"Sing unto the Lord!"

Day #126

Scripture Reading:  Psalms 1-2 …

The Psalms were meant to be sung!  It is said that music is the universal language and the words of the Psalms speak to the minds and hearts of those who know the LORD, "Yahweh," the great "I AM."  While the Psalms express the emotions of those who know God and who seek Him, the focus of the Psalms is God Himself.  The old Psalter hymnal presented a "tune" for each Psalm, however, most of them were quite similar and almost all of them were quite slow and methodical.  The Psalms cover a range of emotions, so as you read them perhaps try to imagine what type of music went with this Psalm as the congregation of Israel sang it in worship.  Though written for the people of Israel as they worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Psalms are for those who believe in the one, true God throughout the ages, pointing us ultimately to the coming King, Jesus Christ, the “Seed of Abraham,” the “Lion of Judah,” the “Son of David.”

Psalm 1 begins by revealing the contrast between the man who loves God, who seeks after God, who delights in obedience, and the man who cares nothing of God and who does his own thing and goes his own way.  In the end, "the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish" (1:6).  That means that the "way" the righteous have chosen is the way of life, while the way the wicked have chosen leads to death.  Perhaps Jesus was thinking of this Psalm when He said in His Sermon on the Mount:  "Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).

It is fitting that the first Psalm begins with the word, “Blessed” (1:1).  God revealed to His people from the beginning that obedience brings blessing.  While no one can ever be good enough to earn eternal life, the evidence of the work of God’s spirit in the hearts and minds of His people is a heartfelt desire to please Him by living according to His commands.  Where this is no desire to please God there is no spiritual life!  Psalm 1 therefore describes the attitude of the one who seeks after God:  “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night” (1:2).  This is a far cry from the attitude of those who reject God and His Word, whose desire is to walk the broad road that leads to destruction.

Jesus is the “narrow gate” that leads to life.  Believing in Jesus, trusting in His shed blood on the cross for forgiveness, is the fruit of His Spirit within you.  Jesus said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life!" (John 14:6).  Through faith in Jesus Christ the perfect righteousness of Jesus is “credited” to your account.  The Father now sees you “in Christ.”  The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 8:1-4 that the Spirit of God in the life of the true believer now produces righteousness that is lived out in obedience to God’s revealed will ... His law.  “He (God) condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”  James tells believers to look into the “mirror” of God’s perfect law that gives freedom (James 1:22-25) and to receive God’s blessing by doing what it says. 

Through the reign of Jesus Christ within us by His Spirit we have freedom to KEEP God’s law, not freedom to break it!  Jesus quoted Moses from Deuteronomy 6 when He told His disciples to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and then to love their neighbor as themselves.  Yes, “the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (1:6).  The way you live your life matters!  Thus begins the songs God gave Israel to sing.  No other people can sing these songs for no other people desire to worship God, to love God, to serve God, to obey God.

Psalm 2 presents that fact in no uncertain terms.  Psalm 2 is one of the many "Messianic" Psalms.  As men try to control their own lives and the lives of others through various means, including ruling over the nations, God has anointed ONE to be King.  He is the promised "Seed of the woman" (Genesis 3:15), the descendant of Abraham through whom all nations will be blessed, the Ruler from the tribe of Judah, the Son of David!!  The nations of the world then and now oppose Jesus' reign, but God laughs at them.  "I have installed MY King on Zion, my holy hill" (2:6).  No power of hell or human plan can change that fact.  God promises to give the world to His Anointed One and He "will rule them with an iron scepter" (2:9).  That actually refers to Jesus reigning during the Millennium, following His return to earth (See Isaiah 2:1-5).

It is amazing how accurately the Psalm-writer describes the state of our world today in words that were written some 3,000 years ago!  “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against His Anointed One.  ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters’” (2:1-3).  Isn’t that exactly what people all over the world and in our own nation are doing TODAY?  They reject God’s Word and insist that they have the “right” to do whatever they want.  The LORD, the one true God who created all things, has not given them that right!  Jesus is the “Christ,” the “Anointed One,” the “King of kings and Lord of lords!”  There is no other king.

For now, God calls all people to "Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment" (2:12).  That is hardly the picture of the "god" many worship today, even in churches throughout our nation and the world.  Psalm 1 began by telling us who is "blessed," and the Psalmist ends Psalm 2 by saying, "Blessed are all who take refuge in HIM" (God's Anointed King!).  May you be blessed as you find in Jesus Christ all you need every day!

"O LORD Almighty, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, give to me the understanding of your Word, that I may know You and draw near to You through faith in Your Son, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus!  I take refuge in Him, for YOU are my hope and my joy!!  In Jesus' precious name.  Amen"

"Dinosaurs, Job, God and YOU!"

