The Lord my God is amazing.
I remember when I was in grade school we studied earth science. It was fascinating because this planet we live on is an incredibly complex system. One of the things that always caught my attention was what is called the hydrologic cycle, also referred to as the water cycle. Since this is a cycle, we don't observe a beginning or an end to it. Here are some of the processes involved:
Evaporation- Because of solar energy, water is transformed from its liquid phase to gas (water vapor). Herein it moves from the ground and bodies of water to the atmosphere.
Condensation- The transformation of water vapor in the atmosphere into water droplets(condensed water vapor) forming clouds or fog.
Precipitation- Condensed water vapor falls to the earth; we generally refer to precipitation as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
Have you ever wondered why clouds form? Have you ever wondered why if you leave a glass of water out long enough, the water disappears? Have you ever wondered why you can go to Big Bear lake and see lines on the rocks where the water used to be? I mean, did the fish drink it? Have you ever wondered why rain comes down from the sky? I mean scientifically I understand a little how these things occur, but why? Wonder no more of these things, just wonder at God.
Psalm 147:7-8
7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
Job 28:26
When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
Ecclesiastes 1:7
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
Call it what you will...the water cycle...the hydrologic cycle...I call it a miraculous work of God.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Job Diet
Job 23:12
Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
The Job diet is simple. This is it; God’s words are more important than the daily food that your body needs. The diet is not based solely upon this single verse in the Bible. I believe that if a Christian applies the principles of the Job diet to their life, then they will consequently lose that extra weight they've accumulated. You might not even need to lose weight, but you still need the Job diet. Food plays such an important role in our practical lives. We plan meetings around food, we plan dates around food, we plan family get-togethers around food, we plan church fellowship around food, and we schedule our daily lives around food. Many, including myself, often wonder when their next meal will be. The morning does not start with a Psalm, it starts with coffee and breakfast. Instead of meditating on their morning devotion, they’re focused on a good snack or a fatty breakfast food. Break time between classes isn’t a time to discuss the things of God, but I time to run to the snack bar. Free time isn’t a space in your day to fill with Bible study, but a time to snack on chips. Lunchtime isn’t a time that we pull our Bibles out at school or work, but a time that we pull our lunch pails out. Men don’t take their wives to preaching meetings to hear the words of God preached on but they take their wives to restaurants. Men don’t buy their wives cards with Scripture, but they buy them chocolates. Women don’t ask to go to revival meetings, they ask for a night out at a fancy restaurant. Something is wrong here.
I’m not proposing that we stop eating and just read our Bibles (though sometimes a special case may call for prayer and fasting), no, we just need to esteem the words of God more than our necessary food. The first thought in the morning must be, “I have to get some of God’s words, or I’ll never be sustained!” And after a sweet time of fellowship with the Owner of all things, you’ll probably remember that you need to grab some breakfast before you head off to start your day. While on the high clouds of meditating on the precious words of God, food will seem insignificant in comparison. Plan Bible studies instead of dinner dates. Before you have lunch, read a Proverb or two. While your spouse gets a snack out, tell him or her of a verse that stuck out to you in your morning devotions. When you wake up for that midnight snack, why don’t you open up to a Gospel and read of one of Jesus’ miracles?
Do not neglect your body's need for the nourishment of food, but do not allow that to be more important to your spiritual health. Peter writes,
1 Peter 2:2-3
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
In practice, many babies nurse anywhere from 4 times a day to 15 times a day. One medical source recommends that a newborn baby nurse every 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours. That calculation comes out to 9-16 times a day. The point isn't the exact amount of times a baby nurses a day, but I want you to take note of what Peter writes, “as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” The fact of the matter is that Christians do not receive the nourishment from the words of God that they should. The problem lies not within the words of God, but within the Christian who neglects them. Most Christians eat at least three times a day, and most snack in between those meals. So, on any given day I’d say that we consume food 6-10 times, but at least 3 full course meals. So, what is the Job diet? Have three hardy meals of Bible every day, esteem those meals more than your breakfast/lunch/dinner meals, and replace your snack times with meditation upon the words of God.
