Matthew 15:32-34
And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
There is an old Gospel song that we used to sing in churches repeatedly. It has been bumped from most of our church's playlists, probably because it is simply too old. Yet, the truth of the song is so vital for us to sing and so applicable to the above text. Note the words of this old song in the first verse and chorus:
Count Your Many Blessings:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
The point of the song is to remember the great things God has done for us. How soon we forget. Note the story in the above verses of Matthew. This is the story of God feeding the 4,000 on the mountain side. No, this is not a typo. The sentence is NOT supposed to read, "This is a story of the feeding of the 5,000 on the mountain side." There are two such feedings. One is 5,000 people, and the other is 4,000 people. The disciples had already witnessed the feeding of the 5,000. Now, faced with LESS people to feed and still in the presence of a very LARGE miracle worker in their midst, they ask such an empty question, "Where would we get so many loaves ...?" They simply failed, facing this challenge, to recall the past things Christ has already done. Since they were seeing miracles every day, don't you think they would be anticipating and looking for places to see another miracle? Yet, they failed to considered that Christ could now take seven loaves and a few small fish (more than they had for the 5,000) to feed less people. But, are not we of the same mindset? Don't we go through life and experience God's amazing blessings each and every day, only to discover when faced with a challenge we ask, "Where would we get so many _____, to handle this issue?" We fail to remember or count our blessings. We fail to recall God's great grace in our lives. The truth is, God can give us blessing after blessing and we forget each one when faced with a new challenge. If we can't return to singing just a great Hymn in our churches, let's at least sing it in our lives and hearts. Count your blessings!!!
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Friday, February 6, 2015
Truth #40 - OUR sources for relief from stress are always inadequate - Isaiah 29-33
Isaiah 31:3
Now the Egyptians are men and not God,
And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
So the Lord will stretch out His hand,
And he who helps will stumble
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.
In the middle of our distress we often turn to a variety of sources for relief. In the midst of financial stress, we might turn to a bank, or a friend with deep pockets. In the midst of health distress, we almost always turn to our health care system. In the midst of material stress, we might turn to the mechanic, plumber or builder. Any one of those sources of relief for what ails us, are not, by themselves, wrong, sinful or inadequate. It is not, necessarily, WHO we turn to, it is the WHY we turn to them and to what EXTENT do we turn to our source of relief. If we are having personal issues (psychological), or social issues (sociological), who do we turn to, who, and to what extent? A psychologists or a sociologist are not evil, in and of themselves. However, we can, turn to these sources of relief and fail to realize, remember, or acknowledge, that NO relief comes to our stress if we don't first and foremost recognize that God is the relief we need. He is the source we are to turn to in our pain and suffering. In the above text we pick up Isaiah's prophesy where he is admonishing the nation to stop turning to other sources for relief from their national stress. Since they were about to come under siege by the Babylonians, they wanted to find some alli that would support them and protect them. However, what they didn't understand is that the Babylonians were being sent by God to punish them for their sin. Therefore, their fleeing to Egypt for help was a failure to recognize God's loving chastisement. They rejected God and He was about to bring chastisement to them. Now they were rejecting His chastisement and turning to Egypt for relief. As the text states, Egyptians are men and not God!! Their horses (a sign of their supposed power) is the the power of the Spirit. Instead of seeking God in faith, they sought help in the flesh. God is not, in this verse, telling us that plumbers, banks, builders are bad and sinful to use, when in trouble. He does not tell us that psychologist and sociologist are sinful. But, He is saying that human psychology, fleshly sociology, temporal mechanical help and/or financial support WILL NOT replace Him and CANNOT replace Him in the midst of our stress. The stress we experience CAN BE because of sin (see the Nation of Israel). However, the stress we experience CAN ALSO BE because of some spiritual battle in the background of our lives (see Job). We don't always know what God has for us in the circumstances of our lives. But, in the midst of those circumstances we can be assured that He is using those to conform us to the image of His Son and to accomplish His plan for the world. When we quickly turn to some source to find relief we ought to remember the truth of the above passage: Man's solutions for salvation are useless. "All of them will come to an end together."
Now the Egyptians are men and not God,
And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
So the Lord will stretch out His hand,
And he who helps will stumble
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.
