Real worship in a decree from a Gentile king - 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 heart and mind in Daniel 6:26-27,

"I [King Darius] issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."

Daniel found himself in a tight spot. He had been placed as one of three administrators over 120 satraps (provisional governors) in the Persian empire that King Darius ruled. The others decided to destroy him and devised a plot that would pit Daniel's allegiance to the Lord against his allegiance to the king. Undeterred, Daniel continued to worship God and it resulted in him being cast into a den of hungry lions.

Darius' heart was with Daniel, however, and the following morning when he hurried to see what happened to Daniel, he found him unharmed. We are told Darius was overjoyed, and the above verses express his decree - a decree of worship.

This doxology, just as rich with acknowledgement of who God is and what he does, as was Nebuchadnezzar's in Daniel 4:34-35, is likewise breath-taking in its view of God:

God is the living God (unlike the false idols of Persia).

God endures forever.

God's kingdom will not be destroyed.

God's dominion (unlike Darius') will never end.

God rescues and saves.

God performs signs and wonders, both in the heavens and on the earth.

And, finally, God rescued Daniel from the power of lions.

This is the stuff of real worship. Acknowledging the great acts of God, acknowledging the transcendent nature of his character, his qualities, his person, all provide for the richest of worship and praise - and from this Gentile king comes direction for us in the church today as we consider our own worship of God.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The handwriting on the wall - 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 heart and mind in Daniel 5:22-24,

"But you, Belshazzar, his [Nebuchadnezzar's] son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

As successor to Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar was found guilty of not heeding the truths that his predecessor had to learn the hard way. He "did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways." Verse 23. What Nebuchadnezzar learned was that the "Most High" is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes, Daniel 4:25.

Rather than acknowledging what Nebuchadnezzar eventually learned, Belshazzar, who knew what he had learned, set himself up against the One who both seats kings on their thrones and deposes them as well. This night Belshazzar would lose his kingdom to Darius the Mede, and would be put to death.

The handwriting on the wall was God's judgment of him. Belshazzar's days were at an end, he was "weighed in the scales and found wanting" and his kingdom would now be broken up and given to the Medes and Persians.

How frightening this must have been to Belshazzar! We are told, "His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking." Daniel 5:6.

Today we are told we all are weighed in the balance and found wanting, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23. However, the good news is, "Whoever hears my [Jesus'] word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24.

Just as Belshazzar faced the judgment of God, so we do, with eternity in the balance for each of us. We do not, however, have to face God's judgment if we would but embrace him in faith.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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Humbly acknowleging our God on the international stage - 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 heart and mind in Daniel 4:25,

"You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes."

King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about an enormous tree. He had Daniel interpret the dream, which was that the tree, with its beautiful leaves, abundant fruit, with food for all and shelter for all, represented his kingdom. In the vision Nebuchadnezzar had, an angel called to have tree cut down, to have his mind changed from that of a man to an animal and to live like one for seven years.

The purpose was to teach "the living" that the "Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people." Verse 17. The fulfillment of the dream took place a year later when Nebuchadnezzar, viewing his kingdom said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" Note the first person personal pronouns used in that statement! Nebuchadnezzar was ripe for humiliation.

At the end of the seven year period we read that Nebuchadnezzar was restored, and made this startling confession, "His [the Most High] dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have you done?'" Daniel 4:34-35.

Nebuchadnezzar was cured of his arrogance and developed a newly acquired understanding of things of God. What the lesson pointed to, rather specifically, is that God is the one who establishes the rulers of the nations. From Daniel 2:20-22 we read that it is God who establishes the times and seasons, that he is the one who deposes rulers and raises up others. Paul told his hearers in Acts 17:26, "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." God establishes nations and their rulers.

This appears to be a truth that has not made its way into the hearts and minds of many through the years, both within and without the church. We live in a day where God appears to be relegated to merely the definition of morals and ethics, rather than a personal God who directs the affairs of this world for his own purposes.

The wise today will acknowledge the truths we learn about God throughout the whole counsel of his word, including the Old Testament prophets. It is only from this vantage point we have any hope of understanding what it is God is doing in our world today. And, he appears to be very active in what he is doing among the nations in our day.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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An account pregnant with truths we need today - 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 heart and mind in Daniel 3:24-27,

"Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, 'Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?' They replied, 'Certainly, Your Majesty.' He said, 'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.' Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, 'Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!' So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them."

