Day #261 - Daily Bible Reading Plan - September 15th
Scripture Reading: Numbers 21 - 24 ...
God's principles are unchanging. If you learn how God has worked in the past you will understand how God is working in the present and how He will work in the future. God doesn't change His principles from one age to the next. When God chose Abraham and promised to make of him and his descendants a great nation, He said, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3). God's purposes for mankind were and are tied to the descendants of Abraham. And the promised "Seed" of Abraham, through whom all nations would be blessed, is Jesus.
Because God's principles are unchanging, His blessing comes through His promises to Abraham and so through the Savior who physically descended through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah. And the principle of God's blessing continues through Jesus Christ to all who believe in Him. That's why there are several things in our reading today that point to Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament you find pictures of events that are like arrows pointing to the One through whom all who believe are blessed by God. One such event is recorded in Numbers 21.
As the people of Israel traveled through the wilderness they once again grew impatient and complained and grumbled against Moses and against God (21:4-5). They were tired of the desert and they were tired of the manna that God gave them to eat every morning. Because of their complaining, God sent poisonous snakes among them and many of them were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and confessed their sin and asked Moses to pray for them. Moses did so and God told him to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. As the bronze snake was lifted up, "anyone who is bitten can look at it and live" (21:8). Moses did what God had said and it worked!
This seems like an isolated incident in the life of a people who lived more than 3,000 years ago, but it is referred to some 1400 years later by none other than Jesus as He speaks with the Pharisee, Nicodemus. Jesus was explaining the need to be spiritually reborn, a concept Nicodemus did not yet understand. Jesus wanted him to see the connections between what had happened in the past and what was happening in the life of Jesus and how it all pointed to Him. He explains: "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven - the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in HIM may have eternal life" (John 3:12-15).
Even a bunch of snakes, sent by God to discipline His people for their complaining, pointed ahead to Jesus' crucifixion and the salvation God offers to all who believe in Him. The bronze snake, of course, had no power to save, but it was a symbol pointing to the God who alone can save from certain death - eternal death ... Because Jesus was lifted up on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for sin, the plague of death is stopped for those who look to Him. It is here that Jesus reveals to Nicodemus that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Whoever looks to the Son and believes in Him has life!!!
As the people of Israel moved on, God gave their enemies into their hands. It was not because Israel had the most powerful army that they defeated those who stood against them, but because God was with them. That is true of us as believers, today, too. God's wisdom and strength are our weapons against the enemies that come against us, especially our spiritual enemies, including Satan himself. As Paul says it in Romans 8:31: "If God is for us, who can be against us??" Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus ... NOTHING!! So often those who claim to believe today cry out for God's blessing, asking God to give them more things, to make their lives easier, to give them everything they want. And when God doesn't give them everything they've asked for, what do they do? They do the same thing Israel did, they complain!!
We who believe today need to remember that our Father in heaven "HAS BLESSED us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). We already have everything we truly need through faith in Jesus. Eternal life is God's gift through the blood of Jesus, and it is His Spirit who has moved us to believe in Him in the first place. If you have trusted in Jesus for forgiveness you ARE saved from God's wrath and you know that God is with you NOW and that He will never leave you or forsake you. Even in those times when things are hard, difficult and humanly unbearable, He will provide all that you need as you look to Him. Even when you pass through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4) you do not have to be afraid. He WILL bring you home!!
As one who has been reconciled to God through Jesus, you ARE blessed, and no one can change that! Which brings us to Balak and Balaam. Balak was the king of Moab and he had seen how Israel had defeated the nations around them, so he sent messengers to a man known to speak for God. His name was Balaam. Balak told the messengers to ask Balaam to put a curse on Israel (22:6). They were willing to pay him, to reward him well for doing so. Balaam told them he would inquire of the Lord and God said to Balaam, "You must not put a curse on those people, because they ARE blessed" (22:12). Balaam delivered God's message, but Balak would not take "No" for an answer.
Balak sent more messengers, and Balaam explained that he could not go beyond what God commanded. However, he said he would ask God again. Did he really think God was going to change his mind?? God was angry. He told Balaam to go with them, but sent an angel to stand in his way. While a humorous story in some ways, the principle revealed is anything but humorous: Don't question what God says!! God opened the eyes of Balaam's donkey to see the angel and when Balaam continued to beat the donkey for stopping and trying to avoid the angel, God enabled the donkey to speak to him!!! Finally, God opened Balaam's eyes to see the angel and God gave him a message for Balak ... and for US!!
As Balak, this foolish king, tried to coerce Balaam to curse Israel, God gave Balaam these words to say, "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it. No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The LORD their God is with them ... There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'" (23:18-23). Don't you want to say, "AMEN!"? Look at what God has done!!!
Balaam then goes on to proclaim God's blessing: "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel! ... Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. ... May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed" (24:5, 7, 9). In his fourth oracle he even declares that "a star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel ... A ruler will come out of Jacob ..." (24:17, 19). Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!! One reference after another that points to the One who would be the "SEED" of Abraham, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from the line of Judah. "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and the obedience of the nations is HIS!" (Genesis 49:10).
The principle revealed in these chapters is vital to our understanding of what Jesus has done for us. Paul writes to the Galatians, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit'" (Galatians 3:13-14). The assurance we have as believers is that the curse of sin and death has been removed from us through the death of Christ in our place. And you can't curse what God has blessed!! As a contemporary song declares, "No power of hell, nor human plan can ever pluck me from His hand; for I am His and He is mine!" Praise God! I AM BLESSED!!!
"My Father in heaven, it is YOU who have blessed me through Your Son Jesus Christ. I now rest in Him and exist in a state of eternal blessedness. Not even death can separate me from You. The curse has been removed, my sins have been forgiven and I rejoice in Your salvation. Give me strength daily to proclaim Your salvation and to give thanks for Your blessing, in Jesus' name, Amen"
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
"I thank God for you in my prayers …"
Day #260: Daily Bible Reading Plan - September 14th
Scripture Reading: Philemon …
Do you thank God for anybody in your prayers? Is there anyone God has brought into your life who has made such a deep spiritual impact in your life that you regularly thank God for them? For many of us the list would begin with our spouse, and perhaps parents, children, other family members. But who else? Do you have people in your life with whom you are connected spiritually to the point that you thank God for them in your prayers? Some might say that it was because the Apostle Paul was not married that he so appreciated his fellow-believers, but we who know Christ and who are united by His Spirit with others in His body ought to have many such people who come to mind as we pray and as we give thanks.
At this time in his ministry, Paul was in prison, under house arrest. It is clear that he was able to receive visitors and to carry on his work of spreading the Gospel by teaching those who came and then sending them out with the Gospel. One such visitor was Onesimus, apparently a slave of a man named, Philemon. Philemon had sent him to Paul to perhaps bring Paul some needed items and Paul had spent some time with him. Paul calls him, "my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains" (verse 10). The purpose of Paul's letter to Philemon was to encourage Philemon to consider Onesimus no longer as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. Onesimus had apparently placed his faith in Jesus Christ through Paul's teaching and it was Paul's desire to see him not only set free spiritually, but also physically.
Paul's approach to this request was masterful, not because he was not willing to confront Philemon with the wrongs of slavery, but because he wanted to allow the Spirit to convict Philemon so that what he did would be done voluntarily, from the heart. Paul makes this request in a letter written not only to Philemon, but to others in the church that was meeting in Philemon's home (verses 1-2). This was part of the body of Christ, the fellowship of the saints, and Paul wanted to teach all of them the importance of the community God was building through the Gospel by the work of His Spirit. As part of the body of Christ what you and I do affects all the other parts of the body. We come to Christ as individuals, but we don't remain that way. We who believe are family!!
