Category: Men and Women of the Bible

Blown Out of the Water

Posted on by admin

One day long ago, Jesus told His disciples to travel with Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They did. They left the crowd and got into a boat with Jesus Christ.

Since the disciples were directly following the will of Jesus, one might anticipate “smooth sailing” on the sea. Instead, a fierce storm arose, and their boat began to fill with the water of the vicious waves. Christ slept while all this ruckus took place. Imagine, omniscient Jesus had told His followers to go out to sea, and then He snoozed as they began to fear for their lives in a terrible storm!

Our God was up to something; He had a purpose for the squall. Our God is up to something in our lives, too, when He sends us into tumultuous waters. As Jesus demonstrated while napping in the stern of a boat, God is never unnerved by trouble surrounding us. He is in control, ready to use what appears as chaos to accomplish a vital work of the soul.

What happened next for the disciples was a dramatic, necessary shift in their understanding of Jesus Christ. As those men began to fear their demise in the storm, they awoke Jesus and said, “Teacher do You not care that we are perishing? (Mark 4:38b, NASB). Notice how they addressed Christ; they called Him Teacher.

To be sure, Jesus is a Teacher; but He is infinitely more! If Jesus is only a religious instructor, we are hopeless. Following only a moral teacher means trying to be saved by doing all the things prescribed in the body of teaching. Our problem is that “doing good” does not help us because we are dead inside. Spiritual death requires the prescription of a miracle – new life. New life comes because Jesus is God. His death pays for the sin of all who believe in Him, and His resurrected life enables us to live. I count His death as the payment for my sin, and I count His life as my Way to live (Romans 6:10-11).

The disciples needed desperately to realize that Jesus was more than their Teacher. When they cried out to Him in that storm, He told the sea to be still, and the sea listened! A complete calm ensued. Staring into the face of the new situation Jesus had wrought by His own power; the disciples “became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'” (Mark 4:41). His followers’ notion of Him as simply “Good Teacher” was blown out of the water, if you will.

A new-found, vital reverence swept over the men as they became awakened to the true nature of Jesus. They must have thought to themselves, “This Jesus tells creation what to do!” I wonder if any of the disciples ever looked back to the Psalms to find what is spoken in chapter 33, verses 8-9, “Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Jesus is God. He is more than my Teacher. I have hope because He commands all of creation. I have hope because He gives me life when I can only offer death. I have hope because He can tell the swirling circumstances of my life to come to calm perfection when He sees fit.

Rather than appearing too dignified and declaring only, “Jesus is my Teacher,” I will stand with my mouth agape and proclaim, “This Jesus amazes me!”

Sinking and Swimming

Posted on by admin

This poem is based on Matthew 14:22-33 and John 21:1-19.

Peter, how did it feel to watch Jesus on that sea?
Walking on water as if it were earth?
Demonstrating so clearly who gave the oceans their birth?

Peter, how did it feel to know He was the Master?
Taking charge of creation as He saw fit?
Showing by Whose hand all substance was knit?

Peter, how excited were you to step towards Him that night?
Though battered by wind and tossed by wave?
Heading toward Jesus who can make weary men brave?

Peter, how glorious did it feel to walk those few steps on water?
Looking at your Savior with a steady gaze?
Allowing His loving strength your heart to amaze?

Peter, did you catch a glimpse of His creative power in those moments?
You feet defying gravity and scientific law?
Your heart awash with worship and newly-found awe?

Peter, what made you look away from Him and rather toward the storm?
Though He was right in front of you, I think I understand.
For often I am distracted though my Master is at hand.

Peter, what was it like when He stretched forth His hand as your cried?
Without allowing you to drown, though lack of faith was your own fault?
Without forsaking you because He knew the ultimate, victorious result?

Peter, did you cry with joy as He lifted you back into the boat?
Getting in Himself, without abandoning you?
Taming wind and wave so that both sky and water stood clear and blue?

Peter, were you amazed at Jesus’ faithfulness though you had denied Him thrice?
Running to the tomb to find only His wrappings of linen?
Marveling that your Lord could possibly have risen?

