"All Truth is God's Truth," Says the DevilJohn Piper
Every believer must choose whether he will live by the principle of obedience or follow his preferences. When a person commits to doing the Lord's will, then every situation and decision is sifted through the standard of "God said it, so I'm going to do it-and that's the end of it." He may complain, weep, or try to argue. But in the end he will be obedient, no matter what.
I recall being invited years ago to interview with a church in Atlanta. During the entire road trip, I told the Lord that I didn't want to move. I fussed and carried on a good while, but I knew Atlanta would be my new home. I didn't like the idea, but the alternative was unimaginable: there are few things more unpleasant than living with the nagging anxiety that you missed out on something good.
The Lord certainly understands our need to question, cry out, and petition Him for the strength to do what He asks. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that we have a high priest who can sympathize with us. Jesus wasn't excited or happy about the cross. He grieved over the coming separation from His Father. Nevertheless, He was committed to following God's will (Matt. 26:39). No one took Christ's life from Him; He laid it down (John 10:18).
Our lives are about fulfilling God's purpose. Many people miss His awesome plan for them because they choose to follow their preferences. Obedience is sometimes hard, but the struggle and sacrifice are worth it. There is joy and peace for the believer who pleases the Lord and lives by His principles.
The Wisdom of Right Relationships
Hebrews 10:23-24
The subject of positive relationships is near to my heart because God has provided me with such good friends. These are the people who challenge me to do more for the Lord. My friends love me, but they certainly aren't content to let me stay as I am! If they spot a sin in my life or see something I could do better, they say so.
Paul gave relationships a high priority too. The apostle surrounded himself with people who could help him achieve two things: fulfillment of his God-given mission and conformity to Christlikeness. While Paul was pouring himself into the lives of others, he was being built up and strengthened by his fellow believers. That, in brief, is the Lord's plan for every one of His children.
What about you? Do you have certain relationships that motivate you to pursue God more fervently? It does matter whom we allow to influence our lives. The Father equips your brothers and sisters to invest in you-to encourage you, to pray for you, and to prod you toward a more complete faith-so that you are prepared to devote yourself to serving others. Good relationships with people who build each other up can help believers fulfill God's plan for their lives.
The finest relationships are between people who want to see each other succeed in faith and therefore "spur one another on toward love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24, niv). In other words, our best friends are those who love us as we are but never cease to challenge us to be better for the Lord.
Your Life Is Your Time
Sometimes the slogan "All truth is God's truth" is used to justify dealing in any sphere of knowledge as an act of worship or stewardship. The impression is given that just knowing God's truth and recognizing it as such is a good thing, even a worthy end. But the problem with this is that the devil does it.
"If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God." (1 Corinthians 8:2-3). Which I take to mean that until we know in such a way that we love God more because of it, we do not yet know as we ought to know.
Alongside "All truth is God's truth," we need to say, "All truth exists to display more of God and awaken more love for God." This means that knowing truth and knowing it as God's truth is not a virtue until it awakens desire and delight in us for the God of truth. And that desire and delight are not complete until they give rise to words or actions that display the worth of God. That is, we exist to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and merely knowing a truth to be God's truth does not glorify him any more than the devil does.
All truth exists to make God known and loved and shown. If it does not have those three effects it is not known rightly and should not be celebrated as a virtue.
I give thanks that unbelievers see God's truths in the natural world in a limited way. They know many scientific and cultural facts. But they do not feel desire for God or delight in God because of them. So these facts are misused. This is not a virtue.
I also give thanks that that believers may learn many of God's truths from unbelievers and see them rightly and thus desire God more and delight in God more because of those truths, so that unbelievers become, unwittingly, the means of our worship.
Thus an unbeliever's knowing God's truth is not ultimately a virtue-that is, not a knowing that accords with God's purpose for knowing-nevertheless that knowing may be a usefulknowing for the sake of what God makes of it for his self-revealing and self-exalting purposes in the world, contrary to all the expectations of the unbeliever whose knowing God uses.
It is fitting, therefore, for God's sake-for love's sake-that believers learn what we can from unbelievers who see many things that we may miss, but do not see the one thing needful.
