Tag: God’s Word Transforms - Proverbs 1

Proverbs 1:2-4

To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in righteousness, justice, and equity;

to give prudence to the simple,

knowledge and discretion to the youth—

Tag: God’s Word Prepares Life

In the above passage we see that Solomon is telling us the same thing that Paul is telling us below:

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Notice the power of God’s Word in the minds of both writers.    The writer of Hebrews adds to these thoughts: 

Hebrews 4:12-13

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

God’s word is the “thing” that corrects us, measures us, directs us, exposes us, equips us, causes us to dig deeper into our own lives, etc.   Those who refuse to listen to God’s Word (read it, hear it and do what it says) will never be changed in a meaningful manner.   We are actually transformed by God’s Word:

Titus 3:5

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

IF we want real transformation we have to submit to the sword of God’s Word.

Tag: God’s Purpose for His Wrath - Psalm 63-65

Psalms 64:7-9

But God shoots his arrow at them;

they are wounded suddenly.

They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;

all who see them will wag their heads.

Then all mankind fears;

they tell what God has brought about

and ponder what he has done.

Tag:  God’s Purpose for His Wrath: Get Man’s Attention

In Psalm 64 we have David’s “complaint” to God about those who are seeking his destruction.  Note the first verse of the chapter:

Psalms 64:1

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

David is in a tight spot.  He is really having a struggle with the wickedness of those around him always wanting his destruction.  In the early verses of the Psalm he points out just how wicked the wicked and craft they really are:

Psalms 64:5

They hold fast to their evil purpose;

they talk of laying snares secretly,

thinking, “Who can see them?”

They have an “evil purpose” in their hearts.   David, however, has confidence.  Not in himself, but in the acts and kindness of God.  In the above verses he boasts that God WILL destroy the wicked.  God will “shoot His arrows at them.”  We have no idea what that means, but, that God is accurate in His aim and deadly in His shot.   For what end?   Here is the key to understand how God’s justice demonstrates His love:

Psalms 64:9

Then all mankind fears;

they tell what God has brought about

and ponder what he has done.

We don’t always know about God until He has to rescue us from danger.  We can go along in life and not even realize we are being sucked into the vortex of the wicked.   But, God is always there, for His people, to draw them out of the traps of the enemy.  We have to but boast in this confidence and believe, as David, by faith, that God will deliver us.  The reason He will deliver us is not because we deserve something.  The reason He will deliver us is because He wants mankind to know of Him and to “ponder what He has done.”   God wants us to “ponder” Him. It is when we fail to “ponder” HIM that we fall into the trap that David was in as he wrote this Psalm.  He was pondering the success and the pain of the wicked.  God breaks through and saves him so that David, and others, will ponder God.  We are better off pondering God than pondering the actions of the wicked.    

Tag: God Enables US to be Wise for Hiim - 1 Kings 1-4

1 Kings 4:31-33

For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.

Tag:  God Enables Us to be Wise

Harvard can make you smart and popular and even famous, but only God can make you wise.   Yale, Oxford, Universities and schools of all type can make you have knowledge above all others but ONLY God can make you wise.   Note Solomon’s own words:

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.  

Solomon asked for wisdom and God gave it him.   God gave him wisdom.   When he received the wisdom it had fruit that the world would see.  God does not give us gifts to keep them in secret.   God gave Solomon the gift of wisdom to use in his leadership.  That give overflowed to the world around him.   When God gives us grace, and He does, we are to use it, in all areas to the fullness of our ability to honor Him.  It might take us in a number of different directions.   But, the gift is still to be used for God’s glory, no matter the platform of use.  

Tag: Relationship with God - Exodus 33-36

Exodus 33:11

Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Tag:  Relationship with God

In Romans 5 we have the explanation of what God has done for US, to give US the same thing Moses has with God, explained in the above verse.  Note:

Romans 5:1-3

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

Paul says in this passage that we have “... obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand ...”.   Notice what he goes on to say at the end of this chapter in Romans:

Romans 5:10-11

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Moses talked face to face with God.  As a result this is what happened:

Exodus 34:29-30

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

When we have spent time with God because we have obtained access and have been reconciled to God we ought to have a face that is different than those around us.  We ought to make our mark in the work place because we have been reconciled and can see the face of God via the Spirit of God who dwells within us.  

Tag: God’s Love is With Us!!! - 2 Corinthians 11-13

2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Tag:  God’s Love is with us!!!