Peter, what was it like to see Him on the shore after His resurrection?
When He stood on the beach and instructed where the net should be cast?
When He prepared a fire and fish and bread now that His time of suffering was past?

Peter, why did you – and you alone – jump into the sea when you saw Him on the beach?
Not waiting with the others to sail to Him by boat?
Rather, throwing yourself into the waters and swimming stroke by stroke?

Peter, when you dove in, were you thinking of that former day upon the sea?
When you looked to Jesus and walked on water, but then quickly slipped away?
Were you wanting to demonstrate your undying love on this new day?

Peter, how did it feel to abandon yourself to the water for your Lord?
Not fearing the sea because Jesus mastered it on your behalf before?
Not delaying your progress toward you Savior anymore?

Peter, how did it feel after breakfast on that beach?
When Jesus asked you if you loved Him three times in a row?
When He explained that one day someone would lead you where you did not want to go?

Peter, I know from history that you did love Him.
You died for Jesus’ sake after preaching all your days.
I have to think of you and the sea when by the faithfulness of Christ I am amazed.

Enduring and Moving

Posted on by admin

At times it is necessary to move. When the status quo is against God’s plan, the status quo must be left behind. Of course, it feels comfortable to stay with what is familiar, for – as disappointing as the familiar can be – at least we know we are surviving there. Exiting a place or circumstance with which we are accustomed can potentially be scary. Only one thing is to be feared more – God’s displeasure.

When Moses left Egypt, he had worldly reason to fear the king. The powerful pharaoh would not be pleased with this Hebrew’s renunciation of Egypt. Even though Moses was a Hebrew by blood, he had grown up in and been educated by this mighty nation. Though he had benefitted greatly from Egypt’s riches, he now felt called by His God to leave. Yes, it had been God’s will for Moses to be in the heart of Egypt, for we know he was found by the pharaoh’s daughter on the Nile River in that basket of reeds his mother had so prayerfully prepared and sent. And now, it was also God’s will for Moses to exit – in preparation for the furthering of God’s kingdom. God may put us places, and then carefully draw us away . . . all for the best of His kingdom.

The Hebrews were enslaved to the Egyptians, and Moses could no longer stand idly by and watch God’s people be wrongly mistreated. He felt God tug on His heart to become part of God’s next move on behalf of His beloved Hebrews. However, becoming part of God’s plan would require Moses to now “endure ill-treatment with the people of God [rather] than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25, NASB). On the one side stands ill treatment, and on the other stands sin’s temporary pleasure and ease. To leave Egypt now will mean Moses’ life will become difficult. He will be persecuted by the enemy. He will give up riches and ease and familiarity. Wisely, Moses takes the long-term view. He understands that ill treatment now is infinitely better than temporary pleasure coupled with eternal regret.

Moses determines to persevere by moving. The Bible records, “By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen” (Hebrews 11:27, NASB). Do you observe that word “endured”? The root of the word is “steadfast,” and here is the only place this particular Greek word is used in the Bible. Moses stayed faithful to God by doing two things: 1) not fearing the power he was leaving behind, and 2) enduring by keeping his heart fixed on an invisible God.

Our Lord who is now invisible is greater than any power we might be inclined to fear when we press forward in God’s will. Though we cannot yet see our God, He is the “King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (I Timothy 1:17, NASB). Moses did not fear the wrath of the king of Egypt because He revered the true King who – while now invisible – is eternally the Boss of everything!

We, too, can endure as we keep the eyes of our heart fixed on the unseen Ruler of the universe. We need not look behind, or over our shoulder, fearfully wondering how the enemy might pursue us. Not only is the pleasure of sin temporary, so is the terror of sinners and Satan.

Soon after Moses’ obedience, he and the Hebrews passed through the Red Sea on dry land. But, “the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29, NASB). My friends, we need to move when God says to move, no matter how difficult the road ahead appears. To stay would be sin when God says to go. The ill treatment we suffer will not last forever, and our future deliverance is a sure thing. God will make the way for us no matter how ominous the sea in front. All who stand in opposition to the Lord will eventually drown in despair.

