September 9, 2015
The gospel is simple. So simple that people nearly always want to complicate it. Just as the law of the garden was simple– “don’t eat,” so the gospel is simple– “take and eat.” The apostle Paul had preached the simple gospel to the Corinthians, yet false teachers were trying to add to his message. He warned them not to be deceived as Eve was in the garden. When you hear someone ask, “Did God really say?” You should be on alert. Anyone who questions the reliability of the Word of God is speaking with the serpent’s tongue. The gospel calls us to a faith of purity and simplicity. Believe and receive. No more, no less.
September 8, 2015
The Lord gave Isaiah a vision of the latter days when all nations will come to Jerusalem to worship, a day when the Lord Himself will judge and bring peace. In that day there will be no need for weapons of war. The wealth and works of the nations will no longer be wasted on mutual destruction, but on worship of God and mutual welfare. Even the study of war will be lost, so that mankind forgets the art. Such a day Isaiah saw and we still await its arrival.
September 7, 2015
Paul encouraged the Corinthians in their giving by reminding them of how others would “glorify God” for their obedience to the gospel. Those who have received the gospel have received God’s greatest gift. Receiving, their hearts have been changed, so that they have become conduits of God’s grace. As Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8). Do others give glory to God for the way you “freely give” so that your gospel confession is given credibility?
September 6, 2015
Also called the “Song of Songs” because as part of Solomon’s wisdom literature it pursued the personified lady “wisdom” with a lover’s poetic passion, making it the pinnacle of his wisdom writings. When read through the lens of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where he describes marriage as a “mystery” that points to Christ and His Church, it takes on a new meaning. Read the above passage viewing Christ as the “beloved” and the Church as the one being addressed. There is a Day coming when the Bride will hear Him say, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past…”
September 5, 2015
Take time to sharpen your saw. One of Solomon’s habits long before Covey’s seven. My mother’s father, my Papaw, knew this habit. Before the invention of weed-eaters, he used a large hand scythe to clear the creek bank. He always kept a sharpening stone in his pocket and would pause from time to time to keep an edge on his blade. He also had a mesmerizing method to his motion, using his strength to lift the long blade and then allow its weight to drop and fall through the weeds. I never mastered this, hacking away at the brush, often with a dull blade, I would spend my young man’s energy in under an hour, while Papaw could continue all day even in his 70s. Papaw would say, “Son, you’re just beating yourself to death. Let the weight of the blade do the work. And stop to sharpen it once in a while.” He had the wisdom that I lacked. You can actually get more done by taking a break to sharpen your saw. Slow down to speed up. Retreat to advance. Take a sabbath one day out of seven to sharpen your edge.
September 4, 2015
Solomon’s study of life “under the sun” was limited to the physical world, and therefore, did not include observations of life “beyond the sun.” So, the idea of an afterlife with eternal reward and judgment are not topics considered by him. Yet, there is a wisdom here for those still on this side of the “grave:” Work with all of your might, while there is still light. As Jesus taught his disciples, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). I want to finish this earthly life serving the Lord with all of my might. How about you?
September 3, 2015
This psalm calls all peoples of the world to recognize God as King. It is a call to worship the Lord Most High. He is not just the king of Israel, but over all nations. There is no one higher nor mightier than He. There may be rebellion in the world today against the great King, but His triumph is assured and those who oppose Him are destined to fall. For whom do you offer your worship of clapping and shouting?
September 2, 2015
King Solomon was the writer of Ecclesiastes. He observed the beauty of how God had assigned everything a season and how these things seemed to repeat over time. Yet, he also observed that God had put an eternal longing in man’s heart that wanted to know and experience more than just what his season on earth allowed. This “eternity” that God put in humanity’s heart makes us unique in creation. We long for that which will last. We long for ultimate meaning and purpose. We long for God. Solomon found that everything “under the sun” was “vanity” (empty, meaningless). Why? Because we long for that which is beyond the sun. We long for the Eternal One. As Pascal said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”
September 1, 2015
Job’s response after God answered his questions with some of His own was brief. He basically concluded, “You’re God and I’m not.” This is not fatalism, but acceptance that even though God’s good purposes are higher and better than ours, He still hears us and responds when we cry out. God is not afraid of our hardest questions. Yet, be aware when you ask that you may learn as Job did that your “arm’s too short to box with God.” Or that your intellect is too limited to understand. Are your questions motivated by a desire to know God better? Or are they really expressions of doubt or accusation? Suffering did not cause Job to doubt God. And God heard Job’s cry and answered him.
August 31, 2015
Presently, we walk through life believing in our risen Lord without actually seeing Him. We believe because of the witnesses – the witness of the Bible, of the saints who have passed the faith down to us, and because of the inner witness of the Spirit of adoption who causes us to cry out, “Abba, Father” to our God. Our faith is by God’s grace and not our sight. The world says seeing is believing. However, Jesus said to Thomas, “You have believed because you have seen, but blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed” (John 20:29). We believe in the risen Lord. He is the Head of His body, the Church. And so, we believe that just as the Head was raised, so shall the body be raised. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead, will raise us. We live by this faith, even though our eyes have not yet seen its fulfillment.