Why I Quit Depending on My Own Plans
JULIE K. GILLIES
JULIE K. GILLIES
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
Everything in me wanted to plow headlong into my next project. I yearned to get started. People were excited about my participation. And with only one older child living at home, my time was freer than ever.
There was no reason for me not to move forward. Or so I thought.
And so I planned. Created to-do lists. And tried to get busy.
But strangely, nothing happened. Inspiration refused to bubble up. Over and over I tried. Over and over I accomplished nothing. I began to wonder what on earth the issue could be.
So I prayed. Over the following weeks as my plans stubbornly refused to progress, I began to sense the Lord's gentle hand of restraint on my shoulder, holding back my ever-forward movement.
And then my heart heard one word. Wait.
I sensed God inviting me into a holy pause. And though I didn't understand why waiting was necessary, the Lord graciously brought my heart into alignment with His.
Wait is one of my least favorite words because it's one of my least favorite things to do. Over the years I have waited for eternally important things, like the salvation of loved ones. I've also waited for medical test results, some hard teen years to be over, a sickness to pass and houses to sell.
And while waiting is unavoidable, it can feel like a waste of time, primarily because waiting feels unproductive to my task-oriented nature. The truth is I enjoy the feelings of accomplishment and the satisfaction of a job well done. And that's okay.
But is our productivity or desire for an easy, wait-free life more important than our obedience to God? Productivity, the desire for an answer or our longing for the wait to be over cannot hold more weight in our hearts than God's timing, His will and His perfect plans for that particular time in our lives.
Sometimes a holy pause doesn't make sense to us.
Yet our key verse reminds us not to depend on our own understanding, and instead to seek God's plans for our lives: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Had I failed to heed God's promptings, I probably would have been facing a project deadline in the midst of what turned out to be intense family-wide health issues, including many which were quite serious.
What I learned during this holy pause is that down time does not equal wasted time. In God's economy and wisdom, down time - when prompted by Him - can spare us, equip us, refresh us or prepare us.
If we are wise, we will use our down time, that holy pause, to allow our hearts to connect with His on a more frequent and deeper level. At some point the wait will be over and we will be free to move forward, with Him, into all He has for us at that particular time.
When we seek God's will in all we do and learn to trust more in the Holy Spirit's promptings than our own desire for productive accomplishments, our hearts will come into alignment with His. And He will show us the right path, in His perfect timing.
Lord, I long to obey You in every respect, even when I don't understand. Help me not to rush forward when You are inviting me into a holy pause. Bring my heart into alignment with Yours, and cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will. Thank You for accomplishing Your will in my life during every wait. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
"'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him." Luke 8:39 (NIV)
As I sat in the church pew with my head bowed in prayer, I heard a voice reverberate so thunderously in my heart that it startled me.
The voice was blaringly loud, as if it had been announced over the loudspeakers. I opened my eyes surprised to see that no one else was taken aback. All was calm.
And so began my encounter with God.
I felt God speak loud and clear a short message that held life-altering repercussions. Three powerful, commanding words: "Go and share!"
I became overwhelmed with emotion. I was awestruck that God had spoken to me at all, but even more so at the three words I heard. Go and share? Go and share what?
Then it hit me. Fear immediately overwhelmed me and I sank into the pew, trembling at what I thought God might be asking. I began to question God, "Surely You can't mean share my past, Lord. Surely You don't mean go and share what I prefer to keep secret." Yet, that is exactly what He meant. And I didn't like it.
I didn't want to go, much less share. I didn't want to be transparent or vulnerable. I gratefully accepted His forgiveness and healing, but I wasn't ready to accept His call to give me a purpose. The man who was healed from demon possession in today's key verse experienced similar feelings.
This tormented man lived as an outcast for many years, naked and alone in the tombs of Gadara, near Galilee. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees and shouted at the top of his voice, begging for mercy from God. Jesus commanded the demons to leave him and then cast them into a herd of pigs that rushed down the steep bank into a lake and drowned. The man was healed physically, but more importantly, spiritually.
He was so overwhelmed with gratitude for what Jesus had done, he begged to travel with Jesus and stay by His side. But Jesus had other plans. Instead, Jesus told him to go and share his story. And he did.
What had once been a burden to bear became a powerful story of holy transformation. This man's past, and the healing he experienced, became the foundation of a purpose in life that he would have never imagined - living his life as proof of the life-changing power of Jesus.
