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 Luke 23:5,
"He [Jesus] stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He
started in Galilee and has come all the way here."
When the council of the elders brought Jesus before Pilate for
"justice", Pilate could find no basis for their charge against him.
This is their response to Pilate. They had great concern that Jesus
was stirring up the people. He was disruptive of the established order
of things. Was this true?
Here is a sample of passages that may provide some perspective on their charge:
"All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this
[what Jesus had to say in the synagogue]. They got up, drove him out
of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town
was built, in order to throw him off the cliff." Luke 4:28-29.
"The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to
themselves, 'Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive
sins but God alone?'... Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.
They were filled with awe and said, 'We have seen remarkable things
today.'" Luke 5:21-26.
"He [Jesus] looked around at them all, and then said to the man,
'Stretch out your hand.' He did so, and his hand was completely
restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious
and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus."
Luke 6:10-11.
"'Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key
to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered
those who were entering.' When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and
the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege
him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say."
Luke 11:52-54.
"When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people
were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing." Luke
13:17.
No question that the charge Jesus was disruptive was accurate. From
just the first half of Luke's gospel we find multiple accounts of
Jesus challenging the established mindset, the "meme" of day. He
challenged people about their confident perspectives on the things of
God, on their religion, on their way of life. But, this was not
disruption simply for disruption's sake.
Why was Jesus so disruptive? A couple of thoughts come to mind.
When perfection collides with imperfection, the imperfect is bound to
be disrupted. The world, in its collective sinful nature, having
turned its back on God and gone its own way is going to stumble,
stammer and slip into violent perplexity when it encounters its
Creator. Through Isaiah the Lord declared, "'For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9. Any
encounter between the Lord and sinful man is going to be disruptive to
man. How could it possibly be any other way?
However, I think something else is going on in the gospel accounts.
Jesus came to offer the kingdom of God. In order to provide folks who
were locked into an encrusted and entrenched mindset an open mind, he
knocked their thinking off kilter. He challenged them. He forced them
to reconsider what they incorrectly thought was true. Going well
beyond all that might be expected, I believe Jesus went to great
lengths to draw people to himself and a part of that was to disrupt
their thought patterns that they might be able to consider the claims
of the gospel and the wonderful invitation he offers over and against
long held erroneous assumptions.
No question in my mind. Jesus was disruptive. For our benefit and with
a clear strategy in mind, he challenged the thinking of the day to
prepare the way for his offer of the kingdom!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
How do you feel when you sin? - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 141:3-4,
"Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies."
In this psalm David expresses a concern I feel most believers
experience at times. Having embraced the Lord in faith, experiencing
his forgiveness, love and mercy, we struggle with the notion we will
disappoint him from time to time. In this psalm David possibly has his
view on the Lord as his refuge and desires the confidence that he has
the Lord's help during a time of need. He says, "But my eyes are fixed
on you, Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge —do not give me over to
death. Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares
they have laid for me. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while
I pass by in safety." Verses 8-10. Nonetheless, as David expresses his
heart throughout the psalms, it is clear he desires to please the Lord
in his thoughts and actions at all times and manifested terrific
remorse when caught in sin.
The legitimacy of our concern in this regard arises from the fact that
while in these bodies, we struggle with sin. I don't know about you,
but while a believer I have disappointed the Lord, myself and others
from time to time over the years. It is not my desire to do so and
like David, I have experienced the remorse that comes from sin coupled
with a desire and resolution to not find myself there again.
One of the many wonderful things I have found in the Lord is that he
knows our weaknesses and provides for us in this arena of conflict on
those occasions when we find ourselves in its grip. We can take
assurance from the words of the writer of Hebrews, "For we do not have
a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we
have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did
not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of
need." Hebrews 4:15-16.
The Lord has also provided us a special help at those difficult times,
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can
bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that
you can endure it." I have to admit there have been those times I have
not availed myself of God's "way out", but it nevertheless was there
for my advantage. Knowing it is there, being convinced it is there,
and looking for it has been a tremendous benefit for me over the years
for those many other occasions when I have availed myself of God's
faithful help during those times of temptation.
Additionally, the Lord is faithful in our lives to bring us a level of
maturity and strength relative to temptation. I am convinced none of
us arrive till we are done with these bodies in this life, but while
we remain the Lord brings us a spiritual growth that aids us when
tempted. "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we
know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character;
and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's
love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who
has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5. While "suffering" may indicate
many things, as the chapter continues, Paul has struggle with sin in
mind.
Paul also goes on to say in Romans 8:28-29, "And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." This is the thought
Paul conveys as he considers "the Spirit helps us in our weakness",
verse 26.
Believers have experienced the love and kindness of God. They are also
indwelt with the Holy Spirit. As such it is a given we will experience
remorse when we fall into sin. As David, we will feel a need to pursue
the Lord's help in our struggle with sin and seek him out to aid us.
The wonderful truth is the Lord knows us and as a further expression
of his love, mercy and kindness toward us, he comes to our aid. If we
fail him we can take comfort in the words of John, "If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness...My dear children, I write this to you so
that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate
with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of
the whole world." 1 John 1:9-2:2.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 141:3-4,
"Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies."
In this psalm David expresses a concern I feel most believers
experience at times. Having embraced the Lord in faith, experiencing
his forgiveness, love and mercy, we struggle with the notion we will
disappoint him from time to time. In this psalm David possibly has his
view on the Lord as his refuge and desires the confidence that he has
the Lord's help during a time of need. He says, "But my eyes are fixed
on you, Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge —do not give me over to
death. Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares
they have laid for me. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while
I pass by in safety." Verses 8-10. Nonetheless, as David expresses his
heart throughout the psalms, it is clear he desires to please the Lord
in his thoughts and actions at all times and manifested terrific
remorse when caught in sin.
The legitimacy of our concern in this regard arises from the fact that
while in these bodies, we struggle with sin. I don't know about you,
but while a believer I have disappointed the Lord, myself and others
from time to time over the years. It is not my desire to do so and
like David, I have experienced the remorse that comes from sin coupled
with a desire and resolution to not find myself there again.
One of the many wonderful things I have found in the Lord is that he
knows our weaknesses and provides for us in this arena of conflict on
those occasions when we find ourselves in its grip. We can take
assurance from the words of the writer of Hebrews, "For we do not have
a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we
have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did
not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of
need." Hebrews 4:15-16.
The Lord has also provided us a special help at those difficult times,
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can
bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that
you can endure it." I have to admit there have been those times I have
not availed myself of God's "way out", but it nevertheless was there
for my advantage. Knowing it is there, being convinced it is there,
and looking for it has been a tremendous benefit for me over the years
for those many other occasions when I have availed myself of God's
faithful help during those times of temptation.
Additionally, the Lord is faithful in our lives to bring us a level of
maturity and strength relative to temptation. I am convinced none of
us arrive till we are done with these bodies in this life, but while
we remain the Lord brings us a spiritual growth that aids us when
tempted. "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we
know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character;
and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's
love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who
has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5. While "suffering" may indicate
many things, as the chapter continues, Paul has struggle with sin in
mind.
Paul also goes on to say in Romans 8:28-29, "And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." This is the thought
Paul conveys as he considers "the Spirit helps us in our weakness",
verse 26.
Believers have experienced the love and kindness of God. They are also
indwelt with the Holy Spirit. As such it is a given we will experience
remorse when we fall into sin. As David, we will feel a need to pursue
the Lord's help in our struggle with sin and seek him out to aid us.
The wonderful truth is the Lord knows us and as a further expression
of his love, mercy and kindness toward us, he comes to our aid. If we
fail him we can take comfort in the words of John, "If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness...My dear children, I write this to you so
that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate
with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of
the whole world." 1 John 1:9-2:2.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Need someone who is always loving and faithful? - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 136:23-26,
"To the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.
and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever."
The refrain of the twenty-six verses in this psalm is the affirmation
of God's enduring love.
In the verses above, it is the God of gods and the Lord of lords who
is recalled as the One who delivered us from "our low estate". For
Israel, it was her deliverance from slavery in the land of Egypt. For
us, it is deliverance from God's own wrath and judgment of our sins.
Also in the verses above, it is the God of gods and the Lord of lords
who provides food for every creature. Again, in the case of Israel,
God is recalled as the One who provided for the nation while wandering
in the wilderness for forty years. Food, in the form of manna and
quail, and water. For us, we look to the Lord to provide our needs.
Peter puts it this way, "His divine power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us
by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3.
I am reminded it is the Lord who brings us life, who sustains us
through this life and will bring us safely into his presence, if we
but embrace him in faith. A comment Paul makes always provides us with
the assurance of God's enduring love, "I always thank God for you
because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have
been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your
knowledge — because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for
our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the
end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, is faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:4-9.
God is faithful and his love endures forever!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 136:23-26,
"To the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.
and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever."
The refrain of the twenty-six verses in this psalm is the affirmation
of God's enduring love.
In the verses above, it is the God of gods and the Lord of lords who
is recalled as the One who delivered us from "our low estate". For
Israel, it was her deliverance from slavery in the land of Egypt. For
us, it is deliverance from God's own wrath and judgment of our sins.
Also in the verses above, it is the God of gods and the Lord of lords
who provides food for every creature. Again, in the case of Israel,
God is recalled as the One who provided for the nation while wandering
in the wilderness for forty years. Food, in the form of manna and
quail, and water. For us, we look to the Lord to provide our needs.