Nebuchadnezzar set up a statue to be worshiped and when the God-fearing friends of Daniel refused to bow down to it, Nebuchadnezzar had them thrown into a hot furnace. In the fire, they were unharmed and there was a forth figure seen in the fire, someone who looked "like a son of the gods." There is only one God and he has only one Son, Jesus Christ. We believe this forth figure to be a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, the Son of God.

Nebuchadnezzar called them out of the fire and found that, not only were they unharmed, even their clothes had no odor of smoke!

Is this an account for only the genre of children's Bible stories? I think not - not by a long shot. This account reveals very important adult-level truths (as well as truths for the younger ones), that need to be learned and understood by the most mature of believers.

From this account we learn how to address the issues of what we all will be confronted with in the days ahead, "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21. We find out that at times it may only be after we make the right life-and-death decisions that express our faith (as did Daniel's friends) that we find ourselves in the Lord's presence in this life. We find for ourselves, experientially, that the one to fear is not the civil authority or anyone else when it comes to the things of God, but God, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:4-5.

I'm certain there are many truths that can glean from this account. It is an amazing account, as so many are in Daniel's book. It is a truthful and accurate record of an event that took place that day in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom and it holds for all of us many things we need to learn.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God determines world history, not man - 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 heart and mind in Daniel 2:20-22,

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him."

Here is Daniel's response to the revelation God gave him regarding the dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had. He dreamed of a statue and was perplexed with its meaning. He ordered all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he dreamed and the meaning of it. When they could not, he ordered their execution. Daniel and his friends were considered among that group and so prayed to God for the revelation of the dream.

Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed of a large statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron with clay, from top to bottom. The Lord revealed to Daniel, who revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, that the portions of the statue with the differing materials were the present Bablylonian world power and world powers to come: the Medo-Persian empire, the Greek empire, the Roman, and what follows Roman till the Lord returns. The dream was a perfect foretelling of the future periods of mankind to come.

The dream ended with God setting up a kingdom that will endure forever and will crush all the others. "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces." Daniel 2:44-45. I am reminded of Paul's quote of Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 in Romans 9:29, "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."

Daniel's worship as quoted above in 2:20-22 is breath-taking in its broad and sweeping understanding of the things of God. It acknowledges that God is the One who, "made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." Acts 17:26. He destroys nations and raises others up. It is God who changes times and seasons. It is God who determines world history!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Our present and involved 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 heart and mind in Daniel 1:2,

"And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God."

In this first chapter we read of the Lord bringing about events, as well as his involvement documented in the book of Daniel. We are told "the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

It was God who caused a chief official "to show favor and compassion to Daniel." Daniel 1:9. This made possible the approval of Daniel's request that he not eat the royal food or drink the royal wine of Babylon, as he did not want to defile himself. 

We are also told God gave Daniel and his three friends "knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds." Daniel 1:17. This will become an important aspect in later accounts in this book.

This places God squarely in the center of the events and visions we read of in Daniel. Those who read the book without acknowledging God's presence and involvement in the accounts provided become distracted and misdirected in their failure to account for the supernatural and divine elements of these amazing accounts.

God is always involved!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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God: flawless and impeccable perfections! - 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 heart and mind in Amos 9:11-12,

"'In that day I will restore David's fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,' declares the Lord, who will do these things."

This amazing and wonderful prophecy about the future restoration of Israel is given by the One who is going to first bring its destruction. Following his judgment of the nation for its rebellion against him, he is going to bring them back to the land and prepare the nation for the coming of his Son, to be born by Mary.

God's word is true. It is always reliable and whatever the Lord says will come to pass. The book of Proverbs tells us that what a person desires is unfailing love, Proverbs 19:22. This kind of love can only be found in him. Where others may disappoint us and while we may disappoint others, the Lord never does. He says what he does and he does what he says. As we recognize the chief characteristics of God that he reveals to us - his sense of justice and his unfathomable love - knowing he is faithful is something we can "hang our hat on."

