I am a child of God first and foremost... a follower of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and 9 beautiful children. I have grown so much through the Word of God and my life's verse is Philippians 2:16... Holding forth the Word of Life.
We learned in “Until He was Strong…Part 6” that King Amaziah did not follow God with a perfect heart. I often wonder, how does the way I live my life with respect to my relationship with God affect my children. In many cases in the Biblical records we do not get a complete picture of the home life and how the children are raised. We see that often times both their king father is known and, often times, their mother’s name is mentioned. Regardless, many of the mistakes of the father are either repeated or the next king completely changes his ways to be opposite of his father. In the case of Uzziah, this does not seem to be the case. It states of him that “he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. (2 Chronicles 26:4-5)”
Wow! There is a lot packed into those two verses. First, we see that he did that which was right in the sight of God. In other words, he probably obeyed God’s commands. We are not given much of King Uzziah’s story in the Bible. His reign is shared in 2 Chronicles 26 and very briefly in 2 Kings 14; yet, he ruled for 42 years. In that time, the nation prospered, and the desert areas were reclaimed by his water conservation plan. He also reconstructed Jerusalem’s walls and added towers and engines of war (all discussed in 2 Chronicles 26). Thus, it appears that Uzziah prospered. However, in verse 5, we also see that he sought God “in the days of Zechariah.” Does this sound familiar? King Joash “did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” (Remember back to “Until He was Strong…Part 5”) Once again, someone is only following God while there is someone for accountability. It definitely reminds us that we need to have that accountability, but it also reminds us that we need to be strong in the Lord even when there is no one “watching” us.
The second thing that we see of King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:5 is that “as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.” This statement was true until we see that he warred against the Philistines and won great battles. It tells us in verse 7 that “God helped him again the Philistines” and many other enemies. Other kingdoms then started giving King Uzziah gifts and his fame spread even to Egypt. Then, (I bet you can guess it) King Uzziah “strengthened himself exceedingly. (v. 8b)” This is when he began his building projects, which were all good for Jerusalem and his country. In verse 15, we see the phrase “for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.” Did you catch it? “Until he was strong”!
Now we see the demise of King Uzziah. In 2 Chronicles 26:16, we are told, “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD (where only the priests were to go) to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” It was at that point that the priests (81 of them) went into the temple and withstood King Uzziah telling him that he was not to be there… “for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.” However, King Uzziah was angry and he had a censer in his hand ready to burn the incense (again, not allowed for any but the priests). While he was standing there angry “with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. (v. 19)” Right before the priests’ eyes, Uzziah came down with leprosy, spreading over his face. They threw him out of the temple, which he was also hasting to leave “because the LORD had smitten him. (v. 20).”
What a sad way to end your reign as the king of God’s chosen land. He actually reigned for 52 years (the last few years with his son as he could not be in the land with leprosy). That was it. That as the end of his life. He had done all these great things, but in the end, he was remembered for his pride.
We must be careful that when God blesses us, and all that we do, that we not get lifted up with pride. We may think that we strengthen ourselves, but we must remember the one who really gives us our strength.
Until next time… seek God, with or without someone holding you accountable and be strengthened in the Lord and DO NOT become PRIDEFUL!!!
Look for “Until He was Strong…Part 8” about King Uzziah’s heritage.
After King Joash was killed by his servants, his son Amaziah began to reign in his place. The first thing we read about King Amaziah is “… he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.” (2 Chronicles 25:2) The first question then should be, what does it mean “not with a perfect heart?” It means “complete” or “whole”. We might say it this way, “he did not do that which is right in the sight of the LORD whole heartedly.”
At first, it appears that Amaziah did follow the Lord’s heart. He killed off the servants that had killed his father. Of course, he probably thought he was doing justice in doing that. Most kings would have gone further in his day (in both his country as we’ve seen before within their own families and in those kingdoms around Israel). They would have killed even the sons or family members of those who had killed his father. However, King Amaziah did not kill their children as it states of him in verse 4 “… but he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.” In other words, King Amaziah followed God’s laws and showed mercy to the family members that may have feared him.
Next, he gathered men together to fight against the Edomites (an enemy of the Israelites). He gathered both men in the kingdom of Judah (of which he was the king) and he hired men from the northern kingdom of Israel (which had already turned away from following God). However, before King Amaziah went into battle, a man of God came to him and told him not to take these men from the northern kingdom of Israel into battle with him. Instead, he was to trust God:
“God hath power to help, and cast down… The LORD is able to give thee much more than this” (2 Chronicles 25:8-9)
So, King Amaziah sent the hired soldiers back home. The it states that “Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, …” and he won the battle. What is notably absent from Amaziah’s battle was thanking God for the victory. In fact, it states that “he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. (2 Chronicles 25:14b)” Why would he do this? Of course, the LORD was angered by this and sent a prophet to say, “Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? (v. 15b)”
King Amaziah did not stop there. He then determined to fight against the northern kingdom as the hired soldiers who were sent back from the previous battle had “fallen upon the cities of Judah… and took much spoil. (v. 13)” After the battle with the Edomites, King Amaziah went against the northern kingdom and he lost the battle because, as God said, “they sought after the gods of Edom. (v. 20).” At the end of King Amaziah’s life, it is said that “Amaziah did turn away from following the LORD” and his own people killed him.
We learn here that if we are going to follow the LORD, we must do so with a “perfect” heart. King Amaziah did some of the law of God, but he then turned and worshipped other gods as well. We are told in Matthew 6:24 that we cannot worship god and “mammon”, meaning any other thing. Also, Jesus states in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” So, what is God’s will? That we believe on his Son Jesus Christ as both our Lord (Master) and Savior, and that we do His will in not following other gods. In other words, we are to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. (Luke 10:27)”… with a “perfect heart.”
As we continue to see how the kings followed God, until they were strengthened, let’s ask God to give us that perfect heart. Watch for the doings of King Uzziah in “Until He was Strong…Part 7”.
Today we are going to look at the next king of Judah, Joash. Remember that Ahaziah’s mother reigned for six years after killing all of Ahaziah’s brothers so that there would be no king left on the throne. However, there was a daughter of the previous king, and aunt to Ahaziah’s children, who had hidden the youngest brother, unbeknown to Athaliah. This child’s name was Joash. The aunt that hid him was named Jehoshabeath who also happened to be the wife of Jehoiada the priest (see 2 Chronicles 22:11).
When the seventh year of Athaliah came, Jehoiada the priest strengthened himself by taking many men, including the captains of hundreds, the Levites, the chief of the fathers and all the congregation and made a covenant to bring forth the king’s son to reign “as the LORD hath said of the sons of David. (2 Chronicles 23:3)” After setting King Joash up to be king, and killing Athaliah, we see the following:
“And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD’S people.”
2 Chronicles 23:16
Remember, King Joash is only seven years old at this time. So, it is not surprising that Jehoiada the priest is leading the way. In 2 Chronicles 23:16-21, we see Jehoiada breaking down the house of Baal, the false god, and setting in order the ways of the God as “written in the law of Moses” (v. 18). This is where the story because sad, in my opinion. It is stated that King Joash began his reign at the age of seven and…
“…Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.”
2 Chronicles 24:2
Joash wanted to repair the house of the Lord. So, he had money collected to do so. When the money was to be distributed for repairing the house of the Lord, King Joash and Jehoiada distributed the funds for the work. Once the work of repairing the house of the Lord was complete, “…they offered burnt-offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada (v. 14). Did you catch it? Here is that phrase again, “In the days of Jehoiada.” After this, Jehoiada died at the ripe old age of 130 years old. Wow! This man must have had such wisdom as he followed the Lord all the days of his life and we know that we grow in wisdom when we follow God. At this time, however, is where the story of King Joash turns sad. We are told the following:
“17 Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. 18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. 19 Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.” 2 Chronicles 24:17-19
2 Chronicles 24:17-19
It seems that after the priest Jehoiada died, King Joash listened to people rather than to God. He then saw some of the consequences and seems to have attempted to bring the people back to God. But, that is not the rest of the story. In the next few verses of 2 Chronicles 24, we see that the son of Jehoiada went in the Spirit of God to King Joash and confronted him about transgressing the commandments of the LORD. In fact, his words were, “ye have forsaken the LORD, (so) he hath also forsaken you. (v. 20)” You would think that King Joash would heed these warnings. Afterall, he saw great success and prosperity in his land while Jehoiada was alive, but this is not what happened. Instead, King Joash had Jehoiada’s son stoned to death and it says, “Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him. (v. 22)” Within that year, the Syrians came against Judah and won “because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. (v. 24)” Even Joash’s own servants conspired against him at this time and killed him on his bed.
So, what is there to learn from King Joash? We CANNOT just follow the ways of the Lord while we have someone there to hold us accountable. Yes, we need accountability; it helps us to stay strong in the Lord. However, we are all personally responsible to God for our own actions. Let’s not follow God all the days of our Jehoiada. Instead, let’s follow God all of our days!!! Look for until He was Strong…Part 6 about King Amaziah and see how he personally strengthened himself. The warning is “Be careful!”
Last post, we saw that overall Jehoshaphat sought the Lord when he was in danger and turned the people’s hearts towards God when they were afraid. However, we also learned that Jehoshaphat, like us, didn’t always seek the Lord for his daily decisions, and, thus, made leagues with those that were ungodly bringing harm to himself and his people. One of the consequences of Jehoshaphat making these leagues was his son turning from the ways of the Lord.
Jehoshaphat made an affinity with evil King Ahab of the northern kingdom by allowing his own son to marry King Ahab’s daughter. This son was given the kingdom by his father, and the first thing we see him do is “strengthen himself, and kill all his brethren… also of the princes of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 21:4) He actually walked in the ways of king Ahab and not in the ways of the Lord God. (2 Chronicles 21:6). This is what God stated of Jehoram (also known as Joram), “Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever. (2 Chronicles 21:7). In other words, the only reason that King Jehoram was allowed to reign is because of a promise God made to David in his family line. Do you often wonder why people who are so evil are allowed to continue without what seems like any consequences? I sometimes wonder who in their past was a praying grandmother or grandfather in whom the Lord made promises. The lesson I learn here is this… live in the ways of the Lord and pray for your loved ones. We don’t always get the blessing of seeing our prayers answered, but it appears that God does answer prayers and follows through on His Word. Isn’t that just like God?
However, God did appear to remove his mercy upon Jehoram according to 2 Chronicles 21:10 as God allowed the Edomites to revolt “because he (Jehoram) had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.” What did he do? He turned the people’s hearts from following God (2 Chronicles 21:11). However, God warned Jehoram and gave him the chance to repent. Jehoram did not do so. Read the rest of 2 Chronicles 21 to see the sad outcome of his life. The people actually didn’t even bury him in the sepulchers of the kings as he had done so wickedly.
One of the consequences of Jehoram’s sins was that all of his sons were carried away except his youngest son. Again, because of God’s promise to King David, this son was made the king. His name was Jehoahaz (or Ahaziah). Unfortunately, he reigned only one year as he, too, walked in the ways of King Ahab. It is no wonder as his mother was the daughter of King Ahab who also walked in the ways of King Ahab since her mother before her, evil Queen Jezebel, had brought false gods into the kingdom of Ahab. In fact, it states of Ahaziah that “he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. (2 Chronicles 22:3)” This was now a dark part of Judah’s history. When Ahaziah died, his mother “destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. (2 Chronicles 22:10). She proceeded to rule for six years. Again, it becomes apparent that when we don’t follow the Lord’s ways, there are consequences to pay. Would any of this have happened had Jehoshaphat not made a league with King Ahab? Would any of this happened had Jehoshaphat asked God about his business decisions as he asked God to help him when danger was present? Of course, I cannot answer that question for certainty, but it does challenge me to pray for every decision remembering that God cares about the details and every word and deed has consequences.
We could move onto the next king of Judah who strengthens himself, whether in himself or in the ways of the Lord, but today, I want to stop and just ponder this: do we include God in every decision that we make? Is He truly a part of our every day lives? Do we know He is present and cares about every detail of our lives? He knows our words before we speak them. His thoughts are too numerous for us to count. He created us and desires fellowship with Him so there is no where we can hide from Him. (All from Psalm 139.) If you have never considered this… that we are to daily abide in Christ (John 15), then ask Him to show you how and let’s make our lives glorifying to God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by including them in our every day lives… in all of our decisions, not just when we are in trouble, but BEFORE we get ourselves into those messy places. Look for Until He was Strong…Part 5 about King Joash and how he followed the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
While studying about the kings of Judah in 2 Chronicles, one finds the continued pattern of kings beginning by following God and then turning away in some way either after they are strong or when they appear to just not need God’s direction any more. In part 2, we saw that this was the case with King Jehoshaphat. He “had riches and honor in abundance” because “he sought to the LORD God… and the LORD established the kingdom in his hand.” However, he made an affinity with King Ahab of the northern kingdom, who lost his life in a battle that God had warned they should not enter, and King Jehoshaphat returned home.
After King Jehoshaphat returned home, he was told by God (through a prophet) that he should not be in a league with the ungodly, and he was commended because he had prepared his heart to seek God. (2 Chronicles 19:2-3) Jehoshaphat then set about to turn the people’s hearts back to God. After this, an enemy came against Judah, Jehoshaphat’s kingdom. Jehoshaphat “feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast through all Judah.” He once again asked “help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 20:3-4). The rest of the story is in 2 Chronicles 20, where Jehoshaphat was told that he would not have to fight this battle, but that God would give them victory without any fighting. Jehoshaphat believed God and said in 2 Chronicles 20:20 “…Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” He went so far as to appoint singers to praise the LORD while the enemy was killing itself off. In the end, God allowed Jehoshaphat’s men to carry away plunder in abundance, “more than they could carry away.” (2 Chronicles 20:25)Wow! This was an incredible act of God that Jehoshaphat was allowed to witness, to be a part of. After this, “God gave him rest round about.” (2 Chronicles 20:30) I would think that after something like this, I would want to seek God every day of my life. But, alas, King Jehoshaphat, just like me, is human. At the end of his life, it states that “after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel (King Ahab’s son), who did VERY wickedly.” Jehoshaphat made ships to go to battle with Ahaziah and it states that “Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish” (2 Chronicles 20:37)
So, what do we learn from King Jehoshaphat? We learn that God is the one that prospers us, and God looks upon our hearts, whether or not we prepare our hearts to seek Him. God protects us when we don’t heed him, but there are consequences. We also learn that we need to seek God in ALL of our decisions. When Jehoshaphat was going to battle or feared, he called on God. However, it does not state that he asked God about whether he should make an affinity with King Ahab or join himself with Ahab’s son, King Ahaziah. It is important that we call on God all the time, not just in our battles. We need to seek His guidance in our affairs as well. We are not to be unequally yoked and we are to seek God’s wisdom. In fact, James 1:5-8 states, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall received ay thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” We see this played out in the life of Jehoshaphat. He knew that he should seek God, but he did not heed God’s warnings. Let us learn from our fellow humans. We, too, are weak and fail. However, we are to continue growing in our relationship with God and in the knowledge of God and His ways. Seek God always and for all decisions. This is the lesson that I take away from King Jehoshaphat’s life. Look for the next part of “Until He was Strong…Part 4” as we continue to see how the Kings of Judah can teach us the ways of the Lord.
In continuing to read 2 Chronicles, the pattern continues with the kings… at the beginning of their reign, they do well in the ways of the LORD, and then, at some point, they either strengthen themselves or stop seeking God as they continue to rule. This was no different for King Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat. In 2 Chronicles 17, we see the following about him:
2 Chronicles 17:3-5 “And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, BECAUSE he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim (a false god); But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore, the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.”
It continues to say of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 17:6 “And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD.” He even sent people to “teach in the cities” “9 And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.”
Obviously, Jehoshaphat had a heart that desired to follow God. However, we find in 2Chronicles 18 that something changes. In verse 1, it states, “Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.” Now, Ahab was one of the worst kings in Israel (the northern kingdom) who married Jezebel, a worshipper of many false gods. Ahab was confronted by the prophet Elijah on many occasions because of his idolatrous ways. An affinity is a marriage alliance. In other words, Jehoshaphat allowed his son, Jehoram, to marry Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah. God had given instructions in the Old Testament about who the Israelites could marry. This daughter came from the marriage Ahab had with a non-Israelite, more specifically, an idol worshipper, outside of God’s will. When Jehoshaphat allowed his son to marry, this was again a step away from God’s will. Not only was Jehoshaphat allowing his son to walk away from God’s will, Jehoshaphat was making a league with Ahab who was not following the ways of God.
In the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians 6:14, we are also told not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. When we do this, we tend to follow the unbeliever’s ways and begin to step away from following the ways of the Lord. This is, in fact, what happened with Jehoshaphat. It seems that he knew this. When he and King Ahab were planning to go into battle, Jehoshaphat wanted to seek God’s will. Ahab called forth his prophets, but these were not called prophets of the Lord (See 1 Kings 22). However, Jehoshaphat pushed a bit and asked for a prophet of the Lord. This prophet (Micaiah) actually told King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat that they should not go into battle because it would not go well with them. However, the kings proceeded into battle, and they lost. King Ahab was killed, and when King Jehoshaphat was surrounded by the enemy, he called out to God and 2 Chronicles 18:31 says, “the LORD help him; and God moved them (the enemies surrounding him) to depart from him.”
Jehoshaphat then return to his house in peace (2 Chronicles 19:1) and was confronted by a prophet who said in 2 Chronicles 19:2 “…Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD?” The prophet also stated that there would be consequences for Jehoshaphat because of his actions, but “3…there are good things found in thee, in that…. Thou has prepared thing heart to seek God.”
You see, Jehoshaphat at first sought God about going into the battle with Ahab; however, he did not heed God’s warning. Still, in the midst of his despair, he called out to God. As a result of his not heeding God’s warning, he was to suffer the consequences after he returned home. We will see later that his son turned from following God because of the affinity that Jehoshaphat had with King Ahab. Still, Jehoshaphat was commended by God for preparing his heart to seek God. This is not the end of the story of King Jehoshaphat, but we are out of time now. Look for Part 3 of “Until He was Strong” for more, and remember, seek God and heed His Words!
In reading 2 Chronicles, I have noticed a pattern with so many of the kings. They sometimes began their rule with setting things right with God whether personally or for the entire kingdom. However, as they grew older, they either strengthened themselves or they simply stopped seeking the Lord. The lessons that I am learning is that, if God allows us years of life, we need to begin in His strength, end in His strength and continue seeking Him all the days of our lives. Let’s look at the Scriptures to see what lessons we can learn.
Speaking of King Asa (2 Chronicles 14-16)
“And Asa did good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God… 4 And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment… 7 Therefore he (Asa) said because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.”
2 Chronicles 14
“(through a man who heard from God it was said,) 2 … The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye SEEK him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.”
2 Chronicles 15
(Notice the word SEEK here)
“4 … when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD god of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them….. 12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul…17… the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.”
2 Chronicles 15
(When the Northern kingdom of Israel was coming against the southern kingdom of Judah which was under King Asa, King Asa sought help from the enemy of Syria “1 In the thirtieth sixth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah (where Asa was the king. A prophet of God said to Asa)… 7 Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand…. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly.”
2 Chronicles 16
(Notice that Asa and the people did not SEEK God, but rather, they sought an enemy to bring them help.)
“12 And Asa in the thirty ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.”
2 Chronicles 16
(This is not to say that the physicians are bad… just that Asa did NOT SEEK GOD!)
How sad it is that Asa’s hear was “perfect all his days” meaning he knew God, he trusted God, he claimed to follow God… and, for the most part, he did. However, when trouble came later in his life, he didn’t seek God. Isn’t that just like us? Sometimes we panic and try to find a way to get help and forget to seek God. When we get comfortable with where we are, we tend to find ways to help ourselves instead of seeking God first. Maybe God would use the physicians in Asa’s life. It is certain that God would not want to use the enemy to help in time of war… but in both cases, Asa did not seek God and, therefore, we will never know what might have happened had he done so. Don’t let this be the case in your life… and I don’t want this to be the case in mine… Let’s seek God, whether we are weak or strong, and see what He will do!
Be sure to checkout Until He Was Strong.. Part 2 about King Asa’s son and his choices.
In reading 1 Chronicles this morning, the Lord showed me something that I believe is pertinent for all that call themselves Christians. This past week, a revival broke out in Asbury University. What is happening there is remarkable as people experience God’s presence. Worship and confession and a giving of one’s life to the Lord afresh and anew is part of the reports that are coming from this (what we call) revival! So, just what is a revival?
Many Christians spend time with the Lord every day, experiencing His presence by both speaking to Him (praying), learning of Him (reading His Word), worshipping Him (often with music), and listening for Him (sitting still in His presence). However, a greater number of people who call themselves Christians do not spend time with God. They go about their daily life barely recognizing God unless it is an exceptional sunset or a particularly hard time in life. Many do not obey the commands of God. Why? Could it be that they just do not think that God’s commands are all that important?
In 1 Chronicles 21 (and 2 Samuel 24), King David knows that God commanded that he should not count the people. The mere act of counting the people seems to contradict the commands in Deuteronomy 17 for a king not to lift himself up in pride. David’s heart smote him after he numbered the people (2 Samuel 24:10). David knew he should not have done it. However, David was a military man. He was tempted, it says, by Satan to count the people. Counting the military men that are available in a nation does not seem like a really bad thing to do. In fact, it even seems logical to know how many men one has before entering into a war. However, God had very specifically put it in David’s heart that he was not to count the people.
Don’t we do the same thing? We know what pleases God’s heart and what doesn’t, but we sometimes think it is such an innocent little thing. In James 1:17, it says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14); he knew what God would want and not want. Yet, David counted the people.
The revival in Asbury University seems to me a turning back to the Lord. People are beginning to realize that they knew God’s heart all along, but they have not been walking according to that knowledge. David repented of his sin, but not without great consequences for himself and those around him. Consequences happen to us, too, and to those around us when we do not obey the Lord and follow after His heart.
My prayer for those that are now turning to the Lord in this Asbury University revival is that they will follow David’s example under the leading of God. When David’s heart was convicted, he called out to God. He repented. He claimed responsibility for his actions. He asked that others not be harmed because of his sins (1 Chronicles 21:17). Then God spoke!! God told David what to do next… and David obeyed. He purchased land, set up an altar, and worshipped God. The consequences of his sin had already taken place. David, and those whom his sin affected, still had to suffer with the consequences, but they were ready to start afresh and anew. David then realized that he needed to build a house for the Lord where he laid his life down to Him at this altar. Of course, in history, we know that this is where the temple of God was built, the one known as Solomon’s temple. David could not actually be the one to build it, as God directed him not to. Still, David prepared to “build the house of God.”
Building the house of God looks different today. In the revival happening now, as has always been the case with revivals, people are beginning to build the house of God, the temples… their lives! We are called the temple of the Holy Ghost in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
My prayer is that all of those affected by the revival as Asbury will truly prepare their lives to be that temple of the Holy Ghost. My prayer is that they and those with whom they affect will begin to truly live in the presence of God all of the time – that those who call themselves Christians, but have not been walking in obedience to God, but rather living this lukewarm life where they barely take notice of God – will truly taste and see that the Lord is good and will walk in His ways.
God appears to be waking His people up. He is calling, and always has been, to us to return to the old ways of following hard after Him. If you are calling yourself a Christian, but you have not taken any notice of God except in the super highs of your life or the super lows, then please ask God to show you where you are missing Him. He wants us to return to Him. Remember that those in the church at Laodicea were neither hot for the Lord nor cold (non-believers), but rather “lukewarm.” And, what was God’s response to them? He will SPUE (vomit) them out of His mouth. Being a Christian in a lukewarm state, literally, makes God sick. Turn back to God. Follow Him through your Lord Jesus Christ who is both our Savior and our Lord (Master). Look around and realize that your actions, your faith, affects those around you! Be revived in your Spirit. Sit now and ask God to move in your heart. Confess your sins. He is faithful and just to forgive them… and then, turn with your WHOLE HEART BACK TO GOD!!!
