Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Two words which best describes the actual day before, the true day of, and the beginning of the night infant Lord Jesus was born – extraordinarily ordinary.
The sky was extraordinarily ordinary.
An occasional, ordinary gust of stirred the leaves and chilled the air.
The stars were sparkling like diamonds sparkling on ordinary black velvet.
Fleets of ordinary clouds floated in front of the moon.
It was a beautiful night – a night worth peeking out of your bedroom window to admire – but not necessarily an unusual or an extraordinary one as it all began.
No reason for anyone to expect an extraordinary surprise.
Nothing out of the ordinary as this night began designed to keep you awake.
An ordinary night with an ordinary sky.
The sheep were ordinary too.
Some fat.
Some scrawny.
Some with barrel bellies.
Some with twig legs.
Common everyday ordinary animals probably owned by ordinary people.
No fleece made of gold.
No history makers.
No blue-ribbon winners.
They were simply ordinary sheep – sleeping silhouettes on an ordinary hillside.
And the shepherds?
Ordinary peasants they were.
Ancestors of today’s Bedouin.
Wearing all the ordinary clothes they ordinarily owned.
Ordinarily smelling like the ordinary sheep and looking just as woolly.
True they were conscientious, and hardy as well, to spend every night outside guarding their ordinary flocks.
But you won’t ordinarily find their staffs in a museum.
You won’t ordinarily find their writings in a library.
No one asked for their extraordinary opinion on social justice or meaning of the Torah – after all – they were exactly this: anonymous, simple, ordinary people.
An ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds.
And were it not for the extraordinary God who delights in transforming the ordinary, the night would have ordinarily gone unnoticed and unrecorded.
No breaking news event expected here for the first Jerusalem Press- the sheep would have been forgotten, the shepherds would have slept the night away.
Except an extraordinary God, lost in the ordinary, dances amidst the common.
The black star lit sky suddenly exploded with an extraordinary brightness.
Ordinary rocks and trees previously hidden in shadow jumped into clarity.
Sheep that had just a few moments before been ordinary and silent became a extraordinary chorus of extraordinary curiosity.
One minute, these ordinary shepherds were fast asleep, the next they were rubbing their eyes, staring into the face of an extraordinary angel of the Lord.
This ordinary night was ordinary no more.
It was indescribably extraordinary ….
The angels came in the night because that is when light is best seen and when light is most needed.
An extraordinary God transforms the ordinary for the same reason.
That’s also probably why the announcement came first to the shepherds.
They did not ask God if he was sure he knew what he was doing.
Had the angel first gone to the scribes, the leading theologians of the times, they’d have first run headlong into committee consulted their commentaries.
Had the shepherds first gone to their local politicians, they would have looked around to see if anyone was watching, finding none – gone back to “so what?”
Had he gone to the influential and powerful they’d have checked their sundials.
So?
Guess what?
Our extraordinary God went straight to the ordinary fields, ordinary shepherds.
People whose testimony ordinarily did not count in a law court.
People who did not have a reputation to protect, or an ax to grind, or a ladder to climb, or an opinion to express, or a sword to swing.
Three simple observations we can make from this story.
Three observations about how the Lord brought glory to the ordinary, when he brought heaven to earth.
Three ordinary observations about how the extraordinary Lord ordinarily longs to work in and through an extraordinarily ordinary you and extraordinarily me.
1. The Shepherds Searched for Jesus
“the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby.” (Luke 2:15-16)
The shepherds were probably several miles away from Bethlehem in the Judean wilderness.
Their ordinary curiosity was extraordinarily peaked – they obeyed the angel.
They went looking for the infant Jesus, in the dark, leaving their flocks behind.
The word ‘found’ in verse 16 means ‘found after a search’.
It must have taken some considerable time to find Mary and Joseph and the baby.
They searched and they searched and searched until they finally found Jesus.
They heard the Word of God and they obeyed.
They wanted to see whether what they had been told was true.
It took an extraordinary amount of time and effort to find Jesus, but boy was the extraordinary effort they made ever much worth it for generations of believers.
In this respect, the ordinary shepherds are extraordinary role models.
Let me ask, have you (lately) extraordinarily searched for Jesus – personally?
Let me ask, How extraordinarily desperate are you to extraordinarily find Him, to extraordinarily know Him, and to be with Him extraordinarily?
Jesus said,
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3).
It is extraordinarily important that we search the scriptures for ourselves.
The three most extraordinarily important questions we will ever ask are these:
1. Who is Jesus?
2. Why did Jesus come?
3. What does it mean to follow him?
A secondhand faith based on what our parents or family believe will not be strong enough to withstand the storms of life.
A secondhand faith will not ordinarily save us.
We must each develop extraordinarily deep personal convictions based on the historical facts. Based on the extraordinary eyewitness testimony of those who first encountered Jesus. They extraordinarily searched for Jesus. We must too.
The Shepherds Shared News of Jesus
“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” (Luke 2:17-18)
Perhaps because they had no fixed address, like Bedouin today, shepherds could not testify in court.
How extraordinarily Ironic therefore that God choose these shepherds to be the first human witnesses to tell others that prophecy had been fulfilled, that God’s extraordinary angels had appeared and that the Messiah had finally been born.
And they didn’t need to go on an evangelism course first.
Their extraordinary testimony was extraordinarily spontaneous.
The ordinary shepherds spoke from the heart and their extraordinary words extraordinarily connected with generations of the deepest needs of others.
When you hear extraordinarily exciting news, it’s hard not to share it isn’t it?
You don’t think about your ordinary self or the ordinary words to say – you are simply consumed by the extraordinarily good news and you cannot keep it in.
When a baby is born in the family, you can’t stop talking about your child or grandchild, you can’t resist pulling out the photos, can you?
It brings an extraordinary smile to your face, a skip to your walk, and you find your ordinary self sharing with anyone, even strangers, who will stop to listen.
The more extraordinarily exciting, the more extraordinarily amazing the news, the greater the extraordinary eagerness to extraordinarily share.
The gospel is the greatest news on earth.
If we ordinarily feel reluctant or embarrassed to share it, perhaps we have not really understood what “extraordinary” Jesus has extraordinarily done for us.
The more extraordinary time we spend with Jesus the more extraordinarily infectious we become.
We are His extraordinarily extraordinary ordinary witnesses exactly right now!
These ordinary shepherds extraordinarily searched for our extraordinary Jesus.
After an extraordinary discovery – The shepherds shared news of Jesus.
And ….
The ordinary Shepherds extraordinarily Praised God because of Jesus
“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:20)
Worship is simply our high praising our extraordinarily extraordinary God for exactly who he is and our giving our extraordinary thanks for what he has done.
That is why worship and evangelism flow from the same heart attitude.
The more we extraordinarily understand what our extraordinary God in Jesus has extraordinarily done for us, the more we will praise him and thank him.
Perhaps that is why some of the most extraordinarily beautiful and memorable Christian hymns are actually Christmas Carols.
Perhaps that is why at this time of year they are even extraordinarily played on TV and radio stations, in shopping centers, even in elevators and Dental offices.
If our ordinary hearts have been extraordinarily warmed in the fire of God’s love, how can we not extraordinarily sing in spontaneous thanks and praise?
The ordinary shepherds extraordinarily searched for an extraordinary Jesus.
And extraordinarily, when they found Jesus, the shepherds extraordinarily praised God for Jesus and shared the news of Jesus with all who would listen, “and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them”.
Maybe you feel rather ordinary yourself today.
Behind the ordinary festivities, maybe you secretly feel rather self conscious, insecure, unsure how you would respond to such a visitation from angels.
Then remember our extraordinarily extraordinary God delights in the ordinary.
Today, a small unassuming church building marks the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem.
It is the oldest church in the world.
Underneath the altar is a cave, a little cavern lit by silver lamps.
Crusader crosses are etched into the marble pillars, witness to countless generations of ordinary “shepherds” and ordinary pilgrims.
Unlike many of our Cathedrals, you can freely enter the building and admire this ancient church.
You can even step down into the quiet cave where a star embedded in the floor denotes the place where the Savior of the world was probably born.
But there is one condition, one requirement, one stipulation.
You have to stoop.
The entrance to the church is so low only a child can enter standing up.
A most profound an extraordinary parable.
To view the place where Christ was born, we must humble ourselves.
We must bow to enter his presence.
On our ordinary TV screens and in our ordinary newspapers, we see the world standing tall, ordinarily the taller, ordinarily the more impressive, but to bear witness to our extraordinarily extraordinary Savior, you get on your knees.
On your ordinary knees.
So… While the ordinary theologians were ordinarily sleeping,
While the ordinary elite were dreaming and while the successful were snoring, the extraordinarily extraordinary ordinary meek were ordinarily kneeling.
They were ordinarily kneeling before the extraordinarily extraordinary One only the extraordinarily, extraordinary, ordinarily meek will ever truly see.
Extraordinarily, ordinary shepherds were extraordinarily kneeling before Jesus.
They were the first to worship and they were the first to share the good news.
“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them… glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:17-18, 20)
May our extraordinary God extraordinarily bless you and may the extraordinary infant, Emmanuel, God extraordinarily with us, extraordinarily keep all of you.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
An Ode to Extraordinary Joy ….
Psalm 150
1 Praise ye the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.
8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. 9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. 20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
It’s better to give than to receive, as the saying goes.
This Christmas season, however, I must definitely admit that I find both giving and receiving quite difficult.
Some people – my wife. for example – seem to have no problem buying gifts, giving gifts and receiving gifts all with the very same wide smile on her face.
I, however, am pretty much the polar opposite, I prefer being self-sufficient.
That feels safer somehow.
It does not seem to matter what the gift is: someone’s time, money, or material possessions, there are definite moments when I genuinely fear that one feeling of being incredibly burdensome or way over the top indebted to the gift-giver.
On the other side of the equation, I want to have a generous heart in giving, but worry that whatever my gifts to someone else will be, they will be insufficient.
Truth is this … Buying, Giving and Receiving all require personal vulnerability.
They are foundational expressions of love, and love requires vulnerability.
Deep within our hearts, this need to express our love as buying, giving and receiving is essential at all times of the year, but the Christmas holidays can be a very great reminder to recommit to practices that have fallen by the wayside.
As I reflect on God’s generous love and faithfulness to me this past year, I am compelled to not only pass that generous love along to others, but to try to allow them to pass it back on to me in the spirit I originally passed it to them.
Faithful to this call to love, I must surrender my fears and insecurities to God.
In receiving God’s gift of love – His Son, to me, I have to be able to acknowledge that God often chooses to express that same measured love through His people.
It may come in the form of a kind word, an investment of time, an act of service, or a material gift – it may come some other more quieter way – this devotional.
But, it all requires a very definite, decisive and intentional act of vulnerability!
And that very definite, decisive and intentional act causes great internal chaos.
Right Gift – Right Intentions – Right Time?
Right Gift – Right Intentions – Wrong Time?
Right -Gift – Right Intentions – Insensitive to the Moment Wrong Time!
Right Gift – Wrong Intentions – Insensitive to the Moment Wrong Time!
Wrong Gift – Wrong Intentions – Insensitive to the Moment Wrong Time!
Wrong Gift – Heartless Intentions – Deliberate Infliction of Great Distress!
How can we know the true nature of our hearts when that moment arrives?
How prepared are we to receive that moment, under what and whose mindset?
Much Fear and Trembling, Stressed Out and uncertain degrees of Uncertainty?
With “Joy to the World” “Ear to Ear Smiles” Tidings of Good News, Great Joy?
I mean who wants Christmas to be that time of the year when friendship is lost?
Who wants Christmas to be that one time of the year when God’s greatest gift of the very tiniest of miracles goes, unrevealed, unnoticed, untried, unembraced?
Luke 2:8-14New English Translation
The Shepherds’ Visit
8 Now[a] there were shepherds[b] nearby[c] living out in the field, keeping guard [d] over their flock at night. 9 An[e] angel of the Lord[f] appeared to[g] them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified.[h]10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully,[i] for I proclaim to you good news[j] that brings great joy to all the people: 11 Today[k] your Savior is born in the city[l] of David.[m] He is Christ[n] the Lord. 12 This[o] will be a sign[p] for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”[q]13 Suddenly[r] a vast, heavenly army[s] appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory[t] to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people[u] with whom he is pleased!”[v]
The shepherds were going about their every day business of being a shepherd.
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord took over their senses and shone around them and they were absolutely terrified!
Friend to Friend
How many of us take some medication for stress-related causes each week.
During the holiday season, how many millions of people battle what experts refer to as the holiday blues?
Being a retired Psychiatric Nurse I am very familiar with anxiety, depression and the amount of pain it holds, must constantly battle to stay out of that pit.
Now, what can we do to turn it around – maybe bring out the Joy of the Season?
To correctly address anxieties and depression and other mental health issues, we must first come to a place of total surrender to God and His plan of healing, even if, in our current mental states we cannot see or understand that plan.
Remember that the bottom line of God’s heart is always toward His children is always about a safe, secure connection, relationship restoration and healing.
Always seek out professional help from Licensed Mental Health Professionals.
I thoroughly believe in my God’s power of bringing restoration and Shalom. I can say that I have been healed and can reflect upon many “mini-miracles!”
However, I also deeply believe that we also need the presence of Mental Health Professionals to help us sort out what is real from what is not, to talk things out with another human being and if we need Medication, then it can be prescribed.
We are each given by God certain spiritual gifts which God expects us to use to compassionately give support, build up and edify the Children of His Kingdom.