The Lord never changes, Hebrews 13:8, and his love for us is incomprehensible. What a wonderful combination of qualities our Lord has! He really is a many-splendored God of transcendent glory in his array of flawless and impeccable perfections!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A basket of ripe fruit - 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 heart and mind in Amos 8:1-2,

"This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 'What do you see, Amos?' he asked. 'A basket of ripe fruit,' I answered. Then the Lord said to me, 'The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.'"

The Lord showed his prophet, Amos, a basket of ripe fruit, representing the people of Israel about to be consumed in his wrath. Just as fruit is allowed to ripen from its first appearance on the tree till the time for harvest, so the Israelites, in their sinful abandonment of the Lord, was left by the Lord until the time they were ripe for his judgment. His patience with them was at an end and now would come his judgment of them.

I can't help but see this passage as a presage for the coming end of this age. The Lord has allowed mankind the opportunity to seek him out as he draws all to himself. He has allowed mankind the opportunity to embrace him in faith, delaying his judgment till this present earth, full of sinful mankind, is ripe for his judgment. I am reminded of the patience of the Lord preceding his certain coming judgment as expressed by Peter, "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." 2 Peter 3:9-10.

A message here to consider when contemplating the great harvest of mankind by the Lord.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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The astonishing love of 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 heart and mind in Amos 5:5-6,

"Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. Seek the Lord and live..."

Here is the Lord's call to Israel. Israel had turned her back on him and the Lord calls for them, calls them to turn to him. His plea to them is to save themselves by turning to him.

I find it astonishing how the Lord continues to love those who turn from him. I am reminded that all mankind, the whole world, has turned its back on God, and yet, "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.

The patience of the Lord is an amazing thing. He calls to us and seeks us out. Out of his love for mankind he satisfied the demands of his own sense of justice by sending his Son, Jesus Christ for each and every one of us. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10. Peter tells us, "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9.

We know there is a limit to this patience of God and one day judgment will come to those who refuse him, as did Israel in the days of Amos. 

But, how astonishing is the love of God for those who have spurned him! He calls out, "Seek me and live!"

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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Edom: God's judgment with purpose - 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 35:4,

"I will turn your towns into ruins and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord."

As the Lord pronounces his judgment upon Edom, he says he will make them "a desolate waste" with an end result in mind: "Then you will know that I am the Lord."

In fact, in this short chapter of fifteen verses the Lord makes the statement that he is destroying them that they know he is the Lord four times! Verses 4, 9, 12 and 15. He is going to destroy Mount Seir, that they know that he is the Lord.

He is going to destroy Edom because of their treatment of Israel. Woe to the nation that mistreats Israel! Israel has had her problems with God and he has been severe with her. However, because of the patriarchs, Israel has been and will always be God's chosen people. It is ill-advised to mistreat God's elect, God's people. It is not that God will not allow it to happen, and here, where Israel had turned her back on God and suffered because of it, those who brought that suffering are now going to suffer because they mistreated Israel and participated in her destruction.

I am reminded that God never does anything without good reason. What stands out in this chapter is that in his judgment of Edom, an intended result is that they will know he is the Lord. I am also reminded of what the Lord told Pharaoh as God brought his plagues against Egypt, "I [the Lord] raised you [Pharaoh] up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

God wants us to know him. His purpose on planet earth is the salvation of all mankind that will embrace him in faith. People need to know him for the advancement of that agenda. And, beyond that, when unbelievers reject God, he wants them to know that he is the one who is judging them.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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God's blessings and our straying - 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 19:11-14,

"Its branches were strong,
    fit for a ruler's scepter.
It towered high
    above the thick foliage,
conspicuous for its height
    and for its many branches.
But it was uprooted in fury
    and thrown to the ground.
The east wind made it shrivel,
    it was stripped of its fruit;
its strong branches withered
    and fire consumed them.
Now it is planted in the desert,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
Fire spread from one of its main branches
    and consumed its fruit.
No strong branch is left on it
    fit for a ruler's scepter."