Peter puts it this way, "His divine power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us
by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3.
I am reminded it is the Lord who brings us life, who sustains us
through this life and will bring us safely into his presence, if we
but embrace him in faith. A comment Paul makes always provides us with
the assurance of God's enduring love, "I always thank God for you
because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have
been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your
knowledge — because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for
our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the
end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, is faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:4-9.
God is faithful and his love endures forever!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Monday, August 27, 2012
So, what is your temperature? - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 134,
"Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion."
Here is this psalm in its entirety. Three short verses. Although
short, and seemingly innocuous, there is something here that strikes
me as very important. At least for me.
This psalm is yet another call to worship in the book of Psalms, an
invitation to the "servants of the Lord." From one perspective it
might be somewhat surprising that a call is being made for worship, a
call in the form of encouragement. It is to the Lord's servants. If
they are his servants, what is the need for the call to be made? Why
would any encouragement be required of "the Lord's servants" to praise
him? Should they not be doing that already, with full voice, with full
enthusiasm, with zeal and excitement? Are not the Lord's servants
observant of the magnificent perfections and lofty position of the One
they claim to serve? Are they not mindful of the wonderful and awesome
deeds he has done? Why could there possibly be any need whatsoever for
a call of encouragement to the servants of the Lord to worship him?
As one of the "songs of ascents" it quite likely was sung by Jews
returning to Jerusalem for one of the religious feasts on the calendar
given them from the Lord that required their return to Jerusalem to
observe. It is thought that as the worshipers returned to Jerusalem, a
city set in high elevation, they sang these "songs of ascents" as they
ascended to Jerusalem for the observation of the feast.
As I think of the possible setting of this psalm and of these
"servants of the Lord" I am reminded of the Lord's servants today...
especially me. What is my disposition relative to the worship of my
Lord? Do I need encouragement to do so? If so, why? Am I failing to
recognize the pristine beauty of the Lord's matchless qualities? Have
I forgotten or failed to appreciate all he has done for me? I am
reminded of the Lord's admonition at the last supper, "do this in
remembrance of me". How astonishing to think I would need anything for
remembrance of him! And, yet, I have to confess there are times I do
forget. There are times I am not mindful of him. There are times I
fail in appreciation for all he has done for me.
These must be times when I take my eyes off him. Times, possibly, when
the challenges and cares of this world draw my attention from him.
What is it I need at times like this? Although there is no legitimate
grounds for loosing sight of the Lord who loves me, who has died on a
cross for me and has invited me to his family, I need encouragement, I
need a reminder. I suspect many of us do. I know I do.
I am reminded of Paul's exhortation, "Never be lacking in zeal, but
keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11. Here it
is in a nutshell. Servants of the Lord are to keep their "spiritual
fervor", their zeal for the Lord. How do we do that? Hebrews 3:13
says, "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so
that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." In 10:25 he
says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit
of doing, but let us encourage one another —and all the more as you
see the Day approaching." The exhortation here is not to simply meet,
but meet to encourage one another.
As Paul said in Romans 12:11, we are to maintain an ardent zeal for
the Lord, keeping our spiritual "fervor". I liken that "fervor" as a
"fever": something I should be checking on a regular basis, such that
I never find myself wanting for a call to worship the One I should be
worshiping already.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 134,
"Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion."
Here is this psalm in its entirety. Three short verses. Although
short, and seemingly innocuous, there is something here that strikes
me as very important. At least for me.
This psalm is yet another call to worship in the book of Psalms, an
invitation to the "servants of the Lord." From one perspective it
might be somewhat surprising that a call is being made for worship, a
call in the form of encouragement. It is to the Lord's servants. If
they are his servants, what is the need for the call to be made? Why
would any encouragement be required of "the Lord's servants" to praise
him? Should they not be doing that already, with full voice, with full
enthusiasm, with zeal and excitement? Are not the Lord's servants
observant of the magnificent perfections and lofty position of the One
they claim to serve? Are they not mindful of the wonderful and awesome
deeds he has done? Why could there possibly be any need whatsoever for
a call of encouragement to the servants of the Lord to worship him?
As one of the "songs of ascents" it quite likely was sung by Jews
returning to Jerusalem for one of the religious feasts on the calendar
given them from the Lord that required their return to Jerusalem to
observe. It is thought that as the worshipers returned to Jerusalem, a
city set in high elevation, they sang these "songs of ascents" as they
ascended to Jerusalem for the observation of the feast.
As I think of the possible setting of this psalm and of these
"servants of the Lord" I am reminded of the Lord's servants today...
especially me. What is my disposition relative to the worship of my
Lord? Do I need encouragement to do so? If so, why? Am I failing to
recognize the pristine beauty of the Lord's matchless qualities? Have
I forgotten or failed to appreciate all he has done for me? I am
reminded of the Lord's admonition at the last supper, "do this in
remembrance of me". How astonishing to think I would need anything for
remembrance of him! And, yet, I have to confess there are times I do
forget. There are times I am not mindful of him. There are times I
fail in appreciation for all he has done for me.
These must be times when I take my eyes off him. Times, possibly, when
the challenges and cares of this world draw my attention from him.
What is it I need at times like this? Although there is no legitimate
grounds for loosing sight of the Lord who loves me, who has died on a
cross for me and has invited me to his family, I need encouragement, I
need a reminder. I suspect many of us do. I know I do.
I am reminded of Paul's exhortation, "Never be lacking in zeal, but
keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11. Here it
is in a nutshell. Servants of the Lord are to keep their "spiritual
fervor", their zeal for the Lord. How do we do that? Hebrews 3:13
says, "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so
that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." In 10:25 he
says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit
of doing, but let us encourage one another —and all the more as you
see the Day approaching." The exhortation here is not to simply meet,
but meet to encourage one another.
As Paul said in Romans 12:11, we are to maintain an ardent zeal for
the Lord, keeping our spiritual "fervor". I liken that "fervor" as a
"fever": something I should be checking on a regular basis, such that
I never find myself wanting for a call to worship the One I should be
worshiping already.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Friday, August 24, 2012
Can you live up to God's standards? - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 119:17-24,
"Do good to your servant, and I will live;
I will obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed
and who stray from your commands.
Remove from me scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors."
In this very long psalm (176 verses!), almost every verse speaks
directly of the Scriptures that contain it. Specific focus is placed
on keeping the law. In this section the words used for the Scriptures
are "your word", "your law", "your commands", "your statutes" and
"your decrees". It is not difficult to see the Scriptures themselves
declare their divine authorship. I am reminded of Peter's observation,
"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came
about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21. All Scripture is
considered prophecy given Peter's explanation of how it came to be:
men spoke what God told them to, in his behalf.
The psalmist commits himself to keeping God's laws in verse 17, "I
will obey your word." However, the psalm begins with a beatitude
concerning those who "walk according to the law of the Lord", and
expresses what seems to be an acknowledgment of being challenged to do
so, "Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I
would not be put to shame..." Verses 5-6.
Paul provides some insight into this. First, he observes that no one
lives their lives in conformity to God's law. We are simply unable,
given the sinful nature we all struggle with. As he deals with those
who feel otherwise, he cuts through all the smoke. He addresses those
who feel they keep the law and look down on all others for not doing
so, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone
else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning
yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." Romans
2:1. In Romans 7:6 he simply says of those who have embraced Jesus
Christ in faith, "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have
been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the
Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."
If Christians are not expected to keep the law as given to Moses, what
was God's purpose in giving it then? It shows us how needful we are of
his salvation, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to
those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and
the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be
declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through
the law we become conscious of sin." Romans 3:19-20. In Romans 7:13 he
says, "In order that sin might be recognized as sin, it [the law]
produced death in me through what was good, so that through the
commandment sin might become utterly sinful."
Paul spoke of his own challenges in trying to live by God's law. "So I
find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there
with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see
another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the
law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work
within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Romans 7:21-25.
Here is where dusty and dry theology springs to life for me. God gave
his law to Moses and by it I find I am hopelessly doomed to God's
judgment. I sense my own shortcomings and throw myself at God's mercy.
There, I find that God's own Son came and died a miserable death to
pay the penalty for my sins. In a love I cannot comprehend he reaches
out to me in mercy and forgiveness and offers me a place at his table,
a place in his family despite my failures and shortcomings.
I don't know about you, but I have plenty of shortcomings. I know
because God has provided his law. But the rest of the story is he has
also provided forgiveness through his Son who has already paid the
penalty for all our sins. All he asks is that we embrace him in faith,
as Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 119:17-24,
"Do good to your servant, and I will live;
I will obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed
and who stray from your commands.
Remove from me scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors."
In this very long psalm (176 verses!), almost every verse speaks
directly of the Scriptures that contain it. Specific focus is placed
on keeping the law. In this section the words used for the Scriptures
are "your word", "your law", "your commands", "your statutes" and
"your decrees". It is not difficult to see the Scriptures themselves
declare their divine authorship. I am reminded of Peter's observation,
"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came
about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21. All Scripture is
considered prophecy given Peter's explanation of how it came to be:
men spoke what God told them to, in his behalf.
The psalmist commits himself to keeping God's laws in verse 17, "I
will obey your word." However, the psalm begins with a beatitude
concerning those who "walk according to the law of the Lord", and
expresses what seems to be an acknowledgment of being challenged to do
so, "Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I
would not be put to shame..." Verses 5-6.
