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~ A blog dedicated to Jesus Christ, and the love God demonstrated through Him.

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Category Archives: Psalms

Our First Child

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by corykilgus in My Life, Psalms, THE WORD, UPDATES

≈ 2 Comments

Well, as many of you know, Danielle and I have found out that we will be having our first child sometime around the end of this year. I have been overwhelmed with joy, a bit stunned by the wonderful news, and in total awe of the goodness of our God. We can’t wait to welcome the newest addition of our family into our lives, and are already very much in love with the little person God is knitting together in Danielle’s womb.

Last night, I called and broke the news to my dad, who was so happy and blessed (just as Danielle’s father was), and we talked about just how good our Lord is. Not only has God saved me from sin and death by offering His own Son up for my sins, but now he continues to pour out His love and grace in my life. God has redeemed and restored me from a broken-down loser, and made me new. He has given me life, His Spirit, eternity in heaven, and then the most wonderful wife, wonderful family in Christ, and now a child. As my father told his Pastor, If God continues to be so good, and bless me so much, I won’t be able to take it.

As Danielle and I have been processing this wonderful news, and letting reality sink in, we have realized how awesome God is, and that He hears our prayers. We have been praying for a baby, and God has heard us. We just thank God, and know that every good gift comes down from our wonderful Father in heaven.

With all that, as I read my Bible this morning, I just happened to be in Psalm 139. As I read through the Psalm my heart, and eyes, began to well up as I thought about this little person that God is forming, and how much our Father loves this little child. I will leave you with the verses that really touched my heart this morning,

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” (Psalm 139:13-18 NKJV)

God bless you all, and thank you Jesus for your love, grace, and for the child you have given us! -Cory

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Bound and In Darkness

19 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by corykilgus in Old Testament, Psalms, THE WORD

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bondage, darkness, Jesus Christ, Lost, Love, Prayer, Salvation, Words of God

As I was reading Psalm 107, a couple of verses jumped off the page. As I sat and read over the verses several times, my heart began to break for all the people in the world who are sitting in darkness because they have rejected the light of Christ. Here are the verses:

Psalm 107:10-11,

“Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons— Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High” (NKJV)

As I thought over these verses, I couldn’t help but think about so many people I know and love that are sitting in darkness right now. It breaks my heart to think about people being covered by the shadow of death, and being bound in the affliction of sin. This is all the more hard to swallow because each person in this world chooses whether to come to the light, or to stay in the darkness. John 3 gives the unfortunate truth about the majority of mankind,

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (NKJV)

As the Psalm states, people are bound in affliction and sitting in darkness because they have rebelled against the words of God. The verses from John above spell out why people reject God, but these verses from Psalm 107 caused me to think about what people are actually rejecting when it says they rejected the words of God. What are the words of God?

The words of God are actually rather simple, but obviously unappetizing to the vast majority of people today. In fact, most people (even some self-proclaimed Christians) flat-out do not like the Bible, which is the Word of God. But, the basic message from God, from His word, is simply the gospel or the good news. The gospel message can be summed up in this: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23), and God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). It is really that simple. All have sinned, God cannot be together with sin, God knew all this and looked upon our sinful state with incomprehensible love, and therefore sent His Son to die for us so that we could have a way to be with God for eternity. The Word of God is one of love and redemption. So why do people reject it?

There are a myriad of things that will keep a person from accepting Jesus and the words of God, but the two that come to my mind are the love of darkness, and human pride. While John again clearly states that people love darkness, and therefore they reject the light, not realizing they are rejecting eternity with God almighty,. People also flat-out reject that they are sinful, or reject they are sinful enough to be sent to hell. This human stubbornness (that I know so well in myself) absolutely kills me. So many people believe that they are good people, and therefore in no need of confession of sin, no need of repentance, and in no need of a Savior. For these reasons and more, people continually reject the words of God, therefore rejecting Jesus Christ, and rejecting God the Father. You cannot reject the Words of God, and then accurately state you belong to that same God, and are going to spend eternity with Him.

So, as I come full circle with this I think of the beautiful words God speaks remembering the birth of his chosen people, the Israelites in Ezekiel 16:

“And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ (NKJV)

God says the same thing to every person on this earth today. As we struggle in our sin, and the fallen state of this world, God is calling anyone and everyone to come out of the darkness, and behold His glorious light. God is calling to anyone who will come to Him to be set free from the bondage of sin, but we cannot be set free if we continue to reject the Words of God. We have to believe in Jesus Christ, and His work on the cross alone for the payment of our sins, and our way to eternal life. Jesus is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6), and God is waiting patiently for any who would accept His free gift of salvation, not desiring that any person should perish, but that all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

If you have not received the love of Christ and the words of God, you can do that today. Just cry out to God, and confess your sins, ask Him to forgive you, and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you do that with a true heart, you will be born again of the Holy Spirit of God, and welcomed into the family of God as His child forever.

And for the Christians, what can we do? This time with the Lord has again just convicted me to continue to stay steadfast in prayer for those who are still sitting in darkness, and to pray that God would help me shine brightly as His light so that those around would see and come. He has convicted me to pray that people I know and love would be set free from the bondage of sin, be drawn out of the darkness and the shadow of death, and be brought into the presence of God by the blood of Jesus Christ. The time is short, and God hears the prayers of children, so I encourage you all, as I encourage myself, to get alone with God and pray more earnestly. God bless you all.

With love and prayer, Cory.

Be Still…

07 Friday Oct 2011

Posted by corykilgus in Old Testament, Psalms, THE WORD

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Tags

Be Still, Know God, Psalms

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God…

This is a very well known scripture for most Christians. It serves as a great reminder that God is the one in control, and we know that this is the preferred method of walking with Him. God has spoken very clearly to me through this verse whether it be about relationships or serving Him in some new and exciting way. I can remember vividly laying on my bed while at the Bible College in Santiago, Chile and realizing that I had no idea what this verse even meant, and praying that God would teach me what it is to be still, and KNOW tha He is God. My wife and I love this verse so much that we actually have a painting on our bedroom wall with this verse as the centerpiece of the artwork.

Yet, just last week I found myself worrying about the direction of my life, and focusing on all the circumstances around me. Then as my wife and I were praying, she prayed that we would be still and know that He is God ( MEN: You are the leaders of your household, BUT your wives often will say the wisest things and have the purest prayers IF we are willing to put down our pride and listen.) When she prayed this I was floored because I hadn’t considered or remembered this portion of God’s Word that has been so dear to my heart in quite awhile. Even after I had read, meditated, and prayed on this particular verse, when the time in my life came to put this verse into practice I had forggotten it completely.

This all made me realize how easily my heart can wonder even when my desire is to walk with the Lord as intimately and closely as possible. It served as reminder that we never attain to anything, but must continually press into Jesus Christ, and be continually abiding in Him, the true vine. I was definitely humbled, and maybe some of you can relate to this experience. The good news is God is faithful to complete the work He starts in us until we are received up to Glory with Jesus our Lord (Philippians 1:6). In this we rejoice. -Cory

He has shown you, O man, what is good;   
      And what does the LORD require of you 
      But to do justly, 
      To love mercy, 
      And to walk humbly with your God? 
– Micah 6:8

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