Over time, God brings together those whom He uniquely gifts with patience and love and brings together those who have been uniquely gifted with the ability to sit still and listen with those who find themselves in highest need of those gifts.
Our own benevolent and charitable God gave some the gift of compassion which they deeply, and desperately want nothing more than to give it away to another.
God has a definite plan for healing and restoration, we just need to give Him the time, season, the circumstance upon which we finally experience His Presence!
But will we on this day, this season, receive the gift in the spirit in which it was first given – will we even consider allowing ourselves to be healed of ourselves?
Luke 2:15-20New English Translation
15 When[a] the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord[b] has made known to us.” 16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger.[c]17 When[d] they saw him,[e] they related what they had been told[f] about this child, 18 and all who heard it were astonished[g] at what the shepherds said. 19 But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean.[h]20 So[i] the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising[j] God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told.[k]
My own experience ….
While I am not a big fan of television, perusing all of the myriad channels of this programmatic offering or that, I do enjoy watching home improvement shows.
On a recent program, an interior decorator and homeowner were discussing a list of great big changes that needed to be made in order to update their home.
“First, foremost, we have to do something about those windows,” the decorator announced. I was surprised that she listed this task first – until I saw the house.
The existing glass was not only a seriously ugly shade of gold, but it was thick and chunky as well.
The windows let in no light and made it virtually impossible to see in or out.
The result was a dark isolated home.
The distressed homeowner protested, “But I like my privacy.
And if I thought anyone could see in, I feel totally exposed, and vulnerable.”
When it comes to dealing with mental health, many people feel the same way.
Sometimes without even trying, sometimes quite purposely, we will construct walls over which no one would climb because the cost of friendship is too high.
We fill the windows of our soul with emotional excuses in order to avoid dealing with pain.
The result is darkness, loneliness, and missed opportunities for restoration.
We do not always want to understand our mental health when things trail off, depression or find the treasures of that darkness; we simply want to be rid of it.
Many people will only try to cope, understand and deal with their mental health issues on a superficial level – just refusing to confront head on, to face painful experiences, difficult relationships, and the broken places where darkness lives.
We have this tendency to only look for the nearest, quickest exit, hoping to ease by, to subtly bypass transparency because the price is just far too high to pay.
Emotional integrity is an essential step to dealing with mental health issues.
Embracing the critical importance of taking care of our mental health issues.
Embracing God with the same fervor and Joy as God is Embracing Joyfully Us.
Luke 2:15New English Translation
15 When[a] the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord[b] has made known to us.”
As God revealed His Glory to the Shepherds,
God is revealing His Glory to us even today ….
At least He is trying to reveal it to us ….
God showed the Shepherds where to look ….
God even told the Shepherds what and who to look for ….
God told them and showed them exactly where their mini-miracle was,
God is always trying impossibly, indescribably hard to get our attention!
We must be real with God as God is being real with us
We must be real before God we can be right with ourselves.
We must be willing to raise ourselves up and go and see this “mini-miracle!”
Leave the places where we are used to being both comfortable, uncomfortable.
Actively, with great and greater and greatest intention, seek our miracle of joy.
Until we are willing to risk everything with being 100% transparent with God, we can neither be transparent with ourselves, understand nor effectively deal with our mental health issues during the holidays or any other time of the year.
The holiday season always seem to tug harder and harder at the masks we carefully hold in place, push the emotional buttons we desperately try to hide.
The arrival of certain family members can resurrect uncomfortable and painful issues that have just kind of wallowed in our souls, never really been resolved.
Financial pressure to “get up and go” travel, try to buy all of those “right gifts” opens up like a widening sinkhole, waiting to steal our joy, destroy our peace.
Personal schedules, meeting all our demands, demands of family, of friends demand every ounce of energy, false expectations leave us empty and hollow.
The dark and ever widening and deepening pit waits for us to stumble, fall in.
We can choose to make this Christmas different.
We can choose to embrace God as God embraces us ….
We can choose to embrace baby Immanuel as baby Immanuel longs for and desperately needs and requires the embrace of His mother and his father.
Immanuel, God with us ….
Immanuel, God within us ….
Immanuel, God within us …. the miracle of life soon to be revealed in us ….
We can choose to embrace His Son Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
We can choose to embrace God the Holy Spirit as we are embraced, prayed for.
We can choose to give God praise.
We can choose to give Jesus our presence ….
We can choose to give the Holy Spirit our prayers ….
Choose to focus on the victories and joys we have experienced during the year, and then intentionally find new ways to share that victory and joy with others.
This season of Christmas can be a miracle of true celebration of fresh starts and new beginnings if we choose to focus on the miracle of a tiny little baby born in a manger, who came with a miraculous message, to save us and give us true life.
The darkness can be effectively addressed if we will deliberately, intentionally raise up from our places and go, choose to face and deal with whatever it holds.
Now It’s Our Turn to Get Up and Raise up ….
Read Luke 2:1-20.
Invite that infant into your life ….
Sit down next to that infant, Immanuel ….
Sit with Mary and Joseph ….
Sit in the coldness and the darkness of night which they did ….
Together, answer these questions after reading with them the Christmas story.
What was the attitude of Mary and Joseph as they traveled to Bethlehem?
How did the shepherds react to the news of Jesus’ birth? What did they do?
How would you describe the emotions and thoughts of Mary, of Joseph, of You?
How can your choice to “ponder” the miracles of Jesus’ birth change theirs and your personal perspective of the holiday season?
Get to know the true God and His Son, Immanuel through the Holy Scriptures.
Write a letter of commitment to that infant Jesus, asking Him to empower the choices you have made.
Make a plan or a list of “dos” and “don’ts” that will help you experience the best holiday season of your life.
Include this “first family”, and your family in making this plan, and make the prayerful commitment to covenant with God, to hold each other accountable.
Right now, choose the attitude of those shepherds, choose an attitude of joy by focusing your mind on the tiny things of heaven – not earth, and by fixing your heart on baby Jesus Christ -our Christmas chaos will turn into Christmas joy!
This year be determined to give gifts generously and to receive them graciously, because God was highly determined to give us the very best gift possible. I know both the acts of giving and receiving reflect God’s generous love unto the world.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
42 As a deer[c] longs[d] for streams of water, so I long[e] for you, O God! 2 I thirst[f] for God, for the living God. I say,[g] “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”[h] 3 I cannot eat; I weep day and night.[i] All day long they say to me,[j] “Where is your God?” 4 I will remember and weep.[k] For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God, shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.[l] 5 Why are you depressed,[m] O my soul?[n] Why are you upset?[o] Wait[p] for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention.[q] 6 I am depressed,[r] so I will pray to you while in the region of the upper Jordan,[s] from Hermon,[t] from Mount Mizar.[u] 7 One deep stream calls out to another[v] at the sound of your waterfalls;[w] all your billows and waves overwhelm me.[x] 8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,[y] and by night he gives me a song,[z] a prayer[aa] to the God of my life. 9 I will pray[ab] to God, my high ridge:[ac] “Why do you ignore[ad] me? Why must I walk around mourning[ae] because my enemies oppress me?” 10 My enemies’ taunts cut me to the bone,[af] as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”[ag] 11 Why are you depressed,[ah] O my soul?[ai] Why are you upset?[aj] Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention.[ak]
Father, I want this holiday season to be filled with light instead of darkness. Please help me discard my emotional masks and be real before You as well as my family and friends. Father, help me make this holiday season an offering of praise to You.
In Immanuel’s most blessed and precious Name, Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
77 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago. 6 I said,[a] “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: 7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? 8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”[b]
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. 18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.[c] 20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
A Psalm of Asaph ….
Reckoning with God what was weighing so heavily on his heart, upon his soul.
The passage of time stretched out like an unending journey.
Light had vanished and left me afraid.
Prayers went unanswered, and I cried out for the Lord to do something, but every day I faced the same struggles.
My heart felt frozen, my mind numb, I went through the motions of my daily tasks. I doubted God’s presence in my life and accused him of ignoring me.”
At times it can feel like we have been sidelined.
We pray for healing in our bodies or relationships, and things get worse and worse, we wonder to ourselves when it will finally be our turn for a miracle.
We cry and plead, but God seems silent.
The agony of silence gives way to an outburst of anger or disappointment.
Psalm 77 helps us to reckon our negative thoughts with God’s Truth, helps us to express our utter frustration, but also points our hearts toward God’s goodness.
Everyone faces days of trouble because trouble is part of our world.
It serves several purposes.
It’s an opportunity for our spiritual roots to go deeper as we choose to trust God with the unknowns that lie before us.
The thing with troubles is that we do not have any kind of guaranteed outcome, and we like positive outcomes we can all count on, in the end, the victory is all ours, but when the beginning seems long ago, the middle can seem unending.
What do we do when the middle seems long and victory far off?
Losing seems ever more imminent and retreat the only real way forward.
We remember that our miracle unfolds day by day and we turn to the past to propel us forward.
Sometimes we can’t see God clearly in our own lives, but that’s when we can turn to the Bible for ancient words of encouragement, hope, undeniable joy.
We find encouragement as we trace God’s faithful heart and his miraculous deeds throughout the Old and New Testaments.
When we remember how he parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, we can look for how he made a way in our lives too.
Our parting of seas might look like the strength to walk into any doctor’s office, unsure and uncertain and wholly afraid of the “news” we are about to receive.
It’s this maxed reliance on the ancient Words of God for the very next step that reveals so much more of the unfolding miracle he does in our day-to-day lives.
Luke 2:25-35New Living Translation
The Prophecy of Simeon
25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. 30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”
Our hearts grow stronger when we remember aged and devout Simeon who was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.
The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
How long had he been waiting and wondering for the miracle to take place in his life – that God would actually remember his name, remember His promise?
How consumed was Simeon with the thoughts that he would live long enough to see the Messiah but not be living long enough to see actual Messiah crowned?
How had he lived his life differently or the same trusting God would bless him above all others with hope, a miracle of blessed assurance, spiritual comfort?
Who was Simeon before the Holy Spirit came upon him – a despondent but too devout man like Asaph who had long desired for the Lord to make a difference?
His journey to this spiritual healing lasted years and cost him a place in society,
No one could help him wait.
His way was probably darkened with great discouragement.
Yet the infant Jesus was brought to the temple for ritual purification by his mom and dad, Simeon, convinced that a single touch of Jesus’ young body would heal him of his despondency and his impatience, perhaps failing faith.
His staunch persistence led to his miracle healing.
Simeon’s example of his steadfast trust in his God’s promise gives us courage to persist, helps us see where we stayed the course, even though we felt defeated.
Our persistence is part of the anticipated joy of our miracle of waiting for Jesus.
We may find ourselves in situations that seem as impassable as a wide sea.
There’s no way around it, and our despondency, defeat, grow ever closer.
We can surrender, or we can keep searching for a way through, trusting the ancient prophesies of God will miraculously come true, be with us, thru it all.
That’s just as much of a miracle as the seas parting and our despondency and defeat disappearing from taking center stage at the forefront of our thoughts.
The miracle of Immanuel, God with us!
The miracle of Immanuel, God within us!
The miracle of Immanuel, God goes with us.
He is our strength and companion for the troubled waters ahead.
For more years than I care to confess to (thirty) God carried me through that time when I felt discouraged and abandoned by him all those 20+ years ago.
There was very little hope of anything significant happening in my life. My joy was my pride in my ability to remain off the grid, all alone in my despondency.
Like Simeon, I somehow persisted in seeking him. And the miracle was a slow unfolding of grace as he met me, drew me closer to him, and renewed my heart.
Maybe, like the Psalmist Asaph, like I did, you are feeling this spiritual trough.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
If you find yourself in a situation where you feel like you’re in deep trouble and God seems far off, continue to call on him and remember what he has done.
When you couple that spiritual trough with an intentional time of remembering what he has done with you crying out to him, you might learn God strengthened your faith so that you too can see your miracle unfold as he carries you through.
Big splashy miracles are exciting testimonies of God’s power. Quiet miracles that unfold slowly are enduring testimonies of God’s glory revealed in you.
Right now, in this exact and God exacting moment, we are the sum total of all the practically unnoticed mini – miracles which God has performed in our lives.
Mini-Miracles!
Mini -Miracles …. which I agree wholeheartedly strikes me as oxymoronic.
Miracles, after all, are defined as acts of God, amazing and marvelous events, and “seals of a divine mission” (Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary).
Generally speaking, there’s nothing small about them.
What I’m talking about then, are instances of heavenly intervention in the lives of believers impacting what we would consider “minor” areas of our existence,
the things that cause us to make statements like: “It showed me that God cares about even the minutest things in our lives,” always as if that’s a profoundly shocking proclamation.
Those passing momentsNone of us ever responds to by saying, “Well, duh…”
I believe it’s because it never stops being a mind-blowing concept – the Creator of the universe, who hears every single one of the prayers, praises of billions simultaneously and loves each one the same, provided, perhaps, just the right amount of money for a struggling single mom to buy her child a pair of shoes.
It’s not the ancient grand parting of the Red Sea to preserve for Himself a people, or the resurrection of His son to purchase the redemption of humanity.
It’s, for lack of a better term, nearly imperceptible moment – a mini-miracle!
Which almost certainly finds its ancient roots in scripture written thousands of years ago – ancient truths, revealed to ancient writers, affecting ancient lives!
Mark 6:30-44New Living Translation
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
30 The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. 31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.
32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. 33 But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. 34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”
37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money[a] to buy food for all these people!”
38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”
They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.
41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.[b]
I remember one time in our Adult Bible Fellowship class I stepped in to teach our continuing series in Mark’s gospel.