Paul provides some insight into this. First, he observes that no one
lives their lives in conformity to God's law. We are simply unable,
given the sinful nature we all struggle with. As he deals with those
who feel otherwise, he cuts through all the smoke. He addresses those
who feel they keep the law and look down on all others for not doing
so, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone
else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning
yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." Romans
2:1. In Romans 7:6 he simply says of those who have embraced Jesus
Christ in faith, "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have
been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the
Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."
If Christians are not expected to keep the law as given to Moses, what
was God's purpose in giving it then? It shows us how needful we are of
his salvation, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to
those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and
the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be
declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through
the law we become conscious of sin." Romans 3:19-20. In Romans 7:13 he
says, "In order that sin might be recognized as sin, it [the law]
produced death in me through what was good, so that through the
commandment sin might become utterly sinful."
Paul spoke of his own challenges in trying to live by God's law. "So I
find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there
with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see
another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the
law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work
within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Romans 7:21-25.
Here is where dusty and dry theology springs to life for me. God gave
his law to Moses and by it I find I am hopelessly doomed to God's
judgment. I sense my own shortcomings and throw myself at God's mercy.
There, I find that God's own Son came and died a miserable death to
pay the penalty for my sins. In a love I cannot comprehend he reaches
out to me in mercy and forgiveness and offers me a place at his table,
a place in his family despite my failures and shortcomings.
I don't know about you, but I have plenty of shortcomings. I know
because God has provided his law. But the rest of the story is he has
also provided forgiveness through his Son who has already paid the
penalty for all our sins. All he asks is that we embrace him in faith,
as Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Thursday, August 23, 2012
What is your grounds for praise? - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 113:7-9,
"He [the Lord] raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children."
The psalmist begins this psalm by calling on all everywhere and
forever to praise the Lord. He says, "Praise the Lord. Praise, O
servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the
Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun
to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised."
The praise he calls for is not merely the empty praise that is often
heard these days (if at all), but is to be based upon the recognition
of two very important things all worship should be based upon: who the
Lord is and what he does.
This psalmist provides ample consideration of who it is he calls
worship for. It is the Lord who is over all the nations, the One whose
glory is manifested above the heavens, the One who is enthroned on
high in his lofty position, from which he needs to stoop in order to
look down upon the place worshipers reside, verses 4-7.
Next, the psalmist speaks to the wonderful things the Lord does.
Where, in other psalms the righteousness and horrific judgment of God
is contemplated, here it is his kindness and compassion that forms the
grounds from which worship should manifest itself. The Lord cares for
the needy and poor. He takes in hand the plight of those who struggle
with disappointment, despair and discouragement, as in the case of
women unable to bear children in a culture where a wife's worth is
measured by her progeny.
It is this aspect of the Lord's nature that grips my heart this
morning. The Lord has a love for us that I find unfathomable. It is
manifested in his acts of kindness and mercy. To think of the Lord's
kindness, mercy and love is to approach something that is difficult
for me to comprehend. I know of it and I accept and embrace it, but to
wrap my mind around it is impossible. I am reminded of Paul's letter
to Titus, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he
saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of
his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by
the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus
Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we
might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7.
The love and kindness of our Lord is an amazing thing!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 113:7-9,
"He [the Lord] raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children."
The psalmist begins this psalm by calling on all everywhere and
forever to praise the Lord. He says, "Praise the Lord. Praise, O
servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the
Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun
to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised."
The praise he calls for is not merely the empty praise that is often
heard these days (if at all), but is to be based upon the recognition
of two very important things all worship should be based upon: who the
Lord is and what he does.
This psalmist provides ample consideration of who it is he calls
worship for. It is the Lord who is over all the nations, the One whose
glory is manifested above the heavens, the One who is enthroned on
high in his lofty position, from which he needs to stoop in order to
look down upon the place worshipers reside, verses 4-7.
Next, the psalmist speaks to the wonderful things the Lord does.
Where, in other psalms the righteousness and horrific judgment of God
is contemplated, here it is his kindness and compassion that forms the
grounds from which worship should manifest itself. The Lord cares for
the needy and poor. He takes in hand the plight of those who struggle
with disappointment, despair and discouragement, as in the case of
women unable to bear children in a culture where a wife's worth is
measured by her progeny.
It is this aspect of the Lord's nature that grips my heart this
morning. The Lord has a love for us that I find unfathomable. It is
manifested in his acts of kindness and mercy. To think of the Lord's
kindness, mercy and love is to approach something that is difficult
for me to comprehend. I know of it and I accept and embrace it, but to
wrap my mind around it is impossible. I am reminded of Paul's letter
to Titus, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he
saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of
his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by
the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus
Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we
might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7.
The love and kindness of our Lord is an amazing thing!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
- Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 80:3,
"Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that
we may be saved."
Here is a refrain Asaph repeats three times in this psalm. Israel, as
a nation is languishing in the judgment of God for her sins. Asaph
calls out to the Lord to seek his favor resulting in a restoration of
the nation.
So much of Israel's history is a "type" or pattern of all mankind in
her dealings with God. It is not difficult to see the plight of all
mankind in the world's lost and fallen condition before its Creator
portrayed in the history of Israel. Just as Israel strayed from her
God, so the world has turned its collective back on the Lord and gone
its own way. Struggling in sin, sin's consequences and God's judgment,
we can relate to Asaph's cry for restoration with God.
One theme runs consistently throughout all mankind: something isn't
right about us, something needs to be fixed.
The Wikipedia article on Buddhism states, "The Buddha lived and taught
in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th
and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or
enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings
end suffering (dukkha) through eliminating ignorance (avidyā) and
craving (taṇhā), by way of understanding and seeing dependent
origination (pratītyasamutpāda) and non-self (anātman), and thus
attain the highest happiness, nirvāņa (nirvana)." My synopsis:
Buddhists believe we have a problem and Buddha can fix it.
The Wikipedia article on Hinduism states "Most Hindus believe that the
spirit or soul — the true "self" of every person, called the ātman —
is eternal. According to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of
Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is ultimately
indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Hence, these schools are
called non-dualist. The goal of life, according to the Advaita school,
is to realize that one's ātman is identical to Brahman, the supreme
soul. The Upanishads state that whoever becomes fully aware of the
ātman as the innermost core of one's own self realizes an identity
with Brahman and thereby reaches moksha (liberation or freedom)." Even
when a religion such as this thinks man is "indistinct" from the
"supreme spirit", man still needs "liberation or freedom." Again, my
synopsis: Hindus believe we have a problem and they can fix it.
The Wikipedia article on Confucianism states, "The core of
Confucianism is humanism, the belief that human beings are teachable,
improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour
especially including self-cultivation and self-creation." The article
goes on to say that "Confucianism as an ideology is humanistic and
non-theistic, and does not involve a belief in the supernatural or in
a personal god." Nonetheless, if mankind is "teachable, improvable and
perfectible" then it is an admission that man needs to be taught
something, man needs to be improved and man needs to be perfected. My
synopsis: Confucianism believes we have a problem and they can fix it.
You get my point. We all know we have a problem and something needs to
be fixed. Charitable organizations know we have a problem. The United
Nations is founded on the understanding mankind has a problem.
Political parties believe we have a problem... everybody acknowledges
something isn't right about us, something needs to be fixed. It may be
visualized in injustice, in racism, in lawlessness and crime. It may
be visualized in the more base impulses of mankind: the elbowing out
of others to get one's own, narcissism, exploitation of the weak,
selfishness, arrogance, greed.
The Scriptures are straightforward about this, blunt and to the point.
In a string of quotations from the Old Testament (Psalms,
Ecclesiastes, Isaiah) Paul says, "'There is no one righteous, not even
one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no
one who does good, not even one.' 'Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.' 'The poison of vipers is on their
lips.' 'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' 'Their feet
are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way
of peace they do not know.' 'There is no fear of God before their
eyes.'" Romans 3:10-18.
Here is his summary, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God." Romans 3:23. Hence all the religions and all the organizations
to rehabilitate us, all the effort to alleviate the problems we have
in our estrangement with God. Just as with Asaph calling on God's
restoration of Israel through reconciliation with him, all mankind
needs reconciliation with God, God's favor and God's restoration of
us.
While none of mankind's religions will do the job, God has
accomplished this very thing himself for us, "For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through
him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the
name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18.
What an amazing thing! The very God mankind has turned his collective
back on is the One who provides reconciliation with himself and a
restoration for us of all he intended for us before the fall of
mankind! All he asks is that we embrace him in faith. Jesus said,
"Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very
truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will
hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as
the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have
life in himself." John 5:24-26.
Wow!!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 80:3,
"Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that
we may be saved."
Here is a refrain Asaph repeats three times in this psalm. Israel, as
a nation is languishing in the judgment of God for her sins. Asaph
calls out to the Lord to seek his favor resulting in a restoration of
the nation.
So much of Israel's history is a "type" or pattern of all mankind in
her dealings with God. It is not difficult to see the plight of all
mankind in the world's lost and fallen condition before its Creator
portrayed in the history of Israel. Just as Israel strayed from her
God, so the world has turned its collective back on the Lord and gone
its own way. Struggling in sin, sin's consequences and God's judgment,
we can relate to Asaph's cry for restoration with God.
