Who Do You Follow? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13,

"It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment."

Paul describes for his readers an aspect of how he viewed his life as an apostle of Jesus Christ. It certainly would be a major mistake to view his statement here as his overriding view however. In other passages he exults in the fullness of joy and passion in his role as an apostle. One such passage is Romans 15:17-19, "Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ."

Here in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13 he shares the difficulties he (as well as the other apostles) faced in his role as an apostle. He does so here to make a point to his readers that they should not be so boastful by going "beyond what is written", verse 6, in bragging about which leader they followed. Earlier in this letter he called them out, "My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas' [Peter]; still another, 'I follow Christ.'" 1 Corinthians 1:11-12.

Such quarreling was born out of the boastfulness of arrogance with which they turned against each other. Paul points out that if they wanted to boast about who they supposedly followed, keep in mind, these apostles had become as criminals or captives at the end of a procession headed for condemnation. They had become as though they were "the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world." It is enough to follow Jesus Christ himself.

Paul was telling them that if they thought they were high and mighty because of which apostle or leader they followed in Christ Jesus, they didn't have a clue as to what it was they thought they were boasting about.

It appears to me that this same error is still seen in the church today.

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!

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I'm On the Hook With My Free Will - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Corinthians 3:1,

"Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ."

Paul indicts his readers, the members of the church in Corinth. Although these brothers and sisters had embraced Jesus Christ in taith, which translated them from being members of "the world" into the kingdom of heaven, they were still comporting themselves as though that had not happened. Paul finds this as a bizarre consequence and something which had to change. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?" Verse 16.

Who was responsible for this? Paul speaks of the importance of the work done by what appears to be leaders or teachers in that fellowship. He says, "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames." Verses 11-15.

On the other hand, Paul lays the responsibility for this unnatural (or, should I say, "un-supernatural"?) state of affairs squarely at the feet of those who had allowed themselves to remain worldly. It was their very own fault! He says in verses 3-4, "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere human beings?" Later in the chapter he goes on to say, "So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." Verses 21-23.

An observation I have is that we are talking about the people of God, members of Jesus Christ's own church. While some have a distorted understanding of the sovereignty of God, passages like this clearly illustrate that God, in his wisdom and counsel, has determined he will allow us all, has given us all, a free will to exercise, both when confronted with the gospel message and our response to it, as well as how we respond to God's Spirit who dwells within our midst after having become members of his kingdom. We as individuals are culpable for the decisions we make.

Sobering, isn't it?  

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!

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A Uniquely Powerful Message! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5,

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power."

I have wondered from time to time what was that "demonstration of the Spirit's power" that Paul speaks of here. God had chosen Paul to be his special ambassador to the Gentiles, proclaiming God's own gospel message, to spread the good news among the peoples of the world. As a part of that ministry, God enabled Paul in unique ways. Paul speaks of this in Romans 15:17-19, "Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—  by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ."

Paul (as well as the other apostles) accomplished the task given him and so the gospel has flourished over the world since that time. In participating in bringing the church major growth while in its infancy, Paul had been enabled with "the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God".

We do not live in the time of the birth of the church or its infancy. However, we do retain the responsibility of continuing the spread of the gospel. I don't know if the same "demonstration of the Spirit's power" that Paul was enabled with still exists today or not among some, given the fact that we are not engaged in the birth of the church and its infancy as Paul was, but rather at a different age and possibly preparing the church for the end of its age.

However, one thing that is clear to me is that the gospel today is spread in power- in a great power. The message itself is that power. In Romans 1:16 Paul says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." The message itself holds within it the inherent power of God. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

As Paul points out in Romans 10:17, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." That message, the gospel, holds within it a unique power in that it is the very tool God uses to prompt faith from us. Those who desire God will respond, those who cling to their sin will not (John 3:19-21).

We may not be imbued with the special enablements Paul was, but we do hold in our hands, within the gospel message, an incredible power! May we all engage the power of God within the gospel message as we share it with the unsaved! 

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!