We were in Chapter Six, focusing primarily on the Feeding of the 5,000.
As I began my carefully crafted, well thought out, well researched lesson, I had admit that I had never quite been able to visualize this scene, or to understand exactly what the miracle was meant to reveal to me 2 thousands of years after.
I mean, there is the lesson of provision, but the human body can go without food for quite some time.
Jesus Himself fasted in the wilderness for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-4).
So it’s not like life and death were hanging in the balance if all of those people who had followed Him to this “desolate place” went without dinner that night.
It could be, as I suggested, Jesus just didn’t want the people to go away – He had just suffered the death of His cousin John the Baptist, and recently endured the “prophesized unbelief” (Mark 6:6) of those from His hometown of Nazareth.
It could be, I mentioned, Jesus took great, immense delight in this multitude foregoing their bodily needs to attend to His every wisdom and every Word.
It very well could be our Lord simply wanted to do something “just for them.”
Maybe, I said, that’s why I said I always tended to overlook significance this miracle hidden in these short few verses of Mark’s Gospel a little bit too much.
“You know how sometimes when God does something that you know was ‘just exclusively for you,’ and you tell someone else about it, and they’re like, ‘That’s cool and all,’ but it just does not carry the same weight or meaning for them?”
I knew exactly what that was like, and the class liked where I was going. I could sense an even greater personalization in mini-miracles, in God drawing delight from blessing our socks off in ways that speak to our individual hearts.
The idea also gave me greater permission to attribute to the Lord all sorts of mini-transpiring’s I had always chalked up to my own efforts, happenstance, or even worse, brushed them off, “gone, completely “so what”” without noticing.
Today, I write this devotion and I wonder how many mini-miracles I’ve missed out praising and thanking the Lord for by being impatient, or plain inattentive.
Count on your own fingers and count on your toes, count on all your neighbors fingers and toes at exactly how many of those “mini-miracles” “imperceptible works of the Lord our God” have passed by you – how many miracles missed?
Romans 1:19-22 New Living Translation
19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
Moses told those worshipping the golden calf: “Your problem is not that God is not fulfilling, your problem is that you are spoiled”
Romans 1:19-22 would seem to indicate that the Lord’s hand is always evident everywhere – “all people can clearly see all His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So, ergo, they have no excuse for not knowing God”
I like these verses very much, because, when it comes right down to it I like to see of myself as being constantly on the lookout for the smallest works of God.
But that brings me to the other ways to miss miracles – by not accepting them, anticipating or expecting them, by resenting them, or wanting to earn them.
“I love to give to charity, but I don’t want to be charity. This is why I have so much trouble with grace.”
Can we get past the affront of accepting a free gift?
If we can, we might see the Lord trying to say through the Feeding of the 5,000 and even today, “Here I Am, stay here, spend more time, no need to go away, please accept this, put yourself in My hands, keep your eyes open, I will feed and love you.”
After all, says Matthew 7:11,
“If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?”
Mini-miracles are the “good gifts” “baskets of bread crumb” treats God brings home to His beloved Children, those who will and do seek him with a childlike faith, those who consider themselves “the little ‘mini miracle’ things in life.”
Well, duh…
Today, try bringing some ‘mini-miracle’ something or other home to a loved one, remind yourself, them, how much indescribable joy God gets from giving.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
O Lord my God, Mighty in Power, Mighty in Word and in Deed. You say that I should have unshakeable faith in You so that I will be upheld. I believe I do, Mighty Lord. I place all my faith in You. You strengthen me. Your holy force keeps my spirit alive and burning fiercely for You. I know that with You I can overcome anything. Thank You for remaining faithful to Your chosen people. Thank You for guiding me in my life and helping me to become a vessel for Your will. I pray that I continue to put my faith and trust in You because You know all things. You know what the hearts of Your people need, and I know You will help me through whatever this life brings. Amen.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.”[a]
29 But she was greatly troubled by the statement and was wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. 31 Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Listen, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this is her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible for God.”
38 Then Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
A conversation for the ages ….
The Angel Gabriel suddenly, quietly appears to a young teenager named Mary.
And now, unfolding before each of us is the glorious mystery of a conversation unlike any other in all of the Word of God for His Children as it then takes place.
– some how, today, we are all privy to this moment in Luke’s Gospel Narrative.
The Angel Gabriel appears …. and in his angelic voice …. speaks to Mary ….
“Greetings, YOU who are highly favored!
“The Lord IS with YOU!”
“Blessed are YOU among women!”
“Do not be afraid, MARY, because YOU have found favor with God!”
“Listen, YOU will conceive and give birth to a son, and YOU are to name him Jesus.”
“He WILL be great and WILL be called the Son of the Most High!”
“The Lord WILL give Him the throne of his father David!”
“He WILL reign over the House of Jacob forever!”
“AND his kingdom WILL NEVER end!”
“The Holy Spirit WILL come upon you, and the power of The Most High WILL overshadow YOU!”
“So, the holy one to be born WILL be called the Son of God!”
“Your relative, Elizabeth, has also conceived a son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this IS her sixth month!”
“For nothing is impossible with God!”
Blessing after blessing after blessing is pronounced by the Angel Gabriel.
One after the other, after the other, after the other ….
Indescribable blessings, Unimaginable blessings, are being announced ….
To a stunned teenage girl who is not the least bit sure what is happening in but the few short minutes it might have taken for this conversation to take place.
What can we allow ourselves to imagine are her thoughts at this revelation?
“How can this be…?” she mutters to herself – but still loud enough for the Angel Gabriel to hear her and respond with more blessings than Mary can even grasp.
She heard the Angel of the Lord speak out her name – Mary, as if he had always known it and her – but they had never met before, or have ever been introduced.
“How can this be…?”
“The Angel of the Lord …. KNOWS MY NAME!?!”
That means that “GOD KNOWS MY NAME TOO AND HAS ALWAYS KNOWN IT!”
“I am an anonymous teenager from a quiet little village, going about my daily chores, as are many others on this day, and suddenly I realize “God knows me!”
“GOD KNOWS ME!”
“GOD KNOWS MY NAME!”
The One who created the heavens and earth, by the command of his voice and touch of a finger, knows each of our names.💛
Genesis 1:16 reminds us, “God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.”
“It always makes me smile when I read, “He made the stars also;” as if they were an after thought and not important.”
“My mind cannot even comprehend how easy it was for Almighty God to bring forth the magnificence and beauty of ALL the stars and constellations.”
“Though, obviously anonymous, lesser brilliant than the stars of the night, I am STILL the handiwork of MY God’s finger and containing all His glory!”
“Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:26
“As I look out into the night sky at all the twinkles that stretch as far as my tiny little eyes can see, I am amazed that God calls them each by name and He knows where they ALL are located. Not one of them is missing – and NEITHER AM I!”
“My very thoughts extend to the heart cry of David in Psalm 8:3-9. One who is acquainted with spending nights under a blanket of stars as a shepherd boy.
The young Psalmist boy now declaring the greatness of the Lord with humility and reverence for his grace bestowed on us, BESTOWED ON EVEN ME, MARY!
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is woman, Mary, that you are even mindful of her, and the son of man that you care for him?”
“What amazing love God has for each of us, His Children that He even took us into consideration when creating the brilliancy of the heavens. He gave us eyes to see, cared about our comfort to provide and give us each a genuine identity.”
“God, with just a word formed light (setting every star in place, day and night, sun and moon, planets, and every expanse of light) making a way for us to look upward, see the work of His hands, then look down and see ME His handiwork.”
“To now, as I gaze upwards upon the heavens in awesome wonder to all that belongs to Him (Psalm 115:16). A reminder of His love for mankind and how much more His gaze is forever and ever upon us, and WE BELONG TO HIM”
“We never have to question if we are known in this tiny little acre of this tiny little section of the world. For we were not hidden from Him when formed in our mothers womb. He is knows everything about us and loves us without end.”
GOD KNOWS MY NAME!
“What an awesome thought!”
“What a comforting thought!”
“What an incredibly indescribably JOYFUL, JOY-FILLED THOUGHT!”
“Out of all the people in world; God knows MY Name! Out of all the stars and planets in the universe; God knows MY Name, He knows ME. Out of all the animals upon yonder hills and the deep forest; God knows even MY Name!”
“God called Hagar by name.”
“Lonely in the wilderness and crying – He called her, He knew her Name.”
She did not know His Name but in that moment – He KNOWS her Name.
God blessed Hagar with a son, Ishmael … Ishmael … God WILL hear YOU!
Ishmael … The Lord WILL HEAR YOUR AFFLICTION! (Genesis 16:11)
“Think about how important we feel, when so called important people so dryly call us by name – how “so what” anonymous we continue to feel afterwards.”
“Yet, how can we ever allow ourselves to ever imagine; the God of the universe coming to us, but not just “coming to us” but too calling us each by our Name!”
“What Does it mean?”
“My Name is the sum total of who I am.”
“I am not a number…I am not a meaningless symbol.”
“I am God’s own.”
“I am His FRIEND!”
“I am known by the Most High!”
“I am His and He IS mine!”
“He who occupies heaven’s throne, KNOWS MY Name!”
To know a Name is to know ALL there is to know about the person.
“He KNOWS My Name. He KNOWS the good and the bad equally.”
“He sees my heart and my mind and soul immediately at all times; (like even exactly right NOW), He knows all of my thoughts before their manifestation!”
WHAT DOES EVEN ONE WORD OF THIS CONVERSATION MEAN TO US NOW?
I. God Knows YOU.
He knows YOU apart from everyone else.
He knows YOU apart from everyone else with the same name.
He knows you incomparably.
No one knows you like God does.
He knew me before conception.
Before my mother named me, He knew My Name.
Before My Name was written on my birth certificate, He knew My Name.
Before My Mother was born, He knew My Name.
He knew the name she thought about giving me before naming me.
II. God Knows YOU Absolutely.
He knew you too, from your mother’s womb.
He knows your thoughts.
He knows your deeds.
He knows your hurts.
He knows your weakness.
He knows your sickness.
He knows your circumstances.
He knows your down sitting and your uprising.
He knows YOU.
EXACTLY RIGHT IN THIS MOMENT; God KNOWS our Name.
III. God Knows Where You Are At All Times.
Hagar was sent away by Sarai but not beyond the all seeing eyes of God.
Hagar declared; God sees Me.
Her value jumped up immediately.
She was cast aside with her son by Sarai and Abram as a nobody.
But God knew her Name.
To God Hagar was somebody.
You may be down right in this exact moment but God KNOWS your name!
You may be used and refused but God ABSOLUTELY KNOWS your Name!
IV. God Calls Us By Our Name.
Hagar was evicted and unemployed.
Hagar was impregnated by Abram and thrown aside by Sarai.
Hagar was broken by a conspiracy between a husband and a barren woman.
Hagar was hurting and helpless with no solution in sight.
There was no one to help her or her son.
Hagar was setup by Sarai and used up by Abram.
Hagar fell out of favor with the woman who asked her for a sexual favor.
But still God CALLED her by Name.
God will meet you where you end up and He WILL CALL YOU by name.
V. God Knows Your Name. Do you Know His Name?
Is is (amazing) that God knows My Name.
But do we realize it is OUR SALVATION) when WE KNOW His Name?
There’s no other Name given whereby men can be saved.
His Name is a saving name.
His Name is a prayer endorsing Name.
His Name is a healing Name.
His Name is a soothing Name.
His Name is a powerful Name.
His Name is Demon scaring Name.
His Name is sin remitting Name.
His Name is a Death Conquering Name.
His name is a present refuge name.
His Name is a God given Name.
His Name is a Praise Worthy Name.
In this EXACT moment, I dare you, Praise His WORTHY Name, right Now!
VI. One Day God Will Call Our Name to Enter Our Heavenly Home!
John 11:20-26Evangelical Heritage Version
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary was sitting in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the Last Day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. 26 And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.[a] Do you believe this?”
Do WE believe this?
Do WE also believe this …. ?
John 14:1-14English Standard Version
I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?[b]3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”[c]5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.[d] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me[e] anything in my name, I will do it.
VII. I Know His Name.
All My fears have been hushed because I know His Name.
I go to sleep at night remembering that He KNOWS MY NAME!
I go to sleep at night remembering that I know His Name.
I wake up each morning declaring that He KNOWS MY NAME!
I go to work or I go shopping KNOWING He KNOWS MY NAME!
I eat my meals with my wife thankful WE KNOW HE KNOWS OUR NAMES!
I faced sickness knowing that HE KNEW MY NAME!
I faced sickness knowing that I knew His Name.
My Wife has faced sickness knowing that she KNEW HIS NAME!
My Wife has faced sickness knowing that HE KNEW HER NAME!
I will die peacefully one day, because I KNOW His Name!
Isn’t it an AMAZING thought?
The GOD of the UNIVERSE KNOWS MY NAME!
The God who ordered the stars, who knows them all by name ….
Should also KNOW YOUR NAME and desire to give order to your life?
HMM ….
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 Evangelical Heritage Version
Your Name Is Majestic
Heading
For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] A psalm by David.
The Glory of God Declared by the Heavens The Glory of God Declared by Children
1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Set this glory of yours above the heavens.[b] 2 From the lips of little children and nursing babies you have established strength[c] because of your foes, to put a stop to the enemy and the avenger.