In Romans 8 we read the following about God’s Love:

Romans 8:37-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We know we have God’s Love in our hearts:

Romans 5:5

and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Paul wants us to know that we have both positional love from God (the Holy Spirit is the “instant” deposit of that love in our hearts) and growing and flowing love as we yield to the Spirit.  One is a judicial act based upon Christ’s historic, real event of death, burial and resurrection (our Justification) and one is our experience (our Sanctification) producing feelings of assurance and acceptance.   As we tied to one another we have the Love of God flowing into our lives, even in the deepest times of trials and tribulations.   Note the following:

2 Thessalonians 3:5

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Our hearts are wandering.  They are a never fulfilling  bowl of desires.  The desires of our heart, because of our sin nature, are unquenchable.   The heart needs direction.  That direction comes from the embedded love of God that dwells in our hearts by the indwelling Spirt of God.   

Tag: God Sent His Son for Sinners - Luke 5-6

Luke 5:31-32

And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Tag:  God Sent His Son for the Sinners

There are some people who are just to righteous to want to come to Christ.  They fail to recognize that they are drowning in a sea of sin.  Instead they think they float on the top of the scum of sin because of their degrees, knowledge, possessions, power and/or positions, etc.   In the above passage the words of Jesus to the religious Pharisees make it plain to them and us as to why God sent Jesus to die for us: We are sinners.   We have to be careful to never think that we don’t have sin condemning us and, most of our lives, controlling us.   The “wages of sin is death.”   Since we all sin and the wages of that sin is death, we need a Savior.    Some, however, often think they are so sinful, they CAN’T be saved.  The above verses, for them, are even more refreshing.   God did not send His Son to die for the “righteous” (or, those who think of themselves as righteous). God sent Jesus to die for the “sinner.”  Those who sin should not be fearful of acceptance of Jesus.  He died for the worst of us.  We can rejoice in that truth and rest in the assurance that, even at our worst, God is at His best and provided a savior for us.  Note what Paul said:

1 Timothy 1:15-18

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

We can rest in the “fact” that Jesus knows every sin (even the ones we forgot about) and still loves us.   

Tag: God is Sovereign Over Every Nation - Jeremiah 42-46

Jeremiah 46:25-26

The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the Lord.

Tag:  God is Sovereign Over Every Nation - Even UnGodly Nations

In our world today we tend to see nations do what they want to do.   We have a corrupt world and the leaders of those worlds are not God centered in their leadership.  We talk and hear about the United States being a “Christian Nation.”  Yet, leadership is constantly being discovered as corrupt and compromising in their ways.  The citizens of other countries, and our own, worship and idolize everything but the God of the Universe.   Today our world is corrupt in every corner of the globe.   Yet, as in the above passage, God is sovereign over ALL nations.   The example above is to show us that even thought Israel is the apple of God’s eye, He is also watching other nations.  In the context of Jeremiah, the remnant of Israel, who are left in the land after the Babylonian captivity, have decided to run to Egypt for safety.  God has told them not to do that is the property Jeremiah.   Since they refused to listen, God says that He will destroy Egypt (and her leader).   God is sovereign over all nations.  Whether they worship God, or not.   God directs the kings of this earth to accomplish His great plan.   

Tag: The Goal of Biblical Counseling - Job 40-42

Job 40:3-5

Job Promises Silence

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?

I lay my hand on my mouth.

I have spoken once, and I will not answer;

twice, but I will proceed no further.”

Tag:  The Goal of Biblical Counseling

When we sit down to counsel another person, our goal is summarized in the above text.  I am not sure where the following was from, or, if it originated from my own work, but here is a note I have had in my Bible about these words and the goal of Biblical discipleship:

#1 - Getting them to talk to God (Job 40:3)

#2 - Getting them to see themselves as they should (Job 40:4a)

#3 - Getting them to be still and so they can hear God (Job 40:4b)

#4 - Getting them to evaluate their mind-set (Job 40:5a)

#5 - Getting them to revere God  (Job 40:5b)

The goal is further summed up in Solomon’s words:

Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the "beginning" of wisdom. 

Those going through tough times need to see their world via the eyes of God.  

Tag: You Can’t Stop the Dogs - Psalm 57-59

Psalms 59:6-7

Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

There they are, bellowing with their mouths

with swords in their lips—

for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

Psalms 59:14-15

Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

They wander about for food

and growl if they do not get their fill.

