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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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

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

 

"Rend your heart and not your garments."

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

How wonderful is that?!

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com