This metaphoric lament over Israel and its princes points to a truth about all mankind. Here is something our "health and wealth gospel" friends may want to take note of. Israel had been blessed by God, as pictured in this lament. However, in spite of the goodies God blessed Israel with, she turned her back on God. Throughout the Pentateuch, the book of Joshua particularly, and the entire history of Israel, it mattered not that God had provided his blessings, (and no matter how great those blessings) Israel would wander from God. It is not just Israel either, as all mankind has a sinful nature that prompts us to wander from God.

What we do learn from the book of Judges and what this lament in Ezekiel points to is that often it is not the goodies that God gives, his blessings, his abundance, the peace and affluence he bestows on people that will bring their faithfulness to him, but just the opposite. It seems it is only in difficult times that people turn to God and plead for his help. It is only in those times people reach out to him, commit themselves to him, turn to him, remain faithful to him.

And, paradoxically, often, when God, in his mercy provides the good things in his blessings on people, it is in that state of peace and affluence they drift from him.

Don't believe me? Read your Bible and find out for yourself. You may even find it true in your own life. In speaking of believers, when Jesus said, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.", Revelation 3:19, he meant what he said. It is in love he doesn't answer those prayers of making us affluent and removing our difficulties. He knows it is when we are closest to him we are happiest. He also knows when we believers live in peace and affluence, we may stray. It is the proclivity our sinful natures, even as believers, that may cause us to drift from him.

Only in the resurrection, when we are completely, utterly, and finally delivered from our sinful natures, will we find peace and affluence no longer an opiate that causes us to drift from our Creator and Savior. What a day that will be!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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Existence without purpose - 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 15:1-5,

"Son of man [Ezekiel], how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

Jerusalem had become as a useless vine for the Lord's purposes. Although Israel had been chosen by God as his own covenant people (because of the faith of Abraham) for the purpose of rolling out his plan of redeeming mankind, they had placed themselves in a position where they were no longer useful to him. They were no longer fit for service to him, they had lost their purpose in the things of God and as such, there would be no satisfaction or fulfillment for them in this life. All they had to look forward to was their own destruction at the hands of God. All this because they had turned their backs on God. They had literally placed themselves beyond usefulness for God's intentions for them.

It is not as though Israel was finished in God's purposes. However, in their current condition of sin and apostasy, they were worthless to him. They now faced God's judgment, and, hopefully, through all God would send their way, they might become useful once again to him.

I can't think of a more discouraging and disheartening position to be in than to find oneself without purpose in life. Yet, having turned their backs on God, this is exactly where they placed themselves.

It is never a good thing to turn against God. Only in him do we find meaningful existence, purposeful existence, fulfilling existence.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Having our name in the book! - 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 9:4-6,

"'Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.' As I [Ezekiel] listened, he [the Lord] said to the others, 'Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.'"

Ezekiel's  vision extends to the slaughter of those living in Jerusalem. In the vision six deadly men with weapons come from the north upper gate of Jerusalem toward the threshold of the temple, along with a man with a clipboard and pen (a writing kit). The six are sent to kill all the old men, the young men and women, mothers and children. However, the man with the clipboard was to put a mark on the foreheads of all who "grieve and lament over all the detestable things" done in Jerusalem -  the sin and idolatry. The six deadly men killed all who did not have the mark.

I am reminded that the Lord takes note of those who are his, those who have embraced him in faith and joined his family. Just as with this slaughter in Jerusalem, the Lord will cast into hell all who do not have their names written in the lambs book of life. God knows very well each and every one who belongs to him and will ensure their both their safety and his blessing on them as all others will experience his wrath.

May we all find our names written in the Lamb's book of life! Here is how we can know our names are there: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9. Simple, yet it determines our eternal destiny! How wonderful the message of God's gospel!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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The gospel of power - 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 8:1-4,

"In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I [Ezekiel] was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there. I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood. And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain."

Here is clearly portrayed the amazing aspects of the things of prophecy. God's prophet is taken, in a vision, by his hair, lifted up between heaven and earth and taken to Jerusalem. In Ezekiel's vision he was shown the idolatrous activity of the Israelites, the "utterly detestable things" in their worship of an idol of jealously. He was shown the seventy elders of Israel, each worshiping "at the shrine of his own idol" in the darkness. Ezekiel was shown the women of Israel mourning the god Tammuz. He was shown about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple bowing down toward the sun in the east.