The man's story became a testimony when he was willing to share it with others. How many people believed in Jesus and are now spending eternity with Him simply because this former demon-possessed man willingly allowed his terrible past to become a story of redemption and purpose?
People can deny Christ, dispute Scripture and ignore prophecy, but they cannot deny, dispute or ignore God's transformational power in someone's life. Our stories of pain, adversity and overcoming in Christ are meant to serve as a testimony of God's faithfulness and power, evidence that God really can take what the devil meant for evil and use it for good.
I've since learned it is always God's desire for us to go and share our stories, whether we want to or not.
God never wastes our pain. Only we do that. God has a plan for great purpose and a beautiful future for all who believe in Him. Not despite our past, but because of it.
Lord, help me find the courage and the desire to share what You have done in my life. Turn my past into my purpose and refuse to let my pain be for nothing. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." Mark 1:35 (NIV)
I've always been indescribably drawn to the private life of Jesus.
The Jesus who was led into the wilderness.
The Jesus who agonized over His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane.
But the moments that interest me most are when Jesus withdrew to quiet places to pray - each prayer time a compelling picture of the Son's intimate connection with His Father.
Mark tells us in our key verse that while it was still dark, Jesus slipped out of the house and went to a secluded place to meet with His Father. Mark doesn't tell us what morning this was. But we do know this prayer time followed a full day of healing the sick and casting out demons.
After that kind of day, you would think Jesus might have slept in ... just for an hour or two. I would have. But not Jesus. He awakened before the sun peeked over the horizon to be refreshed and renewed for the ministry awaiting Him that day.
Oh, how I long to know what Jesus said. How long did He pray? What did He pray? Could He audibly hear His Father's response? Were the angels with Him?
And more practically, did His mind wander? Mine does. Sometimes I find myself praying and my mind travels to my "to do" list. Or I begin praising God but then the concerns weighing on my heart push through and usher out my praise.
I imagine Jesus' mind didn't wander because He knew in those solitary places He was sitting in very presence of His Father. And what I forget - perhaps many of us do - is that when we pray, we too sit in the very presence of God, our Father.
Although our eyes cannot visibly see Him, I picture Him drawing near, bending close to hear our every word. His Spirit surrounding us. His hands lifting our faces heavenward. His ears fixed on every cry of our hearts ... the praises, the confessions, the anxieties, the fears, the doubts ... He hears them all.
Sometimes it's hard to awaken early. Hard to focus. And most of all, it's hard to fathom that the God of the universe, who holds the entire world in His hands, has time to hear our little prayers. But not only does He have the time, He calls us to come to Him. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" (NIV).
So, let's band together this week for morning prayer. Each morning, find a solitary place to pray ... your own secret spot. Below, I've written a special prayer for us to open our time with God.
Our Morning Prayer:
Dear Lord, I don't know who or what will cross my path today. But I do know that You are my Rock and my Fortress. You are my Shield and my Strong Tower. Help me to anchor myself to You today. Teach me how to stand strong in You and choose only Your way today. Help me walk by Your truth and not my feelings.
Help me to embrace anything that comes my way as an opportunity to see You at work and as an opportunity to point others to You.
Thank You that You love me and nothing can ever take that away from me! Even if I fail today and fall short, You whisper Your unconditional love deep into my soul and remind me that Your mercies are new every morning.
That truly amazes me, Lord.
Thank You for meeting with me today. Would You wake me again tomorrow with the same sweet whisper of Your love? I can't wait to meet with You again. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Imagine the marvelous sight before God's eyes! Each morning this week, as Elohim, the God who created us, peeks over the edge of heaven, gazes across the continents, and spans the time zones, He will find His girls gathering to pray with one voice: Our morning prayer.
Obedience or Preference
Matthew 26:36-42Every believer must choose whether he will live by the principle of obedience or follow his preferences. When a person commits to doing the Lord's will, then every situation and decision is sifted through the standard of "God said it, so I'm going to do it-and that's the end of it." He may complain, weep, or try to argue. But in the end he will be obedient, no matter what.
I recall being invited years ago to interview with a church in Atlanta. During the entire road trip, I told the Lord that I didn't want to move. I fussed and carried on a good while, but I knew Atlanta would be my new home. I didn't like the idea, but the alternative was unimaginable: there are few things more unpleasant than living with the nagging anxiety that you missed out on something good.