In the middle of our distress we often turn to a variety of sources for relief. In the midst of financial stress, we might turn to a bank, or a friend with deep pockets. In the midst of health distress, we almost always turn to our health care system. In the midst of material stress, we might turn to the mechanic, plumber or builder. Any one of those sources of relief for what ails us, are not, by themselves, wrong, sinful or inadequate. It is not, necessarily, WHO we turn to, it is the WHY we turn to them and to what EXTENT do we turn to our source of relief. If we are having personal issues (psychological), or social issues (sociological), who do we turn to, who, and to what extent? A psychologists or a sociologist are not evil, in and of themselves. However, we can, turn to these sources of relief and fail to realize, remember, or acknowledge, that NO relief comes to our stress if we don't first and foremost recognize that God is the relief we need. He is the source we are to turn to in our pain and suffering. In the above text we pick up Isaiah's prophesy where he is admonishing the nation to stop turning to other sources for relief from their national stress. Since they were about to come under siege by the Babylonians, they wanted to find some alli that would support them and protect them. However, what they didn't understand is that the Babylonians were being sent by God to punish them for their sin. Therefore, their fleeing to Egypt for help was a failure to recognize God's loving chastisement. They rejected God and He was about to bring chastisement to them. Now they were rejecting His chastisement and turning to Egypt for relief. As the text states, Egyptians are men and not God!! Their horses (a sign of their supposed power) is the the power of the Spirit. Instead of seeking God in faith, they sought help in the flesh. God is not, in this verse, telling us that plumbers, banks, builders are bad and sinful to use, when in trouble. He does not tell us that psychologist and sociologist are sinful. But, He is saying that human psychology, fleshly sociology, temporal mechanical help and/or financial support WILL NOT replace Him and CANNOT replace Him in the midst of our stress. The stress we experience CAN BE because of sin (see the Nation of Israel). However, the stress we experience CAN ALSO BE because of some spiritual battle in the background of our lives (see Job). We don't always know what God has for us in the circumstances of our lives. But, in the midst of those circumstances we can be assured that He is using those to conform us to the image of His Son and to accomplish His plan for the world. When we quickly turn to some source to find relief we ought to remember the truth of the above passage: Man's solutions for salvation are useless. "All of them will come to an end together."
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Truth #39 - God controls the true wisdom and the false wisdom of this earth!! Job 12-14
Job 12:13-16
“With Him are wisdom and might;
To Him belong counsel and understanding.
“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.
“With Him are strength and sound wisdom,
The misled and the misleader belong to Him.
Chapter twelve is AWESOME!!! The last of Job's friends (accusers?) has just spoken and was the sharpest in his remarks. Zophar has simply stated what they all must truly believe and what we often believe of those in suffering ... God is punishing Job for some terrible sin no one knows about. Yet, that is the farthest thing from the truth. In response to Zophar (and his freinds) statements, Job begins the chapter with a sarcastic statement of his own, that we might translate today like this:
"Well, aren't you The Man!!! You are the wisest and smartest ever!! No one can hold a candle to you and your words!!!
That's not exactly what he said, but that is what he meant. These three friends are pouring out their version of wisdom and Job is about to give them his thoughts. Chapter twelve begins a change in Job, however, as he begins to deflect less of these three friends and, rather, engage more of God and interaction with God. In the above passage we have the foundation for that transition. In these verses Job tells us where wisdom comes from (God) and even how God controls who gets it and how it is heard. Note the last line in the above: With Him are strength and sound wisdom, the "misled" and the the "misleader" belong to Him. Wow!! Do you see that? Job is telling his friends that God is the One who has wisdom and God will allow wisdom to be distributed on this earth the way HE wants. He is telling his friends, "You may think you have wisdom, but God is the one who OWNS it and distributes it the way He wants." In fact, God even controls the "non-wisdom" and the "foolish" who speak. He also controls those who believe the foolish. God allows false wisdom to populate the earth because, in the end, it will be used to accomplish His plan. If you remember after Solomon's death, his son, Rehoboam became king. Instead of listening to his father's advisors about a labor dispute (lead by Jeraboam), he instead listened to his friends. That "false" wisdom lead to the split in the kingdom, with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Judah) splitting from the other ten tribes (Israel). We might want to say Rehoboam was wrong and should have listened to his father's friends. We would be right ... and, wrong! God used the false counsel of Rehoboam's friends (the "misleader") to lead Rehoboam (the misled) down the path God wanted to accomplish His plan for the Nation. The truth is, God is the controller of all speech and all truth and all false truth parading itself as truth. God is the one who allows false words to be spoken from the sinful deceit in man's heart and for that false wisdom to enter and connect with the evilness in the hearts of men to accomplish His will. If people are listening to "your" wisdom it is because God allows it. If people are listening to false wisdom it is because God allows it to accomplish His greater purpose. That't the truth!!