Satan knows full well of man’s temptation of food. That is why the tempter came to the Son of God during His miraculous fast and tempted Him with food. Jesus gave the perfect response,
Matthew 4:3-4 (Deuteronomy 8:3, Luke 4:4)
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
This passage not only teaches that we must esteem the words of God more than our necessary food, but it also affirms the Bible doctrine of preservation. Not only did God inspire the words of Scripture, but He promised to preserve them. If God hadn’t preserved the words of Scripture (not just the ideas or concepts, but His words), it would not be possible that man should live by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” We have the very words of God accurately set forth in the English language. God inspired the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic words of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21), and He promised that He would preserve those words (Psalm 12:6-7, Psalm 119:89, Matthew 24:35). Find yourself an accurate translation of the preserved words of God (I recommend the King James Bible), and you will have God's words in English. We must respond by holding His precious words in higher estimation than our necessary food.
Does that sweet tooth often get to you? Instead of a chocolate fix, why not dive into the sweet honey of God’s words;
Psalm 119:103
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 19:7-10
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is
Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
The Job diet is simple. This is it; God’s words are more important than the daily food that your body needs. The diet is not based solely upon this single verse in the Bible. I believe that if a Christian applies the principles of the Job diet to their life, then they will consequently lose that extra weight they've accumulated. You might not even need to lose weight, but you still need the Job diet. Food plays such an important role in our practical lives. We plan meetings around food, we plan dates around food, we plan family get-togethers around food, we plan church fellowship around food, and we schedule our daily lives around food. Many, including myself, often wonder when their next meal will be. The morning does not start with a Psalm, it starts with coffee and breakfast. Instead of meditating on their morning devotion, they’re focused on a good snack or a fatty breakfast food. Break time between classes isn’t a time to discuss the things of God, but I time to run to the snack bar. Free time isn’t a space in your day to fill with Bible study, but a time to snack on chips. Lunchtime isn’t a time that we pull our Bibles out at school or work, but a time that we pull our lunch pails out. Men don’t take their wives to preaching meetings to hear the words of God preached on but they take their wives to restaurants. Men don’t buy their wives cards with Scripture, but they buy them chocolates. Women don’t ask to go to revival meetings, they ask for a night out at a fancy restaurant. Something is wrong here.
I’m not proposing that we stop eating and just read our Bibles (though sometimes a special case may call for prayer and fasting), no, we just need to esteem the words of God more than our necessary food. The first thought in the morning must be, “I have to get some of God’s words, or I’ll never be sustained!” And after a sweet time of fellowship with the Owner of all things, you’ll probably remember that you need to grab some breakfast before you head off to start your day. While on the high clouds of meditating on the precious words of God, food will seem insignificant in comparison. Plan Bible studies instead of dinner dates. Before you have lunch, read a Proverb or two. While your spouse gets a snack out, tell him or her of a verse that stuck out to you in your morning devotions. When you wake up for that midnight snack, why don’t you open up to a Gospel and read of one of Jesus’ miracles?
Do not neglect your body's need for the nourishment of food, but do not allow that to be more important to your spiritual health. Peter writes,
1 Peter 2:2-3
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
In practice, many babies nurse anywhere from 4 times a day to 15 times a day. One medical source recommends that a newborn baby nurse every 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours. That calculation comes out to 9-16 times a day. The point isn't the exact amount of times a baby nurses a day, but I want you to take note of what Peter writes, “as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” The fact of the matter is that Christians do not receive the nourishment from the words of God that they should. The problem lies not within the words of God, but within the Christian who neglects them. Most Christians eat at least three times a day, and most snack in between those meals. So, on any given day I’d say that we consume food 6-10 times, but at least 3 full course meals. So, what is the Job diet? Have three hardy meals of Bible every day, esteem those meals more than your breakfast/lunch/dinner meals, and replace your snack times with meditation upon the words of God.
Satan knows full well of man’s temptation of food. That is why the tempter came to the Son of God during His miraculous fast and tempted Him with food. Jesus gave the perfect response,
Matthew 4:3-4 (Deuteronomy 8:3, Luke 4:4)
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
This passage not only teaches that we must esteem the words of God more than our necessary food, but it also affirms the Bible doctrine of preservation. Not only did God inspire the words of Scripture, but He promised to preserve them. If God hadn’t preserved the words of Scripture (not just the ideas or concepts, but His words), it would not be possible that man should live by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” We have the very words of God accurately set forth in the English language. God inspired the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic words of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21), and He promised that He would preserve those words (Psalm 12:6-7, Psalm 119:89, Matthew 24:35). Find yourself an accurate translation of the preserved words of God (I recommend the King James Bible), and you will have God's words in English. We must respond by holding His precious words in higher estimation than our necessary food.
