October 26, 2017
The psalmist praised the “LORD.” When English translations use all caps for this word, it shows that the revealed name, “Yahweh,” is being translated. Because the Jews considered the name too holy to say, they substituted the word “Adonai,” or Lord in its place when reading it aloud. Yahweh was the name that God had “made known” to Moses at the burning bush. It was the LORD who brought little Israel out of Egypt and established them as a nation in Canaan, so that all the nations knew He had delivered them. Yet, this was only a foreshadowing of the salvation God would “make known” through Christ Jesus. Now, Jesus has commanded His disciples to “go” and “make known” the good news of His salvation to the “nations” (Matt. 28:19-20).
October 25, 2017
What does it mean to be wise in your own eyes? It means that you think your know better than the Lord. Your “wisdom” is just as good as His or anyone else’s. Ironically, this is the worse kind of foolishness. For the truly wise man admits his limited knowledge and is always teachable. But the fool is a know-it-all that will not listen to counsel. Wisdom is more than knowledge. It is more than intellect. Wisdom is the knowledge and fear of God put into practice. The one who knows and fears the Lord accepts his own insufficient wisdom. The truly wise know that they don’t know all.
October 24, 2017
Certainly, this is a question posed by every generation. We look around at the violence and depravity in the world and wonder how much longer it can go on like this. Yet, God is not unaware. Nor is He sitting idle. His clock is not our clock, but it is ticking. Time is not circular, but linear. It may seem long to us, but as someone has said, there will be a “payday someday.” On that Day, only those who have received forgiveness of their sins through faith in Christ will be able to stand. So, we preach the gospel that those who hear it might believe. For no man “knoweth the hour” (Matt. 24:36), but the hour is coming nonetheless.
October 23, 2017
There are so many voices vying for our attention. To whom do we listen? Whose approval should we seek? The apostle Paul advised the young pastor Timothy to focus on God’s “approval.” He told him to “be diligent” in this, studying to hear God’s voice and please Him above all others. This rightly required “shunning” (2 Tim. 2:16) voices that competed with or spoke contrary to God’s Word. He told Timothy to work at the study and preaching of God’s Word like a tentmaker who cuts straight the thick camel hides of his craft, “rightly dividing” the Scriptures. Don’t water it down. Cut it straight!
This is still good advice for today. Work diligently to fulfill the calling God has on your life. Focus on it. Live for the approval of God, not man.
October 22, 2017
Paul encouraged Timothy, his “beloved son” in the Lord, to overcome fear, knowing that it didn’t come from God. Timothy was Paul’s young protege, but he wasn’t yet as bold and confident as Paul. Even though Paul had left him in charge of the church at Ephesus, it seems he sometimes struggled because people looked down on him because of his youth. So, Paul reminded him of his spiritual heritage, his ordination and of the “power, love and sound mind” that was his in Christ Jesus.
The word “fear” that Paul used might also be translated “timidity,” or “fearfulness.” The weight of responsibility and the constant challenge of pastoring a church in one of the largest cities in the Roman empire was no doubt heavy on young Timothy’s shoulders. The “spirit of fear” that assailed Timothy was not from God. It may have been from the evil one, but more likely it was of the fleshly kind, the kind that comes from self-doubt. This kind of fear is the opposite of faith and must be put off. Paul told him to rely on the “dunamis power” that had raised Christ from the dead and now belonged to him. He told him to draw on the “agape love” of God that had motivated Him to send His only Son. Finally, Paul told Timothy to think clearly with a “sound mind,” which is the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) when considering the source of his fear, so that the fear would evaporate like a mist.
Are you suffering under a “spirit of fear” today? Put off fleshly fear and put on the power, love and wisdom of Christ!
October 21, 2017
Pull your trust off of your dead idols (i.e. worldly wealth) and put your trust in the living God! This is Paul’s command to those who are “rich in this present age.” Don’t get the big head about having more stuff than someone else. After all, it is the Lord who “gives” us whatever we have, whether in this age, or in the age to come. Besides, worldly wealth is “uncertain.” It can be gone in a moment. But the inheritance we have in Christ Jesus “is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4).
October 20, 2017
The throne of a human king or judge is elevated by wood or stone and often ornamented by images and symbols to suggest their authority and judgment. But the foundation of the Lord’s throne is “righteousness and justice.” His throne is elevated by His character, which is pure and unchanging. He looks upon us with a face that is the perfect balance of “mercy and truth,” so that neither grace is diminished, but both fully demonstrated in word and deed. So, God sent His Son to go “before” His “face,” as the perfect embodiment of His “mercy and truth” and to fully satisfy both in His death on the cross. As a result, those who have placed their faith in Christ are now able to approach the Lord as “face to face,” to know Him and to be fully known by Him (1 Cor. 13:12).
October 19, 2017
Who is this promised “seed?” Isn’t this seed which the Lord promised to David, also the same seed promised to Abraham? Surely, it must be. The apostle Paul identified it as Jesus, saying, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). As today’s Jeremiah reading (Jer. 33:19-22) reminded us, this was an unconditional promise, a covenantal promise. And it was fulfilled in Christ Jesus, whose throne is established forever.
October 18, 2017
The Lord is the God of salvation. And now, because of Jesus, we can truly call Him the God of “my” salvation. In Christ, we that were far away, have now been brought near. Although we may feel at times as the psalmist did, that our prayers go unheard and our tears unnoticed, we can be confident of our access to the Father through the Son. For all the rights and privileges of sonship are ours in Christ Jesus. Therefore, press on in prayer. The Lord hears. The Lord sees. He may be teaching us to desire Him more by allowing us to grow in persistent prayer.
October 17, 2017
God desires that all humanity would be saved. Yet, we know from the Scriptures that only those who believe will receive God’s salvation. The tension between what God “desires” for us and what humanity desires for itself is difficult to ease. We tend to overstate one side or the other, either making too little or too much of man’s free will. However, let us just consider the fact that God “desires” to save us, absent the doctrinal conundrum for a moment. This surely reveals to us something about God. He created us. He loves us. And He wants to save us and be known by us. That God “desires all men to be saved” reveals the loving heart of our God that would motivate Him to send His only Son, Jesus, to actually purchase what He Himself desired.