“With Him are wisdom and might;
To Him belong counsel and understanding.
“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.
“With Him are strength and sound wisdom,
The misled and the misleader belong to Him.
Chapter twelve is AWESOME!!! The last of Job's friends (accusers?) has just spoken and was the sharpest in his remarks. Zophar has simply stated what they all must truly believe and what we often believe of those in suffering ... God is punishing Job for some terrible sin no one knows about. Yet, that is the farthest thing from the truth. In response to Zophar (and his freinds) statements, Job begins the chapter with a sarcastic statement of his own, that we might translate today like this:
"Well, aren't you The Man!!! You are the wisest and smartest ever!! No one can hold a candle to you and your words!!!
That's not exactly what he said, but that is what he meant. These three friends are pouring out their version of wisdom and Job is about to give them his thoughts. Chapter twelve begins a change in Job, however, as he begins to deflect less of these three friends and, rather, engage more of God and interaction with God. In the above passage we have the foundation for that transition. In these verses Job tells us where wisdom comes from (God) and even how God controls who gets it and how it is heard. Note the last line in the above: With Him are strength and sound wisdom, the "misled" and the the "misleader" belong to Him. Wow!! Do you see that? Job is telling his friends that God is the One who has wisdom and God will allow wisdom to be distributed on this earth the way HE wants. He is telling his friends, "You may think you have wisdom, but God is the one who OWNS it and distributes it the way He wants." In fact, God even controls the "non-wisdom" and the "foolish" who speak. He also controls those who believe the foolish. God allows false wisdom to populate the earth because, in the end, it will be used to accomplish His plan. If you remember after Solomon's death, his son, Rehoboam became king. Instead of listening to his father's advisors about a labor dispute (lead by Jeraboam), he instead listened to his friends. That "false" wisdom lead to the split in the kingdom, with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Judah) splitting from the other ten tribes (Israel). We might want to say Rehoboam was wrong and should have listened to his father's friends. We would be right ... and, wrong! God used the false counsel of Rehoboam's friends (the "misleader") to lead Rehoboam (the misled) down the path God wanted to accomplish His plan for the Nation. The truth is, God is the controller of all speech and all truth and all false truth parading itself as truth. God is the one who allows false words to be spoken from the sinful deceit in man's heart and for that false wisdom to enter and connect with the evilness in the hearts of men to accomplish His will. If people are listening to "your" wisdom it is because God allows it. If people are listening to false wisdom it is because God allows it to accomplish His greater purpose. That't the truth!!
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Truth #38 - God wants us to have joy and victory today! Pslam 15-17
Psalms 16:11
You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16 is a prayer by the writer asking God for deliverance from an immediate and impending difficulty. It is a real prayer for immediate deliverance. In the verse just preceding the above, the writer is confident that God, out of love, will not leave him in Sheol ... the grave. Apparently this situation was one foot in the grave and one foot on a banana peel. It would be easy (and certainly acceptable) to interpret the above verse in a spiritual manner and claim that the writer was talking about the blessings we have in Christ; making the Psalm Messianic in nature. Note what one commentator states about the psalm:
(Word Biblical Commentary): I have suggested in the Comment that the psalm, with respect to its initial meaning, is neither messianic nor eschatological in nature. Yet it is apparent that in the earliest Christian community, the psalm was given a messianic interpretation with respect to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Both Peter, in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28), and Paul, in the synagogue at Antioch (Acts 13:35), reflect this interpretation of the psalm in their preaching.