Does that sweet tooth often get to you? Instead of a chocolate fix, why not dive into the sweet honey of God’s words;
Psalm 119:103
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 19:7-10
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is
sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Do not allow food to consume your time. Don’t meditate on your last or your next meal, but meditate on the words of Almighty God. Your mouth must pant for God’s words and your nights and days must be consumed by them. When you wake up at two in the morning don’t be comforted by a warm glass of milk, but fulfill the Scriptures by meditating on God’s words.
Psalm 119:131
I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Do not allow food to consume your time. Don’t meditate on your last or your next meal, but meditate on the words of Almighty God. Your mouth must pant for God’s words and your nights and days must be consumed by them. When you wake up at two in the morning don’t be comforted by a warm glass of milk, but fulfill the Scriptures by meditating on God’s words.
Psalm 119:131
I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein
day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
This is not a foreign concept, the Bible is frequently referred to with the picture of physical nourishment like milk and meat. See these references,
Hebrews 5:12-13
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskillfull in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as
This is not a foreign concept, the Bible is frequently referred to with the picture of physical nourishment like milk and meat. See these references,
Hebrews 5:12-13
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskillfull in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as
unto babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
What is our responsibility? We are responsible to esteem the words of God more than our necessary food. Will you commit to the Job diet? Don’t do it to lose weight, but do it “that ye may grow thereby.” I pray that you will be able to join with Job and say, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
What is our responsibility? We are responsible to esteem the words of God more than our necessary food. Will you commit to the Job diet? Don’t do it to lose weight, but do it “that ye may grow thereby.” I pray that you will be able to join with Job and say, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”
Monday, June 2, 2008
Nuggets in Job
I’m not completely sure what the life of a gold digger is like. I imagine it involves a great amount of sifting. Each nugget is not something that he stumbles upon, but something that he was looking for and was filled with great joy when it was found. That is how my personal devotions are with the Lord. By personal devotions, I mean a quiet time that I set aside at least twice a day to read the Bible and pray. You could call them appointments with God. You cannot have a relationship with someone that doesn’t talk to you, and to whom you do not talk to. So, I talk to God through prayer and He talks to me through His Holy Words in the Bible.
This last week or two I have been in the book of Job. God has been showing me some great nuggets. I am overjoyed when I find them and I think I ought to share them.
The book starts out with letting you know you'll be making a trip into the land of Uz. Not Oz, that's Dorothy. This is about a man named Job, in the land of Uz:
Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
We are told that Job is a perfect and upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil. Now you may want to say, "God bless you," but I didn't sneeze. The Bible says that Job was a man that eschewed evil. That means that he shunned and avoided evil. Within my generation there is a great dearth of those that would eschew evil. Not only did Job eschew evil, but he was a perfect man. Since the 1600's (the King James Bible was translated from Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic in 1611) this word "perfect" has changed a little in the manner that we use it. Webster's 1828 dictionary informs us that this english word can mean any of the following; "Finished; complete...Fully informed; completely skilled...Complete in moral excellencies." In reference to Job, he was not without flaw, but speaking of his piety, Job was considered to be a complete and well-rounded moral man. He was upright, meaning that he was just man. He was not crooked. If Job entered into a business deal, you wouldn't have to worry that he would "do you wrong."
Most importantly, Job feared God. In this, Job was wise and his great wisdom is reflected later in the book.
Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
The truth that the fear of God is synonymous with wisdom is not an uncommon theme in the Bible. Here are some more Bible references where wisdom is coupled with the fear of the Lord:
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:1-5
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
I urge you to take heed to the Word of God. Will you be wise? Fear the Lord. Reverence Him. Stop using His Holy name in vain. Realize that the fear of the Lord for a Christian is not so much being afraid that His mighty hand will come crashing down upon you, but a fear that His gentle hand of blessing in this earthen life will be lifted from you. The fear of the Lord for a non-Christian is a fear and terror of God's great wrath against a sinner; to escape this wrath, please see the article titled "The Gospel" from Wednesday, April 23, 2008.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
This last week or two I have been in the book of Job. God has been showing me some great nuggets. I am overjoyed when I find them and I think I ought to share them.