“We shall endure.” What an all-encompassing phrase! We shall endure because we have our sights fixed on the invisible, eternal God who has His perfect plan. We shall endure . . . as we move.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” – Hebrews 11:24-27 (NASB)

Outside the Box

Posted on by admin

“I pray that you . . . may have power . . . to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” – Ephesians 3:17-18

“He measured the city with the rod and found it to be . . . as wide and high as it is long . . . I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” – Revelation 21:16,22

A simple square
Of length and width,
So distinct, and very clear.

If it is raised
And given height,
A cube it now becomes.

In three dimensions,
Volume calculated
By length times width times height.

I can determine
The amount of space
My cube occupies.

Multiply, I will
The length by width by height.

My basic math procedures
Will not suffice, however,
To measure the amount of love
My God has for me.

Little cubes
In the three space dimensions I know
Have capacity determined
By how long and wide and high.

But the love of God,
In dimensions unknown,
Has magnitude unbelievable!

Paul prayed
That we would have the power to grasp
How long and wide and high and deep
Is the love of Christ.

Four dimensions to the expanse of God’s love!
Exceeding all I know in this world alone,
Defying my calculations,
His love goes a dimension deeper.

Oh, Lord,
We need your love
To be as long as our lives endure,
As wide as our unfaithfulness,
As high as Heaven can take us,
And as deep as human misery goes.

Oh, Lord,
Your love’s volume
Covers all I know,
And all I don’t know.

We read of your love’s dimensions
In the vision you gave to John.

He saw the New Jerusalem
Come down from Heaven,
Measuring as long as it is wide as it is high –
A perfect cube.

And then He saw,
In that glorious city
Of length and width and height,
No temple did abide.

For the fourth dimension –
The depth of that city –
Is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.

Beyond all comprehension,
Deeper than any physical glory could ever be,
Stands the love of God in Jesus,
The Lamb slain for you and me.

So when tempted to think
All is lost –
That we could have possibly exhausted
The length and width and height of
The love we grasp,

Remember the added dimension –
The depth –
The unfathomable depth –
That passes our understanding –
The depth of the love of Christ.

How long, how wide, how high
And – gloriously –
How deep
Is the love that makes me think
“Outside the box.”

Upsetting the World

Posted on by admin

After being imprisoned in Philippi for sharing the Good News of Jesus, Paul and Silas proceeded to Thessalonica and were accused of something most peculiar. A mob gathered to come against Paul and Silas and said of them, “These men who have upset the world have come here also” (Acts 17:6, NASB).

What a wonderful accusation! The apostles were guilty of upsetting the world. Oh, that we would be known for the same, as this world certainly needs shaken. The world system is inside-out and headed in the wrong direction. It is on a fleeting, selfish, and deceptive course toward destruction. We need men and women who will follow God in swimming upstream, against the flow of sin and confusion.

Ads of all kinds attempt to convince people that more things and expensive things are necessary to be respectable. This notion flows from the false assumption that the respect or envy of other people won through materialistic efforts holds the potential to bring real joy. The glitz of fancier modes of entertainment pushes people to believe contentment is found when we have more time and ability to laugh mindlessly and to avoid reality as we deny the core questions of the heart. Recently, a television commercial portrayed a grown woman as amazingly excited to discover seven people were searching for her online. Does it really change our lives to know a handful of other mortals is looking for us? Can self-centered living bring peace?

When Jesus saves people, He turns them inside-out; He makes them new (II Corinthians 5:17). On this earth, Jesus begins to prepare His people for the new world He is someday making. Jesus begins to shape individuals who are no longer content to waste hours, days, and years accumulating things that distract us from the pursuit of God. Jesus molds men and women who radically race toward what is broken in order to bring healing. Jesus transforms people into those who embrace the greatest paradox – that in giving our lives away to God, we gain everything (John 12:25).

As a Christian, I ought to feel the friction of my travels in a direction opposite the flow of the current, unrighteous world system. When I undergo new birth in Jesus, every fiber of my being ought now to sense that sin is to be battled vehemently.