Tag:  Trials and Tribulation Never Cease 

Before we can fully understand the above lines from David’s song, we need to view them through the lens of Paul’s words on his first missionary journey as he met with the churches he was planting: 

Acts 14:22

strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Also, notice what Christ said to His disciples prior to His own tribulation at the cross:

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

As we read these words of admonishing and instruction we can better understand what David was talking about in his day. In Psalm 59 David is crying out to God for deliverance.   He was being hunted, like a dog, by Saul and his men.  His ONLY recourse was to turn to His God and asked for deliverance.  Yet, notice in the above lines from this great song for rescue:  “Each Evening they come back ...”.    We tend to enter Christianity, in our limited understanding, thinking that God is going to rescue us from all ills of this life and the next.  And, He is ... eventually.  God is going to save us from the wrath to come.  God is in the process of using the trials of this life to strengthen our faith and give us hope (Romans 5:1-5).   Trials don’t go away when we come to Christ.   Trials increase.  We are now at odds with the world and the world’s system.  Before we were at odds with God and His wrath. Now that we have been reconciled to God we are in direct opposition (if we live out our belief) with the world around us.   Tribulation will come ... each evening, like dogs.  In our day this word picture feels odd.  We domesticated dogs. In David’s day you didn’t go outside at night because of the wild animals.   David compares his tormentors like wild dogs.  He repeats the line twice because “each evening” they returned like dogs.  Even in our prayer to God we don’t avoid the dogs.  They are there each evening ... but so is God.  Saul NEVER gets David.  God answered David’s prayer - it didn’t stop the dogs, but he was never bitten, either.  

Tag: Kindness Duplicates Kindness - 2 Samuel 20-24

2 Samuel 21:10-14

Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land.

Tag:  Kindness Duplicates Kindness

In the beginning of this chapter of 2 Samuel we read that God has sent a famine on the land of Israel during the time of King David’s rule.   God tells David that it was because, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”   Israel had made an ill-advised treaty with the Gibeonites when they came out of Egypt.   Deceived by the Gibeonites, they never-the-less made an agreement to let them live.  When King Saul was king he attempted to destroy the Gibeonites.  God notices when we break our vows.   This displeased God and He sent a famine on the land to punish Israel, well after Saul’s death.  David makes Saul’s actions just, but to do so, the Gibeonites want seven of Saul’s sons to die for this evil done to their people.  The above passages shows that one of the mothers of the dead sons stands guard over her sons dead body (and his brothers) to show them compassion and kindness, even in death. David sees this act of kindness and realizes that the dead body of Saul and his friend Jonathon have not been show proper respect, compassion and kindness.  As a result of this mom demonstrating kindness toward her dead son, David practices the same act of kindness. Kindness begat kindness.   When we see Christ love us unconditionally, we can see the need to love others unconditionally.   Kindness we do should and will produce kindness and acts of love in others.  Love, compassion and kindness are contagious.  

Tag: False Worship is Play Worship - Exodus 30-32

Exodus 32:2-6

So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

Tag:  False Worship is Play Worship

To say that our society is fixated on “play” would be a vast understatement.   Entertainment and enjoyment are our national pastime.   Any type of play will do.  From board games to sports games to video games to big game, we want enjoyment.   It is not surprising that this is true in any time frame of human history.  In the above story we see Aaron succumbing to the will of the people, making a golden calf to worship and then turning the worship into “play.”  The Hebrew word for “play” in the above text is “ṣâḥaq.”   It is often translated “laughter.”    It was the same word used to describe Issac “playing” with his wife Rebekah:

Genesis 26:8

When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife.

It was also used by Potiphar’s wife to falsely accuse Joseph of trying to rape her (Genesis 39:14, 17).   So, there is some context to believe that after worshipping the golden calf the nation added some sexual worship.  This was a modern day party, disguised as a worship service.   Instead of God being the center of worship, the people were worshiping their own feelings and desires.   False Worship always turns into Play Worship ... worshipping our own desires and exalting our own glory, rather than the Glory of Christ.    

Tag: Giving is a Reflecton of Righteous Living - 2 Corinthians 9-10

2 Corinthians 9:8-10

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever.”