Lately, I have had this strong impression to share with people about God’s love, specifically, His personal love… the one that He wants to show us in our relationship with Him. God (specifically Jesus, who is God) is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). In the Bible, we read over and over again about people hearing God’s voice or knowing that God spoke to them. Since God is the same for all time, shouldn’t we expect Him to speak to us still today? Some people will say (and I used to be one of those people), “Yes. He speaks through His Word that He has given to us.” I still totally agree with this statement. However, I also believe that He speaks to us about every day matters as well, when we have conversations with Him. The problem with which we seem to struggle is knowing that it is God’s voice and not our own.
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
1 Sameul 3:7
In the book of Exodus, Moses gets called by a burning bush… or so it seemed. He had to draw close and examine it and then respond to what he heard. Often times, we believe we may have heard God, but we do not respond. As I was reading this morning in 1 Samuel, it occurred to me that it is because we may not have learned to respond because we haven’t trained ourselves to listen to God’s voice. In 1 Samuel 3, Samuel is a young boy who is being raised by the priest Eli in the temple of God. One night, Samuel hears a voice call, and Samuel responds, “Here am I.” However, Samuel ran to Eli and told Eli, “Here am I,” as he was sure that Eli had called to him. Eli responded, “I did not call you,” and he sent Samuel back to bed. This happened three times. It is stated of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:7, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.” In other words, Samuel had never heard God speak to him before.
Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
1 Sameul 3:9
The third time this happened, Eli “perceived that the LORD had called the child” (1 Samuel 3:8). So, Eli gave Samuel instructions about RESPONDING to the LORD’S voice. These instructions are the same for us today. Eli told Samuel to say, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:9). Samuel did just this and the LORD spoke to him things about Eli and Eli’s family. In this particular case, Samuel was given a word of knowledge from the Lord. The point is this, Samuel heard God’s voice, but he did not, at first, know to respond to God’s voice. As Samuel grew, he learned to hear the voice of the Lord and to communicate to God asking for God’s guidance and direction and help. In fact, it is stated of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:19 “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” And this “letting words fall to the ground” is exactly what I believe we tend to do today!
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
1 Samuel 3:19
If we want a close, intimate relationship with the Lord, we need to spend time getting to know God (i.e. reading His Word) and we need to pray to Him (speaking to God). However, we often stop there. We should also spend time speaking to God and listening to God. When we believe we hear Him speak to us, we need to OBEY!!! So, how do we know if it is the LORD speaking or simply our own conscience speaking to us. First, we need to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ so that we know that the Holy Spirit resides in us. If we have confessed with our mouth the Lord (Master) Jesus, and believed in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, then we are saved and the Holy Spirit lives within us. If that is the case, then we know that we are God’s child. Now, we need to “listen” for God’s voice and “respond.” When we hear something that we believe is from God, we need to first be sure that it lines up with Scripture. If it is truly God speaking, He will not tell us something that is opposite to what He has given us in His Word. For instance, He will not tell us to worship something else or to pray to someone other than God Himself and He will not tell us to sin in any way. When we speak to God, it is sometimes, literally, a two-way conversation. Sometimes God provides a verse or comfort to us (as He often did the apostles and King David as seen in the Psalms). Sometimes He provides direction and guidance (as in the case of Noah and Moses and King David). Sometimes He gives us a word of knowledge (in the case of Samuel). Regardless, if we do not take the time to listen, and then to respond, how will we develop that close, intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.
I would like to challenge you today, as I challenge myself every day, take time to spend with God. Read His Word, pray to Him, and LISTEN and RESPOND!!!! If you do, you will be amazed at how your relationship with our heavenly Father will deepen and you will gain a sense of peace and joy. This relationship with God and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the greatest gift we could ever have… and the best relationship for which we could ever ask. Seek Him and be blessed!
In Isaiah, the LORD is warning the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel (Ephraim and Judah) through the prophet Isaiah. The LORD is warning of discipline to Judah and its capital of Jerusalem because they had turned away from the Lord. His main reason for the discipline is stated in Isaiah 29:13-14.
“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”
Isaiah 29:13-14
The concern that the Lord expresses here is that although the people were still praising God and speaking of Him, their hearts were not following Him. Just as in Jesus’s day, men were coming up with ways of fearing God that were not the ways that God intended; thus, the fear of the Lord was being taught by men incorrectly. God told the people that he was going to do a work among the people so that the “wisdom of their wise men” would perish. In other words, their wise men would not be able to explain this wonder, and they would not be able to understand.
As I ponder this, I realize many people do not believe in God. Many are so-called wise. But, I wonder with what definition we are using to label them as wise. In Webster’s 1828 dictionary, wisdom and knowledge are defined as follows:
Wisdom – “the right use or exercise of knowledge.”
Knowledge – “a clear and certain perception of that which exists, or of truth and fact”.
So, in essence, God is saying in Isaiah 29:14 that the wisdom (the right use of knowledge) will be gone and they will not understand what they are seeing. They will not understand? Why?
As I continued to read in Isaiah, I found that God continues to warn Judah not to seek Egypt for help but to trust in God when things begin looking bleak. The enemy of the Assyrian was prevalent in all of the lands at this time, and, yet, God kept telling Judah to trust Him. Human wisdom would dictate that they had this knowledge about the Assyrians coming toward them so they should seek a mightier kingdom than they to protect themselves — they should send for the Egyptians. But, God continued to tell them to NOT go to the Egyptians. The Israelites also had the knowledge of how God had saved them from the Egyptians hundreds of years earlier. It is interesting to note that, in Scripture, often times, Egypt is a picture of the world. In essence, God was telling the Israelites not to look to the world for their protection. Instead, they were to look to him.
In the midst of the warnings throughout these passages, God continues to provide promises to the Israelites. He promised His provision, if they would trust Him and do things his way… in righteousness. As I read through to Isaiah 33:5-6, I noticed again the word “wisdom” again.
“The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. 6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.”
Isaiah 33:5-6
Look at what these verses say about wisdom and knowledge. It states that these will be the “stability of their times and the strength of their salvation.” In other words, understanding the things of God (having the knowledge of God and from God) will make us understand His ways (wisdom) and we will be stable… peaceful, not confused, not shifting in our stance, etc. In other words, Hezekiah, the King of Israel at the time of the siege of the Assyrians, told his people to trust in God. The enemy was trying to convince the Israelites to not trust in anyone because it was hopeless. The enemy stated that the Israelites should not go to Egypt for help as it was useless (as the world’s help often is) and not to trust in God either. The Assyrians mocked the God of Israel. Yet, God says in Isaiah 33:5-6 that the people will be stable IF they trust in God. They needed to fear the LORD more than they feared the enemy. Notice in Isaiah 33:6 that it states, “the fear of the LORD is his treasure.” When we see that word fear, we should think a couple of things. First, God can do whatever He wants; He is God. We should fear Him, but, we should also think “trust.” When we fear God, and understand that He can do whatever He wants, then, when He tells us that He will save us, we need to TRUST! We need to trust more in His Words of promise than in any help we could seek from the world and more than any threat from the enemy. If we do, we will have wisdom and understanding of the Lord’s ways and it will bring stability to our lives.
Practical applications of this principle occur in our lives many times over. For instance, we can be afraid of the wars and rumors of wars in the world. We may set about, as a country, to increase our weapons arsenal and make leagues with other countries for our protection. We may even think this is what God would want. Isn’t this like the statement in Isaiah 29 where it says that people draw near Him with their lips (our country asks the nation to pray and say, “God bless our country”), but our hearts are far from Him? Just watch the news and see the violence and evil in the United States right now… every day, new murders, violence of all types, horrible tragedies created by evil people. It does not stop there. We see the morals and values that our country holds in our country’s laws including assisted suicide, abortion, defending any type of sexual relationships outside of a one man, one woman marriage, and so on. Even our laws allow for behaviors against the Lord’s teachings, not just individuals who walk in the ways against God. Add to this the fact that people are taught to fear God by men… just pray to Him, do not worry about truly believing in Him or worshipping Him or bowing to His ways. Another precept taught by men is just think positive thoughts and God will bless us, or, God will answer our prayers if we pray… not even thinking that maybe He won’t answer in a way we want because we do not follow His ways!
Other practical applications happen in our personal lives as well. We say that we believe in God and we go to church and even pray. We may read His Word, occasionally. But, we believe that our relationship is just between us and God and it doesn’t matter if it “looks” like we are Christians or not to those around us. We say we are Christians and we are not even sure what that means. We are taught by the precept of man that it means you believe there is a god, that you go to church at least twice a year, that you pray every time you need something, and you memorize those verses in the Bible that promise good things to you. That is honoring God with our lips, but not following Him with our hearts. There is a very big difference. In Isaiah 29:13-14, it tells us that God is going to do wonders, but that we will not understand because our wisdom perishes if we do not know God. However, in Isaiah 33:5-6, God tells us that if we fear Him, He will bring stability to our lives through wisdom and knowledge. In other words, we will have His wisdom and understand His ways. For instance, when bad things happen in our lives (and this happens to everyone… EVERY ONE!), those that know the Lord and fear Him do not panic. Yes, we may struggle to understand; we may be hurt or scared in our flesh; but there is an underlying peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). We feel “stable”, sort of like there is a firm rock to stand on in the storms of life. We have the wisdom to understand God’s ways.
God promises that He will not leave us or forsake us. He tells us that He walks with us through our difficulties. He promises that we will one day not suffer anymore if we choose to follow Him. It is as if He is extending His hand and asking us to take it. He is providing us the understanding of how to walk through these storms of life. He is providing us the knowledge of His ways and the strength of His salvation. Knowing God, and His ways, makes us strong. In other words, stability for our lives exists through that wonderful treasure of “the fear of the Lord.” (That is a whole study all on its own!)
If you do not know Jesus personally as your Lord and your Savior, if you do not fear God above all else, meaning to stand in awe of Him and trust Him and follow His ways in relationship to Him, then ask me. I would love to share the “stability” of my life with you!
I do not know the answer to this question, but it is certain that evil exists. I also know that God often shows His goodness in comparison to this evil. God always gives us a choice to follow Him or not. He claims to be all good and promises many good things to those who follow Him. As I was reading in Deuteronomy 29-30 this morning, I realized that God gave us a real example of how this good/evil comparison and the choice to follow Him is used to draw us to Him so that we may live in the presence of good and not evil forever. Let me explain.
In Deuteronomy 29, Moses tells the Israelites on the brink of the Jordan river, after their 40 years of wandering and before they enter the promised land, that they had seen the great things that the Lord had done for them. Moses recounted that the LORD (the self-existing One) showed the people the miracles performed in Egypt, and yet, the people had not understood (vs. 2-4). Then in the next verse, Moses explains the goodness of God towards the Israelites over the next forty years. Their clothes had not worn out; they had been sustained with nutrition even though there was no bread or strong drink in the wilderness. When they came to a land where kings wanted to fight them, God gave the Israelites the victory, even though these Israelites had never been to war or fought battles before. Then in verse 9, Moses tells the Israelites to KEEP the words of the covenant that God had provided to them (v. 9) so that they would prosper in all they did. Think about this… these people saw the miracles (or their direct relatives did in their lifetime… their parents who witnessed the miracles and spoke of them), then they were cared for in a way that seems supernatural (showing God’s grace and mercy) and THEN they were asked to follow God’s ways (keep the words of the covenant). Why? According to verses 12-13, so that they would enter the covenant and He would establish them for a people unto Himself. He had already shown them the evil of the world as they passed through nations in their wanderings. They had been enslaved to the Egyptians and then saw the abominations (evils) of the people and their idols of wood and stone and silver and gold (vs. 16-17). They knew that God spoke to them and that these idols could not speak. These nations of which they passed through were known for sacrificing their children to their gods. The abominations of these people are enumerated in other parts of Scripture… but these Israelites saw them first hand.
Why did God walk the people through the slavery in Egypt and then allow them to see these abominations, all while taking care of them in things like their clothes and their sustenance? In Deuteronomy 29:18 it states, “Lest there be among you any whose heart would turn away from the LORD our God.” God was showing the people His goodness in contrast to the evil of the world. God ALWAYS gives us a choice. He does not FORCE us to follow Him. He shows His goodness against the backdrop of the evil around us. In Deuteronomy 29:20, He gives a warning… if one turns from the LORD to these evil ways, He will blot out his name from under heaven. The Bible tells us of this blotting out a couple of times in Scripture. The one blotted out will not be able to live eternally in the presence of God (that is another whole study which is worth doing). The Israelites are warned that if they turn away from God, others will see the terrible things that will happen to them (because God’s mercy is not present to protect them… since they reject it) and they will wonder why these terrible things happened. The answer is that the people forsook the covenant of the LORD God (verse 25). In other words, they SAW the evil of the world (being slaves) and they SAW the goodness of God (letting them leave the slavery through miraculous means and being cared for in the wilderness for 40 years, even being able to defeat those that would come against them), and they SAW the evils of other nations, and they CHOSE to turn AWAY from the God who treated them well. This is an example of God showing us the evil that the world has to offer and His goodness… so that we might CHOOSE to follow Him. It is a choice. He does not hide these things from us (see Deuteronomy 29:29).
All of Deuteronomy 30 shows exactly how God gives us a choice. His mercy and love are revealed through this chapter. We are told in verse 1 that WHEN the Israelites walk through times of blessing and times of cursing… good things and bad things… if they RETURN to the LORD their God (vs. 2) and obey His voice with all their heart and soul (this cannot be lip service), then the LORD God will turn them from the evil (their captivity) and have compassion on them (vs. 3). This seems to be God’s way. He has MERCY on us. When we turn from Him, He simply removes His mercy and the evil of the world comes upon us. But, if we turn to Him, He showers us with His mercy. In much of the rest of chapter 30, the word “IF” is used. No matter how far we fall away from God, when we decide that the evil is too much and we turn back to Him, He says in verse 4 that He will fetch us from the outmost parts of heaven. In verse 5 it says He will bring us back (okay, He is speaking about the Israelites and bringing them back into their promised land… but this equally applies to us when we investigate Jesus’ words in the New Testament). In Deuteronomy 30:6, the LORD their God will circumcise their hearts… it is a work done by the Lord. In the New Testament, we are told that we are a new creation when we accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior (2 Corinthians 5:17). Why would we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior… why would we choose to follow God? Because we have seen our own depravity and what the evil of the world has to offer and what God has to offer in His goodness… we allow God to circumcise our hearts… tear away that which kept us from Him… and we choose to follow Him because of His goodness.
IF we accept Him (turn back to Him with all our heart and with all our soul (vs. 6)), then He protects us from our enemies (Deuteronomy 30:7), and He prospers us (vs. 8-9) in that we will produce fruit (abide in Jesus and He abides in us and we will produce much fruit (John 15)). Again, in Deuteronomy 30:10, we see the word “IF” … If you listen to the LORD your God; IF you turn to the LORD your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul. It is a choice! God is not hiding anything from us. He shows us the evil and He displays His goodness. Again, He shows His love and states in Deuteronomy 30:15, “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.” It is a choice! God wants to shower us with His love (v. 16), BUT (v. 17) it is our choice! This is God’s heart… He wants us to choose Him. He shows what life is like without Him in the fallen world, and He shows His goodness. He will not force us, however. That would not be love and God is love (1 John 4:8).
Here is God’s plea to us… as it was to the Israelites back in the days of Moses: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)
God first showed His miracles. Usually there is something in our lives that happens that makes us realize there is a God… and that He is miraculous. Then He shows His goodness to us. We may see things we had not noticed before which draw us to God… which draw us to desire a relationship with Him. Then we choose to follow Him and, only after that, He shows what He desires of us… to follow His ways and keep his commandments and statutes (to protect our hearts). When we turn from those ways, He reminds us of the evil we turned from and He gives us the opportunity always to return to Him, no matter how far we have fallen (from the outmost parts of heaven… Deuteronomy 30:4). He keeps showing us His goodness compared to the evil and death that comes upon us when we turn from Him. In the end, there will be a perfect world where there is no evil or death. We are given the choice to choose to go there for eternity or not. God, in His infinite wisdom shows us what we will be escaping from… what evil is like as compared to what He has to offer us … and He asks us to choose Him and His ways. It is always a choice. God appears to be a gentleman through and through. He keeps showing His goodness and keeps asking us to accept it. So, what is your choice today? He set before you life and good, or death and evil. How could you ever know joy and goodness without knowing that evil? God is good… He is love… and He has shown His love amid the evil that we might choose His love. It is your choice!
None of the above explains why there is evil in the world. However, God does show that He uses this evil to show His goodness. We are told in Genesis that evil entered the world when Adam sinned, then death came upon us all. According to Genesis, the reason evil and death came into the world is that Adam and Eve failed to see God’s goodness. After the evil entered the world, then they could see. They saw the goodness of God from the very start, but it was not obvious until they turned from that goodness. So, why is there evil in the world? I do not know… but I know that in seeing that evil, it makes me desire the goodness of God even more. Because of God’s goodness, I believe in Him. I have seen the goodness personally. So, because I have seen evil and good, death and life, I choose to follow God! I choose life!
Lately, I have had many reasons to be walking on water, so-to-speak, with respect to my faith. I have seen God move in both my life and the lives of those around me. I have been keeping my eyes on God through the highs of life, through the exciting things that are happening around me. In the midst of those highs, struggles have come. I have been drawn to Jesus because of the storms that swirl around me, and yet, I see Jesus right there beside me and I am not afraid.
This weekend, something different hit me, and I found myself doubting and fearing. This morning, as I read in Matthew 14, I realized what happened from a Spiritual perspective. In Matthew 14, Jesus had constrained his disciples to get into a ship after the feeding of the 5000 people. He sent them away while he sent the multitudes away so that He (Jesus) could go into a mountain to pray. There came up a storm in the night and the ship, on which the disciples were, was tossed by the waves. It was literally the fourth watch of the night… the darkest part of the night… meaning it had been a long, strenuous night for the disciples. During this watch, they saw Jesus walking toward the boat on the sea. At first, they were troubled and they cried out for fear. I find it interesting (although this is not the point of this blog) that it wasn’t the storm that troubled the disciples and made them fear, it was the sight of this figure coming towards them that made them fearful! Jesus spoke and told them to “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)
Peter then thought he recognized the voice of Jesus and said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Jesus told him to come. When Peter came out of the ship, he WALKED ON WATER. This, for me, is like a spiritual high. I believe that I am hearing from the Lord and I want to obey. I am quick to do what I believe he is calling me to do. That happened about a month ago. I believed the Lord called me to something. I prayed for a bit and then felt His confirmation. I moved forward, made plans, and then continued moving forward… walking on water (so-to-speak). But, “when he [Peter] saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid” (v. 30) and he began to sink!
This weekend, something about my plans became difficult. There was a storm thrown into the mix that I did not foresee. In my flesh, I cried out to God. I decided in my fear that I was not going to move forward. I began to sink. I felt fear and anxiety over the situation. I was sinking… because of my doubt. When Peter began to sink, he cried out saying, “Lord, save me.” I was in that place. I knelt at the altar and someone, during our prayer time at church, read 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” Humility is simply taking no thought for yourself. That is exactly what I was doing. I was fearful. I was afraid for myself, my emotions, my challenges. I realized then that God had called me to this. He knew waaaayyyy before I did what circumstances were going to surround this calling, even if I didn’t know. He was telling me to do as He calls, not taking any thought for myself. I need to walk in obedience.
Peter cried out while he was sinking. He HAD NOT SANK!! He knew to whom He needed to call out… and he did. Immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught Peter. His words to Peter spoke so clearly to me this morning, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) This all happened WHILE Jesus and Peter were STILL ON THE WATER.
Maybe there are things God calls us to. Maybe He calls us while we are on a spiritual high (again, so-to-speak). We are walking in faith, even in the storms of life, and we are feeling brave because we have our eyes on Jesus. But, then, maybe something gets thrown at us that we didn’t expect. Remember, Jesus constrained the disciples to get on the ship. He sat on a mountain praying. He walked on water to the disciples. He KNEW the storm was there! Peter wasn’t sure that he heard the voice of Jesus, but when he was sure, he walked right out onto that water to meet Jesus. Then, for a moment, he looked away and began to sink. He didn’t completely sink… Jesus caught Him. Jesus’s only words to Peter were, “Why did you doubt?”
Oh God, forgive me for doubting. I am so grateful that You didn’t let me sink. You showed me that you have “constrained me” for this time/event. You knew beforehand what storms would come. You simply want me to walk in humility, taking no thought for myself, and follow you. You want to show Yourself strong. You want to be exalted through my humility. Oh God, teach me to keep my eyes clearly focused on you. And, when I doubt, as we all do, thank you that you stretch forth your hand and catch us. Oh God, thank you for your loving kindnesses. In Jesus’s precious and Holy Name I pray, Amen.
Read the following Scriptures carefully. What do they all have in common?
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”
Romans 1:8
“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;”
Ephesians 1:15-16
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
Philippians 1:3-11
“We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truthof the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: 7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. 9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
Colossians 1:3-14
“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; 4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.”
1 Thessalonians 1:2-4
“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; 4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:”
2 Thessalonians 1:3-5
Paul was super excited to thank God for fellow believers. Why? What did Paul have to gain? He gained persecution, poverty, and distress of all kinds. There was nothing for him to gain by sharing the gospel except more trouble from the authorities and those who did not like the message. And, yet, Paul was excited when people accepted the Truth of the Gospel and came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul found the grace of God and shared it with others and wanted others to know that grace too (Philippians 1:7). Paul desired that those who believed would grow in love toward others (Ephesians 1:15, Philippians 1:9). Paul was excited that others gained that hope of heaven which spurs us on to love and good works (Colossians 1:5, 10). Paul was excited that these fellow believers would have a reward … an inheritance and forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:12-14). Paul was excited that as the believers’ faith grew so did their love for others despite their persecutions (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).
Some people do not understand this. Christians are not sharing the gospel and looking for converts to the faith in order to gain riches and popularity. Oh, I know there are some people that do this. However, those that are truly in love with Christ just want others to know that same joy, peace and abundance of life. Like Paul, we share with others and we grieve when others do not understand the truth of the gospel because they are missing out on the greatest grace and joy we could ever have. Like Paul, we want others to have that inheritance of eternal life. We want others to experience that joy and love for others despite the hardships of life. We are overjoyed when we hear of others who are walking in the truth… not because we have anything to gain from it personally, but because we understand the joy that comes from being in relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His Father who is both our God and Father.
It is interesting that, just as in Paul’s day, when people come to accept the gospel, the Word of Truth, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and truly follow Him (making Him the Lord of their lives), people become more loving to others even when others are not kind to them. The people who follow Jesus Christ begin to do works of righteousness, not because they are forced to do so, but out of love for others. The people who follow Jesus Christ begin to labor for others and pray earnestly that others may come to see the truth too. Why? Because, in short, God is good and this gospel is truly such good news that we honestly want others to know it too. This is why Christians pray so fervently for their loved ones who do not know or accept the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ… the gospel of God… the goodness that God has given to us. Christians pray fervently for those they love, that they would see the goodness of God because it is worth it! Just as Paul said over and over again, “we thank God” for those that we know that have received because we know that they have found the greatest gift life has to offer.
If you are not a Christian and you know a Christian who is praying for you, please understand that it is because they love you… and, even more, they love Jesus Christ and they want to share that awesome love with you! Faith, Hope, and Love… these three remain… (1 Thessalonians 1:3) and the greatest of these is love!
This week in reading 1John, and walking through the week with family and friends, I learned something valuable. I love the way God allows us to read something, or brings it to our attention, just at that moment where He is going to give us a real life example. I believe that I learned more from reading 1John this time than any other time. For me, it became one big thought. And, what is that thought? IF YOU HAVE SEEN JESUS, there is an excitement in your relationship with Him. (1John 1:1-3) When that excitement is there, He wants you to hold on to that joy (1John 1:4-5). He then tells us what we gain from this relationship with Him… we can walk in the light and the truth and have a cleansing from our sins (1John 1:5-9). And, yes, we continue to mess up. Who doesn’t ever, ever sin? (No one according to 1John 1:8, except, of course, Jesus Christ.) But, He forgives us when we confess those sins. He does not see us as the failure, He sees us as someone who has done something wrong and we have the chance to make it right!