One theme runs consistently throughout all mankind: something isn't
right about us, something needs to be fixed.
The Wikipedia article on Buddhism states, "The Buddha lived and taught
in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th
and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or
enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings
end suffering (dukkha) through eliminating ignorance (avidyā) and
craving (taṇhā), by way of understanding and seeing dependent
origination (pratītyasamutpāda) and non-self (anātman), and thus
attain the highest happiness, nirvāņa (nirvana)." My synopsis:
Buddhists believe we have a problem and Buddha can fix it.
The Wikipedia article on Hinduism states "Most Hindus believe that the
spirit or soul — the true "self" of every person, called the ātman —
is eternal. According to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of
Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is ultimately
indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Hence, these schools are
called non-dualist. The goal of life, according to the Advaita school,
is to realize that one's ātman is identical to Brahman, the supreme
soul. The Upanishads state that whoever becomes fully aware of the
ātman as the innermost core of one's own self realizes an identity
with Brahman and thereby reaches moksha (liberation or freedom)." Even
when a religion such as this thinks man is "indistinct" from the
"supreme spirit", man still needs "liberation or freedom." Again, my
synopsis: Hindus believe we have a problem and they can fix it.
The Wikipedia article on Confucianism states, "The core of
Confucianism is humanism, the belief that human beings are teachable,
improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour
especially including self-cultivation and self-creation." The article
goes on to say that "Confucianism as an ideology is humanistic and
non-theistic, and does not involve a belief in the supernatural or in
a personal god." Nonetheless, if mankind is "teachable, improvable and
perfectible" then it is an admission that man needs to be taught
something, man needs to be improved and man needs to be perfected. My
synopsis: Confucianism believes we have a problem and they can fix it.
You get my point. We all know we have a problem and something needs to
be fixed. Charitable organizations know we have a problem. The United
Nations is founded on the understanding mankind has a problem.
Political parties believe we have a problem... everybody acknowledges
something isn't right about us, something needs to be fixed. It may be
visualized in injustice, in racism, in lawlessness and crime. It may
be visualized in the more base impulses of mankind: the elbowing out
of others to get one's own, narcissism, exploitation of the weak,
selfishness, arrogance, greed.
The Scriptures are straightforward about this, blunt and to the point.
In a string of quotations from the Old Testament (Psalms,
Ecclesiastes, Isaiah) Paul says, "'There is no one righteous, not even
one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no
one who does good, not even one.' 'Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.' 'The poison of vipers is on their
lips.' 'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' 'Their feet
are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way
of peace they do not know.' 'There is no fear of God before their
eyes.'" Romans 3:10-18.
Here is his summary, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God." Romans 3:23. Hence all the religions and all the organizations
to rehabilitate us, all the effort to alleviate the problems we have
in our estrangement with God. Just as with Asaph calling on God's
restoration of Israel through reconciliation with him, all mankind
needs reconciliation with God, God's favor and God's restoration of
us.
While none of mankind's religions will do the job, God has
accomplished this very thing himself for us, "For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through
him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the
name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18.
What an amazing thing! The very God mankind has turned his collective
back on is the One who provides reconciliation with himself and a
restoration for us of all he intended for us before the fall of
mankind! All he asks is that we embrace him in faith. Jesus said,
"Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very
truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will
hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as
the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have
life in himself." John 5:24-26.
Wow!!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Why its called "Good News" - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 79:8,
"Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come
quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need."
Israel had turned her back on her God. Although the Lord had sent her
many prophets to warn of his impending judgment if they did not return
to him, they continued in their folly. Never not following through on
what he says he will do, the Lord brought Israel to her knees by
having her ravaged, a truly frightful and horrific judgment. Now,
destroyed as a nation, the remnant calls out to her God for reprieve,
for forgiveness and for retribution against those who vanquished her.
In verse 5 Asaph asks the Lord how long this remnant will continue to
suffer, "How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will
your jealousy burn like fire?" And, in verse 9 he calls out for God's
help, "Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver
us and forgive our sins for your name's sake."
"We are in desperate need." This is the exact position of all mankind.
All mankind has sinned. It doesn't matter if you are the Dalai Lama,
the Pope, Billy Graham or Mother Teresa. We all have sinned and we all
face what Revelation 21:8 describes as "a fiery lake of burning
sulfur." All who have sinned will be cast into this fearful judgment.
"We are in desperate need."
This is why God's invitation to us is good news. We can find escape
from this fiery lake of burning sulfur. And, not just escape from that
but also a place at the Lord's table, a place in his family,
participation in all that Jesus Christ inherits from God the Father.
Forever. No more death, mourning, crying or pain as we pass from this
life into the resurrection into a new paradigm of life we have never
experienced before. An experience that our Creator has always intended
for us. All this for simply embracing him in faith. Jesus said, "I
tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from
death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear
will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted
the Son to have life in himself."
If you can find a better deal, you better take it. The reality is that
there is nothing else that begins to approach this "good news"!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 79:8,
"Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come
quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need."
Israel had turned her back on her God. Although the Lord had sent her
many prophets to warn of his impending judgment if they did not return
to him, they continued in their folly. Never not following through on
what he says he will do, the Lord brought Israel to her knees by
having her ravaged, a truly frightful and horrific judgment. Now,
destroyed as a nation, the remnant calls out to her God for reprieve,
for forgiveness and for retribution against those who vanquished her.
In verse 5 Asaph asks the Lord how long this remnant will continue to
suffer, "How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will
your jealousy burn like fire?" And, in verse 9 he calls out for God's
help, "Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver
us and forgive our sins for your name's sake."
"We are in desperate need." This is the exact position of all mankind.
All mankind has sinned. It doesn't matter if you are the Dalai Lama,
the Pope, Billy Graham or Mother Teresa. We all have sinned and we all
face what Revelation 21:8 describes as "a fiery lake of burning
sulfur." All who have sinned will be cast into this fearful judgment.
"We are in desperate need."
This is why God's invitation to us is good news. We can find escape
from this fiery lake of burning sulfur. And, not just escape from that
but also a place at the Lord's table, a place in his family,
participation in all that Jesus Christ inherits from God the Father.
Forever. No more death, mourning, crying or pain as we pass from this
life into the resurrection into a new paradigm of life we have never
experienced before. An experience that our Creator has always intended
for us. All this for simply embracing him in faith. Jesus said, "I
tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from
death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear
will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted
the Son to have life in himself."
If you can find a better deal, you better take it. The reality is that
there is nothing else that begins to approach this "good news"!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
As we struggle - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 44:23-24,
"Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us
forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and
oppression?"
In this psalm, the Sons of Korah recalled from their history that God
was the One who brought Israel the victory to take the promised land
from its wicked inhabitants. It was through him they pushed back their
enemies and trampled on their foes, verse 5. They acknowledged it was
not their sword, but God who brought them that victory, verses 6-7.
In spite of this acknowledgment and confession of God, they observe
that God has now seemingly abandoned them. They say, "But now you have
rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You
made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered
us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us
among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance, gaining
nothing from their sale." Verses 9-12.
Surprisingly, this came at a time when Israel had been true to God. We
often think of the horrific difficulties the nation of Israel
experienced as a result of their turning away from God, their embrace
of idols or sinful folly of one form or another. This, however, is not
the case at the present time. The psalm goes on to say of this present
trouble, "All this happened to us, though we had not forgotten you or
been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not turned back; our feet
had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us and made us a haunt
for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness." Verses 17-19.
This account does not fit neatly into most folk's theology. We tend to
assume we can control our own good outcomes by manipulating God with
our good behavior. Not necessarily so. While it certainly is true that
we reap what we sow, as the Lord taught us, something else altogether
is afoot here. It is such a unique feature that Paul quotes this psalm
as he teaches us how God works in our lives to conform us to the
likeness of Jesus Christ. In Romans 8:28-39, Paul tells us this
process often involves some unpleasant things. There he speaks of
things like "trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness
or danger or sword." Through it all, we will not be separated from
God's love for us... he is working in us to grow us into the likeness
of his Son. To make his point he quotes our psalm here in Romans 8:36.
Some, with limited knowledge of the Scriptures, assume that when
others face difficulties in their lives, such as sickness or financial
reversals or abandonment of a spouse or offspring going astray or
whatever, they must have fallen short of God's expectations. They must
be harboring some secret sin or must be slipping in their faith. Job
got a belly full of this from his "friends." After his friends
confident assertions that Job must be engaged in some sin or had
drifted from God since he was suffering, God said to them, "I am angry
with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what
is right, as my servant Job has." Job 42:7.
We may be right in the middle of what the Lord wants of us and yet
find ourselves going through very difficult times. While others may be
judgmental of us when we struggle, it just may be that God has
determined that we are now mature enough to move on to another level
in our walk with him. It is those who are judgmental that may not be
capable of being stretched yet, as they continue in their "happy"
lives.
Something to consider as the Lord works in our lives. As he does so,
we can count on the Lord to be very effective, and in the midst of it
be able to identify with David as he says, "I am poor and needy; come
quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not
delay." Psalm 70:5. As the Lord builds us up we will find ourselves on
the other side, able to say with David's confidence, "Cast your cares
on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous
fall. But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of
corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half
their days. But as for me, I trust in you." Psalm 55:22-23.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 44:23-24,
"Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us
forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and
oppression?"
