Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Turning to God in difficult times.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:21-24,

 

"Surely he has done great things. Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil."

 

A new day is foreseen in Joel's prophecy. At a time when the Lord takes pity on his people he says, "I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations. I will drive the northern army far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land, with its front columns going into the eastern sea and those in the rear into the western sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise." Joel 2:19-20. This will be a time of blessing that will follow his judgment of the nation for turning from him.

 

We live in a day when the sum total of all good we can gain for ourselves as a nation is seen coming from the right choices we make only relative to the challenges we face. If we are experiencing challenging economic times, we assume a happy outcome can only be had by following good economic policy. If we are experiencing challenging times with the nations that surround us, we assume a happy outcome can only be had by following good choices relative to foreign affairs. If we face difficulties with the food chain, national health, terrorism, crime, etc. the only good that is perceived as providing relief can only be found in the right policies addressing those issues.

 

I am certain that wisdom and prudence dictate we pursue the best policies to address issues facing us as a nation. We may in fact be facing challenges for the very reason we pursued poor policies in the past. However, relief and even blessings in the areas we face as challenging may have been brought about by turning our backs on God, by no longer pursuing him, by no longer listening to him. God himself may be the author of some grave difficulty we face as a nation.

 

As in Joel's day, the solution to difficulties we may be facing today might best be addressed by turning to God, embracing him, pursuing him. Good policy may be very effective, unless the challenges we face are brought against us by design with a purpose in mind by God himself.

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: God pours out his Spirit into our hearts!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:28-29,

 

"I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days."

 

As the Lord tells of a future time of blessing for Israel, he speaks of pouring his Spirit on "my servants." Peter quotes this portion, and the following from Joel in his response to the crowd that had gathered on the day of Pentecost at the birth of the church.

 

On Pentecost, as the early believers were gathered in one place the Holy Spirit came and filled them all in a very dramatic fashion. They all began to speak in languages they did not know. An astonished crowd gathered and Peter explained it was the promised Holy Spirit as he quoted this passage from Joel's prophecy.

 

Two millennia later we have become accustomed to the reality that the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within the hearts of believers. It still is, nonetheless, just as astonishing today as it was at the birth of the church! When we trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell, literally, in our hearts!

 

Paul speaks much of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He tells us the indwelling Spirit speaks of God's pouring of his love into our hearts, "Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:5. He also tells us the presence of the Holy Spirit within us assures us of the freedom we have from domination of the sinful nature within our lives, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." Romans 8:9. He also assures us of our pending resurrection because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." Romans 8:11.

 

As I stop and reflect on the reality of God's Spirit dwelling within my heart, I find it an amazing thing. As we read in Joel, "Surely he has done great things.Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things." Joel 2:20-21.

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: God is sovereign over all.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:11-13,

"The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? 'Even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."

 

Israel had turned from their God. To get their attention, the Lord sent a devastation on the land that all would suffer from. He called on his people to listen and return to him. The Lord is like that. He has his own agenda, and when folks cease to move in the direction of fulfilling that agenda, he brings whatever course-correction is necessary. It is his prerogative.

 

The psalmist says, "I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths." Psalm 135:5-6. We also read, "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." Psalm 115:3. What we learn from Joel is that when God's people cease to further his agenda, he will do what he sees fit to put things back on track. He says in Isaiah 55:10-11, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

 

Paul reminds us that as our Creator, God has the prerogative to do whatever it is he sees fit. To someone objecting to the Lord pursuing his own ends, he says, "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"', Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Romans 9:20-21.

 

While we may have our own desires, our own agendas, the Lord has his. Where ours conflict or impede God's pursuit of his agenda, he will take action. God is sovereign and what he has revealed to us is that he can and will be decisive, quick and thoroughly effective at bringing into our lives whatever is required to bring about what he pursues. He is deadly effective in the pursuit of his agenda.

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Ecosystem: maintained by Greenies or God?

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 1:16-20,

 

"Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes— joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down, for the grain has dried up. How the cattle moan! The herds mill about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering. To you, O Lord I call, for fire has devoured the open pastures and flames have burned up all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures."

 

Who is responsible for this destruction? Was it due to industrial carbon emissions? Fossil fuels? Automobiles not meeting federal environmental requirements? Someones arbitrary energy consumption restriction mandate being exceeded? Clearly the environment has been ravaged in Joel's day: the wild animals are panting, the land is destroyed, trees are destroyed. Could not the Green Movement have prevented this environmental disaster?