Day #125

Scripture Reading:  Job 41 - 42 …

As God questions Job He points out some of the creatures He had created, including the behemoth and the leviathan.  Some have said these are imaginary animals or symbols of the spiritual enemies of man, but neither of those explanations fits the purpose of God's questions.  It is God's intention to teach Job or to remind him and convince him that God's wisdom and power so far exceed Job's wisdom and power that Job is foolish to contend with God or to charge Him with acting unjustly, as if He could not bring to pass whatever He desires.

It has been suggested, based on the discovery of certain dinosaur bones, that Job was describing two different types of dinosaurs.  Of course, this is a problem if millions of years separated men and dinosaurs, but the Bible indicates otherwise.  God's "conversation" with Job is intended to help Job understand God's greatness so that Job would know God and trust Him … no matter what!  We need to have that same confidence, yet the same enemy who was trying to persuade Job not to believe in God tries to deceive people today through the lies of the teaching of evolution.  Here in the book of Job, God speaks of things that confirm the fact of His creation and the timing of His creation, as well as His wisdom and power in creating and sustaining all that He made for His purposes.

We have seen repeatedly that it was and is God's desire to reveal Himself to those whom He chooses, and Job was one of these … perhaps one of the first with whom God spoke.  The account of Job's life began with him worshiping the God of creation and it ends with Job giving this testimony:  "My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (42:5-6).  Like Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-5, Job's reaction in beholding a glimpse of God's glory was an overwhelming sense of inadequacy, humility, brokenness and shame.

People today seem to want to approach God without any of these.  Today we hear, "God is love," and people come to Him to get what they can and then walk away.  Such is not the nature of God.  At the end of God's questioning Job replies by saying, "I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted.  You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know" (42:1-3).  Isaiah responded the same way.  Our approach to God must be like Job's at the beginning and at the end of his experience:  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.  The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (1:21) and "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (2:10).

God sovereignly rules over all things.  That's the point of His questioning of Job.  After this, God speaks to Eliphaz, one of Job's friends, and says, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right" (42:7).  They had told Job that troubles are God's messengers to punish those who do wrong, but God makes it clear that He only disciplines those He loves and that He is wise enough and powerful enough to bring good out of evil.  Satan is the author of Job's problems, of his suffering and his trials.  All the suffering in this world is the consequence of Satan, evil, temptation and sin.  While God allows it for His purposes, He is the Author only of that which is good and right and perfect.

As He did with Job, God promises to overrule evil in the end and to bless those who trust in Him.  "The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first!" (42:12).  God may do that even today for some.  But God has PROMISED to do that for EVERY person who trusts in Him when they enter into the new world that He will create.  How quickly would many today exchange eternity for an easy life in this world, a life filled with only good things and no trials.  Given the choice, many would say, "I want it all, and I want it NOW!" 

Some might ask:  "Why can't we have BOTH?  Why doesn't God give us an easy life now and then eternal life in the future?"  Well, you can be like Job and question God, or you can accept God's Word when He says that His ways are not your ways and that in our bearing suffering and trials by the power of God our testimony to the world is enhanced and made all the more powerful.  Wasn't that the whole point of what we have been reading in Job?  Satan believed that anyone would serve God if they had the kind of "charmed" life that Job had at the beginning.  What Satan could not believe was that anyone would continue to worship God if God took it all away:  "Stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face" (1:11).

But as low as Job got, with the “help” of his friends, he never cursed God.  He protested too much, He questioned what God was doing and why, but he did not stop believing in God or desiring to worship God.  What about you and me?  How do you handle trials and suffering when they come?  Are you tempted toward despair?  Do you wonder if God is punishing you for some sin?  Do you accuse God of wrongdoing?  If you KNOW God … if you really know God as He reveals Himself to Job, you will worship Him and praise Him because you know He is worthy, for He alone is God.

We today can know our God, our Creator, even better than Job did, for we know that He kept His promise to send a Savior and in Jesus Christ God has revealed the way to come to Him for forgiveness and eternal life!!!  We who believe have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade away, reserved in heaven for us, even though now, in this life, we are called to face trials and suffering and to live by faith (I Peter 1:3-5). We will not fear, for our God is with us!  Our God reigns!  Let the earth be glad and let His people rejoice!!

"Almighty and everlasting God, YOU are my Creator and I worship You for Who You ARE!  I need You and I thank You for Your steadfast love and compassion through Your Son Jesus Christ.  Fill me now with Your Spirit and give me eyes to see Your glory in the creation around me, and wisdom to trust You in the midst of life's trials.  You are ALL I need and to You I give my life, in Jesus' name, Amen"

"Let him who accuses God answer Him ..."

Day #124

Scripture Reading:  Job 39 - 40 ...

