Worship for Today: God is God of the living!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 28:10-13a,

“Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.’”

On his way to Haran to get himself a wife in obedience to his father Isaac, Jacob has his dream, “Jacob’s Ladder” or the stairway to heaven. Angels are seen by Jacob ascending and descending on it. I find it quite fascinating! Jacob’s dream is a literal depiction of actual events. In Jacob’s dream the Lord uses the same formula to express who he is to Jacob as he will to Moses from the fiery bush in the wilderness years later. In Exodus 3:5-6 we read, “’Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ Then he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”

It is this formula that Jesus quotes from Exodus 3 to settle the issue of the resurrection with the Sadducees in Matthew 22:29-32, “Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.’”

God does not say he “was the God of Abraham…” but that he is, after Abraham’s death; that is, Abraham is alive after his death! Jesus argues a major point of theology on the tense of a verb. Those who would argue with a literal, grammatical and historical interpretation of the Scriptures face the unenviable position of being in disagreement with the Son of God over how we should interpret and use the Scriptures.

This sure adds tremendous value to our understanding of the Scriptures, doesn’t it? And these angels ascending and descending this stairway to heaven… where are they going? What kinds of assignments are they on? Is it all business or are some headed to the Cayman Islands for vacation, etc.?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

Worship for Today: God does not require perfection, but faith!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 26:1-7,

“Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.’ So Isaac stayed in Gerar. When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, ‘She is my sister,’ because he was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife.’ He thought, ‘The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.’”

The writer of Hebrews lists Isaac as a man of faith, Hebrews 11:20. The Lord tells Isaac to stay in Canaan during a severe famine and Isaac does so. As the Lord tells him he also reiterates the promises he had made to his father Abraham that have now been passed down to him.

So, what does this man of faith look like? Just like his father! Although he has the promises of God and although he is faithful to the Lord in many ways, just like his father, he resorts to his own deceitfulness in lying about his beautiful wife! How fascinating! This man of faith who chooses to follow God in the face of severe famine (and who knows what all in his life) still demonstrates shortcoming by lying about his wife!

Here we see what the Lord holds up as examples of men of faith for us. Men of faith they were, certainly, but men with shortcomings. How relieving it is to know that the Lord does not hold up men of perfection as a demonstration of what a man of faith looks like. If perfection is what demonstrates faith then our salvation by faith would necessarily be salvation by works. There is a world of difference between faith being evidenced by what we do and choices we make versus faith resulting in a life of perfection.

Perfection waits for us on the other side of the resurrection. Until then, like Abraham and Isaac, we who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith have our shortcomings. As Paul told the churches of Galatia, “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.” Galatians 4:28. Children of promise are not perfect and how glad I am this is demonstrated by the lives of the patriarchs. Otherwise, what hope would I have?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

Worship for Today: God blesses all through Jacob!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 28:12-15,

“He [Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’”

Here, where Jacob has his dream, the Lord expresses his commitment to the promise he originally gave his grandfather, Abraham. Through Jacob all peoples on earth will be blessed. It will be through Jacob’s offspring that the Messiah will come as the Savior of mankind. All who will embrace him in faith will be rescued from darkness and brought into the wonderful light of the glory of God.

I am reminded of Isaiah 9:2, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” It will be through the blood-line of Jacob and his offspring that the Messiah will come into the world. That precious blood-line became the life-line for all mankind!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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Worship for Today: On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 22:9-14,

“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’”

“On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” As Isaac lay on the altar to be sacrificed I can’t help but acknowledge that it is my place to be offered up on the altar of my sin. I am the product of a fallen race, separated from God, estranged from him. I have sinned and I deserve the consequences for it. I have no right and no claim to escape the wrath of God’s righteous indignation and judgment for who I am, what I have done and what I deserve.

But God… ! He is merciful! He is wonderfully disposed toward me in a love I can scarce understand! “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” And provide he did! On Mount Calvary my Savior willingly sacrificed himself for me. He took my sin upon himself in an act of love that transcends my understanding! I am now free from God’s judgment! I am now free to be called a child of God! I am now free to enter into the resurrection of life everlasting: into the creation that our loving Creator originally designed us for!

“On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” How true that is!!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: God circumcises our hearts!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 21:4,

“When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.”

The Lord had given Abraham circumcision as the sign of the covenant he had made with him. In Genesis 17 after changing Abram’s name to Abraham and telling him he would make nations of him and give him the whole land of Canaan he told Abraham that he and all the male members of his household were to undergo circumcision.

The Lord told Abraham that circumcision was to be the sign of his everlasting covenant with Abraham, Genesis 17:13. What is all this about circumcision? Was there something about circumcision that the Lord needed? Did the Lord need to be reminded that he had committed himself to this covenant with Abraham and his offspring whenever he saw a circumcised male? I think not. It appears to me it is the other way around. The Lord wanted Abraham and his offspring to have a very personal reminder of a special relationship they had with their Lord.