To those who confessed Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, Paul wrote, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ" (verse 6). We are told today that "faith" is a personal thing, and it is; however, it is in speaking of our faith, of our knowledge of Christ through His Word, that we ourselves grow and that others in the body are built up in the faith. To the believers in Ephesus Paul wrote, "Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:15-16). We need each other!
After his initial greeting and encouragement to the church, Paul speaks directly to Philemon. He says immediately, "… in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do …" (verse 8). Paul had the authority in Christ to order Philemon to release Onesimus from being his slave, for certainly that would have been what God desired, but he says, "… yet I appeal to you on the basis of love" (verse 9). Paul actually wanted Onesimus to stay with HIM, but he says to Philemon, "I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced" (verse 14). In other words, "You need to do what you know in your heart is right, not because you have to, but because the love you know in Christ compels you to do so."
It appears that Paul was confident that Philemon WOULD do the right thing, but was perhaps using this opportunity to speak to the whole church about what it meant to love one another in Christ and to consider one another, even in the society of that time, as equal in Christ. That is an important lesson for the church today as well. There are no class distinctions, no favoritism, no divisions in the body of Christ. As someone has said, "The ground is level at the foot of the cross!" The confidence Paul had was not in Philemon, but in the Spirit of God who lived within him. It is important to call brothers and sisters in Christ to a higher standard than that of the world around us. Because God has first loved us in Christ, we are compelled by the Spirit to love one another in a way that the world will never understand. We need more of that in the body of Christ!!
Throughout the letter you can sense Paul's love for the Church, for the body, for those who were his brothers and sisters in Christ, and he encourages Philemon to receive Onesimus back "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother" (verse 16). And he goes on to say, "He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord" (verse 16). What a beautiful thing Jesus does by bringing together slave and free. Perhaps this is who Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Galatians, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Finally, Paul reminds Philemon of the relationship HE has with Paul: "If you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me" (verse 17), and "I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ …" (verse 20). Such boldness in sharing our needs with the expectation that our brothers and sisters will respond in love is a beautiful gift from God among those who are part of God's family by faith. It is a love produced by the Holy Spirit and enjoyed by all within the body. We need to do our best to stir one another up to fulfill our calling to love one another in this way.
As he begins his letters, so Paul ends by pointing those who read it to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is God's grace that calls us to put our hope in Him and to rejoice in His love together. Sharing that joy and love is the beauty of the Church. May God help you to be part of such a body and to rejoice in one another, giving thanks for your brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers, and so glorifying your Father in heaven!
"Father, I thank You for so many people in my life! You have brought each one to encourage me, to comfort me, to teach me, to hold me accountable, to walk this road of life with me, and I thank You by name for those in the past and for those who are around me at this time. They are truly gifts from You and partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Give me grace to love them as You have loved me and to share life and ministry together, as we give thanks to You, in Jesus' name, Amen"
Scripture Reading: Philemon …
Do you thank God for anybody in your prayers? Is there anyone God has brought into your life who has made such a deep spiritual impact in your life that you regularly thank God for them? For many of us the list would begin with our spouse, and perhaps parents, children, other family members. But who else? Do you have people in your life with whom you are connected spiritually to the point that you thank God for them in your prayers? Some might say that it was because the Apostle Paul was not married that he so appreciated his fellow-believers, but we who know Christ and who are united by His Spirit with others in His body ought to have many such people who come to mind as we pray and as we give thanks.
At this time in his ministry, Paul was in prison, under house arrest. It is clear that he was able to receive visitors and to carry on his work of spreading the Gospel by teaching those who came and then sending them out with the Gospel. One such visitor was Onesimus, apparently a slave of a man named, Philemon. Philemon had sent him to Paul to perhaps bring Paul some needed items and Paul had spent some time with him. Paul calls him, "my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains" (verse 10). The purpose of Paul's letter to Philemon was to encourage Philemon to consider Onesimus no longer as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. Onesimus had apparently placed his faith in Jesus Christ through Paul's teaching and it was Paul's desire to see him not only set free spiritually, but also physically.
Paul's approach to this request was masterful, not because he was not willing to confront Philemon with the wrongs of slavery, but because he wanted to allow the Spirit to convict Philemon so that what he did would be done voluntarily, from the heart. Paul makes this request in a letter written not only to Philemon, but to others in the church that was meeting in Philemon's home (verses 1-2). This was part of the body of Christ, the fellowship of the saints, and Paul wanted to teach all of them the importance of the community God was building through the Gospel by the work of His Spirit. As part of the body of Christ what you and I do affects all the other parts of the body. We come to Christ as individuals, but we don't remain that way. We who believe are family!!
To those who confessed Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, Paul wrote, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ" (verse 6). We are told today that "faith" is a personal thing, and it is; however, it is in speaking of our faith, of our knowledge of Christ through His Word, that we ourselves grow and that others in the body are built up in the faith. To the believers in Ephesus Paul wrote, "Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:15-16). We need each other!
After his initial greeting and encouragement to the church, Paul speaks directly to Philemon. He says immediately, "… in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do …" (verse 8). Paul had the authority in Christ to order Philemon to release Onesimus from being his slave, for certainly that would have been what God desired, but he says, "… yet I appeal to you on the basis of love" (verse 9). Paul actually wanted Onesimus to stay with HIM, but he says to Philemon, "I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced" (verse 14). In other words, "You need to do what you know in your heart is right, not because you have to, but because the love you know in Christ compels you to do so."
It appears that Paul was confident that Philemon WOULD do the right thing, but was perhaps using this opportunity to speak to the whole church about what it meant to love one another in Christ and to consider one another, even in the society of that time, as equal in Christ. That is an important lesson for the church today as well. There are no class distinctions, no favoritism, no divisions in the body of Christ. As someone has said, "The ground is level at the foot of the cross!" The confidence Paul had was not in Philemon, but in the Spirit of God who lived within him. It is important to call brothers and sisters in Christ to a higher standard than that of the world around us. Because God has first loved us in Christ, we are compelled by the Spirit to love one another in a way that the world will never understand. We need more of that in the body of Christ!!
Throughout the letter you can sense Paul's love for the Church, for the body, for those who were his brothers and sisters in Christ, and he encourages Philemon to receive Onesimus back "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother" (verse 16). And he goes on to say, "He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord" (verse 16). What a beautiful thing Jesus does by bringing together slave and free. Perhaps this is who Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Galatians, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Finally, Paul reminds Philemon of the relationship HE has with Paul: "If you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me" (verse 17), and "I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ …" (verse 20). Such boldness in sharing our needs with the expectation that our brothers and sisters will respond in love is a beautiful gift from God among those who are part of God's family by faith. It is a love produced by the Holy Spirit and enjoyed by all within the body. We need to do our best to stir one another up to fulfill our calling to love one another in this way.
As he begins his letters, so Paul ends by pointing those who read it to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is God's grace that calls us to put our hope in Him and to rejoice in His love together. Sharing that joy and love is the beauty of the Church. May God help you to be part of such a body and to rejoice in one another, giving thanks for your brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers, and so glorifying your Father in heaven!
