Wealth and God's Word

God who remains the same yesterday, today and forever has provided perfect continuity in His word.  There are hints, shadows, allusions and types that reveal spiritual truth to mankind so we might know Him and rejoice in His goodness and salvation.  Unless God revealed the truth to us by the Holy Spirit, we could never make these critical connections.  Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ."

This passage drips with divine purpose to connect God's miraculous works among the children of Israel to the work Jesus Christ does in the life of believers in the present.  God has done countless things in the past we are unaware of or forget about, and Paul reminded Christians how God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.  Their passage through the Red Sea spoke of being baptised in obedience and identification with God who was faithful to save and deliver them.  They ate manna provided from heaven and drank the water that flowed from the rock--that pointed to Jesus Christ the Rock of Salvation who alone gives the Living Water of the Holy Spirit to all who trust in Him.

John came with a baptism of repentance from sin in the Jordan River, and the children of Israel cross the Jordan when the previous generation died in the wilderness for their unbelief and refusal to enter into the land God promised to give them.  Led by the presence of God and without getting wet they went from the wilderness side of the Jordan to the land flowing with milk and honey, their inheritance God graciously provided for them.  One thing believers often did as a first order of business under the new covenant of the Gospel was to be baptised in identification and obedience to Christ who saves us from sin, death and Satan.  Our baptism is one that identifies with Christ's death and resurrection and coming out of the water is a symbol of the glorious life and future we enter into by faith in Jesus today.

How rich is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and what glorious truths are uncovered in God's word as we consider His faithful dealings with His people!  Knowledge of what God has done even in ancient history enriches our appreciation of God's goodness and character and strengthens our faith to trust God in all seasons of life.  We can follow Christ's leading today with confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit, for He is faithful and His mercy endures forever.  We are His inheritance, and He is ours.  What wealth is ours when we dig into God's word in faith!

Peace With Us

"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord."

John 20:19-20

Despite hearing multiple eyewitness accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples huddled behind locked doors for fear of the Jews.  To these unbelieving and hard-hearted disciples Jesus appeared in the midst and said, "Peace be with you."  Jesus identified Himself to them by revealing His pierced hands and side.  Never before had a victim who died by Roman crucifixion had the opportunity to scar because no one had ever risen from the dead.  Seeing the wounds of Jesus confirmed He was their Messiah who suffered on the cross and rose again.

I have found a tendency when talking about surgeries, scars, sport or work injuries, one story begets another.  While one person describes the pain or displays a scar, the onlookers connect what they hear with experiences or stories of their own.  One thing we do not see is one of the disciples weighing in with with a grin, "That's nothing.  Look at what happened to my leg when Peter gaffed me."  There was no comparison possible to what Jesus had gone through on Calvary and how He stood there before them and declared, "Peace be with you."  Jesus had already given His peace to them before His crucifixion, and there He was risen with a glorified body, peace, joy and everlasting life intact.

The disciples did not consider comparing their past pains or injuries with Jesus, yet it is possible for us to do so implicitly.  Jesus conquered sin and death and brought peace with Him as the Prince of Peace:  to refuse the sufficiency of His grace and peace is to wrongly claim our pain or suffering is greater than His or mightier than He.  Jesus lives and His peace remains without interruption for all those who believe, for all those who rejoice in His salvation.  Unbelief and hardness of heart is what led to the disciples sequestering themselves behind closed doors in fear, and we can suffer from the same sinful maladies.  We do not believe the peace of God that passes understanding is with or for us, and thus we cannot receive.

Praise the LORD Jesus came to them without invitation by His grace:  Jesus knew where they were, how they were feeling, what they needed and how to meet that need in Himself.  How we need Jesus, and how we ought to love Him!  In Him we have peace with God and a Saviour who loves us more than words can express.

Our Strength is in God

It is good when we realise we need the LORD as much now as ever to guide, protect and strengthen us to do His will.  The life of a believer is marked by increased dependence and reliance upon God.  When we are born again we are not like new recruits starting their first job who are made to watch safety videos, fill out paperwork and are lined out with a job they learn to do independently themselves.  We raise our kids to learn to do chores and tasks without being directed at every step, yet it is the opposite for children of God.  We are the ones who imagine we can do things well ourselves until God opens our eyes to see our need for His strength and step-by-step guidance continually.

