Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: What to do with Jesus?

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 2:34-35,

 

"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed."

 

This statement was made by Simeon, a "righteous and devout" man. We are told the Holy Spirit was upon him and that he was moved by the Spirit to go into the temple courts where Joseph and Mary presented the infant Jesus according to the laws and customs of Israel. When Simeon saw Jesus, he took him in his arms, blessed Joseph and Mary and spoke these words to Mary.

 

In a short and aptly worded statement, the future of all mankind hangs in the balance. This infant, Jesus, will be the issue for all to consider: what to do with Jesus Christ? He is presented to us as God's sacrifice of atonement for sin, Romans 3:25. All who embrace him in faith will enter into God's family, John 1:12 and all who reject him will be cast into a fiery lake of burning sulfur, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:36. We find God's wrath for sin expressed in Revelation 20:14-15, "The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

 

What to do with Jesus? This is the question of the ages and our response dictates our eternal destiny. Simeon told Mary that Jesus would be the cause of the falling and rising of many, that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. Paul quotes Isaiah in Romans 3:33, "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."

 

What to do with Jesus? What a wonderful invitation God has made for us - to enter into his family! But it all hinges on Jesus Christ and what we do with him. "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." John 1:12.

 

What will you do with Jesus Christ today?

 

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: Life in the womb!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 1:41-44,

 

"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.'"

 

We live in a day where confusion abounds and the simplest things in life seem to escape so many. Nothing reveals this in a more startling way than the issue of abortion today. Many seem incapable of acknowledging the baby in a mother's womb is a real human life. Elizabeth's encounter with Mary should put to rest any question that abortion is nothing short of the murder of an innocent.

 

Elizabeth's baby, John the Baptist, was, without a doubt, a very unique individual. He was hand-picked, prior to his birth, by God to be a prophet. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit, "even from birth", Luke 1:15. His father, Zechariah, was told prior to Elizabeth's pregnancy that John would bring many of the people of Israel back to the Lord, Luke 1:16. As such he was to make ready a people prepared for the Lord, verse 17. John would be a joy and delight to his father and his birth would be the cause of rejoicing by many.

 

In Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy she was paid a visit from her relative, Mary. Mary was pregnant with Jesus at the time and when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, we are told that John "leaped in her womb" for joy, Luke 1:41-44. In order for this to happen, I observe the following about John the Baptist while he was at his sixth month in his mother's womb:

 

John was intellectually alive: he was cognitive and aware when Jesus entered his presence.

John was emotionally alive: he leaped for joy when Jesus entered his presence.

John was volitionally alive: it was upon Jesus entering his presence he chose to leap for joy - a reaction but a choice nonetheless.

John was spiritually alive: as an endowed prophet prior to his birth he was already exercising his prophetic gift prior to his birth.

 

John the Baptist exercised his mind, his will and his emotions, prior to his birth, in the sixth month following his conception. He exercised his spiritual gift of prophecy in recognizing the Lord presence at that time.

 

Call him what you will, but the taking of his life would certainly constitute the murder of an innocent. Although John was a unique individual chosen by God for a specific purpose, the circumstances surrounding his gestation speaks of all pregnancies.

 

On a whole other note... isn't it just amazing what God does?!

 

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: Nothing is impossible with God.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 1:37,

"Nothing is impossible with God."

 

These words, spoken not by a human but an angel, do not form an expression of faith, but inform us of a reality about God by one who knows God well: the angel Gabriel. These words do, however, challenge us to faith today. Do we believe them? I don't ask that question from the standpoint of a good theology and commitment to a conservative evangelical understanding of the inerrancy of the Scriptures. I ask it from the perspective of a personal conviction that is lived out in life day to day. Do I really believe that nothing is impossible with God?

 

Do I believe God loves me, has reached out to me even though I've lived a life of sin? Is that possible for God?

 

Do I believe that God satisfied his own sense of justice by having his Son, Jesus Christ, die in my place, to pay the penalty for my sins? Is that possible for God?

 

Do I believe that God will raise me from the dead, give me life eternal following the death of my earthly existence? Is that possible for God?

 

Do I believe that God has made a place for me in his family, that he has removed my sin so far from me that I will stand before his presence without fault and with great joy? Is that possible for God?

 

Do I believe God will work all things together for good in this life, for those of us who love him? Is that possible for God?

 

Do I believe God will hold all accountable who have rejected him? Is that possible for God?