"Father, I thank You for so many people in my life! You have brought each one to encourage me, to comfort me, to teach me, to hold me accountable, to walk this road of life with me, and I thank You by name for those in the past and for those who are around me at this time. They are truly gifts from You and partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Give me grace to love them as You have loved me and to share life and ministry together, as we give thanks to You, in Jesus' name, Amen"
Friday, September 12, 2014
"What is truth?"
Day #259: Daily Bible Reading - September 13th
Scripture Reading: John 16 - 18 …
"It is for your good that I am going away" (16:7). How strange that must have sounded to the ears of the disciples. They had given up everything to follow Jesus. He was their Rabbi, their teacher. If He went away, what would become of them? Jesus had told them that they would do "greater things" than He had been doing (14:12), and now He told them HOW that would happen: He was going to send them "another one, like Him" to walk beside them … in fact, to live within them! He was speaking of the Holy Spirit and He said, "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (16:8). So much for the soft, gentle approach! Jesus had called people to repent, and after His death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit would confront people with their sin and convict them from within! The work of God to bring salvation and to defeat the power of Satan to deceive was about to enter a new phase.
We live in the time Jesus was speaking about … the time when His Spirit is convicting the world of sin and righteousness and judgment through the preaching of the Gospel. But only those who are born again and given new life respond in repentance and faith. The rest get angry, turn away and persecute the messengers. It has been so for 2,000 years and it is still so today. If the message you are hearing is not facing opposition, it is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth confronts, and people in our culture do not like being confronted. Instead, they gather around them teachers who will tell them what they want to hear (II Timothy 4:3). This is another sign of the times in which we live.
As Jesus spoke with the disciples this one last time before He went to the cross, He pointed them to a time when the Father would give them whatever they asked in His Name. Some believe that Jesus was giving His disciples a "blank check," saying that whatever they wanted the Father would do. But Jesus was speaking of a future day, a day when their joy would be complete. I can only imagine that the "day" Jesus was talking about was when He comes again. Our joy will not be complete until then, for yet today we who believe in Him long for His return. We spend so much time focusing on this life and this world, and while Jesus gave us a mission for this world, He continually pointed His disciples to what lay ahead.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (16:33). Those who teach today that if you think positively God will give you all you ask in the name of Jesus and you'll have an easy life are not speaking truth. This world is in direct conflict with Jesus Christ and only through faith in Him, a faith produced in us by the very Spirit of God, will we endure and persevere and be faithful witnesses. Which leads to Chapter 17 … a chapter badly misunderstood and twisted and distorted by so many in the church today.
After praying to the Father and giving a definition of eternal life: "that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent" (17:3), Jesus prays for the disciples and then for all those "who will believe in Me through their message" (17:20). He prays that the Father will protect them, saying that they are not of this world. In other places we are told that as believers we are "aliens and strangers in this world." This is not our home any longer. Jesus prays, "Sanctify them (set them apart for a holy purpose) by the truth; Your word is truth" (17:17). The only way to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ is to be a student of God's Word throughout Your life. Only here will you find the truth that you need to live with God, for God and by the power of God.
Then Jesus prays for "ONENESS" for His disciples … NOT unity, but ONENESS. "May they be one as we are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete ONENESS to let the world know that You sent Me …" (17:22-23). The ecumenical movement of the past few decades has watered down the truth of God's Word to attempt to create an outward unity produced by men, rather than an inner oneness that only the Spirit of truth can produce. True spiritual oneness will always be found in Christ. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, for there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:3-6).
And the "all" he is talking about is all believers, not all people. Jesus prayed for those who would believe in HIM through the message of the Gospel, that WE would be of one mind and one heart in HIM. The proof of the failure of the ecumenical movement is that these same people who claim to be followers of Christ are now promoting the interfaith movement, claiming Jesus is the only way (some of them), while declaring that we can learn from other religions and we must respect them. Such "truth" contradicts the truth Jesus spoke and taught His disciples. If it was unity and oneness with all mankind that Jesus had wanted, then there was no reason for what takes place in the rest of John's Gospel - the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
If all mankind is one, then what is the cross about? Not surprisingly, there are those IN THE CHURCH today who deny that the death of Jesus on the cross paid the penalty for sin for those who believe. They have concocted a different idea … that Jesus was caught up in the political turmoil of the day, but that He showed the way of peace and love and calls His disciples to endure injustice and to try to overcome it by just loving others. It makes me want to scream!!! Jesus said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world!" (18:36). Then He challenged Pilate by saying, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to ME!" (18:37). And all Pilate can say is, "What is truth?"
That's the question of the day, isn't it?! "What is truth?" Either you believe everything God has revealed in His Word or you have no Savior, no Jesus, no forgiveness, no salvation, no LIFE!! Remember, Jesus said, "Sanctify them by the truth; YOUR WORD is truth!" (17:17). After He had risen from the dead, Jesus opened the Word to the disciples and explained how the entire Old Testament pointed to Him. He told the disciples that the Holy Spirit would bring to mind all that He had told them, and in the Gospels we have the truth God wanted us to know about Jesus.
Through the disciples and the Apostle Paul, to whom Jesus appeared on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), we have all we need to know for life and godliness through the Bible, the living Word of God. I pray that YOU are learning this truth as we go through the Bible this year. The Spirit is our teacher and it ALL points to Jesus … who He is, what He did, where He is, how He is working in the world today, and to the kingdom that is soon to come when He returns. It is ALL about Jesus and He points those who believe to the Father, praying that we will be ONE with Him and with the Father as His Spirit lives within us.
Yes, it was for the good of the disciples and for OUR good that Jesus finished the work He had come to do the FIRST time and then ascended into heaven and sent His Spirit, for apart from the work of His Spirit we would remain spiritually dead in sin and separated from God. Jesus accomplished our salvation on the cross and by His Spirit now opens the ears, hearts and minds of His sheep to hear His voice. Thank God for Jesus and for His Spirit and live to proclaim the truth that has set you free!!
"My Father in heaven, I rejoice in the oneness I have with You through Jesus and Your Spirit. While I confess that this truth is yet beyond my comprehension, I know that You are faithful to all who are moved by Your Spirit to come to You in the Name of Jesus. Father, I come, confessing my sin, seeking Your righteousness and thanking You for providing an escape from Your coming judgment through faith in Jesus. Thank You, Father, for revealing this truth to Me and making me Your child. In Jesus' name, Amen"
Scripture Reading: John 16 - 18 …
"It is for your good that I am going away" (16:7). How strange that must have sounded to the ears of the disciples. They had given up everything to follow Jesus. He was their Rabbi, their teacher. If He went away, what would become of them? Jesus had told them that they would do "greater things" than He had been doing (14:12), and now He told them HOW that would happen: He was going to send them "another one, like Him" to walk beside them … in fact, to live within them! He was speaking of the Holy Spirit and He said, "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (16:8). So much for the soft, gentle approach! Jesus had called people to repent, and after His death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit would confront people with their sin and convict them from within! The work of God to bring salvation and to defeat the power of Satan to deceive was about to enter a new phase.
We live in the time Jesus was speaking about … the time when His Spirit is convicting the world of sin and righteousness and judgment through the preaching of the Gospel. But only those who are born again and given new life respond in repentance and faith. The rest get angry, turn away and persecute the messengers. It has been so for 2,000 years and it is still so today. If the message you are hearing is not facing opposition, it is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth confronts, and people in our culture do not like being confronted. Instead, they gather around them teachers who will tell them what they want to hear (II Timothy 4:3). This is another sign of the times in which we live.