The Glory of the Son of Man
3 Whenever I look up at your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place— 4 what is man that you remember him, the son of man[d] that you pay attention to him! 5 Nevertheless, you make him suffer need, apart from God for a while,[e] but you crown him with glory and honor. 6 You make him the ruler over the works of your hands. You put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and cattle, and even the wild animals, 8 the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, which pass through the currents of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
But now this is what the Lord says, the Lord who created you, O Jacob, the Lord who formed you, O Israel. Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. 2 When you cross through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross the rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not set you on fire.
3 Because I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I gave Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious and honored in my eyes, and I myself love you, I will give people in exchange for you, and peoples in exchange for your life. 5 Do not be afraid, because I am with you. From the east I will bring your offspring, and from the west I will gather you. 6 I will say to the north, “Give them back!” and to the south, “Do not hold them.” Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— 7 everyone who is called by my name, everyone I created for my glory, everyone I formed, yes, everyone I have made.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
One of those things I really have a hard time with in this Christmas season are the writing an the sending of the traditional array of all those Christmas Cards.
I am always the one who is either incredibly late or incredibly lazy preferring the “contact list” on my smart phone and then dialing the ones I remember I have some kind of almost formal relationship or more than mere acquaintance.
I look at my smart phones contact list which is quite long with nearly every one of the letters of the alphabet having at least three or four and several with more.
Sometimes when I’m wrestling to figure out what is on God’s heart for me to say to them or if I am going to write a Christmas Card to them, what do I say?
Try taking “mental image” of each one, look at the names one by one and pray,
“Lord, I do not know if I remember our last conversation or I do not remember the physical face of this person, what is on your heart for this person, that family?”
“Lord, I have nothing on my heart for this person, this family, I know you know far more than I do , what’s on your heart for this person? How can I pray for them?
The answer from heaven, the Word of God for His Children, came straight away,
“Pray that they will all come to know that they are all precious in my sight.”
So that is what I will be striving to do this year.
Another vision caught my soul, somebody who I hadn’t even met yet or learned anything at all about, that person on the street corner with their signs, the ones who will drive their cars and trucks around me, beside me and long past me and when I drive past the hospitals, rehab centers, hospices, the police stations and the Fire and Rescue stations and the packed Mall Stores, all of the restaurants,
The answer came crashing headlong into my ever questioning spirit again ….
“Even if you send no cards or make no calls, even if you only pray in silence …. “
“Pray they will ALL come to know that they are absolutely precious in my sight.”
“I know everyone of them by name and I desire each of them to know my Name!”
I cannot ever claim I have minimally mastered the art of hearing God’s voice.
But does that answer sound like God to you?
I know that’s how he genuinely wants me to learn to look at each of you, to be communicating the ancient messages of Isaiah 43: 1 -7, be continually praying its ancient truths to all my neighbors as being absolutely precious in his sight.
I haven’t mastered that, yet either.
But it definitely sounds like something original and worth my maximum effort.
Starting a new Christmas Tradition – Pray without Ceasing for my Neighbors!
Drive around some neighborhoods I am a stranger to – Pray Isaiah 43:1-7
Isaiah 43:1-7Easy-to-Read Version
God Is Always With His People
43 Jacob, the Lord created you. Israel, he made you, and now he says, “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine. 2 When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. 3 That’s because I, the Lord, am your God. I, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior. I gave Egypt to pay for you. I gave Ethiopia and Seba to make you mine. 4 You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you. That’s why I am willing to trade others, to give up whole nations, to save your life.
5 “So don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will gather your children and bring them to you. I will gather them from the east and from the west. 6 I will tell the north: Give my people to me. I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison. Bring my sons and daughters to me from the faraway places. 7 Bring to me all the people who are mine—the people who have my name. I made them for myself. I made them, and they are mine.
(Neighbors, Neighborhoods)
The Lord created you.
He made you, and now the Lord God says, “Do not be afraid, I saved you.”
“I have named you!”
“You are Mine!”
“When you have troubles, I am with you. when you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you’ll not be burned; flames wont hurt you.”
“That’s because, I, the Lord, am your God, I am your Savior.”
“I gave my only Son, Jesus for you. I gave him to you to make you mine.”
“You are all absolutely precious to me, and I have given you a place of honor.”
“I Love you with an everlasting Love, that is why I gave my own Son for you.”
“To save your life!”
“So don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will gather your children and bring them to you. I will gather them from the east and from the west.
I will tell the north: Give my people to me. I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison. Bring my sons and daughters to me from the faraway places.
Bring to me all the people who are mine—the people who have my name. I made them for myself. I made each and everyone of them, and they are mine.”
I do not have to know even one of their names, I do not even have to know who they are in the grand scheme which is God’s own exclusive plan for all of them.
I just have to recognize the power of God in the Word of God for His Children to make a difference, will one day, perhaps immediately, make all the difference.
When I’m driving around, I’m walking around, and I’m prayingIsaiah 43:1-7,
What might be the possible outcomes of God working in and through my neighbors?
From the first verses of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation, provides endless examples of how the presence of the Lord empowers his people to live for him.
Take Moses, for example.
He was convinced that without God’s presence in his life, it was useless for him to attempt anything.
When he spoke face to face with the Lord, he stated boldly,
“If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15).
He was saying, “Lord, if you’re not with us, we are not going to make it. We will not go a single step without the assurance of your presence.”
God’s presence is what sets us apart from nonbelievers.
The Old Testament is filled with accounts of great blessings that came to those who had God’s presence with them.
For instance, God’s presence was so evident in Abraham’s life that even the heathen around him recognized the difference between their lives and his.
Heathen king Abimelech said, “God is with you in all that you do” (Genesis 21:22).
God promised Joshua that no enemy could stand against him when his presence was with him:
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1:5-6).
When God’s Spirit is present in your life, you can be a conqueror because you securely place 100% trust in his promise to be with you in everything you do.
God shared with His Prophet Isaiah a special promise he makes to all he loves:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine … I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior … Fear not, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:1, 3, 5).
With God’s presence abiding in you, you can go through any fire and not just survive, but be kept safe and protected through it all.
Just as it was with Moses, Abraham and countless others God touched because someone prayed, a high powered testimony of God’s presence in your life today.
We are God’s creations, we have come from him, his children, and whether we like it or not he will always feel an unshakeable connection to us, a desire for us.
God loves us with a parent’s love, only better than any human parent can do.
He created us, but then, maybe to pin the thought down a little stronger,
the thought is repeated with a slightly different spin in the next phrase, “he who formed you, O Israel.”
Can you hear a little more care in that?
He formed us.
He is forming us every day.
The Bible tells us over and over again that God is molding us.
He teaches us.
He disciplines those whom he loves.
We like to think God’s exclusive job is to just give us lots of cool stuff, lie the abundance of His life, but the Bible talks much more about how he brings tests, adversities into our lives to teach us His precious character and make us strong.
When I was trying to learn all I can about just what it means when God said we are precious in his sight, I looked up other places in the Hebrew Old Testament where the same Hebrew word, translated “precious” here, is used.
It’s used of precious stones, maybe diamonds or emeralds or rubies, things that are kingly expensive, just plain hard to get at and also very beautiful to look at.
1 Kings 7:9, the word is used to describe the massive foundation stones used in building Solomon’s palace, “costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front.”
Take some quality time to meditate about a huge stone, weighing tons, maybe 5 feet deep, 8 feet long, 3 or 4 feet high, cut by hand out of a quarry, dragged by hand across miles of countryside without anything close to what we would consider a decent road, shaped so the front and back were smooth and the sides shaped so that it would fit perfectly with the other stones brought together.
This was before the days of high tech power tools or dynamite and it took an incredible amount of people doing an impossible amount of work to prepare even one of those stones. Every one that made it, that got fitted perfectly into the building had a huge investment in it and must have been worth an awful lot.
Is there anyone here reading this today in whom God has not already made an incredible investment to make you what you are today?
He is steadily building His church into His Image with a great deal of care, molding each and every one of us very carefully, chipping away at our rough spots, the parts that stick out and keep the other stones from fitting close to us.
It’s a huge job.
It’s an impossible job
He has invested an awful lot in us.
And that makes us even more precious.
And often times when he is chipping away at our rough spots and those tests and adversities start to fly fast and thick we can feel like he’s mad at us or has abandoned us, but no, he’s loving us and teaching us.
He’s molding us.
And we often look back at the darkest times of our lives and look at the lessons we learned there, the growth we experienced and, looking back we would not wish it has been any other way because those lessons, his wise forming, was so incomprehensibly valuable, so undeniably precious and so indescribably God.
Time shows us God’s wisdom and love are always there if we will accept them.
The first verse goes on, “Do not fear, I have redeemed you.”
That’s another reason that God loves us.
He has redeemed us.
And here we need to give some background.
These words of Isaiah are not addressed to wonderful children of God who are hanging in the temple all day, studying God’s word, obeying it wholeheartedly.
He’s writing this to a nation of Israel that had squandered God’s gift of the temple and now it had been destroyed.
When things had gotten tough they had turned their backs on God, making alliances with pagan kings, serving pagan gods.
And as they set off on their own in defiance of the god who created them and had formed them.
They were invaded.
Jerusalem was destroyed.
Most of the people were forced to migrate into exile in faraway lands. You can read about it in the Hebrew Testament in Second Kings and Second Chronicles.
These words of God’s love in Isaiah 43 weren’t spoken in a time when God’s people made it easy to love them.
They had disobeyed terribly.
They had lost their freedom and their land.
And if you back up and read the previous chapter, Isaiah 42, you will see some of the poignant phrases used to describe how God saw his people at the time.
They were:
That they are blind towards him.
They had been robbed and plundered by their enemies.
They are now trapped by their foolishness.
And who behaves well when they feel trapped by their own foolishness?
And God is really angry with them.
But it’s the anger of someone who cares. Because they are precious in his sight he wants so much more for them and he just doesn’t give up working on them.
That’s when this word “redemption” is needed.
God’s children are in trouble.
And he was taking it upon himself to sacrifice everything to bail them out.
If we take the time to ponder 2022, we may find ourselves identifying with it.
Being a parent at parent-teacher conferences is fun when your kid is the one who has all the “A” papers posted on the bulletin boards at school and when you know the teacher is just going to rave about how well your kid is doing.
But what if your kid is the one who always gives the teacher a very hard time, and there will be none of your child’s homework posted in the classroom, and he has carved nasty words into the top of his desk, and other parents are getting mad at you for what your kid has done to their kid.
That’s when love is tested.
That’s when the question gets harder,
“am I going to sacrifice everything so I can be there for my child or not?”
Our God sees himself as our redeemer, the family member who bails us out when we get in trouble.
In the Hebrew Testament, Abraham’s nephew Lot made a foolish decision to settle in the immoral city of Sodom.
One day Sodom was raided and Lot and his family were captured to be sold as slaves and all his property was stolen.
Well, old Uncle Abraham took off in hot pursuit with his servants and they made a surprise attack upon those raiders and he got his nephew back out of trouble.
In one of the most incredible stories of the Bible, the prophet Hosea had a wife who betrayed him, having affair after affair.
Finally she left him altogether.
She became a prostitute.
Then one day he found her up for sale in a slave market, used up, spiritually hardened, embittered. And Hosea redeemed his wife. He bought her out of slavery and he brought her home again and he cared for her and he loved her.
I hope we never come to speak of God’s love for us lightly.
He has paid such an impossibly high price for us.
Jesus died on the cross to redeem us from our sins.
He has put his precious name upon us, and we have repeatedly brought high dishonor upon that precious name.
But he’s our parent, our teacher, our husband, our redeemer.
He has invested so much in every single one of us we are precious in his sight.
Now go outside look around, walk around, drive around your neighborhoods.
Do you see anyone who is not absolutely precious in God’s sight?
We all probably can find someone who rubs us the wrong way.
We can all find somebody whom we know or at least suspect still needs a lot of God’s shaping before they are finished.
Let’s help each other spot them, anybody who is somebody who still needs some of God’s exclusive shaping, a lot of God’s shaping raise both your hands.
We all should have our hands up.
We may see somebody we suspect is off in exile right now, feeling very far from God, desperately grasping at straws trying to get their life back under control.
Maybe you can see that they aren’t making wise choices in that desperation.
Maybe they are uncomfortable to have around.
Maybe you can see they still have a lot of rough edges that need trimming.
But is there anyone in all of those neighborhoods who is not absolutely precious in God’s sight?
Remember how Solomon’s Temple was carefully built? It’s when the stones all come together out of the quarry, they are first hewn, then by struggle, brought to the area where they are to be placed, fitted close together that imperfections show up and out and final trimming can happen and all the stones be perfected.
He loves us when we are unlovely.
He is so committed to us that he keeps working on us, chipping away on our rough edges.
Sometimes he uses us to knock each other’s rough edges off.
Sometimes that person who just doesn’t seem to fit near you at all is just the exact person you need to show you, reveal, what work you still need done.
Verses 5 and 6 talk about God gathering the scattered Israelites from the four corners of the earth, north, south, east and west, gathering them together.
How many of us will walk or drive south today?
How many of us will walk or drive north today?
How many of us will walk or drive east today?
How many of us will walk or drive west today?
How many have rely on GPS to get around?
Look around you – at all those neighbors and all those neighborhoods too,
He’s gathering the stones to build something here. I don’t know yet all of what it will be. But every last one of us has a place because every one of us is precious.
And when he brings us stones close together and things start to rub, we can be tempted to push away.
But what kind of building can God build if the stones refuse to be shaped?
Or they themselves insist on leaving big gaps between themselves, or they look at that stone that just came in from the quarry and they see the rough edges and they say, send it back, we don’t want it, it is not precious, just throw it far away?
