Keep the Word Pure

Yesterday Laura brought home a "replacement" bunny (now named "Oreo") from the pet shop.  This morning I overheard my son say, "Oreo!  Don't sit in your food pellets!"  One casual observation I have made over the years is rabbits are quite senseless when it comes to maintaining the purity of their food and water.  They will foul their water with their feet, tip over bowls which aren't heavy enough, and throw their food everywhere!  Our rabbits do not respond to verbal cues, but only seem to understand the universal language of food.  Yet as much as they like certain foods, it doesn't keep them from polluting it with their own waste.

Sheep are similar in many respects.  A shepherd must carefully clear the field of poisonous, noxious plants.  In Phillip Keller's book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, he goes into great detail on this point and in addition the necessity to clean out water holes where the sheep drink.  The shepherd also creates dams to slow the flow of water so the sheep will be able to easily drink.  But like rabbits and other animals, sheep have no comprehension of the labour which went into their food and drink preparation.  Without the care of a good shepherd, the water holes would no doubt soon be contaminated by waste, be filled with litter and debris, and give rise to disease and sickness.

Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-14).  David writes in Psalm 23:5:  "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over."  Followers of Jesus Christ are lovingly and descriptively called "sheep."  Jesus is the Bread of Life, and has provided in Himself salvation through faith by His atoning sacrifice.  He is the Living Bread which all can eat and live forever, even as the Israelites daily ate manna in the wilderness.  Jesus is also called the "Word of Life" (1 John 1:1) and has given us words of life found in the Bible which is food for our souls.  Even as the presence of the shepherd would ensure good grazing in safe pastures free from predators, our God provides sustenance for our souls and all that pertains to life and godliness.  Jesus says in John 10:14:  "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."

If left to our own, we would certainly do no better at reading and understanding the Bible than a rabbit that is senseless to understand how to keep her water pure.  In fact, the Bible warns that many will do just this in the last days in which we live.  An exhortation and warning against heresy is seen in 2 Timothy 2:15-19 which reads, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ¹⁶ But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. ¹⁷ And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, ¹⁸ who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."  Christians are told to rightly divide the Word of Truth because heresy is a real potential!  We can foul the truth of scripture by our own personal bias, limited understanding, or when we are hardened with the deceitfulness of sin.  To misrepresent the King by twisting His message is a great sin indeed. 

We are told to rightly divide the Word of truth, recognizing that it is of divine origin and therefore necessitates divine aid to do so.  Praise God that He has provided not only the pure Word, but the Holy Spirit who enables us to "rightly divide" the Word of God.  Jesus says in John 16:12-15, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."  The purity of the Word has been divinely preserved, and only through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit can we maintain this purity in our preaching and churches.  We are spiritually senseless until the Spirit fills us, and 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 teaches, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. ¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

I appreciate the purity of God's Word!  Proverbs 30:5 states, "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him." May all take to heart the necessity of being filled with the Spirit and seek to be led by Him so we will not foul it with our flesh!  Unlike rabbits, which cannot comprehend the value of food carefully cleaned and prepared or know how to maintain it, may we be thankful and mindful of what treasure we hold when we open the Word of God!  Have you taken time to let God know you love His Word?  Psalm 119:140 says, "Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it."  We can show our love through reading the Bible, believing, obeying, and teaching it faithfully.  In this God will be glorified!

Let Us Pray!

I had a thought in the shower:  why do I pray?  Do I pray to receive results?  Am I motivated by what God can do for me?  Is praying supposed to be like eating vegetables - maybe not my favorite part of the meal but I eat them because I know they are good for me?

Then another thought occurred to me:  isn't praying out of obedience the best reason to pray?  Shouldn't we pray because we are humbled and privileged to enter into God's throne room of grace through the precious blood of Jesus?  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  If I pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." I am a hypocrite if I do not pray earnestly and continually.  God's will is that every Christian be a praying Christian.

Why do you pray?  Prayer is supposed to be more than mumbling words over food or thinking words as we drift off to sleep in our beds:  prayer is to be the highlight of our existence.  In prayer, that great act of faith, we enter into the presence of the Almighty God.  It is the divine harmony of fellowship between our regenerated souls through the Holy Spirit, petitioning, praising, and worshiping our heavenly Father with Jesus Christ interceding as our Risen Mediator.

May God forge in us a hunger and thirst to emulate Christ and rise in obedience to pray.  More exciting than sport, more necessary than our daily food, absolutely imperative for holiness and godliness, let us never neglect the joyous duty of prayer.  Let us pray!

A Heart Issue

God sometimes places a strong emphasis on a particular theme over and over until I recognize it.  My morning routine involves rising before dawn, praying, reading a chapter of the Bible, focusing on a key verse, and writing the thoughts God provokes.  After I finished writing this morning, for whatever reason I decided to turn back a page.  To my surprise, I found the writing on the previous day was on the same subject:  the condition of the heart.  I had totally forgotten about what I had written the day before!  Since this theme keeps coming up in my writing, I had the idea of simply sharing these two devotions together.  Hope God shows you something awesome!