All these things were shown to Ezekiel by God in a vision as he sat in his house with the elders of Judah sitting before him. As Ezekiel witnessed the idolatry in the temple, idolatry that the elders of Judah themselves were engaging in, I wonder what the exchange might have been between Ezekiel and the elders as he returned from his vision? As these idolatrous elders watched Ezekiel being carried away in a vision, were they asking among themselves what Ezekiel might be seeing? What might God be telling him? I don't know that "awkward" is a strong enough word to describe the atmosphere in Ezekiel's home that day. Certainly "uncomfortable" does not come anywhere close to what the tension in the house that day might have been.

How could the elders of Judah, how could all the people be so foolish in their rejection of God, so foolish in their embrace of make-believe idols?

It all points to the deceptively perverse heart of each human being since Adam and Eve. How easy to delude ourselves! How easy to be fools in rejecting our Creator! Yet, given our free wills and a sinful nature, look at what mankind is capable of doing! It isn't just Jews - it is all mankind.

It is this very deceptive nature of our fallen hearts that the gospel is capable of penetrating. Dull, blind and deluded hearts can be reached by the unique and powerful gospel of God. Paul tells us the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of anyone who believes, Romans 1:16. How astonishing a message God has fashioned with the gospel!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The end will come! - 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 7:2-4,

"The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land! The end is now upon you, and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look on you with pity; I will not spare you. I will surely repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices among you."

Here the Lord proclaims the end to Jerusalem. Later, in another generation, a remnant will return to rebuild the city in preparation for the eventual arrival of the Son of God, born as a baby in Bethlehem. But for the present hour, the end has come for Jerusalem.

No more patience on the Lord's part, no more forbearance while waiting for a repentance of the city - a repentance that is not coming. Hence, God's judgment.

I am reminded that another announcement, just like this one will one day be given. It will be a much broader circumstance when the Lord brings this present age to a close and announces an end to his invitation to us all to join his family. At that time all will face God's judgment, save those who placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

May we all find our way into his family. Woe to the man who rejects God's offer today and finds himself at the end with nothing to save himself from God's wrath.

How thankful I am he has provided a way for us today through his Son, Jesus Christ.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's love, God's judgment - 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 5:13,

"Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal."

The Lord speaks of his anger and wrath through which he will destroy Jerusalem for her many sins. He says his anger and wrath will not subside until the city is destroyed in his zeal.

The Lord's comment about his zeal in his destruction of Jerusalem is something not mentioned often. Our Lord can be very zealous in his judgment of mankind. Zeal is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to do something, eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something, a fervor."

The passion of God's love for us is not the only passion he harbors. The Lord also has a passion for his sense of righteousness and justice in regard to us. Sometimes we don't hear so much about this passion of God for justice, but just as wonderful as his love is, so also just as frightful his judgment can be. Reading chapter 5 of Ezekiel brings to light just how horrific God's judgment can be.

Realizing that we all will face God some day following this life, and knowing that we can be forgiven all our sins by embracing Jesus Christ in faith makes the decision to accept God's invitation to join his family a compelling choice!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

On eating the unclean - understanding 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 heart and mind in Ezekiel 4:12-15,

"'Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.' The Lord said, 'In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.' Then I [Ezekiel] said, 'Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.' 'Very well,' he [the Lord] said, 'I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.'"

As one of the Lord's prophets, Ezekiel was given assignments by the Lord to communicate to the people - sometimes in some surprising ways. In this passage Ezekiel was to eat a prescribed bread, the ingredients of which was given by the Lord, baked over human excrement to make it "unclean." The point of which was to communicate to the inhabitants of Jerusalem that they were going to be placed in a position of having to eat rationed unclean food. This would be a part of their judgment from God for their rebellion against him.

What I find fascinating, is that out of the bizarre things the Lord was having Ezekiel do to communicate to the Jews of their upcoming judgment (e.g. lie on his left side for 390 days to communicate the number of years of rebellion of the norther ten tribes and 40 for the people of Judah, etc.), the Lord was going to have Ezekiel eat unclean food (unclean because of the baking fuel) - and when Ezekiel protested to the Lord, the Lord actually relented!