Our Jesus is coming back to make a home of righteousness (II Peter 3:13). In other words, He will invade again the space-time continuum to make a world that is as it ought to be. Obviously, right now this world is far from being as it ought to be. The earth is broken (as seen in natural disasters and the second law of thermodynamics), bodies are broken (by disease, disability, and aging), relationships are broken (by selfishness, impatience, and unrealistic expectations), and hearts are broken (in ways innumerable). But, the Maker of the universe will miraculously remake the universe. Only the God who made everything from nothing can make wholeness out of brokenness. The fixing of this world will come by no human endeavor. It will take the invasion into history of our God . . . and He will do it!

Meanwhile, Jesus remakes people one at a time as He redeems us from sin. And then He calls us to “upset the world” – to live radically different from this vanishing, sinful flow. Jesus has the power to overcome brokenness in your life. Sin pulls us away from wholeness in our hearts. Sin also set into motion the tendency toward disorder and disintegration we see in the natural world; scientists refer to this deterioration as the second law of thermodynamics. When we shake a puzzle box and then drop the pieces to the floor from a few feet above, the pieces land randomly – scattered all about. The more we shake the box and the higher from which we drop the pieces, the more randomness and separation we observe.

Picture your heart as those puzzle pieces. Left to sinfulness without Jesus, our hearts – our lives – fall shattered, making no sense. However, if Jesus shakes your heart, the unexpected happens – the pieces fall out and are fully connected! He overcomes the natural, and forms the whole picture, causing things to make sense! He fixes us – against every plan of the enemy and every apparent triumph of wrong.

We need to reflect our Savior in shaking the world in which we live. We need to pursue the wholeness Jesus intends. We need to go against the flow.

Upset your world with a heart of service instead of a heart of power, private integrity in place of facade, kindness in the midst of attack, value of prayer and Bible study above entertainment, truth-telling though it cost much, giving of resources in the midst of selfishness, gentleness though surrounded by harshness, forgiveness when revenge is easier, sacrifice of time for those in need, and love of God above love of all else.

May Christians be accused as Paul and Silas were – of upsetting this world.

Need a Better Word than the Word of Guilt?

Posted on by admin

Many people are familiar with the biblical fact that Cain killed his brother, Abel. The physical act of murder being a sin most people do not commit, the story is sometimes incorrectly dismissed too quickly. This account has everything to do with me – and you.

First, God makes clear that from the start Cain did not have faith in His holy Creator. Hebrews 11:4 (NIV) declares that it was “by faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain did.” For purposes of space and time, I choose not to diverge here in a detailed discussion of why Abel’s animal sacrifice was of faith, while Cain’s offering from his crops was not. However, the status of the hearts of both men is what was critical to their giving. This is always the case. Physical actions and spoken words brought from a wrongly motivated heart are ugly in the sight of God, and often in the sight of men. Clearly, of the myriad of things that might have motivated Cain, faith in God was not it. What a curious and critical insight. Many motivations of the heart stand wrong before God, and only one stands right – faith (Hebrews 11:6).

After having acted wrongly from his heart in regards to his offering, Cain was warned by God that the practice of sin leads to further practice of sin. In fact, God clearly informs, “But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:7). Instead of heeding God’s warning, Cain chose to focus on his discontent and the perceived reason for his discontent – Abel. Mind you, the true source of Cain’s unrest was his wrong standing with God. Had he run to God in repentance rather than to man in frustration, things would, no doubt, have turned out differently.

Standing in a field, with jealousy and the restlessness of rebellion against God in his spirit, Cain allowed sin to move from a crouched position to an all-out attack stance. Sin was no longer at the door; its damning fingers now crawl all over Cain’s back. He murders his brother.

And so do we; for, Jesus proclaims, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, . . . But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment'” (Matthew 5:21-22). The anger and discontent and jealousy in our hearts that leads to anger toward others is in the sight of God subject to spiritual judgment just as murder is.

Wow. It seems a hopeless situation. So sad is it that God said to Cain, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). And so it is with me. The blood of Abel cried out loudly about Cain, “You are guilty! You are condemned!” The results of my sin cry out loudly the same thing, “You are guilty! You are condemned!” Can you hear it? It drives us insane if we understand its implications. Hopelessness is all that stands before us if this is the final and strongest cry.