The Lord certainly understands our need to question, cry out, and petition Him for the strength to do what He asks. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that we have a high priest who can sympathize with us. Jesus wasn't excited or happy about the cross. He grieved over the coming separation from His Father. Nevertheless, He was committed to following God's will (Matt. 26:39). No one took Christ's life from Him; He laid it down (John 10:18).
Our lives are about fulfilling God's purpose. Many people miss His awesome plan for them because they choose to follow their preferences. Obedience is sometimes hard, but the struggle and sacrifice are worth it. There is joy and peace for the believer who pleases the Lord and lives by His principles.
The Wisdom of Right Relationships
Hebrews 10:23-24
The subject of positive relationships is near to my heart because God has provided me with such good friends. These are the people who challenge me to do more for the Lord. My friends love me, but they certainly aren't content to let me stay as I am! If they spot a sin in my life or see something I could do better, they say so.
Paul gave relationships a high priority too. The apostle surrounded himself with people who could help him achieve two things: fulfillment of his God-given mission and conformity to Christlikeness. While Paul was pouring himself into the lives of others, he was being built up and strengthened by his fellow believers. That, in brief, is the Lord's plan for every one of His children.
What about you? Do you have certain relationships that motivate you to pursue God more fervently? It does matter whom we allow to influence our lives. The Father equips your brothers and sisters to invest in you-to encourage you, to pray for you, and to prod you toward a more complete faith-so that you are prepared to devote yourself to serving others. Good relationships with people who build each other up can help believers fulfill God's plan for their lives.
The finest relationships are between people who want to see each other succeed in faith and therefore "spur one another on toward love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24, niv). In other words, our best friends are those who love us as we are but never cease to challenge us to be better for the Lord.
Your Life Is Your Time
Our lives are governed by time. That's why we're surrounded by clocks and calendars that dictate our activities. As the minutes tick by, we wonder where the day went. When responsibilities and pressures mount, we complain, "I just don't have time to get it all done!" But the reality is that God has given us enough time to do exactly what He's planned for our lives. Perhaps the bigger issue is whether we are using our time to do our will or the Lord's.
Time is a gift from God, and He has allotted each of us a measure in which to live and accomplish His purposes. We have only two options-to spend it temporally on our own interests or invest it eternally. Since time can never be retrieved or reversed, it's critical that we make the most of every opportunity the Lord provides.
The key to investing in eternity is following God's plan for your life, not just filling your days with activities. Jesus was allocated just thirty-three years of life on earth, but only the last three were spent in fulfilling His Messianic ministry. To us that seems like a waste of time. Yet Christ accomplished everything His Father gave Him to do. That's why on the cross He could say, "It is finished" (John 19:30).
Scripture compares earthly life to "a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14), but eternal life never ends. It's foolish to spend your life on a vapor when you can reap everlasting benefits by following God's will for your time here. Each day is an opportunity to choose.
God Accomplishes What Concerns You
David was a man who walked through trouble on a regular basis. His psalms express the struggles and disappointments he faced, yet in the end, he always turned his focus back to God. The key to his victorious attitude was his strong faith in the Lord.
David was confident in God's purpose. That's why he could say, "The Lord will accomplish what concerns me" (v. 8). The only way we can walk through trouble and not be defeated is by keeping our focus on the Lord and His purpose. He has promised to do a good work in our lives, but sometimes the only way He can complete it is in valleys of hardship.
He relied on the Lord's power. When troubles arise, we, too, can trust God to deliver us, but it may not be by escape. Sometimes He sustains us through the difficulty, walking with us every step of the way.
David believed the promises of God. Throughout these two verses, he repeatedly reminds himself what the Lord will do. We also need to have some specific promises from Scripture that will anchor us in times of trouble. The truths of the Bible are our most valuable possession when the storms of life assail us. Self-reliance or advice from others will never equal the help God's Word offers us.
God assumes responsibility for accomplishing what concerns you in times of trouble. Your job is to believe that He will fulfill His purpose, His power is adequate, and He'll keep every promise. When the trial has achieved His goal, He'll remove it. Until then, keep walking with your eyes on Him.