As Jesus spoke with the disciples this one last time before He went to the cross, He pointed them to a time when the Father would give them whatever they asked in His Name. Some believe that Jesus was giving His disciples a "blank check," saying that whatever they wanted the Father would do. But Jesus was speaking of a future day, a day when their joy would be complete. I can only imagine that the "day" Jesus was talking about was when He comes again. Our joy will not be complete until then, for yet today we who believe in Him long for His return. We spend so much time focusing on this life and this world, and while Jesus gave us a mission for this world, He continually pointed His disciples to what lay ahead.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (16:33). Those who teach today that if you think positively God will give you all you ask in the name of Jesus and you'll have an easy life are not speaking truth. This world is in direct conflict with Jesus Christ and only through faith in Him, a faith produced in us by the very Spirit of God, will we endure and persevere and be faithful witnesses. Which leads to Chapter 17 … a chapter badly misunderstood and twisted and distorted by so many in the church today.
After praying to the Father and giving a definition of eternal life: "that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent" (17:3), Jesus prays for the disciples and then for all those "who will believe in Me through their message" (17:20). He prays that the Father will protect them, saying that they are not of this world. In other places we are told that as believers we are "aliens and strangers in this world." This is not our home any longer. Jesus prays, "Sanctify them (set them apart for a holy purpose) by the truth; Your word is truth" (17:17). The only way to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ is to be a student of God's Word throughout Your life. Only here will you find the truth that you need to live with God, for God and by the power of God.
Then Jesus prays for "ONENESS" for His disciples … NOT unity, but ONENESS. "May they be one as we are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete ONENESS to let the world know that You sent Me …" (17:22-23). The ecumenical movement of the past few decades has watered down the truth of God's Word to attempt to create an outward unity produced by men, rather than an inner oneness that only the Spirit of truth can produce. True spiritual oneness will always be found in Christ. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, for there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:3-6).
And the "all" he is talking about is all believers, not all people. Jesus prayed for those who would believe in HIM through the message of the Gospel, that WE would be of one mind and one heart in HIM. The proof of the failure of the ecumenical movement is that these same people who claim to be followers of Christ are now promoting the interfaith movement, claiming Jesus is the only way (some of them), while declaring that we can learn from other religions and we must respect them. Such "truth" contradicts the truth Jesus spoke and taught His disciples. If it was unity and oneness with all mankind that Jesus had wanted, then there was no reason for what takes place in the rest of John's Gospel - the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
If all mankind is one, then what is the cross about? Not surprisingly, there are those IN THE CHURCH today who deny that the death of Jesus on the cross paid the penalty for sin for those who believe. They have concocted a different idea … that Jesus was caught up in the political turmoil of the day, but that He showed the way of peace and love and calls His disciples to endure injustice and to try to overcome it by just loving others. It makes me want to scream!!! Jesus said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world!" (18:36). Then He challenged Pilate by saying, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to ME!" (18:37). And all Pilate can say is, "What is truth?"
That's the question of the day, isn't it?! "What is truth?" Either you believe everything God has revealed in His Word or you have no Savior, no Jesus, no forgiveness, no salvation, no LIFE!! Remember, Jesus said, "Sanctify them by the truth; YOUR WORD is truth!" (17:17). After He had risen from the dead, Jesus opened the Word to the disciples and explained how the entire Old Testament pointed to Him. He told the disciples that the Holy Spirit would bring to mind all that He had told them, and in the Gospels we have the truth God wanted us to know about Jesus.
Through the disciples and the Apostle Paul, to whom Jesus appeared on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), we have all we need to know for life and godliness through the Bible, the living Word of God. I pray that YOU are learning this truth as we go through the Bible this year. The Spirit is our teacher and it ALL points to Jesus … who He is, what He did, where He is, how He is working in the world today, and to the kingdom that is soon to come when He returns. It is ALL about Jesus and He points those who believe to the Father, praying that we will be ONE with Him and with the Father as His Spirit lives within us.
Yes, it was for the good of the disciples and for OUR good that Jesus finished the work He had come to do the FIRST time and then ascended into heaven and sent His Spirit, for apart from the work of His Spirit we would remain spiritually dead in sin and separated from God. Jesus accomplished our salvation on the cross and by His Spirit now opens the ears, hearts and minds of His sheep to hear His voice. Thank God for Jesus and for His Spirit and live to proclaim the truth that has set you free!!
"My Father in heaven, I rejoice in the oneness I have with You through Jesus and Your Spirit. While I confess that this truth is yet beyond my comprehension, I know that You are faithful to all who are moved by Your Spirit to come to You in the Name of Jesus. Father, I come, confessing my sin, seeking Your righteousness and thanking You for providing an escape from Your coming judgment through faith in Jesus. Thank You, Father, for revealing this truth to Me and making me Your child. In Jesus' name, Amen"
Thursday, September 11, 2014
"Prepare to meet your God!"
Day #258: Daily Bible Reading Plan - September 12th
Scripture Reading: Amos 1 - 4 …
Being a prophet in Israel and Judah in the centuries before Christ could not have been an easy or enjoyable task. God sent the prophets with a message of judgment and offered hope ONLY if the people returned to Him in repentance - turning from their sin and coming humbly before their God in faith and obedience. Those who welcomed God's offer of forgiveness and who returned to Him were few in number. Most stubbornly persisted in their rejection of the words of the prophets, listening instead to the assurances from false prophets that all was well. In the shadow of God's impending judgment came the prophet, Amos.
Like many of the other prophets, Amos was given a message that was 95% judgment … yet with an offer of hope for the future based not on what THEY would do, but on what GOD would do. The true prophets did not speak their own words, but only what God Himself revealed to them. Who would have the courage to speak such words to a nation that was chosen to belong to God?! Amos explains, "Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets. The lion (God) has roared - who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken - who can but prophesy?" (3:7-8).
I must confess that I sense that same urgency and that same call today … and I am not alone. People often mock those who pronounce God's judgment, but the message God has given those who shepherd His flock today is as clear as it was in the days of Amos: Judgment is coming on this world and many people will be surprised to find themselves in the path of His wrath. As Amos begins his prophecy, he mentions nations by name: Damascus (capital of Syria), Gaza (land of the Philistines), Tyre (Lebanon), Edom, Ammon and Moab (Jordan). These are the nations around Israel yet today. The people of Israel and Judah would have been glad to hear of God's coming judgment upon them. God's judgment upon these nations was clear and certain: "I will not turn back my wrath" (1:3,6,9,11,13; 2:1).
But Amos didn't stop there!! He goes on to pronounce God's judgment on Judah and Israel!!! (2:4-15). These were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whom God had made into a great nation and brought up out of Egypt (2:10). Yet, God disciplines those He loves. It was for the sake of their forefathers that God would save a remnant. "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for your sins" (3:2). Unlike the other nations, God would not destroy them completely … then or now or in the future. "As a shepherd saves from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites be saved" (3:12). A remnant … a small piece that appears insignificant and useless … but God would keep His promises.
Oh, but what Israel and Judah have had to go through because they rejected their God and refused to return to Him … and more lies ahead. Why is God so stern? What about Jesus? Isn't God compassionate and merciful and forgiving? Yes … BUT, God cannot overlook sin. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai and God spoke to Him, He proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 34:6-7).