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Tag:  Giving Is a Reflection of Righteous Living

In 2 Corinthians Paul is engaged with the church at Corinth, via letter, about his authority of Apostleship and about maturing their acts of righteousness.   He has corrected them in his first letter.  The reaction to that letter was mixed.  Some responded and others challenged his authority.  In the proceeding chapters of the book, Paul has defended his authority. In chapter nine he moves to challenge their authenticity as believers by reminding them of a promise they made to give to the poor in Jerusalem.  He tells them he is sending “men” to “arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.” (2 Corinthians 9:5)

He goes on to say, “the point is this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.”   The context here is the act of giving financially to the needs of the saints in another church.   As evidence of the importance of this act of giving we have the above passage.  Paul promises that God will enable them to give and will “make all grace abound” to them as a result of their giving.  Some of the prosperity preachers would claim this means if we give money God will give money to us, in abundance.  However, the text is really explaining that “any” gift they give is because God supplies those gifts.  He quotes Psalm 112, which is about the conduct of a righteous man.   The point of that Psalm is that God supplies the gifts we give and we give them as an act of righteousness.  The giving does not make us righteous for we know that righteousness is received by grace through faith.   Rather, we give because God has given us grace to be righteous and has supplied our gift to give. Note verse ten of the above passage:

2 Corinthians 9:10

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

God supplies the seed and will multiply your seed “FOR SOWING.”   God increases or ability to give in order for us to give - we are not give in order to receive more.  This passage teaches that God gives the seed and the grace to give and will continue to give seed and the grace to give as righteousness grows in our hearts.  This is NOT about getting as a result of giving - this is about getting for the purpose of giving.  The more we give the more God supplies righteousness to give more - He will supply both: The gift and the grace to give.   

Tag: Satan Uses Lies to Decieve Us - Luke 3-4

Luke 4:6-8

and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,

and him only shall you serve.’”

Tag:  Satan Lies to Us in His Temptation of Us

The sins we encounter and succumb to that are a result of Satan’s temptation come as a result of his deception of us.  Satan is a liar:

John 8:44

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

In the above passage we read about Satan tempting Christ.  Christ was brought to the desert, in the Spirit of God, to be tempted. Satan tempts Him three ways and the approach is to offer the world to Jesus.   Jesus, of course, with God, in the beginning, made the world.   Yet, Satan tells Jesus (boasts toward Jesus) that he was offering Jesus “all this authority an their glory, for it has been delivered to me and I give it to whom I will.”  It is hear that Satan uses his masterful use of distorted truth to tempt Jesus.  Satan has, indeed, been given some authority in this world. Jesus own words confirm that: 

John 12:31

Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Satan is the “ruler of this world.”   However, the offer Satan makes goes contrary to God’s plan and Christ’s redemptive purpose.  The world will be Christ’s world and He will be the authority of it.  But, He first must suffer and raise again.  It is God who will give Him the authority over the all things.  After His resurrection, note what Christ said to the disciples:

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

As Jesus ministers on the earth, note the impact His teaching had on the multitudes who heard Him:

Luke 4:36

And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

Christ had authority before the earth was created, but through the redemptive act it would be redeemed from the hand of the power of this world.   Once sin came into the world, Satan was able to claim victory over this world.  Christ, however, redeemed the world, as well as us, through his death, burial and resurrection.   Satan lied to Jesus just enough to tempt Him to forgo the death and simply take the reign.   If Christ would have fallen to the temptation our redemption would not have been completed.  We have to remember that Satan’s approach is to twist the truth just enough to keep us from the truth and to believe his manufactured lies.   What lies are you believing that Satan is telling you?  

Tag: Righteous Leadership Produced Rejoicing Follwer-ship - Jeremiah 37-41

Jeremiah 41:13

And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced.

Tag: When the Righteous Rule Men Rejoice

In order to understand the significance of the above verse we have to know the story of Ishmael.  After Babylon capture all the “significant” people in Israel the leadership of Babylon left the City of Jerusalem and the rest of the surrounding country of Judah under the leadership of Gedaliah: 

Jeremiah 40:7

When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon,

However, another “royal” family member (Ishmael) had different ideas.  Although warned by those around him that Ishmael was going to kill him, Gedaliah ignored the warnings and was slathered  during a dinner meeting.   Ishmael did not stop. With the killing of Gedaliah,   He was a very wicked leader and the people feared him.   This is context of our verse for this lesson.  Johanna came to the rescue.  When he did the above verse says the people “rejoiced.”  Wicked leaders make people groan.  Godly leaders make people rejoice.  Leadership in a home, a school, a church, a business and/or in government can give hope and joy to those that are being led when that leadership practices Godly principles.  Note what the great leader Solomon has to say about this same subject:

Proverbs 29:2

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,

but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

Proverbs 11:10

When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.