No, God brings us together so we can see the spots that need trimming down.
And the closer we come to one another and the more we rub against each other the more opportunity we have to grow and be conformed into his image.
And so when we feel the rubbing start to happen, we don’t push away.
We need each other.
We are all absolutely precious in the sight of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit!
We need to learn how all of God plans to fit every single one of us together.
We need to learn to lovingly adapt our lives to each other.
We need to learn to talk things out when there are rough spots.
We need to see through God’s eyes, that every one of us is precious in His sight.
Take a walk through your neighborhood – Pray for all of those precious to God.
Take a drive through your neighborhoods – Pray for all of those precious to God.
Start a new Christmas tradition ….
Unleash our PRECIOUS God ….
Unleash His PRECIOUS Son Jesus Christ ….
Unleash God, the PRECIOUS Holy Spirit ….
Imagine all of the precious Miracles which are about to unfold before you ….
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
To our God and soon coming Savior, I give You thanks. God, I pray today that You will reveal the fullness of yourself to me and each of those placed in my life. As we walk and drive around our neighbors and our neighborhoods, May we each have that precious encounter from the One and Only true and living God. I pray that the desires of our hearts shall be to seek after You that we may know You, experience You and we will all learn how to be men and women precious after God’s own heart, Amen.
40 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.”
3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4 Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!”[a]
6 A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?”
“Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”
9 O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.[b] Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!” 10 Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Without exception, each and every one of us needs a healthy dose of comfort from time to time.
The child at play who trips and scrapes her knee badly needs comfort from a parent or other caregiver.
The young man or woman at college with its unfamiliar surroundings needs someone to talk to.
Consider the teenager who comes of age and chooses to leave the comforts or the discomforts of their parents home and moves away to “test the waters.”
They are on their own for the first time in their lives – challenging themselves to “find their own way, start figuring out what this life is and can be all about.
Consider also the young couple whose first child was stillborn, the middle-aged couple whose child died in an accident, or by an act of violence or in combat in a foreign land, the elderly man or the elderly women whose spouse of however many years is slipping away because of some untreatable Cancer or Dementia.
Consider the person who for the first time in however many years is all alone during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season – where are their presents?
Consider those whose loved ones are in long term care facilities – those whose families do not seem to be around very much or very often or even if at all.
Those who are lying in Hospice care – nearing the end of their life’s journey.
Would you care to volunteer your time to sit with the dying to comfort them?
Consider the long term hospitalized children – treated for cancers in places like St. Jude’s Hospital in Tennessee – never far away from the challenging disease.
The men and women of our Armed Forces – serving in foreign lands far away from home – the veterans who served in times of war and in times of peace?
Feel free to fill in your own personal list of “cares and considerations” here.
Who will comfort them?
We all need someone who will shout “Comfort, O Comfort …” into our souls!
Our ever changing bodies and spirits, our ever changeable hearts, long to hear:
Isaiah 40:6-8New Living Translation
6 A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?”
“Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.
It is not that there is a shortage of people who would not readily come to the side of an ailing friend in the hospital or come to the home to prepare meals or to clean the house or to give aid and care and comfort to that person in need.
It is not that there is a shortage of people who would readily lend someone their ears and their silences to sit in someone’s presence and allow them to ventilate.
It is not that there will ever be a shortage of people lacking in their desire to communicate the much needed and timely, timeless message of “Yes! there is always hope!”
Saying that, we must recognize that the hands and feet and heart and soul and the voices of those whose sole purpose in life is communicating hope can only go so far – can only really be effective for a tragically limited amount of time.
Humanity has its God established limits which man cannot ever set aside.
Caregivers get tired, need their rest and recreation, bodily, spiritual renewal.
The 24 hour a day seven day a week 12 months, 365 days caregiving thing has its very definite limits and boundaries which absolutely need to be held to and respected otherwise the caregiver will be the one in need of all the caregiving.
However, humanity has this unchanging, unchangeable message of true hope.
Thank God for the power and purpose and passion of our God’s Word for His beloved Children- that there is good news for great HOPE in Isaiah’s song.
God himself says, “Comfort, comfort my people. . . . Speak tenderly. . . .”
When we need comfort, we must remember, first, that God is the Sovereign Lord over all life. He will meet us in every situation with his powerful arm.
As an old hymn puts it, “Oh, let me not forget that, though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.” Never forget it! This is our Father’s world.
Second, our Father is a loving, compassionate God.
No matter what adversities you and I may be going through today, you and I can always take great comfort that like a shepherd stays with his sheep, cares for his sheep, tends his sheep, guides his sheep, God carries us close to his heart.
With such knowledge of God’s unchanging, unchangeable care for His Children, we in turn can open up our hearts and our souls and our hands and our feet too.
Giving every ounce of thanks unto God for setting the example through Christ:
2 Corinthians 1:3-7New Living Translation
God Offers Comfort to All
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
Throughout His Word, God specifically calls Himself “The God of all Comfort, who comforts us in all of our trouble.”
Why does God call Himself “the God of all Comfort?”
Because He knows His Children will suffer in this world, and He knows well His Children will constantly, continuously need His eternal “I’m always wide awake vigilance,” His forever constant, continuous, unchanging, comforting presence.
That is precisely the role He gives Himself in these verses from Psalm 121
Psalm 121New Living Translation
Psalm 121
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
He is our Chief Comforter “for all of our trouble.”
Nothing is ever too big ….
Nothing is ever too small ….
We can experience His comfort now if we rest in His unchanging presence and His Word.
And there is true, everlasting and unrivalled comfort to come when God will “wipe away every tear from our eyes” (Revelation 21:4)
Revelation 21:4 gives us that very intimate and very personal image of God’s care and attention when we finally see Him face to face on that great, glorious day when we shall behold Him, when we shall finally meet Him up in heaven.
It shows his unrivalled understanding of exactly what kinds of trials we have been through and pains we have carried.
He wants to be the One who greets us in heaven, who wipes away out tears, and reassures us that sickness, sadness, uncertainty and death are all behind us.
He is not going to draft in an angel for that greeting; or even a family member we may be looking forward to seeing and meeting again past heavens doors.
He wants to be the One to receive us, give us our ultimate everlasting comfort.
In this uncomfortable world, we know the One who is our eternal comfort.
He has Overcome!
He is Victorious!
And His Kingdom can never be shaken!
That is our Strength and our Hope!
In this world which surrounds us in suffering,
We who are His beloved Children can look forward to our ultimate comfort.
We who are His beloved Children look ahead to the world where this truth is;
By the Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, Unchanging and Unchangeable ….
Revelation 21:3-7New Living Translation
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a]4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
O Comfort, O Comfort, to all of My People …. thus Saith the Lord our God!
In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord Jesus, God of all Comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, bless us all today with the peace of your Presence. We thank You that You alone truly know our every pain and the aches of our hearts and souls in these difficult and most discomforting, disquieting of days. You experienced poverty and hardship, suffering like we may never comprehend, rejection humiliation and death unlike no one else in all of history. You are my compassionate High Priest, who feels real sympathy for my failures and my weaknesses; who will never leave us nor forsake us nor ever leave us as orphans. Good Shepherd, carry us through, Your tired, wearied lambs, through the valley’s of uncertainty, the rushing rivers of tears flood our souls. Comfort us with the steady beat of Your good heart and comfort us with the soft whispers of Your unchanging, unchangeable, unrivalled, unconditional love. In Jesus’ name. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
‘Un’ is a prefix meaning “not,” freely used as an English formative, giving negative or opposite force in adjectives and their derivative adverbs and nouns (unfair; unavailable, unappreciated, unfelt; unseen; unreliable; unrest; unlucky, unloved; unemployment) – and the list could go on for as long as we need it to.
So, I got to thinking and praying over some of the “UN” things we ought to be saying, and singing and shouting about God our Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 40:25Easy-to-Read Version
25 The Holy One says, “Can you compare me to anyone? No one is equal to me.”
The first chapter of Isaiah starts out with a declaration of the people’s rebellion against God, consequences for such, a call to repentance, finishing it off with prophetic statements of restoration.
Isaiah Chapter 39 ends with Isaiah revealing to King Hezekiah that the nation would be taken captive by the Babylonians.
But Isaiah chapter 40 begins with God commissioning Isaiah to proclaim that when the consequences for their rebellion is over there will be comfort for the people of Jerusalem.
Within this 40th chapter we will see declared and proclaimed the ways in which God unequivocally communicates his preeminence to his long suffering people.
UNEQUALED IN DOMINANCE.
Isaiah 40:6-8Authorized (King James) Version
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
God wanted his people to know that no matter how powerful some people are, no matter how long they stay in power, they are like withering grass.
No matter how rich someone is, no matter how glorious they seem, that too, will come to an end like a flower of the field.
Why? Because it’s the Lord alone who determines when their end will come.
No amount of power, no amount of money, no amount of prestige, no amount of authority is ever going to be able to overcome the power, glory of the Lord.
The Jewish nation would be taken over by the Babylonians.
King Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful man who gained control over a vast region for many years.
During their long captivity I can see the Jews wondering if anything could stop this Babylonian king.
But they were shown God’s dominance in two ways:
When Nebuchadnezzar became proud, declaring how great he thought he was, God removed him from his throne; showing this king who was really the King!
Then second when God fulfilled his promise to his people by delivering them and reestablishing them as a nation.
This is critically important for us to understand because when the powers that be-whether it’s the government or our boss or a bully-seem unstoppable they are, when the dominant power of God is factored in, not in charge of anything.
The only thing that is unstoppable is God.
The only thing that is unceasing is God.
Kingdoms crumble and empires erode but the reign of God never ends.
That’s important for us to understand because no matter what happens in our world, no matter what decisions are made, no matter what laws get put in place, nothing is ever completely set in stone; God is the one who has the final say.
So when we are oppressed we can have a dominant and dominating hope that deliverance from such oppression is definitely possible; change will happen.
When trials, tribulations and tragedy strikes and we wonder how we will ever be able to pick up the pieces; when we get devastating news and we want to give up; when the circumstances in life seem hopeless; when things look bleak.
When it seems as if there is no way out-no light at the end of the tunnel we need to remember who is in control and who has the final word.
Circumstances may be outside of our control but they are not ever out of his. God has dominance.
UNEQUALED IN CARE.
Isaiah 40:10-11New Living Translation
10 Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
It’s interesting that we find the words ‘power’ and ‘gentle’ in the same passage.
What a dominant, dominating picture of God.
We need this picture to dominate our hearts and our thoughts because we should only get so easily overwhelmed by God’s great and awesome power.
We could forget so easily that the God who created the universe cares about me deeply, intimately and personally.
We need to see both sides of God for the purpose of revering him but loving him at the same time.
We need to understand that God wants to hold us near in love and gentleness but that doesn’t mean he’s just an ol’ softy.
We shouldn’t take God’s gentleness for weakness.
God is tender but he’s also tough.
That awareness of His dominant and dominating power over our hearts and our souls will serve to keep us close to him while at the same time keep us in check.
Later in Isaiah, in talking about the restoration of his people, God said this in 49:10,
“They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.”
Beloved; See how he cares for us. He feeds us, he protects us, he has compassion for us, he guides us, and he leads us beside springs of waters and he satisfies us.
This is our shepherd.
This is God as our father-loving, caring, protective and patient.
And he is unequaled in such things.
Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22-23,
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
He is unequaled in his ability to continually and faithfully provide all these things for us.
His love dominates over chaos, is greater than the darkness, his faithfulness and devotion to us is far greater and his compassion towards us will never fail.
How has God cared for you?
How has he been gentle with you?
How has he directed you?
Can you see the waters of the forest streams flowing steadily, watering the trees whose roots grow deeper in the ground to reach that life giving, nourishing waters, securing the trees to the shorelines, through the dry desert wilderness.
UNEQUALED IN WISDOM.
Isaiah 40:12-14New Living Translation
The Lord Has No Equal
12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? 13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?[a] Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? 14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?
Here we read a series of rhetorical questions that puts God’s preeminence in perspective for us.
I can read and hear God saying,
“Who else has the ability I do?
Go and find someone who can hold the waters of any ocean in the palm of their hand. Go and find someone who can make a mountain. Find someone who can create stars and planets. Find someone who has a better plan for creating the universe or the world or the human body. Who else has done what I have done?
The problem is some people think they have.
We discover new formulas and invent new “smart” technologies; we develop vaccines and cure diseases and somehow that makes us the superior ones.
And therein lies the dangers-
We don’t need God, we can do it ourselves.
God? what god; I’m god.
Oh, how sorry a people we have become when we get to the place where we think we are as dominant, as caring, as smart, as wise or as qualified as God.
But this doesn’t just happen on a grand scale.
We can be guilty of this type of thinking on a lower scale.
How?
Whenever we don’t listen to God.
Whenever we don’t trust him.
Whenever we go our own way we are putting ourselves in place of God.
Whenever we go against what God has commanded we are saying we know the better, wiser, smarter, dominant, dominating way; we put ourselves into that place where we all believe we are the only ones who know what we really need.
Whenever the Holy Spirit reveals what we need to do but we ignore it we are telling God that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Whenever we don’t agree with how God is handling things we somehow conclude that he doesn’t have the first clue or know about what he’s doing.
“That’s not how I would’ve done it.”
That’s pride.
However, if we are humble, we will conclude that no matter how much we gain over the course of our lives, we won’t have, we can never have anywhere near the dominant understanding, knowledge or wisdom or smarts which God has.
As the psalmist declared in Psalm 147:5,
“Great is the Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”
Who’s the one who is unlimited in their understanding-us?
