For A Disciplined And Prudent Life - 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 Proverbs 1:1-6,

"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young- let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance- for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise."

The prologue to Proverbs provides the purpose and benefits the book provides. What captures my thoughts this morning is that in the ebb and flow of my relationship with the Lord, I am reminded that if I sense I need to bring some discipline and prudence into my life, it is found here, within the pages of this book: "for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life".

I have never experienced a "straight line" consistency in my relationship with the Lord throughout my life. There have always been those times where I have felt an intimacy and more intensity in my walk with him than at other times. Because of this, there has always been an ongoing need for time spent in the pages of Proverbs. 

The book of Proverbs has never failed me and has always been a source, like an old trusted friend, I can go to when the inevitable need arises for me to draw near to God. Hence, I try to make it a regular part of my 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!

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God's Remedy In Jesus Christ! - 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 Acts 28:3-6,

"Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, 'This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.' But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god."

The islanders of Malta first thought Paul must have been a murderer when they saw an apparently poisonous snake hanging from his hand. They saw Paul was a prisoner and assumed "Justice", the personification of some god, was taking her vengeance since Paul escaped the sea. Next they thought he might be a god when he didn't drop dead from the viper's bite.

If anything, this account portrays the proclivity of man to look for the divine in life. With a clear posture of moral/ethical sensitivity these folks first looked for a divine judicial explanation for something that appears to us as simple happenstance: a snake bite. Knowing the snakes of the area, they next looked for an explanation of what seemed to be supernatural: no ill effects from a deadly viper's bite. Paul must have been a god...

If we take an honest look at the historical record as contained in Scripture (as well as the body of non-scriptural literature) and the culture around us in the world today, we find people looking for answers. In spite of the atheist/humanist outlook of a few, the vast bulk of mankind has always had a sense that God exists and that we stand morally responsible before him. Mankind has turned his collective back on God, and yet, burned into his psyche, is the distant memory of what his experience was in the Garden of Eden: God exists and we are morally accountable to him.

How thankful I am this morning that our righteous and holy Creator God has provided us a remedy to his pending judgment for our sin: Jesus Christ! And, how wonderful it is for us that he has made him known!

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 Lord Always Carries Out His Agenda! - 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 Acts 27:23-24,

"Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.'"

Chapter 27 of Acts is a nail-biting sailor's story of an Egyptian cargo ship from Alexandria that gets caught in a "Nor'easter" as it sailed from Fair Havens on Crete to a harbor at Phoenix on the west end of Crete. Having to give way to the storm they found themselves blown from Crete for over two weeks and landing on the island Malta halfway across the Mediterranean Sea. Among those on board were Paul, Luke and other companions on the way to Rome under guard, escorted by a centurion, Julius. After "many days" of being driven by the hurricane-force storm and not eating, etc. Paul tells the crew and men on board that an angel of the Lord had visited him the night before and told the encouraging news of verse twenty four.

From what the angel told Paul, we find that the Lord had foreordained that Paul would appear before Caesar in Rome and presumably preach the gospel message to him there. As such the Lord decided to spare the lives of all aboard. Was this storm some kind of supernatural opposition from the devil to keep Paul from reaching Caesar with the gospel? I don't know if the devil has that kind of ability over the weather but I suspect that there was quite a storm within Satan's camp as they saw Paul headed for Rome.

Although Paul had never been to Rome before, we know that the gospel had already reached Rome and that the church had taken root years earlier. Paul's earlier letter to this church is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written by man (and God) and an inspired writing that has guided the Lord's people for millennia. Now was the appointed time the Lord sent his apostle to the leader of the greatest empire on planet earth.

Clearly portrayed in the book of Acts is the Lord carrying out his agenda with hand selected people accomplishing exactly what he desires. It makes for fascinating reading to watch it unfold!

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.

Jesus Makes It Possible! - 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 Acts 26:6-7,

"It is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me."

The Jews of Paul's day were "earnestly" serving God day and night in order to receive the promise of the resurrection of life. As Paul says, this was their hope they were looking for. But for the Jews, this would be a futile hope. Their earnest serving of God was based on the notion that the hope of the Jews was obtainable by works, not faith.