Enter Jesus! Blessed, wonderful, loving Jesus! Hear the Word of God, “But you have come to . . . Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22a, 24, emphasis mine).

Did you hear that? The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel! Abel’s blood cried out the horror of guilt and condemnation, but Jesus’ blood proclaims forgiveness! So powerful is Jesus’ blood to cleanse the human heart that the original languages tell us His blood simply “declares” its power, while Abel’s blood “cried out.” My friend, when your lack of faith, your sin, and your humanly-wrought disaster cries loudly your condemnation, let the blood Jesus shed on the Cross decisively and authoritatively declare, “You are forgiven.”

Do you need a better word than the word of sin and guilt? Jesus is the Word you need.

My King Is In the Pit

Posted on by admin


When I’m in the pit,
I look the lion in the face;
And I see Jesus’ mighty hand
Close tightly the beast’s firm jaw.

The lion that once roared
And threatened unknown dread
Stands helpless now before me,
As on the Creator’s strength I draw.

The pit is very deep;
While on its upper edge I wondered
How I could ever quite survive
The hungry brutes below.

But I found that if I walk
Up above or down so deep,
The God who promised care
Is the one whose mercies always flow.

That compassion can’t be hidden
By the darkness of the pit.
That compassion can’t be trampled by the enemy,
Though he be fierce and wild.

For the God who called me to Himself
Promised to stay with me,
And protect me,
Whether times be troubled or times be mild.

Oh, lion, you are hungry,
And your den is very dark;
But my King is so much greater
And to His power His creatures must submit.

So roar as you can
And threaten my undoing;
Your jaw will never know my flesh,
For my King is in the pit.

“My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me. . .” – Daniel 6:22a (NASB)

Cure for the Common Christmas Verse

Posted on by admin

Oh, the careless treatment we often give the common “Christmas verse,” Matthew 1:21. Regularly presented to us in the month of December, the powerful words are frequently taken for granted, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Since these are the words of the angel of the Lord to Joseph concerning the Son of God and His amazing placement by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, we rightly consider these words momentous. Here stands the announcement that our infinite God has chosen to put on human flesh! And why? The angel proclaims plainly the motivation right at the inauguration of this unbelievable, sacrificial season of God’s plan. The reason is so that we can be saved from our sins.

Notice God did not say, “He will save His people from their low self-esteem” or “from their lack of purpose” or “from their depressive hopelessness” or “from their illness” or “from their loneliness” or “from their economic hardship.” No, God sounds forth the real answer for the human dilemma – salvation from sin.

All other difficulties are secondary to the root cause, which is sinfulness. Please cease looking primarily for Jesus to build your self-esteem or give you purpose or make you hopeful or heal your body or grant relationships or make you wealthy.

Please, please, please . . . run to Jesus for the very reason He entered the bloody womb of a woman and grew to shed His own blood and sacrifice His life – to deliver you from sin.

At its putrid core, sin is selfishness. When I trust Jesus to deliver me from my self-centered plans and desires, I realize I now want what He wants. All other circumstances aside, I can now truly live, because my sin had been killing me.

Here is the clincher. He did not come to save us despite our sins, but from our sins. The Greek root is clear; Jesus came to separate us from our sin nature. He destroys that wicked union. The moment I run to Him, He obliterates the damning attachment of sin to my soul. His ultimate aim in the new world He prepares is to place an infinite distance of space and time between us and all sin’s destructive and debilitating effects.

Are we currently living to be free from sin? Are we as hard-nosed about the mission as Jesus is? I think we suffer so much discontent not because of dismal situations, but because separation from sin – the goal of God – is not our goal.

The most humane thing in the entire world is for a person created by God to have his or her union with sinfulness obliterated. Fear not other maladies, save this: a clinging to sin.

Live for that for which our Savior lives: detachment from sin and attachment to God. All other solutions naturally follow – whether today, tomorrow, or in the place Jesus is preparing.

What determination Jesus had to exit glory and enter this broken world to save us from our sins!