Who’s the one who sees everything everywhere-us?
Who’s the one who sees tomorrow-us?
We understand so little;
Our perspective is so ridiculously limited.
God is unequaled in wisdom.
UNEQUALED IN WHAT HE CAN, AND IN TRUTH, DOES DO FOR US.
Isaiah 40:25-31New Living Translation
25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. 27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Not only is there no equal or comparison to God in what he can do that also goes for what he can do for us!
Since he will never grow tired or weary, he is a never-ending source of strength for us when we become weak and weary.
That goes for all kinds of weaknesses; not just physical.
Yes, he will give us energy and vitality to physically be able to do great things but the main way he gives us strength and stamina is spiritually.
Take some quality time today to think about it and pray over it-when was the last time you dreamed you had climbed on top of an eagle and went for a ride?
When was the last time you had this “V8 moment “, went for a long run, felt as strong, if not the stronger, at the end of the run as you did in the beginning?
Obviously these are metaphors for what he will enable us to do spiritually.
We will be able to do amazing things when God’s power is at work within us.
Nothing else comes anywhere close to what God can do for us.
Some people are good and mightily gifted at motivating us and encouraging us and making us feel good but no matter how “gifted” someone is at doing these things it always pales in comparison to God’s level of ability to do these things.
And in the past how we may have turned to things like drugs, alcohol, food or money or gambling or something else to give us a temporary, fleeting ‘high’ but nothing manmade can ever come close to duplicating a true Holy Spirit high.
If your hope is in the Lord then he will be the one who will renew your strength when you are physically, spiritually, psychologically or emotionally depleted.
Without God’s dominant, dominating power you will always be weak and weary. Without God you will always stumble and fall. Do you want to soar like an eagle?
Then put all your hope in the unequaled, unending abilities and power of God.
In a children’s book titled, “Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?” Robert Wells takes us on a journey from observing a size we can grasp to one we can’t.
The largest animal on earth is the blue whale.
Just the flippers on its tail are bigger than most animals on earth.
But a blue whale isn’t anywhere near as big as a mountain.
If you put one hundred blue whales in a huge jar you could put millions of whale jars inside a hollowed-out Mount Everest.
But Mount Everest isn’t anywhere near as big as the earth.
If you stacked one hundred Mount Everest’s on top of one another it would just be a whisker on the face of the earth.
And the earth is not anywhere near as big as the sun.
You could fit one million earths inside of the sun.
But the sun, which is a medium-sized star, is not nearly as big as a red supergiant star called Antares.
But Antares isn’t anywhere near as big as the Milky Way galaxy.
Billions of stars, including super giants like Antares, as well as countless comets and asteroids, make up the Milky Way galaxy.
But the Milky Way galaxy is not anywhere near as big as the universe.
There are countless billions of other galaxies in the universe.
And yet, filled with ‘billions’ of galaxies, the universe is almost totally empty.
Distances from one galaxy to another are undeniably beyond our imagination.
And now, ponder and pray over and through this: the Creator of this universe is God, who with a word spoke it all into being, who is present, who is dominant, everywhere in this universe, beyond, who upholds it all with his mighty power.
Great is our God and greatly to be praised.
Our God is unequaled in power, size, wisdom, ability and greatness.
And he unconditionally cares about you and undeniably wants to do great and wondrous things in you and through you.
How unfathomable is that?
It is unparalleled, having no parallel or equal; exceptional.
It is undeniably, undoubtedly, unequivocally, unquestionably, unequaled!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son an God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Almighty and Ever Living Son of God, You are the great “I AM.” You are faithful to Your promises and will defeat the chaos of my doubtful, doubt-filled soul though so very numerous and powerful. I will not be discouraged because I walk in your divine presence. I will live in Your strength and courage, for You are my God. I have faith in You and Your word because I know that Your word never fails. I thank You for the many promises You have spoken over my life, and I place my trust in You. Amen.
12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? 13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?[a] Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? 14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?
15 No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand. 16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. 17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth.
18 To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him? 19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains? 20 Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!
21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? 22 God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. 23 He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. 24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
What is equality?
To be equal is to be as great as, alike in quantity and quality, evenly proportioned and balanced, and uniform in operation.
Equality is correspondence in all aspects and the slightest deviation results in an equivalent.
God has called you, me, the church, to be equally yoked which requires a clear separation from the sin and darkness to maintain all aspects of His Likeness.
The world has called for us to lower our standards to be equal.
As believers, we are in this world but not of this world.
We are to love all mankind as Jesus Christ did but not become entangled in civilian affairs.
No matter what our political viewpoints may or may not be, we are foreigners in this land called the Kingdom of God with a heavenly home far, far away.
We live in a somewhat democratic society that has skewed our understanding of God’s Sovereignty and our own self-worth.
We are called to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
This requires a transition from this world to a place of consecrated holiness – mind, body and spirit.
Just because society has decided everything in life is either good or bad, equal and unequal, to call sin ‘equality’ – does not mean is holy acceptable to God.
Just because God decided to extend grace, mercy and love to His People did not change His Mind on His Way and Word.
We must be very careful that in growing in the love and admonition of Jesus Christ that we do not lower our standards and worth to make sin acceptable and okay as a lifestyle or social status – ever.
We are called to unequally yoked to this world and to be wholly acceptable to God which is our living sacrifice, willing reasonable service. (Romans 12:1-2)
The Way of God is Jesus Christ. He came, died and rose again so that we could be transformed not to be conformed to the sin darkened image of this world.
We must each evaluate our life according to balanced and equal measure which comes from the Word of God which wrapped in flesh is Jesus Christ. Everything in our life should be compared to His Glorious Standard which never changed.
Isaiah 40:25-26Authorized (King James) Version
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
Who can compare to God?
Who is His Equal?
Good question.
Isaiah 40:12-31 tells of the unsurpassable Greatness and Power of God.
If we the people – meaning you, meaning me, meaning the Body of Christ would only look past the present days comprising their daily life to forever, they would see the true Glory of God and His Sovereignty that makes earthly pursuits futile.
Whose standard of living?
Whose standard of Glory is the correct measure of the “righteous, correct” life?
With our Idolatry as the “great I am” or with His Equality The “GREAT I AM”?
If we could each bring ourselves to a place of God’s Shalom and not our own, to see it definitely doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about the Lord in terms of His Power – He is still All-Powerful – His Authority is not comprised by doubt!
There is no other god ever noted in history that is like our God. (2 Samuel 7:22)
Our inability to comprehend His Being or our refusal, our own unwillingness to accept only His Dominion, His Sovereignty, His Authority, does not change His Identity or Character – it does have any impact on our future and well-being.
Humanity has decided that there is no God or placed the Lord in a fairytale status that is a great story but is not real.
There is absolutely no equal to God. (Psalm 40:5)
A life that is lived in contradiction to this Truth is perceived as rebellion against God and His Kingdom.
On Judgment Day, this will become very real to people which is heartbreaking considering the freedom we have to know and worship God. (John 14:1-14)
God has deemed you and me of great worth.
He sent His Son as a payment for your sins so that He could re-establish a connectional relationship with you and re-establish a relationship with me.
His Holy Spirit lives inside of those who call on His Name as a guide and compass to consecration and citizenship in Heaven. (John 14:15-17)
Yet few take the time to know and understand the Lord and His Great Worth.
Oh, that we could all understand the Greatness of God and His Power – it would change, transform the way we live, act and communicate as we each strive to be His People rather than blending in “equally”, “in our equality” with the crowd.
Isaiah 28:10-13New Living Translation
10 He tells us everything over and over— one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!”
11 So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language! 12 God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen. 13 So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.
God does not change. (Malachi 3:6)
Let not our hearts an souls be troubled, Jesus is the only Way, only Truth and only Life! Nobody, but nobody gets to God but through Him. (John 14:1-6)
The Lord hates sin.
Always has and He always will.
His Word has not changed and will never be void. (Isaiah 55:10-13)
It will continue to circle the earth until its purpose is accomplished.
Believers love the part of this truth that pertains to blessing, favor, increase, prosperity and promises.
However, when it comes to transforming their life into a holy, consecrated vessel that houses the Spirit of the Living God and is fully committed to His Kingdom – we call out for God’s forgiveness, God’s mercy and God’s grace.
Grace is not an excuse or exemption.
It is an extension of God’s Hand to assist us when we inevitably fall.
It makes way for a quick apology when we accidentally step on God’s “Toes”.
Please understand it does not change God’s Expectation of us.
He expects us to come out of the darkness because we are now Children of the Light.
The Lord expects us to separate our lives from sin to be like Him.
We are to hate sin like God does.
He expects us to love others equally, but not their sinful habits and inclinations.
God loves every sinner, every single “life cheating” one of us.
God desires relationship with everyone – without exception!
It doesn’t matter one iota if we are male, female or unsure, where we live, work and play, what color our skin is, whether we are heterosexual, homosexual or asexual, or whatever political affiliation is upon our voter registration cards.
Isaiah 55:1-3New Living Translation
Invitation to the Lord’s Salvation
55 “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! 2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
3 “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.
Jeremiah 29:10-14New Living Translation
10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”
This invitation, these promises from God extend to quite literally everyone – without exception, without judgment, without our biases or even prejudices!
He Created Us all! He knows us inside out. His Love provided grace so we could each step out of the social circles and/or sin of this world and into His Presence where there is peace, fullness of joy and pleasures evermore. (Psalms 16, 139)
Grace did not lower His Standards or Expectations of His People.
Rather than taking a stand for a political cause, it is time for Christians to take a stand for a righteous call beginning in their own life.
False teaching is rampant and the only way to escape these lies and deceptions is to know the Truth.
God loves everyone.
He hates everyone’s sin.
Now is a good and acceptable time to ultimately know God and His Authority and Power to align our lives with His Kingdom and stop living as betrayers of His Grace and Glory accepting less than God’s Very Best and calling it “equal.”
Philippians 3:1-11New Living Translation
The Priceless Value of Knowing Christ
3 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters,[a] rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.
2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God[b] are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[c] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
We cannot assume equality with God because of His Grace.
He is giving us an opportunity to reestablish a relationship with Him.
Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth and Life – the ONLY WAY.
We cannot make up our own rules or pick a doctrine that suits us the best.
He gave us His Spirit so that we could rightly divide the Word of God and pray an apply it to our life – our Ignorance of His Word is no longer anyone’s excuse. (2 Timothy 2:14-18, 2 Timothy 3: 10-17, Hebrews 4:12-13)
God expects you, me, the church to know because we called His Name First.
We are to have the same attitude as Jesus Christ. (Philippians 2:1-11)
He came to do His Father’s Will.
He gave up divine privileges so that we can regain them.
He humbled himself in obedience to God – even to death on a Cross.
What gives us the ‘privilege’ to think God would expect anything less from us?
God elevated Jesus Christ because of His Obedience, wants to do the same for us.
We must use accurate scales to measure our life. (Proverbs 16:11)
God calls for honest measures.
His Word is the most solid measurement of our life and man’s interpretation should always be evaluated next to HIS TRUTH and never as from the Source.
God finds false weights and unequal measures detestable and grace did not change His Opinion. (Proverbs 20:10)
Exactly right now is the good and acceptable time for us to discover our true worth and maximum value to God and make it our “daily cross,” live up to it.
We must each experience Jesus Christ to discover what God expects from us and do IT, rather than constantly trying to lower the bar for our own guilty pleasure.
Instead, constantly raise the bar, Continuously advancing the standard of God!
Ephesians 3:14-21New Living Translation
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[a]15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[b]16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
I believe the Apostle Paul was using all the possible adjectives he could think of, all the dimensions he knew, in order to give us all a ‘glimpse’ of the love of God.
Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade; to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.
If we know Jesus, the Son of God who became man to die for my sins and yours, as God deeply desires we know Jesus Christ as our Savior, we would truly agree.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Creating God,
it has been told to us since the very beginning
that you are truly the Lord of all that is and ever shall be.
You are the God of both the prince and pauper,
of feast and famine,
of the mighty and the weak —
and yet, you do not favor the strong over the powerless.
Remind us of your unsurpassable love as we read the scriptures,
O God of True Justice.
You have no equal ….
We cannot strive enough to be Your equal ….
Yet, We do try too hard …. Open our eyes – open our hearts –
that we may be strengthened and renewed by your Word.
In Jesus’ Name …. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
73 Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.[a] 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs; their bodies are sound and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as other men are; they are not stricken like other men. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 7 Their eyes swell out with fatness, their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them;[b] and find no fault in them.[c] 11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. 13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all the day long I have been stricken, and chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have been untrue to the generation of thy children. 16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. 18 Truly thou dost set them in slippery places; thou dost make them fall to ruin. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! 20 They are[d] like a dream when one awakes, on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was stupid and ignorant, I was like a beast toward thee. 23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee; thou dost hold my right hand. 24 Thou dost guide me with thy counsel, and afterward thou wilt receive me to glory.[e] 25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides thee. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength[f] of my heart and my portion for ever.
27 For lo, those who are far from thee shall perish; thou dost put an end to those who are false to thee. 28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all thy works.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
If God is good, shouldn’t we receive more of the Abundant things in our life?
If God is so good, shouldn’t God have given Nimrod and his people an equal opportunity to complete the Tower of Babel, become the envy of the world?
Reality is, How high could they have actually built it before the limits of their primitive technology was reached and the Tower would come crashing down?
When it then had inevitably come crashing down around them and at their feet, would they not have then learned on their own of their folly and not tried again?