 

The comment introducing the description of this disaster tells it all: "For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." Joel 1:15. We also see in Joel 2:12-13 the Lord's call for his people to return to him. This destruction that laid waste not only the prosperity and productivity of God's people but also the land, the trees, the wild animals, the entire ecosystem, was done by God himself because his people had turned from him!

 

Today, there exists a tension in what is often referred to as the "culture war". It is evidenced in the political movements of our day where positions are taken that divide people. One such movement in this culture war is the "Green Movement". It finds calamity, chaos and disaster awaiting us all just around the corner unless we all submit to its vast portfolio of political demands. An array of "experts" are produced that purport to have all the answers and if we would but give in to their demands, we will see the oceans lowered, climate patterns stabilized, the entire ecosystem brought into balanced and maintained in pristine fashion.

 

What does this have to do with Joel's prophecy? Just as folks in his day had abandoned God and gone their own way, so folks today have abandoned God and gone their own way. In an arrogant assumption mankind can maintain planet earth with a pristine environment for wildlife and mankind to flourish in, it is overlooked that we can't even run a postal system that works, let alone an ecosystem. Not coincidentally, this is the same crowd who view their opponents as those who, "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them." They view faith in God as opposition to their faith in mankind to bring order on planet earth.

 

The writer of Hebrews has an entirely different perspective on how planet earth is maintained, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:3. Paul tells us, "He [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17.

 

Mankind, in his arrogance and rejection of God, attempts to supplant him in every aspect of life. In his foolishness he even imagines himself capable of doing what only God can, not noticing his own miserable failure at the very basic issues in life that he should be able to maintain. Just look at the performance of our educational system, the divorce rate, the growing prison populations, etc. Any number of social ills could be listed here.

 

For God's part, what we see in Joel's day, as well as our day, is described in Psalm 2:1-6, "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. 'Let us break their chains,' they say, 'and throw off their fetters.' The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.'"

 

The environment, our economy, our peaceful existence as a nation, all these things have little to do with our politics and strategies and a lot to do with God's blessings. Just a cursory understanding of the Old Testament attests to this. May we as a people never abandon our God!

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: The Lord's call and calling upon the Lord.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:32,

 

"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls."

 

In the midst of the prophecy given to Joel, a great news is provided: deliverance! Where the dark gloom of the Lord's day approaches, bringing its attending judgment of all who have ever sinned, the Lord provides the wonderful news of salvation for all who will call on him!

 

On May 5, 1888, Charles Spurgeon gave a sermon on this passage. In it he said, "In the worst times that can ever happen, there is still salvation for men. When day turns to night, and life becomes death, and the staff of life is broken, and the hope of man has fled, there still remains in God, in the person of his dear Son, deliverance to all those who will call upon the name of the Lord. We do not know what is to happen: reading the roll of the future, we prophesy dark things; but still this light shall always shine between the rifts of the cloud-wrack: 'Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.'"

 

What wonderful news! As observed earlier in this prophecy, "Surely he has done great things. Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things." Joel 2:20-21. The  great and magnificent thing was the Lord Jesus Christ taking upon himself the punishment of all sin for all time as he hung on a cross! He has wrought our salvation. All we need do is to call on him to have that payment credited to our account! To call, one has to believe. As Paul asks in Romans 10:9, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?" There Paul tells us that faith is manifested in our response to the gospel message, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17. There Paul tells us directly, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9.

 

There is another call in Joel's prophecy. Deliverance will be for those the Lord calls. So who is it the Lord has called? We read in Acts 17:30, "now he [God] commands all people everywhere to repent." Why does he command all people everywhere to repent? "God our Savior... wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4. God wants us all and he calls us all. We all have an invitation through the gospel message. God is populating his kingdom and he wants you and me!

 

Deliverance has been wrought by our God! He calls us to himself! "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved"!

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Life flows from the Lord!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 3:18,

 

"In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord's house and will water the valley of acacias."

 

"A fountain will flow out of the Lord's house...". This picture is one that has always captured my imagination and my fascination for the things of God. It clearly illustrates that life, vibrancy, refreshment, nourishment, growth, strength and vitality all have its source in the Lord and flows from him. It is from him we "live and move and have our being" and beyond that, if we are to avail ourselves of the fullness and vibrancy of life, we find the source of it in him. Rebirth, regeneration, new life flow from the Lord himself.