What determination will we have to refuse to gossip, to sacrifice that hour of time, to give that hard-earned money, to smile at that one who hurt us, to choose not to retaliate, to enter a sweet hour of prayer, to turn off the iPod and open up the Bible, to purposefully make Jesus the topic of dinner conversation, to put ourselves on the backburner tomorrow afternoon, to confess wrongdoing and ask forgiveness of a friend, or to distance ourselves from sin in any number of ways?

“Jesus came to save us from our sins,” said the angel of the Lord.

Waiting to Catch Up

Posted on by admin

(A letter to the Apostle Paul, reflecting on Romans 8:22-25)

Thank you, Paul, for acknowledging that the best of us groan.

Ours is not a shallow whining or complaining; but a deep, aching sorrow for the brokenness we face.

You have gently reminded us that the entire earth cries out for redemption – to
be bought back – to be restored – to be held in the hands of Jesus once and for all.

I remember, Paul, when you said we are pressed but not crushed.

In this jar of clay I call my body lives God Almighty.

When that pressing of life seems to be too strong for the walls I have sought to build around me, may I remember that the burden will not break me; for who can crush the infinite?

It is impossible that the pressure be too great for Jesus.

You said, Paul, we would be perplexed but never in despair.

I am perplexed. I am confused by many things.

By unanswered prayers – the ones that seem so right.

By the aching hearts of children in their innocence neglected.

By the aching heart of adults in their willfulness alienated.

By injustice – seeing some have and some have not.

By loneliness never wished for, never intended.

By broken bodies.

Bay daily battles with disease.

By the last and greatest enemy of the living – death.

By all these things, my dear friend, Paul, I am perplexed.

But I am not in despair.

There is one thing of which I am sure . . . God makes sense of confusion.

Confusion is . . . seeing the Son of God lie in the feeding trough of animals.

Confusion is . . . seeing the Light of the universe being rejected by the darkness of men.

Confusion is . . . seeing the Lord of all creation crushed on a cross.

Confusion is . . . seeing a rock roll over the tomb of the Author of life.

Does God make sense of confusion?

Did the Son of God, Light of the universe, Lord of all, and Author of life stay in the trough, in the darkness, on the cross, or in the tomb?

No! God took the confusion, balled it up in His hands, breathed mercy upon it, and threw it back to us as droplets of hope.

And wherever the droplets of hope find a home, God comes to live.

Does God make sense of confusion?

Will unanswered prayers be left misunderstood?

Will aching hearts always writhe in pain?

Will lonely people never share laughter?

Will broken bodies never be fixed?

Will death always be the final pain we face?

No. No. No. A thousand times over . . . no.

Paul, you said we groan. You said we cry inside waiting for redemption.

As sure as the sun rises, that day will come.

As your friend, Peter, said, this is our “living hope.”

Dipped inside my spirit is a droplet of hope from God’s own hand.

This hope tells me it will all make sense someday.

This hope tells me we will be reunited in the end.

This hope tells me that as Jesus really came out of the tomb, we really will, too.

This old, broken body so ready to sin will one day fly heavenward.

I groan now. That is the reality of a broken person and a broken world.

But I will not groan forever.

God has redeemed my spirit, Paul. My emotions and my body are just waiting to catch up.

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” – Romans 8:22-25 (NIV)

Truly, Where Is Your Trust?

Posted on by admin

Just some weeks into the Israelites’ adventure in the wilderness following their miraculous exodus from Egypt, God’s people began grumbling against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry. Recall that these people had watched God send massive plagues (including the plague of death) to ensure their freedom from Pharaoh, they had seen the application of blood over their doorposts stop the death angel cold in his tracks, and they had watched with mouths agape as God divided the sea in half for their safe pilgrimage. And still, the Israelites make the wrong assumption that God has brought them all this way to kill them (Exodus 16:3).

As they continue complaining about their hunger, I can only imagine God’s thoughts. If I were God (and – wow – are we thankful I am not), I would have looked at the lot of them and said, “You ungrateful brats! Don’t you see what I have done? Do you really believe I have rescued you to kill you?” Thankfully, this is not what God says. I, myself, am particularly grateful for this fact; for I am one of the ungrateful, unbelieving brats.