So Amos declares, "The Sovereign LORD has sworn by His holiness: 'The time will surely come when you will be taken away ...'" (4:2). The remainder of chapter 4 makes it clear why judgment will fall upon them. God's discipline is meant to lead to repentance, but the people of Israel and Judah had utterly ignored God's warnings. Five times God brought extreme trials on Israel ... He gave them empty stomachs, He withheld rain, He sent locusts and blight on their gardens and vineyards, He sent plagues, He overthrew their cities ... all to get their attention and to call them back to Him. But after each one of these, God's refrain is the same: "YET you have not returned to Me!" (4:6,8,9,10,11).
The result: "Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" (4:12). God offers His love and forgiveness. God calls out, "Come to ME!" "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth - the LORD God Almighty is His Name" (4:13). God is GOD! If you know God, you know that if He loves you and that He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to pay your debt on the cross. He is not going to let you drift away without giving you a wake-up call.
We read in Hebrews 12: "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. ... No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:7,11). When God says to Israel, "Prepare to meet your God," it would be in judgment that they would meet Him. But it did not have to be so. God's call to repentance was met with stubborn rebellion. Don't make the same mistake. In the words of Isaiah, "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7).
"O LORD, our God, to know You is to know Your power and Your greatness, and then to come face-to-face with my sin and guilt. I thank You, O God, for Your discipline and for Your call to return to You, to repent and to find Your forgiveness through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. I trust in Your promises and Your grace, O LORD, and praise You for the gift of knowing that when I meet You I will not have to be afraid. Because of Your love for me I look forward to that day when I see Your face and enter Your presence. My life is Yours! In Jesus' name, Amen"
Scripture Reading: Amos 1 - 4 …
Being a prophet in Israel and Judah in the centuries before Christ could not have been an easy or enjoyable task. God sent the prophets with a message of judgment and offered hope ONLY if the people returned to Him in repentance - turning from their sin and coming humbly before their God in faith and obedience. Those who welcomed God's offer of forgiveness and who returned to Him were few in number. Most stubbornly persisted in their rejection of the words of the prophets, listening instead to the assurances from false prophets that all was well. In the shadow of God's impending judgment came the prophet, Amos.
Like many of the other prophets, Amos was given a message that was 95% judgment … yet with an offer of hope for the future based not on what THEY would do, but on what GOD would do. The true prophets did not speak their own words, but only what God Himself revealed to them. Who would have the courage to speak such words to a nation that was chosen to belong to God?! Amos explains, "Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets. The lion (God) has roared - who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken - who can but prophesy?" (3:7-8).
I must confess that I sense that same urgency and that same call today … and I am not alone. People often mock those who pronounce God's judgment, but the message God has given those who shepherd His flock today is as clear as it was in the days of Amos: Judgment is coming on this world and many people will be surprised to find themselves in the path of His wrath. As Amos begins his prophecy, he mentions nations by name: Damascus (capital of Syria), Gaza (land of the Philistines), Tyre (Lebanon), Edom, Ammon and Moab (Jordan). These are the nations around Israel yet today. The people of Israel and Judah would have been glad to hear of God's coming judgment upon them. God's judgment upon these nations was clear and certain: "I will not turn back my wrath" (1:3,6,9,11,13; 2:1).
But Amos didn't stop there!! He goes on to pronounce God's judgment on Judah and Israel!!! (2:4-15). These were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whom God had made into a great nation and brought up out of Egypt (2:10). Yet, God disciplines those He loves. It was for the sake of their forefathers that God would save a remnant. "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for your sins" (3:2). Unlike the other nations, God would not destroy them completely … then or now or in the future. "As a shepherd saves from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites be saved" (3:12). A remnant … a small piece that appears insignificant and useless … but God would keep His promises.
Oh, but what Israel and Judah have had to go through because they rejected their God and refused to return to Him … and more lies ahead. Why is God so stern? What about Jesus? Isn't God compassionate and merciful and forgiving? Yes … BUT, God cannot overlook sin. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai and God spoke to Him, He proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 34:6-7).
So Amos declares, "The Sovereign LORD has sworn by His holiness: 'The time will surely come when you will be taken away ...'" (4:2). The remainder of chapter 4 makes it clear why judgment will fall upon them. God's discipline is meant to lead to repentance, but the people of Israel and Judah had utterly ignored God's warnings. Five times God brought extreme trials on Israel ... He gave them empty stomachs, He withheld rain, He sent locusts and blight on their gardens and vineyards, He sent plagues, He overthrew their cities ... all to get their attention and to call them back to Him. But after each one of these, God's refrain is the same: "YET you have not returned to Me!" (4:6,8,9,10,11).
The result: "Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" (4:12). God offers His love and forgiveness. God calls out, "Come to ME!" "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth - the LORD God Almighty is His Name" (4:13). God is GOD! If you know God, you know that if He loves you and that He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to pay your debt on the cross. He is not going to let you drift away without giving you a wake-up call.
We read in Hebrews 12: "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. ... No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:7,11). When God says to Israel, "Prepare to meet your God," it would be in judgment that they would meet Him. But it did not have to be so. God's call to repentance was met with stubborn rebellion. Don't make the same mistake. In the words of Isaiah, "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7).
"O LORD, our God, to know You is to know Your power and Your greatness, and then to come face-to-face with my sin and guilt. I thank You, O God, for Your discipline and for Your call to return to You, to repent and to find Your forgiveness through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. I trust in Your promises and Your grace, O LORD, and praise You for the gift of knowing that when I meet You I will not have to be afraid. Because of Your love for me I look forward to that day when I see Your face and enter Your presence. My life is Yours! In Jesus' name, Amen"
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
"Guard your heart! Do not envy those who are rich, but do not have wisdom …"
Day #257: Daily Bible Reading Plan - September 11th
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 23 - 24 …
Possessing riches and wealth for the sake of having riches and wealth is foolishness. Envying those who have many possessions brings the same destruction as possessing them without wisdom. An old song laments that "money can't buy you love." Money can't buy you happiness either … or longer life … or a host of other things. Solomon was rich beyond what we can imagine, but he had come to understand that it was all "meaningless, like chasing after the wind" (Ecclesiastes). "Do not wear yourself out to get rich" (23:4).
As the theme of Solomon's proverbs revolves around wisdom, we learn repeatedly that wisdom comes from God. Only when the Spirit of God opens your mind and changes your heart will you be free from the control of the sinful nature with which you are born. God's Word, including Proverbs, is filled with warnings because the sinful nature with which we are born craves the things of the world, rather than the things of God. Solomon says, "Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off. … keep your heart on the right path" (23:17-19).
Those of us who live in places where there are people at different economic levels all living closely together can see the contrast between the "haves" and the have nots." There are several lines and several levels, and because of that many people live each day wishing that they were at the next level … or perhaps several levels higher. Solomon warns that riches are deceitful. They offer much, but deliver little. On the other hand, zeal for the LORD brings direction, purpose, meaning and satisfaction to life. A life lived with and for the LORD seems "boring" to those whose eyes and hearts are set on the things of the world, but those who know the LORD and His love, compassion, mercy and grace find satisfaction in HIM!
How few people really understand this truth? "Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding" (23:23). The truth God reveals in His Word, the instruction He gives to those who believe and the promises He makes to us are worth more than all this world offers. The deceitfulness of the world says otherwise, but it is a lie!! The Apostle John writes, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (I John 2:15-17).
