majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 29:4,
"To this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or
eyes that see or ears that hear."
Here we see that the Lord has withheld from the Israelites a certain
perception of the things of God. As we read the fuller story we see it
is due to the fact they have not appropriately responded to what was
revealed to them earlier by the Lord.This verse brings to my mind that
it is the Lord who enables us to know what we do of him. Our
perception, acuity, sensitivity and understanding of the things of God
all rest with his enabling us to do so. I consider it a great
manifestation of his grace when he gives us those "Oh, so that is what
this means... " moments.
When Jesus was here, before his crucifixion he said "But I, when I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." John 12:32. He
also informed his disciples that, following his death, resurrection
and ascension into heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit to make some
things known to the world, "I will send him [the Counselor - the Holy
Spirit] to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in
regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" John 16:7-8. Here we see
our Lord Jesus Christ telling us he is going to bring a perception of
the things of God to the world. The Holy Spirit energizes and
enlightens the darkness of sinful man's mind to some things of God -
of man's great need to be made right with God. This prepares the way
for the gospel message. Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel,
because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who
believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a
righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith
from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by
faith.'" Romans 1:16-17. Here is a message from God that holds
incredible power, a message he reveals to us as we hear it from those
who carry it!
Those of us who have turned to the Lord through the gospel message
have done so only because the Lord drew us to himself through the Holy
Spirit he sent to us. There is nothing special about us and nothing we
have received from God he hasn't freely given us apart from his
enabling us to receive it - enabling us to see some things of him. All
mankind has an opportunity through this wonderful reach of God to all
mankind that we call his grace!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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