Proverbs 28:12

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,

but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

When choose to follow Godly principles and see follower-ship and Family members rejoice.  Or, we can ignore God’s Word and be an Ishmael ... a wicked leader.  The people rejoice when Godly people lead.  

Tag: Where were you? Job 38-39

Job 38:22-24

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,

or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

which I have reserved for the time of trouble,

for the day of battle and war?

What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,

or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

Tags: Where were you?

Job, for most of this book, has been in search of what God is doing in his life.  He is in pain physically, spiritually, psychologically and mentally.  He wants answers.  Like most of us, he has taken his quest to the extreme.   Toward the end of his inquiry he begins to question God’s love for him and/or God’s control over the events of his life.  Like most men today, Job sees bad circumstances as evidence that God may be disconnected or unconcerned, or, worse, lacking the power to do the job.  Job’s three friends believe Job is just a sinner getting what he deserves.  In these last chapters, God is asking Job, “where have YOU been when I did the following.”   God is putting Job (and, by extension, any man who questions God power) in his place.  In the above passage we see God questioning Job were he was when God stored up the snow and the hail.  God uses the snow for many reasons.   In the above he mentions it might be to slow battle or war.  Think of the lives saved during war when God sent a weather storm man had to seek refuge from?   Note Job’s earlier passage:

Job 37:10-13

By the breath of God ice is given,

and the broad waters are frozen fast.

He loads the thick cloud with moisture;

the clouds scatter his lightning.

They turn around and around by his guidance,

to accomplish all that he commands them

on the face of the habitable world.

Whether for correction or for his land

or for love, he causes it to happen.

God uses weather to correction and to express his love and his power.   Job should quit wondering why God is doing what he is doing.   Job should rejoice that God can do what whatever He wants.   

God Fulfills His Purpose for Us - Psalm 57-59

Psalms 57:2

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

Tag:   God fulfills His Purpose

In this Psalm, David is asking God to protect him from his enemy. The enemy would be King Saul, who had turned against David.  Saul was David’s father-in-law.  David was, no doubt, confused and bewildered by what was happening to him as he hid in a cave.   He cries out to God and, with the assurance only faith can have, he believes God will use this in a great way because he believes he is worshipping a God “who fulfills his purpose” for me.  What is that purpose?  Too many would answer that question with an activity, job placement or direction of will.   David knew what that purpose is as he unfolds the rest of this prayer/song:  

Psalms 57:7-10

My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody!

Awake, my glory!

Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

His purpose is to behold the character and the beauty of God:

Psalms 57:11

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

It would stand to reason that Satan’s sole objective is to get mankind to miss the very purpose they were created by God.   Take a look at what Paul states in regard to Satan’s mission:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Satan wants to blind us to the Glory of God.   The hard times we go through (like David, being in a cave and running from something or someone) are to enable us to see and behold the Glory of God.   Yet, Satan wants to blind us from seeing Christ in all His glory.  The redemptive act of salvation was God in all His glory.  That “glory” is what we not only see but are becoming:

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

God is using circumstances in life (some good and some bad) to fulfill His purpose in us.  God will never fail to complete His purpose ... getting us to see the glory of Christ:

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Tag: Receiving Grace is Refreshing - 2 Samuel 15-19

2 Samuel 19:24-30

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?” And the king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home.”

Tag: Receiving Grace from Those We Harm is Refreshing.  

The above story is a great example of what restoration looks like.  We all want restoration.  In Romans five we are told that Christ (via His death and resurrection) restores us to God. He “reconciles” us to God.  All men desire “reconciliation.”   In the above story King David (a “type” of Christ) is returning to being King of Israel.  David’s son, Absalom, had tried to take the kingship from David.  When Absalom ran David out of the kingdom, Ziba (the caretaker for Mephibosheth) meet David and brought him refreshments and donkeys for his travel.  Ziba told David, at that time, that Mephibosheth was aligning with Absalom.   So, David, in his haste, swore to give Ziba the estate for his faithfulness to the king.  However, upon David’s return he hears a different story.  Mephibosheth, who was lame from childhood, did not join David because of his inability to travel.  He claims Ziba twisted the facts.   Mephibosheth now wants and needs David’s grace.   Five times Mephibosheth calls David, “My lord.”   This is recognizing David’s authority over him.   He comes to him pleading for grace (even though he didn’t need it).  Mephibosheth wants restoration.  He doesn’t try to make his case, he simply explains his version of events and seeks to worship and honor David.  David, in return simply splits the estate in half, given them both something.   Mephibosheth is willing to give the entire estate to Ziba, simply because David is safe.   Ziba’s version promotes Ziba.  Mephibosheth’s version was focused upon David.   The key in this passage is to realize that God wants our total commitment to Him.   Mephibosheth is an example of us, seeking grace from Christ.   Only He can give us grace and forgiveness.  He wants us to be like Mephibosheth.   He wants us to seek Him and call him, “My Lord, O king!!”