In 1John 2, John reminds us that it is only Jesus Christ who has given us this ability to be continually in right relationship with God. Jesus is the one who took the penalty for our sins… and not only ours who accept it, but even those who do not. In other words, God does not love someone who does not believe in Him any less. However, they have chosen to not have relationship… which is what the rest of John’s first letter seems to be about… relationship (fellowship).
In 1John 2, we are told how to have fellowship. If we truly know Jesus and understand what He did for us, we will want to follow His ways. Why? because they bring us a peace. He perfects us or completes us. When we are made whole, there is a peace in our lives. If we do not understand the love of God, how can we possibly love others? And, when we do not show love to others, there is such contention. John continues in 1John 2 to show us that we should love the Father and His ways and not the world’s ways. This world WILL pass away. We will come to an end! The talk this week in our home brought to light the concern with the way the world is going right now. John even addresses that! There will be people who are against Christ and against Christians. However, no matter what others might say about you or to you, “This is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life.” (1John 1:25) This is our hope and so we should abide in Christ.
John then seems to stop and reflect on that great love of Christ all over again in 1John 3. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” (verse 1) That love that we accept from God makes us different! The world cannot understand (1John 3:1). I see this truth in those who are not Christians, those who seem to just not understand me. That is okay. There is a peace. “We are the sons of God” (1John 3:2) Because we are the sons of God, we purify ourselves as Christ is pure. Why would we do that? Because we love Him! When we are trying to please our spouse, we do those things that we believe will please that spouse. Why would it be any different with Christ? He was manifested (shown to us) to take away our sins… (v. 5) Because He did this, we should love one another because we should see the great love He has shown us as an example. “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” (1John 3:13) A follower of Christ may look different, and those around them may see them as “holier than thou” or “just ignorant and stupid.” The Apostle John anticipated that too. He said in 1John 3:19 “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him”. Also, in 1John 3:24, he said, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” What a peace we gain from stepping back and remembering that we are children of God… and that He loves us enough to fellowship with us… to have a relationship with us.
Then in 1John 4, we are warned that not everyone will understand, and that not everyone even wants to. However, we are assured that we overcome what the world throws at us (1John 4:4). When in our hearts we only and always want to speak about God and His ways and His doings, the world does not understand: “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (v. 6) And how does this truth work itself out in our lives? We love one another because love is of God. God proved that love to us by sending His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. (1John 4:9) If we are living through Him, then we abide in Him, and we do those things He wants us to do and we love others: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (1John 4:11) And, “We love Him, BECAUSE HE first loved us.” (1John 4:19)
John then ends his letter with a great excitement… “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world.” (1John 5:4) And how do we overcome? “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” But, this is not a blind faith as some will say. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself” (v. 10) “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may KNOW Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (v. 20), which He hath given to us in His Son (v. 11). John tells us that He wrote these things so that we may know that we have eternal life and that we might believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1John 5:5)
Why would John be so bold as to tell us this? Who is He to tell us anything? That brings me back to where I first started… BECAUSE John HEARD, SAW, LOOKED upon, and HANDLED with His hands the Lord Jesus Christ. (1John 1:1) And not only that, John bore witness to what he saw and he so wanted us to all know too. Why does John want us to know? He wants us to experience eternal life because He understood the joy of the relationship with Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father. Thus, John wrote these things unto us “that our joy may be full.” (1John 1:4) This is always my hope too… that others would come to know the Love that God has bestowed on us through Jesus Christ and that this love is worth more than life itself. I want to share what God has given to me because I have that joy of which John spoke. Would you consider, if you have not already, seeking that joy as well? It begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ!
Have you ever met someone that appears profoundly sad much of the time? Maybe it appears that there is an absence of joy… not just happiness, but joy (there is a difference)? It is hard to watch someone be in this state when you know that God wants to give this person His joy, even in very difficult circumstances. Christians understand this joy and often want to share it with others. When I hear a deep sadness in people, I often wonder if the peace of God would bring joy to their Spirit. Jesus says that He came to give us His joy… so I cannot help but believe that the peace of God would definitely bring joy to a joyless countenance. I see a difference between those that truly know Christ, and those that either just know of Christ or have rejected Him altogether. Those who truly know Christ seem to handle difficult circumstances in a much different way. There is a joy that comes through even in the sadness and difficulties. I cannot even explain this except to say that I am not the only Christ follower that I know who sees this difference too. This is the drive for me… the drive to want to hold forth the Word of God to others so that they might know Jesus too… truly know Him. That knowledge brings his peace (He says so…) and a joy (His joy…) and comfort beyond measure in our difficult circumstances.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27
“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
John 15:11
When I hold forth the Word, I am holding forth the truth of God. This truth comes with evidence. We all know people who tell us that they are “telling us the truth”, and yet, the evidence does not seem to bear witness to that truth. So, yes, there is a truth… and if it is truth, then the evidence will support it (whether or not we choose to believe it). For instance, someone may tell me about an experience that they have been through, and it may be very, very difficult to believe. However, if someone were to show me video coverage of that experience or provide me many witnesses who all say the same thing, I would then have the evidence needed to believe it. So, at first, the truth was presented to me, and I didn’t believe. That did not change the truth of the situation. However, when the evidence became clear, then I could not possibly deny the truth.
The truth of Jesus Christ was presented to me in a similar way. I did not grow up as a Christian. I went to church pretty regularly, but I did not understand what being a Christian meant. I knew of Jesus Christ and I believed there was a God. I began to read the Bible when I was in my late 20s and there was significant evidence being presented to me of God’s true existence. However, when I discovered what the Bible said about Jesus Christ being the Savior and the Son of God, and that He came to set me free from the shame of my sins, I was presented with evidence that I had not heard before. The evidence for this truth built for several years as I read the Bible and found what it said about Jesus and God. The evidence then became enough for me to believe the truth when Jesus Christ personally presented Himself to me as I confessed that I was a sinner and I wanted Him to take this shame from me. He met me there… I physically felt His presence.
Of course, this physical presence of Jesus Christ with me cannot be an experience that I can share with others. I did not have a video camera and no one could see this. So, this experience is hard to use as evidence that the Bible is the Truth of God leading us to Jesus Christ as our savior from our sins. However, I accepted this as truth and then was on a journey to find more evidence. As I did, I began to share what evidence I found with pretty much anyone that would listen. The truth became more and more evident to me. I have been questioned about this truth over and over again. As I go to search for the answers, even through my own skepticism, I find that there are always answers to the questions which support the truth that I have come to accept. Of course, if someone were to show me evidence against the truth, I would have to reconsider. However, that has not happened. In fact, the more I search for evidence against this truth that I have come to accept, the more evidence I find for this truth.
So, what is my point in all of this? If we find something to be true, and it changes our life for the better, we usually want to share that with others. We do this with our health, our finances, where we live, new activities, and so on. We usually cannot wait to share something that we find works well in our lives. We also love to share what we think is true. Isn’t that why Facebook is flooded with fact-checks? Everyone wants to know whether or not they are being lied to. We want the truth. In fact, even habitual liars are angered when someone tells them a lie! Isn’t that interesting? So, why is truth so important to us? That is another whole topic… somehow the desire to want the truth must be hardwired into us… and where does that hardwiring come from? For me, the answer to that question is again further truth of the existence of God.
Anyhow, here is the point. I have shared what I have found to be the truth with many, many people because I believe it is the truth. God’s Word (as I found the Bible to be) tells us about God, about ourselves, about our relationship to God, and about our relationships with each other. God’s Word addresses the big questions we all have about life. When Jesus came to me, and God’s Word confirmed my experiences, my life changed. My life is not always happy. I have faced some really hard circumstances; we all do. However, I have a peace and a joy even in all of that. I have a hope that I see missing in so many others who do not hold to the truth that I have found. Because I have found what I believe to be the truth, I hold it out to others and try to share with them. I so want them to know the freedom that I have found. I want them to experience life, and life abundantly (as Jesus calls it) so that they, too, have a peace and joy even in the difficult circumstances. It is hard to watch people suffer… even harder when you believe you have the answer and they aren’t even open to hearing what you have to share with them… evidence and all.
Today, I feel like Paul must have felt. “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16) It is heart breaking that when we share the truth, people actually begin to hate us. People tell me they don’t want to hear. A distance begins to grow between the ones I love and me. I have been cutoff many different ways… whether just on Facebook, or in person, or through no phone calls. Regardless, my heart breaks… “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?”
In “Then I Knew: Part 1”, Jeremiah heard the Word of the Lord come to him telling him that his uncle’s son was going to ask him to purchase his field from him. Then, the uncle’s son did come and ask Jeremiah, and Jeremiah “knew that this was the word of the LORD.”
Jeremiah actually went to the full extent of purchasing the land and then going through all of the formalities to prove that purchase. He trusted God fully at this point as he thought he heard from the LORD and then the confirmation came that He actually did hear from the LORD. Jeremiah was obedient to what the LORD spoke to him. Jeremiah had learned to listen for the LORD’s voice and appears to also have learned to be patient and wait for discernment when he heard something in which he was not sure.
For me, this example gives me hope. The LORD spoke to me many years ago when our daughter ran away the first time. It was obvious that the LORD had spoken to me. I heard His voice in my mind. The words brought comfort and fit the situation exactly. There was no doubt in my mind that the LORD had spoken these words… directly to my heart. It was only later that day, after I was sharing the words with someone, that I found that these words were actually a verse in Scripture. That, to me, was confirmation that it was God’s voice that I heard.
About a year after our daughter ran away the second time, while she was still gone, the LORD spoke through His Word again, confirming what was happening with my daughter. His Words in the passage of Scripture in which I was reading said EXACTLY what was happening with her… in her own words. I did not go looking for these words; God brought them to me. I was reading my daily reading plan and happened to be in this same passage of Scripture where the first verse was given to me about my daughter years before. I could not believe it. Here, in God’s Word, He seemed to be laying out her journey in life for these few years. The first verse was at the beginning of the passage… as was the first time she ran away. Then, in her journey of being gone, the Lord’s word spoke exactly what was happening in her life… in this same passage of Scripture. I sat amazed at God’s perfect timing, at God’s great comfort and peace. It was not a pretty picture being painted in Scripture, but God knew! God knew and God showed me that He knew! Even in my despair, God provided me a great comfort in that He knew… and He used His Words to tell me so.
Now, fast forward another year. I happen to be reading in my daily reading plan (as I try to read the Bible through each year) and I was at this same passage of Scripture. I was amazed to find how all that had transpired in my daughter’s life was laid out there in the Scriptures even more fully. This time, however, there was the final verse. I believe it is a word to me about her. It is my Jeremiah moment. I heard from the Lord, but it has not come to pass. I am looking for the events to unfold. I am waiting for His timing. I trust that since He spoke to me so many other times before that He is truly speaking this time too. But, like Jeremiah, I must wait. There is nothing that I can do. I cannot make this happen. It seems impossible. All I can do is trust that, if this is from the LORD, He will bring it to pass. Then, (spiritually speaking) there will be the evidence as Jeremiah had to produce evidence of His purchase. This evidence will be that God does speak. It will be the evidence that God tells forth future events. It will be the evidence that God knows the beginning and the ending and that He foretells and then brings it to pass that we might know that He is God.
If you believe you have heard from the LORD, but there is nothing that you can do to make it happen… then follow Jeremiah’s example. Wait! God will bring it to pass if it is from him. “Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 32:8)
Jeremiah, in the book of Jeremiah, hears God’s voice often. In fact, the phrase “the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah”, or some derivation of this, appears many times in this book. Jeremiah was told by God on many instances what message he was to give to the people. Jeremiah was in the habit of listening to the Lord’s voice and responding to it in obedience. However, there is one instance where Jeremiah seems uncertain whether or not he heard from the Lord.
In Jeremiah 32:6-7, it states that Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came unto me, saying ‘Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.’” Now, with that being said, Jeremiah may have wondered whether he had really heard from God. Jeremiah was already in prison at this time for speaking forth the words of the Lord. People generally do not like to hear prophecies that indicate that they will be carried away from their own land or even killed. Jeremiah could have thought that there was no way that he could have some sort of normal interaction, like purchasing a piece of property, while in prison. Jeremiah may also have tried to take the situation into his own hands by attempting to summon his uncle’s son to make this deal happen. Jeremiah could even have thought, “This cannot possibly be from God”, since God had spoken through Jeremiah on numerous occasions that the Israelites were going to be taken from the land and no one in their right mind would purchase land knowing they were going to lose it. It appears that Jeremiah did not do anything when he heard this word; rather, he waited.
In Jeremiah 32:8a, we find the next event. “So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself.” Now, it might seem obvious that Hanameel was operating in fear. It seemed obvious to the nation of Israel already that the land was going to be taken over by the Babylonians as they had already carried off some of the Israelites and destroyed many cities in Israel already. So, Hanameel appears to be looking for a way out of losing everything. At least if he could sell his land, he would have the money. The land was going to be taken away from him anyhow. (At least this is how it appears to me.) In any case, here is what Jeremiah thought about the situation: Jeremiah 32:8b “Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.” And, Jeremiah obeyed the LORD and purchased the land.
What stood out to me in all of this is that Jeremiah did not seem certain that He had heard from the LORD. He was accustomed to listening for the Lord’s voice. Yet, in this instance, it said that He knew it was a word from the LORD only AFTER what he heard happened. Jeremiah’s experience somehow validates many of my experiences. In times past, God has spoken to me. Sometimes I knew for sure that this was a word from the Lord to me; there was no doubt in my mind. However, other times, I have wondered if I was hearing from the Lord or not. Sometimes the words seem impossible. Sometimes I just do not understand what I believe the Lord is conveying to me. In those times, I will usually write them in my journal with a question mark and ask, “God, are you speaking to me?” Then, only time will tell, whether or not, I actually heard from the Lord. Read “Then I Knew: Part 2” for the rest of this story about Jeremiah.
I am watching the events in politics unfold, just as everyone else in America is doing, and I stand in awe. I am not a prophet, so I do not claim to speak about future events. However, I am amazed at how some of the events in our time is paralleling those of Biblical times. We all know the reason that we study history is two-fold. First, we want to know how we got to where we are, and secondly, if we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. I heard a quote that stated that news is just old things happening to new people. So, when I read Jeremiah 14 this morning, I was struck by the parallels during the time of the end of Judah and what appears to be happening in America today.
First, I would like to state that as I observe the politics in our country, many people, including many Christians, appear to believe that President Trump is going to save our country. Maybe that is true and maybe it isn’t. I believe we are seeing the spiritual temperature of our country through the executive orders that are being signed and the bills being introduced into Congress. They are heart breaking as they promote so much of what God calls sin. If statistics are correct, and our Senate numbers are any indication, there is about half of our country that agrees with these executive orders and bills… that agrees with promoting the things that are against God.
In Jeremiah 14:10, it says, “Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander [that means to stray from His ways], they have not refrained their feet [in today’s American society, there doesn’t even appear to be any shame in doing so], therefore the LORD doth not accept them; He will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.”
This is my concern for America. In God’s Word, we often see that the punishment that He brings upon a people who turn from Him and His ways is simply to LET THE PEOPLE DO WHATEVER IS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN EYES. In other words, He lets people destroy themselves by turning them over to the desires of their own hearts. (Romans 1:24)
Reading a little further in Jeremiah 14, Jeremiah is crying out to God and saying that the prophets had foretold peace in the land (Jeremiah 14:13). However, the LORD did not see it this way; in fact, the LORD said, “The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.” (Jeremiah 14:14) Now, I do not know if people who are making predictions today are actually prophesying truth or not. Some would say, “But all of the prophets are hearing the same thing.” This reminds me of the time in 1 Kings 22 when the prophet Micaiah prophesied something completely different than the 400 other prophets who said that the king should “fight” with an enemy and he would be delivered. (Read that again…. FOUR HUNDRED prophets prophesied the same thing!) Micaiah told the king that he would not survive the battle and that his people would lose. What did the king do? He put Micaiah in prison. (Read 1 Kings 22 for reference.) When Micaiah was defending his prophecy, this is the thing that he said, “Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his rights hand and on his left.” (1 Kings 22:19)
The LORD is on the throne! This point is the one that must be remembered by God’s people. It does not matter if the prophets get it right or wrong. It does not matter if Trump is President or Biden is President. It does not matter if the votes were counted wrong or not. It does not matter if Trump is found guilty or not guilty. What matters is this one thing: THE LORD IS ON THE THRONE!
We are naive if we believe that we can “thwart” God’s plans. We are naive if we think the enemy has won and changed God’s plans. It may look like the enemy is winning, but God knows all things in advance and uses everything to bring about His desires in all situations. So, what are we to do?
I personally believe that the current political state of our country is a picture of our spiritual state. Look around… there are many, many people who call themselves Christians, and yet, when one looks at their Facebook pages, one would have to wonder. Do we truly represent Christ in our country? Are we truly following God? Can we act in ways that are not pleasing to God and then call out others who are not pleasing Him when they do not even claim to be Christians? Do we truly believe that if we have the “right” president that everything will be okay? Do we truly believe that we can legislate morality? Doesn’t that have to begin in our own hearts?
Jeremiah prayed to the LORD at the end of Jeremiah 14, “We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.” (vs. 20) He continues to pray, “Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.” (Jeremiah 14:21) Jeremiah called on God’s promises to the nation of Israel where God said that He would always leave them a remnant and that He would not utterly destroy them. The unfortunate truth for America is this: we do not have a promise in God’s Word that He will protect America. The promises we have are that any people that turn against Israel will be cursed and those that support Israel will be blessed. We have the individual promises that God is always with those who believe in Him and trust in Him and He will never leave them nor forsake them. But, for our country as a whole, there is not one promise in the Word of God to stand on. So, what are we to do?
Pray… pray… pray… and do not trust in the king (president). Do not trust in the politicians. Do not trust in the voting machines. Do not trust in the legal system. Do not trust in ourselves. Remember, the LORD IS ON THE THRONE… and when we need Him, we should seek Him and Him alone. We must humble ourselves and not trust in ourselves, but trust in the LORD GOD who is able to save us.
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. LET US THEREFORE COME BOLDLY UNTO THE THRONE OF GRACE, THAT WE MAY OBTAIN MERCY, AND FIND GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED. Heb 4:14-16
This is our time of need. Repent… meaning… change the way one looks at things… turn from looking to the world and the president and the legal system… Repent… and believe in Jesus Christ as the LORD (meaning MASTER) and Savior (not from the consequences of this world… but unto eternal life) and TRUST in GOD!! He IS ON THE THRONE NOW AND FOREVER!
In this picture, which one is bigger? The red one or the blue one?
Would you believe me if I said that they are exactly the same size as each other? Here are a couple of pictures with one on top of the other to provide the evidence.
Now, of course, you may think that I did some “magic” with my camera to make this happen. We actually use these cards to share a message of good news to people. You see, even when people hold these cards in their own hands, they often cannot figure out why they look a different size even when it is obvious that they are exactly the same size when laid upon each other. (I scooted them apart a little when laid on top of each other to show that both cards are there… because they really do completely hide each other when laid on top of each other.)
I am no photographer and I struggled to try to get the pictures to look exactly like I was seeing them in front of me. I had to be careful about how far the camera was from the object when I snapped the picture and I had to resize the photos as I didn’t have them the same size when brought into this document… making it very difficult to demonstrate what is EASILY demonstrated in person… when we can touch and feel and see something with our own eyes.
Now, you have two choices at this point. You either believe me when I say that they are the same size and here is my evidence, or you don’t. Why would you refuse to believe? There are, of course, a couple of reasons. Maybe you know me to be a fraud. That would definitely make me doubt someone if I already knew that their word was questionable. Secondly, you may refuse to believe because you have some preconceived notion that this cannot possibly happen. We have all come to some conclusions in our lives that we are not willing to easily depart from, even when presented with the evidence. The third reason is simply because you believe it but you don’t want to accept it. Maybe by stating that you accept that the cards really are the same shape and size, you would have to accept something else… the fact that I am not lying, the fact that it doesn’t matter what you previously thought, or some other reason.
Here is the point I am trying to make. I had a conversation with someone not too long ago. They were trying to express why they believed something to be true. I realized that the evidence they were giving seemed to me to be something that they would only believe because they saw it with their own eyes. No amount of other evidence from someone else was going to make a difference. However, as these cards demonstrate easily, our eyes are not reliable. For instance, let’s say someone measured your hand and they did not give you the dimensions of your hand. Now, put your hand right in front of your face. Your eyes would tell you that this hand is HUGE. Next, hold your hand at arm’s length from your face… now your eyes would tell you that your hand is smaller. Now, assume that you won’t believe anyone unless you see it with your own eyes, but someone who measured your hand tells you the measurement of your hand and tells you that it is the same size whether it is close to you or not. Would you believe them? If you were only going with what your eyes are telling you, you would have to answer honestly that you could not believe that person. However, you have other evidence that this person may be telling you the truth. You have personal experience to suggest otherwise. You took this experience and now you can know that when a tree is close to you, it looks huge and when it is far away, it looks small. You have most likely come to believe that the tree is the same size either way… but your eyes deceive you.
Somewhere along the line in our lives, we have to discern when to trust others and when to only trust our eyes. Why? Well, can you be all over the world all of the time? How do we know what other parts of the world look like? Someone had a camera, probably a movie camera, and they filmed these things. We come to believe that what we see is true, even if we are only looking at a machine with electronics in it that accepts signals, and figures out how to display them based on an algorithm. But, for some reason, we trust that we are seeing something that someone is saying is truly there. Yes, we are using our eyes, but we are also trusting the one that is saying they are filming some place. We cannot see it directly for ourselves, but we trust because for some reason we have evidence… evidence outside of our own direct experience.
Now, we can turn to things like politics and aliens and … think of something you find hard to believe… and we can use the same rationale. I have not personally seen the things being expressed on the news with respect to our politicians… so how can I trust any of these people, if I have not personally SEEN with my own eyes? The same goes for aliens. How can I trust those that say they see them when I have not seen them with my own eyes?
This leads me to the real point I am trying to make. At some point, something outside of ourselves has to be trusted for our information. We cannot possibly know everything because we cannot see everything with our own eyes. We all have to make judgment calls, or trust, or believe, based on the evidence that is presented to us. When we refuse to look at the evidence, then we are really saying that only things that I see with my own eyes can be true. The fact of the matter is your hand does not change sizes when it is close and when it is far away. At some point, our eyes cannot be trusted. So, who do we trust for the “truth” in different matters? We must look for the evidence. We will find that the evidence often lies outside our sphere of “expertise”. I have never studied the stars in heaven or the intricate workings of my body. When a doctor tells me that I need to take a certain medicine to feel better… or even a friend of mine who will give me different advice… I have to decide who I will believe. I will have to weigh the evidence to come to a conclusion. I will look for education, accountability, motives, facts that others can attest to, and so on. In short, I will gather the evidence and weigh it against what I have experienced in my life and found to be true.
My concern, the reason I am writing this, is that there are people who will tell you that they will not even look at the evidence… or even when the evidence is presented to them.. they will not believe it. They have already made up their minds not to believe. Why? Because they haven’t seen it with their own eyes! Do they know, then, that their great grandparents lived in a certain place? Did they see it or did they hear that from their parents and have to weigh the evidence to find the truth? Can we believe that Abraham Lincoln or George Washington lived? How would any of us know if we didn’t accept the “evidence” of the historical writings of them? I am not saying that we are to believe everything everyone tells us. But, I am concerned that far too many people decide in their minds that they believe something to be true ONLY if they see it with their own eyes. How does knowledge pass from one generation to the next? How do cultures sustain themselves? How do we learn to survive in an ever changing world? How do we come to know the truth, if we reject any evidence outside of ourselves? Doesn’t that simply make us a god unto ourselves?