The Lord told Ezekiel to do something that was abhorrent to Ezekiel, and when he complained, the Lord changed his mind! Ezekiel had never eaten 'impure meat". When Ezekiel voiced his concern, the Lord allowed him to do it in a way that did not impinge upon the conscience of his life and practice with the Lord. Here the Lord accommodated Ezekiel.

This account does not comport well with the theology of some, which is why we all need to check our theology at the door as we enter into the sacred pages of Scripture. We just may find something that challenges our conceived notions of the things of God!

In another passage, the Lord asked Peter to eat unclean food in a vision, Acts 10:9-16. "'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.'" Although Peter was not told to physically eat anything, as it was all in a vision, nevertheless, it was abhorrent to Peter and he expressed his complaint. The Lord did not relent in Peter's vision as he did with Ezekiel, as it was the adjustment of Peter's outlook to accept that which he had heretofore rejected that was the purpose of the vision. Peter, as well as the other Jews that made up the early church, was now to accept "unclean" Gentiles into the fellowship. As this inclusion of Gentiles had been the Lord's redemptive plan all along, Peter and all the believing Jews that made up the early church would have to make the adjustment. No accommodation here.

Where things may seem inconsistent in Scripture, when we understand what the Lord is doing, it all falls together in a way we may not initially understand.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The consequence of sin, the consequence of the cross - 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 heart and mind in Lamentations 5:15-16,

"Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!"

Here is the inevitable result of sin. Although sin may appear alluring, desirable, and even intoxicating, it not only loses its luster, but turns to bitterness in our souls. Through sin we can loose what we might have had. Through sin what enticed us turns against us. Through sin life looses its fullness, satisfaction and even its purpose for us. Through sin honor turns to dishonor, respect turns to disrespect, admiration turns to disgust. Through sin our integrity is lost.

Those of us who are honest with ourselves know and admit we have sinned. All have sinned, everybody. As a result, all of us deserve God's condemnation and judgment, just as the inhabitants of Jerusalem experienced. We may not feel the immediate consequences of our sin, but we all certainly will when we all stand before God's throne of judgment following this life, except...

Except for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith. God determined before the creation of the world that all of us who would embrace him in faith would be "holy and blameless in his sight.", Ephesians 1:4, in spite of our sin! Those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ are blessed "in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:3, in spite of our sin! We have had our sins payed for by the death of Jesus Christ on that miserable cross and have been forgiven of them all - all this, in spite of our sin!

Although we have all sinned, those who respond to his invitation have had God lavish the riches of his grace upon all who have trusted in him, as he has predestined us for adoption as his sons and daughters, Ephesians 1:5.

What an opportunity!

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's wrath, God's love - 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 heart and mind in Lamentations 4:10-11,

"With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own
children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. The
Lord has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce
anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations."

This shocking observation made by Jeremiah at the destruction of
Jerusalem points to the horrific nature of God's own wrath.

Through Jeremiah and other prophets, God warned Israel that if they
failed to turn from their rebellion against him, they would suffer his
wrath. And... suffer they did, horrifically!

I am often reminded of the observation of the writer of Hebrews, "It
is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews
10:31. The people of Jerusalem discovered just how dreadful it was.

It didn't have to be that way. They didn't have to turn their backs on
God - but they did. They could have returned back to God - but they
did not. Time and time again the Lord pleaded with them to turn back
to him and they refused.

I have heard it said on more than one occasion, "I just can't believe
a god of love could cast people into Hell. That "god" of theirs that
they speak of is no "god" at all. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
has made clear he is both loving and just. He loves people but he will
not tolerate sin. All sin must and will be paid for.

The wonderful news is that Jesus Christ has already paid for all the
sins of all mankind for all ages. We can have his payment credited to
our account with God if we would but embrace him in faith. "This is
how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into
the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10. That sacrifice was the payment
we can have to our credit in God's courtroom as we stand before him
following this life. If we fail to avail ourselves of Jesus Christ's
payment for our sins, we will be cast into that lake of fire.

God is not to be trifled with. His love is boundless, beyond our
ability to fathom. And, at the same time, his justice is horrific.

Save yourself from God's wrath by embracing Jesus Christ in faith -
God's own Son he sent in his incomprehensible love for us. Don't be
like the Jews of Jeremiah's day. Heed the warning.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send
me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are
receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just
respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Homosexuality and the Bible - 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 heart and mind in Leviticus 18:22,

"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable."