 

Some of the passages that come to my mind are:

 

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:1-2.

 

"The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar." Ezekiel 47:1.

 

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7:37-38.

 

"His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." Psalm 1:2-3.

 

It is to the Lord we all must go for renewal and refreshment. From him life finds its strength, resiliency, newness and refreshment.

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: The restoration of joy!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 1:12,

 

"The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is withered away."

 

Here is a vivid picture of what the judgment of the Lord has brought to his people. "Surely the joy of mankind is withered away." That which should bring happiness in life has been taken away. The fullness and fulfillment of life has been taken away. That which brings joy has been taken away.

 

All this happened because God's people turned from him. He calls out to them, "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God..." 2:13.

In a sense, living in this world today is very similar. As we look at the conditions and environment God provided Adam and Eve, how disheartening it is to see what we now have in stark contrast to what God provided them. When Adam and Eve turned from God it brought the consequences of his judgment. Living in this lost and fallen world can be very discouraging at times. The world, struggling under the heavy weight of God's judgment and populated by people dominated by a sinful nature provides for a discouragement and despair that robs mankind of their joy.

 

But... this is not the whole story! One of the many wonderful things I love about our God is that he provides us hope, wonderful hope that restores true joy, true happiness, true excitement about the future. Further in this prophecy God gave Joel, he speaks of a future time. "Then the Lord will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people. The Lord will reply to them: 'I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations." Joel 2:18-19.

 

So it is for this lost and fallen world. The Lord has provided us a means to escape his judgment and to once again experience his rich and wonderful blessings. God's Son, Jesus Christ, has paid the penalty for all sins of mankind and any who embrace him in faith have a wonderful hope to look forward to.

 

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, '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.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.'" Revelation 21:1-7.

 

How wonderful is this? David characterized this by saying "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11.

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Calling on the Lord...

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:32,

 

"...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.."

 

Although the Jews are looking at a devastating plague of locusts from God for their turning from him, through Joel the Lord speaks of another time, a time coming that will provide them hope. It will be a time of deliverance, a time when the Lord will pour out his Spirit on all people. This is a time when the gospel will be proclaimed and all who respond by calling on the Lord will be saved.

 

Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:13. As he speaks of salvation by faith, Paul points to the importance of the gospel message. It is a message of faith and declares that "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9.

 

It is not a message for Jews alone but for the Gentiles as well. Paul tells us there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, that the same Lord blesses all who call on him. Anyone and everyone who might turn to God has this promise. Because this is such an important message Paul speaks of the enterprise of evangelism and declares, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!", a quote of Isaiah 52:7.

 

Sadly, many Jews in Paul's day did not respond to the gospel of faith. Paul quotes Isaiah 65:2 to speak of God's posture toward Israel, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." However, he also quotes the verse before "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."

 

Paul makes clear the opportunity for people to call on the Lord is through the "message of Christ", that is, the gospel. It is through this gospel that faith has its opportunity for expression. Paul says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17.

 

This is all simply fascinating to me. Our Creator, the one the world has turned its collective back on, reaches out to mankind. He offers an invitation into his kingdom, his family, eternal life, eternal pleasures at his right hand, if we but call on his name in our response to the gospel! Jesus Christ did all the heavy lifting for us when he died a miserable death on a cross to pay the penalty of our sins and now folks need simply to embrace the Lord in faith! What an opportunity for mankind!

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: "Rend your heart."

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:13,

 

"Rend your heart and not your garments."

 

The Lord wants our hearts, not simply outward expressions that have no basis in our desire for him.

 

Rending garments one wore was an outward expression of bereavement, sorrow and/or remorse for the Jews of the day. The above statement is in the midst of a broader command of God for his people to return to him. The appropriate response to the invasion of the devastating plague of locusts prophesied by Joel was to recognize they had wandered from their God, experience the remorse for having done so and then return to him in heart-felt sincerity.

 

The Lord was not interested in any expression that might simply be outward. I suspect that when Israel was not outright departing from their God, they were engaging in outward expressions of piety, worship, etc. that had little basis of love and devotion for the Lord within their hearts. They had wandered from him.

