The Hikers Path (Journal)

I will not be able to post here for some time yet… Please be patient. I am working on completing my thesis and going to be getting married this year, so as you can imagine, I am VERY busy. Though some postings may occur, don’t count on it very often. God is still working in my life and I pray that he will touch yours as well.

God keep you,
Brian

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…”
(Exodus 20:4 - 5)

Though I have listed only the second and third, everyone knows of the ten commandments. Some have had a penguin (nun) beat it into their memory as a child, others from years of Sunday school in their youth, the remainder subliminally because it is written on the hearts of all men, this great law was sent from the Lord God to us. We know its purpose as the measuring stick by which we would be judged by upon death (Hebrews 9:27).

Most of us however, will claim to be innocent of impending judgment when questioned about these commandments which deal with idolatry. Are we really innocent? What about our thoughts and intents? Are these not worth the same weight? Le us take a look now at the sixteenth chapter of Jeremiah.

In this chapter, God gives judgment, as to the grim future of His people (Israel), and what will soon befall them. Jeremiah is being instructed on how to answer the nation when they question or complain as this judgment comes to pass.

“And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:” (Jeremiah 16:10 - 12)

I know not one person who can stand guiltless to the second and third commandment when placed into this light, but look a little closer. Specifically, in verse eleven, it states that “ye have done worse than your fathers”, meaning that there seems to be a greater degree of contempt for idolatry in the mind than even worshiping graven images! Do you view this in the light of God’s law? Are you truly good enough to get to heaven? Are you ready for that appointment that we will have upon our death?

‘I am God, and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me,’
(Isaiah 46:9)

While listening to a Cadmans Call CD that I was given, this verse came to mind from my reading the previous day. The verse essentially shows the Lord stating that He is God and there are no other gods… It matters not whether they are uppercase or lowercase, the Lord does not share his Godship with any other… well, outside the trinity This would mean that all else called ‘god’ would be an idol, or some thing/thought/being that the hand of man created.

Now, before you hang me as a heretic, these are thoughts only… thoughts you are free to comment on, but consider the following: The bible notes the children of Israel as ‘gods’ in Psalm 82:6 and Jesus reminds them of this in John 10. I have only ever read this one way, and that is to say that these people are indeed gods themselves. But take a look at the verse for a moment ‘I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.’

The Hebrew word ‘gods’ here, though lowercase, is Elohiym. This is the name given to the great I AM, so what could this mean? Trust me I am no scholar of Greek or Hebrew, but couldn’t this mean that those spoken of were special works or possessions of God? When reading the text in Psalm 82 and John 10 again with this in mind, the sentences hold true and the scripture in Isaiah stands firm that there is none else! It is for this reason that I am not entirely certain that they are gods, as much as they belong to the Lord as ‘children of the most High’, the rest of the verse. Much the same, Christ in John 10 made the claim to be the Son of God, which he indeed was, but points out that they were ‘children of the most High’ also.

If then there are truly no other gods, whether inferior or not, it could bring light to the usage of this term in scripture. If each time the term is used in lowercase to describe Baal, Ashtaroth, or a host of others and there are no other gods, then these are not gods either but invisible idols.

I am certainly going to have to think on this some more…

‘To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?’
(Isaiah 46:5)

Reading: Isaiah 46

Throughout history, man has been consumed with the attempt to understand and identify God. When done however, the end result is idolatry. Long ago, someone asked me what I thought God would look like if he were truly watching us each day. After thinking for a while, I made the statement that he would most likely look like a hobo… Here’s why:

Though I have listed only seven items in this example, you can already see the similarities, can you not? In reality however, there is no comparison that can be given to Almighty God and any attempt to do so is actually idolatry (Romans 1:23). One reason for this, is that I have left out all of the attributes that don’t match, twisting the words to fit a comparison.

Another reason that this and other comparisons can promote idolatry, is that I have allowed a person, whether myself or another, to be able to look at a physical thing and believe that this is an adequate representation of the Lord God. This may cause a reaction found in verse 7, where ‘They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place, shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble’.

