Tag: #Bible

Prepare the House – A Revival

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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!!!

Hearing God’s Voice

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1 Samuel 3

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!

When I Doubt

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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.

Praying Thanksgiving for Others

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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 truth of 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!

1 John Challenge

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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!

Believe Because God Predicts (Part 2)

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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!

Believe Because God Predicts (Part 1)

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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.

Come Away, My Beloved, Rise Up and Come Away, Part 2

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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.”

Come Away, My Beloved, Rise Up and Come Away, Part 1

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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.

John… The Book, the Man, the Message

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“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)

The Truth (Part 3) (or rather, The Rejection of the Truth)

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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.

The Truth (Part 2)

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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”.

IF…

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, “IF any 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”?

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God does still speak. Are you quiet enough to listen? (Part 2)

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.”

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God does still speak. Are you quiet enough to listen? (Part 1)

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….

A Bondservant to the Good Master

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!

The Good Parent

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.  

One Thing

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!

How to Grow in Faith

Featured

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.