King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Monday, April 22, 2019
Chapters: Psalms 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, 21
Message: His Workmanship Created In Christ
Hello My Friend,
Did you ever notice when someone starts boasting about their accomplishments that others will start boasting about there’s? Then all of a sudden it becomes a contest of who’s the best. It is natural to boast, we have so much pride in us that we want the world to know all that we have done. However, there is a fine line between pride that can take us from being honorable and conceded. And this is why our salvation has never been about all of our accomplishments. In fact, it is nothing with what we have done at all, except one thing, humble ourselves, and admit we need Jesus. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:4-5,8-10.
“Even when we were dead in sins,” You know, before we know Christ as our Saviour we are dead souls walking around on life support, but the second we receive Him as our Saviour, it becomes a living soul. Amen! And let me tell you, once we realize we are alive in Christ we want to live a life that pleases Him, not to keep our salvation or out of obligation, but willingly to please Him. One thing about reading the Psalms is that they have a way of reminding us just how sinful we are, and often bring personal convictions. David, and every other man or woman of faith recorded in the Bible were no exception, they were no more righteous than we are, and any true Christian will tell you that they seek God’s mercies every single day because they know they are sinners. David certainly did. “To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.” – Psalm 6:1-6.
“For in death there is no remembrance of thee:” The one big difference between now and then is that once we are saved the Spirit of God indwells in us permanently. Before Christ’s passion, God would remove His Spirit in a heartbeat if that persons heart turned on Him. Now, we can argue that anyone whose heart turns on God was never saved to begin with, but only God knows whether or not someone truly has received Christ as their Saviour. It is our living through Christ in while our body has life in it that keeps the remembrance of Christ going, as we certainly cannot be a testimony of Christ in the grave. We can boast about the many things we have accomplished in our flesh, but how about we boast of all the accomplishments that God has done. And by the way, it is He who does the work in us to accomplish what we do.
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” – Psalm 8:3-9.
“that thou art mindful of him?” Think about it, God is very mindful to put His people where they are going to benefit Him. Whether we be rich or poor, feast or famine, healthy or sickly, strong or weak, He will place us where we need to be so that we are not forgetful to give Him the glory for our accomplishments. And if we do become forgetful, He will start afflicting us until we let go of our pride and start acknowledging that He is the source of all our accomplishments. As much as I would like to be comfortably wealthy, never have to watch every piece of food I eat, never have to walk with pain, and always be strong in mind, body, and spirit, I am not, and therefore, I must come to Jesus every single day, for in Him I am provided for, in Him I am fed, in Him I am healed, and in Him I am strong. We must understand that even though we may lack the things we desire, God never keeps us from the things that we need, but it is up to us to seek Him to get them.
“O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.” – Psalm 9:6-10,17-20.
“that the nations may know themselves to be but men.” Another thing that the Psalms do is remind us that the only thing pride will do is destroy everything we accomplish. The world, and quite frankly, many Christians, pride themselves on their accomplishments, “I made this!”, “I wrote that!”, “I gave this!”, “I took that!”. Sooner or later, all will discover that they are not the gods they think themselves to be. And let me tell you, even though we who are faithful tend to feel as though we are forgotten, while we watch the world and worldly Christians get so much more, we have hope because we are not forgotten. You know, the Psalms also remind us that our faith fluctuates, we can have great faith one minute, and none the next. It seems as though God just steps back and watches us to see how we are going to react in times of trouble before He does something. David often praises God for all He does to deliver him, but also asks why He seems to stand so far in times of trouble.
“Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.” – Psalm 10:1,4-6,11-13.
“for I shall never be in adversity.” And this is why Jesus said, and I am paraphrasing, that it is easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than see a rich man in heaven. The rich do not want to give up all they worked so hard to accomplish, and know if they chose God over their riches they would face some adversity. None of us want to face adversity, but without adversity we do not become the workman created in Christ Jesus that God desires for us. Is not what all our accomplishments as Christians all about, to show that we got them through our faithfulness to Christ? It is only when we humble ourselves that we can see Christ and overcome all adversity. “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 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. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” – James 4:2-3,8-10.
“Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:” Many times we need adversity in order to see God as it is during our times of sorrow that we reveal our true heart. Those who are quick to turn on God through adversity may not be true to God. In fact, the majority of the time adversity is the very thing that shows they never really had faith in God at all, that perhaps they were like the unbelievers who followed Jesus every day only to be fed. “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.” – Psalm 14:1-4,7.
“The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men,” There have only two types of people in the world from the beginning, children of God, and children of men. The children of men are the true fools, they are not deniers of God’s existence, although they may tell you that, they refuse to humble themselves and admit they need God. And by the way, remember that all who know Christ as their Saviour are of Israel, and we shall all be glad when Jesus comes for us. Amen! “The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” – Psalm 16:5-11.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” – Psalm 8:5.
Today’s Prayer: God, While I will never understand all Your ways, and why I need to face so much adversity, I do understand that You will never leave nor forsake one soul that knows Your Son as their Saviour. In fact, You will never see their sin because You no longer see them through their flesh, but the blood of Your Son. I believed in and received Your Son by faith, and not of my own works. I am so grateful and thankful for the amazing things that I accomplished as I walk with You, I know none of it could have been done without the skills and knowledge that You have given me to achieve them. I am who I am because I am Your workman created in Christ who is in me. Lord, Lead me and guide me, prepare me, grow me, strengthen me, shower with Your grace, mercy, patience, love, longsuffering, wisdom, for in Your presence is the fullness of joy, and that can get through every bit of adversity through my faith and trust in You. I ask this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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