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The Awareness and Desire for 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Corinthians 1:21,

"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not
know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached
to save those who believe."

I recall the atheist entertainer, Penn Jillette, of "Penn and Teller"
fame, saying in an interview I watched, "If God wanted us to believe
in him, he should have left us with more evidence of himself" (or
something close to those words).

Possibly something few think about is that God has created for us, in
this life, an environment where we have a certain limited awareness of
him, a limited view of him. Although God is manifest in the creation
we live in and in the very fact we exist, Jillette's observation is
interesting to ponder.

Paul's comment in the above verse addresses Jillette's observation.
God has chosen that we, as human beings in this life, this age, cannot
see him directly. We don't see him sitting on his throne in heaven, we
often don't see the things he accomplishes within the dimensions of
time and space. In fact, we cannot see anything beyond the dimensions
of time and space, where God dwells. Only in exceptional circumstances
will he allow himself to be seen or observed, as in the burning bush,
or the visit to Abraham by his three visitors, Paul's encounter with
Jesus on the road to Damascus, etc. "The world through its wisdom did
not know him."

We live this life in a veiled existence where we cannot see, for the
most part, the things of God and God himself. Why "in the wisdom of
God" has he placed us in such an existence where we have this very
limited ability to perceive him, to know him?

Clearly, the answer lies in God's election to choose for his family
all those of us who embrace him in faith. For faith to have the
ability within us to express itself, it requires this limited ability
to perceive him. Faith demonstrates that those of us who have
responded to the gospel message ("the foolishness of what was
preached") desire God in a way nothing else can.

My limited ability to perceive God through normal senses and intellect
manifests that I really want God to be there when I place my faith in
him - and there he was when I did! Our willingness to take that "step
beyond" whatever wisdom the world can provide us proves we love and
want God.

This is God in his wisdom!

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 reply
and let me know.

The Heart 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Romans 16:25-27,

"Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the
proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known
through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so
that all nations might believe and obey him— to the only wise God be
glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen."

Paul's wonderful doxology at the end of Romans identifies why God is
due glory. By the way, doxologies should never be thought of as simply
dismissals from church services. Although a wonderful way to end
worship, doxologies are best expressed throughout a worship gathering.
After all, doxologies are the essence of worship - a statement
expressing God's glory. Paul's example in this letter has him
expressing doxologies throughout this letter, as in Romans 11:33-36.
But, I digress.

Paul points to the wonderful and generous heart of our God as cause
for glorifying him. It is God who establishes us by his gospel. It is
God who works, through his revelation, his prophetic writings, "so
that all nations might believe and obey him…" Why does God do this?
Earlier in this letter Paul says, "God demonstrates his own love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans
5:8. God loves us and has done what needed to be done to provide us a
way into his family. It is his desire that all people join him in his
kingdom, in his family. As Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son…" God has stipulated that we
only trust in him.

Surprisingly, many won't. It isn't because God has not provided all we
need. As John puts it, "He [Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our
sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
1 John 2:2. The heart of God is bigger than I could ever comprehend.
As Paul told Timothy, God "wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 2:4.

Sadly, many believers today will not embrace God as he has revealed
himself in his fullness, and fail to recognize the full breadth of
God's love for all mankind. It minimizes the glory due God for the
massive love he has for the lost. It crushes my heart when I hear them
attempt to minimize our understanding of the full extent of God's love
for all mankind. I find it distressing when I hear folks try to
convince the rest of us that Jesus Christ didn't bear the sins of all
mankind- only a few. The love of my God is much broader than that, his
heart much bigger.

I worship God just the way he has presented himself in the pages of
Scripture and I exult in his love for all of us! I marvel at the
length he has gone to bring us into his family! I am humbled and
astonished at the price Jesus was willing to pay, joyfully, to die on
that cross for me! Hebrews 12:2. I want to know my God in his
fullness, not just a shallow image presented in a dry and dusty
theology! God's love is overwhelming and his heart beats for you and
for me!