God answers their complaining doubt by saying, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4). God is truly “something else,” isn’t He? It truly is all about Him. Even after I have trusted Him for salvation, I still fail. But God is faithful!

The detail we should highlight here is God’s prescription for the manna. He told the Israelites to collect enough for each day one day at a time. (Exodus 16:4) Throughout the week, they were to collect only enough for the day at hand and not stockpile it for the next day. Moses reiterated, “Let no man leave any of it until morning” (Exodus 16:19).

As we can imagine (because we know ourselves well), some of the people left manna from one day until the following morning. The results were very repulsive. The manna left over for the next day “bred worms and became foul” (Exodus 16:20). Smelly manna teeming with maggots is not what the Israelites had in mind! Yet, this was the result for those who tried to carry one day’s portion into the next day.

The question becomes, “Why?” Why did God do this? The answer is clear and confirmed in many other portions of the Bible. God wants us to trust Him and not ourselves and all our efforts.

People who hoarded the bread for the next day either did not believe God would rain down manna in the morning as He promised, or they did not believe God would give them strength the next day to go collect it. Either way, they did not trust the Living Lord. My friends, He wants us to know that He will be there tomorrow morning with all the provision of food, strength, and sanity that we need. We are not to work by our own efforts to devise a way to survive; relationship with and trust in God are our only ways to survive.

Jesus confirms this emphasis in the Gospel of John, Chapter 6. When large crowds cross a body of water to be with Him, He does not employ “seeker-friendly” techniques. He chastises the crowd by informing them that they have followed Him for the wrong reasons; they have only come because their hungry stomachs had been filled when He had performed the miracle with the fish and bread. Jesus proceeds to tell the crowd, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven” (John 6:51a).

The crowd was into following Jesus because of His miracles that satisfied their fleshly desires. The people even brought up the miracle of manna in the wilderness of which we have been speaking (John 6:31). But Jesus was sure to emphasize that though the recipients of this manna had eaten it, they still died an earthly death. The physical manna was not the key. The key is trust in the God who gives the manna.

Jesus told the crowd He is the Living Bread. He is letting us know that we should trust the one who never sleeps, never gets ill, never gives up, and never dies. God is alive. God will be there in the morning when we awake to give to us everything we need to live the next day. Do not mistrust Him by trying on your own to make things work and trying to ensure your own destiny. Jesus is alive. If we trust Him, He will provide – one moment at a time.

Be sure of this, any plans or efforts employed outside of pure trust in Him will produce repulsive results, similar to the manna teeming with maggots. However, the person who trusts in the Living God – and follows His instructions by faith – will see provision at all times.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day. . .'” – Exodus 16:4 (NASB)

Are You Desperate?

Posted on by admin

A blind man who had to beg in order to live calls out to Jesus from the roadside. Only, he does not just call – he cries out loudly. The Greek word behind the description is the same word used for the call of a raven. This man is obviously unafraid of the reaction of others. He is most desperate; He wants his life to be changed, and he recognizes as the Messiah this Jesus from the simple town of Nazareth.

Bartimaeus heard that the man walking down his road was Jesus, and Bartimaeus’ entire paradigm shifted. No more would he look to the crowds around him for sustenance as he begged pitifully from them. Bartimaeus – upon hearing the name of Jesus – realizes that the hope he had formerly pinned on the pity of others needed all to be targeted on the one Man, Jesus Christ.

Though the crowd sharply rebuked blind Bartimaeus for his interruption, his loud annoyance, his audacity; Bartimaeus cried out all the louder to Jesus. The blind man was smart enough to know that the crowd was not his concern any longer – though he had to this point depended on them for physical sustenance. Bartimaeus wisely decided that he needed Jesus, no matter the cost or embarrassing measures to reach Him.

What about us? In a society that teaches us to be refined, measured, and unduly concerned at the thoughts of others; have we ceased to cry out to Jesus as we ought? Has our Savior walked down the road right beside us, but for fear of looking too dependent on Him, have we let Him walk by? Has Jesus stood near – longing to intervene and meet our deepest needs – but we have been too proud to demonstrate our heart’s desperation for Him?