 

Does my life reflect on a daily basis the truth Gabriel told Mary, that nothing is impossible with God? Is that demonstrated in the things I think, do and say?

 

"Nothing is impossible with God."

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: Used by God in spite of our shortcomings.

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 Jonah 4:9,

 

"God said to Jonah, 'Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?' 'I do,' he said. 'I am angry enough to die.'"

 

Jonah dispels misconceptions we have about God's prophets. We seem to assume they were all godly men who had arrived at such a point of spirituality they no longer struggled with the sins we ordinary folk struggle with. Certainly God would not choose to use anyone other than a perfect specimen of "spiritual growth" to advance his purposes? Right? Jonah must have been on the elder board of the local church, had attended all of the latest seminars and classes taught by all the hot, new authors of best-selling books down the Christian book store. Surely he was among those who constantly gravitate toward the newest ministry promoting all the best innovative ideas to reach out into the community, building the biggest... well, you get my idea.

 

No, Jonah didn't emulate such people. Neither did many of God's prophets I suspect. God is able to use anyone. Just ask old King Saul, 1 Samuel 10. It appears that God hand picked certain individuals to speak on his behalf and they may have been quite a bit just like you and me. See 2 Peter 1:20-21,

 

In any event, here we find God's prophet Jonah, struggling with his anger, "Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry." Jonah 4:1. Angry with what God had done! "Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." Verse 3. That is a lot of anger. The next day Jonah is angry again, "I am angry enough to die." Verse 9. This time he was angry about God removing a relief he enjoyed - and this after his anger over God providing relief for the Ninevites.

 

Jonah has his own ideas, and those appear to be at odds with God's agenda. There may be some very good reasons Jonah felt the way he did about the Ninevites... he certainly resented God's compassion for them. It led to an anger he struggled with. Believers are told to turn from anger, "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice... " Colossians 3:8. "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger..." Ephesians 4:31. This is because, as James tells us, "man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:19-21.

 

I am reminded that God can and does use us all for his purposes. I am also reminded it is God who qualifies who he will use for whatever purpose he has. Jonah is a fascinating read as a reminder that God can use any of us, in spite of ourselves. I'm quite certain if the Lord ever used me, it would be in spite of my own shortcomings.

 

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: Anger at God's grace.

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 Jonah 4:4,

 

"But the Lord replied, 'Have you any right to be angry?'"

 

This question of the Lord for Jonah comes due to Jonah's anger at God's grace and compassion. Jonah tells the Lord the reason he fled from him was, "I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." Jonah 4:2b. God had asked Jonah to go to wicked people of Nineveh and warn of his impending judgment. The Ninevites repented and, "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened." Jonah 3:10. This was what Jonah did not want to see. He desired to see God's judgment of Nineveh.

 

You would think we might cherish God's grace and compassion as the greatest of all things to discover in this life. At times, however, anger and even hostility gets expressed at the grace of God. I have heard, on occasion, "I don't want anything to do with a god who would forgive so-and-so (usually a mass murderer or someone who has committed some reprehensible crime). Sometimes it is seen in the form of hostility over some perceived point of theology having to do with whether someone can lose their salvation if they commit some sin or other.

 

Other times I have sensed that a disdain for "easy believe-ism" might accompany a feeling, "if I have made sacrifices in this life and denied myself certain things, I struggle with the thought that God will give someone else who hasn't what he gives me. This is the thought Jesus singled out when he told the parable of the workers in the vineyard. In that story the vineyard owner paid workers he hired at the end of the day the same amount the workers who started at the beginning of the day agreed to work for. That story concludes with the vineyard owner saying to those who worked the whole day, "Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous." Matthew 20:1-16.

 

It is interesting to note when Jonah was in the belly of the fish he called out to God to deliver him, "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry." And, yet, it is this very grace of God that responded to Jonah's cry for help from his predicament that he resents the Lord extending to the Ninevites when they were in theirs.

 

When it comes to knowing God on the one hand, and yet struggling with conflicting and confusing perspectives with the things of God, I suspect I might be quite a bit like Jonah. I'd like to think I have a clear and undistorted perspective of the things of God, yet the truth is, I'm a lot like Jonah. Certainly the grace and compassion of God is something I know of, and yet, so vast, so transcending, it is difficult for me to wrap my mind around. I'm sure there is so much I need to learn of God's incredible love and the nature of his expressions of grace and compassion. Perhaps much of what can be known of this aspect of God is reserved for those who's insight into the things of God set them apart from the rest of us. I am reminded of Paul's thoughts on this in his prayer for the Ephesians, "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19.