13/7/11 - 2 Chronicles 11:16:  "And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers."  Those who are loyal to God will seek Him at great expense.  Some might see it as a great inconvenience to travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in obedience to God.  To those who set their hearts upon God, the privilege of obedience is a great delight!  Serving God in obedience is a vital part of the Christian walk.  Like David, who would not sacrifice to God what cost him nothing, followers of Jesus Christ are called to a lifestyle of sacrifice and worship unto the LORD.  A man cannot rightly say, "I have set my heart to seek the LORD" but neglect to take necessary steps to enter into His presence.  Can a man seek hidden treasure from the comfort of his bed?  Is sacrifice possible from a sedentary existence upon a church pew?  Jesus did not sacrifice from the glorious luxuries of heaven, but gave his glory away and was clad in human flesh.  He took up the cross after a life free from sin and completely lived for the glory of God, and died in obedience to the Father's will.  No servant is above his master, and we are Christ's servants.  Worship and praise must involve more than playing a song or assembling in a building at a given hour:  we must take up our cross and follow Jesus.  Since when has sacrifice not involved sacrifice?  We are to be living sacrifices unto our God, who gave Himself freely for us.  We love Him because He first loved us and gave Himself for us.  "You are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 16:20)

14/7/11 - 2 Chronicles 12:14:  "And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD."  When Rehoboam was established, he "forsook the law of the LORD and all Israel with him" (2 Chron. 12:1).  But when he and the princes humbled themselves before the LORD, the wrath of God was turned away, though they still faced consequences:  some wealth was stripped away, and they became servants of Shishak King of Egypt.  But verse 14 clearly illuminates the main issue:  Rehoboam did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD and thus turned from following Him.  As Christians, God gives us a new heart of flesh, having removed our heart of stone.  We have been given a responsibility to keep our heart soft and humble by God's grace, not allowing it to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13) or being lifted up with pride.  Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."  If I have a bad heart which beats irregularly, I will be fatigued and at risk of heart failure.  If I suffer from coronary disease, my overall health is negatively affected.  If our hearts are wrong spiritually, every aspect of our lives will be stunted.  Our ability to exercise spiritual gifts will be thwarted, our prayers will be marked by numb dullness, and our strength will be sapped.  The smallest of spiritual disciplines will overwhelm us.  But if God gives us a new heart, and we prepare our hearts to seek the LORD, we will no doubt find Him and walk in the way which fully pleases Him.  Deuteronomy 4:29 states, "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  What an everlasting promise, what confidence we can have in our God's availability, accessibility, and faithfulness!  A divided heart will be full of fear, selfishness, and poisoned with a root of bitterness and pride.  If we will humble ourselves and seek the LORD, we will see the fulfillment of 2 Chronicles 7:14:  "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

You Are What You Worship

Awhile back I turned on the TV and watched the first 10 minutes of a show called, "Deadliest Roads."  During the episode titled "Thin Air," one of the truck drivers was tasked to carry a statue of Buddha to another monastery higher up the Rohtang Pass in India.  As the monks carefully placed their golden deity in the back of his truck the driver asked incredulously:  "Is that your god?"  One of the men answered yes.  As he slowly drove up the mountain the idol was shown in the back of the cargo area, shaking with every vibration of the truck.  When I saw that golden idol sitting in the dark, carefully wrapped with protective cloths, I thought of Isaiah 40:18-20:  "To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? ¹⁹ The workman molds an image, the goldsmith overspreads it with gold, and the silversmith casts silver chains. ²⁰ Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a carved image that will not totter."

In this passage, the True Living God points out the folly in those who serve idols.  These devout monks took great care to ensure their idol would not tip over and break!  Is that a god worthy of worship?  Here is another passage that reveals the foolishness of idolatry.  Psalm 115:5-8 describes:  "They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; ⁶ they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; ⁷ they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat. ⁸ Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them."  After stating the obvious, this scripture finishes with a stern indictment:  everyone who worships an idol is as powerless as their idol.  The truth is, man is no more powerful than the god or gods he serves.  Man made by God in the image of God can choose to make gods according to his own design.  Anything we worship that is not the creator of heaven and earth - whether it be money, fame, power, self, or that which is made - are all idols which are powerless to hear, speak, or save.

Let us take this thought even further.  Since scripture has established that man is no greater than his god, what does this say of those who serve the Almighty God, the great I AM?  We have not made God, but He has created us.  He is the God who created light, water, the heavens the earth, the universe known and unknown, all life, plants, animals, people, speech, and communication.  He is a God in whom all the senses originate:  sight, hearing, smell, touch, the speaking of words, the ability to move and act.  When a person chooses to trust and worship Jesus Christ as LORD, he places his faith in the Living God, the pre-imminent One, the God who has made all things.  Jesus did many signs pointing to His divinity:  He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, set the captives free by delivering people from prisons of sin and unclean spirits, made the lame and paralyzed to walk, healed lepers, and raised the dead to life.  Now there is a God who will not totter!  Crucify Him if you like, but He will rise incorruptible and glorified!

We do not serve a God who reserves all ability for Himself, but a gracious God who empowers us with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says in John 14:12, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."  Paul affirms in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  This is not an idle boast, but the reality of life revealed in a lifestyle reserved for all who trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour.  We do not seek to do things to make a name for ourselves, but for the power of God to be so revealed through our lives that only He receives all the glory.  2 Corinthians 4:6-7 says, "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."  We do not become gods by placing our faith in Christ, but by His grace He makes us like Him:  alive and empowered with the Holy Spirit!

Man is no more powerful than the gods he serves.  A man may serve a million deities, but if they are all lifeless and powerless he only clutters his life with useless garbage.  But if you serve the One and Only True God, you serve a powerful living God who hears, speaks, heals, moves, and answers.  False gods are only fit for the fire, for that is where all sin ultimately goes.  If we cling to our idols, we bring their judgment upon ourselves.  Yet when we repent and place our faith in Christ, He grants us a pardon and gives us eternal life.  I choose life!  John 14:6 records the immortal truth:  "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  He says the same to you today!