Those without wisdom from God pursue the things of the world as though they have value, meaning and purpose in themselves. All of these things are simply decoys, objects to distract you from that which really has meaning. People can be really, really smart, and be spiritually ignorant. But Solomon states, "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope!" (24:19-20). Remember, Solomon says, " … always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you!" (23:17-18). And to his son he says, (GOD says!), "Give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways" (23:26).
Over and over Solomon, along with the rest of the Scriptures, points to God as the source of wisdom, strength, hope, joy and everything else we need in this life … and in the life to come. If you seek the LORD, the only true God, and know Him through faith in His promises and in His Son Jesus Christ, you will never FALL!! "If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength" (24:10). It is when you and I rely on our own wisdom and our own strength that we are weak and vulnerable. Rather, it is when we lean on God, when we trust His unfailing love, when we lead a life that the world considers "boring," that we find all that our hearts long for.
The words of Psalm 73 say it so well, "Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:25-26). So Solomon writes again, "Know that wisdom is sweet to your soul, if you find it, there is a future hope for you!" (24:14). Many all around you know little about wisdom, even as they boast of all that they "know." They are without God and without hope as they live in this world. "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
Wisdom begins when God convicts you of your need for HIM, and draws you to Himself by His Spirit. He gives you a new heart and a new will and a renewed MIND, the very "mind of Christ" (I Corinthians 2:16). Guard your heart! Do not envy those who are rich, but do not have wisdom. Their lives may look exciting and easy, but they stand in quicksand. Give thanks to God that your eyes can see the true value of all that God offers those who know and love Him. Stand firm on the truth that there is a future for those who place their hope in the God who rules over all things for His glory.
There is more to be said for true wisdom than for anything this world offers, for wisdom from God leads to faith in God, and the fruit of faith is eternal life!!
"Heavenly Father, as I consider the supposed wisdom of the world and then look at the lives of those who possess all that this world offers, I see clearly that it is a mirage that leads many to destruction. Forgive me for my foolishness in sometimes being distracted by the desire for that which cannot satisfy. Help me to find in YOU my hope for the future … AND my joy for the present. Only YOU can satisfy my soul and I draw near to You at this moment, thanking You for giving me true wisdom as I read Your Word and believe in You. In Jesus' name, Amen"
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 23 - 24 …
Possessing riches and wealth for the sake of having riches and wealth is foolishness. Envying those who have many possessions brings the same destruction as possessing them without wisdom. An old song laments that "money can't buy you love." Money can't buy you happiness either … or longer life … or a host of other things. Solomon was rich beyond what we can imagine, but he had come to understand that it was all "meaningless, like chasing after the wind" (Ecclesiastes). "Do not wear yourself out to get rich" (23:4).
As the theme of Solomon's proverbs revolves around wisdom, we learn repeatedly that wisdom comes from God. Only when the Spirit of God opens your mind and changes your heart will you be free from the control of the sinful nature with which you are born. God's Word, including Proverbs, is filled with warnings because the sinful nature with which we are born craves the things of the world, rather than the things of God. Solomon says, "Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off. … keep your heart on the right path" (23:17-19).
Those of us who live in places where there are people at different economic levels all living closely together can see the contrast between the "haves" and the have nots." There are several lines and several levels, and because of that many people live each day wishing that they were at the next level … or perhaps several levels higher. Solomon warns that riches are deceitful. They offer much, but deliver little. On the other hand, zeal for the LORD brings direction, purpose, meaning and satisfaction to life. A life lived with and for the LORD seems "boring" to those whose eyes and hearts are set on the things of the world, but those who know the LORD and His love, compassion, mercy and grace find satisfaction in HIM!
How few people really understand this truth? "Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding" (23:23). The truth God reveals in His Word, the instruction He gives to those who believe and the promises He makes to us are worth more than all this world offers. The deceitfulness of the world says otherwise, but it is a lie!! The Apostle John writes, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (I John 2:15-17).
Those without wisdom from God pursue the things of the world as though they have value, meaning and purpose in themselves. All of these things are simply decoys, objects to distract you from that which really has meaning. People can be really, really smart, and be spiritually ignorant. But Solomon states, "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope!" (24:19-20). Remember, Solomon says, " … always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you!" (23:17-18). And to his son he says, (GOD says!), "Give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways" (23:26).
Over and over Solomon, along with the rest of the Scriptures, points to God as the source of wisdom, strength, hope, joy and everything else we need in this life … and in the life to come. If you seek the LORD, the only true God, and know Him through faith in His promises and in His Son Jesus Christ, you will never FALL!! "If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength" (24:10). It is when you and I rely on our own wisdom and our own strength that we are weak and vulnerable. Rather, it is when we lean on God, when we trust His unfailing love, when we lead a life that the world considers "boring," that we find all that our hearts long for.
The words of Psalm 73 say it so well, "Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:25-26). So Solomon writes again, "Know that wisdom is sweet to your soul, if you find it, there is a future hope for you!" (24:14). Many all around you know little about wisdom, even as they boast of all that they "know." They are without God and without hope as they live in this world. "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
Wisdom begins when God convicts you of your need for HIM, and draws you to Himself by His Spirit. He gives you a new heart and a new will and a renewed MIND, the very "mind of Christ" (I Corinthians 2:16). Guard your heart! Do not envy those who are rich, but do not have wisdom. Their lives may look exciting and easy, but they stand in quicksand. Give thanks to God that your eyes can see the true value of all that God offers those who know and love Him. Stand firm on the truth that there is a future for those who place their hope in the God who rules over all things for His glory.
There is more to be said for true wisdom than for anything this world offers, for wisdom from God leads to faith in God, and the fruit of faith is eternal life!!
"Heavenly Father, as I consider the supposed wisdom of the world and then look at the lives of those who possess all that this world offers, I see clearly that it is a mirage that leads many to destruction. Forgive me for my foolishness in sometimes being distracted by the desire for that which cannot satisfy. Help me to find in YOU my hope for the future … AND my joy for the present. Only YOU can satisfy my soul and I draw near to You at this moment, thanking You for giving me true wisdom as I read Your Word and believe in You. In Jesus' name, Amen"
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
"The God who loves His children will judge the nations!"
Day #256: Daily Bible Reading Plan - September 10th
Scripture Reading: Psalms 108 - 110 ...
Knowing whose side you are on is important ... especially when it comes to GOD!! God knows those who are His - and we know HIM! Those who are opposed to God are opposed to us. There are two outcomes for human beings: eternal life or eternal death. You can live in this world knowing that you are loved by God and live your life loving Him back, OR you can be an enemy of God and His people and live your life for yourself and ultimately face God's wrath. These are the two "roads" or "paths" that Jesus describes in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14. David and others knew this already a thousand years before Jesus came into the world to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin and to reveal the Father's love to those whom He chose before the world began.
How you live your life today has everything to do with your relationship with the one true God ... or the lack thereof. Those of us who know God's love and compassion and mercy and grace through the work of His Spirit within us put our faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son. We know we are sinners in need of forgiveness. We know we need a Savior and we worship and serve a sovereign God who rules over all things. With David we testify, "My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul! ... For great is Your love; higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies!" (108:1,4).
Knowing God's love and faithfulness is the blessing of God to those who are His people. David knew God because God had revealed Himself to David, and we who know God today know God because He has revealed Himself to us through His Word and His Spirit. The revelation of God is not received or acknowledged or understood by those who do not have the Spirit of God. They are enemies of God AND His people. In Psalm 109, David speaks about those who accuse HIM with lies and false accusations. He says, "I am a man of prayer" (109:4). David had a relationship with God. He humbly confessed his sin and trusted God's mercy and grace for forgiveness. Not so his enemies!