God's Call to Repentance
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger brother asked to receive his inheritance early so he might live as he chose. Once the father gave him his share, he made many unwise choices that led to hunger and destitution. What happened next illustrates the principles of godly repentance.
After squandering all his money, the young man found work feeding pigs, a bottom-of-the-barrel kind of job. One day he came to his senses and recognized his terrible plight. His repentance began with an awareness of his wrong choices and the fact that his bad situation was due to them.
Knowing that his difficulties came from his sinful behavior, the prodigal grieved over his mistakes and acknowledged that he had sinned against the Lord (v. 18). He declared he was no longer worthy to be his father's son. Godly sorrow and confession led the young man to leave that place and go home. His repentance was made complete when he turned away from his old ways and returned to his father. The Lord likewise calls us to repent and return to Him.
What a welcome the prodigal son received. Upon seeing him, the father was filled with compassion and ran to embrace him. Forgiveness and acceptance were extended to the son. Both are blessings that God freely offers to whoever asks Him.
The prodigal son did not clean himself up before returning home. He simply left his old life, turned toward home, and trusted in his father's mercy. The heavenly Father calls us to repent and offers us forgiveness when we turn away from our self-centered ways and move toward godliness (1 John 1:9).
The Power of Forgiveness
"To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins." (Acts 26:18)
"To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins." (Acts 26:18)
There is a historical point in our earthly lives at which the forgiveness of Christ was granted-even though He was "slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8) and in the eternal sense we were "predestined" to be "conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29).
Christ has subdued, cleansed, and forgotten our sins. Our human minds will never comprehend what it cost the triune Godhead to "subdue our iniquities" and metaphorically throw our sins "into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19). How is it possible for an omniscient God to blot out and forget our sins? Yet the Scriptures clearly tell us that He does so (Isaiah 43:25; 44:22; Acts 3:19). God's forgiveness is an eternal act of forgetfulness as well as judicial payment and propitiation.
Christ has replaced our sins with His holiness. Of course this must be! A holy God cannot fellowship with an unholy being. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." We must be "made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21) so that He "might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26).
Christ has given us victory over sin. Since all of the above (and more) is true and active in the life of every believer, there should be an obvious exhilaration that enables us to confidently stand against whatever "fiery darts" the Enemy throws at us. "Sin shall not have dominion over you," we are clearly told in Romans 6:14. Since the "offense" of sin was dealt with on the cross, we should "reign in life" by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).
Do you rejoice in your forgiveness and therefore reign over sin in your life? God has made this possible. HMM III
Godly Derision and Wrath
"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." (Psalm 2:4-5)
"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." (Psalm 2:4-5)
What does an individual gain by opposing God and His plan? Can human opposition succeed against the Almighty One who created the universe? Obviously, no rebellion has a chance to succeed. God's sovereign control will certainly overpower man's feeble attempts to wrest command from Him. He will simply laugh in derision.
However difficult it is for us to imagine God laughing in this manner, we can surely understand His derision at the futility of created beings confronting their Creator and His right to rule over their lives. The name used for God is Lord, meaning Master. As Creator He has the authority to set the rules for His creation and the power to exact the penalty for breaking the rules.
Note that His response exceeds mere derision. It extends to "wrath." At the appointed time, the sovereign Judge will address all those who have rebelled against and opposed Him.
Man has no right to question God's authority or goodness in exercising it. Indeed, "the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). He even sacrificed His only begotten Son to pay the just penalty for sin. What more could He do?
With our sin penalty fully paid, our sin is forgiven, and we gratefully acknowledge His kingship over our lives. Once submitted to Him, we face everlasting fellowship with Him. With sin banished, believers need never fear His derision or wrath. JDM
The Active Power of Faith
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
When God grants the gift of faith that enables us at the point of salvation (Ephesians 2:8), it should not be seen as a static power that merely resides in our minds but rather an empowerment that is expected to grow into a dynamic and demonstrable "divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4-9).
Faith preserves and protects us. Jesus insisted, "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). These words are precise. Once faith is exercised, an eternal transaction takes place wherein a person is "passed" from spiritual death to eternal life. This is an absolute change and eliminates the possibility of hell (John 10:28-29).