William Gurnall asserted the biblical doctrine that our strength is in the LORD.  He wrote in The Christian in Complete Armour:

"The strength of the general in other hosts lies in his troops.  He flies, as a great commanded once said to his soldiers, upon their wings; if their feather be clipped, their power broken, he is lost; but in the army of saints, the strength of every saint, yea, of the whole host of saints, lies in the Lord of hosts.  God can overcome his enemies without their hands, but they cannot so much as defend themselves without his arm.  It is one of God's names, 'the Strength of Israel' (1 Sam. 15:29).  He was the strength of David's heart; without him this valiant worthy (that could, when held up in his arms, defy him that defied a whole army) behaves himself strangely for fear, at a word or two that dropped from the Philistine's mouth.  He was the strength of his hands, 'He taught his fingers to fight,' and so He is the strength of all his saints in their war against sin and Satan...The Christian, when fullest of divine communications, is but a glass without a foot, he cannot stand, or hold what he hath received, any longer than God holds him in his strong hand." (Gurnall, William. The Christian in Complete Armour. Banner of Truth, 2002, pp. 18–19.)

The imagery of stemware without a foot is insightful, for unless the vessel is held in an upright position by a hand it is completely useless.  So it is for followers of Jesus Christ, for He said in John 15:5:  "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  A wine glass cannot hold wine without a foot, and a branch cannot bear fruit unless it is connected to the vitality of the vine.  Jesus identified Himself as the vine and those who have been born again are the branches joined to Him by faith.  Like the seemingly endless waves of pride that rise up within us, we must continually remind ourselves we are incapable of obeying God or being fruitful at all without active reliance and a personal connection to Him.  Our strength and fruitfulness is not due to us, but is all by grace through Him.

"Brethren, be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might," Paul exhorted believers in Ephesians 6:10.  All our strength and power comes from the LORD, and what is impossible for man is possible with God.  On his own mighty Samson was weaker than his adversaries who bound him.  God often uses our failures to correct our proud and self-confident perspectives, for though Samson was blinded he looked to God for strength who helped him become stronger than ever before.  We remain untroubled when we discover our strength is in God, and praise God He makes us very fruitful by His grace.

God's Truth Stands

One consequence of believing the Bible is the word of God who is the Creator of all things is this completely impacts your outlook and perspective.  Because God is true and does not change or make mistakes, His word stands as the ultimate authority by which all other claims are gauged.  Builders use calibrated spirit levels to determine if a beam is level or a wall is plumb, and the tool expresses reality the most skilled workers trust and rely upon.  Our eyes do not always see clearly, but God always speaks truly.  The ideas and saying of men swing from one error to another, yet God's truth stands fast now and forever.

News websites and radio programs are buzzing as a result of the slap seen and heard round the world at the Oscars last night when Will Smith smacked Chris Rock.  One of the quotes I found intriguing was when Smith related a conversation he had with actor Denzel Washington who issued a warning:  "In your highest moments, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.”  Highs and lows are part of life as a human being on earth, but the Bible reveals man on his own is vulnerable at all times.  Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd Who guards and protects the flock of God, we never need fear the devil.  Instead of feeling anxious, troubled or threatened by enemies who oppose us we can make our requests known to God with joy and thanksgiving.

1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  While the devil seeks whom he may devour, it is not our carefulness that deters him but God.  When Daniel was thrust into the lion's den, it was God who sent an angel to shut the mouths of ravenous lions so they could do him no harm.  Interestingly, when King Nebuchadnezzar was at his peak it was not Satan but God who came for Him in judgment and chastening.  Daniel 4:30-32 relates, "The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" ³¹ While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! ³² And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses."  Pride came before a fall controlled by the Most High to reveal Himself, not just to Nebuchadnezzar, but to all people today.

The sin of the devil is pride, and he does not deter any who follow his lead.  He encourages people to that end so they might destroy themselves because he is a liar, thief and murderer from the beginning.  Jesus spoke forth a warning to those He loved dearly in Luke 12:4-7:  "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  No child of God need tremble if Satan attempts to unleash his fury against them, nor should the devil be our deterrent to pride:  it is God we fear, God who kills and throws souls who reject Him into hell forever.  At the same time this is balanced by the care and love God has shown us constantly, for we are infinitely more precious to Him than sparrows.  He is our protector and Peace, and it is most foolish to carelessly cross Him.

When we are sheltered in the presence of the almighty God, let come what may for no one is able to snatch us out of our Saviour's hand.  Nothing shall separated us from the love of God we have received by grace through faith in Christ.  It is true the devil is a living, malevolent being who seeks to destroy, but he has been defeated and disarmed by Jesus the KING OF KINGS who provides salvation, eternal life and perfect peace.  Satan walks about to and fro, but Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father because He accomplished all to redeem and reconcile us to God by His own sacrifice.  We ought to be sober and vigilant; we ought to fear God, remembering not one of us is forgotten by  Him.  We also should extol and praise the almighty God who has purchased us with His own blood, washed us clean and lifts our heads with joy.