Paul says in Romans 9:30-33, "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the 'stumbling stone.' As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"

Our participation in the resurrection of life is available only through faith. It is the faith modeled by Abraham in the book of Genesis that brings a righteous standing with God. "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6.

The type of faith that Abraham modeled for us all was the type that manifests itself in life choices we make to serve God. James provides a wonderful explanation of this in James 2:18-24, "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

How wonderful my participation in the resurrection of life is not dependent on my performance or I wouldn't make it! It is my faith in the performance of Jesus Christ that brings the hope of that promise to fulfillment! What I do as a believer (my performance) manifests the saving kind of faith in my life that Abraham modeled for us.

How wonderful Jesus has made heaven possible for 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!

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Jesus Christ: The Light Of The World! - 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 Acts 25:3,

"They [the chief priests and Jewish leaders] urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way."

The hostility toward Paul and the early church was intense, as we find in the book of Acts. In my mind the hostility springs from something Paul had to say about his evangelistic efforts, "Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." 2 Corinthians 2:14-16a.

It is this stench of death that the gospel message brings to those who reject it that, I believe, generates such hostility in their hearts. Jesus told Nicodemus that he was the light that came into the world and the reason people will reject the gospel message, those who have "not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" is that their deeds are evil and so they "loved darkness" fearing that their deeds will be exposed in the light, John 3:19-21.

When the gospel message is rejected, it is done so on a calculated impulse. The desire to remain in sin overshadows the claims of the gospel message. I suspect the gospel is rarely rejected on the basis of someone being convinced its claims are spurious, but rather on a gamble that they can continue to live in darkness and somehow avoid the potential that God may exist and have to face his judgment. 

Nothing could be further from the truth and so when they encounter someone who has embraced the gospel, it quite naturally engenders hostility as it impinges on the choice they made.

And of course there is Satan who lashes out at God's people through those who do his bidding… But the wonderful news is that Jesus Christ has overcome the world and the devil. Our inheritance is a certain thing in spite of the number of folks who are quite hostile toward the light our God has sent into the world.

How wonderful it is he did send us 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 reply and let me know.

God Has So Much More For Us Than What People Look For! - 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 Acts 24:24-26,

"Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, 'That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.' At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him."

How fascinating that Felix often sent for Paul, to speak with him, hoping Paul would offer him a bribe! Undoubtedly Felix had heard that Paul came to Jerusalem with a sizable gift from the Gentile church for the strapped brothers in Jerusalem and so probably thought Paul was a man with "deep pockets".

What Felix unsuccessfully sought from Paul paled in comparison to what Paul was trying to give him. Felix wanted money; Paul offered him all of the riches that are ours in the Kingdom of Heaven! Felix sought what money could buy; Paul offered him eternal pleasures at the right hand of God! Felix sought a life of ease for the short term; Paul offered him eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord! Felix sought what money could buy him; Paul offered him an opportunity to become a child of God!

Had Governor Felix only reached out and grasped what Paul offered him, what an incredible inheritance Felix would have had. Instead, he only looked for a simple bribe! It is staggering to think of what folks will pass up in order to obtain so little…

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 Gospel Message Is About A Person, Not A Theology! - 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 Acts 23:6-8,

"Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, 'My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.' When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)"

Leave it up to theologians to get into a scrap amongst themselves when they all came together to railroad Paul with false accusations. Theologians seem to be able to find differences, distinctions, and nuances that allow them to gravitate to their own camps to sling it at the many other camps about them. Paul knew this and, as the crafty apostle he was, he manipulated the greatest minds of the day in Israel into a bickering squabble for his own purposes.

While there was a legitimate point to be made by the Pharisees, who were correct in their view on resurrection, etc., Paul had his own agenda. He (and the Lord) used the squabble and his imprisonment to propel himself in front of the leaders of the day, both the Jewish leaders and the local representatives of the Roman domination of Palestine, eventually those in Rome and, hopefully, the emperor himself.

Paul did not have a school of theology to present to people but a person: the Lord Jesus Christ. He made it his ambition to take the message of Jesus Christ to all he could and particularly to people and places of influence to persuade them. King Agrippa tells Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" For Paul, the resurrection was all about knowing Jesus Christ, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:10-11.

Good theology is, of course, important. But when the debate appears to lose focus on the Lord himself somehow, recapturing him and placing him in the center of our attention always becomes the top priority!

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.