 

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: Flirting with God.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Jonah 1:9-11,

 

"'I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.' This terrified them and they asked, 'What have you done?' (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, 'What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?' 'Pick me up and throw me into the sea,' he replied, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.'"

 

Jonah acknowledged he worshipped the Lord. He proclaimed the Lord was the God of heaven, the Maker of the sea and the land. And, yet, here Jonah is, running away from him, the One he claimed to worship. Jonah even knew he was at odds with the Lord and confessed he was the cause of a great storm that threatened the lives of all aboard the ship Jonah was fleeing the Lord on.

 

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines "flirting" as to move erratically; to behave amorously without serious intent; to show superficial or casual interest or liking; to come close to reaching or experiencing something.

 

Jonah certainly did experience something. Something I suspect he had no idea was coming his way. He was thrown overboard and found himself inside the belly of a great fish for three days and three nights. This, it seems to me, due to Jonah flirting with the Lord. Jonah was a worshipper of God, and yet, when God expressed what he wanted and asked Jonah to do it, Jonah's ardor for the Lord as a worshipper was found to be less than a full commitment - hence, in my estimation, more of a flirtation with the Lord.

 

I myself can't be too hard on Jonah, however. I don't know how many times in my life I subordinated what I knew the Lord's desire to be in favor of what I desired. As opposed to a full commitment, I've flirted with the Lord at times over the years. Today I am reminded of what the Lord said in Matthew 10:37-39, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." This to me, speaks of commitment.

 

For me, I find this commitment expressed best in how I spend my time, my talents, my treasure. If I claim to love the Lord, if I claim to worship him, how much effort to I expend to get to know him? Do I immerse myself in a fellowship that seeks him? Do I avail myself of the things he wants me to know of him in the pages of Scripture? Do I meditate on what he has said, what he has revealed of himself? Do I invest what he has given me in the things he pursues? Do I bring my thoughts and concerns to him in prayer?

 

As anyone else, the best expression of my worship of the Lord resides in what I did last week, not what I think I might be doing this week. How much time did I spend with him in Scripture and prayer? What did I do to further his agenda of redemption: did I share the gospel with anyone? What I have done, not what I purpose to do, demonstrates whether I worship God or just flirt with him.

 

A synonym for "flirt" in the dictionary is "trifle". Unless I can lay claim to finding expression for my worship of God, I'm afraid I'm simply trifling with him. Jonah trifled with God and look at what happened to him! God is not to be trifled with! "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31.

 

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: Fleeing from God?

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

 

"Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish."

 

Here is a fascinating point in the narrative of Jonah. He "ran away from the Lord"! I wonder how far he thought he could get from God? Proverbs 15:3 tells us, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." David acknowledges the impossibility of escaping God. In speaking of the wonderful benefit of not falling from God's presence he says, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." Psalm 139:7-12.

 

Wasn't Jonah aware of this fairly basic fact of God? Surely he must have been. He seems to know God very well, probably in ways many don't. In Jonah 4:2 he confesses he knows the Lord well. He says, "I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." Certainly Jonah must have known he could not flee the presence of the Lord.

 

That being the case, why did he run away? I don't have to look very far for the answer - I only need look at myself. Although a very distinct and unique man as a prophet of God, Jonah was a man like me. With an indwelling sinful nature, Jonah had desires that did not coincide with the Lord's agenda. He did not want to see the ruthless and wicked people of Nineveh become the objects of God's forgiveness and grace. I don't know about you, but I know that I struggle with an indwelling sinful nature and it is often at odds with the Lord's agenda as well. Sometimes it causes me to say and do things that are as insane as Jonah attempting to flee from the Lord.

 

I am reminded of these insane choices we make when we fail to acknowledge these aspects of our omnipotent and omnipresent God. I can't fall in to any sinful impulse without doing so right in the very presence and full view God has of me at any given moment! I am sure this is a part of why we read, "Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil." Proverbs 16:6. The fear of the Lord is all about acknowledging what we know to be true of him. Were I to have the presence of mind that the Lord is close at hand, I might make other choices, think different thoughts, do different things. As we read in Proverbs 15:33, "The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor."

 

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