However, the writer, at the time was certainly in peril and was, at that moment, asking for deliverance. Perhaps this is a good indication that the text of Scripture can have alternate meanings. We have to be careful to interpret the text "historically" (what did it mean at the time) and not over spiritualizing it (what does it mean for "me"). There is no intent to imply that Scripture doesn't have a clear meaning. But, it is obvious in this text that the writer was looking for immediate deliverance AND YET we can see in the language used the references to Christ, NOW sitting at the right hand of God ... pleasures forever more!! The writer is rejoicing because in the midst of the struggle (whatever it is) he has found the "path of life." In the dark of the situation the light was found. The writer is not simply referring to a time he HOPES to have deliverance and fulness of joy and pleasures forever ... although, for all believers, that is a true statement. Here, however, the writer has found these things in the midst of threat of death. What we see is that God is the God of the Here and Now. God will ultimately save us. But, we don't have to wait to enjoy the path of life and the fullness of joy and pleasures forever. God wants us to rejoice in Him NOW. In the dark we can still have the LIGHT. Christianity is not JUST heaven later. Christianity is Christ NOW!! Our fellowship with Him is REAL today. We can allow the threat of the grave to steal our joy, but if it can steal our joy we never really had our joy in the right place. Christ is our joy. How can the writer think this way? Notice what was written earlier in this psalm:
Psalms 16:5
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
Since the writer desired Christ it wasn't a large leap that with Christ, he realized he had joy, life and pleasure. The truth is, God is our joy today!! We will be blessed in heaven later. That is true. But, it is also true God wants us to have the path of life today ... deliverance from our individual peril!
You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16 is a prayer by the writer asking God for deliverance from an immediate and impending difficulty. It is a real prayer for immediate deliverance. In the verse just preceding the above, the writer is confident that God, out of love, will not leave him in Sheol ... the grave. Apparently this situation was one foot in the grave and one foot on a banana peel. It would be easy (and certainly acceptable) to interpret the above verse in a spiritual manner and claim that the writer was talking about the blessings we have in Christ; making the Psalm Messianic in nature. Note what one commentator states about the psalm:
(Word Biblical Commentary): I have suggested in the Comment that the psalm, with respect to its initial meaning, is neither messianic nor eschatological in nature. Yet it is apparent that in the earliest Christian community, the psalm was given a messianic interpretation with respect to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Both Peter, in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28), and Paul, in the synagogue at Antioch (Acts 13:35), reflect this interpretation of the psalm in their preaching.
However, the writer, at the time was certainly in peril and was, at that moment, asking for deliverance. Perhaps this is a good indication that the text of Scripture can have alternate meanings. We have to be careful to interpret the text "historically" (what did it mean at the time) and not over spiritualizing it (what does it mean for "me"). There is no intent to imply that Scripture doesn't have a clear meaning. But, it is obvious in this text that the writer was looking for immediate deliverance AND YET we can see in the language used the references to Christ, NOW sitting at the right hand of God ... pleasures forever more!! The writer is rejoicing because in the midst of the struggle (whatever it is) he has found the "path of life." In the dark of the situation the light was found. The writer is not simply referring to a time he HOPES to have deliverance and fulness of joy and pleasures forever ... although, for all believers, that is a true statement. Here, however, the writer has found these things in the midst of threat of death. What we see is that God is the God of the Here and Now. God will ultimately save us. But, we don't have to wait to enjoy the path of life and the fullness of joy and pleasures forever. God wants us to rejoice in Him NOW. In the dark we can still have the LIGHT. Christianity is not JUST heaven later. Christianity is Christ NOW!! Our fellowship with Him is REAL today. We can allow the threat of the grave to steal our joy, but if it can steal our joy we never really had our joy in the right place. Christ is our joy. How can the writer think this way? Notice what was written earlier in this psalm:
Psalms 16:5
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
Since the writer desired Christ it wasn't a large leap that with Christ, he realized he had joy, life and pleasure. The truth is, God is our joy today!! We will be blessed in heaven later. That is true. But, it is also true God wants us to have the path of life today ... deliverance from our individual peril!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Truth #37 - God gives us power to kill sin in our lives! Judges 1-5