Stop reading this for a moment, pick up your bible and turn to Judges chapter 10. Take a moment prior to continuing in which to read verses 13 - 16…

One question popped into my mind while I was reading this passage, and that is of repentance. This is a term you don’t hear very much any longer, as the modern gospel message usually states that one is to ask Jesus into their heart. Perhaps the reason you don’t hear of it any longer is because people do not live out repentance.

Israel in this passage has just done as it has at several other times in their history… They have “put away” the strange gods. Why put them away and not destroy them as Moses did in Exodus 32:19 - 20? The answer lies in repentance.

There are too many times where we depend on the mercy of the Lord, and don’t realize how far away we have strayed. Then when we are shown, we do just as Israel… We “put away” the thing that caused us to sin and serve the Lord. When what we ought do is burn the thing and grind it into a powder so we can never go back to what we had done prior.

Never take God’s mercy for granted! Instead, correct the problem and stomp out the sin, that it can never again tempt or harm you.

While reading this morning in 1 Timothy 5, I was struck by a particular word which has bothered me before… Busybody. I think this perfectly describes the American culture.

Americans tend to keep themselves so busy that dinner has become something grabbed from a drive-thru or carry-out on the way to the next activity. As a culture, we remain busy from sun-up past sun-down, scheduling every minute of every day, even our vacations! Americans also seem insistent on telling others of their business, and if a person is both not busy and not on vacation, they are just not cool… Don’t believe me, pay close attention to your next personal conversation with someone.

Before you rush to your next task, take a moment and read two scriptures… 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 and 2 Corinthians 1:17.

It is interesting to note that busybodies are described as those who “walk among you disorderly, working not at all”. WHAT?!?!? If you are busy, how is it possible for you to not be working?

Ponder your busiest days for a minute and perhaps you will realize the same thing I have… When you have too many things scheduled into a day, you are consumed by the next thing that you must do and readying yourself for the task. As such, you will appear very busy but find you get nothing accomplished that day, thus not really working at all.

Perhaps it is time to refocus and purpose your life like Paul did in 2 Corinthians 1:17, and encourage those busy around you to work in quietness (Something very difficult to do if you remain a busybody). Perhaps we should take inventory of our life, and the activity in it, making sure it is purposed around prayer… not just for, but about the activity we are considering.

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.� (Philippians 4:4-7)

Rejoicing in the Lord is a decision, not a reaction. My grandmother would always praise and thank the Lord both for the blessings and the challenges she was given. One such incident was Monday evening four days before she went home to be with the Lord. I had gone to play harmonica and cheer her up a bit, like I had done many times before. This time however, unable to sit up on her own strength she made it obvious that this was her desire, to which my aunt and mother took turns holding her while I played. Remembering all of the songs that she would sing over and over in her kitchen, I started. All the while, she sat in worship with God and after many of the songs that were played, came an Amen. These were the last words that I heard her speak; truly holding on to that verse in spite of the cancer that was taking her.

My grandmother also had great hopes of being taken up in rapture at the end of time, meeting those that had gone on before in the clouds. Because of this, she would never purchase anything extravagant and the things she owned were used till they could bear use no longer. One particular thing that stands out, was trying to give her gifts for either Christmas or her birthday. You could buy her whatever you wanted and the only certainty would be that it would be returned shortly after the holiday because she did not need it. From her point of view, what she already had was more than she could use, in truth always letting her moderation be known… The Lord is at hand and coming any minute!

Several times over this past year, I would complete a visit in prayer with my grandmother. You could truly feel the faith in her words as she spoke only to her Saviour. Listening to her in March ask that the Lord take this illness away from her as she took herself off chemo-therapy, praying that she be able to come back to church again if it was the Lord’s will. It was this prayer he would soon grant, giving her a remission from the cancer and allowing her to come back to church for several weeks. Truly she was careful for nothing; but in every thing gave thanks, letting her requests be made known unto her Lord.

Through all that has happened in recent months, one thing for sure, I have seen my grandmother truly hold fast the profession of her faith without wavering; as Hebrews 10:23 states, for he is faithful that promised. The last week however, having run her course, she truly had the peace of God which passeth all understanding as she went home, having seen her sisters and her daughters one last time.