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 reply
and let me know.

Look What God Has Provided! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Romans 15:4,

"Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so
that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we
might have hope."

In God's infinite wisdom he has provided us the Scriptures, our
Bibles. As Peter explained, the Scriptures did not have their origin
within anything man devised but that men, carried along by the Holy
Spirit, spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21). Peter also said,

"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. Through these he has given us his very great and
precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the
divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil
desires."

Sitting on my coffee table is a library of 66 books, bound together
and having the common and astonishing quality of being authored by
God. As I see how Jesus Christ himself used the Scriptures as
described in the gospel accounts, these (now 66) books are clearly
different than any on planet earth. Paul tells us here in Romans 15
that it is within these unique books authored by the Holy Spirit we
find teaching directly from God that brings true encouragement -
resulting in hope and endurance. And according to Peter, these
particular books provide everything we need for life and godliness
that we might "participate in the divine nature".

How wonderful our God has provided us such a treasure as his very own
words captured in written form. What a wonderful God he is in knowing
we would need to avail ourselves of his encouragement to us within its
pages!! I deserved God's condemnation and yet, look what he has
provided me!!

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 reply
and let me know.

God Speaks! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Romans 15:4,

"Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so
that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we
might have hope."

In God's infinite wisdom he has provided us the Scriptures, our
Bibles. As Peter explained, the Scriptures did not have their origin
within anything man devised but that men, carried along by the Holy
Spirit, spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21). Peter also said,

"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. Through these he has given us his very great and
precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the
divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil
desires."

Sitting on my coffee table is a library of 66 books, bound together
and having the common and astonishing quality of being authored by
God. As I see how Jesus Christ himself used the Scriptures as
described in the gospel accounts, these (now 66) books are clearly
different than any on planet earth. Paul tells us here in Romans 15
that it is within these unique books authored by the Holy Spirit we
find teaching directly from God that brings true encouragement -
resulting in hope and endurance. And according to Peter, these
particular books provide everything we need for life and godliness
that we might "participate in the divine nature".

How wonderful our God has provided us such a treasure as his very own
words captured in written form. What a wonderful God he is in knowing
we would need to avail ourselves of his encouragement to us within its
pages!! I deserved God's condemnation and yet, look what he has
provided me!!

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 reply
and let me know.

Headed Our Way: Resurrection! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Romans 14:7-9,

"For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living."
 
This passage reminds me that life is terminal. None of us is going to make it out of here alive, except the relatively few that will be alive when the Lord returns. Most of those who make up his family from over the centuries have experienced death as they looked forward to an incredible event upon his return, their own resurrection to eternal life! Life without end, life that is non-terminal! Life of eternal pleasures at the Lord's right hand, as the Psalmist puts it. Life with the Lord and with one another that has no end! And nothing can change this. It is an already accomplished feat for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith.
 
I am reminded of another passage in Romans 8:31-39,
 
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
   'For your sake we face death all day long;
      we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
 
Can it get any better than this?! Kind of takes your breath away! What a 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 reply and let me know.  

The Lord is Actively Involved in Life 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Romans 13:1-2,

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
 
I know when I finally meet the Lord face to face and come to understand so much more about him and all that he does/has done, I am going to be just amazed at how involved he is and has been in my life and the world around me. 

Beyond a reminder of my responsibilities before the Lord in the passage above is the recognition of how involved the Lord is in everyday life. As the writer of Hebrews put it in Hebrews 1:3, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." 

Today I worship my Lord who sustains all things! Including, of all things, the authorities in my life.

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 reply and let me know.

God: Involved In Every Aspect of Life! - 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 today and what came to my heart and mind in Romans 13:1-4a,

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves... For he is God's servant to do you good."
 
God is involved in every aspect of life. So often I go about my life not giving God a second thought and yet, all around me he is involved in our lives in so many ways. 

One of his ways is that he places people in our lives as his servants "to do you good". Here he is talking about law enforcement agencies! 

Imagine that!

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 reply and let me know.