People who say it is all right to question God and to accuse Him of injustice need to read the book of Job.  Since the first sin in the Garden of Eden mankind has fallen prey to the false idea that we are wiser than God and that we can and should question how God uses His power.  After all, God understands our need for answers and if He loves us He should explain Himself and reveal everything that He is doing.  Then we will be the judges of whether it is good or bad, right or wrong!  Of course, such a mentality effectively reverses the roles of God and man.  It becomes quickly obvious in Job’s life that God is not about to abdicate His throne and submit Himself to the rule of those whom He has Himself created!!

Some read these chapters of Job and put their hands over their mouths and gasp!  Did God really say that to Job?  Did God really say to Job, "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?  Let him who accuses God answer Him" (40:2)?  Did God really say - not once, but twice, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you will answer Me"? (38:2, 40:7).  Yes!  He did.  But why?  Because Job, like many people today, accused God of acting unjustly.  This was not where Job had begun, but it was where he ended up after the horrible counsel of his friends, which made Job try to defend himself by accusing GOD!!  But as young Elihu said, "There is more to be said in God's behalf" (36:2).

God is compassionate, loving, kind, gracious and merciful.  He is PATIENT with those who cry out to Him for help in the midst of suffering and trials.  He lifts up those who are distressed; He encourages the faint of heart and strengthens the weak.  God is our "ever-present help in times of trouble" (Psalm 46:1).  God NEVER does anything wrong!  When Abraham was asking God if he would spare Sodom if there were fifty righteous people, he declared, "Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.  Far be it from you!  Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:24-25).

The answer to that question is, "YES!" And anyone who knows God ... anyone who knows the one true God who reveals Himself in His Word, in His Son Jesus Christ and throughout the centuries ... anyone who KNOWS God should never question God's justice or accuse Him of doing wrong. Such questioning is not only incapable of bringing any comfort, but is an affront to God's character!  In the case of Abraham and his pleas for God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of the righteous, the truth was that there was not even ONE person who was righteous in the sight of God, including Lot and his family!!  And in the case of Job, though a good man, HE wasn’t righteous either!  And neither are you ... and neither am I. 

God continues His questioning of Job in Chapter 39 by pointing out His sovereign rule over all the creatures He has made.  After this barrage of questions in Chapters 38-39, Job answers God's challenge with these words, "I am unworthy - how can I reply to you?  I put my hand over my mouth.  I spoke once, but I have no answer - twice, but I will say no more" (40:4-5).  More people should swear silence and keep their accusations to themselves.  “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10).

The words, "I'm not worthy," are often being used to suggest a false humility.  People don't really think they are unworthy.  Some people may have a low self-image and say they don't deserve anything good, but it is usually because they think they have failed in some way or because they feel guilty, not because they believe they are unworthy.  Most people declare that they DESERVE better.  When people are going through trials and suffering, they are often told they don't deserve such hardships.  People really believe that most people have somehow earned a "good" life without trials.  It is that mistaken idea that actually causes people to resist the Gospel and leads to God's judgment.  If you think you are worthy, why do you need a Savior?

God is not being mean to Job, but asks him a very logical question:  "Would you discredit my justice?  Would you condemn ME to justify YOURSELF?” (40:8).  The majority of humanity rejects the true Gospel because it declares every human being guilty before God and worthy of His judgment. Furthermore, many in the church today have fallen for a counterfeit gospel that virtually ignores God's holiness and justice and assures people that God is LOVE ... therefore, ALL people (or at least almost all people) will go to heaven based on their being "good enough" and God being a God of love and grace.  People actually believe they are worthy!

GOD says that ALL people are unworthy and that ONLY by His grace can anyone be saved.  God gave His SON so that those who believe would be saved, and those who believe are those whom God has chosen, those who are born again by His Spirit, and who then place their faith in Christ alone, knowing that they have been saved by GRACE alone ... and the result is that GOD receives the glory.  To those who accuse God of wrongdoing, Paul answers:  "Is God unjust?  Not at all! ... Who are you, O man, to talk back to God?" (Romans 9:14, 20).

You and I need to understand, to really grasp the truth that God is the ONLY one who IS just!!  You aren't and I am not.  We have sinned and we live in a fallen world where the consequences of our sin and that of sinful humanity include suffering, pain and death.  God has provided the cure in His Son Jesus Christ, and now you must humble yourself, confess your unworthiness and come to the Father through faith in Jesus, admitting that you have nothing to offer that earns anything, let alone God's forgiveness and eternal life in His presence.  The good news of the GOSPEL is that the gift of God is eternal life through faith in Jesus!!

Confess your unworthiness and place your trust in Jesus today!  HE is just and He is worthy of our praise!!

"Father, Jesus said that the truth would set us free, and in hearing, understanding and accepting the truth about ourselves and about YOU we find freedom from the need to try to justify ourselves when we know we are guilty.  Instead, we can embrace Your grace and find joy in forgiveness.  Thank You, Father, for Your sovereign grace to me and all who believe.  Without You I am nothing.  I am humbled by Your love and give YOU all my praise!  In Jesus' name, Amen"

"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?"