In this psalm, the Sons of Korah recalled from their history that God
was the One who brought Israel the victory to take the promised land
from its wicked inhabitants. It was through him they pushed back their
enemies and trampled on their foes, verse 5. They acknowledged it was
not their sword, but God who brought them that victory, verses 6-7.
In spite of this acknowledgment and confession of God, they observe
that God has now seemingly abandoned them. They say, "But now you have
rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. You
made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered
us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us
among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance, gaining
nothing from their sale." Verses 9-12.
Surprisingly, this came at a time when Israel had been true to God. We
often think of the horrific difficulties the nation of Israel
experienced as a result of their turning away from God, their embrace
of idols or sinful folly of one form or another. This, however, is not
the case at the present time. The psalm goes on to say of this present
trouble, "All this happened to us, though we had not forgotten you or
been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not turned back; our feet
had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us and made us a haunt
for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness." Verses 17-19.
This account does not fit neatly into most folk's theology. We tend to
assume we can control our own good outcomes by manipulating God with
our good behavior. Not necessarily so. While it certainly is true that
we reap what we sow, as the Lord taught us, something else altogether
is afoot here. It is such a unique feature that Paul quotes this psalm
as he teaches us how God works in our lives to conform us to the
likeness of Jesus Christ. In Romans 8:28-39, Paul tells us this
process often involves some unpleasant things. There he speaks of
things like "trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness
or danger or sword." Through it all, we will not be separated from
God's love for us... he is working in us to grow us into the likeness
of his Son. To make his point he quotes our psalm here in Romans 8:36.
Some, with limited knowledge of the Scriptures, assume that when
others face difficulties in their lives, such as sickness or financial
reversals or abandonment of a spouse or offspring going astray or
whatever, they must have fallen short of God's expectations. They must
be harboring some secret sin or must be slipping in their faith. Job
got a belly full of this from his "friends." After his friends
confident assertions that Job must be engaged in some sin or had
drifted from God since he was suffering, God said to them, "I am angry
with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what
is right, as my servant Job has." Job 42:7.
We may be right in the middle of what the Lord wants of us and yet
find ourselves going through very difficult times. While others may be
judgmental of us when we struggle, it just may be that God has
determined that we are now mature enough to move on to another level
in our walk with him. It is those who are judgmental that may not be
capable of being stretched yet, as they continue in their "happy"
lives.
Something to consider as the Lord works in our lives. As he does so,
we can count on the Lord to be very effective, and in the midst of it
be able to identify with David as he says, "I am poor and needy; come
quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not
delay." Psalm 70:5. As the Lord builds us up we will find ourselves on
the other side, able to say with David's confidence, "Cast your cares
on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous
fall. But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of
corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half
their days. But as for me, I trust in you." Psalm 55:22-23.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
God did that! - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 66:5,
"Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!"
The psalmist observes the awesome works of God and now invites us to
do so as well. He looks to the wonderful deeds of the Lord as captured
in his dealings with the nation of Israel. The great exodus of Israel
from Egypt is recalled: Israel's escape through the miraculous parting
of the Red Sea by God.
We all have need to recall the awesome works the Lord has done on our
behalf. All of us can certainly look back to the suffering endured by
our Lord on the cross to take the punishment for our own sins. Each of
us can certainly look to the wonderful invitation the Lord has
extended us to join him at his table in the resurrection. All who have
placed their faith in the Lord can recall these kinds of things.
Perhaps there are personal things the Lord has done just for you. A
time of need when the Lord provided, a nudge of encouragement when
things looked down and so forth. These are the recollections that
should form the basis for our worship of God, just as they were for
the psalmist.
There are some things we should acknowledge that have come from the
Lord that we fail to appreciate. When the Lord tests us and tries us,
we sometimes mistakenly conclude that not just their origin but the
purpose and outcome to come from the devil or the world, when in
reality the Lord uses these very things to teach us, to grow us, to
draw us near him. We all have need to be reminded of the Lord's
wonderful work in our lives, including the painful. The psalmist
observes, "For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You
brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride
over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to
a place of abundance." Verses 10-12.
Just as the psalmist recalls the hardships the Lord brought into their
lives, some passages come to mind that impact us today in a similar
way. Peter tells us, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which
perishes even though refined by fire —may be proved genuine and may
result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1
Peter 1:6-7. The Lord brings suffering with an intended purpose, a
purpose for our good. Another passage, "We know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose." Romans 8:28. What kinds of things are these
"all things"? Paul tells us in verse 35, "trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword." Romans 8:35.
What is the purpose of it? In verse 29 he tells us "those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers."
Many are the wonderful things the Lord has done, his "awesome... works
in man's behalf". There are those things we have desire for as well as
the needful things we may not look forward to but are needful
nonetheless. God does wonderful things for us! Lets recall these
things, celebrate them and allow them to form the basis of our worship
of him.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 66:5,
"Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!"
The psalmist observes the awesome works of God and now invites us to
do so as well. He looks to the wonderful deeds of the Lord as captured
in his dealings with the nation of Israel. The great exodus of Israel
from Egypt is recalled: Israel's escape through the miraculous parting
of the Red Sea by God.
We all have need to recall the awesome works the Lord has done on our
behalf. All of us can certainly look back to the suffering endured by
our Lord on the cross to take the punishment for our own sins. Each of
us can certainly look to the wonderful invitation the Lord has
extended us to join him at his table in the resurrection. All who have
placed their faith in the Lord can recall these kinds of things.
Perhaps there are personal things the Lord has done just for you. A
time of need when the Lord provided, a nudge of encouragement when
things looked down and so forth. These are the recollections that
should form the basis for our worship of God, just as they were for
the psalmist.
There are some things we should acknowledge that have come from the
Lord that we fail to appreciate. When the Lord tests us and tries us,
we sometimes mistakenly conclude that not just their origin but the
purpose and outcome to come from the devil or the world, when in
reality the Lord uses these very things to teach us, to grow us, to
draw us near him. We all have need to be reminded of the Lord's
wonderful work in our lives, including the painful. The psalmist
observes, "For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You
brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride
over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to
a place of abundance." Verses 10-12.
Just as the psalmist recalls the hardships the Lord brought into their
lives, some passages come to mind that impact us today in a similar
way. Peter tells us, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which
perishes even though refined by fire —may be proved genuine and may
result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1
Peter 1:6-7. The Lord brings suffering with an intended purpose, a
purpose for our good. Another passage, "We know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose." Romans 8:28. What kinds of things are these
"all things"? Paul tells us in verse 35, "trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword." Romans 8:35.
What is the purpose of it? In verse 29 he tells us "those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers."
Many are the wonderful things the Lord has done, his "awesome... works
in man's behalf". There are those things we have desire for as well as
the needful things we may not look forward to but are needful
nonetheless. God does wonderful things for us! Lets recall these
things, celebrate them and allow them to form the basis of our worship
of him.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Monday, August 13, 2012
Desire and God - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 61:4,
"I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter
of your wings."
In this psalm David seeks God as his "strong tower against the foe."
As such he longs for God's intervention, to be his refuge. He
acknowledges it is God's protection, verse 7, that provides grounds
for singing his praise of God and fulfilling vows made to him. David's
focus on God in all this is God's wonderful love and faithfulness.
It appears to me that it is David's focus on God's love and
faithfulness that generates a longing within him. He has a desire to
experience nearness to God, "I long to dwell in your tent forever.."
The tenor of the psalm makes clear that, beyond God's protection of
him, David has known God for some time, has experienced God's
wonderful qualities in close proximity and longs to revisit the
pleasure of it. He has a desire for God.
Other passages in the psalms point to desire, sometimes intense, by
the psalmists. Listen to what David says in Psalm 63:1-5,
"O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you."
This is the expression of intense desire. Clearly, David has
experienced God intimately, found in God what took his breath away and
longs to return to the experience. The Sons of Korah must have had
similar experiences. Here is the expression of their desire:
"As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?"
This is ardent desire. Where many view God as the one to whom we must
give account (and rightly so), and find little beyond an accounting in
their perspective of God, these men had experiences with God that
shaped and formed intense desires within them to return. Perhaps we
have much to learn from them.
I suspect the fulfillment of desire within our hearts, that very same
desire that we often pursue in illegitimate ways, desire that we have
a great capacity for that God put within us all, will only find its
rightful and greatest fulfillment when we experience God the way these
men did. What was it they saw? What did they experience? How did God
make them feel when they entered his presence?
We all have a great capacity for desire, we all have a great capacity
for pleasure, we all at times find ourselves longing. Those of us who
place our faith in God can say with David to God, "you will fill me
with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
What strikes me about the psalmists is that they were experiencing
something of the joy and pleasure we will have in the resurrection
with God in this life as well. Possibly only a precursory and limited
way, but clearly, something pretty fascinating is being communicated
to us in these psalms, something we all can experience here in this
life as well.
So, what's your pleasure?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 61:4,
"I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter
of your wings."
In this psalm David seeks God as his "strong tower against the foe."
As such he longs for God's intervention, to be his refuge. He
acknowledges it is God's protection, verse 7, that provides grounds
for singing his praise of God and fulfilling vows made to him. David's
focus on God in all this is God's wonderful love and faithfulness.
It appears to me that it is David's focus on God's love and
faithfulness that generates a longing within him. He has a desire to
experience nearness to God, "I long to dwell in your tent forever.."