 

Today we see many churches, many TV evangelists, many mission organizations that pay their lip service to serving God as an outward expression and yet what it is they really serve is their church, their mission organization, their youth group, the success they pursue in their "ministry". Somehow the Lord himself, for whom all this activity supposedly is pursued, gets lost in the shuffle. You only have to look as far as the next opportunity someone may bring a tarnish to the "ministry" and observe whether the concern is for the weak brother or sister for whom the Lord gave his life or for "the good of the ministry."

 

I have been in too many positions of leadership in too many local churches where "the success of the ministry" seems to outweigh concerns for a stumbling brother or sister. This betrays a lack of love for those the Lord loves, it betrays that while lip service is offered to the Lord, other considerations have pushed the Lord and his concerns and cares to the back seat. Sincere heart-felt love and devotion to the Lord needs to be questioned.

 

On a more personal level, I have to ask myself the question each and every day, "where is my heart?" Is my Bible reading, my time in prayer, the opportunities I make for sharing the gospel born out of an ardent love I have for my Savior? Or do I engage in those kinds of activities for other purposes, such as to pursue good spiritual heath and happiness? Where is my heart? Does the Lord sincerely have my heart?

 

I'm convinced the Lord wants my heart, not outward expressions that have little basis in my affections and desire for him. Otherwise, I manifest the reality that the Lord, who is breathtaking in all his majestic splendor has somehow escaped my notice for the day.

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Mourn, weep and wail!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 1:8,

 

"Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the husband of her youth."

 

I take great pleasure in reading the Scriptures. I seek to find out all I can about my Creator, our wonderful God who has given us life and everything else. I really delight in finding out things about this person who created me, his desires, what moves and motivates him, what drives his love and compassion, as well as his anger and wrath.

 

In this prophecy given Joel, God's people are told to weep and wail, Joel 1:5,11,13; to mourn (our verse above); to despair and grieve, 1:11, to put on sackcloth (a sign of grieving), 1:13; to cry out, 1:14; to tremble, 2:1; to return to the Lord with fasting and weeping and mourning, 2:12; and to rend their hearts, 2:13.

 

How often, when people are put into a position where they find themselves weeping, wailing, mourning, despairing, grieving or crying out, they assume it must be the devil that is behind the source of pain. However, what is going to befall God's people in Joel's prophecy, is from God himself. "Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." Joel 1:15. Devastation is going to befall them from the hand of their Lord.

 

The cause for this call to God's people to mourn is that they had strayed from him, "return to me with all your heart", 2:12. I learn from this that God seeks the hearts of his people. I note he isn't asking them to be more religious, to go to church every Sunday, to abide by the membership covenant of their local assembly, to send in their faith promise pledge of $1,000 or to go to the weekly men's fellowship meeting. He asks his people to give him their hearts.

 

When the Lord's people stray from him he will bring what it takes to have their hearts. From one standpoint it is heart-warming to see how ardent the Lord is for the hearts of his people. From another, it is quite sobering and fearful to see what he will bring into our lives, if need be, to bring us back to him.

 

The Lord has his own agenda and he will have his way. We may stray for a while, but in the end, he brings about what his heart desires-- and his desire is for our hearts!

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Wake up you drunkards!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 1:2,

 

"Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land."

 

The prophecy of Joel begins with a call to listen. It is the Lord that is speaking, and this is what he has to say! While this might be expected as a natural way to begin the prophetic utterances of someone carried along by the Holy Spirit to speak on the Lord's behalf, I sense that rather than just window-dressing as a way to frame what is to follow, it indicates a reality that the Jews had come to a place where they no longer listened to what the Lord had to say in previous prophecies and the Scriptures. Later, in verse 5, the call is to "Wake up". "Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!" Joel 1:5.

 

Judah needs to wake up as something is upon them they are not seeing, "Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." Joel 1:15. So far from being alert to what is headed their way, they need the alarm sounded to get their attention, "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—" Joel 2:1.

 

So it is today. People have fallen asleep. They have uncritically accepted myths and lies about the origin of things here on planet earth, where we have come from, where we are going, why we are here and what we should be doing. This has allowed them to be lulled into a spiritual sleep, so to speak, where the horrific impending judgment of God escapes their notice. It is coming upon them and they are oblivious to it.