All this is written simply to challenge those that hold views and are not willing to weigh the evidence and come to their conclusion based on the evidence. No, we will not all have to understand every field of expertise. I’ve been blamed for not understanding everything going on in our American political situation. I’ve been blamed for not TAKING the time required to understand everything about the drugs presented to us or the food or the cultural ideas or the music styles and so on. The fact is, not all of us have the time to discover everything on our own. Sometimes we have to operate on little evidence with no time to investigate beyond what we can see. But, when it comes to the big questions of life (Where did I come from? What is my purpose here? How should I live? Where am I headed?), shouldn’t we take the time to investigate? We may not SEE all of the evidence with our eyes alone. But, if God is real, don’t we believe that He would want us to understand the questions we assume He put in our hearts. Why do we all have these questions and seek for these answers? We may need to trust history, science, archeology, eye witnesses, circumstantial evidence, etc. in order to find the answers. My challenge is this… don’t just assume that you can only know something is true if you SEE it personally yourself. You just might fool yourself into believing that your hand actually shrinks as you pull it away from your face.
In the last post Falling Away (Ezra Part 1) I saw an analogy of our lives in the book of Ezra. I saw that we need to have a firm foundation so that we can build the temple of our lives (our bodies, our homes, and our churches) to allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within and among us. After the foundation was built in Ezra 3, then the enemies around Jerusalem began attacking trying to stop the building of the temple. Why? What were these people afraid of?
Remember that in Ezra 3, the younger generation was praising God for the newly laid foundation of the temple and the older generation was weeping because it was not as it was before. Those around the nation heard the noise and could not discern whether or not it was joy or weeping. Unfortunately, many times Christians begin with the foundation of Christ and then they are sad because of all they feel they have to give up in order to build the temple of their lives on that foundation. Others who come to Christ are excited for the foundation for which to build their lives. The adversaries sense this contention and then move in to stop the building of the temple. Why?
I have often pondered why some people get so upset when others come to know Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. I think it is because there comes a conviction in that person’s life. Someone around them is now living to a higher standard… trying to live according to what the new creation in them leads them to. However, the person on the outside looking in at this new Christian becomes concerned that they, too, will be forced to live in a different way. Maybe they feel convictions they do not want to feel. Jesus tells us that when the Holy Spirit comes, which He calls the Comforter, that He (the Holy Spirit) will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. In other words, He will convict us of our sins which will lead us to understand our need for Christ and His salvation.
In Ezra’s life (Ezra 4:2), some people stated that they wanted to help build the temple as they stated that they, too, were seeking the God of the Israelites. However, they had actually only sacrificed to the God of the Israelites as well as their own gods to hold at bay the negative consequences of turning from Him (see 2 Kings 17). In other words, they were not truly looking to follow the God of the Israelites, but to make relative the religions of their times. In this way, everyone can continue to do what they want without feeling convicted to follow the ways of any one god. Unfortunately, this tactic worked to weaken the hands of those building the temple. When we try to mix Christ and His teachings with other religions and other ways, we often find that our faith is weakened.
Next, the surrounding people stated that the Israelites building the temple were “rebellious and a bad city” in Ezra 4:13. Some people just totally reject any appearances of following only ONE way, Jesus Christ, and therefore state that Christians are rebellious to the authorities. When I think of this, I cannot help but think of the verse that states “they call good evil and evil good.” Regardless of the means of trying to stop the building of the temple, it worked. The building project ceased for a time (Ezra 4:24). This is where my heart is breaking in today’s society. We are watching the church fade away in so many places. People that call themselves Christians often do not look anything like a Christ follower. There is so much intermingled in their faith that their faith is weak. The enemy has sought to attach itself to the Christians… heresy in the churches. The enemy has stated that the church is rebellious and evil … those that blame the Christians for the state of our country because we do not want abortions and we do not want the liberal gay agenda to be what our country is known for. (Disclaimer… I realize that there are other issues too… racism, socialism, far liberal left, far conservative right, etc… this is not the point that I am trying to make here… politics are outside of the context of this devotion.) Many times, we, our homes, and our churches, the places that are to be the temples for the Holy Spirit, are weak and almost do not look like places where the Holy Spirit dwells.
Why did those outside of the city fear the building of the temple? Why did they find so many ways to try to stop the building of the temple? In Ezra 4:16 it states, “If this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.” These people did not want to feel as if they had to “follow” the ways of the people of this city. The funny thing is this, the people of the city were not even attempting to make these people follow those ways. They were simply minding their own business worshipping their God and trusting Him. They were trying to build their OWN lives on the firm foundation. Of course, we may share with others… but what is the reason for this? Because we have found such abundance of joy and life that we want others to have it too. This is not a power play. It is for the same reason Jesus came to earth: we see the broken and hurting and we want to share the answer to the problem!
The final part of Ezra that really spoke to my heart is this… when the people were struggling, the prophets began to encourage them (Ezra 5:1-2). They prophesied and helped the people in building the temple. With the help and encouragement of the prophets, “they prospered and they builded and finished it (the temple).” (Ezra 6:14) We need to encourage others. We need to come alongside each other. We are told not to forsake the assembling of ourselves so that we can encourage each other unto love and good works. We need each other to build the temples of ourselves, our homes, and our churches. We need to stand firm against the enemy coming from within and without. We need to hold each other up in prayer and stand beside each other in our times of trials. If you are feeling a conviction, be the prophet who encourages others. Be the one who rejoices in the firm foundation, even if the temple doesn’t look on the outside like it used to. It is about the heart of the person, the home, the church. The foundation of Jesus Christ is needed first and foremost. After that, the temple needs to be built so that the Holy Spirit can dwell within us and among us.
Ezra’s life story is an example to us today. The enemy will come, but the foundation is needed and the temple must be built. God is on our side. He, too, wants that temple built. Jesus promised us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the One just like Him. He promised us the One that would guide us into all truth. He promised us that He would never leave us nor forsake us. Are we willing to provide a home in which He can dwell in us and with us? Let this be the challenge today… our world, our country, our communities, our churches, our families, we individually NEED to keep the temple in good condition on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ!
In the book of Ezra, there is a story which is all too often a picture of our lives with Christ. In this metaphor, our bodies are to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, our homes are to be a temple of the presence of Christ, our churches are to be a place where we worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Yet, all too often, we begin to slip into the world’s ways, and our lives do not reflect the Holy Spirit living within and among us. This is what I see in the book of Ezra.
The walls of the city were broken down when the Babylonians invaded the land some 70 or so years prior to the time of Ezra. The temple of the LORD was destroyed. Now, it was laid on the hearts of some of the people to return to build the city up as well as the temple of the LORD. Some people went back to do the work. It wasn’t easy. It required a change of lifestyle… the lifestyle they had for at least 70 years now (during the Babylonian captivity). Many did not choose to go back to Jerusalem. They fell into the lifestyle of the Babylonians and did not want to change that state. However, the few that wanted to return were given permission by Cyrus, the Persian King. This small remnant was a “feeble remnant which alone had a heart for God,” according to the introduction to the book of Ezra in my Bible commentary.
I find very often that this small remnant is one or two within their own homes or churches. Many are okay with the status quo, but there are some who want more. The question asked of the people in Babylon in Ezra 1:3 was, “Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God …” God calls His people in our homes and churches to be burdened to rebuild what God intended for our homes and churches. In the case of Ezra, there were many “the chief of the fathers… all those whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD.” (Ezra 1:5) Of the people that returned to build the house of the LORD, there were families, priests, servants, singers, Levites, all types of classes of people (Ezra 2). Some of them, when they saw the house of the LORD destroyed, “Offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place.” (Ezra 2:6-8) One of the main points here is that we have to be willing freely to set up the house of the LORD. Not one person can force another. We can lead by example. We can teach others. We can share the love of Christ… but we CANNOT force others to freely offer to the LORD. It must be FREE!
The first act the people did when they got to the temple area was to set up an altar… and made offerings to God. One of the reasons it states that they did this is because they “feared the people around them” (Ezra 3:3). One of the things that I see in our culture is that there are negative influences in our homes and in our churches. We have allowed movies, music, books, games, electronics, any type of entertainment or cultural ways, and so forth to penetrate our homes and our churches. How can we change this? First, we have to have a central point of focus. For the Israelites, this was the altar. For us, it needs to be Christ. Everything should be brought to Jesus, metaphorically, and burned that does not line up with the way we should live as Christians. Next, the Israelites “kept the feasts and the daily burnt offerings” (Ezra 3:4-5). In other words, for us, we should daily worship God in our lives… Jesus said that we are to worship in “spirit and truth.” This can happen anywhere at any time and should be a way of life for those that follow Jesus. But, again, this cannot be forced. As in Ezra 3:5, it must be a freewill offering unto the LORD. There is a warning, in Ezra 3:6, that this cannot be something done without the foundation laid. Of course, this meant the temple for the Israelites. For us, we need the foundation of Christ in order to freely worship God. We can read our Bibles, pray, attend church, even do social works to show love to others, and, yet, we can do all of these things without the firm foundation of Jesus Christ for our lives.
Finally, in the time of Ezra, when the foundation was laid, people exhibited different responses. The younger generation who had not seen the original temple was praising and giving thanks unto the LORD while those that were of the older generation were weeping because it wasn’t like it used to be. Our cultures change throughout the generations. That is okay. The foundation is the same… our faith must be based on Jesus Christ. We may have a different style of music, different clothes, different hairstyles, different types of buildings in which to meet, different ways of trading goods, different ways to reach out and help others, but there is one thing that NEVER, EVER changes… Jesus Christ and His way to salvation and the love He has shown us. That foundation NEVER changes.
So, when the temple seems to be falling down, we need to reassess and get busy building it back up. We need to start with a firm foundation. We need to freely and willingly give all to the building of this foundation and, above all, we need to keep our eyes on our LORD and our King, Jesus Christ. Everything is His temple… our bodies, our homes, our churches. Let’s look around and see where the building is falling down and return to the firm foundation and rebuild the temple. We need to remember that this is where the Holy Spirit dwells, within new creations, within us!
Jesus often had some pretty hard teachings. Many people who call themselves Christians say that they believe Jesus is the Son of God and that they believe in Him. And, yes, Jesus teaches that this is what is required to have eternal life. But, is this really all that He means? I believe that Donald Trump is the President of the United States and if I voted for him, then I am showing that I believe in Him… or trust Him to some degree. Is that enough? Maybe in American politics, but I am not sure this is what Jesus meant as He was teaching.
Paul said in Romans 10:9-11, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” So, there are two parts to making confession, according to Paul… say it aloud with your mouth and believe it in your heart. Back to President Trump… do I believe in my heart that he is really going to be able to make things better? Do I believe he actually has that much power? I know for me, I would not bank on that. However, Jesus is asking us to “bank” on Him. In John 3:16 He states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” What does believing “In Him” look like?
These thoughts all came to mind this morning as I was reading Luke 14. In verse 26, Jesus says that if you do not come to Jesus above your own family, then you cannot be his disciple. That sounds very harsh. Does that really mean that you have to “leave” your family and “hate” them? I believe in context, Jesus is saying that we need to trust Him even more than we trust anything else, and that there may be a cost in following Him. Why do I say that? In Luke 14:27 it states, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” In other words, there may be a cost to following Jesus. We may lose friends, or family may not understand and there will be contention. And, yet, Jesus calls us to come after Him to be His disciple.
This is where I find that I miss relationship with Jesus sometimes. When I hold on to something more so than I do Jesus or His teachings or His ways, I find that I struggle. I have come to believe that this is because I am not bearing the cross that is before me and choosing Him above whatever else is before me. Let me give you an example. When someone is in my home that is not a believer in Christ, I have to make a decision… do I still live the way I normally do day to day, or do I do things differently not to make them feel uncomfortable? Now, if the person in my home is not a believer and is family, am I choosing to help them not feel uncomfortable, and isn’t that putting their comfort above my relationship with Jesus Christ? Is Jesus then asking me to bear my cross (v. 27) and put my relationship with Him above the relationship with this family member? If I do not do this, Jesus outright tells me that I cannot be His disciple. I am not following His ways. Does that affect my salvation? That is another whole debate. However, I do not believe there is any debate in the fact that it does affect my relationship with Him.
In the next set of verses (Luke 14:28-33), Jesus tells us to count the cost of discipleship. He says that if we intend to build a tower, we first have to sit down and decide if we have enough to finish the job. If we don’t, then we may build a foundation and not be able to finish the tower. Then He appeals to our emotions… all that behold that unfinished tower may begin to mock you. Next, Jesus asks, “Who going to make war against another king, does not sit down first to decide if he can meet 20,000 coming at him with only the 10,000 that he has?” Jesus’s final words in this passage are “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
When one comes to know Jesus, and through Him one comes to understand the love of the heavenly Father, then one WANTS to be His disciple. However, there is more. Years after I came to know Christ through an experience, I began doubting whether or not what was taught of Him was true. I found that intellectually, I need the truth. If Jesus is the truth, I want to follow Him with my whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. If He is not, then why would one want to waste their life following someone they do not believe is true? Jesus seems to have expected this from us. He said, “Count the cost.” He knew that we might believe that we have run out of funds to finish a job or we do not have the strength to follow Him. He knew that we may look out and see an army twice the size of ours and we would be afraid to follow Him because something else may be more intimidating. He knew that our family members would not be in agreement with us. He knew that we would experience persecution; He taught that in other places in the Scripture. However, Jesus was willing to tell us to follow Him, to take up our cross and be His disciple.
For those that have ever done this, taken up their crosses, they have come to realize that the rewards are far greater than anything we have ever experienced physically on this earth. I was challenged this week to reconsider this teaching of Jesus. I have to daily count the cost and, IF I want to be a disciple of Christ, I need to take up my cross and follow Him.
Although the next chapter of Luke (chapter 15) is about Jesus finding us and rejoicing, it spoke to me this morning of me finding Him. When I lose ground in my relationship with Jesus, it is almost like losing the one in 100 sheep. When I gain that back, I rejoice! Everything about me may be following Christ, but in one area, I may be struggling. When I turn this back over to Christ, there is a rejoicing. I can relate to the woman who had ten pieces of silver and she lost one and went on a diligent search to find it (Luke 15:8-9). I have felt like that woman this week trying to find that one piece of the puzzle that was missing in my life… that one thing that was lacking. When I searched, and I found it, I began to rejoice for what I had lost.
I may not fully understand the teaching of Jesus to “Count the cost”, but I do understand that when I turn all over to Him, I am not ashamed and I am not taken captive by the opposing army. Instead, I am rejoicing and the joy of the Lord is restored within me.
I don’t know if any of this makes sense to anyone else reading this today, but the Lord has brought peace to my spirit, and He did it through Luke 14 and 15 this morning. I am thanking God for His goodness to me. I am so grateful to a God who loves us so much that He always meets us right where we are. If you are struggling, look to God… look to His Word. I have found that He truly does give us all things for life and godliness. Thank you, God!
“He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.” 2 Kings 18:5-6
In He Trusted in the LORD God: Part1, we saw that Hezekiah’s enemies had seized the city of Jerusalem. These enemies of Israel, the Assyrians, were mocking both Hezekiah and the God that Hezekiah trusted.
When the enemy came, Hezekiah went to the real place of power… he went to the house of the LORD and prayed! He knew that the nation of Israel deserved just punishment for turning from God in the generations before him. However, he also knew that it could be that the LORD God would hear how the captain of the Assyrians was mocking the living God. Hezekiah knew that God could save the remnant that was left, the remnant of Israel that had just turned completely to trust God. Either way, Hezekiah was going to trust God. The captain of the Assyrians even stated to Hezekiah’s people, “Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustiest deceive thee…” (2 Kings 19:10) All of the people knew that Hezekiah trusted in God. Again, Hezekiah received a letter from the Assyrian captain and he went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD and prayed (2 Kings 19:14-15). Hezekiah wanted God to see and hear what the king of Assyria was saying about God Himself. Hezekiah stated that he knew the Assyrians had destroyed other nations and cast their gods down. However, Hezekiah stated that these gods were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Hezekiah asked God to save this small remnant of Israelites out of the hands of the king of Assyria so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that He is the LORD God!
The outcome of the story is that God answered Hezekiah’s prayer. In one night, the angel of the LORD went out and killed all of the Assyrians in the camp that surrounded the city of Jerusalem. One hundred eighty-five thousand Assyrians died that night. The Israelites did not fight at all. The one thing that the captain of the Assyrian army kept asking to scare the Israelites was, “On whom do you trust?” “Do you trust the Egyptians?” he said. “They are a broken reed. Do you trust in the LORD your God? Didn’t you take down his high places and altars? Are you going to let Hezekiah make you trust in a god that cannot protect you?” And, yet, this very God that this Assyrian mocked took out the army in one night without a sword being lifted!
Hezekiah “trusted in the LORD God.” In the words of the Psalmist, “In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” (Psalm 56:4) Hezekiah lived this out, and God was glorified. May we learn to trust God for the outcome in our lives! Yes, we are to do our part in preparing ourselves for our various situations. However, in the end, we simply have to trust God for the outcome knowing that He does all things for His glory. Hezekiah trusted God. He did this BEFORE he knew the outcome of the showdown with the Assyrians.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” God does not promise us that everything will turn out well if we do trust Him, but God assures us that He is with us and gives us a peace and directs our paths as we walk trusting in Him.
The lesson that I took away from this study of Hezekiah’s life is that he trusted God even more than all of the other Kings of Israel. His circumstances looked dire, and yet, he went to the house of the Lord and trusted God for God’s will. He did not assume that God would save the people, but He trusted that God heard his prayers. He trusted that God would reign. He did not panic and turn to the world’s ways. He waited on the Lord. In fact, he ran to the Lord and laid out all his concerns before him. May we learn to trust God in the same way, so that, we, too, will see God’s glory!
“He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.” 2 Kings 18:5-6
Hezekiah had a father who did not do that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God. Instead, Ahaz walked in the ways of other kings, made one of his sons to pass through fire, and did other abominations that the Lord had forbid. Ahaz trusted in the gods of Damascus and Syria and, yet, these gods did not protect him. When Ahaz died, the people did not bury him in the sepulchers of the kings. Hezekiah came into power when he was twenty-five years old. He had grown up and seen what had happened to his father and how the northern kingdom had been carried away captive by the Assyrians during his father’s reign of the southern kingdom. Now what was Hezekiah going to do.
In 2 Chronicles 29:2, it says that Hezekiah “did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.” In the very first year of his reign, he reopened the doors of the house of the LORD, he cleaned out all of the false gods and altars that his father had placed in it, he restored the temple worship, and he held a Passover to worship God. It states in 2 Chronicles 31:20-21, “Thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”
Why did Hezekiah seek God with all of His heart? The comment made of him which really stood out to me is that he “trusted in the LORD God.” Was it because he saw how the other gods had failed his father? Was it because he saw one of his brothers pass through his father’s fire? Why did Hezekiah trust God? I am not sure the Scriptures tell us. However, when the Assyrians came upon Jerusalem, Hezekiah did not try to fight the enemy. Instead, when the captain of the Assyrian army challenged Hezekiah and threatened his people, Hezekiah went to the Lord in prayer. When the threats from the enemy became greater, and the enemy mocked Hezekiah for trusting in God, Hezekiah seemed even more resolved to run to God for help.
You see, Hezekiah had already done all he could to prepare for this attack. First, he worshipped God. Then, he rebuilt the walls that had previously been destroyed, stopped the fountains of water and the brook that ran through the land so the enemies would have no water, made darts and shields for the army and assigned captains, and pulled all of the people into the cities from the surrounding areas so that he could protect them. At this point, Hezekiah had done all the preparing that he could do. Now, he was going to trust God. Hezekiah even told his people, in 2Chronicles 32:7-8, to “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” You see, Hezekiah knew that God’s strength is the strongest there is. We can do our part, but God has more ability and power than we ever could have.
Do you trust God when life looks impossible? We can learn much from studying Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord. Look for He Trusted in the LORD God: Part 2 to see what happens to Hezekiah and how trusting in God worked out for him. As always, it is better to read the Word for yourself and see what God is speaking to you. For the full story about King Hezekiah, read his story in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-32.
Christians are not perfect. When we see the faults in ourselves, we often find various ways to try to “clean” ourselves up. We will say things like, “I will pull myself up out of this,” or “I will do better next time,” or “I will just be more patient,” or whatever it may be. Then comes the inevitable failure, at least for me and others that I have observed.
I was struck by this recently and these verses came to mind. Luke 11:24-26 says, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return unto my house from where I came out. And when he comes back, he finds the house swept and decorated. Then he goes, and takes to himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter into the house, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” [KJV paraphrased]
Of course, Jesus is speaking here of actual devils which He had been casting out. However, as I pondered these verses, I found a metaphorical application to my life. Things that are against God’s will in our lives are listed (among other places) in Galatians 5:19-21 as sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealously, outburst of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. When I think of these acts which are opposite of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control), I think of them as unclean spirits. When we try to “clean ourselves up” by saying, “I will never do this again”, it is as if we are telling that “unclean spirit” to leave our home. However, when we clean ourselves up, and we do not replace the space with something clean (a fruit of the Spirit) then, metaphorically from Luke 11:24, this spirit looks around for a place to inhabit. It seeks seven other spirits even more wicked and returns to the home!
Here is what I find true experientially. When I fight a sin in my life, something that is opposite the fruit of the Spirit, and I decide that I will no longer follow that area of sin nature in my life, I struggle. Oh, I may overcome for a few days… but then, I STRUGGLE. It often appears that I am tested all the more in that area of my life (meaning tempted to fall back into my old ways), and I become worse and not better.
Jesus, of course, gave us the remedy for this. If we back up in the Luke passage a bit, Jesus is telling that when a stronger man comes to a weaker man, the stronger can overcome the weaker. For us, that stronger man is really the Holy Spirit Himself. How does this work out practically? Again, the fruit of the Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22-23 and will be seen in our lives if we are walking in the Spirit. Jesus tells us in John 15 to abide in Him and He will abide in us. We all know that Jesus is that strong man who we need. He wants to ABIDE in US! If that were the case, wouldn’t it be difficult for unclean spirits to take up residence in our home (i.e. in our lives)? Jesus goes on in John 15:7 and states, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” There is the second part of the equation (so-to-speak). When we clean ourselves up, we cannot replace the negative thoughts and actions with decorations (from Luke 11:25); instead, we must replace those thoughts and deeds with the Word of Christ. Then, we must ASK Him to do the work in us to change us. Jesus even goes on in John 15 to tell us that He spoke these things to us so that His joy may remain in us (not come to us… but REMAIN in us). In Luke 11, Jesus tells us the following:
Luke 11:9-13 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
What is my take-away from all of this? If I want there to be a difference in my life, where I look more like Jesus and less like an unclean spirit, then I need to do the following things: soak myself in God’s Word, ask for the Holy Spirit and abide in Christ. I need to keep my eyes focused on the stronger one (Jesus Christ) and not on myself to do the cleaning of my home.
Oh God, I am asking for more of your Holy Spirit in my life. I am asking you to abide fully within me as I submit my ways to you. I am asking you to take away the uncleanness in my heart and lead me in the paths of righteousness as I set my eyes on You and You alone. In the words of King David from Psalm 139, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Many children, when they are young, cannot wait to be “free” from the confines of their family. However, what makes them feel not “free”? Could it possibly the rules that are in place by their parents, their teachers, the authorities in their lives and so forth which are put there for the sake of protecting these same children? As the children grow older, say their teenage years, most of them gain more “freedoms” to come and go as they please ‘IF’ they follow the rules. This is the catch of “freedom”! One must live by the rules to actually be free…. And this is what we are taught when Jesus said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Think about it. If a teen wants to come and go to parties, he is free to go as long as he abides by the rules. When he does so, he feels “free.” However, if a teen does not abide by the rules, the parent takes the privilege of attending those parties away. Hence, the loss of freedom! If a group of teens has a party and abides by the rules of the government (no underage drinking or drug use), the group is free to have their party. This group of teens feels “free”. If this group of teens will not abide by the rules and there are drugs or alcohol found at the party, the authorities (now the local police) stop the party and may even throw these teens into jail. Are they now “free” to do as they please?