The tenor of the psalm makes clear that, beyond God's protection of
him, David has known God for some time, has experienced God's
wonderful qualities in close proximity and longs to revisit the
pleasure of it. He has a desire for God.
Other passages in the psalms point to desire, sometimes intense, by
the psalmists. Listen to what David says in Psalm 63:1-5,
"O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you."
This is the expression of intense desire. Clearly, David has
experienced God intimately, found in God what took his breath away and
longs to return to the experience. The Sons of Korah must have had
similar experiences. Here is the expression of their desire:
"As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?"
This is ardent desire. Where many view God as the one to whom we must
give account (and rightly so), and find little beyond an accounting in
their perspective of God, these men had experiences with God that
shaped and formed intense desires within them to return. Perhaps we
have much to learn from them.
I suspect the fulfillment of desire within our hearts, that very same
desire that we often pursue in illegitimate ways, desire that we have
a great capacity for that God put within us all, will only find its
rightful and greatest fulfillment when we experience God the way these
men did. What was it they saw? What did they experience? How did God
make them feel when they entered his presence?
We all have a great capacity for desire, we all have a great capacity
for pleasure, we all at times find ourselves longing. Those of us who
place our faith in God can say with David to God, "you will fill me
with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
What strikes me about the psalmists is that they were experiencing
something of the joy and pleasure we will have in the resurrection
with God in this life as well. Possibly only a precursory and limited
way, but clearly, something pretty fascinating is being communicated
to us in these psalms, something we all can experience here in this
life as well.
So, what's your pleasure?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Friday, August 10, 2012
Are you like God? - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 50:21,
"These things you [the wicked] have done and I [God] kept silent;
you thought I was altogether like you.
But I will rebuke you
and accuse you to your face."
God brings an indictment against the wicked in Psalm 50. He observes
that the wicked hate his "instruction" as they cast his words behind
them, verse 17. This doesn't mean they don't traffic in the
Scriptures. In verse 16 God demands to know, "What right have you to
recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?" In verse 22 the
wicked are seen as those who forget God. In verses 18-20 various sins
are enumerated and God's warning is given in verse 22: "Consider this,
you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to
rescue..."
You would think with such a warning folks would tend to their
responsibilities before their Creator. The very things they do,
however, assures they won't. People who "cast" his words behind them,
hate his instruction, and forget about God will never respond to his
offer of forgiveness given in the gospel message. What is worse, they
assume God is just like them!
In a passage that gets little press, Paul makes a frightful
observation of the wicked as identified in Psalm 50, "God gave them a
spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that
they could not hear, to this very day." Romans 11:8. The NIV notes
this is a quote or reference to Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10. In
Isaiah 29:10 it applies to those who, "come near to me with their
mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." Isaiah
29:13.
Sadly and horrifically, the only outlook for those who are caught in
God's condemnation for failing to embrace him in faith have only one
thing to look forward to as they leave this life: "their place will be
in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Revelation 21:8.
The wonderful kindness and love of God is expressed, however, in his
offer of eternal life for any and all who will respond to his offer by
embracing him in faith. "to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God",
John 1:12. None have to face God's condemnation, none have to face
that fiery lake of burning sulfur. All have an opportunity to join
God's family and have a place at his table! "God our Savior... wants
all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 2
Timothy 2:3-4.
If we do embrace him in faith, God immediately begins to work in our
lives to bring about a mystical and spiritual transformation, "And we
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:28-29.
Those whose hearts are far from God assume God is like them. Those
whose hearts are given to God know better and find themselves being
transformed into the likeness of his Son.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 50:21,
"These things you [the wicked] have done and I [God] kept silent;
you thought I was altogether like you.
But I will rebuke you
and accuse you to your face."
God brings an indictment against the wicked in Psalm 50. He observes
that the wicked hate his "instruction" as they cast his words behind
them, verse 17. This doesn't mean they don't traffic in the
Scriptures. In verse 16 God demands to know, "What right have you to
recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?" In verse 22 the
wicked are seen as those who forget God. In verses 18-20 various sins
are enumerated and God's warning is given in verse 22: "Consider this,
you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to
rescue..."
You would think with such a warning folks would tend to their
responsibilities before their Creator. The very things they do,
however, assures they won't. People who "cast" his words behind them,
hate his instruction, and forget about God will never respond to his
offer of forgiveness given in the gospel message. What is worse, they
assume God is just like them!
In a passage that gets little press, Paul makes a frightful
observation of the wicked as identified in Psalm 50, "God gave them a
spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that
they could not hear, to this very day." Romans 11:8. The NIV notes
this is a quote or reference to Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10. In
Isaiah 29:10 it applies to those who, "come near to me with their
mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." Isaiah
29:13.
Sadly and horrifically, the only outlook for those who are caught in
God's condemnation for failing to embrace him in faith have only one
thing to look forward to as they leave this life: "their place will be
in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Revelation 21:8.
The wonderful kindness and love of God is expressed, however, in his
offer of eternal life for any and all who will respond to his offer by
embracing him in faith. "to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God",
John 1:12. None have to face God's condemnation, none have to face
that fiery lake of burning sulfur. All have an opportunity to join
God's family and have a place at his table! "God our Savior... wants
all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 2
Timothy 2:3-4.
If we do embrace him in faith, God immediately begins to work in our
lives to bring about a mystical and spiritual transformation, "And we
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:28-29.
Those whose hearts are far from God assume God is like them. Those
whose hearts are given to God know better and find themselves being
transformed into the likeness of his Son.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Disrupting the established meme - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Luke 13:17,
"When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people
were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing."
Here is Luke's observation of how Jesus impacted the synagogue
worshipers when the ruler attempted to "dress down" Jesus for healing
a woman on the Sabbath. Regardless of what state of mind these folks
walked into synagogue with on that Saturday, we are told when Jesus
finished there were some who were humiliated and some who were
delighted. Humiliation and delight.
I've always admired the Lord for the way he pointed out the
contradictions, mistakes and faulty thinking of the elites of the day.
Here his opponents, which included the synagogue ruler, were
humiliated. We are told the folks were "delighted with all the
wonderful things he was doing." I think most of us are "delighted"
when we see the established mindset, the current "meme", turned upside
down when it is misinformed, misguided or misdirected. Particularly
when the proponents of a current mindset are those who tell the rest
of us how things are, or are to be done.
However, I suspect there is much more going on here in this account,
taken together with many of the other accounts we have of Jesus'
interaction with the folks of the day. As the Son of God, Jesus
certainly had the ability to impact folks in many different ways.
Although we see the Lord humiliating some while delighting others in
this account, he never presented his purpose as such. In Luke 19:10 he
stated very simply and clearly, "The Son of Man came to seek and to
save what was lost." Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.
What I suspect is going on in Luke 13, as well as many other passages
in the gospels, is that the Lord is disrupting and destroying the
entrenched mindset that folks ordered their lives by. The purpose of
which would be to get them to begin to look beyond what they knew,
what they assumed, what they clung to according to their history and
culture. We all tend to view things from a singular perspective and at
times the new or different struggles to overcome the old, fixed,
encrusted and entrenched mindset we have. Jesus came with a new
covenant in hand. He brought good news of an invitation to join his
kingdom - something many folks struggled to comprehend. Most saw the
messiah to come to Israel as a great military figure that would secure
Israel from foreign domination. Few saw their own personal need to be
be freed from their sins to secure God's forgiveness for themselves.
Jesus brought disruption to the entrenched thinking of the day to pave
the way for the gospel message.
I don't know about you, but I know I have to maintain a constant vigil
to ensure my own limited perspective on anything be yielded to broader
and clearer horizons the Lord might lead me to. Knowing I haven't
"arrived" and not wanting to miss anything I am certain the Lord has
much more for me to know of him and the things that are his -
requiring me to be stretched, requiring me to see things much
differently at times.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 13:17,
"When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people
were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing."
Here is Luke's observation of how Jesus impacted the synagogue
worshipers when the ruler attempted to "dress down" Jesus for healing
a woman on the Sabbath. Regardless of what state of mind these folks
walked into synagogue with on that Saturday, we are told when Jesus
finished there were some who were humiliated and some who were
delighted. Humiliation and delight.
I've always admired the Lord for the way he pointed out the
contradictions, mistakes and faulty thinking of the elites of the day.
Here his opponents, which included the synagogue ruler, were
humiliated. We are told the folks were "delighted with all the
wonderful things he was doing." I think most of us are "delighted"
when we see the established mindset, the current "meme", turned upside
down when it is misinformed, misguided or misdirected. Particularly
when the proponents of a current mindset are those who tell the rest
of us how things are, or are to be done.
However, I suspect there is much more going on here in this account,
taken together with many of the other accounts we have of Jesus'
interaction with the folks of the day. As the Son of God, Jesus
certainly had the ability to impact folks in many different ways.
Although we see the Lord humiliating some while delighting others in
this account, he never presented his purpose as such. In Luke 19:10 he
stated very simply and clearly, "The Son of Man came to seek and to
save what was lost." Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.
What I suspect is going on in Luke 13, as well as many other passages
in the gospels, is that the Lord is disrupting and destroying the
entrenched mindset that folks ordered their lives by. The purpose of
which would be to get them to begin to look beyond what they knew,
what they assumed, what they clung to according to their history and
culture. We all tend to view things from a singular perspective and at
times the new or different struggles to overcome the old, fixed,
encrusted and entrenched mindset we have. Jesus came with a new
covenant in hand. He brought good news of an invitation to join his
kingdom - something many folks struggled to comprehend. Most saw the
messiah to come to Israel as a great military figure that would secure
Israel from foreign domination. Few saw their own personal need to be
be freed from their sins to secure God's forgiveness for themselves.