This law, given by God, is found in a chapter that outlines a number of laws given by God regarding sinful behavior. Among them are incest, bestiality, child sacrifice, and here, homosexuality. God not only commands us from engaging in homosexual behavior in his law here, but unlike many of the other laws in this chapter, he goes beyond to tell us he finds this behavior "detestable" - his own perspective on it.

The law was given by God to demonstrate our own sinful condition. While many of the laws provided by God may not be challenging for some of us to keep, (as with many in this chapter), our efforts at keeping all of God's law becomes a real problem. Consider Deuteronomy 6:5, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." I'd like to think I do that, and in spite of the fact that I do love the Lord tremendously, I'm afraid I just don't pass muster here. The law defines for us why none of us have a right standing with God and are subject to the eternal judgment of God, what is described as a "fiery lake of burning sulfur in Revelation 21:8.

The whole exercise of God giving the law was to show us our need for his mercy and his salvation: salvation from his own judgment. In Romans 3:20 we read, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." We just can't keep the law and as such we must throw ourselves at the mercy of God. Thankfully, we discover God's mercy in Jesus Christ, "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."

How wonderful God's mercy in Jesus Christ is! How wonderful he paid the penalty for all our sins!

However, we do not want to be confused over exactly what it is that God both finds within in us and the things we have done that have created the need we have for his salvation. Among the many manifestations of the sinful condition is homosexuality. Certainly, it is not the only sin that can be committed, but in our culture today, when so many attempt to convince us all that homosexuality is acceptable, there is One who will never accept it. All the effort at attempting to redefine homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle is lost on the Creator and Designer of all human life. He finds homosexuality as detestable.

Homosexuality is a degradation that God gives people over to when they have rejected him, as his judgment of them in this life, "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." Romans 1:25-27.

Homosexuality is specifically stated as a behavior that separates anyone from the kingdom of God, "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

The wonderful news in this last passage is that none of these sins, including homosexuality, is beyond the reach of God's wonderful mercy found in the payment of Jesus Christ for our sins. As the passage goes on to say in verse 11, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

God loves us all, including homosexuals. We all can find forgiveness of our sins. However, when our culture begins to celebrate a false legitimacy for homosexuality, it is simply deceiving itself and keeping many who need to repent of their sins from turning to God's forgiveness.

God's word, the Bible, condemns homosexuality as sin. God finds it detestable. Don't let anyone fool you otherwise.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God judges his chosen people - 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 heart and mind in Jeremiah 52:3,

"It was because of the Lord's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence."

Here we read of the end of the line for Israel, God's own chosen people, at the hands of the Babylonians. The Babylonians destroyed Judah. But, as this verse clearly states, it was the Lord who decreed the destruction of Jerusalem and the people of Judah. The kingdom that was begun when Joshua brought the nation across the Jordan to take possession of the promised land was now at an end. The kingdom that suffered, due to their own rebellion against God, during the period of the judges was now at an end. The kingdom that was built up by Saul, David and Solomon was now at an end.

It would be another seventy years following this that the fledgling remnant of Jews who survived in Babylon would be allowed to return to the land. All of this destruction, all of this ruin, all of this misery, caused by their own hands. As God's chosen covenant people, they turned their backs on God in rebellion to him and found the end of his patience and the beginning of his judgment.

God had his purposes for Israel. They were to be his voice in the world, they were to be the people that would prepare the way for God's Son to enter into the human race to be a sin offering. They were to be God's chosen people to through which God would carry out his plan of redemption. However, they failed to remain faithful to God and discovered just how frightful it can be to fall into the hands of God's judgment.

The history of Israel does not end here, however. The remnant will return to the land and the nation will begin again to become the people through whom God would send his Son into the world. His motivation to do so was his incomprehensible love of all mankind. Israel would rise again and become the instrument through which God worked to bring about his plan of redemption.

There is a lot to be considered here in regard to the consequences of turning our backs on God. There is also much to be considered relative to God's amazing love that would work beyond his judgment of Israel and raise them up again to provide a way for all of us to join his own family.

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!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com