The book starts out with letting you know you'll be making a trip into the land of Uz. Not Oz, that's Dorothy. This is about a man named Job, in the land of Uz:
Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
We are told that Job is a perfect and upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil. Now you may want to say, "God bless you," but I didn't sneeze. The Bible says that Job was a man that eschewed evil. That means that he shunned and avoided evil. Within my generation there is a great dearth of those that would eschew evil. Not only did Job eschew evil, but he was a perfect man. Since the 1600's (the King James Bible was translated from Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic in 1611) this word "perfect" has changed a little in the manner that we use it. Webster's 1828 dictionary informs us that this english word can mean any of the following; "Finished; complete...Fully informed; completely skilled...Complete in moral excellencies." In reference to Job, he was not without flaw, but speaking of his piety, Job was considered to be a complete and well-rounded moral man. He was upright, meaning that he was just man. He was not crooked. If Job entered into a business deal, you wouldn't have to worry that he would "do you wrong."
Most importantly, Job feared God. In this, Job was wise and his great wisdom is reflected later in the book.
Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
The truth that the fear of God is synonymous with wisdom is not an uncommon theme in the Bible. Here are some more Bible references where wisdom is coupled with the fear of the Lord:
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:1-5
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
I urge you to take heed to the Word of God. Will you be wise? Fear the Lord. Reverence Him. Stop using His Holy name in vain. Realize that the fear of the Lord for a Christian is not so much being afraid that His mighty hand will come crashing down upon you, but a fear that His gentle hand of blessing in this earthen life will be lifted from you. The fear of the Lord for a non-Christian is a fear and terror of God's great wrath against a sinner; to escape this wrath, please see the article titled "The Gospel" from Wednesday, April 23, 2008.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
For Such A Time As This
A Jewish man finds himself in Persia as the story would go for multitudes of Jews at this post-exile time. His name is Mordecai. The king of this great empire is Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus gets extremely angry at his wife for her disobedience and decides, at the counsel Memucan a Persian prince, to make an example out of his wife Vishti. He took away her privilege to see the king and her royal estate in order to teach the wives throughout his empire to honor their husbands. Now was the time for King Ahasuerus to choose a new wife in the stead of Vishti, and this is where we find this Jew named Mordecai.
Esther 2:5-7
5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
Esther was selected as one of the virgins from whom the king would choose his new wife. After a grueling period of preparing and waiting, the king chose Esther as his new queen:
Esther 2:17
And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
This is a very unseemly story. Esther is a Jew whose biological parents are dead, who is a foreigner exiled from her land, and yet she still is able to rise to a position of much respect; she is the queen of a massive empire (see Esther 1:1 to see that vastness of Ahasuerus' kingdom). Friend, this is not coincidental. God is in control.
An evil man named Haman is promoted by the king to an office of great confidence. He is a powerful man. Each day as he walked through the gates, the men would all bow and reverence him, but not Mordecai:
Esther 3:2
And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
Haman grew furious at Mordecai, so much that he hated Mordecai's people, the Jews:
Esther 3:5-6
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had showed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
Haman petitioned King Ahasuerus for permission to destroy “a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom” (Esther 3:8). He was talking of the Jewish people, God’s people. Ahasuerus permitted the desctruction of this group of people which, as far as the Bible tells us, is unnamed to the king. Ahasuersus endorsed Haman to do this evil deed.
Esther 4:1
When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
Mordecai first reacts to this decree with mourning but we soon see that his reaction becomes more aggressive:
Esther 4:8
Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
Esther responds to her adopted father saying, “All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.” (Esther 4:11).
Esther’s wise father understands that if the God of Israel is big enough to orchestrate situations so that Esther is chosen as queen of this nation then He is also big enough to protect Esther if she enters the king's court. Even more important though, he reminds her of God’s Providence and how this may be the very reason she came into power.
Esther 4:14
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
The biblical account in Esther shows that God did have her there that the Jews might be delivered from their coming doom. That is how Esther's story finishes, but what about you?
God’s people through the ages have found that they are placed into situations and they don’t know why they’ve been placed into them. Trust in the Lord though. Christian, you never know the whole story of how God is working, and so trust that He is working. You cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
This is what God says about the mystery of His way:
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Maybe your parents got divorced so that God could use that experience in your life for you to minister to someone. Maybe you lost a loved one so that you would hit rock bottom and finally turn to God. Maybe you are at a miserable job so that God can use you to tell one person how to be saved.