Cannot mankind be trusted enough to learn these valuable life lessons on their own – making great efforts to succeed, failing and failing quite badly, even to the point of catastrophic failure, then learning from the mistakes on their own?
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
Psalms 73:1-2
I remember reading several years ago a young man named Jason Brookins, a Green Bay Packer made a huge mistake.
He misinterpreted his teams request for his playbook.
Jason thought the request was their way of telling him he was cut from the team so without saying a word to anyone, he turned in his playbook, he jumped in his car, filled up the car with gas, began the long drive to his home in Missouri. He was so despondent that he turned off his cell phone and no one could reach him.
But, as with many such stories like this one which are all over social media, his perception was wrong.
Eventually reached by the team at his parents home, the team told him they had no such intentions of releasing him. His name was on a short list asking for him to turn in his playbook so that it could be updated in time for the next practice.
It is so easy for anyone to get out of touch with what is real, what is not. When we lose our perspective of reality, we can say and do some pretty crazy things.
Our perception of reality will always affect our response to reality.
Today, I sit and wonder if some of us, during this holiday season may have lost, or have actually our spiritual equilibrium as a result of some faulty perceptions.
One of the ways we can have a faulty perception of reality is by not having all the information and that includes the facts about life, what is fair, what isn’t.
One of the major issues for all people, in all cultures, societies, backgrounds and times is the inequities of life – Life is not very fair therefore God is not very fair.
Today I would like to introduce you to the 73rd Psalm.
It is important enough that I would like you to quite literally open your Bibles to it, then actually read it and its 28 verses out loud to yourself into a mirror today.
See if by reading it into a mirror, looking at yourself, you do not find yourself identifying with the author Asaph – his heart, soul, his feelings, his emotions.
Insert the thought into your head:
“Life is not being very Fair with me, therefore God is not being very Fair with me.”
I would also would like for each of you readers out there somewhere in the world to get out a new pen and to use a notebook to take down some notes.
The 73rd Psalm was written by a man named Asaph.
We don’t know a lot about him but we an say he was a mature, godly man who served as the worship leader in the temple. Asaph wrote 12 different Psalms.
He was a man of God yet here in this psalm we read of a men who was ready to hand in his worship book to the chief priest, turn around and head for home. He almost walked away from life because his perception of reality was “mixed up.”
This psalm is very personal, and filled with gut-wrenching honesty.
In it Asaph asks the question many of us have asked at one time or another:
If God is supposed to be a just God, and bless believers, why do we struggle with health, finances, and relational turmoil while the unbelievers around us seem to enjoy prosperity? Or, we could ask it this way, why are the wicked so successful, while the righteous, good hearted among us seem to disproportionately suffer?
Asaph begins with an introduction, a summary statement, and a theological conclusion all wrapped up in verse 1:
“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.”
Asaph is stating the universal premise for the believer: God is good.
The word surely literally means “indeed,” “yet” and also has the idea of exclusivity: “No matter what happens, God and God alone is indeed good.”
While we can surely, indeed and yet count on this certainty, its also, at the same time, indeed and yet, at the very crux of Asaph’s understanding of the problem.
“If God is so fair and even more just, should not we at least have that many more blessings in life than those who do not even bother to care about God?”
The Human Perspective
After stating what he knows is ultimately true, Asaph looks around and from a human perspective wonders what is going on in the first half of the psalm.
Asaph was exceptionally bothered by what he had been taught in Scripture because what he had experienced in the course of life was radically different.
In verse 2, he admits that he had almost slipped.
This verse stands in stark contrast to the certainty of verse 1: But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
God, you might be good, but I almost bailed on you.
Asaph felt like he was trying to walk on moss-covered rocks in a lake.
He came very, very close to losing his confidence in God’s goodness because of four things which he observed and tried very hard to understand around him.
The Prosperity of the Wicked
3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psalms 73:3
Verse 3 tells us why Asaph almost went spiritually AWOL:
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
The word “arrogant” comes from a root word that means a loud and clear noise.
The idea is that a proud person is one who toots his own horn real loud. It is also used of incessant, ceaseless, nerve fraying, ear – splitting, braying of a donkey.
Notice that Asaph is not upset with the arrogant or the wicked, he is being so jealous of them. He wants what they have. But actually this goes much deeper.
The word “prosperity” does not do justice to the original term: shalom.
This word is pregnant with meaning for the Old Testament believer.
The root of shalom is completion or fulfillment and was often used to describe the deepest peace, wholeness, harmony and physical well-being. The word is used as a greeting today but it is really a blessing asking God for a good life.
It is obvious that Asaph just does not quite perceive this, “feel this,” in the moments when his emotions were so deep and the Psalm was being written.
Why would the wicked have everything which was only promised to God’s covenant people?
For Asaph, it does not seem the least bit fair at all.
He is doing what many of us do when we make judgments based only upon what we believe we see. His perspective is on the present, maybe forgotten the future.
The Peace of the Wicked.
4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong
5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.
Psalms 73:4-5
In verses 4-5 Asaph wonders why life seems so good for those who have nothing to do with God:
They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from the burdens common to man; they are wealthy, they are healthy, immune from any enemies and they are not plagued by human ills.
They perpetually live in the fast lane but they do not seem to crash and burn.
Their life appears painless and easy.
Charles Spurgeon once said,
“Those who so richly deserve the hottest hell often have the warmest nest.”
The Pride of the Wicked
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.
11 They say, �How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?�
12 This is what the wicked are like� always carefree, they increase in wealth.
Psalms 73:6-12
As Asaph looks closer, he sees the unbeliever has no need of God in verses 6-12.
The very people who are often the most prosperous and live the most peaceful lives are also those who are the most arrogant.
They do not need any extra jewelry because their pride glitters like an expensive necklace.
They think very highly of themselves and very little of others.
Verse 7 says that they have no limits.
They have all the time, money, and influence to do whatever they want.
These prideful people make fun of believers in verse 8 and even speak against God in verses 9 and 11.
Their pride has taken them so high that they look down on God and on God’s people.
Verse 10 indicates that this boasting and scoffing has a powerful impact on those who are trying to follow God.
Verse 12 gives a summary of what the wicked are like: Always carefree, they increase in wealth.
Let’s admit something today.
Many of us secretly look up to those who are famous and financially secure.
Many more of us look angrily with great disdain on those who are famous and those who are financially secure far beyond what we perceive is reasonable for one or two persons to have in one lifetime – when there is great hunger about.
We are jealous of those who seem to live and thrive without boundaries, of those who can so arrogantly do whatever they want, whenever they want.
Some of you teenagers who I pray are reading this, are angrily wondering right now if following God, the Father, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit is really worth it.
Asking in their hearts and souls: “Why should I or anyone else live for God, Jesus or Holy Spirit when our friends seem to be doing all right without Him?”
Asking from deep within their own hurting hearts and traumatized souls: “why God?” “why Jesus?” or “why Holy Spirit?” with so much inequality everywhere.
The Self-pity of the Righteous.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.
Psalms 73:13-14
In verse 13, Asaph basically believes that there is no advantage to holy living.
He is starting to tune out spiritually when he writes: “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.”
From a human perspective, there seems to be little reward for righteous living.
The Living Bible puts it this way: “Have I been wasting my time? Why take the trouble to be pure?”
In verse 14 Asaph wonders why he is being beat up upon while the prideful are prospering.
He turns to self-pity as he describes the emotional deluge that has come over him: “all day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.”
His afflictions last all day and when he wakes up the next morning, there is a boatload of new problems waiting for him to nag and wear away at his soul.
At the end of verse 14, Asaph is filled with turmoil, confusion and despondency.
What begins as envy in verses 2 and 3 results in agonizing self-doubt.
The Unfairness of it All.
15 If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me.
Psalms 73:15-16
16 Asaph responds to these feelings in a number of ways that are important to us to remember when we are depressed, tired, weary, and feeling the pressure.
The first thing he does is to remember that he is part of the community of faith and that he must be careful what he verbalizes: If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed your children.
He could not talk to others about his doubts because it would have done more harm than good.
Asaph is concerned for spiritual infants.
He doesn’t want to do anything to lead them astray so he chooses to keep quiet.
If he had spoken openly about his deep doubts he would have betrayed younger believers by introducing ideas which, deep within his heart and soul, he knew weren’t true because they were incomplete – they were absent the Grace of God.
Proverbs 17:28: Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.
This is admirable but it does not solve his dilemma.
His second approach is equally futile.
Verse 16 says, “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me.”
Keeping things inside only made him want to explode.
He was miserable because he could not talk to others and he was overwhelmed because he could not figure it out on his own.
From the Trial of God to the Triumph of God
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
Psalms 73:16-17
As we come to verse 17 we see a noticeable shift in Asaph paradigm as he goes through a reality check.
In the first half of the psalm, he is viewing life from a human outlook.
In the second half, he reframes his understanding of reality by looking at heaven viewpoint.
The first section of the Psalm deals with the trial of faith, and the last part of the Psalm addresses the triumph of faith.
We can delineate the difference this way:
Trial of God (2-16) vs. Triumph of God (17-28)
Focus on self Vs. Focus on God
Locked into present vs. Longing for the future
Slipping away vs. Secure forever
What is it that changes everything for Asaph?
The same thing that will transform our perspective: worship.
Verse 17 is the hinge point of the psalm: “Till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.”
I really like how the Message translates this:
Then I understood the whole picture.
When we just look at those around us, and when we judge God according to our own experiences, we can never have the whole picture.
Everything is put into proper perspective when we go into the presence of God.
The prosperity of the wicked had filled up his vision, but from now to the end of the psalm, God Himself, the God of the sanctuary, becomes his #1 focal point.
The word sanctuary is plural and refers to holy places. In the Old Testament, the sanctuary was a set place with certain regulations about how to approach God.
According to the New Testament, God has now taken up residence within believers.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
We do not have to make a pilgrimage to a special spot in order to enter the holy place but it is important to have some places where you can meet with God and gain an regain His perspective again.
If we don’t gaze at God, we will default to our human perspective and end up becoming envious, jealous and bitter.
God’s point of view is understood when we meet with Him in His Sanctuary.
When we are reminded of His attributes, His character, and His power, we see, experience both God’s judgment of sin as well as His solution offered to sinners.
It was only in the sanctuary of God that Asaph could understand the precarious predicament of the wicked and the sweetness of God’s grace and mercy in his own life.
The mysteries of life only make sense in the presence of the Majesty of God.
One of the results of revering God is that instead of focusing on the present, we are transported to eternity.
It is only then we can fully maximize, completely appreciate the gravity of a final eternal destiny apart from God.
When we look at life through the eyes of eternity, we will see four things:
The Ruin of the Wicked.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.
Psalms 73:18-20
In verses 18-20, Asaph’s reality is reframed as he is finally able to see that God has placed the wicked on a very slippery ground. In verse 2, he felt like he was sliding away, but now he recognizes that unbelievers will be cast down to ruin.
Slippery ground originally referred to a piece of polished marble that was very slick.
From heaven’s perspective, lost people will lose their footing and have a quick ride to the bottom.
The word “ruin” was used of a desert or an area decimated by a storm.
When God’s judgment comes, unbelievers will be wiped out.
Verse 19 is the destiny of those who do not know Christ: How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
Friends, listen carefully. Instead of jealously longing for the things that lost people have, we should have a holy horror about where their final destiny is.
Verse 20 warns us that they are living a dream, or a fantasy, that will eventually turn into a nightmare.
Judgment is real and we should not try to sugar coat the awful truth of eternal punishment.
It’s important to remember that people often get things majorly turned around.
We think that when a person dies that they leave the land of the living and go to the place where dead people go.
When we come into the sanctuary of God, we see that this is the land of the dying, and when we take our final breath here, we go to the land of the living.
The Repentance of the Righteous
21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
Psalms 73:21-22
In verses 21-22, Asaph owns up for his myopic vision:
“When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.”
The word “grieved” is used to describe the expanding, bubbling nature of yeast as it works its way through bread.
It is also used of vinegar, which helps to describe his expanding and sour attitude toward God when he looked at life through his human glasses.
His spirit was bitter, which can literally be translated, “my kidneys were sharp with pain.”
When he wanted what the wicked had, he was being eaten up on the inside.
When controlled by bitterness, Asaph behaved like an animal.
He uses a term for a grazing animal that lives with his head hunched down, seeing only the grass, and never looking up to observe the sky.
Like an animal out to pasture, so Asaph was viewing things only from a human perspective.
One of the things that separate us from brute beasts is that animals cannot contemplate the future; they live only in the present.
When Asaph looked only at the here-and-now, he was like an ornery ox that had and quite literally desired no concept of any eternal realities.
The Rewards of the Righteous
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalms 73:23-26
I love the first word of verse 23: “Yet”
After confessing that he was bitter, senseless, and ignorant, he immediately recognizes that God has not cast him away:
“I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.”
This verse delineates two rewards:
God’s presence and God’s protection.
God is always with us, no matter what we do, or think. And, He holds on to us.
We are His possession.
Isaiah 41:8-10 RSV:
8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 10 fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Psalm 73 Verse 24 describes two more rewards:
God’s guidance and God’s glory:
“You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”
God promises to counsel us and lead us through life. And, then when our time on earth is finished, He will take us into glory. We can forever rest in God grip.
We can 100% rely on His guidance and we can reflect on the glory to come.
In Psalm 73 verse 25, Asaph is finally at the point where God has always wanted him to be:
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
If you an I cannot say this with integrity today, then our perspective is more human than heavenly.
Until you and I can get to the point of saying, “God, you are all I want because you are all I need, then we are going to wonder why life does not seem fair.