Looking one step further, considering the political climate of our day, when one is born in the United States, it is almost universally accepted that he has more freedoms than being born in any other country in the world (this is a very broad general statement and not one meant to be debated… it is for illustration purposes only). However, this person born in the United States is expected to abide by the rules of the country. Following those rules allows one to get a job anywhere he wishes, or to go to school anywhere or any time she wishes. Those rules allow this person to purchase cars, insurance, homes, lands or even businesses. This person, although required to follow the rules feels “free.” This same rule applies to those who enter the country legally. This is similar to a child being adopted by a family. That adopted child becomes part of the family and is allowed the same freedoms as the other children in the family. On the other hand, when one comes into the country illegally, he or she does not feel “free.” Maybe he or she will tell you differently because he or she can find work, get medical care and maybe even be given an education in some way. He may feel freer than when he was in his own country where things are not as “free” to everyone. However, is one really “free?”
For someone who is trying to work within the boundaries of a family or a group or a country, he must abide by the rules to feel “free” whether or not he is technically “free.” It depends on the definition of “free.” One feels “free” when he or she is able to go and do what he or she likes without someone telling him or her not to. But, the catch is this… one is not truly free if he is constantly looking over his shoulder to avoid the authorities or unable to do certain things because he or she is not abiding by the rules of the family, group or government. So, there is a cost for freedom.
In order to be “free”, one must actually decide what “freedom” means. After that, one must then accept the consequences of that “freedom”. Sometimes these consequences are looking over one’s shoulder and struggling in ways others do not struggle. Other consequences, for different decisions, are following the rules, which may be frustrating at times.
Here is another thought… whether or not one is “free” may not be able to be determined simply by looking on the outside. Let’s use the example of someone who is in a country illegally (as this illustration wouldn’t work with people in a family or group since everyone knows everyone else). Let’s say these two people are working side-by-side in a field, one is in the country legally and one is not. Someone driving past would look at these two people and NOT see a difference. They are both hard working people. They are both loving people. They both seem to enjoy life. They both may have families. However, there is a difference… and it is not seen from the outside: one is free to do other work, to move wherever he wants without hassles, to travel any place he desires, to return to school or get any other type of job… and the other must be careful about where he moves, how he finds housing, what job to take, and so forth. This second person may not be allowed to go to school or to purchase a car or a home or insurance or anything that he wants. Still, on the outside, no one would know this.
Jesus said to Nicodemus in answer to his questions (in John 3:3-6): “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus also said the following (John 8:34-36): “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
You see, if one is born again, (by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ), he is then made free. Some will say, “I don’t want to believe because I don’t want to follow the rules.” However, those that know Christ personally will tell you, “I am more free now than ever.”
If you have not experienced that freedom, please ask someone that you know who knows Christ. Let them share the good news with you. Jesus did not come to condemn the world or to set up rules for us to follow so that we live a restricted life. He actually came to set the captives free, and whom the Son sets free is free indeed!
John chapters 18 and 19 tell a story of many people today. There is an all important question asked by Pilate that never directly gets answered. However, the very question he wants answered is actually answered… and yet, he still rejects it. What am I talking about? Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” Let me explain.
In John 18, a band of chief priests and Pharisees came at night to take Jesus. Jesus knew this. He even asked them when they came, “Who do you seek?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus then said, “I am.” This is the very name that God used of Himself when speaking to Moses out of the burning bush. As soon as Jesus said this, the people who came to take Him fell backward to the ground. Jesus was not stumbled at this. He asked again, “Who do you seek?” Jesus answered the same way, “I am.”
After this, they bound Jesus and led him away first to Annas where they asked Jesus questions. Jesus told them that He had always spoken openly and not in secret. Therefore, they should have known what He taught. Jesus then challenged the priest stating that He had never spoken evil. Next, Jesus was taken to Caiaphas, the high priest, and then to Pilate, the Roman prefect (governor) of Judea.
This is where the event gets very interesting. Pilate asked the Jews what accusation was brought against Jesus. They said that Jesus was a criminal, an evil person. Pilate questioned Jesus again asking Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus wanted to know if Pilate was saying this of his own belief or if someone else told him this. Pilate stated that he was not a Jew and that the Jews, Jesus’s own nation, delivered Him to Pilate. So Pilate asked, “What did you do?”
Jesus answered the first question Pilate asked by stating, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight for me; but, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am. For this reason, I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness unto the TRUTH. Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice.”
Pilate seemed confused by the way Jesus answered. Jesus said that he came to BEAR WITNESS to the TRUTH. Pilate then questioned this, “What is truth?” It does not appear that Pilate waited around for the answer. What Pilate did do, however, is go tell the Jews that he found NO FAULT in Jesus.
What was it that Jesus was bearing witness to? The truth… the truth that He told? The truth that God told in the Old Testament? What was this truth that Jesus testified to? The truth that there is a New Covenant? The truth that the prophet to come should be hearkened to (Deuteronomy 18:18-19)? The truth that Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life and that no man comes to the Father but by Him?” What is this truth? Let’s see what Pilate was coming to know.
Pilate found NO FAULT in Jesus. Jesus confirmed that he was a king and that his kingdom was not of this world and that he came to bear witness to the truth. Pilate found NO FAULT in Jesus. Ponder this for a moment.
Now Pilate tried to release Jesus and the Jews asked for Barabbas instead. So, Pilate had Jesus scourged. Why? To make Jesus confess to a fault? To make Jesus lie to avoid further pain? Wasn’t this the point of scourging… to make people confess? But, when all was said and done, Pilate went to the Jews and said, “I find NO FAULT in him.”
Again, after the chief priests and officers cried out “Crucify him, crucify him,” Pilate stated “I find NO FAULT in Him.” Pilate is then told by the Jews that Jesus deserved to die because He made Himself the Son of God. What was Pilate’s response? He was more afraid! Why? Could it be that Pilate had found NO FAULT in Jesus, thus he found that Jesus had not yet lied up to this point? Could it be true, then, that Jesus was the Son of God? Would this be the kingdom of which Jesus was a king? Pilate found NO FAULT in Him.
Pilate then went back to Jesus and asked Him, “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer. Why? Maybe because He has already told Pilate that His kingdom was from somewhere else? Pilate then questioned (or was it threatened?) Jesus, “Don’t you know that I have the power to crucify you or release you?” Pilate must have been stunned when he heard Jesus’s response: “You could have no power against me unless it was given to you from above.”
After this, Pilate sought to have Jesus released? Why? Somehow Pilate came to know that Jesus was considered by some to be the King of the Jews. Jesus told Pilate that He came to be a king of a different kingdom. Jesus told Pilate that He came to be a witness to the truth. Pilate found NO FAULT in Him. Pilate had Him scourged and found NO FAULT in Him. Pilate came to hear that Jesus made Himself the Son of God. Pilate became afraid. Pilate heard that he could have no power without someone giving him that power. Pilate sought to have him released… but there was a temptation presented to Pilate.
The Jews cried out that Pilate could not be a friend of Caesar because no one could make himself a king and speak against Caesar. What was Pilate’s dilemma? If he were to admit that Jesus was a king and let Jesus go, Pilate himself would lose his position in the Roman Empire. So, Pilate had to make a decision. He was in a dilemma. He had found NO FAULT in Jesus… the one who claimed to be a witness to the truth, the one who claimed to be King of the Jews, the one who claimed to be the Son of God. What would Pilate do?
Pilate brought Jesus before the people and announced, “Behold your King!” But, the people cried out to crucify Jesus, and Pilate turned Jesus over to be crucified. But that is not the end of the story. What did Pilate do next? He had a title put on the cross which stated, “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.” He didn’t write what the Jews wanted written, “He SAID, I am King of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” Why is this? What made Pilate do this? Did he believe that Jesus was the King of the Jews? Did Pilate believe that Jesus was the Son of God? He found NO FAULT in Him.
I believe that Pilate knew the truth. He asked about it and Jesus didn’t lie. Pilate had to know about what Jesus taught. He had to seek the facts out. He knew what happened after Jesus died and was raised from the dead. Remember that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus asked Jesus (not knowing it was him), “Are you the only one in the region who doesn’t know what has happened these days?” Everyone knew the commotion… people were stating that Jesus was risen from the dead. Pilate came face-to-face with the truth. However, he seemed to reject what it meant, what the implications were for knowing that truth. Pilate didn’t want to lose his position in the Roman Empire. There was something that kept him from acting on what he was finding to be the truth.
We see many people today who are given substantial evidence, even facts, that support the claims of Christ. However, some of these people will outright tell you that even if they saw Jesus raised from the dead, they would not believe. Why? Might I suggest that they have something to lose… money, relationships, power, position… something! Yet, each of us has that shame within us that we need to do something with. What did Pilate do? In Matthew 27, Pilate simply washed his hands in the eyes of all who looked on him. Was this sufficient? He stated that he was innocent of the blood of this just person, but was he? We are not told. I hope that Pilate came to know the truth… AND to accept what it meant.
Romans 10:9-11 states, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.”
What about you? Are you willing to look at the truth and accept it… or will you reject it despite the evidence for it? Think about it!
In Part 1 of “Believe Because God predicts”, we saw that in the book of Isaiah, particularly from Isaiah 40 to 53, God tells us that He is going to tell what will happen, so that when it does, we will know that He did it. Today, we will look at some more of the Scriptures that supports the fact that Isaiah 53 was written at the same time as the rest of the book of Isaiah, despite the fact that the details are almost too detailed to seem possible.
In Isaiah 42:10, God says, “Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: BEFORE they spring forth I tell you of them.” If God states this in Isaiah, the book that scholars agree was written in the 700s B.C., why is it then hard to believe that Isaiah 53 would have been written then too, giving VERY SPECIFIC details? Wouldn’t that be consistent with God’s character? He said it, and it happened! It seems that those who oppose any evidence about Jesus Christ are trying to throw out any evidence which may lead others to believe that he was the suffering servant who was crucified, the one who paid for our transgressions. Rejecting chapter 53 after all of the internal evidence given in the chapters prior to Isaiah 53 seems illogical, especially in lieu of the fact that God stated He was going to do a new thing and that He would tell it in advance! He told us SO WE WOULD KNOW! It seems more likely, for the naysayers, that what God stated would be true of people is… as in Isaiah 42:20, “Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.” It seems that some already conclude that it cannot be true, so the evidence that it might be must be dispensed with.
What is interesting about all of this is that in the book of Isaiah, God is telling the nation of Israel that they are redeemed by Him. He is telling them what will come to pass before it does so that they will know. But, hadn’t they already seen that in their history? Abraham was told in Genesis 15 about Israel’s future and it turned out exactly as God had predicted. It states in Genesis 15:13-14, “And He said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” This time frame lined up exactly with what happened historically as the Israelites went into Egypt in the time of famine (in Joseph’s time) and came out 400 years later under the leadership of Moses. God predicted, and it came to pass. There is a history of this happening with the Israelites!
Next, when thinking about Jesus dying on the cross, as a way to somehow allow us the hope of eternity, it seems crazy. How can this be? And yet, even in Isaiah, God began preparing hearts for what seems like a crazy message. How? By telling us what would happen beforehand so that we would understand when it happened. In Isaiah 43:18-19, God says, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Definitely Jesus calling Himself God and telling people to follow His ways is a whole new thing for the Israelites. It wasn’t like anything they knew before. Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah. When people were learning of Jesus from the apostles, they searched the Scriptures, as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11, to see if the things they were being told were true. Why would it then be surprising that Jesus’ death would be detailed in Isaiah 53, when Jesus Himself quoted about Himself from other parts of the book of Isaiah? Why should we even question whether or not this chapter was written at the same time as the rest of the book of Isaiah? To me, this is just more circumstantial evidence that leads credence to the fact that Isaiah 53 clearly was God telling what would happen before it did so that we would know He is God!
God says of Himself in Isaiah 44:6-8, “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? And the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
Ponder this today. Read Isaiah 40 to 53. Decide for yourself what you think. Can it be justified that Isaiah 53 was written after Jesus’ death and resurrection and then somehow inserted in a manuscript written approximately one hundred years before Jesus’ time (the dating of the manuscript found in the Dead Sea scrolls) just so someone could deceive the world about the truth of Jesus Christ? You decide!
Isaiah 53 is a Messianic chapter which provides great details of the suffering and crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The details actually begin in Isaiah 52:13 and continue through Isaiah 53. Some scholars believe that Isaiah 53 could not have been written until after the time of Christ. Why? Because the details of His crucifixion are just too detailed! Instead, some people state that Isaiah 53 was written after the time of Christ, and they state that the verses about what his crucifixion meant were also added to the details of his actual crucifixion after he died. Some of these details include that God’s servant, the messiah, was to suffer for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5) because He was the offering for our sins (Isaiah 53:10). It states that his suffering would justify many (Isaiah 53:11). Of course, those that reject Christ, reject these facts about him as well. Those that reject Isaiah 53’s timing with the rest of Isaiah seem to use as their evidence the question, “How is it that anyone could have known all of those details hundreds of years before Christ was crucified, unless this man had already been crucified?” There is an answer to this question, if the internal evidence of Isaiah itself is investigated.
Before considering this internal evidence, however, it should be noted that there was a copy of the entire book of Isaiah, including chapter 53, found with the Dead Sea scrolls in 1946. It is the oldest complete copy of the book of Isaiah, being about 1000 years older than the oldest Hebrew manuscripts found before its discovery. A couple of different dating methods give the date of this manuscript’s writing (a copy of the original Isaiah) of anywhere between 356 B.C.E. and 100 B.C.E. Either way, this is still at least 100 years before Jesus was born, and this is just a COPY of the original book of Isaiah!
Even without this external evidence, there is very strong internal evidence that chapter 53 of Isaiah was written at the same time as the rest of the book of Isaiah and, therefore, it should not be dismissed simply because it seems too detailed to have been written then. First, according to the internal evidence, Isaiah was written about 700 years before the time of Christ (from Isaiah 1:1). Along with this internal dating, I believe there is even more internal evidence that suggests that it is not shocking that God would foretell with such great detail the crucifixion of Jesus the Messiah. I would like to offer my evidence for one to consider.
As I was reading the book of Isaiah, in my daily time with the Lord, I was struck by the number of times that God said, through Isaiah, that He [God] tells the future SO THAT we will know when it comes to pass that it was He that did it. He didn’t want others to take credit for being gods. In fact, He was attempting to show the futility of cutting down a tree, forming an idol, overlaying it with gold, and then praying to it at the same time as warming oneself with some of the very same wood that was taken from that tree!
I was especially struck in my reading from Isaiah 40 up to and including chapter 53 by the number of times in which it states that what God says will indeed happen. In Isaiah 40:5 God says, “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” He then goes on to say in verse 8, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.”
In Isaiah 40:18-20, Isaiah tells us about the workman who makes the image, and yet, God is the one who created the earth. Can this idol that they made create an earth… when the workman created the idol? In order to almost prove Himself, God tells that He is going to raise up a man from the east (in Isaiah 41:2-3) who will be a ruler over kings. As one moves through the next few chapters of Isaiah, one discovers that God is speaking of Cyrus (specifically Isaiah 44:28), and even calls Him by name… nearly 100 years before Cyrus becomes known to the Israelites. God asks, “Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am He.” (Isaiah 41:4) God boldly tells that He is the one that brings things to pass, after He speaks it. Can our speechless idols do this?
In Isaiah 41:14, God states, “I will help thee [men of Israel], saith the LORD and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. God tells in Isaiah 41:15-19 the things that He will do and then says why in Isaiah 41:20, “That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.” He goes on to ask the Israelites and their false gods to tell the future. Isaiah 41:21-23, “Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.” Then God tells the future, that they might know, in Isaiah 41:25, “I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.” From history, we realize that this is Cyrus, the one who came from the north and from the east (from his family line and his rule). God then states in Isaiah 41:26, “Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? And beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? Yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.”
We then see God’s prophecy about the Messiah in Isaiah 42 where He says that this one who brings forth judgment to the Gentiles shall not cry or lift up his voice (in Isaiah 42:1-2), and we know from the gospels that this is exactly how Jesus acted. He never made a scene. God tells in Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
So, what does all of this mean? Look for Part 2 for the answer to this question.
From chapters 1 to 4 of the Song of Solomon, we saw the intimacy that developed between the bride and the groom. We saw their communion because of the groom’s tenderness and protection and love. Even after that time of fellowship with Jesus, that can be so very intimate and special for each of us, we, like the bride in the next section of the Song of Solomon, still tend to want it on our own terms. In Song 5:2-5, the groom comes to seek the bride on his terms and in his timing. He calls to her to open up to him (Song 5:2). But, she provides excuses as she is not ready to meet with him. It is inconvenient timing. She is prepared for doing something else (Song 5:3). As she sees him attempt to get in, without pushing and forcing his way in, but gently attempting to enter (Song 5:4), the bride is moved. Her heart longs to meet with him. It is taking her some time to overcome what she had planned, but she is stirred (Song 5:5).
However, she is too late (Song 5:6). The groom went about his business. He is a gentleman. God will never push his way into our lives. He will make an offer and then wait. Jesus stated in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” He goes on in Revelation 3:21 to say, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” This is an invitation. We are invited into the heavenlies, but we have to open the door!
In the next part of the Song of Solomon, the bride goes searching for the groom. She is almost desperate at this point. This is what really spoke to me this morning in my reading of the Song of Solomon. The bride goes around asking people where she can find her groom. She tells them that she is love sick (Song 5:7-8). The people ask her, “What makes your groom so different and special?” (Song 5:9) She gives his physical characteristics, but also tells how sweet he is. She calls him her beloved AND her friend. (Song 5:10-16) She continues searching for him. She has impressed the others so much that they, too, want to find this groom. They also want to seek him. (Song 6:1)
It is interesting at this point because the bride KNOWS where to find the groom. She had to stop and realize it. She knows Him. She knows His ways. She answers these others in Song 6:2. He is feeding and collecting others. She was called a lily in Song 2:2 and now he is collecting the lilies (Song 6:2). Jesus doesn’t just want a relationship with only one person. He came to the earth for ALL. We are all lilies among the thorns (Song 2:2) that Jesus wants to collect… to have that personal relationship with. This doesn’t deter the bride one bit. She knows her place, that she is still special (Song 6:3). She knows that his love for her does not diminish. The groom even tells her so once SHE RETURNS TO HIM!! (Song 6:4-7:9). After the groom speaks, the bride reflects… she is his! (Song 7:10)
Now that the bride is sure of her place with the groom, her desires seem to change. She is the one calling him to go forth into the fields and to check the fruit. Her desires have lined up with his desires. (Song 7:10-13) She is so excited about him that she wants to share him with her family (Song 8:1-4… at least this is how I see it). The groom wants the bride to set him as a seal upon her heart. This is analogous to the Holy Spirit sealing us for Him. She is his. Even though her mother brought her up (Song 8:5), he is now taking her and sealing her with his love (Song 8:6-7).
Finally, the bride is concerned for others… for her sister. (Song 8:8) She wants to know how to protect her and bring her into this type of love. The groom says that they will protect her in any way that is needed. If she is a wall, (strong and firm in her character) he will give her a palace of silver. If she is a door, and seems to not be strong enough to handle things that come at her with discernment, he will enclose her to protect her (Song 8:9). I just love how God knows each one of us and has a plan for each of us to protect us and to build us up.
In the end of the Song of Solomon, the bride once again speaks. She wants to be sure that everyone produces fruit from what is given to them. She realizes that she is a steward of what the groom has given to her. She tells the others to listen to the groom and then, she asks the groom to make her hear his voice too (Song 8:13). She wants the groom to hurry about his business. She isn’t jealous, but delights to see that he is doing a work. (Song 8:14)
The Lord spoke to me through this Song. I often am very busy and forget to put my beloved first. He calls me to come away with him. He desires that we spend time with him, that we make him the priority in our lives. It isn’t because he is selfish. It is because he wants to bless us and shower us with his love. This love does not make us jealous. Instead, it makes us want to share with others. Even when I get wrapped up in life and too busy to make time to spend with Jesus, I still want to tell others about him. Just like this bride, I want to go about making him known so that, they too, will desire him. I want that they hear his voice too. This is a love that far surpasses any love that can be gained here on earth. Marriage here on earth is just an analogy for Christ and the church. Christ and the church is a mystery which far surpasses any earthly marriage. Oh that I could share this love of Jesus with others. That is my heart’s desire. It is worth it. I am not afraid that my relationship with Jesus will be any less if it is shared. Rather, it is enhanced. This love of Jesus, if you don’t know it, is worth more than life itself. If you have never experience that intimacy with Jesus Christ and our Father, ask God to draw you close. He is calling to you… “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”
The title for this Blog was a song that the Lord gave me many years ago when I did a ladies’ retreat teaching through the Song of Solomon. In my daily Bible reading plan, I am once again reading the Song of Solomon. I was reminded once again of the fact that we all need to spend some time alone with our Lord and allow Him to minister to our hearts AS we minister to His!! I would like to share my impression of the Song of Solomon and what the Lord teaches me through it. (As a disclaimer, I am no theologian. This is not meant to be doctrinal. It is simply what I gain from reading this book and how the Lord speaks to me.)
As an overview, the Song of Solomon begins with a couple preparing for marriage. The king is preparing to bring his bride to him. In the meantime, the bride doubts her worth. She sees that her bridegroom is worthy… she is excited to be with him (Song of Solomon… now to be abbreviated Song… 1:2-4). However, as she muses on him and his goodness, she thinks about her unworthiness (Song 1:5-6). Still, she wants to see him (Song 1:7) and she asks where she can find him so that she may know where he goes and to where he spends his time (Song 1:8). The groom sees this bride as worthy, even comparing her to many others (Song 1:9), and she realizes too, that he is set apart (Song 1:13) and that he truly is preparing protection for her (Song 1:16-17). Finally, the two are enjoying each others’ company.
In the next section, the bride is being sought by the groom. The groom calls to her (Song 2:10), “Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.” He wants her to spend time with him… just as our heavenly Father wants to spend time with us, with me! He calls her again in Song 2:13, “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” I have to ask myself, “Am I willing to go away with Him? Am I willing to spend that quiet time alone, uninterrupted with Him, following Him where He leads?” He is promising her that she is safe (Song 2:14) in the clefts of the rock. He is promising her entrance to the heavens (as I see it, in Song 2:14… “secret of the stairs”). He wants to see her. Then, he wants to hear her. (Song 2:14) But, he has a warning for her in Song 2:15. Don’t let anything hinder you (take us the little foxes that spoil the vines). This is what so often happens to me. I hear the call. I have the desire. But, busyness and life overtake me and I let the moment slip by. Still, as the bride in Song 2:16, I know that I have a relationship with Jesus and that cannot be taken away. However, also like the bride in Song 2:17, I often find myself (metaphorically, of course), sending Jesus away to other work and not enjoying Him in that moment.
Then, as in Song 3:1, I regret that. I try throughout the day to gain that time back (as the bride does in Song 3:1-2). Eventually, I catch up to Him and then, like the bride, I don’t want to let go. (Song 3:4) Also, like the bride, I share with others about this love that I have found (Song 3:5).
Then, once I have grabbed hold of the time alone with Jesus, I enjoy that fellowship. The Song of Solomon is an intimate book about a man and his wife. The descriptions are intimate. Our time with the Lord is a time of intimacy. We are told in Ephesians that the marriage is a mystery in that it represents Christ and the church. There is a communion that happens that is intimate. I find it so refreshing that for each of us, this intimacy is different. We each have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but it is the same in that it allows us the freedom to express ourselves and He expresses Himself to us in personal ways.
If you have never read the Song of Solomon, take the time today and read it. It is personal. It is intimate. It shows the love that Christ has for his bride. Let the Lord minister to you through His Word. Look for Part 2 of “Come Away, My Beloved, Rise Up and Come Away” to hear the rest of this sweet love story.
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31)
John was a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, he didn’t know Jesus as all of that when he met him. John, like so many others, was just a regular man doing regular work. He was a fisherman. However, he, like so many other Jews in his time, was looking for the Messiah. It was predicted in Daniel, hundreds of years before, that the Messiah was to come about this time. They were looking for this promised Messiah. In fact, in John 1, it states that Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, went and found his own brother (Simon) and told him that they had found the Messiah, or Christ, as the word Messiah means. So, they were looking for the Messiah.
