What can be learned of God? As we look upon the interaction between God and his creation throughout scripture we start to glimpse how perfect God is and the completely dysfunctionality of mankind. We easily align ourselves in complete allegiance to God but do we truly live as a child of God? “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name.” Isaiah 48:1,2 Have we progressed to a point where we only view our faith and religious endevours as chic, trendy, fashion? What percentage of people claim to be religious because they attend church once a year or because they feel in tune with themselves or nature? Continue Reading…
Will you abdicate the throne of life to the True King: Isaiah 48 and 49
Escape the weariness of life and find hope for tomorrow: Isaiah 46 and 47
What is pride? How does it dwell in your life? The weariness of life often times begs for some relief, any relief, a simple escape but our desire always eludes us. We often will think that if we could just have a little more prowess, luck, or even love we will finally be able to overcome the stress of life. Can anything in this life give us a lasting hope and pleasure? Is there any hope for us? “Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children’: These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments. You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, ‘No one sees me’; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’” Isaiah 47:8-10 We cannot afford to believe that we live in a world without God. We build up our fortresses and towers of rules, regulations, and ideologies but we cannot keep the living God outside of our walled existence. There is nothing that we should value more than God and His desire for our life. Continue Reading…
God is sovereign, sinless, and pure: Psalm 149
How can worship and wrath coexist? In Psalm 149 we are given two pictures by the Psalmist; verses one through 4 speak of worshiping God with a new song while verses 5 through 9 speak of wrath falling upon God’s enemies. Can we make a connection between worship and wrath? “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones… Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand…” Psalm 149:1,5 The key to remember as we seek to understand how worship and wrath can coexist is God alone. If we focus on ourselves we will never reconcile seemingly polar opposite ideas but once we remember and acknowledge that it is God who is sovereign, sinless, and pure we can know that in this sin tainted world the things that are at odds with each other are actually in harmony. Continue Reading…
Expectantly await for the second advent of Jesus Christ: Psalm 85
Over two thousand years ago mankind received the greatest gift of all in Bethlehem. “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.” Psalm 85:10-13 The ultimate good for us is the graciously given gift of salvation through the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ is our hope and our future. The world may appear to collapse around you but the sovereignty of God is eternally enduring. Will you trust that Jesus Christ came and took on humanity so that fellowship could be restored? Continue Reading…
Out of blessing God’s love is proclaimed: Psalm 67
Why do we desire God’s blessing? Has life become difficult and you desire God to make your burden lighter? Do you desire to have success in all of your ambitions and actions? Many times our motive for desiring God’s blessing in our life is based solely on ourselves to promote our own selfish desires. Why do we consistently see our own gain above all else? What should motivate our desire for His blessing? In Psalm 67, the psalmist is seeking God’s blessing for himself and Israel, “Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the all the peoples praise You. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth.” Psalm 67:3,4 Continue Reading…
Ultimate source of justice for the downtrodden and oppressed: Psalm 58
Does justice exist today? Can man truly be just in his actions? In Psalm 58 we are given hope to endure this wicked world that appears to lack justice. David speaks to the wicked of this world, “Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? No in heart you work unrighteousness; on earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.” Psalm 58:1,2 Mankind is cursed by sin and incapable of being just. From birth we are accursed and blinded to the paths of truth and we can only wander in the darkness of our evil deeds. Continue Reading…
Peace, hope and purpose found in a proper perspective: Job Summary
The story in the book of Job is portrayed on two distinct levels. At the macro-level we see the impetus for the calamity that befalls Job when God discusses His servant with Satan resulting in God allowing Satan to bring calamity upon Job. On the micro-level we see the loss of family, wealth and health for Job along with the futile comfort offered by his friends Zophar, Bildad and Eliphaz. How do we cope when calamities come upon us when outwardly we only see our life from the midst of trouble and tribulation? Can hope be had in the midst of calamity? How do we deal with the anger and despair that vies for our attention when we are in the midst of trouble?
Job was faced with his way of life being disturbed and radically changed when his children, livestock and health were struck by Satan. Job had no foreknowledge that these events that transformed his life were ordained and allowed by God. His main concern was questioning why these events happened to him, an upright man who sought God above all. The knowledge and faith that Job had in God was great but his perspective on his situation was fixed inwardly and not upon God. Continue Reading…
Contrast shows peoples true feelings: Job 29 and 30
Do we long for the glorious past? Do we sometimes think that God has forgotten us? In Job 29 and 30 Job reflects on everything that has changed since the calamity fell upon him. As Job speaks we get a greater understanding and picture of his life. Prior to losing his children, livelihood and health, Job’s life was marked by renown, admiration, respect, notoriety, charity and compassion. People looked at Job with an awe and wonder at all that he was blessed with and all that he did for others. Did this acknowledgement from men cause pride to develop in Job? After suffering so much loss Job was taunted, spit upon and talked about as he suffered persecution and cruelty from those who once looked up to him. There is a stark contrast between the life of Job before and after the troubling times. Continue Reading…
The dark season before the dawning of renewed hope: Job 17 and 18
The discourse between Job and his friends continues in Job 17 and 18. It can feel a little repetitive as you read through all of the discussion. What can we glean from the story of Job? Why should I care about these chapters? When you read through chapter 17 who is Job speaking to? The main focus of Job’s talk is directed towards God because his friends are proven to be useless. Job’s perspective of God’s sovereignty is seen as he acknowledges that his friends are prevented by God from understanding what he says. Throughout Job’s talk the picture that he longs to embrace death rather than continue on the path that his life is currently on. Have you ever felt so weary that you longed for death? Continue Reading…
Cling to God while facing the ‘Why me?’ moments of life: Job 11 and 12
Why is this discussion taking place between Job, Zophar, Bildad and Eliphaz? What is the purpose for all of this talk? In Job chapters 11 and 12 we have Zophar the Naamathite, the last of Job’s three friends, entering the discourse. The three friends initially came to comfort their friend but quickly start to argue that Job is to blame for his situation while Job is consistently seeking an answer from God as to why this lot has fallen upon him.
When Zophar wishes God would speak in Job 11:5,6 did he really believe or want God to speak? Did God speak openly during the period we see in Job? Would we really desire God to openly speak to us? What would our reaction be if God spoke? In that instant all thoughts of conflict, blame and despair would fade away in the presence of God. How often do we casually reference God in our discussions? We need to rightly look upon God as the almighty creator that He is and stop the elevation ourselves to positions of prominence. As Zophar speaks the assumption of Job’s guilt continues and gains more direct wording. There are moments that I want a friend to speak boldly to me but when I am broken and fighting a despairing spirit I want a friend who will just be there with me. Continue Reading…