David describes them in Psalm 109, verse 16: "He never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted." These are the same ones described by Jesus in Matthew 25:41-45. "Then He (Jesus) will say to those on His left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' ... 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for ME!'"
Those who are enemies of God's people are enemies of God! "But you, O sovereign LORD, deal well with me for Your Name's sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me" (109:21). David knew God's love ... His forgiving love, His redeeming love. Only those who confess their sin and look to God to save them know this love. Those who do not know God's love for them will NEVER love Him back. Too many people claim to know God and say that God loves everyone ... which proves that they DON'T know God's love. It was to believers, and only to believers, that Paul wrote, "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the SAINTS (believers), to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:17-19).
Those who do not know Christ do not know God, for they do not know His love as it is revealed in the cross. David saw his need for the cross a thousand years before Jesus came into the world. And because God's Spirit was at work in David, he could write words like those found in Psalm 110, verse 1: "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." Who was DAVID's Lord?? Who could this be referring to? As Peter preached on the day of Pentecost he reveals the identity of David's "mystery Lord": JESUS!!
"God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!" (Acts 2:23-36).
It is this God, the only true God, who has promised to extend Christ's rule over the nations (110:2). "The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind. ... The Lord is at your right hand; He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth" (110:4-5). The God who loves His children will judge the nations! He is Father to those who know His love ... but Judge to those who don't. Know His love today by confessing your sins and discovering the amazing love of the God who goes to the cross to redeem His children. Amazing love!! JESUS IS LORD!!!
"O LORD, my God, Judge of all the earth, how can I thank You for Your love to me in Your Son Jesus Christ? Before the world began You chose me to be Yours. You called me by your Spirit and gave me new life through faith in Christ and now I KNOW that Your love and faithfulness sustain me and protect me and deliver me every day of my life. Help me, Father, to declare Your glory to those around me and to rejoice in Your love ... now and forever! In Jesus' name, Amen"
Scripture Reading: Psalms 108 - 110 ...
Knowing whose side you are on is important ... especially when it comes to GOD!! God knows those who are His - and we know HIM! Those who are opposed to God are opposed to us. There are two outcomes for human beings: eternal life or eternal death. You can live in this world knowing that you are loved by God and live your life loving Him back, OR you can be an enemy of God and His people and live your life for yourself and ultimately face God's wrath. These are the two "roads" or "paths" that Jesus describes in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14. David and others knew this already a thousand years before Jesus came into the world to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin and to reveal the Father's love to those whom He chose before the world began.
How you live your life today has everything to do with your relationship with the one true God ... or the lack thereof. Those of us who know God's love and compassion and mercy and grace through the work of His Spirit within us put our faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son. We know we are sinners in need of forgiveness. We know we need a Savior and we worship and serve a sovereign God who rules over all things. With David we testify, "My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul! ... For great is Your love; higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies!" (108:1,4).
Knowing God's love and faithfulness is the blessing of God to those who are His people. David knew God because God had revealed Himself to David, and we who know God today know God because He has revealed Himself to us through His Word and His Spirit. The revelation of God is not received or acknowledged or understood by those who do not have the Spirit of God. They are enemies of God AND His people. In Psalm 109, David speaks about those who accuse HIM with lies and false accusations. He says, "I am a man of prayer" (109:4). David had a relationship with God. He humbly confessed his sin and trusted God's mercy and grace for forgiveness. Not so his enemies!
David describes them in Psalm 109, verse 16: "He never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted." These are the same ones described by Jesus in Matthew 25:41-45. "Then He (Jesus) will say to those on His left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' ... 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for ME!'"
Those who are enemies of God's people are enemies of God! "But you, O sovereign LORD, deal well with me for Your Name's sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me" (109:21). David knew God's love ... His forgiving love, His redeeming love. Only those who confess their sin and look to God to save them know this love. Those who do not know God's love for them will NEVER love Him back. Too many people claim to know God and say that God loves everyone ... which proves that they DON'T know God's love. It was to believers, and only to believers, that Paul wrote, "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the SAINTS (believers), to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:17-19).
Those who do not know Christ do not know God, for they do not know His love as it is revealed in the cross. David saw his need for the cross a thousand years before Jesus came into the world. And because God's Spirit was at work in David, he could write words like those found in Psalm 110, verse 1: "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." Who was DAVID's Lord?? Who could this be referring to? As Peter preached on the day of Pentecost he reveals the identity of David's "mystery Lord": JESUS!!
"God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!" (Acts 2:23-36).
It is this God, the only true God, who has promised to extend Christ's rule over the nations (110:2). "The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind. ... The Lord is at your right hand; He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth" (110:4-5). The God who loves His children will judge the nations! He is Father to those who know His love ... but Judge to those who don't. Know His love today by confessing your sins and discovering the amazing love of the God who goes to the cross to redeem His children. Amazing love!! JESUS IS LORD!!!
"O LORD, my God, Judge of all the earth, how can I thank You for Your love to me in Your Son Jesus Christ? Before the world began You chose me to be Yours. You called me by your Spirit and gave me new life through faith in Christ and now I KNOW that Your love and faithfulness sustain me and protect me and deliver me every day of my life. Help me, Father, to declare Your glory to those around me and to rejoice in Your love ... now and forever! In Jesus' name, Amen"
Monday, September 8, 2014
"Devoted to building a 'house' for God ... "
Day #255: Daily Bible Reading Plan - September 9th
Scripture Reading: I Chronicles 25 - 29 ...
In cities all over our nation church buildings dot the landscape. They have been an important part of our culture, as they were in Europe for centuries before. In other parts of the world the buildings have been less magnificent to the eye, but just as significant, as the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached from the Bible and many have placed their faith in Him. As we read our Scripture for today it could be said that the temple, for which David gathered the materials and made the plans and which Solomon would build, was the first permanent "church building." It was here that the one true God would be worshiped for several hundred years.
As we read through the detailed preparations for the building of the temple and hear David's instructions to the people and to Solomon, you need to keep in mind that the temple in the Old Testament was a copy of the true sanctuary in heaven! The writer of Hebrews explained, "The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a manmade sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence" (Hebrews 9:22-24).
In some way, the tabernacle, and then the temple, specifically the Most Holy Place, was a copy of God's sanctuary in heaven. It is impossible for us to go beyond what the Bible says and it does no good to speculate about these things. What we do know is that God is worthy of worship, desires worship and calls those who believe in Him to worship HIM alone!! The detailed preparations for the temple were detailed preparations for WORSHIP!!! Throughout the history of God's chosen people the worship of God was at the center of their existence. More important than all the wars they fought and all the things they accomplished was the worship of their God - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
David was not the perfect king, yet his heart was on the LORD his God and his heart's desire was to worship Him! Though perhaps the most powerful man in the world at that time, David humbly realized that God had chosen him. "The LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He chose my family, and from my father's sons He was pleased to make me king over all Israel" (28:4). Like all true worshipers of God, David believed God had chosen him for a specific purpose and he wanted to fulfill that purpose to honor his God.