Unfortunately, the type of Messiah for which they were looking was not who Jesus was. Instead, Jesus gave a different message. We see in the four gospels and the book of Acts that the Jews were not set free from the Roman rule, as they had hoped for. Instead, Jesus preached another message. But, in all of this, what did John, the man, learn.
John was chosen by Jesus as one of the twelve disciples. Why him? Why the twelve and not others? We are not really ever given insight into that except that these men were of little reputation and they were unlearned (had not been to “official” school). Regardless, John came to a point in his life when he called himself “the one whom Jesus loved”. John felt a personal connection with Jesus.
In the beginning of the book of John, and also in the letter of 1 John, we see that John is extremely excited to share about Jesus. He says in John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” He pauses and puts that in parenthesis … as if he is thinking and remembering… and we beheld his glory (long pause….. )… the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. I hear John’s heart, especially after reading 1 John 1:1-4 where John says, “That which was from the beginning (like the very beginning…), which we have heard (amazing teachings… amazing love), which we have seen with our eyes (we took it in… Jesus was there right before us… ), which we have looked upon (fully in our view… so much so that we have firsthand knowledge of it….), and our hands have handled (we touched him!! Really touched him!!), of the Word of life.” (In John 1:1,14, John had already shared that Jesus was that Word of life made flesh.) John goes on in 1 John 1:1-4, “(For the life was manifested (it was made apparent to us… shown to us… physically… shown to us), and we have seen it (you can hear John get more excited as he writes), and bear witness (we are not afraid to tell what we saw… it was real), and shew unto you (John wants us to see too… he wants us to know too…) that eternal life (Jesus gives that eternal life and John has this in the forefront of his words), which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us; (John acknowledges that Jesus came from God… to us… to show himself, to manifest himself)) That which we have seen and heard (John is reiterating this again) declare we unto you (he is telling us… he wants us to know), that ye also may have fellowship with us (that we can walk together in this awesome assembly of others who follow Jesus): and truly our fellowship is with the Father, AND with his Son Jesus Christ. (It isn’t about the man Jesus Christ… it is about God the Father and the Messiah Jesus… the Son of God.) And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. John is so excited about sharing Jesus because He loves Jesus… He truly is excited about telling what he personally has experienced.
Have you ever had a life-changing event and you wanted to tell everyone you knew about it. This is how I see John the Apostle. He had sat under Jesus’ teachings for three years. He heard all that Jesus taught and saw all that Jesus did. He watched Jesus die on the cross. He heard in the upper room how Jesus warned them and prayed for them and agonized over them. He saw Jesus’ tenderness in committing his own mother to the care of John. John saw Jesus raised from the dead. He touched Jesus’ hands. He beheld his presence. He heard his voice. He saw him ascend into heaven, where he was told that Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father and will one day return to take us with him.
Tradition has it that John was boiled in oil and would not die. He was exiled to the island of Patmos where, once again, he encountered Jesus Christ and God speaking directly to him (which he recorded in the book of Revelation). John grew more and more in love with the person of Jesus Christ. And, even though other gospels had been written, he writes about Jesus and tells of his divine nature and, in the end, this is the reason John tells us that he is writing:
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31)
From Part 2 of “The Truth”, we were left with the question that Pilate had of Jesus, “What is truth?” As the disciples learned of Jesus while they walked with him on the earth, and after He was resurrected, they wrote of what they learned of truth. They wrote these things for our learning as well. Let’s see what they teach us about truth.
In Ephesians, we are told that the word of truth is the gospel of our salvation which seals us with the Holy Spirit of promise. (Ephesians 1:13) The word gospel means good news. Thus, the Word of Truth, from God our Father is the good news of our salvation. Of a truth, we are saved by God’s grace, and not by what we think is to be true (Ephesians 2:8-9). He alone made the way for our salvation and then tells us (through words) of how that salvation occurs. It was only by the death of Jesus Christ.
Also, we are told in Ephesians 6:14 to “gird our loins with truth.” Why should we “gird our loins with truth” when we are in a spiritual battle? Because when we know the truth, the truth helps us to fight the lies of the enemy. Sometimes we hear voices that tell us that we are worth nothing, that we are on earth for the purposes of pleasing others, or that we don’t measure up. However, the word of the truth tells us differently. God created us in His image and He loves us very much, and He has a purpose for our lives.
Wow! Ponder what we have learned so far. We have seen in Parts 1 and 2 of The Truth that: God tells us the truth. God gives us the truth. God is the truth. Jesus is God. Thus, Jesus is the truth! We are also told that this truth is our salvation and that we are protected by this truth. If this is all true, why would anyone want to reject this truth?
In Romans, we are told that there are people who hold the truth in unrighteousness and change the truth of God into a lie. We are also told that that which may be known of God is made clear because God showed it to us (Romans 1:19). Everything in creation testifies to the fact that there is a God (Romans 1:20) and therefore, we are all without excuse when we reject the truth. There are those who do not want to follow God “do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath.” (Romans 2:8) Why?
In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul states that the Thessalonians received the “word of God” which they heard Paul teach, and they “received it not as the word of men, but as it is in TRUTH, the word of God.” Others, however, (2 Thessalonians 2:10) would not receive the love of the truth. It isn’t that they could not receive it, but they WOULD not receive it. This truth is that truth which brings salvation. Paul even goes on to say that those who believe not the truth take pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:12) Therein is the answer to the question: Why would anyone reject the truth of the gospel, the good news, of our salvation? It is because some people do NOT want to be accountable for their actions.
If we know there is a God, and that He saves us, then we also understand that there may be some requirements placed on our lives. There are commands given to us, for our protection of course, that we will need to follow. Some people do not like to obey or submit to anyone. Thus, they cast off all restraint. So, if they make the conscious choice not to believe the truth, and call it anything but the truth, they can justify in their minds living their lives in any way they please. According to Paul this is their way of having pleasure in unrighteousness. There is pleasure in not living our lives with rules. However, we are also in danger of hurting ourselves or others when we don’t live by rules.
The result of some people rejecting truth because they want to throw off all constraints is that they attempt to make others doubt the truth. Romans 1:18 tells us that there are those that hold the truth in unrighteousness. In other words, they know the truth, but they act against it. Think about it. If I want to justify my actions and make them seem good to you, wouldn’t I have to convince you that they are good? So, if I am acting against the truth and I want to continue to do so without you judging me or trying to tell me what to do, I would need to make you think like me. Isn’t this what Tom Sawyer did when he didn’t want to do the whitewashing of the fence? He made everyone else believe that it was a great thing to do so that he could get out of doing it himself. We see this same thing happening today where evil is called good and good is called evil. Some of these evil things do not even make sense. However, we have enough voices telling us that these things are good so that some of us are swayed into believing it, even when we know it isn’t true.
Paul states that we are sanctified (made clean before the Lord) of the Spirit AND belief of the TRUTH. It is the Spirit that sanctifies us, but we have to believe the truth… that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died and was raised again on the third day. This is the heart of the gospel message. Jesus saves us, but we have to accept that gift of salvation through belief in it, and this is called the TRUTH! God wants us all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). When we do come to this knowledge, we obtain the abundant life promised to us, and a peace that surpasses all understanding, and the Lord’s joy, and contentment even in difficult circumstances, comfort in our times of need, wisdom when we need it, and blessings beyond measure. No, not always physical blessings, but the important things in life that provide for wonder and awe.
People of corrupt minds, are “destitute of the truth” (1 Timothy 6:5). In 2 Timothy 2:15, we are told to study to show ourselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth. In other words, God gives us His truth, and we are to come to know it by studying it. We are to avoid being like those led away by a form of godliness, but they deny the power of God… because people who are led away in this way are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. In fact, people actually “resist the truth” (2 Timothy 3:8)
Peter warns us that in the end times, many will follow their “pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” Don’t we see this today? If we tell the truth about a situation from God’s Word, we are evil spoken of because we believe archaic beliefs.
John stated that “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” Since the Apostle John heard Jesus speak of truth and explain truth, He was excited to tell others about Jesus (that he saw Jesus and heard Him and touched Him as Jesus manifested Himself to him), and he wanted people to “walk” in that “truth”.
There is so much more to the depth of the study of God’s Word and the truth that He proclaims, but that needs to be left to each of you. Pick up God’s Word and discover the truth that God has for each of us. Don’t relish in unrighteous ways and miss the blessings that God has for you when you act in accordance with the truth of His Word. My prayer is that I have at least given you a start and made you think or ponder what truth is. Remember, if it is really true, it is not based on personal opinion. So, find the facts for yourself. Know the truth because it can be known.
In Part 1 of “The Truth”, I shared that Jesus stated in John 14:6 “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me.” I also shared that my take away from the story of Abraham’s servant seeking a bride for Isaac was that God told Abraham the “truth” and then God followed through on His promises to Abraham. As I continued studying the Scriptures about truth in the New Testament, I found some other interesting facts.
First, in John 4, Jesus told the woman at the well that the hour was coming when the “true worshippers” of God will worship the Father in “spirit and in truth.” This means that we don’t just have a “feeling” about God, but that we worship knowing the “truth”. We are told in John 4:24 that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit AND in TRUTH.” So, again, we would have to know the “truth” to worship correctly. If Jesus is the TRUTH, then we have to know Jesus to worship God correctly. Yes, this seems like a narrow way, but didn’t Jesus tell us that the way was narrow and that He was that way (again, John 14:6)?
Jesus stated some pretty bold things, and some things that may be hard to accept. This leads me to ask a question? Why should we trust what Jesus said? He could have been a madman, in which case we shouldn’t believe him. He also could have been an outright liar. However, when reading Scripture, it does not appear that even his enemies could find fault with him, nor did they believe he was mad; so this conclusion (Jesus being a madman or a liar) does not seem possible. That leaves us with only one conclusion: Jesus was who He said He was… The Son of God. Thus, if Jesus tells us something, we should believe it as if God is saying it.
Jesus’ position was proven through His resurrection, which was not only predicted by himself but also by Old Testament prophecies; and then it came to pass. So, if Jesus states that we need to worship in Spirit and Truth and that He is the Truth, it seems pretty obvious that we are to worship God through Jesus Christ making us “TRUE worshippers.” Ponder this for a moment. I have to ask myself, “Am I a ‘True worshipper’ of God through His Son Jesus Christ?”
Later in John 8, Jesus uses the word ‘truth’ multiple times. He says, “If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall KNOW the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you free.” Somehow, just knowing this ‘truth’ will bring us freedom.
Jesus goes on to tell those who are listening to him that he is telling them the ‘truth’ and that those who do not believe in Jesus Christ are not abiding “in the truth”. Later Jesus makes His famous statement, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He also told his disciples that after Jesus died, the Father would give them the “Spirit of truth, which is the Comforter”. So, Jesus is the truth, but the Holy Spirit is also the truth. In believing in a triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, this statement about Jesus being the truth and the Holy Spirit being the truth implies (With all of the other evidence that the Bible supplies) that God is also truth. Doesn’t this just speak to how important truth should be for us as those created in His image?
In John 15, Jesus tells us that this Spirit of truth will testify of Jesus Himself and that when the Spirit of truth comes, He (the Spirit which is a personal being) will guide you into ALL TRUTH.” Jesus finishes speaking to His disciples in John 17 and prays for them and then for those who will later believe on Him. He prays that God will “sanctify them [those believers] through God’s truth” stating that “God’s Word is truth.” Remember in John 1, John stated “We saw that Jesus was the Word made flesh.” Again, we see that Jesus is truth!
When Jesus was taken before Pilate, this notion of truth became a point of confusion for Pilate. Pilate asked Jesus if he were a king. Jesus replied, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice.” At this statement, Pilate asked that question that we all want to know, “What is truth?”
This is a question that we all must answer for ourselves. It is my firm belief, based on the evidence given in the Scriptures, that we can know the answer to this question when asking about the truth of our origin, our purpose for life, our morality, and our destiny. However, we first must ask ourselves, do we believe in the God who gives us the truth. Jesus stated to Pilate, “Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice.” That is a very bold statement and definitely worth pondering; thus, I will leave this thought to be pondered today. Do you hear the voice of Jesus Christ? Do you want to hear the voice of God? Do you want to be “of the truth?”
Look for Part 3 of “The Truth” for more insight from the Scriptures about what God says about “truth”.
I have not written in a while as I organized an event for Teens called a Teen Apologetics Conference. Why would I do this? The message that the Lord gave me to share with these teens is TRUTH. As Christians, we need to know what we believe and why we believe it. However, if what we believe is not the truth, why would we believe it? This quest for truth became my mission for a few years now. We know that Jesus tells us, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) However, how does one define truth?
The answer to this question gets very complicated in our American culture today. Many will say, “Well, your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth.” Others will say, “Truth is relative.” Others will say, “No one can know the truth.” And, yet, others will say, “I have all of the truth.” Some say that we live in a post-truth society now.
When I ask this question, as with any question pertaining to life, I have to ask, “What does God say about truth?” I want to hold forth the Word of Life and let God speak for Himself. I began studying this subject by doing a word search on the word “truth” in the entire Bible. I found that in Matthew 22,the Pharisees were questioning Jesus and they said, “We know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth.” However, from the conversation, it seems apparent that these Pharisees did not truly believe this and were out to tempt Jesus, to entangle Him in His speech. Jesus did not fall into their trap. Later in that same chapter of Matthew, Jesus tells these Pharisees that the greatest commandment in the law is to “…Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matthew 22:37) Isn’t that interesting? Jesus told them to love God with their minds. That means they have to “think” about what Jesus is saying. This love of Jesus is not just heartfelt, but it is an intelligent love. If this love is to be intelligent, it would seem that the truth would be important.
The next major find when studying the word “truth” from Scriptures is in the book of John. The word “truth” is used in 22 verses. The first occurrence is in John 1:14 when John tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among the disciples, and that this Word was full of grace and truth. It is interesting that grace and truth are combined in this phrase. A few verses later, in verse 17, John tells us that the “law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” In other words, TRUTH came by Jesus Christ. What does this mean? We are then told by Jesus Himself in John 3:21 that “He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” So, if we “do” the truth, we will come to some understanding.
I have so much more to share from John, but this thought came to mind in my reading at this point. I wondered what the Old Testament had to say about truth. The first use of the word truth occurs in Genesis 24. Abraham was getting very old. He wanted a wife for his son Isaac, the Son of promise. Since Abraham did not want his son to marry the Canaanite women, he sent his servant, who is unnamed in this chapter, to Abraham’s own family in the land of Ur to take a wife from Abraham’s own kindred for Isaac. When the servant asked if he should take Isaac to this land if he could not find a wife, Abraham told him to promise that he would not do this. The promised land (the Canaanite land) was promised to Abraham, and although he did not yet own the land, Abraham acted on faith that this was his land. Isaac was to stay on this land promised to Abraham’s seed. So, the servant went to look for a wife for Isaac.
Abraham’s servant arrived at the land of Ur and he asked God for kindness for Abraham. He prayed very specifically about how to know which “damsel” would be the wife for Isaac. The servant asked God to show him the woman to be Isaac’s wife by having the damsel let down her pitcher of water to the servant and offering him a drink and then offering drink to the camels as well, if she were the one to be Isaac’s wife. Immediately after his very specific prayer, the servant ran to where he saw a damsel and asked her for a little water. This damsel (whose name was Rebekah) did exactly what the servant prayed, nothing lacking. She offered the servant water AND offered to give the camels drink, and kept drawing water for the camels until they were finished drinking. Then the servant asked this damsel whose daughter she was. She told him that she was from Abraham’s family. The servant was awestruck. Genesis 24:26-27a says, “And the man [this servant] bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his MERCY and his TRUTH…”
Genesis 24:27 has the first use of the word TRUTH in it in the Old Testament and this word is tied directly to the word MERCY. God provides both mercy and truth. God’s truth that He would give the promised land to Abraham’s and then his son Isaac’s seed. Isaac needed a wife for this to happen. Abraham knew that God had promised the land of Canaan to him, not to the descendants of Canaan. Abraham walked by faith in following God, even if in his lifetime he did not inherit the land from the Canaanites. Still, Abraham walked in faith that what God spoke to him was the truth. God had promised Abraham the land and many seed, in fact, so many that his seed would be like the number of stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5). Since Abraham believed God (and this was counted unto him for righteousness (Romans 4:3)), Abraham sent to find a wife for his son Isaac that would carry on the family line. He also took measures to be sure that the son remained in the land promised to him. So, we see that Abraham’s servant understood all of this and then declared that the LORD God did not let Abraham down, but He provided Abraham both mercy and truth.
This is the takeaway for me: God told Abraham the truth and He brought what He promised to pass. This scene of Abraham sending the servant to get a bride for Isaac the son is exactly a picture of what the Holy Spirit does on God’s behalf for Jesus in the New Testament. God sent Jesus here to show the way, but then Jesus was resurrected to be seated at the right hand of His Father forever. Jesus told us in John 14-17 that when He would return to His Father, God would send the Holy Spirit to lead people to the truth, the truth of Jesus Christ and God’s promises. He also told us that the truth would set us free. (John 8:32) In Ephesians 5 we are told that marriage is a picture of Christ and the church, with Christ being the groom and the church being the bride. So, the Holy Spirit is sent to draw us to Jesus Christ, and ultimately to God the Father. Jesus is not meant to come back here forever. Rather, we are to be taken to live in His kingdom, whatever that may look like.
The truth is, God loves us and He desires that we fellowship with Him forever. He won’t force us, just as Abraham’s servant didn’t force Rebekah (read the rest of the story for yourself and see the beautiful ending to this story). However, the Holy Spirit guides us to the truth of God’s love. The Holy Spirit, called the Spirit of Truth, shows us the truth of Jesus Christ and His purpose on the earth. The truth is Jesus Christ Himself. There is so much more to say about this in the Scriptures, but I will leave it with this for now… seek the Truth, and God will reveal it to you. Jesus said, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) So, when you are trying to find the meaning of truth, be sure to take into account the one who was bold enough to call Himself TRUTH.
In Part 2 “The Truth” more of the New Testament passages on the subject of truth will be explored. Look for it soon.
In Part 1 of “The Dried up River”, we saw how God dried up the Jordan River for the Israelites to cross into the Promised Land (Joshua 3-4). This river was said to be at flood stage with currents upwards of 5-6 miles an hour. And yet, the river completely dried up once the priests stepped foot into the river. The fact is that the priests had to step into the water before the river dried up. They had to trust God that it would dry up. They had to STEP.
If you are facing challenges in your life that seem as daunting as a flooded Jordan River, ask God to give you the guidance that you need to overcome. Maybe your flood is a stronghold in your life that you cannot overcome. Maybe you are prone to worry or you are prone to addictions or you are prone to depression. Maybe you are in circumstances that you cannot control. Maybe you just have no idea how to overcome these problems. Maybe you have been told and you even know what God’s Word tells you about taking that first step, but for some reason, you are reluctant. I have found that God wants to lead us to victory, but He won’t carry us across in an airplane (so to speak). He asks us to step into a flooded, overflowing Jordan River. When we take that first step, He then opens up the waters and allows us to cross on dry ground. Sometimes, the first step is confession. Just stating that we have a problem is often the first step. Sometimes, however, the first step is obedience to God. If He is telling you to not worry and to take your thoughts captive, but you let your thoughts control your thought life, without taking your thoughts to the Lord and meditating on His Word, you cannot overcome. Sometimes that first step is telling the truth or leaving your circumstances even if the next step is the total unknown. Maybe you know that God has told you not to be where you are, and yet, you are reluctant to do what you believe would be the right thing because of the consequences that you may have to face. Maybe fear is holding you back. No matter what, you are stuck on the wrong side of the flooded Jordan River.
The Bible tells us in James 1:5-7 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea dried with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (KJV) In other words, if we are asking God for wisdom about how to handle a situation in our lives, but we already know what we want to do or will do, then we act as if we do not believe that God will provide us the wisdom that we need. Why, then, should we expect God to provide us wisdom when He knows that we won’t follow what He shows us? That truly does make us double minded.
This has occurred in my life over and over again. When I am struggling in a situation and I try to solve the problem myself, often using the words, “If I can just get through this, then everything will be okay,” I find that I truly struggle. There is not that peace that surpasses understanding that God promises (Philippians 4:6-7). Instead, there is turmoil and what feels like a heavy burden. However, in Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Jesus wants to give us rest and that peace that surpasses understanding. In fact, Philippians 4:6-7 states this, “Be careful for nothing (don’t worry about anything); but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication (asking of God) 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.”
Yes, it is WORK to keep your mind focused on God. Yes, it is WORK to be patient and wait for God’s timing. Yes, it is WORK to pray and thank God through your trials (not necessarily for the hardships, but looking for the hand of God in the circumstances). Yes, it is WORK to not worry about things. But, Jesus gives us the answers. When we worry, take our thoughts to Him and cry out to Him! Don’t try to “fix” the problem on your own. I KNOW these things are difficult to do. The Israelites also had to follow these steps. They had to trust God, even not knowing how things were going to work out. We have the same promises they had back then. God wants to lead us to still waters and green pastures. He wants us to have the “promised land” which Jesus calls “life, and life abundantly”. (John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”) So, how do we get there?
In Philippians 4:8, we are told “Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsosever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” We must keep our focus on God and His ways. If you are going through a turbulent time, and the river seems to be running too fast, wait for the Lord to show you the way across. Seek Him. I am not saying, nor will I ever say, that this is easy. I just know from God’s Word that sometimes there is no other way. Sometimes we step into those waters before we are told to and then we are swept under. Sometimes we look for any other way to get across the waters, and we struggle and take losses because of it. In those times in my life when I have just rested on the one side of the Jordan, even in difficult times, until the Lord made the way, there has been the most peace.
But, do not wait alone!! Find someone who loves the Lord to wait with you. God did not make us to stand alone or to even wait alone. He made us for fellowship, first with Himself and then with each other. Remember that God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone. So, if you are struggling to wait for God’s direction in your life, and the circumstances in which you have to cross seem impossible, first seek God and find rest in Him and secondly look for someone to stand/wait with you. If you need someone to talk with, I love coming alongside others and praying with them through their circumstances. God is a big and mighty God, and yet, He cares for every little detail. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Hope in Him. He knows your circumstances, and He wants to guide you through. If you remember nothing else in this post, remember this… Philippians 4:6-7 “Be care for nothing (do not worry about anything); but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication WITH thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God (whether or not you get exactly what you want or not), which passeth all understanding, SHALL keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
We all come to places in our lives where the waters look too turbulent to get through. Our lives are in a whirlwind of a mess. We can maybe see tranquility coming in our lives IF we just can get through this mess. But, when this happens, I wonder how many of us stop and ask God for the directions to make it to that tranquil place. If you are like me, I sometimes just think that I need to grin and bear it and then think, “This too will pass.” Maybe God doesn’t want us to live our lives like that. Maybe He has a better way. Unless we ask Him, or listen for His directions, how will we know that better way?
I am always struck with awe when I read about Joshua and the Israelites crossing into the Promised Land. The Israelites had waited for 40 years to finally reach this place to which God had promised to take them. Everyone had lost people in their family (all of the family members that had been 20 years old and older when they first began the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land had died in the wilderness). Now these children are grown up and have children of their own. They are standing at the point where they can see the Promised Land. They know there are giants in the land, but they have learned their lesson not to doubt God because the generation before them had done so, prompting their wandering in the desert for so long.