Judges 2:16-23
Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
This passage is longer than what is normally included in these brief blog thoughts. But, you can't get the flavor of what is happening in the time of the Judges, without understanding this passage. Judges, the book, is summed up in the above set of verses. The nation of Israel was supposed to take possession of the land. God gave them the complete tools (Himself) and power (His) to accomplish the task. However, the allowed much of the residents of the land to remain. The residents and their gods and idols to those gods. As a result the nation of Israel, tribe by tribe, would follow those gods and worship those idols. God would then be angry with them for that sin. Yet, they would cry out to God and He would send them a deliverer (a Judge) and in that repentance and deliverance they would praise God. Yet, because they didn't fully drive out the influences in the land, they would soon fall back into sin and God would once again send an enemy to punish them. They would repent and cry out to God and the cycle would repeat. That is the entire book of Judges: Sin-Discipline through an enemy-Repent-Deliverance through a Judge-Praise-Sin-Discipline-Repent-Deliverance-etc.-etc.-etc! Have you ever been in such a cycle? Because they never fully drove out the sin, the sin would entice them and bring them back into that cycle. We have a similar cycle today. Think about a diet. You commit to losing weight but you never fully drive out all the snacks in the house. You find them in the cupboard and you eat them. Guilt comes storming into our conscious mind and we fell bad. We repent in the morning and go throughout our day. But, we never really toss the snacks out of the house. So, in the evening, we find them and repeat the cycle. We do the same thing with the evilness we watch. We say we won't watch it, but there is the television, the internet, the "fill in the blank" and we indulge. We are disciplined through our conscious, or some other manner, and then we repent. But, we never really disconnect from the source of the problem. So, too with the nation of Israel. So, too, with most of the church today. We simply don't ever rid ourselves of that sin. In the King James Version of the Bible Paul's admonishment to the Roman Christians was to "mortify" the deeds of the body ...or, kill them.
Romans 8:13 - For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
We are to destroy the fleshly desires. But, like the nation of Israel we let sin live next to us and we soon practice it. The truth here is that God empowers us to kill sin in our lives, but if we fall in love with it, we will never kill it. God gives us the power to kill it, but we have to yield in faith to that power ... if not, we will live with sin and soon worship it.
Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
This passage is longer than what is normally included in these brief blog thoughts. But, you can't get the flavor of what is happening in the time of the Judges, without understanding this passage. Judges, the book, is summed up in the above set of verses. The nation of Israel was supposed to take possession of the land. God gave them the complete tools (Himself) and power (His) to accomplish the task. However, the allowed much of the residents of the land to remain. The residents and their gods and idols to those gods. As a result the nation of Israel, tribe by tribe, would follow those gods and worship those idols. God would then be angry with them for that sin. Yet, they would cry out to God and He would send them a deliverer (a Judge) and in that repentance and deliverance they would praise God. Yet, because they didn't fully drive out the influences in the land, they would soon fall back into sin and God would once again send an enemy to punish them. They would repent and cry out to God and the cycle would repeat. That is the entire book of Judges: Sin-Discipline through an enemy-Repent-Deliverance through a Judge-Praise-Sin-Discipline-Repent-Deliverance-etc.-etc.-etc! Have you ever been in such a cycle? Because they never fully drove out the sin, the sin would entice them and bring them back into that cycle. We have a similar cycle today. Think about a diet. You commit to losing weight but you never fully drive out all the snacks in the house. You find them in the cupboard and you eat them. Guilt comes storming into our conscious mind and we fell bad. We repent in the morning and go throughout our day. But, we never really toss the snacks out of the house. So, in the evening, we find them and repeat the cycle. We do the same thing with the evilness we watch. We say we won't watch it, but there is the television, the internet, the "fill in the blank" and we indulge. We are disciplined through our conscious, or some other manner, and then we repent. But, we never really disconnect from the source of the problem. So, too with the nation of Israel. So, too, with most of the church today. We simply don't ever rid ourselves of that sin. In the King James Version of the Bible Paul's admonishment to the Roman Christians was to "mortify" the deeds of the body ...or, kill them.