Day #123

Scripture Reading:  Job 37 - 38 ...

“God is love” (I John 4:16).  Without question, love is an important part of God’s character, but those who think that is all there is to know about God will undoubtedly be confronted with some of the same doubts and questions Job had when faced with trials and suffering, and like Job and his friends, will sooner or later discover that truly knowing God is necessary if you are going to trust Him in every circumstance of life.  Satan’s challenge to God at the beginning of the book of Job was that Job worshiped God because he didn’t have any problems and it was easy for him to believe in God.  Satan said to God, “You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face” (1:10-11).

For those who have read the book of Job before and who know how it ends, by the time you get to Chapter 37 you are beyond eager to get to Chapter 38, where God finally speaks to Job Himself.  But first, Chapter 37 and the words of young Elihu.  It is a continuation of the testimony Elihu began in Chapter 34.  In Chapter 36, verse 2, Elihu said, "Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God's behalf." Only Elihu realizes that God is neither deaf nor blind.  He can hear and see what is happening on the earth … ALL of it!  The first chapter of Job was a look “behind the scenes” and provides a glimpse into the spiritual world that is just as real as the physical world in which we live.  God WANTS His people to KNOW Him, for it is only in knowing Him that we are empowered by His Spirit to live by faith, not wavering when trials come. 

When you get to Chapter 38, you read in verse 1:  "Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm ..."  What storm?  The storm Elihu apparently sees or anticipates as he speaks in Chapter 37 ... the storm of God’s righteous anger!  He begins, "At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of His voice ... "  (37:1-2).  “God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding” (37:5).  As you read through this chapter you can sense the anticipation in Elihu's mind and heart and voice.  GOD is coming!!  What a testimony Elihu gives!  He testifies to God's majesty and power and all that God displays throughout the earth "so that all men He has made may know His work" (37:7).  It reminds me of two other passages of Scripture:  Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20-21 ...

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world" (Psalm 19:1-4).

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20-21).

Elihu knows God!  And he wants to remind Job WHO GOD IS!!  His questions prepare the way for God to speak:  "Do you know ... ?  Do you know ... ?  Can you ... ?"  It is as though Elihu is saying what God is about to say, "Job, who do you think YOU are?"  And now ... and now, here comes God: "Out of the north He comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty.  The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power ..." (37:22-23).  And now the moment I, and hopefully, YOU, have been waiting for ...

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.  He said, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?" (38:1).  So begins an array of questions unmatched anywhere in human literature or history, that takes four chapters to complete.  Those who do not know God might wonder about God's mercy or compassion in challenging Job like this after all he has been through, but remember, God's purpose for Job is GOOD.  Job NEEDS the TRUTH and God is a God of truth.  Sometimes, oftentimes, the most compassionate thing we can do is confront people with the truth ... GOD's truth.  We need to know that the God who is love is wiser than we are and we need to rest in His promises when things happen in our lives that we don’t understand.

So now, as God confronts Job directly, He is not being mean.  He wants Job to THINK about what he should already know about God; so He asks Job questions that have obvious answers in order to teach him to trust in the Lord his God and to stop doubting in the midst of his trials.  "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (38:4).  Then God asks several questions that begin with, “Have you ever ...  Have you journeyed ...  Have you seen ...  Have you comprehended?  Tell Me, if you know all this!"  (38:4-18).  And the questions keep coming:  "Can you? ...  Can you? ...  Can you? ...  Can you? ... Can you?"  (38:31-34).  And then, "Who? ...  Who? ... Who? ...  Who? ..." (38:36-41).  See the contrast between God and Job!  There is simply no one like God, who has done all these things, who has journeyed to the far reaches of the universe, who has seen everything (before He created it), who comprehends everything.  He is the God who CAN do anything and He is the one who has made it all for His glory!!

And as much as God wanted Job to think, He wants you and me to think, to know, to believe, to understand that He is God and there is no other, because in knowing Him, our Creator, we find what we need, what our soul longs for, what only HE can satisfy ... LIFE in its fullness, life with all its purpose and meaning and joy and ... eternal, everlasting LIFE!!  I pray that you have heard His voice and that you have found life in Him through faith in His Son Jesus Christ by the work of His Spirit within you.

"Almighty God, I confess that I continue to be amazed at Your majesty, Your splendor, Your glory ... and now we know only in part ... then we shall know fully, even as we are fully known.  I praise You, Father, for revealing Yourself to me and I am so thankful, so very humbled and thankful to know You as MY God, as my Creator, as my Savior and my Lord!  I am in awe of You and I love You!!!!  In Jesus' name, Amen"