Two years ago, a man named Samuel Castillo was hundreds of miles away from his home in a city called Santiago. It was not a pleasant set of circumstances that brought him there. He had broken many bones in a motorcycle accident while ministering to people on a southern island in Chile and now he was in Santiago for rehabilitation. When he was in Santiago he met a teenager named Kyle Sheridan. Samuel told Kyle about his burden for the great need in the islands of the south of Chile. God then used Samuel’s words, translated into English by Kyle’s friend Dustin, to touch Kyle’s heart.
Today I am in Chile to see if God wants me to be a missionary to the south. This trip never would have happened if it weren’t for the single providential care of God orchestrating for me to meet Samuel two years ago. Though Brother Samuel was surely discouraged by the storm he was passing through when he came to Santiago for rehabilitation, who knew that God had brought him there “for such a time as this?”
Where are you today?
I ask you because I want you to consider a thought. Maybe you are there for such a time as this.
Esther 2:5-7
5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
Esther was selected as one of the virgins from whom the king would choose his new wife. After a grueling period of preparing and waiting, the king chose Esther as his new queen:
Esther 2:17
And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
This is a very unseemly story. Esther is a Jew whose biological parents are dead, who is a foreigner exiled from her land, and yet she still is able to rise to a position of much respect; she is the queen of a massive empire (see Esther 1:1 to see that vastness of Ahasuerus' kingdom). Friend, this is not coincidental. God is in control.
An evil man named Haman is promoted by the king to an office of great confidence. He is a powerful man. Each day as he walked through the gates, the men would all bow and reverence him, but not Mordecai:
Esther 3:2
And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
Haman grew furious at Mordecai, so much that he hated Mordecai's people, the Jews:
Esther 3:5-6
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had showed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
Haman petitioned King Ahasuerus for permission to destroy “a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom” (Esther 3:8). He was talking of the Jewish people, God’s people. Ahasuerus permitted the desctruction of this group of people which, as far as the Bible tells us, is unnamed to the king. Ahasuersus endorsed Haman to do this evil deed.
Esther 4:1
When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
Mordecai first reacts to this decree with mourning but we soon see that his reaction becomes more aggressive:
Esther 4:8
Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
Esther responds to her adopted father saying, “All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.” (Esther 4:11).
Esther’s wise father understands that if the God of Israel is big enough to orchestrate situations so that Esther is chosen as queen of this nation then He is also big enough to protect Esther if she enters the king's court. Even more important though, he reminds her of God’s Providence and how this may be the very reason she came into power.
Esther 4:14
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
The biblical account in Esther shows that God did have her there that the Jews might be delivered from their coming doom. That is how Esther's story finishes, but what about you?
God’s people through the ages have found that they are placed into situations and they don’t know why they’ve been placed into them. Trust in the Lord though. Christian, you never know the whole story of how God is working, and so trust that He is working. You cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
This is what God says about the mystery of His way:
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Maybe your parents got divorced so that God could use that experience in your life for you to minister to someone. Maybe you lost a loved one so that you would hit rock bottom and finally turn to God. Maybe you are at a miserable job so that God can use you to tell one person how to be saved.
Two years ago, a man named Samuel Castillo was hundreds of miles away from his home in a city called Santiago. It was not a pleasant set of circumstances that brought him there. He had broken many bones in a motorcycle accident while ministering to people on a southern island in Chile and now he was in Santiago for rehabilitation. When he was in Santiago he met a teenager named Kyle Sheridan. Samuel told Kyle about his burden for the great need in the islands of the south of Chile. God then used Samuel’s words, translated into English by Kyle’s friend Dustin, to touch Kyle’s heart.
Today I am in Chile to see if God wants me to be a missionary to the south. This trip never would have happened if it weren’t for the single providential care of God orchestrating for me to meet Samuel two years ago. Though Brother Samuel was surely discouraged by the storm he was passing through when he came to Santiago for rehabilitation, who knew that God had brought him there “for such a time as this?”
Where are you today?
I ask you because I want you to consider a thought. Maybe you are there for such a time as this.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Where is your faith?
Luke 8:22-25 (see also Matthew 8:18-27 & Mark 4:35-41)
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
There was a storm so raging that these men crossing the lake thought they were going to die. So great a storm that “they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.”
“Master, master, we perish.” They said.
What a scary thing to be afraid of your circumstances, and to be afraid of the outcome. The disciples in this situation weren’t sure what was going to become of them in this storm. I would be afraid too if my confidence was found in good weather. You know, weather changes constantly, just like the calm weather before the storm in Luke 8:22-25 changed so quickly into a storm.
Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?”
He asked where their faith was because He knew that their faith was not in Him. For if their faith was in Him then they would not have feared because (as evidenced by this miracle) the Lord Jesus Christ is more powerful than the changing weather.
Do you know what is as unstable as weather? Man’s attempts at righteousness. It has been said that there are two religions in this world:
* Do
** Done
1. Men try to do good works to please God and work their way to heaven. Here are some examples of those good works that men try to do thinking they may win God's favor: baptism, giving to the poor, the “sacraments”, church membership, giving money to the church, and many other works.
2. Done. Jesus said, “It is finished.” He was talking about the work of redemption. When Jesus Christ shed His innocent blood on the cross of Calvary, the only work that was necessary for the salvation of man was finished. The Bible makes it very clear that our works cannot save us:
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...
This is what God thinks of our righteousness:
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
If I was trusting in the first religion then I would be afraid. I would be very afraid. The reason why is because the Bible makes it clear that God’s standard is perfection. If a person sins once then they have fallen short of God’s perfect standard. God says we’ve all fallen short:
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Actions have consequences. God has established the consequence/the just punishment for our sins:
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death...
Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Revelation 20:14-15
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The only way for me to go to Heaven is by being completely righteous. I can only do that if the righteousness of Jesus is applied to my account. God made a provision. If the blood of Jesus is applied to your account then you are declared righteous in the eyes of God. The Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitute (he took on Himself the consequences for our sins) so that we might be made righteous:
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
So here’s the point I hope you’ll understand. If you try to work to get to heaven then your faith is in the wrong place and you will perish. If your faith is in anything other than God, then that is scary. If you want to be saved then you have to put your trust (aka belief, faith) completely in the Lord Jesus Christ and His personal work of shedding His blood for your sins, dying on the cross, being buried, and then raising again the third day. Here is what Jesus said:
John 6:47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
So I ask you, where is your faith?
(For more Bible verses to understand salvation, see the second article of April '08 titled “The Gospel”)
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
There was a storm so raging that these men crossing the lake thought they were going to die. So great a storm that “they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.”
“Master, master, we perish.” They said.
What a scary thing to be afraid of your circumstances, and to be afraid of the outcome. The disciples in this situation weren’t sure what was going to become of them in this storm. I would be afraid too if my confidence was found in good weather. You know, weather changes constantly, just like the calm weather before the storm in Luke 8:22-25 changed so quickly into a storm.
Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?”
He asked where their faith was because He knew that their faith was not in Him. For if their faith was in Him then they would not have feared because (as evidenced by this miracle) the Lord Jesus Christ is more powerful than the changing weather.
Do you know what is as unstable as weather? Man’s attempts at righteousness. It has been said that there are two religions in this world:
* Do
** Done
1. Men try to do good works to please God and work their way to heaven. Here are some examples of those good works that men try to do thinking they may win God's favor: baptism, giving to the poor, the “sacraments”, church membership, giving money to the church, and many other works.
2. Done. Jesus said, “It is finished.” He was talking about the work of redemption. When Jesus Christ shed His innocent blood on the cross of Calvary, the only work that was necessary for the salvation of man was finished. The Bible makes it very clear that our works cannot save us:
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...
This is what God thinks of our righteousness:
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
If I was trusting in the first religion then I would be afraid. I would be very afraid. The reason why is because the Bible makes it clear that God’s standard is perfection. If a person sins once then they have fallen short of God’s perfect standard. God says we’ve all fallen short:
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Actions have consequences. God has established the consequence/the just punishment for our sins:
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death...
Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Revelation 20:14-15
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The only way for me to go to Heaven is by being completely righteous. I can only do that if the righteousness of Jesus is applied to my account. God made a provision. If the blood of Jesus is applied to your account then you are declared righteous in the eyes of God. The Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitute (he took on Himself the consequences for our sins) so that we might be made righteous:
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
So here’s the point I hope you’ll understand. If you try to work to get to heaven then your faith is in the wrong place and you will perish. If your faith is in anything other than God, then that is scary. If you want to be saved then you have to put your trust (aka belief, faith) completely in the Lord Jesus Christ and His personal work of shedding His blood for your sins, dying on the cross, being buried, and then raising again the third day. Here is what Jesus said:
John 6:47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
So I ask you, where is your faith?
(For more Bible verses to understand salvation, see the second article of April '08 titled “The Gospel”)