Even though they knew not to turn back from the Promised Land with the giants, they were facing a different obstacle. God had brought them to this point at the time of year in which the Jordan River, which stood before them, was at flood stage. In fact, the Bible says that the Jordan River flowed over all its banks (Joshua 4:18). In doing some research, I found that the Jordan River would have looked daunting at this time. The Jordan River actually begins at the foot of Mount Lebanon, which is covered in snow until the spring time. This river flows at the bottom of a deep valley which descends to the water’s edge on either side in two, occasionally three terraces. It is usually less than 100 feet wide, but when the snows melt and the waters reach their flood stage, the waters reach into the margin of land where there is a jungle full of tamarisks and willows. The river is usually at its highest point in the middle of April; and, at this time of year, it cannot be crossed. If the river is passed over at all, it can only be done by swimming in very hazardous waters. David’s mighty men were known to cross the river one time, but this is what we are told about that crossing: 1 Chronicles 12:14-15 “These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all its banks.” These men were considered brave because they had gone across the Jordan River at its flood stage. (Information taken from Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)
Now, the Israelites were told that the priests had to bear the Ark of the Covenant, and bring it to the brink of the water of the Jordan River. They are to stand still in the Jordan River. (Joshua 3:8) Have you ever tried to stand in a river which is at flood stage with a current that can get up to 5 or 6 miles an hour? That strong of a current will knock you over even on the sides of the banks which are covered in overgrowth. The priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, not only have to step into the flooded Jordan River, they have to stand still! In Joshua 3:15, we are told that when the feet of the priests carrying the Ark were dipped in the brim of the water… again stressing that the Jordan River was overflowing its banks at the time of harvest… the waters did an amazing thing! The waters which came from above them… STOOD AND ROSE UP upon a heap very far up river near a city of Adam. The River bed was now dry from this city, all the way to a city nearly 17 miles away called Zaretan. (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible) We are told in Joshua 3:16 that the salt sea failed. In other words, there was no water running through the river bed. The waters were completely cut off.
When the waters were completely stopped, the people were able to pass over RIGHT across from Jericho. They didn’t have to go look for another way!! The way that had once seemed impossible with women and children and the sick and the old was now perfectly clear for all to cross upon. This was a totally different scene from what they had been through when crossing the Red Sea. At that crossing out of Egypt, Moses held up his rod and the sea stood up on both sides of the people as they walked across on dry ground. They had a pillar of light to show them the way while blocking the view of the enemy from them. This time, crossing the Jordan River, they couldn’t see where the water had stopped. They weren’t aware of when the waters would return. There was no light to guide them. We are told that when crossing the Jordan River, the people had to pass the priests that bare the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord as these priests stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan River (Joshua 3:17). They passed over on dry ground! The words used to explain this scene are interesting… the ground remained dry until all the people were passed “clean over Jordan.”
When the people were “clean passed over Jordan” (Joshua 4:1), there were twelve men who each took a stone and carried it over the Jordan to set up on the other side as a reminder of what God had done for them at this river. After these men were over, and the priests bearing the Ark were called out of the midst of the Jordan River by Joshua, in the presence of all of the people, then the “waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all the banks, as they did before.” (Joshua 4:18)
Joshua tells the people, “the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which He dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God forever.” (Joshua 4:24) The Amorites and the Canaanites (those people who were occupying the Promised Land at this time) heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until they were all passed over, and their hearts melted. There was no spirit in them anymore because of the children of Israel. These people knew that the LORD was with the Israelites. And the Israelites knew that God was with them.
When I read all of this, I have to remind myself that God is the God of impossibilities. We may look at our lives and have no idea how to handle or deal with whatever is in front of us. Maybe we have circumstances that look like a flooded Jordan River to us. We see the other side, and even wish we were there, and maybe even know that God WANTS us to be on that other side. However, we are clueless as to how to get there. We may try to work plans out ourselves. The Israelites could have stopped and made rafts. They could have figured out how to tie the rafts to one side of the river in order to prevent them from being swept under or taken away downstream. They Israelites could have looked for another way to cross the river upstream or downstream. They could have walked for miles to find that “perfect” location to cross the river. Instead, they stood there at the brink of the flooded, overflowing Jordan River and followed the instructions of our loving Father.
Are you in a place that seems impossible right now? Ask God to make the way, and then, follow His directions!
For the remainder of this thought… see Part 2 of The Dried up River
I
have been amazed the last few years while reading the gospels of Jesus Christ
at the number of times the word “if” or “whosoever” is used. God does give us certain commands, and we
know this. However, Jesus seems to also
use a lot of “ifs” as well.
Many
times the word “if” is used in relationship to being a “disciple” of
Christ. What does the word “disciple”
mean? It means simply “a learner or a
pupil”. Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:24-25a,
“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as
his master, and the servant as his lord.”
Also in Luke 6:40 Jesus says, “The disciple is not above his master: but
every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” We learn in these two passages that Jesus is
stating that the disciples are to be like the master. In the case of Jesus, it means that if we
want to be a disciple of Christ, we are to be like Christ. Hence, we are to be Christ-like. People should see us act as Christ acted… to
be the light of the world, as Jesus was that light. People should see us and see Jesus. But how do we do this? I believe one way to learn how to be Christ-like
comes from Jesus’ use of the word “if”.
In Matthew 16:24 Jesus says, “IFany man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” He goes on to say, in the following verses, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Jesus is saying that we must give up our rights to our lives if we are to follow him. He is speaking to his disciples here. IF we want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, we must first give up our rights to our own lives. Notice the word “whosoever” in verse 24. This is a conditional word much like the word “IF”. If you will save your life, you must lose it. This will give to us more than just being “Christ-like”. It also gives us eternal life as evidenced by the verses that follow in Matthew 16:26-28. Read it for yourself and let the Scriptures speak to you.
Luke 14:26 states that we are to love Jesus above all other human loves, IF we want to come to him. He says it this way, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” He continues in verse 27, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” In Luke 14:33, Jesus states, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” In other words, Jesus is saying, we have to desire Him above our own lives… as it stated in Matthew 16. We are to give up our rights to ourselves.
We know that we cannot just say that we are Christians and have eternal life. God knows our hearts. God tells us through James (in James 2:17) that even the devils believe there is one God and they tremble. It isn’t enough to know there is a God or even that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:21 that “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” We are told in Romans 10:9-11, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” If we are truly saved, others will be able to tell by our works of love towards others and by our actions towards both God and others. James says it this way in James 2:18, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” People will know that we are disciples of Christ by our way of life, which includes our words and actions and attitudes towards both God and people. We have a choice to believe and confess Jesus is the Lord so that we will not be ashamed, and we will be saved and have eternal life.
There is another conditional in the Matthew 7 passage. Jesus explains in this passage that it isn’t the works themselves that make the difference. Rather, he says, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man… and every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man.” Again, we have the choice to be a wise man or a foolish man. Many times the word fool in the Bible is used to denote those who do not believe in Christ or those who turn from God. So, to be a disciple, we need to hear Jesus’ sayings and DO THEM. In fact, in John 8:31-32, Jesus says, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” In other words, even though we surrender all and give up our rights to ourselves, we will be free. This may be hard to understand (using Peter’s words about some of Paul’s teachings), but when we truly surrender to Jesus, we no longer fight the battles with our flesh in the same way. We no longer feel alone and caged. Instead, we feel free. When the Pharisees did not understand this saying, Jesus explained that it was sin that makes us not free as we become servants to our sin natures. Jesus states that “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Those of us who know Jesus Christ as our personal savior AND LORD (master) can attest to this statement.
Next, Jesus goes on to tell the Pharisees in John 8:52 “If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.” This is a pretty serious choice! IF a man keeps Jesus’ sayings, then he will live forever… never tasting death! We are saved into an eternal life with God by grace alone, if we keep Jesus’ saying. So, what did Jesus say? In John 6:29 he states, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” We must believe on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is to be our Lord. So, continuing in the word of Jesus Christ means believing on Him as the Son of God and believing that He was sent to save us AND giving up our rights to ourselves (“Keeping Jesus’ sayings”).
Finally, (although not the last time we see conditionals in the New Testament), another “IF” is found in John 13:35 where Jesus states, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Remember that the disciple is to be as the master. Jesus came to show God’s love to the world by dying for our sins and allowing us entrance into an eternity with the father (John 3:16). We should naturally, if we follow Jesus and are learning of Him, have love toward others as well. People will see a difference in a disciple of Christ versus someone who just says they “believe” in Christ. There is a difference. Again, even the demons believe. James 2:19 says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Just because we believe Jesus is the Son of God does not necessarily mean that we make Him the Lord of our lives. There is another step to that. There is the conditional… IF. If you will save your life, lose it. If you want to be a disciple, keep His sayings. If you want to have eternal life, be wise and call on the Lord (master). If you want to know if you are a disciple, examine yourself to see if your love for others naturally flows from your love for God. You must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved… but it is conditional. God gives you a choice. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on Him would have eternal life.”
What
is your choice? You get to choose…
salvation, eternal life, freedom, love toward God and love toward others. What is your choice? How do you respond to “IF”?
Just after I wrote Part 1, I was reading in Numbers 7. The Israelites were bringing their gifts to
offer to the LORD after the tabernacle was fully set up. Moses went into the tabernacle of the
congregation to speak with God. It
states in verse 89 that Moses “heard the voice of one speaking unto him from
off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims:
and he spoke unto him.” All of Numbers 8
records what the LORD spoke to Moses.
So, once again, we see that God speaks to Moses, this time in a new way.
Continuing to look through Scripture, we see that in 1 Kings
19:12, Elijah heard God in a still small voice.
The kings and prophets, and even herdsmen, in Judges, the Kings, and the
Chronicles heard the Lord speak. God
came to them in voices (as in the case of Saul’s mother and father in Judges
13). He came to them in visions to the
prophets, as in Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
God spoke to them in dreams (as to Peter in Acts 10-11). Paul saw a light and heard the voice of Jesus
speaking to Him in Acts 9. Again, if God
is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), then we know that God
still speaks today. So, the question is,
“Are you listening?” How do we hear God
today?
It is my opinion that today our lives are so busy that we
don’t give God the time to speak… or rather, we don’t spend the time
listening. Think about it. In the Biblical times, both Old Testament
times and New Testament times, there were not cars and factories and radios and
MP3s and televisions and computers and fans and refrigerators and washing
machines and everything else that makes noise.
Just listen to what you are hearing right now as you read this. I am guessing that there is something making
a noise somewhere. How can we hear a
small voice if we aren’t listening? How
can we hear a still small voice if there is so much noise?
Often times we hear people say that they feel closer to God
when they are in nature… in the woods, near a lake, on a beach, someplace that has
only nature’s sounds. Somehow, even with
all of those sounds, it is “quiet.” Why
is this? Well, let’s ponder this for a
moment.
God knows everyone of us.
Why wouldn’t he? He created
us. So, if God knows each of us, then he
also knows how we best hear from Him.
Some of us may understand Him better in dreams. We are seeing in many parts of the Middle
East that Muslims are having dreams of Jesus coming to them. Some of us may hear from God by seeing
visions of Him. I know personally of
several people who have had visions of Jesus speaking to them, or showing
Himself to them, and others who have seen God’s glory in a vision and heard His
voice speaking to them. Others only hear
His voice speaking to them, maybe even audibly.
Most of us hear from Him in a way that only we can know that He has
spoken to us. It is an impression or an
exact answer to prayer while reading a Scripture or we just pray something and
someone says something that is exactly what we were praying about. Many times it is through the rhema (Word of
God). In Ephesians 6: 17, it says (when
speaking of Spiritual warfare), “And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” The word “word” in this verse
is the Greek word “rhema” which means “that which is or has been uttered by the
living voice”, “A thing spoken”, “a series of words joined together into a
sentence (a declaration of one’s mind made in words).”
Have you ever had a time when you were reading the Bible and
a verse really seemed to keep leaping off the page at you? This would be your “rhema”… a word spoken by
God to you. Sometimes we have been
praying about something and a verse seems to directly answer what we were just praying. I have found that in reading my Bible daily,
I hear God give me comfort, give me direction, provide an answer to a specific
prayer, prepare me for my day, and so on.
God doesn’t always have an audible voice (aloud), but I just know that
He is speaking to me. I have learned to
question what I believe God is saying.
Sometimes I will write in my journal, “God, are you saying such and such
to me?” specifically writing what I feel He is saying. I have learned how God speaks to me through a
series of trial and error. As I have
learned to carry on two-way conversations with God, I have learned that He does
speak to me almost audibly sometimes. I
have even been blessed with two very distinct visions of Jesus as He spoke to
me and called me by name. “Why me?” I
ask. But then I am reminded that He
wants everyone to know Him, so why not me?**
I believe that God speaks to each of us differently. My husband does not speak to me the same way
that he speaks to our children or the people with whom he works or the people
to whom he ministers. He speaks to each
in a way that they understand. Since God
created each one of us so uniquely, He can speak to each of us in different
ways. We see throughout Scripture (and
biographies of Christians throughout time) that God did speak to people
differently in all of history. The
challenge is simply this… listen!! Set
time aside each day to come to God and His Word EXPECTANTLY!! The Bible is not a book of stories, it is
history and God’s living Word (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Thessalonians 3:16). Often times, God’s Word (the Bible) is God’s
way of communicating to us right where we are.
He provides those words of comfort or direction or rebuke or love. He shows compassion in what He says to us
and, he shows us his sternness when necessary. He directs us in the way we are to deal with
other people and in the way we should live our lives. He redirects us in our activities if we will
be open to hear what He has to show us.
Make time today and ask God to speak to you… then take the
time to listen!! He may not speak every
day in the same way, but He will teach you every day or minister to you every
day. Don’t let the relationship become
stale. How do you think a spouse would
feel if he or she were never listened to or never spoken to, either one or the
other? A relationship requires both
types of communication, listening and speaking.
So, pray and speak to God, but also sit and listen for Him… while
reading His Word and after reading His word and throughout the day. God does speak in a still small voice, or an
impression, or a catch in your spirit.
Don’t ignore this! You just may
find yourself in a whole new relationship with God when you listen.
** In Ezekiel, it
states some 66 times the phrase “that they shall ‘know that I am the LORD.’” This phrase is used in speaking of both the
Israelites and those nations around them.
God used the circumstances between Pharaoh and Moses so they would “know
that I am the LORD” (Exodus 6:7, 7:5), both the Israelites and the
Egyptians. We are told in the New
Testament (John 20:31) that “these are written that you might believe Jesus is
the Christ the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his
name.” Hebrews 8:10-11 says, “For this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall
not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord: for ALL SHALL KNOW ME, from the least to the greatest.” Finally, 2 Peter 3:18a states, “But grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
We all have things for which we pray. Some people know the God to whom they pray, and some people just pray hoping that there is a God out there that hears them. The Bible assures us that God hears us. (1 John 5:14) If we are seeking Him, we are sure to find Him, when we seek Him with all of our heart. (Deuteronomy 4:29) This is definitely a subject worth exploring, but this is not the point I want to make today. I want to address the question: “Does God still speak to us today?”
The Bible states that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So, how did God speak to people in the past? With Adam, God took him and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. How did Adam know that he was supposed to do this? Also, the LORD God commanded Adam that he could eat from every tree of the garden except of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(Genesis 2:17) How did Adam hear God tell him this? Was it a voice? Was there a presence? Did Adam see God? Later, when Adam, and his wife Eve, ate from the tree of the knowledge of good evil, Genesis 3:8 tells us that they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden. So, they heard God’s voice. God spoke to them, a running conversation back and forth. It doesn’t say that Adam SAW God, only that he knew he was there in the garden, and that there was a presence of the LORD God among them, and that Adam HEARD God’s voice.
In the next major event in history, as recorded in the Bible, we see Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s children, bringing offerings unto the LORD (Genesis 4). It doesn’t tell us how Cain and Abel did this, but they each brought an offering unto the LORD. We are told that God had respect for Abel’s gift and not Cain’s and that Cain was very angry about this. Then, the LORD spoke to Cain in verse 6. It doesn’t record whether or not Cain responded to God. However, Cain then killed Abel in his anger, and the LORD spoke to Cain again. This time, Cain responded. God said, “Where is Abel thy brother?” (Vs. 9, after Cain had killed Abel), and Cain responded with, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper.” So, we know that Cain somehow heard God, and then, he carried on a conversation with God… by speaking back to God. Did Cain speak aloud or only in his heart? This is not recorded. However, we know that after God told Cain what his punishment would be, Cain KNEW that God had spoken, and could carry out what He had told Cain. How do we know this? Because Cain said to God, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” (v. 13) Cain then tells God that God has driven him out of the land, acknowledging that God is the one that gave this punishment (see Genesis 4:8-15). The Lord then speaks to Cain and gives Cain a promise and sets a mark upon Cain. In other words, God interacts with Cain, and Cain is aware that this is a two-way conversation.
Fast-forward to the next God-person interaction in the Bible to see how Noah interacts with God. In Genesis 6, God speaks to Noah. We are not told how Noah heard God. Was it an audible voice? Was it a small voice? Was the presence of God there? Did Noah hear this in a dream or was it a vision or was he awake? We are not told that. We are simply told that God spoke to Noah and He told Noah that He was going to destroy the earth with a flood and that Noah was to build an ark. Noah must have KNOWN that this was God speaking because Noah spent the next 100 years building an ark. Then God spoke in some way and told Noah what animals were to be taken, and Noah obeyed God in “all that the LORD commanded him.” (Genesis 7:5) There is so much more to share about Noah, with the ark being closed up by God, and the rains coming, the floods descending, and the exit from the ark, and the rainbow in the sky as a sign to Noah… all of this with God speaking throughout the time to Noah and Noah responding in obedience to what he heard God speak.
Jumping ahead in time, we find another man named Abraham, known as the “friend of God” (2 Chronicles 20:7 and James 2:23) who heard from God. This time, we see God interacting with him somewhat differently. The LORD spoke to Abraham (still known as Abram) and called him out of a people group who worshipped multiple gods and said to him, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great.” (Genesis 12:1-2) Somehow, Abraham knew that this was God’s words to him. We are not told how. It doesn’t tell us that Abraham saw God or that he felt God’s presence. It doesn’t tell us that there was an audible voice or a loud voice or a voice from the sky. So, how did Abraham know that this was the voice of God… a god that he should obey? Maybe it was just that he was being promised such great things that Abraham decided to follow this “voice” and obey it to see what it might bring to him. I may have been tempted to do that. Regardless of what I think, Abraham heard God speak somehow and obeyed. It simply says, “So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him.” (Genesis 12:4)
Next we are told that the LORD “appeared” to Abraham (Genesis 12:7). Again, it doesn’t say how. Was it a vision or a dream or an actual presence or did God look like a person? No matter how it was, Abraham built an altar there unto the LORD. We know that Abraham must have believed strongly that he was hearing from God because after when he went to battle to save his nephew Lot, Abram refused the gifts that the king of Sodom would offer to him by saying, “I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth.” (Genesis 14:22) Later the LORD did come to Abraham in a vision (Genesis 15) and Abraham heard the LORD speak to him. This time, Abraham responded verbally in some way by carrying on a two-way conversation asking God how He was going to bring the things to pass that God was promising him. In the last event that I want to look at (there are many more that occurred between Abraham and God), God appeared to Abraham and pronounced who He was and what Abraham was to do (Genesis 17). This appearance made Abraham fall on his face and respond to God. It states, “God talked with Abraham”. Abraham even asked God to bless his son Ishmael while God was telling Abraham that he would give him a child from Sarah. (vs. 15-19) So, Abraham was carrying on a two-way conversation with God. This was not the last time that Abraham did this. He also spoke to God in a two-way conversation in Genesis 18. Abraham stood before the LORD, indicating a physical presence there with Abraham, carrying on a two way conversation. Abraham questioned the LORD and got immediate answers to his questions. (Vs. 22-23)
Finally, one person that cannot be overlooked in this study of how God spoke to our patriarchs is Moses. First, Moses was tending his flocks when he saw a burning bush (Exodus 3). Moses turned to this bush, and out of it he heard, “I am the God of thy father, …” and Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look upon God. Somehow, Moses heard a voice and was afraid to look as he believed it was God. The LORD went on to speak more to Moses, and Moses responded. In fact, as Moses led the people out of Egypt (by direction of the LORD God), he heard God (Exodus 3), spoke to God (Exodus 3 and 33), sang to the LORD (Exodus 15), followed God in the pillar of cloud by night and the pillar of fire by day (Exodus 13), and pleaded with God (Exodus 32). The Bible states that the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend, and Moses saw God’s glory. (Exodus 33)
If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we should expect that God would still be speaking to us in a like manner today.
Look for part 2 of “God does still speak. Are you quiet enough to listen?” to read more….
Sometimes an example to illustrate what someone is saying makes things clear. I have written about the Word of God being alive and powerful. I have written that it is important to read the Word. I have shared in a very short blurb that God’s Word sometimes speaks directly to our hearts. I want to share an example to illustrate this principle.
We all know that America has problems. The political system itself is extremely controversial. People are divided about how they believe the
issues should be handled. The nation breaks
along religious lines, racial lines, sexuality lines, economic status lines,
citizen vs. non-citizen lines, and so on.
Many people, when you speak with them, agree that there is nothing good
in our future unless this or that happens… at the best. Many others believe that America can never
recover and will somehow self-implode.
This is not my point, but there needs to be a starting reference for the
following discussion.
Use your imagination.
Imagine a desert… all bleak and dry. Everything in it is brown and dried up. There is no source of water. There is no oasis anywhere to be found. Now, imagine there right before you is a
tree. It is big and lush. The leaves are green. There is fruit filling it. But, wait.
There is no river anywhere near this tree. How is it that this tree is so green? Where are the roots coming from to make this
fruit so beautiful and the leaves so green?
When reading Jeremiah 17 this week, I read that God was
telling Jeremiah (from several chapters prior to this one) that the Israelites
were going to be taken from their land because they had turned from following
God. God said that those who trust in
men for their strength (paraphrasing here), would be like the poor in a desert
where there are parched places. However,
God then told the people that for those that trust in the LORD and put their
hope in the LORD, they would be like a tree planted by the waters, spreading
out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes. This tree’s leaf will be green and it will
not have to anxious in the drought and this tree will still produce fruit. Isn’t that amazing? In the midst of a drought, when other plants
are dying everywhere, there will be this tree that will be like one (it didn’t
say it WAS one… but it would be LIKE one) planted by waters. In other words, it would not be right on the
river, but would produce green leaves and fruit as if it were.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
So what, you may be asking?
This is how the Word of God speaks to me. As I read this, it hit me… all around me is
dry ground that is like a desert. People
seem hopeless and irritated. Many
Facebook posts are negative and only focus on the negative in politics, races,
religions and so forth. However, I can
be that tree whose leaf is green and has fruit.
I am not planted next to a plush, wonderful source of hope. Those around me are not always pleasant. And, yet, I can be that tree. I can have green leaves. I can have that hope. The state of things may seem bleak to others,
and yet, I experience hope and joy (joy being part of that fruit).
It doesn’t stop here… this analogy spoke to my heart because I know God and His Word. The verse states, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” (Jeremiah 17:7) This is the source that may be unseen to others. I have learned that when we abide in Him, He brings the fruit out. (John 15) I have learned that this is where the hope comes from… the source that may seem missing all around me, and yet, it is there, unseen in the depths.
God’s Word truly does come alive to us and speak to us, if we will stop and listen carefully (hearken) unto the Words written. If you have ever been reading the Bible, and some verse really stood out to you, but you don’t know why you kept being drawn back to it, stop and ask God. Ask God to show you the significance of it or the meaning. From the Jeremiah passage, I gained encouragement to keep my hope and to share my joy with those around me.
When you read the words in the Bible, use your imagination; see the picture in your mind. God gave us these wonderful imaginations. His Word is full of imagery. Many of the writers told what they saw in visions or dreams. When we see with our imaginations the things spoken of in God’s Word, they come alive… and may even speak to you in a way you never experienced. For me, I want to be that green tree full of fruit which I want to hold forth for others to enjoy! God’s Word showed me this picture… and this is what I am doing now!
In Exodus 20:20-21:6, the Israelites had just received the Ten Commandments. The people were afraid because they thought that if God spoke with them, they would die. So, they asked Moses to let God speak to them. The people then stood far off and the LORD spoke to Moses. God gave to Moses some additional commandments that the Israelites were to follow. God explained the type of altar the people could use in order to sacrifice to Him… sacrifices for which were never recorded as being explained to Abraham, Isaac or Jacob before. God then gave instructions for how to handle certain practices that were already common among the people at that time, not just among the Israelites. In each of these instructions, one can see God’s hand of mercy in the way the Israelites were to handle these issues.
