Scripture

 How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways.

~Psalm 128:1, NASB

Quote

“If I had to die like an animal and there be no hereafter, I would still choose to be a Christian, for of all lives that can be lived, there is none that can compare with this.”

~Charles H. Spurgeon

In the Hebrew, the first word of Psalm 128:1 is Asher {happy}. Happy or blessed is everyone who fears the LORD. Asher is used again in verse 2…When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be {asher} happy and it will be well with you. In verses 4-5, the Hebrew word barak is used to convey blessedness. You recognize that both of these words were used as names: Jacob had a son named Asher and Israel had a judge named Barak. Steve Lawson says, “The basic desire of all men everywhere, whether saved or lost, is to be happy.” No one really wants to be miserable. I know that on the surface, it does seem that some people love misery but deep down, they want to be happy. The scripture approaches our happiness from a divine perspective. Our sinful default setting tells us that happiness is doing what we want to do but this is not true. Our happiness is linked with our obedience, our walking in His ways. The very first Psalm reads...How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. The first words of Jesus famous sermon on the mount were…“Blessed are the poor in spirit [the humble], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We all want to be happy, the question is: how do we find happiness?

When we begin to pursue happiness, it gets tricky. The world is filled with billboards that promise happiness. The world has convinced many that riches and wealth will make us happy. Other believe that popularity and fame will make them happy. Some believe that power and prestige will fulfill them but all these things are smoke and mirrors, they are illusions. Happiness is not determined by one’s physical or financial condition but by one’s spiritual condition. It is not our work that fulfills us; it is our worship. You see happiness is an inside job: external circumstance do not produce happiness. Christ, the living water, the bubbling spring, is the source of our happiness. Many well-intentioned people are confused and some of them are very moral people. They believe that holiness is the way to Christ but the opposite is true: Christ is our only way to holiness. Peter said, “Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

This raises another question: do we derive happiness from our work? It depends: if we are living in obedience to Christ and are being faithful to His call on our life, then the answer is yes, there is wonderful fulfillment and joy. This is the joy that Spurgeon is referring to in his quote. On the other hand, if we are living in rebellion and disobedience to Christ, no work is going to bring satisfaction to our soul. The Hebrew word barak is interesting, it literally means to bend the knees, to bow, to worship. The blessedness conveyed by barak is that which comes from our worship and obedience. Of course, it requires His grace for us to do it, but the man who walks in His {Christ} ways is going to be blessed.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like olive plants around your table.

~Psalm 128:3, NASB

When God blesses a man, He also blesses his family. Dr. Wiersbe approached this Psalm from the family point of view while Dr. Lawson focused on happiness. I choose happiness for the blog but there is one thought I wanted to share about FAMILY. In ancient times, the family ate together. There were no TV’s, no cell phones and no I-pads. I will catch some flack about this decision but I think June and I will institute a new rule for Sunday dinner. No TV, I-pads or cell phones and everyone who can must sit around the table. We have some who are anxious to get their plate and then get in front of the hellivison. I am not a Blue Blood fan, the show has become a bill board for liberal causes but I do like their Sunday dinner with everyone around the table. What did General Todd say last week: “God first, absolutely. Family second, absolutely.” I don’t know were I-pads and TV’s rank in the order of things but neither are in the top ten.

Veteran of the Day

Calvin C. Inman

My pastor and mentor was Calvin Coolige Inman from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Brother Inman was a wing gunner on a B-25 [I think, it could have been a B-17]. He did see combat but I do not remember how many missions he flew, my guess is eleven but I’m not sure. Like Joe David’s grand fathers, he did not talk about the war. He did talk about enlistment, training, etc. but he rarely talked about combat. I am not a veteran to my shame but there is a commercial that I believe to be true. It goes something like this: THERE ARE NO UNWOUNDED VETERANS OF WAR: ALL WERE WOUNDED, SOME WOUNDS YOU CAN SEE AND SOME YOU CANNOT SEE. I revere our men in uniform and make no apology for doing so. War is hell. Although I never served, I watch war movies and they have made some recently that are very graphic. I get horrified just watching them on a TV; I can’t imagine the trauma of seeing your buddy’s head blown off as he stands right beside you. Daddy spent the first 8 months on the front line and several nights in a fox hole. Some of those nights were spent with lifeless bodies lying beside him. Of course being a kid, I lacked the wisdom to ask the right questions: I asked him once, “Daddy, how many men did you kill?” He said, “Son, I like to think the answer is none. I aimed and fired just like everyone else but I never looked to see if I hit the target.” I heard my mother say many times: “the war changed your daddy. He was never the same after returning from the war.” There is one thing about the VETERANS, they do not forget their own; They are ever conscious of the price of freedom and those who pay the price. I salute the service and memory of Calvin C. Inman, my pastor and my hero.

• I was talking to June at Breakfast yesterday and I said, “I don’t guess we are going to have our THANKSGIVING DAY SERVICE, I haven’t heard anything about it.” She gave me a quick and blunt retort: “That’s because you don’t read the bulletin, it has been in there for weeks.”
• A few weeks ago, God convicted me to pray for two people everyday: my president and my pastor. By grace, He has reminded me to do so. I am also praying for Judge Moore. The democrats are doing what they do best, “Lying.” They are the party of propaganda. We cannot allow them to represent us in Washington period. If Judge Moore has done something inappropriate, the Republicans can replace him later. Right now, we have to get out and vote and make sure this joker running against Judge Moore doesn’t get elected. He is a stooge for the democrats. He will do whatever they tell him to do. He will be no different from Hefty Heflin who always voted with the democrats on everything. He voted like a Kennedy and he was representing Alabama. We don’t need to go back folks. Sorry as they are, at least there is some diversity in the Republican party. There is no dissent in the democratic party; they are all for killing babies and gay rights.