It also foreshadowed a reality that would take place in the lives of those who would follow in the footsteps of the faith of Abraham. Paul speaks of a circumcision of our hearts in Romans 2:29, leading to a change in life we experience as a new creation in the Lord. Also in Colossians 2:11-12 Paul points out, “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”

It is precisely this circumcision of our sinful nature done by the Holy Spirit that reminds us we are children of God. John speaks of this reality extensively in 1 John. Our God does not need to be reminded of anything. It is for our sakes that he has provided us with what we need to keep fresh in our minds the special relationship we have with him as his children.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: We are heirs of God's promises to Abraham!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 23:3-4,

“Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, ‘I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.’”

When Sarah died Abraham negotiated with the Ephron, the Hittite, to purchase land to bury his wife. There is something fascinating to me about this scene where Abraham negotiates this purchase of land where the Lord has already promised the entire country to Abraham. Although he does not possess it yet, it is virtually his since God has given it to him. As David acknowledges in Psalm 24:1-2, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” Therefore it was certainly the Lord’s prerogative to give it to Abraham.

As we continue to read of Abraham we find he does not possess the land the Lord had given him prior to his death. I am of the persuasion that day will come when the Lord will fulfill all he has promised to Abraham and together with our father in the faith, Abraham, we will share in the wonderful inheritance the Lord promised Abraham and his descendants.

Such is the interesting transitional state we live in today as believers in Jesus Christ. We are called co-heirs with Jesus Christ, Romans 8:17. Yet we do not possess today all that will be ours as “heirs according to the promise”, Galatians 3:29. Not just land but one day all will be ours in Jesus Christ! What wonderful blessings will be ours as children of God! “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3b-4.

How certain and how wonderful are the promises of God to us as heirs!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: God's angels are present and active today!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 24:40,

“The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family.”

Here is what Abraham told his servant when he sent him to find a wife for Isaac. The Lord would send his angel with him to bring success. Did the servant see this angel on the trip? Did he sense the presence of this angel? The account does not provide the details of it but the thought of it causes me to think of the presence of angels amongst us today.

Angels where very active at the time of Jesus’ birth, Luke chapters 1 and 2, and his death, Matthew 28:2,5. Jesus had legions of angels at his disposal when he was here in his earthly ministry, Matthew 26:53. We know that angels will accompany the Lord when he returns for us at the end of the age, Matthew 16:27; 24:31, 2 Thessalonians 1:7. Angels were active in the early church, Acts 5:19, 8:26, 10:3-7, 12:7, Revelation 1:1, 20, etc.

Angels rejoice over the change of heart of a sinner when he or she turns to God, Luke 15:10 (can you imagine that when you and I turned to the Lord that the angels in heaven rejoiced?!) We also know that the young in faith have angels that appear before the face of our heavenly Father, Matthew 18:10. We are told all angels are “ministering spirits” sent to serve those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, Hebrews 1:14. Some believers have unknowingly extended hospitality to angels, Hebrews 13:2, (kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it…) Angels accompany us when we go to be with the Lord at our death, Luke 16:22.

There is so much more to learn of angels in the pages of Scripture as how they will participate in the judgment of the world at the end of the age throughout the book of Revelation. We read of joyful assemblies of angels in worship in that book and how they participate with the Lord in so many ways. The book ends with the Lord saying, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.” Revelation 22:16.

I am thoroughly convinced there are angels amongst us today involved in our affairs - and, I’m sure I would be quite astonished if I had any clue as to just how very actively involved they really are.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org

 

 

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This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately

Worship for Today: God is worthy of all our worship!!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 24:26-27,

“Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives.’”

As Abraham’s servant found his journey had been made successful by the Lord, he bowed down right then and there at the well and worshipped the Lord.

I note several things about the worship of this servant for the Lord. Rather than having to rely on the experience of a hymn writer this servant acknowledged the Lord’s intervention in his own life and ascribed to the Lord the success of his mission to find a wife for Isaac. This servant didn’t wait for church on Sunday, but worshipped the Lord at the appropriate time, when he first realized what the Lord had done for him. This servant didn’t require a worship band up on a platform with overheads or hymnals and comfortable seating – he simply expressed his worship to his God at the busy, possibly muddy and mucky environment of a public well in the town of Nahor, complete with flies and the smells of a location where livestock were brought to be watered. We don’t sense the servant spent the week preparing his worship but was rather extemporaneous.  I also note this servant expressed his worship in his traveling clothes in sweat and dirty feet (these folks were into foot-washing when they reclined for rest and refreshment.)

Why did this servant worship in such a way? He was hopelessly drawn by his love and adoration, possibly his fear and reverence for his Lord who had done a wonderful thing for him! I ask myself, do I always worship the Lord in a way that reflects all the Lord has done in my life? Is my worship as fresh, genuine and timely as this servant’s? Is my heart drawn as it should be by the God who has given his Son for me that I might be called a child of God?

I am sure we would all agree – our wonderful God is worthy of all our worship!!

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!

Trevor V. Fisk

(314) 814-8486

trevorf@gracehill.org