hope and change

'O sons of men, how long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?'

What a telling question for us to dwell upon from the fourth Psalm. We are taught to believe the wisdom of the world that says that man is getting better and better as we 'evolve' yet where is the evidence ? Has the heart of man changed at all since this Psalm was written ? Don't we still love what is worthless and aim at deception ?

The materialistic, man-centric focus that drives the daily lives of man (loving what is worthless) has not changed. The desire, the drive, to have more has reached a level where we need to have storage units to hold the stuff that we don't have room for in our homes! We even have air conditioned storage units that are better than most living spaces in other parts of the world ! And we are not above using deception as a device to accomplish our materialistic goals (why do we need so many consumer protection laws ?).

Don't get me wrong, the Lord is not against prosperity for His children. The issue is where is our devotion - is our energy, our drive, our heart focused on the pursuit of the world or the kingdom of God - upon loving what is worthless or loving the Lord ?

The love of self, the love of power along with the love of money are still as strong as ever in the heart of man. And it is only an extraordinary measure that can change that - and the answer is NOT the wisdom of this world nor is it the evolution of man.

'But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself.'

Here is the hope that we have - the extraordinary measure that brings about change.
We can most assuredly know that our Lord has provided us with a hope, with a way to change our heart of stone, to overcome the desires of our flesh, to defeat the ways of this world (materialistic, man-centric) that so ensnare us - it is found only in the lovingkindness of God that was displayed on Calvary and made complete in the resurrected Lord. The Lord God has Himself taken the extraordinary measure that we might be set apart - our real hope and change - for Himself.

adopted other gods

Have we forsaken the Lord ? Have we adopted other gods and worshiped and served them ?

When we look at the modern church in America today what do we see ? Do we see a people for God's own possession or a people who want to own God ? Do we see a people who complain and murmur and have become hard of heart or do we see a people who rejoice and are happy of heart because of the goodness of the Lord ? Is the church (which is the body of Christ) more focused on the affairs of man or upon the grace of God and His truth? Has the spirit of this world overshadowed the Spirit of Truth in the activities of our daily lives? Does God's call to repentance and sanctification take a back seat to the modern idols of self fulfillment and personal gratification and comfort ?

We have a tendency in the church, so it seems, to seek closely after the wisdom of the world and its trappings while leaving behind the simplicity and purity of scripture's admonitions. And in so doing we end up forsaking the Lord and adopting other gods - whether we realize it or not !

Might we begin this very day to focus our thoughts on the lovingkindness of our Lord. May it be our heart's desire to sit at His feet and seek His face so that we might draw close and be renewed in heart and mind and soul. Might we prostrate ourselves in His presence wholeheartedly petitioning for a reviving of our first love. And may we urgently appeal to the Spirit to overflow in our lives that we would truly be living bond servants for Christ. For we have been called to His wonderful grace - may we not forsake Him.