Jesus brought disruption to the entrenched thinking of the day to pave
the way for the gospel message.
I don't know about you, but I know I have to maintain a constant vigil
to ensure my own limited perspective on anything be yielded to broader
and clearer horizons the Lord might lead me to. Knowing I haven't
"arrived" and not wanting to miss anything I am certain the Lord has
much more for me to know of him and the things that are his -
requiring me to be stretched, requiring me to see things much
differently at times.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
"Its not fair!" - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 37:7,
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when
men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
Here David speaks of those occasions when we encounter an injustice,
an unfairness. Made in the image of God, most have a strong sense of
fairness, particularly when we are the wronged party. Even young
children exhibit this strong sense of fairness - "That's not fair!"
As we grow up, most of us learn the cold, hard truth that in this
life, what we at times experience is the unfair, the unjust, that
which simply is not right. With this strong sense of "that is not
right!" we struggle. Sometimes we look to see how we can make things
right. At times this can lead to trouble for us as the choices we make
in the context of an "unfairness" may reveal a lack of restraint we
might otherwise exercise.
Learning the cold, hard truth that often this life provides what is
not fair is an incomplete awareness of reality. Reality requires us to
recognize that God exists and that our bent for what is just, right
and fair actually reflects his nature as our Creator. He tells us,
"Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows
me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," Jeremiah 9:24.
Justice and righteousness are chief qualities of our Creator. As such,
in the end, he will make all things right. Paul said, "Therefore judge
nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives
of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."
1 Corinthians 4:5. From other passages we know that "praise" will not
be the only thing handed out by God as he exposes "what is hidden in
darkness."
David reminds us to wait patiently for the Lord. Perhaps an obvious
point, waiting on the Lord to make things right when we have been
wronged is a great expression of faith. Waiting on the Lord to right
the wrongs committed against us or loved ones expresses a faith that
cannot questioned. I often wonder if the Lord may exploit the sins of
mankind for the very purpose of proving our faith in this way and
allowing us to reveal to the world that there are those who live for
God, have a deep faith in him and look to him as the One who will
resolve wrongs that may otherwise fester within us.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 37:7,
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when
men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
Here David speaks of those occasions when we encounter an injustice,
an unfairness. Made in the image of God, most have a strong sense of
fairness, particularly when we are the wronged party. Even young
children exhibit this strong sense of fairness - "That's not fair!"
As we grow up, most of us learn the cold, hard truth that in this
life, what we at times experience is the unfair, the unjust, that
which simply is not right. With this strong sense of "that is not
right!" we struggle. Sometimes we look to see how we can make things
right. At times this can lead to trouble for us as the choices we make
in the context of an "unfairness" may reveal a lack of restraint we
might otherwise exercise.
Learning the cold, hard truth that often this life provides what is
not fair is an incomplete awareness of reality. Reality requires us to
recognize that God exists and that our bent for what is just, right
and fair actually reflects his nature as our Creator. He tells us,
"Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows
me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," Jeremiah 9:24.
Justice and righteousness are chief qualities of our Creator. As such,
in the end, he will make all things right. Paul said, "Therefore judge
nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives
of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."
1 Corinthians 4:5. From other passages we know that "praise" will not
be the only thing handed out by God as he exposes "what is hidden in
darkness."
David reminds us to wait patiently for the Lord. Perhaps an obvious
point, waiting on the Lord to make things right when we have been
wronged is a great expression of faith. Waiting on the Lord to right
the wrongs committed against us or loved ones expresses a faith that
cannot questioned. I often wonder if the Lord may exploit the sins of
mankind for the very purpose of proving our faith in this way and
allowing us to reveal to the world that there are those who live for
God, have a deep faith in him and look to him as the One who will
resolve wrongs that may otherwise fester within us.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Can I be forgiven? - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 32:6-7,
"Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance."
These verses flow from the beatitude David expressed in verses 1-2 of
this psalm. The person is blessed whose sins are forgiven. David says
it wasn't until he confessed his sins to the Lord that he found
forgiveness. In verses 3-5 he says, "When I kept silent, my bones
wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your
hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of
summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my
iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'—and
you forgave the guilt of my sin."
David's confession of sin to the Lord was the expression of his faith.
Paul uses this psalm to prove the gospel of salvation by faith apart
from works of the law, Romans 4:5-8. "To the man who does not work but
trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the
blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from
works: 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins
are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count
against him.'"
John speaks of the same thing in 1 John 1:8-10, "If we claim to be
without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our
lives." Some mistake John's words here to speak to the issue of
believers maintaining their fellowship with the Lord through
confession of sin. While the importance of confession of sins to God
is important in our fellowship with him as believers, John, here, is
talking about the need to acknowledge our sinful condition to enter
into fellowship with God.
Confession of sinfulness brings the inherent acknowledgment of the
need for salvation, the forgiveness of those sins to be enabled to
enter into God's family with a seat at his table. "Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is
the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."! "He is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness."!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 32:6-7,
"Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance."
These verses flow from the beatitude David expressed in verses 1-2 of
this psalm. The person is blessed whose sins are forgiven. David says
it wasn't until he confessed his sins to the Lord that he found
forgiveness. In verses 3-5 he says, "When I kept silent, my bones
wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your
hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of
summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my
iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'—and
you forgave the guilt of my sin."
David's confession of sin to the Lord was the expression of his faith.
Paul uses this psalm to prove the gospel of salvation by faith apart
from works of the law, Romans 4:5-8. "To the man who does not work but
trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the
blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from
works: 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins
are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count
against him.'"
John speaks of the same thing in 1 John 1:8-10, "If we claim to be
without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our
lives." Some mistake John's words here to speak to the issue of
believers maintaining their fellowship with the Lord through
confession of sin. While the importance of confession of sins to God
is important in our fellowship with him as believers, John, here, is
talking about the need to acknowledge our sinful condition to enter
into fellowship with God.
Confession of sinfulness brings the inherent acknowledgment of the
need for salvation, the forgiveness of those sins to be enabled to
enter into God's family with a seat at his table. "Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is
the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."! "He is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness."!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Friday, August 3, 2012
When things are not looking so good - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 13:1-2,
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide
your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every
day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"
In this psalm, David asks five questions. All come from a heart that
is struggling. One of the aspects of Scripture I find so compelling is
the refreshing honesty and truthfulness from which it speaks. Whether
any of us admit it or not, we have all struggled, "wrestled" within
our own hearts. It is a part of our nature, living in this world that
is lost in its sinful rebellion against God. We all have sinful
natures and we all experience the downside of that reality from time
to time in various ways.
I suspect the enemies David faced as he penned this psalm were
political or military. He acknowledges his enemies caused him
struggles within his heart. Psalm 43 is a good example of this:
Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.
You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Often times our own "enemy" in David's last question of Psalm 13:2 is
ourselves. We can relate to Paul, who confessed, "I have the desire to
do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the
good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on
doing." Romans 7:18-19. These are personal challenges where we
disappoint ourselves and others and that can become quite dispiriting
and discouraging.
David, of whom Paul quoted God as saying, "I have found David son of
Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to
do." Acts 13:22, found relief from his discouragement. He goes on to
say in Psalm 13:5-6, "But I trust in your [the Lord's] unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he
has been good to me."
In the Lord David found not just relief, but beyond relief to joy as
he sings over the Lord's goodness to him. As David reminded himself in
Psalm 43, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within
me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my
God."
David had to wait for the Lord. He didn't find his relief from the
Lord immediately. This is why he asks the first question, "How long, O
Lord?" The Lord may have his own purposes for stretching us, growing
our faith in him, expanding our patience or whatever. But following a
time of testing, David found the Lord to be entirely faithful and his
source of deliverance and joy.
The Lord may be the last one we seek in the midst of challenge, of
failure, or of personal disappointment. However, as David points out,
he should be the first one to seek out when we are struggling, when we
are down. In the Lord we find an unfathomable love and an acceptance
through Jesus Christ where struggle turns to hope and hope leaps to
joy. When we are down, no richer source of encouragement can be found
than when we turn to our Lord. While others, as well as ourselves, may
be critical of us, condemning of us, judgmental of us and treat us
unkindly, the Lord extends his loving arms to those who embrace him,
and builds us up.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 13:1-2,
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide
your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every
day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"
In this psalm, David asks five questions. All come from a heart that
is struggling. One of the aspects of Scripture I find so compelling is
the refreshing honesty and truthfulness from which it speaks. Whether
any of us admit it or not, we have all struggled, "wrestled" within
our own hearts. It is a part of our nature, living in this world that
is lost in its sinful rebellion against God. We all have sinful
natures and we all experience the downside of that reality from time
to time in various ways.
I suspect the enemies David faced as he penned this psalm were
political or military. He acknowledges his enemies caused him
struggles within his heart. Psalm 43 is a good example of this:
Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.
You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Often times our own "enemy" in David's last question of Psalm 13:2 is
ourselves. We can relate to Paul, who confessed, "I have the desire to
do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the
good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on
doing." Romans 7:18-19. These are personal challenges where we
disappoint ourselves and others and that can become quite dispiriting
and discouraging.
