complete surrender – Page 17

Tricycle Theology, Psalm 106:1-5

A Psalm Study

Psalm 106:1-5, New Living Translation (NLT)

¹Praise the Lord!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
²Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
    Who can ever praise him enough?
³There is joy for those who deal justly with others
    and always do what is right.

4 Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people;

     come near and rescue me.

 5 Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.

     Let me rejoice in the joy of your people;

     let me praise you with those who are your heritage.
These five verses cap a “Psalm of Rebellion,” tragically found in part two of this psalm (vv. 6-46.)  This work dates to ‘post-exile’ times, and Daniel is believed to have written it. Nehemiah himself quotes from it as he intercedes for the nation upon Israel’s return from captivity.
But these five verses are very different from the rest of the Psalm. They ably serve as a positive introduction to some pretty depressing stuff. I like these first five, they carry a refreshing quality about them. I read them and I’m happy I did.
V. 1, Thanksgiving is to be a normal part of the believer’s life. Imagine little Johnny. He is celebrating his sixth birthday today. His uncle has brought over a gift—a bright red tricycle, with ribbons out of the handlebars! Johnny is estatic, he can’t believe it. Mom steps in and says to him, “What do you say, Johnny?” Johnny thinks. “Thank you, Uncle Ed. This is what I’ve wanted my whole life.”
If the truth be told, Johnny’s response to his uncle’s perfect gift is much like the believer’s response to God. “What do you say, Johnny?” Johnny’s mom would say— and that is what the little guy did. We are to also give thanks. To do is an easy thing, and perhaps does more for us than our Father in heaven.
V.2, “Who can ever praise him enough?” Excessive displays of affection are ‘nothing to roll your eyes at.’ Some wag defined a fanatic as “someone who loves Jesus more than you do.”
V. 3, is an observation by Daniel about the joy available to us if we will only work-out our issues of obedience. This verse might seem out of place, but I assure you its not. It fits in well with vv. 6-46.
V. 4, “Remember me, Lord,” contains the desire to be included in the grace that will follow. We should let our heavenly Father know that we want to be part of what He is doing.
V. 5, “Let me” is repeated three times. This phrase is critical to the believer’s walk; it is a statement of submission combined with desire. The writer is asking ‘permission’ from God to become part of the aspects of His kingdom. Matthew 7 gives us the principle that God is looking for. So ask.
8 “For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:8

Lost & Found: An Original Poem

Dear Bryan,

The Holy Spirit inspired me to write this poem. Please share it with your readers if you think it would help them. God is amazing.

God bless you,

Mary Ann Russell, (a reader)

Lost & Found

I used to think one bullet, would take the pain away.
Take care of all my problems. Save me from another day.

Yet it was a nail that saved me,when they nailed you to a tree.
Your grace & mercy changed my life, for all eternity.

Both betrayed by ones we loved, purposed in God’s great plan.
To get me on God’s path again, You, to take on the sins of man.

Confronted by enemies in the middle of the night,
You gave in gracefully while I had just begun to fight.

To fight the fight of faith,to lead others to You,
What the enemy meant for harm, gave me faith anew.

You deflected that single bullet, with love & hope abound.
I found a new reason for living. I will never be kept down.

I will raise your name in glory while picking up my cross.
My salvation is my victory & the devil’s loss.

~M. A. Russell

Outside the Boundaries

As I spin through this world; I pick up many things. Some are wholesome, but many are not. I’m like a ball of soft wax, and I pick-up whatever is in my path. Some things are good, and others not so. I would love to enlighten you, but am disturbed by all the ‘garbage’ I pick-up. Not everything is good.

In my mind I remember far too much to be ‘good.’ Images of sin are part of the ball, and I can’t dislodge them on my own. Their very presence is wrong, and quite embarrassing. I’m ashamed of what you may find, and yet I know I should be transparent, at least to what I’m capable of. I suppose I am sorry, at least that is I want to be.

Darkness has a way of latching on. At least that is how it seems. It seems what has been seen, can never be unseen. These things are irrevocable and can’t be forgotten. We remember them in the ‘night hours.’ However, the grace of God is such that these dark things are remembered no more. Their evil can never cripple a mind set on the sweet things of God.

I have been damaged by the things I have seen and did. I can admit that they’re shameful and wrong. (Perhaps ‘perverted’ is a better word.) These things are dark and twisted, and far beyond the pale of what is acceptable. I learn to be foul, but deep down I wish to be good.

The Gospel comes to those outside of the boundaries, or it doesn’t come at all. It handles the heavy sin, and easily takes on the lesser. Sin seems to have a way of rubbing through what is true, and certain efforts must be applied. We are meant to soar. We were never meant to be its sin’s slaves.

^“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,”

Colossians 1:13, NIV

We ought to trust in what He can do. Sin can never bind us again. He has done something that defies the darkness, once and for all. We who once were slaves, now walk the streets as free men and women. And we dare not rely on our own reasoning on this matter.

What the Father has done exceeds our rational ability. We are completely released and then exonerated us from our sin; it no longer manhandles us the way it used to. We are now prisoners set free. It is easy to become skeptical at this point; the reality of our iniquity is immense. But He has declared us free.

^“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36

We hear many things from our pulpits today. But it is imperative that we receive the word, ‘freedom.’ Freedom—

from our many sins,
from our flesh that delights in them,
from death that comes from our sins,
from the destroying influence of this world’s system,
to enjoy eternal life.

“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:18). We must be convinced that this is so, and be willing to leave the sin behind us. And this is right where believers break down; the leaving behind their favorite sin. But it must be renounced and denounced for any progress can be made. You have to say “No!” before you can say “Yes!”

God is fantastically patient with us. He waits patiently as we decide. Are we going to get sick of our sin, or not? He waits for us to decide. Will we continue in sin, or will we let it pass by?