Romans 8:13 - For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
We are to destroy the fleshly desires. But, like the nation of Israel we let sin live next to us and we soon practice it. The truth here is that God empowers us to kill sin in our lives, but if we fall in love with it, we will never kill it. God gives us the power to kill it, but we have to yield in faith to that power ... if not, we will live with sin and soon worship it.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Truth #36 - God keeps His promises!!! Genesis 20-23
Genesis 22:13-14
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
The above passage is taken in the middle of the story of Abraham offering Isaac on the alter, as a test from God. The capture the tension in the story we have to recall the journey Abraham has been on since the promise of having his "seed" fill the earth with little "Abrahams." God had promised Sarah, his wife, and Abraham that, in their old age, God would give Abraham an heir, through whom God would bless the nations. Sarah, of course, thinks this is humorous and laughs at God's notion that she could get pregnant at her age. To "make things happen" and to "help God out" she gives her handmaid to Abraham and she gives birth to Ishmael. That, of course, doesn't accomplish God's plan, because God had said it was through Sarah and Abraham that this blessing would happen, not through Abraham and Hager. Finally, at the age of 100 years, Abraham is blessed with a son, Isaac (appropriately named so ... his name means "laughter"). Now, in chapter twenty-two we see that Isaac, a young lad, is to be taken up to the mountain to be offered by Abraham. Abraham had faith that even if he did offer Isaac, this was the promised son. God had promised THIS child to be the blessing. Abraham had finally come to the place that he unequivocally believed God's promise. He was ready to take God's promise to the bank (Romans 4:20, 21). He even came to the place of faith (based upon the reasoning behind the promise) that if he did sacrifice Isaac, God would HAVE TO raise Isaac from the dead ... Isaac WAS the promised child. Read what the book Hebrews tells us about this story:
Hebrews 11:17-19
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
This passage tells us that Abraham "considered" God is able to raise people from the dead. Abraham used his reasoning, based upon his faith, that God can provide, even in unusual ways, to accomplish His promises. Abraham goes to the extent to name the place, "Yehweh-jireh," - God will provide. The translation is actually, "God will see to it." Abraham knows that God "will see to it," no matter what, "see to it" means. God promises and then makes His promises happen. We are to "consider" the promises of God as they blend with the "power" of God. We ought not concentrate on our circumstances, but rather the equation of God's power mixed with God's promises. The truth is, if God promises He is obligated to make it happen. He is NOT obligated to make it happen how we believe it should happen. Ask Daniel, Joseph, Job, and many other of God people, about that truth. Through God's Word He gives us His promises and tells us about His power. We are to marry those thoughts and apply them to our situation. God will provide - Jehovah-Jireh!!!
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
The above passage is taken in the middle of the story of Abraham offering Isaac on the alter, as a test from God. The capture the tension in the story we have to recall the journey Abraham has been on since the promise of having his "seed" fill the earth with little "Abrahams." God had promised Sarah, his wife, and Abraham that, in their old age, God would give Abraham an heir, through whom God would bless the nations. Sarah, of course, thinks this is humorous and laughs at God's notion that she could get pregnant at her age. To "make things happen" and to "help God out" she gives her handmaid to Abraham and she gives birth to Ishmael. That, of course, doesn't accomplish God's plan, because God had said it was through Sarah and Abraham that this blessing would happen, not through Abraham and Hager. Finally, at the age of 100 years, Abraham is blessed with a son, Isaac (appropriately named so ... his name means "laughter"). Now, in chapter twenty-two we see that Isaac, a young lad, is to be taken up to the mountain to be offered by Abraham. Abraham had faith that even if he did offer Isaac, this was the promised son. God had promised THIS child to be the blessing. Abraham had finally come to the place that he unequivocally believed God's promise. He was ready to take God's promise to the bank (Romans 4:20, 21). He even came to the place of faith (based upon the reasoning behind the promise) that if he did sacrifice Isaac, God would HAVE TO raise Isaac from the dead ... Isaac WAS the promised child. Read what the book Hebrews tells us about this story:
Hebrews 11:17-19
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
This passage tells us that Abraham "considered" God is able to raise people from the dead. Abraham used his reasoning, based upon his faith, that God can provide, even in unusual ways, to accomplish His promises. Abraham goes to the extent to name the place, "Yehweh-jireh," - God will provide. The translation is actually, "God will see to it." Abraham knows that God "will see to it," no matter what, "see to it" means. God promises and then makes His promises happen. We are to "consider" the promises of God as they blend with the "power" of God. We ought not concentrate on our circumstances, but rather the equation of God's power mixed with God's promises. The truth is, if God promises He is obligated to make it happen. He is NOT obligated to make it happen how we believe it should happen. Ask Daniel, Joseph, Job, and many other of God people, about that truth. Through God's Word He gives us His promises and tells us about His power. We are to marry those thoughts and apply them to our situation. God will provide - Jehovah-Jireh!!!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Truth #35 - God is to be glorified in our belief about Divine Election!! Romans 9-11