Is God all you need and want?
Is God all I need and want?
Is God all the Body of Christ needs and wants?
No matter what happens to you, to me or to the church, or what we each see in others, are we able to declare with Holy Spirit conviction, we’re 100% satisfied in God, with God, in Jesus, with Jesus, and in Holy Spirit, with Holy Spirit?
Asaph knew nothing was more valuable than what he already had in God.
Do you?
Do I?
Does the Body of Christ?
In Psalm 73 verse 26, Asaph can say that no matter what happens to him, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
The word “strength” means, “rock.”
As a Levite, he knew all about a portion because his livelihood was dependent upon the tithes and offerings of God’s people (much like pastors today).
This portion, can also be translated as his “allotment” or “inheritance.”
While his present needs are taken care of through people’s faithful stewardship, his eternal inheritance is rock solid because God Himself is His 1000% portion.
Ultimately, no matter what happens to him, God Almighty is his max allotment.
Can you, I, the Body of Christ say what Habakkuk declared in Habakkuk 3:17-18?
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Heavenly Perspective: The Responsibility of Believers
27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.
Psalms 73:27-28
Asaph concludes by saying he’ll fulfill two key responsibilities of every believer.
First, he will stay near to God.
Look at the first part of verse 28:
But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge…
Since genuine happiness, genuine Shalom is only found in a close relationship with God, it only makes complete sense for us to get as close to Him as possible.
His nearness is “good,” which means, sweet and pleasant.
Asaph has learned first-hand that the greater our nearness to God, the less we will be affected by the attractions and distractions around us.
James 4:8: Come near to God and he will come near to you.
Will you draw near to Him right now?
Will I draw near to Him right now?
Will the Body of Christ, the Church, draw near to Him right now?
Our second responsibility is to tell others about God.
We see this in the very last phrase of the psalm: “I will tell of all your deeds.”
Before Asaph worshipped he concluded that it was not worth it to follow God.
He was filled with envy and decided to not tell other believers about his doubts.
Please do not miss this connection.
As long as he was discontented with God he could say nothing at all.
Envy is the enemy of evangelism.
But in the second half of the psalm he reaches a different conclusion.
Once he sees the final destruction of the wicked he no longer craves what they have and now he can speak from a place of genuine and joy – filled – Shalom!
Listen carefully.
Many of us do not or will not tell others about Jesus not because we do not know how but because somewhere deep down in our hearts and deep in our souls, we do not really genuinely believe what we have is better than what others have.
Worldliness is devastating to our witness because we secretly desire to be more like lost people than we desire that they come to an eternal relationship in God.
We want what they have more than we want them to have what is ours – Christ!
One of the best motivators for evangelism is to come into the presence of God and allow Him to shift your paradigm.
Think of the people you go to school with.
Think of your immediate family, relatives, co-workers, neighbors, and friends who do not know, accept, Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior.
Are you somehow even .01% attracted to their lifestyle?
Do you wish you could do the same things they do?
Do you wish you could have their toys?
When you, I, the Body of Christ, the Church, look in the mirror, read, pray this long and absorbing text from Psalm 73 through, take a long look at eternity,
Do we ask ourselves this question:
Where will we be when the finality of God’s judgment lands on us with a thud?
Not Home Yet?
Not Home EVER?
Hmm …..
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Truly you are good dear Lord.. your mercies are new this morning.. great is your faithfulness.. I praise you.
Purify my heart Lord.. keep my feet from stumbling and make my steps sure.. cleanse me of envy, arrogance and wickedness.
Help me to see life from your perspective Lord.. open up my eyes to the true riches of life.. give me a humble heart and drive pride far from me.
Forgive me for speaking foolish and hurtful words.. cause my mouth to speak nothing but good things.. guard my speech from foolish words and divisive chatter.. give me the desire to encourage and lift others up.
Infuse the earth with the knowledge of the Most High.. cause the wicked to understand your goodness.. bring them to repentance dear Lord.
You have given meaning to my life Lord.. all else ends in vanity.. nothing else can make my heart clean.. you are the only one Lord.. your blood is sufficient.
I remember that time when my soul was embittered.. when I was troubled in heart.. when I was brutish and ignorant.. when I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless you saved me from a dark future.. you have kept me continually with you.. you hold my right hand.. you guide me with your counsel.. and after death you will receive me to be with you forever.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but you God are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
It has been good to be near you Lord.. you have been a blessing of refuge to me.. I will tell of all your sweet works in my life.. there is no one like you.
Glory be to you Lord Jesus! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen
11 Now the whole earth had one language and one [a]speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and [b] bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called [c]Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
I cannot tell anyone how many times I have read this passage, prayed through this ancient text and thought and believed I knew at least a few truths about it.
Yet, as I sit here pondering this text for this devotional about our preparation for Advent with a particular emphasis upon Idolatry – these two verses hit me:
Genesis 11:4-5 NLT
4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!
Many stories in the Hebrew [Old] Testament can be difficult to understand.
From Noah, Abraham to the prophets, sometimes the Bible can be downright confusing. Or maybe we unknowingly misunderstand the lesson of the story.
Take the tower of Babel in Genesis 11, for example. My wife and I were talking about this story this week, and she asked me what I thought it was about.
I told her what I thought I knew, but then I thought I had better look at it again.
It must have been the Holy Spirit nudging me in my rib cage because, although I thought I knew a lot about it, I realized that I had totally missed the main point.
The tower of Babel is not just about a brick tower some people built. It’s all about pride, rebellion, and the importance of being obedient to God’s Word.
A New Covenant
The story of the tower of Babel occurs just after Noah’s death in Genesis 11:1-9.
Noah’s Death: (Genesis 9:28-29 NLT – 28 Noah lived another 350 years after the great flood. 29 He lived 950 years, and then he died.)
But to fully understand what’s going on, we need to turn back a page or two to the part when God had established a new covenant with His creation, the earth.
After Noah and his family leave the ark, Noah builds an altar and raises incense the aroma of which is described as pleasing to God’s heart. He was so pleased with Noah’s burnt offerings that God decided to never flood the earth again.
“And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:21-22
God then tells Noah and his sons about the new covenant in Genesis 9:13-17 including the very telltale sign of His covenant—the hanging of a rainbow:
13 I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” 17 Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”(NLT)
Sandwiched in between God thinking about His new covenant and then telling Noah’s family about it, God tells Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1).”
Aged Noah only had three sons, but his family had no trouble fulfilling God’s command. They were so prolific that all of Genesis 10 is dedicated to listing all of their children and their grandchildren by name, and there were quite a few.
With the passing of each generation, each son’s family eventually established their own tribe and claimed their own nations.
So, while many were claiming territory, still many other people continued spreading across the earth and filling it.
It was during one of these migrations east that a certain group of people found a great place to build a tower.
Building a Great Tower
In the middle of nowhere in the land of Shinar (historical Babylon and currently Iraq, approximately 60 miles southwest of Baghdad), a group of migrants under the mighty leadership of Nimrod decided to stop there to build, create a village.
Nimrod was the grandson of Noah and the son of Ham.
If you remember, Ham was the son Noah cursed for teasing and making fun of his dad after he found his dad drunk and naked one night (Genesis 9:20-27).
According to the Bible, it was Noah’s curse that created the Canaanites because all of Ham’s family was then considered disobedient.
One day while the people were building the village, someone (perhaps Nimrod himself) suggested they build a tower that reached to the heavens.
When we say “heavens” we’re talking about three different heavens, the highest one being the holy throne of God.
So, these villagers are talking about creating a tower that reaches unto God Himself.
Though they knew they couldn’t actually build such a tower, their intention was clearly to make it as tall as was then humanly possible.
Why would they build such a tall tower?
Let’s look at Genesis 11:4.
“And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
Their goal was to create something that represented their great abilities and establish a famous reputation among the other tribes.
They obsessively desired to be the very highest envy of everyone across the land. Their pride was bad enough, but that is not what got God really upset.
Remember,
they were supposed to multiply and fill the earth, but this group of people had decided to stop, put down roots, and show off how smart and skilled they were.
Their pride led the people to rebel against God’s command, to steal His glory.
God was not going to have any part of that, so there was only one thing to do.
The Lord’s Verdict
After the tower was built,
God came down to take a closer look at what the people had created, and He decisively decided he did not like it nor did He appreciate the people’s efforts.
He then had a little conversation with Himself.
“Indeed, the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” Genesis 11:6
God notices exactly how “united” they are, and they all have one language, one vocabulary which allows them to do whatever it is which they wish to do. And respect for the Lord’s commands isn’t important. So, He comes up with a plan.
“Come, let Us [the Trinity] go down and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (v7)
God did not destroy the tower, an abandoned monument to monumental pride.
But He did scatter the people.
How He did it the Bible doesn’t say. But they were all driven away, the village construction was never completed, and their language was suddenly changed.
Now, certain groups couldn’t understand each other anymore. Those who could communicate gathered together and created new nomadic tribes, which is why, how some scholars believe is how today’s languages were originally created.
It’s interesting to note that the person who first came up with the idea to build the tower said in verse four,
“Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
It turned that his prophecy was fulfilled.
So, God called the tower Babel, which means “noisy confusion” and is where the later kingdom of Babylon was later established by Nimrod ~ 2200 BCE and became an empire which reigned from ~1900 BCE to ~539BCE when they were weakened by several wars with Assyria and Persian Cyrus II conquered the city.
Avoiding the Tower of Babel
With stories like this, it can be hard to understand what the lesson might be. On the surface, it just looks like a historical account of an early nomadic tribe.
But when we take a closer look, we see can observe that God is illustrating for us the critical importance of obeying and respecting Him. We also note the danger of becoming prideful, arrogant, and thinking and believing we do not need God.
God is reminding us (again) of the consequences of sin.
Some consequences are great, and some are not.
In the case of Nimrod’s tribe, their behavior and attitudes were so bad God completely scrambled their language and forced them back upon the road to “multiply and fill the earth.”
This is the power of God and is why we need to be careful about our choices.
Genesis 11:4 NLT
4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
One the surface, the people of Babel seem like a stellar example of what humans can accomplish as a team.
They created a gigantic tower in order to stay unified and become a powerful community.
However, to God, this was not good. If they could use their teamwork and build this tower, nothing would have been impossible for them (Genesis 11:6).
Why would God have had a problem with this?! Isn’t this the human flourishing God himself commanded in Genesis 1:28, to fill the earth and subdue it?
Because the people of Babel would take all of the glory and all of the recognition for their own handiwork and not glorify God for his blessing upon them; if God had said nothing, left them to themselves, none of them would have found him.
One must wonder how many ministries or churches with good intentions fall into this trap. We might think an enormous building with our name on it will give God the glory, honor, praise, but bigger isn’t always better in God’s eyes.
Throughout the Bible he used men who had little experience or leadership qualities and guided them to be the Godly men their situation required.
We all struggle with the temptation to rely on our works, glorify ourselves for our hard fought success, those of our congregations, instead of relying on God.
Remember this as we who are the Body of Christ ministers to others. God can use you to do a mighty work without a large following or famous church; you have the same God who created the heavens and the earth working through you.
Matthew 7:13-14 NLT
The Narrow Gate
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
As we prepare ourselves and our churches for this new season of Advent, as we each consider the contemporary relevance or irrelevance of Idolatry – choice of all of the glory upon our name or upon God’s fame as being the only #1 priority,
As Christians, we ought to brutally examine our hearts and minds every day to make sure we are staying on the path of humble obedience while maintaining complete and absolute respect for God’s power.
The road to hell is wide, its gate is quite wide for the many who choose the way.
Straying off the narrow road which leads straight to abundant life, eternal life in God in Christ, creates a tower of Babel— “noisy confusion” —in our lives.
Stick to God’s path.
Please! Take time today to give all of the honor to God in your accomplishments.
Follow His way, and you’ll never go wrong. His way is always the best way.
Psalm 119:105-112 NLT
Nun
105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 106 I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations. 107 I have suffered much, O Lord; restore my life again as you promised. 108 Lord, accept my offering of praise, and teach me your regulations. 109 My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your instructions. 110 The wicked have set their traps for me, but I will not turn from your commandments. 111 Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. 112 I am determined to keep your decrees to the very end.
John 14:1-14 NLT
Jesus, the Way to the Father
14 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?[b]3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.
12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
Sometimes getting to where we want to go in life can be incredibly confusing.
After Jesus told his disciples he would be leaving them, Thomas said he didn’t know where Jesus was going or how to get there.
I like Thomas’s honest questions.
He doesn’t hide his confusion.
Sometimes Christians think they need to know all the answers.
But Jesus does not scold Thomas for not understanding.
He gives him directions.
Jesus tells Thomas the way to navigate successfully.
And that way is Jesus himself.
If the goal of life is to get with the Father, to get with God, then Jesus is the way.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
It might help to think of it this way: each one of us has a God-shaped void in us that only God can fill.
As we long to be filled with the abundant life of God, Jesus is the way there.
The truth of his Word will guide us.
And along the way, his life in us gives us the power to stay on track.
What a wonderful journey!
What a wonderful Lord and Savior!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, I pray You would teach me all there is to learn from the wise and foolish decisions made by the post Diluvian people and the rebellious self-centered attitudes they fostered in their heart. Thank You that You are my God and Creator and my center, and that You have given me all I need for life and godliness. Help me to make the wise and right choices in life and to refuse to adopt the sinful ways of the world which unwisely encourage independence from You. May I look to Jesus day by day and rest my hope and future in You. This I ask in His dear name’s sake, AMEN.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 