, which is His, would be successfully transferred if He wanted it still to run, or if there was something therein which was not of His gospel to close the site down.
Immediately the oppression was lifted and my eyes fell on the following Scripture:: And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.; (Colossians 3:15)
Let's read it in context:: If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.; (Colossians 3:1-17)

Glory to the loving living Lord Jesus Christ who leads us to His Father and ours, Jehovah.

Postscript.
Concerning Darryl and our need to move to smaller premises:
This teaching originated in April 2002 and since then Darryl and his wife have moved to a smaller abode, one that they both "fell in love with" - or as Darryl puts it "One that God put in our way."
There were delays on our side, due amongst other things to a long illness and then a death in the family and only in March of this year (2003) were we able to get away in the caravan for some peace and quiet and a time to think. While I believed that we were too young and able-bodied to go into an "old age home", it was realised that an ordinary simplex complex would not suit us as we could end up - as in the caravan park - with noisy neighbours, ones who had no concern for the wishes of others; and we therefore had to ensure that our move had to be to a place with quieter, more mature neighbours and a peaceful environment. One day while walking together, my wife and I joined hands - my left to her right - and we asked the heavenly Father, should He allow us to move, to find a place for us, a place so suited to our needs and desires that we would know without doubt that it had come from Him.
Realising that there was no immediate hurry for us to move, we started enquiring about various complexes for senior citizens and made an appointment with the developer of one in Natal to see what he had to offer. To compare one with another we visited a complex in Bela-Bela (Warmbaths) with the preconceived idea that we would eventually end up in Natal. However, the cottage for sale in Bela-Bela, the first that we visited, was the one that we had asked the Lord to find for us! It had every feature that we wanted, plus others that only became apparent after we had changed our mindset. What a wonderful God we serve who brought it to pass.
To confirm that it came from our heavenly Father; we were back in the same caravan park overnight in May on our way to visit my wife's cousin on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. Parked near to us was a motorhome with a Limpopo province numberplate and when the lady passed us by I felt the urge to speak to her. It turned out that they live on a farm thirty kilometres from Bela-Bela and that a relative of hers lives in the cottage over the road from our new one.
We become so involved with the day to day worldly events that we can see, that we are inclined to forget to trust in Him.
God is always here and God is Love!: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.