Looking back at the 29 years that she was a part of my life, it was how she lived her life that spoke volumes. Though many could have been chosen, this passage is not only one that she lived out, but one that shows very clearly how one can obtain the peace that the Lord gives; in that once saved, your life is not your own.

Remember, you may be the only Bible a person ever reads.

As you start to read this, ask yourself some questions… How close am I to the image that Christ has for me to reflect? Am I so Christ-like that nothing remains to be changed in my life?

Though indeed a sinner saved by grace, there are times that many of us (Myself included) stop here and go no further. We say to ourselves… I know I am washed from my sin and bear it no more. There has to be more to it than just this (1 Corinthians 6:11)? I believe that this is what Paul is stating in this passage.

The people of Galatia accepted Christ, but went back to other gods and other deeds. They were distracted from their initial purpose. How different is this from our own lives? We accept Christ and then fall away, clinging to that prayer we once spoke as our “ticket to heaven”.

This is clearly not how God desires us to live out our lives. It is both God’s will and desire that people give their lives over to him and be transformed from this wicked world (Romans 12:1 - 2). How often and how quick are we to turn back to what we always have done, instead of daring to be different?

“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” (H. Varley) You are able (With the Lord’s strength), but are you willing to be that man? Or will you still serve yourself? (Romans 6:1 - 23).

There is an age old doubt: God would never judge a person who has not heard of heaven, hell, or even that thing that doesn’t exist somewhere in between. It isn’t fair for those who are in unevangelized areas to be left heading straight to hell with no knowledge! But then why evangelize them? If heaven is the default, then we would do good to keep our mouths shut, right?

Leviticus chapters 4 and 5 deal with the sin offerings that were to cover the sin of the priest, congregation, ruler, commoner, and then a soul; “And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.” (Leviticus 5:17)

Though this person didn’t even know what the commandments were, he disobeyed them and thus is destined for only one habitation… Hell. But wait, this passage of scripture isn’t over yet! Take a little time and read from Leviticus 5:17 to the end of the chapter (3 short verses). If this person has gone against one of those commandments found in Exodus 20, he can bring a trespass offering to the priest!

Let’s think about this for a minute… “He shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.” (Leviticus 5:18)

• A ram is a male sheep… Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God (John 1:29)
• Without blemish… Jesus was tempted just like us, the only difference is that he did not sin (Hebrews 4:14 - 16)
• This lamb was to be brought to the priest… We have not an high priest which cannot be touched (Hebrews 4:14 - 16)
• The priest would then make atonement for the sin… Having forgiven our trespasses he nailed them to his cross (Colossians 2:13 - 14)

If you are trying to keep yourself from hearing of Christ still hoping that ignorance is bliss, you are horribly mistaken, as you will certainly have an interview with God someday. If you are saved, this should bring new meaning to the importance of the statement made in Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” We have a high order as Christians, and that is to stop those who have not heard from bearing their iniquity to hell and show them the light of the gospel!

Take a few minutes and read 1 Corinthians 2:1 - 5. In this passage, Paul has "determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Now ask yourself a question… Are you focused or floundering in your beliefs?

The example is ever before us for how we ought to live our lives. Looking at verse 2, one can plainly see that Paul desired every conversation to be a witness of Christ to others. This is not a show for Paul, but how he lived his life while in Corinth and elsewhere. This is not all that can be learned from this verse however… In a slightly different light, we are also given an example of a focused mind as he would not let his thoughts wander away from Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Yes, Paul was focused, but to see the whole picture we must look at the verses following this extreme focus to get a feel for his heart. It is revealed here, that even Paul was fearful about what he was doing and because of this his preaching was a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (v4). This focus of heart and mind kept him humble and responsive to the leading of the Spirit of God.

"Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life."
— Jonathon Edwards –

Are you focused like Paul? What if you knew you had only a few short hours left in your life? In spite of personal fear, we ought always keep our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength (Mark 12:30) focused on the Lord. He will lead us through!