 

Serious discussion of the things of God, how and where the current events of our day fit into what God has told us has escaped many. Life around us goes on as if the spiritual realm of reality didn't exist. As if the call to escape God's coming wrath in his judgment for the sins of the world has fallen on deaf ears, ears of those who have fallen asleep and need to awake!

 

Jesus Christ is returning to planet earth. When he comes he will be treading the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty! Like a big massive freight train that has already left the station, it is headed our way, unstoppable, unswerving, headed right at us! Woe to the man who is found asleep, not watching, not listening!

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Surely he has done great things!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:20b-27,

 

"Surely he has done great things. Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust warm — my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.'"

 

The account Joel provides is one of massive devastation from the Lord upon his people by an invasion of locusts which strip the land bare. It results in formidable destruction and famine throughout the land, creating untold misery and suffering. The Lord tells his people, "Even now... return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." This provides us the cause for the Lord's action against his people: they had turned their backs on their God.

 

In the midst of the judgment against his people, the Lord speaks of a time when he will bring deliverance and blessing. A time of fruitfulness and refreshment, a time of restoration when he will repay his people for the years taken by the locusts.

 

All of this causes me to think of what our perspective will be in the resurrection-- for those of us who have taken our refuge in the Lord. Coming from a lost world that has turned its back on its Creator, struggling under the heavy weight of God's condemnation and judgment, there will be a time when we find ourselves wonderfully blessed by our God. A time of relief from this fallen world with its trials and difficulties, sickness, pain and death. A time of refreshment, a time of new life, a time when we will reflect and say, "Surely our God has done great things!"

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: The dreadful day of the Lord.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:11b,

 

"The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?"

 

In the New Testament, the day of the Lord is associated with the second coming of Jesus Christ. This calls to my mind what is written of the rider on the white horse in Revelation 19:11-21, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, 'Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.' Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh."

 

The day of the Lord will be a horrific and terrifying day. The answer to the question, "Who can endure it?" is clear: no one, except those who have taken refuge in the Lord himself. All others will face a slaughter. In the next chapter of Joel we read, "The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel." Joel 3:16.

 

The Lord is not to be trifled with, as he is not simply the lovey dovey abba-daddy all dressed up in pastels as so many see him. To be certain, he is our God of love, mercy, kindness, and his grace is as wonderful and full as is his justice is horrific and terrifying. However, as the writer of Hebrews says, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31.

 

"I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls." Joel 2:30-32.

 

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

Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Troubles for the "righteous man".

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 34:19,

 

"A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all..."

 

The notion that God keeps trouble from coming our way is a foreign concept to the Scriptures, even for those considered "righteous". There is much in the way of bad teaching within the church: that if we have enough faith, if we keep ourselves from sin, if we live by the principles taught us in the Scriptures, the Lord will keep troubles from us. After all, we are told, if God loves us, surely he will bless us and keep those troubles at bay. No more illness, no more fretting over bills at the end of the month, no more difficulties with the kids, etc.

 

As we see in this small snippet from Psalm 34, a "righteous man" may have many troubles. Is the one who is viewed as a righteous man in the Scriptures one who lacks faith? Is the one who is viewed as a righteous man in the Scriptures one who does not keep himself from a sinful lifestyle? Is one who is viewed as a righteous man in the Scriptures one who disregards what he his taught in the Scriptures? And, yet, it is the righteous man who "may have many troubles".

 

Listen to what Paul says about his experience (and that while serving the Lord!): "I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,  I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." 2 Corinthians 11:23-27. One painful experience for Paul was his anxiety over the illness of Epaphroditus, who was sent by the church in Philippi to help Paul.

 

This is not to say that one who lives his life apart from faith, who engages in a sinful lifestyle or ignores what we are taught in the Scriptures does not bring himself harm. As the Lord said, we reap what we sow. But to say that we can avoid bringing trouble on ourselves by living a godly lifestyle is not to say we will live a trouble-free life.

 

In fact, we are told that the Lord uses these very difficulties to bring about wonderful things in our lives. Listen to what Jesus Christ said in Revelation 3:19, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." The Lord brings us trouble at times to grow us. As the writer of Hebrews says, "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:7-11.

 

The righteous man may have many troubles. From this Hebrews passage it is guaranteed. The wonderful news is that for the righteous man, these troubles have a design and purpose for the good in our lives. What is most wonderful, however, is the end of our verse in Psalm 34:19, "the Lord delivers him from them all".

 

How wonderful is that?!

 

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