Faith is power for effective prayer. The "mustard seed" promise in Matthew 17:20 does not refer to size or amount but to quality. The Greek comparative hoce, translated "as" in that passage, refers to the same kind of faith as the mustard seed. Just so, the promise of Matthew 7:7 (that if you ask and seek, you will find) depends on our confidence (faith) in the heavenly Father.
Faith is our "shield" against the Enemy. The seven pieces of God's armor identified in Ephesians 6:10-18 include "the shield of faith" that provides an ability "to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (v. 16). That shield is defensive in the sense that it only provides protection when we use it to block the "darts." The active use comes when we "resist the devil" (James 4:7) "in the faith" (1 Peter 5:9).
Do you use faith as God intended? HMM III
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
| Renewing of the Holy Spirit ". . . the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." (Titus 3:5) |
It Is Christ
"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8:34)
"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8:34)
In our text, Paul asks if there is anyone who can issue a guilty sentence against believers. In light of all Christ has done and the fact that the Father "hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22), only Christ has the authority to condemn. Will Christ condemn those for whom He died? Obviously not, and Paul gives four reasons why the very suggestion is absurd.
First: "It is Christ that died." He is the very one who left heaven to die as a substitute for us. True, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), but "Christ died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3). Certainly, the one who bore condemnation for us will not turn and condemn us.
Second: He "is risen again." He did not stay in the grave but rose victorious, proving that God the Father had accepted His sacrifice. Certainly "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18) who desires "that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29) will not turn and thwart His own work and plan.
Third: He is even now "at the right hand of God," where He is, among other things, preparing a place for us (John 14:2-3). He intends for us to join Him and will not condemn us. One would think He had done enough for us, but no.
Fourth: He "also maketh intercession for us." As long as we, His "brethren," still live, He is interceding to God on our behalf. He asks the Father for our acceptance, not for our condemnation.
If the only one with authority to condemn will not condemn, then we have the assurance that nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39). JDM
Perhaps the most frightening attribute of God is that He knows everything about us. Everything! He has "searched" (literally "penetrated") us and "known" ("understood") us. And since God is both omnipresent and omniscient, it obviously follows that nothing escapes His conscious knowledge about us. He observes our ordinary activities (v. 2) and our innermost thoughts. "Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways" (v. 3). The Hebrew word translated "compassest" suggests that He actually sees the formation of the words in our tongues before we begin to speak them (v. 4). That means that we are transparent to Him; we cannot deceive Him in any way. He knows what we are going to think; we cannot hide anything from Him. God knows what only we know about ourselves and those things we won't even admit to ourselves.
Furthermore, He is everywhere around each one of us (vv. 7-10), wherever we are or could be. He fills all space, and there is no escape. We cannot hide from God. He is wherever we go. The apostle Paul once observed: "For in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). This very intimate and complete knowledge about us is what makes God's salvation such a marvelous matter. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8). God loves us in spite of what we have become. Yet, since He knows what we could be, He gives us eternal life through His Son so that we will realize, one day, what He knows we shall be. HMM
The Amen
"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." (2 Corinthians 1:20)
The word "amen" is a most remarkable word. It is transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best-known word in human speech.
The word is directly related-in fact, almost identical-to the Hebrew word for "believe" (aman), or "faithful." Thus, it came to mean "sure" or "truly," an expression of absolute trust and confidence. When one believes God, he indicates his faith by an "amen." When God makes a promise, the believer's response is "amen"-"so it will be!" In the New Testament it is often translated "verily" or "truly." When we pray according to His Word and His will, we know God will answer, so we close with an "amen," and so also do we conclude a great hymn or anthem of praise and faith.
The word is even a title of Christ Himself. The last of His letters to the seven churches begins with a remarkable salutation by the glorified Lord: "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14). We can be preeminently certain that His Word is always faithful and true because He is none other than the Creator of all things, and thus He is our eternal "Amen."
As our text reminds us, every promise of God in Christ is "yea and amen," as strong an affirmation of truth as can be expressed in the Greek language.
It is, therefore, profoundly meaningful that the entire Bible closes with an "amen." "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Revelation 22:21), assuring everyone who reads these words that the whole Book is absolutely true and trustworthy. Amen! HMM
"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." (2 Corinthians 1:20)
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY PROPHECY WEBSITES...............................
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.