Cry out! Do not allow a classy culture or a too-refined people stop you from calling out to the only One whose mercy can change everything. Let others see that you need Jesus, that you believe He is your only hope, and that you are not ashamed to admit that you are nothing without Him.

When Bartimaeus shouted the second time – despite the discouragement of others – Jesus actually stopped in His tracks! Our Savior paused and told His disciples to summon the blind beggar. Bartimaeus threw off his coat and literally jumped to his feet when he realized the Messiah – the anointed One of God – heard the cry of a broken heart. And then, Jesus poured out His mercy on Bartimaeus; Jesus restored the sight that had been lost.

What is your need that the mercy of Jesus requires? What sight have you lost? The sight of a clean heart, the sight of a hope after death, the sight of peace during troubled times, the sight of a healed body, the sight of a clear mind?

Call out to Jesus with all your heart, no matter who hears, and no matter what they think. Show by your words and actions that you need the Savior more than you need anything else. He will pause, and He will restore your sight.

“Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” – Mark 10:46-48 (NASB)

Being Good Does Not Save Us

Posted on by admin

Here is a question, “Why did God destroy the earth by flood in Noah’s day?” Answer: “Mankind was very, very bad.” Here is a second question, “Why did God spare Noah and his family?” Typical answer, “Noah was a good man who obeyed God.” Let us get to the heart of both questions and both answers.

First, it is true that God destroyed the world by flood in Noah’s day because of evil. Genesis 6:5-8 says, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” The LORD was grieved that he had made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

God chose to exhibit the reality of his divine justice because of wickedness. Evil always destroys; it is the absence of God’s goodness. We ought to be thankful that God demonstrates how serious the issue of sin and evil is, for it inevitably and ultimately brings death (Romans 6:23). We are mistaken to believe that Noah was spared this judgment simply because he was obedient or “a good man.” No man or woman is good by nature; we are sinners. There is no amount of good we can do and no proper way in which we can perform that earns the favor of God. We are very selfish by nature and – without the power of Jesus – quite capable of horrible evil.

Let me demonstrate that it was not the inherent goodness of Noah that saved him. If we remember when the flood subsided and Noah and his family were finally able to exit the ark, there were eight people in existence: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and his sons’ wives. These eight people – Noah and his family – put their feet on the ground and then Noah built an altar. The Bible tells us, “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:20-21a).

Just look at that description of the only eight people in existence on earth at the time: “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” This description sounds very familiar to the one God gave of all of humanity before he sent the flood! Yes, even Noah was a sinner by nature; even Noah had evil inclination. We ask then, what was the difference? Why did God spare Noah if he was just as much a sinner by nature as all the other people who were destroyed by the flood?

The answer is found in Genesis 8:20-21. If you read those verses again above, you will notice that Noah built an altar and offered a burnt offering immediately after exiting the ark. It was the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice that prompted God to say that he would not destroy the earth in this way again despite man’s nature. Why would the burning flesh of an animal please God? These Old Testament offerings were pictures, or a foreshadowing, of the soon-to-come offering of Jesus Christ himself for the sin of mankind. Noah knew God, and He knew the promises of God. Noah believed that the Messiah would come, and he offered this burnt offering in faith. He was looking ahead to the coming of Jesus! Noah was demonstrating his belief in Jesus as the one who can appease God the Father and bring us into relationship with our Creator.

Jesus was Noah’s salvation! Self-righteousness, good character, or self-effort could not save Noah or us. Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, can save a man or woman from sin and death. Noah looked forward and believed that Jesus would come. We look backward and believe that Jesus did come. Thank God, both we and Noah look ahead to the Second Coming of that same God-Man, Jesus Christ, when, as Hebrews 9:28 proclaims, He will appear with full salvation. We will then enjoy the new heavens and new earth, a home of righteousness.

Make no mistake about it, though, Noah’s belief in Jesus Christ sent him into action! Because of his belief, Noah was willing to do God’s will. He, no doubt, paid a dear price for building that ark. He and his family worked day in and day out doing God’s will in a rebellious world. His belief prompted real action. In fact, real belief in Jesus Christ always prompts action; there is no other way to believe.