One of the first practices that God addresses after giving
the Ten Commandments is that of servants (which some may label “slaves”,
although this is not the same. Read
Deuteronomy 15:12-15 to see that.). If the
Israelites bought a servant, who willingly sold himself to the master, the
master was to let that servant go in the seventh year. The master was not to see his servants as his
personal property, but people who needed jobs or could help them in some way. At the time when the servant should be set
free, he alone could make a choice. He
might actually see that the one who had given him work was a good master. This servant could choose to remain with his
master. If he were going to do this, he
needed an outward sign to show for it.
Why would that be? Maybe so he couldn’t
change his mind later? It was a mark
upon him that he had made this decision to stay with this good master, the
master whom this servant loved. If he did
this, he was then bound to serve his master forever. The mark made on him was a piercing of the
ear. In the King James Version it states
that the servant was to be brought before the “judges” for this ear piercing to
be performed. In the Hebrew Interlinear
Bible, it states that the word for “judges” is “Elohim”, the same word used of
God in Genesis 1. Now, that is something
to consider.
Why would God place this passage about how servants are to
be handled just after providing the Ten Commandments to the Israelites? Could it be that God wanted the Israelites to
have in mind that they, too, have this choice?
They, too, may see that God is a good master, and they will come to love
Him? One has to wonder why God would
share about being servants just after the Ten Commandments were given. Never, in all of history, did God force
people to choose to follow Him. He
provided the blessings He promised if they did.
He showed mercy to those who would follow Him. We are told that He does not wish that any
should perish (2 Peter 3:9) and that He takes no pleasure in the death of the
wicked… but would rather that the wicked turn from his ways and live (meaning
forever with Him in eternity) (Ezekiel 18:23, 32, Ezekiel 33:11). And, we know that He says that it is His
goodness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).
God showed His goodness to the Israelites. He had shown His power over all of the
Egyptian gods, including the Pharaoh himself, and set the Israelites free. He had shown His provision to the Israelites
in their wilderness journey before bringing them to Mt. Sinai. He had provided their daily food (they called
it manna). He provided them meat (quails). He provided them water, even from bitter
waters turned sweet and water from a rock.
He provided them shelter in the trees.
He provided warmth and guidance through a pillar of fire and shade and
guidance in the form of a pillar of a cloud.
He taught them about Himself and His provision. After, and only after, this, God gave them
the Ten Commandments. Summed up, these
commandments stated two things. The
first four commandments stated to love God above everything. Jesus’ first and greatest commandment was “…love
the Lord God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30)). The last six commandments stated to love others
as thyself. Jesus’ second commandment
was “…Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Mark 12:31a)). Jesus went on to state, “There is none other
commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31b)
So, God showed His deliverance to the Israelites (Exodus
5-15). Then, God showed His goodness to
them in the wilderness. Finally, He gave
them the commandments that were to bring peace and stability to them. After this, God begins to expound on these
commandments so that they will see how to apply them to their daily lives in
their time and culture. And, one of the
first things He expounds upon is how to treat servants. We, too, are called to be those
servants. A great deal of Jesus’
teachings deals with being good servants.
Do we see God’s goodness? Has He delivered you from your sins? Have you seen the destructive path that we all start on in running from God and His goodness? Have you been in bondage and now have been set free? If not, ask God to deliver you. He hears our voice. He heard the Israelites cry out and He answered their desperate cries. He will show Himself strong against all of the gods of this world, just as He did for the Egyptian gods. And He is the self-existent one, the LORD, Jehovah, who delivers His people. After that, He cares for you and teaches you. Are you learning of Him? Are you coming to know Him and His ways? Yes, He may lay down the “laws” for you… love God and love people. Isn’t this what we know within our spirits should happen anyhow? He wrote these laws upon our hearts (as Scripture tells us in Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10). Now, He may be asking you to see how good He is. Do you see it? Do you want to see it? Are you willing to be a bond servant forever to the good master (Luke 18:18)? If so, our lives will look different. We will be marked. It will not be an outward piercing of our ears, but an outward change in our lives. Look for God’s goodness. Look to the Scriptures to know God more. The more you know Him, the more you will see that He IS the good master!
Thought to ponder… As much as we care for our children, God cares more. Since we are made in His image, we tend to operate much like He does. However, He has so much more to offer us! Thank God for that.
As I was reading the Exodus story this week, I realized what
a wonderful story of God’s love it is.
Just like Christ asks us to trust Him for eternal life, God offered the
Israelites freedom from death by the same method… trusting in God’s Word.
In Exodus, God told Moses that He was going to use the
situation to make His own name of LORD known.
The name which means Jehovah, or “The existing One.” (Exodus 6:1-8) Never before had the Israelites called God
this name. They had known Him as the
Almighty One. Pharaoh believed in many
gods, including himself. As the contests
in the book of Exodus unfolds in Exodus 4-12, we quickly find that the LORD is
more powerful than any of the gods of Egypt.
The last “plague”, however, was the one that would be the true
test. The plague of the death of the
firstborn.
Before the LORD brought this judgment upon the people, He
gave them instructions. They were to
kill a lamb and brush some of its blood on the door posts and lintel of their
homes. This blood was to be marked there
so that when the “destroyer” or “angel of death” was to pass through, no one in
that home would die. (Exodus 12:21-23) The people were shown what God, the LORD,
could do in the previous contests with Pharaoh through the plagues brought
against him and his gods. The people had
already seen God’s power. Now, they had
to do something to be saved. What did
they have to do? They HAD to trust God’s
Word. They had to trust what the LORD
had told them to do.
In pondering this thought, I thought of Adam in the garden
of Eden. In Genesis 2:15-17 God told
Adam to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also told Adam that if he ate from this
tree, that he would surely die. In
Genesis 3, we see that Eve, Adam’s wife, was tempted to eat from this tree and
did so, along with Adam. As a result of
this sin, death came upon Adam, just as God had said. God gave the command, “No.” He did this to protect Adam.
Next, I thought about the time after the Exodus when the Israelites were in the wilderness and the LORD met with them at Mt. Sinai. He gave them the ten commandments (In Exodus 20), along with the ways they were to live their lives. This is what we call the Law today. When my children were little, I told them a lot of “no’s”. When they were older, I created a list of rules. Maybe some of these rules were actually hung up on our walls, but many others were simply conveyed by word of mouth. We made rules for everything from how to eat at the table and to do chores, to what not to do, including biting and hitting. There were many rules. And, these rules had consequences when not followed. When the children willingly followed the rules, there were blessings that would come from that. We had special family nights where we all snuggled together on the couch and enjoyed each other. When the rules were not followed by one child, it adversely affected the whole family and those times we were trying to snuggle and enjoy each other were disrupted by the troubling child.
As I continued to ponder these thoughts, I began to think about how the Israelites did the same thing. When they were brought into the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey, they were then free to move about and do what they wanted. No longer was there a cloud to follow each and every day. They were free from the direct presence of God… and, yet, He was still with them. When they were obeying God’s rules, they experienced good times of prosperity with the Lord. When they disobeyed, they brought harm upon themselves and there was not that sweet time with their God. (This is shown from Exodus all the way through the minor prophets in the Old Testament.)
I realized then how similar this is to our teens’ years in
the home. Our teens begin to see the
world with new eyes. They begin to take
those steps toward freedom from the rules imposed by their parents. We, as parents, then give them warnings and
guideliens. They are no longer specific
rules, but more like guidelines to follow.
Yes, some rules always exist such as “you may no go there” or “you must
be home by this time”, but there is more flexibility. They are given more freedom to make the
choices and then enjoy or suffer the consequences of their choices without
checking the boxes of the rules. The
rules still exist. They are there… they
were taught…. They are still the guidelines.
But, the teenager has to learn to
follow them, without it being forced upon him, now for his own good.
Next, it led me to think of our adult children. God is so very good. When the nation of Israel had fully “matured”
(so-to-speak)… when they had passed from the infant stage to the child stage to
the teen stage, God had always been there.
Many “no’s” were given in the beginning.
Many rules were stated in the middle.
Many times of warning in the “teen” years. But, they had come to full maturity
(metaphorically speaking). They had made
decisions to follow or not follow what they had been taught. We, as parents of adult children, watch our
adult children and want to help them. We
want the best for them. We wish we could
enforce the rules sometimes to prevent them from injury. We want to encourage them to have the best
life or to make the best decisions. We
wish we could make the decisions for them, or at least know the right decisions
to make for them. However, we lack.
But, this is the point that God had me pondering this
morning. He is the PERFECT parent and He
has the power to do what we cannot do.
He is ever present, all powerful, and all loving. He knows the right decisions for each of us,
and He knows what is needed to protect us from injury. At this point, I realized that I am that
adult child in need of someone to help me.
I no longer am a child who needs to only hear “no”. I don’t need the rules all laid out for me as
I have that firm foundation of knowing right from wrong. I have gone through those years where I am
learning to spread my wings and find my way, like a teenager does. Now, I am that adult child realizing that I
am free to make my own decisions… and I want to live a life that is as free of
injury as possible. I want to live in
the presence of a wonderful, safe home for ever. So, how do I do that?
That leads me right back to the Exodus story. The people of Israel saw all that God had
done to prove Himself stronger than all of the other gods. He had shown Himself to be the self-existing
one, the LORD. Now, the Israelites were
told there was to be one more plague.
There was yet one more tragedy to be seen. They could escape the negative consequences
of this plague … they were given the instructions. They were given the consequences. They were given the guidance. Now, they had to make a choice. The earlier plagues came upon them regardless
of what they did. Some of the plagues
affected both the Egyptians and the Israelites.
Some of the plagues only affected the Egyptians. This plague, the plague of death, had the
possibility of affecting everyone, no matter which nationality they were. There was now an adult choice to make. What would it be? They could choose to place the blood on the
door posts and trust that this would protect them… or they could try to run and
hide and find their own way… or they could simply not believe and wait and see
what happened.
We have the same choice today. History, Biblical history as well as secular
history, tells us that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. The Bible points to Jesus Christ and prophesies
of Him from the earliest parts of the Bible.
The prophecies given by God throughout all of the Scriptures that have already
come true are too numerous to discount.
The evidence is laid before us.
Jesus stated that He was the Son of God.
Jesus stated that He was the way, the truth and the life and that no one
would go to the Father but by Himself. (John 14:6) Jesus stated that we could have eternal life
if we just believe (TRUST ) in Him and His sacrifice. No greater love has he than he that lay down
his own life for a friend. (John
15:13) Jesus did this for us. When we TRUST in Him, we are given eternal
life. That snuggly (metaphorically, of
course) relationship with God is given to us.
We are granted direct access to our heavenly Father forever. (John 3:16)
We are provided daily help in our
lives and guidance and direction (John 14, 16 speaking of the Holy Spirit that
Jesus said would come).
In all of this… we have a choice. The only thing required of us to have that
relationship with God the Father, the self-existing one, the LORD, the Almighty
God, is to trust in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. Jesus came and told us many things, all
recorded in the gospels. But, none of
that would be trustworthy was He not raised from the dead. In this one man, so many prophecies were
fulfilled, including those for which He could have absolutely NO control. How does a man pick His own birthplace,
unless, of course, He is God? How does a
man pick His form of death after being PERFECT!
How does a man pick where He will be buried, after He is dead? How does a man rise from the dead, unless, of
course, He is God? The evidence, to me,
is overwhelming.
I am blessed that God gave me a choice. In this choice, I choose life. I choose to believe in Jesus Christ as my
Lord (Master) and my Savior. He has
saved me from death and I will live forever.
He is my Lord in that He provides me guidance and direction for my life
which provides me safety and security. I
am blessed that He continues to be the best parent anyone in the world could
ever ask for. God is so good.
If you don’t know Jesus, ask God to reveal Him to you. He states that if you ask, He will
answer. If you seek, you will find. If you knock, the door will be opened unto
you. (Matthew 7:7) If you
don’t have this relationship with God, seek it with all of your heart. It is there to be found.
Have you ever thought, “If I could just do this ONE thing”? Or, have you ever thought, “I wonder what the most important thing is?” Or, “If this ONE thing were in place, everything will be okay.”
The phrase “one thing” stood out to me this week in my reading of God’s Word. One thing! I decided to do a search in the Bible to see where this phrase is used. I thought it was interesting because in many places it is used for the “same” thing. This led me to ponder this phrase even more.
So, what is this one thing?
“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”
Psalm 27:4
According to King David, he wanted more than anything to be in the presence of God. Is that our desire?
One day, two sisters were preparing a meal for Jesus and the disciples. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and Martha was busy making the preparations. Martha then began complaining to Jesus to make Mary help her.
“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Jesus in Luke 10:42
Mary was just sitting there at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him teach. Mary wanted more than anything to be in the presence of Jesus.
One time, there was a man running to Jesus. This man had a question for Jesus, so he kneeled and asked.
“Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
Mark 10:17
What did this man want?
He wanted eternal life in the presence of God.
Jesus answered the man in the following way: “Why callest thou me good? there is none good
but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery,
Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father
and mother. And he answered and said
unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said
unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the
cross, and follow me.” (Mark 10:18-21)
Jesus gave the answer so that this man could have that eternal
life. What was that answer?
“Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”
Jesus in Mark 10:21
In order to have this one thing, to be in the presence of God,
we need to follow Christ. We need to
follow the Messiah. We need to follow
Jesus!
The man in this story went away grieved (Mark 10:22) as he
wanted to hold on to his earthly possessions.
Is this something you battle? Is
this something I battle? If we know for
a fact there is an eternity, do we want the pleasure of being in God’s presence
for that eternity? Jesus tells us the
way. God told us in the Old Testament
that He would tell us the way. He told
us to listen to the Prophet that would speak all of the words that He commanded
Him to speak. Jesus did this.
What did Jesus tell us?
I believe He told us that following God and His ways is the most needful
thing in our lives. Sometimes we hold
onto anything but that, and yet, as David cried out in Psalm 27, one thing is
needful… being in the house of the Lord.
Jesus began His ministry with the phrase “Repent, for the kingdom of God
is at hand.” Did this not mean that God
wants us to enjoy eternity with Him?
Jesus told us to change our way of thinking, to turn to God’s way of
thinking, and to enjoy the kingdom of God.
This is the one thing that I believe is needful!
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul in Philippians 3:13-14
What is that prize? Eternity with God!
Oh for the blessed hope of eternity. Even more than that, the joy that God gives us here on earth. Jesus tells us that He gives us His joy.
“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
Jesus in John 15:11
There is joy in being with the heavenly Father. The joy that we can have eternal life. Only one thing is needful. Today, I want to sit at His feet and be in His presence… and obtain that one thing that is needful… that relationship with Him. If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour… if you don’t know the heavenly Father who loves you so very much… and you WANT to know, ask Him to reveal Himself in His Word. If you need someone to lead you to Him, then ask someone who knows Him… ask me, if you want… but ask.
TESTIMONY
God knows that it may take someone to lead us to Him. He states in Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15
that the feet of those that bring the good news are beautiful. In Acts 8, Philip was taken to an Ethiopian
eunuch who was reading the Scriptures in Isaiah. This eunuch did not understand what he was
reading. Philip was taken by God from a
great revival to speak to this one man to explain the Scriptures. The Ethiopian eunuch then understood and gave
His life to the Lord. God cared enough
about him that as he sought the truth, God led him to it through one of God’s
disciples. So, if you are reading the
Word of God, and you truly want the truth, do not be afraid to ask God to use
others to help enlighten you. God states
in Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for
me with all your heart.”
I personally know this is true. I read the Bible through almost four complete times before coming to understand and giving my life wholly to God. But, at first, I was not seeking a relationship with God. I was only seeking to know what the Bible said. When I wanted to have the relationship with God that I saw in others, I asked God to show me… and He did. Search for Him, and you WILL find Him. Seek His Word. It will lead you to the truth. I am living proof of it!
Why not? Why do people, even Christians, avoid reading the Word of God? Why is it that the Word of God is not always the main focus at Sunday services? God says that His Word is living and powerful.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
The Bible is NOT just a history book with a few bits of poetry interspersed. It is History (HIS Story) AND it is the living word. Have you ever read something and the words just jumped off of the page at you? It was like someone was reading your thoughts and these words directly spoke to your heart. This is what God’s Word does.
In 1 Corinthians 10, we are told that God’s Word in the Old Testament is for our example. In Deuteronomy 18, God tells us that we are to keep watch for God’s Word. So, both the Old and the New Testament must be pretty important for us.
Do you have a child, or watch a child, or know how children are raised? When they are small, they are told not to touch certain things (the stove for instance). They aren’t given explicit instructions as to why or how to use the stove safely or anything else. They are simply told to not touch the stove. They are warned (although it is doubtful that a very small child will understand the why) about the consequences of touching the stove (they may get burned). As they grow, the child’s parent may then teach the child how to start cooking. Okay, so not the entire stove is dangerous all of the time, but the burners are dangerous when the burner is on. Next, the child is taught how to safely turn the burners on and then later, when he is tall enough, the child is taught how to cook using the stove (or even the oven). The child still has to remember the first commandment (don’t touch the stove), but there are many more explanations to this commandment that clarifies what is meant by that. One still does not touch a burner when it is on. That commandment remains, for the child’s safety. It never changes. However, the “do not ever use” part of the commandment changed as the child was able to handle the change. In other words, the mystery of the use of the stove was revealed by the parent to the child over a period of time. The parent never lied to the child or changed their mind about what he told the child; it just took the child time to discover the mystery of the use of the stove. And, when he was young, he needed to know, “Don’t touch the stove.”
This is an analogy to how God’s Word is revealed to us. For instance, in the Old Testament, there were many rules and regulations spelled out for how to love God (things to do) and how to love others (again, things to do). Jesus took all of these commandments and summarized them into two commandments
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
In the Old Testament, God gave commandments, very specific commandments. And, there were a LOT of them. However, He told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 18:15-18 that He was going to send a prophet (a Messiah) in whom the people should listen. This prophet would come from the Israelites and God would put His Words into the Prophet’s mouth and we are to listen to His Words as they will be commanded by God. This is exactly what happened. Jesus came and told us about God. He stated that He came to fulfill the law. He taught many things… so many that the people were surprised by His teachings.
Do you know what excites me and makes me want to believe Jesus? Because of the prophecies that God shared years before Jesus ever came to this earth. For example, in Daniel 9 the exact day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt was predicted! Did you ever stop to think why all of the disciples were looking for the “Messiah” or “that Prophet” during the time of John the Baptist? They KNEW what was taught in the Old Testament and they were looking for Him!! They were looking for this Messiah!
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ
John 1:41
So, when Jesus remarkably stated that all of the other laws hang on his two commandments, he was generalizing the law… much like the stove analogy. (Please note that I know this is not a perfect analogy… )
This is just one reason to read the Bible. It consistently reveals God’s doings from the beginning of time until the very end of time (as shown in Revelation). It shows what God’s desire is for each of us, whether we are Jews or Gentiles.
When people tell me that the Bible is just a book of stories, I cannot accept that. God intertwined History and prophecy and instruction all together. And the Bible is God’s Word that speaks to our hearts individually. We may not be able to accept that at first, but when we start to see how awesome God is in the Words that He did provide from the beginning … then it should make us desire to find out more. So, read the Word of God! Find out more…. You may want to start by reading Deuteronomy 18 and John 1 and meditate on it today.
“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.” Philippians 2:16-17
Paul, to the Philippians
Why Do I Share?
What is the number one reason that I am writing a Blog about the Word of God? It is for one reason and one reason only. Since I started reading the Word of God, I have truly come to know God in a very real way. He has given us His Word for a multitude of reasons, as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
I began reading the Bible when I was nearly 28 years old. I was interested in what it had to say. In fact, I was so interested in it that I read it completely through from the beginning to the end in a little over a year. After that, my husband and I began going to church for the sole purpose of being able to raise our first baby with “good morals and values.” We then took a Bible study class which required us to read about 85% of the Bible. I took this class three times! The first time, I took the class without my husband. The second time, he joined me. Finally, the third time, my husband taught the class. It was at this point that the Bible actually began to become the “WORD of GOD” to ME!!
You see, there is a difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. I was learning the “stories” of the Bible at first. However, after I became a born again Christian, the Holy Spirit did exactly what Jesus said He would do. In John 14, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us all things. It was at this point that my life became alive… abundant… joyful. There was a true difference in me AND in the way that I looked at life. What was that difference?
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Jesus Christ, the Messiah
The difference was this… now I was hearing from God as my father, and not just “the man upstairs.” I was hearing the heart of God. God was revealing Himself to me because the Holy Spirit was now residing IN me. I had received Christ and God had opened a door of communication to me, through communion (or fellowship) with Him. I began to understand the spiritual significance of what I was now reading. It was no longer just history and stories, but rather, the Word of God was God’s voice speaking directly to me.
John 16:13-14 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”
Jesus Christ, the Messiah
There is so much to share about how God has totally changed my life that I cannot possibly include it all here at one time. This is the reason for this blog. As I came to know God through His Word, I could not wait to share what I was learning with others. As I learned more about God, the Words He spoke became milk and then meat for nourishment. As I saw the changes that God was making in my life, as I was better understanding Him, I wanted to share this knowledge with others. I wanted to share the joy that I found. I wanted to share the abundance of life that I was experiencing. Then, one day, the verse in Philippians just jumped out at me. It was Philippians 2:16 in which Paul states, “Holding forth the Word of Life.” That was it. This was the commission that I believe God was giving to me. He wanted (and still does) me to hold forth this life-giving word. I imagine myself holding my hand out with a gift in it… ready to give this gift freely to anyone who will take it. This Word is life changing. It is life giving. It is full of hope and love and joy and peace. This Word of life is everything… as God states. So, here I am, writing a blog to hold forth the Word of Life!
I want to share what the Word of God says, but that is not all. God speaks to us, every one of us. Sometimes we need to take the time to slow down, quiet our minds and listen. I want to share how God speaks. I want to share what God teaches me. I want to share who God is, through His Word. I want to HOLD FORTH the WORD of LIFE and allow God to use it in other’s lives to bring them the joy that Jesus promised… His hope… His joy, an abundant life. Get ready… take His Word and LIVE!!
John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Are you looking around and seeing others that are so “strong” in the Lord and wondering, “How can they trust like that? I wish I had that faith.” Do you know that it is possible for every single believer to have that kind of faith. D.L. Moody stated this: “We must guard against trusting in anything but the Word of God and the Lord Himself.”
The problem is, we doubt… and, oh boy, do we doubt. Is God really hearing me? Does God really care? Why would God allow this to happen? Why would God do this to me? Why would God do this to anyone?
When you first met your spouse (if you are married), did you trust that person COMPLETELY? I am guessing that the answer to that is no, not completely. How could you? You didn’t really know the person. But, isn’t that just it? Once you got to know the person, and maybe you have even been married for years now, you trust that person explicitly with everything. Why? For one main reason, you KNOW him or her.
This is the same principle that applies to a relationship with God. How can you trust a God that you do not know? And, how do you get to know a God that you cannot physically, in person, see or hear? This is why the Word of God is so important. God did tell us about Himself. The more we know of God, through His Word, the more we trust Him. This is why many people who are strong in the Lord are also those that read God’s Word on a daily basis. They KNOW their God. They have learned how God relates to His people and how He operates. They have come to understand God’s ways so that they might know Him more.
Exodus 33:13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
Moses
Moses prayed that He might know God’s ways that he might know God. Isn’t that remarkable? Moses saw God call him from a burning bush. He also saw God do miracles in the land of Egypt and save these Israelites from the Egyptians through the Red Sea on dry ground. By this point in time, Moses had also seen many miracles in the wilderness, including bread from heaven (manna) and water from a rock. Moses saw God descend on Mt. Sinai and give the ten commandments to the people in smoke and fire that covered the mountain… and yet, here, after all of this, Moses is asking God to show him God’s way that Moses may KNOW God!!!
Is this our heart? Do we want to KNOW God? There is one sure way to learn of Him… read His Word. Take the free gift that He has offered which leads to eternal life. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Read His Word. If you need some direction today, read Exodus 33 and 34 and see what happens when Moses makes this request of God.
Holding Forth the Word 