Tag: Bearing the Names of Others on Our Hearts - Exodus 25-29

Exodus 28:29

So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.

Tag: Bearing the Names of Others on Our Hearts

Aaron, the priest, was to enter the Holy of Hollies wearing a breastplate.  On the breastplate were 12 special stones.  Each stone as a representative of one of the 12 tribes of Israel.  In the above verse we are told that Aaron is to come into the Holy place to worship God, wearing the breastplate with the names of the sons of Israel (the 12 tribes) on his heart.   The purpose was to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.  We are to be doing the same thing for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are to take them, on our heart, to God in remembrance.   The beauty of having intercession for us is such a great blessing.   Christ is constantly interceding for us. 

 Romans 8:34

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

He takes our names, on His heart, daily to the Father and intercedes for us.   What a blessing.  

Tag: Openess Should Produce Openess - 2 Corinthians 6-8

2 Corinthians 6:11-13

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

Tag:  Openness Should Produce Openness

Being transparent and vulnerable should produce transparency and vulnerability in others.  At least this is Paul’s plea in the above verses.  Paul has been making his case with the Corinthian believers about the authority of his apostleship and the recent letter he sent them (1 Corinthians).  He corrected some sinful behavior in the first letter (1 Corinthians 5) and that, apparently, produced grief and some repentance in the hearts of the believers there.  But, it also produced some resistance and some challenges to his apostleship and authority to correct them.  In the opening chapters of this letter he has attempted to demonstrate both his love AND authority to address the believers in the manner he did.  In our society this is a like a second email to clarify and fix the hurt and difficulty of the first email.   Paul is saying, above, that the Corinthians now have heard his heart ... Paul as been transparent with them.  If they have a problem now (he uses the word, “restriction” above) it is on them, not on him.  He wants them to know his heart.  He has been willing to be afflicted for them.  He loves them.  Although some were caused to repent by his recent letter, others rose up to challenge him.  He is making his case that since he was open and vulnerable, they, too, should be open and vulnerable.  HE wants them to make their hearts “wide” (Greek word for “broad”), just as he has made his heart wide to them.   Paul believes in open and transparent leadership that will allow those who follow him to be as equally open.   We can’t force follower-ship to be open and vulnerable.  But, we can’t expect it, either, if we are not, ourselves, open and hones and vulnerable.  

Tag: With God, All Things are Possible - Luke 1-2

Luke 1:37

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Tag:  Nothing is impossible before God

When we face life we do so knowing that we are extremely outnumbered and outsmarted.   There is always someone quicker, richer, smarter and/or more powerful.  But, more importantly, the god of this world is drying to blind the eyes of nonbelievers so that they can’t see the glory of Christ:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Why?  Because in the glory of Christ there is power.

2 Peter 1:16

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

This is just a glimpse of what Luke is saying to the Virgin Mary when he writes, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”   Mary was told she was going to give birth to the Messiah. She probably did not know the depth of Isiah 7:14, that prophesied the Messiah would come from a virgin.   Mary asked, “How can this be, since she did not know a man.”  This is not a question cast in doubt and/or weak faith.  This is is a mechanical question.  She only knows what she knows.  Who, without the Spirit of God and the Revelation of His Word, would even think of a Virgin Birth?   This is an impossible thought.  All non-believers have their minds closed to the impossible.  Most believers do at most points in their life.   God is the God, however, of the impossible.  Who would even think water would come from a rock (Exodus 17:6)?   Who would have thought an ass could talk (Numbers 22:28)?  Who would have thought Christ can rise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15)?   This is the God we worship - the God of the impossible.  He can make a barren woman give birth (Sara, Elizebeth, Hannah) and a virgin give birth to the Messiah.  We worship the God of the impossible.   What do we think He can’t do?   What can He not do with us?  He enabled Peter to walk on water (Matthew 14:29)!  He equipped David to kill a man twice his size with a stone (1 Samuel 17)!  He empowered Peter to heal (Acts 3-4)!  He equipped a young woman to give forth a virgin birth!!!   What do you have on your plate that God CANNOT do?  Really, He can’t?   Read the verse again!!!