You and I should be like that ... devoted to the building of a house for God and to the worship of God ... That's the very purpose for OUR existence, as it was the purpose of Israel's existence. The Bible gives us guidance for every part of our lives, but the central point of the Bible is God's plan to establish His kingdom on a new earth. All of human history is moving toward this point. To read the Bible and miss this is to fail to understand what it means to be one of God's chosen people. That's why so many today do not grasp these things, because they are being led to believe that WE choose God, rather than the other way around. It all goes together! Out of a fallen human race God chooses some to be His and calls them to worship Him ... to live their lives to proclaim His Name to the world!
Once you understand that, you see the incredible privilege of being part of God's chosen people through faith in Jesus Christ, the "Seed of Abraham," the "Son of David." As David drew near to the end of his life there was nothing he wanted more than to build a house for God. He devoted his treasuries to the task (29:3). And when the people had given willingly to the work, David called them all together and prayed the prayer recorded in Chapter 29:
"Praise be to You, O LORD, God of our father Israel (Jacob), from everlasting to everlasting. YOURS, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom ..." (29:10-11). You cannot remove either the God of Israel, or Israel, from God's plans and still claim to believe the Bible to be the Word of God. From beginning to end the Bible lays out the plan of a sovereign and Almighty God who controls the nations and the rulers of the nations. That's why He can promise believers that He "works all things together for good for those who love Him and who are called according to HIS purpose" (Romans 8:28).
David, this powerful ruler, concludes his prayer by saying, "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand" (29:14). And continues, "O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building You a temple for Your Holy Name, it comes from Your hand, and all of it belongs to You" (29:16). And finally, "O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of Your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to You" (29:18).
David ruled for forty years ... and then he died. But God's plan continued. Solomon became King of Israel and the temple would be built. The worship of the one true God would declare His majesty and power to the nations of the world. Still, it all pointed to something far in the future. Mankind in their sinful state cannot and will not acknowledge God, their Creator or worship Him. We need a Savior! We need the very Spirit of God to transform our rebellious hearts and minds and make us a new creation in Christ Jesus! We can't do this ourselves!! "LORD, help us!!"
And God heard the cry of those who, like David, were chosen and called to worship Him. It was their duty to build the temple ... a house for God ... and today that task falls to us - to those who believe in Jesus. Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus, "You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In HIM the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you, too, are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22).
How amazing and how wonderful is it to realize that WE who believe today have been chosen and called to "build a house for God" through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?! We have but one life to live and what better thing can you possibly be devoted to than this? As freely and willingly as the people of Israel brought materials for the building of the temple, may we give all we have and all we are to the building of God's house ... a house that will be completed when Jesus returns and takes us home!!
"Heavenly Father, we know today that it is Your desire to gather a people for Yourself who will worship You through all eternity. As we prepare for that day, continue Your work in us, that we may devote ourselves to the building of Your 'house,' the Church of the living God. As You have chosen and called me by Your grace, so use me to proclaim the message that bears YOUR power for the salvation of those who are yet to believe. Keep my heart loyal to You, O God, in Jesus' name, Amen"
Scripture Reading: I Chronicles 25 - 29 ...
In cities all over our nation church buildings dot the landscape. They have been an important part of our culture, as they were in Europe for centuries before. In other parts of the world the buildings have been less magnificent to the eye, but just as significant, as the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached from the Bible and many have placed their faith in Him. As we read our Scripture for today it could be said that the temple, for which David gathered the materials and made the plans and which Solomon would build, was the first permanent "church building." It was here that the one true God would be worshiped for several hundred years.
As we read through the detailed preparations for the building of the temple and hear David's instructions to the people and to Solomon, you need to keep in mind that the temple in the Old Testament was a copy of the true sanctuary in heaven! The writer of Hebrews explained, "The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a manmade sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence" (Hebrews 9:22-24).
In some way, the tabernacle, and then the temple, specifically the Most Holy Place, was a copy of God's sanctuary in heaven. It is impossible for us to go beyond what the Bible says and it does no good to speculate about these things. What we do know is that God is worthy of worship, desires worship and calls those who believe in Him to worship HIM alone!! The detailed preparations for the temple were detailed preparations for WORSHIP!!! Throughout the history of God's chosen people the worship of God was at the center of their existence. More important than all the wars they fought and all the things they accomplished was the worship of their God - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
David was not the perfect king, yet his heart was on the LORD his God and his heart's desire was to worship Him! Though perhaps the most powerful man in the world at that time, David humbly realized that God had chosen him. "The LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He chose my family, and from my father's sons He was pleased to make me king over all Israel" (28:4). Like all true worshipers of God, David believed God had chosen him for a specific purpose and he wanted to fulfill that purpose to honor his God.
You and I should be like that ... devoted to the building of a house for God and to the worship of God ... That's the very purpose for OUR existence, as it was the purpose of Israel's existence. The Bible gives us guidance for every part of our lives, but the central point of the Bible is God's plan to establish His kingdom on a new earth. All of human history is moving toward this point. To read the Bible and miss this is to fail to understand what it means to be one of God's chosen people. That's why so many today do not grasp these things, because they are being led to believe that WE choose God, rather than the other way around. It all goes together! Out of a fallen human race God chooses some to be His and calls them to worship Him ... to live their lives to proclaim His Name to the world!
Once you understand that, you see the incredible privilege of being part of God's chosen people through faith in Jesus Christ, the "Seed of Abraham," the "Son of David." As David drew near to the end of his life there was nothing he wanted more than to build a house for God. He devoted his treasuries to the task (29:3). And when the people had given willingly to the work, David called them all together and prayed the prayer recorded in Chapter 29:
"Praise be to You, O LORD, God of our father Israel (Jacob), from everlasting to everlasting. YOURS, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom ..." (29:10-11). You cannot remove either the God of Israel, or Israel, from God's plans and still claim to believe the Bible to be the Word of God. From beginning to end the Bible lays out the plan of a sovereign and Almighty God who controls the nations and the rulers of the nations. That's why He can promise believers that He "works all things together for good for those who love Him and who are called according to HIS purpose" (Romans 8:28).
David, this powerful ruler, concludes his prayer by saying, "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand" (29:14). And continues, "O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building You a temple for Your Holy Name, it comes from Your hand, and all of it belongs to You" (29:16). And finally, "O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of Your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to You" (29:18).
David ruled for forty years ... and then he died. But God's plan continued. Solomon became King of Israel and the temple would be built. The worship of the one true God would declare His majesty and power to the nations of the world. Still, it all pointed to something far in the future. Mankind in their sinful state cannot and will not acknowledge God, their Creator or worship Him. We need a Savior! We need the very Spirit of God to transform our rebellious hearts and minds and make us a new creation in Christ Jesus! We can't do this ourselves!! "LORD, help us!!"
And God heard the cry of those who, like David, were chosen and called to worship Him. It was their duty to build the temple ... a house for God ... and today that task falls to us - to those who believe in Jesus. Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus, "You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In HIM the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you, too, are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22).
How amazing and how wonderful is it to realize that WE who believe today have been chosen and called to "build a house for God" through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?! We have but one life to live and what better thing can you possibly be devoted to than this? As freely and willingly as the people of Israel brought materials for the building of the temple, may we give all we have and all we are to the building of God's house ... a house that will be completed when Jesus returns and takes us home!!
"Heavenly Father, we know today that it is Your desire to gather a people for Yourself who will worship You through all eternity. As we prepare for that day, continue Your work in us, that we may devote ourselves to the building of Your 'house,' the Church of the living God. As You have chosen and called me by Your grace, so use me to proclaim the message that bears YOUR power for the salvation of those who are yet to believe. Keep my heart loyal to You, O God, in Jesus' name, Amen"
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