David, of whom Paul quoted God as saying, "I have found David son of
Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to
do." Acts 13:22, found relief from his discouragement. He goes on to
say in Psalm 13:5-6, "But I trust in your [the Lord's] unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he
has been good to me."
In the Lord David found not just relief, but beyond relief to joy as
he sings over the Lord's goodness to him. As David reminded himself in
Psalm 43, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within
me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my
God."
David had to wait for the Lord. He didn't find his relief from the
Lord immediately. This is why he asks the first question, "How long, O
Lord?" The Lord may have his own purposes for stretching us, growing
our faith in him, expanding our patience or whatever. But following a
time of testing, David found the Lord to be entirely faithful and his
source of deliverance and joy.
The Lord may be the last one we seek in the midst of challenge, of
failure, or of personal disappointment. However, as David points out,
he should be the first one to seek out when we are struggling, when we
are down. In the Lord we find an unfathomable love and an acceptance
through Jesus Christ where struggle turns to hope and hope leaps to
joy. When we are down, no richer source of encouragement can be found
than when we turn to our Lord. While others, as well as ourselves, may
be critical of us, condemning of us, judgmental of us and treat us
unkindly, the Lord extends his loving arms to those who embrace him,
and builds us up.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Thursday, August 2, 2012
"There'll be some 'splainin' to do..." - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Psalm 10:13,
"He won't call me to account".
In Psalm 10, the psalmist tells us the wicked tells lies, Psalm 10:7.
Here is one of them. He lies to himself that the Lord won't call him
to give an account.
Nothing could be further from the truth. As the psalmist goes on to
acknowledge that the Lord does, in fact, see all the sin that takes
place, verse 14, he calls for him to make the sinner account for his
sin, verse 15. The psalmist won't be disappointed.
Jesus taught, "I tell you that men will have to give account on the
day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." Matthew
12:36. Paul wrote that the whole world will have to give an account,
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are
under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world
held accountable to God." Romans 3:19. Later, in his letter to the
church in Rome he said, "So then, each of us will give an account of
himself to God."
Perhaps the most sobering comment about this is provided by the writer
of Hebrews, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom
we must give account." Hebrews 4:13. Peter also speaks of the account
folks will have to give to the Lord, "They will have to give account
to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." 1 Peter 4:5.
One might be tempted to rationalize that since everyone is sinful,
surely God will be lenient when account is given. This is another lie.
As we read in Revelation 21:8, "The cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic
arts, the idolaters and all liars —their place will be in the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Sin will be paid
for.
The wonderful news is that, although we have all sinned, Jesus Christ
died for those sins so that we might find forgiveness and not have to
pay the penalty of eternal death for our sins. Jesus said, "I tell you
the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death
to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when
the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will
live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son
to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge
because he is the Son of Man." John 5:24-27. Whoever hears "my word",
the gospel, and believes will have this eternal life.
The promises of Jesus Christ are so much more than any lie we can tell
ourselves.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 10:13,
"He won't call me to account".
In Psalm 10, the psalmist tells us the wicked tells lies, Psalm 10:7.
Here is one of them. He lies to himself that the Lord won't call him
to give an account.
Nothing could be further from the truth. As the psalmist goes on to
acknowledge that the Lord does, in fact, see all the sin that takes
place, verse 14, he calls for him to make the sinner account for his
sin, verse 15. The psalmist won't be disappointed.
Jesus taught, "I tell you that men will have to give account on the
day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." Matthew
12:36. Paul wrote that the whole world will have to give an account,
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are
under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world
held accountable to God." Romans 3:19. Later, in his letter to the
church in Rome he said, "So then, each of us will give an account of
himself to God."
Perhaps the most sobering comment about this is provided by the writer
of Hebrews, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom
we must give account." Hebrews 4:13. Peter also speaks of the account
folks will have to give to the Lord, "They will have to give account
to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." 1 Peter 4:5.
One might be tempted to rationalize that since everyone is sinful,
surely God will be lenient when account is given. This is another lie.
As we read in Revelation 21:8, "The cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic
arts, the idolaters and all liars —their place will be in the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Sin will be paid
for.
The wonderful news is that, although we have all sinned, Jesus Christ
died for those sins so that we might find forgiveness and not have to
pay the penalty of eternal death for our sins. Jesus said, "I tell you
the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death
to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when
the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will
live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son
to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge
because he is the Son of Man." John 5:24-27. Whoever hears "my word",
the gospel, and believes will have this eternal life.
The promises of Jesus Christ are so much more than any lie we can tell
ourselves.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Life in the maternity ward - Ruminating in the Word of 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 Romans 12:21,
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
This verse pretty well summarizes what Paul presents us with in Romans
12. In a letter that outlines his understanding of the offer of God
through the gospel message, Paul presses his case that a man is not
saved by his efforts at keeping the law given to Moses, but by faith.
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing
the law." Romans 3:28. Having made his case for faith, he now provides
a blueprint for believers as to how to live their lives here in this
life as family members in the kingdom of God.
The gospel, a message that Paul claims, "it is the power of God for
the salvation of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16, presents us
with the purpose of this life here on planet Earth, what Solomon
called "under the sun" in Ecclesiastes. That purpose is clearly stated
by Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again... no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."
John 3:3, 5.
Life here can be likened to that of a big maternity ward. A place
where people are born physically into life and then, hopefully, born
again spiritually. Physical birth takes place through procreation
designed by God and spiritual birth takes place through the gospel
enterprise, also designed by God. Of all those born physically into
this life, God has chosen for himself those who embrace him in faith
through the gospel message. This world, a big maternity ward, has its
purpose as being the arena in which God fills his kingdom.
Although physical life may begin in the maternity ward in a hospital,
as for so many of us, it is only a temporary stay. Once the purpose of
the maternity ward has been fulfilled, we leave it to enter into the
real life this world has to offer. Likewise, the sum total of life
should not be thought to exist in this life "under the sun", in this
big cosmic maternity ward, but beyond it. Beyond it lays either God's
kingdom or an eternity spent in a fiery lake of burning sulfur. At
some point we will all be thrust from the maternity ward of this life
into life eternal.
Here is the purpose of Romans 12. How do we live our lives while still
here in this "maternity ward"? As we know, God has determined that
those born into his kingdom in this life will participate in bringing
others to spiritual birth through the gospel enterprise. He has chosen
to include us in his activities of bringing others to spiritual birth.
This is why we don't sail off directly to heaven when we embrace him
in faith. He has a purpose for us here while we remain in this life.
We are to participate in his plan of redemption. It is how to live our
lives, while here, following our own spiritual birth, Paul addresses
in this chapter.
Some have mistaken this chapter for Paul's guidance on how to enter
into God's kingdom. This is a misunderstanding. Spiritual birth is a
matter of faith. Offering our lives as living sacrifices to God is how
we participate in God's maternity ward to be effective for him as he
builds his kingdom.
That is what this life is all about: God is building his kingdom.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Romans 12:21,
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
This verse pretty well summarizes what Paul presents us with in Romans
12. In a letter that outlines his understanding of the offer of God
through the gospel message, Paul presses his case that a man is not
saved by his efforts at keeping the law given to Moses, but by faith.
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing
the law." Romans 3:28. Having made his case for faith, he now provides
a blueprint for believers as to how to live their lives here in this
life as family members in the kingdom of God.
The gospel, a message that Paul claims, "it is the power of God for
the salvation of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16, presents us
with the purpose of this life here on planet Earth, what Solomon
called "under the sun" in Ecclesiastes. That purpose is clearly stated
by Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again... no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."
John 3:3, 5.
Life here can be likened to that of a big maternity ward. A place
where people are born physically into life and then, hopefully, born
again spiritually. Physical birth takes place through procreation
designed by God and spiritual birth takes place through the gospel
enterprise, also designed by God. Of all those born physically into
this life, God has chosen for himself those who embrace him in faith
through the gospel message. This world, a big maternity ward, has its
purpose as being the arena in which God fills his kingdom.
Although physical life may begin in the maternity ward in a hospital,
as for so many of us, it is only a temporary stay. Once the purpose of
the maternity ward has been fulfilled, we leave it to enter into the
real life this world has to offer. Likewise, the sum total of life
should not be thought to exist in this life "under the sun", in this
big cosmic maternity ward, but beyond it. Beyond it lays either God's
kingdom or an eternity spent in a fiery lake of burning sulfur. At
some point we will all be thrust from the maternity ward of this life
into life eternal.
Here is the purpose of Romans 12. How do we live our lives while still
here in this "maternity ward"? As we know, God has determined that
those born into his kingdom in this life will participate in bringing
others to spiritual birth through the gospel enterprise. He has chosen
to include us in his activities of bringing others to spiritual birth.
This is why we don't sail off directly to heaven when we embrace him
in faith. He has a purpose for us here while we remain in this life.
We are to participate in his plan of redemption. It is how to live our
lives, while here, following our own spiritual birth, Paul addresses
in this chapter.
Some have mistaken this chapter for Paul's guidance on how to enter
into God's kingdom. This is a misunderstanding. Spiritual birth is a
matter of faith. Offering our lives as living sacrifices to God is how
we participate in God's maternity ward to be effective for him as he
builds his kingdom.
That is what this life is all about: God is building his kingdom.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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