Romans 9:22-24
What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
Perhaps the hardest doctrine in God's Word is what Paul is clarifying in the above verses: Election. Election, by most definitions, is the act of God whereby He chooses those He wants to be saved. Their is not a lot of disagreement that God's Word states that He DOES choose those He wants to save. You only need to read the entire ninth chapter of Romans and the first chapter of Ephesians. The largest issue is not IF God chooses those He wants for salvation, but WHEN He chooses and How He chooses and, perhaps, WHY He chooses them. Does God choose BEFORE man hears the gospel, or does God choose BECAUSE man chooses? Those are a couple of the tough questions we hear asked and debated ... throughout the ages. One of the biggest debates asks, "IF God does select those He wishes to save, does He then, in turn, choose the others to destroy? Is that fair? Did they ever have a chance IF God choose them for destruction?" Attempting to answer these questions and many more in this little devotional would be foolish and unwise. There have been volumes of books written about this subject (see R.C. Sproul's book: Chosen by God, for a good read on this topic). What we can do in this brief writing is look at what Paul might be giving us that will guide us in our thoughts and discussions about the above questions and many of those not listed. Notice in the above text that Paul IS stating that God DOES choose some "vessels" (a metaphor for mankind) for wrath (to be destroyed) and some vessels to show mercy (to be provided grace and forgiveness). Notice that Paul states that God prepared the vessels for wrath "to make know the riches of His glory" to those who would have mercy. And, He prepared "beforehand" those vessels that would receive mercy "for glory." Man might argue, debate, deny and/or argue the merits of Divine Election. However, we better make sure that we read the above passage correctly while engaged in that debate. These three verses tell us that whatever we think of God's Divine Election God did WHAT He did for His GLORY!!! The truth is, God choose whom He choose the way He choose to display His great glory to those He choose. In our confusion and investigation of God's Word we better make sure we start the debate and end the debate giving God the glory He deserves and wanted when He orchestrated His plan. God is to be glorified in election ... even in our discussions about it. Fall on whatever side you want of the various arguments. God is not confused. He did what He did for His glory and for us to see that glory as a result of His plan. The truth is God gets the glory for election and we are to magnify Him as a result.
What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
Perhaps the hardest doctrine in God's Word is what Paul is clarifying in the above verses: Election. Election, by most definitions, is the act of God whereby He chooses those He wants to be saved. Their is not a lot of disagreement that God's Word states that He DOES choose those He wants to save. You only need to read the entire ninth chapter of Romans and the first chapter of Ephesians. The largest issue is not IF God chooses those He wants for salvation, but WHEN He chooses and How He chooses and, perhaps, WHY He chooses them. Does God choose BEFORE man hears the gospel, or does God choose BECAUSE man chooses? Those are a couple of the tough questions we hear asked and debated ... throughout the ages. One of the biggest debates asks, "IF God does select those He wishes to save, does He then, in turn, choose the others to destroy? Is that fair? Did they ever have a chance IF God choose them for destruction?" Attempting to answer these questions and many more in this little devotional would be foolish and unwise. There have been volumes of books written about this subject (see R.C. Sproul's book: Chosen by God, for a good read on this topic). What we can do in this brief writing is look at what Paul might be giving us that will guide us in our thoughts and discussions about the above questions and many of those not listed. Notice in the above text that Paul IS stating that God DOES choose some "vessels" (a metaphor for mankind) for wrath (to be destroyed) and some vessels to show mercy (to be provided grace and forgiveness). Notice that Paul states that God prepared the vessels for wrath "to make know the riches of His glory" to those who would have mercy. And, He prepared "beforehand" those vessels that would receive mercy "for glory." Man might argue, debate, deny and/or argue the merits of Divine Election. However, we better make sure that we read the above passage correctly while engaged in that debate. These three verses tell us that whatever we think of God's Divine Election God did WHAT He did for His GLORY!!! The truth is, God choose whom He choose the way He choose to display His great glory to those He choose. In our confusion and investigation of God's Word we better make sure we start the debate and end the debate giving God the glory He deserves and wanted when He orchestrated His plan. God is to be glorified in election ... even in our discussions about it. Fall on whatever side you want of the various arguments. God is not confused. He did what He did for His glory and for us to see that glory as a result of His plan. The truth is God gets the glory for election and we are to magnify Him as a result.
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